NORCROSS, Ga. – Mizuno has launched its new JPX-850 Fairway Woods and JPX-850 Hybrids, featuring Mizuno’s new Shock Wave Sole Technology.

The JPX-850 woods and hybrids promise Mizuno’s most dynamic launch and distance characteristics to date, due to Mizuno’s new Shock Wave Sole Technology which provides greater club head flex on impact thus delivering more of the energy from the swing to the ball for increased distance. Moreover, a strategic weight shift of additional mass in the club head to the front and back adjusts the center of gravity (COG), increasing sweet area for easier launch on strikes direct from the turf.

In the Fairway Wood, Mizuno has also incorporated Quick Switch Technology to enable easy, quick modifications to loft and lie angle. The end result is balanced performance, tremendous distance and ultimate forgiveness.

“For most golfers, it’s very challenging to attack pin locations from long range where shot trajectory needs to be high enough for the ball to land softly or ‘stick’,” said Chuck Couch, Vice President of Product Development, Golf Division, Mizuno USA. “With the JPX-850 woods, golfers are going to hit long range shots with a much higher launch angle, allowing them to go for the pin more aggressively than ever before.”

Behind the clubs:

JPX-850 Fairway Woods
Available Lofts: 15°(3W), 18°(5W), 21°, (Right-, Left-handed & Women’s)
Shaft: FujiKura Motora Stiff, Regular and Ladies
Grip: GP M-31 360
Other Options available through Mizuno’s Custom Department
Suggested Canadian Retail Price: $279.99
Available in-store: November 14, 2014

JPX-850 Hybrid
Available Lofts: 16°(#2), 19°(#3), 22°(#4), 25°(#5), LH 19*(#3) and 22*(#4)
Ladies Lofts: 22°(#4), 25°(#5) (Right Handed Only)
Shaft: FujiKura Motora Stiff, Regular and Ladies
Grip: GP M-31 360
Other Options available through Mizuno’s
Custom Department
Suggested Canadian Retail Price: $229.99
Available in-store: November 14, 2014

TORONTO — After suffering devastating greens damage from last winter’s ice storm, St. George’s Golf and Country Club has made a full and triumphant recovery.

The membership at the Stanley Thompson design elected not only to reseed all of the greens, completely changing the soil composition from poa annua to bentgrass, but also to entirely rebuild the putting surfaces.

That massive undertaking was led by a combined effort from renowned course architects Ian Andrew and Tom Doak, Craig Mortimore, of Evansgolf, and Property Superintendent Keith Bartlett.

“This project has only made this a better golf course that can be ramped up for any event when required,” said Bartlett. “There are a lot more challenges and with the increase of short rough leading to the rough and bunkers, the ball will roll more into hazards than before.”

Many of the greens had lost the original pin locations that Thompson had intended when he first designed the prestigious track in the late 1920s. The result of the green reconfiguring, according to Bartlett, is that the course looks more like the original layout than it ever has in the modern era.

“Members will struggle when they miss the new pin locations because they have never had those pin locations,” said Bartlett. “(The redesign) brings the challenge of the property back into play.”

The 3rd hole — a deceptive 213-yard par-3 — demonstrates this point well.

“From a purist’s perspective, No. 3 was always the weak spot of the course,” said Andrew, who added historical knowledge of the course as architect Tom Doak recreated what Thompson had initially planned for this hole.

By adding two large bunkers in front of the green and a hidden fairway directly behind them, the misleading tee shot will certainly provide all sorts of new adventures for players.

“The hole now is strong with a challenging, fair green that provides options for all levels of players with the new fairway,” said Bartlett. “It is special because it is what Stanley built. I think it will easily become one of the new favourite holes.”

Bartlett added that during construction on the hole, a hawk appeared on a nearby spruce tree and squawked for the duration of the process. When the hole was finished, the hawk flew off.

“We believed it was Stanley Thompson telling us that we finally got it right,” said the superintendent.

