Golf Blog by The Orlando Golf Blogger

Our friends over at the Hackers Paradise are putting on another totally awesome contest.

Here’s a link to the forum with the details.

The Hackers Paradise – OnPar GPS Giveaway

It’s pretty simple to enter the drawing.

1. Be a registered member of the forum (free and takes like two seconds)
2. Answer the three scavenger hunt questions
3. Wait to see if you’re picked

The GPS looks amazing, no annual membership, over 300 courses on the unit at one time, touch screen… drool..

Hopefully I can get my hands on one of these soon!

Have a great weekend!

Golfballnut.com is running a Halloween special on Titleist Pro-V1’s.

They’re selling a dozen near mint recycled Titleist Pro-V1’s for $14.55. If you add the coupon code twitter5, they’ll take an additional 5% off the order bringing it down to $13.82.

I chose ground shipping and it brought the total price up to $20.65.

That’s not a bad haul for 20 bucks! I’ve ordered from these guys before and I was very impressed with the quality of the golf balls. There was only a couple balls that had any visible imperfections. About 1/2 the golf balls were logo golf balls.

What’s your stance on refurbished golf balls?

-Dave

The 2nd Annual Future Stars Foundation Pro-am is happening on February 20th, 2010 over at Errol Estates Country Club.

The price per person is $200 and it includes a round of golf and dinner.

The tournament is going to be a modified bramble format, where one pro will be paired up with three amateurs. I don’t know what the exact modifications are, but I’m thinking everyone plays the best drive, the three amateurs will continue in a scramble format whilst the pro plays out her ball.

The pros are also playing for a $4,000 cash purse and the winning team(s) will receive great gifts and prizes.

I asked the tournament organizer, Dave Andrews, what his definition of “amateur” was and he said, “an “amateur”  will be anyone who I say is an amateur!” The goal here is not necessarily to get the best of the best out there as much as it is to get a full field of amateurs to match up with the pros.

There will be 28 players from the Duramed Futures Tour and they have room for 84 amateurs.

John from intothegrain.com and I will be participating in the event as amateurs and looking forward to it!

This would be a great opportunity to meet some of the future LPGA players and one day when you’re old and grey, you can tell your grandchildren about it!

Let me know if you’ve plans to attend!

-Dave

About Future Stars Foundation

The Future Stars Foundation has been established to support and foster the growth of the sport of women’s golf in the United States. In order to do that, the foundation’s primary goal is to raise money to provide financial assistance in the form of grants to players on the Duramed FUTURES Tour.

The fine folks over at Evolve Golf were kind enough to send me a few package of Epoch tees to try out and write about. They sent them to me about two months ago and sorry to say, I’m a little late in reporting in.. sorry about that fellas, appreciate your patience!

I realize now that the reason it’s taken me so long to write about them is because, well, it’s difficult to review a tee! Obviously it’s not difficult to stick a tee in the ground put a ball on top and crank it, well, the cranking is…, but it’s difficult to measure the improve performance that’s a result of using the tee.

So, to begin, Epoch tees are currently used by many of golf’s elite players and have netting 123 wins on tour globally with 46 of those being PGA Tour victories.

They say that making the switch to Epoch tees can add three to 12 yards in distance, depending on your swing speed. You can go to their website Evolve Golf, click on the performance tab, select your swing speed and it’ll give you the yardage you can gain by using their tee. I thought this was a pretty cool feature. So for me, wielding a swing speed of 103 mph, I should see a distance increase of between 5 & 9 yards… And I can say with confidence that yes, on certain drives, I saw an increase in distance, but conversely on certain drives, I saw a decrease in distance.. No fault of the tee, I assure you, it’s the hacker in the tee box that’s to blame. This is where it’s hard to gauge the improved performance..

The increased performance is due to the lower friction between the ball and tee and the lower friction is made possible by the radius posts on the tee that span the width of a golf ball dimple.

