Tri State Golfer Summer 2022

®

You’ve worked hard for these carefree days and now it’s time to enjoy them. A day at our continuing care retirement community in Newtown Square might include a session in the floral design studio, a book discussion group, a simulcast opera in our auditorium and a seasonal dinner—not to mention outdoor yoga with new-found friends. Plus, with Philadelphia only miles away, all of the city’s cultural resources are close at hand. There’s always something interesting to do at Dunwoody Village. Contact us today to find out more.

Limited number of newly renovated 1 Bedroom Apartments available

Inspired by Nature... Your Golf Adventure Awaits

Situated in Pennsylvania’s majestic Laurel Highlands, you will discover a golfer’s paradise at the always-adventurous Nemacolin. One of Golf Digest’s “Best Golf Resorts in the Mid-Atlantic,” Nemacolin presents two breathtaking and enigmatic courses designed by the legendary Pete Dye. Ideal for buddies’ trips or large group outings, the acclaimed Mystic Rock and Shepherd’s Rock courses (Golfweek’s #1 and #5 Best Courses You Can Play in Pennsylvania) showcase thrilling shot values with sweeping views of the rugged Allegheny Mountains.

Sharpen your skills at The Nemacolin Golf Academy with expert instruction, state-ofthe-art game-improvement technology (including TrackMan simulators), custom club fitting, and multi-day bootcamps. Book an ultimate getaway to this incomparable destination for golf, spa, world-class cuisine, art, wine, and all-season adventure. Your trip of a lifetime awaits!

The Talamore Family of Clubs

Membership Has More Privileges

A Unique Multi-Club Membership and Club Experience for the Greater Philadelphia Area and Beyond

World-Class Golf Incredible Amenities Club Dining Options

Championship golf at Talamore comes with a unique to the area low country feel as wetlands, graceful lakes and ponds provide a great challenge and stunning backdrop to this highly ranked track. Exceptional private club dining both indoors and outdoors, a resort pool, fitness and tennis and a complete Member’s Social and Golf Calendar of events brings it all together.

Applecross features the area’s only Nicklaus design weaving through the rolling hills of Chester county. It combines natural beauty with playability along with a stiff challenge from the tips. For amenities, there is no equal to Applecross with a state-ofthe-art fitness center, indoor and outdoor pools, tennis, basketball, a world-class yoga studio and the new Spa at Applecross.

Membership at Talamore and Applecross certainly has its privileges…but there is MORE as Talamore Family Members can enjoy a dizzying array of Clubs worldwide through special affiliations with Club Corp and Pacific Links. Firestone, Barton Creek, many TPC clubs and top dining Clubs are all part of the unique Membership offerings.

Country Club

Brian Peterson - Membership Director 215.641.1300 ext. 127 brian.peterson@talamorefamily.com

www.TalamoreCC.com

Applecross Country Club

Steve Natalie - Membership Director 484-692-1010 ext. 110 steve@applecrosscc.com

www.ApplecrossCC.com

Arnold Palmer

of Pinehurst Area,

Talamore Golf Club by Rees Jones Village of Pinehurst Area, NC

Like Donald Ross, who spent roughly 30 years fine-tuning his work on Pinehurst No. 2, those at the helm of the Talamore Golf Resort less than five miles away in Southern Pines have spent the last three decades working tire lessly to make its all-encompassing acreage a pure oasis for golf vacationers of all sorts.

Its proof of success is in Golf Advisor’s annual Golfers’ Choice rankings of the best golf courses in the U.S. For Talamore Golf Resort, it was total domination, highlighted by its position as the No. 1 public golf course in North Carolina.

To add icing on the cake, Mid South Club, Talamore’s sister course, was just voted the Best Public/Semi-Private Course in the Sandhills. Two #1 golf courses... both under the same umbrella...both at the center of Talamore’s golf vacation paradise.

Nate Oxman, Staff Writer - Tri-State Golfer Magazine

INSIDE

ISSUE

Talamore’s Family of Clubs

The Talamore Family Of

Midland Road Masters Package

Dates: 4/6/2022 - 5/6/2022

Weekday - $1046 per person Weekend - $1204 per person

3 Nights in a luxurious 2 bedroom/2 bath

Mid South Lodge

round

Signature Golf Package Dates: 4/6/2022 - 5/6/2022

Weekday - $590 per person Weekend - $715 per person

Nights in a luxurious 2 bedroom/2

Golf

Play

Any opinions expressed in this magazine are those of the writers and do not necessarily represent the views of Tri-State Golfer. The information in this issue was accurate at the time of publication. All should be confirmed with the golf facility before making tee times and reservations.

Historic Village of Pinehurst Area of North Carolina

FIRST

FOR THE

PGA Tour Will Visit Delaware For The First Time When BMW Championship Comes To Wilmington Country Club

TheWestern Golf Association wanted to help one of its equally prestigious brethren, the Golf Association of Philadelphia (GAP), celebrate its 125th anniversary in style.

The WGA runs the BMW Championship, the next-to-last event in the PGA Tour’s FedExCup Playoffs, the one that sends its top 30 finishers to the TOUR Championship in Atlanta at East Lake Golf Club. The BMW Championship is a direct descendent of the Western Open, an event with a history nearly as long as the U.S. Open.

Before anybody had started labeling golf tournaments as major championships, the Western Open had all the trappings and all the prestige of a major. The Western Open, reborn as the BMW Championship with the advent of the FedExCup Playoffs, emerged as something it has always been: One of the most important events in professional golf.

While the BMW Championship remains true to its Western Open roots by regularly visiting one of several outstanding Chicago-area golf courses, the event also gets a chance to showcase some of America’s great golf courses.

