Dixon Golf - The First Green Golf Ball

Aug 19, 2008 @ 09:43 pm by Nigel Da Costa

Mesa, AZ – Dixon Golf, makers of the 100% Eco-Friendly golf ball, are working hard to facilitate conservation. Earlier this year, Dixon introduced a cutting edge Incentive Program to encourage golfers to return spent Dixon Earth golf balls for a $1.00 credit towards the purchase of new ones. Each box of Dixon Earth golf balls includes a return mail pouch so golfers can easily mail used golf balls back to Dixon.    

“The response to the Incentive Program has been amazing,” said Dane Platt, of Dixon Golf. “Last quarter alone we had over 10,000 Dixon Earth golf balls returned to us for recycling. Golfers are finally taking an interest in the golf balls they play and what the consequences are when those balls cannot be recycled. The Dixon Earth golf ball gives them the best of both worlds…playability & performance and the piece of mind that from a conservation standpoint…they’re doing their part.”    Improve The World 
Unlike other Golf Ball Brands who use harsh heavy-metal pollutants like tungsten, cobalt and lead, and contain non-renewable synthetic materials and compounds, the Dixon Earth golf ball is “green” to the core. The Earth core is made from a proprietary polymer that maintains the playable properties of the ball, but ensures that it is 100% renewable. Most manufacturers would stop there…not Dixon. Their commitment to the environment and to your golf game is 100%. In addition to the core, the entire Dixon Earth ball is manufactured with materials that can be recycled and used to make other consumer products. Even the package is made from 100% recycled material. From core to cover, from packaging to production, Dixon Earth is setting a new standard in environmental consciousness. 

more…



Carl Pettersson wins 11th 2008 PGA Tour event for Nike Golf

Aug 18, 2008 @ 09:52 pm by Nigel Da Costa

Seven Nike athletes have won 11 events

TORONTO (August 17, 2008)—Carl Pettersson became the 11th Nike Golf athlete to win a PGA Tour event in 2008 by firing a two-under 68 on Sunday for a two-stroke victory in the Wyndam Championship.

With Pettersson’s win, Nike remains No. 1 in victories on the PGA Tour with seven different Nike Golf athletes winning 11 vents in 2008.

Nike Golf continues to lead the PGA Tour in driver, iron, fairway woods, wedge, and apparel wins. The combination of the SQ SUMO² driver and Nike ONE ball remains the winningest driver-ball combination on tour.

Pettersson used his innovative Nike Golf equipment to shoot a blistering 21-under par with rounds of 64, a course-record 61, 66 and 68 for a 259 total.

It was a local victory for Pettersson, a Swede who moved to Greensboro as a teen, played at North Carolina State, lives a 90-minute drive away in Raleigh and serves on the tournament’s board.

Nike Golf’s 2008 PGA Tour Victories

  • Tiger Woods – Buick Invitational
  • K.J. Choi – Sony Open
  • Tiger Woods – WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship
  • Tiger Woods – Arnold Palmer Invitational
  • Trevor Immelman – The Masters
  • Anthony Kim – The Wachovia Championship
  • Justin Leonard – Stanford St. Jude Championship
  • Tiger Woods – U.S. Open
  • Stewart Cink – Traveler’s Championship
  • Anthony Kim – AT&T National
  • Carl Pettersson – Wyndam Championship

Nike Golf’s 2008 International Victories

  • Tiger Woods - Dubai Desert Classic
  • Richard Finch - New Zealand Open
  • K.J. Choi - SK Telecom
  • Shingo Katayama - Japan Pro Championship
  • Richard Finch - Irish Open
  • Suzann Pettersen - Deutsche Bank Ladies Swiss Open
  • Suzann Pettersen - AIB Irish Open

more…



Core Golf’s Sean Foley coaches Sean O’Hair

Aug 18, 2008 @ 09:40 pm by Nigel Da Costa

ORLANDO, Florida (August 8, 2008)—Sean Foley, Director of Instruction of the Core Golf Junior Academy, has reached an agreement to coach PGA Tour player Sean O’Hair. After working together during the week of the RBC Canadian Open, O’Hair and Foley have formalized their coaching relationship.

“I believe that Sean O’Hair is one of the rising stars of the PGA Tour,” said Foley, who also coaches PGA Tour player Stephen Ames and the Nationwide Tour’s Greg Owen.

“Sean has an immense amount of talent, an incredible work ethic and he’s an outstanding person. I’m elated to be working with Sean to help him reach his goals.”

