A Quest to Play on the PGA Tour

This week, I attended the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Florida to continue to build support for my quest to play on the PGA Tour.

Last year, I lifestreamed short video clips from the industry convention on my YouTube channel.

This year, I decided to share my experiences by doing a photowalk and shooting digital pictures of things that I found interesting. You can click the above image to view the complete slideshow, which features photos of some of the mammoth exhibits of large golf manufacturers like TaylorMade, Titleist, Ping, Bridgestone, and Callaway. I also captured images of smaller booths from SKLZ, Tour Edge, Seemore Putters, STX, Krank, P3ProSwing, KENTWOOL Tour, and other entrepreneurial ventures. The exhibit with the most buzz may have been the combined Puma and Cobra booth which celebrated the merger of the apparel and equipment brands.

Until next time, enjoy golf!

{ 3 comments }

Continuing my quest to play on the PGA Tour, I have scheduled a golf outing for Thursday, November 18 at P.B. Dye Golf Club in Ijamsville, MD.

One of my favorite courses, the facility features over 40 acres of closely cut fairways that are well-guarded by huge bunkers. The championship track also has an island green on the signature hole as well as large, undulating greens that roll as smooth and fast as the greens on the PGA Tour.

Beginning at 10:00 a.m., the schedule for the day includes registration, shotgun start, awards reception, and silent auction. Individual registration is an affordable $150, and each golfer will receive 18-holes of golf as well as a gift package, box lunch, and awards reception with appetizers and cash bar.

The day will include a unique exhibition led by special guest Ed Bowe. Regarded as one of the top golf instructors in the country, Ed is the Director of Instruction at the Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort outside of Jacksonville, Florida. Fun and instructive, he will demonstrate how he has personally helped me transform my swing to compete with the world’s best players during my quest to play on the PGA Tour.

By participating in this event, you will become part of my dream team and help me fund the expenses of my quest, including tournament entry fees as well as the costs of travel. Title, presenting, corporate, and other sponsorships are available. And if you cannot participate on November 18, I am also accepting contributions from individuals and organizations to support my effort.

In addition to helping me continue my quest into 2011, the outing will also benefit the community with the proceeds from mulligan sales and a silent auction supporting “Little League Golf,” a new junior development program that I am developing to introduce youth to the game and begin their own dreams.

I hope you and friends will join me for a great day of golf on November 18! If you would like a brochure and registration form for the outing, please email me at Info (at) PhilBundy (dot) com, or call me at 301.514.7080.

Until next time, enjoy golf, America!

{ 3 comments }

I am excited to announce that I recently signed an agreement to represent the Country Club at Woodmore, a private country club outside of Washington, D.C.

The Country Club at Woodmore features an 18-hole golf course designed by Arnold Palmer in 1981. Rated as one of the top 10 clubs in Maryland by Golf Digest, the championship course has an outstanding practice area and served as the site of the Melwood Prince George’s County Open on the Nationwide Tour from 2007 to 2009. A classic design, the course features rolling fairways and challenging greens and is beautifully conditioned by Golf Course Superintendent Brandon Collins, GCSAA. The Head Golf Professional is Mark Russo, a PGA member who is an outstanding player and teacher in the Middle Atlantic region.

One of my mentors and sponsors, Charlie Heller is a member at the Country Club of Woodmore. Along with President Joe Donato and General Manager Jimm Moody, CCM, CPC, Charlie worked with me to develop a relationship where I assist the marketing and sales of the Club’s membership programs in exchange for the opportunity to practice on the course and other benefits. I sincerely appreciate the support offered by the Board of Directors, members, and staff at the Country Club at Woodmore.

In the coming months, I will share more information about the Country Club at Woodmore. In the meantime, if you live in the area and are interested in considering membership, please feel free to view the prospective member slideshow and contact me to schedule a complimentary preview round.

Until next time, enjoy golf, America!

{ 0 comments }

Earlier this week, Vince Spence, a golf blogger affectionately known as the One-Eyed Golfer, died at the age of 61. His last post, dated April 27, speculated with tongue-in-cheek how Tiger Woods sets his playing schedule.

I grew-up outside of Baltimore, Maryland, where Vince lived and wrote his blog. I appreciated his blogging for several reasons, including:

1.) Demonstrating his sense of humor and loyalty to his birthplace, he chose the iconic Mr. Boh mascot of the National Bohemian beer from Baltimore as the logo for his blog and online profiles.

2.) Some of his posts were about his home course, Rolling Road Country Club, where I enjoyed playing as a youth in junior tournaments and high school matches.

3.) He chronicled the golfing Bassler Family, which has included several outstanding professional and amateur players in Maryland.

