January 2007

OMG ! Look at this headcover that all of us Tiger Tamers will have to have in 2007 !

Butthead Covers has upside down covers of all kinds.

They even have ones to fit your hybrids.

At the 2007 PGA Merchandise show that just concluded, they introduced their new “Bootyful People” line of headcovers to go along with all their animals and exotics of previous years.

After turning the PGA Merchandise Show upside down three years ago and walking away with the Best New Product Award for accessories, Butthead Covers was back in Orlando Jan. 25-27 debuting their line of “Bootyful People.”

The new head cover line follows their successful launch in June of the “Tiny Hiny Line” and helps personify Butthead Covers mission statement, “To bring more humor to the game of golf while contributing to charity and the economy.”

These whimsical head covers are patterned by request after a fireman, plumber, military member, prisoner, baby, mermaid, Santa and snowman that all look like they just dove into your bag. Several e-mails have come directly from soldiers in Iraq asking for the military hero they have produced with honor.

Click thru and check out all the must have headcovers for 2007 !

Tell ‘em Mike sent you !

Did anybody else happen to see this new Puma Golf polo shirt ?

Wow ! I can’t wait to find one of these on eBay !

I’ll be the best dressed Travelling Golfer of all time in this fine, fashionable fitting.

I cruised over to their website and found several items of interest for men and ladies.

And this bag will make me look like I’m The Bomb, when I visit the finer clubs in the land on my travels.

If you can’t beat the Pro’s, at least look like you can is my new mantra.

Click over to Puma.com and peruse all their fine accessories for golfing and travelling in style.

I just got back from a week-long trip to Greensboro, NC. Coming and going, I got the chance to drive thru one of my favorite places on earth - western North Carolina.

Beautiful views, lots of big trees, green greens, er, … well they would have been really green if it wasn’t January.

Seriously, I love western North Carolina and the area around Maggie Valley has always been a favorite of mine. Nice, friendly people, good food and plenty of golf.

I hear that Maggie Valley Golf Club just got a new General Manager, Richard Brucki, who came from another place I used to live, Columbia, SC.

He came to Maggie Valley Club after a year as GM of Columbia Country Club in Columbia, S.C.

Prior to that, he spent seven years as general manager of Providence Country Club in Charlotte, and held the same post from 1996-98 at the Old North State Club in New London, N.C.

Earlier in his career, Brucki was GM at Cabarrus Country Club in Concord, N.C.

Looks like Richard is well travelled and well acquainted with North Carolina golf.

I’m looking forward to getting back to Maggie Valley and meeting Richard.

If you get there before I do, tell him Mike says ” Hey ! “

Congrats to my boy Bubba !

Bubba Wason shot the second best score of the day ( 5 under ), 1 behind El Tigre, to vault into a tie for 4th place with Mark Calcavecchia and Andrew Buckle.

It’s been a while since Bubba cracked the top 5 or even the top 10, but the Buick Invitational’s site, Torrey Pines seemed to suit his game on Sunday.

Let’s hope this is a springboard to a massive year of top 5’s, top 10’s and maybe a win on the PGA Tour.

Bagdad’s (FL) best and brightest is back and ready to bomb !

Has anybody tried this pre-round golf training aid ? I just read that it was used by the winner of the Greater Hickory Classic on the Champions Tour, along with the second place finisher.

The premise sounds nice, as I like to make about 30 swings before I play, but I like to actually hit balls, rather than air. But for those times when I can’t or there isn’t a range available, I’d like to have some kind of warm-up routine.

Maybe I’ll contact the owner, Jim Light, president and founder of Pro Line Sports.

Maybe he’ll send me one to review and report back to you guys about.

Maybe I’ll do that when I get back from Greensboro, NC. Yeah.

If you’ve used or seen somebody use one, tell us what you think in the comments below.

Did anyone else see that Nationwide and the PGA TOUR announced that the company will extend its umbrella sponsorship of the Nationwide Tour for five years through the 2012 season. Nationwide has been the umbrella sponsor of the Tour since 2003.

Interest in the Nationwide Tour has grown dramatically during the past four years of Nationwide’s sponsorship. Fueled by the performance of Nationwide Tour alumni on the PGA TOUR, and in premier events like the Ryder Cup, television audiences, corporate support, tournament attendance and purses have all seen significant growth since 2003.

The Nationwide Tour began in 1990 and experienced slow, steady growth over the years until the arrival of Nationwide as the umbrella sponsor in 2003. Since then, purses have grown to record levels and the Tour is acknowledged as one of the most competitive tours in the world.

In 2006, the Nationwide Tour consisted of 31 tournaments played in three countries and 22 states with purses reaching nearly $17 million.

Former Nationwide Tour players, including Stuart Appleby, Chris DiMarco, John Daly, Ernie Els, Jim Furyk, Troy Matteson and David Toms, have won 196 PGA TOUR events, including 21 in 2006. Twelve of the 21 2005 Nationwide Tour graduates finished among the PGA TOUR’s top 125 players, with eight earning at least $1 million and three winning PGA TOUR events in 2006. Nine of the 12 2006 U.S.Ryder Cup team members graduated from the Nationwide Tour.

I shared this post over on my sales and marketing blog today. I’m repeating it here and I appreciate your indulgence.

