MAUMEE, OHIO—Ben Witter, a PGA Professional and Trick-Shot Artist with a specialty in power training, has entered into a partnership agreement with AboutGolf. Witter will represent AboutGolf in his golf shows and appearances, and assist with the growth and development of AboutGolf Performance Training Centers.
Witter who has been featured in Sports Illustrated, GOLF Magazine and Ripley’s Believe It Or Not has also created the award-winning instructional DVD series, "Rip It 300 Yards: The Power Golf Training System," as seen on The Golf Channel.
The AboutGolf logo will be the only logo displayed on Witter’s hat, golf bag and van that he will drive to his exhibitions and personal appearances he’ll make on behalf of the company’s new Golf Lab Technologies division. Witter’s personal appearances will include socializing with key AboutGolf Lab contacts/clients at trade shows such as the PGA Merchandise Show, corporate experiences, fundraiser outings, conventions, private events and parties. AboutGolf’s website, www.aboutgolf.com, now also features a music video of Witter’s trick shots.
"Ben is to AboutGolf what Tiger Woods is to Nike, "says Bill Bales, AboutGolf’s CEO. "We’ll tie Ben heavily into our Lab Technologies Division, as he is a great poster boy for our technology. For instance, we’ll be able to track some of his wilder trick shots with our FlightScope launch monitors. He also has a very entertaining show he does in our AboutGolf Simulator."
Witter’s mastery of the physical form of the golf swing has enabled him to become one of the world’s best and most highly sought after trick-shot artists. His amazing Power Golf Trick Shot Show is a combination of instructional subject matter, mind-boggling balance, uncanny eye-hand coordination and feats of athletic agility unmatched in the world of golf by even the most gifted tour players.
"AboutGolf’s technology is second to none, and I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to be representing a company I so greatly respect and admire," Witter says. "I’ve been very familiar with AboutGolf and its indoor simulator and launch monitor. This technology will open an entirely new frontier in the field of instruction, club fitting and entertainment."
In fact, AboutGolf is the key component of Witter’s learning center, Ben’s Power Golf Learning Center, that just opened Oct. 12 at Fairview Golf Course in Lebanon, Pa. The learning center features a highly advanced AboutGolf Performance Center, which includes the AboutGolf Simulator, the world’s most-advanced indoor golf simulator. The EDH Sports FlightScope launch monitor—of which AboutGolf is the official North American distributor—provides every key ball flight variable including sidespin, backspin, horizontal and vertical launch, and club-strike vector, as well as weight transfer and high-speed digital motion capture software. This technology provides Witter valuable information for fine-tuning fundamentals and maximizing performance with his students of all ability levels. Witter’s performance center will also integrate the AboutGolf Weight Monitor, the AboutGolf Putt Monitor, and VideoTrac as well as AboutGolf’s proprietary camera system and teaching software.
"The technology we offer with the AboutGolf Performance Center is probably the most exciting and educational piece of golf technology I’ve had the opportunity to work with in my 20 years as a golf professional," Witter says. "I concluded that if this thing is good enough to track a missile at 2,000 miles per hour, it’s good enough to track a golf ball at 200. You can play 18 holes on some of the most realistic simulated scenes I’ve ever seen. Players can hit balls on a simulated driving range and receive instant and accurate feedback on how far, how high, how far off line and how much backspin their shot had."
Witter’s teaching philosophy and instructional beliefs are based on the same concepts he routinely demonstrates in his trick-shot show, where he uses sound fundamental principles to illustrate how function follows form in nearly every application. His blend of talent, knowledge and experience have made Witter one of the game’s most uniquely qualified and sought-after PGA Professionals.
Ironically, Witter didn’t intend on becoming a trick-shot artist during his successful collegiate career in the 1980s, which also included winning two NCAA long drive championships. However, the three-time All-American’s dream of becoming a PGA Tour superstar were derailed less than two years after he began his pursuit when he was diagnosed with cancer while playing mini-tours.
Surgery and subsequent radiation treatment required a lengthy hospital stay, and Witter eased his restlessness by juggling a golf ball off the face of a sand wedge. Soon he developed a trick-shot routine, and his first captive audience was the medical staff at Houston’s MD Anderson Cancer Center. During the ensuing 18 years, Witter has added a new shot or stunt each year and remains in peak physical condition, despite a second bout with cancer last year. Witter competes and entertains internationally and has placed third in the World Golf Trick Shot Championship.
AboutGolf is an 18-year-old Maumee, Ohio-based company that’s a subsidiary of Friendly Software. AboutGolf has produced Microsoft Golf, Greg Norman Ultimate Challenge Golf and World Tours, which is the world’s most-widely-distributed golf simulation, and now is the world leader in indoor golf simulator technology. AboutGolf® is a registered trademark of AboutGolf Limited, Maumee, Ohio.
Contact:
Mary Beth Lacy
mb@mblacy.com
Phone: 760-202-1181