Obnoxious American in St. Andrews

Written by: Tony Korologos | Wednesday, October 23rd, 2013
Categories: Golf • Golf Courses • HOG World Tour • Miscellaneous
Tags: Travel

It is July 2, 2013 and I’ve arrived in one of my favorite places in the world, St. Andrews, Scotland. Though my Greek genes are dominant, I’m actually half Scottish. Greek mixed with Scot. That means I love links golf and feta cheese, often at the same time.

After checking in at the hotel in St. Andrews the first place my pals and I went was to the Old Course to get on the waiting list. The good news was that I’d be playing the Old with my good friend and caddie John Boyne, and my best friend Al Nelson.

While waiting, John and I were watching players coming home on the 18th hole. Our vantage point was directly behind the green. There’s a small fence there where locals hang out and watch the “gophers” come in.

Behind the 18th Green – Old Course – St. Andrews, Scotland

A ball goes through the green, a “wee bit” hot and settles in some long grass behind the green and about five feet in front of us. The grass is long enough that it has gone to seed. In comes the group, obviously Americans, to survey their shots. The player who hit the long shot is loud and obnoxious. This guy epitomizes the opposite of what I wished we Americans portrayed in foreign countries.

When Mr. Obnoxious American gets to his ball he surveys the situation. He’s presented with 10 inch long grass behind and around his ball and a very tricky, fast shot with a ton of break in it. He reaches down, presumably to move a few loose impediments, but that’s not what he did. Instead, he started pulling the grass right out of the ground. It was no accident. He was improving his lie. John and I were, as they say in the UK, “gobsmacked.” We looked at each other in silent disbelief.

Mr. Obnoxious then walked his line, checking out the break. Upon returning to his ball, as if to confirm to John and me what we weren’t sure we just saw, he started pulling grass again! By now his lie isn’t too bad. He hits quite a good shot which ends up about 14 inches from the cup.

We thought we had seen it all at that point but to our horror, we had not. Mr. Obnoxious then went up to tap his putt in. He stood over it for a second, concentrating, then took a huge swing at the ball and knocked it off the green, nearly to The Links road and the Tom Morris golf shop. Laughing proudly at himself he looked at his group and sarcastically shouted “oops!”

John and I were astonished.

I couldn’t help thinking to myself, “you spend thousands of dollars to go on the golf trip of a lifetime to the Home of Golf. You’ve waited your whole life to get to this place. You are playing the 18th green of the most famous and historic golf course in the world, where every one of the greatest golfers in the history of the sport have played. You then cheat twice by pulling grass from your lie and then sarcastically and intentionally miss your 14 inch finishing putt, in front of the ghost of Old Tom Morris. You never bother to finish the final hole, or the round.”

I know Americans in St. Andrews are a double edge sword. The caddies love us and hate us at the same time. They hate us because of obnoxious jerks like this guy who make us all look bad. They love us because, well, we are the biggest tippers of all the tourists who go to St. Andrews.

I can’t imagine the agony this obnoxious American’s poor caddie had to endure, and the wee tip he probably received for his services. Surely the prior 17.5 holes must have been a nightmare. Who knows what other asinine things this guy did or said. Somehow I wish I could buy the caddie, hell, the rest of this guy’s group, a wee pint to kill the pain.

To my friends and caddies in Scotland: we’re not all like that.

FORE!! Axel & Hudson Golf Apparel for Boys & Girls

Written by: Tony Korologos | Monday, October 21st, 2013
Categories: Golf Apparel • Golf Gear • Golf Life • Golf Lifestyle • Reviews
Tags: Golf Apparel • golf reviews

FORE!! Axel & Hudson – The “ensemble”

Fore!! Axel & Hudson is the child, no pun intended, of apparel designer Paul Nguyen. Before forming the company, he designed for Lucky Brand, Babystyle and Baby Nay. The garments are primarily made from very soft and eco-friendly bamboo/spandex.

I was thrilled to learn that Fore!! Axel & Hudson wanted to submit some products for me to review. On October 28, 2012 my little boy babe Seve was born. Seve’s name was inspired by golf legend Seve Ballesteros and outfitting him in some killer golf related, classy and comfortable baby threads sounded great.

One problem, the sizes I received were on the large size. So I had to wait from June when the product arrived, to October when the little guy had gotten big enough to fit in them. He’s still a bit small for them, but I couldn’t wait much longer to get this piece done and send some love to Fore!! Axel & Hudson.

