Divot Mix

When all is said and done, and whatever the method and whoever the man, successful putting surely must be a matter more of nerve than technique. --Pat Ward-Thomas

NewsWeekly to get new identity

Beginning next week, GCSAA NewsWeekly is going have a new identity. It will become GCM NewsWeekly, aligning with GCM magazine, the leading publication in the golf course industry and published by GCSAA.

Ken Moum, NewsWeekly editor, said, "This is an opportunity to provide NewsWeekly readers with online content from GCM magazine and the GCM blog. The fact that NewsWeekly has a weekly deadline also means that we can share information with readers in a more timely fashion.

"Nothing will change in NewsWeekly's mission, and readers can expect the same wide-ranging coverage of the golf industry they have come to expect since it launched in 1999."

Look for the new design and new content in your inbox next week.

The perfect portrait of Arnold Palmer

Artist James David Chase is deeply influenced by people achieving the impossible. Later this year, the result of that influence is going to be on display at the USGA's Arnold Palmer Center for Golf History.
 
Inspired by Arnold Palmer, Chase began work in 1989 on a portrait honoring him using words chosen from what has been said or written about the golf icon and from Palmer’s own words. He wanted to create the portrait using only hand-written text to create shading and form the lines of the image. To see a closeup of Chase's work, click here..

"I wanted the content to become the form," said Chase. "…to turn Arnie’s story lines into Arnie’s facial lines."

After taking hundreds of photographs to capture Palmer's facial features and expressions Chase spent countless hours researching the words that would become part of his composition.

He spent the next 14 years painstakingly creating a detailed portrait using a total of 22,719 words. Chase named the portrait "Gratitude" to symbolize how grateful Palmer’s fans are for his dedication to golf, but also to capture Palmer’s sentiment toward his fiercely loyal fans. 

 "Gratitude" will be one of more than 2,000 artifacts on display when the Arnold Palmer Center opens to the public in June.

Agrotain continues Artistry of Golf series

Agrotain International, supplier of StabilizedNitrogen products, has announced its fourth painting in the Artistry of Golf collection. It’s the latest in a series of commissioned paintings paying tribute to the hard work and dedication of golf course superintendents throughout the world.

"This is our way of recognizing professionals who combine the best of science and intuition to successfully practice their art," explained Alan Nees, vice president of turf and ornamental sales. "The painting this year is especially unique because it’s our first time featuring an international course."

This year's painting, The Razor’s Edge, features Old Head Golf Links in County Cork, Ireland. Designed by Joe Carr and Ron Kirby, the course is built on a promontory that juts more than two miles into the Atlantic Ocean and sits atop cliffs that rise several hundred feet above the sea.

The painting by Sandra Cashman showcases Old Head’s fourth hole and features a 19th-century lighthouse situated just beyond the Stone of Accord. The Stone of Accord is historically significant as the place to secure important deals and reconcile after disputes.

Superintendents who visit Agrotain International’s booth number 4944 during the Golf Industry Show will receive a commemorative poster featuring the artwork while supplies last. Participants can also register to win one of 50 signed and numbered limited edition prints or the grand prize, the original framed oil painting.

The artist, Sandra Cashman, is one of the managing partners of EPIC Creative, a full-service marketing agency and production company specializing in the turf industry.

Weather separates the haves and have nots

Following a very favorable November for golf, December 2007 went out with a respectable but very similar performance to the prior year.

Pellucid reports that golf playable hours for the month of nationally were up 0.4 percent compared to the same period last year. This left the year-to-date golf playable hours virtually unchanged also at +0.4 percent.

But the neutral national weather for December hides how diverse the results were in key warm weather regions.

The Southeast and Southeast Coast regions saw a significant downturn in golf playable hours for the month as did Northern California Coastal. Warm climate winners were the Gulf Coast, Texas and the Inland California Valley. The remaining key regions of Florida, Arizona and Southern California saw only marginal changes in weather vs. prior year. Regionally for the year, gainers outnumbering decliners nine regions up from last year, five regions down and 10 neutral.

Golf DataTech says rounds played for November were down five percent a 16-percent increase in golf playable hours. The conclusion was that that golfers passed up favorable weather late in the season (particularly in the northern parts of the Midwest and East) and opted for something other than additional rounds of golf.

Rally for the Cure partners with Golf Digest Planner

The Rally for the Cure, an initiative dedicated to helping eradicate breast cancer, and the J. Ryder Group, developer of the GolfDigestPlanner.com have signed an agreement cooperate to promote the initiative.

Rally for the Cure event organizers and participants will be able to order branded merchandise at a new online store, operated by J. Ryder Group. The store features golf event related products with a pink theme. Each item can be branded with the Rally for the Cure logo along with the event and sponsor names, in an effort to expand awareness for the initiative.

"This is a tremendous opportunity to help Rally for the Cure achieve their goal of delivering the message of breast cancer awareness to women through golf," said James Ryder, president of the J. Ryder Group.

"Our event organizers and participants consistently ask us for branded merchandise to show their support of breast cancer awareness at Rally for the Cure events," said Cate Campbell, operations manager of the Rally for the Cure. "The Golf Digest Planner is the perfect tool for event organizers as well, and they will help us introduce our program to thousands of new events."

The J. Ryder Group will also provide an option for golf event organizers using the Golf Digest Planner to incorporate a Rally for the Cure event into their golf event. The free Golf Digest Tournament Planner, is anchored by a six-minute planning wizard designed to assist in planning every aspect of any golf event.