Dave's Blog

First Day With The New Camera

2008-10-06T00:56:00.008-04:00

Here are two of the better swings we made on the range today. Good times.

I'm going to need a place to post a bunch of these, any suggestions? Google video maybe?

Rabbit Repeatedly Misses Turn

2008-09-21T15:24:00.001-04:00

1972 BMW R75/5

2008-09-19T21:23:00.001-04:00

I'm all about the classic Beemers! Maybe I'll start saving my pennies...

The Duke City

2008-09-09T00:41:00.006-04:00

I'm stepping up to answer the household question of the week: Why is Albuquerque called The Duke City?

The answer is simple, my friends. Albuquerque was named after Francisco Fernández de la Cueva, Duke of Alburquerque, viceroy of New Spain.

Note that Alburquerque is not a typo. There was originally another r in Albuquerque which was dropped in the 19th century.

Jams for the Road

2008-08-29T14:19:00.006-04:00

I picked up a few new CDs for my drive out to Albuquerque. The pre-trip favorite is definitely The Misfits' Walk Among Us. So rockin'.

Oh, and yes, that is a ZZ Top album. Maybe I'll save it 'till Texas.

2008 United States Ryder Cup Team

2008-08-15T10:28:00.003-04:00

With last week's PGA Championship came the announcement of the first eight of the twelve American players for this year's Ryder Cup team. These guys earned their way onto the team by way of a points system. The final four will be hand picked by captain Paul Azinger.

The first eight: Phil Mickelson, Stewart Cink, Kenny Perry, Jim Furyk, Anthony Kim, Junsin Leonard, Ben Curtis, and Boo Weekley. In case you live in a cave, Tiger's not there because he's hurt.

Biggest surprise? Ben Curtis. If you've heard of him, you now doubt know him as The Guy Who Won The 2003 British Open, a.k.a. Ol' Flash In The Pan. Go ahead, Google him, he's not even the first Ben Curtis to come up.

Most awesome-ist team member? Boo Weekley. I would enjoy nothing more than to see European Ryder Cup superhero Sergio Garcia lose to a guy named Boo wearing a camouflage hat. Come to think of it, they wear those God-awful uniforms at the Ryder Cup, so Boo will have to leave the camo at home.

Worst Ryder Cup uniforms ever? 1999.

Dave's picks for the last four spots? Steve Stricker, Rocco Mediate, Brandt Snedeker and Zach Johnson.

Yesteryear

2008-08-15T10:18:00.003-04:00

Keith and Dave, circa 1995.

Best Customer Service Ever

2008-06-21T22:29:00.009-04:00

The airlines managed to rip a handle clean off my golf-club carrier. Mind you, I have one of those nearly indestructible hard case coffin looking things. Even with a crowbar I'm not sure I could break the handles off this thing. Naturally, the airlines didn't even acknowledge that it happened, they just returned it to me broken.

Anyhow, there is good news. I looked into getting a replacement handle and when I was assessing the damage I read the details on this sticker, which is stuck to the side of the carrier (click for legible pic):

I called the number and left a voice message. A few days later, I got my replacement handle. Free of charge, no questions asked.

I hereby endorse SKB and their spectacular customer service!

Post-Standard Qualifier Follow-Up

2008-05-21T19:14:00.003-04:00

My friend Ron played in the second day of qualifying for the Post-Standard Amateur, which was held today at the same course that I played yesterday. He faired a bit better with an 84, missing the qualifying number by four strokes. Hats off to you Ron, a valiant effort!

I'll be rooting for Shane and Matt at the first stage of the Post-Standard and I'm looking forward to my next chance to tee it up in a local amateur event!

By the way, two poor guys failed to break a hundred today, proving my hunch that my 90 from yesterday could have been much worse.

Post-Standard Amateur Qualifying (Or Lack Thereof)

2008-05-21T15:25:00.010-04:00

I played in one of the qualifiers for the Post-Standard Amateur on Tuesday and I'm afraid I did not meet with tremendous success. On a positive note, I was not DFL (Dead Fucking Last).

