The Mick
I am nearing the end of Jane Leavy's fantastic biography of Mickey Mantle. It's called "The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America's Childhood." Rather than write a traditional biography she has chosen to tell his story by focusing on 20 days in his life and how those individual days exemplify Mantle's life. I highly recommend it. Mantle's story is fascinating, tragic and heroic. I didn't realize this but back when Willie Mays was banned from baseball for working for a casino, Mantle was also banned for the same reason. In 1985 Peter Ueberroth reinstated both players and all three were then pictured on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
Monday, December 06, 2010
Saturday, December 04, 2010
Friday, December 03, 2010
Golfing at Renaissance Park
The day after Thanksgiving I played my first round of golf at Renaissance Park. I played eighteen with Jon, Melanie’s brother in law. Rain was in the forecast for that day and we were afraid we could get rained out but, as Jon said, I’d rather play golf in the rain than go shopping. Friday was chilly and breezy but it didn’t rain and as long as it’s above 40 and not raining golf can be played. It may get hotter than hell here in the Carolinas during the summer but you can play golf year round.
A big reason I haven’t played at Renaissance until this past week is the price. Of the county-owned public courses it is easily the most expensive. It costs $9 more to play 18 holes here than at Sunset Hills and $8 more than Charles T. Meyers. The course is overall in better shape than Sunset Hills (I haven’t played Charles T. Meyers in a while) so I can see where the extra cost is going but the clubhouse is pretty dingy. One thing I will never understand about public buildings is how they are gorgeous when built, like the new clubhouse at the Revolution Park Golf Course, but allowed to get rundown until it’s obvious they need to be replaced like at Renaissance right now. Preventative maintenance, anyone?
What I liked initially about Renaissance was how wide open the front nine holes are. Overall they’re pretty forgiving. You can put yourself in some awkward shot positions but the course doesn’t have a great hunger for your ball if you hit an errant tee shot. The back nine will close up on you some but not too bad.
What I didn’t like was having a first hole that is a par 5. Ug, not what I need to face when I haven’t had a chance to hit a ball or two. A par five drive on your first swing is more pressure than I need. The second hole is a wide open par 4 which gives you a shot at the green unless you pop your drive behind you and back into the stands so I can forgive them that long ass first hole.
The third hole was a pleasant surprise and a nice sign of par threes to come. It’s a very short par three from an elevated tee. There are 4 pretty short par threes with big wide open greens. I’m not a fan of long par threes. I’d rather not worry about reaching the hole. I enjoy par threes more when I’m more worried about location than distance. After the third hole I knew I was going to have a fun day. I took a nice easy swing with my pitching wedge and just missed bouncing the ball up next to the flag. I ended up sitting on the fringe and was an easy chip and putt away from a par.
A friend of mine doesn’t like Renaissance because he claims he doesn’t like the blind tee shots. I didn’t find them to be a problem at all. Each fairway with a blind tee shot is pretty straight forward. There is nothing tricky about these holes. You can see where the fairway is going and a decent tee shot towards the middle of the fairway will leave you in a good position. Besides, the reason #10 has a blind tee shot is because the fairway damn near falls off a cliff 150 yards from the green. If you can get the ball to that point it will roll and roll and roll. If you ever want to say you drove the ball 300 yards a strong straight shot here will give that to you. That green is 480 yards from the white tees and my ball was sitting around 75 yards from the hole when I found it. I felt like King Kong. I think I had a bit of a tail wind also when I teed off but 300 yards is 300 yards.
A couple of holes, hello #16, are like giant putt putt holes. 16 is an almost U-shaped par five with an open fairway and a second shot that you have to lay up on a cow-teat shaped protrusion surrounded by a creek and dense woods. Screw that hole. I don’t even want to guess what I shot on 16. All I know is I lost two balls and stopped counting at 8.
This golf course, unlike the rest of the public courses in Mecklenburg, is intricate and tricky. You can have a good day at the rest of them without having a detailed knowledge of the course. Not so at Renaissance. It’s a course that will reward experience. For example, the next time I play when I get to 16 I am going to tee off and then pick up my ball and go play 17.
I actually had a pretty good day. I think I shot 101 which is shite but the best I’ve ever had so far. I would have done much better but a couple of lousy holes messed up my scorecard. All the time I spent at the range this summer has really paid off in the last couple of weeks. Practice! What a novel idea.
The day after Thanksgiving I played my first round of golf at Renaissance Park. I played eighteen with Jon, Melanie’s brother in law. Rain was in the forecast for that day and we were afraid we could get rained out but, as Jon said, I’d rather play golf in the rain than go shopping. Friday was chilly and breezy but it didn’t rain and as long as it’s above 40 and not raining golf can be played. It may get hotter than hell here in the Carolinas during the summer but you can play golf year round.
