About

Bill Hyndman serves as the Executive Director of The First Tee of Greater Philadelphia since joining the team in 2015.  He is a 12 year Army veteran who served as a Blackhawk helicopter pilot, company commander and personnel officer in the prestigious 82nd Airborne Division.  Bill received his Senior Aviator Wings, Parachutist badge, Air Assault badge and earned the Venezuelan jump wings. He commanded an Aviation Detachment in the Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia that supported the United Nations monitoring the border between Macedonia and Serbia.  While he was an aviation company commander, he deployed his company to Panama for Operation New Horizons.

Bill received 3 Meritorious Service Medals during his time in service.  One of these was for his actions while on the site of a civilian plane crash when he attended High-Altitude training in Eagle, Colorado.  In 2003, Bill was named the New Jersey National Guard’s Aviator of the Year.

After transitioning from the military, Bill joined Comcast where he served as Area General Manager for the Philadelphia cable operation overseeing a $300 million operation with 290 employees.  Bill later joined Comcast University to lead Technical Operations Learning and Development.

After Comcast, Bill spent 6 years as a Regional Manager for one of the country’s largest commercial landscaping companies, the Brickman Group.  His team of 45 managers and 190 crew members, across 3 branches, served Philadelphia and the surrounding counties.

Bill grew up playing in golf events in our predecessor organization, the GPSGA.  Bill holds the GPSGA Scholastic tournament low score record of 67 which was posted at the Cobbs Creek Golf Course in 1988.

Bill graduated Magna cum Laude and was a Distinguished Military Graduate from the University of Richmond where he played on the Division I golf team.  He is a member of the Germantown Academy Athletic Hall of Fame, a church Elder and Treasurer at the Forest Grove Presbyterian Church.  Bill is an avid golfer and skier who has a passion for vintage car restorations.  Bill is married and has two sons and lives in Bucks County, Pa.

Kacy, Business Manager and backstage support for The First Tee of Greater Philadelphia, Walnut Lane Golf Club, and John F Byrne Golf Club, spent the first 20 years of her life at the tennis version of First Tee Philly. At her family-run tennis camp with her mom as program director, she was on the court by 6 months old. Kacy played camp mascot early on, became a fun-loving camper when old enough to hold a racquet, and over 12 years held positions as a coach for ages 3-93, assistant for media/marketing, and assistant office manager to all seven branches and tens of thousands of kids.

Her love of math, order, communication, and the language of business led her to study sociology and accounting in college. She was a scholar athlete, university event-planning assistant, and in the Honors College at Millersville University before moving to Chicago, Illinois. She graduated there in 2012 from DePaul University with a degree in accountancy and experience at a Chicago-based non-profit. That internship led to an offer for full time work, but home was calling. She moved to downtown Philadelphia, working first at Duane Morris and then at a Main Line CPA firm.

Kacy earned her CPA and yoga-teaching certificate and after 3 years at the CPA firm, felt the pull to learn more about the world-at-large. She booked a one-way flight to Rome, Italy, and enjoyed life across the pond for almost a full year. Family, friends, and the desire to get back to work did bring her west again and she spent that following year tax-advising remotely for Intuit while road-tripping through America’s precious national parks. She was thrilled to come full circle in 2018 when she accepted TFTGP’s offer to become part of another team that uses sport to teach life lessons. Having been surrounded by 3 award-winning family businesses her whole life, she brings to TFT Philly a unique level of care, detail, innovation, teamwork, accountability, and positive attitude, as her upbringing taught her that these are the pillars of every strong organization. 

Kacy believes whole-heartedly in respect, honesty, deep-breathing, learning from people who are different than you, travel, the outdoors, and kindness. She is grateful to have the opportunity to make an impact. 

Eric joined our team in 2017 as our Marketing Manager. Eric grew up in Northern New Jersey and started playing golf at 6 years old. He went through a Junior Golf Program at his local country club. He played on the club golf team at Saint Joseph’s University where he also majored in Marketing. Eric has worked for 2 minor league baseball teams and a sports Chiropractor who specializes in the treatment of golf-related injuries.

He served as a committee member for the Autism Foundation of New Jersey’s golf outing for the last 2 years. He’s used golf as a way of building critical life skills as well as using it for therapy to escape the stresses of life.

Eric is an avid Philadelphia sports fan and is excited to be “home”. He currently lives in South Philadelphia.