Hole No. 3 at St. George’s Golf and Country Club (Brent Long)

Many of the area’s superintendents convened this past winter to discuss the ice damage and to offer advice and help.

“The superintendents in Toronto’s west end are a great group of guys who are very willing to offer support,” said Bartlett. “Ian McQueen at Islington has been exceptionally helpful to me during this project since he has grown-in over 60 or 70 USGA greens in his career.”

The venue last hosted the RBC Canadian Open in 2010 when Carl Pettersson captured the title after firing a 10-under par 60 on Saturday.

Carl Pettersen (Golf Canada/ Bernard Brault)

Joe Murphy, St. George’s General Manager and CEO, says that while the course would like to host the event in the future, the priority at the moment is getting the club’s patient members back on their favourite track.

“Nothing has changed,” said Murphy. “We will continue to have conversations with Golf Canada and the PGA Tour about hosting another Open, but it’s not going to be any time soon.

“Our members are busting at the seam right now. They had to pay full dues and we couldn’t give them a full golf course this year so the priority will be on getting our membership out to play next year for sure.”

Bartlett expects the greens will be fully operational and ready for play next June.

TORONTO – The Canadian Olympic Committee’s Chief Executive Officer, Chris Overholt, joined the Governor General of Canada, His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston and The Honourable Bal Gosal, Minister of State (Sport), in a ceremony on Parliament Hill to proclaim 2015 as the Year of Sport in Canada.

The Year of Sport is a proactive pan-Canadian initiative implemented to celebrate sport in Canada and the role it plays in enhancing the lives of Canadians from coast-to coast- to coast. During the year, sport events and other celebratory activities will highlight how sport benefits Canadians.

“The Canadian Olympic Committee is thrilled to help celebrate 2015 as the Year of Sport,” said Marcel Aubut, President, Canadian Olympic Committee. “As a leading sport nation, this is a great opportunity for us to draw attention to the power of sport and how it can better the lives of all Canadians.”

As it stands, the reach of sport in Canada has never been so extensive, making it fitting that 2015 has been designated as the Year of Sport. Over 12.5 million Canadians are involved in sport in various capacities and sport has also been identified as a key contributor to the quality of life in Canada. Moreover, there are some 30,000 sport clubs across Canada and 72 per cent of Canadians believe that sport is a key contributor to the quality of life in their communities.

For more information on the 2015 Year of Sport, click here.

TORONTO – Nike Golf innovation begins with the golf athlete in mind – always. Nike engineers and designers took the inspiration and insights from Nike athletes to drive the technology of Nike’s new Vapor Speed and Vapor Flex fairway woods, which will be available starting January 30, 2015.

“Athlete insights drove significant chassis refinement in the Vapor fairway woods.” said Nate Radcliffe, Director of Engineering for Nike Golf. “Our athletes wanted tighter but forgiving leading edges, fuller profiles and added ball speed.  We’ve delivered that with the synergy of our FlyBeam and compression channel technologies.”

The Vapor Speed fairway woods have a 25% larger footprint with a lower and deeper Centre of Gravity (CG) than previous Nike models.

“Athletes including Tiger Woods requested larger face profiles in fairway woods, but it was vital that we do that without compromising ball speed or optimal launch conditions,” said Radcliffe.  “We successfully modified the chassis by sloping the crown to lower the CG which optimized launch characteristics across the family.”

Like the new Vapor drivers, the Vapor Speed fairway woods feature Nike’s new FlyBeam-reinforced Covert Cavity Back design, a re-engineered Compression Channel and a NexCOR face – all combining to stabilize the chassis, maximize ball speed and promote longer and straighter distance. The low CG provides a high launch with a lower-spin flight.

The Vapor Flex fairway woods highlight the same technologies found in the Vapor Speed on a more compact chassis, except the Vapor Flex has added Nike’s FlexLoft 2 adjustability system, allowing the golf athlete the functionality of five lofts and three face angles within 15 different settings.

