Divot Mix

I guess there is nothing that will get your mind off everything like golf. I have never been depressed enough to take up the game, but they say you get so sore at yourself you forget to hate your enemies.  --Will Rogers

EIFG, GCSAA and members on The Golf Channel

A 30-minute special featuring GCSAA and its members, and The Environmental Institute for Golf will air on The Golf Channel later this month.

Earlier this summer, a Golf Channel crew ventured to Bandon Dunes to see how the property is managed in a manner that is compatible with the environment. GCSAA members Troy Russell, Jeff Sutherland,
Eric Johnson, Ken Nice and Thomas Jefferson spoke with host Adam Barr. While in Oregon, the crew also caught up with GCSAA Class A superintendent David Phipps, Stone Creek Golf Club, Oregon City, Ore., who also hosts GreenLinks from the EDGE on EIFG.org.

Air times are (all eastern) Monday, July 23 at 11 p.m.; Tuesday, July 24 at 2 a.m. and 11 a.m.; Wednesday, July 25 at 5:30 a.m.; and Sunday, July 29 at 11:30 a.m. It will also be aired later in the year at times and dates to be determined.

The program is part of GCSAA’s partnership with the Golf Channel, which included a 30-minute program on the remaking of the TPC Sawgrass with GCSAA member Fred Klauk earlier this year.

Ho Chi Minh Golf Trail launched

Southeast Asian golf travel has taken a big step this month with the launch of The Ho Chi Minh Golf Trail, the first comprehensive golfing itinerary in the region.

The trail has assembled Vietnam's best golfing venues in a North-South fashion, like its namesake trail and paired them with luxury accommodations, cultural offerings and a variety transport options.

Golfing stops on the Trail include:

• Chi Linh Star Golf Club, outside Hanoi, the recent host to the Asian PGA Tour's Carlsberg Masters
• Tam Dao Golf Resort, a new course in the cool highlands northeast of Hanoi, convenient to the airport
• Dalat Palace Golf Club, a mile-high gem, the only wall-to-wall bentgrass course in Southeast Asia, laid out in the 1920s for Bao Dai, the last emperor of Vietnam
• Ocean Dunes Golf Club, a wind-swept Nick Faldo "tropical links" design on the South China Sea
• Dong Nai Golf Resort, a 27-hole facility laid out by American Ward Northrup that skirts a scenic chain of natural lakes
• Vietnam Golf & Country Club, 20 minutes from downtown Ho Chi Minh City
• King’s Island Country Club, Hanoi’s oldest club

"I don't think anyone — even hardcore golfers with an international scope — have any idea how good the golf is here in Vietnam," says Jeff Puchalski, the country’s first PGA of America professional, now the director of golf for both Dalat Palace GC and Ocean Dunes. "People understand that Vietnam’s economy is booming. What most people don’t yet recognize is that the caliber of golf in Vietnam is world class. The Ho Chi Minh Golf Trail will make that clear to discriminating golfers."

For more information on the trail, visit www.hochiminhgolftrail.com.

Rounds rebound in May

After a dismal April when same-facility rounds were down 15.1 percent, May rounds were up 5.4 percent. Because May typically has the largest volume of rounds of the first five months of the year (about 12 percent of annual volume), the year-to-date deficit was more than cut in half, from -9.0 percent through April to -3.9 percent through May.

The unusually high increase in the Northeast (19.1 percent) in May was partly because the region rebounded from a very poor showing the year before. Although same-store rounds are down in the nation as a whole year-to-date, two regions are up: Southwest (3.6 percent) and Northwest (3.4 percent).

Rounds Played, 2007 vs. 2006
Source: NGF/Allied Golf Associations

Public facilities fall into one of three categories based on peak season weekend green fees with cart:

Premium (High) - Above $70
Standard (Middle) - $40-$70
Value (Low) - Below $40
Year-to-date 2007 vs. 2006