TED BITS, Ted McIntyre - TIGER’S ALLEGED AFFAIR SEEMS UNLIKELY

The alleged other woman in Tiger-goes-bump-in-the-night-gate, Rachel Uchitel, mourns her missing husband after 9/11 (above left); and happier days at right, on her 2004 wedding night with Wall Street trader Steven Ehrenkranz. She divorced him four months later and moved to Las Vegas. Below, Uchitel with her recently hired high-profile L.A. lawyer, Gloria Allred. (Top right photo: Cary Conover for The New York Times; Below: AP/David Zentz)

There’s no sport in the world like golf when it comes to “the inner sanctum.” Arnold Palmer was a notorious womanizer, but nobody EVER talks about it. The culture of golf will not permit it. Players protect their own. The PGA Tour protects the players. Tiger’s agents, sponsors and handlers insulate him on another level, and his family and close friends insulate him beyond that. Anyone who doesn’t play along gets cut loose—quickly. That’s why getting an inside scoop on Tiger is like breaking into Fort Knox. You have to actually walk the gold out of the vault and drop it on the front lawn in order for the public to know what’s truly hidden inside.

At this point, an affair is just an allegation, although it appears to be what motivated Elin Nordegren’s somewhat passionate iron play in the wee hours of this past Friday morning. Still, for someone as careful as Tiger, if he were to have an affair, Uchitel seems an awfully dangerous choice. This is the same woman who became famous after holding up a picture of fiancé, James Andrew O’Grady, after he went missing in the rubble of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. It’s also the same woman who had a well-publicized fairytale wedding in 2004 to Wall Street trader (and childhood friend) Steven Ehrenkranz. She divorced him four months later and headed to Las Vegas, where she reportedly fell into the arms of another childhood friend—powerful nightclub owner Jason Strauss, according to the website whodateswho.com. “A random career move and a life-changing experience,” she told the website blackbookmag.com. Uchitel worked in Vegas through 2006, determining who got through the VIP doors as the prestigious Tao nightclub.
She later returned to New York, running VIP operations for clubs like Marquee and Dune, and receently began splitting time between the city and the Hamptons, where she worked at the club Pink Elephant.

The 34-year-old New Yorker has reportedly developed a reputation of dating married celebrities, having previously been at the center of an affair scandal involving actor David Boreanaz (Special Agent Seeley Booth in TV’s “Bones”).

“Although I’ve been romantically linked to a famous baseball player, a Broadway star, a musician, and various film and television actors, I will never kiss and tell!” Uchitel previously told BlackBookMag.com.

Uchitel, by the way, says it was just a coincidence that she was at the same hotel as Tiger in Melbourne, Australia—that she was there “on business” (like maybe there was a big hostess convention talking place that week!). Maybe nothing happened. Maybe it was just a one-night stand that Uchitel is trying to profit from. One thing’s for sure, though—she’s well connected, and probably financially quite comfortable. For while it’s likely that ambulance-chasing celebrity lawyers called her up after the allegations emerged, Uchitel apparently has the necessary funds/backing to have hired high-profile Los Angeles attorney Gloria Allred to represent her against allegations of an affair with Tiger in the National Enquirer.—which I expect will, in time, go away quietly since all three parties are probably just seeking exposure.

Which raises another danger in this big mess—that if the Enquirer has got it right—and they claimed to have done their homework on this one, including polygraphs for some sources—it could now lend credibility to the world’s skankiest publication…which, if I remember my Bible correctly, is also the seventh sign of the apocalypse.

This photo is apparently from Uchitel’s Facebook site, which was taken down on Sunday.

TED BITS, Ted McIntyre - TIGER NEEDS TO COME CLEAN

TMZ.com has issued the above images of Tiger’s banged up Cadillac Escalade.

The most famous golfer in history is at the center of a controversy and The Golf Channel is pretending to be a news service by publishing various vanilla-flavoured reports on the incident. Yeah–big shock. Celebrity gossip website TMZ.com, on the other hand, appears pretty confident of its sources (considering the lawsuit they’re risking) in reporting various rumours of infidelity and domestic dispute. Just past midnight this morning, they released a story that the Florida Highway Patrol is attempting to obtain a search warrant that would allow them to seize medical records from the hospital that treated Tiger Woods to help determine if the wounds Woods sustained are consistent with a car accident or domestic violence.

