http://jasonkerkmans.com Tue, 28 Jun 2011 01:45:02 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en With the new 8th season of his HBO Series, Curb Your Enthusiasm, set to kick off July 10th, Larry David is letting fans in on what may be the most rational and stable part of his life. And surprise, surprise, it's his golf game. Sure, as he admits in a debut article he wrote for The New Yorker magazine, David's game has gone through all the machinations and idiosyncrasies of his character on the show. (Who, ... ]]> http://jasonkerkmans.com/golf/golf/personalities/486/curbyourgame/ There's a great video on the New York Times website by Bill Pennington for his On Par series about the Polara Golf company and their anti-slice ball, which this screen shot was pulled from. Basically, Polara has created a golf ball with shallower dimples around the seam, or vertical center line, and deeper dimples on each of the vertical hemispheres. The result, when hit, is that the ball resists the urge to travel left or right...of ... ]]> http://jasonkerkmans.com/golf/golf/equipment/459/fly-right/ Aside from those living in the Pac NW, flying into the town of Kelowna, in British Columbia's Okanagan Valley, may take the better part of a day after a likely layover in Seattle or Portland. However, once you arrive at the far north end of the Sonoran Desert and the home of icewine and Canadian golf, it's a quick transition into a four-day itinerary that will leave you awash in a sea of reds, whites ... ]]> http://jasonkerkmans.com/golf/golf/440/fore-day-flight/ More often than not, the problem with charity golf tournaments as I see it, is the fact that each foursome playing is remains disconnected from the rest of the event to some degree or another while they are on the course. Meanwhile, the great thing about a bar is that you could enter alone and walk out with dozens of new friends. Barstools have that ability it seems, whereas golf carts do not. So, when my brother, ... ]]> http://jasonkerkmans.com/golf/golf/416/a-beer-for-every-tee-box/ There is no denying that the West Texas town of El Paso has gotten more than its share of bad press through association lately. It’s proximity to Juarez, one of the more dangerous battlegrounds in Mexico’s ongoing war with the drug cartels, has unfortunately slowed tourism to the area. Yet, driving near the San Jacinto Plaza today, there’s a surge of activity, redevelopment and renewal taking place. And since all of the registered historic buildings in ... ]]> http://jasonkerkmans.com/golf/golf/389/royal-road-of-golf/ Clicgear’s newest pushcart - known as Model 3.0 ($200) - is lighter and more user-friendly (read: easier to lift, fold, unfold and push) than any cart I've ever rolled. Albeit, my experience has been limited until now. Long ago, I put pushcarts in the "Things I'll Do When I'm Retired" category. This was mostly a response to the advent of the motorized walking cart. (Really? Because using four fingers and two thumbs in order to ... ]]> http://jasonkerkmans.com/golf/golf/equipment/365/geared-up-and-ready-to-roll/ Just down the hill from the empire walls protecting some of golf's biggest equipment manufacturers used to be the Four Seasons Resort Aviara, North San Diego. But as of this past June, the Four Seasons is gone. In its place, Aviara has been re-branded as the Park Hyatt Aviara Resort. One thing that didn't change is the big-for-its-size 7,007-yard Arnold Palmer-designed course at The Aviara Golf Club. It can still leave you whimpering. As many say, ... ]]> http://jasonkerkmans.com/golf/golf/equipment/341/kingdom-come/ The haggis was brought into the room, lifted above the head of its carrier and preceded by its chef, a bagpiper, and a barman. It was the barman who gripped the bottle of Glenfiddich single-malt Scotch and lifted it into the air as if to purify the atmosphere in advance of the haggis's arrival. Robert Burns would have been proud. In fact, the spirit of Scotland's national poet seemed to be hovering in the dining room ... ]]> http://jasonkerkmans.com/golf/golf/323/spirits-of-scotland/ There are times when you feel you shouldn’t be going on a trip, even before you’ve left for the airport. This started out as one of those times. My wife, Rebecca, was supposed to be traveling with me, and yet because of a booking mishap there I was, on my way to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, to see the St. Regis Punta Mita resort alone. To say I was not excited to be going would be ... ]]> http://jasonkerkmans.com/golf/golf/311/the-reluctant-traveler/ Sometimes, marketing campaigns are so transparently contrived that I wonder who would ever be tempted enough to actually buy the shtick they're selling. [See: Nike's Tiger Woods ad from April 7th, here.] While other ad campaigns (like those for Progressive Direct's car insurance comparison service where they compare my rate with other top companies, here) not only work, but they somehow even get me to feel something resembling trust when I think about an insurance company. The ... ]]> http://jasonkerkmans.com/golf/golf/equipment/279/if-the-ball-fits/