First Look: Cobra Amp Cell Driver
Written by: Tony Korologos | Wednesday, March 20th, 2013
Categories: Golf Clubs • Golf Equipment • Golf Gear
Categories: Golf Clubs • Golf Equipment • Golf Gear
Gear head alert! Boy is this a fun gig… In for review is the new Cobra Amp Cell adjustable driver, in red no less for my Utah Utes. Love it.
Cobra Amp Cell Adjustable Hosel – click to zoom
I’ll be putting through the rigorous Hooked On Golf Blog driver test battery soon with a full review following. Stay tuned. Until then, here are a couple of images of this fine looking piece of golf equipment. Click the photos to view the the HOG Cobra Gallery.
Cobra Amp Cell Adjustable Driver
Fantasy Golf – Tampa Bay Championship Winner
Written by: Tony Korologos | Tuesday, March 19th, 2013
Categories: Fantasy Golf • Miscellaneous • Site News
Categories: Fantasy Golf • Miscellaneous • Site News
Tampa Bay Championship Winner: Streelman
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”
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.
Filtering out the noise. Golf social networking’s top 10 overused status updates.
It seems like every golf related social network posts the same updates. Am I the only one who gets tired of the same posts? I’m going to post the HOG top 10 overused golf social networking status updates here, and you can count along as your favorite golf entities post these over and over again! Happy counting.
This list can also be freely distributed as a guide for posting if you run a golf social network. No need to work at your network. No need to be original. Be like all the rest and post all of these updates below! You’ll blend in with the noise perfectly…
Stop now. Please…
#10: Caption This
Ah yes, the super-original “caption this” gig. In this one the golf social networker will post an overused golf photo like the one with the guys running off the green being chased by a bear. Another good photo is the one with the lady golfer in short shorts with giant boobs. She’s standing over a putter and golf ball. Her boobs are so big she can’t see the ball.
My caption for caption this? “ZZZZZZZZZZZ”
#9: Name The Course
When golf social networking managers are lazy or bored they can always post the popular “name this course” photo.
Want to win every name that course photo contest from now until eternity? Google has an image search where you can upload the image and google will identify it. So download the name-the-course photo and upload it into the google image search. Winner winner….
#8: Press Releases
I’ve posted press releases. Guilty. Does anyone read them or do they just junk up the golf social networking stream?
I’m leaning toward junk…
#7: What’s In The Bag
This one is so underused, NOT. Post the “what’s in the bag” for this week’s winner on tour. What’s in Tiger Woods’s bag? Gee I don’t know… NIKE perhaps? It seems like some websites are dedicated to posting thousands of photos of every golfer’s bag on the planet.
I’ll make it easy for you here so you don’t need to waste your time reading the what’s in the bag posts anymore:
Tiger Woods plays Nike. Rory McIlory plays Nike. Phil Mickelson plays Callaway. Luke Donald plays Mizuno. Brandt Snedker plays Bridgestone. Should I go on? Lee Westwood plays PING. Dustin Johnson plays TaylorMade. Let’s see who am I forgetting?
#6: Where are you playing golf this weekend?
This one is always a winner, if you like posting the same post that 14,000 other golf social networks have posted for the last 403 Fridays.
The “where are you playing this weekend” post is best posted on Fridays and followed up on Mondays with #5 below:
#5: Where did you play this past weekend? Option 2: How did you play this weekend?
This one has been posted 400 billion times on Facebook and Twitter. Combined with the 400 billion “Where are you playing golf this weekend” posts, that’s 800 billion!
You can win this golf tee! Just fill out or contest form with your email address and social security number…
#4: Lame Contests
Golfers love free stuff and they seem to be willing to sell their soul to the devil, or at least agree to be data harvested for future spam or become a member of a lame website, all in order to win a free hat. Is a free hat really worth getting spammed the rest of your life?
Face it people. These contests are ploys to data harvest your email or to gain false membership/traffic numbers. Would you be a fan of a golf social network or website if it did NOT give away free stuff? Hmmm. Give that one some thought.
If you run a golf website please ask yourself these questions: Do you have readers/followers because your site is useful, entertaining or informative? Or do you have followers simply because they want free sh!t? We know who you are.
#3: Paper.li
Do you get these? There’s some automated system on Twitter which mentions your Twitter handle and says “The xxxxx Daily is out! paper.li/xxxxx > Top stories today via @yourtwitterhandle”
Does ANYONE read these? They’re supposed to make the person who was mentioned excited because they’re publicized somewhere but it is just content farming with ads. They’re farming your content and putting google ads on the landing pages. Get it? They’re using your own content to drive you to their site, which has ads on it. They’re making money selling ads on their site which you visited to read your material which they stole! Brilliant!
