I apologize that I’ve been AWOL but Incredible Technologies is keeping me busy.  Thankfully, my absence has created room for my much more in shape, quite less A-HOLE blogger minion, Adam Kramer to keep you all entertained.  He’s got chops, huh?  Thankfully, the hilarious electro-shock treatment is working on him.

So, while I may be somewhat out of the loop, I am definitely not  gone.  And with that said, it takes something compelling for me drop what I’m doing, come over here to the GTB and fire up the old blogin’ engine.  I present to you that compelling something…

The following is a player email that landed in my inbox.  I present it to you in its original form:

_______________________________________________________

Subject: NEW CARD NUMBER

I have been playing Golden Tee for about 5 years. I play with the same 3 guy’s about 2 times a week and probably play 2 games per day. I JUST CAN’T GET A BREAK. They hit and don’t get penalized, I hit and go in the water,sand trap or just miss a shot by inches. I spend about $25.00 a week playing this game ONLY TO SUCK HIND TIT 99% of the time, IT’S A JOKE. You would think after all this time I would have gotten better. I subscribe to your Newsletter and have taken time to analyze Greatest YOU-TUBE shot’s per hole. I also let my friends know where I’m Playing Golden Tee via Facebook.

Until I get a New Account with All My Clothing Transferred, I plan to tell these Guy’s that I will no longer play this game. Maybe Pool is my Destiny.

So if you want me to play give me a new card NUMBER

Thanks

Bill Ladas

_________________________________________________________

Now you know why we’re here and it doesn’t result in Bill playing billiards.

We’ve all been where Bill is.  It’s a level of complete frustration and passion that only comes with the game of golf.  It’s a crazy dichotomy, on one hand you have unbridled hatred for the game, as well as the people, places and things that go along with it.  On the other hand, you have a dedicated fanboy – doing everything short of wearing a “I Heart Steve Sobe” shirt and carrying around a Golden Tee pennant.

As I read Bill’s denunciation of Tee, I thought, “I can help.”  I can give Bill what he wants – I can exorcise his Golden Tee demons and give him that new life in the game he so loves to hate.  I can give Bill the 1% shove that will remove his dependence on hind tit and propel him into the future as the Golden Tee player he was born to be.  It’s time we expel the Golden Tee Tilt from Bill’s life and help him LIVE ON as a Golden Tee master.

Bill – are you ready?  It’s not going to be easy, my frustrated friend.  To build you up, we have to tear you down.  It may be painful – emotionally and physically.  It involves tools, – powerful tools.  Carnage, fire and brimstone!!!! (ok, not brimstone, but a mean paper shredder)

BILL LADAS, I CAST YOUR GOLDEN TEE DEMONS AWAY!!!!!

The official IT BAN HAMMER was used to alleviate Bill Ladas of his errant tee shots.

Then we lit a fire under Bill so he would stop getting flamed by his friends.

Next, we proved the rumor true – belt sanders can help your game.

Now, without a shred of dignity left – we can rebuild…

Bill, we’ve had a lot of fun with your situation here and it’s only because all of us can relate – you just so happened to be the one to put it so eloquently in an email.  So to complete your Golden Tee transformation, we will be fulfilling your demands and sending you a completely new account – fully stocked with GT equipment and apparel.  We hope that this frees you of the demons that have so haunted your virtual golf life.  You’re free!  Free to enjoy your Tee time in the sun, cause let me tell you something, brother – there are no Tee times in hell.

Thanks for being such a good sport and an inspiration all of us GT hacks out there.  And thanks for the permission to have a little fun at your expense.  You da man…

Good times,

- Duffer Dan

On the surface this looked like a weekend to remember. I mean 30,000 votes?! After a few seconds of excitement, my expression and excitement turned stone cold and tilt circulated through my veins. Massive Golden Tee Blog TILT.

I quickly realized that the spike in voting was the direct result of an Internet bot, which Wikipedia describes as the follow, “Internet bots, also known as web robots, WWW robots or simply bots, are software applications that run automated tasks over the Internet. Typically, bots perform tasks that are both simple and structurally repetitive, at a much higher rate than would be possible for a human alone.”

Ding, ding, ding. And so it turns out that our first-ever Shot of the Year vote has as much validity as the Baseball Hall of Fame.

