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Golf Life

Keep up on the trends and news surrounding the golf lifestyle.

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

Where Do You Buy Your Golf Equipment?

March 18, 2013 | By Chris Chirico | 2 Comments

Where do you buy your golf equipment?
Where do you buy your golf equipment? (photo by Greg D’Andrea)

I admit, despite writing for a blog, I’m very skeptical of the internet in general.  There is simply so much information out there that you never know what and what not to believe.  Combine that with identity theft, viruses and sites looking to rip you off, then suddenly misinformation is the least of your concerns.  Even things as simple as online shopping can be questionable.  For instance, I saw a pair of shoes I like on a “discount” website for $69.95.  I didn’t purchase them, and I’m glad I didn’t – I found the same pair at a local department store for $39.95!  So that leads me to my question about golf equipment.  Where do you purchase yours?  Golf shop?  Pro shop?  Big box sporting goods store?  Online?

Myself, I’m partial to purchasing my golf-related equipment from a store as opposed to on-line.  I’m the type of person who needs to touch, feel and try things before I purchase them.  So for me, the on-line thing doesn’t work for golf stuff.  I can’t buy a club or putter that I haven’t held in my hand, swung or tried out for a while, no matter the price.  And shoes?  Forget it!  How do you buy shoes online without trying them on first?  I can understand doing your research online (like this nicershoes.com golf shoe review), or even purchasing balls online.  But that’s about it.  Now I know some of you will say that you can go to the store, swing a club, play with the putters or try on the shoes, then just go home and buy the same stuff on-line for less money.  But at that point, is it really less money?  Not if you value your own time.

You can go to a golf shop or pro shop and get a fair amount of personal service.  Someone who will spend time with you, maybe give you some advice and help you decide what’s best for your game.  To a lesser extent, you can get that service at the big box stores such as Dick’s or Sports Authority as well.  Granted you pay a little extra for that, but it’s a service the shops and stores can provide that a website can’t.  So is it worth it to take that time then go home and buy online?

Let’s see…I just spent my time driving to the store, using my gas back and forth, spent who knows how long with the pro or salesman and then have the opportunity to buy what I want right then and there.  But instead, I’m going to go back home, try to find the same driver I just settled on (with the assistance of the guy I was working with) from a site like Amazon or something to save what…10-15%?  But then I have to pay a shipping cost – an increased one at that if I don’t want to wait 5-7 days or longer.  If I asked the guy at the store if he could do anything on the price, I could probably have gotten 10% off right then without having to wait for my shipment to arrive!  And not only that, once it’s being shipped, I get to be involved in the adventure of waiting to see if the package shows up undamaged or if the right product is even sent…trust me, that’s happened to me.

But further, coming from a sales background I find it to be a bit disrespectful to the salesman or pro (who may be working partially on commission) to spend time with him/her while they’re taking the time, doing all they can to help someone who has no intention of purchasing from them.  It’s like if you were a car salesman and you answered every question the customer had, took them for a test drive and gave them all of the information they could possibly need, only for them to go and purchase the car from somewhere else because they were saving $5/month.  You’re taking money out of a hard-working persons pocket and giving it to someone who didn’t earn it.  That person could have been dealing with someone else who intended to make a purchase from them.  But, if you think going through that effort to save a few bucks is worth it, then that’s your choice and that’s fine.

My point is, the internet is great for certain purchases.  But think about it before you purchase something blindly, especially your golf equipment.  Avoiding the hassle of returning something because you didn’t take the time to swing it or try it on could be well worth the additional money you spent to begin with.  And the assistance you receive in person rather than online could prove invaluable when your brand new driver can’t place a ball anywhere near the fairway and your feet are killing you by the 7th hole.

Swing ’til you’re happy!

Filed Under: Golf Life Tagged With: Dicks Sporting Goods, golf equipment, identity theft, online shopping, pro shop, Sports Authority

Will Dropping A Few Pounds Drop My Golf Score?

March 11, 2013 | By Chris Chirico | 3 Comments

Off the top of my head, I can’t think of many sports (or many activities for that matter) where being out-of-shape can be beneficial.  OK, there’s Sumo Wrestling.  And there are belly-flop contests.  But outside of those, I’m at a loss.  So one would think that being in good physical condition could help with any sport.  But what about golf?  In a game that really demands more of a good technique and good mechanics than it does top physical condition, does being in good shape really matter?  Well, even though the sport does require more of a mechanical skill, I just can’t see how being in good shape can’t help.

