All literary and journalistic advice throughout history has centered on one simple instruction - write what you know. It didn't take much introspection to decide that I am not uniquely qualified but sufficiently motivated to take up a blog dedicated to the review of great golf and drinking destinations near and far. While we will try to focus on destinations in the Durham-Chapel Hill-Raleigh area, we cannot promise that our forays will not exceed the boundaries of the Old North State - though North Carolina's options for hacking and quaffing could keep a young man occupied through old age, as they continue to occupy me as I reluctantly move from one end of that spectrum to another.I can't think of any better place to start this journey (other than Dugan's in Pinehurst, which I'll get to soon enough) than with the tools on the right, Dogfish Head Brewery's Squall IPA and Titleist's ProV1. We at the A&A are dedicated Dogfish fans, and the Squall fits well into their pallette of offerings as an unfiltered, somewhat muted version of the hammering 90-Minute IPA. The unfiltered nature of the beer adds some mellow notes, but if you've had the 90- or even the 60-Minute IPA, you know that if you don't like IPAs, a little bit of mellow may not move you enough. At any rate, it's in limited quantities and has been reputed (by the marketing guys - cough, cough) to age well. I'm not sure I like it better than the 60-minute, which I consider one of the best generally available craft brews, but it is different and any new Dogfish is welcome (see their website - we in NC don't even get half of what they actually brew).
What can you say about the ProV1, the marketing triumph that has convinced 25+ handicappers that they can add 50 yards to their drives and back 6-irons up 10 feet on the green (even if Golf Digest preaches that you really have to swing 110 mph in order to gain a real advantage by using it? It feels freaking great. I don't mean off the driver - most people, including me, don't see much of a difference - perhaps 10 yards - but it's the feel of the ball off the face of clubs from 7-iron under that makes the difference. Yes, it will check up quicker than your TopFlite on pitches, but you still have to be aggressive through the ball. It may sound stupid, but I notice the difference off my putter - it feels like I'm hitting one of the old Putt-Putt rubberized balls - it just feels better. Does it feel $45 a dozen better? Of course not - particularly when you balance that against what you feel when you launch one in the woods and remember that you just added $4 to your green fees...