It took me most of a week to come up with a solution, and I have, but before we discuss our Shot of the Year winner I have to ask the following. Are people this lame? Bored? Weird? With no prize other than Golden Tee notoriety and bragging rights up for grabs, someone still decided to use a voting bot on a Golden Tee Blog. While posting on a virtual golfing blog won’t have women flocking my way, rigging the GTB (with no monetary gain) would fall under the same category as the guy that brings an entire gallon of water to the gym. Or the guy that takes out the catcher in a 12-inch softball game. It’s just that pathetic.

I mean come on, folks.

And so we come to this. We still need a Shot of the Year but our 30,000 votes are more or less completely useless. Consider the following to be executive decisions carried out by the marketing team.

The “Pig Bounce” Shot has been officially disqualified from the competition. Whether or not the Internet shenanigans were a direct results by the “oink” crew, this brilliant effort is relinquishing its spot on top. This shot will not be removed  – it simply cannot go on in our disjointed contest.

This was by far the most enjoyable shot to watch and will be a YouTube staple for years to come, but this cannot be our Shot of the Year. BANNED from competition.

With that shot out of the equation we are left with four – all of which are worthy of being in contention. Still, we believe that one of these shots separates itself without question.

Brian Bernhardt’s super albatross is a shot worthy of a showcase. I was standing right next to him when he hit it and I can confidently say that I will never see anything like it ever again. It took skill, power, luck, and one hell of a kick to get into the cup – but getting an ace on a par-5 is an achievement worth celebrating. Because of this, his shot on Savannah 12 (at the Minnesota Open by the way) is our 2009 Shot of the Year.

While this wasn’t how we wanted to come to a solution, I feel in this instance the correct shot has been selected. Congrats to Brian on winning this title and congratulations to the other shots as well. All of these moments are the reason YouTube replays are so cool, and we appreciate all of these efforts.

Getting back to the spam, it’s safe to say that this contest went no where near what I expected. I certainly learned a few things while putting it together and will definitely do things differently going forward. And to the spammers out there most likely reading this straight from their mother’s basement. I have only one thing to say, that can’t be said any better than by the fine folks of WWE – which I imagine you WordPress bot users/abusers have probably already seen.

Throughout 2009 we saw some absolutely ridiculous shots that wowed us GT nuts each and every month. While many of these shots were worthy for a spot in our monthly feature, only five of them made the cut to have a chance at Shot of the Year.

Up until now, the marketing team had the honors of selecting the monthly winners. It would only be fitting, however, to allow the players and the fans to have the say with supreme GT bragging rights up for grabs. Below are the five finalists for Shot of the Year along with a poll so you can cast your vote. Our winner who receives the most votes between now and January 15^th will be celebrated on Goldentee.com and the GTB for years to come!

And your finalists are…

Selection #1: This shot was hit back in February and featured one of the most bizarre shortcut attempts in recent memory. While it may not look like it, this shot was certainly planned. The outcome, however, was too good not to have a spot in our final five.

Selection #2: Our only animal-aided hole-in-one of ’09 made some serious noise on the GT social media sites and for good reason. The “oink” you hear mid-shot is something that many GT fans will never forget and the bounce that followed was even sweeter.

Selection #3: Here was a 1^st in 2009, a hard-to-come-by super albatross, aka a hole-in-one on a par-5. This also just happened to be one of the longest shots of 2009 and was hit only months before 2010 debuted. Unbelievable effort here and perhaps the most “skilled” of the bunch.

Selection #4: Our one and only shot to make the cut from a 2010 course was the best of many outstanding Monument Valley moments. A favorable wind/ball bounce made this shot defy all physics on it’s way to jumping over the giant wall and just barely make the green. The rest was history.

Selection #5: Our final shot was the only old school course featured in our final five. There’s no doubt that this shot required an obscene amount of luck on its way to finding the hole, but it managed to do just that. This was also the only Skins Play shot to make the cut. Words really can’t describe the following 22 seconds.

You’ve seen the selections, now you have the chance to decide which shot deserves a spot in Golden Tee history. Vote early, vote often, and cast your vote below between now and January 15^th and stay tuned to the Golden Tee Blog and Goldentee.com for more!

