We’re not sure if Tiger Woods’ wife and kids are glad he’s finally getting out of the house and doing something on the weekends, but we know the TV networks and the PGA Tour are looking forward to his return at the Accenture match play event.  Tiger tees off Thursday morning after the eight-month recovery from knee surgery.

Golf Channel gets a big boost with its early round coverage.  Tiger faces Australian Brendan Jones in his first match and expectations are that ratings will be huge.  The network will air a 30-minute prime-time special about Woods on Tuesday and a 60 minute  show on Wednesday.  NBC takes over weekend coverage, giving it a huge lift as the season gets underway.

This week, Nike Golf (NYSE:NKE) kicks off a new commercial, “THE GOOD LIFE,” which celebrates the return of Tiger Woods to competition and highlights the winning performances of Nike Golf athletes in 2008. Woods has announced that he will compete in this week’s Accenture Match Play Championship.

“I think we are all looking forward to getting him back and seeing what kind of shape he’s in,” said Leonard, a 12-time winner on the PGA Tour. “You always want to compete against the best in the world out here and win.”

Radiating a fun, humorous, tongue in cheek tone, “THE GOOD LIFE” TV commercial features Nike athletes Woods, Stewart Cink, Trevor Immelman, Anthony Kim, Justin Leonard and Carl Petterssen.

“We had a great time shooting the spot together. We had a lot of laughs,” said Woods. “I’m now ready to play again.”

The ad will begin airing on Wednesday  through Sunday on ESPN, ESPN News and The Golf Channel. The Golf Channel will air it immediately preceding Tiger’s first tee shot in round one of the Accenture Match Play Championship. The campaign will also be featured on nikegolf.com

Born in 1975, many of us can remember seeing footage of a young Tiger Woods hitting a golf ball at the young age of 2. Right away it was clear that Tiger would grow up to be an incredible golfer since he just had a gift for the game. At just 15 years of age, Tiger was the youngest person to ever win the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship and several other awards followed. Now, he’s the king of golf trading cards.

Making his way into PGA, Tiger joined the tour in 1996 and was soon offered large endorsements from such notable companies like Nike and Titleist for a total of $20 million just that first year alone. It was during this first year that sports card manufacturers raced to enter the market with a Tiger Woods rookie card knowing that it would easily sell out in no time.

Of all the different Tiger Woods Rookie cards that exist, all made by different companies, a few stand out as being the most valuable and sought after by collectors. Sports Illustrated for Kids offered a card for sale in their magazines in 1996 which has become a hot commodity among golf card collectors, with one such card fetching $125,000 recently. What’s interesting about this particular Tiger Woods rookie card is that Sports Illustrated never intended for this card to ever be traded as a serious collectible and they have even gone as far as to request grading and authenticating companies not to grade that particular card.

Grand Slam Ventures made one of the other notable rookie cards, adding a Tiger Woods card to the Masters series of cards that it had made for many years. Today those specific cards have varying prices ranging from just $200, but with some sales reported to be as high as $40,000. Two versions of this card were created, one was offered as a 1997-1998 date and the other with a 1997-1999 date, but the earlier one is the most valuable, worth at least twice as much as the later one.

If you’re a golf collector or just a Tiger fan, a Tiger Woods rookie card is certainly a wonderful addition to a collection and may easily become one of your more important pieces are time goes on.

Trading cards have long been one of the most popular collectible items, especially with sports collectors and golf enthusiasts. When these cards were initially released, they were shipped in packs or sets, with each set containing anywhere from 10 to 50 cards. At their time of release in decades past, golf cards were inexpensive and often amateur collectors eventually disposed of them, believing they would have no real value 50 years down the road. It’s because of this that some of the older cards are hard to find and therefore demand a higher price. While many of these cards have not hit the high prices like their counterparts in baseball or hockey, vintage golf trading cards are still a hot collectible that are expected to increase in value in the coming years. Over the past 100 years, professional golf has amassed a very large fan following, which in turn has fueled demand for vintage golf trading cards.

