Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. – Members of the BallenIsles Country Club leadership team played a combined 454 holes of golf over nine hours on Monday, September 15 to raise more than $20,000 for the First Tee – Palm Beaches. General Manager and Chief Executive Officer Ryan Walls, Director of Golf Jeff Fitzherbert, Head Professional Chris Hayes, Assistant Professional David Flinn, Marketing Manager Laren Fender and Senior Communications Coordinator Brooke Harrison participated in the 10th Annual 100 Hole Challenge Golf Marathon held at Jupiter Country Club to raise funds for the First Tee – Palm Beaches through BallenIsles’ member donations and pledges.
First Tee – Palm Beaches is a major youth development program at golf courses throughout Palm Beach County and is one of 15 First Tee chapters in the state of Florida. Founded in 1988, the Palm Beaches chapter encompasses over 80,000 elementary school students, providing opportunities for students to learn the Nine Core Values of the First Tee Life Skills Experience. Additionally, the program serves children with special needs and disabilities, veterans disabilities and people with paralysis. The First Tee also provides life skills and life enhancement opportunities to all young people through the game of golf.
2025 marked the sixth time Walls and Fitzherbert participated in the Annual Golf Marathon, and the first time for Hayes, Flinn, Fender and Harrison. Fender and Harrison joined the group and played the first 30 holes. Collectively, BallenIsles Country Club has raised over $115,000 for the First Tee through the Golf Marathon. Last year, Walls and Fitzherbert played for five hours to complete their combined 280 holes of golf at the Palm Beach Par 3 and raised $17,000 for the First Tee of the Palm Beaches through member donations and pledges. Previous donations include $21,500 in 2023, $23,995 in 2022, $17,500 in a rain-shortened 2021 event, and $15,000 in 2020.
“I’m exhausted and don’t want to play any more golf,” joked Walls. “But, our BallenIsles team, 454 holes and all, are super proud of our members for supporting such a great cause once again. It was rewarding today to get to meet a successful businessman who was a recipient of a First Tee scholarship years ago. It is a wonderful program that continues to provide in our local community, to our future golfers, but more importantly, future leaders. Great job once again to the First Tee and Marathon Golf players.”
While the 2025 100 Hole Challenge is complete, the BallenIsles team hopes to continue to collect donations for the First Tee – Palm Beaches through the end of the year as the fundraiser website is still accepting contributions. For more information on the First Tee – Palm Beaches and their 100 Hole Challenge Golf Marathon, visit Children’s Golf Foundation.
For more information on BallenIsles Country Club, visit www.BallenIsles.org.
About BallenIsles Country Club
In 1963 legendary Florida developer John D. MacArthur and the PGA of America teamed up with golf course architects Dick Wilson and Joe Lee to design a championship-caliber golf facility. Over the next ten years, BallenIsles, then called PGA National Golf Club, hosted numerous major tournaments like the PGA Championship and PGA Seniors Championship and was home for the Professional Golfers’ Association of America. The Club was also the host site for the original PGA TOUR Qualifying School and held the inaugural PGA Merchandise Show. When the MacArthur/PGA of America agreement expired in 1973, the Club was renamed the JDM Country Club for John D. MacArthur. For the next 15 years, the prestigious local country club hosted many celebrities and professional golfers and staged many events on the three golf courses on the property. In 1988, the three golf courses and surrounding property were sold by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and renamed BallenIsles Country Club. A multi-year and multimillion dollar plan to develop a private country club community was unveiled. Since the early 2000’s, BallenIsles Country Club has been consistently ranked as one of the Top 100 Clubs in America.
A $35 million clubhouse renovation was completed in November 2018, featuring 115,000 square feet of luxurious space; three championship courses with 54 holes of golf; a world-class 21-court tennis and 9-court pickleball complex; and a state-of-the-art Sports & Lifestyle Complex with a full-service Cosmo & Company salon and spa, fitness center, Pilates & spin studios and resort-style swimming pool.
The recent $9.3 million golf enhancements to the East Course by Nicklaus Design, practice grounds and ‘71 Golf Learning Center follow the construction of a $1.3 million pickleball complex in 2021; and the 2020 redesign of BallenIsles’ South Course by famed golf course architect Rees Jones.
For more information visit www.BallenIsles.org
Media Contact:
Laren Fender
BallenIsles Country Club
Marketing Manager
561.625.5760
laren.fender@ballenisles.org
