Wednesday, April 13, 2011
The white flakes are coming
And no, I'm not talking about dandruff. I'm talking about snow. We are supposed to be getting 6"-8" of snow on Friday night/Saturday morning. Eesh. This is the longest winter EVER. There will be no spring. Just winter, summer, fall. Lame.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Noon Group
I'm under the assumption that most courses that offer golf memberships in the US have a 'Noon Group'. A 'Noon Group' is a group of men between the ages of 29-60 that play somewhat competitive golf Monday through Saturday. Most are retired or are businesses owners that are wealthy and don't have much else to do other than play a round of golf with their pals. The average round usually takes 4+ hours to play. Afterwards most of the Group comes into to the Clubhouse and sits down to have a drink and complain about their wives (or ex-wives).
MC3 has a Noon Group. A very loyal Noon Group, in fact. This Noon Group usually takes up at least 3 tee times on any given weekday, especially on our Wednesday Men's Day. The groups are no smaller than 4-somes and most Nooners refuse to play in 3-somes. I'm not going to get into any sort of betting schemes they have. To tell the truth, I can't follow half the the games I hear them playing.
I've played in the Noon Group on occasion (five or six times a year). As a 0 handicap, it's really tough for me to keep up with the 14 handicapper who plays at about a 9 but insists he's a 16. That's the thing about Noon Groups, they are the only group of men who prefer their handicaps to go up on a weekly basis instead of going down. I've seen a Nooner intentionally lip out a 2-foot putt so he can keep his handicap up.
Every Club needs a 'Noon Group'. Consistency is a big part of a Club, and a 'Noon Group' is about as consistent as you can get. I mean, come on, the name says it all.
Well today is my day off. I won't be playing with the Nooners today, but I do intend to put in a lot of practice into my short game this afternoon.
MC3 has a Noon Group. A very loyal Noon Group, in fact. This Noon Group usually takes up at least 3 tee times on any given weekday, especially on our Wednesday Men's Day. The groups are no smaller than 4-somes and most Nooners refuse to play in 3-somes. I'm not going to get into any sort of betting schemes they have. To tell the truth, I can't follow half the the games I hear them playing.
I've played in the Noon Group on occasion (five or six times a year). As a 0 handicap, it's really tough for me to keep up with the 14 handicapper who plays at about a 9 but insists he's a 16. That's the thing about Noon Groups, they are the only group of men who prefer their handicaps to go up on a weekly basis instead of going down. I've seen a Nooner intentionally lip out a 2-foot putt so he can keep his handicap up.
Every Club needs a 'Noon Group'. Consistency is a big part of a Club, and a 'Noon Group' is about as consistent as you can get. I mean, come on, the name says it all.
Well today is my day off. I won't be playing with the Nooners today, but I do intend to put in a lot of practice into my short game this afternoon.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Charl Schwartzel FTW
Congrats to Charl Schwartzel for winning the 2011 Masters in spectacular fashion. The guy was an absolute beast on the back nine, essentially stealing the win from Adam Scott and Jason Day. Schwartzel is the 3rd South African to win a PGA Tour major in the last 4 years (Trevor Immelmann, Masters, 2008 and Louis Oosthuizen, British Open, 2010).
I can't remember being as excited as I was while watching The Masters, or any golf tournament for that matter. There were so many pros that were in contention that CBS's broadcast team couldn't keep up. It was insanity. Not to mention the Twitter overload of Masters talk. #MastersSunday was the leading trending topic all afternoon while we watched Tiger Woods shoot to the top of the leaderboard after a 31 on the front nine. Rory McIlroy imploded before our very eyes shooting a record-tying high score for a 54-hole leader, 80. We all felt sorry for the kid, but he was quickly shoved in the backseat once Schwartzel, Adam Scott, Jason Day, Luke Donald, Geoff Ogilvy, Tiger Woods and Bo Van Pelt started climbing the leaderboard.
