Tampa Bay Golf News

JVC Golf Management & Associates is proud to announce the addition of a new associate, Harry Andrews, PGA Professional. as the new VP of Golf Operations. Mr. Andrews is an award-winning Class A member of the PGA, with 30-plus years in Golf Operation Management. He will be a valuable asset to JVC existing and future clients.

As the golf industry weathers the recent economic turmoil, JVC Golf Management & Associates has changed gears to better serve its clientele. Full-service golf management is still the driving force of the business, but for many golf courses in this time of financial struggles a more cost effective Management Option (MO) is now available. Mr. Andrews will be instrumental in the “roll out” of our new Golf Management Concept, along with Jim Cocchi, President of JVC Golf Management & Associates. 

SARASOTA – This ought to be a movie. The week before Father’s Day, an avid retired golfer almost passes on his opportunity to play in the Nature Valley Amateur Qualifier, one of the biggest national amateur tournament series in the U.S., because of a schedule conflict.

He was supposed to caddy for his 10-year-old son at a junior golf event. At the last possible minute, after understanding the significance of the tournament, the son encourages the Dad to play his event instead. If Dad wins the qualifier, he moves on to the National Championship. So they make a pact - if Dad wins, they’ll reverse roles and the son will “caddy” for his Dad at Nationals. Then Dad goes out and wins the tournament in a five-hole sudden death play-off. Cut. Print. That’s a wrap.

In honor of the one-year anniversary of its grand re-opening, The Dunes Golf Club is making the month of June one giant celebration.

It's the perfect time to check out the newly renovated championship golf course designed by Arthur Hills that is once again gaining a reputation as one of the finest layouts in the Tampa Bay area.

TaylorMade-Adidas Golf Company has named Bob VanSweden from Golf Repair Center in Largo the “2009 Club Fitter of the Year”, an honor that recognizes individual retailers who share TaylorMade’s values and are relentlessly committed to fitting their customers into the best performing golf products for their games.

“I can’t think of a more deserving individual than Bob VanSweden,” said David Abeles, TaylorMade’s senior vice president and general manager. “Bob’s talent, dedication and enthusiasm for fitting have helped hundreds of golfers hit longer and straighter shots and enjoy the game more.”

Hall of Fame golfer Chi Chi Rodriguez has put out some major challenges. “First of all, I challenge everyone young and old to work hard to make your dreams come true” says America’s clown prince of golf. “If I can do it, you can for sure” continues Chi Chi.

Born Juan Rodriguez in the tough streets of Puerto Rico over 70 years ago, Chi Chi learned to play golf hitting a rock with a stick. As he grew so did his dreams and his swing. He also loved to make people smile which he did often with his trademark putter sword dance.

On March 14th, the Tampa Bay community was invited to join the Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA, The First Tee of Tampa Bay, and Tampa Sports Authority for the grand opening of the YMCA’s The First Tee of Tampa Bay Learning Center at Rogers Park. Through an agreement with the City of Tampa, the YMCA’s renovations at Rogers Park include conversion of the 3,000 square-foot former clubhouse into a learning center that houses The First Tee program and provides recreational space for youth in the community. Participants in The First Tee program will have access to the Rogers Park driving range, three-hole practice area, and championship golf course.

Calling all golfers! The First Tee of St. Petersburg wants to help golfers hit a hole-in-one with an investment in youth development and junior golf in St. Petersburg through its Partners Program. The Partners Program, established in 2007, is a group of golfers and golfing enthusiasts dedicated to the game and to helping kids in St. Petersburg learn and apply the game’s fundamentals and positive character values both on and off the course.

The Partners Program offers golfers the opportunity to support developing golfers at three affordable levels: as a $50 Par Partner, a $100 Birdie Partner, or a $500 Eagle Partner. For a $50 donation, Partners receive a The First Tee of St. Petersburg hat and personalized bag tag; a full-color calendar, featuring photos of the chapter’s juniors demonstrating golf and life skills; and a subscription to the chapter newsletter.

By Matt Mitchell, PGA
Teaching Professional,
The Downs Golf Practice Facility

S ummer is fast approaching which means longer days for golf and the opportunity to practice and improve your game. There is much more to practicing than just thoughtlessly swinging away. This season try my approach and you are guaranteed to shoot lower scores.

It’s no wonder that Jeff Parrott was named “Club Fitter of the Year” among KZ Golf’s 2009 Top 100 Club Fitters Worldwide. When you walk into his shop, Golf Provisions, in Largo, you’ll see that he carries a full line of KZG components: drivers, fairway woods, irons, wedges and hybrids, in addition to several other lines of heads. Golf Provisions also has a full selection of the hottest new aftermarket shafts, like Fujikura, the UST Axiv and V2 models, Matrix Ozik, Grafalloy, Aldila and many more.

“Since the USGA has put limitations on how large heads can be, and how much “spring face” (C.O.R) a head can have, the only thing left that can give a golfer more distance and accuracy is the shaft,” stated Parrott. “The shaft manufacturers have really stepped up to the plate.

Performance Golf is a new full service golf store located at 4022 Tampa Road, Oldsmar. They specialize in fitting your game. Performance Golf features Doppler Radar launch monitors, Ping n’flight software, a full-service repair shop and great customer service. Performance Golf features brand name golf equipment including Callaway, Ping, Mizuno, Cleveland, Adams Golf, KZG and Golf Pride. The staff has been trained at the Mitchell Golf Academy and Ping headquarters.