'Dis and 'Dat

A few items have piled up in the last few days, so let's get to them before the golf comes on.

• Signs of the Apocalypse:  I've passed on most of the weather stories from the South, though I did post a couple of the photos of Augusta National under snow.  In addition to ANGC, Pinehurst posted this cute video:

Now comes this Cassie Stein Golfweek item: 

A 4.1 magnitude earthquake hit Augusta, Ga., at 10:23 p.m. Friday, which originated in Edgefield, S.C.

According to WRDW News 12 Augusta, the impact of the earthquake may have caused damage to a water tower located near Augusta National Golf Club. There is water coming out of the overflow valve.

Cassie reminds us it's only 53 days until the Masters, more than enough time for pestilence and the slaying of the first born. 

• He's Ben on My Mind:  Golf.com posts this great gallery of photos of Ben Hogan.  I've come to a greater appreciation of Hogan in recent years.  It started with reading The Match, but in conjunction with the venues of the last two U.S. Opens I've read The Longest Shot and Miracle at Merion.  

Hogan with Jack Fleck after losing the playoff for the 1955 U.S. Open.

There was much to appreciate about the man in those books, but the best parts were the least known. I'll throw you one little factoid from the 1955 Open at Olympic in San Francisco. If you know the arc of his career, he wasn't playing much and it's quite amazing that he could trudge 

Hogan, with (clockwise) Bobby Jones, Jimmy Demaret and Byron Nelson at the 1946 Masters.

36 holes over that hilly course. He had by then just started his golf equipment company, and there were only two players in the field playing Ben Hogan clubs. Hogan himself, of course, but the second was Jack Fleck.

In those days, the leaders were spread throughout the field, and when Hogan finished he thought he had won his 5th Open.  He tossed the ball he used to a USGA official saying, "That's for Golf House," the USGA museum.  Later in the locker room, he heard the cheers when Fleck made his tying birdie on No. 18, meaning his damaged legs would have to last another 18 long holes the next day.  Below is the surviving video footage courtesy of the USGA.

And, while someone needs to write a full-length book on the 1960 U.S. Open, we at least have this John Garrity remembrance of the day the greatest golfers of three generations found themselves battling for a U.S. Open.  

Hogan and Nelson reunited for a photo shoot at Colonial.  Nelson maintained this was the only photo of the two old friends together since the 1940's.

• Inspector Gadget, I Presume:  The biggest buzz from the recent PGA Merchandise Show was for Game Golf, a system that utilizes a range of technologies to track every shot you hit on a golf course.  The system includes a series of tags that affix to the top of each club's grip, and a device that attaches to your belt.  Simply tap the club tag against the device on your belt, and an instant record of each shot is created, viewable after the round on your iPad, iPhone or computer.

The devices in a screen capture from Engadget.  The middle item is the device that attaches to the belt, and the club tags are on the right.  The system costs $249, but the iPhone is not included.

If you forget to tag a shot, the system allows you to edit it in later.  This system looks way cool, though they should of course provide one free to golf bloggers and they need to put a little more effort into the website.  Gary Van Sickle is, per this, taking one out for a test drive, so we'll look to him for feedback on whether it's worth the price of admission.

• A Golf Course of One's Owen:  I've linked to some wild trips, in the metaphorical sense, from David Owen, who writes The Muny Life column for Golf Digest.  In this blog post David introduces us to Winter Springs (Oxymoron Alert) Golf Club, a central Florida track that can best be described as.....abandoned.  Haunting photos are the order of the day, and you know that David more than most feels for the former regulars of WSGC.  But then David's mind starts to wandering, and before we're done we see the effects of the recent winter storms on David's Connecticut-based lawn furniture and for some reason we end up playing simulator golf.  Just give it a read...