FootJoy has launched a unique combination of materials and manufacturing excellence, with the all-new Contour FLX golf gloves.  Featuring a full CabrettaSof Palm for soft feel and breathable FiberSof material with PowerNet mesh for a flexible fit;  the ContourFLX offers a performance combination set to make a lasting first impression with both male and female golfers.

Bringing together the finest attributes of FJ’s innovative engineering process, the ContourFLX has been designed to deliver feel where it matters most, in the fingers and palm along with a flexible fit on the back of the hand.  The precise placement of materials, with finer elastics, as well as an angled tab closure allows for an optimum, contoured fit.

“Our heritage as the #1 Glove in Golf, inspires us to continually deliver ground-breaking new products, with the ultimate goal of helping golfers optimize feel, durability and play their best,” commented Maria Bonzagni, Senior Director of Golf Gloves and FJ Gear. “The FJ Contour FLX has fused some key attributes in our glove manufacturing to provide soft feel, great fit and excellent durability, at a price-point which will be accessible to every golfer,” continued Bonzagni.

“Launching in concert with the latest shoe from FJ, ContourFIT, which delivers Comfort That Never Quits, we’re really excited to put the new ContourFLX into the hands of golfers and seeing their first impressions of the overall comfort, feel and performance.”

This launch has been marked by an innovative campaign documenting the first impressions of golfers, as they put the glove on for the first time.  Under the hashtag #FJFirstImpressions, the FJ team is showcasing the impact the glove is making on wearers and the initial reaction.

“We’ve had a great time showcasing the ContourFLX to our trade partners, and hearing their first impressions has been a great validation process for us,” added Bonzagni.  “We want to take that forward, and hear golfers first reaction in actual golfing situations of the new ContourFLX.”

MEN’S TOP-10

After finishing off with a win in his final tournament of 2016, Mackenzie Hughes begins the new year at the top of the Canadian rankings. Hughes starts 2017 by climbing four spots in the world rankings after finishing in a tie for 25th at the PGA’s SBS Tournament of Champions. The result was worth 2.60 world ranking points and moves the Team Canada Young Pro Squad member to within striking distance of breaking into the Top 100 in the world.

Click here for Men’s Official World Golf Rankings.

WOMEN’S TOP-10

No significant changes among the women’s world rankings as Brooke Henderson starts the year at the No. 8 ranked golfer in the world after climbing to as high as No. 2 this past year, best ever for a Canadian player, male or female. Henderson is scheduled to kick off the year an LPGA  tour event the last week of January in the Bahamas before heading off to Australia.

Click here for full Women’s Rolex World Rankings.

MEN’S AMATEUR TOP-10

Jared du Toit starts off 2017 as the top ranked Canadian amatuer, sitting at No. 26 in the world. The Arizona State senior has held the No. 1 ranking for the last 43 consecutive weeks.

After a 32 place gain over the Christmas break, No. 3 Hugo Bernard slips back four spots in the world rankings. Bernard’s gain was due to his victory at the Orlando Amateur over the Christmas break. The second-year Golf Canada National Team Squad member and reigning Canadian Amateur champion outlasted Ben Griffin through two playoff holes for the victory.

Chris Crisologo moves up one spot, to No. 6 in Canada after Joey Savoie slipped 33 places in the world rankings. Savoie getting an early start on 2017 competition, finishing in a tie for 61st at the New Year’s Invitational in Florida.

Ki Taek Lee takes over the No. 9 spot after climbing five places in the world rankings.

Biggest move: Eric Macrow gained 189 spots after finishing in a tie for 84th at the New Year’s Invitational. The junior from Kingston, Ont. has a pair of top-20 results in four tournaments with Detroit Mercy University this season.

Complete World Amateur Golf Rankings can be found here.

WOMEN’S AMATEUR TOP 10

Positive gains for the most part to start the new year. Maddie Szeryk starts 2017 as the No. 1 ranked female amateur in Canada, having held top spot for a full calendar year.

Sophie Liu made the biggest leap, moving up three places in the Top-10 with a 73 place gain in the world rankings. The Vancouver golfer took part in two prestigious events over the Christmas break, finishing in a tie for 61st at the Dixie Women’s Amateur and a tie for 20th at the Harder Hall Women’s Invitational.

Liu also made the biggest move of the week among all Canadian amateurs with a world ranking.

