TimeForeTee

Happy St. Patricks Day

2011-03-17T02:13:00.000-07:00

It was a little over FIVE YEARS ago (where does the time go?) that TartanGolfGrips.com was conceptualized and launched shortly thereafter....

What better way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day 2011 than with an order that I fulfilled a couple of minutes ago, featuring a MURPHY Partan (TM)...

Here's what that one looks like - very striking, yet understated, don't you agree?

How to Be Happy When You Have Every Reason Not to Be

2010-05-05T09:54:00.000-07:00

By Scott Hamilton - (copied from Bottom Line Personal e-mail)

Figure skater Scott Hamilton, who won a gold medal in the 1984 Winter Olympics, has had to endure more than his share of tough times.

A childhood digestive disease, never properly diagnosed, permanently stunted Hamilton’s growth and nearly killed him. His mother died of cancer while he was in his teens. Hamilton was dropped by the Ice Capades just two years after his Olympic win, putting his professional skating career in doubt. He battled testicular cancer in 1997 and a brain tumor (benign) in 2004.

Hamilton once lived in fear of the problems that seemed to lurk around every corner, but now he remains happy and optimistic even during difficult times. Here are his secrets for happiness in a very imperfect world...

Consider all problems temporary... and temporary problems unimportant. As a skater, I knew that I would fall when I tried to learn a new jump. I also knew that these falls were irrelevant as long as I got up after each one and tried again.
I try to apply this lesson to my life off the ice as well. I might have a problem right now, but "right now" is just a moment in time that soon will be gone forever... and my "problem" really is just the starting point of a journey that will lead to a solution to my problem. Why let a starting point affect my mood? What matters is where I end up, and that’s going to be somewhere better.
It might take me a while to solve my problem, but I will start to feel better as soon as I begin working toward a solution. I find tremendous joy in tackling my problems. It breaks the "victim mentality" -- a sure path to unhappiness -- and puts me back in control of my life.

Don’t face problems alone. Men’s figure skating is a solo sport, but I still needed a coach to get the most out of my abilities. Life often seems like a solo sport, too, but finding a coach -- a spouse or a friend with whom we can share our problems -- will make our attempts to solve those problems more enjoyable and more successful. Humans are social animals, as my coach, Don Laws, used to remind me. We’re not designed to face problems alone, so we shouldn’t try to do so.

Find strength in challenges. My mother’s struggle with breast cancer taught me that there are positive aspects to even the most devastating losses. For three years, my mother continued to earn a living... work toward her master’s degree... and raise three children, even as she endured chemotherapy.
As awful as it was when she died at age 49, the lessons I learned from her strength in the face of the challenges were the most important lessons of my life. I had been an underachiever as a boy, but following her example transformed me into an Olympic champion.
We cannot completely control the events of our lives, but we can control how we respond to them. It’s this that defines us. I choose to be happy about the wonderful example my mother set for me in those final years, not sad about her death.

Don’t delay difficult conversations. My first inclination when someone does something that bothers me is to bite my lip and remain quietly unhappy. Over the years, I have learned that stoicism only prolongs my displeasure. As much as I dislike confrontations, they often are the quickest path back to happiness.
Example: My agent, Bob Kain, no longer had much time for me by the early 1990s. He had added new clients and taken on a management role in his firm. My career was suffering -- but for years, I said nothing. I didn’t want to damage my relationship with Bob. Instead, I let my resentment build until our relationship was almost irreparably harmed. After I finally spoke up, we found a solution -- a different agent at the company would handle the details of my career while Bob served as adviser. I could have avoided years of unhappiness if I had just voiced my displeasure sooner.

Sell your smile... even to yourself. I once saw Olympic gold medalist Kristi Yamaguchi miss her landing on a triple lutz and fall hard on her back in front of a large crowd. She must have been in pain -- not to mention disappointed and embarrassed -- but she immediately bounced back up with a huge smile on her face. The remainder of her routine was flawless.
The crowd gave Kristi a big ovation. Her smile had convinced them that the fall didn’t matter -- everything was okay.
Kristi’s smile also convinced Kristi herself that everything was okay. It’s easy to lose confidence and feel bad when we "fall." Smiling or laughing releasesendorphins, hormones that trigger feelings of happiness and well-being. In other words, we don’t have to wait until we are happy to smile -- we can use a smile to make ourselves happy.
I put this lesson to use in my own life by searching for the humor in my darkest moments. If I can laugh at myself, my problems seem less daunting.
Example: I was scheduled to skate in Peoria, Illinois, just hours after I learned that I had testicular cancer. I feared that this could be the last performance of my life, and I desperately wanted to do well -- but my mind was on my cancer, not my skating. Suddenly I noticed a woman in the front row ignoring my routine entirely and casually applying makeup. It made me chuckle to think that this performance that was so important to me was so meaningless to her. My mood immediately lightened, and I was able to get through the rest of the routine.

Fight for change. The world changes. We change. It’s inevitable. The only way to remain happy is to embrace change and enjoy it. We need to take pleasure in meeting new challenges and take pleasure in the surprises that lie around every corner. The changes that we fear often make our lives much better in the end.
Example: When the Ice Capades didn’t renew my contract, I feared that my professional skating career was over. As it turned out, getting fired led to one of the greatest successes of my life. My agent, Bob Kain, and I started a rival skating tour, Stars on Ice, that is still going strong and earning money today -- while the Ice Capades folded years ago.

Bottom Line/Personal interviewed Scott Hamilton, who won a gold medal in figure skating in the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo and cofounded the Stars on Ice professional figure-skating tour in 1986. He is a member of the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame and author of The Great Eight: How to Be Happy (Even When You Have Every Reason to Be Miserable)(Thomas Nelson). www.scottcares.com.

Picking up the blog again, with an expanded scope

2010-04-17T14:05:00.001-07:00

OK, so I've been watching the whole social networking phenomenon develop more or less from the sidelines, and just decided that maybe it's time to resume the blog and expand the scope and nature of the postings.

Up until now, the primary purpose of this blog has been focused on golf, and supporting my sideline business TartanGolfGrips.com (shameless plug).

Some recent changes have caused me to consider resuming the blog, and continue to observe the world of golf, but also to widen the scope to include my other (numerous) and diverse interests, which include business, music and other sports. I may even tap dance with a little political commentary from time to time, depending upon my mood...but don't hold your breath...

TimeForeTee has always been a play on words, and since one of my nicknames has always been "Tee" and my surname begins with "T", it only seems natural to wrap even more of my life in this little wrapper that's been lying dormant for awhile.

More to come soon - on with the fun...

Partans explained

2008-08-14T07:33:00.001-07:00

What is a Partan(TM)???

A Partan is a Personalized tARTAN design that affixes to a golf club shaft, usually on a putter, but on any golf club, and then covered by a C-Thru Golf Grip(TM).

The C-Thru(TM) grip allows the personalized tartan to show THROUGH the grip, allowing the golfer to express their individuality, their love of golf (a sport that is closely linked (pardon the pun) to Scotland AND Ireland), their pride in their heritage and their general good taste!

The breadth of tartans that are available is truly staggering, covering most major heritages, geographies, military associations, academic institutions, professions, and then there are HUNDREDS of "Universal" tartans that are simply attractive to look at, but have no particular association.

Did you know that there are tartans available for:

Japan
Korea
Germany
Ireland and every one of the Counties or Districts
Argentina
Brazil
Canada and every one of the Provinces, and many CITIES within Canada
Most of the states in the United States have their own tartan
Many many more

Some GOOD news - Charlie's stateside and heading home!

2008-02-23T13:51:00.000-08:00

This post is a follow-up to my post from last Fall about "Charlie", the dog that was adopted by a US soldier in Iraq....

"Charlie" is HOME - he's made it out of Iraq after MANY months of red-tape and waiting - you can read the story here...he landed at Dulles Airport on Valentine's Day, and is heading to Sgt. Watson's home in Phoenix, AZ!!!

HOO-AAAHH!!! (Read the blog entries that lead up to this one.....they're heartwarming....)

For MORE heartwarming stories, and another opportunity to help with other "dogs of war"like Charlie, there's a new charity at Baghdadpups.com, which is a special project of the SPCA International...

Watch the video's of Charlie's return at http://baghdadpups.com/videos/

Another dog needs our help - please help him out

2008-02-23T09:12:00.000-08:00

I don't know what it is, but somehow I keep stumbling across dogs that need (y)our help on the web, plus the way I found out about THIS one is kinda interesting, and provides the segueway into some closure from a posting from last May...enough time has passed that it's time to resume more regular blogging...

I stumbled across THIS dog in distress story because of what happened last May. On May 2, 2007 (easy to remember because 5+2=7) my wife went to Orange County to play in a charity golf tournament with "a client". She left her wedding band in her purse in his GMC Yukon, and her wedding ring was stolen from the Yukon while they were playing.

Shortly after learning of the theft of the ring, (but before a BIG revelation was uncovered almost three weeks later) I had set up a search on eBay to look for pear-shaped diamond rings, in the hopes that we might find it being "fenced" via eBay, and every day, I STILL get three e-mails with pictures of pear-shaped diamond rings...

Naturally, after all this time, no ring, and I usually just delete the three e-mails without looking at them, but SOMETHING compelled me to take a look at this morning's diamond e-mail...

SO - I opened this mornings e-mail, and the FIRST image that appears is this one and I start reading the details and the seller is trying to sell this pear-shaped diamond to raise money for his epileptic dog. When I first opened the listing, I thought the thumbnail KINDA looked like "our" ring, but as I scrolled down, I was REALLY touched by the reason for this listing. Apparently, the dog requires treatment, and the ring is being sold for significantly less than fair-market value to raise funds for treatment of the dog.

Now when I saw the picture of the DOG, I REALLY went "Whoa!", because the DOG looks A LOT like my Rusti, who passed away in September 2006 (ironically when my wife was away on a "business trip" in Vegas either WITH or on BEHALF of an asswipe, motherfucking "client").

Needless to say, this story TOTALLY tugged at my heartstrings, and I sent the seller an e-mail to ask for their e-mail address, so I could send 'em some money via my PayPal account to help out with Junior's treatment.

He responded pretty quickly, and if you're interested in making your OWN contribution to "Junior" via his guardian Cameron, you can use your own PayPal account to send them some cash at ( vintagedreams2007 at yahoo dot com ).

ALTERNATIVELY, Cameron's got a whole STOREFRONT of eBay items for sale, and you can visit him at http://stores.ebay.com/vintagedreams2007-Start-Here . Find something you like, and help out "Junior" at the same time...

Let's get together and pool our resources, and either buy something from Cameron's eBay store, or just send him a few bucks via PayPal, and help out Junior....

To close, here's what Cameron wrote me: "That is so nice of you to do that. Junior is my little man. He is sweet as sugar and I want him well I know the loss you feel everyday. I lost 2 dogs that were both 17 and I think about them all the time. I honestly was not aking for donations, but if you would like to help my email address for paypal is vintagedreams2007 at yahoo dot com. If not just say some prayers. Take care!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We're back...and hoping to help

2007-09-04T13:22:00.000-07:00

It's been a little over three months, and things seem to be getting back to normal in my life again, and I feel that it's time to resume posting again - ESPECIALLY when a story like this touches my heart like this one has...

(Thank you to those of you who reached out to me and offered your support and prayers during a very difficult period in my life...)

Recently, I purchased a copy of "From Baghdad With Love" that chronicles the heartwarming story of an American soldier who was befriended by a local puppy, and his stories about successfully getting Lava back to the United States.

Well, I was reading an article at the Rocky Mountain News that highlighted the plight of ANOTHER American soldier, and HIS hope at getting his canine companion safely back to the States.

I did a little research, and the soldier has his own blog, called Operation Bring Charlie Home. You can make a donation through PayPal there, to help defray the high cost of bringing this adorable dog back to the United States, which I have, and I hope that many of those that read this blog will help out in any amount that you can.

My Dad was in the 8th infantry in WWII, and he relayed stories of many situations like this from HIS war experiences. Dad passed away suddenly a little over four years ago, and it's in his honor and memory that I would like to re-open my blog, and ask your assistance in this cause.

"Charlie" bears more than a casual resemblance to OUR little furperson "Triniti", so this story resonates with me for a NUMBER of reasons...

I'm back......and hopefully so will "Charlie" - SOON!

On hiatus

2007-07-02T23:33:00.000-07:00

My apologies for being out of touch for quite awhile....while I was making the last posting on May 19, a series of events began to unfold that culminated in the receipt of some devastating personal news on May 21.

This news basically rocked my world. Let's just say that questions about the "Ross tartan" will always have significant meaning to me...and will always initiate feelings of supreme sadness and disappointment.

I am still dealing with the after-effects of this development, and the blog will practically be on hiatus for the foreseeable future.

In the meantime, I have been fortunate to include TartanGolfGrips.com putter grips in the player packages at the American Century Celebrity Golf Challenge that runs from July 13-15, and also at a charity golf tournament being played locally on July 9 benefiting the Long Beach VA Hospital.

Maybe someday I will discuss these developments - I hope not, however...but my primary objective in my life right now is healing...

Your prayers are very much appreciated in the meantime....

Have a safe, happy Fourth of July....

Artan of the Week (May 18, 2007) - IRISH OPEN edition

2007-05-19T08:58:00.000-07:00

Wow - things have been REALLY hectic at my "day job", and between juggling the pipe band, fulfilling orders for TartanGolfGrips.com, doing a little rehearsal preparation for the Kingsmen Alumni Corps, and a MAJOR overhaul of the TartanGolfGrips.com secure shopping cart and website links - I just realized that I'm a full TWO DAYS late for the Artan of the Week...gaack...

There's also ANOTHER special project that will take place in conjunction with the 18th Annual American Century Golf Championship that has sucked up whatever precious free time I didn't have before, but I'm REALLY excited about this opportunity....I'll let the cat out of the bag more later, but we will be heading to beautiful Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course in mid-July to participate in the American Century Golf Championship.

I've signed on as a walking scorer, and I'm really excited about this opportunity...I've watched the event on NBC for several years now, but this is the first time that I've ever been to Lake Tahoe in the summertime, PLUS seeing all of these athlete/celebrities play golf at the same time will be REALLY, REALLY fun...it would be a dream come true if I got to keep score for John Elway's group...

But I digress - the REAL reason for today's posting is to highlight the Artan of the week for May 18, 2007. This week's design highlights the OVERSIZED paddle grip that is an option at TartanGolfGrips.com. I personally use this grip myself, because I like the feel of a larger grip - you can see the extra grip material at the top of the grip. (You can ALSO see the damage that was done to the Artan design when the owner attempted to install the grip, and used a SCREWDRIVER to try and force the grip onto the shaft...I had to bail him out...the screwdriver shaft STILL embedded inside the grip, the HANDLE long gone as it had pulled off the end of the shaft...THAT was fun....you can see HIS customization to the artwork on and to the left of the "I" in HARRINGTON...oh well, I told him it's REALLY PERSONALIZED now...)

My personal full-swing grips are Eaton Golf Pride Dual Durometer "Yellows" which are the midsize offering in the Dual Durometer line. It's interesting to note that both Cheri and Lorena Ochoa both use the "Reds" in the GolfPride Dual Durometer line....
This grip was done for my neighbor across the street, Steve Harrington, and coincidentally, one of my favorite professional golfers, PADRAIG HARRINGTON is leading the Irish Open through the third round.

It would be SO COOL if Padraig could win his home country's Open tournament - it would be the first time in 25 years, as the last Irishman to win the Irish Open was John O'Leary back in 1982. How Irish a name is THAT??? Half the COUNTRY can probably lay claim to being the '82 Irish Open winner!

I think it's fate....it's been 25 years, and Padraig's gonna win this event. It's also nice to mention that the NEW IRELAND flag grip has been selling REALLY nicely since we debuted it back in what, March? I sold a couple of those this last week alone...as the word gets out, I think more and more people are going to want one of these....(at right).

Oh, during this past week, I found it interesting to learn that Nike is ALSO getting aboard the black club phenomenon that I chronicled earlier, when they announced the launch of their SV Tour Black Satin Wedge. (Shown below)

We're looking at another BUSY, BUSY weekend - today's haircut day, I'm gonna stop by Kemp Ford and check out a 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid, I've got Pipe Band rehearsal this afternoon at Johnny Carson Park in Burbank from 2-5, the website needs some more link updating, the lawn needs to be cut, edged and the plum tree needs to be pruned, and HOPEFULLY, we'll head over to the driving range to at least keep the swing in plane before heading out to play some tennis with our friends Mike and Michelle.

Sleep??? Who needs it???

Photo contest help required

2007-05-13T10:36:00.000-07:00

Let's have a little fun today with photos taken at The Player's Championship (courtesy of The Golf Channel). The three best responses will get posted after I review 'em...

I'll lead...

This one was taken after Ian Poulter stepped in the Pepto Bismol spill in the training room immediately off the player's locker room...

And THIS one is of Sergio Garcia doing his best 76 antenna ball imitation...
(That probably only makes sense to our Southern California readers... please click on the link above to see what I'm talking about...)

Have fun with THIS one...

Jason Gore

2007-05-13T09:43:00.000-07:00

I TiVo'd THE PLAYERS championship yesterday, and I am INCREDULOUS that Jason Gore STILL has not been approached by an equipment manufacturer for a sponsorship...

I'm sure I'm naive about how these things REALLY work, but I cannot figure out why this guy is sponsor-free...

He's funny, talented, hits the ball a country mile, has a megawatt-smile and a sense of humor like few of the many robots on the PGA Tour do...

I WAS proud to see him representing our Pepperdine Waves on his cap, however...you're missing the boat, Callaway Golf, by not hiring this guy...he's HUGELY popular with the fans, has got the game, and could be a tremendous spokesman...

Back in black...

2007-05-12T09:22:00.000-07:00

Besides being one of my FAVORITE AC/DC tunes, I've noticed a new trend developing in golf club design, and it's one that I really like...A LOT....almost enough to get me to stray from my unnatural devotion to Callaway Golf clubs...

I first "strayed" a couple of years ago when I happened to meet " Dr. Jim" Yeh, the creative genius behind Alpha Golf Clubs, one of the most popular brands on the Long-Drive circuit, when I noticed an ad for the Alpha v5 driver...

Curious, I purchased one of the heads in a 12degree configuration, and built a club with it using the Aldila NV-Orange shaft with a half inch cut down to increase the control....FUN friggin' club, I might add, but it makes a RACKET when you hit it....I use it as my backup driver when my confidence in my Callaway EFT Fusion wanes (which hasn't been waning in awhile, so the Alpha is upstairs gathering dust in the corner of my office.), but it LOOKS sweet...it's got a tough, all black finish, INCLUDING the face of the club, which is REALLY convenient for seeing where the impact point of the ball was...

I found myself getting weird feelings of interest this morning when I was skimming through GolfWeek magazine, and found a new TaylorMade R7 SuperQuad ad, and started getting unfaithful thoughts towards my Callaway EFT Fusion driver....

So, to make "those" thoughts go away, I wrote an e-mail to Callaway Golf's customer service department, and pitched 'em an idea for an all-black themed driver (including the face) that would celebrate their 25th anniversary AND Gary Player's 50th appearance at The Masters tournament this year....I called it the "Black Knight" model FT-25...

Does anyone happen to know what DAY is considered Callaway's 25th anniversary? I know that they started in 1982 (I was in college, and I remember the "Hickory Stick" ads I used to see at the back of the golf magazines - those musta been the days when Mr. Callaway was selling 'em outta the trunk of his car), and this marks their 25th anniversary...but WHEN???

Artans of the Week (May11, 2007)

2007-05-11T07:41:00.000-07:00

This week, it's CHARITY GOLF TOURNAMENT DAY, and TartanGolfGrips.com is busy, busy, busy.... this Artan(TM) celebrates the La Reina High School Athletic Booster Club's charity golf tournament that is going on today at Lost Canyons Golf Course.

I'm particularly proud of this Artan(TM), because it actually incorporates the La Reina school uniform's tartan into the design, along with the school crest and text...the tartan was actually sampled from the order form for their school uniforms!!!

We will be auctioning off a putter grip with this design at the auction, and also supporting the event with grips for the winners, the LAST place team and other players...

Good luck to the Booster Club, and have a great day on the course to the participants!!! (Wish I was going to participate myself, but I'm off to my 'day job'...)

THIS Artan was designed for Duramed Futures Tour player D'Rae Ward, who is hosting a fundraising tournament down in Texas today...

We are sympathetic to D'Rae's situation, and have decided to forward 77% of the net proceeds of EVERY County Donegal Irish district tartan design sold in 2007 to help D'Rae defray her tour expenses...(get it, 77 in '07 - we just don't want D'Rae to SHOOT 77...hmmm...maybe I should only forward 60%...nahhhh...)

If you're Irish, and your family hailed from County Donegal, or if you just like the design, please order your own PERSONALIZED County Donegal Artan, and help out D'Rae in the process...

Requiem for a best friend - Cinder - June 7, 1993 to May 6, 2007

2007-05-07T22:45:00.000-07:00

Exactly 24 hours and 30 minutes ago, we lost my best fuzzbuddy.....this is my loving memory of Cinder, my cat and the Senior Vice President of Curling Up Under The Halogen Lamp at TartanGolfGrips.com.

At 10:15PM on May 6, 2007, my feline friend Cinder slipped gently away from my tender embrace and into Heaven's...

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Cinder had been diagnosed with impaired kidney function by our awesome veterinary team at Oak Park Veterinary Hospital about a year ago, and her health began to decline about two months ago. We've had her on a special kidney diet for the last year or so, but her eating and drinking had become more and more sporadic, and as a result we took her back in for a check-up, and the results were sobering. As a result, we've been giving her subcutaneous fluids every morning, and unlike her usual fussy self, she holds still for EVERY single application of the fluids.

Cinder was born on Monday, June 7, 1993, exactly a week before my wife's birthday - we don't know where or to who, as my wife adopted her from the Chatsworth, CA animal shelter to give me as a birthday gift for my birthday in early September 1993, and she was exactly three months old when I first got her.

We went through the Northridge earthquake together, and I remember going back up to my apartment at the Warner Center Apartments to look for her, the smell of the ruptured gas pipes hanging heavy in the air, calling for her in the early morning light as the aftershocks rolled through, one after the other... My furniture had ALL been knocked over, and it looked like God had taken a big spoon and just mixed around every piece of furniture...we headed back up to check on her, and there was no sign or sound of her for the longest time, but I finally whistled for her with a certain whistle I used to make to call her for mealtime, and she finally 'CHIRRUP"'d the way she used to, and popped her head up from behind a pillow on my bed...perfectly fine!!! Looking like - "Well - where they hell have YOU been???"

We loaded her into a cardboard carrier to take her over to my folks house on Burbank Boulevard in Woodland Hills, and while we were there, she CHEWED the entire side of the carrying case away, rendering it COMPLETELY unusable...

She was a spirited little being, that's for sure...

When she was a kitten, she used to jump up on towels, and climb her way all the way to the top, usually leaving a trail of pulled terry-cloth threads in her wake...

