Tiger Woods Cuts Ribbon on El Cardonal at Diamante

Global superstar’s first 18-hole layout is a strategic gem

(CABO SAN LUCAS, Mexico) - Diamante, a premier residential community situated at the tip of Baja California Sur, formally unveiled El Cardonal on Dec. 16 during a gala opening ceremony attended by several dignitaries, including the celebrated course designer himself.

A superb layout with an “Old California” design motif, El Cardonal marks the architectural debut of superstar Tiger Woods, who maintains a residence at Diamante and who was on hand to play the course and describe its features.

“I’ve always wanted to be in the golf design business,” Woods told a small gathering of elected officials, resort executives and international media. “This is an incredible site, and working with (Diamante developer) Ken Jowdy and his team has been absolutely phenomenal.”

Set back from the sea on higher ground than the Dunes Course, the 1,500-acre community’s original venue, El Cardonal is a 7,363-yard, par-72 layout that features an ocean view from every hole. The front nine meanders through rolling sand dunes near the sea. The back nine, framed by thick desert vegetation, ascends to higher ground and crisscrosses a series of arroyos.

Bold, flashed-face bunkers have been placed by Woods to create strategic options throughout the course. With its broad fairway corridors and accent on playability from the forward tees, El Cardonal was designed to accommodate a wide range of golfers.

According to Jowdy, “He (Woods) focused more on the people he plays with on Wednesdays (the amateurs in the pro-ams) than on the weekend (the pros).”

Byron Bell, president of Woods’ design company, said “Tiger grew up playing some of the great, old-style courses on the West Coast. Bunkers and other hazards were used not as a deterrent, but instead to force players to make a decision. Tiger wants the variety of holes and strategic options to promote shot-making while still creating a very playable experience.”

“I expect that everyone—moms, dads and kids—will all play basically the same ‘lines’ on each hole,” Tiger stated. “We’ve given them different tee boxes, but the strategy is the same for everyone. The idea was to make it fun for all types of players.

“With all the amenities here at the resort, I plan on spending more time here at Diamante,” Woods said, adding that “Cabo delivers what everyone is looking for. It’s the best of all worlds. You’ve got great golf, plus all the activities available offshore, including incredible fishing and diving. You don’t find too many places like this in the world—ever.”

El Cardonal brings the course count in Los Cabos to 14, establishing it as the undisputed golf capital of Mexico. It was also announced at the grand opening that Woods will return to build a second course at Diamante.

Los Cabos, located at the tip of the 1,000-mile long Baja Peninsula, is home to award-winning hotels, resorts, championship golf courses, rejuvenating spas, world-class sport fishing, and was the host city for the G20 Summit of global leaders in 2012. With a unique landscape of dramatic desert and white sand beaches, Los Cabos is an exotic escape within easy reach of most U.S. and Canadian cities.

For more information, images and videos from Los Cabos, visit  www.visitloscabos.travel, follow on Twitter @LOSCABOSTOURISM.

Golf Ball Company CYCL’d Launches

A new golf ball company, CYCL’d, recently launched. However, golfers have been playing their balls for years - this is because CYCL’d is a seller of recycled golf balls. Although, it is not the golf balls that make them stand out, it’s that they are the only company that uses a patented package that can transform into a putting aid to help improve your game.

This training aid isn't a gimmick; the hole is two inches smaller than a regulation hole. This requires golfers to be more accurate during practice and makes the hole feel much larger when on the course, providing golfers with more confidence. It also helps to improve distance control, due the hole being on an incline. The ball must be rolling at a speed that would allow it to roll 1 foot past the hole in order to make it. If the ball were to go over the ramp – it means the ball would have gone 3 feet or more past the hole.

CYCL’d wants to encourage all golfers to use recycled golf balls during non-tournament rounds, and has three goals as a company:
1 - sell a quality golf ball:
2 - reduce waste; and
3 - improve your game.

They have one more goal that is not listed on their website ... to change the way golf balls are packaged. They believe if there is a way to package golf balls that uses less paper than traditional packaging while doubling as a training aid – Then all golf balls should be packaged in this way!

To find out more about CYCL’d and how you can win a year’s supply of CYCL’d golf balls, visit www.CYCLdGolf.com.

TGA Premier Junior Golf Clinic Presented by PowerBilt Will Impact Southern California Youth

It is free on Sunday Jan. 25, and conducted by TGA of Coachella Valley in partnership with Humana and the Clinton Foundation

(LA QUINTA, CA) - Youth golfers throughout southern California and the desert will have an opportunity to learn the game of golf in a fun and exciting atmosphere at the TGA Premier Junior Golf Clinic presented by PowerBilt on Sunday Jan. 25, during the final round of the PGA Tour's Humana Challenge.

