PGA Tour's Top 10 of the Decade

The PGA Tour's official website has been a very interesting stop for me these days, what with all the news about you-know-who. Of special note is their "Decade's Greatest Players" listing. Thankfully, our own Mike Weir has made the list at number ten. The lists's author, Nick Zaccardi, does a great job with each player, offering a mini-history of their achievements for the decade. Here's the link:
http://www.pgatour.com/2009/r/11/30/decade.players/index.html

The New Ontario Tax... and what it means!

It looks like Ontario will officially introduce the Harmonized Sales Tax on July 1st 2010 (HST being the combined GST and PST, so the new tax will be 13%). For golfers, this will affect the price of greens fees, range fees, and memberships, as well as some member services, such as club storage. Currently, these items have had only the 5% GST applied. We're still waiting for the "official" word from the Ontario Ministry of Revenue or the Canada Revenue Agency on any possible exemptions to this tax. An extra 8% will definitely be a bitter pill to swallow for all of us.

A Depressing Sight... for a Golfer

Our first tee at 2:00 pm today

Gifts for Golfers

A nice demo set that we have for sale

Now that we're into December and the Christmas season is upon us, we get many calls and visits from people who are shopping for the golfers on their lists. I'm always interested in "trends" of the types of gifts that are popular from year to year. So far, here's the "Hot 3" and "Not So Hot 3" gift purchases from our Pro Shop - and maybe it will help you out with your own gift-giving!

Hot: 1) personalized golf balls
2) gift cards
3) shoes
Not Hot, but has been in the past: 1) gift bags
2) clubs
3) clothing

Of course, serious golfers will drop hints to their gift givers about not purchasing clubs, because all the new stuff comes out in the spring. And this leads me to the obvious question: What's Hot for 2010? Here's a brief list from the Ontario PGA Merchandise Show:
TaylorMade R9 460 Drivers
Big Bertha Diablo Drivers
Titleist 909 D Series Drivers
Nancy Lopez Ladies' Apparel
Puma hats
Titleist ProV1 balls
Adidas shoes
SunDog eyewear

One More Tiger Article

Okay, I know I said that I'd leave the Tiger thing alone, but this article by AP's Doug Ferguson actually does offer some insight into how this whole mess translates into the world of professional golf. Here's the link:
http://news.guelphmercury.com/Sports/article/571215

OK. I Couldn't Resist...

Just got this pic emailed to me... the silliness begins! And I'll leave it at this, no more from me on this topic (unless it impacts the golf world).