Take a break from all those fancy, high-priced restaurants when you’re visiting Jacksonville, and go visit Beach Road Chicken Dinners. Best restaurant in town if you’re looking for a hearty, Southern meal. It’s a Jacksonville establishment. It’s so old, it was built back when Atlantic Blvd. was the only road in town that led to the beach – thus, the name. They give you a mess of old-time, fried chicken, and then serve you heaping bowls of fixins,’ like mashed potatoes, gravy, cole slaw, and especially the cream peas. You want more, you just heap ‘em on your plate. You will never ... full post »

So Tiger Woods gets to celebrate his birth-month. The rest of us usually get only a day to celebrate, or mourn, our birthdays. Woods is taking almost the whole month of January to ease the pain of turning 30, probably on some secluded Caribbean island with his svelte, Swedish wife. I’ve heard some criticism of Woods for not playing the Mercedes, reserved for PGA Tour winners. I say, stop your belly-aching. It isn’t like he needs the money, and he can probably give the rest of the field a one-month head start and catch up without breaking a sweat. This isn’t ... full post »

It’s amazing the number of people who say they prefer the Valley course over the much more famous Stadium course at the Tournament Players Club in Ponte Vedra, a little south of Jacksonville. On a recent tour of the Jacksonville area – the First Coast as the PR folks like to say – I had more people tell me they enjoyed the Valley course over the heavily-televised Stadium, with its famous No. 17 island green. That includes pros and amateurs alike. I’m betting there are thousands upon thousands of people who don’t even know the TPC has two courses. I played ... full post »

I’m a fan of municipal golf courses. Always have been, always will be. I like the working man atmosphere, playing with the great unwashed. Of course, the down side are courses left un-attended, weeds sprouting in the fairways, pock-marked greens and bored bureaucrats behind the pro shop counter. That’s why it’s always a treat to play a really good muni, like Bent Creek in Jacksonville. Formerly known as the Golf Club of Jacksonville, Billy Casper’s management company has turned a decent muni into an excellent one. Casper poured $300,000 into it – a lot of money for a muni. It’s actually ... full post »

Jacksonville, Florida is a very under-rated golf destination. For the life of me, I can’t understand why it hasn’t achieved the status of a Myrtle Beach. It has nearly as many golf courses, is much easier to get to by car, and there’s more to do off the golf courses. It has some problems – there aren’t many core golf experiences – courses with no homes – because developers own northeast Florida and it is very spread out and hard to get around in the traffic – but the variety of courses is impressive. Look for more stories on Jax golf ... full post »

The loss of golf courses along the Grand Strand is starting to get scary. It’s one thing when lesser courses are sold for re-development, because that could be seen as simply market forces at work. Oversaturation and booming real estate value can explain that. But when premier resorts like Wild Wing Plantation are threatened, that’s something else altogether. The plantation was recently bought by a local group from a Japanese conglomerate, acording to Myrtle Beach Online, and the new owners say they may redevelop part of the four-course facility, one of the Grand Strand’s elite. The new owners told the publication they ... full post »

I loved Biloxi, Mississippi before Katrina, and I’ll probably love it after. The casinos are already re-building and some expect to be open before the new year, albeit in extremely temporary quarters. But, most if not all, will be building on land, within 800 feet of the coast. Before Katrina, they were allowed to be built only over water, which meant they had to be set atop barges. Walking into one always made me feel like a riverboat gambler, like Maverick. I entered with a crooked smile and the certain knowledge of my own destiny. Plus, I liked the way certain angles ... full post »

I’m not sure Annika Sorenstam is getting her just due, with all the talk going on about the hot young women golfers like Michelle Wie, Paula Creamer, Morgan Pressel, et al. Here we have a woman who could turn out to be the best of all time, and it seems to me she should be getting more pub than she is, what with all the spats involving Wie, Creamer and Pressel and, yes Sorenstam herself. Sorenstam, who just won Player of the Year honors from the Golf Writers Association of America, won 10 LPGA events this year, giving her a career ... full post »