The new, improved FlexLoft system is five grams (30%) lighter without compromising function, which leads to a centre of gravity that is up to 2mm lower on the Vapor Flex fairways. The redistribution of mass creates more stability, better launch conditions and faster swing speeds. Another benefit of FlexLoft 2 is its forward and backward compatibility. Golfers with previous generations of Covert can use shafts with the original adaptor in the new head or vice versa.

Nike Vapor Speed Fairway Woods

Specifications:  3W: 15° (RH/LH); 5W: 19° (RH/LH):  MRC Fubuki Z 60 shaft: X, S, R, A, W
Cdn MSRP: $230.00

Nike Vapor Flex Fairway Woods

Specifications: 3W: 13° – 17° (RH/LH); 5W: 17° – 21° (RH/LH): MRC Diamana S+ Blue Board 70 shaft: X, S, R
Cdn MSRP: $280.00

NORCROSS, Ga. – Mizuno has unveiled its new JPX-850 Driver, featuring revolutionary Fast Track® Technology.

Engineered for all levels of play and skill, the JPX-850 Driver allows for total customization with 10 unique settings (4 neutral, 3 draw, 3 fade) to change launch angle and spin rate due to the introduction of Fast Track Technology in the club head. By using twin 8-gram weights, which can be placed on either a central sliding rail or two lateral slots, golfers have the ability to customize the driver to fit their swing needs and in turn create the perfect launch conditions and spin rates to bomb drives down the middle of the fairway.

“The genius of the new Fast Track Technology is that it adds the dimensions of launch angle and spin rate,” said Chuck Couch, Vice President of Product Development, Golf Division, Mizuno USA. “The player is truly in control of all aspects of their ball flight off the tee, which will make them more confident at address allowing for better drives and ultimately lower scores.”

The JPX-850 Driver rounds out the customization options with the incorporation of Mizuno’s Quick Switch® Technology, which allows golfers the ability to adjust loft angle between 7.5 and 11.5 degrees. Creating a statement with the piercing blue color, the compact, powerful titanium head of the JPX-850 Driver utilizes a Rebound Crown to maximize ball speeds for unmatched distance off the tee. In addition to the piercing blue, a sleek, strong purpleicious and slate gray women’s color option will also be available.

JPX-850 Driver Stats:

Available Lofts:1 Head (8 different Loft Settings) available in both RH and LH

Shaft: FujiKura Motore Stiff and Regular, Ladies

Grip: GP M-31 360 58 Round

*Other Options available through Mizuno’s Custom Department

Canadian MSRP: $429.99

Available in-stores beginning: Nov.14, 2014

FAIRHAVEN, Mass. –  Titleist is hoping you’re looking for higher swing speed, longer distance and exceptional forgiveness from both the tee and turf, touting its new 915 fairway metals and hybrids as the fastest they have ever developed.

Titleist’s new 915F, 915Fd 915H and 915Hd models significantly increase distance for serious golfers of all swing speeds while maintaining high MOI for forgiveness.

Available in golf shops worldwide beginning Nov. 14, Titleist 915 fairways and hybrids provide improved performance through three key advancements:

• Active recoil channel – a long, deep, forward-positioned sole channel that actively flexes at impact and recoils to launch the ball off the face with higher speed and lower spin.
• Ultra thin face – a high-strength, uniformly thin high-speed face insert that increases ball speed across the face.
• High-MOI design – a low center of gravity location that delivers stability and forgiveness by preserving ball speed across the face for more distance, more often.

Those technologies, combined with the fitting precision of Titleist’s industry-leading SureFit Tour hosel and tour-validated looks, sound and feel, make it one of the most complete, consistent metals performance in the game.