#2: Regurgitating Other Posts
If you filtered out the repetitive posts and copied headlines, the golf social network would be much cleaner. There is quite a bit of status update bandwagon jumping in golf social networking. What’s more funny is when someone’s Twitter of Facebook (likely automated) posts the headline 1.5 weeks late. Tiger won last week but their post the following Wednesday says Tiger leads after round #1! That makes them look even more boneheaded.
And now…. the all time #1, super duper mega overdone, overused, posted billions of times too many on golf social networking post is…. drum roll… the envelope please…
Will Tiger Woods break Jack’s record? I might break your jaw if you ask that question one more time…
#1 Will Tiger Woods break Jack Nicklaus’s record?
OMG I’ve read this one so many times on Facebook and Twitter that I almost barf every time now. Throw in golf forums too.
Golf social network managers please STOP posting this question! For the love of GOLF, think of something new to post!
Combine these top 10 for fun!
For fun I typed “Tiger Woods” into the search field on Twitter. I found a combination of two of these top 10 golf social posts. In minutes I found about 10 different Twitter accounts posting what Tiger Woods had in the bag for his 76th Tour win at the WGC Cadillac Championship. That’s a combination of top 10 overused #2 (regurgitating posts) and #7 (what’s in the bag). Nicely done combining two!
My little Twitter search was very educational too. I found out that Tiger was playing Nike golf clubs! Imagine that! You learn something new every day.
Stay tuned for my next golf blog post, “caption this photo of what was in Tiger Woods’s golf bag and what course he played this past weekend as he attempted to break Jack Nicklaus’s record and win a free golf hat, but only if you supply your email address…”
Golf Course Review: Country Club de Bogota, Colombia
Written by: Tony Korologos | Friday, March 15th, 2013
Categories: Course Reviews • Golf Courses • Golf Life • HOG World Tour • Reviews • Travel
Categories: Course Reviews • Golf Courses • Golf Life • HOG World Tour • Reviews • Travel
In my previous life I made my living as a drummer in a rock and roll band. I played 1000’s of shows all over the place. I’ve picked up the tour gig with Hooked On Golf Blog. For almost 10 years now I’ve been doing the “HOG World Tour,” the coolest golf tour anywhere. From St. Andrews to TPC Sawgrass to Augusta, I’ve been there. I can’t say how fun it has been.
I jumped at the chance to log the first HOG World Tour stop in South America. I spent a whole week in Bogota, Colombia in concert with the Web.com Tour’s Colombia Championship. While there I played two fine golf tracks: La Cima Club de Golf in the Andes Mountains, and Country Club de Bogota. Today’s review is of the gem that is Country Club de Bogota.
Country Club De Bogota – click to see more
Country Club de Bogota Overview
Country Club de Bogota is located in the heart of Bogota, a large city of 8,000,000 people. The course is a 36 hole private club with great supporting facilities, restaurants, swimming pool etc. The course is the home of the Web.com Tour’s Colombia Championship.
The layout of the course is what I’d call a traditional treelined parkland track. The course is TIGHT. A shot-maker’s course for sure.
Despite the tightness of the track, there is plenty of distance to go around. The course sits between 8,600-9,000 feet above sea level. The ball really flies. If you struggle with your distance and want to see what it feels like to hit it really far, come to Bogota and play. You’ll gain 1-2 clubs in distance.
Tee shots are tight! Click tozoom…
Tee
Tee shots are extremely important on this course. As I found out in my round, driver is not necessarily the correct play off the tee on all the par-4’s and par-5’s. The doglegs can be sharp and if one can’t work the tee shot a driver can go through the fairway. This happened to me a couple of times. Unless you are deadly accurate with the driver, a more strategic approach of irons, hybrids or fairway woods off many of the tees is likely the best plan.
The Andes Mountains overlook the course. Click to zoom
Fairway
If you’ve placed your tee shot in the fairway, a fairly tough task, the approaches aren’t extremely difficult. There is no elevation change on the course to speak of, barring a couple of feet from tee to fairway or fairway to green.
There are many places where the overhanging trees on the fairway can force one to have to hit a curveball around them, or a punch shot under them. Once again, a shot-maker’s course.
Greens at Country Club de Bogota are smooth and fast. click to zoom
Green
The greens at Country Club de Bogota are tour quality. They hold shots perfectly, yet roll fast and true. If you have any control over your approach shots, keep them below the hole. Downhill putts on this track are very difficult.
The undulations of the greens are not extreme though there are a few with double tiers. The speed of the greens makes two-putting difficult if putting from one tier to another.
