First Tee – Fort Worth
First Tee – Fort Worth's Ben Hogan Learning Center at Squaw Creek Golf Course in Willow Park
There's a fancy new facility on the grounds of the Squaw Creek Golf Course in Willow Park, meant to help young people not just learn the game of golf but also gain skills for the real world.
Youth development organization First Tee – Fort Worth will debut its second Ben Hogan Learning Center on Saturday. The opening ceremony will begin at 10:30 a.m., with family golf activities following from 12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
First Tee – Fort Worth will use the facility to help kids and teens in the area through its Life Skills Curriculum, which integrates golf with learning experiences meant to teach confidence, inner strength, self-management, and interpersonal skills.
Designed by Stephen Darrow of DMS Architects, the building includes staff offices, three classrooms that can be opened into one or two larger spaces, garage storage, and storyboards honoring golf icon Ben Hogan; Mike Wright, longtime director of golf at Shady Oaks and mentee of Hogan; Lynn Vaughan, 40-year director of golf at Squaw Creek Golf Course; and Kevin Long, the only executive director of First Tee – Fort Worth since its founding in 2004. Other design features include a donor wall in the lobby, placed on flooring from Hogan's childhood home.
Perhaps the building's most notable feature, however, are the Ben Hogan Swing Panels on the east end of the building. Created using a high-pressure water jet device that cuts through the steel plates, the panels depict Hogan's swing, based on original 1957 photos and drawings by golf artist Anthony Ravielli. At different hours of the day, light passes through the panels, creating distinctive shadows and views.
Funding for the facility came from the Ben Hogan Foundation and Rainwater Foundation among other donors, as well as a partnership with Squaw Creek/CERA and First Tee – Fort Worth. The organization will continue raising funds to pay off the facility through its Capital Campaign.
First Tee – Fort Worth has experienced significant growth since launching at Squaw Creek in 2016. First Tee – Fort Worth had 300 participants at the time, and within a year, participation grew to over 1,000 and is currently at capacity, according to a news release.
More information about First Tee – Fort Worth is available at firstteeftworth.org.
