tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232631312024-03-06T23:11:24.460-06:00Beaver GolfA collection of thoughts, remarks, reviews, and reports about the most sublime game on Earth.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705274445464012555noreply@blogger.comBlogger95125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23263131.post-15915683145085211632014-01-04T16:47:00.000-06:002014-01-04T16:47:04.641-06:00Golf Carts vs. Walking - The Modern Golf DebateThe turning of a new year is an interesting time for people. In the course of universal history, there is nothing more or less significant about January 1st from any other day of the year, but for many people, it seems as though the turning of the page to a newly minted calendar marks a new beginning of sorts. One area of people's lives often focused on by many in the New Year is their own health and fitness. It is a time for making resolutions to eat healthier, get in shape, and lose that beer belly, spare tire, muffin top, and/or second chin. As golfers, we are always searching for an edge, and a popular area of focus in recent years has been on golf fitness. Toning our bodies specifically with the game of golf in mind will surely lead to lower scores and a greater enjoyment of the game, will it not?<br />
<br />
On my daily meander through the world of Facebook this afternoon, I stumbled across an article from GolfDigest.com that had been shared by our friend at GolfTripper.com as well as another golfing friend of mine. The article, <a href="http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-instruction/blogs/theinstructionblog/2014/01/fitness-friday-resolutions-you.html" target="_blank">Fitness Friday: Resolutions you can actually keep</a> written by Ron Kaspriske, the fitness editor of Golf Digest, offers 10 concise resolutions for the New Year that are specific and realistic, and meant to help you get and stay in good shape for the coming season and beyond. In my opinion, these are pretty basic suggestions with nothing groundbreaking whatsoever, serving more as New Year filler for Golf Digest than anything else. What struck me, as well as my friends who shared this on Facebook, however, was not the content of the article, but the content of the comments.<br />
<br />
(<i>This is where you now click to view the article and peruse the comments for yourself. I'll be here when you get back</i>) <br />
<br />
Yes, it should be apparent by now that reading comments to articles posted online is a known entry into a world of piss and vinegar, angry vitriol being spewed forth regarding any and every topic about which a short blog post or article can be written. All too often, whether out of morbid curiosity, and just to get my own dander up, I scroll down to check them out. In the case of the Golf Digest article in question, it was one of the ten suggestions that infuriated the Golf Digest trolls more than any other.<br />
<br />
Suggestion Number Eight - "Walk whenever you can".<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<a href="http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-instruction/blogs/theinstructionblog/2014/01/fitness-friday-resolutions-you.html" target="_blank"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">I like to carry my golf bag, too, but push/pullcarts are fine. Unless you're physically disabled, there's no reason to ride in a golf cart. And if a course tells you that they have a "no-walking" policy, ask the director of golf for special permission. If he or she says no, then say you have a policy of playing golf courses that allow walking and politely leave.</span></a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline ! important; float: none; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">If, by now, you have taken a moment to read the comments in question, you noticed the anger, sarcasm, excuse-making, and unsupported claims that led me to write about it. You will likely fall into one camp or the other, and perhaps react with vigor from the completely opposite side of my leaning, but I'd like to attempt to make a couple of points.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline ! important; float: none; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">First, the article is very clearly about staying fit. There is no argument that anyone can make that riding in a golf cart is exercise, and anywhere close to the fitness aid that walking a golf course is. If you attempt to argue the opposite, you are wrong, and if you chose to react to this particular article by coming up with all sorts of reasons why riding is better than walking, you have completely missed the point of the article itself.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline ! important; float: none; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Second, and more to make the argument for walking in general, I defy the claim that courses utilize carts to improve the pace of play, and more debatable, that carts actually do increase the pace of play. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline ! important; float: none; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">I will not oppose the claim that a cart will get from point A to point B in a direct path more quickly than a person walking with a bag of clubs either on their back or on a push cart. A motorized vehicle simply has a higher top speed than a walker (12-15 mph vs. 2.5-3.5 mph to be more precise). The problem with the argument, however, is that the cart is rarely driven directly from point A to point B, there are generally two separate golfers in a single cart, and aside of moving from point to point, the game of golf is played outside of the cart.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline ! important; float: none; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">If one rides a cart for all of the, let's say 6,300 yards of a course, at a golf cart low end average speed of 12 mph, then the total driving time for one 18 hole round would be only about 18 minutes!</span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"></span></span> Yet it takes four golfers in a cart on most courses I have played at least 4.5 hours to complete their round. A person walking at an average pace of 3.5 mph would cover that same distance in about 1 hour 12 minutes, almost a full hour longer than the cart-goers, yet they also generally manage to complete their round in about 4.5 hours. So, what are the cart golfers doing with the additional 50+ minutes? They are doing all the little things that are the real reason for slow play that is deemed so troublesome at golf courses everywhere.<br />
<br />
We all know what the suggested best practices are for speeding up pace of play, yet the vast majority of golfers fail to execute those best practices, whether riding in a cart or walking the course. Fast players play fast when they walk a course, and those same fast players generally play faster when riding in a cart. Slow players, on the other hand, seem to be able to stretch a round of golf to 5+ hours whether walking or riding, making the cart, for those players, of no benefit whatsoever.<br />
<br />
Now, I will admit that there are courses, most of which are no more than 20 years old, that make walking extremely difficult, to the point of absurdity. Of the courses I have played, Royal New Kent near Williamsburg, VA comes to mind. I am not one who will necessarily walk away from such courses, but I will seriously think twice about playing that course a second time. There are also climates in which certain times of the day make walking much more difficult (Miami in August anyone?), but perhaps those aren't the best times or places to be playing golf.<br />
<br />
We all have our reasons for playing golf, and our own preferences about how we play the game. Carts are a sign of the times, and a way for the golf course to increase their take on each round played. There are times when a cart can enhance the enjoyment of the game. A local Chicagoland course on which I play in regular scrambles, for example, keeps track of, and displays a real time scoreboard on the cart's GPS screen.<br />
<br />
Save the argument, however, that a slow pace of play is a result of folks walking as opposed to riding, unless you can produce some sort of proven evidence of it. You would also have to explain to me why I have walked courses such as Bandon Dunes, Bandon Trails, Pacific Dunes, Bethpage Black, Whistling Straits, and Pinehurst Nos. 2, 4, 7, and 8 among others, all in less than 4 hours, but can't get around my local 6,300 yard muni, packed with golf carts, in less than 5.<br />
<br />
Above all, play golf in the fashion that provides you with the greatest sense of joy. If you don't want the exercise, get a rush from the drive, or truly have a an injury or disability that makes walking prohibitive, then drive on! If, like me, you enjoy the "good walk spoiled", then leave the keys in the clubhouse. At least if your round goes into the toilet, you have still gotten in a good day's exercise, and can rest your sweat stained cap on that.<br />
<br />
Fairways and Greens!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705274445464012555noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23263131.post-31450788937023298132013-08-11T18:21:00.002-05:002013-08-11T18:21:24.696-05:00Kaenon Hard Kore Golf Sunglasses Review<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Golf is a simple game. A ball, a club, and a hole are all
that are needed to play it. Despite that simplicity, today’s golfer makes use
of a plethora of tools, devices, and aids to play better and find more joy in
the game. Specialized clubs, and advances in ball composition allow us to play
longer and straighter shots. Supple and tacky gloves both protect our hands and
offer better grip in humid and rainy weather. We fill our highly engineered
bags with low friction tees, futuristic divot tools, all manner of ball
markers, electrolyte replenishing sports drinks, and gust-busting oversized
umbrellas.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While any number of these extras can add comfort and
enjoyment to the game, there are a handful of items that can actually help
maintain your good health, and allow you to play the game of golf longer, and
enjoy your life off the course more comfortably as well. If you regularly walk
the course through your rounds, proper footwear, and a well made push cart can
save wear and tear on your shoulders, back, hips, and knees. Some good insect
repellent can save you from unnecessary itching and scratching. Perhaps as
important as anything, however, is to protect yourself from that seemingly ever
present sun. Scientific consensus is that the UV rays sent out by our life
giving star can cause irreversible damage to both our skin and our eyes. You
should be protecting your skin with all varieties of sunscreens available on
the market today, as well as a good hat with a brim, even covering the ears if
you can stomach the look. For this post, let’s focus on your eyes.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Though I assume that most of us are aware that the sun can
hurt our eyes, I still see a great number of golfers ignoring the protection
that sunglasses can provide, and until very recently, you could count me among
them. <a href="http://www.aao.org/eyecare/tmp/sunglasses.cfm" target="_blank">American Academy of Opthamology</a> advice about sunglasses includes wearing
them anytime you are outside, but particularly during the summer months due to
heightened exposure to UVA and UVB rays, and when taking medications that can
cause photosensitivity, among others. Advice on what to look for in a pair of
sunglasses includes blocking at least 99% of all UV light (UVB is considered
more dangerous than UVA to skin and eyes), impact resistance, polarization, and
wraparound style. I have known these facts for years, yet when it came time to
wear sunglasses during my rounds, I shunned them for the most part. I found
that when I had them on I had a very hard time seeing the ball, even right
there in front of me. The result was that if I wore sunglasses at all, I would
wear them in between shots, removing them during my swing, when searching for a
lost ball, and most importantly, <i>always</i> while reading putts. I have worn
several brands, but most often Oakley and Sundog, never finding a lens that was
right enough to wear through the round. That search ended about a month ago
when I played wearing my first pair of <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/kaenon-hard-kore-sunglasses-with-1644-prd1.htm" target="_blank">Kaenon Hard Kore sunglasses</a>.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Founded in 2001 by Steve and Darren Rosenberg, Kaenon is
still a small player in an enormous market. Committed to making the finest
quality eyewear available anywhere in the world, Kaenon continues to fight a
strong battle against worldwide conglomerate Luxottica, which owns brands
ranging from Oakley, Ray-Ban, and Revo to Sunglass Hut, Lens Crafters, and
Pearle Vision. While buying a higher end Luxottica brand might not get you much
more for your dollar than one of their lower end brands, with Kaenon, you will
always get exactly what you are paying for.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/kaenon-hard-kore-sunglasses-with-1644-prd1.htm" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzHHL5i7in6LQbJ4X0HiXVQpfdFeX9xbiXlGqt1mkCGS0nyQVkpKq-nmyYgtdz7kkExIXRoQhZfPwvRAcrZv51m1_x8NgP110EdduZtdD2TfA2dFWMIurEgQsNkithLqQkNWvI/s320/BG01400-09.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
ALL Kaenon sunglasses feature their proprietary SR-91 lenses
which combine superior sharpness and clarity, lightweight durability, unmatched
impact resistance, and anti-glare properties, creating a quality of vision that
must be seen to be believed. The impact resistance of Kaenon's SR-91 lenses is rumored to be bulletproof, but we have high visibility evidence that they are golf ball proof. <a href="http://blog.kaenon.com/kaenon-eden-saves-bode-millers-wifes-eye/" target="_blank">Read this story about how a pair of Kaenons likely saved the eye of professional skier Bode Miller's wife, Morgan, when a ball struck by her husband struck he in the face</a>. Many polarized sunglasses that offer impact resistance
are made from polycarbonate, a substance that scratches easily, but SR-91
resists scratches and similar damage. With the grains of dirt and sand that golfers tend
to collect on their fingers, and even occasionally shoot into their own eyes,
this is a very important and relevant quality. All I needed to convince me,
however, that Kaenon made the best pair of sunglasses I have ever worn was one
single hole of golf. Believe me, I was highly skeptical when I put them on, but
immediately, I experienced the clarity of vision, and the ease with which I
could follow the flight of my shots (even the ones that flew through the air).
OK, I thought, “these are nice, but let’s see what this green looks like.” I
can report that despite my doubts, reading the greens is just as easy with the
Kaenon sunglasses on as it is off…maybe easier. Since that first hole, I have
had the Kaenon Hard Kore on throughout every round I have played, except when
it is actually too dark for any sunglasses to be worn.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img alt="Comparitive views of a golf hole with and without Kaenon sunglasses on." border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhiX36Bsk8-MbmIkppoqWFMNwOnbPOis0enXd60bQmoa_jrLMwDOE1R8QuhUTZRCzDxzsCPPZJfhsUgn5tL-ugvSzWZOjP9kvKyertyuUd6Tr1i__qtfvc_SOBuwQzWKhvNEKF/s640/Kaenon+Vision.jpg" title="Golf course view through Kaenon sunglasses." width="640" /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am told that for anglers and adventure sports enthusiasts,
the benefits are just as great, if not even better. Testimonials from world
class athletes who swear by Kaenon abound. <a href="http://www.kaenon.com/golf" target="_blank">Professional golfers who have already adopted Kaenon</a> as their sunglasses of choice include: Brian Gay, Carl
Pettersson, Kevin Stadler, Pat Perez, Paul Azinger, Robert Gamez, Rod Pampling,
Carin Koch, Christina Kim, Pernilla Lindberg, and Sofie Gustafson, with more
sure to follow. Kaenon sunglasses come in a wide variety of styles, so you can
be fashion forward while protecting your eyes as well.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I hope that you care about your eyes and your golf game enough
to give a pair of Kaenon sunglasses a try, and ask that you do so by <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/kaenon-36-mnf.htm" target="_blank">ordering them through my online golf shop at BeaverGolf.com</a>. We currently offer four
styles from Kaenon, the <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/kaenon-hard-kore-sunglasses-with-1644-prd1.htm" target="_blank">Hard Kore</a> that I was provided by Kaenon for this
review, and as an approved retailer, but also the <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/kaenon-jetty-sunglasses-with-c12-1650-prd1.htm" target="_blank">Jetty</a>, <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/kaenon-burnet-sunglasses-with-g12-1649-prd1.htm" target="_blank">Burnet</a>, and <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/kaenon-beacon-sunglasses-with-g12-1645-prd1.htm" target="_blank">Beacon</a>.
Yes, they might cost a bit more than you might normally spend on a pair of
sunglasses. Perhaps you tend to break or lose your sunglasses, so tighten your wallet a bit at the sunglasses rack, but I would strongly encourage you, to spend a bit
more, and take care of these, they really are incredible sunglasses. If you are
interested in any other styles of colors that we do not yet offer on our store,
please feel welcome to contact us via e-mail at <a href="mailto:beavergolf1@gmail.com">beavergolf1@gmail.com</a>, via phone at
(888) 650-2870, or via <a href="https://www.facebook.com/beavergolf" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, @BeaverGolf on Twitter, or as Beaver Golf on G+, and we can work out a special
order for you.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Fairways and Greens!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705274445464012555noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23263131.post-16526741117235024502013-04-05T14:59:00.001-05:002013-04-05T14:59:27.675-05:00Keegan Bradley Makes A Fashionable Finish at the 2013 Masters<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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In my opinion, the most compelling attraction of sport is the unknown. With every
new game, match, or round comes the anticipation of not only the outcome, but
the various events, and the unique way they play out, which create so much excitement that ultimately resolves in
said outcome.</div>
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<br /></div>
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For many, there is also the appeal of the familiar
surroundings in which the game is played. There is something about the unique history and
challenges that each ballpark, arena, or course provides, and how past
experience, or lack thereof, may play into the strategy and execution for each
participant. For some, it might be the Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field or
the Green Monster of Fenway Park. For others it might be the frozen tundra of
Lambeau Field, or the glitz of New York City’s Madison Square Garden. For most
golf fans, however, there is no more sublime arena than that of Augusta National and
The Masters Tournament.</div>
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<br /></div>
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With the 2013 version beginning in less than a week, I
wanted to take a look at one of my favorite young stars, give a somewhat tongue-in-cheek
prediction of how he might fare next week, and show all of you what he will be wearing
each day.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Keegan Bradley, nephew of famous LPGA golfer Pat Bradley,
burst onto the golf scene back in 2011. With his stirring victory in the 2011
PGA Championship culminating from a very late Sunday surge to push fellow
rising star Jason Dufner into a playoff loss, Keegan won the first major in
which he ever participated, and carried that momentum to the 2011 PGA Rookie of the
Year title. Despite only notching one more win since that famous Major victory,
Bradley is regularly seen stalking the top of the leader boards on the PGA
Tour, and is considered by many to be an early favorite to win another Major in
2013.</div>
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Bradley enters this year’s Masters following a string of
successful finishes with a 10<sup>th</sup>, 3<sup>rd</sup>, 7<sup>th</sup>, and
4<sup>th</sup> in his previous four tournaments. One of the longest hitters on
tour, Keegan should have little problem getting into his scoring irons often at
Augusta, though he will have to control his accuracy off the tee to get himself into the
best positions on the scoring holes. Bradley is also an excellent player
on the Par 5s, ranking 3<sup>rd</sup> on the PGA Tour this year in Par 5
scoring. These are very good skills to have heading into The Masters, so if his
short game is on, he will be hard to beat. Let’s read how the 2013 Master's week might go for Keegan, shall we?</div>
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<b>Wednesday, April 10<sup>th</sup> – Par 3 Contest</b></div>
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Keegan’s mother, Kaye, reprised her role on Keegan’s bag,
but this year son took a backseat on all tee shots preferring to resist
getting into the habit of firing at every pin on the course which could spell
disaster on the big course. Stepping up to the spotlight, Kaye aced the 2<sup>nd</sup>
and 8<sup>th</sup> holes en route to a Bradley Par 3 victory. Bad omen,
however, as no winner of the Par 3 Tournament had ever gone on to win that year’s
Masters Tournament. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/tommy-hilfiger-35-mnf.htm" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgek32lnFahXRcLp4mwA4niDZ1AXw_x79CTB7tNnNXg_Ok7vBkkcoyMqWy-6kNsnGbiMIeAtlAIW7fxJSKCyJiWest6Iz68GUCeTjf7dWdXgVXO-qPIIyL0TEt6ri1W0JczaFsa/s320/Keegan13MastersWed.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Keegan looked as good as Kaye played, wearing his <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/tommy-hilfiger-cassidy-polo-golf-1610-prd1.htm" target="_blank">Tommy Hilfiger White Cassidy Polo Golf Shirt</a>, <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/tommy-hilfiger-malcolm-solid-golf-1611-prd1.htm" target="_blank">Black Malcolm Golf Pants</a>, and <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/tommy-hilfiger-men-s-trophy-1615-prd1.htm" target="_blank">Black Trophy Belt</a>. </div>
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<b>Thursday, April 11<sup>th</sup> – First Round</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Despite having already gone through his first experience at
the 2012 Masters, and stealing the spotlight at the 2012 Ryder Cup, Keegan
felt the jitters on the first nine, knocking several putts too far past the
hole, and gutted out a 38 on the front side. With the early nerves swung out,
however, Bradley took hold of his game on the back nine with a 32 including
eagles on both 13 and 15 for an opening round 70, only three strokes off the
lead. </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/tommy-hilfiger-35-mnf.htm" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLXZcjHA_F7Lc_og-rCP4793otY3EN_4u_8yEHH5mw5rmUZ3qUIdIKF7Ujndx20UaqXtcQ7D3S9sHndS7WC1Nl81M2bMrVDXQNiHFiKwLEYLYW7DsR5n63rOLY5pjDD-D8K2M_/s320/Keegan13MastersThu.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Still styling up the course, Keegan sported an athletic look with his <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/tommy-hilfiger-keith-polo-golf-1612-prd1.htm" target="_blank">Midnight Blue Tommy Hilfiger Keith Polo Golf Shirt</a>, <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/tommy-hilfiger-malcolm-solid-golf-1611-prd1.htm" target="_blank">White Malcolm Pants</a>, and <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/tommy-hilfiger-men-s-trophy-1615-prd1.htm" target="_blank">WhiteTrophy Belt</a>. Some fans were able to see him wearing the <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/tommy-hilfiger-preston-v-neck-1616-prd1.htm" target="_blank">Tommy Hilfiger Midnight Blue Preston Sweater</a> while warming up as well, but the day quickly warmed up, so
the sweater never appeared on the course.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Friday, April 12<sup>th</sup> – Second Round</b></div>
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The weather chose not to cooperate on day two, with cool
temperatures and gusty winds wreaking havoc across the grounds, even knocking
over a Pimento Cheese Sandwich stand. Keegan struggled with his driving all
day, several times having to blast out of the pine straw. What could have been
a disastrous round for Keegan, was saved by his timely putting, making bombs on
both the 3<sup>rd</sup> and 11<sup>th</sup> holes, and chipping in for an
incredible Par save on #14. Keegan shot an even par round of 72, and ended the
day six shots back of the leaders while several big names missed the cut. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/tommy-hilfiger-35-mnf.htm" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqGuyMVp6ZYO2YVAVO_GrEiRMlIwzYq5wqfynIwwf0rff_tDwuNWUjwpoy7PFXdps0QmvH21e0LQORT0K6dahla6cnOVYnrmaT2p8cQjsqaYC3qE74GYQjZd_OhttNVr8v0f-q/s320/Keegan13MastersFri.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Despite
the difficulty of the round, Keegan maintained his sharp style wearing the
Tommy Hilfiger Midnight Blue Jefferson Polo under his <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/tommy-hilfiger-preston-v-neck-1616-prd1.htm" target="_blank">Midnight Blue Preston Sweater</a>, with a pair of <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/tommy-hilfiger-malcolm-solid-golf-1611-prd1.htm" target="_blank">Midnight Blue Malcolm Pants</a> and his <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/tommy-hilfiger-men-s-trophy-1615-prd1.htm" target="_blank">White Trophy Belt</a>.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Saturday, April 13<sup>th</sup> – Third Round</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Though some had still not recovered from the troublesome
conditions they fought through on Friday, Bradley came out on Saturday
refreshed and on fire, with birdies on the opening three holes, and another on
eight to shoot a cool 32 on the front side. After a lip out bogey on the 10<sup>th</sup>,
Keegan quickly regained his form with a birdie at 12, another eagle at the 13<sup>th</sup>,
a birdie on 15, and another on the 16<sup>th</sup> that came within inches of
being an ace. Bradley’s stellar 64 vaulted him to within one stroke of the
lead, and beat his previous best round on August by 5 strokes. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/tommy-hilfiger-35-mnf.htm" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhVbSsGqWsbI4CLXshZqOYsOq17344NlBKcX-SZG8c0kyw28rJcCobaDJstLX8qWvUTlF8fhFMdTDZ_x5Odn5Xtj-t8BioCAhfK4A6EAcgwucHXoZLtEvVK3-iSqL9h6LD3Cye/s320/Keegan13MastersSat.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Perhaps fashion
has little to do with performance, but it is hard to argue with the way Keegan
looked on Saturday. His preppy look had everything short of a collar pop, built
around his <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/tommy-hilfiger-gram-polo-golf-1613-prd1.htm" target="_blank">Tommy Hilfiger White Gram Polo golf shirt</a>, <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/tommy-hilfiger-malcolm-solid-golf-1611-prd1.htm" target="_blank">Black Malcolm Pant</a>, and
<a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/tommy-hilfiger-men-s-trophy-1615-prd1.htm" target="_blank">White Trophy Belt</a>. I was surprised to see him remove the apparent lucky charm
<a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/tommy-hilfiger-preston-v-neck-1616-prd1.htm" target="_blank">Tommy Hilfiger White Preston Sweater</a> after the 3<sup>rd</sup> hole, however, with three
birdies already on the card. It was probably just coincidence that left him one over par on the next 7 holes.</div>
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<b>Sunday, April 14<sup>th</sup> – Final Round</b></div>
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The final round may well have gone worse had he saved a
couple more strokes on Thursday or Friday, and been playing with the lead, but
sitting a stroke back on the first tee imbued Bradley with a sense of calm
confidence. Though he carded two front side bogeys on the 2<sup>nd</sup> and 9<sup>th</sup>,
they were offset by birdies at the 3<sup>rd</sup> and 5<sup>th</sup>, and only
lost Keegan a stroke to the lead.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Standing on the 10<sup>th</sup> tee with nine
potentially explosive holes to make up those two strokes, Bradley calmly made
Par, then amazingly chipped in a birdie on 11 from Chipbeckistan garnering raucous
cheers from all around Amen corner. in a cruel and ironic twist, those cheers actually caused Jason Dufner’s ball,
which had been hanging precariously on the steep face of the rough fronting the
12<sup>th</sup> green, to roll back into the water, effectively eliminating
Dufner from his chance at a Major victory yet again. Bradley went on the eagle
13 for the third time this week, and remained tied for the lead after making birdies at
15 and 16 to merely keep up. A huge birdie on 17 helped Keegan grab the lead at
Augusta for the first time in his career. Keegan faced down a tough
12 foot downhill putt for Par and the lead on 18. Keegan pulled it just a
smidge, but it caught the edge of the cup and dropped.</div>
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<br /></div>
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After a relatively quick
visit to the scorer’s tent, Keegan returned to the 18<sup>th</sup> green to watch the
leaders finish up. After pushing his drive into the trees right, Phil could only
bogey 18, finishing three shots back of Keegan, while the rejuvenated Henrik
Stenson barely missed his 18 foot birdie putt giving Bradley the victory.
