Holidays approach, preparations for 2010 underway.

It seems that only a few short months ago, we had just started the 2009 TGA season. Now as the weather changes and the holiday season draws nearer, we are starting to finalize everything for the 2010 season. The TGA is excited to build on 2009 and is putting the finishing touches on the schedule. Once the schedule is set be on the lookout for an email containing information about the upcoming season as well some important changes to our policies and procedures that will be instituted for 2010.

As we say goodbye to the first decade of the new millenium in the coming weeks, we here at the Tennessee Golf Association and Golf House Tennessee would like to thank everyone for their contributions to the game of golf over the last ten years. Without your help, passion, interest, and commitment, we would not be able to provide the quality events and tournaments for you, the amateur golfer. The TGA is pleased to be able to host 15 championships, as well as numerous other tournaments thoughout the year.

As I said 2009, was a great year and we look forward to many more in the coming decade. Have safe travels as you visit with family and friends this holiday season. From all of us at the TGA, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

2009 Tournament Season Comes to a Close

It has been a whirlwind at our office in the last month and a half. Carter and I have crisscrossed the state as we have put on three Championship Series events and two championships. With the conclusion of the TGA Mid-Amateur Championship presented by Gentleman Jack on Thursday, the 2009 TGA tournament season official came to a close. And it could not have ended in better fashion.

Play began on Tuesday, as 117 players descended on historic Holston Hills Country Club. Holston Hills is a Donald Ross gem that has hosted USGA and NCAA championships and sits near the Tennessee River. As play got underway, players were determined to conquer this classic layout and the scores from the first day let the players believe they could accomplish that task. Rob Garland led a group of nine players that broke par on the first day, highlighted by his round of 5 under par 67 that featured a front nine of 6 under par 31.

While players may have believed they had the right plan of attack to win the championship, the weather and course fought back on Wednesday. With the sky opening up and rain falling for most of the morning, low scores were much harder to come by. Jay Wise was able to play consistently in the rain and fired an even par round to become the overnight leader at 3 under par. Justin Emil tied for the low round of the day and gained valuable spots on the field as he shot a round of 2 under par 70 in the steady rain to move into a tie for second with Jeff Golliher and Todd Burgan.

When the players arrived at the course for the start of the third day, rain was falling again. After a weather delay, play in the final round began and one Holston Hills member had his sights set on claiming the championship. Jeff Golliher was able to play well enough on the outward nine to seize the lead at the turn. As Golliher was was making the turn, Buzz Fly was putting the finishing touches on the round of the championship. Fly shot an astounding 8 under par 64 to shoot himself up the leaderboard and become the leader in the clubhouse. Fly's round wrapped up what had to be a magical summer as he became what is believed to be the first person to sweep all the Memphis Golf Association tournaments.

If word had reached Golliher on the course he did not let it affect him as he played his inward nine. He was able to offset bogeys at 11 and 18 with three birdies as he came in with a third round 3 under par 69 to finish the tournament at 4 under par 212. The TGA Mid-Amateur Championship was Jeff's first individual title and could not have possibly been sweeter as he clinched it on his home course. Jeff's win also added a little bit of history as he joins his brother Steve, the 1996 TGA Mid-Amateur Champion, as the only two brothers to have their names engraved on the John Atkins Mid-Amateur Trophy.

It is always sad to see another tournament season come and go. This year was a great year for me, as this was my first year being involved completely with the Tennessee Golf Association. We had great turnouts for our championships, highlighted by Peter Malnati's Amateur Championship triumph at The Honors Course. And the highlights were not restricted to our own events. I know that I will not forget watching Tim Jackson take the 36 hole lead at this year's U.S. Senior Open Championship or becoming the oldest medalist at the U.S. Amateur. We had nine golfers represent us in the U.S. Mid-Amateur, eight at the U.S. Amateur, and Todd Burgan was a quarterfinalist at the U.S. Mid-Amateur. The golf is good in the state of Tennessee and I am proud to be apart of it.

One last sprint to the finish...

As you can probably tell, by the lack of recent post, things have been hectic for the past month or so for the TGA. Upon returning from the State Amateur (which went amazingly well) we had just a few short weeks to get prepared for our final run of tournaments. Unlike most seasons, where we seem to be on the downhill stretch after the State Amateur, this year we found ourselves with 5 more events still to come.

