Their new logo is an iconic moss-draped oak tree on a wavy base to convey both land and water. The new website was created with first-time and seasoned visitors to the Golden Isles in mind.

As explained in their new Golden Isles Blog:  Please use Goldenisles.com to plan your stay for a weekend, a week or a lifetime.  In addition, this website will guide you through all the Golden Isles has to offer with ease and is your only Official Tourism site for Glynn County, Georgia. Our new website is viewable, not only on your desktop and laptop computer, but also on tablet computers and all mobile devices for your convenience.

The Golden Isles include four barrier islands – Jekyll Island, St. Simons Island, Little St. Simons Island and Sea Island – and the historic port city of Brunswick.  If you’re unfamiliar with each area, visit the Discover Golden Isles section of our website to learn about each of the regions and what they offer.  For additional tools to plan your visit, browse the Places to Stay, Festivals & Events, Things to Do, Heritage & Culture and Food & Drink sections.

Once you have learned about what the Golden Isles has to offer, the Plan Your Trip section features details such as how to get here, climate and weather to expect during your stay and other useful local services. There are comprehensive attractions and business listings throughout the website which display Google Maps showing you the exact location and providing directions to a hotel, restaurant or historical site.

All the pages throughout the new website can be shared on various social media platforms. Connect on Facebook, Twitter and FourSquare to find current promotions, events and to interact with both locals and visitors.  Check out YouTube for fun, informative videos.  Visit Flickr to view gorgeous Golden Isles photos taken by amateur and professional photographers, and even post your own photos.

We hope you enjoy the NEW Goldenisles.com website and find it a valuable resource when planning your next trip to Georgia’s Golden Isles and even once you are here.  The new website will be updated daily by local businesses and the Golden Isles Convention & Visitors Bureau, so check back often for the latest events, special offers, photos, videos and more.

We recently met with the PGA TOUR and McGladrey to recap 2011 and look forward to 2012 and beyond. A lot of positive feedback, comments and direction for the future came out of this meeting. Leaving us all feeling like we are on the same page and excited for what is to come.

Last week we took a two day trip to Orlando, FL – visiting with POLO at the PGA Show to pick out volunteer apparel, Honorary Observer gear and lots of fun pieces for the Pro-Am. We also met with our new marketing agency, PUSH, brainstorming for the future and we are really excited about all that will be unveiled this year! Our tournament host, Davis Love III and his wife, Robin, were also in Orlando visiting the Bridgestone Booth at the show and working with POLO on finalizing Ryder Cup apparel for the team!

The support from our sponsors, volunteers, tournament attendees and the wonderful Golden Isles community as a whole were what made the first two events a success. This support helped us give almost $500,000 to charity in just two years. This is a great stepping stone and we look to continue upward strides in our charitable impact to the community.

In 2011, we were able to build on the foundation we created in 2010 – adding a concert event on Wednesday (Darius Rucker), moving our Military Outpost on-course (Hole 9 – greenside), expanding our Military footprint to incorporate Thursday as Military Appreciation Day and building on the college football season with GAME DAY on Saturday. These activities and many more will be included in our 2012 schedule of events!

Outside of tournament week activities we plan to create unique events throughout the summer and fall – engaging the local community and raising additional dollars for children and families in need – through the Davis Love Foundation. Make sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter and check our website frequently for upcoming community activities and how you can get involved!

Thank you for your support in 2010 & 2011 – let’s work together to grow even more in 2012!

Written by Scott Reid, McGladrey Classic Tournament Director

It took about ten reads but eventually all of the fairy princess attributes starting popping out at me. The traits that the very fairy princess in the story has are all great. I personally do not possess all of these qualities and probably never will, but combined with the rest of my Davis Love Foundation work family, I think we do! 

So, what attributes does a VERY Fairy Princess possess? Or in our case, the very fairy princes and princesses?

1 – Fairy Princesses are ALWAYS presentable.
This quality goes to our Tournament Director, Scott Reid. Scott is without a doubt always dressed to a “T” and following the current fashion trend. Even his ‘casual’ clothes look like he is ready to run into anyone and make a deal. In a year and a half I don’t think I have witnessed the same outfit more than twice – that is impressive!     

2 – Fairy Princesses are very practical.
I would have to say that I am the most practical/realistic one of us. Sometimes John gets frustrated that I am too realistic when he comes up with quite the proposal or concept! Like recently linking Matt Kuchar to Grey Goose to Mark Steinberg to Tiger Woods coming to Sea Island! But it’s important that as a group we find balance between practical and creative and some days I am the over creative one needing someone else to pat me on the shoulder and say, ‘let’s be practical.’

