Presidents Message
If you have never had the opportunity to visit China, the upcoming World Golf Teachers Cup this October might be a great reason to do so. USGTF China president Steve Mak and his team are hosting the event, which will take place at the Sun Island Golf Club in Shanghai. This will be the first time that the 11th biennial World Cup will be held in Asia. All the information regarding the event can be accessed at www.WorldGolfTeachersCup.com. Very
briefly, however, in order to visit China, a visitor’s visa is required, which involves FedExing your passport to a legitimate China visa agency. This takes about 10 days and is something everyone has to adhere to in order to visit the country, so please plan this in advance. The event itself promises to be a memorable experience, with golf teaching professionals from all over the world attending. Also, a reminder that the annual United States Golf Teachers Cup will be held in the Memphis area at Tunica National Golf Club. Tunica National has been home to both US Open and US Amateur qualifying. More info on this event can be found at www.USGolfTeachersCup.com. Of course, along with great competition and camaraderie, it’s also nice to visit the home of the King!
Speaking of competition, the 2nd annual United States Match Play Championship will be held September 23-27, 2013, at Indian Hills Golf Course in Fort Pierce, Florida. This event is the only open match play championship in the country, and is open to all professional and amateur golfers. More information on this, and all of our tournaments, can be found inside the magazine.
On other fronts, the USGTF has created a golf coaches division, the World Golf Coaches Alliance. As an organization of golf teaching professionals, at this point in time we would be remiss if we did not provide specific training in this particular realm of the business. As you know, it is the element of competition that separates the golf teacher from the golf coach. Interestingly, the game of golf is no longer limited to any particular season. Tournament golf is now played globally on a year-round basis for more money than ever. As a result of this, with more people now competing at the game, there is a greater need for golf coaches. We have been busy creating instructional DVDs on every aspect of coaching golf, such as:
• Sports psychology • Nutrition • Inspiration and motivation • Fitness • Biomechanics
All of these instructional DVDs and more are now available online through our website. When you combine the USGTF full certification, as well as all the information now provided for golf coaches, there is no entity anywhere in the world that provides better training in the realm of teaching and coaching the game.
Our USGTF innovative team has also been hard at work by adding a new dimension to the world of golf radio. USGTF national course director Mark Harman hosts this new Internet program every Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. EDT. Topics mostly include current golf-related topics, as well as the latest in golf instruction and USGTF member activities. Anyone can log on to www.NationalGolfRadio.com at the appropriate time, click Listen Live! and communicate live with Mark by posting your comments. For those of you who miss the program, they are all archived on our website.
Summer is a busy time for all of us, and on behalf of the staff here at the USGTF national office, we hope you take advantage of all the benefits we have to offer, especially our tournament events. There’s no better way to meet your fellow members and to establish great camaraderie with teaching professionals from all over the world. These events also keep your game sharp, which is an essential element to our profession.
Wishing all of you the very best for the 2013 summer months!
