HOOKED ON GOLF BLOG HAS MOVED!

WE HAVE MOVED HERE!

http://www.hookedongolfblog.com

Since the beginning I’ve been using the free service at blogspot and the blogger software. This served me fine for a while, but my blog is growing fast. I’ve been feeling growing pains and having some formatting and display issues.

Now I’m no longer tied to blogger. I have my own domain and hosting now. I’ve been able to use much better blogging software and hopefully the interface and features will be much better. I also anticipate better speed and performance as well.

My new server also has TONS of other capabillities and scripts that I’ll be able to use to make the experience here even better. For now, I’m just working on the design and basics of the blog. More features will be coming soon.

This will be the last post here.
PLEASE UPDATE YOUR LINKS TO OUR NEW URL:
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Masters Day 2 Posponed Due To Weather

The second round of the Masters has been suspended for the day and will resume at 8 a.m. ET Saturday.

Chris DiMarco did manage to finish his first round this morning with a 67 and leads at -5.

Streak #2 ends at 39

Unfortunately yesterday my current streak (#2) of playing consecutive golf holes with one ball ended at 39. The record is still 92.

Talk of Tiger Disqualification?

Late last night on The Golf Channel (yes I do watch that channel!), there was a media buzz around Augusta that Tiger may have made a mistake on 13 green after he putted into Ray's creek. The first theory was that he improperly put a 2nd ball into play and that he may be DQ'd. Then after realizing he hadn't actually completed his round and signed his scorecard, there would only be a penalty assesed.

But the problem wasn't 13 at all. It was another hole where Tiger tapped in a putt. Apparently a viewer called in and reported that Tiger had putted with the putter between his legs rather than to his side. (The way Sam Snead used to putt). Tiger had to align himself in an odd way so that he wasn't standing in anyone's line. Tiger actually had a meeting with rules officals and they reviewed the tape. They determined that Tiger had not done anything wrong eventually.

So Tiger's bad day didn't end when he stopped playing. It continued late into the evening.

List of strange day one items

What strange things happend in day 1 at The Masters?

1. Tiger putts an eagle putt into Ray's creek.
2. Tiger chunks his driver and knocks it 60 yards.
3. Tiger hits the flagstick with a great shot on 1, only to have it bounce into the trap where he can't get up and down.
4. A former Masters champion shoots a 106
5. Another former Masters champion withdraws
6. Palmer is on the leaderboard....Ryan Palmer
7. Duval was at -2....for a while
8. Jack was at -1....for a while
9. 5 hour 20 minute rain delay
10. Ernie Els was in the trees more than the fairway
11. Fuzzy had 15 clubs in his bag for the first 2 holes.
12. Vijay elects to finish the hole after the horn and three putts for bogey
13. A player forgot to bring his golf clubs to The Masters
14. Play suspended due to darkness
15. Martha Burke is still out there
16. Late night after day one there was talk that TIGER MIGHT HAVE BEEN DISQUALIFIED. But all was ok.

Go bug someone else Martha

"Martha Burk's not quite finished with Augusta National. The national women's group headed by Burk sent letters to the Masters' three television sponsors asking for details on their hiring, pay, and promotion of women. Burk she wants to make sure IBM, SBC Communications and Exxon Mobil aren't discriminating against female employees."

Come on Martha, give it up already. You've lost this battle. Go bug someone else.

Masters Day 1

What a surprise... Play was delayed by over 5 hours in round 1 of The Masters due to rain. I guess Mother Nature couldn't get a membership at Augusta. They were unable to finish the first round due to darkness. Play will resume at 9:45 a.m. ET. The lowest score for a finished round is 69 by Mark Hensby. Chris DiMarco is at -4 but hasn't finished his round.

The "Big 5" (not 4): VJ & Phil and Goosen are at -2, Tiger is at +2 and Ernie Els is at +3.

I love watching this tournament because there are things that can happen here that simply don't just about anywhere else.

Tiger had some very entertaining moments. First was the eagle putt from the middle of the green into Ray's Creek on 13. Then his approach shot on 1 bounced off the flagstick and into the greenside bunker...bogey. Later on he chunked his driver 6 inches behind the ball and hit his drive 60 yards on #2. He knocked his 3rd shot into the trap and made a miracle putt to save his par 5.

Other interesting items include David Duval who had it to -2 at one point but is now at +3. Shingo is taking advantage of his special invitation. Palmer is on the leaderboard.....Ryan Palmer. Nick Flado had to bail due to a back injury. He shouldn't have had all that fun in the par 3 contest. Nicklaus had it going at -1, but fell back to +4.

I love The Masters.

The worst putt Tiger ever hit?

On 13 (par 5) today at The Masters, Tiger had a lenghty eagle putt. He knocked it by the hole, off the green and into Ray's creek. WOW!

Masters News Conference Wednesday

Hootie took the stand at today's Masters news conference. There were the usual questions about women becoming members to which Hootie answered, "We have adopted a new policy. We don't talk about club matters, period."

Hootie was forced to legitimate their not inviting Colin Montgomere to the Masters. Seems pretty clear to me as he didn't meet the qualifications and they wanted to invite Shingo Katayama to draw from their huge base in Japan.

There was lengthy question and answer as to wether or not the Masters is considering putting a "tournament ball" into play. Such a tournament ball would turn back the technology clock and reduce the distance the ball could travel. Ball manufacturers would certainly be against this for general PGA Tour play. Players would too as this would hurt their endorsement money. Hootie made it quite clear he'd like to see a tournament ball.

