Hundreds Of Nominees Trimmed To Three In Each Of 12 Categories For Voting By ING Members; Presentation To Be Made January 28 At PGA Show
LAKE MARY, FL (December 17, 2010) – Hundreds of nominations from across the golf industry have been trimmed to three nominees in each category in the 18th Annual ING Industry Honors awards program. Called by some the “Academy Awards of the golf industry,” the ING Industry Honors program is conducted by the non-profit International Network Of Golf to recognize outstanding achievement in the golf business.
Winners in a dozen categories are currently being decided by an electronic vote of the ING membership. Nominees will be acknowledged and winners announced at the Industry Honors Presentation Press Conference January 28 at 12:30 p.m. at the PGA Merchandise Show in ClubING, Room 309.
Sub-committees in each ING Industry Honors category reviewed nominations that were taken from anyone in the golf industry, and by private vote trimmed the entries to the top three in each category. The ING Industry Honors committee chair is Holly Geoghegan of Golf Marketing Services.
The International Network Of Golf is a 21-year-old, non-profit organization whose membership is open to anyone in the golf industry, related industries and media. ING’s mission is to enhance and promote communication and education in golf.
ING is kicking off its Third Decade Celebration at the PGA Merchandise Show with many activities. ClubING (Room 309) will be open all day for members and their guests, with morning coffee, Happy Hour cocktail parties, education speakers, product displays, celebrity guests and entertainment, and prizes and giveaways.
Highlight of the year 2011 for ING is the 21st Annual ING Spring Conference set for May 22-26 at beautiful Innisbrook Resort, a PGA Tour site in Florida.
ING exists to bring golf media together with representatives from all walks of the golf industry to discuss issues, exchange information and improve communication.
For more information regarding ING, call 407-328-0500 or visit www.inggof.com.
THE 2010 INDUSTRY HONORS FINAL BALLOT
BUSINESS ACHIEVEMENT
Joe Beditz
Beditz has led the NGF since 1989, most recently as CEO. He has transformed it in recent years from a member-based data collection and analysis company into a consulting services-driven business. This year he led the launch of the “American Golf Census,” hoping to glean more information from America’s golfers. The NGF hopes to use the data to improve the industry’s marketing and promotional capabilities and equipment sales.
Emmy Moore Minister
Moore’s contributions to the betterment of golf span long-and-wide. She is Founder of Doctor’s Orders: Play Golf, an initiative that encourages better health and wellness through the game of golf. The alliance is designed to also help grow the game of golf by introducing player development programs to individuals. Additionally, Moore has provided volunteer support to the California Alliance for Golf for more than a decade, aiding in such causes as the fight against unfair taxation.
Dan Rooney
Rooney founded in 2007 the Folds of Honor Foundation, which provides post-secondary educational scholarships for the children and spouses of military men and women disabled or killed while serving. He is a former F-16 pilot who served three combat tours in Iraq. He created the Patriot Golf Day, the flagship fundraiser for the Folds of Honor Foundation. He also collaborated with Robert Trent Jones Jr. and Jay Blasi to build The Patriot, a private golf club in Oklahoma and headquarters for Folds of Honor.
GOLF COURSE DESIGN
Ron Garl, Bijao Golf Club, Panama
Garl incorporated the environmentally friendly SeaDwarf Paspalum grass on the entire golf course that minimizes fertilizers, chemicals and water use and is a salt tolerant variety of grass. Garl utilized the local flora and fauna to give the golf course a natural aesthetic look and minimize irrigation. The golf course has dramatic views of the Pacific Ocean and elevation changes of 100 feet. Garl utilized several of his signature design elements: Beach bunker, challenging green complexes and a world class short game practice area.
Garrett Gill, Bartholomew Golf Course, Louisiana
Hurricane Katrina essentially destroyed historic Bartholomew Golf Course in Louisiana. Now, with a $9.8 million restoration budget and the talented work of Minnesota-based designer Garrett Gill, Bartholomew is on track to re-open this year. Gill DesignÌ_å_s talents were stretched by this project due to a number of factors, including the very location adjacent to Lake Pontchartrain at the base of the Mississippi River. The average elevation of Bartholomew is minus 8 feet below sea level, with the highest point being right at sea level.
