Volvik Congratulates Stephen Ames on T10 Finish at 2018 American Family Insurance Championship

(ORLANDO, Florida) – Volvik USA (volvik.com) congratulates PGA Tour Champions player Stephen Ames on his T10 finish at the American Family Insurance Championship, played June 22-24 at the University Ridge Golf Course, in Madison, Wisc. With a total score of 206, Ames, 54, who plays the Volvik TOUR S3 ball, enhanced his fine playing record. He has one career victory on the PGA Tour Champions and six additional victories worldwide, including The Players Championship.

“We extend our congratulations to Stephen Ames on his top-10 finish at the American Family Insurance Championship,” said Don Shin, president of Volvik USA, a rapidly-growing, premium high-performance golf ball company. “With his three excellent rounds of golf, he added to his increasingly outstanding record on the PGA Tour Champions.”

With scores of 70-68-68 on the par-72 layout, Ames, who turned pro in 1987, achieved his first top-10 finish this year and his 19th overall during his PGA Tour Champions career.

The Volvik TOUR S3 golf ball features three-piece construction, a urethane, glossy cover and a 90 compression oversized core. The S3 provides extremely soft feel, excellent greenside control, a mid-high trajectory and a tight dispersion for greater distance.

For more information, see volvik.com.

TPT Golf Expands Distribution to South Korea with Big Fish Golf Academy

(RENENS, SWITZERLAND) - TPT Golf has named Big Fish Golf Academy the exclusive distributor of TPT Golf shafts in South Korea, bringing its PGA Tour-proven line of revolutionary golf shafts to golfers across the country.

As part of the agreement, Big Fish Golf will work with TPT Golf to expand distribution of its shafts to as many as 25 elite club-fitting locations around South Korea before the end of 2018. Big Fish Golf Academy will also become part of the TPT Golf Authorized Fitter Network, carrying TPT Golf's full range of 11 shaft models.

"For several months now, we've been receiving messages from golfers around the world asking when TPT Golf shafts will be available in their area or country, and the demand in South Korea was exceptionally high," says TPT Golf Director Sebastian Sebayang. "In response, we flew to South Korea to meet with many different companies to ensure we were choosing a partner that understood our new technologies and our mission. We feel that Big Fish Golf is the right fit, and we're excited about working with them to help South Korean golfers take their games to the next level."

Big Fish Golf Academy is based in Seoul and led by experienced KPGA Tour Pro Siwoo Lee. As a Seoul Golf Association Board Member, a Golf Digest Korea Instructor, and the host of several SBS Golf shows, Mr. Lee is both highly respected and influential among golfers in Korea. Mr. Lee is also the Lead Instructor at Big Fish Golf Academy, teaching both amateur and professional golfers, including many LPGA, KLPGA and KPGA Tour players.

"We are always looking for better performance for golfers -- not only for tour players, but also amateurs as well," Mr. Lee says. "TPT Golf shafts are the one to improve a golfer's driver performance. We are so excited to distribute these wonderful shafts in South Korea, and already many fitters and players are looking forward to them as well. It's a huge movement for the South Korean driver shaft market."

Since launching its innovative line of golf shafts 18 months ago, TPT Golf has already achieved six professional wins across the globe, earning the Switzerland-based company the reputation of "The Hottest New Shaft on Tour." The company's impressive resume currently boasts wins on five professional tours, including the PGA Tour, European Tour, Champions Tour, Asian Tour and a World Golf Championship.

Jinho Choi, a South Korean golfer who competes on the European Tour, was an early convert to TPT Golf shafts. Currently ranked No. 250 in the Official World Golf Rankings, Choi has earned three top-10 finishes on the European Tour with a TPT Golf driver shaft.

