Barb and Andy's Golf, Travel, & Life Diary
Inspired by Golf & Life and Sharing Our Experiences, Insights, & Love
Test for Sam
What a memorable Demo Day at the Orange County National Golf Center leading into the 2024 PGA Show! Missed last year 2023 due to left knee replacement. Here in 2022. Virtual in 2021 due to the Covid Pandemic. Seems like everything changes in the world but one thing that does not change is the fun and excitement of Demo Day!
Florida’s Citrus Golf Trail; When You Go, Experience the Faded Bistro & Beer Garden!
If you are ever driving south of Orlando on Route 98 and are looking for a unique & entertaining restaurant for a good meal then the Faded Bistro & Beer Garden in Sebring, Florida is the place to go!
A great recommendation by Casey Wohl Hartt of Visit Sebring!
WOW! Like eating in the Garden of Eden with all the bells, whistles, and flowers especially around Christmas time! Our table was naturally sequestered and secluded a midst all the greenery and shrubbery! I highly recommend the “Get Faded Margarita,” which is one of four signature cocktails! Three other adult beverages contain vodka, rum, and infused (moon) shine from the local Sugar Sand Distillery, a true farm-to-bottle operation! Check out the flowers in the attached pictures!
This brainchild of Bob and Tiffany Cadzow was started in September 2017 and you will think it is many decades old! Had to be a nursery to begin with and certainly has grown and flourished with their vision and TLC!
“Caladium Capital of the World” is Sebring and you will find many, many varieties of the “Heart of Jesus” in the gardens of the Faded Bistro!
If I lived in the Triple Cities of Sebring, Lake Placid, and Avon Park this would definitely be my watering hole! All part of the Citrus Golf Trail, the Value Golf Capital of the World! Thanks for the great recommendation Casey Wohl Hartt!
#CitrusGolfTrail #CitrusGolfTrailOpen #VisitSebring
Visit Sebring
Faded Bistro & Beer Garden
(Andy Reistetter; Facebook Post with 29 Pics; 12-23-20)
(Andy Reistetter; Facebook Post with 29 Pics; 12-23-20)
ECO-Polo Golf Shirt: Save the Environment while Playing Golf in Comfort & Style!
CLICK here to purchase your ECO-Polo golf shirt at the All 19 Holes® website!
So back in the late 1980s I worked in the plastic industry gaining first hand experience recycling grocery bags into planks of plastic lumber used for decks and boardwalks. Little did I realize that 40 years later I would be playing golf wearing an ECO-Polo golf shirt made from recycled plastic bottles!
Reuse, Reduce, and Recycle is the way to solving our environmental waste management opportunity and this company—All 19 Holes®—is doing their part in style!
I love wearing my ECO-Polo golf shirt and see or feel no difference versus other top-line apparel in the Golf World! It’s comfortable, extremely lightweight, and stylish! So lightweight that even in the midst of a hot and humid Georgia day and a perspiring Yours Truly, the shirt felt as light as dry and did not impact my swing in any way!
MaxDri moisture management; Micoblok, an anti-microbial finish; and being recycled plastic bottles: make no mistake this is the highest of high tech golf shirt!
More on the ECO-Polo golf shirt from the All 19 Holes® website!:
The innovative ECO-Polo is a shirt made entirely from the world’s finest recycled polyester.
All 19 Holes developed the ECO-Polo to meet its goal of environmental sustainability, style, and performance. And the ECO-Polo exceeded the company’s goals. Each shirt performs at the highest level possible, looks impeccable, and helps remove a small but important portion of the plastic pollution from the environment.
The ECO-Polo is up-cycled from eight to 12 plastic bottles retrieved from the ocean, a lake or a landfill, depending on the size.
The ECO-Polo’s recycled performance polyester fabric provides wicking, odor control, and is water resistant. The flat back honeycomb mesh features MaxDri moisture management and Micoblok, an anti-microbial finish. These technologies make the ECO-Polo comfortable for golfing or any activity. Fuse these benefits with a proprietary pattern cut for fashion and help reduce plastic pollution, the company feels strongly the ECO-Polo will be a category leader in golf.
