NEW Pink Diva Golf.com Site LIVE

You may notice a new look at Pink Diva Golf.com! We just went LIVE with a new website & new Golf T-Shirts!

This Blog is now over at www.pinkdivagolf.com - click on Blog. I'll have a new direct link for the blog very soon!

This Google Blog will be redirected to the new site very soon!

New Pink Diva Golf Website coming....

I'll be moving my Pink Diva Golf website & blog over to Wordpress platform very soon! If you haven't heard of Wordpress it's a free open source web & blog publishing platform. I love the new look and feel of the site and it will allow me to have a more robust eCommerce Store. I will also be introducing many new products including a "Diva Golf Bling" line of t-shirts & hoodies. Along with new golf jewelry and fun golf accessories. Stay tuned for the launch of the new website & blog - it should be ready to go within the new few weeks!


In LPGA news....The LPGA State Farm Classic 2009 is underway at Panther Creek Country Club in Springfield, IL. First round leaders are Si Re Pak and Jee Young Lee both shot a 66 today and not far behind them in 4th place is my fav Natalie Gulbis who shot a 68. Go Natalie! For live scoring click here.

A Girl's On-Course Survival Guide to Golf

There are so many golf books, guides, and instructional resources on the market these days – but not many for women golfers. A Girl's On-Course Survival Guide to Golf is a portable guide that addresses every detail of a woman's golf game from tee to green and in-between. It's packed full of instructional, step-by-step photographs for every technical aspect of the game, while also covering course management, mental tools, rules and etiquette, and a jokes section for when all else fails.

The portable 4x6 format makes the Guide suitable to clip on a golf bag or great to slip into your bag for those on the go! It includes clear, easy-to-follow, how-to photographs and illustrations provide re-creatable visuals that will ensure success. Author Christina Ricci is a marketing executive who took up golf when she turned thirty. Five years later she is a 5 handicap amateur, has won many competitions and has with a unique perspective and a passion to help other women win.

I bought the golf guide at an airport PGA store and couldn’t put it down and in fact I read it cover to cover and couldn’t wait to get back on the course to try out the techniques! The sales clerk at the PGA shop told me men have been purchasing the guide to help their game:-) I would suggest this guide for all levels of golfers and makes a great gift! You can purchase it at the new Tee to Green Shop, for $19.95 and look for it on the NEW Pink Diva Golf.com website soon!

Diva's Golf Recap & News

The month of April was a busy month for me and I've been a bit remiss on my blogging! I though I'd do a recap blog about the many golf events and happenings from April.
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The Golf Space celebrated their 3rd Anniversary in April – there are many social networking sites around these days – but if you love golf you gotta join The Golf Space! There’s no membership fee or catch – it’s just a great community of golfers with 4,100 members and growing everyday. Tony Korologos is the founder of The Golf Space (TGS) and is a golf blogger extraordinaire over at the Hooked on Golf Blog. I had the chance to meet Tony last year at the Las Vegas PGA Show, besides an all around nice guy (and super funny!) Tony is extremely passionately about golf! He works many tireless hours to keep the TGS going and thanks to his efforts I’ve meet the some amazing golf buddies at the TGS. Thanks Tony for an outstanding site - keep up the awesome work!


Pink Diva’s Golf Blog Gets Kudos at Rankmark.com
Since starting my blog back in November of 2007 it’s been nice when I get recognized by fellow bloggers and golf sites. But recently I was recognized by a golf site I wasn't familiar with called Rankmark.com a golf-equipment testing and review company that has been in business for a little over 10 years and takes a totally unbiased stance towards the products they review. Each week they award a “Blog of the Week” and last week the winner was Brad’s Wonderful World of Golf (a terrific blog) and Pink Diva’s Blog was highlighted also! Here’s what they had to say about my blog:

“There is no doubt that this blog is written by a golfer that LOVES pink! We are big supporters of the women’s game (we recently introduced testing of women’s clubs). This site is one of the best sites we have seen for women golfers.” A big thanks to Rankmark.com for the kind words - this is an awesome compliment!!

