USGTF

Bjorn Lindquist plays at Targhee Village Golf Course where USGTF member Adrian Bernal is the golf professional. Bjorn wrote the following:

"I started golfing at age 8 at a small nine-hole course in Alta, Wyoming. Throughout elementary school, Targhee Village’s head pro Adrian Bernal helped grow both my skills and my excitement for the game. My twin brother Zane and I competed in the PGA Junior League during elementary school, which deepened my love for golf through two-man scramble tournaments and fun practices with other youth. Our team from Rexburg, Idaho, qualified for state and regional tournaments multiple times during our years in the program.

"Although I didn’t compete or play much in middle school, my enthusiasm for golf was reignited when I joined Teton High School’s golf team. As a freshman and sophomore, I won our district tournament, qualifying for state both years. My junior year, I placed 4th at the Idaho 3A State Championship in Coeur d’Alene. The summer before my senior year (2024), I decided to pursue college golf and began playing in numerous junior tournaments, averaging scores in the low 70s. Over the course of the year, my coach, Nathan Ferrell, helped me lower my handicap from an 8 to a 0. In my senior year, I placed 2nd at state and improved my index to +1.

"In the spring of 2025, I committed to playing Division III golf at Berry College in Rome, Georgia, where I will study business management."

Augusta National is known for many things, but nothing stands out quite like its azaleas. The course features more than 30 varieties, with thousands of blooms creating the iconic pink, purple, and white scenery seen every Masters week. These flowers typically bloom from March through mid-April, perfectly timed with the tournament, but how they peak right on schedule remains a bit of a mystery. Some believe the grounds crew uses techniques like cooling the plants to delay blooming or even heat to speed things up, while others credit years of expertise and careful planning. Along holes like the famous 13th, where nearly 1,600 azaleas line the fairway, the result is one of the most recognizable visuals in all of sports.

(Photo by Jeffrey Hamilton on Unsplash)

Trish Beucher began her career as a golf professional in the greater Chicagoland area in 1989. She became a Class A member in the Illinois Section of the PGA and the Midwest Section of the LPGA in 1991. She also became a full member of the USGTF in 1992.

Beucher had the great fortune of learning how to play and teach golf from one of the country's leading golf rofessionals, Manuel de la Torre of Milwaukee Country Club. He was one of the most highly respected and sought-after swing coaches of the last 60+ years. De la Torre's method and concept is only taught by a few select professionals across the country. Since his passing in April of 2016, Beucher has become an integral part of a teaching and coaching seminar each year for golf professionals interested in de la Torre's method and swing concepts.

In 1994, Beucher was nominated for "Teacher of the Year" for the Wisconsin Section of the PGA, and was one of the Illinois and Wisconsin top 10 teachers. She then moved to Florida in 1999. In 2000, Ms. Beucher was named "Teacher of the Year" for the USGTF, an honor that she held for two years. Buecher has also been nominated for the LPGA teacher of the year seven times in the last 10 years.

In her own right, Beucher also played some competitive golf throughout her career. She played on the Futures Tour for 3 1/2 years in the mid-1990s. However, teaching the game of golf is where her heart is. Throughout her career, as both a club professional and playing professional, Beucher has always come back to teaching. She owned and operated the state of Florida's first-ever indoor golf learning center, 8:15 Tee Time Inc., from 1999 through 2005. She has taught golfers of all skill levels and ages throughout her 25+ year career.

There are two things Aaron Rai does that almost no other touring professional does: 1) He uses club covers for his irons, and 2) He wears two gloves, ala Tommy "Two Gloves" Gainey. But unlike Gainey and most golfers, Rai is now a major champion, having fended off golf's best field in winning the 2026 PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in Pennsylvania.

Rai uses club covers on his irons in honor of his upbringing and his father, who bought a young Rai a set of high-dollar irons, and to take care of them so they wouldn't get banged up, used club covers. He wears two gloves because that's what he did as a youth playing in England's sometimes cold and rainy climate, and the habit stuck.

Rai won twice on the DP World Tour (formerly European Tour) before securing his playing privileges on the PGA Tour. He is also the winner of another DP World Tour event in 2025 and won the 2024 Wyndham Championship. His record to date suggests he will continue to be a steady player going forward and perhaps occasionally making some noise in major championships again.

Three region tournaments are finalized with locations and dates:

NORTHEAST - The USGTF Northeast Region Championship will be held Thursday, June 18, at Mountain View Golf Club in Ewing, New Jersey. The location and one-day format make it easy for members who live in the region to attend. The entry fee of $185 covers golf and a prize fund. For more information and to register, please contact Northeast Region director Bob Corbo at [email protected] or (732) 580-5997.