In the meantime, she's basically ruled the roost in her regal style, disdainfully looking at the Cockers from the top of the stairs, occasionally high-jacking them by jumping on their backs and scaring them silly, but usually just hanging out quietly on the comforter in our bedroom.

I think we went to the vet's less than ten times in her life, usually only for a "lion cut" haircut to keep her cool and mat-free in the summertime...

Well, Cinder passed away in my arms last night at 10:15PM...I could tell Saturday evening that she was kinda fading, but she hung in there all day Sunday...enough for me to set her by her favorite window out the front kitchen to watch the trees blow in the wind, and then she stayed pretty much in the same place all afternoon yesterday...we went to the driving range, and then played two sets of tennis and went to dinner with some friends...

Got home, and my wife said "Why don't you pick her up and take her through to the living room, and we can watch a little TV?"...that was about 9...I laid down on the couch with her on my chest, stroking her head and side, and she purred quietly...At 10:15 exactly, she coughed a couple of times, retched, exhaled slowly and was gone....she just went limp in my arms...

It was a VERY powerful moment, and I just laid there on the couch with her for about an hour, thanking God for taking her peacefully at home, rather than on the exam table at the vet's, with a catheter hanging out of her forearm...

We laid her little body on her favorite blanket, and placed her body in a cardboard box, and put the box in the freezer in the garage for overnight. I took her to the Los Angeles Animal Pet Park in Calabasas the next day, and had her cremated, and had her remains placed in a pewter, cat-shaped urn that now sits on my dresser, with her collar and tags hanging around the statue's neck...

I cried quite a bit last night, and in the ensuing months I have cried several times more - she was a cute little buddy that was an important part of a great period in my life, and she is missed greatly...

Update: My Mom moved from the long-time family home on Burbank Boulevard to Thousand Oaks on my birthday last year, and we inherited her two black cats, Holly and Ivy, who we adopted at Chrstimastime from the Agoura Hills animal shelter to keep Mom company after my Dad's passing in 2003. (2003 was a LOUSY year, not just for me - I've talked to several friends and they all agreed that 2003 was a heavy, hard year for a lot of people...)

So we now have kitties in the house again...but I still miss Cinder...

LPGA news and Duramed Futures Tour players news

2007-05-05T21:55:00.000-07:00

I'm here working on the shopping cart overhaul tonight (another WILD Cinco De Mayo celebration here) and watching the TiVo'd coverage of today's LPGA tournament.

Several of my favorite LPGA players are seriously in the hunt today, as Stephanie Louden is tied with three other golfers in the lead, and my Pepperdine buddy Katherine Hull is only two strokes back in seventh place....ONE stroke ahead of Lorena Ochoa!

Looks like it's going to be a VERY interesting championship round tomorrow...but it's great to see two of the NICEST players on the LPGA (Stephanie and Katherine) in contention this week...I'll be hoping for good things for BOTH of you tomorrow!!!

While we're talking about hoping for good things...if any of my Texas readers are free next FRIDAY, May 11, 2007, Duramed Futures Tour player D'Rae Ward is having a fundraising golf tournament at the Glen Garden Country Club. You can read more about this event at D'Rae's website here... D'Rae is ALSO in the hunt at this week's Duramed Futures Tour event, which had today's play canceled due to high winds in the El Paso area...D'Rae's 24th birthday is coming up three days after the tournament, by the way...

Like I said, Sunday's golf is going to be VERY interesting...

Moving on to LOCAL charity fundraising events... TartanGolfGrips.com has created a VERY special customized putter grip for the La Reina High School Athletic Boosters Charity Fundraiser at the Lost Canyons Golf Club on the SAME day, Friday, May 11, 2007! The grip incorporates the La Reina uniform tartan, the school crest and matching text, and looks SLICK!!! It got sent off to Georgia to be produced on Friday.....this sounds like a REALLY fun event, and I wanted to put the word out for local golfers who are looking for a NICE round of golf at Lost Canyons...one of my favorite high-end local courses...

Artan of the week - May 3, 2007

2007-05-03T10:08:00.000-07:00

Sorry for being out of the loop, folks...life has taken a particularly busy turn for the past couple of weeks...

On a happy note, TartanGolfGrips.com had the best month EVER in April 2007! Huge thank you's to those that have found out about the personalized putter and full-swing grips, and have signed up...I have been HOPPING to keep up with order processing and communications (more about that below), and it's been an exciting and challenging month! (But those are the kinds of problems that aren't really problems...except for the shipping issues (below)).

On ANOTHER happy note, I did a sales presentation for the Los Angeles Chapter of the Executive Women's Golf Association on April 21, and the ladies were VERY excited and receptive about the grips, and it was really cool to see people "get" the idea, and realize the gift potential for "that golfer who already has everything". Or, buy one for THEMSELVES!!!

On another sorta happy note, I "introduced" the 20 or so women who have expressed interest in forming a new VENTURA COUNTY/CONEJO VALLEY chapter of the EWGA yesterday...

Between the Drum Corps and the Pipe Band, and the business, and work and life and chores and bills and golf and Cheri and.....I have allowed too much time go by. An e-mail blast from Los Robles Greens yesterday jarred me awake, and made me realize that I need to step aside, and allow the interested parties to gel on their own, because if they wait for ME to schedule the time, it probably WILL NOT happen....at least not THIS year!!!

I went into 2007 with a strange feeling that THIS year would be the one that we FINALLY get a Ventura County EWGA Chapter launched, and Sally Quinlan (of the VCJGA and ex-LPGA) and a couple of other women golf pros have indicated their support as well. Sally's offering women's lessons on Saturday mornings, and women's golf leagues over the summer, so she's a perfect one to be involved with this adventure.

While we're talking about Los Robles, it looks like it, Rustic Canyon, Elkins Ranch, Camarillo Springs, Sterling Hills, Buenaventura and Olivas Links are going to be our new "home" courses, as we officially bade FAREWELL to Sunset Hills as members as of April 30, 2007. It's a pretty nice course overall (Kristen always calls it "a dog track"), but their BILLING systems, and LACK of a serious system of internal controls and billing procedures meant that we faced a CONTINUAL stream of unauthorized charges to our account, because our member number was REALLY easy to remember, and I guess people overheard it, or found it on a list somewhere, and we were getting charged for days that we didn't go play, for $140 bar tabs on a Texas Hold-Em poker tournament that I didn't even know EXISTED, and on and on and on....

The final straw was getting a form letter from the GM announcing that our account was "several months overdue" and they were going to pursue it from a collection agency. We had ALWAYS paid our monthly charges! We even paid the small monthly finance charges that they assessed, while we REPEATEDLY requested a detailed breakdown of the supposedly "in arrears" portion of our account balance.

I have a rather FAT FILE of letters where I requested detailed billing support documentation, and only got ONE response, where I identified the unauthorized $140 bar tab, complete with a $25 tip, our surname misspelled, and NO signature on the face of the invoice...that was after the $12 cart bill where the old cart girl gave herself a $25 tip, on top of the $5 that I had already signed for...the place is REALLY interesting that way...

Every year, they run a customer-satisfaction survey, and every year, we RIP them on their accounting and billing procedures...American Golf FINALLY issued a statement from the GM that all "charge-throughs" would have to be signed for, ON the face of the invoice, but they rarely give you a copy at the time, and NEVER in your monthly billing statement...we finally got sick of having every month's bill arrival be a stress-filled adventure, and decided to stop the madness by finally cancelling our membership...we ended up eating a couple of grand for our initiation fees, but to be honest, they've filled up the membership rolls, and quite honestly, the course AIN'T that great any more...you don't get ANYTHING for your monthly beyond your green fees...they still charge you for cart rentals, they still charge your to participate in the Guys 'N Dolls tournaments...if you don't play any golf, you're STILL on the hook for almost $400 a month...and we haven't been playing enough to justify the hit to the budget, plus the risk of the overcharges.....

We used to be able to jet around 18 holes in about 2.5/3 hours, but lately, it's taken that long to get around the front nine, almost...(Snark sighting time: Some of the new members ALSO need to go to MEMBER TRAINING CAMP - we were recently HORRIFIED to see some younger woman DRAGGING her fully-loaded pull-cart DIRECTLY ACROSS the ninth green, completely CLUELESS about the damage that her wheels were wreaking upon the putting surface...just because you're a new country club member doesn't mean that you can treat the course like it's your own, lady...I hope that you didn't do that at the local muni either...UNbelievable....)

I'm sure we'll still visit occasionally to play golf with our buds Margaret and Steve, but it feels good to know that all of our golf there will now be "cash and carry" with NO ability to tack on ridiculous tips and assorted overbillings and unauthorized charges...we cancelled our membership on April 2, and paid up our "overdue" account balance via certified mail on April 26, so we're FREE!!!

FAREWELL, American Golf, FAREWELL Sunset Hills Country Club - it's been real, it's been fun, but it HAS NOT been real fun...

On a down note, I experienced a "blue screen of death" condition mid-month, which caused my graphics software to issue files that were considered corrupt by the printing software at C-Thru Grips, and we labored mightily for about two weeks to get the situation corrected...after purchasing new software, and re-creating many of the designs that were created in early April, we've finally worked our way through the order backlog. {phew} (THANK YOU and kudos to the team at C-Thru Grips for working with me through this challenging time!)

On ANOTHER down note, we're having ALL kinds of difficulties getting grips delivered to PO Boxes by the U.S. Postal Service....maybe they can use some of the impending postal rate increases to IMPROVE YOUR SERVICE!!! I cannot tell you how MANY HOURS I've wasted, issuing "missing order" requests to my contacts at corporate...I'm sure they're sick of me bugging them about it, too...

On the MOST down note, my beloved 13 year old fuzzball puddy-tat Cinder was diagnosed with kidney failure...we knew that her kidney function has been declining for over a year, and have been feeding her Science Diet k/d specially formulated food, but she took a turn for the worse in early April, and we got a sobering diagnosis. It doesn't APPEAR to be related to the Chinese contaminated wheat gluten, but who knows how far that garbage spread into the pet food (and people-food, for that matter) production system. We've been treating Cindy with daily subcutaneous fluid injections to keep her hydrated, and some days she's pretty spunky, energetic and eating, and some days, she's pretty punky and quiet...

Cinder's never been a really CONSISTENTLY warm little soul, but she's charming in her own cantankerous way...for SOME unexplainable reason, she's ALWAYS been really lovey between 3 and 6 in the morning, and usually makes her way downstairs to our bedroom where she jumps up onto the bed and either snuggles up next to me, or better yet, curls up in the small of my back and sleeps ON me...she's definitely MY cat...and I LOVE to hear her purr contendedly as she snuggles up against me...

Cheri rescued her from the Chatsworth Animal Shelter, and gave her to me for my birthday back in 1993 when she was exactly 3 months old. She was born on June 7, 1993, and she got her name because she's gun-metal grey, with white cotton ball paws and a white blaze on her chest. She's a BEAUTIFUL cat, and she knows it!!! The people at the pound had labed her "DSH" for Domestic Short Hair, and we thought that it might have just been kitten-fuzz...turns out that it's REALLY a clever marketing ploy to get 'em adopted, because she's the FUZZIEST long-haired cat that I've ever seen! We spend a LOT of time with the brushes and combs, working out the mats that sometimes develop...she purrs contentedly, until "the snap" when SOMETHING goes off inside, and the claws come out...then WATCH OUT...same with the vet's...let's put it mildly...she's NOT a good patient...a Tasmanian Devil-cat, maybe, but NOT a good patient...

One of my most VIVID memories from the Northridge Earthquake was returning back to my heavily damaged apartment immediately after the main shock and set of aftershocks, to check on her... I whistled a little whistle that I've given her since she was a tiny little kitten, and she popped up, alive and unhurt, chirping back to me from amidst all of the overturned and damaged furniture in my Warner Center Apartments apartment....words cannot adequately express the sense of relief and joy that I felt at that moment! I then packed her into a cardboard cat carrier to drive the mile or so to my parents house down the road in Woodland Hills, only to have her CLAW her way out of the carrier...what a character...she was sitting there in the rear parcel tray, tail curled about her front cotton-ball paws, with this look on her face like "That'll show you to try putting ME in a cardboard carrier, Mister!" One of the first things that I did when life began to return to normal was purchase a PLASTIC cat carrier with a vinyl-coated, heavy wire door...I showed HER!!!

Now it looks like we're in the top of the ninth inning in the game of life...she's a good girl, and I love her dearly...hang in there, "Kitty-Putt"..you be a good girl, and be strong for Dad, OK??? {sniff}

Well, now that our therapy session's over - it's time for the REAL reason for this post...today's Artan(TM) of the week comes to us from halfway around the world, in SOUTH AFRICA. These two Artans(TM) were requested by a gentleman from Gauteng, South Africa who originally wanted an out-of-production version of the Scotland flag grip that's offered, and when I relayed that information back to him, I enclosed a mockup of these two grips.

His surname is Ward, and there are two Ward tartans. Since he wanted two of the out-of-production Scotland putter grips, I made these for him, and judging from his response, I think that he's happier than he would have been with the same old white-backed Saltire pattern...the one on my left is my PERSONAL favorite, but I'm a complete sucker for any tartan that has purple and green in it....

Byron Nelson

2007-04-25T10:11:00.000-07:00

Read a great article about Mr. Nelson and his wife Peggy, here...

He is missed...

EWGA news

2007-04-20T20:36:00.000-07:00

I am getting ready tonight for a meeting with the EWGA's Los Angeles chapter at their 2007 season kickoff and membership recruitment meeting, which is being held tomorrow (Saturday, April 21) from 9AM til noon at Knollwood Country Club in Granada Hills.

I will be participating in the "Golf Expo", along with GolfTec, BellaSport, GolfGym and a representative from the CookieLee Jewelry Co..

More information about TartanGolfGrip.com's involvement in the establishment of a VENTURA COUNTY chapter of the EWGA, and more about women's golf in general later....

Artan(TM) of the week-April 19, 2007

2007-04-18T19:48:00.000-07:00

Today is our ninth wedding anniversary, and in honor of the love of my life, I'm making HER Artan(TM) the Artan(TM) of the week...

Very few guys can honestly say that they MARRIED the girl of their dreams...

I won the lottery nine years ago April 18...

I love you, Cheri...

Clean sweep for Pepperdine golf teams

2007-04-17T21:34:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to both of the Pepperdine golf teams!

Both the women's AND the men's golf teams won the WCC regional golf tournaments today up at La Purisima golf course in Lompoc!

The men's team beat Univ. San Diego by 5 strokes, and the #4 NATIONALLY ranked women's team DESTROYED the University of San Francisco by a whopping 21 strokes.

The women's team will next compete at the NCAA regionals on May 10, and the men's team returns to action a week later on May 17.

Go get 'em WAVES!!!

Artan of the week - April 12, 2007

2007-04-12T02:06:00.000-07:00

So, it's LIGHTHOUSE time again, huh???

Time to head to the coast at Harbour Town in South Carolina.

My money's on Jim Furyk winning this one - this course seems to suit his eye, and he's usually in the hunt, and I think he's due...but wait, this is Davis Love III's home...could it be that being at home could help elevate DL III's game back to championship form???

Without further ado, the South Carolina Artan....customized for this year's tournament...

The importance of tartan over time...

2007-04-11T06:31:00.000-07:00

A big shout out to my golf-blogging buddy and neighbor, Rich at EatGolf, who sent me this link...

Apparently, the first color picture ever taken (back in the 1860's), was of this tartan ribbon...
You can get your own tartan ribbon (for under your golf grip), except now they can be PERSONALIZED, and the colors are brighter and the resolution is better, too...

Easter Golf news

2007-04-09T00:47:00.000-07:00

After attending a local sunrise service, and heading out to an early breakfast out with Mom, Cheri and I headed over to Elkins Ranch Golf Course with our favorite other golf couple.

I wanted to go to Elkins because the citrus blossoms are in bloom right now, and I enjoy their scent immensely. Elkins is also a fun, friendly little course that is located smack in the midst of citrus groves on three sides, and mountains on the fourth. It's quite far out away from civilization, and it's a nice getaway that's still pretty close by....

Elkins is located in Fillmore, California, which is a town that is in the midst of changing from mostly agricultural, to suburban residential, which is kinda sad, because once all those groves are plowed under, where will we get our oranges and lemons???

For the time-being though, a trip to Elkins is like a trip back to the '60's, when the course was first built. My favorite hole on the entire course is #18, which is a dogleg right into a large amphitheater green that is framed with large pine trees on the left and center, and the snack shack/bar/bar-b-cue patio on the right....it's a funky reminder of days gone by, and you can almost imagine the horn-rimmed and cat's-eye glasses on the people that played golf there when the course opened in the early 60's...and the HAMBURGERS are LEGENDARY - we joke that it's probably because the grill hasn't been cleaned thoroughly since the Eisenhower administration, but there's SOMETHING there that makes them taste EXTRA good....

The day was cloudy, and cooler than normal, and a bit of a breeze kept everyone bundled up in sweatshirts and jackets, but the citrus blossoms did their thing, and EVERYONE shot REALLY well...we had a bit of trouble with their fuzzy greens from poa annua, and all of us left SEVERAL putts short of their intended destination, and pumped up the scores, but I ended up with a legitimate 87, and edged Cheri out by 1 stroke, but she was playing from the forward tees, and I was playing from the blues...

We had a great day, and Cheri was just LAUNCHING her drives...her tempo was nice and slow, and she was just BOMBING the ball off the tee...we measured one drive at 276 yards on a flat fairway!!! How you ask???

Our playing partners brought along one of those new SkyCaddie GPS devices!!! Now, I'll be first to admit that when I saw them advertised by Pete 'n Nat on the Golf Infomercial Channel, I thought they were a joke, being the traditional purist that I am...sorta...

After being out on the course with friends that actually HAVE one of the little babies, and knowing exactly how far out from the green we are, and hitting DARTS into the green...I want one....(more confessions...sheesh) I STILL think they're too expensive, but if you have the disposable income, they are COOL! We had access to the high-end model, the SG4, and they had downloaded all of the coordinates from the website, and we new EXACTLY how many yards INTO the pin, and how many yards OUT from the tee-box we were, and we were able to measure EXACTLY how many yards out Cheri had launched her Callaway Big Bertha Red golf ball....it was pretty FUN, actually...

Confessions...and tips

2007-04-09T00:13:00.000-07:00

They say that confession is good for the soul, so here goes...

I sold out....I caved...I'm weak, and spineless and I lied to you all......

There, I said it....

Yep, I sold out...after last month's rant about Top-Flite's new testosterone-laden pokes at stereotypical male ego-insecurities and the new Top-Flite D2's ability to make us "man up"...I caved and bought a box..... (he said sheepishly, nervously toeing the ground while looking down...biting his lower lip nervously....)

I want to test 'em out (more on that later when they get here)...I USED to use Top-Flite balls back when Lee Trevino was happily shilling for them big-time, and I was a little kid, dependent upon lawn-mowing, car washing and baby-sitting earnings to buy big boxes at Penney's...After I got a bit more experienced, I began to hate them and FULLY understood where the "Rock-Flite" moniker came from... (You know that feeling you get from a wood baseball bat when you foul one off??? That STINGING feeling in your hands??? BINGO!)

Now that the fine folks at Callaway Golf have taken over Top-Flite, my curiousity got the better of me, and I ordered a box from Golfballs.com.

(Note to Carlsbad - I still PERSONALLY think that your marketing campaign SUCKS, but after seeing some of the knuckle-draggers that I saw "talking smack" to one another so loudly that a mostly-deaf 96 year-old grandfather could hear them outside the snack shack at Elkins Ranch Golf Course today, it's probably going to resonate with THOSE apes, and you'll probably successfully resuscitate the brand, kick-start sales, drive profits and therefore increase my stock price, so I'm with you on this one for now....grudgingly....)

Now, my sell-out wasn't COMPLETELY a sign of weakness on my part; it was also an ADVERTISING opportunity, and an opportunity to help get the word out about a TOTALLY COOL, relatively NEW feature that my buds at Golfballs.com have recently released...what, you ask???

DESIGNER GOLF BALLS !!!! (Trumpet fanfare, please?!)

Don't ask me HOW they do it, but they have a process where you can submit YOUR OWN .JPEG, .JPG, .GIF and .BMP files, and Golfballs.com will PRINT YOUR DESIGN on your golf balls!!! NO MINIMUM either - you can do this on ONE BOX of golf balls...sure, it costs a few bucks extra, but WHAT A GREAT IDEA!!! (What a great GIFT item!!! What a great ADVERTISING idea!!!)

I've had the TartanGolfGrips.com logo imprinted on SEVERAL boxes of golf balls, and while I STILL feel a sense of frustration at shanking a golf ball into the weeds, it removes a LITTLE bit of the sting knowing that my errant projectile has now become a latent advertising vehicle, waiting to introduce its savior to the joys of TartanGolfGrips.com !

The only downside I can see is if you launch one into someone's yard or onto their roof, but still!!!! (And I don't do that anymore...much...)

Pinehurst blogs

2007-04-09T00:10:00.000-07:00

While at the barber shop on Saturday, I was reading an article in GolfWorld: Turns out that Pinehurst No. 2 has TWO blogs going, here and here...

The article states " CELEBRATING: Beginning this month, the 100th anniversary of the the No. 2 course at Pinehurst (NC) Resort. Guests playing the Donald Ross course (#19 on the Golf Digest's America's 100 Greatest Courses list) this milestone season will receive a commemorative gift and add their names to an archival registry.
Pinehurst's clubhouse, the Tufts Archives and the North Carolina Museum of History will note No. 2's evolution with historic displays, and Pinehurst has started a blog (http://pinehurst2.blogspot.com) for anyone who has played the course and has a story to tell."

Right now, it looks like the word hasn't really gotten out yet, but I thought I'd do my part to help drive site traffic....

Anybody ever played there????

Seeing Lorena in a whole new light

2007-04-08T23:45:00.000-07:00

I was reading LPGA.com over the weekend, and saw the article announcing Tiger, Jay Haas and Lorena receiving their 2006 "Player of the Year" awards at the Golf Writer's Association of American (GWAA) awards dinner on April 4. (Jay and Lorena both use the same putter grips as those used in Tartan Golf Grips, by the way - we've tried to get Tiger to get with the program, but he seems to be pretty set in his ways...but I digress).

Now, I don't want this to be a rehash of what you get at Golfbabes, but I'm seeing Lorena in a whole new light now....muy caliente!!!

Add this to the "You KNOW that you're a GOLFER when:" file...when Farmer/Golf tans on attractive women only ADD to their sexiness, and glow-in-the-dark untanned feet are an ATTRACTANT, not a repellent...

I knew she was CUTE on the golf course, but....whoa....HELLO, Lorena!!! =P
(With comments like that, maybe I AM a man-pig candidate for a box of Top-Flite D2's....oink...)

The Masters Artan of the week - April 5, 2007

2007-04-05T00:14:00.000-07:00

This is an appropriate milestone - this post represents my 100th blog posting, and it's being done to present you with the 2007 Masters Tournament Artan(TM) of the week.

