A free Valentine's Gift for the golfer you love

I'm not a big fan of January.  The excitement of  Xmas is over and all we have to look forward to is snow, sleet and freezing rain.  Oh and did I mention darkness?  It's dark when I leave for work and dark when I come home at night.  And to top it off there are no more statuatory holidays until March.

No wonder bears hibernate at this time of year!

Oh and what about taxes?  For the self-employed like me, I enjoy visiting my tax accountant at this time of year about as much as having a root canal done. 

Sigh...

No discretionary spending for me for a while.  And it's usually shopping that gets me out of my winter funk.


So imagine my delight when I found out that I could get a $24.99 iPhone app I've been wanting to try for a while for free.  Yup, the folks at Mobitee are having a one-time promotion where you can get the app for free between January 26th and February 2nd, 2012. 

Haven't heard about Mobitee?  Well, if you've been spending $60+ a year to update your SkyCaddie subscription, then you need to check them out.

Mobitee is a GPS golf app which contains over 25,000 golf courses, satellite aerial views of each hole, flyover videos, a range finder, shot tracking, score cards, and something I love...FREE updates! 

It works on the iPhone, iPod Touch (if you have Internet access) and Android and BlackBerry devices as well.

Check out this review done by Daily App Show. 



Pretty cool eh? 

I've just downloaded it for my iPhone and I can't wait to try it out on my home course in Vancouver.  Only problem is that it's too cold to play golf.  :-(

But I have a great idea.  Why don't you download it (make sure you download the premium version 2.8), try it out on your favorite courses and come back and tell me how it was.  Then I can live vicariously through you until the sun decides to honour us with his presence in this winterland.

And don't forget Valentine's Day is just around the corner.  Why not download it for the one you love at the same time?  It's never a bad thing to be early with a Valentines gift - beats the heck out of being late. ;)

Golfgal

Do your golf clubs suffer from S.A.D.?

It's January 21, 2012 -- almost two months since I lifted a golf club.  I remember the last time as if it was yesterday. 

18th hole, Ka'anapali Kai... 

My golfguy and I were reminiscing about the last 3 weeks when we played golf every day in paradise. We were moaning a bit that we were down to our last 2 or 3 shots for a very long time. 

It never occurred to us at the time that someone was listening, until I picked up my sand wedge, took an easy swing and proceeded to shank my new Prov V1 into the water.  Sandy was misbehaving.  No way was she going to let me par that last hole after hearing she was soon going to be denied active duty for many months.  At first I was angry, but then I understood...who could blame her? 

Imagine if we treated our kids like we treat our golf clubs. You try playing daily with Johnny for weeks on end and then lock him in his room for 2 or 3 months.  Family Services would be on your case faster than you can say PPSD (Post Paradise Stress Disorder). 

Golf clubs aren't just inanimate objects I've come to learn.  They need continuous tender loving care in order to do their job -- a job they do for us every chance they can, without complaint even in the foulest weather.

Clubs require regular exercise to stay fit for golf.  But instead of supporting their fitness regime, we dump them in the garage or basement when weather socks us in, just like I did upon our return from Maui.  We self-centered golfers are the reason that our clubs suffer S.A.D. (Seasonal Abandonment Disorder) every winter. 

Two months ago, my clubs went from swinging in seventh heaven to hunkering down in hell (which in our home is a cold dark shed) - all in a 24 hour period.  Talk about a shock!  No wonder they feel abandoned.

I did try and explain to them that as soon as it was 8 degrees C (46 F) I would come and take them out for a round. But that any lower temperature than that would be too cold for my hands to grip them.

Weeks went by and soon it was Xmas.  Imagine my surprise to find hand warmers in my stocking Xmas morning.  Where did they come from?   

It didn't take me long to find out.  It was all too clear who the secret Santas were when I discovered my stix waiting for me at the front door.

I confronted them as they stared out at the bleak cold day asking which of them was responsible for the toasty treats.  Not one of my sulky soldiers would look at me.  Finally Sandy peeked around her neighbor and then I knew. 

She was trying to make up for her blunder on my approach shot to 18 the month before.   I couldn't help but smile.  Unfortunately the warmers were not enough for me to take her out to play then or since.  Below freezing temperatures and snow do not a great round of golf make.