Ladies, just because you can’t get into Augusta doesn’t mean you can’t golf here. In less than a week, I’ve found several courses that, while not on a par with Augusta National certainly, are well worth your time. Mt. Vintage is a terrific course and a great value, with fireplaces burning in a century-old clubhouse. The River Golf Club, just across the Savannah River from Augusta, was built on an abandoned railroad yard and illegal dump, and is perfect for ladies, demanding accuracy over ape-like strength. Jones Creek is another excellent course, as is Bartram Trail. Green fees for the most ... full post »

It looks like the Grand Strand may lose another golf course. A developer told Myrtle Beach online that he plans to buy the South Course at the Deer Track Golf resort and build 500 homes on it. The sale is pending and if it goes through, plans call for the course to be closed the end of April, according to the publication. There is another course at the resort, the recently renovated Toski Links, that would remain open. Bill Clark of Bill Clark Homes told the online version of the Sun News he would build “mostly single family and some single-level ... full post »

All hail the Funk. Fred Funk, who wasn’t even supposed to be there, dominates the Skins Game to the shock of pretty much everybody. I think this shows how new technology isn’t dominating the game, even on the pro level. Funk was barely longer than Annika Sorenstam off the tee (and when he wasn’t, he had to pay dearly for it, wearing a skirt). But, his accuracy beat the most dominant players in the game, both men and women, and Fred Couples, the King of the Silly Season. It was like Kobe Bryant’s father beating him at one-on-one. I wonder if Nike ... full post »

Nice to see Bart Bryant win the Tour Championship this past weekend. It just shows to go you you don’t need to be King Kong off the tee to win against the best on the PGA Tour. It’s like all those teaching pros tell us hackers over and over – keep it in the fairway. Bryant moved 20 places to No. 24 in the official world golf rankings. It’s also a tribute to TIger Woods that he managed to finish second without his “A” game. full post »

A golf playoff? Does this mean we’re going to see fans in the galleries with painted faces, barbecuing and tailgating in the parking lot? PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem said yesterday the powers that be are putting the finishing touches on a restructured schedule that will make the season more compact, more intense and with a hopefully exciting finish. It’s about time. The tour season currently ends with a whimper. After the PGA Championship in August, everybody who’s anybody basically takes their golf balls and goes home or to Hawaii. A playoff – with the top 144 points earners playing three unnamed ... full post »

Yes, it’s a shame Michelle Wie’s pro debut had to be spoiled by such an unseemly disqualification. A fourth-place finish in her first pro tournament would have been very impressive. But, even more impressive to me was her reaction to the DQ. True, she reacted like the typical teenager she is, by becoming emotional and crying – what teenager surrounded by that much hype would not have reacted in a similar way? – but she ultimately handled it with class, saying “I respect the rules.” She showed the maturity of someone far beyond her years. Not so for her “fans.” I’ve already ... full post »

Whether you’re a Wie Wacko or a Wie Wannabe, you have to admit she has played the system perfectly to get to where she is – $10 million richer overnight. She hasn’t played it traditionally, just in a perfect, capitalistic way. Would she be $10 richer today if she had followed the usual route up through the amateur ranks? I seriously doubt it. She’d be just another, teen, amateur phenom. Look for my full column on this theme coming out Monday. You’ll find it amusing, insightful and informative, not at all like those crazed, obsesssive, mean blogs Chris Baldwin writes. full post »

I’m betting few people are going to use the word “choke” in connection with John Daly’s missed three-footer in Sunday’s final round of the American Express Championship. He’s such a beloved character, everyone’s trying to find an excuse, including Daly himself. ("I may have pulled it, I don’t know,” Daly said afterward). Yes, you pulled it because you gagged. True, Daly had been having putting problems the whole day. Yes, he missed other short putts. But, missing a three-foot putt in a playoff with Tiger Woods – in a prestigious, international field – has to be called what it is: a choke of ... full post »

There is no other name in golf these days that causes so much controversy: Michelle Wie. The teenager is finally due to turn pro today and every golfer will have an opinion. It’s easy to see why she causes so much commotion – she has taken a different route to early stardom, and golf is a game that loves to play by the rules. When a maverick comes along, it upsets the rigid guidelines golf likes to go by. She’ll be an instant millioniare when she makes the announcement today in Hawaii. The down side for her is that she’ll be under ... full post »

