December 2005

I just added The Undaunted Duffer, Golf Blogger, Armchair Golf Blog, Eat Golf, Golf Punk, Even Par Round, New 2 Golf, Golfspot, MJ On Golf.

This is a lot to add at once, but my time is not my own of late.

They’re all good and worth a look from you.

Hopefully they’ll add me to their Blog Roll !

Just in time holiday golfing, gifting and relaxation comes news of a luxury golf package, a fabulous spa and a winemaker/golf packager.

This has to be the best combination of elements to come together in the name of golf since Jones and Augusta.

I can hardly find a way to tie together all the elements, but if you’ve got the time and inclination, they have a fabulous package waiting for you on a golf course that hosted the 2005 Charles Schwab Cup Championship.

Heard a golf course say this lately :

” Playing just over 7,100 yards from the championship tees, this classic layout offers strategic choices and challenges that excite golfers swinging graphite and titanium just as it did when they were carrying hickory and persimmon. “

And for those of you who don’t know who Kris Moe is :

” One unique aspect of the Kris Moe Golf Schools is Kris Moe himself. He is qualified for this “Luxury Golf Experience” by the fact that he is at once a seasoned golfer, a winemaker, and a cook. Moe goes beyond the usual PGA certification status of other golf pros. He brings to his teaching the added value of actual PGA tour experience garnered on the U.S. PGA Tour and European PGA Tour. His professional career highlights include a 25th place finish in the 1985 British Open, a 3rd place finish in the Australian PGA, and winner of the 2003 Northern California PGA Stroke and Match-Play championships, and the Hawaii State Open. He has played three times in the ATT Pro-Am at Pebble Beach. Some notable students who have enhanced their game with Kris Moe include actor Samuel L. Jackson, Tommy Smothers, numerous corporate CEOs and current Japanese PGA Tour star Shingo Katayama. “

Now, we all can’t afford this getaway, but we would if we could, so the next best thing is to click thru to all the links I gave you and enjoy reading about what you’d do IF you had that much $$$ to spend on a golf getaway.

In 2006 I’m going to try the services of NetHandicap.

They’re an online partner of Edwin Watts Golf Shops and for those of us who travel and play many different golf courses, it looks like it will make sense.

It would be really tough for me to belong to a club, since I don’t play many rounds on the same course often enough to want to join.

I needed a USGA Handicap several times last year and wasn’t able to participate in a few events because I no longer belong to a club.

Here’s the benefits, as they see them :

- Post your rounds on any computer using the Internet. - Join a local community of like-minded players who enjoy golf.

- Play in tournaments or local club outings with a USGA Handicap Index.

- Monitor your game with standardized rules and regulations.

- Create or Join a NetHandicap League with other members.

- Participate as a member of your local clubs committee

They also have a few features that might appeal to you, such as :

- Receive bi-monthly Performance Club Analysis and Trending reports emailed directly to you.

- Receive benefits of Club Newsletter, Golfwow! which includes 1/2 priced golf balls, special offers from top golf companies and more.

- Get to know your Game! Analysis, trending and review is all integral in the success of your growth in golf.

- Review more than 14,000 score cards of courses across North America.

- Create or join a League specially designed to be integrated into NetHandicap. You can now organize, schedule and manage a league in your community.

- Communicate with any member within the community via a specially designed email system which enhances your experience within NetHandicap.

The service is only $29.99 per year and that’s a lot of flexibility and features for that little bit of green.

I’ll keep you updated as to how they work for me in the coming months.

Just in case you haven’t noticed, there are now buttons in the right hand sidebar that let you subscribe to Travelling Golfer using Bloglines, your Google homepage, your Yahoo homepage, your RSS reader of choice, Newsgator and a button for your MSN page is only a matter of hours away.
Do me and you a favor and subscribe.
You’ll thank me later and I thank you now.
Peace.

I just downloaded ecto after reading a post about it on ProBlogger.

I’ll be trying to learn how to use it over the next week and hopefully I’ll be a better blogger by the New Year,

Hang with me and thanks for reading.

So now that you’ve bought a couple of dozen new Maxfli Noodle Ice and Red MAX golf balls and you’re wondering what to do with them since it’s cold outside, it’s dark, it’s raining, or whatever.

Have no fear, Golf Times is here with a solution for your stress, your aching, tired feet and what to do with those new golf balls.

