GREENSBORO, NC – UNC Greensboro assistant
men’s golf coach and dean emeritus of the School of Health
and Human Performance Dr. Bob Christina has been honored in this
month’s Golf Magazine for his contribution to the sport of
golf in the field of research.
Christina, 68, was a part of a select group honored by the magazine
this month for the contributions both on and away from the golf
course. Put together for the first time last year, Golf Magazine
solicited the USGA, The PGA Tour, the PGA of America, the National
Golf Foundation and the World Scientific Congress of Golf, as well
as the magazine’s teachers and readership.
Christina and Eric Alpehfels, Director of Instruction at Pinehurst Golf Academy, were selected as The Researchers. “Our mission isn't to stir the pot,” Christina told the magazine. “But if you ask the right questions, that's often what happens. At first glance, you wouldn't necessarily think that you could improve distance control by looking at the hole [rather than your ball] while you putt, or that teeing the ball higher could consistently gain you 10 yards or more, but our research found both to be true. When you test what is considered an obvious question, you don't always get an obvious answer — that's the philosophy of our research program. Often the ‘tried and true’ method wavers and something else turns out to be more successful. That's when you know you're getting somewhere.”
Christina is a nationally recognized expert in exercise and sport science. He has authored and co-authored more than 100 scientific and professional publications and three books. He has given 174 scholarly presentations in the United States and abroad, and he has served on the National Research Council Committee of the National Academy of Sciences.
During his tenure at UNCG, he also served as a professor in the Department of Exercise and Sport Science. He holds a bachelor’s from Ithaca College and a master’s and Ph.D. from the University of Maryland. He is also a nationally recognized golf expert and serves as a consultant for Pinehurst Golf Advantage School, Golf Magazine, Frankly Golf Co., the PGA of America and the LPGA Teaching Division. He has been quoted in numerous national journals, including The Wall Street Journal, Golf Magazine, Golf Digest and Golf World Business. He has appeared on NBC, CNN and the Golf Channel.
Others saluted by the magazine were Daniel Forsgren, the inventor of a new television technology called the “Protracer”; B.J. Maloy, who invented a new golf tee with better performance and is eco-friendly; Mike Shannon as the outstanding teacher for his new approach to teaching putting; D.J. Gregory, who has overcome cerebral palsy to cover the PGA Tour as a blogger for pgatour.com; PGA Tour veteran Ken Still and Pepper Roberts, who give back to the community by giving lessons and clinics at a course for armed services veterans; Arnold Palmer for his lifetime dedication to the sport; Dr. Bob Grober for developing the Tempo Tuner sonic golf system; the PGA Tour Wives Association for its charity work along the various stops of the PGA Tour; and Lee Elder for his contribution to the game and helping the sport transcend the color barrier.
- UNCG -