Me and Old Man Par

We've Moved To Our New Site

2010-01-12T15:27:00.001-05:00

Me and Old Man Par is pleased to announce that we have moved onto our own domain and site

http://www.theoldmanpar.com

Please adjust your bookmarks accordingly, as from today (January12, 2010) onward, any new entries to the site will be made there. All of the old entries from this site have been moved, along with comments that users have made in the time we spent here on Blogspot.

Thanks for coming and we'll see you in our new digs!

Changes Are Coming To Old Man Par

2010-01-11T10:36:00.001-05:00

About eight months ago I started writing the Old Man Par website almost on a whim, and when I set it up, I deliberately chose a free blog provider so that I wouldn’t have to do a lot of work to get things rolling. Since I do that for several other blogs, and also as a part of my professional life, I wanted simple and easy.

At the time, I wasn't sure I was going to make OMP a blog that would last in the long run. After all, with writers like Vince Spence, Patricia Hannigan, Heather Jones, Ryan Ballangee, Neil from Armchair Golf and others already in the game, there was no guarantee I would have much unique or all that interesting to say. Those folks are just that damned good, and I am not blowing sunshine sugar kisses - I honestly have that much respect for them. To a person, each of them love golf and it shows day after day on their respective sites.

Anyhow, after roughly eight months now, it appears that I have been able to carve out a tiny sliver of worth in the golf blogosphere, and now it’s time to grow up "Me and Old Man Par" and move into a house of its own, so to speak. Over the holidays, I worked on that, and pretty soon, the site will be leaving Blogger and moving into its own domain full time. In fact, I've already set up most everything and have just the little things to do before that happens.

If you would like to take a look at my new site, feel free:

Me And Old Man Par

And let me know what you think. If you already have the ability to comment here you can do so over there, as the login for comments use several different ways like Blogger, Facebook, Twitter, etc. in order to access the commenting area. I figured that it would be easier for everyone to do it that way.

The Time Is Now To Start Improving Your Game in 2010

2010-01-10T13:11:00.002-05:00

Across most of the eastern half of the country, the weather is hardly fit for an enjoyable day out on the links -- that is, if your course is even open. Going to the driving range and hitting shots would probably feel like hammering rocks, and it's tough to work on your short game out of frozen sand. These are the times that try golfer's souls, and spring cannot come soon enough for anyone who'd prefer spending their free time chasing a white ball towards the rabbit hole.

While it may be easy to sit on the sofa night after night, believe it or not, the offseason for regular players is actually a time when they can improve their games and improve the chances for a solid 2010 season. The way to do that? By improving our physique and tuning up our bodies in order to improve our swings.

Take it from Brad Faxon. "When an average club member goes to a golf pro, the pro may know a lot about the golf swing, but he usually has no idea what that player is physically capable of doing or not doing. Most of the time, not doing. And without that knowledge, the guy has no chance," he recently told the Wall Street Journal. Faxon's right. Your swing guru may have every technological terror this side of the Starship Enterprise at their disposal, but if he or she is trying to teach you to do something your body simply cannot do, then your time and money is wasted.

Most of us may not want to admit it, but we can all use some enhanced flexibility and increased strength in the right places in order to swing a golf club back and through the ball on plane and with power. While we may not have the opportunity to visit the Titleist Performance Institute as Faxon and other pros have, there are still steps we can do in our own homes and workout rooms in order to improve our scores...before we ever hit the course. Enter Mark Verstegen.

Verstegen, creator of Core Performance, has written a book listing golf-specific exercises that we can all do. Core Performance Golf claims that "golfers will discover a training program that is ideally suited to developing the golf swing, with exercises designed to help create more torque and balance, thus adding yards to drives and precision shots. [The book also provides] a conditioning regimen and nutrition program that will help you build strength, flexibility, power, and stamina, while reducing the risk of injuries and speeding recovery time."

Sounds good, but is it all too good to be true? Maybe, but it Verstegen's resume speaks well of him. In addition to working with Phil Mickelson and Billy Mayfair, he also works with David Ledbetter's pupils. That gives him quite a bit of credibility.

While there may be no magic bullet that will turn us from Clark Kent into the next Jack Nicklaus, one thing is for certain: we can always improve and here in the dead of winter, there's still time to get ready for next season. Whether it is Verstegen's methods or another trainer from whom you take advice, it certainly can't hurt your game to get stronger.

A Biodegradable Golf Ball

2010-01-09T09:48:00.002-05:00

This seems like a good idea, but I doubt that the senior managers at Titleist are losing sleep over this new product:

What if you like to play golf on the beach, on a cruise ship or from your boat? Well, now you can do exactly that without littering, but feeding the fish instead. The Ecobioball is a 100% biodegradable, non-toxic golf ball that you can use to play real golf on the water, full swing! The use of plastic golf balls is illegal near water due to the waste it leaves behind.

I've seen folks pounding golf balls off of a cruise ship, and when I visit our coast, from time to time I will bring a few old balls and a couple of wedges and work on my sand game. After all, a beach is long bunker and it can be entertaining to hit sand shots for a while...and a good way to practice.

For the folks hitting drivers off of the deck ship, well, I can see why the cruise ships would want them to hit a biodegradable ball. While I doubt that cruisers are going to cover the bottom of the sea with old balls, there's no reason not to hit a ball designed to break down and leave no trace.

I'm not sure I would buy a biodegradable ball for my weekends on the shore, however, because I always take home with me what I bring when I hit the beach. Maybe growing up for several years on a Florida beach taught me this, but I detest littering and personally I throw my trash away and carry the rest with me. As such, I have little need for a biodegradable ball. I can, however, see how folks who might like to whack a ball into the surf might want to pick up a few of the "fish food" balls.

Golf On Ice...Looks Like a Great Way To Chill Out

2010-01-08T15:11:00.002-05:00

Glancing outside my window here in the sunny south, I see bright blue sunny skies and no snow. But before you think I might be heading out to the links for a quick nine before dark this afternoon, I should also add that it is 30°F with a stead 20 MPH breeze. Not exactly normal stuff here in the winter, and definitely not the sort of weather that makes one think up an excuse to leave work early. Nahhh, I think today I will stay indoors and watch the pros enjoy the fair trade winds and green grass of Hawai'i.

Other folks have different ideas, however, and winter golf in even more extreme conditions seems to be catching on. Up in New Hampshire, for instance, there is a winter golf tournament that looks like it would be a blast to play in:

Pawtuckaway Open Charity Ice Golf and Chili Bowl

[We] set up a nine hole course on the lake. We use an ice auger to dig holes that are usually a couple of inches deep and about three times the diameter of a normal golf cup. The course is about the same length as nine holes on a grass course and takes approximately the same amount of time. Greens Fees are $20.00 -- that includes golf, chili, and a players gift. [...] The event is held rain, snow or shine.

Judging by their 2009 tournament pictures, it looks like a good time was had by all, and that's the point of golf, no matter where it is played. That's the sort of thing that could get me to don three pairs of woolen long-johns and drag my sticks onto a frozen lake. It would probably be a lot more fun than the frozen tundra I call my home course!

Stewart Cink Has Never Had The Original Claret Jug

2010-01-07T20:19:00.006-05:00

Rich Lerner of Golf Channel should know this, but today in the channel's coverage of the SBS Hawaiian Open, he asked Stewart Cink what it was like to drink from the original Claret Jug. Cink didn't miss a beat and said he drank from it without even cleaning it out. Lerner, the lead interviewer for Golf Channel, then added it must have been something special to drink from the same trophy as Old Tom Morris.

Cool story, but not exactly true.

That was an amazing display of ignorance on Lerner's part.

For one thing, Stewart Cink never had the original Claret Jug in his possession. That's because the original trophy was retired from awards ceremonies in 1927 and ever since, a replica has been engraved with the winner's name and given to him for a year, after which a smaller replica is given as a permanent keepsake. Walter Hagen was the first name engraved on the replica, as has the name of every subsequent winner in the last eight decades. So where is the original Claret Jug? Prominently on display in the R&A Clubhouse in St. Andrews. It's not left the premises in years.

Note, via Twitter, Stewart Cink comments that all of the names back to 1872 were retroactively engraved on the replica Jug. He oughta know!

Lerner also should have known that Old Tom Morris would never have drunk from any Claret Jug as the winner. That's because Old Tom never won the Claret Jug.

Old Tom's last win in the Open Championship was in 1867 at Prestwick, and the Claret Jug was not even created until 1872. Until then a Champion's Belt was awarded, and by winning three Opens in a row, Young Tom gained permanent possession of the Champion's Belt, leading to the purchase and creation of the venerable old Jug. In short, Old Tom never lifted nor drank from the trophy.

Honestly, one would think that a lead analyst and golf writer would have a better knowledge of golf history, especially when it is on display not only at the Home of Golf in St. Andrews, Scotland, but it also prominently mentioned in multiple places in the World Golf Hall of Fame here in America. Maybe it was a slip of the tongue and we'll give Lerner - who generally does good work - a pass on this one.

pictured: Bobby Jones with the orignal Jug in 1927.

Read about the history of the Claret Jug from here at the R&A Website.

My Second And Final Comment On The Sociopathic Tiger Woods

2010-01-07T09:21:00.003-05:00

If it seems a bit quieter here lately, the reason is simple: I'm not interested in breathlessly covering every aspect of the so-called Tiger Woods Scandal and how it is going to be Golf's Armageddon. If you want that, well, glance at the links on the right hand side of the page, you won't have to look long. That coupled with golf's offseason both in the pro and amateur ranks (it's pretty cold most places, even the Tampa Bay newspaper is printing cold-weather golf tips) and recovering from wrist surgery, well, there's not much to say...until today as the SBS Open kicks off and once again the PGA Tour is back on the course on the road to the FedEX Cup in late summer.

People have asked me, however, what I think about the happenings around Tiger Woods since Thanksgiving.

That said, I will say this: I am disappointed in Tiger Woods as a man and husband. Calling his actions indiscretions would be like saying Ted Bundy guilty of involuntary manslaughter. Woods constantly, consistently and consciously demeaned his family, and in my book, that's nearly as low as you can get. Now he has hidden himself from the public ridicule he so richly deserves, which only underlines his narcissism and cowardice as far as I am concerned.

I am happy he won't be playing golf on my television any time soon. I don't want to see him. I'd much rather watch likeable players who actually treat people around them as well, human beings. Woods has never had a problem ignoring his fans, snapping at them if they make a peep or sending his caddy into the crowd to violently confront them if they snap a picture of him when they are not allowed. I used to view that as a sign of Woods' competitive drive, but now I see it for what it really is: a sign of his sociopathic tendencies; and yes, Tiger Woods displays every bit of a serious psychopathic disorder. After all, a prototypical sociopath has deficits or deviances in several areas: interpersonal relationships, emotion, and self-control. Sounds like the World's #1 in 2009, n'est c'est pas?

The PGA Tour cranks up again today, and as far as I am concerned, I would rather be talking about the sport I love and people I admire. While I may admire what Tiger Woods can do with a golf club, as a fellow human being, I have little if any admiration for him. That said, the point of this blog is to talk about golf, which is what we'll talk about from now on. Again, look down to the right if you want to know what Inside Edition, TMZ and Entertainment Tonight are reporting. You won't find it here.

I Resolve in the 2010 To....

2009-12-31T06:50:00.005-05:00

New Year's Eve is the last day of the decade, and tomorrow begins a new one. Instead of looking back, however, I am going to look forward, and as many of us do, I am going to make the usual resolutions. Unlike many of us, however, I am going to make them happen, mainly because I plan to make them reasonable and attainable goals.

I won't bore you with the tedious personal ones, yes, I want to get into better shape, eat right and all of that. We all do and we all work at it constantly (if we are smart.) So instead, I will share you the short list of my golf goals for the year:

Mainly, I resolve to have fun playing golf and to not let the ups and downs of this crazy, wonderfully stupid game get inside my head
I resolve to finally stick to the pre-swing routine that sets me up to hit a good shot.
I resolve to practice six foot putts over and over and over so that from there in, they become nearly automatic.
I resolve to practice shots from the rough, from sand, from sidehill, downhill and uphill lies so that I can hit them with more confidence. I don't practice them enough.
I resolve to use the driver I have (a Taylor Made R9) and not be seduced into believing I will be a better player if I try to buy my game. (personal note to my wife: you're welcome)
I resolve to play Pine Needles from the US Women's Open tee markers and Pinehurst #2 in the spring. And if the numbers start adding up towards triple digits (and they probably will) I will quit scoring and just enjoy the day.
I resolve to take my 72 year-old Dad out to "caddy" for me when I go, because he would enjoy it. He can ride in the cart and make jokes about my game and we'll both laugh.
I resolve to only give golf advice to my wife when she asks. I rarely butt in anyway, but the worst teacher for a novice woman golfer is her husband.
I resolve to not put any stars beside any wins any player on the PGA Tour has while Tiger Woods hides from his troubles and refuses to pay the piper for his sins. He did that to himself and no one else should carry his burden.
Finally, I resolve to thank my lucky stars for each and every day I get, and for all of my friends. Never take those things for granted, ever. So, Spank-o-saurus, you might beat me from time to time on the back 9 here at Eagle Ridge, but you can bet next time it might not happen. And we'll have fun trying to out-do each other. That's all that matters at the end of the round anyway.

Stupidity From The National Review Online

2009-12-30T10:34:00.005-05:00

In today's political scene of dangerous polemicism centered more on power than pragmatism, intelligent thought often flies out of the window quickly. We see it from all sides of the political spectrum, as no one has any patent or solid claim on good sense. Today's idiocy comes from the National Review Online, the dubious shadow of a once-thoughtful and thought-provoking conservative journal originally started by William F. Buckley. Writer Michelle Cottle displays a breathtaking lack of any common sense or reason when she says that

[G]olf is a dubious pastime for any decent, sane person

To which she then attempts to tie to our current president

Why would a leader vowing to shake up Washington--to alter the very nature of politics--sell his soul to a leisure activity that screams stodgy, hyperconventional Old Guard?

While I do not agree with every decision Barack Obama makes (as I have yet to have a president in my lifetime I've been 100% agreement with) I do completely agree with his taking respite from the demands of his duties from time to time on the golf course. Any regular player knows the rejuvenation one gets from playing 18 holes and concentrating not on the problems of the day but instead on the white ball's path down towards the hole. It clears the mind, and if there is any place a clear mind is needed, it is in Washington DC.

Finally, Cottle summarizes her specious argument with this:

And if we really want to get harsh about it: Golf is a dying game--on the skids for nearly a decade, according to a 2008 report by the National Golf Foundation. The number of Americans who golf has fallen by some four million, while the number who golf frequently (25-plus rounds a year) has plummeted by a third. One observed problem: evolving family dynamics. Men once free to spend all weekend on the links are now expected to help shuttle the kids to soccer, walk the dog, and generally pull their weight on the home front. The first lady may be understanding about her man’s special recreational needs. But does President Obama really want to be associated with a game so antithetical to modern life?

Generalize much, Michelle? A decline in golf rounds nationally could not possibly be linked to the fact that when economic times get tough, the first belt-tightening move is to reduce the discretionary spending budget to focus on core items like home, food and transportation, right? Or perhaps another explanation that also fits into the overall picture is that there was an explosion in new players that coincided with the rise of Tiger Woods on television, and after a number of these new players discovered that they would never be as good as Tiger in their own right, they gave up the game. Yes, there are increasing home demands, but to paint that as the sole reason for any decline in the game is manipulating the facts to fit the story she writes, not the other way around.

To me, the bottom line with this article is that once again we have a writer with such a strong lean politically that she will simply alter or omit facts to make a point, knowing full well that she is writing to an audience that is inclined to agree with what she says without applying any critical thinking to her prose.

That's why I generally avoid the likes of Huffington Post and NRO. Truth often does not matter there. And it is truth that is sorely needed yet is in critically short supply in this great country of ours.

I Am Back At It, Sort Of...

2009-12-30T10:16:00.000-05:00

Thirteen days after Carpal Tunnel Remediation surgery, I am finally able to "type" with both hands. When I say type, I am forced to use one finger in a hunting-and-pecking motion as though I were just learning to use a keyboard. It's frustrating, because I normally type somewhere near 100 words per minute, a skill well-honed from 35 years of computer usage. (Yeah, I am that old.)

Anyway, thanks to all for your good wishes and glad tidings for the holiday season. They cheered me up through the days of an aching wrist and the fog of painkillers, and I can't thank you enough for your thoughfulness.

Enough about me, though, the European Tour season is already underway and the PGA Tour starts its Hawai'ian Swing in a mere week or so. Hard to believe, but 2010 is almost upon us and before we know it, The Masters will be around the corner!

Surgery For Me, See You In Two Weeks

2009-12-17T06:06:00.002-05:00

I'm heading to Duke Hospital in a few minutes for a Carpal Tunnel Release surgery, after which I won't be allowed to type for a few weeks...at least with my left hand.

That in mind, I am going to have to take a brief hiatus not only from writing, but from swinging a golf club too. I've been told I can putt in a couple of weeks but cannot even chip for another four.

That's the bad news. The good news is that I should be able to get some lost grip strength back and once healed, I should be better than ever. That's good, an aching hand is no way to go through life, son.

So all of that said, Happy Holidays, Festas felizes, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, et Bonne Année pour vous!

Stiff Competition

2009-12-15T16:12:00.001-05:00

Armitage Golf Club, located in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania isn't planning to go down easily to big-box retailer Dick's Sporting Goods.

I know what you're thinking. I got a pretty good laugh from this very creative sign.

Ballet Is Like...Golf - According to Star of 'The Nutcracker'

2009-12-10T08:34:00.002-05:00

Ballet is one of the fine things in life that I can personally appreciate, even if I don't ever enjoy going to performances of it. Like figure skating it requires an athleticism and agility that are beyond my imagination, and I can certainly respect the dedication, practice and performance pressure ballet stars go through in order to pull off a successful run. In other words, it takes a lot of hard work to make it look easy.

Sounds a lot like golf, doesn't it? Show me a well-oiled smooth swing and I will show you someone who has spent a very long time perfecting their craft. No doubt it is the same for a principle in a ballet.

And if you think it through, is the golf swing not a carefully choreographed dance step that we all spend a lifetime trying to master?

From Texas comes a story of a seemingly rare convergence of the two: Texas Ballet Star Compares His Art To...Golf

This may be a first, but Eddy Tovar (pictured at left), the gifted Cuban dancer starring for Texas Ballet Theater, compares the art form at which he excels to golf.

That’s right, golf.

"You get frustrated. Very frustrated," he said, before a recent rehearsal. "It can be hard, very hard, but it can also be . . . amazing."

Like a golfer who finally reaches a breakthrough on the fairway or green, "you suddenly find in yourself something you never did before. And once you know your body, your movements, how you dance, ballet can finally become . . . easier. But it’s always challenging. It never stops being challenging. You know, like golf."

Those who see Tovar, 27, in The Nutcracker, which begins its Bass Hall run Friday, would undoubtedly commend his gift of making it look as easy as sinking a 30-foot putt. His athleticism is evident as he masters one of the key roles in Tchaikovsky’s ballet, the Prince.

Tovar sounds to me like a thoughtful and intelligent man, the kind of fellow that would be fun to get to know as a friend. While I may prefer a root canal to another night at a ballet (yes, I've been to more than a few, but that's another story) it seems to me that Tovar is less a prima donna than a decent guy whose life work is incredibly difficult, and one whose hobby is equally challenging. That sort of person is invariably interesting.

Best of luck to you on-stage this weekend, Eddy.

A Zen-like Moment Earns Tour Card for McLardy

2009-12-09T08:46:00.004-05:00

“Always remember, your focus determines your reality.”

Much is made about golf being like life, or perhaps the other way around, life is like golf. Hit a shot, and whatever the result, you have to live with it and move on. In real golf, there are no mulligans, and where-ever the ball lay, it must be played from there. So it goes for life too, there are decisive moments in everyone's life - a fork in the road, if you will - and what happens from there changes everything that happens next. Once in a while the two converge into one place: a ball laying in a tough spot in an important moment -- one that requires focus and skill, not only for the golfing result, but for life too.

Greensboro, North Carolina's Andrew McClardy was in exactly such a place Monday at the PGA Tour Q-School, in a place where he had to forget his past failures and not worry about what might be. Ed Hardin, the highly respected sports columnist at the Greensboro (NC) News-Record, picks it up from here:

McLardy played well [in this year's Q-School], stayed on the leaderboard and threatened to win the thing outright. For five days.

"It's such a long week," he said by phone Tuesday morning, back home with a 2-year-old screaming in the background. "The week drags on. There are practice rounds, and then weather came in and delayed the starts. The days started at 5 a.m. It made it all so tiring."

And still, through six holes Monday, all seemed to be going according to plan.

"And then one bad hole," he said. "I assumed it was over. I didn't look at numbers all week. I thought I was three strokes off the number."

And so, strangely, he felt no pressure. While players around him crumbled and broke down under the weight of dashed dreams, he simply played one shot after another. While as many as 14 players withdrew without reason during the final round, as players such as Duval and Micheel and Pernice failed to win their card, as players took breaks to throw up and cry on their caddie's shoulder, McLardy played on.

"Your mind starts racing," he said. "I played so well for five days. It would've been terrible ... "

His voice dropped off. He'd been there before when the number moved after he'd finished, someone else making a birdie at the final hole to eliminate him and send him back to Europe or the Nationwide Tour. His mind wandered, but didn't snap.

"It's important," he said. "But you have to keep it in perspective. It's not life and death. It's not worth crying about."

McLardy had found his Zen-like moment. From there, he soldiered on, and won his PGA Tour Card...by keeping his head in the present and on the real prize at hand: an excellent shot that kept him contention. Now he will have an entire season to prove his worth with the big boys on the world's pre-eminent golf circuit.

Paradise Lost: Anguillan Golf Resort Broke and Out of Money

2009-12-08T14:56:00.001-05:00

Temenos, an uber-luxury resort on the Caribbean island of Anguilla, has run out of money and now may never be built, according to the Wall Street Journal. A Greg Norman signature golf course, the island's first, was built as a centerpiece for the project, and opened in 2007. It was to be surrounded by homes owned by the likes of Dan Brown (of 'Da Vinci Code' fame) and American Idol" creator Simon Fuller, among other notable celebrities, but now it is unclear as to the fate of their investments as well as the long-term viability of the golf course.

Anguilla is a flat, low-lying island of coral and limestone in the Lesser Antilles islands, and is immediately adjacent to the more-widely visited and well-known Saint Martin. A protectorate of the British Government, Anguilla is a place that eschews cruise ships and mass tourism in favor of a quieter high-end resorts and villas. It's also home to perhaps the most beautiful beach in all of North and South America, Shoal Bay Beach -- a regular fixture in lists of the World's Top 10 Beaches. It's also the quiet playground of stars -- it's not all that rare to see a famous celebrity enjoying quite time from the spotlight.

Grow Up, Ron Galloway (Updated)

2009-12-07T15:42:00.005-05:00

Huffington Post author Ron Galloway is making his rounds around the golf blogosphere the past few days. First here, then over to Heather Jones' "Real Women Golf." He's also showing the maturity one would expect of a ten year old boy.

When you write and put your thoughts in the bazaar of ideas for all to see, it is inevitable that someone disagrees with you. It's how it works, and that's actually how it should work: show me someone who's always right and I will show you the True Messiah. We haven't had one of those around here for quite a number of centuries, last time I checked anyway.

So this evening, after watching Jim Furyk win the Chevron post-season tournament, I find this criticism of a column I wrote back in April in my Facebook inbox. I had to read it twice, to be sure I was seeing what I thought I was reading. I found it fairly hilarious, given the immaturity of its scatological reference. If that's mature debate, I'm Abraham Lincoln.

Apparently, Mr. Galloway didn't like my taking him to task for his thesis in his Huffington-Post column that because Tiger Woods displays his temper from time to time on the golf course he is "bad" for children. I think that argument is bunk, and so do a number of parents of junior golfers. The column even quotes one who said "I do not believe Mr. Woods or any other golfer is responsible for [my son's] behavior." She then added that she and her husband are the ones who give their children proper guidelines, surely signs of good, responsible parenting.

Now he wants me to believe that because Woods doesn't know how to behave in his marriage that his argument that Woods' behavior on the golf course is bad for children is somehow now correct. Using his own words, he was right and because I think his estimation of Woods on-course behavior is wrong, well, you can read the rest. Straw man argument atop straw man argument, that.

Um, ok, whatever. Thanks for taking the time to write. Your April column is still bunk, even if Tiger Woods is a cad.

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!

Mr. Galloway deigned send me, a mere "nobody" (to use his own words) another message on Facebook today:

Excuse me if the message offends your sensibilities, but I do think it is important to point out the complete lack of professionalism and tact that this writer -- who ostensibly has a national platform -- uses when someone disagrees with him.

It can't look good for Huffington Post, and I am quite surprised that Galloway's editors would allow this to go on. Actually, I don't think they know about it. Perhaps it is time to make that happen.

Thanks to George Franklin Grant, You Don't Have To Pound Sand

2009-12-06T09:04:00.009-05:00

One Hundred and Ten Years Ago This Month, The Golf Tee Was Invented By a Boston Dentist.

Sometimes, we take the little things in life as though they were for granted, as if they had always been there. Such is the case of the lowly golf tee, a part of our golf bags that most of us hardly ever think twice about -- they've been around forever, so they must have been invented at the same time as the game, right?

