Junior Golf: Hide It, Keep It-Show It, Sell It

   That's kind of an odd title, isn't it? Before I began teaching and when I retired from teaching and began my writing career, I was a salesman and sold office equipment and wholesale food products to grocery stores. I had a sales manager share with me a very good idea as I was learning the sales industry. The saying was very profound and I will share it with you:  Show it, sell it--Hide it keep it.  After thinking about how we promote junior golf and even bringing kids into the game that is kind of what we are doing, aren't we.  We just are not giving junior golf the exposure that it should be getting as far as getting kids into the game.

      As I travel around town, I see all kinds of signs up (I live in Merced, California).  Signs such as "Atwater Little League Sign Ups" or "Merced Girl's League Softball Leagues Now Forming.  Sign up At...On Saturday March 4" or "Atwater Strikers Soccer League-signups October 4th". Sign like these are all over the place as I am sure they are in your town.  During the fall you see signs announcing sign ups for soccer leagues and basketball leagues as well as youth football. Signs for Little League and softball leagues are visible during the early spring. Most of these signs are put up around schools in order to get as many kids into the particular sports to sign up as they can.  I ask you though, Where are the signs announcing youth golf programs and signups for those programs?
      I can answer that question quite easily.  There are no signs that are put up.  One of the reasons is that golf programs for youth are not promoted except in the golf community.  Another reason is that there are not that many organized youth golf programs as you see in other sports.  I think that is a shame.  Why aren't there any programs out there?  How come we hide such programs as "First Tee" and "Golf Kids"?  Are we embarrassed?  Do we think that kids are not interested in golf?
     We need to be a bit more aggressive in bringing kids into the game of golf.  Yes, kids are coming to the game of golf.  We can just look at the growth in participation rates in youth golf tournaments and see that it is growing, but probably not as quickly or as much as it should be growing.  Let's take a hard look at what needs to be done to change this.
      I understand many of the challenges that are faced when you try to develop a youth golf program.  A major consideration is who is going to run the program.  Most golf facilities and their staff are totally overburdened with the tasks that are required to run their golf courses, let alone establishing a quality youth golf program.  It is hard to put together a youth program and takes a lot of resources in time and money.  In most cases, the courses and pros don't have that time and money to devote to a quality program.  I understand their logic and concerns that a youth program is another huge investment in the course's time and limited resources.  The decision is a tough one to make, even though the time and money spent is an investment in the future and many of these youth players turn into paying customers.
     Perhaps what is needed is for the men and women of golf look to the future and volunteer to supervise golf programs as in other sports. We need to establish more programs and advertise those programs.  The word needs to get out.  There are golf programs and many other programs can be created. We must go on the offensive and let communities know that these programs exist.  Let's get kids playing golf. Let's show parents and kids the wonderful benefits of the game of golf and how you can play golf for a lifetime.  Let's show it and not keep it.

On Life As A Golf Ball

   We all make sacrifices in our lives.  Some sacrifices are bigger than others and have a more dramatic effect on our lives. What about golf?  What can we say about sacrifices in the game of golf?  Who is it that pays the biggest price in sacrifices for the game of golf?  Have you ever taken a good look at the golf ball? That little dimpled orb pays the greatest price and in some cases gives up it's life so that we may enjoy the game we all love.

      Think about it for a moment.  The ball is created in a nice, growing environment--the golf ball factory. There they are coddled and inspected.  Remember, not all of them make it out of the factory to play on the first team.  Some are rejected and for the most minute of imperfection.  It is a brand of shame to have the Titlist brand--OK, I'm partial to Titlists although I can't always afford them and I don't play ProV's because I'm cheap--painted onto you and then not pass inspection for something as little as a spec.  Then you have to suffer the indignity of either having the word "PRACTICE" stamped on you or even worse the mark of the X painted on you.  This means you are not good enough and have been rejected. You don't even get a trophy for participating.
       Should you make the cut and pass inspection you get put into a paper sleeve with two other perfect dimpled orbs then grouped with three other paper sleeves to make a box of a dozen and sent out to do your job.  By the way, my wife bought an eighteen pack of Top Flites the other day and the balls were not placed in sleeves. That has nothing to do with where I am going with this post, I just though I would throw that in. They were Top Flites after all.  She likes Top Flites but now plays yellow PXG's and I am not going to argue with her, especially if I want to stay out of the dog house and sleep with Fido. Fido has it pretty comfortable in his dog house but when I have to sleep in there with him, he gets the doggy bed and I have to sleep on the hard floor. Back to the Titlists. So the balls go out to the place where they are going to be sold, unaware of the fate that  is to befall on them.
      Joe Average buys the dozen at a totally over inflated price.  I won't say where because I have too many golf pro friends and I don't want to offend anyone. By the way, there is a great sale going on over at Dick's right now on Top Flites and Maxfli's. Sorry, I got off the subject again. So, Joe Average takes the ProV's he paid too much for and and heads for the course.  He reaches into his bag and gets out a tee as well as a sleeve of the new ProV's.
       That wonderful ball is going to be smacked around many times by a stick.  It has to hurt.  Can you imagine the pain that ball has to endure?  How about the blow to the ball's pride. Does it really have to be this way?  You darn right it has to be this way.
      Joe Average is playing golf now.  He tees up the ball on a long par four with water to the right. The ball will be violently struck and fly down the middle of the fairway, missing the deep water hazard on the right hand side of the fairway. Joe must avoid that water at all costs.
      Joe takes a mighty swing with the stick and THWACK, hits the ball. It was a pretty ugly swing at that because Jack doesn't like to take lessons. If you want to improve your game, see your local pro for a lesson please. (That was for all my golf teaching buddies out there.) Guess where that poor ball flies because of Joe's wonderful swing.  Yes, it sadly flies into the middle of the water and hits a ten pound bass squarely on the head. That poor, brand new ball has sacrificed it's life so that others may have enjoyment in their lives.  I'm not too sure how happy the bass was either. Actually, I'm not sure how much enjoyment because Jack is back at the tee yelling words you wouldn't want your preacher or priest or rabbi to hear. I can't speak for a Budhist Monk or a Muslim Imam because I haven't met an Imam or a Monk.    
        Let's have a moment of silence for that new Titlist.  Let's not forget the sacrifices that golf balls all over the world are making, even now.  By the way, how many balls did you put into the lake today? Why don't they give golf balls swimming lessons before they go out to be sold?  

Water, Water everywhere. Why does it always have to be in front of me?

You're In The Jailhouse-Uh, Doghouse-Now

      So, what did I do wrong now?  Why is my wife mad at me?  If you are married or have been married, or have dealt with the female members of the human species you know what I am talking about.  I'm sorry but we males are at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to goofing--I use goofing because I am a church going man and can't use the "F" word--up with your favorite female and not knowing why.  Guys, you know what I'm talking about don't you?

