Late in the golf season, my thoughts start to drift to the south. As the winter months approach, I have found that on many days Ojai can be 5-7 degrees warmer. This is a wonderful excuse for a visit to one of the finest resorts on the West Coast.
The resort
The Ojai Valley Inn and Spa has long been a weekend retreat for Hollywood’s elite. This relationship dates back to the filming of Frank Capra’s “Lost Horizon” which was shot on location nearby.
The Inn’s classic Spanish-style architecture fits perfectly into this warm valley with large mountains rising up in all directions. The property sits atop a knoll affording comfortable views from its restaurants and most rooms.
In recent years, the inn has had a complete makeover to achieve a peaceful Mediterranean feel throughout the resort. Spanish tile floors give way to white stucco, wood beams and red rooftops. There are numerous water fountains and the landscaping is immaculate adding to the serenity.
The rooms are large, averaging 425 square feet and never too far from the activities. We were just steps from the pro shop, driving range and 1st tee. The restaurants were no more than a wedge shot away uphill, with the Spa equally close downhill. The resort features the finest linens with its signature “Ojai Nest” bedding. The bathrooms are oversized and stocked with Spa Ojai amenities.
The Oak Grill is one of my all-time favorite places to dine and a must for all resort guests. The views of the golf course and surrounding mountains are stunning as you dine underneath the 200-year-old Oaks giving ample protection from the sun. The food and service were excellent, as was my Moroccan Grilled Salmon.
Spa Ojai is perennially ranked in the top 10 in the U.S. by Travel & Leisure, Conde Nast, USA Today and Trip Advisor. The spacious, relaxed setting with its Moroccan design is sure to please and another good reason to visit.
The golf
The Ojai Valley Inn Golf Club is one of the finest layouts in Southern California, having been laid out by George Thomas who also designed Riviera, Bel Air and Los Angeles Country Clubs. The course was updated in 1988 by Jay Morrish and is a classic “long short course.” While only 6,300 yards it actually plays longer with a par of 70, including many par fours more than 400 yards and par threes more than 200.
Through the years, famous pros and celebrities have flocked to its fairways. Jimmy Demaret and Doug Sanders have been pros while Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Will Smith, Kevin Costner and Michael Douglas played regularly. The Michael Douglas & Friends event was played here several times along with the PGA Champions Tour.
The most famous holes are no doubt the “Lost Holes,” which were reintroduced in 1999 having been part of the original Thomas design. The par-three 7th will command attention at just under 200 yards and slightly downhill.
The approach will need to be perfect with OB to the right, lateral canyon just left and large bunkers short. Over the years I have found it safer to shoot for the front of the green regardless of the pin position. This gives the player more landing area and a good chance to walk away with a 3 or 4 on a potentially devastating hole.
The trip
The drive to and from Ojai is a good enough reason to make the trip, especially if you are sitting in the passenger seat. If you take the 101 you will be oceanfront along the Gaviota Coast and then again just south of Carpinteria.
Take Highway 33 just before Ventura for the inland drive. Check out the Creek Rd cutoff, which will save you 10 minutes if you do not want to drive through downtown Ojai.
Junior Golf shoes
If you have junior golfers, you no doubt have had a tough time finding golf shoes that are attractive and the right size. Nike Golf has come out with an attractive line of Junior Golf shoes that will make your protégé very happy.
The Nike Advance Junior Golf shoe is the latest innovation from this company that gives juniors and women the same attention as men, a rarity in the industry.
2011年10月13日星期四
Heart of a Lion, Logo of a Lamb
LeBron James has become the NBA player that fans love to hate ever since he unceremoniously dumped his home state of Ohio and moved along to the Miami Heat last season to seemingly become part of some sort of freakishly unstoppable winning machine. Unfortunately for the Heat and its fans, the team was stoppable — even though it took until the NBA Finals to get the brakes to completely work.
