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April 30, 2007Week In Review- Week 43
Here at Gourmet Golf, we've been thinking a lot about the golf swing and making it better. It turns out there are easy ways to do this from the comfort of your own home. Last week we did a feature on the free downloadable swing analysis software from V1 Golf Academy. Stay tuned and keep that bag fresh. -Gourmet Golf [photo: the golf channel] April 27, 2007It's Like Having SwingVision on YOUR Laptop
While browsing the web I came across some interesting software that lets golfers capture, compare and improve their golf swings. It's called the V1 Golf Academy and the best part is the cost. It costs $0.00 for consumers. Similar to the BizHub SwingVision that you see on PGA telecasts, this software lets you import your golf swing video and simultaneously compare it to video of professional golfers. Once you have the video on your computer, the software allows you to use overlaid drawing tools to monitor things like head position and spine angle. Compare this year's swing to last year's. Drop that sexy swing into slow motion to satisfy your vanity. The skies the limit...almost. The BASIC version of the software is available for free download. To really unleash all of the software goodies, you'll have to purchase the PREMIUM version for $39.95. You can't have your cake and eat it too. At least you can demo the software in the comfort of your own home. If it fits your eye, drop a few bones and get bring the full service into your home. It's a small price to pay to get that out-of-body experience. The only thing you need to do is rent some of Johnny Miller's time so he can sit next to you at your desk and make snotty remarks while your video plays. It could be fun. If anybody uses this software, give us some comments and let us know if it's worth our time. April 23, 2007Week In Review- Week 42 What a coincidence. Gourmet Golf's 42nd week coincides with the "Big 42" of Jackie Robinson. If you watched any Major League Baseball last week, you got a complete retrospective of Jackie's life. Here's a look back at week 42 at Gourmet Golf. First up, your chance at a free putter. Anyone that shows up at a Callaway Demo Day in the next month, invokes the spirit of Phil Mickelson, and drains 10 putts in a row will receive a brand new Odyssey Marxman putter. These days, when Justin Timberlake says he's going on tour he doesn't mean he's going to be twisting his hips on stage. He means he wants to play with the big boys on the PGA tour. This topic is getting a lot of talk on Golfwrx.com Check it out. Stay tuned and keep that bag fresh. -Gourmet Golf April 20, 2007So You Wanna Throw Sod On Tour...?
Justin Timberlake plans to take his own path to the PGA Tour. Pop super-stardom provides the time and money. Dance classes provide balance and flexibility. A solid work ethic earns him a 6 handicap and ambitions to play in PGA events by the age of 30. According to AZcentral.com, Timberlake's "aim is to make it into a pro event - just for a tournament or two. He practices every day, has a coach and takes his clubs wherever he goes." He's always on the road touring and is known to sneak out to the golf course when he has spare time. I caught him rolling into Olympic Club in a decked out H2 Hummer about 4 years ago, when he was in Oakland for a show. The kid's a decent swinger. The guy must follow me around 'cause we recently caught each other in Palm Springs. Lot's of golf over there too. He's been recently spotted on Carnoustie Golf Links and Muirfield. He takes his touring mantra from Alice Cooper. "Either drink all day or play golf." Golf. Now that's the way you bring sexyback. [photo: charles laberge] Phil's Drill
For those of you with The Golf Channel, you've probably seen Phil and Pelz working on the short game. There's plenty of footage of Phil's drill, where he surrounds the hole with 10 balls and proceeds to make his way around the circle and drain every putt. Now's your chance to be like Phil and earn some free kit. If you can get yourself to a Callaway Demo days from April 13- May 31 and make 10 of 10 putts a-la Phil's drill, a Callaway rep will hand you a brand new Marxman Putter. Make at least 8 of 10 putts and you'll be entered in a drawing for a 3 day short game extravaganza with the Pelzinator himself. Check out the Callaway site for a list of Demo stops and more details. Thanks to the "My Daily Slice of Golf Blog" for the lead. Week In Review- Week 41
