Disabled Vets to Learn Golf Free with Met PGA Pros

Met PGA Hope (Helping Our Patriots Everywhere) got off to a good start yesterday at the John Kennedy Learning Center at Westchester Country Club when dozens of local pros gathered to find out how they can help veterans with disabilities benefit from the game of golf.

"There's a special link between golfers and our veterans," said Charles Robson, Executive Director of the Met PGA. "With West Point in our backyard, it just seems like a natural."  The eight-week golf instructional program for veterans with disabilities is slated to roll-out at West Point GC this spring.  "For us, it all comes down to giving something back to these people to whom we owe so much. For the vets, it's a great chance for them to benefit from the game."

Elmwood CC's Pete Stefanchik
swings wrong-handed on one leg

The pros attended a morning presentation by PGA Professional David Windsor, an expert in teaching adaptive golf programs for individuals with physical and cognitive challenges.  In the afternoon, they experienced first hand what the vets feel like trying to play golf while coping with various disabilities. The pros wore various devices that forced them to hit a ball on one leg, or with the opposite hand like a switch hitter in baseball, or with only one eye.

"The sensation is totally different," said Heath Wassem, Met PGA President and head pro at Fenway Golf Club. "It really gives you a great appreciation of what they go through."  There were also several disabled vets in the crowd who demonstrated their prowess.

PGA HOPE is the flagship military program of PGA REACH, the charitable foundation of the PGA of America. It is designed to introduce golf -- at NO cost -- to veterans with disabilities in order to enhance their physical, mental, social, and emotional well-being. The HOPE program, led by PGA professionals, helps veterans assimilate back into their communities through the social interaction the game of golf provides.

Interested participants should contact the Met PGA to learn more.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Get an Insider's Look at KPMG Women's PGA Championship

An army of volunteers as big as the event itself is needed for the inaugural KPMG Women’s PGA Championship to be held June 9-14, 2015, at Westchester Country Club in Rye, N.Y.

"We’re looking for about 1,800 volunteers," says Championship Director Bob Jeffrey. "About half of those are marshals we get through local clubs who are great supporters.  The rest serve on volunteer committees that handle admission sales and will call, contestant transportation, leaderboards and thru boards, and walking scorers."

It sounds like a lot of work--and it is--but the opportunities to experience the tournament are big, too. "Volunteers work three or four shifts depending on their committee assignment, so they have plenty of time to attend and enjoy the tournament the rest of the week," Jeffrey points out.  "Marshals and walking scorers are inside the ropes and are close to the players. Some jobs, like transportation, get opportunities for even more personal contact."

Adult volunteers, ages 22 and older, are required to work four shifts and contribute a minimum of 16 hours total, while junior volunteers, ages 16 to 21, are required to work three shifts and contribute a minimum of 12 hours.  Shifts will last between three and four hours.  For details on positions available, visit www.kpmgwomenspgachampionship.com/volunteer.  You can also contact Jenna Boyce, Volunteer Operations Manager, 914-595-6801 or jboyce@pgahq.com.

"We’re absolutely looking for men as well as women," Jeffrey says, "and we even have junior positions for young people 16 to 21. There’s no fee for them. We want to get as many juniors involved as we can."

Adult volunteers pay $96 to participate. In return, Jeffrey explains, "they get items with a much greater value. The package includes a Polo Ralph Lauren shirt, headwear, a credential they can use to access the course anytime whether they’re working or not, meal and water vouchers for on-course concessions, a program, complementary parking, and a discount for merchandise."

Not sure you know enough about golf to hold a responsible position at a professional tournament?  Not to worry.  "Not every job requires a lot of golf knowledge," Jeffrey says. "Transportation, admissions, and office volunteers don’t need any golf knowledge at all."  He adds that there will be training and orientation offered in late April and, the weekend prior to the tournament, volunteers will visit the course to see what they will actually be going before they start their first shift.

