The Canadian Turfgrass Research Foundation(CRTF), in partnership with the Scandinavian Turfgrass and Environment Research Foundation (STERF), have launched a Turfgrass Winter Survival Handbook designed to help golf courses improve their winter tolerance.

Click here to view the handbook (PDF).

CARLSBAD, Calif. – TaylorMade has introduced Kalea, it’s first women’s-exclusive offering from TaylorMade in over a decade.

Kalea features optimized lofts, low/back centre of gravity locations, slot technology in the soles and Kalea SlimTech shafts with smaller tip diameters that help increase launch angle at impact.

Kalea’s unique blend of features work in unison to maximize performance for slower swing speeds, generate more consistent yardage gaps throughout the set and produce noticeably higher ball flights. The set is also designed to create a smoother transition between the different club types by managing lofts, lengths and head shapes to ensure every club in the bag is as easy to hit as the next. All in, Kalea’s premium, attractive design blends with product technology geared specifically for the launch conditions of women golfers.

In total, Kalea is available in thirteen clubs: driver, 3, 5 and 7 fairway woods, 4 & 5 Rescues, 6 & 7 transition irons, 8 & 9 irons, pitching wedge, sand wedge and putter. A Kalea cart bag is also available separately.

Kalea will be sold in an 8-piece combo set (4-5 Rescues, 6-7 Transition irons, 8i – SW Cavity irons). A Kalea driver, fairway metalwoods (3, 3HL, 5, 7) will also be available for purchase individually, as well as a putter and bag. Complementing the release of Kalea golf clubs, TaylorMade has also announced the release of Kalea golf balls, a two-piece ball with a soft cover and low compression, engineered to perform best when played in conjunction Kalea golf clubs.

“We’ve learned a great deal about product performance in the last decade, much of which was geared toward faster swing speeds,” said Tomo Bystedt, Senior Director of Product Creation. “For us, Kalea was a great opportunity to take our learnings on slower swing speeds and bring them to market with products that provide meaningful performance for female players, and we couldn’t be more pleased with the results.”

The Kalea lineup will be available December 6, 2015. The driver and metalwoods will be available for $399.99 and $249.99 respecively, while the 8-piece combo iron set will retail for $1,149.99.  Putter and bag are $179.99 and $229.99. The Kalea golf balls,will retail for $24.99 a dozen.

For more information, visit TaylorMadeGolf.ca.

Dan Halldorson greeted my e-mail last week with his usual wit.

“Dan, will you be around on Sunday to chat about the 30^th anniversary of your win at the World Cup of Golf with Dave [Barr]?” I wrote.

He replied, “Hey Tim, it has been awhile. I guess you want to take a break from covering the Leafs and write about your true calling. Ha. Dan.”

The two of us wound up talking for an hour last Sunday evening. We discussed his win with Barr at La Quinta, California – the exact 30^th anniversary is November 24 – for 10 minutes. The rest were old stories, jokes and catching up.

That was Dan Halldorson, a good man, a caring man. I could picture him cradling a glass of red wine as we chatted. The next day he had a stroke. Then, all of a sudden Canada had lost one of its best golfers and even better people, too young at age 63.

“We had a lot of good times,” said Barr, a few days later. The two played the Canadian Tour together, the PGA Tour and were Canadian teammates a dozen times at the World Cup and Dunhill Cup.

“He was a good golfer, a good person and he really cared about the Canadian golf scene,” Barr added.

After his playing days were over, Halldorson made sure the Canadian Tour survived when he became its executive deputy director. He recently became golf director at Oak Island, near Brandon, Manitoba, where he was raised and honed that dependable swing.

Halldorson was a winner on the PGA and Canadian tours. He was a course designer and author of an instructional book, Keys to Effortless Golf. He leaves behind his wife Pat and a legacy on the golf course.

