The First Tee of Greater Richmond is proud of participants seeking outside opportunities to highlight their golf skills but with great excitement, we highlight participants expressing the life skills learned in our programs in other aspects of life. Tia MacDonald, Par Participant, sought an opportunity to share her understanding of core values honesty, sportsmanship, and integrity through the Annika Foundation “Share My Passion” Letter Contest. At a young age of 9 years old, Tia shares her insight to values, friendship, and the importance of practicing.
Annika FOUNDATION “Share My passion” Letter Contest
This fall, along with Meg Lavinder, Tia mailed an letter into the Annika Foundation “Share My Passion” Letter Contest. Girls aged from 8-13 who reside in the United States are invited to write an open letter about their love of golf and why other girls should learn to play. The top 40 letters, as handpicked by LPGA Tour legend Annika Sorenstam and her selection committee, will then be invited to attend the “Share My Passion” LPGA*USGA Girls Golf clinic. Not only was Tia chosen as a finalist but she also was selected to participate in the 2019 LPGA*USGA Girls Golf “I Can!” PSA! Click the image below to play the video – Tia comes in at 16 seconds.
Her full letter reads:
The First Tee of Greater Richmond is proud of you both on and off the course – you will continue to inspire girls with your encouraging attitude and handwork. Thank you, Tia, for sharing your insight and your passion.Hi! My name is Tia! I am 9 years old. I love golf! In golf, you need lots of things. You need honesty because you keep track of your own score, so you need to be honest and tell the truth about it. You need sportsmanship because even if you lose, you need to be nice to your competitor. You need integrity because even if you are playing alone, you need to do the right thing. I learned all of these thins from playing golf. Golf gives you lots of friends. I have lots of friends from golf. It’s good when you have golf friends because you always have someone to practice with. You always learn from them and they always learn from you. Practicing is important. You don’t need to practice too much but you can. I learn a lot from practicing. My mom takes a video of me on her phone and we look at it, find out what’s wrong, and fix it! You might not notice your swing get better but it will. Golf is hard, but once you learn how to swing, you will get the hang of it. Practice every now and then… ta-da!! It’ll be a piece of cake! Who knows? You might be a pro! Sincerely, Tia MacDonald, Age 9
To learn more about the LPGA*USGA Girls Golf Program or The First Tee of Greater Richmond’s programs, please contact: Berkley Jackson, Program Coordinator – [email protected].