Despite some rainy weather, the BMW Championship had a successful event four years ago at Aronimink Golf Club, the Donald Ross gem in Newtown Square and a GAP stalwart. The Western Golf Association didn’t forget its collaboration with GAP and made the offer to bring the BMW Championship to a GAP course in 2022.

On an April day with a spring chill in the air, Tom Humphrey, a Wilmington Country Club member, sat in the clubhouse and looked back at the process that brought the 2022 BMW Championship to Wilmington’s South Course.

Humphrey, a pretty fair golfer in his own right, is the Club’s chairman for the first PGA TOUR event that will be staged in the First State. The first round of the BMW Championship is Aug. 18.

“The Western Golf Association asked GAP for a short list of potential candidates and we were one of them,” Humphrey said.

STATE

By Tom McNichol, Contributing Writer. Cover and article photos courtesy of Charles Cherney/WGA

“Our first meeting was in March 2020 with the Western Golf Association and our response was ‘we’re interested.’”

Shortly after that meeting, the coronavirus pandemic landed on our shores and, with travel limited, the process of picking a site for the 2022 BMW Championship was temporarily on hold.

“By July, we were able to get some PGA Tour officials here to assess how the South Course would hold up to the top 70 players in the world and they were impressed,” Humphrey said.

As if the pandemic wasn’t enough, there was one more hurdle in the process that would bring the 2022 BMW Championship to Wilmington Country Club’s South Course.

This one came courtesy of Mother Nature as Jon Urbanski, the director of golf courses and grounds at Wilmington, saw a tornado touch down in the complex on Aug. 7, 2020, flattening trees and doing damage throughout Wilmington’s property, but hitting the South Course particularly hard.

“We probably lost more than 300 trees, but only one tree fell on a green, so we were lucky in that regard,” Urbanski said in recalling the sudden weather interruption. “The cleanup was one of the biggest challenges of my career.”

The South Course was closed for the rest of 2020 and throughout the following winter. By then the Western Golf Association and the PGA Tour had announced that the BMW Championship would be coming to Wilmington in 2022.

actually made it easier eventually.”

Wilmington Country Club has been around since 1901, but moved to its current location about five miles south of the Pennsylvania border with the South Course, the work of acclaimed golf course architect Robert Trent Jones, opening for play in October, 1959.

Andrew Green, who is acknowledged as one of the leading architects when it comes to the renovation game, played a big role in the simultaneous recovery from the tornado and the preparations for the BMW Championship. The South Course measures 7,534 from the tips and plays to a par of 71.

But through it all, Urbanski believes the South Course has maintained its essential identity.

As it turned out, the tornado enabled Urbanski and his team a chance to enact some of the tweaks the PGA Tour wanted to see on the South Course while cleaning up the damage inflicted by the wicked weather.

“They had wanted eight new tees and 10 new bunkers,” Humphrey said. “The tornado

“We’re a parkland-type golf course, the trees enhance the beauty of the course,” Urbanski said.

There has been one constant for the Western Golf Association throughout the transition from the Western Open to the BMW Championship and that is the event’s

beneficiary: The Evans Scholars Foundation.

The Western Golf Association found a fellow traveler in the area of funding caddie scholarships with GAP and its highly successful J. Wood Platt Caddie Scholarship Trust Fund.

The Evans Scholars Foundation was started in 1930 by famed amateur golfer Charles “Chick” Evans Jr. For the last six years the Evans Scholars Foundation has teamed with GAP’s J. Wood Platt program to provide full tuition and housing college scholarships to deserving youth caddies.

Last year’s BMW Championship at Caves Valley Golf Club in the Baltimore suburbs raised $5.6 million for the Evans Scholars Foundation, smashing the previous record of $4.4 million raised in 2019. With Wilmington Country Club and GAP added to the equation in 2022, the Western Golf Association knows that this year’s BMW Championship will be another fund-raising success story.

Humphrey is looking forward to seeing how Wilmington’s South Course holds up to the very best players in the world. Last year’s BMW Championship at Caves Valley didn’t lack for drama as Patrick Cantlay outlasted the always entertaining Bryson DeChambeau in a six-hole playoff.

Humphrey, though, came away fascinated by the battle for those precious final few berths to the TOUR Championship.

“It was really interesting to watch the four or five guys on the bubble playing the 18th hole at Caves Valley,” Humphrey said. “There’s so much on the line.”

And this year that drama will be playing out at Wilmington’s South Course. Wilmington has hosted six United States Golf Association championships, most notably

the 1971 U.S. Amateur when Canadian Gary Cowan won the championship for the second time (the other was in 1966 at another iconic GAP course, the East Course at Merion Golf Club) by holing out for eagle from 135 yards away on the 72nd hole.

When Humphrey reached out to Delaware’s leaders to gauge their support for helping to stage the BMW Championship, he was talking to people he’s known.

“Delaware’s a small state and very connected,” Humphrey said. “Everybody I spoke to was extremely positive. Most of the people I talked to are either members here or have friends who are members here. Everybody knows each other in Delaware, whether it’s the mayor of Wilmington, county executive or the governor.”

While this will be the first PGA Tour event in Delaware, nearby DuPont Country Club played host to the LPGA Championship, a major championship for the women professionals, from 1994 to 2004. The LPGA Championship played to large and enthusiastic crowds and it should be more of the same for the BMW Championship.

While the role of being the tournament chairman for an event the size and scope of the BMW Championship has been challenging, Humphrey knows he has plenty of support from the people at the Western Golf Association and the PGA Tour.

