TED BITS, Ted McIntyre - TORONTO COMPANY ‘KNETS’ eBAY AWARD

KnetGolf’s Shaun Shienfield has been crowned eBay Canada’s 2009 Entrepreneur of the Year. Pictured here with more than 30,000 golf balls (which, coincidentally, is exactly what I lost last year), the KnetGolf’s president of eBay operations runs one of the largest internet golf retailers in the world, selling 20 million golf balls to more than 250,000 golfers in 2009 alone. The company was founded in 1995 along with Shienfield’s father Gary (CEO) and brother Korey (VP of sales) under the banner “Golf Balls by Fax,” explains Shaun, a Toronto resident whose Markham facility houses more then five million balls at the moment. “We really only got into the internet in 1998, then with eBay in 2001.”

And in case you think the competition’s nasty between KnetGolf and the Titleists of the world, think again. “We need them,” says Shaun, whose company deals with 2,000 courses across the continent. “Please buy new golf balls. It’s good for us!”

Particularly if you lose them really quickly.

TED BITS, Ted McIntyre - THE CANADIAN PGA RADIO SHOW AND MARYBEAR’S PLAYOFFS

I was invited to be a guest of the Canadian PGA Radio Show this past Saturday morning to chat about our freshly released Top 50 Ontario Golf Courses (Top 100 online). Hosted by the CPGA’s Jeff Dykeman and golf scribe Garry McKay, the show airs for 30 weeks through the golf season on Hamilton-based Talk 820 AM. I think I was actually competent this time around (I usually succumb to nerves on these types of shows, possibly brought on by the fact that I’m thoroughly convinced I don’t know what I’m talking about.) But I think this one went OK—likely due to the fact that McKay is very bright and very funny, and Dykeman is a real pro as a radio host. Turns out I was actually the show’s first studio guest in 29 weeks. Course architect Ian Andrew was supposed to be the first a few weeks back, but he forgot about it, enabling me to make history, seeing as this is the virgin season for the show and all. Strategically, I tried to set the bar really low so that all that follow will sound exceptional by comparison. Saturday’s show isn’t loaded on the CPGA’s website yet, but if you want to listen, look for it soon here. And if you want to listen in to the show’s final edition for 2009, it runs from 10-11 a.m. Saturday morning on Talk 820 AM in Southern Ontario.

OUT AT THIRD
Good friend Daryl Puffer supplies the following images from my significant other’s playoffs a couple weekends back. Mary (aka Marybear) applied a quick tag at third base after a throw from left-centre field. In the first image below, if you look carefully you can see Mary’s glove under the baserunner’s left leg before she touches the bag (it’s a weird photo angle since only a few of Mary’s appendages are visible, including her leg on the base). The ump missed the call, however. (Clearly you should have shown these pictures to the umpire earlier, Daryl!)

TED BITS, Ted McIntyre - ONTARIO’S TOP 100 COURSES

The numbers are in and St. George’s G&CC is again atop the standings of Ontario’s TOP 50 Courses, as featured in the Fall edition of Ontario Golf Magazine. The biennial ranking (always our most popular—and controversial—feature) involves months of planning, and even longer to conduct, as our 65 carefully picked panel members attempt to knock off the few key courses they’re missing before posting their picks.

Then the counting procedure begins (two stages, followed by an extensive professional audit by an outside agency. All the final numbers of the Top 100 are posted, as well as the top five picks from each panel member—it’s all part of the integrity with which this ranking is conducted.

The TOP 50 are listed in the current edition of OG, while the TOP 100 are posted online (and even that list excludes some great courses, like Lakeview, Angus Glen’s North Course, Forest City National in London, Legends on the Niagara’s Battlefield Course, Smuggler’s Glen near Gananoque and Lionhead’s Masters Course, which goes to show the depth of fantastic golf we have here in Ontario.)

My biggest disappointments are seeing Osprey Valley’s Wasteland Course and Thunder Bay’s Whitewater fall out of the Top 50. (Check out the Top 50 You Can Play for a list that includes some great public tracks that didn’t crack the Top 100 overall.)

VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF HAWAII

Next time I’m in Hawaii, I may have to try this. Atlantis Submarines is offering a new undersea exploration package that combines the magic of Maui’s world at 150 feet below the surface, with the thrills of snorkeling among schools of fish off the island of Lanai. The package is offered in conjunction with Maui Adventure Cruises’ Lanai Dolphin Adventure and provides guests with the rare opportunity to see and experience up close the marine life around two islands. A highlight of the tour is seeing the sunken Carthaginian replica whaling ship, which Atlantis sunk in December 2005 to create an artificial reef and self-sustaining habitat for marine life in the area.

