Editorial – How Much Do We And Our Students Rely On Our Equipment?

Editorial – How Much Do We And Our Students Rely On Our Equipment?

By: Mark Harman, Director of Education

“I’m not good enough to get fitted for equipment” is the mantra of too many golfers who wish to save money in purchasing golf clubs. The fact is (and I confess to hearing this elsewhere), better players can often find a way to make ill-fitting equipment work while the average player can’t. In other words, the average player can’t afford not to have fitted clubs. For me personally, I am very picky about my equipment as I can feel the minutest of differences. This comes from too many hours, days and years of trying to become a professional golfer back in the day, and my sense of feel was highly refined by this. Of course, properly fitted equipment can only take us so far. We and our students have to have a reliable-enough swing in order to make improvement and enjoy the game.

Basic things we can do as teaching professionals is to examine our student’s shaft flexes to see if they are a good fit. Although generally the slower the swing the more flexible the shaft should be, there are exceptions to this rule. The club must both feel good to the student and give him or her a reasonable belief they can develop a measure of consistency with it. This might lead to strange situations where someone with tour-like clubhead speed playing regular shafts and slow-swinging senior golfers playing stiff shafts. Such scenarios are rare but they do happen, so keep an open mind.

We can also check if the lie angles on the irons are correct by examining the divot patterns. Many golfers’ divots will be toe-deep, indicating a lie angle that is too flat and thereby promoting an open clubface at impact. If you teach indoors, a lie angle hitting board and some lie angle tape will do the trick. In closing, while properly fitted equipment is important, it is also only one part of the improvement and enjoyment equation.

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Student Spotlight – Jun Choi

Student Spotlight – Jun Choi

By Ken Kim, USGTF Master, Davenport, Florida

My golf academy (Team J.K., Inc.) has trained 47 established tour players currently all over the world since 2004. Jun Choi (Beomjun Choi) is a playing professional originally from South Korea. His main goal is to play professional golf on the PGA Tour. Choi now travels all over the States in playing on the APT, FPG and GPro tours. Chio went to the Korn Ferry Q-School for the first time in 2022. He successfully passed the pre-qualifier in fourth place, shooting -12 for three rounds. He is currently based in Orlando, Florida.

He is coached by myself (PGA Professional and USGTF Master Golf Teaching Professional) and June Lee (LPGA Class A Professional). The main focus is on his swing, short game, putting and mental prep for tournaments.

Choi has increased his clubhead speed from 114 mph to 125 mph in three months, consistently hitting over 176 mph in ball speed. However, he also has great touch in his short game. He practiced relentlessly for hours in order to improve his skills and his understanding of fundamentals. His self-motivation and tenacity are what allowed him to get better every month, and not because of a set platform of training. It was his heart desiring more and his self-discipline to work for it. Often, we discuss biomechanics and how is it different from the kinesiology, or the advantages and disadvantages of a quantitative biomechanical analysis. Jun truly has an understanding of how things are working.

This kind of character is rare in today’s tour player, and I am confident it will benefit him on any professional tour, that includes the PGA, KPGA, or Korn Ferry tours. Choi will not become apathetic, but will unceasingly search to improve himself and keep moving forward to become a PGA Tour player.

“PRO” File – Teaching Professional Benjamin Lance Martin

“PRO” File – Teaching Professional Benjamin Lance Martin

By Ben Martin, USGTF Member, Trinidad

I got into golf at the age of 5. I grew up near the St Andrews golf club in Trinidad. My dad started me with one club and the rest is history. I have a deep-rooted love and passion for the game of golf. It is a big part of me and my life.

My main golf inspiration was Tiger Woods. He took the game to the next level and was amazing to see what he achieved in his career. The amount of records he set and broke sets him apart from the rest! Our local hero in Trinidad is Stephen Ames, who has also done a lot for myself over my teenage years. I will be forever thankful for the help I have received over the years.

I am a coach at St. Andrews Golf Club in Moka, Trinidad. I also play as often as I can because that is what gave me my love for this game. I hope to play in as many events in the future as I can. It was a pleasure coming to meet the USGTF crew, and even more of a pleasure to be the Open champion with a record-breaking score of -12 for two days.

(Editor’s note: At just 14, Martin represented Trinidad and Tobago on the men’s national team, being the youngest player ever selected. After having a very successful amateur golfing career in Trinidad and around the Caribbean, Martin went on to play in some of the biggest amateur events around the world in countries such as the United States, Canada, South Africa, Peru, Puerto Rico, England, Scotland and Spain in an attempt to further his golfing career. Martin has also won many professional championships, including being a six-time champion of his country’s national championship, the Trinidad and Tobago Open.)

