Beaver Golf

Get Your Sligo - On Sale now!

2012-01-10T11:46:00.000-06:00

Though I have never been one to shy away from wearing a brightly colored shirt, my style on the course has, for years been one involving a khaki-colored pair of shorts which grew longer and baggier over the years with a solid colored polo which gradually moved from 100% cotton to today's more technical synthetic fabrics. On occasion, I might have strayed into a muted plaid short or a shirt with some color accents around the shoulders or down the sides, but aside from the spectrum of solid colors I might wear, my wardrobe was somewhat vanilla.

With the advent of the BeaverGolf.com store, I suddenly had a fashion fog lifted, and became aware of a wide variety of fresh fashion brands each of whom claim to want to bring more fun to the game through the use of newer, flashier design to go with the most modern advancements in fabric technology. I was so impressed by a handful of these brands, that I made the decision to feature them on BeaverGolf.com, in some cases despite their relative anonymity in the golf industry.

One of these brands stood out from the rest at the first PGA Merchandise show I attended, and it was Sligo. Founded in 2004 by a group of four golfing chums in Canada, Sligo set forth to create high quality golf apparel that combined the most cutting edge materials with "ahead-of-the-curve" trend setting style. As they set about doing that, Sligo was approached about four years ago by PGA Tour Pro Brian Gay to sign on the wear the Sligo brand on tour. The pairing was perfect, and Brian went on to win three times in 2008-2009 wearing Sligo at each event.

The Sligo Fall 2011 Collection was one of their best yet in my opinion, and featured in it one of my favorite shirts ever, the O'Brien. Available in nine bold colors, the O'Brien pops with a pattern of contrasting colored diamonds draped from the front to the back of the shirt over the left shoulder. The fabric features the Sligo Mag Cool treatment which creates the moisture wicking and quick drying material you have come to expect, but also has anti-microbial properties to keep it smelling fresher for longer. The O'Brien is shown here in the attention-grabbing Sligo Green color. Right now, the O'Brien is available for less than $50.00, a savings of almost 30% at BeaverGolf.com. While there, be sure to browse the Tommy Polo and the Gator Polo as well.

Sligo doesn't limit their creative juices to their shirts, though. In fact, I don't know if I have ever been drawn to an original design in pants such as displayed in the Sligo Digitile Pants and Digitile Shorts. These groundbreaking pants feature an original Sligo design inspired by 14th Century Moroccan tile, and the Sligo interpretation looks stunning. Pair these bad boys with a solid colored shirt for a look that will draw the gaze of onlookers, and might even gather a small gallery around your foursome! The polyester/lycra blend provides lightweight moisture-wicking performance with some stretch for comfort. The flat front and straight cut provide an athletic, yet upscale look to your wardrobe. Both the long pants and the shorts are more than 20% off now at BeaverGolf.com. Also, check out the Plaid Performance Pants, Plaid Performance Shorts, and Solid White Performance Pants also on sale now!

To complement your Sligo outfits, we also offer several Sligo hats on sale now, including the Sligo Tour Cap, Sligo Cadet (Painter or Military style) Hat, Sligo Adjustable Visor, and Sligo Toque Beanie. The most original in the hat designs, however, is the Sligo Reversible Rain Bucket Hat. OK, so maybe bucket hats are traditionally reserved for the older crowd and Jeff Triplett, but I believe that we are about to see a trend here. The bucket hat not only keeps the rain off your head and from dripping down your ears and neck, but it also offers better protection against the sun, one of the golfer's worst enemies. Sligo's interpretation offers style with a choice as well, bringing their Digitile design to one side while the other features the Sligo logo across a solid black hat. This is a bucket hat you can be proud to wear during any round.

So, 2012 is a new year, and high time you do like me, and update your golf wardrobe with some fashion forward styles that show that you care enough to look your best...and HAVE SOME FUN! Take advantage of these great deals on Sligo while supplies last. Most colors and sizes have no more than 1 left, so shop early and often to get the ones you like the most.

Fairways and Greens!

40th Birthday Coupon Code!

2011-06-01T14:45:00.000-05:00

This Sunday, June 5th at 2:15 in the afternoon marks the 40th anniversary of my triumphant arrival on Earth. Sure, it lacked the fanfare of the Ryder Cup and the tradition of The Masters, but we only get one arrival, and this was mine.

A great month to be born June is, in my opinion. We get lots of sunlight, the most welcome of warmth before it becomes tiresome through the summer, and it marks the beginning of the season when children become free from the shackles of school, and adults spent a good amount of time pretending to work while they too plan their mini escapes.

Gemini is also a great sign. We are the communicators...bright, energetic, though perhaps a bit lazy and unfocused. Though we may be difficult to get to know well, we are generally pretty well liked by most.

As I consider what I have done with my 40 years thus far, I am mostly pleased. Perhaps my only regret to this point being that I didn't let this great game take a hold of me until after I completed college. In my 20s, I set a goal of playing in a Champions Tour event after age 50, meaning that I would need to be at least a scratch golfer by then. I have since taken my handicap from the mid 20s down to as low as a 6.7 a couple years back, and an 8 right now. Good progress, but I know these last 8 strokes will be immensely more difficult to shave than the first 20 were. I just have to keep playing, practicing, staying fit, and enjoying the game then let circumstance take care of the rest.

I am also the proud owner of BeaverGolf.com, and consider it already one of my greatest accomplishments having built it from scratch in late 2009-early 2010. I realize, however, that no matter how hard I work at it, my store will not be a success without the support of my loyal customers, and being discovered by new ones as well.

So, from now, Wednesday, 6/1 through Sunday, June 5th at 11:59 PM CST enter the coupon code BGTURNS40 at checkout to receive 10% off any order of $75 or more, plus FREE SHIPPING. This code can not be used in conjunction with your Beaver Rewards points, so use whichever gets you the most discount.

Thank you all for your support, come and shop a lot this week, and please pass it on!

Fairways and Greens!

Sunice Is Getting Some Recognition

2011-01-14T16:10:00.000-06:00

In our lives, there exists an entire category of items that are readily available to purchase, but that we may rarely, if ever, need to actually use. This category is populated with things ranging from a living will and auto insurance down to sunglasses and fingernail clippers. It is a category bloated with frustration, first with having to buy them at all, then with not having them when the need arises. Depending on where you live, an amusing sight is of hoards of commuters racing from office to car, or train to home through a driving storm with nothing but a tattered newspaper over their heads, and a lack of dignity as they awkwardly sprint over, around, and through the collecting pools of water. It is ever more amusing when you spot that one prepared smarty-pants who thought to bring their umbrella with them that day, casually strolling their way in what appears to be slow motion as the crazies race willy-nilly around them.

I put golf outerwear in this category. It is something that many (and possibly most) golfers take for granted. Some are wise enough to own a wind jacket or fleece. A smaller subset actually thinks to bring it along on days when the weather is iffy. Still fewer spend the time and money needed to buy and wear stuff that will actually perform specifically with golf in mind.

Until I began researching what the market had to offer for myself, I was somewhere between the first and second subset. Sure, I owned a windshirt as well as the ubiquitous Polartec fleece, but even when I had them with me, I was often left unsatisfied with the protection they provided, and always felt like their presence negatively impacted my game. Then, I discovered Sunice.

Yes, I do sell Sunice products on my website BeaverGolf.com. I also sell very good products from Straight Down, Puma, and Antigua among others. For the most complete and thorough line of products designed to keep the weather at bay, however, I think Sunice has got it covered. Sunice makes use of several innovative fabrics and coatings ranging from hard core Gore-Tex to FlexVent, SiXT, WxTECH, Windstopper, Protek 3L, DuoTech, and X20 among others, to create specific groups of options to suit almost every condition you might face on the course. They have won awards from Gore-Tex for best use of their fabrics, and that is high praise. I wear several Sunice products myself now, and have never been given any for free...I am a believer.

I am not the only believer, and last Fall was joined by the Women's 2011 and 2013 Solheim Cup teams, who have chosen Sunice as the official designer, manufacturer, and provider of the outerwear that will be worn by the players on both teams should the need arise. Now, on January 12th, the PGA of America announced that Sunice is an official licensed product partner for the 2011 PGA Championship at Atlanta Athletic Club, the 2012 PGA Championship at The Ocean Course on Kiawah Island, and the Ryder Cup being played right here in Chicagoland at Medinah Country Club in September 2012.

After the well-publicized flap that occurred over in Ireland during the last Ryder Cup when the American teams' outerwear actually failed during the opening round causing the team to have to resort to outerwear purchased in the merchandising tents, this was an important decision to get right. I believe that both the LPGA and PGA of America have now realized what so many of us have failed to do. If you want to take the weather out of the equation on the golf course, you need to get the best, and Sunice embodies the best in golf outerwear.

So, come on over to BeaverGolf.com and have a look around. If you want to jump straight to Sunice, click right here and click through the pages. If you want any help, shoot me an e-mail at beavergolf1@gmail.com, or you can even call me (when I'm not golfing) at (888) 650-2870. I would be more than happy to listen to what kind of weather plagues you, and help you choose the right gear to get you through it.

Just keep this in mind when you are deciding between Sunice and the clearance rack at your local shop...do you want to be the player casually hitting great shots through the weather, or that soaked and shivering player with a hood flapping in their face while being limited to a 3/4 swing all day long? Your call.

NEW PRODUCT: Sunice Elliott Gore-Tex Paclite Pullover

2010-10-15T17:09:00.000-05:00

In the 1980's hit film E.T., all that cute, yet homely little alien wanted to do was go home, right? You remember..."phone home, phone home, blah, blah, blah". Well, who was there to help little E.T.? Elliott was there to help, wasn't he? That's right, it was Elliott.

You may also have recently noticed the brouhaha during the 2010 Ryder Cup over there in rainy Wales, that the U.S. Team got stuck with some less than effective raingear made by Sun Mountain. Yup, sure enough, when the rains came, the players got wet, and assistants were sent scurrying to the merchandise tents to buy better gear. Having played in the rain while wearing it, I can tell you that they should have chosen Sunice, just as the 2011 U.S. Women's Solheim Cup team already has for their tournament being contested next year in Ireland.

What, may I ask, is the state of your current raingear? Do you even have raingear? Don't tell me that you're one of those scampering off the links at the first sign of precipitation! Didn't you see Caddyshack? Seriously, the Bishop would never have been able to play the greatest round of his life, nor find a truer calling, if he had run for the clubhouse when the rains came. Imagine how much better he might have shot if he were wearing a stylish and snugly fitting Gore-Tex jacket complete with stretch inserts at the shoulder blades so as not to restrict his natural swing. Seriously, he shot that round wearing a hefty bag with a hood on it for heaven's sake!

Given your current raingear, I'll bet when the clouds let loose during your round, going home, just like little E.T. is indeed all you want to do. But, how many chances do you get to play golf anyway? Like most of us, you get out at best once a weekend, and if that round is rained out, it is another week of the 9 to 5 grind before you can smell the sweet smell of closely mown grass again.

Don't let the weather spoil your time on the course! Go to BeaverGolf.com and get yourself the brand new, already on sale Sunice Elliott Gore-Tex® Paclite® Pullover, and stay in the game. Golf was invented for this weather, so don't shy away. This rainy day friend is ultra lightweight, yet is completely waterproof - and even comes with a LIFETIME WATERPROOF GUARANTEE! With such rain fighting features as wrist rain channels to keep water from running down to your hands and waterproof YKK zippers to prevent water from finding those weak points in the zippers, this jacket will keep you dry even in a heavy persistent rain.

Staying dry isn't all that's important though. Ask Mrs. Corey Pavin who has taken more than a fair share of heat for her idea of style on the U.S. Ryder Cuppers. A close-to-the-body fit and stretch inserts at the shoulder blades provide ultimate freedom of movement, keeping your swing easy and on plane all while keeping you warm and dry.

So, next time it rains during your round, don't go home - just pickup this Sunice pullover and rely on the Elliott to see you through.

Fairways and Greens!

Bless Me Beavers, For I Have Sinned...

2010-08-10T09:27:00.001-05:00

By Beaver Golf Contributor: Don Moorhead

As you can tell by the clever title, I have a confession to make. I have an excuse, but still. See, I gave up golf.

I can explain, if you'll just put down those pitchforks and douse the torches for a minute. I've been unemployed. The details are not important, just I was a midlevel marketing guy who suddenly and involuntarily became a former midlevel marketing guy in February of 2009. Come last spring, I had what some would consider an ideal situation, golf-wise. I had nowhere to go during the day, and a golf-obsessed roommate who was also unemployed. We had an impromptu range in the back yard, littering ours and the neighbor's yards with those little foam practice balls. Every week or so, we headed out for 18, or at least a quick 9. My game improved. I was putting pretty well, and I was even hitting it somewhat straight off the tee, believe it or not. I started slow, every round. I'd put a monster number up on 1 or 2, or maybe 3, then settle into a rhythm. The blow-up was weird, but I didn't think too much about it.

Then, in August, it happened. The blow-up became the round. I couldn't hit it straight, couldn't put it anywhere close, and couldn't make a putt if you put a funnel in front of the hole. The range in the back yard was useless. The actual range was a house of horrors.

Took me a while, and a couple of rounds, to figure it out. I wasn't able to let go. The whole time I was out there on the course I was thinking about the $37.50 (or the $59 or the $25) I had paid for the round. Every lost Nike one-piece was another buck down the drain. But it was more than the money. Remember that feeling you had in college, especially around exam week, when you felt like you were never done? You could always spend another hour studying, and any time you spent doing anything else was time taken away from that. Job searching for a living is a lot like that, especially during the day, which coincidentally is also when you play golf, um...mostly. No matter how much you do in a day, you're never done. Granted, that doesn't apply to weekends as much, but do you really think I'm going to ask the wife, who by the way, works 50 hours a week most of the time, to babysit the 5 year old while I go play golf? If you answered yes to that, then you're not married, now, are you?

It's the classic conundrum; when you're working, you have no time to play. Then, when you have time, you a) don't have the money, and b) you really don't have nearly as much time as you think. So, why am I telling you this? Because I'm here to help. Because statistically speaking, somewhere between 9.7% and 11.2% of you are unemployed. And I don't want you to suffer like I suffered. Here's what you do.

1. Make a plan. Your household will need to have a budget anyway, but here's the thing. Include a line item on that budget for golf. It's ballsy, pardon the semi-pun. But now, more than ever, you're going to need to play.

2. You will, however, want to economize. Twilight rates are there for a reason. Don't look down your nose at the local muni, even if you're used to fancier digs. Eat before you play. I would never suggest that you sneak beverages onto a course that prohibits them, but there's a reason those Gatorade bottles fit so well in the side pocket of a carry bag.

3. Don't hide it from your spouse. Bargain if you can, beg if you must, but this is one of those times when you need to be up front. You won't enjoy yourself if you're sneaking around and hiding the scorecard. If you need to get permission, suck it up and get it.

4. This is the most important one. Give yourself permission. Take the time off, just like you would if you were working. Hit the job search hard the day before, and again before you play. You won't feel done, but you'll feel like it's OK to go. It's a well-known fact that most HR professionals take Friday afternoons off. That's not even remotely true, but it was my experience that I rarely got calls on a Friday afternoon. If you just can't stand being out of contact, check your messages at the turn. Not every hole, not every shot, but once.

Do this right, and you'll make it through. The game is an awesome way to put the real world off for a while. It won't be the same, it'll still feel weird. But here's why you have to try. I got a job. And, given the wacky nature of the modern economy, I interviewed on a Thursday, came back for a 2nd on Monday, accepted their offer on Tuesday, and started the following Monday. And a couple of those days in between, it rained. I didn't get a celebratory round in, and now, guess what? I don't have time to play again.

GOLF EQUIPMENT REVIEW: Scratch Golf 1018 Wedge

2010-07-22T17:24:00.003-05:00

We've all heard the phrase "Drive for Show, Putt for Dough", and chances are we've all uttered it at some point during our rounds. It is both easy to relate to and entirely misleading all at once. The truth is that every shot during a round is as important as the next. Bad drives can not only change your entire approach to a hole, but can also cost you stroke and distance if those dreaded white stakes are stationed near your errant shot. Good putting can definitely save you strokes, especially if you are making everything inside 6 feet, but putting for dough is reliant upon both good ball-striking with the irons, and perhaps even more so upon deadly accurate wedge play.

