Update City!

I'll be the first to admit...blogging aint easy!

A lot has happened between then and now, so let's bring you up to speed.

For starters, Ross and I are excited to announce the launch of www.TheGolfersGiftCertificate.com. Through a partnership with a few top notch courses, this gift certificate will be the perfect gift for that golfer in your life.

We have also announced our 2nd Annual Critics Charity Golf Tournament. This year, we are partnering with the Marty Lyons Foundation. Marty Lyons played in NFL for 12 seasons as a member of the famed "New York Sack Exchange" put together by the NY Jets. Through a series of life events, Marty came to form the Marty Lyons Foundation, dedicated to granting wishes of seriously ill children. As Ross, I and many of you have young families, this charity is one that we can all be passionate about supporting. I encourage you to visit www.martylyonsfoundation.org, and also watch this video: http://presspass.tv/videos/?vid=6976 and this one about a wish being granted: http://presspass.tv/videos/?vid=98.

Joining us at our tournament during registration will be former boxing champion Marlon "Magic Man" Starling. Born in Hartford, CT, the Magic Man rose the ranks to become the WBA and WBC Welterweight Champion of the World. Starling retired with an impressive record of 45-6-1-1. Be sure to bring your camera and a boxing glove for your autographs!

A reminder of some of the specifics:
- Tournament is on Saturday May 30th (early forecast shows a great, sunny day)
- $110 per person
- Lunch AND Dinner are served
- Assorted sponsorship opportunities are available, ask Ross or I for more info

In case you misplaced it, you can download the tournament flyer and registration form here: http://www.countryclubcritics.com/news_inline.html

Thank you again for your support,

Ross & Jason
CountryClubCritics.com

Do You Dare Challenge The Wolf?

Wow.

That's the best way to start this.

Ross & I were in Las Vegas in early October with our wives and good friends Eric & Karen, Kenny & Laurie, Ashley, John, and an assortment of other folks. What a blast we had! Vegas was amazing, as always.

Ross and I had this course eyed since we knew about our trip in mid-April. Jim Gaudreau tipped us off and told us that if we are ever here, we must play this course. And play we did.

Ross, Eric & I all brought out our clubs and we hooked up with Dave, who lives in Vegas. Dave picked us up and did the hour drive to Mesquite from Vegas. Having never ventured out of Vegas during any of my previous visits, the trip was exactly what I thought it would be...flat, desert, and fast...you can haul on the highway.

Wolf Creek was all that we were prepared for and more. It is just amazing that they have designed a lush golf course over and through the red mountains on Nevada. The course looked amazing, intimidating, fun, challenging, all wrapped up together. It was all of that and more. As you read our rating, you'll see just how much fun and challenging this course is.

From every tee box we were amazed at each of the fairways we were looking at. Simply amazing. I could go on and on about this course, but here are some pictures so you can see what we mean:

Segway Pictures

Mill Valley Segways

First, we need to thank Jay Nomakao for setting us up to play Mill Valley and test out a round on their new segways.

To start the day, I asked the guys in our group what they were thinking about playing on segways. Here is what we thought:
Greg - excited
Sloope - mixed
Ross - gimic
Jason - skeptically open-minded

You have to start by watching a 30 minute training video that explains all the dangers of riding on a segway. After 30 minutes of watching all the different ways you can fall, you are now certified to ride the segway here, and at any other courses that have segways.

They pulled out 3 segways for us. The 4th was not charged and ready for us, but that proved to be OK. Ross stepped on first to test out the segway and he looked as though he was riding it all along. Greg tried next and after a few minutes, he had it all figured out. I went third and was not comfortable with my balance on the machine. I elected to be the odd man out and rode in a cart for the round. Sloope went last and he had it figured out pretty quickly. Maybe too quickly. While they were getting the other carts prepared, Sloope ventured on to the grass and up a hill, where he appropriately crashed. We weren't surprised for some reason.

We get our round started and it definitely takes the guys a few holes to get used to the segways. We start off pretty slow and pick up the pace after the 4th hole. It took the guys a while to get used to all of the movements of the segway, but they've got it figured out.

Highlight of the segway through the first 9 holes? Yep, Sloope crashed again. This time going down a hill, he got a little squirrelly and dumped the segway.

On the back 9, we were worried that Greg's segway may be starting to die, but it held up, until, yep, you guessed it, he crashed on 17. Seems like the segways power was starting to die down and was having trouble getting up the hill, causing Greg to take a spill.

At the end of the day, it didn't seem like the segways sped up our round at all (it took us over 5 hours to play!). The guys seemed like they were enjoying themselves, but the lack of a cup holder, and the fact that it is probably frowned upon to drink and drive a segway, may be a downer for golfers. The segway also costs $38 to use for 18 holes, compared to $18 for a regular golf cart. Many will struggle to pay this cost, but some may, just to experience the segway once.

Overall, I think it will be a long time until the segway phenomenom catches on, especially at it's cost. We would rather have seen the course take the $26,000 they spent to buy 4 of them and drop that money in to the course, perhaps helping out some of the holes on the front 9.

We applaud Mill Valley for taking the risk on the segways, we hope it works for them, but we struggle to see a lot of people paying $38 to use one for 18 holes. I'm sticking to the cart for now.

Some New Updates

A couple new courses have been added to our list, 2 in Central/Eastern MA and our first in North Carolina. Thanks to our guest critic Sloope for the additions. They will be plenty more going up as we're getting back in to the swing of things after a very busy June!

Look Out LPGA Tour!!!

My wife and I welcomed our first child on Sunday May 25th at 9:52am!
Aleksandra Sofia Randall weighed in at 7lbs 9oz, perfect for prepping for the LPGA!

She'll be out caddying for daddy in no time!

Here she is:

Jimmy Fund Donation

Hi all,

Just as an update on our successful First Annual CCC Tournament held in May, with all your generosity, help and support CountryClubCritics was able to raise nearly $700 which was donated to the Jimmy Fund. Jason and I want to thank you all so much for supporting not only us but a great cause in the Jimmy Fund! Look forward to seeing you all next year!