Pelz and PGA TOUR’s ShotLink Team to Gather World Am Golfer Shot Data for Future Comparisons with PGA TOUR Golfers
August 1, 2006, Myrtle Beach, S.C. – Dave Pelz, golf’s foremost authority on the short game and putting, will partner with the PGA TOUR’s ShotLink team at the 23rd annual PGA TOUR Superstore World Amateur Handicap Championship, August 28 – September 1 in Myrtle Beach, S.C., to gather golf-shot data on amateur participants for comparison to data regularly collected on the PGA TOUR.
The ShotLink system is the TOUR’s data engine, developed in conjunction with IBM, that tracks every shot by every player in real-time. ShotLink integrates data sources to record and transmit information including shot number, drive length, ball location and score. This data is supplemented by the use of laser devices positioned throughout the course to record the exact position of every ball.
The PGA TOUR Superstore World Amateur Handicap Championship, the world’s largest single-site golf tournament, will serve as a beta test site as the ShotLink scoring system has never tracked amateur golfer data. During the World Am, the scores for scratch, 10, 20, and 30-handicap golfers will be recorded at four holes during all four rounds. All four flights will play the same courses and the Pelz/Shotlink team will track their statistics.
"I can’t wait to see how our amateur golfers stack up against the world’s best golfers," said Steve Mays, tournament director of the PGA TOUR Superstore World Amateur Handicap Championship. "For a long time, we’ve referred to the World Am as the ‘Every Day Golfers’ TOUR event’ and this is another opportunity for our amateur golfers to feel like they are playing on the PGA TOUR."
"We are excited to visit the World Am again and this year, we’ll compare the performance of amateurs with known handicaps to the best players in the world," said Dave Pelz, "The World Am is not only a very fun week for these competitive amateurs but it has been an ideal place for our staff to study the game. Each time that we do research at the tournament, we learn something that improves our teaching. Scientifically comparing the amateurs play to the pros will be a further education for all."
A mentor to countless PGA TOUR golfers, Pelz will also dispense valuable golf tips at the "World’s Largest 19th Hole", at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center, as part of the "TOUR Van Experience" presented by the PGA TOUR Superstore. The TOUR Van Experience will feature a 10,000 square foot demo and club fitting area, fashion makeovers by Bobby Chan and Bite golf shoes; as well as clinics and seminars by the some of the biggest names in golf, including Pelz and Katherine Roberts, plus game improvement areas, skill contests and games.
The World Am is a 72-hole tournament played on 55 Myrtle Beach area golf courses each August and welcomes 4,000 golfers from all 50 states and 20 foreign countries to the Grand Strand. The World Am is open to any amateur golfer with a verified United States Golf Association handicap, or the foreign equivalent for international players, with players flighted according to their handicap. At the conclusion of the four rounds, flight winners and ties advance to the 18-hole world championship playoff at the renowned Dunes Golf and Beach Club on Friday, September 1. For more information on the World Am, visit www.WorldAmGolf.com.
About PGA TOUR Superstores
PGA TOUR Superstores are owned and operated by Golf & Tennis Pro Shop, Inc. (GTPS), headquartered in Atlanta, Ga. Each Superstore is dedicated to providing consumers with exceptional selection, services and prices within an entertaining, interactive store environment. GTPS is the PGA TOUR’s exclusive PGA TOUR partner for off-course/off-airport golf retailing. Two Superstores operate as Martin’s PGA TOUR Superstore in Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach, S.C. Three Superstores operate in the Atlanta area (Roswell, Kennesaw, and Duluth) as PGA TOUR Superstore; a fourth Atlanta location will open in fall, 2006 in Buckhead. Future expansion plans also include two Superstores in the Dallas area in 2007, locations in Orlando, Fla.; Houston, Texas; Phoenix, Ariz.; and the Southern California cities of Los Angeles and San Diego in the near future. All Superstores are focused on game improvement in golf and tennis, as well as growing the games. Each store offers swing analysis, golf instruction by professional instructors, club fittings, indoor practice greens, and hitting nets, as well as golf and tennis apparel, golf-themed home furnishings, and a vast selection of golf and tennis equipment. The PGA TOUR Superstore’s Web site address is www.pgatoursuperstore.com.
About Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday
Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday is a non-profit trade association of 54 accommodations, 85 championship golf courses and four golf schools in the Myrtle Beach, South Carolina area. Founded in 1967, the organization has been and continues to be the driving force behind the growth of the Myrtle Beach area golf market. In addition to hosting the PGA TOUR Superstore World Amateur Handicap Championship – the world’s largest on-site golf tournament, Golf Holiday also manages the Hootie and the Blowfish Monday After The Masters Celebrity Pro-Am Golf Tournament and Golfapalooza each spring, the Summer Family Golf Tournaments, the Spring and Fall Palmetto High School Golf Championships, the Veterans Golf Classic and the FDNY 9-11 Memorial Golf Outing. For more information, call 1-800-833-8798 or visit www.GolfHoliday.com.
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