If you haven’t been to Sarasota in the last 10 years, you may not recognize it. The place has really boomed in the last five years. Once part of that area known as “God’s waiting room,” it’s experiencing both growth and an influx of yuppies. The average age is now lower than 98. The place has always been a bastion of older, wealthier folks who wanted the sleepy town to stay exactly the way it was. But, you can’t contain growth in Florida, and Sarasota has learned that. The result is a building boom, which includes golf courses. Sarasota County is home ... full post »

The Venetian Golf and River Club, in North Venice, just outside Sarasota, Florida, has a driving range that actually makes warming up fun. It’s a lake, for christ’s sake. Now, I’m sure there is someone out there who will point out other courses that have watery driving ranges, but it’s the first time I’ve run across one, and it’s a blast. They have floating greens with flags and when you try and hit them it’s almost like when you were a kid playing some stupid, made-up game just for the sake of playing it. I almost forgot my tee time. The ... full post »

Lost in the crazed madness of the U.S. Solheim Cup team win this past weekend was veteran Mark Calcavecchia’s first win in four years. It was almost but not quite a blast from the past, when the 45-year old won the Canadian Open even though his last two rounds were over par. His five-under 275 for the tourney was the highest score on the PGA Tour this year, other than the U.S. Open and PGA Championship. Here I was thinking just the other day Calcavecchia was through. He was starting to seem like an anachronism, one of those older, also-rans you thought ... full post »

All those Nancy Lopez critics who stubbornly cling to their mis-placed critiques of the Solheim Cup captain should listen to the U.S. youngsters. You see, picking a team to play in international competition is more than just looking at numbers. It’s striking the right balance, which Lopez did to perfection. Paula Creamer: “I mean, I played with two veterans and Christie Kerr. What better than to have a first Solheim Cup than that?” Chrstina Kim: “Players of the likes of Julie, Rosie Michele, Pat, Nancy Meg, Beth all of them, they came in and told us of their past experiences, so we could ... full post »

Nancy Lopez sure knows how to pick them, huh? The U.S. Solheim Cup team, displaying a perfect blend of youth and experience, won the Cup easily Sunday, taking six of the first seven singles matches and running away with it. Lopez made her team practice alternate shot play before it ever arrived at Crooked Stick, and it paid off. The two teams were tied at 8 going into Sunday’s final match, which had to make U.S. fans happy, since Americans usually dominate individual play. They did, and the Cup remains on American soil. I guess all those critics who said Lopez is ... full post »

I have a theory about why the Solheim Cup is getting so much interest this year. It’s a pretty simple theory: The U.S. men can’t win the Ryder Cup, so we’re pinning our hopes on the women. Americans are getting fed up with the pampered U.S. male golfers who seem to go down every other year to the Europeans without much of a fight. The U.S. team squabbles with each other, they’re aloof, they don’t seem to care that much, about each other, the event itself or even the American fans who are ostensibly pulling for them. Maybe the women will be ... full post »

While the PGA rivals FEMA in its red tape-hampered assistance to Hurricane Katrina victims, players and courses are doing it directly. Greg Norman lent both his helicopter and pilot to the rescue efforts, helping ferry medical supplies to hospitals. Other courses all over the country are holding every kind of fundraiser. Desert Dunes Golf Club in Hot Springs, CA, will be donating 25 percent of all green fees to the effort, to name just one example. Why can’t the PGA just write a check, as so many other athletes and entertainers are doing? full post »

This is a little belated, but I have to respond to the Rebel Blogger, who once again must have had some of that wacky tobaccy in his cigar. He responded to a blog I wrote praising Thistle Golf Club near Myrtle Beach for its 12-minute interval tee times, a welcome change of pace on the Grand Strand. The Rebel said it was a PR ploy built to disguise the fact the Thistle’s rounds were sagging. Actually, rounds are sagging everywhere on the Grand Strand – that doesn’t take away from the 12-minute intervals. Also, note that the Thistle instituted those 12-minute tee ... full post »

European Ryder Cup captain Ian Woosnam is telling Euros to ditch their riches in America and come home to Europe, if they want to play on his team. Euros get points in two ways: from the world rankings points and from European Tour results. It’s possible a European player could get a lot of world points, but lose out on the team if he doesn’t garner enough European Tour points. “I will be speaking to them,” Woosnam told Reuters. “I want that sort of player in the team.” Imagine the American Ryder Cup captain trying to fiddle with the schedules of American ... full post »

