Top 51 Things Golf Can Do Without

Written by: Tony Korologos | Tuesday, May 27th, 2014
Categories: Boneheads • Golf • Golf Media • Miscellaneous

I decided to post a top ten list of things golf could (should) do without. Similar to Skynet, the list became self-aware and started writing itself. I tried to pull the plug but it was too late. This list is sure to grow, but for now here are the top 51 things golf can do without. The list is numbered, but not ordered in priority.

“Trash9Network” – Here is a prime example of what golf can do without, complete with trashy content, bad photos, and even misspelling the word “caddie”

Equipment release cycles which make your brand new awesome longest-ever shiny $400 driver obsolete junk 10 minutes after you buy it
Cart paths
Morons in PGA Tour galleries who yell “you da man!”
Boneheads who yell “get in the hole!” on 497 yard par-4 tee shots
Idiots who yell “mashed potatoes”
Golf course wedding reception centers (see #7, #8)
Golf course weddings (see #6, #8)
Gigantic clubhouses which cost so much, courses have host weddings to pay for them (see #6, #7)
Golf bloggers who don’t use a spell checker (hope to hell I didn’t spell anything wrong in this piece..)
Golf bloggers/review sites who don’t know how to focus a camera (kudos for taking your own pictures though, see #40, #41)
Golf bloggers who don’t know the difference between “your” and “you’re” or “their/there/they’re”
Ex golf “journalists” who call their articles blogs because nobody read them when they were “articles”
Slow play
Publications who post photos of sluts to generate traffic and call it “golf lifestyle” (see #15, #31, #50)
Back9Network (see #24, #29, #30, #31, #50)
Changes to the rules of a great game which has lasted over 1400 years without Tiger Woods and without modern golf marketing (see #17)
15 inch golf holes
Over-watered Augusta-green golf courses
Watermarked photos of Kidd Rock
Websites/social networks whose sole fan base is there for to get free stuff (see #23)
Apparel scripts
Players who don’t repair their divots
Cheesy tour vans which are neither associated with a tour, or with a golf equipment manufacturer (see #20)
Reporters who report about Tiger Woods, even when Woods is not playing
Kenny G
George Lopez
Golfers who don’t fix their ball marks
Golf courses designed and built for the sole purpose of of selling real estate
More websites covering professional golf, recapping last week’s scores
Photos of hot tour wives and girlfriends/golf T&A (see #14, #15, #31, #50)
24/7 coverage of Lindsey Vonn, Amanda Dufner, Elin Nordegren, Paulina Gretzky (see #13, #14, #15, #28, #50)
More “how to fix your slice” instruction pieces. The first 48,892,103 didn’t work.
Grow the Game initiatives proposed and championed by those who have a vested financial interest in golf. (Thanks Kent from Twitter)
Recreational golfers reading a putt from 4 sides like $1M was riding on it. (Thanks Gary from Twitter)
More “what’s in the bag?” photos (especially those with watermarks)
Cheaters, also known as “sandbaggers”
On-course golf instruction (Thanks Neil Sagebiel via Google+)
More golf blogs
Golf review sites/blogs who write cookie cutter reviews based on press releases and not based on actual testing of the gear
Golf review sites/blogs that use stock PR images for their reviews (See # 10. Did they even have the gear in hand?)
Instagram (also known as instalame) filters on photos (see #10)
Chris Berman announcing golf – “Roger Chocolate-Maltbie” or “Woods is four beneath par” or “ground control to David Toms.” Please stop.
The question, “will Tiger Woods break Jack Nicklaus’s major championship record?” Stop now.
Dumb people who get hurt letting golfers tee up shots on their ass
Golfers who don’t rake bunkers after using them
Grouchy golf course marshals
Golf course marshals who spend 100% of their time looking for golf balls and not paying attention to the pace of play or helping golfers
Golf courses which sell you full retail green fees and let you find out the on the first green that the greens were just aerated, or that the course is in terrible condition
Golf plagiarism
Back9Network (see #15, #29, #30, #31, #50)
Websites or golf product manufacturers who spell “caddie” wrong (caddy) (see photo, #15, #50)

Feel free to comment in anything I might have missed. Just don’t put HOG on the list or I might move over to bowling.