No, actually, golfers used to plop their ball onto a cone of wet sand before Dr. George Franklin Grant invented the wooden tee.

Dr. Grant was a man memorable for many things. The son of former slaves, the Oswego, N.Y. native somehow found work for his hometown dentist as a youngster. He began as many prosperous and successful men do, at the bottom. His first job for the dentist was running errands and eventually he became an an assistant in the dentist's laboratory. When he was 19, Grant moved to Boston, where he worked as a dental assistant. Two years later he enrolled in the then-new Harvard Dental School. In 1870, Grant graduated with honors, becoming just the second African-American graduate of the Dental School.

After receiving his diploma, Dr. Grant worked for the Dental School, where he worked with patients who had deformations and maladies in the roof of their mouth. Grant excelled, becoming a noted forerunner in the nascent field. He was well-regarded in the dental community internationally and eventually left Harvard to open a private practice.

Grant had a passion for golf, and even built his own course aside his home in Arlington Heights area outside Boston. Eventually, he and his family moved to the more toney area of Beacon Hill, but Grant would often return to Arlington Heights to play his beloved game of golf.

Already a patented inventor, Grant eventually grew dissatisfied with the mess and bother of the wet sand tees that were used at that time. In order to tee up a golf ball on the teebox, one had to use a cone to fashion a pile of sand, atop which the ball would be placed and then struck. These sand tees were often inconsistent and fragile, and creating one was hasslesome at best. To fix that, Dr. Grant invented a wooden peg with a gutta-percha crown -- more or less the modern tee. For his invention, he received U.S. patent No. 638,920, (click to read patent) on December 12, 1899.

Grant was not much of a businessman, and he never properly marketed his device. He died in 1910, and the wooden tee largely forgotten outside of his family until another dentist William Lowell of New Jersey, "rediscovered" Grant's invention 1921 and manufactured the 'reddy tee,' which was painted red. To market his product, Lowell gave them to popular golfers of the day, most notably Walter Hagen to play them. Hagen and others reportedly received four figure "incentives" to play with them.

Interestingly, it was Hagen's use of the Reddy Tee that led to another innovation still widely used in tournament golf today -- the gallery ropes. At an exhibition at the Shennecossett Club in Groton, Conn., Hagen teed off with Reddy Tees and fans would stampede the tee box in order to grab up the broken wooden peg Hagen left behind as a souvenir. In order to control the unruly mob, the club circled the playing area with ropes, and the gallery rope was born into modern American golf.

Today, there is probably no piece of equipment in a golfer's bag used more often than the wooden tee. As legendary pro Sam Snead once said that tees should be used even on par 3 holes because of the perfect lie that they provide. "If they let you put it on a peg," Snead said, "put it on a peg, nobody is that good!"

Thanks to Dr. George Franklin Grant, we can all do just that.

My Golfer of the Year: Phil Mickelson

2009-12-01T08:29:00.006-05:00

Phil Mickelson may not have won the most tournaments, he didn't win a major, and he wasn't the PGA's Player of the Year, but in my mind, he's my Golfer of the Year.

Here's why:

His 2009 started with two solid victories, first at at Riviera in the Northern Trust Open, then at the WGC/CA Championship at the tough Doral Golf Resort.

Then, the bottom fell out in his personal life. His wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. Then, to make matters worse, so was his mother. That's quite a load to carry, and it's one that no amount of money or fame can make lighter. Sure, Amy and his mother Mary were afforded the best medical treatment that money can buy. Thing is, even that does not bring complete certainty.

Cancer is a wily, hateful enemy, and if you have never had to experience caring for a loved one going through the throes of treatment for the dreaded disease, let's just say that if you were my worst enemy I still would not wish it on you. Phil not only had to do that for his wife, which is one of the hardest things a man can do in a marriage, he also had to do so with his mother before Amy had completely finished her own treatments. That's like having to face Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson in a boxing ring at the same time.

Somehow, Phil carried on, and despite the pressures of being the World's #2 golfer and the expectations that comes with it, he managed to find respite on the golf course. He took some much-needed family time away from the game, and shortly after his return, he was a factor in the U.S. Open.

Despite falling to Lucas Glover, Phil's Herculean effort in New York at Bethpage should not be overlooked. Like I said above, cancer is a hateful enemy, and if a loved one has it, their cancer invades your psyche and never completely goes away. Its symptoms are sudden metallic tastes of fear, and those are followed by cold shudders when thoughts of the worst coming to pass cross your mind. In that U.S. Open, Phil gave us all a wonderful example of what it means to be a man -- someone who can manage his emotions and still do a great job in his work. In my view, that is a victory unto itself that's far, far larger than the trophy that Glover lifted that rainy weekend.

In the middle of it all, Phil was still Phil, which meant that he still had time to say hello to his fans, to sign a kid's autograph, and to still be one of the greatest philanthropists the modern game has seen. Mickelson does not get enough credit for those things, especially in a time when uber-rich players seem to walk to and from a course as though they were bottled up in a Thermos, seemingly miles away from the fans that paid their good money in the depths of The Great Recession to see them play. Phil is often compared to Arnold Palmer in that regard, and fairly so: The King is still revered by golf fans everywhere for being one of the friendliest people to trod between the ropes. Phil is a lot like him, and it seems like he always has time to say hi to an adoring ten year old, or high five a little girl excited to see him as he strides towards the next tee. The game needs more Phils and it certainly needs fewer Ice Princesses who act as though they couldn't be bothered.

Phil wasn't done with his 2009 after the US Open, however. He wasn't satisifed with his game, and to fix it, he worked with putting guru Dave Stockton. A few mechanical and mental changes later, fix it Phil did, and he came roaring out like a man possessed. Seemingly every stroke he took with his flat-stick sent the ball to the bottom, and with that came confidence on the greens that Phil said he hadn't had since he was a kid. Suddenly with his new-found putting prowess, the rest of Phil's game blossomed and his swashbuckling style from tee-to-green allowed him to play offense on the golf course rather than trying to defensively get each and every approach shot within spitting distance of the cup.

Folks, changing your game that drastically for the better is not an easy thing, not even for one of the best golfers playing the game today. It takes a bit of humility, a lot of hunger and a truckload of practice and preserverance to make it work. Phil Mickelson did it, and it paid in spades. He upstaged FedEx Cup winner Tiger Woods by dominating the field over the weekend for an easy Tour Championship win. At the President's Cup in San Francisco, Phil was lights out. And to end his 2009, Phil won again, this time in Shanghai at HSBC Champions/WGC tournament again featuring most all of the top-ranked players in the game today.

In toto, that means that Phil Mickelson started 2009 well, somehow not only managed to help his family when it need it most, and still nearly won his country's championship. Then, he made a smart move and made himself a better player, one that NBC's Johnny Miller says is the best in the world today, with all due respect to Tiger Woods. The whole way, he never lost himself and never forgot who he was and why he is adored by so many of his fans.

Taken as a whole, that's why Phil Mickelson is the Old Man Par Player of the Year in a runaway victory.

Mea Culpa: Old Man Par Was Wrong

2009-11-30T12:20:00.004-05:00

Once in a while, you do something that you hate, and that's exactly what I did yesterday: I added to the speculation running circles around Tiger Woods and his marriage when I called on Tiger to issue an apology.

I was wrong and out of line.

Fact: I have no idea what Tiger Woods does in his personal life. Neither do you, either.

For that matter, neither does TMZ.com or any of the other web sites and TV shows that make a living by stalking celebrities and playing "gotcha." Keep in mind that their real reason to exist is to sell advertising and to profit from it. They need as many eyeballs and ears as they can possibly get to do that, and often, truth, fairness and journalistic integrity fall by the wayside.

What we do know is that Tiger Woods is the best golfer of his generation, and that watching him compete is a pleasure, whether or not you are a fan of his game. That's because is talented and accomplished enough to be mentioned in the same sentence as Nicklaus, Hogan, Jones and others.

The world should remember that watching Tiger play golf does not mean that we have any right to know what he does in his personal life. Whether or not he had an affair is really none of our business. Whether or not his wife argued with him is none of our business. Whether or not Tiger had eggs or pancakes for breakfast is none of our business either. You may think you have a right to know about these things, but the truth is, you don't.

Ask yourself, do you think the rest of the world has the right to know what you and your spouse talked about last night, or last year? I bet you don't think that we do. So please, fame and fortune aside, why is Tiger Woods any different?

So, yesterday, when I called for Tiger to admit his wrongdoings to the world, I was wrong. Truth is, we really don't know if Tiger has anything to admit to, and even if he did, isn't it a little presumptuous for us to think that we have a right to an apology? After sleeping on it, I think it is. The only ones that Tiger Woods might have to apologize to if he did something untoward is his wife and his family. Not us.

That's because quite frankly, it's none of our business.

This website is here to talk about golf - you know, that sport where people hit white balls down green fairways. We're not about writing lurid details of people's private lives. That said, this is the last time I plan to discuss Tiger Woods accident, marriage, purported affairs or any of that. If you want that sort of thing, you probably already know where to look: everywhere. But not here.

Note: I am leaving the previous entry that I disavowed whole and intact. That's because I personally don't run from my mistakes and don't try to pretend they never happened.

If You Are Man Enough To Do It, Be Man Enough To Say You Did It

2009-11-29T07:24:00.000-05:00

Let's assume for a moment that Tiger is indeed playing another woman's back nine. If that's so, he needs to man up, call a press conference and take complete ownership of his deeds.

Woods needs to say what he did, what he intends to do about it and he also needs to apologize - profusely - to his wife and his family. He owes them that much, if he's any kind of man at all.

I can say that with complete confidence. While I know nothing about the pressures and requirements of tournament golf at its highest level, I certainly do have a complete grasp of what it means to be a man, and what marriage actually means. In that, Tiger Woods and I are complete equals. Like him, I stood up in front of God, in front of family, in front of friends and in front of society and the law and made a simple promise to a woman: "to forsake all others."

Yes, no one is perfect. No man walks on water, and no one is born without sin. What makes us different from each other, however is how we handle our inevitable transgressions.

When I was a young boy, I got some wonderful advice from my grandfather: "if you are man enough to do it, be man enough to say you did it." That's a wonderfully simple yet wonderfully deep statement. It says to be honest, be forthright and be clear, but it also implies not to do anything you wouldn't want to admit to. He was a smart guy, my grandfather.

And that's what Tiger Woods needs to do: if he cheated on Elin, he needs to admit it and he needs to apologize to her for the world to hear. If he didn't he needs to defend his - and his family's - honor. But he does need to say something.

Golf is a game of honor. In it, you are expected to call penalties on yourself if you break the rules. It's also said that golf is like life, and that life is like golf. If that's true, and Tiger, if you went out of bounds, you need to admit, take your penalty and move on.

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!

2009-11-26T08:12:00.000-05:00

It's Thanksgiving Day here in America, a day for feasting, family and football. Later tonight, there's some golf on TV too, but that's not the point of the day: it's a day we set aside to give our thanks for the good things in our lives. For even those who are having tough times, if they think about it, they can find things that they're grateful for, and for those of us for whom life is in a better place, we shouldn't have to think long before we find positive things in our own situations.

From a golfing standpoint, I'd like to give thanks that I'm lucky enough to play a game that's interesting, fun, and also gives me a chance to measure myself against friends and strangers in a friendly way.

I'm thankful that the same game helps me get some much-needed exercise and time away from my desk and the stresses of the day-to-day rat race.

I'm thankful for the fresh air, the sunshine and seeing wildlife out on various courses. Golf helps remind me of the wonders of our planet, something we all too often take for granted. I've seen the fastest animal on the earth - a Peregrine falcon - looking for a capturing his dinner. I've shared a green with a huge whitetail deer. I've seen several Pileated woodpeckers - the big red-headed ones - in all their glory. I've even seen a snapping turtle that was easily two feet across sunning greenside. They are wondrous things, and don't pass them by.

I've met some of the best people I know playing golf. My friend Leo, who lives on the other side of my neighborhood, is one of the most solid people I know. He's always good for a laugh, and he's always fun to play a round of golf with. Leo is currently $1 up in our never-ending Nassau, and I plan to win that buck back from him this weekend. He no doubt plans to add more to his riches. No wallets are harmed, really, it's just something to joust about as we play. Leo and I met playing golf, and now our wives are friends as are we.

I've met some of the best folks on the Internet after I decided to start blathering about the game I love here. Court, Vince, Patricia, Heather, Ryan and others - you are one of the best parts of my day. I'm thankful you're there, and hopefully one day we can tee it up and chase the white ball down to the rabbit hole.

And for those of you who read this blog but rarely or never comment, I am thankful for you.

Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy your day!

Obama Is a Poor Golfer, But He Follows The Rules

2009-11-24T09:12:00.000-05:00

While he running for the presidency he now holds, Barack Obama was known as a mean baller -- that is, he had a stellar basketball game for a man his age. Now in office, he plays golf, a game that he finds as difficult as herding the cats that roam the halls of the US Congress.

During his campaign, he visited the UNC Tar Heels, would go on to win the NCAA Tournament. There, a few of the talented Heels were impressed with his game when Obama visited the squad and played in a pickup game with the team. "At one point Coach Williams pulled me aside and said, 'You know, you have a presidential candidate on your team; you may want to pass him the ball,' " UNC Marcus Ginyard said in the Raleigh News and Observer after the event. "After that, I made sure I got it to him the next five or six times." Obama downed a 3-pointer and, for a man his age and skill level, played pretty well according to those who were present.

Since his swearing in, however, Obama has chosen another game to recharge, golf. In an article in today's Wall Street Journal, Obama is not as good on the links as he was on the basketball floor, and apparently the President shares many of the frustrations as other part-time hackers.

Obama has a golf handicap in the mid-20s, considered weak to average, and a cramped swing that's not so pretty.

A recent anonymous posting on Golf.com comes from a golfer who claims to have caught some of the action: "I had the misfortune of being stuck in a group on the same course as the Prez and his buddies and watching them play one hole in the time it took our foursome to play 3 was painful. The only thing stopping us from telling them to pick it up was the incredibly large security detail he had with him."

Rank does have its privileges, I suppose, but what's really interesting here is that the Secret Service even allowed normal citizens to be anywhere near the President's entourage while they were playing.

Of course, picking up would have been the right thing to do, but apparently, Mr. Obama plays by the rules, something that Bill Clinton was known to circumvent with impunity.

"Mr. Obama's aides say the president, known for his discipline, doesn't take mulligans and adheres to every rule on the course."

That's worthy of some respect, and it means that even though the President may not be a talented player, at least you can trust the scores on his card, unlike most other golfers.

Mark Your Ball Uniquely

2009-11-23T16:47:00.000-05:00

It's rapidly becoming passe' to mark your golf ball with a dot or your initials, instead, more and more players are boldly identifying their eggs with something unique and, well, fun.

At left, you can see how I mark my own ball -- I came up with the Angry Ball (tm) "design" when I started off a Match Play tournament round by dropping the first three holes carelessly. I was a little ticked at myself, to say the least, and while I waited to tee off, I drew Mr. Unhappy on the dimples of my Pro V1. Long story short, I won the match, and by the time I closed out my opponent on the 18th green for a 1-up win, I had literally wiped Mr. Unhappy's face off of my ball through the normal wear that happens in play. Ever since, he's a bit of a good luck charm.

For those less "artistically inclined" than me, a company called "Tin Cup" is selling relatively inexpensive stencils for several pre-made designs, or if you like, one of your own. You lay the Tin Cup stencil over the ball and mark as normal with a Sharpie pen.

$17 may seem like a lot for a little gadget like this, but if you want to share your flair on your golf ball, this might be the way to go. That and it might make a good stocking stuffer for the golfer on your gift list this year.

Now then, if I can get Mr. Unhappy with "If Found Please Return to Charles Boyer" in small print below his grimacing face, I will have the perfect ball marker.

Black Friday Golf Deals

2009-11-23T11:54:00.000-05:00

After eating too much and watching boring football games comes the so-called holiday within a holiday, Black Friday: the day that retailers ostensibly reach the point of being profitable for the year (hence the name "black" Friday.) There will be more than a few deals for golfers out there too, and I thought I would pass a few of them along if you happen to have someone of your gift list in need of something new.

sales data from Michael Jamison at Examiner.com

Dick’s Sporting Goods
$10 off All Regular & Clearance Golf Shoes $59.99 or More;
25% off Entire Stock of Nike and Adidas Apparel;
Etonic Women's Lites Plus Golf Shoes - $29.99;
TaylorMade r7 Quad Driver - $299.99;
TaylorMade Rescue Mid Club - $99.99;
Walter Hagen WH22 Hybrid Club - $99.99;
$10 off All Golf Bags, Carts & Covers $59 or More;
$20 off All Golf Bags, Carts & Covers $109 or More;
Callaway Big Bertha Driver - $99.99;
TaylorMade R580 Driver or Fairway Wood - $149.99 w/ Free Golf Balls.

EBags.Com – 20 percent off Various TaylorMade-adidas Golf bags, backpacks, etc.

Golfsmith – PRE-THANKSGIVING
$25 gift card with purchase of $99 or more – code: EPS947GGC

KMART
48-Pack Golf Balls - $14.99;
Buys' Junior Dunlop Golf Set - $49.99;
Fathom Golf Set - $77.77;
Girls' Junior Golf Set - $39.99

LostGolfBalls.com
30 percent off all merchandise – recycled golf balls, shoes, gps, head covers and more. - http://www.lostgolfballs.com/blackfriday

Sports Authority
Callaway FTi Golf Driver - $119.99;
Juniors RAM G-Force 7-Piece Golf Set - $59.99;
Nike and Adidas Golf Apparel - 25% off;
Tommy Armour 855 Hybrid Iron Set - $149.99;
Tommy Armour Golf Apparel - 50% off;
RAM Memorial 14-Piece Golf Club Set - $99.99;
Men's RAM Laser 18-Piece Golf Club Set - $199.99;
Nike SuMo 5000 Golf Driver - $99.99;
Take $100 off Any Iron Set $425 or More;
Take $25 off Any Golf Driver $165 or More;
TaylorMade Itsy Bitsy Spider Putter - $89.99;
Titleist Pro V1 or Pro V1x 12-Pack Golf Balls - $39.99

Spend wisely. Me, I wouldn't hit the mall this Friday for anything. Nope, you will be able to find me on the golf course and then sitting in front of my brewing equipment knocking out a batch of Belgian Blonde Ale.

Slow Play Is Not Just Irritating, It Actually Hurts The Game

2009-11-23T10:23:00.000-05:00

My last word on slow play for a while:

All too often, it takes almost six hours to play a round of golf on a public course -- and that's only from the first tee to the 18th green. Add in travel time to and from the course, warmup time, time putting on the practice green and of course waiting to tee off behind a line of other golfers, one might spend seven or more hours "golfing."

I tweeted about it last week, while waiting on my course behind some guys who had no business playing Eagle Ridge. Their games just didn't qualify them to play a 133 slope course...but there they were, hitting seven, eight or nine shots (before penalty strokes) to get to the green, and once there, each of them had to line up their two or three putts as if they were a Tour player with something serious on the line. Meanwhile, we got to know the foursome behind us, and even the foursome behind them. That's because we were bunched up on too many tee boxes, all waiting our turn to hit.

Why the rangers didn't police these players is beyond me. The fellow on duty that afternoon is a friendly guy, an older gentleman undoubtedly looking to make a little extra cash on the side -- or perhaps earn some free rounds himself. Thing is, whatever his reasons, he had a job to do, and he wasn't doing it. Instead, he was chatting on his cellphone, wondering if the Carolina Panthers had held a late lead against Atlanta in a pivotal game for...well, nothing much. This I know, because he was beside our teebox chattering while we were attempting to finally hit our shots after waiting fifteen minutes.

We finished that round using our cellphones as flashlights. While we were putting out, someone sailed a ball onto the green and nearly hit one of us.

That round wasn't fun, it was a marathon. More accurately, it was a slog, actually, and several times I came close to calling it a day and walking back to my house. I'm a member there, and fortunately, when I usually play, it's either when other members are the bulk of players out there, or when the course is not as busy as it gets on the weekend. Were I to only have Saturdays or Sundays to play, I'm not sure I would keep at it...almost a whole weekend day for 18 holes would not be something I would want, nor would it be popular at home, either.

I wish I could say that this is an isolated problem relative only to one or two courses, but the truth is, my story could be repeated in slightly varied forms on most public golf courses in the US.

I am increasingly convinced that rounds like that are one of the mains reason golf has either plateaued or perhaps even declining all across the country. Yes, the Great Recession figures into it prominently. Money is tight and the first thing to go are discretionary expenses like greens fees and the like. But the decline actually began before the recession, and it has worsened during it. That tells me that money is one thing, but that other reasons are in play as well. I'm not alone in that assessment. Yesterday on Twitter, one of the guys I follow had this to say:

CaddieSense2009:
SLOW PLAY is killing muni golf...I'm in 5th group off teebox yesterday morning.....group in front of us was 3 holes behind by 4th hole

Who needs that?

No one.

Funny thing is, in the UK, a five hour round is unheard of. They are done with 18 hours in three and a half hours. Any longer, and you will hear it from the Club Captain, and more than likely if you do it twice, you're not going to be playing their course much longer. Public, private, in between, it doesn't matter. To a man and woman, they get to their golf ball, and once they are clear to hit, they swing and move along. No exaggerated antics, no ridiculous waits over the ball. "Find ball, hit ball, move along" is the order of the day. When everyone does it, the time flies, because the golf ball is constantly flying.

So why do we have such slow play in America?

Twittering During An Eternal Round

2009-11-16T19:50:00.000-05:00

During a five-and-a-half hour round yesterday, I found the time to Twitter my opinion a few times out on the course. Needless to say, I was a little less than pleased by the glacial pace of some folks that would probably have done better out on the range working on their swings.

Then, to top it off, our weekly Nassau was getting interesting, and when I was on the tee lining up for a shot to a par-3, the ranger was taking a phone call and chatting up a friend about the day's football scores. Nice guy, but he should have known better.

Jim Nantz's New Gal Has Champagne Tastes

2009-11-13T11:13:00.000-05:00

Jim Nantz certainly hasn't wasted much time -- getting onto the celebrity gossip pages after his divorce that is.

Here's the latest from the New York Post:

The new woman in Jim Nantz's life is Courtney Richards, 29, a vice president at IMG, which represents the CBS sportscaster. Nantz, 50, met her on a book tour last summer -- after his 26-year marriage to Lorrie Nantz had hit the rocks.

While Lorrie will get $1 million a year from Jim, Courtney was being subsidized $500 a month by her father five years ago, when she told the Wall Street Journal, "I have champagne taste on a beer budget . . . I love what I do, but the bottom line is that I'm not making enough to pay for myself." Nantz makes $7 million a year.

That Wall Street Journal article also noted dryly that Courtney had to endure some painful cutbacks while she was financially struggling in the article 'Independent At Whose Cost?'

Ms. Richards says she has made some lifestyle changes at her father's request. "For a while, she had the best-painted nails in Cleveland," George Richards says dryly. "Now she gets her nails done less often."

Oh, the things we have to do without when money is tight.

But at least now Courtney can afford to have "fingernails for the ages."

Suspended Player Doug Barron Taking The Tour To Court

2009-11-13T09:53:00.000-05:00

Doug Barron, the first player suspended by the PGA Tour for violation of its Performance Enhancing Drug policy, has decided to go to court in an attempt to be reinstated prior to his former slot in Q-School.

Alex Miceli of Golfweek reports:

Barron, banned from the Tour for one year, filed a complaint Nov. 12 in state court in Memphis, Tenn., where he lives. Barron is seeking unspecified monetary damages and injunctive relief so that he can play in the second stage of the Tour’s Qualifying School next week. A hearing was set for Nov. 13.

According to Barron’s complaint, the Tour suspended him on Nov. 2 for using the beta blocker Propranolol and exogenous testosterone. Both drugs, according to the complaint, were prescribed by a physician. They also are deemed to be prohibited substances on the Tour’s anti-doping list.
The plot thickens from here - apparently, Barron's grievance is deeper than him merely using a drug on the banned list - which he admits doing, but under the care and guidance of a physician. Barron, according to the lawsuit, sought a Therapeutic Use Exemption for the medication that he was legally prescribed by his doctor. According to the papers filed in court, the Tour refused him the TUE:

In October 2008, Barron was refused a TUE for Propranolol and was instructed by the PGA Tour to wean himself off the drug, the complaint alleges. In January 2009, Barron was denied a TUE for exogenous testosterone and instructed to immediately stop taking the drug.

On the other hand, Barron had exogenous testosterone in his system. That's a huge no-no, and red flags don't get much bigger than that. Tour de France winner Floyd Landis was stripped of his win for exogenous testosterone, which he appealed and ultimately lost to the World Anti-Doping Agency and the governing bodies of his sport. Landis is now widely considered a cheat in his sport, and served a suspension for failing his tests. To say the least, it will be interesting to see the results for a similar test on Barron's part tried in the court system.

It should be noted here that the exogenous testosterone in Barron's tests may be the result of therapy, or perhaps through the use of steroids. Even though Barron admits taking a drug that created exogenous testosterone, those drugs can and have served as masking agents - which is likely as not the rationale for him being refused a TUE. The problem here is precedence and apparently, the Tour wanted to set a high bar, higher than they felt Barron's case merited.

