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15,000 Girls Hit the Links During Take Your Daughter to the Course Week Contact Wendy W. Saari Director of Communications National Golf Course Owners Association 512-288-9224 www.ngcoa.org Charleston, S.C. (August 14, 2003) - More than 650 courses across the United States participated in the 4th Annual Take Your Daughter to the Course Week July 7-13, introducing 15,000 girls to the great game of golf. Suzy Whaley, the first woman to qualify for a PGA Tour event since Babe Zaharias in 1945, was national spokesperson for the event. "Take Your Daughter to the Golf Course Week was a huge success," said Whaley. "We (Whaley's home course, Blue Fox Run in Avon, CT) had many young girls introduced to the game for the first time during our clinics and many current players enjoyed the golf course with their families. Golf is a sport of a lifetime and we introduced over 100 new players to this wonderful game during Take Your Daughter to the Course Week." According to the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA), more than 30 LPGA-USGA Girls Golf programs offered programs during Take Your Daughter to the Course Week, with approximately 1500 girls and members of their families taking part in events. The 106 chapters and 17,000 members of the Executive Women's Golf Association also offered special events to bring girls out to the golf course. "It is outstanding that Take Your Daughter to the Course Week has grown from only 50 courses participating to more than 650 taking part this year," said Mike Hughes, NGCOA executive directory. "These participation levels illustrate that successful player development programs must be implemented at the grassroots level by golf course owners and operators who are passionate about growing the game and seeing their businesses succeed." Take Your Daughter to the Course Week, presented in cooperation with Golf For Women magazine, is part of the National Golf Course Owners Association's award-winning Get Linked Play Golf player development program. The National Golf Course Owners Association represents more than 5,300 golf courses. Through its Get Linked Play Golf initiative, NGCOA is dedicated to growing the game of golf.