TMZ also reports the ever-changing account of Tiger’s wife, Elin Nordegren, who apparently told Florida Highway Patrol troopers “she went looking for Tiger in a golf cart, came upon the accident and then used a golf club to break the window to gain entry.” Which is somewhat different to the story she related to Windemere, Florida police, to whom she indicated that she walked out of her house, saw the crash, then went back inside to get a golf club and returned to the vehicle to help free her husband.
Yeah…right. That would pretty much be my first instinct too…to run AWAY from my loved one…and find a golf club (which she apparently must keep just inside the door beside the umbrella stand) which she can then use to help her break the rear windows of their Cadillac Escalade…which is standing upright after a low-speed crash, with no reason to believe the car doors are not functioning perfectly.

While initial reports indicate that alcohol was not a factor, TMZ has already reported Tiger told a friend he was taking prescription meds for pain, so that may well prove to be a key factor in the accident.

The Golf Channel has a special at 7 p.m. tonight with journalist Jeff Rude. It will be very interesting to see how much of a leash the Golf Channel’s rented guns, such as Rude,Tim Rosaforte and John Hawkins—real, actual journalists—get in talking about this story on a channel whose raison d’etre is to portray golf in a glowing light. Will they risk alienating Tiger and his sponsors..and the PGA Tour…with, dare I say…an honest opinion? Remember the last guy who crossed the Golf Channel—Peter Kessler? He was their star host when he question Arnold Palmer’s integrity for using illegal Callaway golf equipment. He was fired in about a nanosecond.

Woods released a statement on his website, basically saying “My bad–I’m really embarrassed…just an accident..and any other reports are totally irresponsible.”

But many of the 3,440 responses have not been positive, basically saying, “If you want the rumours to go away, come clean and stop avoid talking to police.”

Here are a couple of early ones:

raisin wrote:
“good one you idiot!!! How can you hit a fire hydrant and a tree in your own yard! you LIVE there. and why were you trying to leave at 2:30 am?”

topcatgary wrote:
“Mr. and Mrs. Eldrick BOTH need to be arrested. Her for assualt with a deadly weapon, him for obstruction of justice. They need to play by the same rules as the rest of us.”

Here’s the reality of journalism. Had Tiger come out–after a brief consultation with Team Tiger—and said, “Yeah, we had a fight and I wrecked my car because of it, and I’m terribly embarrassed,” we would have responded with sympathy—“Man, Tiger’s human. He has problems just like us.”
But when you deny reports, refuse to talk to investigators and start issuing statements to the contrary, you’re insulting the intelligence of journalists everywhere. Instead of cutting you a break, they’ll go looking for every detail they can dig up…except the Golf Channel, that is.

Below is the link to the 911 call that has been released. It doesn’t say much. The neighbour who called seems to have less concentration than Tiger did when he ran over the fire hydrant.

TED BITS, Ted McIntyre - WANNA BUY A GOLF COURSE
FROM DUBAI WORLD, AND ST. GEORGE’S INITIATIVE TAKES ROOT!

Dubai World owns a number of high-end courses around the globe,
including Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai’s premier residential golf community,
(above), and Scotland’s Turnberry Resort (below).

You may have felt the shudder through international markets after yesterday’s announcement of the loan default of state-owned investment conglomerate Dubai World…which apparently is having a little trouble paying bank the $59 billion it owes. Among the company’s vast holdings are a huge number of golf courses, including Turnberry Resort in Scotland (which its Leisurecorp subdivision bought for approximately $110 million Cdn. last year), Pearl Valley Signature Golf Estate and Spa in South Africa, and the Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai, whose course architects include Greg Norman, Vijay Singh, Sergio Garcia and Pete Dye), and which plays host to the world’s richest golf tournament—the $10 million US Dubai World Championship. What’s more, as of this year, Dubai was to become The European Tour’s International Headquarters, with the organization based at and operated from a purpose-built facility within Jumeirah Golf Estates. Oh, and did I mention they also own Arizona-based Troon Golf in the U.S., which happens to operate 200 upscale golf courses.

While the golf world is not exactly throwing money around these days, this might be a really, really good time for a golf investor to be liquid, considering the impending sell-off of Dubai World properties I have to expect is forthcoming.