Back to the Landis case, writer Tom Sarazac has an interesting take on his suspension and the reliability of the testing surrounding his case. It serves as a good primer for those who may be following Barron's case, and want to know more about the testing that goes on behind the scenes:

Let me get straight to the point: it's impossible to tell for sure that anyone has taken synthetic testosterone.
Unfortunately, the way Floyd Landis' exogenous testosterone test has been portrayed in the media is as if it were a perfectly definitive test. Like pink for pregnant and white for not (not really a good example, since that isn't so accurate). Such tests do exist: tests with a binary outcome, yes or no, and an extremely low false positive or false negative rate. This is simply not one of them.
There is no difference between synthetic testosterone and naturally produced testosterone - they're one and the same chemical. Same atoms, in the same configuration, forming the exact same molecule, with identical chemcial properties. At least at the atomic level. Once you mix natural and synthetic testosterone, you can't separate them again, any more than you could separate Evian from Poland Springs bottled water after they'd been mixed. Actually that's a bad example. It would be more akin to separating two kinds of distilled water from each other. Even that would be easier than testosterone, since one would presume that distilled water sources don't change rapidly.
At any rate, natural and synthetic testosterone are usually different at the subatomic level.

Naturally, anti-doping officials and scientists vehemently disagree with Sarazac's take on this, and undoubtedly have contrary evidence of their own to fortify their beliefs. Sarazac is not a scientist or a physician by his own admission, and his opinions are just that, opinions. The thing is, Barron's trial won't be adjudicated by experts, instead, more than likely it will be decided by a jury of lay people with no more and probably a lot less technical knowledge than even Tom Sarazac.

To say the least, that means that this trial (and its ultimate appeals) will be extremely interesting, and its ramifications may reach far past professional golf. If the courts decide that Barron had good medical cause to therapeutically use a drug that introduced exogenous testosterone, that may change the drug policies in the mainstream sports to some degree. Whether that happens remains to be seen.

Mohammed Abdul's Heroic Battle To Save Kabul Golf Club

2009-11-12T14:41:00.001-05:00

An interesting email landed in my inbox today from a friend deployed to Afghanistan, his third Middle Eastern tour. Besides the normal queries about life at home, frightening descriptions of what is going on in his life and lamentations that he wished it were all over and that he could set down his medical gear and not need to piece together soldiers and civilians, was an interesting note:

"I played golf today! It was the most incredible thing...and I even took a short lesson. Who would ever have believed that, just outside of Kabul?"

I won't share much more than that, as the letter was a personal correspondence. It did give my mood a lift, however, to know that one of my good buddies got a very well deserved break on Veteran's Day. Let me describe what he saw and experienced. I had drafted this entry back in the summer, but stuck it in the electronic file cabinet because Patricia Hannigan, the fine writer and blogger posted an entry about Kabul GC before I finished mine. Enjoy.

Even in the midst of a seemingly eternal war, Afghanistan's Mohammed Afzal Abdul's is still fighting to save the Kabul Golf Club. First, the Soviets invaded and parked their tanks on the 7th hole and turned the course into a military base. After that, the Taliban blew up the course's clubhouse and bar because they served alcohol. Later, when the extreme Islamists, the Taliban, were driven out of power there by the Americans, a guerrilla war broke out to shatter the peace. Kabul GC is unfortunately located in one of the more dangerous places in the outskirts of the city - dangerous being a relative term in a country where seemingly no place is safe from terrorist attack or gun battles between Taliban fighters and their American opposition.

Originally six holes, Kabul GC opened in 1967 , closed in 1978, and reopened in 2004. During these three decades it has undergone several changes. It relocated to its present site in 1973 after a coup d'état and completely closed following a 1978 communist coup. It lay dormant until reopening in 1993 but closed again in 1996 when the Taliban banned sports. Not even the defeat of the Taliban freed it totally: after the US invasion in 2001, the course was used as an area for training the military in the fine art of land mine removal.

Eventually, the course was allowed to re-open. In the process of restoration to its present state, three Soviet tanks and a multiple rocket launcher were removed by a nonprofit agency in order to free the fairways of "movable obstructions." Strange things are found on golf courses everywhere from time to time, but few courses have ever needed to extract derelict tanks in order to be playable.

Sara Sidner of CNN details Abdul's incredibly brave efforts to preserve The Olde Game in his country in a fantastic CNN.com entry:

Why would anyone open a golf course in Afghanistan in the midst of war? One man in Afghanistan can answer that question with the kind of conviction that is hard to challenge.
"Why not?" Mohammed Afzal Abdul said. "I like very much golf."

Actually he loves it -- which could explain why Abdul has taken it upon himself to run the only golf course in the country. He is so passionate about it he has risked his life for the love of the game and the crumbling course. I'll get to that in a second.

First I've got to give you a good mental picture of the course. It is located on the outskirts of Kabul. To get there you have to drive along a road that is considered risky, especially for foreigners, because of the threat of being robbed or kidnapped.

If you are not careful you will drive right past the course. Besides a dilapidated sign, the only hint there is a golf course here are the red flags on the hole-pins waving in the wind.

It's an 18-hole course, if you use your imagination.

Kabul GC used to be a verdant place, filled with ardent golfers, but no more. Today, it is barren, with oil greens (oiled sand), and is hardly indistinguishable from the surrounding countryside. The "greens" are black and the fairways a sandy brown strewn with rocks and the detritus the war brings.

Mohammed Abdul worked here more than 30 years ago, when he was ten years old. Back then, he was a caddy. Today he's the head pro, and does practically everything that he can do to make the course a better place, which is to say keep it a golf course at all. That may not seem like much, but then again, consider his circumstances - that Kabul GC exists in any form in 2009 is a testament to his constant and unabiding love for the place and for the game that is played there. That golf balls flies here, even if it is over ground that hardly resembles what we expect to see when we play, is proof of his success. Best of all, his son, 10 years old himself, works with him and is learning the game the way his father did - by carrying bags.

Playing is obviously a challenge, all other conditions being ignored. The ground is hard. Shots from the fairway are like the land, and the state of the country itself: brutal and unforgiving. It's all rough, and it's all hazard. Perhaps that explains the rules, clearly stated inside the clubhouse:

"Attack the course! Play aggressively. There are no gimmes. This is golf with an attitude."

Indeed. As it happens so often, golf imitates life. In Afghanistan, there are no gimmes and one can never quit. Even if the only thing the players here are trying to do is to preserve an old tradition that gives a cloying semblance to life there as it once was. For a homesick American like my friend, it was a respite for a little while in a land of horror and misery. For a while, he got to chase a little white ball towards a stick in the distance, and no matter the opulence of a given course - or complete lack of it, in this case - the game remains the same. Put the ball in the hole in as few strokes as possible. And have fun doing so.

For more on Kabul Golf Club, please visit The Golf Girl's entry on the course.

Is David Duval's Bubble About To Pop?

2009-11-12T14:06:00.000-05:00

David Duval needs to have a limbo party and go way low tomorrow on the Disney-Magnolia course if he wants to play the weekend in the PGA Tour's final tournament of the season in Orlando. The former #1 player in the world shot a four over par 76 on the Disney-Palm course and is tied for 125th in the tournament. Only the lowest 70 and ties will advance, so it's clear that Duval needs to go limbo tomorrow.

Should he fail to retain his card, Duval made it sound like he may rely on sponsors' exemptions next season:

"A lot of what the PGA TOUR is about, what professional golf is about, is relationships and loyalties," Duval said. "And you know, I would think that, you know, they know I play in Los Angeles every year and they know I play at Pebble Beach every year. They know I play at, you know, you name it.

"There's certain events I always play, or eight or nine out of 10 times I'm eligible, you know, I'm at those events, supporting them and being there. And I think that goes somewhere."

Of course, all that is moot if Duval can heat up his putting and make a run in Florida on Friday.

Nice, Umm, Putt, Alice!

2009-11-11T12:08:00.000-05:00

Here at Old Man Par, I don't touch much on golf fashions, instead, I leave it to the the experts at The Golf Girl and Real Women Golf. This time, however, I will make an exception. The holiday season is coming up quickly, and why not get a head start shopping for that perfect haute couture golf item for your beloved right now?

"Reiko Aoyama, who is lingerie maker Triumph’s image girl for 2010, holds the new Nice Cup in Bra, designed to appeal to Japan’s busy golfing women. The green corset-style garment can be removed and unrolled to create a 1.5-meter-long putting mat. When the user sinks a putt into one of the cups, a built-in speaker pumps out a congratulatory “Nice shot!” The bra also features pockets for extra golf balls and tees, and a detachable flag pin that serves as a score pencil. The bra set comes with a skirt with the words “Be Quiet” printed on the rear, which doubles up as a flag for use on the course."

I think that I won't even hint to Mrs. Old Man Par about her sizes or whether or not she wants one of these, I know it's just the perfect accessory for the lady golfer who has almost everything!

Apparently this is the latest iteration of the twice-yearly Triumph novelty bra that the company releases in Japan highlighting the latest social trends. The lingerie they create is designed to raise awareness for an issue, and Triumph says that the Nice Cup Bra is a paean to the growing popularity of golf among Japanese women.

I will admit to being a little curious as to what the company offers to the ladies to wear underneath all of this, after all, if they are going to take off their skirt to ask for quiet before they get take their next shot, they may end up drawing quite the gallery!

In Honor Of David Duval: "Less Big Golf"

2009-11-11T09:26:00.000-05:00

David Duval is once again the talk of the PGA Tour this week as he tees off in the Children's Miracle Network Classic tomorrow as the PGA Tour's "Bubble Boy" - the man ranked 125th in money earnings. Duval needs a good showing at the Disney Magnolia and Palm Courses in Lake Buena Vista Florida in order to insure he keeps his fully exempt status on the PGA Tour.

Here, in 2005, ESPN's Kenny Mayne played a round with the former World's #1, albeit on a quite challenging "less big" golf course. This is hilariously tongue-in-cheek and proves Duval has a great sense of humor.

Mallory Code Passes On...

2009-11-10T08:14:00.000-05:00

Mallory Code, the young former University of Florida golfer who battled Cystic Fibrosis, has passed on. Reports of her passing are sparse in the media, but news of this has been making the rounds on Twitter:

"Yesterday was a very sad day, the most amazing young woman I have ever known passed away. She touched so many lives and will be greatly missed," said Morgan Pressel.

Former Big Break contestant and professional Tina Miller said on her Twitter page that "I am so sorry to hear about the loss of Mallory Code. I can remember playing many junior tournaments with her & how she always made us laugh." Later, she added, "RIP Mallory. Hope that you are up in heaven making many birdies and dancing happily. You will be greatly missed.Prayers to the Code family...."

Code was a study in courage, and how one can maintain grace in the face of great obstacles. A winner of four junior titles, she later played for the University of Florida golf team, battling her condition all the while. A 2000 article in the Mobile Register described her situation:

"[Mallory Code] must take eight pills before every meal in an effort to replace the enzymes she has lost as a result of CF. She must also take insulin shots every day - anywhere from six to 12, according to conditions and activities - to battle diabetes. She carries an inhaler with her to deal with her sinus problems when needed.

Because she is susceptible to disease much moreso than others because of CF, because the disease forms a breeding ground for germs, Mallory must be aware of her surroundings and take great care to avoid colds or flu that could develop into something much more serious. The disease, said her father, Brian Code, must be treated aggressively with antibiotics and caution.

It would be easy for Mallory Code to sit at home and complain that life has not been fair to her. It would even be understandable. But to her, it would be wrong. To her, the interruption to the rhythm of each day with pills, inhalers and injections, the constant precautions, is normal. And if there is one thing for which she fights, it is to be as normal as her health will allow.

That's why fast, unforgiving greens don't bother her. That's why narrow fairways get a smile, not a groan. That's why even when it's hot, really, really hot, Mallory Code is really, really happy.

"When I was younger, my parents never made a big deal out of it," Mallory said of her health problems. "They never said, 'Poor Mallory.' To me, this is how it's always been. Plus, I'm not one to sit around."

For most, for healthy people, the most difficult part of playing golf is getting a tee time. For Mallory to play golf - and she plays at a national level, having won the Rolex Tournament of Champions this year as well as the American Junior Golf Association's Taylor Made-adidas Golf Texas Junior Classic - there is much to consider. She has to keep her inhaler handy and make sure she takes her insulin shots during the round, sometimes as many as eight. She must monitor her health at the same time she's trying to negotiate the golf course.

"I think people do take things for granted sometimes," Mallory said. "I do, too, with the things I have. ... The reason I play golf is because I love it. God has blessed me in so many other ways that being sick doesn't come close, not even close."

Please allow me to join in with Ms. Pressel and Ms. Miller and extend my condolences and best wishes to the Code family and to Mallory's many friends everywhere for their loss.

UPDATE: Tampa Bay Online has a story on Mallory

The Hole DOES Seem Bigger When You Are Putting Well

2009-11-10T07:52:00.000-05:00

Play golf regularly for long and sooner or later, you are going to go through a streak or two. This is especially true with putting. On some days, getting the ball to fall into the cup may seem as though you are trying to find the apocryphal needle in a haystack, while on other days, it may feel so easy to putt that you may as well be standing on the end of a pier trying to tap the ball into a lake. For many of us, and this goes for pros and amateurs, it comes and it goes. That's the nature of the game.

On days when putting is going well, the hole may seem bigger to your mind's eye, and others, it seems a lot smaller than it really is. Of course, we all know that the size of a golf hole doesn't change from it's four-and-a-quarter inches. It's always the same size, but it really can seem to be larger or smaller based on the day's results. Research from Purdue University proves this:

"Golfers have said that when they play well the hole looks as big as a bucket or basketball hoop, and when they do not play well they've been quoted as saying the hole looks like a dime or the inside of a donut," said Jessica K. Witt, an assistant professor of psychological sciences who studies perception in athletes. "What athletes say about how they see the hole and how well they play is true. We found golfers who play better judge the hole to be bigger than golfers who did not play as well."

To prove this, three experiments were conducted and a fairly large sample size of golfers were asked to estimate the size of a golf hole after their rounds using silhouettes of differing sized circles - some larger than the standard 4.25 inches, others smaller. Witt proved that the players who played better would pick the larger size while those who struggled perceived the hole to be smaller than it actually is. That correlated nicely with other research she has done, for example, successful batters in softball perceive the ball to be larger than they may if they are struggling at the plate.

Dave Stockton On Putting

2009-11-09T08:44:00.000-05:00

The newest Golf Guru of The Stars is Dave Stockton, who has ten wins on the PGA Tour, and joined the Champions Tour in 1991, where he topped the money list in 1993 and 1994. He won fourteen senior titles including three of the Senior Majors. He was also the American captain for the infamous "War on the Shore" - the 1991 Ryder Cup.

Here, Stockton gives his thoughts on putting, and gives good advice that any amateur can take to the course and put to good use. The long and short of Stockton's advice? "Don't worry about making the putt," and "don't tarry over the ball." Stockton also relates his thoughts on grip pressure, which in my mind ties into taking too long over a given shot - any shot - because waiting a long time gives your mind time to put tension into your muscles. Anyone who plays a lot can tell you that tension in the body is a recipe for disaster. Yes, there is taking time and giving a shot the attention it deserves, but there is also waiting, waiting, waiting, allowing the hands and the rest of the body to stiffen up in fear.

After watching Stockton's video and thinking about it, that's the main thing I picked up -- don't play in fear. That's good advice for a golfer at any level - Stockton's, Mickelson's all the way down to mine. Fear is really fear of failure, and fear of failure all too often creates a self-fulfilling nightmare prophecy.

Dottie Pepper Leaving Golf Channel

2009-11-06T13:21:00.000-05:00

GOLFWEEK's Jim McCabe is reporting golf analyst Dottie Pepper has "chosen to leave the Golf Channel and focus solely on her NBC job" in order to "cut back on her heavy workload."

What a lot of fans may not realize is that on-air time is the culmination of a lot of effort and not an inconsiderable amount of hassle: there is pre-production preparation, travel on commercial jets, a life out of a suitcase, coupled with moving in and out of hotel rooms on a weekly basis (if not more often) -- for starters. In short, when you live on the road, everything is a challenge. It's easy to see why - after some time - one would want to cut back on their schedule if it is at all possible.

Oddly, currently, there's no mention of this on the front Golf Channel's website. One would think that they would be first in line to congratulate Dottie for a job well done.

Ben Hogan On His Swing, Video 2

2009-11-06T07:42:00.000-05:00

I posted an entry some time ago, where Ben Hogan explains his swing thoughts. Here's another perhaps more in-depth film where Hogan talks about his grip and swing. For serious golfers, this is a real treasure. I collect these videos on my personal computer, using the excellent site Keepvid.com.

Gary Player Globe-Trotting Now From Courses To Horses

2009-11-05T19:55:00.000-05:00

Golf legend Gary Player was at the Breeder's Cup today, and not as a mere bystander watching from the grandstands, but as a breeder and owner watching his horses compete in the elite races held annually in California. In his post-competitive golfing life, Player has become quite a, well, player in horse racing. He's built a 20,000 acre breeding farm and stable in South Africa, and has undertaken learning race horse production and breeding.

In an article at sfgate.com, Player said

"The conclusion you come to after all the studying is that you know a heck of a lot about nothing," he said. "Horses are a lot like golf. They will both humble you. You have to have quality and you have to work hard."

Player, no stranger to hard work - it's actually an avocation of his - is already reaping success in his new field of endeavor. He was given first Breeders' Cup Sports and Racing Excellence Award, honoring "an individual who has established a career of excellence in a chosen profession and also maintains a passionate interest as an owner, breeder or participant in the thoroughbred racing industry."

That sounds perfectly like Gary Player. As a golfer, it could never be said that he lacked passion, and it looks like he has taken his considerable drive and energy into a new area in his life. That success is following him to another area of his life is no surprise, yet it is welcome news for one of golf's greatest yet somehow under-appreciated players.

Should You Be Golfing For Business? Absolutely.

2009-11-05T07:56:00.000-05:00

Via the Commentaria of the excellent Niceballz.com blog, I found a very interesting post by life-coach and author Keith Ferrazzi, who wrote "Never Eat Alone" and "Who's Got Your Back." On his own website, Ferrazzi asks the question "should you be golfing?" - in which he talks about business golf with former professional Merryl McElwain. McElwain offers some sound advice and points out that golf is the only sport one can play and conduct an extensive business-oriented conversation at the same time, and that it is not expected that a player be an expert at the game to not only play "business golf" but also enjoy doing it at the same time.

True, all of that. The most interesting part of Ferrazzi's entries are in the comments that follow his article. For example, Diane Gulyas writes:

"I started golfing 25 years ago to get closer to my husband and have found huge benefits in business relationships. Today, I am able to get quality time on the golf course with top leaders from major Asian corporations in Japan and Korea. As a woman leader, that is huge."

Indeed it is. This is an excellent example of why business golf is a great tool, and one that should not be lost on any executive or employee that deals with customers on a regular basis. Those folks should keep in mind that sometimes it is more important to meet with their clients and customers on a setting comfortable to them (the customer) and there, it is more likely to achieve a positive desired result than perhaps one might attain at a venue the customer is less than enthusiastic about. For example, if your customer is not a big fan of hockey, but loves golf, wouldn't it make more sense to take them to a golf course for a round as opposed to an NHL game?

I can attest to that in my own right. When I finished college, I went to work for the Sumitomo Electric Corporation's new fiber optic facility in Research Triangle Park, NC. When Sumitomo was establishing that facility, they brought dozens of Japanese executives, engineers and technicians to America from a sister plant in Yokohama in order to transfer expertise to the new American employees.

The Japanese folks were far from home, in a country where many of them were not experts in the language and in a place with a culture literally completely foreign to them. Many of these men were huge golf fans, and when they found out that I loved the game, instantly the talk at work turned to the best places to play. Almost to a man, none of them knew that they were less than an hour's drive from the famous courses at Pinehurst, and not only that, that it was possible for them to play on those courses. In Japan, a round of golf was extremely expensive and often incredibly exclusive, and playing on a great course was a semi-annual treat, especially for the lower level men.

Once I saw their enthusiasm, I knew exactly what to do: I made arrangements for some of the guys to play in Pinehurst the next weekend and I went along to make sure that the language barrier presented them with no problems. Naturally, I also took my own clubs. It was a spectacular late autumn afternoon with crisp blue skies atop verdant Pinehurst courses, and these fellows had the time of their lives. The language and cultural barriers disappeared, and for a few hours, we all spoke "golf" no matter what our native tongue.

And me? What did I "get" from this day? Well, let's say I was very popular with them for setting them up to do something they loved in a place they knew of but didn't realize was within easy reach. The best thing was that our senior managers noticed this and called me onto the thick carpet the next week for a chat. I wondered why the president of the American subsidiary wanted to talk to me, as our job functions were worlds apart. When I arrived in his office, he rose from his desk and smiled, bowed and offered his gratitude. He told me that I had done a great thing for the company by helping bring "all of us together." He said that was one of his major worries was meshing the two workforces - the Japanese and the Americans - and that the afternoon of golf had gone far to ease his mind.

Now, I'm no hero for arranging a tee time for a few men, but I accidentally did something that is huge in business: relationship building. I did this in difficult circumstances from management's point of view, but for me, it was nothing. It was just hanging out with my new co-workers, sharing something that we did have in common: a sport we loved.

Think of that the next time you consider a client meeting or one with a traveling employee: if that person is an avid golfer, there is no better place to forge a relationship not only personally, but professionally as well.

Hammer, Nail, Head: "Golf Magazines Are Essentially Equipment Catalogs"

2009-11-04T08:56:00.000-05:00

Sometimes a truth is so obvious that it is never mentioned. That's when it almost seems like a revelation when it's said out loud. The Monterey County Herald's opinion writers did just that yesterday when they said that golf magazines are essentially equipment catalogs and that many golfers are always looking for an easy fix to the woes that dog their games. That can be in the form of a new $500 driver, something this author is especially guilty of, or perhaps a new putter, a new sand wedge or a dozen new golf balls guaranteed to fly effortlessly into stationary orbit when struck on a tee box.

While they did point out a Big Truth, what they didn't say is equally obvious, and equally compelling:

One thing more than anything else makes a golfer better: practice. The second thing that makes a golfer better? More practice. And some more practice after that.

I know what you are thinking. It is probably something like "No kidding, say it ain't so. Really?"

I may as well have told you that it's dark at night or that young men generally consider Megan Fox to be an attractive woman. Don't slap your forehead. It is what it is.

Practice is not the whole story about improving your golf game, however, because practice needs purpose and that purpose is best given by an expert. You've probably met that expert - he's your local pro. I think of Robert Foxworth, the fellow who tries his best to teach me, as a coach. He tells me what's going on, what I need to do, and how to go about doing it. The rest is up to me, and over the past couple of years, we've seen some success but still have a ways to go. That's not Robert's fault, God Bless him, he's given me the same lessons over and over again for months. I just need to learn better.

All too often, players will go and take a lesson but never hone in what they have learned by hitting balls on the range until a bad old habit is broken and a good new one is formed. After all, practice is not that much fun, while playing 18 certainly is. Most of the time, anyway.

Here's what they said out on the left coast, and tell me it ain't the truth:

Golfers are always chasing that new and improved gear that they hope will straighten their slices, add yardage, increase backspin and otherwise reduce the damage when their games are in tailspin. Golf magazines are essentially equipment catalogs with tiny blurbs about quick fixes tossed in so the glossy ads don't stick together.
Lessons? Practice? Yes, they are mentioned in almost every edition, but the casual reader can be forgiven for being blinded by the giant headlines.
LEARN THE POWER SECRETS FROM THE GAME'S BIG HITTERS!
CHIP LIKE A PRO IN 3 EASY STEPS!

What the magazines don't tell you is that you will almost certainly never, ever be like a PGA Tour player, or an LPGA Tour player, or even as good as a Hooter's Tour player. Fact is, 98% of all golfers never sniff par for 18 holes, and that probably wouldn't even put you at the top of your own club, much less good enough to qualify for the Tour. You probably don't have the right physique and you almost certainly do not have the wiring inside your body to achieve that level of golf. Sorry if that is bad news you don't want to hear, but deep down, you already know it.

Consider the numbers: the average golfer has a handicap of around 17, according to the USGA. That would mean that the average player doesn't break 90 in a typical round. And what the USGA doesn't say is that the average player plays fast and loose with the rules, either through ignorance or simply by saying that "this rule isn't important" and ignoring it. Pros can't do that. Those that do don't last long at all in the game. Pro golf hates nothing more than a cheat, and the conduct of a typical golfer in a typical round would yield (in my opinion) as many rules violations as a typical pro would commit in his entire tournament career. Under those conditions, Mr. Average Golfer, you wouldn't have a candle's prayer outdoors in a tornado.

All of this said, there are really two games of golf: the one they play, and the one we play. Sure, you might hit a shot or make a putt as good as Tiger or Phil or Lorena ever could in a given round. The difference is that they do it time and time again, whereas we might hit one or two every times we loop our course. Big difference.

My final Perfectly Obvious for you this morning: Tiger and Phil and Lorena practice out on the range. A lot. Actually, a helluva lot. Probably more in a day than you do in a month, if not a whole golf season. They hit ball after ball after ball after ball until they have grooved the objective that they have for their swing. They hit balls until the improvement to their swing is subconscious and automatic. That's because when they go on the course, you can bet than they don't too think about swing mechanics, they think about course strategy. That's actually liberating, and while you may never have the physical skills they do, the one thing you can learn from them is to make your good swings a habit and then go and play golf instead of trying to learn it while you are with your Sunday Foursome.

