Troon North Moonument Course Back In Business After Restoration Project

By Gord Montgomery (iG)

SCOTTSDALE, AZ. — After a four-month restoration project by Tom Lehman, which focused on the greens and bunkering, the high regarded Troon North Monument Golf Course, located in Scottsdale, AZ., is again open for business.

The redesign was actually a step back in time, if you will, as the green complexes were restored to their former size and shape when this track was first constructed by Tom Weiskopf. To ensure he stuck faithfully to that original design, Lehman and his work crew utilized the same GPS coordinates as Weiskopf .

The putting surfaces were re-sodded with creeping A4 bent grass and the fringe areas were redone using TifGrand semi-dwarf Bermuda grass. What came from that are large greens that run extremely well with subtle breaks throughout the surfaces.

Both the greens and bunkers on the Monument Course at Troon North have been taken back to their original Tom Weiskopf specs, after restoration by Tom Lehman.

The second part of the upgrades were to the bunkers and that included updating the drainage in all greenside and fairway traps, new bunker liners and new Pioneer bunker sand.

The renovations at Monument are the first major changes to the award-winning course in a decade.

“We are committed to providing our guests with the finest course conditions on the planet at our flagship facility,” said Dana Garmany, the chairman and CEO of Troon, in a news article. “Through these green and bunker enhancements on Monument, we are proactively improving and reinvesting in one of the top daily-fee courses in the nation.”

The Monument’s sister course, Pinnacle, will also undergo a facelift in the spring and summer of 2018, meaning the two will retain their place in the upper echelons of public golf courses not only in Arizona but in the USA.

Troon North’s Monument course is ranked number 58 on GOLF Magazine's ranking of the 2016/2017 "Top 100 Courses You Can Play in the United States.” In addition, GOLF Magazine named Monument the  No. 4 golf course in Arizona in their ranking of "Best Courses You Can Play in Arizona,” which is just part of the long list of accolades it, and Pinnacle, have earned over the last few years.

*With file from morningread.com

Mom's Suggestion Pays Off In Big Way For Headcover CEO

By Gord Montgomery (iG)

PHOENIX, AZ. — Don’t ever let anyone tell you that parents don’t know what they’re talking about. Just ask Jane Spicer.

As a teen, Spicer was into making hand puppets with the hankering to own her own car.  Through some wise advise from her mother, she got that vehicle … along with a company that is renowned throughout the golf world for making the most popular headcovers.

Long before that type of golf gear was popular, Spicer took the bull by the horns — and yes, she probably has crafted more than one of those animals — during the 38 years Daphne’s Headcovers has been in business.

“Headcovers just didn’t exist and I was making puppets, and my mom, Daphne, the company’s namesake, had a customer suggest we make head covers. My mom bribed me and said, “I’ll tell you what. If you sell enough of these I’ll buy you a car. I was almost 16, so I made some samples and went out and gave a bunch of bad sales pitches and Daphne’s Headcovers was born.”

While the idea has become so popular that two high echelon pros use them — Dustin Johnson has a black lab on his driver and Lydia Ko has the Snowman on hers. But back when she was starting out, sales weren’t all that easy, Spicer noted. And in 2017, Daphne’s teamed up with one of the biggest hitters ever on the PGA TOUR, when she teamed up with John Daly who stated, “So, make sure when you cover  up that hot driver, make sure it’s a ‘Grip It and Rip It’ John Daly Lion Headcover by Daphne’s!”

“We really had to work at it. I’d sale I was a sales rep, and as a 16-year-old sales rep, they wouldn’t let me in the golf shop. Then I’d say I was selling animal headcovers  and they’d go, ‘What? What’s that?’

“But, it was a slow and steady growth and now we’re in over 75 countries,” with all a menagerie that includes cats, penguins, moose, tigers, lions , well you name a species and Daphne’s has likely created some version of it. In fact, the company presently has 75 different designs on hand and turns out a new one each and every year.

What is perhaps a popular sales idea, besides the cuteness of these headcovers, is that they all carry an unbeatable guarantee.

“We are the only head cover company in the world with a lifetime guarantee,” said Spicer, who acts as the company CEO. “Our quality remains our passion.”

Besides driver covers, Daphne’s also has sleeves for fairway woods and hybrids and they’re available at a number of golfing outlets or through the company’s website at daphnesheadcovers.com.

The company is headquartered in Phoenix, AZ., with a factories in China and Indonesia.