Golfchick sighting on Shakesville

Admittedly, I don't read too many non-golf blogs. It's a time issue, mostly. One I do like to read is Shakesville. While its success and readership dwarfs that of this humble blog, I only discovered it recently, thanks to the addition of contributor William K. Wolfrum, the strapping golf blogger I also read over at Worldgolf and on his own site.

Wolfrum recently posted a brief Q&A on Shakesville featuring yours truly. In it, I talk about how I started golfing, blogging and attempt to make my own little contribution toward promoting women's golf. The Golfchick on Shakesville. I'm honored.

Apparently there's some big golf tournament going on

Sports writers and golf bloggers are covering the U.S. Open and Oakmont Country Club with the same fervor of CNN covering Paris Hilton. No detail left unreported.

Of course the difference is sports writers and golf bloggers are supposed to write about golf. It's right there in their titles. The Cable News Network is supposed to cover the news. Even if they could somehow win an argument that Paris Hilton is news, that doesn't excuse them from failing to report on all the real news going on while they spend 24 hours on Shawskank Redemption (thanks, Jon Stewart).

But since this isn't the Shmaily Shmow, I'll get back to golf.

There is so much being said about this tournament and the golf course that I really don't feel I have much to add. Just like I do, you can get all the latest from the fine bloggers in my links list as well as the journalists on the commercial sites. I'll just watch and root on my favorites like the fan I am. And I'll be checking in with Brandon Tucker for live bloggerage from the event. Congrats to Worldgolf for getting media credentials for their bloggers at recent events!

Speaking of Worldgolf, they're conducting a survey and if you complete it, you're entered into a drawing to win a set of Ping clubs and bag.

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Another one bites the dust

Well, here is a case of a golf blogger popping up and then quickly disappearing. Usually, I like to wait until a new golf blogger has been around for a little while and looks like they're going to stay and keep posting before I link to them.

In the case of Elizabeth Jones, I guess I just got so excited to see such a skilled female player joining the fray that I jumped on it right away. That was three weeks ago. Two weeks later, her site was gone... vanished! Email communication ended abruptly.

Was it too good to be true? Could there have been a Liz Jones? A woman with a plus three handicap who was so perfectly adorable that she photographed like a pro right down to the detail of a subtle nipple poking at her cute, pink golf shirt? Perhaps we'll never know.

Maybe she will pop up again somewhere and we'll be able to hear more from her.

Until then... bye bye, "Liz Jones." Good luck selling your instructional golf books.

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Ron Mon's playing 100 for charity

Golf may not be reserved for the elite like it once was but let's face it - it can still be an expensive hobby and we're privileged enough if we have the luxury to play. That's why I love it when people use golf to give back.

Long time travelgolf blogger, Ron Montesano (wasn't he killed off in the Sopranos?) is playing 100 holes of golf on June 18 and seeking sponsors to benefit the Roswell Park Alliance Foundation and its fight against cancer on behalf of "Carly's Club."


Please visit this site and contribute what you can for this great cause.

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There's a new golf chick on the scene...

... and she means business!

Her name is Elizabeth Jones, and she's a +3 handicap. That's right - PLUS 3! I'm only a plus ONE... in my dreams.

As a recent college grad, she's struggling to make ends meet while working two jobs and fitting in practice time so she can work towards her ultimate goal of playing on the LPGA Tour.

She started a new blog where she writes about golf stuff like many of us do, but her site also promotes her products that are instructional books to help people improve their golf games. She's just trying to earn enough money to help her pay for the tests she needs to become a pro and start her golf career. She recently wrote about some pink golf shoes she got, and as an Imelda myself, I can appreciate that. I think I'm gonna like this girl.

Not only is she adorable, but she can really play golf!

It's always nice to welcome another female golf blogger to the scene, but it's a rare treat to have one who plays so well - I guess the same can be said for the guys, right? Check her out and let's hope she sticks around awhile (where have you gone, Megan?).

Update: broken links removed.

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The Armchair Golfer's new digs

The Armchair Golfer has a new gig. The people over at The Most Valuable Network have wisely chosen Neil (evidently that's his name) to write their golf blog, "Down the Middle."

He has been blogging steadily about golf since September 2005 - almost as long as I have. Like he says on his new site profile, golfers persist!

Congrats and good luck, Neil. I'll be reading.

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New putter grip

I mentioned in my last post the grip I received from Scott at Time Fore Tee (also www.tartangolfgrips.com). I just installed it on my putter and it looks great! I'm psyched to use it in my round tomorrow. The thrill I got in slicing off that heinous red Cameron grip with the stupid lettering and crown design was a bonus. I couldn't stand that grip and now I have the perfect grip to replace it!