In other words, you can be a better player and it won't come from the pages of a magazine or from whatever new gee-gaw the pro shop has that's caught your eye. Instead of dropping five or six Franklins on that shiny new driver, why not spend it on a lesson and then spend the next two weeks grinding what you learn into your brain until it becomes an automatic? Seems like a better investment to me. And it will make golf more fun, because one of the best feelings in golf is giving your buddies a good thrashing that they didn't see coming.

Golf Announcer Jim Nantz Finalizes Divorce

2009-11-04T08:39:00.000-05:00

The final details of sports announcer Jim Nantz's divorce have been settled by a Connecticut court.

Nantz will pay his now ex-wife Lorrie nearly $1 million a year in alimony and child support, Superior Court Harold Owens judge ruled Monday. This will be in the form of $72,000 monthly in alimony until either his death or she remarries. Nantz will also pay $1,000 a week in child support for their 15-year-old daughter, Caroline, for the next two years. Nantz will also be responsible for paying his daughter's college expenses until she turns 23.

Finally, Nantz must also pay $70,000 toward the country club membership of his wife's choice. Gotta keep up the ex in the lifestyle to which she was accustomed, one would think, though $70,000 is not a lot when it comes to the initiation of a high end club. I bet Nantz hopes it is one with a lot of attractive, single and hopefully wealthy single men that catches his former wife's eyes and heart.

The Connecticut Post also says that

While Judge Howard Owens states in a nine-page decision that a large part of testimony before him by Nantz and his wife, Lorrie, related to faults for the breakdown of their 26-year-old marriage, he ruled the conduct of either party was far from "egregious." "While there was some testimony of the husband's interest in another woman in the few short months preceding the filing of this dissolution action, the breakdown occurred years before this relationship developed and the court finds this remote event in no way contributed to the breakdown of the marriage," the judge stated. "The court finds neither party at fault for the breakdown of the marriage," he added.

That's good news for Nantz, whose reputation is a prime asset given his job in the prime chair at CBS.

Don't Be Surprised At A Pro Golfer Using Steroids

2009-11-03T09:01:00.001-05:00

Anabolic steroids. The very mention of that class of drugs instantly brings up images of comic-book hulks with bulging muscles who are full of rage. While that may be more than true in too many cases, it sometimes paints an inaccurate picture of a steroid abuser: they are not necessarily a caricature of Charles Atlas, and they are not always on a hair trigger. Like any drug abuser, in extreme cases, they may fit the stereotype perfectly, or sometimes, they may not fit it all: it might be the guy next door who looks and acts healthy, but is someone who shares a deep, dark secret he is loathe for the world to discover.

The Basics: What Steroids Are, And A Brief Description of Their Function

Anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS), are a class of steroid hormones related to the hormone testosterone, the so-called "male" hormone. Testosterone is one of a family of hormones called androgens. Best known for their "masculinizing" effects, androgens first kick into action during the embryonic stages of life and are produced naturally throughout our lifetimes. Even though testosterone is most commonly associated with masculinity, don't be fooled. Males and females produce exactly the same hormones but in differing amounts, something that leads to our secondary gender traits (plumbing being the first.) Men's bodies generate more than twenty times more testosterone than women, an average of seven milligrams per day, while women naturally produce much more estrogen, the so-called female hormone. We'll stick with testosterone for now, since it relates to AAS, but rest assured, everyone creates and uses testosterone in their bodies.

The long and short of how anabolic steroids work is that they increase protein production within cells, which in turn results in the buildup of cellular tissue - or anabolism - especially in the muscles.

That's very simplified, but basically that's how they work: anabolic steroids either supplement or create hormonal production, which in turn stimulates the body to create proteins and body mass.

The role of steroids were first discovered in the 193o's by European pharmaceutical companies and scientists, with natural steroids first being collected in 1931 and synthesized steroids being first created in 1934. In fact, Adolf Butenandt and Leopold Ruzicka, the two chemists who did this first work, were given the 1939 Nobel Prize for Chemistry. Interestingly, it has been long conjectured that Nazi soldiers were given steroids, though specific proof has yet to satisfy the historical community.

Therapeutic Uses of Steroids

Many people tend to forget that anabolic steroids are legal for clinical use to this day, and there, under a doctor's supervision, they are a valuable tool that can be employed to battle a variety of conditions. Some of these are:

Osteoporosis
Endometriosis
Chronic Wasting Disease
Bone Marrow Stimulation, as part of cancer treatment
Pituitary disorders, including growth deficiencies
Testicular disorders, such as hormonal deficiencies resulting from cancer
Post-menopausal disorders in women
others

As with any powerful drug - natural or synthetic - the use of anabolic steroids requires the close care and attention of a physician, and as such, are currently listed as Schedule III controlled substances under the Controlled Substances Act in the US. The first offense for simple possession of Schedule III substances without a prescription is a federal crime, and it is punishable by up to one year in prison. The unlawful distribution or possession with intent to distribute anabolic steroids punishable as a first offense by up to ten years in prison.

How Do Steroids Work, And Why Do People Abuse Them?

Those two questions may seem to be separate issues, but in fact, they are closely tied together.

As pointed out earlier, anabolic steroids are either a natural substance or a synthetic one that shares a similar composition to its natural counterpart. These chemicals work by stimulating muscle growth, which is obviously very beneficial for athletic purposes.

How?

In addition to stimulating protein synthesis and muscle growth, steroids reduce recovery time, which is a natural part of muscle building and also in athletic competition.

When one lifts weights in order to increase mass, they are basically overloading a muscle, creating micro-tears, and those micro-tears repair themselves with new muscle cells. By enhancing protein production, the basic building materials for new cells are created, and as a result of the process, more muscle cells are created to replace those lost. In short, it is a case of one step backward and five steps forward as opposed to one step backward and two steps forward, which is metaphorically the norm for someone relying on the steroids that their body creates naturally. Steroids also decrease catabolism of muscle mass -- in other words, they prevent the body from digesting muscle mass for energy.(1)

Bigger muscles means stronger, faster, better. That is the goal of many athletes, because it gives them a competitive edge. It also aids them with stamina as well. Like any machine, when a body has more power, it doesn't need to work as hard to obtain a desired result.

It is also notable and worth pointing out to say that as a person ages, their testosterone production decreases after its peak in their late teens or early twenties. This too is part of the equation where muscle mass maintenance and growth are concerned. In our thirties, when the first signs of aging become readily apparent, we slowly begin to lose the speed, the strength and the stamina we had not many years earlier. That's because our bodies are slowing their hormonal production, and with a decreased amounts, performance inevitably suffers. Anabolic steroids offset that.

The bottom line is that steroids are part and parcel of human biology, and our bodies create them and use them throughout our lifetimes in ever decreasing amounts past peak production when we are young. The abuser is simply enhancing and overloading a natural process through pharmaceuticals, and as such, are creating a synthetic competitive advantage for themselves.

The simple word for that is cheating.

Wait A Minute, Golfers Are Not Football Players, Why Would They Abuse Steroids?

Don;t be so sure that a golfer would not abuse steroids. Golf at its highest levels is increasingly a power game, one that is not unlike baseball's home run hitters. To be competitive, one needs to be able to keep up off of the tee, and there, speed and power with the driver make all of the difference. These days, swing speed is the thing - the faster the swing, the farther the ball goes. To do that requires strong and finely tuned muscles, and for those who can't develop them naturally through working out in a gym and other exercises regimens, they can be tempted to get some "help" through the use of steroids.

Rocco Mediate described the situation on the PGA Tour of today succinctly when he said, "it's a distance war on tour, and for me to stay in it I need to understand exactly what I'm doing with my swing, my equipment and my body. Basically, I have to absolutely max out." (Please note very clearly that I am not in any way suggesting that Mediate is doing anything untoward. I am simply using his quote to illustrate the state of golf on the Tour.)

It's not just distance off of the tee, either. A faster, stronger swing helps in the rough, helps in the fairway and helps everywhere but with the putter. That said, to play golf at the top levels of the sport, one has to be fit and they have to be strong if they want to succeed and win. For some, they are genetically gifted -- meaning they naturally fit in the profile of the successful player of today. Others, not so much. Still others are simply aging out and their bodies are not what they used to be. Those latter two groups may well be tempted by artificial means.

Those that give in to temptation are risking more than they may know. They are not only risking their reputations, they are risking the quality of their life, and it is very possible that they are risking life itself.

What Will Steroids Do Over Time To Abusers?

Dennis Hopper put it best in a Nike commercial aired in the Super Bowl a number of years ago: "Bad things, man, BAD things."

A steroid abuser is clearly upsetting their natural balance, and the body will react to it adversely sooner or later.

Mentally, depending on the length and severity of their abuse, an illicit steroid user increases the likelihood that they will experience (according to the Congress of Neurological Surgeons) "significant psychiatric symptoms including aggression and violence, mania, and less frequently psychosis and suicid[al tendencies.]"(5)

Physically, they can experience heart diseases, heart attacks (remember, the heart is a muscle too, and a very vital one at that) (2) (3), physiological changes to the brain and also to the pituitary and testes, hardening of the arteries, kidney problems and other potentially fatal or life-shortening physical problems. For starters.

For men, a condition where the body reacts to an overload of testosterone by turning it into the female hormone estrogen is relatively common in cases of high level abusers. This has sexual side effects such as impotence and shrinkage of the genitalia. (4)

Like Dennis Hopper said: "Bad things, man, bad things."

In summary, steroids are a good thing when used judiciously and wisely under the expert care of a physician. They are a horrible thing when abused, and while there may seem to be initial positive effects for the abuser, they are exacting a horrible toll on themselves and they will eventually pay with their health if not their life itself.

The famous football player Lyle Alzado did exactly that by abusing steroids: he died of what he believed to be steroid-caused brain tumor at 43. Alzado, a great and much beloved football player, had abused steroids (by his own admission) from 1969 until his retirement from football more than twenty years later. Before he died, Alzado wrote a gut-wrenching account in Sports Illustrated titled "I'm Sick and I'm Scared." Read his story if you would like an inside glimpse of where AAS abuse can lead. It's not pretty. Young athletes even considering momentarily using steroids certainly should read Alzado's story and learn from it. With one foot practically in his own casket, Alzado tells them why they should never, ever abuse these powerful drugs.

Even more sadly, many others have followed in Alzado's footsteps to the graveyard, and unfortunately too many others will continue down that path in the future.

The PGA Tour is entirely correct in suspending Doug Barron for using a performance enhancing drug, especially if it is an anabolic steroid. Even if he wasn't, and was using one of the incredibly long list of substances on the World Anti-Doping Agency's list of banned substances, the Tour was correct in suspending him to provide a deterrent to anyone else who may be using or thinking about using. It sounds harsh, but if the Tour is unwavering in its stance of not accepting PEDs - AAS, or otherwise - it is protecting the sanctity of it competitions, but may well be protecting the lives of some of its members.

Still, one has to wonder - is only one year enough to provide a chilling deterrent for another player who is abusing steroids, or is contemplating it?

Perhaps not, given the risks.

--------------

Notes:

Partial footnotes for sources for this article:

(1) Crash dieters know about catabolism. When you don't eat, the first thing your body goes for is the muscle proteins. This gives one apparent weight loss - but with the same amount of body fat. That's why crash diets are bad for you.
(2) Grace F, Sculthorpe N, Baker J, Davies B (2003). "Blood pressure and rate pressure product response in males using high-dose anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS)". J Sci Med Sport 6 (3): 307–12
(3) Barrett-Connor E (1995). "Testosterone and risk factors for cardiovascular disease in men". Diabete Metab 21 (3): 156–61.
(4) Alén M, Reinilä M, Vihko R (1985). "Response of serum hormones to androgen administration in power athletes". Medicine and science in sports and exercise 17 (3): 354–9. Et. al
(5) Trenton AJ, Currier GW (2005). "Behavioural manifestations of anabolic steroid use". CNS Drugs 19 (7): 571–95.

AT&T (Pebble Beach) Field Gets The Shrink Ray

2009-11-02T16:41:00.001-05:00

One of the more popular early-season PGA events is reducing its field for 2010:

Monterey County Herald: AT&T Field At Pebble Beach To Be Reduced

The PGA TOUR and the Monterey Peninsula Foundation announced that the TOUR's Policy Board today approved the reduction of the professional field for the 2010 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am from 180 to 156 players. The amateur field consequently will be reduced by the same number.
"Given its history and location on the scenic Monterey Peninsula, the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am has always been one of the most popular events on the PGA TOUR," said PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem. "The change in field size will enhance the competition and the amateurs' experience, and help to ensure the continued growth and success of the event for years to come."
"This is a positive step in our continual quest to improve the event," states Ollie Nutt, president and CEO of the Monterey Peninsula Foundation. "With the return of Monterey Peninsula Country Club to the rotation and the celebration of AT&T's 25th year as title sponsor, this will further strengthen the experience for contestants and spectators alike."

The popular tournament is undergoing some changes, as Poppy Hills has been replaced on the rota of courses used in the tournament, and now the field has been reduced. The total number of players that won't make it in - 48, or 24 pros and 24 amateurs - will certainly make scheduling and logistics somewhat easier for the tournament organizers, and to be honest, many of the Tour players who don't make it in are not marquee names.

Golf Season "Over?" It's Never Really Over!

2009-10-29T12:45:00.000-04:00

When a top golfer like Phil Mickelson declared that golf season was over when Tiger Woods hoisted the FedEx Cup a few weeks ago, people listened. Actually Phil didn't say that exactly. What he did say was that "[the] season in the US has been shortened and that allows many of the top players to play internationally and allows me to come here [to Singapore] and compete." That's because for Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods and other elite golfers, once the last putt rolls into the cup at the Tour Championship, they are done for the year. For them, their PGA Tour year is over. They can then go and chase the big bucks abroad.

For the guys who are on the edge of losing their exempt status with the PGA Tour, however, the most crucial part of their season is just beginning. That's the Fall Swing, or the Chase for the Card if you will, but basically it boils down to avoiding the Q-School of Hard Knocks. A win in those final events means two guaranteed years on Tour, and a solid showing that puts a player inside the Top 125 on the money list means that they will live to fight in 2010...where they will have to perform well or once again face next year's Fall Series and another fight for another year.

So golf season is not over. It's just not going to have the top names out on the course swinging in the limelight. Except that it will. Phil Mickelson, Paul Casey and Padraig Harrington are in playing this week in European Tour stops, and next week, there's a World Golf Championship event in Singapore featuring those names and Tiger Woods as well. Woods will then head to Australia and finally back to California for his own tournament, the Chevron World Challenge, which runs from December 3rd through the 6th.

Add in the Silly Season - the Skins Game and the Shark Shootout and it becomes clear that golf fans will have a plateful of holiday season goodies to watch until just before Christmas. As for 2010, you may not even have your tree back in the attic by the time the SBC Championship kicks off the Hawai'i swing January 4th.

All that said, you can clearly see that it's not over till it's over and then it's not over because it's about to start once more.

McIlory Not Joining the PGA Tour in 2009

2009-10-26T14:05:00.000-04:00

From Street and Smith's Sports Business Daily comes news that Rory McIlroy has apparently decided not to set his anchor on the American Tour next season:

"Rory McIlroy, the 20-year-old dubbed by the golf world as the next big international player, will not join the PGA Tour next season, refuting recent speculation that he would play the majority of his schedule in the U.S. in '10. “Rory has decided not to join the PGA Tour in 2010,” his agent, ISM’s Chubby Chandler, said in an e-mail. He did not provide any further explanation."

As Lawrence Donegan so bluntly puts it, the future of the European Tour's survival may hinge on getting and keeping rising stars like McIlroy - who many say is the 'next big international star.' Whether that turns into prophesy or curse is anyone's guess at this point, but all signs point to the prediction coming to pass. McIlroy is a solid golfer with an excellent disposition and a well-grounded life away from the course. Add in some experience to the mix, and it's very easy to see him as one of the players vying for dominance in the inevitable Post-Tiger era.

On the other hand, perhaps it is wrong to simply assume that McIlroy will settle on the Euro Tour as his home. While he may play there and even satisfy the minimum number of tournaments the ET sets as their standard, McIlroy can come to America and cherry-pick events to play in: the three American-based majors of course, add in the World Golf Championships and you have a busy year, with or without 11 or 12 Euro Tour Events, and seven other PGA Tour events where he can get a sponsor's exemption. That would, of course, be any tournament on the Tour's schedule. In other words, don't expect to see McIlroy showing up at the Frys.com next season. More than likely, he'll want to play in the bigger events like The Player's, perhaps the Quail Hollow Championship and others that draw the top fields.

That opens the question up for top young players such as Ryo Ishikawa, Danny Lee, and Rickie Fowler: with fast private jets at their fingertips and no lack of comfort at each point in their journey, are golf tours anachronistic and something that they do not have to commit to fully?

Duval Is This Week's Bubble Boy

2009-10-26T12:26:00.000-04:00

The trials and tribulations of David Duval are well-documented, and the former World's #1 now finding himself on the razor's edge of keeping or losing his PGA Tour Card for the 2010 season. That's because he dropped to 125th on the money list with only two events remaining in the PGA Tour's 2009 season, time grows short for those players on the edge of losing their full exemptions. One bad week and they could end up in Q-School, facing a grueling six day tournament where sometimes it would be better to have a cardiologist on the bag as opposed to a caddy.

Duval is down to his last chances. After his 2001 British Open victory, he questioned whether "this is all that there is." Since, his results have sunk to oceanic depths and his status in the world rankings with it. After his five year exemption for winning a major tournament expired, Duval has used a Top-25 career money exemption, a family crisis exemption and this year, he is playing on a one-time top-50 career money exemption. Now, he is down to do or not do if he wants to continue on the Tour - as in do well the next two weeks, or pack your bags for Florida and Q-School.

For Duval, this season has been one of extreme ups and downs. After his stellar showing in the US Open, Duval has has missed six of seven cuts. He tied for 63rd at the Buick Open was the only time he made it to weekend play, and even there he had lackluster results.

Duval has committed to play at the Viking Classic this week at Annandale Golf Club in Madison, Mississippi. He'll need to make a strong showing there to move up or at best stay steady on the money list.

Q-School of Hard Knocks Is Cruel To Relatives of Legendary Golfers

2009-10-26T11:02:00.000-04:00

The PGA Tour's Q-School wrapped the early portion up its First Stage on Saturday, and perhaps the players that didn't move on to Stage 2 are more notable than those who did:

Miami's Erik Compton, the heart transplant survivor was the medalist in his 72-hole event at Port St. Lucie's PGA Golf Club. He finished -22, 7 shots clear of second place Michael Smith, who hails from Lafayette, Louisiana.

Sam Saunders, the former Clemson player who left school in order to turn pro, failed to advance by three shots. Saunders is Arnold Palmer's grandson. Saunders, who served as Palmer's caddie in his final appearance at the Masters in 2004, is also a two-time club champion at Palmer's Bay Hill club.

Jack Nicklaus's son Gary faltered in his final two holes and also failed to qualify for Stage 2. Nicklaus was at 6 under at PGA Golf Club stepping to the 17th tee with one shot to spare, but he finished with a bogey and double bogey to miss advancing by two.

Andrew Giuliani, son of former New York City mayor Rudy, also failed to qualify after finishing T-25 at the Stonebridge Ranch Country Club in McKinney, Texas. The Golf Channel Big Break contestant missed making the 2nd stage by two shots. Giuliani, who told the New York Post that he has no backup plan for his life if he fails to make it in golf, still has some work to do, and maybe some growing up along the way as well. His lawsuit against Duke University was thrown out of court -- he was thrown off of the Blue Devil golf squad for excessive bad behavior.

Tadd Fujikawa also faltered and fell short of the needed number. The Hawai'ian was tied for fourth after the first round at St. John’s Golf & Country Club in St. Augustine , Fla. , but he faded from there and tied for 44th, missed advancing by six shots.

Former U.S. Amateur champion Danny Lee, who won a European Tour event in February also failed to qualify for the Second Stage. Lee finished T-36 at Stonebridge, the same site that Giuliani played. He effectively ended his chances of advancing when he shot a 78 in the second round and closed with a final-round 76. Lee, who won the U.S. Amateur at age 17, won earlier this year on the European Tour as an 18-year-old amateur and should be quite competitive on that tour in 2010.

Isabella Biesegel's seemingly eternal quest for a card on a men's tour continues, as she failed to make it past PGA Tour Pre-Qualifying in September. She shot 71-80-77-70 and finished 64th, beating only eight other players. She has now moved on to attempt to qualify for the Canadian Tour. While Biesegel has every right to continue her attempts to qualify against male players, it is certainly not sexist to point out that her physical disadvantage in distance makes her chances nearly zero of qualifying for a top tour like the PGA, Nationwide or Canadian Tour. At some point one starts seeing this as either a fool's errand or an endless publicity stunt as opposed to a true attempt at being a trailblazer.

First Stage continues this week from Wednesday to Saturday with six tournaments scattered across the country:

Pinewild CC (Magnolia course)	Pinehurst, N.C.	Oct. 27-30
Kinderlou Forest	Valdosta, Ga.	Oct. 27-30
Grasslands GCC	Lakeland, Fla.	Oct. 27-30
Lantana GC	Lantana, Texas	Oct. 27-30
San Juan Oaks	Hollister, Calif.	Oct. 27-30
Carlton Oaks CC	Santee, Calif.	Oct. 27-30

Happy 74th Birthday, Chi Chi Rodriguez

2009-10-25T07:34:00.000-04:00

Happy 74th, Chi Chi!

Here's an excellent result for one of the most unorthodox swings I have ever seen...but that's the beauty of golf. Compare and contrast Chi-Chi's drive to Sam Snead's at the end of the video. It's like night and day.

When Golf Changed The World

2009-10-24T10:58:00.000-04:00

Golf historians often like to puff up the importance of the history of the game, and often record accounts of important matches, tournaments and players as though they were world leaders effecting change on the planet with their every swing. While golf is an integral part of the lives of many a world leader - Dwight Eisenhower, for example - rarely does the game itself truly shake the tree of events so strongly that it changes the fate of men and nations.

Once, however, that did happen, and much of the way the world is now had to do with golf. Specifically, the game was the catalyst that led to the rise of the English as a true world power, and through the centuries that have passed since, that rise has affected almost every period in one form or the other. In fact, England's global status still ha much to do with the realities of now.

During the 16th Century, America was being settled, and the dominant western European powers of that time were Spain and France. The Spanish were extracting gold from the New World and shipping it back the mother country literally by the shipload, and the French were doing much the same with other American natural resources. England, a player in the race to dominate the Americas was not as big a player as the other two, yet it was growing stronger despite the political turmoil of the throne and their government.

Enter Mary Turner. Mary was born to Scottish Royalty, and through her maternal ancestry, she had deep ties to the French House Of Guise. In her first marriage, she joined into the perhaps the most powerful families in Italy, the House of Medici. She was raised in France and through her first husband, she had claim to the throne of France. Unfortunately for her, her husband died, taking her claim to the throne with him.

Her power base removed, in 1560, Mary decided to return to her native Scotland, a place where she still had legitimate royal powers. She remarried, betrothed to Lord Darnley, a man who was murdered not many years after their matrimonial union.

Shortly thereafter golf changed the course of the world. Mary, an avid golfer, fell afoul of the Church of England for playing the game shortly after Lord Darnley's murder -- according to them, her time of the links showed a great disrespect and lack of proper mourning for her late husband. Interestingly, today, the skull of Darnley is now in the Royal College of Surgeons in London and bears the telltale pitted marks of Syphilis. Darnley's notorious promiscuity would have finally had the better of him had he not in fact been killed, yet Mary was damned and persecuted for playing golf...which is, of course, a very accepted way for one to put away their troubles, at least for a little while.'

It was this event that almost certainly fouled Mary politically, leading to inevitably to her execution for treason in 1587.

Mary is credited with bringing the term "caddy" into the golf. In France, military cadets carried golf clubs for royalty, and it is possible that Mary brought the custom to Scotland, where the term evolved into the word "caddy." She was also the first woman to practice and play the game in Scotland, making her one of the earliest as truest of women sporting pioneers.

So How Did Golf Change The World?

The beginning of Mary's downfall in Scotland is clearly attributable to golf as political cover.

Her execution caused an absolute outrage and calls for war against England throughout Catholic Europe. This resulted in the invasion of the Spanish Armada in 1588 - an event set in motion partially to avenge her death and the military goal of the Armada was to depose Elizabeth I and return the throne of England to the Catholic Church.

The results of the battle were far-reaching: the Spanish were suffering a humiliating defeat in the English Channel, thanks to inferior tactics and weaponry. Even worse for the Spanish, the weather turned against them and heavily damaged their fleet, making the English defense of their homeland all the easier. In defeat, the Spaniards fled terror around the coast of Scotland, and for home. The lasting result was the clear establishment England as a global power - and establishing the English empire not only in Europe and the Americas, but also freeing it to conquer India and other countries.

Would these events have happened had Mary Queen of Scots chosen not to mourn her dead husband on the links? Possibly, but history shows the old game as the clear catalyst that set in motion events that have forever changed the world.

The Sister Course of TPC Sawgrass's Stadium Course Coming of Age

2009-10-23T09:29:00.001-04:00

TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course's sister course, the Pete Dye-designed Valley Course, has been booked for the Nationwide Tour starting next year. Dye's Valleyw as originally designed by Pete Dye and Bobby Weed and is a par-72 layout, with fewer water hazards, wider fairways, larger greens, but more undulations in those fairways. The even will be held in the second or third week of October with a total purse of $600,000, with $108,000 going to the winner. The timing for the new tournament will be key, as it will have a cadre of players make a late-season run at qualifying for the Nationwide Tour Championship.