In other golf news!
In April one of my favorite golfers Natalie Gulbis got fired for the first time in her life - on the reality TV show The Celebrity Apprentice. I was bummed to see her go but enjoyed watching Natalie every week! (Gosh she has great style even off the course!). You can read Natalie's blog about her Celebrity Apprentice experiences here. Did you see last week's episode with Melissa's meltdown? Geez that was waaaaaay over the top. As it came down to the last episode before the finale next week everyone was fired except for Joan Rivers & Annie the poker player! The 3 hour finale is next Sunday - let the fireworks begin!

Last week Lorena Ochoa roared back for her 26th career win and successfully defended the Corona Championship title - she is so far ahead in the the Rolex Ranking it's not likely anyone will catch up with her anytime soon - but Yani Tseng is now in 2nd, Shin 3rd, Creamer, 4th, and Pettersen 5th (who lost to Lorena by one stroke at the Corona Championships).

EWGA Charity Golf Tournament at Women’s U.S. Open 2009

The 7th Annual Executive Women’s Golf Association (EWGA) at the U.S. Women’s Open is a charity golf tournament and silent auction fundraiser hosted annually by the EWGA Foundation in conjunction with the U.S. Women’s Open Championship. This tournament is the only Association wide EWGA Foundation fundraiser dedicated solely to raising funds to benefit LPGA-USGA Girls Golf, a junior golfer developmental program for girls ages 7 - 17.

The 7th Annual EWGA at the U.S. Women’s Open will be held on Friday, July 10, 2009 at the Riverview Golf Club in Easton, PA.

The EWGA Foundation is looking for donations for this special event - if you would like to become a Sponsor or donate items for the Silent Auction please contact Deb Larkin at playtheusa@aol.com.

The deadline for donations is Friday, June 12, 2009.

The Masters 2009 coverage

The golf world is buzzing about the Masters. Who will win? What's your predication? Check out Masters 2009 Live Streaming coverage.

Nice recap Day 1 video on Masters TV here. (It's a bit long).

Fore Her Golf Magazine

The latest issue of Fore Her Magazine hit the stands internet this past weekend! That’s right Fore Her Magazine is an online women’s golf publication. It has the latest golf fashions, trends, teaching information, best golf destinations to visit and more. With the high cost of printing magazines these days it only makes sense to reach out to women golfers online. The magazine is published by Vance Diezel who is also the president/publisher of another online golf magazine called Golf Journeys. When the popular GOLF for Women magazine closed up shop “we felt it left a huge hole in the women's golf market," said Vance. "We thought we could develop great content and get it to the women golfers that are so passionate about the game of golf." The first issue that came out in January 2009 received fantastic reviews.

You may wonder how do you read a magazine online? You can click through all the pages using a digital reader that's built into the site - but I think the best way to view the entire magazine is to download it into a PDF. To do this once your on the Fore Her Magazine website, click on menu, then select download a PDF. It will take a few minutes to down the entire file, and then you can easily view the pages individually and not worry to much about the zooming in and out.

Check out Pink Diva Golf in the Fore Her Magazine on pages: 24, 38, 41, and 43 ;-)

Brittany's Gutsy Win at Kraft Nabisco Championship

The tradition started with Amy Alcott back in 90's - win the LPGA Kraft Nasbico Championship and then celebrate by jumping into Poppy’s Pond located near the 18th hole. That tradition continued on Sunday when Brittany Lincicome, trailing by one stroke on the 18th hole hit her hybrid 210 yards that cleared water and landed perfectly on the upper part of the green. That shot set up a short eagle putt for the win! This was Brittany's first-ever major LPGA title and after receiving her trophy, Lincicome joined hands with her father and caddy and jumped into Poppy's Pond!

“I can't even describe it. It's surreal,” said Lincicome, after accepting the $300,000 winner’s check. “Huge shot on 18 and I'm standing over (it), the hybrid is in my hands; my hands are shaking and my heart is racing. I'm trying to calm myself down by breathing or singing or whatever I can possibly do, and right when I hit it, it camjavascript:void(0)e off on the clubface exactly where we wanted to hit it and took the slope like I wanted it to and came really close, thank God.”