Now I have The Goose represented on my big stick AND my little stick.

Scott does a great job designing these gorgeous grips and I'm honored that he designed this one just for us in Kess' memory. It is one of the nicest, most thoughtful gifts I have ever received and I can't thank him enough. He also writes an interesting and detailed golf blog, so check him out at the links above!

Bring on the one-putts, Kessy!

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The "other Goose" puts up a dramatic win and Jennifer Mario has nothing to say?

I can't believe it. Jennifer Mario, probably the biggest Goosen fan in the golf blogosphere, has nothing to say about Retief's win at the Qatar Masters? For crying out loud, he birdied 17 and eagled the final hole to do it - it doesn't get much more dramatic than that. AND he hadn't won in over a year. I know you've been absent from blogging for awhile, Jennifer, but come on! Where are you??? Is your book Michelle Wie: The Making of a Champion keeping you so busy that worldgolf, travelgolf and all your readers are just dust in your taillights? If a Goosen win doesn't call you out, what will?

(Photo of Jennifer Mario by Tonya Locke from the back cover of Jennifer's book Michelle Wie: The Making of a Champion. Photo of Retief Goosen with his trophy at the Qatar Masters - what the hell is that thang?)

I mean really... my Goose (THE Goose) gets more press than Retief. And everyone else is busy talking about Tiger. It's the least you could do.

The old lady diva gets the ink.

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Justin Timberlake or Taylor Hicks?

Okay, I just have to weigh in on this. Seems a bunch of folks are up in arms over whether Justin Timberlake or Taylor Hicks should have been playing as a celebrity at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.

Taylor Hicks, hands down! It's not like I'm an ongoing fan of his and I'm sure he has a record out but I don't own it (although I have to admit I'm a self-loathing, non-voting American Idol devotee and enjoyed his performances and rooted for him in last year's season). But in this competition, I have to say I'm not so much "voting" for Taylor Hicks as I am against Justin Timberlake.

That squeaky wormish boy-band slangsta actually put out a song about being sexy? He's bringing sexy back? Yeah, to the dollar store where he bought it because it was defective! The kid's got as much sex appeal as a Q-Tip. That's exactly what he looks like. A fricken used Q-Tip. He can get as buff or ripped as he wants, but unless he removes his head, he'll just be a ripped fuzzy Q-Tip. I don't know or care how good of a golfer he is. I don't know that about Taylor, either. But Taylor would never put out a song about being sexy, either.

Umm... did someone say something about sexy?

Phew. I think I just needed a forum to release my pent up JT thoughts. I don't think I've ever expressed an opinion on him one way or the other. It feels good to get it out. It's always nice to disagree with Chris Baldwin, too.

Personally, I like the alternative Patricia gives us in her poll for next year's tournament. Snoop Dogg all the way!

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Eat Golf Tools: golf course finder and product comparison

Occasionally I'll get questions from readers asking for recommendations on golf courses or golf products. If I don't have intimate experience with the areas, courses or product types, I usually refer these people to the awesome tools over at www.eatgolf.com.

Eat's creator, Rich, developed some really cool gizmos for just these types of inquiries. I like to use them myself. Rich is the geekiest stud in the online golf world. And I'm proud to say he's also a personal friend of mine.

So, I have added both of these tools to my site in the sidebar.

Golf Course search

Search for a golf course in the United States by entering a zip code.
(Sorry, Hawaii's not in there yet)

Golf Product Shopper

Search for a golf product by entering keywords. Be as general or specific as you want.

I challenge you to try 'em out and NOT think they're terrific!

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Coveting my neighbor's course: Sherwood Country Club

My friend Scott over at Time Fore Tee had the good fortune to play the ultra-exclusive Sherwood Country Club as a reward for volunteering at the Target World Challenge. I'm sure that's the only way I'll ever be able to play there myself, but so far I haven't been able to take the weekdays needed to do the volunteering. Hmmm... of course if I got an invite, I'd somehow manage to take a weekday off to play the course!

Anyway, Scott has done this for several years now but now that he has a blog he has written a post about this year's Volunteer Day playing experience. Sure, he pimps his wares in the post, the fine Tartan Golf Grips he creates - why shouldn't he - but most of it is about the golf! He wrote about the actual volunteering in another post, but I get more excited about playing golf than watching the pros play. Especially on a sweet course like Sherwood. I will play there one day!


