The Golfchick

That chick blabbing about anything golf related.

Page 30 of 48

Steroid testing in golf

Some women are naturally stronger or more athletic than others. Some really work on their bodies to increase their strength and skills. Some are more logically than emotionally oriented. These women already have an edge against their peers and will be among the first to be accused of “juicing.”

I know from experience that such an accusation, however tongue-in-cheek it is disguised, can rile a girl. A word to the innocent – don’t react angrily; it’ll just fuel their malice or raillery with innuendos of ‘roid rage to further push your buttons.

My new column on Worldgolf.com discusses the topic of steroid testing in golf.

For more opinions on this subject, check out these posts on The Sand Trap, Golf Punk and The Golf Blogger. If I’ve left out your favorite reference or you have your own opinions, let me know!

Next post.

Golf horoscopes, why I’m like Tiger Woods, and why to bet on Natalie Gulbis

It is Friday night, right? I expected to be doing something else tonight but my other half is down with some kind of nasty cold. Rather than dosing up on Airborne and Emergen-C like I’m known to do in such situations, I opted instead to go the route of the martini. Truth be told, I intended to do the martini thing last night but I never got around to it, so I am glad for the opportunity. And though I’ve cautioned in the past against drinking and flogging, here I am – sitting with my Goose, my martini (also a goose of the gray variety even though they spell it wrong) and Tom Waits, typing away. I have to say that these blue cheese olives I bought at BevMo suck. Shoulda stuck to my own hand-stuffed freshies. Ah well, live and learn.

I suppose I should find the point. Not the one on my head (I actually have a pointy skull and if I ever shaved my head I’d probably look like a real Conehead – my parents swear they didn’t drop me) but an actual golf-related type of point. Ah yes, golf horoscopes.

While sitting here surfing around, I found a site called Pargazer which is my new favorite site. This ain’t my first square dance, though, so I won’t stick it in my links list just yet. (Ever really connect with someone at a bar and declare them your new bestest friend and swear you’ll call?)

ANYWAY – Why do I like this site so much? It actually likens me to Tiger Woods simply because I was born within a few days of him. It’s mostly a site that sells stuff, but the gimmick is golf humor and horoscopes. I think we all like to believe in the reading of the stars when it’s favorable. Which is why so many horoscopes focus on the positive aspects of a person’s sign. This one uses the same general horoscopic – did I just invent that word? – theories and applies them to a person’s golf game. It’s pretty fun, actually.

I’m a goat, through and through. Hey, maybe that point on my head is actually a horn trying to stick through. No, that would make me a unicorn. Nevermind. Almost everything I’ve read about Capricorns pretty accurately describes me. Even the bad stuff. I’m a major astronomy geek which makes some people see irony in that I’m also terribly fascinated by astrology. Not Capricorns, though. They know that while we may be commonly known as pragmatists we can also be quite creative and apply that flair to our logic. When you really think about the cohesive nature of the universe, why wouldn’t the position of the stars at the exact moment of our births have something to do with our personalities and indeed, everything about us? I could go on and on and delve into quantum physics and really rationalize this.

But oh yeah – this is a golf blog. And I’m like Tiger Woods. Just lookie here:

But wait a minute…

Isn’t it interesting that there’s no mention of noted female Capricorn golfers? Nancy Lopez and Natalie Gulbis are both Capricorns. Shame on you, Pargazer! Now you’re not getting on my links list for sure (as if they’ll feel the pain). I’m not going to spend any time researching this right now but it seems to me that horoscopes are typically more of a chick thing and the folks at Pargazer are morons for not knowing their audience.

There may be critics who say Natalie hasn’t won, she won’t win, she doesn’t “have it,” she’s too “flaky.” If anyone doubts what Natalie Gulbis will accomplish, hear me now: if she wants to win at golf, she will. She may be too busy right now applying her dogged Capricorn-ness to enlisting sponsors, endorsements and fans at the moment, but when she really focuses on golf, watch out! Calendars Looks fade; skills develop. She’s a goat, alright!

 

 

Okay, so I’m way older, shinier and drunker, but can’t you see the Capricorn in us both?

Next post.

Another Taylor Made driver

Since I’m such a TaylorMade chick, this new driver caught my eye. It seems to have been launched with a whisper and I can’t find that much information about it. It’s not even on the Taylor Made website yet!

taylormade burner driver
Here it is: The Taylor Made Burner Driver. It also comes in a “TP” model, which increases the price by $100 if nothing else. It’s less expensive than many other TM drivers, at only $299 and $399 (for the TP). Maybe our golf blogger friends at the PGA Merchandise show will bring back some more information on it. Personally, I think TaylorMade oughta send me one to test!

I’m just happy that as far as I know, Taylor Made has not released a square driver. Hallelujah. I know, I know – it’s probably just a matter of time. And maybe that’s why this one’s sneaking onto the scene – it’s not in line with the current fad.

