June 2006

I had the pleasure of returning, somewhat, to my roots yesterday. I was born at Ft. Campbell, KY, while my father was stationed there as part of the 101st Airborne, during the early ’60’s.

The Links at Novadell is located just a few minutes from the front gate and many of those stationed at Ft. Campbell live in and around Hopkinsville.

I travelled down from my home, picked up a couple of friends in Madisonville ( KY ) and headed down for our 10:30 tee time.

We got there with enough time to spare to allow me to peek around the facility. Impressive, clean, nice, friendly…those are the first words to come to my mind. The word friendly was brought to my mind several more times during the day…from the guy who came after our bags, to the maintenance workers, to the Pro Shop employees to those behind the counter in the grill room. To a person, they were bursting with good ol’ Kentucky friendliness !

To a man, EVERY worker around the course, on a golf cart, tractor, mower or using another piece of equipment waved and smiled. I have never had that happen. Ever. The place was in great shape and I see why, the people were happy to be there and to be doing what they were doing. And there were plenty of workers out there. They seemed to be fully staffed, for sure.

I made the days first mistake by waltzing in to their Pro Shop with denim shorts on. It was my first day of 8 days off from my day job and I had no thoughts of proper attire. Most of the clubs around home have gotten over the ‘no denim’ rules, since we no longer have guys wearing cut-off jeans. That went away, mostly, several years ago. My Levi’s shorts cost more than most khakis and look pretty good, but it was their house and I had to play by their rules. The young man behind the counter was extremely nice and very professional about it and even offered to sell me some khaki’s at 50% off to help me conform. Even though I’d have rather thrown a fit and left, just to speed up the ditchin’ of this silly policy, I complied nicely and now and the proud owner of another pair of khaki golf shorts. Wheee !

Off to the putting green we go and it’s in great shape. Plush is about the best way I can describe it. Lots of cups at different angles to practice putting to and you’ll need to practice ‘em all, as the greens at Novadell are very well defended by angles, mounds and slope.

The first hole was a very easy to play 350 yard par four, pretty straight and fairly easy to envision a 3-wood and a wedge. that’s exactly what I did and came away with a 3 putt par as I hit my 25 foot putt about 18 feet. The green looked like glass and played like velcro. Kinda wet and slow after last nights rain. That was the story of my day, could not get the ball to the hole. I left 10 putts, easily 10, a foot short and in the jar.

There’s not really any tree trouble, as it’s a links style course. Some patchy high weeds WAY around the edges, but it’s as fair a golf course as you’ll find. Very generous landing areas and room around the greens for when you’re a little off target.

Stay below the hole on the greens and hit the proper side for an uphill putt and you will not find anything to complain about here. Very plush, very fair, in good condition, despite the Japanese beetles trying their best to take root.

The wind was about 10-15 mph at all times and gusted to about 25 a time or three. I hit a 6 iron from 150 ( my normal 170 club ) and came up 15 yards short, if that helps you imagine what the wind does to the ball when it has nothing, like trees, to slow it down.

There were plenty of yardage markers in the fairways to make club selection easy enough, if the wind had not been so strong.

There’s enough water in play to keep you honest, but not enough to be offensive.

Lots of panoramic views of light brown tall grasses and green fairways. Lots of blue Kentucky skies and there was enough water jugs on the course to keep you cool, your towels wet and your golf balls clean.

If you’re near the Hopkinsville, Ft. Campbell, KY area and want a challenging golf course, a fair price, VERY friendly people and an overall great time, drop by The Links at Novadell and tell ‘em Mike sent you. Or shoot me an email and I’ll meet you down there !

Just looked thru my RSS feed reader and my inbox and found that Mike Pedersen has just posted an article called ” Golf Warm Up Exercises To Avoid Those First Hole Blowups “.

I just read it and will be using it on Tuesday the 27th of June ( today ) when I play Novadell in Hopkinsville, KY for the first time. I’ll write up a full review in a day or so.

I also found an interview with our own Megan Heckeroth, done by Jason over at Beginner Golfing.

Click thru and give ‘em both a read and you’ll be glad you did.

