Happy News from the Bright Golf Company

Last week I posted about the uber-adorable Japanese golf accessory line, Como!Come! and got tons of emails from readers here in the US who instantly fell in love with the colorful creations ... and wanted to get some...STAT! Well, happily I also got an email from The Bright Golf Company. They're the UK golf distributor who carries the Como! line. Their on-line shop is great too. I mentioned them in my post but thought they were UK/Europe only. Well, it turns out they DO in fact ship to the US...and all over the world... at very reasonable expense. So head over to their site for your fix of color and cuteness. You can be sure it won't be long before you see me with mine.

Golf Girl Gifted With Hi-bore Driver

As you may have noticed, I've been pining for a new driver for several months now, But what you probably don't know is that when I pine, it's extremely annoying for those around me. I debate the pros and cons of the lusted-for item endlessly, in minute detail. I'd also been borrowing Nick's Hi-bore driver constantly quite regularly, and frequently occasionally I would even return it to my bag instead of his...by mistake, of course.

Well it looks like Nick finally got fed up with my ongoing monologue and his disappearing driver, because yesterday, as we were having drinks after a cold blustery round at Ridgewood Country Club, a W-Series HiBORE™ XL Driver was delivered to me at our table. Now everyone just assumed Nick had misbehaved and was trying to make some points with me, and who knows perhaps that's true. If it is...it worked.

More about my new driver in the coming weeks. Can't wait to play with it...and now I can start pining for something else...the W-Series HiBORE™ Hybrid for example.

Corona Golf Girls

This golf girl is the defending champion at the Corona Championship in Morelia,Mexico.

If Lorena Ochoa wins it'll be her first successful title defense and her first victory as the No. 1 of women's golf.

(I just love her Mexican flag putter grip!)








This golf girl is currently in the lead at the 2007 Corona Championship in Morelia,Mexico.

Amazing Stacy Prammanasudh shot a 6-under-par 67 yesterday to take a one-shot lead after the first round.




This golf girl drinks Corona at Down the Hatch in Brookfield, CT.

In the summer Patricia Hannigan spends many apres-golf afternoons drinking Corona at this popular lakeside watering hole. (...and that's as close as I'll ever come to being a Corona Golf Girl.)

There's a New Golf Girl in Town

...and she's a blogger too! She's the Fairway Flapper and she's been golf blogging since the beginning of the month. I discovered her blog yesterday during work during a break from work, and read it from start to finish. She blogs about golf shopping, golf celebrities and golf news. Her graphics are cute and her content is rendered in the unique voice of a dainty, refined lady who's ready to pick up her clubs and play with the boys. So check out Fairway Flapper and meet a new Golf Girl.

Another Athletic Annika S.

Currently, our Annika S. is busy off course, opening her first Annika Academy, and working with physical therapists on her back injury. She's determined to be healthy enough, come June, to defend her U.S. Women's Open title at at Pine Needles. Her doctors told her last week that she had already improved by 50-60%. That's great news for Annika... and for those of us who love to watch her play.

But...there's another sporty Swedish Annika S. on the scene, and she's finding success in a decidedly different domain. She's Annika Svedman and she's the "babe of the day" on gaming supersite, ign.com.








Surfing seems to be the preferred sport of this Annika S. but actually, she's an actress/model by profession. She certainly looks athletic though, and it makes one wonder whats going on way up there in Sweden to produce so many fine physical specimens. Wow.

Kawaii Golf - Wonderful Things from Japan (updated)

My JapanObsession continues.

See the thing is, I love cute stuff, and nowhere is cute more coveted than Japan. In fact, in Japan cute is a national obsession. There's even a Japanese word for this collective culture of cuteness. It's "Kawaii" (Ka-wuh-EEH) meaning love for all that's cute. OK, occasionally they go a little overboard, but for those like me, with a really high cuteness threshold, that's a rare occurrence, and not one to worry about.


So anyway, recently I was perusing the Golf Punk website, (which I'm wont to do of a lonely Saturday night) and I came upon something that made me really happy joyous ecstatic. In their blog was a post about The Bright Golf Company,UK marketer and distributor of "the coolest gear in golf". They represent and distribute several really interesting and innovative companies, but the one that caught my eye, for reasons that will soon be obvious, was Japanese manufacturer Como!Come! (I know, cute Japanese-y name too, right?) So anyway, their core product is putter covers. And these putter covers actually go way beyond cute. They're adorable! Festooned with jelly beans, teddy bears, darling little gender-neutral Kewpie dolls and baby sumo wrestlers...in an orgy of Japanese candy colors...with names like Red Riding Hood and Cherry Blossom and Rebecca Bon Bon.







