We've Moved To Our New Site

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

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

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

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

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

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

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....

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

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...

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

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

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'

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

“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

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.

(Shoal Bay Beach photo by Charles Boyer, (c) 2008)

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)

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

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

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

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

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.