In addition to Urbanski, Humphrey knows he can count on his home team at Wilmington, which includes general manager and COO Phil Iannelli and Michael Shank, the director of golf operations.

“The people at the WGA have been doing this for a long time,” Humphrey said. “And with Jon (Urbanski), Phil Iannelli and

Michael Shank, we have a great group here.”

Urbanski can’t wait to show off Wilmington’s South Course to a worldwide TV audience.

“All systems are go right now,” Urbanski said with the BMW Championship eight weeks away. “We’re right where we need to be in our preparation. The golf course is going to shine.

“We have 100 staff and volunteers working with us, we’ll be getting help from assistant superintendents in the area and the PGA Tour brings in student interns from all around the country. It’s going to be a tremendous experience to be involved in. We’re going to see some of the latest innovations in agronomy. I’m really looking forward to it.”

The corporate hospitality tents will be prominent on the final four holes and there are several different ticket packages available.

“It will be interesting to see what the golf course looks like when all the grandstands and TV towers and hospitality suites are up,” Humphrey said. “I got to play Caves Valley with the stands up and it was exciting to imagine what it would be like with all the spectators.”

The stands are the trappings of a bigtime golf event and that’s what’s coming to Wilmington Country Club’s South Course. And nothing gets the golf fans of Delaware and the Philadelphia area out like a major golf event. TSG

For more information on the PGA Tour’s first visit to Delaware, visit the BMW website at

BMWCHAMPIONSHIP.COM 610.495.6945

GOLFFOREVER Signs World-Number-One Golfer Scottie Scheffler As Brand Ambassador

GOLFFOREVER – the leading at-home golf fitness training system that helps golfers play without limits – is proud to announce a new partnership with world-No. 1 golfer, Scottie Scheffler.

The newly-minted Masters champion, who leads the 2022 FEDEX Cup Standings with nearly twice as many points as his closest chaser, has won four times on the PGA TOUR since he began using GOLFFOREVER’s groundbreaking training system that pairs the first-ever multi-use golf fitness and warmup tool with videostreaming routines for flexibility, speed, power and injury recovery in the GOLFFOREVER app. Scheffler will represent the brand by appearing in GOLFFOREVER video content and advertisements, using the GOLFFOREVER Training System in a similar capacity to how he uses it in his own daily routines.

Considering the authentic relationship between Scheffler and GOLFFOREVER already in place, as well as Scheffler’s well-earned trust in key GOLFFOREVER contributor, Dr. Troy Van Biezen – a top PGA Tour chiropractor and trainer with whom Scheffler has worked over the past 10 years – the announcement of an official partnership is a natural one for both parties.

“It’s been an unbelievable ride these past few months and part of my success is no doubt due to the hard work I’ve put in with GOLFFOREVER. It’s a tool and approach that is critical to my preparation for the PGA Tour, and I respect GOLFFOREVER’s mission of helping all golfers improve their bodies and play their best with the same scientific approach as mine. I’m proud to be their ambassador and excited for the relationship ahead,” said Scheffler.

Dr. Van Biezen, a marquee instructor within the GOLFFOREVER app, has worked with top players on the PGA Tour for the past 20 years like Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Zach Johnson. He introduced Scheffler to the GOLFFOREVER product during its soft-launch in November, and the pair have since developed a variety of pre-round warmups, flexibility routines

Scottie Scheffler

and strength workouts that Scheffler follows religiously, including during the week of his three-stroke victory at Augusta National.

“To say we’re excited about this incredible partnership with Scottie is an understatement,” said GOLFFOREVER Founder and CEO, Dr. Jeremy James. “On top of him being a person of such high character and a hard-working golfer who personifies our mission, it’s an honor for GOLFFOREVER to have played a part in his meteoric rise to World No. 1 over the past four months. We look forward to a long partnership ahead and will continue to serve the world’s best players like Scottie, and all golfers, who want to improve and perform their best.”

Added GOLFFOREVER Managing Director Jon Levy:

“Anyone who knows this game understands that any slight advantage PGA Tour players can get over their competition can mean the difference between winning and missing cuts. We’re honored Scottie chose to train with our new system last fall, and that he continues to prepare his body and his game with it on a nearly daily basis. This opportunity not only shines a spotlight on what elite players like him to do to maximize their potential, it will help all golfers learn just how much they can improve their game with GOLFFOREVER.”

The 25-year-old Scheffler joins GOLFFOREVER’s original PGA Tour ambassador, Justin Leonard – whose career is transitioning to the PGA Tour Champions this summer – in a capacity that illustrates the versatility of GOLFFOREVER’s products helping golfers of any age or skill level.

“Scottie leaves no stone unturned in his pursuit of excellence,” said the 12-time PGA Tour winner, Leonard. “His belief in GOLFFOREVER is proof that our training system is beneficial to golfers of all ages and abilities, whether it’s the No. 1-ranked player in the world or the weekend golfer trying to gain a few yards and stay out of pain.”

For more information, visit GolfForever.com

42NDU.S. SENIOR OPEN

U.S. Senior Open Returns To Saucon Valley

By Tom McNichol, Contributing Writer

I’sbeen 30 years since Saucon Valley Country Club first played host to the U.S. Senior Open.

It was the first time the United States Golf Association turned to MSG Promotions, Inc., to manage the entire championship, including corporate hospitality sales, fulfillment, and operations to help market its event to the Lehigh Valley and beyond.

The company was owned by Mimi Griffin, a pioneer as a woman in sports broadcasting who had a decade of experience in sports marketing and decided to try her hand at running a major golf event. Turns out she was a natural.