CENTRAL - The USGTF Central Region Championship will be held Monday and Tuesday, July 13-14, at Walden Ponds Golf Course in Hamilton, Ohio (Cincinnati). The entry fee is $275 and includes two rounds of tournament golf, range balls and a prize fund. Central Region director Tony McMullin serves as the tournament host, and entry fees may be paid through Venmo at . He can also be contacted at [email protected] or (513) 479-6895 for more information or other payment options.

SOUTHWEST - The USGTF Southwest Region Championship will be held Saturday and Sunday, September 26-27, at Twin Creeks Golf Club in Allen, Texas, just north of Dallas. The entry fee is $300 and includes two rounds of tournament golf, range balls and a prize fund. Southwest Region director Bruce Sims serves as the host, and he can be contacted at [email protected] or (214) 475-5168.

Golf made its television debut in 1947, when a local station in St. Louis broadcast the U.S. Open from St. Louis Country Club. The coverage only reached viewers in the immediate area, but it marked the first time a tournament could be watched from home. That week ended in dramatic fashion, with Lew Worsham defeating Sam Snead in a playoff. The first national broadcast came in 1952, when the BBC aired the Daks Tournament in the U.K., using just one camera on a single hole. A year later, golf reached national television in the U.S. with the 1953 World Championship of Golf on ABC. That event delivered a defining moment, as Worsham holed out from 115 yards on the final hole to win, helping bring golf into the mainstream and showcasing the power of television in growing the game.

By Peter Hudson

Keith Renton, a member of the World Golf Teachers Federation (WGTF) of Great Britain & Ireland for more than 20 years, has taken on responsibility for all coach education, training and recruitment. Keith’s philosophy is that every golfer already possesses the resources required to succeed, and the role of the coach is to unlock those resources.

Building on his philosophy, Keith will play a pivotal role in the education and development of coaches within WGTF GB&I, using education programmes that train and develop outstanding coaches who deliver real results. Formerly the head professional at Thornton Golf Club, Fife (30 minutes from St. Andrews), Keith holds a PGA golf coaching licence in addition to being a WGTF Master Golf Teaching Professional, is an authorised instructor in The Golfing Machine (GSEB), a Master Mind Factor coach, an Instinctive Golf Practitioner and NLP Practitioner.

In the last week of April, alongside myself, Keith delivered a successful Level 3 residential training in Alicante, Spain, where a group of new coaches embarked on the next stage of their journeys to becoming outstanding golf coaches. Only a few days after completing the training, one of the trainees, Farhaan Naz, was confirmed in a new coaching position at Brent Valley Golf Club, London.

Read the full article on our website!

First played in 1996, the United States Golf Teachers Cup is the largest gathering of USGTF members still. Played all over the country, it has found a home in Las Vegas for 2026 at Painted Desert Golf Club. Great competition, fun and camaraderie await all participants, and many call it the highlight of their golfing calendar. Play will be contested in three divisions: Open, Senior (50+) and Super Senior (68+), with women competitors getting a distance break. Once again, a concurrent pro-am will be contested as USGTF members are encouraged, but not required, to bring an amateur partner to share in the experience. To register for the tournament, please visit https://www.usgtf.com/uscup.

Registration is now open for the 2026 United States Golf Teachers Cup, to be played Tuesday and Wednesday, September 1-2, at Painted Desert Golf Club in Las Vegas. And for 2026, a special hotel rate of just $25 per night (plus taxes and fees) has been arranged at The Luxor on the Las Vegas Strip for the nights of September 1 and 2 with just $29 for August 31.

The Luxor is one of the staples of the Las Vegas Strip at the south end. Within easy driving distance of Painted Desert, the Luxor features everything that you would want in a Las Vegas resort hotel. U.S. Cup competitors may book accommodations through https://book.passkey.com/go/FUSG0926LX.

Ever wonder how far a golf ball can really go? In the world of long drive, the limits are way beyond what most players ever experience. World Long Drive champion Kyle Berkshire set a jaw-dropping mark with a 579.63-yard drive, including a 512-yard carry, under the right conditions of altitude and wind. To put that into perspective, that’s nearly the length of five football fields in a single shot. It’s a reminder that in golf, distance isn’t just about strength, it’s about the perfect combination of physics, conditions, and technique.

(Photo by Troy Spoelma on Unsplash)