We're still recovering from that brutal Masters hangover. I've had a chance to piece together my memory and can give you a review of what happened last week. Follow-up Masters coverage included words of wisdom from the field and a casting call for Zach Johnson's stunt double in his next made for TV movie. Last week we were keeping it smooth as silk on the putting green with our review of the Odyssey XG#9. It looks the like the readers at Golfwrx.com were in agreement about the merits of the putter. Stay tuned and keep that bag fresh -Gourmet Golf
April 15, 2007The Putter That Won Phil The Masters
I've had a chance to spend some quality time with the Odyssey XG #9. It took some time to get familiar with a new putter, but we're getting along just fine now. Phil Mickelson, known to favor traditional looking putters like the Wilson 8802, except for his momentary tryst with the Futura, provided the inspiration for Odyssey's XG#9 putter. This putter stays true to traditional aesthetics, but combines it with technically modern insert materials. The XG#9's classical and modern themes conjure images of Frank Gehry's deconstuctive architecture. Odyssey has always been the innovative leader in putter material science. Inspired by the latest technological developments in multi-layer golf balls, the XG#9 has a multi-layer insert that is a blend of two materials with differing levels of firmness. This provides improved feel off of the face of the putter, regardless of the type or construction of the golf ball being played. The core of the insert is made of a soft and highly resilient elastomer material for enhanced feel and the thinner outer striking surface contains urethane for fine-tuned responsiveness. Combined, these two materials are one-fifth the weight of steel, allowing more weight to be moved to the perimeter for a higher moment of inertia, more forgiveness and a truer roll. The face also includes a Textured Impact Zone, which enhances feel and clearly defines the optimum impact area on the insert face. The heavy weight of the head encourages a smooth, sweeping stroke. The feeling of at impact is lively, but not as "jumpy" and "skiddy" as some of the previous inserts that I have tried. Compared to the "huge block of steel" feeling of other high-end and tour caliber putters, impact feels lean, energetic, and nimble. I sense the ball begins to roll immediately off of the face and I receive immediate feedback in my hands.
In design, Phil sticks with a toe-weighted, heel shafted, flange blade putter that has treated him so well in the past. The putter has a long hosel with a half-shaft offset that will help you sweep the ball like Phil. At first glance, the simplicity of the putter, its clean lines, and satin finish are pleasant to my eye. On a sunny day, glare is minimal. From address, sight lines on the flange and the top line provide the perpendicularity that I require to sink putts and keep me focused on my line. I have always used anser-style putters because of the boxy, perpendicular, and geometric aspcets that help me align my putts. Along similar lines but on a different tangent, the XG#9 from address resembles a protractor from high school trigonometry class. The putter design and the metaphor of the protractor provides the right angle for attacking each putt and lends well to the Stan Utley School of putting.  The only downside to this putter is the lack of a functioning head cover. I can see how it would fit Odyssey's boxed-shaped, anser-style putters but the irregular curves of the XG#9 leaves the cover extremely unsettled. To make matters worse, Odyssey has opted for a neoprene and nylon hybrid cover (everything's hybrid these days). Odyssey's use of snug fitting neoprene always made sense to me, but the nylon adds weight and fits like an oversized shoe; clumsy and insecure. If I had been using the head cover, I'm sure I would have lost it by now. All of this could be solved with liberal amounts of Velcro to secure it more firmly. However, Odyssey has gone anemic on the prickly fuzz. The lonely centimeter squared of Velcro should be put out of its misery and removed. It just gives me reason to reach out for some cool after-market putter covers like these. An interesting element to the putter cover is the incorporated pocket and the poker chip that fits inside. We first blogged on the poker chip way back in the day. At first I thought its was just a novelty item, but Joe Kwok astutely suggested that the chip should be used as a target when practicing at home or on overcrowded municipal practice greens. This gives new meaning to the term "putt for dough."