As everyone knows, the Masters Tournament (Or "Toonamint" (Hootie's pronunciation, not mine)) is played at Augusta National Golf Course, in Augusta, Georgia.

This is the State of Georgia tartan, personalized with AUGUSTA 2007.

The official description of the Georgia State District tartan is: " The tartan commemorates the founding of the State of Georgia and combines elements in the design associated with its historic past. General Oglethorpe commanded the Highland Independent Company of Foot which, in 1746, wore the Black Watch tartan. Captain John 'Mohr' MacIntosh is remembered in the MacIntosh red. Georgia tartan is much in evidence at the annual Stone Mountain Highland Games held in Atlanta, Georgia's capital."

As an extra added treat, Masters.org is going to stream live video action from Amen Corner...worker productivity takes a dip for the next two days...

Master's History

2007-04-04T11:36:00.000-07:00

Just read an interesting piece that says that this Sunday's Masters telecast will have a very special lead-in...

I got an e-mail from Golf Wisdom at Fairways of Life that quotes a letter from Steve Cohen, President of the Shivas Irons Society (which I just signed up for last weekend, by the way)...

I can't paraphrase the content and do it justice, so here it is:

It's Masters Week and GOLF is in the air...
Subject: Important news about this Sunday

Golf is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated; it satisfies the soul and frustrates the intellect. It is at the same time rewarding and maddening -- and it is without a doubt the greatest game mankind has ever invented.-- Arnold Palmer

. . . I can already tell you that Masters Sunday will be special. I know this because it's going to begin with Arnold Palmer winning the Masters. The 1960 Masters, that is. “I wanted two generations to see what the magic was all about,” said CBS golf commentator Jim Nantz, the man who made this resurrection possible.

We'll be able to re-live the '60 Masters, one of the more exciting finishes in history, because Nantz pried the original broadcast footage loose from the Augusta National vault, went to the incredible time and expense of having it colorized, and turned it into a one-hour show that CBS will air as the lead-in to its Sunday final-round Masters coverage.

This is footage that has never been aired since its original broadcast. The best part is, it's not presented in a highlight package with talking heads. It's shown as if it was a live telecast, featuring host Jim McKay (who left CBS later to join some upstart show known as ABC's Wide World of Sports -- wonder what ever became of him?) with coverage of the last four holes.

I watched a screening of the finished product and offer this advice: Don't miss it. The 1960 Masters had it all. A classic Arnold Palmer charge and Ken Venturi's agony of defeat. The old guard -- Hogan and Snead -- and a young gun -- some amateur named Nicklaus. There was a minor rules controversy. There was an innovative new scoring system for television invented by CBS director Frank Chirkinian. And there was the great man himself, Bobby Jones, the legendary founder of Augusta National and the Masters Tournament, holding court as the host of cabin festivities.

This show is a slice of golf history and a classic piece of broadcast history. If you hate goose bumps or nostalgia, don't watch. This show, a labor of love for Nantz, is one “Wow!” after another.

Here's a short list of reasons to watch:
The gaffe that almost cost Palmer the Masters. I had read about, but never before seen the incident at the 16th hole. Palmer is one stroke behind Venturi, who has already finished. At the par-3 16th, he's got a 30-foot uphill putt to a back pin placement. He chose to leave the pin in when he putted -- yeah, that was still legal then. He rolled a superb putt that was dead-center but hit the pin flush and kicked out six inches. Watching the footage, I'd rate it a 90 percent chance that without the pin, Arnie's putt is in. You can see from his reaction that he realizes his tactic backfired and just might cost him the Masters.

Arnold Palmer at 30 is a lot like Tiger Woods. He bashes the ball amazing distances and putts like a genius. At the 17th, Arnie's got a 20-foot uphill birdie putt. It looks as if he's left it short but the ball rolls out and barely topples in while announcer Jim McArthur makes a Verne Lundquist-type call: “It's up and up and up and up .. and in!” Palmer half runs, half dances to the cup to pull out the ball, like Tiger after that putt at Valhalla only without the finger-pointing.

At 18, Palmer stiffs his 5-iron approach, spinning behind the hole and stopping it about five feet away. He makes the putt, of course, for the win.

More about Arnie. He is repeatedly seen puffing like a chimney with a cigarette dangling from his mouth. It looked cool in 1960, now it makes you cringe. Palmer was paired with Billy Casper, who played first from the 18th fairway and hit a shot to three feet. Before Palmer hit, Casper walked over and said something encouraging, like knock it close. Can you imagine Tiger doing that to, say, Chris DiMarco?

On the green, Palmer let Casper putt out first while he walked over just off the green and -- I'm not kidding, you'll see it on the video -- spread out on the grass.. Ken Venturi comes through. Venturi makes a clutch par on the 18th to finish at five under par. When he taps in a testy two-footer, he holds his pose and pauses for a moment because he thought he had finally captured his Holy Grail, the Masters.

“Old” Ben Hogan. Hogan is seen playing to the 18th green, a pretty good shot. McKay refers to him as “old Ben Hogan” because he's the ancient age of 47. Unfortunately, CBS never shows him putting out.

The scoring flap. McKay earns bonus points for bringing up a scoring issue regarding Dow Finsterwald, who was paired with Venturi in the final round and in the thick of contention. Finsterwald dropped a ball and hit some practice putts after putting out on a green during the first round, an error he confessed to the next day. Instead of being disqualified for signing for an incorrect score, as he would be today, Masters officials assessed him a two-shot penalty and let him finish the tournament, which he nearly won.

Two for the show. Groups weren't paired Sunday by score. So there were six pairings behind Palmer. The next group was Sam Snead and amateur Jack Nicklaus. Snead holes a 40-foot putt from the fringe. Then Nicklaus walks by the camera and McKay introduces him to viewers as the national amateur champion from Columbus, Ohio, and says he's been told this kid “has a great future.” The myth about Nicklaus always making his putt on the 18th green? He sinks an 18-footer for birdie here, too.

Pass the hedgeclippers. Augusta National looks surprisingly mangy compared to the way it's maintained now. Even on shots from the fairway, you wonder, “Didn't they mow the grass?” The areas around the bunkers were intentionally left rough and uncut, a very different look from the sharp-edged, perfectly manicured conditions today. The greens were still Bermuda grass and much, much slower.

Ken and Mr. Jones. The post-round ceremony held in the cabin is presided over by Jones and you get to enjoy his thick Southern drawl. He actually isn't bad, much less stilted than some of his predecessors who froze up on camera, like Hord Hardin and Jack Stephens. Jones calls Venturi's effort “lion-hearted” and both Palmer and Venturi get to say a few emotional words.

Six under. Chirkinian, who went on to direct 38 Masters telecasts for CBS, devised a new scoring system to keep track of what was going on in the past. Previously, the scoring was aggregate. So someone would finish at 279 and a player on the course would be said to be at 258 and you'd have to do the math in your head. Chirkinian came up with the score in relation to par -- plus or minus -- and it quickly became the game's standard. CBS also devised rudimentary graphics showing the scores.

Don't tell Ted Turner. The colorizing, which had never been done to a sports telecast before, was remarkable. I thought it would've been fine in black and white but the show opens with black and white footage and then Nantz announces the colorization and when the screen changes from gray to green and Augusta's colors come to life, it's a true goose-bump moment.

Nantz showed the telecast to Palmer and Chirkinian in December and said both men were pretty emotional watching it again. Nantz brought cameras to film Arnie's reaction and interviews the obviously choked-up Arnie at the end. In February, Nantz premiered the finished product at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles. Bel-Air members attended, along with Palmer and Venturi, who is recovering from heart bypass surgery. Palmer and Nantz met with reporters the next day to discuss the telecast.
“I can't tell you how important it is what Jim has done here,” Palmer said. “We really had one of the great evenings of all time.”

Nantz said the project came about when he was being wooed by another network. In a meeting with CBS president Les Moonves, he was asked what else he wanted. Nantz pitched him his idea about doing a show leading into the final-round Masters telecast, and what he wanted to do with the show, which was resurrect footage from Augusta National's archives. “Do it,” said Moonves.
Nantz hopes to do a whole series of similar flashback shows. He kicked it off last year with a one-hour review of the 1986 Masters won by Nicklaus.

Next year, he's planning to feature one of Gary Player's wins. This April, however, the spotlight belongs to Palmer. And plenty of good seats are still available...

Make sure the recording device of your choice is ready to roll...

New greenskeeper at St. Andrews Old Course

2007-04-02T11:10:00.000-07:00

New head greenkeeper for the Old Course

Gordon McKie has been appointed head greenkeeper at the world famous Old Course at St. Andrews.

Mr. McKie, who has been head greenkeeper at the New Course for two years, will take up one of the most prestigious roles in golf next month. His immediate task will be to continue the preparations on the venerable links for the staging of the Women's British Open in August and further ahead the Curtis Cup next year and The Open Championship in 2010.

Gordon takes over from Euan Grant who is moving on to a similar role at a new development in the Mull of Kintyre after three years at the Old Course.

Having worked for St Andrews Links Trust for 12 years, Gordon said he was very proud to be taking over at the Old Course. "It is a privilege to work on the most famous course in the world," he said. "The history and tradition surrounding the Old Course makes it unique and it is continually under the glare of the international media spotlight. I am very much looking forward to maintaining the exceptionally high standard of the course and ensuring it continues to set the benchmark for links courses around the world."

Alan McGregor, general manager of St Andrews Links Trust, welcomed the appointment which comes ahead of an extremely busy tournament schedule at the Home of Golf. "There is no doubt this is one of the most challenging and demanding greenkeeping roles in golf and in Gordon I am confident that we have someone who is more than up to the task. With his skills and experience of working at St Andrews Links over the years and at previous Open championships, I am sure he will relish the challenge "Gordon will work closely with the Links Superintendent Gordon Moir and the greenkeeping team on preparing the Old Course for the upcoming major championships. I would also like to thank Euan Grant for the substantial contribution he has made over the last five years and wish him all the best in his new position."

Born in Glasgow and brought up in Tain, Ross-shire, Gordon began his career with an apprenticeship at Tain Golf Club. He studied at Elmwood College and became deputy head greenkeeper at Tain in 1989. He joined St Andrews Links Trust in December 1995 as deputy head greenkeeper of the Eden Course. Five years later he became head greenkeeper before moving to the New Course as head greenkeeper in January 2005. Gordon is married to Susan and has one son, five-year old Ross.

Charity scramble golf tournament in Texas-May 11, 2007

2007-04-01T11:50:00.000-07:00

Hey, all you Texas golfers, and blog readers who can travel to Fort Worth Texas!!! (South Fort Worth, to be exact...)

Mark your calendars for Friday, May 11, 2007, because there's going to be a scramble-style golf tournament to help raise funds for Duramed Futures Tour player D'Rae Ward, in her quest to continue playing on the Duramed Futures Tour. The tournament will be at Glen Garden Golf and Country Club, a place that describes itself as "Home of Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson and Sandra Palmer". Pretty impressive company, for sure!

D'Rae's a good player, and has made both cuts in both tournaments thus far on the 2007 Futures Tour. Her 2007 season scoring average has been 73.5, and she needs some financial assistance to help keep her playing on Tour.

D'Rae first came across MY radar scopes when I learned of her eBay sponsorship efforts. Impressed by her creativity, energy and creativity, I decided to help her out by designating ALL County Donegal Artans to play a significant role in helping her defray her Tour costs.

It would be a shame if her talents weren't encouraged due to a lack of funds...if you can help out, please check out D'Rae's website, and help out in any way that you can...

We golfers are a giving group, and if you're impressed with this young woman's creativity, determination and initiative, and we all chip in (figuratively), who knows how much good we can do??? It's worth a shot...(pardon the pun...)

Jason Gore without an equipment sponsorship deal?

2007-03-31T20:39:00.000-07:00

I've got to admit, I am still surprised that Jason Gore, one of THE most engaging and popular personalities on the PGA Tour is STILL without an equipment sponsor?

I had the good fortune of happening to be on the same flight from Phoenix into Burbank a couple of years ago when Jason had won his third Nationwide Tour event, earning his "battlefield exemption" onto the PGA Tour...

I recognized the same red wristband that he had been wearing that season from his adventure at the 2005 U.S. Open, and the big grin on his face as he weaved his way down the aisle of the America West flight confirmed that it was indeed him...even though he finished the final round of the Open with an 84, the way that he captivated all of us golf fans continued to resonate with me far beyond the finish of that tournament, and I was THRILLED at the prospect of actually getting to meet him and talk to him.

I scurried down to the baggage claim carousels, and again encountered Jason as we both went to reclaim our golf clubs, swallowed hard and walked up to him, extending my hand as I congratulated him on his achievement.

He was genuinely nice, genuinely appreciative of being recognized, funny, pleasant - and I sesnsed a genuine warmth emanating from him that led me to conclude that this is a good man...a solid man, with his feet planted firmly on the ground. (A man that can drive a golf ball well over 300 yards, his feet are so firmly planted on the ground...)

A couple of months later, he won his first PGA Tournament at the 84 Lumber Classic, and I figured that his star was on the ascent. (The irony of his "blowup" 84 at the US Open, followed by his first PGA Tour win at the 84 Lumber Classic was NOT lost on me...)

However, golf is a fickle mistress, and she has turned her back on Jason for awhile, but this weekend, recently freed from his association with Nike (see below) , and pumped up from a meeting with HIS idol (Roger Clemens - more below) the magic is back, and he's in the hunt at the Shell Houston Open...wearing a Houston Astros baseball cap, and a blank golf bag...again, an "everyman" who we weekend warriors can admire and empathize with.

SO: Today''s question - what golf club equipment manufacturer can you see Jason Gore affiliating with???

Call me strange, but I sort of associate golf club manufacturers with certain personality types... Here's how I perceive certain manufacturers:

Titleist: Accomplished, aloof, somewhat arrogant, country clubbers..."David Simms", the cocky, self-assured pro who played against "Roy McAvoy" in "Tin Cup" probably played Titleist...
Callaway: Technical, friendly, approachable, fun-loving...Callaway is the Labrador Retriever of golf club manufacturers...
PING: Easy-going, casual, nice, friendly, approachable...PING is the GOLDEN Retriever of golf club manufacturers...
Mizuno: Quirky, exotic, aloof, moody...Catherine Trammell, played by Sharon Stone in "Basic Instinct" would have played Mizuno...
Nike: Garrulous, frat-boy, gets by on reputation and who they hang around with...relies upon their reputation, not by their performance...in the corporate world, AKA "empty suit", in Texas, "all hat, no cattle"...sorry, I LOVE your shoes, your clothes, but your golf equipment just strikes me as somehow inferior, and not as well done as your OTHER product lines...
Cleveland: Who? Oh yeah, the golf club company that's owned by a surf-clothing company (ZQK) ...the lead designer and namesake now designs for CALLAWAY!!!
Srixon: WHO???
TaylorMade: Technical, brainy, a bit aloof...TaylorMade is the German Shepherd of golf club manufacturers...
Adams Golf: See PING
Cobra Golf: The class clown, can deliver when they need to, but jokes their way around...Cobra is the Jack Russell Terrier of golf club manufacturers...
MacGregor: Was good once upon a time...trying to get the magic back...
Wilson: See above

From that frame of reference, I can see the following companies affiliating with Jason, especially if he places well this weekend:
1) Adams - They've been making a push into the long-hitters, signing Brittany Lincicome - I could see them making a pitch for Jason if they have the budget.
2) TaylorMade - They seem to have EVERYONE under contract...
3) Cobra - Jason's a funny guy - I could see Cobra doing commercials with David Feherty and Jason VERY, VERY easily - Cobra's also playing up their bomber image, and Jason can bring it...
4) Callaway - My sentimental favorite, but they seem to have a thoroughbred mentality, where they only sign the top five players on any given Tour.
5) PING - The personalities are well-aligned, but PING doesn't do much sponsorship activity...the fit would be natural though...

Since newspapers often remove content after a brief period, I found these two articles to be really good representations of Jason, and where he's at right now.

The first one is by Richard Justice, courtesy of the Houston Chronicle:

March 31, 2007, 12:57AM
Any group of duffers would welcome Gore

By RICHARD JUSTICE
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

Jason Gore represents just about everything we love about sports, and that may be why fans still cheer for him and care about him and let him know he's special.

"Maybe they feel sorry for me," he said.

It's impossible to feel sorry for someone who makes you feel so good, who represents so many of your hopes and dreams.

No matter what he accomplishes in his golf life, Gore always will be remembered for one improbable weekend at the 2005 U.S. Open.

That's the weekend he almost did the impossible. He was the everyman hacker who went head-to-head with the best golfers and one of the toughest courses and never flinched.

Well, almost. By Sunday afternoon, he was in a place he never expected to be. That he fell apart and shot 84 on that final day makes the story even sweeter on some level.

When the world finally began paying attention, when they hoped against hope that this guy would do what no one thought he could do, he blinked.

Don't feel sorry for Gore because his story didn't end there. He took that one amazing weekend and shaped a career from it. He won his first and only PGA Tour event a few weeks later. He won three times on the Nationwide Tour that summer.

Let's be clear about what Gore is and isn't. He's not a star. Probably won't ever be.

He has finished in the top 25 just 10 times. His $2 million career earnings is haircut money for some. He entered this week's Shell Houston Open ranked 201st in the world, having missed the cut in six of his seven tournaments this year.

He has changed clubs and coaches, changed his golf ball, too. And for a couple of days this week, it has again worked the way it's supposed to. He shot 68 on Friday for a two-day total of 138, good enough to get him in a six-way tie for first.

He saved his round on No. 11 by hitting a bunker shot into the hole. He sank long birdie putts on the next two holes and was off and running.

He finished the day with a 12-foot birdie putt on No. 18. Afterward, he was asked the usual questions about why he'd finally hit on something that had been working.

"Besides the fact I changed 14 clubs and a golf ball?" Gore said. "I finally just had a couple of weeks off to go home and play a lot of golf and get comfortable with my equipment again."

When someone asked about his putting stats, he smiled.

"It's sad, isn't it?" he said. "I know I'm a streaky putter, but when you're having 50-, 60-footers all day, it's tough to gauge yourself. I just haven't hit my irons close all year."

Another thing that might make him appealing to fans is the simplicity with which he approaches the game. He jokes that if he writes an instructional book, it'll be simple enough for anyone to understand.

"It's going to be a bestseller," he said.

For instance, how do you hit a hook?

"I don't know. Aim right."

Gore's career has had so many highs and lows and so few stretches of consistency that he said: "I think Magic Mountain is going to name a roller coaster after me."

He said that weekend at Pinehurst in 2005 changed more than the way people look at him. It changed the way he looked at himself.

He vaulted into contention with a third-round 67 and was paired with Retief Goosen for the final round. And then it all got away from him.

"This is the first time in my life I actually realized that I can play at this level," Gore said of that weekend. "You always have these doubts and stuff like that because I hadn't done anything. You never kind of get over that slope, and that's really what it was. I competed against the best players in the world on a great golf course and was beating them."

He says it seems surreal all these years later, but he remembers the feeling of people cheering his name and wishing him well as he went around the course.

What he never has lost is his love for the game. He was one of the few golfers wearing a shirt without a single logo. He won't be at the Masters next weekend.

That underdog status, that everyman quality, surely is part of his appeal.

"Maybe it's just because I actually do enjoy playing golf," Gore said, "and I struggle just like everybody else. Nothing was ever handed to me. I just love what I do. This is everything I dreamed of."

richard.justice@chron.com

And this article from Mealnie Hauser at PGATOUR.com also captured Jason well:

Gore heeding Rocket's advice to be TAD

Mar. 30, 2007

By Melanie Hauser
PGATOUR.com Contributor

HUMBLE, Texas -- He's so not technical.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

JASON GORE THRU 36 HOLES

Stat	Rd. 1	Rd. 2	Total	Rank
Eagles	0	0	0	N/A
Birdies	2	5	7	T28
Pars	16	12	28	T9
Bogeys	0	1	1	T75
Double Bogeys	0	0	0	N/A
Other	0	0	0	N/A
Driving Accuracy	64%	43%	53.6%	T56
Driving Distance	319.0 yds.	320.5 yds.	319.8 yds.	3
Greens in Regulation	83%	83%	83.3%	T5
Putts per Round	31	28	29.5	T33
Putts per GIR	1.867	1.667	1.767	27
Sand Saves	100%	67%	80.0%	T8

Couldn't tell you how to hit a hook to save his life. Just aim right.

Knows what loft and lie are, but that's about it. Want specifics? See the guys in the equipment trucks. Thank goodness for them. They're lifesavers.

Want to know if he's playing the right club and ball? Just watch. Does it go straight?

And once you hit a shot? He's just a spectator like everyone else. Might as well have bought a ticket. Crazy crap -- his words -- happens.

Jason Gore doesn't reach. For answers. For great sound bites. Or for perfection.

He's comfy, thank you so much, in his own skin. And he's come to terms with the fact that, along with this so-not-technical thing, he's never going to be a perfect 10 like his old junior and college golf buddy Tiger either.

And that has nothing to do with his 52-inch chest or short arms.

More like his amazing highs and so-so lows, his streaky putting and his slow starts on the west coast. They're just part of his life.

His pro career started on a low note when, on the day he was to play in his first tournament, he woke up to his mother's screams. His dad had died of a heart attack. Fast forward to the U.S. Open at Pinehurst where he burst onto the scene, made it into Sunday's final pairing and closed with 84. Three months later, he won his lone PGA TOUR tournament -- the 84 Lumber Classic. Symmetry anyone?

And then there's this year, which went from a T65 at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic to five missed cuts and a W/D. And now?

A second-round 68 has him in contention at the Shell Houston Open where he was tied for the lead midway through Friday's round.

"Want to put these shoes on?'' he laughed when someone asked about his EKG strip of a career. "I think Magic Mountain is going to name a roller coaster after me.'' (Magic Mountain is a popular amusement park in Jason's hometown of Valencia, CA)

And as for those slow starts? "I'm the only guy who lives in Southern California who can't read poa anna greens,'' he chuckled. "... And, you know a man of my stature is what I'll say, shouldn't like the heat and humidity. For some reason I play better in it.''

Right now, he's playing just fine in the wind and humidity here in the Bayou City area. He's also doing just fine with his "clubs du jour" -- a mixed bag he's assembled since splitting with Nike a month ago. He's gone back to an old Titleist Pro V1-X, tossed in a Cobra driver, Cobra irons and a 3-wood and rescue club from TaylorMade.

How did he come up with that combination?
I threw every set to the bottom of the lake. Whichever one floated. '' he smiled. "...You know, being out here you have the opportunity to hit a lot of stuff and a lot of stuff is thrown in your face. I just picked a set that just visually looked good to me. And they happened to work pretty well.''

He paused. "I mean so far. It's been two days.''

Two days, we might add of birdies. And not 60 foot bombs. The close kind. Like his 7-iron to eight inches at the fifth hole. "I'm 6-for-10 from that range,'' he said.

