Spending More Time in the Sand Than David Hasselhoff

I realized that I hadn’t written in the blog for quite a while, so I’m throwing one at you. By the way, that is the great thing about doing a blog for myself, rather than you, the reading audience – I don’t have to write if I don’t feel like it. I didn’t feel that way about my business blog – I felt like I was letting the business down if I didn’t write at least every other day. And I know some other bloggers; in fact, most other bloggers, have that pang of guilt if they don’t write regularly.

So, here goes.

1. The USGA announced its nominees for the 2009 Executive Committee – and, yet again, I am not on the list. Why not? I have just as much know-it-allness and smarminess as Jim Vernon (president) or Irv Fish (treasurer). And I know I’ve got more of what the USGA needs on its Exec Committee than nominee Christopher Leidel, current Executive VP and CFO of The National Geographic Society. Come on – National Geographic? When is the last time they ran a “Best Courses in America” issue? Just in case one of your nominees doesn’t pass the rigorous background check I’m sure you put them through, USGA, I’m right here.

2. The AJGA, the most prestigious junior golf tournament series in the country, announced its Rolex All-Americans. No, I’m not on that list either (too old, maybe?).  But, local Green Hope grad Ben Kohles, now a freshman at Virginia, is an honorable mention. Alex, my son, played several matches in high school golf last year with and against Ben, since they were both number ones for their respective high schools and their schools are in the same conference. Nice guy, great golfer. Congratulations, Ben!

3. NC State golf is on the rise! Darren Blair of the Wolfpack became the second cub to win a men’s golf tournament. He won the Bank of Tennessee at the Ridges tournament last week. With Matt Hill winning just before him, the Pack is coming on strong. And the new course is about to open. I predict the NC State will be contending for a national title in the next couple of years and will soon become one of the dominant ACC programs.

That is it for now. I’ll get back to you whenever I feel like it.

Tags: College Golf, Junior Golf by
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Wasted some time on YouTube and here’s the result:

Will It Blend?
Nothing else need be said.

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That’s right – it is the Striped One, status post ACL reconstruction, on the golf course. Of course, he is caddying for the winner of a Buick sponsored event (as he promised to do long ago) rather than playing. But he’s there.

Can a ripped 289 yard 3 wood approach to tap in range be far behind?

Tags: PGA, PGA Tour, Tiger Woods by
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I subscribe to the editor’s blog on Golf Digest and one of their recent entries interested me.

It was the readers’ reaction to Golf Digest putting Justin Timberlake on the cover. Obviously, the story was how Timberlake has gotten involved in the PGA Tour by putting his name on the latest version of the Las Vegas tournament. And the reactions quoted in the blog were hyper, to say the least. One called the cover “tasteless”, another made a reference to G.D. as “People Magazine”. This same reader, actually, went further and instructed the Digest staff to put people on their cover who matched the demographic of their readers – read that as white, middle-aged, and rich, apparently.

What?!!

J.T. has stepped up to put his photo, fame, money and time where his golfing jones lies. I admire him for it and, yes, I’m jealous. If I had the chance to put my name on a PGA event and hang around it all week with the pros and the Tour staff, the equipment reps, etc. – I would do it too! Is that bad? Does it make Justin a bad guy? Not to my eye. It makes him seem more like a normal guy and not a former boy band loser like so many others of that ilk. He loves golf. Great! Shouldn’t we, as golfers, be trying to grow the game? Not just to others like us (remember and fear Shoal Creek, ladies and gentlemen), but to other demographics? If Justin heightens interest in a game we love, is that bad?

And as for Golf Digest only putting people like their demographic on the cover, I’m sorry, but I don’t think a 31 year old Cablanasian billionaire freak of nature is in my demographic by age, locale, job title, or salary. But I still like him enough to want to see him written about. And, to translate it into other arenas, I remember a fairly popular magazine named Time that put Saddam Hussein on its cover. That certainly wasn’t to match the cover to a coveted demographic, but because it was news. And so is the arrival of a boy bander onto a position of influence in the elite tour of pro golf.

Lighten up folks! Geez, you’re “Tearin’ Up My Heart”!