“PRO” File – CJ Cup In South Carolina Winner Rory McIlroy

Scottie Scheffler had a year to remember with four victories, including the Masters, and an extended reign as the #1 player in the world. The latter came to an end in October when Rory McIlroy recaptured the #1 ranking after winning the CJ Cup in South Carolina at the Congaree Golf Club in Ridgeland. Congaree itself is an extremely unique course in the United States, more akin to the Australian Sand Belt courses that proliferate in that country. The links-type golf required to play Congaree suited McIlroy perfectly, as he often played true links golf growing up in Northern Ireland. McIlroy was among the leaders the entire week, taking a one-shot lead over Kurt Kitayama and K.H. Lee into the final round. McIlroy shot 67 on Sunday to edge Kitayama, who also shot 67, by a stroke. After winning four major championships in a four-season span, the last coming in 2014, some predicted McIlroy could threaten Jack Nicklaus’ record total of 18 majors. However, he has failed to win another major since then, puzzling most observers because he continues to win at a high rate. Few doubt that McIlroy will win more majors. The only questions are when is the next and how many more will he win.
Region Championship Recap

Region Championship Recap

Southeast, Tampa, Florida: Champion – Ron Cox

Northeast, Ewing, New Jersey: Champion – Steve Pezzino

Central, Mason, Ohio: Champion – Ron Cox

Southwest, Allen, Texas: Champion – Ron Cox

How CasinosNoKyc Is Changing Anonymous Gambling Access in Canada

Canada’s relationship with online gambling has always occupied an ambiguous legal space. Unlike many jurisdictions that have pursued aggressive licensing frameworks, Canadian federal law under the Criminal Code has historically left much of the regulatory authority to individual provinces. British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, and Manitoba have each established provincially operated platforms, but the broader question of whether Canadians can legally access offshore gambling sites has never been definitively resolved at the federal level. This gap between legal clarity and practical enforcement has created the conditions for a significant shift in how Canadian players approach online casinos — particularly those that do not require identity verification. Into this environment, platforms and directories focused on no-KYC gambling have emerged as meaningful resources, reshaping how Canadian players discover, evaluate, and access anonymous gambling options. Understanding why this shift is happening requires examining both the regulatory pressures that have intensified since 2020 and the technological changes that have made anonymous gambling genuinely viable for the first time.

The KYC Burden and Why Canadian Players Are Pushing Back

Know Your Customer regulations were originally designed for the banking sector. The Financial Action Task Force, which sets international anti-money laundering standards, extended its guidance to gambling operators in the early 2000s, and by the 2010s, most licensed online casinos operating in regulated markets were requiring players to submit government-issued identification, proof of address, and sometimes source-of-funds documentation before processing withdrawals. In theory, this framework exists to prevent money laundering and protect against underage gambling. In practice, for many Canadian players, it has become a significant friction point.

The documentation demands at regulated casinos have grown more intrusive over time. What once required a scanned passport and a utility bill now frequently involves bank statements, employment verification, and in some cases video calls with compliance officers. Processing times for these verification requests can stretch from 48 hours to several weeks, during which withdrawal requests are frozen. For players who have won meaningful sums, this delay is not merely inconvenient — it creates genuine financial uncertainty and, in some cases, results in winnings being voided when accounts are flagged during the review process.

Privacy concerns compound the practical frustrations. Canadian players submitting identity documents to offshore casinos are trusting operators based in Malta, Gibraltar, Curaçao, or Isle of Man with sensitive personal data. Several high-profile data breaches at gambling platforms between 2018 and 2023 exposed player records including passport scans and financial documents. The 2020 breach at a major European-licensed operator, which affected over 660,000 accounts, made headlines in Canada specifically because of the volume of Canadian players whose identity documents were compromised. Against this backdrop, the appeal of casinos that do not collect this data in the first place is not merely about convenience — it reflects a rational privacy calculation.

Cryptocurrency adoption has been the technical enabler that made no-KYC gambling practically viable. Bitcoin’s penetration in Canada reached approximately 13% of the adult population by 2023 according to the Bank of Canada’s annual financial consumer survey, and stablecoins like USDT and USDC have provided players who want to avoid cryptocurrency volatility with a workable alternative. When a player can deposit using a self-custodied wallet and withdraw to the same address without ever linking their identity to a casino account, the entire KYC rationale collapses from the operator’s perspective — there is no fiat banking relationship to regulate, no credit card processor demanding compliance, and no chargeback risk that typically motivates identity verification in the first place.

