ESPN has a unique story about getting 2 Birdies on one hole.
Yahoo! Avatars has a neat service where you can create customizable avatars. Very easy to use and a nice little addition to a web site.
Card Golf mirrors the game of golf to a tee. The rules, the golf clubs and even the world’s top golf courses have been condensed into this fun, easy to play and addicting card game. It’s golf in a box. So if you or someone you know is into golf, or if you want to teach someone about the game, then Card Golf is perfect for you.
Ever get tired of playing poker, rummy, go-fish, or any other card games you might play? Card Golf just might be the game for you, especially if you’re a golfer or interested in learning how to golf.
The deck for Card Golf consists of 51 cards ranging from 1 yard putters up through 250 yard drivers. It also comes with a rule/instruction card and two sample score cards to get you started. A single Card Golf deck is designed to be played by 2 people and it does the job pretty well.
The basics of the game is that you want to add up the yardages on your cards to be more than the length of the hole. If your cards add up exactly to the yardage you aren’t given any penalty strokes, 1-5 yards over and you get one penalty, and then it goes up from there until a maximum of 4 penalty strokes.
Last night I sat down and played two hands using the scorecard for Pebble Beach. For the first couple of holes I made the mistake of thinking about the card game too much like a regular golf hole. I’d hit it long off the tee, make an approach shot, and then try to putt for birdie. This is where the game of Card Golf can mix things up a bit, because there are some real potential chances to make eagles.
The first hand (player) I played was doing quite well making birdie on the first two holes and my second player went par, birdie to start. Then I realized I could try to make it in with two shots each time and if the yardages turned our right, I could even get the exact yardage using two cards. My first hand went on to eagle the next three holes and take a commanding lead. After another birdie, I was 9 under after 6 holes! A triple bogey 6 on the next hole, a par 3, ruined that real quick. While getting three eagles in a row is something I’ll most likely never do, I know what a 6 feels like on a short hole!
I kept playing along with both of my players and my first player cruised along by only giving up the tee on 4 holes out of 18 to the second hand I was playing. The scores for the front nine were 29 and 35 and then 31 and 32 on the back for 18 hole scores of 60 and 67, which are -12 and -5. Not bad!
Card Golf is a game anyone can learn and it doesn’t take long to play. While it doesn’t quite equate to real golf in a lot of aspects, you can learn a few things. One of the things I didn’t like was the lack of using a putter. The putter is the most frequently used club in every one’s golf bag (when playing real golf) and there wasn’t a requirement to use it in this game. In fact, there was a time when one of my players didn’t have a putter card in the hand for 3 holes, so I couldn’t have used one if I wanted to.
Overall I was really pleased with the game. The deck is well designed and should hold up for many 18 hole rounds of play. Card Golf would make a great gift for any golfer who is trying to get through the winter months.
The Golf Channel’s Big Break series is now on Big Break V and I can say I’ve never watched a single episode of any of the five series. Is it anything special? Am I missing out on some good golf TV?
I’ve caught a glimpse here are there for a few minutes as I was flipping through channels, but never stayed tuned in. I love playing golf and I love watching pro tournaments on TV. There’s just something about watching wanna-be pros fighting for a spot on one of the tours that turns me off. It would have to be really good TV to get me interested.
So, if you’re a BB fan convince me…
I was glad to read that Tiger is taking a break to spend time with his father. From all the reports it doesn’t look like his dad is going to last much longer and I know if I was in his position I’d want to get as much time with my dad as I could. Golf will always be there.
On Friday morning my Dad and his buddies picked me up and we headed south to Indiana for some golfing. The first stop was in Angola, IN for lunch. Tri-State University was right across the street and their course, Zollner Golf Course, looked like a good place to start the golf season. $30 for 18 holes and a cart wasn’t too bad a price tag either. The weather wasn’t all that great when we started, but it was comfortable with jeans and a golf wind-breaker. All four of us got off the first tee and I was golfing in March for the first time in my life. What a great feeling!
I’ve previously mentioned the new golf center that opened here in Saginaw and I’ve had a chance to visit the past two days. Yesterday it was about 40 degrees out and maybe a bit too chilly, but I wanted to hit a few balls. Today was much nicer at 48 degrees, but the wind was still a bitch.
The photo was taken with my RAZR camera phone and shows how packed the place was. They place probably has 30 hitting mats and every single one was full with another 5-10 people waiting for a spot. The golf center has a nice setup with big heaters over the top of the hitting areas, which helps a bit, but not as much as you’d expect.
Yesterday when I hit I didn’t work on anything specific. I just wanted to get in some swings and enjoy it. Today I only took two clubs with me though and worked on some little things in my swing. I took the weighted club that I bought and also took my 7 iron. I love the heavy club, but I’m pretty sore from using it so much this weekend. My shoulders and upper back got a pretty good workout. While hitting today I worked on a shorter back swing, tempo, and not pulling out with my left shoulder. I hit the ball pretty good for it being on the second time of the year.
Looks like I won’t be making a trip to Myrtle Beach. I’ll be hitting up Indiana (or however far South we need to drive for good weather) instead. My Dad, a couple of his friends, and I will be making a 4 day trip at the end of the month. Now that something is scheduled I need to start working on my swing. I bought a weighted club the other day and plan to use it for 10-15 minutes a few times a week. Also visited the new golf center on Sunday and will be buying a range membership there so I can start hitting some balls.
My main goal for this year is to shorten my golf swing. During lessons last year I saw my swing for the first time. To say that I have a huge swing is an understatement. A guy’s body shouldn’t be able to twist and bend that far back. It brings all kinds of other problems into my swing and really makes golfing inconsistent for me.
I’ve changed my eating and workout habits over the last 6 weeks so I’m looking for improvements in my golf game there as well.
I’m thinking about a vacation to Myrtle Beach in the next month or two. Michigan weather is getting to me and I’m getting the golf itch. I’m interested in hearing from some people who have made a trip there in the last year or two. Where did you get your package through? What are the best places for your money? What should I look for? Thanks in advance!
It seems like every year around February I start to get a case of golf fever. Thanks to our lovely Michigan weather, my last round of golf was on September 17th, which is almost 5 months ago. It seems like an eternity now that I count up the months.
The PGA Tour gets back into the swing of things in late January and early February, which means we have golf on TV again. There’s something about seeing the pros smoke long drives and sink putts that gets the juices flowing again. The Hooked on Golf Blog is running a fantasy golf league with some great prizes donated by sponsors so this has helped to give me a bit of the itch as well.
I haven’t even touched a golf club since that last round in September, unless you count the club I have sitting at the desk in my office. A new golf center just opened in the area and it has a heated outdoor driving range, so I’m pretty excited to give it a try. My goal is to have the rust knocked off my game for the start of the Michigan golf season by hitting a bucket of golf balls every week or two.