As a swing instructor, I insist that amateur golfers watch Schwartzel's swing and study his mechanics. Schwartzel has a very good swing that ams can copy with ease. It isn't over the top, nor does it have severe plane changes. He has a solid swing, steady spine angle and a very good position and impact as well as follow-through. It shouldn't be hard to watch his swing and understand what his mechanics are.
I'm very happy for Schwartzel. It was a well deserved victory. As for Tiger ... his swing looked magnificent today but his putting is pathetic! Tiger has 6 three-putts for the tournament. We would have won The Masters without contest by eliminating just a few of them. Too bad... Congrats Charl!
I can't remember being as excited as I was while watching The Masters, or any golf tournament for that matter. There were so many pros that were in contention that CBS's broadcast team couldn't keep up. It was insanity. Not to mention the Twitter overload of Masters talk. #MastersSunday was the leading trending topic all afternoon while we watched Tiger Woods shoot to the top of the leaderboard after a 31 on the front nine. Rory McIlroy imploded before our very eyes shooting a record-tying high score for a 54-hole leader, 80. We all felt sorry for the kid, but he was quickly shoved in the backseat once Schwartzel, Adam Scott, Jason Day, Luke Donald, Geoff Ogilvy, Tiger Woods and Bo Van Pelt started climbing the leaderboard.
As a swing instructor, I insist that amateur golfers watch Schwartzel's swing and study his mechanics. Schwartzel has a very good swing that ams can copy with ease. It isn't over the top, nor does it have severe plane changes. He has a solid swing, steady spine angle and a very good position and impact as well as follow-through. It shouldn't be hard to watch his swing and understand what his mechanics are.
I'm very happy for Schwartzel. It was a well deserved victory. As for Tiger ... his swing looked magnificent today but his putting is pathetic! Tiger has 6 three-putts for the tournament. We would have won The Masters without contest by eliminating just a few of them. Too bad... Congrats Charl!
Thursday, April 7, 2011
The Hangover II
Great. Awesome. Shit!
I just read that The Hangover 2 comes out May 26. As much as I loved the first one, I was bombarded with the comparisons to my likeness to the character of Stu (played by Ed Helms). For roughly 2 months after the first Hangover was released into theaters, my name was no longer Mike, it was Stu. I began answering to Stu. I answered as Stu. For a while, I just assumed I would forever be .......... Stu.
Stu is great. He plays piano. He is goofy looking (like me). His girlfriend is a bit on the psycho-obsessive side (like mine .. joking). Stu is alright.
I'm sure I'll catch the sequel in theaters. I might as well get used to the name change now. If the second movie is as good as the first, then I'll likely be called Stu for a while.
I just read that The Hangover 2 comes out May 26. As much as I loved the first one, I was bombarded with the comparisons to my likeness to the character of Stu (played by Ed Helms). For roughly 2 months after the first Hangover was released into theaters, my name was no longer Mike, it was Stu. I began answering to Stu. I answered as Stu. For a while, I just assumed I would forever be .......... Stu.
Stu is great. He plays piano. He is goofy looking (like me). His girlfriend is a bit on the psycho-obsessive side (like mine .. joking). Stu is alright.
I'm sure I'll catch the sequel in theaters. I might as well get used to the name change now. If the second movie is as good as the first, then I'll likely be called Stu for a while.
College hockey and idiots
My younger brother, Steve, attended the University of North Dakota from 2004-2010. He is now a highly sought after teacher/coach/counselor. He got a tremendous education at UND. He made some great friends, many of which I've met and became friends with as well. Though his education was pricey and he did have a 'slack' year or two, Steve earned his way into the education department and got his degree. He can hold his head high for the hard work he put in and where he got his degree from.
