Golf for a cause

Mark your calendar's from August 29th through September 1st with a big green smiley face. Put down your gardening tools, and take out your golf tools, and tool-on over to one of over 3000 golf courses throughout our great country, and tee it up for those that can't.

Fighter pilot Captain Dan Rooney...shares like many of you, the love of golf, but he has channeled that love into a grander vision that includes giving back to his country..."Noonan" (the Captain's call sign), thought about his comrades that could not be with him on the golf course, and last year started something big...

...over $1 million dollars big.

He started Patriot Golf Day to benefit The Rooney Fallen Heroes Foundation.

Last year golf courses around our United States of America raised their greens fees by $1. That dollar was earmarked for families of fallen US soldiers killed or wounded throughout our current military operations. This year will be the same...and with your help, even greater results.

This year Captain Rooney will be going back for his third Tour of Duty.

We owe it to him and his foundation to take a couple tours around the golf course. Captain, thank you for your service.

Thanks for reading. Keep it in the short-grass,

JFB

Think you're Hollywood material?

Hello,

My name is Gaby Wilson. I'm a Casting Producer for ABC's Primetime show; "Wife Swap."
We're currently into our fourth season at the moment and we're looking for one-of-a-kind families with plenty of personality.
Specifically, we're looking for families that love the game of golf! If your life revolves around getting to a tee time, golf lesson, or driving range and sharing golf with your family, and you've always thought your family was meant for TV, I want to hear from you! In addition, please feel free to forward this to any families you think would be interested in taking part in this once-in-a-lifetime experience.
In case you are unfamiliar with the show, the premise of Wife Swap is to take two different families and have the moms switch places to experience how another family lives. Half of the week, mom lives the life of the family she is staying with. Then she introduces a "rule change" where she implements rules and activities that are important to her family. It's a positive experience for people to not only learn but teach about other families and other ways of life.

Wife Swap airs on Disney owned ABC television on Wednesdays at 8 pm- the family hour!

Requirements: Each family must consist of two parents and at least one child between 7 and 17 and should reside in the continental U.S. (There may be other children living in the home who are older or younger than the required age…as long as one child is in the required age range.)
Participating in the show is a very unique experience that can be life changing for everyone. In addition, each family that tapes an episode of Wife Swap receives $20,000 as compensation for their time. Anyone who refers a family that appears on our program receives $1000 as a 'thank you' from us.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me! If you're interested in learning more, please include your contact information.

Gaby WilsonCasting ProducerWife Swap
gaby.wifeswap@gmail.com


Good luck to any takers out there!

JFB

Think pink this week

Starting May 10th, CHAMP Spikes, the number one brand on Tour, has expanded its highly successful Pink on the Links™ program for 2008 by adding an eBay charity auction and increasing player participation across all tours.

Pros will be asked to wear CHAMP’s commemorative pink and white spikes during Mother’s Day weekend tournaments across the globe and CHAMP will make a donation to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) on their behalf.

The Pink on the Links program also includes a charity eBay auction which is new for 2008 where items up for bid include:

- Autographed shoes from Tiger Woods
- Autographed shoes from Lorena Ochoa
- Autographed shoes from Padraig Harrington
- An autographed golf bag from Paul Casey
- Autographed shoes from Se Ri Pak
- Golf foursome with winner’s choice of FUTURES Tour player (conditions apply)


In addition to CHAMP’s donation on behalf of Tour players wearing the pink and white spikes, 100% of proceeds from the Pink on the Links auction items will benefit the BCRF.

Auction starts May 10th.

Please visit the auction through the CHAMP website, http://www.champspikes.com/ or directly at www.stores.ebay.com/pinkonthelinks, . The auction runs until May 20th.

Ugh...The Masters

Every year, millions of golfers tune into Augusta Georgia to see what has become the United States' official spring right of passage...The Masters.

To me...and millions of allergy suffererers, this great golf event has become a right of passage of another sort...

Springtime.