TPT Golf's Six Tour Wins
● May 6, 2018: Wells Fargo Championship (PGA Tour)
● March 11, 2018: Toshiba Classic (Champions Tour)
● January 29, 2018: Farmers Insurance Open (PGA Tour)
● December 17, 2017: Indonesian Masters (Asian Tour)
● November 5, 2017: Turkish Airlines Open (European Tour)
● October 29, 2017: WGC-HSBC Champions (World Golf Championships)

TPT Golf creates its driver and fairway wood golf shafts differently than any other golf shaft company. The company's pioneering, automated golf shaft manufacturing technology allows it to create perfectly consistent shafts that overcome the inconsistencies of conventional graphite shafts that have been plaguing golfers for decades.

Key to the performance of its shafts is "Thin-Ply Technology," the process TPT Golf uses to create its incredibly thin and precise carbon fiber prepreg material. TPT Golf manufactures prepreg that's as light as 15 grams per square meter, which is four-times thinner than a human hair and one-quarter the weight of a page of paper.

Just as important is TPT Golf's "Thin-Ply Winding Method," a patent-pending process that allows TPT Golf to position its prepreg in the exact locations and orientations necessary to create optimal performance.

TPT Golf shafts are sold exclusively through its network of Authorized Fitters, which currently includes more than 100 elite fitters located across the world. When a TPT Golf shaft is properly fit, its more axially consistent design results in more consistent impacts. The combination of more consistent impacts and TPT Golf's optimized bending profiles are what result in significant distance gains, as well as straighter and more consistent drives.

"With our new technology, getting the proper fit is absolutely essential to ensuring the new level of performance our shafts deliver," Sebayang says. "We want golfers around the world to know that when they visit a fitter who is carrying TPT Golf shafts, they can be certain they are working with one of the most advanced, skillful club fitters in the world."

In fittings around the globe, TPT Golf shafts have proven that they can increase distance by offering golfers additional club head speed and ball speed. Golfers can visit https://tptgolf.com/where-to-buy/ to locate a TPT Golf Authorized Fitter near them.

For more information on TPT Golf, visit tptgolf.com.

John Daly Withdraws from 39th U.S. Senior Open Championship

WITHDRAWAL – John Daly, Dardanelle, Ark.

(RELEASE) - JOHN DALY has withdrawn from the 2018 U.S. Senior Open Championship on Monday, June 25 because of a knee injury.

Daly, who was fully exempt and was expected to play in his second U.S. Senior Open, will be replaced in the field by David McKenzie, a 50-year-old professional from Australia, the first alternate from the South Bend, Ind., sectional qualifying site.

Daly, 52, won the 1991 PGA Championship and the 1995 Open Championship at St. Andrews in a playoff with Constantino Rocca. In 2017, he captured the PGA Tour Champions’ Insperity Invitational.

McKenzie shot 71 at The Warren Golf Course at Notre Dame, the site of the 2019 U.S. Senior Open, on June 4. He is playing in his first U.S. Senior Open. He has competed in 10 PGA Tour Champions tournaments this season, with his best finish a tie for third at the Rapiscan Systems Classic. McKenzie has also played in 42 PGA European Tour events during his career.

The 39th U.S. Senior Open will be held on The Broadmoor Golf Club’s East Course, in Colorado Springs, Colo., June 28-July 1, 2018.

North Ridge Country Club Unveils RTJ II Golf Course Restoration

Famed Sacramento Layout Receives Special Attention From Local Golf Product

(Palo Alto, Calif.) – Inspired by the golf legacy of North Ridge Country Club over the past seven decades – which includes a personal connection with its staff – Robert Trent Jones II (RTJ II) Golf Course Architects has completed its restoration project on the iconic Sacramento golf course. The official unveiling is Sunday, June 24, 2018.

“Our objective was to restore the legacy of this classic, strong golf course,” said Jones, Chairman and Master Architect for RTJ II, which has built more than 280 courses in 40 countries. “The success of this project resulted from our regard for the history and tradition of the club and its passionate membership.”

Mike Gorman, an RTJ II Project Architect who worked closely on the restoration, is a native of the Sacramento area who competed in junior and high school competitions at North Ridge Country Club.