For me, scoring well seems to be most dependent on good ball-striking and hitting lots of greens in regulation. This takes pressure off of my putter and wedges, helping me gain confidence in the rest of my game. I play to an 8 handicap, which means that I am capable of playing any hole very well and generally strike the ball well, but also means that I still suffer through bouts of inconsistency when I will miss bunches of greens during a round. Regardless of whether I am hitting a lot of greens or not, one club I hit as often as any other is my 58 degree wedge. I feel very comfortable with this club, and hit it from all kinds of lies be it sand, deep rough, chips to tight pins, pitches from 75 yards in, and full shots inside 100 yards. I love to manipulate the openness of the face to achieve different results depending on what the shot calls for.

For the last 14 years I have played exclusively Cleveland wedges in various styles and loft combinations. Most recently I settled on my trusty Cleveland CG10s. For a few years I used a 52/56/60 combination, but wanting to get an additional hybrid in my bag, I decided to switch to a 52/58 combo in addition to my Mizuno MP-32 P-Wedge back in 2007. In early 2008, I received a Cleveland CG14 as a gift, and after putting it in my bag for 5-6 rounds, the CG10 quickly reclaimed its spot where it has remained until three weeks ago. The problem for me with the CG14 was the "over-engineering" in it. I have grown to love the feel of a simple and solid forged clubhead, and with the vibration dampening inserts and different sole grind, I just never felt comfortable with the CG14.

So, as much as I love my CG10s, they were beginning to suffer a loss of spin as I had hit 1000s of balls with each. I had been coveting the new Cleveland CG15s, but had been more than a bit infatuated with Scratch Wedges since "discovering" them late last year, then meeting their team at the 2010 PGA Merchandise Show where I got my first face-to-face hands on look at their beautifully spartan designs. I was impressed that corporate sponsorship averse Ryan Moore not only chose to play Scratch clubs without being paid to do so, but also was sporting their logo cap while playing on tour. Of course, a highlight of this year for Ryan was his ace on #16 at Augusta National during the 2010 Masters using his Scratch SB-1 Irons. I decided with some trepidation to give the guys at Scratch a call, and get myself a couple of new wedges. At least, I thought, I could write a legitimate review of them if I put them in play for a while, and if they played well, it would be great to get a few of you to come buy them from BeaverGolf.com on my recommendation.

So, while I did get the wedges at a discount, I did purchase the clubs with my own money, lest you think I am simply a shill for Scratch Golf. I bought the 8620 model in 53 degrees bent to 52 degrees in the Driver/Slider TNC Grind. I also bought the 1018 model in 58 degrees with the Driver/Slider EGG Grind, and this is the club I'll be reviewing today. I use the 58 degree club at least 3 times as often as I use the 52 degree, so have already gained a great deal of experience hitting the 58, thus a better review. Also, the 8620s are not available until mid-September due to higher than expected demand.

The special thing that Scratch Golf does is create clubs that are shaped and ground to better match your current swing and shot preferences. While they do offer a full fitting experience which requires you to visit their facilities down in Nashville, TN, they have plenty of options available in their standard line of wedges to fit most of our swings. The first thing one needs to determine before shopping for their new Scratch wedge is to determine what they use their wedges for most, and what the most common results of good shots and bad shots are in terms of divot size and fat versus thin contact. The steepness of your attack angle when swinging from various lies generally determines the characteristics of your wedge play that need to be better accommodated by a custom grind.

Here are the short explanations of the three swing types as defined by Scratch Golf:

Digger / Driver: Players in this swing profile tend to be very “steep and deep” with the club at impact. Their aggressive angle of attack causes the club head to dig into the ground requiring greater bounce angles to get the club head back out of the ground and maintain contact between the face and golf ball. Miss-hits for this profile are commonly fat.

Driver / Slider: This swing type encompasses a vast majority of golfers. These players will try and trap the ball between the clubface and ground, taking a shallow, even divot. Driver/Slider’s moderate angle of attack requires a mid-bounce angle providing assistance in maintaining the club head’s path through the turf and ensuring crisp, clean contact. Driver/Sliders tend to miss both thin and fat.

Sweeper/Slider: Often a favorite of course superintendents, Sweeper/Sliders have a very shallow angle of attack and take little to no divot at all. This swing profile requires a low bounce angle, which helps combat the thin miss-hit for Sweeper/Sliders.

Chances are that you can accurately fit yourself into one of these three types of swings, but that isn't where they stop. In each of the three swing type categories are two different grinds for the lower and higher of the wedge lofts. As I mentioned above, I am a Driver/Slider, so got a grind that fits my swing tendencies and allows me to open up the face of my 58 degree with the leading edge remaining closer to the ground.

So, on to the point of the review...how has the club performed? Well, the first shot I hit with it during an actual round was a 35 yard pitch on a long Par 5 after my decent drive and excellent 3-wood finished there. Good swing, solid contact, flew to the front edge of the green, bounced twice, then rolled out about 20 feet downhill and directly into the hole for an eagle! OK, great start, I thought, but that was just luck. Well, no more eagles over the next five rounds, but this club is staying in my bag for a long time.

It took me about 9-10 shots to get used to the extra feedback this club gives me with its forged head and KBS Tour shafts, but now that I have, I love it. I have been able to hit both tight fairway shots as well as from the deep rough with spin from all kinds of distances inside 100 yards. My favorite shots with it have been from 60-75 yards when I just open the face slightly and take about a 90% swing. The ball lands, bounces twice, then checks up...awesome! The sound off the face is solid and confidence-building.

If I have a knock on this club at all, it might be out of greenside bunkers. It is likely that is due more to my sand game than the club because the last couple of years I have been dreadful in the sand, but it is possible that I sacrificed too much bounce in opting for the ability to open the face more. I am going to work on it and give it a few more rounds, but I might need to grab a 56 degree with more bounce to use out of the sand. I also may try hitting the 52 degree more often out of the sand to see if that helps. My guess is that the customized grind will assist most players with their bunker shots despite my troubles.

The Scratch 1018 forged wedges are on sale right now at BeaverGolf.com for $149.99. That is a savings of $20 off the $169.95 MSRP! Of course, with a single wedge exceeding our $75 shipping threshold, you will not pay a penny for shipping on these wedges either. While there, make sure to check out their irons and Hybrid clubs as well. Ladies, they haven't forgotten you either with specially designed grinds in both the wedges and irons as well.

Wedges are a very personal thing, and I play with lots of people who have been using their same wedges for a very long time because they have developed a comfort level with how it performs. While I can understand and relate to that, I think for most people, a wedge with new grooves and better matched to your own swing can only help your scoring...and closer wedge play means you'll make more putts. So, instead of "putt for dough", shouldn't it be "wedge for dough"?

Fairways and Greens!

GOLF COURSE REVIEW: Thunderhawk

2010-07-19T23:59:00.000-05:00

Directly in between Chicago and Milwaukee in Northern Lake County, IL lay one of the most interesting and scenic golf courses that I have ever played on. This is a golf course that has gotten better with time as the fairways and greens have matured into firm yet receptive conditions across the course. This is a golf course that manages to put a premium on accuracy off the tees despite offering ample landing areas and tee placements to accommodate high and low handicappers alike. This is a golf course that was the first of only two courses in Illinois to achieve Audubon Signature certification marking it as a shining example of maintaining a first class golf experience while minimizing the damaging impacts on the local environment. A haven for golfers and wildlife alike, this is Thunderhawk Golf Club.

Surely, you haven't heard of Beach Park, IL, so give yourself ample time to get to Thunderhawk from wherever it is you are coming. Sitting on the cusp of the Illinois/Wisconsin border, and a good 15-20 minutes from I-90/94, I have seen many a playing partner take their first swing of the day on the first tee box due to a longer than expected commute. Do not, under any circumstances, let that keep you from seeking out this course and giving it a go.

If you have read my past golf course reviews, you will know this about me, I love a good value, and I really love courses that offer a wide variety of holes with risk/reward options. Thunderhawk Golf Club has both of these in spades. In the recent past, Thunderhawk, for me, was a once-per-year kind of course both due to the fact that it was so far away from my home in downtown Chicago, and because the rates were nearly prohibitive at almost $100 for prime time weekend rounds. Though they can not move the course location, I recently moved much closer to this course, eliminating the travel factor. What the course did accomplish was something that many, many other courses need to do as well, they lowered their rates! I don't know how many half empty Saturday tee sheets a course has to see before realizing that by lowering their rates they will attract more golfers, but Thunderhawk got the message. Not only do they offer compelling twilight rates of $55 after 1:00 and $47 after 3:00 on weekends, but their standard rate of $85 from open through 1:00 on weekends is worth the cost - and they let you replay for $25 more! If you can play during the week, it gets even better with an early bird special of $39 from open through 8:00 am. That is quite possibly the best value in all of Chicagoland.

The clubhouse fits the landscape like a glove, and the staff, though often confused by their own multi-tiered pricing structure, is always friendly and accommodating. Though the snack bar is out of the way from the turn, and offers nothing compelling beyond a hot dog or turkey sandwich, the restaurant is very nice, and regularly hosts medium-sized weddings on it's beautiful brick patio overlooking the stunning 18th green. They offer a nice selection of apparel in the pro shop, and the restrooms are clean and spacious. The driving range is nowhere close to the 1st tee, so if you are walking (and, really, you should be walking), give yourself a good 10 minutes to get over to the starter, and more if you want to take a few practice putts (also highly recommended as these greens can run pretty quick and are laden with undulation). My commentary below is from the Brass tees, so adjust accordingly should you decide on the tips or the two shorter options.

The first hole is a very well designed first hole. Nothing too fancy or tough on this straight and short par 4, allowing for a variety of club choices off the tee (I almost always opt for the 3-wood unless the wind is really howling in either direction). Don't take this hole too much for granted, however, as you will not find your ball in the tall stuff well left, and you have OB all the way up the right side. The green is large, and offers one of the flatter putts you will face today.

As you stand on the 2nd tee, the first of many risk/reward decisions come into play. If you can't hit the driver more than 245 yards, or want to hit a shorter club on this par 5, knocking one straight up the left fairway is a safe and more than acceptable decision. If you, however, have notions of eagle right off the bat, it is a shorter carry than it appears over the wetlands, and left of the imposing tree protecting the right side. About 210 yards is enough to sneak over that right side. Accomplish that or better and you will be staring straight at a wide open green and ample fairway in front of you making both a big swing or layup viable and comfortable options. Beware, this green can be tricky, and you don't want to be chipping back from behind the green, so if you do miss, short and right is usually best.

The third hole is a bear of a par 3. On a busy day, this is normally a bottleneck on the course even with the mandatory drop rule that is well-signed on the tee. Generally you will be facing a tee shot of about 190 yards with almost all of that being carry over wetlands. The green is a big saddle with a low are in the middle between two shelves left and right. Par is a good score on this hole, and don't be too hard on a bogey either.

On the fourth hole, an average length par 4, everything on the tee tells you to hit it into the big open right side of the fairway, and there is nothing wrong with that play. Don't be too aggressive nor too far right, however, or your ball will have surprisingly disappeared into the ubiquitous wetland weeds, and you will be hitting your 3rd shot from 180 yards. My suggestion, if you can carry your driver 225 or so is to hit your tee shot directly over the right side of the big fairway bunker in the middle of the fairway. Clear it, and you will be hitting a short and trusty club into another well protected green. In 14 rounds here, I have played this hole to an average of 4.14 strokes, and never taken worse than a bogey, so I practice what I preach.

I am not the best spokesperson for the 5th hole which is an otherwise straightforward and slightly shorter than average par 4 with a wide fairway. For whatever reason I am forever hitting pull hooks into the forest guarding the entire left side of this hole, and from a drop there have little chance of doing better than double bogey. For most of you, anything from long iron through driver relatively straight should put you in position for an easy approach shot to a rather huge green. The putts can be tricky depending on pin position, but I would think this isn't one of the most challenging holes out here.

Turn the corner through the woods and feast your eyes on one seriously cool par 3. This really big peanut shaped green offers the course loads of options for how to punish the golfers on any given day, but at most you will face about a 160 yard shot - over a small pot bunker to the tiny portion of the green, of course. On front pin placements, short and right is a very acceptable miss as it could leave you with an uphill putt or chip from a closely mown area. The key to hitting it close here is being aware of a ridge running from the front to back of this green that will funnel your ball to the pin as long as you catch the correct side of it. For the tricky left pin, aim just right of the right edge of the bunker fronting the green then let the green funnel the ball down for a good look at birdie.

Remember that risk/reward comment? You've got a whole bunch of options on the next two holes, beginning with the super-fun Par 5 7th hole. This very reachable par 5 offers a huge landing area to the right off the tee for those so inclined, but better be short right or your ball will roll right through the fairway and into the woods making your conservative play quite penal. With the prevailing SW winds, I much prefer to take the drive right over the bunkers bordering the left side of the dogleg. It's a 225 yard carry that plays shorter than it looks, and if you carry the ridge just beyond the bunker complex, you could be coming into this par 5 with a scoring iron in your hands. This green can be tricky with a back pin, but front pins are pretty straightforward.

On to number 8, a drivable par 4 that offers another risk/reward decision. Again, with the prevailing winds, I actually think what looks like the risky shot is actually the safe play, and that is a drive over the small lake directly at the green. Often, the pin is around 270 yards from the tee, and the carry over the lake is a hair over 200 yards. You can definitely bail out to the right with the routing of the fairway, but if you do, I recommend you leave the driver in the bag as there are bunkers very well placed to catch any errant shots. If you do find yourself in one of these fairway bunkers, you might as well kiss any chance at par goodbye, and you have likely made a cautious decision that cost you 2-3 strokes.

After a couple of great scoring chances, Thunderhawk slaps back hard on the long par 4 ninth hole. If you've got the shot, a hard, long, controlled draw that wraps right around the 150 barber pole is the best drive. For the other 99% of you, hit this drive as far as you can, or play it as a par 5. Wetlands guard the right side making a ballooning fade sure death. The left side is guarded by tall weeds followed by woods making a shorter shot left of the barber pole a nearly impossible approach shot, most of the time requiring a short chip into the fairway beyond the dogleg left. The approach shot is significantly up hill with woods bordering both sides of the fairway, and the large green well protected short and right by a handful of deep bunkers carved into a steep slope. Bogey is a good score here, and pars are great. If you are able to manage a birdie, you have taken a good amount of bite out of this course.

Make the turn to number 10 and take a breath. This is a pretty simple driving hole as any shot over 210 yards in the fairway will trundle down the hill and add 20-30 yards to your drive. 200 yards or so will even carry the bunker on the left. Don't knock it too far left, however, or you'll be hitting three from the tee. Back pin positions on this green can be a challenge as it slopes pretty severely from back to front and has a ridge separating the left and right halves, but relatively speaking, this is one of the easier holes on the course.

Take a good look from the par 5 eleventh tee, and hopefully you've read this review before playing it. Don't be afraid of those bunkers on the left side of the fairway as the entire landing area right of the bunkers slopes hard left to right ad well struck shots will easily run all the way down to the weeds on the right side of the hole. It's another 210 or so yard carry over the far right of the fairway bunkers and will leave you with a flatter lie and a fairly easy approach to any pin on the right 2/3 of the green. Even with an inaccessible left pin, this is still the best play as the green will always be in view. The green is pretty flat as these greens go, so once on, a two-putt is common.

The short par 4 twelfth offers options off the tee once again, but I like to think that a hybrid or fairway wood is the correct option. A pull hook off this tee is certain death, and the further right you hit it, the quicker you bring the short but thick line of trees into play. It is a short hole, so after a decent drive, you should be holding a comfortable iron or wedge in your hands. That is a good thing because this is a very long and contoured green making putting here a challenge once on the green.

Onto the long par 3 thirteenth hole, one which seems to give everybody fits. I'm not exactly sure why it plays so difficult, even at 200+ yards. Perhaps it is the narrowness of the peanut shaped green guarded on both sides by bunkers. If you miss right or left, you will be short sided regardless of where the pin is located. The best miss is simply short, and, of course, hitting the green is always the best option. This is another hole where par is a very good score.

Now onto the very short par 4 fourteenth hole that is not much of a challenge if you play it correctly. A solid 200 yard shot straight up the fairway will put you in great position to hit a very short club into this elevated green. What challenge this hole presents is in the contouring of the green along with the severe drop off fronting the green making short or heavily spinning shots roll down to that fun little tight lie straight up the slope. Just keep you head on the shots here, and you should score well.