Oh, to be sure, the Azaleas...Dogwoods...and Bradford Pears are all in full bloom, but that beauty comes with a price to folks like us...an excuse-me-while-I-sneeze price that even Jim Nance couldn't speak well of...let alone allergy sufferer Tiger Woods (overheard in a recent conversation on the green)..."Hey Stevie...this putt doesn't break to the right, it goes left." "No, Tiger...it goes right...here, wipe your watery eyes, and blow your running nose."...."Snughddesffulgh"..."Hey Stevie! Your right!"

...Yeah...I feel your pain Tiger.

So does LPGA superstar Jill McGill. In a recent article in SI, she gives an up close and personal account of her allergies and how they enter her daily life on and off the golf course. She even puts her money where her...um...runny nose is, by working with the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America to the benefit of sufferers like me, who struggle throughout the year with this dis-ease.

So, from one golfer who takes allergy shots, Advair, and Zyrtec, I salute you Ms McGill for helping out a great cause by spreading the gospel about allergies and asthma. If I ever get to meet you, I'm sure to have my autograph book in hand...

...and a box of Puffs.


Thanks for reading. Keep it in the short-grass,

JFB

ESPN/Masters online putting game

Ever wished you could putt the greens of Amen Corner? ESPN and The Masters have teamed-up to give you an online putting game that puts you in the middle of 11, 12 and 13 giving you a virtual rendering of what it would feel like.

No, this isn't Arnie's Amen Corner...as it was labeled in '58, but now thanks to high tech...Arnie's Army can get an up close look at these greens...

...and putt on these hallowed holes.










Scroll down to the bottom of my website, and see if you are good enough to make it through Amen Corner.





Thanks for reading. Keep it in the short-grass,
JFB

Tiger the conqueror...continued

Got sweat?....

JFB

...Tiger the Conqueror...continued

...and the buzz builds!

JFB

The fist pump

Tiger has become a verb in our society...a car salesman, making a sale, goes to the bosses office...punches his fist into the air and says: "I Tiger-ed him". Golfers of every walk, live for the moment on the golf course when they can sink that putt and do the 'Tiger fist-pump'.

Now kids have a chance to pump their fists.

The Tiger Woods Foundation has a contest for kids 13-18 to submit a short video, or text essay for the Fist Pump Challenge. The foundation is giving away great kid-rated loot (for those that can put their stories of attaining goals on video or text) by selecting a few of them on the last day of every month all this year, and if you live in Orange County or Washington DC...soon, you may be eligible for an Earl Woods Foundation Scholarship.

The Tiger Woods Foundation has been instrumental in helping millions of kids across the country define and reach their goals through scholarships, grants and other golf related activities...

...now that's worthy of a fist pump!


Thanks for reading. Keep it in the short-grass,

JFB

Whether you are looking for tennis or lacrosse equipment, make sure you get the top of the line. From the golf carts to the golf clubs, you golf vacations should go perfect. You can also throw in a bit of basketball equipment for some variation.

Online games revisited

In an earlier post, I postulated on the coming of virtual golf.

It's here. To get a sneek-peek at the future...click here.

The World Golf Tour offers a virtual golf experience for all adults of every swing-plane.

The capitalists behind the World Golf Tour pick a golf course (the demo on the site is the Bali Hai golf club in Las Vegas), and submit it to six months of poking and prodding that would make the gopher in Caddyshack proud. Using camera-strapped helicopter drones to scan every blade of froghair...they bring the data back to their workshop which gets rendered, mashed, mixed, and wow-ed...to bring an incredibly immersing experience...even down to the chirping birds.

There are over 100,000 hackers in this uber-golf/social site, and growing. Monthly prizes enhance the user experience...and addiction.

Please remember...however good you may become at virtual golf, don't give up your day job.

...these golf avatars haven't made any real money...yet.


Thanks for reading. Keep it in the short-grass,

JFB

Since always gambling has not been looked upon kindly, whether it is blackjack or poker. However with the advent of online casino and the success of national lottery, all has changed now. More people are participating in various online lottery schemes.

If you win...should you be clean-shaven?