“In golf, as in life, it’s the follow-through that makes the difference” – Dr. Seuss

Sean is the Director of Golf at Walnut Lane Golf Course which is operated by The First Tee of Greater Philadelphia.  He has been with the Philadelphia Chapter as Program Director since April of 2012 and previously was the Program Director for The First Tee of Greater Washington, D.C.   Over the past 11 years, Sean has completed many levels of training with The First Tee including being a Recognized Coach, Recognized Program Director, 7 time National Academy Coach, and National Opportunity Judging Panelist.

Growing up in Washington, D.C., Sean attended Gonzaga College High School just 6 blocks from the United States Capital Building.  After high school, he attended St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia followed by The Golf Academy of the South in Orlando, Fl.  There he earned a degree in Complex Golf Operations and Business Management.  Sean is a current PGA Apprentice and is expecting to be inducted as a PGA Class A member in 2018.  

“I have been with The First Tee organization since 2006 because I believe the game of golf can change lives!  I enjoy sharing my experiences and expertise with students to promote the game that has given me many life changing opportunities and relationships.”

Sean has played golf since he was 6 years old, learning the game from his father.  Throughout his golf career, he has been lucky enough to play golf all over the world and is currently playing in tournaments with other area professionals with the Philadelphia PGA Section.

Anthony grew up in Northeast Philadelphia where he started playing golf around the age of 12 at John F Bryne Golf Course. Anthony attended Roman Catholic High School located in Downtown Philadelphia.  He joined the golf team his freshman of high school and was quickly acquainted with Walnut Lane Golf Club as that was Roman’s home course and still is today. While at Roman, Anthony was a First Team All-Catholic Golfer 4 years in a row.  It was during high school where Anthony was introduced to The First Tee of Greater Philadelphia program and all of its great values. As captain of his golf team, he encouraged all of the students coming out for golf for the first time to join The First Tee.

After his four years at Roman, he went on to play college golf at Chestnut Hill College becoming team captain his senior year along with winning two collegiate tournaments.  While majoring in Business Management Anthony continued following his passion for golf by working at Walnut Lane Golf Club.  In April of 2017, Anthony joined The First Tee of Greater Philadelphia as a lead coach, shortly after he joined as our Program Manager.  Anthony will be building our relationships with schools and youth service organizations while assisting in the management of our certification programs and The Jay Sigel Learning Center.  

“I think golf is similar to the game of life, where not only do you meet great people and build relationships but also learn the critical life skills that will mold you into a better person and I think The First Tee does an excellent job doing just that.”

Ben Davies is the Golf Course Superintendent at Walnut Lane Golf Club, Headquarter of First Tee of Greater Philadelphia. Ben grew up in Barnegat, NJ which is located by the Jersey Shore.  He studied at the University Of Delaware where he received a degree in Outdoor Recreation And Park Administration. 

He had no previous golf experience but with his background in turf management, the opening for Assistant Superintendent at Walnut Lane piqued his interest. In his time with First Tee, he has come to enjoy the game and really appreciate the beauty of it.  

Ben enjoys boating and fishing in his spare time. He is also a diehard Flyers fan and attends many games during the season.

“The best part of my job is the gratification that comes with seeing your hard work displayed to the public. Taking something that doesn’t look particularly good and turning it into something people appreciate gives me great joy”. 

“The core value that most applies to me is honesty. I feel that it is the most important for people to be honest in every day life.”

Joe Diacovo is the Golf Course Superintendent at John F. Byrne Golf Club. He was born in Philadelphia, PA, and was addicted to golf from an early age. He had applied his love of the game to maintaining golf courses as he eventually asked to get involved at John F. Byrne Golf Club as a member of the grounds crew. Joe has been in the Golf industry since 2004 as an Assistant Superintendent at Cobbs Creek and John F. Byrne Golf Club.

In 2008, Joe graduated from the Turf Program at Rutgers University and was voted as the Class President. He has a 2-year turfgrass certification.

“My favorite part of the job is the satisfaction of a job well done with all factors being considered. If and when all goes well (according to plan) being able to look back at the course as a whole and seeing a product that hopefully others will enjoy. So when the staff is fortunate enough to get a compliment it gives you a real sense of pride and accomplishment.”

Louis Kelly Jr. is an American golfer who turned professional in 2016. He is a former member of The First Tee – Philadelphia. In 2011, Louis attended Adelphi University where he claimed the NE-10  Championship in 2012, his freshman year. Louis was also named NE-10 First-Team All-Conference during the 2012-13 season.

After his Junior year at Adelphi University, he transferred to Louisiana and became a key factor for the University of Louisiana at Lafayette golf team. In the Fall of 2016, he graduated from UL-Lafayette with a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing.

