Phil Mickelson has always been a renaissance man. He's been a short game master, longball driver, father, advocate for visor use, and the face of Callaway Golf, among other things.
Add this to the list: Waffle House owner.
Oh yes. Waffle House, who some may recognize as the symbol of our country's southeastern states, may be in the hands of one of modern golf's greatest players in the near future.
It appears that Lefty, along with two other businessmen, is willing to fork over more than $20 million to bailout the struggling breakfast/lunch/dinner chain.
If the deal clears, the group will own 105 Waffle House locations (Waffle Houses?).
I mean, this isn't the first bizarre turn we have seen in Lefty's life. Nevertheless, I can't say I expected this piece of news to pop up.
Gatorade recently unveiled a new commercial featuring its greatest athlete...in cartoon form. A tad bit trippy, but I guess this is an interesting appeal to kids.
E*Trade Financial's popular line of commercials featuring a sophisticated, stock-trading baby released several new 30 second advertisements last week. One of these included an interesting golf theme:
During the media tour of 'The Cliffs,' designed by Tiger Woods, it was announced that the routing for the course is complete. Dirt would begin being moved in the spring and an expected completed date is 2011. The championship tees will play 7,500 yards. The entire course sits in a valley surrounded by mountains and pine trees.
One report I found said that lots will start at $500,000 and go up to $2 million. I don't know if that's accurate. I did find one three bedroom house, built in 2005, for sale at $1,590,000.
Another blogsite, states that the land in this subdivision is naturally hazardous and at risk of slope failure. Homeowner policies will not cover this damange. However, the project was approved without landslide hazard mapping and under regulations that did not require site specific stability studies. Once the private roads in the subdivision have been built and considered stable, the owners' responsiblity will be met, the Property Owners Association will share the costs of road if they fall victim to erosion and slope failure.
Wondering how to get your 4 - 6 year old daughter or granddaughter interested in golf??
Mattel, Inc. is partnering with Cougar Golf to create a Barbie-themed golf set. It will be available in Target stores beginning next month and will sell for $39.99. It will include a driver, iron, putter, carrying bag and a USGA approved golf ball. Fashionable young golfers will also get a visor, six wooden tees and three ball markers.
Next spring, another set aimed at golfers age 6 -9 will be unveiled.
In case you haven't caught it yet, Fore Inventors Only is an "American Idol"-like show allowing golf inventors to display their products in front of testers for fame and fortune. Well, probably not fame, but the winner of the series will have his or her product in Golfsmith stores nationwide, and will also have an infomercial made for The Golf Channel.
The show airs a new episode each Tuesday night, 10 PM EST. This week, the top 10 products will be tested by the consumer, opposed to the
panel or former Big Break stars like in past weeks.
With the first season of the show coming to a close, it's time to ask, "what's your favorite invention?"
Personally, thinking about what type of product would likely appear in an infomercial on TGC or appear in Golfsmith stores, my favorite is
Joseph Pagano's "Power Stance." Pagano's $150,000 investment supports a proper weight transfer and balance
One Golf Channel show which has caught my attention over the past few weeks is "Fore Inventors Only", which gives inventors a chance to sell their product in Golfsmith stores. For the first three episodes, all appearing on Tuesday nights at 10 P.M. EST, the three-man panel would vote for whether or not each product would move on to the "Field Test" portion of the competition.
The panel, which functioned much like American Idol's, consisted of Stina Sternberg, Billy Harmon, and Fulton Allem. With three days of judging down, the show will move to the "Field Test" segment tonight.
However, a slight twist in the show will put the inventions of hopefuls in the hands of former members of the Big Break.
So far, the show has included several cool products, such as the Z Factor Perfect Putting Machine and the Hill Shot.
While the first three episodes were interesting and funny, especially when bizarre/radical inventions were unveiled, I'm interested in seeing how the Field Test ends up going. Check it out at 10 EST on TGC.
Donald Trump certainly knows the art of the deal.
Two weeks ago, he walked away from purchasing Running Horse Golf and Country Club for $40 million. He could not agree with current owner Mick Evans on how to classify legitimate operational expenses after the property sale.
14 days later, Trump is getting the property for $30 million cash. Even better, he won't have to share the profits.