The old/new golf ball is helping. When he was with Nike, he was playing the same ball Tiger does, but it wasn't for him. "The ball didn't fit me,'' he said. "I'm not saying it's a bad product or anything like that. It's a great product. The best player in the world uses it. It just didn't work for me.''

So is a change back to his old swing coach Mike Miller. "I wanted him to slap me pretty hard. It was just one of those things. I was trying to do something that I'm not physically able to do,'' he said. "This is the way I swing. This is it. Just get some of the bugs out of it... I think I'm a pretty good ball striker. When I try to be something I'm not, it just starts to throw another problem in the hole.''

This week, Gore is taking things as they come. His hero-turned-friend Roger Clemens dropped by and tucked an Astros cap and some shirts in his locker. He's sporting the cap this week and Clemens' motto -- Tough All Day or TAD. That's what Gore has written on his golf ball this week.

There's a signed Clemens jersey from his Boston days on Gore's wall and, well, when the two met two years ago at the ADT Skills challenge... "I don't get star-struck, but that was Roger Clemens. I was freaked out,'' he smiled. "I'm a pretty big guy, but he's a monster.''

The two email back and forth and Clemens dropped by this week with the cap and TAD shirts.

And no, Gore doesn't know what decision he'll make about one more season. "I don't think his wife knows.''

Gore is nothing, if not genuine. He can laugh at losing 20 pounds in the off-season, working hard and coming out and stinking up the early season. He's honest when he says that final round at Pinehurst was a blur. He admits there was a time when doubts crept in.

But Pinehurst changed all that. The media, the competition and being in the final group with former Open champ Retief Goosen.

"It was one of those things as a professional golfer, that's our drug. That's our addiction to get into that mode and be so nervous that you can't see straight and hit something and feel that... I can't even describe.''

This may not be the U.S. Open, but it's Gore's next chance to get that feeling. To jump into the weekend mix. To give himself a chance -- for the first time since last fall's Southern Farm Bureau Classic.

He's got the swing going. Now, if the putter will behave.

"My putter has got a mind of its own sometimes, but it doesn't mean I'm a bad putter," he said. "I didn't make a lot of putts yesterday, but I hit a lot of good ones. It's golf. It's outside. It's on the grass. These things aren't suitable for scoring, you know... If we're on a pool table, I can make putts all day.''

Not the best answer, he said. But all he had.

And now, after putting in the hard work for the last five weeks, he'll see if this week might just belong to him.

"We always have that glimmer of hope that this could be our week. One person is going to walk away being the 2007 Shell Houston Open winner and you sit in your room and lie in bed and think, 'Why can't that be me?'"

Maybe this week, it will be.

We're pulling for ya, big guy! I hope that you play your very best golf today, and that you can move up big time on that leaderboard...maybe WIN this thing!

And hopefully, the golf equipment manufacturers will hitch their wagon to YOUR star, and BOTH of you will prosper together....

Artan of the week - March 29, 2007

2007-03-30T16:23:00.000-07:00

This week's Artan(TM) of the Week LITERALLY brought tears to my eyes...and it's a very special Artan...for two very special friends, who I haven't even met in person...but I'm honored to have met them in this grand adventure, and my life has been enriched as a result...

It commemorates the special bond that exists between one of my fellow golf bloggers, "The GolfChick" and her beloved companion, Kess.

My words cannot do the depth of this relationship justice, but Kristen has done an amazing job in a YouTube photo/video montage...(keep a kleenex handy, you've been warned...). I understand this bond, because I have a similar one with Rusti, a husky/collie mix that came into MY life in June 1995, and left it last September...

All I can say is, Kessy was lucky to have had YOU in her life, Kristen, and you in hers...she's a beautiful girl, and you can just SENSE the warmth and intelligence in her eyes...

It could NEVER be long enough...
In Kess' honor, I've decided that 12% of every MacKessock Artan(TM) sold at TartanGolfGrips.com will be donated to the UC Davis Companion Animal Veterinary Research fund, to help find cures to the ailments that affect our fur-people, and improve their quality and length of life...

Congratulaciones, Lorena!

2007-03-26T07:55:00.000-07:00

Lorena notched win #10 yesterday! I believe that she has taken the consistency crown from Annika, and her steady play put the pressure on Suzanne Pettersen yesterday, causing Suzanne to miss a few putts, which gave Lorena the win at the Safeway International LPGA Tournament.

After giving up a four-stroke lead, Lorena kept her foot on the gas pedal, birdieing four of the last five holes to cruise past Pettersen for a two-stroke win.

If you want your very own version of the putter grip that Lorena uses while winning all of these tournaments, you can either visit MexicoPutterGrip.com, or go straight to the secure shopping cart to purchase it directly.

Also, congratulations to amateur Taylor Karle, who played exceptionally well in the tournament, and will be attending Pepperdine University shortly. We are excited to have you on the Waves' ladies golf team!

While we're talking about PUTTERS...

2007-03-25T17:10:00.000-07:00

Since we're talking about PUTTERS...there's some news on the putter front...

I saw an article in the Golf Business Wire where Yes! putters will be launching an advertising campaign shortly to "increase brand awareness amongst avid golfers"...

I own several of these putters, and I LIKE them...I think there IS something to the C-groove technology (similar to that two-bar thingy) that does help impart top-spin off the putter face, and the machining on the putter heads is pure artwork...

I also noticed that Odyssey Putters have recently introduced the "Black" line of putters. These babies are GOOD looking...I also saw a segment on them on the Golf Channel yesterday, during the Tech Talk mini-infomercial. The putters look somewhat similar to my Callaway Tour Blue putter that was discontinued a couple of years ago (why, I don't know - it's an AWESOME putter!), and I need to get to the golf shop to test these babies out!

Golf ball ads

2007-03-25T08:05:00.000-07:00

So it's Springtime, and all the golf ball manufacturers are tempting us to get back out on the course and try their new wares out, and to do so, they come up with THESE ingenious marketing campaigns:

1) Slazenger's new ad for the RAW golf ball featuring Steve Whatshisname from "The Sopranos" and a black panther named "Scratch" in a meat locker. (Apparently these ads have been out since January 4, but I only saw it for the first time last week...)
2) Top-Flite's new D2 line of golf balls, where they constantly tell you to "man up" and use the new dimple-in-dimple technology so you don't have to lay up any longer...

My response? What are these marketing people THINKING???

1) First of all - with the Slazenger ad - if this guy is so good, why is he back buying more golf balls "already"? Did he knock them out of round, or are they lost in the woods?
Neither is a very attractive option, and neither is having bloody balls at the end of the round, er commercial... I WILL give them credit for naming the Slazenger panther "Scratch"(which is clever), but the blood spattered ball at the end of the commercial just doesn't do it for me...sorry....is that supposed to APPEAL to men? I can't imagine it appealing to women....

2) In a similar testosterone-soaked light, does Top-Flite think that ordering me to "man up" will threaten my supposedly fragile male ego? Will using their golf balls give me newfound confidence that I have been missing up to this point? (Are we selling golf equipment, or E.D. treatments? But I digress...)

It's kinda funny - if you enlarge the image - they are OBVIOUSLY taking the macho-man marketing approach with phrases like "ATTACK THE FAIRWAYS", "SEIZE THE GREENS", "NO EXCUSES", "DISTANCE - FIRE AWAY" all over the box...(curious, no mention of "PILLAGE THE VILLAGE" or "MEN WILL FEAR YOU AND WOMEN WILL WANT YOU") and each box CONVENIENTLY comes with 15 balls in it, so you have a whole EXTRA sleeve of balls to shank out of bounds in your pursuit of that elusive 300 yard bomb off the tee!!! Check out the knuckle-dragging details at www.theballstogoforit.com - no girls allowed, though...{eyes rolling}, (oh, and if you're at work, turn DOWN your sound so your colleagues won't overhear the junior-high locker-room commentary, courtesy of Kenny Mayne....Kenny, Kenny, Kenny....there's even a "Wussipedia" section...)

Are they KIDDING?

While I've been writing this, I switched over to the Infomercial, er GOLF CHANNEL, and have been giggling at the two-bar putter commercial...I only have ONE question after seeing THIS marketing gem - Was the "Iron Archie" putting machine set up exactly the same way for the competition and the two-bar putter? Or, was the competition set up so that the point of impact was slightly back in the impact zone, thereby causing the ball to bounce and skid??? Nah, they wouldn't do that to us, would they??? More infomercials, er, programming like THIS and they're gonna have to change the channel's name to THE COMEDY CHANNEL...oh, yeah, that one's already taken...

Artan(TM) of the week-Mar 22, 2007

2007-03-22T23:35:00.000-07:00

I couldn't help myself {sorry} - but I was reading the March 24, 2007 edition of Golfweek, and noticed this excerpt from the "Watchdog" section:

"NBC reporter Bob Murphy on the 13th hole Saturday, which was St. Patrick's Day: "It's time to make Mediate an Irishman. Here's Roc O'Mediate.""

That got me to thinking - Mediate sounds Italian (Rocco sure does) - there's two Italian tartans - why not make up an Artan(TM) for Rocco to celebrate his newfound "Irish-ness"? (Plus, Rocco's one of my favorite PGA Tour players - he's a Callaway guy (like me), and he's one of the most colorful, fun, outgoing personalities on the PGA Tour. I hope his back is going to continue going strong, because it was FUN seeing him SERIOUSLY in the hunt at Mr. Palmer's soiree last weekend...

So here you go, Rocco - these are what your TartanGolfGrips.com grips could look like (without the TartanGolfGrips.com watermark, of course):

{Notice how both Artans(TM) incorporate the colors of the Italian flag? The one on the right is MORE pronounced, with a horizontal line of red/white/green against a darker background, whereas the one on the left is a bit lighter and more subdued...I think that BOTH are really attractive though, which reinforces my assertion that there really IS a tartan for almost EVERYONE!!!

(Just wait 'til I show you the ones for Japan, Korea, Holland, Spain and GERMANY! In that same spirit of globe-trotting, here is ANOTHER ITALIAN Artan(TM) created for the Wandering Golfer's GIA BOCRA:

New FLAG OF IRELAND design available

2007-03-22T07:47:00.000-07:00

This news is big - bigger than big!

Thanks in part to the popularity of the Mexico flag putter grip design used by the 2006 LPGA Player of the Year, the design team at C-Thru Grips(TM) has just released a similar design for the FLAG OF IRELAND!!!

TartanGolfGrips.com was proud to collaborate with the C-Thru design team and we are the first distributor to announce the availability of this design - we haven't even had time to update the shopping cart yet!

If you want one of these grips, please go to the secure shopping cart, select the grip style that you want, select the Countries_IRELAND option from the Design drop down list, and in the SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS section, type the words NEW IRELAND FLAG DESIGN. Or, you can send an e-mail to tartangrips at gmail dot com with your contact information (e-mail address and phone number), and we'll follow up with you.

At only $10.97 plus shipping and handling, these designs should be REALLY popular, so you can be one of the first people ANYWHERE to own one of these if you get your order in TODAY!

(This post replaces the Artan(TM) of the week for March 22, 2007 - just in time for Padraig Harrington to win the World Golf Championships - CA Championships at the famed "Blue Monster" at the Doral Golf Resort and Spa.)

More volunteer opportunities

2007-03-21T01:40:00.000-07:00

Well, it's official - I'll be working as a volunteer at the Lake Tahoe American Century Championship this July - I just got my e-mail notification and my volunteer package charge just cleared my credit card.

I was a little concerned that John Elway wasn't going to play this year's tournament, but on today's celebrity list, I noticed that he's now signed up.

Another pleasant surprise was the addition of Brandi Chastain...and Charles Barkley...

THIS is gonna be FUN!

Oh, and uh, Happy Spring Equinox everyone!

Tartan of the Week - March 15, 2007

2007-03-15T01:53:00.000-07:00

The Grip-A-Day promotion has been going REALLY well....keep those e-mails coming to freegrips at gmail dot com...there's still four days left in the combination birthday/St. Patrick's Day celebration promotion.

This being the Thursday before St. Patrick's Day, our latest winner COULDN'T be more Irish - this is the County Dublin Artan(TM) designed for Rick O'Bryant of Westlake Village, California (a neighbor), who selected the County Dublin tartan for a pistol putter grip! (This is the same design that was created for Padraig Harrington at last year's Target World Challenge, by the way...)

Happy St. Patrick's Day to Rick, and everyone!

A Grip-A-Day - our birthday gift to you

2007-03-10T23:46:00.000-08:00

March 10, 2006 was "Domain Day" - the day that I went gonzo buying domain names for the launch of TartanGolfGrips.com - coincidentally, it was a week before St. Patrick's Day.

To celebrate these two important events, we're giving YOU a birthday present - an opportunity to win a TartanGolfGrip and Artan(TM) of your choice.

We will be giving away a grip a day from now until March 18 (we're going to celebrate through the weekend!).

To enter the giveaway, simply send an e-mail to freegrips at gmail dot com (we spelled it out to bypass the spambots) with the following information:

Subject Line: FREEGRIPS
Name:
E-mail address:
Desired grip type:
Desired tartan:
Desired text:
Shipping address: (So we can have your grip sent to you)
(Optional) I want a TartanGolfGrip because:

The winner will be chosen at random from all of the entries received each day. Your information will not be sold or released to any outside parties, and will be used for the purpose of this giveaway only.

Sorry, but this offer is open to United States mailing addresses only, and the contest will run from NOW until 11:59PM on Sunday, March 18, 2007.

Get those entries in to be eligible for the drawing for the Grip-A-Day

Go get 'em D'Rae!!!

2007-03-10T20:18:00.000-08:00

Today was the second day of the LAKELAND DURAMED FUTURES CLASSIC, and our favorite Futures Tour player D'Rae Ward had herself a good day...a VERY good day...(the kind of day I only DREAM of...)

Notice how her score for the day was the lowest of the top players...
I hope she has a similar day tomorrow...I hope that you get a par or better on #1 - that must be a TOUGH hole...

A WIN would be a NICE way to begin the season...Go get 'em, girl!!!

Jason Gore leaving Nike

2007-03-07T20:47:00.000-08:00

HOLY SMOKES!!! I was just watching the Golf Channel, and they reported that Jason Gore is leaving Nike because he reportedly wants to play one of the Titleist ProV1 golf balls, and his Nike contract stipulated that he had to play Nike golf balls...

Apparently he'll be playing the upcoming PODS tournament with a blank bag and a blank hat....

::: ATTENTION CALLAWAY GOLF::: This is a public relations COUP- you need to GET THIS GUY ON BOARD!!! PRONTO!!!
Phil, Ernie, Jason??? Has a nice ring to it, huh???

Happy First Birthday - TartanGolfGrips...

2007-03-07T13:32:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to me...
Happy Birthday to me...
Happy Birrrthday TartanGolfgrips.... (DotCom)
Haaapy Birrrrrthday tooooooo meeeeeeeee......(and many morrrrrre....)

It's difficult to believe that it was a WHOLE YEAR ago that the idea to launch TartanGolfGrips.com hit me, but I remember it distinctly (it's my half-birthday)...(Wikipedia is friggin' amazing...)

Plus, it was a couple of days later that I went hog wild, snapping up domain names at GoDaddy.com with wild abandon, overcome with fits of creativity, so I've got some renewin' to do tonight!!!

::: FOLLOW UP NOTE::: Holy SMOKES - renew about half a dozen domains for two years, add private registration, drop $225, do not pass GO, do not collect $200...(PAY #200, but definitely do not COLLECT $200)
No wonder GoDaddy.com postponed their IPO...they're getting more than enough money from their CUSTOMERS....(love ya, Bob)

It's been a GREAT ride, and I believe that it's only getting more and more exciting all the time....

I recently installed several Artans(TM) on grips for me, my wife, my Mom, my brother-in-law and took some pictures for some advertising that I'm doing...while I was over at the folks place, Mom was regaling me with stories of her childhood in Scotland, and produced a blanket that has been in her varous car trunks since I was a kid...Mom mentioned that she inherited it from HER Grandma Dow, who used it to keep her legs warm while they were out on Sunday afternoon drives in the Scottish countryside. Mom said it was old when SHE was a little girl, and estimates that it's over 100 years old...(and it's now in the trunk of her car....hmmmm....we need to do something about that...I feel a trip to Target coming on to replace a family heirloom with something a bit more , ummmm, PEDESTRIAN...) Check it out:

Tartan of the Week - help out D'Rae Ward on the Futures Tour

2007-03-07T09:56:00.001-08:00

This week's Tartan of the Week celebrates several things:

1) TartanGolfGrips.com is starting a new program. After reading an article about Futures Tour player (and former LPGA'er D'Rae Ward) at WaggleRoom, I decided to do what I could to help her out, and decided to donate a significant portion of the sales of the County Donegal tartan grips to help defray D'Rae's tour expenses. How's that for a tagline - "Help defray D'Rae's expense!" You can read more here...

1a) I sold the very FIRST County Donegal Artan(TM) today...that's a good omen....

2) It's ten days til St. Patrick's Day...the FIRST celebration of the year of all things Celtic...

3) The Duramed Futures Tour season kicks off this weekend...more here...

4) Annika Sorenstam's season ALSO kicks off this weekend, and the tournament is in Mexico...Lorena Ochoa's homeland! You can buy your own Mexico flag putter grip just like the one Lorena uses at MexicoPutterGrip.com.

5) Daylight savings starts on Sunday - that's cause for a party unto itself!!! (GOLF after work!!!)

6) It's springtime....and this weekend is supposed to feature RECORD WARMTH....break out the sunscreen folks!!! We're goin' GOLFIN' in San Diego!!! This will be a nice opportunity to break out my new Callaway stand bag (with the TartanGolfGrips.com embroidery on the side pocket) at the Coronado golf course.

7) I had lunch with Larry Stewart, owner of TeeClub.com, and we discussed his business expansion plans. Larry's got some interesting ideas to expand the TeeClub.com footprint beyond the local area, and his ideas are really compelling. Surf on over to TeeClub.com to get an idea of what TeeClub.com 1.0 looks like...version 2.0 is going to be pretty cool.... I'm going to be supporting future "Fantasy Tour Challenge" competitions with donated TartanGolfGrips.com grips as prizes....I finished in the top 25 of the latest Fantasy Tour Challenge, and won a Zen Golf CD from Dr. Joseph Parent.

And renewal...

2007-03-07T09:36:00.000-08:00

Spring has returned with a vengeance to Southern California, and what used to turn this young man's fancy to baseball, now turns to GOLF!!! (I've mentioned it before, but I'll mention it here again...if you play golf, and live in or near Los Angeles, you simply MUST visit Elkins Ranch Golf Course during April/May, while the citrus trees are in bloom...go on a warm, sunny day, soak up the citrus blossom fragrance, have a legendary Elkins Ranch cheeseburger and your favorite drink, and experience a little slice of heaven here on Earth...who CARES about the score...just GO and EXPERIENCE it...everyone needs to do it at least ONCE!!!)

The Weather Channel indicated that highs would be in the low '70's yesterday - well, SOMEONE forgot to carry the one or SOMETHING, because the temperature on the official TartanGolfGrips.com Acura TL indicated a high of 88 at lunch yesterday, and I confirmed that with the large plastic thermometer that hangs outside the official TartanGolfGrips.com bay window in the kitchen over the sink...

About a month or two ago, we had a record cold snap, and many of the native plants and trees were damaged (frost burned, actually), and many of them are even starting to show signs of life...but the damage is still quite evident, and many of the plants are later than usual in launching their Spring finery...I managed to mitigate the damage to our two dwarf citrus trees in pots on the patio (shown here) by covering them with old bedsheets when the frost hit, but others in the neighborhood are still showing yellowed, curled leaves and brown spots on the winter crop that's still on the branches, primarily lemons.

But back to golf - I just realized that this weekend begins Daylight Savings Time! That is one of my FAVORITE days of the year, even if we DO lose an hour of sleep...it's totally worth it, because the sun's gonna be out to about 7PM, and we can now try to squeeze nine holes in after work!!!

Speaking of which, I'm heading down to San Diego next week for Microsoft's 2007 Convergence meeting, and one of our vendors is having a golf outing on Coronado Island on Sunday morning...tee-off time is 10AM, and I'm going to have to leave the TartanGolfGrips.com headquarters at about 0600 to make it down there in time, but at least I'll get the front nine in before I have to head off to training sessions at 1PM...

The Liquidambar tree outside of my "day job" is starting to have its buds emerge, and the cherry trees in the center median along Lindero Canyon Road are also starting to bloom...

Spring is definitely springing....FINALLY!!!

In memoriam - Kess "The Goose" Williams - 1995-2007

2007-03-02T02:07:00.000-08:00

I got some sad news yesterday morning...

Kess "The Goose" Williams, beloved companion of Kristin "Golfchick" Williams had passed away...

Now, I've never actually met Kristin or Kess in person, but thanks to the miracle of our respective passion for golf and the sense of community that can be developed via our blogs and internet technology, I've come to consider the two of them as friends, and my heart broke at the news....

"The Kessmeister" (as I frequently referred to her in my e-mails to Kristin) is a beautiful Great Dane, and she and Kristin shared a very special relationship, chronicled here and here.

Kristin and I have shared information about vets and treatments and other "pet-parent" topics via e-mail over the last few months (since we're sorta neighbors)...and tonight I shed more than a tear or two and have an empty feeling inside...

Like I said, I never got to meet Kess in person, but over time I felt like I got to know her from Kristin's descriptions...just one look at those eyes in all the pictures, and you just knew that she was a total sweetie...she's a beautiful pup...

As I recently lost a beloved companion of my own, I think I can empathize with Kristin tonight...and you have my sincere and deepest sympathies, Kristin...hearing this sad news kinda re-opened the hurt and sense of loss that I recently experienced, and to be perfectly honest, it sucks....

We have to focus on the JOY and the LOVE that we have shared with our dogs for so many years, and give thanks that our lives were enriched SO deeply by having those HAPPY memories for the rest of our lives...

There could never be enough of them though, and that's where the hurt happens and that sinking feeling hits and the tears come...been there, done that...sucks....even after six months have gone by...

To commemorate and CELEBRATE Kess' life and the obvious joy that she brought into Kristin's life, the best tribute that I could think of was to design an Artan in her honor and memory, and try to help OTHER dogs in the process. It is intended to celebrate the special bond that Kristin and Kess shared via the bond that Kristin and I share through our respective golf blogs AND our love of golf, a great game that brings people (and dogs) together...

I'm honored and touched that golf has introduced me to Kess and Kristin, and my deepest and heartfelt sympathies and condolences go out to you, Kristin....

Without any further ado....here is the "Kess" Artan, which is derived from the MacKessock tartan design...
Rest in peace and Godspeed, Kessie - you will be missed....

In Kess' memory and honor, and to help other "fur-people" that are dealing with health challenges, I have updated the charity tartans section to include the MacKessock tartan, and I will contribute 12% (one for each year of Kess' life) of the net proceeds of each MacKessock Artan(TM) sold to the UC Davis Center for Companion Animal Health fund. We'll honor Kess by doing that, and help OTHER dogs and companion animals that need veterinary care, while providing the funding and research resources that will advance veterinary medicine for future generations...

