The Back Nine @ Pinks and Greens

Lexi Thompson Becomes Youngest Professional Winner on Ladies European Tour

2012-01-31T22:01:00.000-08:00

Lexi Thompson did it again! After making history at the Navistar LPGA Classic earlier this year, the COBRA PUMA GOLF professional wins the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters and becomes the youngest professional winner on the Ladies European Tour.

Lexi headed into the final round with a one shot lead over fellow COBRA PUMA GOLF professional, Lee-Anne Pace. With 7 birdies in the final round, Lexi pulled ahead to win by four strokes.

( (Above: our very own Pinks and Green gal with Lexi)

Lexi wore her signature blue for the Sunday round in a Golf Skirt, Golf Duo Swing Novelty Polo, Cell Fusion shoes and matching hair ribbons. Her effortless style was functional too. The Duo Swing Novelty Polo wicks moisture away and kept Lexi cool in the Dubai heat and the ergonomically shaped sleeves provided ease of movement throughout her swing.

Earlier this year, Lexi won the Navistar LPGA Classic and filed a petiion for the LPGA to waive the age restriction and give her an LPGA Tour Card. COBRA PUMA GOLF launched the #LetLexiPlay campaign, with athletes such as Ian Poulter, Usain Bolt and Rickie Fowler showing their support by rocking the Let Lexi Play t-shirts. LPGA Commissioner, Mike Whan, waived the age restriction and Lexi will kick off her rookie year on the LPGA Tour in Australia in February, 2012.

Be sure to follow Lexi, PUMA Golf and COBRA Golf on Twitter. We will be doing trivia this week and giving away signed Lexi hear in honor of her win!

Article written by Puma Golf Team
For women's golf apparel shop Pinks and Greens

Sandra Gal is crowned GolfDigest.com's Hottest Golfer

2012-01-23T09:47:00.000-08:00

Drum roll, please: After two months of online voting and 16 head-to-head matches (peruse the full men's and women's brackets here), we finally have an overall winner in the GolfDigest.com Hottest Golfer competition. Twenty-six-year-old LPGA Tour player Sandra Gal from Germany, who triumphed in the women's bracket last week, didn't just defeat 23-year-old men's champ Rickie Fowler for the ultimate crown -- she annihilated him. Gal got a whopping 99.6 percent of the more than 80,000 votes cast. This may be an indication of the gender of our voters, but it also speaks volumes about the popularity of this former ballet dancer from DÃ¿sseldorf.

A four-year veteran of the LPGA Tour, Gal just completed her most successful season, which included a win at the Kia Classic in March and a second-place finish at the CME Titleholders in November. Golf Digest Woman recently caught up with Gal to talk about the year ahead. (For more of Sandra, check out the March issue of Golf Digest.)

GDW: Congrats on a great season. What are you going to do to top it in 2012?

SG: Thanks. I feel like I'm on the right track, but you really have to look at your weaknesses and your strengths, work hard during the off-season and then continue working throughout the year. One of the things I want to improve a lot is my fitness.

GDW: Your fitness? You're one of the fittest players out there!

SG: [Laughs.] Yeah, well, I'm not complaining about my body or anything, but I definitely want to get fitter, as in cardio. I sometimes get tired a little too quickly -- especially in the middle of the year, when we have all the majors. I kind of had a little slump there [last year]. So I just want to keep it up throughout the year, and lay a solid base in the off-season.

GDW: You have a lot of hobbies, such as painting and sailing. Do you believe that you can only be a great golfer if you're a well-rounded person?

SG: Definitely. I feel like I play better golf if I'm a happy person. It's kind of different than the men, isn't it? Like, they play good golf and they're happy but the women have to be happy before they can play good golf. I think you just need to have a balance in everything you do. I've only learned this recently but it works great for me: I play hard a few tournaments, then I take a week off and do a vacation and take my mind off everything, and then I go back and I'm really motivated to start working hard again. In the past I would kind of burn myself out, and at the end of the year I just couldn't see golf anymore. Now, I'm happy to have a vacation but I'm really excited for 2012. I'm not fed up with golf, because I did other things during the season and kind of kept a balance. I gave myself mind breaks. Another thing I did last year is, you know, we travel to so many great places and most of the time it's just kind of hotel, golf course, hotel, golf course, but I really tried to take time and see things at the places we were at. It's not always easy with all the stuff we have to do off the course, but it's been a lot of fun.

GDW: You've become one of the glamour girls of the LPGA Tour. You're known for your style and your beauty and your physique -- especially your legs. How did that come about? A happy accident or something you work hard on?

SG: My rookie year, I signed with a model agency called Wilhelmina. And I was with them until the end of '09. Through them, we did a few photo shoots, and those pictures kind of went around the world. So I think that's where this whole image started. I still do some of that. I'm going to do a photo shoot this week, kind of a fashion shoot for a big German magazine. It comes up once in a while, but it's not something I really work on or try to do. It is fun, I do enjoy it, but I don't do it very often. I always see myself as an athlete and someone who wants to perform at her best - [modeling] is not something I see as that important. I do like fashion, but I'm not hugely into it. I kind of just go with my intuition.

GDW: What do you do to stay in shape?

SG: I still like dancing. I'm not a hugely flexible person, so doing ballet really helped me to kind of get some sort of flexibility and have good posture. And it really helped me with my coordination and feel for movement. Nowadays, the last couple of years, I've been working with Dave Herman and he does a lot of work with bands -- they're called SuperFlex bands. That's really helped with my flexibility and strength and speed. You can just travel with them and work with them on the road, even if you don't have a gym. But that's just part of my workout. I do a lot of cardio, and I do a lot of core and weights.

GDW: You're a singer, too, is that right?

SG: Oh, well... it's a funny story. This British record company contacted me a couple of years ago and I think they just saw an article in a magazine and said, "Maybe she can sing too." [Laughs.] So they just asked me if I wanted to come by and record this one song. I've never really been singing. I mean, I have a good ear for music -- I hit the notes. But I don't have a big voice, you know, I've never trained. We just did this one song called "Dice." It's on my website, just for fun. I thought, if I have a chance to do it, why not? You probably don't get that many chances to record a song.

Article by: Stina Sternberg for Golf Digest
For women's golf apparel shop Pinks and Greens

5 Golf Clothing Etiquette Guidelines to Follow

2012-01-12T06:45:00.000-08:00

Golfers follow strict etiquette guidelines, especially when it comes to their golf wear. In fact, the golf course is often used as a place of business, so it is important that one looks presentable while on the course. Here are five tips to follow in regards to golf clothing etiquette.

1. Collared Shirts Are A Must

Golfers are not usually found wearing shirts without collars. If you want to fit in and be respected by others, it is important you show respect to the course by wearing a short or long sleeved collared shirt. If you’re not sure if the shirt you have is appropriate, name brand golf clothing is always a safe bet.

2. Say No To Denim

Jeans or other forms of denim on the course is in bad taste. Plus, you may find other golfers looking at you funny. Serious golfers typically wear khakis or nice shorts. Either of these options will do fine. Save the denim for another occasion.

3. Wear A Leather Belt

Since you’re already wearing nice pants, there is no reason your belt should not also match the occasion. A leather dress belt will do the trick.

4. Invest In Golf Shoes

Not only will golf shoes improve your golfing, but they also will not damage the course. In addition, they look great. Flip flops and sneakers should not be worn while golfing. Not only will they hinder your performance, they hinder you earning any respect as a golfer.

5. Choose The Right Colored Socks

If you’re wearing long pants, it’s important that the color of your socks match your pants. Think business socks. White socks are for a casual outing, but they may work on the course if you’re wearing shorts.

If you follow these five guidelines, there’s no reason you won’t be mistaken for a pro out there. Even though there are etiquette guidelines to follow, the most important part of golf is to have fun. But it doesn’t hurt to look good while doing it.

Written by Dane Thompson

For women's golf apparel shop Pinks and Greens

“Men Have The Golf Course, Women Have Networking Groups” — How Lame!

2012-01-10T06:48:00.000-08:00

Men have the golf course, the poker room, the pool table…and women have…networking groups? That stinks!

The Boston Globe has a story about a women’s networking group called SheEO — which despite the silly name (but hey, who are we to joke?), sounds like a great group — composed of female entrepreneurs with high-growth businesses in the Boston area. Cool.

But we got tripped up on this sentence:

“Men do a lot of business on the golf course, women do business in networking groups,’’ said Janet Powers, chief executive of Diva Toolbox, an online networking site for women.

Damn. It’s an blanket statement/exaggeration (we hope), but it still hits home, doesn’t it?

If you want, you can look at it this way: according to Powers, women like to sit around and chat, and men need to swing metal sticks at balls. But let’s come up with some more fun alternatives to sitting in a vomit-colored hotel reception room and gabbing with name tags on, shall we?

Learn to play golf? Every time I’m forced to play golf on some family outing, I end up borrowing my brother’s polo shirt and squeezing into some old pink bermuda shorts from years ago. Play this 1 percenter’s game at your own risk. And if more ladies wanted to play golf, they would. Even the results of a Google image search for “women playing golf” are a total joke. Case in point: look at the best picture we found to accompany this story. Look, golf is not our solution.

Yoga? You can’t talk and it’s, too sweaty for a business gathering. Tennis? It’s too competitive and also too sweaty. And again, the outfits. Bridge games? Do you live in a retirement home?

The good thing about golf is that although it’s “competitive,” everyone has a handicap and it’s so slow-moving that no one cares who wins and it’s usually just more of a nice day spent outside. At least when you’re “networking.” It’s way more fun than sitting at a “networking club event,” no matter how dynamic the ladies are.

Alright, we’re calling on you, networking ladies of the world. An adventurous alternative to “networking clubs.” Let’s hear your ideas.

Article by Hillary Reinsberg
For women's golf apparel shop Pinks and Greens

10 Healthiest Cities for Women

2012-01-04T06:38:00.000-08:00

Looking for healthy inspiration? We've found it in every corner of the country. For SELF’s 11th ranking of America's best cities for women, we gathered 7,000 bits of data from 100 metro areas and, with an assist from Bert Sperling of BestPlaces.net, sussed out the star sites. Then we talked to real-life role models in those cities to find out how they and their neighbors get leaner, greener and less stressed-out. Follow their lead and you could be the healthiest woman in town.

1. Greenest: Des Moines, IA
Folks here enjoy clean air and water and 334 parks, covering nearly twice as many acres as the 100 cities in our survey averaged. Trails along prairies, riverbeds and Saylorville Lake "allow people to ride a bike to dinner downtown or quickly escape the urban environment," says Tina Mowry Hadden, 41, a business consultant who volunteers with a local conservation board to promote the trails. "The more people interact with the environment, the more they respect and protect it."

Make your town healthier: Hiking is so good for you that a national movement, Park Prescriptions, has spurred doctors to prescribe particular trails to patients. You don't need an Rx: Discover a great space and sign up to help preserve it at AmericanHiking.org.

2. Healthiest overall: Cambridge, Mass.
This year's champ is full of smarties—it has five colleges and universities—and judging by our numbers, all that savvy carries over to health habits. The Cambridge metro area scored strongly in nearly every area we measured, including wellness (women's rates of obesity, heart disease, cancerand depression are below average) and safety (violent crime is rare, as are car and pedestrian deaths). Residents stay active: Compared with the average of the other cities on our list, 80 percent more walk to work.

It's easier to afford the doctor in a place where 97 percent of women have insurance, thanks in no small part to a state that requires residents to be covered by law and chips in to help. Eighty-four percent of Cambridge women have had a recent checkup, and more women get exams such as mammograms and Paps than anywhere else. Suzanne Curry, 30, wants to make sure women know they're entitled to these services at no cost to themselves; her employer, consumer advocacy group Health Care for All, spreads the word via a hotline. "Health care is a human right," she says. "I want to make it a reality for everyone."

Make your town healthier: Going under-insured harms your health and puts a drain on your town's emergency services. HealthCare.gov reveals ways to get fully covered and helps you choose the highest-quality doctors and hospitals in your town.

3. Healthiest eaters: Santa Barbara, Calif.
What can you say about a town where even the local soup kitchen is 90 percent organic? Women eat 36 produce servings per week (four more than in the average city), and there are also 80 percent fewer fast food restaurants, four times more organic-food producers and nearly 40 percent more farmers' markets.

Santa Barbara also has nearly double the average number of food co-ops. Agricultural consultant Laurie Constable, 46, runs one on land right off Highway 101, preparing weekly baskets of green beans, broccoli, husk cherries and more for 80 member families and four schools. "Most people don't know what fresh lettuce or vine-ripened tomatoes really taste like," she says. "If everybody experienced fresh produce regularly, that alone could revolutionize our dinner plates."

Make your town healthier: Aim for a healthy 2½ cups of veggies and 2 cups of fruit a day—better yet, pick them from a community garden at your church, civic group or office. LetsMove.gov has tips on choosing a site and helping it bloom.

4. Safest: San Jose, Calif.
These big-city streets remain small-town safe, with one-third fewer violent crimes and nearly 60 percent fewer fatal car crashes than average. Wide sidewalks and bike lanes help, says Corinne Winter, 33, executive director of the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition. "My goal is for people to be able to get around safely however they want to, whether they are 8 or 80," she says.

Make your town healthier: Put a pic of that cracked sidewalk or pothole on SeeClickFix.com. Officials in many cities have erased problems after seeing posts.

5. Happiest: Raleigh, N.C.
Carolina girls are cheerful: Compared with the average, they report high satisfaction with life and 14 percent fewer days when they feel bummed out, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals. The Raleigh metro area also boasts less unemployment than is typical.

Women in this friendly area feel lots of social and emotional support. (Yep, the CDC actually tracks that.) Lauren Rosinski, 24, heads up a thriving MeetUp.com group of more than 100 moms holding weekly get-togethers, including holiday parties, book clubs and lunches. Wherever you live, "being a stay-at-home mom can be isolating at times," she says. "Having other women to talk to keeps me sane."

Make your town healthier: Weak social ties may harm your health as much as smoking nearly a pack a day does, researchers at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, report. "Joining a fitness club or women's group can bring you out of your shell," Rosinski says. "It's scary to put yourself out there, but soon you'll have girlfriends you can't imagine living without!"

6. Longest lives: Honolulu, Hawaii
Call it the sunshine cure. Island women simply get sick less often, having the lowest combined rates of cancer, depression, migraines, insomnia, asthma and allergies. These lucky ladies are 27 percent less likely to die of heart disease and can expect to live nearly three and a half years longer than the rest of us.

One surprising life extender? Eighty percent of Honolulu women went to the dentist last year—and research associates gum disease with potential life-shorteners such as heart disease, diabetes and stroke. Alison Buccat, D.M.D., 28, does her part by giving free care to neighbors in need at Aloha Medical Mission. "Growing up, I was ashamed of my smile," she says. "After my braces came off, it was like breaking out of a cocoon. It's not just about cosmetics—I want to help people understand the importance of dental health."

Make your town healthier: Need your chompers checked? Get low-cost cleanings and help local health providers learn at a dental college. A list of accredited programs is at ADA.org.

7. Most active: Denver, Colo.
Women here rocked all our measures of fitness: Seventy-nine percent exercised recently, 41 percent more commuters bike to work than average, and there are more gyms than in most cities. And it shows. Denver is among the five leanest places in the land.

One advocate for activity is Maren Stewart, 44, who as president of LiveWell Colorado works to remove barriers to activity, such as inadequate sidewalks and bike lanes. "Asking your boss to unlock a stairwell or swap in healthier snacks at the vending machine may seem like small changes, but they go a long way," she says.

Make your town healthier: Walk to work, the grocery store or your kids' school, and help others hoof it at WalkToSchool.org.

8. Healthiest love lives: Seattle, Wash.
The safest sex happens in Seattle. The town boasts plenty of ob/gyns to choose from, plus 29 percent fewer sexually transmitted infections and 43 percent fewer deaths from cervical cancer than average. Washington laws require prescription plans to cover birth control and pharmacies to dispense it—many states don't.

Alicia Dara, 38, singer and guitarist for the indie band The Volcano Diary, supports reproductive health by producing benefit concerts for Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest, where she also works the phones. "The artist's lifestyle comes with the challenge of finding quality health care," Dara says. "Planned Parenthood helps almost everyone in the Seattle music community—even the men."

Make your town healthier: Funding for family planning is under attack nationwide; sign up for email alerts at PlannedParenthood.org that help you speak up for contraceptives. And if you still haven't found birth control you can stick with, the site's My Method tool can get you started.

9. Best breasts: Bethesda, Md.
Women here know healthy breasts are beautiful. Four in five of those older than 40 have had a recent mammogram, and residents are 12 percent less likely to die of breast cancer than average. At fund-raising marches, "I'm always stunned to see the sea of pink, not to mention the businesses and community leaders who cheer us on," says Elizabeth Rathbone, 45, a school psychologist and a 10-year survivor who has raised more than $4,000 for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure. Last year, she served meals while bonding with walkers: "I take any excuse to share my story and urge women to be proactive about health," she says.

Make your town healthier: Exercise may lower levels of breast-cancer-linked hormones, research shows. Rally for the Cure with a golf, tennis, yoga or Spinning event and you'll help the cause, too.

Article By Kimberly Goad and Kelly Mickle for Self

1926 Swimwear Fashion...On The Golf Course

2011-12-29T12:03:00.000-08:00

Like a modern-day Library of Alexandria, the US Library of Congress is a repository of media nonpareil, including some offbeat and seemingly inexplicable items, such as a fashion pictorial shot...shot on a golf course. The unidentified models convey the fact that it was hot that day, scantily clad (for their time) in bathing suits, playing golf from huge blocks of ice.

Yep, just like real life.

No matter, it is amusing look at two pastimes from one of the most prosperous times for America, the "Roaring Twenties."

The country was unaware in 1926 that in three short years the Great Depression would begin and that the country would lay in economic malaise for nearly a decade afterward. In 1926, it was all good. Bobby Jones was in his prime and dominating amateur golf, while the raconteur and gadfly about town Walter Hagen wined and dined his way through the nascent PGA Tour, ostensibly smelling the roses along the way. Later in the year, Hagen would face Jones in a 72-hole match play tournament they cooked up together to have a little fun, settle the score, and oh by the way, showcase the Florida golf course real estate that they represented. Hagen would school Jones 12-and-11 in a defeat Jones called the most through beating he ever experienced.

And fashion models cooled off on the course too, probably raising the temperatures of red-blooded men who saw the photos. Two more photos after the jump.

Article by Charles Boyer

Why 2011 Was a Good Year for Golf A Longer Season, a More Global Game, Great Story Lines on All Three Tours; Even Tiger Finished Well

2011-12-27T09:18:00.000-08:00

Compared with last year, 2011 was a feel-good stretch for golf. In 2010, the themes were Tiger Woods's feckless efforts to rebound from scandal, Dustin Johnson's final-round botches in two majors, and the U.S. Ryder Cup team's disappointing loss in Wales. By contrast, this year was full of triumphs, and tees up the coming season for more high drama.

The most resounding triumph was 22-year-old Rory McIlroy's runaway victory at the U.S. Open at Congressional. Both his record 16-under-par total of 268 and his eight-stroke margin on the field were Tiger-like in scale, and seemed to confirm the predictions of many that the mopheaded lad from Northern Ireland is destined to become one of the game's all-time greats.

Less sensational, perhaps, but just as impressive because it showed mental toughness over time, was Luke Donald's winning the money title and Player of the Year on both the PGA and European Tours, an unprecedented feat. Entering the year ranked No. 9 in the world and with a reputation for being a poor closer, the 34-year-old Englishman recast himself psychologically as "the assassin" and won four times. In 19 of his 25 events, he finished in the top 10. In May he took the No. 1 spot and has stuck there since.

Woods ended 2011 three weeks ago with a win at the limited-field Chevron World Challenge, his first since shortly before his scandal broke in November 2009. It followed two strong November showings down under, at the Australian Open and in the Presidents Cup. Woods's left leg, most recently the cause of his mediocre play, appears to be completely healed. His two-year absence from the winner's circle, after 13 years of only occasionally interrupted dominance, helped open up space for Donald, McIlroy, Lee Westwood and others, including this year's Cinderella story, two-time PGA Tour winner Webb Simpson, to develop some momentum. How well they stare down Woods, should he roar back to prescandal form, will be the story line to follow as the new year unfolds.

A similar showdown may be brewing on the women's side. Yani Tseng of Taiwan established herself this year as the dominant force in women's golf, the successor to Annika Sörenstam and Lorena Ochoa, both now retired. She won 12 tournaments world-wide in 2011, including two majors, which bumps her total to five.

Entering stage left, however, is the 16-year-old American challenger Alexis "Lexi" Thompson. In September she thundered to a five-shot victory at the Navistar LPGA Classic, making her, by two years, the youngest-ever winner of a full LPGA event. At 6 feet tall and possessed of a powerful, well-tutored swing, Thompson is mostly likely the longest hitter in women's golf. We'll know for sure next year once her drives are consistently measured against the best. This fall the LPGA granted her special dispensation to join the Tour as a full member, despite being two years younger than the normal requirement. Thompson validated that decision last week with a smack-down four-shot victory at the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters.

The most thrilling tournament of 2011 may have been the first major, the Masters, which in any case is always the year's most anticipated. McIlroy, looking confident, held a four-stroke lead heading into Sunday's final round but self-destructed on the back nine. That opened the door to a half-dozen world-class contenders, including most unexpectedly Woods, who eagled the eighth to briefly move into a tie for the lead. Donald, Adam Scott, Jason Day and Geoff Ogilvy all had back-nine chances to win, but finally Charl Schwartzel of South Africa emerged triumphant from the chaos to claim the green jacket. He birdied the final four holes, the first time that had ever been done on the way to victory.

In a sign of precocious maturity, McIlroy redeemed himself by winning the U.S. Open two months later. Then his countryman, Darren Clarke, won the British Open at Royal St. George's in England, with help from a timely, out-of-bounds approach shot on the 68th hole by…Dustin Johnson.

American Keegan Bradley won the PGA Championship in a playoff against Jason Dufner at the Atlanta Athletic Club. But the greater significance of his win was that he used a belly putter, making him the first major champion to do so. Scott had won with a long putter the week before, and Webb Simpson followed Bradley with two belly-putted victories in three weeks. The controversy continues: At issue is whether anchoring the butt end of a putter against one's body confers an unfair advantage and violates the spirit of the game.

One peculiarity of 2011 was how many of the year's most noteworthy developments, like the belly-putter controversy, occurred after the PGA. Donald, for instance, was a last-minute entry into the normally neglected, late October, season-ending Fall Series event at Disney World. He did so to chase down the late-charging Simpson for the money title. Donald's final round 64, which included six back-nine birdies in a row, earned him the win he needed (Simpson finished T6) and was definitely his clutch performance of the year. Then, in December, he had to sweat it out for the European money title against a fast-closing McIlroy, who won that Tour's next-to-last event in Hong Kong.

In the olden days, you may recall, golf merrily drifted off into its Silly Season come fall, ceding the stage once the four majors were done to football and the baseball playoffs. But the Skins Game is no more (the last edition was in 2008) and the rest of the world apparently doesn't care very much about the World Series or the American version of football. The European Tour rocks on until early December, the Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup matches trade mid autumn time slots in alternate years, and Asian tours are picking up steam. Even the PGA Tour has joined in the action. Over the last five years it's been successful in luring many of the global elite to the FedEx Cup Playoffs. At this year's Tour Championship in late September, a third of the field was international. It's a trend we in the States had better get used to.

Written by John Paul for Golf Journal

For women's golf apparel shop Pinks and Greens

Yani Tseng Playing The Men

2011-12-21T12:43:00.000-08:00

Taipei, Dec. 20 (CNA) World No. 1 female golfer Yani Tseng of Taiwan playing a men's tournament is one of the 10 things an ESPN columnist said he wanted to see in the golf world in 2012.

While playing in a men's tournament "would not be without risk" for Tseng, it could be of tremendous benefit for her "if she uses the oppostunity in similar fashion to the way Annika Sorenstam did in 2003," ESPN golf columnist Bob Harig wrote in a recent column.

"There were plenty of skeptics when Sorenstam tried it at the Colonial, but she acquitted herself quite well," Harig recalled.

Sorenstam carded a 5-over 145 in the first two rounds of the event, leaving her 96th in the 111-player field in the tournament.

Although Sorenstam missed the cut, she gained a multitude of admirers, Harig wrote. "It brought new fans to women's golf and to Sorenstam, and helped her game immensely."

Noting that the 22-year-old won 12 tournaments worldwide in 2011 and already has five major titles, Harig suggested: "Let her have a go at the men and see how she fares."

The idea of Tseng playing in a PGA Tour event was floated for the first time in November when the Puerto Rico Open said it would offer Tseng an exemption for its 2012 tournament, scheduled for March 8-11.

While Tseng had said that if the opportunity presented itself, she would like to play in a PGA tournament to learn more from male golfers, she eventually turned down the offer through her adviser Ernie Huang.

Huang said in a statement at the time that Tseng had more goals to accomplish, such as completing a career Grand Slam and qualifying for the Hall of Fame.

"To play on the PGA Tour now would be too much of a distraction for her," Huang said, adding that Tseng was still interested in playing in a men's event, but not in the near future.

Meanwhile, Tseng's spectacular performance in 2011 headed Golfweek's top 10 LPGA storylines of the year.

The top headline was "LPGA crowns new dominant player in Tseng," with Golfweek writer Beth Ann Baldry calling 2011 the "Year of Yani."

"Twelve wins worldwide ... including two LPGA majors and a runner-up at the Kraft Nabisco, for Yani Tseng. She led nearly every statistical category and topped the money list -- all the while, improving her English," Baldry wrote.

Tseng's victory in Taiwan's first-ever LPGA event earned a separate spot on the top 10 list because of the unprecedented crowds it drew.

"The scene in Tseng's homeland was extraordinary. It seemed that almost every fan who climbed the mountain at Sunrise Golf & Country Club walked 18 holes with Tseng. The crowds were so dense that rules officials had to get out of their carts and jog to rulings," Baldry wrote.

"Taiwan set a record Thursday (Oct. 20) for attendance at any professional golf event, with nearly 12,000 spectators. Organizers say 28,000 were there on Sunday (Oct. 23). Tseng is a genuine rock star."

Article By Lung Po-an and Sofia Wu
For women's golf apparel shop Pinks and Greens

Four Revamped Golf Courses to Play on your Winter Getaway

2011-12-15T08:03:00.000-08:00

Its that time of year again. For many, the winter months are a cold, grueling and too-long stretch of time that keeps us bundled up and off the course. The bright side? Its the perfect opportunity for a getaway to a nice warm locale with vibrant green courses. Here's the must-visits for this year.

La Costa Resort and Spa, Calif.

Famous as the site of 37 PGA Tour events, La Costa Resort and Spa earlier this month unveiled a completely revamped Champions Course, part of a $50-million (U.S.) rejuvenation of a luxury property that has hosted everyone from Jack Nicklaus to Tiger Woods since 1969.
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A great golf shoe, a sturdy club case and a GPS caddy will make you the envy of the clubhouse. The Ecco Golf Street ? PGA Tour shoe of choice for Fred Couples ? is as unpretentious as footwear gets on the greens.

Changes at the Spanish mission-style resort, nestled in coastal foothills north of San Diego, include the repositioning of the Champions Course's bunkers, recontoured fairways and subtle elevation changes throughout the course. More than 12 hectares of turf were eliminated from the original Dick Wilson layout to conserve water use in the drought-threatened region. Most dramatic of all, four completely new holes were woven into the routing.

The year-long project by Pascuzzo & Pate Golf Course Design also included significant changes to four holes on the resort's second layout, the South Course.

Another popular attraction at the 611-room resort is the refurbished 43,000-square-foot Spa at La Costa. And offering treatments of a more spiritual nature is the Chopra Center, where wellness guru Deepak Chopra's body-mind healing techniques point golfers toward enlightenment. lacosta.com

Pinehurst Resort, N.C.

Donald Ross's No. 2 course at Pinehurst Resort has a long and storied reputation. So it was with trepidation that the acclaimed design team of Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore undertook the $2.5-million restoration of a course (one of eight at Pinehurst Resort) that the legendary Ross obsessively altered until his death in 1948. Though still a world-class challenge, No. 2 had lost much of its original character through the years.

Guided by photos taken during the course's 1940s heyday, Crenshaw (a two-time Masters champion) and Coore stripped away hectares of turf, returning natural areas of hardpan, sand, pine straw and wiregrass that were part of the original topography. Fairways were widened, offering more strategic options, and bunkers were restored to their original shapes at a course that will host both the men's and women's U.S. Open Championships in 2014.

“Hopefully, Donald Ross would be pleased with what we've done,” Crenshaw says of a redesign that launched to rave reviews last March. “Making changes to No. 2 was like messing with the Mona Lisa.” pinehurst.com

Casa de Campo, Dominican Republic

Like Donald Ross at Pinehurst Resort, architect Pete Dye has been synonymous with golf at the lavish Casa de Campo resort since the unveiling of his brilliant Teeth of the Dog course in 1971. Dye, believed by many to be the greatest of modern golf architects, built all three courses at the 2,833-hectare luxury complex on the island's southeast coast. As well as Teeth of the Dog, the lineup includes The Links and the recently expanded Dye Fore, a 27-hole behemoth.

Part of a $40-million refurbishment of the resort, the nine holes added by the famously meticulous Dye snake around 10 hectares of ponds. “It took five years to build, and when you have so much time, you keep looking at it, trying to see the long views,” he says.

Unlike the lushly tropical Teeth of the Dog, renowned for its seven spectacular oceanside holes, Dye Fore's rolling and starkly bare fairways include seven holes set on cliffs plunging 91 metres to the Chavon River.

Best of all at this constantly demanding layout – where almost the only flat areas are found on the tee boxes – are the 360-degree views. After your second shot on the par-five opening hole, look back for your best view of the Altos de Chavon artist's village. casadecampo.com.do

Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club, Florida

In a state where segregation was once the law and golf a lily-white game, black entrepreneur Sheila C. Johnson made headlines with her 2007 purchase of venerable Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club, the home of the PGA Tour's Transitions Championship.

Since then, Johnson, the co-founder of Black Entertainment Television, has shepherded the sprawling 364-hectare resort near Tampa through a nearly $30-million rejuvenation. First up was a major reworking of the Island Course, the most difficult of Innisbrook's four layouts, featuring such aptly named holes as Uphill Intimidation, Trapped and High Anxiety.

