In the News

BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. - With the eyes of the world turning to Michigan this week for the 90th PGA Championship at Oakland Hills Country Club, results of an independent study were recently released highlighting the importance of golf to the economy of Michigan.

As a leader in the country for golf, the study found that in 2006, golf in Michigan generated 56,977 direct and indirect jobs and over $1.3 billion in golf-related hospitality and tourism spending. The independent study also established that the state's golf industry generated $4.2 billion of direct, indirect and induced economic impact, along with providing multiple areas of positive economic impact on the state. The state ranks first in the nation in number of public golf facilities and third in the nation in the number of 18-hole equivalent courses. 

The prestigious Western Amateur golf championship is returning to its roots.

After an absence spanning more than a half century, including a lengthy stint at Point O' Woods Golf Club in Benton Harbor, Michigan which has hosted the event since 1971, a tournament won by two-time U.S. Open champion Andy North, the Western Golf Association has announced that seven Chicago-area clubs will take turns hosting the Western Amateur from 2009 through 2015.

BRYN MAWR, Pa. - Each time an average golfer steps up to the tee of a par 3 hole, their probability of successfully making a hole in one is 1 in 12,500 attempts. This according to a recently completed five-year study conducted by US Hole In One, a provider of hole in one contest prize insurance. The findings suggest that previously published figures wildly exaggerate the ease or difficulty of actually completing the feat.

According to US Hole In One President, Greg Esterhai, "The fallacy of other studies is that they typically rely on estimated data for the actual number of holes in one made. This study avoids such conjecture by utilizing actual par 3 scoring information." 

PGA Professionals and golf retailers from around the country will test the latest equipment and accessories; play in an industry tournament and network with peers at the award-winning Badlands Golf Club in Las Vegas for the PGA Fall Expo Tournament and Demo Day, Aug. 25, 2008.

Scheduled the day before the annual industry fall marketplace, the PGA Fall Expo Tournament and Demo Day traditionally offers the very best opportunity to try before you buy and re-connect with manufacturers, retailers and industry leaders prior to a full schedule of sourcing and education programs at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, Aug. 26-27. 

The Inaugural Kiwi Challenge, scheduled for Oct. 27-28, will feature four of the most promising and charismatic young golfers on the PGA Tour.

Adam Scott, Anthony Kim, Brandt Snedeker and Hunter Mahan are scheduled to compete in a two-day, 36-hole event in New Zealand for a $2.6 million purse and a $1.5 million winner's check on two of the most spectacular golf courses in the Southern Hemisphere, if not the world.

The inaugural event designed to showcase Kauri Cliffs and Cape Kidnappers, both owned by Julian Robertson, will be televised by NBC on Saturday, Nov. 15 and Sunday, Nov.16. 

Shoal Creek, Ala. – Cameron Peck, 17, of Olympia, Wash., won six of the first eight holes against Evan Beck, 17, of Virginia Beach, Va., and went on to claim the U.S. Junior Amateur title at Shoal Creek golf course, 10 and 8. It was the largest margin of victory since the event went to a 36-hole final four years ago.

“I don’t think it has sunk in yet,” said Peck after he closed out Beck with a winning par on the 28th hole. “This is the biggest win in my life.”

SUN VALLEY, Idaho - Sun Valley Resort – North America’s first ski resort and home to a large array of upscale, family friendly amenities – announces it will open its new nine-hole White Clouds Golf Course on Monday, Aug. 11.

Tee times are now being accepted and can be booked by calling 208-622-2251.

College Park, MD - Bill Love, President of W.R. Love, Inc. and Ron Dodson, President of the International Sustainability Council and founder of Audubon International have joined forces to create Sustainable Golf Developments, a firm focused on the design and planning of sustainable golf course community development projects. Love and Dodson also serve on the Audubon Lifestyles Advisory Group as advisors for golf and sustainability.

Love has over 25 years of experience in the practice of golf course architecture, site planning for recreational facilities and land planning for golf-related development. He has been involved in over 200 projects, including the design and development of new golf courses and golf communities, as well as master planning and renovation of existing golf facilities. Love is a former president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects and presently serves as the Chairman of the Society's Environmental Committee, a post he has held for over 18 years. Through this position he authored in the ASGCA publication "An Environmental Approach to Golf Course Development." 

The Cleveland Golf Company is heavily involved in player development with support to junior, collegiate and developmental tour golf. For developmental tour players, Monday qualifying for the Nationwide Tour is a step in the right direction. The Cleveland Golf Tour is intended to provide an alternative event for players missing the cut in a Monday Qualifier.

The Cleveland Golf Tour will offer 8 competitive, 36-hole events scheduled around the Monday Qualifiers. Each event will be held on the Monday Qualifying course. The first event will be held July 29-30 at Tiburon GC in Omaha, Nebraska. 

The International Golf Federation (IGF), recognised as the representative body for golf by the International Olympic Committee, announced the creation of an Olympic Golf Committee to drive its effort for the sport's inclusion in the 2016 Games. Organisations that will be represented on the committee are The R&A, PGA European Tour, USGA, PGA of America, PGA TOUR, LPGA and Augusta National Golf Club.

During a press conference at Royal Birkdale Golf Club, the IGF also introduced PGA TOUR executive Ty Votaw as the person who will coordinate the Olympic golf movement on behalf of the IGF's Olympic Golf Committee and other golf organisations around the world. Votaw will serve in a newly created position as Executive Director, IGF Olympic Golf Committee and will work closely with the organisations involved.