It’s that time of year again. You know, time for a new one. And with that new year comes new possibilities. Resolutions are the best way are a great way to start the year off feeling good about yourself and what you will accomplish. This caveman has tried making resolutions in the past, but has often failed to achieve them, and then I get all self critical and frustrated with myself. Last year, however, I think I figured out the trick of it.

First of all, the goals have to be measurable. Just saying, I want to golf more often, better or be in better shape, while achievable, probably won’t keep you motivated. They need to be a bit more specific. How often do you want to golf? What is your goal round? If you want to lose weight, how much?

Next they have to be challenging yet attainable. Don’t expect to get out onto the course and just drop 20 strokes off of your round or add 50 yards to your drive. This could cause some quick frustration and make you give up. But on the opposite end of the spectrum, if they are too easy, what will keep you going for the rest of the year?

This Caveman has come up with a list of 2011 resolutions for himself:

• Shoot Multiple sub 90 rounds: Last years goal was sub 100, and I was shooting 99’s-101’s most of the time by the beginning of November! I plan on using the tools I have at the cave in my training aids corner to help me out!
• Run 3 miles in under 20 minutes: Since the cave started getting fitness equipment, especially the treadmills, I went from not even being able to run 2 miles without falling off and gasping for air, to being able to run 3 miles in about 30 minutes. Not a super impressive time, I know. But for someone who has been around since the stone ages, it’s not too shabby. I eventually want to be able to run a 5k for a few charities and not be that awkward guy who is lost somewhere in between the runners and the walkers.
• Gain 2k more Facebook Rock Heads: I know I know, it sounds cheesy, but I have increased my visibility and interaction with you all so much through this social tool! It lets me get feedback much quicker, and I love seeing posts from happy Rock Heads, helping those who need it, keeping you up to date on the stranger goings on in the golfin’ world! If you have any ideas on how I can make my page even better, let this caveman know!
• Set up shop at 7 Golf Shows across the North East: Ok so, weather allowing, I have this one covered. Make sure you come see me at any of these awesome locations.
• Lastly, I want to get even more great deals at the cave: yes I know, this one isn’t really specific, but its always been my Mantra! So if you have any equipment you want to see on the website, let me know!

What are your 2011 New Years resolutions Rock Heads? Can you think of any that any pro golfers should have?

Here are the last weeks answers for My Golf Trivia:

Which Golfer said: “They say golf is like life, but don’t believe them. Golf is more complicated than that?”
Gardner Dickenson

If you swing, and miss the ball completely, does it still count as a stroke?
Yes, but only if your intent was to hit the ball.

Which golfer topped PGA’s money list for the 1990′s despite winning 3 fewer tournaments than Tiger?
Davis Llove III

Who put an end to Nicklaus’ 1972 Grand Slam Bid by winning the British Open?
Lee Trevino

Before I get into the Winners, here is a quick little announcement. There is no Trivia This week. Instead We are having a 2010 Holiday Gift Photo Contest! But dont worry! Trivia Will be back next week! Click here for more details on how you can win!

And! Congrats to Chuck Gipson who scored the most trivia points last week on Facebook, and to Ncheney21 on Twitter. Nick Frederik got the High Score on My Golfin’ Game. All three will get $10 in Caveman Cash to the Cave! Congrats again guys!

If you haven’t played yet, but want to get in on the weekly trivia contest. Here is a quick refresh of the New rules! Instead of 5 questions a day like it was before, I will only do 1 question per day for a total of 5 questions throughout the week. The first person to answer the question correctly will get 3pts, but you can earn a point for every correct answers you post (limit 1 per question).

You can get the prize for winning trivia or having the high score on my golfin’ game once a month. But if you happen to have racked up the most points in both i will give you a $25 gift certificate instead! In order to be fair amongst my Rock Heads you can only win each game once per month. Good Luck Rock Heads!

~Scratch

Here’s hopin’ your holidays have been fun and full of good cheer! It’s been another great year at The Rock and I have YOU to thank for it!

As a small token of my appreciation, in place of Trivia this week, I’ve got a $25 gift certificate good for anything in The Cave that I’m going to give out to one lucky Rock Head! Here’s what you gotta do to get your name in the hat:

• Take a picture of you or someone you know with their new golf gear from Rock Bottom Golf
• Send me the picture! Upload the picture to my Fan Page on Facebook If you don’t have a Facebook account you can send it to me over twitter, e-mail them in to me, or leave them as a comment on this blog, and I will take care of the rest!
• I will also accept pictures that have me in them enjoying the festivities with my Rock Heads!

