Category: 2011 - HOPE JOY GOLF

Tees2greens.com archived blog Posts

I remember finding a golf blog and message board site called tees2greens.com and fell in love - I commented on posts and messages and got to "know" a few other posters on the site. A while later, I got a message that if I wanted to I could have my own blog on the site...it was the most amazing offer and back in 2009 I wrote my first blog. I loved bantering with the head blogger, Sam Johnson, and I was thrilled to share my love for golf. The website had a great run, but all good things come to an end. The webmaster gave me a chance to download all my posts and here they are. A few years later I started hopejoygolf.com and restarted blogging. Life and technology created some starts and stops, but finally, 2025 is reenergizing me to blog again. I'm still a work in progress, but for now, if you're here, check out some of my thoughts back in my beginner blogging days.

Making Room for 2012!

1/4/2016

Posted Dec 28 2011, 02:47 PM by Cathy Erickson
It's the last week of 2011 - I know I've said it before, but man, time sure flies sometimes. I'm sure you've gotten your fill of the "year in review" articles, lists, and rankings that pop up all through December. Best shots, best players, best equipment...you name it, and I'm sure someone has written about it.

I have to admit that I wasn't a very good golf fan this year - my priorities were shuffled and my golf passion dropped a few rungs on the ladder (it was an awful feeling by the way!). I didn't keep up with my favorite players as much, and more importantly, I didn't play nearly as much golf as I should have. But that's not to say I didn't have golf on the brain sometimes. Here are some of the things I remember being on my mind in the 2011 PGA Tour world...

What was I thinking? (Crystal Golf Ball 2011)

1/4/2016

Posted Dec 18 2011, 10:31 PM by Cathy Erickson
Ah December, while we're now in a little bit of a break time for PGA Tour players, the rest of us (or maybe just me) are running around trying to get all of our holiday "to do" lists done. But December is also the time for me to check back on my yearly predictions and see how I did - I'm sure there's going to be a few laughs (it's official, I did after reading them!), some head shakes, and hopefully some cheering...I honestly didn't remember some of my predictions so this should be fun! I hope I got SOMETHING right!

Women deserve great golf gifts!

1/4/2016

Posted Dec 07 2011, 08:37 PM by Cathy Erickson
I clicked on a link to a top ten golf gifts for women the other day, and if you know me you know I love top ten lists! But as I scrolled through it, the only conclusion I took from it was there's a need to do a little more explaining on what makes a potential great gift for that awesome woman golfer you know.

Since golf has been a part of my life for over 25 years, and being a woman, I've observed that golf can mean lots of different things to different women. I'm thrilled that the market for women specific equipment, apparel, and accessories has expanded, there's a lot to look at! But great golf gifts come in all shapes, sizes, and prices so don't be blinded by "especially for women" traps that might not be the best deal (you know I love a sale!). I have seen more than a few "gifts" that were used "because the kids gave it to me" or heard the "can you believe he got that for me?", followed by the story of returning it.

So here are my thoughtful suggestions on what to consider, and maybe where you can look for some potential golf gifts for women:

Catching Up and Looking Ahead

1/4/2016

Posted Nov 27 2011, 10:53 PM by Cathy Erickson
Wow, it's the Sunday evening after Thanksgiving and I'm having one of those "where did my YEAR go??" We're coming up on December at the end of this week and before you know it we'll be singing Christmas carols and making resolutions for 2012. My year is a combination of a blur and vivid moments of both special and challenging experiences.

I feel like I'm at a point where I need to catch up a bit and also look forward to the holiday season and to the next year...I've just started my golf off-season and I hope to make the most of it.

