An Icey Thursday Link Dump

Yes it's true. You've heard correctly. It's currently -31 degrees right now with the windchill. With actual golf seeming eons away and me being too damn cold to do just about anything, why not try killing some time somewhere a little warmer than here.

The ARMCHAIR Golfer will enlighten you with some political madness and something to look forward to.
Get the Average Golfer's perspective on this week's Sony Open and some thoughts reflecting Draconian Law.
What would a frigid Thursday be without the Golf Chick?
Jason Logan is back to blogging over at the Score, something worth checking out.
What would a Link Dump really be without throwing the barber into the mix?

Maybe you'll here from me later. However, frostbite is imminent and I suppose I should try and get some work done.

2009 Canadian Course Reviews - Part 1

As a C.P.G.A. Golf Professional I'm lucky enough to have the opportunity to play many of the amazing courses the country has to offer. Many of them are pretigious courses that all of you have heard of. However, some aren't. Either way, there are hundreds of golf courses that given the chance everyone should try and get out to if they have the chance.

I'll be posting reviews througout the season to try and give as much feedback as I possibly can to better inform people about some of the better properties out there. Here are the first few you should consider in 2009:

Coppinwood - Located in Uxbridge ONT, this Tom Fazio design quickly became one of my favorite courses in Ontario. Right when you drive onto the property you become aware that Coppinwood isn't just your average run of the mill Golf Club. The Clubhouse resembles a castle inside and out. The practice facility is second to none with a large near perfect range, short game area and even includes three practice holes. Golfers of any skill level will enjoy this course as it included five sets of tees with the yardage ranging from 5126 yards to an incredible 7536 from the Championship tees. The course is always in immacluate condition and never very busy as it's a pretty exclusive place. Getting onto Coppinwood may prove difficult because of it's exclusivity, however those keen enough will likely find a way to get on. You won't be disappointed you did.

Devil's Pulpit - Consistently in the Top ten courses in Canada, Devil's Pulpit was created from the minds who brought us the famous board game, Trivial Pursuit, Scott Abbott and Chris Haney. The Pulpit was named Canada's best new course in 1991 and had gained an immense amount of noteriety every year since. Right when you step onto the first tee, a 478 yard par 4 from an elevated tee to a double fairway, you know you're in for something special. It's modern design and immaginative features will surely blow you away. Even their, "Pulpit's Horn Bar" will surprise you with it's amazing view. Not to mention it has the longest bar of any Golf Club in Canada. Yes, the Pulpit is private as well, but again if you really want to get out there, you'll find a way.

Eagles Nest Golf Club - This Doug Carrick design just north of Toronto is a unique and challenging experience to say the least. Sod walled bunkers and a whole lot of fescue grass will make even the best golfers scratch their heads from time to time. Built on top of an old land fill, Eagles nest is one of the better links-style courses in the GTA. It's huge elevation changes and length make it one of the tougher courses I've played, but fun nonetheless. Although a bit pricey every golfer should try and get out there just once for the experience. Make sure you get one of their ridiculous hot dogs at the turn. Those things alone are worth the price of admission.

I know we've still got a few months to go here until we tee it up, but that doesn't mean we can't start to plan all the ridiculous places we're going to waste our money this season.

Look for more kick ass reviews in the weeks to come.

Your Golf Pool Value

You've only got X amount of money to work with, and picking Tiger just simply won't work for two reasons. No one knows just for sure when he's coming back, and assuming he's pro-rated, which he most likely is, will he play enough events to give you a big ROI?

With this and many other choices in mind, here are some players that may be a bargain this season, and some I believe you should avoid.

My Top Five:

Hunter Mahan $2,208,855 - Although he didn't win last season, he came close and posted three top 10's in his last five starts in 2008. I think the Ryder Cup gave him an added boost of confidence and he's close to breaking out. I wouldn't be surprised if he won a couple of times in 2009.

Davis Love III $1,695,237 - How can you not pick him. He finished 2008 with a T6, T3 and the victory in the season's final event. He looked solid at the Mercedes tying for second and seems to have that old confidence back along with the game to go with it. I can't see how you won't get a return with him on your team.

Anthony Kim $4,656,265 - Sure his price tag is hefty, but this kid is just getting better. A major may not be out of the question this season and as long as this shoulder thing doesn't turn into something big, he's simply too hot to not pick in my opinion.