A big reason I haven’t played at Renaissance until this past week is the price. Of the county-owned public courses it is easily the most expensive. It costs $9 more to play 18 holes here than at Sunset Hills and $8 more than Charles T. Meyers. The course is overall in better shape than Sunset Hills (I haven’t played Charles T. Meyers in a while) so I can see where the extra cost is going but the clubhouse is pretty dingy. One thing I will never understand about public buildings is how they are gorgeous when built, like the new clubhouse at the Revolution Park Golf Course, but allowed to get rundown until it’s obvious they need to be replaced like at Renaissance right now. Preventative maintenance, anyone?
What I liked initially about Renaissance was how wide open the front nine holes are. Overall they’re pretty forgiving. You can put yourself in some awkward shot positions but the course doesn’t have a great hunger for your ball if you hit an errant tee shot. The back nine will close up on you some but not too bad.
What I didn’t like was having a first hole that is a par 5. Ug, not what I need to face when I haven’t had a chance to hit a ball or two. A par five drive on your first swing is more pressure than I need. The second hole is a wide open par 4 which gives you a shot at the green unless you pop your drive behind you and back into the stands so I can forgive them that long ass first hole.
The third hole was a pleasant surprise and a nice sign of par threes to come. It’s a very short par three from an elevated tee. There are 4 pretty short par threes with big wide open greens. I’m not a fan of long par threes. I’d rather not worry about reaching the hole. I enjoy par threes more when I’m more worried about location than distance. After the third hole I knew I was going to have a fun day. I took a nice easy swing with my pitching wedge and just missed bouncing the ball up next to the flag. I ended up sitting on the fringe and was an easy chip and putt away from a par.
A friend of mine doesn’t like Renaissance because he claims he doesn’t like the blind tee shots. I didn’t find them to be a problem at all. Each fairway with a blind tee shot is pretty straight forward. There is nothing tricky about these holes. You can see where the fairway is going and a decent tee shot towards the middle of the fairway will leave you in a good position. Besides, the reason #10 has a blind tee shot is because the fairway damn near falls off a cliff 150 yards from the green. If you can get the ball to that point it will roll and roll and roll. If you ever want to say you drove the ball 300 yards a strong straight shot here will give that to you. That green is 480 yards from the white tees and my ball was sitting around 75 yards from the hole when I found it. I felt like King Kong. I think I had a bit of a tail wind also when I teed off but 300 yards is 300 yards.
A couple of holes, hello #16, are like giant putt putt holes. 16 is an almost U-shaped par five with an open fairway and a second shot that you have to lay up on a cow-teat shaped protrusion surrounded by a creek and dense woods. Screw that hole. I don’t even want to guess what I shot on 16. All I know is I lost two balls and stopped counting at 8.
This golf course, unlike the rest of the public courses in Mecklenburg, is intricate and tricky. You can have a good day at the rest of them without having a detailed knowledge of the course. Not so at Renaissance. It’s a course that will reward experience. For example, the next time I play when I get to 16 I am going to tee off and then pick up my ball and go play 17.
I actually had a pretty good day. I think I shot 101 which is shite but the best I’ve ever had so far. I would have done much better but a couple of lousy holes messed up my scorecard. All the time I spent at the range this summer has really paid off in the last couple of weeks. Practice! What a novel idea.
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
A Poll
Just checking to see how this works. I used Google Docs. If you need help with this answer you should check out Jack's career statistics.
Just checking to see how this works. I used Google Docs. If you need help with this answer you should check out Jack's career statistics.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Crazy, Wild Stuff
Apparently at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Berlin there is a gazillion gallon aquarium.
Apparently at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Berlin there is a gazillion gallon aquarium.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Friday, November 12, 2010
Sunday, November 07, 2010
The New Revolution Golf Course
This morning I had a 10am tee time with my friends, Barry and Kathleen. It was our first round at the remodeled Revolution Park Golf Course. I've been waiting for several months now to play the newly designed course. Initially it was schedule to open this summer. Then it was moved to late summer. Then fall. It opened October 29th.
The first obvious change is the clubhouse. It is housed in a large new building whose parking lot you enter from Remount. They share the building with Revolution Park Sports Academy. When you approach the building the clubhouse has a separate entrance on the left. There is a door that connects it to the academy but that stays locked. The old clubhouse now houses First Tee of Charlotte. First Tee is a group whose mission is to introduce youngsters to the game of golf. The new clubhouse is nice and has a patio area with tables but I liked the old clubhouse. It had a nice atmosphere.
A second obvious change is the course layout. All of the course is now located on the other side of the creek that used to border the left side of the hole One's fairway and stood between the tee and the fairway of hole Nine. What used to be the fairway for hole One is now a driving range. Hole One is now located in the formerly empty area that ran parallel to the old hole Eight. You end up hitting in the same direction as the old #1 but this time you are on the other side of the creek.
