Golf In New York City Blog

A Great E-Mail I Received From Bill King. Way To Go Guys!Bill,
Just wanted to drop you a note to let you know how Jeff and Bill King did at a recent golf tournament. We recently won the Collegiate Golf Alliance (CGA) 2007 National Golf Championships. It was held at the Badlands Golf Club, in Las Vegas, Nevada on November 9-11, 2007. It was a 2-man scramble format.

There were approximately 37 colleges represented in Las Vegas that competed in the following 3 divisions: Student/Student, Student/Faculty and Alumni/Community. We won the Alumni/Community Division with an even par 72.

We also did well in the overall Skills Challenge: Jeff placed 3rd and I placed 1st. Jeff is currently a 2nd year student at Salisbury University.

Click on the 2 links below for additional details.

http://cgagolflinks.com/ncgc_2007_summary.asp

http://cgagolflinks.com/ncgc_2007_results.asp

This Could Be Fun, Fascinating, and Fulfilling!

If you haven’t heard of Caddy for a Cure yet, you likely will this upcoming 2008 PGA TOUR season. As a professional golf fan, a lover of the sport, the family member, friend or associate of a golfer, it’s one of the most exciting opportunities in professional sports to take advantage of. And for those who have already experienced Caddy for a Cure, the planning and anticipation for the next opportunity is filling calendars, conversations and gift lists.

So what is all the excitement about? How about having the opportunity to go inside the ropes, side-by-side, with some of the world’s best players on the world’s best and most famous courses, during official PGA TOUR events? How about having the opportunity to personally ask the reigning Masters champion, Zach Johnson, why he chose specific clubs for specific shots to win? Or the Open Championship winner, Padraig Harrington, what it was like to be the first European player to win the Open Championship since 1999? Or to basically ask any question you can think of from your favorite player while helping him prepare for PGA TOUR tournament competition? Caddy for a Cure offers just that opportunity and more. You actually get to “caddie” for a day for one of the world’s best on the PGA TOUR.

Caddy For A Cure allows the average golf fan to actually do everything that the regular PGA TOUR Caddie does for that one day. And, having the luxury of having the regular PGA TOUR Caddie along with you makes it all that much more simple for those who have never done caddying before. They will “hold your hand” and show you where to go with the bag, where to stand, and how to do it. After all, it is not every day that you stand in front of tens of thousands of people doing something you have never experienced before for one of the superstars in sport. Whether you are a good player wanting to get that extra insight into the PGA TOUR, or the average player just wanting to get a thrill of a lifetime, Caddy For A Cure is for you.

Caddy For A Cure was a solution conceived by program founder and PGA TOUR caddie, Russ Holden, to utilize the popularity and appeal of his profession to help reduce, and ultimately eliminate, the difficulties, pain and too frequent heartbreaks that face the families and children afflicted by Fanconi anemia. Fanconi anemia is the most frequently reported of anemias most always leading to bone marrow failure and various malignant cancers. Russ gained first-hand experience with Fanconi anemia 14 years ago through the birth of Christian Collins, the son of family-like friends of Russ’s. They subsequently had a second son who was also afflicted with Fanconi and Russ’s mission to find answers to this disease, as well as other fatal childhood diseases, burned within him. Caddy for a Cure was subsequently incorporated and secured its 501(c)(3) non-profit status, launching the program with the 2005 PGA TOUR season. In 2007, Fanconi anemia patient 14-year old Christian Collins became the National Fanconi Anemia Caddy for a Cure spokesperson.

Since its inception, Caddy for a Cure has donated nearly $100,000 to charities, including donations to the Fanconi Anemia Research Fund. Although much remains to be done in the research of Fanconi anemia, within the past several years of research, two FA genes (FANCJ and FANCM) have been discovered. These discoveries expanded on the key role of the FA genes in genomic stability and their significance to the development of cancer in the general population. This has proven that research into Fanconi anemia is now potentially beneficial to all cancers and its progress has provided guidance to physicians in timing of bone marrow transplants and new therapeutic approaches for FA and millions of other high risk cancer prone patients.

