3rd Annual GolfTown Invitational Returns

The 2009 GolfTown Invitational is all set. In a teleconference today with Ryan Brown, Director of Marketing, GolfTown and Scott Reid, Managing Director of Callaway Canada, they announced that the headliners for the event will be PGA Tour pros J.J. Henry and Ernie Els (left). Henry (photo below, left) also joined in on the call.

The special event will again play out at the prestigious Magna GC, north of Toronto - for this season on August 31st. the day will kick-off with a breakfast where participants (it is limited to 20 teams) will get to interact with the pros. That will be followed by a clinic and 9-hole exhibition with Henry and Els. The 18-hole competitive tournament will then take place where players will get to hit a shot with the PGA Tour stars.

Scott Reid says, "Callaway Golf is very excited about this opportunity." "We are excited to help GolfTown continue its tradition of bringing top level tour professionals to Canada for great charitable causes."

Reid also referenced Callaway founder Ely Callaway's commitment to social causes and that this event fits right in with that philosophy. "Both Ernie and J.J. are not just elite-level golfers, but elite-level people as well. Ernie's work with Autistic Youth has been well-documented while J.J.'s Henry House Foundation provides health care and well-being for families in Texas and southern New England."

The charitable beneficiary of this years event will be the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine and their efforts in research into treatments and a cure for Diabetes.

Through their various charities events in their ten years of existence GolfTown has donated more than $2 million to various groups to aid people in the community.

For more information on how you can participate visit www.golftown.com/gti

Monday Mixture

Let's call it a Watson hangover. After the incredible events this past weekend at the Open Championship it is hard to imagine that any story will top Watson's unlikely run at the Championship. In any case, it was incredibly appropriate that Watson was able to challenge like he did at Turnberry.

Following on the heels of that we have a very busy tournament week coming up in our region. While the pros will be battling it at up in Oakville at Glen Abbey for the RBC Canadian Open I am afraid my credentials may go unused due to the wealth of tournament action back here in Eastern Ontario.

Today we have the CPGA Ottawa Zone Summer Open taking place at Eagle Creek. The rest of the week will be filled with the GAO Ontario Junior Girls' Championship at Barcovan, the GAO Ontario Junior Boys' Match Play Championship at Cataraqui, and the week concludes with the finale of the Ottawa Citizen Amateur Championships. And in between we also have the OVGA Ladies' City & District Championship.

On another front I just got word about some equipment news the other day. You don't hear much about new gear at this time of year but I thought this might be interesting to some. There was a story last week on USAToday.com about Lee Trevino (pictured) finding a Bridgestone 330-RX Ball while out playing with friends. He played the ball that is designed to play like a premium ball but works best for less than maxium swing speeds and liked it so much he has signed on to endorse it.

Trevino will star in a new ad for Bridgestone with Fred Couples ; the ad will show up later this week. In other notes from Bridgestone the company will debut a long-awaited new driver this fall along two new sets of irons and some fairway clubs.

Inspiration

I am sure a lot of you have seen this video by now but I thought I would share it with those who have not. If you have ever needed a little inspiration or wanted to know how golf can change a life - this is it.

Simply amazing!

Tournament Time

Yep, it's THAT month. I would love to say that I get to play a lot of golf this month but save for a scramble or two and my club championships (for which I will be woefully under prepared) July always shapes up to be a heavy coverage month. And I am not complaining - golf news and event coverage is the heart of our business at Flagstick and just to be able to see all the great on-course stories play out, often in person, is a real privilege. I just wish more people would come out to witness some of these fine events.

Among this month's schedule there has been a Quebec Major Amateur event, the Alexander of Tunis which is followed up today with the conclusion of the Ottawa Valley Golf Association Junior and Juvenile Championships. Rounding out the week will be the CPGA Ottawa Seniors Championship at Brookstreet Resort and their Marshes course with Sunday bringing the OVGA Men's Intersectionals of which we are now the title sponsor. For next week we roll into the OVGA Ladies Intersectionals, on to the RCGA Future Links Quebec Championship, a couple field days and various local events. The week after that will bring the Ontario Junior Girls Championship at Barcovan, the Ontario Junior Boys' Match Play Championship at Cataraqui and to top it off that week, the RBC Canadian Open up at Glen Abbey.

So forgive me now if the Blog updates are a little spotty this month. You're best to follow me on Twitter; those 140 character updates might just be a little easier to make.

Let's hope your are playing in some of these tournaments - even if I can't be I'll be glad to be talking about the stories you are making.