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Canadians win big at the RBC Canadian Open

Though a Canadian golfer didn’t win the 2008 RBC Canadian Open Quagmire Golf certainly proved it’s a Canadian company that’s ready to have fun on the world stage.

In the space of less than three years, Bobby Pasternak and Geoff Tait’s desire to create a colourful, funky line of hip golf apparel that’s popular with the 18 to 40-year-old crowd is proving to be one of the most exciting stories in Canadian golf.

Quagmire golf was centre stage on the PGA Tour for most of last week. Rookie Chez Reavie of Scottsdale, Arizona delighted fans and stole the show notching his first PGA Tour victory by three strokes over Billy Mayfair at the 2008 RBC Canadian Open. Reavie, 26, was at the top of the leaderboard after each round with scores of 65-64-68-70-267 over the par-71 layout at Glen Abbey GC in Oakville, Ontario.

“We’re absolutely delighted for Chez. When we first met him Monday night we had no idea what a great week he had in store for us. We certainly could never have scripted a better story,” says Quagmire co-owner Geoff Tait. “The exposure on CBS television over the weekend and in the daily news papers across the United States and Canada is a huge boost for us, especially as we look to expand significantly into the US marketplace for 2009.”

“Bobby and Geoff sent me a few samples and I immediately liked what I saw,” Reavie says of the decision to go with Quagmire golf. “It’s very comfortable, it’s stylish and it stands out and that’s what I was looking for. I saw a lot of people wearing Quagmire at the Canadian Open and when they saw me wearing it I think they really got a kick out of it.”

Quagmire has branded itself as lifestyle wear that can take you from the beach to the course and on to the patio for beer after the game. Even its slogan sticks to this laid back idea as “Not Fit for the Fairway”, emphasizes that you don’t have to be a low handicapper to have fun and feel good on the course. Just smash your drives, hang with your buddies and feel comfortable in your clothes.

“We started this company as two young, Canadian, guys looking to change the trends in golf fashion,” says Quagmire Co-owner Bobby Pasternak. He’s 25 and Tait is 29. “We were tired of our boring golf duds and decided to create chilled, lifestyle-wear. We create styles for the young at heart golfers who above all have a love for the game and want to reflect this in their image. Our line fits the 18-hole dress code but works right into the 19th hole lifestyle.”

“I’m going to be known as the 2008 Canadian Open champion for the rest of my life and that is awesome,” says Reavie, who also went with Bobby and Geoff, because they’re both young like him and trying to make it on the big show. “This is a dream come true. It’s what you dream about as a kid. I’m going to be playing against the best players in the world for the next two and half years and we’ll see what happens.”

Quagmire manufactures all of its men’s and women’s apparel in Toronto. It is sold in over 200 pro shops across Canada. The duo is currently putting a sales representative force together in the United States after launching the apparel line at the 2008 PGA Golf Show in Orlando, Florida back in January. They’re also scheduled to attend buying shows this fall in Arizona, Texas, California and Las Vegas, as well as making stops at shows right across Canada.

Along with Reavie and Walker, Quagmire sponsors Kelli Keune and Nicole Hage on the LPGA Tour, Kristina Tucker on the Futures Tour, Mike Mezei and JC Deacon on the Canadian Tour, Lee Curry on the Nationwide Tour and three NCAA college girls golf teams; Michigan State, Ball State and Longwood.

 

Dixon Introduces 1st ever 100% eco-friendly golf ball

With the introduction of the first ever 100% Eco-Friendly golf ball, Dixon is revolutionizing golf around the world. Now there’s finally a way to play golf and be environmentally conscious at the same time. Dixon is excited to be leading the golf industry into the concept of “Green”.

Improve The World

Unlike other Golf Ball Brands who use harsh heavy-metal pollutants like tungsten, cobalt and lead, and contain non-renewable synthetic materials and compounds, the Dixon Earth golf ball is “green” to the core. The Earth core is made from a proprietary polymer that maintains the playable properties of the ball, but ensures that it is 100% renewable.

