“Someday, I’ll be the golf champ,”

Joe Louis, Heavyweight Champion

Joe “the Brown Bomber” Louis is known as one of the most dominant boxers ever. His record was 69 wins and three losses, and 55 times he knocked out his opponents. He was a menace in the ring, and an intimidating figure out of it.

But what sometimes is overlooked when history looks back at Louis was his love for the game of golf. He played the game avidly, and also worked hard to promote the game in the black community. A TIME Magazine article from 1941 chronicles Louis’ love of the game, and his creation of the Joe Louis Open, an event that brought together 186 of the best black golfers of the day. It was played at about the same time as the Negro National Amateur Open.

“Joe Louis is not only the Gene Tunney but the Bobby Jones of his race,” the article said.

And you never know what legacy a man will leave. These days, Joe Louis Barrow, Jr., the son of the champ, is the executive director of The First Tee and Vice President of the World Golf Foundation.

The First Tee is a national initiative that has a mission to impact the lives of young people by providing learning facilities and educational programs that promote character development and life-enhancing values through the game of golf. Since its inception in 1997, The First Tee has introduced the game of golf and its values to more than 1.4 million participants and students in 46 states and five countries – Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and Singapore. Former President George Bush serves as honorary chairman.

Louis the champ would be proud. The First Tee looks to introduce the game to all kids, but also works hard to ensure that the kids participating are a diverse group. About 50% of The First Tee participants come from diverse backgrounds, 33% more than all of golf. The program is based around nine core values that are respect, perseverance, courtesy, judgment, honesty, integrity, sportsmanship, confidence and responsibility.

Research by independent university scholars has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that kids who participate in The First Tee Life Skills Training embrace the core value philosophies and that they become ingrained during the fun process of learning golf.

Locally, The First Tee of Southern Nevada is carrying the message of the national program, and in 2005 was named as the fourth-best chapter out of more than 200. The First Tee of Southern Nevada was born out of a merger between the Southern Nevada Inner-City Golf Association and the Southern Nevada Junior Golf Association five years ago, a challenging partnership between different people that was somewhat unique in the world of golf.

Today, The First Tee of Southern Nevada positively impacts more than 30,000 area kids through programs such as the Danny Gans Junior Golf Academy, the National Schools Golf Program that reaches into the classrooms of the Clark County School District, and the competitive-based Southern Nevada Junior Golf Tour.

A few of the alumni of the SNJGA Tour include PGA Tour player Craig Barlow, LPGA Tour player Stephanie Louden, and current BYU golfer Adam Tebbs, who was recently honored as the Southern Nevada Golf Association Player of the Year. A main goal of the tour program is to provide the opportunity for the best junior players in the area to play competitively on great courses against each other, and to continue the tradition of producing top-notch talent that goes on to play at the college level and beyond.

“My Dad was a special person, and he introduced me to the game at a very young age,” Barrow, Jr. said during the 5^th Anniversary Awards Banquet for The First Tee of Southern Nevada. “Golf was a very special connection between my father and me. The golf course was about the only place that my Dad and I could get away from the autograph seekers, and just be father and son. He told me great stories, and was also where he talked to me about what I was going to do with my life.”

From a menacing figure was born a person who is helping to shape the future of the game of golf, but also in a certain way, the future of the world.

“We have a very special opportunity to positively impact our kids,” Barrow, Jr. said. “But it’s also a tremendous responsibility. The game of golf is successfully being used to teach innate life values, and kids are learning how to be successful in golf and life.”

In a perfect world, it sure would be great if all kids could successfully learn and utilize the nine core values of The First Tee. Who are we kidding? It would be great if many adults also embraced those same core values. Watching the news on a nightly basis might be a lot more enjoyable.