Haney provides eco-friendly and golf messages to DFW youth

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Noted golf instructor Hank Haney spent time at Colonial teaching kids about golf and the environment.

FORT WORTH, Texas -- The Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial was kicked off in a big way on Monday during the annual Nike Golf Youth Clinic and Concert, which has become a mainstay in Fort Worth and attracts hundreds of Dallas/Fort Worth area families with an evening of education and entertainment prior to the tournament. This year, hundreds of kids got an unforgettable lesson from one of the best golf instructors in the world, Hank Haney.

Haney, who has a passion for teaching youth, addressed the crowd on the driving range at Colonial while hitting a line of practice balls into the distance throughout his instruction. But the lessons didn't stop with swing tips.

Haney also taught the crowd an important lesson on how to be a better golfer both on and off the course with an eco-friendly message as part of the FedExCup Fore!Ever program.

"The FedExCup Fore!Ever program is a really unique initiative that teaches kids about the environment around them and where they fit into that environment as golfers," said Haney. "There are so many little things that golfers of all ages can do to make their game greener -- everything from replacing their divot marks to avoiding areas of the course where plants and animals live and grow."

FedExCup Fore!Ever, which was introduced during the Northern Trust Open in Los Angeles in February, has the goal of teaching the young participants of The First Tee organization about the value of environmental responsibility through education and action.

With the support of FedEx and the PGA TOUR and under the direction and expertise of Audubon International, a new "Green Golfer" curriculum has been developed with 18 lessons designed to encourage youth in The First Tee program to become more eco-minded golfers and citizens.

The knowledge that they gain during the lessons is then being put to use with hands-on eco-friendly course improvements in communities that host PGA TOUR FedExCup tournaments.

In Fort Worth on Saturday, May 22, just prior to the Crowne Plaza Invitational, more than 100 junior golfers from The First Tee program made improvements at Rockwood Golf Course, a public course that doubles as the home of The First Tee of Fort Worth. The kids, who were joined by dozens of local employee volunteers from FedEx and other local organizations, planted more than 1,000 native flowers, grasses and trees on the course to help naturalize the grounds and create a more inviting habitat for local wildlife.

During each course improvement, students also learn several ways that they can make their golf game more eco-friendly and they are encouraged to sign the "Green Golfer Pledge," a ten-foot tall traveling pledge that is making its way around the country and gaining signatures as more and more kids get involved with the program. After interacting with the crowd during the youth clinic at Colonial, Haney joined several kids in signing the pledge himself.