IAGTO awards Costa Rica Golf Destination of the Year 2014

Costa Rica has made a name as a natural paradise in recent years and has become a world leader in sustainable tourism. The small country in Central America achieved another important milestone, receiving the 2014 Golf Destination of the Year Award for Latin America & Caribbean from the prestigious International Association of Golf Tour Operators (IAGTO).

IAGTO is the organization of global commerce for the industry of the golf tourism. Founded in 1997, members of IAGTO includes 2,122 credited golf tour operators, resorts, hotels,  national tourism organizations, media  and businesses in 95 countries. Operating in 62 countries, these golf tour operators control more than 85% of the golf packages sold annually around the world.

 With a total of six championship courses in addition to some very fine 9-hole layouts, Costa Rica is considered to be a small, but indeed an exclusive insider tip for golfers. Due to all the exciting non-golf activities available in Costa Rica, this is just the right amount of good golf to create a memorable golf experience. The environments surrounding the courses put you in touch with Mother Nature at her finest. True to the country’s strategy of always acting in a most sustainable, social and eco-friendly way, all these courses are recognized by Audubon International (www.auduboninternational.org) for their environmental friendly efforts.

Some of the game’s top architects have their names on the courses, including the La Iguana Golf Course at the Los Suenos Marriott Beach & Golf Club, designed by Ted Robinson; the Reserva Conchal Golf Club at the Westin Golf Resort & Spa, designed by Robert Trent Jones II; the Four Seasons, designed by Arnold Palmer; and the Cariari Country Club, designed by George Fazio and built by his nephew Tom Fazio.

But Costa Rica not only scores with its golf courses but also with its excellent hospitality and gastronomy. The exclusive hotel selection ranges from the cherished and smaller luxurious resorts like The Springs Resort to prestigious and international luxury hotel groups such as Marriott Hotels, The Starwood member Westin Golf Resort & Spa Conchal and The Four Seasons  Peninsula Papagayo Resort.

“Costa Rica has grown tremendously as a destination since I started golf tour here in 1996,” said Landy Blank, owner of Costa Rica Golf Adventures. “The combination of new golf courses, year-round climate and the natural beauty of Costa Rica makes it perfect for golfers seeking a new adventure.”

Costa Ricans are the happiest people on the planet according to the “Happy Planet Index,” measuring the experienced well-being of its population, life expectancy and the ecological footprint of 151 countries in the world. That makes them very likeable and pleasant hosts, an important reason more to come over and experience an unforgettable golf holiday in Costa Rica.
For more information:
Landy Blank, owner Costa Rica Golf Adventures, landy2255@gmail.com, Tel: 1-215-554-2129, 1-888-672-2057 / +506-2293-9785  www.golfcr.com

Golf & Body NYC Introduces Golf Clinics for Women

Golf & Body NYC Introduces Golf Clinics for Women
Group sessions start Feb. 11; designed for both beginning, advanced players
 

Golf & Body NYC, the private club in Manhattan that offers golfers the ultimate setting for enhancing their performance, is offering two five-session Women’s Golf Clinics, one group geared for beginners or for those who have never picked up a club, the other for advanced players.

Both taught by Gia Bocra Liwski, teaching professional at Hamilton Farm Golf Club in Gladstone, N.J., the clinics will be held every other Tuesday with the first session scheduled for Feb. 11.  Subsequent sessions are set for Feb. 25, March 11, March 25 and April 8.   The beginner group will meet from 10:30 a.m. to noon, while the advanced group will convene from 1 to 2:30 p.m.

According to Liwski, a LPGA Class A Professional, the beginner clinics will provide a “soup-to-nuts” introduction to the game, with the advanced clinics focusing on preparations for the upcoming season.
“The beginner clinic will be conducted in a relaxed, intimate, non-intimidating setting,” said Liwski, who also has served as a teaching pro at Forsgate Country Club and Trump National Golf Club, both in New Jersey.  “We know that picking up the game can be overwhelming, so each session will introduce them to golf a little bit at a time.”

Those in the beginners’ group will learn the game’s fundamentals; become comfortable with its verbiage; review the essentials of what should be in one’s golf bag; explore attire options; and gain a confidence level about going out to play on a course.  Those in the advanced group will gain positive golf fundamentals for the optimum swing; dial in a pre-shot routine for both short game and full swing; learn new shots around the green; and find a perfect putting rhythm.  Attendees from each clinic all will receive a body/swing analysis.

