Arnie — a partnership between Arnold Palmer Enterprises and the co-founders of Quagmire Golf clothing — announces that PGA Tour star and style icon Ryan Moore has become the brand ambassador for the new golf and lifestyle apparel line directly inspired by Arnold Palmer’s classic looks from the 1950s, 60s and 70s.

As part of this multi-year agreement, Moore will exclusively wear Arnie during all competitions, display the logo on his shirts, make appearances on behalf of the company and be featured in its marketing initiatives.

“Mr. Palmer is among my all-time idols as a golfer and a person, so competing in these clothes and being so closely associated with his style legacy is a dream come true,” says Moore. “The research that went into each piece is really evident and when you combine those timeless elements with advanced technical fabrics you’ve got something great.”

Consistently ranked among the sport’s top-50 players, Moore has garnered worldwide acclaim for his skill as well as his attire, which has included throwback looks like skinny neck ties, cardigans and vests. In six full seasons on the PGA Tour, the 29-year-old American has one win, six runner-ups and an additional 20 top-10 finishes. Prior to turning pro, he had one of the best amateur careers in history, highlighted by a 2004 season that included victories at the U.S. Amateur, U.S. Public Links, NCAA Championship, Western Amateur and Sahalee Players Championship.

“When we discussed the guy to become the modern face of Arnie, Ryan was No. 1 on everyone’s list,” says Geoff Tait, Creative Director for Arnie and Quagmire. “He truly gets our vision and is a dapper guy who’s always moving mainstream menswear trends onto the fairways.”

For more information: www.arniewear.com, www.facebook.com/ArnieWear

DIRECTV, in partnership with ESPN and NBC, will give golf fans a green-side seat for all the action at the 2011 U.S. Open at Congressional Country Club — without the grass stains and humidity. Beginning June 16, all they have to do is pick up the remote at home to watch DIRECTV’s U.S. Open Experience with its U.S. Open Mix channel and three full-screen HD channels of bonus coverage, and go all interactive at the touch of the red remote button for an in-depth look at player stats, enhanced scorecards, and an interactive leader board that is available 24/7 during the four days of the tournament. Viewers can even take a daily trivia quiz about U.S. Open history.

Summary of U.S. Open Coverage on DIRECTV:

• U.S. Open Mix on Channel 701
• Channel 702: Network Coverage
• 3 Full-Screen HD Channels of Bonus Coverage, each fully produced with multiple cameras and its own announcing teams
• Channel 703: Featured Group – follow a group of golfers as they play each shot on the second nine.
• Channel 704: Featured Group 2 – walk the course with a second group as they play each shot on the second nine.
• Channel 705: Holes 10 &18 – watch as the whole field navigates its way through these challenging holes.

• • 10th Hole: This par 3 used to serve as the 18th hole but now plays in the opposite direction.
  • 18th Hole: Long considered the most demanding hole on the course, the former 17th par 4 provides the field’s final test.

On-demand Features

• Full Leader board – Instantly see where each player is situated
• Complete Scorecards – Provides hole-by-hole scoring and expanded stats for every golfer and every round
• U.S. Open Trivia – Test your knowledge of U.S. Open history with the daily quiz
• Accessible from all the U.S. Open Channels 701-705

www.DIRECTV.com

In honor of the start of the Masters and to commemorate its partnership with the Tiger Woods Foundation, Shotzoom is giving away one-of-a-kind Tiger Woods memorabilia.

From now through April 12, Shotzoom, the leader in active lifestyle mobile applications including Tiger Woods: My Swing, is offering Golfshot community members the chance to win one of six prizes:

• Grand Prize: One winner will receive a 1997 Masters Flag signed by Tiger Woods
• Second Place: Three winners will receive game-worn golf gloves signed by Tiger Woods
• Third Place: Two winners will receive a game-worn golf hat signed by Tiger Woods

To enter, just register at http://golfshot.com/contests/tiger-woods/. You increase your chances of winning by telling your friends about the new Tiger Woods: My Swing app for the iPhone.

Tiger Woods: My Swing, the first instructional app from Woods, lets golfers capture videos of their swing so they can analyze it, compare it with Woods and their friends, and see their swing improve over time. Woods serves as a virtual coach, teaching golfers how to use swing line analysis and providing tips on specific areas of improvement. Like all of Shotzoom’s golf apps, My Swing integrates with the Golfshot community, the world’s largest active golf community with more than half a million active members.

DIRECTV has stepped up its game for the 2011 Masters Tournament, offering viewers more coverage than ever before with two new channels – including a second “featured group” channel – and extended hours of coverage.

The DIRECTV interactive television application also aims for the pin with expanded player stats, on-demand links directly to the previous day’s highlights and a spectacular video tour of every hole of the stunning Augusta National Golf Club.

