Huntington Beach resident, Carls, achieves Master Professional status

(feel free to use my byline, if you need to: Dana Gross-Rhode)

Carls, Vik achieve LPGA Master Professional status

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., June 15, 2009 – Judy Carls, of Huntington Beach, Calif., and J. Kristy Vik, of Buffalo Grove, Ill., have both achieved Master Professional status among LPGA Teaching and Club Professionals (T&CP;).

Already recognized as some of the top professionals in the country, Carls, a Western Section member, was named one of The 50 Best Teachers by her LPGA T&CP; peers in August 2008. Vik, a Midwest Section member, was named the 2007 LPGA T&CP; National Professional of the Year. By earning their Master Professional status, the duo is now among just 19 of nearly 1,200 LPGA T&CP; members to reach such a professional pedestal.

“Judy and Kristy truly represent the best of the LPGA T&CP;,” said LPGA T&CP; Executive Director Leslie Andrews. “Master Professional is the highest designation we offer and represents years of dedication, contribution and excellence. I salute each of these women.”

Becoming a Master Professional was a significant goal for Carls. She is currently a teaching director at TR Golf in Marina Del Ray, Calif., and introduced LPGA Role Models for her Master Professional project. LPGA Role models was a project researching the role models of the LPGA over the years. From Babe Zaharias and Patty Berg to Kathy Whitworth and Mickey Wright and on to Nancy Lopez, who passed the torch to Annika Sorenstam.

Carls has utilized her exceptional teaching skills at LPGA Golf Clinics for Women, as well as Ronald McDonald House Charities LPGA Junior Golf Clinics. Building on her expertise, Carls joined the LPGA in 1982, became a Class A member in 1988 and has served as a LPGA T&CP; Section Member Advisor.

As a National Education Program instructor for the LPGA Managerial Leadership Program, Vik’s Master Professional project involved the development of the LPGA Managerial Leadership curriculum. In 1999, Vik was hired as the director of facilities and programs at Buffalo Grove Golf and Sports Center in Buffalo Grove, Ill., where she has developed concessions, park and field rental programs and a park patrol program for the district’s 51 parks. She is currently the superintendent of revenue facilities for Buffalo Grove Park District and oversees all enterprise operations within the Park District. Vik’s expertise and guidance has elevated the Buffalo Grove Golf and Sports Center into one of the top in the nation, as recognized by its No. 1 Golf Dome designation by the Golf Range Association of America.

“Obtaining my Master Professional status was a professional goal of mine and I have been adamant for years about the need for the Managerial Leadership track. Management skills are a necessity in all areas of the profession,” Vik said. “Writing this material was the culmination of my professional goals and my goals for the Managerial Leadership track. I hope that my career and the material exemplify that there are many possibilities out there for women in the industry with the educational background that our Managerial Leadership track gives them.”

Vik, a Midwest Section member since 1983 and Class A member since 1987, was also named the 1997 LPGA T&CP; Midwest Section Professional of the Year. She is considered one of Golf Range Magazine’s Top-50 Golf Professionals (2007) and is the current chairperson on the LPGA T&CP; National Club Professional Advisory Committee.

About the LPGA Teaching and Club Professionals

The LPGA Teaching and Club Professional (T&CP;) membership, founded in 1959 and celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, has enjoyed an unprecedented rate of growth in recent years and boasts the largest membership of women golf professionals in the world. With over 1,200 members, the LPGA Teaching and Club Professionals are dedicated to the advancement of golf through teaching, coaching and managing golf facilities. Its national member programs including teaching, coaching, business management and leadership skills training programs and conferences, tournaments, employment services, online education and junior golf programs. LPGA T&CP; members also teach and support the LPGA’s various grassroots programs that are working to increase the involvement of women and youth in golf, as well as contribute to the growth of the sport overall including LPGA-USGA Girls Golf, Ronald McDonald House Charities LPGA Tour Junior Clinics and the LPGA Golf Clinics for Women. The LPGA is headquartered in Daytona Beach, Fla. For more information on the LPGA, log on to www.LPGA.com.

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Media Contacts:

Diane Cody, LPGA T&CP; Member Programs Assistant; 386.274.6200, diane.cody@lpga.com

Dana Gross-Rhode, LPGA Sr. Media Relations Coordinator; 386.274.6200, dana.grossrhode@lpga.com