Adapting to a new generation of golfers

Athletes have countless companies that come to them in hopes of landing a sponsorship or partnership. Aside from the monetary benefits, these players often want a company that has products that align with their brand and vice versa. With the number of athletes that have partnered up with Chef's Cut Real Jerky it truly shows the strength that this brand has come to hold in the sports community. 

If you live in a colder or generally rainy climate you sometimes have no choice but to play when the rain starts coming down. Knowing that our days on the course are numbered, most of the time we suck it up and play. As long as it is not freezing cold (or lightning) it can be a pretty fun time. The reason a majority of us end up walking off the course is because we don’t have the right stuff in the bag that day. Anyone who carries their bag often, isn’t going to lug around the extra gear. Having just a few of the following items in your bag can be the difference between finishing the last 5 holes in the rain or calling it a day on the 13th green.

For those unfamiliar, the Srixon / Cleveland Golf Ambassador Program is designed to help celebrate our relationship with one of the top golf brands in the country. The program provides players around the country with opportunities and experiences they wouldn't otherwise be able to have; i.e. meeting PGA Tour professionals, having access to the latest Cleveland Golf & Srixon equipment, etc. In 2017, there were 45 Nextgengolf members selected to participate in this amazing program. Of those 45, one ambassador stood out amongst and went above and beyond for the brand. We are happy to announce that Cody Phillips is the 2017 Srixon / Cleveland Golf Ambassador of the year. 

Although we hate to lose NCCGA players, every year a number of collegiate club golfers perform well enough to earn a spot on a varsity college golf team.  It’s not easy, but it all starts with getting noticed by a varsity college golf coach. We congratulate those students and are happy to say the NCCGA helped them achieve their dreams. Just look at how Cory Stamper, a Clemson Club Golferbecame a varsity athlete in 2014. If you are playing club golf in hopes of making a varsity team someday, you may be able to walk-on at your current university. However, it's more common that students will transfer to a different school that is seeking talent for their varsity golf team.

The Myrtle Beach World Am is the largest amateur golf tournament in the world. With over 3000 golfers competing over a 4-day period in late August - it’s a lot of great golf and even more fun. Four Nextgengolf members competed in this year's event. From meeting Paige Spiranac to one of the players winning the tournament, we'd say it was quite an experience. But don't take it from us, let's hear what they had to say:

By now we have all seen the 18Birdies commercials featuring stars like Paige Spiranac, Harold Varner, and Willy Wilcox. 18Birdies is blowing up and in a big way.

 Deliotte Arlington hanging out with PGA Professional Harold Varner at the City Championship

In 2017, Deloitte began a unique initiative to provide their employees with a new benefit: playing golf. Not necessarily the first health and wellness benefit would expect to receive from their employer, but the results and impact were great.

Employees were able to compete in team-based golf City Tour tournaments nationwide. As a result, co-workers had the chance to bond outside the office, network with other local professionals and enjoy golfing in a competitive, yet relaxed environment. Here are 3 ways Deloitte leveraged the City Tour in 2017:

At Nextgengolf, we love hearing about great youth golf organizations growing the game. There are a number of great junior golf organizations out there, but we recently learned about a golf program called Sticks For Kids which provides underprivileged youths free golf clubs and the opportunity learn the game in a meaningful way. Sticks For Kids is run by the Golf Course Builders Association of America (GCBAA) which is one of golf’s governing bodies that many of us probably did not know exists. Learn more about the GCBAA and their programming below.

Twenty-three teams traveled from 13 cities across the country to make up the 120 person field at the 3rd annual City Championship this past weekend in Myrtle Beach.  The bothing hosting courses, True Blue and Caledonia, were in prime shape and posed a unique challenge for both the Scramble and Best Ball Divisions. True Blue's five par 5s and five par 3s made for a great team based venue. The beauty and difficulty of Caledonia brought a different flavor for the players; demanding more precise shots and resulting in slightly higher scores. 

The City Championship is finally here. 120 players from 13 cities across the country will make their way to Myrtle Beach to take on two of the top courses in "golf capital of the world". Of the 23 teams competing only 1 will hoist the trophy in their respective format come Sunday. Follow tourney scores all weekend long on our Championship Leaderboard page or LIVE scoring through the 18Birdies App. Download the app: create an account, click “Play” at the bottom, choose “Tournament” at the top, and enter in the tournament codes to follow along:

Saturday gallery codes: 2542 and 1301

Sunday gallery codes: 5698 and 6109

*Due to tournament play on 2 courses Saturday & Sunday, there are respective codes per course per day

Navigating golf courses for PGA Tour events is often difficult, especially if you are a first timer going to the tournament. If you're heading out to the Dell Technologies Championship Labor Day weekend, consider watching from one of the 4 best places to view at TPC Boston. 

The Front Nine

Hole 2 green and Hole 3 Tee box

The 2nd hole at TPC Boston is a reachable par 5 with a large pond protecting the green. Spectators will cheer if a player hits the green in two shots and boo if a player finds the water; making for an exciting hole. While waiting for players to clear the green on the 2nd hole, check out the tee shots on the long and difficult par 3, 3rd hole.

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As a college golf coach, your main priority is building the best team possible to win golf tournaments and championships. Since the number of roster spots on college golf teams continues to decline and the demands of a college golf coach continue to increase, don’t waste your team speaking with students who cannot immediately benefit your golf program. Leading students to club golf, through the NCCGA (National Collegiate Club Golf Association), can be beneficial to you for a number of reasons:

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Srixon was generous enough to give a very few select 2017 Srixon Ambassadors the opportunity to see what it’s like inside their PGA Tour van this year.  Brian Mann shares his experiences down in Texas. 

As many of you have seen Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday joined Srixon / Cleveland Golf as the 2^nd National Partner of Nextgengolf. The Nextgengolf staff and our players are very excited about the partnership and cannot thank the MBGH team for their commitment to the game. As part of the Nextgengolf community, what does this mean to you?