Pending GT site updates: recaps of the last two Minor Events, plus GT reviews of Alling Memorial GC (New Haven), the Hotchkiss School Golf Course (Lakeville), and Woodstock GC.
Based on this pic, Daly can go Tracking with us any time.
(kudos to Ornery Bob for sending this pic and caption our way)
The SI caption: "John Daly hasn't had a top 10 in a major since he won the 1995 British Open. In fact, he's only made the weekend four times at the British Open since beating Constantino Rocca in a playoff.
But Daly will forever be a member of the eclectic British Open champion fraternity, and he'll continue to get invited to photo ops like these.
So that's Padraig Harrington standing on the left, Daly in the middle, and Woods on the right. Roberto de Vicenzo is sitting on the left, Lee Trevino is frozen there in the middle and Tom Watson is on the right.
Daly's one-track mind desperately needs a drink. Woods is not only sketched out by the technicolor zombie Daly, but also that Watson is sitting directly in fron of him. Maybe Woods could be more uncomfortable if Elin was also raising a 9-iron above her head. Maybe.
And then there's Harrrington, amused at the whole situation, just like the rest of us would be.
Old Tom Morris is rolling over in his grave."
(we recognize that there's substantial work to be done on this site to make make it as presentable as the first tee box at Keney or the "practice range" at Coventry Pines, but we're working on it, almost as diligently as we're working on fine-tuning our short game.)
(pictured above: signage from, Fairchild-Wheeler a/k/a "Ferris Bueller")
(pictured above) the legendary "Frog Rock" poised in the right rough on #7 at Simsbury Farms. The Frog Rock is always in mid-season form!
New reviews so far (i.e., posted)...
Fairchild-Wheeler. One down, a bunch to go. First "new" review of 2010 (black course), posted on the More Tracks page May, 2010. Review of "the red course" pending.
GT Reviews in the pipeline (as of Aug., 2010):
Alling Memorial (New Haven). A horrible round of golf played here, remains to be seen whether that will affect the GT review.
The Hotchkiss Golf course (Lakeville). The jury's still out, but this just may be our favorite Track in the Northwest Corner. Played this fine Track on the way to Saratoga early August.
Woodstock GC (Woodstock, of course). Intended to play the nearby Harrisville GC, but since we were in the sticks and somewhat concerned about getting permanently lost, we opted to play the first Track that had a visible "public golf course... this way" roadside sign.
Courses/Goat Tracks among those yet to be reviewed, but still on the GT radar:
"Abe" recommended Sleeping Giant GC in Hamden, 8/09, via the GoatTracker profile on Stracka.com. "This is definitely a GT course from start to finish. This was one of the strangest rounds of golf I'd played in years...starting in the ...clubhouse? ...or maybe it was the family room to a double-wide. Cash only. Holes so close together, we were ducking balls all day."
We reached out to Ornery Bob and the Kam-man for confirmation. The Kam-man offered, "Sleeping Giant could be the quintessential Goat Track golf course. It's almost an executive course since it's so short. Nice view of Sleeping Giant park/mountain." Ornery Bob added, "My favorite part was the two holes that criss-crossed each other. We almost got hit twice there, once on another hole where some kid was playing green to tee."
Sleeping Giant threw us off a bit by insisting on tee times when they were least expected( post Labor Day weekend 2009). This may have pushed SGGC down the Goat Tracker food chain a bit.
The Tracker known as Rabbit Ears has been pitching Shennecossett in Groton for a couple of years, at least (notable Track feature, hitting over the road). Since he hasn't provided a review, that's on the list as well.
On the eastern Mass. front, GT Duke has recommended Franklin Park and George Wright GC, which apparently gets a fair amount of pub. We may also be inclined to take a crack at Pembroke CC, while it's undergoing its "renovation."
We may not necessarily get to review all of the courses/Tracks listed above; on the flip side, we have a few not listed here that are on the short list and those
Anyone who has a Goat Track recommendation or review is encouraged to email it to goattracker@yahoo.com. We always appreciate hearing from our readers. Observations on Current Tracking Conditions can be posted to the forums/blogs at right (still need to clean that up). That said, if the review consists of the same kind of generic commentary generally found on ctgolfer.com (even the "new and improved" version) you're better off sending it there. It probably won't add much value here. Thanks.