But the resort's real star is the Copperhead Course, one of the PGA Tour's more popular venues since 1977. Designed by Lawrence Packard, another hands-on architect who at the age of 99 still lives on the property, Copperhead climbs and dips through rolling terrain, one memorable hole after another carved through tall pines, cypress swamps and citrus groves.

Not far from Copperhead's 12th hole is the new 20,000-square-foot Indaba Spa. And across Mill Ridge Road from the 14th hole is a grandly expanded clubhouse that serves as a central gathering space. innisbrookgolfresort.com

Written by Brian Kendall from The Globe and Mail
To look fashionable on the course on your getaway shop Pinks and Greens

Catch Greg On Special 'Getaway' Episodes Of Wheel Of Fortune

2011-12-12T09:17:00.000-08:00

Wheel of Fortune is getting into the swing of things with Sandals Resorts Golf Getaway Week December 12-16. Following the Shark Shootout, catch Greg on Wheel of Fortune, as he is featured during the week teeing it up with show hosts Pat Sajak and Vanna White during their visit to the beautiful Sandals Emerald Bay in Great Exuma, Bahamas. Sandals Emerald Bay is a golfer’s paradise featured in Condé Nast Traveler 2011 Readers’ Choice Awards and offering a magnificent 18-hole Greg Norman-designed championship golf course.

Get in on the fun. Watch all week and look for the nightly Bonus Round Puzzle Solutions. Then go to wheeloffortune.com after each show and enter for a chance to win your Luxury Included® vacation to Sandals Emerald Bay with unlimited golf and $600 in Greg Norman Collection apparel*. Tune in Decembehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifr 12-16 for Sandals Resorts Golf Getaway Week on Wheel of Fortune (check your local listings for dates and times).

* NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Void where prohibited. Open only to permanent legal residents of the 50 states of the U.S or D.C.,18 years of age or older as of 12/12/11. Begins 3:00:00 pm PT on 12/12/11. Ends 2:59:59 pm PT on 12/17/11. Entries for a given Daily Sweepstakes must be received by 2:59:59 p.m. PT the following calendar day. Each Daily Sweepstakes is separate from the other Daily Sweepstakes. Entry/prize restrictions apply. Subject to Official Rules, accessible from wheeloffortune.com.

Like their course attire? Get it Here

Nike Golf adds two bags to Nike Brassie II Cart bag collection

2011-12-08T07:40:00.000-08:00

Nike Golf is introducing two new golf bags to its successful Nike Brassie II Cart bag collection for women in 2012. Each Brassie II cart bag has been designed in unity with the colors and styles of Nike Golf women's footwear and apparel so she is coordinated from head to toe.

For women who prefer bright colors, there's the Nike Brassie II Cart bag that carries a vivid argyle pattern in hues of pink and lavender with a classy touch of grey. For those who prefer more of an understated look, there is a grey plaid available.

The Nike Brassie II Cart bag incorporates key features and benefits for the female golfer who often uses a trolley or power cart. For maximum organization, the Nike Brassie II Cart bag features a 9-inch, 10-way oval top that is fur lined and includes "stadium seating" for clubs. Stadium seating is a simple configuration that provides easy visibility when making club selections for each shot. An integrated external putter well and glove patch guarantees quick and convenient access.

To allow for easy access to gear during a round, there are nine functional pockets, seven of which are zippered. Of the nine pockets there is a large insulated cooler pocket to keep drinks and food cool during a round. The Nike Brassie II also comes with two functionally designed matching accessory pouches. The pouches can either be clipped onto the outside of the bag or placed in one of the nine pockets of the golf bag.

To complete the Brassie II Collection, Nike Golf also has designed an array of accessories for women that match up with each of the Brahttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifssie II Cart bags, including the Nike Day bag, Nike Bucket bag and the Nike Tote bag.

Price : $250 MSRP ($199.99 MAP/Street)
Colors: Swan/White-Argyle and Sail/Tumbled Grey-Plaid

Located in Beaverton, Oregon, Nike Golf designs and markets golf equipment, apparel, balls, footwear, bags and accessories worldwide. Nike Golf is passionately dedicated to ushering in the future of this great game by developing ground-breaking innovations that enable athletes to perform at their physical and mental peak.

For fabulous golf bags shop our selection: http://www.pinksandgreens.com/accessories.html?product_type=222

And be sure to check back in 2012 for the Brassie II

Contact: Beth Gast - Nike Golf

The " Hot"- Test Thing in Club Fitting

2011-12-01T06:36:00.000-08:00

There is an old golf adage that has held true for decades, centuries even. That no matter how advanced the science becomes, no matter how high-tech the clubs are, how far the ball flies or how smooth the greens roll -- we all eventually and reluctantly cede that "you can't buy a better game." True improvement comes from learning a better swing, hours on the range, toiling on the practice green, etc. Ben Hogan once famously opined that the "secret to golf is in the dirt." Meaning, of course, go spend a lot of time on the practice tee if you want lower scores on the course.

But consider: What if, as we get more and more data savvy, as machines and computers capture information we could never have hoped to have considered even a few years ago, that coupling science with a trained golf mind could, in fact, result in a better game -- purchased as a gift?

Enter the folks at Hot Stix Golf. For more than a decade, Hot Stix, based out of Scottsdale, Ariz., but with 10 locations nationwide, has been at the forefront of golf club fitting. But it's been in the last few years, as technology has evolved and can now generate mind-blowing details of a golf swing, has the advantages of getting fit properly become truly evident -- and for those playing at the highest levels, even necessary.

Many in the golf world, including myself, have wondered how much difference does it really make? I'd bet you that Phil Mickelson could take the clubs you have in your garage and break par (right or left handed.) I bet Dustin Johnson can hit your driver (any make or model) over 300 yards. I bet I can give most amateur golfers their pick of any clubs in any Tour player's bag and they won't break 90. So again, how much difference does club fitting make?

Well, Hot Stix says they can tell me. Numerically. Down to the decimal.

I recently visited a Hot Stix location at The Golf Club of Georgia in Alpharetta, Ga., admittedly arriving with a little cynicism and doubt. I have gone through club fittings before, some of the most high-tech in the world, and knew that my clubs were fit to me as well as (I thought) could be. My swing was my swing, my game was my game. And my scores -- were, well, my scores. I didn't see how, based on my limited time nowadays on the course, I was going to change any of those items.

Bill Johnstone, a longtime PGA Master Professional, one-time PGA Tour player and current Hot Stix clubfitter, greeted me at the Hot Stix location at The Golf Club of Georgia and gave me a quick primer on what was to come. I'm not sure what I thought this club fitting would entail, but immediately knew this would be so much more than I had anticipated.

First, Johnstone had me fill out a three-page questionnaire about my golf game. What my strengths were, weaknesses, tendencies, goals, etc. It was detailed but not laborious. In fact, it was kind of fun. Things you may not think about regularly, if at all.

Meanwhile, he was going through my golf bag and getting specs (specifications) on every club using a special measuring device by his tent: length, lie, loft, shaft frequency, etc. That did seem laborious (to me) but he made it look like he was enjoying it.

Once completed, all the measurements were entered into a special program and I was asked to go hit golf balls (importantly, outside to see the flight of the ball) while a tracking computer captures data from each swing. My club measurements were then combined with numbers generated by my golf swing, to produce my golf game in a spreadsheet. This is pretty simple by golf-geek standards. Spin rates, launch angles, clubhead speed, ball speed, the whole nine yards. And the end result, my clubs are a very good match for my swing. (Hey, I already knew that -- right?) So why come to Hot Stix?

Now it gets really interesting. Enter Johnstone's vast and impressive golf knowledge. I could tell he was genuinely impressed (relatively) with my swing. Keep in mind, he had worked with an aspiring Tour professional earlier that day, so perspective is important here. But as a "just hanging on to my single digit handicap" player who plays less than a quarter of the number of rounds I used to play annually, he liked what he saw.

"You've got some great clubs and they fit you very well," he said as we went over the numbers on a small computer screen at his range station. "But I'd like to try a couple of things."

My 6-iron flight was consistent in distance and trajectory, and my misses were a bit thin and blocked to the right. It's the game I've had for years, one that has served me pretty well if I do say so myself.

"I'd like to see if we can increase your ball speed by using a lighter shaft and decrease your dispersion by having a more perimeter and bottom weighted club," he offered. He then built that club for me using a large array of clubheads and shafts (from a wide variety of manufacturers) that he had at his disposal right there at the tent.

Without going into details of brand names (and we used several different ones), we ultimately came up with a club that added an average of 13 yards to my 6-iron and that I hit more consistently straight with the same trajectory and flight pattern of my actual 6-iron.

"Your 6-iron is great," Johnstone stressed. "It is a great club and it fits you really well. This 6-iron," he said as he pointed to the newly built club in my hand, "is optimal for you."

It is important to note that distance, though ever popular, is not necessarily the main objective for club fitting.

"The science of maximum distance is not necessarily the most important goal," says Johnstone. "Some players want better feel, heavier or lighter clubs for tempo or higher or lower ball flights or less left or right headed shots or more forgiving clubs or with heads offering more feedback ... whatever the player wants, we can find or build clubs that will fit the desires of the player."

And the process was similar for drivers, fairway woods and wedges. Putter fitting is also available.

The great part was, there was no hard sell for clubs. Hot Stix has no affiliation with a club company, their array of clubs covers all the major OEMs and they don't really care if you play TaylorMade, Nike, Titleist or Cleveland. There entire objective is to find what type of club the numbers say you should be hitting and then find the components to build that club for you.

This is not a quick process; you're going to spend the better part of three hours to get a complete fitting. But when you leave, you are going to have a more thorough understanding of your swing and the elements you'll need to maximize your golf for years to come.

A Hot Stix fitting is not inexpensive. A full bag assessment can cost up to $400 alone. But the information and knowledge you gain about your swing, your clubs and how to get the most out of golf for you is invaluable and will provide returns for the rest of your golf life.

The final takeaway from my visit was obvious. If the opportunity presents itself, a Hot Stix club fitting would be a great opportunity for any golfer, as memorable as any round or club they may get at any time of year. But if not Hot Stix, get a club fitting/assessment somewhere. You deserve every chance for success each time you swing a golf club, and you should have confidence that what you are swinging is the best club for you -- every time.

All the data you'll get is impressive, but none of it matters unless you lower your scores. A good club fitting like the ones done by Hot Stix will maximize your chances to shoot lower scores. And those are the numbers that truly matter.

by John Kim, Coordinating Producer PGA.com
For women's golf apparel shop Pinks and Greens

How to Get the Best Golf Wear: What is Better for Your Game

2011-11-30T06:45:00.000-08:00

There are a couple of considerations that come to mind when one is selecting golf clothes. The first is comfort. Golf apparel must serve at least two purposes. Your attire needs to enable you to move freely during your swing. Nevertheless they ought to additionally protect you from the elements. There is another consideration: appearance. A golfer should have a good appearance when using a civic golf course. At nearly all private courses there is a dress code.

The golf shirt is probably the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the phrase, “golf apparel“. Both wool blend along with cotton for shirts are common among golf players. Style is important but generally speaking, the shirt will need to have some kind of collar. Let the weather determine whether you wear long or short sleeves. Shirts ought to be worn tucked into the slacks. It must be apparent that you should never show up with a tank top nor should you wear a t-shirt for a round of golf. Nevertheless, pull-over shirts like Polo shirts are suitable since they have a collar.

Next comes the slacks. These could be khakis or some sort of cotton blend slacks. You could select shorts, however watch out here. A good rule of thumb is to stay with shorts which have belt loops. Bermuda shorts fall into this category. I can recall photos of those turn of the last century golfers who wore those golf knickers. Some people believe these continue to be suitable. I do not think so.

Now to raise a touchy matter for a few of the more conservative-minded golfers, let’s look at the recent development in favor of putting on shocking patterns in vibrant colors. This style is occasionally known as funky golf attire or just trendy golf clothes. Before joining this trend, you’ll be sensible to ask around at your private course to see if funky clothing would be acceptable. A word to the wise…

Many golfers look on headgear as an essential item. Undoubtedly many of the golfers that say that it is a necessity, live in balmy locations with plenty of sunshine. The motive is not any mystery. A golf hat keeps the sun off of your head and out of your eyes. Any sort of hat that’s not a distraction to others is fine for golf. While some golfers put on a hat with a brim or wear a straw hat, typically a baseball cap or visor is favored. They are all useful and acceptable

There is no rule in golf that says you must wear golf shoes, however most people do. Everyday casual footwear puts you at a disadvantage. Golf shoes have soft spikes on the bottom. When you make a hard swing you do not need your feet to be slipping and sliding around. There is a type of golf shoe to fit your type or degree of formality. They can be found in styles ranging from wingtips to sandals. If you have doubts, go for the center ground.

Like almost any sport, the foot gear should be worn with cotton socks. In fact, it is likely to be a good suggestion to have and extra pair of socks on hand just in case you need to venture into a water hazard. Those are the principle items however there are more things you may take into consideration while looking for golf apparel. You should wear a golf glove on your swing hand, making certain you have an optimal grip whereas protecting you from getting blisters during a protracted game. For those of you in climates that have afternoon rain storms, how about taking along a rain coat or parka. This is possibly not a priority if you happen to live in Phoenix, but for those who live in the east or south, you should never be caught without your rain coat, because after it begins, it’s a lengthy way to the club house.

For women's golf apparel shop Pinks and Greens
Written by: frankb4pied

A Few Things For Which Golf Fans Can Be Thankful

2011-11-24T18:31:00.000-08:00

Today is Thanksgiving and golf fans, and many people will express their gratitude in various ways to friends and family presumably while feasting on the spoils of another successful grocery run store and turkey hunt. From a golf fan perspective, we all have a great deal to be thankful for as one of the more memorable years in professional golf winds to an end.

If your family is like mine, football will play a large role in the day thanks to the National Football League's offering which includes a satisfying parlay of contests throughout the afternoon and evening. As the season continues despite nearly being cancelled altogether thanks to collective bargaining agreements, ownership differences and 'underpaid athletes' (according to them, of course), our wonderful sport of professional golf remains as strong as ever. Thus, one thing all golf fans should be thankful for is the lack of a player's union in our game. As such, there will likely never be the threat of a player lockout or cancellation of a season.

Secondly, the world was treated to the dawning of a new age in both men's and women's golf in 2011. Rory McIlroy and Yani Tseng have solidified their names as elite players, especially in the case of young Tseng. Domination is now expected from both young players, of course, which will undoubtedly be more difficult in the case of McIlroy. Regardless, both players have nothing but time of their hands to continue accomplishing that which their peers could only hope to achieve. And for that, any golf fan could be thankful as we all anticipate the next great performance collectively.

Ironically, a sense of parity was also established in 2011 thanks to the resurgence of many veteran players, almost in response to the 'young guns' stealing the spotlight. Well-known names showcased strong play throughout the season on all tours, providing fans reminders of past success from many of our favorite players. This sense of parity helped provide numerous exciting finishes to some of the grandest tournaments, for which I will be forever thankful.

There have been numerous additional examples throughout the year that I'm sure other fans could name, but the premise remains the same: the current state of professional golf is strong and well. As we all take time to express our gratitude this holiday season, we can also look forward to what can only be an even more exciting golf season next year. And for that, I couldn't possibly be more thankful.

Article written by Adam Fonseca
For women's golf apparel shop Pinks and Greens

Advantages of Shopping For Golf Attire Online

2011-11-21T14:44:00.000-08:00

Before you hit the golf course you should have a look at the mirror to check that you are adequately dressed for the occasion. You must bear in mind that golf is a more corporate sport. You cannot be dressed in your tattered denims and hit the green. That is ok for a football match. There are specific golf shirts and golf clothes that you should be looking at to wear. Buying these items is very easy because you can buy them online.

If money is of no concern to you then you can always opt for clothes made by the more famed names. If you are aware of golf fashion then the name of Johan Lindeberg shouldn’t be unfamiliar. Johan Lindeberg designs some of the best golf apparel in the world and he is a celebrity when it comes to this domain. However, if you are looking at not so expensive golf shirts and golf clothes that are equally stylish and comfortable then there are websites that can help you with this.

There are several advantages of buying your golf shirts and golf clothes online.

The first advantage is you can shop from anywhere. Be it your home or office, you can do your shopping for golf shirts and golf clothes if you are connected to the Internet.

The second advantage is that you get to save a lot of time shopping online for golf shirts and golf clothes. Since you will be going through an online catalogue you will find that browsing through the clothes is much simpler and faster. Go through the items available in a jiffy and you will be able to make up your mind faster.

The third advantage is that you are not dependent on anyone to show you what you want in golf shirts and golf clothes. When you go to a golf store you are dependent on the store attendant to show you the clothes. They may miss showing you something and you end up buying something you like but certainly not what you like the best. It’s more of a compromise that you do. When you shop online you can easily go through all the listed products and this makes your choice completely dependent on your personal liking.

The fourth advantage is the advantage of saving money. When you compare the prices of golf shirts and golf clothes in a physical store and in an online store you will find that the latter will almost always charge you less for the same stuff.

It is not that you have to wear that collared shirt when you play golf. Funky golf shirts and golf clothes are also available these days. They give you the right mix of corporate entity and informal look. If you invest some time in choosing your golf apparel well you can create that wow image on the course. You will find that corporate communication over the game will come much easier. You may end up striking a fantastic deal out of the game.

Resource Box: Buy golf shirts and golf clothes online and you will have multiple advantages coming up with it.

For the ultimate women's online golf attire shopping experience shop Pinks and Greens

Pinks and Greens Salutes Our Troops

2011-11-11T08:01:00.000-08:00

On this Veterans day I just wanted to take a second to let you all know about an organization that has become very near and dear to my heart, No Greater Sacrifice. NGS is an organization founded in 2008 with the mission of supporting the children of our men and women in the Military who have been severely wounded or have made the ultimate sacrifice to protect the freedoms that we as Americans enjoy on a daily basis. NGS does this by raising funds to provide scholarships to these children so that they may further their education by attending college.
There is an estimated 46,459 total estimated number of children of fallen and combat wounded. No Greater Sacrifice has just released a report called the 2011 Freedom Futures report. It entails what it will take in today’s dollars to provide educational opportunities for the children NGS is dedicated to serve. Please go to www.nogreatersacrifice.org to read the 2011 Freedom Futures report.
I think it goes without saying that this is a great cause and every little bit to support it goes a long way. This being said, on this Veterans Day I ask you to please support this great cause by donating $10 to NGS by texting NGS to 20222. I know times are tough and I appreciate you all at least considering this act of kindness. These Men and Women have sacrificed so much for all of us, let’s do what we can to help support their families. God bless all of you and God Bless the men and women of our country’s Military.

GIVE $10 BY TEXTING ‘NGS’ TO 20222

If you have friends you think would be interested in supporting NGS, please pass this along. Thanks again so much

PinksandGreens.com tips our hat to our troops

From the Tee: Arnold Palmer makes 20th hole-in-one with new RAZR XF Irons

2011-11-10T14:36:00.000-08:00

A few of us at Callaway were lucky enough to catch up with Arnold Palmer this morning via telephone from his winter home in Orlando and hear the details of his 20th hole-in-one, which he made on Tuesday, November 8th. Seriously, 20 aces! One is a dream for most people.

Mr. Palmer made his most recent ace while playing an afternoon round on hole No. 7 of the Charger Course at the Bay Hill Club, which he owns. Palmer, who has been on staff with Callaway since 2000, was playing his first round with a brand new set of Callaway’s recently released RAZR XF irons and using the Callaway Tour i(z) golf ball. The 82-year-old accomplished the feat with a RAZR XF 5-iron from 163 yards.

“It was into a cross-wind from the left. The ball landed 10 feet short and politely rolled up into the hole,” Palmer explained. “I enjoyed the new irons very much. Yesterday was the first time I used them and I made a hole-in-one, so it was quite a surprise. I’m actually going out to hit some more balls today because I’m excited to play with this new equipment.”

The hole-in-one was part of an impressive round of golf for Palmer, who played alongside friends Dick Ferris, Bill Damron, Bruce Walters and Will Carey. Palmer carded a 79—going out in 40 and coming home in 39—to best his age by three shots, but the hole-in-one put a dent in his wallet. “It cost me quite a lot of money (at the 19th hole)…and I didn’t mind one bit,” Palmer quipped.

Of his 20 lifetime aces, Palmer made three in PGA Tour events, four on the Senior (now Champions) Tour, and one in Japan. His last hole-in-one came eight years ago, also at Bay Hill. “My first one came at Latrobe Country Club when I was in high school on a short par-3,” Palmer recalled. “I think I’ve made three of the 20 on that same hole. In the early days I was hitting wedges on that hole and now I’m hitting 8-irons.”

The ultra-premium RAZR XF irons that Palmer was using arrived at U.S retailers on October 14th and are Callaway’s most technologically advanced irons. They feature a black PVD finish and are sold as a combo set that includes six irons and two hybrids. The irons are constructed with a forged 1025 Carbon Steel body that provides soft, responsive feedback at impact. The face is made of a thin, high-strength 455 Carpenter Steel, which generates faster ball speeds for increased distance. Perimeter weighting in the clubhead gives the RAZR XF the highest moment of inertia (MOI) of any iron Callaway has ever created for unparalleled accuracy, even on off-center hits. The RAZR XF Irons/Hybrids are available at a new product introduction retail price of $1,299 for steel-shafted irons and graphite-shafted hybrids; and $1,399 with all graphite shafts.

Mr. Palmer also said he’s looking forward to getting his hands on a pair of Callaway’s new Del Mar shoes because his grandson, Sam Saunders (also a Callaway staff pro) told him about them. (I think we can arrange for that to happen.)

Congratulations again to Mr. Palmer on his 20th hole-in-one. Callaway is thrilled to play a small role in the accomplishment.

The Del Mar: On Mr. Palmer’s wish list.

Article by Tim Sweeney of Callaway Golf Tour Blog

For women's golf apparel shop Pinks and Greens

Changes to Rules of Golf Unify the World Of Golfers

2011-11-08T02:51:00.000-08:00

Finally, golf’s official rulebook will look the same in golfing countries around the world.

On Oct. 24, the U.S. Golf Association and the R&A, announced identical formatting worldwide for the newest Rules of Golf, the 2012-2015 edition.

In anticipation of golf’s return to the Olympic Games in 2016 at Rio de Janeiro, the layout and format of the Rules of Golf will be the same in every country. For example, the content of page 62 in the United States will match the content on page 62 in Britain or Asia or South America. All will contain identical rules, illustrations and photographs.

The only differences will be in the native languages.

This is unprecedented for golf. In the past, the rules were the same around the world, but individual countries or golf associations often created their own layouts and formats.

The rulebook is reissued every four years by the USGA and R&A, the two governing and rules-making bodies that oversee golf around the globe. This time, they vowed to produce a uniform rulebook.

“Well, it may sound easy, but it wasn’t,” said Thomas Pagel, the USGA’s director of the Rules of Golf. “It was complicated and difficult, and it took a lot of time to get it done properly.”

In the past, the USGA occasionally reprinted the Rules of Golf every two years. There is a 2010-2011 edition of the rulebook, although it is the same as the previous printing. The only change is the title.

Pagel affirmed there will be no more two-year editions. All new rulebooks will read 2012-2015 to support public recognition of the four-year rules cycle. However, the comprehensive Decisions on the Rules of Golf will continue to be published every two years (the 2012-2013 edition will be available in November).

Two rules changes are likely to catch the attention of avid golfers:

• Rule 13-4, “Ball in Hazard; Prohibited Actions”: Exception 2 to the rule has been amended to permit a player to smooth sand or soil in a hazard at any time, including before playing from that hazard. This assumes that such a smoothing action is done for the sole purpose of maintaining or caring for the course.

The change will allow a player or caddie retrieving a rake to smooth his or her footprints before the player makes a stroke from the bunker. According to the official USGA explanation, “the revision will save time and is practical in the sense that it will continue to encourage players to practice good etiquette.”

• Rule 18-2b, “Ball Moving After Address”: In regard to a ball moving after it has been addressed by a player, a new exception has been added to exonerate the player from penalty if “it is known or virtually certain that he did not cause the ball to move.”

The obvious example is a gust of wind causing the ball to move. There is now no penalty, but the ball must be played from its new position (after it stops moving).

In the past, a player was penalized one stroke and the ball had to be replaced in its original position.

This new rule seems certain to cause some confusion, because the USGA explanation states, “if a player’s ball moves after address on a windless day he will still be subject to penalty under Rule 18-2b.”

The alteration of any rule often is a reflection of real-life situations, and two come to mind in regard to these two rules changes. Coincidentally, both occurred at the Zurich Classic on the PGA Tour.

In the 2011 Zurich Classic of New Orleans, Webb Simpson was challenging for his first PGA Tour title. Standing on the 15th green on Sunday, he held a one-stroke lead. As he prepared to tap in a 1-foot par putt, his ball moved. Simpson was penalized one stroke, and ultimately he lost a sudden-death playoff to Bubba Watson.

Simpson thought the culprit was a combination of wind and firm, crusty greens. He said he had been victimized by a “bad rule.”

At the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Classic, Simpson amplified his position. “I’m obviously happy that it is being changed,” he said. “I think it should have already been moved before this. It’s a rule that 100 percent of PGA Tour players would agree that should be changed. They all would agree it was a bad rule. So I’m happy it’s changing.”

The assumption is that Simpson, in a similar situation, would not be penalized under the new rule. “If some other agency – wind or gravity – is known to cause that ball to move, no penalty would be applied,” USGA vice president Tom O’Toole said earlier this year when he revealed the ruling bodies were looking at a possible change to the rule.

In the 2008 Zurich Classic, Stewart Cink was disqualified because as a consequence of Rule 13-4. Cink, with his ball resting on grass, had to stand in a fairway bunker to hit the shot. The ball flew into a greenside bunker.

Meanwhile, his caddie raked the fairway bunker. Under the old rule, that should have been a two-stroke penalty – for testing the surface of one bunker while his ball was in another bunker – although Cink didn’t know it. He signed his scorecard without the penalty.

Later, he was disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard. The outcry from players and fans was enormous.

“I think the changes will be well-received,” Pagel said. “The changes are fair. They make sense. I don’t see any controversy.”

Among other rules changes that will go into effect next year:

• Definition of addressing the ball: The definition is being amended so that a player has addressed the ball simply by grounding his club immediately in front of or behind the ball, regardless of whether or not he has taken his stance.

• Searching for a ball: Rule 12-1 is being amended to permit a player to search for his ball anywhere on the course when it may be covered by sand and to clarify that there is no penalty if the ball is moved in these circumstances. However, if a ball in a hazard is moved when covered by loose impediments (leaves), there is a penalty of one stroke.

• Arriving late for a starting time: What was previously a local rule is now a fixed part of the rules. For a player starting late, but within five minutes of his starting time, the penalty will be reduced from disqualification to loss of the first hole in match play or two strokes at the first hole in stroke play.

• Hole-in-one prizes for amateurs: The R&A has joined the USGA in exempting hole-in-one prizes from the stipulated prize limits for amateurs. This does not apply to long-drive or closest-to-the-pin prizes.

• Subsistence expenses for amateurs: A new rule allows an amateur golfer to receive subsistence expenses to assist with general living costs, provided the expenses are approved by and paid through the player’s national golf union or association.

The argument could be made that 2012 will be a landmark year for the Rules of Golf, considering the standardization of worldwide rulebooks and the growing importance of the rules as golf officials worldwide prepare for the sport’s return to the Olympics.

It was 1952 when the USGA and R&A decided formally to move toward unification of the Rules of Golf.

That is, the two governing bodies of golf agreed to talk regularly about the rules and produce a joint rules code while maintaining their differences if absolutely necessary.

In nearly 60 years since that major step toward rules unification, the two bodies have grown dramatically more hospitable toward each other. The rules have become more and more uniform.

Sure, there have been disagreements, such as the 1998 coefficient of restitution debacle, in which the USGA decided to limit spring-like effect in the face of drivers and the R&A declined for several years to join the USGA.

In general, though, golf has moved ever closer to a one-world, one-rulebook reality.

The 2012-2015 Rules of Golf is the culmination of this effort.

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Article by James Achenbach, Photo credit: Getty Images

"I Had a Double Mastectomy" At 35, Claudine Basile made a radical choice to have a cancer-free future.

2011-10-26T09:53:00.000-07:00

When Claudine Basile saw her gynecologist for an annual checkup a month after turning 35, he wished her a happy birthday and wrote a prescription for her first mammogram. “I said, ‘Why? I don’t have breast cancer in my family,’ ” recalls Basile, a hotel executive in Boca Raton, FL. Her physician explained it was just to establish a baseline, so she scheduled the screening for later in the week. It turned out to be anything but routine. “One mammogram quickly turned into three, followed by an ultrasound and an MRI,” says Basile. A few days later, her doctor delivered the shocking diagnosis: ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), an early, noninvasive form of breast cancer.

Basile consulted two breast surgeons, both of whom said she was “lucky” because her cancer was small, self-contained, and would require only a lumpectomy. But before moving forward with the surgery, Basile sought the advice of a physician friend. Knowing she had lost her father three years earlier to pancreatic and liver cancer—two diseases linked to the breast cancer genes BRCA 1 and 2— her friend suggested Basile meet with a genetic counselor to see if she was predisposed to a higher risk of breast cancer. Three weeks after getting tested, Basile got her answer: She was BRCA-positive.

Shocking odds
Up to one in 800 women carries a BRCA mutation (unlike Basile, a Sicilian Italian, most are of Eastern European Jewish descent), and they face strikingly worse breast cancer odds than the general population. BRCA-positive women have an up to 87 percent lifetime risk of developing the disease, often before age 50—compared with just over 12 percent among women without the genetic marker, who are more likely to be diagnosed after age 60. Their risk for ovarian cancer jumps significantly too, from less than 1 percent to up to 50 percent.

A woman who learns she must live with this genetic guillotine poised above her has several options: heightened surveillance, involving frequent screenings to catch the disease early if possible; preventive chemotherapy with drugs like tamoxifen, which reduces risk by about 50 percent in women over 35; and removal of the ovaries and fallopian tubes, which can slash the chance of breast cancer by up to 72 percent. Basile, who is currently single, decided she wasn’t ready to lose her ovaries yet. “I’d like to have a child if the right guy comes along,” she says.