Celtic Culture - The Black Donnellys on NBC

2007-02-27T07:13:00.000-08:00

It's encouraging to see Celtic culture hitting the mainstream media - I was noticing the heavy promotion of the new NBC series "The Black Donnellys" during the weekend coverage of the Accenture Match Play Championship.

While I didn't get the opportunity to catch last night's premiere (we were off getting our taxes done), the initial reviews appear pretty favorable.

Apparently, the show is loosely based upon history, and there was a real "Black Donnellys" family in the late 1800's, and their story is summarized here.
The show was created by Paul Haggis (Million Dollar Baby, Thirtysomething, Crash, Casino Royale, Flags Of Our Fathers, Letters from Iwo Jima), so it's got a pretty impressive pedigree. (I thought it was pretty ironic that a program with a strong Celtic undercurrent was created by a gentleman with a last name of Haggis. How Scottish is THAT??? It's one part of my Scottish heritage that I haven't FULLY embraced...for OBVIOUS reasons....) {ick}

Nevertheless, if the Donnelly brothers were golfers, we'd have TartanGolfGrips.com Artans(TM) for them. The Donnelly's were a prominent family from several Irish Counties, specifically County Armagh, County Louth, County, County Donegal and County Tyrone.

That's really convenient, because each brother in the show now can have his OWN TartanGolfGrips.com golf grip. And the best part is, they could have them CUSTOMIZED with the text of their choice to suit their personalities, while still paying tribute to their Irish heritage.

AM/PM matches - Accenture Match Play Final Round

2007-02-25T09:44:00.000-08:00

Opening comment: Who can suck worse??? (I may have to eat my words - Stenson's ice-water has thawed considerably this morning....stay tuned...)

Follow up comment: I just realized - I'm mad at Henrik Stenson - he USED to be a Callaway staff player, and he bailed for Srixon...SRIXON, Stenson??? C'mon... (although my man has now gone TWO up on Ogilvy on the 17th hole, AND the Golf Channel has COMPLETELY lost their audio feed ....time for MORE commercials....ugh....now we're closing out with the studio crew trying to fill in...an inglorious end to the Golf Channel's weekend coverage....can't wait to see them get excoriated (now THERE's a good Scrabble word for ya...) on the other golf blogs and columns)

Wonder if a desert rat chewed through a cable or something???)

On a personal note - it just started DRIZZLING here, which is COMPLETELY screwing up my plans to mow and edge the lawn today....over the last week or so, the lawns and trees have been showing signs of springtime life...time to resume regular lawn maintenance....

Off we go to the NBC coverage at 11AM....(no, I'm not just watching the golf, I'm also working on our tax return...currently, I'm gutting my way through the investment income section...then I need to go feed the cats at Mom's place, and install three TartanGolfGrips.com golf grips - two putters and one full-swing for my wife...Cheri's keeping her Nebraska Cornhuskers putter grip, but she wants a TartanGolfGrips.com approach wedge, which I'm doing up in a Culloden tartan for her because it's mostly PURPLE...what the heck, let me go copy it (shown at right), so you can see what I'm talking about...

Update two: 12;45 PM PST - So, this match is getting more EXCITING, huh??? (C'mon Henrik - my cred's at stake here....)

Big time thanks to those of you that have e-mailed me to ask about the OTHER two Artans...to keep peace in the family, I've enclosed copies of them below. The "SCOTT" Artan is being made up for Cheri's brother, ALSO named Scott, who lives down in Tennessee...it incorporates the FLETCHER tartan along with Scott's name, and I'm installing it on a Never Compromise center shafted mallet putter as a belated birthday present for Scott (2/12)...

The OTHER one is one that I'm installing on ANOTHER Never Compromise putter for ME (there's going to be another one going up FOR SALE with your choice of Artan design during the 1st Anniversary "Tartan Day" sale that we're planning over at TartanGolfGrips.com in about a month, so now THAT cat's outta the bag...)

2:00 PM PST - I think the pressure that the media's put on Ogilvy is starting to get to him, as he's just launched his second or third shot in a row into the gap between the bleachers on the 31st hole....Stenson's putting from three point range, and he snuggied it up to within a yard of the hole....Ogilvy's putting from the collar - 20 FEET- NO SWEAT - that was CLUTCH, Geoff....(tip 'o the hat to ya, Mate!)
Now Stenson's mettle is tested from two feet, and THEY HALVE #13....it'll be interesting to see how they handle the last five holes....

Cheri and I played 36 in a row once, and the last few holes were NOT FUN.....your hands hurt...your back hurts.....your HAIR hurts....you get the picture.... More to come down below (See Monday content)....

2:13 PM PST - Why I love golf (Vol 723) - Henrik Stenson's thumbs-up to Geoff Ogilvy's SECOND clutch putt in a row on #14 is just ANOTHER reason why I'm hooked on golf...
Mr. Ogilvy is beginning to exhibit that Tiger-toughness mentality that makes him a force in match play....
For what it's worth, the sun's been out for about an hour and a half, and I'm TOTALLY procrastinating by staying indoors, screwing around with the tax prep, sending e-mails about some upcoming Tartan Day activities and celebrations and collaborating on the promotional grip that I'm designing for D'Rae Ward... it's gonna look SWEET - she's decided to go for it with her design, so I've gotta get busy....

2:32 PM PST - Obviously Johnny Miller was paying attention in Physiology class...but we don't need to hear every single muscle involved in Henrik Stenson's drive on 17....BTW, that was a classy move on Geoff's part in conceding the awesome shot Henrik made on 16....

2:42 PM PST - Stenson wins!!! I called it right.....THAT was exciting!!! Two classy guys...now I've got two more guys to watch and support on the Tour....

MONDAY, Feb. 26, 2007.... Follow-up to "More to come" from up above: It's nice to know that we're not the only ones that think that 36 consecutive holes of golf is akin to the Bataan Death March - this from Henrik Stenson's post-round press conference:

RODDY WILLIAMS [Moderator]: Henrik, only the second European to have won the WGC- Accenture Match Play. Pretty exhausting day. Tell us how you feel right now.

HENRIK STENSON: Tell me about it. It's been a long week and a good week for me, and now I'm just exhausted. I don't know what's up and down and back and forth, really.It's been such a long day and such a hard day, and I'm just delighted to come out on top. I was struggling big time with my game and especially in the second round here when we started and didn't feel comfortable neither off the tee or with the putts.Somehow I managed to fight my way through the round and keep -- not letting Geoff [Ogilvy] run away with it, and then all of a sudden turned around and finished with some good birdies. {snip}

Q.: When you're talking about being exhausted are you talking about being mentally exhausted? STENSON: Everything. It's everything. Playing -- see, I don't know how many rounds, seven rounds in five days? I mean, feet are aching, head is aching, wallet is aching.
Q.: Too heavy?
STENSON: (Laughing) but just to play that much golf in five days, I had a lot of tight matches. I mean, probably everybody had the same. I mean, Geoff was tired, as well. I know how much he would have liked to defend his title.Obviously he's devastated with that. I'm happy with the way I managed to play the last couple of holes there. {snip}

Q.: Do you think the format is maybe a round of golf too far?
STENSON: I don't know, it feels like it right now. No, I think it's a good thing with a 36-hole final still though, because you really need to -- 18 holes might be a little bit more decided over bounds, but I think on 36 holes it probably in the end gives you the one that fought the hardest and so on.

Q.: Are you more emotionally drained now than you were after the Ryder Cup?
STENSON: I don't know. I mean, normally it hits you a day or two later. I don't think it's going to be too much happening tomorrow or on Tuesday. But yeah, I don't remember when I was this tired. I'm too tired to be happy almost (laughter). {snip}

Q.: When you talk about struggling with your own swing, is there any consolation looking over at Geoff and realizing that he's going through some battles, as well, with it?
STENSON: Well, I mean, we weren't playing great in the afternoon. But I think, as well, a hard and tiring week like this one, it just wears you down. Every day, every round just wears you down a little bit. In the end you've got nothing left in the tank, and still, I managed to find some on the back nine today. But it's really hard, and we made some silly mistakes, both of us, and sharing holes with bogeys and making bogeys from the middle of the fairway and stuff. I think that's sort of mainly down to us being really exhausted.

Q.: What was the tougher tournament to win, a really strong field 72 holes at Dubai, or beating six guys this week?
STENSON: I'm much more tired now for sure, much more.

Q.: Which was harder to win do you think?
STENSON: Can't we have any easy questions at this time of the day (laughter)? I'll go for this one. Q.: Physical?
STENSON: And also down to it's only one shot at the wrong or right time and you're knocked out. Obviously in a stroke play you can come back a little bit easier if you end up in trouble somewhere.

And then, to dispel the stereotype that the Swedes are a stoic, humorless lot:

Q.: How do you say match play champion in Swedish?
STENSON: Match play champion (laughter).

Good job, Henrik - I think you won over quite a few fans with this performance...I think the comment I liked the most was on one of last night's retrospectives where they likened the final match to two prizefighters slugging it out...the lead changed hands quite a few times, and all in all, it was an exciting weekend's worth of golf....I thoroughly enjoyed watching it - even if it WAS Tiger-less....

Technical newsflash for my blogging buddies!!!

2007-02-24T20:25:00.000-08:00

One of the features that I've found myself missing repeatedly during my blogging adventures (my latest was that debachle of a posting a couple of days ago) where I repeatedly found myself WISHING for the ability to create a TABLE within the blog posting, to make the text behave itself, and retain the PRETTY tabular layout that I painstakingly attempted to create with some VERY creative space-bar work...only to have it turn out as YUCKY (technical term) as it did...

Our good friends at Google have GRACIOUSLY released yet ANOTHER killer-app for the web, by releasing Google Docs and Spreadsheets...

Now we are FREED of the tyranny of free-form, floating text that WON'T behave, by creating tables in Google Docs, and adding text or images to the tables, and then they've made it a piece of cake to post over here at blogger.com....

SWEET!!!

Nevermore will you have to read ugly, messy postings......just poorly constructed ones, with random thoughts....

Now that's using your head....

2007-02-24T19:01:00.000-08:00

I first saw this story about a month ago on the KTLA morning news, and now the video has been posted at YouTube...

This is an impressive use of technology used for humanitarian purposes...and some pretty doggone (or is that DEERGONE...bad, Scott....) fine piloting, too...

Check it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGUoYrBREm0

(Thanks to LA's own "ChopperChick" Desiree Horton for posting ANOTHER YouTube clip from Comedy Central poking fun at "Chopper 4"...good stuff....that one led me to THIS one that I've been looking for...well, I THOUGHT about looking for it...)

Calling my shot at Accenture Match Play....

2007-02-24T10:54:00.000-08:00

Well, my predictions from two days ago were COMPLETELY off base, and we've determined that my predictive capabilities are COMPLETELY worthless, so let's go out on a limb and make MORE predictions, and observations....what the heck...

The morning coverage on the Golf Channel is winding down, and NBC is just starting up....

Observation #1: Are these guys WILDER than usual??? I can't recall another tournament where I've seen SO many shots being made from the cactus patches!!! I cannot RECALL hearing "FORE" yelled so often at a PGA Tournament!!! (Didja also see that marshal that scampered out into the cholla patch to retrieve Tiger's errant shot, and got a BIG-OL' cactus just STUCK to his hand??? MAN that was painful to watch!!! Both Tiger's SHOT, AND the volunteer picking the cactus spines out of his paw....OUCH!!!)

Observation #2: Nick Faldo certainly CAN be condescending, can't he??? Some of the comments that eminate from that man's mouth...wow.....(Someone please smack that guy upside the head with the sensitivity-training manual - Fanny's ponytail does NOT look like a pineapple up on top of her head, and you SHOULDN'T mock her higher-pitched voice - just cuz she was your caddy for a long time....geez...)

Observation #3: Kelly Tilghman almost sounded disappointed during the handoff to NBC, almost like she didn't want to stop covering the tournament...I think she's done a really good job moving from the role of staged commentator to doing real-time coverage...but Nick, Nick, NICK!!!...

Observation #4: I just LOVE listening in on Henrik Stenson and Fanny Sunesson talking amongst themselves in Swedish...even though I don't have a CLUE what they're talking about...it just SOUNDS cool....

Prediction #1: Geoff Ogilvy and Henrik Stenson will meet in the final match, and Stenson will win it....{he said, crawling out on that branch, saw in hand....}

*Follow-up: Was out running errands this afternoon, listening to XM146 - PGA Tour Network, and the announcers were blathering on about Geoff Ogilvy's match-play streak, and how unbeatable he is at this venue, blah, blah, blah....

Now Geoff's a cool guy, AND one of my favorite PGA Tour golfers, but Henrik Stenson's got ice-water in his veins this week, a RED-HOT putter, just dropping LAWN-DARTS in and around the pins, and I'm predicting that Stenson breaks Ogilvy's winning streak tomorrow...{gulp}

Random musings on CA commercial

2007-02-24T09:42:00.000-08:00

I'm sitting here preparing FedEx shipping documents for a few TartanGolfGrips.com orders that are shipping out today, and watching the Golf Channel's coverage of the Accenture Match Play Tournament....

Those CA commercials came on where Retief Goosen and David Howell are shown driving a triplex mower or raking a bunker, respectively, and the older Scottish greens superintendent comes running out at them and exasperatedly says something to the effect of "You don't have to do THAT, THAT'S Sean's job!", and the camera pans towards "Sean" for an inordinately long period of time...leering....leaning on the handle of a sand-trap rake...shifting from one foot to the other...gaze unwavering...goofy grin on his face......gripping the handle of the rake and the towel suggestively, opening and closing his grip on them like Sergio Garcia did to his clubs in his heyday....almost menacingly....

Does anyone ELSE out there find "Sean" kinda SPOOKY looking??? It's just the way that "Sean" looks at Retief andDavid that just CREEPS me out...I THINK it's supposed to be a long, ADMIRING look from their talent and skill on the golf course, but the timing, actions and look on the actor's face makes it looks more like an axe-murderer's psychotic gaze instead....or is it something else altogether??? (Like, is "Sean" wired for DC or something???)

Hmmmmmmm.....thoughts, anybody???

Artan(TM) of the week-Feb 22, 2007

2007-02-23T05:59:00.000-08:00

Time got away from me this week, what with Monday being a holiday here in the States and all...I just realized that I missed my Thursday production deadline for the Artan(TM) of the Week...

While I was getting ready for this week's Artan(TM) of the week, I stumbled across an interesting story of an upcoming professional golfer named D'Rae Ward, who is facing some financial challenges while she pursues her dreams and aspirations in professional golf, but she also has some really creative proposed solutions to them.

You can read about her story here, and her sponsorship opportunities available at eBay, too...

I read her story, and although my own financial responsibilities prevent me from taking a full sponsorship, I would like to help her out how I can...with an Artan(TM) and a new program.

The Wards were a prominent family that hailed from County Donegal in Ireland, so for the remainder of 2007, I will contribute 77% of all net proceeds from the sale of ALL County Donegal tartans sold at TartanGolfGrips.com to D'Rae to help her with her pursuits on the Duramed Futures Tour. You can see more here.

Accenture World Golf Championships analysis and predictions

2007-02-22T22:06:00.000-08:00

Now that we're two days into the Accenture World Golf Championships, we've got a reasonable quantity of players to work with, so without further ado, let's take a look at Friday's action, and make some predictions for the weekend....

FRIDAY SAT AM SAT PM SUN
----------- ------------- ---------------- -----------------
Woods vs O'Hern Woods vs Stenson Woods vs Howell III Woods vs Ogilvy Woods wins.....

Baddely vs Stenson

Rose vs. Howell III Howell III vs Poulter

Poulter vs. Immelman

Campbell vs. Toms Toms vs. Cink Cink vs. Ogilvy

Ames vs. Cink

Micheel vs. Casey Casey vs. Ogilvy

Fasth vs. Ogilvy

Congratulations, CH3

2007-02-22T21:33:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Charles Howell III on his victory at the Nissan Open.

I haven't even looked at the TiVo recording, because I spent the entire weekend at a series of Kingsmen Alumni Corps rehearsals in Riverside and at Anaheim.

We got our uniforms for an August performance at DCI Semifinals on Monday, by the way - they look amazing...

I was hoping that Howell or Harrington won the Nissan Open, so I was pleased when Howell won! It's been a long time, and he's been close a bunch of times, so it's nice to see one of the "good guys" do well...

I'm kinda bummed that Padraig didn't do better, but when I heard his post-round interview on Thursday, he didn't sound very confident in his game. I was worried that one of his rounds would be a meltdown. Fortunately, it waited til Sunday before becoming apparent

PGA Fashion poll

2007-02-16T11:58:00.000-08:00

The Apparel Wire at the Golf Publisher's Association would like to know your answers to the following questions pertaining to PGA Tour players. (And since the LPGA season has not gotten into full gear just yet, they'll save the women for later).

Simply copy and paste the following questions into an e-mail, answer them anonymously and then e-mail to stuart@gpagolf.com.

Please put AWire Poll in subject line.

Best dressed PGA Tour player:

Worst dressed PGA Tour player:

J. Lindeberg or Polo?:

Burberry or Nike?:

Plus-fours on Tour? (yes or no):

Tiger Woods in some color other than red on Sunday? (Yes or no; if yes, what color):

Jim Furyk's button-up shirts? (like or dislike):

Phil Mickelson in a visor or Tiger Woods in a hat?:

Do the colors of a player's clothing affect his play? (yes or no):

Does Duffy Waldorf need a fashion makeover? (yes or no):

They will publish the results in March....

If you want to weigh in here first, before you zap your response to Stuart...have at it...

Rivier-AHHHHHH (part 2)

2007-02-16T11:08:00.000-08:00

Just like it was last November, today is going to be a SPECTACULAR day of golf at Riviera Country Club, with temperatures in the low 80's and a slight Santa Ana (offshore) breeze blowing...

It's feeling like Spring out there, for everyone who is suffering from the winter blahs...

Right now, I'm quite happy, as Padraig Harrington held the overnight lead, and Charles Howell III is in the hunt, too...

I'd be REALLY pleased if either of those gentlemen hoist the trophy on Sunday...

Artans of the Week

2007-02-15T17:16:00.000-08:00

To celebrate last week's AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am which was won by Phil Mickelson, I'm going to highlight one of the most attractive Artans(TM) that I've designed for the celebrities who participated in this year's tournament.

You can see the complete portfolio of Artans(TM) here, and I think you'll like the diversity of designs that are available, and their relevance to each participant.

With a little creativity, you can see that there is an Artan(TM) for just about everyone...

The one that I've enclosed here was designed for Carson Daly, Late Late Show TV host and avid golfer. Carson has several Artans(TM) available to him, including the Carson tartan that is in this Artan(TM). This is one of the most attractive Artans(TM) that we have designed, and we could also go with the County Cork tartan, where many of the Daly's lived, according to the 1890 census.

I have also included a couple of Artans(TM) that could be designed for musician and scratch golfer, Kenny G. Kenny was born and raised in Seattle, Washington, and the two Artans(TM) shown here incorporate the tartans of the city of Seattle, and the state of Washington. They also show how either first or surnames can be incorporated into the design...

Surf on over to TartanGolfGrips.com and check out the new photographs of actual Artans(TM) that have been installed on several putters and an attack wedge.

Nissan Open, Day 1

2007-02-15T17:09:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to one of my favorite golfers, Padraig Harrington as he shot the lights out at Riviera today, cruising to a three stroke lead over Phil Mickelson, Briny Baird and Pat Perez.

I've entered a "Fantasy Team Challenge" through TeeClub.com, the Ventura County Golfer's Network.

My team consists of (in order):

Phil Mickelson
Padraig Harrington
Adam Scott
Charles Howell III
Chris DiMarco

We'll see how the rest of the tournament goes, but the weather is supposed to be UNBELIEVABLY perfect, with temperatures in the low to mid 80's tomorrow (while the rest of the nation shivers), and cooling down a bit into the 70's over the weekend.

It's a drag that Tiger and Fred Couples are not participating in this tournament, but it would be AWESOME to see Padraig win it! (I'll be cheering for him to win this weekend!)

Live@...DOA???

2007-02-11T11:51:00.000-08:00

Is it just me, or is anyone else's ability to connect into Live@ NOT HAPPENING this morning???

Could we have crashed the servers from overuse???

I'm bummed - I can't see Mickelson/You play #7....

Saturday at Pebble Beach....

2007-02-11T01:22:00.000-08:00

After a 22 minute delay (snark sighting), CBS' coverage of the Saturday hijinks was pretty solid; not too much mugging for the cameras, and some solid golf from the celebrities. Bill Murray's approach shot on # 15 comes to mind...

The highlight/feature reel that they showed at 2:32 into the telecast was slick, and got me to thinking - does anyone know if they put together an annual highlights reel of this event? To show the action that does NOT make it to the television coverage? There is SO much going on, at SO many courses that I think it would be a great moneymaker if done right with a cool soundtrack...the courses are so pretty, and I'm pretty sure that all the amateurs would want a copy, and the golf junkies out there that want a souvenir to get their golf fix....(business opportunity, anyone???)

Congratulations to the amateurs who made the Sunday playoff, most notably Tom Dreesen, Teddy Forstmann (of Forstmann, Little & Co.), Peter Ueberroth, Harris Barton and Andy Garcia.

Seeing the amateurs play has inspired me to add a new section to TartanGolfGrips.com, which I am about to begin developing...

After a day filled with howling wind that closed out with a heavy rainshower, tomorrow's final round is rumored to be played in the sunshine....we'll be there from 9:00AM onwards, watching it on the PGATour.com "http://www.pgatour.com/livegolf/, which is VERY, VERY cool....

This article says it all....

2007-02-09T14:11:00.000-08:00

This article by John Maginnes summarizes exactly how I feel about Pebble Beach...we have been fortunate to head up to Monterey (we drove up 101, which added immeasurably to the overall experience by the way) with our main playing partners Margaret and Steve back in the summer of 2004...

I, too, look forward to my NEXT trip back...some of the holes (like 11-15ish) are relatively unspectacular), but the stretch from 4-10, and 16-18 are like nothing I've ever experienced on a golf course since....

I will be GLUED to the television this weekend, which is good because the rains are supposed to be coming, and it'll be a good excuse to get the tax returns prepared, and some stuff done around the house, since we won't be tempted to go out and PLAY in the rain....(I'm a fair-weather, SoCal/spoiled golfer - I admit it....)

Pebble Beach Pro-Am pairing information, plus amateur handicaps

2007-02-09T02:15:00.000-08:00

I spent some time tonight poring over the pairing sheets at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am site, and found the following pairing information, with the amateur's handicap:

PRO AMATEUR HCP COMMENTS

Michael Bradley Thomas Gibson 6 Star of "Criminal Minds"

Corey Pavin Craig T. Nelson 6 Star of "Coach" and "The Incredibles"

Vijay Singh Teddy Forstmann 7 Founding partner of Forstmann, Little & Co.

