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The Fashion Runway Leads To The Golf Links

March 25, 2013 | By Chris Chirico | 1 Comment

I remember when I first started playing golf – I’d just throw on any pair of pants or shorts, pull the first polo I saw out of the closet and off I went.  No real regard for anything other than to at least not look like I got dressed in the dark.  But sometime between then and now, things have changed in the golf world.  Technology seemed to become incorporated into golf apparel rather than just the equipment.  This was soon followed by new looks and colors.  Before you knew it, something fresh came to the world of the everyday golfer…updated style.

Gone are the days of the silly outfits of Al Czervik (unless you’re John Daly of course) and mono-tone look of Judge Smails.  Replacing these looks are vibrant, bold colors, oversized logos, graphic fronts and mesh backs.  And remember wearing your cotton polo on a hot day?  By the end of the round it looked like you spilled your drink on your chest, back and armpits.  So replacing the standard cottons are moisture-wicking and dry technology.  No more sweat marks like you just lost a water-balloon fight.  Heck, we’ve come so far that some of these shirts and outerwear make it feel like you’re not even wearing anything!

But outside of seeing the pros on TV, especially the younger ones, many of us can only see a small sampling of these new styles and advancements in the golf apparel industry by visiting our local shops and sporting goods stores.  Enter Onlygolfapparel.com.

Now I’ve said before that I’m not a big fan of purchasing golf equipment on-line, but golf apparel is a different story.  And for those of us who are either limited to big box stores or don’t necessarily have a close-by choice with good variety, www.onlygolfapparel.com is a fantastic option!  The variety they have for all things golf apparel is quite impressive.  From big names in the industry to some smaller up-and-comers, they leave little to be desired.

But you’re not just looking at pictures and purchasing based on the look.  There’s plenty to learn about the brand as well as each individual style.  You can find information on the cut, the material, the blend and, on several items, even the weight!  But this information isn’t available only on the shirts and pants.  You can find it on everything – shoes, hats, bags…even socks!  It’s a treasure trove of info!

So the good people over at Only Golf Apparel sent us a sample of their inventory to try out – a new Nike Tour Performance Dri-Fit polo.  But being that the temps here have yet to crack the 50 degree mark so far this year, I haven’t had a chance to give it a try out on the course.  However I did make it to the range, and I have to say…this is the best golf shirt I have tried so far.  It’s light, easy to move in and fits well.  All around, it barely feels as if I’m even wearing a shirt at all.

Now these same generous folks were kind enough to offer a second shirt for us to give away to one lucky person.  After all, we shouldn’t be the only ones to get the good stuff.  So as always, all you have to do is head over to our Facebook page and like this post.  We’ll choose one random winner next week.

Swing ’til you’re happy!

Filed Under: Golf Life, Uncategorized Tagged With: caddyshack, Facebook, golf fashion, golf stinks, golfstinks, John Daly, judge smails, nike, Only Golf Apparel

Michael Phelps, Deer Antler Velvet & Getting Drunk.

February 1, 2013 | By Pete Girotto | 1 Comment

800px-Red_deer_stag
Oh Mr. Stag, mind if I have some of that velvet for my golf game? (photo by Mehmet Karatay / CC BY-SA 3.0)

What the…? Yesterday, I decided to see what’s new in golf and in doing so, the headlines had me shoot soda out of my nose because I was laughing so hard. I feel like I have been under a rock with the happenings in pro golf. I don’t even know where to start.

Well, for starters I see the headlines “Phelps signs with Ping”. I’m thinking to myself how funny it would be if this was Michael Phelps…it was. Ok, he must be a pretty damn good golfer to be picked up by Ping or is it some marketing ploy to have famous people endorsing your product? Although, Phelps does have aspirations to return to the Olympics in 2016 only this time as a smoker…I mean golfer. Oops…

What really had me in hysterics was the story of Vijay Singh pulling out of the Phoenix Open because he was taking some deer antler velvet concoction. I do admire the honesty this man has but really, deer antlers? Maybe this deer antler velvet potion contains a substance that could be a performance enhancing drug but come on Vijay, everybody knows a tall glass of bull urine is the way to go before a round! Just ask John Daly, oh wait that’s vodka.