But she did make another tough—some might say extreme—treatment choice: to have both breasts surgically removed. Known as a prophylactic mastectomy, the procedure has been shown to cut the risk of breast cancer by 90 percent in those with BRCA mutations. In Basile’s case it would eradicate her DCIS and almost surely any recurrence of the disease. (The procedure can’t remove every single cell, so there’s always a chance that cancer will develop.) “I didn’t want to live my life with this knot in my stomach,” she says, “wondering every time I had a mammogram, ‘Is this going to be the one that shows cancer?’ ”

Smart solution—or drastic measure?

Hard statistics aren’t available, but experts say that growing numbers of high-risk women are making this preemptive strike. It’s a controversial choice. Some people regard the procedure as an overly dramatic response. Being at high risk isn’t a guarantee you’ll get the disease, after all—and even if you do, your cancer may be successfully treated. Also, research has not yet proved that “previvors,” as women who have the surgery often refer to themselves, livelonger than those who don’t.

Drastic or not, doctors say that postmastectomy regrets are rare. Women who decide to have the procedure often feel a greater sense of control over their own destiny. “Most, even those who had surgical complications or developed a more negative body image, say they’d elect to have it again because it brought them peace of mind,” says Marlene Frost, R.N., Ph.D., researcher at the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center in Rochester, MN. It helps that mastectomy isn’t remotely as mutilating as it once was, and that breast reconstruction can take place during the same surgical session as breast removal. Basile was also surprised—and thrilled—to find that she could keep her nipples. Doing so was long considered a dangerous practice because the milk ducts (where DCIS originates) converge toward the nipple, but physicians now realize that breast cancer virtually never develops in the nipple and surrounding tissue.

“In terms of appearance, the difference between removing and preserving the nipple is huge,” says Joseph P. Crowe, M.D., chief of breast services at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. “The effect [of preserving] is quite natural.” Basile agrees, pleased with her transformation from a saggy 38DD to a perky 34DD. “I had my mom take pictures when I came out of the operating room, and my new breasts looked great—better than the originals,” she says. Three weeks after the surgery last spring, she was back to work.

Basile has decided to take a few additional steps to reduce her risk of both breast and ovarian cancers: After giving herself a few more years to possibly conceive a child, she’ll have her ovaries removed when she hits 40. And because ovarian cancer is very deadly—partly because it’s often diagnosed at a later stage—she’s screened with an ultrasound and a blood test every six months. Does she still worry about getting it? Sure, says Basile. “But in a situation that presents imperfect choices, I’m comfortable with the ones I’ve made to ensure my healthy future."

Source: Shape Magazine
by By Karyn Repinski
http://www.shape.com/lifestyle/mind-and-body/i-had-double-mastectomy

12 Best Private Golf Communities

2011-10-19T13:33:00.000-07:00

There are thousands of golf communities across the country, but not all are created equally. If your dream is to enjoy world class golf courses with a slew of other amenities in a wonderful setting, the field gets narrowed substantially, but there are still plenty of choices.

For three years I wrote a weekly real estate column on second homes for USA Today, and have covered the topic for a host of other publications, from Robb Report to Outside to the Golf Channel’s websites. I was already one of the leading experts in the nation on golf travel and courses, and this gives me a unique and informed perspective into what makes a great golf community. I haven’t visited everyone in the nation, not by a long shot, but I have visited many of the best. So while this list is not comprehensive, and there are certainly some great golf communities not included, these are my twelve (well, actually thirteen) favorites, and each one is well worth a look.

The 12 Best Private Golf Communities
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Red Sky Ranch, Wolcott, CO Without a doubt the premier ski country golf facility in the nation, with two excellent courses that have both been rated in the US Top 100, one by Tom Fazio and one by Greg Norman. The residential choice of PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem, Red Sky Ranch is full of enormous log cabin-style luxury homes, and boasts a very elaborate and fully featured members clubhouse with pool, separate from the one available to the limited number of outside guests from a handful of associated luxury hotels. One course daily is always reserved entirely for members. Importantly, while both courses are excellent, they are very different, something sorely lacking in many multi-course communities, with the Fazio more classic and the Norman more dramatic with vast elevation changes and risk/reward plays. Both are framed by majestic Rocky Mountain views at every turn, with blue sky sunny days all summer long, plus close winter proximity to two of the best ski resorts on earth, Vail and Beaver Creek, and all their associated dining and amenities, are icing on the cake. The club is also quite convenient to the Eagle Airport.

The Boulders, Carefree, AZ One of the first standout luxury residential golf developments in the nation, the developers at the Boulders made a big mistake 30 years ago that has greatly benefitted homeowners. They painted themselves into a legal corner of limited master plan development, and the result is far less homes than would be the norm if this 1300-acre resort community were built today. The Boulders is also home to a luxury resort whose amenities, from spa to fine dining, are available to homeowners, and there is even has an entire village, El Pedregal, full of shops, galleries, more restaurants, and a museum on site. The Boulders sits in the Sonoran foothills outside Scottsdale amidst a vast desert landscape of saguaro cacti, palo verde trees, and the namesake towering boulder formations, and the architecture is distinctive and singular, like something out of the Flintstones. The two gorgeous desert courses by highly regarded designer Jay Morrish are superb. Everyone from AAA (5 Diamonds) to Travel & Leisure (World’s Best) to Golf Magazine (Gold Medal Resort) has sung the praises of the Boulders. It also enjoys one of the best wintertime climates in the nation.

Yellowstone Club, Big Sky, MT Literally one-of-a-kind, the Yellowstone Club is the only private golf community that also has a full-sized private alpine ski area. There are other developments with ski hills and lifts but this is big time skiing – bigger than Deer Valley or Beaver Creek, 2600-acres with 15 lifts, more than 60 trails, bowl and glade skiing, and a true double-black ridge full of steep chutes, none of it ever even the slightest bit crowed. In fact the skiing might just be the main attraction, but together with an excellent Tom Weiskopf-designed golf course, massive stone and timber clubhouse, spa, multiple dining outlets, equestrian facilities, blue ribbon fly fishing on private frontage, and even a private fire department, these unrivalled facilities are the reason folks like Bill Gates bought houses here. Everything about The Yellowstone Club is bigger than life, and the place is immense, nearly 14,000 acres with 46 miles of paved internal roads, yet it is also very private and secure befitting its buyers. The only problem is it is hard to get to and somewhat isolated, and most of the residents rely on private aviation.

Sandestin, Destin, Florida If value plays a role in golf community quality, then it is hard to beat Sandestin, and virtually no place your vacation home dollars go further. Located on the famed 26-mile stretch of “sugar sand” beach in South Walton County in the Panhandle, one of the best beaches in the world, the region is a far cry from crowded and heavily developed south Florida. A huge development built by Intrawest, the company behind Whistler/Blackcomb and Copper Mountain, 2400-acre Sandestin contains 30-different sub-communities with thousands of homes and condos, and it has won endless awards from Golf Magazine and Golf Digest for its four high quality golf courses including The Raven by Robert Trent Jones, Jr. and the flagship Burnt Pines, an excellent Rees Jones design that winds through pristine coastal terrain and forest with extensive wooden boardwalks and is also a Champions Tour venue. There is a large tennis club, spa, 98-slip marina, seven miles of beach and coastline, a shopping center, a large pedestrian retail village, 20 restaurants, and several hotels. Owners have to share the courses with resort guests, but that is part of the reason why the value proposition is so strong and there is plenty of golf to go around. As large, affordable communities go (homes run as high as $3-4 million, but condos start under $200,000 and the majority of residences are in the $250-$600,000 range), the quantity and quality of golf, plus the myriad other facilities at Sandestin cannot be beat, and the nearby beach and fishing and watersports are all superb.

Mayacama, Santa Rosa, CA The Jack Nicklaus Signature course here is without a doubt the finest golf course in American wine country, and easily the best in the most prestigious Napa and Sonoma region. For that reason, big name vintners and well-to-do Bay Area residents – it’s less than 60-miles from the Golden Gate Bridge – have embraced the place, making it one of the most desirable private clubs in the nation – and one of the most intimate. There are only 31 home sites within Mayacama’s gates, and will never be more, plus 31 villas and cabins sold in fractional interests, which accounts for most of the remaining inventory (there is currently one home and four lots available for full ownership, starting around $700,000 for the land). Just over an hour outside of San Francisco, with pool, a beautiful and lavish clubhouse with spa, the main features at Mayacama are the golf course, walking only with caddies and ranked in the most prestigious Top 100 list, public or private, and the extensive wine program. Every member gets a second locker just for wine, temperature controlled, and many of the vintner members make special releases just for the club, with the wine list boasting bottles you cannot buy anyplace else.

Shooting Star/3 Creek Ranch, Jackson, WY One of the wealthiest and most star-studded towns in the nation, Jackson, WY is home to movie stars like Harrison Ford, Vice Presidents like Dick Cheney who lives here full-time on a golf course, so many multi-millionaires they hardly register, and billionaires like Charles Schwab. It is home to the finest ski resort in the nation, and even more popular in summer due to its extensive outdoor beauty and activities as the gateway to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. In keeping with Jackson’s accolades it is home to two golf communities so spectacular I couldn’t pick just one, so it is a tie. 3 Creek Ranch has a fantastic Rees Jones layout with an enviable location near town with the region’s best views of Grand Teton, showcased on the sixteenth hole which plays directly at the Grand, while seventeen, a fabulous par-3, and eighteen, an immense 630-yard par-5, both have tremendous views of the Tetons, for a truly stunning finishing trio. The community is full of Old West style log luxury homes, has a full-time naturalist and many activities aimed at families. A staff fly-fishing guide helps members fish the property’s pristine streams and stocked trout ponds. Early buyers here were Schwab and Tiger Woods. The newer Shooting Star has an equally excellent Tom Fazio course reminiscent of a mountainous version of Shadow Creek, a standout design, and likewise boasts impressive log cabin luxury, with a great clubhouse, spa and fine dinging. The main difference is that while 3 Creek is close to the town of Jackson, Shooting Star is immediately adjacent to the ski resort, literally bordering its parking lot. Both have great golf and access to the best of Jackson, so you’ll have to choose carefully.

Kiawah Island Club, SC Kiawah is most famous for its 90-hole luxury golf resort, one of the best on earth, which includes the Forbes (formerly Mobil) 5-Star Sanctuary Hotel and the Ocean Course, the best east of the Mississippi, a Ryder Cup venue and host of next year’s PGA Championship. But one side of the island is entirely devoted to a quietly prestigious private community, the Kiawah Island Club, which has two standout courses of its own, plus access to the five at the resort, and these two entities comprise all of beautiful Kiawah Island, just off the charming city of Charleston in the heart of South Carolina’s Low Country. This eastern end of the island is known locally as “beyond the gate’ and is the most prestigious address, thanks to the highly ranked Tom Fazio designed River Course, the marquee attraction, along with the newer Tom Watson Cassique, a modern faux links design. Besides the full slate of luxury club amenities like restaurants, spa and golf, plus an endless list of special events and activities for adults and families, the unique attractions of the club are its location, one of the most charming and beautiful yet accessible around, and its sister clubs, Ireland’s Doonbeg with its Greg Norman links course and the new Christophe Harbour, with another Fazio design, in St. Kitts.

Village of Pinehurst, NC Pinehurst is the most famous and historic location in American golf, home to more big events than anyplace else, including the Ryder Cup, PGA Championship, repeat US Opens and TOUR Championships, and just about every other significant USGA event for men, women and amateurs. The Pinehurst resort was the very first golf resort in the nation and remains the largest, while its famed Number Two is the seminal design of Donald Ross’ long and successful design career, a Top 10 routinely ranked in the world’s very best. The course is now even better than ever following a recent massive restoration (click here to read my story). But few people think of Pinehurst as a golf community, since it is a town with a big resort in it. The best kept secret in American golf is a zoning clause of sorts, in place since the Village was designed by my relative and the most famous landscape architect of all time, Frederick Law Olmsted, of Central Park fame. A living, breathing museum of golf, Pinehurst is frequently called the “American St. Andrews,” and like its Scottish counterpart, offers an incredible deal for actual residents. Village homeowners have the right to buy an annual unlimited membership package to seven of the resort’s eight courses, including Number Two, for as little as $300 monthly, far less than the dues at most good one-course country clubs. I talked to a local who played Number Two 70 times last year, and that course alone costs visitors more than $300 to play – each time! Second home ownership in the village is like belonging to a private golf club, with access to all the resort facilities such as spa, world class tennis facilities, an impressive croquet center, dining, plus a separate private clubhouse for members. It’s also a bargain: in-town homes begin around $250,000 and most are under a million. The only caveat to this incredible deal is that that the golf rights, which are attached to the real estate, must have been maintained non-stop since the early days of the Village, so if an owner opted not to pay dues, the house lost its claim. Today about 60% of residences carry the privilege.

Martis Camp, Truckee, CA The most successful golf course development in the Tahoe area, this 2200-acre community combines the regional best of both worlds: golf and skiing. Owners enjoy a standout Tom Fazio golf course, plus a 3-acre lake, spa, fitness center, 20-miles of running and hiking trails, and most notably, a private ski lift with direct access into the recently expanded and upgraded Northstar-at-Tahoe ski resort, now home to a Ritz Carlton resort. Martis Camp sits just 12-miles from the lake, one of the most impressive in the nation, and is positioned as “a private, gated National Park experience.” It is also one of the most family friendly golf communities ever built, with the “Family Barn,” a huge structure including a bowling alley, movie theater, old fashioned soda fountain, and performance stage. An outdoor sports field complex includes croquet, bocce, lawn bowling, basketball courts, a soccer field, softball diamond and barbecue area. A separate Folk School offers members classes in photography, pottery and other arts. Residents at Martis Camp are never bored once they leave the golf course.

The Golf Club at Black Rock, Coeur d’Alene, ID Talk about your hidden gems! The course at Black Rock is simply spectacular, a standout even among the best private club layouts in the nation, designed by stealth architect Jim Engh, not exactly a household name but the genius behind such winners as The Sanctuary, Redlands Mesa, and the Creek Club course at Reynolds Plantation. It combines drop-dead eye candy with strategic decisions at every turn, and is great fun to play. Then there is the setting on pristine Lake Coeur d’Alene, 30 miles long with nearly 200 miles of coastline. Another unsung asset is weather: three quarters of the year the weather is not just good, it’s great, and in summer it is not uncommon to have perfect conditions for 80-100 consecutive days, all without any biting insects, a lakefront rarity. The charming town of Coeur d’Alene, just a few miles away is the icing on the cake, and boasts its own standout resort golf course, with the famous world’s only moveable island green. The original developers at Black Rock got into financial trouble and the club is now owned by its members. The many luxury homes here are not exactly cheap, but not exactly expensive, still a lot of bang for the buck, offering a lot of value as a terrific spring to fall destination with an unforgettable golf course and lakeside setting.

Talisker Club, Park City, UT The Talisker Club is a unique golf and ski hybrid community located in and around Deer Valley, one of the most desirable, expensive and prestigious ski vacation home spots on the planet. The original golf club community spans 10,000-acres adjacent to the ski resort, with an excellent Mark O’Meara designed golf course featuring 360-degree mountain views that was named one of the best new private courses in the nation by Golf Digest. On top of that, the club has plenty of other great facilities, including fishing, watersports with club boats on the Jordanelle Reservoir, hiking, horseback riding, and in the winter cross country skiing on the golf course. There are multiple clubhouses and extensive fitness and spa facilities. There is even an enclave of homes designed by famed architect Robert A.M. Stern, the only such offering in the US. But what sets the club apart is its Talisker Tower, a three-story clubhouse located mid-mountain on the slopes of Deer Valley, complete with private dining and second spa facility, so that members have a home away from home on the slopes. Talisker also bought much of the ski resort’s Empire Canyon area, where the luxury Montage resort, a lodge, and several lifts is located, so buyers can now choose to be in the golf section of Talisker, a few miles away (and considerably less expensive), or live in ski-in/ski-out homes slopeside and still enjoy full golf and club membership benefits. In either case, owners have access to the many shops, restaurants, and amenities of charming Park City, home of the Sundance Film Festival. One huge appeal of Park City is how easy it is to get to year round, with excellent access through the ultra-reliable Salt Lake City airport 45-minutes away.

Reynolds Plantation, Lake Oconee, GA Georgia’s second largest lake, the 20,000-acre Oconee was entirely manmade by hydroelectric efforts in the 1970s and today is a major recreational and second home destination. It is also home to one of the most impressive golf communities anywhere, Reynolds Plantation, which offers a whopping six golf courses by top designers including Jack Nicklaus, Rees Jones, Jim Engh, and Tom Fazio (with a seventh by Pete Dye in development), all of them very good, including standouts Great Water, Oconee, and Creek Club. The community is home to Taylor Made’s The Kingdom, a unique Tour player experience offering the same high-tech diagnostic testing Taylor Made’s sponsored athletes get, complete with computerized club fitting and customization unlike any you have seen. There is a Ritz Carlton Lodge on site, great restaurants throughout, and endless amenities from tennis to the lake itself. No private club in America has the breadth of golf that Reynolds Plantation boasts, all just an hour from Atlanta.

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Article by: Larry Olmsted, Forbes Magazine

5 Reasons Why Ladies Golf Could be the Perfect Female Hobby

2011-10-17T13:17:00.000-07:00

It’s no secret that golf isn’t the most popular sport for ladies to partake in. However, there are some females who brave the holes with much success and enjoyment. It’s surprising that more women aren’t taking part in golf as there are many opportunities and benefits that the game of golf presents, aside from the sense of achievement of scoring the first hole in one.

Relaxing Atmosphere

Aside from the enjoyment of playing the actual sport, the surroundings on golf courses are often very relaxing and peaceful. This makes golf the perfect game for “getting away from it all”. Often in rural settings, there’s plenty of nature and often breath taking scenery. Whether the course is in the middle of a park or along the coast with sea views, the atmosphere is perfect for a day of relaxation.

Socialising

Men often play golf with groups of people they are friends with, making it a great opportunity to socialise. A round of ladies golf could be the perfect way to keep in touch with friends and catch up on the latest gossip. The peaceful surroundings make golf courses perfect for casual chatter whilst waiting for the next hole to free. Taking up golf after moving into a new area can be a great way to meet the locals too.

Holidaying/Travel Opportunities

Golfing holidays are incredibly popular, whether they take golfers abroad or to a new course in their homeland they can be the perfect getaway retreat. More experienced golfers may travel all over the world to enter different competitions and tournaments – allowing them to experience many different countries as they progress in the sport. Furthermore, long relaxing weekends at a golf spa hotel can relieve the stresses of everyday life and can even pave the way for a girls’ holiday!

Health and Fitness

In order to be able to play an effective game of golf, a certain level of health and fitness is required. Golfing can be an excellent way to keep in shape without vigorous workouts and drastic diets, many golfing websites offer warm-up and fitness techniques to help aspiring golfers. Some female golfers recommend yoga as an effective warm-up in preparation for a round of golf. Alongside with the social benefits, golf can be an excellent way to remain trim without breaking too much of a sweat.

Before taking to the course, new lady golfers must ensure they have the correct golf equipment tailored to their ability. Custom fit equipment is available at most online golf equipment sites, often accompanied with reviews from other golfers.

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Written by Stephanie Staszko

Women's Golf Tips for Building a Tee Box Routine

2011-10-17T04:33:00.000-07:00

What is your on-the-tee-box routine? If you don't have one, then this is your first problem. While golf requires us to be flexible, there are also certain aspects of golf that need to be routine and like second nature to you.

Many women golfers, especially those who are new, find themselves less confident at the tee box. This is an area of golf where many men are confident to step up to the tee and whack at the ball with confidence but many women will question themselves or lack confidence needed for their best performance at the tee.

Here are some tips to forming a solid on the tee box routine that works for you:

Get Your Mind Focused- We know how important our mental game is to golf. When you step up to the tee, what's going through your mind? Are you thinking about where you want to hit your shot? Are you thinking about those new shoes you've been eying, how you are going to get over the water hazard on hole three, if the guy behind you is looking at you? Over-thinking things on the tee box will set you up for mistakes with your shot. Instead, you need a total commitment to the shot and with a solid tee box routine, you can pull this off.

Trust Your Routine- Once you develop a routine you can trust, it will help you remain calm, stay in the present with your present shot instead of worrying about what comes after, stay consistent and keep your energy on one thing at a time, specifically the current shot.

Make Decisions behind the Ball- When you first approach the tee, take note of the wind direction, find a target and envision your line of flight. Make your decisions behind the ball before setting up the ball.

Visualize Your Shot- Take a couple easy swings while making your decisions and checking the wind. Visualize the line of flight. Avoid thinking about where you don't want the ball to go. As soon as you think it, that is where you will hit it.

A solid, dependable routine on the tee box will give you the confidence to approach the tee each time and do the best that you can. You can then work on specific issues like how to get more distance or how to correct a hook, one at a time until you are comfortable with your tee shot.

Article written by Lisa Mason

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Lisa i

What's Hot In Golf: Radi-Eye Putter

2011-09-09T12:33:00.000-07:00

In four of the past five weeks, players wielding a non-traditional-length putter have been victorious — two wins by Webb Simpson and his belly putter, a victory by Keegan Bradley and his belly putter (his win in the PGA Championship was the first major won by a player using a belly putter), and a win by Adam Scott and his broomstick long putter that he anchors just below his chin.

With golf being as much a player-see, player-do game as there is, golfers around the globe are checking out long putters these days.

Well, check out the face of the putter while you are experimenting.
Precision Putting Products — a small company in Concord, N.C., consisting of three people — is hoping to change the face of the game when it comes to putting. After four years of research, development and testing, their latest product - the Radi-Eye Putter - features a classic blade design but a slightly rounded radius face. The design - which conforms to USGA rules - is patent pending and its developers insist the design will eliminate up to 4.5 degrees of push or pull during a putt.

But don't take their word for it. Go to http://www.p3golfonline.com/ to see a video shot in slow motion that shows what the ball does after being struck by the Radi-Eye Putter. As the video shows, the ball leaves the putter face on a perfect line when stuck perfectly. The video also shows what the ball does when it's not struck with the center of the face. Yes, it maintains the original line with miss-hits.

The putters are 100% milled from one solid piece of 1018 steel and can be customized to fit all golfers. And yes, with its weight coming in at around 360 grams, P3 can even customize the putter to be a long or belly putter.

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Article By Steve DiMeglio, USA TODAY

Let's Golf! 3: Tee of With Free Golf Game

2011-08-31T06:47:00.000-07:00

Gameloft's new Let's Golf! 3 is a fun golf simulation with plenty of game modes, fantasy courses and myriad ways to customize your character.

But it's not a "hole in one" either, mainly because this "freemium" game requires you to spend energy points per hole to keep playing -- by shelling out real or virtual money for more or waiting for energy to refill over time. More on this in a moment.

In Let's Golf! 3, you'll first choose between a male or female golfer, give him or her a name, then select a main skill, such as power, accuracy, putting or recovery (from tough terrain). Later, you can unlock apparel to dress the anime-inspired golfer in a number of different outfits.

In the single-player game, your first of six 3-D-rendered courses is the tropical South Pacific isle of Fiji. After that, you can play China, Egypt, Ireland, Outer Space and Under the Sea.

Playing is fairly simple. You can stick with the club recommended by the game or swipe your finger across the club icon to change from, say, a 3 wood to a 5 iron; each club tells you the maximum ball distance. You can tap the screen to shift the golfer's stance, view the wind strength and direction or touch the mini-map to zoom into the hole for a greater look.

When it's time to swing, tap the white golf ball in the corner of the screen to pull back, tap again when the desired power is reached (e.g. 80% or 100%), then a third time for how to hit the ball (straight on, slice or hook). All these cues are color-coded to help you along. When the ball is in the air, you can apply some spin on it, if desired.

Visually, the game looks great as the ball sails through the air and drops down on the fairway or green – hopefully, avoiding the water, sand or rough along the way. Birds fly overhead, palm trees line the course and a crab might walk sideways near the flag. Do well, and you might hear your character sing "I am the champion!" followed by a short guitar riff.

You'll earn some coins and experience points at each hole, which you can use to purchase goodies in the marketplace, such as new apparel, better clubs that offering increased range or special balls with powers, such as Cyclone, that won't let wind affect your shot. If you fail to get par or better, you'll have to repeat the hole.

You earn a star for par, two stars for birdie and three stars for birdie or better. Like a role-playing game you'll also increase your golfer's level over time and experience; some items might not be available until you reach a certain threshold, such as level 5 or 13.

Play well, and you can unlock new modes -- including Stroke Play, Match Play, Shootout and Closest to the Pin -- plus, there are a few minigames to unlock , each of which hones your skills.

Along with the single-player game, Let's Golf! 3 offers a few ways to play a multiplayer game for up to four people. One is a pass-and-play game for those with one iPad, but gamers on their own iPad can play wirelessly via a local Bluetooth connection or online through a Wi-Fi connection. If your friends aren't online, you can challenge them to beat your best score. While not tested for this review, friends can also text chat during live and online games, and iPad 2 owners can watch their opponents golf in a smaller window.

If you run out of energy points, you can buy more with virtual cash or spend real money. For example, in-app purchases range from 99 cents (for a pack of 20 cash) all the way up to $49.99 (for 1400 cash). Some golf game fans might prefer to just spend, say $5, for the complete game and not be nickel and dimed for micro transactions to buy "energy" points just to keep playing.

Another issue: The game worked well on my iPad 2, with its dual-core processor, but crashed a few times on the original iPad.

Overall, it's hard to complain about this free app -- especially as it's fun to play -- but the "freemium" model might irk some, not to mention some technical glitches on the first-gen iPad that could mar the overall experience.

Article by: Marc Saltzman

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A Soap Every Athlete Needs

2011-08-16T09:48:00.000-07:00

I've always been one to voice my opinion & I have a tendency to let the world know when something is disastrous. On the same page though, I give credit where credit is due not just for the company's sake but for the world. If something is good, everyone should know it and hopefully let it help them.

For this reason I want to share my newest obsession.

I’ve battled acne since the day I sprung my first zit at age 12. Luckily, it was never to the extreme- a few bumps here and there and generally on my forehead which is half the reason I’ve kept my bangs for so long- quick fix there. However, recently I encountered the breakout of a lifetime. No seriously, I mean of a lifetime. Out of nowhere my face went from normal to looking like a slice of pizza fresh out of the greaser. To make matters worth, it was surrounding my mouth/chin areas, a place impossible to hide as well as my upper back. Just in time for bathing suit and halter season. My only hope was makeup which obviously only irritated my skin more.

As an active person, I would find myself interrupting my workouts to clear the sweat from my face to avoid further breakouts. My research also showed that fitted sports bras, body sweat and cotton would all contribute to triggering acne growth on my body. Aside from the affects on my personal life, now my acne was interrupting my fitness life. Totally unacceptable.

I began viewing all skin care products from sunscreen, moisturizers and foundations as my enemy knowing that despite the "in-the-moment" good each does for my skin, their use on my skin ran the risk of more breakouts ; something both my skin and wallet could no longer afford.

I tried EVERYTHING. My usual face cleansers were obviously not doing the trick anymore. I tried pro-active and though I liked the feeling of the aggressive cleanse, I found myself only breaking out worse after. I quickly went from frantic and panic to desperate.

My sister suggested using ” the black soap”. Its an african remedy made from all natural products and is known for its effectiveness on acne as well as its deep cleansing, anti-fungal and anti-bacterial qualities. I figured- what the heck. Within one week of use I could see a huge improvement. Though my face isn’t clear, there are less pimples and fewer new ones gracing me with their presence. Plus it can be used as a soap all over your body and has natural cleansing ingredients that remove makeup as well as cleanse the skin.

My sister said it cleared her face up completely in about a month so I’m being patient but I am incredibly happy with this product and will continue to use it regularly. I googled it to discover that it is much more common then I thought and comes in various forms- all with great reviews. My sister purchased hers from the Saint Augustine Old Drug Store website.

In any event- you can order it online from a plethora of places in numerous forms whether liquid, bar soap etc… but my point being- if you’re battling acne or simply need a good skin cleanser- Save the ProActive for Katy Perry and Avril Lavigne and pick up this stuff! It will change your life!

As I scrolled through my news feed yesterday in between the posts including pictures of damages caused by Hurricane Irene were posts from out-of-state and in particular, Florida friends mocking our fears, downgradnig the severity of the storm and accussing the affected of overreacting. I felt my online responces defended the situation enough, but as clean up commences and the true magnitude of the storm's fury become clear I have to be honest, I'm pretty offended by some of the comments made.

For starters, it was not a category 1 storm. It was downgraded to a category 1 over 12 hours into our initial hit. Until then it was a category three going on 4. Don't believe me: read HERE.Still don't believe me? I've compiled a list of other articles stating the same.

All's Fair In Love And Golf

2011-08-16T07:49:00.000-07:00

Q: I've noticed a trend of music being played on the golf course, with the latest example being a golf cart parked next to a green with music blaring while the players were putting. Are you OK with this?

A: I love hitting balls on the range or playing a solitary practice round with iPod headphones set to the Dave Matthews Band. Listening to music makes for great tempo training and allows me to shut out my surroundings so I can find that elusive "zone." But the key words here are "solitary" and "headphones." Unless your group is in agree- ment about the music and you're on a deserted course with no other groups around, hanging a boom box from your cart and blasting Lady Gaga at full tilt would definitely constitute poor etiquette.

Q: What's the right thing to say to my wife, a beginning golfer, after she whiffs a shot? I've tried being nice. I've tried giving her advice. But no matter what I say, she just gets mad at me.

A: Have you tried saying nothing, acting indifferent and simply moving on to your ball? In most cases, that's the best thing to do. Men seem to have a primal need to "fix" things whenever women have a problem, when all we really want is silent support. This is especially true on the golf course, where embarrassing shots are typically followed by such frustration that nothing anybody says can make a person feel better. The next time your wife misses the ball, just leave her alone, and don't try to fix anything for her. Give her some space and let her take her time to get it right, then offer a simple "good shot" when she finally does. Let a teaching pro handle her instruction.

Q: I just learned that tour pros change out their golf balls every couple of holes. Do balls really get worn that quickly? How often should a Regular Joe like me switch?
A: Tour players are of a different breed than average golfers. For starters, they swing at incredible speeds, so a tiny scuff mark on a ball might mean the difference of a couple of feet in distance or direction on an approach shot. Such a miss could cost a pro thousands of dollars. Plus, most tour players get a limitless supply of free golf balls from their sponsors. Unless you have a similar arrangement, there's no need to retire your golf ball until it has noticeable damage. Let's hope that means you'll get at least a round or two out of it--if you don't lose it first.