Does anyone else read Jason Sobel and his Weekly 18 over at ESPN ? I do, every week, and this week was especially good. Jason has some predictions for the second half of the golfing year.

I’ll link to his article here and give my thoughts on some of his thoughts.

Headline #1 - Phil Mickelson wins again. Uh, maybe not. ‘Nuff said.

#2 - The Ryder Cup comes down to the final Singles match. Uh, maybe not. ‘Nuff said. The Americans are finally going to win and win comfortably. Not big..comfortably.

#3 - Annika Sorenstam charges to 9th Player of the Year title. Uh, maybe not. The winner will not be American, of that we can be for sure. But our time’s acomin’ !

#4 - Tiger will need the PGA to avoid a major-less year. No kidding ? Here’s a News Flash for you - he won’t get the PGA nor The Open Championship. Nor will he be Player of the Year. Can’t blame him, though, it’s a tough year anytime you have a seriously ill parent, much less losing one.

# 6 - Poor putting leads to another winless year for Sergio. You think ? I couldn’t win a quarter at a muni putting like Sergio. ‘Nuff said.

#10 - Lehman names DiMarco and Couples to Ryder Cup team. If he does, we win. If he doesn’t, we win. ‘ Nuff said.

#13 - Proving she’s no Kournikova, Gulbis finally wins. Uh, maybe not. It would be great to have an American win and win a bunch, but we may need another year or two and Natalie needs several years to get longer, stronger and hungrier.

#14 - Charles Howell makes full-fledged comeback with victory. No freakin’ way a guy who finishes dead-ass last in The Masters, EVEN behind 112 year-old Charlie Coody will EVER win on the PGA Tour. ‘ Nuff said.

#18 - Tripp Isenhour earns PGA Tour in-season promotion. I hope he does. His family used to own a brick manufacuring company and I’ve sold their brick and followed his career ever since I found out about him, around ‘97.

There’s a few thoughts and I wish no disrespect to Jason Sobel, who does a GREAT job for ESPN and is a helluva writer. Just my turn to have a little fun guessin’ the future.

NOTE - If you like the golf art above this post, click here to see more.

I just got a heads up from my blog friend Mike Pedersen that he has a new article about golf specific stretches that will help you AND your game.

Click thru to Mike’s blog and see if they can help you…and while you’re there, try some of Mike’s fabulous resources, like a weighted swing trainer, an exercise ball or any of his fine golf fitness products.

He has my Seal of Approval !

Just got back from a smooth and lucky 67 on my home course. 6 birdies and 12 pars. I consider par there to be 70 from the tees I played, but I’m still tickled to shoot under 70.

I’m close to my first golf vacation of the year and I’ve been checking out a lot of sites, so I thought I’d share a few with you.

First off, one of my favorite places to visit, the sand hills of North Carolina and all places golfy can be found at Sand Hills Golf.

For central Florida, try Golf Orlando.

Thinking of the Reno - Lake Tahoe area, maybe Sparks, Carson Valley or Graeagle ?

Then try Golf The High Sierra.

What about Mesquite, Nevada ? Head over there, by clicking here.

That should keep you busy for a few hours..or days, so I’ll quit for now and give you a few more tomorrow.

Just bought myself a new putter for Father’s Day. It’s a Ray Cook Extreme Aim 3 and I love it.

I just had time for 9 holes tonite, and after I hit 6 putts on the practice putting green, I headed for the first tee and a quick round with my nemesis, Bill Knapp.

First hole, 360 yard dogleg right and I’m about 55 yards short of the green and chunk my 56 degree Eidolon sand wedge. I pitch it to 5 feet and make the putt. My first real putt with the new baby and I drill a 5 footer for par…. and fall a stroke behind to his birdie.

Second hole, 515 yard uphill Par 5 and I hit a hybrid 4 iron pin high, but it rolls off the left and I chip it to about 10 feet and lip the birdie for a tap in par. Two putts, two good ones.

The fourth hole I’m 2 feet short of the front of the green, about 30 feet out and I putt it to about a foot for another easy par.

Fifth green gives me an 8-9 footer for birdie and I drill it dead center.

