Callaway Golf: Reports fourth-quarter sales increased 9 percent to $186 million from $171 million a year ago. On a currency neutral basis, sales grew 3 percent. Net losses widened to $18.2 million, or 29 cents a share, from $3.2 million, or 5 cents, a year ago. Gross profit of $58 million compared to gross profit of $60 million in the fourth quarter of 2008, while operating expenses of $87 million was a 2 percent decrease compared to $89 million for the same period in 2008. … O2 Golf Live: Tickets go on sale for the interactive golf event, May 14-16 at Stoke Park Golf Club in Buckinghamshire, England. The three-day event provides a unique look into tour golf and will feature Colin Montgomerie, Paul Casey, Ian Poulter and Retief Goosen competing in a three-hole Pro-Celebrity Challenge. Also, instructors, equipment and a variety of activities will be available. For information, visit GolfLiveEvent.com. … Gary Gilchrist Golf Academy: Dan Saylor, a former IMG Leadbetter Golf Academy instructor, and John Scott Rattan, an all-SEC golfer at Tennessee, are the newest members of the coaching staff at the flagship academy based at Mission Inn Resort near Orlando, FL.
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Wolfpack Intercollegiate (April 8-10 / Raleigh, NC): Announces the 17-team field and plans for the Courtyard By Marriott College-Am at the new Lonnie Poole Golf Course on the N.C. State campus. The 54-hole tournament will be preceded by the college-am in which four amateurs are paired with a college golfer. Click for more information.
Golf Means "Business" In Michigan
West Michigan Golf Show: Officials report that 47 of the state’s top 50 public courses will exhibit at the show, scheduled for Feb. 12-14 in Grand Rapids, MI, and stress the economic impact of golf on the state. “Golf is more than birdies, pars and bogies on a scorecard,” said Carolyn Alt, show manager. “Golf represents jobs, business, and travel spending right here in Michigan.”
The Hacker's Paradise Posts PGA Show Coverage To Its Dynamic Website
TheHackersParadise.com: PGA Merchandise Show coverage is now available in the website’s industry forum. More than 5,000 images and 100 videos are available.
Galloping Hill Golf Course In Kenilworth, N.J. Is Cybergolf's Newest Client And Will Design And Host The Website, Email Newsletter And E-commerce Systems For The Club.
Cybergolf: Signs Galloping Hill Golf Course in Kenilworth, NJ, as its newest client, and will design and host the course’s website, e-mail newsletter and e-commerce system.
CHAMP® Spikes Winner At Both The PGA And European Events This Week
Champ: Winners of the Farmers Insurance Open and Qatar Masters wore the company’s spikes, including six of the top-10 finishers on the PGA Tour.
Datrek® Introduces 2010 Golf Bag Line
Datrek: Debuts 2010 line of cart and stand bags, highlighted by the Assault, Raptor and Sabre models, and marking Datrek’s first new product introduction since being acquired by Dynamic Brands.
Softspikes Dominates Leaderboard At PGA Tour's Farmers Insurance Open
Softspikes: Nine of the top 12 finishers who wore plastic cleats at the Farmers Insurance Open chose Softspikes. Also, the winner of the Nationwide Tour’s New Zealand Open wore the Black Widow Tour cleats, the first win of 2010 for that model.
European Tour Winner Drives To Victory In Qatar Using Aldila's RIP® In His Driver
Aldila: Wins the woods and hybrids shaft counts on the PGA and Nationwide tours, while Qatar Masters champion plays the RIP shaft in his driver.
Callaway Golf To Sponsor CBS Sports' Super Bowl XLIV Telecast
Callaway Golf: Company and CBS Sports reach an agreement in which Callaway Golf becomes a presenting sponsor of the Super Bowl Today pregame show on Sunday, Feb. 7. The partnership marks the first ever Super Bowl pregame sponsorship by a stand-alone golf company.
Annika V. Mia “Soccer Skills Challenge” Added To “ANNIKA Experience at WaterSound”
Annika Experience: LPGA Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam and soccer star Mia Hamm will participate in a soccer skills challenge as part of the Annika Experience at Watersound on Feb. 19.
Softspikes Shines At 57th Annual PGA Merchandise Show
Softspikes: Debuted its Black Widow Grips line at the PGA Merchandise Show, along with a series of product innovations and line extensions. “We are thrilled with the tremendous feedback we have received about all of our products, old and new, from various consumers, golf pros, and others within the golf industry who attended the show,” said John Hohman, vice president of marketing, PrideSports.