Though Tiger was not far back, only two strokes behind Bradley, the King of the
Red (and Green) on this day was Keegan Bradley, your 2013 Masters Champion. The
famous Green jacket would become the decoration for Bradley’s Sunday best of
his <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/tommy-hilfiger-kennedy-polo-golf-1614-prd1.htm" target="_blank">Chili Red Tommy Hilfiger Kennedy Polo golf shirt</a>, <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/tommy-hilfiger-malcolm-solid-golf-1611-prd1.htm" target="_blank">White Malcolm pants</a>, and
<a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/tommy-hilfiger-men-s-trophy-1615-prd1.htm" target="_blank">White Trophy Belt</a>.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/tommy-hilfiger-35-mnf.htm" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmxRDtc95SEIBUUPYVLHVgC75X1l7b8gFTB6jRiCTX2PdniRAxZ3_MZi7n_YMy7gwj5m7dh-XWR_Czw9WIzPTAigWdwkPeHHVGRBFUQz2Ud3uWfEss23wmk9HVyy2P4vSS5wkp/s320/Keegan13MastersSun.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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With the win, Bradley has won his second career major in
only his third season on tour, and placed himself squarely on the list of
players with a bright path to the Hall of Fame. He sets a standard for other
golfers to model themselves after, and does so with a preppy fashion that can
only be afforded by wearing Tommy Hilfiger’s line of golf apparel.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Will this be an accurate foretelling of what we are going to
see next week? We’ll have to see, but I can tell you that the fashion portion
of the story will play out. If you like the style, please come check it out for
yourself at BeaverGolf.com, and if you are rooting for Keegan in this year’s
Masters, then let’s hope the storyline comes true as well.</div>
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Fairways and Greens!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705274445464012555noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23263131.post-59961485393226104802012-03-01T14:38:00.001-06:002012-05-06T18:45:56.627-05:00Who Is Next? The Best Golfers Without A PGA Tour VictoryMake no mistake about it, America is obsessed with winning. No matter how skilled or consistent you are, you will forever be judged by whether or not you succeeded in finishing first. Sure, you can be recognized for your high level performance over time, but unless you win, you will always be associated with a "but...".<br />
<br />
In golf, this demand is no different. Until you win a tournament on the PGA Tour, your reputation is always followed by the "but...". Then, even after you've won a tournament, you are judged on whether you have won a <i><b>major</b></i> or not. Is this a fair way to assess a player's skill? That is arguable. Take Lee Westwood or Luke Donald, for example. Both are world class golfers who in the past year alone have been ranked #1 in the world, yet neither has won a major. Does this make them less of a golfer than, say, Ben Curtis, Y.E. Yang, Lucas Glover, Michael Campbell, Shaun Micheel, and others of that ilk? Some would actually argue yes.<br />
<br />
Regardless of how you feel about the necessity of a golfer winning a Major Championship to be considered among the greatest, it is hard to argue that one need not even win a PGA Tournament of any kind to be considered one of the best. This becomes especially harder to argue when you review the long list of golfers who have won tournaments. For example, I felt compelled to write this post after watching John Huh win the Mayacoba Classic down in Mexico for his first PGA Tour victory in only his fifth PGA Tournament. John was playing in a tournament that did not feature any of at least the top 65 golfers in the world as they were all playing in the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship the same weekend. While that might take a little of the shine off the win, young Mr. Huh still had to hold off a proven PGA Tour winner, Robert Allenby, by making Par on all of the eight playoff holes it took to resolve the tournament.<br />
<br />
So, one question to ask is, where does the win place John Huh among the rest of the golfing universe? Well, winning 20% of the tournaments that you enter would be an incredible, likely Hall of Fame career, if that kind of expectation of the man was anywhere near realistic. He could just as easily never win a tournament on tour again. Perhaps that leads us the a more compelling question to ponder. Who is the best golfer in the world without a victory on the PGA Tour?<br />
<br />
This has been written about many times before, so obviously I am not looking to be original with this, but I believe that we are witnessing a bit of a golden age of golf right now, one which features young golfers who have grown up being classically trained in the game and having been afforded the greatest technological aids that any golfers have ever known to help them hone their craft. I think it was Byron Nelson (I could be wrong), who when asked what was the greatest technological advancement in golf, responded with "the lawn mower". With these advancements in this potential golden age comes an incredibly diverse group of competitors with the skills and desire to win on the most prestigious level in the sport. In 2011 alone, we saw 13 different golfers win their first PGA Tournament. One of those, Charl Schwartzel, won The Masters, and another, Keegan Bradley, went on to win the PGA Championship later that season. Already in 2012 we have seen both the aforementioned John Huh, and Kyle Stanley win their first PGA Tournaments, Stanley in storybook fashion storming back from an 8-stroke deficit entering the final round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open after blowing the same sized lead the previous week, but that is another story.<br />
<br />
So, who are the best golfers without a PGA Tour victory, and will 2012 be their year to break through? Here is my list, but please share your own thoughts - I love a good sports argument!<br />
<ol>
<li><u><b>Rickie Fowler</b></u> - The talented So Cal native and 2011 PGA Rookie of the Year has played in only 65 events, and has already been the bridesmaid 4 times, but has yet to break through with an official PGA Tour win. He has made the cut in nearly 75% of the events he has entered, and has finished in the Top 25 37% of the time. Most people probably believe that it is only a matter of time before he wins, and wins often, but there are no guarantees, just ask... </li>
<li><u><b>Jeff Overton</b></u> - Jeff has played in 164 events, and has finished 2nd four times as well, most notably losing to Stuart Appleby's improbably final round 59 at The Greenbrier last season. Jeff has made the cut in 68% of his events, and finished in the Top 25 26% of the time. Perhaps with Jeff it is only a matter of time as well, but do you think we could be saying this same thing about Rickie still 100 tournaments from now?</li>
<li><u><b>Steve Marino</b></u> - Perhaps an improbable name on any "best of" golfers lists, but Steve has proven his mettle with 4 2nd place finishes in his 144 events, most recently at the 2011 Arnold Palmer Invitational. Steve has made the cut in 73% of the tournaments he has played in, and finished in the Top 25 38% of the time. If you hadn't been paying attention, perhaps it is time to put Steve on your list of probable winners in 2012?</li>
<li><u><b>Jason Dufner</b></u> - Oh, so close to not being eligible for this list with his final three hole mini-meltdown at last year's PGA, losing to Keegan Bradley in a playoff. Jason has finished 2nd 3 times in his 158 events. Jason has made the cut in 59% of the events he has entered, but finished in the Top 25 22% of the time. My guess is the Jason has that legendary "fear of winning", and will need to break through just one time before we see him hoisting trophies with some regularity.</li>
<li><u><b>Briny Baird</b></u> - What? Briny Baird, seriously? The king of the second rate events? While it is hard to make an argument for Briny Baird being named among the all time greats, it is hard to keep him off a list of potential tournament winners. Briny has actually chalked up 5 2nd place finishes in his PGA career that has spanned 354 events! Briny has made the cut in a respectable 65% of the events he has played in and finished in the Top 25 25% of the time. How can you not root for this guy to just get that coveted first win? Don't weep openly for old Briny, however, as he has raked in almost $12.6 Million in his under-the-radar career.</li>
<li><u><b>Robert Karlsson</b></u> - No stranger to success on the world stage, this talented Swede plays infrequently on the PGA Tour, but is still overdue for a first place finish. Robert has played in 87 PGA Tour events over the years, and his finished second twice. He has made the cut in 71% of his events, and finished in the Top 25 28% of the time.Look for Robert to have success at the FedEx St. Jude tournament where he placed second last season.</li>
<li><u><b>Tommy Gainey</b></u> - C'mon, really? Tommy "Two Gloves" Gainey of Big Break fame seen most recently knocking golf balls from rooftop-to-rooftop in the dry Las Vegas air? Sure, why not? Tommy plays A LOT, 34 events in 2011 alone! Tommy does have a second place finish among his 80 events played, and has made the cut in 41% of those (50% last season). Tommy has placed in the Top 25 only 15% of the time, so his opportunities are few and far between, but based on the sheer number of tournaments he enters, and his propensity to "get hot", I would not put winning a tournament beyond his reach.</li>
<li><u><b>Ricky Barnes</b></u> - Son of an NFL Football player, and master of an odd swing, Ricky has been close before on the big stage, finishing 2nd in the 2009 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black along with 9 other top 10s, including 2 3rd place finishes in his 104 events played. Ricky has made the cut in 60% of his starts, but finished in the Top 25 only 17% of the time. Got to work on that consistency, Ricky - some would argue that consistency will always evade him with that swing, we'll see.</li>
<li><u><b>Ryo Ishikawa</b></u> - This 20 year old Japanese sensation has done some spectacular things. In 2010 he won The Crowns tournament on the Japan Golf Tour by five strokes after shooting a 12-under 58 in the final round! In his 30 events on the PGA Tour, Ryo has only 2 Top 10s, his best being a 4th at the WGC Bridgestone in 2010, and has made the cut only 53% of the time, finishing Top 25 17% of the time. I would argue that despite his age, that his PGA Tour results thus far have been disappointing, but he is obviously incredibly skilled, so could easily turn it all around in 2012.</li>
<li><u><b>Spencer Levin</b></u> - Last on this list, but far from the only other golfer that could have taken up residence here, Spencer has recently suffered some heartbreak blowing up in the final round of the 2012 Waste Management Phoenix Open, blowing a big lead on Sunday to finish 3rd. Spencer has one 2nd place finish in his 106 career events, but has held the lead after more than a large handful of rounds. Spencer has made the cut in 71% of the events he has played, and finished Top 25 28% of the time. Spencer is known to have a frothy temper, and a penchant for late tournament collapses, but is still young, and getting close.</li>
</ol>
Others considered for this list include: Nick O'Hern, Kevin Streelman, and Michael Thompson, but lists of 10 just feel proper to me, so we'll leave it at that.<br />
<br />
Let me hear what you think...<br />
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Fairways and Greens!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705274445464012555noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23263131.post-22198087736944789052012-01-10T11:46:00.000-06:002012-01-10T11:46:20.661-06:00Get Your Sligo - On Sale now!Though I have never been one to shy away from wearing a brightly colored shirt, my style on the course has, for years been one involving a khaki-colored pair of shorts which grew longer and baggier over the years with a solid colored polo which gradually moved from 100% cotton to today's more technical synthetic fabrics. On occasion, I might have strayed into a muted plaid short or a shirt with some color accents around the shoulders or down the sides, but aside from the spectrum of solid colors I might wear, my wardrobe was somewhat vanilla.<br />
<div><br />
</div><div>With the advent of the BeaverGolf.com store, I suddenly had a fashion fog lifted, and became aware of a wide variety of fresh fashion brands each of whom claim to want to bring more fun to the game through the use of newer, flashier design to go with the most modern advancements in fabric technology. I was so impressed by a handful of these brands, that I made the decision to feature them on BeaverGolf.com, in some cases despite their relative anonymity in the golf industry.</div><div><br />
</div><div>One of these brands stood out from the rest at the first PGA Merchandise show I attended, and it was Sligo. Founded in 2004 by a group of four golfing chums in Canada, Sligo set forth to create high quality golf apparel that combined the most cutting edge materials with "ahead-of-the-curve" trend setting style. As they set about doing that, Sligo was approached about four years ago by PGA Tour Pro Brian Gay to sign on the wear the Sligo brand on tour. The pairing was perfect, and Brian went on to win three times in 2008-2009 wearing Sligo at each event.</div><div><br />
</div><div><a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/sligo_33_mnf.htm" target="_blank">The Sligo Fall 2011 Collection</a> was one of their best yet in my opinion, and featured in it one of my favorite shirts ever, <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/sligo_o_brien_polo_fall_1212_prd1.htm" target="_blank">the O'Brien</a>. Available in nine bold colors, the <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/sligo_o_brien_polo_fall_1212_prd1.htm" target="_blank">O'Brien</a> pops with a pattern of contrasting colored diamonds draped from the front to the back of the shirt over the left shoulder. The fabric features the Sligo Mag Cool treatment which creates the moisture wicking and quick drying material you have come to expect, but also has anti-microbial properties to keep it smelling fresher for longer. The O'Brien is shown here in the attention-grabbing Sligo Green color. Right now, the O'Brien is available for less than $50.00, a savings of almost 30% at BeaverGolf.com. While there, be sure to browse the <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/sligo_tommy_polo_fall_2011_1214_prd1.htm" target="_blank">Tommy Polo</a> and the <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/sligo_gator_polo_fall_2011_1213_prd1.htm" target="_blank">Gator Polo</a> as well.</div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/scart/public/database/product/images_sets/pr1212img5sma.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://www.beavergolf.com/scart/public/database/product/images_sets/pr1212img5sma.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div>Sligo doesn't limit their creative juices to their shirts, though. In fact, I don't know if I have ever been drawn to an original design in pants such as displayed in the Sligo <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/sligo_digitile_pants_fall_2011_1215_prd1.htm" target="_blank">Digitile Pants</a> and <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/sligo_digitile_shorts_fall_2011_1216_prd1.htm" target="_blank">Digitile Shorts</a>. These groundbreaking pants feature an original Sligo design inspired by 14th Century Moroccan tile, and the Sligo interpretation looks stunning. Pair these bad boys with a solid colored shirt for a look that will draw the gaze of onlookers, and might even gather a small gallery around your foursome! The polyester/lycra blend provides lightweight moisture-wicking performance with some stretch for comfort. The flat front and straight cut provide an athletic, yet upscale look to your wardrobe. Both the long pants and the shorts are more than 20% off now at BeaverGolf.com. Also, check out the <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/sligo_plaid_performance_pants_fall_1222_prd1.htm" target="_blank">Plaid Performance Pants</a>, <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/sligo_plaid_performance_shorts_fall_1223_prd1.htm" target="_blank">Plaid Performance Shorts</a>, and <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/sligo_solid_white_performance_pants_1224_prd1.htm" target="_blank">Solid White Performance Pants</a> also on sale now!</div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/images_products/sligo_digitile_shorts_fall_2011_1216big.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.beavergolf.com/images_products/sligo_digitile_shorts_fall_2011_1216big.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div>To complement your Sligo outfits, we also offer several Sligo hats on sale now, including the <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/sligo_tour_cap_fall_2011_1220_prd1.htm" target="_blank">Sligo Tour Cap</a>, <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/sligo_cadet_hat_fall_2011_1217_prd1.htm" target="_blank">Sligo Cadet (Painter or Military style) Hat</a>, <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/sligo_adjustable_visor_fall_2011_1221_prd1.htm" target="_blank">Sligo Adjustable Visor</a>, and <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/sligo_toque_beanie_cap_fall_1219_prd1.htm" target="_blank">Sligo Toque Beanie</a>. The most original in the hat designs, however, is the <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/sligo_digitile_reversible_bucket_hat_1218_prd1.htm" target="_blank">Sligo Reversible Rain Bucket Hat</a>. OK, so maybe bucket hats are traditionally reserved for the older crowd and Jeff Triplett, but I believe that we are about to see a trend here. The bucket hat not only keeps the rain off your head and from dripping down your ears and neck, but it also offers better protection against the sun, one of the golfer's worst enemies. Sligo's interpretation offers style with a choice as well, bringing their Digitile design to one side while the other features the Sligo logo across a solid black hat. This is a bucket hat you can be proud to wear during any round.</div><div><br />
</div><div><a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/scart/public/database/product/images_sets/pr1218img2sma.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.beavergolf.com/scart/public/database/product/images_sets/pr1218img2sma.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/images_products/sligo_digitile_reversible_bucket_hat_1218big.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.beavergolf.com/images_products/sligo_digitile_reversible_bucket_hat_1218big.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So, 2012 is a new year, and high time you do like me, and update your golf wardrobe with some fashion forward styles that show that you care enough to look your best...and HAVE SOME FUN! <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/sligo_33_mnf.htm" target="_blank">Take advantage of these great deals on Sligo while supplies last</a>. Most colors and sizes have no more than 1 left, so shop early and often to get the ones you like the most.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Fairways and Greens!</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705274445464012555noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23263131.post-87808615940729741842011-06-01T14:45:00.000-05:002011-06-01T14:45:49.703-05:0040th Birthday Coupon Code!This Sunday, June 5th at 2:15 in the afternoon marks the 40th anniversary of my triumphant arrival on Earth. Sure, it lacked the fanfare of the Ryder Cup and the tradition of The Masters, but we only get one arrival, and this was mine. <br />
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A great month to be born June is, in my opinion. We get lots of sunlight, the most welcome of warmth before it becomes tiresome through the summer, and it marks the beginning of the season when children become free from the shackles of school, and adults spent a good amount of time pretending to work while they too plan their mini escapes.<br />
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Gemini is also a great sign. We are the communicators...bright, energetic, though perhaps a bit lazy and unfocused. Though we may be difficult to get to know well, we are generally pretty well liked by most.<br />
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As I consider what I have done with my 40 years thus far, I am mostly pleased. Perhaps my only regret to this point being that I didn't let this great game take a hold of me until after I completed college. In my 20s, I set a goal of playing in a Champions Tour event after age 50, meaning that I would need to be at least a scratch golfer by then. I have since taken my handicap from the mid 20s down to as low as a 6.7 a couple years back, and an 8 right now. Good progress, but I know these last 8 strokes will be immensely more difficult to shave than the first 20 were. I just have to keep playing, practicing, staying fit, and enjoying the game then let circumstance take care of the rest.<br />
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I am also the proud owner of BeaverGolf.com, and consider it already one of my greatest accomplishments having built it from scratch in late 2009-early 2010. I realize, however, that no matter how hard I work at it, my store will not be a success without the support of my loyal customers, and being discovered by new ones as well.<br />
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So, from now, Wednesday, 6/1 through Sunday, June 5th at 11:59 PM CST enter the coupon code BGTURNS40 at checkout to receive 10% off any order of $75 or more, plus FREE SHIPPING. This code can not be used in conjunction with your Beaver Rewards points, so use whichever gets you the most discount.<br />
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Thank you all for your support, come and shop a lot this week, and please pass it on!<br />
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Fairways and Greens!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705274445464012555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23263131.post-70249081010688604152011-01-14T16:10:00.000-06:002011-01-14T16:10:53.261-06:00Sunice Is Getting Some RecognitionIn our lives, there exists an entire category of items that are readily available to purchase, but that we may rarely, if ever, need to actually use. This category is populated with things ranging from a living will and auto insurance down to sunglasses and fingernail clippers. It is a category bloated with frustration, first with having to buy them at all, then with not having them when the need arises. Depending on where you live, an amusing sight is of hoards of commuters racing from office to car, or train to home through a driving storm with nothing but a tattered newspaper over their heads, and a lack of dignity as they awkwardly sprint over, around, and through the collecting pools of water. It is ever more amusing when you spot that one prepared smarty-pants who thought to bring their umbrella with them that day, casually strolling their way in what appears to be slow motion as the crazies race willy-nilly around them.<br />
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I put golf outerwear in this category. It is something that many (and possibly most) golfers take for granted. Some are wise enough to own a wind jacket or fleece. A smaller subset actually thinks to bring it along on days when the weather is iffy. Still fewer spend the time and money needed to buy and wear stuff that will actually perform specifically with golf in mind.<br />
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Until I began researching what the market had to offer for myself, I was somewhere between the first and second subset. Sure, I owned a windshirt as well as the ubiquitous Polartec fleece, but even when I had them with me, I was often left unsatisfied with the protection they provided, and always felt like their presence negatively impacted my game. Then, I discovered Sunice.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQOyWv8QqQadfgAw3Jf2b2l9dQplzwz9gNLc9xoCsaqC-x6eDdX-gaPTyTw92oeXYfMIw3ZsRVh7JXIgaNhpyJvLjOndPsEeWjmd0tnbkfdlKFixIVV_p_9o3cY3opdrgRRCcb/s1600/2126_HURRICANE_MEN.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQOyWv8QqQadfgAw3Jf2b2l9dQplzwz9gNLc9xoCsaqC-x6eDdX-gaPTyTw92oeXYfMIw3ZsRVh7JXIgaNhpyJvLjOndPsEeWjmd0tnbkfdlKFixIVV_p_9o3cY3opdrgRRCcb/s320/2126_HURRICANE_MEN.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Yes, I do sell Sunice products on my website <a href="http://beavergolf.com/">BeaverGolf.com</a>. I also sell very good products from Straight Down, Puma, and Antigua among others. For the most complete and thorough line of products designed to keep the weather at bay, however, I think Sunice has got it covered. Sunice makes use of several innovative fabrics and coatings ranging from hard core Gore-Tex to FlexVent, SiXT, WxTECH, Windstopper, Protek 3L, DuoTech, and X20 among others, to create specific groups of options to suit almost every condition you might face on the course. They have won awards from Gore-Tex for best use of their fabrics, and that is high praise. I wear several Sunice products myself now, and have never been given any for free...I am a believer.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBKq5QPKvJUQvW0vmgVP8I7fk-oWKuTP_iidqEDG_1Pq_LoAuqWH_Fa7gNld5uEeM22dncJw_30rtixr93y16FznHy361VUwRIpY7Z-9DccOyItcSEgOsJMNZvd1Vv0ZKlZawM/s1600/2259_TORNADO+WOMEN_5881.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBKq5QPKvJUQvW0vmgVP8I7fk-oWKuTP_iidqEDG_1Pq_LoAuqWH_Fa7gNld5uEeM22dncJw_30rtixr93y16FznHy361VUwRIpY7Z-9DccOyItcSEgOsJMNZvd1Vv0ZKlZawM/s320/2259_TORNADO+WOMEN_5881.jpg" width="315" /></a></div><br />
I am not the only believer, and last Fall was joined by the Women's 2011 and 2013 Solheim Cup teams, who have chosen Sunice as the official designer, manufacturer, and provider of the outerwear that will be worn by the players on both teams should the need arise. Now, on January 12th, the PGA of America announced that Sunice is an official licensed product partner for the 2011 PGA Championship at Atlanta Athletic Club, the 2012 PGA Championship at The Ocean Course on Kiawah Island, and the Ryder Cup being played right here in Chicagoland at Medinah Country Club in September 2012.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLAlOIAQCjAxZTReKnfSo1lKIPREJ_pnHLdwN8Ea6ewZPnuf7dyGXbOyexLSvv-Is7haDA1PbR2qTO1JjXC-8eRcX3z8rsRNusN0w8BGCDj1SgatsVbcldy8mmDeerGdyHi_UZ/s1600/2470_TYPHOON_WOMEN.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLAlOIAQCjAxZTReKnfSo1lKIPREJ_pnHLdwN8Ea6ewZPnuf7dyGXbOyexLSvv-Is7haDA1PbR2qTO1JjXC-8eRcX3z8rsRNusN0w8BGCDj1SgatsVbcldy8mmDeerGdyHi_UZ/s320/2470_TYPHOON_WOMEN.jpg" width="319" /></a></div><br />
After the well-publicized flap that occurred over in Ireland during the last Ryder Cup when the American teams' outerwear actually failed during the opening round causing the team to have to resort to outerwear purchased in the merchandising tents, this was an important decision to get right. I believe that both the LPGA and PGA of America have now realized what so many of us have failed to do. If you want to take the weather out of the equation on the golf course, you need to get the best, and Sunice embodies the best in golf outerwear.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirwpgNHPjNtApnjiGf59poIkTy7iGK56qwoG_ZErZ5aBq64DFw9YnsxCAwMvg5QrJHVxWldKBie82Ejco7ngni5FAcN5j9idrc4KNPkf3La6QOGr3Fv0LPLBcYdpZ8Ky4P107P/s1600/2127_PRO+SPORT_MEN.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirwpgNHPjNtApnjiGf59poIkTy7iGK56qwoG_ZErZ5aBq64DFw9YnsxCAwMvg5QrJHVxWldKBie82Ejco7ngni5FAcN5j9idrc4KNPkf3La6QOGr3Fv0LPLBcYdpZ8Ky4P107P/s320/2127_PRO+SPORT_MEN.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
So, come on over to <a href="http://beavergolf.com/">BeaverGolf.com</a> and have a look around. If you want to <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/sunice_12_mnf.htm">jump straight to Sunice, click right here</a> and click through the pages. If you want any help, shoot me an e-mail at beavergolf1@gmail.com, or you can even call me (when I'm not golfing) at (888) 650-2870. I would be more than happy to listen to what kind of weather plagues you, and help you choose the right gear to get you through it.<br />
