He is the most detail oriented homeless golf ball salesman in the world…

Written by: Tony Korologos | Tuesday, July 3rd, 2012
Categories: Boneheads • Miscellaneous

This past Sunday at church (River Oaks Golf Course), we ran across an interesting cat on the public road between the 15th and 16th holes. He’d parked his car, I mean “homeless golf ball tour van” and set up shop.

Homeless Golf Ball Salesman – click to zoom

This guy had it down. He had his golf balls all organized in egg cartons which were then organized into plastic storage bins. There was some kind of music stand table thing with his “golf inventory” book on top. For the real professional presentation he had a nice sign made up which said “mint condition homeless golf balls for sale.”

The “golf inventory” book. I’m sure it is cross referenced with an online database… click to zoom

The Sand Wedge Belly Putt

Written by: Tony Korologos | Tuesday, July 3rd, 2012
Categories: Golf • Instruction

Bellied Sand Wedge – click to zoom

The rough around here has been quite thick lately. The course operators and superintendents love their green grass. That means some thick lies with bent or bluegrass here. It is quite tough to chip shots around the greens in thick grass and I try to use my putter whenever I can because it is much easier to control the distance. The problem with using the putter is that grass gets between the club face and the ball, creating all sorts of unpredictable results.

In a case where there is grass behind the ball, like when the ball is up against the 2nd cut, I’ve had great results using a putting stroke with a “bellied” sand wedge. I know this isn’t a “new” technique by any means, but it has been particularly useful lately. Let’s talk about it.

Club

The club of choice is the sand wedge. Why? The sand wedge is the heaviest club in the bag. This will help the club pass through the grass easier.

Blade of wedge at ball equator – click to zoom

Setup

The setup is easy. Setup like you are going to putt the ball, using a putting grip. Open the blade of the wedge until it is flat (see picture). Square the blade of the wedge up to the target line and position it at the equator of the ball.

Swing/Stroke

Use a putting stroke, definitely NOT a chip stroke or swing. Keep the position of the blade (at the equator) through the stroke. The blade of the wedge will cut through the grass and make solid contact with the ball. The ball will roll like a putt.

Conclusion

The bellied sand wedge is a great option around the greens and has been a stroke saver for me lately. The ball comes out clean, with a predicable and moderately controllable speed. I can get it much closer to the hole this way than chipping.

Despite Tiger’s Win, World Golf Rankings Unchanged

Written by: Tony Korologos | Monday, July 2nd, 2012
Categories: (British) Open Championship • European Tour • FedEx Cup • PGA Tour • Pro Golf • Tiger Woods

Tiger remains at #4 in the world rankings

Despite Tiger Woods winning his 3rd tournament of the 2012 PGA Tour season, the world golf rankings remain relatively static. No movement in the top 10 position wise. Tiger did gain OWGR (official world golf ranking) points, but remained at #4. He did however move to #1 in FedEx Cup points ahead of Jason Dufner.

