TFC Week In Review 09-19-2025

THIS WEEK'S EDITIONS OF THE FIRST CALL

Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

What have been your favorite Ryder Cup moments?

Send replies on this question or other topics and questions you would like to have asked to shall@buffalogroupe.com. For a response to be published, you must include your first and last name, along with the city and state of residence.

The Starter: The wait is nearly over for 45th Ryder Cup

What is NBC Sports thinking?; Stacy Lewis calls it a career — and what a career it was; Rethinking the U.S. Mid-Amateur.

BUSINESS

Audubon International: Announces 9th BioBlitz winners

Month-long event identifies 1,300 species thriving on golf courses

College Golf Experience: Acquires The Universal Golf Rankings

Rankings platform helps how coaches, juniors and families evaluate golf performance

First Tee: Launches National Alumni Advisory Council

The council held its first in-person meeting in Charlotte

Noteefy | Heritage Golf Group: Introduces AI-powered golf course assistant

The partnership seeks to elevate the member and guest experience at Heritage Golf Group clubs

PGA Tour Superstore: To open store in Ocean Township, NJ

Scheduled to open in spring 2026, the new facility will include a 1,100-square-foot putting green for practice and play and two Studio bays for professional instruction and swing analysis

Sqairz | Centerline Athletics: Announce footwear, apparel partnership

The two brands will collaborate to bring racquet sports athletes a fully integrated approach to court performance

Sqairz: Named footwear partner of USA Prime New England

USA Prime New England is one of the northeast region’s premier baseball and softball development programs

CLUBS / COURSES

PGA of America: Streamsong to host 2027 PGA Professional Championship

The Bowling Green, Florida, resort's Red and Blue courses will be used for the 312-player competition

The Club at Eaglebrooke: Course grand reopening is Oct. 1

The semi-private facility in Lakeland, Florida, has been closed to play since April, undergoing a $1 million-plus, multi-phase renovation

The Club at Forest Ridge: To open Phase 1 of racquet dome

New indoor elevates the experience of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, club

USGA: The Golf Club of Tennessee to host pair of championships

The Kingston Springs, Tennessee, course will host the 2029 U.S. Mid-Amateur and 20234 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur

Vattanac Golf Resort: To host inaugural Vattanac Legends Championship

The tournament, which will be in partnership with Vattanac Brewery and Vattanac Bank and take place Nov. 21-23, will be the first Legends Tour event in Cambodia

COMPETITION

Jackson T. Stephens Cup: LSU, Wake Forest win team titles

Event, which debuted in 2021, is named in honor of the late Jack Stephens, the former chairman of Augusta National Golf Club

Jackson T. Stephens Cup: SMU's William Sides, Wake Forest's Macy Pate win

LSU and North Carolina to battle in match play for men’s team championship; Wake Forest and Stanford to play for the women’s team title

PGA Jr. League | PGA Tour Superstore: Launching 13 simulator leagues in October

Indoor leagues are poised to offer unique and fun opportunities for juniors to learn and play the game

PGA of America: 13th Junior Ryder Cup set for Sept. 23

U.S. looks to re-claim Cup as top-ranked Miles Russell adds veteran presence; matches will be played at Nassau Country Club and Bethpage State Park's Black Course

Ryder Cup: To hold All-Star Celebrity Match

American and European celebrities will compete in a six-hole match Sept. 24 at Bethpage Black ahead of Ryder Cup; Celebrities to include Michael Strahan, Eli Manning, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Pau Gasol

Skechers World Champions Cup: Tickets go on sale

PGA Tour-sanctioned event will feature U.S., European and International teams and be contested Dec. 4-7 in Clearwater, Florida

Skyview Golf Tournament: 65th edition returns Sept. 22-23

America’s oldest Black golf tournament will closely align with the one-year milestone of Hurricane Helene in Asheville, North Carolina

DESTINATIONS

Marriott Golf: Spotlights the Ritz-Carlton Dallas, Las Colinas

Irving, Texas, destination's retreat package includes villa accommodations and golf on one of its two championship courses

Nemacolin: No. 15 on Golf Digest’s America’s 75 Best Golf Resorts list

A group of 1,500 Golf Digest panelists voted the luxe 36-hole Farmington, Pennsylvania, mountain golf destination to the publication's list

Sea Pines Resort: Introduces the ‘Lighthouse Golf Package’

The package for golf groups of 16 or more features four nights of lodging on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, and golf on three acclaimed courses, including Harbour Town Golf Links

EVENTS

Horseshoe Bay Resort: Announces Major Champion Golf Schools

The Golf Academy at Horseshoe Bay Resort will host one- and two-day game improvement opportunities that feature 2002 PGA winner Rich Beem

GEAR

Stewart Golf: Updates best-selling Q Follow trolley

Introduces new design series in six bold colors

SuperStroke: Releases 2025 Ryder Cup putter grips

The licensed grips are available in exclusive Team USA and Europe designs in the brand's most popular models

