Featured Clip: This FedEx ad is pretty well-traveled territory for most of us...

GT Notable Quotable... (courtesy of Friar Tuck), ...
"The momentum in this contest could swing as quickly as an open marriage in Amsterdam."

2nd Notable Quotable (from Sherpa JB), "[The GT site is] inspirational and informative in a useless sort of way." Quite possibly the best back-handed compliment this site could receive.

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.

Featured links & stuff

(logos below linked to sponsor sites)

 Apparel and Equipment for Men, Women, and Juniors.

At the other end of the spectrum, I found the product description in this link on Amazon for Golf Resort Tycoon II 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 and sites of GT interest

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).

1/30/08 Prior to an informal gathering at Buffalo Wild Wings, which  was attended by several Trackers, it finally became obvious to a contributor to this site that the "Tradition Course" in Windsor is so close to "The Institute" that it's just begging to be part of the GT Minor rotation for 2008.  The best selling points so far, from a Tracker perspective,are 1) that the unending echo and whir of rush hour traffic noise from I-91 on every shot is just stupendous; 2) the pro shop is at the top of the Matterhorn, everything else seems to flatten out after that.  There is GT Minor potential here; it will be investigated further once the snow melts.

1/28/08 (courtesy of Event Coordinator JB) The season opener, the First Minor, is in the planning stages.  We will do everything possible to kick off before April 15th.  We need to get out there before Copper Hill's "Maintenance Staff" rakes the beer cans out of the trap on #3, before a flower pops up, or (perish the thought) before the grass begins  growing.  We don't expect to be in shirt sleeves, but we do expect to be wading through the knee-high schmegma that undoubtedly awaits us on #5.  Remember, no boots.  The only boots we want to see are the thigh-highs worn by the BCC.

1/12/08 "Brown Grass, Icy Air - Heaven".  A good WSJ article about Tracking at the oldest public course in the U.S., Van Cortlandt.  For more on "Vanny" check this review from an experienced Tracker on the More Tracks page.

11/28/07 "Uncovering Tranquil Paths",  from the Hartford Courant (submitted to GT by marseliworld.com).  Summary:  Keney is in the process of opening walking paths similar to those at Goodwin GC.  Notable quote from the Friends of Keney Park, "We want to make this a place where people can escape from the city."  Also notable, if you cross the railroad right of way and take a couple other shortcuts, the boundary of the park is about a mile and a quarter hoofing distance from the Dept. of Corrections facility on Weston St., which puts "escaping the city" in a slightly different light.  If your group picks up a 4th with rental clubs, consider yourself warned.

11/1 Re. the vehicle path that traverses Goodwin (see the More Tracks page for details on the path), on the last round of the year, Friar Tuck and I were surprised to see it being set up for some kind of "Christmas Light Extravaganza".  On the one hand, it seemed pretty un-Track-like, but after further reflection, this is part of why Goody is the 2007 "New (to us) Track of the Year."

7/31 It appears that my boycott of Blue Fox Run has yielded positive results; now offering a $10 twilight special!
7/26 "Lone Riders:  Golfers want reduced cart fees for those going solo" (Stamford Advocate).  Classic Fairfield County; like it's not enough to get screwed on the non-resident 9-hole greens fees at the E. Gaynor Brennan Municipal Golf Course.  This was my home course during 1992-93 (kind of an upgraded Track like Stanely GC)...the personal grudge here...I left my Browning p/w on the course in 2003 and no one returned it.  F**K the whole bunch of 'em!
7/20 "EMS Golf Cart to Debut at New Britain Course" (WFSB.com).  While this won't help on those days when your game should be carried off the course on a stretcher, I guess it's reassuring to know that if you get knocked out by an errant shot on the labyrinth that is Stashu, you'll be carted off as quickly as possible.
6/14 first day of the US Open, but more importantly, today gives us the Urban Goat Track Open!
6/9 Daly misses cut, which in this case results in criminal charges.  ESPN.
5/14 The Consequences of "poor golf etiquette".  ESPN.
5/11 The 2007 GT OPEN:  highlights on the Minor Notes page.
5/9 "Adu OK after Hit in Head with Golf Ball" (USA Today).  a) wrong sport for the header, b) if he ever plans on playing a Track with a lot of cross-fairway traffic (e.g. GT, Westwoods),  he better wear a hockey helmet.
4/2 WSJ article,page R1 "How Golf Went Wrong."  Looks like the GT site may be onto something after all...

Tracker Commentary on the PGA Tour...just because we feel the need to set the record straight...

4/16/08  Re. Tiger's knee surgery following the Masters, with so much commentary revolving around the "hilly terrain at Augusta National" being part of the problem, I'm eagerly waiting or someone to unwittingly refer to it as a Goat Track and be banished from the course forever, similar to Gary McCord, for "besmirching" its unassailable virtue.

1/10/08 Go figure...the "golf establishment" reinforces a negative stereotype of elitism and/or racism.  Lynch Tiger?  This whole thing may have been blown out of proportion, but If there's anything that reinforces the "GT movement", this is it.

