Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Introducing the Porsche of Luxury Golf Carts

Garia Edition Soleil de Minuit golf car
Created in the same factory where both the Porsche Cayman and the Porsche Boxster are built, the ultra luxurious Garia Soleil de Minuit golf cart makes its public debut!

Glamorously posing alongside of some of the most technologically advanced "supercars" at the 2010 Top Marques Monaco exhibition (considered by some to be the greatest show on Earth), the Garia was inspired by Formula One race cars with a haute-couture feel to create a unique golf car "guaranteed to give an exceptional driving experience. "

Should there be more fanfare for the Garia Soleil de Minuit as golf cart aficionados discuss the most expensive golf car ever made by a manufacturer? For $52,000 are you getting your money's worth?

Not only is she rounded and sleekly designed but the Garia Soleil de Minuit also features "a carbon roof, one-of custom paint tailored to enhance all of her design features, two-colored hand-stitched luxury seats, an alcantara roof lining and numerous hand-made details to create a truly unique luxury golf car."

Coolers in the standard, cookie-cutter golf carts just don't cut it in the Garia and an upgrade to a built-in refrigerator is available.

With exclusive personalization, your Garia can also be painted to resemble any automobile in the garage.

"Under the hood" for that price: double wishbone front suspension, drivetrain built by an Italian company that produces Ducati gearboxes and aluminum profiles in the frame.

So the "super" golf cart is born. Now it's only a matter of time before Jay Leno has one in his garage. As for me, I'm happy when my golf cart comes with a GPS!

Friday, March 26, 2010

A few photos from our Puerto Rico golf vacation!

Puerto Rico golf course, Palmas del Mar

Two golf carts enjoying the day and the scenery at the 12th hole at Palmas Del Mar Golf Club


Puerto Rico Golf Course Palmas del Mar, with golf bloggers
Members of our fivesome (?) on the 12th hole at the exquisite Palmas del Mar Golf Club include (from left to right):  Steve Ellis, Federico Diner, Stacy Solomon, Barry Solomon and Rob Hayashida




Puerto Rico Yacht Club at Palmas del MarPuerto Rico Stacy Solomon on Dinamar Yacht, Palmas del Mar


On board the exquisite Dinamar Yacht after a great lunch at the Yacht Club at Palmas Del Mar.



Dinamar Yacht, Palmas del Mar







Stacy Solomon at Bahia Golf ClubBahia Golf ClubBahia Golf Club
Bahia Golf ClubBahia Golf Club

 There were so many great picture opportunities for Bahia Golf and Beach Resort (an ecological wonder) that I have selected a few here and will post the remainder on Flickr. A St. Regis Hotel is currently being built on the property (opening October 2010) and will only stand two stories high with great views and a southern feel!




Puerto Rico resorts, Gran Melia The Gran Melia is a five-star luxury all-suite Resort located in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico. Views abound and for those vacationers who rarely see palm trees, you will never want to leave!



Puerto Rico hotels Gran Melia wet barGran Melia Puerto Rico poolThe pool at Gran Melia PR is one of the largest on the isla de encanta and the Wet Bar serves up an excellent mojito!

So many beautiful aspects to the Gran Melia Puerto Rico, from the Gardens to the Beach. Here are a few more pictures of this luxury resort!

The Gran Melia transforms at night and takes on a very romantic feel. I was told that there is a person who has the specific task each night of lamp lighter for all of the candles within the Resort that cast a magnificent glow!




Puerto Rico Beach sunset

A Grand View at Sunset from the Beach at Gran Melia in Puerto Rico. 

There are top quality, ecologically-friendly golf courses nearby: Bahia Golf Club, Palmas del Mar (I would mention Rio Mar in more detail but we played seven holes in a downpour) with Trump International PR as this Resort's next door neighbor. Although the Puerto Rico Open prevented us from playing here, the experience was well worth it!)

Delicious food (yes, I do have picture of some of the meals, just ask), sunsets like this and a warm welcome from the staff of the Gran Melia (and El Coqui) make you feel like Puerto Rico is truly the isla de encanta!




Tuesday, March 23, 2010

What makes the 18th hole at the Arnold Palmer Invitational a Kodak moment?