Now, Steve did not play any college sports. Though I pushed him to play golf for UND (he's one of the best golfers I have ever played with), he didn't enjoy that kind of serious competition. Steve played high school golf and basketball and was amazing at both. He lacked the height and speed to play college basketball somewhere, but he could have easily made it onto the UND golf team. Since he wasn't playing college sports, he began to follow the UND hockey. How couldn't he? When you're a student at UND, you follow the hockey team. There is no excuse not to.
I went to two hockey games while he was attending college and I had a great time at both. The fans were a bit psychotic, but not in a threatening way. They clearly had a lot of time and money invested into Sioux hockey. Alumns, students, general fans, youth, parents .. they all had their white and green on and repeated "Hey Sioux Sioux" repeatedly..actually it was quite obnoxious.
At the second game I realized that this isn't just a fan base, it's a lifestyle. You sleep, eat, work, drink, talk, walk SIOUX HOCKEY. It's madness. But I understood it.
The Sioux just lost tonight in the 2011 Frozen Four to the University of Michigan. Michigan was the underdog in nearly every prediction column I read. Worse off, the Sioux got shut out.
I want people to understand that though Sioux fans are very adamant about their team succeeding, they're not 'Nazis'. There is a hatred and disgust for Sioux hockey that I just don't understand, and it bothers me that my brother has to be consider a 'Nazi' because he earned a degree at UND.
Everyone I know who doesn't like UND (which is a very large number) automatically associates the school with Hitler's army. And yes, I have heard the endless rumors of Englestad being a Nazi himself. But that doesn't make it a school of Nazis. It doesn't make it a fan base of the Fuhrer.They're not teaching all of their students to be anti-Semites. It's a fan base of a hockey team that has a well documented history of success.
My brother didn't bat an eye when the Sioux lost, but I know many Sioux fans shed tears of disappointment and disbelief tonight. And yet, people are on Facebook and Twitter slamming the Sioux in such a way that it makes me so uncomfortable that I had to log off of both for the evening. I don't understand what these people are thinking.
Professional and college sports are not the same thing. College sports involves student athletes doing what few can do: Be talented on field and be talented in the classroom. All that hard work has paid off for what? Being called a fag? Being called a bitch? Being called a neo-Nazi? People who didn't even attend a rival school .. people who didn't attend ANY school are going on social networks typing about how much they hate the Sioux. Well where is YOUR team? Where are your trophies? Where the hell is your dignity?
You want to bad mouth and demean the Sioux?? Go right ahead.. Head to downtown Grand Forks saying the things you've typed out loud. See what happens.
Morons need to shut up. It's one thing to dislike a team, but calling my brother and his classmates Nazis is one step too far.
Now, Steve did not play any college sports. Though I pushed him to play golf for UND (he's one of the best golfers I have ever played with), he didn't enjoy that kind of serious competition. Steve played high school golf and basketball and was amazing at both. He lacked the height and speed to play college basketball somewhere, but he could have easily made it onto the UND golf team. Since he wasn't playing college sports, he began to follow the UND hockey. How couldn't he? When you're a student at UND, you follow the hockey team. There is no excuse not to.
I went to two hockey games while he was attending college and I had a great time at both. The fans were a bit psychotic, but not in a threatening way. They clearly had a lot of time and money invested into Sioux hockey. Alumns, students, general fans, youth, parents .. they all had their white and green on and repeated "Hey Sioux Sioux" repeatedly..actually it was quite obnoxious.
At the second game I realized that this isn't just a fan base, it's a lifestyle. You sleep, eat, work, drink, talk, walk SIOUX HOCKEY. It's madness. But I understood it.
The Sioux just lost tonight in the 2011 Frozen Four to the University of Michigan. Michigan was the underdog in nearly every prediction column I read. Worse off, the Sioux got shut out.
I want people to understand that though Sioux fans are very adamant about their team succeeding, they're not 'Nazis'. There is a hatred and disgust for Sioux hockey that I just don't understand, and it bothers me that my brother has to be consider a 'Nazi' because he earned a degree at UND.
