foreUP announced the return of its Digital Summit, scheduled for Wednesday, March 4, 2026. Now in its second year, the event marks the next chapter of a growing industry forum built to bring together golf course operators and industry experts for a focused look at the trends, strategies, and technology shaping how golf courses will operate and compete in 2026.

Golf Life Navigators, the industry’s leading virtual marketplace connecting consumers with private club communities, has released its highly anticipated End-of-Year Buying Trends Report in collaboration with Engel & Völkers Americas. The report provides critical insights into emerging consumer preferences shaping private club membership and golf community real estate decisions heading into 2026. The comprehensive report draws from Golf Life Navigators’ proprietary data and client engagement trends to help private club leaders, membership directors, and industry stakeholders better understand the evolving expectations of today’s affluent golf consumer. Readers can download their personal copy of the report.

Buffalo Groupe, LLC, an award-winning marketing agency that connects golf, hospitality, and real estate brands with escape-seeking consumers, today announced the launch of Private Club Studios, a new fully integrated marketing offering built exclusively for private clubs. Built on the proven success of Private Club Films, acquired by Buffalo Groupe in 2025, and amplified by the agency’s decades of golf-audience expertise, Private Club Studios brings together best-in-class video storytelling, research, branding, marketing, lead generation, communications, web, experiential strategy and more under a dedicated partner purpose-built for the private club industry.

Five events into the 2026 PGA TOUR season and it’s now five wins from five for players competing in replaceable traction powered by Softspikes technology, a flawless start that continues to underline the performance advantage trusted by the game’s elite. The latest victory came at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, where the champion edged a tightly packed leaderboard to secure a dramatic one-shot win. With multiple major champions mounting Sunday charges and coastal conditions adding an extra layer of difficulty, stability and ground connection proved decisive when it mattered most.

The landscape of golf is changing. No longer is it just played on golf courses around the world, it can also be played in your garage, basement, or a sports bar with the right setup. Thanks to companies like The Indoor Golf Shop, it’s never been easier to set up a home golf simulator or even to add one or two or more to a clubhouse or any other entertainment establishment. The Indoor Golf Shop’s one-stop shopping multiverse offers an industry-leading selection of residential and commercial indoor golf equipment, which includes a full selection of launch monitors and simulators from companies like Trackman,Uneekor, Garmin, Bushnell, Flightscope, ProTee, Full Swing, and Tru Golf. The company also offers projectors, wall padding, golf mats, and many other products to help you set up your own sim at home.

The PGA of America today named the late Jeff Babineau as the 2026 recipient of the PGA Lifetime Achievement Award in Journalism. Babineau’s decorated career and lasting legacy will be celebrated April 8 at the 52nd annual ISPS Handa GWAA Awards Dinner in Augusta, Georgia. Babineau, the 35th recipient of the award, passed away in December 2024 at the age of 62. His death was preceded by a distinguished career that inspired an outpouring of recognition in his memory.

 KemperSports, a leading golf, sports and hospitality experience company, today announced the appointment of Sara Kearney as its first Chief Marketing Officer. A hospitality industry leader, Kearney has more than three decades’ experience leading branding, marketing and operations for hotels and resorts around the world. She joined KemperSports in June 2020 and served most recently as Senior Vice President of KemperDestinations. As Chief Marketing Officer, Kearney will lead brand strategy and marketing efforts across KemperSports’ portfolio of more than 210 golf, sports and hospitality properties nationwide.

Newton Golf Company has appointed John Bode to its board of directors. The appointment increases the board to five members, with three serving as independent directors. Bode brings more than two decades of senior financial leadership, operational oversight and public-company governance experience. He currently serves as executive vice president, chief financial officer and chief transformation officer of Postmedia Network Canada Corp., where he leads finance operations and enterprise-wide transformation initiatives. Learn More

PGA of America Golf Professional Brandon Stooksbury, Owner of Stooksbury Golf in Metairie, Louisiana, has earned PGA Master Professional status, the highest education designation available through the Association. Backed by more than 30,000 PGA of America Golf Professionals within the PGA of America, Stooksbury, a Member of the Gulf States Section PGA, joins a special group as the 480th PGA Member to earn the Master Professional designation. He achieved his designation in Teaching & Coaching.

The Ohio Golf Course Owners Association (OGCOA) continues its commitment to elevating the business of golf in Ohio by dedicating a meaningful portion of the 2026 Ohio Golf Conference, presented by Jonas Club Software, agenda to modern agronomy strategy and course infrastructure. At 1:50 PM on March 3, Daniel Smith, ASGCA with Better Billy Bunker, will present “Bunkers 101: Strategic Hazards or Expensive Headaches?” at Westbrook Country Club. The session will examine how bunker construction and renovation decisions directly impact maintenance labor, playability, capital planning, and long-term operating costs. According to Smith, “bunkers are an essential part of strategic design.  However, proper bunker construction is paramount to ensuring they don’t become a maintenance nightmare for agronomy teams and a financial burden for owners.”

Square, interesting term. Are you sure you know what Square is? In this video, Ken Martin, PGA Certified Professional Instructor at Keiser University College of Golf, explains what a square is in a game of golf. “So now we have to ask ourselves, well, what is square? If square was always square to the arc on the vertical, then it would make sense. That square would be also square to the arc when we’re swinging a golf club around ourselves.” WATCH

Director of Golf Chris Voshall talks you through the new Mizuno Pro M-15 irons WATCH