The tees are made out of recycled and bio-degradable materials and are ten times more durable than wood tees. As a matter of fact, I haven’t broken a single tee since I made the switch.

Here’s a new feature that I think is pretty awesome. It’s called the sweet spot system and what it’ll do is give you a reference point on how high to tee the ball,  based on the type of driver you’re using. Now, this is supposed to be available for every type of tee that they sell, but the batch I received didn’t have those marker circles. It leads me to believe that either it’s something you’ve got to specifically ask for or it’s something new that wasn’t around when I was sent the tees. Either way, it seems like a good thing, you put in driver info, make, model, hand, sex, etc.. and it’ll show you which marker circle you should be using.

The tees come in three sizes, depending on your tee height preference. The longest is 3 1/4″, the shortest is 1 1/2″ and the mid is a 2 3/4″. They also offer an option to add your company label the golf tees.

So, if you get a chance, check out the website, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.

-Dave

Here’s a link to more Golf Humor.

18 Reasons Why Golf Is Better Than Sex

• You don’t have to sneak your golf magazines into the house.

• If you are having trouble with golf, it is perfectly acceptable to pay a professional to show you how to improve your technique

• The Ten Commandments do not say anything about golf.

• If your partner takes pictures or videotapes of you golfing, you don’t have to worry about them showing up on the Internet, then you become famous

• Your golf partner won’t keep asking questions about other partners you’ve golfed with

• It’s perfectly respectable to golf with a total stranger

• When you see a really good golfer, you don’t have to feel guilty about imagining the two of you golfing together.

• If your regular golf partner isn’t available, he/she won’t object if you golf with someone else.

• Nobody will ever tell you that you will go blind if you golf by yourself.

• When dealing with a golf pro, you never have to wonder if they are really an undercover cop.

• You don’t have to go to a sleazy shop in a seedy neighborhood to buy golf stuff.

• You can have a golf calendar on your wall at the office, tell golf jokes and invite co-workers to golf with you without getting sued for harassment

• There is no such thing as a golf transmitted disease.

• If you want to watch golf on television, you don’t have to subscribe to a premium cable channel.

• Nobody expects you to promise to golf with just one partner for the rest of your life.

• Nobody expects you to give up golfing if your partner loses interest in the game.

• You don’t have to be a newlywed to plan a vacation primarily for the enjoyment of golf.

• Your golf partner will never say, “What? We just golfed last week! Is that all you ever think about?”18

18 Not Enough? See the updated 25 Reasons Why Golf Is Better Than Sex

I know you’re probably asking what does twitter and Pentair Pool Pumps have in common and the answer is the worlds greatest (self proclaimed) golf blogger.

So here’s my story.

A couple months back I was on twitter complaining about my crazy high electricity bills, I had just received the bill and it was a whopping $436 dollars.. WHAT?!?

I couldn’t figure it out because we keep our house at 78 degrees, occasionally we’ll drop it to 76, but 98% of the time it’s at a constant 78 degrees. The ac unit is brand new, installed earlier this year and it’s a 14 seer unit. Also, last year we had the insulation replaced and they blew in something like four feet. I was only running the pool pump for four hours a day (which I realize now was why I was spending $50 bucks a week in chemicals) to keep the electricity bill low. It’s pretty darn frustrating to be investing all this money into making the house MORE energy efficient and all my efforts were for naught.

So I’m on twitter ranting about it asking for advice trying to find out what the problem is. The next morning, I receive an email from the publicist for Pentair Pool Pumps who says he saw my post on twitter and they want to come out, take a look at the pump I’m using and if they think they can noticeably lower my bill, they’ll come out and install the new pump for free.

Yeah, right, free… We all know the first rule of economics….

So they send their guy out and he takes a look at the pool pump I’m using and says, yep, I think we can get you hooked up with a unit that will not only save you money, but will also run for 12 hours a day.