You have to feel for everybody in Mississippi and Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina swept through, including the Mississippi Golf Coast, in the Biloxi-Gulfport area. You can bet those courses won’t be up and running for some time, if ever. Calls to the area were, not surprisingly, unsuccessful. In fact, we here in Florida are having a difficult time calling out anywhere, and we were just slapped by the storm. The Gulf Coast was dealt a haymaker. What a complete shame: the Golf Coast is a great area, with all those casinos and good courses nearby. Here’s wishing them a successful recovery; I ... full post »

You can tell by Jennifer Mario’s wild and frizzy hair that she’s a young radical too caught up in the culture of pop and youth. She wanted Nancy Lopez to pick Michelle Wie and Morgan Pressel for the U.S. Solheim Cup team. Instead, Lopez picked Beth Daniel and Wendy Ward. Ward is one of the hottest players on the LPGA Tour right now, and Daniel is a solid veteran that will help the team in all kind of ways. Whatever happened to earning you way onto a team that represents America? Wie is all the rage now, with her crazed, aggressive ... full post »

I’m not sure if the Auburn-Opelika area is the best metro golf destination in the country, as Golf Digest claims, but it does have some great golf at bargain basement prices. The two Grand National courses alone are worth a stay. Both the Lake and Links courses have $55 green fees and would be twice that at many other places in the country. They are that good, both designed by Robert Trent Jones. There is also a good short course. Moore’s Mill and Auburn Links are also good as well as cheap. Now, Auburn-Opelika doesn’t exactly set the night on fire as far ... full post »

It’s early, but thus far Florida has a commanding lead over Alabama in the Great Barbecue Wars. Tonight, I ate at the Barbecue House, the oldest barbecue joint in Auburn, Alabama. It came highly reccommended, and I was quivering with hungry excitement. The first sign something was wrong was when they told me they were out of chicken. How can you call yourself a barbecue joint and be out of chicken at 6 p.m.? The pulled pork was bland, the barbecued cole slaw (which I’d never had and was feverishly anticipating) was bland and even the baked beans were tasteless. ... full post »

The 54-hole Grand National complex in Opelika has to be one of the better deals in the South, and on the Robert Trent Jones Trail. Both the Lake and Links courses are excellent layouts, set well back in the east Alabama hills, with good elevation changes and terrific views of the big Lake Saugahatchee and surrounding countryside. Green fees here are in the $55 range, about half of what you’d pay in many other parts of the country, especially for a Robert Trent Jones designed course. Jones allegedly said this was one of the best areas he’d ever seen for a ... full post »

I know I’m a little late with the Great Tiger Woods Bailout – hey, seven hours of driving through the boring Alabama countryside will do that – but I cannot resist jumping in. Was Tiger wrong? Of course he was. He was the leader in the clubhouse for a while there, and anything could have happened, even in the relatively few holes left at the PGA. What if the other guys had stumbled, which isn’t exactly unheard of when Phil Mickelson is playing. You would have had a fiasco of momunmental proportions. Those people who say Tiger can do it because he’s, ... full post »

More than a few people were stunned when Golf Digest picked the Auburn-Opelika area as the best “metro” area for golf in the U.S. Don’t count the people in Auburn-Opelika among them. They were happy about the recognition, but sort of took the news in stride. Anyway, I got curious, so I’m heading up there in a couple of days to report on whether or not the ranking is valid. Anybody ever played there? Is it worthy of the ranking? We’ll see. full post »

All this worry and hand-wringing over advancing technology in golf equipment strikes me as a little hysterical. It reminds me of that era when basketball fans were clamoring to have the basket moved higher than 10 feet, when it seemed like everyone and his brother was dunking. Thank god the basketball gods never did, because it would have changed the game, making it different from the one you and I play. Yes, pro golfers are longer off the tee these days, just like hoopsters are dunking more. But, at least from a specators’ vantage, isn’t it fun to watch high-flying slamma-jammas? ... full post »