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

]]> http://blog.goldentee.com/golden-tee-goodness/cast-your-vote-for-shot-of-09/feed/ 5 http://blog.goldentee.com/golden-tee-goodness/dirty-words-you-cant-say-on-tee/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=dirty-words-you-cant-say-on-tee http://blog.goldentee.com/golden-tee-goodness/dirty-words-you-cant-say-on-tee/#comments Wed, 16 Sep 2009 23:15:07 +0000 "Duffer" Dan Schrementi http://blog.goldentee.com/?p=803

Photo from the Busted Racquet Blog on Yahoo.com

Last Saturday night at the US Open, female tennis goddess Serena Williams was charged with a costly one-point penalty on her match point after showering a line judge with profanity-laced complaints over the judges foot fault call on her last serve.  Williams’ tirade made McEnroe’s historic hissy fits sound like he was an Eagle Scout.  Her tantrum included multiple f-bombs, swear-filled death treats and even the old high school P.E. class standby

“…I’m [expletive] going to take this [expletive] ball and shove it down your [expletive] throat…”

Ahhh, Serena…  What fodder you’ve provided us sports and entertainment bloggers around the globe.  The idea that someone of your superstar stature can also have an immature spaz session just makes all of us humans sleep that much better at night.

So this epic meltdown got me thinking about none other than Golden Tee Golf. Believe it or not, I’ve seen Golden Tee do amazing things to grown men. Cry, bleed, break appendages, kick, scream, fight, scratch, holler, fall over and yes – hurl.  Considering these realities – as sad, depressing and unfortunate as they all are – I’ve never seen any of these tilt sessions cost a Golden Tee player a match, big or small.

And while nobody has ever lost a World Championship for threatening to shove a  trackball down Gary Colabuono’s throat, I can say that players have lost certain privileges in Golden Tee for use of profanity in their LIVE nicknames. Golden Tee games are like mini-blinky billboards in thousands of bars and taverns across the globe and thus, monitoring the “naughty name” filter is actually the duty of – you guessed it – your friendly Golden Tee marketing department.

MORRISON’S LIST

Evil Mr. Morrison

Scott Morrison is the VP of Marketing at Incredible Technologies.  He’s a nearly 25-year vet of IT, he’s my boss and the long-time keeper of the dreaded LIST.  Since the dawn of online play, Morrison has managed this filter and has constantly amended it to keep up with different generations of filthy, offensive GT slang. Until now, the LIST remained private in Morrison’s office – he’s been like a school principal playing with confiscated contraband. But due to my Serena-induced inspiration, and need for attention on the GTB, Morrison gave up some juicy facts of the LIST so we can all get our juvenile giggles out of our systems.

Below you will find highlights of the banned name LIST for all online IT games. And while we’re not rated G here at the GTB, we’re not XXX either, so I stuck with this somewhat censored highlight reel.

• The LIST is 1,240 garbage words in its entirety
• The F-Bomb is spelled 19-different ways, with more being added often
• Adding “BLOWS GOATS” to everyone’s names was the most common infraction in the late 1990′s  (Thanks Wayne’s World!)
• In case you’re wondering ASS and ARSE are both bad words.
• Dear fifth graders – POO, POOP, POOTASTIC and SUPERPOO are all naughty in GT land.
• In the 2000′s, “SUCKS” has replaced “BLOWS GOATS” as the most common infraction.  Personally, “BLOWS GOATS” was way better…
• Hmmm, how to approach this fact…  The following words are second words in a compilation of the nastiest no-no’s on the LIST. Use your imagination, I guess…  , ____PIRATE, ____TACULAR and ____DUMPSTER.
• Thanks to Dannyboy Beall, names similar to WWWWWWWWWW are BANNED!!!!
• Finally, I offer DIXIE NORMUS! Now come on – that’s funny.

So the next time that your buddy is in the bathroom and you decide to change his name to SUPERPOO, think of Serena Williams, Scott Morrison and the LIST. And for old time’s sake, George Carlin!

Good times,

- Duffer Dan “Blows Goats”

]]> http://blog.goldentee.com/golden-tee-goodness/dirty-words-you-cant-say-on-tee/feed/ 2 http://blog.goldentee.com/uncategorized/35-what-the/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=35-what-the http://blog.goldentee.com/uncategorized/35-what-the/#comments Thu, 13 Aug 2009 22:24:49 +0000 Adam Kramer http://blog.goldentee.com/?p=652 I was doing my usual wandering around various Golden Tee message boards to see what was making headlines, when I came across a thread titled “Kinzler” on Let’s Talk Golf. I took a big gulp of coffee, turned up my horrid iTunes play list, and quickly read up on perhaps the most fascinating Golden Tee story ever.