It was very exciting to see three Americans at the top of the leaderboard for once - the tournament was a seesaw back in forth between Brittany, Kristy McPherson and Chistie Kerr but in the end, it was Brittany's gutsy hit on the 18th hole that could go down in history as one of the best finishes for an LPGA major champion. And with this win Brittany claimed major points toward a spot on the 2009 U.S. Solheim Cup team. Lincicome started the week 26th in the points race, but the victory catapults her to 12th just outside the top-10 automatic spots on the team. Go Brittany!

Lincicome leads at the Kraft Nabisco

With only one round in the books at the Kraft Nabisco Championship it's still anyone's tournament to win - but nice to see the rising golf star Brittany Lincicome at the top of the leaderboard. Brittany shot a 66 with Angela Stanford, and Brittany Lang one shot back. Lorena Ochoa struggled with her game, and only hit four fairways posting a final score of 73. Other notable scores: Michele Wie, and Natalie Gulbis at 71, Paula Creamer 70, and Cristie Kerr 71.

Read first round interviews with: Brittany Lincicome, Angela Stanford, Brittany Lang, Ji Young Oh, Michelle Wie and Lorena Ochoa.

Brittany Lincicome, 33-33=66 (-6)

Hole 10, 388-yard par 4: birdie – 8-foot putt
Hole 11, 495-yard par 5: birdie – 10-foot putt
Hole 14, 148-yard par 3: bogey – over green, missed 20-foot par putt
Hole 15, 387-yard par 4: birdie – 15-foot putt
Hole 18, 531/485-yard par 5: birdie – hybrid to 20 feet, 2-putt
Hole 1, 377-yard par 4: birdie – 8-foot putt
Hole 2, 517-yard par 5: birdie – 8-foot putt
Hole 3, 415-yard par 4: bogey – 3-putt from 25 feet
Hole 4, 380-yard par 4: birdie – 20-foot putt
Hole 5, 182-yard par 3: birdie – 12-foot putt

Kraft Nabisco "Major" Starts Today!

The Kraft Nabisco Championship starts today at the Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, CA. This is the first "major" tournament of the year on the LPGA. It should be an exciting tournament to watch! Last year's winner was Lorena Ochoa who won over Suzann Pettersen by a five stroke margin. Who will win this year? Of course I'd love to see Natalie, Paula, Morgan and Cristie at the top of the leaderboard. But don't count out these awesome LPGA rookies - Michelle Wie, Stacey Lewis, and Vicky Hurst. Follow them on the LPGA Scoring page or watch them on TV:

Thursday 4/2 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM ET ESPN2
Friday 4/3 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM ET ESPN2
Saturday 4/4 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM ET ESPN2
Sunday 4/5 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM ET CBS

Check out this video from the Golf Channel on the pre-game analysis of the Kraft Nabisco Championship. The biggest stars on the largest stage!

Annika’s Celebrations

Annika may have retired from golf but she has been super busy – especially in the month of March. On 3/11/09, she launched a signature fragrance called ANNIKA that has appeal to golf enthusiasts, career-minded professionals and active, fashion-forward women. Like Annika, the fragrance will be casually elegant and unpretentious. The fragrance will be available in stores in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Scandinavia beginning in May 2009, but pre-ordering is currently available online. On 3/13/09 Annika announced her and hubby bought a new home across the fairway from her current home on Lake Mona, Florida - interesting enough the new house was formerly David Leadbetter’s pad. On 3/17/09 Annika was interviewed by the Golf Channel at Doral and discussed her new fragrance, her retirement and pal Tiger Woods.

On 3/19/09 Annika announced:
“Mike and I are very pleased to announce that we expecting our first child. We have had a lot of exciting changes in the past few months, and adding a new addition to our family later this fall will certainly be at the top of that list. We are absolutely thrilled and look forward to this new chapter of our lives! We appreciate the love and support that we have received from our family, friends, and of course my fans.” Congratulations Annika & Mike!

