Image Credit: Forbes The news about Tiger Woods attempting to return to competitive golf on a regular basis, coupled with the equipment he is using, are generating a huge buzz in the industry and, to an even bigger extent, the mainstream sports world. When one of the greatest stars of this generation is coming back after what was considered a possible end to his career because of injuries, combined with the fact he is 41, people take notice. This is 21 years since Woods took the golf game by storm and then went through a roller-coaster of events on and off the golf course.

Image Credit: CNN Choosing a golf ball that’s right for you and learning how to hit to maximize distance and accuracy can make a huge difference in your game. But how do you determine which is the best ball for you? Paulin Vaillancourt, who has been instructing for 35 years and taught current LPGA star Brooke Henderson as a junior, says most players, especially amateurs, should be using a softer ball.

There are many ways to become interested in golf and turn it into a career, either playing or teaching. In the case of Paulin Vaillancourt, he accomplished both and can lay claim to coaching a current top-10 LPGA player, Brooke Henderson, and her sister/caddie, Brittany.

Former NHL stars (left to right) Marcel Dionne, Rick Vaive, Mike Gartner and Gary Leeman. Image Credit: B'nai Birth Canada During my conversation with former National Hockey League player Gary Leeman, I asked him for some tips about golf. You can read more about Gary's NHL career and how he got into golf on my previous post. As someone who was a decent amateur and is now a three-handicap, Gary told me that physical fitness, in particular strengthening the core, can help improve your game.

Image Credit: CBC Gary Leeman is among a select few players in the National Hockey League to score 50 goals in a season, but he also happens to be a good golfer. I caught up with Gary at a Toronto Maple Leafs alumni game to talk about hockey and golf. Gary surpassed the coveted 50-goal plateau for the Leafs in 1989-90, and later became part of a 10-player trade, the biggest one in National Hockey League history, and also had the good fortune of winning a Stanley Cup with the Montreal Canadiens in 1992-94.

Image Credit: GolfWRX The golf manufacturing business never stops. At the start of 2017, Nike announced it had signed Jason Day, the world’s top-ranked men’s professional, to a golf apparel deal. Day had previously been affiliated with Adidas. The significance of the deal, aside from the fact it made a successful, undisclosed offer to Day, is that Nike is taking an aggressive approach to golf after announcing last August plans to cease producing balls and clubs.

Every time I go to the gym, I do a light warmup riding the stationary bike for about 10 minutes at moderate speed and then do some easy stretching before I increase the intensity of the workout with weights and other apparatus. The reason I do all this is because I’m trying to easy my body into something more extreme. It’s the same with golf.

Image Credit: Nain News So what did you think of Tiger Woods’ return to competitive golf? For someone who hadn’t played in 44 days, he didn’t do too badly, in my opinion, in the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas last week to support his foundation.

For many years, Canada has been waiting for the next Mike Weir, who won the Masters back in 2003 and became one of the top players in the world for a few years until injuries took their toll. Some such as David Hearn, Graham DeLaet, Nick Taylor, Brad Fritsch and Adam Hadwin have come forward to make their presences felt as the next great Canadian on the PGA Tour, while amateur Jared du Toit had a good run in the 2016 Canadian Open, but none have been able to capture the imagination and optimism of rookie Mackenzie Hughes.