Divot Mix

"The glorious thing is that thousands of golfers, in park land, on windy downs, in gorse, in heather, by the many-sounding sea, enjoy their imbecilities, revel in their infirmities, and from failure itself draw that final victory - the triumph of hope." -- R.C. Robertson-Glasgow

Core golfer number dips in 2004

Based on the National Golf Foundation's recent annual sounding of golf participation, the total number of adult golfers dropped 3.9 percent, from 28.4 million in 2003 to 27.3 million in 2004. The number of Core golfers – those playing at least eight annual rounds – was 12.8 million in 2004. That's 4.7 percent lower than the 13.4 million recorded in 2003.

“The number of Core golfers has been essentially flat for the past four years,” says NGF president Joe Beditz. “Given the statistical margin of error around these numbers, we don't put too much emphasis on one-year variations in participation. What we can say is that the number of Core golfers is more than it was 10 years ago, but less than five years ago.”

NGF focuses on Core golfers because, while they represent 47 percent of total golfers, they account for 91 percent of rounds played and 87 percent of golf-related spending. The number of junior golfers ages 12-17 increased from 2.5 million in 2003 to 2.9 million in 2004. And the number of total golfers ages 12 and above dropped from 30.9 to 30.2 million.

For more information regarding golf participation contact NGF at (888) 275-4643.

Toro training program winners announced

Six GCSAA members have been selected to learn first-hand what it takes to prepare for the most prestigious golf tournaments in the world. As winners of the Toro Championship Tournament Training Program, three participants will attend the 2005 U.S . Open at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club in Pinehurst, N.C., and three participants will attend the 87th PGA Championship at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J., serving on the golf course maintenance staff for the respective events.

Joining superintendent Paul Jett, CGCS, at Pinehurst will be: Adam Pierce, assistant superintendent at Biltmore Country Club, North Barrington, Ill.; Jason Criss, assistant superintendent at The Philadelphia Cricket Club in Flourtown, Pa.; and Jonathan Mark Vandale, student at the University of New Hampshire. Joining superintendent Mark Kuhns, CGCS, at Baltusrol Golf Club will be: Kyle Manus, assistant superintendent at The Golf Club at Briar's Creek, Johns Island, S.C.; Stephen Tucker, assistant superintendent at Whispering Pines Club, Trinity, Texas; and Loren Frost, student at the University of Tennessee.

The six winners were selected from 55 assistant superintendent and 22 student entries that included past work experience and an essay about future career goals. Jett and Kuhns selected the participants from a slate of finalists.

The Toro Company established the Toro Championship Tournament Training Program in partnership with the GCSAA to provide an opportunity for assistant superintendents and student members to learn what happens at the highest level of golf course management. The Toro Championship Tournament Training Program is part of the Toro Scholars Program, which promotes professionalism in turf careers through scholarships, education and training programs throughout the industry.

"The Toro Championship Tournament Training Program brings the experience and knowledge of major tournament preparation to GCSAA's members," said Bob VandenBoom, senior golf marketing manager at Toro. "The experience is designed to expose superintendents at the beginning of their careers to a variety of cultural practices and management techniques that make major tournaments a success."

Sixty-seven now exempt in Women's Open

Nine more golfers have earned full exemptions into the 2005 U.S. Women's Open, based on the LPGA money list, including four former USGA champions.

That brings the total of fully exempt players to 67 for the championship, to be held June 23-26 at Cherry Hills Country Club in Cherry Hills Village, Colo.

Silvia Cavalleri (1997 Women's Amateur); Emilee Klein (1991 Girls' Junior); Jill McGill (1993 Women's Amateur, 1994 Women's Amateur Public Links); and Nicole Perrot (2001 Girls' Junior) were added to the field based on their ranking in the top 35 on the LPGA money list as of May 30.

Others earning full exemptions for their place on the money list were Natalie Gulbis, Karine Icher, Soo-Young Kang, Joo Mi Kim and Jimin Kang, who also became fully exempt thanks to her victory at the LPGA Corning Classic.

Spots are being held for the winners of the three LPGA remaining to be played before the start of the Women's Open, should they not already be fully exempt. Sectional qualifying for the remaining 86 spots will take place at nine sites June 13-14.

For a list of all 67 exempt players, visit: http://www.usga.org/news.

Storm Tracker offers online updates

With the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season getting underway, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration has introduced a new way to follow specific tropical storms or hurricanes.

Storm Tracker is designed to open in a new and smaller Web browser window, which can be resized and placed anywhere on a computer desktop. NOAA Storm Tracker will contain live links to advisories, tracking maps and satellite images of a particular storm that is projected to strike the United States or other nations in a storm's path.

It also will have links to data from ocean buoys, affected airports and the latest high-resolution satellite imagery of a tropical storm or hurricane. The new browser window allows the user to continue surfing the Internet while keeping track of a storm. The live links in NOAA Storm Tracker will update automatically without having to refresh the browser.

NOAA says its Web sites were literally stormed by millions of people during the very intense 2004 hurricane season, which saw four hurricanes strike the state of Florida. The NOAA home page received 1.2 billion hits for all of 2004, with nearly half of that traffic in September alone. The Web sites of NOAA's National Hurricane Center and National Weather Service received more than 8 billion hits during the months of August, September and October—when the Atlantic spawned one storm after another.

“NOAA Web sites have proven to be enormously popular with citizens in the United States and worldwide,” said Conrad C. Lautenbacher, NOAA administrator. “Saving life and protecting property is one of the primary missions of NOAA, and one way we communicate vital information is through our Web sites.”

For more, visit http://www.stormtracker.noaa.gov.

Caddies Association seeking hall of fame nominees

The Professional Caddies Association is accepting nominees for induction into the  PCA Worldwide Caddie Hall of Fame. Plans are being finalized to hold a special event in  New Jersey during the 2005 PGA Championship and at St. Andrews during the Open Championship.

If you know of someone who has had 10 years of service, shown support for the game of golf, worked to help improve the life of the caddie or who has had an important impact on the caddying profession, PCA wants to hear about them. Nominations will be accepted via e-mail through July 1, 2005, at mailto:PCA@PCAworldwide.com.

"I want the world to know about it," said Dennis Cone, foundation president. "We're really getting the public involved in what we are doing. It's a process over time, as people find out about hall of fame and PCA. We want to have a caddie from every country in the world represented and sharing their start in golf."

Once an individual is nominated, PCA Worldwide will send a letter of nomination and a two-page form to the nominee, or in the case of a deceased nominee, to his/her family or other representative. Based on the information gathered, the 10 members of the nominating committee, made up of PGA Tour golfers, professional caddies, GWAA golf writers and other dignitaries, will cast their votes.

For 2005, there's a new category of potential inductees; notable people who started as caddies. Nominated so far are: Gene Sarazen, Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, Charlie Sifford,  Lee Elder and Peter Lynch.

PCA is also looking for the oldest working male and female; the best caddies in the world--club, professional... living or deceased; and the best c addiemaster in the world. Contact http://www.pcaworldwide.com.