Synopsis: Super nervous on the first tee, I hooked my tee shot out of bounds, hobbled through the rest of the hole and carded a quadruple bogey right off the bat. All this in front of some rather serious-looking Central New York PGA officials. It was a par 5, which one of my playing competitors reached with two irons (more on that below). I went driver, five iron, wedge and still missed the green.

I calmed down after hole #1 and played mediocre golf the rest of the way. Mediocre golf plus a quad equals 90 for Dave, 12 strokes off the qualifying number. It was all between the ears of course. I shot 83 on the same track last week which wouldn't have gotten me in but would have been a bit more respectable.

My playing competitors, Shane and Matt, are the two best golfers I've ever seen outside of the PGA tour. One plays division I college golf for Lehigh University. The other guy was no slouch either and carded a 72, one shot behind the day's lowest score. I was mentally prepared to be out driven by forty yards all day, but these guys could literally out drive me by 100 yards. I'm usually not impressed with long hitters because so many of them actually suck at golf. Not so with these fellows. Impressive indeed.

Dave Breaks 80 For The First Time Ever!

2008-05-18T19:45:00.004-04:00

I shot the best round of my life this morning with a 79 at Radisson Greens! Yee-Haw!!

I get the first-hole jitters all the time, but I've never had the eighteenth-hole jitters like this before. Parring the home hole at Radisson for a 79? Unfreaking believable. With the Post-Standard qualifier on Tuesday I feel like I'm playing with the house's money--even if I shoot a hundred it's still a career week.

Post-Standard Amateur

2008-05-15T12:10:00.007-04:00

Next week I'm trying my luck in a bona fide golf tournament, the Post-Standard Amateur!

I played in some Golf Channel Amateur Tour events last year and it went pretty well. Those events are handicapped though; they divide you into flights based on your ability. The Post-Standard Amateur is legit stroke play with no funny business. Last year's winner was a college golfer named Zach Vinal, and the year before that it was won by Jim Roy, who used to play on the freaking PGA Tour. Needless to say, the smart money is not on me.

I don't really have a goal in mind other than to go out and experience playing in this type of tournament. There is a qualifying stage to get into the tournament proper, so that's where I'll start. I'm playing on the first day of qualifying and the listing in the paper says that I'll be competing among 66 players for 24 spots in the field.

Wish me luck!

By...your...command...

2008-05-01T19:06:00.006-04:00

Here's a tribute to the O.B., the Original Battlestar, which aired from 1978-1980. 1978 was thirty years ago, but the theme song is still deeply embedded in my subconscious.

Did you know that a bunch of characters were the same in the original series? You can see all the originals here.

Ormond Beach

2008-04-09T17:42:00.005-04:00

Hurray for us on the beach with our sea shell!

Rae and I paid a visit to my in-laws down in Ormond Beach Florida over the weekend. Thank you Ray and Irene for hosting everyone! We ate, slept, went to the beach, and played golf. Highlights included Ray holing out for birdie at the Halifax Plantation course and our visit to LPGA International where we played the Champions course.

Tom, Molly, and Jodi were visiting as well, and we overlapped for a day and a half. From left to right: Molly, Jodi, Dave, Rae, Irene, and Ray.

Granddad, Rae & Dave

2008-04-01T11:19:00.002-04:00

Cat Hammock

2008-03-11T17:02:00.004-04:00

I've decided that our house needs some cat hammocks. Don't you agree?

p.s. Sorry for the long blog hiatus!

Great Cartoon Located

2008-01-03T12:22:00.001-05:00

Rae's Internship Journey

2007-12-19T10:39:00.000-05:00

She's traveling the country to interview at potential internship sites for next year...wish her luck!

Help Me Win A Round At The US Open

2007-12-12T12:13:00.000-05:00

Golf Digest is running a contest to give a way a round of golf at the 2008 US Open (Torry Pines, June 12-15). They are going to group the winner with three celebrities and have them play under the same course conditions as the tour players. To enter, you need to tell them what you think you would shoot, and why you should be in the foursome with the celebs, in a hundred words or less. Here's what I'm going to say:

"After weighing my strengths, my weaknesses, and the inhumanity of a US Open venue, I have determined that I would shoot 105, plus or minus twenty strokes. The length of Torry Pines will cost me a dozen strokes, and the green speeds a dozen more. But with all those cameras, at least one person will have seen where the hell my ball landed, saving me a walk back to the tee. In your face, Jack Wagner."