It is quite a long write up, giving salivating readers like me a nice big juicy taste of what a day spent playing at Sherwood is like. He explains how his camera battery took a dive so there aren't as many photos as he (or I) would like but there are still quite a few! In the post, he points out how it's been very dry and windy out here lately so the course is dry and the greens are fast. Then he mentions the "cart path only" rule they made the players use that day. Usually that rule is for when it's wet and they don't want the carts to damage the course. Maybe they just don't trust the riff raff not to do burnouts on the fairways.

I guess it's awfully nice of them to let the volunteers play at all. I mean, this is no ordinary country club. If I put all my golf beans in one kettle I could have a membership at a few of the clubs around here. Not Sherwood. I could maybe swing the annual dues, but not the ~$400K+ membership fee (I think it's less if you own a house in Sherwood - another $5 million+).

So until I get an invite or earn my own way on by volunteering, I'll just sit back and covet. And read about others' experiences there to make me drool and covet even more.

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Paula Creamer isogood and calendar

There is a golf photoblog called "onedayoneshot" and that's exactly what it is. Every day the owner and artist, Patrick Micheletti posts a new golf photograph and each image is truly amazing. For a long time I had it on my links list under "other golf sites" and consequently forgot to check it regularly. I moved it to my "favorite golf blogs" category so that I might better remember to get my daily fix. Either way it's no loss because I can always scroll back through the days if I've missed any.

A couple days ago, Patrick posted this beauty of Paula Creamer. You really have to look at the photos on his site, though. It is set up to display them in all their stunning glory .

I'm no fashionista but I know what I like and what I don't. Paula will occasionally make a misstep in my opinion but this is not one of them. I do like pink in the right combinations and I especially like it with brown. In fact, I wore my own brown and pink set of duds just yesterday. Sure, she still completely over-accessorizes but she's a young little chippie so somehow it works for her. This is a fine getup. And let's not overlook her concentration! I'd like to think I wouldn't be looking at the ball yet, either.

But the real approbation goes to Patrick for his photos, not Paula for her outfits. I am simply in awe of his work.

In the same Paula post, he provided a link to a site with Paula Creamer's calendar. Personally, I like Patrick's photos better. Maybe she should hire him for her 2008 offering. Now don't go thinking her calendar is one of those salacious or semi-naked PR machinations. Paula's got more class than that. Or at least more modesty.

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Snap previews: annoying or cool?

I found a little plerb that I added to my site that shows snapshot previews of my links. Run your mouse over any of my outbound links and you'll see what I mean. I got it on snap.com and thought it was groovy but now that I see it in action I think it might get old fast. I haven't decided yet if it's annoying or not. Any thoughts?


Update: They were really getting on my nerves so I took 'em down. Thanks for the input and not complaining when I make up words like 'plerb'.

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New Year, New Gig - Worldgolf column

Happy New Year!

I hope you all had a safe and festive New Year celebration and that 2007 brings great things for your lives and golf games.

To start my own year, I have accepted an assignment with Worldgolf to write a monthly column. My first effort is now posted on the site. Since the words I wrote for it technically don't belong to me anymore, I can't post them here, but here is the link if you'd like to have a look.

When the editors asked me to do this, I imagine they were expecting my usual style of writing that I generally apply to this blog and some golf course reviews I have shared with Worldgolf in the past. However, my first piece is somewhat of a departure from that style as I chose a more "poetic" slant to start the new year. If you take a peek, I hope you enjoy it!

There will be a new item from me every four weeks over there and I have been told I can write about any golf topic I choose. If there is a topic you'd like to see me cover, I will welcome your suggestions! Just post a comment here or send me an e-mail.

I look forward to another year of playing golf and writing about it here and for Worldgolf (and maybe elsewhere). Thank you so much for sharing it with me and reading my little blog in 2006! I don't exactly make resolutions because they're made to be broken, but I do intend to write more about golf this year including posting here more frequently. Thanks for making me want to - I really enjoy it!

Happy 2007!

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Fantasy Golf

The PGA's golf season begins on January 4, 2007.

Yahoo's Fantasy Golf begins that week as well.

Join the Hooked on Golf/Golfspace fantasy golf group on Yahoo to get started in that first tournament and start racking up points for prizes galore. A lot of cool prizes were given out last season and Tony's lining up some more great sponsors for this year's fun. Oh, and I should mention - it's absolutely, 100% FREE!

I totally suck at fantasy sports games but somehow I managed to win a weekly prize last year. If I can do it, anyone can! (Hey, Tony - I never did get that Swing Juice you were going to deliver in person.)

Check out these links for more info and instructions for joining the group:

http://www.hookedongolfblog.com/fantasy

http://www.thegolfspace.com/content/view/642/140/

See you in my fantasy!