His career highlights included:

• 1970 Manitoba Junior winner
• 1971 Manitoba PGA champion
• 1977 Saskatchewan Open winner
• 1977, 1978, 1983, 1984 Manitoba Open champion
• 1980 Quebec Open winner
• 1980 Pensacola Open winner (PGA Tour)
• 1980 World Cup champion (with Jim Nelford)
• 1983 Canadian Tour order of merit winner
• 1985 World Cup champion (with Dave Barr)
• 1986 Deposit Guaranty Golf Classic winner (PGA Tour)
• 1982 Colorado Open champion
• 1986 CPGA Championship winner
• 28 top-10 finishes in 431 PGA Tour events

Halldorson was inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame. He was so proud of the fact that in the alphabetical list of Canadian Golf Hall of Famers he was next to Dick Grimm, a cherished mentor.

Halldorson is the only Canadian to win the World Cup twice. Canada had won the team championship three times. Al Balding and George Knudson won in 1968. Halldorson won alongside Jim Nelford in 1980.

Barr and Halldorson arrived at La Quinta confident about their chances. The American team of Lanny Wadkins and Tom Kite were the favourites, but the Canadian team was comfortable in the California desert.

Barr and Halldorson had played well enough at past Bob Hope Desert Classics. Barr was coming off a runner-up finish at the U.S. Open earlier that summer. Halldorson also would win on the PGA Tour for the second time five months later.

The two also had plenty of support from Canadians who were wintering there, friends and family.

One of the friends was former Canadian Tour player, Mark Shushack. He was battling brain cancer and shared the victory every step of the way.

“It was an even better week because Mark was able to share the win with us,” Halldorson recalled. “He walked most of the 72 holes. It was nice to have him there because he passed away a few years later.”

Halldorson and Barr began the final round with a five-shot advantage over the Americans. The two North American teams played together in the final round, but the Americans could not put any pressure on the Canadians, allowing England to sneak into second place. Barr and Halldorson combined for a 17-under score for a four-shot win over England’s Howard Clark and Paul Way.

“Danny played really well that week,” Barr said. “I think we had extended our lead to nine at one point.”

Barr remembers two funny stories from that final round. On the par-3, 16^th, he and Halldsorson could hear the Marine Corps band practicing the Canadian national anthem for the trophy presentation.

Halldorson looked at Barr and joked that he hoped the rehearsal was not going to “jinx” the potential win. It certainly didn’t. But Halldorson bogeyed the final three holes to allow Clark to slip by him to win individual honours.

“I also remember we bought a couple bottles of Dom Perignon to take back with us to celebrate,” Barr said. “By the time we did all the press interviews and took pictures, we didn’t get back until late. All we had back at the hotel was a can of peanuts. So we had champagne and peanuts and later ordered a pizza for our champions’ dinner.

“It’s sad what has happened to Dan. But I wish Pat and the family all the best.”

We all do.

When Jocelyne Bourassa arrived for the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony, she thought she was in Hollywood.

There was a red carpet entrance, all the spotlights and a who’s who of Canadian sport attended the glitzy shindig.

“Gosh, I felt like I was outside a Hollywood premier,” the 68-year-old Bourassa stated. “I didn’t know how big a deal this was.

“Most of my fellow inductees were past Olympians. They talked about their paths to success, the injuries they suffered and overcame. Now golf is part of the Olympics again.”

Bourassa’s story easily could be made into a Hollywood film. She went into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame as a builder, but her diligence in making sure young women professionals had a place to play in Canada is only part of her fascinating narrative.

She was the Brooke Henderson of the time. The Shawinigan, Quebec-raised dynamo reeled off amateur win after amateur win in Quebec, nationally and internationally.

The highlights were consecutive Quebec junior titles in 1963, 1964 and 1965, backed up by Canadian Women Amateur Championship titles in 1965 and 1971. She turned pro and promptly was named the 1972 LPGA rookie of the year.

But knee problems plagued Bourassa’s success, so much so that she was once called the Bobby Orr of women’s golf because of how many knee surgeries she required.

However, she battled through the pain for a week back in June of 1973. The LPGA finally had come to Canada at Montreal Municipal to contest La Canadienne, which became the du Maurier Classic, now known as the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open.

Bourassa was 26 and wondered how many good rounds she had left in her. A doctor had told her caddy, Mario Brisebois, that if she was a horse she would have been put out to pasture.

But Bourassa battled that week. She scrambled and made several clutch putts. On the 72nd hole, Bourassa walked over to the spectators and found her brother Gilles.