So Lefty didn’t blow it, but all you Phil Mickelson fans out there, admit it: you waited til he sank that one and a half foot putt on No. 18 before you breathed a sigh of relief, didn’t you? And you, Rebel Blogger, what do you have to say for yourself, now? Still enjoy watching Mickelson play, waiting for him to choke? Guess you’ll have to be content watching Greg Norman on the Geezer Circuit, or any of the PGA Tour events he deigns to play. I really think Mickelson will be less apt to gag now that he’s won another major. ... full post »

Is Lefty back? Maybe – after taking a four-shot lead at the PGA Championship. The question is, why didn’t he go to that power fade before this? Why did he wait so long? Nicklaus used a fade to perfection, taking one whole side of trouble out of play. Still, there’s two long days left and we all know Lefty has a tendency to get a little tight around the collar in the big ones. All those Lefty lovers must be real nervous… full post »

European golfers have already offered their pre-excuses of why they can’t win U.S. majors and particularly the PGA Championship. Now, the fawning European golf media is getting into it. John Huggan is a columnist for Scotland on Sunday and a European correspondent for Golf Digest and Golf World. He lives in Scotland. He lists five factors why the Euros can’t win here, and most are typical European whining, except for the last one. 1-Europeans were unable to play in U.S. majors for many years, for whatever reasons. That may have been true in the past, but not in recent decades. 2-He uses ... full post »

Well, the Europeans are already making excuses for the PGA Championship this week at 7,392-yard Baltusrol. “They’ve made the same old mistake, gone for length instead of subtlty,” Irishman Paul McGinley told the Irish Examiner. “Length, length, length, that’s not what the game is about, and still they’re going to have good scoring here because the greens are soft.” Well, you know this happens all the time at majors. This is what they do, make the courses longer so it will be more of a test, hopefully to produce a great champion. McGinley went on to imply the course is being set ... full post »

I’m not quite ready to make a prediction about who will win the PGA Championship at Baltusrol this week. But, I am ready to make a prediction about who will NOT win. Any European. The last European to win a PGA Championship was Scot Tommy Armor 75 years ago. It won’t happen this year, not with Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and South African Retief Goosen in the field, among others. Why is it Europeans can be so good in the Ryder Cup, yet so lousy in head-to-head competition? I guess it’s because they were brought up in team-oriented golf and always crow about ... full post »

So I’m playing golf at the Duran Golf Club in Melbourne, FL., and it’s 10:39 a.m. My playing partner and I turn to the southeast and see a ball of fire ascending into the clear, blue sky, a plume of smoke billowing behind. Of course, it’s the space shuttle Discovery. Golf on the Space Coast is underrated. They have 22 courses there, from Titusville in the south to Melbourne in the north, some of them excellent. The Space Coast people are now trying to market themselves as a viable, Florida golf destination, and why not? There’s good golf, great scenery, a ... full post »

If you’re a golfer and haven’t seen Ben Crane play yet, do yourself a favor – don’t. If you aren’t a golfer, do yourself a favor and watch him, either in person at a tournament or on television. It will either amuse and delight you or horrify you and and prevent you from taking up the game. Crane, who won the US Bank Championship in Milwaukee this past weekend, is best known for being a slow player. An excruciatingly slow player. He drove Rory Sabbatini off the deep end at the Booz Allen. Crane might as well be a 9-5 office worker, ... full post »

I agree that The Rebel often has his hat on too tight and his cigar too loose, but I agree with him on his LPGA rant. Now, I have nothing against the LPGA. I like watching women’s golf, though I like women’s tennis better because the skirts are shorter and the legs are longer. BUT – if there are PGA Tour and LPGA events on TV simultaneoulsy – it’s a no-brainer. I’ll go with the men every time, just like probably 90 percent of all American sports fans, I’ll wager. It isn’t a question of gender – despite what those particular kind ... full post »

Being a native Floridian, I’ve been to Fort Lauderdale dozens of times in the past, but not in the last 10-15 years or so. Fort Lauderdale was the scene of the incredibly hokey movie, “Where the Boys Are,” but my hazy memories of the place involve road trips with girls in the back seat, their bare feet sticking out the windows, empty beer cans piling up (these were the days before they’d shoot you on sight for having open containers). Anyway, I’m back now, years later, looking for golf instead of more girls. You don’t ordinarily think of Fort Lauderdale ... full post »

