ABOUT SCRUFFY'S WORD

Scruffy's Word is another opportunity to introduce the characters of Scruffy & Pals.
Here you will meet me,
Scruffy,
and my pals and learn about our personalities as we give humorous and sometimes serious tips, opinions and commentary on various golfing subjects and product reviews. I hope you will enjoy your visit....be sure to take your time and look around. I have carefully selected a lot of stuff that I think you will be interested in.
OH...one more thing, we are the feature cartoon in the UNIVERSAL GOLF MAGAZINE
.

The Back Nine

If you have ever thought,.."If I had a coach and the time, I could become a professional golfer"...you must watch this movie! Armed with a drive and desire to achieve his dream, my pal Jon, an above average golfer, takes on the challange to make his dream a reality. His journey to becoming the best golfer he can be, leads him on a path that changes his life forever.

THE BACK NINE, It's Time To Take Your Shot
is a must see for all golfers!
CLICK HERE for details.


Issue 7 of Universal Golf Magazine

Have you taken advantage of you free subscription to Universal Golf Magazine yet?   My pal Bobby Nicholson and his innovative and creative staff have developed a golf magazine designed for the Internet packed with videos, current articles, live links to advertisers and a heck or a lot more.


I am honored to have been asked to be UGM's exclusive cartoonist.  If for no other reason, you need to subscribe to the magazine just to see my cartoons...CLICK HERE and view this and past issues.  There is a subscription form there...go ahead and sign up, Bobby will start sending each new issue to your email box monthly.  

999 Questions of The Rules of Golf

Hello, Niles here to talk about the rules of golf...it has been quite sometime since I have been asked to appear on Scruffy’s Word and on this occasion, I am quite happy to tell about my pal Barry Rhodes.  Unlike me, Barry is an enthusiastic golfer.
    

As you know, I dislike the silly game and have yet to strike at a ball in hopes that it will sail off into the wild blue yonder landing precisely where I hoped it would, and then upon opening my eyes realize, it in fact, landed in amongst a grove of trees.

On the other hand, much like myself, Barry is obsessed with the rules of golf.  Firstly let me say that given the fact he resides in Ireland should not be recorded in the debit column of his ledger. Barry’s obsession for the rules of golf has driven him not only nuts…it has inspired him to write a book called 999 Questions on the Rules of Golf.


It should come as no surprise that the average golfer gives up several strokes per year merely because they do not possess  sufficient understanding of the Rules of Golf. 
999 Questions is a fun and easy way to learn them.... Barry has come up with a way of explaining rules situations that will not only entertain the reader...it will educate him or her and help make them a better golfer.

I highly recommend your purchase a copy for yourself and one for your golfing pal, it makes an excellent gift. I assure you that it will pay for itself in the first few months after reading it. Keep a copy in the grill room at your Club...in fact purchase two or three...they will get worn out from use.

Barry has promised me he will send you a personally autographed copy of his new hit book.  All you have to do is CLICK HERE to visit his site and send him an email.  Be sure to tell him Niles sent you.

Cheers!



Take a look at this Automated Business earn money while you play golf!

Divot Tool/Key Ring

Scruffy knows how danged particular I am about knuckle dragging fat heads that won't fix a gull darned divot if their mother's honor depended on it...so when he was asked to do a review on this little gadget, he gave me a call.


I gotta tell ya...this is the first divot tool key ring I have ever seen and I bet you haven't seen one either. If you own a business or if you direct a charity golfing event and you're lookin for something out of the ordinary to give to your clients or supporters, this is the perfect gadget. 

Take a look at this photo and you will see exactly where your logo can be.
Every time your customer goes to fix a divot, [his or some other meat head made and did not fix] they will be reminded of your company or event! Plus you will be making me happy, because I get about as angry as a bull at the color of red when I see a dang divot left by some thoughtless hack who has no respect for the golf course or other golfers!

