Pending GT Site Updates:
Yankees Haiku, Mo's 500th save,
More Tracks: the reviews of Coventry Pines and Goddard Park have been pushed out to late July/early August (mainly because we want to have as many Sherpas on hand for a one-time review as possible), but rest assured, they will get done! The GT site is committed to reviewing the Tracks recommended by our readers. We hope to find a few others along the way that are enjoyable to play.
Take Heed, Connecticut Trackers: CTGOLFALLIANCE.COM. Normally, something like this link falls into the category of "Other Tracking News" and gets pushed down into the middle of the GT Home Page. We're making an important exception here because it's irritating on a couple of fronts and wrong on principle. The rest of the rant
Most Recent "GT Minor Event": The Urban Goat Track Open 6/25 at Keney Public.
Pictured above: the entrance sign to "all that is Keney," including Cricket; pictured below, a sign from the Great Room, the "No Minors Allowed" sign just cements Keney's place in the GT Minor Event rotation.
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 2009 GT Minor Events schedule
| Theirs (PGA Majors) |
Ours (GT Minors) |
| First Major The Masters 4/9 - 4/12 Augusta National |
First Minor The GT Open 4/16 The prestigious Copper Hill GC a/k/a "The Goat Track" |
| Second Major US Open 6/18 - 6/21 Bethpage (Black Course) Farmingdale, NY |
Second Minor The UGTO 6/25 The inimitable Keney Public GC, a/k/a "The Urban Goat Track" |
| Third Major British Open 7/16 - 7/19 Turnberry |
Third Minor The GT British Experience 7/23 The Tradition GC, Windsor |
| Fourth Major PGA Championship 8/13 - 8/16 Hazeltine National |
Fourth Minor The GT Championship 8/20 The alternate runway for Bradley Int'l Airport Airways GC |
Swinging into Summer on Goat-Track.com:
We're eagerly anticipating getting to the Tracks recommended by our readers. One down (Brooklyn CC) and four to go, as of early July. The "east of the river" and Rhode Island Tracks will be reviewed by esteemed Trackers Golfer Number Two, Friar Tuck, and/or GT Duke. Anyone who has a Track recommendation or review can email it to goattracker@yahoo.com. We always appreciate hearing from our readers.
Steve offered Banner Country Club and Resort (BCC? WTF!) in Moodus and Chanticlair GC in Colchester (on the way to the Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun casinos).
Steve's pitch was flawless. Re. Banner Country Ckub "Don't let the name fool you...it can be a real treat any time of year, but I recommend mid-July. No water on the course other than the greens. Tee boxes harder than the ground in Texas." Perfect.
Re. Chanticlair, Steve noted, "The club house used to be a chicken coop back when the land was a farm." Right in the GT wheelhouse so far...we sought out our "east of the river Tracking expert," Ornery Bob, to confirm Steve's assessment and he said that although he hasn't played Chanticlair, he's heard that "it's a steaming pile." Outstanding.
Dan recommended Coventry Pines GC and Goddard Park Memorial GC (in Rhode Island) and Brooklyn CC (reviewed on CT GT 5/12). We're trying to work out the logistics to have Dan join us, sharing his local Tracking expertise and possibly even playing both of his recommended Rhode Island Tracks on the same day.
All three of Dan's recommendations seem to have some similar "9-Hole Goat Track Sensibilities," which puts them squarely in the GT wheelhouse.
The Tracker known as Rabbit Ears has been pitching Shennecossett in Groton for about a year (notable Track feature, hitting over the road). Since he hasn't provided a review, we plan to add that to the list as well.
Other Tracks we hope to review this summer include: Simsbury Farms, Canaan CC, Grassmere CC (review posted 6/5), and Southington CC (which is bound to bring up some bad memories that have been dormant for a long time).
