 | The Green is a truly classic tale of a municipal course shark, Eddie Caminetti, who wows his way to a captain's selection to the upcoming Ryder Cup competition by beating the US captain, Alan Bellamy, in a $20,000 one-on-one match. As the competition for golf's greatest prize unfolds, you are introduced to an interesting cast of characters (some of whom, you might recognize as having counterparts on the PGA Tour) and an unbelievable sequence of events. Eddie Caminetti is such an infectious character, that you just get the feeling that he may show up in a sequel soon (I'll bet you on that one).
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Tuesday, April 29, 2003
Tueday's Golf Book Review - The Green by Troon McAllister
Monday, April 28, 2003
Monday's Daily Golf Site - Cleveland Golf
Through a few connections, I have the opportunity to purchase some equipment from Cleveland for 20% off wholesale costs. I currently have a Cleveland 588 56 degree chrome wedge in my bag. Outside of my putter, I would venture to guess that it is the most used club in my bag. While I have always known Cleveland to be a great manufacturer of wedges, I was unsure of their profiencency with fairway woods. I have been looking for a 3 and 7 wood to compliment my 4 wood for some time. So I figure that i might as well give Cleveland's Launcher Fairway Woods a chance. So today, I will be placing my order for a 15 degree and 22 degree Launcher Fairway Wood with the S-Flex Launcher Gold shaft and Golf Pride Tour Wrap grips.
The Cleveland site does a good job of showcasing their product lines. Although I would like to have a better suite of images to view the clubs from different angles (360 degree rotating image would be ideal) and there are no links out to thier resellers to facilitate a purchase. For a manufacturer's website I give Clevelandgolf.com a B-. What it gets in smooth design and understandable navigation it lacks in content and functionality. The flash Wedge Selection system has promise, but ultimately leaves me still thirsting for more content and information to aide my purchase process.
Through a few connections, I have the opportunity to purchase some equipment from Cleveland for 20% off wholesale costs. I currently have a Cleveland 588 56 degree chrome wedge in my bag. Outside of my putter, I would venture to guess that it is the most used club in my bag. While I have always known Cleveland to be a great manufacturer of wedges, I was unsure of their profiencency with fairway woods. I have been looking for a 3 and 7 wood to compliment my 4 wood for some time. So I figure that i might as well give Cleveland's Launcher Fairway Woods a chance. So today, I will be placing my order for a 15 degree and 22 degree Launcher Fairway Wood with the S-Flex Launcher Gold shaft and Golf Pride Tour Wrap grips.
The Cleveland site does a good job of showcasing their product lines. Although I would like to have a better suite of images to view the clubs from different angles (360 degree rotating image would be ideal) and there are no links out to thier resellers to facilitate a purchase. For a manufacturer's website I give Clevelandgolf.com a B-. What it gets in smooth design and understandable navigation it lacks in content and functionality. The flash Wedge Selection system has promise, but ultimately leaves me still thirsting for more content and information to aide my purchase process.
Sunday, April 27, 2003
Pine Meadows Golf Course - Lexington, MA
While I had no plans of golfing this weekend, and the pounding rain and cold weather that destined me to a Saturday of watching the first two rounds of the 2003 NFL Draft, the weather today was too good to pass up. After a morning of errands and watching the Celtics take game 4 of their first round playoff series from the Indiana Pacers to go up 3 games to 1, I decided to call around a few courses close by and see if I could sneak out as a single. I choose Pine Meadows Golf Course in Lexington as it is only 15 minutes from home and doesn't get as much play as many of the other public courses nearby.
I arrived at the course around 3:15 and to my suprise was able to walk right onto the course with three other singles; Jack from Lincoln, Larry from Belmont, and Wayne from Attleboro. The course begins with two 480 yard par 5 holes. Both are long and straight with wide fairways and very little trouble. The greens are medium sized and relatively flat. I hit the ball well to begin the round, walking away from the back to back par 5's with two pars. Unfortunately, the third hole, a measley 240 yard uphill par 4 with little trouble started my downfall. I topped my drive with my usually trusty 4 wood, picked up my head on the 9 iron approach and topped that too. I then completely shanked a 60 yard wedge and ended up "recovering" from behind a tree for a double bogey. The next hole is a 200 yard down hill par 3. I hit a solid 4 iron off the tee, but managed to push it left seeing it trickle into the marsh left of the green. I took my penalty stroke and recovered nicely getting up and down for bogey. My troubles with the 4 wood continued on the next hole as I flopped around taking a tripple bogey. Through the remaining 5 holes, I managed to fight my way through the shanks and with continued good putting managed to get through the round with a 44.