Speaking of the Phoenix Open and John Daly, a buddy of mine that lives in the area mentioned he will be attending today’s activities at the TPC Scottsdale. Pretty cool! I wouldn’t mind being there this weekend. An event like that has got to have a ton of stuff to check out. So I asked him what his plan of action was for today…his answer? Get drunk. WTF!

Hit’em long…yell FORE!!!

Filed Under: Golf Life Tagged With: Deer Antler Velvet, John Daly, Michael Phelps, Phoenix Open, Ping, TPC Scottsdale, Vijay Singh

Golf Drinks 101.

December 28, 2012 | By Pete Girotto | 1 Comment

Arnold Palmer is not only a great golfer, it’s also the name of a half iced tea half lemonade beverage. John Daly is also the name of a pro golfer and also the name of a beverage (pretty much an an Arnold Palmer with vodka, if you will). I’m pretty sure most people know what an “Arnold Palmer” is and if you didn’t know what a “John Daly” was, you do now.

Do you see a trend emerging in the golf/beverage sector? I do. And I want to be on the leading edge. So, I thought I would take the liberty and create some new beverages named after golfers. Here we go:
  1. Kevin Na – Named after his incredibly slow play, this beverage is 100% molasses in a glasses.
  2. Sergio Garcia – Somebody call the waaaaambulance. This beverage is red wine, chopped fruit, lots of tears – stirred with a middle finger.
  3. Greg Norman – A ridiculously expensive glass of wine. How else can he pay his alimony?
  4. Tiger Woods – 1 part gatorade…wait, he lost that endorsement. Screw it, indulge yourself in whatever you want… just like Tiger. Ba-dum!!!
Thank you, thank you! I’ll be here all week…try the salmon.
Hit’em long…yell FORE!!!

Filed Under: Stinky Golfer Paradise Tagged With: arnold palmer, beverages, golf, greg norman, John Daly, kevin na, sergio garcia, tiger woods

Do Golfers Know Bo?

December 17, 2012 | By Chris Chirico | 2 Comments

Last week I got into the idea of the multi-sport athlete being a golfer.  But I really focused that on the idea of an athlete from another sport taking golf as their “other” sport.  So what about a golfer becoming a multi-sport athlete?  Could a PGA Tour pro make it in another sport?  Well, I guess that would partially have to do with what the other sport is.  But at the same time, there are reasons why I would have to say the answer is, quite simply, not a chance.

It’s not that I’m of the school of thought which believes golfers are not athletes, because I do believe they are…to an extent.  However, I do also believe that it most certainly does not take a finely-tuned athlete to be a professional golfer.  After all, just take a look for yourself.  But if you look at the athletes in some of the other major sports, you can see the conditioning, strength, durability and endurance shining through.  By comparison, most golfers look like they couldn’t handle a day of practice in another sport. 

Take a look at this list of multi-sport athletes – if you were to scroll down to the golf section you’ll find one name – Babe Zaharias.  The only other sport on the list with only one athlete listed is Netball…and I’m not even sure what that is.  So that should be your first clue.  Otherwise, I remember back when John Daly first began making a name for himself, the Indianapolis Colts had talked about possibly bringing him in for a tryout as a kicker, but that never actually came to fruition.   
But another reason I believe there are no multi-sport athletes in golf is due to the fact that golf is just too hard of a game to master.  Do you think a player can make the tour if they spend half of their time playing or practicing another sport?  I don’t care how superior an athlete you are, I just don’t see that happening without dedicating just about every waking hour available away from your other sport to golf. 

But as mentioned last week, with all of the money and big contracts floating around, another Bo Jackson or Deion Sanders is not realistic in this day and age.  But imagine what a multi-sport athlete could do for golf, especially if it was primarily a golfer who took up another sport.  At the very least, it sure would put a dent in that “golfers aren’t athletes” argument.

Swing ’til you’re happy!       
  