And now, everyone in the NBA has been stopped, due to the lockout that owners and agents and players and veterans and league execs and tons of lawyers, among others, are busy trying to get untangled in order for some actual NBA games to be played this season.
Do you think all that dislike and the lack of a season is stopping the James Marketing Juggernaut? Of course not. It's time for it to go into overdrive. One of his sponsors, Nike, is releasing a line of James off-court apparel featuring a lion logo designed to honor LeBron's “heart of a lion.”
The generic-looking logo is “reminiscent of the coat of arms of medieval English monarchs such as King Richard the Lionheart,” according to USA Today.
LeBron also has a “Lion 6” logo that will be on T-shirts, rugby shirts, shoes, and jackets and, guess what? It'll all be on sale in time for the holidays! A real surprise, right? Perhaps there will be some NBA games to wear all your new LeBron gear to as well.
The copy for the collection (revealed on Nike's Facebook page) proclaims, “Game after game. LeBron James' heart stays strong. The two-time NBA MVP has seen his fair share of battles. He's done his time on the hardwood. In the gym. And around the neighborhood. With every victory the beast within grows stronger. More determined. Fearless. Always on.”
That new Lion logo, by the way, made its first appearance last season when His I-ness returned to play the Cavs in Cleveland and “wore the all-wool ‘Destroyer' jacket,” which wasn't for sale at the time, USA Today reports. Now it will be.
Nike is also releasing a new set of $170 LeBron James sneakers that are inspired by the Air Force. The shoe is called “The Cannon” and is part of the LeBron 9 line of footwear. “The military-green theme is a nod to the Miami Heat having their first training camp since James joined the team last season at Hurlburt Field and Eglin Air Force Base,” the Associated Press reports.
The shoes will be released this weekend in South Florida before hitting store shelves nationwide.
Below, LeBron James models his new Nike collection, with a shout-out for another brand: he's sporting Beats by Dr. Dre headphones.
And now, everyone in the NBA has been stopped, due to the lockout that owners and agents and players and veterans and league execs and tons of lawyers, among others, are busy trying to get untangled in order for some actual NBA games to be played this season.
Do you think all that dislike and the lack of a season is stopping the James Marketing Juggernaut? Of course not. It's time for it to go into overdrive. One of his sponsors, Nike, is releasing a line of James off-court apparel featuring a lion logo designed to honor LeBron's “heart of a lion.”
The generic-looking logo is “reminiscent of the coat of arms of medieval English monarchs such as King Richard the Lionheart,” according to USA Today.
LeBron also has a “Lion 6” logo that will be on T-shirts, rugby shirts, shoes, and jackets and, guess what? It'll all be on sale in time for the holidays! A real surprise, right? Perhaps there will be some NBA games to wear all your new LeBron gear to as well.
The copy for the collection (revealed on Nike's Facebook page) proclaims, “Game after game. LeBron James' heart stays strong. The two-time NBA MVP has seen his fair share of battles. He's done his time on the hardwood. In the gym. And around the neighborhood. With every victory the beast within grows stronger. More determined. Fearless. Always on.”
That new Lion logo, by the way, made its first appearance last season when His I-ness returned to play the Cavs in Cleveland and “wore the all-wool ‘Destroyer' jacket,” which wasn't for sale at the time, USA Today reports. Now it will be.
Nike is also releasing a new set of $170 LeBron James sneakers that are inspired by the Air Force. The shoe is called “The Cannon” and is part of the LeBron 9 line of footwear. “The military-green theme is a nod to the Miami Heat having their first training camp since James joined the team last season at Hurlburt Field and Eglin Air Force Base,” the Associated Press reports.
The shoes will be released this weekend in South Florida before hitting store shelves nationwide.
Below, LeBron James models his new Nike collection, with a shout-out for another brand: he's sporting Beats by Dr. Dre headphones.
