The Course at Wente Vineyards

What a perfect way to start the week... Golf on a Monday. Marc, Joe, Winston and I played the Course at Wente Vineyards in Livermore, CA today. It was way more than a pleasant experience. The course wasn't crowded so we were able to take our time and enjoy the scenery. Wente is definitely the perfect course to play every Monday! I am sure, the rest of my week will go well because of this.

Nintendo Wii to Launch Golf Training Game

Nintendo Wii will be releasing a game, My Personal Golf Trainer, which features lessons from golf guru, David Leadbetter and golf swing analysis. According to reports, in this instructional game, David Leadbetter will be teaching the player how to execute the perfect golf swing using his famous "7 steps" technique. Check out the video released by Data Design Interactive below. This is a sneak preview of how this instructional game looks.

I find this very intriguing... Really!? The Nintendo Wii can help me with my golf swing!? Seriously!? I must admit, I am a bit skeptical ...but knowing me, I already know that I'll end up buying the game on the first day of release just to satisfy my curiosity! The game will be released some time this year, I can't wait to get my hands on one.

Napa Valley Golf Date

Marc and I went on a "golf date" today. We left for Napa Valley this morning and headed straight to Taylor's Automatic Refresher. We originally thought of having brunch at Bouchon in Yountville (their fries with truffle oil is to die for) but decided to go to Taylor's instead. We thought it was more fitting for a golf date. He had a bleu cheese burger while I had an ahi tuna burger... the food was great! After our early lunch we headed to a local 9-hole par-34 golf course. The weather was nice and the course wasn't too crowded. It was a pleasant experience. The view was spectacular. After golf, we headed back to downtown Napa to buy cupcakes from Kara's Cupcakes. Should you end up in this area for some reason, you should definitely stop by Kara's. It is located inside the Oxbow Market downtown. Overall, I had an uber-nice day... great food, played golf, and yummy pretty cupcakes! Thanks Marc!

Evian Masters Interviews: Ochoa, Wie and Miyazato

Here's a video I stumbled upon on youtube of interviews with Lorena Ochoa, Michelle Wie and Ai Miyazato at the Evian Masters.

LPGA Evian Masters Pairings

The Evian Masters, one of the biggest and most popular tourney in the LPGA, is set to start tomorrow in Evian-les-Bains, France. It will be interesting to see how Michelle Wie and Natalie Gulbis will play. They were both terribly missed during the 2009 US Women's Open since they both did not qualify. I think that this would be a great opportunity for both of them to shine by playing good.

Live streaming - The Evian Masters Tournament will also be broadcasted live between Hole #1, #6 and 18 on its official website, www.evianmasters.com.

This Tournament will be aired on The Golf Channel:

Thursday 7/23 - 6:30PM

Friday 7/24 - 6:30PM

Saturday 7/25 - 1:00PM

Sunday 7/26 - 1:00PM

Groups that I will be following:

8:26am - Song Hee Kim, Inbee Park and Anna Nordqvist

I like Anna Nordqvist. This rookie is the reason why I will be following this group. I have a feeling that she will play well.

10:27am - Yani Tseng, Candie Kung and Se Ri Pak

Why not? Once you see Yani hit the ball with her Driver, you won't get tired seeing it over and over... How can she hit that faaaaar!?

10:49am - Maria Verchenova, Caroline Rominger and Shanshan Feng

I will be watching this group because of Maria Verchenova. This Russian beauty has been getting a lot of media attention lately... I am curious to find out if in the long run, she will be the future Anna Kournikova of golf or if she can conquer.

11:11am - Cristie Kerr, Michelle Wie and Gwladys Nocera

11:42am - Natalie Gulbis, Juli Inkster and Paula Creamer

I think that most of my "watching time" will be spent between these two groups... for obvious reasons.

11:53am - Marianne Skarpnord, Lorena Ochoa and Helen Alfredsson

Who wouldn't want to follow the number 1 player on tour play side by side with the 2008 Evian Masters winner?

12:04pm - Angela Stanford, Eun Hee Ji and Angela Park

This group interests me because of Eun Hee Ji. After her winning performance during the 2009 US Women's Open, will she have enough juice to follow through?

Epitome of a Golf Newbie

I was reading a post from Tour Golf Blog about the top ten mistakes all newbie golfers make and while reading the first 9 common mistakes, I was thinking to myself... wow, I guess I am not categorized as a golf newbie anymore as I am not guilty of these things. A warm feeling of accomplishment crept in my system until I read the last, but not least, common mistake... the number 1 mistake a newbie golfer does... BULLSEYE.