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Article by: Stina Sternberg, Golf Digest

Callaway Encourages Your Family To Get Out and Play Golf This Summer

2011-08-10T08:36:00.000-07:00

Nothing beats a great day of golf out in the sun, especially when you tee it up with your family. Golf is a great way to bring the family together, where everyone can get outside, share a wonderful experience and hopefully hit a few of those great iron shots and putts that make the game fun. Callaway Golf encourages all families to make the most of their summer, and take advantage of the great golfing weather. Now is the perfect opportunity to spend quality time in each other's company as we grow together in the game.

The beauty of golf is that it does not discriminate against age. Whether you're a hardworking student, an on-the-go parent or comfortably retired, golf offers exercise without demanding extreme physical output. We as golfers know what it's like to hit the course with different generations of family. In this way, golf also serves as a family tradition, passed down from fathers to sons, mothers to daughters and grandparents to grandchildren.

Another great attribute of golf is that there's always room for improvement, always something to work on or refine. Golfers know what it means to catch "the golf bug", that insatiable passion for the game that keeps us coming back through difficult rounds, great birdies and everything in between. We can continue to develop as players and experience unforgettable life lessons along the way. Our Callaway Staff Pros have recalled how playing with family has helped shape them as golfers, and as people.

"I think my fondest memories of the game are playing golf with my dad after school," says Phil Mickelson, a four-time major winner and longtime Callaway Staff Professional. "I couldn't wait for school to end because he was going to pick me up and we were going to head straight to the golf course." The hours spent with his dad help explain why Mickelson plays the game left-handed. "It's true that I'm right-handed in everything else I do. The reason I play golf left-handed is because I mirror imaged my father when I was a kid, watching him play."

Morgan Pressel has competed on the LPGA Tour since she was just 18, yet she still remembers the afternoons spent on the course with her grandfather. "My grandfather has really been my mentor. My grandfather taught me a lot of lessons about determination and just being dedicated," Pressel says. "I think that's why we moved to Boca Raton, my mother wanted me to spend some time with my grandfather, and learn how to play."

We may not reach the talent level of great players like Mickelson and Pressel, but we can still enjoy golf as they did with their family. If you are looking to get your kids interested in the game, and help them build a lifelong love affair with golf, Callaway's XJ Junior Sets are ideally suited for boys and girls from ages 5-8 and 9-12. These clubs offer the perfect combination of performance and forgiveness so junior golfers can play confidently and aggressively. And if you are looking to update your own equipment, go test the new RAZR X Irons or the Diablo Octane Driver.

Callaway encourages you to play golf during the long sunny days this summer and get your loved ones involved in this great game. Enjoy the game and have fun. We hope to see you all out on the course very soon.

Article by Callaway
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August is a good month to hit the links in golf-happy Florida

2011-08-08T08:35:00.000-07:00

August is National Golf Month? Isn't it always golf month in Florida?

If you would like to celebrate the official holiday, there are plenty of resorts in Florida — and elsewhere — with golf-friendly deals to help.

Florida Golf Guide -- Check out the best places to play 18 holes across the state

Doral Golf Resort & Spa: Celebrating 50 years as South Florida's iconic golf resort, Doral is offering 40 percent savings with its Championship Unlimited Golf Package. Starting at $119 per person based on double occupancy, the package includes accommodations in a garden-view room, daily breakfast at Terrazza Restaurant and Cafe, 18 holes of golf on the Red, Gold or Jim McLean Signature course with free replay, access to the award-winning Spa at Doral, and unlimited driving range usage and bag storage. For reservations, visit doralresort.com and enter promotional code GFP.

The Renaissance Vinoy Resort & Golf Club: In August, guests who book the St. Petersburg resort's Escape Golf Getaway will be entered to win a new set of golf clubs. Starting at $169 per night, the package includes an upgrade to a renovated bay-view guest room, a round of golf for one or two players, unlimited same day replay, cart rental, unlimited range balls, golf storage, 50 percent off rental of new Callaway golf clubs and unlimited access to the resort's state-of-the-art health club and spa facilities. For reservations, visit vinoyrenaissanceresort.com and use rate code GOF.

Marco Island Marriott Beach Resort: The Unlimited Golf Escape includes accommodations in a tropical-view room, breakfast for two people and two rounds of golf per day at The Rookery at Marco Island golf course. Guests also will receive 10 percent off purchases at the Golf Pro Shop, bag storage, bag tags, range balls and golf cart rental. It starts at $304 per night. For reservations, visit marcoislandmarriott.com and enter promotional code GOF.

The Rookery at Marco Island: The golf club is offering a three-day value pass for $149 per person for up to three rounds over seven days and a member-for-the-week pass for $199 per person for unlimited golf over seven days. Visit therookeryatmarco.com for details.

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By: Jim Abbott

A Lesson Learned: Caddie Issues

2011-08-08T06:58:00.000-07:00

One of the most talked about storylines coming out of Adam Scott's impressive four-shot win at the World Golf Championships - Bridgestone Invitational was of course, about his caddie Steve Williams.

Now I will be the first to admit, I don't know the details on the relationship Steve had with Tiger and even more, the apparent ending of that relationship, but it obviously left some lingering hurt feelings. That said, many who claim to know what really went on between the two are merely guessing as well.

What I do know is that Williams' record as caddie speaks for itself. 145 wins is actually kind of mind boggling. The list of golfers he has caddied for shows his skills as a caddie are obviously in demand.

So for this week's "A Lesson Learned," let's talk about caddies.

For Tour pros, the caddie serves in many functions. They carry the bag, they walk off yardages, they serve as cheerleader, coach and psychologist and at times, chauffer to and from the course as well. The argument that caddies 'never hit a shot' is true, but a good caddie can still save his player a number of shots.

I've always maintained that on Tour, a caddie's role is to save the player from making or compounding a mistake, not necessarily help them pull off a great shot.

I remember the 2009 U.S. Open when Lucas Glover came to the final hole with a small lead. The tees were moved way up but Glover's caddie, Don Cooper, encouraged him to NOT hit driver and hit something way less so that he would hit into the green with the club he had been practicing hitting into that green with all week. So Glover teed off with a six-iron. And he went on to win the U.S. Open. That's how a caddie provides great value.

Now if you arrive at Pebble Beach, Whistling Straits, Pinehurst or any other great venue that has caddies, you may be thinking - "Well this caddie doesn't really know my game, how's he going to help me?"

You'd be surprised. Rely on these caddies as they will help your score, your enjoyment and possibly your skills. If they watch you warm up on the range, they will get a great sense of how your skills will translate to their course. They can read greens, give you distances, help you avoid trouble, really guide you around and maximize your time on the course.

Will they help you in the same way a Tour caddie can help their player? Probably not. But if you trust that they are professionals and can help you in your round, the overwhelming majority of the time, they will.

I'd encourage everyone who loves golf to play one round with a caddie. It's a pure and truly enjoyable experience. It may not win you a World Golf Championship or a major championship - but it still may become the best golf experience of your life.

One final note about caddies. This past week also saw the staging of the Western Amateur, perhaps the nation's premier amateur event. Revenue raised by this event and other events held by the Western Golf Association funds the "Chick" Evans Caddie Scholarship Program. If you get a chance to support these programs or other great caddie programs around the country, I'd highly encourage you to do so. Caddies are not only great benefits to golfers, they are an integral part of the game.

by Kevin Weeks, PGA

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Five reasons why you should be excited for Tiger Woods’ return: A fan’s take

2011-08-03T06:58:00.000-07:00

It has finally happened after what seemed like ages. After nearly three months of inactivity from Tiger Woods, he is finally ready to show the world exactly what kind of shape his game is in at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational beginning Aug. 4, 2011. So many questions surround his return this time around, and the answers will very soon follow. It is no secret that there is already a great deal of buzz around the sport because of the return of the former world No. 1.

Here are five reasons why his return is a good thing and why fans should share in the excitement:

Golf needs a shot of adrenaline

Though there are some terrific young players on the PGA TOUR now, no one has exploded onto the scene in Woods-like fashion since the man himself did in 1997. The game has suffered a great deal by not having its living legend in top form. No one alive today can generate the type of excitement to be demonstrated across all outlets as Tiger Woods as he prepares to compete once again. Finally, the foreign dominance of the world rankings show that the U.S. is in need of a player to take a lead role in bringing American golf back to prominence on the world's stage.

Money talks

There is no greater draw at a golf tournament than Tiger Woods—period. No one understands this more than sponsors. Despite his fall from the good graces of several companies, he still generates valuable revenue for the TOUR, and is the sole reason they are playing for astronomical amounts of prize money today. Tournaments have to plan around having him present at an event, and television ratings invariably go up each and every time he plays.

He is a living legend

The chance to watch history appeals to a great deal of sports fans. Each time Tiger tees it up, he has a chance to make history. Although he has struggled mightily since 2009, he has such a long track record of success, that even catching a glimpse of the brilliance once displayed gives fans a reason to clamor just to see him. He is still gifted and has incredible natural ability. The mystique of watching perhaps the greatest player ever to touch a club live in action will always appeal to a number of fans.

There are many questions that need to be answered

How healthy is his left leg? How will he fare in his return? Does he have any chance at running down Jack? All of these questions and many more surround the return of Woods this time around. Soon, answers will be forthcoming and generate more newsworthy items for the media and everyone else to debate until the cows come home. All of this is good fun, and adds to the excitement of the game. The sports world in general is better for it.

A successful return would add more magic to a legendary career

We've seen Tiger Woods do the impossible before. Holing out incredible putts when he absolutely needs them, chipping in on golf's most sacred ground to propel himself to victory at The 2005 Masters, and winning arguably golf's toughest test on one leg all come to mind when looking back at signature moments in his career. When it is all said and done, no one should be surprised if he goes legend once again and proves everyone who doubted him wrong. It would be a fitting way to end another dramatic chapter in his storybook career.

Article by Michael C. Jones

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Take Up A Sport, Like Golf!

2011-08-03T06:56:00.000-07:00

Sometimes going to the gym can just get plain old. Not boring—I have come to believe that you do not ever need to be bored working out—but still old. You need a change of pace, or new motivation. That’s where sports can come in.

My in-laws will probably not believe I’m saying this, much less writing it for others to read. I am very much not a sports fan. I watch the Super Bowl for the commercials and the World Series for love of my baseball-fanatic husband. I played tee-ball all of about three times, kickball half a dozen, and soccer twice.

All that to say, I’m not an athlete. But when it became a choice of stay home alone or go golfing, no way was I going to be left behind. And thanks to this spontaneous outing I realized I didn’t have to be a good athlete to still enjoy the game and get some good activity. My normal hobbies are not very physically demanding, but if I decide that playing a sport is fun and relaxing, suddenly I’m outside, moving, and improving instead of spending more time in a chair.

Golf turned out to be a shoulder and back workout and a good mile and a half of outdoor walking. Not to mention carrying the clubs: I pulled mine on a small cart, but every little bit counts.

Lake Ridge Park has a nice 9-hole, par-3 course that was perfect for a beginner and much less expensive than a full course. It also only took about an hour and a half to complete.

My husband/instructor/playing partner taught me the basics and gave me some practice at the driving range (where you stand at a tee and just hit the ball over and over into a net so you can get the feel for it before every stroke counts). Then we rented some clubs and a pull-cart for me (for a total of $8), got us both a round on the course (for a total of $30), and started out.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn’t as impossible to get the ball across to the hole as I had originally feared. Of course this was mostly thanks to my patient and encouraging instructor. So for those of you who aren’t experts already, here are some basics I learned from my first couple outings (yes, I have now gone twice!) that really made it an enjoyable experience:

Learn some terms

Googling “golf terms” can quickly get overwhelming because there are a lot of them. But for a simple beginner game, there are really only few you need to learn:

Par: The number of strokes an experienced player should make on a hole (i.e. for Lake Ridge Park’s par-3, a good player should get the ball into the hole in three strokes).
The green: The low-cut grassy area where the hole is located.
Names of some of the clubs and what situations they are good for: irons hit farther, the lower the number the farther the ball should go; the pitching wedge is to pop the ball a short way onto the green; and the putter is for once you are on the green to actually knock the ball into the hole.
Of course there are many, many other terms to learn to be proficient in the game, but I got through just fine with these. A few others came up here and there throughout the game—bogey, birdie, chip, hook—but they were easily explained as we went and, frankly, did not change my playing abilities.

Learn basic game etiquette

I think this is even more important than learning the rules and terms. The rules are fairly basic and you can pick them up more as you go along and encounter various situations (like what does a “drop” mean?). But learning some basic etiquette can make all the difference for your fellow players’ enjoyment and a good all-around experience.

Quiet: Just about everyone knows this rule. Don’t make noise when someone else is hitting their ball.
Give up lost balls: If you lose your ball, you can look for a couple minutes, but take a penalty rather than keep everyone waiting on you.
Rake sand bunkers: There are rakes in the sandtrap bunkers that you should use to smooth out the sand and erase your footsteps and ball marks once you get out.
Fix ball marks: These are dents on the green made by your ball and can damage the course or hamper others' putting. It takes just a couple seconds to fix, but make sure you understand how so you don’t cause more damage.
Green rules: Don’t walk across a player’s putting line, i.e. between their ball and the hole. Step over or walk around it, so your footprints don’t change the green’s surface.
Carts: Be mindful where you leave them and never take them on the green.
Play with someone better than you

Seriously, don’t worry about your score or “winning” at the start. Go with someone who is willing to show you how to grip the clubs, which clubs to use when, give you tips on your stance, and is even willing to give you a freebie do-over shot (apparently called a "mulligan") here and there when the ball goes all of two inches. You want to be learning, but don’t worry about being competitive.

Lake Ridge’s course has a great scoring cap rule: you can’t score worse than a six on any one hole, you stop counting after that. So don’t worry about it and have fun. Just try to do a little better than your last time. I was happy to not hit into a single sand bunker the second time I was out there, and I didn’t lose a single ball. I also never quite made par on any hole, but I got close once and the rest of the time was still steady improvement over my first game.

There are many ways to get basic golf instruction, even if you don’t have a friend/spouse willing and able to teach you the ropes. Of course you can always take a lesson, but there are also golf leagues where the more experienced golfers help newer players improve. Lake Ridge Park has a ladies’ golf league that meets weekly and consists of players who are just starting all the way through the well-experienced. This league offers a “Big Sister” program where you can team up with a more experienced golfer for several games in a row before you are set loose.

Dress the part

Ok, no I didn’t wear a golf hat, polo, and khaki shorts. But you should have comfortable, loose clothing. It gets hot out there walking the holes. I was pretty distraught the first time when my husband told me that I couldn’t wear sandals, but I ended up being glad for my tennis shoes when I had to walk up some hills. Some courses might not even allow tennis shoes, instead requiring actual golf shoes, depending on how hoity-toity they are. Regardless, never wear cleats!

Also make sure you bring a water bottle. Lake Ridge Park’s course graciously stationed water dispensers at the fourth and seventh holes, but I can’t speak for other courses.

Relax and have fun!

This ought to be obvious with any sport, but golf does have a reputation of being frustrating if you aren’t going into it with the right attitude. One of the great things about golf, however, is that the more relaxed you are, the better you will perform. This was evident even with my two times out on the course: if I tried really hard to hit the ball, I missed, sent half the ground with it, or watched it roll a mere few feet. But, on the other hand, if I just relaxed and let myself swing through, not only was it more fun, but more productive.

So of course this is not a complete, all-you-need-to-know synopsis on the game. But it was enough to get me started and out in the fresh air and sunshine, moving, walking, and having fun doing it.

Article by Cherise Curby

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Speed, Not Strength: Key To Long Drives

2011-08-03T06:51:00.000-07:00

So you made a 25-foot putt for a birdie. Nice.

You got up and down from a buried bunker lie. Well done.

You hit a 300-yard drive?

Whoa. Now that really is fantastic.

Darrell McDonald of Mill Woods Golf Club explains why using your putter when you're near the green can be more effective than chipping.
Photograph by: Shaughn Butts

Most golfers want to hit the ball farther. It doesn’t really even matter if it lowers your score. It’s a matter of pride.

“It’s why when you go to a driving range hardly anyone is practising with their wedge or 8-irons,” says Darrell McDonald, executive head pro at Mill Woods Golf Club in Edmonton. “They’ve almost all got the big stick in their hands.”

The question is how can you do it? How can you add another 15 to 20 yards to your drive?

The key, not surprisingly, is to increase your clubhead speed. For every one mile per hour of swing speed, says Kyle Crawford, associate professional at Edmonton’s Broadmoor public golf course, you will gain about three yards.

“Clubhead speed plus centredness of contact equals maximum distance,” said Greg Kincade, head professional at the Edmonton Country Club. “Nothing more. Nothing less.

“If your body only allows you to swing at 80 miles per hour and a tour player’s body allows them to swing a club at 115 miles per hour, guess what? The Tour player will hit it a mile past you.”

“It’s speed not strength,” says Gary Ward, general manager at the Edmonton Country Club. “I’m not very strong but I can generate a lot of speed.”

That said, the question remains: how do you swing faster but not harder?

That’s where “lag” comes into play.

Lag, whose definition is to stay behind, is exactly that in golf — the ability to keep your hands ahead of the clubhead before you actually hit the ball. The hands lead; the clubhead trails.

“Most people struggle with distance because they release the club early,” says Mike Belbin, last year’s Alberta PGA player of the year. “Like a hitter in baseball, the release point is at the ball. Not before.”

“Lag is the key to length,” says Chris Toth, assistant pro at Riverside Golf Course in Edmonton. “That and a full shoulder rotation.

“Take a look at pictures of someone like Sergio Garcia. He’s what? Maybe five-feet-seven and 155 pounds. Yet he hits it a mile. His hands are basically in front of him yet the club is at his right shoulder on the down swing.

“It’s the same thing with two-time world long drive champion Jamie Sadlowski. He’s about five-foot-ten and 165 pounds. But, he can hinge his right wrist as far as his left wrist. His hands are so high in the air.”

“The longer you can maintain clubhead lag the longer the ball will travel.”

Toth said that lag is also why, when you are watching a PGA player — especially someone like Fred Couples — their swings look so effortless.

“The biggest thing the average player doesn’t understand is that they need to hold the club through the hitting zone and have a late wrist release,” says Jeff Cuthbertson, head pro at Cougar Creek Golf Resort in Edmonton.

Instead, Cuthbertson says most amateurs expend their energy at the top of the swing. Their first move is to cast the club — like they were casting a fishing pole — away from the body and to do that they have to move their hands and wrists which is way too early. You have to accelerate through the hitting zone.

“The move we want to see is one that has the right elbow move down and in toward our bodies to start our downswing.

“If done correctly, at the half-way-down point the butt end of the club should be pointed at or just in front of the golf ball,” Cuthbertson says. “This will leave your hands and wrists fully cocked and ready to release the club thru the hitting zone. This delayed release of the hands is what causes clubhead lag and increases clubhead speed.”

Another important variable in hitting it long is to stay relaxed.

“Keeping a loose grip and zero tension will allow you to hit the ball farther and more accurately,” says Crawford.

“People get too tense and they can’t get the club going fast enough,” says Ward. “You also can’t create lag if you are too tight. It might feel like you have lots of strength but there is no speed. And again, it’s speed not strength that matters.”

Several Alberta PGA pros said that increased flexibility is also a must, which is why Murray McCourt, general manager and executive professional at The Ranch Golf and Country Club in Acheson, Alta., says taking up yoga and stretching are great ways to hit the ball farther.

“The increased flexibility from yoga classes is becoming a way that many golfers are generating more flexibility and hitting the ball further. Improving the strength in your core will enable you to make a stronger, faster move on your downswing which will increase clubhead speed.”

As much as anything, you need a good swing.

“You cannot sidestep hitting it ‘well’ before trying to hit it far if you would still like to know where your ball is going,” says Dave Lengyel, head teaching professional at RedTail Landing Golf Club in Edmonton.

“At any given time I am able to increase my club head speed a fair amount by swinging a little farther back around with a bigger shoulder turn — increasing my arc — and making sure that I stay as loose as possible — tight muscles are ‘slow’ muscles — and releasing the club — unhinging the wrists as late as possible before impact. The problem is that every time I try to chase after an extra 10 or 15 yards with the driver I start missing the centre of the club face and lose the predictability of where that silly ball is going. So we are left with this simple rule to follow: swing only as fast as you can without losing good swing fundamentals or balance.”

“If you can’t consistently make ball contact with the centre of the club you will never hit the ball very far,” said Kincade.

Unfortunately, even if you follow all of these tips, you might still not be able to hit it much farther than you do now.

“Hank Haney once said in one of our PGA teaching seminars that trying to get someone to hit the ball further is like asking them how to run a 100-yard dash faster. How do you explain to someone how to move their body quickly? Either you can do it or you can’t.”

“Unfortunately,” adds McDonald, “It’s like other sports. You either skate fast or you skate slow. You either run fast or you run slow.

And if all else fails?

“Spinach,” says Trevor Goplin, head pro at The Derrick Golf and Winter Club in Edmonton.

“Or,” says Kevin Hogan, golf pro at Victoria Golf Course in Edmonton, “move up to the forward tees when no one is watching.”

Article by Curtis Stock
For women's golf apparel shop Pinks and Greens

Raising a Golfer: A Parent's Guide

2011-08-01T08:14:00.000-07:00

Over the past decade the Junior Golf Industry has become big business. Numerous Junior-only equipment, training aid, and apparel companies have sprung up, not to mention the countless number of junior tours and college recruiting/resume services that have come along. Undoubtedly, there is amble opportunity for junior golfers, starting even as early as a few years old, to develop their game and have numerous opportunities for playing both recreationally and competitively. With so much out there to choose from, where should a parent start in planning the roadmap for their junior golfer’s development? No need to worry, I'm here to help.

First Things First
My first bit of advice is simple; no matter what age your child is when they get started, make sure that having fun is #1. Whatever your aspirations may be for your child with golf, you need to remember (and remind your child) that it's just a game. In my mind golf is the greatest game known to man, and perhaps you feel the same, but if your child does not see things that way that's fine. Even if your child does grow to love the game and winds up devoting a great deal of time with it, make sure they grow up to be a well rounded individual. Encourage them to play other sports or develop other talents in areas such as art and music.

What Next?
Before they pick up a club I highly recommend that you start your child out by teaching them some of the most important principles of the game. These initial teachings do not even require a club or a ball. The most wonderful thing about the game of golf lies in these principals. What are these principals? I'm speaking about the Etiquette and Rules of the game. Golf is historically an honorable game, the idea of a game where a participant is more or less self policing themselves cannot be found in many (if any) other games. The aspects of etiquette within the game mirror that of the way people should act in everyday life, with respect and concern for others. The moral core of golf which will resonate throughout your child's entire life are unquestionably what makes golf, in my opinion, the greatest game in the world. For more information on the Rules of Golf log onto the USGA's website and there page on The Rules. For more information on Golf Etiquette log onto Mr. Golf Etiquette and the USGA's website and there page on Etiquette.

Finding an Instructor
Now that your child has been primed on the core values of the game, its time to look for an instructor. One great resource for starting your search is right where you're at right now, PGA.com. Look at the top of the page at the site page options, go to PGA of America and in the drop down box and go to Juniors at the bottom OR go to the Instruction page. Both areas have a search area to find a PGA Professional in your local area. Another great resource is the Junior Links website. Junior Links is the ultimate junior golf website.

Finding the Right Equipment
When it comes to looking for the right equipment, you have a lot to choose from. Most of the major golf club companies make junior sets. I would suggest however to initially look at a junior specific golf equipment manufacturers such as Accu-Length or US Kids Golf My personal recommendation is purchasing a set of clubs from US Kids Golf. Studies have shown that a large number of juniors develop their swings using faulty equipment that leads to lifelong swing flaws. Historically, kids learned the game with adult clubs that were cut down to junior size, but were still way too heavy and unbalanced which made learning the game difficult for even the most athletic kids. That's why equipment from companies like US Kids Golf or Accu-Length makes the most sense for junior golfers. Log onto www.USKidsGolf.com and www.acculength.com for more info.
In addition, a great new junior golf company called The Littlest Golfer has developed a great set of clubs for the very young golfers, ages 3-6. Their clubs, with a patent-pending forced grip will be ideal for the “Pee-Wee” golfers. Look for those clubs to be released very soon. Log onto www.TheLittlestGolfer.com for more information on these clubs and everything else that TLG has to offer.

Where to Play
Most golf courses are very accommodating to junior golfers. Some set aside specific times when juniors are allowed to play so be aware of that. I suggest looking for a course that offers junior or "family tees." Recently, the PGA of America and U.S. Kids Golf announced the establishment of The PGA of America Family Course Program. This program is a nationwide initiative that is intended to provide PGA Golf Professionals a means to make golf enjoyable for all members of a family, regardless of age and ability. Log on to the Play Golf America website or the US Kids Golf website for more information. We recently installed these tees at my facility in Winter Park, FL and the initial response has been extremely positive. Keep in mind that this is a new program so more and more golf facilities will be adding these tees as time goes by.

What to Wear
Now that your child has a grasp on the essence and rules of the game, has a quality instructor, good, well fitting equipment, and a place to play, they need to "dress the part" of a golfer. As with most of the major golf equipment companies, most of the major golf clothing manufacturers have junior apparel lines. I however suggest checking out a newer junior golf apparel company called The Littlest Golfer (www.TheLittlestGolfer.com). TLG has an excellent selection of shirts, hats, outerwear, and accessories for boys and girls of all ages. Their apparel is second to none in quality and the clothing is tailored specifically with children in mind.

Be Realistic
If your junior golfer turns out to become a good golfer you need to remember to be realistic in your potential expectations for them. The quantity of quality junior golfers today is great, and in reality there are only a handful of college scholarships available for the vast number of juniors out there. If your son or daughter can make the cut on the course, make sure what they do off the course is equally as impressive. Make sure that they are true student-athletes and that their grades are up to par. Also make sure that they are well rounded and are active in extracurricular activities away from the course. This will make all the difference. From a competitive playing stand point, make sure your child plays in as many quality and high profile events as possible. Log onto the American Junior Golf Association website and the National Junior Golf Scoreboard site for more information on playing opportunities. If your son or daughter indeed has what it takes to play at the college level then you should consider using one of the several golf scholarship and resume writing services out there. I personally recommend checking out The Golf Bridge Company.

Professional Golfer vs. Golf Professional
A Professional Golfer is an individual who makes a living by playing golf (i.e. Tiger Woods) and a Golf Professional (notice the order of words) is an individual who makes a living in the business of golf. For more information on the classifications of Golf Professionals as designated by The PGA of America, click here.

If your son or daughter is not quite a tour quality golfer (Don't worry, very few are) there is still tremendous opportunities out there for a career in golf. The PGA of America offers an in-depth training program for those interested in a career in the golf business. The PGA Professional Golf Management Program is the vehicle needed to have your child navigate their way toward a rewarding career in the golf business. Log on to the PGA CareerNet website and go to the PGA and You section for more information. There are two ways to earn your Class A classification in the PGA of America. The first is going through the PGA PGM Program at one of the 20 universities throughout the country that offer this degree program. The second is by going through the program in a self study manor while being employed at a PGA recognized golf facility.

The 18th Hole
As you can see there are endless opportunities out there for your son or daughter within the wonderful game of golf. What I gave you is just a small sampling of the resources available to you if your child shows an interest in the game. If you have any questions on Junior Golf please feel free to contact me at brendonelliott@pga.com or log onto my website www.BrendonElliottGolf.com and go to the Junior Golf Central page for more information.

For women's golf apparel to sport on an outing with your little one shop Pinks and Greens
by Brendon Elliott for PGA

British Open fashion: Cargos, capris and over-lapping

2011-08-01T06:47:00.000-07:00

Morgan Pressel of the USA hits an approach shot during the second round of the 2011 Ricoh Women's British Open in Carnoustie, Scotland.

The dreary weather at the Ricoh Women’s British Open at the acclaimed Carnoustie Golf Links in Angus, Scotland, has swept in a ray of sunshine on the fairway fashion front. It has forced the ladies to be a little more inventive with their wardrobes.

And by inventive I mean how to make pants look cute, sexy and fashionable. Of course, we still have the basics down to a tee with the usual cute earrings, perfect hair, snazzy manicures and more.

Have you ever wondered how to make those cold-weather days on the course look good? If so, make sure you tune in to this weekend’s British Open fashion show. The temperature is expected to be in the 50s and lower 60s, so this means plenty of trousers, sweater vests and creative over-lapping.

What we took from the first couple of brisk rounds was a guide to give you fair-weathered players a reason to hit the links on bone-chilling days. Besides, we need to toughen up like our friends across the pond.

Here are our favorite bundled-up looks thus far:

1. Elegant minimalist: Morgan Pressel

Although there isn’t anything minimal about her vibrant orange, dangling earrings and perfectly groomed ponytails, Morgan just looks flat-out elegant. That was the first word that came to mind when I saw her outfit. With the long-sleeved polo and the snug white trousers it makes me think this is something Kate Middleton would wear if she played golf.

2. Bottom-line pizzazz: Michelle Wie

You cannot go wrong with a little color on the bottom line. I am not saying to go all out Meaghan Francella style, but anything with a little pop - notice the emphasis on the little - color and not patterns. Besides plaids, patterns are never a great idea for pants; I don’t care who you are. However, we love the stylist hues of Michelle Wie’s slacks.

3. Coordinating queen: Paula Creamer

It's par for the course - Paula Creamer coordinates beautifully, again. She has absolutely mastered the head-to-toe color-coordinating palette, and it is a look that never goes wrong. If you are going to use a bright color such as pink then you have to make it work in the subtle spots she does; hat, shirt, belt and shoes. The look is classy and priceless. Let’s just hope we get to see those socks again this year!

4. Over-lap attack: Sandra Gal

I’m not too sure if this is a usual German ensemble, but we like it! It is a fresh why to show your style and never bore your fashionable fans. It is exciting to know that we don’t have to leave our favorite skort in the closet on these chilly days - we just pair them with tights or skinny pants. The same goes for our sleeveless polos. Kudos to Gal for giving us a new look to emulate!

5. Rain-gear galore: Dewl Claire

The most obvious and toasty option of them all is the garment we all have in our closets - rain gear. But there is a new twist to Claire’s stylish Puma gear - bright and bold! If you want to make a fashion statement but still keep that easy-to-throw on rain gear option, you must trade in your traditional black for color… and we’ll even let you go all-out and buy patterned rain gear.