The Championship will offer a purse of $3.5 million, among the highest in women’s golf.  The event is a collaboration of KPMG, the PGA of America, and the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA). Continuing in the tradition of the LPGA Championship, which was first played in 1955, the event will rotate annually among prestigious courses in major metropolitan areas.

Throughout Championship Week, KPMG will spearhead an on-site women’s leadership summit bringing together top women leaders in business, politics, sports, and society to network, learn, and give back. KPMG also will manage the ongoing community initiative to provide today’s top women leaders the opportunity to cultivate the next generation of female leaders and equip them with the leadership skills, networks, and confidence through scholarships, training, and internship and mentoring programs.

The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship will be broadcast on NBC and Golf Channel

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Get Your Golf Mind in the Right Place

John Kennedy

Coaching pros is one thing, but if you want to do something hard, try coaching amateur golfers for years and years the way John Kennedy has. Kennedy is the Director of Golf at Westchester Country Club and winner of numerous national PGA of America honors including the 2010 Horton Smith Award, which recognizes individuals for their outstanding contributions to PGA education.

I talked to Kennedy about his advice for developing a solid mental game. Here are his sage recommendations:

“The first tee can be tough. When there are people watching, you usually play worse. If you have a consistent process, though, it doesn’t matter if it’s the first tee or the last.”

“For every additional swing thought you have, you add ten to twenty percent physical tension. If you have four mechanical thoughts when you stand up to the ball, you’re going to add 75% more tension.”

“Your mind is filled with past experiences. You want to remember the good ones. If you’re thinking about the last missed putt, that’s obviously not a good place to be.”

“To play successfully, you have to have a process. If you have two or three different ones, it’s hard to repeat. Most people have a practice process, a casual round process, and a competition process. The competition process usually involves an extra fifteen seconds of time and more thinking, which doesn’t work. They get too serious and they perform poorly.”

“The physical precedes the mental. If you’re a thirty handicap, you can think good thoughts but you’re still not going to hit the ball like a ten.”

“If you don’t have time to practice, don’t try to change your swing. If you’re trying to change a motor skill, you need a coach and you have to do a lot of repetitions. You’re better off staying with your own grooved swing and just playing the flight of the ball.”

“People who are grateful for what they have make great progress as opposed to those who are grousing all the time. If you commit yourself to appreciating the game, the company you’re with, and the surroundings, I guarantee your game will improve.”

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

A Young Golfer To Watch

The metropolitan area is swimming with good--and possibly great--young players, but one who hasn't received the recognition she deserves is Ellen Oswald, winner of the 2012 NYS Women's Amateur. Oswald, who plays out of Westchester Country Club, graduated from St. John's last year where she played on the women's golf team and was a four-time Academic All-American.

Ellen Oswald, NYS Women's Amateur Champion. Photo courtesy of the WMGA.

Oswald won the NYS Women's Amateur at Seneca Falls Country Club by five strokes over Sara Eichelberger of Rochester. It was Oswald's first time in the statewide event, but the win capped a strong season she finished as runner-up Player of the Year for the Women's Metropolitan Golf Association and was named Women's Amateur Player of the Year by the Westchester Golf Association. She finished second in the WMGA Stroke Play Championship the week after her NYS win and had also placed second in the WMGA/MGA Met Amateur Championship in June.

Word has it that Oswald has put her degree in finance to one side for the time being and is working on her game in Florida this winter with Mike Diffley, head pro of Pelham CC and St. John's alum. We'll be keeping an eye on her when she starts competing again this in the met area this spring.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

New Software Helps Golfers Go Pin Hunting

Your home club may not be quite as famous as Merion, host for the 2013 U.S. Open, but you can enjoy at least one of the advantages members of that famous course have. It's the innovative ezLocator system that helps the superintendent at Merion and dozens of other top facilities manage pin locations.

