New Year, New Names and New Hope for the 2011 Golf Season

By Mike Rickord

Welcome to the 2011 Golf Season and the second year of our “On the Tee” digital magazine!

This is the second year of our “On the Tee” digital magazine and it was just the tip of the iceberg for the statewide expansion of “On the Tee” and our multi-media coverage of golf including the PGA, LPGA, IPGA, IGA, college, high school, and “Hack Nation” amateur golf events for the 2011 season. In addition to the digital magazine we have expanded our radio reach as we enter our 10th year with the radio show on our flagship ESPN 1700 The Champ and across the Iowa Sports Connection Radio Network reaching all of the clubhouses “From the Missouri to the Mississippi.” “On the Tee’s” TV production reaches the majority of Iowa with WHO TV 13.2 Mediacom channels 113 and 246 in central Iowa and now KCRG 9.2 and Mediacom 109 in the Northeastern portion of Iowa. The ‘On the Tee” radio and TV productions also stream on “iowasportsconnection.com”, “Ustream.TV”, “KCRG.com”, and “whotv.com. Our sophisticated fans can follow our progress on Facebook as we have the 21st century media covered. However, the “HackNation” doesn’t quite grasp the new technology, and I’m proud to say that I am the leader of this technologically dysfunctional group of hacks!

This multi-media stable of television, digital magazine, e-mail newsletters and state wide radio makes “On the Tee” the states leader in covering golf year round. In 2011 we are dedicated to all of the golf inside Iowa and worldwide as we our the portal to our partners at the IGA, IPGA, The Golf Channel, The Des Moines Register and Rick Brown along with “iowagolf.com”.

The 2011 PGA season has a “New” theme to it with the list of winners and young guns dominating the leader boards. Masters Champ Charl Schwartzel leads the list of “where did he come from?” along with Jhonny Vegas, Gary Woodland, Michael Bradley, and Brendan Steele. Now you would have to be a Golf Channel junkie to know of any of those players as we are in the studio of “On the Tee”. Judd Gibb, Jay Horton, and I log more hours watching Golf Channel than most individuals sleep. Speaking of the Golf Channel, we are blessed to have a superb relationship with the worldwide leader in golf coverage and the “Stat Man” Alex Micelli who donned the Drake Bulldog colors for a couple of semesters and now is always nattily attired in his bow tie join us several time a month on the air. We will continue to bring national guests to the airwaves as well as the state’s best golfers at all levels.

The 5th annual Hack Nation Invitational is scheduled for July 20th at Willow Creek in Des Moines and it is guaranteed to be our most successful to date as we celebrate five years of hilarity, camaraderie, imbibing, eating, cigar smoking and, Oh Yeah! golfing is included with a chance for everyone to win fabulous prizes! The sponsors are all on board again this year with Golf Headquarters leading the way and supported by Madhouse Beer, Jasper Winery, Pearl Vodka, Central City Liquors, Okoboji Bar and Grille, Cleveland Golf, Callaway Golf,New Golf Cars of Iowa, Footjoy, Stoney Creek Inn, and over a dozen supporting sponsors. The staff at Willow Creek led by owner Dan Clark provided impeccable professional service all day long last year and that’s why we are hosting the 5th annual and I guarantee you will be bigger, better, and certainly wilder!

In closing, I thank you for opening up this 1st edition of 2011 of the “On the Tee” magazine and remind you to get out to the course this year and support our partner courses were hammered all year long in 2010 by course crushing weather. We need our Iowa golf courses and partners in business to have a fantastic 2011! Have a great month! Keep it in the short grass, hit ‘em straight! And God Bless America!