Vietnam Veteran Butch Harmon and Friends, Reach Out to Help Wounded Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan

Butch Harmon is renowned for his profession as a golf coach working with some of the biggest names in the sport. Past pupils include Greg Norman and Tiger Woods. Currently, he works with Phil Mickelson, Nick Watney, Dustin Johnson, Gary Woodland and Natlie Gulbis, and he has recently released an instructional DVD earlier this year titled "Butch Harmon About Golf", www.ButchHarmonDVD.com.

  

However, it is Harmon's steadfast and loyal passion in giving back to veterans of the military that is grabbing even more attention. Harmon, who is Vietnam Veteran, reaches out directly to combat-wounded soldiers through Harmon's Heroes, a foundation that encourages the well-being of these veterans and to provide financial assistance to those with a qualifying need.

Butch Harmon and friends with wounded veterans at this year's Harmon's Heroes Golf Classic that took place during Veteran's Day weekend at the Bali Hai Golf Course on the Las Vegas Strip.

 

Since the founding of Harmon's Heroes in 2009, the organization has now evolved into an annual fund-raising golf tournament, with proceeds going toward making grants for wounded veterans to obtain homes.  Eleven wounded veterans participated in  this year's Harmon's Heroes Golf Classic that took place during Veteran's Day weekend at the Bali Hai Golf Course on the Las Vegas Strip.

Also in attendence was a select group of people who donated between $10,000-$25,000 per foursome, with 100% of the funds raised going to the Harmon's Heroes Foundation.

"Many of us have no idea what these veterans face once they get home," said the 69 year-old Harmon, whose father, Claude Harmon, was a long-time golf professional at Winged Foot Golf Club in New York and also the winner of the 1948 Masters.

"Dealing with physical wounds is bad enough, but the financial hardships they face are absolutely mind-boggling - and we want to help. And assisting them in owning their own home is one of our priorities," said Harmon.

  

As of September 2012, at least two wounded veterans were able to secure a home; one in Boston and the other in Texas. Plans are well underway to help a veteran from Las Vegas get his or her own home.

In addition, a portion of DVD sales from Harmon's comprehensive golf instructional two-DVD set titled "Butch Harmon About Golf presented by Titleist" is donated to the Harmon's Heroes Foundation.

The two-DVD set contains more than 250 specific tips from the man voted #1 in Golf Digest's annual ranking of America's Best Teachers for the past 11 consecutive years.

Those who have worked with Harmon all agree that the keys to his success are his keen eye for the strengths and weaknesses of each individual player's swing; his comprehensive understanding of the game; his ability to communicate; his toughness; his enthusiasm for his players to succeed; and his relationship and rapport with his players, making their work about teamwork rather than individual accomplishment.

The "Butch Harmon About Golf presented by Titleist" DVD set is sponsored by Titleist, Winn Grips, Rolex, Golf Digest and JMA and is available for $79.95 on-line at www.ButchHarmonDVD.com.

About Butch Harmon

The son of 1948 Masters champion Claude Harmon, Butch Harmon has been involved in the golf arena for over 40 years. He was a PGA Tour player from 1969 to 1971, with one win - the 1971 Broome County Open - to his name on the Tour. He became best-known, however, through his work as a teacher and instructor, beginning with Greg Norman in the early 1990s followed by a ten year association with Tiger Woods from 1993 to 2004. Since his early experience with Norman, he has worked with more than 100 PGA, LPGA, and European Tour players, including 21 Major winners and recent former Official World Golf Rankings number one Lee Westwood. The Butch Harmon School of Golf currently has five signature locations throughout the United States, Macau, and Dubai, and is one of the top golf academies in the world. The signature locations include Rio Secco Golf Club in Henderson, Nevada, Floridian National Golf Club in Palm City, Florida, Loon Golf Club in Gaylord, Michigan and international locations in Macau and Dubai.

For more information regarding Harmon's Heroes please visit www.harmonsheroesfoundation.org or by calling Kyle Helms at 973-714-4810.

Sunice Introduces the Albany GORE-TEX® Jacket For 2013

Sunice®, Canada's No. 1 outerwear brand, is pleased to announce its 2013 Albany jacket from the Hurricane Collection.  

The Albany is new to the 2013 Sunice Hurricane Collection and is a Classic Gore-Tex jacket. Combined with other features that Sunice outerwear is known for, the Albany jacket includes full stretch the X-Static® Silver lining, ergonomically designed shoulder inserts, the Sunice patented V-collar and the 2 Way front zipper.   

The Albany jacket is 25% lighter with 25% more stretch than other jackets in it category.   The Albany comes with a Lifetime Waterproof Guarantee and is backed by the GORE-TEX® "Guaranteed to keep you dry™" promise.