Improve Your Game

Amazingly, Dixon didn’t have to sacrifice playability to become environmentally friendly. Just the opposite, the Dixon Earth golf ball plays better than most two-piece golf balls on the market right now and even out performed several three piece urethane cover balls in competitive testing! It plays the distance, spins and sticks on the greens and offers a tremendous amount of “feel” when putting.

Dixon’s emphasis is on craftsmanship, technology, service and the ability to offer the best golf ball at the best price.

 

Weather Network & Nike Launch Widget

The Weather Network recently launched WeatherEyeTM GOLF for Windows XP and Vista. WeatherEye GOLF is an extension of the popular WeatherEye group of widgets and applications from The Weather Network with over 2 Million current users in Canada.

WeatherEye GOLF provides current and local weather related information for over 17,000 golf courses in Canada and the US. Users can quickly and easily get immediate access to real time weather data for a local golf course right from a temperature icon in the system tray. It can then be expanded to a small window that provides current weather observations, short term forecast data, local weather warnings and access to golf course contact information.

“We know that Canadians love being outdoors all year and especially in our short summer season. Many Canadians also love being on the golf course. WeatherEye GOLF is part of an evolution for our desktop widgets and downloads and our continuing efforts to bring critical weather information to Canadians, wherever they may be,” says Carrie Lysenko, Manager of Online Applications.

“We recognized The Weather Network as a leader in Canada providing both weather information and widget applications. We see the WeatherEye GOLF as a natural fit for our brand to help educate the consumer on our vast line of equipment and apparel for all weather conditions in Canada,” says Tyler Keenan, Brand Communications Manager, Nike Golf Canada.

 

Techno includes the Tee

Evolve Golf — maker of the No. 1 performance golf tee on Tour — confirms that the winner of the WGC Bridgestone Invitational relied on its patented Epoch tee.

A part of 103 major Tour wins — including 30 PGA Tour victories — since its 2004 debut, Epoch is the only performance tee with radius posts that span the width of a golf ball dimple. This unique feature creates the lowest coefficient of friction of any tee, eliminating deflection at impact and increasing ball speed and control off the tee. The Epoch has been scientifically proven via a series of rigorous independent robotic tests combined with extensive player testing to provide improvements of up to 12 yards distance and 9 yards accuracy.

“In order to be successful at Firestone Country Club, it is essential to maximize distance and accuracy off the tee,” says Evolve Golf Founder and CEO, BJ Maloy. “This week’s winner depended on the Epoch to achieve these goals.”

In addition to its performance advantages, Epoch — like all Evolve Golf products — is completely sustainable. Made entirely from recycled and renewable materials, the mower-friendly design lasts 10-times longer than a wooden tee.

 

Three Ontario Championships in Three Weeks

In winning his third Ontario PGA Championship, Danny King joined some elite company and acknowledged that work with his swing coach Sean Foley has paid off.

King, the teaching professional at Magna Golf Club in Aurora, Ont., became only the fourth player to win the Ontario PGA Championship three times, including Moe Norman, Bob Panasik, Craig Marseilles and Herb Holszcheiter.

King fired rounds of 64 and 69 for an 11-under par 133 total at Barrie Country Club in Barrie, Ont., to beat Andy Holborn and defending champion Dave Levesque by three shots in the championship that ended Tuesday.

“The swing changes have been good and my game peaked at the right time for sure,” said King who has been working with Foley, Director of Instruction at the Core Golf Junior Academy in Orlando, Florida.

In three weeks, Foley students have won three significant provincial championships. Last week, Jennifer Kirby and Nicole Vandermade finished 1-2 in the Ontario Junior Girls, and Vandermade won the Ontario Women’s Amateur the week before.

Foley is also coach to PGA Tour player Stephen Ames (who is competing in this week’s RBC Canadian Open), the Nationwide Tour’s Greg Owen, Lisa Strom on the LPGA, as well as with other touring pros and top-ranked amateurs and juniors.

The Core Golf Junior Academy, formerly the Junior Golf Academy of Canada, is an intensive junior golf development program that integrates secondary school academics and coaching under the direction of Foley.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

by the way, check out Danny’s Pro Tip on timing >>

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