I’m happy to report that my friend Kevin Foley made the cut this week at the PGA Tour’s Sony Open in Hawaii. This is his FIRST PGA Tour event, ever. He started off great, making birdie on his first hole of his PGA Tour career. His first round of -3 was highlighted by an eagle chip-in on his final hole (the 9th hole since he started on the back nine).
Since making the cut Kevin isn’t exactly lighting up the scoreboard, but he’s making money in his first event.
Well done. Keep it going!
It is my dad’s birthday today. My dad has introduced me to two lifelong sports, golf and skiing. He is awesome at both and has been a great role model and teacher on the golf course, the slopes, and in life.
Champions!
I jokingly say I’ll never forgive my dad for introducing me to such a great game (golf). I’ve greatly enjoyed the many 1000’s of rounds of golf we’ve shared, especially when we beat his country club sandbagger friends out of their cash. That’ll teach ’em.
At 77 pop can still play some great golf. He’s STILL playing my old Titleist 983K driver with a stiff shaft and 8.5 degrees. I can’t even hit that damn thing now! I keep trying to give him newer and more modern drivers but he keeps going back to that one. We have teamed up over the years to win many father/son and two-man championships! We’ve also had some of those really bad days where we both sucked, finishing DFL. Tough to feel like you let your partner down on those days but still a ton of fun.
Speaking of championships, I’ll never forget the day I went to the club to cash in my winnings from one of the tournaments we won. I picked out some nice apparel and brought it up to the counter. The pro asked for my payment and I told him to just take the funds from my winnings in the last tournament. His response was, “your dad spent all the winnings…” I put my tail between my legs and put the stuff back on the racks. Dad thought it was quite funny and I do now, sort of.
Happy birthday dad. Yes it is today.
Here’s a note from Bandon Dunes Founder Mike Keiser on a new project called Sand Valley. Anything which is a “cross between Pine Valley and Sand Hills” is good in my book.
January 9, 2014 – Nekoosa, Wisconsin
From: Mike Keiser – Founder, Bandon Dunes Golf Resort
I have purchased the land and The Founders and I have decided to build the first of four golf courses at Sand Valley. The first course will be designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw (Bandon Trails, Cabot Cliffs). Design work will begin as soon as the snow melts and we plan to be open for play in Spring 2016.
With Cabot Cliffs (Inverness, Nova Scotia) underway and Gil Hanse and I working on Bandon Links (Bandon, OR), I really tried to resist this project, but within 30 minutes of being on site, I was hooked. It is a thrilling dunescape – a cross between Pine Valley and Sand Hills.
This is great. Arguably the best golf developer of the last 50 years writes a 4 sentence press release about a project which will likely be right up there with Bandon Dunes. Love it.
Sand Valley Golf Proximity
Coore – Crenshaw – Keiser
Kevin Foley (middle), caddie Mike Foley (left), me (right)
The PGA Tour’s first full field event of 2014 is this week at Waialae Country Club in Hawaii, the Sony Open. Click here for Sony Open TV times.
For 2014 I’m going to be keeping a close eye on a PGA Tour rookie who I had the pleasure of meeting and playing golf with last year while at the Colombia Championship in Bogota. Kevin Foley is his name. Kevin qualified for the PGA Tour by making the top 25 on the 2013 Web.com Tour. That finish was mostly due to winning the first event of the 2013 Web.com Tour season, the Panama Claro Championship.
I had a blast playing golf with Kevin in Colombia. His 3-iron goes about 50-75 yards farther than my driver. I measured my 5-iron against his too, about 40-50 yards difference and his goes way straighter. A different game for sure. Then again who am I fooling? I’m not a pro golfer. Pro blogger, yes but pro golfer no.
I got to see Kevin and talk to him very briefly in the fall when the Web.com Tour was here in Salt Lake, my back yard, for the Utah Championship. That’s where I caught the photo below, which I really dig (patting self on back).
Kevin Foley bunker shot – 2013 Web.com Tour Utah Championship
Kevin is in the field this week at the Sony Open. The PGA Tour is a big step up from the Web.com and there will be a lot of pressure. I’ll be keeping close tabs on Kevin through the year and hopefully reporting on some great finishes. The goal now is to STAY on tour. Many rookies have a tough go their first year, unlike the amazing Jordan Spieth. They miss a bunch of cuts and end up losing their card for the next year.
Here’s to Kevin having a great 2014. Not asking too much, just keeping that Tour card for 2015. I’ll be watching.
I’ve begun the evaluation period for my review of the new Ecco Street EVO One hybrid golf shoes. Today I wore them to the office and luxuriated comfortably all day in them. Upon arrival at HOG World Headquarters (my house) the driveway needed shoveling, about four inches of snow.
Shoveling snow in shorts and golf shoes… This is normal.
With fresh treads and waterproof shoes, I shoveled the driveway. The Street Evo’s performed very well in the snow. Never slipped. Feet dry. Toes warm.
These are hybrids, but not just a hybrid street/golf shoe. We’re talking street/golf/snow hybrid.
Phase one of the review complete. Looking forward to phase 2, playing golf in them when the snow melts or when I leave town for green grass.
« Previous
1
…
282
283
284
285
286
…
1,163
Next »
HOGWire – Golf Industry News