On Wednesday, Ryan Ballengee of Waggle Room shared the news of Vince’s passing, and over the past few days, a number of people have posted their own eulogies on blogs and social networks. The outpouring of emotion has really struck me. Through Vince’s death, we are reminded that golf bloggers are human beings who share a passion for the game and who personally write and curate posts. After reading the many heartwarming sentiments for his contributions to the online golf community, I, for one, am proud and honored to be part of this group.

Vince’s survivors include his son, Matt Spence who writes another golf blog: Project Under Par

Years ago, the slogan for the National Brewing Company was “From the Land of Pleasant Living” in reference to the Chesapeake Bay. With no doubt, Vince has now moved to an even better place.

Until next time, enjoy golf, America!

{ 1 comment }

Today marks the 10th wedding anniversary for Donna and me.

Despite my passion for golf, you may be surprised to learn that the three best days of my life have nothing to do with the game.

I first met Donna on December 5, 1991, and I fell in love at first sight. A day earlier, she had called me to volunteer for a charitable program that I had founded to help needy children during the winter holidays. We scheduled a meeting to continue our discussion at a restaurant, and when I walked into the entrance, I saw a girl wearing a red dress and hoped that the lady in red was Donna. We took our time to get to the altar, but on that night, I knew that I had met the love of my life.

We were married on April 29, 2000. The above photo shows Donna and me exiting the reception at Baltimore Country Club under an arch of golf clubs. The entire wedding was meticulously planned by Donna, and everything – the chapel, ceremony, vows, and her dress — was perfect. For our first dance, the band played “Feels Like Home” — a beautiful song that was written by Randy Newman and popularized by Chantal Kreviazuk. For my female readers, I have embedded the Canadian singer’s version with lyrics below:

Almost three years later on February 12, 2003, Donna gave birth to Charlie. For us, raising our son is a life mission that we share. She is an amazing mother, and together, we have experienced another love — the unconditional love that parents have for children. As I have written before, Charlie was the original inspiration for my quest to play on the PGA Tour, and through my effort — which, of course, would not be possible without Donna’s support, I hope to encourage him to never give up on his dreams.

Before I met Donna, I was one-dimensional and self-obsessed. With her in my life, I have become a much better and fuller person. Naturally, I am still not perfect: My honey do list is somehow never totally completed; When it’s my turn to cook dinner, I sometimes add onion to the salad; and like my Dad did to my Mom, I can go to the hardware store for a nail and be gone for hours.

But I know one thing for sure: I am the luckiest husband to have Donna as my wife.

Sweetie, Happy 10th wedding anniversary… I love you!

{ 3 comments }

In March, I wrote how a tip from Phil Mickelson’s Secrets of the Short Game instructional DVD has helped to rekindle my putting. After weeks of practice, I am happy to report that the feeling that I enjoyed on the greens as a junior golfer is beginning to return to me.

In his video, Phil suggests setting your eyes slightly behind the ball when taking your stance to stroke a putt. If you are a right hander like me, your eyes will be slightly to the right of the golf ball at the address position. With this set-up, you can look down the line of your putt as opposed to having a sort of invisible wall blocking your view when your eyes are directly over the ball. This tip triggered some good memories of the putting technique that I used successfully as a junior golfer.

The tip also reminds me of Jim McLean’s advice to become target-oriented – even looking at the target as part of a good preshot routine for a full swing. For parallels in other sports, a quarterback doesn’t just mechanically move his arm to toss a football. Instead, he instinctively throws at a receiver to complete a pass. A basketball player does not simply manipulate his hands to hurl a basketball. He fluidly shoots the ball at a basket to score.

In golf, many of short game gurus dispense very technical information as instruction to aid putting despite the fact that most of the best putters in the game stroke the ball with a great deal of feel. Even a putting robot machine cannot make a putt if it is not aimed correctly by a human being who looks down the line of the putt and considers variable factors like the speed and undulation of a green.

Returning to my techniques as a feel putter, I am once again seeing the line and stroking putts to the hole, and I am seeing improvement in my putting, especially on long putts.

I am hopeful that this work on my putting will serve as one of the keys in my quest to play on the PGA Tour. For sure, hot putting can be the perfect remedy for cold ball striking.

If you are interested, Phil Mickelson’s Secrets of the Short Game is available as a two-disc DVD set or as a 224-page hardcover book.

Until next time, enjoy golf, America!

{ 0 comments }

With spring training completed, my seven-year-old Charlie and his little league team played in their season opener, last night. A member of the Reds, he is so excited to finally be playing baseball games with his teammates.

