You can say Inbee Park won the gold medal in the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil, but really the biggest winner was women’s golf. On the biggest and most important stage in the world, the women aced it – literally and metaphorically. Park, the 28-year-old from South Korea who earlier this year met the criteria for the World Golf Hall of Fame, was a well-deserving winner, trouncing the field by five strokes and a score of 16-under-par.

Over recent years, technology used in manufacturing golf balls has witnessed massive leaps forward. The days of liquid-core balls that would lose compression and distance after exposure to heat or water are far in the past. The modern solid-core ball offers consistency, longevity and durability that far exceeds the golf ball of yesteryear. This has opened a market for recycled balls.

For the all the hubbub controversy about problems heading into the 2016 Olympic Games, the return of golf turned out to be fantastic. It came down to a thrilling finale in the 72-hole tournament that, in the end, proved to be memorable for the players, some of whom declared after it was over about how much the experience meant to them personally and professionally.

In just a few days the world’s best golfers will compete at the Olympics for the first time since 1904. By the end of the weekend, there will be a new Olympic gold medalist in men’s golf for the first time since Canadian George Lyon claimed the title at Glen Echo Country Club 112 years ago. The question is, who will it be? Though some players have decided to stay home, the field competing in Rio will be one of the strongest of the year. That is why today we make our bets on the top-four most likely to find on the podium and what ball they’ll be using in their quest for gold.

Many famous musicians also happen to be avid golfers. Probably the most famous one of all is Alice Cooper, who wrote about it in his book: Alice Cooper, Golf Monster: A Rock 'n' Roller's Life and 12 Steps to Becoming a Golf Addict. Some other high-profile musicians include: Kenny G., Justin Timberlake, Snoop Dogg and Adam Levine. To try to understand what it is about the game of golf that attracts musicians, I asked Gil Moore, who was the drummer for Triumph, a Canadian-based rock and roll band that hit it big in the U.S., beginning in Texas in the mid-70s and went on to play in some major international gigs, including the US Festival in California in 1983. Triumph was part of Heavy Metal Day that included acts such as Judas Priest, Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne, Scorpion, Van Halen and Motley Crue.

Did you catch Hideki Matsuyama’s approach shot on the par-4 second hole during Friday’s coverage of the PGA Championship? It landed 20 feet past the hole, safely in the middle of the green and seemingly was nothing special. Then it began to roll. And roll. The ball would continue to roll until it disappeared into the bottom of the cup. The crowd erupted and Matsuyama found himself climbing up the leaderboard. While many of us may dream of holing out for eagle in a major, most will have to resign themselves to simply watching such moments on TV. However, there is a way average Joes can get one step closer to competing like such superstars as Matsuyama, Graeme McDowell and Keegan Bradley: play the same ball. Enter the Srixon Z-Star and Z-Star XV.

Who could have ever guessed an island in Northern Michigan could have two golf courses, one of them associated with a historic building? I found that out while visiting Mackinac Island, specifically to see the 129-year-old Grand Hotel, which has lodged presidents and movie stars and was the site of the film Somewhere In Time. My wife, Jane, saw the film and said at some point in her life she wanted to see The Grand Hotel. So off we went from our home just west of Toronto in Mississauga. It took us about 10 hours.

With the 98th PGA Championship beginning this week, golf’s greatest stars will descend upon Springfield, New Jersey as Baltusrol Golf Club plays host to the year’s final major. The first PGA Championship was contested in 1916 with Jim Barnes defeating Jock Hutchinson in the final round of what was then a match play tournament. Though much about the game of golf has stayed the same since that first championship 100 years ago, one facet of the game has been the focus of unrelenting innovation – the golf ball. That is why this week we take a look at the balls used by the last three PGA Champions and the features that helped them on their way to lifting the Wanamaker Trophy.

You can blame the Zika virus and other issues as the reasons some of the best male golfers in the world are passing up the chance to play in the 2016 Summer Olympics, but the reality is the International Olympic Committee created the potential for a problem by including golf in its roster of sports for the first time in more than a century and opening it up to professionals.