A Clemson professor recently said that he has little doubt Hilton Head will eventually find a new title sponsor for its PGA Tour event.

According to The Island Packet, Sauer says he feels confident because of the influential force that television has become in sports, the increases in consumers’ leisure time and the increases in incomes. These three factors make sponsorships like the Heritage very valuable to companies, he says.

So who will be a potential sponsor? Sauer doubts a South Carolina company will be willing or able to shell out the estimated $7.5 million to $8 million for the Heritage sponsorship, but says the company that does take over will not have to be a household name, but could be.

Steve Wilmot, the Heritage’s tournament director, said he “has been overwhelmed by phone calls and e-mails. Many of those messages were from people interested in discussing a potential sponsorship or passing along information to corporate contacts.”

So, who do you think would be a good sponsorship fit? Any leads we should pass on to Wilmot ?

LifeintheRough.com recently blogged about how there are few places where you’ll hear more expletives and angst than on a golf course. The blog post lists the top 10 things you don’t ever want to hear or say on a golf course. Browse the list below and let us know what you think! Do you have a few to add to the list? (But let’s try to keep it clean guys. )

Golf can be a tough game, but as difficult as things may be on the course try not to say these things, and cross your fingers you don’t hear them!

1. “Wow, your club went further than the ball.“
2. “Uh oh, that’s in the fairway on the next hole.“
3. “Fore!“
4. “I think I saw a splash.”
5. “You’re still away.“

To read the post and see the full list, visit Lifeintherough.com. Have you heard or said any of these recently?

The best way to ease in from the daily stress of life to playing a round of golf is to warm up correctly. If you have time, do a full warm up before you start and then an abbreviated session before you reach the first tee.

IntoTheRough.com recommends that each warm-up session consist of a series of stretches, which may be followed by a vigorous workout if you have the time. The ideal warm up should last at least 10 minutes and up to 30 minutes.

Why is warming up so important? Well, when you don’t use your muscles for a long period of time, they tend to shorten and get tight. Doing a warm up of stretching helps to get the blood flowing, which warms the muscles, allowing them to become loose.

Now that you know why it’s important to stretch before your golf game, check out these stretching exercises from PGATOUR.com. Do you stretch before playing golf? How long?

We recently asked the fans of our Twitter account and Facebook page who they thought would be the next big thing in golf. So far the answers are ranging from Ian Poulter to John Bigelow, a 3-year-old Philadelphia golf prodigy. If you’d like to weigh in, go to our Facebook page and share your thoughts. Since posing this question, we found a great blog post from Golf Girl’s Diary about the Birdie sisters.

The Birdie Sisters, Erica and Myah Jackson, are starting to make a big splash in the golf community around Chicago. Erica and Myah, age 11 and 9 respectively, have both clinched their age group’s Midwest Golf Association National Champion title. Most area golfers are expecting some big things from these sisters.

Technology is helping to play a role in their popularity, as well. The girls have a Web site and a Facebook page! Have you heard of the Birdie Sisters? Any other up and coming golfers we should know about?

Last week the International Olympic Committee announced that after being absent from the games for more than a century, golf would return to the Olympics in 2016 and 2020. The last time golf was an Olympic sport was in 1904 at the St. Louis, Mo., games. At that time, there were only two teams competing: the United States and Canada.

PGA.com said that the IGF, the International Golf Federation, has recommended an “Olympic field of 60 players for each of the men’s and women’s competition, using the Official World Golf Rankings as a method of determining eligibility. The top 15 world-ranked players would be eligible for the Olympics, regardless of the number of players from a given country.”

Did anyone doubt golf would be back? Who do you think will win gold? We only have to wait six years to find out.

With so much golf going on during the four days of play at the Presidents Cup, it’s hard to pick the most memorable moments, but Golf.com has put in the extra effort and compiled a list of the best and worst from the tournament.

Some of the most interesting categories listed in the Golf.com article were Best Random Celebrity Sightings, the Muggsy Bogues Award and Classiest Move.

The Best Random Celebrity Sightings winners were Barry Bonds and Charles Schwab on day 1, Bill Clinton, John Madden and Willie Mays on day 2, and Condoleezza Rice and Ken Venturi on day 3.

