I LOVE GOLF and play it as frequently as I can, at least when we live in a warm climate where you can play all year round. Instead to taking my son sledding today, I would have rather taken him to the driving range or out for a round of father/son seeing nature by looking for golf balls in the trees wearing my new golf apparel. So it was a complete surprise to me that the season actually started this weekend with the Mercedes-Benz Championship played on The Plantation Course in Kapalua on the Island of Maui. This is a tournament that truly lives up to the name "championship" since you have to be a winner during the previous PGA season to be invited and the facilities are nothing short of golf nirvana! If you have never played a round of golf there, it is a must play for anyone that loves the game. It starts with the one of the most impressive clubhouses you will ever enter; complete with every amenity one can think of and is stocked full of the new golf apparel that we love at [http://www.athleticapparelreview.com] - golf apparel that hangs in my closet. Once you leave the clubhouse, you will find a physically challenging golf course full of "land texture" that creates countless blind shots and the need to constantly analyze club selection depending on whether the shot is uphill vs. down and how the trade winds will affect the shot - they are always strong and always a factor. The breath-taking ocean views only add to the total golf experience. While I personally prefer to play at the Wailea Golf Club where the Senior Skins Event has frequently been held, The Plantation is a must play course for the golf lover; even though it will set you back about $300 a round.

So how do I get more than half way through an article about the PGA Tour and not even talk about the opening event of the season? If the Mercedes-Benz Championship were The Sopranos, it would be in the witness protection program since it has been held in virtual media seclusion. Why? NFL Playoffs? College Basketball? Nope, they are always competitors during the opening weekend. It is the lack of Tiger Woods playing early this season as he recovers from his knee surgery that has created a total lack of interest for so many fans. A normal season would start with a blitz of media coverage on how many majors Tiger has, will win, and who will be his primary competitors. Golf fans love to love him and love to hate him - either way they follow him and that drives golf. Normally, we would have at least one player pop off that the PGA Tour is more than just Tiger to create a little controversy that results in additional coverage on channels other than ESPN and the Golf Channel, places where average people realize that golf has started again.

So what does this all mean to the athletic apparel industry and our website [http://www.athleticapparelreview.com] in terms of golf interest? It means that fewer people will be tuning into golf which will lead to few golf shirts, golf shorts, hats, clubs, and all things golf will have lower sales. Besides new golf apparel, it means fewer rounds of golf will be played since the sport will be out of sight, out of mind. It means that the sport will suffer even more than it otherwise wood, spelling error intended, in our soft economy. The only recent golf headlines were generated by Tiger and his efforts to save the US car industry from economic failure by letting Buick out of the endorsement contract it had with him. The sound without Tiger is deafening - deafening silence from the fans not at events, not watching on TV, and not ringing cash registers that are not selling golf apparel. Without Tiger and to quote Simon & Garfunkel, "it is the sounds of silence."

Rob is available for media interviews and can be reached at 602-774-0768.