     I got up this morning in a pretty good mood.  The dishwasher needed to be emptied and dirty dishes needed to be put in the dishwasher.  The kitchen needed to be cleaned up, so I started it and took a bit of a coffee break, fully intending to get back and finish the job.
     My wife got up and went into the kitchen.  It was clearly apparent to me something was a bit amiss as her normally bubbly champagne personality was not that but could best be described as more of a rotten chardonnay. I had a decision to make, probably wrong but the incident needed a definite course of action.  Hmmm...do I take the coward's way out and go to the gym to work out for say eight hours, or ride out the storm at the house and try to make the situation better. I decided to take the courageous route and stay, after all maybe I could garnish some brownie points and help make the situation better. I can honestly say that was the wrong decision.
     Yes I stayed, silly me.  I like describing things with weather metaphors so here goes.  Her "partly cloudy with showers" disposition when she woke up quickly changed into category five hurricane Julia--the name has been changed as her name isn't Julia to protect the innocent, namely me.  Into the kitchen she went huffing and puffing.  No dishes were thrown, but there was a lot of dish noise and a "See this dishcloth?  Its red where you have spilled punch in the refrigerator." comment.  I know I have been had when the refrigerator comment comes out. I haven't spilled red punch in the refrigerator for a long time so I knew that wasn't it.
     I knew she was mad at something, basically mad at me in general. Stupid me, I asked the question, "Honey, are you mad at me?"  There was no answer, just a sort of audio sound of disdain. This is the upsetting "huf" that is sort of like the fingernails on a chalk board in its effect.
     What happened next is a mistake all of us guys make and I tried to stop it but it just came out.  Out of my mouth blurted, "What did I do wrong?"  After that came automatically out of my mouth I instantly heard The Death March--dum, dum, da dum, dum, da dum da dum da dum.
      "You know what you did." she answered.
    "Whatever I did wrong, I'm sorry for doing, but I really don't know exactly what I did wrong."  I said honestly.  At this point I was beginning to feel like a whipped cocker spaniel who had just chewed up their master's prized house slippers.
     "If you don't know what you did, I shouldn't have to tell you." she responded back.
     At that point, I went down my list in my head.  I took out the trash.  No, that isn't it.  I put the dishes away, including the silverware. That isn't it. I hung up my clothes.  No, that can't be it. Hey, I even wiped off the toilet seat and put the lid down.  I even sprayed air freshener.  I give up!  What is it?
     "Besides, if I had to tell you what you did wrong you don't love me."
     That's it, I quit. The battle has been lost.  Where are my car keys?  I'm off to the gym or at least to higher ground to let hurricane Julia pass.  I'll be back in about eight hours.

All I have to do is add electricity, heating and air conditioning.

I'm sorry that this post doesn't have to do with golf, but I thought I would give you a good laugh. We did just get home from golf and I am about to go out and grill some hamburgers.  Wish me luck.

 

 

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Which Golf Ball Should I play?

 

Which golf ball should I be playing is a question that I get quite often. My wife asks me this almost every time we play golf. There are a couple of important factors that come into this when I attempt to answer that question. It is not a "one size fits all" response.  

One of the first questions we need to explore is where are you in your journey with the game of golf?  Are you new to the game-we call this a newby-or are you a seasoned veteran? Do you fall somewhere in between these two categories. What is your swing like? Do you hit the ball straight and a country mile or do you struggle to get the ball airborne? Do you lose a lot of balls when you play golf?  I would add that if you were new to the game, but I know a lot of seasoned golfers who lose a lot of balls as well. 

You don't want the cost of a dozen golf balls to send you to the poor house if your balls disappear quite readily. Sometimes they do that on purpose, so you might consider using a less expensive ball and maybe ProV's don't fit your budgetary constraints. There are a good number of economically priced golf balls out there .  I would strongly recommend these less expensive, non-budgetary breaking balls for the newer golfer. There are still balls out there for under $20 a dozen and some even are 18 packs. Believe it or not, most of them are not that bad. I won't recommend a brand here, because there are so many, from Nitro (yuck) to Srixon, Callaway and Titleist. I am kind of partial to Dick's Sporting Goods as they have the Top Flite line and the Maxli line as well. 

OK boys and girls, are you ready for a bedtime story?  Well, it's really not a bedtime story and I am going to tell it to you anyway. How many of you have heard of the Precept ball?  Bridgestone Tire and Rubber Company wanted to get into the golf ball manufacturing business but didn't want to use Bridgestone for the name on their ball because they didn't want people to think that their ball was just a small tire. They came up with the name Precept, and it was a very good ball.

The rulers at Bridgestone/Precept wanted to offer women a lady's ball so they came out with what they called The Lady Precept. It was an exceptional ball and actually out performed their flagship ball. It went further and was very responsive around the greens. You could tell it was a lady's ball because the writing on it was a hot pink and it was sold in a pink box and the sleeves were pink.  After all, it was a lady's ball. 

An odd thing happened to the Lady Precept. Men discovered the ball and were buying it.  However, there was a bit of a thing in that men didn't want to be seen buying and playing a lady's ball. Sales of the ball went through the roof and it wasn't just women who were buying the ball. After a while, the ball became known as the "paper bag ball" because men would buy the ball and would insist that the ball be placed in a brown paper bag so that it would not be discovered that a guy was playing a lady's ball-after all, that could prove to be embarrassing to the average macho guy. 

So, what did Bridgestone/Precept do?  The solution was pretty simple.  They knew they had a great ball on their hands but had to come up with a creative solution to get the ball into the hands of guys and take away the stigma of playing a lady's ball. They changed the packaging and the name of the ball from "Lady Precept" to "Precept Laddie". They still made the Lady Precept and packaged it in its pink box with pink lettering, but the new "men's" ball, The Laddie, would be packaged in a new silver and green box and sleeves.  The printing on the ball was black and "Laddie" would be printed on the ball itself. This move was brilliant in that the ball was the same but now men were not hesitant to buy the ball. I used to play "The Laddie"  almost exclusively and it was a great ball.  They still make it, but I have switched to a different ball manufacturer because as Bridgestone transitioned to the Bridgestone name on its balls, they phased out the "Precept" name.

Let's move on here and talk about the seasoned player.  What ball should the experienced golfer play?  My answer to this is it depends o the individual golfer and what they like.  Let's not forget that golf balls are subject to the regulations of The USGA and Royal and Ancient Golf Association as far as the specifications of golf balls. Golf balls have to conform to the regulations set forth by these two organizations as far as ball statistics and performance. I can't hit their balls because of their Bridgestone logo on the balls.

There is not a whole lot of difference between premium balls. A ProV has certain subtle differences than say a Callaway or other premium ball but they all have to conform to golf ball specifications as set forth by the ruling bodies. The "Feel" of the ball is what most golfers go by.  How do you like the feel of the ball? Does it feel hard or does it compress and have a soft feel coming off the club?  How does it perform around the green?  What is the ball flight of a particular ball?  How does it feel coming off an iron shot?  Most golfers have personal preferences and choose a ball based upon those questions. 

Keep in mind that golf ball manufacturers spend a lot of money on the promotion of their golf balls. How much do you think they spend on sponsorships as far as the golf playing professional? What does Callaway pay Xander to endorse their balls? What about TV advertising. I would like to have 1000th of the money Titleist spends promoting ProVs.  It is a probably the finest ball out there and I have played the ball, but I cringe at the fact that I have to shell out over $50 for a dozen balls. Do I really have to help pay for Jordan to fill up his jet?  I have problem scraping up the cost of a fill up on my Hyundai Venue.

