2019

WOMEN’S GOLF DAY REACHES OVER 25 MILLION PEOPLE

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Women’s Golf Day 2019 blew all expectations out of the water last week as it smashed previous records for venues, countries and overall reach. The global celebration of golf succeeded in its goal of uniting women around the world, with 845 locations across 46 countries hosting WGD events that combined socializing and golf.

Outside of the course, the figures were equally astounding, with over 25 million people viewing WGD content for a total of over 47 million impressions across social media that included some of the biggest brands, influencers, and celebrities around the game.

Elisa Gaudet, Founder of Women’s Golf Day was blown away by the support for this year’s event and is delighted to be a part of the momentum that is gathering in the women’s game. She said, “From year one we’ve combined easy, fun golfing activities at golf venues with a bigger conversation about the importance of the global female golf market. Every year we’ve grown but 2019 has been a tipping point for uniting industry leaders, teaching pros, programs, courses, and events to celebrate women and golf for one day.”

Akron, Ohio - Firestone CC

Firestone Country Club. Akron, Ohio

The feeling of unity across the globe was reflected in comments from venues that hosted WGD events. Benedict Riches, CEO, Leadbetter Golf commented “We are incredibly proud to support Women’s Golf Day at The Leadbetter Golf Academy World Headquarters at Champions Gate, Orlando and across our academies worldwide. This is a fantastic initiative and perfectly aligns with our mission of building a lifelong game for golfers of all ages and abilities. We hope the 135 women who attended our event in Orlando not only improved their golf swing but made new friends as they joined the community of women golfers united across the world.”

Across digital and social media, WGD 2019 succeeded in driving the conversation about the women’s game with a huge variety of content being produced across WGD channels, international golf influencers, celebrities, brands, pros, and golf venues. Content varied from video clips and photos of participants at venues across the globe, often dressed in WGD red and white; women swinging a club for the first time and socializing with new friends, to some of the biggest names in the sport and from the world of entertainment showing their support for the day. Some of the best-known names that joined in on the #WomensGolfDay conversation include Tisha Alyn, Nikki B, Matt Ginella, Chris Harrison, Niall Horan, Blair O’Neal, Greg Norman, Gary Player, Annika Sorenstam, Paige Spiranac and Michelle Wie.

Callaway Golf celebrates Women's Golf Day

Callaway Golf HQ in Carlsbad, CA.

With Women’s Golf Day 2019 having been such a resounding success, Elisa Gaudet plans to build on the momentum and make sure that the conversation converts into action. She explains, “Women’s Golf Day is the start of the journey for so many women and that’s something of which I’m incredibly proud. There are so many great teaching pros and programs available already in existence, so if we can help women understand what a fantastic game golf is and the value of the communities that exist within the game then I know we can create the next generation of female golfers. The way that the industry has come together to show women’s golf at its best is so inspiring and I can’t wait to see how we can be at the heart of driving that conversation again in years to come.”

 

*46 Countries participating in WGD 2019

Armenia, Australia, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, France, Georgia, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, USA, United Arab Emirates,United Kingdom and Vietnam

Mauritius - Constance Belle Mare Plage

 

ABOUT WOMEN’S GOLF DAY

Women’s Golf Day (WGD) is a global golf initiative launched in 2016 to introduce women of all ages to the game and encourage existing female golfers to “tee it up” in a fun and highly inclusive environment. The one day, four-hour event has now taken place in 900 locations in 52 countries since its inception and has introduced thousands of new golfers to the sport while transcending language, culture, religion, and race to celebrate golf, women, and community. WGD created an incredible global community in three years and has the support of almost every major golfing governing body and organization. WGD’s primary hashtag #WomensGolfDay received more than 15 million global impressions to nearly 10 million users across Twitter and Instagram.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM URGES GOLFERS TO SHARE THEIR LOVE OF THE GAME ON WOMEN’S GOLF DAY

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With less than a week to go until Women’s Golf Day 2019, golfing legend Annika Sorenstam is urging Women and Girls around the globe to give golf a go, and for all golfers to share their love of the game with the women in their life.

