2013 Salt Lake Amateur – In contention for 27 of the 36 holes

Written by: Tony Korologos | Sunday, June 2nd, 2013
Categories: Golf • Hackers • Miscellaneous

Another Salt Lake City Amateur is in the books. This week was a tough one. I had two pretty bad falls hiking on a volcano in southern Utah on Monday, Memorial Day. My right shoulder was tweaked pretty bad, to the point where I couldn’t move my right arm for a few hours. Starting Wednesday my bad back started to seize up. I babied the back, took lots of ibuprofen and slept on the floor. That got me into good enough shape to play the tournament.

I look forward to this tourney more than any other during the year because it is so challenging. The pressure, mostly self imposed, is high. I didn’t want to be coming in to the tournament with a bum arm and bad back…

I decided the best way to stay loose was to walk, but I though pushing my golf cart would be a problem on those steep hills at Bonneville Golf Club. I dug out a battery powered push cart called the Go-Kart, which I reviewed a couple of years ago. That was a great choice and the cart made the effort of walking much easier. I couldn’t ride a golf cart because sitting makes the back tighten up.

Other than my really bad short game I played well on the first day. I had three birdies, the most notable on the very difficult 9th. That hole is rated one of the toughest par-3’s in the state and it is nearly impossible to hit the green. I knocked a 6-iron to about two feet and made a birdie. As mentioned, my bad short game hurt me. On about three holes I had to chip twice and on several other missed greens I failed to get up and down. Final score was a +4 76. In my flight that was only two shots off the lead.

Day two started out very well and my putting, the best part of my game, was saving my ass. I made it clear to the 8th hole with seven pars in a row. On #8 I misjudged the carry to the elevated green and ended up short on an upslope. As bad as the short game was, it was a guaranteed bogey. Fortunately on the front I actually bettered the tee shot from the day before, knocking my ball to ONE FOOT. I’ve never even made par on this damn difficult hole in the Salt Lake Amateur and this weekend I made birdie, twice. Unreal.

Walking to the 11th tee I felt a twinge in my back. Uh oh. Not good. I then hooked a hybrid so badly that it went out of bounds. I couldn’t get my back into the swing and the all-arm swing hooked it. I had to tee up a 2nd ball. That was the beginning of a very bad back, and back nine. Double on 11. On 12 I had 185 pin from the right rough. I hit an 8-iron which went over the green to deep rough. How the hell I hit a 210 yard 8-iron is beyond me. Several times that sort of long clubbing happened. The ground was hard and I didn’t read the bounces or flyer-lies right.

I made two more doubles on the back. One due to a smother-hooked drive (the back again) and one due to reaaaaalllly bad chipping. I threw a birdie in on the par-5 16th, putting from about 25 feet off the green. No chip and made birdie. I hit two straight drives on the back, but getting through the ball was very hard. The 2nd good drive on the back was the 18th. I made a par to limp home with a 43 on the back after shooting an even-par 36 on the front.

My back, and subsequently the rest of my game, melted on the final nine today. I’m a bit gutted. I may not have won the tournament today (would have had to shoot 70 to tie the leader), but I’d hoped to be very competitive. The fall and subsequent back issues from the hike, and my fragile short game confidence did me in.

I had a blast with my buddies and won’t forget the cumulative three feet from the pin I was for both rounds on the par-3 9th hole. I also won’t forget my short game issues. I’m going to get some short game lessons, PRONTO.

First Look: Datrek Go-Lite 14 Golf Stand Bag

Written by: Tony Korologos | Friday, May 31st, 2013
Categories: Golf Accessories • Golf Equipment • Golf Gear

I’m excited to start testing the Datrek Go-Lite 14 stand bag. My current bag is cool, but does not have 14 individual full-length dividers. So my clubs keep bunching up in the bag making it hard to pull them out or put them back in.

Datrek Go-Lite 14 Golf Stand Bag – click for more images

This five pound bag has a lot of great storage on board as well, great for my upcoming trip to St. Andrews, where I’m going to need plenty of rain gear.

I’ll be putting this unit into play shortly and running the extensive Hooked On Golf Blog test battery on it. Until then, check out some images of the bag by going to the HOG Datrek image gallery or clicking the image above.