THE GREENING OF ST. GEORGE’S
St. George’s G&CC welcomed students from three neighbourhood schools yesterday as part of a new environmental awareness partnership that looks to be a real win-win scenario for the kids and their schools, as well as the course. Youngsters and their their teachers planted 60 trees and 40 shrubs adjacent to the 10th tee in cool, damp conditions.

“Environmental protection and education are key components to golf course operations and maintenance at St. George’s,” says superintendent Keith Bartlett. “I think it’s important for students to understand that even in an urban environment there are important green spaces like St. George’s and other golf courses where wildlife and plant life flourish.”

Plans are for students to participate in future projects, including birdhouse building this winter and a spring 2010 tour with additional activities. The club is also committed to supplying the schools with excess flowers, bushes and trees that can be planted and used for educational purposes at the schools.

St. George’s is currently working with the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses to receive certification in 2010—ideally in time for next year’s RBC Canadian Open.

(Photos: Brent Long)

TED BITS, Ted McIntyre - WEIR TO ENTER HALL OF FAME SATURDAY, AND SAGEBRUSH IS AN ENVIRONMENTAL STAR!

Governor General Michaëlle Jean presents Mike Weir with the Order of Canada during a ceremony in Ottawa. Weir will be inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame during a presentation on Saturday at his home course in Bright’s Grove. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)

Mike Weir, whose Canadian Golf Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held Saturday, November 28 at Huron Oaks in Bright’s Grove, near Sarnia, understands that he has touched people in ways he never would have expected when he began his life as a professional golfer. While he admits to being uncomfortable with the idea of being inducted while he’s in the midst of a playing career—and about to launch a new tangent of his life as a golf course architect—Weir’s induction is based on more than statistics. Admittedly, those stats are impressive. His eight career PGA Tour wins, including the 2003 Masters, ties him with the late George Knudson for the most victories by a Canadian. His first triumph, the 1999 Air Canada Championship in Surrey, B.C., made him the first Canadian to win a PGA Tour event in Canada in 45 years, and while he has won just once in the past five seasons—the 2007 Fry’s Electronic’s Open—Weir’s most lasting memory of late has been his head-to-head match-play victory over Tiger Woods on the final day of the 2007 Presidents Cup. “When I look back on my career, this may be even more special than winning the Masters,” he said that day. When I asked him yesterday about his proudest moment ever as a Canadian, his mind once again returned to that momentous occasion at Royal Montreal GC, with a sea of Maple Leaf flags waving and thousands of wild supporters chanting his name. “It’s hard to get better than that,” he says.

And yet, when all is said and done, it’s the memories he’s created for others, not the ones he himself harbours inside, that will separate the pride of Bright’s Grove from other Canadians to have teed it up before or since. Far more than merely inspiring people to play golf or attend a Canadian Open or two, Weir has affected lives in a profound manner—much of it through his own children’s charity and other goodwill projects. But there are isolated moments too. People remember in detail where they were when he won the Masters like it was their wedding day. They’ve related stories to Mike over the years of how they huddled in airports for hours after they’d landed to watch the final round. “One that touched me the most was of a loved one, a father who was in the process of passing away, and they watched the final round together,” Weir related yesterday.

There may be miles to go before he sleeps, but the Draper, Utah resident already deserves his place in the Hall. Hall of Fame director Karen Hewson just needs to make sure there’s room for expansion in that particular corner.

SAGEBRUSH AN ENVIRONMENTAL STEP AHEAD

Sagebrush Sporting Club (Photo by Bob Huxtable)

The Sagebrush Golf & Sporting Club, in British Columbia’s Nicola Valley, has been identified by the USGA and Golf Digest Magazine as one of five examples of top golf facilities in North America using leading-edge agronomy practices for firm and fast playing conditions. In preparing the keynote address to 2010 Golf Industry Show, USGA agronomist Brian Whitlark consulted Ron Whitten, Golf Digest Architecture Editor, “for examples of courses employing leading-edge agronomy.” Whitten named five golf facilities, including Sagebrush.

“In fact, Sagebrush was at the top of my list,” said Whitten. “This is where the game is evolving, and Sagebrush is one of the courses proving what is good for the game.”

There’s been a change in philosophy in recent years among golf course rankers, who have began to embrace the creative options links-style golf allows, not to mention the obvious environmental and economic benefits of restricting water use and allowing the land to dictate design and play. Witness the success of the bargain-basement Tarandowah Golfers Club near London, Ontario, which debuted at 30th among our 2009 edition of Ontario Top 100 Courses.

