FedEx cup a Success or “FedEx Flop”?
VOTE NOW in the latest Hooked On Golf Blog poll!
Written by: Tony Korologos | Tuesday, September 25th, 2007
Categories: PGA Tour • Site News • Tiger Woods
Categories: PGA Tour • Site News • Tiger Woods
Now that the first FedEx Cup is over and the dust has settled, what’s your take? Was it a success or a flop? Do you even care?
The goal was to get more of the top named players playing at the end of the season, and playing head to head (Tiger Woods against Phil Mickelson for example). Tiger and Phil both bailed on tournaments in the playoffs.
What I think it has done, is make the PGA Tour season end a month and half early. No Tiger now. No Phil. I haven’t watched golf on TV since the Tour Championship and I don’t care that much. I think they may have had a media rush last month but my guess is they’re sucking wind now in the TV viewership department.
What’s your take on the FedEx Cup? Please take .071 seconds to vote in the latest Hooked On Golf Blog poll.
How old are Hooked On Golf Blog readers? The pundits have spoken
The latest, and biggest Hooked On Golf Blog poll in history has finally closed. Over 1200 people voted and we now know the age demographic of the average HOG patron.
What is your age?
- Over 70 (6%)
- 60-69 (13%)
- 50-59 (21%)
- 40-49 (21%)
- 30-39 (18%)
- 20-29 (11%)
- Under 20 (10%)
Total Votes: 1,230
Blog break
I’ve been gone for a few days, three to be exact. Three days without me doing a golf blog post is like John Daly going 19 seconds without smoking a cigarette.
I’ve had a bit of a writer’s block due to some stuff I’m dealing with in the “life” category, but I’m getting back golf blogging…
HOG Space Fantasy Golf Final Standings And Winners
Wow what a FUN fantasy season. There was some serious competition for the killer prizes in the HOG Space Fantasy Golf League and it came right down to the end to determine the winners.
My thanks to those who participated and especially to the sponsors who provided thousands of dollars worth of prizes.
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FINAL 2007 RESULTS Drum roll please…
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Season long grand prize $1000 golf belt: A custom engraved alligator skin golf belt with built in ball marker and repair tool from Green Friendly Golf valued at $1000 (yes a $1000 golf belt!).
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1st & 2nd Half Prizes
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Runner-Up Prizes
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Season long 3rd place winner: An RX Hybrid from Alpha Golf Clubs. |
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Weekly Prizes
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| HOG & TGS branded A-Balance Golf Tees |
Flexie-T |
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Prize winners please give me your shipping info. Some prizes will be shipped directly from sponsors and some I have here.
I look forward to trying to top 2007’s fantasy season for 2008. If you have suggestions for next season, or would like to be a sponsor next year please let me know. I’m especially interested in exploring the possibility of doing the league somewhere other than the yahoo fantasy site. Is there a better place which is free?
Bernardus Lodge & Winery Review
Written by: Tony Korologos | Friday, September 21st, 2007
Categories: Golf Life • Golf Lifestyle • Miscellaneous • Reviews • Travel
Tags: Bernardus • Carmel • Monterey • Wine
Categories: Golf Life • Golf Lifestyle • Miscellaneous • Reviews • Travel
Tags: Bernardus • Carmel • Monterey • Wine
This is the 2nd post in my series of Mazda Blogger Retreat related articles. As a byproduct of being hosted by my great friends at Mazda, I had the privilege of staying three days at the Bernardus Inn and Winery in Carmel, California. That privilege included enjoying all of the wonderful services, amenities, food, wine and atmosphere the Bernardus is famous for.
Bernardus Lodge
The Bernardus Lodge is a 57 room paradise, nestled in the hills and vineyards of the Carmel valley. My room was room #57. The lodge’s rooms are very large and extremely comfortable. My room had a huge bathroom with two sinks, two person tub, huge shower, fireplace, couch, king sized bed and its own private porch overlooking the beautiful landscape.
Above: Bernardus lodge rooms and bocce field.
