#GolfChat Is Blowing Up This Tuesday, February 2, will mark my one year anniversary of partaking in something in the Twitter world known as #GolfChat. It was February 3, 2015 when I found #GolfChat, and since then, I've watched it grow into an amazing community of like-minded golf nuts. I wanted to try and find exactly when my first #GolfChat Tweet was sent, so I went back to the beginning of 2015 and searched my Twitter feed to find where it all started. Sure enough, this brilliannce was … [Read more...]
59Watch Launching New TV Show Pitting Amateurs Versus Pros
A new golf TV show will be launching soon and I have to admit, I'm pretty intrigued by the concept being presented. 59Watch is currently in pre-production and a full grass roots fundraising campaign is underway to try and get the show launched. What I like most about 59Watch is the effort to grow the game of golf within different outlets that are becoming more popular in the game. 59Watch is going to appeal to the hard-core golf fans like myself, but also attract the attention of younger … [Read more...]
2015 Masters Recap: Jordan Spieth Wins in Dominating Fashion
I don't know about you, but when I was 21 years old, all I cared about was which bar had the best happy hour specials and how many ladies were going to be there. I certainly wasn't flushing long-irons into Augusta National par-5's and draining clutch par putts to hold onto a lead at The Masters. What Jordan Spieth did over the last four days at The Masters was truly something special. At 21 years old, he becomes the second youngest player in Masters history to add a Green Jacket to his … [Read more...]
The Masters is Upon Us and It’s Going to Be a Good Weekend
It's one of the best weekends of golf throughout the entire year, if not THE best. The best players in the world will be teeing it up tomorrow morning in the 79th edition of The Masters. There's just too many storylines to hit on them all, so here's the couple that come to mind real quick: Tiger Woods is making his first start since his WD at Torrey Pines after just 11 holes. He showed up to Augusta smiling and jamming out on the chipping green on Monday. Since then, he's hugged … [Read more...]
The Golf Nut Podcast 002: JB Wins, Masters Week and Masters Picks
We've had some big news since the last time we talked during the first episode of The Golf Nut Podcast last Monday. Tiger Woods announced last Friday that he will in fact be playing in the 2015 Masters and the Twitter world went crazy! He then showed up to Augusta late Monday to big hugs and good golf; supposedly! Today, we'll talk about that big announcement that came down last Friday and we'll discuss why it's good for golf and what I expect to see from Tiger Woods at The … [Read more...]
Golf Blog Foursome: April Fools, Masters Mailbag, Best Shots and Drivers
Golf Blog Foursome is a weekly feature offering up some of the best golf blog posts from this past week. There's hundreds of great golf blogs and here's four of the best articles I've read from the past week. GeoffShackelford.com: Augusta National Makes Special Preparations for Tiger Woods What's better than a couple good April's Fools jokes on the first day of April? In the golf blogging world, you can rest assured there was a fair share. Geoff Shackelford actually wrote a couple spoof … [Read more...]
8 Takeaways From Watching a PGA Tour Event Inside The Ropes
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...]
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 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...]
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...]
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...]
Golf Product Review: Tee Claw
If you're lucky enough to have a local driving range that allows you to hit off real grass, then I envy you. But if you're like most golfers, it's likely you're forced to hit off beaten down mats with flimsy, plastic tees sticking out to hit driver from. There's a new product on the market that's really taking the driving range experience to the next level. The Tee Claw is a revolutionary concept that allows you to ditch the two inch plastic tee sticking up from the hitting mat and use the … [Read more...]
WGC Match Play Heading to Austin Country Club in 2016?
I couldn't help but get excited yesterday afternoon when several reports came out saying the WGC Match Play will be heading to Austin Country Club starting in 2016, with several of these reports saying Austin will be the host for at least two years. I'm a born and raised Texan, so anytime there's news about big time PGA Tour events coming to Texas I get excited. Austin, Texas is a great place to host an event of this magnitude and if they can lock down multiple years into the future it … [Read more...]