New Year’s resolutions for golfers — and how to keep them

In 2023, I will improve my golf game through …

New Year’s resolutions. We all make them, yet we almost all fail to keep them.

It’s time to change that. Make 2023 the year you follow through on your goals. What better place to start than on the golf course?

Here at Golfweek, we’ve put together a list of what we think are important New Year’s resolutions for your game. From increasing distance to improving short game and fitness, we’ve compiled not just what to do, but how to do it to help you achieve your goals.

If you’re looking for a deeper dive into golf fitness, check out Averee Dovsek’s gym guide.

Best Men’s Golf Pants 2022

Check out our top men’s golf pants for 2022.

Much like the golf glove, you might not think about upgrading your golf pants until it’s too late and you’re left with the wrong kind of hole in one.

With a winter chill in the air, a good pair of pants can get you through your morning round and have you look good doing it. Whether you are a budget shopper or want to look exactly like the pros, here are some of Golfweek’s favorite men’s pants to help you stay warm, dry AND stylish in 2022.

If you’re looking for a last minute golf gift, we’ve got you covered with Golfweek’s 2022 Gift Guides.

Best for ’22: Drivers | Irons | Wedges | Putters | Golf balls

Best Memorial Day sales for 2022

Save big during the long weekend.

Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer, but in the golf world it means more than just pool parties and weekend barbecues, it means big sales.

Golfweek has rounded up some of the best Memorial Day Weekend sales to help you save while getting ready for a big golf summer. Some stores will use a discount code, others need a special tracking link, but don’t worry, we explain it all below. Act quickly, because most of these sales end by Monday, May 30.

Golfweek’s Best: Pants | Men’s Shoes | Ladies’ Shoes | Sunglasses

We occasionally recommend interesting products, services, and gaming opportunities. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. Golfweek operates independently, though, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.

First Tee gets $9.5 million from Arthur Blank, PGA Tour Superstore

First Tee, has received a $9.5 million grant from PGA Tour Superstore and the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation.

First Tee, an organization dedicated to helping youth stay active and build character through golf, has received a $9.5 million grant from PGA Tour Superstore and the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. This money will help First Tee reach more children across the United States and expand its curriculum for teenage participants in particular.

“We are committed to being a positive influence in our communities and truly believe in the purposeful impact sports can have in developing and supporting youth,” said Arthur Blank, chairman of PGA Tour Superstore and the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation and likely more well known as the owner of the Atlanta Falcons.

“This is the embodiment of the First Tee’s mission and we are proud to support them. For more than a decade, we have built a strong partnership with the First Tee and will continue to work together to empower young people with core values such honesty, integrity and sportsmanship that will help them succeed throughout the course of their life.”

In 2011, First Tee’s sphere of influence included around 260,000 kids. By 2019, that number had grown to over 1.5 million thanks to continued support from PGA Tour Superstore and the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. Nowadays, First Tee maintains a presence at 150 chapters, 1,600 youth centers and 10,000 schools.

New teen-centric programming planned for 2021 include an annual five-week leadership development program offered to over 1,300 youth at PGA Tour Superstores. Forty more will be chosen each year to participate in a week-long summit at Montana’s West Creek Ranch.

“We are grateful for leaders like Arthur Blank and his family of businesses who understand the power of investing in young people and their communities through First Tee,” said Jay Monahan, Commissioner of the PGA Tour and Chairman of First Tee.

“First Tee’s ability to connect with and empower the next generation in intentional and innovative ways is realized through partnerships like this one. Thank you to Mr. Blank and his store executives for investing in our future.”

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Golf shop re-openings continue to increase after COVID-19 forced closures

According to the National Golf Foundation, 81 percent of retailers are open but the in-store experience is different.

For golfers around the United States, playing is no longer a problem.

According to the National Golf Foundation (NGF), 97 percent of the courses in America are now open, but in addition to playing, getting new gear has been a challenge during the coronavirus pandemic.

