Sun, February 7, 2010 at 7:57PM In the last few weeks we have had a few days of seriously rain. So much my Grandma wondered if we should sandbag the house. Eventually I convinced her we didn't...the talk of sandbags made me think, why, especially in men's leagues do people sandbag their handicaps? Money, right, I know. But I would like to remind these Sandbaggers, you know who you are and guess what...so do we.
Wed, February 3, 2010 at 9:00PM As someone who still has not been able to get anywhere close to a since digit index, I have started my quest over, learn the golf swing for real, seriously.
First order of business...stop using MY RIGHT HAND! I have been told several times to stop and still I don't. So this morning I was trying to think of ways to cure myself. And sadly the only thing I could think up was to take up surfing in hopes a shark would bite it off...morbid I know, but I'm getting desperate.
Another tool, get a tire, yes a real tire and hit it over and over using only your left arm. It apparently helps muscle memory, and helps you keep your hands infront of the club face. But I don't have a spare spare tire laying around, so I actually made a "punching" bag out of old jeans and a pair of long johns. (They aren't really needed in Arizona, ever). After about 3 minutes of hitting this thing using my left arm, my forearm was burning so bad I thought it might fall off. I must have been doing it right.
(I need one of these please.)
Sun, December 13, 2009 at 12:25PM If you are anything like me, you have on more than one occasion found yourself in the drink...if you are a novice golfer you may not know the difference between a lateral hazard and a water hazard.
A "lateral water hazard" is a water hazard or that part of a water hazard so situated that it is not possible or is deemed by the Committee to be impracticable to drop a ball behind the water hazard. It is marked with red stakes or lines.
A "water hazard" is any sea, lake, pond, river, ditch, surface drainage ditch or other open water course (whether or not containing water) and anything of a similar nature on the course. Stakes or lines used must be yellow.
See Rule 26 of the USGA determine how to play your ball if you find yourself in a wet situation.
Rule 26, Water hazards in Etiquette Sun, December 13, 2009 at 12:08PM Here are a couple of pictures from the ACC...good times...or not. This is the only photo I could get uploaded
View of Camelback Mountain from the fairway!
Arizona Country Club, Camelback Mountain in Places Thu, December 10, 2009 at 7:20PM If you were to ask me what my favorite job of all time is or was, I would have to say working at Troon North serving drinks. Sunshine, green grass and fun coworkers...but as a former beverage cart attendant, I have to tell you the good is money but it is hard work.
The girls (or guys) who do this job usually work long hours, have to deal with weather conditions (depending on the course) and get rejected while still keeping a smile on their face. So next time you see your beverage cart person (girl or guy) be nice to them.
beverage cart attendant, golf in Other Golf Mon, December 7, 2009 at 8:03PM Doing my best to hold my tongue, but it's getting increasingly more difficult not to comment on a particular situation regarding a particular PGA player. Darn you!!!
Mon, December 7, 2009 at 7:19PM Even San Diego can have bad days...it's raining cats and dogs today. I know I shouldn't be complaining, it's below zero in Missoula but winter brings short days, cold weather and little golf play.
What to do? Snuggle up with hot soup and one of my favorite shows.
The Office (any season will do)
The Hangover
Monty Python and the Search for the Holy Grail
Elf (in honor of the holiday season)
Elf, Monty Python, The Hangover, The Office, jim mocking dwight in Non Golf Sat, December 5, 2009 at 10:40AM Sorry for the slow week...moving, holidays, new jobs will do that. But I am back in action!
Sat, December 5, 2009 at 10:24AM While golfing over the Thanksgiving weekend I realized after a few holes that par feels good. And I'm not talking about when I leave the course shooting par...just getting par on "A" hole can be pretty fantastic when you are having a bad day...and on a par three with water. I'll take it as a small victory.
Speaking of Par 3. For those who haven't seen this, South Africa has the most extreme Par 3 ever. See what Into the Grain had to say about it.
Par, golf, into the grain in Other Golf Wed, December 2, 2009 at 6:46AM I hope everyone had a great weekend. I went home to Scottsdale for Thanksgiving and of course played some golf. Although I didn't shoot that well, it was 80 degrees! How could I complain? My parents treated me to a round at the Arizona Country Club. And even though I didn't start playing there until recently, I did grow up eating Sunday Brunch there. Some of my favorite memories are from the ACC...ice box cake...bring it back!
The course has some of the most beautiful views - but steer clear of the trees. There are over 1000. Pictures to come!
Arizona Country Club in Other Golf Tue, December 1, 2009 at 7:36PM I don't want to talk Tiger, so let's talk...Birds of a Feather. A fantastic photo blog by two awesome photographers. Remember a-photo-a-day keeps the boredom away!
Here is a preview from their Thanksgiving Day festivities featuring Ruca Bean Yates-Mora...Sarah & Lou's very popular pup.
Birds of a Feather Blog, Lou Mora, Sarah Yates in Non Golf Mon, November 30, 2009 at 7:43PM I recently ran across a website for golf and wine lovers called 19th Hole Wines.
Professional golfer, Kris Moe started his golf wines in 2008 and they are growing fast. With bottles retailing between $12.99 to $23.99, they are affordable for everyone. Most of their wines are made in the Sonoma Valley while others are from regions like Napa or the California Central Valley.
"This wine celebrates the 19th hole spirit along with the places and the participants who love the game of golf." - The 19th Hole Wine website
Perfect for the holidays, order online wine from their website, www.19thholewine.com. Or follow their blog at 19thholewine.blogspot.com.
