Blog.WinGolfer.com

15th Annual TEC L.A. Open Slated For May 17th
Some of the world’s most renowned music producers and engineers, along with professionals from the pro audio industry’s leading production facilities, manufacturers, and distributors will converge for the 15th Annual TEC L.A. Open, to be held Monday, May 17, at the Malibu Country Club. Returning as Honorary Chairman is famed recording engineer Al Schmitt, a member of the TEC Awards© Hall of Fame …

Read more on Harmony Central

A bank that received $1.6 billion in bailout money just spent a fortune last week in L.A. hosting a series of lavish parties and concerts with famous singers … and TMZ cameras caught it all.

Northern Trust, a Chicago-based bank, sponsored the Northern Trust Open at the Riviera Country Club in L.A. We’re told Northern Trust paid millions to sponsor the PGA event which ended Sunday, but what happened off the golf course is even more shocking.

Northern Trust flew hundreds of clients and employees to L.A. and put many of them up at some of the fanciest and priciest hotels in the city. We’re told more than a hundred people were put up at the Beverly Wilshire in Bev Hills, and another hundred stayed at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel. Still more stayed at the Ritz Carlton in Marina Del Rey and others at Casa Del Mar in Santa Monica.

Here are the highlights:
- Wednesday, Northern Trust hosted a fancy dinner at the Ritz followed by a performance by the group Chicago.

- Thursday, Northern Trust rented a private hangar at the Santa Monica Airport for dinner, followed by a performance by Earth, Wind & Fire.

- Saturday, Northern Trust had the entire House of Blues in West Hollywood shut down for its private party. We got the menu — guests dined on seared salmon and petite Angus filet. Dinner was followed by a performance by none other than Sheryl Crow.

There was also a fabulous cocktail party at the Loews. And how’s this for a nice touch — female guests at the Chicago concert all got trinkets from….TIFFANY AND CO.

As for what all that costs, well the company isn’t talking. We spoke with a rep from the band Chicago who said Northern Trust paid them around $100,000. A House of Blues source told us it cost more than $50,000 to close the joint down last Saturday night. As for Sheryl Crow’s fee, her rep didn’t get back to us. Earth, Wind & Fire acknowledges payment but won’t say how much.

As for the golf tournament, a rep from the PGA told us Northern Trust wrote one big fat check in order to sponsor the event. That check covers part of the $6.3 million purse, the advertising costs for the spots on CBS (which broadcast the final two rounds of the tournament) and operating costs. The rep says the fee was negotiated and is confidential.

Lots of people from Northern Trust went to the golf tourney … in special Mercedes that shuttled them to and from the hotels. But for those who weren’t into golfing, they could spend a few hours at the Northern Trust seminar on the credit crunch.

Now how’s this for outrage? Northern Trust laid off 450 workers in December, 4% of its workforce.

Here’s what’s absolutely amazing — the United States Government flat out gave Northern Trust the $1.6 billion in bailout money, and the bank didn’t even request it!

Northern Trust gave us a statement yesterday before going total radio silence. A rep for the bank acknowledges they paid for the events, but that the bailout money did not pay for the events. He claims it was paid out of the bank’s operating expenses. Here’s Northern Trust’s full statement to us.

Perhaps we’re missing something, but money is money. How can they spend like this when they’re using taxpayer’s money, whether they asked for it or not? And where the hell is Congress in all of this? Is there any oversight or accountability?

Your tax dollars, hard at work. Thomas Jefferson was right — “A little rebellion now and then is a good thing.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THIS?

http://www.tmz.com/2009/02/24/northern-trust-bank-bailout/2#comments

La Cala Golf Resort is the biggest golfing area in Spain and offers three completely different courses. The whole area offers some stunning views and unlikely some courses the area around has not been over built. Even the clubhouse and Resort Hotel look comfortable among the green fairways that stretch out in all directions through the valleys and across the mountains.

La Cala North is now called Campo America and the greens are elevated in the American style making accuracy important on the approach shot. The course is a long par 73 where the fairways are wide (even wider as many are joined) and well maintained.

Hole 1 starts with downhill tee shot to a wide fairway area and then dog legs to the right. There are fairway bunkers but are generally out of reach from the back tees. The green is long and narrow and has bunkers protecting it.

Hole 5 is short and tricky from start to finish, with a dog leg to the right, so cut the corner as much as you can or play safe up the middle. The short uphill second shot needs accuracy as the green is narrow and terraced and despite no bunkers the wind can have an effect.

Hole 9 is a dramatic double dog leg and is the type of hole the you must try hard not to be tempted into cutting corners or carrying too much as its further than you think, however, reaching the green in two is a thrill. The green has a mass of bunkers to the left front and back and the lake further left.

Hole 11 is the longest par 3 at 200 meters and is a downhill tee shot to an open green with a slight rise at the front to stop a week shot and a bank at the back to encourage an extra club. There is one bunker on the right but lots of room on the left.

Hole 14 has a zig zag feel to it due to the cutting of the fairway, positioning of the bunkers and contour of the land. There is a downhill drive then up to the elevated undulating green which has out of bounds behind it.