Georgia On My Mind

1/4/2016

Posted Nov 02 2011, 08:46 PM by Cathy Erickson
Well, the golf clubs are back in my garage after a quick trip to Georgia starting last Friday. I was meeting some friends up in Chattanooga, TN, to see a concert, but as I often do, I added a couple extra days to fit in some golf. I'm a frugal traveler, so I decided to fly into Atlanta to save on airfare. Since I was getting a rental car anyway, I thought I'd take advantage of the golf prospects in the Atlanta area. I would have 1 day in Atlanta, then off to TN, and then about a day and a half back near Atlanta to fit in some golf before heading home.

I was hoping for a little bit warmer weather than the 60's they had, but it was pleasant, and no rain! I brought along my own clubs and my new favorite footjoy black shoes! Traveling is a great opportunity to clean out your bag and clean up your clubs, too. I'm happy to report I found $8 and some really nice Pro-V's to take along. With a somewhat stressful summer that didn't leave me with a lot of time to play golf, I was really looking forward to some time on the links in Georgia.

Calling all Dreamers...It's Q School Time!

1/4/2016

Posted Oct 05 2011, 03:03 PM by Cathy Erickson
The last few months have obviously been a little busy for me since I just realized that I missed out on announcing the beginning of the 2011 Q-School journey. Ah, Q-School...one of my favorite yearly golf dramas that goes seemingly unnoticed by almost the entire golf world. Hundreds of golf dreamers, golf veterans, and future golf super stars embark on this journey each year, in the hopes of being presented a PGA Tour Card after the Final Qualifying stage that includes 6 grueling rounds and less than 30 invitations to become a full-fledged member" the Tour".

Sometimes, It's Just About the Money

1/4/2016

Posted Sep 29 2011, 12:57 PM by Cathy Erickson
I not sure if Sam Johnson has completely warmed up to the whole FedEx Cup competition, but the fact that he gave a math geek like me a smile when I read is post last week gives me hope that he's at least giving the race for the Cup some consideration anyway.

It seems to me that the FedEx Cup has finally been "generally accepted" after several years of complaints and criticism...with some of those complaints being justified as they firgured out how to make it competitive until the end. The other interesting thing that happened is that I think "idea" behind the cup isn't about being the "best player" anymore...they've sort of turned it into a "tour within a tour" and if you can survive to the final 30 you've got a chance (and I use the term "chance" loosely for most of the guys) to win $10 million. That is one huge chunk of change!! Bill Haas won $10 million of FedEx winnings last Sunday...heck, for him, it's like winning the lottery! He was 25th coming into the event and according to Sam, he needed some serious stars to align in order to get this huge payday. I bet he'd be the first to tell you that he's not the best player in the world right now, but he was the best for 4 days, and had to be WAY better than a host of players in order collect one giant check.

Stars in Our Eyes

1/4/2016

Posted Sep 08 2011, 10:54 AM by Cathy Erickson
Last week Sam Johnson wrote about golf Super Stars...or the lack thereof on the PGA Tour as the FedEx Cup playoffs get started. I give him credit for acknowledging that the definition of super star is in the eye of the beholder, because I think the measure of a star can be looked at in many ways.

It's hard to argue with Sam's list of stars...and when you have the opportunity to include a career's worth of accomplishments, it's going to take a lot be worthy of recognition. If we teleported ourselves back to say 1921 instead of 2011, would we still put Bobby Jones on the list of all time super stars back then?

The Measure of a Man

1/4/2016

Posted Aug 24 2011, 11:53 AM by Cathy Erickson
A favorite song of mine by a group called 4Him, is called Measure of a Man…

It’s been on my mind lately as I have been hearing bits and pieces about the upcoming President’s Cup and the selection process that will happen in about a month. The “filler version” of the Ryder Cup in off years definitely has its share of great players, drama, and talent, but it’s felt to me like it was almost “gimmicky”…”the Tie”, Michael Jordan, I don’t know…maybe it just hasn’t been around long enough to be revered yet, at least not in my mind anyway.