GOAT TRACK MINOR EVENTS
What are the Goat Trackers up to?
The PGA has the "Majors", the Goat Trackers have the "Minors"; the only similarity is that there should be four in any given year
Recaps of prior GT Minor Events can be found on the Minor Notes page
The 2010 GT Minor Event schedule
| Theirs (PGA Majors) |
Ours (GT Minors) |
| First Major The Masters 4/8 - 4/11 Augusta National |
First Minor The GT Open 4/15 The prestigious Copper Hill GC a/k/a "The Goat Track" |
| Second Major US Open 6/17 - 6/20 Pebble Beach |
Second Minor The Willie Li Memorial Open 6/24 The inimitable Keney Public GC, a/k/a "The Urban Goat Track" |
| Third Major British Open 7/15 - 7/18 St. Andrews (Old Course) |
Third Minor The Dank British Experience 7/22 The Tradition GC, Windsor |
| Fourth Major PGA Championship 8/12 - 8/15 Whistling Straits Kohler, WI |
Fourth Minor The GT Championship 8/19 The alternate runway for Bradley Int'l Airport Airways GC |
Other GT stuff to help you
waste/pass your time...
A fan of the GT site was kind enough to send a link to "The Tiger Game," which is pretty amusing. Enjoy.
"The Office" Golf Game. Play the Dunder-Mifflin Mini-Golf Course.
Courtesy of 2008 Goat Tracker of the Year, Wink, at the 2010 Willie Li Memorial Open 6/24/10 (directed toward
Golfer Number Two on the 16th),"That looks like an interesting lie you've got there. Do you have a club in your bag for that shot... one that you can hit from.... the fairway?"
The esteemed Tracker known as Friar Tuck provided some interesting insight to the "real estate angle" of the TW fiasco, "The last time an angry Swede went to an island to get away from it all, it was called England."
Per Sherpa JB 8/09, "Wink called me to say he was driving up for some Tracking. I said, 'Hey, that's a long ride for just 9 holes and by the way, it may rain.' Without a second's hesitation, Wink responded, 'That's what the Goat Tracker of the Year does. See you later.'" Truly a man who takes his status within the Goat Tracking community seriously.
"In honor of Michael Jackson, we're all wearing one glove today." Deep thought from Rabbit Ears at the Willie Li Memorial Open, 6/25/09.
"It's a good idea to keep your greens fee receipt on you at Keney. Not so much for the ranger, but if your body ends up in the woods, the time stamp may prove useful in establishing a time line for the investigation." Insight from Rabbit Ears on the Urban Goat Tracking Experience, 6/10/09.
"I wanted to make sure not to step in your line, I might improve it," GTC on the putting conditions on #4 at the GT Open 4/16/09.
Other Notable Quotables
"When primative man screamed and banged clubs into the ground, they called it witchcraft. When modern man does it, they call it golf." Source unknown, posted on a plaque above the urinal at Chanticlair GC.
"[Barkley] has a great coach. [Haney] coached Tiger. On the other hand, Phil Jackson coached Kwami Brown." TNT basketball studio analyst Kenny Smith, on the Barkley/Haney project.
"What Greg Norman has done so far this week is nothing compared to what Hef does every single day." Tim Kurkjian, ESPN, re. the 2008 Open.
"Somewhere in hell, there's a course where every shot is 55 yards from the hole." Jeff Foxworthy
Best GT Caption of 2009: "Nick Cook Reinstated as an Amateur." Straight from the cover of the CSGA 2009 Media Guide (which we picked up at Brooklyn CC back in May). Struck a chord in GT circles because we've all been "reinstated as hackers" after going low once, aspiring to better things, only to revert to form the next time out. In our opinion, this is a classic.
GT QUOTE OF THE MILLENEUM (not sure which tour player to credit): "[Augusta National] is the most unassuming clubhouse I've ever been in." As John McEnroe would say, "You CANNOT be serious!" Whoever made this comment has obviously never been to Keney's Great Room or the watering hole (can't really call it the 19th, since it's a 9-hole course) at Canaan CC. His loss.
Other "classic" archived GT-inspired quotes
Featured ad: this FedEx ad is pretty well-traveled territory for most of us...