Two weeks ago Nate and myself headed up to Loudon, TN to prepare for our second TGA Championship Series event of the year at Rarity Pointe Golf Course. It only yeilded a field size of 29 players but was packed with competition. After a scare of rain the first day, the second day found the players working to keep dry as a steady rain beat down on the players for most of their round. In the end Ray Morton and Jim Brown found themselves victorious in their respective divisions. The TGACS event had ended but our work in Loudon was not complete. Our Senior Amateur Championship was the following week and Nate and I had decided to stay in East TN and get some course ratings done in between events.

The Senior Amateur began on Tuesday, September 1st at Tennessee National Golf Club. The course was in amazing condition and this years field was the biggest the TGA has had in many many years. Boasting 23 in the Super Senior division and 115 in the regular senior division...the players were set to have a competitive test for this years title. After a second straight day of gorgeous weather the field was cut to the low 30+ties. The second day also brought the end of the Super Senior tournament. Ron Bargatze of White House, TN found himself atop the leaderboard posting a two day total of 148 (75-73) giving him a two shot win over Ron Parson of Knoxville. In the regular division, the champions trophy was once again hoisted up by Larry Dupree of Germantown, TN. Larry defended his title by firing a final round 72, giving him a three day total of 211 (70-69-72), five under par, and a six shot victory over Bill Argabrite and Dennis Vaughn.

This week we are back in the office preparing for our next two Championship Series events as well as the Mid-Am. We will be heading down to Ridgeway Country Club in Memphis the third week in September and then find ourselves the following week in Chattanooga at Bear Trace @ Harrison Bay. Both of these events should have great fields and allow players to make a late push at the Player of the Year Points List before ending the year at Holston Hills for the Mid Amateur Championship. Its one last sprint to the finish for the TGA, and we are excited about the upcoming championships.

Mirmichi and Westhaven: Two new courses making a big splash in Tennessee Golf

I'm often told that I am incredibly lucky to be doing what I'm doing, and I have to concur. My job affords me the chance to step foot on our state's finest golf courses and to experience things that I otherwise would never be able to. A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to have such an opportunity, not once but twice.

As most of you know my job duties include that of course rating. Amongst the hustle and bustle of tournament season I am lucky enough to have a couple of weeks to indulge in this area of my expertise and recently was able to rate two new golf courses that I think will make a big splash in Tennessee golf. First on my list was Mirimichi in Millington, Tennessee. Once known as the Club at Big Creek, Mirimichi (meaning "place of happy retreat") is a renovation masterpiece. Owner, Justin Timberlake, has invested $16 million into turning his childhood course into the "greenest" golfing destination in the nation. Not only does Mirimichi have 18 holes of championship golf, it will also include a 9-hole executive course and be one of nine locations to hold a Callaway Custom Fitting Center all while remaining open to the public. I speak for myself and all of the TGA staff when I say this place is simply "amazing". It is not often we find ourselves on a new course immediately thinking of how soon we can bring championships to the site, but here we were. With five sets of tees, and boasting a back tee yardage of more than 7400 yards it offers the ability to host a myriad of events. Set to open on July 24, 2009 Mirimichi has quickly become one of my favorites and I hope that everyone gets a chance to see what all the fuss is about! For more information on Mirimichi visit their website at www.mirimichi.com.

Ratings

Black Rock(M) - 76.6/137
Blue Sky(M) - 74.2/134
Gold Sun(M) - 71.4/131
White Sand(M) - 68.3/122
White Sand(W) - 73.3/129
Red Clay(W) - 69.8/125






Westhaven Golf Club in Franklin, Tennessee was next on our list. Designed by renowned architect Arthur Hills, Westhaven Golf Club is a private, championship 18-hole golf course that prides itself on being a "core" course which allows players a true escape from the outside world. With the course scheduled to open in mid to late August my staff and I ventured out a couple of weeks ago to finalize their course and slope ratings. Wow, what a golf course! While it may not be a overly long course, back tee of 6,968 yards, it is a course that requires precision on absolutely every shot. At first glance, you'll notice that the course has several short par 4's, ranging in yardage from 310 to 370 from the back tees, but do not let this fool you. For example, hole #2 is a 310 yard par 4 in which the player finds himself very easily tempted to pull out driver. What is not immediately recognized is that the margin of error is next to none. With a water hazard lining the entire left side of the hole and OB right, a player's need for an accurate tee shot is a must. What makes the hole even more difficult is a fairway bunker that sits directly in the middle of the landing area which forces players to have to hit something in the neighborhood of 250 yards to carry but will force an approach shot of over 100 yards if they decide to lay up. As if that wasn't enough, players are then forced to deal with several pot bunkers and an additional water hazard directly behind the highly contoured green. It is these kind of descisions that place a premium on course management at Westhaven. While it seems that so many courses are becoming longer to defend themselves against technology, Westhaven brings back the game of shot placement and creativity which is so often forgotten. For more information on Westhaven Golf Club visit them online at www.golfwesthaven.com.