7/22/07 While it's impressive that Padraig Harrington tried to show his "Track acumen" by going for a GT Minor kicker, "best use of course features" and careening a shot off the Barry Burn bridge, choosing the 72nd hole of the Open Championship to do so probably wasn't the most opportune moment for it.

7/21/07 I have no fashion sense, don't care, don't want any, and am loathe to comment on such matters, BUT I'm still trying to figure out which was more ridiculous at the British Open Saturday:  Sergio getting a jump start on Halloween by dressing as a traffic cone or Tiger emulating George Costanza in the "hand model/puffy shirt" episode by wearing those ridiculous oven mitt-looking things (mittens) in the middle of July.  My vote for more riduculous goes to Eldrick; you're a musclebound world class golfer, nut up and drop the f'ing mittens!  Those of us who are more accustomed to playing in cold temps (and Scotland in July isn't what we consider cold) know enough to "hit it pure" to avoid a stinger on contact.  He may be a great golfer, but that was more than a bit unmanly.

4/8/07 It looked for a second like Tiger was ready to drop an f-bomb or two on "serenity now!" walk up 18, which would've gotten everyone at CBS and Augusta National's knickers in a twist and made me fall off the couch laughing.  Of course, etiquette prevented this from happening and one is left to wonder whether his vocabulary is Track-worthy.
4/8 Apparently the "concert t-shirt rule" (i.e., you don't wear a shirt from the band you're seeing at one of their concerts) doesn't apply to golf, otherwise Stuart Appleby wouldn't have worn a sweater sporting the Masters' logo this weekend.  Maybe they just have a different rule about that stuff in Australia.

4/6/07 Good to see Augusta National taking a page out of the GT playbook re. the hardpan greens.  Seeing this on television can only prepare one for what lies ahead.

Goat Track Commentary...from the Sherpas & Sages and whomever else wants to chime in...(some posts have been moved and incorporated into the More Tracks page)

Going forward, in an effort to make this section of the site more interactive and user-friendly, we're going to try to move the "Commentary on Local Tracks" and "Tracker Commentary on the PGA Tour" sections to the Goat Track Golf blog on...
 and/or

Commentary on local Tracks

2/6/08 (from Sherpa JB):  I was checking the website (Other Tracking-Related News 1/30) and noticed that you're interested in playing "The Tradition" course, right off I-91 in Windsor.  I have played this course a few times, the last time was probably five years ago.  Unless they've made "improvements", this place has some distinguishing GT features.  One that comes to mind is the #1 hole.  If I am correct and not confusing it with #10, #1 hits over a ravine to a fairway.  The ravine is littered with cups and cans and only needs a few seagulls flying over it to qualify it as a dump.  I also remember playing #8 which I think is along the highway and #9 which is a blind tee shot...which I hooked into the patio by the clubhouse.  As I recall, the ruling was that the patio was in play and I hit my third shot off the patio.  Bottom line:  we should take a scouting party there early in the Tracking Season, confirm its Track credentials, and plan an outing, possibly a GT Minor Event.

6/25/07 Another Keney Dollar Day, a/k/a "Fred & Ted's Excellent Adventure".  Fred a/k/a Due Passe took the Barth route on the front 9, i.e. "I'm not keeping score".  Wuss.  Observations from the round, 1) paying your greens fees at the UGT still takes about as much time as getting through airport security on the day before Thanksgiving; 2) If my life were on the line for a putt, I'd rather have Ray Charles take it than Fred, acknowledging that Ray's no longer with us; 3) compounding the cash register cluster in the pro shop, we first saw the  BCC on #17 [as much as I love Keney, this will not do]; 4) and possibly most noteworthy and/or unlikely, a) we actually finished in 4 hours flat, unprecedented and not likely to be repeated, b) Fred threw a variation of a "dollar Nassau" out there for the last 3 holes, actually more of a cross between a skins match and best ball, which resulted in yours truly taking the 16th and more importantly the 18th hole.  My nemesis, the evil 18th, has been temporarily subdued.  Of course if DM were there, he would've dropped his bag in my backswing to prevent the par from possibly happening.

6/21/07 FINALLY, THE INITIAL PILGRIMAGE to East Hartford Public; a recon mission.  To think that it would've met the expectations set by the review posted on the More Tracks page by a non- Tracker would have been unreasonable/unfair, but there is potential. Check More Tracks for first impressions.

6/6/07 KENEY DOLLAR DAY #2:  Disaster averted, i.e. getting kicked off the Track.  I should've known something was awry after seeing the "no BCC Today" sign in the pro shop.  In an unlikely confluence of coincidence and stupidity, we managed to hit up on the group ahead of us on #4, apologize after being berated, and hit up on them again on the very next shot.  Excellent "course management".  The saving grace here is that they were both really good golf shots!  This episode, in addition to pissing off the group behind us for other reasons, made us "personna non grata" at the UGT.  Fortunately we didn't get booted and I can return for the UGTO next week, I think.