Donald Trump had announced plans for a bankrupt golf course: Running Horse Golf and Country Club in Fresno, California. However, the $40 million deal is now off.
The 464 acre gated community was to have a golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus, a 30,000 square foot clubhouse and more than 700 upscale homes.
The course was originally scheduled to host a PGA Tour event in the later part of the season, but the bankruptcy of Running Horse LLC led to the course not being completed on time.
Following the completion of the Dubai Desert Classic, the Gilette Company announced that Tiger Woods, Roger Federer (tennis) and Thierry Henry (soccer) will star in television commercials that will air around the world.
The company declined to comment on how much the three stars will be paid. This triumvirate includes the world's greatest golfer, tennis player, and arguably one of the best soccer players.
At today's press conference, the three posed with shaving cream to promote the company.
Cartoonist Bob Zahn has established himself as a talent in the cartoon industry. While golf art is fairly abundant (even Luke Donald is an accomplished artist) there has been a lack of humorous golf cartoons and comics for sometime. Cartoonist Bob Zahn has had his cartoons featured in such publications as Reader's Digest, Harvard Business Review, and Saturday Evening Post.
Check out some of Zahn's work in the upcoming publication of
Chicken Soup for the Golfer's Soul. In the meantime, Zahn has work featured on several websites and his own
book.Zahn' work may be
licensed for use on newsletters, Powerpoint presentations, and other projects.
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Donald Trump has a planned $2 billion (Yes, billion!) golf community on the northeast coast of Scotland, but some environmentalists in the area are protesting.
The area is 1,400 acres. The Donald's plan includes two golf courses, a 450 room five star hotel, 950 apartments and 36 golf villas. Many Scots, including politicians and travel agents, are extremely supportive. However, a group called "Friends of the Earth" oppose the plan due to ecological reasons.
Planners will vote in June on the development.
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The United States Golf Association has now signed its first corporate sponsorship deal after signing with American Express. The USGA, who oversees the national championships in the U.S., will allow American Express special privileges in addition to advertising such as corporate tents. Executive Director of the USGA said, "This is new ground for us,". This deal is the first with a corporation in the USGA's 112 year history.
American Express, who already is the title sponsor of a World Golf Championship, will air commercials with Tiger Woods and his U.S. Open trophies.
The USGA says that fans will not notice any real difference in the tournament atmosphere when the U.S. Open rolls into Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 2007. Oakmont Country Club will play host to another U.S. Open and will likely not display any major changes due to the new partnership but will include a Trophy Tent for Amex.
Donald Trump, aka the Donald, offered a plan on Monday to build a new, $1.9 billion golf resort in Scotland. Trump looks to build two championship courses and a golf academy near Aberdeen, Scotland.
Trump, whose mother is a Scotland-native, wants to build 1,000 homes, 36 villas, and a hotel on site to hold 450 bedrooms.
Despite the area's governmental interest in bringing in the project, several environmental groups are protesting its possible construction. The resort would be built on a sandy beach.
Trump already has already built several courses, most notably Trump National in California where The Golf Channel's Big Break was held.
After a seven month renovation project,TPC of Sawgrass in Pointe Vedra Beach, Florida is now back in full operation. The refurbishment project improved greens and fairways and added over one hundred yards to the course. The famous TPC of Sawgrass hosts the PLAYERS Championship, considered by most to have golf's strongest field.
A TOUR official commented on divots in the 9th fairway,"Do you know what animal did this?"
"Vijay Singh" Vijay, of course, is one of the TOUR's hardest working players and used the ninth fairway as a practice facility during the renovation of the course.
The sports equipment retailer, Dicks Sporting Goods, will buy out the golf retail chain Golf Galaxy. The acquisition, expected to be completed by February of 2007, comes after Dicks Sporting Goods attempted to enter the golf retail market with a new chain in The Golf Shop but opted to purchase an already successful chain rather than build their own. The Golf Shop, currently located in Washington D.C. and in Dicks Sporting Goods' home city of Pittsburgh, will complement the new lineup.
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Phil Mickelson has always been a renaissance man. He's been a short game master, longball driver, father, advocate for visor use, and the face of Callaway Golf, among other things. 