The results of their collaboration were almost immediate: after finishing 80th at the Open Championship, O’Hair finished T3 for the Canadian Open and T12 at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

“He’s (Foley) got a lot of good stuff to say and approaches things a little bit different” O’Hair, 26, told pgatour.com.

“He saw some things in my setup and my move to my left side with kind of my legwork, and basically it’s taken the left side of the golf course out of play, and that’s kind of been my nemesis this year,” said the native of Lubbock, Texas and winner of two PGA Tour events (the 2005 John Deere Classic and the 2008 PODS Championship).

(For the full story on pgatour.com, click here.)

A number of Foley’s students have won championships this summer: in July, Danny King won his third Ontario PGA Championship, Jennifer Kirby and Nicole Vandermade finished 1-2 in the Ontario Junior Girls, and Vandermade won the Ontario Women’s Amateur.

About The Core Golf Academy

The Core Golf Junior Academy is a full-time golf development program offering secondary-school education and comprehensive instruction in every facet of the game by PGA Tour coaches Sean Foley, Dr. Craig Davies and Neale Smith. Located in Orlando, Florida at Orange County National Golf Center, the academy provides intensive coaching to high-school-age and post-graduate players dedicated to becoming elite players and responsible world citizens.

For more information, please visit www.jgac.ca (soon to be renamed coregolfaacademy.com). Contact:
Jeff Hay
Director of Operations
416.688.0641
jhay@jgac.ca (soon be renamed jhay@coregolfacademy.com.)
www.jgac.caTim O’Connor
O’Connor Golf Communications
519.341.4778
tim@oconnorgolf.ca
www.oconnorgolf.ca



Five of top 20 finishers at PGA Championship use VooDoo shaft

Aug 12, 2008 @ 02:16 pm by Nigel Da Costa

 

POWAY, Calif. – Aldila’s latest shaft, the VooDoo with its patent-pending stabilized core technology (S-core Technology™), continues to blaze a trail of success with five wins so far in PGA, Nationwide and European Tour events.

This week, a total of 42 players on the PGA and Nationwide Tours trusted Aldila’s latest shaft technology. In fact, five of the top 20 finishers at the 90th PGA Championship experienced the unparalleled distance and accuracy of the VooDoo including the second place finisher.

The real “magic” of the VooDoo is the high modulus carbon stabilization rib running the length of the shaft. Starting in September, consumers will soon be able to possess that “magic” in their own clubs as Aldila begins shipping it through their distribution network to leading club manufacturers. The VooDoo will also be included in several major manufacturers’ club introductions this fall.

On the Nationwide Tour, “The Hottest Shafts in Golf” made a clean sweep of the shaft manufacturer counts as Aldila won the driver, woods and hybrid shaft counts at the Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open, according to the Darrell Survey.

Nationwide Tour players chose Aldila’s hybrid shafts over the next leading competitor by more than a 2-to-1 margin. Aldila was also the #1 hybrid shaft of choice at the PGA Championship at Oakland Hills in Michigan.

Aldila is not only the most popular wood and hybrid shaft on the PGA and Champions Tours, but they are also the number one brand of graphite shafts for consumers with new drivers, fairway woods and hybrid clubs for the third consecutive year, according to the Darrel Survey, 2007 U.S. National Survey.

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ABOUT ALDILA
Aldila is publicly traded on NASDAQ with the symbol ALDA. For more information on the VooDoo, DVS™, MOI Proto™, VS Proto™, and NV® shafts, visit Aldila’s Web site at www.aldila.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Mike Leonard
Golf Marketing Services
407-682-4853



Dawn Coe-Jones set to Retire

Aug 11, 2008 @ 01:03 pm by Nigel Da Costa

 

Dawn Coe-Jones announced today that this will be her final season on the LPGA Tour.  Dawn has done a lot for Canadian and Women’s Golf and will be remembered as one of the great players and ambassadors of golf. 

Good Luck Dawn!

—

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE     

August 11, 2008

LPGA golfer Dawn Coe-Jones announced today this is her final season on the LPGA Tour.   

Dawn, a native of Campbell River, B.C., has had an outstanding career that spans 25 years, and includes three LPGA victories and over $ 3.3 million in career earnings.   She was an amateur star as well, scoring back-to-back wins in the B.C. Junior in 1978 and 1979 and the B.C. Amateur in 1982 and 1983.  She capped her 1983 season with the Canadian Amateur title and the honour of being named NCAA All American for her accomplishments at Lamar University.  

Dawn qualified for the LPGA Tour in 1984.  In 1992 she captured the Women’s Kemper Open, the first of three official LPGA victories.   In 1994, Dawn won her second LPGA title at the Healthsouth Palm Beach Classic and in 1995, she captured her third LPGA title at the Chrysler-Plymouth Tournament of Champions.  Coe-Jones was inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame in 2003. 

