For a while there, it was hard to keep up with all the new golf courses. Golf course development was running wild, just like new houses. Not now, of course. Golf course developers are cutting back on building new courses and focusing on renovating old ones. “From hurricanes to a weakening economy, the golf industry hasn’t seen anything like this since the ’80s,” Russell Redford, CEO of the Redford Golf Group told Market Watch. Look at it this way: We may not be able to play more new courses, but we can watch more golf reality shows. Entertainment company WGL says it’s nearing ... full post »

I’m hardly the only one to make the prediction that more American golfers will become European golfers, and now Phil Mickelson has given us more ammunition. Mickelson told AFP he hopes the Singapore Open becomes part of the European Tour. “… If it were to become a European Tour event it would be great for me as it would be included as one of the now 12 events that you need to play to become a European Tour member,” Mickelson told the news service. “Although I haven’t yet joined, it is something I am certainly considering.” Who would have ever thought the European Tour ... full post »

When did major golf manufacturers start signing deals with celebrities? I know that as soon as this is posted, some celebrity-lover like Chris Baldwin will point out several such deals, but it still seems stupid to me. Callaway recently announced it “reached an agreement” with Justin Timberlake to “endorse and play Callaway equipment.” The company said the terms of the contract “are not being disclosed.” Damn! We need to get MSNBC on that. We NEED to know the terms of that contract. “We’re thrilled to have Justin as part of the Callaway staff,” said some company mouthpiece on a press release. “He has everything we ... full post »

I rarely hawk golf equipment on this site, but here’s something that actually lives up to its billing. The Club Glider from Sun Mountain is the best golf/travel bag I’ve ever used. It has fold-out legs that start roughly in the middle of the bag, and makes it so easy to roll, you can – I mean, literally – move it with your pinkie finger. Bag, clubs and everything you can stuff in it. They also have pivoting wheels. Here’s my review of the bag. Now, Club Glider is coming out with three different models: Pro, Meridian and Cascade. They’re designed from “weekend ... full post »

As my legions of readers know, I’m always on the lookout for good, cheap golf courses for the masses, and those are often municipal courses. Mangrove Bay Golf Course is one of those munis nobody seems to ever bad-mouth. It’s been around since for about30 years, and although it’s busy, the marshals are pretty aggressive in making sure pace of play keeps up. It has cheap green fees – $30-$41 – is well-conditioned and convenient, sitting here in the heart of St. Pete. It has decent length at 6,779 yards from the back tees and fairly easy, but a good day’s play, especially ... full post »

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Either I’m going deaf, blind or senile – maybe all three - but for the life of me I can’t find any evidence the World Series is being played here. Granted, I’m playing golf during the day, but I’m also doing a lot of driving around town, including around Tropicana Park, and I see and hear – almost nothing. A few small signs on businesses, a couple of people overheard talking about the game. That’s about it. If you didn’t pick up the local papers, you might never know the Tampa Bay Rays were playing a historic ... full post »

Tiger Woods says he expects it will be two full years before his injured ligament is fully healed, but also says he thinks he’ll be ready for the Masters next year, though not at full speed, obviously. “I’ll have six months off from surgery,” Woods told ESPN. “That puts me into January. And another four months puts me pretty much at 10 months. That’s a long time. I figure I can come back after 10 months.” Woods is basing his comments partly on how long it takes other athletes to come back from such injuries. “Generally, it’s six to nine months when football ... full post »

I love playing Donald Ross courses, especially those that have gone to lengths to maintain the integrity of his original design. The Belleview Biltmore Golf Club in Clearwater is such a course. Ross designed the layout back in the Roaring twenties, 1925 to be specific, right down the road from a course that claims to be the first in Florida, the Bellair Country Club. The Biltmore shut down the course for about a year in 2001. Over time, bunkers had shrunk and some had disappeared altogether, because of maintenance costs. But, the biggest problem was that modern technology had rendered them obsolete – ... full post »

You might have heard how Winged Foot, one of the most famous courses in the world, a layout that has hosted multiple U.S. Opens, is being sued by a homeowner who claims the lives of his family, including the dog, are being threatened by errant golf shots. It’s ludicrous, of course. What’s even more ludicrous is that a State Supreme Court Judge issued a temporary restraining order against the club, forcing it to shut down the hole in question, the par-3 sixth hole on the East course. Donald Trump is a member there, and he was quoted in the New York Times ... full post »

A man named Larry Berle, a golf convert thanks to his wife, decided one day he would play all the courses on the Golf Digest top-100 list. He initially figured it would take him two years. It ended up taking a decade. This is the kind of thing where you’d love to run into the guy in a bar or out on the course and hear the story first-hand. In any event, Berle turned it into a book. Unfortunately, he decided to write it himself. There’s some interesting stuff in there, but the self-published book has the feel of an amateur, a ... full post »

The second thing they ask you when you check into the Hershey Hotel, right after your name, is which chocolate you prefer: dark or milk chocolate? Hershey, Pennsylvania is Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, except for real. I happen to be a choco-holic, and I knew I was where I should be when I drove down Chocolate Avenue. Seriously. You can take a bath in a tub of cocoa at the Chocolate Spa. Again – seriously. Or a Fondue Wrap. Or a chocolate bean polish or chocolate “super scrub.” Myself, I prefer just to eat the stuff. The golf isn’t bad, either. Hershey ... full post »

If you’re a fan of those all-inclusive resorts AND a golfer, you’ll want to look into the Super Club resorts in Jamaica. If you stay at one of the island’s three Super Clubs resorts – Grand Lido Braco, Grand Lido Negril or Breezes Runaway Bay – you can play at any of their owned or operated golf clubs for free. No tee times, either. Just show up when you want and play as much as you want for free. That includes the best one of the bunch – the Breezes Runaway Bay course. It also includes free instruction, both private sessions and on-course ... full post »

The Reynolds Plantation, one of the top golf communities in the country in my humble opinion, is starting a reality show next week, based on its Red Zone Challenge Short Game School. The show is based on teams of pros and amateurs, focusing on their skills and personalities as they do drills that are part of the Red Zone Challenge. The Red Zone, as we all probably know, is the scoring area where the short game is crucial. The program was developed by Charlie King, director of the Reynolds Golf Academy. “We think that golfers who watch this show will see other ... full post »

I have nothing against Tiger Woods. I just wish he would be a little more honest. I’m specifically referring to an interview he gave to the Wall Street Journal recently regarding the new course he’s designing on the Baja California coast in Mexico. It’s in a development called Punta Brava. The development will have about 125 homes ranging in price from $3 million for a one-acre vacant lot to $3.5 million for a condo. Interviewer: “I understand the cheapest homes on this course start in the multi-million-dollar range? Why did you choose to do a development that focuses on the high end?” Woods: “I ... full post »

It’s only a matter of time before all of our American golf stars defect to the European Tour. The European Tour has just come out with its new look, a look that will take place in two dozen countries on five continents, culminating with the grand lalapalooza, the $20 million Dubai World Championships. How can they do this, you’re asking? Isn’t Europe just as caught up in the global economic chaos as us? Well, here’s a clue: In Arabic, the word Dubai means “we will crush you because we’re swimming in oil.” So the European Tour has dropped its Order of Merit – which ... full post »