According to Whitten, “At the urging of the American Society of Golf Course Architects, Golf Digest has rewritten its Conditioning criterion used in determining the top courses in its biennial ranking of the America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses and best in each state. The old definition dealt with playing quality of tees, fairways and greens. The new definition reads, “How firm, fast and rolling were the fairways and how firm yet receptive were the greens on the date you played the course.”

“Golf Digest is urging a movement away from industry standards of heavy watering practices,” says Whitten. “Less water usage has many benefits, not the least of which is that it improves playability in the game.”

Sagebrush superintendent Norley Calder and co-designers Richard Zokol, Rod Whitman and Armen Suny are in select company. The four other courses identified are Bandon Dunes, in Bandon, OR; Calusa Pines, in Naples, FL.; Ballyhack, in Roanoke, VA; and The Club at Clear Creek, in Lake Tahoe, NV.

“Whether you like it or not, given where the costs of the game are going and taking into consideration the decreasing availability of water, as well as the environment, everybody will be forced to cut back on water,” added Whitten.

“The philosophies we practice are not only good for golf and the environment, but as importantly, the business model is cost-effective,” explained Sagebrush co-designer and chairman Richard Zokol. “The minimalist approach to construction and the firm and fast approach to water use and maintenance are now keys to the success of every golf course.”

The approach emulates the natural evolution of classic British Isles courses that date back centuries. With deep and infrequent watering, a more durable grass develops that needs less fertilizer and pesticides.

“The philosophy is to try to mimic natural rain events with irrigation,” says agronomist and Sagebrush co-designer Armen Suny. “Grass didn’t develop over all these hundreds of thousands of years by getting the computer-generated perfect amount of water every night. The grasses went through dry spells and through wet spells, a process that makes plants healthier, stronger and better equipped to stand off disease and stress.”

TED BITS, Ted McIntyre - YOU CAN’T BOO TIGER, AND IS JAMAICA NEAR LILLIPUT?

During a halftime presentation to Tiger Woods last week at a Stanford college football home game, Stanford’s own Tiger Woods found himself booed by visiting California State University fans—something he’s clearly not used to.

LAND OF THE GIANTS
Either the heat in Jamaica is shrinking its representatives, or the two flight attendants on either side are amazons in the image that accompanied this morning’s press release on Jamaica being honoured as the Caribbean and Latin American Destination of the Year by the International Association of Golf Tour Operators.

TED BITS, Ted McIntyre - PGA TOUR STATS OF THE CENTURY, AND KNOWLTON GETS HIGH IN BOLIVIA

The PGA TOUR has now concluded the first 10 years of play in the new millennium and has compiled some statistics from play over that span. Not to anyone’s surprise, Tiger Woods won the most tournaments (56). What follows are a bunch more stats that make for interesting reading:

MOST WINS
Tiger Woods 56
Vijay Singh 26
Phil Mickelson 24
Kenny Perry 11
David Toms 9
Jim Furyk 9
Ernie Els 9
Justin Leonard 8
Mike Weir 7
Retief Goosen 7
Sergio Garcia 7
Davis Love III 7
K.J. Choi 7
Adam Scott 7

MOST TOP-10s
Tiger Woods 121
Vijay Singh 118
Phil Mickelson 96
Jim Furyk 93
Ernie Els 73
David Toms 73
Davis Love III 67
Stewart Cink 64
Jerry Kelly 62
Scott Verplank 60

HOLES-IN-ONE—310
Most by one player—Robert Allenby (6)

DOUBLE EAGLES—38
Most by one player—Tim Petrovic (3)

479 Tournaments
169 Different Winners
103 Playoffs
Played in 28 states
Played in nine countries outside the U.S.: Canada, Mexico, England, Scotland, Australia, Spain, Ireland, Puerto Rico and South Africa (Presidents Cup).
Winners came from 18 countries outside the U.S.: South Africa, Australia, Sweden, Paraguay, Fiji, Northern Ireland, Spain, Japan, Canada, South Korea, Zimbabwe, New Zealand, England, Trinidad & Tobago, Ireland, Argentina, Colombia, Scotland.