We'd like to post a link to the recent (summer, 2010) Heineken ad about "winning back some of that cheese," but it the site requires a login and is a pain in the ass to link to. If you've seen the commercial, you no doubt appreciate it.
Featured Clips: Kudos to Friar Tuck for providing this clip from NPR, which is generally off the radar as far as all things golf and Goat Tracking are concerned. This voice clip works on several levels, but the two most significant ones are: 1) it reinforces Friar Tuck's long held position that "the golf gods always punish hubris" and 2) Ana Gasteyer's NPR skits on SNL with Molly Shannon, occasionally with Alec Baldwin (Schweddy balls, Schweddy wieners), were more spot on than we could've imagined.Tracker Commentary on the PGA Tour...just because we feel the need to set the record straight...
2/8/09: Nick Watney may have holed out for eagle on 18 to witn the Buick Invitational, but our vote for best shot of the week has to go to Retief Goosen for his exceptional display of Track Acumen (to view the 2/6 video clip of Goosen, scroll down to the "2/6 shot of the day" to find and play it).
Current Tracking Conditions (new feature 2010, still trying to clean it up).
We're experimenting with the blog format in the links below to "expand the base of Tracker Knowledge."
(diaclaimer/mumbo-jumbo: Posted comments may be edited by Goat-Track.com as deemed necessary and/or incorporated into existing course reviews (on the CT GT and More Tracks pages) as appropriate. Comments on courses not listed can be sent to goattracker@yahoo.com, so that we can add them to our list. Thanks.)
Tracks with Open Forums:
Goat Tracks in the Minor Event Rotation:
Copper Hill (the Goat Track, East Granby)
Keney (The Urban Goat Track, Hartford)
Tradition GC (Windsor)
Airways GC (Suffield)
Goat Tracks West of the River:
Goody (Urban Goat Track-South, Hartford)
Fenwick (Old Saybrook)
Camaan CC
Indian Springs (Middlefield)
Goat Tracks East of the River:
Chanticlair (Colchester)
Long Hill (East Hartford)
Banner CC...and Resort (Moodus)
The Skunk (a/k/a Skungamaug, Coventry)
Twiin Hills (Coventry)
"The University Club" (f/k/a Willimantic CC, Windham)
Brooklyn CC
Executive Tracks:
Del Boca Vista (a/k/a Buena Vista, West Hartford)
Westwoods (Farmington)
Quarry View (East Canaan)
Willow Brook (South Windsor)
Miner Hills (Middletown)
Villa Hills (Storrs)
Goat Tracks Outside Connecticut:
Coventry Pines (Coventry, Rhode Island)
Goddard Park (Rhode Island)
The Terp Track (a/k/a the University of Maryland GC)
Vanny (Van Cortlandt, Bronx, NY)
Pembroke
GT Wannabes and Usedtobes (West of the River)
Tower Ridge (Simsbury/Avon town line)
Hawk's Landing (Southington)
Timberlin (Berlin)
Rolling Greens (Rocky Hill)
GT Wamabes and Usedtobes (East of the River)
Grassmere
Minnechaug
Rolling Meadows
(still a work in progress, we're trying to clean it up, tweak it, and make it more Tracker-friendly; constructive input appreciated, thanks)
20 - 30% off all Goat Tracking Gear in stock.
Let's cut to the chase, shall we...
...you may own some "TW" logo stuff; may have even proudly worn it on the links, thinking that glomming onto the TW phenomenon made you cooler. Consider this your chance at redemption. No matter how you choose to achieve closure with your TW licensed merch (burn it, chuck it, cry yourself to sleep in it or... best for your Tracking karma...put it in a Goodwill box), you can upgrade...to Goat Track Gear. Your golf karma will skyrocket; trust us, we're GT Sherpas. As one fan of the site noted, "Why 'TW' when you can 'GT'?"
Free shipping on all orders over $30 (first class mail, excl. AK & HI)
THE KENEYRIFFIC INDEX: Is it a good day to golf in the greater Hartford area? Forget Doppler! You can (usually) trust the Keneyriffic Index.
The Keneyriffic Index 8/30 - 9/3 is...
Monday: 9 chalk outlines out of 10
Tuesday: 8
Wednesday: 7
Thursday: 8
Friday: 7
Why the chalk outlines on the Keneyriffic Index? (and that's just one example; feel free to google the rest of the Keney blotter)
For the Tracker seeking to maximize the value of his golf dollar, below are some twilight rates at local courses, generally effective weekdays after 5:30 and/or after the afternoon leagues have teed off.