Masters Coverage Begins April 7th
DIRECTV will lead into Tournament coverage, which begins April 7 and runs through April 10, with a series of broadcasts of the 2010 Official Masters film (premiering March 31) and the 2011 Masters Preview show (debuting April 3) on its exclusive The 101® Network, along with all video highlights and a course tour on DIRECTV On Demand. DIRECTV will also air 3D coverage of the Tournament on ESPN 3D (Channel 106).

Masters Mosiac Channels
DIRECTV’s Masters Mosaic (channels 701-707) combines CBS Sports’ and ESPN’s live coverage of the Tournament with interactive links to more video, scores and stats to offer golf fans the best way to follow all the action. And for the first time, DIRECTV’s interactive application will be available 24 hours a day so fans can keep track of the Leader Board and players’ scorecards anytime they want during the 72-hole tournament.

New DIRECTV Masters  features this year include:

• The Masters Mix Channel – sports a new design and fresh graphics, and has two more channels that will offer fans six views of the Tournament: the main CBS/ESPN feed; two featured group channels; Amen Corner; holes 15 and 16; and “Masters in Depth,” along with a continuously running leader board featuring live tee times, scoring and leaders’ locations on the course.
• Additional Featured Group Channel – lets viewers “walk the course” each day with more of the world’s best golfers as they vie for the coveted green jacket. Every extra channel of coverage will be fully produced with its own announcers.
• Masters In-depth Channel – enhanced this year with a live broadcast featuring exclusive interviews with players, live updates of rounds in progress and press room cut-ins.
• Expanded coverage – DIRECTV and ESPN viewers can begin watching one hour earlier than the regular broadcast on Thursday and Friday.
• Player stats – available on demand and shows how each player is performing against the course and the field, including greens hit in regulation, driving distance and putting average.

For details on all Masters Tournament coverage, visit www.directv.com/masters.

Today’s record-setting 8.9 magnitude earthquake in Japan, followed by a tsunami with devastating high tidal waves took many lives and caused millions of dollars in damage. To help support relief efforts in Japan, Seeitgolf is donating 100% of world wide sales through March 13th.

To get a sense of the magnitude of the damage caused from the earthquake and subsequent tsunami, watch this video.

It’s nice to see the golf community and companies like Seeitgolf give back to people who really need our help. To do your part visit: www.seeitgolf.com

This week at the Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego, TaylorMade’s iconic PGA Tour Van will boast a new look, having also received an “all-white” makeover to parallel the brand’s exciting new R11 and Burner SuperFast 2.0 drivers, both with distinctive white clubheads.

Players have quickly gravitated to the all-white equipment, with more than 30 players switching to the R11 or the SuperFast 2.0 driver.

“The response to our new white drivers has been incredible and we wanted to carry on the ‘white-out’ theme with our Tour Truck, which provides service to the best players in the world,” said Keith Sbarbaro, vice president of tour operations. “Just like our white drivers stand out amongst the black heads of our competitors, so will our white truck stand out amongst the others.”

A vehicle that already commands attention at PGA Tour events due to its comfortable size and stealth appearance, TaylorMade’s state-of-the-art mobile workshop is manned by four to five technicians who travel weekly with the PGA Tour to service the equipment needs of the world’s best players. It is estimated that the van travels 40,000 miles per year spanning roughly 35 PGA Tour events.

Before the start of the 2009 PGA Tour season, the truck received a complete interior and exterior redesign to meet the demands of a growing line-up of Tour Staff professionals. Featuring a stealth new look, the van was equipped with flat-screen televisions, WiFi Internet, speakers, a secluded office for player meetings, sliding doors, additional storage space and more. To date, the TaylorMade tour van is one of the most robust and exciting vans seen on the PGA Tour.

www.taylormadegolf.com

How would you like to improve your accuracy off the tee by up to 20%? I know I would. According to a study conducted by IQPLUS Golf Bar, eating one of their bars before a round of golf can increase your accuracy, compared to a traditional protein bar, which showed no improvement. I was intrigued and wanted to put the IQPLUS Golf Bar to the test and see if it could improve my accuracy.

The Science Behind the IQPLUS Golf Bar
The bar is a unique combination of protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and the key ingredient Phosphatidylserine -PS (fos-fuh-tie-dul-SEHR-een). Phosphatidylserine enables your brain cells to metabolize glucose and to release and bind with neurotransmitters, all of which is important to learning, memory and other cognitive functions.

We typically ingest about 130 mg of Phosphatidylserine daily, which is found in meat and vegetables. The additional 200 mg of the soy derivative of PS in IQPLUS Golf Bar can in theory improve your concentration and improve your accuracy off the tee.