Different International winners—45
Most individual winners (non-US)—Australia, 12 (Canada, of course, had two)

Most individual wins by international players:
Vijay Singh 26
Ernie Els 9
K.J. Choi 7
Mike Weir 7
Adam Scott 7
Sergio Garcia 7
Retief Goosen 7
Geoff Ogilvy 6
Stuart Appleby 5
Padraig Harrington 5
Rory Sabbatini 5

Number of players who won majors—22
Players who won more than one major:
Tiger Woods 12
Padraig Harrington 3
Phil Mickelson 3
Angel Cabrera 2
Retief Goosen 2
Vijay Singh 2

Total victories by players in their 20s—117
Total victories by players in their 30s—274.
Total victories by players in their 40s—86
Total victories by players in their 50s—2 (Fred Funk at the 2007 Mayakoba Classic at Riviera Maya, and Craig Stadler at the 2003 B.C. Open)

Most money won—Tiger Woods, $76,349,910

KNOWLTON HIGH ON LIFE IN BOLIVIA

TaylorMade-adidas employee Lindsay Knowlton is discovering the hard way what it’s like in the thin air up there in Bolivia. The Torontonian and her touring partner, American Josh Sullivan, are in Day 5 of their 30-day “Wear in the World” global adventure to test out their company’s apparel. But going 282 feet below sea level in Death Valley straight to La Paz, Bolivia, whose airport sits at an altitude of about 13,400 feet—can have dramatic effects on the body.

“I knew it would be mountainous, but it was straight out of a painting. The peaks of the Andes frosted with snow were cutting through the clouds and the beautiful city of La Paz was nestled right in the middle of a canyon,” Knowlton writes on her blog. “The second we set foot off the plane, something felt totally different. All of a sudden we felt lightheaded, and what felt like a normal breath wasn’t providing nearly enough oxygen.”

Knowlton explains that her seatmate on the plane tried to warn her of the effects that high altitude has on the body in terms of feeling nauseous and light-headed. It proved, unfortunately, to be true. (To give you some perspective, when you climb Mount Everest, after Lord knows how long you’ve previously trained at high altitude, you fly in to the town of Lukla, Nepal and spend the night to begin acclimatizing. The trek to Everest Base Camp is a minimum of eight days from 9,000 to 18,000 feet, including two days off to acclimatize. In other words, even highly trained sportmen require a very gradual ascent in order to be able to function properly at these heights.)

“It’s difficult to imagine playing 18 holes of golf in this extreme environment, when all we could focus on was getting enough oxygen to our lungs,” Knowlton adds.

Hopefully she and Sullivan are acclimating as well as possible.

TED BITS, Ted McIntyre - CANADIAN ATHLETES HAVE BETTER BACKING TODAY, SAYS STEMMLE; AND “WEAR IN THE WORLD” IS LINDSAY KNOWLTON RIGHT NOW?

Former Canadian downhiller Brian Stemmle was on hand for last Thursday’s
media launch, showing off his Calgary Games outfit as well as a TV from that era.

Speaking with former winter Olympian Brian Stemmle last Thursday at the Canadian Film Centre in Toronto during Olympic sponsor Panasonic’s launch of their new 3D TV technology, I got to appreciate how much better prepared and financially backed today’s Canadian hopefuls are than in Stemmle’s prime.

“We’re still behind much of the world,” admitted the 44-year-old, who still fit his Calgary Games national uniform rather neatly, “but we’ve come leaps and bounds since 1988. The money that sponsors provide gives us resources to do what we need to do. We were unprepared in 1988. I didn’t realize the magnitude of it. I was young and brash and thought it was like any other race. Then, 10 minutes before my race, I was a basket case.”

Stemmle crashed shortly thereafter.

“With Panasonic as one of our sponsors, it could be something as simple as pulling up footage from two years ago on the digital camera or the Blu-ray they’ve given you so that you can review the course again. In Calgary, we saw the downhill course once! There was no home field advantage. Today, our coaches will have gone down the course with a video camera, so you can see every nuance. You know it by heart.

“We also have a mentoring program these days, headed up by Marnie McBean. We give speeches to athletes so that they know what to expect. I’ve spoken to the women’s soccer team, figure skaters… It’s not so much a lecture—just telling them what I did right and what I did wrong.”