“The big picture was to return the golf course to its heart and soul,” said Gorman, who teamed with Bruce Charlton, President and Chief Design Officer for RTJ II on the restoration. “We preserved the rhythm and flow of the routing while relocating bunkers to more strategic places and shaping the greens with more space and contours. The golf course now has more variety and a lot of different options for shot variety.”

North Ridge Country Club was originally designed by golf architect William F. Bell, under the direction of his father, William Park “Billy” Bell – each a legendary figure in California golf course architecture. The first nine holes were completed in 1954, the second nine in 1955.

“We embraced the original characteristics of the golf course, while creating new strategy and a new golf experience that is more playable,” Charlton said. “It remains a great walking course, which contributes to North Ridge being a true golfer’s club.”

Gorman was struck by how dedicated the members of North Ridge Country Club – where the motto is, “Come for the golf and stay for the friendship” – are to the game.

“It was 8 in the morning on a Tuesday, half the course was closed and the other half had temporary greens, but the parking lot was full,” he said. “It was great to see that level of participation, which gives you a feel for how passionate this membership is about golf.”

Visit www.rtj2.com to learn more about RTJ II’s courses, sustainable designs, water conservation, and world-class public golf courses.

Chris Lutzke, Long-Time Pete Dye Associate, Becomes Member of American Society of Golf Course Architects

Dye protégé accepted into exclusive group of golf course designers

(Plymouth, MI) – Chris Lutzke, long time Pete Dye design associate and right-hand man for over 20 years, has been accepted into the American Society of Golf Course Architects (ASGCA).

The ASGCA is the premier organization of the golf architecture profession, and membership signifies the ultimate recognition of an architect’s work and a place in history among names like Donald Ross, Robert Trent Jones, Jack Nicklaus and Pete Dye.

“It was a long-term goal and it was important to Pete over the years that I apply,” Lutzke said. “But it was Alice Dye who kept on me and had me get the applications in, do interviews and go in front of the board. Pete and Alice were the driving force and it has been a great long journey.”

A prospective member goes through a two-year application process that tests their knowledge of golf course architecture, training, experience and architectural vision. The prospective member must also be sponsored by three ASGCA members. Dye, Jerry Matthews and Lee Schmidt were the sponsors for Lutzke.

Lutzke started his career in golf course construction in 1986 working on Pete Dye’s masterpiece Blackwolf Run in Kohler, Wis. His passion for design and building along with his creativity and work ethic caught the attention of Dye, who after a short time would offer him a long-term position to work on future projects like Old Marsh and Grand Harbor in Florida.

During Chris’ tenure with Dye he studied and earned two degrees from Michigan State University in Agronomy and Landscape Architecture. His education also included a three-month trip to the British Isles where he was able to research and gain an appreciation of the games architecture at such classic venues as St. Andrews, Carnoustie and Royal County Down.

Lutzke was a quick study under Dye embracing his mentor’s unique vision and strategy in course design. That led him to work on many of Dye’s signature projects, including the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island prior to the 1991 Ryder Cup. He was also largely involved with the renovation of Crooked Stick Golf Club in preparation for the 1991 PGA Championship.

Lutzke was also on-site at the world-famous Whistling Straits courses, The Honors Course in Tennessee, Mystic Rock at Nemacolin Woodlands, and Colleton River Plantation on Hilton Head, which are each ranked among the top 100 golf courses in the world by either Golf Digest or Golf Magazine. Other notable courses he worked on include Teeth of the Dog at Casa de Campo, Brickyard Crossing, Barefoot Landing, and he was the project architect at the Pete Dye Course at French Lick Resort.

“I just turned 50 and this is a really good time for me,” he said. “My allegiance has always been with Pete, building and managing projects, but now it feels like a good time to begin showcasing what I have learned from Pete these past 30 plus years. Having been in the dirt for all of these years and working with him on drawings and routings actually transitions perfectly for me to begin creating my own designs and projects.”