The par 3 fifteenth is a wolf in sheep's clothing. Go ahead and take one extra club here no matter how you feel. I am pretty sure I've never seen anyone hit it past the pin off this tee despite its relatively short yardage. Everything rolls off the front and right into another fun collection area, so be long, be long, be long! Interesting note here...this hole features one of the most ridiculous forward tees I've ever seen. From this tee box, you really could putt the ball onto the green, and a bump and run is probably the most appropriate play. Pretty silly tee box for any ladies with even a reasonable amount of game. You'll see it, and I think, agree with me on this one.

I have mixed feelings about the par 5 sixteenth hole. It is a beautiful hole, but visually confusing, and the final approach can be intimidating and confounding. Furthermore, nearby lives a very vocal rooster who apparently wants you to know the sun is up all day long. If you are a big hitter (and I do mean BIG), and can lace a draw that carries a good 265+ yards in the air, then you can wrap it around the big trees on the left side and reach the second fairway over a ball-eating creek. The much more prudent play is a driver directly up the right fairway that rolls out right in front of you. This is not a hole reachable in two shots for the vast majority of players, so stay patient, and stay left as the lake on the right side is waiting to receive any shots fading even a bit too much. This green is well protected short left, short right, and short straight by bunkers and that stinking lake again. If you've got a great lie after your drive, a fairway wood about 40 yards left of the green is not the worst play as you could get past all the bunkers on the left side, and open up a great pitch and run angle to the green. This hole is hard, plain and simple, and requires both good decision making and well struck shots. Don't forget to enjoy the view.

The par 3 seventeenth can be a lot of fun, as long as you keep your tee shot left. Usually a short or mid iron off the tee, there seems to be a tendency to leak shots just a bit right and the lake will collect each and every one of those shots. Get onto the correct portion of this "L" shaped green and you could grab yourself another birdie here.

Finally, one of my favorite finishing holes anywhere, the par 5 eighteenth hole at Thunderhawk. This drive calls for a draw, but unless you already drove it onto the second fairway on 16, don't bother risking a wild shot. Yes, I've seen people try for this green in two shots, but generally the longer you drive, the shorter you iron that you will be laying up with. See, the second shot is all downhill all the way to about 50 yards short of the green where a rocky creek bed runs across the front of the green complex separating it from the end of the fairway, and providing one final challenge to your round. The front of the green is significantly downhill from the back, so make your club choice count on the approach so you have a decent chance at making your putt. If you pull it off you could walk off with a birdie, and par is there for you if you keep your attention through this hole.

So, in summary, I strongly recommend playing Thunderhawk at least once, and I'll bet you will find yourself wanting to come back again and again. If you do play it, or have played it, let me know if you agree, I'd be very interested in hearing your thoughts.

Fairways and Greens!

GOLF BOOK REVIEW: Straight Down the Middle, by: Josh Karp

2010-06-16T11:21:00.000-05:00

Funny thing about this blog of mine, it is bringing me opportunities to meet others whom I otherwise would never have met, and who share with me a love for and addiction to the game of golf. Case in point, about a month ago, Josh Karp reached out to me via e-mail, and asked if I would be interested in reading and reviewing his new book "Straight Down The Middle". I, of course, replied that I would love to, and that just as soon as I moved (my family and I recently moved from Chicago, IL to Grayslake, IL) I would find some time to do just that. The book showed up a few days later direct from the folks at amazon.com, and was promptly packed into one of my "Open Immediately" boxes.

Well, the move happened on June 7th, and I started reading the book on June 9th. Five days later I completed the last chapter (I never knew there was a Shivas Irons Society), and I can tell you I am impressed. Now, the truth be told, I've never actually reviewed a book before, so forgive me if this seems a little proletariat for you. I will also do my best to avoid giving away anything that might make reading this book irrelevant, but honestly, that would be hard to do. As with many golf books I've read, and I have read many, "Straight Down The Middle" can easily be read more than once.

The basic premise is that Josh, a self-proclaimed Agnewish (Agnostic Jew) father of four - yes FOUR young boys, has decided to try to improve his golf game using a veritable cornucopia of Zen-inspired methods and techniques as opposed to the purely mechanical route of hiring Hank Haney and thoroughly embarrassing oneself on television. Josh begins the story as an 18-handicap (meaning he is capable, but struggles to break 90) who, like most of us, frequently melts down after imperfect shots, blaming his own ineptitude as an athlete and even as a person for all the troubles he is made to suffer while on the course. Josh also reportedly has some significant issues with pessimism and worry in general as evidenced by his certainty that any day some fatal malady is going to befall him.

As a father of two children myself (aged 1 and 3), I found the experience he undertook to be both inspirational and unbelievable all at once. Josh's wife should have gotten her name in the title in addition to her top billing in the acknowledgments. His travels and frequent playing, researching, and writing surely had to have put a strain on their marriage and only through her great understanding and patience was Josh able to pull this off, to be sure.

The number of methods available to a golfer in search of a better swing are countless, and Josh legitimately tries many of them. From quantum mechanics to martial arts and meditation, Josh patiently accepts and experiments with each one in turn, allowing each new technique the time it deserves to integrate with Josh's game. I found it particularly interesting when two methods would come in conflict with one another to hear how Josh handled it. One particular case of this was between Steve Yellin, media relations director at Maharishi University in Fairfield, IA and Jim Waldron, owner of the Balance Point Golf School. Josh handles the conflict between Yellin's "feeling your swing" and Waldron's bio-mechanics inspired methods with ease slecting the best of each method and blending them in his own practice.

Josh is an avid golf book reader himself, and is continually drawn to comparisons of these methods with moments in the great golf novel "Golf in the Kingdom" by Michael Murphy, the first of many golf-themed books that I have read myself, and that woke me up to the potential of energy fields, and playing golf in the now. This journey that Josh undertakes culminates with both a trip to golf's Mecca itself in Scotland (though, disappointingly not the Old Course at St. Andrew's) followed by a tournament at the famed Straits course at Whistling Straits in Haven, WI, a course that is, disappointingly, still on my must-play list.

"Straight Down The Middle" is very well-written, engaging, and effortlessly blends Josh's experiences both with playing golf and with learning from the teachers and gurus themselves. Josh also uses his lessons in his personal life, partially exorcising some of his daemons, and helping him to yes, play better golf, but perhaps more importantly, to enjoy the golf he plays.

I think that final point is what I found to be the single most important lesson shared by Josh through his experience, that, for most of us, playing better golf will result from, rather than lead to being happier with how we play. Easier said than done, but something to which each one of us should strive to do more often. I look forward to meeting Josh in person, and to see if I can't garner some deeper nuggets of wisdom while playing swing.

I encourage each of you to click the link below and grab yourself a copy of "Straight Down The Middle". This book will fit very nicely on your bookshelf next to your copies of "Golf in the Kingdom", "Zen Golf", and Harvey Penick's "Little Red Book".

Fairways and Greens!

GOLF COURSE REVIEW: Cog Hill Golf & Country Club #4 - "Dubsdread"

2010-06-14T16:36:00.003-05:00

Frequently, when you meet a golfer from Chicago, the conversation will begin with a pitiful whine about the weather, and how much better life would be if he or she could just live somewhere that golf is played year round in warm idyllic conditions. In fact, I promise you that if an when you meet me, I will do the very same thing. Chicago is a tough climate to endure for the avid golfer. While we might sneak out for a round or two on unseasonably mild days during the winter months, generally speaking we Chicagoans must hop on an airplane to play meaningful golf from late November until early March, and many of us simply take the clubs out of the car and try to rediscover our swings at around the first thaw.

So, why don't we all just gather our things and move down south? OK, so, lots of Chicagoans actually do just that. There must be something keeping the rest of us here, though, right?

Something that we are blessed with here in the upper Midwest states is fertile land upon which to grow, without a doubt, the greatest grass on which to play golf. Yes, if you haven't played on true bentgrass fairways and greens, then you need to take a trip up here. To top that off, Chicago features within an hour's drive in every direction some of the greatest public golf courses in the country (and from what I've read and heard, quite a number of the private ones as well). Among my personal Top 5 are Pine Meadow, Thunderhawk, Cantigny, and Prairie Landing, but the crown jewel of public golf in Chicago has to be the famed fourth course at Cog Hill Golf & Country Club. Better known to the masses as "Dubsdread", Cog Hill #4 is the current home of the FedEx Cup's BMW Championship after having hosted the PGA Tour's Western Open from 1991-2006.

Unfortunately, "Dubs" is also quite expensive to play relative to the other great public courses in the area, so it limits my rounds on the course to once every 2-3 years. In my four complete rounds at "Dubs" I have grown to enjoy the course more and more as one is prone to do as they become more familiar with the course and it loses some of that intimidation factor. Just prior to writing this review I shot an 84 on "Dubs", my best round of my four on the course, and am currently an 8.4 handicap, so a very good score for me. This despite being marred by an awful start during which I went 7-over through the first four holes, including a par on the Par 3 2nd. With that said, don't you dare ever pay more than $100 to play any of Bolingbrook Golf Course, The Glen Club, or Ruffled Feathers if you can get on "Dubs" instead...it might just be better than all three of those courses combined!

The round I just finished there was also my first at "Dubs" since they closed for the entire 2008 season while "The Open Doctor" Rees Jones undertook a fairly massive renovation project that took a once outstanding course into the realm of unbeatable. Most of the renovation was to make the course more playable after the frequent heavy rains that befall it during the summer months. All 18 greens were rebuilt over a new Sub-Air System which actually sucks the moisture from right underneath the green complex. It appeared to my group that this was working under the bunkers as well.

Three weeks prior to the round I completed, we tried to play, but only finished 7 holes before a long and torrential Memorial Day downpour halted us at the halfway house. Following a 90+ minute delay, most everyone packed it in, collected their rain checks and went home, but my buddy and I tried to wait it out. Though we attempted unsuccessfully to play the eighth hole before another wave of rain drenched us, we got right up to the green and realized that despite taking on about two inches of rain in 90 minutes, there wasn't even the smallest of puddles on either the green or the 4 million bunkers that front the eighth hole...that is unprecedented drainage for the Chicago area, or perhaps anywhere.

Aside from the greens, Mr. Jones also added and/or deepened many of the fairway bunkers that give pause to anyone used to cutting off some of the corners out there. Being the absolute worst part of my game, the fairway bunkering was terrifying, apparently enough to keep me out of them on all but the first hole which I double bogeyed. On the 7th hole which had been arguably the easiest hole on the course, Rees went and dug a small lake on the inside of the dog leg right that now makes cutting the corner a tremendous risk.

The renovation also included the addition of several sets of tees, which along with a "Combo" course that uses different tees on different holes, allows for a much better dispersion of golfers to play a course fair to their ability. The course rating/slope for men stretches from 70.2/130 on the forward tees to a killer 77.8/151 from the tips and for women from 72.8/135 on the forward tees to an unbelievable 80.2/150 from the Blue tees with two unrated tees behind it (my foursome played these blue tees at 73.9/138 for us).

The greens fees for Cog Hill #4 are a flat $155 no matter the time of day or the season. This fee includes your 18 hole round, complementary range balls at a very nice facility just adjacent to the #4 course, and a golf cart with Laser Link distance finder. I stuck to my practice of walking when allowed as did Brad, but the other two took the cart (though with the Laser Link oddly absent).

I have now played this course four times (plus the additional 7 holes on Memorial Day) and have never played it without having to stop for at least a few minutes to let some heavy rain/thunder/lightning pass through. Coincidence? Probably, but I can't help feeling a bit cursed. Alas, this past round was delayed by 45 minutes due to T-Storms, but we got underway in dry, but humid weather only to be delayed for another 45 minutes again after hitting our drives on 16. Disappointingly, Cog Hill has chosen not to install a lightning alarm system on their courses suggesting that all players may play at their own risk. Of course, some players being less sensible than others, this policy creates some odd and uncomfortable moments as groups change position as some take shelter and others play on. Not a big deal, but worth noting.

For the following course review, please note that I am describing how the course exists now, and will not take the words to describe every little change Rees Jones made during the renovation. If you've played this course before the renovation, suffice it to say, it got even better, and if you've never played it before, it won't matter to you what changes were made. If you are really interested in the depth of the changes, click this link to view it in full.Also, any yardage and par references are from the Blue tees.

The first hole, while not the most challenging on the course, is also not one that eases you into your round. A long dog leg left, this 425 yard hole hardly even dares you to try to cut the corner as a plethora of deep fairway bunkers and trees block that path sufficiently well for the vast majority of us mortals. Following a safe drive in the fairway, you will probably be faced with a long iron or hybrid into a very well protected green which will slope from back to front and left to right on most pin placements. Bear in mind, however, that on almost every hole at "Dubs" different pins will create very different slopes, and there are very few places on the course where you can "bail out" long, short, left, or right...best to hit the green as often as you can. As bad as the bunkers appear, they are almost always better than missing the green into the lush rough growing along the steep sides of the green complexes. You will almost never get a greenside chip from either short grass or a flat lie, and the first is no exception.

The second hole can be played from an alternate hole I have never experienced, so if you have that chance, you're on your own, though I would encourage you to come back and tell us about it. As you consider your club selection on the 182 yard Par 3 2nd hole, be aware that going long is just as bad as short, so choose your weapon wisely, aim for the center of the green and put a good smooth stroke on it. The only exception might be a back right pin placement where long won't kill you.

For whatever reason, the Par 4 3rd, at a very manageable 407 yards is a nightmare for me. I've missed right, I've missed left, and I've 3-putted this green multiple times. There really isn't that much to this hole. Sure, there are small water hazards off the right and left sides of the "landing area", but they are small. The green can play difficult, but it isn't the worst complex on the course, so don't follow my lead...try to get yourself a par here while you still have some confidence (assuming you brought any of that to the course with you).

Side by side back and forth holes are not my thing, but Cog Hill handles them with grace. The fourth is a Par 4 of "only" 397 yards. Better to miss left back into the 3rd fairway than right into another small water hazard that simply eats golf balls. Even if you find your ball near said water hazard, you will be lucky to have a window through which to chip you approach through a stand a big old willow and oak trees. This is one of those greens that can present nightmares depending on the pin position, and another one where bailing out long is bad news.

Turning onto the fifth hole, hopefully you have maintained some sense of yourself, and haven't let the course get into your head. This uphill 479 yard hole may or may not be a Par 5. It is listed as 4/5 on the card, but gives no indication of how that applies to different tees, gender, etc. Just to forewarn, I played it in four shots for a par/birdie which included a well struck driver followed by a well struck 3-wood, a chip from just in front of the green and a putt. We called it a par 5, though I guess what the par is doesn't matter much when compiling your score. I do wish they would better clarify what the intent of the course is here.

The sixth hole is the longest, and arguably the most difficult Par 3 on the course (though I would give all four of them plenty of respect). If Cog Hill doesn't allow you one thing, it's a break on a Par 3. All four of them are over 180 to the center of the green, and all four have some very penal areas into which you can deposit any number of less than perfect shots. On the 194 yard sixth hole, best to take the extra club and hit the middle of the green. This green is enormous and has all kinds of tiers, but best to be on and bogey at worst. I hit my 3-Hybrid the last two times I played it and was on the back portion of the green.

The seventh, even with the added water hazard is still a little bit of a breather, though much less than in the past. At 385 yards, my advice is to forget about clearing the hazard, and just aim down the left side with your drive. This is a very challenging green with four "arms" to it. Even a middle pin isn't a piece of cake as it will challenge your green reading skills to their fullest.

If you hadn't already done so on four or seven, go ahead and leave the driver in the bag on the 341 yard eighth hole. Staying in the fairway is important here as you are going to have a blind shot over an army of bunkers fronting the green. This isn't the deepest green on the course, and there is more trouble behind, so getting a ball to stick on the green is important to avoid making this hole more difficult than it needs to be.

Put on your marching shoes on number nine. At 586 yards, this is the longest hole on the course, and provides you a very narrow fairway upon which to focus with large trees on both sides of the hole. Don't try to do too much here, though...you are not getting home in two, seriously. Hit the clubs that get you to a good manageable mid to short iron for your third shot, and make it count. This is a big green, but one of the flatter ones on the course. get your par, you can do it!

Number ten is a good birdie opportunity if you can keep anything from a long iron up to a driver right of the trees without getting into one of the many bunkers lining the right side of the fairway. At 353 yards, you don't need more than 200 yards to get into a good approach position to this green.