IQPLUS Golf Bar Look and Taste
The IQPLUS Golf Bar looks like a smaller version of the TWIX candy bar, but with half the calories (140), and loaded with the right blend of carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, and minerals.The silky smooth chocolate exterior covers the semi-soft interior which has subtle cappuccino like taste. After eating there is a very faint aftertaste of the Chococcino flavor left on your palate, which isn’t chemically tasting. Overall, the taste and texture will appeal to most people.

Performance
Can eating the IQPLUS Golf Bar increase your concentration levels and improve your accuracy? That’s what I set out to find out. I would eat one bar prior to going to the driving range or a round of golf (twice a week) over a period of 6 weeks. And the results were inconclusive. I found that eating the IQPLUS Golf Bar didn’t make any significant improvement in my accuracy off the tee or concentration level during my test period. Keep in mind that I didn’t eat the bar daily, like in the clinical study mentioned earlier. Even if I did, I’m not sure it would make a difference in improving my concentration or accuracy.

Does this mean that you shouldn’t buy an IQPLUS Golf Bar? Not at all. I think they are some good benefits to eating the bar as a snack during your round of golf or any physical activity. The bar was formulated by a sports nutritionist, so their is a good balance carbohydrates to fat to protein ratio- providing a steady supply of energy. Everyone knows that you need energy when you make the turn on your favorite golf course, and the IQPLUS Golf Bar does deliver in that regard.

It’s one of the reasons the IQPLUS Golf Bar is the “Preferred Nutrition Bar” of the PGA Center for Golf Learning and Performance, and The PGA Village, Port St. Lucie, Florida. And endorsed by LPGA golfer Stacy Lewis.

Overall, I think the IQPLUS Golf Bar is good alternative to your typical protein bar and provides a good supply of energy during your round.

IQPLUS Golf Bar $29.98 for a dozen 1.2 ounce bars.

2010 was a great year in golf, with the European’s dominating all but, one of golf’s four Majors, the rise of young stars like rookie of the year Rickie Fowler, and Tiger Woods return to golf. What does 2011 have in store for golf? Here are my predictions for 2011 in no particular order.

1. Paul Casey will win a golf tournament after coming up short several times in 2010.  For a golfer with so much talent, he’s only won once on Tour-2009 Houston Open, but multiple times in Europe. Other notables include fellow countryman Luke Donald.
2. The golf industry will go through another round of consolidation. Titleist will be acquired by an Asian golf company and Scotty Cameron by Nike Golf.
3. White is the new black, as more golf companies start producing white golf clubs. Im hoping this is just a trend.
4. Tiger Woods will become the World’s Number One golfer again, and return to being a dominant golfer. With his new swing and all his personal problems behind him, 2011 should be the year of the Tiger.
5. Rickie Fowler will have a breakout year, winning at least twice in 2011. The young golfer with his bright and colorful golf attire, proved he has what it takes to play on the PGA Tour, especially with the poise he showed during his singles match at the Ryder Cup. Others to watch include Rory McIlroy.
6. Matt Kuchar will win one of the four Majors in 2011. The consistent ball striker, money leader, and numerous top 10 finishes, he’s destined to win big. Don’t count out Steve Stricker and Ian Poulter.
7. U.S. women  will be more dominant on the LPGA Tour, with Paula Creamer and Cristie Kerr leading the way.
8. The PGA Tour will simplify the FedEx Cup points system, so you don’t need to be an actuary to figure out who will be the winner.

What do you think? Sound off in the comments.

Happy New Year!

Have you ever wondered if a professional golfer can knock a clay pigeon out of the sky with golf ball? Or skip a golf ball across a lake and hit mini-gong 200 yards away? If you answered, Yes! You’re in luck, because the European Tour has a channel on YouTube called See Every Shot Imaginable.

Clay Pigeon Shooting with a Golf Ball

The Clay Pigeon Golf Shot, takes place in the desert of Dubai and features Thongchai Jaidee, David Horsey, Johan Edfors, and Simon Kahn battling it out to see who can knock a clay pigeon out of the sky with a golf ball, instead of a shotgun. Talk about bird away.

Skipping Rocks Re-Imagined

Gap of Dunloe, Killarney Ireland-European Tour players David Howell, Paul McGinley, Marcel Siem and Rhys Davies attempt to skim a golf ball 200 yards across the lake and try to hit a 9 inch mini-gong. Easier than skipping rocks? Watch the video to find out.

See Every Shot Imaginable

I want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year (and any other holiday you celebrate)! Thank you for making 2010 another successful year at Sandbox8.com.

I would also like to give a quick shout out to to all the golf companies, who give me access to the latest equipment, golf products, and players. Without their support, we wouldn’t be able to provide you the latest news and product reviews.

My Question to You
What do you want to see more of in 2011? What will keep you coming back?

Happy Holidays!