Gil Hanse/Mark Parsinen, Castle Stuart Golf Links, Scotland
Castle Stuart provides new meaning to the word dramatic. The first three holes on each nine hug the coastline of the Moray Firth. The rest of the course is mostly atop a plateau, and the stair-step nature of the routing and shaping create the impression that every green is hanging right over the edge of the water. Parsinen and Hanse provided wide corridors to reduce the possibility of lost balls and to increase the excitement of recovery shots.
PLAYER DEVELOPMENT
Okeeheelee Golf Course
This West Palm Beach, FL course jumped from 75 students in 2009 to 500 in 2010, the largest increase in the Get Golf Ready In 5 Days program nationwide. The program coordinator is Donna White.
Eagle Ridge Golf Club
Located in Lakewood, NJ, Eagle Ridge has ranked among the top three producers in the Get Golf Ready in 5 Days program for two years, moving a total of 419 players successfully through the program. Headed by Mike Attara, it was also the nation’s leader this year in online registrations.
Hiwan Golf Club
This course has been one of the most consistent performers in the Get Golf Ready program. Last year they moved 160 students through the program, and this year that number jumped to 220. Head of the program is Kyle Heyen.
PRINT ADVERTISING – Products & Services
Aldila – The Weapon For The Back Tee Warrior
Mizuno – Clearly You Two Aren’t The Right Fit
Will Ferrell Cancer for College Golf Classic
PRINT ADVERTISING – Travel & Real Estate
Diamond Creek – Where Every Detail Matters
Old Course Hotel – The Object Of Man’s Desire For More Than 600 Years
Querencia – Losa Cabos, Mexico
PRINT ADVERTISING – Trade Publications
Ashworth – Fred Couples In The Sand
Dismiss – If Only Everything Worked As Fast As Dismiss
Yamaha – Electrifying
PRODUCT INGENUITY – Emerging Companies
Eazy Bag
The Eazy Bag offers a unique front opening, which provides easy access to your clubs and eliminates the need to lift the clubs up and over the edge of the bag. This can greatly reduce the strain on the shoulders and back during your round. The unique Club Lock System keeps your clubs secure, organized and protects them from being damaged. Wheels on base of the bag allow you to easily roll it to and from your car or golf cart.
Fourteen Golf – MT-28 V5 Wedges
This club has been credited with 19 professional tour victories. This classically designed wedge features the signature Fourteen “reverse taper design” but has been improved by adding a groove strategically located in between the club sole and blade portion of the wedge. This structural change allowed the engineers to move the CG to a higher more stabilizing position for more precise shots. The sole of the MT-28 V5 possesses a flatter shape with a trailing edge and heel relief.
PSP Golf – The Little One
The Little One, a golf training aid, is a real golf club with a clubface that has been significantly reduced. It has a standard loft and can be customized up to 4 degrees flat or upright. By having a smaller clubhead, your focus is instantly forcing your body to slow down your tempo and concentrate on making solid contact. This increases your confidence when you transition back to your full size clubheads and see how large your clubs really are.
PRODUCT INGENUITY – Market Leaders
Cleveland Golf CG135 Wedges
Cleveland considered the new groove rule and sought a solution. By laser-milling four textured lines between each groove, designers were able to create a face that spins the ball while staying within the rules. The wedge comes in 22 loft and bounce combinations, and a DSG sole grind option.
TaylorMade Penta TP Ball
The Penta TP is the first tour ball with five solid-layers, each engineered to optimize performance for the driver, long-irons, middle-irons, short-irons and partial wedges. Penta TP has been used in 18 victories worldwide, including the 2010 PGA Championship, where Martin Kaymer played the ball brilliantly against blustery conditions and fast, windswept surfaces. Others playing the Penta TP include Justin Rose, Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia, Jason Day and Edoardo Molinari.