But wait a minute, This line is not for girls only. There are awesome styles for guys too. Even fierce manly guys!

In addition to their putter covers which come in special sizes for different types of both blade and mallet putters, they've got coordinating head covers and capclip markers and apparel items ...and their golf bags are way on the other side of awesome.

They've even got this very unique little gizmo called baby tail. It clips to your putter cover to your bag or back pocket. The one problem I encountered was ordering. Bright Day only serves the UK and Europe as far as I could see and the Como!Come! online shop is pretty much exclusively in Japanese.

But when I really want something I usually end up getting it, so I'm confident I'll find away to get my share of Como cutness. And when I do you'll be the first to know. Update: The Bright Golf Company ships worldwide so order your fix of Como! cuteness at their on-line shop.

What does GOLF actually mean?

Golf - A sport that was is interesting enough to have a category on urbandictionary.com.

In fact, there are actually 32 different definitions of golf on urbandictionary.com. The above is among the... cleanest.

OK, I knew that Golf was a car made by Volkswagen, but did you know that Golf means the act of having sex? Yep. It also means marijuana. And lots of other stuff.

The things you learn on the internet. Pretty amazing

Revealing Responses from The Golf Girl Sex Survey

Note: A couple of readers have told me they're having trouble seeing some of the responses...that is: the images are not appearing. I apologize for this and I'm in the process of trying to figure out why it's happening. All of the images are JPEGs, so I don't know what's up. Will try to resolve it ASAP.

I know...it's been almost a month since the Golf Girl Sex Survey. As I told you earlier, the response was great...so great in fact, that it's taking me a bit longer than I anticipated to get my arms around it (so to speak) and summarize the wealth of feedback and opinions. One of the most fascinating aspects of the survey results were the comments...which were copious and clever and often quite candid.

I hope to have the full summary for you by the end of the month but In the meantime, I thought it might be fun to share just a few of the comments I got from the golf girls and golf guys who participated. Girls are pink, guys are blue, obvs:

According to one golf girl, guys on the golf course can be a bit... scary:








One golf guy had a novel idea for fitting golf into his busy life:










There were varying opinions on the calendar controversy:








And rants on sexist tee times. He gets it, and isn't afraid to say so:








A golf girl expressed her enthusiasm for the joys of golf... & sex:















While this frank and thoughful view was expressed on how men react to women on the course:





A girl weighs in on playing with an unattractive, excellent golfer vs. a sexy, bad golfer:














What one guy... thinks girls think... about guys on the course:












A girl who feels guys take it too seriously, says:
















One guy wonders if he's weird:






A girl reminds guys that when presented with a sexy Caddy Chick there are options:











The concept of Caddy Chicks didn't bother everyone however:











One girl suggested an interesting alternative to girls playing PGA events:
















Guys are not going to be receptive to all girl golfers:













There was some anecdotal evidence that golf dating sites work:






...and finally one more comment. A rather pragmatic view of playing with the sexy, bad golfer vs. the unattractive excellent golfer. I've got to say it makes sense:








So, I hope this wets your appetite, because there's a lot more where that came from, and I'll be laying it all out very soon.

Le French Golfer and Le Daly Disaster

Right now it looks like French golfer Raphaël Jacquelin might soon be kissing another cup as he leads at the BMW Asian Open. He's currently got a three-stroke lead over Lee Sung of South Korea after the second round. 2005 champion Ernie Els is seven off.

Meanwhile, disaster struck Daly as Long John missed the cut today. Disaster not so much for JD himself, as for his sponsors, who paid him an undisclosed appearance fee in the hope he would attract huge crowds. In the end, John seemed almost indifferent, explaining that "...the golf course doesn't suit a guy who hits it long," and adding, "It's one of those courses where you have got to go out and hit four and three irons... that's just not any fun for me." - OK, I can relate, I hate three and four irons too, but I never rarely get paid an appearance fee. - To add insult to injury insolence, Daly four putted on the second to last hole, when he carelessly knocked a one-inch tap-in five-feet past it and later quipped, "It didn't really matter then. I was out of it anyway" Not the attitude the sponsors generally hope for in such circumstances, I would guess.