Leave on the left side of the tenth green and head across the street to tee off on the reachable 547 yard Par 5 11th hole. Despite OB up the right side, that is where you'll hit the ideal tee shot to have a chance to cut off the dog leg left and go for the green in two. If you simply don't want to risk it, birdie is still very achievable after hitting a drive up the left. A solid layup will leave you with a short pitch shot to one of the bigger and flatter greens on the course.

I believe that the 194 yard Par 3 12th is where "Dubs" really begins taking on mythic status. This big downhill shot for an incredibly picturesque tee box at the height of the property makes you feel like you can't miss this shot. Ah, but you certainly can. Settle down and pay attention because those bunkers down there are very deep, and going long of the green will get you absolutely nothing good. Enjoy the hole, but don't pay it too much respect...it's still a downhill Par 3.

The thirteenth hole begins a stretch of holes lasting back to the clubhouse where slicers must beware. The rest of the way into the house, the right side is bad news, and the 383 yard 13th is no exception. The length won't kill you here, so hit a manageable club off the tee. Once you begin planning your approach, try to make a miss be long rather than short. Thought they have cleared away the tall fescue and weeds which once guarded the front, it is still a steep face of rough with a creek down in the ravine.

Climb your way up to the barn which stands guard over the 14th tee. This 184 yard Par 3 can cause some major fits of anguish even with shots finding the green, much less those finding one of the many greenside bunkers ringing this hole. It seems as though all shots on the green funnel to the back middle, so hope for a favorable pin, or putting could be an adventure.

At only 482 yards, the Par 5 15th hole is a great opportunity to get some strokes back...unless you are like me and choose to ignore the few gifts this course offers. A healthy shot in the fairway should set you up for a good attempt at reaching in two, but I witnessed several golfers try it on this hole with nary a one finding success as we waited out the rain next to the 15th green. Most of the trouble here is along the right side, so whether going for the green or laying up, stay to the left for the best outcome. Another big green with less contouring than most of the Cog Hill greens.

After some discussion on the matter, our group seemed to agree that the Par 4 16th, a dog leg left measuring 381 yards, might just be the most memorable and beautiful holes on this course which would put it pretty high up there on most "best holes in America" list. The tee sits up high over the fairway with a forest of trees blocking the view of the last 100 or so yards of fairway and the green. Once down in the fairway, you are shooting to a very elevated green guarded by deep bunkers front right and left, while shots hit long and left will careen down a steep hill leaving a ridiculously difficult recovery attempt. The green along with the rest of the hole slopes from left to right, but is surprisingly flat on the back portion. Simply a great hole that will challenge the best of golfers, but rewards good shots in kind.

The seventeenth suffers somewhat due to the fact that it is wedged between the 16th and 18th in terms of beauty, challenge, and memorability, but I would advise you to not take it too lightly. At 399 yards, this Par 4 features a slight dog leg to the right, with an open entry to the green on the front left side. If you are going to miss right off the tee, it better be WAY right as balls finding the 16th fairway you just finished will have a much better chance of finding the green than anything remotely close to the trees that separate the two holes. The 17th green is another enormous one, with subtle breaks throughout. This hole plays a lot harder than it looks.

The eighteenth tee will likely have you feeling a combination of relief and remorse. You probably have shot several strokes more than you normally do, but have that nagging feeling of desire to simply head back over to #1 and start again. This extremely difficult finishing hole still has plans for you, however, so snap out of it! This 431 yard monster of a Par 4, snakes around some maintenance buildings on the right side, with bunkers and willow trees standing guard there as well. The green sits perilously close to a large lake that you will immediately recognize from seeing it so often on television. What better way to finish your round than striping a long iron or hybrid through an opening to the green mere feet from a watery grave? If you, like me, can walk away with part here, enjoy the smile because you deserve it.

Cog Hill #4 is an absolute masterpiece and should be on everyone's must play list. This is a course worth traveling to play. I guarantee that if you have the means or the method to scratch up the $155 to play the course, by all means, take your shot. The conditioning of the course is as good as anywhere you've ever played, the service, while not uber-friendly, is acceptable, the practice areas are outstanding, and the course is challenging, long, and imminently fair for what it is. Try not to come with lofty expectations, but more to enjoy the experience...heck, maybe that approach will even help you play a great round! "Dubsdread" is definitely back at the top of my list of Chicago's public courses, and I'm guessing it'll top your list as well.

Finally, a moment of marketing for Cog Hill and the Jemsek family. This renovation was clearly done with a U.S. Open in mind, and in no way did it fail to meet those goals. I have played on Bethpage Black, and as great as it is, "Dubsdread" is every bit its equal...maybe better. Cog Hill is ready for a major championship, can easily accommodate the crowds, and will provide the pros every bit of challenge they need to face in an Open. I know those spots book up fast, but the USGA was onto something when they brought the Open to a public facility. There is something very special about the fact that anyone with the means necessary can head to Bethpage for a round on an Open course, and "Dubs" would be just the same. So, despite their stature, let's put Shinnecock, Pinehurst, and Oakmont on the shelf for a rotation, and bring the Championship to Cog Hill!

For some great 360 degree photos of Cog Hill #4, check out LookAroundGolf.com.

Fairways and Greens!

BEAVER GOLF REVIEW: Sunice Bowen Waterproof Jacket

2010-05-07T15:46:00.000-05:00

Your rain gear isn't as good as mine is! Unless you are wearing the Bowen, or a similar piece from Sunice, it really isn't. OK, perhaps there are arguments to make against that statement, but I'm telling you right now that I have never owned a jacket that has come close to the level of performance I get with the Bowen. Though I will profit from your purchasing Sunice products from BeaverGolf.com, I am not being paid by Sunice to review this product, nor was I provided with free product to self-test. I have now been wearing mine for a couple of weeks, and really put it to the test this morning as I walked without my umbrella about a mile in a moderate shower...not a drop of moisture made it through this jacket, keeping me warm and dry in the wet windy morning.

Some of you may already be aware of Sunice, but for those who aren't, a quick informational upload. As they inform us all on their own website, Sunice was created in 1976 by the combination of two Canadian companies - one which designed clothing, and another which manufactured firefighter uniforms. The goal of Sunice clothing is to free up the golfer from the discomfort and worry that adverse weather can bring so you can focus on your game instead of the weather. With their corporate headquarters in Canada, they know bad weather, so rest assured that these products are designed by experts who understand the importance of range of motion while keeping you warm or cool and dry. Pulled right from their own literature:

Contrary to popular belief, adding layers to your golf wardrobe can enhance your overall physical performance and ultimately improve your golf game. Properly designed performance layers become an integral part of your game enhancing equipment. Sunice Performance Layers are designed to create the ultimate golf apparel layering system that allows golfers to play their very best in all weather conditions.

The Sunice Shells collection is broken down into five categories, each offering a unique level of performance and weather protection features that allow you to choose the optimal shell designed specifically to meet your needs.

The Bowen jacket headlines the Sunice Tornado Collection which is defined by breathability, stretch, ultra lightweight and ultra quiet products backed by a 4-year waterproof guarantee. Truly inspired by the active golfer, Tornado offers highly breathable, waterproof stretch fabrics combined with game enhancing features. Perform at your best in even the toughest conditions.

The first thing I want from my go-to rain jacket is, of course, protection from the rain. The Bowen features a WxTECH coating providing a waterproof seal measuring 20,000 MM. To get this measurement, the testers will put a column of water on the surface of the jacket and measure at what level the water begins to seep through the fabric. So, in the case of the Bowen, that answer is 20,000 MM - probably more than you will even need for a round of golf, or even keeping you dry in the shower! To assure you of this protection, Sunice offers a 4-year waterproof guarantee with the Bowen, nice!

You may hear some out there boo-hoo the perceived overkill of 20,000 MM because it will also hurt the jacket's breathability causing you to overheat inside while keeping dry from the outside. While that may be true in general, the Bowen jacket also features ultra-breathable and lightweight FLEXVENT fabric with a breathability measurement of 20,000 MVT which measures the amount of water vapor the fabric allows to escape from inside to out. 20,000 MVT appears to be at the top of the chart meaning this jacket successfully keeps liquid from getting in without preventing vapor from getting out - that adds up to you staying comfortable and dry even in a heavy rain - assuming you want to keep playing in that stuff!

Not enough for you yet? Well, allow me to continue. Sunice tells us that the Bowen has an ultra-quite and soft hand feel, which means quite simply that despite being highly waterproof, the fabric feels comfortably soft and resilient and doesn't make the "swish-swish" sound that a more "rubbery" jacket makes as your arms move through a swing or while walking. The exposed zippers are YKK, a multi-industry standard in zipper quality, and are sealed to add to the waterproof protection of this jacket. The zippers also lock down keeping the zipper at the level you want it.

Don't worry about the wind getting in from the bottom either, the Bowen comes with the Pro-Trim waist cinching system allowing you to control the seal around your waist from inside the pockets of the jacket...no unzipping necessary to make subtle adjustments as the wind rises and abates. Additional adjustments can be made at the hem and wrists allowing you to control the seal between you and the elements even further. One last bonus in the left pocket is a snap-in microfiber towel to clean your ball or clubheads when not near your towel...the snap, of course, allows you to remove the towel for occasional cleaning.

The collar is designed to stand up, zipping into a mock turtleneck when needed. When it is warmer out, and it is partially zipped, many similar jackets will rub incessantly on your neck, and while Sunice hasn't solved this problem with the Bowen, what they did provide is some relief to the effect with the ultra-soft fabric and a "soft-touch chin guard" that provides a soft layer between the zipper and your skin.

The final, and perhaps highest on the coolness scale is the X-Static stretch lining in the jacket. The X-Static liner has a layer of pure silver bonded directly to the textile surface providing several helpful benefits from the silver itself. These benefits include thermal conduction and reflection to help regulate body temperature, moisture transfer to help perspiration more efficiently evaporate to keep you drier and more comfortable, anti-microbial properties helping prevent odor, and anti-static properties to prevent, well...static. The X-Static technology has been used in the Olympics, and by the NASA Space Program for these incredible technological properties.

Yeah, at $250.00 MSRP, the Bowen is a little pricey for some, but think of it as a $62.50 per year comfort insurance policy over the 4-year waterproof guarantee - and most likely will last even longer. The Bowen will actually keep you dry on the course while allowing you to swing naturally, unencumbered by the thick layers or noisy, flapping fabric you are wearing now. Rain and wind are hard enough on your game to be worrying about the jacket you are wearing, aren't they?

Right now, for a limited time, the Bowen ($224.99), and the rest of Sunice's outstanding collection of outerwear and thermal layering apparel are on sale at BeaverGolf.com with Free Shipping. Ladies, if you are intrigued by the Bowen, please check out the Evelyn, which is essentially the women's version of the same jacket.

Why not head over to the store right now, and pick out your next jacket or collection of apparel from Sunice to take the weather out of the equation on the golf course?

Fairways and Greens!

GOLF COURSE REVIEW: Makray Memorial Golf Club

2010-05-06T23:56:00.000-05:00

Lots of golf courses have stories behind them. Many stories are steeped in history with great figures in golf architecture at every turn of a sentence. Some are too crazy to be true, while others are so true, that it is what makes them crazy. Well, Makray Memorial Golf Club has some stories of its own, and though they may not fill the criteria I listed above, I find them, and the present day course, to be interesting and challenging.

Perhaps a very brief history lesson is in order after that intro. Paul Makray purchased the course that is now named for him back in 1962. What was once Hillcrest Country Club became Thunderbird Golf Course and opened to the public. The authenticity of this part of the history is dubious, but even the staff at Makray Memorial believes that Thunderbird was once Hillcrest, which is certainly possible as the current private Hillcrest Country Club in nearby Long Grove, IL did not open until 1968, and appears to have no relation to what might have been its predecessor in name only.

In any case, Makray ran the old Thunderbird course as a sporty, family friendly course with an emphasis on enjoyment if not on conditioning. I never took the opportunity to play Thunderbird prior to its rebirth, but from what I have read and heard, it was a pretty ragged course with an unimaginative design, and LONG rounds with only 7 minute tee time spacing. Perhaps a good place for beginners and beer swillers, but not necessarily for the discerning (read: snobby) golfer like me who likes a good lie in the fairway after a well-struck drive, and hates playing from water-furrowed sand traps. The condition of the course aside, it is reputed to have had a regular schedule of players and a top notch staff who kept them coming back - that along with the very affordable greens fees, that is.

When Paul Makray passed away in 1999, his family chose to honor him in one of the best ways I can imagine. They set about to gutting the course completely, redesigning the entire lay of the land, bringing in premier grasses and conditioning, and an unmistakably grand new clubhouse complete with excellent dining and even wedding facilities. The new course was renamed Makray Memorial in Paul's honor, and opened for public play on June 8th, 2004.

As I mentioned earlier, I had never played the old Thunderbird course, so can not make a true comparison between new and old, but now having played the new course many times, I can't imagine the improvement being anything but a complete metamorphosis and revival. Makray Memorial is in phenomenal condition, has (mostly) very interesting routing, is not short of challenge, and still offers affordable options (though I do have a bone to pick with one piece of their pricing that I will get to later).

One oddity to this course becomes clear very quickly...there are no fringes on the greens! The transition from grabby rough to smooth green is striking, and can wreak havoc on your short game. I often remind my buddies that there are a couple of ways to think about this, it could be that they grow the rough over what would be fringe, but it is just as likely that they cut the green to the edge of the rough. Either way, it will challenge your touch around the edges, and behooves you to aim for the middle of the greens.

The first five holes are an incredible test, and make it imperative to get a few swings in on the range prior to your round. The second hole is particularly tough as it calls for a slight draw around a grove of big mature trees on the left, but miss the draw long and straight, and you are blocked out again by a grove on the right. Once you do get your position, you still need to strike a crisp shot over a creek fronting the slightly elevated green with a good sized bunker protecting the front as well.

The long Par 4 5th is no picnic either, especially into the wind which often prevents your drive from catching the downhill in the fairway and robs you of up to 75 or 80 yards! Once you get yourself within striking distance, you need to take aim at a noticeably undulating green fronted by two very deep bunkers. Par is a good score here. Final tip for the tee - it is a blind tee shot with OB to the right, so if you tend to slice, just hit it out to the left edge of the fairway, but if right isn't your fear, aim right along the tree line for a major distance bonus.

The Par 5 6th hole is one of my least favorite on the course, completely because its routing feels forced by the houses along the right. With the tendency of the vast majority of golfers being to slice, yet calling for a draw off the tee, I feel like the OB comes into play far too quickly, and even juts out into a good line for the second shot. Once you get through here though, the front nine finishes strong with a great risk/reward hole on 8, and an incredibly difficult green complex on the homeward bound Par 4 9th. Miss the 9th green and saving Par becomes a faint hope.

The back nine begins well with a straightforward Par 4, then a long and difficult Par 4, but hole number 12 becomes the story of this great new-ish course. The 12th hole originally played as a 360 or so yard Par 4 with OB all up the right side where houses lined the course. Well, at right about 210 or so yards from the tee lay a home where some cantankerous homeowner who apparently hates the game of golf, and was not consulted on the new layout which called for his backyard to be pelted with hundreds of balls on a daily basis, lives. He filed suit against Makray several years back (after he confiscated a couple of my own Titleists), forcing Makray to reduce the hole to a 150 yard Par 3 for several years.

A Par 3 might not have been such a big deal, but it did feel a bit rinky-dink as the course laid down an odd piece of artificial turf for the tee, and took a good year to get the course re-rated, making anyone's handicap there questionable. It appears that they are now on their way to solving the issue, however. They are building a new tee complex which will create another short Par 4 risk/reward hole. To make it a bit more risky, they are cutting the green by about 30% growing up the back side into rough. The work they have done so far looks really nice, and I am satisfied with this solution (though I am still tempted to blast a couple of low punch shots into that guy's house as I cruise by).

From this point, the course finished very strong, with a nice variety of holes culminating in a wonderful risk/reward Par 5 18th leading right back to the fantastic clubhouse. Unless the wind is howling in your face, which is more common than not, a well struck drive up the right side will offer you a very reachable green, but with a carry over lake, rough, a bunker, then the green. A very easy layup awaits to the left, so missing the "go for it" shot will have you kicking yourself.

Makray offers a walking rate of $49 Monday through Thursday and $74 Friday through Sunday which I believe is reasonable given the competition nearby and the quality of the course. Where I have issue (as I often do) is when the carts come into play. The cart rental fee is $18, so jacks up the cost for those wishing to ride (silly ninnies) to a hefty $67/$92! That is too much for this course, and many courses in my opinion. BUT...I don't walk, so why should I care about the cart fee? Well, Makray offers specials, you see, after certain times, as many wise courses do. The problem is that once the specials start, they automatically include the cart fee, so I suppose they look at it like they are giving you a discount plus $18, but not if you walk the course anyway! To make things just a touch worse, pull carts cost $8! Really? For a pull cart, really? Pull carts should be complementary for Pete's sake!