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The Golf Space heats up

Back in early April, The Golf Space was launched with a bang. I posted about it the day after it officially "opened" and at the time, there were already 157 members.

In the nearly and merely 8 months since it began, it has added over 1000 more members and today has an official count of 1204. It's basically like a myspace for golfers and already has an enormous amount of golf content, much of it supplied by its members.

My golf blog buddy Tony (of the Hooked on Golf blog) runs it and he's really doing an amazing job. Members can track their scores and stats, browse for other members, blog or read other members' blogs, view photo galleries, read golf news, chat with other members and more. There are even ways to win free golf stuff.

Check it out at www.thegolfspace.com. You can also visit my own personal golfspace URL (get yours if you haven't already!) at www.thegolfspace.com/golfchick (naturally).

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Updating my site

I recently switched over to "blogger in beta," which allows me to categorize my posts. This way, a reader can click on a category, for example, "golf course reviews and stories" and see all the posts of that nature.

Categorizing new posts will be easy enough as I write them, but the rest is a work in progress as I go back and label all my old posts. Feel free to let me know if you have suggestions for label names or categories under which you think certain posts belong.

My category "Rants and Random Ramblings" is kind of a catch all miscellaneous category. If anyone can help with ideas on how to better sort out the posts in it, I'd really appreciate it!

I also have to rebuild my links lists so if you used to be on one and aren't now, let me know!

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Funny search phrases

Keyword activity is always a fun stat to check. How are people finding my site? Sure, they're mostly golf term searches, but not always! There have been some good ones. I wish I could remember some of the better ones from longer ago, but some recent entries prompted me to share some of my favorites here:

Stupid cats brain
Colorado corn bread
Heather McMichael leaving (Heather, are you going somewhere?)
Goose abuse
I need my space t-shirt
How to spent twenty dollars (careful, misspell something in your search and you could wind up here)
Stupid birds

Hmm... I'm starting to detect a stupid pattern.

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New additions to the lineup

Sometimes you find the greatest things in the comments.

More Golfchix

A reader recently posted a comment turning me onto some more online golf chicks. GolfchiX, actually. It's a radio show you can listen to online or on Sirius or wherever it has been picked up. It features three great golf chicks: Susan Hunt, "a seasoned network cable correspondent and producer;" Linda Giaciolli, "the mother of all sports agents;" and Amy Alcott (do I really need to introduce this LPGA hall of famer?).

It's an hour long show by the "founding mothers of golf talk radio." Check it out at www.golfchix.com. I have added them to my links list. Also newly added is someone I should have added a long time ago, and someone they interviewed on a recent Golfchix show: Geoff Shackelford. I don't know what took me so long.

The reader who directed me to the Golfchix has an interesting product and I've linked him in the product category: Tartan Golf Grips.

And still another golf chick

We have a new female golf blogger in our midst. This was another discovery from the comments section - Patricia (thegolfgirl) is the new hip chick on the golf blogosphere scene. (I guess golfchick was taken.) It's great to see another woman blogging about golf and she brings a fresh perspective with her golf diary. Her style and her game seem decidedly more girlie than my own, plus she includes photos of herself which the guys will definitely appreciate. Check her out. Welcome, golfgirl!

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Do Wie really need another post on Michelle?

Or another not-so-clever use of Wie in a sentence?

Awhile back, I put in my two cents on how Michelle Wie should gauge her success (or failure). Other than that, I have avoided commenting on all the hype and hoopla surrounding her.

My blogger friend Tony over at the Hooked on Golf blog is calling for a boycott on all "Wie articles" until she wins something. How does he do it? With an article on Wie, of course. For this post, he asked me for a quote. Since he's so special, I broke my own unspoken boycott to comment for him. I figure I should go ahead and post my own words here as well and leave it at that. At least for now.

If you've ever read my blog, you know that this is actually a short quote for me. Of course I have more to say on the issue, I just can't be bothered. Here is the quote I gave Tony:

Michelle’s failures in the PGA tour events aren’t so much about her being female as they are about her lacking experience. However, her performance to date definitely indicates that her presence there in the first place has everything to do with that “novelty” aspect which is gender related. It’s becoming embarassing. Maybe they should start a “teen phenom” tour and have all the best boys and girls compete against one another. Then she could gain the experience she needs without having to accept all the sponsors’ exemptions and the boys would have a shot as well since they’re not getting those now. She does need to play more than the LPGA is currently allowing before she can get her card, I just don’t think it should be with proven players on the PGA when many mini-tour players could kick her ass. I think her ambitions are terrific and she should stick to them, but she needs a better path and better representation in order to get there instead of being a cash cow.

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