100% Recycled Polyester from recycled plastic water bottles harvested rom the ocean and landfills. Super-soft environmentally friendly sport flat back honeycomb mesh with MaxDri moisture management & Microblok anti-microbial finish. It stretches nicely for golfing, keeps its shape, wicks moisture, with an anti-microbial finish to keep things fresh, looks great and has a perforated weave so it has some character. Also has a proper collar, with buttons imported from Italy so looks great under a sport coat. Available in black or white, with a variety of contract colors around and under the collar.
100% MADE IN USA
We recommend washing the ECO-Polo in a cold and gentle cycle. Do not bleach, tumble dry, or dry clean. When ironing, use low heat.
More on the folks behind the ECO-Polo golf shirt and this golf lifestyle- PLUS from the All 19 Holes® website!
All 19 Holes® is about going the extra distance to live life to the fullest. We play golf, compete, and after our round we collect our winnings, pay our bets, and have a good time on the patio at the club. We sometimes enjoy a cocktail, occasionally smoke cigars, and tell stories to pass our time with friends. We embrace our individuality yet work together to make our lives better. Whether it’s in business or pleasure, we live by the rules of golf, compete in a friendly way, and always play the extra hole.
Though the spirited team has built a company on the merriment of the same golf, they honor and respect the environment as most golfers should. Sustainable and eco-friendly apparel and accessories will always be at the forefront of their products in development.
All 19 holes, it’s how we live!
CLICK here to purchase your ECO-Polo golf shirt at the All 19 Holes® website!
When you are on an Experience Kissimmee, Florida weekend you experience what they want you to experience which is a good thing! I know TPC as the THE PLAYERS Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach but now also know it as The Paddling Center in Kissimmee!
I knew I would enjoy kayaking but I never thought I would enjoy it as much as I did! It’s golf—beautiful, immersion into nature, and good exercise—without ANY stress of performance! Likely due to having a great guide in Alex—properly trained, knowledgeable of and lover of nature, and a great guy too! Case in point when I was going a bit wayward into the brush on the side of Shingle Creek, Alex yelled out “don’t lean!” I didn’t and stayed upright and in the kayak and not the water!
One added unexpected benefit of kayaking in the morning is that my upper body was loose for swinging a golf club in the afternoon ending the day with a Birdie 4 on the difficult 18th hole on the Nicklaus Course at Reunion Resort!
Kayaking at The Paddling Center on Shingle Creek is now on my “Must Do List” for Central Florida! Enjoy!
A BIG thank you to George McNeilly & McNeilly Communications for organizing this weekend with Experience Kissimmee, Florida, Reunion Resort, Reunion Vacation Homes,
Mystic Dunes Resort & Golf Club, and Celebration Golf Club! It was an amazing experience!
Please consider signing up to play in the Kissimmee Family Golf Classic in June!
(Andy Reistetter; 1/27/19; Facebook Post with 40 Pics)
This part of our Golf Experience weekend was definitely a bit over the top! If you love the staying at the Reunion Resort Orlando, you will love staying in the Reunion Vacation Homes! We stayed in a 10-bedroom beautiful home on the 12th hole of the Nicklaus Golf Course! With a home theater, hot tub and ten bathrooms too; it was the whole deal! Catered dinner the first night and dinner atop the Reunion Resort at the Eleven at Reunion Resort Restaurant! Wow, what a view and cuisine to match! Chauffeured limousine-like shuttles and the whole nine yards! There are Reunion Vacation Homes and then there are Official Reunion Vacation Homes with complete access to all the amenities like the water park. With a $700- 1,000 daily rate depending on season this is a cost-competitive alternative to hotels and resorts; plus lots more intimate! I have always been close to my GTWA peeps but now we are family! Maybe we should tee it up in the Kissimmee Family Golf Classic in June? Or maybe you should too!
A BIG thank you to George McNeilly & McNeilly Communications for organizing this weekend with Experience Kissimmee, Florida, Reunion Resort, Reunion Vacation Homes, Mystic Dunes Resort & Golf Club, and Celebration Golf Club! It was an amazing experience! (Andy Reistetter; 1/27/19; Facebook Post with 40 Pics)
After a great round of golf at Celebration Golf Club, we were introduced to the Experience Kissimmee, Florida organization and learned about the inaugural Kissimmee Family Golf Classic!