There a couple days left in March what else can she announce? Well here's something to look forward to on March 31 - the Golf Channel will broadcast the Annika Celebration "Skins Game" that was completed on February 3, 2009 at the Ginn Reunion in Reunion, Florida. The Skins Game included Annika, Natalie Gulbis, Lorena Ochoa, and Paula Creamer. The ladies teed off in a two-team competition pairing Annika and Paula vs. Lorena and Natalie. Spoiler Alert: The team of Lorena and Natalie won by one stroke.

Soccer star lives her golf dream!

In February, Pink Diva interviewed Brandi Chastain prior to her participation in the 2009 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. The World Cup and Olympic Soccer Champion is also a golfer and only the second woman to participate at the Celebrity AT&T to date. I caught up with Brandi recently to hear about her experiences at the AT&T.

Did your participation in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am meet all of your expectations?
I thought I knew what the experience of playing in the AT&T would be, but reality was so much better than I had ever expected. Besides the luxury of playing the courses, which I grew up watching in person and on television, I got to share the experience with my husband, who was my caddie. From the first moment we received the invitation, to the last hole at Pebble Beach on Saturday, everything was first rate. The volunteers, the staff and the fans were amazing and made us feel right at home. I am usually a fair weather golfer, but I don't think that I noticed that it was cool, windy and rainy while I was playing - because I was living a dream.

Was there something that surprised you about the event?
I am not sure that anything surprised me, but my eyes were wide open to all the splendor of the tournament. We loved going to the course early in the morning for breakfast, then hitting balls at the driving range, taking the shuttle to the course, and then teeing off. It was like Christmas Day around every bend.

What was it like to "tee it up" on the 1st hole?
I am not a super great golfer, and so there were some butterflies, but I was thankful that I didn't have the type of anxiety or nervousness that could have impacted me on the first tee. I have always said that more noise is better, so at times the silence was the one thing that made it more difficult. I was more stressed because I wanted to do well for my partner, Kirk Triplett and help our team make the cut.




Anything else about the event you would like to share with us?
I think the best thing I could share about the experience, beside how amazing the staff, volunteers, fans, courses and players were, is the notion that we should never give up on a dream. I have been dreaming of playing in the tournament since I was a little girl. My grandfather used to take me to watch all the greats and also more recently when I started to play the game more regularly. So I would say that playing in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am was a dream come true.

A large gallery of fellow Santa Clara University friends and family came out to support Brandi. It may have been a wet and blustery day at the 2009 AT&T Pebble Beach Celebrity Pro-Am but Brandi Chastain didn't seem to mind - she was living her dream!!

Photos by Patricia Giobetti.

What's in the Diva's Bag?

Find the Fairways.com is giving away some great golf freebies! To enter the giveaway you just need to write a blog post about What’s in your golf bag? And you can also tag another golfer! I’ve been tagged by Real Women Golf – check out what’s in her bag! (An awesome pink diva girl!). Natalie Gulbis posted what's in her bag on the original posting so check it out!


What kind of golf bag?
Pink & Black Slazenger Stand Bag

What clubs?
I don’t have fancy clubs but have a variety of great brands – I know it’s so un-Diva of me! The golf brands including Lange, Adams, Wilson and Sweet Spot Golf.
Irons: Adams Golf Tight Lies Idea Tech
Wedges: Lange Golf & Adams Golf
Hybirds: Adams Golf Tight Lies 5 Hybrid
Woods: Lange Golf EZ 5 Wood
Driver: Wilson Golf Pink Series
Putters: Sweet Spot Golf Putter & Lange Golf Putter


What else is in the Pink Diva bag?
The first couple items are from my company Pink Diva Golf.com, of course!
- In the Pink - Golf Tee Bag
- Feeling Under Par First Aid Kit
- Pink Diva Golf tees & business cards
- Sleeve of Pinnacle Pink Ribbon Golf Balls for Women
- Travel Kleenex, Purell, suntan lotion, extra ban-aids, and ponytail holders
- Golf wire brush
- Titlest golf glove (very worn, and marked up with a pink sharpie to keep the club out of my palm!)
- Pink sharpie
- Footjoy golf glove (extra glove)
- US Open Torrey Pines Pink Hat (I always carry an extra pink hat)
- Northern California Golf Guide

What’s the most important piece of kit in the bag that’s not a club, ball, glove or towel?
My extra pink golf hat!

