1 Aug 2023

EDITORIAL – WHAT SKILLS ALLOW JIN YOUNG KO TO REMAIN #1 IN THE WORLD?

Seeing Jin Young Ko’s name anywhere on the leaderboard is sure to strike fear into the hearts of her competitors on the LPGA Tour. Why? Because she has been ranked #1 in the world for a record 164 weeks (non-consecutive). She has 15 victories on the LPGA Tour and her future remains bright.

She is in the top half of the pack when it comes to driving distance and in the top third in driving accuracy, and when you put the two together, it makes her one of the best drivers of the ball. She is also in the top 10 in greens in regulation and is also in the top 10 in putts per GIR. When you add all of that together, it makes for a formidable task to best her on any given week.

Her work ethic is also very strong, and it doesn’t hurt to be extremely talented. At 28 years old, she has plenty of time to earn more victories and add to her two major championships, as well.
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1 Aug 2023

INDUSTRY PARTNER SPOTLIGHT – ONCORE GOLF BALLS

OnCore Golf manufactures golf balls for golfers of all skill levels, and its technology is second to none. Five golf balls are in OcCore’s lineup, starting with the Vero X2. This is a new ball for 2023 and is a 4-piece, cast urethane ball with 95 compression, designed for golfers with high swing speeds who want total control around the greens. Next up is the Vero X1. This ball outperformed other tour balls, with 60% less sidespin. It is a 4-piece, cast urethane golf ball coming in at 85 compression.

Next in the tour performance category is the Elixr 2022, a 3-piece urethane blend. It promotes added feel around the green with added distance and more accuracy off the tee. The Elixr ball is for intermediate or advanced players and is a 3-piece urethane blend with slightly lower compression than the Elixer 2022. Finally, there is the Avant 55, perfect for beginner or intermediate players with lower swing speeds. Its construction is a two-piece Surlyn blend and comes in at 55 compression. It is a softer distance ball that won’t break the bank.

For more information on OnCore, please visit the company website at https://www.OnCoreGolf.com.
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1 Aug 2023

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT – CHRISTINA GLADNEY

Dr. Christina Gladney is not your typical golfer. Gladney, a student of USGTF professional John Rosenthall, is a college professor, fitness expert, and higher education administrator with a passion for helping African Americans live healthy lives and excel in their professions. “I am new to the game of golf and see this game as a way of sharing tips for a healthy lifestyle while having fun,” is something Gladney says on a regular basis. She is the director of assessment at Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and a visiting professor at Jackson State University in Mississippi.

Golf is new to Gladney. She has taken a very aggressive approach to learning the game and creating opportunities for her friends and colleagues to be introduced to the game of golf. For those who are already golfers, she loves to create opportunities for them to network while partaking in the sport. As a public health instructor, the very same traits she expects and demands from her students are the ones she brings to her golf lessons. Those traits are to listen carefully, pay close attention to your environment, watch how others perfect their skills, and mimic what you see in others you would like to emulate.

Although new to the game, Gladney has taken her enthusiasm and interest to the next level. While sharpening her skills, she has decided to expand the game by introducing golf to African-American women and girls by combining golf with healthy living aspects and professional development. The new program she is leading is The Essence of Golf. The program supports participants through empowerment initiatives related to holistic wellness and professional networking.

A typical Essence of Golf event includes a weekend of golf lessons, rounds of golf, and facilitated discussions designed to strengthen individuals spiritually, emotionally, physically, financially, socially, and professionally. Professional networking is an essential element of the weekend. Participants leave the weekend with a renewed spirit, new relationships, and new approaches to self-improvement.

 
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1 Aug 2023

“PRO” FILE – USGTF MEMBER JAMES DRAPER III

James Draper III of Martinsville, Virginia, is a USGTF Master Golf Teaching Professional®.  He is currently the director of golf at Beaver Creek Golf Club in Collinsville, Virginia, and golf coach at Patrick & Henry Community College in Martinsville.  He has been around the game of golf for nearly 40 years with playing success on the high school and collegiate levels. He is a past PGA Works national champion and CIAA conference champion. Going back to school at age 35, he won his school’s host event by seven shots.

Draper attended Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina, but finished his education at Winston-Salem State University. Draper was inspired by his grandfather, who played on the Neckbone and Chitterling Tours professionally, and his father, who coached high school and college golf and could break 80 from both sides of the ball.

His teaching philosophy is a simple technique in which resistance, space, and width are the key components of the swing. Draper is US Kids Golf-certified and has been an instructor with The First Tee of Central Carolina for 13 years.  He also finds joy in working with adaptive golfers in his area.
 
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1 Aug 2023

“PRO” FILES – TOURING PROFESSIONALS BRIAN HARMAN AND ALLISEN CORPUZ

July’s major championships produced two surprise winners:  Allisen Corpuz won the U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach and Brian Harman won The Open at Hoylake.  Neither golfer was on the radar of the pundits when they made their predictions about who would win.