It’s one thing to order a book or a power tool from an online retailer, but golfers like to hold clubs and hit them before buying them. They want to try on golf shoes and inspect new golf bags. After COVID-19 precautions forced nearly all nonessential businesses to close in March, local golf shops and large chain outlets shut their doors to customers.

Thankfully, according to the NGF, buying new gear should be getting easier for the majority of Americans because approximately 81 percent of the off-course golf retails stores have re-opened. That is a sharp increase from two weeks ago when the NGF estimated that 61 percent of the stores were open.

According to an NGF study, 83 percent of the local retailers and independent stores are open, while 78 percent of chain stores like PGA Tour Superstore, Golf Galaxy and Worldwide Golf Shops are now open.

While those stores may be open, the experience of going into any retail store right now is far from what it would have been a year ago.

Dick Sullivan, the president and CEO of PGA Tour Superstores, told the NGF that his company studied what large retailers like Home Depot were doing. He and his team also examined how grocery stores managed customers. Then PGA Tour Superstores tried to apply what it learned (and more) to its locations.

“People are wanting to touch clubs and demo clubs, whether on the putting greens or in the practice bays,” Sullivan said. “We’re not a sporting goods store where people come in, pick up a product and walk out. We’re going to be fitting people and people get to experiment with products, so we had to do a little bit more.”

Local golf shops, like Chris Cote’s Golf Shop in Portland, Connecticut, have adapted, too. Like PGA Tour Superstores, Cote’s local shop encourages everyone to maintain social distancing practices, the number of customers allowed in the store has been limited and hand sanitizing stations have been created. The clubs and balls are being sanitized after customers touch them, too. At many retail stores, repairs can be dropped off and returned to customers outside the store to help maintain social distancing too.

This new retail experience will not feel natural for a long time, but the increase in store openings is another encouraging sign that golf is bouncing back.

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Florida follows handful of other states in allowing off-course retail golf shops to reopen

As with several other states, off-course retail golf shops can reopen May 4 in most of Florida in wake of coronavirus

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced last week that many retail stores and restaurants could reopen May 4 in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, and several golf stores have raced to tee it up for customers, albeit in a somewhat limited capacity. The Sunshine State joins a handful of others that will allow consumers into retail locations that include golf stores.

The big chain retailers such as PGA Tour Superstore, Golf Galaxy and Edwin Watts reopened most of their Florida shops Monday. Many of these stores had implemented curbside service during mandated closures that kept customers out of the confines of the stores, as well as still operating online sales.

DeSantis’ allowance for reopening did not include Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, which are the most southeasterly counties on the mainland along the Atlantic Ocean. Those three have been the hardest hit in the Sunshine State, which has had more than 36,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and almost 1,400 deaths as of Monday morning.

Under DeSantis’ reopening plans, retail stores can allow 25 percent of indoor customer capacity into a facility at one time. The plan also suggests maintaining social-distancing guidelines, avoiding groups of 10 or more people and wearing a mask when it’s impossible to stay 6 feet away from others.

PGA Tour Superstore sent an email to consumers saying employees have been trained in more detailed cleaning regimens and that employees will be subject to health screening before reporting to work.

For PGA Tour Superstore, Monday’s reopening means the chain is allowing customers back into its stores in six states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Texas and Utah. In Florida, five of the chain’s seven stores are open: Altamonte Springs, Jacksonville, Naples, Orlando and Sarasota. The stores in Delray Beach and Plantation still will not allow customers into the stores, as they are in counties that remain under stricter shutdowns.

Golf Galaxy is likewise open in several states, according to its website. Those states are Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Virginia. The chain is offering curbside pickup in many other states. Dick’s Sporting Goods, which owns Golf Galaxy, also reopened select stores in Florida and other states.

Worldwide Golf Shops, which operates Edwin Watts, Roger Dunn and several otherwise branded shops, also is operating in many of those same states. Other locations are offering curbside pickup only.

DeSantis’ order also allows independent shops to open in Florida, as they have in several of the state listed above. Check with those shops in your area to learn their hours and of any restrictions.

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