“The new 915 fairways and hybrids really bring us to another level from a distance perspective,” said Dan Stone, Vice President of Research and Development, Titleist Golf Clubs. “The combination of the Active Recoil Channel and Ultra Thin Face is powerful in creating more speed with spin reduction for maximum distance. And with our high-MOI design strategy we’re able to provide golfers with the best combination of distance and forgiveness.”

Titleist R&D designed 915 fairways and hybrids to maximize their low-spin, high-speed potential, with the SureFit Tour weight placed in a low, central position behind the Active Recoil Channel on each model to help create ideal CG properties. Golfers can select their models – 915F or 915Fd, 915H or 915 Hd – based on head shape, forgiveness or ball flight. 915F and 915H feature larger profiles for all-around performance with maximum forgiveness; 915Fd and 915Hd offer smaller head shapes for workability and forgiveness, with slightly lower launch and spin and therefore lower flight than F and H.

The first week they were available on the PGA Tour, 15 new 915 fairway metals and nine new 915 hybrids were put in play at the World Golf Championships event at Firestone. The following week at the PGA Championship, there were 29 new 915 fairways and 13 new 915 hybrids in players’ bags, including Jordan Spieth, Bill Haas, Victor Dubuisson, Jason Dufner and Webb Simpson.

“The new 915 fairways and hybrids, just like our new 915 drivers, really exemplify our R&D team’s design strategy of ‘distance with forgiveness’, ” said Steve Pelisek, General Manager, Titleist Golf Clubs. “And from our player testing on tour and with amateurs, we know that these products are longer, more consistent and more playable than ever.”

The new 915F & 915Fd fairways and 915H & 915Hd hybrids will be available in golf shops worldwide beginning November 14th, 2014.

FAIRHAVEN, Mass. –  Titleist is hoping you’re looking for higher swing speed, longer distance and exceptional forgiveness from both the tee and turf, touting its new 915 fairway metals and hybrids as the fastest they have ever developed.

Titleist’s new 915F, 915Fd 915H and 915Hd models significantly increase distance for serious golfers of all swing speeds while maintaining high MOI for forgiveness.

Available in golf shops worldwide beginning Nov. 14, Titleist 915 fairways and hybrids provide improved performance through three key advancements:

• Active recoil channel – a long, deep, forward-positioned sole channel that actively flexes at impact and recoils to launch the ball off the face with higher speed and lower spin.
• Ultra thin face – a high-strength, uniformly thin high-speed face insert that increases ball speed across the face.
• High-MOI design – a low center of gravity location that delivers stability and forgiveness by preserving ball speed across the face for more distance, more often.

Those technologies, combined with the fitting precision of Titleist’s industry-leading SureFit Tour hosel and tour-validated looks, sound and feel, make it one of the most complete, consistent metals performance in the game.

“The new 915 fairways and hybrids really bring us to another level from a distance perspective,” said Dan Stone, Vice President of Research and Development, Titleist Golf Clubs. “The combination of the Active Recoil Channel and Ultra Thin Face is powerful in creating more speed with spin reduction for maximum distance. And with our high-MOI design strategy we’re able to provide golfers with the best combination of distance and forgiveness.”

Titleist R&D designed 915 fairways and hybrids to maximize their low-spin, high-speed potential, with the SureFit Tour weight placed in a low, central position behind the Active Recoil Channel on each model to help create ideal CG properties. Golfers can select their models – 915F or 915Fd, 915H or 915 Hd – based on head shape, forgiveness or ball flight. 915F and 915H feature larger profiles for all-around performance with maximum forgiveness; 915Fd and 915Hd offer smaller head shapes for workability and forgiveness, with slightly lower launch and spin and therefore lower flight than F and H.

The first week they were available on the PGA Tour, 15 new 915 fairway metals and nine new 915 hybrids were put in play at the World Golf Championships event at Firestone. The following week at the PGA Championship, there were 29 new 915 fairways and 13 new 915 hybrids in players’ bags, including Jordan Spieth, Bill Haas, Victor Dubuisson, Jason Dufner and Webb Simpson.