For women's golf apparel shop Pinks and Greens

Article by Ashley Crain , Photo credit to Getty Images

Oily Skin Solutions: Sweatproof Your Face for Summer

2011-08-01T06:15:00.000-07:00

A fringe benefit of breaking a sweat at the gym? Besides cooling and detoxifying the body, sweat cleanses pores of dirt, dead skin cells, and excess oil. (Just be sure that a towel is within arm’s reach; allowing these released toxins to sit on your face too long can result in reclogging and breakouts.) But what happens when your sweaty brow is due to hot weather—and not a hot workout? Here, five ways to keep shine in check.

1. Maintain a Balanced Complexion
It’s only natural that you want to splash your face with cool water and cleanser more often during summer. But too much suds and H20 can strip skin of moisture and cause sebaceous glands to work overtime, resulting in a rebound effect (read shinier, oilier skin). Stick to deep cleansing twice daily and for midday touch-ups use a gentle toner like Boscia Clear Complexion Tonic or pre-moistened facial wipes.

Other skin care don’ts that can cause irritation and imbalance: using overly intense acne treatments and exfoliating improperly. “It’s important not to use products aimed at teenage acne,” dermatologist Howard Murad, MD, told ELLE's Johanna Cox for her article on how to get clear skin. “Those products target violent hormonal acne, which is a very different condition from what women in their twenties through forties have. What you need are calming agents with anti-inflammatory ingredients.” A great blemish-buster to try: Votre Vu Au Revoir! Trouble Spot Treatment. Disinfecting, healing, and anti-inflammatory, the powdery mixture visibly reduces pimples overnight.

In terms of exfoliating, dermatologist Jeanine Downie, MD, recommends using a glycolic cleanser daily and doing mechanical exfoliation around four times a week (sensitive skin types can do less often; oilier skin types can do more often). “To avoid irritation, look for exfoliators that contain spherical, pliable microbeads versus grains with rough, scratchy edges,” she says.

2. Switch to a Lighter Moisturizer
The thick, emollient face cream you use during winter isn’t necessary for summer since the outside elements aren't as harsh and drying. Though a more nourishing antiaging formula is fair game for overnight—it can enhance the skin cell regeneration and collagen production that naturally occur during REM sleep—your daytime lotion should be light. After applying moisturizer in the morning, makeup artist Angela Levin recommends laying a tissue flat on your face and gently tapping (“the tissue will pick up any excess moisture”).

3. Use a Non-Drying Foundation Primer
To make skin stay smoother and shine-free longer, Levin says to apply a primer prior to foundation. The ideal primer should be oil-free and oil-absorbing yet nourishing and non-drying. Ones to try: Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Light, Laura Mercier Oil-Free Foundation Primer, and Cargo Blu Ray High Definition Mattifier.

4. Wear the Right Makeup
As with primers, an oil-free yet non-drying formula is key when choosing the perfect foundation. Those with oily skin might try CoverGirl Clean Oil Control Makeup, which contains oil absorbers and conditioning ingredients. Combination and sensitive skin types can dab on Revlon PhotoReady Makeup which in addition to being oil-free also contains SPF 20. For the best sweat-proof eye makeup, invest in a long-wearing cream eye shadow and water-resistant eyeliner.

5. Carry Blotting Papers
If in spite of your best efforts, oil and sweat still seep through your flawless finish, always have a pack of blotting papers tucked away in your purse. Shiseido Pureness Oil-Control Blotting Paper contains a touch of powder, while Sephora and Boscia versions come powder-free.

For women's golf apparel shop Pinks and Greens

By: Emily Hebert for Elle

Troon Golf trots out new junior lesson incentive

2011-08-01T06:04:00.000-07:00

You’ve probably heard of golf courses that give complimentary green fees to juniors with paying adults. Now Troon Golf has put another twist on the concept: complimentary golf instruction for kids who take lessons with a paying adult.

“Making golf instruction more accessible to junior golfers is a key component to both growing the game and ensuring that young players are developing their skills and having fun,” said John Easterbrook, executive vice president, operations for Troon. “The golf course is an ideal setting for families, and Troon Family Golf makes it easier for people to gather and enjoy quality time as a family.”

This novel concept might have a side benefit as well. If a parent or guardian can get a free lesson for a child, perhaps it’s enough incentive for the adult to take a lesson in the first place.

Not all lessons are created equal, of course, and some pros are better than others at teaching. But part of the problem in growing the game is that it’s just so darn difficult, and many golfers make it harder by spending money on new equipment rather than getting instruction. Knowing their kids can benefit could be the carrot to get a few more people to the lesson tee in general.

But at the very least, it can help get a youngster out on the right foot, and that’s important. While there are plenty of success stories of golfers who are self-taught, it’s really not the formula for success. Starting a kid out early with good fundamentals enhances the chances of proficiency and enjoying the game.

The offer is good at participating Troon-managed facilities around the world. In addition to free junior golf instruction, Troon Family Golf still allows juniors to play for free after 3 p.m. when playing with a paying adult. That includes complimentary junior rental clubs at more than 90 participating facilities ? 365 days a year.

Guests can book their next round as a family by contacting their favorite Troon facility and mentioning the Troon Family Golf program. The offer is based on availability, golf lessons must be taken together with the same instructor, and juniors are defined as golfers 15 years of age and under. For more information on the program, visit TroonGolf.com.

Article by Mike Bailey

For women's golf apparel shop Pinks and Greens

Women's Only Golf Day: Ladies Hit The Links By Storm

2011-07-29T08:30:00.000-07:00

"We're having a blast, we don't want it to end," I overheard a participant say as women flooded the Black Oak Golf Course doors to gain shelter from the rain at the FREE Women's Only Golf Day on Monday, July 25th.

The event was sponsored by The New Jersey PGA with co-sponsorships by Lincoln and Pinks and Greens and featured lunch, lessons from PGA professionals, a team scramble and a wine tasting all for the mere cost of...... NOTHING. And they say nothing comes free anymore.

The event was designed in an effort to make golf a more welcoming and less intimidating sport for women and to invite women to meet and interact with other women sharing the same love for the game. With an estimated 60 pre-registered women from teens to retired professionals attending the golf clinic which welcomed and encouraged women of all levels to attend; its safe to say our efforts were successful. Women with little knowledge to seemingly expertise players participated, though even the golfing veterans seemed to pick up a few new tips.

"The putting and chipping was very good and informative," said Patty Helmstetter, a long time player who attended the event with three of her girlfriends. When asked to comment on the combination of golf and wine she quickly responded, " next time maybe wine before we go play."

The wine tasting portion of the day was initially scheduled to conclude the day, however was moved earlier in timing when a storm interrupted the ladies lesson sessions. During this time, raffles including donated pieces from Pinks and Greens were drawn leaving several women fully equipped to look great on their next golf outing.

It was evident the ladies were enjoying their day and Mother Nature's tantrum was clearly a disappointment to many. Undoubtedly, we will see many familiar faces return for the next clinic to be held in September.

In the meantime- rain or shine-; NJ ladies had a great time at Golf Day with the back nine.

For women's golf apparel shop Pinks and Greens

Golf Get-aways For The Whole Family

2011-07-27T10:20:00.000-07:00

A view of the sixth hole (par 3) across the water at Pine Beach Golf Links in Haenam, South Jeolla. The hole offers a challenge for golfers because the ball needs to cross a water hazard. Golfers need to go around to get there. Pine Beach is often compared to the legendary Pebble Beach of California. Provided by Pine Beach Golf Links

Vacation season is here, school is out, and all you want to do is hit the links. Take the kids with you next time to one of the several golf resorts that offer more than pristine fairways and greens.

A number of resorts offer a variety of outdoor activities that won’t leave your loved ones bored, allowing you to golf to your heart’s content while also giving you a chance to spend quality time with the family.

In particular, golf resorts nestled in the country’s mountainous regions, replete with forests for miles around, offer the best facilities that are also removed from the traditional tourist spots, usually filled to the brim with vacationers.

In addition to offering easy access to the golf course, the resorts provide a one-stop destination for a variety of outdoor activities, making them ideal for golfing in the morning and joining the family for further fun later in the day.

left to right: Plaza CC Seorak in Mount Seorak, Hilton Namhae Golf & Spa Resort, and the Phoenix Park Golf Club. Provided by the resorts

Oak Valley in Wonju, Gangwon

Oak Valley, as its name suggests, has stretches of oak trees jutting across the resort like walls. Located in a valley, the golf resort boasts fantastic views and a European-style condominium.

Designed by world-renowned golf course architect Robert Trent Jones Jr., the resort consists of two villages - one for golf and one for ski. Among the different country clubs that make up the golf village is Oak Valley Country Club (36 holes), which offers four courses: Oak, Maple, Pine and Cherry.

Another club is the Oak Hills Country Club (18 holes), which is made up of two courses. When the nine holes from the Public Course and Oak Creek are combined, Oak Valley has a total of 63 holes.

Oak Valley is holding its Midsummer Festival through Aug. 20. Along with various foods on sale, a range of K-pop musicians - f(x), Dal Shabet, Jewelry, Boohwal, Park Wan-kyu, Jinju, Chung Kyung-wha and Ju Hyun-mi - will be singing live every Friday and Saturday night. From Sundays to Thursdays, less famous bands perform on the outdoor stage. Families will have a variety of activities to do together, such as making mozzarella cheese, ice cream and pizza as well as a water balloon throwing competition and a watermelon seed spitting contest.

Deogyusan Resort in Muju, North Jeolla

Deogyusan Resort, located at an altitude of 900 meters, stays cool even in the summer. Designed by the legendary Arnold Palmer, the country club has been built without destroying the original topography.

Hotel Tirol, whose exterior looks like an Austrian hotel, and European-style shops make you feel like you are in the Alps. Hotel Tirol has 1,510 rooms and charges a minimum of 380,000 ($361) won per night. Consider Gukmin Hotel for more affordable accommodation. The 418-room hotel offers nightly rates between 30,000 won and 110,000 won.

A 15-minute gondola ride will take you to Seokcheon peak of Mount Deogyu at an altitude of 1,520 meters. Or you can try the resort’s water slide or crisscross the grounds on an all-terrain vehicle. Go-kart racing and paintball games are popular among children. The resort is hosting diverse stage performances featuring a saxophonist, pianist, jazz trio and magicians until Aug. 21. The shows start at 7 p.m. every day.

Hilton Namhae Golf & Spa Resort in Namhae, South Gyeongsang

If you want to golf by the ocean, Hilton Namhae Golf & Spa Resort might be the best option. Spreading across 730,000 square meters, the 18-hole golf course has 11 holes that overlook the ocean. At four holes, you can hit a shot across the water. Standing on the tee of the fourth hole, the resort’s signature hole, you will probably think the green is floating on the ocean.

The resort has 150 suites and 20 private villas - all overlooking the ocean and the course. There is also an indoor and outdoor spa as well as a so-called hot zone, which is made of red clay, and an ice zone, which contains amethyst. The resort’s professional therapists can relieve your fatigue with customized massage programs.

Although Pine Beach Golf Links in Haenam, South Jeolla, and Golden Beach Golf Resort in Yangyang, Gangwon, are not resorts, they are equipped with “golftels,” enabling families to stay overnight. Pine Beach is known for its scenery while Golden Beach offers views of both the eastern coast and Daecheong peak of Mount Seorak. While there, you can also try the fresh seafood.

By Moon Seung-jin

For Women's Golf Apparel shop Pinks and Greens

Women Keep Their Course Beautiful

2011-07-27T10:12:00.000-07:00

We know all too well the challenges women golfers face and have personally found it hard to stumble upon fellow females who are willing to hit the links. There's something about the idea of a whole bunch of women teaming up to play golf that we love, but these ladies take it one step further by inspiring. In tough times, a group of avid golf players teamed up to make sure their course kept the beautiful and of course, girly traits that they had come to know and love throughout their playing years. Here's the story:

The poor economy has hurt places like Reid Golf Course in Appleton, where flower beds have had to be phased out.

But a local women’s golf league stepped in with a donation of rose bushes to help spruce up the golf course.

“We want to beautify the golf course, seeing we play there every Tuesday,” said Marilyn Ossian, 75, of Appleton and president of the Flower League.

The area group has been around over 50 years, starting in the early 1950s as a group of neighborhood friends golfing together as couples. Then the ladies decided to form a golf league.

Ossian joined in 1992 after working as a church receptionist.

“We’re casual and we’re fun,” she said. “We’re out there for the friendship and the exercise.”

Members range in age from 50 to 85 years old. They tee off early in the morning on Tuesday and often meet afterward for breakfast. Also during the year they meet socially for luncheons, a jamboree and a Christmas party.

Ossian said the league enjoys playing at Reid Golf Course.

“We love the course because it’s so well maintained,” she said. “They do a really good job.”

The group was sad to see the flower beds disappear. Knowing the golf course did not have the money, the Flower League decided to make a donation of seven red rose bushes, which have been placed at the No. 17 tee.

“They’re supposed to get three feet by three feet,” said Ossian. “They should really fill in.”

The flowers benefit both the golf course and those who use it, said Ossian.

“We’re all to the point that we’ve enjoyed life and I think we want to beautify and make life look prettier for other people,” she said.

The Flower League also gets to enjoy the fruits of the donation.

“When we are out there, we can feel like we’ve donated something to beautify the course,” said Ossian. “We were happy to do that project.”

Nancy Allen of Appleton, 74, who joined the league four years ago, agreed.

She likes knowing that the rose bushes will be around for some time, adding color to the golf course.

“When you see that, it just is nice, being outside with some of the colors that we have in the summer,” she said.

Golf superintendent Doug DeVries is especially grateful for the donation from the Flower League and would welcome such donations from other leagues as well.

“I think it’s a good cooperative agreement with a user group and the golf course,” he said.

The golf course used to have seven lower flower beds. But with funding cutbacks, the beds disappeared, DeVries said.

“Flower beds on a golf course are an important thing,” he said, adding that such details help dress up the course.

Ossian also is hopeful other leagues will follow suit to bring improvements to the golf course.

“What we’re hoping to encourage is anybody else that would like to contribute to the flowers on the course,” she said. “I’m sure grounds would appreciate that.”

Written by Linda Dums for The Post-Crescent

For comfortable and fashionable golf attire for women shop Pinks and Greens

Teeing off for the first time a memorable experience

2011-07-26T12:25:00.000-07:00

LONG VALLEY — I can’t play golf. I have nothing to wear.

I had that realization not long after Scott Kmiec, the executive director of the New Jersey PGA, talked me into signing up for a free ladies’ clinic.

That’s another reason I can’t play golf. I’m not a lady. I’m a sportswriter. And as such, I tell stories about people who can play games. I don’t play them myself.

Yet, I showed up at Black Oak Golf Club on Monday in a brand new, hot pink polo shirt I bought on clearance and plaid shorts which may originally have been part of the Brooks Brothers golf collection circa summer ’08 — ready to swing a long metal tube at a dimpled white ball.

But first I had to learn how to hold the darn thing.

This isn’t a baseball bat. Not that I really know what to do with one of those.

Bryan Jones, director of instruction at Black Oak, actually used the baseball technique so I could figure out how my wrists were supposed to break. That club sure felt light whipping it from over my right shoulder. Don’t hitters say a fastball looks as small as a golf ball? But I don’t think I could’ve hit it that way.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t really hit it off the grass, either, though I created some mighty divots while trying.

Jones said all that dead grass was a good sign. Of what, I’m still not sure.

Over and over, I adjusted my grip so my thumbs pointed straight down the shaft, pulled back the club, and tried to just brush the grass as Jones had demonstrated. The rest of my group obviously had the technique down, judging from the bright pings. I also thought I heard former Parsippany assistant golf coach Lynn Corigliano stifle a laugh or two from her tee, directly behind me.

But I may have just been imagining things as I squinted down at that darn ball, which suddenly seemed microscopic rather than merely bite-sized.

Maybe I should have practiced.

Maria Gray of Chester, one of the few newcomers out there on Monday, played Wii golf last week to prepare. Victoria Sacco, a 24-year-old former Madison High School field hockey player, figured golf out right away even though she only started playing seriously two weeks ago.

“I was so intimidated by the idea of going out and playing,” said Sacco, the chief customer officer of Pinks and Greens, a co-sponsor of the clinic. “There’s this idea you have to be as good as (U.S. Open champion) Rory McIlroy to go out on the golf course. … But you don’t even have to be an athlete. There’s a lot more strategy.”

Well, I’m definitely not an athlete. And I didn’t have time to think up a strategy.

When I actually got the club face and golf ball to connect, I was so relieved that I actually jumped up and down and squealed. Just like a girl.

Or maybe even a lady.

Jane Havsy: 973-428-6682; jhavsy@njpressmedia.com; @dailyrecordspts; www.dailyrecord.com/writerjane/

Women learn art of playing golf at clinic

2011-07-26T12:23:00.000-07:00

LONG VALLEY — Maria Gray of Chester had never played golf before. In fact, the only reason she’d ever touched a club is because her sister, Kathleen Small, had won a set a few years ago. But Gray, Small, and their mom, Mary O’Neill, decided they wanted to learn the game.

They were among more than 60 women who braved the rain to attend a free women’s clinic at Black Oak Golf Club on Monday. Almost a dozen PGA professionals took out small groups, giving instructions on the basics of driving, chipping and putting.

Gray proudly told her husband, Scott, “I’m going to get on the golf court. That’s how little I knew about it.” She warmed up by playing Wii golf a few times last week.

But by the time the excited players were forced back into the clubhouse by the storm, Gray was hooked.

“(Our instructor Robin Curtis) said I did a good job for not knowing anything,” said Gray, a nurse and the national director of clinical education for Medivance. “At least I hit the ball where it was supposed to go.”

Margaret Bremer of Morris Township “is trying to catch up with my husband,” Scott Patterson, who has played golf since he was a child. Though athletic, Bremer still “felt pretty uncoordinated” when she first took lessons a couple of years ago.

“It was mindboggling to me that I couldn’t hit this ball,” she said. “It’s my drive and competitiveness that keeps me playing. … I thought I’d start when I’m quasi-young, so I can keep going until I’m 100.”

Women and junior golfers are the fastest-growing demographics and a key focus area for the organization. NJPGA president Bryan Jones, the director of instruction at Black Oak, said golf has changed considerably since he was the team captain at Hanover Park back in the mid-1970s.

“If you went to a private course or were a private school type of kid, golf was popular,” Jones said. “It’s now cool. That was the Tiger Woods impact. He got a bunch of kids excited. They went out and played, and that was great for the game.”

Scott Kmiec, the executive director of the New Jersey section of the PGA of America, was overwhelmed by the turnout, which ballooned from eight people last Tuesday to 56 by Wednesday afternoon.

Registration was closed on Wednesday, with more than a dozen women turned away. The NJPGA now plans to hold at least two more sessions this fall, hoping to bring out mother-daughter pairings.

“No matter how old you are, you can play,” said 59-year-old Sharon Root, a Succasunna-based podiatrist. “I play with women. I play with men. I play with my 88-year-old landlord who can no longer hit it far, but he hits it straight and beats me every time. … The glass ceiling has dropped since I started playing. Golf courses have become more friendly to women, but there’s still a long way to go.”

Jane Havsy: 973-428-6682; jhavsy@njpressmedia.com; @dailyrecordspts; dailyrecord.com/writerjane/

Six-year-old girl makes improbable hole-in-one

2011-07-13T07:45:00.000-07:00

I hope you're ready for one of the coolest, and cutest, stories you'll read all day. A 6-year-old girl named Reagan Kennedy was playing golf with her family at a course in Bloomington, Ill., when the youngster knocked her tee shot on the 85-yard par-3 in the cup for an ace.

What did Reagan do to celebrate? Absolutely nothing. Why? Because her parents had kindly asked her not to be too loud on the golf course while they were playing, so as not to disturb others.

After Reagan walked calmly to the golf cart, her family explained this was the one time it was fine to yell all she wanted.

As a man that has been around two aces between friends in the last year, I will say, no matter the age, going crazy when the ball disappears is almost a must, but I liked that Reagan made sure to respect the game even when she did the unthinkable.

Was it just a fluke for her? Not really. This is a young lady that has been golfing since the age of 2, and said she wants to be a professional, but her main goal right now is to "beat daddy."

Article by: Shane Bacon, Devil Ball Golf

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Tiger Woods: I Told You So

2011-07-13T06:52:00.000-07:00

MALVERN, Pa., June 28, 2011— Just recently, I have learned to succumb to my gut instinct. For the most part I have done that in the past, but usually in a begrudging manner. Whenever I didn’t follow my gut, things went the wrong way and I ended up kicking myself over it. This is especially true about people. Time and time again I always seem to get it right.

Most of the time when I don’t follow that gut instinct it's because the whole world is in the opposite camp. Yet it seems to turn around in my favor more often than not. This is especially true with the media, who always seem to set their judgments in concrete with little expertise or solid evidence on the subject.

Often times, those judgments are based on personal feelings. How many times have we heard very personal details about people that could realistically only be known in the privacy of one’s mind, let alone the household or meeting place? Yet those comments are automatically validated by the masses.

Well, I got it right again. Yup, I knew there was more to this guy than most gave credit. I knew he was a great guy, a regular, someone who his fellow tour pros missed for more than the purses he helped grow. Granted he has made mistakes in the recent past, but they could be forgiven if we choose to forgive them. Nonetheless, I’ve always thought the guy was not as arrogant, aloof, and cold as the majority thought.

I witnessed many a post-round interview where his responses seemed more than adequate, fair, and balanced. His commentary was always pretty frank about his own golf game. He also could recognize a stupid question and tried his best not to respond poorly. (Must every reporter ask a person how they feel after hitting an impressive milestone? See Derek Jeter after his 3,000th hit or Nick Watney after winning at Aronimink a few weeks ago among many others).

So where’s my evidence that Tiger may indeed be a pretty good guy? It's at Applebrook Golf Club in Malvern, Pennsylvania. On the same Tuesday the tour pros were gearing up for the AT&T National at Aronimink, a very special event was underway. David Feherty was hosting his third annual IED of Golf event, which is a gathering of golf pros and wounded warriors. Two organizations were behind the event, Feherty’s own Troops First Foundation and another organization called No Greater Sacrifice.

Upon request and as part of his tournament hosting duties for the AT&T National, Tiger Woods attended the affair in 2010 and gave of his time to our nations’ most fearless professionals. This time around, without a contractual obligation to host neither the AT&T National nor a reason to be in Philadelphia, he showed up anyway.

Did you not hear about this? I wonder why the media didn’t share this heartwarming generosity of time. Maybe because the media doesn’t want to give Tiger credit for anything these days or maybe because he didn’t care if they knew.

Unannounced, Tiger surprised everyone at Applebrook by spending the entire day walking the fairways with our soldiers and sharing one on one time with each and every one of them to learn about their lives, their families, and their incredible sacrifices. He never had a club in his hand, but the time he spent with them was worth more than anything he could have produced on the golf course in any other capacity.

It didn’t end on Tuesday, though. The following day Tiger arranged for a private room at Aronimink to host a luncheon in honor of these soldiers. He paid for it all out of his own pocket and never asked for a single bit of recognition or publicity.

The naysayers can spin it any way they want but the bottom line is that few of us would give our time and energy like that, even if we had all the money in the world and the connections Tiger has. I would like to think of myself as giving, but not like that. I am guilty of not reaching out to our servicemen and women for a simple thanks, let alone spending my whole day with them. One year he was contractually obligated, but the following Tiger Woods gave of his heart and time to those who deserve it most.

So let’s give him a break and not bury the guy for every burp or stumble since his run-in of November 2009 (of his own accord, of course). Let’s not analyze what happened with a so-called press conference someone thought he was to have this morning. Let’s not question what constitutes a broken leg or not. Let’s not be grief-mongers when he doesn’t exactly tell us when he will return to competition.

Instead, let’s acknowledge that the guy is human, and most likely a pretty cool one at that. Consider your life if you were constantly badgered by everyone since you were 12 years old. Please don’t give me the “that’s the price for fame” speech either. I never bought into that argument. I’m glad to say that I am a Tiger Woods fan and I hope he returns to win more majors. Just as long as he stays out of the golf course design business.

Article by: Richard Mandell / Photo by: Stephanie Wei

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The Best Low-Calorie Cocktails for Summer

2011-07-06T06:27:00.000-07:00

Whether it be stress or just the the craving for a relaxing cocktail on a hot summer day- we know how much a cocktail can often be needed and we also know all too well the guilt that comes with the indulgence. Fortunately, we've stumbled upon a few great cocktail choices that avoid calories, include fresh fruits and don't skimp on flavor. We've handpicked ( and even tasted) our five favorites to share. Cheers, ladies!

1.) Barbecued Bloody Mary (155 Calories)

With as much as 22 milligrams of lycopene, an antioxidant that may improve cardiovascular health, a Bloody Mary is the healthiest cocktail you can drink. This creative recipe transforms the classic brunch cocktail into the perfect barbecue bevvy

2.) The Farmers Market Margarita

This cocktail uses fresh and healthy ingredients, including cucumber, cilantro, and spicy jalapeno, all of which you can pick up at your local farmers market.

Ingredients: 1.25 oz. Corzo Silver, 2 sprigs of fresh cilantro, 4 slices of fresh cucumber, 2 slices of fresh jalapeno, 1 oz. fresh lime juice, 2 oz. distilled water, 2 packets of Splenda or similar 

Directions: Add all the ingredients in a mixing glass with ice, shake and serve over the rocks in an 8 oz. glass. Garnish with a lime wheel.

3.)Rocket's Red Glare (95 calories)

This fun drink is made with KU Soju, a distilled Korean liquor. it's smoother and lighter than Vodka, it's all-natural and doesn't contain any added sugars or sweeteners, making it the perfect mixer for a delicious low-cal summer cocktail.
Ingredients: 1 oz. TY KU Soju 1 oz. TY KU Liqueur Splash of Sugar-Free Cranberry Juice

Method: Mix all ingredients in a rocks glass.

4.) Asian Mojito (105 Calories)

This popular cocktail is a dramatic calorie saver—with healthy accents of fresh mint and a squeeze of lime.
Ingredients: 2 oz. TY KU Sake, fresh mint, splash of diet citrus soda, squeeze of lime, lemon, or orange.

Directions: Combine ingredients in a glass over ice and add a squeeze of your favorite citrus—lemon, lime, or orange

5.) The Italian Summer Sipper

This light and fruity sipper combines strawberries with Italian ingredients such as fresh basil and balsamic vinegar to create the perfect cocktail for warm and breezy summer nights.

Ingredients: 1.25 oz. Corzo Silver, 2 strawberries,1 sprig of fresh basil, 4 drops of balsamic vinegar, 1 oz. fresh lime juice, 2 oz. distilled water, 2 packets of Splenda or similar 

 Directions: Muddle fresh strawberries and basil in a mixing glass. Add the rest of the ingredients with ice, shake and serve over the rocks in an 8 oz. glass. Garnish with a fresh sprig of basil.

To view the full article for recipes and more cocktails visit Shape.com

For one-stop golf, tennis & resort wear visit Pinks and Greens

Another Pair of Black Workout Pants?? How Good Can They Really Be?

2011-07-01T09:02:00.000-07:00

Everyone has that favorite pair of workout pants that they wear to the gym, grocery store, quick lunch, etc…I live in mine. I want to share a little story with you about how I found them. We went to meet with one of our vendors, FILA Tennis. As we were meeting with our sales rep, the president of FILA came in to meet with us. He said “I do not know which items you are thinking about buying for tennis, but if you do not buy anything else from us you have to buy the FILA body toning bottoms.” He went on and on about them telling us how they are like no other workout pant on the market and that we would love them. He said that his wife lives in them. I was thinking to myself…okay, another pair of black workout pants from one of our vendors? I am sure that they are just like all of the others. How great can these really be? I did not really think anything of it after our meeting. Since we were ordering for tennis, we did not really have plans to carry a workout line at this point. My colleague decided to try them. After the first day of wearing them she could not stop raving about them. I was still a bit skeptical, but I thought that I needed to try them. They looked very fitted and I do not usually wear tight pants to workout. Well, I got mine and I am OBSESSED with them. They tuck and suck you in where you need it, the waist band at the top is wide and has just enough stretch so that you do not get the muffin top overhang. I love them!! I have now 5 pairs(for everyday of the week…I know a bit ridiculous.) They are $50, which is a bit steep, but they will hold up well and if you are wearing them every day, it is worth it. Order them and I guarantee you will love them.

To Shop FILA workout pants, visit:
http://www.pinksandgreens.com/fitness.html

Cell Phones Bring Fans Closer To The Game

2011-06-28T07:08:00.000-07:00

A huge sign hangs near the clubhouse entrance at Colonial Country Club listing the guidelines for cell phone use. And at the main entrance, a little down the road, there's actually a tent with folks, some of them TCU marketing majors, inside to help fans find applications for their iPhones and other mobile devices to help them follow the tournament.

That's a big change from recent years on the PGA Tour when fans would have phones confiscated at the door and held for them until they left the course. But now that phones are really mini-computers full of ways to communicate beyond simply talking, the PGA Tour is allowing fans to take them on the course with them.

So the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial and the HP Byron Nelson Championship have jumped on board, joining the social media train that is taking sporting events to new levels of fan involvement. There are still limits, of course. Here are some you'll see starting this week at the Colonial (the PGA Tour altered its cell phone policy in February, so this is the first time fans at Colonial and the Nelson can carry them on the course):

* The Colonial has set up specific "cell phone zones" where fans can actually talk on the phones without bothering the golfers. No talking is allowed on the phones anywhere else. There are 10 of those zones.

* Texting and emailing is permitted outside of those zones, but not when a golfer is preparing to hit. When you see the "Quiet Please" signs, that means no texting or emailing.

* All phones must be on silent so that no ringer goes off.

* Most phones have cameras on them and the Tour specifically bans photos taken on the course, so you may not take photos with your phones. Officials have the right to take your phone and hold it at the main entrance if they see you doing that on the course (they are likely to issue a warning first).

The Colonial hopes fans will tweet during the event and keep track of the leaderboard on their phones as well.

The Nelson, with the help of Hewlett-Packard, is hoping to encourage a lot of fan interaction using the phones.

"We're trying to reach a younger demographic and we are also trying to become one of the most tech-savvy stops on the PGA Tour," said HP's Frank Accettulli, who is in charge of the social media initiatives at the Nelson.

Among the plans the Nelson has put together:

* Tweet Reports will be posting highlights of the day, scores, updates, schedules of events.