Lutzke does have one solo design credited to him, which debuted in East Lansing, Michigan where he designed and built the award-winning Eagle Eye, part of one of the top golf facilities in Michigan, Hawk Hollow, which he also assisted in the design. Eagle Eye is a visually stunning transformation of a former sod farm and cornfield into a British/Irish links style layout featuring a number of Dye subtleties in the shaping, bunkering and green complexes. Dye himself was impressed by Chris’ work saying, “This is Chris’ design and he got it right.”

Lutzke is currently involved in another upcoming Ryder Cup project. This time he is back at Whistling Straits in advance of hosting the 2020 matches.

“We are there overseeing and performing most of the construction to help create an exciting Ryder Cup venue. That’s as much as I can say at this point,” he said. “We are also working with French Lick Resort on a third golf course and doing renovation work at a few other places.”

For more information about Chris Lutzke and Albanese & Lutzke Design, visit http://golf-designs.com.

Bay Point Golf Club at Sheraton Bay Point Resort to Renovate Nicklaus Course Greens


Course Closing For Renovation June 25

(Panama City Beach, FL) – Bay Point Golf Club at Sheraton Bay Point Resort and KemperSports announced today that The Nicklaus Course at Bay Point will temporarily close for play beginning June 25, 2018 to convert the greens from Tif-Dwarf Bermuda grass to new Ultra-Dwarf Tif-Eagle Bermuda grass, making it the premier golf course in the Florida Panhandle. By closing the course, contractors and the course and grounds team can work without interruption to make a quicker transition to the new playing surfaces. The greens renovation will improve course playability, green speeds and green receptiveness year round.

"Being able to pair a championship golf course with the best available ultra-dwarf technology for these greens is a game changer that will elevate the Nicklaus Course to one of the top in the Southeast” said General Manager Ryan Mulvey, who is helping oversee the renovation project for KemperSports, the club’s management partner.

The Nicklaus Course greens conversion will involve the full-till process where the current sod will be stripped from all greens and 6 inches of soil will also be removed. New soil and sand will be introduced, tilled, and then fumigated to remove any fungus, disease, nematodes, or other issues in the soil to create brand new greens. After the full -till process is completed the soil will be graded to the original Nicklaus specifications and sprigged with Tif-Eagle Bermuda. The grow-in process will take approximately 60 – 90 days depending on weather, following which the golf course will reopen.  During the renovation The Meadows Course will remain open and accept public play.

Originally designed by Bruce Devlin in 1986 (as Lagoon Legends) and renovated by Nicklaus Design in 2005, Bay Point Golf Club is the only Nicklaus Design golf course in Northwest Florida. With 36 holes of Championship Golf, Bay Point Golf Club at Sheraton Bay Point Resort is one of the top resort destinations along the Emerald Coast. The par 72 Nicklaus Design championship layout stretches over 7,100 yards from the back tees with a challenging course rating of 74.3 and slope of 143 and has hosted numerous regional and local events including the USGA U.S. Open Qualifier in 2016.

KemperSports was selected in 2015 to manage the overall golf operation at Bay Point Golf Club, part of the Sheraton Bay Point Resort, which opened in fall of 2016 after a $30 million renovation. Bay Point Golf Club has won the Panama City News Herald's "Best of Bay" for the golf course category for three consecutive years (2016-2018). Bay Point was also nominated for Resort Merchandiser of the year for the Dixie Section of the PGA in 2017 due to the transformation of its retail shop. In recent years the property has added a new fleet of EZ-Go carts, the only Golf Boards in the Florida Panhandle, as well as the renovation of the clubhouse, restaurant, and a new outdoor patio space.

Bay Point Golf Club is owned by Torchlight Investments, LLC and managed by Northbrook, Ill.-based KemperSports.

For more information about Bay Point Golf Club or Sheraton Bay Point Resort, visit www.baypointgolf.com or www.sheratonbaypoint.com or visit the Bay Point Golf Club social media channels on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/BayPointGolfClub/ or on Instagram @baypointgolf.