Do you carry a lucky charm?
I don’t but maybe that’s what I’m missing!

What’s the oldest thing in your golf bag?
The Lange irons.

Which is your favorite club?
Probably my 9 iron. When I took my very first golf lesson that was the only club I used at the time so I’m pretty comfortable with it. Also I’m a lot stronger with my short game so that’s a more of a go to club. But hoping to get more comfortable with my driver some day!

Now I am supposed to "Bag Tag" four others.

Pink Panther Golf Nerd:
http://pinkpanthergolfnerd.blogspot.com/

Sports Girls Play:
http://sportsgirlsplay.com/

Golf is Hard TV:
http://www.golfishardtv.com/

Basic Golf:
http://basicgolfco.com/blog/

I'm anxious to hear what's in your golf bags!

Luck of the Irish Golfers!

I found this lucky golf shot out of the archives - it's pretty unbelievable!

Golfer Girl on Dancing with the Stars!

Did you watch the premiere of Dancing with the Stars (DWTS) on Monday night? Okay I know this is a ladies golf blog and I usually like to keep on topic here… so what’s the connection between golf and DWTS? It’s a minor connection but it’s just an excuse to write about the show! One of the contestants on DWTS is Belinda Carlisle who is best known as the lead singer of the classic 80’s band, The Go-Go’s. My favorite 80’s band! Belinda is also golfer girl and has been interviewed by several golf magazines in the past and states she was a golf widow and then she became golf obsessed! Love it. Belinda lives in France with her husband & kids and plays golf weekly. I thought her performance on DWTS was a terrific start. She didn't appear to be counting her steps like some contestants. Bruno - one of the crazy, weird, wacky judges - says she started off like Julie Andrews but turned into Cloris Leachman – hmm I think that’s a stretch! Belinda didn’t seem to care about that comment and replied “I love Cloris Leachman and Julie Andrews, too. So for me, it was a double compliment.”

Here’s a my recap of the most notable DWTS contestants:

Steve Woziak a.k.a. The Woz had to be the funniest of the night! But no one should be surprised geeks cannot dance! You have to love his enthusiasm! Woz stated, "Ballroom dancing is harder than building computers.” He’s trying so hard, but I predict Woz will be like Jerry Springer who has a big fan base and won’t get kicked off right away. He has a lot of followers geeks that worship him like a rockstar and they will come out of the woodwork and keep him on the show. Kind like Sanjaya on American Idol - he was kept on for pure amusement not for any level of talent. (BTW just for record Woz was never dating Kathy Griffiths that was a total publicity stunt, believe me I have it from a very good source!).
Denise “waaaaa” Richards– geez what can I say? I’ve never been a fan (especially after watching her reality show) and she has little no talent or dance skills and stiff as a board. She’ll get the boot quick. Sorry Maksim it will be another short season for you! Shawn Johnson was of course fabulous exactly what you would expect from an Olympic champion! Lil Kim was fun to watch – supposedly she has hundreds of wigs. I hope one of those wigs doesn't fly off during the dance competition - like what happen to Cloris Leachman last season! Yikes!

It’s a bummer that Jewel and Nancy O’Donnell had to drop out due to injuries, but the late replacements Holly Madison (Girls Next Door, Hef’s former girlfriend) and Melissa Rycroft (who was recently dumped on national television by Jason the Bachelor) made the show awesome! Both only had a few days to practice their dance moves and although Holly did look pretty lost and nervous, she was gorgeous in that dress. I think she will improve big time over the season... Melissa (ex-Dallas cheerleader) rocked it big time and was a very elegant dancer, and seemed to control her nerves well. I’d love to see her win it! Giles Marini from Sex in the City movie was fantastic but I don’t think he has a strong enough fan base and will eventually get booted before the finals. But Giles and Cheri were a very HOT couple on the dance floor! Ooh la la!
Check out an eOnline DWTS slide show of the contestants.