Note: We haven't been able to confirm all 2010 Twilight rates of Tracks on our short list. 2009 rates at courses we haven't played yet are noted as needed; probably advisable to check with the pro shop at the Track of your choice before showing up with only $10 in your wallet.
Confirmed 2010 Twilight Rates:
Simsbury Farms: $10 after 6 p.m,
Copper Hill (The Goat Track): $12 after 6 p.m., nothing to write home about, really; we think there's also a weekend afternoon discount, which generally doesn't concern us; best to call the Track for details.
Keney (a/k/a the Urban Goat Track) $10 after 3 p.m until leagues start teeing off and the same rate after they're done, but trust me, you don't want to be behind a league at Keney that tees off after 5:30.
Goody: (a/k/a the Urban Goat Track South) $11.50 after 5:30
Blue Fox Run: $13 for unlimited golf after 5:30 weekdays; $35 after 3 p.m. weekends. The best deal out there that we're aware of, although the knucklehead factor increases exponentially during twilight time.
Tradition GC (Windsor) site of the third GT Minor Event: "Twilight rate? We don't need no stinkin' twilight rate!" $13 all day Monday - Thursday ($20 for 18 holes w/o cart).
Check ctgolfdeals.com for other cut rate greens fees in Connecticut.
Oustide Connecticut:
Eagle Ridge GC, Fort Myers, FL "Super Twilite Special": $10 after 3 p.m, $10 6-packs, $3 cocktails. As Sherpa JB put it, "it makes Keney Dollar Day look like a cash grab," (2009 rate; we haven't verified the 2010 rate, but it's probably still a bargain)
...not gonna happen...
We last checked 6/1 and the folks running The Urban Goat Track have officially killed off Keney Dollar Day. Some variation of it may return as a "fall rate." To all who enjoyed all that was the Keney Dollar Day experience, raise a Natty Light, the official $1 beverage of Dollar Day, in its honor.
What was Keney Dollar Day, you ask? Just the best reason to skip or bolt early from work...ever! Reasonably close to downtown and $18 for 18 holes w/cart, plus $1 food & beverage, not to mention the unique entertainment that only The Urban Goat Track can provide. For those not familiar with it, there was no such thing as a bad time at Keney Dollar Day, unless your enjoyment hinged on finishing 18 holes in less than 4 1/2 hours, in which case you were s.o.l. (we did close the loop quickly once)
Award Winning Goat Tracks
(have a Track to add to the list? email your suggestion to goattracker@yahoo.com). To see all courses reviewed, check the CT GT and More Tracks pages.
Grossinger's Little G, 2009 Goat Track of the Year
Tucked away in the former resort town of Liberty, New York, this was a great find. There were a couple of other contenders for this prestigious award in 2009, namely Chanticlair and Edgewood, but Sherpa JB's review of "Little G" drove the green and left the other two at the tee box. Of note, this is the only course/Track reviewed by the folks at Goat-Track.com that has received a perfect 4 out of 4 GT Logo rating. There may never be another.
Hawk's Landing CC, 2008 Goat Track of the Year
In a decision that created a stir within the Goat Tracking Community and may have offended some of the course's regular patrons, Hawk's Landing CC (f/k/a Pattonbrook GC) earned the distinction of being named "2008 Goat Track of the Year" by Goat-Track.com. (full announcement on the GT Forum, course reviewed on More Tracks; side note, after being on their mailing list for two years and hearing complaints from some Trackers, HLCC's Track Cred has been diminished)
"Goody" 2007 Goat Track of the Year
The reasons for avoiding this Track (Keney's alter ego) were weak at best. When we finally got to play/review Goodwin Public in August 2007, we were more than impressed by its superb Goat Track feel and couldn't play it enough during the late summer and fall. A more than worthy recipient of the first "Goat Track of the Year" award (course review on the CT GT page). This esteemed Track hosted the 2009 GHO (Greater Hick Open)
Displays of "Track Acumen"
Miguel Angel Jimenez' shot off the wall at St. Andrew's during round three of The Open: Track Acumen at its finest.