Head over to Golf Times and let Matt help you with all your golf ball dilemmas.

BTW - tell Matt to put me on his blog roll for sending people and link love his way.

I just got an email that was all crunked up about Maxfli’s new RedMAX and Noodle Ice golf balls.

I hope they send me a dozen of each to try out and I hope they buy some ad space here on Travelling Golfer.

Think they got that hint ?

The Red MAX is supposed to have long distance off your driver AND soft feel for those delicate shots around the green. RedMAX’s large, low-compression core and firm Surlyn cover work together to deliver an unparalleled combination of red hot distance and warm, soft feel.

The Noodle Ice was engineered to deliver classic Noodle performance with the addition of two distinctive elements:

(1) A transparent cover that allows the core beneath to clearly show through, giving the ball its name.

(2) A colored high-optic core, giving the ball a distinctive and striking appearance.

What this means in real life is that you can see the sucker when the visability ain’t good.

If that all isn’t enough to make you want to rush out and buy some, how about if I add this :

Now let’s see you resist rushing out to get some !

Try to do without them, I dare you !

You are getting very sleepy……you are getting very sleepy…….Buy Maxfli…….Buy Maxfli……..Buy Maxfli…..

Here’s another golf community that looks like the place to be in 2006.

The Spirited Side of the Sierra’s is how they bill themselves and by looking thru their website at some of the fantastic views and scenery, I’d say they did an apt job of describing the feeling you’ll get from playing there.

Here’s a little snippet from their website to entice you into clicking thru :

” Designed by Bob Cupp, the family- friendly, 18- hole course at Grizzly Ranch is an exceptional par 72 where golfers of all ages and abilities will find equal levels of challenge and enjoyment. Enhancing the game beyond measure, the private golf membership philosophy at Grizzly Ranch ensures walk- on convenience and the opportunity to cultivate friendships that will last a lifetime.

Quiet, unhurried, peaceful: this is mountain golf as it should be. To hone your game further, the practice park awaits, complete with driving range and putting and chipping greens. Near the Lodge, the Golf- Sports Shop offers all the latest sporting attire and equipment— not to mention drop- dead views of the course and surrounding mountains through its 18- foot- high windows.

As if to confirm you’re in golfer’s heaven, even the climate is ideal. Thanks to an elevation of only 5,200 feet, year- round temperatures are noticeably warmer than in Lake Tahoe, which moderates the winters and extends the golf season. “

And if that isn’t enough, here’s a shot of some of the stunning scenery :

Now go check out the Grizzly Ranch site and if you get there before me, drop us a line and let me know how it plays !

I just got hold of a bottle of Swing Juice and tried it while playing a round.

It tastes a lot like Country Tyme lemonade. Maybe that’s a reflection to my younger days and one of my favorite drinks for ridin’ around on my trusty bike and the #1 drink I like to have in my cooler at cook-outs.

It’s got Ginko Biloba, Guarana, Ginseng, Taurine and Caffeine, along with a few other natural ingredients.

It’s not carbonated, which I like and it leaves no funky aftertaste.

Did I play better, hard to say. Was I more focused, even harder to say, because my cellphone was ringing every other hole. Did I have more stamina, well I made it thru the 18 and wasn’t that tired.

The company’s about a year old now and they will be featured at The Sony Open in January.

Might be worth giving it a try. I know if the courses I play have it available, I’ll be giving it more play.

Okay, maybe the rains of last week are gone, the courses dry and the carts off the paths.

Now’s the time a Travelling Golfer should be on the road and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.

Wednesday the 21st will be the best chance I have to get down to The Shoals and get in a round at Fightin’ Joe.

I’m guessing you’re wondering why I go on and on about The Shoals and Fightin’ Joe. Let me give you a shot from the 18th tee box towards the green. 151 yards from the next to back tees, over an area of ill repute, green surrounded by mounds and dropoffs, the clubhouse in the backdrop.

Click here to see it.

If you haven’t been down there, you need to go. I’ll be there on Wednesday, unless my playing partners need to adjust it til Thursday. Look for a better review and some more info to follow.

As an oh-by-the-way, Fightin’ Joe was just placed #4 in the Top Ten Best Quality/Best Value golf courses by Golf Digest. Look for it in the January issue.

Congrats to all involved.