Fit-again Prom aiming to make a splash at Indonesia Open Presented by Enjoy Jakarta

JAKARTA, June 29: Prom Meesawat will take another huge step on the comeback trail when he makes his debut on OneAsia at this week’s US$1 million Indonesia Open presented by Enjoy Jakarta.

The talented Thai player is battling back to top form after his fast-moving career hit a speed bump due to a debilitating shoulder injury.

The 25-year-old Prom joins an impressive field in the Indonesia Open presented by Enjoy Jakarta to be staged at the award-winning Damai Indah Golf - Pantai Indah Kapuk Course from July 1 to 4.

Veteran Thaworn, the winner of 11 titles on the Asian circuit, was runner-up in the recent Queen’s Cup in Thailand.

Prom, nicknamed the “Big Dolphin” because of his burly physique and former seaside home, was one of the brightest prospects in Asian golf before injury struck two years ago.

"My whole game is a lot better compared with the last 18 months. I am working with my dad (former professional Suthep) now and he has helped so much," said Prom.

Prom burst onto the professional scene in 2004 after a great amateur career that saw him win the Putra Cup four times in both the individual and team categories.

Two years later he won the SK Telecom Open in Korea and was tipped for stardom before his progress stalled because of the shoulder damage.

"My problem was with my driver. It’s been going everywhere. The tendons in my left shoulder and left pec have given me a lot of pain. It was caused by playing so much golf and probably not swinging the correct way," he said.

Prom's weight has often been an issue and he has been working hard to slim down from 115 kgs. "I have lost five to 10 kg recently - I am aiming for 100 kgs," added Prom.

The Indonesia Open presented by Enjoy Jakarta will be the fifth leg of burgeoning OneAsia, which will stage 11 tournaments with a total of more than US$12 million in prize money this season.

The event will be showcased on OneAsia's television platform with live coverage for four hours a day across all four tournament days, and broadcast to over 260 million homes in more than 40 countries. Full coverage of this week's event will be available domestically on ESPN Star Sports, as well as internationally on ESPN3.com, Network Ten, America One and Bloomberg Television among others.

Jack Nicklaus International Invitational

The Jack Nicklaus International Invitational is back on this year at Cengkareng Golf Club on August 5th, 12.30pm Shotgun Start.

Tournament fee is Rp 1,000,000 per player and this will be inclusive of your goody bag, drinks on the course, lunch, dinner, lucky draw prizes and of course sizzling hot entertainment.
OB promises that this year will be another fun! fun! fun! Tournament. .

In line with tradition, the organizers will be sending 2 winners to represent Indonesia and play on Jack's home course in the US. These lucky golfers are 1.Lowest Gross Overall and 2nd. The winner of the Stableford Format (Based on System 36 Handicap System).
Conditions apply!

With limited spots, it is suggested to book your spots now by registering with
OB Golf Events
Jl. Jeruk Perut 15B
Cilandak Timur - Pasar Minggu
Jakarta 12560

Tel: +62 21 83702223
Fax: +62 21 78836634
Mobile: +62 817147371

Ambassadors Cup Golf Tournament

The Ambassadors Cup Golf Tournament is set to happen on Sunday, July 18th 2010 at Jagorawi Golf and Country Club. A 1pm tee off is proceeded with a trick golf show by Celebrity Golf Star Jean Daniels at 11.30am.

A BMW Z4 is up for grabs for the hole in one as well as a Presidential Stay and Play package at Bintan Lagoon. Besides this, the tournament has over 70 lucky draw prizes to give away!

Entries are open to teams of 4 players while each team of 4 must represent a country as they will try to win the US$10,000 rotating Crystal trophy for their respective Embassy where the trophy will sit till next year's event.

Entree Fee is Rp6,000,000 per team of 4 and spots are limited. The format is 2 groups of 2 man Scramble teams and the combined score of each group becomes the Team's final score.
Please see the attached information sheet for more information.

