This Week at TravelGolf.com: Jan. 23, 2007

TravelGolf.com: We'll be real golfers' eyes at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando

The annual Golf Gizmo and Schmooze Fest starts this week in Orlando.

Better known as the 2007 PGA Merchandise Show, which they're calling the "world's largest golf exhibition," it takes place Jan. 25-27 at the Orange County Convention Center.

We will have a heavy presence there, including myself, Senior Writer Chris Baldwin and Brandon Tucker, our man in Europe who's making a brief homecoming to the States for the lollapalooza.

We'll be providing live coverage, filing daily blogs and podcasts about all the happenings on the exhibition floor and at demo day ranges, conducting interviews, reporting on product launches, closed-door meetings, celebrity and babe-a-licious sightings, and anything else we think might be of interest to discerning and not-so-discerning golfers.

If you're a golfer, you know the sport attracts at least as many charlatans and snake oil salesmen as the used-car industry or both houses of Congress. This is probably because of the combination of golf's demographics (rich and white) with and the average golfer's ability (sucks mule eggs).

So we'll try to separate the wheat from the chaff. But I must tell you that already I've seen advance word of a few gizmos that have caught my eye, like the "Five-hour energy drink" for golfers ("hours of energy – no crash later"), the 4-in-1 golf club system for travelers, a "wearable voice and audio GPS system" in a hat, and a revolving golf bag.

And I won't even mention the "FREE individualized brain activation assessment," which promises "Olympian confidence."

Along with the periphery of the golf industry, of course, there will be product launches of the big manufacturers such as Callaway Golf, Nike, TaylorMade, et al. Drivers, irons, putters and clothes, all on display.

The Show has been shortened in days but lengthened in hours and will have the usual share of cocktail parties and glad-handing press conferences. Rest assured, our hardworking writers will skip these. Instead, we'll be keying in on products that are relevant to you (though we reserve the right to stow our flasks in our new, cutting-edge golf wear).

Look for our coverage to begin Wednesday.

As always, TravelGolf.com welcomes your comments.

New ownership group
aquires the WorldGolf.com
network of golf, travel sites

A group of investors has announced its purchase of the WorldGolf.com network of golf and travel-related Web sites, which includes TravelGolf.com, WorldGolf.com, MyrtleBeachGolf.com, LasVegasGolf.com, GolfInstruction.com and many more. The investor group, which will conduct business as WorldGolf.com LLC, includes professionals with more than 100 years combined experience in golf, travel, marketing and Web-based industries. "The chance to purchase the Internet's most visited network of golf and travel Web sites was an opportunity we could not pass up," said David Brittain, lead investor with WorldGolf.com LLC.

Also: Hear the 'TravelGolf.com This Week' podcast

The best golf resorts
in golf-mad Arizona: A
tale of Western wonders

The golf resort wasn't invented in Arizona but it might have been perfected there. There are more AAA Five Diamond resorts in Scottsdale than in any U.S. city, save New York. And it seems like every hotel in this desert state is boasting about its plush digs, wonderful spas and unbelievable golf. You need something to break through the clutter of competing claims, so TravelGolf.com combed the state to find the best of the best in Arizona golf resorts.

Also: Teen reader has raves for Scottsdale's We-Ko-Pa

Frank Thomas, longtime USGA
gear guru, out to simplify the
the mysteries of golf technology

It's difficult to find an ally in the ever-saturated and expensive world of golf equipment. For years, it's been former USGA Technical Director Frank Thomas' mission to give consumers an honest helping hand, sorting golf's goods from the junk. In an exclusive interview with TravelGolf.com, Thomas, who started his own golf equipment consulting company called Frankly Golf in 2000, explains how to putt like a pro and why so many golfers are suckers.

Also: Other stuff to do in Orlando during the Show