I had known long before I started at IT about two-time GT World Champion Graig Kinzler and his “alleged” 35 under, but I didn’t quite know what to make of it. -20 is a great game, –25 will usually pay for your game (except maybe on Bonnie Moor), –30 is just flat out bonkers. What the hell does that make –35?

It’s like Babe Ruth’s calling his homerun or Sidd Finch and his 168 mph fastball. The difference; however, is that this actually happened! Sorry Babe, but I’m not buying it.

I saw Kinzler play for the first time back at the Midwest Regional event in 2007. I wasn’t working at IT, and this was my first taste of really good GT. I watched Graig play in a game during practice; just waiting to see his personal best finally show up after the game. Nerdy? Yup. Weird? Maybe a little. Did I find what I was looking for? You betcha.

-35.

My personal best at the time was somewhere around –21. I just couldn’t imagine someone beating my monster round (yes, I’m joking) by fourteen strokes. I’ve since gotten a lot better, (hold the applause), and yet the idea of shooting –35 still makes me want to laugh… or cry.

The feat was done on Kangaroo Trail, a Golden Tee LIVE original with one of my all-time personal favorite course logos. Sure, the setup was great, but favorable setups don’t lead to three aces, two of which were on par4s, including one on eighteen to seal the deal. If seeing his score on his game more than two years ago wasn’t enough, Kinzler posted up his hole-by-hole breakdown in the thread. Let’s see you try this!

Hole 1…Par 4 (-2)
Hole 2…Par 4 (-4)
Hole 3…Par 3 (-5)
Hole 4…Par 5 (-7)
Hole 5…Par 4 (-9)
Hole 6…Par 3 (-11)
Hole 7…Par 5 (-13)
Hole 8…Par 4 (-15)
Hole 9…Par 4 (-18)
Hole 10…Par 4 (-20)
Hole 11…Par 5 (-22)
Hole 12…Par 4 (-24)
Hole 13…Par 3 (-25)
Hole 14…Par 4 (-27)
Hole 15…Par 5 (-29)
Hole 16…Par 5 (-31)
Hole 17…Par 3 (-32)
Hole 18…Par 4 (-35)

Umm.. YouTube anyone?

Maybe most impressive is that he went into the eighteenth hole with a -32. This just happens to be the best round of ’09. Or the fact that he shot -18 on the front and -17 on the back, both of which are great full rounds for ninety percent of the GT public. Did I mention he had 15 eagles or better? I mean, really?

I guess it’s time for me to practice. And practice. And practice. “We’re talking about practice?” Thanks A.I.

And maybe one day that planets will align and  I will hit that -30, all the while wondering where the hell I could have picked up five more shots to tie Kinz’s -35.

Kudos my friend.

]]> http://blog.goldentee.com/uncategorized/35-what-the/feed/ 5 http://blog.goldentee.com/golden-tee-goodness/so-long-sobe/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=so-long-sobe http://blog.goldentee.com/golden-tee-goodness/so-long-sobe/#comments Wed, 29 Jul 2009 17:03:42 +0000 "Duffer" Dan Schrementi http://blog.goldentee.com/?p=592 In the event that you haven’t heard, the rumor is true – Steven Sobe is moving on… The 3-time National Champ and Golden Tee “Help Guy” is moving back home to Mt. Airy, NC to reopen his family business – the Golden Tee palace known as the Backstreet Pavilion.

Sobe is my friend.  And as a friend, I am happy for him as I know how badly he’s wanted to work side-by-side his Dad at Backstreet again.  But again, Sobe is my friend and it’s more bitter than sweet for me to see his office desk get cleaned out this week.  And sure, it’s not “good bye” it’s only “so long for now,” but still…

Sobe and I have a storied history and I thought the GTB is the perfect place for this homage to my pal.

The History

Sobe and I started in the same month at IT five-and-a-half years ago.  He was brought on to be “Sobe.”  I was brought on for other reasons – the most unique of which was to be “Duffer Dan” – Sobe’s n00b protege and communicator to the masses of virtual hacks.  Before blogging was blogging, I was blogging in the GT player forums with my supposed-to-be-funny diatribes called The Bronze Tapes: Excerpts from Duffer Dan’s Diary. Clever name, huh? (That’s why I make the big bucks…)

Anyway, “Duffer Dan” was intended to be a voice for average players.  It was my job to leverage learning the game from a GT champion into helpful, fun content for our player community.  Did it work?  Well, you tell me…   The name certainly stuck and the blog made it fourteen posts deep.  I may not have shaved strokes from other n00bs’ games but the Sobe/Duffer experiment was a success.