So here's what I need for you to do.  Go over to my pals over at Forte Promotions and ask them to set you up with your promotional Divot Tool/Key Ring with your company's or charity's logo.  They are good people and will be happy t0o help ya.  You will also be doing your part in helping those knuckle dragging meat head never fix a divot hacks break their nasty habit! 

NOW GET GOING!   Don't make me have to tell you twice!  

Knothead's Product Reviews

It's me again...Knothead.

Scruffy told me he had been asked to do product reviews for some golf stuff. He knows how I like anything new or different that has anything to do with golf, so he asked if I would mind doing the reviews. I said “are you kidding…heck yes, bring them on!”

So he hooked me up with my new best friend...Teresa. She’s a marketing specialist who, among other things, offers a line of golf related promotional products. I got in touch with Teresa and she shipped me a package with some really neat stuff to test.

Now, first thing I ya’ll to understand is that these items are not designed just for functionality, they are also perfect for promoting your business or charity, because each item has space where your logo and slogan can be imprinted too. How neat is that?

When I open the package, the first thing I looked at is the one I am going to do my first review on.


As you can see this The Golfers Caddy will hook real easy on your golf bag using the little mountain climbers clippie thing. Now here a couple of things I like about the caddy. I don't know about you but I hate putting my hand in my pocket to get my ball marker and gouge my danged finger with the sharp end of a gosh darned tee...ya know what I mean? Well on the back of The Caddy is a little mesh pocket where you can carry you tees...no more gouging!


The next thing is if you play like I do, you loose a few balls during a round, and have to go to you bag...unzip a couple of pockets trying to find out which one you keep your golf balls in and by the time you find them, your pals are yelling at you to hurry up! Well take a look at the bottom of The Caddy...see that ball peaking out? Well instead of having to unzip a dozen pockets on your golf bag to find a dang ball, all you have to do is squeeze the bottom of The Caddy and out pops a ball!

I live in the south...and it gets pretty danged hot down here in the summer, which means we tend to sweat a lot, at least I do. I hate trying to keep my score on a sweat soaked score card I have been carrying in my hip pocket. Bingo! The Caddy has a easy to access pocket right in front where you can keep your score card dry!

Ya gotta take a look at The Golfer's Caddy...especially if you are a company or a charity group who's looking for something different as a "golfers gift" at you next golf outing. Here's what I want you to do...CLICK HERE and go over to Forte Promo's place and get yourself one of these! I'll tell Teresa to keep an eye out for ya.

Check out this Automated Business earn money while you play golf!

Pure Ball Striker

Hey there...this is Knothead!  I haven't been doing much around here, mainly because I haven't been seeing too many training aids since Short Game Solution's "The Golf Ring" that really tickled my fancy. Now, you folks who know me, know that I spend a lot of money...A LOT OF MONEY on any dang thing I can find that I think will improve my game and help me take some bucks from Hoss.


The other night I got a call from Jeff Evans.  He introduced himself saying he was referred to me by my pal Partick who is the marketing genius behing The Golf Ring.  Patrick told Jeff I was pretty interested in new stuff and new ideas that will help my game so he figured he might as well get to know me.  

Anyway, let me tell you something...Jeff's simple little carry in your pocket gadget will change your life!  No crap!  Stick the Pure Ball Striker on your the shaft of your club and it will force you to strike the ball pure! Like The Golf Ring, Pure Ball Striker is so danged simple it's kinda scary.  

Watch this video, and give my pal Jeff a call, he will fix you up with your very own personal Pure Ball Striker, and you will start taking money from your pals too!  

Automated Business earn money while you play golf!

Caddy Golf Tours

My pal John Boyne, is a caddy at The Old Course at St. Andrews.  This video was put together from his collection of photo taken over the years of walking the course.



If you are planning a golf outing to Scotland...be sure to contact John at his Caddy Golf Tours website. You will be treated to an experience unlike any other...a golf holiday organized by a professional caddy!

Hoss' Update on HOSS

OK…it’s time for a long drive update.  It’s been a while since we have had an update for all you GRIP &  gRIPe guys.  [No, that is not a typo.]  Most of us like to think we can GRIP & RIP, but in reality, we usually GRIP then GRIPE about how we don’t seem to be able to hit it far enough or straight enough.
 