3 – Fairy Princesses are very supportive.
Our Tournament Assistant, Nancy Hildebrand is our support system. She is there to help in any scenario we need. Be it packing 150 gift boxes to ship, greeting surprise guests at the door, patiently dealing with USPS or restocking the Red Bull – Nancy is there for all of us!

4 – Fairy princesses know when to take charge.
Mark Love, Executive Director, is our fearless leader. He does a great job of allowing us to create new concepts, put initiatives together and see through projects – but when we can’t come to an agreement on something he is ready to step in, hear all the options and make the right decision for the group.

5 – Fairy princesses like to keep extra gifts on hand for special occasions.
Scott always makes sure the ‘gift box’ in the office is full and that we have a little something special for our guests – planned or not. And, I don’t mind shopping for them either!

6 – Fairy princesses know that practice makes perfect!
John McKenzie, Sales Director, takes this statement seriously! He finds ‘nuggets’ of time throughout the day to escape from his desk, grab a golf club and make practice swings in the windows. If you ever walk by his desk and he isn’t there, just wait five minutes or check the big window by volunteer hq!

7 – Fairy princesses are very creative.
Honestly it takes four slightly creative people to put one really creative idea together. And really, we like it that way – a great new concept can be the seedling of all of us working as a team!

8 – Fairy princesses need lots of beauty sleep to recharge their sparkle!
SLEEP – that word is like gold to us. This time of year we sleep as much as possible – almost like we are hibernating and storing up nuggets of energy for when fall comes and we max out around 4 hours! And believe me, we all need as much beauty sleep as we can get!

So, as you can see – I have learned A LOT from my nights with the VERY Fairy Princess. What a team we make! And, YaYa + Dough – it’s time for a new book!

Written by Courtney Stiles, McGladrey Classic Tournament Manager

 The McGladrey Classic earned an award for “Best New Promotional Idea” during the 2011 tournament at the Sea Island Golf Club.

 “On behalf of the PGA TOUR, I am pleased to congratulate The McGladrey Classic for being named the best among its peers on TOUR,” said PGA TOUR EVP and Chief of Operations Andy Pazder. “The tournament committee should be proud of the special recognition the event has earned for its efforts.”

The McGladrey Classic was singled out for its “Caddie for Love” promotional campaign, the brainchild of title sponsor McGladrey, the nation’s fifth largest assurance, tax and business consulting firm.  The promotion resulted in 22,183 fans submitting short essays explaining why they should be picked to caddie for tournament host Davis Love III during the Wednesday Pro-Am. The public voted on the entries, followed by a panel of McGladrey judges, with 20 finalists then submitting a short video illustrating why they should be chosen as the winner.

The eventual winner of the contest was Claudio Kawecki of Hoboken, NJ, with Love calling to inform him of his win. In addition to caddying duties, Kawecki received VIP tickets to The McGladrey Classic, round-trip airfare for two, a two-night stay at the Sea Island Resort, invitations to the Pro-Am Draw Party at Davis and Robin Love’s home, as well as a Davis Love III golf bag and a new set of irons. He also successfully proposed to his girlfriend during tournament week. As a result of the promotion, the Caddie for Love website received nearly 200,000 hits.

“The contest was a great way to promote The McGladrey Classic throughout the year,” said The McGladrey Classic Tournament Director Scott Reid. “McGladrey has been a tremendous title sponsor in working with us to create new ways to improve the tournament each year, and this award is a testament to that.”

The 2012 tournament name, won this year by Ben Crane, will be held on October 18-21 at the Sea Island Golf Club’s Seaside Course.

McGladrey hosted an internal contest  called Caddie Quest, giving employees the chance to caddie for Zach Johnson during the Wednesday Pro-Am at this year’s McGladrey Classic. McGladrey’s own tax senior associate and fellow Cedar Rapids native, Matt Stoner,  won the contest! Learn about Matt’s experience during the Pro-Am.

For the past month my wife and I have been looking forward to our trip to The McGladrey Classic, but it really hit us when we crossed the bridge to Sea Island and saw a big sign advertising the tournament. It was hard to believe that the next day I would be Zach Johnson’s guest caddie at the Pro-Am.

Our first night on the island we attended the RSM International pairings party at Davis Love III’s home. The setting and the food were amazing, and it was fun getting to know some of the McGladrey leaders who were also in attendance. Some of them said they had seen my video and even voted for me. 