Everyone I know who doesn't like UND (which is a very large number) automatically associates the school with Hitler's army. And yes, I have heard the endless rumors of Englestad being a Nazi himself. But that doesn't make it a school of Nazis. It doesn't make it a fan base of the Fuhrer.They're not teaching all of their students to be anti-Semites. It's a fan base of a hockey team that has a well documented history of success.
My brother didn't bat an eye when the Sioux lost, but I know many Sioux fans shed tears of disappointment and disbelief tonight. And yet, people are on Facebook and Twitter slamming the Sioux in such a way that it makes me so uncomfortable that I had to log off of both for the evening. I don't understand what these people are thinking.
Professional and college sports are not the same thing. College sports involves student athletes doing what few can do: Be talented on field and be talented in the classroom. All that hard work has paid off for what? Being called a fag? Being called a bitch? Being called a neo-Nazi? People who didn't even attend a rival school .. people who didn't attend ANY school are going on social networks typing about how much they hate the Sioux. Well where is YOUR team? Where are your trophies? Where the hell is your dignity?
You want to bad mouth and demean the Sioux?? Go right ahead.. Head to downtown Grand Forks saying the things you've typed out loud. See what happens.
Morons need to shut up. It's one thing to dislike a team, but calling my brother and his classmates Nazis is one step too far.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
What's in my bag...
I don't know if about, say, 10 years ago, your Average Joe could get their hands on the type of equipment that the pros played with at the time. It just seems like back then you could get clubs that were close to what professional golfers had, but never the same. Just replicas and/or knockoffs.
Nowadays, any Joe Schmoe can get their hands on every piece of equipment, apparel, shoe, glove and bag that the pros have. I wonder if this has created a greater following in the game of golf.. when someone can say "Hey, this is the exact same driver that Tiger uses", that makes them feel pretty damn good. Now obviously a lot of pros have specialized prototypes that club companies make exclusively (ie. Els, Tiger, Phil, Watney, Fowler), but there are still a large number of professionals that have equipment that you have available to buy off the rack right now.
You should never buy a piece of equipment just because you saw a pro on TV use it, though. You will never be able to hit a 8.5* driver with an X-stiff shaft 300+ yards when you've got a club head speed of 88mph and you hit the ball knee high. Everyone should be properly fit for every club in their bag. If you really want to be like a pro golfer, take the time to call up your head professional and set up a fitting for driver, fairway woods, hybrids (all amateurs should have at least 1 hybrid in their bag), irons, wedges and even a putter.
As for me, I like to read reviews, try-out the equipment on the range AND on the golf course. On occasion, I'll take a chance and make a purchase without demoing it first. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't. Live and learn.
So ... what's in MY bag right now?
Driver: Ping G15 9* - Project X 6.5 69-gram stiff
Fairway: Ping G15 4-Wood 17* - Ping TFC149 75-gram stock stiff
Hyrbid: Tour Edge XCG3 Exotics 3-hybrid 18* - Fujikara Motore Exotics 80-gram stiff
Irons: Ping i10 4-iron - Ping AWT stiff
Ping S57 5-PW - Project X 6.0 (D4 swing weight) stiff
Wedges: Ping Tour-S Chrome 52*-12, 56*-12, 60*-10 - Project X 6.0 wedge stiff
Putter: Scotty Cameron Newport 2 34"
Rife Barbados Limited Series 34"
Please, for your sake, before you buy any club, go get fitted and get the exact right match of club for you. Call your head professional today! Okay, well not today because it's 10pm, but do it tomorrow sometime. But not during the Masters because this is a Holy week. So don't do it tomorrow. How about next week? Sure, you've got time next week.
Nowadays, any Joe Schmoe can get their hands on every piece of equipment, apparel, shoe, glove and bag that the pros have. I wonder if this has created a greater following in the game of golf.. when someone can say "Hey, this is the exact same driver that Tiger uses", that makes them feel pretty damn good. Now obviously a lot of pros have specialized prototypes that club companies make exclusively (ie. Els, Tiger, Phil, Watney, Fowler), but there are still a large number of professionals that have equipment that you have available to buy off the rack right now.