2011年10月12日星期三
Hannah Jones on Nike's Sustainable Innovation Marathon
After two hours of interactive warm-up exercises, the 2011 Innovation Forum kicked off with Hannah Jones, the Vice President of Sustainable Business & Innovation for Nike.
As Joel Makower put it in the introduction to his 30-minute interview with Jones, when you think of innovation, you pretty much always think of Nike. From their waste-based shoes to their radical collaboration within their industry and beyond, Nike is truly mapping the trail of sustainable innovation.
Jones began by walking the audience of more than 200 sustainability professionals through the journey that Nike is taking on innovation -- a journey that has involved not just her own team and her own company, but companies as far-flung from the sportswear and apparel industries as Procter & Gamble and Eli Lilly.
She spoke particularly about the benefits of viewing innovation through the same lens that you view sustainability. "One of the things that sustainability people have learned how to do is think about systems and system change, and to think about networks and understanding grassroots communities," Jones explained. "Bringing those worlds together has great promise for both of those worlds."
Jones had a lot of insight to offer on the state of the market, both in terms of changing shoppers' buying habits to value greener products to changing how any company in any industry can be greener.
"Our mission statement isn't 'make lots of stuff," Jones said. "It's 'inspire and innovate on behalf of the athlete.' How can we think about completely different materials that would be great for performance, but would also be regenerative, recyclable, and reusable? How do we think about supply chains that are radically transformed? How do we make these better places to work, make them LEED, make them greener? And what does that mean for sustainability economy?"
Later in the discussion, Jones shared two takeaways about how to get people to want to buy products that are greener.
1. Never compromise performance or price for sustainability. If you do, you will ghettoize sustainability and you'll continue the belief in the market that sustainability equals less, and that, Jones said, is one of the biggest sustainability challenges we still face.
2. Give the consumer something they didn't even expect. How do you create a demand for doing new things? Jones gave the example of the gear that Nike gave to the footballers at last year's World Cup in South Africa. Made entirely from recycled plastic bottles, Nike never compromised on their performance requirements, and she said the players loved it, both on the field and off.
Similarly, the Jordan 23 basketball shoe made it greener as a result of moving away from solvents to glue the pieces together, as well as working with the factory to develop a way to use stitching and geometry to partially hold the shoe together. "It was a breakthrough inspiration," Jones said, " and it sends a shudder down the design community." And the innovation gave an added thrill to Nike customers -- not only was it a high-performance shoe, but when buyers found out it was significantly greener, it became an added bonus.
Although Nike has come a long way down the path of sustainability, and one that started from what Jones described as a "difficult" place -- namely, the child labor scandals of the 1990s -- Jones stressed that none of it was easy. Nike has put years of effort into assessing the life-cycle impacts of its materials -- and Jones says that Nike has about 75,000 materials that go into its various products in the course of just one year.
They've turned those studies into a series of tools that they're sharing within the apparel industry and beyond, with the goal of helping everyone get better. Whether it's the Considered Index, its Green Xchange, working with the Eco Index Apparel Tool or the Sustainability Consortium, Jones said the future of green is going to have to revolve around sharing.
As a closing thought, here's how Jones laid out the goal of sustainable innovation: "We're going to have to make today's status quo obsolete because [what we're making tomorrow] is better."
As Joel Makower put it in the introduction to his 30-minute interview with Jones, when you think of innovation, you pretty much always think of Nike. From their waste-based shoes to their radical collaboration within their industry and beyond, Nike is truly mapping the trail of sustainable innovation.
Jones began by walking the audience of more than 200 sustainability professionals through the journey that Nike is taking on innovation -- a journey that has involved not just her own team and her own company, but companies as far-flung from the sportswear and apparel industries as Procter & Gamble and Eli Lilly.
She spoke particularly about the benefits of viewing innovation through the same lens that you view sustainability. "One of the things that sustainability people have learned how to do is think about systems and system change, and to think about networks and understanding grassroots communities," Jones explained. "Bringing those worlds together has great promise for both of those worlds."