Merion's director of grounds Matt Shaffer says, "By looking at our pin sheets and seeing what kind of play we're getting, we can set things up accordingly and avoid making certain mistakes.  And it allows us to water better.  I think it's definitely going to give Merion an opportunity to put itself in the best possible position, and the technology will give the USGA a lot more flexibility.  I think the players may actually see the difference."

ezLocator Pin Sheets

A high-tech solution to an age-old problem, ezLocator eliminates the shortcomings of restrictive systems such as dividing the green into zones or front, middle and back.  After a 3D mapping system locates all the possible placements on each green, the information is entered in a program and with a click of a button the superintendent can get the job done, allowing the members of the club to enjoy tournament quality pin sheets each time they play.

The product was developed by Jon Schultz, CEO of ezLocator, who is also a member of the Dallas Athletic Club. After chats with other members of his weekend golf group in the 19th hole, he saw a need that created an opportunity.  "It seemed they always played the same pin positions and that all the golfers wanted a tournament like experience every time they teed off," Schultz says.  From his experience as a top amateur player, a caddie, a tournament chairman, he began developing a system that was easy to use by the superintendent and would enhance the member’s experience.  A test program was conducted at the Dallas Athletic Club that evolved into the software application that is on the market today.

Kevin Nettles, superintendent at the Dallas Athletic Club, says, "There’s nothing like it on the market. Players absolutely love the system and it has allowed me to manage the greens from a stress point.  I can isolate certain areas of the greens when necessary and save certain locations for special events."  In addition to Merion and the Dallas AC, ezLocator is now being used by many of the top clubs and courses across the U.S. and Canada including Westchester Country Club.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

John Kennedy Honored With PGA Patriot Award

John Kennedy Jr., Director of Golf at Westchester Country Club, was honored by the PGA of America this week with the 2012 Patriot Award, which recognizes a PGA Professional who personifies patriotism through the game of golf and demonstrates unwavering commitment and dedication to the men and women who have valiantly served and protected the United States of America. Kennedy established a foundation for supporting men and women of the military along with an affiliation with the VA to help instruct disabled veterans. He's the fourth recipient of the award, which was first presented in 2008.

Kennedy established Golfers in Support of the Troops Foundation in 2008, which has raised more than $90,000 over a four-year period to distribute more than 20,000 articles of clothing to U.S. troops and their families. Clothing was sent to Baghdad, Iraq, Fort Benning, Ga., Fort Hood, Texas; Fort Collins, Colo.; and Fort Drum, N.Y. Kennedy contributed 50 percent of the clothing that he purchased for his own golf shop.

In addition to Westchester Country Club serving as a strong supporter of Patriot Golf Day since the initiative began in 2007, it also has supported Kennedy’s efforts to build an alliance between the New York VA Hospital Prosthetics Device Department and 2010 Patriot Award recipient Jim Estes of Olney, Md., founder of the Salute Military Golf Association. Together with 2011 Patriot Award recipient John Hines, the group is working to expand training of PGA Professionals to give golf instruction to disabled veterans.

“I think that certainly anyone growing up in America should have great appreciation for those who serve our country in uniform,” said Kennedy. “I have great respect for those that served and have served and the sacrifices they have made. It is a great feeling that by our efforts such as Golfers in Support of the Troops that we may help our veterans and particularly their families. Additionally, we have built a relationship with the New York VA Hospital to help spread training of PGA Professionals to encourage more disabled veterans to have the opportunity to learn and play golf. It gives those who have been in hospitals, sometimes for months, something positive for which to look forward. If I can succeed in this project, then more around the country can follow.”

Kennedy has been a PGA member since 1976. In 2010, he became the third member of the Metropolitan PGA Section to be named a recipient of the Horton Smith Award, which recognizes an individual PGA member for outstanding and continuing contributions to professional education. Kennedy also was the 1997 Metropolitan PGA Golf Professional of the Year; and recipient of the 2005 Section Bill Strausbaugh Award; the 1985, ’88 and 2009 Section Horton Smith Award; and the 1983, ’91 Section Merchandiser of the Year for Private Facilities.
Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf