Ready to go this morning. More on my round tomorrow.

Ready to go this morning. More on my round tomorrow.

The news that JC Penney is closing stores shouldn’t be news to anyone, given the sorry state of brick and mortar retail.  It’s bad enough if you’re a regular sized person, but being the exceptional man that I am, retailers are particularly good at giving me the middle finger, which is why I shop online.  Department stores don’t even try to cater to me, and Destination XL (who purportedly caters to big & tall men) is like playing the lottery (every successful trip means several unsuccessful trips).

Golf stores are equally bad.  Golf Galaxy doesn’t sell “big and tall” sizes either in store or online, and Howard County doesn’t have a Golfsmith or a PGA Tour Superstore (not that these stores sell big and tall sizes either).  Golf Galaxy does have a nice online ordering kiosk but if you’re not going to carry extended sizes then I’m not really sure what the point is (I can’t be the only plus-size-or-whatever-the-hell-you-call-me golfer in the area).  I have a couple trusted online stores I buy my golf apparel from (Cutter & Buck’s online store or Westport Big & Tall who carry Callaway, Cutter & Buck and Peter Millar in big & tall sizes).

I’m weird in that I don’t mind paying for quality.  I’d rather spend $70-$80 on a shirt that I know will hold up for several years rather than spend $40-$50 and have it fall apart after 1-2 seasons (the Cutter & Buck stuff holds up very well; I routinely will get 5-6 years out of a shirt).

Being blessed (cursed actually) with wide feet, shopping for golf shoes is equally dire.  I went into Golf Galaxy to look for shoes (the New Balance shoes I bought 2 years ago are breaking down on me and if I’m honest I need something a bit more structured given my ample proportions).  My beloved Footjoy XPS-1 shoes were laid to rest after 3 long seasons (loved those shoes), and while I don’t hate the New Balance shoes, I’m not sure I’d buy them again (they aren’t breathable and they’re breaking down faster than I would have liked).

So it was with hope and optimism that I strolled into Golf Galaxy in hopes of finding something.  I’d like to say I was successful but I came out empty handed because they don’t carry anything in the wide width that I need and ordering them at their online kiosk was to no avail.

I know Footjoy makes shoes in the width I need, so why retailers make things near on impossible is beyond me (luckily Footjoy has an online store where I can buy them directly at the same price they have them at in-store).  I’m trying to support a Howard County store…seriously (however, I’m pleased to report that She Who Is Really In Charge and I did go to Perfect Pour and buy several bottles of wine).

While I’m on the subject, I can’t recommend Perfect Pour enough.  Brian (their wine guy) knows more about wine than my very good friend and fellow degenerate Kevin Last Name Classified (which is saying something).  Their beer selection is outstanding (and full of regionally brewed products) as is their distilled spirits.   It’s everything you want a locally run retail store to be.  Full of knowledgeable people (and friendly), great selection, and easy to do business with.  The county is better for having them with us.

ON TOUR

The hot-take level bullshit being served up over Pat Perez’s comments (and subsequent walk-back and inevitable claim about being misquoted) about Tiger Woods serve as a reminder why sports talk radio and these ESPN and FS1 ‘talk’ shows should be permanently consigned to the waste-bin.  Uninformed rubes screaming about a sport they know nothing about…what could possibly go wrong (beyond everything)?  Normally we have to wait until the majors for this to come up, but now we’re being treated to an early dose.  As I’ve said several times, the easiest way for Woods to put this behind him is to finish multiple tournaments in a row.  Or keep missing cuts and going WD, and open yourself up to speculation and the like.