Hole One
Hole One is straight and not too fancy. Near the tee box is a putting green where you can practice while you wait your turn. The trees on the right are really close. If you are a righty with a tendency to slice you will find this hole a bit of a test.
Hole Two
The second hole is a good example of how the new design combines the old with the new. The tees are located in the same general area as the tees of the old #3. Instead of taking the dogleg to the right it doglegs to the left. Making the hole a bit longer.
Hole Three
The old third green is now the green for new #3 which is a 154 yard par three (we played from the white tees). This allowed them to take down the nets that were installed to protect those teeing off on the fourth hole. They did leave up the pretty pine trees that still are next to the green. That is one thing about this new design that stood out. What they seemed to have done is opened the course up a quite a bit. It no longer feels like you are in the middle of a crowd while playing here. Before I would feel like an errant shot could hit another golfer. Now the course doesn't play so tight. That is the one problem I have with Sunset Hills. There are a couple spots on the front nine there where I don't feel comfortable hitting until other golfers move on.
Hole Four
This hole is essentially the same as it was before. It's a dogleg left with a huge open fairway. It's almost impossible to not have a playable ball after a hitting off the tee in this hole.
Hole Five
This is also very similar to old #5. It's a short downhill par four dogleg right with a grove of trees between you and the green. The hole has been harder with the addition of a bunker in the fairway that is designed to catch the balls of those that may try to drive the green. Beyond that bunker is another one on the front edge of the green. This hole is a good example of what makes Revolution fun, short holes that make us all feel like big hitters.
Hole Six
It's an uphill par four with a dogleg to the left. They didn't change much here either other than get ride of those odd ridges that looked like someone had driven a big plow across the fairway. I never could figure out what the hell those were doing there.
Hole Seven
On this hole they really changed the course up. Before this would have been another short downhill par 4. Now they turned you 90 degrees to the right for a long par 3. Our shot was 179 yards. I used a 4 iron and was pin high but off to the right. This area before was just a bunch of trees. They plowed them up and put in this nice down hill par three. It's a nice change up. Before Revolution had only one par three. To the right and left of the hole there is some grass that is easy to play out of. The big danger here is going long. Just a few feet on the other side of the green is some serious deep rough that is impossible to play out of, if you can find your ball, that is.
Hole Eight
This hole is a very shot par 4 with a dogleg right. I think a big hitter with a six iron could drive the green over the trees. I tried to cut the corner with a three wood and drove it into the one of the mounds they have on the right. Next time! The green is in the same place as the old #7.
Hole Nine
This is the old #8. It's a long par five that is longer than the the old eighth hole. The green is located where the previous hole nine had its tee boxes. It's not too difficult, it's just long and uphill.
Speaking of the old ninth hole. That is the only thing I really miss from the old course. Hitting over the creek from the elevated tee onto that giant forgiving fairway was a lot of fun. It was a unique shot.
A major improvement you get with this new course is the greens. The greens are in great shape and they are now full of tricky undulations. You really have to read these greens now. The employee at the counter said people were saying the course was playing tougher. The tricky greens are a big reason why.
The course, although it has a great new design and plays well, has not fully grown in. They are aware of this and have a sign posted saying so. There were a few times where I couldn't take the shot I wanted because my ball was essentially sitting on new sparse grass and I had a hard time getting my club under the ball. I'm looking forward to seeing how it plays when the grass grows in.
I would call this redesign a success. I really liked the old Revolution and this one has the potential to be better.
This morning I had a 10am tee time with my friends, Barry and Kathleen. It was our first round at the remodeled Revolution Park Golf Course. I've been waiting for several months now to play the newly designed course. Initially it was schedule to open this summer. Then it was moved to late summer. Then fall. It opened October 29th.
The first obvious change is the clubhouse. It is housed in a large new building whose parking lot you enter from Remount. They share the building with Revolution Park Sports Academy. When you approach the building the clubhouse has a separate entrance on the left. There is a door that connects it to the academy but that stays locked. The old clubhouse now houses First Tee of Charlotte. First Tee is a group whose mission is to introduce youngsters to the game of golf. The new clubhouse is nice and has a patio area with tables but I liked the old clubhouse. It had a nice atmosphere.
A second obvious change is the course layout. All of the course is now located on the other side of the creek that used to border the left side of the hole One's fairway and stood between the tee and the fairway of hole Nine. What used to be the fairway for hole One is now a driving range. Hole One is now located in the formerly empty area that ran parallel to the old hole Eight. You end up hitting in the same direction as the old #1 but this time you are on the other side of the creek.
Hole One
Hole One is straight and not too fancy. Near the tee box is a putting green where you can practice while you wait your turn. The trees on the right are really close. If you are a righty with a tendency to slice you will find this hole a bit of a test.