Jones had a lot of insight to offer on the state of the market, both in terms of changing shoppers' buying habits to value greener products to changing how any company in any industry can be greener.
"Our mission statement isn't 'make lots of stuff," Jones said. "It's 'inspire and innovate on behalf of the athlete.' How can we think about completely different materials that would be great for performance, but would also be regenerative, recyclable, and reusable? How do we think about supply chains that are radically transformed? How do we make these better places to work, make them LEED, make them greener? And what does that mean for sustainability economy?"
Later in the discussion, Jones shared two takeaways about how to get people to want to buy products that are greener.
1. Never compromise performance or price for sustainability. If you do, you will ghettoize sustainability and you'll continue the belief in the market that sustainability equals less, and that, Jones said, is one of the biggest sustainability challenges we still face.
2. Give the consumer something they didn't even expect. How do you create a demand for doing new things? Jones gave the example of the gear that Nike gave to the footballers at last year's World Cup in South Africa. Made entirely from recycled plastic bottles, Nike never compromised on their performance requirements, and she said the players loved it, both on the field and off.
Similarly, the Jordan 23 basketball shoe made it greener as a result of moving away from solvents to glue the pieces together, as well as working with the factory to develop a way to use stitching and geometry to partially hold the shoe together. "It was a breakthrough inspiration," Jones said, " and it sends a shudder down the design community." And the innovation gave an added thrill to Nike customers -- not only was it a high-performance shoe, but when buyers found out it was significantly greener, it became an added bonus.
Although Nike has come a long way down the path of sustainability, and one that started from what Jones described as a "difficult" place -- namely, the child labor scandals of the 1990s -- Jones stressed that none of it was easy. Nike has put years of effort into assessing the life-cycle impacts of its materials -- and Jones says that Nike has about 75,000 materials that go into its various products in the course of just one year.
They've turned those studies into a series of tools that they're sharing within the apparel industry and beyond, with the goal of helping everyone get better. Whether it's the Considered Index, its Green Xchange, working with the Eco Index Apparel Tool or the Sustainability Consortium, Jones said the future of green is going to have to revolve around sharing.
As a closing thought, here's how Jones laid out the goal of sustainable innovation: "We're going to have to make today's status quo obsolete because [what we're making tomorrow] is better."
2011年10月10日星期一
The Nike Zoom Kobe 7 revealed, has removable ankle strap
Based on this image of the Nike Zoom Kobe 7, it appears that the general look of the shoe won't be that much different from last year's edition. Except for the fact that it has a removable ankle strap and insoles, of course.
Unlike LeBron James' signature line that has changed significantly over the years in look and style, Kobe has mainatined a sleek and low (cut) profile for his shoes ever since the Kobe 4. It will retain the flywire that has been a staple of the line, but it won't have the controversial scales of the 6, which was a hate it or love it feature among fans. Mesh will be visible in the Zoom Kobe 7 and it will have a new heel design that also borrows a lot from the 6.
What is most interesting about the 7 is the removable ankle strap. Sneaker Files is not sure whether or not the package will also include an additional insole, but the ankle strap is the game changing element that could make Mamba's shoe the dominant line in the Nike stable again.
Despite the NBA lockout, Black Mamba has been keeping himself busy with tours in Asia and Europe. There are the rumors that he will be playing in Italy, but even if that doesn't come to pass, at least he has a feature part in a Nike short film coming up.
Unlike LeBron James' signature line that has changed significantly over the years in look and style, Kobe has mainatined a sleek and low (cut) profile for his shoes ever since the Kobe 4. It will retain the flywire that has been a staple of the line, but it won't have the controversial scales of the 6, which was a hate it or love it feature among fans. Mesh will be visible in the Zoom Kobe 7 and it will have a new heel design that also borrows a lot from the 6.
