Annika Sorenstam

WOMEN’S GOLF DAY REACHES OVER 25 MILLION PEOPLE

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Women’s Golf Day 2019 blew all expectations out of the water last week as it smashed previous records for venues, countries and overall reach. The global celebration of golf succeeded in its goal of uniting women around the world, with 845 locations across 46 countries hosting WGD events that combined socializing and golf.

Outside of the course, the figures were equally astounding, with over 25 million people viewing WGD content for a total of over 47 million impressions across social media that included some of the biggest brands, influencers, and celebrities around the game.

Elisa Gaudet, Founder of Women’s Golf Day was blown away by the support for this year’s event and is delighted to be a part of the momentum that is gathering in the women’s game. She said, “From year one we’ve combined easy, fun golfing activities at golf venues with a bigger conversation about the importance of the global female golf market. Every year we’ve grown but 2019 has been a tipping point for uniting industry leaders, teaching pros, programs, courses, and events to celebrate women and golf for one day.”

Akron, Ohio - Firestone CC

Firestone Country Club. Akron, Ohio

The feeling of unity across the globe was reflected in comments from venues that hosted WGD events. Benedict Riches, CEO, Leadbetter Golf commented “We are incredibly proud to support Women’s Golf Day at The Leadbetter Golf Academy World Headquarters at Champions Gate, Orlando and across our academies worldwide. This is a fantastic initiative and perfectly aligns with our mission of building a lifelong game for golfers of all ages and abilities. We hope the 135 women who attended our event in Orlando not only improved their golf swing but made new friends as they joined the community of women golfers united across the world.”

Across digital and social media, WGD 2019 succeeded in driving the conversation about the women’s game with a huge variety of content being produced across WGD channels, international golf influencers, celebrities, brands, pros, and golf venues. Content varied from video clips and photos of participants at venues across the globe, often dressed in WGD red and white; women swinging a club for the first time and socializing with new friends, to some of the biggest names in the sport and from the world of entertainment showing their support for the day. Some of the best-known names that joined in on the #WomensGolfDay conversation include Tisha Alyn, Nikki B, Matt Ginella, Chris Harrison, Niall Horan, Blair O’Neal, Greg Norman, Gary Player, Annika Sorenstam, Paige Spiranac and Michelle Wie.

Callaway Golf celebrates Women's Golf Day

Callaway Golf HQ in Carlsbad, CA.

With Women’s Golf Day 2019 having been such a resounding success, Elisa Gaudet plans to build on the momentum and make sure that the conversation converts into action. She explains, “Women’s Golf Day is the start of the journey for so many women and that’s something of which I’m incredibly proud. There are so many great teaching pros and programs available already in existence, so if we can help women understand what a fantastic game golf is and the value of the communities that exist within the game then I know we can create the next generation of female golfers. The way that the industry has come together to show women’s golf at its best is so inspiring and I can’t wait to see how we can be at the heart of driving that conversation again in years to come.”

 

*46 Countries participating in WGD 2019

Armenia, Australia, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, France, Georgia, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, USA, United Arab Emirates,United Kingdom and Vietnam

Mauritius - Constance Belle Mare Plage

 

ABOUT WOMEN’S GOLF DAY

Women’s Golf Day (WGD) is a global golf initiative launched in 2016 to introduce women of all ages to the game and encourage existing female golfers to “tee it up” in a fun and highly inclusive environment. The one day, four-hour event has now taken place in 900 locations in 52 countries since its inception and has introduced thousands of new golfers to the sport while transcending language, culture, religion, and race to celebrate golf, women, and community. WGD created an incredible global community in three years and has the support of almost every major golfing governing body and organization. WGD’s primary hashtag #WomensGolfDay received more than 15 million global impressions to nearly 10 million users across Twitter and Instagram.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM URGES GOLFERS TO SHARE THEIR LOVE OF THE GAME ON WOMEN’S GOLF DAY

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With less than a week to go until Women’s Golf Day 2019, golfing legend Annika Sorenstam is urging Women and Girls around the globe to give golf a go, and for all golfers to share their love of the game with the women in their life.

