First Tee is where the Hartling brothers’ games were changed and where they now Build Game Changers themselves.
At First Tee, experiences are our greatest teachers. They shape how we treat others, how we see the world around us, and how we view ourselves.
Redlands, CA December 17, 2025 – Alumni Coaches Cameron and Liam Hartling were already stellar golfers when they first learned about First Tee – Inland Empire while competing in Coachella Valley junior golf. There was nothing like First Tee in the Redlands area, and as Liam recalls, “I wasn’t used to seeing so many kids at the course, and I didn’t know that many kids my age golfed!”
Program Director Matt Silver says that from the outset, both Cameron and Liam demonstrated natural leadership, serving as mentors to fellow First Tee – Inland Empire participants. In First Tee, the brothers found a community where they could make new friends from across the country, where kids just wanted to learn – and have fun.
“We had the golf fundamentals down,” recalls Cameron, “and First Tee was a place we could mostly have fun with golf, and learn all the good life skills.”
Cameron, the oldest of the brothers, had found himself practicing golf drills without real focus. “I would just go out on the course and do something golf related – putt and chip – but I was just going through the motions.” First Tee gave Cameron a place to center his talent, and for the first time, create identifiable goals for himself through the First Tee Eagle and Ace programs, two of the higher-level programs that focus on goal setting and time management.
“We went over the difference between process and outcome goals – outcome goals are what you want to achieve, and process goals are how you are going to achieve those goals.”
For Liam, Coach Caroline was living the dream, playing golf at the collegiate level. She had just recently graduated from University of Redlands where she was a member of the Women’s Golf team. “She gave me valuable advice on what competing in college is like, and also what it takes to get to that level.”
Liam – now having realized his own goal when he played Division 1 Men’s Golf at UC Riverside – also credits one amazing First Tee National Opportunity with a lasting impact on his game. “I was fortunate enough to be selected to play in the Pure Insurance Championship at Pebble Beach,” Liam says. As the hallmark event of First Tee, the Pure Insurance Championship is used as a foundation for positive risk taking, networking, mentorship and recognizing the value of setting and achieving goals.
“I played with Mark O’Meara, who passed on so much valuable golf knowledge that I still use to this day and have seen great strides in my game thanks to it.”
Cameron was also chosen to participate in a First Tee National Opportunity, The Joe Louis Barrow Jr. Life Skills and Leadership Academy (now the Game Changers Academy) in Boise, Idaho when he was 16 years old.
Here, he learned about the acronym RISE – Reach, Inspire, Support and Empower – all attributes that Cameron discovered within himself on his first trip away from home.
“Traveling without my parents and staying in dorms with people I’ve never met before made me more confident so that when I went away for college or for tournaments, I knew I could handle it on my own.”
Learning how to set goals and reach them, building confidence on a first trip away from home – these seemingly small things can impact a life forever. For Cameron and Liam, already amazing golfers before coming into our program, First Tee offered them a place to grow, a place to play and a place to experience positive self-identity development. Now, they’re becoming a part of the next story.
“Coach Matt set a framework that I can apply when leading a class,” says Liam. “I want other kids to receive the incredible experiences that I got through First Tee, to be able to progress and participate in the National Experiences.” Cameron has come back to put the FUN in fundamentals. “I want to make sure all First Tee participants are having fun and learning something along the way, so they can enjoy this wonderful game of golf.”
These First Tee – IE alumni are leaders, mentors, and role models because someone once invested in them.
Your gift today ensures we keep that cycle going. Be part of the story. Give today and help write what comes next.
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