The First Call Week In Review 02.23.24

FIRST THOUGHT

THIS WEEK'S EDITIONS OF THE FIRST CALL

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Given today's scoring technology, should tournaments still require players to sign their scorecard?

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BUSINESS

Bobby Jones Links: To manage Ohio’s Piqua CC

Company seeks to enrich the member experience for Dayton’s historic private golf club

CBS Sports, Golftec: Partner on use of OptiMotion technology

Motion capture swing technology to be integrated into remaining PGA Tour ‘signature’ events televised by CBS Sports in 2024

College Golf Experience: Reports on growth plans

Golf camp company to work with up to 500 college coaches and manage between 125 to 150 events in four or more countries in 2024

Concert Golf Partners: Invests over $4 million into 2 south Florida clubs

Capital improvements are made to Indian Spring Country Club and Fountains Country Club as they offer dual memberships

Five Iron Golf: Poised to add six facilities internationally in 2024

Company to exhibit in Las Vegas at the Multi-Unit Franchising Conference, March 19-22

Golfzon Range by Leadbetter: Opens Westbury, NY, facility

Second New York Metro facility offers combination of high-tech, hands-on instruction and unlimited practice time to golfers of all ages and skill levels

PGTAA: The hows, whys of becoming a professional golf instructor

Association outlines how to become certified

PXG: Opens 1st retail, golf club fitting store in California

PXG East Bay delivers a personalized golf experience featuring award-winning clubs and fashion-forward golf and lifestyle apparel

Stewart Golf: Reports record sales growth

Sales in 2023 grew by 61% in the United States and 12% in the United Kingdom

Troon: Partners with Lodging Dynamics Hospitality Group

Troon will manage golf operations, agronomy, retail and sales and marketing for Lodging Dynamics’ golf resort properties, which currently includes Homestead Resort and Golf Club in Midway, Utah

Troon: To manage Sierra View CC

Troon Prive, the private club operating division of Troon, will help manage golf and club operations, food and beverage, golf course agronomy and more for the member-owned private facility located in Roseville, California

Upper Deck Golf: Partners with Cleveland Golf

Enters into an exclusive equipment agreement with the club manufacturer and will offers Cleveland Golf's drivers, wedges and putters at its 2024 events

Vortex Weather Insurance: Partners with Venture Programs

Agreement marks Vortex’s first MGA agreement with insurer of private clubs and golf properties

Omni Hotels & Resorts, PGA Tour: Announce a multiyear extension of their marketing partnership, which designates Omni as the official hotel and resort of the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions through 2028. Since their partnership first began in 2018 Omni has donated more than 1.28 million meals to families in need through its Say Goodnight to Hunger program, which provides four meals for every birdie-or-better made during each PGA Tour event. Omni donates these meals through the local Feeding America member food bank in each tournament’s home city in the United States.

COMPETITION

Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship: Ticket packages now on sale

Daily and weekly general admissions tickets, along with upgraded ‘Pro-Shop Patio’ and ‘Club 1924’ premium hospitality packages are available for LPGA Tour event, March 21-24

DESTINATIONS

Lansdowne Resort: Offering spa, golf package

Leesburg, Virginia, resort's 'Pamper and Putt Package' includes spa immersion and 45 holes of golf on courses designed by Greg Norman and Robert Trent Jones Jr.

Shangri-La Resort: Announces Spring Break festivities

Oklahoma lakefront destination to bring ‘A Month of Family Fun Packed into a Single Week’

GEAR

Cleveland Golf / Srixon: Hideki Matsuyama wins Genesis Invitational

In winning for the ninth time on the PGA Tour, the 31-year-old played a Srixon ZX5 LS Mk II driver, Srixon Z-Forged II irons and Cleveland Golf RTX wedges

G-Trak: Launches the Impact Screen

Retractable remote-control screen creates an indoor training solution for tight spaces

Lohla Sport: Unveils ‘At the Drive-In’ spring-summer 2024 collection

Collection of premium women's golf-lifestyle apparel features Hollywood-style looks personifying those in popular classic movies

SwingU: Troy Spencer selects Coach platform

Director of golf at Marietta Country Club in Kennesaw, Georgia, to use platform to share advanced statistical reporting with his students

Whiskers: Unveils new golf shoelaces styles

Four new styles of golf shoelaces go along with its 70-plus designs worn by PGA Tour, LPGA and amateur players

PEOPLE

Bobby Jones Links: NGCOA names Whitney Crouse to board of directors

Crouse is a founding partner of Bobby Jones Links, a client-centric, boutique management company

La Paloma CC: Hires Will Mattrey as COO/GM

Mattrey to oversee operations, including golf, agronomy, food and beverage and membership marketing, for the Tucson, Arizona, club

Youth on Course: Names Tisha Alyn as new brand ambassador

Alyn will focus on empowering young women to grow in the game

Solheim Cup: U.S. captain Stacy Lewis names Morgan Pressel, Angela Stanford, Paula Creamer and Brittany Lincicome as her assistant captains for the 2024 U.S. Team. Creamer and Lincicome will serve as assistants for the first time, joining 2023 assistants Pressel and Stanford to work alongside Lewis at this year's Solheim Cup, Sept. 13-15 at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia.

PHILANTHROPY

PGA of America: REACH Foundation awards $250,000 grant

The 2025 Places to Play Spectator Championship Legacy Grant is given to Gillespie Golf Course to revitalize Greensboro, North Carolina’s oldest municipal course with a prominent history during the civil rights movement

U.S. Bank, Youth on Course: Renew partnership to enhance equity in golf

Partnership's first year featured the U.S. Bank-hosted Access Open, a tournament led by PGA Tour player Collin Morikawa and several U.S. Bank leaders who played with Youth on Course members