5/21/07 KENEY DOLLAR DAY:  an enjoyable, albeit slow round at the UGT.  There was a large amount of a strange substance on the tee box at #3; after sending a sample to the GT lab, it turned out to be grass seed.  Incredible!  Quote of the day, at the turn, in the clubhouse bathroom of all places, courtesy of a seasoned Tracker, "looks like someone pissed on the floor; someone should tell that guy to stand closer, apparently he's not as long as he used to be."  Uncanny how a commentary about urination sounds a lot like a golf lesson.  Extremely profound.

5/2/07 UGT recon, back 9.  It looks like Keney is making an effort to differentiate between the fairways and rough for the first time since about last July.  The attention to detail was obvious based on the white spray paint used to delineate the edge of the fairway on #10.  Also, my reputation must have preceded me prior to this practice round; while teeing off on 17, there was a backhoe with a bucket full of topsoil headed to the holes I'd already played, presumably to backfill my divots.  It was a bit of overkill; a couple of 5-gallon pails would've been sufficient.  Kudos on the bridge work on #13 (2nd par 3), the new boards really give your drive a nice carom when you skull your tee shot.  Best drive of the day...still only leaving a wedge to the green on #12 after sending the head of my Browning 2-iron about 35 yards off the tee.

4/30/07 Got word from my uncle who played Airways last week that they had made some improvements to the course.  I'd never call him a liar, but I find this more than just a bit implausible and will have to investigate.

4/20/07 Played the first round at Keney, which was of course KENEYRIFFIC!  Surprisingly few people on the course, no BCC, Great Room is still barricaded shut.  Question of the day (posed while tracking down drives near the tree line):  were the piles/formations of pine cones & debris in some of the fairways left by the receding water from the storm or were they some type of "crop circles" left by Tracking aliens looking for a place to play a quick 9?  Also, in a monumental error in gamesmanship, I was "given" the putt that closed out the match on the 6th hole.  Apparently the venerable Friar Tuck is working the long con, holding this over my head for the entire 2007 season to use against me.  Ahhhhhh.....grasshoppahhhhhh.......the falcon has heard the falconer.  It is officially ON!

4/7/07 Re. the addition of GPS-equipped carts at Stanley.  This may appear to be a nice bell/whistle to add but, according to the Courant article, it does nothing to address the biggest challenge at Stashu......finding the next hole!  I would hope that no Tracker would seriously consider taking the "professional tips" generated by the equipment.  On the other hand, while using a GPS cart at Blackledge, I found it a useful tool to get yardage readings on some shots where it would be otherwise difficult to calculate, provided you could drive the cart into the woods where your ball was.

4/6/07 Did some mid-day drive by recon at the GT and despite/because of the temps in the mid 30's with some wind, there was only a handful of cars in the lot.  Too bad the weather didn't cooperate because Good Friday is usually a great Tracking opportunity.  On the other hand, the lack of course usage will make the GT that much more "pristine" for the first Minor.

10/28/06 It was either extreme casual water visible from the road at Tower Ridge or the grounds crew did a hell of a job adding hazards on short notice.  The monsoon in CT had an obvious adverse effect on any potential Tracking.  Even the best Sherpa would've needed flippers.  On the plus side, not too much wind, so it wouldn't have been a 3-club adjustment as anticipated.

10/28/06 Since it was an untrackable day, the next best use of the time allotted time was to get a haircut (unfortunately).  The barbershop is one of the last nearly-untainted bastions for men against all kinds of metrosexual nonsense...or so I thought.  When an interesting conversation about the Yanks & Sox offseason movestook a detour off the proverbial cliff to discussing "Dancing with the Stars", my universe was immediately out of kilter.  I may as well go to a stylist now...

9/2/06 Apparently not everyone heeded the Keneyriffic Index Saturday.  DM called in to mention that he saw a foursome on the practice green at a (private) course in Westport as Fairfield county was getting pounded by the fringes of storm Ernie.  Two observations, 1) this is contrary to everything I've thought about "country club wussbags" and 2) as DM noted, either they're Trackers of the highest degree or you'd be hard-pressed to find 4 less happily-married guys; it's anyone's guess as to which is closer to the truth.

7/27/06 UTTERLY AMAZING!  KENEYRIFFIC even.  The weather held up and the UGTO went off without a hitch...and by all accounts was a smashing success.  Details on the Minor Notes page.

7/18/06 Thanks to GT Duke for doing clubhouse recon and finding out about "Keney Dollar Day."  18 holes w/cart for $18, $1 dogs, beverages, etc.  Too good to pass up!  "cough, cough, I don't think I'll be able to make it in to work today."

7/3/06 Although the Keneyriffic Index plummeted from 8 to 4 in the time it took me to walk from my desk to my car, I was determined to play 9 at the UGT.  Greens were better than expected, but that was partially offset by a slight landfill/swamp odor that lingered over the course, probably due to the mud & casual water.  Of course #18 kicked my ass again.  The only good thing about that hole is that I can cram the same amount of frustration that would take hours to achieve at Rockledge into 8 to 10 minutes.  Much more efficient.