In honor of my 44th birthday today, I’m going to share a life lesson that I wish I had learned in kinder garden, instead of later in life.

It works for salespeople, teachers, doctors, lawyers, Indian Chiefs, butchers, bakers and candlestick makers.

On page 72, February 2007 edition of Golf Magazine, during an interview conducted by Connell Barret, this great piece of advice sneaks out of the mouth of the oft-married, never at a loss for words Englishman:

CB: Now that you’re almost 50, what do you wish you knew at 25?

NF: I’ve learned that it’s not the first impression you make - it’s the last one. Whether it’s the checkout girl or the president, you have to ask how you want people to remember you when you walk away. Well, I want to leave them with a smile so they say, ” I don’t know who he was, but he smiled and asked me how I’m doing.” I wasn’t good at that before, but I’ve learned how to be more communicative - to show more empathy towards people. The other thing I’ve learned is simple: Find at least one thing to enjoy every day. It’s not always easy. Sometimes you sit on a plane and it’s delayed, and you say, ” How the hell do you find something to enjoy here? ” And suddenly you see the sunrise from 35,000 feet and you go, ” Okay. That’s it. That was fantastic. “

As this hits the web or your RSS feed reader of choice, I’m driving from 5:30 AM CST to about 5:00 PM EST to Greensboro, NC for a 3-day brick industry forum. I have to be there by 6 PM EST for a dinner, after a 10 hour drive, which includes a stop in Gatlinburg, TN to pick up a co-worker.

Long drive, long day, long dinner, away from my family, yada yada, blah, blah. Oh yeah, it’s also my birthday, which I’ve spent on the road 10 of the last 12 years. Where’s the one thing I’m gonna find to enjoy ? I don’t know, but I’ll let you know when I get back.

4 days away from my peeps, blogging, NewsGator and email may do me in. I’ve loaded up all my blogs beforehand and my laptop won’t be here for 2-3 more weeks, so if I don’t get your comment approved or if I don’t answer an email before next weekend, forgive me.

I’ve got a great book for those long hotel nights - 3 Nights In August, by Buzz Bissinger. I’ve been waiting a long time for a chance to read it … uninterrupted.

As I try to enjoy my birthday, in spite of the circumstances, you try to find a way to incorporate this new lesson into your repertoire.

The impression you leave your family, your friends, your coworkers, your playing partners with, will be the most important thing you do today.

And look for something to enjoy and then share it with us … one of us may really need it … badly.

Just got wind of the release of this info.

Travel + Leisure’s golf section has this to say:

” It wasn’t long ago that America’s leading golf architects proclaimed an overseas building boom. Given the game’s growth in rapidly developing places like China and Dubai—and the availability of amazing parcels of land unencumbered by environmental red tape in remote locales such as New Zealand and Tasmania—the greatest courses, they argued, were increasingly being built in far-flung corners of the globe. What a difference a few years makes. If the roster of the best new courses to open in 2006 proves anything, it’s that—Ryder Cup futility notwithstanding—America has hardly become barren ground for golf. Eight of the ten courses on our list were laid out on U.S. soil in areas as diverse as the craggy sandhills of Colorado, the rolling farmland of Wisconsin and, believe it or not, the industrial waterfront of New Jersey. In varying ways, each course pays homage to classic design principles and at the same time sets exciting new standards for the craft. “

Their Top 10 looks like this:

1. Ballyneal, Holyoke, Colorado (Course of the Year)
2. Bayonne Golf Club, Bayonne, New Jersey
3. Colorado Golf Club, Parker, Colorado
4. Erin Hills Golf Course, Hartford, Wisconsin
5. Highland Course at Primland, Meadows of Dan, Virginia
6. Pinnacle Point Golf Club, Mossel Bay, South Africa
7. The Raven at Lora Bay, Thornbury, Ontario
8. Saguaro Course, We-Ko-Pa Golf Club, Fort McDowell, Arizona
9. Sebonack Golf Club, Southampton, New York
10. Tom Fazio Course at Pronghorn, Bend, Oregon

Click thru and enjoy reading about some of the best new golf courses and see if it helps you dream away the snow, the sleet, the ice, the cold …

My golf blog friend in Hawaii, Erik Vossman, and his blog Getting To Scratch are now officially on my Blog Roll.

And the program he’s sending me from the Sony Open had nothing to do with it. Well, okay … maybe a Tadd bit, like his post about fellow Hawaiian Tadd Fujikawa.

Click thru and read some of Erik’s work and subscribe to his RSS feed. I did.

I watched all four rounds of The Sony Open in Hawaii on The Golf Channel and I remember several things I noticed during the 10-12 hours I watched.

There’s plenty of room for your comments here, so if you have a blog, link to this post and if not, use the comment feature below.

10 Things I Hope We See More Of In 2007 On The PGA Tour

1. Kelly Tilghman
2. Nick Faldo
3. Open collars on golf announcers
4. Tadd Fujikawa
5. American golfers under 35 that win
6. Open collars on PGA players golf shirts
7. Mock-neck golf shirts
8. Rocco Mediate
9. Winners not named Tiger … or Phil
10. Kenny Perry ( he lives about 1 1/2 hours away from me )