When an event can bask in the aura surrounding Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament, it’s got serious mojo. That’s why teaching professionals in charge of junior programs at their courses and clubs should be paying attention to sign up deadlines for the current-year Drive, Chip and Putt Championship. As shown on the dedicated website for this PGA of America co-sponsored competition (drivechipandputt.com), some of the local qualifying events require sign up very soon after Memorial Day. Whichever first stage qualifier your junior players are pointing toward, they must have their online entries filed by 5 p.m. EDT five days prior to the qualifier date.
Elsewhere in player-development news, the Executive Women’s Golf Association (EWGA) and The First Tee have formed a partnership to promote EWGA member involvement with local chapters of The First Tee. The new partnership will bring together more than 120 EWGA Chapters with 179 The First Tee chapters to promote female role models and mentors and create the opportunity for The First Tee chapters to co-host Girls Golf Days at designated program locations during the month of July. “While currently 37 percent of First Tee chapter participants are female, we intend to increase the number of girls we are reaching in the coming years,” said Kelly Martin, The First Tee’s chief operating officer….. Rounding out recent news in promotion of the game, Troon Golf announced the launch of its third annual Player Development Month with Get Golf Ready covering the entire month of May.
Troon daily-fee facilities, private clubs and Troon Golf Academies around the world will conduct more than 500 introductory golf clinics and activities during just this one month…. As potential new golfers ask various questions about the game’s value, teaching professionals can help their cause by providing some great new information regarding golf and good health and wellness. These numbers come from a new study conducted by the World Golf Foundation with the Walker Research Group on behalf of GOLF 20/20. Calories-burned statistics in the report reveal significant wellness benefits: By riding 18 holes, the golfer typically burns 1,300 calories, by walking with a pull-cart he burns 1,500 and by walking and carrying the golfer burns 2,000 calories. Also, a walked 18-hole round equals a five-mile walk and meets the 10,000 steps per day guideline for exercise recommended by most medical and clinical physicians. …. PING has officially introduced nFlight Motion, a proprietary clubfitting software system that recommends driver-fitting specifications for golfers after only three shots. To deploy the system requires an Apple iPhone or iPod, a super-light clip-on swing analyzer and PINGengineered software. The PING shaft-mounted device records a range of swing variables, including clubhead speed, transition, and shaft lean at impact, which are analyzed through the software to make loft and shaft recommendations.
Shot data is transmitted to a fitter’s Apple iPhone or iPod, which graphically depicts the results and applies the specifications to various PING driver models….. If you haven’t checked lately, the number of TopGolf entertainment centers in operation is now up to 11, including the just opened Houston North location. The company estimated that 100 full-time jobs would be filled at Houston North, and that “at least 450,000 guests” would visit the new center. Along with these 11 units in operation, TopGolf lists no fewer than seven facilities as “coming soon,” most of them in new regions for the company, such as the Southeast and California.
