Four $1 million commitments, $7.5 million City investment and surprise $10K gift will create a permanent home for First Tee Tennessee–Memphis
MEMPHIS, Tenn., September 29, 2026 – The City of Memphis and Tennessee Golf Foundation broke ground Tuesday morning on the new Loren Roberts Family Clubhouse and Learning Center at The Links at Audubon, marking a major investment in Memphis public golf and creating a permanent home for First Tee Tennessee–Memphis.
The project brings together a $7.5 million investment from the City of Memphis with significant private support, including four $1 million commitments from FedEx Corporation, the Brad Martin family, Bill and Amy Rhodes, and First Horizon Bank/First Horizon Foundation.
During the groundbreaking, another major gift was announced: 69 players from the FedEx St. Jude Championship are contributing $10,000 to the Loren Roberts Scholarship Fund.
“This is what a great public-private partnership looks like,” Mayor Paul Young said. “The City is investing in a public asset that has served Memphis for generations, and our partners are stepping up alongside us to create something even bigger for our young people. This is about golf, but it is also about access, opportunity, mentorship, and giving young Memphians a place to learn and grow.”
The new facility is named for Loren Roberts, a 21-time professional tournament winner who moved his family to Memphis in 1992. The clubhouse will include a Hall of Fame-style lobby celebrating Memphis golf greats and the people who helped build the city’s golf legacy.
The facility will also provide First Tee Tennessee–Memphis with a permanent home, expanding opportunities for children as young as 5 to learn golf while developing skills including goal setting, confidence, integrity, respect, and perseverance.
The Brad Martin family’s $1 million commitment will support a permanent First Tee scholarship, with the short course and practice areas named the Martin Family Junior Golf Grounds. Bill and Amy Rhodes have committed $1 million, and the clubhouse’s main lobby will permanently bear the Rhodes name as the Rhodes Family Champions Lobby.
FedEx Corporation has committed $1 million to the project for the FedEx Skills Lab, while First Horizon Bank and the First Horizon Foundation have also committed $1 million to establish the First Horizon Financial Literacy Academy within the new facility, taught by employee volunteers and integrated into the First Tee curriculum. The Memphis program will be the first financial literacy component of its kind incorporated into a First Tee facility.
Youth Programs Incorporated, chaired by Jack Sammons, has also made a significant investment in the project, along with support from the Brian Jordan family.
The Links at Audubon has served Memphis as a public golf course since the 1950s and today hosts approximately 40,000 rounds each year. The City has invested in its municipal golf system since 2018, including improvements at Pine Hill, Overton Park, Fox Meadows, Galloway, and Audubon.
The clubhouse project is part of a broader City strategy to invest in public spaces and amenities across Memphis, alongside projects including Southwest Twin, Lester Community Center in Binghampton, the new Frayser Library, Westwood Pool, and Glenview Park Pavilion.
Construction on the Loren Roberts Family Clubhouse and Learning Center begins immediately, with an anticipated opening in fall 2027.
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