What is most interesting about the 7 is the removable ankle strap. Sneaker Files is not sure whether or not the package will also include an additional insole, but the ankle strap is the game changing element that could make Mamba's shoe the dominant line in the Nike stable again.
Despite the NBA lockout, Black Mamba has been keeping himself busy with tours in Asia and Europe. There are the rumors that he will be playing in Italy, but even if that doesn't come to pass, at least he has a feature part in a Nike short film coming up.
Me and My Money
Are you a saver or a spender? Definitely a spender with my own money, although what we make in the business gets reinvested back into our projects before going back into our own pockets, So frugal with work and more laissez faire with my own cash.
Do you shop around for better value? I go online all the time to find the best prices for items like flights, clothes, vinyl and accommodation. I don’t really enjoy shopping, so if I ever do shop around town for bargains, it’s on a mid-week morning, as opposed to a weekend, when its less hectic.
What has been your most extravagant purchase ever? Certain vinyl albums that cost several hundred euros due to the rarity and condition of the item.
What purchase have you made that you consider the best value for money? My Macbook Pro. It gets used for a range of tasks and doubles up for work and leisure.
Have you ever crossed the Border to shop? No, I live on my own and do not really eat at home so there is no real benefit for me to go up there for some thrift purchases.
Do you haggle over prices? I spend a lot of my time haggling in work with artists and agents over fees, flights, tour budgets etc. It’s second nature to me, but I tend to fall back and not be so sharp when it is outside of work-related matters.
Has the recession changed your spending habits? It has definitely taught me to be more mindful of my spending and to prepare for all eventualities.
Do you invest in shares? I have invested exclusively in my business and have not yet had the opportunity to try the markets.
Cash or card? Cash is king but cards will get you out of a hole if you find yourself in one. I tend to carry far less cash on me than I used to though.
What was the last thing you bought and was it good value for money? My iphone4 as it allows me to keep up to date with work when I’m on the go and is great for organising your schedule if you’re travelling. It also has a video camera and thousands of apps so it is the most versatile thing I own. I also bought some Nike Id trainers on the Nike website where you design your own shoes. I don’t think I could ever go back to normal trainer buying after this experience – it’s such a brilliant idea.
Have you ever successfully saved up for a relatively big purchase? I have been building up my record collection and music equipment for years, which is worth a fair whack on paper and is something I continually add to, so this is probably my biggest purchase, but it’s an ongoing thing.
Have you ever lost money? I’ve lost money on projects a fair few times, but personally I haven’t lost anything of significance.
Is money important to you? Money is important for my work as it’s so cash intensive but after that I tend to not care too much for it. As long as we have enough to work on projects we are really passionate about and can pay the bills then I’m generally happy. Obviously I would like more of it, but it certainly isn’t the most important thing in my life by any means.
Do you shop around for better value? I go online all the time to find the best prices for items like flights, clothes, vinyl and accommodation. I don’t really enjoy shopping, so if I ever do shop around town for bargains, it’s on a mid-week morning, as opposed to a weekend, when its less hectic.
What has been your most extravagant purchase ever? Certain vinyl albums that cost several hundred euros due to the rarity and condition of the item.
What purchase have you made that you consider the best value for money? My Macbook Pro. It gets used for a range of tasks and doubles up for work and leisure.
Have you ever crossed the Border to shop? No, I live on my own and do not really eat at home so there is no real benefit for me to go up there for some thrift purchases.
Do you haggle over prices? I spend a lot of my time haggling in work with artists and agents over fees, flights, tour budgets etc. It’s second nature to me, but I tend to fall back and not be so sharp when it is outside of work-related matters.
Has the recession changed your spending habits? It has definitely taught me to be more mindful of my spending and to prepare for all eventualities.
Do you invest in shares? I have invested exclusively in my business and have not yet had the opportunity to try the markets.
Cash or card? Cash is king but cards will get you out of a hole if you find yourself in one. I tend to carry far less cash on me than I used to though.