Cigar-smoking Everyman Larry Laoretti was the unlikely winner of that U.S. Senior Open, but Griffin and her company might have been just as big a winner as the event tripled the income generated by previous U.S. Senior Opens.

It is all coming full circle for Griffin and Saucon Valley this spring as the U.S. Senior Open visits the Old Course for the third time and MSG Promotions, Inc. in the person of the event’s executive director, one Mimi Griffin, is preparing to put on quite a show.

“We were so successful that David Fay, who was the USGA’s executive director at the time, wanted to know how we did it,” Griffin said in the U.S. Senior Open tournament headquarters on the edge of the Saucon Valley property with spring still slow to arrive on a chilly April day.

Fay was so impressed with what he heard that he eventually hired MSG Promotions, Inc. to work its magic with the USGA’s crown jewel, the U.S. Open, in 1995. Griffin

and MSG Promotions have been handling corporate hospitality marketing for the U.S. Open ever since.

Griffin hasn’t been able to resist working the U.S. Senior Open in her adopted home area of the Lehigh Valley. Her championship management expertise was utilized when the U.S. Senior Open returned to Saucon Valley in 2000 and Hale Irwin captured the second of his two U.S. Senior Open titles with a brilliant final-round 65.

Even with this year’s U.S. Senior Open following right behind the U.S. Open at the Country Club in Brookline, Mass. on the calendar, Griffin’s team at MSG Promotions, Inc. will manage the corporate hospitality effort at the U.S. Open and manage the “outside the ropes” aspects at the U.S. Senior Open. The U.S. Senior Open will be played June 23 to 26.

The U.S. Senior Open returns to Saucon Valley, a golf complex conceived by Eugene Grace, the president of Bethlehem Steel, as the Old Course celebrates its centennial. The 7,028-yard, par-71 Old Course was designed during the golden age of golf course architecture in America by Herbert Strong with tweaks over the last century by William Gordon, Perry Maxwell and Tom Marzolf.

And while the golf course remains the classic layout it has always been, Griffin has seen her approach to marketing the tournament evolve over the years.

“We had that open area off the 16th, 17th and 18th holes and that’s where we put all the corporate hospitality suites in 2000,” Griffin said. “But increasingly the people in those corporate suites want to be on the golf

course. They want to be able to watch the golf from their suite, so our corporate suites will be around the golf course this year.”

That left 660,000 square feet of space to work with and Griffin and her team will fill that with the 19th Hole, presented by Lehigh Valley Health Network, an upgraded ticket area that will offer all kinds of ways to engage the fans who come out to Saucon Valley. Sounds like there will be so much to do, some of the fans will forget to go out and watch the golf.

It will start the Tuesday and Wednesday of tournament week with evening concerts by the Craig Thatcher Band, a local favorite. The band’s appearance is courtesy of Martin Guitars, based in Nazareth.

“We’re aware that several of the senior pros have Martin Guitars and we’re hopeful we’ll be able to get some of them on the stage for a jam session,” Griffin said.

X-Golf Lehigh Valley in Easton will have a spot with its simulators and Philadelphia Section PGA pros will be on hand to offer some lessons.

D.G. Yuengling & Son, Inc., the oldest operating brewing company in America, based in nearby Pottsville, will be operating a temporary sports bar in the 19th Hole area.

The St. Luke’s University Health and Wellness Pavilion will greet fans at the tournament’s entrance. There will be demonstrations of the latest medical technology as well as prizes and giveaways.

Some familiar sports figures with ties to the area will make appearances, including the “Easton Assassin,” former heavyweight champion Larry Holmes, Phillies Hall of

Fame pitcher Steve Carlton, Buffalo Bills Pro Bowl wide receiver and Kutztown University product Andre Reed, former Eagles placekicker David Akers, 22-time national champion cyclist Mandy Marquardt, and rising golf professional Zach Juhasz.

Service Electric, one of the Lehigh Valley’s leading cable providers and the oldest cable company in the country, will be the presenting sponsor of the volunteer headquarters. The region came out in force, approximately 1,925 of them volunteering their time and effort to make this third U.S. Senior Open at Saucon Valley a success.

Wind Creek Bethlehem, the presenting sponsor of social gaming at the 2022 U.S. Senior Open, will offer golf fans an opportunity to bet in real time on the action occurring on the 16th, 17th and 18th holes. The betting is free with merchandise prizes awaiting those who make the right choices.

“The corporate outreach in this region has really been impressive,” Griffin said. “The region’s iconic companies and organizations really wanted to support this because they see it as something that is a real benefit to the community.”

The U.S. Senior Open at Saucon Valley got a little added benefit when Jim Furyk, the 1987 Pennsylvania high school champion at Manheim Township, captured the U.S.

Senior Open title last summer at Omaha Country Club, giving Saucon Valley a defending champion with some really strong Pennsylvania ties.

“I have to admit I was rooting pretty hard for him down the stretch last year,” said Griffin, whose ties to the Lancaster area are as strong as her many connections in the Lehigh Valley.

Furyk added a U.S. Senior Open title to his 2003 U.S. Open triumph at Olympia Fields Country Club in suburban Chicago. He joined a short list of winners of both championships that includes some names you might be familiar with, including Irwin, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Lee Trevino, Billy Casper and Orville Moody.

Griffin has seen the Lehigh Valley grow as a sports and entertainment destination in the last 30 years.

“When we had the U.S. Senior Open in 2000, there wasn’t the Iron Pigs, there wasn’t the Phantoms, so there was little competition,” Griffin said. “Only the Iron Pigs will be in season when the Senior Open is going on, but there is some competition out there for the sports dollar. And Musikfest is a huge event.”