Louis Kelly Jr. was born on February 6, 1993, in Willingboro, New Jersey to Mr. Steven and Gail Kelly. He has two younger brothers, Spencer and Shane.

Growing up in South Jersey,  Louis developed his love of golf from his grandfather. Ever since his grandfather introduced the game of golf to him, he has never turned back. Louis Kelly’s goal is to one day play on the PGA tour and give back to his community reaching others through golf.

When he isn’t perfecting his craft or playing in a tournament, you can find Louis with his favorite fishing pole sitting by the water waiting to catch anything that swims by. He often calls himself the “Bass Master”. Louis also enjoys traveling, reading, and attending his brothers sporting events.

Tai Crutchfield attended Philadelphia University for his final two collegiate seasons after transferring from Arizona State University,where he went on to become the fastest player in school history to score 1000 points. He played for Hall of Fame coach Herb Magee, who is known universally as the “shot doctor'”. After setting and breaking multiple records in scoring, 3-point shooting, rebounds, blocks and steals at Philadelphia University, Crutchfield entered the 2001 NBA draft and was taken by the New Jersey Nets. After a few stints with NBA and NBDl teams, Crutchfletd decided to accept a contract playing in the ACB in Malaga, Spain. He remained playing throughout Europe for a few seasons where he won multiple championships and MVP awards throughout his stellar career.

After retiring in 2015, Crutchfield began working closely with the youth throughout Chester County where he resided, by volunteering at the YMCA, and other non-profit organizations such as PAPA (Phoenixville Area Positive AltematNes) and PAW( (Phoenixville Marian Youth Club) where he taught and coached youth basketball. Crutchfield also worked for Phoenixville e Area School District as an In-School Suspension and Resource Teacher. In 2016 Crutchfletd moved to Elkins Park where he accepted a job working for Cheltenham Area School District as a teacher. Commonly known throughout the Elkins Park Schoof hallways as “Mr. Tai” the kids have really embraced his presence in the school and throughout the community. He has voluntarily done basketball camps and shooting clinics at Wall and Reminger Park for the kids during his off time in the summer. Carefully bonding and creating an impactful impression on students and parents throughout the district.

Ryan is from Altoona, PA where he started playing golf at the age of two at Scotch Valley Country Club. While attending Altoona Area High School, he was captain of both his soccer and tennis teams. During his junior and senior years, he won the District 6 Doubles Tennis title and went on to complete at the state level. Currently, Ryan is a senior at Saint Joseph’s University majoring in Marketing and Business Administration. There he is a member of the Gaelic Football team, a mentor for the AIM early move-in program, and an ambassador for off-campus living.

Ryan joined The First Tee in the spring of 2018 and has thoroughly enjoyed working with those who are interested in learning to play golf.  “The First Tee is a huge opportunity for kids to learn golf fundamentals and basic life lessons all while having a great time with coaches that love the game.”

In his free time, Ryan caddies at Huntington Valley Country Club. He enjoys playing golf, fishing and hunting, and cheering for the Pittsburgh professional sports teams.

Scott was born in Greensburg, PA and has been a member of Whiford Country Club for 41 years. He graduated from Penn State University with a BA and MBA. He was also the captain of the golf team. Scott served in the United States Navy for 3 years and was stationed in Tonkin Gulf. He has been a volunteer for GAP and PA Golf for the last 20 years and also serves on the Gap board. He is currently the coach of Downingtown East Boys and Girls golf teams and the assistant basketball coach there as well.

Jenny Hegelein is a Junior at Saint Joseph’s University studying Communications and Digital Media. She’s from rural Southampton NJ, and loves the outdoors and being active. Growing up, she played multiple sports and then found her passion in dance. Jenny has an extensive history working with children; she taught Sunday School at Fellowship Alliance Chapel in Medford NJ for 6 years. While she was in the Senior Company at Today’s Dance Center, she also helped teach younger dancers and assisted backstage during performances. Jenny is excited to be a part of The First Tee and to continue working with children and integrating core values and morals into sports. Her favorite part of coaching is seeing how The First Tee helps children not only to improve their golf skills, but also teach life lessons that apply outside of the course.

Joe Garstka, M. Ed.

Assistant Professional/Jr. Golf Coordinator

Joe has an extensive background having worked with youth of all ages and in various environments.  Joe received his Master’s in Elementary Education at Holy Family University. He currently works at Makefield Highlands as the Assistant Pro and Jr. Golf Coordinator.

He is considered a “Recognized Coach” through The First Tee Coach Training – having completed three levels of certification.  Joe’s focus as a coach is “to engage learners through fun experiences and encourage ongoing learning, character development, and self-improvement.”