Bonneville Golf Course Aerial Imagery

Written by: Tony Korologos | Tuesday, May 27th, 2014
Categories: Golf Courses • HOG World Tour • Site News
Tags: Golf Utah

Before Sunday’s morning round at Salt Lake City’s Bonneville Golf Course the skies were blue and there was very little wind. That meant an opportunity to get the drone out and do a quick flight before hitting the first tee.

It was a quick seven minute flight without much setup or analysis of lighting etc. I caught a couple of cool aerial photos (click photo below to see them) along with a decent video flyover of the 18th green (above). I’m building a big rig which will carry a much bigger and higher quality camera, so the videos and photos will soon be even better.

Bonneville Golf Course – Left to right: driving range, hole #1, hole #18, hole #10

Memorial Day 2014

Written by: Tony Korologos | Monday, May 26th, 2014
Categories: Golf Life • Life • Miscellaneous

Memorial Day here in the USA is a federal holiday for remembering those who have lost their lives serving in the country’s military. I have many golf pals who are veterans of different wars like Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan. I’m glad those buddies are still around. I’ve lost a few golf pals too, veterans who eventually lost their lives as a result of lasting injuries from the wars they served in, and even from chemical warfare.

Because of my close connection with these great folks, days like this have quite a deep meaning to me. Because of the service of the fine members of our armed forces, we are able to live (and golf) in freedom here.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier – Washington, DC

I made a trip to Washington DC with my family recently. We had the opportunity while there to visit the World War II memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. All are very humbling and inspiring places.

To those who serve or served in our armed forces I say hats off. Cheers. Thanks. You have my gratitude. Lets play some golf. Next round is on me.

First Look: Kentwool KW Men’s Sport Socks

Written by: Tony Korologos | Sunday, May 25th, 2014
Categories: Golf Apparel • Golf Gear
Tags: Kentwool

Big money game coming up later this morning. Normally I wouldn’t take any chances with new gear but this is the best golf sock maker on this planet, Kentwool. Today’s sock script is their new Men’s Sport edition.

Kentwool KW Men’s Sport Socks

These are a little departure for Kentwool. Normally their socks are made from 100% wool. These are a combination of bamboo and wool. I’ve tried bamboo socks from other brands over the years and liked them. Bamboo is one of the most eco-friendly materials in the world.

Father’s Day is coming up soon. I’d definitely consider Kentwool socks for a great Father’s Day golf gift. I happen to be a father, so take the hint…

After sufficient golf rounds with these I’ll post a full review. Stay tuned.

Tornado Tee – Most Advanced Golf Tee I’ve Used

Written by: Tony Korologos | Thursday, May 22nd, 2014
Categories: Golf Accessories • Golf Gear • Reviews
Tags: Golf Tee

Over the last decade, I’ve done my best to write unbiased and honest reviews of products I have actually put into play for a lengthy period of time. Some are better than others but at least I can sleep at night knowing I’ve made a solid effort, and not mailed in a review like other golf review sites do.

Tornado Tee

Today’s review is going to be something new, completely BIASED. I’ve been putting off writing this review for the very fact that I didn’t feel I could write in an unbiased fashion. Then I decided I should write it because it features a cool golf product called Tornado Tee, invented by a local guy who I’ve gotten to know over the past couple of years. Why not help a friend and business associate out? Since John is a friend, I know he wants total candidness as well.

Tornado Tee inventor John Hartline and I first met at the 2011 PGA Merchandise show. I stumbled across his booth and saw these strange looking golf tees. Here’s the video from 2011:

During our meeting at the show I noticed John was from my neighborhood! Since then John and I have become friends, played some golf, and worked together and parallel in the golf world. Lets take a look at these very interesting golf tees.

The candid biased review begins…now.

Tornado Tee – many color options availalble

Design

Let’s get one thing straight with the design of this golf tee and any other tee which is “legal” for play. The tee cannot “increase” distance or accuracy artificially. What tees can do, or perhaps not do, is with regards to friction and resistance. Less friction/resistance from the tee means less spin. Less spin means more distance and better accuracy, generally speaking. Now before you argue the point on spin, some spin is needed to keep the ball airborne. We’re not talking about reducing that.