Frank Deford has long been one of the few sportswriters I’ve admired, actually the only sportswriter I can think of I’ve ever really respected, along with maybe Scott Ostler and the late Shelby Strother. So I considered his opinion in his recent column for Sports Illustrated on Michelle Wie. I’ve been waffling on the Wie issue: should she really play with the big boys when she hasn’t really proven herself? Is it good for golf or only good for her? Deford makes a good point: Women’s sports have long suffered, relative to men’s, from a lack of exposure. When a phenomenal talent ... full post »

Yes, I had mixed emotions about Tiger Woods winning the British Open so easily Sunday. He’s a great champion, and a ball to watch. Nobody hits it like Woods, nobody playing golf today has such intense concentration and competitive fire to go with his soaring ability; he plays golf like an all-pro linebacker with both power and finesse. I’m hoping he has regained his form from several years ago, when he dominated, but I also hope the rest of the world has caught up with him, so we can have a little drama in these majors. His five-stroke Sunday makes me ... full post »

I understand this will prompt death threats and cause me misery, loss of income and possibly the estrangement of loved ones, but I’ve never liked Jack Nicklaus. Ever since I covered the Players Championship at Sawgrass years ago and saw him mercilessly berate his caddy in the parking lot – well out of the range of TV cameras – I’ve never liked him. I don’t like his thin, reedy voice. I don’t like what appears to be his shallowness. I don’t like his curt nature with those he doesn’t believe are as good as him. I don’t know – look, I’ve ... full post »

So I’m watching the British Open on the telly (see, I speak British) with my buddy Mike Malone from Alabama and he says: “Is that a golf course? Looks like the cow pastures we have back in ‘Bama.” Reminded me of Sam Snead’s quote when he first saw the course: “Down home, we wouldn’t plant cow beets on something like that.” Fouteen greens serve two holes – what, the cheap Scots didn’t want to spring for more greens? And what’s the deal with No. 18? Everybody but Michelle Wie is driving it. Golf has been played for 500 years at St. Andrews ... full post »

The Rebel has been inhaling too much of his own cigar smoke again. In a recent blog, he blasts Mississippi Golf Coast PR man Kevin Drum for…caring too much. Drum is a good man and a good PR guy. He set up an excellent itinerary for me when I visited the Biloxi area several months ago. His research was thorough and he knows a great deal about the golf history in the area. The trip went off without a hitch, and was better organized than most. He and his staff went out of their way to make sure they could do ... full post »

Greg Norman will inject some much-needed drama into the seniors tour. Norman, who recently turned 50, will play the 19th Senior British Open, according to press reports, and it’s none too soon. Everybody loves a charger, which Norman was in his heyday, and although he won more than his share and was the best in the world for a while, he had a tendency to choke in some big ones. Norman is still in denial about that, but the facts are there. Still, he’s enjoyable to watch and if he’s on his game, he could supplant Hale Irwin as the hero of ... full post »

A reader wrote in with a suggestion for fixing slow play, saying the U.S. should go the European route by requiring valid handicap cards before getting on a golf course. That way, the reasoning goes, U.S. golfers would be forced to play from the appropriate tees. Also, did you know some European countries require golfers to TAKE A TEST before they can play? I say, both ideas are beyond absurd. Golf already has a well-deserved reputation as an elitist sport, and this would make it more so. Can you imagine Americans being told they have to take a test and show ... full post »

The slow pace of play in golf is a subject that sparks emotion and fierce debate among both pros and hacks: You either blasted Rory Sabbatini or praised him for his recent actions that spotlighted the problem yet again. Many of you had it right: the problem would be greatly alleviated, if not wiped out altogehter, if only the greedy golf industry – mainly, the golf courses themselves – would make a few simple changes. Ladies and gentelmen, I give you the Thistle Golf Club near Myrtle Beach. In an area that herds golfer in and out like fast food restaurant hell, ... full post »