Women’s Golf Day returns for its fourth year on June 4 th in what will be the largest single day celebration of Women’s golf that the world has ever seen. Open to women and girls of all ages and abilities, WGD 2019 will unite women across the globe at over 800 events in 46 countries*, spanning a full 24hour period starting from daybreak in Australia, to sunset in Hawaii.

With so many opportunities to participate, WGD 2019 gives absolute beginners and avid golfers alike the chance to be part of a global community and grow the number of women and girls that experience the multiple benefits that golf has to offer, as Annika explains: “Golf teaches you so much about life. It is so much more than just a game. It’s a community, it’s friendships, it’s fitness, it’s mental well-being, it’s challenging and most of all, it’s fun! I’ve been so lucky to benefit from all of these aspects of the game and would urge women and girls around the world to get involved.

annika & EAG wgd 18

If you want to be part of an incredible community or if you’re already a golfer and you want any of the women in your life to share your experience, then sign up for a Women’s Golf Day event and take the first steps on an amazing journey.”

WGD unites women and girls around the world and gives them an incredible platform from which they can share their passion with each other and with newcomers to the sport. Each event is a four-hour celebration that combines golf with socializing, which allows women to make the friendships that will keep them coming back for more. Elisa Gaudet, founder of Women’s Golf Day, believes that this combination has contributed to the global sense of unity participants feel during WGD and is integral to the overall success of the campaign.

Elisa said: “Since year one we have made sure that WGD events give the participants the chance to feel part of something much bigger than the event they attend. WGD events are about friendship, networking, and creating communities through playing golf. I passionately believe that golf is an amazing game that offers unique challenges, incredible benefits to our health and wellbeing and unites people through a shared passion. I am proud to be part of the community which loves this sport – we are the ones who elevate it into something truly wonderful. In just four hours, the women and girls who come to WGD events to swing a club for the first time experience this sense of belonging themselves and that’s what makes WGD the global success that it is.”

Share Your Love

Anyone wishing to take part in a WGD event on June 4 th should visit http://www.womensgolfday.com and search for a venue close by. Alternatively, search on social media at @womensgolfday and #WomensGolfDay for news of the latest venues to sign up to host events.

*46 Countries participating in WGD 2019:
Armenia, Australia, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, France, Georgia, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, USA, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and Vietnam

ABOUT WOMEN’S GOLF DAY
Women’s Golf Day (WGD) is a global golf initiative launched in 2016 to introduce women of all ages to the game and encourage existing female golfers to “tee it up” in a fun and highly inclusive environment. The one day, four-hour event, has now taken place in 900 locations in 52 countries since its inception, and has introduced thousands of new golfers to the sport while transcending language, culture, religion, and race to celebrate golf, women, and community. WGD created an incredible global community in three years and has the support of almost every major golfing governing body and organization.

WGD’s primary hashtag #WomensGolfDay received more than 15 million global impressions to nearly 10 million users across Twitter and Instagram. To learn more about Women’s Golf Day and its upcoming event on Tuesday June 4 rd 2019 visit http://www.womensgolfday.com  @womensgolfday, #WomensGolfDay

Dominican Republic

About the ANNIKA Foundation
Annika created the ANNIKA Foundation to provide opportunities in women’s golf at the junior, collegiate and professional levels while teaching young people the importance of living a healthy, active lifestyle through fitness and nutrition. The Foundation has partnered with key organizations to promote healthy, active lifestyles for children, including SPARK, Florida Hospital for Children in support of its Healthy 100 Kids initiative and The First Tee in development of the Nine Healthy Habits curriculum for children. It annually conducts six major golf events for aspiring junior girls: the ANNIKA Invitational USA presented by Rolex at the World Golf Village in St. Augustine, Florida; ANNIKA Invitational at Mission Hills in China; ANNIKA Invitational Europe and ANNIKA Cup in Sweden; and, in association with the R&A, the ANNIKA Invitational Latin America and ANNIKA Invitational Australasia.

In 2013, the Foundation’s reach extended to the collegiate ranks with the ANNIKA Award presented by 3M (awarded to most outstanding female NCAA Division I golfer) and ANNIKA Intercollegiate presented by 3M (12 team, 54-hole event in Minnesota). SPARK grants to schools, financial support of Healthy 100 Kids, endowing an AJGA ACE Grant, and the “Share My Passion” Golf Clinics are other areas of emphasis.

