First Tee – Naples/Collier recently celebrated the groundbreaking of its First Tee Academy at The Gate Golf Club. The local chapter of the international youth organization, teaching kids values like integrity, respect, and perseverance through golf, has long operated in Collier County but without a home. After the nonprofit’s original project with the county fell through, the Schmieding family of Arthrex, a privately held medical device manufacturer headquartered in Naples, proposed building The Gate Golf Club, where Golden Gate Country Club once stood. Reinhold Schmieding, CEO and founder of Arthrex, has been a supporter of First Tee – Naples/Collier since day one. The Gate Golf Club will operate a nine-hole golf course, pro shop, driving range, putting green, and 175-seat restaurant through a public-private partnership with Collier County. Adjacent land will be subleased to First Tee for its learning center. With the new academy, First Tee plans to expand its programming, double the number of program participants (there are currently 1,000), and operate rain or shine.
“I consider the public golf campus an incredible gift from the Schmeiding family to our county,” says First Tee – Naples/Collier Board Chair Ann Bain. While still a year away from officially opening, the organization is teed up for success with an all-local team, including golf course designer Peter Jacobsen, Naples architect Matthew Kragh, local builder DeAngelis Diamond, and Free Style Interiors, a local interior design firm. The nonprofit is working toward a $10 million capital campaign goal by year-end. Bain reports that $8.3 million has already been committed. “We have a donor who has volunteered to match the amount if we can raise $1 million by the end of the year; so far, we have just under $500,000,” she adds.
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