* "Buzz Control" is an initiative designed to gather all tweets from the tournament -- anything with words or letters like HP, Nelson, HPBNC, etc., -- will be picked up by a computer system. The posts will be moderated, of course, and then many will be scrolled on the bottom of the scoreboard screens around the course (called "Twicker") and it will also be shown on "Buzz" screens throughout the course and in the pavilion and other areas. The "buzz" screens will go full screen with tweets after play is completed or if there's a lull in the action.

People that tweet love to see their tweets and have other people see their tweets," Accettulli said. "Jordan Speith is 17 years old and has huge follwing, the number of tweets about him may knock this off the charts."

For fashionable golf attire visit Pinks and Greens

By Richard Durrett
photo from myngem.com

A Babe to Remember

2011-06-27T07:47:00.000-07:00

In 2000, Sports Illustrated named its 100 top athletes of the 20th century. There are names you no doubt are familiar with — Babe Ruth, Muhammad Ali, and of course Michael Jordan. But there's also a name that might slip by: Babe Didrikson. She is the only woman in the top 10.

In the 1920s and 30s, Babe Didrikson proved a girl could be a phenomenal all-around athlete. After mastering basketball and track and field, she eventually turned to golf — and won three U.S. Women's Open championships before she died of cancer when she was only 45. This weekend, Babe Didrikson would be 100 years old.

Babe Didrikson grew up in a poor family in Beaumont, Texas, where she was often seen running around the neighborhood barefoot, causing mischief when she wasn't playing sports with the local boys and girls.

"Around the age of 12 or 13 she became aware of the Olympics and she declared she was going to become the greatest athlete of all time. She didn't say woman athlete, she just said greatest athlete."

Even though Babe wasn't concerned with the gender and class issues of the time, she soon learned that women were not supposed to play sports, and she would have to get a job with a business to play professionally for their team.

So Babe left high school to work for a company called Employers Casualty Insurance and play for their basketball team, the Golden Cyclones.

"Babe went initially and played basketball for the Employers Casualty team, and while at Employers Casualty she took up track and field (...) and within a year and a half Babe was sent by Colonel McCombs, who ran Employers Casualty Insurances' team, to Chicago to compete as a one-woman track team for a spot on the Olympic team."

Most companies that had these types of women's athletic teams would send over a dozen girls to national competitions, but McCombs knew that sending Babe alone would draw unprecedented publicity — and he truly believed Babe could win the national championship on her own.

He was right.

"Babe Didrikson won five events [broad jump, baseball throw, shot put, javelin, and 80-meter hurdles] within three hours and single-handedly won the national track championship."

In the process, she qualified for three Olympic events: the 80-meter hurdles, high jump and javelin.

An Ego The Size of Texas, Babe Didrikson knew she was good, and she wasn't afraid to brag. Van Natta says her self-confidence sometimes upset her teammates.

"She would show up and say, you know, who's going to come in second today, Babe is here! And that over-confidence — really, she was a pain in the neck — I think intimidated many of her opponents throughout her career and really worked in her favor."

The more championships Babe won the more her confidence grew. But after Babe won two gold medals and one silver medal for track and field in the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, the press turned on her and began to question her gender.

"It was all men writing nasty things about her (...) and it really did get under her skin. It bothered her a lot but she dug in and just kept at it."

Babe did eventually fall in love and get married to George Zaharias, who was a professional wrestler known popularly as "The Crying Greek from Cripple Creek."

A Golf Swing With A Twist

It wasn't until Babe was 21 that she started seriously playing golf — the sport she is best remembered for today. Not long after, she was already winning championships and would go on to win three U.S. Opens.

Babe liked to tell people she was a natural, but that wasn't entirely true.

Van Natta says Babe was a bit of a con artist; "She really knew how to turn on members of the press core with almost a fairy tale story."

"For instance, she would go out and shoot an 80 on the golf course [then] would tell the reporters that she shot a 71 or a 72. And she would justify it by saying well they don't want to hear I shot an 80, they want to hear I shot a 71. And the press bought it."

Despite her disease, Babe would make a golf comeback shortly after her diagnosis and would go on to win her third U.S. Women's Open before passing away in on Sept. 27, 1956 in Galveston, Texas.

Van Natta says she is no doubt "one of the great American forgotten athletic superstars."

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* article by : NPR Staff
photo contributed by : Hulton Archive/Getty

Feherty drives record-breaking numbers for Golf Channel

2011-06-24T06:08:00.000-07:00

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The premiere of Golf Channel’s newest original series Feherty, hosted by veteran sports personality David Feherty, debuted Monday as the most-watched series premiere in the cable network’s 16-year history.*

Feherty, coupled with the lead-in Big Break Indian Wells, also fueled Golf Channel’s Monday prime-time lineup to its highest-rated, post-U.S. Open prime-time average on record.**

The Feherty premiere eclipsed the 2009 premiere of The Haney Project: Charles Barkley as Golf Channel’s biggest series debut to date. The series is Golf Channel’s first original series created since becoming part of the NBC Sports Group.

Described as “a cross between Oprah Winfrey and Johnny Carson” by The New York Times, Feherty conducts revealing interviews with some of the biggest names in sports and entertainment the 12-part interview series. The series also gives viewers a rare look inside the brilliant yet zany mind of David Feherty as he shares his unique stories and anecdotes about the sport and life in general.

Monday’s premiere episode featured a rare interview with golf hall-of-famer Lee Trevino as he discussed his rocky path to success, reflections on the 40th anniversary of his U.S. Open victory and the current state of the game. Upcoming episodes will include interviews with basketball hall-of-famer Charles Barkley, Academy Award-nominated actor Don Cheadle, and one of the greatest golfers of all-time, Tom Watson.

Feherty capped off Golf Channel’s strong U.S. Open Week, with ratings across the network up seven percent year over year, driven by a 62 percent increase in prime time. Led by its Live From the U.S. Open news program and Morning Drive, Golf Channel aired nearly 50 hours of live news coverage from the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md. The network also aired programming throughout the week themed to golf’s second major championship of the year, including Grey Goose 19th Hole, GolfNow Washington D.C. and The Golf Fix.

* Source for most-watched season premiere: The Nielsen Company, 2009-2011 Nielsen Live+SD Reach (000); P2+;

** Source for Night: Nielsen Company, Golf Channel time period avg for HH Cvg.7p-12m (Prime) for Monday after the U.S. Open. Subject to qualifications available on request.
**Source: WorldGolf.com

About Golf Channel
Golf Channel is a multimedia, golf entertainment and services company based in Orlando, Fla. The Golf Channel cable network, co-founded by Arnold Palmer and part of the NBC Sports Group, is available in more than 120 million homes worldwide through cable, satellite and wireless companies. Exclusive partnerships with the world’s top tours allow Golf Channel to feature more live golf coverage than all other networks combined, added to a programming schedule distinguished by golf’s best news, instruction and original programming. Golf Channel’s digital platform of businesses is led by www.GolfChannel.com, a leading golf destination on the Internet, delivering unmatched coverage of the world of golf, as well as services that help the recreational player with how to play, what to play and where to play golf.

Condi Rice The former Secretary of State embraces golf and 'my inner Phil Mickelson'

2011-06-23T05:37:00.000-07:00

At the age of 50, a few months into one of the most demanding jobs in America, Condoleezza Rice took up golf. This was no mere trivial pursuit, an occasional escape from long hours in the West Wing. Six years later, Rice plays golf for the same reason she does anything: Because she wants to be really, really good at it.

Descended from slaves, and born into 1950s Birmingham, Ala. -- then the most segregated big city in America -- Dr. Rice has always been driven to achieve: Ph.D., provost of Stanford University, National Security Advisor to President George W. Bush, Secretary of State. It's as if the highest hurdles weed out all but the very strongest of jumpers. And she was blessed with wise, highly engaged parents -- who instilled in her the notion that to succeed she would have to be "twice as good" -- plus a great extended family, role models, mentors, community and education.

Rice is now a professor of political science at Stanford, where the interview with Golf Digest took place at a conference table in her cluttered corner office in the Herbert Hoover Memorial Building. The walls are lined with shelf upon shelf of weighty poli-sci tomes, interspersed with photographs of state dinners, awards and other sundry professorabilia. In person, Rice is engaging, forthright and highly expressive -- there's a light-up-the-room beam when she recalls a golf triumph, or a scalding, thunderous frown when tackling more disagreeable matters.

No matter your politics, in person it's difficult not to like her.

Golf Digest: So, golf. How did you start playing?

Condoleezza Rice: I've been an athlete all my life. I was a competitive figure skater, and then when I realized skating was not an adult sport I took up tennis and played that quite seriously from the time I was about 18. And then I went on vacation in the summer of 2005 to The Greenbrier. My cousin and her husband live on the TPC course at Sugarloaf [near Atlanta], and he'd always wanted her to play, so he gave her lessons, and he gave me buddy lessons. And I loved it.

What's the appeal of it for you? As such a high-energy person, isn't it a bit too sedate and slow-moving?

Oh, not at all. For one thing, you're outside, and when I was in Washington, I was rarely outside. Maybe that's the greatest appeal. But it's actually also a thinking-person's game. I find that I enjoy walking from shot to shot and deciding how I'm going to get out of this or that trouble. I just enjoy the strategy of it.

You've always been driven in everything you do, whether it's playing the piano, ice skating, learning to speak Russian or pursuing your career. Do you bring that same focus to your golf? Or is it just an escape?

No, I don't like anything that's "just an escape." To me the best part of golf is that, unlike my tennis game, I can actually get better. I've probably reached my plateau in tennis, but in golf I have a lot of room for improvement. I really enjoy working on my game. I like practicing. I chart my rounds.

And you have no idea where your plateau might be.

Right. That's the excitement of it.

How often do you play?

In the off-season I try to get out about once a week. If I don't play, I try to practice. In the summer, I'll get out three times a week. I live five minutes from the Stanford Golf Course.

Do you have a coach?

I do. I work here with one of the Stanford golf pros, Russ Vander Sluis. And then I have a coach in Birmingham, Eric Eshleman, who used to coach at the University of Alabama-Birmingham and was the swing coach of Graeme McDowell. So between the two of them, we're working hard to improve my game.

And what's your style of play? Are you an aggressive player or cautious or...

No, I'm very aggressive. My inner Phil Mickelson comes out quite frequently. I've played with Phil, so I can say that. I'm fairly long, but a little wild with my driver. I'm a very good putter.

How was it, playing with Phil?

He invited me to play with him in San Diego. It happened to be my birthday. And I just loved playing with Phil. We came to a maybe 170-yard carry over a barranca. At my level, most people would say, "Well, lay up." But Phil looked at me and said, "Do you have a 180-yard club?" And I said, "Yeah, my 3-wood." And he said, "Oh, go for it." It was wonderful. That's Phil's personality, and it's the way I like to play, too.

Best score?

Best score so far is 87. Playing this past summer with a friend who is a really good golfer, at Sun Valley.

And you have a Handicap Index?

I do. I'm a 16.4, which means at my home course, Stanford, I'm about a 20. Stanford's a tough course. I would like to break 90 more consistently. That's my goal. I'd like to bring my Index down so that I'm playing to about a 14-, 15-handicap by the end of the summer. And I'd like to one day get down under 10.

Any particularly great or memorable shots that stand out?

Oh, sure, I've had lots of memorable shots. The first time I played Pebble -- the only time I've played Pebble -- I really hadn't been playing that long, and I parred the first hole, and then on the par 4, the fourth, I drove the green. And then three-putted for a par because I was so nervous on the eagle putt.

Have you played with a lot of famous people, politicians, heads of state?

Well, I play with President Bush -- George W. Bush -- who has become quite dedicated to his game. He started when he was young, so he has one of those wonderful, I-played-when-I-was-14 swings that are very different from people like me who started later in life.

You're both very competitive, so do you have intense battles on the golf course?

We've been on the same teams a couple of times, and we won both times, so we're doing OK. We haven't had a head-to-head match yet. I want to be sure I'm really ready for that.

Do you play in competitions?

I just played in the Northern Trust Pro-Am, which was my first pro-am. I had a wonderful time. Steve Stricker was my wonderful pro. I was terrified on the first tee. You step up and they say, "Let me draw your attention to the first tee." And I thought, No, please don't draw your attention to the first tee. I thought to myself, Slow down, turn, don't pop it. And I hit it just fine. After that I wasn't nervous at all. Steve Stricker is a wonderful person to play with. We finished nine under. And I contributed four net birdies. So I felt pretty good about that.

Have you played overseas?

I've now played in Ireland. I went on a little trip last September with my good friend Mariann Byerwalter. Mariann's a really good golfer -- she played at Stanford in the '80s. We played Portmarnock, Royal County Down and Royal Dublin, and the K Club. It was fabulous. At Royal Dublin, we had twin birdies on their signature par 3, on 9. My tee shot was a tap-in birdie.

Did you sample the Guinness?

Of course. We learned to like it, actually.

What courses are at the top of your to-do list?

I've played a lot of great courses. But of course I'd love to play St. Andrews. Everybody wants to play St. Andrews. In the United States, I hope to play some of the great Eastern courses: Shinnecock, Winged Foot and those courses. I want to go back to Ireland and play the southern courses: Lahinch, Ballybunion.

Do you have time to read golf books?

I love Bob Rotella's books. They really play to my mental limitations. I wrote him once. I think his books have helped me think about managing the course, although I'm still way too aggressive.

What has golf taught you?

I'm a pretty good athlete. And I was sort of good at tennis right away. But golf isn't like that. It gives, and it takes away. So it's taught me to be more patient, and it's taught me to try to rein in my tendency to always go for it.

You're part of the USGA's 2012 Nominating Committee [which decides the makeup of the organization's Executive Committee]. What are your goals in golf?

This is a wonderful game. But it has some challenges. You know, tennis is a warning sign in that regard. When I started playing tennis in the mid-'70s, you couldn't get a membership, you couldn't get on a court -- it was everybody's game. And something happened. Some of it was the baby boomers like me started to realize that other things were easier on their knees. But somehow, it lost its punch. So I think golf has to work hard to be a game that's growing in the United States. And that's going to mean diversification of the golfing public. I'm a big fan of The First Tee program.

Obviously golf has had a long history of discrimination. The tour had a Caucasian-only clause up until 1961. Then there was the infamous Shoal Creek controversy in your hometown. [In the run-up to the 1990 PGA Championship, the host club's founder, Hall Thompson, told a reporter that Shoal Creek did not discriminate in any area "except the blacks." Asked about black golfers visiting the club as guests of members, Thompson replied, "That's just not done in Birmingham."] Your reaction to the controversy?

I remember it. I wasn't of course a golfer at the time. But let's remember that it was 1964 when the Civil Rights Act passed. Before that I couldn't go into a restaurant or to a movie theater in Birmingham. Our country has a history of overcoming our prejudices, overcoming our difficult past. And golf is a part of that.

How gratifying was it to join Shoal Creek, in 2008, given its past?

Well look, I didn't join Shoal Creek as a social statement. But I think it's a good statement about how far our country has come, how far Birmingham has come, and sure, every time those barriers come down you're reminded of how hard people had to fight to bring them down. But I love Shoal Creek, and I'm a proud member.

Did you ever meet Hall Thompson?

Oh, I did. In fact he was the person who I think made the first outreach to me through some common friends about joining Shoal Creek. He and his wife were nice enough to host me for dinner at the club. And I'll never forget the first time I played Shoal Creek, him coming out and standing by one of the greens to welcome me. He was a really nice man.

Did you ever talk with him about the controversy in 1990?

No, no. We all know the past. And while you should never forget your past, you have to move on.

When Tiger Woods started his pro career 15 years ago, he said one of his goals was to make golf look like America. It doesn't seem like there has been much progress. There are, for instance, very few black golfers on the PGA Tour today. Why doesn't golf look like America?

You'll start to see it. I've seen a few juniors now. When you watch the U.S. Amateur you start to see a few kids coming along. Somehow people have to know that this is a game that they can play, should play, that will be welcoming to them. And the athleticism of some of the players now, that may help to attract younger kids, too, who might say, "You know, maybe I won't play basketball, or football; maybe I'll play golf." The athleticism in the game may attract more youth, not just black youth.

It's a cultural issue.

It may be, though I've always said as a political scientist that "culture" is what we use when we can't explain things. I think it's more about accessibility. Part of the problem is that this is an expensive game. I know in a couple of places where there are black members, and they come from pretty much the same socioeconomic level that the white members come from.

Have you experienced any racism in golf?

No. I was Secretary of State when I started golf. So it's not an issue. But I'd like to think if it were a younger Condi Rice at 18 -- say I'd chosen golf, not tennis, as my sport -- I'd like to think that there wouldn't have been problems. But I don't know that for sure.

Augusta National Golf Club. The ideal of freedom of association allows single-sex clubs in America. But do you feel in any sense that as a very influential, highly public body, Augusta has an obligation to set a better example by being a mixed club?

No. I actually don't. These are issues for the membership. I've got a lot of good friends at Augusta who are really good people. And it's really up to them. Obviously I don't believe that you can have racial discrimination. That is something that is not only illegal but immoral. But there are women-only associations and men-only associations, and these are things that we need to leave to people to sort out. The face of America is changing, the face of golf is changing. All of this will change. You know, who would have thought that we'd be sitting here in 2011 with a black president and a female Secretary of State at the same time? Or that in 2001 we'd have a black Secretary of State and a black National Security Advisor at the same time? America's changing.

You've been suggested as being an ideal first female member of Augusta National. Do you have any comment on that?

I don't.

That doesn't surprise me. How was playing Augusta as a guest?

It was great. It was really something. I did not break 100 the first time. The second time I did; I think I had a 98. Mostly because I played Amen Corner in three over. I was very happy with that.

And you went to the Masters Tournament in 2009 and wrote about it for The Daily Beast. How was that experience?

It was fabulous. I'd watched the Masters on television since I was a little girl. Long before I ever thought about picking up a golf club. My father was just a sports junkie, and we watched everything of consequence in sport together. My dad was a huge fan of Arnold Palmer. I liked the Masters from the very beginning. I liked the pageantry. I talked in The Daily Beast about watching in 1968 and how upset my mother was with what happened with Roberto De Vicenzo, and so it was so nice that the Argentine, Angel Cabrera, won the year I was there. It was great.

Your father never played golf?

No, he played everything else, but not golf. It just wasn't part of our milieu. My dad had played tennis collegiately, and so he wanted me to play tennis. But he made the mistake of taking me out in 95-degree weather in Birmingham, with 95 percent humidity, when I was 8. And I was 18 before I picked up another tennis racket. My mother didn't play sports at all.

What are your impressions of Michelle Wie -- have you played golf with her?

I played with her very early on, I hadn't been playing that long. I had a 15-hour stop in Hawaii and she nicely came out and played with me. This was before she came to Stanford. But I've seen her several times since. One of my fondest memories of Michelle is coming out of the Notre Dame-Stanford football game which we'd just won, and there she was, cheering like a Stanford student. She's a wonderful young woman and I really pull for her on the tour because she's got a great game, and I think going to college has been good for her. I'm very fond of her -- she's smart, she's a really nice young woman and she's a terrific golfer.

When did you first meet Tiger Woods?

When he came to Stanford, at some kind of freshman event. We've met many times over the years, including sitting next to each other at the Duke-Stanford game back in 2000 when Stanford hit a buzzer-beater to beat No. 1-ranked Duke, and we rushed the floor together.

You've never played golf together?

No, but that's on my to-do list.

How do you view the whole sex scandal -- his fall from grace?

These are to my point of view personal issues, and people make mistakes. I've been in the klieg lights in Washington, and it's really hard. It's hard when people are watching your every move. I take Tiger at his word that he wants to repair what-ever damage he's done, both to his personal life and to people who were counting on him. But my prayers are for him and for his family, and that he comes through this whole, and back where he should be.

Were you disappointed in his behavior?

It's not for me to be disappointed. This is solely between him and his family. He knows what he's done wrong, and it's up to him to repair it.

Have you spoken to him about it?

No. You know, I sent him a note just saying that I hoped everything would come out all right. Because he's a good person. It's just that there's nothing quite like being under those klieg lights.

How does it feel for you to have a black president in America?

I'm delighted, you know? The day after he was elected I went down to the Briefing Room at the State Department and said how proud I was of it. It doesn't mean I agree with everything he does. The fact that we're equal-opportunity critics of our president is coming through very strongly. The United States of America: The day we elect our president he's the smartest human being we've ever seen, and a year later it's, "How did we ever elect that person?" That just goes with the job. It's a very lonely job being president.

Would you ever tee it up with President Obama?

Oh, sure, absolutely. I know what it's like for him. And I'm glad he's playing golf. People have absolutely no idea how pressured those jobs are. I mean that you never, ever feel any release from it, whatsoever. You get up in the morning feeling the weight of the job, and you go to bed at night feeling the weight of the job. I remember so well, a few days after I'd left government, and waking up and thinking, What's that? And thinking, Oh, that's the absence of pressure. The absence of stress. And so anything that he can do, whether it's shooting hoops or going out and hitting a golf ball, I hope he does it.

When I was Secretary of State, I didn't have much time, but Sunday afternoons I tried to take off. I would work Sunday morning and then go to church. And then I would go to Andrews Air Force Base and play golf. My rule was, if it was 37 degrees or above, I played. I had so little time. But when I came back, I felt better. And I was ready to get up the next day and go after it. The idea that people can just work and work and work and never, ever be away from their work and still be effective and efficient, is just wrong.

We're not machines.

No, we're not machines.

Not even Condoleezza Rice?

Most especially not Condoleezza Rice.

What about Bill Clinton: Have you ever teed it up with him?

I haven't. I've never played with him. But I would play with President Clinton, too. I think he'd be fun.

Who would make a better president, Condoleezza Rice or Sarah Palin?

[Laughs.] Well, Sarah Palin has actually been governor of Alaska and has actually run for vice president. And so if she wants to do it, that's great. I have no desire to do it.

I'm curious about your lack of desire to run for high office. It seems a natural next step. What is it about it that doesn't appeal?

You just have to know what you're cut out to do and what you're not. You have to have real desire in your gut to run for office. You have to be energized by it, not enervated. And I think I'd be enervated. I loved being Secretary of State, but I don't particularly want to go back to Washington. But I will continue to do public service. I keep involved. I just don't want to run for office.

You're presumably still involved in politics here at Stanford. Wasn't it Henry Kissinger who said that politics in academia is so vicious because the stakes are so low?

Henry did say that. But that's because he wasn't provost of a great university. Yeah, the politics can be quite something in the university, but I don't think the stakes are low. I think the stakes are very high.

So you don't miss the white heat of being right at the heart of the US government?

Eight years was plenty for that. I think maybe people who go for one term and are kind of hoping to be there for another term and maybe they don't get a chance. But eight years was just plenty. We were in the eye of the storm.

With Iraq...

and well, 9/11. It all starts on 9/11.

What do you say to people who criticize the Iraq War as being a colossal mistake?

I'd say let's see how history's arc turns out because Saddam Hussein pursuing weapons of mass destruction in a race with Ahmadinejad's Iran, that doesn't really appeal to me either. So I'm glad Saddam is gone. I think the Middle East is better for it. And you know there are terrible sacrifices in that war and you can never recover the lives lost. But the fact is nothing of value is ever earned without sacrifice. And I think the Middle East is a better place without Saddam Hussein.

How do you see things playing out with the latest events in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, across the region?

It's an extraordinary time in the Middle East. It's one of those things you could see coming because these were authoritarian regimes that were out of touch with their people. In fact, I gave a speech in 2005 in Egypt saying that reform had to come. Because people wouldn't be denied freedoms forever. But now you have to hope for, at least in places like Egypt that have some institutions, a transition toward more democracy. Democracy is the only legitimate form of government. What was surprising is that it was a self-immolation in Tunisia that set it off. That's what you can never see. You can see the events building up but you can never see the spark. And that's whay these things are surprising. It's not that you're surprised that it happened but you're surprised when it happened and how it happened. So it's going to be a turbulent time. But better turbulence than the silence of tyranny.

So do you see transformational democracy coming to the Arab world?

It's going to take a lot of work. And it's hard. You and I have been sitting here talking about how hard it was to make the principles embodied in the Constitution true for all Americans. And we're a mature democracy. And in my lifetime those principles weren't all true. So democracy takes a long time. But it's well worth it.

You used to be a Democrat. You voted for Jimmy Carter. What happened?

Well first of all I was what, 22. Look, I think I've reported it many times. I was very unhappy with the handling of Afghanistan and the Soviet Union, and I thought Ronald Reagan would renew American power and strength and make the world safer, and that's why I voted for him. I've never looked back.

Who do you most admire in the world today?

Oh I admire lots of people, but mostly I admire people who are taking on hard problems and trying to do a better job for their people. One person that I admire enormously is Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who is the president of Liberia. She seems to me to embody what it means to take on hard problems and try to solve them with integrity. I always keep her in mind when I think about international leadership. And of course the person who sticks out in mind among presidents -- obviously I love George W. Bush -- is George H.W. Bush. He is a gentleman and he was someone who ended the Cold War, and I think never got enough credit for it.

What drives you now? What are your goals?

I love being a university professor. I love that moment in a classroom when you realize that you've opened up some vista for that really bright 20-year-old, who maybe didn't quite know where he or she was going, and now, all of a sudden, Oh, yeah, international politics. That's what I want to do. Somebody did that for me, otherwise I'd still be laboring as a pianist someplace. I'm a university person, you know? And American universities are not just the best in the world, they're the best in human history. And a place like Stanford that has that incredible combination of the brilliant 18-year-old and the Nobel Laureate and Silicon Valley -- it's just a spectacular place to be. I'm driven to be the best professor I can be. And to write -- I'm writing a book about the eight years in government. I want to write a book about democracy. And I'm involved in a lot of nonprofit activities. And I'm trying to break 90 more regularly.

CONDOLEEZZA RICE
DATE OF BIRTH: Nov. 14, 1954
Birmingham, Ala.
EDUCATION:
B.A., University of Denver; M.A., University of Notre Dame; Ph.D., Graduate School of International Studies, University of Denver.

WORK:
• Professor of Political Science, Stanford University, May 1993 to present.
• Secretary of State, U.S. Department of State, January 2005-January 2009.
• National Security Advisor, The White House, January 2001-January 2005.
• Provost, Stanford University, September 1993-June 1999.

BOOKS:
• Forthcoming book on American foreign policy, 2000-2009.
• Extraordinary, Ordinary People: A Memoir of Family (2010).
• Political-science books on Russia, Europe and campaign strategy.

GOLF:
Memberships: Stanford Golf Course, San Francisco Golf Club, Shoal Creek, Country Club of Birmingham.
Handicap Index:16.4
Best score: 87

Source: Golf Digest
Interviewed By John Barton
Photos by Robert Gallagher
June 2011
Read More http://www.golfdigest.com/magazine/2011-06/condoleeza-rice-interview#ixzz1Q6OWZ8Px

For Fashionable Golf Clothes:
Visit www.pinksandgreens.com

Women at Work: Women, too, can do business on the golf course

2011-06-20T11:09:00.000-07:00

I don’t golf a lot (I leave that to my husband), but as we went from hole to hole, I started to enjoy myself. But I also started to wonder, “Why is it we see a lot of businessmen out on the course during the day but not many businesswomen?”

Many companies allow salespeople to take their prospective clients to the course. Or is it just salesMEN? Why is that?

Imagine looking at a client and asking for their attention in a boardroom for four hours. No matter if you are a man or a woman asking this question, you will get the same blank “Teletubby stare” from them.

They’re too dumbfounded that you would even ask (unless your client or prospect has nothing to do at their job). But, a round of golf is exactly that — four hours of time with a client or prospect.

I golfed yesterday in the American Business Women's Association annual scholarship golf tournament with a great bunch of businesswomen.Ladies, don’t let personal discomfort with the game hold you back. Research shows that the typical business golfer is not a particularly skilled player, and the majority of skilled players are actually quite tolerant of those with lower skills as long as they understand the etiquette of the game and aren’t holding up the game.

The best advice I came upon made immediate sense, so let me share: Make your foursome a sales team! Be selective, and when possible, invite a current client, another salesperson from your company with whom the prospect would work with once landed, and of course, the prospect. As the game progresses, the potential client and the current client will begin to converse and most of your needed sales will be done for you. Just don’t talk business prior to the fourth or fifth hole.

“Statistics show that women who use golf for business close more deals as a result of the increased rapport and trust built with clients playing golf,” states Pam Swensen, CEO of the Executive Women’s Golf Association. She does remind us that golf should be a “technology-free” zone. If you’re expecting an important call or email, you shouldn’t be on the course — turn your cell phones off (OK, at least on silent).

Of course, when asked, I received many comments on the topic of women on the course.

• “In general, few women are golfers and most would not feel comfortable or confident enough to take a client out for golf.”

• “Women think if their golf skills are below average, the client will interpret that to mean their business skills are less than par (no pun intended).”

• “I truly think a big part is a hangover from the good old boys' network.”

• “Golf needs to evolve to the level that recognizes the value of co-ed leagues and competitions.”

• “Some men still cannot believe or fathom playing golf with a female.”

• “Just like other sports, men and women can learn from one another, but our society keeps them separated.”

So, ladies, here are a couple tips on getting started in golfing for business and landing more sales.

• Get a couple lessons under your belt (or you’ll be like me, looking for your golf balls in the woods most of the time).

• Understand the rules and etiquette of the game (once, on a cruise, my husband played in San Juan with the captain. In the middle of a tee box, I yelled “look at that bird!” Needless to say, I learned the rules of etiquette real quick with one glare).

• Go play with a few friends until you feel comfortable to golf with a client or prospect.

For that business outing be sure to check out Pinks and Greens for your attire.

credited to: Kristen Asleson, Express Employment Professionals & Kim Radke, Exclusive Petsitting
photo: visualphoto.com

How to Choose Sunglasses: What is best for you?

2011-06-13T09:01:00.000-07:00

I have been through many different phases in my life when it comes to sunglasses. I have had everything from Revo and Chanel, to Maui Jim and your $5 pair from the drugstore. I used to go back and forth between should I spend the money on the high end designer(Chanel, Prada, Gucci, etc...) or the high end performance ones(Maui Jim, Costa del Mar, Kaenon)? or will the $5 pair from the drug store work just fine. Now that I am outdoors a lot golfing and playing tennis, I only wear a high end performance lens that are polarized and it has changed my life. Those $300 Chanel ones that I bought 2 years ago are crap in my opinion. They have little to no sun protection and I am squinting when I am wearing them out in the sun. The polarized ones are great for any outdoor(golf, tennis, on the water, etc...) and they offer great sun protection. Everyone is very concerned with always applying sunscreen and making sure that they are protected from the sun, but people do not always think about their eyes. You need to protect your eyes as well, so don't be too quick to pick up a pair of those cheap sunglasses.

