Michael Hebron of the PGA of America addresses the crowd during the 1st Youth & Family Golf Summit held Monday at the Orange County Covention Center in Orlando, FL.
Published: Tuesday, January 21, 2014 | 7:44 a.m.
ORLANDO - With a renewed focus on ways to reach two audiences that are essential to growing the game, the inaugural Youth & Family Golf Summit supported by U.S. Kids Golf showcased a variety of dynamic presenters who outlined an array of specific ideas, practices and strategies to a sold-out audience.
The Summit, held today at the Orange County Convention Center, kicked off the week of the 61st PGA Merchandise Show.
March 27, 2013 6:36 PM
By MARK HERRMANN mark.herrmann@newsday.com
In his 46 years as a pro, the past 44 of them at Smithtown Landing, Michael Hebron has learned there are two important, inviolable properties in golf: "You can't predict your score. And every shot is a surprise."
Those capture his career arc, too, considering he was inducted this month into the PGA Hall of Fame. No way would he have predicted that honor when he was a caddie in Bayside. It would have seemed a huge surprise even when he was an award winning golf teacher and author in the 1990s, before he changed his whole philosophy.
Back then, he departed from the traditional methods of giving lessons -- imparting swing techniques and correcting bad grips -- and began promoting the art of learning golf simply by exploring and having fun. He figured he always would be seen as "a third wheel" in his industry. Instead, his emphasis on the "green grass experience" is now a cornerstone of the modern golf business. And he has been awarded his profession's highest honor.
"I teared up as I left the stage," he said in the pro shop the other day, reflecting on having been honored in Port St. Lucie, Fla. As Hebron returned to his seat, Pro Football Hall of FamerFranco Harris, sitting behind him, told the 70-year-old grandfather, "Young man, great lesson for all of us."
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