Classic Video from Houston

Our pairing became less master/protege and more Penn/Teller – sort of a comedic act ingrained in Golden Tee lore.  His matter-of-fact skill and my goofy, antagonistic shtick grew into something special.   We learned that just the tales of Sobe/Duffer are more fun, natural and interesting than anything else we could have done.  Sure, playing Golden Tee was the underlying theme of everything but “living the Golden Tee lifestyle” became the soul of our work.  And I am proud to say whether it’s our countless videos, podcasts or even this very blog post, Steven Sobe helped me forge a persona for Golden Tee and Incredible Technologies and for that, I owe him this tribute.

Well, Boo-Freakin’-Hoo

Yeah, yeah, Sobe is leaving.  And now that you know why I am compelled to write this tribute, it’s time move on and start my roast of this lovable S-O-B, Sobe.  I should add that everyone will be seeing Sobe off clingin’ glasses, sipping imported beer and exchanging hugs at Duffy’s in Palatine, IL on Wednesday 7/29.  Yes, I’ll be there but come on, that lovey-dovey stuff is just too boring for me.  There’s just so much that people need to know about Sobe to gain a full appreciation.  And since only a select few can hang with us at Duffy’s, I’d rather post my roast publicly.

In the IT marketing department we always say, “it ain’t easy bein’ Sobe” – and it’s time I reveal why.  So once again – like the young, wide-eyed Duffer Dan I once was – I will shed my final insight on what it’s like hangin’ with the man, the myth, the blue button, Steven Sobe, in a special piece I call the…

TOP 10 THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT STEVEN SOBE

2007 Southern Regional: Sobe dominates Duffer with a lefty-righty in the CTTP demo

#10: Sobe is Ambidextrous

Righty, lefty, who gives a rip – Sobe will probably kick your ass either way.  When playing Golden Tee he pulls-back lefty and tees-off righty.  Now, how in the hell are you supposed to teach a n00b how to play with an antic like that?  It’s kind of like a driving instructor teaching you how to gas and brake as he steers the car with his feet!  Come on, Sobe… Yeah, we get it, we’re impressed that you’re equally adept with both L and R appendages but how about putting your talent to better use like juggling chainsaws, playing classical piano, or something?  Dude, it’s just a video game.

#9: Galaga, Pool, Golden Tee

Yes, in that order.  Don’t forget, he grew up in a pool hall and his Dad worked on a amusement game route.  Sobe had lots of time to home his skills.  I learned of these skills in 2004, first it was the Galaga machine at Friday’s Front Row in Orlando, FL.  Sobe said, “give me one quarter.  I’ve played for 4 hours on one quarter before.”  When I made him prove it, 1 quarter in, 60-minutes later – no dead lives – he quit because “the joystick was ‘laggy.’”

Pool?  It was at the X-Games in Los Angeles where Sobe and I were stationed for a week.  We were staying at the same hotel as all the bad-ass, biker, skater dudes.  The hotel bar was packed while the Sobester and I racked up for some R&R.  As Sobe was kicking my teeth in, some tattooed-skater crew threw a line of quarters on the rail to challenge “winner” for the table.  No words were spoken between Sobe and the crew and I watched as Sobe won 8-games in row, giving them maybe 5 shots.  No mercy…  During the ninth game, Sobe scratches on the eight-ball and quietly says, “ahh…  You got it.”  Sheeplishy, skater-dude replies, “Dude.  The table yours, man…”

#8: No, He Aint Good at Everything

For example, Steven Sobe sucks at riding mechanical bulls.  See video.

Sobe shows his boss, Scott, how to eat a dog. Burnt...

#7: The Connoisseur of Mediocrity

I am known as somewhat of a foodie around the office.  I don’t rub it any one’s face – hey, eat what you like – but, yes, I am particular about what I consider great.  Sobe too considers himself a connoisseur.  Though it’s time that he – and the world – know that prowess of his palette ends at the big, bright, neon of the restaurant franchise sign.  If you need advice on the best bacon-loaded-fried-nachos platter, or chicken-fried-grease-marinara pasta bowl, Sobe is your guy.  Though the local Portillo’s will miss his daily investment of “Italian beef w/cheese and bowl of chili no onions.”  (yeah, I know.  And I’m the fat one…)

#6: Ok, He’s Good at Everything

Sobe still thinks he can tame the X Games Big Air Jump

Whether you’re eying down the vertical incline of a 2-story half-pipe or watching a professional pitcher’s 95-mph four-seam fastball, in his quiet southern drawl, Sobe will non-shalantly reply with one of two statements: “That ain’t a big deal, Duff.  I can do that” or “That ain’t a big deal, Duff.  I’ve done that.”  Whether it’s hitting a 7-iron 200-yards, attacking a vert ramp on a skateboard, playing bags, darts, Silver Strike, beer pong, pick-up sticks, whatever – don’t bet against him.  Ever.   You will lose.  He can do it…

#5: “He’s a Hustler Baby and He Want’s You To Know”

Greatest business card ever.