Industry Around the Globe Unites in Support of Women’s Golf Day

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June 4th 2019 will be the largest ever single-day celebration of women’s golf with venues from every corner of the globe joining forces to promote the sport. With a growing profile and impressive roll call of supporters, it’s hard to imagine that a little over four years ago Women’s Golf Day was simply a pipe dream for founder Elisa Gaudet. Her commitment has galvanized the industry, bringing together a phenomenal number of industry influencers from around the world.

Over the past three years, WGD events have been held at over 900 venues in 52 countries and have delivered golf experiences to more than 50,000 women and girls. This year what is remarkable is the growth of the campaign in countries who have been involved since year one. In Nigeria thanks to development work with the Nigerian Golf Federation a record 14 venues are already signed up to run their 4-hour experiences and in the Czech Republic, there are an incredible 35 participating venues all preparing to welcome women and girls through their doors.

Czech - Golf Resort Lipiny WGD 2018

As the campaign has grown from strength to strength, its impact has become apparent beyond Women’s Golf Day itself as Elisa explains, “What we are beginning to see is a deep-rooted change from the golf club level through to national organizations. I set out on this journey because I wanted more women to try the sport that has brought so much joy to my life. I am really proud to have inspired others to run their own campaigns because we have a singular aim, which is of paramount importance to the future of golf.”

8 new countries signed up in 2018, including Hong Kong which makes an impressive return in 2018 with more venues signing up. Vietnam and Lithuania are amongst the newcomers for 2019, demonstrating the global reach of the campaign. Mike Hendrix, Vice President GolfNow Business Solutions, who have been ardent supporters of WGD year on year isn’t surprised by the continued growth as he explains, “Our Business Services team has been speaking with hundreds of golf courses in North America about hosting their own event on June 4th and the response has been great. We’ve seen golfers through social media asking if their local course will be hosting an event and we’ve seen golf instructors step up and create and support events. Our golf course partners love this initiative and we salute Elisa’s passion and drive.

Nigerian Golf Federation WGD 2017

 

This year’s WGD campaign is extremely personal for Elisa who has partnered with Play for P.I.N.K.®, a non-profit organization that donates 100% of its proceeds to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation®. She concludes, “This is a fantastic charity which is very close to my heart. We hope that this new partnership will help raise awareness and much-needed funds for breast cancer research through the power of golf.”

For anyone interested in taking part at a WGD event, keep an eye on the WGD social media at @womensgolfday and #WomensGolfDay and check into http://www.womensgolfday.com to register to take part at one of the hundreds of WGD events taking place on June 4th .

 

ABOUT WOMEN’S GOLF DAY
Women’s Golf Day (WGD) is a global golf initiative launched in 2016 to introduce women of all ages to the game and encourage existing female golfers to “tee it up” in a fun and highly inclusive environment. The one day, four-hour event has now taken place in 900 locations in 52 countries since its inception and has introduced thousands of new golfers to the sport while transcending language, culture, religion, and race to celebrate golf, women, and community. WGD created an incredible global community in three years and has the support of almost every major golfing governing body and organization. WGD’s primary hashtag #WomensGolfDay received more than 15 million global impressions to nearly 10 million users across Twitter and Instagram.

Lauren Thompson & Elisa Gaudet GC Morning Drive High Res

To learn more about Women’s Golf Day and its upcoming event on Tuesday, June 4th 2019 visit http://www.womensgolfday.com @womensgolfday, #WomensGolfDay

WOMEN’S GOLF DAY 2019 LAUNCHES ON INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY WITH ANNOUNCEMENT OF ANNIKA FOUNDATION PARTNERSHIP

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Allow me to get straight to the point. Without women, none of us would be here in any way shape or form.

March 8th is International Women’s Day and to coincide with this day, a date for Women’s Golf Day has been announced. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. More attention needs to be brought to women and getting them involved in golf. The route through growing the game has to come directly through women as they are a demographic that truly haven’t been immersed into the game enough.