Ratings

Gold(M) - 73.9/138
Blue(M) - 71.7/131
Green(M) - 69.1/126
White(M) - 66.6/118
Green(W) - 74.9/135
White(W) - 71.4/127
Red(W) - 67.9/122

A busy month of June...

It is safe to say that our tournament season is in full swing. June tends to be an extremely busy month for the TGA and this year nothing has changed. Having traveled from one end of the state to the other the past couple of weeks, we find ourselves home once again preparing for 2 state championships that will take place next week in Middle TN.

On June 8th we found ourselves in Memphis running the U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying which was held at Germantown and Ridgeway Country Clubs. It was a 36-hole single day event that awarded 13 players the chance to head to Bethpage Black as contestants of the 2009 U.S. Open. The event was a huge success and it was extremely exciting to witness some of the big names in golf competing for those much desired qualifying spots. The following day several of us headed over to Windyke Country Club to assist the TPGA with the St. Jude Open Qualifier. There we witnessed an amazing round by one of our local amateurs, Rob Garland, who carded a 65 and captured a spot into the St. Jude Classic which was being held at TPC Southwind.

Leaving Memphis, we pit-stopped back at the office for a couple of days to prepare for the Four-Ball/Senior-Four Ball Championship which was held at Toqua Golf Club in Loudon, TN on June 18-21. This was the first time hosting the Four-Ball Championship for Toqua Golf Club and I commend Jim West, Mark Wickendon, Lisa Vaught and their staff for an incredible job well done. The Four-Ball/Senior Four-Ball Championship began with two days of stroke play qualifying in which the top 16 teams (Regular Division) and top 8 teams (Senior Division) moved onto the weekends match play format. After four days of blistering heat and several weather delays the winners emerged. Grant Milner/Sam Pressley defeated Lexus Keoninh/Steven Fox 1up in the finals of the regular division, while Bill Liberato/Gene Lomax defeated David Hallford/Tim Thompson 2&1 in the senior division finals.

This week we find ourselves preparing for two state championships which take place next week. The Match Play Championship begins June 30th at the Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin, TN. Also beginning on June 30th is the 46th Annual Boy's Junior Amateur Championship which will be held at Champions Run in Rockvale, TN. The TGA is extremely excited about the upcoming championships and are waiting in anticipation to crown several state champions.

Off and Running...

Final preparations are being made as the TGA heads down to Memphis this weekend to run the U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying. There will be 110 players fighting for 12 spots into this year's U.S. Open which will be held on June 15-21, 2009 at Bethpage State Park (Black Course) in Farmingdale, NY. Monday's Sectional Qualifying will be a 36-hole stroke play competiton in which players will play both Germantown and Ridgeway Country Club.

Tuesday finds several of the TGA staff serving as Rules Officials in the Stanford St. Jude Qualifier being held at Windyke Country Club. Qualifiers will compete in the Stanford St. Jude which will take place on June 11-14 at TPC Southwind, also located in Memphis. It is definitely a change of pace for us, working professional events, as we typically are involved with amateur
events.

The following week we will be headed up to Loudon, TN for the 2009 Four-Ball/Senior Four-Ball Championship which will be held at Toqua Golf Club. This years event includes 40 Regular Division teams and 30 Senior Division teams. The tournament format will be two days of stroke-play qualifying followed by team vs. team match play until a winner emerges. It is a favorite event of many of our players because of the atmosphere and team comraderie. We are excited for a great Championship and look forward to seeing all of you there.


*Please don't forget that the State Amateur Deadline is Wednesday, June 24th, at 5:00 p.m. CDT. This year's State Amateur Championship will be held on August 4-7, 2009, at The Honors Course in Ooltewah, TN.

2009 State Open

Preparations are well in hand for the 61st Annual State Open which will be conducted next week (May 19-21) at Gaylord Springs Golf Links in Nashville. The TGA is looking forward to another great championship season which will kick off Tuesday, May 19 at 7:30 a.m. with the first tee shot.

