I hate cart paths. They’re a menace and diminish the game of golf in my opinion. You will see no cart paths at the Old Course in St. Andrews, ever. The revenue generating aspect of cart paths, especially for American/resort golf is a fact of life for most courses. Without that extra revenue many more courses would go under.
On my recent HOG World Tour stop at Pechanga in Temecula, California I saw a fun twist on cart paths. Rather than having small streams go under them, the resort has the water flowing over them. If you must have cart paths, might as well have some fun with them!
A golfer in my group named Mike jokingly said the flooded cart paths were the main reason he chooses to golf at Pechanga because he likes to get a running start and fly through the water in his golf cart. Me being the opportunist I am told him to let me have my camera ready before he did it. I managed to snap the pic below at the absolute perfect time!
That’s a different kind of water hazard at Pechanga!
The unique cart paths were just one of the interesting aspects of playing at Pechanga. More to come.
I present to you what I believe is the coolest belt buckle on this planet, and likely many other planets as well.
Custom Milled HOG NXT18GOlf Belt – A Work of Art
These NXT18GOLF belt buckles are made from 6061 aircraft grade aluminum, individually milled and crafted, as well as hand-painted for each customer. 100% crafted in Massachusetts USA.
I just got the buckle/belt yesterday and will definitely put it through the rigorous HOG review battery, but on first impressions I really dig it. If you can’t wait to make your own design and have one made before I post my full review, hit NXT18GOLF.com and get it going. It’s super easy. Send them a logo, a few bucks, and a few days later you have an awesome custom belt.
I’m such a diehard with the grammatical details…
Every time I play the 3rd hole at one of my home courses I read the lower sign and think to myself, “Since I’m only responsible if my shot was ‘errant’ I’m not liable if I knock out the house windows intentionally? I don’t have to cover damages resulting from a shot which is not errant, but purposefully hit that direction and executed perfectly?”
PGA TOUR
The Barclays
Dates: Aug. 27-30
Venue: Plainfield Country Club, Edison, N.J.
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Thursday 2-6 p.m. (Live) / 9 p.m.-1 a.m. (Replay)
Friday 2-6 p.m. (Live) / 10:30 p.m.-2:30 a.m. (Replay)
Saturday 1-2:30 p.m. (Live) / 10:30 p.m.-3 a.m. (Replay)
Sunday Noon-1:30 p.m. (Live) / 10:30 p.m.-3 a.m. (Replay)
Broadcast Notes:
Kicking off the FedExCup Playoffs: The PGA TOUR 2014-15 regular season concluded last week after 43 events and the top-125 in the FedExCup standings earned their 2015-16 PGA TOUR cards and became eligible to compete in the Playoffs. 121 players are currently in the field this week, and the top-100 in the standings following Sunday’s final round will be eligible to compete in next week’s Deutsche Bank Championship near Boston.
Mahan defends: Hunter Mahan won by two shots for his sixth career PGA TOUR win.
Headlining the field: Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, Bubba Watson, Rickie Fowler, Jimmy Walker, Justin Rose, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Zach Johnson, Patrick Reed and Robert Streb.
WEB.COM TOUR
WinCo Foods Portland Open
Dates: Aug. 27-30
Venue: Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club (Witch Hollow Course), North Plains, Oregon
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Thursday 6-8:30 p.m. (Live)
Friday 8-10 p.m. (Tape delay)
Saturday 7-9:30 p.m. (Live)
Sunday 7-9:30 p.m. (Live) / 5-6 a.m. (Monday replay)
Broadcast Notes:
Finalizing “The 25”: The top-25 on the Web.com Tour money list following Sunday’s final round will earn their 2015-16 PGA TOUR card. Players finishing 26-100 on the money list will be eligible to compete for 25 additional PGA TOUR cards in the four-event Web.com Tour Finals, along with players having finished 126-200 in the PGA TOUR’s FedExCup standings.
Headlining the field: Patton Kizzire, Martin Piller, Dawie van der Walt, Peter Malnati, Smylie Kaufman, Wes Roach, Si Woo Kim, Kelly Kraft, Shane Bertsch and Abraham Ancer.
LPGA TOUR
Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic
Dates: Aug. 27-30
Venue: RTJ Golf Trail at Capitol Hill (Senator Course), Prattville, Ala.
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Thursday 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. (Live)
Friday 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. (Live) / 4:30-6 a.m. (Saturday replay)
Saturday 5-7 p.m. (Live) / 5-6 a.m. (Sunday replay)
Sunday 5-7 p.m. (Live)
Broadcast Notes:
Henderson to be featured in “Rookie Spotlight” during Friday’s coverage: 17-year-old Brooke Henderson – who was granted LPGA Tour membership last week after winning the Cambia Portland Classic – will be featured in “Rookie Spotlight” during Friday’s second round coverage.
Hur defends: Mi Jung Hur finished four shots ahead of Stacy Lewis for his second career LPGA Tour victory.
Headlining the field: Stacy Lewis, Brooke Henderson, Lexi Thompson, Brittany Lincicome, Anna Nordqvist, Brittany Lang, Angela Stanford, Charley Hull and Cheyenne Woods.