“The new 915 fairways and hybrids, just like our new 915 drivers, really exemplify our R&D team’s design strategy of ‘distance with forgiveness’, ” said Steve Pelisek, General Manager, Titleist Golf Clubs. “And from our player testing on tour and with amateurs, we know that these products are longer, more consistent and more playable than ever.”

The new 915F & 915Fd fairways and 915H & 915Hd hybrids will be available in golf shops worldwide beginning November 14th, 2014.

Golf’s best selling shoe is about to get even more comfortable thanks to the introduction of the all-new Contour Series™ from FootJoy.

Since its launch in 2001, the Contour Series has enjoyed tremendous success. The straight-from-the-box comfort fit construction, soft supple leather, consistent fit and unrivaled number of sizes and widths propelled Contour Series to the top of the footwear leaderboard with more than 6 million pairs sold and counting.

With this major overhaul, FootJoy’s top selling shoe is now even lighter, more flexible and more comfortable, while still delivering the fit and feel that keeps players coming back to Contour year after year.

“The success of Contour really begins with the consistent fit and unparalleled comfort players experience when they wear it, so we made sure we delivered on those expectations first and foremost with the latest version,” said Doug Robinson, VP of Golf Footwear Worldwide. “After that, however, we reconsidered every material and construction element to ultimately deliver our best Contour yet.”

The new FJ Contour Series will be available in 10 colors:

• White + Orange + Grey
• White + Taupe + Black
• White + Grey + Black
• White + Lt Grey + Grey
• White + Red + Grey
• White + Lime + Navy
• All over Black
• All over Brown
• Charcoal + Black (BOA Lacing System)
• White + Brown (BOA Lacing System)

Sizes (includes whole and half sizes):

• Narrow: 9 – 13
• Medium: 7 – 15
• Wide: 7 – 14
• Extra Wide – 7 – 13

All styles will be available starting October 15, 2014.

What goes around comes around in Adam Brown’s world.

Forty years ago this past summer Brown picked up the phone, put his index finger in the rotary phone at his parents’ home in Dundas, ON and dialed long distance to a town called Woodbridge.

News a fabulous new golf course named The National Golf Club designed by the team of American golf course architects George and Tom Fazio had been buzzing around the province for a few months and Brown wanted to see what it was all about for himself.

By that time the 21-year-old had won the Ontario Junior Boys’ Championship, lost in a playoff to Kelly Roberts in the Canadian Junior Boys Championship and was playing well in the US on a scholarship at Miami University in Oxford Ohio.

“I grew up trying to be like Jack (Nicklaus),” said Brown who started to play the game at the age of nine at what is now Hidden Lake GC in Burlington followed by Glendale G&CC. “I have never met Jack, but I did have one of my first lessons from his instructor Jim Flick at Cincinnati County Club.”

Brown’s stomach twirled with a touch of nervousness and anticipation as the phone rang and he waited to be connected to Ben Kern, a noted professional who would be named the club’s Head Professional in 1976.

“The course wasn’t officially open at that time and I didn’t even know if Ben would know who I was, but I wanted to give it a try”, Brown says as he sits in the club’s modern day clubhouse that opened in 2008. “I’ll never forget that call, I introduced myself and asked if I could play and he warmly welcomed me. Ben said, “Yes” to junior champions because he wanted to promote the game and help aspiring young players. He knew who the players were.”

Brown played his first round at The National on his own. At every turn and with every shot he could not believe what he was seeing and playing.

“As I drove in along old Pine Valley Drive to the clubhouse I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was the first course of its kind in the country and it looked incredible,” says Brown. “I remember being amazed by the quickness of the green speeds. I had never played on anything like that and there were no pitch and run shots to be made at The National. I grew up with a pitch and run game. All of a sudden I was being faced with having to make a lob or a flop shot when I missed a green and it was very challenging.”

The sight and size of the Fazios’ fairway and green side bunkers also made Brown take a second look and sometimes a third before firing away.

