A pro and celebrities visit First Tee clinic hoping to help young golfers play like a Champ.

It was a pairing you expect to see on the Monterey Peninsula during Pro-Am week—Cameron Champ, a three-time winner on the PGA Tour, on the driving range with actor Michael Peña and rap star ScHoolboy Q.

But there was something different on Tuesday afternoon. First of all, the trio were at Monterey Pines Golf Course by the airport. And they were surrounded by youngsters, all toting golf bags.

The setting was a youth golf clinic hosted by the Monterey Peninsula Foundation and the Cameron Champ Foundation in support of the local First Tee Monterey County, an organization that uses golf to develop successful behaviors in children, many from underserved communities.

“When you grow up in a low income neighborhood dreams can be far away,” says Peña. “I think it’s our duty to make this a better country.”

Champ wowed the young players by crushing some iron shots before turning to some instruction. He also answered questions, ranging from “can you make money playing golf?” to one from a teenage member of First Tee about his most important core value.

First Tee teaches a set of core values such as responsibility and decision-making. Champ learned the game as a member. After giving it some consideration, he settles on “persistence.”

“I grew up in that type of community,” Champ explains. “[First Tee] is giving them a chance, using the game as a platform.”

ScHoolboy Q is taking part in his first AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and admits to a few frayed nerves. But surveying the field of novice golfers, he produced a big and genuine smile.

“It’s dope,” he says of the youth clinic. “This is a game where you better yourself.”

All three point out that golf provides opportunities off the course. It causes young players to meet new people and develop lasting relationships. Along with the discipline required to perform well and the values the game instills, they agree that golf gives a person opportunities.

“It set me up for life,” Champ says.

First Tee works with some 10,000 children in Monterey County, largely in Salinas, King City, Gonzales and Greenfield. They are hoping to expand their program to the Peninsula and assist an additional 5,000 students.

As part of the event, the Monterey Peninsula Foundation, the Cameron Champ Foundation and Chevron combined to donate $100,000 to First Tee Monterey County.

Nick Nelson, CEO of the local First Tee, said the funding would help the organization take its first steps to reach that goal. “We will be able to serve kids living in Seaside and the surrounding areas,” he added in a statement.

Champ says that with programs like First Tee providing a foundation for kids in underserved areas, golf is going in the right direction. ScHoolboy Q agrees.

“Something like this might click,” he observes.