Jim Furyk, a Nationwide Tour alumnus, said Nationwide Tour players and the TV audience will enjoy what for many will be their first look at the Valley Course. "This will be a great way to showcase the Valley," he said. "It doesn't get enough recognition."

The tournament announcement pleased the local newspaper, the Florida Times-Union, who repeated the Sports Illustrated label of their fair city as "Golf Town USA:"

This past May, Sports Illustrated labeled Jacksonville with this moniker leading up to one of the PGA TOUR's greatest golf events, THE PLAYERS Championship. Often-called the "fifth major," the event brings together the world's greatest golfers for the crystal trophy on a world-class course, TPC Sawgrass, THE PLAYERS Stadium Course.

Jacksonville was granted this well-said accolade given this high-profile event, but also for the sheer fact that we are home to over 1,220 holes of golf, several TOUR players and caddies, PGA TOUR Headquarters and World Golf Hall of Fame.

Home-town boosterism, aside, the Jacksonville area is indeed a golf haven, boasting a veritable plethora of championship caliber courses, so many that some seem to fly under the radar of the American golfing conscious, such as the Valley Course. Previously viewed as a poor sister to the much more well-known Stadium Course, the Valley will finally start getting its due when the new event begins next year. Add to that the facilities at the World Golf Hall of Fame, as well as other tracks, and it's easy to see that Jacksonville is a fine golf vacation destination, albeit one that still lingers to a degree in the shadow of places like Myrtle Beach and Pinehurst.

Travel: The World's Longest Golf Course

2009-10-22T07:37:00.000-04:00

Stretching the idea of a "golf course" literally to its very limits, some very creative and enterprising Australian businessmen have opened a course that they claim is the world's longest. They say they came up with an idea to have travelers stop at their roadside shops by creating a golf course that has some of the holes separated by as many as 100KM (roughly sixty-two miles.)

"After a couple of bottles of wine, the germ of an idea was born." Perhaps we should have a golf course across Australia," said Don Harrington, who was there at the creation. "Perhaps we should have a golf course across Australia," said Don Harrington, who was there at the creation."

And thus, Nullarbor Links was born. The builders of this monster course hope to attract thousands of tourists who travel the Eyre Highway between Adelaide and Perth each year, and of course, get some good business from them along the way.

The full 18 holes are spread across 1,365KM (848 miles) and can take a week to play. Walking is not encouraged, in fact, it takes the logistic skills of a seasoned traveler to get complete a round - the course covers two Australian states (South Australia and Western Australia) and covers some pretty harsh terrain to boot. Then there's the problem of the wildlife.

[B]right yellow warning signs alert you to wayward wombats and even kangaroos on the way.
The antipodean wildlife you will almost inevitably encounter is one of the great attractions of the course. The fourth hole at Nundroo claims to have the largest population of southern hairy-nosed wombats anywhere in Australia - surely a golfing first.
At the Dingo Den hole, there's a resident crow which likes to steal stray golf balls. Not to be outdone, dingos have started muscling in on the act, as well. It is like a golfing safari.

Sounds like a great adventure, and one that even a jaded golf traveler could try and not come away saying that they've been there and done that before.

Why Do Some People Treat 18 Holes As An Excuse For Binge Drinking?

2009-10-21T09:18:00.000-04:00

It's adequately covered by a lot of golf blogs, for example Ryan Ballenger's Waggle Room, but someone has brought a portable potty disguised as a golf club to market. Frankly, it's pretty disgusting, and I would not want one, not even as a joke gift. Some things just need to be done behind closed doors.

Here at the home course, we actually have hand-made signs that homeowners felt they needed put up on their property near some holes telling guys that if they relieve themselves they will call the cops on them. It’s that bad. For some reason, there are enough folks who have no qualms with pulling down their zipper and taking a tinkle on someone's bushes or trees. It must never occur to them that not only is it incredibly disrespectful in a suburban setting, there are also kids all over the place. That a parent may not want their 8 year old getting a glimpse of a grown man's bathroom break - much less pick up the habit - escapes them.

I think I know why – these houses are on the later holes and on a summer day you will see trash cans overflowing with beer cans. For some reason, some guys think that playing 18 is a reason to knock back a twelve-pack or more of beer. Naturally, since alcohol is a diuretic they can’t hold it in. The course does have to mid-round bathrooms, but some guys think that the surrounding neighborhood is fair game to be their toilet. Maybe it is because they are drunk, maybe it is because their parents failed to instill in them even the basic social graces, or maybe it's both.

As a 30-year homebrewer of beer, and a fellow who enjoys an adult beverage, I am by no means a neo-prohibitionist. I firmly believe that it's more than acceptable for an adult to enjoy an alcoholic libation, so long as it is done responsibly and not abusively, anyway. Responsible drinking has thousands of years of history to prove its merits, and in my mind, so long as one doesn't drive or drive themselves into alcohol addiction, there's nothing wrong with having one or two every now and then -- even while playing a round of golf, if that's your choice.

There is a line, however, and I see that line trespassed all too often. I used play with a pair of fellows who can drink a case of beer each while they are playing. The first few holes, no problem. After they've gotten themselves lathered up, however, it is a different story. Their actions are embarrassing, and I don't want to be seen with those two, either by friend or stranger. They think they are funny, but in truth, it is pitiful. Actions like pulling your pants down and "mooning" your buddy because he made a poor shot (because he was drunk) are reprehensible and not something I want to be associated with. Call me an old stick in the mud if you will, but I will tell you that I simply grew up and started acting like an adult a long time ago.

For folks like that, perhaps they need to examine why they think binge drinking sessions are fun. That's substance abuse and indicative of far larger problems the way I see things. More than likely, it will come back to hurt themselves, their loved ones, or God forbid, some innocent person when they pour themselves behind the wheel of a car on their way home. I sure as hell don't want that crap going on behind my house, much less at my club.

WANT: The Perfect Cover For My R9 460 Driver

2009-10-20T11:25:00.000-04:00

I love the way that Japanese golfers often seem to have humorous covers on their sticks, and that those covers are often a reflection on their personality as a golfer or a person. This one would fit my driver perfectly, because it not only reflects a maddening propensity for my tee-shots to elicit laughter like this, it is also one of my all-time favorite cartoon characters, "Muttley" from the "Wacky Races" Saturday morning fare of my childhood.

Anyone who remembers Muttley no doubt remembers his maniacal laugh. Click here to hear it. Muttley also cursed under his breath, and when I hit a bad shot, I often do exactly the same thing. Unlike some f-bomb tossing golfers, I like to laugh at myself, most of the time anyway. If you play with me you might hear something "rackem sackin flippin" or something like that.

According to wikipedia.org: Muttley, a mixed breed dog, first appeared in Wacky Races in 1968, as the sidekick of the foolishly nasty,incompetent but horribly accident-prone villain Dick Dastardly. He was originally created by Iwao Takamoto and originally voiced by Don Messick (who also voiced Scooby-Doo.) Scooby, Astro from The Jetsons and Muttley were three of the hilarious "talking" dogs from cartoons of the day. To this day, you might hear a fully grown adult say something like "ruh roh Relroy!" - a paean to their childhood and the resiliency of the things that kids loved.

And now, thanks to the folks at Rakuten Ichiba, I can have one of my own for the top of my own Big Dog. The only thing that could make it better would be if it had a speaker that made it laugh every time I pulled the cover off.

Spotting Those Cheeky Cheaters...

2009-10-19T14:54:00.000-04:00

I know a guy that I call "The Lucky Bastard" - he's the guy who always gets the best possible lie when he hits his ball in the rough, his ball always stops just before a hazard line, or if it falls in the hazard, it's always playable. He also never loses a ball in the woods, not even when his slices go rocketing into and off of the trees like a pinball. Two minutes of looking, and it's right there -- and always with a convenient path through the trees. He never whiffs, not even when his club passes beneath his ball on a swing, because, hey, that was a practice swing.

What a Lucky Bastard that guy is.

Right. And I am the Queen of France.

He's a cheating SOB and a sandbagger besides, since he never turns in his good scores. Those are the ones where money or a club tournament was on the line, and somehow, it just "slips" his mind to enter in that 77 when he passes by the club's handicap computer on his way to the bar to gloat about his good fortune. But when he's out on the course messing around -- shooting a 98 in the process -- well, he makes sure that those get put in ASAP. It might lower than 19 Index he's working real hard to change!

Guys like that are the ones you never want to play a Nassau against, and one that you never want to be in any club tournament. (For the record, Lucky Bastard is not a member of my club.) Golf is a special sport because the players are their own referees, and they ostensibly call penalties on themselves. It is a game of honor, and honor is the games lifeblood. Too bad the ~~Lucky~~ Cheating Bastard never got the memo. Or more likely, that he tore it up and never read it when it was given to him.

Sure, you could follow the Cheating Bastard around the course and call him out every time he breaks the rules of golf. After all, it's your money he's trying to steal.

But what of your own game and your own ball and your mental state? It's hard to think about where your shots are going when you spend too much time making sure that the Cheating Bastard doesn't tee it up in the fairway or fish his ball out of a creek.

Here's some Cheating Bastard MO, And How You Can Help Him Find The Path To Righteousness:

Always a Good Lie

Nudging a ball to a better lie is one of the great temptations of golf. Unless your competition allows pick and place, you're supposed to play the ball where it happens to be laying. The Cheating Bastard has no problem with moving his ball out of a divot in the fairway, out of a footprint in the sand or three inches to the left or right on the green so he won't have to putt over a spike mark.

It's hard to detect this unless you watch carefully, but if you are in a foursome, three honest players can do a fairly good job of catching the Cheating Bastard's ball nudges. Trick is to do it early in a round and let Cheating Bastard know that you're keeping your eyes on him. If he knows that, he's less likely to move his ball around...as often, anyway.

Always Go The Lost And Found

We all hit bad shots from time to time and lose our golf ball. It happens to Tiger and it happens to you. But it never happens to the Cheating Bastard. He can go into the Amazonian jungle and after 30 seconds, he'll be ready to hit his ball with a clear shot to the green.

Be a good friend and help him out. After all, good sportsmanship is part of the game, right? Thing is, stay close and watch carefully. Make sure that he doesn't find his ball...in his pocket.

One time, we helped Cheating Bastard out in the woods, and just as he announced that he had found his ball, we spotted his real shot. Since we were a little weary of his antics, we let him hit the wrong ball and play out to what he thought was a par. Then one of the fellows fished up his real ball and asked him if that happened to be his. Since Cheating Bastard had never played the course we were on that day, he had nothing to say. Stone cold caught, he was. He got mighty quiet for a long time after that.

Can You Tell Him How To Get To Sesame Street?

1,2,3,4,5,5. "Mark me down for a five. Damned shame I took bogey there," the Lucky Bastard lamented on his way back to the cart.

Except he had three putted. After missing the green and chipping up and on. Oops. Since Cheating Bastard is a busy guy, he's probably had a wee bit of his education slip out of the ole memory and he might need some help there. Re-teaching him how to count would be your civic duty here, citizen. He may be college educated and a fine CPA, after all, but sometimes, we all can use those little refresher courses.

We All Need Boundaries In Life

Poor Cheating Bastard has bad eyesight or depth perception, and it sure looks to him like it is just inbounds. He's going to play it on from there, hang on a sec.

Few things are more annoying on a golf course than a ball you hit that went awry and landed just out of bounds. There's that penalty stroke and having to hit again from the original spot, but it is what it is, even if the ball is only just an inch on the wrong side of the stakes. For my own sanity, I have started keeping a little pocket laser pointer in my bag to double-check the straight line between two points, points like O.B. Stakes. I got it as a gift at a trade show and it's useful for those times.

Fortunately, my parents taught me to share, and I feel a child-like joy in helping Cheating Bastard determine if his ball really is just inbounds or just out. Ooops, we'll wait for you here while you go back.

Now Hiring: Data Entry Position

Recording all of their scores for handicap purposes is the responsibility of each player. That doesn't mean that you have to do it yourself, mind you, just that it gets done promptly and accurately. That's why we always told Cheating Bastard that we'd put his scores in for him and meet him at the 19th Hole in a few minutes. He hated that. Especially because we always made him buy the first round and then, "ooops, look at the time - gotta go!"

A Tony NC Golf Club Becomes Part of Corruption Scandal of Fomer Governor

2009-10-19T11:30:00.000-04:00

The summer of 2002 in the southeastern US was an extremely hot and dry period, with a paucity of rain and temperatures far above normal. Normally full lakes were at record lows, streams were almost dry and across the region, restrictions and near-rationing of water resources was the norm.

Not at Old Chatham Golf Club near Durham, NC, however. Old Chatham was allowed to tap into a stream that fed an already-stressed major reservoir for the region -- for irrigation use, despite bans on any non-essential water use, commercial or private. (The picture above left is the headwaters for lake in question during the time that Old Chatham was drawing waters.) Irrigration, filling swimming pools, filling swimming pools were on the list of things that were absolute forbidden, with heavy fines for violations.
Except for Old Chatham Club. That's because Old Chatham had a very important member: the governor of NC, Mike Easley. In a classic case of them-that-has-gets:

As a four-year drought parched North Carolina into the middle of 2002, then-Gov. Mike Easley and his administration called it a major disaster. The governor urged people everywhere to save water, and he imposed stiff restrictions.
Except at Easley's exclusive private golf club in northeastern Chatham County.
New records and interviews show that Old Chatham Golf Club pumped millions of gallons from a creek leading to Jordan Lake, diverting water from one of the region's major sources to keep greens alive.

The records show that a state water resources chief questioned the pumping but that higher-level officials -- including at the Governor's Office -- got involved.
It all took place a year after golf club leaders provided Easley with a major benefit: Club directors had voted in 2001 to waive the governor's monthly membership dues. That saved Easley about $50,000 while he was in office, a break he did not reveal on financial disclosure forms.

The Easley administration is under intense investigation under several fronts in the state, with land deals, favoritism, nepotism, corruption and undisclosed benefits being at the center of allegations that a federal grand jury in Raleigh is looking at. Indictments have yet to be issued, but the consensus is that it is only a matter of time until the former governor and his staff face trial for their actions in office.

While Old Chatham and golf play only a bit part in this long running political soap opera, it is notable that an uber-exclusive private club kept its grass green and growing while the rest of the area, Pinehurst and other top-end courses included, did not. The club claims that it would have cost a million dollars to replace their sod had it 'died,' but oddly, other courses in the area that use the same strains of turf allowed the grasses to go dormant - because they could not water under the force of law. When fall came in 2002, the rains returned and the courses returned to normal pretty quickly. Old Chatham's excuse of financial loss is simply hot, dry air.

It's Celebrity Vs. Celebrity Verbal Violence In Latest Tiff Over Trump's Scottish Links Plans

2009-10-16T11:47:00.000-04:00

There's nothing like celebrities, no matter how minor, joining in and lending their fame to one side or the other of a given debate. And it's happening in the latest dustup regarding Donald Trump's planned Trump International Golf Links in Scotland.

In one corner:

"Tilda Swinton, everyone's favorite Bjorkian actress, she of the multiple lovers and fantastic androgynous looks, has joined a campaign in Scotland to fight Donald Trump's latest venture: a multi-million dollar golf course.

"She has added her name to a petition to support four residents who have been fighting Trump since the project was introduced."

And in the other corner - The Donald trumps Swinton by playing the celebrated actor Sean Connery card:

"I have the support of Sir Sean Connery and this very small group of dissidents have Tilda Swinton -- I'll take that deal any day," Trump said in a statement. As to Swinton's comparing the government attempt to condemn the holdouts' land to the "Highland Clearances" of the 18th and 19th centuries, when Scots were forcibly evicted to benefit rich landowners, Trump said, "Ms. Swinton's comments trivialize a tragic event in Scottish history. It's a shame that she would disgrace the thousands of Scots who suffered for her own personal gain and in order to get some easy publicity for herself."

Trump, of course, is not exactly shy when a reporter or television camera comes around to ask him about something he's interested in. He knows full well the value of getting his message across in the media.

What the residents of the areas affected make of all of this attention from the glitterati isn't known, but one thing is sure: Trump is going to build the course, he has the approval of the Scottish government to do so and little if anything is going to change that...no matter what celebrity chooses to get involved.

Two Bucks Drown At Chicago Course. I Drowned Ten Bucks on our 18th A Couple Weeks Ago

2009-10-16T08:36:00.001-04:00

Someone at the Chicago Tribune has a wicked sense of humor:

2 Bucks Found Drowned At Golf Course

Apparently someone forgot to warn the deer around Wood River's Belk Park Golf Course about the water hazards.

"Course personnel found the bodies of two large whitetail bucks floating in the pond near Hole 16 Thursday morning."

That's tragic for the deer, I suppose, but probably the result of their annual mating cycle that takes place every autumn. In their annual "rut" bucks battle for supremacy and the 'rights' to the does, sometimes with fatal results. If one thinks that the forest is always a peaceful place, they aren't watching very carefully. It's a life and death war for survival out there, every day and every night. It's just the circle of life. Since a golf course is really a proxy for a wilderness meadow, quite often bordered by forests, it's a natural that some of that spills over into the pleasant fairways.

This time of year in NC, deer are everywhere and they are quite restless, making driving virtually anywhere a potential place for a deer to run in front of your vehicle and cause damage to not only vehicle but also potentially life and limb. Even on golf courses, one has to be quite careful, not because a deer might run in front of your cart but instead because it is possible to be stuck between a buck and where he wants to run towards. That is, to paraphrase Martha Stewart, 'not a good thing.' Why? The buck will have absolutely no qualms about running you over and goring you in the process. It has happened before and will almost certainly happen again.

Also, I liked the wordplay of the author's saying "two bucks drowned. " Bet that plenty of bucks have drowned there, just the green kind that lives in our wallets. I did the same thing here on a Nassau press a couple of weeks ago. Needing to birdie the tough 18th, I hit a lovely arching draw from the tee box. Unfortunately it was pulled just enough for my ball to clatter into the lake after bouncing a time or two...drowning ten bucks in the process. The only difference is that nothing was floating in that lake, save for my pride.

Ah well, another example of life imitating golf.

Suckers Are Born Every Minute, We Saw That AGAIN Yesterday

2009-10-16T07:01:00.000-04:00

A Comment on the "Balloon Boy" story that ricocheted around the world yesterday: it is a perfect reflection of the flaws in so-called electronic journalism.

PT Barnum once said that "a sucker is born every minute" when asked why people accepted his outlandish claims about the wonders of his circus shows. And he was right. People like to fool themselves, we saw that in spades yesterday.

The truth about yesterday's Balloon Boy story is coming out: the family involved played the cable networks for suckers, and they bit hard, just as they knew they would. That's predictable. Cable news lives and dies with sensationalism and hype and what story could possibly be sexier than a poor little boy caught in the sky in a big silver balloon? Well, maybe if he had been a 17 year old blonde and beautiful white girl, but that's about it.

What's even more predictable was the way that people reacted to half-aced shoddy reporting, hanging on every word as though it were the absolute truth. The Internet, from Twitter, to the web, to sites like these came alive instantly, breathlessly repeating the story as it was "reported" - if you can call playing fast and loose with the truth "reporting." That of course sent hundreds of thousands if not millions of people to their TVs and to the cable news websites to get "the latest."

The latest was nothing more than conjecture and postulating, which are not facts, of course. They are just talking heads gossiping like you or I would at the office water cooler. That and of course the endless repetition of video of the balloon in the sky. That was easy to find and the over the video, "blah blah blah."

The bottom line is that the cable news people don't care if the story was ever real, they suckered America into tuning in and watching, and also watching the commercials in between. That means more money for them and that's their ONLY purpose for being. Journalism and truth are not real priorities, they are in reality their cover story for little more than tabloid journalism constructed from innuendo and rumor. In fact, it is so bad that some fiction writers adhere to reality better than some cable TV 'reporters.'

What really amazes me is the constant ability of people to lack a healthy skepticism to what they are seeing and to willingly allow their heartstrings to be tugged without the least bit of reasonable doubt. Why do we never "consider the source?" This story is a plain example of so many others that dominate these days: make it up as you go, truth be darned and cover your rear end later with plausible deniability. And people lap it up. Why? I just don't get it: we should know better because the cable news people simply lather, rinse and repeat.

For the record, when the news organizations were saying that the boy was missing and that the authorities were fearing that he had fallen out of the balloon, I said that he was probably hiding for fear of his parents. That was what I would have done when I was his age. Not quite right, it turns out, but far closer to the truth than the sensationlism of a kid falling to his death.

Next time, whether it is the war, politics, sports, or whatever, put some doubt into what you are seeing right then and there. The story will change, bet on it.

Now does this relate to golf? You bet it does. While the golf press is perhaps one of the best sets of writers and reporters in the business today, they too can sometimes stretch stories, if unknowingly. For example, consider the ones that constantly cycle around Tiger Woods being "cold and aloof."

Maybe Tiger is...or maybe Tiger is just being careful around people he doesn't fully trust. And who could blame him if he does? Anything he says or does is magnified, analyzed and categorized to the point where reality starts to blur. For example, cameras follow his every shot and when he has a bad reaction to a missed shot, suddenly, Woods is one of the worst offenders of bad ettiquette in the history of the game. 'Keep your kids away from this guy,' people gravely counsel. 'He'll make your child into a temper tantrum club throwing machine not fit to be near man nor beast.'

Oddly, Woods' peers don't rank him among the most ill-tempered on the PGA Tour. Not even top 5, actually. Could it be that Woods' poor form (and yes, he has shown poor form) is over-magnified and sensationalized past the truth?

Could be. And that's only one example, there are literally dozens of others rattling around out there. Does Lorena Ochoa only care about her wedding and not her golf? Who knows. Is Michelle Wie a tart because she designs club-wear -- something that most 20-year old women might wear to a nightclub? Some would have you think so. And so forth and so on. It never ends, not even in the golf world.

I suggest you make that call yourself after applying some common sense and thinking it through on your own. Like Balloon Boy, don't buy the story at face value, instead, use the common sense that God graced you with. I bet you come up with a truth in the middle that's different than what you are being sold.

Could The New USGA "V-Groove" Rules Be Much Dumber? Why Yes, They Can!

2009-10-15T06:33:00.000-04:00

It's that time of year. Recently, my wife and other relatives have started asking me what I would like to receive for Christmas. "Like to receive" is a bit of a MacGuffin, because if I answered honestly I know there's no chance at all of it being under the tree, not even from my beloved Missus. After all, who in their right mind with a bank balance somewhere south of eight figures is going to give their husband or son-in-law an all-expenses paid trip for three rounds on the Old Course in St. Andrews, or a coupon book for ten private lessons with Hank Haney?

More seriously, my thoughts turned to what's reasonable and affordable and my first thoughts turned to wedges, because a short week after Christmas, the new USGA rules take effect. Trying to be somewhat practical, I thought that this might be a great time to stock up on the old style square grooves short game sticks since I have from 2010 to 2024 to use the old style. Why not gather up the "good stuff" now, while the getting is good?

Unfortunately a little research into the matter left me somewhat confused. You would think that the major manufacturers would have their old gear on sale, first to clear it out of their inventory, second, to sell the soon-to-be-nonconforming gear to guys like me, guys who could use every little bit of help they can get. That's not the case, however, and I didn't see any ads telling me to 'buy now while you still can.' Maybe that's to come, or maybe not. We'll see.

One thing I did run across was a very interesting explanation of the new rules from golfspy.com, and what they point out left me more confused than ever:

[T]he new Rules do change the way club faces and grooves must be manufactured in order to comply, and the wording has three substantive parts.
First, it changes the way manufacturers have to measure our grooves and spacing. Up to now, we only had to concern ourselves with the groove width, depth and space between the grooves. Those requirements and measurements haven’t changed, but the USGA added a fourth measurement requirement that defines a formula for the volume of groove dimension per inch of face. In simple terms, square grooves would have to be further apart than ‘v’ grooves because they can channel away more grass and moisture.

Secondly, the rule adds a new aspect, in that we will have to ensure that the edges of the grooves have a slight radius on them (at least a .010” radius to be exact), whereas currently we can offer you the sharp edges that result from the milling process. This is the change that will likely be the key to a reduction in spin from the newly conforming wedges and irons made after the rule goes into effect . . . if it really does go into effect as they would have us believe.

This part of the rule will undoubtedly increase the cost of wedges, as it will take special cutters to impart this radius to the edge of grooves, and a cutter so configured will wear out quicker than those we currently use. Obviously, the foundries and their machine shops will have to build in these costs to the cost of heads they make for all manufacturers. Thanks a lot, USGA.

Third, and maybe the most important aspect of the new Rule governing grooves, however, is that it allows for a “condition of competition” which says that the implementation of the Rule is up to the tournament committee as to whether or not it is implied. Hmmmmm. And it further suggests that the rule “only be applied to competitions involving ‘expert’ players” – in other words, the PGA Tour and USGA competitions. The USGA has clearly stated that it intends to implement the Rule for its three major open championships in 2010, and all other USGA events in 2014. And the USGA has been very clear that all currently conforming clubs will be approved for play until “at least 2024”!