Should you wish to participate with your friends, contact:
PT Visi Prima Golf
OB Golf Events
Jl. Jeruk Perut 15B
Cilandak Timur - Pasar Minggu
Jakarta 12560

Tel: +62 21 83702223
Fax: +62 21 78836634
Mobile: +62 817147371
www.obgolfandlifestyle.com

Kim aiming to sparkle at Indonesia Open presented by Enjoy Jakarta

JAKARTA, June 23: Promising Korean Kim Bi-o is the addition to the international field that will compete for the highest honor during the Enjoy Jakarta Indonesia Open 2010. He will be looking to rediscover his early season form on OneAsia when he tees it up at the US$1 million event at Pantai Indah Kapuk next month from July 1 to 4.

The 19-year-old Kim, famous for winning the Japan and Korean Amateur Championships in 2008 and part of an impressive young Korean contingent, was fifth in the season-opening Luxehills Chengdu Open.

Kim will join the colourful Shingo Katayama of Japan, who has won 26 tournaments in his homeland as well as former Asian number ones Liang Wenchong of China and Thailand’s Thaworn Wiratchant.

Australia’s Terry Pilkadaris is another player hoping to recreate his early season promise during the Indonesia Open.

Pilkadaris, ninth in the Luxehills Chengdu Open, knows the Pantai Indah Kapuk Course and says that straight hitting is a necessity.

"I have played the course before in 2008 and you need to drive the ball well and stay as cool as possible as it gets very hot over there," said the 36-year-old Pilkadaris, a three-time winner on the Asian circuit.

"In truth, my game has been patchy – driving the ball well one week and not so good the following week."

"But my putting has improved a lot – all the work with Dr Paul Hurrion and Shane Warde is starting to pay dividends, especially with the new GEL putter Shane has made up for me."

Pilkadaris will tee it up in Jakarta fresh from competing on the major stage at the US Open.

He qualified for the tournament at famed Pebble Beach and despite missing the cut hopes that the experience he picked up playing with the world's best over one of the most challenging courses in the game will help him on OneAsia during the rest of the season.

"I was very pleased to qualify for the US Open especially at Pebble Beach," he commented.

The Indonesia Open presented by Enjoy Jakarta will be the fifth leg of burgeoning OneAsia, which will stage 11 tournaments with a total of more than US$12 million in prize money this season.

The event will be showcased on OneAsia's television platform with live coverage for four hours a day across all four tournament days, and broadcast to over 260 million homes in more than 40 countries.

Liang, Thaworn and Mamat to compete in Indonesia Open presented by Enjoy Jakarta

JAKARTA, June 16: China's number one golfer Liang Wenchong will compete in next month's Indonesia Open presented by Enjoy Jakarta along with former winner Thaworn Wiratchant from Thailand, and Singapore's Mardan Mamat.

The US$1 million tournament tees-off at Damai Indah Golf - Pantai Indah Kapuk Course from July 1 to 4.

The Indonesia Open presented by Enjoy Jakarta is making its debut on OneAsia and is the fifth event on this year's schedule.


Liang has already triumphed on OneAsia this year in the season-opening Luxehills Chengdu Open, where he won in a sudden-death play-off.

Liang Wenchong

It was his second victory on OneAsia as he also claimed the Midea China Classic in 2009 and he says he is looking forward to competing in the Indonesia Open presented by Enjoy Jakarta.

"My two victories on OneAsia have both been in China. They were in front of my home fans with great support so I now want to show that I can play at the same level overseas. The Indonesia Open presented by Enjoy Jakarta is one of the most prestigious tournaments in the region with many famous winners so it is a title I would love to win," said Liang.

The 31 year old, who also claimed the 2008 Hero Honda Indian Open and the Singapore Masters in 2007, is currently ranked 89 in the world.

Thaworn Wiratchant

Thaworn was victorious in the Indonesia Open in 2005 – the year he finished Asia's number one player. The veteran golfer has claimed 11 titles on the Asian Tour with his last coming in the 2009 Macau Open.

He won Indonesia's national Open by five strokes in 2005 at Cengkareng Golf Club in Jakarta with an amazing four round total of 25-under-par 255.

Mardan Mamat

Mamat has two events to his name in the region most notably, the 2006 Singapore Masters and 2004 Indian Open. His success in India saw him become the first Singaporean to win on the Asian Tour.

Both Thaworn and Mamat will be hoping to join Liang as a winner on OneAsia – which was launched last year to provide leading players in the Asia-Pacific region with an alternative to the PGA Tour and the European Tour.