As I said, I don't play ProVs because of the price.  I also must admit that I am a bit of a golf ball prude.  When Nike came out with their ball, and it was a good ball, I couldn't play it because of the logo on the ball.  The same is true with Calaway balls.  I can't play Callaways and I have tried.  My eye just hates looking at that Callaway logo and how it is placed on the ball.  They make a great ball, I just can't hit it with that huge logo. I have the same problem as far as the logo on the ball as Taylormade and I have already mentioned Bridgestone. I have played Srixon, and I am not impressed as far as my game is concerned. All these brand name balls are great balls, I just don't like the looks of them as far as how  they set up for my eye.

Do I avoid Titleists? Actually, I don't.  Every now and then I will change up my routine and buy a dozen True Speed Titleists.  I was part of the developement program when Titleist brought out the prototypes and I was one of the first to buy one of those unmarked white boxes. I liked them and they performed well for me.  The feel was a little bit softer than a ProV and they did well around the greens in my short game. I do like ProV's as well, but at their price point I only buy them when I win on a huge lottery ticket or when I win big at the casino.

OK, it's time to do the great reveal.  What ball do I prefer to play?  I have always been a Maxfli man.  I played the ball that had the red dot on it and was a wound ball-I wonder how man of you know what I am talking about when I say wound ball? There is a history around Maxfli where Taylormade bought it and made it their low-end line and the balls didn't sell. The Maxfli line was sold off to Dick's Sporting Goods-as was Top Flite-and rescaled the ball to become an excellent high end, the Maxfli Tour X ball line that was economical and would compare quite closely to the ProV.  Testing has shown that the performance of the Maxfli Tour line can stand up to the ProV line.

PXG has entered the golf ball market.  I tried the original PXG ball and loved it.  The ball stops on a dime when hit on the green. I found that it was just a bit hard for my tastes and was not that much better than my Maxfli Tours.  I stayed with the Maxflis, although I played a couple of dozen PXGs. 

PXG has come out with a new ball, the PXG Tour X.  I fell in love with the ball immediately after hitting it. The ball was a noted improvement over the original PXG ball and the performance is a step above my Maxflis.  I will be playing this ball for a long time, but I still have a couple of dozen Maxflis to fall back on.

What is my advice as to which ball to play?  Try as many as you can and find one that fits your game and you like. 

 

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Why I play golf

 How many of you are asked why you play the game of golf? I get asked that question a lot these days and my answer is simple.  I love the game. But, why do I love the game so much and why do I play it?  Let's take a look at this question for the ages.

As you can see from that wonderful picture I am a pretty hefty guy and always have been, even growing up. I have lost a lot of weight from my top end at 300 pounds and now I am just under 210.  I wished to the genie that I would soar to a height of over six feet and the genie told me he would take care of that.  The genie lied and I stopped growing height wise at a whopping 5'7".  

I wanted to play sports when I was younger.  I have to say that this didn't happen much as I was growing up.  I did love to swim and I learned how to swim at the local city pool, but my parents also enrolled me at the local YMCA.  I took swimming lessons there and participated almost every Saturday in their weekend activities for youngsters.  I truly enjoyed my experiences at the "Y" and it did strengthen my body. I didn't lose much baby fat, but I was able to gain muscle.  I still would not consider myself athletic at the time in any way.

Like all red blooded American boys, I wanted to play baseball. My parents enrolled me in the local Little League and I went out for their tryouts.  I wanted to play second base in the worse way and did pretty well in the tryouts but was not picked on any team for second base.  I was a chubby kid and they thought that I was not fast enough to play second. I do admit to this day I am pretty slow as far as my running capabilities. Running is not my strong suit and I hate to run.   They said that they would love to have me play and offered me a choice of position.  Take a guess at what position I was offered. 

What positions normally does the chubby kid play?  I could roam the area behind the plate as a catcher or take up residence where else-right field. I didn't have a catcher's mitt and didn't want to take the abuse of squatting up and down after every pitch at catcher.  I chose right field-you know the song. One thing I could do though is hit. 

I don't like basketball.  I have very small hands and cannot put a basketball through the hoop if my life depended on it. You still have to run in basketball, so much for basketball.

I really thought that I wanted to go out for football.  I thought long and hard about it, and then my strong sense of reality sunk in. I found out that there was something called "double sessions. Also, practice for football-a fall sport-started in August.  It's hot in August in Fresno, California.  I'm not talking about 85 degree heat.  No, most August days are well over 105. my sense of survive ability was quite strong in telling me that this was not a good idea.

I also had to be a realist about what position I was going to play.  Where do they put a very slow-coach wanted to time me with a calendar-chunky guy.  Do they put him in as quarterback, wide receiver, or running back.  No way was I going to play tight end.  Yep, I was told I was going to play guard or tackle. 

Come on guys, I was only five foot seven and weighed a whopping 160 pounds.  I was told that my task would be to block defensive linemen who were a foot taller than me, much taller and heavier.  They also were a lot faster than I was. I would rather run into a telephone pole at full speed. Did I tell you that you have to run at football practice? Football was out.

My way into golf was a bit strange.  When you boil it all down, I was sold into golf for 50 cases of Wanda's Wonderful Pancake Mix.  I won't go into the full story here and for that you will have to buy my book when it comes out soon, the title being Birdies, Pars and Bogies: My 55 Years In the Game of Golf. I started taking golf lessons and I found out that I really like this game. First, the ball is stationary and nobody is throwing it at you with speeds up to 100 MPH. You don't have to squat and catch a ball being thrown at you and you sure as heck don't have to knock over a guy that is twice your size. The game takes a lot of skill and creativity.  Most of all, YOU DON'T HAVE TO RUN!  

Come Join The Family of Golfers

   It has been said that golf is an elitist sport.  I guess looking at just the face of it that can be said.  But is it the true nature of golf.  I get angered when the media puts that face forward.  Golf is not a white man's elitist sport.  In fact when you dig a little deeper you find that true golf is very egalitarian in it's nature. Golf in the trenches is not the PGA tournament that you see on TV. Come and see the true game of golf and who is playing it. Come to Rancho Del Rey or Riverside Golf Course.

     Many people outside of golf see only one world and that is the closed world of the private golf course. They also see the very closed world of the PGA Tour.  The media reports loudly on decisions made by some of the old ruling bodies of golf that seem anti-women.  The good news in that respect is things are changing. It has to change because the game is much more multi-cultural multi-colored and played by the ladies than what is shown on TV and women are the biggest growth area of golf today. Golf, especially at the public course level, is more diverse than people want to give credit. Most public course golfers know this. Please don't take that as a hit on private courses either, because the memberships in most private clubs is changing to reflect a more diverse population.

     As I have said in previous posts I play and worked as a marshal at a local semi-private course.  Most of the members that play at our course can be described as "working class".  Our course is open to whomever wants to play and the advantages of being a member are basically reduced green fees. State golf association memberships are extra.  It's great to see the diverse nature of those golfers who play the course and who are members with almost no distinction between members and public players.

     We have all kinds of people with different backgrounds playing at Rancho Del Rey. It is not unusual to see a foursome or fivesome--we do allow fivesomes on non-busy days during the week--that are made up of hispanic, black, asian and white players. We have a very active contingent of Mexican American Golf Association players whose membership included white guys and African Americans.We even have a gentleman from Puerto Rico who looks and sound just like ChiChi Rodriguez. I think it is his brother, but I don't know. I haven't seen him for awhile. It seems as though he moved to Minnesota.

        Women play right along side of men and are very active in the Player's Club. In fact, our ladies have formed their own player's club and their membership is growing.  A good piece of advice here is don't get into a money game with one of our ladies.