But back to Raphaël. He's been playing really well of late, in fact, he got to this same stage last week at the Volvo Open, only to have a weekend meltdown. I'm hoping he'll pull this one off. As you may know, Nick, my caddy/photographer/husband is French so I'm a bit partial to those who wear the blue, blanc, rouge. Check out Rapha's site to get a little glimpse into the world of a French golfer. Like me, it seems he enjoys Côtes du Rhône and it's très cool to seem him hitting golf balls in front of the Eifel Tower.

The Beautification of Coastal New England

In true golf blogger fashion, I'll take any opportunity I can get to post a photo of Natalie Gulbis in a bikini. Now that I've made that clear, the context here is that, for the first time...ever...there'll be a women's team competing in the CVS Charity Classic, and Natalie will be half of it. The extraordinary Julie Inkster will be the other half... and together they'll be a force to be reckoned with at the Rhode Island Country Club in June. Newly minted Masters Champion, Zach Johnson will also be there as will my fellow Connecticutian (and Ryder Cup team member), J.J. Henry. Gregarious Lee Trevino will provide the legend factor and young fashion-forward internationals, Jesper Parnevik and Camilo Villegas will make sure there's plenty of style on the scene. There'll be tons of other great players too and the venue is simply gorgeous. Costal Rhode Island is an area I know well, I'm there every couple of weekends during summer. Needless to say, I've already made plans to be there this year on June 17.

Aging Golf Guys - JD inspired by VJ

As the pros head east to Shanghai for the BMW Asian Open, an optimistic, and seemingly re-energized, John Daly declared that he would be taking his inspiration from Vijay Singh from now on. Looking towards his 41st birthday on April 28, the troubled golf star sited the fact that Vijay had "won 28 times in the four or five years since he turned 40".

Well, there's nothing wrong with being inspired by Vijay Singh, but his legendary work ethic implies torturous workouts and endless hours of practice. Does that sound like a lifestyle John could embrace? Frankly, I don't see it... any more than I see Vijay writing country songs and making albums with Willie Nelson. As unrealistic as it seems though I think it's a good sign that JD is not giving up on golf. We'll just see how he does over in Shanghai this week.

...And who knows, maybe in twenty five years or so, when Vij has given up golf, he'll take up country music. With his unrelenting tenacity Vijay Singh would probably become Vijay Sing and he'd probably win a Grammy.

Sexy Back Singer is Mobbed at Carnoustie

I've written about Justin Timberlake here before, and the response hasn't always been good. In fact, to quote Golfchick, a fellow golf blogger and GGD reader, "The kid's got as much sex appeal as a Q-Tip".

Well it seems he still has plenty of loyal and lustful fans across the pond, because couple of days ago, as J.T. was over in Scotland trying to enjoy a relaxing round at Carnoustie, he was mobbed by dozens of young fans, mainly adolecent girls. (yeah, who'd a thought there'd be adolescent girls hanging out at Carnoustie by the dozen, right)?

A spokesman for for the fabled course said (presumabley in a thick Scottish accent), "With it being a public course, there was no way of keeping fans away from them like you could at a private course." he might have added, "...and anyway, that's what you get when you try to bring sexy back."

In the end, there was no word on how Mr. Timberlake played, but it seems the studly singer happily signed autographs and chatted with his golfstruck fans.

Golf Girl's Monday Funnys

Mondays can be pretty crappy unpleasant. I think we all agree on that. So I thought I'd start this one off with something light...An original Golf Girl cartoon! It illustrates a few of the inappropriate swing thoughts that frequently occasionally plague me.





















1.Equipment Lust. In the middle of my back swing it occurs to me that I'd be hitting much better (longer, straighter)if only I had that driver I'm lusting for.















2.Golferazzi Distraction. As I begin my downswing I become aware of Nick snapping photos of me (because I ordered asked him to)















3.Wardrobe Worries. As my club is about to make contact with the ball I'm struck by the realization that the skirt I'm wearing is just a bit too short and a wardrobe malfunction is imminent. This usually results in my reining in my swing to such an extent that I miss the ball entirely.