Back in 2004, Sobe and I ventured into a bar in Santa Monica, CA.  Three jabronies were teeing up on some Golden Tee Fore! 2005 talking all sorts of smack with their plus-scores.  Diplomatically, Sobe and I say, “Hey, fellas.  Can we get in on the next game?”  In a drunken stooper, they arrogantly reply, “yeah, sure, man.  But we ONLY play for money.”  ”Yes. YES,” I said under my breath to Sobe.  ”This is finally our day.  Let’s mop up with these ya-hoos – easy pickins, man!”  Sobe queitly digs into his pocket, hands the guys a business card that says, Steven Sobe, 3-Time GT National Champion, and bluntly says, “are you sure?”  Their reaction was priceless.  We ended up teeing-up with the guys for hours and Sobe showed them the ropes.  That’s the type of guy he is.  Classic.

#4: Sobe is Complicated…

…but I imagine Plato confused Aristotle at times too.  To fully take in Sobe’s intense, complex level of understanding of Golden Tee you need to basically forget everything you now about the game, standard vocabulary, physics and geometry.  Inventor (or curator) of such complicated techniques as The Arcade Shot, The Out-and-Out, The Sobe Swerve, The Chush, The Hammer, The Pull-Back-Thumbs, The Softie, The Spinny.  Or his famous, profound expressions like “That was too much funk.” “Hit down on it,” or my personal favorite, “you hit that too good.” Luckily, my secret Sobe decoder ring works pretty well.

Sobe - the consummate slacker

#3: Sobe is a Terrible Roommate

Sobe and I have shared more rooms in the past five-and-a half years than most grown men should ever have too.  And whether it was the finest (or seediest) hotels in Las Vegas, to the sticks of the South, all the way to the modest means of a stateroom aboard a US Navy aircraft carrier – it didn’t matter, he’s always a celebrity at heart and likes it his way.  Heat on in the summer, late for everything, no wake up calls, takes two hours to shave and primp an 1/8th inch hair.  He’ll make you late for airplanes, leaves ESPN blaring at 4:00AM and don’t forget the tobacco “spitoons” on your nightstand.  Sobe, I’ll miss you – but the thought that  I’ll never have to share a room with you ever again is liberating.  Ahhhh….. There.  I said it.

#2: And the Academy Award Doesn’t Go To…

Sobe!  Not counting course reviews, Sobe and I have recorded dozens and dozens of videos.  I’m always the host and he’s always the *ahem* talent.  But it wasn’t until the past few years when we really found our rhythm.  You just have to let Sobe be him – no scripts, no teleprompter.  Make him act and you won’t get Sobe.  Let him be himself and you get Golden Tee video gold.

Check out the attached outtake for instance.  A little known fact is that Sobe was supposed to do these videos solo.  The director threw me in to loosen up the action.  This was our first shot at “Sobe/Duffer” on camera and started what became our series of Odd Couple-eque media.  Ballllllllzzzzz…..

#1: Steven Sobe is a Good Man.

You see celebrity-types on television or in movies and think, “that person does/doesn’t seem nice in real life.”  You see Sobe during every Golden Tee game played and naturally think, “seems like a nice guy,” right?  He is.  The nicest.  Nobody ribs Sobe harder than I do.  I kid, I joke, and have busted his chops daily for five-years as if it were my duty.  But I do it because he is a grade-A, true-blue good person and great friend.  And anyone who works at IT or has met Sobe will agree.  He takes time to listen and cares about your well being.  That’s all I can ask in a friend and what I will miss most after this Friday.

Sobe, we’ve spent countless hours talking during road trips, at airports, in musty motels, afloat at sea, on the golf course, at the bar and mostly behind the trackball, and I’ll always cherish the time.  Thank you for listening, being a great “partner in crime” and of course an outstanding friend.  It’s been a good run so far and as I said at the start, it’s not good bye, it’s only “so long for now.”