The free junior golf clinic - from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the PGA WEST driving range - is open to youth ages six and up. The students will learn a wide range of golf skills including full swing, short game and putting, and all equipment will be provided at no cost by PowerBilt. Participants will also receive a "Goodie Bag," as well as complimentary admission to watch the PGA Tour stars that day in the Humana Challenge.

The junior clinic, conducted by the talented staff of TGA of Coachella Valley, is sponsored by PowerBilt Golf, HB Foundation and Lumpy's golf shops, and will enrich the lives of hundreds of area youth. In addition to the golf clinic, Humana will be providing many other activities geared toward youth on Jan. 25, which is designated as Kids' Day at the Humana Challenge.

"With PowerBilt being fully engaged in growing junior golf through our equipment and working with TGA for over 10 years, it was a natural fit to come together with Humana and the Clinton Foundation and give back to our community and southern California by enriching the lives of youth through the lifelong sport of golf," Ross Kvinge, CEO of PowerBilt and owner of the TGA of Coachella Valley, said.

TGA Premier Junior Golf, the leading school-based golf enrichment program in the country and PowerBilt Golf, a leader in golf equipment manufacturing, continues its long standing commitment to junior golf and creating pathways, like this clinic, that truly impact youth and grow the game.

For more information on the TGA Premier Junior Golf Clinic presented by PowerBilt, visit www.coachellavalley.playtga.com/.

For more information about TGA Premier Junior Golf, visit www.playtga.com or follow @TGAJuniorGolf on Twitter.

For more information about PowerBilt, visit www.powerbilt.com.

Former World No. 1 David Duval Joins Golf Channel as Analyst in Studio, on Site at Marquee Events

(ORLANDO, Fla.) – Professional golfer and former World No. 1 David Duval has joined Golf Channel’s broadcast team and will serve as a studio analyst and on site at selected PGA TOUR events, at major championships and other marquee events. Over the past three years, Duval has worked as a guest analyst for both Golf Channel and other sports networks, while continuing to pursue competitive golf.

“We’re extremely excited to welcome David to our Golf Channel family and our talented team of golf analysts,” said Golf Channel Executive Producer Molly Solomon. “David not only brings an enormous amount of credibility as one of the best golfers of his generation, but a knowledgeable and candid voice that our viewers will enjoy and can depend on.”

Duval joined the PGA TOUR in 1995 and posted seven second-place finishes in his first two seasons. Between 1997 and 2001, his achievements rocketed him to a World No. 1 ranking and forged a competitive rivalry with another dominant golfer of the time – Tiger Woods. During that span, Duval was consistently among the top-10 on the PGA TOUR money list- leading the list in 1998 – won the Vardon Trophy and Byron Nelson Award, posted a 4-0 record at the 1998 Presidents Cup in only his second season on the PGA TOUR, won 13 times on the PGA TOUR, twice tied for second at the Masters (1998 and 2001), played on the victorious 1999 Ryder Cup team, and won the 2001 Open Championship.

A native of Jacksonville, Fla., Duval, 43, currently resides in Colorado with his wife, Susie, and five children.

Cool Clubs Develops Revolutionary Game-Changing Technology

(SCOTTSDALE, AZ) - Custom club fitting giant Cool Clubs announces its game-changing new S3 shaft testing machine, designed to help customers play better golf.

S3 - which stands for "Shaft Simulation System" - has been a concept existing only in Cool Clubs founder Mark Timms' mind for quite some time. Over the past six months, however, his concept has become an impressive reality with the help of the company's new Research & Development Manager Simon Grondin.

The S3 is the first of its kind to measure and analyze multiple parameters of a golf shaft on a single machine. In roughly two and a half minutes, the machine will analyze a shaft's straightness, consistency, deflection and stiffness profiles, frequency, and torque.

The machine is fast, repeatable and accurate, eliminating the human-induced error present in several of the industry's current shaft profiling techniques. What makes the S3 even more unique is that it tests shafts in a manner that simulates how they will be loaded during a golf swing.  Over 100,000 points of data are used to profile each shaft.

The data that's currently being collected from the S3 machine at the company's Scottsdale headquarters will be used to help club fitters around the world understand shafts and do a better job fitting as well as to educate the golfing population on shafts and how important the right shaft is.  "Our aim is to continue to improve and develop technologies for fitting and building, so that players everywhere can PLAY BETTER GOLF" says Cool Clubs Founder, Mark Timms.

Much of this shaft data from the S3 machine will be available to all golfers through the Apple App Store.  Both an informative free version and a more detailed upgraded version will be available by the PGA show in January 2015. An extremely advanced web based version for golf industry professionals only should also to follow shortly after that.

To facilitate educating golfers and club fitters around the world, Cool Clubs, with the help of CodeRed-I, has developed a mobile App to allow users to browse its shaft database. The database currently features nearly 1000 shafts from the industry's shaft manufacturers and will grow to include new shafts. Each shaft is accompanied by its picture, manufacturer data, and new S3-collected Cool Clubs data. The S3 data includes mass, balance point, torque, frequency (FM and CPM), and an EI curve summary. However, the App's most impressive feature is the ability to view each shaft's EI and deflection curves and compare shafts by overlaying these profiles. The App also includes the ability to learn about the technology behind the S3, save favorite shafts, and read and write shaft reviews. The App is made even more enjoyable by the App's simple user interface, and beautiful graphics.

