A birthday at Diamante sparked a dream: How First Tee is changing lives in Los Cabos
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LOS CABOS, Mexico – On the southern tip of Baja California Sur, where the Sea of Cortez meets the Pacific Ocean, a young girl discovered something that would change her life.
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Her name was Paloma Orozco.
In 2024, Orozco attended the third round of the World Wide Technology Championship at Diamante's El Cardonal course as a member of First Tee Diamante. She enjoyed the experience so much that she asked her father if she could return for the final round the next day.
There was one catch: Sunday was her 13th birthday.
Her father, Diamante's head of security, couldn't say no.
What followed became a turning point.
Watching PGA Tour professionals up close, golf was no longer simply a sport she had been introduced to a few months earlier.
"Something in my mind changed and I fell in love with the sport," Orozco recalled.
But Orozco's story is about more than a young golfer discovering a passion. It is also a story about vision, community and the power of opportunity.
That vision began with Jim Panoff, who splits time between Dallas and his home at Diamante. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Panoff realized that many children of Diamante employees had little or no access to golf.
His grandson participated in First Tee in Texas and, during a Thanksgiving visit home, suggested that his grandfather start a chapter at Diamante.
Panoff listened.
He approached 25 original club founders and homeowners and asked each to contribute $25,000 in seed funding to launch First Tee Diamante, creating opportunities for local children through golf while teaching values such as perseverance, respect and confidence.
Asked to describe First Tee in one word, Orozco didn't hesitate: "Happiness."
Six years later, First Tee Diamante serves approximately 150 children ages 6 to 18 with the help of 40 Diamante staff members who volunteer as coaches. A bus transports participants to the Oasis Short Course, where they receive instruction, breakfast, lunch and daycare until 5 p.m. The program also sponsors junior tournaments throughout Los Cabos.
"I think of this as the spearhead of youth golf in Cabo," Panoff said.
Like martial arts' belt system, participants progress through different levels and wear the corresponding colored shirts, pants and ball caps. Younger children begin with SNAG equipment and advance through color-coded divisions such as yellow and orange before donning red and earning the opportunity to play traditional golf.
The most accomplished players move into the elite black division, reserved for juniors who demonstrate both strong golf skills and academic achievement. They receive additional instruction focused on strategy and advanced techniques. During this week's opening ceremony, eight members of the black division joined defending champion Ben Griffin on stage.
Griffin was already familiar with the talent level. His First Tee partner, Marco Valdez, holed a 25-foot birdie putt during a round and even planted his tee shot closer to the hole than the three-time PGA Tour winner on several occasions.
"I hope to compete against one of you here someday," Griffin told the group.
For Orozco, Saturdays have become the highlight of every week.
This week, however, Tuesday may have topped them all.
As part of the World Wide Technology Championship's support of First Tee Diamante, 23 participants earned spots in the First Tee Oasis Pro-Am on Tiger Woods' 12-hole par-3 course.
"We didn't want to just put our name on a tournament," said Cari Wilber, World Wide Technology's vice president of marketing. "Through our partnership with the Diamante chapter of First Tee, we are supporting the next generation of leaders right here in Cabo alongside Diamante homeowners and the local community that make this program possible."
For Orozco and her fellow participants, the event offered a chance to experience golf from a different perspective, not as students but as playing partners. She was paired with veteran professional Nicholas Lindheim.
During a break between holes, Lindheim explained how he reads greens and evaluates the subtle slopes that influence a putt. Orozco listened intently.
"I've always wanted to know how to do that," she said.
Later, after another birdie by their team, Lindheim broke into a celebratory turkey dance and offered a simple lesson about making birdies.
"I like to think of them as one at a time," he said.
Then came Orozco's moment.
At the final hole, she poured in a twisting 15-foot birdie putt in front of a gallery of cheering spectators.
"I didn't think I would make it," she said with a smile.
For a young girl who first discovered golf only a few years ago, it was a moment she will never forget. It was also another reminder of how far-reaching the program's impact has become.
When Tiger Woods visited tournament week in 2023, he spent time with participants and created memories that remain vivid today. The annual Tuesday Short Am, now in its fourth year, has become one of the highlights of tournament week, celebrating the young golfers who spend all year working toward the opportunity.
For many of these children, the experience offers something powerful: the realization that they belong in a world they once watched from a distance.
As for Orozco, her dreams continue to grow. She hopes one day to attend some of golf's biggest events, including The Players Championship, the Ryder Cup and the Masters. Augusta National holds a special fascination. She especially admires the tournament's ban on cell phones.
"It makes you have to focus," she said.
It's a simple observation, but one that reflects the way she sees the game.
All of it traces back to a grandson's suggestion and a community willing to invest in local children. At Diamante, golf has become more than a game. It is a vehicle for education, discipline, friendship, confidence and hope.
Maybe one day Orozco will walk the grounds of Augusta National. Whatever the future holds, one thing is certain: Her journey is just beginning.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: A birthday at Diamante sparked a dream: How First Tee is changing lives in Los Cabos