Northwest Golf Season Kicks Off With Regional Golf Shows!
What a month! Northwest native Fred Couples continues to tear up the Champions Tour, Spokane native Alex Prugh is becoming a solid fixture on the PGA Tour, and UW alum Paige McKenzie continues her work on the LPGA Tour. Throw in three Northwest Golf Shows in one month and Northwest golfers have much to cheer about! The unofficial ‘official’ start of the 2010 golfing season kicked off last month with the concurrent staging of the Seattle and Portland Golf shows held over three days and the Spokane Golf Show held a week later. With unexpected fair weather, local golfers converged on Northwest exhibition halls filled with vendors tempting you at every turn. Yes, Northwest golfers were in a festive spirit choosing to forget about or, at least ignore for a day, the fledgling economic recovery and opting rather to spend their hard earned cash on everything from the usual golfing ‘must haves’ and Stay-and-Play packages to indulgent day spa services. The feeling of “doom and gloom” that has persisted for too long was for the most part blissfully absent. Or if it was bandied about, it did not filter its way to me! While there is cautious optimism, people are ready and willing to engage in this wonderful activity in any way they can and Golf Today shares and supports that drive towards a future recovery. We applaud our advertising partners who also understand that the good times will return, and when they do, they too will prosper and succeed. Golf Today Magazine had another tremendous show season. A huge thank you to golfers and readers who came to our booth to congratulate us on our monthly magazine, and to offer feedback (positive and constructive) and even new story ideas. Thank you to all that did so. As we enter our second year, we cannot thank enough our editorial contributors, our advertising partners who provide terrific products and services to our readers, and to our readers for supporting our format and editorial approach. Here’s to a great 2010!
What’s New?
Come Play the 2010 Golf Today Magazine-sponsored McCormick Woods Spring Classic June 22nd. A 1:30pm shotgun start at the premier McCormick Woods Golf Course in Port Orchard, WA is the perfect way to spend an afternoon. Yes, its time to tee it up, have fun, and enjoy a sociable event with great tee prizes for all. Golf Today events are focused on providing golfers with great golf and value in a non-competitive atmosphere where everyone goes home with a bag of swag!
Golf Today is excited and pleased to introduce Golf Today readers to the 2010 McCormick Woods Golf Classic, a one-day, play your own ball, “fun event.” Located in Port Orchard, WA on the Kitsap Peninsula, McCormick Woods is an 18 hole Audubon Society certified championship public course that opened in 1987. Nestled amongst idyllic lakes and towering firs and cedars, McCormick Woods will certainly test the mettle of players of all abilities, but fear not, there are five-tee placements at each hole to choose from! Golf Digest and Golfweek think McCormick Woods is a “goodie” as well, rating it “Best Course” and “Most Enjoyable Course” respectively. After the round golfers will enjoy hot appetizers at the delightful Clubhouse Restaurant, which boasts panoramic views and an outdoor patio overlooking North Lake.
So what makes our events different? Golf Today Magazine’s “Fun Tournaments” are open to men and women players of all abilities. Yes, you do not need to have a handicap and all players, regardless of score, will take home a Tee Prize Package worth at least $100. Now throw in the $7500 in value raffle prizes where ALL golfers have a chance to win great prizes such as a one day, stay-and-play package at the Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort Hotel, including golf for two at the spectacular Circling Raven Golf Club in Worley, ID. The winner will enjoy a round of golf on the course Golfweek rates as “One of the Best Casino Courses 2007-2009); just be sure to keep an eye out for your ball as it is not uncommon to share the fairway with local wildlife such as elk and the errant bear!
In addition, we’re giving away other regional Stay and Play Packages, tickets to the upcoming 2010 U.S. Senior Open, 2010 Boeing Classic, and twosomes to the highly acclaimed Nevada courses such as Angel Park, Alliante, and The Legacy Golf Club, highly acclaimed Tetherow, Wine Valley, and free or discounted golf certificates at other great Seattle and Washington courses!
Before you warm up, any golfer interested in a quick FREE onsite Swing Analysis can do so at the GolfTEC mobile Swing Analysis booth. You’ll need to get in line, however, as I’ll likely be the first one in line ready for a little guidance from our good friends at GolfTEC!
If you are like me, and you’ve got your eyes on that new 2010 stick that you’ve been waiting to let rip, we’ll also have a Clubmaker Demo of Clubs on site-Try them with no obligation!
Entry fee is $115 per player, $105 per player for a twosome and $95 per player for a foursome. Now be sure to act fast to secure your spot. In fact, if you book by Mar 31, we’ll knock 10% off!
For more information and entry forms, call 425-941-9946 or email Cameron@golftodaynw.com. We will fax, send, or email entry forms to you!
The following are a few golfing “goodies” that I discovered while walking the exhibit halls at last month’s Northwest golf shows and deserve mention. Good luck and I hope they help and foster further enjoyment of this great game!