Ode to Steve Stricker

1/4/2016

Posted Aug 11 2011, 12:20 AM by Cathy Erickson
It's late, and I just got done picking my players for the PGA Championship fantasy golf team. I've decided that I wanted to dedicate my golf thoughts this week to my favorite golfer, Steve Stricker. You know the story, a little jump start in the beginning of his career, then a slump, then hours of practice in the Wisconsin winters and before you know it he's comeback player of the year two years in a row!!

There's lots to love about Steve...he's not afraid to cry (just ask Peter Kostis!), he has a sweet putting stroke, his swing is simple yet powerful, and he's a Titleist guy! I believe in his character, he gives back to his community and to the golf world, and truly believe he appreciates every opportunity he's been given.

Hope, Joy, GOLF!

1/4/2016

Posted Aug 03 2011, 03:30 PM by Cathy Erickson
Lots going on in my golf head this week...First of all, it's August!! This means I only have about 2 months of decent golf season left. I'm sad that I haven't been out on the course nearly as much as I should have, but I've decided that I will be kicking my priorities around a bit to make more room for my happy place.

Let's see, what else...oh, yes, Tiger is back. I've got to believe there are all kinds of betting possibilities for the "comeback" this week at the Bridgestone. Since there is no cut at this limited field event he eliminated that one, but I'd say there is a fairly large contingent that thinks he will be marginal at best, and considering his injuries and time away from golf, it's probably not a bad guess. But you know there also others that believe he'll be hoisting another WGC trophy come Sunday - and I guess you never know. From what I could see on a betting odds web site, he's still a 20/1 pick ahead of Phil, Nick Watney, Adam Scott, and Martin Kaymer. Best odds are McIlory at 14/1, so it looks to me that there is a lot of belief in TW out there. As I said last week, I hope that being back on the course will sprout some joy into Tiger's life, regardless of how he finishes. The funniest thing I've read so far is a comment from Chuck over at my favorite Fantasy Golf website, http://www.kerplookee.com/. He put Tiger on his squad for the week and followed it up with: "And I know I'm going to regret my Tiger pick. The soul patch made me do it." Laughed out loud!

When Life Gets in the Way of Golf

1/4/2016

Posted Jul 27 2011, 12:06 AM by Cathy Erickson
I really don't do this very often, but I was thinking about Tiger Woods. If you are a fan of golf you've probably read about Tiger parting ways with his caddie Steve Williams. Depending on what source you read it sounds like going their separate ways wasn't exactly a mutual decision.

The gist of what I got out of it was, Steve was asked to caddie for someone else...he asked Tiger, Tiger and his people said "okay", but maybe weren't really excited about it...Tiger's still on the DL so Steve is asked again...this time he doesn't ask he just caddies...well, seems like the Tiger camp was miffed about it, throwing words out like "loyalty" and pretty soon Williams can decide whatever he wants because he doesn't have to worry about being on TW's bag anymore.

The British Open Can Make Golf Look Like Hard Work!

1/4/2016

Posted Jul 14 2011, 04:25 PM by Cathy Erickson
Hello Golf Fans!

It's another Major week in golf and I'm excited to talk about it, but I can't go any farther until I spend just a few lines praising the great win last week at the John Deere by Steve Stricker! I was attending a very important birthday party that Sunday (my nieces, Ce Ce & Sami are 3!) so I missed watching the final round, but I did get to see the final hole ...the amazing bunker shot and the putt/chip from the back of the green for the win. I loved that fist pump!! And I think it's important to note that this was his 3rd victory there in a row...WOW! And this wasn't a slouchy field either. I mean many of the big boys were already over the pond, but he definitely had some contenders. Way to go Steve!!

My best golf therapy is right here!

1/4/2016

Posted Jun 14 2011, 02:02 PM by Cathy Erickson
Hi Golf Friends...man, it's been awhile since I've written and I can tell - I've missed the "therapy" I get when writing about my favorite thing in the world. Life's been a challenge lately, but this past weekend I was on the course and my happy place reminded me that I can't forget what keeps me grounded. So many golf thoughts came to mind that I couldn't help but feel a renewed spirit...so here I am!

I'm going to have to "scatter shoot" like Sam this week because I've got a lot of golf on the brain! Where to start?!

An update on my happy place...

1/4/2016

Posted May 20 2011, 07:08 AM by Cathy Erickson
For some reason, Spring is still taking it's sweet time showing up in Minnesota...cool temperatures, wind, and scattered storms (not to be confused with Sam's scatter shooting!) have not made our transition to golf season (which is what I call summer) very smooth. Trees are finally starting to see some leaf buds and green grass is starting to replace the brown dead patches that seem to be bigger than ever this year. I think I may have reported awhile back that I was a little worried about how our golf course would winter after having some serious issues in 2010. The news we got was a mix of a little good but mostly bad as the snow melted away and we saw what we had to work with.

Do you know a Dreamer?

1/4/2016

Posted May 09 2011, 07:01 AM by Cathy Erickson
One of my favorite times of year is coming up. It's US Open Qualifying! It's the shorter and more inexpensive version of the Q-school format, and while not playing for a Tour Card, you're still vying for the chance to tee it up with the best in the world.

According to a USGA press release, 8,300 golfers registered to start the US Open Championship entry process. Sixty-five of those guys are already exempted straight into the championship...and there could be more by the time June rolls around and all of the exemption criteria come into play. A whole bunch more can exempt themselves into the sectional event if they meet any one of 34 exemption criteria, including, the Top 10 on the Canadian Tour money list, the Top 20 on the Sunshine and Challenge Tour money lists, and certain members of past Walker Cup teams. Want to know all of the exemptions? Just click here: https://champs.usga.org/EntryForms/usopen_2011.pdf

Who in the heck is....

1/4/2016

Posted Apr 21 2011, 08:48 AM by Cathy Erickson

I was surprised to see that the PGA Tour has already played 17 events on its 2011 schedule. I mean, I guess if I looked at the calendar that would make complete sense, but it appears my brain isn't registering all of those tournaments and all of the very deserving winners.

Granted, without the Golf Channel I'm not able to watch some of those first few tournaments on TV, but I play fantasy golf for pete's sake, you'd think I'd remember my great losing streak so far this year.

Who Stole My Masters Enthusiasm?

1/4/2016

Posted Apr 14 2011, 09:55 AM by Cathy Erickson
Another Masters is in the books and while there was certainly a lot of excitement come Sunday afternoon, for some reason this year just fell short for me...isn't that strange? It's my favorite week of the year for heavens sake!

I'm happy for Charl Schwarzel and I think I'd like to be a fan! But, honestly, I didn't know a whole lot about him. Tiger's front 9 charge on Sunday caught my interest and I found myself actually hoping he'd be in the mix, for golf's sake of course. But when he missed the putt on #12 his momentum changed and he seemed to stall out. I kept hoping for a little more magic, but it just wasn't his time this week.

Yep, it's my favorite week of the year!!

1/4/2016

Posted Apr 06 2011, 11:08 AM by Cathy Erickson
It's finally here...Masters Week. Are you already anticipating a memorable Sunday final round like I am? Now there's a lot to take in before we get to Sunday, pre-tournament interviews, expert picks, the par-3 contest, live streaming coverage on http://www.masters.com/, early round coverage on ESPN, along with probably a zillion tweets, countless blogs, and some you tube videos. I hope I can keep up!

I'm terribly jealous of the fact that a few of my golf pals headed to Augusta for the practice rounds this week. I tried to be happy for them, really, I did, but jealousy is a powerful emotion! I hope they got some great photos!!

Don't Go Changin' Q-School!

1/4/2016

Posted Mar 25 2011, 01:41 PM by Cathy Erickson
Since Masters fever hit me early this year, I almost missed the news about the PGA Tour Policy Committee's proposed changes for how players qualify for the Tour and the Nationwide Tour. As you know, the PGA Tour's Qualifying School (Q-School) one of the few ways a player can make it to the "big dance" instead of toiling on any one of the developmental tours or companion tours around the world.

