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San Diego’s a Go! Farmers Signs 4-Year Title Sponsor Deal

by Annie Latham on March 16, 2010 in News with No comments

The AP is reporting that Farmers Insurance Group has just signed a 4-year title sponsorship deal for the PGA Tour stop held at Torrey Pines in San Diego.  Terms of the deal were not disclosed.  PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem did say that next year’s purse would increase half a million from this year, to $5.8 million.

The Torrey Pines event, now known as the Farmers Insurance Open, is held during the West Coast Swing in January.  For the 2010 event, Farmers signed on to be title sponsor the week before the event.  Since 1992, it had been known as the Buick Invitational.  Things changed when the automaker’s parent company, General Motors, filed for bankruptcy and ended its sponsorship last year.

The Masters to Broadcast in 3D; Comcast Distributing for Free

by Annie Latham on March 16, 2010 in News with No comments

The Masters Golf Tournament to Broadcast in 3D

Another day, another 3D announcement.  This time, it came from an unlikely source — Augusta National Golf Club and Masters Tournament Chairman Billy Payne.  They just issued a press release stating that the 2010 Masters will be produced and broadcast live in 3D.

“This innovative step forward, the first of its kind in golf, will include multiple 3D cameras placed strategically throughout the course resulting in perspectives never before seen of Augusta National.”

Sony, IBM and Comcast on board.

Sony Electronics will support the golf effort not only as a sponsor of the 3D Masters telecast, but will showcase the latest advances in professional camera equipment and its 3D-capable televisions. Comcast will join in the production effort and provide the distribution channels necessary to deliver the content free to its households throughout the U.S. Additionally, Comcast and IBM, the tournament’s technology partner, will combine efforts to offer the 3D feed via www.masters.com.

There will be two hours of live afternoon 3D coverage each day starting with  the Par 3 Contest scheduled for April 7.

New Website for St. Andrews Links Features Open Countdown Timer, Old Course Webcams and More

by Annie Latham on March 15, 2010 in News, Courses with No comments

At the PGA Merchandise show in January, the new official website for St. Andrews Links was launched.

Alan McGregor, chief executive of St Andrews Links Trust, said:

“The website is such an important part of our business. It acts as a gateway to the Home of Golf for so many users around the world who are either coming here or who aspire to come here. It has been a major project for us to develop the new site in time for the Open this year and we are pleased to have a new and improved service to offer our golfing customers.”

Indeed, when you arrive at the site, the first thing you’ll encounter is a countdown clock. The Open will be held 15 – 18 July.

There is a stroll down memory lane in the Old Course section.  Also, you’ll find a hole guide with playing advice.  The webcam feature is kind of fun too.

And, of course, there is a brand new Golf Shop section which enables visitors to purchase a full range of official Open 2010, Old Course, St Andrews Links and Castle Course apparel and merchandise.

The new site replaces one that was developed in 2003.

New Stat for Measuring Putts… ‘Putts Gained Per Round’

by Annie Latham on March 14, 2010 in News with No comments

New Stat for Measuring Putts

The Wall Street Journal’s John Paul Newport (Golf Journal) did a story about a new way of measuring putts.  Sure that sounds odd, but it is just because golf hasn’t come up with cool stat names like baseball has (OBP, WHIP, etc.).

The traditional way measuring putting skill among the world’s best golfers is  “putting average” which measures the number of putts that a player takes per round when his ball lands on the green in regulation.

Newport points out “Not only does this approach exclude about 30% of putts attempted on the PGA Tour (those made on greens not reached in regulation), but it also rewards the accuracy of shots into the green as much as it does putting skill.”

One example he provides is of someone who lays up and then chips to a one-putt.

Apparently, none of the current statistics take into account the relative difficulty of the greens played. “Players who compete on a higher percentage of courses with tricky greens, such as at the majors, get a bum deal,” he said.

Throw some MIT researchers (Sloan School of Management) and some computing power (care of PGA Tour’s technology partner, CDW) and what do you get?

A metric called “putts gained per round.”

It starts with creating a baseline from which the golfers will be measured.

  • From 10 feet, the average number of putts that Tour pros take is 1.63.
  • At around 30 feet, the putts-to-go average starts exceeding two. From 40, the average is 2.15.
  • Then there is an adjustment for difficulty of the green.

The model compares the results of each putt a pro takes to the expected putts-to-go average on that particular green by a hypothetical average field If a player holes a 15- footer whose value is 1.82, he gains .82 strokes on the field. If he needs two putts, he loses .18 strokes on the field. At the end of the round, the model adds up all the pluses and minuses to produce the net putts-gained statistic.