"We are excited about this one-of-a-kind jacket that sets a new standard in the performance waterproof category", says Mark Fletcher, president of Sunice. "No other jacket in this price range combines the GORE-TEX® performance shell lifetime waterproof fabric with the X-Static® thermodynamic lining, ergonomically designed stretch GORE-TEX® shoulder inserts, the Pro-Trim™ cinching system and lycra cuffs in a complete package weighing just over 1 pound".

Combined with other features that Sunice outerwear is known for, the Albany jacket includes full stretch the X-Static® Silver lining, ergonomically designed shoulder inserts, the Sunice patented V-collar and the 2 Way front zipper.

About Sunice

Sunice®, founded in 1976 in Alberta, Canada as a skiwear brand, successfully transcended its technical outerwear capabilities into the golf market in the early 1990s as the golf industry gravitated towards designing sport-specific garments that truly helped enhance the game. Thus, it's no surprise Sunice® - owned and run by Montreal, Canada-based Fletcher Leisure Group Inc., a company with 42 years of golf industry experience - meets the demands of the most discerning golfer. Sunice® golf outerwear is a chosen favorite by many PGA and LPGA Tour players around the world.

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ING Writers Brainstorm Ways to Improve Golf

By Katharine Dyson -- According to Kenneth H. Blanchard, author of “One Minute Manager” and 23 other best-selling motivational books, “None of us is as smart as all of us.” So Michael Jamison, Executive Director of ING (International Network of Golf) was right on when he charged 30 or so golf writers to come up with innovative ways to improve the golf scene.

The writers had come from all over the United States to Mesquite, Nevada for ING’s Fall Forum, where they stayed at the Holiday Inn Express, played several fine area courses and participated in social events and workshops. During a couple morning sessions participants were broken into three brainstorming groups and asked, “If you were King for a Day what five things would you implement to grow the game.”

After spirited presentations by each group, a number of innovative ideas were proposed proving once again the wisdom of Blanchard who has also said,  “Feedback is the breakfast of champions.”  Here are the winners, the result of a vigorous verbal feeding frenzy.

• Provide universal yardages between tees
Distance between all tee markers should be consistent. Too often the distance from the forward tee to the next one back is 1,000 yards or more while subsequent tees have more realistic increments of less than 500 yards. When there is a discrepancy, create combo tees to add up to the desired yardage. Thus those wishing to play 5,400 yards instead of 4,900 yards or 6,000 yards would be able to follow the Red/Green tees, sometimes playing red, sometimes moving back to green. Rate at least the two forward tees for women.

• Pay more to play back 
If your handicap according to the Tee it Forward recommendations requires you to play a tee forward of where you want to play, you’ll be charged a supplement.  Not everyone is an expert golfer capable of playing from the tips, but if that’s what you like, you just need to pay a little extra to play them.  This should speed up play. If you don’t have a current handicap, a color-coded driving range could be used to determine how far you hit the ball and thus which tee you should use.

• Assign mentors to new golfers
Assign club members to mentor new golfers. Mentors could invite non-golfers to join them at the course and introduce them to the pro. The mentor should encourage new golfers to take lessons and/or join a clinic, talk with them about good course etiquette, what to wear etc. and offer to play a few holes with them when they’re ready. Follow-up also most important.

• Pro participation
At some courses, pros are so busy in their shop, they don’t get out on the course with their members. It would be helpful if they could devote some time each week, perhaps joining some golfers for a hole or two, joining them on the range and making it a point to welcome new members.

 • Offer shorter options for play
Time constraints are huge deterrents for today’s potential golfers. To attract those who don’t have four hours to play there should be more nine-hole rates and courses could be routed so players could play nine holes and end up back at the clubhouse. Consider designing new courses in a cloverleaf to permit play of 6,12 or 18 holes returning to the clubhouse in the middle (6,6,6 or “the Devil’s Loop!”).  More “pitch n’ putt” facilities lit for night play would also build interest in the game.

• Simplify rules for amateurs
Rules, especially for beginners, can be intimidating and confusing.  Create a new set of simplified rules for beginners and those who are not participating in tournaments.

• Develop Skills Scoring Game
For new golfers, instead of using the stroke play system that can be a mind-blower when you get a double-digit score on a hole, create a new way of scoring based on skills with its own card.  Award points for skills i.e. points for hitting fairway on drive, getting out of bunker in one, one putting, two putting, etc.

• Encourage more Stableford play
Whereas stoke play can be discouraging, especially for inconsistent golfers, Stableford, popular in Europe, throws out any score higher than a double bogey but awards points for bogeys, pars, birdies and eagles. The golfer with the most points wins and a handicap system levels the playing field.

• Player’s Club
Designed for single players, clubs could set aside a block of time inviting those with a Players Card (available for a fee) to show up and play with other singles.