You should never buy a piece of equipment just because you saw a pro on TV use it, though. You will never be able to hit a 8.5* driver with an X-stiff shaft 300+ yards when you've got a club head speed of 88mph and you hit the ball knee high. Everyone should be properly fit for every club in their bag. If you really want to be like a pro golfer, take the time to call up your head professional and set up a fitting for driver, fairway woods, hybrids (all amateurs should have at least 1 hybrid in their bag), irons, wedges and even a putter.
As for me, I like to read reviews, try-out the equipment on the range AND on the golf course. On occasion, I'll take a chance and make a purchase without demoing it first. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't. Live and learn.
So ... what's in MY bag right now?
Driver: Ping G15 9* - Project X 6.5 69-gram stiff
Fairway: Ping G15 4-Wood 17* - Ping TFC149 75-gram stock stiff
Hyrbid: Tour Edge XCG3 Exotics 3-hybrid 18* - Fujikara Motore Exotics 80-gram stiff
Irons: Ping i10 4-iron - Ping AWT stiff
Ping S57 5-PW - Project X 6.0 (D4 swing weight) stiff
Wedges: Ping Tour-S Chrome 52*-12, 56*-12, 60*-10 - Project X 6.0 wedge stiff
Putter: Scotty Cameron Newport 2 34"
Rife Barbados Limited Series 34"
Please, for your sake, before you buy any club, go get fitted and get the exact right match of club for you. Call your head professional today! Okay, well not today because it's 10pm, but do it tomorrow sometime. But not during the Masters because this is a Holy week. So don't do it tomorrow. How about next week? Sure, you've got time next week.
American Idol
Of the whatever-number of seasons American Idol has been on, this is the 2nd season I've ever watched. I understand it's appeal: reality tv, talented youth, attractive people, songs that almost everyone knows, Jennifer Lopez, the list goes on ...
But here's my problem: Why the hell do we have to crown people on how well they cover someone else's music? American Idol should have their contestants write and perform music that they've created. Stop being lazy piles that use other people's work! Contestants treat the music like it's their own. No, you're covering what an incredibly more talented person did. You are not special. You are a contestant, not an artist, BIG DIFFERENCE.
Music is about creativity, art, ability and individualism. American Idol relies solely on the fact they can use other people's work to make their contestants look like rock stars. And what is really sad is America can't handle all of a 3+ minute song, so Idol cuts down the music to a manageable/measly 2 minutes or less, so viewers don't lose their attention on the song. Come on people, performers should PERFORM entire pieces of music.
I know that the viewership likely wouldn't watch the show if it was full of music they didn't recognize/sing along to, but the 'karaoke' feel is the reason I don't (normally) watch the show. Sorry American Idol, but you just don't do it for me. I'm sure you've got many seasons ahead of you, but I won't be watching.
But here's my problem: Why the hell do we have to crown people on how well they cover someone else's music? American Idol should have their contestants write and perform music that they've created. Stop being lazy piles that use other people's work! Contestants treat the music like it's their own. No, you're covering what an incredibly more talented person did. You are not special. You are a contestant, not an artist, BIG DIFFERENCE.
Music is about creativity, art, ability and individualism. American Idol relies solely on the fact they can use other people's work to make their contestants look like rock stars. And what is really sad is America can't handle all of a 3+ minute song, so Idol cuts down the music to a manageable/measly 2 minutes or less, so viewers don't lose their attention on the song. Come on people, performers should PERFORM entire pieces of music.
I know that the viewership likely wouldn't watch the show if it was full of music they didn't recognize/sing along to, but the 'karaoke' feel is the reason I don't (normally) watch the show. Sorry American Idol, but you just don't do it for me. I'm sure you've got many seasons ahead of you, but I won't be watching.
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