AlmostGOLF
AlmostGOLF’s Point 3 golf ball allows you to practice or play anywhere. The Point 3 combines tour quality flight characteristics with safety unmatched by any other practice ball on the market. Weighing just 13.5 grams the Point 3 carries 1/3 the distance that you would hit a traditional golf ball and has a COR rating of .32 (Point 3). As a result it has realistic launch angle and spin off the clubface, so you can safely hit true fades, draws to help accurately diagnose and correct swing flaws while practicing. Now juniors, beginners and serious players can get real practice time in their backyard, schoolyard or on any playing field. Practice trouble shots and difficult lies anytime, anywhere without the worry of hurting anything. This product is proudly endorsed by Dave Pelz and used in his golf schools nationwide.
GOLFNOW.com
Golfnow.com is the largest online tee time retailer in the United States. Operating in 25 states, and partnering with more than 1,500 courses across the nation, GolfNow offer northwest golfers affordable pricing, 24 hour tee time bookings, and excellent customer service to manage more than 1.5 million registered golfer accounts. Please visit www.golfnow.com for details.
PREMIER GOLF CENTERS
Was established in 2001 and currently manages 10 golf courses for five municipalities in the Puget Sound region including the city of Seattle. Become a member of their Premier Golf Club and enjoy discounts on green fees, range balls, and golf carts at any of their 10 courses. Please visit www.premiergolfcenters.com for more information.
Mt SI Golf Course
I’m always amazed at just how busy their booth is each year; however, it’s not a stretch to work out why as Mt SI, located in Snoqualmie, WA, serves as a beautiful backdrop to a course headed by long time Head Professional Matt Campbell. Mt Si often offers golfers terrific coupons such as “Two for Ones”, “Pay for Nine, Play 18,” and “50% off Breakfast and Lunch”. Please visit www.mtsigolf.com for more information.
Pollen Putters
Pollen Golf, a new Seattle-based putter company, unveiled two acrylic putters at the Show. The putters look and feel like nothing else on the market, composed of a high-density polymer and stainless steel. “The concept behind the Pollen design is to shape the entire club head out of this lightweight acrylic,” explains Ian Burke, spokesperson for Pollen (www.pollengolf.com). “This allows the weight to be precisely added back in, for solid contact and good balance. Most leading manufacturers are milling out the face of a metal putter and filling it back in with a polymer. We just made the entire club head out of this material.” Check them out at pollengolf.com.
Vancouver Island Golf Trail
A 250-kilometre golf trail of Pacific paradise from Victoria to Campbell River, awaits golfers on British Columbia’s Vancouver Island - ranked as the Top North American Island by Conde Nast Traveler Magazine. Over the past couple of decades numerous “golf trails” have sprung up. Many have detoured and disappeared. The product, the experience, the logic to the whole thing, just wasn’t there. But, rest assured, The Vancouver Island Golf Trail - unquestionably, one of the finest golf trails in North America - isn’t going anywhere. It’s too good. And it just keeps getting better. Two new courses - The Valley Course at Bear Mountain and Highland Pacific - have boosted the total number of courses on the trail to 12. Throw in a couple of days of sightseeing, fishing, or whale watching, and you’ve got two weeks worth of good times. Please visit www.vancouverislandgolftrail.com for more information.
Golf-n-Scope
Want to see how a rangefinder can improve your game? There’s an app for that! Now iPhone users can download Golf-n-Scope, a digital rangefinder, from the iTunes App Store for a one-time cost of $4.99.
Golf-n-Scope uses your iPhone’s camera, with flag recognition and range finding calculations to estimate your distance to the flag. It works without GPS, making it usable on any golf course regardless of coverage. It’s easy to use, just aim the cross hairs at the flag, press the camera button and Golf-n-Scope gives you your distance to the flag. You can fine tune the flag location by touching the markers on the screen. Golf-n-Scope will suggest a suitable club based on the computed distance to the pin and clubs in your golf bag. For more information visit www.qualnetics.com/golf-n-scope. You can purchase Golf-n-Scope at http://itunes.com/apps/golf-n-scope.
The CLUBGLIDER
The CLUBGLIDER Travel Bag continues to wow golfers and Tour professionals alike. It virtually eliminates sore shoulders and back resulting from lugging golf clubs from the parking garage through the airport check-in counter and to the hotel. The integrated set of legs with in-line caster wheels retracts into the bag making ClubGlider safe and secure for travel. At baggage claim simply extend the legs and glide to your destination. This is great for the traveling golfer. Golf Today readers enjoy a special $30 discount and free name embroidery by using Promotion Code GTNW at www.clubglider.com.
Chicks Golf, Too
Chicks Golf, too is a fun, inviting store for women’s golf apparel, shoes, and accessories. The shop, located in Downtown Puyallup, WA is a lively and social gathering place to stop in and share your stories - about golf, family, work or whatever - all while seeing what is new in ladies golf fashions, the coolest gadgets and must-have bags. A big hit at the Seattle Golf Show, Chicks Golf, Too also has an online store for those shoppers wishing to browse the logo products on the Internet. “The goal we had in mind for our booth, was to create a mini-replica of the shop,” says owner Amanda Brunaugh. “It was a huge hit with all of the show’s lady attendees, and we look forward to visiting with them all again soon during the 2010 golf season.” For more information, please visit www.chicksgolf2.com.