It's good to be a golf-fan...that shaves.

Gillette...maker of the Gillette Fusion Razor has the latest entrant of what is a killer sweepstakes!
I'm sure you've seen the Gillette Champion's commercial's on TV featuring Tiger Woods, Roger Federer and Theirry Henry...well, now these well-shaven boys are part of the razors' online push with interviews (scroll to the bottom of my site to see Tigers' interview), downloads, and more.

The sweepstakes ends February 29th 2008. Grand prize is (and this is from the contest rules section): a 3-day/2-night trip for 2 to a sponsor-specified location (within the contiguous 48 United States) for a golf lesson with legendary golf coach, Hank Haney. Prize includes round-trip coach air transportation for winner and guest from major airport nearest winner’s home, hotel accommodations (one room, double occupancy), airport and hotel room taxes, a $300 stipend towards ground transportation, and 1 golf lesson with Hank Haney (subject to his availability).

If you don't win the big one...there are 2,357 instant win prizes so you might get lucky.

While you're on the site, you might check out the how-to's on shaving. Tiger says the #1 rule is to soak...

...but is he talking about shaving or Woody Austin?

Good luck!

JFB

An essay...is it in you?

A smattering of journals I've read over the past weekend (Portfolio, Golf, Money) has an opportunistic advertisement that is open to US citizens over the age of 18. The ad is a contest sponsored by Golf Digest, NBC Sports, and The USGA. The contest gives you the opportunity to write a 100 word essay describing your lust for the sport of golf, and how it involves the ability to break 100...

...At Torrey Pines.

...Gulp.

Yes, this years' site of the US Open.
The chosen essayist will be given the opportunity to find their little white ball in course-condition rough...just like the pros!

Read the contest rules, because you have until Jan 29th to submit, and judges are looking for a certain winning formula from your essay.

So sharpen those yellow pencils and get writing! Don't put to much pressure on yourself, 'cause unlike the pencils at your golf course...

...this one has an eraser.

Good luck!

JFB

While leaving on golf vacations, the issue of golf carts and the rest of the golf equipment becomes quite bothersome. The best solution would be to get all this and more on lease from the local stores there. You will be able to get baseball as well as tennis and lacrosse equipment on rent from there.

Fear the Roo

One of the more enduring commercial series is the annual 'Capital One Mascot Challenge' during bowl weekend. This year Zippy, the kangaroo mascot from my Alma Mater: The University of Akron, was one of the contestants in the Mascot Open.

Zippy won!...fear the Roo!

Zippy is the modern shortened version for the school's original sports teams name The Zippers.

(I know what you're thinking...leave it to an Ohio school to come up with a name like that).

...but that's just how it came to be.

In the 1920's, the President of the college thought it to be a good idea to let the students come up with a name for the its athletic teams. Well, Akron Ohio was the rubber capital of the world at the time, and one of those rubber inventions: over-sized shoe covers...or galoshes, were very popular then. Well, if you've ever worn them you know how hard they are to put on...especially wet...

...unless you have zippers on them.

Yes, the zipper was the BIG invention of the day...literally blossoming new industries (and defeating old ones: putting tailors and button-makers out of business). Yes, the zipper, was huge, so that was the popular name of choice for the contest.

Thus The Zippers were born. Later it was shortened to Zips, and in 1953 the kangaroo was elected as official mascot. Zippy, as she (yes, only one of two mascots are female) is affectionately known, rambles around at all the various sports events in the University's portfolio.

Hey, for a town known for the birth place of Devo...we could have done a lot worse.

Congratulations ZIPPY!

Thanks for reading, keep it in the short-grass,

JFB

Greg Norman is the man

I think it's safe to say most people's (including me) biggest joy in life is coming home on Friday's after a hard week at work, going straight to the night stand, and turning the alarm feature to the 'off' position.

For Greg Norman, his joy is touching things and turning them to gold (excuse me while I bow from the waist and say "I'm not worthy...Aussie...Aussie...Aussie").

I'm talking about the man that Tiger will some day be...but is not yet. I'm talking about the man...the brand, that is Greg Norman.