The Caddy for a Cure program works through online auctions on eBay. The public bids for an opportunity to caddie during the official practice round of a PGA TOUR tournament and for the privilege of being side-by-side, inside the ropes on the range, putting greens and golf course with the world’s best PGA TOUR players. Caddies watch their player’s practice routines and shot-making skills, first-hand, without needing to share their player’s time with other amateurs or worrying about their own golf performance. The amount of one-on-one time with the players is unparalleled and an ultimate sports experience.

So how do the players feel about Caddy for a Cure? Recently at the TOUR Championship in Atlanta, GA, Caddy for a Cure National Spokesperson, Christian Collins, had the opportunity to meet some of the world’s best players. In an act of kindness that epitomizes the attitudes of many of the Caddy for a Cure PGA TOUR players, world great Jim Furyk went above and beyond the call of duty by personally introducing Christian to the soon-to-be FEDEX Cup Champion, Tiger Woods. Although Tiger was deep in his infamous practice regimen at the famed East Lake Golf Club, he immediately stopped to not only give Christian a golf ball, but to sign his hat and chat with him for a few minutes. Clearly, Tiger showed how he is not only the best golfer in the world, but how he shares the heart of so many of the PGA TOUR players of helping others and “giving back” from this awesome sport.

All proceeds generated from the Caddy for a Cure auctions are donated to charities. The proceeds from each event are split equally four ways: 25% to the Fanconi Anemia Research Fund; 25% to the PGA TOUR Host Tournament charity; 25% to the PGA TOUR Player charity; and 25% to the PGA TOUR Caddie Benevolent Fund. This unique distribution of proceeds has allowed Caddy for a Cure to generate funds for donations to multiple organizations, including The American Cancer Society, The ALS Association, The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Gilda’s Club, The Boys and Girls Club, A Hand of Hope, Cook Children’s Medical Center, St. Jude’s Medical Center, Hilton Head Heroes, the Tiger Woods Foundation and many other nationally recognized organizations geared toward providing a solutions to educational, social, and basic human needs conditions.

As plans are underway for the 2008 PGA TOUR season, Caddy for a Cure is busy lining up fan favorites for participation across the country. Expect to see the return of veteran Caddy for a Cure players like Stephen Ames, Aaron Baddeley, Chad Campbell, K.J. Choi, Stewart Cink, Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington, Charley Hoffman, Charles Howell III, Jerry Kelly, Zach Johnson, Davis Love III, Sean Micheel, Sean O’Hair, John Rollins, Rory Sabbatini, Adam Scott, Vijay Singh, Camilo Villegas and others, as well as several new exciting and world renowned players. The Caddy for a Cure season will kick off at the wildly popular FBR Open in Phoenix on January 29th and 30th and promises an offering of the world’s top ranked players in skill and fan-appeal.

Caddy for a Cure operates from its corporate office in Coral Springs, FL and is governed by a 10-member Board of Directors and Advisory Board of members from various professions and backgrounds. At the present time, Caddy for a Cure has six In-Kind Sponsors who donate goods to the program to enhance the participant experience. These sponsors include: Adidas, Bee-Alive, Bison Homes, PeakVision Sports, V-1 Golf and Ziglar, Inc. Russ and his wife, Colleen Holden, serve as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer, respectively, and are actively involved in all aspects of the business.

Although caddy participation in the Caddy for a Cure program is the most exciting way to be involved, as with any charity or cause, there are other ways to be involved, too. Specifically, these options are available:

1. Volunteer for Caddy for a Cure events or fund drives. Call 954-341-4600 for more information about when and how.

2. Keep them in mind - Refer a business associate, friend or client to www.caddyforacure.com for participation or support.

3. Pass On the Word - Subscribe to the Caddy for a Cure Newsletter and then forward it to your friends.

4. Make Them a Favorite Site - Keep www.caddyforacure.com in your favorites for websites.

5. Show your interest and support - Purchase a Caddy for a Cure logo’d shirt or hat and spread the word.

To find out more about the Caddy for a Cure program, including participating PGA TOUR players and upcoming events, go to caddyforacure.com or call 954-341-4600.