I understand that carts are a source of revenue for courses, but so are caddies, merchandise, food, and the greens fees. So, we play during their "special" rate of $59 including the cart we don't use beginning at 2:00 on weekends. Get this, from 12:30-1:50 on weekends, their special rate is $76 with the included cart, so during that time, I would actually have to pay $2 MORE to walk the course...ridiculous!

I don't know about you, but my group has played golf on some pretty deserted courses early this season than we typically do. When are these courses going to learn that it is the greens fees that keep golfers away? For the time being, I like it because the rounds have been pretty manageable from a time perspective, but I won't like it very much when the courses start cutting back on conditioning and service to keep their profits in order...and even less so when they start closing their doors.

So, all in all, I give Makray my Beaver tail slap of approval due to their course design and conditioning, their friendly service, and very good food. A notch down the tree just a bit for their wacky pricing structure, but high enough to stay comfortably in the rota of courses I play in Chicagoland. If you are in the area and haven't yet tried Makray, make a tee time, and bring your ball striking irons to hit as many greens as possible. If you are in town for a few days, it's not the first course I'd recommend, but if you did put it on your list, you won't likely be disappointed.

Fairways and Greens!

GOLF EQUIPMENT REVIEW: Wilson FG Tour Golf Ball

2010-04-23T15:29:00.002-05:00

I am, and always have been a firm believer that the equipment you choose to play will definitely have an impact on your game, either for better or for worse. I hesitate to over-emphasize that point because in today's golf industry there are many high quality options in every piece of equipment one might need, so choosing one brand over another, for most of us, will have little noticeable impact on our game.

Choices in equipment must be made in the apparel, glove, and shoes you choose to wear, the clubs you choose to swing, the putter you carry, and even the sunscreen you decide to trust. With all of those choices, who needs yet another, but is there a more important choice to make than what kind of ball to play? I'll let that point be argued about, but in all seriousness, without the ball, what is golf?

There exist many schools of thought on the golf ball decision. I have heard many say that with their swing, they are just going to lose a bunch of balls anyway, so why spend any good money on them...just grab the cheapest bunch available and swing away. Fortunately for that golfer, there exist options, but if one wants to improve, and have the best chance of achieving success, that mindset needs to change.

In my own experience, I have gradually evolved from that 15-ball bonus pack mindset to playing top line models for most of the last decade. Though I haven't bought them new for more than 2 years now, the staple in my bag has been the Titleist ProV1x...an outstanding ball, but one that has, in my opinion, gone beyond the acceptable price limit for a semi-disposable commodity. Additionally, during my endeavor to build the Beaver Golf online store, the Titleist companies chose to pass on allowing me to sell their products to my faithful fans. I was not pleased.

Wilson Golf based here in my hometown of Chicago, IL chose a different business practice, and allowed my to become an online vendor of their products. Over the years I have played a handful of Wilson balls, most recently the "True" back about 5-6 years ago. One of my longtime playing partners religiously used his Wilson irons for many years, and still swings his Wilson SW despite the grooves being worn down to slicks. So, what better time to try out Wilson's new offerings to the golf ball world with their premium 3-piece ball, the FG Tour.

The FG Tour has a simple, clean, and elegant look right from the sleeve. The outer layer feels soft as you might expect, and inspires confidence before placing it on the tee. Off the Driver, the distance and feel might be just a fraction off the ProV1x, but equal to, or better than all other premium balls I have played, such as the Nike One Tour D, Callaway Tour i, Bridgestone B330-s, and the TaylorMade Penta. The slight loss in distance could very easily be attributed to my rusty swing or the colder spring weather, but I think it is about 5 yards shorter than the ProV1x.

Distance is far from everything on the course, however, and off irons and wedges, the FG Tour feels amazing. I haven't noticed any loss of distance off these shots with the FG Tour, and as mentioned the feel is top-notch...soft and buttery, but solid! That feel continues onto the green where I have found the FG Tour to really stand out. Off the putter the soft feel is brilliant, and inspires confidence on long and short putts equally.

One final area where the FG Tour takes a slight back seat is on chips and pitches. The spin is just a little off of the ProV1x, but again, equal to or better than the other premium balls I mentioned earlier.

At a $49.95 MSRP, the FG Tour will impact you wallet right along with its premium counterparts, but you can score big right now at Beaver Golf where through April a dozen will only cost you $34.99, FREE shipping, AND earn you $3.00 Beaver Bucks! I would strongly recommend that you give them a try.

If the premium balls aren't your bag, or you've got a slower swing speed so benefit from fewer compressions, the FG Tour's siblings, the C:25 and D:25 are also on sale now!

Fairways and Greens!

GOLF COURSE REVIEW: Mistwood Golf Club

2010-04-21T00:51:00.003-05:00

We have all heard the old saying, "if it's not broke, don't fix it", heck, we've all probably said it many times ourselves. That sentence has always been one of my favorite idioms for two reasons. First, its meaning is crystal clear. Second, I couldn't agree with it more...especially in golf! There are great examples everywhere you look, perhaps most notably the Old Course at St. Andrews (they haven't changed that course much, right?)

Well, the reverse of the idiom rings as true, i.e. If it is broke, then FIX IT! Take, for example Augusta National, home of the well known PGA major, The Masters. Way back in its earliest years, the nines actually were reversed due to the fact that Amen Corner (then playing as holes #2-#4) was prone to frequent frost delays in the early mornings. Switching the nines created arguably one of the most exciting back nine holes anywhere in the world. Then and since Tiger Woods blew away the star-studded field en route to his first win back in 1997, Augusta has made additional frequent and significant changes to the course to better protect Old Man Par against the massive advances in technology that had nearly reduced the course to nothing more than a beautiful pitch-and-putt. Of course, that is an exaggeration, but I assume you get my point. The changes appear to have allowed the tournament to continually test the players games, often forcing them to hit clubs they are less comfortable hitting into those treacherous greens.

The same rings true at Mistwood Golf Club, located in the Southwestern Chicago suburb of Romeoville amidst a collection of courses that, in my opinion, are easily the best bang for your buck anywhere in the area. Mistwood opened back in 1998 and though it was a enjoyable layout, conditioning was lacking, customer service sucked, and the price was a bit high making nearby alternatives such as Prairie Bluff and The Links at Carillon much more appealing. I played the course two or three times back then, but learned that it simply wasn't worth it at some point, and consciously avoided the course for several years. I wasn't the only one. Mistwood went through some pretty hard times and had loads of financial problems leading to partner, Jim McWethy to become the primary owner of the course in 2003.

Since then, Mistwood has made several key changes. They put a tremendous effort into improving course conditioning, and it shows. The greens are fast and true (though it doesn't seem to help my putts drop), the fairways are in great shape, and the hole designs have always been a lot of fun to play. Next, they changed customer service philosophy, treating guests like...well, guests! The bag boys greet you in the lot with exuberance, and insist on bringing your bag to the front even if you are walking. The starter (I've got to remember his name next time) is extremely pleasant, and accommodated our foursome before Noon on a Saturday, despite half our group being almost 40 minutes late (inexcusable). Finally, and not to be underestimated, they changed the routing on the front nine. What used to be holes #7, #8, and #9 are now the opening three holes, and though they aren't pushovers, provide a much more gradual start to the course in terms of difficulty. I really like courses that give you a few holes to find you swing before featuring areas where a wayward shot can devastate your score, and the change of routing allows that at Mistwood.

Their value is off the charts, especially right now as they chose to extend their special spring rates, and on a Saturday morning it costs $40 to walk! For a course of this caliber in Chicagoland, $40 is an absolute steal! It defies comprehension that Bolingbrook Golf Club, just minutes north of Mistwood somehow gets away with charging over $100 at the same time of day. I don't think I could even begin to listen to an argument over which course between the two is more fun, more challenging, and more interesting to play, and for 40% of the price, c'mon!

So, how about the holes themselves? It is hard to think of a single one that doesn't have something interesting and different to it. Risk/reward abounds at Mistwood. Between mounding, doglegs, well-placed hazards, and out-of-bounds on a few holes, Mistwood really forces you to think your way through the entire course.

Though most of the Par 4s measure less than 400 yards, none offer simply a straight shot up a flat fairway. Notable among them are the fourth hole (formerly the 1st before the re-route) which runs like a chasm between large mounds on either side of the fairway. It is a relatively mild dogleg left that look more severe than it is due to that mounding which almost blocks your view of the pin from the tee. The bunkering that must be carried to cut off the dogleg seems to cause missing to the right quite common, and poorly struck balls landing on the mounds on that right side will very often leave a severely side-hill lie and a long tough shot to the green. The short 12th hole protects the front of its two-tiered green with a deep gaping pot bunker that demands every bit of ingenuity and skill to get out of, in fact, hitting backwards away from the green might be the best escape from there. Don't fall asleep on 16! Though the wise play off the tee is a mid to long iron, the green is guarded in front by water (more good changes happening right now) and falls off sharply behind. The green is tough to hold, and if you miss it, recovery is no picnic.

The Par 5s are all reachable for longer players, but like their shorter siblings, all come with some degree of potential peril. The 3rd hole has a ridiculously tough green guarded by a creek directly in front. The 8th, which might be their signature hole, has a split fairway, and though the right side might offer a good chance to get home in two, it brings you dangerously close to the water all the way up the right side. The 15th is a severe dogleg left, and forces the player to avoid water guarding the entire left side from tee to green. Though it can be fun, the 15th might also be my least favorite hole on this course because it feels a little forced into the corner of the property. Finally, the 18th doesn't allow for any late round letup as shots to the large green must carry another creek to be safe, while woods, and a small lake guard the right side against wayward drives and poorly struck layup shots.

The Par 3s are probably the easier holes collectively, but the 200-ish yard 14th hole will take your breath away with almost the entire flight from tee to green over the corner of the 60-plus acre, Lake St. James. When a northwesterly wind is howling, you might just want to cross the bridge to the drop zone and hit your third saving yourself the ball.

The clubhouse and practice area are adequate, and the service from start to finish is outstanding at Mistwood. I highly recommend this course not only as an incredible value, but as one of the most enjoyable and challenging tracks in the Chicago area. I hope for their sake, that Mistwood's staff continue their current path to success, and not forget the lessons in their past. With all the quality options in the area, they need to keep their service high and their prices reasonable. They are winning on both counts right now, so get there, and let them know what you think! If you haven't played Mistwood since before 2003, trust me, it's time to come back for another try, you will be impressed with the change.

For some great 360 degree photos of Mistwood, check out LookAroundGolf.com here:

Fairways and Greens! (by the way, I lifted that ending from Mistwood)

Beaver Golf is now selling Piranha!

2010-04-15T00:58:00.002-05:00

I have mentioned several times that back in January, I and my ad hoc sidekick, Brad, attended the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, FL. The show is the granddaddy of all golf shows with oodles of vendors showing many thousands of their wares, everything from razzle-dazzle golf carts to virtual golfing simulators to custom tees and training aids that would make your head spin. We were exactly like kids in a candy shop...overwhelmed but very excited!

While there were lots of cool things at the show, some of which I have mentioned previously, one booth in particular really stood out with both Brad and I. The booth of which I speak was Piranha Golf's, manned by their charming and loquacious Chairman, Antonio Gelonesi. I will spare Antonio another biography detailing all the wonders of his life, but suffice it to say, the man knows golf, and is an unbelievably successful businessman. His manner was welcoming, and he oozed passion, pride, and excitement about his Piranha Golf products. Here is an ad they ran last year that sort of captures their spirit.

Founded in 1997, Piranha Golf has been around for a few years, but is still relatively unknown here in the States. My personal prediction is that won't last very long. The Piranha products are amazing! Their aesthetic is more than appealing, their form and function solid, and their logo and branding is downright cool - almost as cool as The Beaver! Personally, the V-Blade Irons are the cream of the crop, but I'll leave it to you to decide which of the Piranha collection you like the best. These are serious clubs designed with both improving your game, and the environment in mind.

Yes, I said the environment! Here is their environmental policy straight from their mouths:

Piranha Golf takes enormous pride in its environmental and sustainable practices.

Our Carbon Footprint:

Significant levels of energy are used when forging club heads in our factory and we have determined the amount of that energy as well as the relative energy used and the carbon emissions created during transportation and assembly. As a consequence, Piranha Golf has purchased "off-setting contracts" to "zero out" our carbon footprint and we can accordingly offer our clients zero carbon clubs.

In addition, by using an “air blow” process to install our grips, rather then traditional methods, Piranha Golf limits the use of processing chemicals and this is a manufacturing process that we strongly advocate and encourage others to adopt. If we do need to use any acetone, we have developed a lemon acetone variant of equal efficiency but which has significant environmental benefits for both our staff and the planet. Piranha Golf will happily provide this lemon acetone to all club makers “at cost” to promote better practices and to demonstrate our willingness to meaningfully assist in achieving a cleaner environment.

What do you think of that? I think it's admirable, and well worth giving these guys your consideration if you are in the market for some new golf equipment, and really, who isn't?

So, check out the latest addition to the Beaver Golf family of products now at Piranha. Be the first in your foursome or club to put these works of art into play!

Fairways and Greens!

BEAVER GOLF is open for business!

2010-04-13T00:31:00.001-05:00

Today is a day that I will long remember in my life, it is the day I opened my first business...Beaver Golf! Yes, of course, I have been writing the blog with purpose for going on a year now, and I did make a very small amount of money via Affiliate Marketing and Google Ads, but the brand new online store supporting my growing community of fans on Facebook and Twitter is a real honest-to-goodness business venture, and I intend to make sure it succeeds.

Success, of course is not an easy thing to achieve in the business world. I believe the odds are more in favor of my failing than succeeding, but that is just a statistic. I have already, and will continue to put a ton of effort into ensuring that my store delights my fellow Beaver Golfers on a regular basis. The satisfaction that I am able to bring to my customers will ultimately determine how long this little store of mine will thrive, so I am counting on all of you to keep me up to speed with just how satisfied you are with the site, and what you would like to see from it.

To that end, I'd like to give you a brief tour of the store and what we have to offer, without dwelling too long on any specific items, saving those in depth product reviews for the near future. No good business begins without a mission, and ours is this - Beaver Golf strives to be your virtual clubhouse, complete with comfort, conversation, and a store in which you will find stylish, unique, and innovative products all designed to enhance your enjoyment of the game of golf. I am very pleased with the simple and pleasing aesthetic of our site design, and I love our logos. I hope that you all share this sentiment, and that the clean and simple design makes your shopping with us more pleasing.

This blog will continue, and even expand, creating one of the several "rooms" where conversations about all aspects of the game will take place. I have always, and will continue to encourage interaction and participation from all who choose to read the blog, follow our Facebook Fan Page, or keep up with us on Twitter (I like hearing myself talk, but I like hearing all of you talk much more). On the blog, I will continue to write course reviews, but will begin to feature more significant product reviews, and eventually service reviews as well. Talk is cheap, so I can only hope that you will all come to trust that despite my product reviews often being intended to drive a sale, I will always be honest and forthright about my real feelings about a product or service. If I haven't "experienced" the product or service myself, I will not write about it - and if I don't like something, I will tell you so. I ask that you all will share your experiences as well, with courses and the like on my various Social media portals, and with products by posting reviews right on the product pages of my store. Please be honest, I will not remove bad reviews, but will remove any that include profanity or distasteful commentary.

As for the store proper, I'd be lying if I said I have used every product I sell - I do sell women's apparel after all, and I have yet to play the game as a cross-dresser (though if it'll get me onto the forward tees without shame, perhaps I should give it a try!). I have made an effort to ensure that I carry products that are high quality, innovative in design, and more often than not, have aspects that will help you to play better golf, or at least look and feel better while playing. I, and my ad hoc assistant, Brad, spent the better part of two plus days at the PGA Merchandise Show back at the end of January scouring all that the world had to offer in the business of golf. At that show I learned quite a bit about the industry of golf, and where my biggest challenges would be. I also saw some of the most interesting apparel and equipment there was to see, and from the hundreds of vendors, chose a select few to begin my store with. More selection will continue to make its way into the store, and some may work its way out based on the feedback, both direct and indirect, that I receive from all of you.

