Divot Mix

My son Steve called me at the house we're renting this morning, and he asked me, Well Pop, what's it going to take? and I said, Sixty-six will tie and 65 will win. -- Jack Nicklaus (prior to the final round of the '86 Masters where he shot 65 to win)

April Green Links features Salmon River project

The Salmon River is a National Wild and Scenic River that provides a home to both Chinook and Coho salmon. It runs adjacent to The Resort on the Mountain at Welches, (Ore.) and was in jeopardy of contamination due to major flooding.

In this month's Green Links, Tony Lasher, CGCS at the resort, details his work on the stream bank restoration project for the Salmon River in a case study for EDGE, the environmental online resource for golf. Green Links is hosted by David Phipps, superintendent at Stone Creek Golf Club. 

Guest columnist Duane Bishop, acting district ranger and district fisheries biologist, discusses the importance of the resort's project to the Salmon River's ecosystem. Bishop said the work helped to enhance fish habitat, protect water quality, and keep the Salmon River in its natural state providing great opportunities for resort guests, nature buffs, and others to enjoy one of America's premier rivers.  EDGE on EIFG.org is supported in part by the Toro Foundation.

Rain Bird offers do-it-yourselfers watering tips and a golf trip

Rain Bird is giving weekend yard warriors and do-it-yourselfers the chance to spend less time on their lawns and more time on the fairways of this summer as part of its Three Course Getaway contest.

The contest will reward one winner and three golf buddies with a golf trip to tee-off at three championship courses: Bandon Dunes, Pebble Beach and Pelican Hill, all of which use Rain Bird irrigation products. Runner-up prizes include a new set of Callaway Golf Clubs and a new Rain Bird automatic sprinkler system for the lawn.

Growing a terrific lawn doesn't have to be as challenging as a round of golf at Pebble Beach. In fact, most homeowners can be well on their way to a golf course-like lawn by following a few of the same basic lawn-watering tips that golf course maintenance professionals use to keep their courses looking beautiful, said Dave Johnson, director of corporate marketing. A properly designed and efficiently used automatic irrigation system will result in less time spent by homeowners keeping their lawns and gardens healthy and beautiful, meaning there is more time to hit the links on the weekends.

Applying the same technology relied on by superintendents at seven of Golf Digest's top 10 most prestigious golf courses, Rain Bird's residential irrigation products make it easy to have a lawn that rivals the world's greatest golf courses. Contact http://www.rainbird.com.

GCM Blog provides inside look at the first two majors of 2007

The 2007 majors of golf kicked off this week at The Masters, and GCM magazine is there to offer an inside look at the event. Senior Associate Editor Seth Jones is at Augusta National and will be reporting about his week on the GCM blog.

And that's just the first of two weeks of major championship coverage. Next week, GCM Editor Scott Hollister will be at Oakmont CC for a preview of the 2007 U.S. Open. He'll be there beginning April 9.

Check the GCM blog for updates, interviews and photos from both venues.

Masters offers a variety of live online coverage

If you can't find a television set to check out what's happening at this year's Masters, the folks at Augusta National are offering enough online video to satisfy even the most ardent fans at Masters.org.

The coverage began earlier this week with live streaming video of the player interviews. On Wednesday, the Par 3 Contest was aired, and beginning Thursday, visitors can watch live coverage of Amen Corner.

On Thursday, a new tradition began when Arnold Palmer took his place on the first tee at Augusta National Golf Club to hit the opening drive. To read his comments on the moment, and see the video of the drive, click here