Traveling With Adidas

Adidas is doing a pretty cool thing right now. With their "Wear in the World" Campaign they are traveling to the US, Argentina, Bolivia, South Africa, and Australia. They are currently on the second leg of the journey, in Argentina and will remain there until the 4th of December. Lucky winners of the Wear in the World contest get to travel for thirty days to some of the world's most fascinating golf courses, while wearing Adidas apparel of course.

In the Groove?

The PGA just came out with new regulations on grooves for clubs. The rule will go into effect in 2010 and requires spin to be limited from a five iron down to the wedges. Brittish Open Champion Stewart Cink decided he would get used to this by putting duct tape on his clubs so he could feel what no spin felt like. This was when he got the new regulation clubs it would feel like they had a lot of spin. He says this worked for a little bit, but according to Pat Perez, "It's a new game"

Who will be next on the LPGA?

The LPGA's qualifying school will b held at LPGA International in Daytona Beach. the 160 participants are from 20 different countries. As we have seen in the tournaments this year winners come from all countries and internationals are coming full force to try to get their shot. the outcome should be exciting, unexpected and a thrill to watch.

A Massive Collaboration

According to cybergolf.com something big is about to go down in Mexico. Alejandro Ochoa (Lorena's older brother) and Arthur Hills/Stephen Forest and Associates have formed a design architecture form for golf courses. Ochoa/Hills Golf Design will begin work immediately on golf courses primarily in Mexico. The name Ochoa demands instant credibility in Mexico and Arthur Hills is not without reputation himself. His firm has designed 200 original courses and 130 renovations spanning 4 continents. This is a very exciting time for course design especially for the budding golf environment in Mexico.

Staying with the Northern Neighbors

When it comes to Canadian golf media, SCOREGolf magazine claims to be the "voice of Canadian Golf". Their website includes several blogs, notes on equipment and the latest news from all the tours. One of the big things now is the second round of PGA Q School where plenty of Canadian hopefuls are aiming to make the cut.

An update from the European Tour

Up next n the PGA's European Tour calender is the Dubai World Championships presented by DP World. It will be held from the 19th of November until the 22nd. Heading up the "Race to Dubai" are Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood. It should be a very interesting tournament and well worth watching the world's best.

Canadian Miracle

When we think of international golf we often forget our neighbors to the north. This past weekend a Canadian, Stephen Ames, won the Children's Miracle Network Classic at Walt Disney Resort, Florida. This is the second time in three years that he has won this tournament, and he became the oldest player to do it. The 45 year old shot an eight under, 64 to take the cake on Sunday. With his birthplace in Trinidad, Stephen Ames is definitely an international player, whom we ought not to forget so quickly.

New Line from Ping

Although it doesn't pertain specifically to international golf, Ping is a major international golf company based in the United States and their new products are very exciting for golfers everywhere. It was an unexpected move for Ping to come out with new irons when there G10 series was still so widely popular. According to Golfalot.com, the new irons have seven less grams on the club face and are a bit more forgiving. This forgiveness is achieved through a custom turning point further back on the club face. Despite the loss of seven grams the engineers repositioned whats left to move the center of gravity lower and back to increase launch and achieve optimal spin. One feature that I like is the thinner look they posses, quite a change from the wide-sole format of the G10 series.

Website to keep you updated

Mygolfspy.com does just what it implies. It keeps the consumer more than updated; it keeps them ahead of the game. With the slogan"Tomorrows golf equipment today" it employs a golf search engine, golf jobs, 50 dollar deals, contests and equipment. Today's feature article was on the new G15 from Ping, something that we might look at a little later.

Sticking with Shafts

Sticking with the shaft idea from last week, lets look specifically at Fujikura. I wanted to see if they had any new technology coming out soon, and sure enough the first thing I see on their website is their new Motore Speeder shaft, advertised as "Maximum Feel. Minimum Vibration." In their own words this shaft is better because, "it is supercharged with our Quadra Axis Composite and Triax Woven material creating our 7 Axis Technology. This uniformity throughout the shaft assists with eliminating deformation yet providing the maximum amount of feel through the entire swing increasing overall performance and stability. "

Stiff? Regular? Ladies? Take your pick.

