Hooked On Golf Blog

John Daly was suspended from the PGA TOUR for six months for his conduct. The recent jail/Hooters incident was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Daly commented to the AP:

…not fair in reality, but it’s probably fair in perception.

Related John Daly posts from 2008:

Daly smashes spectator’s camera (FYI: that camera sold on ebay for $1075.00)
Daly quotes
4th annual Turkey Awards
Dress code violation
Butch Harmon dumps Daly

Tony Korologos a.k.a. mediaguru Golf Media, Miscellaneous, PGA Tour

I’ve been in a blog break since the 22nd.  This is the longest break I’ve taken, 7 days.  I was going to be on blogbattical until the new year but I just can’t stay away.

On Christmas day, three buddies and I got together for the 3rd Annual Christmas Classic.  This tournament takes place on the par-3 18th hole at River Oaks in Sandy, Utah.  We each hit 12 balls, the 12 balls of Christmas.  The closest to the pin is the champion for the year.

Video highlights

Tony Korologos a.k.a. mediaguru Golf Videos, Hackers, Life, Miscellaneous

2009 “HOG Space” Fantasy Golf SIGN UP NOW!

Now accepting submissions for prizes. We need everything from weekly prizes to the grand prize. Contact: Presented by HookedOnGolfBlog.com and TheGolfSpace.com The league is FREE and hosted by Yahoo Sports. You’ll need a yahoo ID, but don’t worry it’s free too. Go here to join the fray: http://golf.fantasysports.yahoo.com/golf HOG SPACE LEAGUE #1: Group ID# 1483 – Group password: masters HOG SPACE LEAGUE #2: (league will open when league #1 is full) Official HOG Space Fantasy Golf Discussion and SMACK TALK Thread

Tony Korologos a.k.a. mediaguru Fantasy Golf

A few days ago I mentioned that an item arrived which got a reaction from me I’ve never experienced before. I had goose bumps. That item was a hand drawn commemorative scoreboard from my new pal Casey Jones at Casey Jones Golf.

Casey Jones scoreboard

A while back I sent in the details for my personal proudest moment in golf to Casey.  That moment was my club championship in 2005. The club champ was a year long match play competition, single elimination. Lose one match and you are done for the year. Talk about pressure.

Casey took my data and created a beautiful commemorative scoreboard by hand. The scoreboard shows my hole by hole score, the status of the match and some other great info. That round of 70 under pressure is without a doubt my best round of golf, though I’ve shot lower scores.  The scoreboard is framed up in a great looking frame.

This is one I’m happy to see up on my wall. I liked my scoreboard so much, it even bumped my favorite image of Bobby Jones to a different location. If something bumps Bobby Jones, that is a big deal.

Proudest moments preserved

A club championship is just one example of a possible candidate for a Casey Jones creation. Many other events would be great for having Casey work his magic:

• Hole in one round
• Lowest round
• First time you break 100, 90, 80, 70…
• A round at a famous course, like St. Andrews or Pebble Beach

Famous clients

I have several things in common with Padraig Harringon. We both have great golf swings (Padraig’s is perhaps slightly better than mine), we’re both damn handsome (I may have the advantage on that one), and we’ve both had Casey create commemorative scoreboards for us. Casey made a scoreboard for Padraig’s four winning rounds at the 2008 British Open Championship (image right). …and what a win that was.

Other famous clients for Casey include Adam Scott, Stewart Cink and Charles Howell III.

Conclusion

Casey has some serious talent. Casey has a gift. Man, even the address on the shipping label, written by Casey, is super cool looking.

I’ve received hundreds of golf products to evaluate over the last four years I’ve been golf blogging, and this may be THE coolest one yet. You can get a trophy at any old trophy shop, but you can only get something this cool from one guy, Casey Jones.

Gallery

I have a few more images of Casey Jones’ magic in the HOG Casey Jones Gallery.

Tony Korologos a.k.a. mediaguru Golf Accessories, Golf Reviews, Miscellaneous

The biggest problem most high handicap golfers have is the slice, or “banana ball.” Most high ‘cappers cut across the ball from outside-in, causing a side spin which makes the ball curve right. With some hard work and likely help from a golf pro, the banana ball can be cured.

Some golfers don’t have the time or the desire to put in the work needed to cure the banana ball. They just want to go out and have fun playing golf. For those players, the Bob Burns “No Bananas” series of clubs is a great option which will have those players enjoying their rounds immediately.