Women’s Golf Day returns for its fourth year on June 4 th in what will be the largest single day celebration of Women’s golf that the world has ever seen. Open to women and girls of all ages and abilities, WGD 2019 will unite women across the globe at over 800 events in 46 countries*, spanning a full 24hour period starting from daybreak in Australia, to sunset in Hawaii.

With so many opportunities to participate, WGD 2019 gives absolute beginners and avid golfers alike the chance to be part of a global community and grow the number of women and girls that experience the multiple benefits that golf has to offer, as Annika explains: “Golf teaches you so much about life. It is so much more than just a game. It’s a community, it’s friendships, it’s fitness, it’s mental well-being, it’s challenging and most of all, it’s fun! I’ve been so lucky to benefit from all of these aspects of the game and would urge women and girls around the world to get involved.

annika & EAG wgd 18

If you want to be part of an incredible community or if you’re already a golfer and you want any of the women in your life to share your experience, then sign up for a Women’s Golf Day event and take the first steps on an amazing journey.”

WGD unites women and girls around the world and gives them an incredible platform from which they can share their passion with each other and with newcomers to the sport. Each event is a four-hour celebration that combines golf with socializing, which allows women to make the friendships that will keep them coming back for more. Elisa Gaudet, founder of Women’s Golf Day, believes that this combination has contributed to the global sense of unity participants feel during WGD and is integral to the overall success of the campaign.

Elisa said: “Since year one we have made sure that WGD events give the participants the chance to feel part of something much bigger than the event they attend. WGD events are about friendship, networking, and creating communities through playing golf. I passionately believe that golf is an amazing game that offers unique challenges, incredible benefits to our health and wellbeing and unites people through a shared passion. I am proud to be part of the community which loves this sport – we are the ones who elevate it into something truly wonderful. In just four hours, the women and girls who come to WGD events to swing a club for the first time experience this sense of belonging themselves and that’s what makes WGD the global success that it is.”

Share Your Love

Anyone wishing to take part in a WGD event on June 4 th should visit http://www.womensgolfday.com and search for a venue close by. Alternatively, search on social media at @womensgolfday and #WomensGolfDay for news of the latest venues to sign up to host events.

*46 Countries participating in WGD 2019:
Armenia, Australia, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, France, Georgia, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, USA, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and Vietnam

ABOUT WOMEN’S GOLF DAY
Women’s Golf Day (WGD) is a global golf initiative launched in 2016 to introduce women of all ages to the game and encourage existing female golfers to “tee it up” in a fun and highly inclusive environment. The one day, four-hour event, has now taken place in 900 locations in 52 countries since its inception, and has introduced thousands of new golfers to the sport while transcending language, culture, religion, and race to celebrate golf, women, and community. WGD created an incredible global community in three years and has the support of almost every major golfing governing body and organization.

WGD’s primary hashtag #WomensGolfDay received more than 15 million global impressions to nearly 10 million users across Twitter and Instagram. To learn more about Women’s Golf Day and its upcoming event on Tuesday June 4 rd 2019 visit http://www.womensgolfday.com  @womensgolfday, #WomensGolfDay

Dominican Republic

About the ANNIKA Foundation
Annika created the ANNIKA Foundation to provide opportunities in women’s golf at the junior, collegiate and professional levels while teaching young people the importance of living a healthy, active lifestyle through fitness and nutrition. The Foundation has partnered with key organizations to promote healthy, active lifestyles for children, including SPARK, Florida Hospital for Children in support of its Healthy 100 Kids initiative and The First Tee in development of the Nine Healthy Habits curriculum for children. It annually conducts six major golf events for aspiring junior girls: the ANNIKA Invitational USA presented by Rolex at the World Golf Village in St. Augustine, Florida; ANNIKA Invitational at Mission Hills in China; ANNIKA Invitational Europe and ANNIKA Cup in Sweden; and, in association with the R&A, the ANNIKA Invitational Latin America and ANNIKA Invitational Australasia.