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I don’t particularly like blogs that continually mention products and how great they are. I was surprised on visiting the blog world for the first few times how some blogs make money or get free stuff for “reviewing” products.

This isn’t one of those.

When I am struck by outstanding customer service – admittedly rare in today’s market – I feel like I should say something. And when the product is good as well, that makes it even better.

Digital Pro Golf is just such a product.

I’ve always been intrigued by video analysis of my golf swing in particular. I truly believe that without constant, near instantaneous feedback, a standard hacker like myself will never effectively change their swing. So you can hire Hank Haney, like Tiger, and have him do it. You can put mirrors up all over your basement like Mike Weir did the winter before he won the Masters to watch as you swing. Or you can use video and review it constantly to see what you’re doing right and wrong.

The problem is that most systems are expensive and somewhat of a hassle. And there are a few out there.

Richard Miller founded Digital Pro Golf and is the man behind the company. He started with a simple concept – what is the simplest system for a golfer to watch his swing, particularly the swing he takes onto the golf course during a round? He has developed a nice little software package and a tripod/digital camera system that is easy to use and transfer to computer. I just got the Casio EX-Z80 camera version and have gotten to use it this week. Awesome! Easy to use, very good video, and a great way to review my swing. I can see some stuff right on the screen of the camera and get a lot more detail on the computer (although I often don’t want to see my swing in that much detail!).

The really impressive thing to me, though, was Richard’s devotion to me, someone he didn’t even know but a customer he wanted to serve. There was a software glitch because of the setup of my computer. After a series of emails and a phone conversation, Richard succeeded in getting my system to work. Very impressive to me. He obviously loves what he is doing and is committed to making it work for anyone who wants to try it out. Great stuff, my friend!

(Ed. note – The editors of this blog would like to ensure the blog reading public that Mr. Ehlert has received no payment in cash or goods for this blog. It isn’t that he’s against it, really, it is just that no one has offered. Mr. Ehlert’s opinions in this blog, then, should be considered completely unsolicited and uncompensated – completely. He would like to note, however, that if the Audi Corporation or the island of Aruba would like his assistance with their publicity efforts, some arrangement could be worked out.)

Tags: Swing analysis, learning by
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Seve with a brain tumor has generated a tremendous amount of press. Actually, a surprising amount to me. I think I might be shocked at the coverage in Europe, though.

I’ve never been a huge Seve fan. He always seemed a bit, well, haughty. Maybe stand-offish is a better description. Others might say regal or noble, but he never struck me as a particularly likable man during his heyday. And he just seemed to love kicking the US’s butt in the Ryder Cup.

But he is huge in Europe. According to an interview with the former president of the European Tour, every sports broadcast and most general newscasts opened with the news that Seve had a tumor. He compared Seve’s hold on Euros, especially Spaniards, to Arnie’s hold on Americans. It has to be on playing style, I guess, because I don’t think anyone would describe Arnie as remotely standoffish or regal, in spite of his “King” nickname. They both were the swashbuckler, risk-taker types in their active playing careers. Never knew what was going to happen at any time but it would probably be interesting. They were also admired by scores of younger pros, who idolized both Arnie and Seve as they started their pro careers.

My thoughts are with him, now, though. I guess I feel more empathy now that he is sick than I did when he was playing. Mainly because health problems make everyone seem more human, less “haughty”, more deserving of sympathy.

Why does it take an illness to change my judgmental nature?

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First, let me say that I am not a fan of reality TV. I never watched Big Brother, Fear Factor or the multitude of others. I don’t even watch American Idol, except for the 2 minutes just before the news when I switched the channel too early. And this coming from a man whose sister writes a reality tv blog!

But I have always liked The Big Break on The Golf Channel. The tenth version just started last week and I’m looking forward to week 2 tonight. For those not in the know, the Big Break pits several high level golfers (usually mini-tour or Nationwide Tour male pros and/or Futures tour women) in a series of varied golf events, from shots over high walls to playing 2 or 3 hole matches. One person is eliminated each week and the one left standing at the end gets exemptions into PGA or LPGA events. Standard American Idol format without the voting – it is all based on performance.

So why is it that this is interesting while I consider other reality type shows junk? Part of it is that it’s golf. I picture myself trying all the challenges and knowing I could probably do some OK – and being convinced I would embarrass myself terribly in others.