Shafts. The fact is you have to have one to swing a golf club at all. Like the clubs I mentioned a few weeks ago, Japanese shafts have also taken the market by storm. The "big three" shaft companies, Graphite Design, Fujikura, and Mitsubishi Rayon are all based in Japan. According to Inpakuto.com, in 2006 70.2% of pros in Japan use one of these three companies for their shaft needs. That's huge! And really the trend over the last several years the issue hasn't been whats the next big shaft company, it's which of these three will put out something new that will take the market for the year.

Golf and travel

This summer I'm going to Spain. Since I'll be in another country, and I love to golf, it seems like a good idea to look up golf courses near where I will be. On golfinspain.com you can search by province for area golf courses, so I looked in Barcelona for a reasonable price. So I easily found Campo Publico Golf Sant Joan. It costs as little as twenty euros to play here but the website ranks it as a four out of five in difficulty and was designed by world renowned golfer Severiano Ballesteros. Just as a resource this website is very easy to use and has just about anything you need to know about the course, from whether or not you should use a cart to what the maximum handicap is that you can play with.

KOLON Championship

This past weekend a big tournament in Incheon, Korea. Most LPGA tournaments are held in the United States, so going all the way to Korea is a big deal, especially with the growing number of Korean players on tour. Na Yeon Choi won the event at ten under by one stroke over Maria Hjorth in her home country.

Lets take a broad look

I spend a lot of time in my blog looking at what is up and coming, new, or fresh, but today lets take a step back. How a step to look over the entire last century, to the top ten male golfers of that century. The list includes the usual, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, but let's take a look at Gary Player. The South African is the only international player to ever win the Career Grand Slam. He won nine majors in the period between 1959 and 1978, now that's longevity. Since his PGA days he has continued to play on the Champions Tour and is the only player to have won a professional event in 5 consecutive decades.

Trouble in Vietnam

There has been a lot of backlash to the many new golf courses going up in Vietnam. According to the New York Times the country only has about 5,000 golfers but until last year an average of one golf course a week was being issued a license. The Vietnamese have good reason to be upset. I love golf and all but what is going on here is terribly wrong. the development of unnecessary golf courses had depleted the production of rice, a staple to the Vietnamese economy, and displaced thousands of farmers. Golf as a hobby is great but a line needs to be drawn.

Diversifying College Teams

I know about college teams, I am on one after all. what's crazy is the huge percentage of internationals who are playing for American universities. It feels like when you walk on a practice green for a tournament you can hear at least three different languages being spoken. On my women's team alone 5 of our 9 players are international. And it's not like Gardner-Webb is a fluke. After a trip to Europe six years ago Arizona State's team has developed to where 5 of the members who made it to the NCAA quarterfinals were from Europe.

Getting the Buyer Involved

Hireko is a golf equipment company who sells their custom products all over the globe New Zealand, to Italy to Singapore. Like man other companies they have offshoot brands and many ways to access their products. However, according to their blog, they are trying to go about product development in a different way for their 2010 products. Unlike other companies they want to know what you, the customer want. What type of diver? Square head or pear shaped? What type of shaft? Just post it on their blog and it will be taken into consideration. Overall its a cool new way to give the consumer what they really want.

Simply the best

If your ranked number one in the world you better have a cool website. Well, Mexican golfer Lorena Ochoa has one. To cater to her Spanish and English speaking fans before you enter the website it asks you to pick the language of your liking. Her homepage shows her upcoming tournament schedule, ones she recently won and links to her sponsors.

Desire for Difficulty

This blog is unlike any of my previous ones. It's not about a tour, or clubs, or professionals in any manner. It's about one woman and her love for golf. Anna-Lena Gustavsson sold her car and rented her house in order to play eight of the world's most extreme golf courses. She started on July 17, 2008 and finished on May 5, 2009. To any golfer the idea of traveling around the globe for a year to play golf sounds like way too good of a vacation but Anna-Lena didn't do it for herself. Along her trek she asked for donations of which 100% went to the Pattaya Children's fund. To read more about her journey or to donate visit extremegolfbliss.com and it will be worth your while.

