Golf Balls with Attitude

Though I haven't really seen these balls played on a golf course, I have been seeing a lot of these balls sold in cyberspace.  When I went to The Bay Area Golf Show earlier this year, where Tattoo Golf had a booth, I have witnessed a lot of people buy their skull and cross-clubs printed golf balls.  The odd thing about these buyers is that majority of them would buy specialty golf balls not for their use but as presents to other golfers they know.  I guess this would make the receivers treasure the golf balls more and refuse to play it to avoid losing them.  Another thing that I have noticed is that the golfers I know have mixed feelings about flashy golf balls.  Some find it embarrassing to use as "colored golf balls" give the impression that the golfer is new to golf, while some love it and think its fun (more women think the later than men).  What say you?  Below are photos of some balls with attitude:

Tattoo Golf Titleist Pro V1 - Guys will probably pick this ball amongst the rest.  Aside from it being a Pro V1, the skull is "cool" and would be the manliest of the lot.

$14.99 for a sleeve of 3, available here.

Here's another one from Tattoo Golf.  This will appeal to younger female golfers.  It is a Chromax metallic pink ball.  Last Christmas, I received a pack of 6 Chromax metallic pink golf balls as a stocking stuffer.  When I used the ball during a round during the holidays, I was asked by one of the boys, obviously trying to be funny, "Where did that Christmas ornament come from?"...  Well, It was actually a bit funny given we were playing during the holidays but, Hey, I love my pink ornament-looking golf balls and I am embracing it!

$14.99 for a sleeve of 3, available here.

This one is cute, it's a Bridgestone Newing ball and the print is a Japanese anime character, Doraemon.  I would really love to own some of these but I have a feeling that if ever I do get my hands on a sleeve of these golf balls, I will probably end up not playing with it for fear of losing them.  I will keep them safe until I mange to get rid of my awful slice when I drive.

$35 for 12 balls, available here.
These are 2009 Tourstage V10 Vivid golf balls.  It comes in super fun colors: Super Yellow, Super Orange and Super Pink.  Missed the fairway? No problem, these balls will stand out from miles away!

$88 for a 12 balls, available here.

Golf Refugees golf balls not only look cool especially for putting but they claim that Thermal Distance Technology will add distance to your shots... enough said, I'm in!

18 euros for 12 balls, available here.

2009 Virtual US Open Championship

A friend hosted a barbecue today for Game 6 of the NBA Finals (Lakers won).   With this and a couple of errands I had to do, there was clearly no time to do anything "golfsy" like go to the driving range or play 9 holes (though I managed to squeeze in a few minutes to go to Golfsmith to buy a few stuff).  So what do I do?  Well, today, I spent part of my lazy Sunday morning playing the Virtual US Open.  It is an online challenge where anyone can register and virtually experience Bethpage Black.  The winner of the Virtual US Open 2009 will receive an all expenses paid trip for 2 to Pebble Beach as USGA guests for the 2010 US Open.  It's a fun game, I scored a 104... Guess I will be buying my own ticket and will be driving myself to Pebble Beach next year!

Happy Friday

After a crazy week of long hours and everything breaking at work, I was able to leave a couple of hours early yesterday.  I headed to Dublin Ranch Golf Course with a coworker and played a full 18.  We were paired with 2 guys from Chevron, Robert and John, who both snuck out of work as well.  This was the perfect ending to one of the craziest weeks in my office... dealing with the "go live" week for our bank conversion that almost failed after weeks of preparation was extremely stressful.  The weather cooperated with me yesterday. We finished at around 8pm and it was still bright and the weather was still comfortable.  Today, I also managed to squeeze in another round with the boys in Castro Valley.  Two rounds of golf this weekend is good, very good... though  I wish I could play more often.

2009 US Open Groupings

Here are the Thursday/Friday groupings that I will be watching closely:

Group 7 - 8:06am - Tee 1: Tiger Woods, Padraig Harrington & Angel Cabrera - This could be the most interesting group to watch.  Defending US Open champion Tiger Woods comes face to face with British Open titleholder Padraig Harrington and Masters champ Angel Cabrera.  

Group 19 - 7:55am - Tee 10: Geoff Ogilvy, Jim Furyk & Paul Casey - Furyk is one of my favorite players and being the biggest Puma Golf fan, I wouldn't miss him playing side by side with Puma-Boy himself, Geoff Ogilvy.

Group 32 - 1:25pm - Tee 1: Sergio Garcia, Camilo Villegas & Adam Scott - To be honest, I am more eager to see what these guys will be wearing than how they will be playing.  Looking forward to see what Adidas and J. Lindeberg have in store for these golfers.

Group 34 - 1:47pm - Tee 1: Rocco Mediate, Kenny Perry & Tom Lehman - Of course, like everyone, I am curious if media darling Rocco Mediate can do a repeat of last year's US Open.  Go Rocco!