Lastly, we realize that there are a lot of random comments about our favorite Goat Tracks posted on the CT GT and More Tracks pages; kind of a "chronology of nonsense." While we're glad that the Tracking Public appreciates them, we're going to try to rework our reviews of the Goat Tracks we play most often into a "semi-coherent" format. The Del Boca Vista and Copper Hill reviews are "new and improved." Next up, Keney.
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.
This FedEx ad is pretty well-traveled territory for most of us...
GT Notable Quotables...
"In honor of Michael Jackson, we're all wearing one glove today." Deep thought from Rabbit Ears at the Urban Goat Track 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.
"[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
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 Stanley's 19th. His loss.
Other "classic" archived GT-inspired quotes
(do you 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.
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)
"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).
The Skunk!
Updated on the CT GT page following an 8/16/07 round with GT Duke.. A classic Track from the UCONN days, formally known as Skungamaug River Golf Course. The Skunk...what a great name for a Goat Track and in this case the shoe (or FootJoy) fits.
Fairchild-Wheeler
Golf on the Gold Coast of Connecticut. When I say this is the hardest course I ever played, that shouldn't be confused with "most difficult". You couldn't hold a green there in July with a nerf ball. I haven't played this one in a long time, but one thing's for certain; although it's only a chip shot from GE world HQ, I'm pretty sure that Jack Welch never played there. Surprisingly (and fortunately), the layout somehow keeps drives from bouncing off the hardpan and onto the Merritt Parkway.
Why get some lame, tired logo golf gear, when you can visit the Goat Track Pro Shop and the GT Online Store, the only place where you can get official GT stuff. We may not take golf seriously (and realize that the pics of the GT Gear below may suck), but the apparel's top notch. Hats, shirts, towels...if you can think of it we can put a GT logo on it.
Free shipping on all orders over $30 (first class mail, in-stock items only, excl. AK & HI)
The GT logo golf balls are here!
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 for 6/29 - 7/3 is...
...pretty much a crapshoot, with a chance of t-storms every day this week. If you're used to summer golf in south Florida, this week should be right in your wheelhouse (just less tropical).
Monday: 7 chalk outlines out of 10
Tuesday: 7
Wednesday: 8
Thursday: 8
Friday: 8
Why the chalk outlines on the Keneyriffic Index?
For the Tracker looking 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.
Copper Hill (The Goat Track): after disappearing for the first two months of the 2009 Tracking season, the $10 twilight rate has returned as of 6/1 (but "don't call it a comeback!" ), effective after 6 p.m. We recommend jumping all over it. Course traffic at the GT has been light this year and 9's are playing reasonably quickly. Also offering $14 greens fees after noon on weekends ($16 before noon for 9 holes).
Blue Fox Run: $12
Hawk's Landing: $14 (other discounts available via email newsletter)
Keney (the Urban Goat Track): $12.50
Goodwin (Urban Goat Track-South): $12.50
Simsbury Farms: $8 (resident rate)
Tallwood CC: $13
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,"
In Memoriam 5/8/09. A truly sad day in Trackerland. Fortunately we were sitting down when we got the news. While it isn't quite official or final, the information we received from the Urban Goat Track staff confirmed our fears and doesn't bode well. "Dollar Day is on the back burner. We probably won't run a special like that until fall." 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.
$18 for 18 holes w/cart, plus $1 food & beverage. 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.
Anyone interested in joining the grass roots effort (we appreciate the irony, since there are few grass roots in the tee boxes) to restore the fine tradition of Keney Dollar Day can call Keney at (860) 525-3656 or email goattracker@yahoo.com.
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| Goat Track Golf |
| Visit this group |
In addition to the google Goat Track Golf forum, GT posts about all things Goat Track (and some things PGA) can be found on... 
Track Stat (furnished by 2008 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 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 all readers are greatly appreciated).
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.
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).
At the other end of the spectrum, the product description in this link on Amazon for Golf Resort Tycoon II is more than a little disturbing; just so wrong on so many levels and reinforces the need for the GT site to keep putting the word out there.
Other links, sites, etc. of Goat Tracker interest: on the More Tracks and GT Pro Shop pages.