Women's Golf Day 2019 infographic

Women’s Golf Day was the vision of its founder Elisa Gaudet. will take place on June June14th, 2019. This year marks the fourth year that the initiative has taken place which started out as a “labour of love”. Billed as a 4-hour event for women and girls (junior golfers need to be exposed to the game more as well). Women’s Golf Day is all about women and girl’s learning golf skills and taking up a game that they can play for the rest of their lives. Since it’s inception Women’s Golf Day has taken place “at over 900 venues in 52 countries and have delivered a golf experience to over 50,000 women and girls”.

In conjunction with Women’s Golf Day it has been announced that Women’s Golf Day has partnered with the ANNIKA Foundation. World Golf Hall of Fame Member Annika Sorenstam’s foundation is an organization that’s focused on providing “opportunities in women’s golf at the junior, collegiate and professional levels while teaching young people the importance of living a healthy, active lifestyle through fitness and nutrition”.

For more details on Women’s Golf Day and the ANNIKA Foundation please see the press release as shared by David Wheatley from marketing firm Medi8 Limited. I know what I’m doing this coming June 4th.

Until The Next Tee!!

#FightAndGrind #SeeUOnTheNextTee

 

Women’s Golf Day will return for its fourth year on June 4th 2019 in what promises to be the largest single day celebration of Women’s golf that the world has ever seen. And having entered into a brand new partnership with the ANNIKA Foundation, the charitable foundation of women’s golf legend Annika Sorenstam, WGD will reach further than ever before in helping to support young women around the world with the power of golf, for years to come.

Women’s Golf Day is a one-day four-hour global experience for women and girls. It is a celebration of women and girls learning golf skills that last a lifetime and being part of a larger global community. Over the past three years WGD events have been held at over 900 venues in 52 countries and have delivered a golf experience to over 50,000 women and girls. Plans for WGD 2019 are well under way and the initial response from both host venues and potential participants has been unprecedented.

WGD 2019

From what started out as a labor of love for WGD founder Elisa Gaudet in 2016, the numbers of women that have been reached WGD is remarkable in itself, but with new partnerships and the potential for continued impact on women and girls all over the world, WGD 2019 is ready to raise the bar even further, as Elisa comments, “Annika continues to be a global icon and a champion for women around the world to get into to golf and succeed. She has been a great supporter of WGD since we started out on our mission to engage, empower and support women through golf in 2016. We are thrilled to be to be able to support Annika in her goals for the ANNIKA Foundation and encourage our locations to around the globe to support women achieving and advancing through golf.”

Annika echoed the words of Elisa as she offered her support for the 2019 WGD events worldwide, “After I stepped away from competitive golf, I knew I wanted to share my passion for the game. Working with initiatives like Women’s Golf Day, which share many of the same goals I have for my ANNIKA Foundation, is inspiring. While there’s still much work to be done, we’re making great strides toward bringing our great game to even more women around the globe.”

WGD Founder Elisa Gaudet & Annika Sorenstam

Any venue wishing to register to host an event for Women’s Golf Day 2019 should visit www.womensgolfday.com and go to “Register a Location” And you don’t need to be a golf course to take part. Past venues include Golf clubs, PGA Superstore, Topgolf, Retail stores, Driving ranges – essentially  anywhere you can swing a club!

For anyone interested in talking part at a WGD event, keep an eye on the WGD social media at @womensgolfday and #WomensGolfDay and check into www.womensgolfday.com for news of new venues signing up around the world every day.

 

ABOUT WOMEN’S GOLF DAY

Women’s Golf Day (WGD) is a global golf initiative launched in 2016 to introduce women of all ages to the game and encourage existing female golfers to “tee it up” in a fun and highly inclusive environment. The one day, four-hour event, has now taken place in 900 locations in 52 countries since its inception, and has introduced thousands of new golfers to the sport while transcending language, culture, religion, and race to celebrate golf, women, and community. WGD created an incredible global community in three years and has the support of almost every major golfing governing body and organization. WGD’s primary hashtag #WomensGolfDay received more than 15 million global impressions to nearly 10 million users across Twitter and Instagram. 

