Today the Hooked On Golf Blog World Tour stopped yet again at one of my favorite places on this planet, Sand Hollow Resort in southern Utah. I logged a solid round with my dad, who had never seen the course before. I had a blast showing pops around one of my all time best courses.
One of the day’s highlights was a large drive I hit right up the gut between the hill and the bunker short of the par-4 13th, pictured below. Mind you, not between the hill and the bunker you can see. The bunker I’m talking about is not visible from this angle. I hit small lob wedge to about 10 feet and made a satisfying birdie putt.
Sand Hollow 13th Hole – May 2014 – click for larger version
My photo library must have over 1,000 images of Sand Hollow Resort’s Championship Course, along with more of the Links Course, the practice areas, and clubhouse. Despite having all those images, I can’t help but shoot more every time I’m there. The scenery in contrast with the green grass and natural red sand is fantastic.
Related Links
Sand Hollow Championship Course Review
Sand Hollow Links Course Review
Sand Hollow Championship Course image gallery
Sand Hollow Links Course image gallery
Sand Hollow Championship Course Aerial Photos
The Hooked On Golf Blog World Tour is back on the road in about two hours. Next stops: Mesquite, NV and Las Vegas, Nevada.
Tomorrow I’ll be doing a course review at Rhodes Ranch Golf Course in Las Vegas.
Stay tuned here and especially the HOG Twitter @hoggolfblog and my personal twitter @thegolfspace.
Gear I’m bringing: Cameras, golf clubs, DRONE.
See you on the road.
PGA TOUR
Wells Fargo Championship
Dates: May 1-4
Venue: Quail Hollow Club, Charlotte, N.C.
Tournament Airtimes On Golf Channel (Eastern):
Thursday 3-7 p.m. (Live) / 7:30-11:30 p.m. (Replay)
Friday 3-7 p.m. (Live) / 9:30 p.m.-1:30 a.m. (Replay)
Saturday 1-2:30 p.m. (Live) / 9:30 p.m.-2 a.m. (Replay)
Sunday 1-2:30 p.m. (Live) / 9:30 p.m.-2 a.m. (Replay)
In the field: Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy, Zach Johnson, Justin Rose, Jimmy Walker, Rickie Fowler, Lee Westwood, Webb Simpson, Jonas Blixt and Derek Ernst.
LPGA TOUR
North Texas LPGA Shootout presented by JTBC
Dates: May 1-4
Venue: Las Colinas Country Club, Irving, Texas
Tournament Airtimes On Golf Channel (Eastern):
Thursday 12:30-2:30 p.m. (Live)
Friday 12:30-2:30 p.m. (Live)
Saturday 3-6 p.m. (Live)
Sunday 3-6 p.m. (Live)
In the field: Inbee Park, Suzann Pettersen, Michelle Wie, Lexi Thompson, Stacy Lewis, Na Yeon Choi, Cristie Kerr, Jessica Korda and Angela Stanford.
CHAMPIONS TOUR
Insperity Championship
Dates: May 2-4
Venue: The Woodlands Country Club (Tournament Course), The Woodlands, Texas
Tournament Airtimes On Golf Channel (Eastern):
Friday 7:30-9:30 p.m. (Tape Delay)
Saturday 6:30-9:30 p.m. (Tape Delay)
Sunday 7-9:30 p.m. (Tape Delay)
In the field: Fred Couples, Bernhard Langer, Tom Lehman, Nick Price, Kenny Perry, Mark O’Meara, Rocco Mediate, Mark Calcavecchia, Jay Haas, Fred Funk and Colin Montgomerie.
EUROPEAN TOUR
The Championship at Laguna National
Dates: May 1-4
Venue: Laguna National Golf and Country Club (Masters Course), Changi, Singapore
Tournament Airtimes On Golf Channel (Eastern):
Thursday 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (Tape Delay)
Friday 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (Tape Delay)
Saturday 6:30-10:30 a.m. (Tape Delay)
Sunday 6:30-10:30 a.m. (Tape Delay)
In the field: Peter Uihlein, Rafael Cabrera-Bello, Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Ross Fisher, Chris Wood, Simon Dyson, Thomas Levet, Bernd Wiesberger and Brett Rumford.
Hulk smash.
The past round or two I’ve lost my cool quite badly. This is not normal for me, as I’m typically calm, quiet, and controlled on the course. It is early in the season here in northern Utah and every year at this time I’m fighting to get my game back due to 4-6 months layoff from playing due to snow. I have some raw golf talents, like the ability to putt well, but other parts of the game do not come naturally at all to me. Primarily I’m talking about short game. After time off, even a couple of weeks, the short game can get pretty bad. After 4-6 months? Its like the short game of a 30 handicapper, not the 2-handi that I supposedly am.
Yesterday’s frustration had me wanting to literally smash every club in the bag, shut down the blog, sell all my golf equipment on ebay, and quit the damn game. On two occasions I literally thought about what I could do instead of golf, for all the hours I spend practicing and playing. Alternatives which sounded more fun than screwing up simple chip shots and turning pars into bogeys and doubles included plucking my fingernails out with pliers, jabbing ice picks into my eyeballs, and listening to Justin Bieber.
I’m having a hard time staying cool and letting time, practice, and many rounds get my game back into shape. Logically I know I should improve over the next month or two as the weather and conditions get better and I play/practice more. Still, right now I’m finding it hard to enjoy shooting rounds that are 15 shots higher than my handicap.
I’ve got a small road trip coming up this weekend to watch my cousin compete in an Iron Man down in St. George. The day before and the day after I have all to myself in Las Vegas and Mesquite. Friday I’m playing golf at Rhodes Ranch in Vegas, and will visit my golf pro friend Jeff Bricker there. I may be able to squeeze a lesson out of him but at the least I should have many hours in the afternoon to work hard on the short game. I’m also visiting my friend and pro at the Oasis Golf Club in Mesquite, Adam Schwartz. Might try to squeeze a lesson from him as well, or work on the short game at his great facility.
The short game frustration comes as certain other parts of the game seem to be okay at this early stage of the season. My driver contact and distance seems to be better than last year already and thanks to a new hybrid I’m confident on long shots of 210-240 yards. But that may be adding to the frustration. Better ball striking off the tee, but worse scores because I can’t get the ball on the green quick enough to let my decent putting do its job.
On second thought, maybe I should listen to Justin Bieber.
I just unboxed the new BombTech Golf Grenade driver and shot a few photos which I’ve added to the new HOG BombTech Golf photo library. I dig the black and green color scheme and this thing looks very nice from the topline.
BombTech Golf Grenade Driver – click to see more photos
The unit came in at an opportune time, as I’m playing in a (gasp) scramble this afternoon. Scrambles are perfect for driver testing! It will take me far more than one round of testing to do my complete review. Unlike other lame blogs and golf websites, I actually put the club in play for about a month, 15-20 rounds, to be sure I’ve got the feel and full background on the club’s performance.
BombTech Golf Grenade Driver Topline
I hope to beat my opponents senseless with this monster. Not physically, but with big drives. Well, maybe.
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