In 2013, the Foundation’s reach extended to the collegiate ranks with the ANNIKA Award presented by 3M (awarded to most outstanding female NCAA Division I golfer) and ANNIKA Intercollegiate presented by 3M (12 team, 54-hole event in Minnesota). SPARK grants to schools, financial support of Healthy 100 Kids, endowing an AJGA ACE Grant, and the “Share My Passion” Golf Clinics are other areas of emphasis.

2019 SET TO BE A GREAT YEAR FOR WOMEN’S GOLF

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With three of the most significant tournaments at the top level of women’s golf taking part this week, women’s golf is getting a little more attention than usual, giving sports fans all over the world a variety of options to engage with.

With the first women’s Major of the year, the ANA Inspiration; the Jordan Mixed Open where two men’s Tours and the Ladies European Tour come together to compete on the same course for the same prize fund; and the debut for the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, all swinging into action this weekend, many people will get their first exposure to the game, and that is something that Elisa Gaudet, founder of Women’s Golf Day (WGD), knows can be a pivotal moment in recruiting the next generation of golfers.

Julia Duresky/CAPEHART

“Through our work with Women’s Golf Day we know that if you give women and girls a great first experience of the game then they are likely to stay,” commented Gaudet. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a buzz around the women’s game in the 19 years I’ve been in the industry as I have in the weeks leading up to these three groundbreaking tournaments. I hope that by drawing some of the focus of the world’s media to these incredible athletes playing at the top level, they can inspire women and girls all over the world to pick up a club for the first time.”

If, as Gaudet suggests, the effect of these three tournaments coming together in one week is to expose a new audience to the women’s game and kindle an interest in participation, then the return of Women’s Golf Day on June 4th 2019 will provide the perfect opportunity for women and girls all over the world to take the next step, Gaudet continues.

“I love the ‘Think Globally – Act Locally’ campaign and believe that by having better access and exposure to the game, the more women and girls will want to take part. We’re obviously on a very different level to the women playing on Tour, but through WGD we’ve seen that when people have easy access to golf, have a fun first experience and then have a clear path into the game, they soon become the next generation of golfers. The success of WGD has been through industry collaboration and vision of governing bodies, industry leaders, golf clubs and charities coming together to celebrate new and existing women golfers and demonstrate they are important and welcome.”

In the past three years, WGD events have been held at over 900 venues in 52 countries and have delivered a golf experience to over 50,000 women and girls. This year’s event will be held on June 4th and will once again be a celebration of women and girls learning golf skills that last a lifetime and of being part of a larger global community. WGD has partnered with PLAY for P.I.N.K – BCRF (Breast Cancer Research Foundation) an important charity partner given breast cancer affects so many women around the world. We encourage the Women’s Golf Day events to have a charity component and raise awareness and funds for breast cancer and where possible work with Play for P.I.N.K – BCRF enabling them to continue their important work funding the world’s top researchers.

For anyone inspired by the events taking place this week or simply anyone who wants to get involved with a WGD event, keep an eye on the WGD social media at @womensgolfday and #WomensGolfDay and check into http://www.womensgolfday.com for news of new venues signing up around the world every day.

Any venue wishing to register to host an event for Women’s Golf Day 2019 should visit
http://www.womensgolfday.com and go to “Register a Location” And you don’t need to be a golf course to take part. Past venues include Golf clubs, PGA Superstore, Topgolf, Retail stores, Driving ranges – essentially anywhere you can swing a club!

Women’s Golf Day partners:

The World Golf Foundation, International Golf Federation, PGA Tour, PGA America, European Tour, WE ARE GOLF, European Tour properties, LET, LPGA, TPC properties, Golf Channel, Golf Now, ClubCorp, Troon, Billy Casper, PGA TOUR Superstore, TopGolf, NGCOA, EGCOA, NGCOA Canada, LPGA Amateur Golf Association, The California Alliance for Golf, Annika Foundation, Play for P.I.N.K and Breast Cancer Research Foundation,
The First Tee, Gallus Golf, Ahead, All Square, Chronogolf, Women & Golf, and more.