Dawn married Jimmy Jones on Nov. 14, 1992 and has one son James Richard born on Oct. 20, 1995.  According to Dawn, “I’m filled with both happy and sad emotions.  I have had the pleasure of doing what I love for over 20 years.  It has been an honour to represent Canada. It is a dream career and I’ll miss it very much but I’m looking forward to new adventures with my family. I love being a hockey mom.” 

“Dawn Coe-Jones has been instrumental in establishing Canadian women on the LPGA Tour,” says Elliott Kerr, President of Landmark Sport Group and Dawn’s long-time agent.  “Dawn has been an inspiration to many young Canadian golfers.  She will always be remembered as a great Canadian sport hero.” 

Although a permanent resident of Florida now, Dawn has a summer home and sponsors a junior golf tournament at her home course of March Meadows on Vancouver Island each year. 

Canadian fans will have the opportunity to see Dawn this week at CN’s Canadian Women’s Open event in Ottawa August 11-17, 2008. 

-30- 

Contact:       

Sharon Podat

Landmark Sport Group                                               

Cell 416-580-2569   



Nike Golf Athletes to Debut Nike’s August 1 Delivery of Performance Apparel at the PGA Championship

Aug 05, 2008 @ 07:12 pm by Nigel Da Costa

Nike Technology Will Keep Athletes Cool, Dry and UV Protected in the Heat of Competition
 


TORONTO (August 1, 2008) – Nike Golf, the No. 1 golf apparel company in the world, will have significant presence and visibility as millions of viewers around the world tune in to The PGA Championship next week. During all four rounds, members of Nike Golf’s Tour staff will be wearing head-to-toe Nike Golf technology which is only fitting coming from the Brand that pioneered technological golf apparel.During each day of competition at the 2008 PGA Championship, Nike Golf’s Tour staff members will be wearing two specific technologies that are proven and tested to perform in the most extreme conditions: DriFIT UV and Nike Sphere Dry. These two technologies provide best in class in moisture management, cooling and UV protection.

“Our experience in outfitting Tour players for the PGA Championship is that it presents some of the most challenging conditions our athletes face all year. It’s peak summer weather with a grueling combination of heat and humidity,” said Doug Reed, Global Director of Apparel and Footwear for Nike Golf. “With this in mind, we scripted our athletes with the goal of ensuring that their apparel would perform under these tough conditions and provide them with a competitive advantage over the course of the weekend. The performance of their apparel should not be on their minds the week of the tournament. Instead, they should be confident that what they are wearing is going to keep them, dry, cool and as comfortable as possible.”

Nike Golf DriFIT UV technology, which keeps golfers dry from sweat so that they are more comfortable during their round, will be worn by Nike athletes every day of the PGA Championship. Nike’s DriFIT UV technology wicks perspiration from the skin to the outside of the garment for rapid evaporation, and protects the skin from sun damage. Nike Golf athletes also will feature a combination of solid DriFIT pants, Nike’s new Plaid DriFIT Pants, as well as the Striped DriFIT Pants. The Nike DriFIT pants are a favorite among the Nike Tour players because they keep them cool and dry, and don’t wrinkle when they travel week in and week out.

Nike Golf’s Stephen Ames and Chad Campbell will be sporting the DriFIT UV technology on Thursday and Sunday, in the color of lawn and light blue, respectively. The UV Core Stripe polo that Ames is wearing on Thursday is a new style for this season. In addition to staying dry, Ames and Campbell will be protected from the UV rays with a UPF of 30 created through the weave of the DriFIT UV fabric. Nike Golf takes pride in the fact that it is the weave of the fabric that creates the sun protection, not a chemical that is sometimes used to treat the fabric. more…



ASHWORTH, INC. NAMES INDUSTRY VETERAN TIM CRONIN VICE PRESIDENT OF CORPORATE SALES

Aug 04, 2008 @ 07:18 pm by Nigel Da Costa

CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA, July 31, 2008 — Ashworth, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASHW), a leading designer of golf-inspired lifestyle sportswear, today announced it has named apparel industry veteran Tim Cronin as Vice President of Corporate Sales.
 
Cronin, a 26-year sports-apparel sales-and-marketing veteran, will be responsible for leading Ashworth’s Corporate Sales team, as well as managing Ashworth’s customer service.  Tim will be working with the Ashworth VP of Sales, Paul Bourgeois, on strategic retail initiatives.
 