If a golfer from 100 years ago were to travel in time to today, I’m sure they would be surprised to find just how popular golf has become. Because it is a sport that may be more accessible to a large group of people based on age and ability, golf participation has grown to heights not seen by more intensive sports like baseball or hockey. Just like baseball enthusiasts and fans eagerly collect vintage trading cards of their favorite teams and players, avid golfers have turned their love for the game into a collecting old golf trading cards. What I have always found interesting about collecting any vintage golf item is the skill that was displayed by players 50 or 75 years ago. While we have benefited from technology and advancements in equipment, older players used inferior equipment, yet excelled at the game, which showed their level of skill. A vintage trading card will often tell the whole truth regarding their skill on the course and the pre-World War II cards are a great snapshot into the game’s colorful past.

Who can forget the golf greats like Bobby Jones, Sam Snead and Walter Hagen? Collecting vintage golf cards of such notable players is a great way to memorialize those who have since passed away, or commemorate retired golfers who made a lasting impact on the game. Whether you choose to collect vintage golf cards as a hobby or a more serious investment, one thing is true; Of all the different trading cards available, golf cards seem to receive the least press but might be the most interesting to collect.

Here’s a list of golf cards available on eBay now.

The PGA of America, in its efforts to demonstrate its corporate citizenship, invited approximately 200 Kentucky based charities to participate in the 37^th Ryder Cup Community Relations Program.  Collectively $849,325 was generated to benefit programs that target youth education, wellness, fitness and sports.

The 37^th Ryder Cup was contested Sept. 16-21, 2008, at Valhalla Golf Club.

The following programs were among the beneficiaries:

• The PGA of America joined with Cobalt Artworks to present checks totaling $22,000 to Louisville’s Muhammad Ali Center and The First Tee of Louisville.   The contributions were the result of an online auction of one-of-a-kind portraits created by famed American artist LeRoy Neiman of 2008 Ryder Cup U.S. Captain Paul Azinger and European Captain Nick Faldo.

The on-line auction drew bids from art collectors and sports fans from all over the world. The successful bidder is golf enthusiast Ian Inglis of Scotland.  Through Inglis’s arrangement, both paintings will go on display in spring 2009 at the British Golf Museum in St. Andrews, Scotland.  The Museum is directly opposite The Royal and Ancient Golf Clubhouse and just 67½ yards from the first tee of the Old Course.

· The WHAS Crusade for Children recently received a $50,000 donation as a result of The PGA of America hosting The Ryder Cup Captains’ Challenge, conducted Sept. 17, 2008 at Hurstbourne Country Club

· The Ryder Cup Captains’ Celebration, marking the one-year-out point for the event, raised $35,361 for four charitable organizations:  Down Syndrome of Louisville, Louisville Urban Youth Golf Program, The Children’s Hospital Foundation, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kentuckiana.

· The PGA provided 158 charities two weekly Ryder Cup tickets to use as auction items to support their fund raisers.  These tickets were given to charitable organizations that provide community services in the areas of healthcare, youth and family services as well as youth sports.  Collectively $537,000 was raised by these charities to support their causes.

· Levy Restaurants, the concessions, food and beverage partner of The PGA, supported the Ryder Cup Community Relations efforts through its Levy Cares initiatives and its Concession Non-for-Profit Program.  For the Ryder Cup, six organizations provided approximately 115 volunteers per day.  In return, these organizations received a portion of all alcohol and food sales from the six concession stands being run throughout the course.

Among the groups represented were the Heartland Flyers Competitive Cheerleading Group, St. Bernard Parent Teacher Organization, Becca’s Fliptown Gymnastics Booster Club, The Eastern High School Booster Club, The Louisville Youth Hockey Association and the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity. These six charities shared $168,465 from this Levy Cares Program.