Jason Gore Carson Daly 8 {FUN GROUP!} Late night talk show host

Pat Perez Kelly Slater 3 (!) World champion surfer

Jeff Overton Clay Walker 8 Country music singer

Kevin Stadler Glenn Frey 15 Founding member of the Eagles

Paul Stankowski Andy Garcia 12 Actor - Academy Award nominee

Jesper Parnevik George Lopez 14 Comedian and host of the Bob Hope
Chrysler Classic
Rory Sabbatini Peter Gallagher 11 Actor - "The O.C." and "Sex, Lies and Videotape"

D.J. Trahan Kevin Costner 14 Actor/Director/Dapper Golfer

Dean Wilson Don Cheadle 17 Actor

Scott Simpson Bill Murray 14 Actor/Director/"Carl Spackler" in Caddyshack

Bobby Clampett Kevin James 18 Comedian/TV Actor (Emmy nominated)

Scott Gutschewski Ray Romano 16 Comedian/Emmy-award winning actor

Chris DiMarco Emmitt Smith 13 Former Dallas Cowboys running back/awesome
dancer/Former U. of Florida running back

Billy Andrade Tom Brady 8 New England Patriots quarterback

Todd Hamilton Michael Bolton 10 Singer (Kinda look alike, don't you think???)

Peter Jacobson Huey Lewis 10 Singer

Steve Elkington Chris O'Donnell 7 Actor - Grey's Anatomy(TV), Batman movie series

Rocco Mediate Scott McNealy 2 Chairman, Sun Microsystems and super nice
guy and GREAT golfer***...

J.P. Hayes Joe Gransden 9 Jazz trumpeter and vocalist

Brett Bingham Rick Rosen 3 Endeavor agency founding partner/Carson Daly's
agent

Bubba Dickerson Roger Cleveland 8 Chief golf club designer, Callaway Golf

Larry Mize Angelo Mozilo 17 Chairman of the Board/CEO, Countrywide Finan.

Len Mattiace Alan Mulally 10 President/CEO, Ford Motor Company

David Duval Tony Forstmann 6 Forstmann/Leff Investment Banker

Matt Kuchar David Dorman 8 CEO, AT&T

Paul Gow Louis Gerstner, Jr. 18 Retired CEO, IBM

Jose Maria Olazabal Peter Ueberroth 15 USOC Chairman, former MLB Commissioner,'84
Olympics Organizer
Tom Watson Michael Watson 6 Father/Son

Bryce Molder Charles Schwab 10 CEO, Charles Schwab stock brokerage

David Frost Stone Phillips 13 Journalist/Anchorman

Greg Owen Harris Barton 12 S.F. 49'ers retired offensive lineman

J.J. Henry Chris Berman 18 ESPN Anchorman

K.J. Choi Kenny G 0 {SCRATCH GOLFER} Smooth Jazz Musician
{K..J. and K.G.}{!!!}

Troy Matteson Jerry Yang 10 Yahoo! Co-Founder

Jeff Brehaut Bob Griese 10 Sportscaster, and Pro Football Hall of Fame QB

Mark Wilson Danny Sullivan 15 Former Indy 500 driver{?}

John Daly Darius Rucker 12 Musician - "Hootie and the Blowfish"

Robert Gamez Tom Dreesen 6 Entertainer {Super nice guy!}***

Kevin Sutherland Bill Gross 11 CEO, Idealab

Kent Jones Frank Quattrone 12 Former CSFB investment banker {ahem}

Michael Putnam Walter Driver, Jr. 2 USGA President {M. Putnam is a Pepperdine U.
graduate/star...GO WAVES!!!!}

Chris Riley Tom Siebel 13 Former CEO and founder, Siebel Systems (now
part of Oracle Corp., current CEO of First
Virtual Group

Phil Mickelson Harry You 18 CEO of BearingPoint

*** I met these gentleman at the 2005 John Elway Celebrity Classic Golf Tournament when I was their standard bearer. ***

Link here to the results from Day 1...

NEW FEATURE - Artan(TM) of the week (GORDON) + TartanGolfGrips.com

2007-02-08T10:26:00.000-08:00

This being the first day of the Pebble Beach Pro-Am competition, I figured that I'd like to celebrate by launching a new feature on the blog, and highlight an Artan(TM) of the week...

This Artan(TM) features the Dress Gordon tartan, and was done as a Christmas gift for one of my Target World Challenge fellow volunteers, who wanted to give a unique and personalized gift to one of HIS golf buddies...you can buy your own here...and examples of what they look like when they're installed are shown at the bottom of this posting... CLAN GORDON: Although this is one of the great families of Northeast Scotland, the name originally came from a location in Berwickshire (probably 'gor-dun' meaning hill fort). The name appears in the Borders in the reigns of King Malcolm IV and King William the Lion in the 12th century. Sir Adam de Gordon was appointed to the lordship of Strathbogie and Badenoch in the North-East of the country by Robert the Bruce, in place of the Comyns, who had opposed him. Sir Adam had been one of those who petitioned the Pope to remove the excommunication of Bruce after he murdered John Comyn in 1306.

The Gordons were major landowners, rather than a traditional tribal clan but became known as the "Cock o' the North". The 1st Earl of Huntly is said to have rewarded anyone who adopted the name Gordon with a gift of oatmeal. In the 15th century, Sir Alexander Gordon was created Lord Gordon and his son the first Earl of Huntly (a name which had also originated in the Borders). In the power struggle between King James II and the Douglas family, the Douglases burned down Huntly Castle but were later defeated. A grander castle was built in its place.
The 4th Earl of Huntly was an adviser to Mary of Guise when she was regent in place of the absent Mary Queen of Scots. Gordons remained staunch Catholics and supporters of King Charles II in the Civil War of 1642-1648, but they refused to support the Marquis of Montrose.
The 2nd Duke of Gordon supported the "Old Pretender" in the first Jacobite Uprising in 1715 and fought at the Battle of Sheriffmuir on September 12, 1715. His son, the 3rd Duke, remained loyal to the Hanoverian government in the 1745 Uprising but his brother fought for Bonnie Prince Charlie.

Read the history of the "Gordon Highlanders" Regiment here.

The Gordon clan motto is "Bydand" which means "Remaining".
Surnames regarded as septs (sub-branch) of the Gordon clan include Addison, Adie, Aitcheson, Aitken, Barrie, Cullen, Eadie, Edie, Geddes, Huntly, Mavor, Milne, Todd.
Gordon was the 50th most frequent surname at the General Register Office in 1995.

As promised, here is what the grips look like when they're installed:
The first three grips are PISTOL PUTTER grips, with examples of:

No Text/Plain & Tartan only
Artan(TM) with the Scott tartan and the first name
Artan(TM) with CUSTOM TEXT - up to 15 characters looks best, as more characters is too small to be legible
The "HARRINGTON" Artan(TM) is on an OVERSIZED putter grip featuring the County Cork Irish District tartan and the family surname. Notice the magnification that the putter grips create from their flat front.
The grip at the far right is a Tour Wrap (#4) full-swing grip, with the Taylor tartan and the golfer's initials.

These grips all feature the standard Celtic font, but are also available in Verdana, Hettenschweiler, Garamond and Stratford fonts, too.

LIVE from Pebble Beach

2007-02-08T09:53:00.000-08:00

Work productivity ALL over the world takes a hit today, as golfers everywhere are GLUED to their screens, watching the live feed from Pebble Beach at PGATour.com

VERY, VERY cool....

George Lopez at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am

2007-02-07T08:03:00.000-08:00

Had to copy this article from this morning's Ventura County Star, written by Bob Buttitta, our local golf writer extraordinaire....it chronicles George Lopez' interest in golf - it's a good one:

Seriously, Lopez loves golf

Popular comedian, who didn't take up the sport until he was a young adult, is humbled by playing with top professionals

By Bob Buttitta, bbuttitta at VenturaCountyStar dot com
February 7, 2007

Growing up in San Fernando, comedian George Lopez couldn't find many people in his neighborhood who cared about golf, never mind someone who played the game.

For much of his adolescent life, Lopez's only exposure to golf was from the two golf clubs lying around his house.

"We had a 3-wood which was there for us to use if we heard a noise outside," Lopez prior to the third round of last month's Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. "And we had a 7-iron, which we used to keep the door shut so the dog would not get out."

Then one day a friend dared Lopez to go with him and play a round of golf. That was 23 years ago. Since then, Lopez, who stars in the ABC sitcom "The George Lopez Show," has been addicted to the sport.

"We had a lime tree, so I would hit (the limes) with the 3-wood," Lopez said. "I would try to hit them to the gas station across the street.

"Golf has become the father I never had. I know that sounds funny, but golf has taught me patience, temperament — that was the hardest one — honesty and a respect I didn't have before I started playing golf. So I know it looks boring, but believe me, there is something there."

Even though he's a television celebrity, Lopez, 45, said it's hard to believe he gets invited to play in events like the Hope.

"For someone who learned golf at a public course, El Cariso in Slymar, to end up being invited to play with the best players in the world and maybe even win a trophy, it's amazing,"Lopez said.

"I'm out here playing with pros like (Oxnard native) Corey Pavin and Justin Leonard and playing with Cheech Marin and Samuel L.Jackson."

This year, Lopez didn't just play in the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, he served as the celebrity host.

After Hope died, the tournament had not had an acutal host, but the tournament committee and Dolores Hope (Bob's widow) decided they needed one. Dolores said she and her husband always liked Lopez and his work, so she asked him to carry the torch.

"Dolores has been so kind to me since the first time I met her in 2004 and that Bob was a fan of my comedy is validation," Lopez said. "It would be like if the Pope sent you a letter and said: ‘You're a good Catholic. Signed the Pope.'

"I have the support of the Hope family along with the Chrysler and the Board of Directors. They have been here when Bob was around and they ran the tournament with him and it's been great because they have been very supportive of this."

When he accepted the job as host, Lopez promised the Hope Board of Directors and Chrysler that he would increase the celebrity level.

This year he got heavy hitters Andy Garcia, Huey Lewis and Clint Eastwood to play. It was the first time in 14 years Eastwood played in the tournament.

"I've brought a higher-profile celebrity and I think that's what Bob did so well," Lopez said.

"As long as I'm the host of the tournament, I will continue to really work on it all year and not just, you know, just a couple of months before the tournament. This is an all-year job for me."

Another reason Lopez was the perfect fit to host is that, like Hope, he takes the game seriously.

Unlike some celebrities, who play in events like the Hope and the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am just for the exposure, Lopez is serious about his game.

"I have the (TV) series, but I play a lot," Lopez said. "I have a net upstairs (in his office on the set) with 200 Titleist balls, so I go up there and hit balls.

"I am never without a club. I watch television with a club in my hand."

Lopez is a member at two golf clubs — Lakeside Golf Club in Toluca Lake and Saticoy Country Club in Somis.

Lopez said he loves playing at Saticoy, a course most people in the golf community consider one of the finest in Southern California.

"I wish I could play there more. It's a gem, just a beautiful golf course," Lopez said of Saticoy. "Cheech was a member there and he asked me to come out there and play with him.

"Once I did, I decided I wanted to be a member there, too. It's a hard golf course, but I like that about it. It really challenges you."

Saticoy is known for its lightning-quick greens that feature subtle, yet severe breaks.

Lopez received a lesson in how tough the greens at Saticoy are when he played there with Marin for the first time.

"Cheech was telling me about the greens, but I'm a pretty good putter," Lopez said. "I hit a putt and all he said was, ‘Bye.'

"I asked what he meant, and he told me to watch. The ball just kept rolling and rolling and it eventually rolled off the green."

Lopez, who plays to a 14 handicap, will be playing in this week's AT&T National Pro-Am at Pebble Beach. He owns a house off the 15th fairway at Pebble Beach.

Pebble is the site of his greatest golf achievement, finishing third in the 2004 event while playing with Jesper Parnevik.

While he enjoys both celebrity events, he said they are different.

"This (the Hope) is more fun, while AT&T is more serious golf," Lopez said. "I love playing both of them."

Stormy weather...just like home, eh, Padraig?

2007-02-06T12:06:00.000-08:00

(No Chamber of Commerce-approved scenes of sun-dappled waves lapping gingerly upon the rocks, while sea lions frolic and otters swim lazily by...not THIS YEAR!!! Better bring your 'brella to Pebble Beach THIS time....)

I also just found out that Padraig Harrington (one of my FAVORITE professionals) will be teeing it up for the VERY first time at Pebble Beach - just one more reason to set the TiVo to capture EVERY minute of this special tournament - see this article for more details and celebrity/professional pairings.

This just in from the National Weather Service regarding the Monterey Peninsula:

Special Weather Statement

SAN FRANCISCO- COASTAL NORTH BAY INCLUDING POINT REYES NATIONAL SEASHORE- NORTH BAY INTERIOR VALLEYS- NORTH BAY MOUNTAINS- SAN FRANCISCO BAY SHORELINE-SAN FRANSISCO PENINSULA COAST- EAST BAY INTERIOR VALLEYS-EAST BAY HILLS AND THE DIABLO RANGE- SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS-SANTA CLARA VALLEY INCLUDING SAN JOSE- MONTEREY BAY/NORTHERN SALINAS VALLEY/HOLLISTER VALLEY AND CARMEL VALLEY-BIG SUR COAST- SOUTHERN SALINAS VALLEY/ARROYO SECO AND LAKE SAN ANTONIO- SANTA LUCIA MOUNTAINS AND LOS PADRES NATIONAL FOREST- MOUNTAINS OF SAN BENITO COUNTY AND INTERIOR MONTEREY COUNTY INCLUDING PINNACLES NATIONAL MONUMENT- 223 PM PST MON FEB 5 2007

...WET AND STORMY WEATHER TO RETURN TO THE BAY AREA THIS WEEK...
AFTER AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF DRY WEATHER THROUGH MUCH OF JANUARY AND THE BEGINNING OF FEBRUARY...A DRAMATIC SHIFT IN THE WEATHER PATTERN IS EXPECTED THIS WEEK. A CHANGE TO WET... AND AT TIMES STORMY WEATHER WILL BEGIN WEDNESDAY AND CONTINUE THROUGH THE UPCOMING WEEKEND.
THE FIRST IN A SERIES OF RAIN STORMS WILL REACH THE NORTH BAY BY LATE TUESDAY NIGHT...THEN SPREAD OVER THE ENTIRE DISTRICT ON WEDNESDAY. RAINFALL AMOUNTS WITH THIS SYSTEM WILL BE LIGHT TO MODERATE...RANGING FROM NEARLY AN INCH IN THE WETTEST NORTH BAY MOUNTAIN LOCATIONS TO LESS THAN A HALF INCH ACROSS INTERIOR VALLEYS.

A BRIEF BREAK IN THE RAIN COULD OCCUR WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND EARLY THURSDAY... BEFORE A STRONGER STORM TAKES AIM AT THE REGION THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. GUSTY SOUTH WINDS WILL DEVELOP ON THURSDAY...ALONG WITH AREAS OF HEAVY RAIN. WINDS COULD REACH SUSTAINED SPEEDS OF 30 MPH WITH GUSTS OVER 40 MPH DURING THE HEIGHT OF THIS STORM.

IN ADDITION TO TAPPING INTO A MORE MOIST SUBTROPICAL ENVIRONMENT... THIS FRONTAL SYSTEM WILL BE SLOWER TO MOVE THROUGH THE DISTRICT. THEREFORE... RAINFALL AMOUNTS WITH THIS STORM COULD BE DOUBLE THOSE OF WEDNESDAYS SYSTEM.
AS WE HEAD TOWARDS THE END OF THE WEEK AND NEXT WEEKEND...INDICATIONS ARE THAT THE FOCUSING MECHANISM FOR CONTINUED RAINFALL WILL STALL SOMEWHERE AROUND THE SAN FRANCISCO OR MONTEREY BAY REGION. THIS COULD LEAD TO A PROLONGED PERIOD OF MODERATE TO PERHAPS HEAVY RAIN AT TIMES. IF CURRENT PROJECTIONS HOLD THROUGH FRIDAY...GROUNDS WILL HAVE BECOME SATURATED AND ADDITIONAL RAINFALL THEREAFTER COULD RESULT IN LOCALIZED HYDROLOGIC PROBLEMS. {That means FLOODING in English!!!} ANOTHER ROUND OF STRONG AND GUSTY WINDS IS ALSO POSSIBLE LATE FRIDAY AND FRIDAY NIGHT...COMPOUNDING THE WEATHER SITUATION.
ANYONE WITH TRAVEL PLANS LATER THIS WEEK AND NEXT WEEKEND SHOULD PAY PARTICULAR ATTENTION TO LATER FORECASTS...HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOKS...SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WATCHES...WARNINGS OR ADVISORIES. LISTEN FOR FORECASTED RAINFALL AMOUNTS AND WIND SPEEDS THAT COULD CAUSE DANGEROUS DRIVING CONDITIONS AND POSSIBLE POWER OUTAGES.

{Is THAT all??? What, no LOCUSTS???}

You heard it here first, look for Padraig to be accepting that trophy come Sunday...first trip, first win - I'm calling my shot right NOW...

This is a SPECIAL week...

2007-02-05T09:23:00.000-08:00

This is a special week, where one of the special events on the PGA Tour is played out in one of the most hallowed of American golf cathedrals, at the Pebble Beach Golf Course in Monterey, California. For those of you who have never seen this area in person, you have GOT to see this stretch of coastline in person, and preferably when the weather is sunny and warm, because it is simply SPECTACULARLY beautiful....bring your wallet, though, because the beauty does NOT come cheap!

Click here for some interesting tournament history.

The weather for this year's tournament doesn't look like it's going to be picture-postcard-perfect like it was last year (not by a longshot), but it's still my favorite event of the entire PGA Tour season (followed by The Masters). (Tiger's tournament doesn't count, because it's after the season's over...)

There are some pretty cool features available on the web, and one of my favorites is the 'real-time cameras' that are available...the best one is probably the first tee, followed by the 18th green, and the 17th hole. If you leave the windows up, it appears that some of them automatically refresh, too...17, especially... (if the weather gets as NASTY as the National Weather Service is indicating, these cameras might provide a glimpse into the weather-nasties...)

THIS one will likely get interesting later in the week, as it's a feed from the PUTTING green outside The Lodge, the gorgeous hotel/shopping area near the first tee...because this one's more of a close-up shot than the others, you MIGHT be able to see someone FAMOUS warming up on the putting green before their round later this week...you can actually see the GOLF BALLS on the green, it's so close!!!

Click here for PGATour.com coverage, and here for Golf Channel's. It's a drag that Arron Oberholser's back is suffering from a bulging disk (for more reasons than one!) and he won't be back (pardon the pun) to defend his title this year...
Here's the list of celebrities that are scheduled to participate in the 2007 Pro-Am segment (HEY, no WOMEN celebrities??? What is this, 1907???):
*Harris Barton • Former Professional Football Player (San Francisco)
* Chris Berman • Sportscaster
*Michael Bolton • Entertainer
*Tom Brady • Football Player – New England Patriots
*Joe Buck • Sportscaster
*Glen Campbell • Entertainer
*Don Cheadle • Actor
*Kevin Costner • Actor/Producer/Director
*Carson Daly • TV Host
*Tom Dreesen • Entertainer
*Glenn Frey • Musician
*Kenny G • Musician
*Peter Gallagher • Actor
*Danny Gans • Entertainer
*Andy Garcia • Actor
*Thomas Gibson • Actor
*Joe Gransden • Musician
*Bob Griese • ABC Sports Analyst
*Kevin James • Actor
*Huey Lewis • Musician
*Rush Limbaugh • Radio Talk Show Host
*George Lopez • Entertainer
*Bill Murray • Actor
*Craig T. Nelson • Actor/Producer/Director
*Chris O’Donnell • Actor
*Stone Phillips • Journalist
*Ray Romano • Actor
*Darius Rucker • Musician
*Kelly Slater • World Surfing Champion
*Emmitt Smith • Professional Football Player
*Clay Walker • Entertainer

85 degrees in Thousand Oaks on Super Bowl Sunday - Feb. 4, 2007

2007-02-04T21:56:00.000-08:00

We had an 11:13AM tee time this morning at Sunset Hills Country Club, and when we pulled up into the parking lot, our hearts sank...

The place was CRAWLING with people...they were everywhere!!! Carts were strewn all over the parking lot, people were pushing or dragging carts everywhere, we had to do the body-slalom to find a parking spot, and when we DID, it was in the "dent zone", which is the front row of parking spaces facing the right side of the 9th green.

Fortunately, we learned that the crowd was actually LEAVING, not showing up, and we jetted around all 18 holes in 3 hours 45 mins...that's right, we were on our way home to watch the Super Bowl by 3:05!

Today's round was characterized by drives that were either long and laser-straight, or shortish, snap-hooky topspins, punctuated by some mutant awfulness on #4 where I basically popped up a drive into someones backyard EXTREMELY short right...the last time I did THAT was four years ago on the first tee at Pebble Beach, where I put THREE consecutive 7 woods onto the tile roofs on the condos immediately adjacent to #1, and immediately began praying that aliens would come down from the sky in their spaceship and spirit me away, never to be seen again...

I also had the opportunity to hit my new Callaway 4H "Heavenwood" in a real-round situation...ME LIKEY!!! The little darlin' has a solid feel to it, the (stock) grip feels great, and the ball just rockets off the face - it's become my new best friend from 170 yards out...I botched my tee-shot off #10 (another corkscrewed/"handsy" drive) and had a 160 yard shot into the green, into a stiff headwind...grabbed the ol' 4H and caught it right on the sweet spot....the ball arced ever so gracefully into the crystal blue sky, and floated gently back to Earth....20 yards past the GREEN!!! So much for the 4H being a direct replacement for the 4 iron...oh well, the shot FELT great, at least...I then proceeded to chunk three wedge shots because I chickened out and didn't commit to the shot because the green slopes severely away from where the ball came to rest. (I didn't want to hit it too hard, so I backed off of it, made it WORSE by lifting my friggin' head on the FIRST pathetic attempt, and proceeded to chuck three quick ones in a row, resulting in a total elapsed advancement of the ball of approximately twelve feet....nice....) Needless to say, I took a bloody snowman for the hole, once the madness stopped and I celebrated my SHORT game prowess by matching it with three PUTTS just for good measure...GAAK!

Still smarting from dancing with Mr. Frosty on the first hole of the back nine, I went to the 11th, a long, downhill par 5 of about 450 yards with a renewed sense of purpose...OK, I went with a case of the f-it's, truth be told...

Drew my trusty Callaway ERC Fusion 10degree driver, and proceeded to swing slowly, smoothly and just KNOCKED the cover off the ball...DEAD straight down the middle of the fairway, over the lip of the fairway, and down DEEP into the run-out valley down below, leaving me with ANOTHER 170 yard shot into the green. Grabbed the 4H again, and proceeded to hit ANOTHER nice shot into the green that hit the green, and hopped into the rough behind the green. Took out the 58deg. attack wedge and KEPT MY HEAD down and took a quarter swing at a Big Bertha golf ball that landed on the green, checked up and stopped about 2 feet from the pin. Lined it up and dropped it dead-center for a BIRDIE...MAN, that felt GOOD!!!