I agree: Thanks a lot, USGA, for making golf even more expensive. Next to drivers and putters, the most often-changed clubs in the bag are usually wedges. That's because they already wear out faster than a typical seven-iron might and surely get used a lot more. While I understand the need to protect the sanctity of the game at its top end, fellows like me, that is, guys with low double-digit handicaps are damned unlikely to be ripping balls backwards ten feet when they hit the green from a shot out of the rough. We can't do it from a perfect lie in the fairway, much less one from 2.75" Bermuda. But thanks to our friends that make the Rules of the Game, we'll get to pay a little more for our high-lofted clubs...even though the old ones don't really help us all that much.

The USGA agrees with that assessment in their FAQ concerning new wedges:

MYTH: The new groove regulations will make success more difficult to achieve for the recreational golfer.

FACT: Most golfers will experience little, if any, change in their golf game because the new grooves only affect shots from the rough that hit the green, and these shots are made far more often by Tour players than by typical golfers. The rules change also has proven to have very little effect on the performance of the surlyn-covered balls that make up more than two-thirds of the golf balls [played by amateurs.]

So basically, it boils down to this: the new groove rule won't really hurt you, but you are going to have to pony up more after this season to replace your worn out wedges because they are going to cost more to make.

Where is the win for The Game in that? Golf already has a huge problem with it being too expensive, and it sounds like the USGA has implemented a new rule to make it even more expensive. That's counter-intuitive for an organization that claims it is all about growing the game of golf.

While it is obviously far too late to add my voice to this debate, one has to wonder why their cannot be two sets of wedges - those approved for Joe Sixpack and those approved for Stewart Cink. By that, I mean new gear for sale, not old gear approved for the next fourteen-odd years. I understand the desire to have one set of rules for all players, but it is high time that the USGA recognized that there is a vast difference between Tiger Woods and the guys you see on a Saturday morning who work 9-5 Monday through Friday.

For example, the NFL and the NCAA have different footballs approved for play in their respective organizations. Both are equally "good" for amateurs out playing touch in the backyard or intramural flag football beside a college dorm. In fact, those two groups of amateurs might just be playing their game with another kind of ball unapproved by either group at all. Does that detract from the competition at hand? No. Does having a youth football, which is smaller, lighter and far easier to throw further make any difference? No again.

Indeed, there are dozens of examples of differences in sporting goods unapproved for professional or serious amateur play being perfectly suited for less-skilled amateurs. Some of that gear even makes playing the sport at a higher level possible. So again, why must golf be so different?

At the end of the day, when I send out my Christmas list for the year, I guess I will ask for a new wedge or two. Might as well get the better - and cheaper - gear now before the coming price rise hits the stores.

81 Holes In 11 Hours...And We Wanted to Play On

2009-10-13T09:55:00.000-04:00

It was easy to smile, even when my par putt across the green broke off six inches too early, leaving my trademark grimace-face ball mark staring back at me mockingly from aside the hole. A quick tap, and my 81st golf hole and my day was done.

It was a very good day, and believe it or not, it was one I was not at all ready to see end. I always hate to see great days like this one head literally into the sunset.

The only reason we didn't head to the 82nd tee? Darkness began to close in, and my partner and I weren't at all sure we could find the tee shots if we hit them. Had there been any chance, we would have continued to play on...continued to raise money to help families that were battling cancer, battling the horrible loss of a parent's death, battling the pain that the children who had to watch and experience this must feel. Had there been sunlight, we would have swung until we couldn't swing any longer. Tired muscles can recuperate. Wondering if there was something more that could have been done for someone so obviously in need - that lasts forever.

Others aren't so lucky to have the choice, and it is the least we can do, because we are doing it for them. Every time we played a hole, we made a little bit more money for the Jack and Jill Foundation for Late Stage Cancer, a group that help families cope when a parent is facing the end of their life. Obviously it is horrible for the person who is sick, but the Jack and Jill Foundation helps the whole family. They are all suffering mightily. Sore muscles? They'd trade with me in a second.

Play on. Then play on some more.

It was the order of the day, and it was one of the best days I have ever had in golf shoes. Scores didn't really matter, even though we tried our level best on each hole. One fellow shot a 64 on a tough TPC Wakefield course during one of his trips around it. Others players shot quite well in their own right. This marathon was not hit-and-giggle golf all day, but it was true that scores really didn't matter. Mileage mattered...and many, many miles were recorded by all of us.

Monday began for us long before dawn on the course. A couple cups of coffee were all that we used for our warm-up, as everyone knew that they would want to save their strokes for the course itself, where they mattered. It was going to be a long day, and all twenty of us who were playing knew that, and welcomed it. That's why we were there, after all. No need to waste effort anywhere, save it for where it made the most difference...on the golf course itself. Around 7am, with the sun still rising, we mounted our carts and headed for our starting tee boxes.

A full day on a golf course is an interesting thing to watch unfold. The sun rises, bathing the un-tracked dew in golden shadows. Like footprints in the snow, each player leaves a breadcrumb trail of their path. On the green, the golf ball does the same as it rolls towards a hole, leaving a visible lesson of the break. Birds sing, and the furry animals forage for breakfast. It's a wonderful time to play, the golfer's equivalent of being the first human to walk across fresh snow. Everything seems new, even the hope that comes with a blank scorecard.

We played on.

Later, the day comes to full life, even in the verdant quiet of a championship golf course. When you are in a golf marathon, you see more than you might ordinarily witness on a typical Sunday morning foursome. You get to watch the progress of people working on their yards, or workers building a new deck behind someone's house. You get to see hawks hunting prey. You might even see the progress of an owl building a nest, if you know where to look. The course workers' progress is easily seen, and you also get a good idea at how much work they actually do. We all too often take those folks for granted, but I can tell you after having seen it that it's a yeoman's job that they do.

And we still played on some more.

Morning gave way to afternoon, and then mid-afternoon headed inexorably towards the end of the day. Some people were surprised that here were, passing them by...again. You know that they had to wonder why they had seen us four or five times. One even asked us what we were up to. He said he'd seen me four other times on the tee box near his house. I told him about the marathon briefly. He smiled at me and said, "I bet you're tired."

I was, sort of, but tired in the way one gets after a day of doing a job well done. Fortunately, I had taken a packet of Ajinomoto's Focus Zone in mid-morning, something that is now a standard part of my regimen when I play serious golf. Ever since I tried this product back in September, I keep a packet in my bag. During the Marathon, Focus Zone was worth its weight in gold and then some. The stuff just works.

I laughed and told the fellow that I would be okay. And that I needed to go...and play on.

It's not often that an amateur golfer like myself can make a positive difference for someone with my sticks. Doing so was a pleasure, and one I would do again. In fact, I am already planning to. I enjoyed this day, make no mistake about it, but the most pleasing thing to me was not the golf, fantastic as that was, instead, it was helping families who really could use some help. I have been in their shoes, and I know how they must feel. I would do almost anything to help, even if it is just a wee little bit. I know I did exactly that on Monday. Those sore muscles surely felt good.

Maybe next time we can have the golf marathon in May, one where the days are longer and we can play more holes. That way, I can play at least 100 holes. Maybe even six full rounds, or 108 holes. Or seven. I think I have 126 holes in me. If you're game, I would love to have you join me in the next golf marathon. It's well worth your time and effort.

(note: I endorse Ajinomoto products solely based on my opinion of their merit. I am not compensated by Ajinomoto in any way for this opinion.)

Analyze Your Swing With a Smartphone App?

2009-10-08T10:54:00.001-04:00

The marriage between smartphones and golf continues to yield dividends.

According to various sources Japanese company Fujitsu plans to offer a cell phone application that will analyze your golf swing, do some analysis and then offer ways to correct the problems. The program, "ETGA Golf Lesson" will be on sale in Japan later this year, according to the company. Fujitsu will not identify what phone the app will work with but it is a good bet that the large user base of iPhones will see the app sooner or later. That's because iPhones are already embedded with motion and acceleration sensors, and those sensors are integral to the user experience of iPhone users. As for price, no figures were mentioned.

To enable this application, Fujitsu co-developed a sensing technology that measuring body movements of a person carrying a sensor-equipped mobile phone.The Sensing Control Lab Company and the Hosei University in Japan was also involved. Tadashi Ezure, a player on the Japanese PGA, will be giving the resultant "lessons."

According to the company's press release:

Key Features of "ETGA Swing Lesson"

Measures swing by simply using a mobile phone clipped to the user's waist
By simply slipping the mobile phone into a carrying case and clipping it to the user's waist, the phone automatically recognizes and measures the swing.
Easy touchscreen operation
The user responds to a series of on-screen prompts by touching the appropriate buttons to display measurements, feedback, etc.
Targeted advice based on the Ezure Method
Users receive easy-to-understand, relevant advice in response to every swing. Images of Mr. Ezure appear in the application to give golf tips.
Tabulates swing results for each club
Users can select from among three categories of clubs—drivers, irons, and short irons—and receive optimized swing analysis and advice for each.
Leverages user data
Measured data is displayed on a graph to show trends and level of proficiency. After measuring and registering the user's best swing, it is possible for the user to compare each swing with his personal best.
Internet collaboration
Data can be uploaded online, allowing for more sophisticated services.

Mobile Online Services
In collaboration with Golf Digest Online Inc, Fujitsu plans to launch a "Golf-Swing Check Site" (tentative name) online service under "ETGA Swing Lesson".

Our New Golf Game: 'Lady or The Champ'

2009-10-07T11:04:00.000-04:00

When you live on a golf course and are a member of a club, sometimes it is fun to shake things up and play a different kind of game to make things more interesting. To do that, a friend and I cooked up a "new" match-play game we call "Lady or The Champ."

The rules are simple: win a hole, you have to play the next one from the Championship Tee. Lose a hole, you are on the red teebox, but you cannot use anything bigger than a six-iron to tee off. Play it out from there.

On our course, the so-called Championship tees are sometimes behind where the low-handicap black teeboxes are, and not only are these ridiculously long tee shots, some of them also have extremely narrow tunnels through trees to get to the fairway. It's very tough to hit the right places, and even for the longest hitters leaves very challenging approaches from anywhere.

The forward (or ladies') tees are quite generous, as they should be, since they are meant for very high handicap players or kids. We call them the "ladies" tees out of habit, even though that's a label from an era gone by. These days, plenty of our female members play from behind the reds and do it quite well, thanks very much. Anyway, if you can't hit the fairway from most of the red boxes, you can't spit, because that's how close most of them are. A smack with a putter would get one out on the short grass. But armed with only a six iron, it's not as easy as you might think to win the hole. The course is still over 5000 yards even from the shortest boxes so a good, solid shot is needed to get to the A Position.

The fun part in these match play rules is that you have to really work hard to keep winning holes from the championship boxes and with the mid-iron rules from the reds, you can't just bomb and gouge your way back into a match -- unless you learn how to hit low-running balls that run forever. The longer approaches you face from the championship tees season you as a golfer and give you new respect not only for the scratch players but also for the course designers, because everything comes into play from the tips. From the reds, you learn how to work your ball as if it was very windy, something that comes in extremely handy in the cool weather months here when the breezes are often howling.

And oh, one other rule we are considering adding: we picked up a nice pink miniskirt from Goodwill that "The Lady" will have to wear on holes that they play from the forward boxes. Since the course winds its way through our neighborhood, "The Lady" is sure to be seen by someone who will surely have a smart-aleck catcall to offer. After all, a hairy-legged middle-aged fellow in a hot pink mini is one of the uglier things you will ever see in your life. The 17th hole is a big one in the match, because "The Lady" has to march up 18 and by the deck outside the clubhouse and hear it from whoever is out there. Finally, the loser of the whole match has to go the 19th hole where he has to pay for the first round in his hot little skirt.

Before you say it, this is not a sexist game, it's just having fun and tossing in some bright pink embarrassment for the loser. . That'll get your attention on a short putt and make you a better player, count on it.

The Next Battlefield In The Software Wars Is..Print. Wait, What?

2009-10-05T13:33:00.000-04:00

Golf Digest To Be At The Forefront

This month, when you open your issue of Golf Digest magazine, you will notice that a barcode is prominently displayed in some of the articles. Photograph that barcode with your cellphone, and you will be able to get more information about the article's subject, or maybe some related advertising. The barcode is a "Microsoft tag" that the magazine plans to use extensively in the near future.

An article by Tiger Woods about making putts that slide from left to right offers readers a video lesson with Golf Digest senior editor Peter Morrice. A tag accompanying an interview with Michael Jordan takes readers to a video of the photo shoot with the former basketball star and avid golfer.

Sounds great, but if you have an iPhone, or perhaps a Google or Palm OS powered smartphone, there's no guarantee that this will work with your gear, or if it does, that it will always work. The reason for that is simple: Microsoft has a long history of rendering their software incompatible with their competitors' products. Some may say that's not necessarily the case, but as a matter of fact, it was proven in court when the US government sued Microsoft, accusing them of anti-competitive monopolistic behavior...and won. Microsoft is preparing to jump into the smartphone software marketplace with both feet, and having additional features like their Microsoft Tags is a competitive advantage.

Not that Microsoft is the only devil in this particular hell of incompatibility. Apple, which makes iPhones and iPods and provides an application called iTunes, regularly reconfigures its own software to lock out other vendors. New Palm Pre owners know all about that - Palm recommends using iTunes to add and remove music from the Pre softphone, and Apple locks them out on an almost weekly basis.

If the Microsoft Tags feature gathers much traction, expect to see competitors jump in and offer their versions -- and thus, the bell rings and the fight starts in earnest. Consumers will both benefit -- and be frustrated by -- the range of choices they will have available.

Little of that has anything to do with golf, but it is interesting to see this new competition starting to take place, with the first shots fired in a golf magazine of all things. The reason for that is only common sense. As an expensive game, golf afacianados are usually fairly affluent, and affluent people tend to have more gadgets like smartphones. Golf is also very friendly to both print and video. All of those factors make Golf Digest a very suitable place for the first shots in this particular battle to take place.

IMG Sells Press Access To Tiger For Aussie Masters

2009-10-05T13:03:00.000-04:00

Australian sportswriters hoping to get an interview with Tiger Woods next month while he is Down Under for their Masters tournament are out of luck -- unless they happen to work for the Melbourne Herald-Sun. That's because IMG sold the Rupert Murdoch-owned newspaper exclusive access to the World's #1 for that tournament.

Peter Stone, a writer for the Sydney Morning Herald commented today that "This is my 41st year as a golf writer for various newspapers, and in that time never before has such a deal been struck."

There are good arguments in either direction towards this subject -- Tiger is an entertainer and as one, access to him is not necessarily in the public interest, as it would be for a politician. On the other hand, sports figures are generally in a gray zone between newsmakers like pols and entertainers like movie stars, in that athletes are usually covered by newspapers the same way one might cover their local legislator - the paper reports what happened on the field of play, and they often get original material quotes from the subject in order to flesh out their coverage. In other words, just like so-called "hard" news. As such a symbiosis is established - the paper needs the star, and the star needs the paper. They both coexist largely thanks to the other. Charging for an interview would upset that balance.

Take your pick as to which one is right.

Then again, the coin always has another side: if Tiger Woods' time is a commodity to be bought and sold, then so are the column inches that fill the newspapers. It's arguable that newspapers and other media outlets' coverage of Woods built his fame, and that without their free publicity, he may not be quite as large a public figure as he is today. Quid pro quo (something for something) -- if Woods is going to charge for his time, then newspapers could charge him for covering him and providing notoriety. Tenuous yes, but a good lawyer can "prove" nearly anything.

At the end of the day, to me it is disappointing to see IMG and Tiger "pioneer" this for golf. If it is successful others will surely follow, and over the long haul, the breadth of golf journalism will narrow and take some of the richness of the game along with it. For example, if Tiger and IMG sells his time at the Masters Tournament to the Atlanta Journal while The State in Columbia purchases Phil Mickelson's time, and Mad Magazine nabs the exclusive with Sergio Garcia, inevitably, the coverage would be farm more limited. And that's not good for golf.

The Fall Series: A House of Horrors or Safety Net

2009-10-01T14:15:00.000-04:00

For many, the PGA Tour's season effectively ended when Phil Mickelson won the Tour Championship and Tiger Woods hoisted the never-been-kissed FedEx Cup. Other than next week's President Cup, it's unlikely that we'll see many of the Tour's top golfers hitting shots in battle until after the new year, silly season possibly excluded.

But for players like David Duval, Stuart Appleby, Vaughn Taylor, Chris DiMarco, Corey Pavin and Rocco Mediate, the next few weeks will be a potential determining factor in their 2010 golfing plans. That's because all of those well-known PGA Tour veterans are outside of the Top 125 on the Tour's Money List, and the Fall Series will go a long way in determining whether they keep their Tour cards, or have to return to Q-School in order to win back the right to tee it up with the big boys on a regular basis.

A win in any of the five events starting with this week's Turning Stone Resort Championship would of course mean a two-year reprieve from the worries of maintaining their status on the Tour. A solid showing would be a big step towards climbing into the Top 125, while a poor showing means that they will need to head down to Bear Lakes Country Club in West Palm Beach for the Q-School Tour Final Stage. There, if anything can happen, it already has and probably will again. Anything is the key word here. Players have missed out on PGA Tour cards thanks to a ball popping out of cups after they've fallen into the hole, a ball hitting the green and wildly backspinning into a water hazard, drowning any chance of attaining a card, or even missed two foot putts doing the same thanks to rattled nerves and a shaky putter. On the other hand, there are too many heroic endings to mention. At Q School, it is one or the other but rarely a calm and straightforward event.

Fortunately, the Fall Series is in between their situations and the funhouse of Q-School, and with some good play, they can enjoy Christmas shopping rather than the Florida sunshine in December. For golf fans, while Tiger and Phil take the week off, there is another kind of drama at play, and perhaps one far more interesting - will some well-known winners from the past be able to find their form in time, or will they have to face all-comers to keep earning their paycheck on golf's biggest stage. Some will pass through the first gauntlet with some success. Others, we'll see on Golf Channel after Thanksgiving laboring over every shot as though it meant life or death. And that makes for good theatre.

Tiger Woods Is Sport's First Billionaire

2009-09-30T16:03:00.000-04:00

According to Forbes Magazine, Tiger Woods is the first athlete to ever pass $1 billion dollars in total career earnings.

"Our calculations show that the $10 million bonus Woods earned winning this year's FedEx Cup title nudged him over the $1 billion mark in career earnings"

Woods closest competitors? Michael Jordan, the former NBA superstar, who continues to rake in well over eight figures from various endorsement deals, and Formula One racer Michael Schumacher.

Considering that Woods is only 33, and may compete for another 10-15 years, it is not inconceivable that he could double that earnings amount prior to retiring from competitive play. Hanging up the sticks won't mean the end of Woods as an marketable entity, however, as we have seen with not only Michael Jordan, but also golfers like Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus. Unless Tiger buys an island (or a small country) and disappears from the media, his earnings potential has another 40-50 years, assuming good health.

My Link For The Jack And Jill Golf Marathon

2009-09-30T09:19:00.000-04:00

I'm just getting started fundraising for the Jack and Jill Late Stage Cancer Foundation's golf marathon, and have a lot of work to do to get to my goal of $2500 for the event. Then, I have to play a lot of golf on a tough course!

If you're interested in helping me help kids have lasting memories of a parent who is late stages of cancer, please click the link below and make your pledge. This is NOT for me, it is for the kids.

Old Man Par @ Jack and Jill

I am driven by memories of my late mother, who died nearly sixteen years ago to the day from Bronchioalveolar Lung Cancer. My loss was tragic to me as a young adult, and I can only imagine (with a shudder) what going through that pain must mean for a child. The Jack and Jill Foundation does outstanding work to help families make important and lasting positive memories at a time when those things are critically important...these are the ones that last forever.

So thanks, and please make a pledge today!

Want To Help Me Help Kids By Sponsoring Me In A Golf Marathon?

2009-09-28T15:03:00.000-04:00

Ryan Ballangee over at the incredible Waggle Room blog posted this first, but since it is a mere 20 miles away from my house - the other side of the city, actually - I thought I would post it anyway:

The TPC Wakefield Plantation course is going to be the site of a golf marathon on October 12th for the benefit of the Jack & Jill Late Stage Cancer Foundation. Thirty-six golfers will play as much golf as they can in a single day (and I can and do play as many as 54 holes on a single vacation day). The charity is looking for pledges to play $1 or $2 a hole, with a goal of $2500 per person in the event. Eighteen golfers will participate.

Here what the Jack and Jill Late Stage Cancer Foundation does:

When Mom or Dad is diagnosed with late-stage cancer, children find their immediate world turned upside down and face the reality that the rest of their lives will never be quite the same. The Jack & Jill Late Stage Cancer Foundation helps kids and their parents spend quality time together in the face of these hardships and uncertainties.

While there are many resources and support services available addressing cancer patients' medical, spiritual, financial, and psychological needs, through stringent analysis of the oncology community nationally, we confirmed there is no other resource to focus on the family structure as a whole, particularly in offering memory opportunities at a point where the family can experience and share the opportunity together.

Having lost a parent to cancer myself, I can only imagine what it's like for a child to go through the agony of watching their Mom or Dad go through that. I was old enough to understand, and even though it has been sixteen years (as of yesterday) some of the pain still lingers in the form of wishes that we had been able to do this, or to see that together. The Jack and Jill charity does something about it while there is still time.

Naturally, I will sponsor myself, and will ask my parents and in-laws, some friends and the like...but I also wonder if any of you would like to help out a great charity and send me round and round one of Raleigh's best tracks for a day of helping out those in need. If you are interested, leave a comment and I will get in touch with you on how you can help.

My Usual Game: Amino Vital - It Works, And Works Very Well

2009-09-26T07:16:00.000-04:00

Here in the so-called "sultry south" summer weather is best described as "sweltering and suffocating." I often say that if Hell is truly a hot place, the Devil started working on the design down here and got the climate part of it right somewhere in Louisiana or Mississippi.

Even though it is barely autumn, the weather has yet to realize it in North Carolina - the high temperatures are still pushing 90F (32C) most afternoons, with the relative humidity roughly equivalent to the deep end of a hot tub. In short, it's hot, it can be miserable to be outside all afternoon and even a round of golf can leave one dripping sweat by the gallon and feeling as thought they're completely exhausted and moping after a few short hours. Obviously, that's not a good thing for a sport where concentration and fine motor control is essential for success.

Tired of feeling tired after 12-15 holes, over the years I have tried everything. Plenty of water, limited caffeine, no alcohol, vitamins, diet, Gatorade, you name it. Obviously, staying well hydrated helps, but even that is no match for weather that better resembles the last thing a lobster feels on his way into a pot of boiling water. So when my doctor (also a dedicated golfer) suggested I try Focus Zone by Amino Vital, I thought it worth a shot, but to be honest, I really had my doubts. Nothing else really worked all that well, and I thought that Focus Zone was just another Johnny-Come-Lately. Well, I was wrong. Completely wrong.

Manufactured here in Raleigh by Ajinomoto, the Japanese firm that has over 100 years experience in research, development and usage of amino acids, Focus Zone is a mix of electrolytes, Vitamin C, and amino acids, all elements that are lost or consumed by one's body when they exercise strenuously, or in a golfer's case, when they are active in the heat. Basically, the product replaces or enhances some of the materials that are necessary to maintain a good mental state and a high level of concentration, which are the first thing to go when heat stress hits.

Using Focus Zone is easy enough, you pour a packet into a bottle of water, shake it and drink it down. The taste is pleasant and not "medicine-y" and it doesn't leave an unpleasant aftertaste. In that regard, Focus Zone is unlike many other products I have tried - Gatorade included - that can make your tongue hate the hand that's holding your glass.

Does Focus Zone actually work? Yes.

I tried it for the first time this past week, on a day that was sunny and warm after a night of heavy rains. The course was literally steamy in the morning, and we teed off around 11:30am - the beginning of the hot part of a summer's day here in North Carolina. My home course, Eagle Ridge, is a hilly track with plenty of hills and low areas, and walking 18 holes is a good bit of exercise for anyone, much less a middle aged man closer to 50 than 40. Usually by 10th or 11th hole, both of which have a good bit of elevation changes, one can feel it in terms of diminished strength and with that concentration. That can lead to sloppy shots, and even more sloppy marks on the scorecard. That's not what you want when you're trying to win a Nassau or lower your handicap to single digits, both of which I was intent on doing that day.

With Focus Zone, I felt just fine all day, even when we started out second round of the day - a full 11 miles of walking when finished. In fact, to finish that second round, I needed to hit our 18th green after a 200 yard forced carry over water and then two putt at worst, all of which I was able to do. My concentration and strength levels were all still high, and instead of a tired jerky get-this-thing-over shot that can lead to a ball that sleeps with the fishes, I hit a high arching draw after a smooth swing that had solid contact. Normally, after that much walking in that level of heat and humidity, my shot would not be as crisp and my interest would be more on the beckoning clubhouse with its air conditioning and the cool drinks that await inside. I am certain that using Focus Zone saved the day that day.

Science bears out my perception. Amino acids are a building block of proteins and living cells need them carry out normal functions. Electrolytes are essential for normal nerve function, and sweating and stress can diminish those in the body. Without an ample supply of both, physical and mental performance are diminished, and diminished function lead to large numbers on the scorecard.

PGA Tour players like Zach Johnson and Stewart Cink swear by Amino Vital products, and now I can see why. I've used the Focus Zone and the Endurance products, and both worked exactly as advertised, which is quite frankly an extremely pleasant change in the supplement market. Neither of the products rely on tricks like stimulants to fool one into thinking they are feeling good, and neither are loaded with sugars that lead to an inevitable crash. They are priced reasonably, and are a good value. If you play golf in high heat or high stress situations like your club's championship, or a Golf Channel Tour event where every shot counts, I cannot recommend give Focus Zone any higher of a recommendation.