Next post.

Justin Timberlake or Taylor Hicks?

Okay, I just have to weigh in on this. Seems a bunch of folks are up in arms over whether Justin Timberlake or Taylor Hicks should have been playing as a celebrity at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.

Taylor Hicks, hands down! It’s not like I’m an ongoing fan of his and I’m sure he has a record out but I don’t own it (although I have to admit I’m a self-loathing, non-voting American Idol devotee and enjoyed his performances and rooted for him in last year’s season). But in this competition, I have to say I’m not so much “voting” for Taylor Hicks as I am against Justin Timberlake.

That squeaky wormish boy-band slangsta actually put out a song about being sexy? He’s bringing sexy back? Yeah, to the dollar store where he bought it because it was defective! The kid’s got as much sex appeal as a Q-Tip. That’s exactly what he looks like. A fricken used Q-Tip. He can get as buff or ripped as he wants, but unless he removes his head, he’ll just be a ripped fuzzy Q-Tip. I don’t know or care how good of a golfer he is. I don’t know that about Taylor, either. But Taylor would never put out a song about being sexy, either.

Umm… did someone say something about sexy?

Phew. I think I just needed a forum to release my pent up JT thoughts. I don’t think I’ve ever expressed an opinion on him one way or the other. It feels good to get it out. It’s always nice to disagree with Chris Baldwin, too.

Personally, I like the alternative Patricia gives us in her poll for next year’s tournament. Snoop Dogg all the way!

Next post.

Worldgolf in the news

My editor over at Worldgolf sent me a link to an interesting story. A group of investors teamed up to buy the Worldgolf network which includes many golf and travel websites with worldgolf itself as the flagship property. Here is the story on the”multi-million dollar” acquisition.

Buyouts usually bring big changes, but worldgolf already had some changes in the works. From their press release, it sounds like those same changes are still in progress.

In our e-mail exchange, William K Wolfrum was optimistic about what the sale will mean for the site (and optimism is not his specialty). He said he didn’t think there were going to be major changes in personnel, that they will be “moving forward, not cutting back… it’ll be like a surge around here,” and finally, that “the sale will be a very good thing overall.”

There are a few ways to look at his angle here. Perhaps:

  • He’s using the “never say anything in an email you wouldn’t want published in the company newsletter” rule of thumb (and doesn’t trust me not to betray his confidence)
  • He’s truly that professional
  • He really believes this will be a positive thing

I think it might be all three. People don’t buy websites to run them into the ground – unless they’re a competitor. There are a few changes I know I’d like to see on worldgolf, but I think I’ll reserve those comments, at least for now.

I’m interested to know more about the new owners but a quick search on David Brittain didn’t come up with anything definitive, and the PR company’s website doesn’t even show “Worldgolf.com LLC” as one of their clients yet. I just contacted them via email so I hope they’ll have some more info for me.

Next post.

Playing to miss???!!!

The mental game is the most important part of golf. Personally, I don’t think that’s an opinion, I think it’s a fact. With that in mind, I can’t believe I haven’t written more about it or started a category on it yet. I’m going to change that now.

I hear a lot of people talking about “playing to miss.” From amateurs I play with to commentators and pro golfers, I hear them say such things as “if you’re going to miss, you don’t want to miss left.” Huh? I never got that.

I understand there are worse places to miss than others and if there’s trouble on the left and a friendly spot on the right, it would be better to end up on that side. If you miss. However, if you approach your shot from a mental standpoint of not wanting to end up on the right, doesn’t that mean you err to the left in your setup, swing and, in fact, aim? Even if it’s only subconscious, it still effects your swing. And doesn’t that mean you’re not really going for your target so you’re essentially playing to miss? How are you going to make it if you aim to miss? HOW?

Of course I guess it’s different for professional golfers on Tour. Brains are programmable and for the most part, theirs are already out of beta testing. A safe strategy for them can make the difference in a few hundred grand in earnings. For me and others like me, it means we’re programming our brains to miss, thus we will never have the luxury of playing it safe with a comfortable lead.

Next post.

Say it ain’t so, Phil!

While looking over some more Birdie Girl bloggerage, I saw a disappointing report about Phil Mickelson on Score Golf.Phil will “most likely” use Callaway’s FT-i square driver at the Masters this year. Seems he’s convinced the thing will help him hit it straighter. I don’t know if that’s the magic bullet or not but if he’s got it in his head that it will do the trick, that might be all it takes. He’s got his body in better shape. As for whether he’s got his mind right, that he’s using one of those weird square things makes me think he doesn’t.

I was wondering if any Tour players were going to try one.


As for the technology, he’s almost got me convinced with this quote:

The FT-i isn’t an evolutionary driver, it’s a revolutionary driver,” Mickelson said. “Because the MOI is so high, because the ball goes so straight it doesn’t want to curve. That’s why I’m leaning towards that driver for Augusta. I’m not really trying to maneuver it or curve it; I’m just trying to hit high bombs.

