Golf Teaching Pro magazine, the printed voice of golf teaching professionals worldwide, is due to hit your mailbox soon with the Winter 2018 edition. Called a valuable resource by a number of industry experts, the magazine is printed twice a year. The USGTF considers it important to provide members with a hard copy that contains relevant instructional, informational and entertaining content.
If you have moved since the Summer 2018 issue, please contact the USGTF National Office to update your current address.
A unique venue and format are being considered for the 23rd edition of the United States Golf Teachers Cup for 2018. Negotiations are ongoing with the Canadian Golf Teachers Federation to hold a joint U.S./Canadian Golf Teachers Cup in the Niagara Falls, Ontario, area for September. More information will be made available at a later date, pending the outcome of negotiations.
Do you know someone who wants to become a Certified Golf Teaching Professional®? If so, you may point them to www.USGTF.com/schedule, which contains the dates and locations of USGTF certification courses for 2018. Becoming certified gives teachers and prospective teachers the tools and credibility they need in today’s marketplace. If you know of someone who wants to become certified and they have further questions, please have them call the USGTF National Office at (888) 346-3290.
Glen Sorensen, president of the International PGA, has affirmed in a letter to USGTF president Geoff Bryant that the two organizations have had a mutually beneficial relationship over the years, and looks forward to continuing the relationship in the years ahead.
The International PGA is based out of St. Lucia, in the Caribbean, and serves to unite golf teaching professionals from around the world under one umbrella. Recognized organizations include all countries’ PGAs and every WGTF international federation. Members from those organizations are welcome to join the International PGA, which provides members with worldwide recognition and resources to enable them to enhance their professional profiles and their careers. More information can be obtained at www.InternationalPGA.com.
With long flowing hair and a scruff of a beard, England’s Tommy Fleetwood looks to be more at home on the beach than on the links. But make no mistake – golf is his game and he’s very, very good at it. Fleetwood won the European Tour’s Race to Dubai in 2017 and will likely be a stalwart on the 2018 European Ryder Cup Team.
Fleetwood contended strongly at the 2017 U.S. Open before finishing fourth, and had a runner-up finish at the WGC Mexico Golf Championship, playing against the best in the world. His first European Tour win came in 2013 and he added two more in 2017. With a number of high finishes in other tournaments, Fleetwood entered the Race to Dubai as the points leader and he emerged victorious, as a challenge by Justin Rose fell just short.
Fleetwood is another 20-something “young gun” at the age of 26, and represents one of Europe’s leading hopes in combating more established peers such as Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas. Most observers think that Fleetwood is now just coming into his own and will be a presence on international leaderboards for years to come.
I never got to see Michaelangelo or Da Vinci paint. I never got to see Shakespeare write, or Abraham Lincoln recite the Gettysburg Address. But I did get to see Tiger Woods play golf.
Yes, I put Tiger in the same category as these other historic greats. His genius is every bit the equal of those Renaissance masters, albeit in a competitive arena. And yet, the artistry Tiger displayed at his best was just as exquisite as any artist in history.
Some people don’t like Tiger because of some of his on-course antics (swearing and slamming his club into the ground), and they have a valid point. I don’t have a problem with people who don’t like him because of this. But these same people may be depriving themselves of the joy of watching the greatest golfer of all time perform his craft. Yes, I know Jack Nicklaus has won 18 majors to Tiger’s 14, and that Sam Snead holds the record for number of victories at 82 while Tiger is stuck at 79, but I think context is important. While Nicklaus did have to fend off the likes of Trevino, Watson and Palmer – all of whom won at least six majors – Woods had to contend with multiple major winners in his own right, and he played in an era where literally anyone could win a major if he was on his game (think Rich Beem or Shaun Micheel). And Snead? Outside of Hogan, Nelson and Demaret and perhaps a handful of others, he simply didn’t face nearly the depth of competition. Combine that with Tiger’s utter dominance in so many events such as winning the Masters by 12 and the U.S. Open by 15, and you have someone who played the best golf ever played over a sustained period.
As I write this, Tiger just finished off a 69 in the first round of the Hero World Challenge. He may go on to contend and possibly win, or he might fall back into the pack near last place. But whatever the case, as John Maginnes said on his radio show, Tiger doesn’t move the needle…Tiger is the needle. And golf is better for having him back.