Featured in this article are a few items which are in black headers below.

Crinkle Plaid Driver Cap

Straight out of Scotland, or at least it looks like it, is the Crinkle Plaid Driver Cap (first picture). This is a fantastic piece and when Seve doesn’t mind having it on, he looks very dapper. The cap is made from 100% cotton and has adjustable leather side tabs. Lots of room to grow into on this one.

Sizes range from 48cm to 56cm. No, my head isn’t that small unfortunately.

Nice golf polo and striped shorts… click to zoom

Poncho Stripe Shorts

Once again, master Seve has cooler threads than me. In this case, his Poncho Stripe Shorts (first two photos). These are 100% cotton so they are soft and comfortable. The front fly zips and the waistband is an adjustable elastic, which is great for kids as they grow.

Sizes for this $44 retail ($31 on sale) item are the same range as the Linen & Stripe Vest, which these shorts go well with: 12 months to 12 years.

Gray Linen & Stripe Vest

Available in sizes from 18 months to boys 10/12, this vest (first photo) is more stylish than anything I have in my own wardrobe. This slim cut vest features leather insets and welt pocket details.

Retail on this vest is $54.00 but the Fore!! website has them on sale at $38.

Shirts

Master Seve has a couple of great Fore!! Axel & Hudson golf shirts. Pictured in the “ensemble” (I don’t even have an ensemble) with the vest and Poncho Stripe shorts is a great, 3-button v-neck polo with plaid collar insert which matches the pocket accent.

Killer orange golf polo – click to zoom

Seve also has a fantastic orange polo with fabric so soft it feels like silk (last picture). The buttons and pocket configuration are very stylish. Wish I had a shirt like that…

Conclusion

Not only are the pieces very stylish, they’re super durable yet soft. I need to see if I can get Paul Nguyen to make the same pieces in an adult XL!

It has been a blast taking the photos of baby Seve for this review and I can tell Seve digs the threads.

FORE!! Axel & Hudson website

Golf Apparel Review: Dunning Golf Stretch Thermal 1/4-Zip

Written by: Tony Korologos | Friday, October 18th, 2013
Categories: Golf Apparel • Golf Gear • Golf Life • Golf Lifestyle • Reviews • Web.com Tour
Tags: Dunning Golf • Golf Apparel

Dunning Stretch Thermal 1/4-Zip Pullover – click to zoom

When the Hooked On Golf Blog World Tour was in Bogota, Colombia earlier this year, I had the great opportunity to play a round of golf with Kevin Foley. Kevin had just won the Panama Championship the week before on the Web.com Tour. That win would help propel Kevin to attaining a 2014 PGA Tour card.

During that round I couldn’t help notice the fantastic apparel setup Kevin was sporting. I saw the Dunning label on the trousers and wasn’t familiar with the brand at that time. A few months later, now that I’m becoming familiar with the line, Dunning is in the running (so to speak) to be my favorite apparel company. Read on for another reason why.

Stretch Thermal 1/4-Zip

I’m reviewing Dunning’s Stretch Thermal 1/4-Zip product. This is a beautiful garment. The photos can’t do it justice. This pullover is meant for insulation but still provides breathability. The 1/4-Zip is perfect for fall golf in north america. Right now a bit of insulation and protection from the cold and wind is needed.

Specs

The 1/4-Zip is made from 88% polyester and 12% spandex. Thank goodness. No cotton. Not a fan of cotton with the wrinkles, shrinking and such. With a spandex/poly combo, we’re talking very little care required and ironing only if needed. I haven’t needed to yet.

The pullover has a drawstring waist which helps to seal out the cold as well as keep it out of the way of the golf swing. In my case, sometimes outerwear gets in the way of my putting stroke because I bend over quite a bit. The 1/4-Zip allows me to bury my opponents with my deadly putting without worrying about the putter snagging or the garment resisting.

The sleeves are a trimmer fit too, to aid in playability.

“I’ll get the stick, and I’ll enjoy holding it since I’m so warm and comfortable in my Dunning pullover!”

Sizes/Colors

The Dunning Stretch Thermal 1/4-Zip comes in six colors: Reef (pictured), Black, Charcoal, Halo, White, Zephyr.

Sizes: Small, Medium, Large, Extra-Large, Double Extra Large.

