ARMCHAIR GOLF Briefs

(Josh V-R/Flickr)

A bevy of golf products, services, destinations, events, news and more. Endorsement is not implied.

• YourGolfTravel.com is looking for someone to visit golf courses around the world for a year to research opportunities and write reviews. More from TimesOnline.

• PGA.com announced the availability of the PGA Championship App at the App Store. The PGA Championship App for iPhone and iPod touch is sponsored by financial services provider ING and will provide live video, live scoring and instant updates to golf fans during the 2009 PGA Championship from Aug. 13–16.

• American Express is providing onsite programs and premium benefits for Cardmembers designed to enhance the spectator experience at the 91st PGA Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club.

• Turner Sports and The PGA of America announced that now and throughout the PGA Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club, Aug. 13 – 16, all of TNT’s television announcers and PGA.com on-camera talent, as well as local PGA of America Club Professionals, will use the Twitter social networking platform to provide commentary leading up to and throughout the year’s final major.

• For the second consecutive year, The PGA of America and the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) have partnered to present Game Day Experiences featuring free golf instruction from local PGA and LPGA Professionals at selected WNBA games. There are eight Game Day Experiences scheduled so far this season with the first being held Friday (Aug. 7) in Minneapolis, Minn., when the Minnesota Lynx host the Connecticut Sun.

• Mike, The Travelling Golfer, recently talked to Terry Koehler, The Wedge Guy. Check it out here.

• Golfsmith announced that it is giving away 25,000 rounds of golf with any purchase of $125 or more in all of its 74 retail locations across the country.

• GolfGym® announced that it has entered into an agreement with Bonfit America, Inc., manufacturer of the original bristle tee, Brush-T, to globally distribute their entire line of GolfGym fitness products.

• Imperial Headwear (www.ImperialHeadwear.com) announced the introduction of the Oxford Prep style, featured in its new 2010 catalog.

• The Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Course, Randy Henry’s Dynamic Golf Academy and aboutGolf’s PGA TOUR Simulators have teamed up to offer unique entertainment and educational golf elements to their repertoire of golf-related services.

• PrideSports, the country’s only wooden golf tee manufacturer, and the world’s leading producer of golf tees, has announced an eco-partnership with Portland, Maine-based International Wood Fuels (IWF) to share production facilities at Pride’s Burnham, Maine manufacturing facility.

• Located less than two hours from Seattle and surrounded by the Olympic Mountains, Alderbrook Resort & Spa features a PGA-class golf course, as well as a state-of-the-art spa and on-site restaurant. Alderbrook is currently offering the “Ultimate Golfer’s Escape” Package.

• The newest golf industry player-development program, Get Golf Ready in 5 Days, has exceeded its target number of host facilities in the initial year of the program. Nearly 1,100 facilities are certified to host the program, surpassing the target goal of 700 host facilities for 2009, and more than 2,260 Get Golf Ready events have been posted on line. Aimed at bringing adults into the game in a fast, fun and affordable way, Get Golf Ready, Play Golf America’s 2009 featured program, seeks to introduce the game to thousands of golfers in the first year.

• A golf industry career fair will be staged for the first time at the 2009 PGA Fall Expo, Sept. 1-2, in Las Vegas, Nevada, and produced in partnership by PGA Golf Exhibitions, The PGA of America and leading golf industry employers. Dick’s Sporting Goods and Golf Galaxy are announcing recruitment efforts and company informational sessions throughout the two-day industry gathering.

• Endorsed by renowned instructor Butch Harmon, the EEZ-READ is designed to save strokes during a round of golf. The pocket-sized putting aid is a highly accurate “bubble level” that shows how a putt will break. The EEZ-READ received the Seal of Approval from the PGA TOUR Partners Club. More at www.eez-read.com.

• Carya Golf Club, Thomson Perrett & Lobb’s heathland inspired course in Belek, Antalya, has been announced as the venue for Turkey’s first European Challenge Tour event in 11 years. The course, regarded as one of the finest on Turkey’s Mediterranean Coast, will stage the Turkish Challenge, the Tour’s opening event of the 2010 season, April 26-29.

• LPGA Tour star Cristie Kerr joined with LibertyHealth to announce the founding of the Cristie Kerr Women’s Health Center on the Jersey City Medical campus. The center will offer breast cancer screening programs including free mammograms to women with or without insurance.

−The Armchair Golfer