Wow has it really been four months since I last posted to this blog? Well only excuse is I've been busy in the business of getting the Wunder Brush out to my golf friends around the world. If anyone who is reading this is one of the fortunate few who are enjoying the 1.0 version thanks for being involved.
The weather is holding up nicely here in NJ and another tester demo day is in order at Bunker Hill G.C. Fred Parcells (club manager) has been a huge supporter of the product.
Looking forward to more rounds of fall golf.
For all of my friends out in UT and CO break out the skis and put the clubs in the garage for now. I hear you got a bunch of fresh power.
Enjoy it!  

Ugh! Finally got to play the semi-final round of the match play at Mercer Oaks today. It took the other side of the quarter finals over three weeks to complete their match. They managed to put it off long enough until my game went cold. I hade to give 6 strokes to my opponent and my game just was not good enough to get a leg up. Got to one up by the turn and stayed in the lead for the most part but after knocking one in the pond on the par three 12th I lost my edge and then missed a few very makable putts to leave the door open. In a nut shell I blew it today. Oh well, jump right back on the horse tomorrow. I'll be playing in a fund raiser scramble with my dad so absolutely no pressure to perform. I bet all the putts fall tomorrow.
So today I was eliminated from the match play tourney AND England crashed out of the Euro 2012 on penalty kicks vs Italy.
A real lousy day in my personal world of sport!

The second round of the match play tourney at Mercer Oaks was probably the best match I've played in in quite some time. It was tight form the start back and forth between -1 +1 and even. Made the turn at all square. Both of playing some great shots and a couple of fat shots. By the 12th I went 2 down then back to 1 down after 13. Back to 2 down by 15. Then won 16 and 17 to get back to all square. So it became a one hole match on the par 5 18th. Two good drives mine was the short one I pulled my 4 wood into a fairway bunker about 160 yards out with a green side bunker between me and the green. My opponent pushed his second into the right rough and then blocked his third into a bunker. My third from the bunker was just under the lip one foot in the trap one on the edge. I knew I had to go for it so I tried to pick a 6 iron clean. Perfect swing just stayed right of the green side bunker and bounced up on the green about 20 ft from the hole. Pressure on the opponent caused him to thin his bunker shot and sent it sailing over the green into the primary rough. One last chance for him to fly one in from the rough came up short. Two put for the par and the win! 

So there you have it folks like Yogi Bera said "it's never over until it's over".

On to the third round for @Golferjoeb!   

Walking the golf course has so many benefits but while playing a match for me there is no better option. Well, having a nice walk with a caddy is better. Most of the courses I play do not offer caddies and the ones that do are very exclusive, private and outside of my budget.
 I signed up for a match play event at one of the local County run facilities just outside of Princeton. Round one was played on Sunday this past weekend with rain storms, and high temperatures predicted. Electing to take the moving shelter of a motorized cart was certainly an option for any player in the event but I would always rather walk than ride especially if riding would mean sharing a cart with a competitor. As usual, the walking option turned out to be the best choice. I went with no rain gear, no umbrella and a couple of extra towels. Of course I got soaked to the bone after the first three holes but as I pointed out to my fellow players you can only get so wet and trying to hide from the rain is usually more effort then it's worth.
My opponent did take a cart and was alone in it. The other match both walked and carried. I always use a push cart since my knees wont last with the added weight of my bag and I have a secret weapon for cleaning my clubs as I walk!
I had a birdie 3 on the first hole. A dream start in a match between two high handicapers. The real advantage came though when the phone started ringing in the cart and the player answered the calls. He may have been slightly drier then I was but he was also concerned about getting wet and dealing with the outside world. I on the other was bonding with mother nature, staying focused and playing with clean grooves on every shot. My biggest concern was rotating between four gloves to keep a sure grip on the handle. By the time we got to the turn I was 6 up and it was just a matter of time until I closed him out. He lasted through 12 and I won the match on 13 with a par.
So here is just another fine example of how walking the golf course adds focus and fitness to the fun of a friendly match.  The next round is set for Thursday  afternoon. No rain in the forecast so my advantage may be reduced to focus and nice clean grooves for maximum spin on my iron shots. I'll post the result by the end of the week.
    

March 26 2012
The winter is officially gone but has actually been gone for several weeks from NJ. Today was a marginal golf day with winds of 20 mph with gusts well above 30 mph. A real challenge but also good mental training and practice for tough conditions in the future. March has been a record setting month for consecutive golf-able days. If one had the free time one might have played 20 rounds this month. Better then a lot of summer months because there has been very little rain. Golf courses across the state have to be doing well recovering from the winter dormant season. There was no real sustained snow cover and the grass has already begun to grow again. Aeration projects have started 3 weeks early this year which should make for great overall conditions when the days are long and the temperatures are higher.
Get out there and practice my friends this could be the year of all years for golf!   

Today is FEBRUARY 22 and because God has a soft spot for the northeast this winter it was a beautiful golf day here in Princeton NJ. 55 degrees and sunny.
 One of the best activities a father can do with his children is to spend a few hours walking the golf course with them. Today was the second walking 9 hole round for my nine year old son Owen. We had a great time together sharing a few laughs and a bunch of high fives. It just doesn't get any better then that for me. The kid makes great progress in his golf game every time we get out there and he truly enjoys the game for the sake of being with me and being out in nature.
The highlights of the round were an honest 7 on a long par four (for Owen that is tremendous!) followed by a perfectly struck driver on the next hole. This is one kid who has a natural tallent for anything that requires eye hand coordination.
 For me though I just enjoy his company and I feel blessed to be able to spend that much time with him doing something that we both enjoy.  I look forward to the day when he can shoot scores lower then I can but I don't think I share that with him. With the passion he has and his competitive nature he will figure it out without any prodding by me.    

Welcome walkers!

Hello fellow walkers! This blog is being set up for everyone who loves the game of golf and plays the way it was meant to be played by walking the golf course. Walking the golf course by U.S. golfers has faded away as the preferred way of playing golf. The latest statistics available  show that a measly 35% of golfers across the U.S.A. consider themselves regular walkers.  What would Mark Twain have said about us if golf carts were available when he made his famous quote  "golf is a good walk spoiled"? I believe that by walking the course it is nearly imposible to have  a completely bad experience. There are so many beautiful things that can happen while being out there bonding with the environment. A bird sighting or a fox or in some places an alligator could make a high score round of golf become insignificant compared to the golf story that came out of just being out there like the rest of the animals.
It is with great hope that this blog will  eventually be filled with great stories of crisp morning dew afternoon sunsets and sun shower rainbows.
My fellow walkers Welcome to the Walking Golfer. Welcome home to where golf began.