From everyone at the USGTF National Office, we wish you a Happy New Year and hope you have a prosperous and successful 2022 season. As the USGTF enters its 33rd year of operation, the National Office staff is ready to serve you, and we welcome your input. Please contact member_services@usgtf.com, or you may call (772) 88-USGTF or (772) 888-7483.
The year 2022 is certain to bring new changes and for the WGTF one of these is the new WGTF membership card in digital format. These cards may now be found online at www.WGTF.com under the Member Profile feature of the site. Access to your valid WGTF ID card is now at your fingertips anywhere you go through your mobile device or desktop.
Southeast: The USGTF Southeast Region Championship will be held Saturday and Sunday, February 19-20, at Temple Terrace Golf & Country Club in Tampa, Florida. The entry fee is $200 and deadline is February 10. For more information on this event or to register, please contact regional director, Mike Stevens at ams1127@msn.com. Central: The Central Region Championship has been scheduled for Sunday and Monday July 31-August 1, at the City of Mason Golf Center in Mason, Ohio. The entry fee is $220. For more information or to register, please contact regional director, Tony McMullin at tmcmullin72@yahoo.com. To learn more about these and other USGTF member events, visit www.USGTF.com and look under the Stay Informed section for Tournaments.
The Winter edition of Golf Teaching Pro magazine, the official print publication of the United States Golf Teachers Federation, is being mailed to all members in good standing for 2022. This annual edition provides a wrap-up of the recently completed United States Golf Teachers Cup, news from over 20 WGTF member nations, along with timely articles relevant to today’s teaching professionals and golf coaches and is one of our most valuable communication resources for all WGTF members. Members who would like to submit content for the next edition of the magazine are welcome to do so at info@usgtf.com.
Teaming with Jason Kokrak, Kevin Na and his partner won the recently completed QBE Shootout to end the 2022 season for events consisting solely of PGA Tour players, albeit an unofficial event. After a slow start to his career in terms of winning, Na has now tasted victory in five official PGA Tour events, beginning with the 2011 event in Las Vegas and with his most recent win in the 2021 Sony Open of Hawaii. The latter victory made it four wins in the past 3 1/2 years for Na, who, while not a superstar, has become a steady presence on the leaderboards. Na turned pro at the age of 17, eschewing college golf. Most observers still think that playing college golf, at least for a couple of years, is…
Born and raised in Buffalo, New York, I’ve always had a passion for golf. I played on the golf team in college and worked various retail positions within the industry while obtaining my bachelor’s degree in finance. I became a Certified Golf Teaching Professional through the USGTF in the spring of 2007. I began teaching part-time for all skill levels for juniors and adults. I have also run various clinics through community education for several school districts. I continued to further my education and knowledge and have now been certified through the USGTF in the areas of golf course management, golf psychology and fitness. I am also a certified Rotary Swing instructor. In 2016, I was awarded the distinction of being one of the Top 100 golf instructors through the WGTF. While living in Buffalo, New York, I was an assistant golf professional at Lancaster Country…
By Mark Harman, USGTF Professional In the spring of 2019, a 7-year-old boy came to my teaching studio for his first lesson. Paul Morrell’s swing was extremely raw, to say the least, and so we began on the fundamentals. I taught him how to make a proper pivot instead of a huge sway on the backswing, and had him swing into a good finish. It took a while, but by the next year his swing was much better and he started hitting the ball well. In 2020, Paul started playing on the local U.S. Kids Golf Tour in and around Savannah, Georgia. After a couple of close calls, he finally won the last event of the season. And in 2021, as the number one player in his age group locally,…
Professional golf continues to roll along at a healthy pace, with increased purses and television viewership. And with information showing that outdoor transmission of Covid is extremely low, as witness by full crowds at football games this past fall with little-to-no infection spread as a result, golf tournaments almost assuredly will welcome fans back at full capacity. The men’s majors season kicks off at The Masters in April, as always. The women’s major championship season begins with the Chevron Championship at Mission Hills in Palm Springs, California. The tournament that started out as the Colgate Dinah Shore in the early 1970s is moving to Texas next year in a controversial move that some equate to moving The Masters from Augusta National. In any event, major championships tend to produce the…
By USGTF Technical Committee We teach golf for the love of the game, but we also earn an income from it, either full-time or part-time. Maximizing our lesson income for 2022 can be done with some relatively easy steps: – Have a strong online presence. Any business worth its salt will have a strong online presence in 2022, including a functional website and social media accounts that are maintained. – Advertise. Signage and brochures should be prominent at your teaching facility, and business cards should be readily available. Television advertising in some markets is surprisingly affordable, as are radio ads. – Make yourself available. Be present at your facility. Give talks to groups. Try to get interviewed on local television or radio, and by your local newspaper golf writer (if…