My name sake, Mat “HOSS” Vilade is Scruffy & Pals resident long drive professional.  HOSS is a member of 2009 Alpha Long Drive Team where he will be competing on the Long Drivers of America tour to be the world’s longest driver of a golf ball.  You might remember, he hit one of Scufffy & Pals “Series I” golf balls during a charity event a while back over 380 yards


Hoss is the owner of
Hosspower Golf where he offers his Professional Long Drive’s experience to put a little “horse power” in our corporate or charity event.  HOSS will bring a fully operational professional long drive format to your outing and conduct a long drive clinic and contest.  Visit his website and get in touch with him…he will make a “big impact” on your event.


Now…about the tip.
  When you get up after sitting at the bar for about an hour after your round…do you have trouble moving?  Well…it is probably because you are not doing the right if any flexibility stretching before you tee it up.  Look at this...if you think he does this without being flexible...you are nutts.

Scruffy's Dad Featured in Art of Golf Directory

I am honored to be included in the Art of Golf Directory, a growing list of golf artists, cartoonists and photographers from around the world. The directory gives a short bio of the artists, shows an example of their work, plus links where you can learn more about their talents and purchase their art.

Steve, the founder of Art of Golf, provides a directory where you can find golf art. Through his love of the game of golf, Steve recognized that golf reaches beyond playing the game. At the Art of Golf Directory is THE resource for golf art, providing a convenient way to research different styles and mediums of various artists, making it easier for buyers and sellers of golf artwork to connect.
A must visit for all lovers of the game of golf.

GOLF 4 A CURE


Mammaries In Motion is a group of women who promote awareness about breast cancer and a healthy life style. They hold various events through out the year to raise money for breast cancer.

One such event is the annual "Tee It Up for TA TAs" charity golf tournament to be played at The Raven Golf Club in Phoenix, AZ on the 30th of May, '09. They are looking for sponsors and donations.

Visit their website Mammaries In Motion for further details.

Exclusive Cartoonist of Universal Golf Magazine

A few weeks ago, I wrote the article you see below this post to help my pal Bobby Nicholson promote his new magazine, Universal Golf. He liked what I wrote...he loved Scruffy & Pals and asked if I would do a series of cartoons for his magazine using Scruffy and his pals.

Of course I happily accepted his offer. The magazine is digitally published for Internet circulation and is now being received in 26 countries worldwide. I will be submitting new cartoons monthly featuring Scruffy and his pals. To view the current issue with my first cartoon, click here.

You don’t have to subscribe to view the magazine but you should, because Bobby will be sure your personal issue is sent your email box every month. That way, you follow the antics of Scruffy & Pals, plus keep up on all the latest happenings in the golf world.

Did I mention it is FREE!

So, tell all your pals about Universal Golf Magazine, they will be glad you did!

Sand, Google, Golf = Magazine

The method of transferring information has changed drastically in recent years. I used to sit waiting on Johnny postman to bring my monthly golf fix. Now, I just sit at my computer…where more information than “you can shake a stick at” is at my finger tips and just a click away.

This is particularly true when it comes to golf related subjects…if you don’t believe me…just Google Golf...there are over 65 million possibilities! Now if that’s not more that you can shake a stick at…I don’t know what is!

I don’t know if you can remember what it was like back before Al Gore invented the Internet, but folks who wanted to get their ideas or products noticed by the public had to rely on the print or broadcast media. The exposure was limited and costly. Now, we literally have the world at our finger tips…and it is cheap.

If you are reading this you are most likely a golf junkie and every once in a while you find a site like Scruffy's Word, that just sort of hits the spot. You find that unique one of a kind grain of sand. And when you do you are so happy, you can't wait to tell all your pals. Well I am happy to tell you, I have found a really neat grain of sand and I want to share it with you.