Golf on TV This Week – Tiger Woods & Rory McIlory in Action at The Memorial Tournament

Written by: Tony Korologos | Thursday, May 30th, 2013
Categories: Champions Tour • European Tour • LPGA Tour • PGA Tour • Pro Golf • Rory McIlory • Tiger Woods

PGA Tour
The Memorial Tournament
Dates: May 30-June 2
Venue: Muirfield Village GC, Dublin, Ohio

Golf Channel Airtimes (Eastern):
Thursday 2:30-6:30 p.m.
Friday 2:30-6:30 p.m.
Saturday 12:30-2:30 p.m. Golf Channel – 2:30-6 p.m. CBS
Sunday 12:30-2:30 p.m. Golf Channel – 2:30-6 p.m. CBS

Field

Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Adam Scott, Lee Westwood, Ernie Els, Luke Donald, Justin Rose, Bubba Watson, Keegan Bradley, Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson, Hunter Mahan, Jason Day, Nick Watney, Webb Simpson, Bill Haas, Zach Johnson, Angel Cabrera, Nicolas Colsaerts, Bo Van Pelt, Branden Grace, Shane Lowry, George Coetzee, 2012 U.S. Amateur Champion Steven Fox, 14-year old Guan Tianlang.

LPGA Tour
ShopRite LPGA Classic Presented by Acer
Dates: May 31-June 2
Venue: Bay Course, Stockton Seaview Hotel and Golf Club, Galloway, N.J.

Golf Channel Airtimes (Eastern):
Friday Noon-2 p.m.
Saturday 2:30-6 p.m.
Sunday 2-6 p.m.

Field

Stacy Lewis, Yani Tseng, Michelle Wie, Lexi Thompson, Paula Creamer, Ai Miyazato, Inbee Park, Suzann Pettersen, Beatriz Recari, Azahara Muñoz, Morgan Pressel, Natalie Gulbis, Cristie Kerr, Karrie Webb, Na Yeon Choi, I.K. Kim, Sandra Gal, Brittany Lincicome.

Champions Tour
Principal Charity Classic
Dates: May 31-June 2
Venue: Wakonda Club, Des Moines, Iowa

Golf Channel Airtimes (Eastern):
Friday7-9 p.m. (Tape Delay)
Saturday 6:30-9:30 p.m. (Tape Delay)
Sunday 7-9:30 p.m. (Tape Delay)

Field

Bernhard Langer, Tom Lehman, Mark O’Meara, Fred Funk, Jay Haas, Roger Chapman, Mark Calcavecchia, Corey Pavin, David Frost, Peter Senior, Michael Allen, Russ Cochran, Loren Roberts, Tom Pernice, Jr., Steve Elkington, Rocco Mediate.

European Tour
Nordea Masters
Dates: May 30-June 2
Venue: Bro Hof Slott GC, Stockholm, Sweden

Golf Channel Airtimes (Eastern):
Thursday 9 a.m.- Noon
Friday 9 a.m.- Noon
Saturday 8-11:30 a.m.
Sunday 8-11:30 a.m.

Field

Darren Clarke, Paul Casey, Francesco Molinari, Edoardo Molinari, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Alvaro Quiros, Matteo Manassero, Thomas Bjorn, Rafael Cabrera-Bello, Jamie Donaldson, Chris Wood, Paul Lawrie, Peter Uihlein, Alan Dunbar.

First Look: Puma Faas Lite Golf Shoes – New Lightest Shoe in Golf

Written by: Tony Korologos | Wednesday, May 29th, 2013
Categories: Golf Apparel • Golf Gear

I’m walking on air… Can’t wait to put these Puma Faas Lite golf shoes into action. They weigh in at 6.5 ounces, making them the reigning champion of lightness.

Puma Golf Faas Lite Shoes – click for more images

Until I put these through the rigorous Hooked On Golf Blog test battery, you can enjoy the Puma Golf Faas Lite Image Gallery.

Fantasy Golf – Crowne Plaza Invitational Winner

Written by: Tony Korologos | Wednesday, May 29th, 2013
Categories: Fantasy Golf • Miscellaneous • Site News

Crowne Plaza Invitational Winner: Golf Grouch

2013 Fantasy Golf is brought to you by Hooked On Golf Blog and The Golf Space.

SPONSOR UPDATE

The following four sponsors have been confirmed for 2013!

Nike Golf – Nike Covert Driver
FootJoy – Shoes/Apparel
Bridgestone Golf – Bridgestone Golf Balls
Tornado Tee – Very cool golf tees (weekly)

I’m still hammering out prizes and arrangements for coupon codes to claim the weekly prizes. Stay tuned!

It is never too late to join HOG Space fantasy golf FREE. Follow the easy instructions below:

1. Go to www.buzzfantasyleagues.com
2. Create an account if you don’t have one
3. Click on “Join an Existing League”
4. Enter League ID 233, and Season ID 335
5. Create your team, enter league password “HOG”

: Nike Covert Driver Grand Prize

Sponsors Wanted

If you wish to sponsor 2013 Fantasy Golf, let me know. Sponsorship would mean providing prizes in exchange for weekly air time, banners and links to your web site via the fantasy golf updates.

Discussion

HOG Space fantasy golf is a dual effort between Hooked On Golf Blog and The Golf Space. Official fantasy golf forum discussion thread is in The Golf Space Forum here.

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