How it works

The No Bananas club faces are closed (driver by up to seven degrees) and the face offset. The closed face and offset help to counteract the side spin from outside-in swings, resulting in straighter shots.

Adjustable weights allow the player to fine tune the draw or fade bias for his or her game.

Read more…

Tony Korologos a.k.a. mediaguru Golf Clubs, Golf Equipment, Golf Reviews, Hackers

Tiger Woods says he is right on schedule with his recovery from knee surgery. He says his leg will be stronger than ever when he returns in 2009.

If Tiger can win the U.S. OPEN with two fractures and a blown ACL, this doesn’t bode well for the rest of the PGA Tour.

Bigger, stronger, faster

Remember Steve Austin, the SIX million dollar man? Geez. Tiger could spend that much on breakfast.

Tony Korologos a.k.a. mediaguru PGA Tour, Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods’ caddie Steve Williams has been “dealt with” by Tiger regarding some inappropriate comments he made about Phil Mickelson.  At a charity event, Williams made the following comment:

“I wouldn’t call Mickelson a great player … ‘cause I hate the prick.”

I’d say this is about the most obvious case of “pot calling the kettle black” I’ve ever seen.

The next day Williams told a newspaper that he was simply being honest:

“I was simply honest and said they (Mickelson and Woods) don’t get along.  You know what it’s like. You’re at a charity event and you have a bit of fun.  I don’t particularly like the guy (Mickelson) myself. He pays me no respect at all and hence I don’t pay him any respect. It’s no secret we don’t get along either.”

Well Steve, respect is earned.  And comments like that are certainly not the way to earn respect.

Phil responded with a super classy and wise statement:

“After seeing Steve Williams’ comments, all I could think of was how lucky I am to have a class act like (caddie) Bones (Jim Mackay) on my bag and representing me.”

Tony Korologos a.k.a. mediaguru Miscellaneous, PGA Tour, Tiger Woods

This one was a no-brainer. Padraig Harrington is the 2008 PGA Tour Player Of The Year.

What a stud. That British Open win was awesome.

Tony Korologos a.k.a. mediaguru PGA Tour

Back on February 14th 2006 I played a great match with my pal Luke Swilor. During that round we spotted an odd thing on the fairway, a porno dvd case. That was birth, and episode #1 of “Random stuff you find on the course.”

This past week I’ve stumbled across two items which have been submitted to the HOG Random stuff you find on the course archive. And, I’ve now created a sub gallery in the HOG Random photo gallery, Random Stuff You Find On The Course. Feel free to send me in images of odd things you find on your course.

Item one: The giant cookie

I feel sorry for the poor chap who bought this $3.00 cookie the size of a 10″ plate. He took two bites out of it and left it on the 7th tee. I’m sorry because:

A) He forgot the cookie and missed out on all the joy of eating it while walking down the 7th fairway.
B) The cookie sucked so bad he left it there.

Item two: Soiled underwear

Kudos to my friend Dan, who spotted this pair of soiled undies in the rough, right of #16 fairway last week.

What is the story behind these undies? What event occurred which caused someone to discard these undies? Was a guy golfing and had to discard them following an accident? Was a couple messing around on the green and had to take off when discovered?

Tony Korologos a.k.a. mediaguru Miscellaneous

Man I’ve been so busy lately I forgot to mention something which happened eight days ago. December 5th was Hooked On Golf Blog’s fourth blogday (birthday for bloggers). My first post on December 5th, 2004 wasn’t terribly bad.

Much has happened for me since starting this blog. I’ve met hundreds of cool people in the golf industry, played some incredible golf courses, and I’ve had the pleasure of testing out all the latest and greatest in golf products.

HOG Time Capsule

• There are currently 2,050 posts and 2,100 comments, contained within 25 categories.

• There are currently 9492 photos within 12 master categories in the Hooked On Golf Blog Photo Gallery.

• The current visitor counter is at 17,061,428. I had no counter for the first year or so. The counter has been off and on throughout server moves and the current counter is probably several million hits short of the total from day one.

• There are 1657 subscribers to this blog. A subscriber is someone who has actually spent the time to set up a user account here.

Thankful

I’m thankful and happy to have a great outlet like this and I fully intend to keep this baby going for a long time. It is just too much fun to stop.

Tony Korologos a.k.a. mediaguru Site News