Callaway Golf: Adebayo O. Ogunlesi appointed to its board of directors. Ogunlesi, 56, is chairman and managing partner of Global Infrastructure Management, which is a private equity firm with more than $5 billion in assets. He will begin serving immediately and will stand for election for a full one-year term at the company’s 2010 Annual Meeting of Shareholders in May. … Express Golf: Selects AboutGolf’s PGA Tour Simulator as its exclusive game-improvement golf simulator for the newly opened state-of-the-art indoor golf facility in Hong Kong technology. … SunGard: Signs Jim Furyk to a sponsorship agreement for the software and IT services company. Furyk will display the SunGard logo on his right and left sleeves. … GolfJobs.com: GolfTrips.com acquires and re-launches the Web site, which is the first employment site serving the golf industry to incorporate Web 2.0 features like video and social media integration. … Bay Area Golf Show: The Golf Mart returns as a presenting sponsor of the annual exhibition, which is held March 5-7 at the San Jose Convention Center in San Jose, CA. … Carolinas PGA Section: Hosts first Carolinas PGA Play Golf America Day of the season at the Resort Club at Grande Dunes in Myrtle Beach, SC, on Feb. 20. The event, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., will feature free instruction from PGA professionals, and a special Patriot Golf Day recognition ceremony by Ryan Munson of the Folds of Honor Foundation. … Golf Course Builders Association of America Foundation: Expands Sticks for Kids Program, adding 100 programs in the United States to bring the total to 508. Also, in partnership with International GCBAA member Forward Management Group, 30 programs are added in China. Sticks for Kids provides golf instruction to children ages 6 to 15. … Ontario PGA: Announces Sean Foley, Canadian PGA member and coach to several PGA Tour pros, and Dr. Craig Davies, a fitness and nutrition expert, as featured speakers for the Ontario PGA Professional Development Conference, Feb. 16-17 in Toronto, Canada. … RDC Golf Group: Signs a multi-year contract to manage the public Tallgrass Country Club in Shoreham, NY. Opened in May 2000, Tallgrass was ranked No. 9 on Golfweek’s 2007 list of Best Courses You Can Play in New York. … Georgia State Golf Association: Elects Chris Cupit as president for a second one-year term and Greg Butterfield for a second one-year term as president-elect. The 2010 GSGA board of directors includes officers Chris Cupit (president), Greg Butterfield (president-elect), and John Glenn (secretary-treasurer). Members of the executive committee are Dave Ballard, William Blalock, Lee Cassady, Olivia Flanagan, Robert F. Fowler, Gene B. McClure, Becky Royer, Seth L. Knight III (ex-officio – immediate past president), Neill Hatcher (ex-officio – Georgia State Golf Foundation president) and Chuck Palmer (general counsel).
BornFit: Introduces a golf-specific apparel kit for women. The accessory features a BornFit water bottle; Elyse women’s jacket, a brushed wrinkle resistant jersey with five pockets; and the Oxford Skort, which has no-chafe shorts and include a hidden pocket for golf balls and tees. The kit retails for $144. … Abacus: Signs PGA Tour player Richard S. Johnson to a two-year endorsement contract to wear the brand on tour. “Clothing has always been a passion of mine and Abacus combines both style and function,” Johnson said.
KPMG: Names LPGA Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam the Golf Entrepreneur of the Year. Sorenstam will receive the award at the seventh Golf Business Forum, May 12-14 at The Goria Resort in Belek, Turkey. … Arizona Women’s Golf Association: Announces its 2009 award winners – Thuhashini Selvaratnam (Player of the Year), Judy Miller (Senior Player of the Year), Susan Browning (Volunteer of the Year), Sandy Keith (AWGA Representative of the Year) and Superstition Mountain Country Club (Host Club of the Year). … Carolinas PGA Section: Awards Curt Sanders the Player of the Year and Johnny Palmer Trophy honors. Sanders posted a win and two top-10 finishes en route to Player of the Year honors, and posted a low stroke average of 69.6 through his play in three of the four Carolinas PGA majors to win the Johnny Palmer Trophy. Other award winners include Bob Boyd (Senior Player of the Year), Larry Boswell (Senior Associate Player of the Year) and John Green (Super Senior Associate Player of the Year). The players will be honored Feb. 21 in Myrtle Beach, SC. … Georgia State Golf Association: Presents Wendell Cough the Bill Todd Award, given annually to a volunteer who maintains the highest standard of service and stewardship to the GSGA. … National Golf Course Owners Association: Presents Award of Merit to The First Tee. The award is designated for long-term and significant contributions to the game of golf. … Iowa Golf Course Superintendents Association: Honors Greg Willman, course superintendent at Des Moines Golf and Country Club’s South Course, as Superintendent of the Year. Also, Brett Hetland, certified course superintendent at Brooks National Golf Club in Okoboji, receives the first ever Iowa Golf Course Superintendent Association Environmental Stewardship Award. … Iowa Golf Association: Elects six members to the Iowa Golf Hall of Fame, including two under the Historical category. The Class of 2010 members are Champions Tour player star Lonnie Nielsen of Belle Plaine, PGA Tour instructor Mike Bender of Waterloo, two-time Iowa PGA Golf Professional of the Year Jim Hasley of Davenport and golf turf industry leader Steve Tyler of Waverly. Elected from the Historical category are former Des Moines area club professional Jack Hall and 1920s era Des Moines amateur Bob McKee.