My pal Bobby Nicholson has successfully launched his dream,
Universal Golf Magazine. His very impressive high quality golf magazine has the look and feel of reading a printed magazine. But its not...it is a free, digital, fast loading publication that has everything the old fashioned magazines had, except for the smell of ink and all of those danged aggravating inserts that always fall out on the floor!

If you see an ad you like...just click on it and BAM!...you are are on the advertisers website. Did I mention it is free and they will deliver it to your computer each month…how about that?

All of the “pals” love Bobby's magazine, you will too. So, click here to start your free subscription of Universal Golf Magazine...it will delivered right to your virtual door...you will be glad you did!

OH...one last thing...if you want to make money while you are on the golf course...learn how me and pals are doing it...click here!

Seeitgolf ...My New Bestest Friend

Hi, this is Knothead, a few years back, I was pretty fed up with my putting, [I still am actually]…anyway, I owned every danged putter made my man and had bought and read every dad-blamed book ever published and watched every video ever produced to improve my putting. None of that crap worked!

I figured, I would have to solve the puzzle myself. So,I designed the
Zig-Zag-Ztick, the perfect [illegal] putter that assures the putter head is always square to the ball when they meet. I still could not put worth a plug nickel, ‘cause I couldn’t aim! Or, was it I could not read the blamed greens…whatever…Hoss kept taking my money!

Then, one rainy Saturday, I was fiddling around in my basement and started working on an aiming device…and came up with the “Arch Aimeny” putter. An ingenious invention if I must say so. As far as I am concerned it is the perfect putter…but, besides being illegal, the gull-darned thing is awkward to carry and I feel like folks are watching me putt, which makes me nervous and guess what…I still can’t putt!

I had given up…thinking there is no perfect way to put…especially for those of us who just cannot get a feel for the greens or read the breaks…you know…see the line. But, what do you know...low and behold along comes a break through in modern technology that is the answer to all my woes!

Danny Orr over at
Seeitgolf and his pals are my new best friends, ’cause they have developed the most effective, innovative danged putting video you have ever seen! I mean this thing ROCKS!

I reckon most of you know who
Aron Baddeley is…a hot young PGA tour player from “down under”. Well, Mr. Aron and a team of who’s who experts in the golf industry teamed up with SeeItGolf and produced a distraction-free, zone-like training environment that can be easily downloaded from your computer to your little personal media gadget.

I can’t tell you exactly how this works…you have to see it for yourself…all I can tell you is I am danged impressed and I think you will be too. It only costs about thirty bucks…so, go over and take a peek. You can download it right from their website to your computer then to your personal media thingy and take it to the practice green this afternoon!

So, what are ya waitin’ for? Hey... you can get your money back the next time you and your pals play. Just don’t tell them about it until you have thumped them for at least thirty bucks!

Thanks Danny Orr and SeeItGolf...Now I can putt!

I play golf while my Automatied Business makes me money...learn how!

PGA Needs Some High Octane

My britches are all wadded up and here’s why; I saw a headline on another blog on another blog...“NASCAR” in the driver seat; PGA in the rear view mirror.” The subject was how NASCAR is winning the race (excuse the pun) in the negotiations for television contracts, causing the PGA to fight for their scared TV “tee times”...enter the revised, re-revised FedEx Cup.

That got me to thinking. The PGA Tour’s TV coverage is really only exciting to real die hard golfers and then only if Tiger is not in the hunt. No offense to Tiger, but I just want to vomit at the media’s obsession of Tiger. Hey, he’s to golf what Mahmoud Ali was to boxing...OK? Now, get over it!

Watching a PGA event on TV anymore is about as exciting as watching your mother-in-law come through the front door with here luggage in drag; on the other hand...watching a NASCAR event on TV or at the track, on the other hand, is like seeing her ass disappear in the rear seat of a taxi heading out for the airport.

The TV Golf has become so boring even us die hard golfers are having a tough time tuning in. The in-the-booth anchors sound like they are funeral director dropouts and the annalists come across as self appointed psychics who pretend to know every golfer’s intended or unintended execution of any given shot. They are annoying critics, who think only they can analyzes any and every swing flaw of every golfer who has ever wrapped his fingers around the shaft of a nine-iron.


