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Tennessee Golf Foundation and First Tee pledge to fund Audubon clubhouse and youth programs; city to allocate $3.92M from Leftwich tennis

Memphis City Council (Budget / Public Safety / Planning & Zoning / Other Standing Committees convened) · December 16, 2025

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Summary

The Tennessee Golf Foundation and First Tee unveiled plans for an Audubon clubhouse to host youth programming; the administration and committee agreed to reallocate $3.92 million toward the Audubon clubhouse and Bellevue/Jesse Turner improvements and asked for partner oversight and long‑term endowment commitments.

Memphis — A public–private push to expand youth golf and life‑skills programming at Audubon Park took shape Dec. 16 when the Tennessee Golf Foundation and First Tee detailed plans for a new Audubon clubhouse that would host the First Tee's Memphis headquarters.

Whit Turnbow, president of the Tennessee Golf Foundation, told City Council committee members that the foundation will lead fundraising and expects to raise roughly half the project cost. The proposed clubhouse would combine pro‑shop and restaurant functions with classroom and simulator space dedicated to the First Tee youth curriculum, which the foundation says improves academic performance, social confidence and civic engagement among participants.

Turnbow said the foundation’s campaign is in a leadership phase and that a public launch is planned for spring; construction could begin in mid‑2026 with a target ribbon‑cutting in 2027. First Tee programming in Memphis currently operates from Whitehaven; the Audubon site would centralize activities and expand reach across all municipal courses.

City officials and Council members supported the plan. Chief Operating Officer Antonio Adams and Chief of Development & Infrastructure John Zena described related budget moves: the committee agreed to move $3.92 million from the Leftwich Tennis Center project to fund the Audubon clubhouse as well as design work for Bellevue Tennis Center and the broader Jesse Turner Park campus. LeMoyne–Owen College President Christopher Davis said a parallel partnership will enhance youth access to athletics and programming in South Memphis.

The committee directed staff to carry companion CIP actions to the full council. The Tennessee Golf Foundation and First Tee stressed a long‑term stewardship plan — part of the private fundraising will be allocated to an endowment to underwrite First Tee programming and make it sustainable.

What’s next: The committee sent the Leftwich reallocation with same‑night minutes to the council with a favorable recommendation; the foundation will begin a public fundraising drive next year and the administration will return with design documents and CIP routing sheets before construction.