LIFESTYLE

Malcolm DeMille: Retief Goosen wins handcrafted trophy

Goosen earned the DeMille-designed and crafted piece for winning the PGA Tour Champions Sanford International

MEDIA

Grass League: ‘Summer Grind’ inside look debuts on Golf Channel Youtube

Show gives a behind-the-scenes look at the par-3 golf competitions and premieres Sept. 18 at 8 p.m. ET

NBC Sports: Details coverage of 45th Ryder Cup

NBC Sports to present more than 100 hours of coverage, including "Golf Central Live From the Ryder Cup" studio coverage beginning Sept. 22 on Golf Channel, and featured groups coverage on Peacock

PEOPLE

GCSAA: Brian Martorana senior director, marketing and communications

Accomplished marketing professional will provide strategic direction for key areas

GCSAA: Names Grassroots Ambassador Leadership Award winners

Casey Anderson and Jeremy Lewis are honored for advocacy efforts, advancement of association priority issues and congressional outreach

South Florida PGA Chapters: Honor Jeff Fitzherbert, Danny Butts

Fitzherbert, BallenIsles Country Club director of golf, was named the 2025 South Florida PGA Southeast Chapter Golf Professional of the Year; Butts, West Bay Club head golf professional, was named the 2025 winner of the Bill Strausbaugh Award by the Southwest Chapter

Tagmarshal: Appoints Patrick Parenti as director of sales, U.S.

In his 18 months with Tagmarshal, Parenti has closed on several new business deals, including a partnership with PGA West

Youth on Course: Names Ashley Offermann as chief development officer

Offermann, a seasoned fundraiser and development leader with more than two decades of experience, most recently served as senior associate athletic director at Cal Poly

PHILANTHROPY

BallenIsles CC: Raises $20,000 for The First Tee – Palm Beaches

Members of the club's leadership team played a combined 454 holes of golf over nine hours in the 10th 100 Hole Challenge Golf Marathon held at Jupiter Country Club on Sept. 15

TGR Foundation | Liberty National Foundation: Announce scholarship

The two Foundations are partnering to establish an endowment for its Earl Woods Scholar Program to support students from under-resourced communities in New York and New Jersey

INDUSTRY NOTES

BUSINESS

Titleist | Pinehurst Resort & Country Club: Open the Titleist Shop at Pinehurst, an immersive fitting and retail experience located near Pinehurst No. 2’s 18th green. Titleist’s first U.S. retail destination offers extensive golf ball and clubfitting capabilities along with a wide range of Titleist products and shop-exclusive offerings.

Makefield Putters: Named presenting sponsor of the new podcast "Be The Right Club Today," co-hosted by 1983 PGA Championship winner Hal Sutton and Mark Greenhalgh. The podcast's first episode is available now for download on Spotify and Apple podcasts.

Uneekor: To open its new global innovation center in Dallas, Texas, Sept. 23. The new facility will focus on accelerating innovative product development, software engineering, AI-driven performance tools and advanced quality testing. Also, the facillity will power advances in the company’s recent breakthroughs, including its lineup of overhead launch monitors and recently launched software-driven golf platforms, GameDay and AI Trainer.

LIV Golf: Announces HSBC as the title sponsor for LIV Golf Hong Kong, which will return to Hong Kong Golf Club, March 6-8, 2026. This agreement makes HSBC LIV Golf Hong Kong the first title-sponsored tournament in league history, marking a significant milestone since LIV Golf launched as the Invitational Series in 2022 and transitioned to a full-season League in 2023.

COURSES

Farm Neck Golf Club: Reopens the Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts, course after an extensive renovation from architect Mark Mungeam. The course architect has been consulting to Farm Neck, a semi-private club that opened in 1976, for more than 20 years and refashioned all 18 greens in 2012-13.

PEOPLE

Golf.AI: Names Nick Faldo as the official voice of its new AI Tee Times golf booking platform. The platform will allow golfers to instantly book a round of golf at public and resort courses from one centralized location via a simple voice call, WhatsApp, SMS or the Golf.AI website or mobile app. Also, Faldo, a six-time major champion, will serve as a brand ambassador for AI Tee Times.

Country Club of North Carolina: Names Eric Taino, 50, a retired Association of Tennis Professionals Tour player who earned All-America honors three times at UCLA, as its director of racquets. He will be responsible for all activities and programs for members of the club who play tennis and pickleball. Taino succeeds Al Van Vliet, CCNC’s longtime racquets professional, who is moving full-time into his role as director of wellness.

PHILANTHROPY

New Jersey Golf Foundation: Nineteenth NJGF Golf Classic, held Aug. 18 at Baltusrol Golf Club, raised a record-setting $325,000 to support golf programming for youth, military veterans and individuals with special needs. The NJGF is the charitable arm of the New Jersey Section, PGA of America. Also, Dave West received the 2025 Chairman’s Award, which is given annually to an individual who works behind the scenes to support NJGF programs and initiatives.