According to an article on www.pga.com , the change was explained this way:

Is it too early to talk about the Masters?

1/3/2016

Posted Mar 17 2011, 08:36 AM by Cathy Erickson

Oh, I'm there...and now my brain has burned into it the beautiful views from Augusta National since I visited http://www.masters.com/ and saw a nice flyover of part of the course. Can you smell the azaleas? I can.

As I say every year, Masters week is my favorite week of the year. I'm usually busy with our last curling event of the season and hopefully watching our final snow melting, but I can already guarantee you that I will be home on the couch for the duration of the final round and will not be answering my phone. Last year I had the TV on and my lap top streaming Augusta's live coverage just to make sure I didn't miss a thing.

There are already 98 players who have qualified to play this year (April 7-10, 2011), with 17 of them being first time Masters participants. There are 19 different categories in which player can qualify to play. Major winners, top money earners, PGA Tour winners, and top 16 finishers in last year's Masters are just some of the ways a player can get their invite. Tiger Woods still leads the pack by qualifying in 7 of the 19 categories. Zach Johnson is right behind him with 6 qualifying categories, followed by a small group, including Matt Kuchar and Steve Stricker, meeting 5 of the qualifiers.

I love the Masters.

Lee Rinker on My Mind...

1/3/2016

Posted Mar 03 2011, 02:39 PM by Cathy Erickson
Well, after a dismal Match Play week in my predictions (dang you Steve Stricker!) I thought I needed to at least study the field at the Honda Classic to see if there was any inspiration for getting the right guys in my fantasy squad. (Big Shocker - Go Matt Kuchar!)

Making a run through of the field, I was quickly distracted by seeing the name Lee Rinker at the very bottom of the tee time sheet for the Honda. I'm thinking I know that name, but no details come to mind. It's time to turn to my friend Google! But here's the funny part...I put in LARRY Rinker instead of Lee and sure enough, a web site pops up and I'm reading about how Larry was a former PGA Tour Professional who made more than $2 million in his day and is currently an instructor (and guitar player) who would love to make you your best coach!

It All Comes Down to One

1/3/2016

Posted Feb 23 2011, 01:16 PM by Cathy Erickson
Any golf nut you know (which could be you!) has probably filled out at least one bracket for the Accenture Match Play this week. The top 64 players in the world are hoping they can out play and outlast the rest and be the 2011 champion. As I type this, the first matches are already under way and I'm almost afraid to look - will my guys make it past the first round? Will it be like last year when I lost almost 50% of my picks in round 1 and didn't have any one of the final 4? (that makes for a LOOONNNGGG weekend when you have no one to cheer for!)

I Heart Alvaro Quiros

1/3/2016

Posted Feb 15 2011, 08:41 AM by Cathy Erickson
You go out and win a golf tournament with some of the world’s best golfers in it and your story is buried behind the Tiger Woods spitting scandal...and behind the will Tiger ever win again saga. Life just isn’t fair sometimes. Well I am happy to dedicate my little blog spot to Alvaro Quiros and to congratulate him on winning the Dubai Desert Classic last weekend.

Arizona Adventures!

1/3/2016

Posted Feb 08 2011, 10:54 PM by Cathy Erickson
It's a little hard to fathom that a mere 48 hours ago I was experiencing 80 degrees warmer weather than it is outside right now in Minnesota. What is even harder to believe is that when I arrived in Arizona a week ago it was less than 10 degrees warmer than when I left the Twin Cities!! My Arizona Adventure got off to a VERY cold start, but that didn't stop me from having a great 6 days in the Phoenix area.

My mini-vacation started by arriving in Phoenix, Arizona last Wednesday around noon. The pilot advised us that the winds were gusty but he failed to mention that we were about to experience Phoenix's lowest high temperature in its history on that day! High Temp? 34.