Still, Griffin is confident that the U.S. Senior Open will bring fans from the Lehigh Valley and beyond to Saucon Valley.

“We have Furyk, there’s Ernie Els, Fred

Couples, Davis Love,” Griffin rattles off just a few names off the top of her head. “I’m not sure what’s going on with Phil Mickelson, but it would be great if he was here. He’s beloved by golf fans. It’s that simple.”

Griffin knows she has an outstanding team at Saucon Valley, headed by general manager Kimberly Clark Warren, director of golf courses Jim Roney and Mike Wood, the director of golf who was the Philadelphia Section PGA’s Merchandiser of the Year for private facilities in 2021.

Two previous U.S. Senior Opens and the 2009 U.S. Women’s Open have proven to Griffin that the Lehigh Valley golf community will embrace a major event.

“Saucon Valley is one of those clubs that feels like it has an obligation to put on events for the good of the game,” Griffin said. “In the past, our data shows us that 80 percent of the people who come here are coming from within 40 miles. The pandemic created a golf boom and I think we’ll have enough going on here that it will be attractive to golfers and non-golfers alike.” TSG

more information:

758 7150

How a Youth Sports Franchise Is Impacting Golf And Kids

Since signing with TGA, franchisee Kevin Rooney continues expanding his business and offerings, leveraging TGA’s robust golf programming to achieve record-breaking success.

As a 22-year-old University of Tampa student, Kevin Rooney was working as a caddie and outside operations at Ridgewood Country Club in Bergen County, New Jersey. While at Ridgewood, he developed a passion for the game, impacting youth, and introducing kids to golf.

In 2006, he discovered a unique career opportunity through an upstart youth sports franchise company, TGA Premier Sports, that specialized in bringing youth golf programs directly to school campuses and local community centers. He quickly became TGA’s youngest franchise owner, covering Bergen County.

“I was seeking a career in the golf industry that could allow me to grow and build my own business, and the jobs then seemed to be tough to find,” recalls Rooney. “I really liked TGA’s franchise model because there was an established infrastructure, start-up fees were reasonable, and I didn’t have to reinvent the wheel. It was also the only youth sports franchise business offered anywhere in the golf industry.”

TGA’s model to bring golf directly to school campuses began sweeping the nation and it did not take long for Rooney to expand his business with a second franchise in Westchester County in 2008.

TGA -- which was recently acquired by New York based youth sports franchise brand Youth Athletes United – remains still the only youth sports franchise model specializing in golf.

Today, Rooney is the brand’s largest franchise owner who continues to expand his business, showcasing the long-term scalability of the model. He has also helped TGA become one of the largest junior golf programs in America -- being in 100+ schools in the New York/New Jersey metropolitan areas with more than 50,000 kids participating in golf programs to date.

Rooney is glad he was able to recognize the potential benefits of franchising early on -being able to use TGA’s proven business model, curriculum, and lesson plans. “I could also have a flexible schedule and could still caddie and do the other things I wanted to do,” he says. “I

knew that as much effort as I put in, I would get rewarded. I was in control of the growth and bottom line. I’ve had that work ethic since childhood — riding my bike to caddie at 6 a.m. on weekends or skipping prom to work. I knew I could successfully grow the business.”

And as someone who has played golf since age 10, Rooney says he also recognized an opportunity to bring a much-needed service to his community’s youth and families. “Growing up where I did, the only way someone could have access to junior golf was by being a member of the country club,” he says. “It was my passion to give kids access to convenient and reasonably priced golf lessons. We can come right to the school for kids who didn’t even know they wanted to learn golf.”

One of the most unique aspects to TGA’s model is how franchise owners become vested into the community. While an owner’s passion

might be working in sports or golf with kids, their success is predicated on engaging schools, families, and golf courses getting kids to sign up for the innovative introductory programs. Another is the Player Pathway TGA has created for kids to become lifelong golfers and parents love it.

Once students go through the after-school enrichment classes, they move on to experience the game through local golf course partnerships that TGA develops. Rooney will conduct 40+ week-long summer camps at three area courses, and rec center facilities -- as well as run parent/ child events. From there, kids transition into other national junior golf programs. During the off-season, Rooney also facilitates indoor simulator golf sessions which often include instruction from TGA coaches and fun games/ contests. Similar tennis programs are also run at local tennis facilities.

“We’ve evolved from being just an afterschool program to a year-round multi-faceted youth sports learning platform, which includes leagues, tournaments, camps and an entire pathway for kids ages three through 17 to be introduced to golf,” said Rooney. “I’m seeing high school kids that I taught when they were in elementary school now teaching kids that are the same age.”

Since the pandemic the popularity of golf has exploded bringing new players into the game, which has been both a positive and a negative for Rooney.

“The new popularity of golf is helping us. Even though some of our golf course partners who are so busy with public play and charging higher rates, have had to adjust our programming needs, the average class sizes have grown by 25 – 50 percent,” says Rooney. “With schools also welcoming back after school vendors like TGA, in addition to our local community center programming in both Westchester and Bergen counties, the number of kids we are servicing is at an all-time high.”

With his creative and constantly evolving strategy, Rooney’s been able to stay at the forefront of the TGA system. His location has been the system’s top revenue producer since 2010 and has grown steadily each year.

“If I can set an example for other franchisees across the country, that’s great,” says Rooney. “The work that my team and I have put in over

the years is paying off.”

Looking ahead, Rooney says that while he might be on his way to being the first TGA franchisee to earn $1 million in revenue in a year, he sees his success in how many kids and families he is impacting, providing more opportunities for kids be introduced to golf, and continuing to grow the participation rates.