This season OneAsia has more than doubled in size to 11 tournaments with a total of over US$12 million in prize money to be won. OneAsia which was founded by the China Golf Association, the PGA of Australia, the Korean Golf Association and the Korea Golf Tour.

"To boast players of the caliber of Liang Wenchong, Thaworn Wiratchant and Mardan Mamat is a strong indication of how highly regarded the Indonesia Open presented by Enjoy Jakarta is. We look forward to welcoming them to Indonesia,” said Arifin Panigoro – President of the Indonesian Golf Association (PGI).

Other leading names will be announced shortly.

Launching the Indonesia Golf Consortium

For 12 long years, Golf Promo Indonesia (GPI) has been the lone front runner in the promotion of Indonesia Golf.


To anticipate Indonesia's position as one of the world's best golf destinations, GPI created www.indogolf.com , the world's leading English website that give comprehensive information on Indonesia's fabulous world of golf & leisure. Today, www.indogolf.com attracts more than 50.000 visitors per month. As a matter of fact, it is the UNDISPUTED NUMBER ONE search result on Google.

To make sure Indonesia is not left behind as a world class golf destination, GPI has a plan to set up the Indonesia Golf Consortium (IGC), a group of 20 top golf courses and 10 top hotels in Jakarta, Surabaya and Bali. Through the creation of a Sustainable Golf Tourism Strategy, the IGC aims at promoting Indonesia Golf worldwide professionally and consistently. In doing so, the IGC will make sure that Indonesia gets its fair share of a billion US dollar global golf travel business that annually waits out there.

GPI shortlisted in total 12 top Jakarta golf courses and 4 top Jakarta hotels and invited them to Klub Golf Bogor Raya for a presentation of plans followed by a lunch and golf for those who wanted to sample KGBR golf.

Presentation by Mr David Pettigrew at KGBR

Recently, Golf Promo Indonesia has reached an agreement with the DIETHELM TRAVEL GROUP, who, with 29 offices and 600+ staff globally, is one of the world's largest wholesale travel companies. DIETHELM TRAVEL will sell so called INDONESIA GOLF EXPERIENCE packages exclusively to their worldwide network of travel agents. Mr. David Pettigrew, DIETHELM TRAVEL golf development manager was present during the presentation at KGBR.

So far, reactions have been phenomenal and it looks like all invited parties understand the need of setting up a body such as the IGC. All parties too are convinced that without coordinated marketing and promotion Indonesia will lag behind countries such as Thailand, China, Malaysia and Vietnam who all have succeeded to attract thousands upon thousands of golf tourists from around the world.

In the weeks that follow, GPI will do a similar presentation of plans in Surabaya and Bali, after which the set up of the IGC will be fact.

The first real result of all this will be that the IGC will participate in the annual International Golf Travel Market (IGTM)2010, that this year will be held in Valencia, Spain, between 15 and 18 November and that brings together more than 1000 golf travel specialists from more than 45 countries.

As a result from IGTM2010, in December 2010, the IGC will invite 4 to 6 top golf travel writers from the main target markets to Indonesia to participate in a so called Familiarization trip for them to be introduced to Indonesia’s fabulous world of golf & leisure.

We will keep you posted on further development of the IGC.

Raffles Ready to Host Faldo Series in Singapore

Raffles Country Club in Tuas, Singapore, is ready to make its Faldo Series Asia debut when it hosts the fifth edition of the Faldo Series Singapore Championship on June 9-10.


Singapore's young golfing stars will battle for a place in the Faldo Series Asia Grand Final over 36 holes on the Palm Course at Raffles, a par-72 layout which is as picturesque as it is challenging and was a venue for the Asian PGA Championship in 1997 and 1998.


With up to 40 boys and girls aged 12 to 21 taking part, younger children will also be invited to Raffles during the Singapore Championship with a programme of grass-roots activities on offer and the chance to watch the competitors in action.
The 2010/2011 Faldo Series Asia schedule features a record 17 tournaments in 12 different countries including six in mainland China plus others in The Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, Bahrain, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Japan, Chinese Taipei, Indonesia and Thailand.