Making History in Taiwan

From today until the 16th some of the best in their field will be competing in Taipei at the Pei Tou Kuo Hua Golf and Country Club. This is the first time that Taiwan has held such a prestigious event. With the support of five Taiwanese LPGA players, the Special Olympics will go on. The determination of these athletes should spur on, and does for Yani Tseng, to be determined for success when they get their shot in Brazil in 2016.

It's Official

A few blogs ago I discussed the possibility of golf being in the Olympics. Well as of October 9th it's official, golf will be in the 2016 Olympics according to The Gaurdian. With a vote of 63-27 , players will hit the links in Rios de Janeiro in a few years. In addition to golf Rugby will also be included in 2016. The details are limted but I'm sure everything will be opened up short.

Are International Exemptions Needed?

For every PGA tournament the sponsor has eight exemptions. Two of those go to q-school qualifiers or Nationwide winners, but the rest are really for whoever. There once was a need for those exemptions to have designated international restrictions, so enough international players would come, but this isn't the case anymore. On February 11, 2009 the article "PGA TOUR in high demand for international players" discussed how the landscape of the PGA is changing. For example, in 1999 there were 33 Americans in the top 50, now there are only 13. Also, tournaments are popping up and changing dates, so internationals will come to them by staying in the states between World Championships. It's a very exciting time in the PGA and as international strength keeps growing there may be a day when Americans need exemptions.

Presidents Cup

Like the Ryder Cup, but with more drama, the Presidents Cup started today. It's 24 of the worlds best players led by Fred Couples (US Captain) and Greg Norman (International Captain). There is sure not to be a bad pairing and as always when country rivalries are involved you never know what to expect. For the international spotlight, the International team consists of Mike Weir, Tim Clark, Ernie Els, Adam Scott, Vijay Singh, Robert Allenby, Angel Cabrera, Camilo Villegas, Geoff Oglivy, Ryo Ishikawa, Reteif Goosen, and Y.E. Yang.

Starting them Young

The International Junior Golf Tour, better known as IJGT, is a tremendous opportunity for young golfers. It hosts tournaments in the U.S., Canada, Scotland and Mexico for boys and girls nineteen and other. Not only does the IJGT host tournaments, it also provides resources, such as contact information of college coaches, for the players to take their game to the next level. Opportunities even exist after college as internships are available to eventually incorporate new staff. This program is just full of opportunities and is a great way to integrate youth of all nations through the common love of golf.

The Course that has it All

Oitavos Dunes, a premiere golf course in Portugal has topped Golf Digest's list of best golf courses in the world. This is an astonishing feat considering it opened only 8 years ago in 2001. Additionally the Audubon Society named it as its first "Signature Sanctuary Golf Course" in Europe. The course isn't just pretty to look at either. It's difficult enough to eleven professional events including the Portuguese Open, four times over.

Golf for Gold?

Many kids dream that one day they will be in the Olympics and have the chance to win a medal for their country. Unfortunately for golfers, that was never an option. However, that may change for the 2016 Summer Olympics. The International Golf Federation is supporting the proposal for the inclusion of golf in 2016. The Federation had selected two World Golf Hall of Famers, Jack Niclaus and Annika Sorenstam, to act as ambassadors. As one of the world's most popular sports it sure has a shot, and the possibility is very exciting for golfers everywhere.

LPGA Update

Today we are revisiting the LPGA as the final round of the CVS/Pharmacy LPGA Challenge is underway. Coverage of the round is on Golf Channel from 7:00 pm until 9:30 pm ET tonight. From an international viewpoint Lorena Ochoa (Mexico) and Sophie Gustafson (Sweden) are tied atop the leader board going into today. As usual internationals are excelling at a LPGA tournament. Not a surprise but still exciting.

Golf the World

Finding where to golf around the world is much easier now with WorldGolf.com. I was googling South American Golf courses and this web site came up. Come to find out it has ratings on golf courses all over the world! You can search anywhere from Macau to El Salvador and find vacation rates, pictures or even laugh at some golf humor. It really is an all encompassing media source and any avid golfer could check it out.

Fore Mate! Golf Down Under

Making our way around the globe, it's time to stop in Australia. To be honest I didn't really know of any Australian golfers other than Adam Scott. Also, I had never seen a tournament on television held in Australia. However, all that is about to change because Tiger is going to tangle with the Koalas in the Australian Masters. According to ausgolf.com , which is heralded as Australia's most informative Golf source, Tiger will play in November at Kingston Heath golf Club. As we all know, where Tiger goes, media follows and I really do think that this shift of spotlight onto Australia will give it a big boost in the international golf world.

