LIFE FINDS A WAY
Nature is unrelenting and one of the consequences of golf courses going out of business is that nature and wildlife find a way back in and it isn't always pretty. The reference is from Jurassic Park and of course best mumbled by Jeff Goldblum.
This couldn't have been more evident with last week's Internet sensation taking over what appears to be an abandoned golf course. Whether it is scary dinosaurs, wild horsies or some bizarre genetic mutation of both, the history of evolution has taught us that life finds a way.
[Aside: for the life of me, I haven't been able to figure out the course although at one point in the video, the hole marker for the first hole is named "Pines" (either the hole name or the name of that particular 9 or 18 holes) and yardages 355 from the blues and 331 from the reds. It should be in the Fort Lauderdale area. If you know the course, please let me know].
Now of course combining Prancercise AND golf could have the positive effect of having the pros playing 3 hour rounds, as pointed out by Tim Herron. It can't be a coincidence that the New York Times only days later had an article on the front page of the main section outlining how the importance of fitness has taken over the PGA Tour (although I swear I read this same article over ten years ago ... hang on, it was 15 years ago).
WHO PAID MORE: THE EUROPEAN TOUR OR WILSON
Granted this is just an advertisement and essentially a take on the PGA Tour's "These Guys Are Good" campaign, you have to admit we all did this as kid or immature adults.
Wait a minute - this also seems familiar. If you recall, we showed you a four-year old pulling this off four times in a row in a single unbroken, unedited shot back in January. Here it is again.
THE ORIGINAL GOLDEN TEE
Computer golf simulation games now feature incredible graphics with exact course and era recreations, as seen in the most recent Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14. In fact, the game is so complex and requires so much input, the game is likely skipping a 2015 iteration because it is too expensive to outsource; but will return in 2016 having made all the adjustments for the new game consoles.
Of course anyone who drank in the 90s or 00s knows the original great video golf game: Golden Tee (which with the advent of YouTube now shows one of the great double-eagles based on viewer count ... umm, maybe in hindsight I don't miss drinking in bars playing Golden Tee). But this week I discovered a precursor.
This video that appeared this week as part of an attempt to sell this game. Now this is a game that should come back to drinking establishments because it seems made for drinking.
There's a longer YouTube video about the game in general in which the narrator provides some history of the game. It was apparently was built in 1964 and very popular (while other accounts suggest not too many of this original version were made). The history is neat because it was apparently engineered by Harry Williams who originally founded the famous arcade business Williams Manufacturing Company (who of course made the great Pin*Bot - the last great pinball machine I recall before allegedly becoming an adult). Williams also devised the "tilt" feature - a term that has just become part of Pat Perez's and the English vernacular.
It looks like this game can be bought for $3,950 now on eBay and would obviously be awesome for any golf-themed bar, sports bar, man-cave or father's day present for the (rich) man who has everything. Apparently, Harry Williams sold the engineering behind this game to his old namesake company after his retirement. They then came out with a version called Mini Putt that appears to be worth more than double this original version because of the artwork.
DISNEY AND GOLF
The Giant Mouse just put this up on YouTube yesterday.
Disney typically doesn't just hand this stuff out so maybe it coincides with the U.S. Open. There is a version of Mickey playing golf in Spanish on YouTube for now but is likely not authorized. Not to sound old-fashioned and always waxing nostalgic (it may be too late), but it seems golf used to be a much bigger part of cartoons several decades ago. We featured Fred Flintstone a couple of weeks back and he is certainly still missed today - as proven at last year's U.S. Open.
Hey, it's infinitely better than "you da man" or "get in the hole."
US OPEN APPETIZER
Speaking of the U.S. Open, here's the USGA's promo video released last week for the U.S. Open that includes a nice teaser about the history of Merion. An interesting tidbit is that Merion has hosted more USGA Championship events than any other course.
Of course the real appetizer and main from a food standpoint will come later this week with TheTeeSheet's Clubhouse Kitchen special for the U.S. Open.
Douglas Han
@theteesheet