Cool huh?

Newport noted that Luke Donald was the best putter in 2009 based on this stat.  Tiger Woods showed favorable numbers too.

It is nice to see the PGA Tour “smartening” up when it comes to offering meaningful stats for such a key aspect of the game.

The complete story can be found here (subscription required).

Golfsmith Announces Callaway Driver Contest: If Phil Wins…

by Annie Latham on March 12, 2010 in News, Contests, Callaway, Drivers with 1 Comment

Golfsmith, the golf specialty retailer, has teamed up with Callaway Golf to offer folks an opportunity to win a new driver if Phil Mickelson is victorious this April in Augusta at the 2010 Masters.

The announcement states:

Starting today and ending April 7, golfers who purchase one of three new Callaway drivers – the Diablo Edge™, FT-Tour™ or FT-iZ™ – at any Golfsmith store across the country will have the purchase price of their Callaway driver fully refunded by Golfsmith if Phil wins the Masters at Augusta, April 8-11.

The rules say, “No purchase is necessary.”

To enter without buying a driver, what you have to do is go to a Golfsmith retail location and ask them for an official “Win With Phil” entry form to fill out and mail in.

Golfsmith estimates thousands of people will take advantage of the promotion, which is available through more than seventy stores from coast to coast. To learn more about Golfsmith’s promotion with Callaway Golf, stop by any Golfsmith store or visit www.golfsmith.com/winwithPhil. This promotion is available only in Golfsmith’s U.S. stores.

Fleischer Hired to Help Tiger Strategize Return

by Annie Latham on March 12, 2010 in News with No comments

Seems like the New York Post has the inside scoop on Tiger’s return to golf.

A story posted on Thursday and referenced by other media organizations, stated “Ari Fleischer, the former presidential advisor to George W. Bush and the man who was brought in to help repair the steroid-shattered image of Mark McGwire, has been huddling with Woods, plotting a strategy for his return to golf — at the Arnold Palmer Invitational starting March 25 at Bay Hill in Orlando, Fl.”  The sources were two people from “the golf community.”

The date of the return is encouraging.  His choice of advisor isn’t.

The man who claims on his website to be able to “help you handle the bad news and take advantage of the good” which includes sharpening messages and improving images,” did not exactly hit it out of the ballpark with McGuire.

Ari FleischerIn the San Francisco Chronicle, John Shea wrote a story talking about how McGwire’s admission became a denial.  He called out Fleischer, saying:

How could a former White House press secretary not see it coming? How could he miss on prepping McGwire on the benefits of steroids? Having worked under President George W. Bush, he should have known to cover all the basics. Like, what if someone, say Bob Costas, asks McGwire if he would have hit all those home runs without juicing.

When McGwire said “absolutely,” it reminded everyone he hit home runs as far back as Little League and legion ball, and talked about his “gift (from) the man upstairs,” his admission suddenly became a denial. McGwire wasn’t apologizing as much as justifying.”

In commenting on today’s news, Gene Wojciechowski, the senior national columnist for ESPN.com remarked,

“The best Tiger Woods could do is hire the guy who orchestrated Mark McGwire’s bungled re-entry into baseball? The guy who shills for the galactically stupid and indefensible BCS? The guy who counseled the Green Bay Packers on how to deal with their Brett Favre divorce proceedings?”

“Woods doesn’t need to be managed, especially by someone who appears to think the BCS is a brilliant idea. He doesn’t require advice from the same person who signed off on McGwire’s delusional steroids-didn’t-help-me-hit-home-runs explanation.”

Looks like the crisis/reputation management guy needs a crisis/reputation manager.

Circling back to the alleged return to golf, Bay Hill is a short drive from Tiger’s home and he has been a six-time winner on that course (including being the defending champion).

Crenshaw and Coore Tapped to Restore Strategic and Aesthetic Character at Pinehurst No. 2

by James on March 11, 2010 in News, Courses with No comments

Pinehurst No. 2

Looks like the design team of Masters Champion Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore have been hired to do some restoration work on the classic Donald Ross design at Pinehurst No. 2. The work is being commissioned with the 2014 US Open and US Women’s Open in mind. The two major events will hit No. 2 in consecutive weeks, four years from now. Time to make the changes, and in a few years, all will be ready for the big events!

The goal of the course changes will revolve around restoring the strategic and aesthetic feel that Donald Ross so aptly built into the original design. That being said, Coore commented on the task at hand:

‘It is not our intent to radically change this golf course. We’re trying to uncover it, not recover it.’