Unfortunately, there were a couple more episodes of head-lifting and chunked short wedges that caused the score today to balloon to a 96, or 24 over par...ugh

BUT - did I tell you that it was 85 degrees out on the course today???? WHO GIVES a rats-hooey what the score was - it was BEEYOOOTIFUL out there today!!! Everyone was wearing shorts out on the course, and the first sunburns of 2007 were duly recorded today - comments were flying about early Spring Fever cases, and it was just a phenomenal day on the course...

I came back home to watch the Super Bowl, and during Prince's halftime extravaganza (how PERFECT was his rendition of "Purple Rain" during a driving rain - you can't SCRIPT that any better!), I ran upstairs to get the Check-Go, and run the test that Rich at EatGolf.com proposed. I managed to salvage two balls from the sleeve of Callaway Big Bertha golf balls, and dropped 'em into the Check-Go...what do you know, they aligned the SAME way (after trees, cart paths, etc) that they did before (maybe off by an eighth of an inch, but basically the same!).

By the way, same as before, I noticed that the balls that ended up in the fairway frequently ended up with the alignment line being on the top of the ball, leading me to hypothesize that there IS something to the Check-Go, and I plan to keep on using it.

Oh, by the way, congratulations to Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts who basically dominated today's Super Bowl. After a slow start, and a scare from that kick-return specialist guy on the Bears, Peyton and the Boys basically manhandled the Bears for most of the game, and if you blink twice, you'll miss the Rex Grossman highlight reel...Ol' Rex DIDN'T have the best game of his life tonight, but then again, the persistent rain wasn't the greatest for a passing game anyways....who woulda thought that this would turn into 'The Rain-X Super Bowl'?

The Super Bowl commercials were pretty tame compared to recent years, and I thought the Coke commercial that was a turnaround on the videogame was pretty clever, and was one of the few commercials that actually sent a POSITIVE message - good show, Coke!

Also, there weren't as many "gross-out" commercials, and even the GoDaddy ads were relatively tame...but you can tell that the ones at the GoDaddy.com website will be a bit more, um, SPICY....OK, I just checked it out after grabbing that link, and I gotta tell ya - Candice Michelle just DOES NOT do it for me; Danica Patrick - yep, the blonde in the high heels sitting down and crossing her legs, CHECK....Candice - BLECHHH, but that's just me...

Snark sighting...

Here's my top five commercials, in reverse order:
5) The Bud Light "Hitcher" ad where the guy with the axe gets nervous about the next hitcher carrying a chain saw...
4) The GM machine dream-sequence ad, where the forlorn little welder machine has an "It's a Wonderful Life" experience after he messes up on the line, and considers his options...
3) The Coke ad that parodied the videogame (GTA San Andreas??? I dunno - I don't play those things) but instead of killing/hurting everyone, he does his good deed for the day for each instead...inspirational without being smarmy, and shocking because it cuts against the popular culture of being negative and edgy for edginess' sake....
2) The Budweiser ad where the white dog turns his series of misfortunes into glory as part of the Budweiser Clydesdale team....subtly inspirational....
1) The Nationwide ad featuring Kevin Federline, where he dreams about his recent success as a glitzy rapper at his fast-food job...clever, and the only commercial that made me laugh out loud, probably because it cuts so close to reality...the quick-cut to their tagline "Life comes at you fast" was the perfect punchline to the setup that took place during the rap sequences...witty, and subtly funny. (Probably an element of TRUTH, too!!!)

Farewell, OWL....

2007-02-03T13:17:00.000-08:00

I am TOTALLY bummed....

Laura Neal, the writer of "Online with Laura", also affectionately known as "OWL", has left her employment with the LPGA, and her article at LPGA.com will now be called "The LPGA Insider".

Laura's wit, talent and spirit was a HUGE attraction to LPGA.com, and whoever takes over for her has a HUGE set of shoes to fill...

As usual, the article gave no indication about where Laura's new home will be, or why she was leaving, but her articles for the last three years have been a guaranteed laugh (or tear, sometimes), and she's an amazingly talented writer.

Since they didn't allow a forwarding address, GOOD LUCK to you Laura in whatever you choose to pursue, and THANK YOU for brightening up our days with your pithy prose....

West Coast LPGA Tour news - Feb. 3, 2007

2007-02-03T11:37:00.000-08:00

Saw this post in Golfweek where "Reps from Octagon's golf division have made visits to La Costa (Carlsbad, CA) and Trump National Los Angeles (Rancho Palos Verdes, CA) with sights on helping create an early 2008 LPGA West Coast Swing that would fill in gaps between the two season openers in Hawaii, and a late March event in Phoenix. "We're making progress" reports Tim Erensen, SVP for Octagon."

That's AWESOME news for SoCal LPGA fans, who currently have to shlep two hours+ one-way to see the LPGA events in Rancho Mirage in the Spring (Kraft Nabisco), and the Samsung event with a limited field in the Fall...

So, where do we sign up to volunteer for the event at Trump National Los Angeles???

A tribute to the LAFD

2007-02-02T01:45:00.000-08:00

Following a recent post on the Westlake Villlage brushfire, I learned about the LAFD Fireblog - what a GREAT idea, and some of the features at that blog are AMAZING!

For those of you that always toyed with the idea of someday MAYBE being a firefighter...here's a resource that will make you wish that you had followed that dream, and will make you want to say THANK YOU to the men and women of fire departments everywhere, but ESPECIALLY to the Los Angeles Fire Department. (But I gotta tell ya...some of the things these folks see, and ENCOUNTER...WOW!)

Next time you see these guys and gals in line at Starbucks...buy 'em their coffee!!!

(The heli-tac water-drop photos have ME captivated.... )

I WANNA go.... (St. Andrews News Feb. 1 2007)

2007-02-01T08:43:00.000-08:00

I was listening to Pure Golf with Peter Kessler on XM 146 - The PGA Tour Network on XM Satellite Radio on my way in to work this morning, and Peter was interviewing a gentleman associated with the design and development of the new "Castle Course", the seventh course at the St. Andrews Golf complex...

Peter's guest was going on about the FANTASTIC views afforded by the course's proximity to the Firth of Forth, and how it's only 20 minutes East of Edinburgh, and how the VIEWS of the ocean and the coastline from holes 10-15 (especially lucky #13) will rival Pebble Beach and several other famous coastline courses, and the more he described, the stronger the urge became to GO there and PLAY after the "Castle Course" opens on April 1, 2008...(What's up with THAT??? April Fool's Day??? Hmmmm....curious.....)

Well, hearing about THAT got me out to the St. Andrews Links and Trust website to see if there was a progress update on the course construction....WOW, was there EVER...

(All pictures courtesy of the St. Andrews Links and Trust)

This is a shot of the "headlands" where the ninth and eighteenth holes will meet, and the clubhouse will be located. (I'm not positive if the building in the center is the foundation of the new clubhouse, or an existing structure, but you can just SEE the layout of the holes...Peter Kessler's guest was describing the phenomenal views on the back nine, and you can get an idea what he was talking about...he was also mentioning that the WIND will come into play on that series of holes...

EVIDENTLY!!!

This is a shot of the topographical map of the course...I don't know why, but I've always DUG these things since I was a kid....they're like technical art, and the descriptive information that is presented graphically is just beautiful to me...this view gives you an idea of the clubhouse and coastline layout from another perspective, as well as the elevation changes and the layout of the golf course as well (in green)

These pictures are just drop dead gorgeous, and give you an idea of the "grow in" that's already taken place...OR, the small amount of dirt that's been moved, which is what Mr. Kessler's guest was indicating - Tom Doak's minimalist approach only took ten months to implement...WOW!

As if this visual feast for the eyes wasn't ENOUGH for one day, when I got out to the St. Andrews' Links and Trust website, they're also holding a JOB fair over two days. Figuring that something like this doesn't come around every so often, I decided to copy the text, rather than link to it, to KEEP it in perpetuity, as they appear to be staffing up in anticipation of the new course opening, as well as for the 2010 "Open" Championship...check it out:

ST ANDREWS LINKS TRUST
Situations vacant at St Andrews Links Trust
Golf Manager:
St Andrews Links Trust manages and maintains the largest public golf complex in Europe including the world famous Old Course. More than 80,000 visitor rounds are played on the six Links courses each year and the practice facilities and services are used by thousands of golfers.
The Trust is seeking a senior manager to oversee its golf operations. This includes an extensive Golf Practice Centre and Golf Academy and our successful junior golf association. The Golf Manager will also supervise our caddie, starters and rangers departments and the staging of several major tournaments which take place on the Links. These include the Links Trophy, the St Rule Trophy and the Alfred Dunhill Links Trophy on an annual basis and the Women’s British Open in 2007, the Curtis Cup in 2008 and The Open Championship in 2010. {No pressure THERE, right???}
This challenging role requires a dynamic team player who is adept at running a diverse range of operations in a co-ordinated and efficient manner. The ideal candidate will have substantial experience in a senior leadership role within the golf industry.{Ya THINK???}
An excellent package is on offer for this post which presents a wonderful opportunity to become involved at the heart of the Home of Golf.{Heck, I'd pay THEM for this job!!!}
Please apply in writing to:
Ann Stuart
HR Manager
St Andrews Links Trust
Pilmour House
St Andrews KY16 9SF
or email:mailto:a.stuart@standrews.org.uk
Tel: 01334 466672
The closing date for applications is 16 February 2007

AND, if you're not at the top of the Golf Manager heap, but want to get in on the action in a more, um, GRASS ROOTS level, grab your passport and get to the airport NOW, because this Saturday is Day #2 at the:

Links Recruitment Days 2007
St Andrews Links is the most famous golfing destination in the world, with a global reputation for quality. Permanent, full-time, part-time, and seasonal job opportunities in our retail, reception and clubhouse departments are now available at the Home of Golf.
St Andrews Links is hosting two recruitment days when you can find out more about the following:
● Golf Shop Sales Associates ● Warehouse Assistant● Receptionists● Food and Beverage Assistants ● Kitchen Porters● Golf Practice Centre Assistant ● Players’ Assistants ● Putting Attendants● Facilities Assistants ● Cleaners
Come along and meet us at:
The St Andrews Links Clubhouse
West Sands Road
Tuesday 30 January and Saturday 3 February 10.00am to 2.30pm
Ann Stuart
HR Manager
St Andrews Links Trust
Pilmour House
St Andrews KY16 9SF
or email:mailto:a.stuart@standrews.org.uk
Tel: 01334 466672
{Just think what you'd see, and experience as a "Players' Assistant" or "Putting Attendant" - course you'd probably STARVE (or at least be really slender from not EATING), but still...it's nice to dream at what it MIGHT be like...}

Finishing the month on a better note

2007-01-31T10:58:00.000-08:00

Stumbled across this interesting website that is loaded with interesting information about the origin of popular golf terms, but from a Scottish perspective.

Visit ScottishGolfHistory.net for more interesting information, and timelines about the origin of golf...for instance, did you know that golf was played at Carnoustie several years BEFORE St. Andrews??? (Me either....)

Sad news from outside of golf - Rest In Peace, Barbaro

2007-01-29T10:31:00.000-08:00

My heart is heavy with grief as I read the news that Barbaro, the beautiful dark bay colt that was injured at the Preakness race last May, was euthanized this morning.

He was a beautiful, intelligent horse, and my heart goes out to those that fought so hard on his behalf at the U Penn Veterinary Hospital, and his owners and supporters.

Personally, I don't enjoy the horse races because I can't bear to see them break down, or the way the jockeys go to the whip, but lots of people say that these horses are born to run, and enjoy the activity...

In any event, I was saddened last May, kept praying for his recovery and survival, encouraged as he rallied, and am now just heartbroken at hearing of his recent setback, his suffering and that terribly difficult decision to end his suffering this morning.

Godspeed Barbaro...you touched a lot of people outside of the horseracing world with your spirit, your toughness, your intelligence and your beauty...

In Barbaro's memory, I've made a small memorial contribution to the UPenn Vet school here....if you want to make a similar donation to a West Coast University, the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine does similar work with equine veterinary care, and companion animal research, too...the UC Davis gift site is here...

Epilogue: As I've been doing more research into Barbaro's initial injury, I read that Dr. Dan Dreyfuss, older brother of a lifelong childhood friend of mine was the attending veterinarian at the racetrack when Barbaro was initially injured. "Dr. Dan" is the best in all ways possible, and I got CHILLS reading the stories here, here, here, here and here...

Epilogue Part II: If you want to see the outpouring of love and feel the admiration that this glorious creature inspired in hundreds of people, read the comments here at TimWoolleyRacing.com - but make sure you have a Kleenex handy...or a box....click here for a beautiful slideshow overview of his courageous recuperation and a touching tribute. He was a beautiful horse, with a heart and spirit of gold...the more I read about him, the sadder I become...but apparently laminitis had begun to develop in his front hooves now, and his quality of life had deteriorated...

Epilogue Part III: Having recently lost a beloved animal companion myself, this story was a real heart-tugger...

Rest In Peace, Champ....

At first I was skeptical...

2007-01-28T22:11:00.000-08:00

A colleague at work gave me a gift certificate to Golfsmith (How thoughtful-thank you, Kelly!) and I decided to use it for something that I've been curious about for a long time, but was too cheap to spend my own money on...(there, I admitted it...)

No, I didn't buy one of those silly Trion-Z magnetic voodoo bracelets that's now endorsed by David Leadbetter (David, David, David....c'mon...), but I DID spring for one of those ubiquitous Golf Channel infomercial-staples, the Check-Go.

For those that have not been GLUED to the Golf Channel during the morning to see this infomercial, the Check-Go is a smallish piece of equipment that spins a single golf ball really fast on a small turntable inside a plastic cage, just like a Spin-Art at the county fair.

The idea is that once the ball reaches its top velocity (several thousand RPM), you then touch it with a marking pen and draw a line on the ball to mark the perimeter line of the ball that identifies its balance point, and the ball will then theoretically roll more true on the line of your putt, and not be affected by imperfections in the manufacturing process which will cause the golf ball to "wobble" on its way to the cup...plus, it gives you a nice aiming line as an alignment aid.

Needless to say, I was skeptical. I figured that modern manufacturing techniques would produce balls that are produced consistently, with centered cores, perfectly round exteriors, and no imperfections in weight and balance, and I figured that this was another "Inspector Gadget" golf gimmick...

Not any more...

Well, I took Kelly's Christmas present, and bought one of these little fellas at Golfsmith in Woodland Hills, CA about a week after Christmas, and I've been using it for the past month.

I have to admit - I think there's something TO this product! I have noticed an improvement in the way that my putts have been tracking, and most telling - I have noticed that almost every time, the line on the ball ends up on the top of the ball when it comes to rest in the fairway! That tells me that the ball DOES come to rest with the "heaviest" part of the ball "down" when it comes to rest on its own, and that there IS something to identifying its balance point and using the configuration of each ball to assist your putting stroke!

One of the most INTERESTING parts about using this tool, is the movement of each ball that you notice as the ball is spun up to speed. I tested an entire box of golf balls by aligning the alignment mark on the exterior of each ball with the anticipated "draw line" of the Check-Go, and was AMAZED at how much variation there is from the start position and the finished "draw line" on 90%+ of the balls in a couple of boxes. SOME of the golf balls actually rattled off the plastic cage, they were so unbalanced!

I was also amazed at how true the balls roll along the draw line when I strike them squarely (which is pretty frequently). I've noticed that my biggest putting bugaboo is basic line selection (alignment) and distance management, not striking the ball off center, or push/pulling the ball, and the majority of the time the balls WILL track truly on the "draw line". Fewer balls tend to drift mysteriously "off line", and the number of putts per round have decreased by about 10%, and I'm scoring more in the mid to upper 80's per round, and fewer rounds in the 90's.

Granted, it's still too early to tell if this phenomenon is a fluke or not, but for now, I'm enjoying my rounds more, and the way that more putts seem to find their way to the cup, or much closer to it, and it's also a good feedback device to see that "draw line" when it stays solid as the ball rolls towards the cup. The Check-Go puts a line COMPLETELY around the circumference of the golf ball, unline the "Line-Em-Up" device that I previously used to draw a line on HALF of the ball...

For now, I'd have to say that the Check-Go is a worthwhile investment, and has helped lower my score by helping the golf ball to stay more truly on-line with the putting stroke, with fewer "drift balls"...

Drool buckets at the ready

2007-01-26T10:23:00.000-08:00

Saw this at a golf newsletter that I subscribe to....and had to get out the drool bucket as a result...

Looks like our good friends at Callaway Golf / Odyssey Putters are bringing back a milled line of putters, similar to my beloved Callaway Blue TT-3, but they're calling this one the "Black Series"...

If it PERFORMS half as well as I think it looks, Callaway's got themselves a WINNER!!! (An open note to Callaway Market Research: If you guys need some real-world market research FEEDBACK on this new putter line, please e-mail me at tartangolfgripsdotcom@gmail.com and we can set something up...) =)

Seriously, nice job, folks!!!

So this is January???

2007-01-24T14:26:00.000-08:00

I was just driving down the main thoroughfare between my work and home, and the temperature gauge on the official TartanGolfGrips.com Acura read 84 degrees!

So this is January in Southern California, huh? Not bad...

I had left my cell phone on my desk at home, so I headed home to retrieve it and drop off my golf clubs, as some colleagues and I had planned on hitting a bucket of golf balls at lunch, but our plans changed and that didn't happen today...

However, when I got home, I had a voicemail on the ol' cell phone...turns out my wife was letting me know that she was going to play golf this afternoon! She's launching an insurance sales career, and one of her potential clients were shorthanded and needed a fourth, so she got the call...

I'm TOTALLY jealous... I WANNA play golf this afternoon!!!

Anyhow, I alluded to it my last post, so here's the latest addition to the official TartanGolfGrips.com Acura - I added these decals to the back window last weekend, and I think it looks pretty slick...it gets the idea across without being TOTALLY obnoxious...

In case you were asleep during geography class, that's the flag of Scotland on the left...

Here's a little interesting trivia, according to Wikipedia: "The flag of Scotland features a white saltire, a crux decussate (X-shaped cross) representing the cross of the Christian martyr Saint Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland, on a blue field. It is named the Saltire or the Saint Andrew's Cross. In heraldic language, it may be blazoned Azure, a saltire argent.

The flag of Scotland is one of the oldest flags in the world, traditionally dating back to the 9th century, and is the oldest national flag still in modern use, the oldest state flag being Denmark's Dannebrog..."

I've seen fire, and I've seen (snow)....but not much rain (yet...)

2007-01-23T00:28:00.000-08:00

(All photos courtesy of Los Angeles Times)

Proving again that life in Southern California is not boring, we've gone from having snow flurries, hailstorms and sub-freezing overnight temperatures LAST week, to having warm Santa Ana winds blowing TODAY that pushed the temperatures on the official TartanGolfGrips.com Acura (more on that in a later posting) temperature gauge to 74 blissful degrees at lunchtime...

However, with that temperature and the winds comes an unfortunate downside - fire.

Tonight's adventure was too close to home, literally, as this was approximately two offramps down the Ventura Freeway from the TartanGolfGrips.com creative compound.
The fire broke out about 4:30 PM, and was fanned by winds that were gusting to about 20 mph. Fortunately, as the sun went down, so did the winds, which allowed the firefighters to maintain their aerial assault well past nightfall.

The prevailing winds at the time that the fire broke out briefly raised speculation that the residents near Sherwood Country Club and the Lake Sherwood area might be affected, but that area is about four miles to the south of the blaze, and the flames were contained as the winds died down.

BIG-TIME KUDOS go to the studs (and studettes) that fly Heli-Tac air operations for the various local fire agencies...on my way home from work, I headed up to the upper parking lot at Westlake High School, and had front-row seats to the airstrikes taking place from two helicopters. Their precision carpet-bombing of flames reaching over 30 feet into the air amidst dense smoke and tricky up and downdrafts was spectacular to behold, and if I ever am fortunate enough to meet one of you in person, I will PERSONALLY buy you a beer, or beverage of your choice! This shot was taken tonight and is NOT stock footage!

The latest report is that the fire is currently contained, but the fire officials are concerned about the winds that are supposed to increase again in the morning.

Snark sighting here...

Epilogue: Following Mr. Humphrey's post at MY site, I checked out the LAFD blog (VERY cool site, by the way...I am proud to add it to MY blogroll of fame) and saw HIS POST on this event. That mutual aid agreement has saved COUNTLESS properties, and probably LIVES, too...I remember when the firestorms were burning into Oak Park in Sep./Oct. '05, I was AMAZED at the distances that the firefighters had come to protect the homes of my neighbors, and the OUTPOURING of community support and gratitude for their talent, energy and efforts.

Watch out for Julieta...

2007-01-22T15:42:00.000-08:00

In case anyone was paying attention this past weekend, what with all the fireworks going on down in Palm Springs, the UAE and Maui, Julieta Granada powered the Paraguayan team to victory in the LPGA's season opener at the Women's World Cup of Golf down in South Africa...

Evidently, her season-ending, million-dollar win to end the 2006 LPGA Tour season was not a fluke...

I've seen this talented player up close and personal, and she's the real deal!

Watch for her on the 2007 LPGA Tour....

Missing PGA Tour Sunday on USA Network

2007-01-19T08:31:00.000-08:00

We'll make this one short and sweet...check out this blog posting from Michael Collins, erstwhile caddy/comedian from the dearly beloved and sorely missed PGA Tour Sunday on USA Network... wished I was there in person...

MBA Buzzword BS-Bingo Lingo (TM)

2007-01-19T06:54:00.000-08:00

After a long year of hard work, impossibly long hours and personal sacrifice making deals and taking companies public, the deal-makers at Morgan Stanley have decided to make a deal for themselves that has MULTIPLE SYNERGISTIC BENEFITS, to quote from my MBA Buzzword BS-Bingo lingo manual...

The new investment/winter meeting site/principal's vacation getaway portfolio of sites now include: the Grand Wailea Resort Hotel & Spa in Maui, Hawaii ; La Quinta Resort & Club and PGA West in La Quinta, Calif.; Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa in Phoenix; The Ritz-Carlton Orlando in Florida; Doral Golf Resort & Spa in Miami, Fla.; JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa in Phoenix and Claremont Resort & Spa in Berkeley, Calif.

Now, I mean NO SERIOUS disrespect to all my friends in the Bay Area, but SOMEHOW I can't help but feeling that the Claremont Spa got thrown in as an ummmmmmm... EXTRA-ADDED benefit amongst all those other five-star beauties.... (those old palm trees ARE quite, ummmm...IMPRESSIVE!!!)

Hey Sergio...didja know...

2007-01-18T23:31:00.000-08:00

Here's a picture of Sergio Garcia doing his best imitation of a Winn Excel AVS grip at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship....(That's the Winn grip on the right/above, by the way...)