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Just keep this in mind when you are deciding between Sunice and the clearance rack at your local shop...do you want to be the player casually hitting great shots through the weather, or that soaked and shivering player with a hood flapping in their face while being limited to a 3/4 swing all day long? Your call.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705274445464012555noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23263131.post-28851214108929417122010-10-15T17:09:00.000-05:002010-10-15T17:09:17.609-05:00NEW PRODUCT: Sunice Elliott Gore-Tex Paclite Pullover<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5a5a5a; font-family: Tahoma,Arial,Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"><div style="background-color: transparent; border-width: 0px; color: #555555; font-size: 12px; margin: 10px 0px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In the 1980's hit film E.T., all that cute, yet homely little alien wanted to do was go home, right? You remember..."phone home, phone home, blah, blah, blah". Well, who was there to help little E.T.? Elliott was there to help, wasn't he? That's right, it was Elliott.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-width: 0px; color: #555555; font-size: 12px; margin: 10px 0px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">You may also have recently noticed the brouhaha during the 2010 Ryder Cup over there in rainy Wales, that the U.S. Team got stuck with some less than effective raingear made by Sun Mountain. Yup, sure enough, when the rains came, the players got wet, and assistants were sent scurrying to the merchandise tents to buy better gear. Having played in the rain while wearing it, I can tell you that they should have chosen <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/sunice_12_mnf.htm">Sunice</a>, just as the <a href="http://www.worldgolf.com/newswire/browse/64258-Sunice-official-rainwear-licensee-US-Solheim-Cup-Teams">2011 U.S. Women's Solheim Cup team</a> already has for their tournament being contested next year in Ireland. </div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-width: 0px; color: #555555; font-size: 12px; margin: 10px 0px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">What, may I ask, is the state of your current raingear? Do you even have raingear? Don't tell me that you're one of those scampering off the links at the first sign of precipitation! <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8A3M-d_eIqo">Didn't you see Caddyshack?</a> Seriously, the Bishop would never have been able to play the greatest round of his life, nor find a truer calling, if he had run for the clubhouse when the rains came. Imagine how much better he might have shot if he were wearing a stylish and snugly fitting Gore-Tex jacket complete with stretch inserts at the shoulder blades so as not to restrict his natural swing. Seriously, he shot that round wearing a hefty bag with a hood on it for heaven's sake! </div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-width: 0px; color: #555555; font-size: 12px; margin: 10px 0px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Given your current raingear, I'll bet when the clouds let loose during your round, going home, just like little E.T. is indeed all you want to do. But, how many chances do you get to play golf anyway? Like most of us, you get out at best once a weekend, and if that round is rained out, it is another week of the 9 to 5 grind before you can smell the sweet smell of closely mown grass again.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-width: 0px; color: #555555; font-size: 12px; margin: 10px 0px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Don't let the weather spoil your time on the course! Go to <a href="http://beavergolf.com/">BeaverGolf.com</a> and get yourself the brand new, already on sale <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/sunice_elliott_gore_tex_reg_925_prd1.htm">Sunice Elliott Gore-Tex® Paclite® Pullover</a>, and stay in the game. Golf was invented for this weather, so don't shy away. This rainy day friend is ultra lightweight, yet is completely waterproof - and even comes with a LIFETIME WATERPROOF GUARANTEE! With such rain fighting features as wrist rain channels to keep water from running down to your hands and waterproof YKK zippers to prevent water from finding those weak points in the zippers, this jacket will keep you dry even in a heavy persistent rain. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsp7lWNrt6guiCyfsyhgyz_PbKq_mOpOab8CPbD-ERgm5pGhkNilz4iAUIUVdxKz2lN3FP3SG-ieVBkaiWilEphtqp2JFSmlEWJ3S1yr6pff4lvVf7tBCsxdeK_lBuowSGpJWF/s1600/BG00583-shadowcharcoal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsp7lWNrt6guiCyfsyhgyz_PbKq_mOpOab8CPbD-ERgm5pGhkNilz4iAUIUVdxKz2lN3FP3SG-ieVBkaiWilEphtqp2JFSmlEWJ3S1yr6pff4lvVf7tBCsxdeK_lBuowSGpJWF/s320/BG00583-shadowcharcoal.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-width: 0px; color: #555555; font-size: 12px; margin: 10px 0px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-width: 0px; color: #555555; font-size: 12px; margin: 10px 0px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Staying dry isn't all that's important though. Ask Mrs. Corey Pavin who has taken more than a fair share of heat for her idea of style on the U.S. Ryder Cuppers. A close-to-the-body fit and stretch inserts at the shoulder blades provide ultimate freedom of movement, keeping your swing easy and on plane all while keeping you warm and dry. </div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-width: 0px; color: #555555; font-size: 12px; margin: 10px 0px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">So, next time it rains during your round, don't go home - just pickup this Sunice pullover and rely on the Elliott to see you through.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-width: 0px; color: #555555; font-size: 12px; margin: 10px 0px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Fairways and Greens! </div></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"> </span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705274445464012555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23263131.post-21217450970797049692010-08-10T09:27:00.001-05:002010-08-10T09:28:56.063-05:00Bless Me Beavers, For I Have Sinned...By Beaver Golf Contributor: Don Moorhead<br />
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As you can tell by the clever title, I have a confession to make. I have an excuse, but still. See, I gave up golf.<br />
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I can explain, if you'll just put down those pitchforks and douse the torches for a minute. I've been unemployed. The details are not important, just I was a midlevel marketing guy who suddenly and involuntarily became a <span style="font-style: italic;">former</span> midlevel marketing guy in February of 2009. Come last spring, I had what some would consider an ideal situation, golf-wise. I had nowhere to go during the day, and a golf-obsessed roommate who was also unemployed. We had an impromptu range in the back yard, littering ours and the neighbor's yards with those little foam practice balls. Every week or so, we headed out for 18, or at least a quick 9. My game improved. I was putting pretty well, and I was even hitting it somewhat straight off the tee, believe it or not. I started slow, every round. I'd put a monster number up on 1 or 2, or maybe 3, then settle into a rhythm. The blow-up was weird, but I didn't think too much about it.<br />
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Then, in August, it happened. The blow-up became the round. I couldn't hit it straight, couldn't put it anywhere close, and couldn't make a putt if you put a funnel in front of the hole. The range in the back yard was useless. The actual range was a house of horrors.<br />
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Took me a while, and a couple of rounds, to figure it out. I wasn't able to let go. The whole time I was out there on the course I was thinking about the $37.50 (or the $59 or the $25) I had paid for the round. Every lost Nike one-piece was another buck down the drain. But it was more than the money. Remember that feeling you had in college, especially around exam week, when you felt like you were never done? You could always spend another hour studying, and any time you spent doing anything else was time taken away from that. Job searching for a living is a lot like that, especially during the day, which coincidentally is also when you play golf, um...mostly. No matter how much you do in a day, you're never done. Granted, that doesn't apply to weekends as much, but do you really think I'm going to ask the wife, who by the way, works 50 hours a week most of the time, to babysit the 5 year old while I go play golf? If you answered yes to that, then you're not married, now, are you?<br />
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It's the classic conundrum; when you're working, you have no time to play. Then, when you have time, you a) don't have the money, and b) you really don't have nearly as much time as you think. So, why am I telling you this? Because I'm here to help. Because statistically speaking, somewhere between 9.7% and 11.2% of you are unemployed. And I don't want you to suffer like I suffered. Here's what you do.<br />
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1. Make a plan. Your household will need to have a budget anyway, but here's the thing. Include a line item on that budget for golf. It's ballsy, pardon the semi-pun. But now, more than ever, you're going to need to play.<br />
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2. You will, however, want to economize. Twilight rates are there for a reason. Don't look down your nose at the local muni, even if you're used to fancier digs. Eat before you play. I would never suggest that you sneak beverages onto a course that prohibits them, but there's a reason those Gatorade bottles fit so well in the side pocket of a carry bag.<br />
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3. Don't hide it from your spouse. Bargain if you can, beg if you must, but this is one of those times when you need to be up front. You won't enjoy yourself if you're sneaking around and hiding the scorecard. If you need to get permission, suck it up and get it.<br />
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4. This is the most important one. Give yourself permission. Take the time off, just like you would if you were working. Hit the job search hard the day before, and again before you play. You won't feel done, but you'll feel like it's OK to go. It's a well-known fact that most HR professionals take Friday afternoons off. That's not even remotely true, but it was my experience that I rarely got calls on a Friday afternoon. If you just can't stand being out of contact, check your messages at the turn. Not every hole, not every shot, but once.<br />
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Do this right, and you'll make it through. The game is an awesome way to put the real world off for a while. It won't be the same, it'll still feel weird. But here's why you have to try. I got a job. And, given the wacky nature of the modern economy, I interviewed on a Thursday, came back for a 2nd on Monday, accepted their offer on Tuesday, and started the following Monday. And a couple of those days in between, it rained. I didn't get a celebratory round in, and now, guess what? I don't have time to play again.dkmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17793462253909703441noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23263131.post-32610640045331772082010-07-22T17:24:00.003-05:002013-02-09T15:07:47.597-06:00GOLF EQUIPMENT REVIEW: Scratch Golf 1018 WedgeWe've all heard the phrase "Drive for Show, Putt for Dough", and chances are we've all uttered it at some point during our rounds. It is both easy to relate to and entirely misleading all at once. The truth is that every shot during a round is as important as the next. Bad drives can not only change your entire approach to a hole, but can also cost you stroke and distance if those dreaded white stakes are stationed near your errant shot. Good putting can definitely save you strokes, especially if you are making everything inside 6 feet, but putting for dough is reliant upon both good ball-striking with the irons, and perhaps even more so upon deadly accurate wedge play.<br />
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For me, scoring well seems to be most dependent on good ball-striking and hitting lots of greens in regulation. This takes pressure off of my putter and wedges, helping me gain confidence in the rest of my game. I play to an 8 handicap, which means that I am capable of playing any hole very well and generally strike the ball well, but also means that I still suffer through bouts of inconsistency when I will miss bunches of greens during a round. Regardless of whether I am hitting a lot of greens or not, one club I hit as often as any other is my 58 degree wedge. I feel very comfortable with this club, and hit it from all kinds of lies be it sand, deep rough, chips to tight pins, pitches from 75 yards in, and full shots inside 100 yards. I love to manipulate the openness of the face to achieve different results depending on what the shot calls for.<br />
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For the last 14 years I have played exclusively Cleveland wedges in various styles and loft combinations. Most recently I settled on my trusty Cleveland CG10s. For a few years I used a 52/56/60 combination, but wanting to get an additional hybrid in my bag, I decided to switch to a 52/58 combo in addition to my Mizuno MP-32 P-Wedge back in 2007. In early 2008, I received a Cleveland CG14 as a gift, and after putting it in my bag for 5-6 rounds, the CG10 quickly reclaimed its spot where it has remained until three weeks ago. The problem for me with the CG14 was the "over-engineering" in it. I have grown to love the feel of a simple and solid forged clubhead, and with the vibration dampening inserts and different sole grind, I just never felt comfortable with the CG14.<br />
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So, as much as I love my CG10s, they were beginning to suffer a loss of spin as I had hit 1000s of balls with each. I had been coveting the new Cleveland CG15s, but had been more than a bit infatuated with <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/scratch_golf_17_mnf.htm">Scratch Wedges</a> since "discovering" them late last year, then meeting their team at the 2010 PGA Merchandise Show where I got my first face-to-face hands on look at their beautifully spartan designs. I was impressed that corporate sponsorship averse Ryan Moore not only chose to play Scratch clubs without being paid to do so, but also was sporting their logo cap while playing on tour. Of course, a highlight of this year for Ryan was his ace on #16 at Augusta National during the 2010 Masters using his <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/scratch_golf_sb_1_irons_914_prd1.htm">Scratch SB-1 Irons</a>. I decided with some trepidation to give the guys at Scratch a call, and get myself a couple of new wedges. At least, I thought, I could write a legitimate review of them if I put them in play for a while, and if they played well, it would be great to get a few of you to come buy them from <a href="http://beavergolf.com/">BeaverGolf.com</a> on my recommendation.<br />
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So, while I did get the wedges at a discount, I did purchase the clubs with my own money, lest you think I am simply a shill for Scratch Golf. I bought the <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/scratch_golf_8620_milled_wedges_859_prd1.htm">8620 model</a> in 53 degrees bent to 52 degrees in the Driver/Slider TNC Grind. I also bought the <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/scratch_golf_1018_forged_wedges_857_prd1.htm">1018 model</a> in 58 degrees with the Driver/Slider EGG Grind, and this is the club I'll be reviewing today. I use the 58 degree club at least 3 times as often as I use the 52 degree, so have already gained a great deal of experience hitting the 58, thus a better review. Also, the 8620s are not available until mid-September due to higher than expected demand.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ2hR8kanUCE-7_pXbQz3-wnIFmsQqtfrkCLPD035U0KtoPAdiLnD47TXWdv8PcCdRmaFYXESb9rcWFNv2jVS9PKdxPL8qmexit7XvhBqRRfbBduiPByFnWEjdsLYUVFlfmQb8/s1600/BG00532.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ2hR8kanUCE-7_pXbQz3-wnIFmsQqtfrkCLPD035U0KtoPAdiLnD47TXWdv8PcCdRmaFYXESb9rcWFNv2jVS9PKdxPL8qmexit7XvhBqRRfbBduiPByFnWEjdsLYUVFlfmQb8/s320/BG00532.jpg" /></a></div>
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The special thing that Scratch Golf does is create clubs that are shaped and ground to better match your current swing and shot preferences. While they do offer a full fitting experience which requires you to visit their facilities down in Chattanooga, TN, they have plenty of options available in their standard line of wedges to fit most of our swings. The first thing one needs to determine before shopping for their new Scratch wedge is to determine what they use their wedges for most, and what the most common results of good shots and bad shots are in terms of divot size and fat versus thin contact. The steepness of your attack angle when swinging from various lies generally determines the characteristics of your wedge play that need to be better accommodated by a custom grind.<br />
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Here are the short explanations of the three swing types as defined by Scratch Golf:<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"><b>Digger / Driver:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b>Players in this swing profile tend to be very “steep and deep” with the club at impact. Their aggressive angle of attack causes the club head to dig into the ground requiring greater bounce angles to get the club head back out of the ground and maintain contact between the face and golf ball. Miss-hits for this profile are commonly fat.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"><b>Driver / Slider:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b>This swing type encompasses a vast majority of golfers. These players will try and trap the ball between the clubface and ground, taking a shallow, even divot. Driver/Slider’s moderate angle of attack requires a mid-bounce angle providing assistance in maintaining the club head’s path through the turf and ensuring crisp, clean contact. Driver/Sliders tend to miss both thin and fat.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"><b>Sweeper/Slider:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b>Often a favorite of course superintendents, Sweeper/Sliders have a very shallow angle of attack and take little to no divot at all. This swing profile requires a low bounce angle, which helps combat the thin miss-hit for Sweeper/Sliders. </span></span><br />
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Chances are that you can accurately fit yourself into one of these three types of swings, but that isn't where they stop. In each of the three swing type categories are two different grinds for the lower and higher of the wedge lofts. As I mentioned above, I am a Driver/Slider, so got a grind that fits my swing tendencies and allows me to open up the face of my 58 degree with the leading edge remaining closer to the ground.<br />
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So, on to the point of the review...how has the club performed? Well, the first shot I hit with it during an actual round was a 35 yard pitch on a long Par 5 after my decent drive and excellent 3-wood finished there. Good swing, solid contact, flew to the front edge of the green, bounced twice, then rolled out about 20 feet downhill and directly into the hole for an eagle! OK, great start, I thought, but that was just luck. Well, no more eagles over the next five rounds, but this club is staying in my bag for a long time.<br />
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It took me about 9-10 shots to get used to the extra feedback this club gives me with its forged head and KBS Tour shafts, but now that I have, I love it. I have been able to hit both tight fairway shots as well as from the deep rough with spin from all kinds of distances inside 100 yards. My favorite shots with it have been from 60-75 yards when I just open the face slightly and take about a 90% swing. The ball lands, bounces twice, then checks up...awesome! The sound off the face is solid and confidence-building.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhePE3dGxfZ80Ng5R3_4aHqnlaWBItQgX7wsPY0iV-Vr0nK1Aud1O-uvXAJwAPa_4-wEKMy44MXjRnWp6eQT5U5TclV6obmNQ47LMJWclDrcdzDFB37WsaW6lq3G1Ln_HirvLVP/s1600/Wedge_top+%282%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhePE3dGxfZ80Ng5R3_4aHqnlaWBItQgX7wsPY0iV-Vr0nK1Aud1O-uvXAJwAPa_4-wEKMy44MXjRnWp6eQT5U5TclV6obmNQ47LMJWclDrcdzDFB37WsaW6lq3G1Ln_HirvLVP/s320/Wedge_top+%282%29.jpg" /></a></div>
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If I have a knock on this club at all, it might be out of greenside bunkers. It is likely that is due more to my sand game than the club because the last couple of years I have been dreadful in the sand, but it is possible that I sacrificed too much bounce in opting for the ability to open the face more. I am going to work on it and give it a few more rounds, but I might need to grab a 56 degree with more bounce to use out of the sand. I also may try hitting the 52 degree more often out of the sand to see if that helps. My guess is that the customized grind will assist most players with their bunker shots despite my troubles.<br />
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<a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/scratch_golf_1018_forged_wedges_857_prd1.htm">The Scratch 1018 forged wedges</a> are for sale right now at <a href="http://beavergolf.com/">BeaverGolf.com</a> for $169.99. That is a savings of $10 off the $179.95 MSRP! Of course, with a single wedge exceeding our $75 shipping threshold, you will not pay a penny for shipping on these wedges either. While there, make sure to check out their irons and Hybrid clubs as well. <br />
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Wedges are a very personal thing, and I play with lots of people who have been using their same wedges for a very long time because they have developed a comfort level with how it performs. While I can understand and relate to that, I think for most people, a wedge with new grooves and better matched to your own swing can only help your scoring...and closer wedge play means you'll make more putts. So, instead of "putt for dough", shouldn't it be "wedge for dough"?<br />
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Fairways and Greens! <br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"> </span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705274445464012555noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23263131.post-44619811967199841272010-07-19T23:59:00.000-05:002010-07-19T23:59:06.374-05:00GOLF COURSE REVIEW: ThunderhawkDirectly in between Chicago and Milwaukee in Northern Lake County, IL lay one of the most interesting and scenic golf courses that I have ever played on. This is a golf course that has gotten better with time as the fairways and greens have matured into firm yet receptive conditions across the course. This is a golf course that manages to put a premium on accuracy off the tees despite offering ample landing areas and tee placements to accommodate high and low handicappers alike. This is a golf course that was the first of only two courses in Illinois to achieve Audubon Signature certification marking it as a shining example of maintaining a first class golf experience while minimizing the damaging impacts on the local environment. A haven for golfers and wildlife alike, this is <a href="http://www.lcfpd.org/thunderhawk/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.view">Thunderhawk Golf Club</a>.<br />
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Surely, you haven't heard of Beach Park, IL, so give yourself ample time to get to Thunderhawk from wherever it is you are coming. Sitting on the cusp of the Illinois/Wisconsin border, and a good 15-20 minutes from I-90/94, I have seen many a playing partner take their first swing of the day on the first tee box due to a longer than expected commute. Do not, under any circumstances, let that keep you from seeking out this course and giving it a go.<br />
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If you have read my past golf course reviews, you will know this about me, I love a good value, and I really love courses that offer a wide variety of holes with risk/reward options. Thunderhawk Golf Club has both of these in spades. In the recent past, Thunderhawk, for me, was a once-per-year kind of course both due to the fact that it was so far away from my home in downtown Chicago, and because the rates were nearly prohibitive at almost $100 for prime time weekend rounds. Though they can not move the course location, I recently moved much closer to this course, eliminating the travel factor. What the course did accomplish was something that many, many other courses need to do as well, they <a href="http://www.lcfpd.org/docs/2010-thunderhawk-rates.pdf"><b><i>lowered their rates</i></b></a>! I don't know how many half empty Saturday tee sheets a course has to see before realizing that by lowering their rates they will attract more golfers, but Thunderhawk got the message. Not only do they offer compelling twilight rates of $55 after 1:00 and $47 after 3:00 on weekends, but their standard rate of $85 from open through 1:00 on weekends is worth the cost - and they let you replay for $25 more! If you can play during the week, it gets even better with an early bird special of $39 from open through 8:00 am. That is quite possibly the best value in all of Chicagoland.<br />
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The clubhouse fits the landscape like a glove, and the staff, though often confused by their own multi-tiered pricing structure, is always friendly and accommodating. Though the snack bar is out of the way from the turn, and offers nothing compelling beyond a hot dog or turkey sandwich, the restaurant is very nice, and regularly hosts medium-sized weddings on it's beautiful brick patio overlooking the stunning 18th green. They offer a nice selection of apparel in the pro shop, and the restrooms are clean and spacious. The driving range is nowhere close to the 1st tee, so if you are walking (and, really, you should be walking), give yourself a good 10 minutes to get over to the starter, and more if you want to take a few practice putts (also highly recommended as these greens can run pretty quick and are laden with undulation). My commentary below is from the Brass tees, so adjust accordingly should you decide on the tips or the two shorter options.<br />
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The first hole is a very well designed first hole. Nothing too fancy or tough on this straight and short par 4, allowing for a variety of club choices off the tee (I almost always opt for the 3-wood unless the wind is really howling in either direction). Don't take this hole too much for granted, however, as you will not find your ball in the tall stuff well left, and you have OB all the way up the right side. The green is large, and offers one of the flatter putts you will face today.<br />
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As you stand on the 2nd tee, the first of many risk/reward decisions come into play. If you can't hit the driver more than 245 yards, or want to hit a shorter club on this par 5, knocking one straight up the left fairway is a safe and more than acceptable decision. If you, however, have notions of eagle right off the bat, it is a shorter carry than it appears over the wetlands, and left of the imposing tree protecting the right side. About 210 yards is enough to sneak over that right side. Accomplish that or better and you will be staring straight at a wide open green and ample fairway in front of you making both a big swing or layup viable and comfortable options. Beware, this green can be tricky, and you don't want to be chipping back from behind the green, so if you do miss, short and right is usually best.<br />