The season concludes next March with the fifth Asian Grand Final, an R&A World Amateur Golf Ranking event hosted by six-time Major winner Sir Nick Faldo on the Faldo Course at Mission Hills Golf Club in Shenzhen, China.




Joshua Ho and Joey Poh, both 16, were Singapore’s representatives at the 2009/2010 Grand Final which was won by 14 year-old Masamichi Ito from Japan while Thailand's Thidapa Suwannapura, 17, claimed the girls' title. The two champions have earned starts in a professional tournament on the Asian Tour and Ladies European Tour respectively as well as exemptions into the Faldo Series Europe Grand Final, to be played over the Faldo Course at the Lough Erne Resort in Northern Ireland on September 21-23.


Underwritten by Faldo himself, the Faldo Series Asia is supported by major partners ISPS, Mission Hills and The R&A as well as official golf wear partner Alpine Creations. It is also endorsed by the Asian Tour and the Asia Pacific Golf Federation (APGC).


Further to the success of the Faldo Series Europe, launched in 1996, the Faldo Series Asia was established in 2006 to bring opportunities to young people in Asia and to help develop tomorrow's champions. Over 30 tournaments now take place in more than 25 countries across the UK, Europe, South America, the Middle East and Asia and former winners include recent PGA Tour and Ladies European Tour champions Rory McIlroy and Melissa Reid, European Tour winners Nick Dougherty and Marc Warren, India's number one amateur Rashid Khan and Chinese Taipei's two-time LPGA Major winner Yani Tseng.

Greg Norman tours first course in Vietnam

Shark likes what he sees at soon-to-open Danang Golf Club



DANANG, Vietnam (March 19, 2010) – Golf course architect and World Golf Hall of Fame member Greg Norman visited Danang Golf Club, his first Vietnam golf course creation, and pronounced himself fundamentally pleased with the product.
On site Wednesday for a ceremonial contract signing on behalf of Southern Cross Developments, his company's real estate division, Norman also toured all 18 holes of the Dunes Course layout, specifying tweaks to accompanying design and construction team members.


"We’re right where we should be," said Norman, aka Great White Shark, regarding the golf course, scheduled to open April 30. "Ongoing adjustments on a project this size are inevitable, but the holes fit into the landscape as we had envisioned they would, so the big picture is right."



Norman, a two-time British Open champion who won 86 international titles, also downgraded attempts to categorize the Danang Golf Course's design as "links," "Sandbelt," or something else.


"The fact is, you'd be doing a very poor job to make a boring course out of a site like this," he laughed, "with colossal dunes, oceanfront, great native vegetation. Sure, the firm and fast conditions will remind many players of links golf, but the concept was to design the track that’s right for the location."


From the first hole, a 407-yard par 4 from the Shark tees that plays to a landing area flanked right by a mammoth, two-tiered bunker cut into the dunes, the course evokes an experience often found in seaside courses in the British Isles and southeastern Australia.


But make no mistake: This is Vietnam, as evidenced by the traditional, long-tail fishing boats that troll the warm waters of the East Sea and, along with the picturesque Cham Islands in the distance, provide a distinct backdrop to the signature 16th hole, a par 3.


Other notable characteristics of the Dunes Course include an old French pillbox between the 16th green and 17th tee box — a historical feature the club plans to restore and convert into a refreshment stand.


The Dunes Course is the centerpiece of a 260-hectare, VinaCapital-owned project called Danang Beach Resort, which will ultimately include a 3,800-square-metre clubhouse by renowned Australian architecture firm HASSELL; a comprehensive, technologically sophisticated golf academy; four- and five-star hotels; and multiple residential enclaves totaling up to 300 luxury residences.
The Southern Cross component will be known as Norman Estates at Danang Beach Resort. The Estates, for which the master plan is still being refined, will occupy some 7.2 hectares with roughly 42 villa homes, three- to five-bedroom units, most overlooking the 15th fairway.


Danang Golf Club is currently developing an official Web site that when finished next month will offer an array of useful and compelling features, including multimedia elements and dynamic hole-by-hole descriptions. To be notified when it launches, visit www.dananggolfclub.com and submit your email address in the designated field.