Not that it’s all black and white, even 22 years later. One of the problems is that downhillers have it toughest, Stemmle explains. Since their sport is run on Day One of the Games, trials and practice runs must take place in advance of the Opening Ceremonies. Canadian alpine coaches didn’t want their team to attend the opening gala in Calgary. Stemmle did, and says it remains one of the greatest experiences of his life. But speaking today as a coach, he encourages Canada’s downhill skiers to skip the opening extravaganza. Perhaps it’s motivated by the fact that he crashed in spectacular fashion in Calgary. “Would I have performed differently had I skipped the Opening Ceremonies? Maybe. But I now encourage (the downhillers) to focus on their event. The Closing Ceremonies are equally as fun. In fact, it’s the bigger party.”

Stemmle, by the way, is an avid golfer, having played at varying points around the world, including Ireland’s famed Ballybunion. But it’s home country memories that stir his deepest emotions, such as playing with Mike Weir at Glen Abbey, in Wayne Gretzky’s Nationwide Tour event in Collingwood last year, or multiple rounds at his home course, the ultra-private Redtail near St. Thomas, Ont., whose membership includes Sean Connery.

“I’ve had a hundred great times at Redtail, but the best was probably a tournament Wayne Gretzky had there,” he relates. “We started out at Wayne’s restaurant in Toronto and took two buses. On the way, we stopped in Brantford to pick up his dad. Walter, being the gentleman he is, invited us down to his basement to see all of Wayne’s stuff, which was pretty neat. On the way home from the tournament, we were each given those Jofa helmets, just like the one Wayne wore. So we all wore those helmets on the bus all the way back to Wayne’s restaurant.”

WEAR IN THE WORLD IS LINDSAY KNOWLTON?

Globetrekking duo Lindsay Knowlton of Toronto and American Josh Sullivan take
a jeep tour of the harsh terrain of Death Valley.

TaylorMade-adidas Golf’s fascinating world tour with Toronto’s Lindsay Knowlton (product manager for TMAG) and American Josh Sullivan (service coordinator for TaylorMade’s MATT motion capture system) has left California, toured through Death Valley and is now in Bolivia.

“Just landed,” Lindsay wrote me this morning. “Already having trouble breathing! Right up in the clouds here, but its so beautiful!”

Lindsay’s and Josh’s blogs have been entertaining, but the videos posted thus far, such as the one above, are really professional stuff. Click here to see what’s new with Knowlton and company.

TED BITS, Ted McIntyre - PANASONIC GOES 3D, AND GOLF TOWN CHRISTMAS GOODIES

Eisuke Tsuyuzaki, chief technology officer for Panasonic Corporation of
North America, stands in front of a 103-inch plasma screen as he briefs
the media in advance of the company’s 3D TV presentation yesterday.

Officials from Panasonic’s head office in Japan and a host of Canadian execs were on hand as the company introduced its new 3D TV technology to a select group of media yesterday at the Canadian Film Centre in Toronto. They showcased the cutting-edge stuff inside a specially built trailer in the parking lot, with a 103-inch plasma screen and a three-level stadium-type set-up to accommodate visitors, who were fitted with special 3D glasses.

Keep in mind that while you may have just purchased your new 1080P HD TV and accompanying Blu-ray disc player, the new system will require you to buy a brand new TV and DVD player since there’s a lot more information that needs to be processed at a higher rate of speed.

The company’s 3D glasses are still being refined, although they’re far superior to anything you’ve worn before.

Panasonic’s 3D display consists of left- and right-sided 1080p full-HD images, which are appearing at up to 120 frames per second (60 FPS for each eye). Full HD processing occurs on both the left- and right-sided 3D image in every single process—from recording, playback and display. A special pair of glasses work in synchronization with the Plasma HDTV, which allows the viewer to experience 3D images that are formed with twice the volume of information as regular HD images.

Although Panasonic says they’re still refining the glasses to make them as ergonomic as possible, the big, thick, padded ones we wore yesterday were quite comfortable. The images, which included Olympic downhill skiing, a Grand Canyon adventure and clips from Dreamworks and Walt Disney films, among other stuff, were spectacular—much crisper and even more three-dimensional than previous 3D experiences I’ve had (I wanted to wave away confetti in my face as it appeared to rain down throughout the trailer at the end of the video.)

Panasonic’s 3D truck is a mobile way to show off the company’s new technology.