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Bo Jackson, Deion Sanders, golf stinks, golfstinks, Indianapolis Colts, John Daly, multi-sport athlete, PGA TOUR

Do The Numbers Point To Steroids In Golf?

August 27, 2012 | By Chris Chirico | 1 Comment

Depo-Testosterone 200 mg per ml injection Testosterone cypionate

It’s sad that anytime a major league baseball player has a big year home-run wise, one thing pops into everyone’s mind – steroids.  But baseball has no one to blame but itself.  Looking back to 1996, when the ridiculous home run numbers began piling up, questions and accusations had already started flying.  When Brady Anderson hit 50 HR’s that year, almost a quarter of his career total, fans had their suspicions.  And the rest, as they say, is history.

In the history of major league baseball, there have been 42 individual 50 home run seasons. Two-dozen of them have come since 1995.  So, what?  Did major leaguers all of a sudden just miraculously get stronger over the course of one off-season?  Well, that’s what the offices of MLB would have liked you to believe.  Hell, they were still recovering from the strike of 1994.  Anything that could have been done to bring the fans back, they were going to let it happen…even if it meant mortgaging their future.  Then along came a little document known as the Mitchell Report.  And next thing you know, the thought processes of major league baseball fans was forever altered.

So how and why is this related to golf?  Well, one could loosely equate the spike in home runs in baseball to the 300-yard drive in golf.  Let’s compare a few numbers around the same time period.  Pre-1990, MLB saw a total of seventeen 50 HR season.  Now this dates back to the first organized game back in 1846, and the first 50 HR season being recorded by Babe Ruth in 1920.  In comparison, pre-1990, the PGA saw not one single golfer average more than 280-yards per drive.

Fast forward to the 90’s, a time when it’s widely believed (and somewhat proven) that the steroid era truly began.  After seventeen 50 HR seasons in 144 years, we see twelve in only one decade.  And one can argue there could have been several more if not for the strike in ’94.  Coincidentally, the PGA saw the number of players sporting a 280 yard average drive increase from zero to 29!  Further, John Daly became the first player to average over 300 yards per drive!

Moving on to the years 2000-2011, despite the crackdown on the steroid epidemic, baseball saw thirteen 50 HR seasons.  Moving over to the PGA Tour, as of 2011 there were 169 players averaging more than 280 yards per drive.  Remember, back as recently as 1990, there were none!  Furthermore, there are 21 players averaging over 300 yards per drive, and five averaging over 310 led by J.B. Holmes at more than 318 per!

Now, does this mean there’s a steroid epidemic on the PGA Tour?  Of course not.  Players are more focused on physical fitness.  There have been technological advances in the equipment used to play the game.  But, the same can be said for MLB and its players.  Players are hitting the weights more than they did in the past.  The days of the scrawny and scrappy second baseman are on their way out.  Baseballs wound tighter and bats made of harder woods such as maple are becoming more prevalent.  But one cannot deny that steroids played a major role in increasing those numbers as six of the sixteen different players to have a 50 HR season since 1990 have been linked to steroids and/or PEDs in one way or another.

Of course, golf is a gentlemen’s game.  It’s built on a code of honor.  So no one on the PGA Tour would ever consider using steroids.  If this is your particular school of thought, I’m sorry but…you’re a fool.  Golf is a sport played by human beings.  There is more money on the line from tournament purses, sponsorships and endorsement deals than ever before. These are all reasons that someone would be tempted to cheat the game…even a PGA golfer.  And if you don’t think a few other golfers other than Tiger, Phil and Furyk would like to be on Sports Illustrated’s Fortunate 50, you’re crazy.

All I’m saying is the increase in certain numbers, coupled with the steroid problems occurring in some other major sports, may constitute an investigation by the PGA itself.  Because if the PGA doesn’t handle something themselves, they may have a report of their own on their hands.

Swing ’til you’re happy!

Filed Under: The Pro Tours Tagged With: Brady Anderson, drugs, J.B. Holmes, Jim Furyk, John Daly, Mitchell Report, PEDs, PGA TOUR, phil mickelson, Steroids, tiger woods

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