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The third hole is a bear of a par 3. On a busy day, this is normally a bottleneck on the course even with the mandatory drop rule that is well-signed on the tee. Generally you will be facing a tee shot of about 190 yards with almost all of that being carry over wetlands. The green is a big saddle with a low are in the middle between two shelves left and right. Par is a good score on this hole, and don't be too hard on a bogey either.<br />
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On the fourth hole, an average length par 4, everything on the tee tells you to hit it into the big open right side of the fairway, and there is nothing wrong with that play. Don't be too aggressive nor too far right, however, or your ball will have surprisingly disappeared into the ubiquitous wetland weeds, and you will be hitting your 3rd shot from 180 yards. My suggestion, if you can carry your driver 225 or so is to hit your tee shot directly over the right side of the big fairway bunker in the middle of the fairway. Clear it, and you will be hitting a short and trusty club into another well protected green. In 14 rounds here, I have played this hole to an average of 4.14 strokes, and never taken worse than a bogey, so I practice what I preach.<br />
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I am not the best spokesperson for the 5th hole which is an otherwise straightforward and slightly shorter than average par 4 with a wide fairway. For whatever reason I am forever hitting pull hooks into the forest guarding the entire left side of this hole, and from a drop there have little chance of doing better than double bogey. For most of you, anything from long iron through driver relatively straight should put you in position for an easy approach shot to a rather huge green. The putts can be tricky depending on pin position, but I would think this isn't one of the most challenging holes out here.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFtNSQGciQhe0o9BmwagHP3zacnYGQgWvI0xB0EsXs0qHJ2ai8yTOUbTZaF2GvF8JV-JvnU6k3mrHiEScHKkn0TUGWhIlgAOaqpOmwEz6fwNNPtNY_rkoBYZBqw4mkCWFz-95K/s1600/Thunderhawk+Golf+Club+-+Par+3+6th+Hole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFtNSQGciQhe0o9BmwagHP3zacnYGQgWvI0xB0EsXs0qHJ2ai8yTOUbTZaF2GvF8JV-JvnU6k3mrHiEScHKkn0TUGWhIlgAOaqpOmwEz6fwNNPtNY_rkoBYZBqw4mkCWFz-95K/s640/Thunderhawk+Golf+Club+-+Par+3+6th+Hole.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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Turn the corner through the woods and feast your eyes on one seriously cool par 3. This really big peanut shaped green offers the course loads of options for how to punish the golfers on any given day, but at most you will face about a 160 yard shot - over a small pot bunker to the tiny portion of the green, of course. On front pin placements, short and right is a very acceptable miss as it could leave you with an uphill putt or chip from a closely mown area. The key to hitting it close here is being aware of a ridge running from the front to back of this green that will funnel your ball to the pin as long as you catch the correct side of it. For the tricky left pin, aim just right of the right edge of the bunker fronting the green then let the green funnel the ball down for a good look at birdie.<br />
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Remember that risk/reward comment? You've got a whole bunch of options on the next two holes, beginning with the super-fun Par 5 7th hole. This very reachable par 5 offers a huge landing area to the right off the tee for those so inclined, but better be short right or your ball will roll right through the fairway and into the woods making your conservative play quite penal. With the prevailing SW winds, I much prefer to take the drive right over the bunkers bordering the left side of the dogleg. It's a 225 yard carry that plays shorter than it looks, and if you carry the ridge just beyond the bunker complex, you could be coming into this par 5 with a scoring iron in your hands. This green can be tricky with a back pin, but front pins are pretty straightforward.<br />
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On to number 8, a drivable par 4 that offers another risk/reward decision. Again, with the prevailing winds, I actually think what looks like the risky shot is actually the safe play, and that is a drive over the small lake directly at the green. Often, the pin is around 270 yards from the tee, and the carry over the lake is a hair over 200 yards. You can definitely bail out to the right with the routing of the fairway, but if you do, I recommend you leave the driver in the bag as there are bunkers very well placed to catch any errant shots. If you do find yourself in one of these fairway bunkers, you might as well kiss any chance at par goodbye, and you have likely made a cautious decision that cost you 2-3 strokes.<br />
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After a couple of great scoring chances, Thunderhawk slaps back hard on the long par 4 ninth hole. If you've got the shot, a hard, long, controlled draw that wraps right around the 150 barber pole is the best drive. For the other 99% of you, hit this drive as far as you can, or play it as a par 5. Wetlands guard the right side making a ballooning fade sure death. The left side is guarded by tall weeds followed by woods making a shorter shot left of the barber pole a nearly impossible approach shot, most of the time requiring a short chip into the fairway beyond the dogleg left. The approach shot is significantly up hill with woods bordering both sides of the fairway, and the large green well protected short and right by a handful of deep bunkers carved into a steep slope. Bogey is a good score here, and pars are great. If you are able to manage a birdie, you have taken a good amount of bite out of this course.<br />
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Make the turn to number 10 and take a breath. This is a pretty simple driving hole as any shot over 210 yards in the fairway will trundle down the hill and add 20-30 yards to your drive. 200 yards or so will even carry the bunker on the left. Don't knock it too far left, however, or you'll be hitting three from the tee. Back pin positions on this green can be a challenge as it slopes pretty severely from back to front and has a ridge separating the left and right halves, but relatively speaking, this is one of the easier holes on the course.<br />
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Take a good look from the par 5 eleventh tee, and hopefully you've read this review before playing it. Don't be afraid of those bunkers on the left side of the fairway as the entire landing area right of the bunkers slopes hard left to right ad well struck shots will easily run all the way down to the weeds on the right side of the hole. It's another 210 or so yard carry over the far right of the fairway bunkers and will leave you with a flatter lie and a fairly easy approach to any pin on the right 2/3 of the green. Even with an inaccessible left pin, this is still the best play as the green will always be in view. The green is pretty flat as these greens go, so once on, a two-putt is common.<br />
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The short par 4 twelfth offers options off the tee once again, but I like to think that a hybrid or fairway wood is the correct option. A pull hook off this tee is certain death, and the further right you hit it, the quicker you bring the short but thick line of trees into play. It is a short hole, so after a decent drive, you should be holding a comfortable iron or wedge in your hands. That is a good thing because this is a very long and contoured green making putting here a challenge once on the green.<br />
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Onto the long par 3 thirteenth hole, one which seems to give everybody fits. I'm not exactly sure why it plays so difficult, even at 200+ yards. Perhaps it is the narrowness of the peanut shaped green guarded on both sides by bunkers. If you miss right or left, you will be short sided regardless of where the pin is located. The best miss is simply short, and, of course, hitting the green is always the best option. This is another hole where par is a very good score.<br />
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Now onto the very short par 4 fourteenth hole that is not much of a challenge if you play it correctly. A solid 200 yard shot straight up the fairway will put you in great position to hit a very short club into this elevated green. What challenge this hole presents is in the contouring of the green along with the severe drop off fronting the green making short or heavily spinning shots roll down to that fun little tight lie straight up the slope. Just keep you head on the shots here, and you should score well.<br />
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The par 3 fifteenth is a wolf in sheep's clothing. Go ahead and take one extra club here no matter how you feel. I am pretty sure I've never seen anyone hit it past the pin off this tee despite its relatively short yardage. Everything rolls off the front and right into another fun collection area, so be long, be long, be long! Interesting note here...this hole features one of the most ridiculous forward tees I've ever seen. From this tee box, you really could putt the ball onto the green, and a bump and run is probably the most appropriate play. Pretty silly tee box for any ladies with even a reasonable amount of game. You'll see it, and I think, agree with me on this one.<br />
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I have mixed feelings about the par 5 sixteenth hole. It is a beautiful hole, but visually confusing, and the final approach can be intimidating and confounding. Furthermore, nearby lives a very vocal rooster who apparently wants you to know the sun is up all day long. If you are a big hitter (and I do mean BIG), and can lace a draw that carries a good 265+ yards in the air, then you can wrap it around the big trees on the left side and reach the second fairway over a ball-eating creek. The much more prudent play is a driver directly up the right fairway that rolls out right in front of you. This is not a hole reachable in two shots for the vast majority of players, so stay patient, and stay left as the lake on the right side is waiting to receive any shots fading even a bit too much. This green is well protected short left, short right, and short straight by bunkers and that stinking lake again. If you've got a great lie after your drive, a fairway wood about 40 yards left of the green is not the worst play as you could get past all the bunkers on the left side, and open up a great pitch and run angle to the green. This hole is hard, plain and simple, and requires both good decision making and well struck shots. Don't forget to enjoy the view.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJPlpt0DS5wySKGDxRkyDGgTFtJL3keB-frdMzdjJkRWFXBrHVGbb96hTlzKftnQNKWMhCxwTnpYC9u-dkBlC8aHAJL0tHyLLsywzq2BrrDqtoXvCfHzzNGuLTSzDL4rFhAogQ/s1600/Thunderhawk+Golf+Club+-+Par+3+17th+Hole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJPlpt0DS5wySKGDxRkyDGgTFtJL3keB-frdMzdjJkRWFXBrHVGbb96hTlzKftnQNKWMhCxwTnpYC9u-dkBlC8aHAJL0tHyLLsywzq2BrrDqtoXvCfHzzNGuLTSzDL4rFhAogQ/s640/Thunderhawk+Golf+Club+-+Par+3+17th+Hole.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
The par 3 seventeenth can be a lot of fun, as long as you keep your tee shot left. Usually a short or mid iron off the tee, there seems to be a tendency to leak shots just a bit right and the lake will collect each and every one of those shots. Get onto the correct portion of this "L" shaped green and you could grab yourself another birdie here.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8SAAgkwvRCBJ7tJxA2BXchg3-By5WFL1aqBbjNIwKmVNffbeb-gRxZRtlm_kiSCY7B4zk9easZL_md0NVwy9Gm4IIfUgPuAz9Ticehhnv6jCReyzexPLXU1x-l0s7x2K-GH2z/s1600/Thunderhawk+Golf+Club+-+Par+5+18th+Hole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8SAAgkwvRCBJ7tJxA2BXchg3-By5WFL1aqBbjNIwKmVNffbeb-gRxZRtlm_kiSCY7B4zk9easZL_md0NVwy9Gm4IIfUgPuAz9Ticehhnv6jCReyzexPLXU1x-l0s7x2K-GH2z/s640/Thunderhawk+Golf+Club+-+Par+5+18th+Hole.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
Finally, one of my favorite finishing holes anywhere, the par 5 eighteenth hole at Thunderhawk. This drive calls for a draw, but unless you already drove it onto the second fairway on 16, don't bother risking a wild shot. Yes, I've seen people try for this green in two shots, but generally the longer you drive, the shorter you iron that you will be laying up with. See, the second shot is all downhill all the way to about 50 yards short of the green where a rocky creek bed runs across the front of the green complex separating it from the end of the fairway, and providing one final challenge to your round. The front of the green is significantly downhill from the back, so make your club choice count on the approach so you have a decent chance at making your putt. If you pull it off you could walk off with a birdie, and par is there for you if you keep your attention through this hole.<br />
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So, in summary, I strongly recommend playing Thunderhawk at least once, and I'll bet you will find yourself wanting to come back again and again. If you do play it, or have played it, let me know if you agree, I'd be very interested in hearing your thoughts.<br />
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Fairways and Greens!<br />
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</script>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705274445464012555noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23263131.post-22507257271422783532010-06-16T11:21:00.000-05:002010-06-16T11:21:57.705-05:00GOLF BOOK REVIEW: Straight Down the Middle, by: Josh KarpFunny thing about this blog of mine, it is bringing me opportunities to meet others whom I otherwise would never have met, and who share with me a love for and addiction to the game of golf. Case in point, about a month ago, Josh Karp reached out to me via e-mail, and asked if I would be interested in reading and reviewing his new book "Straight Down The Middle". I, of course, replied that I would love to, and that just as soon as I moved (my family and I recently moved from Chicago, IL to Grayslake, IL) I would find some time to do just that. The book showed up a few days later direct from the folks at amazon.com, and was promptly packed into one of my "Open Immediately" boxes.<br />
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Well, the move happened on June 7th, and I started reading the book on June 9th. Five days later I completed the last chapter (I never knew there was a Shivas Irons Society), and I can tell you I am impressed. Now, the truth be told, I've never actually reviewed a book before, so forgive me if this seems a little proletariat for you. I will also do my best to avoid giving away anything that might make reading this book irrelevant, but honestly, that would be hard to do. As with many golf books I've read, and I have read many, "Straight Down The Middle" can easily be read more than once.<br />
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The basic premise is that Josh, a self-proclaimed Agnewish (Agnostic Jew) father of four - yes FOUR young boys, has decided to try to improve his golf game using a veritable cornucopia of Zen-inspired methods and techniques as opposed to the purely mechanical route of hiring Hank Haney and thoroughly embarrassing oneself on television. Josh begins the story as an 18-handicap (meaning he is capable, but struggles to break 90) who, like most of us, frequently melts down after imperfect shots, blaming his own ineptitude as an athlete and even as a person for all the troubles he is made to suffer while on the course. Josh also reportedly has some significant issues with pessimism and worry in general as evidenced by his certainty that any day some fatal malady is going to befall him.<br />
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As a father of two children myself (aged 1 and 3), I found the experience he undertook to be both inspirational and unbelievable all at once. Josh's wife should have gotten her name in the title in addition to her top billing in the acknowledgments. His travels and frequent playing, researching, and writing surely had to have put a strain on their marriage and only through her great understanding and patience was Josh able to pull this off, to be sure.<br />
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The number of methods available to a golfer in search of a better swing are countless, and Josh legitimately tries many of them. From quantum mechanics to martial arts and meditation, Josh patiently accepts and experiments with each one in turn, allowing each new technique the time it deserves to integrate with Josh's game. I found it particularly interesting when two methods would come in conflict with one another to hear how Josh handled it. One particular case of this was between Steve Yellin, media relations director at Maharishi University in Fairfield, IA and Jim Waldron, owner of the Balance Point Golf School. Josh handles the conflict between Yellin's "feeling your swing" and Waldron's bio-mechanics inspired methods with ease slecting the best of each method and blending them in his own practice.<br />
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Josh is an avid golf book reader himself, and is continually drawn to comparisons of these methods with moments in the great golf novel "Golf in the Kingdom" by Michael Murphy, the first of many golf-themed books that I have read myself, and that woke me up to the potential of energy fields, and playing golf in the now. This journey that Josh undertakes culminates with both a trip to golf's Mecca itself in Scotland (though, disappointingly not the Old Course at St. Andrew's) followed by a tournament at the famed Straits course at Whistling Straits in Haven, WI, a course that is, disappointingly, still on my must-play list.<br />
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"Straight Down The Middle" is very well-written, engaging, and effortlessly blends Josh's experiences both with playing golf and with learning from the teachers and gurus themselves. Josh also uses his lessons in his personal life, partially exorcising some of his daemons, and helping him to yes, play better golf, but perhaps more importantly, to enjoy the golf he plays.<br />
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I think that final point is what I found to be the single most important lesson shared by Josh through his experience, that, for most of us, playing better golf will result from, rather than lead to being happier with how we play. Easier said than done, but something to which each one of us should strive to do more often. I look forward to meeting Josh in person, and to see if I can't garner some deeper nuggets of wisdom while playing swing.<br />
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I encourage each of you to click the link below and grab yourself a copy of "Straight Down The Middle". This book will fit very nicely on your bookshelf next to your copies of "Golf in the Kingdom", "Zen Golf", and Harvey Penick's "Little Red Book".<br />
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Fairways and Greens! <br />
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</script>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705274445464012555noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23263131.post-27650060588334596082010-06-14T16:36:00.003-05:002011-08-09T08:40:26.080-05:00GOLF COURSE REVIEW: Cog Hill Golf & Country Club #4 - "Dubsdread"Frequently, when you meet a golfer from Chicago, the conversation will begin with a pitiful whine about the weather, and how much better life would be if he or she could just live somewhere that golf is played year round in warm idyllic conditions. In fact, I promise you that if an when you meet me, I will do the very same thing. Chicago is a tough climate to endure for the avid golfer. While we might sneak out for a round or two on unseasonably mild days during the winter months, generally speaking we Chicagoans must hop on an airplane to play meaningful golf from late November until early March, and many of us simply take the clubs out of the car and try to rediscover our swings at around the first thaw.<br />
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So, why don't we all just gather our things and move down south? OK, so, lots of Chicagoans actually do just that. There must be something keeping the rest of us here, though, right?<br />
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Something that we are blessed with here in the upper Midwest states is fertile land upon which to grow, without a doubt, the greatest grass on which to play golf. Yes, if you haven't played on true bentgrass fairways and greens, then you need to take a trip up here. To top that off, Chicago features within an hour's drive in every direction some of the greatest public golf courses in the country (and from what I've read and heard, quite a number of the private ones as well). Among my personal Top 5 are Pine Meadow, Thunderhawk, Cantigny, and Prairie Landing, but the crown jewel of public golf in Chicago has to be the famed fourth course at Cog Hill Golf & Country Club. Better known to the masses as "Dubsdread", Cog Hill #4 is the current home of the FedEx Cup's BMW Championship after having hosted the PGA Tour's Western Open from 1991-2006.<br />
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Unfortunately, "Dubs" is also quite expensive to play relative to the other great public courses in the area, so it limits my rounds on the course to once every 2-3 years. In my four complete rounds at "Dubs" I have grown to enjoy the course more and more as one is prone to do as they become more familiar with the course and it loses some of that intimidation factor. Just prior to writing this review I shot an 84 on "Dubs", my best round of my four on the course, and am currently an 8.4 handicap, so a very good score for me. This despite being marred by an awful start during which I went 7-over through the first four holes, including a par on the Par 3 2nd. With that said, don't you dare ever pay more than $100 to play any of Bolingbrook Golf Course, The Glen Club, or Ruffled Feathers if you can get on "Dubs" instead...it might just be better than all three of those courses combined!<br />
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The round I just finished there was also my first at "Dubs" since they closed for the entire 2008 season while "The Open Doctor" Rees Jones undertook a fairly massive renovation project that took a once outstanding course into the realm of unbeatable. Most of the renovation was to make the course more playable after the frequent heavy rains that befall it during the summer months. All 18 greens were rebuilt over a new Sub-Air System which actually sucks the moisture from right underneath the green complex. It appeared to my group that this was working under the bunkers as well.<br />
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Three weeks prior to the round I completed, we tried to play, but only finished 7 holes before a long and torrential Memorial Day downpour halted us at the halfway house. Following a 90+ minute delay, most everyone packed it in, collected their rain checks and went home, but my buddy and I tried to wait it out. Though we attempted unsuccessfully to play the eighth hole before another wave of rain drenched us, we got right up to the green and realized that despite taking on about two inches of rain in 90 minutes, there wasn't even the smallest of puddles on either the green or the 4 million bunkers that front the eighth hole...that is unprecedented drainage for the Chicago area, or perhaps anywhere.<br />
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Aside from the greens, Mr. Jones also added and/or deepened many of the fairway bunkers that give pause to anyone used to cutting off some of the corners out there. Being the absolute worst part of my game, the fairway bunkering was terrifying, apparently enough to keep me out of them on all but the first hole which I double bogeyed. On the 7th hole which had been arguably the easiest hole on the course, Rees went and dug a small lake on the inside of the dog leg right that now makes cutting the corner a tremendous risk.<br />
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The renovation also included the addition of several sets of tees, which along with a "Combo" course that uses different tees on different holes, allows for a much better dispersion of golfers to play a course fair to their ability. The course rating/slope for men stretches from 70.2/130 on the forward tees to a killer 77.8/151 from the tips and for women from 72.8/135 on the forward tees to an unbelievable 80.2/150 from the Blue tees with two unrated tees behind it (my foursome played these blue tees at 73.9/138 for us).<br />
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The greens fees for Cog Hill #4 are a flat $155 no matter the time of day or the season. This fee includes your 18 hole round, complementary range balls at a very nice facility just adjacent to the #4 course, and a golf cart with Laser Link distance finder. I stuck to my practice of walking when allowed as did Brad, but the other two took the cart (though with the Laser Link oddly absent).<br />
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I have now played this course four times (plus the additional 7 holes on Memorial Day) and have never played it without having to stop for at least a few minutes to let some heavy rain/thunder/lightning pass through. Coincidence? Probably, but I can't help feeling a bit cursed. Alas, this past round was delayed by 45 minutes due to T-Storms, but we got underway in dry, but humid weather only to be delayed for another 45 minutes again after hitting our drives on 16. Disappointingly, Cog Hill has chosen not to install a lightning alarm system on their courses suggesting that all players may play at their own risk. Of course, some players being less sensible than others, this policy creates some odd and uncomfortable moments as groups change position as some take shelter and others play on. Not a big deal, but worth noting.<br />
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For the following course review, please note that I am describing how the course exists now, and will not take the words to describe every little change Rees Jones made during the renovation. If you've played this course before the renovation, suffice it to say, it got even better, and if you've never played it before, it won't matter to you what changes were made. If you are really interested in the depth of the changes, <a href="http://www2.cybergolf.com/sites/courses/layout9.asp?id=725&page=40555">click this link</a> to view it in full.Also, any yardage and par references are from the Blue tees. <br />
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The first hole, while not the most challenging on the course, is also not one that eases you into your round. A long dog leg left, this 425 yard hole hardly even dares you to try to cut the corner as a plethora of deep fairway bunkers and trees block that path sufficiently well for the vast majority of us mortals. Following a safe drive in the fairway, you will probably be faced with a long iron or hybrid into a very well protected green which will slope from back to front and left to right on most pin placements. Bear in mind, however, that on almost every hole at "Dubs" different pins will create very different slopes, and there are very few places on the course where you can "bail out" long, short, left, or right...best to hit the green as often as you can. As bad as the bunkers appear, they are almost always better than missing the green into the lush rough growing along the steep sides of the green complexes. You will almost never get a greenside chip from either short grass or a flat lie, and the first is no exception.<br />