Here are a few final parting photos from some of my favorite Sobe/Duffer moments.   Enjoy -

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

But enough with mushy stuff.  Consider this blog entry my declaration, that when you bring back the Mt. Airy Golden Tee Open at Sobe’s Backstreet Pavilion, “Duffer” Dan Schrementi will be the first person on the entry list.  Why?  Not because all your mentoring will carry me to victory.  Or because I really miss “talkin’ shop” with you.  Truly, it’s because I hear Backstreet has “the greatest fried mozzarella sticks in North Carolina.”

Good luck, brother….

- DD

Well, well, well – here at the inner sanctum of the Golden Tee marketing universe – we are hip.  We are with it. And yes, bro – we can hang with you wiki-tubey-tweety hip cats too!  But damn it – we do it with some common sense and style.

Ya know, the Golden Tee marketing team is small, but we are MIGHTY!  And you’ve probably noticed an equal amount of Golden Tee Goodness on and off the game this past year.  We kicked it off with YouTube Great Shot Replays in last year’s 2009 update.  The simple idea of replaying holes-in-one has always been around, but when our team first eyed YouTube the drool starting forming.  It was a way to make everyone happy – YOU, the player, are happy because you can show off your off-the-ubrella-stick-nothin-but-cup.  And I, the marketing geek, am happy because we’ve uploaded 30,000 videos and are approaching 1,000,000 advertisements, errr, views!  User generated content at it’s best, baby.

Here's My Incredible Stat Card, Where's Yours?!

But we didn’t stop there.  And likely by now you’ve seen our killer new Facebook Applications.  The addition of dynamic stats cards for Golden Tee and Silver Strike Bowling, along with our new “Dress Your Golfer” app for Goldentee.com/Facebook – this stuff’s just the tip of your 2.0 iceberg.

Yesterday, we launched a fun  project for those millions of iGoogle users out there – our very first Golden Tee iGoogle theme! (insert applause here)  So whether searching for important items like dogs on skateboards, celebrity smut or, aaaa , “private entertainment” – we here at Golden Tee Central hope you git’r done within your fun Golden Tee frame!

So, are you left wondering, “Duffer, how is this any different than those big-time-poser corporate fat cats you speak of?” Well, my friends, I can proudly say that social media is only as good as the community that’s powering it and YOU GUYS ROCK!  Whether it’s through our presence on Twitter, Facebook or YouTube, you – THOUSANDS OF YOU – were there first and greased the IT social media marketing machine.  We came along merely to add a little more insight and legitimacy into your already existing communities and thanks dudes – we’ve learned a ton along the way.

To end this post, I propose the challenge for you to challenge us…

HOW CAN INCREDIBLE TECHNOLOGIES HELP FURTHER YOUR ENTERTAINMENT EXPERIENCE THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA?

An easy question, with no right or wrong answers.  We’ve already heard many great suggestions like “blog about course creation” or ” exclusive contests for Facebook and Twitter users” – whatever your suggestion is, now is your chance to voice it!  And maybe, just maybe, your suggestion will help shape the future of Golden Tee Golf!  And that, my friends, if anything else, would be an AWESOME acheivment on your ol’ resume…

Good times,

- DD

We actually arrived at his house hours before he did and with his permission we let ourselves in. He arrived shortly thereafter, (working out, duh) and almost instantly offered Sobe and I a Corona and a sandwich? I mean, really? That’s a story in itself! Needless to say, we took him up on the offer.

From there it only got better. He played Golden Tee, Lawn Darts, Carnival King, talked about the Bears and their new quarterback, and even gave Sobe a beating in actual bags – Sorry Sobe. He was friendly, and more impressive, down to earth. It’s hard to anticipate what someone of his fame and status will be like out of his element and in person, and Brian proved to be just a normal “dude.” It was also amazing to see that he has a genuine love for all of our games and a real soft spot for Golden Tee.

We hung out for a few hours when he finally looked at his watch and said he had a plane to catch. Brian was jetting off to Cleveland to watch LeBron and company beat up on the Atlanta Hawks. Apparently he made it, because at the end of the game LeBron signed his shoes and then gave them and a bear hug to Urlacher at his seat in the front row. Just another day in the life of Mr. Urlacher.