The Jack Wagner comment is in reference to Golf Digest's 2007 ranking of celebrity golfers, in which he finished first. Apparently he played Frisco Jones on General Hospital and Dr. Peter Burns on Melrose Place.

What do you think? Have any ideas to improve my entry?

Dinner in Seattle

2007-11-16T23:01:00.000-05:00

Mmmmm, sea urchin.

World Championship Yo Yo

2007-10-18T16:48:00.000-04:00

I've been trying to find a good follow-up to my cowbell post, something from YouTube that is truly inspiring. I have found it in the form of Shinji Saito, a world-class yo yo artist. Shinji has serious game.

Can't get enough? I think the single yo yo champ is here.

Book Review: The Impact Zone

2007-10-03T11:44:00.001-04:00

Earlier this summer I read The Impact Zone by Bobby Clampett, and a book review is well overdue. I give this book three and a half stars with a cautionary asterisk. The stars are because it presents a genuinely new and insightful view of the golf swing and I thought it was great. The cautionary asterisk is because this book is for full-blown golf nerds only. If you've spent hours comparing and contrasting the swings of tour players on YouTube, you'll love this book. If you're a beginner, you may want to keep your distance from The Impact Zone.

For those not in the know, Bobby Clampett is a former golf prodigy and ex-tour player who currently works as a commentator for CBS. He is an awesome golfer and golf uber-nerd, and I trust what he has to say.

The gist of the book is pretty logical: all that really matters in the golf swing are the dynamics at work during the period of impact, when the club head is in contact with the ball. He considers many of the commonly-stressed aspects of the swing to be matters of style. In his opinion, the important dynamics that players must strive for are: 1) the flat left wrist at impact, 2) the forward swing bottom, 3) loading, 4) lag and the body pivot, and 4) the straight plane line. Each dynamic gets its own chapter, followed by a chapter on equipment and a chapter on visualization.

I got the most out of dynamic #1, the flat left wrist at impact. I'm a mid-handicapper who makes classic mid-handicapper mistakes: I tend to over-swing, come over the top, and then compensate with a chicken-wing move. Focusing on obtaining a flat left wrist at impact really did help with my swing. It also paid dividends with my bunker shots, where like many players I fight an urge to flip my wrists to get the club under the ball.

In short, I recommend The Impact Zone to anyone who considers themselves a student of the game.

Goodbye, Dome

2007-10-02T11:43:00.001-04:00

My beloved winter golf sanctuary, The Golfer's Dome, has closed its doors forever. Apparently the dome was purchased by Wegmans, who will deflate it and replace it with a warehouse or perhaps some sort of Wegmans super store.

Rae and I had a great routine over the last few years of heading out to Clay and doing work in the Barnes and Noble cafe. I snuck across the street every time to hit a bucket in the dome. I also took lessons there from Paul, who is now out of a job.

The good news is that there are a few winter golf alternatives near Syracuse. Paul is trying to set up a teaching facility in the indoor soccer / lacrosse facility off highway 481. And of course there is always the dome at the Turning Stone, which I happen to drive by on my way to and from Troy every week.

Grow-A-Head

2007-09-26T16:34:00.000-04:00

Updates will be provided as they become available...

Asterisk

2007-09-26T10:42:00.000-04:00

This story really makes my day.

Background: The baseball that Barry Bonds hit into the stands for his 756th career home run (all time record) was caught by a fan named Matt Murphy and subsequently auctioned off for $752,467. Although other famous baseballs have sold for more, 700K was considered high considering that his record was clearly steroid fueled and that Bonds is a royal ass.

Zinger: It turns out that the ball was purchased by gazillionaire fashion designer Marc Ecko. He put up a web site to let fans decide the fate of the ball: a) donate it to the Hall of Fame, b) donate it to the Hall of Fame with an asterisk, or c) shoot it into space. The votes were tallied, and Marc Ecko will literally brand an asterisk to the baseball and donate it to the Hall! How great is that?