Hot Stix Opens new Performance Facility

Hot Stix has recently opened its new Performance Center located at Legend Trail Golf Course in North Scottsdale. The Performance Center is the most elite and advanced fitting experience in golf, and is absolutely the best fitting offered.

It is a four hour process which is basically separated into two parts. The first part is called Tour level Game fitting. This is a 6 six stage fitting that gets into set makeup and is the first part of the information gathering for the fitting. The six stages are driver, long game, mid game, scoring irons, short game, and putting. The second part of the fitting is the complete launch monitor analysis of your woods and irons and the putter fitting with the lasers and cameras.

The cost for this session is $795. The address where the course is located is 9462 East Legendary Lane in Scottsdale and the zip code is 85262.

Maryland is Seeing Blue

This past weekend while in Ocean City, I enjoyed one of the Eastern Shores delicacies; “The Blue Crab”. It can be enjoyed in many ways such as crab dip, imperial, soup, fritters, cakes, even salads but I enjoy it most in its original form, steamed with lots of Old Bay. It is messy and time-consuming but if you have never had this Maryland staple, it’s well worth trying. I wanted to share with you what I think is the best way to enjoy this meal:

First, pull off all of the legs and the claws. Then pull the tab back and this will help you pull of the top of the crab. Just to let you know, the male crab has a "tab" which looks like the 'Washington Monument' as opposed to a female crab which has a tab that looks like the US Capitol. At this point you are almost there. I usually take a knife and cut off the lungs or “devils fingers”, don’t eat them (I was always told they would make you sick)! Now you want to clean out anything that is in the cavity and if you want, there is something that looks like mustard inside. Try it if you haven’t but don’t worry if you don’t like it, not everyone does. Then break the crab in half and work on one side at a time. I have found if I break it in half again the meat comes out easier. While doing this, make sure you watch out for shells. Now comes the hard decision and there are many ways this is done. Some say that you just eat the meat plain as it comes out, others dip in melted butter or vinegar and then there are people like me who pick their crabmeat into a bowl and then sprinkle with vinegar and enjoy all at once!

So if you have not tried this Maryland treat when you travel to Ocean City make sure you stop at one of the many places that serve this tasty seafood. I like Hooper’s Crab House next to the Route 50 Bridge in West Ocean City. They have a great all you can eat with sweet corn!

The Stonegate Experience

In our quest to provide our customers with the best of golf and accommodations nationally, once and a while we come across a venue that even we as experts find ourselves saying, "WOW! This is special." Stonegate Golf Club is such a facility.
It's not just the magnificent 36 hole layout - it's the entire experience. There are quaint Carmel style shops as you first drive in. The multi-functional clubhouse with elegant furnishings is spectacular. Even though I am a non-member, two of the full-time members struck up a conversation to make me feel welcome. During my four hours of snooping around, not once did I see a thing out of place or anyone discontented. It is a picture perfect place to relax. On your next visit to Orlando, treat yourself to something both extraordinary and affordable and visit Stonegate Golf Club.

Golf Idol

If you're one of the 29.5 Bazillion viewers of American Idol weekly or The Grammy's annually or hundreds of other TV shows, musicals or concerts, this fine lookin' group below are the ones responsible for the sound/audio you hear on those productions.
Paul Sandweiss, 2nd from left in the rear and his group has been booking their golf trip with me to Palm Springs for a couple of years now and they're great guys to deal with. They haven't actually faxed signed, eraser smudgefree scorecards to me as of yet, despite my requests, but they have dropped thank you notes and have had always had a great time staying for a few days and enjoying the golf and sun in Palm Springs. So next time you watch American Idol, say thanks guys and good golfing!

Back Row L to R: Mikael Stewart, Paul Sandweiss, David Bellamy, Danny Harris and Scott Harmala. Front Row L to R: Andrew 'Fletch' Fletcher, Michael MacDonald and Mike Parker.

Cheeseburgers In Paradise!

After a day on the Links while in the Myrtle Beach area, head to Hamburger Joes - a locals & golfers favorite. Great burgers & wings with a great atmosphere to boot! You can't beat the $1.00 drafts all day long & they were voted best Burgers on the Beach 3 years in a Row! Kick back on the outside deck overlooking the Marsh in North Myrtle Beach Right accross from Barefoot Landing. I promise you won't leave hungry!!

