How many decades have I been sniveling and whining about my short game here on this golf blog? 2? 3? I seriously have a better chance of getting a 4-iron close to the pin from 210 yards with a tree in my backswing, than I do chipping. That happened this past weekend. Thanks to Bombtech Golf I will be dropping a bomb on my short game and starting over with three new wedges.
Bombtech is famous for their Grenade driver which I reviewed a while back. It’s a great driver. Now they’re offering wedges which are very sharp looking. What’s crazy is that these wedges are priced at $99 for ALL THREE right now, instead of $99 each.
If these wedges can help improve my short game even a tiny bit, I’ll win that $99 in bets and the clubs will pay for themselves! Haha.
Can you buy a game? Most golfers seem to think so. For $99 it could be worth a shot, pun intended. Stay tuned for my (hopefully positive) review soon.
I’ve had the opportunity to meet and even hang out for extended periods of time with many of golf’s legends. Unfortunately Arnold Palmer was not one of them. That ship has sailed now, with the passing of The King yesterday. I’ve been close a few times. Watched him golf, practice. I followed a group around once on which included Mr. Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, and Lee Trevino. What a time that was. I’ve been close to him at the Masters, but didn’t want to bother him while he was eating a chicken sandwich.
The closest I got, and most memorable occasion was when I was on a golf trip to Mesquite, Nevada many decades ago. So long ago I’m not sure I can remember the decade. I’m guessing early 1990’s. After a day of golf my golf buddy and I hit the casino to gamble. It was the old Peppermill, which later became the Oasis. Now all that is there is a slab of cement.
Anyway, we decided we wanted to play craps. The craps table had a huge crowd. We squeezed in on one end and threw down a few bucks. To our surprise Arnold Palmer was at the other end of the table throwing the dice. The energy was fantastic and the crowd would cheer or groan depending on whether those little dice produced a hard-eight or snake eyes. As it turned out, Arnie was in Mesquite designing a golf course there. The course is one I’ve played many times and the one I consider the best in town, the Oasis Palmer Course:
Oasis Palmer Course – Mesquite, NV
Though I never met Mr. Palmer officially, he touched my golf spirit as he has for just about every golfer that’s ever lived in the last half century or more. He changed the game in terms of its notoriety, sponsorships, television contracts, and of course general popularity. The millionaire pro golfers of today have Mr. Palmer to thank for their opportunities.
Mr. Palmer seemed to have an energy and spirit that touched everyone around him. Even my mom, may she rest in peace, had an “Arnie” story. She lit up like a Christmas tree every time she would tell me her Arnie story. She was watching him play at a tournament and he winked at her as he walked by.
I had a feeling something was not right when it was announced earlier this year that Arnie would not be able to hit the ceremonial tee shot at the Masters. That moment in time always brings a tear to my eye. This coming Masters I’d better have a whole box of tissues ready, knowing he won’t be there.
I may not have the most eloquent stories or intimate memories of the King, but I never passed up an opportunity to watch him and I understand the impact he has had on my sport. The world, not just golf, has truly lost one of the greatest ever.
Gone but never forgotten. Arnold Palmer, Arnie… The King.
From Scotland to French Lick to Spanish Fork, Utah. The HOG World Tour’s latest course visit was the extremely fun Spanish Oaks golf course at the mouth of Spanish Fork Canyon, about an hour south of Salt Lake City.
Fall is most definitely here, and we had been getting rain for roughly two days straight. Right as my lads and I reached the first tee the rain stopped, the temps rose, and we loved it. The combination of the lush green grasses with the low clouds on the mountains, with the leaves turning colors… wow.
Spanish Oaks is a very fun course. It’s not long, but it gets quite tight as it progresses. There are some short, risk-reward par-4’s which can reward well executed aggressive shots. I wish I wasn’t so far from this course or I would play it much more often. The greens were great, even after being soaked for two days in the rain.
Somehow I managed to shoot an even par round. Three birdies, three bogeys and the rest pars. What a fun day.
I have to admit that now that college football season is here I’ve been spending a lot of time working on one of my other websites, UteHub.com. I’m a University of Utah Utes fan and built that site as a forum and fan “hub,” and it has been quite successful. I built a game there to allow the members to pick the weekly Pac-12 football games, called Pick Em. I have some neat prizes, and the grand prize is a custom belt from NXT18 Golf. Check it out.
The new college version is a little more mature and cleaner looking I must admit. Plus it works with a standard belt, which is interchangeable.
My new Utah Utes belt is great. I’m wearing it proudly, even this moment. If you want a belt like this, or with your own custom logo of your favorite team or golf blog, follow this special link for a discount and free shipping.
St Andrews Old Course has many famous bunkers. There’s Shell Bunker, Hell Bunker… and of course the most famous bunker in all of golf, the Road Hole Bunker. But on the St Andrews NEW Course (1895), did you know about the Yard Sale Bunker?
While playing on the New Course a few weeks ago a gust of wind (known as a “wee breeze” in Scotland) blew my lad Todd’s trolley (known as a push cart in the USA) into a bunker. I caught it before the wheel stopped spinning.
I’ve had the opportunity to meet and even hang out for extended periods of time with many of golf’s legends. Unfortunately Arnold Palmer was not one of them. That ship has sailed now, with the passing of The King yesterday. I’ve been close a few times. Watched him golf, practice. I followed a group around once on which included Mr. Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, and Lee Trevino. What a time that was. I’ve been close to him at the Masters, but didn’t want to bother him while he was eating a chicken sandwich.
HOGWire – Golf Industry News