Aaron Oberholser $850,000 - I wouldn't call him a sleeper as he's proven he can play with the best in the past, but coming off an injury riddled 2008 has many questioning how well he'll play in 2009. After not playing for basically 4 months he posted a T4 in his second event back at the Frys.com open. With his cost being as low as it is, and his previous experience he could give you a huge return. He just needs to stay healthy. A gamble? Maybe, but one I'd be willing to take.
(Anyone outside the top 125 from 2008 costs $850,000 in my pool)

Tiger Woods $Pro-Rated at $8,500,000 in my pool - Ignore anything I may have said at the beginning of this post. He's Tiger Woods. You don't need any other reason to expect him to produce in 2009

Don't be fooled:

Kenny Perry $4,663,794 - I don't want to take anything away from Kenny's 2008 season as it was amazing. He accomplished what he set out to do, and made the Ryder Cup team. He has 13 career wins on the PGA tour and has recently said he'd like to get to 20 in his career. It may be possible, I don't believe it is. If you really think he's going to top what he made last year, by all means take him. I for one don't think you'll get much return with this pick.

Charles Howell III $1,449,232 - He gave me absolutely no reason to think he's going to get any better in 2009. In 31 starts last season he posted only one top five and four top ten's. He earned a third of his money after the playoff's and was cut in 3 of the 4 majors, finishing T47 in the PGA. If you think you're getting value here, you're likely wrong.

Vaughn Taylor $1,053,423 - Taylor proved last season he simply can't play on the weekends. I can't remember how many times he opened strong only to fade away on Saturday or Sunday. Unless he can mentally figure out how to get around the course on the weekend, I can't see much out of him this season.

Vijay Singh $6,601,094 - Singh is crazy good. He'll win this season, and make a boat load of money no doubt. However, with his pending knee surgery and high cost, it's likely not the greatest pick. It's unlikely he'll earn more than he did last season, which means even if he does get to let's say $5,000,000 you're still losing.

Jason Day $850,000 - Don't believe the hype.

Remember, the Race for Dubai is really going to affect the number of PGA tour events some Europeans play this season, and possibly even some PGA tour regulars who may choose to split time. Generally trying to pick players who play a heavy PGA tour schedule is the best option, but catching lightning in a bottle doesn't hurt either.

Sure there are other potential winners and misses but as with any pool, you're just going to have to figure that out. Boo Weekley although not in my top five, didn't miss by much.

Best of luck in your Pools this season.

Useless Junk for all

In the first event of the 09 PGA Tour season, Geoff Ogilvy walked away with the victory without much of a challenge from anyone. Sure, Anthony Kim hit what can only be described as an obscene fairway wood into eighteen on Sunday, but other than that Ogilvy was head and shoulders above the rest.

Surprising to some? Shouldn't be. Ogilvy was coming off a busy few weeks in Australia winning his last start, where many of the other players were coming off layoff's. Take nothing away from Ogilvy though who deserved to win regardless of how everyone else was playing.

Don't look for a repeat at Sony this weekend from K.J. as there has only been one repeat winner here in the last 21 years (Ernie Els 2003 & 04 respectively). Speaking of Els, he could be one to watch this weekend. He played well at the Mercedes last weekend, and has a great track record here. Other notables I'd look out for include, J.B. Holmes, Sean O'Hair, Boo Weekly & Davis Love. As for a dark horse, look for Aaron Oberholser if anyone. He missed most of last season with a wrist injury, however a T-4 in his last start has him moving in the right direction.

IN COMPLETELY UNRELATED NEWS...

Taylor Made is in the news again. Look for the launch of their new Driver, the R9 sometime in March. I guess it seems about time doesn't it? What has it been, a few month since their last release? Is it just me or is this getting a bit out of control. The market place is simply being flooded with new products every quarter making your last purchase seem like a waste. Rarely are the new products that much different than the last except for cosmetic changes. I guess it's fine though since each new release is "Their best performing, and longest Driver ever." Pretty soon we're going to have a Driver that is so straight, and so long, the game will be so easy, no one will play.

To all Manufacturers, try actually IMPROVING the technology rather than just CHANGING it. You're all a bunch of marketing clowns completely uninterested in
acutally improving anyone's game.

PGA Tour makes a useless change

The PGA Tour has approved changes to the way the FedEx Cup will unfold next season basically guaranteeing the winner will be crowned at the Tour Championship. This is coming in response to how the first two years unfolded. Two years ago Tiger Woods had such a big lead he could skip the first playoff event and this season Vijay Singh basically clinched it by winning the first two of four playoff events. They've also changed the points reset by moving it from the beginning of the playoffs to the Tour Championship and making the playoff events worth four times more than the regular season events.

Basically they've made a pretty shitty playoff system shittier in a different way.