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Annika Sorenstam: Ladies’ locker rooms are ‘small, old, very dated and not welcoming’

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Annika Sorenstam has taken aim at how golf clubhouses treat its female members to highlight how authorities are failing to get more women and girls into golf.

The most successful female golfer in the sport’s history was speaking at a Women’s Leadership Forum, an online event hosted by the R&A and Mastercard, and was asked what she thinks could be done to encourage more women and girls to play the sport.

In response, the 10-time major champion hit out at the condition of ladies’ locker rooms, calling them “small, old. very dated, and not welcoming”.

“Just from a club standpoint, I think the language – even the basic things like a pro shop – is a big deal if you are new to golf. Also the ladies’ locker-room, it’s almost as though it’s a last-minute thought. There’s just nothing to it. It’s small. It’s old. It’s very dated. It’s just not welcoming. It’s not fresh.

I think there are few things we need to do to invest in these clubs and I’m not talking about fancy country clubs. Let’s make golf attractive in the sense of being welcoming. It’s not just about hitting 7-irons and holing putts.”

Sorenstam also believes that the dress code is an area which golf clubs need to update, claiming there are too many rules and how the game can learn from other sports.

“There’s a lot of things we can work on to make golf clubs a place you want to go to. I think the dress code needs to change. If you want to get people involved, you can’t have all these rules. There are a lot of things we can do, and a lot of it is the perception of golf. Let’s start making golf cool again.

Let’s look at other sports and see what they are doing to make it welcoming for young people. There has to be a fine line where we can preserve history and tradition because I think that is what golf is about but, at the same time, how can we modernise it and share what we have?”

Sorenstam has recently been elected as the new president of the International Golf Federation and will enter her new role on January 1, 2021.

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Gianni is the Managing Editor at GolfWRX. He can be contacted at [email protected].

19th Hole

TaylorMade signs 15-year-old AJGA Rolex Junior Player of the Year to an NIL contract

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This week, TaylorMade Golf announced that they’ve signed AJGA Rolex Junior Player of the Year, Miles Russell, to an NIL contract.

In a statement, TaylorMade called Russell “nothing short of remarkable”.

“Miles’ record setting success at his young age is nothing short of remarkable and we are excited he chose us to support him in his growth as a golfer to continue to accomplish his career goals. Identifying and developing the top junior talent in the world has always been a priority for us at TaylorMade. Miles and his family epitomize the type of athlete and human being we are looking to add to Team TaylorMade.”

Russell has broken plenty of records in recent months. This season, he was named American Junior Golf Association’s Rolex Boys Player of the Year, making him the youngest male player to receive the award. The record was previously held by Tiger Woods who was about 10 months older than Russell at the time he received the award.

At age 14, J he became the youngest player ever to win the Junior PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass at age 14.

The 15-year-old also played in his first Korn Ferry Tour event on Thursday, the LECOM Suncoast Classic, and shot a first-round 68.

In the aftermath of the agreement, Russell released a statement.

“I have had a great relationship with the team at TaylorMade for years now and couldn’t be more excited to continue to work with them in the future. TaylorMade has a history of developing the top junior talent in the world to help reach their goals of becoming PGA TOUR and major championship winners. I am looking forward to working with the team to reach those and other goals I have laid out for my career.”

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19th Hole

Group of PGA Tour caddies sign endorsement deal with underwear company

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In an interesting turn of events, a group of PGA Tour caddies have signed an endorsement deal with an underwear company.

Geno Bonnalie (Joel Dahmen), Aaron Flener (J.T. Poston), John Limanti (Akshay Bhatia) and Joel Stock (Will Zalatoris) and John Ellis (Wyndham Clark) have signed a deal with the underwear brand, SAXX.

Here are some details about the endorsement deal:

  • The deal eclipses six figures in total value, extending what last year marked the first significant apparel agreement with a group of pro caddies. Of note, Geno and John Ellis appeared in the Netflix docuseries, Full Swing.
  • The caddies will wear SAXX underwear, shorts and polos on and off the course.
  • SAXX will donate $100 to the Testicular Cancer Foundation for every birdie made by the caddies’ players for the rest of the season.
  • SAXX will bring the Ball Masters to the masses at the Travelers Championship, hosting a fan activation with underwear giveaways, photo opportunities, appearances from the Ball Masters and more.
  • Fans can become an honorary Ball Master, which includes a year’s worth of underwear, among other things. Go to SAXX.com/ball-master-application from now until June 15 to enter.

The partnership is great for the caddies and also represents a great cause.

Check out the video they shared on YouTube:

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19th Hole

Man charged with stealing millions of dollars worth of memorabilia from Augusta National

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Augusta National

According to a report from the Chicago Tribune, a man has been charged in Chicago with stealing millions of dollars’ worth of memorabilia from Augusta National.

The man, Robert Globensky, was charged with transporting the memorabilia across state lines.

The report states that between 2009 and 2022, Globensky allegedly transported “millions of dollars’ worth of Masters golf tournament merchandise and historical memorabilia” from Augusta National “and transported to Tampa, Florida, knowing the same had been stolen, converted and taken by fraud.”

The document was filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Per the court records there is no mention that Globensky worked for the golf club.

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