That’s it!

The rest of my Rock Heads will vote for their favorite photo by clicking the “Like” button or leaving a comment. The pic with the most thumbs up wins the $25 gift card! Simple, right? Just be sure to post your photos and spread the word to your friends and family!

~Scratch

PS: I wish the holidays could be 100% perfect for everybody, but sometimes something goes wrong. If you’ve got a reason to frown instead of smile when you get your new gear from me, let me know and I’ll do my best to make up for it! Check out my Return Policy or get ahold of the Caveman’s Customer Service Crew by sending an email to scratch@rockbottomgolf.com with your name, order number, and detailed description of your issue.

That’s Right, Now you don’t even have to leave Facebook to purchase some great RBG Gear!
Just Check out my Facebook Deal of the Day Store right on my Facebook Page! The items will be updated daily for my Deal of the Day! It’s a great way to stay on top of Rock Bottom Golf’s best deals!

Check out the Press Release

Want other reasons to like Rock Bottom Golf on facebook?

• Stay up to date on the latest golfing news!
• Muses and quips from your favorite caveman!
• Find out What other Rock Heads are saying!

And if those aren’t enough..

• How about Exclusive RBG Deals?
• Daily Trivia?
• Weekly Contests and chances to Score some Caveman Cash?

What are you waiting for? Come Check us out!

~Scratch

The winners to my Holiday Giveaway Sweepstakes have been chosen! A Hearty congrats to:

• $10 Winner – Karen Mayernick
• $25 Winner - Larry Stovall

  AND

• $100 Grand Prize Winner – Tim Morra

Here are the last weeks answers for My Golf Trivia:

Who won more PGA Championships, Hagen or Nicklaus?
Neither! They both won 5!

Which Golfer holds the PGA record for most consecutive cuts made?
Tiger Woods with 142

Which President was on the golf course when the Lusitania sank?
Woodrow Wilson

Who said “Golf is a game invented by the same people who think music comes out of a bagpipe?”
Lee Trevino

Who said: “If a lot of people gripped a knife and fork as poorly as they do a golf club, they’d starve to death?”
Sam Snead

Congrats to Paul Lee who scored the most trivia points last week on Facebook, and to Shripe on Twitter. Mark Mcalister got the High Score on My Golfin’ Game. All three will get $10 in Caveman Cash to the Cave! Congrats again guys!

If you haven’t played yet, but want to get in on the weekly trivia contest. Here is a quick refresh of the New rules! Instead of 5 questions a day like it was before, I will only do 1 question per day for a total of 5 questions throughout the week. The first person to answer the question correctly will get 3pts, but you can earn a point for every correct answers you post (limit 1 per question).

You can get the prize for winning trivia or having the high score on my golfin’ game once a month. But if you happen to have racked up the most points in both i will give you a $25 gift certificate instead! In order to be fair amongst my Rock Heads you can only win each game once per month. Good Luck Rock Heads!

~Scratch

Recently, Fortune Brands announced its plan to split into 3 companies. Keeping for itself the liquor business, which includes; Jim Beam, Canadian Club, and Makers Mark and brings in a cool $2.5 Billion a year.

They will be releasing Acushnet out into the world for companies and stock holders to fight over. Acushnet contains a few excellent Golf Brands including Titleist, Foot Joy, Scotty Cameron, and Pinnacle. They also used to pump out Cobra Golf Gear, but that was bought by Puma back in March.

So what does this mean for Titleist and FootJoy? Well they may get split up and taken over by someone completely different. Keeping them together could cause numerous foreseeable antitrust issues as explained by Terry McAndrew of GolfBiz.net:

“Potential strategic buyers linked in the past have included Callaway (ELY: NYSE), Nike (NKE: NYSE), Adidas, Bridgestone and Sumitomo Rubber. However, all of these potential suitors present significant antitrust issues. Adidas and Nike, for example, are #2 and #3 respectively in golf footwear and acquiring FootJoy in the #1 position would imply a major advantage to the successful buyer. Callaway and Bridgestone are #2 and #3 respectively in golf balls and acquiring Titleist and its dominate #1 position in market share would equally set off a series of complaints from those that lost out in a potential deal. Similarly Callaway, Bridgestone and Sumitomo represent golf ball product category intellectual property right antitrust issues.