So how does the Tornado Tee help reduce that bad resistance and friction between the ball and the tee? The very wild looking, flexible mesh gives way at impact. You see, the golf ball “deforms” at impact. By deforms, I mean it loses its shape and compresses. It becomes oblong vertically. That outward movement is where the friction and resistance between the tee and ball happen. As the mesh gives way during that deformation, it produces less friction than a regular golf tee. Bingo. Longer and straighter.

How Much Longer?

Logically speaking, the more a person compresses the ball the more the ball deforms. The more the ball deforms, the more dramatic the effect of the Tornado Tee will be. That’s why the big muscle-heads on the long drive tours love the TT, because they’re getting a more dramatic result than someone who can’t compress the ball as much.

There’s also a little bit of resistance horizontally as the ball starts off toward the target. That resistance is also a factor, and one need not compress the ball a lot to benefit.

On The Course

I’ve been using the Tornado Tee off and on since 2011, based on conditions and if I happen to have tees in my bag. I try to give them away to people I meet to give John a little public relations juice. Lately my driving has been quite good. My length and accuracy this season seems as good as it has been in a long time. Certainly the swing has the most to do with that, but the tee seems to be helping a bit too. Every bit counts.

Have I seen massive and unbelievable increases in distance and accuracy? Am I suddenly blowing my drives by my opponents 50 yards like one might expect after viewing a TaylorMade advertisement? No. Of course not. I don’t see 17 additional yards every time I try the latest TaylorMade driver either. If all that were true, we’d be hitting 1,000 yard drives and golf courses would be 25,000 yards long. I can’t quantify it, but I do feel there’s a difference in my game. Probably a few extra yards off the tee. I’m pretty accurate as it is, so I can’t say I see a difference. I’ve been flight scoped as having NO side-spin on many drives though.

Critiques

There are a few critiques that I have for the Tornado Tee. The biggest one is that the ball is not stable on the tee in windy conditions. The ball will move around and sometimes, like yesterday, fall off the tee if the winds are high enough.

Teeing the ball up takes some getting used to. The flexibility of the crown means pushing the tee into the ground is a little different. To do it one must compress the mesh to the plastic, push the tee in, then lightly pull the mesh up. It isn’t hard, just takes some getting used to.

If one has unsure hands, getting the ball on the tee can be slightly difficult. The mesh is flexible. That’s what gives it the properties it has!

I have had great results from a durability standpoint, though others may not. I’ve been using one tee for at least a couple of months. At four rounds per week, we are talking well over 100 holes with the same tee. I’m able to deliver the driver quite accurately to the tee. I don’t miss the sweet spot by much. But players who do miss the sweet spot will break more tees. I don’t hit the plastic part of the tee. Players who do will likely break it at some point.

The tee is primarily for driving the ball, but can be compressed down to hit hybrids, fairways, and even iron shots. For me, I just use it for the driver.

Custom logo golf tees – See link below for special HOG patron pricing!

Custom Logo

As you can see from the pictures in this (overly long) review, TT can custom print on your tees. I suggest just going with the HOG logo. It is so beautiful.

Conclusion

There are no miracles in golf, contrary to what the big golf companies and their ad agencies want you to believe. Tornado Tee is certainly the most advanced and most effective golf tee I’ve ever played. Will it take me from a 2-handicap to the PGA Tour? Will it make a guy who banana-slices his drives 75 yards from left-to-right hit it straight? Will it make a player who hits 230 yard drives a 300+ yard bomber? No. No gear can do that. But what it can do is give you a bit more distance and accuracy; a bit more of an edge which just might help you like it helps me… winning an extra $2.00 nassau here and there. And with that $2.00 win comes the priceless bragging rights.

HOG Reader Special Purchase

I worked out a deal with John to give HOG readers a special deal if they want to buy Tornado Tees. A coupon code of “HOG” will get you two extra tees to go with the five pack, plus FREE SHIPPING at the Tornado Tee online store. Try ‘em out and see what they can do for you.

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