Complete World Amateur Golf Rankings can be found here.

On an annual basis, Team Canada coaches conduct up to four national team training camps to prepare athletes for the competitive season ahead. In most cases, training camps are all completed by the end of February.

Following an initial assessment, athletes from the development, amateur, and young pro squads are provided with tailored lesson plans to work on areas of improvement and all other facets of the game. In addition to golf training, athletes receive support in a selection of other high performance areas, including: physiotherapy, strength training, sport psychology and nutrition.

Team Canada women’s Head Coach, Tristan Mullally, shared an inside-the-ropes look at a training camp this past week in Phoenix, Ariz., at the Verrado Golf Club:

LIVE on #Periscope: Team Canada training camp snapshot – Young Pros and Amateur team https://t.co/R4oJHWg8hL

— Tristan Mullally (@tmullallygolf) January 8, 2017

SAN DIEGO – Tiger Woods is starting the new year at a familiar place – Torrey Pines, where he has won eight times as a pro.

The Farmers Insurance Open announced Wednesday that Woods has committed to playing Jan. 26-29. It will be his first official PGA Tour event since he tied for 10th in the Wyndham Championship in August 2015.

Woods also committed to the Honda Classic, which is near his home in Florida.

Woods missed all of 2016 recovering from two back surgeries, returning last month at the Hero World Challenge. He finished 15th in a 17-man field in the Bahamas.

He won the PGA Tour event at Torrey Pines seven times, and his last major victory was at Torrey Pines in the 2008 U.S. Open.

Woods previously announced he would play in the Genesis Open at Riviera, three weeks after Torrey Pines. Still to be determined is whether he makes an overseas appearance, and how much he will play before the Masters.

He likely will return to the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, but Woods isn’t eligible for two World Golf Championships during the March run to Augusta National.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. AND SAN FRANCISCO – Following a successful live streaming collaboration during the 2016 FedExCup Playoffs, the PGA TOUR has announced that Twitter will be the exclusive global platform to distribute, on a free basis, more than 70 hours of live competition coverage across 31 tournaments through the remainder of the 2016-17 Season.

Twitter will begin live streaming at the CareerBuilder Challenge on January 19 and conclude at the season-ending TOUR Championship. Coverage typically will include the first 60 to 90 minutes from the early Thursday and Friday morning hours of PGA TOUR LIVE’s Over-The-Top (OTT) subscription window, on a global basis. This coverage will include pre-game analysis, interviews, range coverage, and live competition from the first two holes of each day’s PGA TOUR LIVE Marquee Groups.

The live streams will be available globally to Twitter’s logged-in and logged-out audience on Twitter and connected devices and can be found at www.PGATourLive.twitter.com and on @PGATour. The partnership also includes opportunities for advertisers, including packages with television style mid-roll spots, combined with original clips produced by the PGA TOUR, available for sponsorship and promotion on Twitter.

The partnership also includes an extension of the PGA TOUR and Twitter’s Amplify program, with PGA TOUR increasing its highlight videos and regular content creation across Twitter and Periscope.

“Twitter and the PGA TOUR have been working together on Twitter Amplify for many years now, and the program has been a tremendous success for both companies,” said Rick Anderson, Chief Media Officer of the PGA TOUR. “Streaming PGA TOUR LIVE programming to Twitter’s global audience, as well as the millions of users who follow @PGATOUR and hundreds of PGA TOUR player accounts, will provide new and innovative ways for sports fans to engage with our premium OTT offering.”

The PGA TOUR teamed with Twitter to offer portions of PGA TOUR LIVE’s premium window during the opening rounds of the first two events of the 2016 FedExCup Playoffs.

For more information on the RBC Canadian Open, visit www.rbccanadianopen.com. 

KAPALUA, Hawaii – Bubba Watson gazed toward the blue Pacific on the first tee at Kapalua and unleashed a big drive with his pink golf ball.

Next up likely will be a lime green ball.

The two-time Masters champion is even thinking of a two-tone ball.

“If we’re going to challenge ourselves, let’s challenge ourselves to make something that’s really off the wall, that’s still playable,” Watson said. “Companies I want to be with are ones that let me have an influence and let me in on the decision-making.”

