GILBERT, AZ: Mark Lowry, Founder and President, located in Gilbert, AZ has announced the formation of a partnership between the National Golf Player Development Foundation™ (“NGPDF), and world-class club fitter, Club Champion, to provide elite club fitting services to members of the NGPDF who are pursuing the development of competitive golf playing skills.
Mr. Lowry noted, “The collaboration between the NGPDF and Club Champion will allow NGPDF members to access facilities and state of the art club fitting services through local Club Champion stores nationally. The relationship will provide access to Club Champion’s faculties and expert fitters, and that will provide optimal equipment and age-appropriate fittings for NGPDF members as they achieve physical and skill maturity. This will help NGPDF members improve their skills training and provide analytics to improve playing capabilities.
He also noted that, “The joint collaboration creates opportunities for:”
- Fittings for NGPDF members.
- Member discounts on all product at Club Champion
- Club Champion will play a supporting role for NGPDF fundraising efforts
- Club Champion will provide annual swing analysis reports that will assist NGPDF members to determine metrics (e.g. swing speed, ball speed, launch angle, dispersion, etc.).
Nick Sherburne, Founder and EVP of Operations at Club Champion, said, “The NGPDF is doing great work and we’re proud to be even a small part of their efforts. Youth golfers can sometimes be overlooked; we see this partnership as a step toward acknowledging their games and their hunger to play their best.”
Lowry noted, “The relationship with Club Champion supports our mission to provide resources and services to increase opportunities to develop competitive players from underserved communities. We are appreciative of the commitment from Club Champion to support our young NGPDF members.”
About The Founder
Mark Lowry’s work and success with instituting a player development system was well documented in the mid-90s when, in 1995, he was selected to create and launch the Chicago Public School’s Elementary school golf training program to feed a struggling High School team program. By 1998, the program began to receive national acclaim as over forty elementary schools were offering after school golf instruction while simultaneously, Mark expanded the high school golf program with growth from nine of the CPS system’s seventy-three high schools to over thirty who competed and advanced from city competition to producing qualifiers at the regional and state level. In 1998, Lowry joined the new industry initiative, The First Tee, where for 20 years he held positions in senior leadership. Lowry played a key role in developing the strategies that would guide the development and operations of the organization from a concept to a nationally recognized youth golf development organization. As Vice President of Network Management, Mark oversaw the development and support of the organization’s eight national regions and over 150 network chapters. These experiences gave rise to the National Golf Player Development Foundation™ (NGPDF).
Lowry says, “The time has come to support the efforts of the players, parents, organizations and institutions that are working to deepen the competitive player pool of players of color. The NGPDF, through its efforts to secure individual, corporate and industry funding resources and developmental partnerships, will identify deserving young players of color and provide support to individuals, programs and institutions that equally share the goal to increase the competitive player pool representing minority communities.”
For more information on NGPDF please contact us at:
National Golf Player Development Foundation™
www.ngpdf.org
(480) 294-3532
mnl@ngpdf.com
NATIONAL GOLF PLAYER DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION™, is a Not For Profit 501c3 established to create funding sources to create additional funding sources to: 1)Support the development of skilled, competitive male and female golfers of color; 2) Connect aspiring golfers of color with instructors and development programs in their local community; 3) Assist in connecting competitive golfers of color with programs and tournaments that will advance their developmental skills at strategic competitive levels that include junior golf, high school, collegiate and professional and assist with support resources to educate parents, coaches and instructors involved with the development of competitive golfers of color. The NGPDF has established both a governance and advisory board.
The mission of the National Golf Player Development Foundation™, is, “To provide unprecedented funding opportunities to programs that provide skill development and playing opportunities to young people of color and connect them to premier experiences in competitive golf.”
About Club Champion
Club Champion is the globe’s most prominent name in custom club fitting and building services. Established in 2010, there are now more than 125 Club Champion locations internationally. Each studio offers golfers access to over 65 brands and more than 65,000 hittable head and shaft combinations. Club Champion has solidified their position at the top of the industry through comprehensive Tour-level fittings, unrivaled club building, and the use of top-tier technology. The company is headquartered in Willowbrook, IL and is home to more than 400 employees, including hundreds of the most highly trained Master Fitters in the world. For more information about Club Champion, visit clubchampion.com