For those of you who have expressed interest, the Great Press Revolt in Italy was undone by a force more powerful than the Italian government and global media combined: I’m talking about wives. The male golf writers – from England, Germany and the U.S. mainly – who are on a press tour of Italy, spoke openly of revolution, in response to the Italian government’s demands of the writers on the tour. On the bus ride home, from another 18-hour day, the males sounded like Che Guevara. There was NO WAY they were going to have another five-hour dinner that ended at 2 ... full post »

The Italian government is trying hard to promote its golf. The problem is, there are not that many golf courses, only about 200 or so in the whole country, and they are rather spread out. So what do you do? You promote “Golf and more” – the “more” being basically food and wine. So far, some of the courses are good, they are just hours apart. Still, the Italians are never in a hurry, so you just take a slow drive through the Italian countryside, drink some wine, and play golf when you get there. The only problem is, tourism officials want ... full post »

I love to jump on a man when he’s down. It’s the best time to jump because he’s usually defenseless. So I’ll get my shots in on Chris Baldwin, along with the rest of you who have gone nuts over Baldwin’s blog on Retief Goosen being history after his near-death experience at the U.S. Open. Goosen is too cool to let the experience stay with him for long. Oh, it’ll stick in his craw for a while, but he’ll get over it. Look at Greg Norman, the biggest choker in modern day history. He’s still in self-denial, but he came back ... full post »

Anybody know anything about golf in Italy, specifically in the Venice area? I’m heading there today, and staying outside Venice in a place called Udine. I’m bringing my clubs, a taste for good wine and several razors to offer as gifts to women with hairy armpits. So, is that a misguided cliche, or what? Do the women really go au naturel under their sleeves? Do they really drink wine for breakfast? Is there great golf there, like I found on my recent trip to South Africa? What are the “must-sees” in Venice? I’ll be filing Italian travel and golf blogs the next ... full post »

I’m not normally one of those sadists who enjoys seeing the PGA Tour pros tortured, especially by unfair golf courses. But, I have to admit I was braying like a donkey on Ecstasy during Sunday’s U.S. Open finale. Maybe it’s because all of Pinehurst No. 2’s trickery is around the greens, but I loved seeing all those balls…trickle, trickle, trickle off the greens. “Will it hold? Will it stay? Oh, god there it goes!” The announcers acted like there may be a death in the family. Yow! There goes another one. It was like death by a thousand bee stings. I’ve played ... full post »

Paul Casey, the Brit who has made disparaging comments about Americans, withdrew from the U.S. Open after shooting an 85. Casey didn’t deign to give an explanation for his withdrawal, but we can pretty much assume it was because of his bad golf. Bad manners, bad golf, bad judgement. This guy is getting to be more and more of a head case. Why doesn’t he just move back to England. Then he can add bad teeth to all his other “bads.” full post »

What is it about BIG golfers we like so much? Craig Stadler, John Daly, now Jason Gore – all, shall we say husky – golfers. Of course Gore’s story is a little different. He’s become a crowd favorite at Pinehurst No. 2 because he’s such an unlikely candidate to be playing in the last group Sunday. The TV people hate unknowns, but once again, the crowd shows it loves unlikely stories like Gore, who had to go through local and sectional qualifying even to get in the Open field. Sadly, though, they rarely make it all the way through. With an incredibly steady ... full post »

Because of work, I’ve been watching ESPN’s taped replays of the U.S. Open, and I have to say I love listening to Chris Berman. At first, I thought he was a fish out of water, completely inappropriate for the quiet, hushed tones golf announcers usually use. I half expected him to say of a Tiger Woods’ drive: “it’s going left… back, back, back, back,” in his classic baseball fashion. But, his gravelly voice and occasional outburts are a good counterpoint to the usual drab play-by-play. He knows his golf, and his enthusiasm is catching. Now, he needs to start giving the pros his ... full post »

I can’t make up my mind about Retief Goosen. Is he simply a victim of media indifference or is there just nothing there to write about? You have to admit, he never says much during interviews. Not that that’s bad. A big night for Goosen is to go out to a Chinese restaurant with his wife and two kids. Nothing bad there either, but certainly nothing to stir the publuc imagination. His ambivalence doesn’t help any. He always says the lack of attention doesn’t bother him, but in the next sentence he talks about how he uses it for motivation. Until I’m ... full post »