To learn more about Women’s Golf Day and its upcoming event on Tuesday June 4rd 2019 visit www.womensgolfday.com @womensgolfday, #WomensGolfDay

ANNIKA Foundation New Blue Champ Seal FINAL

About the ANNIKA Foundation

Annika created the ANNIKA Foundation to provide opportunities in women’s golf at the junior, collegiate and professional levels while teaching young people the importance of living a healthy, active lifestyle through fitness and nutrition. The Foundation has partnered with key organizations to promote healthy, active lifestyles for children, including SPARK, Florida Hospital for Children in support of its Healthy 100 Kids initiative and The First Tee in development of the Nine Healthy Habits curriculum for children.

It annually conducts six major golf events for aspiring junior girls: the ANNIKA Invitational USA presented by Rolex at the World Golf Village in St. Augustine, Florida; ANNIKA Invitational at Mission Hills in China; ANNIKA Invitational Europe and ANNIKA Cup in Sweden; and, in association with the R&A, the ANNIKA Invitational Latin America and ANNIKA Invitational Australasia. In 2013, the Foundation’s reach extended to the collegiate ranks with the ANNIKA Award presented by 3M (awarded to most outstanding female NCAA Division I golfer) and ANNIKA Intercollegiate presented by 3M (12 team, 54-hole event in Minnesota). SPARK grants to schools, financial support of Healthy 100 Kids, endowing an AJGA ACE Grant, and the “Share My Passion” Golf Clinics are other areas of emphasis.

Swing Your Swing

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This week’s PGA Tour stop was the Waste Management Phoenix Open. The hole of “The People’s Tournament” where the rowdiest, rocking, raucous fans gather around the 16th Hole. It’s a stadium atmosphere that by no accident happens to be on the same weekend as the Super Bowl. Honestly, I wish golf had more of this but this is what makes this tournament so special. It’s their baby… it’s the very entity of this event. What often is forgotten about the WM Phoenix Open is the fact that this tournament has raised $122 M USD for Arizona Charities.

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The Thunderbirds do their thing… one day I will be there too. (Photo Credit: WM Phoenix Open)

This week was different as well because we saw the PGA TOUR debut of Matthew Wolff. Wolff, is a 19 year old amateur who plays collegiate golf at Oklahoma State University (yes… the same OSU as alum Rickie Fowler). He was a First Team All-American as a freshman and won his final three events last fall. A swing that can win quite obviously… right?!

According to the “Golf Twitterverse” Wolff’s swing as unorthodox as it “seems” drew the ire of the “keyboard warriors” that are all “PGA Professionals” amongst us. Some of the comments that I read were things like

  • “I have seen better swings in my golf league”.
  • “That swing is just yuck”.
  • “That’s a gross swing FR”.

Basically, there were plenty of people insinuating that his swing was trash. A total “Dumpster Fire”. Basically, if you think that this swing is trash you must also think that Jim Furyk and Ryan Moore are also trash and have no idea of the golf swing in general.The first thing that you need to consider is this. It doesn’t matter how you get to the top… it’s how you get to the bottom. The swing is the most important in the approximately 24″ before and post impact. When I work with students I ask a couple of questions the first time that I work with someone. The first is “Do you have any health impediments?”. The second question is this.

“What do these swings have in common with each other. Annika Sorenstam, 2000 Tiger Woods, Jim Furyk, Bobby Jones, Jack Nicklaus, Phil Mickelson, Adam Scott and Ryan Moore have in common?”

The answer is almost always “No idea”. So I enlighten them with the easy answer. It’s where they’re at pre-impact, impact and post-impact”. There is NO ONE correct way to swing a golf club. All of those swings proves the point.

Here’s my take on his swing.

  1. His waggle is a mechanism to get things rolling. I’ve never met him but maybe there’s a hint that he has to keep moving.
  2. He takes the golf club outside a little bit like Jim Furyk or Ryan Moore. In a way that is sort of similar to elements of Leadbetter’s “A-Swing”. Note the downturn of his lead shoulder.
  3. Notice the left heel. Hi lead heel. He lifts it like so many of the greats. For that reason his swing will last through the years and will likely prevent him from major back issues.
  4. He plants the heel… stimulating the transition.
  5. As steep as it is… he flattens his plane with lag to burn. Pause at .02.
  6. Wolff extends great thru impact and down the line

Essentially, there’s a ton of good going on in his swing… and it clearly displays the power and why he’s won.