POS	Player	AVG Points	Total OWGR Points	Events	Points Gained in 2012
1	Luke Donald, Eng	9.80	509.76	52	191.05
2	Rory McIlroy, Nir	8.65	432.74	50	213.07
3	Lee Westwood, Eng	8.21	377.52	46	177.60
4	Tiger Woods, USA	7.82	312.61	40	234.57
5	Webb Simpson, USA	6.55	340.45	52	163.50
6	Bubba Watson, USA	6.30	302.23	48	212.23
7	Matt Kuchar, USA	5.82	302.57	52	170.59
8	Jason Dufner, USA	5.70	279.21	49	180.69
9	Justin Rose, Eng	5.55	288.45	52	182.30
10	Hunter Mahan, USA	5.36	278.92	52	181.17
11	Graeme McDowell, Nir	5.15	267.89	52	152.56
12	Adam Scott, Aus	5.03	221.44	44	68.16
13	Steve Stricker, USA	4.93	197.08	40	84.45
14	Martin Kaymer, Deu	4.82	236.14	49	56.64
15	Phil Mickelson, USA	4.78	229.50	48	131.15
16	Dustin Johnson, USA	4.72	221.77	47	75.48
17	Zach Johnson, USA	4.54	226.77	50	146.81
18	Charl Schwartzel, Zaf	4.52	235.12	52	72.89
19	Rickie Fowler, USA	4.45	231.37	52	133.36
20	Louis Oosthuizen, Zaf	4.44	231.09	52	153.51
21	Jason Day, Aus	4.28	196.92	46	57.62
22	Sergio Garcia, Esp	4.15	195.23	47	75.47
23	Keegan Bradley, USA	3.86	200.87	52	91.09
24	Bo Van Pelt, USA	3.85	200.08	52	102.68
25	Bill Haas, USA	3.84	199.74	52	96.11
26	Peter Hanson, Swe	3.77	196.10	52	111.37
27	Brandt Snedeker, USA	3.68	184.10	50	90.66
28	Nick Watney, USA	3.58	186.38	52	51.25
29	Ian Poulter, Eng	3.51	179.13	51	66.52
30	Paul Lawrie, Sco	3.50	178.48	51	127.55
31	Jim Furyk, USA	3.41	173.88	51	114.39
32	David Toms, USA	3.31	162.21	49	59.01
33	K.J. Choi, Kor	3.30	171.74	52	37.00
34	Francesco Molinari, Ita	3.20	166.14	52	87.07
35	Martin Laird, Sco	3.16	164.29	52	90.29
36	Nicolas Colsaerts, Bel	3.12	159.15	51	106.60
37	John Senden, Aus	3.12	162.13	52	64.55
38	Thomas Bjorn, Dnk	3.07	156.66	51	61.76
39	Ernie Els, Zaf	3.04	157.82	52	109.25
40	Carl Pettersson, Swe	2.96	153.69	52	118.47
41	Bae Sang-moon, Kor	2.86	148.53	52	58.02
42	Mark Wilson, USA	2.85	147.94	52	87.39
43	Fredrik Jacobson, Swe	2.84	138.99	49	38.65
44	Alvaro Quiros, Esp	2.79	136.62	49	23.69
45	Rafael Cabrera Bello, Esp	2.74	142.63	52	101.26
46	Simon Dyson, Eng	2.70	140.17	52	26.13
47	Jonathan Byrd, USA	2.69	140.07	52	69.43
48	Gonzalo Fdez-Castano, Esp	2.69	113.08	42	35.47
49	Aaron Baddeley, Aus	2.66	138.32	52	49.66
50	Kevin Na, USA	2.58	133.96	52	78.79

Fantasy Golf – Week 21 Winner

Written by: Tony Korologos | Monday, July 2nd, 2012
Categories: Fantasy Golf • Miscellaneous • Site News

Fantasy Golf Update

Week #21 (AT&T) winner: Mohicans

Weekly prizes provided by Champ Spikes: Flix divot tools. Winners please contact me to make shipping arrangements.

PRIZE BREAKDOWN

1st Place: Nike Golf VR_S Irons (forged or cast), value up to $1200
2nd Place: FootJoy complete golf apparel makeover including shoes, pants/shorts, shirt
3rd Place: Sun Mountain Club Glider Journey Golf Travel Bag
4th-10th Place: To be announced
Special Events: Bridgestone Golf B330 golf balls with new dual dimples
Weekly Prizes: Champ Spikes Flix switchblade divot repair tool

Please do our sponsors a favor and CLICK their banners to the right and thank them!

HOG SPACE FANTASY GOLF IS FREE – SIGN UP NOW! It is never too late:

Point your browser to Kerplookee.com.
Create an account if you don’t have one. It is easy.
Click on Join a private league.
Enter league ID 145
Password is: Masters

Players who were in the 2011 HOG Space league do NOT need to sign up again. You are already in!

MAJOR CHALLENGE – MAJORS ONLY FANTASY GOLF

New for this year is the Major Challenge fantasy tournament. Four majors only. Click the previous link for info. Never too late to join the competition!

Brought To You By

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

Related Links

Fantasy Golf Info Page

Official fantasy golf discussion forum and smack talk thread

PING Scottsdale Putter Winner Announcement

Written by: Tony Korologos | Friday, June 29th, 2012
Categories: Miscellaneous • Site News

Last week I announced that when the Hooked On Golf Blog Facebook page reached 1000 likes I’d give away a PING Scottsdale putter. Well now that the page is even past 1100 likes it is time to make someone REAL happy on a Friday. And by the way, click the link in the first line here to like HOG on Facebook. More cool golf prizes to come!

Bill Assman, come on down!

I looked back through HOG’s social media comments, likes and comments here on the blog to pick a patron who has been active and participating in discussions. There were many great candidates, like the college golfer who wanted a new putter or other users who wrote some very entertaining comments. I picked HOG fan Bill Assman because of his history of participation, not just during the contest but back even farther in HOG history.

Pick Your Prize

Bill, I’ve got THREE PING Scottsdale putters you can choose from. Each one represents a putting stroke type. Check out these reviews listed below, pick your stick of choice and contact me with your shipping info.

PING Scottsdale Senita Putter Review