The Muggsy Bogues Award went to Clark on day 3. Golf.com stated that “The 5′7″ South African was the shortest hitter on either team, but he made an absurd number of birdies in two matches on Saturday,” thus wrapping up that award.

And last, but not least, the Classiest Move award went to Singh, for his moves on the 18th hole, where he conceded a 10-footer to Glover, halving their match and giving Glover his first (partial) point of the week.

To see all the categories, visit Golf.com. Do you have any awards to give out for memorable moments?

Every golfer wants to have a longer drive. It’s fun to watch and can set you up for an easy approach shot. IntoTheRough.com has listed some tips for a longer drive. Do you agree with these?

1. Get practicing with the big stick – Make sure you are hitting the driving range, since your local driving range is where you learn to hit the ball properly with the driver.
2. Tee it high, let it fly – Teeing the ball up higher will help you get more loft on the shot.
3. Get a good tempo and hit it hard – A good, rhythmic golf swing is a beautiful thing. But to get a real power shot, you’re going to have to swing fast and hit through the ball.
4. Check your equipment – Your driver could be holding you back. Are the grips ok? Has the shaft got dents in? Does it have the right amount of flex for your swing?

Do you have any tips for longer drives? Share your success stories and brag about your longest drive ever! For more tips on getting a longer drive, visit IntoTheRough.com. To see some long drives, watch this video from the 2008 Longest Drive Competition in Mesquite Nevada.

2009 is coming to a close, and that means the new 2010 models for putters will soon be available, but which is really worth the money?

PutterZone.com has listed the top choices for the best putters in 2010. The contenders, so far, are:

-Robert Bettinardi’s new line of BB Series and Studio B putters
- Slotline’s 600 Series putters
- Odyssey’s new White Ice putters
- The new Nike Method putter
- PING’s new iN putters

There may be some putters in the works that have not been publicized yet, as some of the companies are being very secretive, but they should all be unveiled at the PGA Merchandise Show in January. Most of the new putters will range in price from between $129 to $375, with the Odyssey white ice putters on the cheaper side and the Robert Bettinardi Studio B putters on the the more expensive side. The Robert Bettinardi BB Series putters will retail for around $275.

What is your favorite putter now, and what feature would make you buy a new one?

Hilton Head Island has long been associated with amazing golf, but when did this start? The first golf course on Hilton Head Island opened in 1961, but this golf island truly began its journey to a treasured golf destination with the 1969 opening of Harbour Town Golf Links.

Harbour Town Golf Links hosted the first Heritage Tournament in 1969 and has been the host course for more than three decades. The course, which was designed by Pete Dye, at first received a cold reception but gradually Tour players warmed to it. Today the Heritage is a very popular tournament on the PGA Tour and a huge event for Hilton Head Island.

Then in the 1970s, construction on Shipyard Plantation and Hilton Head Plantation began, and Hilton Head golfers haven’t looked back since.

In the past few years, the Harbour Town Golf Links and Robert Trent Jones Oceanfront at Palmetto Dunes have undergone extensive renovations in order to keep Hilton Head golf in top form. Even architect Roger Rulewich, who helped on the original construction of the Robert Trent Jones course more than 30 years ago, came back during the renovations to make the improvements to the resort course.

Hilton Head golf is always evolving and changing for the better. Did you visit Hilton Head in the earlier days? What is your favorite course?

Tour Blog Golf recently wrote about a golf outing where a coyote rushed out of the brush, picked up the golf ball and carried it about 40-50 feet away before dropping it again. The ball, which was originally almost to the green, was now in a lousy position.

Tour Blog Golf wiped the ball clean and proceeded to play the ball from where the coyote had dropped it. This brought up many questions!

Should you be able to replace the ball back in the bunker nearest its original lie/location, or do you have to play it where the coyote dropped it? The post ends with this question: “What would have been the right way to proceed under these circumstances to avoid breaking any rules?”

Now, we don’t have the threat of coyotes in Hilton Head, but what if this had happened with another animal? Have you encountered any similar situations? If so, what did you do, or what should you do?