The long and short of this is to simply… “Swing your swing”. Oh… he also made the cut too!

***I will elaborate on Ho Sung Choi in the near future

Until The Next Tee!!

#FightAndGrind #SeeUOnTheNextTee

Why More Women Don’t Take Up More Golf

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There are many reasons why people don’t play golf or more golf. I wanted to know why. How can we expand this game to include more people? So far, I have focused on just women. I asked around to find the most common reasoning behind why women don’t play golf or play more golf. I can’t say I’m surprised behind the reasoning of it. I myself have many of the same hang ups.

I don’t play golf for some of the reasons of other women but I’ve decided to change that. I have approached my husbands coach to try and teach me why not my husband? How would you be with your husband trying to teach you something new, he frustrates me. So I’ve decided now that I’m a contributor at UTNT and that I’m starting to travel a little bit I should maybe learn the game. As I learn I will be writing about the challenges that I face trying to learn the game. I’m sure it won’t be anything surprising to other  people that have attempted to take up golf.

lexi

Back to my research. I was able to find out there are many hang-ups a lot of women suffer from which prevent them from playing the game. A lot of the hang-ups stem from how they are treated by the men on golf courses. I am not saying it is all men but as my husband says “The old boys’ network”. We want to go out there and play the sport just like the men want to but we are uncomfortable. A lot of the men have a tendency of gawking at a woman when she comes on a course or even a driving range. There are some men that will try to help a female if they think there is something that can be fixed. The only issue is more men are looking at a women just to stare. Newsflash guys… we don’t like to be started at. We want to go there for our peace and quiet and to improve. If you have any sense of respect please don’t stare at us…let us do our thing.

Time constraints. In talking to several women I just wanted to touch on this factor. Not to sound “old country” but for the most part women have said that they simply don’t have time. Between work, getting children to and from school and parenting in general many have have said that they don’t have the time. Closely related to having the time and parenting is that from one individual I heard that pregnancy has taken away the desire to get to a range or course to take up the game. Both LPGA Tour Hall of Fame golfers Lorena Ochoa and Annika Sorenstam walked away from professional golf to start a family. They were at the height of their careers.

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Another big hang-up is how often female golfers get insulted. Just because the average female can’t drive the ball 285 or 300 yards (then again neither can the typical recreational golfer)… don’t judge! You already have us hitting from a shorter distance, be patient and once again don’t judge. The mumbling under your breath or the complaints to other golfers 9 times out of 10 it gets back to us. Why do we have to be judged based on our gender? If a male cannot drive a ball 250 yards and drives it a similar distance to a woman we don’t hear you complaining about that. If you are going to complain about 1 person complain about everyone with that issue despite the gender.

Cost, for the love of everything golf. Why does the sport need to be so darn pricey? If it wasn’t so expensive to play maybe more people would. Newsflash… this is for the manufacturers. Everyone that wants to play golf is not rich so stop making it a rich persons sport. Be realistic or you know what? Make a secondary line. If you made the products more affordable more people would take it up and buy your products. Also the golf courses themselves. Is a $120 green fee for 18 holes is that really necessary. Is it not better to lower the rates and get more people on the course? Or is it better to have higher rates and not get as many? The carts aren’t making you money sitting in the cart compound.

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The course marshals. Yes, you are an issue as well. Stop rushing us off the course. I can understand if we are taking an unrealistic time but come on now. Whether it’s males, females, young or old. We all deserve the same amount of time. Marshals, if there’s one thing that you need to know it’s that breathing down our necks isn’t going to make us move faster. Instead, we’re going to feel frozen because you’re riding us. I understand though… we also have an obligation to keep up with the group in front of us.

Another concern about the game is feeling intimidated. It can be about the game but it is mostly by the men. I know it sounds like I’m man bashing but all I am doing is bringing to the forefront what the issues are with the game. Not all men fit this mold and I don’t mean to stereotype but this is from personal experiences that each woman I have spoken to has voiced. They feel like the men are trying to intimidate them. They make comments like they don’t belong on a course etc. Everyone belongs on a course people! Man, Woman, Boy, Girl, Young or Old. It is a form of exercise and dare I say relaxation.