If that’s the case, why is he only “leaning towards” it? Maybe he’s waiting for the jury of his peers to weigh in on it to see if he’s going to get laughed off Augusta National if he shows up with it in his bag.

Hmm… two posts in a row about ugly drivers. Dude, I hope they don’t prove out and force me to eat my words, buy one and play blindfolded! Maybe the look will grow on me???

Next post.

Putting a Hex on Ugly Drivers

Square drivers are ugly. There, I said it. I might have said it already but just to be clear – I think they’re unappealing, unnatural and good old fashioned icky. But I guess square drivers weren’t different enough for one manufacturer. HiPPO Golf has a new offering that makes the square drivers look like pageant queens (I’ll let you decide if that’s a compliment or not).

HiPPO decided to take a hacksaw to the square design and came up with this six-sided gem set for introduction at the 2007 PGA Merchandise Show:

But wait – it’s called the Hex squared. Are there thirty sides on there I’m missing?

Can I just say… Blech! 460 cc’s of nasty. [Say something nice, Kristen] The background colors in the photo go nicely with my blog design.Aside from the aesthetics, what about performance? Maybe the extra wind resistance cuts down the swing speed ever so slightly and channels that power into a more aligned path. Right. Wait… what did their PR person say?

The HEX² features a unique hexagonal shape that allows optimum weight distribution to reduce the effect of side spin and provide more energy transfer from club face to ball resulting in the straightest and longest driver ever designed. The aerodynamically shaped 460cc club head is designed to reduce drag on the backswing and generate higher head speed at impact.
-citation

I’m no engineer but something about that doesn’t make sense to me. If the shape causes weight distribution, wouldn’t that be accomplished via wind resistance, thus slowing down the driver? I guess technically that’s still aerodynamic, just a different dynamic of the aero than is usually associated with the word. Or maybe I’m just full of wind myself and should stick to the aesthetics.

On the brighter side (and I mean that literally), HiPPO released a bunch of new full club sets not too long ago, including this prize just for the ladies:

Maybe I’m harshing on HiPPO, but it sure seems like their new marketing strategy is going for shock value with all this ugly. Maybe they thought their older product lines were getting lost in a sea of sameness? At least it was a calm sea that didn’t induce vomiting.

Next post
.

Eat Golf Tools: golf course finder and product comparison

Occasionally I’ll get questions from readers asking for recommendations on golf courses or golf products. If I don’t have intimate experience with the areas, courses or product types, I usually refer these people to the awesome tools over at www.eatgolf.com.

Eat’s creator, Rich, developed some really cool gizmos for just these types of inquiries. I like to use them myself. Rich is the geekiest stud in the online golf world. And I’m proud to say he’s also a personal friend of mine.

So, I have added both of these tools to my site in the sidebar.

Golf Course search

Search for a golf course in the United States by entering a zip code.
(Sorry, Hawaii’s not in there yet)

Golf Product Shopper

Search for a golf product by entering keywords. Be as general or specific as you want.

I challenge you to try ’em out and NOT think they’re terrific!

Next post.

Birdie Girl: more fabulous than a blogger

“We may not be able to correct your slice and we sure can’t shorten that dreaded par 5. But what we will do, is make you the most talked about golfer this side of St. Andrews.”

When I started this blog, I was looking for a more interesting name than “The Golfchick” and really just started using that as a placeholder until I came up with something better. It took me too long and golfchick just stuck. Even if I had considered the name Birdie Girl, I probably would have shied away from it anyway. I mean, I doubt I could be that presumptuous since I’m happy when I get any birdies in a given round and hardly qualify as a “birdie girl.”However, I think it’s a great name for this line of bags, umbrellas, headcovers and accessories designed for women by women “who define themselves by how they look – on the scorecard or in the clubhouse.” Birdie Girl had sellouts in their first set of offerings and have announced that they’re doubling their line for this season.

Oooh, I think that orange bag has my name all over it.

Founder of Birdie Girl, Rosemary Brdar, says she “founded this line with a single, stubborn mission: to create a line where women were the focus, not the second thought.” Hear here, girlfriend.

Birdie Girl already has a few supporters on the Duramed Futures TourTina Miller, Jessica Shepley and Connie Isler. Not surprising these women would carry such cool bags with their respective degrees in graphic design/marketing, journalism, and finance/international business.

Compared to some other female targeted product lines, these items are acutally reasonably priced, too! Check out their pink set benefiting the Rethink Breast Cancer program for only $149.


So if you can’t make it to the 2007 PGA Merchandise show, check out the golfanista smorgasbord over at www.birdiegirl.ca. Maybe you’ll be the next “most talked about golfer this side of St. Andrews.” (Wow, really?)

Next post.

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2024 The Golfchick

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