That company is South Korea-based Volvik, with whom Watson signed a multiyear deal. The Volvik ball mainly has been used on the LPGA Tour in recent years, and Watson represents its first big player on the PGA Tour.

Watson said he initiated the interest after watching the World Long Drive Championship in which the finalists used colored Volvik balls. He previously heard about it from Craig Stadler during the Champions Dinner at the Masters.

“They used a pink one and they used an orange one,” Watson said. “I was watching this, and I’d never looked at the company. So I Googled the website, I looked at it, and read about. It’s a small company. You can’t just come out here and just start boasting and spending advertising dollars and things, because you’ll hurt your company real fast. … They’re doing things differently, and that’s how I noticed them.”

Watson said it wasn’t long after the Long Drive that he acquired some Volvik golf balls to give him a try. He also asked his caddie, Ted Scott, to experiment with them. He tried the S3 model – “it was pretty cool to watch it fly,” he said – and eventually settled on the S4.

Watson also will use a white ball, which Volvik calls the “Blue Pearl” because it has a hint of blue when slightly rotated. Early reports out of South Korea said that Watson wanted to play a green ball at the Masters, which is not entirely true.

“It’s not the same green,” he said.

Watson has always been about color, even the year he wore all white the first time he won the Masters. He had Ping make a hot pink shaft for his driver, and then the club head in pink, which he used to raise money for charity.

He thinks colored golf balls, which haven’t been in style on the PGA Tour in 30 years, could help in other ways.

“You talk about growing the game, why would you not want people to have more fun, make the game more fun, interesting and creative?” Watson said. “Same thing that Ping let me do with a pink driver.”

Watson said he wants to talk to the USGA about using a different colored ball on different holes, though that would be unlikely. The USGA has a “Conforming Golf Ball List” in which each ball is listed separately, sometimes based on the markings. Carter Rich, the USGA’s director of equipment rules and conformance, said each ball color would be a separate listing. As long as the PGA Tour adopts the “One Ball Condition,” Watson would have to stick with the same color for an entire round.

Nike Golf has signed world No. 1 Jason Day to a multi-year contract. The agreement covers footwear, apparel, headwear and gloves. Day will first wear Nike this week at the Tournament of Champions in Kapalua, Hawaii.

“Joining Nike is a dream come true,” Day said. “The brand is synonymous with the world’s best athletes. I’m honored and can’t wait to be part of the team and working closely with Nike to take my game, and the sport of golf, to even higher levels.”

The partnership comes on the heels of back to back stellar years for Day. The 28-year-old Australian closed 2015 with four wins in his final seven starts, including his first major title with a record-breaking 20-under-par performance at the PGA Championship. That momentum carried over into 2016, with Day notching three wins — including coveted titles at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the WGC-Dell Match Play and THE PLAYERS Championship.

Since turning pro in 2006, Day has secured ten PGA Tour titles – including the RBC Canadian Open – and 57 top-ten finishes.

When he’s not on the course, Day enjoys spending time at home with his family in Ohio, where he and his wife Ellie have established the Brighter Days Foundation which benefits local charities.

The votes (or in this case pageviews) are in and I’ve tabulated the 18 most read articles/blogs on golfcanada.ca during the 2016 calendar year.

Please keep in mind that this list is not indicative of the stories’ importance to Canadian golf. Some articles/blogs have been more prominently featured via email, social media or Golf Canada’s other communication channels. Articles published earlier in the year  have also had additional time to be read or found online via search tools such as Google.

So, without further adieu, here’s our top 18 of 2016. And, feel free to click on any of the titles to check out the article.

#18) Buried treasure: The lucky loonie in Rio

#17) Scott Simmons steps down as CEO of Golf Canada

Scott Simmons (Golf Canada Archives)

#16) Lorie Kane, Warren Sye and Bob Weeks named for induction into Canadian Golf Hall of Fame

Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and Museum Archives

#15) Henderson beats Ko to win Women’s PGA Championship in playoff

Brooke Henderson (Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

 #14) Canadian rookie Mackenzie Hughes wins Sea Island playoff

Mackenzie Hughes (Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

 #13) Golf Canada announces 2016 championship schedule

#12) Day and Johnson headline final field for 2016 RBC Canadian Open

Jason Day (Bernard Brault/ Golf Canada)

#11) Canada’s golfers ready for chance to defend Olympic title after 112-year wait

Graham DeLaet, Alena Sharp, David Hearn (Bernard Brault/ Golf Canada)

#10) Is golf really too expensive?