Y.E. Yang's shot on #18 during the final round of the PGA had a little something extra and defines the quintessence of Track Acumen in a pressure situation. A tree, a hybrid, a stuck landing...too perfect, (not to take anything away from the Track Acumen displays of Sherpa Jeff, which some of us are fortunate enough to appreciate on a weekly basis).
His 2009 PGA win may have earned Y.E Yang a trip to the Masters in 2010, but we'd still like to extend him an offer to participate in the 2010 GT Minor Event of his choice. That shot makes him our kind of guy.
Vijay Singh's hole-in-one trick shot on the par-3 16th at Augusta National, during the practice round. Not sure how we missed this on the first go round, but this came to our attention when it resurfaced via a youtube clip 3/10. Best part about this shot is that it reminds all Trackers familiar with Copper Hill of the 5th hole.
In addition to the google Goat Track Golf forum, GT posts about all things Goat Track (and some things PGA) can be found on...
 |
| Goat Track Golf |
| Visit this group |
OTHER TRACKING RELATED NEWS...
There's a lot of "Goat Track" related material floating around on the web; we're always trying to sift through it and provide only the best, Tracker-relevant info. (contributions from GT readers are greatly appreciated).
7/9/10 "30 Arrested, $1,622 Seized in Keney Park Drug Ring," (ctnow.com/Hartford Courant). Putting the "contact high" achieved upon departure from the Willie Li Memorial Open 6/24 at the UGT into context.
5/31/10 "Hartford Hopes to Build Driving Range at Keney Park" (ctnow.com). We can think of a few things that should probably be higher on the list of priorities at the Urban Goat Track, but what do we know, we're just Goat Trackers. What's next, a maitre d' and sommelier in the Great Room?
11/3/09 "4.1 Pounds of Pot Found in Keney Park," (WFSB.com). Par for the course at the Urban Goat Track.
CTGOLFALLIANCE.com. A must read for any self-respecting local Tracker...(a partial explanation of why this gets under our skin at Goat-Track.com)
8/1/09 "Golf Cart Mishap Sidelines New Lion Bryant Johnson." Where to begin...at least it wasn't a self-inflicted gunshot wound caused by holstering in a pair of sweatpants.
6/3/09 "The Word's Toughest Golf Tourney: One Hole, Three Miles Long" (Yahoo Sports). Extreme Goat Tracking in Mexico...pretty cool.
5/26/09 "East Hartford: Man Dies after Police Shooting" (Hartford Courant). Noteworthy because of the location and the tie-in to the original June, 2007 review of East Hartford GC/Long Hill CC.
4/28/09 "Columbia Golfers Win Without Golf Course" (WSJ)
4/14/09 "Public Hearings Set for Next Month on Controversial Golf Course Plan" (Hartford Courant) We generally try to keep Goat-Track.com out of the political fray. We only wish that politicians would reciprocate in kind. Not so. Rabbit Ears forwarded the above article about a contentious golf course development in the northwest corner of CT. What's noteworthy here, from a non-GT perspective, is that this looks like Attorney General Blumenthal's second major overreach in as many months. We're sure that Senator Dodd has extra room in his club car out of town; we're looking forward to the AG tagging along for the ride.
4/4/09: Warning! Not all hazards are listed on the scorecard...or hitting the fairway is overrated..."Woman Dies After Falling into Hole at Golf Course" We're providing two links to this disturbing story; one with a picture of the sinkhole/death trap, just to help one wrap one's mind around it, the second with the more detailed news story.
1/25/09: "Bearly Open Golf Tournament" Golf on a frozen White Bear Lake. We like that they stuck some old Christmas trees in the ice to make it look more like a course. Nice touch.
1/5/09: "Playing Golf Can Damage Hearing" (BBC). Fore! What?
Check the Tracking News Archives for older news articles and/or the Recommended Tracker Reading section of the More Tracks page for other golf related pieces.
Track Stat (furnished by 2008 Goat Tracker of the Year, Wink): "Joe Durant led the PGA Tour in greens hit in regulation, while Olin Browne led the tour in driving accuracy. Both had to go back to Q-School, where they failed to earn their cards." Does this not speak volumes about the importance of Track Acumen?
Other links, sites, etc. of Goat Tracker interest: on the More Tracks and GT Pro Shop pages.