    We have a very active senior's club. Our club is made up of a very diverse background of players, both ethnically and if you look at where our members come from occupationally. We have teachers, plumbers, construction workers, delivery drivers and even a couple of retired Marines. As far as the ethnic background of our members it is truly a rainbow of colors and we even have a member from of all places, Guam. 

  
     Come take a look at our nineteenth hole.  The place is jumping with conversations and color, religion, sex or national heritage doesn't stop the conversations. Most of the conversations are centered around golf as this is the cornerstone of the family. We are family here. The only distinction that is made is that we are all golfers, and some non-golfers. The main question is not who are you but more importantly, what is your handicap?

Golf: The Game Has Changed Over My Years of Playing

 I was reading an article in Golf Digest that talked about how the science of agronomy as it relates to turf has influenced the design of new golf courses. This got me to thinking.  When I started playing golf, golf construction and architecture was a fairly straight up thing.  Ground was sometime graded and contoured, greens were pushed up from the given landscape and given contours with no layering for drainage, bunkers were formed in the fairways and around the greens trees were planted or removed to line the fairway and bermuda grass seed layed down and bent grass planted on the greens.  That was it-well, it may have been a bit more complicated than that.

Building a golf course has changed since then and the science of agronomy is a critical part of the design of new courses. No longer do you have green construction which is the ground being pushed up and contoured to make a green.  Today's greens are layered  in order for the green to drain in rainy seasons, or when they are siphoned during the hot seasons to keep the grass cool and water does not puddle on the green.  Hybrid grasses such as zoysia and hybrid bermuda are now used, not just the plain old bermuda that was planted on older courses.  Trees are actually being removed from older courses in order for the sun to hit to the grass easier and to make watering more efficient. How architects build golf courses and the science that goes into building is one of the big changes that have come to golf over the years. Much of golf has changed over the years.

I am of the opinion-I may be wrong but hey, I'm over 70-that today's young golfers are not taught the game of golf. This is a pet peeve of mine.  Their vision of the game is to take out a driver, hit it as far as you can and then take a wedge to the green and one putt for a birdie. When I was learning the game, my pro was very adamant about me learning the game. He taught me the importance of playing strategical golf  such as where to hit the ball into position when going for the green wasn't exactly a high percentage shot. More importantly, he taught me how to estimate distance and know what a certain club would do and how to hit shots that would get me out of trouble and what to do if I did get me into a situation where I had to take my medicine-more about this later. To this day, I can estimate a distance to the pin to within three feet.  It's a lot of fun seeing my playing partner with a GPS device's mouth drop when he asks me a distance and my estimate is to within three feet of his GPS's reading. 

 Above all else, the short game is what the game is all about. "Drive for show, putt for dough" is more than just a silly saying. Inside 100 yards is my office. I carry four different wedges and am deadly with  the 100 yard bump and run.  I play a variety of shots from within 100 yards depending on the conditions. you just don't see many younger golfers being taught the skill of the short game.  To this day, I can't look a garbage can in the face.  You can read more about this when my book is published soon, but I used to have to put 30 golf balls into a garbage can from 40-100 yards in my lessons with my pro.

I don't want to get into this too deeply because it is a discussion that can go on for hours. What about the difference between today's clubs and thos clubs that we played forty years ago. I remember playing my persimmon woods, that by the way were really made out of wood and the extra still stainless steel shafts that they were tied on to. I took my driver that I used to play down off the wall and swung it the other day.  It was like swinging a telephone pole, but there was nothing like hearing the sound of the ball coming off that persimmon head when a ball was struck well. I still can't believe how small the heads are. They hit a heck of a lot different than the graphite shafted, big headed PXG driver I play now.

I used to play extra stiff steel shafted irons with very small blade heads.  I loved the performance that I go out of those clubs.  As I got older, I didn't play as much so I went to a midsize clubhead with steel stiff shafts and then transitioned into graphite because my back was deteriorating. The game to me just wasn't the same, but I couldn't swing as good as I used to because of my hurting back. Also, the lofts on the irons changed to what was before a 9 iron was now a 81/2 as far as flight and distance.  

Have I mentioned the ball yet?  I guess I haven't.  How many of you have hit a Titleist Balata 90 compression ball.  It was a ball that had a real odd sense of humor in that it was you friend if you hit it well, but after a few holes when you hit a bad shot, it smiled and laughed back at you. Those of you that have hit one know what I mean.  The cover was natural rubber and was wound with rubber bands.  The ball had an inner core that was a little rubber ball that was either solid or filled with a liquid substance. It cut very easily.  Today's ball is solid with a urethane cover that does not cut easily.

I guess that the winds of change are to be expected after more than 55 years of playing the game.  Technology is a big part of the game now, which I'm not sure that is a good thing but I do know that it changes the way the game is played and taught. It will be interesting to see the changes that will come about over the next 55 years.   

  

Viva Las Vegas: Golf In the Kingdom, Courses I have Played In Las Vegas-Part 4

 How interesting is a seven hour trip in the car through twenty miles on the other side of "The Boondocks"? Let me tell you, it's not very entertaining. How many rocks and volcanic cones can you see when they all look the same. This is basically what you get when you drive from Fresno to Las Vegas.  It is miles and miles of nothing but miles and miles.  There are some interesting attractions along the way such as the tallest thermometer in the world, which is not always working, and of course The Mad Greek in Baker, California but not much else.  You have to have a good reason to make the exciting transit to Las Vegas. I don't mind flying, but I still hate Vegas.

In my last post, I talked about how I took part in the first of four annual PGCC Coaches Tournament and Clinic. I must say here that the conference turned into mostly a tournament where the majority of the almost 200 coaches played in the tournament but didn't stay for the clinic.  Being one of the 20 or so coaches that stayed for the clinic, I must say that I learned a lot about coaching golf from the instructors. Believe me, it was not a waste of time and I had plenty of beside the pool time back at the hotel.

I looked forward to the second year of participating in the event. This particular year the tournament was played over all three of the Stallion Mountain courses. We didn't get to play one of the courses last year as I said in my last post so I was excited to play the third course, and it was a lot of fun to play-but nothing to write home to mom about. After playing the on the third day, we packed up the car and headed for home.

After a long school year the summer vacation finally arrived And this was going to be my third trip to the PGCC Coach's Clinic.  This year's lineup of courses was two days at Stallion Mountain and the third day at Desert Pines in Las Vegas.  I am not going to say that I was excited to be going back to Las Vegas and The PGCC Tournament but I was ready to go because we were going to play a different golf course than Stallion Mountain for the third course and I was curious what the course was like. 

Stallion Mountain was..Stallion Mountain. I must admit though it was good to play the courses because I had played all three courses and they were not new to me.  Desert Pines was a different story. It was different and unlike any of the courses we had played in past tournaments.

What a total change of pace.  Yes, this was a course that was suggestive of courses you would find in the Carolinas such as Pinehurst and did not have a "Las Vegas" feel at all. There were tall Carolina Pines outlying the fairways and collection bunkers as well as lakes came into play. Desert Pines falls in a high place on my courses I have played.  I haven't gone back to Desert Pines, and I hear that the course has been neglected.  I don't know if that is true, but I have seen some of the reviews on GolfPass and they seem to reflect this.