So I learned something about running your pool pump, during the summer (especially here in Orlando) you need to run it for at least eight hours a day, the reason for this is that the constant circulation helps keep the temperature of the water down, which in turn helps deter the algae from growing and making algae babies in your pool. SINCE I was running it for only four hours a day, the pool was getting greener faster and costing me more money in chemicals… (so much for my brilliant cost cutting measure..)

But, I digress..

Well, sure enough, a couple weeks after they took a look at the pump, the Orlando rep called me to schedule a time for him to come out and install the new unit. I scheduled it, they came out and installed (free-o-charge) a new Pentair Pool IntelliFlo VS-3050 Intelligent Variable Speed Pump.

This is a really cool, energy efficient pool pump that emits virtually no sound whilst it operates. It has four speeds that you can set it to, depending on your needs. I have mine set on two and it’s working like a charm.

When I say virtually no sound, I mean it, I can’t tell the pumps running unless I’m within three feet of it, it’s awesome!

I think this is going to be a case study/promotional deal for them. I sent them all the electricity bills & energy usage numbers from last year and we’re going to compare them to this years results.

I’ve had one full month’s usage out of it and so far I’ve noticed a decrease in my bill from last years rate. Keep in mind that in 2009, they increase the rate for every 1000 kilowatt hours by 25%, so for it to be lower means that it had to be a significant kilowatt reduction in usage. I’ll post up the exact numbers tomorrow, I tried to access my account online and they’re doing some maintenance on it.

Below is Sept – Jan. January was an exceptionally cold month for us, so the heater was actually turned on for once!!

Here’s some promo info I received on the unit.

Technology innovations that have led efficiency gains in other industries are now being adopted by pool owners for impressive results. There are opportunities to lower the operating costs of a pool.  Variable speed pumps dramatically decrease utility costs while performing better than traditional pumps

• Historically, pool pumps have used inefficient single-speed or two-speed drives, often with undersized plumbing and filters that strain the pump even further, turning the operation into costly noisemakers.

• Plus, in a typical one or two-speed pump, motor speed is almost always set too high, wasting energy. A variable speed pump can be programmed for the exact requirements of each pool task (cleaner, filter, water features, etc.).

• Optimal speeds tend to be slower speeds. The ideal pump runs longer at lower speeds, adjusting to increased or decreased pumping requirements as necessary. Reducing the speed of the pump by half reduces its energy requirements to one-eighth of the higher speed. It also drastically reduces noise.

• The IntelliFlo variable speed pump uses the same permanent magnet motor technology found in hybrid cars and proprietary software and digital controls to reduce energy usage by up to 90 percent. It is quieter than a whisper, emitting just 7-10 decibels.

• The National Resources Defense Council estimates that in a community with a four-month pool season, upgrading from a single-speed to a variable speed pump will save the average homeowners $350 per year. Upgrading to a more efficient heater will save an additional $150 per year. For comparison, the average total annual savings for an Energy Star®-labeled home compared to a standard efficiency home is $250 to $700.

• Many communities have laws and/or utility incentives to promote these technologies. At present, that is not the case in Orlando.

If you’re interested in learning more, click IntelleFlo VS-3050 for a PDF fact sheet.

Talk about the power of twitter eh?? I’ll be keeping you guys updated on the savings if you’re interested and many thanks to Pentair for making this happen!

-Dave

A friend of mine over at the Golf Channel had the pleasure of demoing Dancin’ Dogs latest creation, the Optishot Infrared Golf Simulator. Here’s the link to the article.

Take Your Game Indoors

This bad boy has me foaming at the mouth (haha bad rabies joke..)! I especially like the concept of being able to play online against other players. This has a strong appeal to me because my longtime golf partner lives up in DC and we only get to play together a handful of times throughout the year.

I haven’t seen any reviews online or and products in the stores, but I was told they were at the PGA show last year and plan on going again this year. I contacted them about a demo and they’re not send them out to media because there’s such a high demand. Consider this on my Christmas list this year and if you want to pick one up for me, send me a message and I’ll give you the shipping address..