Overall: B-
Driving: C
Irons: B
Approach: B
Chipping: C
Putting: A
Course Management: B
Scorecard:
Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 | total
------------------------------------------
Par 5 5 4 3 4 3 4 4 3 | 35
------------------------------------------
Score 5 5 6 4 7 3 5 5 4 | 44
Records:
Greens Fees: $20
Equipment Expenses: $0
Food & Drink: $1.50
Holes: 9
Shots: 44
Lost Balls: 2
Pars: 3
Birdies: 0
Eagles: 0
Bogeys: 4
Doubles: 1
Triples+: 1
While I had no plans of golfing this weekend, and the pounding rain and cold weather that destined me to a Saturday of watching the first two rounds of the 2003 NFL Draft, the weather today was too good to pass up. After a morning of errands and watching the Celtics take game 4 of their first round playoff series from the Indiana Pacers to go up 3 games to 1, I decided to call around a few courses close by and see if I could sneak out as a single. I choose Pine Meadows Golf Course in Lexington as it is only 15 minutes from home and doesn't get as much play as many of the other public courses nearby.
I arrived at the course around 3:15 and to my suprise was able to walk right onto the course with three other singles; Jack from Lincoln, Larry from Belmont, and Wayne from Attleboro. The course begins with two 480 yard par 5 holes. Both are long and straight with wide fairways and very little trouble. The greens are medium sized and relatively flat. I hit the ball well to begin the round, walking away from the back to back par 5's with two pars. Unfortunately, the third hole, a measley 240 yard uphill par 4 with little trouble started my downfall. I topped my drive with my usually trusty 4 wood, picked up my head on the 9 iron approach and topped that too. I then completely shanked a 60 yard wedge and ended up "recovering" from behind a tree for a double bogey. The next hole is a 200 yard down hill par 3. I hit a solid 4 iron off the tee, but managed to push it left seeing it trickle into the marsh left of the green. I took my penalty stroke and recovered nicely getting up and down for bogey. My troubles with the 4 wood continued on the next hole as I flopped around taking a tripple bogey. Through the remaining 5 holes, I managed to fight my way through the shanks and with continued good putting managed to get through the round with a 44.
Overall: B-
Driving: C
Irons: B
Approach: B
Chipping: C
Putting: A
Course Management: B
Scorecard:
Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 | total
------------------------------------------
Par 5 5 4 3 4 3 4 4 3 | 35
------------------------------------------
Score 5 5 6 4 7 3 5 5 4 | 44
Records:
Greens Fees: $20
Equipment Expenses: $0
Food & Drink: $1.50
Holes: 9
Shots: 44
Lost Balls: 2
Pars: 3
Birdies: 0
Eagles: 0
Bogeys: 4
Doubles: 1
Triples+: 1
Friday, April 25, 2003
Unicorn Golf Course - Stoneham, MA
I was finally able to take advantadge of my more flexible work schedule, with the weather being cooperative enough, to dust off the clubs (ok, I not only dusted them off, but washed and organized them a few weeks ago in anticipation of this day) and hit the links. I woke up around 6 am in an effort to get 18 in at Pine Meadows Golf Course in Lexington, MA. After stopping for my traditional Dunkin' Donuts two donut and tea breakfast, I arrived at the course around 7 am, only to find the course closed because they were behind schedule in paving the parking lot.
Using my quick early morning mental capacities, I sat in my car for a few minutes feeling very perplexed. There was frost on the ground and most courses weren't opening until 5/1. Lucky for me I had my handy Sprint PCS operator to help me track down the number to the Unicorn Golf Course in Stoneham, MA. I called and a very friendly women told me that they were delayed until 8 am due to the frost, but would be allowing play.
I headed North on I95 a few exits, thankfully opposite the rush hour morning traffic, and made my way to the course around 7:30 am. The Unicorn is a par 35 nine hole course. Years ago it was a private 18 hole course that ran from where it now stands to the industrial park that now stands where the missing 9 holes were along I93. The land was parcelled into two pieces and sold off, 1/2 to the forementioned industrial park and 1/2 to the town of Stoneham who kept the 9 hole course in tact and used some of the profits from its operations to build an executive par 3 course. The course is 6,136 yards from the blues tees and 5,804 from the whites. While there is not a lot of natural trouble in the course layout, there are multiple OB lines in adjoining fairways. Most of the holes are pretty straightforward and relatively short. The closest thing to a signature hole would be the par 3 8th hole. While only 155 yards, there are multiple high lipped bunkers surrounding a short multi-tiered green with a ton of break to it.
My name got called at 8:30 am and I was paired up with John (the guy who only plays with a yellow ball and irons off the tees), John (the guy thats aims drasticly left and always hits it right where he aims), and his son-in-law Mike (the novice golfer who has potential). I felt strange stepping up to the first tee, of course I was first off the tee. I hadn't swung a club since last Thanksgiving so I decided to smooth a 4 wood down the center of the fairway instead of trying to handle the driver. As I stood over the ball and waggled my trusty Callaway Big Bertha War Bird 4 wood, I made my mental image of the ball rising in the air and landing 220 out. Unfortunately, my mental game was not nearly as rusty as my actual game and I duffed the ball 25 yards off the tee and sheepishly walked back to my bag. I managed to recover with a few nice iron shots and some deft putting to salvage a season opening double bogey. I started to put it together on two and three, hitting nice drives, some crisp irons, a suprisingly more good putting as I walked off with my first par of the year and a bogey. I nailed the green on the par 3 4th hole and missed my 20 ft. birdie run by an inch on the pro side. I managed to reacquaint myself with the driver on the next 3 holes and had good rolls at par on each of the holes. I ended up with a 43 for the nine with 4 lipped putts that at least a few should have dropped.
