Saturday, March 14, 2009

PRACTICE ROUND

Well, Scott Masingill and his wonderful wife, Laurie (the man married up) arrived at Nut House last night. After a few hours of good stories and lots of laughter and maybe a couple of beers, Scott, Laurie, Mrs. Head Nut (Pam) and I went to Dragon Ridge for dinner. Two bottles of a really nice red wine and a terrific meal later, we trundled off to bed with full stomachs and light hearts. It really does make your face a little sore to laugh that much.

Today, Scott and I will be working hard. We will be playing a practice round on Dragon Ridge...mostly for Scott because I think everything in Payete, Idaho remains frozen until April 15th or so. Afterwards, we will be enjoying the Golf Nut of the Year Cup Pairing Party at Nut House. "Sigh"...it's a tough life but somebody has to do it!

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

RED VINES & RED BULL

**WARNING** the ownership of the Golf Nut Society, as well as every doctor, nutritionist and mother on the planet do not endorse a morning meal consisting entirely of Red Vines washed down with a full can of Redbull**

Listen, I've read all the articles in magazines like "Golf Digest", "Golf" and "Golf Fitness," about how eating the right foods is important if you want to play your best golf. I get it. I really do get it. It makes great sense to me that a cold beer and a hotdog at the turn isn't nearly as good for your game as a bottle of water, half a turkey sandwich and an apple. I GET IT! And, as a rule, I agree with and adhere to healthy eating habits.

Yesterday daylight savings time began. You know, the day when time "springs ahead" or "falls back." Seven AM becomes eight AM. Normally organized and very "together" people screw up the whole clock changing ordeal...BAM...you wake up, look at the alarm, heave a sigh and... suddenly sit bolt upright in bed realizing you're an hour behind! Hey, what are you going to do? Tee times are sacred things, so you bolt out of bed, dress in a mad rush, jam to the golf course. Big nix on the pre-round warm-up and you're on the tee with no time to spare.

Three holes in to your round your stomach is growling so loud that players two holes away turn to look. You're so dry that you consider taking a drink from the ball washer. But it's your lucky day, the beverage cart pulls up on #4. Bad news, you discover there are no cookies, no candy, no soda, one crappy Powerade. You consider a beer but decide on a Red Bull (two actually) and the Cart Girl finds a package of Red Vines licorice, left over from the week the course opened. You are saved!

The kicker is that the round was terrific and I think I may have found the real "Breakfast of Champions."

Friday, March 6, 2009

Golf Nuts Radio

Mark Eisinger, Dawn Prendes and Dr. John Zulli to be featured on KLAV AM 1230 Radio "Golf Nuts" Show with “The Head Nut”…Michael Donovan and the “G-Man” Ron Gerrard.
Friday, March 6, 2009 1:00pm to 2:00pm
Great news, Michael Donovan, Head Nut of "Golf Nuts" and "Desert Duffers" will interview Mark Eisinger and Dawn Prendes on his next "Golf Nuts" radio show, Friday, March 6th from 1:00pm to 2:00pm. The Golf Nuts radio show airs on KLAV AM 1230.

Mark Eisinger will talk about Civitan International, local Southern Nevada Civitan Clubs and the all new Civitan Club On The Greens now forming as the first Civitan service golf club in Southern Nevada. (www.civitan.net/civitangolf and www.nevadacivitan.org)

Dawn Prendes will discuss the 3rd Annual Henry Prendes Charity Golf Classic scheduled for March 27th. (www.henrysplace.org)

Dr. John Zulli, the “Head” Coach, will discuss avoiding the dreaded “wheels coming off” during your Round using; Attention…Imagination…Communication.

Please listen on 1230 AM radio or online at www.klav1230am.com

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

A Sore Subject...

Well now… It seems that I struck a nerve or two with my comments about “The Haney Project” on The Golf Channel. So, in fairness, I watched it again this morning. The Golf Channel makes it easy to do that since their content repeats within 12 hours or less and often back-to-back. Case in point; “Golf Central” is a half-hour show that runs 3 consecutive times most mornings.

In my second viewing of episode #1, I did realize that I had been a little hard on Charles Barkley. The truth is that he doesn’t actually speak “painfully slow.” Barkley just speaks with a unique pattern that makes him seem slow (no pun intended.) Otherwise, there was little else I would change about yesterday’s blog.

I do feel compelled to explain the undercurrent of disdain for The Golf Channel that must have been evident in my musing. I’ve been a viewer, if not a fan, since the network began in 1995. Lately the content is extremely unappealing (with a few bright spots.) The decision making on programming, content concepts, talent has been pretty lame. Sure, the live (and not so live…see repeated every 12 hours or less) and expanded broadcasts of the PGA Tour have increased and that’s nice…nice but not nearly enough.