How CasinosNoKyc Operates Within Canada’s Information Landscape

The emergence of dedicated information platforms around no-KYC gambling reflects a broader pattern visible across regulated industries: when regulatory complexity creates information asymmetry, specialized intermediaries fill the gap. Canadians researching no-KYC casino options face a fragmented landscape. Individual operator sites are naturally promotional. General gambling review sites often prioritize operators with affiliate relationships rather than those that genuinely serve privacy-conscious players. Forums and community threads on Reddit’s r/onlinegambling or r/canadagambling provide anecdotal information but lack systematic evaluation.

CasinosNoKyc has positioned itself as a reference point specifically for players navigating this space. The platform’s approach involves evaluating operators on criteria that general gambling review sites often treat as secondary: the actual scope of verification requirements at different withdrawal thresholds, the specific cryptocurrencies accepted, the jurisdictions of licensure and what those licenses actually imply for player protection, and the withdrawal speed metrics that matter most to players who have chosen no-KYC platforms precisely because they want faster access to funds. Players who want to understand the current landscape of operators that genuinely operate without identity verification requirements can visit CasinosNoKyc to find structured comparisons that go beyond surface-level operator descriptions.

The platform’s relevance in Canada specifically stems from several factors. Ontario’s iGaming market, which launched in April 2022 under the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, created a two-tier reality for Ontario residents: a regulated market with licensed operators and mandatory KYC requirements on one side, and the offshore market that Ontarians can still access on the other. AGCO’s registered operators are required to verify player identity within 24 hours of account creation, making Ontario one of the stricter provincial environments for KYC compliance. This has intensified interest among Ontario players in offshore no-KYC alternatives, even as AGCO has periodically issued guidance discouraging play at unregistered sites.

Outside Ontario, the regulatory picture remains more permissive by default. British Columbia’s PlayNow platform and Quebec’s Espace-jeux operate as provincially sanctioned options, but neither province has enacted legislation that explicitly criminalizes individual players accessing offshore platforms. The practical enforcement gap means that for most Canadian players outside Ontario, the choice between a KYC-required regulated site and a no-KYC offshore platform is a matter of personal preference and risk tolerance rather than legal obligation. Information platforms that help players make that choice with accurate, current data about operator practices are filling a genuine market need.

Licensing Structures and What They Actually Mean for No-KYC Operators

One of the most persistent misconceptions about no-KYC casinos is that operating without identity verification means operating without any regulatory oversight. The reality is more nuanced and matters significantly for Canadian players evaluating their options. The majority of legitimate no-KYC casinos hold licenses from one of several offshore jurisdictions, each with distinct implications for player protection and operator accountability.

Curaçao has historically been the most permissive licensing jurisdiction for no-KYC operators, requiring minimal capitalization and offering relatively light ongoing compliance monitoring. This has made it the default license of choice for operators who want to minimize KYC requirements. However, Curaçao underwent significant gaming law reform beginning in 2023, with the new National Ordinance on Offshore Games of Hazard coming into force and imposing more structured requirements on licensees, including stronger technical standards and player dispute mechanisms. The full implementation of these reforms is ongoing, but they represent a meaningful shift in the regulatory environment for Curaçao-licensed operators.

Anjouan, a semi-autonomous island in the Comoros archipelago, emerged as an alternative licensing jurisdiction around 2022 and has attracted a number of no-KYC operators seeking even lighter regulatory requirements. Licenses from Anjouan carry essentially no meaningful player protection framework and should be evaluated with corresponding skepticism. The Isle of Man and Malta Gaming Authority licenses, by contrast, impose robust KYC requirements as a condition of licensure, which is why operators holding these licenses generally cannot offer fully anonymous play — their license compliance obligations require identity verification.

Kahnawake, the Mohawk Territory near Montreal, operates one of the longest-established gambling licensing authorities in North America, having issued licenses since 1999. Kahnawake-licensed operators occupy an interesting position for Canadian players: the licensing authority has genuine enforcement mechanisms and a track record of handling player complaints, but it operates under Mohawk jurisdiction rather than provincial or federal Canadian law. Some Kahnawake-licensed operators have offered reduced KYC requirements for cryptocurrency deposits, though the territory’s framework still requires some level of player verification for fiat currency transactions.

