First Look: Bobby Jones Stableford Jacqard Luxe Polo

Written by: Tony Korologos | Wednesday, March 23rd, 2016
Categories: Golf Apparel • Golf Gear • Golf Lifestyle
Tags: Bobby Jones • Bobby Jones Apparel

Here’s today’s shirt scripting, courtesy of the fine golf apparel and lifestyle brand Bobby Jones.

Stableford Jacqard Luxe Polo by Bobby Jones

This is a fantastically comfortable cotton polo which I’m wearing for the 2nd time now. Today’s post is an introduction to give me time to fully review this polo on the course and out on the town. Stay tuned for my full review soon. Along with this polo I have a pair of trousers and an unreal mint green jacket which I’ll be covering during Masters week. Stay tuned.

Errant Shots

Written by: Tony Korologos | Wednesday, March 23rd, 2016
Categories: Boneheads

Errant_shots
This is a sign on the 3rd hole of one of my home courses. I always get a kick out of this sign. There are some new and very expensive houses to the left of this par-3 now. The sign is obviously there to warn golfers that they’re liable for damage due to errant shots.

So my question is this: If a golfer intentionally hits at one of these houses and executes the shot perfectly, is he still liable? After all, the sign says golfers are responsible for errant shots. If the shot is not errant he’s off the hook, right?

Hats Off and Congratulations on Golf Blogger’s 12th Blogiversary

Written by: Tony Korologos | Tuesday, March 22nd, 2016
Categories: Golf • Golf Media • Miscellaneous
Tags: Golf Blogger • Golf Blogs

Happy 12th blogiversary to the rock solid golf blogger known as… well… Golf Blogger. About eight months before Hooked on Golf Blog was founded John Retzer (Golf Blogger) founded GolfBlogger.com. GolfBlogger.com is likely the longest running independent golf blog in existence, and certainly one of, if not the best golf blog in the universe. It always has been. That’s because John has passion and dedication to golf blogging, he knows how to spell, and he loves golf. The spelling part is a really big deal to me. I know as well as anyone that running a serious blog in any category isn’t easy and running one at the quality level and frequency of John’s posts only happens about 1% of the time or less.

When I started HOG I looked up to Golf Blogger in admiration and with inspiration. There were a couple of other golf blogs which started in 2004 too, which are now long gone. There are many hundreds, if not thousands of golf blogs which were started and abandoned over the last 12 years. The net is a blog graveyard of people who thought they could do it with little to no effort.

I’ve said many times that the absolute best, and unexpected part of running this blog has been the fantastic people I’ve met and become friends with. John and I have played many rounds of golf together and have established a great friendship. In fact, we’re golf blog brothers.

I’ll forever be tailgating Golf Blogger as one of the first kids on the block. I know he and I will be around for many years to come because we do it for the love of the game and to express ourselves, not for the big money that bloggers make. Yeah, right.

Hats off to you John. I look forward to another 12 years from you buddy. FORE!

First Look: Swannies Golf Sandals

Written by: Tony Korologos | Monday, March 21st, 2016
Categories: Golf Accessories • Golf Gear
Tags: Golf Shoes • Swannies

Could you golf in sandals? Swannies thinks so, as they are producing a golf sandal. Below is the classic black Swannie.
When I received the Swannies I didn’t know the concept, or think twice that they might be used on the course. I was excited to have a pair of sandals to change into after the round, when I want to ditch my golf shoes and the sweaty socks that I just walked 9.5 miles in. At the least these will serve that purpose, and other applications like hanging out at the beach.

Swannies_02

As bad as my footwork and massive weight shift (sway) are in my swing, I’m quite doubtful that I could have enough stability to make a decent golf swing with any kind of power in sandals. I’m going to give it a shot though. I’ll give it a good go.

Stay tuned for my full review soon.

Wage Gap Between PGA Tour and LPGA Tours is Not Broken

Written by: Tony Korologos | Monday, March 21st, 2016
Categories: Golf • Golf For Women • LPGA Tour • PGA Tour • Pro Golf • Rory McIlory • Tiger Woods
Tags: LPGA Tour • Political Correctness • Stacy Lewis

I’m probably going to tick a few people off with my following comments but you can’t fix what isn’t broken. I stumbled across a Twitter discussion the other day that got the two of the three brain cells in my cranium activated. The reason only two cells is because the 3rd is in charge of keeping my heart beating and lungs pumping air, but I digress. The question:

“How can we golf fix the wage gap between the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour?”

LPGA star Stacey Lewis in a recent Golf.com piece laments the pay gap:

“It’s pretty frustrating to still see the huge gap in what the guys are paid and we are paid, you know. When really we are doing the same thing and the only difference is the TV numbers and the TV ratings. That’s really it. We’re probably actually hitting more fairways than the guys and more greens than the guys, you know. There’s certain parts of the game we actually do better. Um, you know when I play with the guys a lot they’re like ‘do you ever miss a fairway?’ That’s usually what they say to me so, I mean, our games are pretty comparable so it’s just the exposure.”

My first reaction to the stats argument is that I know a guy who golfs every day and is 80 years old. He’s practically deaf and can barely see. I’ve NEVER seen this guy miss a fairway. He hits his driver about 100 yards and dead straight every time. He should be making $10 million a year! Think back to when Tiger Woods was dominating professional golf. His driving accuracy was terrible, barring a few stretches where it was just mediocre. But he could hit recovery shots nobody else could. He made the putts when he had to at the most dramatic times. It was golf entertainment at a level which had probably never been higher and may never be again.

How does TaylorMade market their drivers? The number one thing they’ll hit potential buyers with is distance. Sure they’ll mention accuracy as a side note but really, the buyer doesn’t seem to care that much. It’s about distance, power… It’s not about fairways hit or who hits the most greens in regulation. Otherwise Fred Funk would have been Tiger Woods. From a fan standpoint it’s about entertainment. All due respect to Fred Funk, I’d rather watch Tiger or Rory McIlory, Jason Day. That said, when Fred Funk won THE PLAYERS (always spell that in ALL CAPS. It’s what they do), his funky chicken dance was very entertaining.

Lewis says that if the women simply got more exposure they would become as popular as the men. Uh, no. I rarely watch professional golf anymore, but if I do, I want to watch the best, most exciting golfers on the planet. Those golfers are Rory McIlory, Jason Day, Jordan Spieth… You get it. Sure the LPGA players are talented and such, I’m not arguing that point.

When it boils down to nuts and bolts the LPGA Tour and PGA Tour are forms of entertainment, just like the NBA. The salaries of professional golfers are paid by the fans who either support the advertisers for events, or support the players’ sponsors. The players who draw the most attention naturally are the ones who can draw the biggest paychecks in the form of prize money and endorsements, like Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlory, and so on. The men are obviously more entertaining to the general public than the women are, and therefore draw more revenue. The general public doesn’t care about fairway percentage or greens in regulation or the LPGA Tour would have surpassed the PGA Tour in viewership long ago.

Pro golf is not an industry like my day job doing web development. If I have a set of specific web development skills which are the same as a female web developer then it is certainly unfair that on average she would make 78 cents compared to every dollar I make. That is completely unfair and not right. But pro golf isn’t web development. It’s not managing a Subway. It’s not asset management or working at a bank or doing sales or flying an airplane. It’s an entertainment industry. In such an industry the money is driven by viewers.

Arguing for gender equity in professional golf is an argument that will never win. If the LPGA was truly as entertaining as the PGA Tour, it would have already established itself as an equal in viewership and sponsor dollars. It’s not and it never will be.

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