PuttingZone Press Release

For Immediate Release:
November 15, 2006

Amateur Golf Tour Champion Playing Golf Only 4 Years

PuttingZone's Katja Dammann Defeats 450 Male Golfers

Eddie Southards, Fayetteville NC Observer

Competing against men and beating them is nothing new for Katja Dammann. After all, the 23-year-old from Germany had won five times on the Amateur Golf Tour this year. But when she won the A flight last weekend in the Amateur Tour Championship, it was something special.

Dammann, who has lived in Pinehurst since 2002, became the first female champion in the Amateur Tour’s history. She shot 81-74 — 155 at Palmetto Dunes Resort in Hilton Head Island, S.C. “I know how it feels to beat the men but it always feels good,” she said.

Bruce Hallenbeck, the tour’s director in the Fayetteville-Pinehurst area, said, “she’s a heckuva competitor.” “She came up big in the big event,” he said. “I’m very proud of her.”

What she is most proud of is finishing in a tie for 11th place overall out of 461 players in the Amateur Tour Championship field.

Dammann has made a meteoric rise in golf. She didn’t start playing the game until she moved to Pinehurst. She credits two coaches for helping her play at a high level so quickly. Bob Montello of Pinehurst is her swing coach and Geoff Mangum of Greensboro is her putting coach. “Without Bob, I wouldn’t even be playing,” she said. “And Geoff is the best putting instructor in the world.”

Dammann said most of the men on the Amateur Tour have accepted her. She plays from the regular tees at about 6,200 yards on most courses while the men play from tees at about 6,500 yards. “Most of the men have been very nice to me, they enjoy competing against me,” she said. “But some don’t like getting beat by a girl. They say, ‘She should go back to the men’s tees.’ But to me, it’s pretty fair.”

Dammann played in 20 events on the Amateur Tour this year. “It wasn’t because I wanted to play against men,” she said. “But I needed somewhere to play and compete on a regular basis.”

Dammann would like to land a college scholarship and eventually play as a professional. “I’m not quite ready to turn pro yet but I’m definitely on my way,” she said. “My goal is to get an offer for a college scholarship.” If any college coaches would like to learn more about Dammann, check out her Web site at katjad.net.ms

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Geoff Mangum is widely regarded as the most knowledgeable putting coach in the world and has spent 15 years studying and coaching putting to amateurs and professionals right up to major winners. Last year, after his lecture at the European PGA Coaching Conference, Mangum held a series of clinics for teaching professionals in Europe and received rave reviews. He returned this year to hold further sessions at locations in England and Germany, teaching over 70 PGA pros and elite golfers.

Shaun Micheel worked with Mangum in May 2003 and went from winless on Tour and a low-ranking putter to winning a major with his putter after a single lesson. Winner of the 2003 USPGA in July, Micheel improved his US Tour putting stats from 133rd to 16th within two months of working on putting with Geoff Mangum, and said: "Everyone remembers my [last] seven iron, but my putter won me the PGA Championship." Golf Magazine 2004. Micheel recently finished runner-up to Tiger Woods in the 2006 PGA Championship after the same caliber putting performance. Other standout PuttingZone students include Chris Hanson on the EuroPro Tour and Ben Parker, who won the Orange Bowl Junior Invitational in Miami (December 2005) over a world-class field with an opening round 63 that left the field 6 strokes behind. He followed that with an opening 62 at the Tasmanian Open, which he also won, a month later. For testimonials from veteran teachers, click here.

Mangum's approach is to combine the best of existing putting lore with application of the neuroscience for human perception and movement in putting, targeting and stroke control. This "Mechanics of Instincts" approach teaches the teachers how the instincts actually work on the green and enables golfers to use body postures and movements in a structured putting routine that enhances rather than conflicts with these basic human processes for instinctive behaviour. The result is a permanent and dramatic increase in putting competence and the added confidence that comes with real skill.

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For more information, visit Geoff Mangum’s PuttingZone.com, http://puttingzone.com, email him at geoff@puttingzone.com, or call him directly at 336.340.9079.