The Kissimmee Family Golf Classic June 20-23, 2019 at a lineup of star-studded golf courses including Reunion Resort Orlando’s Nicklaus and Watson courses as well as Celebration Golf Club. The 54-hole team scramble event is open to any combination of family members and will be a celebration of the bonds the game helps create. This is a great deal with substantial savings on greens fees alone! Plus I can tell you that Chris King is part of these so expect a family version of his over-the-top successful
World Am! For more information on the tournament and to register click on this link: http://www.kissimmeefamilygolfclassic.com/
PLUS a BIG thank you to George McNeilly & McNeilly Communications for organizing this weekend with Experience Kissimmee, Florida, Reunion Resort, Reunion Vacation Homes, Mystic Dunes Resort & Golf Club, and Celebration Golf Club! It was an amazing experience! (Andy Reistetter; January 27, 2019; Facebook Post with 8 Pics)
It’s not every day that a friend of yours writes a book. Nor is it every day that the subject of the book that your friend wrote is someone who you have admired all your life and that your father had admired since his childhood.
I have to tell the story of how I met Chris Rodell because it leads to the story of how I met Arnold Palmer which leads to my wholehearted and immense recommendation that you purchase and read this new book which has been published with the full blessing and support of the Palmer family. Hard to believe that it has been over two years since Mr. Palmer’s passing on September 25th, 2016.
Me in the knickers and Chris in Latrobe…
Way back in 2012, Chris and I met on a golf travel writers’ fam trip to Mississippi. A ‘fam’ trip is a ‘familiarization’ trip whereby golf travel writers, in this case, were invited to come to Mississippi to be educated, to experience, and to write about golfing in Mississippi. While I do remember becoming familiar with golf in Mississippi, I especially remember meeting Chris!
Chris at the time had written a book called Use All The Crayons and had a blog called Eight Days to Amish. The crayon book was about transforming one’s life, using all the crayons, and contained five-hundred tips on doing so. I am still not sure what the blog is about but it is interesting!
So anyone that knows anything about me and what I have just told you about Chris would quickly surmise that we would become friends and indeed we did!
Me and The King!
Fast forward three or four years and staying in touch, Chris invited me to stop by Latrobe and meet Arnold Palmer. Which, of course, if you know anything about me, I did! If meeting Chris was a transformative experience, and it was, then after meeting Mr. Palmer one could say I was over-transformed to the outer reaches of tranquility and serenity. Truly a life course-altering experience!
So the upshot here is that I met Chris Rodell and then I met Mr. Palmer because Chris was a friend of Mr. Palmer. How can you meet Mr. Palmer?
Sadly you cannot meet Mr. Palmer as I did, but by reading this book—Arnold Palmer; Homespun Stories of the King—you can indeed meet Mr. Palmer in a way that even most folks that have met him can meet him in a way they never did before—even more up-close and personal!
The author Chris Rodell with Mr. Palmer and Mr. Palmer’s right-hand guy (even though Chris is between them!) Doc Giffin.
As a freelance writer living next door to the great Arnold Palmer in his lifelong hometown of Latrobe, Pennsylvania, Chris was the go-to-guy for golf publications and non-golf publications, when it came to getting a story on Mr. Palmer. This book comes from more than 100 interviews that Chris conducted with The King. Plus, living in Latrobe and raising a family in Latrobe he knows Latrobe which means he knew Arnold Palmer like Arnold Palmer knew himself.
“Which do you remember more clearly: your first ace or your first kiss?”
Enough said, intimate conversations make intimate books! Chris is an insightful and talented writer and this is a great book for the golfer and non-golfer alike!
It is Americana same as apple pie and yes, crayons too! Maybe even Eight Days to Amish too!
Enjoy meeting Mr. Palmer and say hello for me too!
SHOT SCOPE ANNOUNCES FATHER’S DAY GIFT OFFER FOR U.S. OPEN WEEK
EDINBURGH, UNITED KINGDOM, June 5, 2018 – Shot Scope Technologies will offer its new V2 multi-function golf watch at a special 15% discount during U.S. Open Week (June 11-17). The V2 combines GPS distance and hazard capability with Shot Scope’s industry-leading automatic performance tracking. The Father’s Day offer will be available at www.shotscope.com and at selected Dick’s Sporting Goods and Golf Galaxy stores.
The Shot Scope V2 uses the highest grade Smart GPS chip on the commercial market. Its automatic data collection provides extensive Tour-level performance analysis and offers free software updates. More than 37,000 courses worldwide can be accessed through the system.