“I asked Ben, “Is this the way modern golf is going? And he said, “Yes,” recalls Brown, who returned to play the course two more times that summer with his father and was personally welcomed back each time by Ben.

Today, at The National Golf Club of Canada, there was an official name change along the way, Brown is Head Professional. He started working at the Club as an assistant in 1999 and took the top job in 2005, after winning the 2004 PGA Seniors’ Championship of Canada.

The club has only had four head professionals over its 40-year history – Al Balding from 1974-1975, Ben Kern from 1976 to 1995, Norm Hitzroth from 1996 to 2004 and Brown.

Its three original founding members; Gil Blechman, Harvey Kalef and Irv Hennick each passed away within seven years of each other between 2000 and 2007. As legend goes the dream of The National was conceived on a hot, lazy afternoon in the summer of 1972 at Maple Downs G&CC where the trio were members. They were tired of the slow play and kids splashing around in the pool during their back swings. It was time for a change when Kalef said, “Enough of this crap. What we ought to do is buy ourselves a super golf club, the best anywhere. We’ll make it exclusive, for men only.”

That was a Friday afternoon and Blechman knew of a course that was for sale. On the Monday, Kalef went to his lawyer and without having seen Pine Valley Golf Club put in an offer to purchase from the estate of the late Jack Bailey that was accepted.

They hired the Fazios’ to design, “the best golf course in the world and money’s no object,” Blechman said. It’s a good thing it wasn’t, because Tom Fazio told Blechman he needed more land to make his dream reality and they proceeded to buy three adjoining farms totalling 135 acres. Construction of the Fazio masterpiece started on May 15, 1973, the land was cleared by June 1^st and the course was finished in three months with an official opening in 1975. The Fazio golf course design team continue to make annual visits to the club to review the course and make suggestions for tweaking the layout.

When it first opened the course, which was an instant success and on its way to quickly becoming the No. 1 golf course in Canada, the layout had three sets of tees. Today it has four sets of tees with two hybrid options for a total of six playing options measuring from 6002 to 7,235 yards, par-71. It’s very first scorecard had Al Balding as Head Professional and Ken Venturi as Associate Director with the tees measuring 5,855 yards, 6,306 yards and 6,989 yards, par-71.

“The course continues to evolve without losing its essence of being tough but fair and that’s what makes it timeless,” Brown says. “It was tough 40 years ago and it has that exact same toughness today although there have been changes and that is truly remarkable.”

Once a year players gather for the Ben Kern Pro-Am. It’s the only tournament at the club played from the back Gold tees. It’s one of the exceptional golf experiences in Canada that only the lucky few have the opportunity to play.

The favourite part of Brown’s job is seeing the expressions of first time guests as they play the course. “I’ll greet them when they arrive and I’ll go out and see them on the seventh or eighth hole and you can see it in their eyes. It gets everybody and the better the player the more they have recognized what they have played.”

He too knows the players and the champions. The tradition continues although cell phones have replaced rotary phones. Austin James won the 2014 Canadian Junior Boys Championship and Matt LeMay won the 2014 Ontario Junior Boys Championship. You just never know where they might be 40 years from now.

CARLSBAD, Calif. – Callaway Golf has announced two new clubs, the Big Bertha Irons, which comes with a new 360 Face Cup™ technology, previously used for big distance gains in the company’s Fairway Woods and Hybrids, and the Big Bertha Hybrids, Callaway’s first adjustable hybrids.

The Big Bertha Irons will come in three options: $999 (steel), $1,199 (graphite), $1,299 (combo).

The Big Bertha Hybrids will retail for $249 each and will come in five options: 3-7 Hybrid (19°, 22°, 25°, 28°, 31°).

Both the Big Bertha Irons and the Big Bertha Hybrids will be available at golf retailers nationwide and on www.callawaygolf.com on October 17, 2014.

Big Bertha Irons