With that being said, I’m planning to find out for myself.  See, I’ve begun to realize that I’m not getting any younger.  As a matter of fact, there have even been some times where, physically, I feel older than I should.  That’s not a good feeling.  So I’ve begun to do something about it.  Recently, I’ve started exercising a bit more and eating a bit less.  It’s amazing – by simply getting a bit more active and cutting out some of the foods and drinks I’ve had, or reducing the amount of them anyway, I was able to drop thirteen pounds relatively easily.  So I’m going to keep it up and see where this takes me.

But besides the obvious health benefits, one of my hopes is that there is some parallel between my weight and my handicap – both of them dropping.  And I don’t see any reason this wouldn’t happen.  By losing weight I would think this would help to sharpen the technique for a golf swing.  If the body mass is cut down (and by that, I mean the gut shrinks) naturally you would have to figure the swing would simply become more smooth.  It doesn’t stop there though.   By dropping weight and improving my condition, I should have more energy for the round.  So that feeling of fatigue that hits at some point on the back nine should be minimized, if not eliminated altogether.

I shouldn’t be looking at this from only a golf standpoint, and I’m not.  It’s important to take care of oneself, and I’ve neglected to do it as well as I should.  But it’s never bothered me much before.  However, recently I’ve started noticing that I get tired a little faster and some formerly easy task become more of a chore.  So if this works, and I can improve my health and golf game at the same time, then why not keep up the effort?  For the time being, overall health improving – golf game is yet to be seen.  Stay tuned.

Swing ’til you’re happy!

Filed Under: Golf Life Tagged With: getting in shape, golf shape, golf stinks, golfstinks, sumo wrestling, weight loss

Four Letter Words In Golf.

March 1, 2013 | By Pete Girotto | 2 Comments

How’s your language on the golf course?

We all are very familiar with those, right? I’m pretty sure if you played at least one round of golf in your life you became subjected to these words pretty quickly. Funny thing, I’ve noticed these words can also be an indicator of how good a player you are.

Let’s take a closer look at this. Drawing from my basic knowledge of accounting, numbers don’t lie. Just like anything analytical or statistical it all comes down to numbers. So, besides that these are 4 letter words, how do numbers come into play? Glad you asked! It’s all about frequency. How often are these words used on the course.

Think about it. If you were to count how many times you used the “f” word, “s” word, or damn in a round and compare it over 10 rounds, you will notice that the higher the cursing the higher your score. Then there’s the other “f” word, which is the biggest indicator of how you are playing – fore.

“Fore” carries more weight than any other four letter word or curse you could conjure up on the ol’ track. If you have to use this word more than any of the other choice words you might want to reconsider if golf is right for you. Try a little experiment on your next few outings and see what you come up with.

Hit’em long…yell FORE!!! Just not too many times…

Filed Under: Golf Life Tagged With: fore, four letter words

Is It Ok To Golf On My Honeymoon?

February 22, 2013 | By Pete Girotto | 2 Comments

I’ve been ponderinggolf honeymoon this question since getting engaged (oh yeah, by the way and thank you) a few months ago. I figured with so much stress and pressure with the planning and the actual wedding, it’ll be OK to squeeze in a round while on my honeymoon. I deserve it, right? Only problem is that she doesn’t golf. You know, the more I’m thinking about it the more it looks like I’ll be needing to brush up on my negotiating and convincing skills to pull this off.

Now, where do we actually go for a honeymoon? Do I secretly pull some Jedi mind tricks and subconsciously make her choose a spot conveniently near a golf course? Although, most honeymoon destinations are already conveniently located near a golf course…hey, how convenient!! That’s good because pulling that Jedi crap is mentally and physically draining.

Now, just when I thought I had it figured out, she drops the bomb – Let’s go to Europe! WTF, Europe! Looks like it’s time to regroup and work a new strategy. Let’s see, I have family in Europe and after doing a quick search, I didn’t realize there were so many golf courses in Switzerland. Ok, this could be good with a little planning and compromising…this just might work.

Looking good, looking good! Wait a minute, I don’t speak German. My family is in Italy! Time to break out the Rosetta Stone to sprechen sie deutsch and dust off my Golf knüppelt?

Hit’em long…yell FORE!!!

Filed Under: Golf Life Tagged With: europe, german, golf, honeymoon, italy, jedi, Rosetta Stone, Switzerland

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