I’m thrilled to have a new member of my drone fleet which makes capturing high quality images from the sky much easier than my previous, large hexacopter. Here are a few fun photos of Utah’s Talons Cove Golf Course, located on the shores of Utah Lake.
The last time I played here there were not as many homes on the course. There is a ton of development there now. See below:
I usually play well at Talons Cove. The course sets up well for my eye.
Hope you enjoyed the pics. These photos may not be used without permission.
I’m completely gutted and sad to report that my very best golf buddy of some 30+ years, passed away last night due to leukemia.
James “Arnie” Arnold
James “Arnie” Arnold and I were the best of friends. We originally met when he owned a superb restaurant in town called the Cinegrill, which I frequented 1-3x/week. Best salad dressing in the history of food. We became friends and realized we both play golf, and the rest is history. We started playing together as a two-man team in a few clubs and many tournaments. We were deadly as a team between his accuracy, consistency and great short game, plus my length off the tee and deadly putting. We took second in the Meadowbrook 2-man match play one season, losing to a team of two players who each had the game to play professionally. We played 2-3 times per week, for decades. We were like brothers. I’m so sad.
Arnie and me at his restaurant, the Cinegrill, somewhere around 2010
Arnie was a mentor to me. He was a few years older. He brought me into his club to introduce me to all the guys, many of whom I would form life long golf friendships with, and still have them today. Arnie taught me much about the game of golf, and about life. He was a very wise, thoughtful, and caring person who was always interested in what I was up to.
We played golf together all over the state, and even in Nevada a few times. We played in the hottest summer conditions. We played in snow with cart covers on and propane heaters warming us up on the inside. We played in hurricane force winds. We played in pristine morning conditions as the sun rose nearly every Sunday morning for 30 years over Bonneville Golf Course, Meadowbrook Golf Course and many others.
Koumbaro
Arnie was the “Koumbaro” (Greek Best Man) at my wedding. During the “crown” ceremony the best man exchanges the bride and groom’s crowns back and forth three times. He while moving the crowns he whispered to me and my bride, “this is so cool.” We will never forget that.
There are many things about Arnie I will never forget:
I’ll never forget Arnie’s amazing short game. One of the best touches I’ve ever seen. I never had a short game close to that.
Arnie was an excellent putter too. During the days when we were getting to know each other I literally thought it wasn’t fair how good he was under pressure, in competition. Later I’d love that aspect because he was my partner.
Arnie had a unique and completely repeatable pre-shot routine, almost marching in place as he got his feet set and comfortable. As soon as that motion stopped, his swing started. It was the same for every swing, every round, every week, every month, every season, every year.
Teeing off on the 12th hole at Bonneville Golf Course
Years after he left the restaurant business, Arnie would still whip up that famous Cinegrill salad dressing and give me a large bottle. Nectar of the gods. It was twice per year. I would return my empty bottle to him and say “refill please!” I would usually include a box of Pro-V1’s with the bottle.
A Great Friend
I could go on about all the things I cherish and remember about Arnie, but mostly I will never forget how great of a friend he was to me. That friendship never wavered. It grew stronger and stronger as the years went by. He was also a great friend to my entire family. We all loved him and appreciated his friendship and hospitality at the restaurant. His restaurant was our “family restaurant.” We went there to celebrate great achievements or to mourn our losses. It all happened there. The Cinegrill was where we were comfortable and at home, and that was because of Arnie’s warmth and hospitality.
Unfortunately Arnie and I did not get to play any golf the last couple of years as my shoulder was on the mend from shoulder surgery. Even before then he was starting to lose a lot of weight and strength, which killed his distance and I think part of his will to play the game. I was suspect about the weight loss, which had to be due to the leukemia even back then. Arnie was not one to make a fuss about any personal issue he had.
I’m doing the best I can to pay a tribute to someone who has meant so much to me and my family but plain words can’t begin to do it justice. I’ll probably write some more thoughts and recall some memories, but for now I’m going to stop. I will miss my dear, dear friend and he will not be forgotten.
This hurts. This really hurts.
Arnie: I love you man.