Discussion went to sponsors (or lack thereof). Hootie stated "we could go on without sponsors indefintely." But he did mention the plan to add a new practice facility and hinted that sponsor money would be the funding source. Regarding sponsors for The Masters: I love only having to watch 4 minutes of commercials per hour.

Today was the traditional par 3 contest. This is a very casual event where the players have fun with each other and the spectators....er a "patrons." Remember they're not specatators, they're "patrons."

The latest weather report is for rain Thursday and possibly Friday. Come on Mother Nature, you know better than messing with Hootie and The Masters. If you don't let it rain maybe they'll let you join the club. Maybe not, you're female.

I really hope it doesn't rain. They're saying the greens are HARD AND FAST. This is the way I like to see The Masters. I love the need for crucial approach shot placment and perfect putting. These are not as important if it rains and softens the course.

Stupid press questions at the Masters

Press guy: "Tiger, why is it that in the history of the Masters no one has put together four rounds in the 60's?"
Tiger: "Because it's hard."

DUH!

Press guy: "Tiger would you enjoy blowing away the field and winning by ten?"
Tiger: "Yes."

DUH!

Press guy: "Phil, what did you take from your duel with Tiger at Doral?"
Phil: "A loss."

DUH!

My goal for next year is to get into the Masters as the first golf blogger to get a press credential.

Tiger sighting at Augusta

From the practice tee at Augusta! There are some mac users (myself included) who can't get to the live broacast from masters.org. I figured a way around it that works for me using firefox.

I just pasted this URL into my browser and bypassed their browser check.

CLICK HERE

Busy Golf Monday

Here's a recap of the busy day in golf today, the Monday before The Masters.

1. Phil Mickelson won the BellSouth Classic by winning a 4 hole, 5 man playoff. The other 4 playoff players were Jose Maria Olazabal, Rich Beem, Brandt Jobe and Arjun Atwal.

Olazabal was a whole golf story on his own. He had a chance to win the tournament in regulation, but his nerves got the best of him. He pulled a short birdie putt on 18 in regulation, and did the same thing on the first playoff hole. Jobe and Atwal knocked their 2nd shots in the drink on the 1st playoff hole, leaving Mickelson, Beam and Olazabal to continue on to the 2nd playoff hole.

On the 4th playoff hole, Olazabal had a nuclear meltdown. He had to hack out of the salad bar and then hope to knock his 3rd shot on the green and make birdie. Instead he knocked his 3rd AND fifth shots into the drink on 18. At that point it was "adios Jose." Phil then drained a 20 foot birdie putt to close out Beam and claim his 3rd victory of the year and the 26th of his career.

2. Jack Nicklaus announced today that he WILL compete in The Masters this year. Glad to hear it.

3. Many players were on the course at Augusta practicing today. It was fun to watch DLIII, Haas, Clarke and many others go through their practice routines on the range. You can go to www.masters.org and see live cameras all week from different locations. The camera stayed on long after the players left. It was kind of funny to watch one grounds crew guy out there picking up range balls by hand.

4. On a personal note, I stopped in at my club today to give a friend some shopping money. He's flying out to The Masters tomorrow. I gave him $200 and a shopping list of Masters goodies. The main thing on my list is a Masters flag.

5. On a 2nd personal note, one of my 3 golf leagues is tomorrow. Not sure that will happen since now (9:55pm) it is HAILING SIDEWAYS here.

This is COOL!

I'm watching the live feed from The Masters right now! The live camera is on the range. I've been watching Tom Lehman and Jay Haas practice. How cool is that. Haas' caddy is helping him out with stance, ball position and swing positions. It is very neat to watch them working on their swings and getting feedback from their caddies.

Tom Lehman

Jay Haas

IT'S MASTERS WEEK!

16 Tee to Green
Originally uploaded by mediaguru.

It's Masters week folks! This is without a doubt the best golf week of the entire year.

There is something "special" about The Masters and Augusta. Perhaps it is the touch of Bobby Jones.

Here's another photo from my Augusta gallery courtesy of Everett, my best friend. Check out Everett's blog at The Grand Staircase.

This photo is of the 16th green.
Click here for all 74 photos from this gallery and enjoy!

I told you so

In this post I mentioned that I thought Ian Woosnam's "back injury" would miraculously heal by the opening round of The Masters.

I'm big enough to admit that I was wrong.

His back got better even quicker. Quick enough in fact to play a practice round at Augusta on Sunday while the players who didn't abandon ship on the BellSouth were still trying to get their 2nd of 3 rounds completed.

Streak #2 continues

76 yesterday and 76 today. Two 18 hole rounds with my BlackMax ball. Both rounds were very windy. Current streak is now at 36 holes.

I'm attempting to break my 92 hole record of consecutive holes with one ball.

Weather delays at the 2005 Masters?

The curse of the PGA Tour this year has been rain delays. Given the close proximity of the BellSouth Classic and the fact that it has been delayed 2 days made me wonder if The Masters would have any weather issues. I always think of The Masters as 84 degrees and sunny. That won't the case this year apparently.

Here's the current weather report for The Masters, 3 days 23 hours 8 minutes and 27 seconds before tee off.

BellSouth Classic reduced to 54 holes

The won't be a 36 hole finish on Monday at the BellSouth Classic. I bet many of the players (especially those going to The Masters) are happy about that.

After play on Saturday 63 players had yet to finish the FIRST round. Billy Mayfair was atop the leaderboard at -4 but had only completed 13 holes. Several other players were at -3 and had finished round 1.