You will notice, for instance, that my store is heavy in apparel right now. While there are several reasons for this, the biggest reason is that this is an area where there is a great deal of innovation, and much of this innovation can not be found at your local Pro Shop or big box retailer. On Beaver Golf, you will find some familiar clothing brands like Antigua, who utilize a great feeling performance fabric that they call Desert Dry, but also some lesser known brands that I hope you will give a try.

Beyond The Links is a small apparel company owned by Joe Skovron, who also happens to caddy for one of the PGA Tour's young guns, Rickie Fowler. The clothing from Beyond The Links is slightly edgy, but very clean, and is constructed from performance fabrics to aid with your comfort on the course. Check out his shirts, caps, and a sweet belt featuring their great logo!

Hawke & Co. is a company with a history in the apparel business, but very new to the golf world. Hawke initially caught my eye with the colors they presented, and was the very first booth we visited at the show in Orlando. All of their apparel is designed with comfort in mind, and features technologies that wick moisture, move and stretch with your swing, utilize recycled materials, and resist odor as well as UV rays. Hawke also caught the eye of PGA Tour Pro Jim Furyk who wears their shirts on tour...take a closer look at Jim next time you watch him play.

Puma has been around in the athletic apparel industry for a long time, though their foray into golf has come more recently, they are really making a splash. With Golf Digest cover boy Rickie Fowler sporting seemingly everything that the Puma designers can think up, they may be around for many years to come. With some fresh designs, and quality fabrics, Puma will surely catch your eye, and if you like it, hopefully a few of your dollars! Puma is currently my only brand of shoe offered, though both the Puma shoe selection, and overall golf shoe collection should expand throughout the year. I am particularly fond of the women's shoes on the store, so check them out ladies!

Straight Down is not new to the golf scene, but may be new to you. I first discovered Straight Down on the very same trip to Bandon Dunes that helped launch the original idea for Beaver Golf. I still wear a fleece vest by Straight Down with the Bandon Dunes logo that I purchased out there on a subsequent trip. Straight Down has some excellent tops and bottoms, but really excels at making some stylish outer wear for those post-round drinks out on the clubhouse porch evenings - a nightly occurrence at Bandon Dunes!

With all due respect to the other great brands we carry, Sunice might be the one that makes me stop and stare the longest. Sunice specializes in outerwear, and makes some of the best use of Gore-Tex fabric in the world. While their Gore products are unbelievable, they feature a stepped selection of products with varied features and degrees of water and wind resistance so that they have a solution for almost any weather condition that ails you. I am particularly intrigued by their use of silver fibers woven directly into the fabric of their X-Static products. The silver fibers contain some "big word" properties such as thermal conduction and reflection, moisture transfer, anti-microbial, anti-static, and visible technology...altogether they mean you will feel great and odor will never be a problem! Guys and gals, check out the Bowen and the Evelyn respectively for two of the more exciting pieces in my opinion. I'll be personally reviewing the Bowen as soon as I can!

After doing some pre-show research back in January, Tattoo Golf was a company I sought out at the show. If you haven't seen their styles, you are missing out. I am one who likes to bend the traditions a bit when it comes to apparel (after all, my store is called Beaver Golf), so one look at Tattoo Golf, and I knew I had to offer them a home in my store. If you like to make a statement, but still want the high-performance fabrics and design in your shirts and accessories, take a good look at the Tattoo Golf section on the store. I am even selling their bottle opener and Koozies for those who like to sneak a tasty adult beverage or two onto the course!

An important part of our mission at Beaver Golf is to embrace the women -- y'know as part of the golf community! I hear often from the women in our group how limited the selection is for good women's apparel, so want to remedy that on the store. We are nowhere close to that goal as we open our doors, but our selection from Tracey Lynn is an excellent peg in the ground (again, no pun intended there). Tracey Blake, the founder and CEO of Tracey Lynn has an inspiring story of her own after recovering from a rare and serious illness, she dedicated herself to making women's golf apparel that used high-performance fabrics and did a better job of flattering a woman's figure. Take a look and see for yourself.

My club selection for "off the green" strokes is limited to be sure as this is easily one of the toughest nuts to crack in this world of handshakes, longtime relationships, and old-school rules, but do not let that take away from the quality I was able to find and offer from my hometown of Chicago's own Wilson Golf. Wilson is one of the oldest and most experienced club-makers in the world, and is showing no signs of letting age get to them. Their equipment is played by many pros including 3-time major Champion Padraig Harrington, and PGA Pro Ricky Barnes who had himself quite a Masters tournament after finishing 2nd in the 2009 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black. Their clubs are highlighted by their FG Tour Irons for better players, and their new Hybrid-shafted D-FY Irons which will benefit anyone trying to hit the ball straighter, higher, and longer. Along with their world class irons, we carry their FYbrid club system designed to help you better optimize the fourteen clubs in your bag, their Smooth Driver, their TW9 Tour Milled Wedges, 88 Series Putters, balls, gloves, bags, you name it! We have some exciting surprises on the way to help expand our club selection, but trust me, you can't go wrong with Wilson, and our prices through April are incredible!

Putting is a BIG part of the game, and is all too often overlooked. How many people do you see carrying a $400 Driver that they will swing at most 14 times per round, then pull out a cruddy old stick with a steel block on the bottom that they found at a garage sale somewhere with which they play a third of their strokes? Beaver Golf believes in bringing technology to putting, and very proudly features three brands who do as well. Along with the aforementioned Wilson, please take a good look at the putter selection from Rife and Yes! Both Rife and Yes! use different methods to achieve the same result...immediate forward roll on your putts, eliminating the initial hop and backspin to create a more consistently accurate result. Both of these are world-class brands and have very notable Tour wins among them on many of the major Tours.

Practice makes perfect, and arguably the most successful and well-known swing trainers available today is the Medicus Dual-Hinge club. The patented design of the dual hinge clubs helps you to quickly determine where the flaws in your swing path are, and correct them...AND you can hit balls with them! Along with the dual hinge, Medicus offers several other helpful aids that you should explore and purchase to help keep your game in shape.

Though Asher Gloves are a small part of our store, I'd hate for them to be overlooked. Asher makes premium golf gloves with exciting and uniques designs. I am particularly fond of The Birdie with a subtly effective placement of a bird graphic on a certain finger! Buy one of these gloves for the fun factor, and you will not be disappointed in the quality, which together could help you play a more relaxed and better round.

Last, but by no means least, is the ruletwentyone from RuleGolf. The r21 is a durable terrycloth towel with a waterproof back side that easily folds over itself and fits in your pocket keeping your pocket dry while the towel side stays wet and allows you to clean your clubs and ball no matter where you are on the course. A clean club face and ball has been shown to deliver a more consistently accurate shot time and time again. With this little beauty available to you, why play another dirty shot again!

That rounds out our initial list of brand partners. Though I am very pleased with and proud of the products we have already brought to you, there is more variety on the horizon, and with it more opportunities for exciting specials and savings! Of course, we will have a selection of products with our own Beaver Golf logo as well, as some of you are already wearing. These products will be a mix of store essentials such as tees and gloves, but also limited edition designs on shirts, hats, and much more.

I hope you will make the time to browse our store, and fill up that shopping cart. My intent is to stick around for a long, long time, but without your patronage, that simply won't materialize. So please let me know what you like, AND what you don't like whenever you have the chance so we can make this the comfortable virtual clubhouse it is intended to be.

Thank you!

Fairways and Greens!

Take me out to the...

2010-03-30T00:59:00.000-05:00

by guest contributor: Don Moorhead

Getting close to Opening Day for baseball, at which time you’ll no doubt hear a gazillion (estimated number; actual number may be higher) paeans to the grandness of going to the ballpark, of taking in a game to remind you of spring, and of those long afternoon (or more frequently evening) conversations you have with your son, your daughter, your spouse, your father, or just a friend (usually it’s father-son, they always play that up for the “Field of Dreams” guys who feel guilty that they haven’t called their dad this week so they’ll go to a game). There the two of you sit, having a beer, watching the game, catching up or just telling old stories you’ve both heard before. (Ed Note: should somebody tell him this is a golf blog?) Don’t worry, I’m getting there.

Anyway, for my money, as much as I love the ballpark for that purpose, give me a golf course any day and twice on Sunday (see, I brought it around). Not only are you out in the sun, you’re actually doing something in the sun. Not only are you looking at the spectacular green of the grass, you’re actually, well, walking around on it. The conversation is the same, as are the overpriced hot dogs. You’re still catching up with your dad or your buddy or your son, telling the same ridiculous jokes, reciting the story about how one day when the course was in bad shape they asked Fuzzy Zoeller “How did you find the golf course today?” and he replied “Easy, just turned left at the clubhouse, same as yesterday.” Most baseball players would have to have that joke explained to them, possibly with charts.

On a golf course, you talk about golf and you talk about everything and you talk about nothing. You tell your friend “I have no idea what’s going on with my irons lately, I might as well use them to pry up rocks” and you tell your dad “I have no idea what I’m going to do if I don’t get a job soon.” You confess your sins and you confess your love for hybrid clubs and 60 degree wedges and that girl you’ve been seeing. You bust on your friends who don’t play, and you bust on the ones who play badly (like I should talk). You laugh about that one friend you all have who gets a little too mad when he shanks one and a little too happy when he skulls one that dies on the green in spite of itself. You flirt with the beer girl when you’re in your 20s and 30s, then you stop because she could be your daughter’s age. Then when you’re in your 60s, you say “what the hell” and flirt with her again. Ever flirt with a beer vendor at a ballgame? He’ll break you in half.

Because they go ahead and give you a scorecard, you might as well keep score, and if you’re going to keep score, you might as well have a $.25 skin or a $5 Nassau on the line. Ask the last guy who got caught at the ballpark making it interesting by betting on himself how that works out in baseball, they won’t even let him in their stupid Hall of Fame.

So sure, I’ll come out to the ballpark, and I’ll bring my boy or my dad or my buddy. But I guarantee you that by the third inning, one of us is gonna say “so when are we playing golf?”

Read Don's occasional non-golf thoughts at www.aggressivelethargy.blogspot.com

BEAVER GOLF REVIEW: Top Golf Chicago

2010-03-26T01:00:00.001-05:00

If you are a regular reader of Beaver Golf, you might be familiar with my golf course reviews. Hopefully you find them informative and helpful...or at least amusing. I try to be fair with all my course assessments, judging courses by a variety of aspects including cost, customer service, and conditions among others. This review will apply the same methodology, though the subject is a little bit different - a driving range.

This is not your neighborhood range that I will be reviewing today, mind you. Top Golf Chicago is a driving range on the cream and the clear (that's code for steroids for those Bonds-impaired in the audience). Given that here in Chicago we just had one of the snowiest winters on record, for the second year running - AND that we didn't have it nearly as bad as many other places less used to the blizzards south and east of us - a beefed up driving range seems like an appropriate way to start my Chicago course reviews this year.

Top Golf also is only relevant to a select few of you out there. Having only three facilities in the United States, and three more in Great Britain, I am guessing the vast majority of you will not have the chance to utilize this review. Alas, the concept is so simple, and the experience so enjoyable, I just had to write about it. Top Golf locations include Chicago, IL (actually Wood Dale, but who really cares?), Dallas, TX, Alexandria, VA, and of course, Chigwell, Surrey, and Watford over in jolly England.

At first glance, Top Golf looks like any multi-decked driving range, the draw in Chicago being heated and covered bays making practice possible nearly year-round. We also have several bubble domes to hit in, an experience I will likely never partake in again after visiting Top Golf. Upon arrival to Top Golf, you are greeted by a host who, if there is a wait for a bay, takes your name and hands you a beeper. You immediately head over to the cashiers, if necessary, to purchase or refill your playing card. This is an important point, because there are pricing options right from the get-go.

You can purchase a card good for 30 days for $5.00 if you are between 18-55, and $3 if you fall above or below that age range. The card can then be filled with any value you choose in order to purchase balls for the range. The 30-day card is renewable after the 30 days expires for another $5.00. I'll save you the five second calculation, and let you know that comes to $60.00 if you were to use the 30-day card all year, PLUS anything you spend on balls.

The best value is the TopGolf Playing Card. This puppy costs you $35 to activate, but you don't have to renew it again for a year, and you get the following perks:

6 Free Games (120 balls)
Free 30 minute lesson with one of their academy instructors
Complementary club rental

The six free games alone covers the tab if you use it in prime hours when 120 balls would otherwise cost you $36.00 (off-prime would cost $18.00 for the same number of balls). Interestingly, one of the instructors at top Golf Chicago, named Matt Vinge, game me at least 16 personal lessons while he was working with GolfTec, so now I can grab a freebie with him at Top Golf should I choose to do so. He is really good...check him out if you use this deal.

So, I mentioned prime times and off-prime times...a 100% difference in price. Prime time is M-Th from 3:00-11:00 PM, Fridays from 3:00-Midnight, Saturdays from Noon-Midnight, and Sundays from Noon-9:00 PM. Fortunately, I am an early bird, and Top golf Chicago opens at 10:00 on weekdays and 9:00 on weekends, so there is plenty of time to hit for half price. Six bucks for 20 balls is a little steep (even for the coolness of this concept), but let me tell you more about the good things...perhaps you won't be as tight with the cash as I am?

Top Golf offers various memberships as well that offer additional perks such as unlimited balls, no waiting for bays, and preferred access to the Executive Suites. I can no comment on the Executive Suites as I have not yet made use of them, but it sounds plush!

Top Golf has a Pro Shop, not large, but they have club fitting on site, so potentially cool perk there. If you do need to wait for a bay to open, there is a surprising decent restaurant on site. I'm not going to call the place gourmet dining, but they have a substantial menu, and I was able to find a Turkey and Avocado wrap that was mighty tasty, easily better than what I could get at any other driving range, if they had anything at all. One caution...avoid the seasoned curly fries as they paled in comparison to the wrap, and the steak cut fries looked much better. As we dined, our beeper went off to alert us that our bay was ready. The bartender noticed it flashing and buzzing, so offered to have our food and drinks brought out to our bay for us. Sorry, I know my expectations are lower than some, but that struck both Brad and I as over-the-top nice, despite it being something that they probably do many times every day. Anyway, out to our bay we went, and our food arrived before we returned with our buckets of balls.

The balls at Top Golf each have a computerized micro-chip inserted, that not only tracks your ball as it hits targets ranging from 20-250 yards away, but also keeps your score! When you get your balls from the dispensers, not unlike most ranges, you use your card to activate it. As the balls come out, there are programmed with your information, making tracking possible. Once you have a chance to sit in the very comfortable heated bay and look out at the range, you immediately see what really makes Top Golf different. There are round targets cut out of the ground at intervals all over the range! Each flag has a series of rings around them just like a dartboard. The range is very well lit, so darkness poses no problem whatsoever in seeing all the targets.

You can go there to practice, they call it TopPractice, and just hit balls without "playing a game". The added benefit is that if you hit into any of the rings around the targets (yes, it is possible to miss the target areas, though I don't like admitting it) it will report back your yardage...cool.

The real fun of Top Golf, however, is the games. The namesake game, TopGolf, consists of 20 balls. You can play alone against "the field" as they track everyone's scores on large boards, or against your friends as well. Brad and I played against each other alternating hitting five shots in a row then switching players until we completed the game. In TopGolf you choose the targets you want to hit, the longer the distance, the greater the potential points. Additionally, it rewards you heavily for hitting targets consecutively. This makes for great practice, and comes with the benefit of slowing you down and making you think, in my opinion more closely resembling real golf. One issue Brad and I often have at the range is that he blows through his bucket at warp speed while I take a little more time. this leads to Brad finishing sometimes well before me, then either stealing a portion of my remaining balls, or wandering around bored stiff. In TopGolf, the issue is moot as one player can not play faster than the other. And you aren't limited to two players...this is a great group activity, even for the unskilled players as there are plenty of points to be had from bad shots finding their way into unintended targets.

Another game, called TopShot is a lot of fun. In this game you need to shoot at targets at four consecutive distances, five shots per target. You get to pick your own starting point, based on your skill level. The trick to this one is that missing a little can net you a zero point shot, or can even take points away should your ball find a wrong target.