Plus, after a hard day out on the course, looking tres' chic in your matching red and black duds, there's nothing like settling down with a big glass of milk and one of those new Titleist Incredible Edi-Balls..they're DE-LICOUS, and NU-TRICIOUS!!! (And chock FULL of minerals and vitamins, too!!!)

*** Follow up: This just in - a note from Sergio's Mom:

"Honey, PLEASE don't put those in your mouth...they spray ALL kinds of nasty pesticides and chemicals on that grass to keep it looking nice and pretty, and that ball DOES NOT belong in your MOUTH!!! Now take it OUT, and DON'T put that in your mouth AGAIN!

Patricia - that means YOU and those TEES, too!!! And NO PARTYING on a SCHOOL NIGHT, either!!!"

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

2007-01-18T09:34:00.000-08:00

As I and "TheGolfChick" have been posting recently, it's been colder than normal here in Southern California...and WINDIER, too...(I've lived here my entire life, and it's been a LONG time since it's been SO windy...EVERY day it's like 30-50 mph winds...so, we play the ball a bit back in our stance, and keep it low...just like they do in Texas, right???)

But I digress...it was SO cold in Southern California yesterday... {How cold WAS it???} It was SO cold in Southern California yesterday that it SNOWED in the Santa Monica mountains, midway between Malibu on the coast, and Agoura Hills where I work!!! (It actually HAILED quite hard for a few minutes in Agoura Hills, and we had several lightning strikes, one of which was right overhead, because it was like Flash-BOOM...kinda spooky, actually...it got so dark outside {How dark WAS it???) It was so dark outside that the parking lot lights turned on at 11AM!!!

(This shot is of houses in southern Agoura Hills)

Check out the snow pics, courtesy of The Ventura County Star and The Daily News of Los Angeles:
*** UPDATE: For some TRULY AMAZING PICTURES of the Kanan Road snowfall, taken from the KNBC newscopter as it fell, check out CopterChick's blog here...

The shots below are from Kanan Road, headed towards Malibu from Agoura Hills...

Bob Hope Chrysler Classic news

2007-01-18T08:19:00.000-08:00

Found this interesting tidbit on the BHCC.com website - it's the handicap listings of all of the celebrities that are competing in this year's Bob Hope Chrysler Classic golf tournament.

Note Kenny G's handicap - ZERO - the guy is GOOD!!! So is Maury Povich and Sterling Sharpe! And what about Tom Dreesen, long-time opening act for Frank Sinatra himself (super nice guy, too), and Carson Daly at a 7.

Also found this link to the celebrity scoring portion of the tournament - the sports press will no doubt concentrate on Mickelson's return to competition, but this side-story adds immeasurable interest to this classic event. ENJOY!

ZZZZZZZZZZ....

2007-01-16T03:19:00.000-08:00

Rant on...

It appears that the St. Andrews Links and Trust announced the winner of the naming of the 7th course over the weekend....

Can you spell B O R I N G ???

The winning name??? {Drumroll please.....}

Are you ready for this???

{Make sure you're sitting down, and don't have any milk in your mouth, cuz you'll spit it out on your computer monitor when you see this lame-o name they selected....}

Ready???? Here goes.....

The Castle Course

BU WA HA HA HA HA HA - they had over FOUR THOUSAND entries, and they chose "The Castle Course"???

As this article in the Scotsman relayed, Mr. Alastair Dempster (are you sure it isn't DUmpster?) reported (somewhat defensively, apparently) "Defending the choice, Mr Dempster said trustees sought a name which was easy to understand, relevant to the course and town and which fitted in with the trust's family of names.

He added: "In golfing terms this is a major decision and a historic announcement. It's not every day that a new course at St Andrews is named. In reaching this decision, we were acutely aware that the name would have to stand the test of time and remain appropriate to a world-famous golfing destination." {Wake me up when it's over...)

Yeah, Alastair, "The Castle Course" should stand the test of time....and it SURE is easy to understand - not much risk or imagination there....apparently there used to be a castle called Kinkell Castle on the property, so there you go....(so if some farmer had abandoned his plow on the property, would it have been fair to suggest "The Plow Course"??? Unbelieveable....)

An American named Edwin Burtnett was selected from the other unimaginitive sheep, I mean contestants that played it safe, and Mr. Burtnett gets the opportunity to play one of the first rounds when the course is officially opened next year...I'm pretty sure Mr. Burtnett just AGONIZED for HOURS over his winning selection, along with the other contestants' names that were in the lottery fishbowl....

Click here for the OFFICIAL report....oh well, it still looks like a PHENOMENAL course, and I plan to go play it someday soon....along with a few others in the area....hopefully with Mom in the cart, enjoying the day, and her first trip back to Scotland since the end of World War II...

Maybe the locals will take to calling it "Seachdadhar Brae" (Seventh Heaven Hill)

Rant off....

Day off, and....

2007-01-16T02:54:00.000-08:00

We played 14 holes at Sunset Hills on Monday, and we had the place to ourselves.

Why you ask, especially on Martin Luther King's birthday, when so many people have the day off?

Because it was COLD, that's why!!! BITTERLY cold for Southern California...in fact, we've had rather bad frost damage to many of the plants in the back yard....Southern California has been in the grips of some record-setting cold weather for the past few days and nights, and the temperature in the Thousand Oaks area has dipped into the high 20's and low 30's for the last three nights, and the cold north winds were blowing 20-30mph throughout the day today...

I bundled up in three layers of a mock turtleneck, polo shirt and my Longs Drugs Challenge Anitigua golf jacket and headed out to do battle with the course and the elements, and you know what? Thanks to the world's best golf ball (IMO), the Callaway HX Tour coupled with my new Heavenwood 4H hybrid, I managed to post a 43 (8 over) for the front nine...

For some reason, I found the sand repeatedly, but managed to make some MIRACULOUS sand saves with that magic HX Tour ball, where it popped out of the sand, checked up like it was sticking to Velcro, and stopped right by the pin for a relatively easy putt...

HX Tour's cost a bit more, but based upon today's round, I might be trading up from the HX Hot to play the HX Tour for its better spin characteristics around the green...I've been practicing a more descending stroke at the range in an attempt to get the ball to check up more, and I think that the practice is beginning to pay dividends...but the ball didn't hurt the efforts either...

And, also had an unscheduled detour yesterday...the plan was to play in the Guys'N'Dolls tournament that teed off at noon at Sunset Hills CC, but I just HAPPENED to stumble across GolfChannel.com and checked out the new Golf Inventor reality show link, and Holy SHMOKES, they had open auditions for Los Angeles yesterday!!! I had submitted my application back around Halloween, and gotten an e-mail confirmation back, but somehow I fell through the cracks, and wasn't notified of yesterday's open auditions at the LAX Hilton Hotel.

Coincidentally, that LAX Hilton Hotel was my second-ever audit client when it first opened, and I knew where everything was...it was weird returning to a place that I spent SO many long days auditing way back when I was in an internship program at Cal State Northridge...

The auditions were from 8AM to 8PM, and they had opened the doors for registration at 7AM...seeing as I stumbled across the announcement at 9:30AM, and had to complete a rather lengthy application, get ready and travel to the LAX area, I checked in at 12:50PM and was assigned #96...and they were on #58 when I got my number. I had my 5 minute audition about 5:30PM, and I had taken in three putters with TartanGolfGrips.com grips on them as part of my audition. From what I could tell, most of the inventions were more technical or training oriented than my product, but the auditioner who greeted me instinctively blurted out "Those are COOL grips!" when he saw them, which was EXACTLY the reaction that I always hope for...

We'll see how the audition process goes, but there were at least 98 people who showed up in Los Angeles, and they're having auditions in Orlando, Dallas, Chicago and one or two other cities...and it appears that there's NO shortage of golf junkies who have designed "the next big thing" and want to introduce it to the world in the new reality series on the Golf Channel.

Truly a shooting star - Lorena Ochoa's news...

2007-01-11T07:38:00.000-08:00

I hope she changes her mind, and allows us to enjoy her grace, athleticism and class on the course for MUCH longer, but 2006 LPGA Player of the Year Lorena Ochoa announced Jan. 10, 2007 that she's limiting her playing career to only ten years. Say it ain't so, Lo...say it ain't so!!!

She's an amazingly talented player, and I got to be her standard bearer up at the 2004 Longs Drugs Challenge. Truly a classy, super nice lady, and an AWESOME golf talent...I really hope that she changes her mind, and continues to play, albeit on a more limited basis...she's such a great competitor, I'll bet that she changes her mind down the road, but I could be wrong...

If you want a Mexico flag putter grip just like the one Lorena uses, you can get one here at the secure shopping site for TartanGolfGrips.com, and learn more about that grip at MexicoPutterGrip.com.

Sherwood Country Club-2006 Target World Challenge Volunteer Day I - Jan. 8, 2007

2007-01-10T07:45:00.000-08:00

Monday, January 8, 2007 was volunteer day #1 for the 2006 Target World Challenge, and the day dawned sunny, breezy and warm. (Sorry about the "A" pillar, there was another car turning off of Portrero Road behind me and basic photo composition went out the window in favor of being a considerate driver...)

I checked in at the guard station at about 9:20AM, and was wished a cheery "Have fun out there!" by the security guard. She called it - we had fun!

My SCORE didn't look much fun, but with the exception of a couple of blowup holes and unfortunate splashdowns, it was a GREAT day! (More about that later...)

The essence of Sherwood is that the fairways are relatively broad and generous, but the oak trees influence the line of flight on almost every hole. The greens tend to be smallish, relatively narrow configurations, and undulate like potato chips - they're TOUGH to read, and TOUGH to score well on. It's a beautiful course that makes use of the natural topography, has several water features and hazards that can be problematic, and a mudhen problem on Tournament #2/Member #11 that cannot be BELIEVED!!! There's HUNDREDS of 'em, and the little buggers need to wear DIAPERS!!! There's mudhen guano
E V E R Y W H E R E from 150 yards in....even on the GREEN! (Eew! My approach shot landed in some...double EEW!! Thank GOODNESS you're allowed to clean your golf ball - they need to declare a local rule for lift, clean & replace on the #11 approach zone) When we were going out to Member #11 in the morning, the grounds crew were running TWO Australian shepherd dogs around the water hazards to shoo the mudhens into the water hazard. (Those dogs need to be trained to do coot-doo cleanup!) That's about the only fault I can find with the course...but the coots need a place to live too, so they've chosen the NICEST place to live in the area, just like the PEOPLE who live at Sherwood!

It wasn't so prevalent at THIS year's tournament, but there have been some absolutely RAGING parties on the patios (Isn't that an old ZZ Top tune?) on Championship Sunday. From my days as a standard bearer (last year), there were some ragers going on Tournament #2 and #7 - believe me, THOSE people know how to throw a party!!! I checked this year, and that party house on #7 had Vin Scully, longtime (and BELOVED) voice of the Dodgers sitting out on a folding chair on the patio (but no loud music THIS year) - I saw him with my binoculars from the crossover on #6 - hey, it gets boring up there while you're waiting for Padraig Harrington's group.... (LOVE ya, Padraig! Seriously! But I digress...)

The guard gave me my parking pass (pictured below) and I found a great parking spot right where the Tournament organizing committee parked in the members parking lot.
I got checked in and found out that we were starting on hole #13 (Lucky 13?), which is played as hole #4 at the Target World Challenge. It's a beautiful, 459 yard par 4 from the tips, but we were playing from the 435 yard blue tees today...

Wandered down to the carts and found our cart amongst the throng that had been assembled - the organizing at Sherwood is flawless, and each cart had been outfitted with a towel, three tees for each player, two box lunches, a Sherwood divot tool and a partridge in a pear tree. (Just kidding about the partridge and the pear tree, but the guys just TOP out the carts for us!) (See if you can find the TartanGolfGrips.com putter grip in the picture of the Sherwood Country Club golf cart...and NO, I didn't Photoshop it into the picture, I COMPOSED it that way...attractive, huh? You can order your very own at https://shop.tartangolfgrips.com )

Headed down to the putting green to get the eye sharp, but with the undulations in the greens, it's an academic exercise, but at least it gives you something to do...it's a little known secret, but there's actually a SECOND putting green, up by hole #1, so I headed over there to hit a few balls and get the Stimp reading down...they were FAST - it's been really dry and windy in SoCal since Christmas, and the greens were quick! (You can see the general area of the putting green in this pic - it's at the base of the flagpole. It's smaller than the main green, but at least there wasn't three people aiming for the same cup over there!

(While we're over there - just take a look at the size of that house behind the first tee's flagpole! No, that's NOTa hotel, that's NOT an aircraft hangar, that's ONE family's HOUSE, folks! (Can you imagine VACUUMING that place??? It'd be like painting the Golden Gate bridge - by the time you're done with one side of the house, enough dirt has accumulated on the other side that you have to start over and you never finish! Please don't touch anything, and please keep the line moving....))

Sherwood is one of THE most exclusive country clubs and neighborhoods in the area, and home to many famous celebrities including Wayne Gretzky, Pete Sampras, Tom Selleck, Scott Hamilton and many others...the homes that line the fairways are truly AMAZING, and it's a real treat to see the beautiful landscaping and architectural features that the residents incorporate into their homes AND backyards...and the golf course ain't bad, EITHER!

We got our official welcome from the head pro, and headed out at 10AM sharp...it was sunny, warm and breezy - but not so windy that it interfered significantly with our games. It has been another amazing "winter" thus far, it's been windier and drier than normal and the average temperature throughout December has been about 75, and this day was no exception...on the way home, the termperature gauge in the car read 82...at 5PM! The wind kicked up a few times between 10AM and noon, but the afternoon was basically still and absolutely PERFECT for golf!

It's interesting to note this picture - notice the guy wearing the shorts! This is the first year in the seven that I've worked this tournament that volunteers were allowed to wear shorts on volunteer day! Had I known...

I had requested to be paired with Dave and Jan. Dave and I worked on #6 and #15 for the tournament, which are REALLY #15 and #6 the way the members (and the volunteers) play the course. Jan worked (tournament) #3 and #12, which are a pair of par-3's. We were told that holes #9 and #18 would be played the way they are for the tournament, and I think that instruction screwed with several groups, because there was ALL kinds of confusion in following that instruction, and we encountered several other groups that were not adjacent to our group as we played our round on both #9 and #18. Maybe it was because those were the only two holes that were played the same way as the tournament...

Dave and I used to work for Kenneth Leventhal and Company, a Century City CPA firm which is now part of Ernst & Young. I started my career with them quite a few years ago, and Dave was an audit manager for several Palm Springs developers.

I was a staff auditor on a Santa Monica real estate developer that had several Palm Springs divisions that had January/February calendar-year audits at the same time as Dave's account. Back in the day, we'd work the audits Monday through Friday, stay on-site at some of the residential units or hotels over the weekend, and play golf down at the courses that were attached to the developments that we were auditing. It was at some of these weekend golf "stay-overs" that I met Dave, and our friendship was rekindled when we met one another about five years ago at the Target World Challenge. We've golfed together every volunteer day since, and had a great time together. Dave's a member at Wood Ranch Country Club in Simi Valley, and he used to be a member at Sunset Hills Country Club. He's now a senior manager at Countrywide Financial Corporation.

I met Jan last year, and she's in the Marketing group at 21st Century Insurance, an auto insurance company in Woodland Hills who built a second headquarters building on the old driving range that stretched from Topanga Canyon Blvd to Owensmouth Avenue in Woodland Hills, where I first went to practice golf many years ago... Jan's very athletic, and plays a solid game of golf. She ALSO has the exact same Husky headcover that I have on my driver (although ours are last years model and they have PAWS that make them look better). Dave and I suggested an alignment and grip adjustment, and we had Jan hitting 30 yards farther and straighter by the end of our round - I think she was pleased with the result! It was cool offering some guidance, and actually having it help out a fellow golfer...you know what they say - those that can't DO, TEACH!

Anyways, off we headed to hole #13, a 435 yard par 4 with water alongside the right side. Dave and I chickened out and put our drives WAY down the left side on the inland side of the hole, and Jan dropped a mulligan into the drink, and then proceeded to BLAST her second drive straight down the middle of the fairway about 240 yards. Here's a shot of the tee, and another below of my second shot...

My second shot was a hybrid of about 165 yards to within 60 yards of the pin, where I pitched to within 15 feet and two-putted for bogey. Notice how IMMACULATE the fairway and second cut are...(that's Dave doing his best "Wandering Golfer" imitation, by the way...)

This is the view of my approach to the green...and Jan walking to HER approach shot...note the variety of clubs, as we were playing "cart path only"...ugh....

Hole number 14 is my new best friend...we played it twice (ssssh, don't tell anyone) and I parred it BOTH times! Played it the SAME WAY both times, too...lasered a drive RIGHT at the double-trunked tree on the right side of the fairway, bouncing it left into the fairway (Thank you, Golf Tiki!). Hit a hybrid to the left second cut. Hit a nine iron the first time, and a seven iron the second time to the left side of the green, and funneled it down to 8-12 feet from the pin, and SANK the par putt! Here's the hole 14 shot sequence in pictures:

Obviously I ticked off "The Golf Tiki" on #14, because my fortune CHANGED in a big way on #15, the hole that Dave and I marshaled at the Target World Challenge. I have been hitting a draw recently, and have adjusted my alignment a bit to compensate for it...

#15 features a narrow, uphill "gun barrel" approach, which is even MORE PRONOUNCED for the PGA players when they play it from the tips...it is a NARROW, BLIND tee shot into a crowned fairway. (This is where Colin Montgomerie corkscrewed his drive into the base of the hill on the left, and my crossover post is about the same place that the guy at the left on the hill is pictured below.)

Well, my "draw alignment" coupled with my sudden LACK of draw EXECUTION resulted in THREE back-to-back drives BLOCKED badly onto the hillside to the SHORT RIGHT... ( I DID find my second shot, nestled safely amongst some native scrub plants inside the stand of trees, but it WAS OB, and good for TWO....TIMES THREE...UGH....). Here's the view down the gun-barrel at #15:The guy at the left side of the hillside is near my post at the crossover to Tournament #7, the bottom of that hill is where Colin doinked his drive in the rain, and the half a tree at the right is the LEFT of where I doinked THREE of MY shots off the tee...

Unfortunately, our photojournalistic escapades end here, because with all the ON/OFF, shoot, repeat action on the course, the battery decided to take the rest of the day off, so you'll have to wait until NEXT year's blog entry to see the REMAINDER of the gorgeous scenery at Sherwood Country Club (or just tune in and watch on TV, instead - the golf will probably be better anyway...)

The irony of the day award went to ME, because I DOINKED up BOTH holes that Dave and I worked - after popping three drives into the tree/hillside on the right on Tournament #6, I ALSO decided to launch a triumvirate of topped offerings into the fishies that swim in the water hazard that guards Tournament #15, before FINALLY landing drive number FOUR about seven feet from the pin, and sinking the putt for the big SNOWMAN (on a par 3...sheesh....). It's spelled B L O W U P H O L E, Scott....(and brings to mind that old saw about crapping where you eat, or something like that...)

Here's the final evidence - I'm not proud of it, but I think I won, because I had more points than Dave and Jan did...right??? Well, at least I DID par TWO holes...whoopee!!!

Thanks for gutting it out to the bitter end - hope you enjoyed the pics and stories...it was a FUN day, and I hope the weather is as nice for the rest of the volunteers at the END of the month...

Congratulations, Chris DiMarco....

2007-01-08T21:09:00.000-08:00

On your Florida Gators' decisive 41-14-win over heavily favored Ohio State in the 2007 BCS National Championship game...By the way, if you will please contact me, I have a TartanGolfGrips.com set of golf grips for you that I tried to get to you at the recent 2006 Target World Challenge.

I guess it was a good year for underdog football teams that wear Blue and Orange!!!

It just didn't feel like Sunday...

2007-01-07T16:52:00.000-08:00

Without PGA Tour Sunday on USA Network...

I always liked the blend of "hard" and "soft" news, where they mixed PGA Tour and LPGA Tour news and developments with human interest stories and "golf life" stories...

I hope that Golf Channel (better not mess up the brand), picks up the exact same team, or one like it, because it really became a part of my Sunday ritual, especially since we got a TiVo machine...

I'm REALLY gonna be bummed when the AT&T Pebble Beach comes around, because they did a great job reporting on all the celebrity goings on and the human interest stories...

Anyone else going through PGA Tour Sunday withdrawal???

On a happier note, tomorrow is "Volunteer Day I" and we're playing Sherwood Country Club for FREE, as compensation for volunteering at the recent Target World Championship. It's a super-cool bonus, and my goal this year is to play the entire round with the same sleeve of balls, score notwithstanding...we'll see how that plays out...

I'll take my camera and do some posting tomorrow...

How cool is THIS???

2007-01-03T13:10:00.000-08:00

Banfield, The Pet Hospital, the world's largest private veterinary practice, has joined forces with pet owner and PGA TOUR champion Rory Sabbatini to raise dollars for the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, which supports American soldiers and their families that have been affected by the current military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

More information is here and here....

We'll buy two when they come out February 1, 2007....way to go, Rory!!!

This just in from St. Andrews...

2007-01-03T12:22:00.000-08:00

It must be to preserve the fairways from the inclement Scottish winter weather, but it just looks ODD to see that "fairway mats" are required at the home of golf...check it out (they do their dates Euro style (dd/mm/yy):

"3/01/07 - Fairway mats are required on the Strathtyrum and New Courses as well as the Old Course. In low season, St Andrews Links continues to be one of the best places to play golf."

Click here for some cool pictures...

Turns out that over 4,000 entries were received to name the new "Number 7" course...that'll make WINNING it even the sweeter...remember Seachdadhar Brae - you saw it here first...(Seachdadhar is Scots Gaelic (loosely interpreted) for "Seventh Heaven")

Click here for some good deals on fairway mats...

While you're at it,please check out The Niblick Journal for some interesting golf observations...they've taken some time off, but they must be ramping up in time for PGA Tour season - which starts TOMORROW!!! {Wahoo!!!}

Final thought for the day - check out the fun fantasy leagues that are being run at PGATOUR.COM

And the winner is...the 2006 golf website of the year goes to...

2007-01-03T03:40:00.000-08:00

As awarded by Scotsman.com - congratulations goes to our own Geoff Shackelford and geoffshackelford.com.

The 2006 "Huggy" award for "Best golf website" went to Geoff with a comment of "Log on today if you really want to know what's going on in golf."

Congratulations, Geoff - we love your Rustic Canyon design, and hope to SOMEDAY, SOMEHOW get to play the Prairie Club course near Valentine, NE.

My wife was born in Valentine, and her folks now live in North Platte, NE, about 2 hours south of the Prairie Club on HIghway 97. Her cousin Dan is the superintendent at Sand Hills Golf Club near Mullen, NE. Sand Hills was ranked #1 in the nation in the 2006 Golfweek course rating for courses built since 1960, and we got to play Sand Hills over the July 4 holiday last summer, along with Wild Horse Golf Club in Gothenburg, NE.

What a couple of FUN, beautiful, CHALLENGING courses...if you're ever in Nebraska....you MIGHT want to check out these beauties....