Review: Card Golf

Card Golf

Card Golf mirrors the game of golf to a tee. The rules, the golf clubs and even the world’s top golf courses have been condensed into this fun, easy to play and addicting card game. It’s golf in a box. So if you or someone you know is into golf, or if you want to teach someone about the game, then Card Golf is perfect for you.

Card Golf

Ever get tired of playing poker, rummy, go-fish, or any other card games you might play? Card Golf just might be the game for you, especially if you’re a golfer or interested in learning how to golf.

The deck for Card Golf consists of 51 cards ranging from 1 yard putters up through 250 yard drivers. It also comes with a rule/instruction card and two sample score cards to get you started. A single Card Golf deck is designed to be played by 2 people and it does the job pretty well.

The basics of the game is that you want to add up the yardages on your cards to be more than the length of the hole. If your cards add up exactly to the yardage you aren’t given any penalty strokes, 1-5 yards over and you get one penalty, and then it goes up from there until a maximum of 4 penalty strokes.

Card GolfLast night I sat down and played two hands using the scorecard for Pebble Beach. For the first couple of holes I made the mistake of thinking about the card game too much like a regular golf hole. I’d hit it long off the tee, make an approach shot, and then try to putt for birdie. This is where the game of Card Golf can mix things up a bit, because there are some real potential chances to make eagles.

The first hand (player) I played was doing quite well making birdie on the first two holes and my second player went par, birdie to start. Then I realized I could try to make it in with two shots each time and if the yardages turned our right, I could even get the exact yardage using two cards. My first hand went on to eagle the next three holes and take a commanding lead. After another birdie, I was 9 under after 6 holes! A triple bogey 6 on the next hole, a par 3, ruined that real quick. While getting three eagles in a row is something I’ll most likely never do, I know what a 6 feels like on a short hole!

I kept playing along with both of my players and my first player cruised along by only giving up the tee on 4 holes out of 18 to the second hand I was playing. The scores for the front nine were 29 and 35 and then 31 and 32 on the back for 18 hole scores of 60 and 67, which are -12 and -5. Not bad!

Card Golf is a game anyone can learn and it doesn’t take long to play. While it doesn’t quite equate to real golf in a lot of aspects, you can learn a few things. One of the things I didn’t like was the lack of using a putter. The putter is the most frequently used club in every one’s golf bag (when playing real golf) and there wasn’t a requirement to use it in this game. In fact, there was a time when one of my players didn’t have a putter card in the hand for 3 holes, so I couldn’t have used one if I wanted to.

Overall I was really pleased with the game. The deck is well designed and should hold up for many 18 hole rounds of play. Card Golf would make a great gift for any golfer who is trying to get through the winter months.


Review: The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King

The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King: Inside the Richest Poker Game of All TimeInside the Richest Poker Game of All Time

I’ve had this book sitting on my shelf since Christmas, when I received it as a gift. A few weeks ago I finally got around to reading it and finished it last week. It ranks right up near the top with some of the other poker related books I’ve read.

Before starting on the book I knew the general idea of what the book was about, but I really had no idea the events discussed in the book happened so recently. The “Richest Poker Game” was just before and around the time of Chris Moneymaker’s famous World Series of Poker win.

For those not familiar with everything, “The Professor” in the title refers to poker pro Howard Lederer, “The Banker” refers to Andy Beal, and “The Suicide King” is the King of Hearts because of his sword stabbing his own head. The “Richest Poker Game” was a limit hold’em heads-up match between Andy Beal and a group of poker professionals. The game was played at limits up to $100,000/$200,000, so swings of millions of dollars were not unusual.

Michael Craig did a great job telling the story by piecing together information from many different sources about the game. It’s really an insightful read into the high stakes poker world. I’d easily give it an A.

Fall TV Choices

Fall brings the start of nasty weather to Michigan. Temperature drops, thunderstorms, and the scraping of windshields in the morning are some of the more unpleasant signs of fall we get to experience. This all means more time spent inside the house. It’s a good thing the TV stations start all of their new seasons at this same time.

My DVR is scheduled for many of the same shows it was back in February, but there are also a few new shows that have caught my eye. Here’s my week…

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Cashed Out

Wow, what a crazy few days it’s been in the poker world. Lots of great posts out there about the new legislation/laws/whatever you want to call it. I won’t even try to explain any of it here. I will give my opinion though…I think the government is making a big mistake and it sucks.

I’ve cashed my bankroll out of the poker sites and also cashed everything out of Neteller. I rarely play poker anymore and I don’t feel like fighting to get my money back later, so I’m taking my money and running for now. I’ll keep my eye on the situation, but to tell you the truth I don’t think it’s really going to affect me much. I don’t make time for poker like I used to. Too many other things in life I’d rather be doing than sitting in front of my computer getting kicked in the balls on the river by a 2 out donkey draw.

My Golf Season Might Be Over

The 2006 golf season might be over for me. I’d like to get out for a couple of more rounds, but I get so busy at this time of year and the days get shorter. It was the best summer of golf in my life. I shot nearly 2 strokes better per 9 holes than last year. I learned a little bit of course management which I think was a big factor, but I also learned a few things about hitting my driver. I still hope to get out at least once more to use up a free round I have, but we’ll see.

I’ve been working out for awhile and started lifting heavy weights over the last week. This should really help my swing out because as the summer went along my back started to feel the effects of playing nearly 1000 holes this year. Maybe I’ll even get a little extra distance out of my driver next year.

2006 Ryder Cup Schedule and Team Info

The 2006 Ryder Cup is being held at the K Club in Kildare, Ireland later this week and everyone is getting pumped up. Here’s the US television schedule…

  • Friday, September 22 on USA – 8AM – 6PM ET
  • Saturday, September 23 on NBC – 8AM – 6PM ET
  • Sunday, September 24 on NBC -8AM – 12:30PM ET

2006 United States Ryder Cup Team

Captain

  • Tom Lehman

Assistant Captains

  • Corey Pavin
  • Loren Roberts

Team Members

  • Tiger Woods
  • Phil Mickelson
  • Jim Furyk
  • Chad Campbell
  • David Toms
  • Chris DiMarco
  • Vaughn Taylor
  • J.J. Henry
  • Fred Funk
  • Zach Johnson
  • Brett Wetterich
  • Stewart Cink
  • Scott Verplank

2006 European Ryder Cup Team

Captain

  • Ian Woosnam

Vice Captains

  • Peter Baker
  • Des Smyth

Assistant Captains

  • Sandy Lyle
  • David J Russell

Team Members

  • Darren Clarke
  • Paul Casey
  • Luke Donald
  • Sergio Garcia
  • Padraig Harrington
  • David Howell
  • Robert Karlsson
  • Paul McGinley
  • Colin Montgomerie
  • José Maria Olazábal
  • Henrik Stenson
  • Lee Westwood

I Write When I Want To

We do not write because we want to; we write because we have to.

W. Somerset Maugham

Maugham obviously had never heard of blogs when he made the above quote.

I haven’t made a post here at MDV since August 2nd. I’ve had plenty to write about, but just haven’t felt like it. And guess what, I’m fine with that. It’s my blog. I write when I want to. I really do what to write more often, but we’ll just see how it goes. As the weather gets colder here in Michigan I should have more time to post.