The third game we played, called TopDrive forces you to only hit the targets at 195 yards plus. Having not swung our drivers all winter, save for those two unfortunate rounds in Orlando, we needed to hit the ball hard, though disappointingly scored very low. Sure, it could be my swing, but generally I can fly my driver between 240-260 yards, and will hit one over 290 several times each summer. I didn't hit that 250 yard driver target one time in 18 swings! I will say that while Top golf gives you distance reporting, and it is consistent, those balls do fly a club to club-and-a-half shorter than a new golf ball off the turf of a golf course...just sayin'.

Other games include chipping and pitching focused TopChip and TopPressure which I will try out this weekend. While playing, we were visited by our waitress at least 4 times, had our drinks refilled without asking, and played on a night in the high 40s wearing short sleeves and jeans!

I am so delighted to have finally given Top Golf a try, and will make it part of my practice routine for this point forward, especially through the depressing Chicago winters. I highly recommend Top Golf to anyone who can utilize one, and though I know that leaves out most of you, perhaps if you are visiting Chicago, Dallas, or D.C., you can give it a go, if only for a day, and let us all know how you liked it.

Fairways and Greens!

Florida Blows!

2010-03-05T11:12:00.000-06:00

OK, all you touchy Floridians, just relax! The title was merely to get your dander up. I am quite fond of Florida - as a place to temporarily visit for a nice relaxing vacation only during certain weeks of the year when there isn't a terrible heat wave, downpour, hurricane, or surprisingly cold and windy weather. But seriously, this is not an article about how much or how little I, or anyone else, likes Florida. Rather, it is about how those docile looking flat and sandy South Florida golf courses can look so tame, but play so tough when the winds start to howl.

If you read my previous post, a review of the Southern Dunes course in Haines City, you know that I recently battled the wind and cold in Florida myself, and I was beaten soundly. Well, perhaps to make myself feel better about my own game, I found it particularly interesting to watch some of the PGAs best deal with that wind yesterday in the first round of The Honda Classic played at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. I have not played PGA National yet, but have played many rounds in South Florida including two at Tom Fazio's Emerald Dunes course, just down the road from PGA National.

Obviously, that particular course at PGA National is a major contributor to the diffculty. In fact, last season, the 14th and 17th holes both ranked among the five most difficult Par 3s on the PGA Tour. The stretch of holes from 15th-17th is known as The Bear Trap, and plays very strong with water everywhere. Water should not cause anyone on the PGA Tour to tremble in my estimation, so I will reiterate that it is the winds that make this course so difficult, and yesterday in particular.

Some stats to back me up include the following:

Only 29.3% of the field yesterday finished with a score of Par or better, and only 23% broke Par.
The average score for the 143 players in Round 1 was 72.41, 2.41 strokes over Par.
Two players finished in the 80s, two more finished at 79, including the defending champion Y.E. Yang who took a 9 on the second hole and shot 8-over on the front nine!
Former PGA Championship winner, Rich Beem, withdrew after shooting 78.

I look forward to how the pros handle round two, especially if the wind keeps up, but for now, I will simply take solace in the fact that when you play on a tough Florida course with cool temperatures and the wind blowing, your score will likely be elevated, even in a state where not much else is.

Fairways and Greens!

GOLF COURSE REVIEW: Southern Dunes Golf and Country Club

2010-02-27T00:13:00.000-06:00

Well, it took me a few more days than planned, but here, is the follow up to my review of Orange County National. This review is of the Southern Dunes Golf and Country Club located about 28 miles Southwest of the Orange County Convention Center (where the PGA Merchandise Show was held, and near where we stayed during our visit). We got what we thought was a great tee time on Sunday morning at 9:40 am, so arose early enough that we could get down there and hit some balls after our frustrating lack of warm-up the previous day at Panther Lakes. We quickly found out that we were mistaken.

Upon departure from the very average Hampton Inn on International Dr. just north of Sand Lake Rd, we hit the drive through at McDonalds for a quick bite on our drive down. As it turned out, this was no ordinary McDonalds, and became the cause of our failing to hit a bucket for the second straight day. The car in front of us must have been sent from Disney World itself, and ordered for the entire cast of characters, because we sat in that drive through for at least 15-20 minutes...argh! The thing was, this was something called a McDonalds Bistro (I think), and served things like omelettes and...wait for it...Eggs Benedict! Sorry, McDonalds, you know I love your tasty offerings, but no way am I trusting a fast food joint with poached eggs and Hollandaise Sauce, but I digress. Finally, Sir Ordersalot in front of us received and paid for his smorgasbord, we pulled up, grabbed our grossly overpriced Egg McMuffins, and were on our way, now just trying to make our tee time.

The drive was a little longer than expected, but the directions were simple, so we made the drive in the 36 minutes that Google told us it would take. One of the oddities here is that the entrance to the course is through the modest community built around it, sort of tucked away behind some big box stores like Wal-Mart and Home Depot. Perhaps I am just used to a bit of posh at highly rated golf courses, but Florida never fails to remind me that it is all just a little temporary, and therefore lacking in polish and shine. Pulling up, the clubhouse is most unremarkable, though the range that we didn't have time to use looked fairly nice. From the bag drop area, you also get a glimpse of the 10th hole, a really pretty and interesting hole that we would discover after our rounds had already gone further south than we had already traveled to get here, but more about that later.

I think I mentioned in my Orange County National review, that the previous day was supposed to be steady rain, but only sprinkled us for 3-4 holes, and turned out to be rather pleasant. The forecasts didn't achieve any higher level of accuracy on this day either. What was supposed to be a sunny sky with temps in the low 60s turned out instead to be a dreary, cloudy day with temps in the low 50s and the wind whipping at 15-20 mph. There is always a false belief among us Yankees that on trips to Florida, we will forever be wearing shorts and sunglasses, but I've been there enough to know this was a bit on the chilly side, and for the folks who call Orlando home, it was downright frigid! I can tell you this much, we were almost dressed appropriately, but this would have been a cold round even back home in Chicago's unpredictable spring season.

Ignoring the fact that the weather gods were conspiring against us, and that we were parking in a near empty lot because most of the locals were huddled in front of blazing fireplaces wearing cardigans, we knocked around a few practice putts, then moved across the lot to where a very nice, and well bundled starter greeted us. He gave us the 411 of the course, asked where we were from, then told us that a B-level celebrity here in Chicago was out playing the course with his son. Yes, somewhere on the front nine, Ken "Hawk" Harrelson was talking somebody's ear off about how good he once was, and that you could put it on the board...YES! Again, I digress...my apologies for wandering a bit tonight.

Upon finishing his piece, and sharing some quick pleasantries, the starter bid us farewell, then turned quickly back to the warm shelter of the clubhouse I suppose, and we made our way to the first tee. Looking at the scorecard, Southern Dunes is a beast. From the back tees, it measures 7,227 yards, and sports a rating and slope of 75.5/138. That is bad news on a surprisingly cold and windy day for a couple of slumping 9 handicaps who played only the previous day in the last 2 months. So, we moved forward to the Blue tees where plenty of challenge remained, according to the card, with a rating and slope of 73.3/134 at 6,803 yards.

The first hole is a 390 yard Par 4, with houses along the left, and large sandy mounds along the right with sporadic pines dotting the length of it. Brad, having won the previous day, hit first and sort of block/sliced one that caught the wind blowing right into us. It took a sharp right turn and landed somewhere on the wrong side of those mounds...oh well, he hit a provisional (not much better) and was ready for our first ball hunt of the day. I didn't do much better, but kept it in play, albeit in a fairway bunker on the right side of the fairway, and only about 220 yards from the tee. I didn't pure it, but man, that wind was really blowing. Upon reaching where we thought Brad's ball had landed, we noticed that invisible from the tee, once over the mound, a ball can quickly head OB with a chain-link fence right at the bottom of the mounds. Brad's did not, but his second did, forcing him to take a triple-bogey seven on the first and bringing on a very early foul mood in my playing partner. I managed a bogey after hitting a decent lay-up from the fairway bunker, so felt OK about things, though still concerned about the lack of distance on both my normal shots on the hole.

Leaving the first green, we realized something else. Southern Dunes is not just another course built as part of a community of homes, it feels as though they only planned the homes, found a really nice course layout and jammed it into whatever free space they could find. The houses are not only ever-present but feel like they are right on top of you here. It's a shame, because as I mentioned, the layout is really appealing, offering plenty of challenge for any golfer, highlighted by a significant amount of elevation changes that have a major effect on the greens.

The front nine was wild to say the least. Brad recovered from his opening disaster hole to some extent and managed to shoot bogey golf on the outward nine, while I disintegrated and forgot how to strike a golf ball. I knocked a drive out of bounds and squarely into the heart of someone's roof on the Par 5 4th (though I did par my 2nd ball, for the unsatisfying double-bogey). Then, on the short Par 4 5th hole, I hit a dreadfully short 5-iron into the wind off the tee, donated a few balls to the local aquatic wildlife and dragged myself off the green with a NINE! Not to be completely outdone, I carded a snowman on the very difficult Par 4, 7th after using everything but a hand-wedge to get out of the greenside bunker, and finished double-bogey, bogey on 8 and 9 for a blow-up 54! Easily one of my worst nines of the last 8-9 years!

At the turn, Brad ran in for a quick break while I stewed in the cart realizing that quitting after nine would deprive you all of a good "bad golf" story, and would only mean I'd have to find more time to kill in the land of the Mouse before making my way to the airport for our evening flight. So, onward we went, and it was fortunate we did.

The sun peeked out for about ten minutes as we began the back nine, though it was hardly a break in the weather as the wind and cold stuck around all day. Even through my tainted view of the game of golf at the moment, I knew from the front nine that this was a nice course, but the back nine secured it for me. The stretch of holes from 10-14 is as good a stretch of five holes as anywhere I've played in Florida, though I would still notch the whole course well below both courses at World Woods and Doral's Blue Course, and haven't played many courses outside of the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale areas. See, those holes that begin the back nine take you away from the houses, and you get the feeling for the first time all day that you are on a course designed for the land rather than routed through a development. Notably, I felt that the two Par 3s on 11 and 14 were extraordinary and allowed for some very imaginative and challenging pin placements. Holes 15-18 provide a decent finish, though you do return to the houses, and definitely leave you with the feeling that you'd like to give it another go (one of my criteria for a good course).

From a performance standpoint, I was able to "recover" from my dismal front nine, with an average 6-over, 42 on the back, while Brad found his own opportunities to melt down with a disappointing 49. Though I walked away with a dismal 96 (ugh!), the fact that Brad only beat me by two strokes at least provided some testament to the difficulty of the course, AND the day. I am not kidding when I say that 6,800 yard course with the cold and wind we had probably played more like 7,600 yards. The course is well bunkered (between us we hit out of the sand at least one time on ten different holes), and hides many surprising breaks on its greens (though, surprisingly, we both putted decently). Furthermore, with all the houses lining most of the holes, there are simply too many opportunities to knock even slightly bad shots OB, which in my opinion is one of the most devastating penalties in golf.

Overall, I would say that Southern Dunes is a nice course, overpriced by about $30, and located just a little too far from Orlando to make the trip. On the other hand, Orlando golf is not cheap, and if you can't make the trip down to Tampa or up to Brooksville, perhaps Southern Dunes will be to your liking. I would love to have another shot at this course on a more typical Orlando day, so who knows, I may even play it again. If I were to suggest one over the other, I would have to give the nod to Southern Dunes slightly over Orange County National. Though at OCN, you don't have to deal with the houses, Southern Dunes just captures the imagination a little better, even if you have to imagine how much better it might be away from those homes.

If you have played either of these courses, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Fairways and Greens!

GOLF COURSE REVIEW: Orange County National – Panther Lake Course

2010-02-17T23:44:00.002-06:00

P1011435
Originally uploaded by chris07920
While visiting Orlando, FL to attend my first PGA Merchandise Show during the last week of January, I took the opportunity to play a couple of golf courses that I had been itching to play. This review will focus on the first of those two courses, the Panther Lake Course at Orange County National Golf Center and Lodge located in Orlando, FL.

Most notable about the Panther Lake Course is that it has recently played host to the PGA Tour’s Qualifying School, known to most simply as Q-School. The PGA of America’s Q-School is one of the handful of methods by which a player can earn their PGA Tour Card, and with it the privileges of competing in some number of PGA Tournaments every year. Q-School is a rigorous 90-hole tournament from which the top 30 finishers will emerge with full PGA Tour exemptions.

The Panther Lake scorecard gives the Q-School tees a rating of 76.0 with a slope of 139 playing Par 72 at 7,350 yards. The Q-School tees weren’t even out as if we were going to take that punishment while on a quick stop in Florida anyway. With the Championship tees still offering a hearty challenge with a rating and slope of 73.2/132, and both myself and Brad rusty from the annual winter layoff in Chicago, we opted for the Back (blue) tees. Playing at a relatively short 6,394 yards, the course still had some bite as evidenced by its 71.2/127 rating and slope. Disappointingly, however, all but a couple of the “lakes” for which this course is known were empty, though not enough to discount the greens fees of $114 apparently.

The clubhouse is quite nice, large enough to comfortably feature loads of logo-ed apparel and gear, though a logo ball was the extent of my extraneous purchases on this day. Though we arrived 20 minutes before our tee time, we were told that we didn’t have time to hit a few range balls, and instead were sent over to the Panther Lake starter shack where we putted for about 20 minutes prior to being sent off. Maybe others need a really long time on the range, but five minutes of swings would have been most welcome for the two of us, having not played any golf for about 9 weeks prior to this round.

Once on the course, all was fine. We were expecting to play through a steady and sometimes heavy rain through most of the round, but fortunately, aside for holes six through eight, we stayed bone dray with the temperature hovering in the high 60s…fantastic weather for us, having lifted off from O’Hare airport on a night hovering around 9 degrees. The beverage carts were attentive and showed up every 3-4 holes, and carried dogs and brats, much appreciated for our mid-day round.

The course itself was better than average, though hardly worth the $114.00 they charged us. The layout is challenging, but the greens were average at best, and when we played, were probably rolling at about half the speed as they do for Q-School. I shot a Net 77 with zero practice after a nine-week layoff. Look, I know it’s Florida, and almost the high season, so they can pull that cash out of visitors, but back here in Chicago, we have four public tracks that charge over $100, three are WAY overpriced (Bolingbrook, Ruffled Feathers, and The Glen Club), and the other one is Dubsdread, the fourth course at Cog Hill. In fact, there are at least five courses in Chicagoland that charge less than half the price of Panther Lake, which I would argue are “better” than the star of Orange County National.

In short, if you are in Orlando, and want to play some golf without taking out a second mortgage, Orange County National will do the trick, and you will probably be satisfied with the overall experience. If you have the time, however, and can handle a 90-120 minute car ride, head northwest to Brooksville, and play both the Pine Barrens and the Rolling Oaks course at World Woods. You can thank me later.

Fairways and Greens!

Makray Memorial Junior Golf Clinics

2010-02-16T15:03:00.000-06:00

Of the many excellent public courses in the Chicagoland area, Makray Memorial is certainly in my Top Ten. Aside from the excellent conditioning, and interesting layout, they have a classic clubhouse with a top notch restaurant overlooking the 9th and 18th greens. Makray also uses sand that is unique to the Chicago area, and plays more like the sand you encounter in Florida as opposed to the heavy, often waterlogged sand found at most Chicago courses. Their practice area, though compact, offers golfers an opportunity to tune up all the various aspects of their game either before a round or for a full practice session. For junior golfers, this facility must be fantastic.

Well, registration is now open for Makray's 2010 golf clinics. To register, you can stop in their pro shop in Barrington, IL, or visit their website at www.makraygolf.com.

PROGRAMS & SESSIONS:

After School Program (May 11,12,13) 4:30 pm - 6:00 pm = $100.00
After School Program (May 18,19,20) 4:30 pm - 6:00 pm = $100.00

Golf Clinic (July 6,8,13,15,20,22) 8:30 am - 10:00 am = $175.00
10:30 am - 12:00 pm = $175.00

August Mini Clinic (August 3,4,5) 8:30 am - 10:00 am = $100.00
August Mini Clinic (August 10,11,12) 8:30 am - 10:00 am = $100.00

The classes include mastering the fundamentals of the grip, stance, and swing. Emphasis will be put on skill development for putting and the short game. All students will additionally see a video analysis of their swing.

The average age of the participants in these clinics is 10-12 years old, but Makray reports that the ages do vary outside of that average, so if you've got a hungry little 6 or 7 year old Beaver to be, by all means, let them eat!

Fairways and Greens!

The Greats...for a reason.