Related
James Arnold Obituary
I just passed the 1.5 year mark following my surgery for a torn rotator cuff, torn labrum, torn bicep, and bone spur removal in my right shoulder. Yeah I went big. Since my shoulder surgery on February 14, 2019 (yes, Valentine’s Day) I’ve done months and months of rehab and work to get the shoulder back to functioning properly. During the rehab period I developed “frozen shoulder,” a situation where scar tissue and inflammation builds up around the surgery. That condition causes lots of pain, soreness, stiffness and slows down the recovery. I had special treatments in rehab as well as a cortisone shot to reduce the frozen shoulder, but none of that worked.
17 more days in the sling
I’m happy to say that I’ve been soreness and pain free in the shoulder for about a month now, and I attribute most of that to….. any wild guesses? Mountain biking. I’ve taken up mountain biking this spring and summer with a new, very expensive, Specialized bike. I’ve done a ton of riding and there is a lot of work that goes into it in terms of upper body. There is lots of pulling, pushing, stabilizing and so forth. The shoulder did not like that for the first few weeks, but I believe that all that movement eventually broke up the scar tissue. Now I’m at about 95% range of motion with no stiffness or soreness.
Hit My First Golf Balls Since November 2018
After several weeks of being pain free, I decided it was finally time to try and hit a golf ball. I had been getting a few clubs out each week for a few weeks and making some light swings in the backyard to eval the shoulder and see if it was realistic to try playing. I finally pulled the trigger and hit a small bucket about five days ago. I was a little paranoid about overdoing it, so I didn’t swing super hard. I started off with some light drivers, not wedges. Driver is my warm up club and I figured hitting a club that doesn’t contact the ground might be a better introduction to ball contact for the shoulder. I then hit a few pitching wedges, 8-irons and even a couple of 5-irons. Then back to some 56 degree wedges. At that point I was about 3/4 through the small bucket and the back started to tighten up and I got a little tired. It was also about one billion degrees on the range. Summer here is super hot and dry. So I called it a day.
I was quite surprised at the lack of “bad” shots in the range session. There were two or three nasty shots that appeared about 20 balls in, but mostly the shots were high and accurate. They were not long though. I measured my “good” drives with a laser and they were around 245 yards. Not as long as I was two years ago. The irons didn’t seem to lose much distance though.
Pain Free
I waited a few days to see if there was any soreness in the shoulder or any repercussions from the session. I did have some small sore spots in the shoulder, but that may have also been attributable to crashing and rolling down a small hill on the mountain bike. It’s all back now and I plan to try hitting a few more balls this weekend. If that goes well enough, I might try to play nine holes.
Another report will surely follow.
Special event! New Royal Albartross golf shoes are in for review. It has been a long time since the last pair I reviewed, the Royal Albartross Blackjack. I’ve anxiously awaited the next opportunity to experience the luxury, performance, comfort and style of a high-end hand-made Italian leather golf shoe.
Strider Monochrome Hybrid Overview
The Strider Monochrome Hybrid is a sneaker style shoe which would work great on or off the golf course. The shoe is made from a combination of Italian leather and suede uppers and treated anti-bacterial canvas. The inner lining is super soft; made from natural calf leather.
Sizes
The Monochrome comes in six sizes: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13. There are no half sizes.
Review Soon
I’m about to start wearing these around the house during the Covid-19 lockdown and whenever I get on the course for practice or rounds. Stay tuned for my full review.
It has been awhile since I’ve had a post for the “Random Stuff You Find on the Golf Course” feature here, but it might be my favorite topic. I’ve found everything from porno DVD’s to snow shovels in trees to toothbrushes. Today’s edition is brought to you by local golf buddy Brian Pointelin.
Cue the B52’s song “Rock Lobster”
Above is a lobster Brian found just off the 18th fairway at Mountain View Golf Course. How did it get there? It may have walked from the nearest beach, only 688 miles. It may have been brought inland by a swallow. It would have to be a large swallow though. Perhaps it escaped from one of those “live” lobster cases in the fish section at the grocery store. That’s more likely. I wonder if this lobster sacrificed itself so the other lobsters that escaped with it could make it.
That’s the interesting thing about random stuff you find on the golf course. There has to be some story behind how and why it ended up where it did.
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