To me, they come across as a bunch of blow hearts who think that every nanno second of every minute must be filled with splattering their verbal graffiti through my surround sound speakers! Talking about that, why in the name of auditory senses do they put microphones on the players then paint their oratory graffiti over the very conversations the fans strain to eaves drop on? Shut up already!

I say let’s have Gary McCord, David Feherty, and John Madden do and be in charge of announcing and directing all TV coverage. Put John Daily in charge of analyzing swings and the beer commercials put Scott Hoch and Rory Sabbatini in charge of public relations and Ian Poulter in charge of dress codes. Or, even better, let’s have a CSPAN golf channel, it could be called GSPAN, where all we could hear is balls being spanked (thanks Srixon), birds singing in the trees, the splash of turtles diving for cover following a sudden and painful thud on their shell from an unsuccessful attempt to skip a ball across #16 pond at Augusta and the occasional passing of gas by the old farts on the Champion’s Tour. GSPAN, could be the golf channel of the future….hey, don’t get me started on the Golf Channel.

Some folks think NASCAR is just a bunch of fancy painted cars
going fast and making left turns. They’re right, except those fancy painted cars are traveling at 180+ miles an hour, door knob to door knob, bumper to bumper, gas cap to gas cap while trying to avoid being slammed into a concrete wall head long at a high velocity and being catapulted into the air, flipping end over end down an asphalt race track strewing expensive parts all over the place while other very expensive cars swerve and scatter to avoid the same fate as the driver of the car in flight clinches his teeth and hangs on for dear life. Now that is exciting!

If you are a race fan and have been to a track, you know one of the neatest things about attending a race is to have a scanner and listen to the conversations between the driver, his spotter and his crew chief during the race. Even if you don’t attend a race in person, you can still, via the wonders of cyber-scanners, listen to Earnhardt cuss, Gordon whine, and Steward swear revenge Goodyear right in the comfort of your worn out sweat stained Lazy Boy.

Why don’t we wire up the golfers and their caddies, rent scanners at a PGA events and listen to Fuzz ask Jim “why don’t you just tighten up your belt one more notch so you don’t have to keep hitching up your pants before every shot?”
Yeah, that’s what we should do and then we could listen to the real thing instead of having to listen to a booth full of crows sitting up in the deer stands squawking their oratory blabber all over our expensive Bose surround sound speakers.

I enjoy watching the Champion’s Tour because the guys playing have already carved their initials in the Eisenhower trees of golf, or are club pros that are finally getting a shot at their life’s dream. Plus, these guys realize and appreciate the value of the fans, and are not afraid to look someone in the eye and actually speak to them! I also enjoy the European Tour’s announcers...they are far more respectful of the game and the fans than their American counter parts.

We die hard golfers need to rise up and let our feeling be heard. Golf is not meant to be a spectator sport, it’s a participating sport. So, quit watching golf on TV, give that old Lazy Boy to the church, wipe the cob webs off of your dried up golf bag, call your pals and get out there and play. Oh, by the way, don’t forget to stick a few extra sleeves of Scruffy & Pal golf balls in your bag.

We can’t all be race car drivers, but we
can swing and curse at a golf ball while having a few beers with our pals as we pretend we can hit a eight iron 200 yards over a stand of trees onto a green the size of the trunk of a ’57 Cadillac. And, we can celebrate a 100 yard cart path bounce that gives us a career driving distance or the topped chip that goes scalding across the green, catches the pin dead center jumps straight up in the air and falls in the cup for a birdie.

If we must have it, spectator golf desperately needs some high octane infused into it, especially the TV coverage. How about a little more attention and respect to the fans, a whole lot less talk, player/caddy microphones with scanners, and a great big dose of get-over-yourself!

A very wise and thoughtful man once said: “If you don’t change your direction, you will end up where you are heading”.