Sounds like Coore knows what he’s talking about. Taking a dozer to a classic like Pinehurst No. 2 would be tragic. Revealing and slowly chipping away at some of the finer details would be clearly the way to go. Look for Coore and Crenshaw to restore sandy waste areas, widen some of the fairways, and bring some of the native wiregrass and natural bunker edges. I can already see it now. No. 2 is going to look great.

[Via: GolfWeek]

Puma Acquires Cobra, Acushnet to Focus on Titleist and FootJoy Brands

by James on March 10, 2010 in News, Cobra with 1 Comment

Now this is big news. The latest out of GolfWeek has the Cobra brand (owned and run by the Acushnet Co.) sold off to the rising stars at Puma AG. Of course, no terms of the deal have been disclosed as of yet, but this could be a great win/win for both sides. Let me explain why.

Ricky Fowler in Puma GearPuma has been making strides in the last year or so, making more and more of an effort to penetrate the North American golf market. Chances are you’ve seen the young gun Ricky Fowler out on the course in his colorful gear. Well, you guessed it, Fowler has an apparel deal with Puma, and I have a feeling more deals are to come.

For the Acushnet Company, the deal will allow them to focus on their core competencies, or in this case, their core offerings from Titleist and FootJoy. Wally Uihlein, chairman and CEO of Acushnet commented on the deal:

“With the sale of Cobra, we have the opportunity to devote all of our resources to the global growth of (the two brands).”

So there you have it. Cobra is sold off to Puma, and Acushnet is now focusing their efforts 100% behind the FootJoy and Titleist brands. Sounds like a winning formula on both sides. I wonder how long it will take until we see Ricky Fowler hitting some Cobra blades? Oh, and I just thought of this… David Feherty is always out and about promoting Cobra gear. Maybe he’ll be a key face for their marketing efforts in North America (and around the world)? And what about Ian Poulter? So many marketable Cobra staffers are on-board. Big things are surely on the horizon for Puma!

Help Beatriz Recari Make the Mojo 6

by James on March 4, 2010 in News, Contests, Players with No comments

OK GolfCrunchers (or is it GolfCrunchies?), it’s time to do good by doing good again. The other day I was contacted by up-and-coming LPGA player Beatriz Recari, asking for a little help. Turns out she needs ALL of our help, which is ultimately the reason for this post. The deal? She’s trying to get as many votes as she can to qualify for the last spot in the Mojo 6.

What is the Mojo 6?

In a nutshell, it’s an event being held in Jamaica in which a field of 16 women golfers will battle it out for a cool $1,000,000. 15 of the 16 spots are already filled, and the last slot comes down to fan voting.

So how do you vote? Head on over to the Mojo 6 site, click ‘vote for me’ and enter your email address. I believe only one entry is allowed per day, so come back each day to cast your vote for Beatriz or any of the other players!

For more information follow Beatriz on Twitter @BeatrizRecari, hit up her Facebook Page, or visit her official site at BeatrizRecari.com.

Good luck, Beatriz!

Beatriz Recari

Harbour Town Searching for Sponsor… Could Woods Be the Key?

by James on March 3, 2010 in News, Courses, Players with No comments

This is a shame…and a situation that I sincerely hope works out for the best!

News out of Hilton Head South Carolina notes that while there will be a Heritage Classic in 2011, the event may run without a title sponsor. Tournament director Steve Wilmot has commented that enough funds have been saved to run the event in 2011, and 2012 is looking doubtful at best. Last fall Verizon announced it would end sponsorship of the event, which it had been sponsoring since 1987 (when they were known as MCI). In a nutshell, a new title sponsor is needed!

If Wilmot fails to secure sponsorship, the 2012 event at the Harbour Town Golf Links could be a non-starter. Which, as I said a moment ago would be a huge shame. Harbour Town is an iconic track, with it’s small greens, wood-planked bunker faces and hazards, and of course, who could forget the harbour with the red and white lighthouse overlooking the 18th. What a track.

In my humble opinion a huge part of securing sponsorship could sit with Tiger Woods, should he choose to step up. While ratings are way down with the absence of Woods on the tour, if he were to commit to the Heritage Classic… I highly suspect title sponsors would line up to throw down their money. Forget all the troubles he’s had over the past little while. It doesn’t change the fact that he’s the #1 player in the world, and the #1 draw on tour. Just sayin’.

Your thoughts?

[Via: TheGolfChannel]

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