An alignment between Titleist and anyone of those three would give the combined entity 40+% of the golf ball Intellectual Property Rights landscape. Navigating through antitrust issues would slow up any sale process and could require divestitures. Although there would be some financial synergies with any strategic buyer, the antitrust risks and delay coupled with the integration costs could outweigh those benefits along with the tax consequences that may influence the final sales price.”

So what do you think Rock Heads? Who is going to scoop up Titleist? Do you think the golf balls will still be as great? Do you think the Brands will still be as strong?

~Scratch

As I was stumbling through the internet for some fun golf tid-bits to share with my Rock Heads on Facebook and Twitter I fell onto an article on What Makes a Golf Course Great written by Mike W of Wamgolf.com (you can follow him on twitter @WAMgolfs)

He gave a some fairly thought provoking reasons as to what indeed makes a good golf course:

1. History Are historic courses great golf courses? When you think history the first one that probably comes to mind is St. Andrews in Scotland, the birthplace of golf. Walking the same fairways as Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and other golf greats. The special moments that have happened at a course but also the history of the club house and the tradition surrounding the clubs.
2. Prestige or Status Is the status of the club what makes it great? A course so difficult to get on that you only hear rumors about it. A place like Pine Valley or Augusta National where so few get to walk and yet they are held in such high regard. Does this make them great?
3. World Ranking The top ranked golf courses in the world are obviously something special. They put through some rigorous criteria to be ranked in the top 100 but does saying that you played the #1 ranked golf course in the world, country or state add to the greatness? Do we assume it’s great because of the ranking it holds or do we judge it ourselves?
4. Location What makes a successful restaurant? Location, location, location. Is this the same for a golf course? Playing in United Kingdom or the Caribbean could make a golf course great. I have been fortunate enough to play in Bermuda several times and it’s an amazing island for golf.
5. Scenery & Views This ties in with location. I love unique scenery on a golf course. Whether it’s a castle, a Caribbean island, or the blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean, scenery can take an average course and make it something special.
6. Course Conditions This should probably be number one but in some cases it’s not. A course with great location and great history can be ruined by poor conditions. I was excited to play Cape Arundel in Kennebunkport, Maine, but after playing it, I was disappointed in the conditions. The fairways were not well kept and the greens were rather slow. A course known as the place of “Presidential Golf” should be in better shape.
7. The Clubhouse The clubhouse can make or break a golf course. Ever get to a course and you’re welcomed by a trailer? Kind of disappointing. On the radio show last week Patricia Hannigan from Golf Girl’s Diary called in and mentioned the clubhouse at Winged Foot as something she remembered. I’ll never forget the clubhouse at Pine Valley. It was historic, classy and traditional.
8. The Layout or Signature Hole Ah yes, the signature hole. Every golf course has one but is yours good enough to make a great course? One course comes to mind is a public course in Connecticut, Tradition of Wallingford. What makes them special? They have an island green par 3. I personally don’t think they promote this enough, everyone loves a shot at an island green. Does this one hole make the course great? No, but it will make people return!
9. Difficulty Is it the challenge that brings you back? My goal at Pine Valley & Aronimink was to break 90… both were a fail as I put up numbers in the 90′s. I loved the challenge and I think difficult courses can be great, as long as they are fair.
10. Service If I’m paying for something, I want top service. If you have a caddy, you want a caddy who knows the course. Maybe free use of the range or someone to meet you at the bag drop to check you in makes you happy. When I pay to play, I hope to get an experience out of it, not just a round of golf.

There are only a few issues i have with this list. I personally don’t think that World Ranking should even be on it, and should perhaps be a separate blurb at the end. Mike was right in saying that while there are lots that go into the rankings of a course, but we should, as golf fans, be judging it ourselves!

Also this caveman is a great fan of Cape Arundel in Kennebunkport Maine, But depending on the time of year, it definitely gets quite difficult to maintain. And while I understand that the poor conditions can heavily sway your opinion, and first impressions are the most important, he may have to give it another go! Also check out some of the other great courses in that State!

Lastly, I would probably add Nostalgia and/or Memories to the list. They are, in a very important sense, different from the history of the golf course. Many of my favorite courses are favorites because of the company i have kept while playing the round, or because of the memories I racked up while playing; including the first drive that landed on the fairway, first sunk hole that wasnt on a mini golf course.