Another part is that it is about skill. So is American Idol, although the public voting thing is a little distasteful to me. Maybe if I was a singer or dancer, I might really enjoy AI or Dancing With the Stars a bit more, thinking I could do that better.

Also, I like the fact that these golfers are working hard at golf as a career, not a past time. Getting a shot on a national TV show helps them in a lot of ways in their chosen profession – endorsements, possibly more tournament invitations, confidence in their game under pressure. It can, actually, be a big break. One of the women golfers who won her Big Break, Kim Welch, just made it to the LPGA tour for next year based on her Futures tour season. And another guy, Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey was on the PGA Tour this season, although he probably won’t be next year.

My guilty pleasure – The Big Break.

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Dustin Johnson, late of Coastal Carolina, currently of the PGA Tour, just won his first pro event, the Turning Stone Resort Championship.

That catches my attention because Dustin is a guy whose career I’ve followed semi-closely. Primarily, it is because he went to school at CC and helped take them to national prominence over the last few years. I’ve always thought Coastal would be a great school to go to for golf and have tried to talk my sons into it. It is also encouraging to me to see a smaller school gain respect nationally because of a sport. Picture College of Charleston or Cleveland State in the NCAA basketball tourney, for example. Coastal really did well with Dustin, but not just because of him. They’ve won 5 straight Big South Conference championships and have been in the NCAA’s for a few years as well, so they’ve got some depth.

The other reason I like watching him is that his name is all over a course we’ve visited and played, TPC Myrtle Beach. That is Coastal’s home course and Dustin is featured on several plaques in the clubhouse for course records, etc.

Plus, he absolutely bombs the golf ball. 4th in driving distance this year on tour at 309.0. Nice!

A pretty artificial attachment, I admit, but I still like cheering for guys I have some connection to, no matter how tenuous.

Tags: College Golf, PGA, PGA Tour by
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I went to Carolina Custom Golf’s Cary Store at lunch today. They are closing their 6 stores, including the Cary store and two Raleigh stores (see the article for details) and having a closeout sale to beat all closeouts. The store was pretty picked over but I managed to find some nice shoes at over 50% off for my son and some great Adidas golf caps for me.

I have mixed feelings about this. I’ve been a customer at CCG since we moved to the area. It used to be the only golf retail store near our house. In fact, it was really the only retail store in the area, until Golf Galaxy moved in across Buck Jones from it. I never really enjoyed the store much. Unlike how I like to wander around Golfsmith’s monster store in North Raleigh, I never liked the atmosphere. Customer service was tepid at best, and semi-antagonistic at worst. Prices weren’t great and selection wasn’t real good either.

But, as a former small business owner whose business struggled and eventually succumbed to cash un-flow death, I sympathize. It was pretty sad to see so much empty floor space, with club and clothes racks pushed off to the side. Looking at the inventory, I just kept thinking about how much each item, now on huge markdowns, must have cost the owners originally. I wondered how they’re doing with this whole process. How are they taking care of their families? What about the employees? The ones in the Cary store today were pretty down, that’s for sure.

I better stop – I’m starting to sound like an Obama speech about the economy.

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As I was hitting a few balls today at RCC, I saw a large group of 20 year olds, all with red bags and wolf head covers, approach the range. That’s right – I was in the presence of the NC State Men’s Golf team. It was pretty cool just to watch those guys interact and warm up. Then, I played a few holes and jumped off in front of their groups. In the foursome right behind me was Matt Hill, the sophomore stud of the team just off a victory at the Hawk’s Invitational in Massachusetts. As I was going up the sixth, I saw where he hit his drive on 5. Suffice it to say it was in a place where I haven’t hit a drive – ever. Nor will I. Ever.

Even cooler was the fact that my son, Alex, and I had walked several holes watching Matt during the US Amateur, so I felt like we have a close, personal relationship – sort of. It was around that time, combined with the fact that he sees these guys at our golf course on a regular basis and talks to them, that Alex decided it might be OK to join the Wolfpack golf team in a few years. Especially with their new golf course opening in a few months.

Coach Sykes, are you out there? Have your people call my people and we’ll talk!

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