Give it a try, it might help your game too.

Important Note: I am neither compensated nor solicited by Ajinomoto or any other vendor to evaluate or review their products. My opinions are my own, and use should use your own judgment before choosing or using any nutritional supplement.

Golf Bloggers Tribute To Bobby Jones

2009-09-23T08:02:00.000-04:00

Since this is the week the Tour Championship makes its annual return to East Lake, the course where Bobby Jones grew up and learned to play golf, several members of the golf blogging community decided to pay tribute to the legend. Ten different blogs are featuring posts devoted to the life and legacy of Bobby Jones, each focusing on an aspect of Jones' life related to his or her blog; you'll find the complete list below.

Before you watch the tournament, learn a few new things about the man whose home course it is played on.

Gayle Moss over at Golfgal has posted My Favorite Bobby Jones Golf Tips. She writes, "His swing was a bit unorthodox, but no one can deny his amazing talent. Here are some of my favorite swing tips from the self-taught legend - Bobby Jones."

Art Murphy from LifeandGolf gives us ...We Play the Ball Where It Lies, a collection of miscellaneous quips and quotes about golf and golfers from Bobby Jones.

Mike Southern at Ruthless Golf wonders Could Bobby Jones Have ‘Cut It' Against Today's Pros?, and shows us what science and Jones's own notes have to say about the debate.

Vince Spence from The One-Eye Golfer writes about An Affair to Remember - Bobby Jones and St. Andrews, as he looks at the affection of the champion golfer for the Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland which started in 1921.

Greg D'Andrea at From the Rough talks about Golf's Proper Place. "Bobby Jones played competitive golf only three months of the year, always keeping in perspective the game's original intent - 'a means of obtaining recreation and enjoyment.'"

Michael Green at Aussie Golfer tells about Searching for Bobby Jones, where a search for Bobby Jones in Australia finds remarkable similarities to modern day golf.

Jon Blackburn from The Common Golfer looks at Bobby Jones: Golf's Original Common Golfer. It's a celebration of Bobby Jones' life, and what made him unique amongst his golfing peers.

Apryl DeLancey at Women Like Sports features in her weekly Wild World of Wednesday post about how good friends Alexa Sterling and Bobby Jones continued to play golf during WWI in order to raise money for a good cause.

And Ryan Ballengee from Waggle Room sends us a vlog from East Lake about how Jones' spirit influences the club and community today.

Bobby Jones' Competitors: Many of Them Were Good, One Was Great

2009-09-22T22:01:00.000-04:00

In perhaps the best era of them all, the 1920's is called the Golden Age of Sport. In it, the titans that are Babe Ruth in baseball, Jack Dempsey in boxing, Red Grange in football, Bill Tilden in tennis all set standards of excellence that others aspired to - and usually fell short of.

Perhaps the greatest of them all from the Golden Age was a Georgia gentleman who conquered the world of golf as no other player had ever done before him - all while playing only part time, three months a year. Until 1930, Bobby Jones dominated golf, gracefully powering his way into not only the record-books but also America's heart by winning thirteen major championships with a winning percentage over .600. Jones not only set a standard for victory, but by the way he conducted himself he set the gold standard for sportsmanship, honesty and grace that may never be surpassed, and in many a golf fan's heart, never can be.

Modern legend may tell the tale that Bobby Jones was fated to win his championships, that every battle on the golf course that the Atlantan fought was pre-determined in his favor. That would be completely untrue. Jones' victories were all well-earned and many were hard-fought, and he didn't win every tournament that he entered, even though today that may seem to be the case. The truth is that he had many worthy competitors. Jock Hutchinson and "Long"Jim Barnes, at the end of their careers, often gave Jones fits (sometimes literally) at the beginning of his. Denny Shute and Nebraskan Johnny Goodman would challenge him later. Frances Ouimet won the 1913 US Open before Jones, and would win the US Amateur again after Jones retired, in 1931.

Jess Sweetser was considered the second-best amateur after Jones, and was a player perfectly suited for the rigors of match play. Sweetser played with such great concentration at times that he was considered unsociable, something that Ben Hogan and later, Tiger Woods, would become famous for in their own right. Sweetser was not a man to given an opponent an opportunity to recover in a match once behind. With a careful precision from tee to green, Sweetser rarely made mistakes and even more rarely three-putted. In between shots, Sweetser would talk to himself to keep the steel in his psyche, and as a result, most galleries were intimidated - but appreciative - of his competitive ardor. Sweetser won the only other British championship that went to American hands in the 1920's when he won the 1926 British Amateur.

One, Walter Hagen, stood above all the others as Jones' most worthy competitor. While Jones was a Southerner born into a life of privilege and ease, he was born in New York into a lower middle-class family in which a tradesman's blue collar life was the norm, and one was never expected to rise into a high station in life. Hagen also changed golf and set high standards, and was without doubt Jones' most fierce rival.

The two so thoroughly dominated the British Open between 1924 and 1930 that only one other competitor - Jim Barnes - would win it during that time. Conveniently for Barnes, neither Jones nor Hagen was entered into the 1925 Open in Prestwick. Barnes won that tournament by backing in - some say twice, given the absence of the world's two best players - by taking advantage of a tragic collapse by Macdonald Smith, the player who looked to be the sure winner from the second round on. In a case of playing not to lose, Mac Smith did exactly that - in the final round, he played so conservatively that he shot a 42 on Prestwick's front nine. Smith, the crowd's favorite that day, was also feeling the pressure of being cheered on at extremely close quarters by the gallery. Suffocated and reeling, he finished with a final round 82 and opened the door for Barnes to come and take the win.

Opposite sides of the same competitive coin, Hagen would win 11 major championships and 52 wins professionally, while Jones won 13 majors. The two would often play exhibition matches against one another, and quite often, those matches were legendary unto themselves.

Matches between Jones and Hagen were legendary. The two had great respect for one another, and in fact, Hagen had given Jones some useful advice on how to handle major championship play that Jones later said was a turning point in his competitive career. They were at the least casual friends throughout their lifetimes, despite a fierce rivalry where both refused to give the other quarter on the golf course. The respect between the two, no matter their personal bond, was great.

(pictured: Bobby Jones' letter to Walter Hagen congratulating him for 25th anniversary of his first US Open win.)

One match in 1926 was probably the lynchpin in Jones' decision to remain an amateur throughout his competitive career, which of course later led to the only Grand Slam ever recorded in golf. Had Jones turned professional, he would have been ineligible for the British and US Amateur championships, and thus no Grand Slam.

Late in 1925, Hagen approached Jones with the idea of putting on what Hagen would promote as "World Championship;" a 72-hole exhibition match between the two men, which would be played at the two golfers' respective clubs in Florida, where both had real estate interests to be played shortly after the beginning of the next year.

The idea of the "World Championship" was hardly new, in 1922, Hagen and Gene Sarazen had played one, and another contest in 1925 was held between Hagen and Cyril Walker, who had won the 1924 US Open, while Hagen won the 1924 (British) Open and PGA Championship. It was not much of a match, with Hagen winning 17-and-16 in that 72 hole affair.

The 1926 "World Championship" might be different, according to many sages of the sporting world. Jones had won the 1924 and 1925 U.S. Amateur and nearly won the US Open that same year. Hagen was the PGA Champion, his second running, making the pair two of the best, if not the best golfers in the world. Surely, the conventional wisdom of the day held, this "World Championship" would be a neck and neck affair perhaps decided by the last stroke of the last hole.

For his part Hagen figured that this particular "World Championship" match would not only draw a great deal of interest in the media and among fans everywhere, it would also draw spectators to the courses where they would be played, and of course those spectators would mean potential sales leads. Coupled with the caveat that Hagen would keep any and all financial proceeds from the match (Jones was an amateur and could not accept monetary benefits) it was a no-lose situation for The Haig -- his kind of match. Indeed, fan interest was keen and loyalties largely divided amongst those rooting for "the amateur" Jones, or "the pro" Hagen. For weeks leading up to the event, the press debated the merits and flaws in each players' game.

The match itself didn't live up to it's heavyweight title fight billing. Hagen handed Jones a humiliating 12-and-11 defeat, which Jones took it as a clear sign that he wouldn't be able to rely on his ability as a golfer to pay his bills, and that he would better be served by depending on his law practice for his salary.

The rest of Jones' story is legend. Time would of course, prove that Bobby Jones had every bit of ability one would ever possibly need to earn a living on the links, but the die was cast for the Atlantan to remain an amateur. Jones would go on to win golf's only true Grand Slam, retire shortly afterward and start a personal project that would come to be known as Augusta National and The Masters.

Lesser noticed was "The Rematch." It was not long after the "World Championship" that Bobby Jones had a chance to redeem himself when the pair competed again two weeks later in the Florida West Coast Open. This time, Jones fared better but Hagen still bested him by two strokes to win the medal play event.

Of that period, Jones recollected in his autobiography that "the biggest golfing year of my life, 1926, began with the most impressive trouncing I ever got -- and it was by a professional, Walter Hagen." Jones added "Walter was just too good for me." Jones then concluded that "I have plenty of distinguished company among the victims of Walter's rampages."

For his part, Hagen called the 1926 'World Championship' "my greatest thrill in golf."

As a sportsman, Hagen may best be defined not by winning, but by losing. In 1950, a vote among golf writers was held to determine who was the greatest golfer of the first half of the 20th century, and there, Jones edged out Hagen. Afterward, The Haig told reporters that "I would have voted for Jones myself. He was marvelous."

History often creates legend, and over time, legend becomes myth. It is there that legend and fact often go into two separate directions, the myth a romanticized version of the truth that's somewhat incomplete in its telling. Sports heroes are stronger, faster and invincible in myth, while often the truth is that the real person had to earn each bit of glory and success that they attained. Sometimes that is better than the myth.

The Donald Versus The Scotsmen

2009-09-22T08:42:00.000-04:00

Donald Trump is a man who is used to getting exactly what he wants -- no matter the difficulties in attaining success, high costs, the damage to the environment, or even the wishes of the people who own and live on a piece of property he has in his gunsights.

Such is the case in Balmedie Village, near Aberdeen, Scotland. The Donald bought a piece of property near there, a place called Menie Estate, which roughly 200 acres of land surrouding the Menie House, an 18th century mansion that was built atop the ruins of a medieval castle. Trump is planning an extensive development there, including two 18-hole golf courses, a 450-room hotel, conference center and spa, 36 golf villas, 950 holiday homes, accommodation for 400 staff and residential developments comprising 500 houses. The project will be called Trump International Golf Links.

Trump has had problems with the local residents since he purchased the estate in 2006. He changed the name of Menie House, which he plans to turn into the clubhouse of his development, to the Macleod House, a tribute to his mother Mary. Mary MacLeod was born in the Scottish western isles, far away from Balmedie Village, while the Menie family's association with the property dates back some 700 years according to Scottish historians. Michael Woodley, the Baron of Menie and a supporter of the project told the London Times that "The Menie name has been around for hundreds of years, it’s part of Scotland’s heritage. I am disappointed he’s changing it but overall I do support Trump’s golf proposal because I think it will create a lot of jobs."

Local resident Shuna Jenkins said that “it will always be known as Menie House. Trump may have taken away the name plate but he can’t change history.”

The name change may have ired locals, but that row pales in comparison to the environmental battle fought over the property. The Menie Estate property is contiguously a part of a conservation area labled legally in the UK as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), part of a law that protects the interest features of a given SSSIs from development from other damage, and (since 2000) also from neglect. While the ban on development is not absolute under the law there, it is a strong discouraging factor when a proposal for development is raised. When news of Trump's plans traveled, environmental interests joined in with locals opposed to his project.

The site is part a series of sand dunes and other natural habitat; and groups like the Scottish Wildlife Trust bemoan that if it is developed that its natural features will be lost forever. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds even employed golf course designer Mike Wood to develop an alternative routing for a golf links through the area that avoids the SSSI and leaves much of the environment intact.

Trump's own Environmental Statement acknowledged that the project would cause very significant adverse effects on habitats and biodiversity in the Menie Dunes, one of the main qualifying features of the Foveran Links SSSI and that they would effectively be destroyed by the stabilisation necessary to build one golf course. Trump plans two in his master plan.

After much quarreling and bother, the Aberdeenshire Council rejected the projected but were overruled the national government. The Scottish Finance Secretary John Swinney approved the proposal, saying there was "a significant economic and social benefit" in the project.

First Minister Alex Salmond added that "the economic and social benefits for the North East of Scotland substantially outweigh any environmental impact."

Now, emboldened by the national government's support, Trump wants surrounding land -- 200 acres is small for even one golf course, much less two and five hundred additional structures. Trump asked for and received permission to add four homes and two plots of land to his master plan, and if the homeowners do not want to sell to him, he has asked He recently received permission to add the plots to the blueprint – and has asked the Aberdeenshire Council to use eminent domain, known as a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) to garner him the land he wants should the current landowners and his organization cannot come to an agreement.

Such an agreement seems extremely unlikely in the current climate. While Trump has offered 15% over the current assessed market value and other amenities, one resident, whose property has stunning coastline views, called the offer "pathetic."

David Milne, the owner of one of the parcels Trump is seeking, said that Trumps offer is "is somewhere between laughable and insulting." Milne added that he has no intention of living in one of the "sdtandard boxes" Trump plans to build and that the assessment of his property is suspicious because "appraiser could accurately value his home having never stepped foot inside."

In response, Donald Trump Jr. said that "throw anyone out of their homes – we are trying to accommodate them.”

By forcing the homeowners to sell their land and homes at a price that his firm finds acceptable, under force of government order if necessary.

East Lake Closed After Heavy Rains Over The Weekend

2009-09-21T14:30:00.000-04:00

A deluge of near-Biblical proportions struck the Atlanta area over the weekend, forcing the East Lake Country Club, site of this week's Tour Championship, to close today.

While East Lake area escaped the worst of the heavy rain - they received only about 5 inches - forecasters are calling for continued locally heavy downpours in and around metropolitan Atlanta with up to an additional 5 inches possible today alone. As much as 24 inches of rain fell on counties west of the city since Sept. 18, leading to flooding and two deaths.

East Lake, about five miles east of downtown Atlanta, escaped most of the heavy rain. More storms may come each during the upcoming week, according to local forecasters. ThroughSunday, Weather.com forecasters are calling for between a 30-60% of continuing shower and storm activity, giving residents and PGA Tour golfers alike little relief.

(pictured: screen capture of the 9/21 3:10pm weather radar for metro Atlanta)

A Quick Look at East Lake Golf Club

2009-09-21T11:34:00.001-04:00

Golf season effectively ends sometime Sunday, weather permitting, when one of thirty players stands over a final putt and then one of them lifts the FedEx Cup as the winner of of the PGA's movable feast that it calls its playoffs. Much-maligned and oft-criticized, the FedEx Cup is in its third year and for the first time, its final tournament may well offer some compelling golf during the heart of the NFL and NCAA football season. Any of the top five in the points standings right now can take away the Cup from points leader Tiger Woods with a win, and the rest of the 25-man field can do the same if events all turn their way. That makes things interesting, and for the PGA, they plan to profit from the old Chinese curse of living in interesting times.

East Lake, the former home course of one Robert Tyre "Bobby" Jones is an old-school gem for this final and hopefully epic battle to take place. Once a sparkling center on the map of golf in the US, this course is a sterling example of urban renewal and reborn hope. East Lake began as a summer getaway for prominent Atlantans located just outside the city, but over the years it had be swallowed by the ever-burgeoning metropolitan area and had decayed into a cesspool of crime, fear and despair.

That was before Tom Cousins, an Atlanta developer and sportsman (he once owned the NHL's Atlanta Flames, now the Calgary Flames) took notice and got involved in the area. The golf course and clubhouse were dilapidated shadows of the former glory and the East Lake area ranked last in the crime statistics in the city. Cousins didn't go the route of the quick-fix gentrification, where a blighted area's land is bought pennies on the dollar and its residents relocated (meaning forced out.) Instead, Cousins formed the East Lake Foundation and worked with - and not against - doubtful area residents and slowly forged bonds of trust with them as old housing was replaced with newer domiciles, a charter school was built and the golf club restored to what it once was.

Since then, residents have turned from doubting or hostile to trusting and inspired. Violent crime has dropped a full 95% in the East Lake neighborhood. Scholastic achievement for residents has skyrocketed. Reading and math scores for students in the area's charter school have climbed to the point that now a full 100% of its alumni are now on track for high-school graduation. Another noticeable outgrowth of the East Lake revival was the First Tee program, which uses golf as a platform to teach life skills to children. It got its start at East Lake, and has since spread outwardly with robust growth. Not bad work for Cousins and the Foundation, better still for the residents who've gotten a golden opportunity to better themselves.

Originally formed in 1898, the Atlantic Athletic Club formed when area businessmen united for the purpose of enjoying athletic activities with their friends. The nascent club had Georgia Tech football coach John Heisman as its director of athletic activities for several years from 1904 -1918. Heisman, who had recently left Clemson University in upstate South Carolina to take over the Yellow Jackets' football fortunes, oversaw swimming, tennis, basketball and track activities at AAC when he wasn't directing the Georgia Tech team to an impressive string of victories on the gridiron, including the still-record 222-0 dismemberment of Cumberland College. In 1918, due to the growth and importance of college football and its time demands, Heisman cut back on his duties outside Georgia Tech and left his duties at Atlanta Athletic Club. Today, of course, the award given to college football's best player bears his name, the Heisman Trophy.

(pictured, John Heisman, left. Right,Bobby Jones, age 14, at Atlanta Athletic Club)

Also in 1904, Atlanta Athletic Club members realized a growing need for golf and began looking for a site for a place to build a course. They found one at East Lake, on the site of a former private amusement park in the Atlanta "suburbs." Tom Bendelow began construction of the East Lake course, seven holes of which opened in 1906. The Southern Amateur championship was held there in 1907, but it was not until the next year on the Fourth of July that East Lake had its formal grand opening for the golf course. A young six year old was present for that ceremony -- Bobby Jones. Jones would, of course, become one of the great icons of the game of golf, and East Lake would be his home club for most of his life. In 1913, Donald Ross, the famed designer, was brought in to improve on Bendelow's work, and the East Lake as we know it today was completed shortly afterward.

In 1966, the Atlanta Athletic Club pulled up its roots from the East Lake site and moved to its current location in Duluth, Georgia. East Lake was already becoming a downtrodden urban area back then, and the area around club would fall into further decay until the 1990's when Tom Cousins stepped in and began its revival.

Now a modern symbol of rebirth and renewal, East Lake hosts the Tour Championship, the logical end to the golf season. Other tournaments follow this event, but it is unlikely that they will draw the top names that this tournament will, on the course that was once home to perhaps the greatest golfer of the first half of the 20th century.

This Game Of Golf IS Supposed To Be Fun

2009-09-19T10:21:00.000-04:00

There are days that the world is a beautiful place to be a part of – the sun is shining, the temperature pleasing, flowers are abloom and troubles seem to be as far away as Mars. It’s in those moments that all is well and life is good.

Except on a golf course, or so it seems if you watch players going about their rounds on nearly any course on a gorgeous Saturday morning. Instead of enjoying the beauty of the day and the game itself, all too often we as golfers spend our time on the links completely obsessed with the numbers we mark on our score card, and hardly a round can go by without some frustration and consternation that things could somehow be better.

I one was playing with a well-rounded friend, one who loves to golf, fish, hike, camp and spend time outdoors. He had just had a horrible hole in a casual round where no money nor pride was on the line. We rounded a corner and sitting in a tree was a Peregrine Falcon. They are the fastest living things on the planet, and capable of reaching 200 MPH (322 Km/H) when they strike down on their prey. The fairways of a golf course are an ideal place to see exactly that: a grey streak hurtling down from the sky on a soon-to-be-departed rodent that will quite literally never see it coming.

A Peregrine is quite a rare sight in this part of North Carolina, one you might only get once in your life...if you are lucky. I pointed this out to my friend, a fellow who normally enjoys that sort of thing. His reply shocked me. "F_ing seven! Can you believe that s__t?"

That is a man whose priorities are very much out of order. He'll make plenty of sevens in his life, as will anyone who ever chases a little white ball down a pasture towards a stick far in the distance. But seeing one of nature's ultimates, something he'll probably never lay eyes on in the wild during the rest of his days?

Ask yourself: if you beat down your handicap by ten strokes, will you be able to apply to play on a professional golf Tour? Probably not. On the other hand, if you go in the wrong direction, and you fail to break your worst score of the past two years, will that mean you are going to lose your job and your home, or will your children suddenly hate you? Undoubtedly not.

Competition is a good thing, it stirs the blood, it steels the nerve and sharpens our gaze. It gives us the acute joys of success and failure, and in golf, that can be on the same hole. Winning is of course great fun and hard work that seems easy. Even in victory, one would do well to remember that with winning, there is also losing, and no matter who the player, given time they will feel both sides of that well-worn coin. It is the nature of this thing, and both winning and losing are good things. A man who wins too often and too easily is rarely challenged and even more rarely humble. One who loses constantly is almost invariably downtrodden and pessimistic. One side tempers the other and both are a necessary part of the sporting life.

All too often, we take competition too far and far too seriously. A casual round with friends is not the Battle of the Somme. A Nassau is not the Civil War. Nor is a putt delicate surgery with a beloved child’s life hanging in the battle. The golf, it is supposed to be fun. Battles, war and operating rooms, those are truly serious things and different matters entirely. That's hard to tell, however, if you go to a challenging spot on most any golf course on a weekend day and watch the players traverse that part of the terrain. It won't be long until you hear words and phrases that blanch gentle ears, and maybe even a thrown club to boot.

All in the name of fun? Get real.

Consider this the next time you hit a poor shot and are tempted to fling your club into the turf: golf is a game.

Keep in mind when you almost get a hole in one: that's great, but your kid's smile matters even more.

And set your mind to it on the first tee when your card is blank and the promise of the day lay in the shiny new ball in your hand: have fun, have grace and make good memories you’ll pleasantly recall long into the future.

“You're only here for a short visit. Don't hurry, don't worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way.” - Walter Hagen

The Female Golfer Who DID Make The Cut At PGA Tour Events

2009-09-18T11:01:00.000-04:00

These days, when a woman tries to compete against men in professional golf, an argument often comes forth that it is impossible for a woman to compete successfully against men, in other words, to belong in the competition in the first place.

On the surface, that argument seems to bear witness to the facts: at the height of her golfing powers, champion Annika Soremstam was unable to make the cut at the Colonial Tournament in 2003, after which she said that "it was a great week but I've got to go back to my tour, where I belong. I'm glad I did it, but this is way over my head." Soremstam was in Forth Worth a year after she shot two 59s in tournament play, and 13 of the 25 tournaments that she entered. Clearly, she was the best player in the world of women's golf, but the 7,080-yard Colonial CC course that was longer and tougher than anything she had ever played.

Michelle Wie's attempts at competing on the PGA Tour have been a lightning rod for criticism of the 19 year old golf prodigy, with many fans pointing to her participation in these events as evidence of mismanagement by her parents and her management group. Wie never made a cut in several tries, and thus far in 2009 she has focused exclusively on the LPGA Tour, where she continues to hone her game and look for her first professional win.

Other players, like Suzy Whaley and Izzy Besiegel have also tried to play with the boys in recent years, and both have had less success than even Wie or Soremstam, both of whom looked for a time as though it was possible that they might make it to the weekend after making the cut on the bottom side of the field.

The Greatest Female Did Play Against The Men, And She Proved She Belonged.

All of this has fueled and fortified the idea that women can't compete with men in golf played on equal terms, especially in professional tournament golf. History, however, tells a far different tale. Babe Didrickson Zaharias competed in several PGA Tour events in 1945 and she also made the cut in a few of them and collected a check for playing on the weekend.

That The Babe is one of the greats in the history of women's golf would be an understatement. In fact, she may have been the greatest female athlete of all-time. Writing about her in 1939, Time magazine described Babe as a "famed woman athlete, 1932 Olympic Games track & field star, expert basketball player, golfer, javelin thrower, hurdler, high jumper, swimmer, baseball pitcher, football halfback, billiardist, tumbler, boxer, wrestler, fencer, weight lifter, adagio dancer." Among other things - tennis and diving, and she also was a champion seamstress and a vaudeville performer. Anything that The Babe tried, she succeeded in, and that includes playing at the highest level of golf, the American men's tour.

Zaharias didn't even take up golf seriously until her 20s, and it, like most sports, came naturally to her. Her taking to golf may have come from an event in the pressbox in the 1932 Olympiad - where she won two gold and a silver medal, after being allowed to complete in only three events. Watching her, famed sportswriter Grantland Rice told a group that included Will Rogers, Paul Gallico and Damon Runyan that The Babe could hit a golf ball like no one they had ever seen. The group told Rice that he had clearly let his enthusiasm for the Olympic heroine get the better of him, or maybe had enjoyed too much whisky the night before. To prove his point, Rice asked Didrickson up to the pressbox and asked her if she'd like to play golf the next day. She told the men that she hadn't been on the links for over a year, but if someone could find her some clubs and cleats, she'd be glad to play 18.

The next day at Brentwood Country Club, Didrickson took nine holes to get used to not only playing golf again, but also using borrowed equipment in a time when clubs were highly individualized. On the back, she fired a very respectable 43, including banging two shots to the apron on a 523 yard par 5 17th -- into the wind. On the 18th hole, Didrickson scorched a 250 yard drive down the center of the fairway. Keep in mind that this was long before modern balls, modern equipment, and that a 250 yard tee shot was equal to or longer than what most professional males players like Ben Hogan or Sam Snead would hit.