The 65-foot, 48-passenger batter-powered submarine features a spacious, air-conditioned cabin with lots of head and legroom, and large viewing ports to enjoy the action. Cost of the sub and snorkel package is $159 US for adults and $80 for children ages 5-12. For info, visit www.atlantissubmarines.com, or call toll-free at (800) 548-6262.

TED BITS, Ted McIntyre - PINES OF GEORGINA AMONG THIS YEAR’S SUCCESS STORIES

Few golf course operators ever tell you the truth. In a month’s time, at the Ontario PGA Trade Show, every one of them will tell me they broke even or had a better-than-expected season. I expect it’s like computer dating—if you have the opportunity to embellish, you probably will—particularly when nobody will discover the truth until it’s too late.

That said, I’ve spoken to a few operators this summer that I do trust. Things appear to be going swimmingly at Crosswinds in Burlington, for example. And Pines of Georgina is having its best year ever. “Mortgage rates being down have helped a lot,” says Don McIntyre, owner and GM of the facility. “And 100 golfers would be a bad day. I’ll be making money for sure this year—it’ll be my best season ever.”

When your own brother tells you that—off the record—you tend to believe him.

It’s a good sign for the industry, though. While higher-end clubs have seen quieter fairways than normal, people still want to golf and are looking for a bargain (Pines of Georgina’s $38/$48 green fees certainly fit that bill.)

Don also claims the best green conditions the course has seen in memory, which is also what I heard from Beach Grove Golf & Country Club’s new GM Gary Geoffrey yesterday. “Our conditions are as good as anywhere in Ontario,” he claimed. Since I haven’t played the course yet, I’ll have to take Geoffrey up on his offer to visit the facility before season’s end.

YORK DOWNS A LITTLE OVER THE TOP
I just stumbled upon the introduction video for prospective members of York Downs G&CC. OMG but is the music a tad over the top! To a background of a sweeping Hollywood movie score-like serenade, one views pictures of eminently mundane parts of the golf course. Click here for the video. (If it doesn’t load the first time, hit the “Try Again” button.)

TED BITS, Ted McIntyre - MY LEFT ELBOW

Be forewarned—the following is not as compelling as Christy Brown’s autobiography, “My Left Foot,” but I think the pictures are way cooler. I was supposed to play three rounds of golf this week: my first trek to Pickering’s Watson’s Glen, and two Stanley Thompson classics—Mississaugua G&CC and Summit G&CC in Richmond Hill. Alas, as I was walking off the field after scoring a run in the first inning of my playoff game this past Sunday, the on-deck batter (thinking I was clear of him) took a practice swing, which stopped abruptly upon coming in contact with my left elbow. Amazing to all present (my screaming and the four hours in Emergency having an influence on people’s initial concerns), nothing was broken, but it was sufficiently injured to keep me from my appointed rounds this week…and hopefully not too much longer.

TED BITS, Ted McIntyre - CANADIAN PROSPECTS: MY GLASS IS HALF-EMPTY TODAY

It wasn’t that long ago that we were bathing in our own success as an amateur golf nation. Matt Hill set records in the greatest NCAA season of all time. Paris, Ontario’s Jennifer Kirby won everything there was to win of note in Canadian women’s amateur golf. B.C.’s Nick Taylor (then the world’s No. 1 amateur) actually played the weekend at the U.S. Open after a record-tying opening round for amateurs. Then both he and Hill missed the cut at the Canadian Open. Then all 17 Canadians—professionals and those amateur prospects alike—missed the cut at the CN Women’s Open, marking the first time since, well EVER, that no Canuck has teed it up in Round Three of our national championship.

Reality has indeed landed with a thud. We have just two Canadian men capable of winning a PGA Tour event and no women with any realistic shot on the LPGA side. Lorie Kane’s competitive days have long since passed (she only made four cuts this year). A classy spokesperson and a very bright woman, I would love to have seen her throw her hat in the ring for the post of LPGA Tour commissioner. Alena Sharp, meanwhile, has never threatened, placing 79th on the money list with barely $100,000 in winnings and a season-best performance of a tie for 22nd back in June.

Yikes. We haven’t had a male winner in two years, and no female champion since Kane in 2001. And while Weir or Ames are good enough to win in any given week, there’s no reason to believe we’ll have a women’s champion in the foreseeable future.

Guess I’m just a glass-half-empty sorta guy today.

TED BITS, Ted McIntyre - PEACEFUL POLAND, OHIO

The son of a my coworker Doug just got back from an exhibition high school football game in Poland, Ohio—part of a scenic, dry (as in alcohol-free) county, and with a strictly enforced 11:30 p.m. curfew for teens. So, I decided to see how much of a positive effect these bylaws have on local crime.