CHAMPIONS TOUR
Dick’s Sporting Goods Open
Dates: Aug. 28-30
Venue: En-Joie Golf Course, Endicott, N.Y.
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Friday 6-8 p.m. / 4-6 p.m. (Streaming on Golf Live Extra)
Saturday 3-5 p.m. (Live) / 3-5 a.m. (Sunday replay)
Sunday 2-5 p.m. (Live) / 3-5 a.m. (Monday replay)
Broadcast Notes:
Langer defends: Bernhard Langer finished one stroke ahead of Woody Austin and Mark O’Meara for his 23rd career Champions Tour win.
Headlining the field: Bernhard Langer, Jeff Maggert, Kenny Perry, Mark O’Meara, Jay Haas, Marco Dawson, Kevin Sutherland, Joe Durant, Woody Austin and Lee Janzen.
EUROPEAN TOUR
D+D Real Czech Masters
Dates: Aug. 27-30
Venue: Albatross Golf Resort, Prague, Czech Republic
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Thursday 5-7 a.m. / 9-11:30 a.m. (Live)
Friday 5-7 a.m. / 9-11:30 a.m. (Live)
Saturday 7-11 a.m. (Live)
Sunday 6:30-11 a.m. (Live)
Broadcast Notes:
Headlining the field: Victor Dubuisson, Eddie Pepperell, Thorbjorn Olesen, Peter Uihlein, David Horsey, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Bradley Dredge, Gregory Bourdy and James Morrison.
I believe in doing proper golf equipment reviews by putting the gear to use in the actual situations it will be used in. That’s why it took a little while for me to get this review done. I’ve been using the bag as a standard bag for a few rounds, but just needed to get the thing on an airplane, thrown around by baggage handlers, and put through the paces. I needed to test out the Caddy Daddy Co-Pilot Pro golf travel bag while traveling via air. This past weekend at Pechanga in Temecula, California was a good test.
Hybrid Golf Travel Bag – What Is It?
Why the word “hybrid” in the description? This bag is a hybrid, or combination, of two different bags. It combines a regular golf bag with a golf travel bag. Typically golf travel bags are outer covers which enclose and protect a regular golf bag inside. Travel bags may or may not be hard and often times have wheels.
The Co-Pilot has a hard top which protects the heads of the clubs, and has wheels at the bottom of the bag for rolling through airports. Those along with a rigid shell make for the travel component of the bag. Multiple pockets on the outside and sectioned club slots make up the regular golf bag component.
It’s a travel bag and regular playable golf ball all in one.
Models
There are three versions or models of this bag. The unit I’m reviewing is the Co-Pilot Pro. That’s the middle-of-the-line model which retails for $159.99 but I found on Amazon for $128. The lower model is the Co-Pilot Standard edition, while the largest model is the CaddyDaddy Co-Pilot XL golf travel bag.
Colors
These bags are fairly frill free. Not much of a color selection other than choosing a blue or gray trim against a black bag.
On The Course – In Airports – In Action
The overall footprint of this bag is much smaller than the golf bag/travel bag setup. So small in fact, the bag fit in the trunk of my cheap rental car, a Nissan Versa. The bag fit with the hard lid in place and not removed. The Versa is not a large car.
Putting the lid on with all the clubs isn’t too hard. Several velcro straps secure the lid, and there are some round metal loops on the bag I used to put carabiners to act as a safety for the lid. The straps are a bit of a pain as they go through loops which are a little tight, but keep the straps from coming off during travel.
Carting the bag in the long term parking to the shuttle stop and then from the shuttle to the baggage drop-off is aided by a well placed lid handle on top and the wheels on the bottom. Because of the narrowness of the bag though, it is easy for the bag to tip sideways when rolling. Not a major issue.
As I was waiting to get off the plane yesterday I watched my bag as it went down the belt from the plane into the grizzly baggage handler’s hands. I could tell he tossed heavy bags around for sport, probably as training for his run in the UFC heavyweight division. He grabbed my bag and threw it from the belt into the bag container, at least 6-7 feet in the air. The bag did it’s job and my clubs were unscathed. The bag was unscathed as well.
Mission accomplished.
Critiques
As mentioned before my first critique of the bag is the strap system which secures the hard top. The setup is a bit of a pain to use. I think it could be better designed.
My second critique is the weak zipper handles. I put my golf shoes in one pocket, which made it a little tough to zip. I bent the zipper trying to close the bag, then broke it off trying to unbend it.
On the name I often have a semantic reaction when I see the word “caddy.” A “caddie” is a person who carries golf clubs. A caddy is a small storage container, often used for tea.
Final Thoughts
The CaddyDaddy Co-Pilot hybrid golf travel bag is two bags in one, saving space and cost. Most importantly it saves your golf clubs from damage during travel. At under $130, it’s a good investment to protect the contents inside, which are likely worth many times more than the cost of the bag.
« Previous
1
…
166
167
168
169
170
…
1,163
Next »
HOGWire – Golf Industry News