Corpuz was a rookie in 2022, and had three top-10 finishes.  Prior to her Open victory, she had two more top-10 finishes in 2023 before her breakthrough win, so she certainly showed plenty of promise.  She’s 25 years old, which would be young in the men’s game but is a bit older by LPGA standards; however, with the game she has shown so far, she will be in the winner’s circle again, and most likely multiple times before her career is done.

Harman grew up in Savannah, Georgia, and was the top-ranked junior player in the country when he signed with the University of Georgia to play golf.  After bouncing around on the mini-tours for a while, he made the PGA Tour in 2012.  He was a solid, if unspectacular, player, until his first victory in 2014 at the John Deere Classic.  He won again in 2017 at the Wells Fargo Championship before winning the Open in July.  Harman has always been a steady player, making most cuts, contending with some frequency and winning every few years.  He dominated The Open field with a complete game, and is in serious contention to be considered for the U.S. Ryder Cup team this fall.

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COX TAKES ANOTHER REGIONAL TITLE
1 Aug 2023

COX TAKES ANOTHER REGIONAL TITLE

Southwest – Ron Cox from Nashville, Tennessee, continued his winning ways when he captured the USGTF Southwest Region Championship held May 19-21 at Twin Creeks Golf Club in Allen, Texas.  Cox fired a two-round total of 142 to run away with the title by eight strokes over region director Bruce Sims.  Jeff Kennedy was another three strokes back in third, followed by Ruben Ramirez in fourth.

Central – The USGTF Central Region Championship will be played Sunday and Monday, September 24-25, at Walden Ponds Golf Course in Hamilton, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati.  The entry fee of $250 includes two tournament rounds, range balls, and prize money which includes not only tournament finishes but any side games.  To enter and for more information, please call region director Tony McMullin at (513) 479-6895.
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1 Aug 2023

PROFESSIONALIZATION AND GROWTH OF DUTCH WGTF CONTINUES IN 2023

With the arrival of the World Golf Teachers Federation (WGTF) in the Netherlands, a lot has changed in the Dutch golf teaching landscape. Where previously PGA Holland was the only golf teachers organization in the Netherlands, the WGTF Netherlands was added three years ago. The fact that the organization now has a firm foothold is not only evident from the growing number of studentsthat graduate each year, the organization is now also KSS certified (Kwalificatie Structuur Sport).

Said Bjorn Beekman, director of WGTF Netherlands, “It is exactly at professionalism that we have made the biggest leap in recent years. It is clear that the international WGTF product is very solid, but in the Netherlands the requirements are slightly different. Here, the sports federations united in NOC/NSF strive for professionalism and therefore well-trained sports management. For this reason, every sports organization in the Netherlands is held by NOC/NSF to a number of minimum quality requirements. To meet these requirements, the KSS is used. And that’s exactly what we successfully passed this year.”

Beekman continued, “A few months ago we organized a few courses and clinics at BurgGolf Haverleij, a large club in Den Bosch. What turned out? The response was so positive that we received a request to provide several teachers. So, we are not a union that just educates golf teachers, but we also help them with internships and jobs. Plus, due to the large number of teachers in our network, we can also quickly meet any requests from clubs for full- or part-time teachers. The bottom line is that WGTF teachers are currently working at more than a hundred clubs in the Netherlands.”

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1 Aug 2023

SUCCESS STORY REGARDING 4 DAYS FT. PIERCE COURSE

A recent USGTF certification class held in Fort Pierce, Florida, attained a special status when every member of the class scored 100% on both the written teaching and rules tests. According to examiner Jerry Ellstrom, this remarkable achievement was made possible by the structure of the class.

There are now 24 hours of classroom instruction the first three days, where candidates learn more in-depth the concepts of teaching all facets of the game. The increased classroom time allows for more questions and answers and a more thorough understanding of the course material. Of particular note is the USGTF’s official teaching manual, How to Teach Golf: The American Golf Teaching Method, is covered throughout the classroom sessions.

The schedule of upcoming certification classes can be found at https://www.usgtf.com/certified-golf-teaching-professional.  
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1 Aug 2023

USGTF REMAINS MOST PRESTIGIOUS GOLF TEACHERS ORGANIZATION

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Back in 1989 when the USGTF was founded, the only other option to have some accreditation for golf teaching was the PGA of America (and the LPGA Teaching Division for women). Founder Geoff Bryant figured there were people who just wanted to teach golf and not concern themselves with the other duties of the traditional club pro.

And he was right. Thirty-four years later, the USGTF continues to be the most prestigious organization of golf teaching professionals. There have been a few other contenders come (and in some cases go) over the years, but none have the cachet the USGTF does. For example, a recent Google search turned up over 91,000 results for “USGTF” compared to just 7,800 for another organization. The USGTF is also the most widely recognized and sought after. Rest assured those of us at the National Office are working tirelessly to make sure this continues far into the future.
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