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Top 5 Reasons I'm Tired of Internet "Top" Lists

2011-12-20T22:20:07Z

Wouldn't I be a hypocrite?

Coffee: The Other Dark Drink

2011-10-29T13:16:49Z

Something hit me this morning as I was settling in for a morning Cup O' Joe. Not many of my friends are coffee drinkers. Heck, I'm not either, really. I see my friends out in the mornings, at work, wherever, and most of us are generally drinking soft drinks for our morning caffeine rush. Of course I drink tea, but not generally coffee. And that's when I realized, the last time I saw folks, adults, drink coffee regularly was my parents, back in the 80's. But then of course I thought, "what are you thinking Jamie, ever heard of Starbucks?"

So, here's a thought: if the Starbucks explosion hadn't happened, and made coffee "trendy" again, would it have gone the way of the dinosaur by now?

Finding the Perfect Course for Your Next Round of Golf

2011-08-14T19:00:52Z

With so many courses all around the country, (there are over 10,000 different golf courses in America), it can sometimes be hard to decide where to play your next round of 18. From greens fees to course rating, there are tons of different factors that come into play, and this new golf course comparison can be really helpful for sifting through your options and figuring out exactly where to play your next game.

The resource, brought to you from FindTheBest, helps objectively compare resorts on a wide range of criteria, from location to course designer to par, and since the golf course database includes every course in the United States as well as the major international ones, you can be sure that you aren’t missing any of your options.

Looking for a local course with low greens fees? Just specify how much you’re willing to spend, enter in your zip code, and let the tool do the rest of the work. Going on a trip to Florida and want to see what Miami golf courses you may want to play? Type your travel destination into the search tool and immediately an exhaustive list of golf courses will show up, which you can customize and search through by your own criteria.

Finally, you can even search for specific course designers like Alfred Tull and A.W. Tillinghast to find that perfect course you’ve always dreamed of. Next time you’re looking for a new course to play, check out this golf course comparison to find a course that truly fits your personal expectations. With a tool that lets you filter by par, price, location and more, you’re sure to find the best course for you.

Magical Majorca- Golfing in the Balearics

2011-08-12T13:47:21Z

European golf has been in resurgent mood in recent years and months, and while the Northern Irish enjoy their recent major successes there is another Island in Europe that is becoming a golfing paradise. Majorca is the largest of the Balearic Islands and sits proudly in the Mediterranean Sea just off the East coast of Spain. World class courses lay perfectly and naturally in the Majorcan landscape, and offer a classy golfing challenge.Holidays in Majorca offer you the chance to enjoy this golfing bliss and a true reflection of European Golf.

Majorca is an Island with a big reputation, the Spanish Royal family spend their summer holidays on the Island and tennis superstars Rafael Nadal calls Majorca home. Golf in Majorca appeals to all levels of Golfer, with 21 courses there is an abundance of courses to enjoy and play on. The majority of courses are situated to the west of the Island, surrounding capital Palma. However there are clusters of courses to the east of Majorca, this part of the Island is more rural and gives visitors the chance to enjoy traditional Majorca. With a central location between Europe and Africa, the Island is accessible by a large section of people around the globe.Cheap holidays to Majorca are perfect for the opportunity to enjoy the Island and its rich golfing heritage.

Son Gual is one of Spain’s finest courses. Ian Woosnam has compared the greens on the course to Augusta, whilst the course lacks August’s history Son Gual is quietly building a reputation for itself. The Son Gual golf course is one of the world’s most talked about courses and has recently been included in Rolex World’s Top 1,000 courses. Designed and built in 2007 by renowned course designer Thomas Himmel the course offers a tough but fair round of golf in a spectacular setting. Exploring this setting is part of the experience, wide fairways and over a 1000 olive trees on the course invite you to meander through this Mediterranean paradise. Mixing traditional with new, the course offers buggy’s as well as segways to travel through the course.

The course offers water in play on 11 of 18 holes, with large bunkers and fast greens the golf itself will be entertaining but manageable for all levels of golfers. However the price may not suit all wallets, with a green fee of €150 there is a price to match the course’s championship status. However as part of this deal you will receive additional discounts to neighbouring courses Son Vida, Son Quint and Son Muntaner. This area of Majorca offers a great base for visiting other courses on the Island, and is ideally placed only 15 miles from the Airport and 10 miles from cosmopolitan capital city Palma to enjoy your holiday further.

Golf in Majorca is growing, and building a world class reputation. Enjoying this experience can be done in a variety of ways, as part of a holiday, a business trip or as part of a group holiday. With year round sunshine and unique settings for golf, it offers golfers the opportunity for an experience to tell everyone about.

New (Old) Direction

2011-08-02T22:24:08Z

Back when I started this site in 2004, it was meant to be a bit of a journal for me, a place where I could publish my general thoughts about general stuff, and get my feelings about just about anything out into the world. Of course I was and always have been a big fan of golf, so I settled on the name Rub of the Green. Not because I wanted it to be an exclusive golf blog, but because I liked the definition... basically, if something happens to you that you can't really control, deal with it, and move on.

I took that to mean, you need to take life as it comes. Do what you gotta do. Take the good with the bad, etc. So to that end, going forward, I'm gonna try to get back to my roots a little here and start publishing some random content. I'll try to categorize it for anyone who may only read golf or tea posts. But from this point forward, pretty much anything goes. Heck, it's right there in the title "...exploring (all of) my passions, from tea to green."

Yeah, I've got a lot more to talk about than just tea, and greens.

