Trevino started working in the cotton fields of Texas at the age of 5 to help support his family.  A few years later, his uncle gave him an old golf club and some balls, and Trevino practiced wherever and whenever he could.  He eventually took a job caddying at the Dallas Athletic Club, where he had access to the practice areas, often hitting over 300 balls a day.

He joined the Marine Corps at the age of 17, and his golf skill helped him get into games with the officers.  After his discharge, he worked in Dallas and made money hustling on the course.  He later worked as an assistant pro at the El Paso Country Club, where he and tour rookie Raymond Floyd famously engaged in three days of matches, with Trevino winning the first two.  Floyd’s backers abandoned him prior to the third and final match, forcing Floyd to fund himself.  Fortunately for Floyd, he emerged victorious the last day, and later remarked how he couldn’t beat the “cart boy.”

In a true “Tin Cup” scenario, Trevino entered the 1967 US Open at Baltusrol and finished fifth, and he was on his way.  The next year he won the Open at Oak Hill, and from there his Hall of Fame career emerged.  He wound up winning 29 times altogether with 6 major championships, and won the Vardon Trophy for low scoring average five times.  He dominated the Champions Tour in the early 1990s.  He is widely considered one of the greatest ballstrikers in history, a fact confirmed by Dave Pelz, who said that Trevino was the best ballstriker he ever measured statistically.

Trevino is largely retired today, playing only in the annual Legends of Golf in Savannah, Georgia.  He lives in Dallas with his wife, Claudia, and continues to play the game he loves almost every day.

Another big story, which fortunately hasn’t overshadowed Scott’s triumph, was Tiger Woods’ rules violation during the second round on Friday.  Woods’ third shot onto the par-5 15th green bounced off the flagstick and into the water.  After examining his options, Woods opted to go back to the spot from where he hit the previous shot.  The only problem was that he dropped behind that spot.  He was thinking, erroneously, that you could keep that spot between the hole and the drop spot.  He proceeded to hit his fifth shot next to the hole and then one-putted for an apparent six.

Later than night on ESPN, Woods said he dropped a couple of yards farther back so he wouldn’t hit the flagstick again.  This prompted Masters officials to launch an inquiry.  For, you see, before Woods finished his second round, a TV viewer notified the Masters committee that Woods apparently did not drop as “nearly as possible” to the previous spot as required under the Rules when taking a stroke-and-distance penalty.  The committee looked at the replay, and despite the fact that the replay clearly showed Woods dropped somewhat behind the spot of his previous spot, ruled that there was no violation.  Now, how they came to this conclusion is a mystery, and one they never answered, but rules officials often translate “nearly as possible,” as a practical application, to be within a foot or two.

The committee ruled on Saturday that Woods would take a retroactive two-stroke penalty and not be disqualified, despite the fact that he signed an incorrect scorecard.  Why?  Because the committee basically admitted they messed up.  They should have addressed the situation with Woods prior to his signing the card.  There is precedent for this.  During the 2001 US Open, Lee Janzen committed a rules violation calling for a two-stroke penalty that was seen by a rules official. The official said nothing to Janzen.  After Janzen signed his card with an incorrect score, the official informed the committee of the penalty.  They said that since the official did not address the issue with Janzen, a penalty of disqualification would be waived under Rule 33-7 and a retroactive two-stroke penalty was applied.

Rule 33-7 allows the committee in exceptional individual cases to waive a penalty of disqualification.  This Rule was applied correctly in both Woods’ and Janzen’s case.  There were a number of calls for Woods to DQ himself, but these were misplaced.  Had Woods actually done that, he would have, in effect, been telling the world that the Masters committee didn’t know what they were doing.  In actuality, the TV viewer who called in did Woods a favor, for if the committee had no knowledge of the incident prior to Woods signing his scorecard, he would indeed have been disqualified.

Unfortunately, incorrect beliefs by major golf media personalities and the general golfing public are still held today regarding this incident.  The bottom line is that the ruling was correct.  The problem is that the Rules and philosophy behind them are hard to understand if one hasn’t studied them in-depth – and most people haven’t.  Rules officials know what they are doing, and it’s important that we recognize that fact.

By Mark Harman, USGTF National Course Director, Ridgeland, SC

The 18th annual United States Golf Teachers Cup will be held Monday and Tuesday, October 7-8, at Tunica National Golf Club in Mississippi, approximately 35 minutes south of Memphis, Tennessee.  The closing banquet and awards ceremony will be held at the renowned Paula Deen’s Buffet.  For more information and to register, please visit www.UnitedStatesGolfTeachersCup.com.

The 2nd annual Northeast Region Championship will be held Saturday, August 10, at Jack Frost National Golf Club in Blakeslee, Pennsylvania.  More information can be found by clicking here. 

The 6th annual Southeast Region Championship will be held Saturday and Sunday, August 3-4, 2013, at World Woods Golf Club in Brooksville, Florida, approximately 50 miles north of Tampa.