Did you hear that Mr. TV producers?

Have a nice day!
Crash

GOLF - MARTINIS - SEX

My pal Andy has developed a very unique product that combines Golf, Martinis and Sex! Not only is it fun, it has a long and deep history.

The following is an excerpt from his website:

The history of man is a tale of a quest- the Promised Land, the Holy Grail, the Fountain of Youth, Nirvana and, most recently, to be on American Idol.

The Perfect Day Club is the fulfillment of such a quest.

The history of the modern version of our club goes back to the mid-1980’s. At a time when most of us were recovering from the excesses of the earlier part of the decade, which included a demented interest in beer, wine and, of all things, TENNIS
,...(CLICK HERE for the rest of the story)

Of all the great golfers, Ben Hogan’s swing and his ball striking have been the most illusive to mimic. When Dave Hamilton called to ask if I would write a review of his book, my first impression was…”Oh boy...another Ben Hogan How-To Book.”

Countless words have been meticulously placed on endless pages about Hogan and his ball striking. The most famous is Mr. Hogan’s first book Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf published in the 1950’s.

But, V.J. Trolio’s and co-author Dave Hamilton’s book is different...this is not just another “Hogan” book! As soon as I opened the book and read the first chapter, it was obvious that V.J. and Dave were on to something no one else has detected in the “Great Hogan’s” swing. Most times the solution to a puzzle is so obvious it is easily overlooked and so subtle it is nearly impossible to detect.

After hours of watching videos of Hogan’s swing and applying geometry, math and physics, V.J. and Dave discovered the subtle yet obvious single move Hogan never revealed in any of his books. Now, the puzzle is complete. This book is a must read for any golfer who wants to put the final piece in their puzzle of becoming a better ball striker.

About the authors: V.J. Trolio is Class A member of the PGA and a teaching professional at Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point Mississippi. He played college golf at USM. As a pro, he struggled until he added the missing piece to his own golf swing. He won the 2007 Mississippi Open (Farm Bureau Invitational) He is the co-inventor of the Putting Arc® along with Dave Hamilton. Dave is holds a degree in electrical engineering from Cornell University and has seven golf-related patents, including the Putting Arc® and the putting robot, Iron Archie™. V.J. and Dave are the co-developers of The Putting Arc, a revolutionary putting training aid.

THE GOLF SPACE...The Best Golf Networking Site on The Web!


If you are looking for a place on the web that is all about golf…TheGolfSpace (TGS) is it. Tony Korologos, the brains behind TGS says “It’s the MYSPACE of Golf without the strippers.” Coming up on its second year, TGS now has over 3100 members from all around the globe…all of them are golfers from every walk of life.

If you Google golf, you get 551,000,000 results, which far ahead of any other sport in the world. 1.6 million...that is how many visitors TGS has had since it was launched and the numbers just keep climbing. Tony’s idea is to provide a free place on the web where golfers can network, meet and have conversations with others who share in their passion.

Members of TGS are given their own URL address…(mine is www.thegolfspace.com/Scruffy) where they can build a personal golf profile, post their favorite golf photos, videos, and write blogs about their golf. Members join in discussions on just about every subject in golf in the forums or they can communicate through private messages or chat with other members.

The game tracker gives members a free place where they can post their scores, give reviews of their favorite courses. Up to date golf news is just a click away and members are encouraged to contribute articles and reviews.

Tony is a golf fanatic, who plays in a rock band, loves heavy metal music and is a self proclaimed computer geek. Besides TGS, he authors one of the top ranked golf blogs on the Internet…Hooked On Golf Blog (HOG) where he writes about golf and life in that order. Another of Tony's sites is The Golf Server, offers web hosting/design.

Tony tests various golf products for companies all around the world and posts his reviews on TGS and HOG. Members of TGS who own a golf business are encouraged to promote their companies…a separate section in the members profile is devoted to business. I have met and done business with several TGS members…it is truly a golf business friendly site.

TheGolfSpace…check it out…make it your “home course” on the web!