I would be remiss-what does that mean, by the way-if I didn't share this story about my playing Desert Pines.  We of course were in Las Vegas and this was the last day of the Tournament.  In a rare form of misjudgement, I decided to slip out of the hotel room and do some enjoyment of the Las Vegas nightlife. I gambled too much and imbibed in what native Americans call "firewater". You could say that I was a bit "in the bag" when I returned to the hotel room at 2:00 AM or 02:00 for those of you serving in the military. Tee off time was 8:00 or in 6 hours. 

Yes, I did make it to Desert Pines in enough time to go to the driving range and hit some balls. Let's just say that the fog had not cleared over the Golden Gate Bridge as far as my body was concerned.  I walked onto the hitting area and picked out a stall.  The hitting stations were not grass but turf and I noticed there were no ball filled triangle of balls to hit.  There was a ball sitting on a rubber tee on the right side of the turf square? I said to myself what the heck and I hit the ball that was on the tee.  Whoosh and off it went out onto the range.

I turned away from where the ball was and asked someone a question.  When I turned back towards where the first ball was, there was another ball on the tee. At this point I began to doubt my sanity.  I knew that I had hit that ball off that tee and there were no more balls. But yet, a ball was sitting on the tee as big as you please. I knew I was in pretty bad shape and was slightly hungover, but I didn't think I had lost it that bad. Like Columbo in a good mystery, I was going to solve this. I was a little beat up mentally and physically I know, but I wasn't ready for the looney ward just yet. hey, I'm from Fresno and now Merced.  These things don't happen in my neck of the woods.

Here's what I did. There was a ball sitting on the tee. Thwack, I hit it off the tee and off it went majestically into the air.  I froze my eyes on the tee to see what was going to happen. The tee went down into the ground and then up comes another ball on the tee. There was a ball feeding system where the balls came up from a machine under the hitting area.  Wow, what high technology. I was still sane and the mystery was solved.  I was not losing my mind, but that didn't cure the intense hangover. 

I want to stop here because this blog is getting a bit too long and I don't want to lose you.  In my next post I will share with you my fourth trip to the  PGCC coaches Clinic/Tournament which was my last year participating in it. I will also talk about the three other courses I played in Las Vegas-Paiute, Bear's Best and Legacy- but on separate occasions. Stay tuned for Viva Las Vegas: Golf In The Kingdom Part 5 coming to a computer near you on The Golf Course Travel Bag.

 

     

It Is The Game of Golf-Darn

 Yes, golf is a game that can humble the heart.  It is also a game that can take you to new heights.  In my case, it can also take you to new lows as well.  These things are very true, especially if you have experienced "the wheels coming off" in a round.  We all know that golf is a game of a collection of shots and sometimes those shots are not our best.  We love the game, it is a challenge and is never the same each time we go out. No matter how great we play or on the other hand how bad we play, we always ask that age old question after our round, When is our next tee time.

I don't know how many of you experienced watching the end of the 2024 Byron Nelson Golf Classic?  It was certainly an exciting finish between the two top competitors in the tournament.  Tyler Pendraith won by one shot over Ben Knowles.  There are a couple of things I have to say about the finish of this tournament. 

First off, congratulations to Tyler Pendraith for winning what I believe was his first PGA tournament. This player from Canada was solid throughout the tournament.  However, I don't know at the end of the day that he didn't win the tournament so much as Knowles lost the tournament on the last hole.  Let me explain. 

Two questions have to be answered. The first question is why did Knowles try to go for the green with a hybrid on hole number 18 which is a short par 5 and supposedly the easiest hole on the course?  Why did you do that when you are leading the tournament by a stroke and all you had to do is lay up, take an easy pitch shot from off the green, make the putt for birdie and walk away with the trophy and  $1.7?  

And that my friend is not the end of it.  How could you chunk a wedge out of that thick rough? All he had to do is get the ball on the green and two putt for at least a par and a share of the lead leading to at least a playoff.  He could have put that wedge shot for a makeable birdie and a win.  For pitty sake, I could have taken out my 60 degree and blasted it out of that rough. I realize that the pressure was on, but come on. Such is the game of golf, I guess.  Disaster was snatched from the jaws of victory.  

I don't feel sorry for Ben Knowles.  That little missed pitch from out of the rough by the green cost him about $700,000.  Oh well, he still pocketed over a cool $1000000 so I don't feel sorry for him.  I have to publish a lot of blog posts and book for a million dollars.  One thing he did prove though.  It is truly a difficult and humbling game. But, we golfers already know that.       

  

Escape Where--To The Sun and San Luis Obispo Part One

      We need to escape this cold and fog. I have said that a number of times over the years along with its companion during the summer--we need to get out of this heat. Where do you go to escape the cold of winter and the oppressive heat of summer?  My overwhelming favorite is San Luis Obispo County on California's Central Coast of the Pacific Ocean. It just doesn't get any better.
     We left Merced on New Year's Day on a very cold and overcast January afternoon. It was time to get out of the dampness and into some sunshine. The three and a half drive is well worth it, just to see the sun again. Three days of being away was ahead of us, and so was two rounds of golf.
     Our first stop in San Luis Obispo County was at the James Dean Memorial located around a huge oak tree in the parking lot of the Jack Ranch Cafe. James Dean was killed at the intersection of California State Highways 41 and 46, a few miles from the memorial. You may know that he was a young actor that starred in three movies--Rebel Without A Cause, East Of Eden and Giant--and was killed just after Giant was completed. The memorial is simple but compelling. There are many rumors and stories about James Dean that persist today, including the details of the crash in the Porsche that killed him. After a brief stop, it was on to San Luis Obispo.
     San Luis Obispo is one of my favorite cities.  It is home to California State Polytechnic University San Luis Obispo, otherwise known as Cal Poly SLO. Downtown is home to Mission San Luis Obispo, one of the twenty one missions founded by the Spanish in early California. The mission is number five in the chain and was founded by Father Junipero Serra, one of the original nine that he personally founded. I enjoy walking downtown and enjoying its quaint charm and feel taking in the shops and restaurants.
     You just can't go to San Luis Obispo without stopping downtown and checking out a good book at Barnes and Noble or having a fantastic bread bowl of chowder at Splash Cafe, both located at Downtown Plaza off Higuera Street. Splash's chowder is perhaps one of the best chowders in the world. Try to be downtown on a Thursday night and roam the downtown Farmer's Market where Higuera Street is closed off and filled with booths where growers sell fresh produce grown in the area along with other vendors selling other wares.  Many of the area restaurants have booths as well where you can savor a meal.
     We stayed downtown for a bit and realized it was getting late, time to go to our hotel to check in and get settled in for the two nights we were going to stay. Our home for the two nights we were in San Luis Obispo County was The Embassy Suites Hotel, located just off Hiway 101 and Madonna Road.
     I enjoy staying in an Embassy Suites Hotel.  The rooms are two room suites and have all the amenities a great hotel could offer as well as being quite cozy and comfortable. The hotel includes a cooked to order breakfast buffet each morning to guests as well as a complimentary guest reception each night between five and seven o'clock.  These two features come in very handy as it eliminates the guesswork of where to have breakfast in the morning, especially at the start of a full and hectic day.  The evening reception is a great way to unwind before going out to dinner at night. After ordering fast-food at the nearest "In And Out" Hamburger location and bringing it it back to the room we ate, watched some TV and then turned in as we knew we had a full day ahead of us tomorrow. A round of golf at Morro Bay Golf  Course in the morning seemed very appealing tonight.