I had a blast putting on these great surfaces. I made four birdies once I got used to the speed.
Facilities
There’s a large practice facility a short walk from the 1st tee.
The clubhouse is very large and spacious with two restaurants, a swimming pool, locker rooms and banquet/tournament facilities.
Conclusion
Bogota, Colombia may not be the first place that comes to one’s mind when thinking of golf travel. Perhaps that should change. Golf in this region of the world is a blast. With the temperate conditions and tons of rainfall each year, the courses are plush and healthy. The altitude makes playing a blast.
10 Tee – click for more pictures
The conditioning of Country Club de Bogota is fantastic and the course is a very good test of one’s complete golf game, from tee to green.
Related Links
Review: La Cima Club de Golf, Colombia
Country Club de Bogota website
Country Club de Bogota photo gallery
Golf On TV This Week
Written by: Tony Korologos | Thursday, March 14th, 2013
Categories: Champions Tour • European Tour • LPGA Tour • PGA Tour • Pro Golf
Categories: Champions Tour • European Tour • LPGA Tour • PGA Tour • Pro Golf
PGA Tour
Tampa Bay Championship presented by EverBank
Dates: March 14-17
Venue: Copperhead Course, Innisbrook Resort & Golf Club, Tampa Bay, Florida
Golf Channel Airtimes (Eastern Time):
Thursday 3-6 p.m. (Live) / 8:30-11:30 p.m. (Replay)
Friday 3-6 p.m. (Live) / 10:30 p.m.-1:30 a.m. (Replay)
Saturday 1-3 p.m. (Live) / 9:30 p.m.-2:30 a.m. (Golf Channel and NBC Replay)
Sunday 1-3 p.m. (Live) / 9:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. (Golf Channel and NBC Replay)
NBC Airtimes (Eastern Time):
Saturday 3-6 p.m. (Live)
Sunday 3-6 p.m. (Live)
Field:
Luke Donald, Louis Oosthuizen, Sergio Garcia, Martin Kaymer, Adam Scott, Matt Kuchar, Nick Watney, Webb Simpson, Jim Furyk, Jason Dufner, Vijay Singh, K.J. Choi, Retief Goosen, Robert Garrigus, Tommy Gainey, Ben Crane, Seung-yul Noh and John Daly.
LPGA Tour
RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup
Dates: March 14-17
Venue: Wildfire Golf Club at JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge, Phoenix Ariz.
Golf Channel Airtimes (Eastern Time):
Thursday 6:30-8:30 p.m. (Live)
Friday 6:30-8:30 p.m. (Live)
Saturday 4-7 p.m. (Live)
Sunday 4-7 p.m. (Live)
Field:
Yani Tseng, Michelle Wie, Lexi Thompson, Paula Creamer, Ai Miyazato, Suzann Pettersen, Cristie Kerr, Morgan Pressel, Stacy Lewis, Azahara Munoz, Na Yeon Choi, Beatriz Recari, Natalie Gulbis, Brittany Linicome, Jessica Korda, Inbee Park, Jiyai Shin, Karrie Webb and So Yeon Ryu.
Champions Tour
Toshiba Classic
Dates: March 15-17
Venue: Newport Beach Country Club, Newport Beach, Calif.
Golf Channel Airtimes (Eastern Time):
Friday 8:30-10:30 p.m. (Tape Delay) / 2:30-4:30 a.m. (Replay)
Saturday 7:30-9:30 p.m. (Tape Delay) / 3-5 a.m. (Replay)
Sunday 7:30-9:30 p.m. (Tape Delay) / 3-5 a.m. (Replay)
Field:
Fred Couples, Tom Watson, Tom Lehman, Bernhard Langer, Kenny Perry, Rocco Mediate, John Cook, Fred Funk, Jay Haas, Mark Calcavecchia, Roger Chapman, Loren Roberts, Steve Elkington, Michael Allen, Tom Kite and David Frost.
European Tour
Avantha Masters
Dates: March 14-17
Venue: Jaypee Greens Golf Club, Delhi, India
Golf Channel Airtimes (Eastern Time):
Thursday 9:30-1:30 p.m. (Live)
Friday 9:30-1:30 p.m. (Live)
Saturday 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (Live)
Sunday 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (Live)
Field:
Darren Clarke, Colin Montgomerie, Edoardo Molinari, Alvaro Quiros, Thomas Bjorn, Robert Rock, Thongchai Jaidee, Jeev Milkha Singh, David Howell, Anders Hansen, Pablo Larrazabal, Jbe Kruger and David Lipsky.
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