This year's field is once again very strong with nine past champions including defending champion, Cody Hale, who won last year as an amateur, but it back to defend as a professional. Also scheduled to compete is Garrett Willis who finished third only a few weeks ago in the South Georgia Classic - Nationwide Tour event, and won the 2000 State Open. Also in the field are past champions Derek Rende (2007), Justin Metzger (2006), Tim Jackson (2003), Rob Long (1987 & 2002), Trey Lewis (2001), Steve Munson (1991), Bob Wolcott (1983).

On Monday, May 18th, the TGA will host over 100 sponsor guests in the annual Pro-Am that preceeds the championship proper. 148 players will compete in the first two rounds on Tuesday and Wednesday which will feature 7:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. double-tee starts. The field will be cut to the low 60 players and ties after the second round. The final round will begin at 8:00 a.m. with a single tee start.

Follow the action online as our website (http://www.golfhousetennessee.com/) will feature a mini-leaderboard and live scoring for the lead groups during the final round.

RE/MAX World Long Drive Championships coming to Twelve Stones Crossing Golf Club

Twleve Stones Crossing Golf Club, Goodlettsville, TN will host a qualifying event for the 2009 RE/MAX World Drive Championship, the premier event in power golf, on April 26, 2009.

Area golfers are invited to see how they stack up as power hitters. Long drive competition takes place in three adult divisions: Open, Senior (45+), Super Senior (53+).

Qualifying lasts from 11:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.

Entry fees are $40 per try. Golfers may enter multiple times and, if age eligible, multiple, divisions.

Top finishers at Twelve Stones Crossing Golf Club will advance to the regional finals of the 2009 RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship. The ultimate goal is to earn a spot at the RE/MAX world finals, scheduled for October 25-30, 2009, in scenic Mesquite, Nevada.

To learn more about the adrenaline-drenched sport of long drive visit www.longdrivers.com, and make plans to tee it up and take your best shot at Twelve Stones Crossing Golf Club on April 26, 2009.

For More Information contact:

James McClellan - 615-596-0951

Or

Pro Shop at Twelve Stones Crossing Golf Club - 615-851-4653

Tournament Registration - Now Open!

Tournament Registration for all TGA events officially opened up on March 1st. This year we've decided to do things a little differently than we have in the past. Typically, we have opened up our tournament registration in stages. This year we have decided to open up registration for all events at the same time...giving our players the ability to sign up for their full season of tournaments at one time. It is our hope that this offers our players an easier opportunity to enter events as well as allowing them the peace of mind that they don't have to remember to check back in later in the year to see if registration has opened for the other tournaments.

If you have not signed up for any 2009 tournaments and would like to do so, please follow this link to our tournament registration page.

TGA Tournament Registration

If you are new to the TGA and have not yet signed up for a TGA Players Club ID and Password please follow the link above and click on the link titled "Click here to sign up for online registration", or contact the TGA office at 615.790.7600 and we can set up an account for you.

*Reminder*

This year's tournament season starts off with a TGA Championship Series Event on April 6-7 at the Governor's Club in Brentwood, TN. Registration for this event closes on March 23. This event is a 36 hole stroke play event open to all Mid Am (25+) and Senior Ams (55+).

Christmas Already?!

Of course its not, it was 2 months ago...but around the office you would have thought otherwise. Its been years since a lot of us here in the office have changed golf equipment...the fact is none of us really get to play as much golf as you might think. The old adage, "If you want to play golf, don't get into the golf business.", is true in a lot of respects, but we do get our time to shine out on the links every once in a while. Until now I've been able to use the excuse of, "The only reason I played so badly is the clubs. I mean they were made back in the early 80's", for which we all know is a completely invalid excuse. The fact is its most of the time always going to be the Indian, not the arrow, but in golf, I think having a new arrow every once in a while pays off. It feels as if golf club manufacturers have been secretly conversing with cell phone providers. Let's make the newest greatest thing on the market, and in four months lets replace it with an even better product....and then lets change that products color and call it a "pro series". To keep up with technology is something that not even the Jones' can do, but oh do they keep all of our eyes anxiously awaiting "the next best thing".

So I guess 2009 has officially been our year of change here in the office in regards to golf equipment, our feeble attempt to keep up with the Jones'. I would almost say it has taken a domino effect. One person gets this club, and that causes the other guy to think, "Man I want that!". Then someone else gets a set of this or that, and that sparks an excitement in someone else ...you know the drill. It would be a safe bet to say that this is typical behavior around most offices around the world, especially those in and around the game of golf.