Here are just a few of my personal “beefs” with The Golf Channel:

The 50th Anniversary Bob Hope Chrysler Classic hosted by Arnold Palmer was wire-to-wire coverage by The Golf Channel. There were monster possibilities for some amazing stories and great content. The coverage was OK but the entire week ended with a resounding “THUD.” Shortly after Pat Perez drained his eagle putt on the 72nd hole (oh yeah…an eagle, when a par would win the tournament… that boy’s got big stones) and raised his arms in his first victory, The Golf Channel cut away to Kelly “…hang him in an alley” Tillghman and about 5 minutes of meaningless banter. OK, no problem, the network needs to fill time so the Player can take care of business at the scorer’s trailer as arrangements are made for Mr. Palmer to present the winner’s trophy. Surely, after the commercial break, viewers would be taken back to the Hope to watch the King present the trophy. Nope! The Golf Channel went directly to coverage of the Champions Tour. Come on, would it have been a problem for anyone if we missed seeing Jeff Sluman making a routine par on an easy par-4? Sluman…Palmer, Sluman…Palmer, amazing, and Rodney Dangerfield believed that HE got no respect!

Can you see why I may be a bit Harsh?

Then we have the “talent” on The Golf Channel. A quick recap; Rich Lerner is so incredibly full of himself that he leaves little room for anyone else on the small screen. Kelly Tilghman READS WELL but the last original thought she conceived was so awful that it almost got her fired! Frank Nobilo somehow just makes it hard to like him and I really don’t know why. The talent isn’t ALL bad, Stephanie Parks HAS GAME and, when allowed to be spontaneous she is stellar. Oh, wait a minute; is she even on The Golf Channel anymore? Brandel Chamblee is by far the most entertaining, insightful, informative and easily understood of the bunch. There are some other bright spots as well but mostly the “talent” is pretty vanilla.

Not an inspiring bunch overall. But here’s where my shorts knot up…the “entertainment” programming.

In the interest of time, mine and yours, I’m only going to talk about the worst show EVER… it is called “The Approach.” In this ridiculous program PGA Tour journeyman, Andrew Magee and some guy named Alex Miceli, argue various golf questions. The answers to these questions are either “solid” or “Shank”… how very cute, huh? The host is Kraig Kann, and the “match” is decided by whomever good old Kraig agrees with on the subject. That’s right, this dude Kraig Kann, who has hosted almost every show aired on The Golf Channel since 1995, decides who answers correctly. Why does HE get to decide? What’s his handicap anyway? Why not let golfers decide? Maybe an “expert panel” that has been pre-surveyed could determine who is right? You know, like “Family Feud” except about golf! “And the survey says…” Honestly, I’d rather swing by my local muni and get into a debate with a bartender, an Assistant Pro and a 16-Handicap dentist!!!

There you have it, my explanation. Thanks for all the calls, e-mails and instant-messages, they were way more entertaining than “The Haney Project.” Please…keep ‘em coming!

Head Nut #0001

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Not A Rave Review

LIKE WATCHING A TRAIN WRECK!

I tried to look away. Watching was painful but I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. It seemed impossible. Nothing could be worse than the disaster on the screen. It scared me. It shocked me. It nearly made me physically ill.
"It" was CHARLES BARKLEY'S GOLF SWING!

Honestly, The Golf Channel has, once again, over-hyped a mediocre show. "The Hank Haney Project" premiered last night after weeks of lead-in, hype and window dressing. Candidly, I was not surprised to be disappointed. For those of you who long ago gave up on The Golf Channel, the "project" in this new SIX MONTH LONG series is the horrific golf swing of retired NBA Superstar Charles Barkley. The premise is to take one of the best and currently one of the most famous, swing instructors, Hank Haney, and have him "fix" the most broken swing in golf, Sir Charles.

Before I pass judgment on the entire series I feel the need to be fair... last night was the first episode, so I guess I could allow a mulligan. The trouble I'm having is that the first show is just as exciting, innovative and compelling as a manual typewriter. How many times can one watch Charles Barkley make the same three or four swings, which were the examples of the "before" level of Barkley's game? The answer isn't clear to me because I'm still counting the number of times the Golf Channel has used those same swings...over and over and over and over. Making matters worse, the show "Golf's Amazing Videos" uses one of the same clips, please...shoot something NEW! Barkley, as the subject, doesn't really inspire one to keep watching. He speaks painfully slow and often comments from three-point range when he should be slam dunking. I really wish the producers gave we viewers a reason to root for the underdog but they didn't. Maybe Charles Barkley just doesn't inspire us to hope, or even care, if he fixes his swing.

Admittedly, Hank Haney had some interesting moments... there were just too few of them. Most of the time viewers got to watch Haney roll his eyes, furrow his brow or laugh out loud. I could only guess that Haney's contract was specific that he would be the "straight-man" to Barkley. It is a given that Haney knows his stuff. He coaches the #1 Golfer on the planet. So, let him show the world how he does it! More Haney and less Charles would be pleasant. Perhaps the next shows will improve?

I intend to try to watch next week's episode. The badness of the show isn't Haney's fault. The badness of the show certainly isn't Barkley's fault. Anyone who would endure his painfully awful swing for as long as he has must be mentally strong. Allowing the entire world to watch the game of golf bring Barkley to his knees and then be "saved" by Haney might have seemed like heady stuff in the boardroom. The first episode only left me sitting in the "bored" room.

Mulligan granted... reluctantly.