Those attending the Vancouver Olympics will get to see this in person in a special 700-square-metre building that will house another 103-inch plasma screen and feature scenes from the Games’ most popular sports. Golf, which returns to the Olympics in 2016 in Rio, won’t have the same impact of, say, a hockey game, but it will still be interesting to see how it translates to the 3D screen considering we were able to almost look around trees and over cliffs during yesterday’s demo. (You really do feel like you’re in the middle of the scene.) The trick is how movie and television producers adapt to present this technology in the most effective manner.

It was all impressive stuff, but I still felt the same eye strain I’m plagued with whenever watching 3D movies. And those who wear eyeglasses will have greater issues, I expect. For me, the next great breakthrough in the boob tube will occur when they perfect holographic TV, or at least 3D TV without the glasses.

Panasonic’s commercial release date for the 3D package is expected sometime next summer, and there’s no word on price…which means it’s probably going to be expensive. When it comes to TV’s, though, new technology rarely is.

An official sponsor of the Olympic Games, Panasonic will be supplying broadcast equipment for the spectacle for the ninth time. Part of their massive presence includes a Games-record 243-square metre screen for the opening ceremonies.

Panasonic also showed off their new HD Teleconference hardware, which was so sharp it made Vancouver Olympic Games CEO John Furlong appear to be in the room—and razor sharp—as he was speaking to us, although he was in Vancouver. (Panasonic Canada’s Ian Kilbert and Furlong exchanged a virtual handshake by slapping hands with each other on their respective TV screens.) I’ve seen teleconference calls before, but nothing like this. Organizers are going to be using it extensively throughout the Olympics to make communications more efficient, while reducing transportation costs and their accompanying environmental emissions.

GOLF TOWN’S CHRISTMAS GOODIES FOR SPORTS FANS
Here are a few goodies you might want to look at for the golf-lover at Christmas…although considering their season thus far, I think I would have chosen a golf bag image other than the Maple Leafs. NHL golf bags by TaylorMade, which will be available exclusively at Golf Town stores in early December, will run you $139.99. The hockey glove headcover (which fits oversized clubheads and has an interior fur lining for protection) retails for $34.99. The sports ball head covers go for $29.99.

TED BITS, Ted McIntyre - WEAR IN THE WORLD IS LINDSAY KNOWLTON?

Affable Torontonian Lindsay Knowlton embarks on an epic golf adventure today.

When I played golf for the third time with Lindsay Knowlton a few years back at Mississaugua G&CC—a requested pairing on my part—I began to appreciate how this talented, charismatic young woman needed room to grow. As an employee of TaylorMade-adidas, Knowlton had helped choose the national team uniforms for Team Canada, which the Royal Canadian Golf Association was presenting to the media in what has become an annual event. As a former junior and amateur golfing phenom herself, Knowlton was used to being around national teams. After the presentation, I asked if she could chat for a bit about her role, but she had to rush back to work, she explained. Nothing urgent—just the regular office duty.

“You’re kidding?” I responded. Lindsay was a walking PR campaign even then—well-versed on the apparel side, remarkably engaging…someone I’d instruct never to come into the office, but to instead conduct corporate and media days week in and week out.

Her company missed the boat back then, not recognizing her potential value to the franchise. But not now. Adidas Golf is launching a globetrotting “Wear In The World” golf adventure at some of the world’s most extreme golf courses to test apparel featuring their various climate technologies (ClimaCool, ClimaLite and ClimaProof). After an extensive month-long interview process following a global casting call, the candidates were narrowed down to Knowlton and American Josh Sullivan. Accompanied by a videographer, the twosome will tee it up at 10 courses in five of the world’s most extreme locations:
* Furnace Creek Resort, CA. (located in Death Valley National park, it’s the world’s lowest-elevation golf course at 214 ft below sea level)
* LaPaz Golf Club, Bolivia (the world’s highest-elevation golf course at 10,800 ft above sea level.)
* Ushuaia, Argentina (The world’s southern-most 18-hole golf course, it’s a short little track on the island of Tierra del Fuego. Local sightseeing includes penguins. Located 500 miles from Antacrtica, Ushuaia is one of three courses they’re be visiting in Argentina.)
* Walker Bay, South Africa features Hermanus GC, Africa’s southern-most golf course. It’s one of a trio of courses they’ll be playing on the continent.)
* Alice Springs, Australia (the world’s hottest golf course with temperatures in excess of 122 degrees. New Castle GC, located two hours outside of Sydney, is the other course on the Aussie sched.)