So I know your asking, "What did you all get?". I'll lay it out in the said domino effect that took place! Maybe in the future weeks and months we can all write some reviews on how the new sticks are working out for us.

Matt gets his new Victory Reds!

Steve Mac get his new Tour Preferred Irons!



David then gets his new Callaway X Forged Irons



along with his new FT9 Driver


Steve Mac then decides on the Burner TP's



Nate and myself then catch a little of the "Man I want that!" bug that I discussed earlier. For some its easy to suppress this feeling, but I would venture to say for 99% of all warm blooded males... its a battle that's not worth fighting. Simply put its a case of, "Gimme, Gimme, Gimme".

Nate decides on the Mizuno MP67's


along with the new Titleist 909 D3 driver




And Finally.....

I chose the TaylorMade TP MB Smokes





and the new Cobra S9-1 Pro S







So there's a glimpse into our February X-mas! Needless to say we are all ready for Mr. Spring to finally warm us up so we can confidently stroll out to the course. Now I'm not saying records are going to be set...all I'm saying is there is a group of young Indians, ready to unleash a few new arrows!

Folds of Honor Foundation/ Patriot Golf Day

Last Tuesday the Tennessee PGA and allied associations located at Golf House Tennessee hosted a press conference to promote the Folds of Honor Foundation as well as Patriot Golf Day. PGA Member, Dan Rooney was on hand to explain how his foundation, which helps families of wounded or deceased veterans, was established. He gave a heart-warming story of the night that changed his life forever, and that sparked him to create Patriot Golf Day. Mr. Rooney served several tours oversees where he was an F-16 pilot.

(Above - SSG Ken Weichert, Dan Rooney PGA, Lt. Col. Thomas Kunk)

Mr. Ed Pulido, a soldier wounded while touring oversees, then presented a short presentation to everyone about the Folds of Honor Foundation. He gave us his very emotional story about his tour of duty, his injury, his path to recovery, and more importantly of his determination to succeed. After hearing his story it became very apparent of what each and every soldier is sacraficing to continue to keep our freedom, and how much they need our support not just for their time in the war but when they return home as well.

Mr. Ed Pulido

In concert with Mr. Rooney and Mr. Pulido, Executive Director of the Tennessee Section PGA, Jeff Abbot spoke on how the Tennessee Golf Foundation is assisting families of our military through the Screaming Eagle Pro-Am and other activities. Abbot was presented with a flag flown in Rooney’s F-16 cockpit over Iraq during his missions.

Ed Pulido, Dan Rooney, Jeff Abbot, Matt Vanderpool, Dick Horton

Week of 2/9 - 2/13

Last week found Nate, Ryan, and myself traveling East to Knoxville. Tuesday morning was started with a site visit at Toqua Golf Course, host site of the 2009 TGA Four Ball/Senior Four Ball. During the site visit we met with the club owner, club pro, head superintendent, and GM of Food& Beverage. We discussed details such as practice round and tournament days, tournament registration, course set-up and marking, cart availability, player lunch, etc. Typically our site visits run 30 minutes to an hour, and allow us to go over the basic details of the tournament before registration begins for the players.

Tuesday afternoon found us at yet another site visit with TN National Golf Club, host of the 2009 Senior Amateur. After our meeting we were kindly invited to hit links for what would be our first round of the year. YIKES! The weather was great, except for the high gusts of wind, but we had a great time and all in all were all pleasantly surprised at how well we played seeing as how none of us had swung a club in several months.

Wednesday started off with another site visit, this time at Holston Hills CC, site of the 2009 Mid Amateur. Jay Garrison, our Tournament Chairmen, accompanied us to this site visit where we again discussed details of this years event. After our meeting we headed to Beaver Brook CC to do a course rating. Luckily, the weather was some-what warm, a drastic difference from the weather we have encountered thus far on this years course rating trips.

Some quick info for those of you who don't know what exactly goes on during a course rating:

USGA Course Rating - USGA Course Rating is defined as the evaluation of the playing difficulty of a course for scratch golfers under normal course and weather conditions. It is expressed as strokes taken to one decimal place, and is based on yardage and other obstacles to the extent that they affect the scoring difficulty of the scratch golfer.