“Kevin Rooney is a perfect example of how TGA franchise owners have the ability to customize their ‘youth sports delivery system’ in a way that aligns with their passions and business goals to build a fun and successful career opportunity, says Laura Sappington Senior Director of Operations for TGA. “Kevin’s success further solidifies that our business model is working to empower entrepreneurs to activate golf programs in their communities and do it in a way that is more achievable from a financial standpoint and greater value proposition.”

Youth Athletes United, with its 250+ units together with TGA Premier Sports has continued to grow rapidly the past year, as more families seek sports activities, and health and wellness programs. Passionate entrepreneurs are also looking to bring youth sports enrichment programs into their communities. According to a Sports & Fitness Industry Association study, individual sports like golf saw a 13.2% participation growth last year, respectively, due in large part to the pent-up demand for getting

outside and being active during the pandemic.

Rooney’s franchise isn’t the only one in the New York/New Jersey areas.

A second franchise area in Westchester County was acquired by Sean Rivera, who left his career as an equity derivatives broker in 2013 and was attracted to TGA for the way he could impact kids through the lifelong sports of golf and tennis. He has also seen his program registrations explode since the pandemic.

“Doing after school golf programs has cemented our name in the communities we serve as the go to program for beginning golfers,” says Rivera. “While we are starting to see our after-school programs coming back, the real growth for us over the past year has been with our local golf course partners like Dunwoodie, and recreation centers in Harrison, Mamaroneck, and Rye. We saw our best year ever in 2021.”

In Mercer County, New Jersey, the husbandand-wife team of Stuart and Winnie Woody also acquired their TGA golf franchise in 2013. The Woody’s are a unique entrepreneurial team, bringing a deft combination of business background and youth sports experience, to become part of TGA’s grassroots movement.

“We’re super fortunate,” says Winnie Woody. “With TGA, we are able to do every day what most people only have the privilege of doing on the weekends and on vacation. We’re ambassadors for one of the best life-long sports -- and we get to proactively bring the message to the youngest and most energetic future players in our community.”

TGA, which has already impacted more than 850,000 kids nationwide, also has area franchises in Union and Essex counties in New Jersey. TSG

Franchises are available in the Philadelphia and southern New Jersey markets. For more information:

FRANCHISETGA.COM

Gaylord Golf Mecca Offers Top Resort Golf Experiences

By Joe Burkhardt, Publisher

It’s

one of America’s favorite summer golf destinations in Northern Michigan that include 8 of the 17 golf courses the Mecca has to offer with three member resorts Otsego Resort, The Natural at Beaver Creek Resort and Treetops Resort that was hosted on the famous par-3 course Threetops in 2001 and that memorable hole-in-one made by Lee Trevino when he stepped up to

the downhill 138 yarder seventh. He returned in July of 2021 on the 20th anniversary of that shot and still has fond memories of that ace and as a young 40 year old, I remember watching on TV and then visiting myself on a recent trip to hit that shot and that is why you should come to Gaylord and start and experiencing that history. In addition to golf, Otsego Resort

has 80 guest rooms with an Alpine log cabin welcome feel and the Duck Blind Grille and two golf courses. The Natural at Beaver Creek Resort has a modern log cabin feel including some views of The Natural golf course. Treetops has five golf courses and a variety of lodging options. Here are some golf courses to put on your Gaylord golf trip besides the must play Threetops.

The Natural Golf Course

Located on the west side of Otsego Lake, The Natural is a four star Jerry Matthews championship design and con structed on one of the most scenic sites in Northern Michi gan. It’s a challenging course where you can play from a different set of tees for all levels of playing ability. While playing the course you are sure to see some wildlife during the round of seeing deer, wild turkey, beaver, heron and sets up well for three great finishing holes.

Lakes of the North

Located thirty minutes from Gaylord this course offers two different styles of nines. The original nine at Lakes of the North golf course was designed by Bill Newcomb back in 1968 which is now the back nine with a parklands design feel of holes that remind me of a course I grew up on with back and forth holes where you can see plenty of golfers and a very flat course that is great for walking with very few uphill holes. The new front nine was designed in the late 1980’s by Jerry Matthews who also did The Natural Golf Course is more a woodlands, hills style nine that you will find as I did the better of the nines. But I like the feel of playing two dif ferent nines that give you plenty of scoring holes and some challenging holes and a relaxing round of golf where you can get up and just fire away.

Sturgeon River Paddlesports

I am not one for rafting or water sports. But I was with a group of golf writers and others and the pressure was just too much to bail out. What I can tell you is... I am so glad I didn’t bail out. I can now say I did rafting with a tour guide on the Sturgeon River and would go back to do it all again. Those of you looking to do something after the round of golf which is what I recommend, we did it before golf and that was a challenge after rafting for two hours and the sun beating down on you, the golf game after rafting was a challenge. Located in Wolverine, Michigan Sturgeon River Paddlesports offers so many things to do. Besides Rafting there is Kayak -Canoe-Raft-Tube-Bike-Paddleboard- Winter Trips- Shuttle service and an outfitter supply. This is a great getaway from all the golf and just a cool and fun experience you will enjoy.

Masterpiece Course at Treetops

Coming from Rafting and playing the most difficult course at Treetops my most memorable experience was being paired with the Pro and playing the opening Par 5 First hole, hit ting a good drive and the second shot downhill with water guarding the right side of the green. I stepped up to my sec ond shot 235 yards out and took a driver off the deck and knocked it onto the green and the look on the face of the Pro was priceless. After that it was downhill from there. This course overlooks the Pigeon River Valley. Designed in 1985 by the famous Robert Trent Jones, Sr that opened for play in 1987 it is known and recognized as the most scenic course at Treetops and is considered its most challenging course and only golf course located on the main property. There are plenty of elevation changes here and some that are very steep going down. I have played my fair share of golf courses over my 50 years of playing golf around the country and I never had to sign a cart waiver before until here and you’ll understand why. With that being said if you like a challenge this course will give you all you can handle. If you remember the days of the Michigan Fab Five basketball team. There are five good reasons why golfers want to come play at this Fab Five that is home to five of the best courses in Michigan.

