While you were playing GOLF... Your Brand was being hijacked

Todays marketing tips centers on the Search Engine and URLS. BP recently purchased many domain names, and consequently caught a great deal of heat on the popular media, having to do with "GULF," "OIL SPILL", etc... Regardless of what you think of BPs other corporate communications (or lack thereof) during this period, the buying of URLs that "tell your message" (or almost as important, keep your competitors or adversaries from telling theirs) works, plain and simple.

Take the time today. Explore your business terms that are important to your brand and market perceptions---do you control these? Do you control the search terms if people head to GOOGLE or Bing and do a search?

If you need help in doing this, we can help. Define and dominate your search terms!

Todd Hunnicutt

REAL INTERNET SALES

THE SEO EXPERTS

Ultimate springtime golf fitness tips for "real" golfers

By Tim McDonald,
National Golf Editor

For those of you unfortunate enough to live in the North, you must be salivating at the thought of the spring golf season.

Hold on, Tiger. You ain't the man you used to be. You can't just jump up and go straight to the golf course after a long winter of sloth and mold.

Now, you will find any number of charlatans willing to sell you their total golf fitness regimens. These sleazoids always assume you're a golfer interested in a cleaner, healthier way of living and golfing. I've seen you out on the course, and I know that's not the sort of thing you're "into."

So here is my total golf fitness regimen for the "real" golfer:

• For God's sake, you have to strengthen your core! This involves eating really hard food, like jawbreakers. Eat a bag of those and have your neighbor punch you in the gut to see if your core is all it can be.

Options: Month-old fudge, Purina Dog Chow, pine bark.

• You also have to really work your obliques, I mean really work the hell out of them. Here's the perfect exercise for that. Lie flat on your back with knees bent slightly wider than your hips. If you have really fat hips, you're either going to have to really stretch your knees like in a cartoon, like The Elastic Man from India, or just skip this exercise. In fact, if you have really fat hips, just skip playing golf, nobody wants to see you out on the course.

Now, you slim-hipped people reach your hands to the ceiling like you're crying out for the Lord Jesus Christ to spare you from your miserable existence. You can hold light hand-weights, or not. What do I care? Lift your head and chest toward the ceiling and rotate to reach both hands just outside of your fat, right knee. Repeat on the left side. Now, take a breather. Ask Christ for forgiveness.

• Breathing exercises: Breathing properly and deeply is critical, especially for those tense moments on the course when normally you would start crying.
This deep-breathing exercise involves attending your local adult movie house, or calling up one of those sites on your Internet browser. Follow your instincts. It's either that or follow mine, and then you're looking at jail time.
• Horizontal abduction/adduction: I can't give you much help here, because I always get "horizontal" confused with "vertical," and I have no idea what adduction is. Who came up with that word, anyway? It's a stupid word and should be eliminated from the English language, if it's even English.

• Standing hip rotation: Don't do this. It makes you look like a girl.

• Alcohol fitness: How many times have you lost $2 Nassaus because while you were getting hamboned, your playing partners were just holding up that bottle of Jack Black pretending to drink?

Well, no need to waste good liquor. You can still drink and maintain your competitive edge. You just need to build up a tolerance. Stand upright in a dark closet, with a wide stance, and suck it down. Keep drinking until your wife leaves you.

• Aerobics: Ha! Don't make me laugh. This is golf!

• Putting: Don't bother to practice putting. Putting in golf is overrated. I play golf maybe 200 times a year and I've yet to meet anyone who can putt. You either make it or you don't. If you miss, just keep putting until the ball goes in the hole. Simple.

• Seniors: As we age, our bodies react differently, so seniors must prepare for golf differently than young punks. An important thing to remember is that there is an inverse relationship of increased ear hair to laughably short drives off the tee.

So keep those ear hairs trim and neat. If you're proud of your thick mane of ear hair, don't sweat it. If you're short off the tee, you're probably small in other areas, and I think you know what I'm talking about.

• Excuses: A healthy psychological outlook is a must for Better Golf. If you can convince yourself that the snap hook you hit into the weeds over there is not your doing at all, you'll retain the confidence needed to excel in the game.

The first time you smack one of your all-too-typical lousy shots, turn to your playing partner and snarl," "Will you stop that!" Look at him, looking all hurt and everything. Who would have thought golf fitness could be so much fun?

• Torque development in the downswing: This is so important, I can barely contain myself. This is vital to any golfer who has ever wanted to improve his score. You could even say it is absolutely critical in terms of reaching your full potential as a golfer and knowing what it is to be truly human.

• Alignment and posture: Face the target squarely and stand erect, with your rump jutting out slightly. Feels a little silly, doesn't it? Can you think of another situation in life where you would position yourself in such an odd manner? I can't.

