Editorial

25 Jan 2011 Corina Pelloni

US CUP A GREAT EVENT

For the 15th time, I was fortunate enough to be able to play in our national championship event, the United States Golf Teachers Cup. From modest beginnings in 1996 at Ponce De Leon Resort in St. Augustine, Florida, as a one-day event with approximately 40 players, the event has blossomed into an extravaganza with over 100 participants regularly.

Originally, the event was simply called the USGTF Members’ Tournament. Like the Masters, which was called the Augusta National Invitational for the first few years, the original name didn’t adequately convey the stature of the tournament. In time, the name United States Golf Teachers Cup was adopted for the 2001 version of the event, which took place in Jensen Beach, Florida, as part of World Golf Teachers Cup week. In fact, it was in 2001 that the tournament took on its current format of 36 holes of stroke play. Now, this may be changed in future years if circumstances warrant, but for now the two-round format works well. Many participants get in a few days before the event and spend 4-5 nights. A great deal of camaraderie and friendship occur each and every year.

Personally for me, the best part of the tournament is not in the actual playing itself, but in getting to see many of my old friends and making new ones. I would say that we have at least 75 “regulars” each year who come to the events. I would like to think that they are there for the same reason.

For those of you who never come to the event, you really don’t know what you’re missing. Honestly, if you have the time and the money, you owe it to yourself to make the journey. You will guaranteed wish you had come sooner. We get to play two tournament rounds plus practice rounds on great golf courses, at a time of year where things are winding down for most of us. For those who live in the Sunbelt, October-November is the lull before the storm, so to speak, so we’ve found that these months are ideal for having our tournament, regardless of where you live.

Next year’s US and World Cup tournaments appear to be headed towards Orange County National in Orlando. You may have heard of this venue – they have Tour Q-School finals here every 2-3 years.

So don’t delay. Once signup begins for the Cups next year, be sure to get your entry in…especially you first-timers!  

11 Nov 2010 Corina Pelloni

TEACHERS, GET OUT AND PLAY!

One of the unfortunate aspects of the golf business is that you will probably play less golf than you think you will. For many teachers, a full teaching schedule precludes getting out and playing very much. Yet, it’s still important to tee it up on at least a semi-regular basis in order to keep your skills sharp, among other things. More importantly, playing golf can and does help your teaching.

How is this, you may ask? Very simple. It might be hard to believe, but if you stay away from the golf course any significant length of time, it will in all likelihood diminish your skills as a teacher! You should learn something about the game each and every time you play, and it doesn’t matter whether you played great or poorly. You might find a swing key that resonates with a student, or find yourself coming up with a mental game aspect you hadn’t thought about before that can be useful to someone else. Perhaps above all, playing should help to keep you enthusiastic about your profession.

What about competing? Certainly, a fair number of your students are likely to engage in competition, whether it be a money game with the regular gang, the club championship, or even statewide competitions. If you haven’t played in any competitions in a long time, it can be difficult to relay good competitive advice to such students.

Let’s talk about competing in the United States Golf Teachers Cup, for example. Every year, about three-fourths of the field is comprised of the same individuals yearly, with about one-fourth either newcomers or occasional participants. It is surprising to some of us at the National Office that demand for this great event, while high, is not even higher. In 2010 it is no secret that the economy is hurting just about every facet of business, including the golf teaching industry. If you are not participating in this year’s US Cup for economic reasons, that is perfectly understandable. But, if you have the financial means and no true work or family obligations, you owe it to yourself to check out this great tournament in 2011. Not only will you meet many of your fellow members from all over the country, you will definitely have a great time.

It also doesn’t hurt to get the juices flowing in serious tournament competition, which will give you a greater appreciation for what your competitive students are facing.

   

11 Nov 2010 Corina Pelloni

Teacher Talk

In the past month, we’ve seen Paul Goydos and Stuart Appleby each shoot 59. In addition, you had a couple of 60s and assorted low-60s scores thrown in.

Some pundits are saying this is proof that the equipment has gotten out of hand, that it is making the pro game too easy. Or, they say that the courses are too “short.” These same pundits need to look at history.

Sam Snead shot a 59 in 1959 at the Greenbrier, although the course played 6,475 yards back then. Still a great score. Al Geiberger shot his 59 at Colonial Country Club in Memphis, and it played over 7,200 yards that day. Mike Souchak held the record 72-hole score on the PGA Tour for the longest time, a 257 in 1955.

Interestingly, there were seven 60s shot on tour in the 1950s. Maybe they were saying back then that equipment made the game too easy for pros, but since I wasn’t around then, I can only speculate.

The point is that top-flight professional golfers throughout history have shot incredibly low scores. Granted, the courses are longer today, but they have to be to keep up with the equipment. Plenty of pros routinely hit par-5s in two shots back in the day. It’s just that those par-5s were all 500 yards or less for the most part.

Golf is not easy, even though some pros recently make it seem so. The last thing the sport needs is for some misguided effort to toughen up the game – the USGA already knows how to do that at the US Open. Pebble Beach barely played 7,000 yards and I don’t recall anyone saying that course was too short. No, toughening the game will simply drive away players who are already frustrated enough with the difficulty of golf.

Let’s enjoy the great skill these top pros possess, and leave the equipment rules as they are.  

4 Nov 2010 Corina Pelloni

YOUNG GUNS MAKING STRONG STATEMENT

When Harry Vardon left the scene, undoubtedly there were those who said that golf would never be the same, that no one could replace him.

Enter Bobby Jones.

And surely, the same thing was said after Jones departed competitive golf, and also after the departures of Byron Nelson, Sam Snead, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, and Jack Nicklaus. Each time, though, new blood has infused the game and created new interest.

The year 2010 was quite a year for majors and European Tour golf. Three out of the four majors winners are exclusive members of that tour across the pond, and all are relatively young. In years past, European-based players were probably at a disadvantage at the majors because three out of the four (except for the British Open) are played on American soil. Today, being at a disadvantage is no longer the case, because the European Tour has grown from an insular entity that rarely strayed from the Old Continent to one that is truly THE worldwide tour. European Tour players are used to playing around the world in different conditions, so they are quicker to adapt today to the conditions they face in America. You also have the case of Graeme McDowell, who played four years of college golf in the USA at Alabama-Birmingham, so he is very comfortable in playing over here.

Some sports fans decry the fact that the old-line favorites like Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, etc., did not win the last three majors and that three relative unknowns water down the value and interest of the majors. Well, what can one say to that, other than, while these people may be sports fans, they are definitely not golf fans. No, the game not only is more interesting when new faces emerge, but the game thrives on it and requires it. If we only had a handful of players winning all the time, the game would quickly become stale. Even with the dominance of Woods, he wins “only” about 1/4 of the time, so 3/4 of the time someone else takes home the prize. Now, if Woods were to win 90 percent of the time, let’s say, the game would definitely be less interesting.

So let’s revel in the new faces that we see hoisting golf’s most important trophies. And, you never know who’s next…which is the beauty of it.