Joining Knowlton (now a three handicap) and Sullivan at different junctures will be adidas tour professionals such as Andres Romero and Nathan Green. They’ll also experience local cultures, teach golf to aborigines and participate in thrill-seeking adventures such as cage diving with sharks in South Africa and mountain biking through Bolivia’s “Death Road.”

Indigenous women take in the view at LaPaz Golf Club in Bolivia.

Each day of their adventure will be documented with video and blog entries that’ll be promoted on the adidasgolf.com website as well as daily tweets and Facebook updates.

“Our intent with this program is to prove that adidas Golf apparel…stands up against the world’s most extreme golf conditions and allows golfers to perform at their best regardless of what Mother Nature throws at them,” said John Kawaja, executive VP of adidas Golf. “The Tour players who wear our products have long-said they believe adidas Golf apparel provides a competitive advantage. Our mission here is to demonstrate that advantage in a really compelling way.”

Ushuaia Golf Club at the southern tip of Argentina isn’t exactly a Troon Golf-managed property.

A dramatic send-off of the 30-day global ClimaTech trek will take place today in Carlsbad, California, at the TaylorMade adidas Golf headquarters.

“It is absolutely the trip of a lifetime and I couldn’t be more excited and honoured to be a part of it and representing the amazing adidas Golf brand,” says Knowlton. “There’s no doubt in my mind we’ll be doing some wild stuff (think Amazing race meets Survivor meets Golf Adventure!)”

Apart from the official tour website, Lindsay can also be reached at lindsayknowlton@gmail.com.

Click here if you want to learn more about the adidas technology.

Bon Voyage, Lindsay!

Bring sunblock to Alice Springs Golf Club in Central Australia!

TED BITS, Ted McIntyre - THE A POSITION IS WRITING ITS OWN SCRIPT

Allow me to introduce you to the A Team, journalistically speaking.

Victims of an economic strangulation of the freelance age, where in-house writers and editors are required to crunch out more material than ever before (with, oftentimes, less quality), a group of eight accomplished scribes have banded together to form the A Position.com. The website, whose tagline (”Where you Want to Land for Great Golf”) plays on the concept of the perfect spot for a tee shot, links a network of internet sites to provide well-researched, irreverent and intelligent writing about golf, travel and related subjects.

The eightsome includes David Gould, former executive editor of the now defunct Travel + Leisure Golf; Larry Olmsted, weekly columnist for USA Today; Brian McCallen, former senior editor at GOLF Magazine for 16 years and author of three golf/travel books; Chris Santella, author of eight books; Scott Kauffman, former staff writer for USA Today, the Orlando Sentinel, and the Golfweek Group; John Strawn, former CEO of Robert Trent Jones II and current president of Arthur Hills/Steve Forrest and Associates; well-travelled journalist Tom Harack, currently the Saigon bureau chief for Mandarin Media in Southeast Asia and the U.S.; and Jeff Wallach, author of five books and managing partner and executive editor of Golf Media Network, the parent company of The A Position.

Within the main site, each writer publishes their own website, the contents of which include articles, essays, profiles, blogs, short stories and other content that encompasses the writers’ best works—past and present.

Now here’s how the business model is supposed to work. According to Jeff Wallach, a founding member and managing partner/executive editor of Golf Media Network, “At a time when editors are squeezing more out of their staffs rather than turning to freelancers, we decided to take control of our destinies and create our own online golf and travel outlet. We aspire to fill the void left by the demise of numerous golf publications and also to publish stories that will surprise our readers—such as pieces about the Bally Bandon Sheep Ranch, and an in-depth interview with architect Rees Jones, both currently available in our network.”

This purist environment sees writers crafting their stories without word-count or advertising restrictions. Advertisers are given the option to place an ad, rather than a quid pro quo, notes the company (although that’s the way we’ve always operated at Ontario Golf and GolfStyle Magazine since their inception).

Websites traditionally don’t make money—particularly these types—but I can’t help but wish them well. After all, the sun, it would appear, is setting on the age of great journalism and magazines once rich with freelance content that budgets could once easily afford.

As a fellow golf journalist, I hope this project prospers and gathers a loyal following, although my fear is that it will mark yet another elephant graveyard of creative writing.

MORE NEWS ON DUNNING APPAREL
Here’s a link to a Q&A between Toronto’s Ralph Dunning and Golf Press Association fashion writer Janice Ferguson: http://www.golfbusinesswire.com/features/221903.