“I asked him what I needed to get into the playoff and he told me a birdie,” she recalled. “I went back inside the ropes and knew I was going to do it.

“I had a very long putt [30 feet] to make for birdie. People tell me I took forever to make the putt, but I knew the line. I knew the putt was going to go in.’’

It did go in and gave her a spot in the playoff against Judy Rankin and Sandra Haynie. Bourassa was extremely nervous beginning that playoff. She duck-hooked her drive on the opening hole, only to make a miraculous recovery shot from under a tree to the green. She outlasted Rankin and then, finally, Haynie.

“Sandra duck-hooked her drive into the water on the last hole,” Bourassa said. “The fans cheered, just like at a hockey game. I was embarrassed. I had to apologize to Sandra.

“But I still had work to do. I needed to make a two-foot putt to win. But I couldn’t draw the putter back. So I took a deep breath and hit it through. It just snuggled in.’’

Quebec went crazy. They had a new sporting hero. But Brisebois put some perspective on the massive win. The win inspired a generation of elite-level athletes in Quebec like diver Sylvie Bernier, biathlete Myriam Bedard and short-track speed skater Nathalie Lambert.

But not everyone was doing cartwheels after Bourassa’s win. Brisebois recalled that Bourassa was a guest on a popular sports radio show and that the host told her a woman should be home in the kitchen, raising kids and taking care of her husband.

“Jocelyne proved there was room for women in sports,” said Brisebois, who went on to become one of Canada’s top golf writers and still is going strong.

Bourassa retired a few years later from competitive golf and in 1979 became the executive director of the du Maurier. She dedicated her life to grow women’s professional golf in Canada.

She helped promising Canadian juniors find golf scholarships. Later, she would help them begin professional careers with a series of events across Canada, now known as the Canadian Women’s (golf) Tour.

She played a big part in why Canada had LPGA Tour winners like Dawn Coe, Lisa Walters, Jennifer Wyatt, Lorie Kane and now Henderson.

“Jocelyne has so many good qualities,” Brisebois said. “But if I had to pick one it would be her generosity. She’s very generous. She’s so likeable. You cannot find anyone who dislikes this lady.

“She deserves a lot of respect.”

Golf is a game for all ages – from youngsters swinging a club for the first time with Golf in Schools equipment to seasoned veterans of the sport who are well into their greying years.

Golf – and all sports – carries its own set of challenges as players grow with the game. While it’s great to stay active and keep fit, players of any sport should always be mindful of the increased risk for injury as they age.

Osteoporosis Canada introduces us to Gary – an avid golfer in his 70s who suffers from the condition affecting the fragility of his bones due to low bone mass and the deterioration of bone tissue.

Those with osteoporosis can still play the game like Gary does, but here are a few exercises to help strengthen muscles and improve balance to lessen the risk of fracture and injury.

For more information from Osteoporosis Canada, please visit their website here.

The San Diego Padres have partnered with Callaway Golf to present The Links at Petco Park – a once-in-a-lifetime experience marrying golf with baseball. From November 5-8, the home of the Padres will serve as a truly unique nine-hole golf experience.

The course begins on a putting green in the dugout of the home team. Golfers will then ascend to the ballpark’s upper deck for four holes where they will hit onto the field. No. 6 will see players tee off from field level near the Western Metal Supply Co. building before making their way to the Batter’s Eye in centerfield for No. 7. The bullpen houses the green for No. 8 while the rooftop of the Western Metal Supply Co. building sets the stage for the final hole.

Each hole features a special theme with an opportunity to win various prizes. At the end of the day, golfers will be able to take-in the experience from The Loft which will be converted into the Callaway Clubhouse.

All 1,600 available tee times were quickly booked when opened to the public, but with 29 other Major League Baseball teams, hopefully the idea catches on.

PHOENIX – John A. Solheim, PING Chairman & CEO, has been honored with the distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award at the HSBC Golf Business Forum in Shanghai, China.

