Almost everyone knows that
Gene Sarazen invented the sand wedge. Not many are familiar with another ``trap''
product he endorsed -- U.S. Trap-Shells in 1923.
Sam Snead was a pitch man
for two brands of cigarettes, even though he never smoked. Arnold Palmer never
endorsed a product he didn't use. That included Arneson's Pool Sweep, which built
its campaign around the slogan, ``Arnie's Navy.''
Alistair Johnston didn't
even bother with golf products when he put together a fascinating coffee table
book that illustrates how the appeal of golfers has been used to sell products
ranging from aspirin to underwear, from peanut butter to lawn mowers.
The title of the book --
``From Vardon to Woods: A Pictorial History of Golfers in Advertising'' -- gives
a good idea how long golfers have been taking advantage of their fame.
Johnston, a leading historian
and head of worldwide golf operations for IMG, used nearly 500 reproductions
of original ads to build a rich history of golf and advertising. It starts with
Harry Vardon pushing Bell-cap-sic Plasters in 1900, a remedy for aches and pains.
It concludes with the popular ``I am Tiger Woods'' ad by Nike.
``Golfers are pretty good
spokesmen because they have the benefit of being golfers,'' Johnston said. ``They
automatically give you an instant impact of respect and credibility.''
While golf has undergone
one equipment revolution after another since the turn of the century, the concept
behind a player's appeal has remained. Winning a major championship is almost
always an instant ticket to advertising dollars.
One aspect that has changed,
Johnston says, is that nearly every player uses the product they put their names
behind, either because of moral obligation or because it is required in their
contract. That wasn't the case -- as Snead's cigarette ads can attest -- until
the 1960s.
Johnston found a majority
of the ads in non-traditional golf publications, such as Life and the Saturday
Evening Post.
``A lot of people never
have seen these ads,'' he said.
They still won't see the
ad that Johnston found after the book went to press -- one of Snead, endorsing
an anti-smoking pill. Not to worry.
``I probably have enough
material for another book,'' Johnston said<
BORLAND COURSE
Bruce Borland, an associate
for Jack Nicklaus Design who was among those killed when Payne Stewart's plane
crashed Oct. 25 in South Dakota, was scheduled to go to Illinois the next day
to continue work on his only signature course.
Coyote Creek Golf Club,
located about five miles outside Borland's hometown of Peoria, has not been abandoned.
Chris Cochran, who shared
an office with Borland at Nicklaus Design, and Rick Jacobson, who worked with
them at Nicklaus Design before starting his own firm in Illinois, have agreed
to donate their services to make sure Borland's dream of building an upscale
daily fee course near his hometown is realized.
Borland had planned to donate
his entire design fee to the Palm Beach Community Church in Palm Beach Gardens,
Fla. By working without compensation, Cochran and Jacobson have ensured the church
will receive the full amount.
``Everybody involved ...
is highly motivated to finish the project,'' Cochran said.<
WORLD WIDE WEBB
Karrie Webb's biggest hassle
these days is trying to figure out how to transfer dozens of video files from
her laptop to a new computer.
This is an important task
because Webb's only coach, Kelvin Haller, lives in Australia and teaches her
through videos of her swing that she sends via e-mail.
``It's not like I can afford
to lose any files, because they're of my swing,'' she said. ``I'm trying to get
that done.''
One reason why Webb managed
to maintain such a high level of play was the computer coaching. Once Haller
has the images, they get on the phone and compare swings throughout the year.
``I can have four swings
up at one time,'' she said. ``I play them back and can see the difference straight
away. It's great when you can see two swings at once.''
TRIVIA TIME
How did Tiger Woods link
himself in 1999 to the names of Harry Vardon, Gene Sarazen, Byron Nelson, Gary
Player, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus? (Answer below).
JONES AWARD
Barbara McIntire, a two-time
U.S. Women's Amateur champion who played on six Curtis Cups and was twice a Curtis
Cup captain, has received the Bob Jones Award for 2000.
The USGA has presented the
award every year since 1955 for distinguished sportsmanship. McIntire, 64, will
be honored Jan. 22 at the USGA's annual meeting in San Francisco.
``It's terrific when you
receive an award for something you've loved doing your whole life,'' she said.
``If you're a competitor and your record is good, you might expect to be named
to a team. But I don't honestly think anyone expects to win the Bob Jones Award.
It's definitely the most pleasant surprise of my life.''
DIVOTS
Tiger Woods' favorite Christmas
present ever? ``One time my dad and I went and played golf Christmas Day, just
the two of us, and that was pretty cool.'' ... Murray Lott, who caddied for Nick
Faldo in the Australian Open, has left his head pro apprenticeship at Royal Sydney
to caddie for Faldo fulltime. ... Starting next year, players can earn world
ranking points if they finish in the top six on the Asian Tour, Canadian Tour,
Buy.com Tour and the European Challenge Tour. ... Amanda Brynn Mickelson recently
made her television debut with her father, Phil, in an advertising campaign for
Arizona State football. The 7-month-old Mickelson wore diapers with ``ASU'' on
the bottom. ``I can tell she's already got that Sun Devils' spirit,'' Mickelson
said. ... The Michelob Championship at Kingsmill has increased its purse by $300,000
to $2.8 million.
TRIVIA ANSWER
Woods won trophies named
after all of those players -- Vardon Trophy (PGA of America honor for scoring),
Nelson Award (PGA Tour scoring title), Sarazen Trophy (American Express Championship),
Player Trophy (NEC Invitational), Palmer Award (money title) and Nicklaus Award
(player of the year).
FINAL WORD
``Just make sure you let
them know I'm not endorsing it.'' -- Karrie Webb, asked for her autograph inside
a book titled, ``How to Cheat in Golf.''
