http://tomharack.com Mon, 12 Dec 2011 22:47:57 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en With a computer besting its human competitors on “Jeopardy” and the ever-more-astounding assortment of golf simulators, launch monitors, and “motion capture” technology, one may wonder: Will a computer ever take a human golfer in a five-dollar Nassau? Will their Watsons replace our Watsons? Nah. Like a lot of us human golfers, computers would outsmart themselves. Despite the technical sophistication of many training aids and other gizmos, golf remains an elemental undertaking, however difficult. That’s the appeal of ... ]]> http://tomharack.com/golf/golf/equipment/518/christmas-golf-gifts-inspired-by-simplicity   Two layouts by Donald Ross seem to beckon repeat play – a residue of his design vocabulary. Today’s example is The Sagamore, in Bolton’s Landing, New York.   Though of the same vintage as Mountain Ridge , The Sagamore’s location at the base of the Adirondacks means much more precipitous terrain. Indeed, while you get the sense of a fairly compact site overall – mature hardwoods make great buffers between many of the holes – the course ... ]]> http://tomharack.com/golf/golf/509/every-day-courses-part-ii It may seem borderline sadomasochistic to deconstruct the cliché – “a course you can play every day” – immediately following the first substantial snowfall here in the northeast. On the other hand, there will soon be time aplenty to ponder the question.   And unlike, say, “using every club in your bag,” the everyday-course thing is open to interpretation. Certainly there are some traits that would apply uniformly to courses you don’t want to play every day: ... ]]> http://tomharack.com/golf/golf/497/ross-courses-define-quotidian-quality Think what you will about Hank Williams Jr.’s disparaging remarks about the Obama-Boehner pairing and ESPN’s reaction to those remarks, Hank at the very least displayed a gross lack of understanding of golf. I’m only half-joking. The underlying assumption of his, er, critique is that playing 18 holes together is supposed to result in a meeting of minds on something other than, say, club selection. As subsequent history demonstrates, unless Pollyanna is in your foursome, this ... ]]> http://tomharack.com/golf/golf/personalities/489/memo-to-hank-williams-lets-tee-it-up Hurricane Irene was famously capricious in her march through the Northeast, with towns in Vermont and the Catskills washed away and others, directly across the Hudson, doused but otherwise unscathed. And while Turning Stone Resort – Casino, 30 miles east of Syracuse, wasn’t directly in the storm’s path, we didn’t know what to expect in terms of conditioning on the resort’s robust troika of 18-hole layouts. It turns out, no pun intended, that we’d never seen ... ]]> http://tomharack.com/golf/golf/474/turning-stones-golf-is-no-gamble No need to deconstruct Phil Mickelson’s motives for criticizing the Atlanta Athletic Club layout as being detrimental to the popularization of golf. And it’s easy to dismiss his concern about it being unplayable for members: With the exception of the criminally insane among them, the members won’t be undergoing a test nearly as severe.   Yet there is something about the PGA Championship set-up tangentially related to static rates of public participation (although there’s also no reason ... ]]> http://tomharack.com/golf/golf/458/mickelson-is-half-right-about-pga-championship-set-up In Ancestral Links, John Garrity quotes a recurring conversation between a visiting golfer, about to tee off on an Irish links course, and his caddie. “What’s the course record?” the golfer asks. “Two days without rain,” is the response. It’s a running gag, of course, but it’s also true that vacations in Ireland can devolve into slogfests of wind and precipitation, which is why it’s always good to have indoor alternatives like hanging out at a pub. The prevalence ... ]]> http://tomharack.com/golf/golf/450/secret-to-perfect-irish-weather-take-me-along Tour operators and Irish tourism operatives were united in their reaction to our golf itinerary: “Get some help,” was the consensus. We’d sledge-hammered together a daunting combination of copious golf, travel, and work requirements. Throw in the blown-out hip tendon that befell colleague Peter Kessler, and a corresponding trip or two to the clinic and hospital, and your dance card is full. Which is a shame only in the sense that you miss out on all ... ]]> http://tomharack.com/golf/golf/443/northwest%e2%80%99s-non-golf-activities-run-gamut Going around 10 often-demanding courses in nine days, we’re pretty sure that we’ve gotten maximum mileage out of our golf trip to northwest Ireland. But that doesn’t mean we’ve exhausted the possibilities. Three other waterfront links layouts played during previous trips come to mind, all easy to integrate into our itinerary, if only you can find the time. From north to south. Just 10 miles or so from Ballyliffin – though the commute is the better ... ]]> http://tomharack.com/golf/golf/430/northwest-ireland%e2%80%99s-golf-cup-overfloweth   Not just yet. But the first time this reporter wrote about dining options on a golf trip to Ireland, it was to recommend pub food as the safe, if uninspired choice. The idea of a progressive strain in the local cuisine was more like the set-up for a Saturday Night Live skit. Two decades hence, the general level of culinary awareness and sophistication has improved markedly. Hearty simple fare remains the driver of mainstream Irish cookery, ... ]]> http://tomharack.com/golf/golf/423/ireland-%e2%80%93-nation-of-foodies