PING/ASU Invitational Features Loaded Field

Ten top-25 teams will be standing in the way of another top-three finish for the No. 19 Cal women's golf team this weekend when it travels to Tempe, Ariz., for the PING/ASU Invitational.

The field of 17 different squads converging on the par-72, 6,230-yard course at the Karsten Golf Course includes all eight Pac-10 schools-No. 1 UCLA, No. 3 USC, No. 4 Arizona State, No. 11 Arizona, No. 24 Stanford and unranked Washington and Oregon State.

The Bears are coming off a third-place finish at the Duck Invitational in Eugene, Ore., last week.

Cal was led by freshman Pia Halbig, who nabbed a top-20 finish in Eugene.

The Bears will send Halbig along with juniors Shannon Yocum and Allison Goodman, sophomore Roseanne Niven and freshman Andrea Waters.

The three-day event begins today at 8 a.m. and will run through Sunday.

PING/ASU Invitational Features Loaded Field

Ten top-25 teams will be standing in the way of another top-three finish for the No. 19 Cal women's golf team this weekend when it travels to Tempe, Ariz., for the PING/ASU Invitational.

The field of 17 different squads converging on the par-72, 6,230-yard course at the Karsten Golf Course includes all eight Pac-10 schools-No. 1 UCLA, No. 3 USC, No. 4 Arizona State, No. 11 Arizona, No. 24 Stanford and unranked Washington and Oregon State.

The Bears are coming off a third-place finish at the Duck Invitational in Eugene, Ore., last week.

Cal was led by freshman Pia Halbig, who nabbed a top-20 finish in Eugene.

The Bears will send Halbig along with juniors Shannon Yocum and Allison Goodman, sophomore Roseanne Niven and freshman Andrea Waters.

The three-day event begins today at 8 a.m. and will run through Sunday.

UCLA Men Ranked #3

NCAA Men's: Division I Teams

Division II - Division III

                                   Adjusted   Avg.            
                        Division   Scoring   Drop   Versus#  
   Team                  *Record   Average  Score   Top 25    Wins@
  1 Alabama, U. of        289-  0    71.32   76.99    23- 0      5
 2 Georgia, U. of        288-  1    71.35   76.45    19- 1      2
 3 UCLA                  287-  2    72.24   76.57    13- 2      2
 4 Charlotte             286-  3    71.34   75.37    16- 3      4
 5 Southern California   285-  4    72.64   76.80    15- 4      1
 6 Oklahoma State U.     281-  8    72.64   76.72    13- 6      1
 7 Georgia Tech          281-  8    72.09   77.98    11- 8      0
 8 Florida, U. of        280-  9    72.67   77.65    14- 9      1
 9 Stanford University   280-  9    72.41   76.88     8- 8      1
10 Tennessee, Univ. of   279- 10    72.25   77.01    12-10      2
11 Duke University       278- 11    72.70   76.99    11- 9      1
12 Florida State Univ.   277- 12    73.16   76.94    10-11      2
13 Auburn University     275- 14    71.88   76.17    10- 8      1
14 Wake Forest Univ.     275- 14    72.69   77.66     9-11      1
15 South Carolina        275- 14    72.61   77.51     9-12      1
16 Clemson University    271- 18    72.77   77.51     3-14      0
17 Mississippi, U. of    269- 20    72.50   78.53     4-10      4
18 UCF                   269- 20    73.04   78.55     5-18      1
19 Tenn.-Chattanooga     269- 20    71.92   76.40     2-13      2
20 UNLV                  269- 20    71.71   75.96     3-13      2
21 Indiana University    268- 21    73.39   77.62     4-13      1
22 UAB                   266- 23    72.69   77.87     6-11      1
23 Texas Tech Univ.      266- 23    72.69   77.31     3-15      3
24 Louisville, U. of     265- 24    72.92   77.42     6-10      1
25 Michigan State U.     264- 25    73.64   77.60     3-13      1 

When Will Tiger Play In The Bay Area Again?

By Eric Pinkela
Mercury News

It's time to get mad, Bay Area golf fans. We have lied to ourselves too long. We said it was OK that we don't get to see Tiger Woods in person anymore. That it was OK to watch greatness from afar.

But now it is becoming clear that we aren't just missing out on greatness, we're also missing out on history.

The Great One takes a pass on the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am each year because he bristles at the celebrity-obsessed crowds and six-hour rounds. Fine. But, despite his hatred of the AT&T format and Pebble Beach's bumpy greens, he has dominated tournaments there just like he does everywhere.