Considering that this was my first time out for the year, the only rust that I felt was with my 80 yards and in wedge game and my chipping. That should come with more play and getting my feel for the delicate non-full swing shots. I'll be rating my rounds this year in the following categories; overall, driving, irons, approach, chipping, putting, and course management.
Overall: B
Driving: B
Irons: B+
Approach: B
Chipping: C-
Putting: A
Course Management: B
Scorecard:
Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 | total
------------------------------------------
Par 4 4 4 3 4 5 4 3 4 | 35
------------------------------------------
Score 6 4 5 3 5 6 4 4 6 | 43
Cumulative Records:
Greens Fees: $17
Equipment Expenses: $0
Food & Drink: $0
Holes: 9
Shots: 43
Lost Balls: 0
Pars: 3
Birdies: 0
Eagles: 0
Bogeys: 4
Doubles: 2
Triples+: 0
I was finally able to take advantadge of my more flexible work schedule, with the weather being cooperative enough, to dust off the clubs (ok, I not only dusted them off, but washed and organized them a few weeks ago in anticipation of this day) and hit the links. I woke up around 6 am in an effort to get 18 in at Pine Meadows Golf Course in Lexington, MA. After stopping for my traditional Dunkin' Donuts two donut and tea breakfast, I arrived at the course around 7 am, only to find the course closed because they were behind schedule in paving the parking lot.
Using my quick early morning mental capacities, I sat in my car for a few minutes feeling very perplexed. There was frost on the ground and most courses weren't opening until 5/1. Lucky for me I had my handy Sprint PCS operator to help me track down the number to the Unicorn Golf Course in Stoneham, MA. I called and a very friendly women told me that they were delayed until 8 am due to the frost, but would be allowing play.
I headed North on I95 a few exits, thankfully opposite the rush hour morning traffic, and made my way to the course around 7:30 am. The Unicorn is a par 35 nine hole course. Years ago it was a private 18 hole course that ran from where it now stands to the industrial park that now stands where the missing 9 holes were along I93. The land was parcelled into two pieces and sold off, 1/2 to the forementioned industrial park and 1/2 to the town of Stoneham who kept the 9 hole course in tact and used some of the profits from its operations to build an executive par 3 course. The course is 6,136 yards from the blues tees and 5,804 from the whites. While there is not a lot of natural trouble in the course layout, there are multiple OB lines in adjoining fairways. Most of the holes are pretty straightforward and relatively short. The closest thing to a signature hole would be the par 3 8th hole. While only 155 yards, there are multiple high lipped bunkers surrounding a short multi-tiered green with a ton of break to it.
My name got called at 8:30 am and I was paired up with John (the guy who only plays with a yellow ball and irons off the tees), John (the guy thats aims drasticly left and always hits it right where he aims), and his son-in-law Mike (the novice golfer who has potential). I felt strange stepping up to the first tee, of course I was first off the tee. I hadn't swung a club since last Thanksgiving so I decided to smooth a 4 wood down the center of the fairway instead of trying to handle the driver. As I stood over the ball and waggled my trusty Callaway Big Bertha War Bird 4 wood, I made my mental image of the ball rising in the air and landing 220 out. Unfortunately, my mental game was not nearly as rusty as my actual game and I duffed the ball 25 yards off the tee and sheepishly walked back to my bag. I managed to recover with a few nice iron shots and some deft putting to salvage a season opening double bogey. I started to put it together on two and three, hitting nice drives, some crisp irons, a suprisingly more good putting as I walked off with my first par of the year and a bogey. I nailed the green on the par 3 4th hole and missed my 20 ft. birdie run by an inch on the pro side. I managed to reacquaint myself with the driver on the next 3 holes and had good rolls at par on each of the holes. I ended up with a 43 for the nine with 4 lipped putts that at least a few should have dropped.
Considering that this was my first time out for the year, the only rust that I felt was with my 80 yards and in wedge game and my chipping. That should come with more play and getting my feel for the delicate non-full swing shots. I'll be rating my rounds this year in the following categories; overall, driving, irons, approach, chipping, putting, and course management.
Overall: B
Driving: B
Irons: B+
Approach: B
Chipping: C-
Putting: A
Course Management: B
Scorecard:
Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 | total
------------------------------------------
Par 4 4 4 3 4 5 4 3 4 | 35
------------------------------------------
Score 6 4 5 3 5 6 4 4 6 | 43
Cumulative Records:
Greens Fees: $17
Equipment Expenses: $0
Food & Drink: $0
Holes: 9
Shots: 43
Lost Balls: 0
Pars: 3
Birdies: 0
Eagles: 0
Bogeys: 4
Doubles: 2
Triples+: 0
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