I think this might be a good gift idea for the avid golfer, especially those poor souls that live in the north.. Before you go buying one of these remember that you need atleast 8 1/2 feet clearance.

-Dave

There’s a Golf Tourney this Friday out at StoneyBrook East to help support the Nepalese Orphans.

See below for info..

If you wish to know more about the charity, visit Rising Lotus Children’s Village.

I’ve been doing some research on golf betting games played on the course and I was pretty surprised at just how many there were.

I’ve never been a big gambler on the golf course, well, with money anyway.. I always go for the risky shots and end up losing my shirt but… that’s a different story. It always seemed to me that there was enough pressure in golf without having to add the potential to lose money on top of it. But I think I’m in the minority here and many golfers claim that gambling only adds to the excitement of it.

Here’s a list of some the most popular and handicap tracking friendly golf betting games.

• The Skins Game: Probably the most popular, is a game where each hole has a value or skin (either money or points). The player who wins the hole wins the skin for that hole. If there is a tie than the skin from that hole is carried on to the next hole, giving it double the value. There’s also a Net Skins game where players factor in their handicaps in the scoring. It can be played either one-on-one or two-on-two and the minimum bet per hole is $1.

• Nassau: This golf betting game consists of three bets; lowest score on the front nine, lowest score on the back nine and lowest score over all. The minimum bet for Nassau is $2 per bet. After the front nine, the loser has the option to press the bet on the back nine, doubling the value of the back nine (where it was $2, now it’s $4). There’s also a “net” version of Nassau where handicaps are factored in and the winner is determined by adding up the number of holes won on the front, back and the total. This is mostly used when the handicap variance between the players is pretty significant.

• Bingo Bango Bongo: Also called, “Bingle Bangle Bungle,” this is a points based game where three points are awarded per hole. The first to player to reach the green gets a point, once all balls are on the green, the player closest to the hole gets a point and the player to hole out first gets a point. There’s also a variation to the last point, where the player to hole out in the fewest strokes gets the point. At the end of the round, add up the points and the player with the most points wins. This is a pretty good game to play because it gives the weaker players a chance to get some points. For example, the player with the worst tee shot gets to play the 2nd shot first and has the first opportunity to be on the green.

• Sixes: Also known as Hollywood or Round Robin, is a game to be played in a foursome. Players square off in a net two on two match. The partners are rotated every six holes, giving each player a chance to play with a different partner and the wager is settled up every six holes.

• Aces and Deuces: Another foursome golf betting game where on every hole, there’s one big winner, two smaller winners and one big loser. After each hole, the lowest score wins a set amount from each player and the next two lowest scorers wins a set amount from the highest scorer on the hole. In this format, if you lose a hole, you lose big.

• Arnies: This is a side bet where a golfer wins if they manage to make par without ever managing to get in the fairway. The bet is set at the beginning of the round and was named in honor of Arnold Palmer who is said to have made quite a few “Arnies” himself.

This last one I think is awesome because I’ve hit a few of these myself

• Barkies: This is another side bet where the bet is awarded to a player if they’ve managed to make par after their ball strikes a tree. Most players have a stipulation where leaves don’t count and the ball must strike some wood. There’s also a double barkie which is a much rarer creature where a player manages to make par after their ball has struck two trees on two different shots..

Wonder of they also have Roofies??

-Dave

For info on other types of gambling and the best places to do it, check out Casino Guide.

Received an email yesterday announcing that Black Bear Golf Club is now available on golfnow.com Orlando!

Here’s the link.

Black Bear Golf Club on Golfnow.com

If you’ve never played out there, it’s definitely worth the drive!

It’s a P.B Dye design, featuring four sets of tees with the tips playing 7062 yards. Course rating is 74.1 with a slope of 132.

While “daring the bear” you’ll encounter large waste bunkers, undulating greens and dramatic fairway elevation changes.

I recommend getting out there right after sunrise when the fog is still lingering, it’s a thing of beauty.

If you’re heading out there and looking for a 4th, feel free to give me a call or shoot me an email!

-Dave