2010-01-22T16:33:00.002-06:00

by guest contributor: Don Moorhead

When I was a kid, there was only the lingering aftereffect of one of the great divides in sports history. It was still there, but only as a vestigal reminder of the past. The lines had mostly been blurred, and the sides had softened into mutual respect. But once upon a time, it was factions that made Team Coco vs. Team Leno look like nothing (actually, it already looks like nothing, but still...) battling it out for the soul of the game.

I'm talking, of course, about Jack vs. Arnie. The Golden Bear vs. Arnie's Army.

It's one of the things that makes professional golf so great. You see, most team sports are so geography dependent, they make fandom meaningless. I grew up in Cincinnati, thus I grew up rooting for the Reds, the Bengals (god help me), and the Cincinnati Stingers (of the WHA... no, really). It was predestined and predetermined, based solely on where I lived. There are a few exceptions to this, such as baseball in Chicago, where you root for the Cubs or the White Sox based on whether you're a drunken 20 year old yuppie-to-be or a drunken son of a plumbing contractor (or something like that, I'm generalizing). Also, had I been forced to pick an NBA team (the NBA did not, and in fact still does not, exist as far as Cincinnatians are concerned), it may have been the Lakers because of Kareem and eventually Magic. But it was just as likely to be the Pacers, because they were the closest team. In golf, you get to pick who you root for from the beginning. And not only that, you get to pick the criteria on which you base your choice. You can choose the crafty short-game guy, the big bomber, or the guy who wears the wacky clothes and clowns with the crowd. But back in the day, golf underwent a battle for its soul.

You know the biographies, so I won't bore you with them. Palmer was the son of the groundskeeper, Nicklaus was the silver-spoon priveleged one. Jack's swing was refined and his game was precise, Arnie gripped it and ripped it. And the rivalry was fierce. I remember my grandmother, the gentlest, sweetest woman in the entire world, who never said a bad word about anyone, calling Nicklaus "that stupid fat kid." Granted, this was in 1986, when he was in his 40s, but you get the point. Old habits died hard.

I thought of these two and their battles recently, as the whole you-know-who drama has unfolded. Jack turned 70 the other day, and was still talking about his clubhead speed and the state of his game. But he got off a great line when he said he was "still looking down at the grass" (it took me a full 5 minutes to get the joke...as opposed to looking up at the grass. Well played, sir). I laughed, and thought about his interview recently when they asked him about you-know-who and his problems. And he said, in essence, I don't care. It's none of my business, and it's none of your business. He was the first one I heard say that (other than maybe me, to myself). And then I thought about Arnie's interview a couple years back, when he got called out for endosing a club the USGA banned. Did Arnie kowtow to the powers that be? Did he put out a statement talking about the rich history and tradition and grandness of the game? No, he put up a rhetorical middle finger and said (paraphrasing) look, when most people go out an play golf, they carry 18 clubs, a couple of different types of ball, they play for $5 skins, ride in a cart, have a couple of beers, take mulligans and free drops, and they go out to have a good time. So sue us.

And then it all made sense. There's still a battle for golf's soul, and these two are still fighting it. Only now, they're on the same side. Whether we know it or not, they're on our side. Happy (belated) birthday, Jack. Keep up the good work.

2010 - The Year Of The Beaver?

2010-01-20T23:19:00.004-06:00

Beaver golf at Great Wolf - originally uploaded by Jack and Shelley

Interestingly enough given recent events involving the world's greatest golfer, 2010 is the Year of the Tiger on the Chinese calendar. While that still must play out in full theater of the PGA Tour, I prefer to take a different route...yes, a Chinese Zodiac substitute for the year 2010. For this point forward, let 2010 be known as the Year of the Beaver!

Why, you might ask, is The Beaver a suitable substitute for the Tiger? It is quite simply because this will be the year that Beaver Golf makes a name for itself, and steps up to the next level of website-dom. To that end, I ask for all of my readers support and patience as I go about tying up all the little things that need tying up before this little blog can transform into something much more interesting. My posts may be a little more sporadic for the next several weeks, but feel free to use the handful of minutes spent reading each week doing something more productive like getting yourself in better shape for the upcoming golf season.

Stop! Before you go running off to the gym to pump some iron and crunch the night away, I must ask for one more thing. I am starting a little rumor that there might be some Beaver Golf SWAG in the works, and in order to be the lucky recipient of this debut SWAG, I need a little information from all you Beavers out there.

If you are interested in some free stuff, please send the following information to beavergolf1@gmail.com as soon as you can, best if you do it right after reading the following:

Your e-mail address.
Your name (preferably the name other Beavers might call you).
Your shirt size (Keep it to the standard letters if you would - S, M, L, XL, XXL, XXXL, etc.).
Your mailing address.

I will not share this information with any third party without first getting your consent, it is just for Beaver Golf's exclusive mailing list. I look forward to a flood of e-mails shortly!

Finally, just for kicks, let's have a look at that Chinese Zodiac again, shall we? Tiger Woods' birthday is December 30th, 1975. This puts him in the Year of the Rabbit. According to ChineseZodiac.com, Tiger would possess the following characteristics:

Personality

Occupying the 4th position in the Chinese Zodiac, the Rabbit symbolizes such character traits as creativity, compassion, and sensitivity. Rabbits are friendly, outgoing and prefer the company of others. They also prefer to avoid conflict. In confrontational situations, Rabbits approach calmly and with consideration for the other party. Rabbits believe strongly in friends and family and lacking such bonds can lead to emotional issues.
Their serene nature keeps Rabbits from becoming visibly upset. Because they’re serene animals, Rabbits are easily taken advantage of. Their sensitive nature makes them shy away from aggressive or competitive situations. They’re overall conservative and not interested in taking risks.
Classy, sophisticated, expressive, well-mannered and stylish, those born under the Sign of the Rabbit enjoy learning about cultural issues and learning about people from other countries. Rabbits are most comfortable being home, and their homes are always neat and organized. Home is also where Rabbits prefer to entertain. Rabbits are conservative in their decorating tastes.
Rabbits should work at building more self-confidence and self-worth so they can feel more secure. The desire for remaining in safe, comfortable environments keeps Rabbits from taking risks which sometimes causes them to miss out on good opportunities.

Health

Even though Rabbits don’t usually get visibly upset or stressed, they do tend to keep these feelings inside. When they don’t express these feelings, such feeling can cause Rabbits to become ill. Rabbits could benefit from more everyday activity which would reduce their stress levels and better their health.

Relationships

Rabbits are very sexual, but tend to give more of themselves than they should. This can lead to unrealistic expectations and unhealthy situations. Rabbits need partners who won’t take advantage of their giving nature. Such pairings will be strong.

So, do you believe in Chinese astrology, perhaps not, but some of those things sound pretty on target, don't they (especially with my clever edits, eh)?

Fairways and Greens!

Baby, It's Cold Outside

2010-01-04T16:43:00.001-06:00

As I sit and write my first post on Beaver Golf in 2010, I am shivering slightly as the temperature a mere window pane away hovers in the teens with a wind chill factor of five...FIVE! Holding a warm cup of Joe at Starbucks only offers temporary relief as I view the 10-day outlook only to see the warmest day reaching a balmy 28 degrees Fahrenheit.

Offering significantly greater comfort is my completed task of registering to attend the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, FL at the end of the month. I am looking very forward to my first trade show as a legitimate member of the golf industry, and to hitting the links on a warm sunny day. Perhaps we can squeeze in a couple of rounds to see if my recent fitness regimen can hold up my rusty swing over 36 holes in prime condition.

These days are truly the doldrums of golf for those of us in cold climates. With Fantasy Football culminating yesterday, and the Golf Channel showing nothing but highlights of silly events like the Tavistock Cup, and Tiger's greatest moments (why?), we are left to take a few random swings in our living rooms, endangering pets and children alike with every hopeful lash of the 7-iron. My old roommates will chuckle to remember the actual divot I took in our basement carpet several years back during one of these winter warm-up routines.

So, what are we frozen souls left to do during the horrid month of January as we longingly hope for the rare unseasonably warm day when we all storm the few courses that are open year round here in the Windy City?

There are a few indoor driving ranges that can be utilized, true. I may very well have to utilize one before my weekend jag in Florida, but those visits always leave me feeling teased and sullen knowing what those few hours could have been spent doing in a warmer climate.

Several courses in Chicago also hold cold weather tournaments such as Cog Hill's Eskimo Open which was held this past Sunday. The hard core duffers who attended (would you believe almost 80 of them?) began playing around 8:00 am on a day where the thermometer struggled to reach double digits. I have no idea how many of them actually played a full 18, but I read that the winner shot around par, for what that's worth. I have always considered myself fairly hard core myself, but that event, at least for this year, would have to be classified as cruel and unusual punishment, right? Good God! I would probably snap something on my very first swing!

Finally, there is always the activity I undertake the most...dreaming of the rounds yet to come, and the warm days "just around the corner". It is a new year, and with it comes new confidence, hope, and expectations. That game feels easier the longer you are away from it, and usually I come out in the spring playing pretty well before those old habits start creeping back into my game. In fact, I played my best round of the entire 2009 season my very first time out, shooting 3-over through 16 holes before finishing with a bogey-double on 17 and 18. I only broke 80 two other times in 2009, my worst season in years.

We can also prepare for the questionable spring weather we Yankees must endure as we get back into the swing of things. Warm weather clothing has come a very long way in recent years, now offering ultra-thin, flexible, and moisture-wicking materials allowing for freedom of motion to go with exceptional warmth. I have become an enormous fan of Addidas apparel over the last 2-3 years as they seem to be ahead of the curve when it comes to advancements in performance apparel. Some of my favorties for the coming spring are below, please click on the images to shop for them and similar products at my partner Golf Galaxy.

Umbrellas are another springtime must here in Chicago, and I'm sure other places both north and south. Over the years, I have come to greatly appreciate spending a little extra on a high-quality golf umbrella that opens and closes quickly, dries even quicker, and can hold up to the blustery weather we can get from time to time up here. I appreciate them even more now that I accidentally abandoned my favorite umbrella ever in a local tavern on one of those on-again off-again stormy nights of bar-hopping. I can only hope that it is still available to purchase again, or there is something even better to offer. Quality rain gear in general can be quite valuable on the course for those so inclined to play through any weather. There is little worse than slogging through a round soaked through to the skin. Some options for assistance are below, also from Golf Galaxy.

So, if anyone else will be at the show in Orlando, let me know...I'd love to meet some of my Beaver Golf readers. If you aren't going to the show, and suffer the cold winters as I do, please take some time to do a little shopping, getting prepared might just make the spring feel a little closer than it really is!

Fairways and Greens!

A Beaver Golf Newbie: Why I Love the Game.

2009-12-15T10:46:00.003-06:00

Sometimes, people are surprised to find that I’m a golfer. Their point is that I don’t fit the stereotype. “Isn’t that a little…you know, lily-white suburban elitist rich guy for you?” This was especially true before you-know-who came along and changed it all. And I suppose, taken that way, they’re right. I don’t much care for country clubs, or for some of the stereotypes of golfers, for that matter. But it wouldn’t be surprising that I love the game and play the game if you knew how I was introduced to it, and how I grew up in it.

Golf, to me, isn’t private membership organizations and $500 drivers. It’s about my dad’s Tuesday night after-work league. That was my indoctrination to the sport, and, while I’ve moved several hundred miles away and don’t necessarily follow exactly in the footsteps, it’s the spirit in which I play. I grew up around Cincinnati, in a working/middle class suburb. I didn’t even know country clubs existed until I was in high school. This was a public course, about 15 minutes from the factory where my dad worked.

Everyone there loved golf as much as any golfer, but there was a different feel to it. It was 300 pound guys in Jack Daniels t-shirts with the sleeves cut off and dirty work jeans, pulling their bags out of the bed of their trucks. The 20 year old leather bags (yes, kids, they used to make them out of leather) were filled with knockoff clubs that a buddy of theirs made, and you know they’re just as good as the real thing ‘cause he orders the parts right from the same place the real club makers do, they just don’t have the brand names on them. And he did me a set for $100, if you want I can get you some, but he usually charges $150, but I did some work for him couple years back, so he cut me a deal. The only other thing in the bag is a handful of the Top Flite X-outs he buys out at the flea market for $30 for 5 dozen, and whatever’s left of the giant economy sized bag of tees his kids put in his Christmas stocking last year, even though he never finished last year’s bag. There’s no glove, no head covers (except maybe a novelty Bengals one on the driver…this was the ‘80s, they were pretty good back then), no little multi-tool gadgets, rain gear or golf shoes. The only gadget was the telescoping ball retriever, because hey, $30 for 5 dozen doesn't mean free.

It was two-man teams, playing against each other in a scoring system that I remember, but don’t know the name of. The foursomes were made of two teams, and your “A” player played against their “A” player. You played a point per hole (net…handicaps were strictly tracked), with another point (or maybe it was 3 points) for overall score (meaning it wasn’t match play, you putted out every hole). You didn’t “win” or “lose” the week, you just got X number of points toward the league title. The last night of the season was “position” night, you played against the team immediately above or below you, depending. There was money involved, but a) it wasn’t much and b) it really wasn’t the point. After the last night was the awards banquet, the one night a year my dad didn’t come home before my bedtime.

They started teeing off about 4:00 or so, since first shift at the factory was over at 3:30. Hitting a quick bucket to warm up meant stopping at the KFC drive-through because you’d had lunch at 10:30. If you had the early tee time, you went right from the parking lot to the first tee, unless you were renting a cart. If you had the late tee time, you went into the clubhouse for a beer before the round.

The golf itself; you’d have to see it to believe it. These big guys who spent all day on the factory floor operating heavy machinery would take out their drivers, and with the cigarette still dangling on their lips just absolutely murder the ball with a swing that would make John Daly choke and make Hank Haney cry. It sounded like Thor hitting a boulder with an I-beam. It had roughly the same effect, too. The ball would scream down the left side of the tree line for a good 320 yards, then slice wickedly into the right rough until it stopped just short of the green. Then they’d skull a chip over the back, uttering profanities that would emotionally scar a sailor for life. Then they’d chip back on and three-jack it for a 6, before unleashing hell on the next tee box. My dad was revered for his short game, which is to say he had a short game (a trait that, sadly, is not hereditary).

As you’d expect, a thick skin was necessary to play there. I learned all my essential trash-talk, from “does your sister play golf too?” whenever a putt got left short to “nice shot, but you know the hole’s over there, right?” pretty much every other shot. God forbid you show up with a hybrid club, a specialty wedge, or a gimmicky putter, or you’d get “hey, do they also sell men’s clubs where you got that?” every time, or at least “brought your wife’s clubs by mistake again?” Twenty-some years later, it still doesn’t get old.

You might think a league like this was a free for all, with scores fudged and liberal use of the foot wedge, but you’d be dead wrong. You could count on someone in each foursome to have a rulebook, and while they occasionally played “winter rules” when conditions were less than optimal, proper etiquette was universal. On those rare occasions when someone could get a 7 iron in the air high enough to leave a ball mark when it came down, you’d better believe it got fixed. Bags and pull carts never touched the fringe of the green, and transgressions were never ignored.

The course was nothing special. Not too long, not too short. Water here and there, but not a lot. A ton of trees, but plenty of fairway in between them. It was always neat, and the greens were pretty good, but the rough was mostly crabgrass, and the fairways were…well, shorter crabgrass. They shut down the course a couple of years ago to build condos that, thanks to the housing collapse, are never going to be built. But they probably can't re-open the course,because they'd already torn it up pretty well. I secretly hoped that if they ever got around to clearing the land, they would set aside the things they’d find among those trees. My guess is they’d find several dozen rusted out, severely bent knock-off clubs, primarily short or medium irons; a few sets of truck keys; far too many empty cigarette lighters, and thousands upon thousands of Top Flite X-Outs.

Though I never actually got to play in my dad’s league, I consider it my introduction and education in golf. I played that same course a hundred times, usually with my dad, often with others from the league. When I was little, Tuesday night golf league meant we (my mom and sister and I) got to eat stuff for dinner that dad didn’t like, like McDonald’s, or the boxed kind of Mac and Cheese (as opposed to that Velveeta and shell pasta abomination my mother perpetrated on us; but that’s a story for a culinary blog). Once I was older, we’d sometimes go down to the course and bring Dad a sandwich, especially if he had the late tee time. That’s when I got to see it in action. And that’s why I never understood why people thought it was a game for snobs. Snobs? Rich people? Doing this? Are you kidding me? This…this is golf.

(Read Don’s thoughts on other stuff at his blog, Aggressive Lethargy)