For Canadian players, the practical implication of these licensing differences is that the term “no-KYC casino” covers a spectrum from operators with genuine regulatory accountability and limited verification requirements to operators with no meaningful oversight whatsoever. Withdrawal limits frequently determine where on this spectrum an operator actually sits: many casinos advertise no KYC up to specific thresholds — commonly €2,000 or €5,000 per month — and trigger verification requirements only above those amounts. Understanding these threshold structures is essential for players whose gambling activity might periodically exceed them.

Cryptocurrency Infrastructure and the Future of Anonymous Gambling in Canada

The technical infrastructure supporting no-KYC gambling has evolved substantially since Bitcoin first began appearing as a casino deposit method around 2013. Early cryptocurrency gambling was characterized by provably fair games on dedicated Bitcoin casinos, limited game libraries, and significant volatility risk for players holding cryptocurrency balances. The current landscape is considerably more sophisticated and addresses most of the practical objections that kept mainstream players from adopting cryptocurrency gambling.

Stablecoin integration has been the single most significant development for players who want the privacy benefits of cryptocurrency without exposure to price volatility. USDT on the Tron network, in particular, has become the dominant stablecoin for gambling transactions because of its extremely low transaction fees — typically less than $1 USD — and near-instant settlement times. A Canadian player depositing USDT to a no-KYC casino and withdrawing after a session faces essentially the same dollar-denominated outcome they would have had with a fiat deposit, without the identity documentation requirements that fiat banking relationships impose.

Monero has emerged as the privacy-maximizing option for players for whom even Bitcoin’s pseudonymous transaction history is insufficient. Unlike Bitcoin, where all transactions are recorded on a public blockchain that can be analyzed to link addresses to identities, Monero uses ring signatures, stealth addresses, and RingCT technology to make transaction tracing cryptographically infeasible. A smaller number of no-KYC casinos accept Monero, but those that do represent the genuine frontier of anonymous gambling — a player using Monero at a no-KYC casino with no account registration requirement leaves essentially no traceable financial record of their gambling activity.

Canada’s cryptocurrency regulatory environment has implications for how easily players can access these tools. The Canadian Securities Administrators classified most cryptocurrency exchanges as securities dealers in 2023, requiring registration and imposing KYC requirements on exchange accounts. This means that acquiring cryptocurrency through a Canadian exchange like Coinsquare, Bitbuy, or the Canadian arm of Kraken requires identity verification at the exchange level, even if the casino itself does not require it. Players who want to maintain maximum anonymity at the casino level must either acquire cryptocurrency through peer-to-peer markets, Bitcoin ATMs (which in Canada have had varying KYC thresholds depending on transaction size), or through mining — each of which introduces its own practical considerations.

The trajectory of regulatory development in Canada suggests that the window for genuinely anonymous cryptocurrency acquisition may narrow over time. The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, known as FINTRAC, extended its money services business registration requirements to cryptocurrency exchanges in 2020, and has progressively tightened reporting thresholds. Bitcoin ATM operators in Canada are now required to collect customer information for transactions above $1,000 CAD, a threshold that was $10,000 CAD before 2020. If these trends continue, the on-ramp to anonymous gambling will become more constrained even as the casinos themselves remain accessible.

The intersection of these developments — tightening cryptocurrency acquisition requirements, evolving offshore licensing frameworks, Ontario’s regulated market creating a two-tier reality, and growing player sophistication about privacy risks — defines the environment in which platforms focused on no-KYC gambling information have become genuinely useful. Canadian players in 2024 and beyond are navigating a more complex landscape than existed even five years ago, and the quality of information available to them has material consequences for both their privacy and their ability to access winnings without extended verification delays. The role of dedicated information resources in this environment is not to promote anonymous gambling as inherently superior to regulated alternatives, but to ensure that players who have already decided to use no-KYC platforms have accurate, current information about which operators actually deliver on their promises — a function that general gambling review sites, with their broader commercial relationships, are structurally less equipped to perform.

News From Nepal

News From Nepal

By Sachin Bhattarai, USGTF Member, Kathmandu, Nepal

During 2022, the game of golf has advanced significantly in Nepal. The ladies’ captain of our club organized the Nepal Women’s Open Golf Tournament for the first time this year. The competition has also boosted female golfers’ interest in the present day. Due to the event, I genuinely believe that we may find more female golfers in the next few days who will be competing in more matches and tournaments.

