I’m writing this article riding shotgun on I-75 North with an old friend at 8:30 pm after a long day Monday teaching. We are heading to Orlando for The PGA Show. I figured out a few minutes ago it’s probably my 30th show! If you have never been a golf nut, it’s kind of like winning one of the golden tickets to visit Willie Wonka in his Chocolate Factory.

I often hear other fellows in my industry complain about having to go to the show. It saddens me because to me that’s a sign they have lost their passion for what we do as the gate keepers of the game. I still go of course for business reasons. I also go to see the latest and the greatest. It is also a chance to both network as well as visit with old friends who are separated by geography but forever connected by this awesome game we both love and respect.

The Show is a massive undertaking drawing thousands of professionals and industry leaders from all over the planet into one huge structure, The Orlando Convention Center. In Mickey Mouse’s home town this week the golf world over rides The Magic Kingdom. If you have never been and you truly love golf it’s a pilgrimage you have to make. Every obvious golf company is there, but better yet, every new and crazy gizmo on the planet gets launched and sometimes dies on the vine this week.

On a separate note did you folks see the clinic Patrick Reed put on at the Humana? 63-63-63 to open followed up and finished off with a pedestrian 71. Awesome golf! The first 3 rounds basically represented a player birding every other hole for 3 straight days! It also represented a new PGA TOUR 54 hole scoring mark. One last thought, go back and peek at Zac Johnson’s golf since he won Tiger’s event about 6 weeks ago. Who says you have to be a power player to excel on tour these days?

Sincerely in golf,

Tom Patri, President / Founder TP Golf LLC