Scorecard: 02.4-10.23
+ Names, news and notables in the golf industry.
The First Call’s Scorecard, a compilation of the golf industry’s news for February 4-10.
BUSINESS
▪️ PopStroke Entertainment Group: To open its PopStroke Tampa/Wesley Chapel location in Lutz, Florida, on Feb. 17. The Tampa location is the sixth PopStroke location and the fifth to open in Florida. Additional locations scheduled to open in the next six months are in Glendale and Scottsdale, Arizona, and Delray Beach, Florida. PopStroke is owned by Greg Bartoli, Tiger Woods’ TGR Ventures and TaylorMade Golf Company. … Club Champion: First Scottish fitting studio now open In Glasgow, Scotland. … International Series: Launches social media channels on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok in advance of the Asian Tour's International Series Oman, Feb. 9-12, at Al Mouj Golf in Muscat, Oman. … Teesnap: Expands Quarterly Business Review access to all clients. Meeting between course leadership and Teesnap Client Success representative helps ensure both parties are aligned on expectations and responsibilities. … Stewart Golf: Launches new brand logo that signifies the British manufacturers future driven by technology and innovation with a mission to change how golf is played. … SwingU: To sponsor the Under Armour Junior Tour thru 2025. … Landscapes Golf Management: Extends multiyear agreement to operate The Golf Club at Devils Tower in Hulett, Wyoming. … Women's Golf Day: Announces its Inspire Action Award winners. The awards reflect WGD's international reach as winners were from the United States, Canada, Scotland and Spain. … College Golf Experience, Southern California PGA: Renew partnership that creates experiences to connect college coaches with juniors (ages 10-18) and parents. … Acushnet Holdings Corp.: Purchases the Club Glove golf travel product brand from West Coast Trends Inc. Acushnet acquires all relevant Club Glove trademarks, domains and products. West Coast Trends will continue to operate and service the Club Glove brand out of its headquarters in Huntington Beach, California. … SwingU: Summit Golf Training training facility at Pinetree Country Club in Kennesaw, Georgia, chooses SwingU Coach platform to receive advanced statistical reporting for its club’s members and staff’s students. … GCSAA: Partners with The Warrior Alliance. Initiative will address the golf industry's labor shortage while serving veterans. Program will target service members, veterans and others seeking jobs within golf.
CHARITABLE
▪️ Trump Turnberry: Announces that its Turnberry Titans fundraising arm raised more than $96,000 for the Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity in 2022. Their efforts included participation in the 297-mile Kiltwalk, which raised over $25,000. … CME Group: Pledges to donate $20,000 to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for each hole in one scored during the 2023 LPGA Tour season as part of the Score 1 for St. Jude campaign. The program, started in 2018, has raised $3.2 million, including $1 million in 2022. … GCSAA: The Toro Company gives $50,000 to support Rounds 4 Research, will helps fund turfgrass research. Toro has helped raise more than $2 million for turfgrass research.
COMPETITION
▪️ United States Golf Association: Announces that four exemption categories will be added for the U.S. Open, beginning with the 2023 championship at The Los Angeles Country Club’s North Course, June 15-18. One additional exemption will be introduced beginning with the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open, July 6-9 at Pebble Beach Golf Links. The four new exemptions for the U.S. Open are the 2023 Latin America Amateur champion (must still have amateur status); 2023 NCAA Division I men’s individual champion (must still have amateur status); 2022 Korn Ferry Tour season points leader; and the top five players in the 2022-23 FedEx Cup standings as of May 22, 2023, not otherwise exempt. The new exemption category added for the U.S. Women’s Open is the 2023 NCAA Division I women’s individual champion (must still have amateur status). … Chubb Classic: Justin Leonard and Notah Begay III commit to play the PGA Tour Champions event at Tiburon Golf Club, Feb. 17-19, in Naples, Florida. … The Genesis Invitational: Gregory Odom Jr. is named the 2023 Pathway Player. Also, the field for the ninth Collegiate Showcase on Feb. 13 at Riviera Country Club is announced. … The Galleri Classic: John Daly, Mark O’Meara, Corey Pavin and John Cook commit to play in the inaugural tournament, March 22-26, at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California. … Golf to Paradise – First Tee Champions Challenge: Ten First Tee participants representing five First Tee chapters will compete in a three-day tournament, Feb. 13-15, in Naples, Florida, in conjunction with the PGA Tour Champions' Chubb Classic.
COURSES
▪️ The Club at ArrowCreek: Reno, Nevada, club is selected as a winner of The Knot’S Best of Weddings and WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Awards for 2023. … Dundonald Links: Scottish Golf Tourism Awards recognizes new luxury resort with first-place prizes for Best Clubhouse and Best Sustainability Project. … PGA National Club Championship: Announces that Troon North Golf Club and The Westin Kierland Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, will host the event in December. The PGA National Club Championship features amateur club champions from facilities with a PGA Professional. The championship comprises six divisions, each competing over 54 holes — the women, Dec. 12-14; the men, Dec. 17-19. The divisions for women and men include: Open (any age), Senior (50+ years old) and Champion (60+ years old). … Explore Branson: Tripadvisor names Branson to its Travelers’ Choice 2023 Best of the Best Destinations list. Ten Missouri golf courses cited among Best in Middle America.
