A fourth grader, Ashton Sewell is already a veteran of youth sports. But when he was introduced to golf last spring, it became his true love.
“I don’t have to run around as much,” Sewell said with a wry grin. “And I love hitting with a driver.”
Sewell put his new passion to the test at Topgolf this week, where he joined 30-plus members of First Tee Birmingham, Alabama, for a chance to hit at the driving range while volunteers accepted donations of old golf clubs.
The donations came from citizens across the city.
To top off the day of giving, Topgolf donated 591 golf clubs from the corporate offices.
“Topgolf is committed to making the game of golf more diverse, inclusive and fun,” said Jennifer McGee, director of sales at the Birmingham location. “With off-course golf participation at an all-time high, we have a responsibility now more than ever to invite everyone into the game of golf.”
For the golf club drive, First Tee teamed with corporate sponsor Regions Bank and KPMG LLP to help the athletic-focused nonprofit bring the game to a wider audience.
“It’s an honor for Regions to be involved with First Tee,” said Paul Hodges, head of Regions Sponsorships and Experiential Marketing. “Today, we’re here for a golf club drive, but our relationship with First Tee is year-round, including an annual youth clinic at the Regions Tradition each spring.”
The Birmingham chapter of First Tee reorganized 18 months ago, emboldened with the mission of making the game accessible to all. The event at Topgolf kicked off a new season, bringing in the next generation of golfers into the fold.
Steve Mistrot helped bring the World Games to Birmingham in 2021. Now, as executive director of First Tee, he’s tasked with growing the game locally.
“This fall, we’ll have 35 kids taking lessons at Highland and Roebuck, where Bobby Jones won his first golf tournament,” Mistrot said. “The allure of the game of golf is that you don’t have to be on a team, and there’s no age limit. This is a game you can play your entire life.”
“What I love about the game of golf is that you learn to have a different mindset, because you’re going to have bad days. It’s all about how you respond.”
Crystal Smitherman, Birmingham city council member
Birmingham city council member Crystal Smitherman is a First Tee alum. She first started playing the game as a 7-year-old.
“When I started playing, there were only two girls in my group that looked like me,” Smitherman said. “In middle school, I got to meet Tiger Woods when he came here with his father (Earl) for an event, and I was hooked.
“Golf teaches you so many lessons, like patience and teamwork,” Smitherman added. “What I love about the game of golf is that you learn to have a different mindset, because you’re going to have bad days. It’s all about how you respond.”
Surrounded by new friends he’s made through First Tee’s coaching, Ashton Sewell took turns using his favorite driver to launch the dimpled ball towards a distant target.
He received his first set of clubs from a family friend. He gets to lessons thanks to his grandmother, Keskia Willis, who’s grateful for the opportunity.
“It’s very important to me for him to be involved, because he has a single mother who’s driving an 18-wheeler and is gone all the time,” Willis said. “He’s already playing baseball and basketball. This is a great way for kids like him to stay out of trouble. And the coach he has is so patient with him and all the students.”
What Willis loves about the First Tee opportunity is that Ashton is learning a sport he can carry with him for decades.
“If you’re good enough at golf, your chances of going to college are pretty good,” Willis said. “But the best part is that it’s a game stays with you the rest of your life.”