April 10, 2007Celebrity Look-Alike
Is it just me or is there a striking resemblance between Zach Johnson and Joaquin Phoenix? Here's a few pics. They both look like they're singing. They both wear green jackets. They both win things. Works for me. 
April 09, 2007What's Going On In Their Heads
The course conditions and leaderboard intensity generated a lot of thoughts and opinions from the players. Here's a look at what some of the best are thinking. If anything, it kinda gives you hope for more exciting Master's Sundays in the future.
"This being Easter, Jesus was with me every step. I felt him. It was awesome." "This was not disappointing today. I threw it away the two days (Thursday and Saturday) I finished with two bogeys." "I never felt very comfortable. You may not know where Tiger is but you can feel him. It wasn't over until he hit his second shot on 18." "Somewhere along the way he got it into another gear. If he's not Superman, who is he? Superman's brother maybe." "I'm Zach Johnson and I'm from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. That's about it. I'm a normal guy. I feel honoured to play golf for a living." "I said to myself after five or six holes, 'Let's make it one of the best comebacks Augusta has ever seen'." "I'm already thinking about the US Open, I'd like nothing more than to come back with a victory."
"I thought it could be my year to win here." "I was kind of thinking I had a better chance of winning the par-three than I did the tournament. It's got to happen at some point so let's try to win both. It was a long chip." "The course was ultimately the beast this week."
[soucre: bbc news] Week In Review- Week 40 Yesterday was Easter Sunday at The Masters, and newsroom metaphors were as abundant as Augusta's azaleas and golfers' puzzled looks. Gourmet Golf congratulates Zach Johnson for his Master's victory and thanks him for the drama, entertainment, and inspiration. I'm sure Zach is reminiscing about every detail of last week. Let's do the same. We, at Gourmet Golf, lobbed a few posts into the blogosphere last week. We stuck with the Master's theme to keep you up to date on Phil's choice of menu and the Master's webcast /office entertainment schedule. Stay tuned and keep that bag fresh. -Gourmet Golf
April 03, 2007The Masters To The Rescue Well, you're almost guaranteed to be bored some time at work this week. When you're bored of surfing the web and can't think of anything else to Google, hop on over to The Masters web site for some multi-media distractions. You can listen to international super stars discuss there approach to Amen Corner. Once you're done with that, you can partake in the daily poll or take a quiz. If you don't want to waste your brain power, Amen Corner will be webcasted LIVE for your viewing pleasure. Here's the webcast schedule:
Hey Phil...What's For Dinner
Looks like Phil will be doing a few more sit-ups tomorrow morning. Hmmmm....I wonder if The Masters provides a vegetarian alternative? Week In Review- Week 40
Week 40 has come and gone and we've made it over the hill. No mid-blog crisis for us. When we look back at the past we see nothing but good memories. Speaking of the past, last week we introduced you to ZAGAT's new golf guide. Check it out if you need to freshen up your golf course rotation or just want to see how your favorite courses rank. The best week of the year is here. Let The Masters begin. That's all for now. Stay tuned and keep that bag fresh. Oh yeah... has anyone seen Morgan's clubs? -Gourmet Golf
[photo: philly.com] |
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On our way to May. One month closer to the U.S. Open
Tiger got to the Tour by banging balls into a net as soon as he could walk. Phil made his way through the collegiate ranks. Boo earned his stripes through the mini-tours. We're still waiting to see how Michelle gets there.
Since we're on the Odyssey tip, here's your chance to win a free Marxman Putter from Odyssey. I personally think this is a great looking putter.
This putter review has been a long time coming. Since Phil used it so "masterfully" to win last year's tournament, I especially wanted to blog this here XG#9 during The Masters. Here are some thoughts. Better late than never.
"This is very, very surreal. I have dreamt about it for years."
"I will walk away from this tournament knowing I have a game capable of winning the Masters." 
Even though Phil has been on a diet lately, there's always reason to splurge when you're celebrating. As the defending champion, Phil presided over tonight's 
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