Naples Golf News

ESTERO, Florida-- Jack Nicklaus has toured the site for Old Corkscrew Golf Club, Southwest Florida’s only stand-alone Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course. The 275-acre site is located approximately seven miles east of I-75 on the south side of Corkscew Road in Estero.

“This unique Jack Nicklaus Signature course is designed to enhance the Audubon-inspired natural environment, and it will be a challenging, enjoyable course for players of all levels,” said Franz Rosinus, managing partner.

The South Florida PGA Charitable Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) public foundation that was created in 2005 as the charitable arm of the South Florida Section of the PGA of America. The mission of the foundation is to grow the game of golf, advance you the education through scholarship grants, and promote junior golf. The SFPGA Charitable Foundation is divided into four sectors, including Junior Golf Activities, Scholarship Grants, Growth of the Game Initiatives and Secondary Support of South Florida-Based Charities.

There’s a Pole-Kat in George Kisby’s game and he’s happy to have it. Golfing Naples and Southwest Florida’s 2005 subscription winner was the recent recipient of a custom-fit set of clubs and irons from the Pole-Kat Golf Company in Fort Myers and he says it’s improved his game significantly.

The 66-year-old Kisby, a seasonal member of Vanderbilt Country Club in Naples along with his wife Joanne, call Atlantic City, New Jersey, home when they’re not down in Florida escaping the harsh winters. “We’ve been coming here for years and love the area.” he says.

PGA Professionals Nevin Sutcliffe and Steve Anderson have been hired by Greentree Resorts in Southwest Florida to oversee the golf operation and teaching program at the companies three newly acquired golf facilities.

This summer, Greentree purchased both Mirror Lakes Golf Club and The Admiral Lehigh Golf Resort, both in Lehigh Acres, adding them to their existing facility, Majestic Golf Club.

How do you compete with the “Big Boys” of the golf equipment industry, who have many years head start in marketing and manufacturing, not to mention deep, deep pockets to fund their ventures? Two veterans of the front lines of the golf industry wars, Richard Merk and Bret Larsen are trying to do it in a revolutionary way, one club at a time, one charity tournament at a time with their launch of Upswing Golf early this year.Merk, a former member of the senior executive teams at TaylorMade and then Callaway, and Larsen, a former VP of Manufacturing and then Golf Club Development at Callaway, have come together to try to bring the “average” golfer access to top quality equipment without the expense the “brand name” companies tack on to their clubs for marketing, advertising and endorsements.