Titleist Wins Decision In PRO V1 Patent Dispute With Callaway

Fairhaven, MA (March 29, 2010) – Acushnet Company, the golf business of Fortune Brands, Inc. (NYSE: FO), and manufacturer of Titleist, the #1 ball in golf, announced that it won a jury verdict in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware in its golf ball patent dispute with Callaway Golf Co.. Callaway asserted that previous generation Titleist Pro V1 golf balls had infringed on four patents originally owned by Spalding and subsequently purchased by Callaway Golf. The jury agreed with Acushnet’s position that the patents in question are invalid.

"We are extremely pleased with the court’s decision, and we hope that this finally brings this long standing dispute to a close," said Joe Nauman, Executive Vice President, Corporate and Legal, Acushnet Company. "We have explained throughout this process that Acushnet independently developed the technology in question. The Titleist Pro V1 family utilizes technology from 74 Acushnet patents and was first introduced to our PGA TOUR players in October 2000, well before any of the Spalding patents were issued in 2001 and 2003. We appreciate the jury's careful consideration of the facts and the time they devoted to these proceedings. This verdict affirms our view that all claims in these patents are invalid – just as the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) has repeatedly found."

In January 2006, before Callaway filed this litigation, Acushnet petitioned the PTO to reexamine the four patents in the suit. Since then, the PTO has repeatedly found that all claims of all four patents are invalid. During this process, seven separate PTO examiners were involved in evaluating the validity of these patents and all seven concluded that they are invalid.

Acushnet Company has a comprehensive product and process Research and Development staff and the Pro V1 golf ball franchise represents the accumulation of technology developed by Acushnet over a 20-year period. As the worldwide golf ball performance and technology leader, Acushnet currently holds over 715 of the nearly 2,000 active patents related to golf balls – more than any other manufacturer.

Indonesia Open 2010

Just when it looked like this year we had no Indonesia Open, Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo came to the rescue of a national open that was first played in 1974 and that produced an inaugural winner in Philippines' pro golfer Ben Arda. The Indonesia Open went on to produce big-name winners such as Payne Stewart (1981), New Zealander Frank Nobilo in 1994 and 1997 and more recent Thai golfing great Tongchai Jaidee in 2009.


The Jakarta government started to become involved with the Indonesia Open in 2005, when it came in as one of the major sponsors and in doing so aimed at “going for the long haul”. Five years on, Enjoy Jakarta will act as the Presenting Sponsor for this year's national open that will unfold between 1 and 4 July at the Pantai Indah Kapuk course in North Jakarta. With a total purse of US$1 million, the Indonesia Open is placed in the top tier of national opens in Asia.


This year's tournament will be the fifth leg of an 11-edition "series", or "schedule" if you will, that is named OneAsia and that was founded in 2009 by the China Golf Association, the PGA of Australia, the Korean Golf Association and the Korea Golf Tour. Among the other events are the Thailand Open (Aug 26-29), the Kolon-Hana Bank Korea Open (Oct 7-10), the Australian Open (Dec 2-5) and finally the Australian PGA Championship that will take place between December 9 and 12. Over the 11 tournaments a total of US$ 12 million is up for grabs, making it OneAsia a tournament to participate in for Asian golfers.



Come July 1, in total 24 Indonesian pros and 6 Indonesian amateurs will battle it out with more than one hundred leading players from Korea, Australasia, China, Japan and South East Asia. A name that surely will attract a crowd is that of Japanese golfer Shingko Katayama, the man with the "cowboy" hat.


The tournament will unfold at the Damai Indah Golf – Pantai Indah Kapuk course, the exact same venue where Mikko Ilonen of Finland lifted the trophy in 2007. Known as "the Spirit of the Sea", this Robert Trent Jones Jr. designed layout has played host to many an international event with the Indonesia Open 2007 being the flag bearer.


The Indonesia Open will be televised live on all four tournament days and beamed across more than 40 countries reaching over 260 million homes in South East Asia.

Popular Golf Annual (PGA) Tournament

On Tuesday, July 27, the so called Popular Golf Annual (PGA) Tournament will tee off at Klub Golf Cengkareng with a 12.30pm shotgun start. Participation cost Rp.1.5 million.

For information and registration please contact Chika or Rendra at 021 – 75914446 or Melly Farrah at 0878 856 88976 or 90613000.