Overall, it was a well written article and I felt compelled to share! Keep up the good work Mike, and thanks for rating courses! But this caveman encourages all his Rock Heads to go out and give these courses a go, try them out for yourself! What do you think makes a golf course great?

~Scratch

Here are the last weeks answers for My Golf Trivia:

What club did Carl Spackler say he’d use on his 455-yard shot at Augusta?
2 Iron

Which golfer’s “thing” does Roy Mcalvoy emulate in Tin Cup?
Arnold Palmer

Who was the first African-American golfer to graduate Q School?
Adrian Stills

Who was the first French golfer to play for the European Ryder Cup team?
Jean Van De Velde

Whose foursome is Scratch trying to get in on?

The Beatles

Congrats to Andries Brand who scored the most trivia points last week on Facebook, and to Niskalve on Twitter. Alex Bradley got the High Score on My Golfin’ Game. All three will get $10 in Caveman Cash to the Cave! Congrats again guys!

If you haven’t played yet, but want to get in on the weekly trivia contest. Here is a quick refresh of the New rules! Instead of 5 questions a day like it was before, I will only do 1 question per day for a total of 5 questions throughout the week. The first person to answer the question correctly will get 3pts, but you can earn a point for every correct answers you post (limit 1 per question).

You can get the prize for winning trivia or having the high score on my golfin’ game once a month. But if you happen to have racked up the most points in both i will give you a $25 gift certificate instead! In order to be fair amongst my Rock Heads you can only win each game once per month. Good Luck Rock Heads!

~Scratch

Christmas is just around the corner, less than 2 weeks away, and I know some of my Rock Heads are dashing around to find that perfect gift for their friends and families. So I figured I would send out a call to action. Your ideas might just help a fellow Rock Head give a great golfin’ gift this year!

Tell me what you are asking Santa for!

Combine your Ideas with the great ideas I’ve compiled at Rock Bottom Golf, and my flat shipping rate through the holidays and you are sure to get a few smiles without crushing your wallet this year!

~Scratch

The holiday began November 25th, and let me tell you something, this caveman did not take it easy on delicious thanksgiving food intake. Holidays are often used as an excuse to eat ourselves into a festive coma. Unfortunately the winter holiday season isn’t just one day of excess binging. It’s over a month long, running until after the New Years, and can really build that spare tire up and set you back on that new years resolution. I am getting a jump on it this year and since I haven’t done a fitness blog in a little while, I decided I would share with you a few of my tips!

First of all, since I know that I won’t have self control at the holiday parties, I have decided not to give in to the temptations on daily! I will keep the celebration to the actual holidays and try to maintain some better choices. This probably includes cutting back on mouthwatering desserts and eggnog (eggnog can have nearly 300 calories for every 4oz’s and that doesn’t include the alcohol!) During most of the season, I can substitute some healthier food options and still get my fill of holiday cheer!

• White Turkey instead of Dark Turkey because it’s less caloric and fatty
• Cranberry sauce and yams instead of that deep-fried pumpkin cheese cake
• Drink plenty of water instead of Soda or eggnog. Save those calories for the fun beverages, it will also help settle some of that hunger and keep you from over eating!
• Also cutting back on the alcohol and just saving it for the big nights will make a huge difference.

The day of the party rolls around, and most people refuse to eat all day until the party. Their mentality is that if they save the calories throughout the day, they can make up for the horrible foods they will be putting into their stomachs later. BAD IDEA! The food restriction will make you so hungry come party time that you will over indulge, and blow the calories you would have eaten out of proportion. The best action to take would be to eat a few small healthy meals before hand so that you are not starving, and to take smaller portions of everything you want while at the party. That way you can try everything, and still feel good about yourself. Don’t let your eyes be bigger than your stomach!

Another cause of holiday weight gain is the lack of physical activity. Its cold out right now, and us golfers aren’t out walking the course, we are also too busy running around doing errands and shopping in preparation. But waiting in line doesn’t fully count. You have to remember to exercise. Maybe an extra mall lap or two if you can deal with walking at the snail pace because people in front of me at the mall don’t want to pick up the pace and get where they are going.

If you can’t cut out the food, try to make sure your exercise program can compensate for the increased calories consumed.

What do you do to try to beat the holiday weight gain?

~Scratch