This last weekend I had the chance to spend four days at a PGA Tour event inside the ropes. My time volunteering at the Valero Texas Open was a really cool experience and it's something I always look forward to each year. In my last post about volunteering at TPC San Antonio, I wanted to share with you eight takeaways from watching a PGA Tour tournament inside the ropes. #1: These guys are great scramblers. "Drive for show, putt for dough." You know the saying and as golfers we all … [Read more...]
Archives for March 2015
The Golf Nut Podcast 001: Welcome to The Golf Nut Podcast!
In the inaugural episode of The Golf Nut Podcast, I introduce what the podcast is all about and jump right into recapping the Valero Texas Open, ranting about WD's on the PGA Tour and previewing the Shell Houston Open. The Golf Nut Podcast is a golf podcast for the golf nut in us all. I hope you enjoy the show and I'd love to hear from you whether you think the show sucks or you think it's awesome. Even if you don't have an opinion at all, I'd still like to know your thoughts. The show … [Read more...]
Valero Texas Open Volunteer Experience: Day 4
Today was the final round of the Valero Texas Open which means it was also my final day of volunteering for the tournament. I'm happy to say the tournament today announced live on air it reached it's charitable goal of $100 million since the exception of the event. On the Day 1 post below, I laid out why I enjoy doing this for four day in the sun and one of the reasons was the money that goes to local charities. I'm glad they made their goal and I feel like I contributed just a bit. Valero … [Read more...]
Chip-In’s & Chunks: Jimmy Walker Wins Valero and Tiger Still Uncertain
Chip-in's & Chunks is a weekly feature highlighting the good (chip-in's) and the bad (chunks) from the world of golf over the past week. If you have something you'd like to see added please contact me on Twitter @Front9Back9 or email me directly. We're less than two weeks away from The Masters and the fellas are in full prep mode getting ready for the first major of the year. This week the PGA Tour teed it up in San Antonio for the Valero Texas Open where I spent the last four days out … [Read more...]
Valero Texas Open Volunteer Experience: Day 3
Today is the final round of the Valero Texas Open, which means it's also the final day to finish out my four day volunteering commitment. I've shared my experience the last two days and if you've missed those posts you can check them out here: Valero Texas Open Volunteer Experience: Day 1 Valero Texas Open Volunteer Experience: Day 2 For the third round I was paired with a pretty solid group; Chesson Hadley, Jason Kokrak and Daniel Summerhays. In looking at the Valero Texas Open … [Read more...]
Valero Texas Open Volunteer Experience: Day 2
Day 2 of my volunteering at the Valero Texas Open turned out to be quite uneventful, as the group I was paired with was way back when the day started and never made a real run up the leaderboard. In fact, the entire afternoon wave of players really got the short end of the stick. I was assigned to the group of Camilo Villegas and Charles Howell III, a two some who started the day at 8-over and 7-over, respectively. I was doing the same thing as I was doing on Thursday, walking with the … [Read more...]
Valero Texas Open Volunteer Experience: Day 1
Yesterday marked the start of my third year volunteering at the Valero Texas Open. I've been with the NCB/Golf Channel Broadcast committee for three years now and it's a really cool gig. While there are certainly some downsides, I think the positives certainly outweigh the negatives. I think you have to enjoy it especially since you're spending 40+ hours at the golf course over four days. What You Get With Volunteering at Valero Texas Open It costs $50 to volunteer, which gets you several … [Read more...]
Front9Back9 Fantasy Golf Picks: Valero Texas Open
The PGA Tour is in my hometown this week for he Valero Texas Open and I am ready to get out there and volunteer for my fourth year in a row. John Peterson tweeted out earlier today that TPC San Antonio is in the best shape out of any course they've played all year on Tour. That says A LOT after playing the likes of Pebble Beach, Riviera and Torrey Pines earlier this year. With the tournament in town I am going to do something CRAZY with my fantasy golf picks this week! I am going to … [Read more...]
The 4 Best Golf Products Currently on Kickstarter
I like to think of myself as an idea person. My brain is always working and I always seem to be thinking of good ideas (at least their good ideas in my mind). Problem is, I never act on developing my ideas and that's where I fail. I probably have a list of about 100 or more ideas from over the years that I think are just amazing. One of my favorite websites to look at is Kickstarter. I have the app on my phone and scroll through it several times per week. Being the golf nut that I am, a … [Read more...]