WGD 2019 ex

ABOUT WOMEN’S GOLF DAY
Women’s Golf Day (WGD) is a global golf initiative launched in 2016 to introduce women of all ages to the game and encourage existing female golfers to “tee it up” in a fun and highly inclusive environment. The one day, four-hour event has now taken place in 900 locations in 52 countries since its inception and has introduced thousands of new golfers to the sport while transcending language, culture, religion, and race to celebrate golf, women, and community. WGD created an incredible global community in three years and has the support of almost every major golfing governing body and organization. WGD’s primary hashtag

#WomensGolfDay received more than 15 million global impressions to nearly 10 million users across Twitter and Instagram.  To learn more about Women’s Golf Day and its upcoming event on Tuesday, June 4 rd 2019 visit http://www.womensgolfday.com  @womensgolfday, #WomensGolfDay

2019 PGA Show -“Best of The Rest” Nominations

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With the 2019 PGA Show Equipment Edition Teezy Awards in the books, it’s time to focus on the “Best of the Rest”. These are products ranging from apparel to footwear and everything else in between. Of course, for the most part, these are awards that aren’t given points for performance but what I look at are things like style, price point and even in some cases backstories. How did a company come to be, what drove them to get involved in the industry.

showfront

 

Here are the nominees.

 

Top Men’s Apparel

  1. Swannies
  2. Original Penguin
  3. Columbia Sportswear
  4. Bald Head Blues
  5. AndersonOrd

 

Top Women’s Apparel

  1. Jane 1530
  2. Golftini
  3. Katherine Way
  4. StarBorn Skirts
  5. MotherPutter

goltini

Top Accessories

  1. Beltology
  2. Zero Friction
  3. Oliver Miller
  4. C4 Belts
  5. Evolve Golf

 

Top Electronics (including Rangefinders and GPS)

  1. aboutGolf
  2. GolfBuddy
  3. ScoreBand
  4. Optishokz
  5. Guided Knowledge

 

Top Footwear

  1. TRUE Linkswear
  2. Skecher’s Performance
  3. Jack Grace USA
  4. New Balance Golf
  5. PUMA Golf

tl01

Top Training Aids

  1. Acu-Strike
  2. Total Golf-Trainer
  3. Colour Path Golf
  4. Power Package Golf
  5. PuttOUT

 

Top Health and Wellness

  1. Bobo’s
  2. 1st Tee Nutrition Bars
  3. HempMe
  4. Iso-Sport
  5. Gelliflex

hempme

Top New Product

The winner had already been decided on Friday that the show ended.

 

Until The Next Tee!!

#FightAndGrind #SeeUOnTheNextTee

 

 

The Apex Predators in the Golf Foodchain Showing Their Wares (Drivers)

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It’s silly season. But silly season is also a time for excitement. Little by little the top golf manufacturers are slowly leaking their latest golf clubs headed out for the 2019 golf season. While I love all equipment (fairway woods, hybrids, irons and wedges) everyone is enamored with drivers. The “big dog”.

Tour Edge Golf was one of the first golf companies to display their latest and greatest in anticipation of the 2019 season. With a very affordable price tag of $299 USD (I’ve been digging for their prices in CAD) the Exotics EXS driver has shown to pack a lot of punch and tech into a fair price point. Great materials and premium golf shafts (a norm for nearly everyone now) headline what the EXS is going to offer golfers. I think that this will be a driver that will be the bonafide sleeper of 2019. I hope golfers find the time to swing it and based on my testing of the Exotics EXS hybrid thus far… look out!!

EXSdriver

 

Srixon Golf was involved in the release party fairly early on as well. Perhaps a little earlier than TEE. Srixon Golf has released two drivers as a part of their Z 85 product range. The Z 585 features a lightweight carbon fiber crown, a new Ti51AF Cup Face that’s said to produce “exceptional ball speed for greater distance”. Sounds intriguing and has a price tag of $399.99 USD. It’s stablemate the Z 785 enters the fray at $499.99 USD. The Z 785 driver is 460cc with a tour preferred look and profile. The Z 785 promotes the low-spin, penetrating trajectory that better players demand off the tee.

