Tuesday, January 26, 2010

To knock-off or not to knock-off?

I get a ton of emails from suspicious-sounding suppliers of golf equipment, usually from China, and they almost always say they carry the name-brand stuff: you know, Nike, Callaway, Ping, Titleist, etc. And they're kind of funny, too: plain-text, horrible grammar, bad spelling, and always from a guy named Mike or Larry or Simon (no last names given). I suppose, like anything, there's a big market for knock-off golf clubs. Do they perform as well as the real thing? Do people care, as long as it has the right logo on it? Well, the big players are taking it seriously, and have collaborated on cracking down on the knock-off trade. Here's the press release:
http://www.worldgolf.com/newswire/browse/58200-Criminal-prosecution-against-counterfeit-golf-club-warehouses

Just before Christmas, a lady came into our Pro Shop with a sleeve of Titleist ProV1 balls, and asked if they were genuine. Our Pro, Jay, only needed a few seconds to tell that they were counterfeit. Buyer beware.

Friday, January 22, 2010

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JANE!

Quick... how many months?
(sorry for the indulgence, folks. It's an inside joke)

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Watching Graham DeLaet


With a decent finish at last week's Sony Open in Hawaii, as well as his 8th place finish in Q School back in December, Graham DeLaet's star is rising. The Canadian Tour's 2009 Player of the Year is carding some fine scores, and hopefully the trend will continue for him. I always enjoy keeping tabs on Canadian players, and Graham will be one to watch. Here's a link to his PGA Tour web stats:


Monday, January 18, 2010

Some sad news today...

D. Cecil "Cec" Wilton passed away on Saturday, January 16th, after a lengthy struggle with cancer. Cec was a long-time member here at Victoria Park East, and also worked for us occassionally as a marshall. He was a fun guy, and always had a kind word (and some decent golf tips!) for my kids. We'll miss you, Cec. I'll raise a pint of Keith's for 'ya!
For those members and friends that might be reading this, here's the link to the Guelph Mercury obit, it's a good one:
http://www.lifenews.ca/guelphmercury/profile/72027--wilton-donald-cecil-cec

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Looks like the taxman wins...


The verdict is in, and it looks to be official: the HST is coming on July 1st, so we must brace ourselves for the tax hike. In terms of golf, it means that there will be an extra 8% on the price of a greens fee after July 1st. The golf portion of memberships will see the usual 5% GST for this year, but next year it will be 13%, along with a few other services such as club storage, locker fees, handicapping, etc. Game card packages will be exempt if purchased before My 31st. We lobbied hard, but a majority government can legislate at will. More on this later. I need a glass of wine.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

A Tiger Woods Movie?


Well, okay, I keep breaking my own rule about "not mentioning the Tiger Woods thing", but this sure got my interest: a big-budget Hollywood movie about Tiger Woods. Still in the planning stages - if the reports are true, and sources are sketchy - the biopic will star... wait for it... Cuba Gooding Jr. No, not Will Smith. Guess it was just a matter of time.

But what do you think about Cuba Gooding Jr.? I guess with the right haircut and some quality gym/driving range time, he could probably pull it off.
Speaking of movies, anyone agree with me that golf is sadly misrepresented in movies and TV dramas? Golfers are usually presented as stuffed-shirts, stuck-up, monied, elitist, dumb... you get my drift. The closest thing I've seen to a decent golf movie was "Stroke of Genius", starring Jim Caviezel as the legendary Bobby Jones. And it wasn't really great, a little too sugar-coated at times. "The Legend of Bagger Vance" was OK, but again, the violins were a little too loud every time Will Smith entered the scene.
Anyone out there care to comment on their favourite golf movie?

"Are You Bryan's Dad?"


I get asked that question a lot, or a similar "are you related to...". Bryan DeCorso (for those of you that don't know) is a Nationwide Tour player, Canadian tour player... and my cousin. Sure, I'm a few years older than he is, more grey hair, and way less-skilled with a golf club! Bryan is my uncle Angelo and aunt Bonnie's son, and he is now based in the Orlando area.
Bryan was born here in Guelph and basically grew up here at Victoria Park East - Angelo was the head pro and general manager here for many years, so Bryan's exposure to a golf environment was substantial.
Bryan continues to play on the Nationwide Tour, and internationally, and we're very proud to call him "one of our own." But no... I'm not his dad! (I don't look that old, do I?)

Monday, January 4, 2010

Happy New Year!

It's been a few weeks since my last post, but with Christmas holidays and some exceedingly fast-paced time off, there's been little time for the computer. Needless to say, in the throes of January it's pretty quiet here at Victoria Park East Golf Club. Time to clean up and get ready for the new season. Our Pro Shop did well this Christmas, with gift card sales finally coming on strong. Happy New Year everybody, I'll post some news and views as they come up... and enough about Tiger!