Space is limited for both five-session clinics, which cost $750/person.  Golf clubs will be provided for those who don’t have them, and each person will enjoy full access to Golf & Body NYC’s facilities on clinic days. 

Those interested in signing up for either the beginner or advanced clinic should contact Jeannine Harrington, general manager, Golf & Body NYC, at 212.244.2626, or send an email to jeannine@golfbodynyc.com. For more information about member and the club, visit www.golfbodynyc.com.

Exotics at Its Finest: This is the Club the Brand Was Created for, Introducing the CB PRO

Tour Edge branched out with the Exotics brand in 2004, to use more expensive technology in products that were outside of the Bazooka price points. The past nine years has seen Exotics evolve into one of the best fairway wood innovators in the market. The limited edition CB PRO is the club Exotics was created for.
The new CB PRO combines the retro, smaller head size of the famous tour-winning CB2 fairway wood with an innovative sole function - Slip StreamTM - to create the ultimate fairway wood for accomplished players.
The patent-pending Slip StreamTM sole glides through the turf in remarkable fashion. The sole’s design dramatically minimizes turf contact, allowing the head to maintain maximum speed through impact. The unique Slip StreamTM sole is designed so that minimal turf contact occurs regardless of the attack angle and position of the head at impact. 

The CB PRO features Tour Edge’s premium beta titanium cup face with a hyper-steel body to produce maximum distance in a fairway wood. As a result, the CT reaches the USGA-allowed maximum of 250. The no-weld design combo-brazes the beta- titanium cupped face with the heavier hyper steel body. The
result, every single gram of excess weight is eliminated from the face and shifted to the sole for a lower center of gravity position in the compact head. The CB PRO also features the same trampoline face design found in the CB2 that combines multiple levels of face thickness. 

The unsurpassed technology found in the CB PRO is being combined with the hottest shafts available; Fujikura Speeder 757 and 661. Fujikura 661 is a 65-gram shaft that’s geared towards better players with above average speeds. The Fujikura Speeder 757 features a new upgraded version of the original Speeder 757 — one that now has two layers of Triax Core Technology (used mainly in aerospace structures, Triax is a three-axis system of fibers that are woven in three directions rather than just two to stabilize the shaft) and additional Nano Alloy resin (high modulus carbon fiber). 

David Glod, president and founder, “When we decided to create the Exotics line, this is the type of club I had envisioned. It’s very exciting to be introducing a product of this caliber to the market; there isn’t anything else like it. Is it expensive? Yes, probably the most expensive fairway wood available to the public. But, it’s just that good combined with the Speeder shafts and it’s also packaged with a high-end, leather headcover from Stitch Golf.”

Tour Edge’s Exotics fairway woods come with Tour Edge’s lifetime warranty. Suggested retail is $499.99. For more information, call (800) 515-3343 or visit www.touredge.com. 

Located in Batavia, IL, Tour Edge manufacturers and sells golf clubs under both the Exotics and Tour Edge brands. Exotics golf clubs are for those who demand the finest performing golf clubs in the world. With experienced designers and smaller production runs, Exotics by Tour Edge can bring futuristic technologies to the marketplace months, even years, ahead of its time. Exotics’ manufactures the finest quality, high-technology golf clubs and hand-assembles them one club at a time. The company’s clubs are distributed throughout the United States and the world.

Happy New Year from The Pompano Beach Club in Bermuda

We send you warm winter greetings and hope that 2013 was a good year for you! Despite the challenging economic times we’ve experienced the past several years, we are grateful to have hosted many of you at our resort and want to sincerely thank you for staying with us.

Thanks to you, we were recognized by Conde Nast Traveler Magazine several times last year. In their January issue, we were honored to have made their 2013 “Gold List” of properties for the Atlantic & Caribbean Islands. We continue to receive rave reviews regarding our cuisine – with our chefs’ superb work resulting in our resort being rated as one of “The 35 Best Island Resorts for Food” in the magazine’s June issue (we were ranked #14 overall and were one of only two Bermuda resorts to make the list).