“It is a wonderful feeling for all members of The PGA of America to know that the excitement of one of the best Ryder Cups ever - played before the best fans in America in Kentucky – carries on through charitable work to benefit the citizens of Louisville,” said PGA of America President Jim Remy. “The Ryder Cup was born because of a desire to bring the best players on either side of the Atlantic together. In Louisville, thousands came together for one unforgettable, historic week and we are very pleased that the benefits will continue.”

“We believe the 2008 Ryder Cup at Valhalla Golf Club was the best Ryder Cup in history,” said Walt Gahm, general chair of the 2008 Ryder Cup and founder of Valhalla Golf Club. “We were thrilled by the enthusiasm of the community and pleased to have used this event to develop awareness and funds for deserving organizations.”

(Click for a list of Ryder Cup memorabilia on eBay)

A signed 8×10 photograph of Bobby Jones sold for $5625 in a recent sports memorabilia auction conducted by Maryland-based Huggins & Scott.

While heavy on the traditional baseball, football, basketball and hockey memorabilia and cards, the auctiondid contain some golf material.  The Jones photo drew 28 bids and had a high bid of $5,000.  The buyer’s premium pushed the realized price $625 higher.

A lot of three signed Ben Hogan items including a contract and check, brought $881 including the BP, a Masters flag signed by Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player drew 12 bids and sold for $822, a group of five signed items including Nicklaus, Palmer and Byron Nelson brought just over $500.

Not since the opening of Whistling Straits in Wisconsin has there been a more anticipated golf course opening in the Midwest and Hall of Fame architect Pete Dye is responsible for both. The new Pete Dye course at French Lick Resort will open to the public on April 24, 2009.

French Lick Resort, long one of America’s premier resort destinations, is situated on rolling hills overlooking the Hoosier National Forest in southern Indiana. The historic resort is located in the small town of French Lick, where for over two centuries the Pluto Mineral Springs has attracted visitors. (It is also known as the hometown of basketball legend Larry Bird.)

Since the early 1900’s, golf has been an integral part of this resort area. Tom Bendelow designed the first course here in 1907 followed by the great Donald Ross ten years later. In 2009, however, French Lick moves to an entirely new level with the opening of the spectacular new Pete Dye course.

Dye, an Indiana native who recently was inducted into the Golf Hall of Fame, is famous for his innovative course designs. In 1982, Dye introduced stadium golf at TPC Sawgrass in Florida. What followed were a series of Dye signature designs including the Ocean Course at Kiawah, PGA West in California, Whistling Straits in Wisconsin and now this new course at French Lick Resort.

“I have spent the past five decades designing golf courses all over the world, including courses on great coastal sites,” Dye explains. “This new project at French Lick Resort brings great excitement to Alice and me because the course is on arguably the best inland site I have ever worked on.”

 The course was carefully carved on a dramatic hilltop offering a variety of elevation changes, rugged and dramatic terrain, narrow fairways and ever-changing bunkers. There are spectacular views from every hole, some that stretch for over 40 miles.

Integrating the advances in modern equipment, golf balls and player fitness, Dye has designed a golf course that stretches over 8,100 yards from the professional tees. However, this new creation welcomes all levels of players. With five sets of tees, yardages begin at 5,100 yards from the forward tees. (Alice Dye always makes sure the courses play well for women.) Most players are expected to play from either 6,100 or 6,700 yards.

This new course is already gaining national recognition. In 2010, the PGA of America will play its PGA Professional National Championship on the new Pete Dye course. This is expected to be the first of several high profile professional events to be hosted here.

The new Pete Dye course will also mark the return of caddies to French Lick Resort for the first time in 45 years. The resort’s new caddie program will give young people from the area the opportunity to learn the game and qualify for college scholarships. The resort will work with the Western Golf Association in developing the caddie program. While caddies will be an option, forecaddies will be required upon opening.

Complementing the new Pete Dye course at French Lick Resort is the historic Donald Ross course, which has just undergone a $4.6 million restoration project that has brought the course back to Ross’s original plans.