This decade-in-the-making facility brings golf not only to students, but all members of the community.
This Wednesday marked the opening of Hiram Johnson High School’s brand new, state of the art golf facility. The new facility sports a large practice green, complete with a bunker, and an enclosed swing area. This was made possible by a collaboration between the Morton Golf Foundation, the First Tee Greater Sacramento, and the Sacramento City Unified School District.
The idea began nearly a decade ago with city councilman Robert Fong and Morton Golf Foundation president Tom Morton. The two visited The First Tee of San Francisco’s Learning Center, the first of its kind. It was a place where the First Tee brought its services to the community instead of having the community come to them. The two returned from their visit inspired to create a space like that in Sacramento. Development was originally planned for 2021, but was pushed back by the pandemic.
The facility will initially be for students at Hiram Johnson, feeder schools to Hiram Johnson, and kids in the Hiram Johnson neighborhoods. Programming available will include in school, after school, and summer programming. Participants will be taught about golf and the First Tee’s core values like integrity, sportsmanship, and honesty. The plan is to open the facility to other organizations and individuals in the coming months.
One major goal shared by the First Tee and the Morton Golf Foundation is to make golf accessible to everyone. This facility is one massive step toward achieving that. Expect big things to come from the Hiram Johnson in the next few years!