On The Course – On The Town

Playing golf with the 1/4-Zip is a breeze, and it keeps the breeze from cooling me off too much. The full game from tee to green is a pleasure. No binding, pulling…zero restriction.

I love wearing the Stretch Thermal around town too. Anything from driving to chilling out at a local establishment enjoying frosty beverages.

Conclusion

I’m a big Dunning Golf fan in the early stages of addiction…

The Stretch Thermal performs perfectly on the course, yet is nice enough to wear in the clubhouse, and I’m talking about the fancy restaurant, not just the cafe.

Related Links

Hooked On Golf Blog Dunning Photos

Dunning Stretch Pique Multi Strip Polo Review

Dunning Golf Website

Coming Soon: Aerial Video and Photos of Golf Courses (and Nude Beaches)

Written by: Tony Korologos | Thursday, October 17th, 2013
Categories: Miscellaneous • Site News

My birthday was last week and the lovely lady got me perhaps the coolest birthday gift ever, a DJI Phantom remote control quadcopter. WTF is a DJI Phantom quadcopter you ask? See the image below.

DJI Phantom Quadcopter

The unit is a very small four propeller remote control helicopter with GPS function. The copter comes with a GoPro camera mount so you can shoot video or still images from high above, like the shot of my house below.

HOG World Headquarters from above

Here is my first aerial photo of a golf course, River Oaks hole #12.

Aerial Shot – River Oaks Golf Course Hole #12

I learned some things today doing the golf shot above:

Don’t fly the copter in high wind unless you like chasing it 500 yards and having to hop a fence to get it after it crash lands in a tree, and then have to pick burrs out of your clothes for the next hour.
GoPro still images SUCK balls and the video isn’t much better. The fisheye effect is lame. This photo is massively enhanced, even the fisheye compensated for in photoshop, and still isn’t close to good enough. I’m too used to shooting with my big Nikon. All whining aside, the photo still is cool.

More quadcopter photos soon. First though, I need to learn how to fly the damn thing. I especially need to work on the emergency landing procedure!

Utah’s Hidden Valley CC Votes Down Rees Jones Redesign, Ups Reward to $10,000 for Vandalism Information

Written by: Tony Korologos | Thursday, October 17th, 2013
Categories: Boneheads • Golf Courses
Tags: Golf Courses • Golf Utah

Hidden Valley Country Club – Mountain Nine – 3rd Hole

Last week I posted an article about one of my favorite Utah golf courses, Hidden Valley Country Club. HVCC is one I’ve played 1000’s of times and I absolutely love the course.

Redesign NOT

The club has been considering a course redesign by Rees Jones and the membership voted last week. 60% of the votes were in favor of NOT doing the redesign.

I’d have to say this is once more a case of “sometimes the best decision is to do nothing.” I don’t feel the course needs a major overhaul. It could use some tweaking, sure. Fixes in drainage and irrigation and a few other maintenance things would be appropriate. Perhaps a few new strategically placed tee boxes. Not $5+ million worth of work and certainly not work which would close down ⅓ of the course for three consecutive years.

Some of the membership seems to think the course will lose its playability and stature as time goes on. “We have a great club at the present time, but we have to look to the future and make sure we can say this ten years from now.” I’m not sure where this line of thinking comes from. Members make a great club first, then the course. 10 years from now the course will still be a gem and a joy to play and its only about 1300 years younger than the Old Course at St. Andrews. Do the members of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club worry so much about upgrading the course so that it would still be great 10 years down the road?

Hidden Valley Country Club – Poisoned Tree – Mountain Course 8th Hole – click to zoom

Vandalism Reward Bumped Up To $10,000

In the same article last week I mentioned that the club had offered a $2,500 reward for information leading to the vandal (or vandals) who poisoned the trees on the Mountain nine, holes #6 and #8. Those were two of the three most strategic and crucial trees on the 27-hole course.

Add a 3rd tree now, and bump up the reward to $10,000.

The Valley Course hole #5 tree, a classic tree in the middle of the fairway which eats drives and forces players to execute great shots to either side, is now dying.

For someone to stoop so low as to poison trees on their golf course is beyond my comprehension. The golf gods will certainly curse these assholes with a lifetime case of the yips. This person (or persons) deserves some maffia style justice, the kind which involves a pair of pliers and a 9-iron. For good measure, add a Joe Pesci skull vice procedure like in the movie Casino.

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