Mohoning County, Ohio.
Population: 250,000
Murders in 2008: 33

Halton Region, Ontario.
Population: 467,200.
Murders in 2008: 1

Evidently, every one of those 250,000 Mahoning County citizens possess a gun and a bad temper. On the bright side, Doug says they have a kick-ass football team!

TED BITS, Ted McIntyre - ADAMS GOLF’S COOL NEW STEALTH HYBRID

Adams Golf has introduced possibly its coolest-looking club to date. The latest offering of its industry-leading Idea franchise is the new Idea Pro Black hybrid. Expanding upon the previously released Idea Pro Black line of muscle-back irons, these hybrids feature a premium non-glare black nickel-plated finish and sleek design that will appeal to skilled players. Having already been put in play over 300 times this season on the PGA, Champions and Nationwide Tours, the Idea Pro Black hybrids are engineered with high performance features that maximize distance and workability. Compact and workable, the slightly offset clubhead features 25 grams of low and back weighting combined with a forward weight port that allows for exact swing weight and shaft adjustments. It produces lower spin and a hotter ball flight, while the iiron-like shaping of the provides greater versatility off the tee for improved playability and confidence.

Idea Pro Black hybrids are available in RH and LH in lofts of 16, 18, 20, 23 and 26 degrees. Two stock shaft options are offered: the Aldila Voodoo 85-gram graphite shaft and the Matrix Ozik 95-gram graphite shaft.

GOLF GPS A LEADING iPHONE APP!
Apple has launched a list of top iPhone applications by revenue. Golfshot places fifth overall, right behind the software for TomTom GPS Navigation. Golfshot, created specifically for iPhones, allows you to score your rounds, view your performance statistics and share with friends. The coolest part, though, is the access to Google maps and GPS capability, which enables you to view aerial images of thousands of courses worldwide and get distances to any point. Welcome to your new rangefinder!

REMEMBERING PAYNE

For those of you who were fans, NBC Sports will be airing a one-hour special, Remembering Payne presented by Southern Company, September 20, 1-2 p.m. ET. The press release notes that “Stewart possessed all of the positive characteristics that distinguish the game of golf: honesty, integrity and sportsmanship.” Having had a bad experience or two personally with Stewart, he wasn’t my all-time favourite Tour player, but you have to respect the stylish Stewart for being an innovator and a much-respected member of the PGA Tour. This year marks the 10-year anniversary of the bizarre plane crash that took the life of the 42-year-old, an 11-time Tour winner and three-time major champion, as well as a devoted husband and father.

TED BITS, Ted McIntyre - IS THE FEDEX CUP BAD FOR GOLF?

I’ve had some golf fans admitting that they’re finally growing interested in the FedEx Cup. Introduced two years ago as a means of generating interest (and, more specifically, TV viewers) for late-season events, the FedEx Cup culminates in the season-ending Tour Championship and a $10 million US payoff for the overall points winner above and beyond the inflated tournament purses for those four playoff events.

The average elite player will tee it up somewhere between 22 and 26 events this season (Only Robert Allenby, at 28, played more than 26 events among the top 20 money earners in 2008). There are probably 15 can’t-miss tournaments the great ones will attend every year. It starts with the winners-only Mercedes-Benz Championship for many. Then there’s the three World Golf Championships, four majors, the Players Championship, likely the Memorial and Bay Hill (since no one wants to insult Jack Nicklaus or Arnold Palmer) and then there are the four FedEX playoff tournaments. (There’s also the Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup to factor in, although they don’t count as official events.)

So, assuming you’re an “average” elite player, that leaves about nine tournament dates to fill in the remaining 18 available weeks—probably just four or so if you’re Tiger Woods, who has never played more than 21 official tournaments since joining the PGA Tour and is usually closer to 19. (Keep in mind that there are already four tournaments that automatically draw weak fields—the ones that play the same week as the three WGC events as well as the British Open.)

In other words, the more Tim Finchem and the PGA Tour tries to create must-play events for the world’s most sought-after players, the less likely they are to support the traditional events which have driven the Tour for decades. Which translates into weaker fields with less star power, and, consequently, fewer fans and tougher sells for PGA tournament directors in dire need of sponsors and revenue sources.

If the desire is to create an elite 20-event super tour, Finchem and company are certainly well on their way. If the hope is to grow the game and sustain its roots, one has to think that weakening links throughout the PGA Tour chain is not the way to go about it.

TED BITS, Ted McIntyre - KODEE DOGG IN CLOTHES

My significant other, Mary, came up with this idea to keep our “son,” koDee doGg, from continuing to lick and scratch himself raw in an attempt to combat his new skin condition. It seems to be working….although we could never take him out to dinner looking like this.