Adapting to a new generation of golfers

Every pair of golf shoes tells a story. It can be a good story, such as the time you shot your first hole-in one. Or a bad story, such as the 105 you shot in a tournament, and the time you fell in the water hazard trying to take a risky shot. Whatever the story, sometimes it's time to move on if the shoes are ripped, worn-out, caked in mud, or just have too many bad memories.

Golf's second major of the year proved more climactic than the first, but the same person came out on top. Jordan Spieth emerged as the 2015 US Open Champion with a 5-under score of 275. The victory is Spieth's second consecutive major victory after the Master's in April, and puts him halfway toward a grand slam.

There has been so much chatter from players, media, and fans the past several weeks about the “unknown” 2015 U.S. Open venue Chambers Bay in University Place, Washington, right outside of Tacoma. However, there are a number of story lines/facts you will no doubt be able to repeat in your sleep before the first players tee off Thursday morning for the 2nd major of the year. Settle in front of your television, and let's hope for a great four days of PGA Tour golf.

At Nextgengolf, our business is running college and young professional golf tournaments. As a team, one of our favorite things to do, when we're not running golf tournaments, is to go to PGA TOUR events. As The PGA TOUR would say, these guys are good! The Travelers Championship is the highlights of my summer because the course layout makes for a great viewing experience, the signature holes provide drama at the end of the course, and the time of the year always ensures it is great weather.

The Nextgengolf City Tour is getting young professionals in the game this summer. With affordable golf tournaments in major cities like Boston, NYC, DC, Chicago, , and many more, Nextgengolf is making it easier for young professionals to play tournament golf. Over 50 tournaments are scheduled amongst 14 cities, all of which are at quality courses for an affordable price (average price is between $50-$95). The list of host courses is sure to impress.

There is now an app that allows you to fill your foursome with like-minded golfers. A good friend of Nextgengolf, GolfMatch’s founder Peter Kratsios is striving to connect golfers. GolfMatch allows you to post about your golfing experiences, find golfers to play with near you, and even win an opportunity to play with a PGA TOUR player.

The NCCGA will be hosting 56 amateur golf tournaments this Spring at some of the best public golf courses around the country. This season's hosts rank among some of the best the courses the NCCGA has ever played in the regional portion of the schedule. From top campus courses, to top 100 public courses, these facilities have been chosen based on location, quality, and affordability for our college golf teams. Below we have featured some of the top tournaments hosts for this Spring:

Red Tail Golf Course in Devens, MA is easily one of the top 3 public golf courses in Massachusetts. Located out by Fort Devens, between 30-45 minutes outside of Boston, the course is named for the frequent Red Tail Hawks you can see flying overhead.

Francis Ouimet was cut from a different cloth than the typical aristocratic gentleman teeing it up in the early 1900's. While golf has become more of a common man's game over the past century, when Francis was breaking onto the scene, golf was truly a rich man's game.

NCCGA club golf teams have traditionally used twitter to spread their word and interact with other teams in their regions. With the start of the new season comes the use of a new social platform, Instagram, that teams such as Iowa State, Baylor, and Clemson are now using to share their #ClubGolf experience.

 The world's finest golfers will battle it out Labor Day weekend at the Deutsche Bank Championship, home of the second leg of the PGA TOUR's FedExCup Playoffs. The #DBChampionship plays host to the 100 top players in the FedEx rankings at a fan-friendly venue providing a must-attend golf experience. Below are four or our "must do's" at this year's Deutsche Bank Championship:

Recently I had the good fortune of attending the US Open at Pinehurst. A friend of mine from Boston flew down and we purchased gallery tickets for Saturday and Sunday. I was hoping for another epic 2^nd place finish from Phil Mickelson and my buddy was just happy to get out of the city. The event was spectacular – the USGA really knows how to put on an event. The logistics of parking and getting bussed to the course and then through the gates was seamless and the volunteers and staff were friendly and efficient. That being said, I feel the USGA dropped the ball with the all-out ban on cellphones at Pinehurst.

NCCGA is one of the fastest growing organizations in all of golf, and who would have thought that a free tool–twitter–would play such a larger part in fueling it? For many of us in NCCGA, setting up a team twitter is second nature if you’ve been using twitter already to follow the news and stay in touch with friends. However, for those still wondering who still don’t know what a # is, I’ve included some simple tips to help you set up a twitter account for your club golf team and use it to find other college golfers on campus for your team. Here are three tools to get you started today:

Remember back when you were a kid and you picked up a golf club for the first time? Maybe one of your parents put it in your hands... Maybe you borrowed one from your friend who had a set... Or possibly it was on a mini golf course, where the colorful putter heads drew you in (ooh, shiny!).

Each year the CVS Caremark Charity Classic comes to Rhode Island Country Club in Barrington, Rhode Island. This charity golf event draws a field with some of the best players in the world and is one of the most fun and relaxed tournaments of the year. Most importantly, the CVS Caremark Charity Classic raises millions of dollars for area nonprofits.