I Got the Shanks!

2011-07-16T15:38:32Z

That's right, "el hosel", the laterals. And it's true what Romeo says to Roy in Tin Cup. The shanks are like a virus. Nobody knows where the hell they come from... or how to get rid of them for that matter. But I got them. I just had my best ball striking round of the year, sandwiched between two of my worst ball striking rounds of the year. And I have a major match on a major course tomorrow. I just hope (for his sake) Lee Janzen isn't anywhere around.

Matcha Madness

2011-03-19T01:13:40Z

Yep, you read that right. Not March Madness, but Matcha Madness. Today being St. Patrick's Day, I decided to give a super-green tea a try, and had the great pleasure of having Mountain Snow Matcha from the folks over at Mellow Monk. It was hands down the best matcha I've ever had, to date.

When I first had the urge to try a matcha tea, I was a bit anxious. Green tea has never been my favorite, and I just knew that matcha would have more of what I don't like about green teas: that grassy taste. Yeah, I've had a few that did validate my fears, but not so with Mountain Snow. It is simply the smoothest, best tasting matcha I've ever had. Bar none.

Here's a video Paul of Mellow Monk sent me in which he visits the grower who eventually became the supplier of his matcha. Being big believers of family-based agriculture, Mellow Monk sources exclusively from family farms. I don't know about you, but it makes me feel a lot better knowing they take such care in selecting the teas that go on their site.

Mellow Monk's Tea-Buying Trip to Japan, Part 4 from Paul Kotta on Vimeo.

Obubu Tea Japan Relief Effort

2011-03-16T01:07:39Z

Received this email today from the great folks at Obubu Tea:

Dear Friends and Partners,

As you all know by now, Japan, particularly northern Japan, experienced an unprecedented disaster in the form of a M9.0 earthquake and devastating 10 meter tsunami. The number of casualties is increasing daily, communities have been reduced to nothing, and as I sit here writing this I am listening to streaming news from Japan of a worsening nuclear situation and rising body count.

Kyoto Obubu Tea Plantations itself has not felt the affects of the disaster directly and our friends and family are, thankfully, safe. However, we have approximately 50 dedicated customers in that region whom we are very concerned about. These customers are primarily our Japanese Tea Club members who have supported our effort to bring truly delicious Japanese tea to non-Japanese around the world, and in particular, there are 10 customers whom we have been unable to contact regarding their bi-monthly tea shipment. Many of these customers have been hit hard by recent events and we are hoping beyond hope that we'll be able to contact everyone eventually.

Donations
In the spirit of the Operation Sakura (www.operationsakura.org) theme "Letting hope blossom" (the sakura flowers bloom in just two weeks!), we hope to aid our fellow tea lovers in Japan get through this hard time by raising funds that will help them rebuild their lives, and showing them that tea lovers are a global family!

The donation page is located at http://www.obubutea.com/donate and allows you to "purchase" virtual "Sakura Sencha of Hope" and "Sakura Sencha of Cheer". We hope you will cooperate with us in this small effort to bring hope and cheer from one tea lover to another.

Funds raised thru this effort will go to the following in this order:
1.    Obubu customers directly affected by the disaster
2.    Tea farmers and tea businesses affected by the disaster
3.    If the needs of the above have been met, we will donate the money to the Japanese Red Cross or other effort specifically related to the disaster.

Good Times

2011-03-13T22:39:11Z

Been thinking a lot lately about some of my good times of the past, specifically about a trip I took with some friends to Myrtle Beach several years ago. It was in 1996 (the only way I remember this is because one night we went to see independence Day, which was just out in theaters), and my buddy and I were at the peak of our competitive juices, to the point where we created our own little Golf Tournament on the miniature golf course by laying down bets on who would win the current round.

Yeah, we played a lot of real golf too. We prepurchased some Myrtle Beach tee times and, after a 4 day stay, had managed to play several golf courses while we were there. We played a couple of nice courses, and a couple that were so-so, but still good. I remember we played the Arnold Palmer course, Arrowhead, and it had not been open long at the time. It was pretty nice then, and I'd love to go back someday because I'm sure it has improved even more.

Although we were at our peak competitively, neither of us were playing our best golf of our lives. That's not to say we weren't playing well (for us), but that we've learned a lot about golf since then, and I think I can speak for us both in saying that we're both better players now than we were then. My buddy has gone back since, and I'd love to return to play the same courses again, just to see if I can remember them, and to see how my game has changed in that time.

Truthfully though, I'd probably end up playing 4 different courses, just because there are so many down there, and I don't get the chance to visit that often. I'm not going to be rejoining the local country club this year. Financial burdens have taken that luxury away from me. But we talked a few years ago about making some trips to play some of the courses we've never seen in our home state. Perhaps that will be on the agenda for this year.

Mostly I am glad to have the same friends to play golf with this many years later. Heck, his son has even started playing since, and has become a regular member of the group. And the wheel keeps turning...

Speed Golf: 1 Athlete. 30 Sports. 30 Days. 30 Cities.

2011-03-11T16:13:25Z

Coinciding with National Nutrition month (March), EAS sports nutrition challenged Navy Lt. Cmdr. Sam Tickle to complete 30 sports in 30 days in 30 cities and to inspire people nationwide to become unstoppable.

On Day 14 of the EAS Unstoppable Tour, Sam tries his hand (and legs) at speed golf, where he runs almost 4 miles attempting to shoot 90 in 90 minutes in La Veta, CO.

See how well Sam combines speed with precision here: