For the fourth straight year, the Little Linksters™ Association for Junior Golf Development (501c3) in partnership with The Littlest Golfer Inc. has crowned the winners in four age categories as having the best “Pee Wee” golf swings in the world. In this event however, the kids competing were in age groups that are not very typical in the world of junior golf events. The age group divisions were 7-8 years, 5-6 years, 3-4 years and even an under 3 age group. Parents were encouraged to send in videos of their Little Linksters™ and have them judged by an elite panel of judges including, Major Champion & Golf Icon, Gary Player; LPGA Tour Major Champion, Brittany Lincicome; Golf Channel Analyst and Former Touring Professional, Frank Nobilo; Golf Channel Host, Holly Sonders; Top 100 Instructor, Chuck Evans; 2013 LPGA & PGA Junior Golf Leader, Nicole Weller and PGA of America Honorary President, Allen Wronowski. The contest is the brainchild of Little Linksters™ founder, multiple award winning PGA Professional, Brendon Elliott.
“In this, our fourth year, we were extremely happy with the outcome. It was extremity difficult for our judges as there were many, many kids that entered that had amazing swings. It is always so cool to see the entries as they come in. The point of this contest however is not solely about finding the best swings but rather letting a younger demographic have FUN with golf and to prove to those that don’t believe in starting golf at such young ages that this is something we as an industry should focus on.” –Brendon R. Elliott, PGA, Little Linksters™ Association for Junior Golf Development founder
The winners in each age group are as follows:
In the Under 3 Division:
3rd Place- William Tye (Age 2) New Zealand
2nd Place- Ollie McKelson (Age 2) Australia
The 2013-2014 Under 3 Division Champion- Ben Woolley (Age 2) Humble, TX
Ben Woolley says thank you to the judges and Little Linksters™
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxFwkaCya44
In the Under 3-4 Division:
3rd Place- Isaiah Adel (Age 4) Poughkeepsie, NY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjYhjeWtnNs#t=0
2nd Place- Devin Wortinger (Age 4) Sebring, FL
The 2013-2014 3-4 Division Champion- Lawson Hovey (Age 4) Winter Park, FL
Lawson says thank you to the judges and Little Linksters™
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ev_LEAFUgBY&feature=share&list=UUtz3VsResOlE6QHQbPuC0Fg&index=2
In the Under 5-6 Division:
3rd Place- Ben Sessions (Age 5) England
2nd Place- North Cherry (Age 6) Monroe, CT
The 2013-2014 3-4 Division Champion- Hannah Pearson (Age 5) Tucson, AZ
Hannah, who won last year’s 3-4 year old division, says thank you to the judges and Little Linksters™
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ff4Ipw7VLrE&feature=share&list=UUtz3VsResOlE6QHQbPuC0Fg&index=1
In the Under 7-8 Division:
3rd Place- Sara Im (Age 8) Duluth, GA
2nd Place- Nathan Yoo (Age 7) Canada
The 2013-2014 3-4 Division Champion- Sophia DiPaolo (Age 8) Dublin, OH
Sophia says thank you to the judges and Little Linksters™
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdadAvkTHWo&feature=share&list=UUtz3VsResOlE6QHQbPuC0Fg&index=3
To see a compilation of all the entries in the 4th annual competition, proceed to the following link: http://vimeo.com/84484174
The contest was co-sponsored by the Littlest Golfer Inc. and the lucky winners were announced at the Littlest Golfer booth at the 2014 PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando on Wednesday, January 22nd.
The winners in each age group will receive a prize package including the following items:
The Littlest Golfer gift pack
U.S. Kids Golf Full set of Clubs and other accessories
Exemption & Entry Fee into 2014 FCG International (Formally San Diego Junior Masters)
EyeLine Golf training aids package
The Golfer’s Footprint swing trainer
MoRodz alignment sticks
Almost Golf play anywhere pack
Swingfix online lessons
Star Putter training aid
Kwik Golf gift pack
My Mini Golf gift pack
Swinggait Swing Trainer
Stick To Sports “Let’s Play Golf” Book
Little Linksters™ coloring book and prize pack
“It was a great deal of fun to judge these swings from the kids” said Frank Nobilo, a judge for the first time in the annual competition.
PGA & LPGA Professional Nicole Weller added “What an incredible honor to not only be included in this year’s line of judges Brendon assembled for the 2014 Best Pee Wee Swing Contest but also to observe such amazing entries from youngsters having fun with golf from around the world. Introduce the concept of golf at a very early age!”
More about the Little Linksters™ Association for Junior Golf Development:
Since July of 2008, the Little Linksters™ Golf program has brought the game of golf to a typically non- traditional sect of the golfing population; the “Pee-Wee” Golfer (Ages 3-8). The Little Linksters™ Golf Program is a great introduction to the game of golf for all children in this age group. The program is taught in a fun and interactive way using a combination of both traditional golf instruction methods and very non-traditional ways. The bottom line with the Little Linksters program is FUN! The program is run by PGA Golf Professional Brendon Elliott. Brendon was the former General Manager/Head Golf Professional at the historic Winter Park Country Club which is located in downtown Winter Park, FL. Elliott was with WPCC for 13 years. He resigned from his position in July of 2011 to focus solely on the expansion of Little Linksters™. Brendon, along with his wife Melisa are the owners of Little Linksters™, LLC and the Little Linksters™ Association for Junior Golf Development which is their 501c3 Non-Profit organization. The home office of the company is in Deltona, FL. In August of 2011, in a second phase of expansion, the Little Linksters™ Golf Academy @ Metrowest Golf Club located in Orlando, FL was opened. The Academy was later moved to Wekiva Golf Club in Longwood, FL in January of 2014 in order to fall in line with Elliott’s new position at the Golf Academy of America campus in Apopka, FL. The Little Linksters™ “mobile” program which is ran by the Little Linksters™ Association for Junior Golf Development, has been in play at various daycare centers, schools, golf courses and municipalities throughout Central Florida since July of 2008. Since then, the expansion of the program has continuously been in the works. In early 2010 Little Linksters™ re-branded, created an easy to follow program guide/coloring book, registered and protected the name “Little Linksters” and started planning for an eventual “National Program.” The time frame to launch the “National Program” will be sometime in late 2014.
The Little Linksters™ Association for Junior Golf Development was named the 2013 ING Player Development Award winner.
More about PGA Professional Brendon R. Elliott:
Elliott, is a 2010, 2011 & 2012 US Kids Golf Top 50 Kids Teacher, a 2013 US Kids Golf Master Kids Teacher, a 2012 & 2013 Top 50 Growth of the Game Instructor as named by the Golf Range Association of America, the 2011, 2012 & 2013 ECC Junior Golf Leader and the 2011, 2012 & 2013 NFPGA Junior Golf Leader award winner. He was a finalist for the PGA’s National Junior Leader award in 2012 and 2013. In January 2014, Little Linksters™ was named the 2013 ING (International Network of Golf) Player Development Award winner. Elliott has appeared in or been a contributor for numerous golf media articles with publications such as Golf Business magazine and PGA Magazine. His contributions have included topics ranging from Social Media to Junior Golf. Elliott was a guest on the Golf Channels Morning Drive in April of 2013 along with Dottie Pepper and Alan Wronowski. The threesome spoke on many different junior golf initiatives that are available to children of all ages. You can see a clip of Elliott’s appearance here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUaLx2p7tO8
Elliott is a sought out speaker on Junior Golf with a focus on children ages 8 and under. He spoke at the 2012 Proponent Group Annual Conference in October of 2012 which was held at Cog Hill Golf Club near Chicago. The event was held in conjunction with the 2012 Ryder Cup. Elliott is scheduled to speak at the 2013 Southeastern Junior Golf Summit at Druid Hills Golf Club in Atlanta on November 4, 2013. He was also a presenter at the 2014 PGA Youth & Family Golf Summit held during the 2014 PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, FL. Elliott is the President of the East Central Chapter of the NFPGA Section. He is also a NFPGA Section Board member. He is Chairman of the ECC Junior Golf Committee as well as the NFPGA Junior Golf Committee. Brendon also is a member of the PGA of America’s 2012-2014 National Youth Player Development Committee and the 2012-2014 Public Relations & Communications Committee.
If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Brendon R. Elliott, PGA at 321-278-1612 or email at nonprofit@littlelinksters.com.