Golf Canada Archives

#9) The Rules of Golf go online

Diane Barabé (Jason Scourse/ Golf Canada)

#8) Solo play: a global perspective

(Claus Anderson/ Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada)

 #7) Golf Canada announces 2017 Team Canada

Golf Canada Archives

#6) Playing golf can add five years to your life expectancy

(Golf Canada Archives)

 #5) Final field announced for 2016 CP Women’s Open

Lydia Ko (Chuck Russell/ Golf Canada)

#4) Golf Canada and Hudson’s Bay unveil golf uniform for Rio 2016

(Brent Long/ Golf Canada)

#3) Jhonattan Vegas rallies to win RBC Canadian Open

Jhonattan Vegas (Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)

#2) Canadian golf mourns the loss of Dawn Coe-Jones

Drum roll please…

#1) Changes to Golf Canada’s Handicap System for 2016 released

(Chuck Russell/ Golf Canada)

Thanks to everyone who visited our site in 2016. Also, a huge thank you to all the writers and photographers who contributed to the site. Keep an eye our for bigger and better things in 2017.

– Terry Lenyk

Questions, comments? Find me on Twitter at @terrylenyk.

TORONTO – St. George’s Golf and Country Club will welcome Ian McQueen as its new Golf Course and Property Manager effective January 30, 2017.

McQueen has held the same position at nearby Islington Golf Club since 2012, and comes to St. George’s with more than 17 years of golf course management experience in both public and private club settings.

St. George’s was designed by Stanley Thompson in 1929 and following the ice storm of 2014 the classically designed course underwent an extensive restoration of its greens that saw the conversion of original push-up Poa annua greens to USGA bentgrass greens led by consulting golf course architects, Tom Doak and Ian Andrew.

“Since I started in the golf industry it has been a dream of mine to work at Canada’s top private club. I am honoured and excited for the opportunity to be part of such a historic club”, said McQueen about making the move to St. George’s.

Ian started his career with Caves Valley Golf Club in Maryland and further developed his craft holding the Golf Course Superintendent position at The Club at Bond Head and Assistant Superintendent at Magna Golf Club. As Superintendent at St. George’s Golf and Country Club, he will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of managing over 165 acres of land and maintaining the Club’s International Audubon Certification.

Golf Canada’s second installment of our Tournament Administration and Referees’ School (TARS) will be held at the Radisson Hotel Vancouver Airport in Richmond, B.C., from April 27th to 30th.

New for 2017, we are extending the invitation to all certified level 2 rules officials and PGA of Canada professionals!

The objective of our Tournament Administration and Referees’ School is to get championship volunteers and staff members from key golf associations/clubs in Canada assembled to discuss important topics related to tournament administration and competitions. This will also be an opportunity to align golf competition efforts and related matters within Canada (i.e. championship policies, standards etc.) as we strive to provide the best experience for our members.

Attendees will have the opportunity to learn from some of Canada’s most experienced tournament administrators and rules officials, as well as a from special guests from the R&A.

Topics to Be Covered at TARS

• Tournament administration & operations
• Starting and scoring procedures
• Pace of play best practices
• Course marking and set-up
• On-course officiating best practices
• Practical rules demonstrations & role playing scenarios

Note: Participants will have the opportunity to write the Level 3 or Level 4 Rules of Golf Exam during the seminar.

Click here to register for 2017 TARS.

Level 4 Rules of Golf Seminars

In addition to our Tournament Administration & Referees’ School, below is the full schedule for Golf Canada’s Level 4 seminars across the country:

• Calgary
  March 31 – April 2
• Oakville, ON
  March 31 – April 2
•  Montreal
  April 21-23 (French)
• St. John’s, NL
  April 21-23
• Richmond, BC (TARS)
  April 27-30

Click here to register for Level 4 Rules of Golf Seminars.

Level 3 Rules of Golf Seminars

For level 3 rules seminar information, please visit your respective provincial association website. Or, contact Mary Beth at mmckenna@golfcanada.ca  for more information!

And, if you want to get your Rules Education started with our online rules education program, click here.

Click here to view the Rules Education Pathway (PDF), a document which shows how you can progress from a rules beginner to officiating highly competitive golf events.