He is conquering golf courses with a shovel now, instead of a 3-iron.
He's principal of Greg Norman Interactive. Geeks even think he's golden.
He owns vineyards, and has his name branded on steaks in Australia... "May I pair a prime cut Greg Norman with a Pinot Greg Norman?"

But recently I read in Portfolio Magazine Norman has hit the goldmine with global positioning technology.
As principal investor in G.P.S. Industries, his companies product GolfLogix is a cellphone-sized piece of hardware that can download up to 10 course maps from thousands of golf courses worldwide, measuring front, center, and back of the greens.

Greg Norman has conquered the business world. His ever-expanding presence in this world solidifies him as setting the threshold for future golf mogul-wannabees to reach.

As for his personal life?

My childhood walls were taped with pictures of Chrissy Evert. Norman added her to his trophy case last month...rumors have it that the exes settlement is north of $300 million...

...but hey...it's Crissy!

The main difference in Greg Norman and everybody else is that while we can't wait to turn the alarm feature to 'off'...Greg can't wait to hear it.

Thanks for reading. Keep it in the short-grass,

JFB

World of...MiniGolf?

Last week's news of Vivendi and ActiVision doing the corporate version of a mash-up, signifies the beginning of a new video game era.

I think it's all because of the Wii platform bringing the social aspect into the game, and thanks to creative uses of plug-ins..here's what I see:

ActiVision...with its strong Guitar Hero franchise, has taken the reins and solidified the Wii platform as the real social platform.

Enter World of Warcraft (WoW)...Vivendi's blockbuster game in a virtual world...they have the subscription model figured out as to how to make money with the social Internet.

Now...let's mash the social platform with Internet 2.0, and add a golf club...

...actually...a putter...

Back in the pages of the Vivendi games website there is an online game called 3D Ultra Mini-Golf

This game is in its infancy...but with the Vivendi/ActiVision mash-up (to be called ActiVision/Blizzard) I see this being developed for the Wii platform, and used as an online social/virtual site the way WoW is currently played. I see the (virtual) putter being the Wii stick, and a multitude of players competing for local-state-national mini-golf championships. The possibilities (as with WoW and Guitar Hero) are endless...but in golf video games I see less of someone trying to be Tiger Woods...and more like trying to be "personified" with their own qualities...or lack there of.

Of course, that's just one 45 year olds point of view....my 4 year old and his/her peers will someday undoubtedly push the video game envelope to area I cannot even dream of.

...not even Lasik-vision will be able to see it.

Thanks for reading. Keep it in the short-grass,

JFB

Finding good baseball bats and basketball shoes is almost as hard as looking for the perfect golf shoes or golf clubs. There is no such thing as perfect golf equipment. Your golf vacations can be fun without the perfect equipment too.

A new website from across the pond

Interested in golf in Scotland? Go to www.MulliganPlus.com . This site is well informed, and was sent by alert reader Reagan Pannell.

Our site would be of interest to anyone of your visitors looking on Courses in the UK and especially Scotland where we are adding information continually at present.
As you will see, our course directory holds enormous amount of information regarding clubs and courses. If you look at Kingsbarns for example, we have all the information any visitor needs and its all be packaged into a PDF Course Guide that people can download to read, print or share with friends.
We also have a member’s area mainly for UK golfers with handicap calculator, online leagues, scorecard recorder, and a playing finder facility. Over this week we are also updating our members section and it’s presently free to join. We are developing the social networking opportunities of the site, with small individual blog sections for members etc that will be available to be viewed by the public.Recently we also covered the Dunhill International Links Championship and we thought that some sites may be interested in using some images that we produced.
We have full copyright for the images but they must be used in an editorial way and not to advertise a product. Therefore, please visit here and follow the link to view our photography of the event. If you wish to use an image, we ask that a link is added to us within the image and as a caption to the photograph.

Now, I hope that something is of interest to you and more importantly to your readers.

If you have any questions, please get in touch.

Kind regards,

Reagan Pannell