Interesting Minor Change to the Par-5 1st Hole at Salt Lake’s Bonneville Golf Course

Written by: Tony Korologos | Sunday, March 20th, 2016
Categories: Golf • Golf Course Architecture • Golf Courses
Tags: Salt Lake City • Utah

Last week I was happy to play my first round of 2016 at one of my home courses and favorites, Bonneville Golf Course. Bonneville is the most popular golf course in the state, home of some of the best greens around.

Last season they switched from manual/hand watering and installed a controversial automated irrigation system. That’s all done now and a byproduct of said irrigation system is a change on the first hole. The first is a very reachable par-5. I’m usually approaching this green with anything from 9-iron to a 5-iron depending on conditions. Just short of the green is a very steep slope which historically has had very deep grass. That deep grass typically ate balls up, keeping them from bouncing up to the green. It also made chipping a challenge.

Shot taken with my phone, so not the best quality. This is the slope which is now cut short.

That long grass is gone now. Apparently one of the reasons for the long grass was a watering issue. Now that there is a better irrigation system, that grass can be, and is cut short like the fairway. I’m not sure how this will play out yet. It could mean many more 2nd shots will bounce up onto the green. It could also mean that short shots and bad chips which don’t make the green may roll back anywhere from 10-30 yards.

It’s going to be interesting to track the scoring and analyze my approaches on #1 this coming season and see how what seems to be a minor change affects the outcome.

First Look: Ragz by MitholoG

Written by: Tony Korologos | Friday, March 18th, 2016
Categories: Golf Accessories • Golf For Women • Golf Gear
Tags: Golf Towels • MitholoG

How many ways can what is possibly the oldest golf accessory known to man be presented? Let’s add another, and I quite like it. Check out my new towel (also known as a rag) from MitholoG:

MitholoG-golf-towel

Yes the color scheme is a bit funky against my Utah Utes golf bag, but I’m a rock & roll rebel who is willing to make a statement with clashing colors in my accessories.

I’ve got 36 holes logged with the MitholoG towel. I like the look of it so much it was hard to use it the first time, and get it dirty. But that’s what it’s for.

After a few more rounds with my Ragz I’ll post my full evaluation. Stay tuned.

This May Be The World’s Best Golf Accessory

Written by: Tony Korologos | Wednesday, March 16th, 2016
Categories: Golf • Golf Accessories • Golf For Women • Golf Gear
Tags: Father's Day Golf Gift • Golf Gadgets • Golf Gifts

I’ve finally put a TaylorMade driver into play. No it isn’t the TaylorMade M1, or M2 or M5 (wait, that was Star Trek)… It’s a Tour Preferred 8.5 degree midsize System2 driver. This thing is a beast. Nope, it’s not adjustable. Can’t tweak the loft or the lie or adjust the compass on the bottom to north. All this driver does is open beer bottles and boy does it do a fantastic job. I’ve really tested this golf driver head bottle opener hard.
Golf_Driver_Bottle_Opener_03

One can’t be too safe when it comes to golf accessories this important. A solid backup is a must. That’s why I have the Wilson Patty Berg Autograph persimmon driver, below.

Golf_Driver_Bottle_Opener_02

This great use of old golf clubs is courtesy of a long time friend of the blog named Scott Jesse. Scott is a veteran and former golf pro who has a history of making some neat golf accessories.

Golf_Driver_Bottle_Opener

These bottle openers can be purchased for a mere $15 plus shipping through the Elmjay Antiques and Up Cycle Facebook page. That beats the hell out of buying a $500 driver that will be obsolete and $24.99 in the used bin at the golf store before you reach the top of your backswing.

Think of Father’s Day, Christmas, birthdays for golfers… So many great applications. How about these being the default openers at your golf club?

Arnold Palmer to Miss Ceremonial Masters Tee Shot

Written by: Tony Korologos | Tuesday, March 15th, 2016
Categories: Pro Golf • The Masters
Tags: Arnold Palmer • Masters Tournament

Just heard the news that Arnold Palmer will not be participating in the ceremonial tee shot to open this year’s Masters Tournament. This is because of a shoulder injury he suffered in 2014 apparently.

I hope Mr. Palmer is able to come back for the 2017 Masters. I don’t see the Masters Tournament putting anyone in Arnie’s place, so I anticipate just seeing Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus hitting opening tee shots.

Arnold Palmer Now Driving

GolfBuddy CT2 Micro Golf GPS Review

Written by: Tony Korologos | Friday, March 11th, 2016
Categories: Golf • Golf Accessories • Golf For Women • Golf Gear
Tags: Golf GPS • GolfBuddy • GPS

I’m thrilled that the snow has melted and I’m back in the swing of playing golf and testing out/reviewing the latest and greatest golf products. It has been a long winter with the courses closed some 4-5 months here.

Today’s review is the great new GolfBuddy CT2 Micro Golf GPS. Mico and watch GPS units are the rage in golf right now and for very good reasons. The golfer has a very small, convenient, and light unit which provides accurate yardages and other nice features. Let’s take a closer look at them all.

CT2 Features

Portable size for pocket or mounting on a towel, belt, golf bag
40,000 courses in memory
17 hour battery life. Play several rounds on one charge.
Automatic hole distances to front, back and center of the green
Digital scorekeeper
Dynamic green view from the golfer’s perspective
Distances to hazards and other relevant course features for layup shots
GPS odometer
Displays time
Waterproof up to 10 meters (for the time you decide to go after that premium golf ball in the lake on the 4th hole)

Screen Shots

CT2_Screen_Shots

On The Course

I love how quickly this GPS unit grabs onto the course I’m playing. Some GPS units can seriously take 1-2 holes before they “gain consciousness.” The yardages are fast and accurate. I’ve run this GPS side by side with others and cross referenced with laser rangefinders and the numbers are right on.

The size of this unit means carrying it on my person is no problem. I’ll either keep it in a pocket or attach it to my belt or clamp it to my pocket via the very strong clip. Another place I’ll put it is in the pencil holder of my golf bag (first picture). With this GPS unit on my person at all times I always know my numbers. No searching for markers or sprinkler heads and then walking off the numbers.

The unit also serves as an electronic scorecard. I’m more into the old school pencil and paper scorecard personally.

Video

Below is a short video showing the unit and it’s features.

In The Box

Golf Buddy CT2 Mini Golf GPS

Critiques

My only critique with the CT2 is the charging cable. It is a proprietary cable you’ll never find at a regular store. If you lose or damage the cable, or forget it on a golf trip, you can’t simply use a standard USB cable to charge the unit.

Conclusion

The CT2 is a fantastic micro/portable golf GPS that easily fits in the golfer’s pocket. Of all the golf GPS units I’ve tested to date, the CT2 has the longest battery life by far. The yardages are fast and accurate and the unit finds the right course quickly and easily.

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