Prior to his new Ashworth appointment, Cronin had served as President of Cutter & Buck for one year. He spent 14 years as a President of the Hilton Corporate Casuals Division and VP of Rawlings Sporting Goods Division for K2inc., before his stint at Cutter & Buck. His career has also included stops as VP of Sales at Odyssey Trading (Hong Kong) from 1992-1994, VP GM of Wilson Sporting Goods (1990-1992) and President of the Frank Shorter Sportswear Division of Levi Strauss (1982-1990).
 
“I’m very grateful that Ashworth has enough confidence in my ability to hire me as Vice President of Corporate Sales,” says Cronin, 57, who currently resides in Seattle with his wife. They have three grown children. “I’m thrilled to be a part of this team, whose rich history and renewed commitment to excellence is second to none.” more…



The Weather Network Lanches Unique Golf Weather Widget in Partnership with Nike Golf Canada

Aug 03, 2008 @ 07:09 pm by Nigel Da Costa

OAKVILLE, ONTARIO, JULY 31, 2008: The Weather Network is proud to launch WeatherEyeTM GOLF for Windows XP and Vista. WeatherEye GOLF is an extension of the popular WeatherEye group of widgets and applications from The Weather Network with over 2 Million current users in Canada.As seen on www.nikegolf.ca, WeatherEye GOLF provides current and local weather related information for over 17,000 golf courses in Canada and the US. Users can quickly and easily get immediate access to real time weather data for a local golf course right from a temperature icon in the system tray. It can then be expanded to a small window that provides current weather observations, short term forecast data, local weather warnings and access to golf course contact information. It expands on the golf services already available from The Weather Network on television and www.theweathernetwork.com.“We know that Canadians love being outdoors all year and especially in our short summer season. Many Canadians also love being on the golf course. WeatherEye GOLF is part of an evolution for our desktop widgets and downloads and our continuing efforts to bring critical weather information to Canadians, wherever they may be,” says Carrie Lysenko, Manager of Online Applications.

In addition to providing key weather information to golfers, The Weather Network is proud to partner with Nike Golf Canada and their website www.nikegolf.ca to add essential product information for fans that they could use to improve their game and their day out on the course.“We recognized The Weather Network as a leader in Canada providing both weather information and widget applications. We see the WeatherEye GOLF as a natural fit for our brand to help educate the consumer on our vast line of equipment and apparel for all weather conditions in Canada,” says Tyler Keenan, Brand Communications Manager, Nike Golf Canada.

WeatherEye GOLF employs the latest in technology for Rich Internet Applications, Silverlight 2.0 from Microsoft (Microsoft.com/silverlight). The widget was developed as a collaborative effort from in-house developers and designers at Pelmorex Media Inc., and a dedicated project team from imason inc. (imason.com).For more information or to download WeatherEye GOLF visit www.theweathernetwork.com/desktop or www.nikegolf.ca


Located in Beaverton, Oregon, Nike Golf designs and markets golf equipment, apparel, balls, footwear, bags and accessories worldwide. Nike Golf is passionately dedicated to honouring and respecting the traditions and heritage of the game, and to providing committed golfers with the absolute best equipment in the game.


For more information on Nike Golf, visit our Web site at www.nikegolf.ca. Editors seeking editorial information and downloadable images, visit www.nikegolf.com/presscenter.

 # # #

For information on Nike Golf Canada, please contact:

Vitalis Gomes

Nike Golf Canada

905.771.2058

vitalis.gomes@nike.com

Tim O’Connor

O’Connor Golf Communications

519.341.4778

tim@oconnorgolf.ca



Five of David Leadbetter’s Students Star in Recent British Open, Senior British Open

Aug 01, 2008 @ 12:02 pm by Nigel Da Costa

 

CHAMPIONSGATE, Fla.—David Leadbetter, the world’s No. 1 golf instructor and coach to countless tour professionals worldwide, announces that five of his tour-professional students enjoyed outstanding performances in the recently concluded British Open Championship at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England, and in the Senior British Open Championship at Royal Troon Golf Club in Troon, Scotland, that concluded Sunday.
Leadbetter is extremely proud of the performances turned in over the past several weeks by the five players he has instructed over the years—Greg Norman (in both the Open Championship and Senior Open Championship); Ian Poulter (Open); Trevor Immelman (Open); Fredrik Jacobson (Open); and Mark McNulty (Senior Open). more…



Golf Press Releases

Jul 30, 2008 @ 07:58 pm by Nigel Da Costa

 

I must receive upwards of 20 golf related press releases each month. Some are good and some not so good. I decided I would pick some of the good press releases and start posting them here in this New Category.

So if you are in PR, please send them along to nigel AT golflogic dot ca.