Washington, DC - SENIOR PGA TOUR member and Hall of Fame golfer Jack Nicklaus was on Capitol Hill today speaking on behalf of The First Tee, a World Golf Foundation initiative dedicated to impacting the lives of young people by introducing them to the game of golf and its inherently positive values.

Nicklaus appeared, along with The First Tee Executive Director Joe Louis Barrow, Jr., at a hearing before the House Education and Workforce Committee. The session was chaired by Ohio Representative John Boehner and focused on the character components embedded in the game of golf, promoting the values and lessons of the game that can help prepare young people for life as adults.

"I learned to play golf at an early age and was fortunate in that I benefited from a strong role model in my father and in my teacher, Jack Grout," said Nicklaus. "I also learned at an early age the discipline that the game requires. They both taught me that what I actually accomplished in my golf game was not nearly as important as earning the respect of others for how I conducted myself on and off the golf course. The First Tee is not only teaching a game that can last a lifetime, it is teaching lessons for life."

Others who testified on behalf of The First Tee were Robert S. Krause, Vice President of Institutional Advancement at Kansas State University; Duane W. Dedelow, Jr., Mayor of Hammond, IN; and Amber Davis, a participant at The First Tee of Atlanta who has been in the program since April 2000.

On Wednesday, June 26th, The First Tee will host its first annual Congressional breakfast on Capitol Hill. Special guests include SENIOR PGA TOUR members Jim Colbert, Bob Murphy, Jim Thorpe and Fuzzy Zoeller.

The breakfast, to be held in the Rayburn House Office Building, is being co-hosted by Senators Don Nickles, Byron Dorgan, and Mary Landrieu and Congressmen Tom DeLay, John Boehner and James Clyburn. The purpose of the breakfast was to introduce members of congress to The First Tee initiative.

The First Tee was created nearly five years ago to provide young people of all backgrounds an opportunity to develop, through golf and character education, life-enhancing values such as honor, integrity and sportsmanship. The program has grown nationally and today has:

• Introduced over 90,000 young people to the game of golf and the Life Skills experience
• Opened 87 golf-learning facilities that make the game more affordable and accessible
• Established over 100 affiliate relationships with existing golf facilities that provide access for The First Tee participants

Through The First Tee Life Skills experience participants learn valuable lessons about the importance of maintaining a positive attitude; how to make decisions by thinking about the possible consequences; how to define and set goals; and how values such as honesty, integrity, responsibility, respect, confidence, judgment, perseverance, courtesy and sportsmanship transfer from the golf course to everyday life. Using golf's unique ability to teach these core values, The First Tee has had tremendous success in providing children with lessons that will help them to become responsible and productive members of society.

The World Golf Foundation, which is supported by all of the major international golf organizations and professional tours, oversees the World Golf Hall of Fame and other nonprofit components of World Golf Village near St. Augustine, FL.