Seventh hole I hit a pitching wedge to 3 feet and make the EAGLE putt.

Eighth hole I 2 putt from about 30 feet and the ninth was a misread from 12 feet for an easy par and a smooth 35 …. 1 under for the nine.

Oh, by the way I lost $3 to Bill’s 33. What a miserable sucker he is. I finally putt well and he throws a 33 at me.

As for the putter, I love it. Easy to aim, feels solid, no hot spots, rolls the ball end over end.

I will be a better putter the rest of the year due to this fine putting jewel and my Line-M-Up alignment tool.

Since Father’s Day is a few days off, I guess I’d better give you a few ideas as to what I’d like, er…. I mean, what you might get for ‘ol Dad for his big day.

First up, I’ve got one, but maybe you don’t. The Line-M-Up Pro. I always wondered if putting a line on your ball was helpful or distracting. My take - helpful.

Putting’s about confidence and I’m confident that I’m aligned toward my target, now that I’m using this little jewel.

It doesn’t seem to bother me on full shots from the fairway, when the line is off to the side or at a funny angle. It’s also easy to identify your ball in the rough, if you get there on occasion, like me.

My putting’s about 3 strokes a round better since I started marking my ball, so I’ll keep doing it.

Here’s a link to their website, where they also offer Diamond Back golf spikes, a hand drying agent, a ballmark repair tool and a couple of other cool golf items.

A friend of mine, Todd Hart, just got back from South Carolina. He says the golf down there is as hot as the temperature.

I found a website dedicated to South Carolina golf, so I’ll let them tell the story.

In case you’ve never read it, The Travelling Golfer ( that’s me ) plays a Titleist 975J 9.5 degree driver, a Titleist 975F 13.5 degree 3-wood and nothing but Titleist golf balls.

Now, I’ve found a way to keep up with all of the Titleist news that is news when it makes the news.

Today I found that Titleist, Golf’s Symbol of Excellence, has unveiled its new, content-rich News site and RSS Feeds that deliver Titleist information daily and directly to the desktops of subscribers.

” The titleist.com RSS News Feed is an extension of our commitment to provide the content and information golfers seek and expect from the Titleist brand, ” said Joe Gomes, Director of Communications, Acushnet Company. ” The redesign of the News section on our web site, in combination with the opportunity for consumers to subscribe to the RSS Feeds, is an important factor in delivering timely and accurate updates on Titleist products, tour player information, educational initiatives and breaking news when it happens. ”

For more information on RSS Feeds and to subscribe to the titleist.com RSS News Feeds, please visit this page.

Have you ever had the distinct pleasure of viewing some of Jim McQueen’s fabulous golf artwork ? If not, click thru to his website and you’ll see some of the best of the best.

For the first time, famed photo-realist sports illustrator Jim McQueen has made his world-famous artwork available to the public on his interactive web site. During his 40-year career as a freelance sports illustrator, McQueen has brought to life some of sports history’s greatest moments. He illustrated over 50 books and written syndicated columns for Jack Nicklaus, Billy Casper, Dave Hill and Stan Smith.

Among his many accomplishments, Jim includes, serving as the senior illustrator for Golf Digest for 30 years, Golf Magazine for 13 years and The Majors of Golf magazine for 8 years. He also created custom artwork for corporate clients such as Merrill Lynch, American Express and the University of Southern Mississippi, just to name a few.

When you see his work for the first time, you think you’re looking at actual photographs. Taking a closer look at his illustrations, you really appreciate the time and effort that he puts into every piece. Everything from detailed facial expressions to the intricate pencil drawings makes the artwork come to life. His projects over the years have produced more than artwork, as Jack Nicklaus, Byron Nelson and Sam Snead have become part of his life. “ Sam Snead was extremely funny, and he had the best swing I’ve ever seen, ” said McQueen. ” Working with Jack Nicklaus opened my eyes to another side of his personality. He’s the greatest family man I’ve ever met in my life. ”

Originally from Picayune, Miss., he received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Southern Mississippi. He then went on to acquire his master’s degree from the University of Mississippi.

For further information and to see Jim McQueen’s custom artwork, please click thru to his website.