By Mark Harman, USGTF National Course Director
Team USA shot a record 9-under-par 711 to win its eighth team title out of 13 attempts at the World Golf Teachers Cup at Boulder Creek Golf Club in Boulder City, Nevada, October 18-19. Mark Harman fired a 6-under-par 66 and Kacey Tyler a 5-under-par 67 in the final round, leading the USA the final day to edge Team International 1 by five strokes. Canada came in third at 724, followed by International 2 at 765 at Great Britain & Ireland at 792.
Shafiq Masih from Canada claimed the individual title with scores of 67-70 – 137 to defeat runner-up and defending champion Rebecca Samuelsson by two strokes. Newly-crowned United States Golf Teachers Cup champion Matt Smith finished third at 70-70 – 140. Pam Montgomery won the Ladies title with scores of 80-78 – 158 to nip Mary Peter-Wolf by one stroke.
In the inaugural World Senior Golf Teachers Cup, Harman, from Ridgeland, South Carolina, defeated Tyler on the first playoff hole after both finished at 6-under-par 138. Tyler’s tee shot on the #9 hole on the Coyote Run nine went into the water after a bad bounce, and his third shot finished 20 feet from the hole. Meanwhile, Harman put his approach shot on the par-4 hole 15 feet away, and after Tyler’s par effort lipped out, Harman two-putted for the victory. It was his ninth WGTF national or international victory since competition began in 1996. Anthony Benny from Trinidad & Tobago won the Super Senior championship with 71-72 – 143 and finished fifth overall in the World Senior Cup. Ray Holder shot 75-77 – 152 to win the Legends division for players 70 and over.
Pictured from left to right: Kacey Tyler, Jim Perez, Michael Wolf, Matt Smith, Mark Harman and Jim Grow.
Having won two Open division championships in the past only to be denied by players in other divisions for the overall title, Matt Smith of Columbus, Ohio, finally realized the pinnacle of USGTF competition as he won the 22nd annual United States Golf Teachers Cup with scores of 75-69 – 144 to take a three-stroke win over Shafiq Masih and Rebecca Samuelsson. Smith, one of the toughest and most mentally-ready competitors in USGTF history, birdied three out of the first four holes to seize the lead over first-round leader Tom Alley, and he held on the rest of the way with steady play as his opponents couldn’t keep up.
Grant Gulych of St. Thomas, Ontario, had a goal to be the first to put his name on the new United States Senior Golf Teachers Cup trophy, and he succeeded when he fired rounds of 67-70 – 137 to take the inaugural playing of the tournament. Dave Belling, a two-time U.S. Cup champion and the 2003 World Golf Teachers Cup champion, finished second, four strokes back. The turning point came at the seventh hole in the final round, when Gulych made birdie to Belling’s bogey, pushing Gulych’s lead to four and he never looked back. Gulych stayed steady throughout the final nine, never faltering and didn’t give any of his nearest competitors any hope of a comeback. He also won the 2013 U.S. Cup in Tunica, Mississippi.
For complete scores of both the U.S. and World Cups, please visit www.WorldGolfTeachersCup.com.
Mike Stevens, USGTF Southeast Region director, captained a team of North American golfers to victory in the annual triangular match that ends the Linked Golfers World Hickory Open Festival, played October 3-7. Competing against a team from Europe and a select World team, the North Americans outpointed the Worlds by 11 Stableford points. The Stableford format lends itself well to a three-team competition, which matched the best eight scores of the twelve players on each squad.
This was the third time Stevens has captained a team to victory. Especially rewarding, according to Stevens, was retaining the Hickory Cup on the Musselburgh Old Golf Club, the oldest golf course in the world and host to eight Open Championships. Golf has been played at Musselburgh for over 600 years. The Hickory Cup is appropriately on permanent display in the Musselburgh clubhouse, which itself dates to the 1700s.
The USGTF has a presence in several venues on social media, including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You can like us on Facebook by clicking at Facebook.com/USGolfTeachersFed, become a follower on Twitter Twitter.com/USGOLFTEACHERS, or follow along on Instagram at Instagram.com/officialusgtf.
Also by visiting the members web board at USGTFMembers.com. The web board allows USGTF members to interact and share ideas with their fellow members, and is a great resource. Whatever avenue of social media you wish to pursue with the USGTF, please take the time to do so and get involved!