I would have been content to stay in the room for three days but I was happy to enjoy the rest of the property. I took a nice walk by the vineyards and gardens. I had a great time playing bocce ball (I’d call it lawn bowling, pictured above). I didn’t have time to hit the training room, the big pool or the tennis courts but they’re definitely worth a mention.
Spa
One of the best parts of the Bernardus is the spa. I spent a whole afternoon there, being pampered in ways I didn’t even know existed before I got there. The spa offers skin treatments, massages, pedicures, manicures, waxing and more.
You get to the spa about 30 minutes before your treatment, and put on a luxurious robe and slippers in the locker room. For before, after, and between treatments, there’s a waiting room where you hang out, drink water and nibble on fresh fruit.
The spa has its own “warming pool” outside (pictured below), where you can take a refreshing dip. Many of my blogger friends were hanging out by the warming pool, drinking Bernardus wine and eating fruit. I saw someone getting a pedicure outside there too.
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spa entrance |
My first spa treatment was a full body Swedish massage. The masseuse was amazing and pinpointed knots in my neck and shoulders within seconds. Those knots are a result of hours of blogging, slouched over my laptop. With some special attention, my knots in my neck were gone and the rest of my body was very relaxed and loose.
After my first treatment I had a few minutes to replenish some water before I was “whisked” to my second treatment: Exfoliation. Exfoliation is a process where the dead skin cells are rubbed off your body.
First warm butter was poured on each section of my body that the technician was working on. Then a lavender oil and lavender bud mix was used to brush the dead skin away. The lavender buds were from the Bernardus garden.
After rinsing off all the butter, oil and buds, another oil is applied to the body to replenish the oils lost in the process.
Though I loved the massage, the exfoliation process was about as “feel good” as I could get.
After my spa treatments I spent some time in the warming pool and the steam room. I was very spent by the end of the afternoon but I felt great.
Wine & Winery
In the evening, Bernardus wine makers set up a wine tasting table next to the bocce field. I tested out various versions of the wonderful wines from the Bernardus winery.
I was also lucky enough to spend some time up in the Carmel mountains at the Bernardus winery. There I checked out the barrels, the manufacturing and the fields where they’re growing millions of grapes.
Don’t tell them, but when nobody was watching I managed to sneak into their lab too. It looked like the scientist’s lab from Frankenstein–test tubes, scientific devices, notes, calculators and a periodic table of the elements… I even saw a cool map of all the vineyards (below) and what types of wines are growing in them.
Above: Bernardus vineyard map
Food
The culinary staff at the Bernardus is amazing. Over the three days I was there, several of the food items I ate were hands down the best I’d ever had. I’m not a big seafood guy, but they had some kind of crab salad that I gobbled up. I had the best pizza ever: goat cheese, kalamata olives and artichoke hearts (fresh picked from the Bernardus garden). I had the best chicken I’ve ever eaten which was marinated in herbs and lemon which were picked on site. Man, even the bacon I had with breakfast was by far the best damn bacon I’d ever had. Speaking of breakfast, I had fresh squeezed cranberry juice too. Yes the berries were grown on site. Oh, how can I not mention the fillet mignon which was so tender I thought I could chew it with my tongue and not my teeth?
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salmon |
The desserts… Oh boy. All of the desserts were hand made, even down to the chocolate truffles. I hate nuts and almonds. But I had an almond truffle that turned me into a nut…..lover. One taste bud overload was the fresh strawberries from the garden, dipped in chocolate.
(I’m going to take a break from writing this post now, since I’ve made myself hungry….. OK break over)
How can this relate to golf?
About a 10-15 minute drive from the Bernardus lodge are three golf courses ranked in the top 50 according to Golf Magazine. You may have heard of Pebble Beach? Pebble is #4 on the list, right behind Augusta National. Next door you can find Cypress point and Spyglass Hill, #2 and #48 respectively.
Conclusion
If you are heading to the Monterey, Pebble Beach, Carmel area for some golf or just plain vacation, consider staying at the Bernardus Lodge. Your mind, your body, your taste buds and your tum-tum will be inundated with wonderful sensations.
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