Bogey Rating - USGA Bogey Rating is the average of the better half of a bogey golfer's scores under normal course and weather conditions. It is expressed as strokes taken to one decimal place, and is baed on yardage and other obstacles to the extent that they affect the scoring difficulty of the scratch golfer.

USGA Slope Rating - Slope Rating is the USGA's mark that indicates the measurement of the relative playing difficulty of a course for players who are not scratch golfer, compared to the USGA Course Rating. It is computed from the difference between the Bogey Rating and the USGA Course Rating. Slope Rating is expressed as a whole number from 55 to 155.

The Rating Process

When rating a golf course, the rating ream (usually consisting of three to five team members) evaluates the difficulty of a golf course under normal playing conditions. The golf course is evaluated for a scratch golfer and a bogey golfer. The rating process requires a study of each hole, including detailed data obtained at all landing areas for both of the golfers. The shot lengths are used by the rating team to determine where the landing areas are for each player. When rating, the team considers ten obstacles, along with the effective playing length of the course. Both length corrections and obstacle values are considered at each hole. Following this evaluation, the values given to the obstacles are plugged into an equation, which formulates the USGA Course Rating and Slope Rating for each set of tees.

The 10 Obstacles that we evaluate are: Topography, Fairway, Green Target, Rough & Recoverability, Bunkers, Out of Bounds/Extreme Rough, Water Hazards, Trees, Green Surface, and Psychological.
Effective Playing Length Corrections are determined by the following: Roll, Elevation, & Dogleg/Forced Lay-Up

A typical course rating will take between 3-5 hours depending on the amount of tees and obstacle values that have to be rated.

The USGA recommends that a golf course be re-rated every 7-10 years.

We finished rating Beaver Brook just as the storms were rolling in. (The wind had been so brutal that several trees had fallen on the course during our rating.) The storms passed that night and Thursday morning we ventured down to rate Green Meadow Country Club. The weather was great, just a little chilly, and the course rating went extremely well. After some quick lunch we headed back to Franklin. Friday morning the three of us headed south to Columbia, TN. There we visited Stoneybrook GC, which had just recently gone through some major course renovations, and needed to be re-rated.

The week was very productive and it only confirms that the golf season is quickly approaching. While it takes a few weeks to get back in the swing of things after winter break we are finding ourselves diving in head first now!

2009 Tournament Season quickly approaching

It just about time to bust out the clubs, dust off the shoes, and tee it up once again. Spring is just around the corner and for the TGA that means simply, "Tournament Season". We are currently in the process of finalizing all of our tournament dates and sites before registration opens on March 1. I would venture to say we are about 90% complete with the tournament schedule, with just a few last events to nail down. Good things are in the works for this year, and I am excited to see the game of golf grow in Tennessee.

Along with tournament scheduling I have been focusing a great deal of my attention to course ratings. This year it looks like we have approximately 30 courses that will need to be rated and I have already begun my process of getting some of these done before the rush of tournament season begins. It is my goal this year to finally get us ahead of schedule and continue to work on getting us on a 7 yr. re-rate schedule. (USGA recommends a re-rate every 7-10 yrs.)

Next week I will be traveling to Knoxville to conduct several Championship Site Visits. I will be meeting with Toqua Golf Course, TN National, and Holston Hills about several of this year's TGA Championships. While in the Knoxville area we will also be rating Beaver Brook and Green Meadow.

For more information on all of the TGA Championships and Events please go to our website www.golfhousetennessee.com

2009 PGA Merchandise Show

I recently returned from the 2009 PGA Merchandise Show which was again held in Orlando, FL, however that is where the similarities between this year and previous years end. As you can imagine this year's show was much different due to the struggling economy. Most of the larger golf companies were still there and Titliest even returned this year after skipping the last few years. The one noticable change was there were not as many "startup" companies there that were trying to market and sell the next new innovative golf item.

Along with fewer companies came fewer attendees. One local sales representative told me that all of the window shoppers stayed home this year and only the real buyers were at the Show. I was one of the few window shoppers that did go to the Show. I went to try and scout out new and interesting favors for our championships and just to see what all is going on in the golf industry. What new products are coming out and what is the buzz surrounding these new products. One thing I noticed that is likely to change is a longer product life cycle or a reduction in the amount of new products a company unveils in a year. Other than that, it looked like business as usual.

All in all, it was a good trip and very informative. For more information on the 2009 PGA Merchandise Show log onto http://www.pgamerchandiseshow.com/.