First Tee – Greater St. Louis Launches New Flagship Program at Historic Normandie Golf Club

from Normandie Founders Club Proposal

Normandie Reimagined Founder’s Club

October 31, 2022 (St. Louis) - First Tee – Greater St. Louis is pleased to announce that Normandie Golf Club has been named their flagship course beginning in 2024.

“Normandie is a perfect fit for our organization’s strategic growth ,” said Anne Klein, executive director of First Tee – Greater St. Louis “As an addition to our already excellent footprint in the region, the course offers a convenient location and excellent experience to the young golfers and families we serve. We look forward to growing our youth programming together.”

First Tee is a youth development organization that enables kids to build strength of character by seamlessly integrating the game of golf with a life skills curriculum. They reached 456 children during their 2022 season with on-course lessons at seven locations. First Tee schooland community-based programming reaches more than 35,000 kids annually.

First Tee will be Normandie’s primary nonprofit partner for junior golf programming.

Normandie Golf Club is currently undergoing a $15 million redevelopment that will earn them a designation as a Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course. The course was founded in 1901 and is one of the oldest public courses west of the Mississippi. It s renovation is a collaboration between the Metropolitan Golf Foundation (the philanthropic arm of the Metropolitan Amateur Golf Association) and partner Beyond Housing.

Nicklaus, one of the most accomplished golfers of all time, is donating his services to lead the design effort due to Normandie’s notable history in go lf.

“The Metropolitan Golf Foundation and the Normandie Reimagined team are thrilled that First Tee – Greater St. Louis will call Normandie Golf Club their flagship program in this region . This aligns with our goals of Normandie being the hub for junior golf programming in this region!" said Curt Rohe, Executive Director of the Metropolitan Amateur Golf Association.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 13, 2022

Normandie Reimagined Update Golf Course to Remain Open into 2023

ST. LOUIS, MO: The Metropolitan Golf Foundation (course owners) and Walters Golf Management (operators) wish to update our patrons, donors, area golfers and residents on the renovation progress of the Normandie Golf Course Nicklaus Design has completed their design and routing of the golf course and design of the non-golf improvements are well underway with the assistance of the Lamar Johnson Collaborative (Clayco).

Over the next several weeks you will begin to see work on the golf course which will primarily focus on removal of brush and some tree work. The actual golf course construction process began with setting the date for bid submittals from interested contractors to November 1, 2022. Because of the current challenges of the construction industry and supply chain issues only two (2) firms submitted bids. In addition, both companies that bid indicated their schedules, along with labor shortages, would not permit them to commence construction until August 2023. In light of those circumstances, and anticipating the construction schedule consistent with that tim eframe, we intend to remain open until on or about August 1, 2023 . Information about passholder, tournaments, senior bundles and leagues will be forthcoming. The fact is, generating revenue until construction commences is viable to the financial stability of the project.

Fundraising remains our number one priority. We would like to thank all of those who have already contributed to this worthy community focused endeavor and encourage anyone interested in donating, please do so through the link below. It is vital that we get support from our St. Louis corporate community. This is a unique opportunity to help positively change the direction of the lives of the children of North County and beyond.

In the meantime, know we will always be good stewards of th e funds provided by donors. We will continue to be vigilant and financially sensitive to how we place orders while addressing ongoing supply chain issues. We will also work with both local and national golf course construction companies to ensure that we can build this Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course in the most affordable and financially responsible way.

The ultimate strategy is to use the renovation of Normandie Golf Course as a catalyst for social change , by implementing community employment, scholarship opportunities, mentoring, internships, as well as golf programming. The vision of Normandie Reimagined is centered on youth and community.

To view a video and collateral materials of the project, includin g the Nicklaus Design routing, p lease visit the Normandie Reimagined webpage by clicking this link: https://www.metga.org/nicklaus -andnormandie

Metropolitan Golf Foundation

11724 Lackland Industrial Drive | St. Louis, MO 63146

Ph: (314) 567-6242 | Website: www.metga.org