Not only are female golfers interested, but for the first time our academy has also begun offering regular golf lessons where nearly 120 students are interested in the sport and want to develop their golf knowledge. Similar to that, the scramble junior golf competition was also arranged by the club president of Royal Nepal Golf Club this year, and the junior event’s competitors displayed a great deal of enthusiasm. I want to create more teaching professionals and new golfers in the upcoming days. I will do my best to train Nepalese golfers and strive to turn them into teaching professionals there, much like how the USGTF taught golf teachers around the world and made them teaching professionals.

Four Champions Crowned At U.S. Cup

Four Champions Crowned At U.S. Cup

Super Senior Champion, Ron Cox (left) with USGTF CEO, Brandon Lee

Sunny skies, warm temperatures and a golf course prepared to professional standards greeted participants of the 26th annual United States Golf Teachers Cup, held October 24-25 at Plantation Preserve Golf & Country Club just outside Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Champions were crowned in four divisions.

Open – Ben Martin from Trinidad and Tobago won with an 11-stroke victory over runner-up Ken Kim with scores of 67-65 – 132. Martin’s final score set a record for lowest total in a U.S. Cup, breaking Dave Belling’s record from 2014.

Ladies – Heidi Aittama from Lakeland, Florida, took home the Ladies division trophy with scores of 75-74 – 149, defeating runner-up and former champion Trish Buecher.

Senior – An exciting back-and-forth battle that saw four different golfers leading in the final round culminated in Michael Wolf from Evansville, Indiana, coming out on top. Wolf had scores of 71-69 – 140 to win by two over runner-up Kirk Junge.

Super Senior – Ron Cox from Nashville, Tennessee, continued his winning ways by shooting 72-68 – 140 to win by 13 strokes over runner-up Jerry Ellstrom. Cox’s margin of victory was the largest of any division in U.S. Cup history. Cox has also won the last four USGTF regional championships he has played in.

Complete results can be found at www.USCup.GolfGenius.com.

2023 Member Renewal Notices In The Mail

2023 Member Renewal Notices In The Mail

It is important for all USGTF members to remain in good standing, as they have the right to publicly identify themselves as USGTF members, along with enjoying many member benefits and amenities. Member renewal notices have been sent to all current members, so check your mailbox. You may also keep your membership in good standing by visiting https://www.usgtf.com/renew.
Editorial – Future Of Golf And Its Agenda

Editorial – Future Of Golf And Its Agenda

By: Mark Harman, Director of Education

Would Harry Vardon recognize today’s game if he could be magically transported to 2022? While some things would be the same, others would be so vastly different that Vardon might well wonder if it’s even the same game.

Things used to change slowly in golf, but with the dawn of the 21st century, things are picking up at a rapid pace. Where once new technology took years to embrace, today’s players and coaches are quick to adopt a change if it is demonstrated to be beneficial. You would be hard-pressed to find a modern tour player who does not have a TrackMan or GC Quad – or in many cases both – to analyze their ball flight and club data to the nth degree. Experts in analytics crunch the data and lay out very specifically where players need to improve. Training regimens continue to evolve as the latest research comes in.

The game of professional golf was shaken up in 2022 by the advent of the LIV Tour. Whether this tour can survive without a visible means of revenue remains to be seen. In response, the PGA Tour upped the purses dramatically for its marquee events and obtained pledges from its top players to play more golf. A tournament purse of $25 million would have been unthinkable just a few short years ago…and imagine what Vardon would think! But do not be surprised if, within the next decade, a tournament purse of $100 million is offered. So, it seems the game of professional golf, at least on the men’s side, will continue to see escalating purses.

When it comes to teaching, almost certainly within the next decade every full-time teacher will have much of the latest technology available. There will still be teachers who go to the lesson tee with nothing more than their smartphone to take video, but they will usually be the club pro or someone who gives lessons only occasionally.

Finally, the USGA and R&A have made a big deal about reigning in distance, or at least preventing future increases. Their problem is that today’s professional golfer is a true athlete who trains and is larger and much stronger than their counterparts of yesteryear. Whereas Dan Pohl led the PGA Tour in driving distance in 1980 with an average of 274.3 yards using a persimmon driver and balata balls, today’s longest players would probably still approach a 300-yard average with such implements. All indications are that the USGA and R&A will finally adopt one set of equipment rules for the pro game and elite amateur competitions and one for play at the club level.