The original design for Life in the Rough has served me well, but it’s time to move on.  Starting on or near Monday, you’ll notice a new look here. The old design was excellent but it presented limitations, the biggest of which is, its width was designed to accommodate users with 800×600 screen resolution.   Since that represents about 5% of the readers, I felt it was time to widen it some to permit less scrolling for my epic, long-winded, wordy posts. The other thing I want to do is establish a unique identity for the site.  I’ve seen the current theme in use on a couple of sites and I want a look that’s my own.  I commissioned creation of a logo for Life in the Rough that I’m very fond of.  Here’s a sneak peek: I’ve been laboring over the new design for several months and it’s finally to the point where I’m ready to share it with the world.  We’ll find out on Monday, but I think you’ll find the design to

Happy Birthday, U.S.A! On July 4, 1776, the United States of America adopted the Declaration of Independence, declaring independence from Great Britain.  It is widely considered to be the symbolic birth of the nation, though at the time if its adoption, the War of Independence was already in full swing. For those in the United States celebrating today, don’t forget why you’re not at work.  Take a few moments to think about how this nation began, as the seed of freedom and independence sprouted in 1776 and was eventually secured through the price of blood. Be safe and have a great day.  Relax with friends and family, have some good food, marvel at the fireworks displays, and do whatever other things you like to do.  There’s rain the forecast here, so I just hope I can squeeze in some golf or at least a driving range session before I go and hang out with friends.

I wanted to share information about a cool contest that I received recently via press release. Business consulting firm RSM McGladrey is holding an essay contest.  The prize?  The winner gets to hang out with LPGA Tour star Natalie Gulbis for a day. Here’s a blurb from the release: RSM McGladrey, a leading provider of accounting, tax and business consulting services, announces its “Who’s Behind Your Success?” nationwide essay contest, featuring LPGA star and Team McGladrey member Natalie Gulbis. Inspired in part by Gulbis’ own personal essay about her father, the “Who’s Behind Your Success?” contest launches June 24 and culminates with a grand prize package that consists of one lucky participant and a guest spending a day with Gulbis in her hometown of Las Vegas, including a morning workout and nine holes of golf, followed by a dinner with Natalie. Could it get any easier?  Write 200 words, and get to hang out with Natalie Gulbis?  Get your keyboard cranking! Click here to visit the contest website for all the rules and to submit

This year’s U.S. Open championship is going to stick in my memory for a long time. Today was a great day to be a golf fan. My only regret is that I didn’t see it live (darn job). I must confess to having one eye on the leader board and on the constantly updating blogs throughout the day. I’m not much for predictions, but I did say that I wouldn’t bet against Tiger Woods. The things he accomplishes are almost beyond belief. An even better story this year was Rocco Mediate. I’m a big Tiger fan, and almost always root for him. There was one problem this week – Rocco is too easy to root for. Every comment you hear about him is positive. His attitude is great. He has fun on the course. He interacts with fans. He was the underdog, if there ever was one. As Sunday’s round shaped up, I couldn’t help but get in Rocco’s corner. At 45 years old, he would have been the oldest player ever to win a

I’ve had a poll in the sidebar for a while now asking what club you have the most confidence in. OK, so technically that might not be your “favorite” club, but let’s pretend it is, because I’m tapped out on catchy titles right now. Anyway, as of this writing, there are 241 responses that break down as follows: 8i (14%, 34 Votes) 7i (13%, 32 Votes) Driver (12%, 28 Votes) Pitching Wedge (11%, 26 Votes) Putter (10%, 24 Votes) Hybrid (8%, 19 Votes) Sand Wedge (7%, 17 Votes) 5i (6%, 15 Votes) Fairway Wood (5%, 12 Votes) 6i (4%, 10 Votes) 9i (4%, 10 Votes) Lob Wedge (4%, 9 Votes) 3i (1%, 2 Votes) 2i (0%, 1 Votes) 4i (0%, 1 Votes) Other (0%, 1 Votes) Once again, I find the poll results to be completely fascinating. Some things really surprised me, while other things were completely expected. In the no surprise category, the two clubs inspiring the most confidence are the 7-iron and the 8-iron. When I was learning the game, I was taught