But now it's January 21, 2012.   My clubs continue to sit at the front door staring out towards the south to where the driving range awaits our return someday. 

The high today is 7 degrees C (45 F).  I'm feeling the full effects of P.P.S.D. and know that my clubs are as S.A.D. as S.A.D. can be.

1 degree is all it takes to turn our frowns upside down.  What's 1 degree?! 

The snow has been washed away, there are heaters in the driving range stalls and my handy warmers are in my bag. 

I think it's time for me to reward my loyal lasses for their patience these past 2 months.

It's time to take the plunge ladies.  Brrrr...ring it on and let the 2012 golf season begin!

Golfgal

---

Don’t go to Maui unless you can risk the horrors of PPSD
Gordon Clark gclark@theprovince.com twitter.com/gordzillacity
The Province
16 Jan 2012
Ihave a warning for everyone. Do not, I repeat do not, go to Hawai‘i on vacation, particu‘ularly if you care about your mental health. I’ve just returned from a family vacation to Ka‘anapali on Maui and I’ve never been more miserable in my...read more...

Tech Tags: The Province newspaper Editorial

Is it adios time for the Aloha season?

Every January I count down the days to the Hyundai Tournament of Champions.  Imagine an event where only winners are invited to play - what could be more exciting than that?

Well, actually almost anything this year.

Last weekend I had it on in the background while I did more stimulating things - like tallying year end expenses for my taxes.

Normally when the Aloha season kicks off on the PGA Tour on Maui, I’m glued to the TV, looking to see how the best of the best play Kapalua. 

But this season, with so many of the world’s best taking a pass on this event, I listened to the telecast, but my heart was just not in it.   If it weren't for Steve Stricker being in the field, I'm not sure I would have even listened to it.

Three out of the four, 2011 major winners did not feel the event was worth their time (Rory McIlroy, Charl Schwartzel, Darren Clarke).  The number one player in the world (Luke Donald)  had other things to do.  Numbers 4 and 6 (Martin Kaymer, Adam Scott) were also missing in action.

And Lefty hasn't shown up in years, allegedly because the Plantation Course doesn’t suit his game.  How can a course not fit the game of someone took home the trophy twice in 5 years (Phil Mickelson won the event in both 1994 and 1998).

Nope!  There is something seriously wrong when the most exclusive event of the year is excluded from the calendars of the best players in the world.  With both Nick Faldo and Johnny Miller in the booth, there were bigger stars behind the cameras than in front of them.  How sad is that!

Now don't get me wrong, the young guns are fun to watch (well, at least those who don't carry broomsticks in their bags), but we need big name draws at this event or it might go the way of the Champions Skins Game. 

Yes, sadly after an 11-year run on Maui, the Champions Skins Game is taking a leave of absence (or should I say, the sponsors are taking a leave).  Sniff...

The Royal Ka'anapali hosted the event from 2008-2011 and prior to that the legends of the game enjoyed 7 years competing at Wailea. 

I've always wanted to attend the Skins Game and thought it was just a matter of time before I would walk the fairways with the greatest players of our time, and my favorites of all time -- two-time defending champions, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson.

Tom and Jack take home $310,000 at the 2011 Skins Game (Photo credit: Ka'anapali Resort)

But time may have run out on me.  Jack and Tom were ready to play this year if someone was ready to pay a fraction of what Hyundai paid out at Kapalua. 

The total purse for the Champions Tour this year was $5.6 million; Skins - $770K.

Stricker took home: $1,120,000; Jack and Tom had to split $310K.

Why do I suddenly feel like I'm talking about the LPGA? Sigh...

Forgive my first rant and rave of the new year, but something's just not right here. 

If fans make enough noise about the Skins Game, IMG and ESPN might put a little extra effort into getting it back because the men want to play!  Jack and Tom have already said they'd be back.

But what about Hyundai?  If I was the CEO, I wouldn't want to invest my money in a tournament where the best players bail every year.  But it wouldn't be Hyundai's fault if they withdrew their sponsorship and the Tournament of Champions collapsed; it would be the the players themselves we should blame. 

Golfgal