GEAR
▪️ PXG: Enters the golf ball market with PXG Xtreme Golf Balls. New line claims to deliver distance and green-grabbing control, and features a three-piece construction and 338 dimple pattern. … Tour Edge: Unveils Exotics 723 Metals that feature two separate drivers, fairway and hybrid designs designated as Extreme and Competition to fit all swing types. Clubs will be available on March 1. … G/Fore: Luxury lifestyle and golf footwear brand opens G/Fore Supply Scottsdale, a monochromatic retail storefront in the Scottsdale Quarter of the Arizona city. The store features limited-edition styles that customers could previously only explore online and select international locations. … USGA: Launches GS3, a state-of-the-art golf technology tool that calculates putting green speed, firmness, smoothness and trueness. A rechargeable smart ball that is the same size and weight as a standard golf ball and has sensors that collect over 15,000 data points, GS3 creates measurable agronomic benchmarks that superintendents can use to facilitate change more effectively on their course. … Honma Golf: Earns gold and silver in 2023 Golf Digest Hot List. Both medals were awarded to the TW757 family of clubs — a gold medal for the P irons and a silver medal for the fairway wood. … L.A.B. Golf: Link.1 Blade Putter earns gold in Golf Digest’s 2023 Hot List (Best in Blade Putters category).
PEOPLE
▪️ Motocaddy: Appoints Mark Kuryak as its new president and general manager in the Americas to drive sales and raise awareness of the electric golf caddy brand. Motocaddy launched its North American operation in 2019 to offer U.S.-based sales, service and distribution. Kuryak most recently was director of sales of ecommerce and channel strategy for Easton Diamond Sports. … Golf Writers Association of America: Angela Stanford, 45, a major champion, seven-time LPGA winner and six-time U.S. Solheim Cup member, is named the 2022 recipient of the GWAA's Charlie Bartlett Award, given to a playing professional for “unselfish contributions to the betterment of society.” Stanford will be honored at the 49th ISPS GWAA Dinner, April 5 in Evans, Georgia. … TaylorMade Golf: Announces an equipment partnership with World No. 36 Aaron Wise, who is set to play the Stealth 2 Plus driver, Stealth 2 Plus fairway, P·Series irons and TaylorMade putter at this week's WM Phoenix Open. Wise has already played driver and fairway in both of his 2023 starts. … LPGA: Names Nicole Metzger as the new chief sales and partnerships officer. Metzger will be responsible for developing opportunities to attract new top-quality brands and to advance opportunities and value for the LPGA’s existing partners. For the past four years, Metzger served as senior vice president of national sales at JMI Sports in Greenville, South Carolina. … PGA of America: Names Craig Kessler chief operating officer of the PGA of America. Kessler, who begins on March 6, will report to PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh. Kessler served as COO and head of emerging concepts at Topgolf from 2016-21 and, most recently, served as chief executive officer of Buff City Soap, an experiential retail company based in Dallas. … Ryder System: Launches a multimillion-dollar sponsorship and advertising campaign with Sam Ryder, now in his sixth season on the PGA Tour, to promote the company that provides supply chain, dedicated transportation and fleet management solutions. The brand-awareness campaign puts the Ryder corporate logo on Sam Ryder’s golf shirt as he plays on Tour over the next two seasons. It also includes a series of humorous television, print and digital ads that follow Sam Ryder as he explores why the logistics company has taken an interest in him. … Kaulig Companies Championship, PGA Tour Champions, Northern Ohio Golf Charities Foundation: Names NBA champion Stephen Curry as the 2023 recipient of the Ambassador of Golf Award. Curry will be recognized on July 8. The award honors a person who has fostered the game on an international level and whose concerns for others extends beyond the golf course. Also, the PGA Tour Champions has partnered with Underrated Golf, founded by Curry, to host a junior golf event at Firestone Country Club's South Course, July 6-8, prior to the start of the PGA Tour Champions' Kaulig Companies Championship. … East Coast Women’s Pro Golf Tour: Stuart McKinnon, CEO and founder of MetaTech Capital Partners, takes over as owner and president of the Tour. Headquarters will move from Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, to Miami. … OnCore Golf: Former Buffalo Bills player Eric Wood joins the company as an investor and ambassador. Wood joins other NFL players, including Josh Allen (Buffalo Bills, QB) and Ezekiel Elliott (Dallas Cowboys, RB). Circling Raven: Introduces Christopher Runyan as director of golf for the Worley, Idaho, resort amenity, which was named the No. 1 Public Golf Course in Idaho by GolfPass.