18 hole at Bay Hill Golf CourseFor the second consecutive year, Kodak selected the 18th hole of the Bay Hill Golf Club & Lodge as a participant in the $1 million Kodak Challenge competition.

What makes this final hole worthy of a Kodak moment?

According to Kodak, "the Kodak Challenge was created to celebrate the beautiful holes and memorable moments in golf."

Steve Powell, Director of Development for the Kodak Challenge added, " Number Eighteen at the Bay Hill Golf Club & Lodge is one of the most historic and exciting holes in golf and is the perfect example of what the Kodak Challenge is all about for players and fans."

The par-4, 485-yard finishing hole looks simple on paper. It's straight away to a wide fairway, but that's where simple ends. The large, kidney shaped green is fronted by rocks and water, requiring a longer carry to the right half. The bunkers left of the green await errant shorts of the hydrophobic.

Tee shots on this great finishing hole must find the fairway to give you a chance to get home in two. From the tee, favor the fairway's left side. Then take enough club to carry the lake. Shots hit over or left of this green will find a bunker or heavy grass. Take deep breath and fire away.

Renovation Notes

A back tee was added to increase the hole yardage by approximately 10 yards. The renovated green is almost a carbon copy of the old green with slight modifications in the green size to accommodate an additional front pin location and middle back pin location.

Despite Tiger Woods' absence from the Arnold Palmer Invitational, it was reported that ticket sales remained unaffected. Although the media questioned whether or not Woods would defend his title (which briefly raised sales for the event) the Masters will benefit from his return.

Look for Woods' image, removed from the top banner of the official Arnold Palmer Invitational web site after the scandal erupted, to be back on the site as the 2009 champion.

This event has now become glory's last stand for Phil Mickelson who has one chance remaining to make his mark this season before having to compete with a hungry Tiger Woods.

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Monday, March 22, 2010

Should golfers searching for a new putter try the Cleveland Classic BRZ?

Cleveland Classic BRZ 1 Putter
Walking through to the rear of the local Golfsmith store, the putting green is surrounded by about a hundred different putters. Every big name and style of putter encircle the perimeter from Cleveland, Odyssey, Ping including belly putters, flat blades as well as two and three ball putters.

How many golfers that come upon this area in their local golf shop will walk away with just the right putter?

Some may simply walk over to a putter because of its look, pick it up, feel the weight and then take it into the putting 'green' to see how the ball bounces off of the clubface.

If a few golf balls find their intended target then 'voilà' the putter goes home with golfer to try out on the golf course. If the 'flat blade' works for a golfer out on the course then it gets rave reviews and pitched to friends, family, any one who will listen. If, however, your game suffers and your putts per round increase, that new putter either gets returned, exchanged or relegated to golf bag storage.

The above trial and error is one of the mainstays in which the amateur golfer can tell which putter works as putting is definitely based on feel.

I just received another email from a golf club manufacturer, Cleveland Golf, this time urging me to try the latest Classic 1 BRZ putter, "inspired by the classics, crafted for performance". 

The new Cleveland Classic BRZ 1 putters are designed with a copper infused face insert for a soft yet responsive feel at impact and comes with its very own oil cloth to help prevent oxidation. According to PutterZone.com, "oil cloths are typically associated with high-end carbon steel putters bearing “oil can” and black oxide finishes.

Putterzone.com continued with the fact that the "finishes are much more sensitive to the elements—such as water and fertilizer—than stainless steel or plated finishes. Rubbing them down with oil adds a protective barrier to rust and corrosion."

Great, more work trying to keep my golf clubs in optimum condition.

The soft feel at impact as well as heel-toe weighting, however, may provide interest to golfers who will benefit from added forgiveness.

As it is said, 'it's the arrow, not the Indian' so the question for me is whether or not the reward of placing a new putter in my bag to possibly see an improvement in my putting outweighs the risk? Also, shelling out approximately $100 for yet another putter when my Odyssey two-ball putter does the job doesn't necessarily seem worth the investment.

On the flip side, the Cleveland Classic line of putters have earned best buy honors from PutterZone.com for the past two years and are really great looking! However, with all of the many choices in putters, don't be too quick to grab a putter from your local golf store with the hopes of improving your stroke and lowering your score.