Group 44 - 1:14pm - Tee 10: Anthony Kim, Rory McIlroy & Dustin Johnson - Aaaah, the exuberance of youth! 

What's In The Bag Update

Made some changes... I dropped the Callaway Squareway fairway wood #5 and added a 60* Epon Forged 208 KGX wedge, dropped the 56* Callaway X-forged Vintage wedge and replaced it with a 56* Epon Forged 208 KGX:

Driver: 

Lepon 12* by Epon Forged

Callaway FT-5 13* (backup)

Hybrid: 

Taylormade Men's Burner Rescue #3 19*

Taylormade Men's Burner Rescue #4 22* 

Irons: 

4-PW Epon AF-701 Forged Irons

Wedge: 

52* Epon Forged 208 KGX

56* Epon Forged 208 KGX

60* Epon Forged 208 KGX

Putter: 

Odyssey Sabertooth

Scotty Cameron Studio Style Newport 2 (backup)

Here's what I am eyeing now... A Gold's Factory Dance With Dragon Putter:  

(Available at www.tourspecgolf.com)

Pretty in Pink

I am not really a fan of chunky athletic golf shoes.  Sleek, feminine looking ones are more my style.  I've been hearing a lot of good stuff about Adidas golf shoes, but never really bothered to get myself a pair until a few weeks ago, when I stumbled upon a photo of the Adidas Tour 360 3.0 in pink.  I had no idea that this shoe comes in this color format.  After days of contemplation... "Do I really need this pair? Will buying this turn me in to the Imelda Marcos of golf shoes?"... I gave in to my impulsiveness and bought it. Why not, I wear a lot of pink when I play golf, this should match most of my stuff anyways.  Surprisingly, it doesn't look as chunky as I expect it to be when I wore it.  I also didn't expect it to be so comfortable... no wonder this is the boys' brand of choice.  If playing with the boys means having this "equipment" as they call it, then I am in, STYLIN' in pink!

Tiger Wins the 2009 Memorial Tournament

Two weeks before the much awaited US Open in Bethpage Black, Tiger becomes the 2009 Memorial Tournament Champion with an awesome round of 65 today, finishing -12 in Dublin, OH.  Jim Furyk came in second at -11 after a birdie on the last hole.  Jonathan Byrd however, got a double bogey on the 18th, bringing him to -8 and a tie for 3rd.

A Pleasant Surprise

A couple of weeks ago, a good friend of mine from Florida stayed with me for over a week for a much needed "mini reunion".  During her stay, I shared my passion with golf and encouraged her to pick up the game.  She is a newlywed and her husband plays golf, too!  This morning, I received a text message from her that she went to the driving range with the husband and enjoyed her first serious encounter with a golf club.  I got so excited while reading the text message that it jolted me out of my sleepiness!  I called her up and spoke to her and her husband to hear all about it... I want every single detail!  Her hubby told me that she did amazingly well for a first timer.  She was able to get the ball up, STRAIGHT and hit 50-70 yards!  I wasn't able to ask what club she was using, but it didn't matter.  I remember my first few times at the range, I couldn't make the ball fly more than 2 feet from the ground, couldn't hit past 50 yards with a pitching wedge and would always top the ball if not miss it!  

She is a natural... move over Lorena, make room for Svea!

I am keeping my fingers crossed that she falls inlove with golf as much as I do.  When that happens, she will officially be my first female golf friend... Yay!  Give 'playing with the boys' a break!  

"Girl, let's go to TPC Sawgrass and repaint those ladies tee boxes red!"

PHOTO:  Immortalizing Svea's first time on the range.  

Random Thoughts while Watching the Memorial Skins Game

1.  When Tiger won with the chip-in on the last hole, why was I not surprised?  I somewhat expected it to happen while watching.  Leave it to Tiger to deliver when it counts.  

2.  I found it so amusing that during a relaxed game like this, Manny caddied for his big bro, Camilo.  My favorite part was when Camilo for the life of him, couldn't take his Florida Gator head cover off!  Seeing the obvious bond between these two brothers made me miss my little brother while watching the game.

3.  I love the idea that all 8 players wore wireless microphones the whole time.  It seemed like I was actually with them while they were playing.

4.  Jack Nicklaus is so adorable!  Hearing his comments via the wireless microphone makes him even more adorable!

5.  Tiger... expected.  Harrington... not really.

I Have a Handicap!

This evening, as I was cleaning pockets and compartments of my golf bag, I came across a pile of my scorecards.  Realizing that these scores should be enough to establish a handicap, I searched the net for FREE online handicap tracking services.  To my surprise, after entering my scores, I was given a 27 handicap.  I know, a 27 handicap is like getting a "D" but I am very happy as I've always thought I was around 36!  How exciting is this!?  I am still learning a great deal and with my baby steps forward, I am setting a goal... I want to go down to a 25 before the year ends.  Keeping my fingers and toes crossed... *wink*