USGTF Tournament News, Regional and National
Golf News From Tanzania
WGTF member, Nazeer Tajudeen in Tanzania reports a steady increase in the golf industry with many new interests from locals in both Uganda and Kenya.
With the development of new courses the last few years, the demand for qualified golf instructors continues to rise!
Tanzania currently has 14 golf courses, while Kenya has 38 and South Africa has 450. Tanzania has a beautiful opportunity to become one of the popular destinations for golfers worldwide.
IPGA Membership Opportunities
The International PGA was conceived on the notion of welcoming and providing membership for every professional golfer, regardless of race, religion or national origin. It offers both PGA and WGTF members the opportunity to belong to a global body of professional golfers. The International PGA promotes career development and acts as one voice for individual professionals from every golfing nation. International PGA members are recognized and respected worldwide by both the public and golf management within the industry.
The International PGA accepts individual membership from active WGTF members and active or retired PGA members from every golfing nation. Each member must present proof of current affiliation within their own country, along with requests for International PGA membership. New members will only be accepted after having lodged an application which contains this required proof. Admission to the International PGA implies that new members recognize the International PGA constitution and code of ethics in accordance with professional integrity. For more information, please visit www.InternationalPGA.org.
www.InternationalPGA.orgwww.InternationalPGA.org
USGTF Award Nominations
WGTF TOP 50 TEACHERS AND HARVEY PENICK AWARD NOMINATIONS
Nominations for the WGTF Top 50 Teachers and the 2022 Harvey Penick Trophy for Excellence in Golf Teaching are now being accepted. All teachers who wish to be considered must submit their nominations. In addition, after a pandemic-induced two-year absence, the Harvey Penick Trophy will be awarded in 2022. The award is based on teaching accomplishments, service to the golf community and to the game in general.
All USGTF Certified Golf Teaching Professionals and Master Golf Teaching Professionals, are eligible to be nominated for both honors, with the exception that former winners of the Harvey Penick Trophy are ineligible for that award. Nominations (including self-nominations) may be made through email at info@usgtf.com or through regular mail to the USGTF National Office at 200 S. Indian River Drive, #206, Fort Pierce, FL 34950. The deadline for nominations is Friday, September 9, 2022 at 5:00 p.m. EDT.
Teaching “PRO” File – Andre Springs
USGTF professional Andre Springs’ introduction to golf came when his uncle took him to the golf course in North Carolina to help him pick up range balls when a young Andre was just 5 years old. He remembers seeing how well dressed the golfers were and the fact that they appeared to have money, and that appealed to the youngster.
Springs wound up picking up range balls through his senior year in high school, as well as getting playing privileges and developing a great golf game. Although he was cut from his team in 8th grade, in 9th grade he not only made the team, but was the Most Valuable Player. He earned a scholarship to Fayetteville State University in Fayetteville, North Carolina. While there, he led his team to four Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association conference championships and earned NAIA all-American status.
His success led him to be named the head golf coach at Livingstone College in Salisbury, North Carolina, in 1979 at the age of 20. His first year, he dismissed everyone from the team except for one player, as most of the team did not take practice or the game seriously. Within a short time, Springs’ teams had won five conference championships and three national championships in the National Minority College Championship (now known as the PGA Works Collegiate Championship). He left to go to Cleveland, Ohio, where he became the first black general manager in the city’s golf course system, at Highland Park. He then moved back to his hometown in North Carolina, Charlotte, where he met Johnny Harris, owner and president of the famed Quail Hollow Golf Course. Harris was in the process of building a new course, Birkdale, and he offered Springs a job. When Birkdale opened, Springs caddied that day for Arnold Palmer, the course designer. Harris eventually named Springs the head teaching professional at Birkdale. And by the way, while there, Springs fired a 66 which established the course record.
Proving that life sometimes comes full circle, Springs was asked to once again coach the Livingstone golf program in 2010. He also became the school’s athletic director, a position he left in 2016. Today, his Livingstone golf team is ranked #1 in Division II among the Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the nation. Springs says he is lucky to have a president at the college who plays and appreciates golf and offers full support, and lists it as an important reason why he and his teams have been so successful at Livingstone.
Tour “PRO” File – Cameron Smith
Student Spotlight – AJGA Tour
USGTF members teach players of all abilities, and some are teaching and coaching elite junior players. The place to play for the best junior players is with the American Junior Golf Association, better known as the AJGA. Most current PGA and American LPGA Tour players competed on this circuit, which is run very much like a professional tour. Tiger Woods, in his acceptance speech at his recent World Golf Hall of Fame induction ceremony, mentioned how his mom and dad took out a second mortgage on their home so a young Tiger could compete on the AJGA.
Today, golfers whose families lack the financial means to allow them to compete at this level may take advantage of the AJGA’s ACE Grant program. In order to compete on the circuit itself, players must be successful in other venues such as state, regional and national events in order to earn playing status with the AJGA, which is based on player merit. For more information on the AJGA, please visit www.AJGA.org.
Wilson Golf – Longtime Industry Partner
Wilson Golf, one of the oldest and most revered names in golf, has been an industry partner with the USGTF for almost three decades, and has been a trusted source for USGTF members to find and play quality equipment. The company is offering preferred pricing for all USGTF members. If you are interested in Wilson Golf products, please contact Mike Salvano at (800) 622-0444 ext. 6634 or mike.salvano@wilson.com.