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And the Cobra Golf brand. But not for long. Acushnet has agreed to sell Cobra to Puma, whose golf business has heretofore been limited to accessories such as shoes and apparel.

"With the sale of Cobra, we have the opportunity to devote all of our resources to the global growth of our industry-leading Titleist and FootJoy brands," Wally Uihlein, Chairman and CEO of Acushnet Company, says in the company news release announcing the sale.

Assuming regulatory approval, Puma acquires the Cobra brand, along with inventory, intellectual property and endorsement contracts. Camilo Villegas, Ian Poulter and J.B. Holmes are among the tour pros playing Cobra equipment.

Acushnet will continue to provide production and distribution of Cobra Golf equipment, along with customer service, for the time being, in agreement with Puma, until Puma is ready to assume those services itself. That servicing agreement extends beyond the closing of the sale, but the period of time is unspecified in the announcements today by Acushnet and Puma.

History of Cobra Golf

Acushnet Sells Cobra Golf to Puma originally appeared on About.com Golf on Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 at 10:52:02.

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O'Meara and Woods are buddies, although O'Meara hasn't had much contact with Woods during the Tiger scandals, only recently starting to trade text messages. But O'Meara is the captain of the Isleworth team in the Tavistock Cup, which pits teams of pros representing Lake Nona and Isleworth country clubs.

Does O'Meara wants his friend on the Isleworth team? You bet: "Who wouldn't? ... It certainly would help our team quite a bit."

He went on to say that getting back on the golf course might be part of Woods' "healing process":

"It's been a rough road the last three or four months in Tiger's life and his family's life. It's a very difficult situation. Golf is what Tiger does and possibly part of the healing process is to get back at it."

Are the signs pointing to a Tavistock Tiger return? There have been rumors about the Tavistock Cup for more than a month. Returning there would put Woods in front of smaller, invitation-only galleries, and in complete control of how much time he spends in front of media (as opposed to the media obligations that exist in PGA Tour events). He'd also be playing with friends.

The Tavistock Cup takes place March 22-23. O'Meara's comments follow reports from the Golf Channel and Golf Digest that swing coach Hank Haney has joined Woods on the Isleworth driving range.

Meanwhile, PGA Tour tournaments on the near-term schedule have started developing plans for handling the crush of media and fan interest should Woods choose their tournament as his return event. Not because they know anything, tournament directors quickly add, just because it's the prudent thing to do.

On the Web:

• Mark O'Meara interview

Captain O'Meara Wants Tiger on Tavistock Team originally appeared on About.com Golf on Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 at 09:40:13.

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Short version of the loophole: Long-ago legal proceedings between Ping and the PGA Tour and Ping and the USGA resulted in Ping Eye 2s made in the late 1980s remaining "legal" for play despite having grooves that otherwise wouldn't conform to today's rules. (For the long version, see this.)

With new groove rules in place on tour this year, new rules that many pros feared would make their wedges less effective, a handful of touring pros have taken advantage of the loophole by using those old Pings in tournament play. John Daly was one of the first; Phil Mickelson was the highest-profile, and Phil's use of the old Pings at the Farmers Insurance Open led to the word "cheating" getting thrown around.

But today, in a news release, Ping announced:

Ping Chairman and CEO John Solheim announced today that Ping will waive its rights that prevent the PGA Tour from prohibiting the use of pre-April 1990 Ping Eye 2 irons and wedges that do not meet the 2010 Condition of Competition from being played at PGA Tour professional competitions.

The waiver goes into effect March 29 and applies to the PGA Tour, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour. As a result of a request from the USGA, Ping will also apply the waiver to the U.S. Open in June. The PGA Tour will then adopt a Condition of the Competition that does not provide an exception for the pre-April 1990 Ping Eye 2 irons.

The waiver by Ping of the rights brokered under that long-ago legal agreement does not apply to USGA-sanctioned amateur tournaments. If you're an amateur, and you've been taking advantage of the loophole to use old Ping Eye 2 wedges, you can keep right on doing so in any tournaments governed by the USGA Rules of Golf.

On the Web:

• Ping, PGA Tour reach resolution on club issue

Agreement Closes Ping Eye 2 Loophole for Pros originally appeared on About.com Golf on Monday, March 8th, 2010 at 13:38:04.

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