Solheim was recognized for his contribution to golf and for his achievements, leadership and innovation within the business side of the game. He got his start in the business when he was only 13, working alongside his father, Karsten, on early putter designs in the family’s garage. He aspired to be an architect, but as PING’s business expanded, he turned his passion to designing golf clubs and helping Karsten grow the privately-held entity into one of the most influential golf companies in the world. As chairman and CEO, he leads the company’s strategic direction and oversees the design and development of PING products.

“This prestigious award has been given to the game’s biggest names over the years, so I’m very honored to have the Solheim name next to many of golf’s legends,” Solheim said. “I accept this on behalf of my family and the entire company because achievement is always the result of teamwork. We have a lot of great team leaders at PING who make my job easier, and together we give PING the reputation it enjoys in the golf world.”

In particular, HSBC saluted the Solheims (PING founder Karsten Solheim and his wife, Louise) for creating the Solheim Cup in 1990, and for John Solheim’s role in elevating it to global success and creating the PING Junior Solheim Cup in 2002.

“My parents provided me so many wonderful examples of leadership through the years, and creating the Solheim Cup has left a tremendous legacy,” Solheim said. “They were committed to growing women’s golf and inspiring girls to take up the game. Along with my family and everyone at PING, we continue to hold that event near and dear to our hearts because it’s the right thing to do and we truly enjoy being ambassadors for the game we love.”

We lost Arv Olson Wednesday. I use the collective “we” because golf has lost him, hockey and rugby have lost him and all his friends and family have, too.

And we will really miss him.

When I think of my dear friend Arv Olson, the first thing that comes to mind is fun. We had so much fun in each other’s company. At least I did and he laughed a lot, so I’m assuming he was having a good time, too.

I always looked forward to the B.C. Amateur golf tournament because it meant I would be spending all day with Arv for five days in a row. For some reason, he always let me make our hotel reservations even though I more often than not picked a dump.

One place we stayed in Kelowna—I think that was at a Canadian Amateur—we were out at a pay telephone trying to send our stories back to our newspapers with only the overhead streetlights to help us see. I don’t recall why we couldn’t use the phones in our rooms, but it had something to do with the hotel’s system.

I know I picked a bad hotel in Nanaimo, too. And another in Cowichan. But I don’t think Arv ever complained. In fact, I don’t remember Arv ever complaining about anything. He left that vital human behavior to me.

Arv turned 80 on July 2. He is survived by his wife Alice and children Glen and Kathy. They lost their youngest daughter Karen while she was travelling in Europe in 1988. There are five grandchildren and three great grandchildren with another due in November.

Arv worked in the Vancouver Sun sports department for nearly 40 years. Sun contemporary Archie McDonald and Tom Tait were his best friends. They all grew up on the North Shore together. Besides golf, Arv covered the Canucks for several seasons and he loved rugby, but golf was his favourite. For instance, he named his dog, a yellow Lab, OB (for out of bounds).

And he knew everyone in the sport. Better yet, they knew and respected him and his fine work. It was my good fortune to tag along with him. He introduced me to everyone in golf and his love of the game rubbed off on me.

The Olson and McDonald families vacationed a lot together. One time Arv and Archie just about drowned when they took a canoe out on the lake by their cabin. Somehow they got all screwed up and Archie’s hat fell in the water and upon trying to retrieve it, the boat capsized and the pair of them were flailing away trying to get it righted.

At the time it was probably a harrowing experience but in the retelling it was hilarious.

Arv was the author of five books including two versions of Backspin (100 and 120 Years of Golf in British Columbia). It isn’t a stretch to describe it/them as a historical bible of the game in this province.

If he didn’t personally cover every one of Doug Roxburgh’s 13 B.C. amateur titles, he certainly made it to most of them. He went to several Masters in Augusta, Georgia. (The ones Dave Barr and Richard Zokol played). And got drawn to play on the Monday after one of them.

Those were good times. Not certain where fishing fit in the order of Arv’s sporting enjoyments, but water was never far away. The Olsons vacationed in Osoyoos for 15 years covering his birthday every year. They also liked Chimney Lake, near Williams Lake, where one spring Arv had to chip through the ice with a pick to get his line in the water.

When he retired from the Sun, they moved to Fanny Bay on Vancouver Island. Kathy had preceded them and Glen followed.