San Luis Obispo Downtown Plaza

The James Dean Memorial at Jack Ranch

   
   

   
   
   
   

What's Old Has Become New Again--Paso Robles Golf Club

     How many times have I traveled from Fresno in California's Central Valley to the Central Pacific Coast of California and passed through Paso Robles.  The answer to that question almost scares me and I really don't think I can count that high. Each time I make the turn from California Highway 46 onto U.S. Highway 101, I think about Paso Robles Golf Club, and that I should play it some day when I come to the coast but I am always on my way somewhere to do something else. It is one of those courses that you put on your "I Gotta Play This Course" list, but never seem to stop to play. A couple of weeks ago, I got to cross it off that list and played it wondering why I had waited so long.
     The course was designed by noted golf architect Bert Stamps and opened as a private country club, Paso Robles Country Club. In 1996, the course changed hands with the new owners not exactly taking the best care of the facility. This kind of acted as a double whammy as far as the number of rounds played at the course. Even though the course was opened to public play in 1996, it was still thought to be private and so the public never quite showed up as the old owners who took it public didn't get the word out. Most people thought you just couldn't get on the course because it was still private. Those who did play the course saw that the condition of the course just wasn't up to snuff.  With the misconception that the course was still private and the fact that the new owners were not taking care of what could be a wonderful place to play golf, play all but dried up. I have to say that I was one of these people that really didn't have a burning desire to play Paso Robles.
     Enter Mike Rawitser who also operates Santa Teresa and San Jose Municipal, both located in San Jose, California.  He saw that this course and facility was truly a "diamond in the rough" and he purchased the course in 2011. He saw the course not for what it was at the time, but what it could be.
     Changes were made almost immediately, bringing in a dynamic leadership team to run the course. The clubhouse was remodeled  in 2012 to improve the restaurant and bar.  The pro shop was brought from a dilapidated mobile home set on pillars above the first tee into a corner of the remodeled clubhouse. The old pro shop was torn down giving a better view of the course from the new pro shop and a wider selection of merchandise was made available. Another new building was built that would serve as a cart barn, club fitting facility and learning center. A lot of money was spent on improving fairways and greens, as well as relocating the number fourteen green. All of this done to bring an exceptional level of quality play to the golfing public. I have to say that it is working.
     Paso Robles Golf Course is an "old style" golf course. Bert Stamps who was the architect took basically a flat piece of land and built the golf course using the terrain that he had to work with. The land had one big asset going for it though, and that was the number of huge oak trees that were on the property. He built the course around those huge trees and used them in a very strategic manner. Fairways are not lined by trees, but the big oaks come into play as do several lakes. The greens are small, well bunkered and putt true. I would describe the course as being "sneaky tough". First glaces and opinions can be deceiving as the course is a good test of your golf skills and is a lot of fun to play.
    Two holes stood out in my mind. The fourth is an uphill par three at 150 yards from the white tees. The hole is built in an area off by itself and has a creek running through it at the bottom of the gully. The green is protected by a bunker in the left front and an oak.  You want to stay right on this hole, but not too far right otherwise you will have more huge oaks to bother you that are to the right, especially that big one just off the green. This is a great par three and is very pleasing to the eye as well.
     The fifth hole is a short par four of 317 yards off the white tees. The fairway doglegs to the right and is tucked away into a bit of a forest on the right side. You want to put your tee shot out to the left, because if you are on the right side you put the forest that is on the right in play and you have a couple of oaks to contend with to get to the green.  I know, I was there and it wasn't any fun. Even though I didn't play it well it was a fun hole and a pretty one at that.  Although these were the two most noteworthy holes, each hole had its own character and beauty.
     I felt right at home at Paso Robles Golf Club from the minute I drove up to the course.  The staff was very friendly and helpful. Should you be in the Paso Robles area and looking for a game of golf on a great course, stop by and play the course. It is time that you took Paso Robles Golf Club off your "I Gotta Play That Course Someday" list.  Like me, you will be glad that you took the time to play it.

The par three fourth hole. 

   
   




   
   

   

Ryder Cup Thoughts--Part 3

     Yet again, my mind reluctantly comes to thoughts of the Ryder Cup.  I wasn't going to comment about the loss to the Europeans as my opinion is that it is what it is. We lost, It's just that plain and simple. I will give you the simple, unabridged version about why we lost.
     The reason we lost has to do with mathematics. Here it is.  The Europeans had 161/2 points and we had 121/2. You can discuss it all you want to, but those are the facts. The U.S. Team got beat, and beat bad. That is the bottom line.
     I do have to ask a question here. How important were statistics to Tom Watson.  What was the criteria that he used to make the pairings? I have to admit that I didn't look at this question very closely, but it did have to come up.  I think that Phil Mickelson's comments at the Ryder Cup news conference may have had a ring of truth to them, but I don't know.
     Maybe Tom Watson should have used the pods system and broke the competition down into segments.  Who knows. Maybe Phil should have played in the afternoon, I don't know. We will never know if this would have changed the outcome. Phil is a tough competitor, and any tough competitor hates to be pulled from the game. Let me share what I do know and that is that Europe is coming over here in 2016, and we will see what happens then.
     Please visit some of my sponsor's websites and see what they have to offer.  There are some great specials running on Golfsmith right now so check them out. In the meantime, hit 'em long and straight. Don't leave that birdie putt short!

Kind of a Scottish feel to it, eh Laddie?

Ryder Cup Thoughts--Part 2

     Again, I will be honest with you.  I have not been following the Ryder Cup matches that closely. The conclusion that I think I am coming to is that the Europeans are handing the Americans another bitter defeat. This seems to be the rule these days in Ryder Cup competition.
    Last night I turned on the Golf Channel to see just what the score was and it wasn't pretty.  I didn't catch the score but what I did catch was that The Americans had to win 8 out of 12 matches in today's single matches. I must say that it is not impossible, but a miracle at best. I hate to be a skeptic, but that is WIN 8 matches.  A halve won't help. I do wish the American team luck and have them start thinking about two years from now when the Ryder Cup Matches return to the U.S.
     I do remember the time when we dominated the Europeans. Our string of Ryder Cup victories was long but so was the America's Cup string of victories which of course was broken. Dominance in sports, any sports is hard to achieve in our times. Eventually, the competition will swing the other way and we Americans will be enjoying a string of Ryder Cup victories.  If not a string of victories then at least achieve a balance of wins between The United States and The European Team.
     Got to run to church now. So, hit 'em long and straight. Don't leave that birdie putt short.

Go out and play golf today.  Good luck USA in the Ryder Cup.

Ryder Cup Thoughts

     I don't know how I feel about this year's Ryder Cup.  I have been incredibly busy with all I am doing right now that I haven't had the time to pay much attention to it even though I call myself a golf writer. Quite frankly, tournament reporting is not my cup of tea.  I write mostly about travel and golf courses and I feel that is where my stories are. I suppose I should pay more attention, but it is more convenient when the venue is here in the United States.  After all, it's 6:00 AM here in California and the coverage is on.
     I'm off to the TV to watch.
     By the way, my video on Catalina Island Golf Course is up on You Tube and on my website http://the-golf-course-travel-bag.com.  Check it out, it is a great course in a unique setting.  The course also has a very important history as it is the oldest golf course west of the Mississippi.  Take a look at the video at http://youtu.be/5QIxV0Oj8dw.  Enjoy the Ryder Cup coverage and don't forget to hit 'em long and straight. Please don't leave that birdie putt short.  I made two at Catalina Island, YAHOO!!!

