Golf Channel anchorman and reporter Steve Sands will help celebrate the debut next month of GOLF 20X, an exhibit featuring the latest and near-future technologies for modern golf. The brand new exhibit will open at 6:30 p.m. on October 17, 2012 as part of Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals' (HFTP) Annual Convention & Tradeshow. The exhibit will run October 17-18 at the Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando, Fla. Sands will be in attendance that evening and be available to meet with Tradeshow attendees.

"As an anchorman on Golf Channel, Steve Sands is fully immersed in the professional golf community and the upcoming trends that impact the sport," said Frank Wolfe, CAE, CEO for HFTP. "It will be fantastic to have him at the debut and hear his perspective on the technologies presented."

Steve Sands joined the network in 2001, bringing nearly a decade of sports broadcasting experience with him to the Golf Channel. Sands anchors Golf Central and Golf Central Pre Game and reports on-site from PGA Tour events and golf's major championships as part of the network's Live From telecasts. Sands also hosts the Grey Goose 19th Hole and reports from the Ryder Cup and President's Cup.

GOLF 20X features many examples of golf related technologies that will have a major impact on the game of golf and the clubhouse of the future. The project brings to the forefront upcoming technologies that could have gone unnoticed.

Approximately 35 percent of attendees to the HFTP Annual Convention & Tradeshow work in the club industry, with many who have a golf course onsite at their club property. By providing a forum that showcases and discusses technology related to the sport, GOLF 20X has the potential to open dialogue among industry professionals.

A special GOLF 20X committee, consisting of hospitality experts from major country clubs and golfing venues, which includes a club general manager and an LPGA/PGA golf professional, helped search for the technologies. The committee has no association to any of the companies submitting the technologies, resulting in an unbiased selection of technologies that truly represent the possibilities for the future of golf.

The display will include: Golf ball tracking, innovative swing training systems, solar powered golf carts and clubhouse solutions technologies, and much more.

GOLF 20X follows up on the success of HFTP's GUESTROOM 20X, a futuristic guestroom featuring the latest and near-future technologies for the modern hotel room. GUESTROOM 20X debuted in 2006 at the Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference (HITEC), and is presented every other year. The latest version was shown this past June at HITEC 2012 in Baltimore, Md. Technologies in the exhibit include non-traditional types such as room design, eco-friendly products, fabrics and furniture, as well as traditional technology such as next-generation televisions, environmental control systems, mobile devices and telephones.

Visit GOLF20X.org on October 17 to download a copy of the GOLF 20X guide.

About HFTP

Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®), established in 1952, is a hospitality nonprofit association headquartered in Austin, Texas USA with offices in the EU and Middle East. HFTP is recognized as the spokes group for the finance and technology segments of the hospitality industry with an international network of members and stakeholders. HFTP uniquely understands the industry's pressing issues, and assists its stakeholders in finding solutions to their challenges more efficiently than any organization. HFTP offers expert networks, educational resources, career development programs, research, leadership opportunities and conferences and events. HFTP produces international events throughout the year, including the world's largest hospitality technology tradeshow and conference brand: HITEC. In addition, it oversees the hospitality-specific Pineapplesearch.com® and the Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry (USALI). For more information about HFTP, visit www.hftp.org. For the latest news, visit the HFTP News page at news.hftp.org and the HFTP Connect blog at blog.hftp.org.

Eliza Selig
Staff VP, Marketing and Communications
+1 512 220 4026
HFTP

Related