What was the last thing you bought and was it good value for money? My iphone4 as it allows me to keep up to date with work when I’m on the go and is great for organising your schedule if you’re travelling. It also has a video camera and thousands of apps so it is the most versatile thing I own. I also bought some Nike Id trainers on the Nike website where you design your own shoes. I don’t think I could ever go back to normal trainer buying after this experience – it’s such a brilliant idea.
Have you ever successfully saved up for a relatively big purchase? I have been building up my record collection and music equipment for years, which is worth a fair whack on paper and is something I continually add to, so this is probably my biggest purchase, but it’s an ongoing thing.
Have you ever lost money? I’ve lost money on projects a fair few times, but personally I haven’t lost anything of significance.
Is money important to you? Money is important for my work as it’s so cash intensive but after that I tend to not care too much for it. As long as we have enough to work on projects we are really passionate about and can pay the bills then I’m generally happy. Obviously I would like more of it, but it certainly isn’t the most important thing in my life by any means.
2011年10月9日星期日
Check out what Oregon has in store for Matt Knight Madness
At most places, they toss t-shirts into the stands to fans searching for a souvenir. At Oregon, they're giving away the Limited Edition Pit Crew Air Jordan 3.
The first 1,000 students to Friday's Matt Knight Madness will receive a raffle coupon and 10 pairs of the Nike shoes will be given away as prizes.
The Ducks men's and women's basketball teams will hold a short scrimmage during the exhibition. Here's a look at a video (below) promoting the event. Got to admit, the song and video is catchy. Reminds me of Washington's old Dancing Dawgs video clip.
The Huskies start fall practice Friday with a three-day training camp off campus.
The first 1,000 students to Friday's Matt Knight Madness will receive a raffle coupon and 10 pairs of the Nike shoes will be given away as prizes.
The Ducks men's and women's basketball teams will hold a short scrimmage during the exhibition. Here's a look at a video (below) promoting the event. Got to admit, the song and video is catchy. Reminds me of Washington's old Dancing Dawgs video clip.
The Huskies start fall practice Friday with a three-day training camp off campus.
2011年10月7日星期五
Whose Shoes: Revealed
The guesses that came in yesterday for our “Whose Shoes” feature included RCP‘s Erin McPike and freelancer Stephanie Green.
The right answer is videographer Elizabeth Glover, who freelances for outlets like TWT and Insight News and Feature and previously Wonkette. She also owns and runs Bikram Yoga Capitol Hill, which some Washington journos like Politico‘s Patrick Gavin have been known to frequent.
Glover purchased the shoes at Palace 5ive on 14th Street near U St. NW in DC. “It's a super cool skate shop,” she explained. “They're Nike skateboarding shoes. They were on the sale in the Spring, I think, and marked down from $150 or so to $60ish. I don't know why they have different colored shoelaces. They came that way – already laced.”
She also said wearing these shoes to upscale receptions isn't her norm. “I don't usually wear them to fancy media events but I was rushing from the studio and forgot to change out of them. My loafers were in the car. Whoops!”
The right answer is videographer Elizabeth Glover, who freelances for outlets like TWT and Insight News and Feature and previously Wonkette. She also owns and runs Bikram Yoga Capitol Hill, which some Washington journos like Politico‘s Patrick Gavin have been known to frequent.
Glover purchased the shoes at Palace 5ive on 14th Street near U St. NW in DC. “It's a super cool skate shop,” she explained. “They're Nike skateboarding shoes. They were on the sale in the Spring, I think, and marked down from $150 or so to $60ish. I don't know why they have different colored shoelaces. They came that way – already laced.”
She also said wearing these shoes to upscale receptions isn't her norm. “I don't usually wear them to fancy media events but I was rushing from the studio and forgot to change out of them. My loafers were in the car. Whoops!”
订阅：
博文 (Atom)