We had to wake up early this morning because Zach’s tee time was at 8:10 a.m. When we arrived at the course it was neat to see the McGladrey logo everywhere, and the sports marketing team was very helpful and fun to talk to. We were then led to the driving range where we were introduced to Zach and his caddie Damon Green. After Zach finished warming up, we were off to the first tee and it was time for me to carry the bag.

I had a great day with Zach and Damon, and it was fun watching them interact with each other. You can tell that they truly understand each other and make a great team to represent McGladrey. They were both laid back and easy to talk to, which made for an exciting day on a beautiful course.

I appreciate everyone’s support and couldn’t have asked for a better trip!

McGladrey, one of the nation’s leading assurance, tax and business consulting firms, originally signed a three-year sponsorship deal, which extends through the 2012 tournament.

“At McGladrey, we know that the real power of any relationship comes through understanding,” said Joe Adams, managing partner and CEO for McGladrey & Pullen. “Our clients enjoy watching and playing the game of golf, a sport noted for its values of integrity, excellence, understanding and teamwork – values that mirror our firm’s own. The McGladrey Classic provides us with a unique opportunity to build relationships with clients and potential clients, supports our long-standing tradition of giving back to the community and raises awareness of the McGladrey brand, both nationally and internationally. We’re thrilled to renew our sponsorship of The McGladrey Classic, and look forward to returning to Sea Island through 2015.”

Held at the renowned Sea Island Resort on Georgia’s southern coastline, The McGladrey Classic has had a successful first two years, in large part due to longtime PGA TOUR member and Sea Island resident Davis Love III serving as tournament chairman, and his foundation serving as the tournament host organization. The McGladrey Classic has featured a strong field with Love and other PGA TOUR members who live in Georgia’s Golden Isles including Matt Kuchar, Lucas Glover, Jonathan Byrd and Zach Johnson, as well as other top players, taking on Sea Island’s highly acclaimed Seaside Course.

“We’re delighted that McGladrey has agreed to continue its sponsorship of The McGladrey Classic through 2015,” said Andy Pazder, PGA TOUR executive vice president and chief of operations. “In just two years, the tournament has established itself as a strong PGA TOUR event thanks to the commitment by McGladrey and the leadership of Davis Love III and his foundation. Davis and his brother, Mark (tournament executive director) set out to create a first-class tournament, and coupled with the setting of a world-class resort and golf course, it’s easy to see why players enjoy this tournament so much. We look forward to working with McGladrey, Davis and his team to continue the event’s growth and the positive impact it has on the surrounding area.”

In conjunction with the company’s Volunteer Day, McGladrey recently announced that the 2011 McGladrey Classic raised $300,000 for Special Olympics, Boys and Girls Clubs of Southeast Georgia and other local and national charitable organizations.

“The McGladrey Classic has been an incredible success, and has far exceeded everyone’s expectations for the first two years,” said Davis Love III. “Because of the dynamic partnership between McGladrey and my foundation, the event will continue to flourish. We couldn’t be more thrilled that McGladrey is on board for another three years. I’m excited about the future of The McGladrey Classic and most importantly, the charitable support that the Davis Love Foundation will continue to be able to provide through this event.”

The Seaside Course, which opened in 1929, was originally designed by noted architects Harry S. Colt and Charles Alison, and in 1999 was renovated by Tom Fazio. It measures 7,055 yards and plays to par 70.

Heath Slocum won the inaugural McGladrey Classic and Ben Crane won this past October in a playoff against Webb Simpson. The 2012 McGladrey Classic is scheduled for the week of October 15-21.

The aerial photography was captured by cameras on the wings of a small airplane.

Through hole #7 of the Final Round, Crane was seven strokes behind on the leaderboard.  He had four straight birdies around the turn and then another 4 straight birdies to finish at a 7-under, 63. 

Crane won on the 17th hole during a playoff with Webb Simpson, who would lead the 2011 Money List at the end of the tournament.

Crane left the McGladrey Classic to return to Dallas where his wife was scheduled for a Caesarian section the following day.

Congratulations Ben!

Also among the competitors were the 2010 Money Title holder, the second place contender for the 2011 Money Title, 4 winners of The PLAYERS Championship and the 2010 FedEx Cup Champion.

In total, pros making up the 2011 McGladrey Classic field have had 268 victories on the TOUR.

How many of these players can you name?