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The second hole can be played from an alternate hole I have never experienced, so if you have that chance, you're on your own, though I would encourage you to come back and tell us about it. As you consider your club selection on the 182 yard Par 3 2nd hole, be aware that going long is just as bad as short, so choose your weapon wisely, aim for the center of the green and put a good smooth stroke on it. The only exception might be a back right pin placement where long won't kill you.<br />
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For whatever reason, the Par 4 3rd, at a very manageable 407 yards is a nightmare for me. I've missed right, I've missed left, and I've 3-putted this green multiple times. There really isn't that much to this hole. Sure, there are small water hazards off the right and left sides of the "landing area", but they are small. The green can play difficult, but it isn't the worst complex on the course, so don't follow my lead...try to get yourself a par here while you still have some confidence (assuming you brought any of that to the course with you).<br />
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Side by side back and forth holes are not my thing, but Cog Hill handles them with grace. The fourth is a Par 4 of "only" 397 yards. Better to miss left back into the 3rd fairway than right into another small water hazard that simply eats golf balls. Even if you find your ball near said water hazard, you will be lucky to have a window through which to chip you approach through a stand a big old willow and oak trees. This is one of those greens that can present nightmares depending on the pin position, and another one where bailing out long is bad news.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi09gJ4SpyMnz-JiLvSOmbrI2bW9LAumMCZ7XcO1CoQSf5Mx_VdO-pouFn50FoBb3cjp9g4-iHU9loODBHRvG-e0-id8wEs8CADrxAw6VqIhK_tPAQV42DFE6A0QPoHttm-r6aC/s1600/Dubs+-+7th+Hole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi09gJ4SpyMnz-JiLvSOmbrI2bW9LAumMCZ7XcO1CoQSf5Mx_VdO-pouFn50FoBb3cjp9g4-iHU9loODBHRvG-e0-id8wEs8CADrxAw6VqIhK_tPAQV42DFE6A0QPoHttm-r6aC/s400/Dubs+-+7th+Hole.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Turning onto the fifth hole, hopefully you have maintained some sense of yourself, and haven't let the course get into your head. This uphill 479 yard hole may or may not be a Par 5. It is listed as 4/5 on the card, but gives no indication of how that applies to different tees, gender, etc. Just to forewarn, I played it in four shots for a par/birdie which included a well struck driver followed by a well struck 3-wood, a chip from just in front of the green and a putt. We called it a par 5, though I guess what the par is doesn't matter much when compiling your score. I do wish they would better clarify what the intent of the course is here. <br />
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The sixth hole is the longest, and arguably the most difficult Par 3 on the course (though I would give all four of them plenty of respect). If Cog Hill doesn't allow you one thing, it's a break on a Par 3. All four of them are over 180 to the center of the green, and all four have some very penal areas into which you can deposit any number of less than perfect shots. On the 194 yard sixth hole, best to take the extra club and hit the middle of the green. This green is enormous and has all kinds of tiers, but best to be on and bogey at worst. I hit my 3-Hybrid the last two times I played it and was on the back portion of the green.<br />
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The seventh, even with the added water hazard is still a little bit of a breather, though much less than in the past. At 385 yards, my advice is to forget about clearing the hazard, and just aim down the left side with your drive. This is a very challenging green with four "arms" to it. Even a middle pin isn't a piece of cake as it will challenge your green reading skills to their fullest.<br />
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If you hadn't already done so on four or seven, go ahead and leave the driver in the bag on the 341 yard eighth hole. Staying in the fairway is important here as you are going to have a blind shot over an army of bunkers fronting the green. This isn't the deepest green on the course, and there is more trouble behind, so getting a ball to stick on the green is important to avoid making this hole more difficult than it needs to be.<br />
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Put on your marching shoes on number nine. At 586 yards, this is the longest hole on the course, and provides you a very narrow fairway upon which to focus with large trees on both sides of the hole. Don't try to do too much here, though...you are not getting home in two, seriously. Hit the clubs that get you to a good manageable mid to short iron for your third shot, and make it count. This is a big green, but one of the flatter ones on the course. get your par, you can do it!<br />
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Number ten is a good birdie opportunity if you can keep anything from a long iron up to a driver right of the trees without getting into one of the many bunkers lining the right side of the fairway. At 353 yards, you don't need more than 200 yards to get into a good approach position to this green.<br />
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Leave on the left side of the tenth green and head across the street to tee off on the reachable 547 yard Par 5 11th hole. Despite OB up the right side, that is where you'll hit the ideal tee shot to have a chance to cut off the dog leg left and go for the green in two. If you simply don't want to risk it, birdie is still very achievable after hitting a drive up the left. A solid layup will leave you with a short pitch shot to one of the bigger and flatter greens on the course.<br />
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I believe that the 194 yard Par 3 12th is where "Dubs" really begins taking on mythic status. This big downhill shot for an incredibly picturesque tee box at the height of the property makes you feel like you can't miss this shot. Ah, but you certainly can. Settle down and pay attention because those bunkers down there are very deep, and going long of the green will get you absolutely nothing good. Enjoy the hole, but don't pay it too much respect...it's still a downhill Par 3.<br />
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The thirteenth hole begins a stretch of holes lasting back to the clubhouse where slicers must beware. The rest of the way into the house, the right side is bad news, and the 383 yard 13th is no exception. The length won't kill you here, so hit a manageable club off the tee. Once you begin planning your approach, try to make a miss be long rather than short. Thought they have cleared away the tall fescue and weeds which once guarded the front, it is still a steep face of rough with a creek down in the ravine.<br />
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Climb your way up to the barn which stands guard over the 14th tee. This 184 yard Par 3 can cause some major fits of anguish even with shots finding the green, much less those finding one of the many greenside bunkers ringing this hole. It seems as though all shots on the green funnel to the back middle, so hope for a favorable pin, or putting could be an adventure.<br />
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At only 482 yards, the Par 5 15th hole is a great opportunity to get some strokes back...unless you are like me and choose to ignore the few gifts this course offers. A healthy shot in the fairway should set you up for a good attempt at reaching in two, but I witnessed several golfers try it on this hole with nary a one finding success as we waited out the rain next to the 15th green. Most of the trouble here is along the right side, so whether going for the green or laying up, stay to the left for the best outcome. Another big green with less contouring than most of the Cog Hill greens.<br />
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After some discussion on the matter, our group seemed to agree that the Par 4 16th, a dog leg left measuring 381 yards, might just be the most memorable and beautiful holes on this course which would put it pretty high up there on most "best holes in America" list. The tee sits up high over the fairway with a forest of trees blocking the view of the last 100 or so yards of fairway and the green. Once down in the fairway, you are shooting to a very elevated green guarded by deep bunkers front right and left, while shots hit long and left will careen down a steep hill leaving a ridiculously difficult recovery attempt. The green along with the rest of the hole slopes from left to right, but is surprisingly flat on the back portion. Simply a great hole that will challenge the best of golfers, but rewards good shots in kind.<br />
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The seventeenth suffers somewhat due to the fact that it is wedged between the 16th and 18th in terms of beauty, challenge, and memorability, but I would advise you to not take it too lightly. At 399 yards, this Par 4 features a slight dog leg to the right, with an open entry to the green on the front left side. If you are going to miss right off the tee, it better be WAY right as balls finding the 16th fairway you just finished will have a much better chance of finding the green than anything remotely close to the trees that separate the two holes. The 17th green is another enormous one, with subtle breaks throughout. This hole plays a lot harder than it looks.<br />
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The eighteenth tee will likely have you feeling a combination of relief and remorse. You probably have shot several strokes more than you normally do, but have that nagging feeling of desire to simply head back over to #1 and start again. This extremely difficult finishing hole still has plans for you, however, so snap out of it! This 431 yard monster of a Par 4, snakes around some maintenance buildings on the right side, with bunkers and willow trees standing guard there as well. The green sits perilously close to a large lake that you will immediately recognize from seeing it so often on television. What better way to finish your round than striping a long iron or hybrid through an opening to the green mere feet from a watery grave? If you, like me, can walk away with part here, enjoy the smile because you deserve it.<br />
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Cog Hill #4 is an absolute masterpiece and should be on everyone's must play list. This is a course worth traveling to play. I guarantee that if you have the means or the method to scratch up the $155 to play the course, by all means, take your shot. The conditioning of the course is as good as anywhere you've ever played, the service, while not uber-friendly, is acceptable, the practice areas are outstanding, and the course is challenging, long, and imminently fair for what it is. Try not to come with lofty expectations, but more to enjoy the experience...heck, maybe that approach will even help you play a great round! "Dubsdread" is definitely back at the top of my list of Chicago's public courses, and I'm guessing it'll top your list as well.<br />
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Finally, a moment of marketing for Cog Hill and the Jemsek family. This renovation was clearly done with a U.S. Open in mind, and in no way did it fail to meet those goals. I have played on Bethpage Black, and as great as it is, "Dubsdread" is every bit its equal...maybe better. Cog Hill is ready for a major championship, can easily accommodate the crowds, and will provide the pros every bit of challenge they need to face in an Open. I know those spots book up fast, but the USGA was onto something when they brought the Open to a public facility. There is something very special about the fact that anyone with the means necessary can head to Bethpage for a round on an Open course, and "Dubs" would be just the same. So, despite their stature, let's put Shinnecock, Pinehurst, and Oakmont on the shelf for a rotation, and bring the Championship to Cog Hill! <br />
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For some great 360 degree photos of Cog Hill #4, <a href="http://www.lookaroundgolf.com/golf-course-42/DUBSDREAD,-Course-4-at-Cog-Hill-Golf-and-Country-Club-Lemont-IL.html">check out LookAroundGolf.com</a>. <br />
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Fairways and Greens!<br />
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</script>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705274445464012555noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23263131.post-6788153988995795822010-05-07T15:46:00.000-05:002010-05-07T15:46:16.315-05:00BEAVER GOLF REVIEW: Sunice Bowen Waterproof JacketYour rain gear isn't as good as mine is! Unless you are wearing the <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/sunice_men_s_tornado_collection_670_prd1.htm">Bowen</a>, or a similar piece from <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/sunice_12_mnf.htm">Sunice</a>, it really isn't. OK, perhaps there are arguments to make against that statement, but I'm telling you right now that I have never owned a jacket that has come close to the level of performance I get with the <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/sunice_men_s_tornado_collection_670_prd1.htm">Bowen</a>. Though I will profit from your purchasing <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/sunice_12_mnf.htm">Sunice</a> products from <a href="http://beavergolf.com/">BeaverGolf.com</a>, I am not being paid by <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/sunice_12_mnf.htm">Sunice</a> to review this product, nor was I provided with free product to self-test. I have now been wearing mine for a couple of weeks, and really put it to the test this morning as I walked without my umbrella about a mile in a moderate shower...not a drop of moisture made it through this jacket, keeping me warm and dry in the wet windy morning.<br />
<div style="background-color: transparent; border-width: 0px; margin: 10px 0px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Some of you may already be aware of Sunice, but for those who aren't, a quick informational upload. As they inform us all on their own website, Sunice was created in 1976 by the combination of two Canadian companies - one which designed clothing, and another which manufactured firefighter uniforms. The goal of Sunice clothing is to free up the golfer from the discomfort and worry that adverse weather can bring so you can focus on your game instead of the weather. With their corporate headquarters in Canada, they know bad weather, so rest assured that these products are designed by experts who understand the importance of range of motion while keeping you warm or cool and dry. Pulled right from their own literature:</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-width: 0px; margin: 10px 0px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Contrary to popular belief, adding layers to your golf wardrobe can enhance your overall physical performance and ultimately improve your golf game. Properly designed performance layers become an integral part of your game enhancing equipment. Sunice Performance Layers are designed to create the ultimate golf apparel layering system that allows golfers to play their very best in all weather conditions.</i></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-width: 0px; margin: 10px 0px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>The Sunice Shells collection is broken down into five categories, each offering a unique level of performance and weather protection features that allow you to choose the optimal shell designed specifically to meet your needs.</i></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-width: 0px; margin: 10px 0px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>The Bowen jacket headlines the Sunice Tornado Collection which is defined by breathability, stretch, ultra lightweight and ultra quiet products backed by a 4-year waterproof guarantee. Truly inspired by the active golfer, Tornado offers highly breathable, waterproof stretch fabrics combined with game enhancing features. Perform at your best in even the toughest conditions.</i></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIifq8Rayt8h0JziFbgIz9S2bn2ynELgd7POxURaKyIYc7170ofmTYabpjdA3fuilSWgnAGQGLD3K7k0eDBhWDsb2m5e7GYGSIpKVMZDpjDgou2GMoZI0SVkn3VDQ2yHYLpygC/s1600/BG00363-charcoalbeauty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIifq8Rayt8h0JziFbgIz9S2bn2ynELgd7POxURaKyIYc7170ofmTYabpjdA3fuilSWgnAGQGLD3K7k0eDBhWDsb2m5e7GYGSIpKVMZDpjDgou2GMoZI0SVkn3VDQ2yHYLpygC/s320/BG00363-charcoalbeauty.jpg" /></a></div></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-width: 0px; margin: 10px 0px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The first thing I want from my go-to rain jacket is, of course, protection from the rain. The Bowen features a WxTECH coating providing a waterproof seal measuring 20,000 MM. To get this measurement, the testers will put a column of water on the surface of the jacket and measure at what level the water begins to seep through the fabric. So, in the case of the Bowen, that answer is 20,000 MM - probably more than you will even need for a round of golf, or even keeping you dry in the shower! To assure you of this protection, Sunice offers a 4-year waterproof guarantee with the Bowen, nice!</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-width: 0px; margin: 10px 0px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">You may hear some out there boo-hoo the perceived overkill of 20,000 MM because it will also hurt the jacket's breathability causing you to overheat inside while keeping dry from the outside. While that may be true in general, the Bowen jacket also features ultra-breathable and lightweight FLEXVENT fabric with a breathability measurement of 20,000 MVT which measures the amount of water vapor the fabric allows to escape from inside to out. 20,000 MVT appears to be at the top of the chart meaning this jacket successfully keeps liquid from getting in without preventing vapor from getting out - that adds up to you staying comfortable and dry even in a heavy rain - assuming you want to keep playing in that stuff!</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-width: 0px; margin: 10px 0px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Not enough for you yet? Well, allow me to continue. Sunice tells us that the Bowen has an ultra-quite and soft hand feel, which means quite simply that despite being highly waterproof, the fabric feels comfortably soft and resilient and doesn't make the "swish-swish" sound that a more "rubbery" jacket makes as your arms move through a swing or while walking. The exposed zippers are YKK, a multi-industry standard in zipper quality, and are sealed to add to the waterproof protection of this jacket. The zippers also lock down keeping the zipper at the level you want it.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-width: 0px; margin: 10px 0px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Don't worry about the wind getting in from the bottom either, the Bowen comes with the Pro-Trim waist cinching system allowing you to control the seal around your waist from inside the pockets of the jacket...no unzipping necessary to make subtle adjustments as the wind rises and abates. Additional adjustments can be made at the hem and wrists allowing you to control the seal between you and the elements even further. One last bonus in the left pocket is a snap-in microfiber towel to clean your ball or clubheads when not near your towel...the snap, of course, allows you to remove the towel for occasional cleaning.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-width: 0px; margin: 10px 0px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The collar is designed to stand up, zipping into a mock turtleneck when needed. When it is warmer out, and it is partially zipped, many similar jackets will rub incessantly on your neck, and while Sunice hasn't solved this problem with the Bowen, what they did provide is some relief to the effect with the ultra-soft fabric and a "soft-touch chin guard" that provides a soft layer between the zipper and your skin.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-width: 0px; margin: 10px 0px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The final, and perhaps highest on the coolness scale is the X-Static stretch lining in the jacket. The X-Static liner has a layer of pure silver bonded directly to the textile surface providing several helpful benefits from the silver itself. These benefits include thermal conduction and reflection to help regulate body temperature, moisture transfer to help perspiration more efficiently evaporate to keep you drier and more comfortable, anti-microbial properties helping prevent odor, and anti-static properties to prevent, well...static. The X-Static technology has been used in the Olympics, and by the NASA Space Program for these incredible technological properties.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-width: 0px; margin: 10px 0px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Yeah, at $250.00 MSRP, the Bowen is a little pricey for some, but think of it as a $62.50 per year comfort insurance policy over the 4-year waterproof guarantee - and most likely will last even longer. The Bowen will actually keep you dry on the course while allowing you to swing naturally, unencumbered by the thick layers or noisy, flapping fabric you are wearing now. Rain and wind are hard enough on your game to be worrying about the jacket you are wearing, aren't they?</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-width: 0px; margin: 10px 0px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Right now, for a limited time, the <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/sunice_men_s_tornado_collection_670_prd1.htm">Bowen</a> ($224.99), and the rest of <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/sunice_12_mnf.htm">Sunice's outstanding collection</a> of outerwear and thermal layering apparel are on sale at <a href="http://beavergolf.com/">BeaverGolf.com</a> with Free Shipping. Ladies, if you are intrigued by the Bowen, please check out the <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/sunice_women_s_tornado_collection_712_prd1.htm">Evelyn</a>, which is essentially the women's version of the same jacket.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6PFWIgZ4O2nJ9Ao8zu85z3Ua7mZwPd2dmsVtrn9aUU1Y31jmyVZxitx-ApC8XYHUsSLAAwTfIAVKs4wi4sk-9rONsrDpdQGVdgxdFqIA8xe_hXR2TmYxqaC0VGoCNxgpEnndI/s1600/BG00405-whitebeauty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6PFWIgZ4O2nJ9Ao8zu85z3Ua7mZwPd2dmsVtrn9aUU1Y31jmyVZxitx-ApC8XYHUsSLAAwTfIAVKs4wi4sk-9rONsrDpdQGVdgxdFqIA8xe_hXR2TmYxqaC0VGoCNxgpEnndI/s320/BG00405-whitebeauty.jpg" /></a></div> <br />
Why not head over to the store right now, and pick out your next jacket or collection of apparel from Sunice to take the weather out of the equation on the golf course?</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-width: 0px; margin: 10px 0px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Fairways and Greens!</div><script language="JavaScript" src="http://www.letsgetsocialnow.com/source-codes/option2.js" type="text/javascript">
</script>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705274445464012555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23263131.post-65042104520118219712010-05-06T23:56:00.000-05:002010-05-06T23:56:10.215-05:00GOLF COURSE REVIEW: Makray Memorial Golf ClubLots of golf courses have stories behind them. Many stories are steeped in history with great figures in golf architecture at every turn of a sentence. Some are too crazy to be true, while others are so true, that it is what makes them crazy. Well, Makray Memorial Golf Club has some stories of its own, and though they may not fill the criteria I listed above, I find them, and the present day course, to be interesting and challenging.<br />
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Perhaps a very brief history lesson is in order after that intro. Paul Makray purchased the course that is now named for him back in 1962. What was once Hillcrest Country Club became Thunderbird Golf Course and opened to the public. The authenticity of this part of the history is dubious, but even the staff at Makray Memorial believes that Thunderbird was once Hillcrest, which is certainly possible as the current private Hillcrest Country Club in nearby Long Grove, IL did not open until 1968, and appears to have no relation to what might have been its predecessor in name only.<br />
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In any case, Makray ran the old Thunderbird course as a sporty, family friendly course with an emphasis on enjoyment if not on conditioning. I never took the opportunity to play Thunderbird prior to its rebirth, but from what I have read and heard, it was a pretty ragged course with an unimaginative design, and LONG rounds with only 7 minute tee time spacing. Perhaps a good place for beginners and beer swillers, but not necessarily for the discerning (read: snobby) golfer like me who likes a good lie in the fairway after a well-struck drive, and hates playing from water-furrowed sand traps. The condition of the course aside, it is reputed to have had a regular schedule of players and a top notch staff who kept them coming back - that along with the very affordable greens fees, that is.<br />
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When Paul Makray passed away in 1999, his family chose to honor him in one of the best ways I can imagine. They set about to gutting the course completely, redesigning the entire lay of the land, bringing in premier grasses and conditioning, and an unmistakably grand new clubhouse complete with excellent dining and even wedding facilities. The new course was renamed Makray Memorial in Paul's honor, and opened for public play on June 8th, 2004.<br />
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As I mentioned earlier, I had never played the old Thunderbird course, so can not make a true comparison between new and old, but now having played the new course many times, I can't imagine the improvement being anything but a complete metamorphosis and revival. Makray Memorial is in phenomenal condition, has (mostly) very interesting routing, is not short of challenge, and still offers affordable options (though I do have a bone to pick with one piece of their pricing that I will get to later).<br />
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One oddity to this course becomes clear very quickly...there are no fringes on the greens! The transition from grabby rough to smooth green is striking, and can wreak havoc on your short game. I often remind my buddies that there are a couple of ways to think about this, it could be that they grow the rough over what would be fringe, but it is just as likely that they cut the green to the edge of the rough. Either way, it will challenge your touch around the edges, and behooves you to aim for the middle of the greens.<br />
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The first five holes are an incredible test, and make it imperative to get a few swings in on the range prior to your round. The second hole is particularly tough as it calls for a slight draw around a grove of big mature trees on the left, but miss the draw long and straight, and you are blocked out again by a grove on the right. Once you do get your position, you still need to strike a crisp shot over a creek fronting the slightly elevated green with a good sized bunker protecting the front as well.<br />
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The long Par 4 5th is no picnic either, especially into the wind which often prevents your drive from catching the downhill in the fairway and robs you of up to 75 or 80 yards! Once you get yourself within striking distance, you need to take aim at a noticeably undulating green fronted by two very deep bunkers. Par is a good score here. Final tip for the tee - it is a blind tee shot with OB to the right, so if you tend to slice, just hit it out to the left edge of the fairway, but if right isn't your fear, aim right along the tree line for a major distance bonus.<br />