Meanwhile I sat on my couch and watched him, still reliving the tale to my buddies throughout the evening. Five hours earlier we were discussing our favorite Raw Talk™ phrases in Target Toss and Golden Tee strategy – now he was courtside with LeBron!

And while I may never sit courtside, and I will certainly never get a bear hug from LeBron (unless there is some jail involved), I will always share one thing with Brian Urlacher. The enjoyment and passion of Golden Tee.

And hopefully at some point, a neck as big as his.

-Adam at IT

Here is a little snippet from Mouthpiece Sports who was there to capture the day. I’m the one in the background looking rather confused and mesmerized by the entire situation.

Brian Urlacher Playing Golden Tee and Lawn Darts

Alright, that’s it – enough of the lovey-dovey crap.  This isn’t tee ball ladies and gentlemen, and not every player is a winner when it comes to Design-a-Hole.  Where there’s up, there’s down; black, there’s white; and good – well – THERE’S BAD!  MUUUUHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

But don’t fret oh-dummies-of-design, the world loves bad!  I’d go as far as to say we NEED bad.  Without bad, good would be nothing!  Think about it – a world of mediocrity where “The Godfather” and “Gigli” sit side-by-side on DVD shelves.  Where the “Beatles” and “Michael Bolton” play back-to-back on “This Week’s Even-40 Chart.”  Or one where Golden Tee World Champ Andy Haas and “Skipper Ripper” Horner are awarded participation ribbons in Prize Play. NOOOOO!!!!!   (Ah, you know we love ya, Skip!)

You see, bad is good.   Hell, even the dictionary goes as far to say that bad can be “outstandingly excellent.”  You’re damn right it can be!  So now you’re about to see what we deem as “bad” from the 2008 Design-a-Hole archive – but were they really?  Naaaa…  They’re more fun than they are bad (well, bad in this case meaning bad, bad not bad) and that’s why we love ‘em!

Time for you to take a look at these “best of the worst” selections and do so with a grain of salt, remembering  it’s hard to be so bad that you’re good.

Good times,

- DD

(Que Michael Jackson Outro)  And the whole world has to answer right now just to tell you once again, WHO’S BAD…

________________________________________________

THE BAD

Stay tuned to blog.goldentee.com next week for the entertaining conclusion of  The Good, The Bad and The Ugly!

And there’s still time to enter this year’s contest!

CLICK HERE to learn more!

(Part 1 of 3)

Ahhhh… I can smell it in the air – can you?  Eraser dust, modeling glue, paper mache’…  Design-a-Hole season is upon us once again!  A time where the dreams of Golden Tee golfers from around globe are doodled on a piece of paper,  judged only to either be crushed or immortalized.

Personally, I love Design-a-Hole!  Since I began at IT five years ago, we in marketing land continuously explored ideas that would be fun for players to take part in.  Honestly – this one was a no brainer!  But as the coordinator of the contest, you have no idea how much joy I take in by the little (usually) emailed nuggets of Golden Tee goodness that await in my inbox each-and-every day of the contest.  Damn you guys are clever!

So far this year, 30 ideas have been sent in and it looks like last year’s record of 50 is going to get blasted out of the water.  And while I can’t reveal any of this year’s nominations, I thought it would be fun to go through the Design-a-Hole archive and shine a spotlight on some of the ideas that didn’t make the cut in 2008.

In film, it’s the outtakes.  In music it’s the b-side.  In Golden Tee, it’s the good, the bad and of course, the ugly.  Welcome to part one of this three part series, right here at blog.goldentee.com.

Stay Tuned to the Golden Tee Blog for Parts 2 and 3 of Design-a-Hole – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly  (And trust me, “The Bad” and “The Ugly” or even more fun than “The Good”)

Good times,

- DD

________________________________________________

THE GOOD

You know “The Falls” and surley you remember Bert Loftus’ “Frog’s Pond,” as well as other finalists “Steps” and “Beware of Gravity.”  But what you don’t know are the good ideas from last year that narrowly missed the cut – the semi-finalists!  Take a look at what designs interested Larry Hodgson and Jim Zielinski during the initial judging period last year.  And while the designers of these works of art may not be immortalized in Golden Tee,  they can rest easy knowing their ideas can live for ever, right here on the Golden Tee Blog! (Well, until I need to clear hard drive space…)

Gotta love a hole designed like a fishing lure. Very clever and would be fun to play!

Gotta love the CAD work on this design. Kudos, Don! The layout thoroughly impressed the judges, the hole just needed a little extra something and it surely would have made the cut.

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