“We are excited to offer a special price for the V2 to all Dads for Father’s Day,” said Gavin Dear, CCO of Shot Scope Technologies. “We want golfers to experience what is the best, most comprehensive, most accurate and easiest to use golf watch in the industry.”
The most recent addition to Shot Scope is a social media share function that is available on both IOS and Android apps. It enables the user to share their hole, round and performance data with friends via several channels, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Whatsapp. It keeps the conversation moving off the course regarding long drives, birdies and other highlights.
Golfers have long sought a device that combined GPS yardages and fully automatic performance tracking. Shot Scope’s in-house engineers have developed a product that meets the needs of the modern golfer while retaining the company’s trademark automatic club recognition technology and detailed performance statistics. The latest update from Shot Scope enhances the on-course experience provided to users by showing front, middle and back distances to water/sand hazards.
The V2 has three modes to suit the golfer’s playing requirements: GPS; PRO; and GPS+TRACK. Each mode has been designed for ultimate flexibility. In both GPS and GPS+TRACK modes, the LCD screen displays distances to the front, middle and back of the green from the golfer’s real-time position using SMART GPS.
Performance Tracking is activated in both PRO and GPS+TRACK modes. The watch works in the background to collect over 100 Tour-level statistics, broken down into five areas: clubs, tee shots, approaches, short game and putting. Performance statistics of this caliber have previously only been available to Tour players. No manual input or phone use is required.
ABOUT SHOT SCOPE
Shot Scope Technologies was founded in 2014 by CEO David Hunter. Hunter, a former electronics design engineer and secondary school teacher,invented the product in his house. Now a team of 17 based in Edinburgh, Shot Scope has released two products to the international golf market. The company has designed, engineered and manufactured the product in Scotland, bringing golf technology to The Home of Golf. The team also includes former Walker Cup player and ex-professional golfer, CCO Gavin Dear.
With author Harold R. Mann in the Marvin The Golf Caddy at the 2018 PGA Show.
Marvin, an abandoned golden retriever was transformed into Marvin The Golf Caddy Dog back in 2003 but I did not meet his creator Harold R. Mann until the 2018 PGA Show. By then Marvin The Golf Caddy Dog had learned the ABC’s of Golf, had qualified for Junior Nationals (2014) and along with his new owner Ted was just about to meet Molly, the girl who just moved in next door!
Marvin The Golf Caddy Dog is a series of children’s books for all ages complete with two coloring books and an activity book. Plus there are now Marvin branded hats, polo shirts, towels, and even a Marvin head cover for your driver too. Now everyone can become part of Marvin’s family!
Tom Kerr’s illustration of Marvin & Ted amidst all their animal friends on the golf course. Photo Credit: Mann USA, Inc.
Without giving away too much of the story lines Marvin wanders onto a golf course where he meets a young Ted and many wildlife characters—Henry the Hawk, Chi-Chi the Gecko Lizard (likely imported from Puerto Rico!), Rufus the Jackrabbit, Arnie the Deer, and Sally the Squirrel.
Marvin teaches us how to be grateful for our blessings in life and Harold the Author presents a beautiful friendship between a dog and a boy that evolves on a golf course!
Another Tom Kerr illustration: Here is what we call the ‘trophy shot’ in the golf broadcasting… Marvin & Ted with their Junior Nationals trophy! Photo Credit: Mann USA, Inc.
A bonus at the end of the inaugural 2003 book is ‘Basic Rules of Golf for Beginners.” There’s only thirteen of them, the same count as the original rules of golf written in 1744. These are better and include ones for the health, safety, & well-being of all golfers. Rule No. 1 is ‘Always use sunscreen before playing.’
The intriguing story is well enhanced by the colorful and descriptive illustrations of Tom Kerr.
I loved the part about Ted feeling a new spirit within while trying to qualify for the Junior Nationals. And oh yes, Ted is the golfer and Marvin the caddy. Hmmm and then along comes Molly… I wonder where she fits into the story!
Here comes Molly in Marvin The Golf Caddy Meets Molly! Photo Credit: Mann USA, Inc.
Stories for a lifetime and for generations!
Now I know what present I will be getting my soon-to-be-born grandson! Golf and a way of life to pass along to the next generation!
Who knows? One day at Augusta National Golf Club we might hear: ‘Fore, now playing…’
For more information and to order items please go to the Marvin The Golf Caddy website!