Hole 16 is a short and dramatic hole where there is a lake to the front right and bunkers on the left. Club selection is vital and made difficult with the obstacles and the wind on occasions.

Hole 18 is a fantastic finishing par 5 hole which from an elevated tee the fairway dog legs downhill to the left. On the left corner of the turn bunkers and pine rough are positioned to discourage long hitters and the green is elevated and contoured.

La Cala Campo America is a must play course when visiting the Costa del Sol, and I highly recommend the whole of the La Cala Resort.

If you wish to play Golf Courses of the Costa del Sol then let www.sungolfer.com help you.

Always enjoy your golf.

Regards,

Sungolfer - The Perfect Round of Golf

Agreed, online shopping is the in-thing. Almost everyone and their caddy are clicking away online. Websites offer lucrative deals and all sorts of unimaginable variety of golf accessories.

Let’s face it, shopping for golf accessories cannot be made more fun or more simple than clicking a button.

But watch out, sitting at home and shopping with such ease can also be dangerous. Your credit card details can fall in the wrong hands and unknown strangers can use those details to run up humungous bills.

Spurious websites also sell your personal details to other companies who then badger you with unwanted phone calls, unsolicited emails, flyers, brochures, and what-have-yous.

Some sites even insert malicious code on your computer, known as a virus, which then secretly captures and sends information like your bank passwords to hackers, etc.

In order to avoid these dangers, just take simple precautionary steps when you shop online for your golf accessories

- only shop at websites which are well-known and popular like eBay

- regardless of the ‘great deal’ or the ‘fabulous offer’ avoid visiting unknown websites

- Look for the padlock on the bottom right of your browser. This indicates that the site is relatively safe

- Always use the best anti-virus and anti-spy ware like Norton which gets rid of malicious code installed on your PC

- Close your browser immediately if you see any suspicious activity at a website

Such simple measures will help you shop online for your golf accessories in relative peace and security.

A golf cart is as precious to a serious golfer as a car or a cell phone or any other gadget is to other men. Initially, when people buy a golf cart, it’s usually pretty basic, without too many frills and features.

However, they keep upgrading it and adding customizations and individualizing it so that it becomes more a personal style statement than a mere golf accessory.

People fortunate enough to own their personal golf cart usually begin by upgrading the seats. Not only can you make the seats plush and comfortable by embellishing them with high density foam, you can top it off with faux or genuine leather upholstery.

Style the wheel rims, the bumper, and even the steering wheel. Flashy golf carts sport a ‘theme’ or a ‘look’. You might see dark varnished wood all over the cart or even a shiny chrome finish that sparkles when it catches the sun rays.

Work out a theme according to your budget and your personal preferences. But beware of going overboard, you don’t want screech your style statement, do you

Don’t know where to begin Inquire at your local car repair shops if they might be willing to work on your golf cart body. A low-cost quickie to get you started can consist of a ready-made body kit or a simple paint job.

Check out online sites and research on Google for more ideas. If you feel like splurging, hire a pro who can add a professional touch to your style statement.

Other than hiring expensive tutors, golf pros use many other tricks in order to improve their game. Rigorous and regular practice is, of course, an obvious tactic.

However, most pros will also exploit their golf accessories in many which ways. If you do the same, it will help improve your game and reduce your handicap as well.

Many pros will attach golf weights to the ends of their clubs. Then they practice their slow swings with the additional weights. This offers 3 distinct benefits –

One, they can quickly develop the correct set of muscles due to the additional resistance.

Second, the extra weights add some zing to their regular training and helps in boosting motivation levels. This in turn, allows the pros to come to the greens and practice regularly, without fail.

And third, it allows them to use the lighter clubs with greater power and accuracy so that their long shots cover a respectable distance with unerring precision.

Pros will also invest a bit of money in another critical accessory – a putting green. This allows them to practice everyday, often, twice a day.

They also prefer using the same putter and same balls that they might use on the golfing green for better control. Pros also watch other pros putting and swinging.

So feel free to rent, buy, download, or borrow instructional DVDs or VHSs. If you watch other pros then it might help you develop better swings which might help shave a few critical points off your total score.

Here is a quick check-list of the “It” golf accessories that are must-haves. See if you have them in your golf cart, and if you don’t, put them right on top of your shopping list for golf accessories.

For rookies who keep losing their balls or golfers who cannot keep track of the balls they have hit, this is a god-send. People buy different types and brands of glasses that can keep the golf ball outlined against the grass.

These glasses remove light emitting from non-ball objects so that the only visible object in your line of vision is the errant ball.

Putting greens that throw balls your way and provide inputs on your strokes are must-haves with serious golfers. You may have thought that tees have become as sophisticated as possible but a new version is out these days.

This tee comes with a top surface that is made from a brush-like material. This prevents the tee from being ripped out or damaged because your club merely brushes past it instead of impacting it hard.

And the hi-tech golfers all use the scorekeeper which looks a bit like the GameBoy but it keeps score and does all the mathematical calculations for them.

And how about a golf wristwatch which displays your handicap And ever thought about re-using your golf balls by cleaning them professionally with a golf ball cleanser

Is your head already spinning and your mouth drooling Well, keep drooling because there are probably more sophisticated golf accessories hitting the market even as you read this article…