19th hole wines, golf, wine in Other Golf Wed, November 25, 2009 at 8:48AM What does that mean to you? Not sure, but what it means to me is...turkey, family and golf! Thanksgiving is also a time to say thank you to the people in your life.
Readers, I hope you won't mind if I take a minute to give props where props are due...
Sarah and Lou, thank you for all your support and hospitality over the last few months. I am lucky to have you in my life! (Winnie feels the same way, it's too bad he's busy drooling over the thought of tomorrow's dinner.)
eat ham, lucky oliver, turkey in Non Golf Tue, November 24, 2009 at 7:41PM Can I just say how much I love Google? It reminds me of the White Elephant game you play at Christmas...you seriously never know what you are going to end up with. With that said, I landed Glove It.
Glove it is an accessory site which creates everything from head covers, to designer golf gloves, to pretty much you name it, they will match it. But my favorite might just be this Nicole Miller glove...sweeeet.
And for the matchy-match girl in you...
Glove It, Nicole Miller, accessories, designer, glove, golf in Products Mon, November 23, 2009 at 7:02PM For the love of the internet, IT IS possible to find totally cute and feminine golf clothes. Susan Hess, founder of Golftini is an avid golfer and felt there was a void in the golf apparel market. Lucky for us, she took action to fill it!
And just because winter is here doesn't mean we want to dress for sub zero temperatures. Options are what women want, so I give you the sweater vest by Golftini, a great alternative for layering this winter.
Check out more of their line at GolftiniWear.com and use the code blog25 for a 25% discount on your order, valid until 12/1/2009! (THANK YOU LADIES AT GOLFTINI, just in time for x-mas!)
Sun, November 22, 2009 at 1:23PM 
Casey Wittenberg - Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images N. AmericaWith the 2009 tour year coming to a close, there is a lot of talk of Q-School...I think it would be safe to say most of us don't really know what qualifying school means. Here is some of the down & dirty of Q-School:
PGA - 4 stages Euro - 3 stages LPGA - 2 stages
But it's not as easy at just being first on the first day...for PGA Tour hopefuls, if you are lucky enough to make it to the final stage this is what you have to look forward to:
Final Stage: One tournament played over six rounds in late November-early December. The field consists of Second Stage winners and players who received exemptions into the Final Stage. The top 25 players, plus ties, earn PGA Tour cards for the following year. Their priority ranking for purposes of tournament entry is 24; this ranking enables them to enter most full-field events on the PGA Tour, but not more prestigious stops on the tour unless a substantial number of players in higher categories skip the events. For example, the top 125 players on the previous year's money list who are not otherwise eligible are at priority 19; sponsor exemptions are priority 11; and winners of PGA Tour events in the previous two years are priority 9. (I don't know what priority means, but I will let you know when I find out.)
PGA Tour, Q School, casey wittenberg in Other Golf Wed, November 18, 2009 at 7:30PM It was a good weekend for Nike, both Tiger Woods and Michelle Wie won their respective tournaments. Wie's first win on the LPGA brings some much needed hype to the tour. While Tiger's win Down Under makes career win number 96...I think.
There were discrepancies regarding his total career wins. First I counted 96 wins on tigerwoods.com, but a different page on his site said he had 87. Help. Anyone. Bueller?
Tue, November 17, 2009 at 7:32PM Want a custom putter like the tour players have? Then Scotty Cameron is your man. Scotty Cameron started making putters for Ray Cook Golf Company in 1986. Then in 1993, two years after starting his own company, one of his putters won the Masters -- making him a wanted man.
Tiger Woods, Geoff Ogilvy, George Lopez and Kobe Bryant, they all carry one of his creations in their bags. To get your own personalize putter, start the process by going to his website www.scottycameron.com. Here is one of my favorites...
golf, putters, scotty cameron in Products Sun, November 15, 2009 at 2:23PM I think it's time to take a quick lesson in golf history. Depending on how far you back, and how technical you want to get, most would agree modern golf originated in Scotland.
A fun fact to learn about golf, is that courses weren't always 18 holes. Courses had any number of holes depending on what their topography could accommodate. The standard of 18 holes didn't show up until until St. Andrew's decided to shorten their course from 22 to 18 holes, and other courses followed.
In 1858, new rules were issued by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club at St Andrews for its members. One of these rules was "one round of the links or 18 holes is reckoned a match...".
And the rest is...yep you got it.
golf, history, scotland, st andrews in Other Golf Sat, November 14, 2009 at 8:20PM I had my first lesson in over four months at Torrey Pines on Saturday...well it was suppose to be a "clinic" but apparently the golf season slows down in San Diego in the winter and I was the only one who signed up. Slows down?? I'm confused...it was 68 on Saturday.
It turns out my private lesson was needed. I have no idea how to use my hips, I've completely forgotten. I'm all arms. This has always been a problem for me since the beginning of my golf adventure. I can't seem to get them to lead on my down swing...it's very frustrating. Every lesson I have ever had, the instructor tells me my swing looks great...except...argh...is this why I'm not on tour?
Anyway, Torrey Pines was a great experience, Steven my instructor was very nice and knowledgeable. But I have never been to a course so busy! There were people everywhere...even during this said "slow" season. I suppose a golf course on the Pacific Ocean, how could you go wrong? I was excited by the whole day, I plan on going back. If it's good enough for Phil and Tiger, it's good enough for me.
Torrey Pines, golf, lesson in Places