Key Golf Succeeding in Returning Las Vegas National to Its Previous Lofty Standing

(LAS VEGAS, NV) – When you consider the history of golf in Las Vegas, any conversation must start with one facility – Las Vegas National Golf Club.

This iconic club, which opened in 1961 as the Stardust Country Club, has hosted many professional tour events, with such names as Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino and Mickey Wright claiming victories there. Las Vegas National was part of the rotation when Tiger Woods recorded his first professional victory in the 1997 Las Vegas Invitational.

The club is just as well known for the list of celebrities who have played there, including the famous Rat Pack. Locals tell great stories about late night matches under the glow of the driving range lights. Many nights would end with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Peter Lawford, Joey Bishop and Sammy Davis Jr. around the piano, entertaining guests with songs and stories.

But as newer courses began popping up around town, Las Vegas National slipped into the background, and course conditions suffered. Then in 2010, ownership made what proved to be a facility-saving decision.

Key Golf was called in to take over all golf course maintenance aspects at Las Vegas National.

“When we took over the maintenance the course was in really bad shape,” said Key Golf Regional Superintendent Jared Bumpus. “About 50 percent of golf course was dirt. There were a lot of problems.”

Las Vegas National General Manager Coy Wood agreed.

“When Key Golf took over, about the only thing that was green and growing were weeds,” said Wood, who has been at Las Vegas National for six years. “The saying was, ‘don't spray weeds because that’s all we got.’

“Now, the course is in beautiful shape, and we’ve received a lot of positive reviews. Key Golf has done a great job turning it around.”

The main challenges centered around drainage and irrigation, which was originally installed in 1960 prior to the opening of the course.

“It still has a mainline consisting of Transite which is an asbestos-cement pipe that was used during that time period,” said Bumpus. “Also the entire system is the old style “box” which means all heads are tied into a valve that operates numerous heads instead of the newer systems that have one or two being operated at a time.”

Because of that irrigation system, Key Golf has faced some unusual challenges.

“Since each valve operates 10 to 15 heads, when two of them stick, upwards of 500 gallons a minute are being pumped and eventually the pump loses pressure and shuts off,” said Bumpus. “Since we water at night, we don’t realize what has happened until we come in the next day.

“Also, cracks in the pipes are an issue. With today’s PCV pipe it is a simple cut and trim fix. However with Transite pipe the cracks are vertical, making for a much tougher fix. And with the asbestos, our guys have to put on special suits and goggles for protection.”

A retro-fit of the entire irrigation system is cost-prohibitive, so the Key Golf team must rely on its expertise to keep the course properly irrigated, providing a superior experience for the players.
Wood pinpointed another advantage that Key Golf brings to clients like Las Vegas National.

“Key Golf uses better products and better seed,” said Wood. “Prior to their arrival it was a bottom line thing. Everything was minimal. That’s not the case with Key Golf. They make a lot of their own chemicals through a subsidiary. Their products when applied to the golf course do a much better job. They try to buy blended seed that is a year old or more so you get better germination during overseeding. It all makes a big difference.”

In fact, Key Golf conducted tests and a study to determine which specific variety of seed would be the perfect fit for Las Vegas National.

Key Golf has tackled several other projects to enhance the overall experience at Las Vegas National. They reconstructed many of the tee complexes, and have been replacing dying trees at a clip of approximately 40 planted trees per year.

They also built a practice area on the back end of the range for the University of Nevada Las Vegas golf team.

The end result has been this: Las Vegas National has been repositioned to the lofty heights it enjoyed in its glory days. The total number of rounds played there proves it.

“We’ve increased rounds from 45,000 to 55,000 per year in a three to four year period,” said Wood. “We’ve had our challenges, but overall Key Golf has done a tremendous job. I would certainly hire them again.”

For more information about Key Golf visit www.keygolf.com or call 1-702-629-7524.

For more information about Las Vegas National visit www.lasvegasnational.com.