The Globe and Mail offers an interesting Canadian perspective on the golf slowdown.

2009 promises to be dismal for a golf industry in Canada already hurting after poor summer weather this past season.

“Golf courses will be forced to change what they’re doing,” says Barry Forth, general manager of Copetown Woods Golf Club outside Hamilton. “They can’t be expecting people to pay full price to play golf in four and a half hours any more.”

Canadians are among the world’s most avid golfers, with about 21.5 per cent playing at least once a year and spending about $13-billion on the game, according to a 2006 Ipsos-Reid study conducted for the Royal Canadian Golf Association.

But participation is highest among men over 50, an age bracket whose retirement funds have tumbled right along with the stock market.

“The prime demographic for golf courses has been really clobbered,” said David Pratt, a real estate agent specializing in golf course properties.

A growing aversion to pricey golf memberships is evident at online golf forums, where “people are selling their memberships valued at 80K, and asking about 25 or 30K for them,” Mr. Pratt said.

It’s hard to believe, but the PGA Tour kicks off the 2009 season this week with the Mercedes Championship.

It’s a good tournament to begin the season. Held at the Kapalua Resort on Maui, it features only winners from the previous season. That’s a strong field. Tiger won’t be there, but in the field are Ernie Els, Vijay Singh, Trevor Immelman, Anthony Kim, Davis Love, Geoff Ogilvy, and Camilo Villegas, among others.

The good news is that the Tournament is on in prime time on the East Coast: 6:00 to 10:30 p.m. The bad news is that it’s on The Golf Channel ...

Golf Club Pen Set

Ridiculous Golf Item Of The Week

Weird Golf Story of the Week:

A 59-year-old man scared the wits out of golfers at a Lerum country club in western Sweden by bearing his ECG monitor and declaring that it was a bomb. The man has now been ordered back into rehab for his persistent alcohol abuse.

The man had spent the morning of July 10th at the hospital getting an ECG monitor attached to his chest. He had a long history of alcohol abuse and he celebrated his hospital visit by going on a drinking binge and has only vague memories of how he made his way to the parking lot at Öijareds golf club outside of Gothenburg later that day.

When in the parking lot the man proceeded to pull up his shirt, revealing the medical equipment attached to his chest and screamed at terrified golfers that he was a suicide bomber and that he planned to blow up the club.

Golf Perpetual Desk Calendar

You’ll never have to buy another calendar again with this perpetual golf calendar.

But then, looking for a new one every year is half the fun ...

The PGA Tour doesn’t announce disciplinary actions taken against players, but there’s no rule against a player announcing such punishment himself. So John Daly has announced that he’s serving a six month suspension for conduct detrimental to the Tour, including bad publicity following his night in a North Carolina jail.

In the meantime, Big John says he’ll spend his time playing on the European Tour. One can only hope that works out better than his embarrassing stint on the Australian Tour.

Of course, Daly hasn’t had full time status on the PGA Tour for two years, so he was existing on sponsors and past champions exemptions. In 2008, he earned just $56,017 in 17 events, missing the cut 10 times and withdrawing twice.

Daly decided to go public “to be fair to my fans and tournament organizers” during the first three months of the season when he typically plays on the West Coast and in Florida. His last victory was the Buick Invitational in 2004, and Daly said his five-year exemption as a past champion runs out this year.

He said he would continue playing the European Tour, starting with a three-week swing in the United Arab Emirates.

“This is the lowest I’ve ever been,” Daly said. “There’s always light with me. Right now, my home tour is probably Europe. And I love the European Tour. I always have. But my home is the United States. That’s where I would rather play.”

Daly isn’t even sure when the suspension began, but he hopes it ends in May. He said PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem sent a letter to his agent, Bud Martin of SFX Sports, who passed along the news.

“Tim and his staff have to do what they do,” Daly said. “Truly and honestly, I wish Tim would get to know the facts better before he makes a decision. I would love to sit down and have a nice talk with him, tell him what really happened. But perception is reality in the world, and sometimes they have to do what they have to do.”

Daly’s been in rare form this past year. After partying at the Hooters Tent during a rain delay on the Florida Swing, he temporarily hired Bucs Coach John Gruden as his caddy. Later, he was filmed doing a half-naked advertisement for a Missouri Golf Course. At the Buick Open, he entertained fans during the pro-am by hitting a ball off a beer can. Then there was the now-infamous stop at a jail in North Carolina. Add to that a public breakup with swing coach Butch Harmon, who basically accused Daly of not being serious, the destruction of a camera in Australia, and you’ve got all the signs of a man who just doesn’t stop to THINK. I hate to say it, but it’s like he’s four years old.

In my entirely non-professional opinion, the man needs help.

More at PGA Tour.Com

THUMB CADDY Grip Training Aid

Grade: A
Teachers’ Comments: Simple, but excellent.

My first golf instructor used to emphasize that “it all starts with the grip.” Get that right, and the rest of the game comes much easier.

There are a lot of golf grip trainers on the market. Every golfer I know has a training club with one of those molded grips that force your hands into a v shape. I’ve seen grip training gloves, various clip-ons and even an elasit hand wrap. At a most basic level, most basic slip-on grips have some sort of alignment markings.

I have liked none of these, however, as much as I like the Thumb Caddy.

The Thumb Caddy is an inch-long, u-shaped piece of plastic that slips over your grip and provides a cradle for your upper hand’s thumb. It does a good job of keeping your thumb and forefinger in the preferred “V” shape. Once your upper hand is in the proper position, the lower one falls properly into place.

This position will help you keep the clubface straight at impact, making your swing more acurate.

Another benefit: With the Thumb Caddy in place, it’s nearly impossible to apply the “Death Grip” that tightens your forearms and restricts your swing. A lighter grip will enable you to hinge and unhinge your wrists more easily for more power.

I’ve tried the Thumb Caddy a few times this winter on our heated range, and have found that it performs as advertised. It’s not a cure-all, but it does work nicely on fine-tuning the grip.

Of course, the Thumb Caddy’s benefits can be ascribed to practically any grip trainer. What makes the Thumb Caddy a superior product is the ease with which it can be used with your own clubs. The Thumb Caddy takes just a few seconds to install and is remarkably unobtrusive. You won’t look like Tin Cup when practicing on the range.

Even better: the Thumb Caddy instructional video suggests—and I agree—that this is perfect for using on practice rounds. The Thumb Caddy is relatively cheap, and for forty bucks you could pick up half a dozen to put on various clubs. I plan to keep one on my driver, at the very least.