Take your time to research the different putters on the market, find a golf store where you can feel the putter in your hands, take more than a few putts and be sure to ask about a return or exchange policy.

With golf club manufacturers eager for your business, be aware that sales is their primary concern. It is up to you to understand the market as well as your stroke.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Tiger Woods' Masters Chatter takes center stage from John Daly

Which PGA Tour event is being played this week?

Maybe this is just a rhetorical question as anyone keeping track of the PGA Tour can easily find the information but, with the internet and other assorted golf venues clogging up the airwaves with the return of Tiger Woods at the Masters Tournament, I had to go to the very bottom of the Golf Channel website in order to find out that the Transitions Championship is being telecast live today. I guess the Golf Channel must feel that "buzz" sells better than golf.

Even the mesmerizing John Daly, with his own Golf Channel presence and past indiscretions, cannot hold the attention of the public like the current fiasco which surrounds Woods. 

I wonder if Daly is happy that the press is leaving him be for the present or dismayed about his loss of coverage to Tiger?

From "The Biggest Story Ever" which claims that Tiger Woods is indeed not as "big" as the Masters itself (but his story is) to "Things We Won't See or Hear at the Masters" which is basically a litany of Tiger briefings aimed at quelling the Q & A's before they start flying, golf writers are having a field day wondering what to talk about next in order to get as much press out of "The Return" as possible.

Frankly, I'm just interested in hunkering down to my yearly ritual and watching the Masters at Augusta. Knowing in advance that this particular major is known for its southern graciousness and hospitality, I don't think it will be because of the Masters that the tournament turns into a media circus.

As Richard Roeper stated, "With Tiger's return, the 2010 Masters will probably be the highest-rated golf tournament ever -- but that still won't make it the second-biggest event in 10 to 15 years." That is, as Roeper mentioned, unless Woods has the wherewithal to levitate above the golf course and start speaking in tongues."


Let's give each tournament the respect it's due, follow golf for the sake of the sport and leave personal sentiment and proclivities behind closed doors, where they belong!

Check out the Transitions Championship this week on the Golf Channel.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Is Trump International Puerto Rico challenging enough for the PGA Tour?

Golf fans are creatures of habit and are therefore are used to watching a regulation four rounds of tournament golf on the usual Thursday through Sunday without interruption. When that schedule goes awry, viewers tend to scatter and abandon their proclivities for other more regularly scheduled programming.

So went the tale of the 2010 Puerto Rico Open. Weather delays forced fans who normally would have been swept up by the drama of "must see" golf television to comfortably burrow into their strato-loungers and follow the WGC-CA Championships where Ernie Els did not disappoint.

As golf writers desperately searched for inspiring stories by following veteran John Daly (T24), one overlooked yet newsworthy rookie, Derek Lamely, was surging up the leaderboard.

Although Lamely won on the Nationwide Tour in 2009, his name is not yet synonymous with the big draws because it takes time and many attempts to get noticed and some positive press. Although he m/c'd his last three out of four events Derek has made four out of eight cuts on the PGA Tour this season.

Even more impressive, looking at Tour stats, Derek not only turned in the second lowest final 36 holes on the PGA Tour this year with a 15-under 129 but fired a course record 9-under 63 in the third round. His 19-under 269 total is a tournament record. Last year Derek finished tied for thirteenth after entering the event as a Monday qualifier.

Derek Lamely made Trump International golf course look easy!

Congratulations to Derek Lamely on his breakthrough win! With his full exemption on the PGA Tour through the 2012 season, does he now have enough confidence to take on Tiger Woods?

As Derek Lamely admitted after his win, "I'm still a rookie out here, even though I just won."

2010 Puerto Rico OpenIn spite of rainy conditions at the 2010 Puerto Rico Open an estimated 30,000 people attended the event at Trump International Golf Club. Barry and I spent much of our time tweeting and taking pictures from the Banco Popular and Puerto Rico Tourism skyboxes, as well as from areas around the 14th and 18th holes.

2010 Puerto Rico Open

More images of the 2010 Puerto Rico Open at Trump International Golf Club can be seen on our Flickr page.

Golf for Beginners would like to thank Puerto Rico Tourism as well as Banco Popular for their hospitality during this exciting PGA Tour event week.