John Ashworth to grace cover of premier issue of Golf Cognoscente Quarterly

Hello from Las Vegas

As promised here is an update on Golf Cognoscente Quarterly -- golf's luxury lifestyle quarterly. The premier issue is taking shape very quickly. I met with HONMA the entire day on Monday....The Art of club making.... and we'll hear soon from Sakata Japan if they will become a major marketing partner of GCQ.

Tuesday I walked the PGA Fall Expo and met with John Ashworth. He will be our cover story for the premier issue of GCQ and suggested Aviara in Carlsbad as the location for our first cover.

I also met with Jimmy Glass the VP of sales of Marbas and he loved the GCQ media kit and the philosophy of our magazine.

I ran into Duffy Waldorf, who will be introducing his own label of wine this December which coincides with the launch of GCQ!

My partner in crime Scott Clark will meet with Aetna Springs in Napa Valley and I will meet with Pelican Hill in Newport Coast next week.

The response has been overwhelmingly positive to our efforts, in large part based on the content, which will cover a great variety of fascinating subjects in the world of Golf, Lifestyle and Luxury.

I will be at The Payne Stewart Golf Club in Branson, Mo. for the rest of the week and will report on the opening of the first nine holes of the FABULOUS Bobby Clampett designed track in the Ozark Mountains.

Auke

Most fashionable announcement of 2008 - GOLF COGNOSCENTE QUARTERLY... Launching Fall 08

Table of Contents

Architect Profile: Tom Doak
His Pacific Dunes just took the No. 1 spot from Pebble Beach

The Shivas Irons Society:
The Art & Literature of Golf

Golf & Wine Travel
Cork & Tee
Livermore, Calif.

John Ashworth:
California style in fabric and form

Auke's A-list:
Esquivel, Cloud 11 "Best of the Best"

Scott Clark Presents:
The new Aetna Springs
Napa Valley, Calif.

Nicole Castrale brings black golf dress to Fashionable New York Times

If you have followed the last few weeks on the Aukesphere, I have made references to the increased attention of mainstream media to Golf and Fashion.... well, the black Golf dress may become the female version of Tiger's red. With Paula Creamer sporting her signature Pink, we may have a green carpet challenge on Sunday's on the LPGA Tour!

Maybe the LPGA Tour will take a chapter from the women's tennis tour and start "branding" their players in the cosmopolitan and fashionable way the WTA does. Take a look at the fabulous annual photo shoots that are done as promotion for the U.S. Open at Flushing Meadow. Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams are the poster girls for what I consider the very best marketing of women athletes.

The article in the Aug. 11 edition of The New York Times section D9, gives me great confidence, that "we" in Golf are on the right track.

The W7 LPGA players managed by Wilhelmina Artist Management are a step in the right direction and the results are pretty cool ... they all like to be part of a Fashionable team and guess what ... they all seem to have a pretty good year and attribute their improved play on their involvement in the W7!

So, would there be credence to the idea of look good, feel good, play good? Well to take a page from Ahead's "play" book, I certainly think so!!! All we have to do now is wait for the next color to be claimed on the LPGA Tour for Sunday final rounds!

My vote is for Orange to be next!

Auke

Honma redefines the art of golf club making

Future plans include bolstering U.S. and European markets

In Asia Honma is a revered name, which instantaneously evokes the response of the finest golf clubs in the world. In the next few years that will be the case in the U.S. as well. With media coverage in GQ, the Robb Report, Travel & Leisure Golf and an appearance by President of Premier Golf Distributors Inc. Chris Lannom on Fox news New York, Honma is building it's brand in the U.S. The first six months in 2008, business is up and Honma has distributed in the United States for 20 years.

In a 592,000 square foot facility 200 miles north of Tokyo in Sakata Japan, artisans in hand crafting golf clubs have painstakingly created Honma golf clubs for 50 years. Where the other brands mass-produce for the masses, Honma handcrafts each set of clubs to exact specifications for their global clientele. With prices starting at $ 4,000 - to upwards of $ 50,000 - for a complete set, Honma counts the very elite like Donald Trump, Jack Nicholson and Danny de Vito among their clientele.

With an exclusive dealer network in the major metropolitan areas in the USA and Canada, Honma has a very selective network of golf retail accounts that serve the needs of the Honma clientele, which consists of 80 percent Asian-Americans. Honma is represented on the professional tours by Mi Hyun Kim and Jin Joo Hong on the LPGA Tour and Liang Wen Chong and Zhang Lian 'Wei on the Asian tour. Were other brands spend millions on endorsing tour players Honma believes that the world class quality of the Honma golf clubs are the reason for their global success.

With presence at the PGA Fall show in Las Vegas in August and a new booth to be unveiled at the PGA show in Orlando in January, Honma will strengthen its presence state side. The 50th Anniversary limited edition set is almost sold out, which is a testament to the global reputation of Honma, which among the Golf Cognoscenti is called the Rolls Royce of golf clubs. For information about a regional representative of Honma, go to www.honmagolf.com.

As a single-digit handicapper, I can personally attest to the fabulous quality of the Honma clubs. I received my new set about two months ago and have seen a remarkable improvement in my game and … they immediately create a conversation with every single playing partner. I am very sensitive to aesthetics and the driver and 3 wood are so gorgeous visually, they instill positive swing thoughts from the moment you pull them from the bag, until the ball lands long and straight in the middle of the fairway ... ahead of your playing partners!

Fairway & Greens....

Auke Hempenius

HONMA Photo shoot tonight (Aug. 1) at Bentley of Beverly Hills

The new 50th Anniversary limited edition HONMA set will be photographed tonight (Aug. 1) at Bentley of Beverly Hills with a 2008 Black and Orange Bentley Continental two-door Coupe.

Check out the Aukesphere early next week, for the amazing results of a great co-branding effort between the finest golf clubs of the world and a venerable auto mark ... Bentley.