Gading Raya 14th Anniversary Golf Tournament

This year the Gading Raya Padang Golf & Klub celebrates its 14^th anniversary with a golfing bash that will take place over two days starting on July 17 with a shotgun tee off at 6.30am on Saturday and a shotgun tee off of 6.30 on Sunday July the 18th. To participate, members will have to fork out Rp.750.000 while non-members have to pay Rp.1.5million.

On Saturday, July 24th the celebrations will carry on with yet another edition of the same tournament. On the 24th there will be two tee off times, those being a shotgun start at 6.30am, followed by a 12.30pm tee off time. For this July 24th edition members have to pay Rp.850.000 and non members may participate after having paid Rp.1.750.000.

An array of attractive hole-in-one prizes is up for grabs such as one Mercedes B180 as well as one Daihatsu Terios, one Daihatsu Grandmax, one Toyota Avanza and one Nissan Grand Livina. Lucky draw prizes range from a 32 inch LCD TV, a 2-door refrigerator and a Yamaha Bebek motorbike to name just a few.

The Sunset Beach Party offers free drinks, food stalls, lucky draws and a performance by the Little Mermaid Band as well as a performance by Julia Perez.

For information and registration for the Gading Raya 14^th Anniversary Golf Tournament contact the following numbers; 021 – 26227667 or 021 – 26200234 or email to marketing@gadingrayagolf.com

HMP Cup Golf Championship 2010

Between June 15 and 18, another Amateur Invitational will tee off at GolfLink Resorts Sentul Palm Hill Country Club. This tournament will be preceded by a Pro-AM Tournament on June 15.

The tournament is presented by the Humpuss Group and aims at promoting honesty, integrity and responsibility. For registration please call Palm Hill at 021-87954307

Ganesha Golf Tournament 2010

On Saturday, June 19, the Ganesha Golf Tournament 2010 will be played at the same Imperial Klub Golf course allowing all golfers from all handicap levels to register and participate. The shotgun tee off will be held at 06.30am WIB.

A trophy awaits the winners of Gross Overall and Best Nett Overall as well as for the winners of Best Gross flight A, B and C and Best Nett 1 and 2 flights A, B and C. Novelty prizes will be handed out for Nearest to the Pin (NtP), Nearest to the line and the longest drive. Four (4) cars are up for grabs for golfers that may be lucky enough to hit a hole in one.

Tournament fee for this tournament is set on Rp.1.5 million and includes breakfast, lunch and a goodie bag. Those golfers that wish to participate may register at:
Perkumpulan Golf Ganesha at tel. 021 – 8315944/49 or email to sekretariat@ganeshagolf.com

Ganesha Amateur Golf Invitational 2010

As part of the PGI series, the Ganesha Amateur Golf Tournament 2010 will take place at Imperial Klub Golf in Karawaci between 15 and 18 June and is open to invited and non-invited players.

For men, the maximum handicap for this Gross Event Men stroke play over 72 holes (4 rounds) is set on 9.8 while the maximum handicap for women is set on 11.7 and played over 54 holes or three rounds.

Non-Invited golfers are allowed to participate and have to pay a fee of Rp.1.5 million. Registration at secretariat@ganeshagolf.com or contact Zamroni at 08129969738

The 14th KGBR Festival of Golf

The 14^th KGBR Festival of Golf 2010, the mother of all golf festivals tees off this year on July 15 and will find a close on July 18.

Over a period of 4 days, an AM and a PM tee off will have golfers spoiled for choice. Day One and Day Two will see the usual “public golf tournament” open to all golfers that wish to experience golf at KGBR. For these two days, members will have to pay Rp.339.000 and guests or non members will have to come up with Rp.795.000 to play.

Day Three is reserved for the Member & Guest Tournament and Day Four brings afield the corporate golfers. Golfers that wish to play on Day Three will have to pay respectively Rp.425.000 (members) and Rp.1.800.000 (guests). The corporate golfers will have to pay Rp.6.200.000 per team of 4 players.

As usual, a wide selection of novelty prizes and lucky draws will close this Festival of Golf on Sunday, July 18th.

Information can be obtained from: Dania, Endang, Inge, Nina and Yuni by calling 0251 – 8271 888 or by sending an email to kgbr@indo.net.id