Zaharias turned professional shortly thereafter, trying her hand at Vaudeville before realizing that performing indoors was not for her. Afterward, she would do exhibitions of athletic skills, including pitching an inning for Brooklyn Dodgers versus the Philadelphia Phillies. By 1934, Didrickson was tired of mere exhibitions and wanted the thing she craved the most: competition, and winning. It was then that she turned to golf. It took several years to hone her game from one merely of smashing long drives to the champion's skills of exacting iron shots, precision in short game and putting, not to mention the creativity and skills of escaping the inevitable foibles of hazards and woe. After she started competing and gained her footing, she never looked back. By the time she was done, she was the greatest female golfer ever, one whose records and standing have never come close to being eclipsed.

"The Babe is here. Who's coming in second?" - Babe Didrickson Zaharias

Wins: LPGA - 41
Other - 41

Majors Wins Professional - 10
• U.S. Women's Open: 1948, 1950, 1954
• Western Open: 1940, 1944, 1945, 1950
• Titleholders: 1947, 1950, 1952

Amateur - 3
• U.S. Women's Amateur: 1946, 1947
• British Women's Amateur: 1947

"When I come in second to her I feel as though I have won. It's kind of like the Yankees. They're the champs and you want them to win," Patty Berg once said of Zaharias. The record is clear: as a player in women's golf, Zaharias had no equal and no player to come since her has come even close. But women were not the only competitors Zaharias would square off against - she loved a challenge, and never backed down from one.

In January 1938, at the beginning of her career, The Babe entered the PGA Tour's Los Angeles Open, shooting 81-84 and missing the cut. Later, after establishing and improving her game drastically, she would try the PGA Tour again, and she would never miss the halfway cut in any event that she entered. In 1945 she again played in the L.A. Open, this time making the 36-hole cut with rounds of 76 and 81. In that tournament. there was also a three-day cut, which she missed. She continued her cut streak at the Phoenix Open, where she finished in 33rd place. At the Tucson Open she shot 307 and finished tied for 42nd. Unlike other female golfers competing in men's events, she got into the Phoenix and Tucson opens through 36-hole qualifiers, as opposed to a sponsor's exemption.

While The Babe never won against the likes of Hogan, Nelson and Snead, she more than proved that she belonged on the same couse with them, and she proved for all time that in some cases saying that women cannot compete against men in golf, even at its highest levels - is merely folly.

The Pick Norman DID Get Right: The Japanese Tiger Ishikawa

2009-09-18T10:10:00.000-04:00

While much has been made about Greg Norman's selection of Adam Scott for his International side of the upcoming President's Cup, relatively little attention has been paid here in the US to Norman's other selection -- Japan's Ryo Ishikawa.

Ishikawa turned 18 this week. While the young prodigy has yet to make a splash on the PGA Tour, he has had his moments that show clearly that he belongs among the Big Three Wonder Kids: Rory McIlroy, Danny Lee and himself. All are winners, with Lee boasting a European Tour win as an amateur, McIlroy one as well and Ishikawa with six wins on the Japanese Tour. While some deride the Japanese Tour as being far inferior to the PGA or European Tours, it is nonetheless impressive that Ishikawa has managed six wins on it -- all before his 18th birthday. In fact, when Ishikawa won the Munsingwear Open KSB Cup, he became the record holder in the Guiness Book as the youngest winner on a professional tour - 15 years and 245 days. Clearly, Ryo has skills, game and the ability to play well when it matters the most.

And like McIlroy and Lee, Ishikawa has an eery maturity for a young man just coming of age. After missing the cut at this year's Master's tournament, Ishikawa was non-plussed in his press conference following his second and final round. “I want to make an even bigger effort over the next twelve months to be ready to come back next year," he said. "I want to put the fruits of my training to the test here." These are measured words of determination in a moment of great disappointment from Ishikawa, who in his elementary school graduation essay wrote of his dream to win the Masters in his twentieth year, or three years from now.

Of course, he has one major obstacle in his way: one Eldrick "Tiger" Woods, and an entire host of talented and established golf stars, all of whom are capable of winning on the hallowed grounds that are Augusta National. That and the rising ascendancy of his young peers - Rory McIlroy has the best showing in a major so far, with his third place finish in this year's PGA Tournament. Lee has a US Amateur win under his belt, as well -- a major victory by any measure in the amateur ranks. To achieve his schoolboy goal, he has much to overcome, but if the past is any measure, it may be folly to discount the possibility of his dream coming true on schedule.

All of that considered, it makes Norman's choice of Ishikawa a savvy one -- from a golf standpoint, he may well contribute points to his team, and from a marketing standpoint, he will bring the eyes of the Japanese press with him, thus raising the exposure of the President's Cup in the huge Japanese golf market exponentially. For Ishikawa, he will have the chance to grow as a player and once again measure himself against the best America has to offer, which in turn will give him much-needed experience in the highest altitudes of the golfing world.

The Q-School Of Hard Knocks Is Back In Session

2009-09-16T14:48:00.001-04:00

Pipe dreams die hard, it's said, and this week, a lot of golfer's dreams are either on life support or will experience unexpected fatal trauma at Q-School Pre-Qualifying. Two courses will host the pre-qualifying tournaments, Lake Jovita Golf & Country Club, Dade City, Florida, and East Valley Golf Club, Beaumont, California. Players who make the cut will be at one of nine PGA Q-School First Stage Events scattered at eleven different sites. Those events take place either October 21-24th or October 27-30th.

Isabella Beisiegel, the former LPGA player, will be teeing it up with the fellows in another attempt to become the first female to hold a PGA card. Beisiegel has never done things the east way. Izzy, the name she goes by, was diagnosed with Graves’ disease in November 2005 and she had a successful surgery to remove her thyroid and successful thyroid hormone replacement. She's fully recovered now, and seems to be focusing on making the cut in one of the traditionally men's tours.

Biesiegel has long been mocked in her attempts to join a men's tour. She's sometimes called "Dizzy Izzy" by her detractors, and ocassionally derided as being on a Don Quixote-like quest, but for her part, she says on her website that she "believe(s) it is a myth that women can't play against the men. The ball doesn't know whether it is a man or a woman hitting it." The scorecard doesn't care, and that's where this will be settled, and thus far, despite some encouraging streaks, Biesiegel has yet to make it to the PGA Q-School finals.

Brandt Snedecker's brother Haynes will be teeing it up, as will Andrew Giuliani, the former Duke player who was kicked off of the team last year. Sports Illustrated writer Gary Van Sickle's son Mike is also in the pre-qual field, and will be making his first attempt at getting a Tour card.

$50 For A Golf Towel? People Have Paid That For an Amino Vital Club Wiper

2009-09-16T12:12:00.000-04:00

Most of us take our golf towel for granted. Sure, we might have a special or a favorite one -- I've got a well-worn towel from The Masters, and another unused from the 1999 US Open, but other than that, this sometimes vital golf accessory is one or the other that I've gathered up through the years. When it gets dirty, I change it out, toss it in the wash and don't think about it again until the towel gets covered in mud once more.

I've never really thought of them as collector's items, but apparently that's not true of everyone. Some folks have paid fifty bucks or more (plus shipping and handling) on EBay for an Amino Vital towel, something that's taken on a bit of a cult status item. That's probably because the majority of PGA golfers carry an Amino Vital towel on their bag displaying their usage of the product. That practice that became widespread after Stewart Cink began using Amino Vital and ravedthe product and aided his performance. More than 180 Tour pros currently use Amino Vital including the past three Master's champion and Y.E. Yang, the current PGA Championship champ.

(pictured: an actual E-Bay lising for a used towel.)

Now the Amino Vital folks are offering a pretty neat contest to go along with the upcoming President's Cup - with prizes ranging from a week long pass for four to the Cup events to one of only 500 of their version of the President Cup's towel. That's for third place, and presumably not the grand prize.

Just Deserts For The Man With An Alligator Mouth And a Hummingbird's Tail Feathers

2009-09-15T15:40:00.000-04:00

Some people seem to have congenital Cranial-Rectal Inversion Syndrome, a sadly less than rare condition in which every time they open their mouths they seem to stick their head straight into their own rear end. In short, they are "The Jerk." When people first encounter them, they ask themselves "what the heck is wrong with this guy?" Later, when the behavior pattern inevitably repeats itself, they mutter "what a jerk!" After that, they rarely listen.

Golfer Rory Sabbatini seems to be determined to be the poster-boy for the afflication. Last week, Sabbatini was at it again. At the BMW Championship, Sabbatini went into a diatribe about missing the President's Cup team, where he couched the situation in his feeling slighted because no one called to tell him that he was not going to make the team.

This caused a few ripples around the golf world for about, well, fifteen minutes. That said, golf fans sighed collectively sighed and wondered if Tiger would use three-wood or driver on his next hole.

If Sabbatini was trying to make International captain Greg Norman look bad, he failed. If he was trying to re-position himself as golf's anti-hero, well, he failed in that regard too. Sabbatini has drained that well far past dry, and anything he says that is intended to stir controversy barely lasts a news cycle.

With Sabbatini, we've heard it all before and will almost certainly will hear it all again. Like the little boy who cried wolf, no one much listens to Rory these days. As Frank Nobilo, a co-captain of the International Team said from behind his desk at Golf Channel, "There are two sides to every story." Nobilo, a well liked commentator, added that Sabbatini would eventually get his phone call.

Truth is, a lot of PGA Tour members never got a call from either Greg Norman or US Captain Fred Couples. None made any headlines about it, and if they had a problem with feeling slighted, they handled it privately.

With Rory, It's All Happened Before, And (Sigh) Will Happen Again

You might remember that Sabbatini also made waves following the 2007 Wachovia Championship in Charlotte when he was the third round leader and then gave up five strokes to Tiger Woods to lose the tournament on Sunday. Inexplicably he proclaimed that Woods was "more beatable than ever." Since then, Rory has one once. Woods, two majors, and a couple of handfuls of wins, despite being out for months thanks to major knee surgery. If Tiger is more beatable than ever, it certainly isn't Sabbatini that's doing it, then or now.

Sabbatini's animus towards the World's #1 didn't get left behind in Charlotte. Later in 2007, during the final round of the Bridgestone Invitational he had a fan removed who heckled him with a question about Tiger Woods. Steve Banky, the fan in question, asked Sabbatini if he still thought Woods was beatable. Sabbatini took exception and had Banky thrown off of the course. "I figured he was talking a better game than he was playing,'' said Banky in a golf.com article. "I wasn't trying to dog him. At the press conference he had, he said Tiger was beatable. I just called him on it.''

In the press conference following that particular round, Sabbatini addressed the situation by saying, "we're out here to do our job - let us do our job. Have a little bit of decorum, a little bit of class out there. " This is something that apparently only applies to fans, as Sabbatini has repeatedly shown. Granted, Steve Banky probably should never have called out Sabbatini, but Sabbatini should have known well that he couldn't possibly win in the eyes of public after his remarks in Charlotte largely resulted in him being pilloried by not only the press but also by golf fans generally. At the Bridgestone, he only added fuel to the fire of fan dislike towards him.

Then, in December of the same year, more controversy was stirred when he withdrew from the final round of the Target World Challenge, an off-season event hosted by Tiger Woods. He cited "personal reasons," but once again Sabbatini failed to recognize that he would not be the winner in the public eye. That's because he was dead last going into that final round. He still collected a $170,000 check.

Of Sabbatinis behavior at the Target, Woods said in a USA Today article

"I've heard he had shin splints. I heard he pulled out for personal reasons. He packed his locker up at 3 o'clock yesterday, I think headed to Hawaii. A lot of different things going on. And I'd like to try and get to the bottom of it when I'm done here, and we'll see what happens."

Later, he was asked if he minded that Sabbatini left, and a cold stare spoke volumes.

While Sabbatini had no chance of winning the prestigious sixteen man event (chosen on the basis of world rankings) he did repeat as winner of Goat of the Month in not only fan's eyes, but also in those of his peers. Fred Couples said that Sabbatini should turn his "winnings" back into the foundation that hosted the event. Mark Calcavecchia was more direct, saying that the situation was "Rory being Rory. I think I could have toughed out one more round," Calcavecchia said. "I don't think the fans missed him."

Nor will fans likely miss Sabbatini in Atlanta next week at the Tour Championship.

As for the International Team for the President's Cup, Norman will almost certainly enjoy the quiet that will come with Sabbatini's absence. It's doubtful fans will bother to miss him there, either.

Those are the spoils of a man whose alligator mouth constantly overloads his hummingbird, err, tail feathers.

Jack Nicklaus's Grandson Is a Top College Football Prospect

2009-09-15T14:44:00.000-04:00

Nick O'Leary's grandfather knows a thing or two about championships -- he won twenty major ones in his career. That would be Jack Nicklaus, the man still considered to be golf's greatest champion. Nicklaus was a natural athlete in his prep school days, and not only in golf. He was a star basketball player at Upper Arlington High School in the late 1950's, playing several sports before narrowing his interests into golf, the sport in which he would rewrite the history books.

As for grandson Nick, he can golf too -- at 12 years old, he shot a 77 during his second-ever round. His true sport, however, is football.

According to the college sports recruiting service Rivals.com, O'Leary is a top college football prospect out of Florida:

As of last week, O'Leary - a 6-foot-4, 215-pound junior who is expected to be one of the nation's best tight ends in the 2011 recruiting class - already had received written scholarship offers from Florida, South Carolina, Miami, Tennessee, West Virginia, Boston College and Florida International.

Interest has picked up from Ohio State (his grandfather's alma mater), USF, UCF and Wisconsin.

By his coaches' accounts, O'Leary is a natural athlete. His coach at Palm Beach Gardens (FL) Dwyer High, Jack Daniels, says O'Leary has "the best hands I've ever seen on a high school player."

Nicklaus's pride in his grandson is barely concealed, where he quipped that

"Nick is such a natural (athlete). From the time that kid was 5-6 years old - if they put him in the outfield in baseball, at the crack of the bat he would be on it. You don't teach somebody that.

"In football, if he can touch it, he catches it. If the ball is in the air, he's going to be the first one there."

As for O'Leary, he's said to be humble and a good teammate who doesn't mention his family's (meaning Nicklaus's) history. "Somebody has to talk about him for Nick to say something about him. He doesn't bring him up," said Dwyer wide receiver Robert Clark, a 2010 Virginia commit. Sounds like O'Leary is a young man who will make a name for himself by earning it the old fashioned way: by his own merits. Just like his grandfather did.

A Great Peter Kostis Tip

2009-09-12T11:31:00.000-04:00

Not many know that CBS announcer and Golf Digest staff instructor Peter Kostis has a Twitter feed, and on it you will find some entertaining wit and incredible insight into the golf swing and his television job. Peter Kostis is, after all, a top expert on the golf swing, and if he doesn't know something about the PGA Tour, it's probably not worth knowing. That said, if you have a Twitter account, it's well worth it to follow his posts.

This morning on his feed, Mr. Kostis posted one of the best aphorisms I have ever come across about competing, whether it is on the PGA Tour, your club's championship, or even with your buddies in your weekly Sunday Nassau:

"To play your best, you must try hard to not try hard."

Indeed. Golf is one of the few sports where one can't really grit their teeth and as we say in the South, "bow your neck and go at it hard." In other words, it is a game where success comes from being calm, cool and collected in all circumstances, whether it is in on the tee, in the middle of the fairway, in a bunker fifty feet from the hole or standing over an eight foot putt to seal the match. In any of those situations, trying too hard will usually result in a bad effort because trying too hard is a quick shortcut to tension, and that in turn will lead more often than not to losing rhythm and using our smaller fast-twitch muscles instead of the larger and more powerful muscles at our body's core. Have you ever wondered why almost all of the top pros make their golf swing look so easy: it's because they are trying hard to not try hard.

Think of it this way: if you are honest with yourself, you usually hit a good shot when you are not trying to hit the ball hard, and instead swing in a smooth steady rhythm. When you "go hard" at the ball, the result is usually not as good and quite often, the ball ignores the flight path you had in mind. That's trying too hard, and just like Mr. Kostis says, it's smarter to try hard to not try hard.

Bobby Jones made the same point, and in far fewer words than I did above:

"You must swing smoothly to play golf well and you must be relaxed to swing smoothly."

So next time you are in a tense situation, like a forced carry, take a deep breath, slowly exhale, and consciously relax yourself before you take your swing. Take a couple of practice swings where you are concentrating on being smooth and mentally picture the ball going right to the target you have in mind. Don't say don't and keep it positive. If you can pull that off, you'll have a far better chance of pulling off that difficult shot.

Golf Courses Are Not All THAT Evil To The Environment

2009-09-11T11:53:00.000-04:00

Some folks like to constantly deride golf courses as wasted acreage that are bad for the environment, but as it is with any extreme viewpoint, the whole story is not told. Even though it is geared towards lawns, here are some interesting facts:

Oxygen production: a 50'x50' backyard produces enough oxygen for a family of four.
Cooling effect: eight average healthy front lawns have the cooling effect of 70 tons of air conditioning - enough for 16 average homes.
Pollution control: dust and smoke particles from the atmosphere are trapped by blades of grass. Lawns also convert carbon dioxide to oxygen.
Water quality: dense, healthy turf slows down and filters runoff, removing contaminants and trapping soil from running off as well.

Consider the first point: 50'x 50' is 2,500 square feet. An acre is 43,560 square feet, and roughly estimated, a typical golf course has 175 acres of grass. That means that a golf course has about 7.64 million square feet of grass, and if you do the math, again roughly estimated, a golf course produces enough oxygen for over 3,000 familes of four -- or 12,222 people each and every day.

In so doing, living grass converts Carbon Dioxide, the voodoo daddy of global warming into oxygen. Additional CO2 is sequestered as well, so with all things considered, it is very fair to say that golf courses have a negative effect on global warming. Whether or not you "believe" that manmade global warming is a huge problem, the point remains that golf courses are good for the air we breathe.

Additionally, all of the turf on a golf course does cool the air, which certainly offsets all of the hot air that the players on it may produce. More seriously, as a living thing, the cooling effect is another side benefit.

While it is an absolute truth that many if not most golf courses use too many chemical additives and insecticides in their ongoing maintenance, one hardly if ever hears of the overall effect of filtration that the turf provides in removing air and water pollutants. Superintendents are increasingly aware of over-use of the fertilizers and insecticides they use, and overall they are reducing them where ever possible. While there is still progress to be made, it is equally fair to point out the progress already attained and the other benefits seemingly never mentioned.

Folks that are singleminded in an environmentalist or anti-golf mindset may not like those facts, but it is certainly fair to point them out in riposte the next time they blather on about how golf and golfers are doing nothing but wrecking the environment. And if you really want to have fun, ask them about all of the toxic and hazardous materials that their hybrid vehicle has built into it. Or for that matter, their solar power panels.

As with all things, a balanced viewpoint is the best. While we certainly must take better care of our environment, it is unwise to accept an extremist point of view at face value without any critical analysis.

Phil Leaning Towards Playing In President's Cup; Amy May Come Along

2009-09-11T09:29:00.000-04:00

The World's #2 golfer seems to be on board the US team for the upcoming President's Cup matches at Harding Park in San Francisco, October 6-11.

The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that

Phil Mickelson, unable to commit to the event because of his wife Amy's breast-cancer treatment, is leaning toward playing in San Francisco. He also might bring Amy, who hasn't made a public appearance since her diagnosis in May.

It's wonderful news that Mrs. Mickelson's health has improved to the point where she may be able to accompany her husband and also withstand the inevitable media scrutiny that would come along with her making a sustained public appearance. Cancer treatment ravages one's body and spirit, and for Amy to even consider coming to San Francisco with Phil is a very good sign for her indeed.

There's Too Much Confusion, I Can't Get No Release

2009-09-10T21:37:00.000-04:00

Ever heard the term "release the club" but wondered just what the heck your pro or some guy on TV is talking about? I know I did, and for the longest time. No one ever explained in a way I could understand just what an early release was (which will probably give you a right-to-left shot, or a hook) or a late release (which will give you the dreaded left-to-right "slice") or right on time, which will probably give a powerful shot that's right on line.

Without going too far into physics - that tends to make non-engineers sleepy pretty quickly - what the release does is let go of all the energy that you stored up in your backswing. In its essence, it is the rotation of the hands and wrist through the impact zone, which in turn rotates the face of club while it's happening. Sounds complicated, but it really isn't. In in it's simplest terms: release equals power through greatly increased club speed. Doing it at the right time means accuracy, and power with accuracy is a great shortcut to lower scores.

Here's a great video of how and when to release that club and access all of that stored energy at the right time:

Finally, apologies to Bob Dylan for mangling the lyrics to "All Along The Watchtower" in the title.

The Day I Met The Once and Future King

2009-09-10T08:24:00.001-04:00

Tempest Fugit: Latin for "Time is Fleeting."

It seems like the day before yesterday - Arnold Palmer storming through golf fields with ease, with an army of followers cheering his every move. He was The King, The Man, and The Guy Who Made TV Golf What It Is.

And today, he is 80. Happy Birthday, Mr. Palmer.

The Day I Met Mr. Palmer -- A Day This Kid Golfer Has Never Forgotten

When I was a very young kid, perhaps five years old, I got to enjoy watching Arnold Palmer is his prime. Little as I was, I didn't see much, mainly legs of adults straining against gallery ropes for a glimpse of the world's most famous golfer as he strolled through. What I remember the most is the palpable excitement, followed by the instant hush as he prepared to swing, and that different sound his driver made as it crashed through a golf ball. Palmer's swing sounded like power. Afterward, I saw a white dot against a clear blue Florida sky, blasted into the heavens almost as if it were one of the rockets that my grandfather and my father launched at their jobs at Kennedy Space Center.

As soon as the ball disappeared, there was a stampede to follow Palmer down the fairway, and being little, it was almost as if I were in a human version of the Running of the Bulls in Pamploma, Spain. My grandfather held my hand tightly to keep me safe, and we would follow after the crowd thinned. We did this shot after shot, roar after roar, mile after mile. On young legs, 18 holes is a very long way. By the end of the day, I was exhausted.

Then the best part: as we walked towards our car, my grandfather, a man infamous for his shortcuts, ducked through the ropes and away we went besides the clubhouse. No one seemed to notice, and if they did, they didn't seem to mind. We turned a corner, and there he was: the man himself. Arnold Palmer.

My grandfather was a senior manager at Kennedy Space Center, a fellow who the nightly news interviewed from time to time to get the latest on the Gemini Project and some insight into the upcoming Apollo Project that was going to take men to the moon. During his career, he met often with politicians, celebrities and reporters regularly, so meeting a man like Mr. Palmer was something he could handle with ease. Thing was, he seemed to know The King, at least well enough to say "good to see you again, Arnold. How's Winnie?" From there, they made a bit of small talk. Palmer asked about the space program, my grandfather asked Arnie about his game. Then Palmer noticed me standing there quietly.

(pictured: on the right, my grandfather mans his instrument panel during Alan Shepard's flight into space in the Mercury Control Room at Cape Canaveral.)

"Who's this?" Palmer asked my Papa, looking at me.

My grandfather beamed. "This is young Charles," he said. "He loves to play golf."

"Nice to meet you, young man," Palmer said to me, smiling. I was dumbstruck. The man I saw most weekends on television was talking...to me! "Do you like to golf?" he asked."

"Yes...yes sir..."I stammered.

"He wants to be just like you," my grandfather interjected.

Palmer smiled, looked at me and said, "well, you look like a fine young man. Just keep on practicing and maybe you will one day, Charles."

"Yes...yes sir..." I replied.

As soon as I got home that afternoon, I grabbed my Spalding kid's set out to the yard without hardly a word to my parents. I was headed out to the yard, to practice, just like I had been told by Arnold Palmer.

It may not have worked out for me to ever be the golfer that Arnold Palmer was, but that day, it all seemed possible. And today, when I look at a blank scorecard on the first tee, it still seems possible. I just need to keep practicing...

Ben Hogan Explains His Swing Thoughts

2009-09-08T20:23:00.001-04:00

Almost any golf aficionado knows the story of Ben Hogan, and most know he is regarded as perhaps the best ball-striker ever. But not many of us have actually seen Mr. Hogan explain his swing. Here he does that:

Note Hogan's incredible extension through the ball, and how it, coupled with his coil creates incredible power. My personal opinion is that having an active lower body such as his is an invitation to having a huge slice, because not many amateurs are strong enough to release the club fully through the impact zone. I would recommend looking at Sam Snead or Byron Nelson videos for the picture-perfect golf swing, but that's just me. Your mileage may vary, of course, and far be it from me to give you any swing advice. That's best left to your pro.

From The Mouths of Babes

2009-09-08T12:30:00.001-04:00

My wife and I spent yesterday afternoon watching Deutshe Bank Championship's final round.

After an hour or so, she asked me: "Who is that guy who says something negative after every shot?"

Me: "That’s Johnny Miller."

Wife: "Was he any good when he played?"

Me: "Yes, he won a few majors in his day."

Wife: "He sure sounds bitter now."

Me: "That’s because he can’t putt any more."

Wife: "Well, I like that British guy..."
Me: "Faldo?"
Wife: "Yeah, him. I like Faldo better. He makes me laugh. Miller just sounds mean."

That's hard to argue with, and love or hate Johnny Miller, that's straight out of the mouth of a casual golf fan.