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The Par 5 6th hole is one of my least favorite on the course, completely because its routing feels forced by the houses along the right. With the tendency of the vast majority of golfers being to slice, yet calling for a draw off the tee, I feel like the OB comes into play far too quickly, and even juts out into a good line for the second shot. Once you get through here though, the front nine finishes strong with a great risk/reward hole on 8, and an incredibly difficult green complex on the homeward bound Par 4 9th. Miss the 9th green and saving Par becomes a faint hope.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/golf_pictures/2686838790/" title="Makray Memorial Golf Club, Barrington, Illinois by danperry.com, on Flickr"><img alt="Makray Memorial Golf Club, Barrington, Illinois" height="375" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3199/2686838790_8b7354392c.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
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The back nine begins well with a straightforward Par 4, then a long and difficult Par 4, but hole number 12 becomes the story of this great new-ish course. The 12th hole originally played as a 360 or so yard Par 4 with OB all up the right side where houses lined the course. Well, at right about 210 or so yards from the tee lay a home where some cantankerous homeowner who apparently hates the game of golf, and was not consulted on the new layout which called for his backyard to be pelted with hundreds of balls on a daily basis, lives. He filed suit against Makray several years back (after he confiscated a couple of my own Titleists), forcing Makray to reduce the hole to a 150 yard Par 3 for several years.<br />
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A Par 3 might not have been such a big deal, but it did feel a bit rinky-dink as the course laid down an odd piece of artificial turf for the tee, and took a good year to get the course re-rated, making anyone's handicap there questionable. It appears that they are now on their way to solving the issue, however. They are building a new tee complex which will create another short Par 4 risk/reward hole. To make it a bit more risky, they are cutting the green by about 30% growing up the back side into rough. The work they have done so far looks really nice, and I am satisfied with this solution (though I am still tempted to blast a couple of low punch shots into that guy's house as I cruise by).<br />
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From this point, the course finished very strong, with a nice variety of holes culminating in a wonderful risk/reward Par 5 18th leading right back to the fantastic clubhouse. Unless the wind is howling in your face, which is more common than not, a well struck drive up the right side will offer you a very reachable green, but with a carry over lake, rough, a bunker, then the green. A very easy layup awaits to the left, so missing the "go for it" shot will have you kicking yourself.<br />
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Makray offers a walking rate of $49 Monday through Thursday and $74 Friday through Sunday which I believe is reasonable given the competition nearby and the quality of the course. Where I have issue (as I often do) is when the carts come into play. The cart rental fee is $18, so jacks up the cost for those wishing to ride (silly ninnies) to a hefty $67/$92! That is too much for this course, and many courses in my opinion. BUT...I don't walk, so why should I care about the cart fee? Well, Makray offers specials, you see, after certain times, as many wise courses do. The problem is that once the specials start, they automatically include the cart fee, so I suppose they look at it like they are giving you a discount plus $18, <i>but not if you walk the course anyway!</i> To make things just a touch worse, pull carts cost $8! Really? For a pull cart, <i>really?</i> Pull carts should be complementary for Pete's sake!<br />
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I understand that carts are a source of revenue for courses, but so are caddies, merchandise, food, and the greens fees. So, we play during their "special" rate of $59 including the cart we don't use beginning at 2:00 on weekends. Get this, from 12:30-1:50 on weekends, their special rate is $76 with the included cart, so during that time, I would actually have to pay $2 MORE to walk the course...ridiculous!<br />
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I don't know about you, but my group has played golf on some pretty deserted courses early this season than we typically do. When are these courses going to learn that it is the greens fees that keep golfers away? For the time being, I like it because the rounds have been pretty manageable from a time perspective, but I won't like it very much when the courses start cutting back on conditioning and service to keep their profits in order...and even less so when they start closing their doors.<br />
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So, all in all, I give Makray my Beaver tail slap of approval due to their course design and conditioning, their friendly service, and very good food. A notch down the tree just a bit for their wacky pricing structure, but high enough to stay comfortably in the rota of courses I play in Chicagoland. If you are in the area and haven't yet tried Makray, make a tee time, and bring your ball striking irons to hit as many greens as possible. If you are in town for a few days, it's not the first course I'd recommend, but if you did put it on your list, you won't likely be disappointed.<br />
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Fairways and Greens!<br />
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</script>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705274445464012555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23263131.post-55352309869935154492010-04-23T15:29:00.002-05:002010-04-23T15:30:36.763-05:00GOLF EQUIPMENT REVIEW: Wilson FG Tour Golf BallI am, and always have been a firm believer that the equipment you choose to play will definitely have an impact on your game, either for better or for worse. I hesitate to over-emphasize that point because in today's golf industry there are many high quality options in every piece of equipment one might need, so choosing one brand over another, for most of us, will have little noticeable impact on our game.<br />
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Choices in equipment must be made in the apparel, glove, and shoes you choose to wear, the clubs you choose to swing, the putter you carry, and even the sunscreen you decide to trust. With all of those choices, who needs yet another, but is there a more important choice to make than what kind of ball to play? I'll let that point be argued about, but in all seriousness, without the ball, what is golf?<br />
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There exist many schools of thought on the golf ball decision. I have heard many say that with their swing, they are just going to lose a bunch of balls anyway, so why spend any good money on them...just grab the cheapest bunch available and swing away. Fortunately for that golfer, there exist options, but if one wants to improve, and have the best chance of achieving success, that mindset needs to change. <br />
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In my own experience, I have gradually evolved from that 15-ball bonus pack mindset to playing top line models for most of the last decade. Though I haven't bought them new for more than 2 years now, the staple in my bag has been the Titleist ProV1x...an outstanding ball, but one that has, in my opinion, gone beyond the acceptable price limit for a semi-disposable commodity. Additionally, during my endeavor to build the <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/">Beaver Golf online store</a>, the Titleist companies chose to pass on allowing me to sell their products to my faithful fans. I was not pleased.<br />
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Wilson Golf based here in my hometown of Chicago, IL chose a different business practice, and allowed my to become an online vendor of their products. Over the years I have played a handful of Wilson balls, most recently the "True" back about 5-6 years ago. One of my longtime playing partners religiously used his Wilson irons for many years, and still swings his Wilson SW despite the grooves being worn down to slicks. So, what better time to try out Wilson's new offerings to the golf ball world with their premium 3-piece ball, the <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/wilson_staff_golf_balls_fg_323_prd1.htm">FG Tour</a>.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHtxX6Ki6OLY0dt6469tHjyRzIOgEAb1Y6acRffg7LaJ2yFgbDkwYiJLyweLfCbVj4erlKiATEndG5b8bbRAS7GX4ajdbp1rbW3ZsR0M9g9nt4VUwEgKzwnfWbEbbOcn-BuMri/s1600/BG00207-front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHtxX6Ki6OLY0dt6469tHjyRzIOgEAb1Y6acRffg7LaJ2yFgbDkwYiJLyweLfCbVj4erlKiATEndG5b8bbRAS7GX4ajdbp1rbW3ZsR0M9g9nt4VUwEgKzwnfWbEbbOcn-BuMri/s320/BG00207-front.jpg" /></a></div><br />
The <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/wilson_staff_golf_balls_fg_323_prd1.htm">FG Tour</a> has a simple, clean, and elegant look right from the sleeve. The outer layer feels soft as you might expect, and inspires confidence before placing it on the tee. Off the Driver, the distance and feel might be just a fraction off the ProV1x, but equal to, or better than all other premium balls I have played, such as the Nike One Tour D, Callaway Tour i, Bridgestone B330-s, and the TaylorMade Penta. The slight loss in distance could very easily be attributed to my rusty swing or the colder spring weather, but I think it is about 5 yards shorter than the ProV1x.<br />
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Distance is far from everything on the course, however, and off irons and wedges, the <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/wilson_staff_golf_balls_fg_323_prd1.htm">FG Tour</a> feels amazing. I haven't noticed any loss of distance off these shots with the FG Tour, and as mentioned the feel is top-notch...soft and buttery, but solid! That feel continues onto the green where I have found the FG Tour to really stand out. Off the putter the soft feel is brilliant, and inspires confidence on long and short putts equally.<br />
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One final area where the <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/wilson_staff_golf_balls_fg_323_prd1.htm">FG Tour</a> takes a slight back seat is on chips and pitches. The spin is just a little off of the ProV1x, but again, equal to or better than the other premium balls I mentioned earlier.<br />
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At a $49.95 MSRP, the <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/wilson_staff_golf_balls_fg_323_prd1.htm">FG Tour</a> will impact you wallet right along with its premium counterparts, but you can score big right now at <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/">Beaver Golf</a> where through April a dozen will only cost you $34.99, FREE shipping, AND earn you $3.00 Beaver Bucks! I would strongly recommend that you give them a try. <br />
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If the premium balls aren't your bag, or you've got a slower swing speed so benefit from fewer compressions, the FG Tour's siblings, the <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/wilson_staff_golf_balls_c_324_prd1.htm">C:25</a> and <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/wilson_staff_golf_balls_d_325_prd1.htm">D:25</a> are also on sale now! <br />
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Fairways and Greens!<br />
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</script>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705274445464012555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23263131.post-48114228020824417582010-04-21T00:51:00.003-05:002011-08-09T08:36:14.776-05:00GOLF COURSE REVIEW: Mistwood Golf ClubWe have all heard the old saying, "if it's not broke, don't fix it", heck, we've all probably said it many times ourselves. That sentence has always been one of my favorite idioms for two reasons. First, its meaning is crystal clear. Second, I couldn't agree with it more...especially in golf! There are great examples everywhere you look, perhaps most notably the Old Course at St. Andrews (they haven't changed that course much, right?)<br />
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Well, the reverse of the idiom rings as true, i.e. If it is broke, then FIX IT! Take, for example Augusta National, home of the well known PGA major, The Masters. Way back in its earliest years, the nines actually were reversed due to the fact that Amen Corner (then playing as holes #2-#4) was prone to frequent frost delays in the early mornings. Switching the nines created arguably one of the most exciting back nine holes anywhere in the world. Then and since Tiger Woods blew away the star-studded field en route to his first win back in 1997, Augusta has made additional frequent and significant changes to the course to better protect Old Man Par against the massive advances in technology that had nearly reduced the course to nothing more than a beautiful pitch-and-putt. Of course, that is an exaggeration, but I assume you get my point. The changes appear to have allowed the tournament to continually test the players games, often forcing them to hit clubs they are less comfortable hitting into those treacherous greens.<br />
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The same rings true at Mistwood Golf Club, located in the Southwestern Chicago suburb of Romeoville amidst a collection of courses that, in my opinion, are easily the best bang for your buck anywhere in the area. Mistwood opened back in 1998 and though it was a enjoyable layout, conditioning was lacking, customer service sucked, and the price was a bit high making nearby alternatives such as Prairie Bluff and The Links at Carillon much more appealing. I played the course two or three times back then, but learned that it simply wasn't worth it at some point, and consciously avoided the course for several years. I wasn't the only one. Mistwood went through some pretty hard times and had loads of financial problems leading to partner, Jim McWethy to become the primary owner of the course in 2003.<br />
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Since then, Mistwood has made several key changes. They put a tremendous effort into improving course conditioning, and it shows. The greens are fast and true (though it doesn't seem to help my putts drop), the fairways are in great shape, and the hole designs have always been a lot of fun to play. Next, they changed customer service philosophy, treating guests like...well, guests! The bag boys greet you in the lot with exuberance, and insist on bringing your bag to the front even if you are walking. The starter (I've got to remember his name next time) is extremely pleasant, and accommodated our foursome before Noon on a Saturday, despite half our group being almost 40 minutes late (inexcusable). Finally, and not to be underestimated, they changed the routing on the front nine. What used to be holes #7, #8, and #9 are now the opening three holes, and though they aren't pushovers, provide a much more gradual start to the course in terms of difficulty. I really like courses that give you a few holes to find you swing before featuring areas where a wayward shot can devastate your score, and the change of routing allows that at Mistwood.<br />
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Their value is off the charts, especially right now as they chose to extend their special spring rates, and on a Saturday morning it costs $40 to walk! For a course of this caliber in Chicagoland, $40 is an absolute steal! It defies comprehension that Bolingbrook Golf Club, just minutes north of Mistwood somehow gets away with charging over $100 at the same time of day. I don't think I could even begin to listen to an argument over which course between the two is more fun, more challenging, and more interesting to play, and for 40% of the price, c'mon!<br />
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So, how about the holes themselves? It is hard to think of a single one that doesn't have something interesting and different to it. Risk/reward abounds at Mistwood. Between mounding, doglegs, well-placed hazards, and out-of-bounds on a few holes, Mistwood really forces you to think your way through the entire course.<br />
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Though most of the Par 4s measure less than 400 yards, none offer simply a straight shot up a flat fairway. Notable among them are the fourth hole (formerly the 1st before the re-route) which runs like a chasm between large mounds on either side of the fairway. It is a relatively mild dogleg left that look more severe than it is due to that mounding which almost blocks your view of the pin from the tee. The bunkering that must be carried to cut off the dogleg seems to cause missing to the right quite common, and poorly struck balls landing on the mounds on that right side will very often leave a severely side-hill lie and a long tough shot to the green. The short 12th hole protects the front of its two-tiered green with a deep gaping pot bunker that demands every bit of ingenuity and skill to get out of, in fact, hitting backwards away from the green might be the best escape from there. Don't fall asleep on 16! Though the wise play off the tee is a mid to long iron, the green is guarded in front by water (more good changes happening right now) and falls off sharply behind. The green is tough to hold, and if you miss it, recovery is no picnic.<br />
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The Par 5s are all reachable for longer players, but like their shorter siblings, all come with some degree of potential peril. The 3rd hole has a ridiculously tough green guarded by a creek directly in front. The 8th, which might be their signature hole, has a split fairway, and though the right side might offer a good chance to get home in two, it brings you dangerously close to the water all the way up the right side. The 15th is a severe dogleg left, and forces the player to avoid water guarding the entire left side from tee to green. Though it can be fun, the 15th might also be my least favorite hole on this course because it feels a little forced into the corner of the property. Finally, the 18th doesn't allow for any late round letup as shots to the large green must carry another creek to be safe, while woods, and a small lake guard the right side against wayward drives and poorly struck layup shots.<br />
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The Par 3s are probably the easier holes collectively, but the 200-ish yard 14th hole will take your breath away with almost the entire flight from tee to green over the corner of the 60-plus acre, Lake St. James. When a northwesterly wind is howling, you might just want to cross the bridge to the drop zone and hit your third saving yourself the ball.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_1vnWQMd8v3dT4cvUreHwkgTvzgxDwNqIlx6N0gcFqfTqRo7xR8q44o2-PFOAF7XFagNsx7zTTJsDlRlr68NDLgiRncUkB9nMAfnK65A7PWrgB3VPtH7HPhqRYnkpWnx36y_M/s1600/Mistwood+Golf+Club+-+Par+3+14th+Hole.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_1vnWQMd8v3dT4cvUreHwkgTvzgxDwNqIlx6N0gcFqfTqRo7xR8q44o2-PFOAF7XFagNsx7zTTJsDlRlr68NDLgiRncUkB9nMAfnK65A7PWrgB3VPtH7HPhqRYnkpWnx36y_M/s320/Mistwood+Golf+Club+-+Par+3+14th+Hole.JPG" /></a></div><br />
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The clubhouse and practice area are adequate, and the service from start to finish is outstanding at Mistwood. I highly recommend this course not only as an incredible value, but as one of the most enjoyable and challenging tracks in the Chicago area. I hope for their sake, that Mistwood's staff continue their current path to success, and not forget the lessons in their past. With all the quality options in the area, they need to keep their service high and their prices reasonable. They are winning on both counts right now, so get there, and let them know what you think! If you haven't played Mistwood since before 2003, trust me, it's time to come back for another try, you will be impressed with the change.<br />
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For some great 360 degree photos of Mistwood, <a href="http://www.lookaroundgolf.com/golf-course-47/Mistwood-Golf-Club-Romeoville-IL.html">check out LookAroundGolf.com here</a>: <br />
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Fairways and Greens! (by the way, I lifted that ending from Mistwood)<br />
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</script>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705274445464012555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23263131.post-56366617794290829942010-04-15T00:58:00.002-05:002010-04-19T22:32:55.881-05:00Beaver Golf is now selling Piranha!I have mentioned several times that back in January, I and my ad hoc sidekick, Brad, attended the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, FL. The show is the granddaddy of all golf shows with oodles of vendors showing many thousands of their wares, everything from razzle-dazzle golf carts to virtual golfing simulators to custom tees and training aids that would make your head spin. We were exactly like kids in a candy shop...overwhelmed but very excited!<br />
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While there were lots of cool things at the show, some of which I have mentioned previously, one booth in particular really stood out with both Brad and I. The booth of which I speak was Piranha Golf's, manned by their charming and loquacious Chairman, Antonio Gelonesi. I will spare Antonio another biography detailing all the wonders of his life, but suffice it to say, the man knows golf, and is an unbelievably successful businessman. His manner was welcoming, and he oozed passion, pride, and excitement about his Piranha Golf products. Here is an ad they ran last year that sort of captures their spirit.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3JsGIIJ90DYUtcd_n1ywgbPbszFbyh332li5LPw6lE7dL_KtZe1_zrWAiqvazEl-NtfOwaL9Lie5_zsZXL55YYNwSj3ffEoXfk2QR2izRmsDS_MsNI7RVgqLy7r4LKKBf1wm6/s1600/Piranha_Golf_Shark_Ad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3JsGIIJ90DYUtcd_n1ywgbPbszFbyh332li5LPw6lE7dL_KtZe1_zrWAiqvazEl-NtfOwaL9Lie5_zsZXL55YYNwSj3ffEoXfk2QR2izRmsDS_MsNI7RVgqLy7r4LKKBf1wm6/s640/Piranha_Golf_Shark_Ad.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
Founded in 1997, Piranha Golf has been around for a few years, but is still relatively unknown here in the States. My personal prediction is that won't last very long. The Piranha products are amazing! Their aesthetic is more than appealing, their form and function solid, and their logo and branding is downright cool - almost as cool as The Beaver! Personally, the V-Blade Irons are the cream of the crop, but I'll leave it to you to decide which of the Piranha collection you like the best. These are serious clubs designed with both improving your game, and the environment in mind.<br />
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Yes, I said the environment! Here is their environmental policy straight from their mouths:<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"></span><br />
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><strong style="font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span lang="EN" sans-serif="" style="font-size: 9pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" verdana=""><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Piranha Golf</span></i></span></strong><span lang="EN" sans-serif="" style="font-size: 9pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" verdana=""><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> takes enormous pride in its environmental and sustainable practices.<o:p style="font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></o:p></span></i></span></span></div><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></i></div><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><strong style="font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span lang="EN" sans-serif="" style="font-size: 9pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" verdana=""><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Our Carbon Footprint:</span></i></span></strong><span lang="EN" sans-serif="" style="font-size: 9pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" verdana=""><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p style="font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></o:p></span></i></span></span></div><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></i></div><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span lang="EN" sans-serif="" style="font-size: 9pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" verdana=""><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Significant levels of energy are used when forging club heads in our factory and we have determined the amount of that energy as well as the relative energy used and the carbon emissions created during transportation and assembly. As a consequence, </span></i><strong style="font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Piranha Golf</span></i></strong><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> has purchased </span></i><strong style="font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span sans-serif="" style="font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" verdana=""><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"off-setting contracts"</span></i></span></strong><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> to "</span></i><strong style="font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span sans-serif="" style="font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" verdana=""><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">zero out" </span></i></span></strong><span sans-serif="" style="font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" verdana=""><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">our</span></i></span><strong style="font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span sans-serif="" style="font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" verdana=""><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> carbon footprint</span></i></span></strong><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> and we can accordingly offer our clients </span></i><strong style="font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><em style="font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><u style="font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span sans-serif="" style="font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" verdana=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">zero carbon clubs.</span></span></u></em></strong><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p style="font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></o:p></span></i></span></span></div><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></i></div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span lang="EN" sans-serif="" style="font-size: 9pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" verdana=""><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In addition, by using an “air blow” process to install our grips, rather then traditional methods, </span></i><strong style="font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Piranha Golf</span></i></strong><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> limits the use of processing chemicals and this is a manufacturing process that we strongly advocate and encourage others to adopt. If we do need to use any acetone, we have developed a lemon acetone variant of equal efficiency but which has significant environmental benefits for both our staff and the planet. </span></i><strong style="font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Piranha Golf </span></i></strong><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">will happily provide this lemon acetone to all club makers “at cost” to promote better practices and to demonstrate our willingness to meaningfully assist in achieving a cleaner environment.</span></i></span></span></div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span lang="EN" sans-serif="" style="font-size: 9pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" verdana=""><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span lang="EN" sans-serif="" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" verdana=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">What do you think of that? I think it's admirable, and well worth giving these guys your consideration if you are in the market for some new golf equipment, and really, who isn't?</span></span></span></span></div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span lang="EN" sans-serif="" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" verdana=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span lang="EN" sans-serif="" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" verdana=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">So, check out the latest addition to the Beaver Golf family of products now at <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/piranha_golf_16_mnf.htm">Piranha</a>. Be the first in your foursome or club to put these works of art into play!</span></span></span></div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span lang="EN" sans-serif="" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" verdana=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span lang="EN" sans-serif="" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" verdana=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Fairways and Greens!</span></span></span></span></div><br />
