20 | December 2017 #juniorgolfmag Visit us at juniorgolfmag.net During the U.S. Women’s Open Champi- onship week, 24 high school students from around the country got a taste of that scien- tific ingenuity themselves. They came together for a fun four-day USGA Learning Science through Golf Academy, at the USGA campus, to discover how STEM propels the future of the game they love. The application process was open to those who advanced to The First Tee’s Birdie level. Each student submitted four short-answer essays to define their STEM-related career goals, de- sired learning experience from the Academy, past STEM activity participation and The First Tee’s influence on their lives. CREATING MEMORIES FOR A LIFETIME Finalists arrived in New Jersey in mid-July and spent the first day at the USGA Research The USGA champion alone gets to raise the trophy, but it is golf’s best Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) minds that ensure the right person realizes that dream through technical innovations geared to fairness and efficiency on the course. LEARNINGSCIENCE ThroughGolfwiththeUSGA BYTHE UNITED STATES GOLFASSOCIATION and Test Center. This advanced hub of sci- entific testing and technology labs is where thousands of pieces of golf equipment are test- ed each year. From the iconic “Iron Byron” club-testing robot, to the new high-speed golf ball testing station, students had hands-on ac- cess to the latest innovations. At the same time, they learned techniques and applications from the lab’s technicians. “I love this stuff,” said John Spitzer, USGA Managing Director of Equipment Standards, who helped host the class. “We’re science nerds at heart and we love getting kids excited about science and golf. We love showing kids that science can be fun. Everything you see in real life is based on science.” THE STIMPMETER CHALLENGE After taking a tour of the facilities, each stu- dent competed in teams to design their own stimpmeter, a device designed by the USGA to measure putting green speed. With the world- class resources of the USGA at their dispos- al, the students showed off their STEM skills throughout the entire creation process, the- orizing and drafting their initial designs and constructing the finished product. The next morning, stimpmeter prototypes were put to the test at the USGA Golf Muse- um’s 16,000-square foot, 9-hole Pynes Put- ting Course. One team was named the winner, taking home prizes from the USGA and get- ting the chance to test their winning design at the U.S. Women’s Open practice green. “The USGA created this fun and new experi- ence on its campus to show juniors the many ways you can learn from the game of golf,” said Mike Davis, Executive Director/CEO of the USGA. “From the aerodynamics of a golf ball,