Hole Two
The second hole is a good example of how the new design combines the old with the new. The tees are located in the same general area as the tees of the old #3. Instead of taking the dogleg to the right it doglegs to the left. Making the hole a bit longer.
Hole Three
The old third green is now the green for new #3 which is a 154 yard par three (we played from the white tees). This allowed them to take down the nets that were installed to protect those teeing off on the fourth hole. They did leave up the pretty pine trees that still are next to the green. That is one thing about this new design that stood out. What they seemed to have done is opened the course up a quite a bit. It no longer feels like you are in the middle of a crowd while playing here. Before I would feel like an errant shot could hit another golfer. Now the course doesn't play so tight. That is the one problem I have with Sunset Hills. There are a couple spots on the front nine there where I don't feel comfortable hitting until other golfers move on.
Hole Four
This hole is essentially the same as it was before. It's a dogleg left with a huge open fairway. It's almost impossible to not have a playable ball after a hitting off the tee in this hole.
Hole Five
This is also very similar to old #5. It's a short downhill par four dogleg right with a grove of trees between you and the green. The hole has been harder with the addition of a bunker in the fairway that is designed to catch the balls of those that may try to drive the green. Beyond that bunker is another one on the front edge of the green. This hole is a good example of what makes Revolution fun, short holes that make us all feel like big hitters.
Hole Six
It's an uphill par four with a dogleg to the left. They didn't change much here either other than get ride of those odd ridges that looked like someone had driven a big plow across the fairway. I never could figure out what the hell those were doing there.
Hole Seven
On this hole they really changed the course up. Before this would have been another short downhill par 4. Now they turned you 90 degrees to the right for a long par 3. Our shot was 179 yards. I used a 4 iron and was pin high but off to the right. This area before was just a bunch of trees. They plowed them up and put in this nice down hill par three. It's a nice change up. Before Revolution had only one par three. To the right and left of the hole there is some grass that is easy to play out of. The big danger here is going long. Just a few feet on the other side of the green is some serious deep rough that is impossible to play out of, if you can find your ball, that is.
Hole Eight
This hole is a very shot par 4 with a dogleg right. I think a big hitter with a six iron could drive the green over the trees. I tried to cut the corner with a three wood and drove it into the one of the mounds they have on the right. Next time! The green is in the same place as the old #7.
Hole Nine
This is the old #8. It's a long par five that is longer than the the old eighth hole. The green is located where the previous hole nine had its tee boxes. It's not too difficult, it's just long and uphill.
Speaking of the old ninth hole. That is the only thing I really miss from the old course. Hitting over the creek from the elevated tee onto that giant forgiving fairway was a lot of fun. It was a unique shot.
A major improvement you get with this new course is the greens. The greens are in great shape and they are now full of tricky undulations. You really have to read these greens now. The employee at the counter said people were saying the course was playing tougher. The tricky greens are a big reason why.
The course, although it has a great new design and plays well, has not fully grown in. They are aware of this and have a sign posted saying so. There were a few times where I couldn't take the shot I wanted because my ball was essentially sitting on new sparse grass and I had a hard time getting my club under the ball. I'm looking forward to seeing how it plays when the grass grows in.
I would call this redesign a success. I really liked the old Revolution and this one has the potential to be better.
Friday, November 05, 2010
Revolution Golf Now Open
I saw on the website that Revolution Golf Course is once again open for business after a major redesign. I went by today at lunch and grabbed a scorecard so I could take a look at the new layout. I'm intrigued by the new layout. It looks like Hole #1 is in the open space that used to be to left of the old #8. One thing I find surprising is that they have taken the pond that you had to hit over on the old #2 out of play. I'm going to go Sunday and try the new course out. I can't wait. Anyone want to go?
Here is a scan of the course off the back of the scorecard.
I saw on the website that Revolution Golf Course is once again open for business after a major redesign. I went by today at lunch and grabbed a scorecard so I could take a look at the new layout. I'm intrigued by the new layout. It looks like Hole #1 is in the open space that used to be to left of the old #8. One thing I find surprising is that they have taken the pond that you had to hit over on the old #2 out of play. I'm going to go Sunday and try the new course out. I can't wait. Anyone want to go?
Here is a scan of the course off the back of the scorecard.
Thursday, November 04, 2010
Found Photo
I was doing some research today at a local antique store, hoping to get some contacts for some appraisers. The store was real busy so I didn't get a chance to ask my question. I grabbed some business cards from the front door and bought a couple of old snapshots and left. The back of this picture was some writing that said, "Taken at George's Place, Summer of 1926."
I was doing some research today at a local antique store, hoping to get some contacts for some appraisers. The store was real busy so I didn't get a chance to ask my question. I grabbed some business cards from the front door and bought a couple of old snapshots and left. The back of this picture was some writing that said, "Taken at George's Place, Summer of 1926."
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