Golf Channel: “The Golf Fix,” hosted by instructor Michael Breed, hosts LPGA player Brittany Lincicome tonight, Monday, at 7 p.m. ET.
LPGA: Adds the Sybase Match Play Championship to its 2010 schedule. The inaugural match-play tournament, which features a $1.5 million purse, will be held May 20-23 at Hamilton Farm Golf Club in Gladstone, NJ. … Nationwide Tour: Adds the inaugural Mylan Classic to its 2010 schedule. The tournament, which has a purse of $600,000, will be played at Southpointe Golf Club in Canonsburg, Pa., Sept. 2-5. … Duramed Futures Tour: 2010 schedule features 17 tournaments, the tour’s first full-field international event and a total purse of nearly $2 million. For the first time all tournaments will have purse amounts of $100,000 or more, including a $150,000 purse for the Mexico Classic. … eGolf Amateur Tour: Enters its 16th season with a schedule that features tournaments in 38 cities. Tour members are placed in one of five flights based on handicaps – Championship (0-3.9 handicap), A Flight (4-8.9), B Flight (9-13.9), C Flight (14-18.9) and D Flight (19 and up). This flight structure is new for 2010. … The Ace Group Classic (Feb. 12-14 / Naples, FL): World Golf Hall of Famess Gary Player and Lee Trevino commit to play, while Tommy Armour III is expected to make his Champions Tour debut. … Fifth Third Bank becomes sponsor of the tournament’s volunteer program, and the final round is Fifth Third Bank Sunday. All bank ATM or credit card holders will receive free admission. … Partners with Susan G. Komen for the Cure Southwest Florida Affiliate to offer an exclusive ticket package with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the local affiliate. Also, Komen On the Go, a mobile community education and outreach tour, will be at the tournament. The special ticket package, valued at more than $100, is being sold for $65. … The Naples Daily News Amateur Qualifier is Monday, Feb. 8, and the four flight winners will receive an official pro-am playing spot with reigning champion Loren Roberts on Wednesday, Feb. 10. … HSBC Women’s Champions (Feb. 25-28 / Singapore): Michelle Wie commits to her first appearance at the tournament. Also, Paula Creamer, ranked No. 7 in the world, joins the field. Creamer has finished this the past two years. … Kraft Nabisco Championship (April 1-4 / Rancho Mirage, CA): Offers seven sponsor invitations to amateurs – Cydney Clanton and Candace Schepperle of Auburn University, Jennifer Johnson of Arizona State, Kimberly Kim of Denver, Jennifer Song of Southern California and high-school players Jessica Korda and Alexis Thompson. … Also, the new Tickets Fore Charity program allows participating non-profit organizations in the Coachella Valley to sell tournament tickets and retain 100 percent of the proceeds. … Albertsons Boise Open: The grocery chain extends sponsorship of the Nationwide Tour event for three years, through 2013. The tournament debuted in 1990. … Georgia State Golf Association: Opens registration for the 29th Georgia Mid-Amateur Championship, May 21-23 at The Brickyard at Riverside in Macon. The event is open to male amateurs age 25 and older, and the format is 54 holes of stroke play. … Virginia State Golf Association: Tournament entry forms for 2010 men’s, women’s and junior championships, along with 100 one-day events for members of all abilities, are now available at VSGA.org. … West Virginia Golf Association: Opens registration for the 2010 season. Golfers can visit WVGA.org for tournament applications.
Annika V. Mia "Soccer Skills Challenge" Added To "ANNIKA Experience at WaterSound"
Annika Experience: LPGA Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam and soccer star Mia Hamm will participate in a soccer skills challenge as part of the Annika Experience at Watersound on Feb. 19.
Please note that beginning Monday, Feb. 1, the deadline for release submissions will move from 8 p.m. ET to 7 p.m. ET for next day publication Tuesday-Friday. The deadline for Monday publication will remain Noon on Sunday.
Speaking of Golf™ Radio Announces Guests for Saturday, January 30th Show
Speaking of Golf: Actor John O’Hurley and Golf Digest apparel critic Marty Hackel are featured guests on the radio show’s Saturday, Jan. 30, episode. The Asheville, NC, based show airs 9-11 a.m. on radio and live internet streaming.