Surrounded by nearby family, it was a nice retirement, but Arv’s last 10 years have not been kind. Heart problems and diabetes were a crummy combination. His serious troubles began on the Saturday of the 2005 Canadian Open.

He came over to watch the tournament Mark Calcavecchia would win and I met him at the Richmond hotel designated for media parking. He was going to stay overnight at my place and head for the ferry on Sunday evening.

By the time we got home, Arv wasn’t feeling very good. He’d called Alice from Shaughnessy and she instructed him to have something to eat. We were going to have a nap before going out for dinner. He was feeling worse and called Alice again.

She said to get to emergency at Vancouver General.

He would recover from the ensuing heart surgery…I remember sitting with Alice when he awoke one afternoon in hospital. He told us about a funny dream he’d just had.

Of course, it would be funny…that was Arv.

CARLSBAD, Calif. – PUMA Golf has introduced the new Ignite collection of golf footwear – the most comfortable collection from the brand to date – including TitanTour Ignite and TitanTour Ignite Premium. The footwear utilizes revolutionary Ignite foam – an innovative foam that maximizes energy return to give golfers power, comfort and performance.

Engineered with PUMA’s proprietary IGNITE foam, the TitanTour Ignite family is designed to deliver responsive cushioning, optimal rebound, and superior step-in comfort through every shot.

“The coolest shoe in golf is now the most comfortable shoe we’ve ever made. The addition of Ignite foam to the PWRCOOL Technology brings TitanTour footwear to a new level – enhancing its performance on the course and providing unparalleled support and cushioning,” said Grant Knudson, Head of Footwear, PUMA Golf. “At PUMA Golf we challenge ourselves to create footwear that helps golfers focus on their game instead of thinking about their feet. With the TitanTour Ignite collection, golfers can play from dawn ‘til dusk and their feet will be comfortable, protected and performance ready.”

In addition to the IGNITE foam, the shoes also features TitanTour’s signature technology, PWRCOOL powered by Outlast, which regulates foot temperature by utilizing phase change materials that absorb, store and release heat for optimal thermal comfort.

Rickie Fowler debuted the new TITANTOUR IGNITE footwear at this year’s Presidents Cup.

“My shoes play a big role in my performance,” said Fowler. “I definitely attribute some of my success on the golf course to my PUMA Golf gear. Wearing the new IGNITE footwear over the past few weeks makes me really excited to get out there and play as we move into the new season.”

Sporting a new, sleeker shape, and new performance last, the TitanTour Ignite is full-grain leather that provides excellent fit, unrivaled comfort and a stylish toe-down look. The TitanTour Ignite is also available in a Premium model, taking golf footwear to the next level with sophisticated, tonal colorways in full-grain leather and constructed with an ultra-soft pigskin lining. The IGNITE Premium shoe features aniline pull-up leathers in brown and grey.

TITANTOUR IGNITE

• COLORS: White/Surf The Web/Green Gecko; White/White/Black/; Black/Steel Gray. available February 1, 2016.
• MSRP PRICE: $199.99

TITANTOUR IGNITE Premium

• COLORS: Drizzle/Green Gecko; Monk’s Robe/Team Gold.
• RELEASE DATE: February 1, 2015
• MSRP PRICE: $239.99

For more information on these shoes, along with PUMA Golf’s entire product line, please visit www.cobragolf.com/pumagolf.

THACKERVILLE, Okla. – Tim Burke won the World Long Drive Championship for the second time in three years Wednesday night, beating Jeremy Easterly in the final with a 394-yard drive.

The 6-foot-6 Burke, a former University of Miami pitcher from Orlando, Florida, earned $150,000 in the event at WinStar World Casino.

Easterly, from Ponte Vedra, Florida, had a 386-yard drive in the final.

Burke beat Justin Young of Mount Airy, North Carolina, 401-386 in the quarterfinals, and topped Will Hogue of Collierville, Tennessee, 403-390 in the semifinals.

Easterly beat two-time champion Jamie Sadlowski of St. Paul, Alberta, in the semifinals with a 380-yard drive. Sadlowski failed to get a drive in the grid in the match after winning his quarterfinal at 402.