Entry fee includes 2 nights stay at the Comfort Inn & Suites and two rounds of golf on the Pine Barrens and Rolling Oaks courses. All players will compete for the Southeast crown currently held by Mark Harman. Seniors (50+) will play from shorter tees than Open players. (Note: There will be a $1,500 prize fund based on 12 players entered)

$300 Double Occupancy (Let office know if you want to be paired up)

$385 Single Occupancy

$385 Player and Non-Playing Guest

If you wish to play, please enter through the USGTF National Office (888) 346-3290. A $75 non-refundable deposit is required to reserve your spot. Deposit by check or credit card must be received by May 15 so we may know who is playing. Balance will be due by June 1. You may register by phone or regular mail. There is no online registration for this tournament.

The Michigan/Ontario Golf Teachers Tour schedule has been set.  Please click here for more information.  Information on the Central Region Championship will be contained in the June e-newsletter.

Since Katie Fulton’s USGTF certification in 2009 at Kissimmee, Florida, the grass has not had a chance to grow under her feet. She became one of the head golf professionals with the Peoria, Illinois, Park District in 2009, and in 2011 took a job with a sports marketing firm in Rock Island, Illinois. In September of 2011, she moved to Nairobi, Kenya, where she taught golf in the program, Kids Golf for Kenya.

After a serious bout with typhoid fever, she returned to the United States and began working for the Fon du Lac, Illinois, Park District as a professional for Quail Meadows and Fon du Lac Golf Courses in East Peoria, Illinois. She helped them establish junior golf programs with the Kids Golf Foundation and Hook A Kid on Golf, before being offered a job with Baltimore Country Club. She accepted the assistant golf professional position in March 2013 with the renowned Baltimore Country Club in Lutherville, Maryland, where the East course was designed by the noted American architect, A. W. Tillinghast, in 1898.

When Fulton was four, her father put a golf club in her hands, and by the age of six she was competing in the National Little Peoples Golf Tournament in Quincy, Illinois. When she was ten, she qualified for the World Junior in San Diego, California, by winning several large junior tournaments in the Midwest. Fulton had a fine amateur career and competed in Futures Tour and LPGA Tour events as an amateur. She narrowly missed getting her LPGA card at the Dinah Shore Course in 2005.

Fulton loves to play golf, but her passion is making the game more enjoyable for people to play through instruction and encouragement. She loves introducing kids and adults to the game. She is an extrovert and gets her energy from being around people. She worked as a business manager for over ten years, and her certification with the USGTF allowed her the confidence and knowledge to pursue her true passion.

The USGTF sends its deepest condolences to Earl’s family and friends. A military veteran, Earl was buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, DC.

During the winter, they designed the club and brought it to Milwaukee for testing.  It had a 64° loft, a shankless hosel, and most important, it bottoms out flat and slides under the ball.  You could hit sand shots from a normal set up, hit easy flop and lob shots, and also short pitch and chip shots.  I tried to make bad swings on all the shots, but still got great results.  Every shot would go high and soft, with a lot of backspin.  All these normally difficult shots were a piece of cake to pull off!

Now, we have a great reason to hold a springtime demo day and clinic.  Advertise your event in local papers and driving ranges. Call it a “special event for everyone who struggles with sand shots, pitch and chip shots, and has a weak short game.”  Tell them there’s a new “weapon in town” that will solve their problems, so everyone should come out and try it for themselves.  This would also be a great program that the World Golf Coaches Alliance can incorporate into their programs.  Have the golf team members put on the clinic for the families, friends and co-workers.

The club comes in men’s and ladies’, and steel or graphite shafts.  Suggested retail is $120.00 and your cost is $60.00, which is the wholesale price.  Add up some simple numbers: If you discount it to $100 for the special-event day and sell 100 total clubs at that event, that’s $10,000 in sales and $4,000 in profits for you!  I think you could hold one of these demo days every week until summer in a different geographic region of your territory.  That would make you a lot of money!

This club will not be found in Dick’s, Golf Galaxy, or Golfsmith.  So, you will be the main distributor in your area.  We have a great working relationship with this company.  They have other products like anti-slice clubs and affordable products which fit in perfectly, and people would love it and use it! 

For more information on Teaching Corporate Golf, please contact Russ Gorman at golfwellness@att.net or 414-254-3606.

Snedeker grew up in Nashville, Tennessee, where he starred for the local Vanderbilt University golf team as an all-American.  USGTF sport psychology consultant Dr. Gregg Steinberg worked with the team and Snedeker on the mental aspects of the game.  In 2003, Snedeker won the US Public Links championship, and turned pro later that year.  He played on the Nationwide (now Web.com) Tour from 2004-2006, earning his Tour card for 2007.  He won at the Wyndham championship during his rookie year, but it would be four more seasons before he was to taste victory again in 2011, although he contended strongly at the 2008 Masters before fading to a third-place finish.

Beginning in 2011, Snedeker ratcheted his game up to another level, claiming four victories since then, along with earning the FedEx Cup championship in 2012.  He’s got off to a hot start in 2013, but a rib injury knocked him off the Tour for several weeks before he finally returned at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.  As long as there are no ill effects from his stint on the disabled list, Snedeker should continue into 2013 as a strong force in American golf.