FAR HILLS, N.J. (July 23, 2014) – An enthusiastic group of more than 80 young golfers took part in the year's first MGA/MetLife Youth Clinic, hosted by the USGA at their headquarters in Far Hills, N.J. Groups were on hand from The First Tee of Metropolitan New York’s Plainfield West and Essex County facilities, as well as New Jersey’s First Tee of Raritan Valley. The youngsters experienced a fun day learning about golf history and technology, followed by a golf exhibition put on by First Tee ambassador and Honorary Lifetime PGA Member Dennis Walters. Also on hand was MetLife’s affable mascot, Snoopy, who greeted the youngsters and posed for pictures throughout the day.

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Participants were welcomed by USGA Manager of Marketing & Outreach Kim Gianetti, who informed the students on the actives that take place at Golf House and the role the USGA plays in the game. Gianetti presented a short video on U.S. Presidents who shared a love of golf, showing how the game builds character both on and off the course, and skills that can lead all the way to the White House.

The participants then rotated between three stations, where they received a guided tour of the USGA Museum and the Arnold Palmer Center for Golf History, watched demonstrations of some of the machines used to test new golf equipment at the USGA Equipment Testing Center, and rolled some putts alongside Snoopy with replica putters from the early 1900s on the USGA’s expansive Pynes Putting Course, which is modeled after the famed Himalayas course at St. Andrew’s in Scotland.

At the Equipment Testing Center, the kids learned about the ways the USGA determines if a piece of equipment adheres to the Rules of Golf from Operations Manager of Equipment Standards Steve Quintavalla. Quintavalla gave demonstrations of the machines used to test new golf equipment and explained the aerodynamics of a golf ball. In addition, he used a machine to put 2,000 pounds of pressure onto a golf ball, the approximate measure a professional golfer exerts with a driver, and showed how the USGA uses the Archimedes scale measure volume of a club head.

The young golfers were then treated to lunch and a clinic of trick shots put on Walters, who was left paralyzed from the waist down after a 1974 accident at Roxiticus Golf Club in New Jersey. Despite being physically challenged, he has persevered to continue playing the sport he loves so much and puts on about 100 clinics worldwide each year from his customized golf cart that allows him to swing from what he calls “unusual lies.” Walters used his own personal experience as an example to challenge those in attendance to do something in their life that perhaps they thought was impossible, proving that with hard work, dedication and perseverance each individual can achieve success at anything.

“It is important to reach our local communities in a way that will provide them with a better understanding of the USGA as an organization,” said Gianetti, who hosts a number of community groups at the USGA Museum and Test Center throughout the year. “The educational programs that we offer are relevant to various aspects of academic curriculum for the young people that came here today, connecting golf history and stories from the lives and careers of our Champions with character education, history, geography, and STEM (science, technology, engineering, math).” 

The event was the first in a series of youth clinics conducted annually by the MGA Foundation and MetLife. The next clinic will be held at MetLife Stadium on Tuesday, August 12.

MetLife has been a partner of the MGA for more than 30 years and is the Official Supporter of the MGA Foundation. As the Founding Partner of GOLFWORKS (the MGA Foundation’s Student Intern Program), MetLife has a long history of community service and supporting all of the MGA Foundation’s junior golf initiatives, including Caddie Academies, Youth Clinics and Junior Competitions. For more information on MGA/MetLife Youth Clinics, please contact Jeff Day of the MGA Foundation at jday@mgagolf.org or 914-347-4653.

For more information on the USGA and the Dennis Walters Golf Show, please visit www.usga.org and www.DennisWalters.com.