Adapting to a new generation of golfers

Major Championship season is upon us! With a new calendar this year, we will get four straight months with a major so strap in and get ready for a wild ride. The biggest story of the year will obviously be Tiger's chase for his first major since 2008, but McIlroy, Spieth, and Mickelson are all attempting to achieve the career grand slam making for an excellent sideshow. Here are some things you need to know about each major as well as my predictions for each tournament. 

Graduating from UCF almost a year ago, if you told me where I would be post-graduation I’d say you were insane. As a club golfer involved with anything and everything Nextgengolf related, experience was the key. I knew what I wanted to do, coach golf! In order to achieve this in the golf industry, you need experience. I had plenty of connections thanks to my time as a club golfer, but the one thing still missing was PGA certification.

As part of the Srixon/Cleveland Ambassador Program through Nextgengolf, I was given the opportunity of a lifetime to attend THE PLAYERS Championship with the Srixon Tour staff. Rodney McDonald (VP of Tour Operations at Srixon/Cleveland Golf) allowed me to shadow him for the day and get a behind the scenes look at one of the largest PGA Tour events of the season..

Under Armour eyewear is the newest sponsor of Nextgengolf and the NCCGA. They bring high quality sports sunglasses to our equipment offerings for the first time, giving all of our players the opportunity to play in style. Here are four reasons why you should order a pair today! 

A colleague of mine at Nextgengolf said that before he started working here, he had no idea who does what in golf. This colleague is an avid golfer who grew up around the game but interesting enough, he did not know much about golf’s governing bodies and what they really do. I asked a few friends if they knew what the USGA, PGA, and CMAA did, and they had mixed answers. I thought it would be helpful to create a simple guide to golf’s most important associations and governing bodies so golf consumers can better understand the sport and what each organization does. Please note that the list below is not comprehensive, and each organization does more than what is described.

Srixon has come out of the box swinging in 2019 (no pun intended). In the month of January alone, Srixon launched the 6th generation Z-STAR balls along with the unbelievable Z-FORGED irons. Additionally, Srixon continues to add more soft goods and accessories on the site. Here are their best new products of 2019 so far.

It’s no secret that Instagram has become a powerful media tool, especially in the golf industry. In fact, in our recent annual golf industry survey over 50% of respondents said they turn to Instagram to consume golf content. A large portion of this golf content comes in the form of humor, so we thought we’d list out the 5 funniest golf instagrams that you should be following.

Considering I have zero artistic talent to paint a picture and I know nothing about art, finding and understanding golf art is certainly a challenge. Although golf memorabilia is appealing to me, my wife would never allow me to put up a picture of Arnold Palmer or Tiger Woods in our home. Over the holidays I spent some time looking for some really cool pieces and came up with 5 places that offer awesome golf art. Be sure to check out these cool golf art sites. Enjoy!

Like the tires on your car, golf grips are something you use every time you pick up a club. Similar to your tires, you may not even know how they affect the performance of your product. Golf grips in general are something that can have a big effect on the feel of the club, its performance, and ultimately your score when playing. When selecting new grips for your clubs, consider some of these main points and differences. 

Several hand selected Srixon Ambassadors were delighted to find prototype Z-STAR and Z-STAR XV balls on their door step last week accompanied with a handwritten note.  These Ambassadors are ending 2018 on a high note as some of the first players to ever test the new generation of Srixon balls. Tyler, Iggy, and Chris took the new balls to their local courses to give their assessment. Let's hear what they had to say. 

Jokes are told by people when they may be in an uncomfortable situation or meeting new people. It can be a helpful tool to interact with new golfers in your foursome or a way to be entertained during a round of golf with old friends. There are a variety of different people that play golf and love the sport, but golf can be frustrating at times. Telling the following jokes or others during your next round will ease frustration and help golfers change their mindset.

Photo Credit: Matt Adams Fairways of Life Golf Show

Are you a golf enthusiast looking for a good podcast? I was looking for a new golf podcast the other day and could not believe how many of them exist. Given Nextgengolf does not have a podcast, I thought it would be a good idea to highlight all the different golf podcasts so you can find a good one that is right for you. We break up podcasts into 6 categories including Professional Tours, Game Improvement, Junior Golf, Fantasy Golf, Entertainment and Golf Business. Podcasts are certainly growing in popularity given there are over 110 golf podcasts! If we are missing any, please let us know at (info@nextgengolf.org) so we can update the list. The names on this list are done alphabetically meaning they are not in a particular order or preference. Happy listening!

Want your golf tournament or golf course to stand out from the crowd? Get some cool tee markers that everyone will want to take a picture. Be different than the standard blue, white, and red. Below highlights eight really cool golf tee markers we found that leave a lasting impression.