This is it!!

The US Open at Torrey Pines 2008, San Diego, CA.

Finally I will see in High Definition what I have only seen previously on Playstation 2's Tiger Woods 2003! The real course at Torrey Pines.

As for those of you who live near the course, you lucky lucky ba...
...people.

The US Open will be hosted at the South Course of Torrey Pines (courtesy of Torrey Pines' official website):





















This is what the players will be faced with right from the start. Here is the layout of the first hole:

























Easy no? I'm completely sure of my ability to play this hole with no problems... as long as it's on Playstation!

It would be truly amazing to be there to watch the world's #1, #2 and #3 golfers all in the same championship. According to PGA's website, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Adam Scott will be playing together in the same group on the Thursday and Friday.

My pick? I would actually love Tiger to win it but to see an Australian win the US Open would be a treat! Adam Scott is yet to smash through that glass ceiling. And let's not forget Phil Mickelson and Trevor Immelman and all the other incredible players in the field.

Most of the time I'm just happy to be watching golf, regardless who wins. But.. GO TIGER!!!




















Here are the broadcast times as of Thursday 12th June 2008. Be sure to check your local guides - these times are for Australia (VIC) only!:

Friday 13 June

Ten: 6am - 12pm (EST)
TenHD: 6am - 12pm(EST)


Saturday 14 June

Ten: 6am - 12pm (EST)
TenHD: 6am - 12pm(EST)


Sunday 15 June

Ten: 6am - 12pm (EST)
TenHD: 6am - 12pm(EST)


Monday 16 June

Ten: 6am - 11am (EST)
TenHD: 6am - 11am(EST)


If you are without a HD set top box, perhaps now would be a good time to purchase one. In the magic that is High Definition TV you can almost see the players' eyebrow hairs blowing in the breeze.

technorati tags: golf US Open Torrey Pines Tiger Woods 2008

Sometimes waiting for my items to arrive is like the play by Samuel Beckett, "Waiting For Godot". Except in the play he never turned up. Oops! Sorry - I hope I didn't spoil it for anyone.


Here is my wonderful (but still missing) newsboy cap:













It had better arrive or I will have to do an exorcism on the Ebay demon again. (see previous post)


Which will be painful.

And messy.


Speaking of Ebay, I wish to introduce a feature to the "My Ebay" section. While it is very convenient while browsing items to "Watch" an item in My Ebay, it is more complicated to stop watching the item when you decide you're not interested or the price is too high.


I suggest that Ebay introduce an "unwatch" button, a simple button that will sit next to the "watch" button in the area circled. This way you could weed out your watched items (mine often contains over 20!) and narrow them down quickly so you can do some serious bidding.

















I hope Ebay decides to take this on board. One click and people could be "watching", "unwatching" and "rewatching" in seconds. It could revolutionise Ebay! Or at least make it a bit easier for buyers to navigate in My Ebay!

technorati tags: ebay watched item myebay button

It's coming up to that time of year when we think of shopping around for fathers day gifts. In fact, there are only a few days to go! It's pretty accepted that Dad's often like beer. It's not being stereotypical, they just seem to like it. How many of your Dads drink spritzers or cosmopolitans? Hmm? Not many, I bet. I found a Beer of the month club which sounds rather exciting. Did I say it was for me or for a present? Oops. There you have it. I have a confession to make. Yes, I like beer as well. This monthly beer club offers memberships ranging from 1 month to 12 months or ongoing. You can pay by the month ($21.95) or in full, providing you with a 12-pack of 4 distinctly different beers to try. The selection of beer is screened by a panel of beer tasters to make sure you get the best tasting beer. The various types of beer sound intriguing, too. Included in the selection have weird and wonderful names like Snake River's Lager and Devil's Elbow. If you purchase a 12 month membership you will receive a $25 bonus to use for further membership or merchandise.


Mmmm. Beer. The gift that keeps on giving!






















This post brought to you by GreatClubs.com

Hee hee. Ho ho. Hoo hoo!

Following are my most recent golf purchases. I have my Wilson Sunday Bag (update: the strap broke on the first round so my partner neatly fixed it up with black gaffer tape!)

The Elsternwick On Course Golf Shop just happened to have a sale on when I needed to buy a set of clubs. The discounts are incredible.


Precept 9 Iron - $10
This is my Stuart Appleby club. Why you ask? Because he wears that Precept cap, even in Playstation games! Maybe this club will help me play like him (hee hee!)

































Greg Norman 5 Iron - $5
I've always wanted a Greg Norman club. My partner has a Greg Norman SW ($3 at an op-shop!). I am a big fan of Greg Norman, he is an Australian (more of an international citizen now!) and a living legend. I hope to see him play more tournaments in the near future.


















PGF Spectrum Pitching Wedge - $10
This is so far my most versatile club. I use it for everything! Shots around the green, short approach shots, but I don't putt with it! Jack Nicklaus, in his book "The Best Way to Better Golf" refers to one golfer that became an expert with the Pitching Wedge almost exclusively. Perhaps I can learn from that.

















Taylor Made 6 Iron - $5

What a bargain! I know you can't normally find Taylor Made clubs for under $10 so I was extremely lucky here. Many of these clubs were recommended to me by the golf Professional from South Africa. This particular one I chose on my own. Why? I liked the heaviness of the clubhead.


















PGF Spectrum 7 Wood - $15
My saviour. If you are not quite so confident with your 3-iron, I recommend you try one of these. I used this for most of my second shots throughout the round. The distance is exciting and it is a little easier to hit than a long iron. It's also easy to for me hit a straight shot and it's nice to have the hole shortened a little bit!




















PGF Spectrum 3 Wood - $15
My other saviour. I loved using my partner's "Shark" driver but this club seems to fit me better. The length is great and it is so easy to hit the ball long and straight. It's almost as if the club was fitted for me before I bought it! (Note: I recognise the importance of club fitting and finding a club like this off the rack is no substitute for good advice from a golf professional). This club helps me to hit more fairways and get closer for my second shot. I remember searching for my ball in the fairway about a third of the distance to the hole. I heard my partner calling "it's over here!" I looked up and saw the ball over half way to the green. I had to stand back when I got to my ball just to marvel at how far I had actually hit it!!





















Wilson Green Machine
This is my ideal putter, and the one I am using at the moment - Wilson Green Machine. It is simple and easy to use. Recently I have begun to hanker for a Golden Bear putter because it is very similar. My lucky ball is a Golden Bear and I have achieved around 4 bogeys so far!

technorati tags: golf clubs shop sale bargain

If anybody has watched "Red Dwarf", you will understand the significance of this little hand puppet from Series V episode "Quarantine".

It looks cute, yes? The hand puppet is said to be exact in every way to the original. Except the original Mr Flibble was a homicidal killer penguin hand puppet with hex vision. A small detail!


The main thing to remember is that you do not argue with Mr Flibble.


"Who'd clear up the mess?"


BUY MR FLIBBLE

If you haven't seen the episode, here is the Mr Flibble scene from "Red Dwarf V - Quarantine". This my favourite Red Dwarf scene from my favourite Red Dwarf episode.

technorati tags: mr flibble puppet, red dwarf, quarantine, mr flibble, mr flibble hand puppet, scifi, scifi, mr flibble

Find Red Dwarf and other sci-fi merchandise at the BBC Shop.