Z585Driver

 

Wilson Golf. It’s no surprise to anybody that watches golf or in particular the Golf Channel that their release is the new Cortex driver. The winning design from the reality show “Driver vs Driver 2” was designed by Evan Hoffman. It was fun watching the entire process unfold from the pitches to the prototypes until the announcement of the winning design. I didn’t miss an episode. The design itself looks safe and familiar and according to a sales rep at a local golf store the Cortex has pleasantly surprised. When I first looked at it on the rack and in hand the first thing that I thought was that this is the nicest, most legit design that Wilson Golf has released (as far as a driver goes). While their irons have been fantastic they could almost have the moniker of “proverbial underdog” year-in and year-out. Simply put, their irons have been amazing! Unfortunately, their driver releases (and to a lesser extent hybrids and fairway woods/metals) have lagged well behind in my opinion. After all, what do their Tour Staff play? The Cortex is retailing for $499.99 USD or $569.99 CAD. Hope I get to swing this club in January.

cor2

 

Cobra Golf. A week or so ago I shared a press release about the soon to be launched KING F9 SPEEDBACK driver. Cobra Golf touts the KING F9 SPEEDBACK driver as “the first of its kind to achieve true optimization of aerodynamics combined with a low center of gravity, making it the fastest and longest COBRA driver ever”. Every year (except for the KING F7) I’ve been very impressed with the drivers from Cobra Golf ever since I started my websites (Alexander Toth Golf was the predecessor). I think the KING F9 SPEEDBACK could carry on this trend. With victories worldwide already… the KING F9 SPEEDBACK is already letting it’s presence be known ($449 USD).

fas2

 

Yesterday was sort of a big deal. Well, maybe not in the grand scheme of things as far as life goes but as far as golf industry news. The “apex predators” of the golf industry. The massive marketing machines known as Callaway Golf and TaylorMade Golf (respectively) officially have released sneak peeks of their entries for 2019.

Seen officially on the USGA Conforming clubs list (other images have been leaked previously) Callaway Golf has shown the public the upcoming Callaway Golf Epic Flash. While details aren’t available on pricing or specs I will say this. Making its way back into the design fold is the sliding track seen prior to 2018’s Rogue. The Epic Flash is being offered in (at least) the standard and Sub Zero versions. The sole of the club looks intriguing and I heard from a follower on Twitter last evening that it’s going to be a “sock knocker-offer”. Epic Flash piques my curiosity. I will say this. If they (Callaway Golf R&D) took the control/performance of Rogue and blended that with the acoustics/feel of the Epic they will have themselves a serious driver. I still prefer the Epic over Rogue.

flash

 

In the meantime, TaylorMade Golf just happened to release a little teaser of their latest entrant into the driver category for 2019. While we don’t know much about this offering here’s what we do know. There’s a saying that originated in golf. “Hit right on the screws”. The saying dates back to persimmon woods and according to my research it was Sam Snead who coined the phrase. In order to protect the wood against repeated impacts with the ball, wooden woods were equipped with face inserts made from many different materials. It goes to show that multi-material construction is not new. To keep the insert in place, some were fastened with ‘screws’ which were located in a small area in the center of the face. Well in the teaser video below released by the marketing team at TaylorMade Golf you’ll notice two red screws on the face (towards the heel and toe). The second thing that we know is that TaylorMade Golf is saying that “Everybody Gets Faster”. Oh how I wish TaylorMade Golf would be in attendance at the 2019 PGA Merchandise Show.  Again, I don’t know any specifics at this time as far as price or specs. The first chance that I get to see or swing this golf club… you’ll know.

No doubt there will be others to enter the fray. If all goes well I’ll be swinging them all… or at least the majority and I’ll be giving you my first hand observations of each of them. At the very least. Stay tuned.

Until The Next Tee!!

#FightAndGrind #SeeUOnTheNextTee