How to Choose Sunglasses: What is best for you?

Sun protection, which includes the use of sunglasses, is one of the Ten Essentials. No wonder. Sunglasses protect your eyes from harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays, reduce eye strain in bright conditions and protect you from flying debris and other hazards.
Understanding Lenses
Lens Material

The material used in your sunglass lenses will affect their clarity, weight, durability and cost.

Glass—PROS: Superior optical clarity; superior scratch-resistance. CONS: Heavier than others; expensive; glass will "spider" when impacted (but not chip or shatter).
NXT polyurethane—PROS: Superior impact-resistance; excellent optical clarity; flexible and lightweight. CONS: Expensive.
Polycarbonate—PROS: Excellent impact-resistance; very good optical clarity; affordable; lightweight and low bulk. CONS: Less scratch-resistance; slightly less optical-clarity than glass or NXT.
Acrylic—PROS: Inexpensive alternative to polycarbonate, best suited for casual or occasional-use sunglasses. CONS: Less durable and optically clear than polycarbonate or glass; some image distortion.

Lens Color (Tint)

All sunglass lenses are tinted to cut down on overall brightness and enhance terrain definition. But your choice of tint colors affect your vision by influencing 1) how much visible light reaches your eyes, 2) how well you see other colors, and 3) how well you see contrasts.

Brown/gray/green—Brown, gray and green lenses are color-neutral, which means they cut down on overall brightness without distorting colors. These darker shades are intended primarily to cut through the glare and reduce eyestrain in moderate-to-bright conditions.
Yellow/gold/amber—Yellow, gold and amber lenses provide less overall brightness protection, but excel in moderate-to-low level light conditions. They provide excellent depth perception, which makes them perfect for skiing, snowboarding and other snow sports. They also enhance contrasts in tricky, flat-light conditions.
Rose/vermilion—Rose- and vermilion-colored glasses really do make the world seem brighter. They provide excellent low-light visibility and enhance contrast (perfect for skiing and snowboarding in cloudy conditions). They also enhance the visibility of objects against blue and green backgrounds, which makes them ideal for driving or exploring in forested areas.
Mirrored or flash coating—This refers to a reflective film applied to the outside surfaces of some sunglass lenses. They reduce glare by reflecting much of the light that hits the lens surface. Mirrored coatings make objects appear darker than they are, so lighter tints are often used to compensate for this.

Lens Coatings

The more expensive the sunglasses, the more likely it has several layers of coatings. These can include a hydrophobic coating to repel water, an anti-scratch coating to improve durability and an anti-fog coating for humid conditions or high-energy activities.
Lens Construction

Two methods are commonly used. Lenses made via the injection process offer the best in optical clarity, but are more expensive. The bent-sheet process is used to make both performance and inexpensive glasses. High-end styles use a longer process to offer similar optical clarity as injected models, while lower-cost styles used a simplified process that yields a bit less clarity.
Interchangeable Lenses

Some styles come with interchangeable (removable) lenses of different colors. These multi-lens systems allow you to tailor your eye protection to your activities and current conditions. Consider this option if you need reliable performance in a wide variety of situations.
Polarized Lenses

Polarization is a great feature if you enjoy water sports or are especially sensitive to glare. When light reflects off of flat surfaces, such as a lake, the light waves align in horizontal patterns, creating intense glare. The filters in polarized lenses block these horizontal light waves, substantially reducing blinding glare and its resulting eyestrain.

In some instances, polarized filters react with the tints in windshields, creating blindspots and diminishing the visibility of LCD readouts. If this occurs, you should consider mirrored lenses as a glare-reducing alternative for driving.

The method used to polarize lenses affects both the optical-quality and cost of the sunglasses.

Inexpensive casual styles have the polarizing filter applied as an external film coating.
More durable and expensive sport styles sandwich the polarizing filter between layers of the lens.
The newest high-end technology combines the polarizing filter with the lens material while the latter is in a liquid form. This allows the filter and lens to bond without the use of adhesives and sustains an exceptionally high optical quality.

Understanding UV and VLT
UV Protection

Ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun can damage your eyes by contributing to cataracts, macular degeneration and growths on the eye, including cancer. All of the sunglasses offered at REI block 100% of UV light.

UVB rays are the main concern for eyes. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, "Long-term exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation in sunlight is linked to eye disease. UVB radiation is considered more dangerous to eyes and skin than UVA radiation."
UVA rays are the primary ones absorbed by your eyes. While they pose far less concern than UVB, doctors still recommend that they be avoided.
UVC rays are not a concern, as they are blocked by the atmosphere.

UV protection information should be printed on the hangtag or price sticker of any sunglasses you buy, no matter where you buy them. If it isn't, find a different pair. Also keep in mind that cheap, tinted sunglasses with limited UV protection can actually do more harm than good, as they cause your eye lenses to open up wider, leaving them even more vulnerable to UV rays. Kids' eyes are especially vulnerable to UV light, since they don't have the same level of natural protection as adults.
Visible Light Transmission

The amount of light that reaches your eyes through your lenses is called Visible Light Transmission (VLT). Measured as a percentage, VLT is affected by the color and thickness of your lenses, the material they're made of and the coatings they have on them.

All-purpose sunglasses have a VLT of around 15-25%. Aim for glasses in this range if you need a pair for everyday use and basic recreational activities.
Glacier glasses (special sunglasses designed specifically to protect your eyes from the intense light at high altitudes) have a VLT of around 4-10%. Most glacier glasses also have shields to protect your eyes from light coming in from the sides of your lenses. Because of their low light transmission, glacier glasses should not be used for driving or other everyday activities.
Photochromic lenses automatically adjust to changing light intensities to protect you in a wider range of conditions. These lenses actually get darker (to block more light) on bright days, and lighter when conditions get darker. A couple of caveats: The photochromic process takes longer to work in cold conditions, and it doesn't work at all when driving a car (UVB rays do not penetrate your windshield, so the process is moot).

Frame Considerations
Frame Material

Choosing a frame is nearly as important as the lenses, since it contributes to the comfort, durability and safety of your sunglasses.

Metal—PROS: Easy to adjust to your face; less obtrusive to your field of vision. CONS: More expensive and less durable than other types; not for high-impact activities; can get too hot to wear if left in a closed-up car.
Nylon—Manufacturers use different brand names for their frame nylons, including Grilamid and O Matter(TM). PROS: Inexpensive, lightweight and more durable than metal; some have high impact-resistance for sports. CONS: Not adjustable, unless they have an internal, adjustable wire core.
Acetate and Zyl—Sometimes called "handmades," these variations of plastic are popular on high-style glasses. PROS: More color varieties are possible. CONS: Less flexible and forgiving; not intended for high-activity sports.

Hinges

These depend on the frame material. On most nylon frames, hinges feature a molded pin that's actually part of the frame material. This creates a very durable hinge. Metal, acetate and zyl frames must use either a barrel-hinge or spring-hinge design. These offer the advantage of extra flex to fit larger heads, at the cost of some durability. Higher-quality frames may use nickel-silver hinges that are more rugged and reliable.
Grippy Nosepieces or Temples

If you plan on working up a sweat, look for styles that have rubber nosepieces or earpieces that help keep your glasses from sliding down your nose.
Find a Pair That Fits
Fit Tips

Here are some tips when trying on a pair of sunglasses:

Frames should fit snugly on your nose and ears, but not pinch or rub.
The weight of sunglasses should be evenly distributed between your ears and nose. Frames should be light enough to avoid excess friction on these contact points.
Your eyelashes should not contact the frame.

Shopping online? Look for product descriptions that include fit guidelines such as "fits smaller faces" or "fits medium to large faces" for guidance. A few brands offer temples that are adjustable or come in several lengths.
Fit Adjustments

If you choose a metal or wire-core frame, you can usually adjust the fit by carefully bending the frame at the bridge and/or the temples. You may also be able to adjust the nosepieces, by pinching them closer together or farther apart, to rest on your nose more comfortably.
Lens Shape

There are no right or wrong lens shapes, but consider these guidelines:

Wrap-around lenses block more of the light hitting your eyes from the side. They improve aerodynamics, cutting down on wind that can dry out your eyes, and provide extra protection against rain, sand and other debris.
Different lens shapes complement the most common face shapes-oval, square, triangular and round:

Final Thoughts
When Is It Most Important to Wear Sunglasses?

The American Academy of Ophthalmology advocates wearing sunglasses anytime you're outdoors, but particularly when:

It's summer (when UV radiation is at least 3 times higher than it is during winter).
You're at the beach or near water.
You're outside at high elevations.
You're participating in snow sports.

In addition, if you have an eye disease, have had cataract surgery or are taking photosensitizing drugs, you should wear sunglasses whenever you go outside.
Are Pricey Glasses Worth It?

A $20 pair of sunglasses can look pretty similar to a $150 pair, so why pay more? The difference is in the technology, which offers more comfort, durability and performance. For around-town wear and while driving, an inexpensive casual pair may be all that you need. But for regular outdoor activities, especially high-impact ones such as cycling, performance glasses are usually well worth the investment.
How Do I Clean My Sunglasses?

Use a soft, line-free cloth (such as a microfiber) to clean your lenses.
Avoid wood-based materials, such as facial tissue, which are too abrasive for safe cleaning.
A spray-on lens cleaner or just plain water should also be used, since dry lenses are more susceptible to scratching when rubbed.

Accessories to Consider

Protective Case: If your sunglasses don't come with a hard or padded case, buy one. A case protects your eyewear from scratching and crushing, and helps keep the lenses clean.
Cleaning Cloth: A basic supply for cleaning.
Retainers: These are a must for active sports.
Storage Clip: A visor-mounted clip for your car keeps your sunglasses safe and accessible when not in use.

Source: REI

Father's Day Essentials

2011-05-31T07:15:00.000-07:00

If you’re looking to veer away from the classic and tackily predictable Father’s Day gifts like engraved picture frames and #1 Dad hats look no further. We’ve compiled our TOP PICKS for gifts that dads will not only love but will also find useful.

1. Callaway uPro MX GPS

The Callaway uPro MX defines the next generation of golf GPS devices with its groundbreaking multi-gesture touchscreen and simple finger swipe navigation. With no annual fees and more then 25,000 preloaded courses, this sleek and compact device is a must-have for every golfer.

Get it: HERE

Cost: $249.00

2. Magnification Binoculars

Whether you’re at the World Series or in the back row for your daughter’s ballet recital these binoculars will be sure to enhance your viewing experience and bring you close to the action. Light weight, compact and equipped with prism optics for better viewing quality.
Get it: HERE
Cost: $29.95

3. Tour Quality Golf Balls

The unique design of golf balls makes them the ball-to-have. Designed for tour distance, theses balls have a custom spin to favor your shot and improve accuracy.

Get it: HERE

Cost: $32.50 – $52.00

4. Men’s Bonobo Pants

Designed to fit the athletic man and still look good these pants tie hand-in hand with our personal mission: being fashionable without sacrificing performance.

Get it: HERE

Cost: $68+

5. Callaway Men’s Drivers

Callaway has wowed us again with their revolutionary development of the Forged Composit; a material that is both lighter and stronger than titanium. This innovative development has enabled designers to control weight like never before, ultimately creating a club that allows for faster swing speed and longer distance.

Get it: HERE

Cost: $299.00-$399.00

6. Griffin iFM - Digital player FM transmitter

This accessory integrates FM radio tuning, recording and remote control functionality to the iPod, all in a tiny aluminum enclosure. With the flip of a switch users can switch seamlessly between controlling their music library and listening to their favorite FM radio programming.

Get it: HERE

Cost: $17.49

, 7. Callaway Men’s Sunglasses

These high-end sunglasses offer their wearers sharper and more accurate vision for your game without sacrificing protection. Designed with frames to suit your on course or casual daily style, these frames fit most head shapes and enable you to see in a whole new light.

Get it: HERE

Cost: $92.99-$199.00

8. Odyssey Putters

Featuring updated shapes, advanced head options and the visible face alignment, these putters incorporate the ability to line up shots with stroke balance and shot stability.

Get it: HERE

Cost: $199.00-$299.00

9. Men's Bio-Kinetic Tour Golf Shoes

Offering a threatening combination of comfort and traction, these shoes provide protection and stability to keep your performance at its best. Waterproof and with a 2-year warranty, these shoes will be the gift that keeps on giving.

Get it: HERE

Cost: $159.99

10. AirPro Cordless Air Compressor

Sure to bring convenience to every dad this compressor is small, cordless and compatible with a variety of products from car/bike tires to rafts and sporting equipment. Fills quickly and efficiently with the added bonus of an LED light for performance in even dark areas.

Get it: HERE

Cost: $69.95

Your Personal Running Coach: FREE Nike + GPS App for iPhone

2011-05-25T06:22:00.000-07:00

For all of you exercise junkies out there, here is your new best friend-the Nike+GPS App. I just downloaded it on my iphone used this for the first time this week and love it!! It will tell you at each mile point by saying"
you have reached 1 mile at a pace of 8 minutes". You can also select for it to cheer you on when you hit the tough parts of your run.

what is in this app:
• Control whether incoming calls will pause your run.
• Select your preferences for Voiceover feedback, or turn it off all together.
• End or pause your run without pulling the plug on your music.
• Register or sign-in to Nike+ GPS with your Facebook or Twitter account.
• Experience a boosted engine with improved accelerometer and GPS accuracy.
• Challenge your friends to a new Nike+ Tag Game: Last to Run, where the last person to sync a run is IT.
• Easily find friends to play Nike+ Tag by searching for their usernames.

Download it here:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/nike-gps/id387771637?mt=8

Golf Club Checklist for Ladies: Driver

2011-05-19T06:48:00.000-07:00

From speaking to a lot of ladies, we found that a lot of women ended up with their driver because it was a hand-me down, their golf pro suggested it or their husband bought it for them. Most of the ladies were not very well informed as to the technical details of a driver, how to select one that will best suit them and help to improve their game.

Below is a Lady golf driver checklist and included with tips about head sizes and head materials.

When you're searching for a women's driver a few things are important to think about. We're talking about the club often used for the first stroke on the tee, with one single purpose: distance. Every driver has its own characteristics and is made for the special needs of the different handicap categories.

-Do you need a standard, mid size or oversized head size lady golf driver?

-What head material: titanium, HST Aluminium, 17-4ph stainless steel or 431 stainless steel?

-What shaft length?

-What shaft flex for your lady golf driver?

-What about loft?

-What swingweight?

-What about the Center of Gravity of a womens golf driver?

-What about Perimeter Weighting?

Head Sizes Of Lady Golf Drivers

Do you want to learn more about the terms I've introduced in the checklist above? Well, let me do some explanation. I've promised to keep it simple. Choose a standard head size of about 155 cubic centimeters if you are a good golfer who wants to have more control of the driver and who can also hit the ball well with a small sweetspot.

The sweetspot is the best surface on the club face to hit the ball. The larger your sweetspot is, the more mistakes you can allow yourself to make. It reduces the number of mishits, but you will not be able to hit that far. Low lady handicappers often choose a small sweetspot. If you hit the ball well, you can reach a great distance.

A midsize lady driver is a size bigger. The head is about 190 to 200 cubic centimeters and therefore, the sweetspot is also slightly larger. Very suitable if you are a mid handicapper and want to lower your handicap.

Oversized lady golf driver heads are between 200 and 250 cc. Characteristics: larger sweetspot, so fewer mishits, but harder to control as the weight has become heavier. Then, there are lady driver heads with a volume of up to 400 cc, sometimes called oversized Jumbo heads.

If you want to purchase a used lady golf driver of course pay attention to the condition values of the club, because big heads can easily be scratched.

Head Materials Of A Lady Golf Driver

The rule of thumb is: the harder the head material, the more your club forgives you. Although this also depends on the ball's compression - hardness. Aluminium and the different types of titanium alloys are nice to start with. But if you really want to have the better class of wood heads, then choose lady golf driver heads of HST Aluminium, 17-4ph stainless steel or 431 stainless steel. The best are titanium, maraging metal, bi-metal or tungsten.

Titanium is the hardest and lightest head material of which oversized heads with a large sweetspot are made. Ideal for beginners and high handicappers. But it is more expensive than steel.

Pay attention: if you see a too cheap set with lady golf driver and fairway wood heads of, for example titanium alloy, be careful. The fact is that this head is not made of 100% titanium. It is even possible that there is only a small percentage of titanium in it!

Stainless steel is cheaper en heavier than titanium and titanium alloys. Lady golf club heads made of stainless steel have smaller sweetspots due to a smaller head. But if you are a mid or low handicap golfer, this is good material.

Shaft Length

The rule of thumb is: the longer the shaft of your lady golf driver in combination with the right lie, the more distance you can make. But if you are a high handicapper: do not take shafts that are longer than 45 inches, because these clubs are harder to control. Many lady golfers with a slow swing speed use graphite drivers and fairway woods which allow them to make long-distance hits. Lady golf drivers with a titanium head are actually only manufactured with a graphite shaft.

Shaft Flexibility

And then, shaft flexibility. A graphite shafted woman driver is more flexible and lighter than steel, and it absorbs vibrations. A golf bag filled with graphite golf clubs or with clubs of steel: you feel the difference! Graphite lady golf clubs are slightly more expensive. They are available in various weights, strengths and flexibility.

Steel shafts are stronger, heavier, less flexible and less expensive than graphite shafts. If you are a mid or low handicapper with a fast swingspeed, then a steel shafted driver is fine for more control.

Ladies Golf Driver Loft?

Loft is the angle of inclination of the club face in relation to the shaft. If this angle is large - therefore a higher loft - you hit the ball higher, to put it simply, but it does not go that far. A lady golf driver with a high loft is more forgiving.

If you have a slow swing speed and/or you are a beginner, you'd better choose for Ladies flex drivers with a high loft of approximately 12 to 15 degrees.

If you have a faster swing speed and a regular shaft preferably opt for less loft of around 12 degrees for more distance. Very fast swing speed ladies with stiff shafts could consider a loft of less than 12 degrees.

Swingweight And Center Of Gravity Of A Lady Golf Driver

Manufacturers often tell about Swingweight. That is the distribution of weight in a club, expressed in a D-value for women. In other words: how does the weight of a driver feel for you. The higher the D, the more the Center of Gravity of the lady golf driver is located to the head.

Are you a high or mid handicapper then choose for a lady golf driver that is as light as possible with a deep low Center of Gravity. The Center of Gravity is the value of how the weight is distributed in a club head. A low Center of Gravity - C.G. - results in a higher ball flight.

lady golf driver checklist

Perimeter Weighting?

Perimeter weighting is the balance between the club head and the grip side. Let's not be too technical, but a good perimeter weighting can result in a larger sweetspot. C3 has the lightest club head and C9 is much heavier. Are you one of the better class of lady golfers then choose a C3 if you want to have optimum control of your lady golf driver.
Source:
Lady Golf Driver Checklist

Want to Join a Club?

2011-05-18T06:42:00.000-07:00

18 Things to Look for Before You Join

So you've arrived at the point in your game where you want to play more, meet other golfers and have access to better tee times, facilities and fairways...it's time to join a golf club! Before you drive to the closest one or sign up because a friend said so, play these 18 holes to properly evaluate the club you have in mind.

#1. Do you want to join a country club or a golf club?
Believe it or not, there is a difference. Country clubs tend to have a lot more to do than just play golf. Swimming, tennis, fitness, dining, parties, networking and more can be part of the country club setting.
A golf club tends to be strictly golf with a high emphasis on member tournaments, outings, instruction and practice facilities.

#2. Is the golf course player-friendly - can all skill levels be accommodated?
Whether you are a new golfer or an advanced player, the last thing you want to do is join a club with an impossible golf course. Imagine playing the same course each week and not having any fun. Think about, too, who you will want to play with. If your family, friends or co-workers enjoy playing with you but the course isn't very friendly, it could be a challenge to get them out there.

#3. Are there more than three tee boxes per hole?
This is a good way to note firsthand a course's playability. Limited tee boxes mean limited options for the average golfer. Courses who cater to all skill levels tend to have at least 5 teeing points on every hole.

#4. Check the forward tees - are they randomly placed just to be closer to the hole or was some thought given to the shot required?
The forward tees are the closest to the hole. You can play from any set of tees you like, but there is a tendency among beginner to intermediate amateur women to play the "reds," which on most courses are the forward tees. You know a course doesn't care much about women when these tees are placed behind trees or way off to the side with no real thought given to the shot it creates. If they are not clearly marked or as well-manicured as the other tee boxes, don't join that club. You are an afterthought.

#5. How many "forced carries" are there throughout the course?
So many beautiful golf courses are great to walk but downright upsetting to hit a ball around. A forced carry is a wide ditch or patch of wildflowers or shrubbery or large pond that crosses the fairway, forcing you to hit your tee shot or approach shot over it. Count how many tee shots will require you to hit the ball well over these obstacles before finding the fairway. If you can't hit the ball in the air far enough to clear them but you really love the club, stock up on balls.

#6. How many "open greens" are there on the course?
Similar to the forced carry concept, how many greens have no hazards in front of them?

#7. Does the club have a ladies only day or ladies tournaments?
Ask the pro for the golf shop calendar and count how many events are exclusively for women or include women golfers.

#8. Is the club family-oriented - are children welcome?
Depending on whether or not you have children, this will be important to you. Consider your extended family as well, if you plan to invite them to accompany you to a club function or to play golf.

#9. Are there other amenities besides golf: pool, fitness, spa, massage, holiday parties, fine dining, etc.?
Even the serious golfer wants to get the most for their money. Make sure you are comparing golf balls to golf balls when evaluating clubs.

#10. Do you already have friends that are members?
This can come in handy when a sponsor is required for joining a private club. Often times, you must be recommended for membership by a current member. Joining a club with familiar faces makes sense.

#11. How far is the club from your home?
Do you want to get away or really get away when you play golf? If you're not big on driving more than 30 minutes in any direction, that narrows your options. Having the club close is a convenience many families enjoy for instant entertainment and relaxation.

#12. Do the fees fit your budget?
Not all clubs are priced out of this world, but if it seems too expensive, it probably is. Make sure you are ready to commit to an initiation fee or stock purchase, plus monthly dues. In addition, you will see charges on your bill every month for dining, cart fees, assessments and so forth. Ask if there are annual locker room fees or driving range fees. Be clear on these before signing on the dotted line.

#13. What is your goal for joining?
If you just want to play more, weigh it against hitting your public course more frequently. If you want to meet new people and enjoy all the amenities a private club has to offer, you could be ready! As a business professional keep in mind the amount of time you have available to play a round of golf. Typically, a public course is just that...public. Public courses and high end daily fee courses are there to make money and fill as many tee times as possible in a day, which can equal slow play. Ask the club pro what a typical tee sheet looks like in a day during the week and on the weekends. You may find that you can complete a round in 3 -3 1/2 hours (or well under four) most days at a private course.

#14. Can you play the course a few times before joining?
Take a tour of the facilities and play a round of golf with the Membership Director. Play again with friends who may already belong. Ask to play on a league day with the club's lady members.

#15. Find out the club's tee time policies - what are the restrictions, if any?
Talk to the pro shop about who can play when. Some clubs do not allow women or juniors on the course certain mornings and weekend tee times. This may not bother you when first joining, but if your goal is to play more and get better, you might find this limiting. Also find out if the course has a "starter" on the first tee, or if it is more casual in that you can just come out to the club and get on easily.

#16. Ask about cart fees and caddie rules.
Joining a club generally means playing the course is part of your membership fee. Carts are usually an extra charge and caddies most definitely are, including tip. Keep this in mind when making your tee times so you understand the charges when your bill comes.

#17. Be sure to understand the club's guest and kids' play policies.
As a member, you enjoy many privileges. Your guests are not members, so there are often charges associated with bringing in guests. Some clubs allow you to bring the same guest out for golf a few times at no charge, but there is usually a cap on that. Leaving kids' unattended is a no-no; familiarize yourself with where children can play and if the club has a day care staff, explore the possibilities.

#18. If I don't like the club after I've joined, can I just walk away?
If you resign, it's possible you will have to continue paying dues until a new member joins in your place. Talk to the club about their cancellation terms and get to know their team, facility, other members, etc. as best you can before committing to membership. That is the best way to ensure you've found the club and community that's right for you.

* Article credited to the LPGA Golf Clinic for Women, photo credited to Pure Michigan

Best Sports Bras for Women

2011-05-11T09:56:00.000-07:00

Finding the right sports bra is like finding the right pair of jeans...there's agony, there's triumph and then there are all the emotions in between. It takes some time to find the perfect bra for your size and activity, and it usually involves some trial and error. Below is a list of top picks covering everything from running to yoga and women who are extra curvy and those who, um, aren't.

1. Hallelujah Bra
The name of this bra says it all and, as the bra experts at Title 9 Sports say, you will rejoice with "cups that perfectly encapsulate your breast!" and "don't look like they start somewhere in the middle of your back." This is a favorite bra for C and D-cup women because it separates, supports and wicks sweat away - the three most important things we want from a workout bra. It also holds up during high impact activities. Best for: Curvy Women, High Impact Activities

2. Moving Comfort Calli Sports Bra

If you normally have to wear 2 sports bras to get the support you need, this is the bra for you. Made for women with C-E cup sizes, this bra offers support, separation and comfort with a padded underwire and wide, adjustable straps. It also offers great sweat-wicking fabric to keep you comfortable and dry. Best for: Curvy Women, High Impact Activities.

3. Ennell Sports Bra

A perennial favorite among well-endowed women, the Enell Sports Bra minimizes breast movement, eliminates chafing, and provides back support. Best for: Full-Figured Women, High Impact Activities

4. Saucony Motion Sensor Bra

This sports bra is great for medium-curvy women looking for support without feeling too constricted. The criss-cross straps provide comfortable support and the fabric is breathable so sweat is wicked away from your body. You'll also find you have great support for high impact exercises if you're a C-D cup and the hook-and-eye clasp makes this one easy to get on and off. Best for: Medium-Curvy Women, Medium-High Impact Activities

5. Nike Determination Sports Bra

This is another high-quality sports bra that will fit a variety of women, depending on what kind of support you want. Small-chested women will get high-impact support, while fuller-figured women will find this bra is perfect for medium or lower-impact exercise. It also keeps sweat away from your body, keeping you cool and dry.
Best for: Medium-Curvy Women, Medium-High Impact Activities

6. Champion Racerback Sports Bra

I like this bra for higher impact activities and it's one of my favorites because it's seamless and, therefore, there's no chafing. It's a little tougher to get on an off, especially after you've been sweating, but you'll find it a comfortable choice for a variety of activities. It has mesh panels for breathability and is made of moisture-wicking fabric, which keeps sweat away from your skin (although the outer fabric of the bra does get pretty sweaty itself).
Best for: Medium Women, High Impact Activities.

7. Moving Comfort Womens Grace Bra

This lovely bra is not only perfect for small-breasted women, it's also the first sports bra designed for women who've had breast cancer. It's soft, comfy and lightweight and it also has a zip-front which makes it easy to take off. The CoolMax lining doubles as pocket for a prosthesis, but any woman would find the Grace Bra comfortable and supportive. This is probably my favorite sports bra.
Best for: Small-Medium Women, High Impact Activities

8. Moving Comfort Alexis Bra

This is one of my favorite bras because the straps are adjustable, comfortable and flattering, and the banding around the chest keeps things in place without too much compression. It does included padded cups so, if that's not your thing, you may not like it, but it's great for higher impact workouts.
Best for: Small-Medium Women, High Impact Activities

9. Nike Seamless Tank
If you want full coverage and good support for medium-light impact activities, this is a great choice. It has a built-in bra which, normally, makes it difficult to get these things on and off. But, that's what makes this a good choice - the fabric is soft and stretchy, so it's easily removed, but it still offers great support. It's flattering with a v-neck top and I love the textured fabric and the bright colors available. There are also adjustable straps which makes it easy to adjust the fit for your body. I find this top is perfect for yoga, weight training or other low impact activities, but not the best choice for running or other high impact workouts.
Best for: Small-Medium Women, Lower Impact Activities

10. North Face Celestial Sports Tank

This sports tank is just downright pretty and so comfortable, you'll want to wear it all day. It's fitted, but the fabric is stretchy and designed to wick sweat away from your body. The scoop neck is flattering and it's a little longer in the back for more coverage. This top is great for lower-impact activities like yoga, bike riding or weight training.
Best for: Small-Medium Women, Lower Impact Activities

By Paige Waehner, About.com Guide and Selene Yeager, O The Oprah Magazine
All images courtesy of Pricegrabber and Jens Mortensen

Stewart Cink at Home with the Family

2011-05-06T07:32:00.000-07:00

Golf Lesson: Why Choosing the Right Clubs Makes a HUGE Difference

2011-05-04T19:27:00.000-07:00

We have heard it all from you as to how you ended up with your clubs.

"They were on the HOT LIST of new clubs"
"I have hand-me-down clubs"
"I bought these because this is what my husband told me to buy"
"I liked the colors on the clubs"
"I hit a bunch of different clubs and these were the best out of all of them"

Do we really know the reason why a certain loft, shaft length, etc...makes a difference? Watch this video to see a few reasons why
and please post any questions that you may have about how to pick clubs.

10 Facts We Now Know About Sunscreen

2011-05-03T06:48:00.000-07:00

With summer on the horizon, we know it’s time to slather on the sunscreen and reapply, but how much do we really know about this magical lotion that’s said to protect against sunburn and prevent skin cancer? For all the mysteries that still remain about the sun and how it affects us, we can rest assured knowing that we have these 10 facts about sunscreen covered:

1. There is No Evidence that the Chemicals in Sunscreen are Not Safe: Despite ongoing controversy over the safety of the chemicals in sunscreens, most scientists and doctors agree that there is no evidence that sunscreen ingredients are harmful to humans. The argument that sunscreen ingredients are carcinogenic, block vitamin D or alter the body’s hormone system will require further research and experimental studies before any conclusions are drawn.

2. The Higher the SPF Number, the Smaller the Difference: It’s a common misconception that a higher SPF number means you are doubly or triply protected. A higher number does indicate more protection, but it doesn’t give you two to three times as much protection as one with an SPF 15. Sunscreens with SPF 15 filter out roughly 93 percent of UVB rays and SPF 30 sunscreens filter about 97 percent. The protection slightly increases as the SPF number gets higher, but only by one percent (98) for SPF 50 and two percent (99) for SPF 100 sunscreens. The fact is no one sunscreen will protect you completely.

