Divot Mix

"She's very, very classy. Very professional. She's funny. She's generous. She's nice,” -- PGA Tour player Zach Johnson on 15-year-old amateur Michelle Wie, who's playing in this week's John Deere Classic

Golf Industry Show gets industry praise

At a time when many trade shows are struggling to survive in an era of tight advertising budgets and alternative methods of customer interaction, the success of the inaugural Golf Industry Show has attracted some attention.

In fact, Expo Magazine, which covers the trade show industry, made it the subject of its July/August cover story.

According to the article by Maxine Golding, "By their very nature, associations rely on built-in constituencies to support their important annual conventions and trade shows. But decisions to attend are no longer automatic for members and vendors. Associations must proactively answer the hard question: 'How do we maintain our trade show's relevancy and vitality?'"

The answer to that question produced the first Golf Industry Show, which was a rousing success on almost all fronts. Golding's article covers the changes implemented, as well as what the future holds when CMAA joins the show in 2007. To read it online, visit Expoweb.

Tour Links putting greens go to Iraq and Afghanistan

Tourlinks.net has joined America Supports You, a Department of Defense program that showcases American's support for the armed forces, by distributing its putting greens to U.S. troops throughout Iraq and Afghanistan.

Tour Links president Dave Barlow hopes the putting greens will provide relaxation to troops enduring the extreme conditions in the Middle East. The greens are being distributed with the help of the PGA Tour and DHL shipping. Many of the first shipment of greens have already been received at Ft. Campbell, Ky., on route to Iraq.

Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Allison Barber said, “We are thrilled that Tour Links is joining the America Supports You team. We look forward to working together to ensure the message reaches all of our troops.”

“We have all worked very hard to develop this great product, and now that Tour Links is selling world wide, it is time to give back,” said Barlow. “The PGA Tour and I have received incredible photos from soldiers showing the difficult conditions these guys are enduring. If we can bring a bit of relaxation to the troops and the opportunity to allow soldiers to continue to play the game they love, it will make us all very proud here at Tour Links and The PGA Tour."

For more about the company visit www.tourlinks.net or contact Barlow dave@tourlinks.net. .

Mangum, Mona team with Wie, Forsman to win Deere Pro-Am

With Michelle Wie in the field for this year's John Deere Classic, it's no surprise that her group in Monday's Superintendent Pro-Am attracted a gallery. But it turned out to be THE team to watch.

The five-person team of key industry players, which included Wie, former John Deere Classic champion Dan Forsman, Ken Mangum, CGCS, Steve Mona, GCSAA CEO, and Jim Langston, Deere One Source national sales manager, took home top honors with an 18 under par, net 53.

The pro-am drew a large roster, with more than 40 golf courses from Asia, Canada, Ireland, the U.S. and the U.K. represented at Deere Run.

Trey Rogers makes USA Today

People in the turf industry know Trey Rogers, Ph.D. as a professor of turfgrass science at Michigan State University, he's one of the celebrities of the grass business. Now USA Today has featured the man they called "the lawn geek."

And most golf course superintendent's spouses will probably sympathize with his wife. In the article, Rogers said, "She won't walk with me anymore because I stop to look at the lawns. On Father's Day, I even took pictures," he said.

But lawn geek or not, Rogers isn't into showing off. His front yard isn't quite perfect as he prefers to keep a low profile with his neighbors. "I learned long ago not to stand out. You wouldn't think it's a putting green, but you won't see a weed, either," he said.

For the whole article, visit USA Today.