I have to say this place really impressed me. Located in Lewis ton, Michigan with four really good golf courses on property, I played this one 3,000 acres and you never have to leave the property with a phenomenal Tiki Bar offering three restaurant venues on site that include Antlers Bar & Grille and Tamarack Dining room that will be sure to please any palate that in cludes great food and a variety of stay and play packages and cozy cottages. First opened in 1995 with a redesign in 2010 by Michael Bradely with very undulating greens that require strategy. This is a unique course that offers a 6-6-6 design with Par Threes, Fours and Fives. But I can tell you, I wish I had the time to play all four courses from riding the course that looked spectacular and you can’t go wrong booking here.

The Tribute at Otsego Resort

The Otsego Resort offers two really good golf courses - The Classic and the one I played The Tribute. The Tribute was codesigned by Rick Robbins and former PGA Tour Player Gary Koch. If you like elevation and elevated tees and greens you have come to the right place. This will give all golfers of any skill level a challenge and an array of shots that will have you playing every club in the bag. Again like many of the resorts in Northern Michigan both courses offer scenic beauty from woodlands to water and wildlife that won’t loll you to sleep because there is always beauty to see and a shot to play. When your done golfing, the lodging and food here is second to none and leaves you with great memories.

For more information, visit: GAYLORDGOLFMECCA.COM

Fountains Course at Garland Resort

An Iron Set That Is Perfect For The Best Players. Honma’s New T//World TW757 Irons Are Available In Three Sets

Three Models Of The Tour Driven TW757 Irons Meet The Needs Of The Best Players Around The World

and toe weighting inside the cavity reduces energy loss on off-center hits, and generates high launch windows, with optimal spin and exquisite feel Honma T//World irons are known for.

Honma’s new TW757 Vx irons retail for $1,272 (5 –PW) in TW757 Modus Tour 105 steel shafts and $1,500 with Vizard TW757 IB-WF composite-material shafts.

T//World 757B Irons

To complement the standard VIZARD for 757 50 Shaft, Honma produces some of the very best shafts in the world for players looking to take their game to the next level through Sakata’s world-renowned Custom Department. Produced in-house in Honma’s Sakata factory to the industry’s tightest tolerances, the VIZARD MA, MP, FZ and Platinum hold their own on professional tours around the world.

T//World 757P Irons

The multi-material TW757P Player’s Distance irons are designed for players in pursuit of consistent distance and added control, while still demanding the look and feel of a traditional iron only Honma’s experienced Takumi (Master Craftsmen) can deliver.

Inlaid 12gr. tungsten sole weights along with an undercut pocket cavity creates a low-anddeep CG in a relatively compact iron, which generates high trajectory in conjunction with a modern spec loft package.

The steel body also houses a 6gr. toe-weight to precisely center the sweet-spot, and a 2.2mm thin L-cup face insert generates consistently fast ball speed across the face for the better player looking for added distance with a measure of forgiveness. Honma’s new TW757 P irons retail for $1,272 (5 – PW) in NS950 NEO steel shafts and $1,392 with Vizard TW757 graphite shafts.

T//World 757Vx Irons

Forged from the softest premium S20C carbon steel, the TW757Vx Iron is a true players iron. The beautiful, tour-approved address profile in the one-piece cavity back forging features a 7gr. tungsten weight in the toe. The tungsten toe-weight serves to pull the CG towards the dead-center of the face (#4 - #8 iron) for consistency throughout the bag. Optimal heel

The TW757B is Honma’s advanced next-gen muscle back blade design. Featuring a thin top-line in a traditional-shaped blade, ideal CG placement is achieved by inserting a 7gr. tungsten weight and resin insert into a strategically placed port in the toe (#3-#7 iron). With additional material removed to lighten the heel to further optimize CG placement, the TW757B iron presents an ideal balance of performance and feel to let the best players in the world dictate their preferred trajectory and distance control. Honma Takumi have crafted the TW757 blades from the softest 8620 carbon steel for the ultimate in player feedback with tighter tolerances than any previous muscle back blades in company history.

Honma’s new TW757 B irons retail for $1,272 with TW757 Dynamic Gold Steel shafts.

VIZARD SHAFTS, MADE IN JAPAN, SAKATA

The exclusive VIZARD for 757 50 Shaft was holistically designed to synergize the TW757 Driver and Fairway Woods from grip to tip. The strong mid-section in conjunction with a sub 5.0° torque value stabilizes club delivery and maximizes energy transfer at impact, while a softer tip provides for high launch and optimal spin. This versatile shaft has a smooth feel and is playable for a wide variety of players looking for a premium ultra-lightweight shaft. As with all VIZARD shafts, this proprietary shaft is spine aligned at 6 o’clock for added stability and Made in Japan.

VIZARD MA is designed for High Trajectory and Mid Spin. Well suited for players who prefer a firmer handle or tend to have a descending attack angle or struggle to release the golf club, the VIZARD MA features Ni-Ti alloy for shape retention in the tip-section to allow for higher launch and easy release while still maintaining ample control. Offered in 40-, 50-, 60-, and 70-gram weight classes.

