Many have inquired on the web, in print, at the water cooler, if the Tiger Woods liaison scandal is the greatest sports ignominy of all time. I do not so believe, for two reasons. First, Tiger Woods did not break a law. Scandal-mongers tend to look favorably (or unfavorably, take your pick) on law breakers. Second, his actions do not directly influence his professional record. Steroids, pine tar and corked bats influenced baseball records. Tiger’s dalliances might have made him less than mortal in the relationship league, but they did not enhance his victory ... full post »

If you follow my writings as zealots follow Gospel updates (have not seen very many over the past two thousand years, sadly), you know that I have undergone a conversion of sorts to personalized club fitting. After years of clubs purchased off the rack, I decided that my 5 feet 9 inch frame, equal parts legs and torso, was in need of some personalized attention (read: my clubs are made for someone 1.5 inches taller and have always been too darned upright!) I journeyed south in October to Pennsylvania to visit the closest Henry-Griffitts teacher/fitter I could find. ... full post »

If you are a golfing neophyte, the headlines concerning the sport these days must have your head spinning. From the unfortunate Mr. Woods to the unfortunate Mr. Barron, golf seems to revolve around one thing: testosterone. Mr. Woods and his colleagues, it seems, have too much of it for one individual to contain…with two exceptions: Sean Micheel and Doug Barron. What, you ask, is the matter with Micheel and Barron? Nothing that a shot of synthetic testosterone won’t salve. Both gentlemen have been diagnosed with low testosterone levels, reducing sex drive and energy levels, it appears. Micheel applied for and was ... full post »

1. The USA proved the superiority of its socio-economic structure by riding seven consecutive birdies to a T7 placement in the World Cup of Golf this weekend. The USA leap-frogged Hugo Chavez’ Venezuelan team, who could only muster an even-par Sunday, 10 strokes behind the day of Team USA and one stroke in arrears after 72 holes. 2. Sibling rivalry took a back seat as the Brothers Molinari turned in a solid, unspectacular 68 on Sunday to defeat the Irish and the Swedes by one stroke. Edoardo and Francesco took advantage of teams that had no gas ... full post »

Team USA made eight birdies in better-ball or fourball competition on Saturday and shot -5 for the day. Three bogies in better-ball is unheard of for amateur hacks, and completely inconceivable for the world’s top professionals. Well, strap on your saddle, cowboys, because Team RWB did not make any bogies. Somehow, someway, John Merrick made a triple-bogey 8 on the par five 15th hole and Nick Whatney COULD NOT BEAT IT !!!!!! How in any deity’s name does a pro triple bogey a par five? Better yet, how does he collect the skin on the hole from his partner? ... full post »

The World Cup defines team play in an individual sport. Might be that defines is too strong a word; perhaps anticipates is a more correct choice. One of the great challenges of any team coach in the golfing realm is the one that decrees that players must work together for communal success and glory. After all, professional golfers simply don’t work together in the way that athletes from other sports do. Imagine the American League, golf style, under a scenario where Loren Roberts walked the golf course, hitting no full or partial shots, but was called upon to ... full post »

Not since “Yeah, wanna make 14 bucks the hard way” have I wanted to type those three tantalizing words: the hard way. WELL, all things come to an end. I cannot confirm nor deny (since I am lazy) that Rickie Fowler is the only biped to lose playoffs on both the Nationwide and PGA Tours this year, but I anticipate that the odds are in my corner. I can confirm that he was absolutely sweet at Merion, winning a painters cap-load of points in the USA victory over GBI. Fowler has over $500K in his ... full post »

A week back, I wrote an entry on my anticipated fitting with a regional Henry-Griffitts teacher. That is correct and not a typo, a teacher. I was as stumped as you might be, reading this. I visited their website and found one menu item that read “Find a Certified Teacher.” Thanks to a previous photography commitment, I knew that Pennhill Golf Club’s head professional is a certified teacher and clubfitter with H-G. With the next closest teacher some five hours away, the 2 hour drive to visit Corky Buckham in Bradford, Pennsylvania made a whole lot more ... full post »

If the secrecy involving the candidacy of Michael Whan is the good sign that I take it to be, the LPGA is prepared to right the ship that foundered partly thanks to ex-commissioner Bivens and partly thanks to the world economy. I have followed this whole process publicly and, as the Safeway Classic director first stated, the initial time we head the name Michael Whan was at the naming presser. Whan seems to have all the experience needed to run the ship. What I would like to see is a 200% effort made to bring events like Corning back ... full post »

The golf web sites are abuzz with news that Steve Carell, an actor I laugh at but can hardly stand to observe, is in line to play the lead role in Missing Links, one of the five best and funniest fictional golf pieces ever. In what could be the worst miscasting since Matt Damon’s golf swing in “The Legend of Bagger Vance,” Carell as Raymond Lee Hart would continue Hollywood’s tradition of eviscerating great golf novels on the big screen. Hart should be played by a good-looking, 5′10″ guy, not intimidating but definitely strong and athletic. Carell is none ... full post »

Ten years is a long time to hold a grudge. I was 33 years old, awaiting the arrival of the completion of 34, when Payne Stewart’s plane rose then fell. I recall scanning the list of casualties, sorry that I could not recognize the names of the pilots, the agents, the course designer. In those infant days of the internet, when a single phone line was split 3 to 5 ways, we clung to the monitor. Awaiting any news on the matter, it ended the way it had to end, in death and loss and sadness. And something else began that ... full post »

When I was a young’un back in the early 1980s, a certain ad caught my eye. Two gents name of Henry and Griffitts had developed a method for precision fitting a set of golf clubs to any individual golfer. Since I did not have two nickels to rub together back then, I pledged to my own self that I would one day acquire me a set of those fine instruments. Almost three decades later, that day has arrived. This weekend, I will venture to Bradford, Pennsylvania, a mostly two hour jaunt from B-Lo, to the Penn Hills Club. There, ... full post »

Nike has fired off two press releases in the past month concerning new golf shoe lines. The Tour Premium Golf Shoe looks like this and fits snugly around the entire foot with great comfort and flexibility. It is quite eye-catching, as each member of my most recent groupings instinctively inquired, “New shoes, huh?” The shoe has a classic line, with no expected Nike swoosh. I’ve had a few nine-hole rounds in which to test them and I am satisfied enough to include them in my regular rotation of shoes (in other words, they have found a home ... full post »

Caught this as my morning round on Sunday was being canceled by a deluge England’s Anthony Wall was unable to play his singles match against Spaniard Alvaro Quiros on the final day of The Vivendi Trophy with Seve Ballesteros in Paris. Wall had injured his shoulder on Friday afternoon and did not play in either session yesterday, but lengthy physio could not get him fit enough in time. Under the rules of the event - Continental Europe against Great Britain & Ireland - a half was agreed with a player chosen by Continental captain Thomas Bjorn to sit out the singles. Do not call ... full post »

I shall attempt to make concise and salient points. It occurred to me that the Walker Cup mirrors my own forays into golf writing, albeit with one caveat (to be cited later.) Walker Cup golfers, at this stage, are amateur players. With the exception of Nathan Smith on the USA side, their immediate plan is to attempt a professional career at some juncture. In the case of Smith, his career is well established and his need to perform on the glamour stage is nil. He is an excellent weekend golfer, doubtless a member at a ... full post »