Linda

Widen The Fairway

If you normally hit the ball from left to right off the tee try the following strategy to effectively double the size of the fairway. During your next round, tee off next to the right tee marker and aim at the left side of the fairway. By doing so, you will double the amount of fairway to hit into than if you had teed up in the middle of the tee markers and aimed straight down the middle of the fairway.

By Jeff Allen, PGA Assistant Golf Professional at Longbow Golf Club

Junk the Jet Phil!

Dear Phil;

You're very talented, but you can't keep flying that Gulfstream home at night after a tournament round such as at the Nissan Open flying home each night from L.A. to San Diego. Just this last week, you missed the Pro-Am in Dallas at the Byron Nelson Classic. The PGA Tour didn't disqualify you from the tournament, which now has all the other players riled up, as they would have been disqualified for the same infraction of the rules. Phil, you just changed coaches from Rick Smith to Butch Harmon. Now sell the Gulfstream on eBay already and work more on the game.

Joe Fann

South End Beauty

This past weekend I played Willbrook Plantation and the new greens look great! They are still a bit firm yet but rolled very true and are in perfect shape. The course was renovated this past summer and had the new Champion Bermuda greens put in. There were also several projects completed to enhance the aesthetics of the course and many others planned to take place over the next few years.

For those of you who have not played this track you are missing out on a wonderful plantation style course. I consider Willbrook as one of the best values on the Grand Strand. It has beautiful live oaks, lakes, superb landscaping and wonderfully manicured greens, fairways and tees.

On your next trip to Myrtle Beach be sure to add Willbrook Plantation to your list. If your looking for a great 36 hole day consider adding River Club or Litchfield, both of which are with-in a few minutes drive.

Winter Golf in Florida

Peak season golf package time in Florida runs between middle of January to the middle of April. Yes, the weather up north has been pretty bad for a couple of months and golfers are anxious to travel to warmer destinations.

I'm going to let you in on a little secret - November and December are some of the best times to play golf in Florida. The weather is perfect, you don't get that January or February cold snap. The rates are very attractive and not yet into high peak season rates. The golf courses are not as busy, due to the fact that most package groups are coming during peak times. Savings could be as much as a couple hundred dollars per person for a package.

During this time of year you bring in Jacksonville, which is typically 10 degrees colder than the Orlando area. In mid January/February - it can get a little chilly in northern Florida. November/December is typically warmer and you can enjoy some great Jacksonville golf.

I know that winter up north hasn't hit to hard in November/December; but take it from a former Upstate New Yorker, it's a nice way to finish off the year - with a golf package to Florida.

I live in Orlando and I have played golf all over the state of Florida. Please feel free to contact me at 888.333.6103 to plan your next golf vacation to Florida, also check out our website - www.golfzoo.com.

"Grease is the Word!"

After being in the Golf Vacation Business for 7 years, and the Vice President of Golf Zoo Inc., you probably expect me to be a tradionalist with a USGA bag tag and a copy of the Rules of Golf in my bag.

Not even close.

I'm a weekend hackin' chop who looks for every advantage (legal or not) I can get on my weekend buddies who often will make ridiculous "double down" bets on the tee at 18 to avoid buyin a beer or 7. I have a full time gig, and a three year old daughter who is heavy into activities... Who has the time or the patience to practice? Gimme a break.

I have found the answer.

I recently read Rick Reilly's "Who's Your Caddy" where he caddies for a number of different characters - one of them being the infamous Dewey Tomko, the most notorious golf gambler on the planet. Dewey explains that the gamblers frequently "grease up" their clubs with various lubricants to take the spin off the ball and get more distance, so I figured what the hell - if it's good enough for Dewey......

I proceed to Walgreens, pick up a tube of Vaseline intensive care and immediately start talkin' trash on the first tee at Eagle Mountain. I cover the entire clubface of my driver with a generous portion and stripe it 260 down the middle. There was no talkin' to me the rest of the day. I was greasin' up anything from the driver down to 8 irons. It was beautiful. I typically hit a pretty serious fade, and I promise you that a little vaso did the trick. Walked outa there with a nifty little 81 where I don't believe I've ever broken 85.

I don't think the boys at the PGA would agree, but it sure was fun free swingin' and not having to bother the snakes...

Thanks Dewey. You're my hero.