VIZARD MP is built for the player with a neutral delivery looking for a shaft offering High Launch and Low Spin in a smooth feeling shaft. This shaft’s slight draw bias is achieved by extensive layering of ultra-high strength TORAYCA®T1100G materials to provide stability and feel in this popular custom shaft. Offered in 40-, 50-, 60-, and 70-gram weight classes.

VIZARD FZ was born to accommodate the strongest swings on tour and is now available to players around the world. The rigid tip-section of the FZ shaft is created by layering the highstrength and elastic TORAYCA® M40X carbon fiber material in the tip area. This shaft creates a mid-launch condition and very low spin. Offered in 50-, 60-, and 70-gram weight classes.

VIZARD PT (Platinum) is an exciting new concept in ultra-premium custom shafts that helps players maximize clubhead speed. This shaft contains ultra-elastic carbon TORAYCA® M40X in the bias layer for added tip reinforcement, and the ultra-high strength and elastic TORAYCA® T1100G in all layers. This unique shaft features a stiff tip and butt section with very low torque, paired with an active midsection to help increase swing speed. Offered in 40-, 50-, and 60-gr. weight classes in a single uniflex profile targeted at players with current clubhead speeds of 82-116 mph.

To learn more, visit https://us.honmagolf. com/collections/tworld.

BAYWOOD

CHARITABLE EVENTS

ANNIKA Foundation Raises

$65,000 At Forsgate Country Club

By Joe Burkhardt, Publisher

The ANNIKA Foundation came to Forsgate Country Club on May 12th and raised $65,000. The Foundation was established in 2008 by the Hall Of Fame Professional Golfer Annika Sorenstam of Sweden who won an incredible 94 professional wins before her retirement in 2008 that included 10 Major Championship during her decorated career and was the most successful player of the modern era of Woman’s Majors.

In 2001 at a tournament in Phoenix The Standard Register Ping Tournament at Moon Valley she shot an amazing 27 - under 261 that became the lowest winning score in a 72 - hole event that was later broken 17 years later by Sei Young Kim shooting a record 31 - under 257 at The Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic. That Phoenix event included a record 59, the only 59 ever shot by a LPGA Professional Golfer.

The Forsgate Country Club event was played on the Banks Course on a perfect

temperature sunny day that started with a Q&A at breakfast followed by a full field of golfers for a 9:15am shotgun start, where ANNIKA took the time to visit with every group on the course to take group pictures and selfies. That was followed by a 2pm clinic by ANNIKA and then after the clinic four lucky bidders got to play or caddie three holes each for ANNIKA.

The beautiful Forsgate Country Club located in Monroe Township, NJ, designed by Charles H Banks, one of the most celebrated “Golden Age” architects, has 36 holes of Championship Golf. The Banks course is consistently ranked by Golf Digest among its “Best in State” for New Jersey. The scenic Palmer course includes holes designed by the legend himself, Arnold Palmer. Both courses offer excellent playing conditions for golfers of all skills and can host your next outing event. For more information, visit forsgatecc.com.

Annika Sorenstam

THE PERFECT SETTING

FOR GROUPS WITH OVER 84 PLAYERS

April–October

$99–F&B package included–No Alcohol

Monday–Thursday

April–September

$119-F&B package included-No alcohol Friday (Subject to approval)

April–October

$85–F&B package included–No Alcohol Monday–Thursday

April–October

$99-F&B package included-No alcohol Friday (Subject to approval)

7 day: $4,200 • 5 day: $3,400

•

TALAMORE

Where More Is What You’ll Always Get

Like Donald Ross, who spent roughly 30 years fine-tuning his work on Pinehurst No. 2, those at the helm of the Talamore Golf Resort less than five miles away in Southern Pines have spent the last three decades working tire lessly to make its all-encompassing acreage a pure oasis for golf vacationers of all sorts.

Its proof of success is in Golf Advisor’s annual Golfers’ Choice rankings of the best golf courses in the U.S. For Talamore Golf Resort, it was total domination, highlighted by its position as the No. 1 public golf course in North Carolina.

To add icing on the cake, Mid South Club, Talamore’s sister course, was just voted the Best Public/Semi-Private Course in the Sandhills. Two #1 golf courses... both under the same umbrella...both at the center of Talamore’s golf vacation paradise.

Nate Oxman, Staff Writer - Tri-State Golfer Magazine

Historic Village of Pinehurst Area of North Carolina

More Hospitality Included

More of Everything

Midland Road Masters Package

Dates: 9/13/22 - 11/17/22

Weekday - $895 per person

Weekend - $1007 per person

3 Nights in a luxurious 2 bedroom/2 bath Mid South Lodge

Play 1 round each at Talamore Golf Club, Mid South Club, Mid Pines & Pine Needles

Signature Golf Package

Dates: 9/10/22 - 11/11/22

Weekday - $491 per person Weekend - $587 per person

2 Nights in a deluxe 2 bedroom/2 bath Talamore Golf Villa

Play 2 rounds of golf at Talamore Golf Club and 1 round at Mid South Club

*Package rate is based on quad occupancy and included ALL lodging fees, green fees, cart fees, and applicable taxes. Offers are subject to availability. Cannot be combined with any other promotions or offers, and does not apply to existing bookings. Advance reservations are required. Daily breakfast delivered to your door and southern pig pickin’ are only offered seasonally.

#1 Public Golf Course in NC

Arnie’s Only Design in the Area

Access to 25+ Area Courses

Delivered to You Each Morning

Talamore’s BBQ Pavilion

Traditional Southern BBQ

Talamore Golf Villas

Lodges at Mid South

The Palmer Cottage

Talamore Golf Club Mid South Club Tobacco Road