Bush 41 Receives USGA’s Highest Honor

Below is the United States golf Associations Press release Concerning the Bob Jones Award. I have always felt both of these men were and are great for golf. Bobby Jones accomplishments speak for themselves. Mr. Bush and family are a big part of golf and its history. Especially regarding the First Tee program.
Former President Bush To Receive 2008 USGA Bob Jones Award

December 18, 2007

Far Hills, N.J. — George H.W. Bush, the 41st President of the United States, has been chosen to receive the United States Golf Association’s 2008 Bob Jones Award.
Presented annually since 1955, the USGA’s highest honor is given in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. The Award seeks to recognize a person who emulates Jones’ spirit, his personal qualities and his attitude toward the game and its players.
The Award will be presented to Bush on Feb. 9 at the USGA’s Annual Meeting in Houston.

“I’m very flattered to receive this award,” said the former President. “Golf has meant a lot to me. It means friendship, integrity and character. I grew up in a family that was lucky enough to have golf at the heart of it for a while. My father was a scratch player and my mother also was a good golfer. It’s a very special game.”
Bush, 83, has had a lifelong passion for the game of golf, which he began playing as a youngster during his family’s summers in Maine. He improved to where he was a mid-80s player in his 20s while in the oil business in West Texas.
He is undeniably linked to golf and the USGA through his grandfather, 1920 USGA President George Herbert Walker, whose leadership and donation of a trophy inspired the Walker Cup Matches, a biennial amateur competition between players from Great Britain & Ireland and the United States.

Bush’s father, Prescott Bush, president of the USGA in 1935, was instrumental in establishing the USGA Museum and Archives.
“I played with my dad quite a bit, especially right after World War II when we got a little older,” said Bush. “He was still leagues above me and my brothers, but he always wanted to get out with his boys and play.
“I have great pride in my father and his contribution to the game. My grandfather and father instilled in us the character of the game, the respect for the traditions of the game and playing by the rules, and it stuck.”
Late in his life, Jones credited Bush’s grandfather with helping him get his hot temper on the golf course under control. During his presidency, Walker admonished the teenager during a USGA championship, but then encouraged him by telling him he had the talent to be one of the game’s greats if he learned more self-control.

A tribute to his interest in the sport, Bush is only the second non-golfer or golf administrator to be chosen for the Award. In 1978, the USGA recognized entertainers Bing Crosby and Bob Hope.

“President Bush, along with his father and grandfather, has long been part of the extended USGA family,” said Cameron Jay Rains, USGA Bob Jones Award committee chairman. “His passion for the game, as well as the core values and principles that underscored his leadership of our country and guide his everyday life, are emblematic of the characteristics that the Bob Jones Award seeks to identify. The game and those who play it will benefit greatly in the years ahead from President Bush’s leadership.”
Since retiring from political office, Bush has lent his name to initiatives to help make the sport more popular. Since 1997, Bush has served as honorary chairman of The First Tee program, an initiative of the World Golf Foundation to which the USGA is the biggest contributor. He also is a long-time USGA Member, honorary chair of the USGA Museum and Archives President’s Council and an honorary member of The Professional Golfers’ Association of America.
“I’ve been lucky enough to play golf with him many times,” said CBS sports announcer Jim Nantz. “He conducts himself on the golf course in the same manner he conducts his life, with honor and integrity. I might also add that he’s the world’s best role model for a faster pace of play.”

A native of Milton, Mass., Bush was 18 when he enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1942 and became a U.S. Navy bomber pilot. He flew 58 combat missions in World War II, including one in which he was shot down by Japanese anti-aircraft fire, and earned a Distinguished Flying Cross for bravery.

Following the war, Bush attended Yale University, where he was captain of the baseball team and graduated with Phi Beta Kappa honors. He then worked in the oil industry in West Texas before following the example of his father and entering public service. In 1967, he began the first of two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Texas’ Seventh District.