On to Africa

So far in my blog the focus of international golf has been placed primarily in Asia and the UK. Then I started to think, why not look into another continent? And why not Africa? Some of the world's best players, like Gary Player, Trevor Immelman, and Ernie Els are Africans. the South African Golf Association does have a web site, but right now its under repair so the nest best thing is Golf Safari. This website shows where the best golf destinations in South Africa are and will even suggest rides and flights on how to get there. A list of hotels is also provided for your benefit, and the links sure do look luxurious for the "dark continent"

Golf in the Papers

I was just wondering if any newspapers highlighted golf in particular and I happened to find one called The Guardian. It's a UK newspaper and of course it has other things like politics, business and travel. However, it's golf section is quite good, with sub links like Tiger Woods, The Open, and The Masters under the general "Golf". The site also features video clips, links to other writer's blogs and the most recent headlines in golf.

Made in Japan

So I'll just stick on my Japanese kick for another post. However, this time it will be on Japanese clubs. I suppose I never realized how popular Japanese clubs were until a guy I know started marketing his own line of clubs in Japan. Granted its not Nokishima, but he seems to be doing fairly well for himself in his first year of business. Just scanning over the Tour Spec Golf Website, it's crazy to see how Japanese labels that I have never heard of sell for as much, if not more, than the mainline" American" brands of Ping, Taylormade, and Calloway. What's also interesting are special Japanese lines of Mizuno, Taylormade, and others that look somewhat different than there American counterparts.

Budding Golf Interests in the Land of the Rising Sun

Ai Miyazato, Japanese golfing phenom, has been sweeping the LPGA world. Her success in the US aside, her influences reach far beyond prize money in Japan. Young golfers, like Ai, are encouraging a golf surge in Japan. This surge is allowing for citizens to have a hobby once seen as "unhip" and "expensive", and according to Golf Today News has boosted the economy as well. In 2006, the biggest golf course operator in Japan, Pacific Golf International Holdings K.K. boasted share raises of 45% in their first year, and the popularity trend doesn't show any signs of stopping.

Back to the UK

Once again we are taking it back across the pond for another UK magazine. This one, Golf International Magazine, covers anything from news, to results, to tips from teaching pros. The web site it fairly user friendly and contains links to twitter as well as opportunities to win products if you sign up for a membership. Also, check out some of their pictures, like the one to the right, from big golf tournaments throughout the year.

While looking over media coverage for the European Tour I came across a magazine's website. The magazine is GolfPunk, and the coverage is unique. With titles across the header reading "Quick Liveners, Bunker Babes, and Golf Junk", it's easy to see that this magazine does things a little different. For example, their "Quick Liveners" tab brings you to the players lounge. This is merely interviews with pros about funny little quirks and very little about golf itself. It really gives you a feel for who the players are without a sand wedge in their hands.

The Biggest Tour You've Never Heard Of

The Asian Tour is quickly sweeping, well Asia of course. With a mission statement of "Growing golf in Asia while maintaining a commitment to the integrity of the game" it hosted tournaments from 2004 to the present. This isn't your average "mini-tour". When it started the annual prize money was just over 12 million. Now, five years later, the prize money is expected to exceed 36 million! And it's not like they don't have a fan base. In fact, they are televised in Hong Kong, China, Chinese Taipei, India, and Southeast Asia. I'm sure that much more news from the Asian tour will be coming shortly.

Rookie Winner

If you have watched LPGA golf at all it's easy to see how many Asian players there are. Even as I logged on to the LPGA's website today pictures M.J. Hur scrolled past my eyes. She won the Safeway Classic Presented by Coca-Cola in a playoff. Mind you, this is her rookie season and she is from Seoul, South Korea. It's not uncommon to see South Koreans take off hot from the start, and you will see this in future blogs I'm sure.

Welcome Golfers and Fans

Welcome this is my first blog. I'm a little nervous considering I haven't done this before. I look forward to learning about international golf alongside you and seeing you on the nineteenth tee.