Tee off at GOLFZON PARK starting this month!

Advanced 3D Golf Simulator Technology now available in Canada

TORONTO, March 14, 2012 /Canada NewsWire Telbec/ - GOLFZON Canada Inc., an international leader in the distribution of golf simulator systems, is pleased to announce the launch of its 3D, virtual golfing experience in Canada. From mid-March until May, the Company will open its first five locations in the Greater Toronto Area under the GOLFZON PARK banner. By integrating its online and offline products and services, GOLFZON PARK will create a rich new golf culture, making the experience of simulated golf more real, enjoyable and accessible to everyone, regardless of their skills.

"We are proud to bring our brand of golf simulator technology to Canada," says Jay Park, Director of GOLFZON Canada Inc. "Not only do we offer an alternative to indoor sports, but we also offer an alternative to avid golfers. Our systems allow everyone to play golf, in any climate and without the hassle of scheduling tee times. Our high-end 3D graphics also make the experience feel real as it lets you play some of the most famous golf courses in the world right in your own city. The GOLFZON technologies are easy, fun and enjoyable - a real crowd pleaser!"

Golf simulator technology has opened doors for a unique golfing experience and opportunity, and GOLFZON PARK goes beyond the typical virtual reality. Real golf clubs and balls are used in a closed environment in order to simulate an authentic 3D golfing experience and help everyone improve their swing and overall game. With its screens, swing plates sensor mats and specialized cameras, all players will feel like they are on a real golf course. Furthermore, a number of games are available to help either improve golf skills or to simply have fun from stroke play, match play, skins to longest-drive, nearest-to-pin, putting and driving range.

The golf experience does not end when customers leave GOLFZON PARK locations. The experience continues on the GOLFZON website with the 'My GOLFZON' feature where players can check their score cards and swing motions.

Founded twelve years ago in Korea, GOLFZON continues to build on its successful history, making Canada's opening its first expansion in the Western hemisphere.

GOLFZON PARK locations and openings:

Markham
(7501 Woodbine Ave.) March 19 I 10 AM - 11 PM

Richmond Hill
(9737 Yonge St.) March 26 I 10 AM - 11 PM

Milton
(1095 Maple Ave.) April

Meadowvale, Mississauga
(6677 Meadowvale Town Centre Circle) April

Toronto
(214 King Street West) May



2012 Canadian GOLFZON Tournament:

GOLFZON will also hold special Live tournaments every two months, which will include a competition from contestants that have signed up under each GOLFZON PARK location. The contestants from each location will then compete for three weeks in the qualifying rounds. The top scorers from this round will then be selected to compete in the final round, also known as the "Branch Representative Players" round, and will be placed in the store's ranking system.

The first tournament will begin on March 26 with the qualifying rounds and will end on April 22 with the final round. Each final round will take place at the most recently opened GOLFZON PARK location. Winner and runner up will be awarded with $2,000 and $1,000 respectively, while the third place finisher will receive an iron set of clubs. A golf gift set will be awarded to all final participants.

For more information about GOLFZON, please visit www.golfzon.ca

About GOLFZON:

GOLFZON was established in May 2000. Two years of research and development later, the company produced its first golf simulator models, GOLFZON P and P+. Manufactured with cutting-edge South Korean technology, GOLFZON virtual golf systems commanded tremendous industry attention by capturing majority share of the Korean market in its first year. As of 2010, GOLFZON is the biggest player in the international golf simulator market, earning worldwide recognition and having exported golf simulators to over 30 countries. Also, by inventing GOLFZON LIVE, a service involving on-offline golf competitions and events, GOLFZON continues to offer innovative customer satisfaction. The current model being used in Canada is GOLFZON N, while its newest model being used in Korea at the moment, GOLFZON VISION, will be introduced next year. It will provide more realistic graphics through CryENGINE2 and Vision camera sensors.

Memories Lost To Climate Change: End Of Outdoor Ice Skating & Ice Fishing May Be Near

Tomato Geezer/CC BY 2.0
"In winter, a section of the Rideau Canal passing through central Ottawa becomes officially the world's largest skating rink."

from TreeHugger.com
by John Laumer Living / Culture
In Canada, Ottawa's famous Rideau Canal had a shortened skating season this year because of warm weather. Canadian researchers project that because of climate change, the "number of viable ice-flooding days could reach zero by mid-century."

Where I live in Eastern Pennsylvania there are virtually no winter sports this year due to unseasonable warmth and those who do want to ski or snow board, for example, are driving north as far as Vermont.

I have many wonderful childhood memories of flooding our backyard to make a rink. My Dad would let us run the hose out a basement window. All the kids in the neighborhood would pitch in with snow clearing and sweeping and on weekend evenings we'd have a group skate and maybe a game. By mid-March it was lumpy or gone, which was OK because, by then, we were sick of skating and winter in general.



M. Gifford/CC BY 2.0
"Backyard Hockey"

Kids who grew up in the South probably have no such memories so why would they care? But, in the Upper Mid-West through New England and all across Canada, outdoor skating will be sorely missed.

When I bring up our warm winter here in PA as a topic of conversation - not even mentioning climate change, mind you - there is a discomfort in their body language. It is simply too unpleasant to continue with the personal cognitive dissonance if the language centers of the brain have to kick in. So they look at the ground and change the subject.

Ice fishing too?
The following excerpts are from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, reporting on an unfortunate ending to a February 2012 ice fishing contest on Lake Winnebago Wisconsin.

No contest: Lake Winnebago swallows sturgeon fishermen's vehicles

By Gitte Laasby of the Journal Sentinel
Feb. 26, 2012


Fishermen participating in the annual Lake Winnebago ice fishing contest over the weekend found themselves instead scouting for their modes of transportation after 36 parked vehicles went through the ice, authorities said Sunday...

Tournament organizers for the Battle on Bago reportedly warned people about parking on the ice Saturday, but some had trouble finding spots elsewhere and parked on the lake anyway. Of about 50 cars parked on the ice, four were submerged more than half way, 18 were partially submerged, and 14 sunk to the top of their wheels, according to the sheriff's department.

"They all started early in the morning. Throughout the day with the sun and everything else, vehicles started to sink," the dispatcher explained.

The ice was about a foot thick.

I lived on the shores of Winnebago for many years. To have the ice rot that badly during the last week of February is not unheard of. But, on average, this is way ahead of time. The sturgeon fishermen are disappointed and probably thinking about what it means.


Actually, the ice was bad much earlier that that: at beginning of February 2012. And that's weird. It goes against all cultural memory. As reported by the local Fox News station on 03 Feb 2012,
With just a week to go before sturgeon spearing starts, normally there are hundreds of ice shacks out on Lake Winnebago, but local fishing clubs say the thin ice is a bad sign that may keep many people off the lake altogether.

The story is similar at other places around the lake.

Ryan Kamba of Chilton made several signs for the Quinney Fishing Club, warning people venturing out on the lake of the dangers of the thin ice. It's a warning many may have never seen before on Lake Winnebago this time of year.