November 2010

TRUE Tours First Impressions

by Derek on November 30, 2010

in Equipment

[UPDATE:  You can read my full review of the TRUE Tours here.]

I finally got a chance to see the new TRUE Linkswear Tour shoes in person at the PGA Tour Superstore in Plano, TX. I didn’t buy a pair (yet) but I did wear them around a bit and I have to say that I’m pretty impressed.

The closest thing that I can compare them to are my Sanuk sandals. They have a similar wide toebox that feels and looks a bit unusual compared to more traditional shoes. But I’ve found that the wide toebox fits my foot much better and consequently is more comfortable to wear. They do fit more snugly than my Sanuks, which is a good thing for an athletic activity.

[click to continue…]

oliver wilson vibram five fingers golf

This past weekend, Oliver Wilson wore Vibram Five Fingers instead of traditional golf shoes at the Dubai World Championship.  I’ve long been a fan of Vibram Five Fingers (although I  really think they should be called Vibram Five Toes but whatever), and that is a big part of the reason for my excitement about the new True Linkswear shoes.  My friends like to joke about my Five Fingers and call them “Spiderman” shoes, but Phil did go buy a pair a day after seeing mine…

[click to continue…]

A note to golf tournament organizers: If you’re going to offer a car as a hole-in-one prize, buy the damn insurance.  There are companies that specialize in this.  It’s not very expensive (probably $500 depending on the car) and will save you a lot of money in the long run.

If you ignore this advice, you will probably find yourself in the middle of a lawsuit like the Southern Pines Elks Lodge and Pinehurst Nissan.  Long story short, Pinehurst resident Paul Verdecchia made a hole-in-one earlier this summer during the Elks Lodge annual tournament at Southern Pines Golf and Country Club.  He thought he had won a car, but apparently nobody had bought hole-in-one insurance and Pinehurst Nissan backed out of an (alleged) agreement to provide a free car to anybody that aced the 172 yard 14th hole.

[click to continue…]

Don’t say you never learned anything on this website.  Scientists have found that Sharks use barely visible scales to create turbulence in the water which allows them to turn quickly when hunting.  Yada yada… science… yada yada… flow separation… yada yada… fluid dynamics.

Apparently this is effectively the same technology as dimples on a golf ball.  Although for some reason dimples are supposed to make your ball go straighter and farther but they makes sharks turn faster???  I don’t know about you, but I’m blaming my next snap hook off the tee on the dimples.  No word on if sharks are also using USGA conforming grooves.

The Telegraph

If you live in Seattle, it’s a little too cold and snowy for golf this time of year. But that doesn’t mean that golf courses sit unused. The city of Seattle announced today that Jackson Park Golf Course is now open to sledding. I’ve never lived someplace where people go sledding (I’ve never actually been sledding before), but it seems like a cool way to get additional use out of a golf course during the winter.

Seattle Post Intelligencer

[Image: Flickr/3Neus]

[picappgallerysingle id="10242307" align="center"]

As you might have noticed from my posts these past few weeks, I really like seeing the competition for tour cards in the fall. In some ways I think that it’s more compelling to see guys struggling to stay in the top 125 or 150, than compete for a top 10 world rankings spot.

This article on golfweek.com got me thinking.  Failure on the PGA Tour is more lucrative than expected.  In fact, in 2009 the top 125 cut-off was $681,631.  Most people would kill to make that kind of money in a single year.  But in 2010, Troy Merritt, who landed at 125 on the money list, made $786,977, an increase of $105k over last year.

What explains the jump in earnings at the lower end of the PGA tour money list?  The total prize money increased slightly (by about $1.4m) but that’s not enough to skew these numbers.  The big differences, in fact, were Tiger, Phil, and Steve Stricker.

[click to continue…]

Kornheiser Responds to Garrigus

by Derek on November 21, 2010

in PGA Tour

Here’s Tony Kornheiser’s response to Robert Garrigus’s remarks after his win last week.  Couple of thoughts:  Yes, Garrigus probably read too much into Kornheiser’s comments after the loss to Westwood.  But Kornheiser also needs to ratchet down the sensitivity level a tiny bit (not exactly a new criticism).

Michael Wilbon has it right.  Garrigus obviously wasn’t being mean spirited.  It was more of a good natured ribbing from Garrigus than anything truly malicious.

Either way, I’d like to see a golf match take place.  40 strokes from the women’s tees may be a little excessive (or maybe not – I’m guessing that Kornheiser isn’t exactly a scratch golfer), but it would be fun to see them get out on the course and settle this with a wager going to the of their choice.

Garrigus Gives Kornheiser the Finger

by Derek on November 20, 2010

in PGA Tour

I don’t know how I missed this one.  After winning the Children’s Miracle Network Classic on Sunday, Robert “Bassaholic” Garrigus, basically gave Tony Kornheiser a big middle finger (or at least as close as they get in golf).

During his post round interview he said “”This win is for Tony Kornheiser who said I’d never win on the PGA Tour”.  Ooh Burn.  Personally I kind of like seeing somebody basically say “screw you” to his detractors after a big win.  People complain that golf is too boring and that players need to show some personality.  Garrigus certainly has personality.

It would have been cool if he had just used Lance Armstrong’s description of some of Kornheisser’s commentary regarding cyclists:  “Disgusting, ignorant, foolish. What a complete f-ing idiot.”

WaggleRoom

You may have heard by now that Tiger Woods was on Mike and Mike for 30 minutes Friday morning.  But what you may not have heard about are the conditions that were laid out for the interview.  But now you can see them for yourself thanks to .

Seriously though, here are the real conditions of the interview.

Now that we have established what makes a good golf course cigar, it’s time to start finding some good brands that fit our criteria.  This week I’m going to recommend the Flor de Oliva (original).  The Flor de Oliva is a mild to medium strength cigar that retails for less than $3.  It is typically sold in bundles of 20 but many places will sell them individually as well.  They come in a variety of sizes but the most popular are the robusto (5×50), the toro (6×50), the churchill (7×50), and the torpedo.

[click to continue…]