Sony have decided to make the PSP relevant for all those out there who don’t see the point of playing Parappa the Rapper on the train. The handheld gaming device has been fitted with a Global Positioning System Receiver so, if you buy the map add-ons, you will never get lost again. Thankfully Sony have applied the technology to golf and created a virtual caddy application to give you precise distance readings to the pin and on course hazards. In addition there’s also a scratchpad to make notes on each hole for future reference. The people at PSP have mapped out 31 courses so far. However, unless you are Japanese, there is a catch. All the courses currently available are in the Chiba area east of Tokyo. We assume when the technology is more widely available Sony will add more courses to the roster. In the meantime either move to Chiba or wait patiently and watch this space. To find out more about this story click here.
It looks like the weather could have finally turned for the better. The forecast has been checked and the next five days are going to be peachy. “So why the long faces?” You may ask, if you could see us. Because we are all in the office, that’s why. Now we know that there are bundles of people in the same boat and don’t for a second think we should get special dispensation. However when your flatmate who claims to be “working from home” sends you a picture like the one below it really sticks in your craw. The reason everyone should work from home. At least the sun is out, it could be worse. It being worse. It looks like it could be a scorcher. Check out the weather in your area and book yourself a tee time. Weather Checker.
Kids huh, when they are not spending your hard earned tax on “education" and “healthcare” they are winning golf tournaments previously reserved for adults. Ryo Ishikawa, who shares his name with the villain from first person shoot ‘em up Shogo: Mobile Armour Division, won the Munsingwear Open KSB Cup on Sunday. Ishikawa became the first teenager to win on the Japanese Men’s tour and the first amateur winner since Masahiro Kurmoto took the Chugoku-Shikoku Open title 27 years ago. More impressively he beat the previous record held by a young Spaniard by the name of Severiano Ballesteros who won the Japan Open in 1977, fifteen years before Ishikawa was born. Ryo Ishikawa, annoyingly good at golf. Here’s hoping this talented dustbin lid goes on to emulate Seve’s carreer. Or at the very least keep his room tidy. Tut, Kids. To find out more Ryo Ishikawa’s prodigious talents click here or here….
News has reached us from our spars at trendhunter.com of a new game gripping the waterways, Underwater Golf. Anybody who has golfed in the UK should be familiar with the concept of playing soaked through. However our Chinese brethren have taken it one step further by hosting what’s believed to be world’s first underwater golf tournament. Five aqua-golfers (a word we made up just now) competed in a 50 ft tank for the honour of winning golf’s first underwater major. Fibber told me he won this four years on the bounce. A spokesman from Zuohai Aquarium explains, “The rules are pretty much the same as for regular golf. Whoever gets the ball in the hole first wins the match.” However players were judged on how long it took them to complete the hole rather than the number of strokes taken. The aquarium bloke went on to say, “The water makes the match very interesting. Not only fish and mammals distract the players, but their buoyancy makes it hard for them to stabilise themselves.” Water currents also make the trajectory of the ball hard to predict, he added. The winner sunk the ball in just one minute and 20 seconds, while the one who came last took five minutes. For more on this nonsense click here…
You know what they say about the whole being more than the sum of its parts? Well, here are two seemingly unrelated stories spanning a year combining to make perfect sense. First up we have a quaint tale first reported in July 2004 from our Canadian cousins. Some pesky rodents kept nicking peoples golf balls from Riverside Golf Course in Edmonton. Squirrels had been stealing balls from fairways and stashing them away for rainy days. The members called it getting “squirreled”. The course even has a rule that allows golfers to replace their balls without penalty if everyone agrees on exactly what they saw. From this... On it’s own a bit cutesy but nothing overtly sinister, until you add it to a story that was first reported in 2005 but only arrived in the inbox at GOLFPUNK Towers this morning. As part of a drive to clean up urban areas London police have pushed drug dealers into residential streets. As a result they are burying their contraband in gardens where squirrels are plundering their crack rocks. It’s thought that the little furry tykes are becoming addicted and have been described as, “ill-looking …its eyes looked bloodshot but it kept on desperately digging.” "It was almost as if it was trying to find hidden crack rocks." The article goes on to claim, “Crack squirrels are a recognised phenomena in the US.” ...to this... Which got us thinking. Obviously the golf ball-stealing squirrels are selling their ill-gotten gains to pro shops to raise money to keep them in narcotics. One tree on the Riverside Golf Course was reported to have around 250 golf balls buried under it. That’s around $90 worth of lake balls. ...to this. Just Say No! We’re just saying, that’s all. For more on squirrels pinching golf balls click here… For more on the crack embezzling squirrels click here…
After hearing the latest office whinge about, “I would be a brilliant at golf if I was consistent from 140 yards”. We have decided to ban moaning in the office. With this in mind we think you should find out a bit more about the life of Todd Demsey. A man with the world at the end of his niblick before more pressing ‘real life’ issues took precedence. A promising career has been side tracked by debilitating back pain and a brain tumor. Despite these set backs he is battling his way back with the sort of attitude that should make people who throw their putter into ponds because of a three jab hold their heads in shame. Hard as Nails On his golfing rehabilitation he says: "It puts things in perspective," Demsey said. "I used to live and die on every shot. It's still my job. It's what I love to do. It's not quite as important to me as it was before all this. But I feel real lucky to be able to play golf for a living, especially after back problems and a brain tumor. I have nothing to complain about." If he has nothing to complain about we at GP Towers certainly don’t. For more on this story click here ....or here.
Despite being old hat, this heart warming tale reached GolfPunk Towers via the gift of email this morning and it demands a wider audience. The names have been changed to protect the sniggling. Take it away Sarge… "This oriental man who spoke only broken English thought that his practice round badge allowed him to "play a practice round" at the Augusta National. The Grounds Maintenance guys in the background actually stopped and took the picture. As you can see I am struggling to restrain from laughing totally out loud. My partner, Sgt. Buck Logan, is not in the picture because he is actually just out of the left side of the frame rolling in the pine straw, from laughter. " I really hope that was true.
This story came to us the other day and we felt everyone needs this in their lives. GolfPunk have a (morally acceptable) love of animals. As the photo below for our trip to Sweden will attest.Paschal + Club + Heffer = Normal Saturday Night So it fills us with joy to see we are not alone, the guys at Bulls Bay feel the same way."Call that a stroke saver? 150 yards my rump!"I will let them explain."In a zany day at the Hootie at Bulls Bay Collegiate Invitational, unranked Central Florida and Florida State ran away from the field, while “Titleist” the Bull got loose and scampered around the course to the delight of the patrons..." For more on this story click here.
We came across this interesting site offering a virtual golf community so we signed up. If any of you would like to take on team GP then bring it on.www.worldgolftour.comSee you in there.