What a great place for a golf course. The course is located in the canyon above the city of Avalon.

Get Fit And Play Better Golf--Part 3

     I just got back from the gym a few minutes ago and am now enjoying my first cup of coffee of the day.  I feel great and I have lost four pounds since Monday.  I know the weight loss is prob ably just water, but it feels good.  My blood pressure is also down and I haven't taken my medications this morning.  That will come later after breakfast. Life is good and the quality of my life is getting better. My game should improve.
     My workout routing as I said before includes cardio, a stretching routine which includes loosening my bad back, crunches and leg lifts with the whole thing finishing up with a circuit training weight lifting component. Later, to reward myself for the work that I am doing I will spend some time in the sauna and the jacuzzi. This works very well for me, and the key is being consistent.  I loose weight quickly.  The funny thing is that when I work out, I'm not as hungry either, so I do shed the pounds.
     How does all of this effect my game. I know what the experts would say, but I want to tell it from my point of view but the experts are very much right.  My game improves when I work out.
     In my case, I see a marked improvement in my game in four areas.  Today I will talk briefly about two of those areas.  Remember now, this is a sharing of my experience although I am sure that others have had similar results.  I can generate more club speed and have more strength. These two are related in that I can hit the ball farther. I can also say that my stamina improves and my attitude becomes more positive which I will talk about in a later blog.
     I can tell that I am becoming a bit more flexible.  This translates to swinging the club with more speed without exerting more energy.  As my weight goes down and my muscles tone, I don't have as much bulk to move. The energy that I am expending is more efficient and translates into moving the club, not excess weight. Believe me, taking away thirty pounds of  "dead weight" fat and replacing it with muscle creates a definitely more powerful swing. The ball goes farther because the club is traveling faster with the energy of the swing being more efficient to the task at hand, that of striking the ball, not clumsily moving dead weight in order to swing the club.
     With the toning of muscles comes added strength. The mere fact that you are able to do more because your muscles are working better is very important. You become stronger because you are working your muscles, not sitting at a computer writing a blog or a book all day. I picked up at least 15 yards on my drives and about one club distance in my game after I started working out. You become stronger and the club becomes easier to swing and feels lighter. Since you are stronger and a bit lighter, you can control the club much better. Simple, isn't it?
     In Part 4 I will cover the other two aspects of my quest for conditioning. In the meantime, don't forget to visit the sites of my sponsors, they are all good people. GolfSmith has some great deals going on now and you can't go wrong using TripAdvisor. I you could also click on my website http://the-golf-course-travel-bag.com, there is a lot going on there too. I am including one of my videos here http://youtu.be/_Kx3Qrv18IE about Stevinson Ranch in Stevinson, California. It is about the tournament I played in using the TaylorMade 15 inch cups. So, hit 'em long and straight.  Remember that it is embarrassing to leave a perfectly good birdie putt short.  I have on many occasions.

Weight loss, strength and greater flexibility would allow me to have a better follow through and weight transfer to my front foot. Hey, I'm working on it.

Get Fit and Play Better Golf--Part 2

     In yesterday's blog I talked about the importance of improved fitness and how that is important to your golf game.  At this point, I want to make it clear that you don't have to become an Olympic athlete, just take steps to improve your health and physical well being.  As I said before, this is important.  I have taken those steps and even though yesterday was my second workout, I feel great.  Yes, a little sore, but it's a good sore.
     Right now, my game probably won't show signs of improvement because of my working out.  Besides, I'm not playing that much right now, about once or twice a month.  Yes, I know that is not enough golf and especially for a guy that is so involved in golf. I should be out playing, but I'm not. At any rate, back to conditioning in golf and what I did.
     As I said earlier, I lost 60 pounds.  Most of this was done by working out three times a week on a program of stretching, cardio and circuit training.  The great part of this was that I did this gradually and my exercise routine caused me a minimum of sore muscles. The goals I set for myself were tone, flexibility and weight loss. During this time I pretty much ate what I wanted and when I wanted but cut down on the amounts.  I controlled my portions and consciously left food on my plate. I did change my food choices adding more fruits and vegetables.  Sugar was not forbidden, but I made the concerted effort to just not eat sweets and cut down on sugar.
     Diet sodas are a waste to me. I eliminated them for one very important practical reason.  They just didn't quench my thirst.  I would drink one or have a glass of soda, and I was still thirsty. What I would do is make a pitcher of  water and add some crystal light to it.  I know Crystal Light has Asparatame in it as do diet sodas, but I was told that was ok and I also increased my intake of plain water as well--with lemon juice of course.  
    How did all of this and the weight loss change my game.  I will talk about this in my next blog.
Take some time to look at the sponsors I have on this blog. I am really impressed with Luggage Forward. Wouldn't it be great to have your luggage and precious golf clubs delivered directly to your hotel or cabin door wherever you are traveling?  Luggage Forward will do that for you. Take a look at their service as well as the other services.
    That's it for now.  Hit 'em long and straight...don't leave that birdie putt short.

I the short good looking guy on the right, sixty pounds heavier of course.

Get Fit and Play Better Golf

     I know that I am the last person to preach fitness and its importance in golf.  It's really funny though that I don't take my own advice. You have to tune up your body in order to play good golf.  It is just that simple.  Do I do this, no. I have decided that it is time to return to the gym and work out, not only for my golf game but for my overall health.
     Three years ago I took up the banner and ran with it. It was time to loose weight and get more fit.  Not literally, I am allergic to running and always have been. I'm not built for speed, being a plow horse not a race horse.  My PE coach used to time me with a calendar in the mile. I am bulky and built low to the ground. I don't run. However, I don't mind walking on a treadmill for thirty or forty minutes. As a result of going to the gym and taking care of myself, I lost 60 pounds.
     I'll have more of this story in my next post. In the meantime, don't forget to go to my website at http://the-golf-course-travel-bag.com and check out the site.  I am going to be playing Catalina Golf Course on Tuesday of next week and will have a video of it up for you to look at the following week. I am excited about playing there, as you know.
     That's it for today.  Remember, hit 'em long and straight. Please don't leave that birdie putt short.

Me at 300 pounds before I lost the 60 pounds. I felt great after the weight loss.

CATALINA!

  It is official! 

