Industry News – Sony Open
Golf has its share of inspirational stories, where players have faced hardship and seemingly impossible odds, only to come back and defy those odds. One such person is PGA Tour player Kevin Na, winner of the recent Sony Open.
Na entered the final round two shots back of third-round leader Brendan Steele. A bogey on #12 damaged his chances, but he then ripped off consecutive birdies the next three holes to forge into the lead, which he never relinquished.
After taking 369 starts to capture his first win, Na now has four victories in his last 55 starts. But during the 2012 Players, Na faced some inner demons on national television. He frequently backed off shots and took forever to pull the trigger. A final-round 76 left him shy of winner Matt Kuchar and a national golf audience wondering just what the heck was going on with Na.
He persevered, gaining an inner resolve and a belief in his game that has led to his current success. Na exemplifies the old sayings of “one step back, two steps forward,” and “it’s not what happens to you; it’s how you respond.” He easily could have quit, but chose the more difficult path. And so far, so good.
If there is one golfer who epitomizes the word “cool,” it could only be Fred Couples. With a swing as easy and relaxed as his personality, Couples has become somewhat of a cult figure in the world of golf.
After starring at the University of Houston, Couples made his way onto the PGA Tour and won his first event in 1983 in a five-man playoff. He went on to win 14 more times, including the 1992 Masters. On the 12th hole during the final round, Couples hit his tee shot short of the green and the ball started rolling down the bank towards the water. Somehow, the ball came to a stop – something it never does. It was later revealed that the person assigned to mow the bank that morning neglected to do so. His good friend, CBS anchorman Jim Nantz (with whom he roomed at Houston), conducted the emotional post-round interview in the Butler Cabin.
Couples is also unfortunately known for having a balky back, which has resulted in him missing numerous tournaments. When it cooperates, he is still able to compete with the best of them, as his 13 wins on PGA Tour Champions attests.
He’s an accomplished player, having won his fair share of tournaments, including the Open division of the 2015 United States Golf Teachers Cup. But WGTF Top 100 Teacher Michael Wolf from Evansville, Indiana, is more renowned for a teaching career that has spanned 34 years. His students have played in every USGA event, and have also earned more than $1 million in college scholarship money. “But one of the things I’m most proud of is that 10 or 12 of my formers students are now teachers themselves,” said Wolf, winner of the 2016 Harvey Penick Trophy for Excellence in Golf Teaching.
He has recently completed a new and unique book titled The Driven Golfer: Building Your Method for Scratch Golf. What makes the book unique, besides the approach of finding the method that works for each individual golfer, is that each chapter is accompanied by a video to be viewed after completing the chapter. There are three hours of accompanying video in addition to the printed words. As for his teaching, Wolf has built a rapport with his students by helping them formulate a clear path to achieving their goals, laying down a program of improvement, and by teaching them why it is important to build their method in a certain way.
The book is 274 pages, and far from being a book strictly for golfers, it can serve as a useful guide for teachers who wish to add a different perspective to their teaching programs. More information can be found at his website, 
Since golf’s inception, women, too, have played the game. As legend goes, in the 16th century Mary, Queen of Scots, was accused of playing golf only a few days after the murder of her husband, Lord Darnley. Pictures of women playing golf at St. Andrews in the 1890s exist, and competitions have been around for nearly as long.
Recently, President Joe Biden has been appointing a number of women to important positions, recognizing their strength and abilities. Golf can and should do a better job of recognizing women’s strengths and abilities, too. Let’s look at golf media, for example, specifically Golf Channel and Golf Digest, the latter the largest golf magazine in terms of circulation. During a one-hour “Golf Central” – the main news show on Golf Channel – there might be 48 minutes of show and 12 minutes of commercials. It is common to see 40 or more minutes spent discussing the PGA Tour and its players. The channel is not called PGA Tour Channel. It’s called Golf Channel, and last time I checked, women’s golf plays tournaments every week, too.
I also subscribe to Golf Digest, and while the magazine is doing a better job of featuring women players and instructors compared to a few years ago, it is also sadly lacking. Now, no one is suggesting Golf Channel or Golf Digest necessarily give women exactly equal time, but there is no doubt they are short-changed. As women continue to gain in buying power and making inroads in all avenues of society, they will become more of a force in golf. Getting ahead of the game and recognizing that fact sooner rather than later will benefit all of us.
The year 2020 will go down as one of the most unusual, if not the unusual, we will see in our lifetimes. The COVID-19 coronavirus wreaked havoc worldwide, with many countries going into lockdown mode and doing their best to keep people apart.
Life in the United States was no exception as governors everywhere mandated business closures, including golf course facilities, in many states. However, a strange and unexpected thing happened: Most courses that were open saw a dramatic upsurge in rounds played and revenue generated, as people were seeking a safe outdoor activity. Golf fit that bill perfectly, and many golfers who had fallen away from the game returned.
With the great news that highly effective vaccines are being approved, we should return to normal sometime by the middle to late part of the year, according to the experts. This means that the momentum generated from 2020 should be even greater in 2021 for the golf business, especially golf teachers. Teaching professionals everywhere saw their lesson books fill, and we should expect the same for 2021. It is important for the industry to continue to be welcoming to all participants who want to give our great game a go, and the USGTF has always been at the forefront on this regard. And speaking of the USGTF, the United States Golf Teachers Cup will return, along with our regional events.
Stay tuned. It’s going to be a great year! 
A record 20 WGTF member nations contributed content to the current Winter 2021 edition of Golf Teaching Pro magazine. At the risk of leaving some out, it would be too long to list all the nations here, but it suffices to say that many countries are wanting to truly unite as one under the WGTF umbrella and grow the USGTF and WGTF brands. It is important to have this type of cooperation and coordination among the member nations for not only the health of the USGTF, but also each individual federation and its members. 
An incredible finish by South Korea’s A Lim Kim resulted in her winning the very first major championship in which she played, the recently completed U.S. Women’s Open at Champions Golf Club in Houston, Texas. She birdied the final three holes on an extremely difficult track to edge world number one Jin Young Ko from South Korea and Amy Olson from the United States. Olson was playing the final round with a heavy heart as her father-in-law passed away unexpectedly after the third round of play.
Japan’s Hinako Shibuno was the third-round leader, but she wasn’t satisfied with her performance up to that point as she spent a couple of hours on the practice range after the third round. She had reason to suspect her game was off-track as she faltered in the final round to a fourth-place finish. For Kim, her victory highlighted the depth of Korean women’s golf as she was ranked #94 in the world coming into the event, and this represented only her third professional victory.
As usual, a golfer named Woods was the focus of yet another tournament, the PNC Challenge, where major winners teamed up with their parent or child/grandchild in a fun two-day scramble event. However, this golfer wasn’t named Tiger. No, Charlie Woods, all of 11 years old and Tiger’s son, showed off an incredible golf swing and impressive demeanor. It would be virtually impossible for him to even come close to his father’s feats on the golf course, but don’t bet against the young man one day making his mark in the professional ranks.
Former PGA champion Justin Thomas and his father Mike, also a golf professional, fired an impressive final-round 57 to capture the event. Thomas echoed what many of the competitors said, that the experience of playing was far more important than winning. This event’s popularity dates back to the 1990s and is one off-season event that is pure enjoyment for both participants and spectators.