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</script>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705274445464012555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23263131.post-26182908865216854482010-04-13T00:31:00.001-05:002010-04-13T00:32:09.029-05:00BEAVER GOLF is open for business!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIUK808PYOU0ENR1oLK-F0xmqQjUZSOH_aoK0FXcAphbhb7e9H2NOvPBV-nZbdDKyMMuJVPCmUWTrC6PFEvp8-vkwqVuBjsyghJDXkEg2TL55Oj0bG4uiGzl2PwY41CXxjF2IF/s1600/BGlogo_1_0110.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIUK808PYOU0ENR1oLK-F0xmqQjUZSOH_aoK0FXcAphbhb7e9H2NOvPBV-nZbdDKyMMuJVPCmUWTrC6PFEvp8-vkwqVuBjsyghJDXkEg2TL55Oj0bG4uiGzl2PwY41CXxjF2IF/s320/BGlogo_1_0110.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Today is a day that I will long remember in my life, it is the day I opened my first business...<a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/">Beaver Golf</a>! Yes, of course, I have been writing the blog with purpose for going on a year now, and I did make a very small amount of money via Affiliate Marketing and Google Ads, but the brand new online store supporting my growing community of fans on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/beavergolf">Facebook</a> and <a href="http://twitter.com/BeaverGolf">Twitter</a> is a real honest-to-goodness business venture, and I intend to make sure it succeeds.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Success, of course is not an easy thing to achieve in the business world. I believe the odds are more in favor of my failing than succeeding, but that is just a statistic. I have already, and will continue to put a ton of effort into ensuring that my store delights my fellow Beaver Golfers on a regular basis. The satisfaction that I am able to bring to my customers will ultimately determine how long this little store of mine will thrive, so I am counting on all of you to keep me up to speed with just how satisfied you are with the site, and what you would like to see from it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">To that end, I'd like to give you a brief tour of the store and what we have to offer, without dwelling too long on any specific items, saving those in depth product reviews for the near future. No good business begins without a mission, and ours is this - Beaver Golf strives to be your virtual clubhouse, complete with comfort, conversation, and a store in which you will find stylish, unique, and innovative products all designed to enhance your enjoyment of the game of golf. I am very pleased with the simple and pleasing aesthetic of our site design, and I love our logos. I hope that you all share this sentiment, and that the clean and simple design makes your shopping with us more pleasing.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This blog will continue, and even expand, creating one of the several "rooms" where conversations about all aspects of the game will take place. I have always, and will continue to encourage interaction and participation from all who choose to read the blog, follow our <a href="http://www.facebook.com/beavergolf">Facebook Fan Page</a>, or keep up with us on <a href="http://twitter.com/BeaverGolf">Twitter</a> (I like hearing myself talk, but I like hearing all of you talk much more). On the blog, I will continue to write course reviews, but will begin to feature more significant product reviews, and eventually service reviews as well. Talk is cheap, so I can only hope that you will all come to trust that despite my product reviews often being intended to drive a sale, I will always be honest and forthright about my real feelings about a product or service. If I haven't "experienced" the product or service myself, I will not write about it - and if I don't like something, I will tell you so. I ask that you all will share your experiences as well, with courses and the like on my various Social media portals, and with products by posting reviews right on the product pages of my store. Please be honest, I will not remove bad reviews, but will remove any that include profanity or distasteful commentary.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">As for the store proper, I'd be lying if I said I have used every product I sell - I do sell women's apparel after all, and I have yet to play the game as a cross-dresser (though if it'll get me onto the forward tees without shame, perhaps I should give it a try!). I have made an effort to ensure that I carry products that are high quality, innovative in design, and more often than not, have aspects that will help you to play better golf, or at least look and feel better while playing. I, and my ad hoc assistant, Brad, spent the better part of two plus days at the PGA Merchandise Show back at the end of January scouring all that the world had to offer in the business of golf. At that show I learned quite a bit about the industry of golf, and where my biggest challenges would be. I also saw some of the most interesting apparel and equipment there was to see, and from the hundreds of vendors, chose a select few to begin my store with. More selection will continue to make its way into the store, and some may work its way out based on the feedback, both direct and indirect, that I receive from all of you.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">You will notice, for instance, that my store is heavy in apparel right now. While there are several reasons for this, the biggest reason is that this is an area where there is a great deal of innovation, and much of this innovation can not be found at your local Pro Shop or big box retailer. On Beaver Golf, you will find some familiar clothing brands like <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/antigua_4_mnf.htm">Antigua</a>, who utilize a great feeling performance fabric that they call Desert Dry, but also some lesser known brands that I hope you will give a try. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/beyond_the_links_11_mnf.htm">Beyond The Links</a> is a small apparel company owned by Joe Skovron, who also happens to caddy for one of the PGA Tour's young guns, Rickie Fowler. The clothing from Beyond The Links is slightly edgy, but very clean, and is constructed from performance fabrics to aid with your comfort on the course. Check out his shirts, caps, and a <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/beyond_the_links_310_golf_657_prd1.htm">sweet belt</a> featuring their great logo!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/hawke_co_8_mnf.htm">Hawke & Co.</a> is a company with a history in the apparel business, but very new to the golf world. Hawke initially caught my eye with the colors they presented, and was the very first booth we visited at the show in Orlando. All of their apparel is designed with comfort in mind, and features technologies that wick moisture, move and stretch with your swing, utilize recycled materials, and resist odor as well as UV rays. Hawke also caught the eye of PGA Tour Pro Jim Furyk who wears their shirts on tour...take a closer look at Jim next time you watch him play.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/puma_14_mnf.htm">Puma</a> has been around in the athletic apparel industry for a long time, though their foray into golf has come more recently, they are really making a splash. With Golf Digest cover boy Rickie Fowler sporting seemingly everything that the Puma designers can think up, they may be around for many years to come. With some fresh designs, and quality fabrics, Puma will surely catch your eye, and if you like it, hopefully a few of your dollars! Puma is currently my only brand of shoe offered, though both the <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/puma_14_mnf.htm#loadContent.filterValuesRequest,filter_cid_57=57,filter_cid_64=64">Puma shoe selection</a>, and overall golf shoe collection should expand throughout the year. I am particularly fond of the <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/puma_14_mnf.htm#loadContent.filterValuesRequest,filter_cid_64=64">women's shoes</a> on the store, so check them out ladies!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/straight_down_5_mnf.htm">Straight Down</a> is not new to the golf scene, but may be new to you. I first discovered Straight Down on the very same trip to Bandon Dunes that helped launch the original idea for Beaver Golf. I still wear a fleece vest by Straight Down with the Bandon Dunes logo that I purchased out there on a subsequent trip. Straight Down has some excellent tops and bottoms, but really excels at making some stylish outer wear for those post-round drinks out on the clubhouse porch evenings - a nightly occurrence at Bandon Dunes!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">With all due respect to the other great brands we carry, <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/sunice_12_mnf.htm">Sunice</a> might be the one that makes me stop and stare the longest. Sunice specializes in outerwear, and makes some of the best use of Gore-Tex fabric in the world. While their Gore products are unbelievable, they feature a stepped selection of products with varied features and degrees of water and wind resistance so that they have a solution for almost any weather condition that ails you. I am particularly intrigued by their use of silver fibers woven directly into the fabric of their X-Static products. The silver fibers contain some "big word" properties such as thermal conduction and reflection, moisture transfer, anti-microbial, anti-static, and visible technology...altogether they mean you will feel great and odor will never be a problem! Guys and gals, check out the <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/sunice_men_s_tornado_collection_670_prd1.htm">Bowen</a> and the <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/sunice_women_s_tornado_collection_712_prd1.htm">Evelyn</a> respectively for two of the more exciting pieces in my opinion. I'll be personally reviewing the Bowen as soon as I can!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After doing some pre-show research back in January, <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/tattoo_golf_3_mnf.htm">Tattoo Golf</a> was a company I sought out at the show. If you haven't seen their styles, you are missing out. I am one who likes to bend the traditions a bit when it comes to apparel (after all, my store is called Beaver Golf), so one look at Tattoo Golf, and I knew I had to offer them a home in my store. If you like to make a statement, but still want the high-performance fabrics and design in your shirts and accessories, take a good look at the Tattoo Golf section on the store. I am even selling their <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/other_36_ctg.htm">bottle opener and Koozies</a> for those who like to sneak a tasty adult beverage or two onto the course!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">An important part of our mission at Beaver Golf is to embrace the women -- y'know as part of the golf community! I hear often from the women in our group how limited the selection is for good women's apparel, so want to remedy that on the store. We are nowhere close to that goal as we open our doors, but our selection from <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/tracey_lynn_9_mnf.htm">Tracey Lynn</a> is an excellent peg in the ground (again, no pun intended there). Tracey Blake, the founder and CEO of Tracey Lynn has an inspiring story of her own after recovering from a rare and serious illness, she dedicated herself to making women's golf apparel that used high-performance fabrics and did a better job of flattering a woman's figure. Take a look and see for yourself.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">My club selection for "off the green" strokes is limited to be sure as this is easily one of the toughest nuts to crack in this world of handshakes, longtime relationships, and old-school rules, but do not let that take away from the quality I was able to find and offer from my hometown of Chicago's own <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/wilson_6_mnf.htm">Wilson Golf</a>. Wilson is one of the oldest and most experienced club-makers in the world, and is showing no signs of letting age get to them. Their equipment is played by many pros including 3-time major Champion Padraig Harrington, and PGA Pro Ricky Barnes who had himself quite a Masters tournament after finishing 2nd in the 2009 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black. Their clubs are highlighted by their <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/wilson_staff_fg_tour_irons_99_prd1.htm">FG Tour Irons</a> for better players, and their new Hybrid-shafted <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/wilson_staff_d_fy_irons_105_prd1.htm">D-FY Irons</a> which will benefit anyone trying to hit the ball straighter, higher, and longer. Along with their world class irons, we carry their <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/wilson_6_mnf.htm#loadContent.filterValuesRequest,filter_cid_22=22,filter_cid_23=23">FYbrid club system</a> designed to help you better optimize the fourteen clubs in your bag, their <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/wilson_staff_smooth_driver_right_90_prd1.htm">Smooth Driver</a>, their <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/wilson_6_mnf.htm#loadContent.filterValuesRequest,filter_cid_20=20">TW9 Tour Milled Wedges</a>, <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/wilson_6_mnf.htm#loadContent.filterValuesRequest,filter_cid_19=19">88 Series Putters</a>, <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/men_41_ctg.htm#loadContent.filterValuesRequest,filter_mid_6=6">balls</a>, <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/standard_92_ctg.htm#loadContent.filterValuesRequest,filter_mid_6=6">gloves</a>, <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/wilson_6_mnf.htm#loadContent.filterValuesRequest,filter_cid_26=26">bags</a>, you name it! We have some exciting surprises on the way to help expand our club selection, but trust me, you can't go wrong with Wilson, and our prices through April are incredible!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Putting is a BIG part of the game, and is all too often overlooked. How many people do you see carrying a $400 Driver that they will swing at most 14 times per round, then pull out a cruddy old stick with a steel block on the bottom that they found at a garage sale somewhere with which they play a third of their strokes? Beaver Golf believes in bringing technology to putting, and very proudly features three brands who do as well. Along with the aforementioned <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/wilson_6_mnf.htm#loadContent.filterValuesRequest,filter_cid_19=19">Wilson</a>, please take a good look at the putter selection from <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/rife_13_mnf.htm">Rife</a> and <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/yes_golf_2_mnf.htm">Yes!</a> Both Rife and Yes! use different methods to achieve the same result...immediate forward roll on your putts, eliminating the initial hop and backspin to create a more consistently accurate result. Both of these are world-class brands and have very notable Tour wins among them on many of the major Tours.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Practice makes perfect, and arguably the most successful and well-known swing trainers available today is the <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/medicus_1_mnf.htm">Medicus</a> Dual-Hinge club. The patented design of the dual hinge clubs helps you to quickly determine where the flaws in your swing path are, and correct them...AND you can hit balls with them! Along with the dual hinge, Medicus offers several other helpful aids that you should explore and purchase to help keep your game in shape.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Though <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/asher_7_mnf.htm">Asher Gloves</a> are a small part of our store, I'd hate for them to be overlooked. Asher makes premium golf gloves with exciting and uniques designs. I am particularly fond of <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/asher_birdy_men_s_golf_292_prd1.htm">The Birdie</a> with a subtly effective placement of a bird graphic on a certain finger! Buy one of these gloves for the fun factor, and you will not be disappointed in the quality, which together could help you play a more relaxed and better round.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Last, but by no means least, is the <a href="http://www.beavergolf.com/rule_golf_ruletwentyone_waterproof_back_378_prd1.htm">ruletwentyone</a> from RuleGolf. The r21 is a durable terrycloth towel with a waterproof back side that easily folds over itself and fits in your pocket keeping your pocket dry while the towel side stays wet and allows you to clean your clubs and ball no matter where you are on the course. A clean club face and ball has been shown to deliver a more consistently accurate shot time and time again. With this little beauty available to you, why play another dirty shot again!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">That rounds out our initial list of brand partners. Though I am very pleased with and proud of the products we have already brought to you, there is more variety on the horizon, and with it more opportunities for exciting specials and savings! Of course, we will have a selection of products with our own Beaver Golf logo as well, as some of you are already wearing. These products will be a mix of store essentials such as tees and gloves, but also limited edition designs on shirts, hats, and much more.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I hope you will make the time to browse our store, and fill up that shopping cart. My intent is to stick around for a long, long time, but without your patronage, that simply won't materialize. So please let me know what you like, AND what you don't like whenever you have the chance so we can make this the comfortable virtual clubhouse it is intended to be.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Thank you!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Fairways and Greens!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</script>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705274445464012555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23263131.post-89441250111654828482010-03-30T00:59:00.000-05:002010-03-30T00:59:07.391-05:00Take me out to the...by guest contributor: Don Moorhead<br />
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Getting close to Opening Day for baseball, at which time you’ll no doubt hear a gazillion (estimated number; actual number may be higher) paeans to the grandness of going to the ballpark, of taking in a game to remind you of spring, and of those long afternoon (or more frequently evening) conversations you have with your son, your daughter, your spouse, your father, or just a friend (usually it’s father-son, they always play that up for the “Field of Dreams” guys who feel guilty that they haven’t called their dad this week so they’ll go to a game). There the two of you sit, having a beer, watching the game, catching up or just telling old stories you’ve both heard before. (Ed Note: should somebody tell him this is a golf blog?) Don’t worry, I’m getting there. <br />
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Anyway, for my money, as much as I love the ballpark for that purpose, give me a golf course any day and twice on Sunday (see, I brought it around). Not only are you out in the sun, you’re actually doing something in the sun. Not only are you looking at the spectacular green of the grass, you’re actually, well, walking around on it. The conversation is the same, as are the overpriced hot dogs. You’re still catching up with your dad or your buddy or your son, telling the same ridiculous jokes, reciting the story about how one day when the course was in bad shape they asked Fuzzy Zoeller “How did you find the golf course today?” and he replied “Easy, just turned left at the clubhouse, same as yesterday.” Most baseball players would have to have that joke explained to them, possibly with charts. <br />
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On a golf course, you talk about golf and you talk about everything and you talk about nothing. You tell your friend “I have no idea what’s going on with my irons lately, I might as well use them to pry up rocks” and you tell your dad “I have no idea what I’m going to do if I don’t get a job soon.” You confess your sins and you confess your love for hybrid clubs and 60 degree wedges and that girl you’ve been seeing. You bust on your friends who don’t play, and you bust on the ones who play badly (like I should talk). You laugh about that one friend you all have who gets a little too mad when he shanks one and a little too happy when he skulls one that dies on the green in spite of itself. You flirt with the beer girl when you’re in your 20s and 30s, then you stop because she could be your daughter’s age. Then when you’re in your 60s, you say “what the hell” and flirt with her again. Ever flirt with a beer vendor at a ballgame? He’ll break you in half. <br />
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Because they go ahead and give you a scorecard, you might as well keep score, and if you’re going to keep score, you might as well have a $.25 skin or a $5 Nassau on the line. Ask the last guy who got caught at the ballpark making it interesting by betting on himself how that works out in baseball, they won’t even let him in their stupid Hall of Fame. <br />
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So sure, I’ll come out to the ballpark, and I’ll bring my boy or my dad or my buddy. But I guarantee you that by the third inning, one of us is gonna say “so when are we playing golf?” <br />
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Read Don's occasional non-golf thoughts at www.aggressivelethargy.blogspot.com<br />
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</script>dkmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17793462253909703441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23263131.post-72150400205703405062010-03-26T01:00:00.001-05:002010-03-26T01:01:41.568-05:00BEAVER GOLF REVIEW: Top Golf ChicagoIf you are a regular reader of Beaver Golf, you might be familiar with my golf course reviews. Hopefully you find them informative and helpful...or at least amusing. I try to be fair with all my course assessments, judging courses by a variety of aspects including cost, customer service, and conditions among others. This review will apply the same methodology, though the subject is a little bit different - a driving range.<br />
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This is not your neighborhood range that I will be reviewing today, mind you. Top Golf Chicago is a driving range on the cream and the clear (that's code for steroids for those Bonds-impaired in the audience). Given that here in Chicago we just had one of the snowiest winters on record, for the second year running - AND that we didn't have it nearly as bad as many other places less used to the blizzards south and east of us - a beefed up driving range seems like an appropriate way to start my Chicago course reviews this year.<br />
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Top Golf also is only relevant to a select few of you out there. Having only three facilities in the United States, and three more in Great Britain, I am guessing the vast majority of you will not have the chance to utilize this review. Alas, the concept is so simple, and the experience so enjoyable, I just had to write about it. Top Golf locations include Chicago, IL (actually Wood Dale, but who really cares?), Dallas, TX, Alexandria, VA, and of course, Chigwell, Surrey, and Watford over in jolly England.<br />
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At first glance, Top Golf looks like any multi-decked driving range, the draw in Chicago being heated and covered bays making practice possible nearly year-round. We also have several bubble domes to hit in, an experience I will likely never partake in again after visiting Top Golf. Upon arrival to Top Golf, you are greeted by a host who, if there is a wait for a bay, takes your name and hands you a beeper. You immediately head over to the cashiers, if necessary, to purchase or refill your playing card. This is an important point, because there are pricing options right from the get-go.<br />
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You can purchase a card good for 30 days for $5.00 if you are between 18-55, and $3 if you fall above or below that age range. The card can then be filled with any value you choose in order to purchase balls for the range. The 30-day card is renewable after the 30 days expires for another $5.00. I'll save you the five second calculation, and let you know that comes to $60.00 if you were to use the 30-day card all year, PLUS anything you spend on balls.<br />
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The best value is the TopGolf Playing Card. This puppy costs you $35 to activate, but you don't have to renew it again for a year, and you get the following perks:<br />
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<ul><li>6 Free Games (120 balls)</li>
<li>Free 30 minute lesson with one of their academy instructors</li>
<li>Complementary club rental</li>
</ul><div>The six free games alone covers the tab if you use it in prime hours when 120 balls would otherwise cost you $36.00 (off-prime would cost $18.00 for the same number of balls). Interestingly, one of the instructors at top Golf Chicago, named Matt Vinge, game me at least 16 personal lessons while he was working with GolfTec, so now I can grab a freebie with him at Top Golf should I choose to do so. He is really good...check him out if you use this deal.</div><div><br />
</div><div>So, I mentioned prime times and off-prime times...a 100% difference in price. Prime time is M-Th from 3:00-11:00 PM, Fridays from 3:00-Midnight, Saturdays from Noon-Midnight, and Sundays from Noon-9:00 PM. Fortunately, I am an early bird, and Top golf Chicago opens at 10:00 on weekdays and 9:00 on weekends, so there is plenty of time to hit for half price. Six bucks for 20 balls is a little steep (even for the coolness of this concept), but let me tell you more about the good things...perhaps you won't be as tight with the cash as I am?</div><div><br />