"Cool Clubs chose to work with Arizona's premier game and app development studio, CodeRed-I for the release of its highly anticipated app," said Timms. "CodeRed-I understands that usability and functionality are two key elements of this app; they understood our vision at Cool Clubs Technologies and have succeeded in making our vision a reality."

SkyGolf Launches New SkyCaddie AIRE II

No Fees, Preloaded, Ready-to-Play

(RIDGELAND, Miss.) - SkyGolf, maker of SkyCaddie the most trusted Rangefinder in Golf, introduced the new SkyCaddie AIRE II. The ultra-light, compact SkyCaddie AIRE II comes loaded with stroke-saving features and is ready-to-play with over 35,000 preloaded courses and no annual fees required.

Using golf’s only ground-corrected precision course maps, the SkyCaddie AIRE II provides dynamic, accurate distances to the front, center and back of the green with large, easy-to-read numbers. It also provides TrueGround fairway targets and layup targets in to the green with no membership required. The AIRE II features intelligent automation which means that it automatically recognizes the course you are playing, advances to the next hole automatically, and provides automatic distance information without having to press any buttons. Other features include a digital scorecard function which stores up to 20 rounds, a shot distance measurement function, fitness functions including odometer, calorie counter and distance tracker, plus watch functions including a pace-of-play timer and stopwatch.

With the AIRE II, golfers have the option to upgrade to a nominally-priced SkyGolf Membership plan to access SkyCaddie’s advanced course management features including the proprietary IntelliGreen Technology which displays the exact shape of the green from your angle of approach, plus adjustable pin targeting that gives precise distances to the hole.

The upgrade also adds SkyCaddie’s full TrueGround Target List for each course with up to 40 points to hazards, bunkers, water, carries and layups per hole. In addition, upgraded members can sync their AIRE II with the SkyGolf 360 Mobile App that allows golfers to upload scores and stats to SkyGolf’s online community for comprehensive post-round analysis.

“The great thing about the AIRE II is its simplicity combined with all the key features you want in a compact, easy-to-use device,” said Richard Edmonson, CEO, SkyGolf. “It condenses a quarter million hours of exclusive SkyCaddie course mapping into a truly pocket-sized rechargeable unit that’s just easy and fun to use. Switch it on, let it find the course you are playing and go play.”

The water-resistant AIRE II can be clipped to a belt or a golf cart or can hang from your golf bag. Its rechargeable lithium battery powers the device for up to 10 hours between charges.

The suggested retail price of the SkyCaddie AIRE II is $149.95. For more information on the SkyCaddie AIRE II, please visit www.skycaddie.com.

TaylorMade Golf Company Signs Paula Creamer to Contract Extension

2010 U.S. Women’s Open Champion to Continue to Play TaylorMade Metalwoods, Irons, Wear adidas Golf Footwear and Apparel

(Carlsbad, Calif.) – TaylorMade Golf Company, maker of the most-played driver on the PGA Tour for 14 years and counting, announced today the contract extension of LPGA player and longtime brand ambassador, Paula Creamer (@ThePCreamer). Creamer, who first signed with TaylorMade shortly after turning professional in 2005, will continue to play TaylorMade metalwoods and irons as well as adidas Golf footwear, apparel and accessories.

Creamer, who has 10 career victories on the LPGA Tour, turned professional in 2005 after a remarkable amateur career that saw her win 19 national tournaments, 11 of those coming in American Junior Golf Association events. In her first year on the LPGA Tour, Creamer won the Sybase Classic, becoming the youngest winner of a multiple-round tournament in LPGA history. Two months later, Creamer won the Evian Masters by a resounding 8 strokes. Her performance in 2005 earned her LPGA Rookie of the Year honors as well as a coveted spot on the U.S. Solheim Cup Team, becoming the youngest player to do so. Since then, she has finished in the top 15 of the Women’s World Golf Rankings every year.

Creamer by the Numbers:
* 10 career LPGA Tour victories
* 2010 U.S. Women’s Open champion
* 94 top-ten finishes
* 5 Solheim Cup appearances
* 2005 LPGA Rookie of the Year

“Since turning professional in 2005, Paula’s been an exemplary ambassador for our brands and the game of golf; an ideal role model for the next generation,” said Chuck Presto, Senior Vice President, Global Sports Marketing. “Her resounding popularity is indicative of not only of her performance on the course, but her engaging and genuine personality off of it. We’re proud to have Paula in the TaylorMade family.”

For more information on TaylorMade and adidas Golf equipment, apparel or Tour staff players, visit TaylorMadeGolf.com.