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The final issue that I have is one that I’ve touched on it in a previous article. CLOTHING! Yes clothing. There is not enough “nice, affordable” pieces of clothing for women. I have been in contact with a couple of companies (Knights of Golf, Golftini and Gretchen Scott to name a couple) and I look forward to getting a chance to talk to them. These lines I feel may have some great pieces of clothing that we can feel comfortable in wearing. Keep your eyes open for what I have to say about the clothing maybe I can enlighten you all and assist with perhaps making you feel more comfortable to play this game.

I just want to re-iterate one more time. I’m not bashing all men. I am simply voicing concerns of the ones that cause these issues. Don’t get me wrong, I guarantee you that there are woman that cause the issues too… possibly for the men. What this write up comes down to is WE NEED TO MAKE A CHANGE! At least if we want to grow the sport. The generations are dying and the game of golf is dying with it. Let’s try to bring it back for our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren to enjoy too. There are too many electronics out there now and the newer generation are indoors playing games. Let’s spread the word and get these kids out of the house and onto a course.

Until The Next Tee!!

#FightAndGrind #SeeUOnTheNextTee

Major Season

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Finally… it’s that time of the year. An already exciting 2018 TOUR season on the LPGA and PGA TOUR respectively has just gotten a whole lot more exciting. it’s time for the first major of the year. While everybody and their uncle are talking about what could be next week… let’s not look too far forward into the future. Instead let’s discuss this week.

It just seems like the majority of golf fans often think of the first major of the year being that little tournament that takes place down in Augusta, Georgia. The home of pimento and cheese sandwiches, Magnolia Lane, azaleas and a land where everything is meticulous and green. But The Masters isn’t the first major of the year. That honour belongs to the ANA Inspiration of the LPGA Tour.

ana trophy

Photo Credit: LPGA

Out in the Californian desert in Rancho Mirage, California lies the stunning Mission Hills Country Club. While the facility houses 54-holes of golf its the Dinah Shore Tournament Course that hosts the years first major. All of the best female golfers in the world descend on the Palm Springs area to play in the annual tournament that was founded in 1972 by entertainer Dinah Shore. The course is home to the popular landmark “Poppies Pond” and was named after former tournament director Terry Wilcox in 2006 (his grandchildren called him “Poppie”). Since 1994, it’s been a tradition for the winner to unceremoniously jump into the pond although the first time that it happened was in 1988.

The list of winner’s of the tournament formerly known as the Nabisco Dinah Shore and Kraft Nabisco among others is a list of superstars from the LPGA Tour. Lydia Ko, Lexi Thompson, last week’s winner Inbee Park, Stacy Lewis, Brittany Lincicome (twice), Lorena Ochoa, Karrie Webb (twice), Juli Inkster, Dottie Pepper and Annika Sorenstam (three times) are some of the names to have won the event. Interestingly enough the legendary Se Ri Pak never won this tournament.

plunge

Photo Credit: LPGA

The field this week seems more star-studded than usual and I really don’t know what I’m basing that on. If you look at results of tournaments thus far in 2018 on the LPGA Tour the year has been full of amazing results. Laura Davies electrified with a sensational finish at age 54 two weeks ago. Major winners Anna Nordqvist, Lydia Ko and Canadian Brooke Henderson could be poised to take the leap into the pond come Sunday. Cristie Kerr, Michelle Wie, Lexi Thompson, and Thailand’s Moriya Jutanagarn have definitely shown signs of brilliance and could be there. But then you have the Korda sister’s (Jessica and Nelly) who look like a “watered-down” LPGA version of the Williams sisters (Serena and Venus) with the way that they’ve played thus far in 2018.

brooke

Photo Credit: LPGA

The action in the desert is going to be fun, exciting and make for very compelling television Sunday evening. We’ve already seen an Ace from Iceland’s Olafia Kristinsdottir. Especially, if the scoring is similar to what’s current at the time of writing. There are 15 players within 3 strokes of the lead as the first round is being played/finished. Just because The Master’s is next week doesn’t mean that you have to sulk because these girls are good. If you haven’t followed the LPGA Tour do yourself a favor and take some time to watch this tournament. Buckle up because the Sunday finish will be as exciting as any other major the guys play.

Until The Next Tee!!