While I am thrilled to share golf and several other sports with Charlie, baseball has emerged as a special passion for him at this point in his young life.

Charlie is already a student of the game. With the help of his little league coaches, he has practiced to improve his baseball swing, and for additional tips on fundamentals, he has watched Baseball the Ripken Way: Fundamentals of Hitting, a video by Cal Ripken, Jr. which he found on Netflix when looking for a flick for Friday family movie night.

While I never played organized baseball and know little about the game, Charlie and I often go to the baseball field to spend father-son time. I certainly see similarities with his baseball techniques and my golf drills and understand the value of practicing correctly with goals. As an athlete, I also know he will inevitably experience hitting slumps and other disappointments so I am a constant cheerleader who praises his successes and offers encouragement when things don’t go so well.

After watching countless junior golfers burnout over the years, I also try to help Charlie to just have fun playing. When I was a junior golfer, I spent hours and hours practicing purposeful drills, but the most fun was the endless time being a kid and playing imaginative games at the driving range or on the practice putting green. Like me at the golf course, Charlie has created some wild and crazy games that he can enjoy for hours on the diamond. Instead of making a putt to beat Jack Nicklaus in the Masters, he is playing alongside Derek Jeter to win the World Series. Quite literally, he throws himself around the field with reckless abandon… hitting line drives, sliding for bases, diving for ground balls, and throwing with all of the might of his 48 pounds.

For Charlie’s participation in sports, my main goals are to help him learn about sportsmanship, and, above all, to have fun. I am so proud of him for his love for baseball as well as so many other things. Let the games begin!

Tell me about your son or daughter: How do you offer encouragement with activities? How do you handle disappointments?

Until next time, enjoy golf, America!

Follow me on Twitter and join my Facebook page.

{ 0 comments }

This morning, my seven-year-old son Charlie was watching SportsCenter while he ate breakfast. During the broadcast, ESPN aired a report on the New York Yankees receiving their rings for winning the 2009 World Series. Charlie was captivated as the video showed the Bronx Bombers being presented with their rings.

Quickly, I retrieved and invited Charlie to hold the 1986 NCAA Championship Ring that I received as a member of the Wake Forest Golf Team. As he opened the Jostens ring box, his eyes lit up, becoming big as saucers. He slowly took the ring out of the box and put his tiny finger through the large hole. Totally enthralled, he quietly said, “Wow.”

Then, he fired off a series of questions. First, he asked, “Who was your coach?” I told him about the legendary Jesse Haddock, who led the Demon Deacons to three national championships as well as many other honors in a 30-year coaching career.

Next, he wondered aloud, “Who was the best golfer?” Pulling out the team picture, I pointed out the top five players: Billy Andrade, Len Mattiace, Tim Straub, Chris Kite, and Barry Fabyan — all of whom were All-America selections and future PGA Tour players.

Then, I told Charlie about the tournament, which still stands as the biggest comeback in the history of collegiate golf. While playing host at Bermuda Run Country Club — our home course outside of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the five starters charged with a wild 20-stroke swing to overtake rival Oklahoma State University in the fourth and final round.

Later, as we were walking out of the house, Charlie ran back into the kitchen to take one more look at the championship ring before heading off to another exciting day as a first grader.

Until next time, enjoy golf, America!

{ 0 comments }

During the first full week in April, I — like thousands of other golf fans — am usually traveling to Augusta, Georgia for the Masters Tournament. Since leaving Wake Forest, I have missed my yearly pilgrimage only a handful of times.

For me, the spring season starts as soon as I leave the Washington, D.C. area and turn my vehicle south on the interstate. As I drive, the air temperatures rise, and the colors of the trees and flowers become more and more vibrant until reaching a crescendo with the azaleas planted at Amen Corner.

As the television commercials on CBS say, the Masters is a tradition like none other, and with Magnolia Lane, the honorary starters, the Par 3 Contest, and the Green Jacket, the tournament is certainly like no other event that I have ever attended.

This year, I — as a golfer — will especially miss seeing the brand new practice area, which has instantly appeared since last year. I will also miss the Wake Forest Party, which is hosted annually by Arnold Palmer. And as the tournament has become a major industry event, I will miss the opportunity to meet and network with other people in golf.

I don’t have a pick for the winner, but as a former Demon Deacon golfer, I would love to see Bill Haas play well. My favorite personal Masters memory is walking into the small Champions Locker Room at the invitation of Bob Goalby, who is Bill’s great uncle and who won the 1968 Masters.

Who is your pick to win the tournament? What is your favorite tradition of the Masters? Have you ever been to the event, and if so, what is your favorite personal memory?

Until next time, enjoy golf, America!

{ 2 comments }