This year, our Cedar Room’s dinner menu will be expanded to give you even more culinary options. The evening menu will continue to change on a nightly basis, you’ll just have more appetizers and entrees to choose from than in previous years. Thanks to those of you who took the time to fill out Conde Nast Traveler’s 2013 Reader’s Choice Awards survey because in their November issue, we received the #2 ranking out of all the resorts in the Atlantic Region!

We continue to re-invest in our property so that we can offer you the very best facilities possible. Here are a few of the recent enhancements we’ve made and will be making to our resort:

• This past spring, all of our deluxe rooms were refurbished. Custom built dark mahogany furniture with sand colored granite tops were added to give our top room category a fresh new look. New draperies are currently being installed in all of our guest rooms.
• Dramatic floor-to-ceiling windows were added to our lower lobby, making our panoramic ocean views that much more spectacular!
• The Sunset Lounge and Coral Reef Café were both renovated this past year, with new interior and exterior chairs added to each area.
• Our new ATV has enabled us to keep our beach well groomed and has proven to be an effective way to remove seaweed.
• A printer was recently added to one of our lobby desktop computers, making it easier for you to print out boarding passes and other documents.
• Living on an island in the middle of the ocean has its challenges – one of them being the internet. We are happy to report that our internet access is much better in our guest rooms thanks to major upgrades to our internet system.
• We’re excited to announce that we are currently building another townhouse unit. It will have 3 bedrooms and 2 1/2 bathrooms and will be located adjacent to our tennis court, on the hillside above Cuda Cottage. We expect the townhouse to be ready for occupancy by mid-April. It should be popular with larger families and couples traveling together.

Those of you who like to travel in the spring, fall or winter can take advantage of our popular “4th Night Free” promotion. Click here for specific details or you can view the information listed on our website.

Golfers will be happy to know that we recently negotiated significantly reduced green fees at the adjacent Robert Trent Jones designed Port Royal Golf Course — widely recognized nowadays as the island’s top course (home of the PGA Tour’s Grand Slam event for the last five Octobers). Our annual spring and fall season Couples Golf Tournaments and Ladies Pro-Am Golf Classic (held in early March each year) continue to attract lots of participants — many of whom return to play in the events year after year. Tournament details (click here) are listed on our website for your reference purposes. We’ll be happy to mail you tournament brochures if you are interested.

On behalf of our family and the entire Pompano staff, we wish you a happy, healthy new year! Hope to see you soon!

Sincerely,

Tom Lamb	Larry Lamb
Managing Director	General Manager

For more information about us, visit www.pompanobeachclub.com, email us at info@pompanobeachclub.com or call us at 1-800-343-4155.

JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa Commemorates 25th Anninversary With $25 Million Renovation

Following an impressive $25 million renovation to commemorate its 25^th anniversary, the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa continues to assert itself as a premier destination for golfers in Southern California.

Boasting two Ted Robinson designed championship courses, The Valley and The Palm, and the first all-natural turf 18-hole putting course, The Greens, this golfing paradise offers sprawling picturesque mountain views with 35 acres of streams, lagoons, and waterfalls. Setting itself apart from other golf destinations across the country, the resort offers golf carts equipped with state-of–the-art navigation systems that revolutionize the golfing experience.

With this new technology, golfers are now able to:

·         View graphic layouts of each hole

·         Compute exact yardage to the pin

·         Monitor pace of play

·         Solicit playing tips from the courses pros

·         Order food to be picked up upon conclusion of the round

In addition, JW Marriott Desert Springs is also home to one of only a handful of Taylor Made swing analysis centers in the country. The highly-skilled team of golf instructors work with both novice and seasoned golfers alike to hone their skills during private one and three hour swing consultations.

With ideal year-long playing conditions, world-class instructors and over 100 pristine golf courses across Palm Springs, Southern California has become a hot-spot for golfers looking to hit the links on a year-round basis and I would love to discuss a Greater Palm Springs golf piece with you. For more information about JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa and its golf program, please visit http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/ctdca-jw-marriott-desert-springs-resort-and-spa/.

Eagle Golf Bay Shore announces its commitment to improving the lives of Veterans with disabilities.

In collaboration with THE VETERANS ADMINISTRATION MEDICAL CENTER AT NORTHPORT, Eagle Golf Bay Shore announces its commitment to improving the lives of Veterans with disabilities.

With Eagle Golf Bay Shore’s clubhouse open to qualified participants Free-Of-Charge, it is anticipated that the Eagle Golf Disabled American Veterans Program will be a weekly event.  Each session will consist of two hours of simulator time, as well as use of a 20’ x 40’ synthetic putting green.  Golf clubs and balls will be provided to those who need them.

As one of the leading INDOOR Virtual Golf playing and training facilities on Long Island, Eagle Golf has launched a special Program that will give disabled former and current members of the Armed Forces the opportunity to try the great game of golf -- or even return to the golf game which they may have thought they could no longer participate in.

At Eagle Golf, these veterans will find not only world renown courses simulated with precise accuracy and stunning realism.  They will discover the comfort and ease of use, supportive professionalism and friendship that make this an ideal setting.  Here they can practice old skills, learn new ones, have fun, stay active, enjoy camaraderie, and re-ignite their competitive drive.

PGA lessons will also be offered, several prominent area pros having generously volunteered to donate their time for group and individual instruction.

Joanne Cote - Middle Island Country Club
Mike Darrell -  Mill Pond Golf Course
Andy Carracino – Timber Point Country Club

In the Program’s initial stages, participating Vets will be assembled by PATRICK CAMPBELL, Northport VA Hospital’s Recreation Therapist and Health and Wellness Coordinator.  Patrick’s first group of eager golfers met at Eagle on October 23rd, at which time the team divided to experience both Pebble Beach and St. Andrews, two of the world’s most spectacular courses!  The next group will gather November 5th, when PGA Pro Mike Darrell will do the honors, teaching those affected by injury sustained in the service of their country, lifting the vets up in the spirit of golf.

The successful launch of these beginning sessions indicates that Eagle Golf’s new VA-associated Program is destined to make a positive contribution to the self-worth, productivity, fitness, and overall health of our local Disabled American Veterans.

“Thanks to the leadership of Veterans Affairs, thousands of veterans’ lives have been impacted positively through sport.”  United States Olympic Committee, USA Paralympics

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT EAGLE GOLF at 631-647-7940
Eagle Golf Bay Shore is located at: 53 Main St., Bay Shore, NY 11706

The Best Value in Custom Fit Irons - Tour Edge Ladies Max-D45 $399

 
The ultimate in value, the Bazooka Max-D45 is the most affordable, brand name, custom fit iron in golf. 

Tour Edge Golf occupies top-10 market share in every category of golf clubs as measured by Golf Data Tech, the industries market share monitor. The company has built the brand on the concept of premium quality product sold for an affordable price. The new Tour Edge Max-D45 iron is no exception. 

The Ladies Max-D45 features an undercut cavity, toe weighting and variable progression throughout the entire set for maximum forgiveness and performance. Designed to hit it closer to the pin every time, the D45 iron has a deep undercut cavity that moves weight away from the face and lower in the sole. 


The iron’s progressive design can be seen in each iron’s different blade length, face height, top line, offset, bounce, and MOI. This optimizes the club’s performance in distance,
trajectory, spin, bounce, forgiveness, and accuracy. The long irons (3-5) feature a wider, more hybrid-like blade length, thicker sole, and progressive undercut cavity for greater forgiveness and higher flying shots. The mid irons (6-7) feature a shorter blade length, less offset, more bounce, and a smaller top line and sole for greater workability and shot-making. Finally, the scoring irons (8-PW) feature a smaller, undercut cavity, the least offset, the most bounce, and a slightly larger sole than the mid irons for shots that get up quick and stick close to the pin.
The Bazooka Max-D45 comes with Tour Edge’s lifetime warranty and 30-day play guarantee (30-day applies to stock sets only). 

Add to that, the club’s toe weighting drives the sweet spot further into the toe area for

greater forgiveness on all off center hits. 

It is available for as little as $279 (steel), $399 (graphite) for a seven piece set that is stock or custom fitted. For more information, call (800) 515-3343 or visit www.touredge.com. 

Located in Batavia, IL, Tour Edge manufacturers and sells golf clubs under the Exotics and Tour Edge brands. The company has forged a name for itself as a producer of high-quality golf clubs that are hand-assembled one set at a time and sold at unbeatable prices. Tour Edge clubs are distributed throughout the United States and the world. Availability ranges from some of the finest green-grass locations in the country to the largest discount golf shops. Images are available at www.touredge.com in the media section of the website.