2015 Valero Texas Open Field is Set
The 2015 Valero Texas Open field is set and some of the best players in the world will be in San Antonio as the tournament kicks off in my hometown. I couldn't be more stoked to be out all four days again this year. I will be volunteering again this year all four days starting on Thursday. I will be on the NBC/Golf Channel Broadcast team as I have done the last three years. I'm curious to see what the chatter among our team is this year. I have heard from people who have done it longer … [Read more...]
Yardage Book Holder in Augusta Green from Ace of Clubs
I recently received a yardage book holder from Ace of Clubs Golf Company and over the last couple weeks I've had several chances to test it out. At first, I was curious on what I would do with my yardage book holder because the golf course that I play at normally has GPS on the carts and I thought I'd never use it. Boy was I wrong. I have several yardage books already in my collection from over the years playing in several competitive tournaments around town. Luckily, I still had … [Read more...]
Book Review: Sweetspot: Confessions of a Golfaholic
I think we can all relate to Tom. He's the main character in Sweetspot: Confessions of a Golfaholic, a book by John O'Hern that I recently had the chance to read. The plot of the book is quite relatable to many of us; Tom is addicted to golf. Tom didn't start out addicted to golf, in fact he only took up the game when his boss demanded he take it up. That's where the addiction started. But like many of us, once he discovered the game, he couldn't let go. It became an addiction that got … [Read more...]
10 Top Places to Play Golf across the World
This is a guest post by Patrick Wynn from Golfshire Club in Karnataka, India helping kick off your bucket list of top places to play golf across the world. Everybody who is serious about golf fantasizes about playing on the best courses the world has to offer. Golfers often have a “bucket list” of places where they want to shoot a round of golf at least once before they die. Golfers love to get their game in wherever they can, but if you had all the time and money in the world at your … [Read more...]
Are You Embarrassed With Your Golf Game? Here’s 6 Things You Need to Do
There’s not one person who plays the game of golf who at some point hasn’t felt embarrassed with their game. It’s just a fact. It doesn’t matter if you only have one full round under your belt or you're a seasoned professional who’s won 15 majors, at some point during your time playing golf you WILL feel embarrassed with your golf game. At the end of the day, what matters is how you react when you're feeling down about your game. Some golfers will blow it off and move on to the next shot … [Read more...]
EWGA Welcomes New Facilities to Golf Course Network
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. - The EWGA (Executive Women's Golf Association), one of the largest women-focused national amateur golf association in the United States, is pleased to announce 17 new courses have joined the EWGA Golf Course Network in January and February and another five have renewed their membership. The EWGA Golf Course Network is designed to market golf course amenities to EWGA members that will help welcome new players, while showcasing the facilities efforts to grow women's … [Read more...]
Telluride Golf Club, Inn at Lost Creek Announce ‘Golf-in, Golf-out’ Package
(TELLURIDE, Colo.) – Telluride Golf Club – the stunning alpine course in the heart of Mountain Village – and the highly-acclaimed Inn at Lost Creek announce their “golf-in, golf-out” package starting at $170 per person, per night, available May 29 through October 4. Offering discerning, destination golfers over 50% savings on greens fees and additional lodging value, the package includes two rounds per player, two nights lodging, and complimentary breakfast buffet and golf club valet service. … [Read more...]
Front9Back9 Fantasy Golf Picks: WGC Cadillac Championship
The PGA Tour is at Trump National Doral this week for the WGC Cadillac Championship and once again I am making my fantasy golf picks on PGATour.com for the week. I've pretty much sucked it up for the entire year with my fantasy picks and there's no chance of ever getting near the top. This week I am going to do something different and pick all studs for my fantasy golf lineup. In the past, I've tried to pick a couple hot lesser known players who might pull out a victory and score me some … [Read more...]
It’s Official: Austin, Texas Will Play Host to WGC Dell Match Play
Welcome, y'all, to Austin, Texas! Over this past weekend, news broke of the World Golf Championships Match Play event moving to Austin in 2016 with Dell Computers reportedly signing on to become the title sponsor. If you didn't believe the news at that time, maybe you'll believe it now. Dell and the International Federation of PGA Tours announced a multi-year deal today to bring the WGC Dell Match Play to Austin through at least 2019, meaning this event will likely stay in Austin for the … [Read more...]