Tour Edge Exotics CB3 Tour Fairway Wood
This product features a titanium cup face and heavy steel sole. Titanium adds distance. The CB3 uniquely combines the titanium to the steel using a no weld process called combo brazing. The process is expensive because it must be performed inside a vacuum chamber, but the end result greatly reduces residual part stresses due to slow heating and cooling cycles. The result? C.O.R. equal to most drivers.
PUBLIC RELATIONS/PROMOTIONS
adidas – Wear In The World Campaign
adidas Golf partnered with Yahoo! Hot Jobs to launch a search for two golf and social media enthusiasts to travel the world and participate in a head-to-head competition. “Wear in the World” was built over 50 days and in nine countries and three continents. A film crew posted footage of the candidates’ unique experiences on Facebook, Twitter, and Vimeo. The candidates were on a mission to prove that adidas Golf apparel and footwear would stand up against the world’s most extreme golf conditions. The trip ended in Bandon, Oregon where Steve Olsen was named the winner and offered a social media position at adidas Golf.
Golfsmith – Win With Phil
Golfsmith wanted to inspire golfers, drive sales and increase brand awareness with its Win with Phil [Michelson at the Masters in April] promotion to jump start a new golf season. In less than 60 days L2 Communications engaged an estimated 30 million people who heard, saw or read about the Golfsmith brand. The results: an estimated $50 million in media value and Golfsmith’s stock rose 33 percent to an all-time 52-week high within the identical timeframe of the PR blitz.
Visit Wales – Ryder Cup Campaign
Led by PR professional Maebeth Fenton, Visit Wales undertook a tremendous initiative to build interest, tourism and exposure for Wales as a golf destination surrounding the 2010 Ryder Cup. The campaign included golf branding material, marketing campaigns for golf in North America with media partners the Golf Channel, NBC, provision of HD footage, media visits, production of golf programming for NBC Sports Global Golf Adventure, partnership activity with the U.S. PGA, ING, leading golf journalists and work with the travel trade in North America. Press coverage for golf in Wales was increased from minimal levels to over $18m averages in the last few years (this figure excludes 2010).
TOURNAMENT SERVICE
John Deere Classic
This year’s tournament helped raise $4.34 million for 500 local and regional charities – the fourth consecutive year the total has exceeded $4 million. The $4.34 million translates to a per-capita contribution of $11.57 for every person living in the Quad Cities, making it easily the No. 1-ranked tournament for per-capita giving among regular PGA Tour events. Despite its comparatively small population base, the John Deere Classic is one of only a handful of PGA Tour events to exceed $4 million in charity contributions.
Norma DiMarco’s Tee Up For Life
PGA Tour golfer Chris DiMarco created a fund-raiser for the purpose of curing childhood cancer. In his late mother’s name, “Norma DiMarco’s Tee Up For Life,” the fund-raiser has raised over $4.5 million dollars in 10 years of existence. Chris plays an important part of the success of this event as he attends many of the year-long meetings. His father, Rich DiMarco, heads the committee and his tireless work and philosophy cannot be underestimated.
Notah Begay NB3 Challenge
Notah Begay, the only full-blooded Native American on the PGA Tour, and his dad formed the NB3 Foundation in 2005 to improve the lives of Native American youths. The foundation’s signature fundraiser is a golf event, the NB3 Challenge, at Turning Stone Resort. It’s a collaboration between the Oneida Indian Nation of New York and the San Manuel Band of Serrano Mission Indians of California. The mixed-team skins match included several tour players, and the money helped fund a $750,000 soccer field and park that just opened in New Mexico.
TV COMMERCIAL
Callaway Ball – Perfectly, with Phil’s shot at No. 13 at the Masters
Fed Ex – When The Boss Is Not Coming In
Titleist – The New NXT – Brake-Gas, Brake-Gas with Scott Van Pelt and Di Stewart
TV COMMERCIAL SERIES
Cobra, S2 Drivers, with David Feherty, Ian Poulter, Camillo Villegas
Nike Golf Oven Driver Series, with Justin Leonard and others
Titleist NXT, with Scott Van Pelt and Di Stewart
Contact:
Michael W. Jamison
mike@jamisongolf.com
407-328-0500, ext. 1