4.Anatidaephobia. The fear that somewhere, somehow, a duck is watching me.

Saturday Night in Golf Girl World

Nick and I played a cold and blustery round at beautiful Richter Park today. Wearing lots of layers, we braved the windswept fairways and rolled our putts on stark, gusty greens. The course was in fairly good shape, considering that nature is still largely dormant here in CT. The scattered, barely blooming crocuses are the sole sign of spring as yet. It's late this year. Easter's come and gone and there's not a single bud or blossom on any of our trees. The upside of this extended winter is the absence of a crowd. A crowd that would surely have been near capacity had the day been balmy and springlike. That'll come soon enough, so for today we just enjoyed the solitude and the still sleeping nature.

News Flash: it looks like I won't have to be my own photographer anymore. Yes, Nick has his old job back. He promised to be more cooperative if I promised to be less of a demanding, difficult bitch diva. So, we're going to give it another try. Many thanks to all who graciously inquired about this (Nick would say, "thankless") job. Now I've got to get Monsieur working on the Golf Girl Swimsuit Blog.











Tomorrow, Sunday, I'll be finishing my report on the compelling results from last month's Golf Girl Sex Survey...be sure to check here on Monday for the full story.

And speaking of surveys, I urge you to participate in an excellent one taking place now at Business Golf. Business Golf is an engaging, always on-topic blog that focuses on Golf for Business. The brief survey (only 10 questions) will explore the ways in which we play, or would like to play, golf for business. Definitely an interesting an useful topic for many of us. So go weigh in, the more participation there is, the more illuminating the data will be.

So, here I am at home on a Saturday night, writing. I'm kind of exhausted, in a good way, from that blustery round, and I'm really glad I played today, because at this moment a major nor'easter is bearing down on New England. Massive amounts of rain, and high winds are expected and flood warnings are in effect. Yes, I can definitely feel my SoCal golfer friends gloating right now. They just don't understand all the good things about living here in New England. Sometimes, neither do I.

Fairway Feline - Hello Kitty

I guess it had to happen eventually.

I saw my first Hello Kitty golf bag today. I had heard about them, but hardly believed they existed. Well, maybe in the furthest reaches of the far east, in cartoon friendly places like Tokyo or Seoul or Taipai, but surely, I thought, they'd never make it out of quarantine here in the US...would they? Well, this one did. It was the pinkest golf bag I'd ever seen. (and I've seen lots of pink golf bags) There were pink club covers too, like in the photo above, and each one bore the image of the annoying mouthless feline who's become the global symbol of girly cuteness.

To make a long story short I'll probably be seeing quite a bit of the bilious bag this summer because... guess what? I became practically best friends with it's adorable owner, Mila, a Russian beauty who plays golf at almost the same pathetic level as I do. Turns out Mila fell in love with Hello Kitty (and with a vacationing retiree from Hartford) in Hong Kong, where she worked as a pole nightclub dancer. Now she lives here in CT with her Hartford Honey, and has been desperately seeking a golf buddy.

On an ominous note, as we were leaving the range Mila hinted that she was looking for additional items of Hello Kitty golf gear. That concerned me. And when I got back to my office I did a quick search. Turns out I had reason to worry:












I found Hello Kitty golf balls.







...and ball markers... In Japan they even have Hello Kitty Cars.










...and how about...A Hello Kitty Airline! Yes, it really exists.

But let's not even go there. This summer I'm just going to do everything in my power to ignore the cloying cuteness of it all and concentrate on improving my golf game. The alternative being a summer in Hello Kitty Hell.

Has Anyone Played Pangya?

Yes, Pangya...the Korean on-line fantasy golf game.

I don't know much about it myself, and I'm trying to decide if it's worth downloading. Pangya is described as ..."a casual golf game that takes difficult rules of golf and transforms them into cute and easy to understand format so that everyone can enjoy it together." Doesn't that sound like fun? And I'm thinking it might be just the game for me because supposedly, ..."this is the game for those who didn't fit in with the "gaming" crowd". And I've got to admit I didn't...don't. In fact except for a brief and guilt ridden addiction to Grand Theft Auto that I developed when my nephew was over from France, I've never done games much. But considering my love for golf combined with my fascination for all things Korean I'm thinking this might be kind of fun. So if anyone's played Pangya...let me know what you think.









Oooooh yes. Looks fun!