Twenty- six miles across the sea
Santa Catalina is a-waitin' for me
Santa Catalina, the island of romance, romance, romance, romance

Actually, romance isn't waiting for me there and it is only 22 miles, but golf is waiting. I am finally going to play Catalina Golf Course.  Thank you Mark!
     You probably didn't know that Catalina Island had a golf course.  It does, and a good one at that.  It is a 9 hole track, 18 from a second set of tees, set in the canyons above Avalon the main town on Catalina. I have been told that it is the oldest golf course west of the Mississippi River that has been in continuous operation since it was opened as a three hole course.  I don't want to totally get into the history of the course, but I do want to let you know that I have been invited to play the course and do a You-Tube video and feature it on my website.  I will also let you know what the course was like here on my blog. 
     Catalina and I go back about 18 years to the first Carnival Cruise I took there in 1996 with my family.  Each time I have been there it has been on a cruise ship as a port of call. I have been there several times and have yet to totally explore the island. I'm told that there is a lot to see, especially the buffalo.  That's another story. Let's face it folks, I am a golfer, not a naturalist.  I tend to focus in on what golf options there are in a location. On this trip we took a golf cart tour and it stopped at the course. at the time I didn't stop in, but I did say, hmmm--I have to play this course some day. 
     I have been to the course several time and have chatted in depth with Mark the pro there.  He is a great guy to talk to. You can tell he really knows his course taking the time to talk about it at great leangth. Every time I go up there, he remembers me and always cordially invites me to experience his course. To this point I have been unable to play the course for a number of reasons while I'm there. I have decided it is time and so in a couple of weeks, again on a cruise I am going to play the course and take pictures.  I only hope that what I produce is as good as it can be. 
    I have some other stories that I will share with you as the time gets closer about my visits to Catalina Golf Course.  I have to run now.  Don't forget to visit my website, http://the-golf-course-travel-bag.com.  If you would also be so kind to take a look at my new video about The Golf Course Travel Bag and myself on You Tube, I would truly appreciate it.  don't make me beg. Here is the URL http://youtu.be/2VSgOYis-M8
 and I hope you will enjoy it as well as my other videos you can find on my website.  Just remember to hit 'em long and straight...don't leave that birdie putt short.  One last thing, it's only 22 miles.

Yes Virgina, there really is a golf course on Catalina Island. Move your finger when you take the picture, will you.  Sorry, I'm not used to taking pictures with a phone.  Isn't that what a camera is for?

New High Tech Clubs

     I finally gave in to the high tech club craze. The last time I played my old clubs, I knew it was time to change to something a little more modern that truly fit my game given my age and strength.  The search was on.
    I visited a lot of golf stores wanting to find the sticks that fit properly. All the well known brands were in the mix, Taylor Made, Callaway, Nike, Mizuno and I really liked the Adams clubs.  What I chose was the most high tech I could get.
    These clubs had some very interesting characteristics. They were made out of a new material that is beginning to show up in golf, a polymer that is supposed to help your game.  The price was right as well as they didn't cost an arm and a leg, $3.99 at Wal-mart including three brand new balls. Such a deal!  These clubs should really improve my game.
     I am thinking very seriously of putting together a group of golfers to play together on a trip to a location somewhere in California.  I haven't quite come up with the location, and wanted to get some input from you. It will probably happen sometime in the spring of 2015 and will be from three to five days. If you could give me some ideas of where we should go, that would be great.
    In the meantime, don't forget to visit my website http://the-golf-course-travel-bag.com and take a look at some great instructional videos as well as some videos of a few outstanding golf courses. Hit 'em long and straight--don't leave that birdie putt short.

The new sticks. They should slash strokes off my game.

 

Ten Reasons I Play Golf

     I was listening to a radio broadcast last night on my way home from a trip, and the subject was how this generation of children growing up never suffer from boredom.  With all digital virtual world that our children live in, there is very little time to just sit there and be bored. There is no "down time" for the brain, and creativity is not given time to grow because their brain is always on. It's an interesting idea, and I don't want to discuss or debate the full intricacies of the argument but the idea has merit.  The bottom line was the speakers son took up golf and loved it because it was natural and creative.
     This got me thinking. Why do I love golf so much?  Here are ten reasons:

1. Golf is natural. You are playing it and it is unfolding as you play. You are not playing a microchip, but experiencing a game that is real, not created in cyberspace. Besides, there is nothing like the natural sound of a club, any club, striking the ball on a good shot. One of the best natural sounds in the world is that of a golf ball dropping into the cup for a birdie. That lake is real, not cyberwater.

2.  Golf exercises your creativity and imagination, and in a real way. How do I hit that shot around the tree and get the ball to the green? Believe me, I have had to do that on several occasions. Do I carry out the shot every time, no.  I still have to create the shot in my mind. Whether I pull it off may be fantasy, but I still have to think it up.  Again, this is all real, not cyberspace.

3.  Golf is good exercise. Whether you walk and carry, walk and pull a cart or ride in a golf cart, golf is exercise.  There is a lot of physical activity involved in swinging that club. You still have to swing a club and hit a ball. Even if you ride a cart, you still have to get out of the cart and hit the ball and do't forget walking from the cart to the tee, or the cart up to the green and depending on some greens keepers and where they put the cart signs, that can be quite a hike.

4.   Golf is played in the real outdoors on some very beautiful pieces of land. This is true wherever the course is. The worst "goat track" still is much prettier than a city alley. It is real as opposed to created in cyberspace. If you have played The Club at Crazy Horse Ranch, Stevinson Ranch, DeLaveaga or Coronado, you know what I mean. Go to my You Tube Video page on my website http://the-golf-course-travel-bag.com and see what I mean. These are real sights, sounds and smells.

5.  Staying along with #4 I give you this reason.  Golf courses are located in some very beautiful places.  Have you ever played Trump National Los Angeles or Pacific Grove Muni? You almost can forget your game and slip into the trance of the surroundings. All this beautiful scenery, and a golf course too. Life doesn't get any better.

6.  You can travel to the places where the golf courses are located. Yes, you can play your wonderful local golf course or you can go to other  places.  I can drive to Monterey and play a course there. Not only do I get to play golf, but I get to enjoy what the city of Monterey, or wherever has to offer.  How about a box of carmel corn from the pier or a seafood dinner with some exceptional clam chowder.  What does cyberchowder taste like anyway?

7.  You use real strategy when you play golf. You don't use a controller to hit the ball, you use a real stick to hit a real ball.  You get the true feeling of a stick impacting the ball. You get the true emotion of hitting a real shot, not a cyber shot. In this, it takes real skill to hit the ball where you want it to go. It takes real skill to drive, hit an iron, chip and putt. With this real skill comes the real emotion of playing the game that is real. What do I do to keep the ball out of the lake?  How do I shape the shot to go around the dog leg?  You get real feedback from the real world that is not possible in the cyber world.

8.  There is more to golf than just hitting a ball and putting in in the hole. There is the "emotion" of golf.  How do you feel after you hit a great shot?  What do you you do when you hit a bad shot? This emotion is real, not created in a cyber world. How many of you have lost a $5 ProV1 in a water hazzard because you shanked a shot?  You know what I'm talking about.

9.  You can get away from the world in a real way for five hours. There are no computers except GPS devices out here. The main computer is left in the pro shop. By the way, turn your cell phones off, please.
Golf can be a refuge from our busy digital world. That is one of the reasons that I think golf will come back. People are tired of the digital world and are searching for a real world.  Golf can provide that real world.

10.  Golf is meant to be played with friends. What did the first players do when they played?  The took a fifth of whiskey and shared it. That is where we get 18 holes, the time a fifth would last share among four golfers. There is nothing like sharing a round with a friend or even making new friends on the course. What about the 19th hole where you swap stories about the round?  "Tis a wonderful thing, laddie.

     That's about it. I guess that I didn't share how I like that golf is also mano-y-mano as well.  You are not playing against someone, you are playing the course.  After all this, I think it boils down to one thing as far as why I enjoy golf so much. It is a heck of a lot of fun.
     Don't forget to stop by my website http://the-golf-course-travel-bag.com and check out the videos. There will be more soon. In the meantime, hit 'em long and straight, don't leave that birdie putt short.

Need I say anything more?