More Travelgolf.com praise for Going for the Green...

.... or not. Actually the fine folks at Travelgolf.com are ripping me again, this time for not mentioning a deal between Golf Digest and the PGATour.com.

So what was the real reason I failed to mention the deal between Digest and PGA Tour? Well, I hate to say it, but I'm in the midst of writing a book, I've got a deadline looming and dammit, I just didn't see the press release. Nor would I have cared much anyway. Apparently Geoff Shackelford didn't care either, as he points out that these deals "are standard in golf."

The perceptive folks at Travelgolf do point out that I am a contributor to PGA Tour.com and that's why I didn't write about the issue. They should note that I clearly indicate in the sidebar on this blog (yeah, that's it, on the right) that I "have contributed," to PGATour.com, as did the likes of Geoff Shackelford, Lorne Rubenstein and many other golf writers. I never said I currently wrote for them, but maybe if Managing Editor had done some actual reporting and sent me an email, he could have written a touch more accurately. But never let the facts get in the way of a good column, right? That said, it has been more than two years since I did a story for PGATour.com, as they cut back pretty much all editorial content. All I ever really covered was golf architecture and travel anyway, and I can't even locate those stories on their site any longer. In fact, G4TG was created largely to house some of those stories. Truth be known, I stopped writing for PGATour.com after they felt it necessary to cut a column I wrote on Michelle Wie. You can read about the issue here.

Of course, if anyone has read my columns for the National Post, it is clear I've never been reluctant to write about problems on the PGA Tour. But if I went to my editor and said, "Jim, I want to write about a marketing deal between the PGA Tour and Golf Digest," he'd likely suggest I take full advantage of my benefits package and seek some help. As for my affiliation with Golf Digest, I am indeed a course rater for the publication, helping rate the Best New Canadian Course entry. I've never hidden this. See the sidebar -- again.

In case you care about this tempest in a teapot, turn to the Travelgolf.com blog entry about it. Always interesting to be criticized by "Heather McMichael," a creation of the Travelgolf editorial team (still spurring Tiger onto victory with your blogs, Tim?). That's right -- Ms. McMichael is as real as Roy "Tin Cup" McAvoy. And what exactly is "Worldgolf.com" and how does it differ from "Travelgolf.com?" By the way, Nessmith himself operates a blog on Travelgolf.com. Guess what? No mention of the Digest deal. Here's Nessmith's initial thoughts on bloggers, the PGA Tour and Golf Digest.

And if you want to read the press release about the deal between Digest and PGATour.com, you can find it here. Looks like a dull marketing deal to me, but maybe Tim should pick up the phone, call Jerry Tarde and ask him whether this deal will impact Digest's coverage of the tour. I personally think it will very much change the way Golf Digest offers cutting edge instructional articles on how to fix your slice and hole more putts. Oh yeah, but there will be more "custom advertising, advertorials, special sections and integrated marketing programs within the magazine." Sounds fascinating.