</div><div>Top Golf offers various memberships as well that offer additional perks such as unlimited balls, no waiting for bays, and preferred access to the Executive Suites. I can no comment on the Executive Suites as I have not yet made use of them, but it sounds plush!</div><div><br />
</div><div>Top Golf has a Pro Shop, not large, but they have club fitting on site, so potentially cool perk there. If you do need to wait for a bay to open, there is a surprising decent restaurant on site. I'm not going to call the place gourmet dining, but they have a substantial menu, and I was able to find a Turkey and Avocado wrap that was mighty tasty, easily better than what I could get at any other driving range, if they had anything at all. One caution...avoid the seasoned curly fries as they paled in comparison to the wrap, and the steak cut fries looked much better. As we dined, our beeper went off to alert us that our bay was ready. The bartender noticed it flashing and buzzing, so offered to have our food and drinks brought out to our bay for us. Sorry, I know my expectations are lower than some, but that struck both Brad and I as over-the-top nice, despite it being something that they probably do many times every day. Anyway, out to our bay we went, and our food arrived before we returned with our buckets of balls.</div><div><br />
</div><div>The balls at Top Golf each have a computerized micro-chip inserted, that not only tracks your ball as it hits targets ranging from 20-250 yards away, but also keeps your score! When you get your balls from the dispensers, not unlike most ranges, you use your card to activate it. As the balls come out, there are programmed with your information, making tracking possible. Once you have a chance to sit in the very comfortable heated bay and look out at the range, you immediately see what really makes Top Golf different. There are round targets cut out of the ground at intervals all over the range! Each flag has a series of rings around them just like a dartboard. The range is very well lit, so darkness poses no problem whatsoever in seeing all the targets.</div><div><br />
</div><div>You can go there to practice, they call it TopPractice, and just hit balls without "playing a game". The added benefit is that if you hit into any of the rings around the targets (yes, it is possible to miss the target areas, though I don't like admitting it) it will report back your yardage...cool.</div><div><br />
</div><div>The real fun of Top Golf, however, is the games. The namesake game, TopGolf, consists of 20 balls. You can play alone against "the field" as they track everyone's scores on large boards, or against your friends as well. Brad and I played against each other alternating hitting five shots in a row then switching players until we completed the game. In TopGolf you choose the targets you want to hit, the longer the distance, the greater the potential points. Additionally, it rewards you heavily for hitting targets consecutively. This makes for great practice, and comes with the benefit of slowing you down and making you think, in my opinion more closely resembling real golf. One issue Brad and I often have at the range is that he blows through his bucket at warp speed while I take a little more time. this leads to Brad finishing sometimes well before me, then either stealing a portion of my remaining balls, or wandering around bored stiff. In TopGolf, the issue is moot as one player can not play faster than the other. And you aren't limited to two players...this is a great group activity, even for the unskilled players as there are plenty of points to be had from bad shots finding their way into unintended targets.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Another game, called TopShot is a lot of fun. In this game you need to shoot at targets at four consecutive distances, five shots per target. You get to pick your own starting point, based on your skill level. The trick to this one is that missing a little can net you a zero point shot, or can even take points away should your ball find a wrong target.</div><div><br />
</div><div>The third game we played, called TopDrive forces you to only hit the targets at 195 yards plus. Having not swung our drivers all winter, save for those two unfortunate rounds in Orlando, we needed to hit the ball hard, though disappointingly scored very low. Sure, it could be my swing, but generally I can fly my driver between 240-260 yards, and will hit one over 290 several times each summer. I didn't hit that 250 yard driver target one time in 18 swings! I will say that while Top golf gives you distance reporting, and it is consistent, those balls do fly a club to club-and-a-half shorter than a new golf ball off the turf of a golf course...just sayin'.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Other games include chipping and pitching focused TopChip and TopPressure which I will try out this weekend. While playing, we were visited by our waitress at least 4 times, had our drinks refilled without asking, and played on a night in the high 40s wearing short sleeves and jeans!</div><div><br />
</div><div>I am so delighted to have finally given Top Golf a try, and will make it part of my practice routine for this point forward, especially through the depressing Chicago winters. I highly recommend Top Golf to anyone who can utilize one, and though I know that leaves out most of you, perhaps if you are visiting Chicago, Dallas, or D.C., you can give it a go, if only for a day, and let us all know how you liked it.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Fairways and Greens!</div><br />
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</script>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705274445464012555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23263131.post-58473311486429053052010-03-05T11:12:00.000-06:002010-03-05T11:12:54.712-06:00Florida Blows!OK, all you touchy Floridians, just relax! The title was merely to get your dander up. I am quite fond of Florida - as a place to temporarily visit for a nice relaxing vacation only during certain weeks of the year when there isn't a terrible heat wave, downpour, hurricane, or surprisingly cold and windy weather. But seriously, this is not an article about how much or how little I, or anyone else, likes Florida. Rather, it is about how those docile looking flat and sandy South Florida golf courses can look so tame, but play so tough when the winds start to howl.<br />
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If you read my previous post, a review of the Southern Dunes course in Haines City, you know that I recently battled the wind and cold in Florida myself, and I was beaten soundly. Well, perhaps to make myself feel better about my own game, I found it particularly interesting to watch some of the PGAs best deal with that wind yesterday in the first round of The Honda Classic played at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. I have not played PGA National yet, but have played many rounds in South Florida including two at Tom Fazio's Emerald Dunes course, just down the road from PGA National.<br />
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Obviously, that particular course at PGA National is a major contributor to the diffculty. In fact, last season, the 14th and 17th holes both ranked among the five most difficult Par 3s on the PGA Tour. The stretch of holes from 15th-17th is known as The Bear Trap, and plays very strong with water everywhere. Water should not cause anyone on the PGA Tour to tremble in my estimation, so I will reiterate that it is the winds that make this course so difficult, and yesterday in particular.<br />
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Some stats to back me up include the following:<br />
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<ul><li>Only 29.3% of the field yesterday finished with a score of Par or better, and only 23% broke Par.</li>
<li>The average score for the 143 players in Round 1 was 72.41, 2.41 strokes over Par.</li>
<li>Two players finished in the 80s, two more finished at 79, including the defending champion Y.E. Yang who took a 9 on the second hole and shot 8-over on the front nine!</li>
<li>Former PGA Championship winner, Rich Beem, withdrew after shooting 78.</li>
</ul><div>I look forward to how the pros handle round two, especially if the wind keeps up, but for now, I will simply take solace in the fact that when you play on a tough Florida course with cool temperatures and the wind blowing, your score will likely be elevated, even in a state where not much else is.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Fairways and Greens!</div><div><script language="JavaScript" src="http://www.letsgetsocialnow.com/source-codes/option2.js" type="text/javascript">
</script></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705274445464012555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23263131.post-90252673008735599152010-02-27T00:13:00.000-06:002010-02-27T00:13:52.814-06:00GOLF COURSE REVIEW: Southern Dunes Golf and Country ClubWell, it took me a few more days than planned, but here, is the follow up to my review of Orange County National. This review is of the Southern Dunes Golf and Country Club located about 28 miles Southwest of the Orange County Convention Center (where the PGA Merchandise Show was held, and near where we stayed during our visit). We got what we thought was a great tee time on Sunday morning at 9:40 am, so arose early enough that we could get down there and hit some balls after our frustrating lack of warm-up the previous day at Panther Lakes. We quickly found out that we were mistaken.<br />
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Upon departure from the very average Hampton Inn on International Dr. just north of Sand Lake Rd, we hit the drive through at McDonalds for a quick bite on our drive down. As it turned out, this was no ordinary McDonalds, and became the cause of our failing to hit a bucket for the second straight day. The car in front of us must have been sent from Disney World itself, and ordered for the entire cast of characters, because we sat in that drive through for at least 15-20 minutes...argh! The thing was, this was something called a McDonalds Bistro (I think), and served things like omelettes and...wait for it...Eggs Benedict! Sorry, McDonalds, you know I love your tasty offerings, but no way am I trusting a fast food joint with poached eggs and Hollandaise Sauce, but I digress. Finally, Sir Ordersalot in front of us received and paid for his smorgasbord, we pulled up, grabbed our grossly overpriced Egg McMuffins, and were on our way, now just trying to make our tee time.<br />
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The drive was a little longer than expected, but the directions were simple, so we made the drive in the 36 minutes that Google told us it would take. One of the oddities here is that the entrance to the course is through the modest community built around it, sort of tucked away behind some big box stores like Wal-Mart and Home Depot. Perhaps I am just used to a bit of posh at highly rated golf courses, but Florida never fails to remind me that it is all just a little temporary, and therefore lacking in polish and shine. Pulling up, the clubhouse is most unremarkable, though the range that we didn't have time to use looked fairly nice. From the bag drop area, you also get a glimpse of the 10th hole, a really pretty and interesting hole that we would discover after our rounds had already gone further south than we had already traveled to get here, but more about that later.<br />
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I think I mentioned in my Orange County National review, that the previous day was supposed to be steady rain, but only sprinkled us for 3-4 holes, and turned out to be rather pleasant. The forecasts didn't achieve any higher level of accuracy on this day either. What was supposed to be a sunny sky with temps in the low 60s turned out instead to be a dreary, cloudy day with temps in the low 50s and the wind whipping at 15-20 mph. There is always a false belief among us Yankees that on trips to Florida, we will forever be wearing shorts and sunglasses, but I've been there enough to know this was a bit on the chilly side, and for the folks who call Orlando home, it was downright frigid! I can tell you this much, we were <i>almost</i> dressed appropriately, but this would have been a cold round even back home in Chicago's unpredictable spring season.<br />
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Ignoring the fact that the weather gods were conspiring against us, and that we were parking in a near empty lot because most of the locals were huddled in front of blazing fireplaces wearing cardigans, we knocked around a few practice putts, then moved across the lot to where a very nice, and well bundled starter greeted us. He gave us the 411 of the course, asked where we were from, then told us that a B-level celebrity here in Chicago was out playing the course with his son. Yes, somewhere on the front nine, Ken "Hawk" Harrelson was talking somebody's ear off about how good he once was, and that you could put it on the board...YES! Again, I digress...my apologies for wandering a bit tonight.<br />
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Upon finishing his piece, and sharing some quick pleasantries, the starter bid us farewell, then turned quickly back to the warm shelter of the clubhouse I suppose, and we made our way to the first tee. Looking at the scorecard, Southern Dunes is a beast. From the back tees, it measures 7,227 yards, and sports a rating and slope of 75.5/138. That is bad news on a surprisingly cold and windy day for a couple of slumping 9 handicaps who played only the previous day in the last 2 months. So, we moved forward to the Blue tees where plenty of challenge remained, according to the card, with a rating and slope of 73.3/134 at 6,803 yards.<br />
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The first hole is a 390 yard Par 4, with houses along the left, and large sandy mounds along the right with sporadic pines dotting the length of it. Brad, having won the previous day, hit first and sort of block/sliced one that caught the wind blowing right into us. It took a sharp right turn and landed somewhere on the wrong side of those mounds...oh well, he hit a provisional (not much better) and was ready for our first ball hunt of the day. I didn't do much better, but kept it in play, albeit in a fairway bunker on the right side of the fairway, and only about 220 yards from the tee. I didn't pure it, but man, that wind was really blowing. Upon reaching where we thought Brad's ball had landed, we noticed that invisible from the tee, once over the mound, a ball can quickly head OB with a chain-link fence right at the bottom of the mounds. Brad's did not, but his second did, forcing him to take a triple-bogey seven on the first and bringing on a very early foul mood in my playing partner. I managed a bogey after hitting a decent lay-up from the fairway bunker, so felt OK about things, though still concerned about the lack of distance on both my normal shots on the hole.<br />
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Leaving the first green, we realized something else. Southern Dunes is not just another course built as part of a community of homes, it feels as though they only planned the homes, found a really nice course layout and jammed it into whatever free space they could find. The houses are not only ever-present but feel like they are right on top of you here. It's a shame, because as I mentioned, the layout is really appealing, offering plenty of challenge for any golfer, highlighted by a significant amount of elevation changes that have a major effect on the greens.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHjI9zW2W5Z8BmK6cciW8ztxAT7GM3V-q7lTZrosbxIhN3Io0omRQN25-gDvNW5GpsjyYGjOxZrfp3g0IInQHMyTB6eON_7SM711LNAw8ZHuBONDm05g7HwBLbdjlT9xcEzYGY/s1600-h/Southern+Dunes+-+Hole+%233.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHjI9zW2W5Z8BmK6cciW8ztxAT7GM3V-q7lTZrosbxIhN3Io0omRQN25-gDvNW5GpsjyYGjOxZrfp3g0IInQHMyTB6eON_7SM711LNAw8ZHuBONDm05g7HwBLbdjlT9xcEzYGY/s320/Southern+Dunes+-+Hole+%233.JPG" /></a></div><br />
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The front nine was wild to say the least. Brad recovered from his opening disaster hole to some extent and managed to shoot bogey golf on the outward nine, while I disintegrated and forgot how to strike a golf ball. I knocked a drive out of bounds and squarely into the heart of someone's roof on the Par 5 4th (though I did par my 2nd ball, for the unsatisfying double-bogey). Then, on the short Par 4 5th hole, I hit a dreadfully short 5-iron into the wind off the tee, donated a few balls to the local aquatic wildlife and dragged myself off the green with a NINE! Not to be completely outdone, I carded a snowman on the very difficult Par 4, 7th after using everything but a hand-wedge to get out of the greenside bunker, and finished double-bogey, bogey on 8 and 9 for a blow-up 54! Easily one of my worst nines of the last 8-9 years!<br />
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At the turn, Brad ran in for a quick break while I stewed in the cart realizing that quitting after nine would deprive you all of a good "bad golf" story, and would only mean I'd have to find more time to kill in the land of the Mouse before making my way to the airport for our evening flight. So, onward we went, and it was fortunate we did.<br />
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The sun peeked out for about ten minutes as we began the back nine, though it was hardly a break in the weather as the wind and cold stuck around all day. Even through my tainted view of the game of golf at the moment, I knew from the front nine that this was a nice course, but the back nine secured it for me. The stretch of holes from 10-14 is as good a stretch of five holes as anywhere I've played in Florida, though I would still notch the whole course well below both courses at World Woods and Doral's Blue Course, and haven't played many courses outside of the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale areas. See, those holes that begin the back nine take you <i>away from the houses</i>, and you get the feeling for the first time all day that you are on a course designed for the land rather than routed through a development. Notably, I felt that the two Par 3s on 11 and 14 were extraordinary and allowed for some very imaginative and challenging pin placements. Holes 15-18 provide a decent finish, though you do return to the houses, and definitely leave you with the feeling that you'd like to give it another go (one of my criteria for a good course).<br />
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From a performance standpoint, I was able to "recover" from my dismal front nine, with an average 6-over, 42 on the back, while Brad found his own opportunities to melt down with a disappointing 49. Though I walked away with a dismal 96 (ugh!), the fact that Brad only beat me by two strokes at least provided some testament to the difficulty of the course, AND the day. I am not kidding when I say that 6,800 yard course with the cold and wind we had probably played more like 7,600 yards. The course is well bunkered (between us we hit out of the sand at least one time on ten different holes), and hides many surprising breaks on its greens (though, surprisingly, we both putted decently). Furthermore, with all the houses lining most of the holes, there are simply too many opportunities to knock even slightly bad shots OB, which in my opinion is one of the most devastating penalties in golf.<br />
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Overall, I would say that Southern Dunes is a nice course, overpriced by about $30, and located just a little too far from Orlando to make the trip. On the other hand, Orlando golf is not cheap, and if you can't make the trip down to Tampa or up to Brooksville, perhaps Southern Dunes will be to your liking. I would love to have another shot at this course on a more typical Orlando day, so who knows, I may even play it again. If I were to suggest one over the other, I would have to give the nod to Southern Dunes slightly over Orange County National. Though at OCN, you don't have to deal with the houses, Southern Dunes just captures the imagination a little better, even if you have to imagine how much better it might be away from those homes.<br />
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If you have played either of these courses, I'd love to hear your thoughts!<br />
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Fairways and Greens!<br />
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</script>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705274445464012555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23263131.post-38670418377546272552010-02-17T23:44:00.002-06:002010-02-17T23:55:51.200-06:00GOLF COURSE REVIEW: Orange County National – Panther Lake Course<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chris-in-basking-ridge-nj/3489617269/" title="photo sharing"><img alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3387/3489617269_1acdb66074_m.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chris-in-basking-ridge-nj/3489617269/">P1011435</a> <br />
Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/chris-in-basking-ridge-nj/">chris07920</a></span><br />
While visiting Orlando, FL to attend my first PGA Merchandise Show during the last week of January, I took the opportunity to play a couple of golf courses that I had been itching to play. This review will focus on the first of those two courses, the Panther Lake Course at Orange County National Golf Center and Lodge located in Orlando, FL.<br />
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Most notable about the Panther Lake Course is that it has recently played host to the PGA Tour’s Qualifying School, known to most simply as Q-School. The PGA of America’s Q-School is one of the handful of methods by which a player can earn their PGA Tour Card, and with it the privileges of competing in some number of PGA Tournaments every year. Q-School is a rigorous 90-hole tournament from which the top 30 finishers will emerge with full PGA Tour exemptions.<br />
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The Panther Lake scorecard gives the Q-School tees a rating of 76.0 with a slope of 139 playing Par 72 at 7,350 yards. The Q-School tees weren’t even out as if we were going to take that punishment while on a quick stop in Florida anyway. With the Championship tees still offering a hearty challenge with a rating and slope of 73.2/132, and both myself and Brad rusty from the annual winter layoff in Chicago, we opted for the Back (blue) tees. Playing at a relatively short 6,394 yards, the course still had some bite as evidenced by its 71.2/127 rating and slope. Disappointingly, however, all but a couple of the “lakes” for which this course is known were empty, though not enough to discount the greens fees of $114 apparently.<br />
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The clubhouse is quite nice, large enough to comfortably feature loads of logo-ed apparel and gear, though a logo ball was the extent of my extraneous purchases on this day. Though we arrived 20 minutes before our tee time, we were told that we didn’t have time to hit a few range balls, and instead were sent over to the Panther Lake starter shack where we putted for about 20 minutes prior to being sent off. Maybe others need a really long time on the range, but five minutes of swings would have been most welcome for the two of us, having not played any golf for about 9 weeks prior to this round.<br />
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Once on the course, all was fine. We were expecting to play through a steady and sometimes heavy rain through most of the round, but fortunately, aside for holes six through eight, we stayed bone dray with the temperature hovering in the high 60s…fantastic weather for us, having lifted off from O’Hare airport on a night hovering around 9 degrees. The beverage carts were attentive and showed up every 3-4 holes, and carried dogs and brats, much appreciated for our mid-day round.<br />
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The course itself was better than average, though hardly worth the $114.00 they charged us. The layout is challenging, but the greens were average at best, and when we played, were probably rolling at about half the speed as they do for Q-School. I shot a Net 77 with zero practice after a nine-week layoff. Look, I know it’s Florida, and almost the high season, so they can pull that cash out of visitors, but back here in Chicago, we have four public tracks that charge over $100, three are WAY overpriced (Bolingbrook, Ruffled Feathers, and The Glen Club), and the other one is Dubsdread, the fourth course at Cog Hill. In fact, there are at least five courses in Chicagoland that charge less than half the price of Panther Lake, which I would argue are “better” than the star of Orange County National.<br />
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In short, if you are in Orlando, and want to play some golf without taking out a second mortgage, Orange County National will do the trick, and you will probably be satisfied with the overall experience. If you have the time, however, and can handle a 90-120 minute car ride, head northwest to Brooksville, and play both the Pine Barrens and the Rolling Oaks course at World Woods. You can thank me later.<br />
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Fairways and Greens!<br />
<br />
<script language="JavaScript" src="http://www.letsgetsocialnow.com/source-codes/option2.js" type="text/javascript">
</script>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705274445464012555noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23263131.post-16954835250458884452010-02-16T15:03:00.000-06:002010-02-16T15:03:16.180-06:00Makray Memorial Junior Golf ClinicsOf the many excellent public courses in the Chicagoland area, Makray Memorial is certainly in my Top Ten. Aside from the excellent conditioning, and interesting layout, they have a classic clubhouse with a top notch restaurant overlooking the 9th and 18th greens. Makray also uses sand that is unique to the Chicago area, and plays more like the sand you encounter in Florida as opposed to the heavy, often waterlogged sand found at most Chicago courses. Their practice area, though compact, offers golfers an opportunity to tune up all the various aspects of their game either before a round or for a full practice session. For junior golfers, this facility must be fantastic.<br />
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Well, registration is now open for Makray's 2010 golf clinics. To register, you can stop in their pro shop in Barrington, IL, or visit their website at <a href="http://www.makraygolf.com/">www.makraygolf.com</a>.<br />
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<b>PROGRAMS & SESSIONS:</b><br />
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After School Program (May 11,12,13) 4:30 pm - 6:00 pm = $100.00<br />
After School Program (May 18,19,20) 4:30 pm - 6:00 pm = $100.00<br />
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Golf Clinic (July 6,8,13,15,20,22) 8:30 am - 10:00 am = $175.00<br />
10:30 am - 12:00 pm = $175.00<br />
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August Mini Clinic (August 3,4,5) 8:30 am - 10:00 am = $100.00<br />
August Mini Clinic (August 10,11,12) 8:30 am - 10:00 am = $100.00<br />
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The classes include mastering the fundamentals of the grip, stance, and swing. Emphasis will be put on skill development for putting and the short game. All students will additionally see a video analysis of their swing.<br />
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The average age of the participants in these clinics is 10-12 years old, but Makray reports that the ages do vary outside of that average, so if you've got a hungry little 6 or 7 year old Beaver to be, by all means, let them eat!<br />
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Fairways and Greens!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705274445464012555noreply@blogger.com0