And the TOP NEWBIE MISTAKE is:

"Forget lessons, I'm buying a $400 driver!" - This is without a doubt the biggest newbie mistake in history. You've only been playing a few months, but you think that expensive driver is going to have you shooting in the low 80s? C'mon. Take that money and sign up for a lesson package at your local course or driving range. You'll get more benefit out of just a few lessons than that driver you probably won't hit worth a darn anyway. This applies to that $1000 set of forged blades that no 25+ handicapper has any business hitting.

My golf partnah, Joe, fights with me about this all the time... especially when we start talking about my drive. I have been struggling with my driver(s) for months now and according to him, the last time I've been most consistent with my driver and actually hitting it decent was when I had my Callaway FT-5. Yes, I remember those days... but that was before my addiction to Japanese clubs (Thanks to Marc). I've replaced my Callaway FT-5 with an Epon Monster Beetle Driver... Let's not talk about how much I spent on that baby. It was so pretty to look at but it sabotaged my drive. I used the EMB for 3 months before getting rid of it (it was the most painful thing parting with it but I gotta do what I gotta do). I replaced it with a Lepon driver by Epon Forged. I had problems with my Lepon during the start but I am slowly building my swing back as I slowly get used to it. I am still not 100% happy with it and I know that I will swap it again someday (hopefully not soon coz I am still not ready to hear Joe's "Help me Help you!" spiel this soon). I am still holding on to my FT-5... I guess if all else fails, I can revisit it and it will magically restore my drive.

The photos above are of my irons, Epon Forged AF-701 and the Epon Monster Beetle driver.

PHOTOS from www.eponforged.com

Stewart Cink Wins His First Major in Turnberry

Stewart Cink denies Tom Watson his 6th British Open win today in Turnberry as he becomes the 2009 Open Champion. Fatigue may have been the reason why Tom Watson played so bad during the 4-hole playoff as he miss fairway after fairway. Tom Watson may have lost the Open Championship this year but he surely won so many hearts of spectators all over the world. As mentioned in my pervious post, no one would've guessed that he will be playing as well as he did the past 4 days. Even with him losing the playoff, I think that people will be talking about his 2nd place finish longer than Stewart Cink' win.

Stewart Cink played like a true champion during the playoff. It was a very emotional finish as he gave his wife and two boys a hug after the birdie at the last hole. Congratulations Mr. Cink!

PHOTOS from www.opengolf.com

Tom Watson and Stewart Cink Heads for Playoff at the 2009 Open Championship

Before this week started, if anyone said that they think 59-year-old Tom Watson will win the British Open in Turnberry, people would think that person is crazy. The last major he won was over 2 decades ago. There is no way he can win it with the likes of Tiger Woods and other young players in the field. I have been watching the Open Championship closely that past 4 days and after all my "favorite" players missed the cut and dropped like flies, I begin to root for and believe that he could actually make it. Watching him, I can't help but notice his very calm demeanor. A proof of maturity and tremendous experience. He always had a smile on his face which reminds me of a cute little sharpei pup. Tom was leading by 1 stroke entering the 18th. All he needed was a par to win as Lee Watson crumbled with a 3-putt on the same hole. I think nerves took the best of Mr. Watson as he putt for par on the 18th... it was a foot short. This bogey-putt gave Stewart Cink a chance to lift the Claret jug this year as they head for a 4-hole playoff.

Too Much Golf Club Slamming!

Golf can be really frustrating. I've heard people say that it is the most difficult sport next to polo. Players can easily get disappointed and emotional when they play bad, however, I feel that players should be extra careful with displaying negativity such as golf club slamming when they are playing... especially during a major event when the whole world is watching. A lot of players are guilty of this but the impact is not as bad as when it's Tiger Woods doing the golf club slamming. I am a very big Tiger fan and I have mentioned that several times here in my blog but today, I am quite bothered seeing him with this kind of demeanor. I keep thinking about children who idolize him and how they feel about seeing their hero act that way... He kept slamming... and slamming... and slamming...

Tiger, that was uncalled for.... but we still love you!

Tiger Misses Cut at the British Open

Today is very disappointing for Tiger-Fans like me. Tiger Woods missed the cut at Turnberry with a +5 after the second round. I am also a big Ryo Ishikawa and Geoff Ogilvy fan... both of them missed the cut too. However, these cuts doesn't make the 2009 Open Championship less exciting for me because of the following reasons:

- Jim Furyk, another favorite of mine, is still in and playing well.

- Back to Back Open Champion Padraig Harrington still has a chance to defend his title for a third straight win.

- Martin Kaymer is on a roll!

- Sergio Garcia because winning a major is long over due.

- Camilo Villegas because he is spiderman.