This week, Woods plays in a World Golf Championships event at Doral in Florida that was, for one year, the American Express Championship at Harding Park in San Francisco. You might remember that 2005 yawn-fest: Woods beat John Daly in a playoff when Daly famously gacked a three-foot putt.

At the time, we were promised that the PGA Tour would be back soon. We're still waiting. Oh, yeah, the Presidents Cup is coming next year to Harding and we'll get to see Woods (maybe) wearing a tacky shirt and playing with a partner. Whoopie!

If (when?) Woods makes history with a perfect season, or a Grand Slam, Bay Area fans should be able to say, "I was there." Instead, we'll be stuck with saying, "Thank God for high-definition. I felt like I was there."

• Australian pro Adam Scott, on a conference call with reporters this week, confirmed his membership in the Tiger Fan Club. Scott was asked about Woods' winning putt Sunday at Bay Hill.

Scott said he was in the air when Woods sank the 25-foot birdie putt, but saw the highlight later.

"You could see his eyes; he looks down the whole putt," Scott said. "He reads putts beautifully."

• Scott took a sneak peak at Augusta National this week, playing a round with swing coach Butch Harmon and fellow pros Fred Couples and Nick Watney. He said the course was in fantastic shape even with the recent changes to holes 7, 9 and 11.

Couples, the 1992 Masters champion, looked impressively comfortable, Scott said.

"Playing at August with Freddy is such a great experience," Scott said. "He just knew exactly where to hit every shot."

• The Western Intercollegiate (beginning Wednesday at Pasatiempo Golf Club) will put the spotlight on some changes in the college playoff system.

Beginning this season, the NCAA regional tournaments will fill their fields strictly by the Golfstat rankings. That means that after conference champions take their spots, there will be no mystery. If your team is ranked high enough, it's in, assuming you have at least a .500 record (also a new twist).

In years past, a selection committee would place the remaining teams in the field, leaving the picks up to subjective criteria.

Santa Clara men's coach Rob Miller said the new system means that high-profile teams won't limit themselves to the highest-profile events because they'll need to bolster their records. In the past, it was more important to play against top-flight competition than to have a solid record.

For instance, Oklahoma played in Santa Clara's tournament this season and invited the Broncos to its tournament in Oklahoma.

"No way would we have gotten invited in the past," Miller said.

The Western Intercollegiate field has weakened in recent years, at least in relation to its glorious past. But this year, most of the area teams will play there, the notable exception being sixth-ranked Stanford.

• The Northern California Golf Association began a Junior Tour this year and Matthew Miller of Pleasanton has won both boys events, including last week's stop at Stevinson Ranch in the Central Valley.

Emily Childs of Alameda, fresh off a win at the San Francisco City Golf Championship, won the girls flight in a playoff over Kercia Brakel of Acampo.

Tap-ins

Martin Trainer of Palo Alto won the San Francisco City event this month at Harding Park, beating former champion Randy Haag of Burlingame 2-up in the 36-hole final. Trainer, 16, became the youngest winner of the City. Jim Knoll of Sunnyvale won the senior competition. . . . Scott Travers, a walk-on sophomore at Santa Clara, was named the West Coast Conference player of the month for February. His strong month included a win at the UC-Irvine Anteater Invitational. . . . Christina Corpus, a sophomore at San Jose State, was named the Western Athletic Conference golfer of the week. Corpus finished fifth at the San Jose Spartan Invitational, the best result of any of the 20 WAC golfers in the field. . . . Sign-ups for adult golf classes and junior golf camps at Sunken Gardens in Sunnyvale have begun. For more information, call (408) 739-6588.

UCLA Golfers Finish Third at UCF Challenge

The second-ranked UCLA women's golf team finished third at the UCF Challenge Tuesday and two Bruins placed in the Top 10 individually.

UCLA posted the best team score of the day -- 286 (-2) -- and finished with a three-day total of 863 (-1). Duke won the tournament with a score of 851 (-13), followed by Purdue at 860 (-4). Florida placed fourth at 865 (+1) and USC was fifth at 868 (+4).

In the final round, three Bruins posted scores under par, led by freshman Maria Jose Uribe and sophomore Sydnee Michaels who carded rounds of two-under par 70. Uribe tied for seventh at 213 (-3) and Michaels tied for 18th at 217 (+1). Freshman Glory Yang signed for a 71 (-1) and tied for 36th at 221 (+5). Junior Tiffany Joh carded a score of 75 (+3) and tied for 10th at 214 (-2). Junior Ryann O'Toole tied for 67th at 227 (+11) after posting a score of 77 (+5).

Duke's Alison Whitaker won the event with an eight-under par score of 208. She posted an even par score of 72 in the final round.

For complete results, click here.