ING Top-30 Game-Changers: Positions 30-26

by | Jan 30, 2020

The International Network of Golf recently announced numbers 30 through 26 of its Top 30 Game-Changers over the past 30 years in the golf industry. The announcement was made by ING member Gary Van Sickle of The Morning Read from the ING Hospitality Room at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando last week.

ING is celebrating its 30th year of networking the golf industry by creating this Top 30 Game-Changers List. The list includes products, services, programs, governing decisions, events, technology, and outstanding performances in competition that have changed the game.

Dozens of nominations for the list were received from a wide variety of people in the golf industry. A committee then trimmed the list to the Top 30, based mainly in the number of nominations each entry received.

ING will gradually publish the results on a bi-weekly basis, with the top two being announced at the 30th Anniversary ING Spring Conference May 31-June 3, 2020 at the Valley Forge Casino Resort in King of Prussia, PA.

Here are positions 30 through 26:

  1. 30 – Oversized Putter Grips: An oversized putter grip can help promote a preferred pendulum stroke by lightening your grip and reducing wrist impact through the stroke. Super Stroke was the first company to successfully bring the oversized grips to the market in 2006.
  2. 29 – Lightweight Golf Apparel: The more comfortable you are on the course, the better golf you will play. The recent trend towards lightweight apparel with breathability and moisture wicking has certainly changed the way we feel on the course.
  3. 28 –Drive, Chip & Putt: A joint initiative founded in 2013 by the Masters Tournament, USGA and The PGA of America, Drive, Chip and Putt is a free nationwide junior golf development competition aimed at growing the game by focusing on the three fundamental skills employed in golf. Finals are at Augusta National on the Sunday prior to Masters Week and are televised live by Golf Channel.
  4. 27 – Celebration of Arnold Palmer’s Life: When The King died in September of 2016 at the age of 87, the golf industry came together to celebrate the life of the man who brought golf to the masses in his early years on the PGA Tour. It was a day that touched golfers worldwide, and this ranking is an overall reflection of Arnold Palmer’s impact on the game of golf.
  5. 26 – Recession Resulting From 9/11 – Nearly every aspect of our lives was altered after the terrorist attack on our country on Sept. 11, 2001. The golf industry was no exception as all leisure activities slowed in the months and years following those attacks.

The non-profit International Network of Golf, the industry’s only media-based networking organization, conducts this annual gathering of media and golf companies and leaders. ING is “where the media and golf industry connect.”

The Valley Forge Tourism & Convention Board is the official host of the milestone 30th ING Spring Conference May 31-June 3. A full schedule of networking sessions, product testing, educational seminars and golf competitions awaits attendees.

Anyone in the golf industry and media is invited to join ING and attend the conference. Call 407-474-0531 or visit www.inggolf.com for details.