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28 Oct 2014 Corina Pelloni

USGTF Official Statement On PGA Of America And Ted Bishop

On Thursday, Ocotber 23, Ted Bishop, then president of the PGA of America, used social media to call professional golfer Ian Poulter a “lil girl” and compared him to a “little girl squealing at recess.” Bishop’s remarks were in response to Poulter’s criticism in his new book of six-time major winner Nick Faldo, who had become a good friend of Bishop’s. On Friday, October 24, the PGA of America’s board of directors voted to dismiss Bishop from his position as president due to these remarks. Although his tenure as PGA president will be recognized, he will not be accorded the position of an honorary past president as is customary. Since the USGTF was founded in 1989, we have had a record of inclusion and opportunity for all, including women. The USGTF does not approve or condone in any way Bishop’s remarks. Having said that, the PGA of America’s punishment does not fit the crime. Bishop has had a long history of promoting women’s and girls’ golf, in addition to promoting the game for all. The actions of Bishop in this arena have been nothing short of exemplary, including the formation of the inaugural Women’s PGA Championship and calling on the R&A to admit women members. Interestingly, the PGA of America has itself had a long history of discrimination, including African-Americans, women, and today older people. The current structure of the PGA of America’s apprentice program makes it virtually impossible for an older person to become a PGA of America member. In contrast, the USGTF has always welcomed people of all ages and backgrounds. The USGTF is also on record as saying the PGA Tour should sharply reduce its entry fee for qualifying for the PGA Tour, in order for more qualified minorities to be able to afford the process. Unlike the USGTF, the PGA of America has remained silent on this matter, and therefore is complicit in the lack of minorities on the PGA Tour. Bishop has apologized for his remarks, which we are convinced do not reflect his personal beliefs regarding female golfers, given his long track record in this regard. When you take into account his entire body of work, it is obvious to us that the PGA of America’s action towards Bishop was unwarranted and has unnecessarily tarnished him and his legacy. We believe a public reprimand and allowing Bishop to gracefully apologize, which the PGA of America did not permit him to do, was the correct course of action.

KNOW YOUR SHOT

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of playing in a charity scramble with some local business owners. All three members of our team were 10-15 handicappers. Most of the time in these events, people ask for advice on their golf swing. After a few holes, two of the golfers asked for me to look at their swings and help them. This went on for a bit, with me giving them some tips to help their games. The other member of the group didn’t ask for any help. He hit a big hook on every shot. His clubface was extremely closed at the top of his swing with an extra-strong grip. But…he aimed right on every shot and played the hook. When I asked him about his game, he told me that the hook was his shot and he played it. He explained he didn’t want to change anything, because most of the time he knew where his ball was going. He had no dreams of being a scratch golfer; he just played what he knew. How many students have we seen consistently hit a slice or hook, but always set up to play a straight shot? I would guess it has to do with a player’s ego, wanting to hit the perfect shot versus playing their natural shot shape. How many players would score better if they had a “go-to shot?” Most of our average students don’t practice enough to hit straight golf shots. As teaching professionals and coaches, we need to teach our students to play their natural shot shape. We also need to teach them to have a “go-to shot.” Under pressure, our students will score much better knowing they have a shot shape to consistently rely on.

Preparing The Facility

By Marc Gelbke As we continue to elaborate on managing a golf tournament at your facility, we now have to look at what it takes to prepare for an event. We recently discussed promoting your tournament and, assuming this has been done, we now must get started on facility logistics and the planning steps needed to get the facility ready for a tournament. As manager, you will need to focus and analyze needs of the event for the bag pickup area, golf shop, practice area, possible club rentals, restaurant, snack shop, scoreboard(s), parking, course marking, and course setup. I would highly recommend the use of checklists as a tool for successful preparations, and I have always firmly believed that time spent planning well in advance of an event will pay dividends, because a tournament can become very unmanageable if you underestimate needs for items such as carts, food, and so on. Another good tool is to use request forms to capture the needs of the group or organization sponsoring the event; it will help avoid embarrassment of inadequate preparation. Your preparing considerations should focus in detail on items such as scoreboards (should be located near the gathering area after the event – a lot of times this is at the restaurant or clubhouse); registration tables and bag staff (make sure the staff is equipped with a list of tee times and names of participants); golf carts (make sure to arrange appropriate to the type of start, e.g., if shotgun, by hole order); sales (run a sales special on logoed merchandise each day of the event as it will help promote your club and increase your retails sales); housekeeping (make sure facility and locker rooms are cleaned and stocked), and the practice range (have adequate amounts of range balls available for all participants and have the practice area ready to go with staff that can manage the before, during, and after prep work). As for setting up the course, make sure you consult and include your superintendent and committees to discuss marking requirements for ground under repair, water hazards, out of bounds, tee markers, and setting hole locations for each day of the event. I would also recommend discussing length of rough and speed of greens to ensure the course plays appropriately for the tournament. Take an active role in overseeing the process of preparing your facility for a successful event and to capture possible future customers, members, and repeat tournaments sales.

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