DUBLIN, OH — Just weeks before the PGA Tour’s brightest stars descended on Muirfield Village Golf Club for the Memorial Tournament, the next generation of elite golfers got the chance to get some Tour-level development. Over two crisp late April days, members of Team Ohio gathered for a first-of-its-kind training experience as part of the United States Golf Association’s (USGA) new National Development Program.
Ohio is one of just a handful of pilot states for the USGA’s National Development Program, an ambitious initiative aimed at identifying and supporting junior talent across the country and creating a pathway to the highest levels of golf. Administered collaboratively by the two PGA Sections (Southern Ohio PGA and Northern Ohio PGA) as well as Ohio’s allied golf associations (Northern Ohio Golf Association, the Ohio Golf Association, the Miami Valley Golf Association, and the Greater Cincinnati Golf Association), Team Ohio represents a unified front in growing the game through youth development.
“I was thrilled with our first camp,” said Team Ohio Captain Therese Hession. “I think our young men and women learned a lot of new and good takeaways for practicing and making their games rise to the next level.”
In addition to the practice sessions, members of Team Ohio also received significant instruction in sports psychology from Dr. Todd Kays and data-driven on-course decision making from Decade Golf’s Alex Huang. That plan is called “Primed to Thrive” and is a step-by-step wholesale development program aimed at optimizing training so these juniors understand how to perform at their best on and off the course.
“Team golf is very special and a great experience for our juniors.” said Team Ohio Coach and PGA of America Professional Chris Yoder. “It was a fun weekend and a great opportunity to be at Muirfield Village Golf Club so the juniors could walk the grounds that a lot of the Tour pros will be walking in a month.”
“It was really amazing. You don’t get a ton of team aspects in golf so it was great to be surrounded by people with your same skill level,” said Team Ohio member Isabella Anderson. “It was amazing to be around some knowledgeable coaches who have a ton of experience in golf. There’s so much to learn.”
The collaboration of Ohio’s golf associations as well as the Southern and Northern Ohio PGA Sections is also a huge part of what makes Team Ohio work. Members of the team came from all over the state to learn and that process was significantly more streamlined due to the teamwork from the AGAs and Sections.
“I really enjoyed the team experience,” said Team Ohio member Noah Andry. “It’s not something you do much so it was great to meet new people and hear from the coaches. They both have tons of experience and the stories they told us were great.”
“It was great team camaraderie,” said Hession. “The future of golf in the state of Ohio is very bright.”
“This camp showed what Ohio can do when we work as one,” said Southern Ohio PGA Executive Director Patrick Salva. “We’re proud to be a pilot state and even prouder of the young men and women who represent Team Ohio. They’re the future of the game.”