3. SPF Numbers Only Refer to UVB Ray Protection: The sun protection factor (SPF) number on sunscreens only measures protection against UVB rays, the skin-burning rays. There is no current FDA-approved rating system for measuring protection from UVA rays, which cause aging of the skin. To ensure coverage against UVB and UVA rays, you should use a "broad-spectrum" sunscreen, or one that contains avobenzone (Parsol 1789), ecamsule, zinc oxide or titanium dioxide.

4. There’s a Difference Between Waterproof and Water-Resistant Sunscreen: Sunscreens that are labeled "waterproof" or "water-resistant" are slightly different in their chemical makeup and water tolerance. Water-resistant sunscreens can maintain their SPF level after 40 minutes of water exposure, and waterproof sunscreens can maintain their SPF level after 80 minutes of water exposure, according to the FDA. If you’re plan on being in the water or participating in outdoor activities, you should choose a water-resistant or waterproof sunscreen for optimal protection.

5. Sunscreen Does Not Cause Vitamin D Deficiency: For years, people have blamed sunscreen and dermatologists’ pleas to stay out of the sun as the leading cause for vitamin D deficiency in Americans. However, we now know that there is little to no evidence that shows sunscreens cause vitamin D deficiency, and people can get the recommended amount of vitamin D from other sources than just the sun, such as taking dietary supplements and eating foods like salmon, milk and eggs.

6.Sunscreen is Not Fail-Safe: We now know that sunscreen is not fail-safe because it is not a guaranteed protection against all of the sun’s harmful rays. There is also no supporting evidence that sunscreens protect you from developing malignant melanoma, the deadliest kind of skin cancer. Sunscreen alone will not fully protect you from the sun or from developing skin cancer. In addition to wearing sunscreen, you should also seek shade, wear protective clothing, avoid peak hours of sun exposure and monitor the UV index.

7. One Ounce of Sunscreen is Needed to Cover Your Body: We now know that one ounce, equivalent to a full shot glass, is the recommended amount of sunscreen needed to cover your exposed skin. You should apply sunscreen liberally and reapply every two hours, especially after perspiring, swimming or towel-drying. Sunscreen is something you definitely don’t have to go easy on. Don’t forget to protect the often-missed parts of the body, like the lips, ears, hands, feet, neck and scalp.

8. Everyone Should Use Sunscreen, Regardless of Skin Color: People of all races and ethnicity are at risk for developing skin cancer, and should wear sunscreen to protect themselves from UV radiation. We know that people with fair skin and a large number of freckles and moles have a greater chance of burning and developing skin cancer, but people with darker skin can also burn and develop skin cancer as well. Dark-skinned individuals are also more likely to be diagnosed with skin cancer in the later stages when it is more dangerous and could be fatal.

9. Sunscreen is Needed in All Types of Weather: Whether it’s sunny, cloudy or snowing outside, you still need sunscreen to stay protected all year long. Ultraviolet rays can do a significant amount of damage even when the sun is not at its hottest. According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, people experience some of the severest sunburns because they did not protect themselves on cloudy days, where up to 40 percent of the sun’s radiation can get through. So, whether you’re hitting the slopes or riding the waves, you need to wear sunscreen in every season and every type of weather.

10. Sunscreens Have a Maximum Shelf Life of Three Years: According to the FDA, all sunscreens have to be stable at their original strength for at least three years, unless otherwise indicated by an expiration date. Sunscreens lose their effectiveness after three years, especially when the bottle is exposed to direct sunlight, extreme changes in temperature or left open. Sunscreen is said to have a shelf life of three years. However, if you’re using the appropriate amount of sunscreen daily, you shouldn’t have bottles of sunscreen sitting around for more than one year!
Source:
US Pharm D

Women's Golf Bag Medicine Cabinet

2011-04-26T17:34:00.000-07:00

With the golf season kicking off this month, we thought it it would be great to help you to stock your bags with the right essentials. You never want to be left stranded without a band-aid for that horrible blister or bug spray to ward off those angry bugs.
Here is a list of what we think are the essentials to every well equipped golf bag.

1. Band-aids Blister for Fingers and Toes (they have extra padding and flexibility for fingers and toes)
2. Icy Hot Spray (relieves muscle pain)
3. Waterproof Medical Tape (cover the blisters, protect the band-aids from coming off or the callouses)
4. Sunscreen ( Sun Stick for a quick rub on the nose and around the eyes and an aerosol can for arms, legs, neck, etc...)
5. Insect repellant (Bullfrog makes an insect repellent/sunscreen in 1)
6. Visine Eye Drops (helps with allergies and dry eyes)
7. Dr. Scholl's Blister Defense( for those new shoes)
8. Cortizone 10 (Anti itch medication for any bug bites)
9. Hand Sanitizer (clean off those hands before going in the clubhouse to grab a bite)
10. Tylenol (you never know when that headache is going to kick in)
11. Emery Board (breaking a nail and having a jagged nail can be annoying)
12 Benadryl (just in case your allergies may start to bother you)
13. Deodorant (for after golf)
14. Philosophy's Amazing Grace Body Spray(this is our favorite...it is like a light shower spritz so that you are fresh after golf)

PGA, LPGA Professionals Offer Free Golf Club Fittings in April

2011-04-14T13:25:00.000-07:00

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- More and more golfers are recognizing that properly fit clubs are the key to improving their golf game, and, ultimately, having more fun on the course. Throughout the month of April, PGA and LPGA Professionals across the country will be providing free equipment fittings as part of PGA Free Fitting & Trade-Up Month. A full list of participating facilities by zip code can be found at PlayGolfAmerica.com.

Even with increased awareness of the importance of proper club fitting, a recent survey by the Sports and Leisure Research Group reported that up to nine out of 10 golfers may still be playing with the wrong golf equipment for their swing. After being custom-fitted for clubs, golfers reported seeing their overall score decrease, hitting the ball more accurately and consistently, seeing immediate benefits and enjoying the game more. As today's equipment has more adjustability and technology than ever before, golfers really need to be professionally fitted in order to maximize these enhancements.

PGA FREE FIT MONTH

Learn about how you can take your old golf clubs and trade them in toward the purchase of new clubs.

PGA.com Value Guide
Play Golf America
"As a PGA Professional, I know how important it is to have properly fit equipment to those who play the game, regardless of the level they play." said PGA of America President Allen Wronowski. "PGA and LPGA Professionals are trained experts in the game of golf and can help consumers solve the club-fitting puzzle through this program. I can assure you that anyone who is custom fit into the right clubs will see an immediate improvement in their game."

In addition to providing a free 15-minute fitting session, participating PGA and LPGA Professionals authorized by the PGA Trade-In Network can help golfers trade in their obsolete golf clubs based on fair market value determined by the PGA.com Value Guide and apply that amount towards new and fitted clubs. Nike Golf is the official equipment sponsor and is offering an additional trade in value to help enhance the experience for golfers.

"The trade-up aspect of the program allows golfers to clean out their golf bags, garages, basements and trunks and get fair market value for used golf clubs in exchange for credit toward the purchase of new equipment that actually fits. This is all part of our dedication to not only making the game more fun but also affordable," Wronowski added.

Golfers who receive the free fittings in April are eligible to enter a sweepstakes to win a trip for two to the 2011 PGA Championship at the Atlanta Athletic Club or one of two sets of Nike golf clubs.

More than 3,000 PGA/LPGA Professionals participated in Free Fitting and Trade-Up Month in 2010, giving more than 33,000 free fittings. Not only did these fittings improve the games of the golfers, but this program also provided a boost to the golf industry. Participating facilities showed an average of $3,700 in additional revenue generated by the program, resulting in a more than $7.8 million overall impact to the golf industry last year. Since the program's inception, more than 165,250 golfers have received free fittings, resulting in a more than a $36 million industry impact.

The PGA of America teams with Golf Digest, the PGA Trade-In Network, the PGA.com Value Guide and Nike Golf to sponsor this equipment-themed consumer promotion during the month of April.

Celebrating its 95th year, The PGA of America has maintained a twofold mission of its founders: to establish and elevate the standards of the profession and to grow interest and participation in the game of golf. By establishing and elevating the standards of the golf profession through world-class education, career services, marketing and research programs, The PGA enables its professionals to maximize their performance in their respective career paths and showcases them as experts in the game and in a multi-billion dollar golf industry. By creating and delivering dramatic world-class championships and exciting and enjoyable promotions that are viewed as the best of their class in the golf industry, The PGA of America elevates the public's interest in the game, the desire to play more golf, and ensures accessibility to the game for everyone, everywhere. The PGA of America brand represents the very best in golf.

Golf Digest is part of Condé Nast and is the largest golf publication in the world. Condé Nast, a division of Advance Publications, operates in 25 countries. In the United States, Condé Nast publishes 18 consumer magazines, two trade publications and 27 websites that garner international acclaim and unparalleled consumer engagement. For more information about Golf Digest go to www.golfdigest.com and stay connected on Twitter by following @GolfDigestMag

The PGA Trade-In Network is a founding partner of PGA Free Fitting & Trade-up Month. Established in 2004, The PGA Trade-In Network is a key component to the same PGA of America initiative that produced the PGA.com Value Guide, The National Standard for Golf Club Values (www.pga.com/valueguide). The PGA Trade-In Network is at work for PGA Professionals by driving new customers to their facilities, enabling risk-free trade-ins, and providing an easy way to turn unwanted trade-ins and other excess golf equipment into cash via a simple online tool. The PGA Trade-In Network also seeks to increase the consumer relevance of The PGA professional as the golf equipment, fitting and technology expert. Consumers benefit by being able to purchase properly fit golf equipment more affordably by trading-in their used golf clubs. There are currently over 7,000 PGA Trade-In Network facilities, employing over 10,000 PGA Professionals, nationwide.

Located at NIKE's World Headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon, Nike Golf designs and markets golf equipment, apparel, balls, footwear, bags and accessories worldwide. Nike Golf is passionately dedicated to ushering in the future of this great sport by developing ground-breaking innovations that enable and inspire athletes to become better. For more information on Nike Golf, visit our Web site at www.nikegolf.com. To follow Nike Golf on Twitter visit www.twitter.com/nikegolf and to become a fan on facebook, go to www.facebook.com/nikegolf. To view Nike Golf videos subscribe to our You Tube channel at www.youtube.com/nikegolf.

Rickie Fowler gives Reggie Bush a Golf Lesson

2011-04-13T03:51:00.001-07:00

Reggie Bush spent a few days in Augusta this past week to try his hand at golf during Masters week. Rickie Fowler, PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year and making a push to win this weekend, invited Reggie to town for some driving range practice. Reggie also personally drove Rickie to his first practice round.

8 mobile apps for golf season

2011-04-11T13:28:00.000-07:00

The pro golf season has kicked off with the heralded Masters Tournament in Augusta. Golf enthusiasts can rejoice in another season of watching the best players drive, chip, pitch and putt their way to victory.

Golfing is one of those addictive yet highly frustrating sports that can leave you feeling like a PGA pro one day and a novice the next. In golf, practice sometimes makes perfect, but any round can have a mind of its own regardless of how many hours you've put into the range. If anything though, true golfers are dedicated to the craft and will doggedly continue on their quest for the perfect swing.

These eight mobile apps might not get you to the Masters, but they may at least make you feel like you're worthy of playing at Augusta.
FORE!

Golf Genie Practice Drills Pro

This app acts like your virtual golf instructor and provides a whole slew of practice drills for your full swing and short game. Designed by PGA Tour pros, it also provides specific solutions and drills to address common swing faults like hooking, pulling, pushing and slicing. You can use the customization features to pick and choose which drills you'd like to focus on and then create your own personalized practice routine. It's also available for BlackBerry phones.

Cost: $0.99 (on sale for a limited time from $2.99)

U.S. Golf Courses

U.S. Golf Courses is a basic but useful app that provides a directory of major courses in every state in the country. More than 13,500 courses are listed. In addition to a breakout by state, this app also provides information on each, such as grass/bunker information, contact details, facilities available, food options and more. You can also use the GPS function on the app to search for the nearest course.

Cost: $0.99

Golfshot: Golf GPS

Knowing the layout of the course and each hole is essential for every golfer's game. With a GPS-enabled app like Golfshot, which tracks more than 35,000 courses worldwide, you have immediate access to aerial views, distances to the hole from any spot and exact placement of the pin for better accuracy. The app comes with a handicap calculator, and once stroke information is inputted, it automatically creates statistical graphs that map your performance and makes it easy to track for improvement on future rounds. Yes, it's a hefty price tag, but it's cheaper than a single round of golf and will certainly put you on the right track to better play. It's also available for Android phones.

Cost: $29.99

Golf's Greatest Destinations

If you're looking for golf course recommendations, Golf's Greatest Destinations is a handy resource. The app lets you search beautiful destinations and also provides categories such as Best for Buddy Trips, Best for Low Handicappers, Best Desert Courses, Best for Golf & Beach and much more. Information on each course is provided, as are accompanying photos.

Cost: $2.99

V1 Golf

There's a reason why golfing instructors always incorporate video into lessons -– it's the only way to show you those pesky mistakes in your swing. VIdeo is an important learning tool, which is why V1 Golf incorporates it so prominently. This app not only lets you analyze your own swing, but also lets you compare swings from pros and figure out what adjustments you need to make to stop hooking your drives. You can draw planes on the video screen to see how straight your line is, do split-screens to compare swings and watch in slow motion to see every single movement. It's also available on Android phones.

Cost: $3.99 (on sale for a limited time from $9.99)

The Rules of Golf

There are lots and lots of rules in golf, and there will be a time — if there hasn't been already — when you're playing with someone who is ALL about the rules. In those instances, it's helpful to have a definitive guide to golf. There's no better authority than the USGA Rules of Golf app. It gets into the nitty gritty of golf so that the next time you're playing with a stickler who raises a stink about how you re-dropped a dropped ball without penalty because it landed on the putting green, you can whip out Rule 20-2 and prove him wrong. It's also available for Android phones.

Cost: $3.99

Golf Digest Tips Plus

Golf Digest is one of the premier golf magazines. It makes sense that it would have a premier app as well. Tips Plus covers everything from swing mechanics, putting, short game, strategy and golf exercises and also features commentary from the best coaches like Hank Haney, David Leadbetter and Jim Flick. There are accompanying videos for the tips (which unfortunately didn't work for me), but also text that details helpful advice every golfer should know.

Cost: FREE

Golf Channel Mobile

To keep up to speed on the latest news and updates from the world of golf, the Golf Channel Mobile app is a good one to have. It provides breaking news, up-to-the-minute tournament scoreboards, player profiles and clips from recent Golf Channel shows. There are also clips of instructional videos from popular shows such as The Golf Fix and The Daily Brew. It's also available for Android phones.

Source:By Jeana Lee Tahnk, Mashable

Cruise Control

2011-04-05T18:54:00.000-07:00

Despite a couple of major mishaps that might've capsized a lesser player's career, Dustin Johnson motors on, content to let the game come to him. Which raises the question: Does the old rule that says success comes only through hard work not apply to the most athletic golfer the PGA Tour has ever seen?

If Dustin Johnson makes golf look a little too easy sometimes, well, there's a reason for that. "I think he is the best athlete ever to play professional golf," says Keith Sbarbaro, TaylorMade's vice president of PGA Tour operations. "He has almost freakish natural talent. He's the kind of guy who can do anything. Give him a basketball, he can dunk it in bare feet. Give him a baseball, he can throw it 90 miles per hour...." Johnson's father, Scott, picks up the thread. "He can bowl 200 games all night long," he says. "Don't shoot pool for money around him, either." Johnson's brother, A.J., adds, "He can tear it up on the water. On a wakeboard he can jump the wake, easily. Last summer I saw him get 10 feet of air on a Jet Ski. There was a 60-foot yacht going about 30 mph, and it was kicking up a wake with six-foot waves. Dustin launched off that like it was the X Games."

The ball speed coming off Johnson's driver peaks at close to 190 mph. The PGA Tour average is around 165; the young Tiger Woods topped out in the low 180s (with less advanced equipment). But there are other ways to quantify the physical gifts of this lithe, long-limbed, 6'4", 205-pound 26-year-old. Johnson's trainer, Randy Myers, says, "Dustin's standing broad jump puts him in the 93rd percentile among NBA players. His time in the three-cone drill"—a mini obstacle course that measures speed and agility—"puts him in the 80th percentile among NFL skill-position players. I've been doing this for 23 years, and he's the best athlete I've ever seen.

"I work with a lot of elite college programs, and the kids coming up all want to be as physical as Dustin. He's now the benchmark. What he does to a golf ball, the way he moves, the way people respond to his physicality—Dustin's a rock star."

There can be a downside to being such a natural, which Johnson acknowledges. Sort of. "I could probably work a little bit harder," he says with a grin, "but I do work hard."

"He's b.s.'ing you," says Butch Harmon, Johnson's swing coach for the past year. "His work ethic has improved, yes, because he didn't really do anything before. He has always relied on tremendous natural ability to carry him through. It's taken him all the way to being a top 10 player. But every other guy in the top 10 outworks him."

Last month at Doral, the gruff, old-school Harmon got in the face of his young, laid-back protégé. "We had a come-to-Jesus conversation about getting his personal life in order," says Harmon. "I was very blunt. I told him he needs to figure out who he is and how committed he is to utilizing his talent. And that when he's playing tournaments he needs to eliminate some of the, shall we say, extracurricular activities. He's a fun-loving guy, I realize that. But there's a time to play and a time to work. He needs to understand that a little better."

In 2010 Johnson emerged as the game's most tantalizing talent, winning the third and fourth tournaments of his career and finishing fourth on the money list ($4.47 million), along the way overpowering golf courses like the young Nicklaus did. More than a quarter of Johnson's drives traveled more than 320 yards, tops on Tour, and he also led the league in eagles per hole and finished second in the par-breakers stat, making birdie or better 22.97% of the time. The final-round 82 that a flustered Johnson shot to kick away the U.S. Open was redeemed by 71 sterling holes at the PGA Championship. The penalty he incurred on the final hole for grounding his club in an ill-defined bunker—tragically costing Johnson a spot in the Martin Kaymer--Bubba Watson playoff—was easily chalked up to a weird course setup and bad crowd control. But a rocky start to the 2011 season has led to some revisionist history, as Johnson's narrative has increasingly become defined by carelessness.

In February he was penalized for being late to his first-round tee time in Los Angeles, a gaffe that drew even more attention when Johnson's caddie, Bobby Brown, subsequently had an on-course confrontation with bulldoggish Golf Channel reporter Jim Gray. A couple of days later the Internet was flooded with a video released by the South Carolina Highway Patrol showing Johnson struggling with a field sobriety test, dating to a DUI arrest in March 2009 in Myrtle Beach. (He pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of reckless driving and was fined $445.) Johnson's love life has also made headlines, as in January he had a high-profile dalliance with LPGA starlet Natalie Gulbis. This followed a breakup with his off-again, on-again college girlfriend, Amanda Caulder. They're back together, and in February they moved into a stunning $3.7 million waterfront home in Jupiter, Fla.

Even with all this turbulence Johnson tied for third in San Diego and was second at Doral, all the while struggling with a chilly putter. "It was a cold winter in Myrtle so I didn't get to practice much," he says. "My speed's been off but it's getting better." That Johnson is rounding into form with the Masters on the horizon is no accident. "Everything we've done, going back to the off-season, was with Augusta in mind," says Harmon.

In two previous trips to the Masters, Johnson has finished 38th and 30th, turning Augusta National into a par-68 by decimating the par-5s. With his second shot he has reached the 510-yard 13th hole with a nine-iron, the 530-yard 15th with an eight-iron, the 575-yard 2nd with a six-iron, the steeply uphill 570-yard 8th with a four-iron. Little wonder that Kaymer, the world No. 1, has already anointed Johnson as one of this year's favorites, and that defending champ Phil Mickelson says, "There's no reason Dustin shouldn't win more than one Masters in his career."
Clearly Johnson has the physical tools. But Augusta National is the sport's most exacting stage, demanding much more than simply titanium-denting pyrotechnics. If Johnson is to prevail at the Masters, he will have to summon new levels of discipline and determination and clear-eyed thinking. Whether he can do so is of a piece with the larger questions that now hang over his career. Says Harmon, parroting the naysayers, "Does he want it bad enough? I think so. But it's up to Dustin to prove it."

Johnson has been afloat more or less since birth. His family ran a commercial marina on Lake Mary in Columbia, S.C., and when Dustin was a baby his father used to strap a crib into the back of his bass boat and take him along on fishing expeditions. According to family lore, the motion of the boat rocked Johnson into a deep sleep.

He inherited more than just a love of the water from his athletic family. His 6'4" grandfather, Art Whisnant, was an all-conference basketball player at South Carolina in the early 1960s. Scott Johnson played football, basketball and baseball in high school, and his son proved to be just as versatile an athlete; growing up Dustin was a goal-scoring machine in soccer, a shortstop and pitcher in baseball and a rare point-center in basketball, bringing the ball up the court and patrolling the middle on defense. "No joke, Dustin could have gotten a Division I scholarship in three or four sports," says A.J., who played three seasons as a shooting guard for the College of Charleston. "He was that good at everything he did. But he liked golf the best."

Scott Johnson pursued a career as a teaching professional at Columbia's Mid Carolina Club, and under his tutelage Dustin quickly became a schoolboy legend around the state. Many of his deeds have the ring of myth, except they're true. As a seventh-grader Johnson played varsity golf for Dutch Fork High. One day he shot a 64 at Golden Hills Golf & Country Club in Lexington. It would have been a course record, but the club refused to recognize it because he had accepted a gimme on a short putt early in the round. "Shoot, I didn't care," Johnson says. But he came back the next day and putted out everything, shooting another 64. In eighth grade, on the day of the end-of-the-season banquet for the golf squad, Johnson and his teammates played a quick nine holes at the Club at Rawls Creek in Irmo. He shot a sporty 28. "Coach told me to forget about the banquet and try for the course record," says Johnson. He tweaked his back on the second nine, hit three balls out-of-bounds . . . and still got home in 35 for a 63 and another course record.

Johnson's rep only became more outsized in college, at Coastal Carolina. There was the time during practice when he made an ace and a double eagle—on back-to-back holes—using the same club, a four-iron. Says Allen Terrell, the coach at Coastal Carolina, "Against Duke he chipped in on the last hole to give the team a win. At Augusta State his senior year he shot 30 on the back nine so we could win again. I can't even remember all the big shots. He made so many important final-hole birdies for us."

Johnson's flair for the dramatic—and his awesome power—captured the imagination of the golfing world even as he was toiling for a small-time college program. His agent, David Winkle, recalls one particular moment when he was scouting Johnson: "It was a 330-yard par-4, big dogleg left, and his two playing partners hit their best drivers well short of the green. Dustin hit this absolutely majestic tee ball that fell out of the sky about 15 feet from the flag. I was behind the green, and as he's walking off I congratulated him on a great shot. And he says, 'Dude, it was a perfect three-wood.' I remember thinking very clearly at that moment, Someday this kid is going to own Augusta National."

He remained utterly unfazed even as the spotlight got hotter. In September 2007 he represented the U.S. at the Walker Cup at Royal County Down. In the first match of the competition, Johnson was in a foursomes match against Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy, a boy wonder with a huge home field advantage. Terrell was standing by the tee. "Rory hits a great drive and the crowd goes crazy," he says. "It takes a while for everyone to settle down. Finally Dustin steps up and just smashes one. The people jump back like a freight train is roaring through there. They had never seen anything like it. It was stone silence. We walked off that drive at 403 [yards]."

Johnson turned pro shortly thereafter and breezed through Q school to earn a place on the PGA Tour. Near the end of his rookie year he was in danger of losing his card before he came out of nowhere to win the Turning Stone Resort Championship in Verona, N.Y. In 2009 he won again, at Pebble Beach, and had two more top five finishes, setting the stage for his breakthrough last year. The down-home Whisnant has a simple explanation for his grandson's seamless rise to the brink of superstardom: "He's always done what he needs to do when it needs to be done."

On a sunny afternoon last October, Johnson was hanging out in his Myrtle Beach starter home, a relatively modest pad in a quiet development far from the Grand Strand. Amanda Caulder was there too, barefoot, in shorts and a T-shirt, a vision of willowy loveliness, which she comes by naturally; her lunch on this day, at a sandwich shop in a minimall, was a BLT with extra cheese, on a croissant, with a fried egg, washed down by a cinnamon roll. Sliding around on the hardwood floors and launching himself onto the furniture and dispensing copious amounts of love was Max, the Old English sheepdog that Johnson got for Amanda as a present when she graduated from Coastal Carolina with a degree in health sciences in 2008. (On a coffee table was the book Food to Live By and a guide to planting your own organic vegetable garden.)

Caulder sat at the dining room table, sorting through teetering piles of mail. It should be noted that Johnson's galleries tend to skew female. At this year's Pebble Beach National Pro-Am he was ambling between the 16th green and the 17th tee when a lascivious fortysomething woman catcalled, "Seeeeeexxxxxy." Johnson simply smiled and kept walking. His amateur partner, Joe Rice, said, "That's not the first time something like that has happened." Caulder has come across a few suggestive pieces of fan mail. Sitting at the dining room table she said, "This one letter began, 'My boyfriend and I followed you in Akron. We recently broke up. . . .' The girl included her phone number, so I called her. I said, 'Hello, I'm Dustin's assistant and his girlfriend, and I wanted to let you know we received your letter.'" Then Amanda sent the young woman an autographed golf ball.
The most treasured correspondence Johnson has received came in the wake of the PGA Championship fiasco. It was from Byron Nelson's widow, Peggy. "You handled the situation at the PGA in such a wonderfully gentlemanly, sportsmanlike way," she wrote. "Byron would have been proud of you. I'm still seething with righteous indignation." She also included a $300 check, passing on a debt of gratitude that extends back to the 1939 Hershey Open. As Peggy explained in the letter, Byron was leading that tournament when he piped a seemingly perfect drive to the blind 15th fairway. Inexplicably the ball could not be found, even after a long search by the gallery. Nelson was forced to declare the ball lost and re-tee, eating the two strokes that ultimately sent him skidding to fourth place. Weeks later an anonymous letter arrived, in which a remorseful fan said that his lady friend had cluelessly picked up the ball and put it in her purse, which the letter writer didn't discover until the train ride home. Included was a check for $300, the difference between first- and fourth-place money.

"It's a pretty cool story," says Johnson, with typical understatement.

In the wake of the PGA—not to mention the final-round blowup at the U.S. Open—Johnson said over and over that the disappointment lasted only a matter of hours and that there was no emotional scar tissue. It was hard to believe, but those closest to Johnson marvel at his ability to move on.

"I've never, ever seen him upset about anything," says Whisnant.

"He's the most laid-back guy in the world," says A.J. Johnson. "Nothing bothers him. I flew home with him from the Open, and by the time we landed in South Carolina it was like nothing had happened. I'm pretty sure I was way more disappointed than he was."

Yet this equanimity has been tested so far in 2011. The drama began in January at the season opener in Maui, when Gulbis followed Johnson during the third round. The crowds are always light at Kapalua, and, frankly, Gulbis was hard to miss in a very mini skirt. The TV cameras found her on the back nine, but Golf Channel made the editorial decision not to show her on the telecast. A couple of photographers also spotted her. I was waiting near the clubhouse to speak with Johnson after his round when Gulbis sashayed past. She gave me a hug and we chatted for about 20 minutes, with Gulbis talking openly about her budding relationship with Johnson. They had first hung out when both were competing in the Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge in November. Gulbis said she traveled to the ensuing Skills Challenge and Shark Shootout to see Johnson. By December rumors had begun to swirl about a possible romance, but it had never been confirmed. In finally doing so in Hawaii, Gulbis asked not to be quoted extensively, saying, "I'll let Dustin handle our p.r." Then she bid adieu to meet him at his hotel.

Reached by phone in his room a little while later, Johnson said he was busy and asked for a return call in an hour. He never picked up again.

I was not eager to publicize their private lives, but a coupling of one of the Tour's most telegenic young stars with one of the planet's most attractive female athletes is not an easy secret to keep. Complicating matters was the intimacy of the event; staying at the same resort as Johnson were numerous writers, agents, caddies and Tour staffers. Since the news was bound to break, I figured it might as well come from me. My story was posted that evening on Golf.com, and almost instantly the golf world was atwitter. During the final round Golf Channel showed Gulbis in the gallery, and then, after the round, Johnson announced he was withdrawing from the ensuing week's Sony Open and heading home to South Carolina.

The speculation and innuendo were so unrelenting that five days later Johnson did a phone interview with The Associated Press, telling Doug Ferguson that he and Caulder had broken up months earlier. "For people to say I went home to repair the relationship is completely false," Johnson said. "We're not in a relationship."

A person close to Johnson confirms the timing, saying, "That's how those two are. They've broken up and gotten back together a bunch of times through the years."

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Source: ALAN SHIPNUCK (SI Golf)

Which Bars Stack Up?

2011-04-05T17:34:00.000-07:00

You can stand in a grocery aisle for 20 minutes and stare at the dizzying variety of nutrition bars before buying one, or you can consider the suggestions of four nutritionists we contacted to help narrow your choice. Amanda Carlson-Phillips, a certified sports dietitian, says nuts or raw fruit are healthier snacks, but if you want a nutrition bar to get through your round, make sure it has a mix of carbohydrates, protein, fat and fiber.

Why eat one?

Not only is it a convenient source of quick nutrition, but "when playing golf, the goal is to keep blood sugar stable, because when blood sugar drops, mental acuity and energy levels are affected," says Amy Goodson, a certified sports dietitian for the Texas Health Ben Hogan Sports Medicine clinic.

When to eat one?

These bars don't replace a meal, but if your choice is between skipping breakfast or eating an energy bar, go with the bar, says Robert Yang, a certified nutritionist and advisor for Titleist Performance Institute. The best time to eat one is at the turn or on the back nine to maintain energy levels.

What kind to eat?

"Choose the least amount of sugar, and look for whole-food ingredients," says nutritionist Cate Munroe. "If you can't pronounce an ingredient, don't eat it." Says Carlson-Phillips, of Athletes' Performance: "You want your bar to have no less than four or five grams of protein, and 10 to 15 is ideal."

Article & Photo Source:
"Which Bars Stack Up?"
Golf Digest
May 2011
pg 54