Bush was then appointed to a series of high-level positions: ambassador to the United Nations in 1971; chairman of the Republican National Committee in 1973; chief of the U.S. Liaison Office in the People’s Republic of China in 1974; and director of the Central Intelligence Agency in 1976.

In 1980, Bush campaigned for the Republican nomination for U.S. president. He lost but was chosen as a running mate by party nominee Ronald Reagan. As vice president, Bush had responsibility in several domestic areas, including Federal deregulation and anti-drug programs, and visited scores of foreign countries. Bush served as vice president for the next eight years. In 1988 he was elected president, serving until 1993.
As President, he fostered a close working relationship with Mikhail Gorbachev, which resulted in the end of the Cold War and eventually the reunification of Germany. In Panama, after President Manuel Noriega declared a “state of war” with the United States, Bush ordered Operation Just Cause, which ended with the arrest of Noriega and his eventual imprisonment. And when Iraq invaded Kuwait, Bush put together an international coalition for Operation Desert Storm, which defeated Saddam Hussein’s army and liberated Kuwait.

On the domestic front, he signed several pieces of landmark legislation, including the Clean Air Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Following an unsuccessful bid for re-election, Bush authored two books – A World Transformed (1998, with Gen. Brent Scowcroft), on foreign policy during his administration, and All The Best (1999), a collection of letters written throughout his life. Bush also has been one of the nation’s foremost fundraisers for charitable organizations, visiting 56 countries and nearly all 50 U.S. states.

The former President leads humanitarian causes at home and abroad. He and former President Bill Clinton headed up fund-raising for the victims of the 2004 tsunami in South Asia, and less than a year later, for the victims of Hurricane Katrina along the Gulf Coast of the United States. Bush also was named the United Nations special envoy for the Pakistan Earthquake Disaster.
He has raised tens of millions of dollars for the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, and along with Mrs. Bush, he serves as Honorary Chair of the cancer organization, C-Change. He is the honorary chair of the Points of Light Foundation, and he has served as chair of the Eisenhower Exchange Fellowship program and the National Constitution Center.

Recently Gary Ostrega and I attended a golf instruction seminar at MOTION GOLF, in Fairfield, NJ. About a dozen golf professionals attended a great discussion lead by PGA Professional Bill Adams. I found this technology to be interesting and educational. They are currently offering Holiday Discounts.
Motion Golf is a complete golf swing studio that provides advanced analysis, data and instruction. The Motion Golf Imaging (MGI) System provides a unique 3-dimensional real-time immersive golf teaching system. Millions of dollars and years of research were invested with TaylorMade-Adidas to create the MGI System. It is a great golf tool.
Rick Martino, PGA Director of Instruction, said “It is the best feedback system I’ve ever seen, meaning it identifies everything you are doing in your swing from every possible angle and provides instant feedback so you can make adjustments where necessary.”
The motion capture process is simple and non-invasive, as the system is totally optical and tetherless. Small reflective markers are placed on the subject and the system instantly renders a 3D graphics character. Because the technology displays the subject’s image in real-time, an athlete may actually “step into” the model movement. The student then replicates the motions of the model enabling him or her to “feel” the exact mechanics required to perform the movement successfully.
This technology not only accurately captures the motion of the subject in real time, but it also supplements the visual representation with real-time feedback of pertinent and quantified data.
You can try it for yourself at these locations
Fairfield
1275 Bloomfield Ave
Building 9, Unit 84
Fairfield, NJ 07004
973-244-0533

White Plains – Westchester
188 E Post Rd
White Plains, NY 10601
914-948-1124

Great Christmas gift – 30% 0ff

Motion Golf has great Christmas gifts for that golfer in your life.

One Hour Golf Lesson on the Motion Golf Imaging System & $225 Value
1 Hour in our golf range and course simulator for $150

We also have ½ hour lesson packages & practice sessions for $75 and many other gift ideas.

Give us a call and we will send the gift certificate to you directly or stop in.

Have a great holiday,

Joe Luciano - CEO