I can’t make up my mind about Retief Goosen. Is he simply a victim of media indifference or is there just nothing there to write about? You have to admit, he never says much during interviews. Not that that’s bad. A big night for Goosen is to go out to a Chinese restaurant with his wife and two kids. Nothing bad there either, but certainly nothing to stir the publuc imagination. His ambivalence doesn’t help any. He always says the lack of attention doesn’t bother him, but in the next sentence he talks about how he uses it for motivation. Until I’m ... full post »

I know a lot of people who have been disappointed with Pinehurst No. 2, site of this year’s U.S. Open. Now, it IS a great course, no doubt about it, but nearly all of its mystique lies in its surreal greens. Trying to stop a long approach on No. 2’s greens is like – like the pros said about TPC Sawgrass in its early days – like trying to stop a ball on the hood of a Volkswagon. And for this, they charge $375 for walk-in green fees! For the average golfer, there are better deals in Pinehurst, for the money. Like ... full post »

Rory Sabbatini felt the need to apologize and issue a statement at the U.S. Open regarding an incident at last week’s Booz Allen tournament. Sabbatini was playing with Ben Crane, a notoriously slow player on tour. Sabbatini stood near the 17th green while Crane was still preparing to hit his approach. When Crane’s shot landed on the green, Sabbatini putted out of turn and then huffed off the hole. He’s getting pilloried for his “rude” play. I say hogwash to all the stuffed shirts in golf who criticize him. How many times have you been so frustrated on the course with slow ... full post »

So Kiel Christiansen, Jennifer Mario and all those other prudes – that’s what they are, despite their disclaimers – are offended by erectile dysfunction ads during golf tournaments? It’s true that I am almost genetically impossible to offend – I’m a huge Jerry Springer fan, for instance, and I always watch George Bush’s press conferences – but frankly I don’t see the problem. Are they any more offensive than ads for feminine hygiene products? Not nearly as much. My squirm factor is much higher for those type ads than during any ED ad. Besides, I think it’s hilarious the ED ads air during ... full post »

I just pulled into Virginia Beach, for the first time ever – after 13 hours on the road. Being a Florida native, and at first glance, I would compare the oceanfront area to the strip at Daytona Beach, only Virginia Beach seems cleaner and more upscale. Even the t-shirt shops look cleaner. But, what is with that “no cruising” law on the strip? What’s a strip without cruising? Anyway, people say Virginia Beach has the best golf in the state, behind only Williamsburg. We’ll see. Anybody have any favorite courses here, or ones I should check out? What about restaurants and nightlife. Any ... full post »

My young and impetuous colleague Chris Baldwin shows once again that his logic is receding as fast as his hairline. Baldwin takes me and the Rebel Blogger to task for pointing out how gutless many travel writers are. Blame the editors, Baldwin rants, with a pass-the-buck mentality all too typical of his misguided and hedonistic generation. He sounds like the head of the SATW who told me personally he thinks the editors should be blamed. Has the word “accountability” disappeared from the English language? Chris, Chris, Chris. It isn’t the editors who are taking all these exotic trips – it’s the ... full post »

I don’t have a problem with a golf course trying to go upscale. But, the Ironhorse Golf Club in Tuscola, Ill. is letting this thing go to its head. First, director of golf Jerry Williams complains to TravelGolf about a recent review, which was overwhelmingly positive. Williams wanted to nitpick about the few negatives in the story, saying he didn’t want anything negative about his course published. Trying to hide something never looks good for your product. Williams told TravelGolf he was not going to honor any coupons from golfers, a fact confirmed by a reader named “Ed” who said the club ... full post »

Brandon Tucker makes some very good points in his blog about golf in the Caribbean, especially his point about the need to go back and take a hard look at some of our old Caribbean copy. A lot of those stories were written by a former editor who seemed to look at the Caribbean with rose-colored glasses and a strong wish to be a public relations hack. I have written quite a bit about the Caribbean, some good and some bad. I stand by that. Still, it isn’t all about rip-off artists and crime. I once lost my wallet on Eleuthera, one ... full post »

I was pulling for Jerry Pate to win the PGA Senior Championship this past weekend, but after Mike Reid’s emotional response after he won the tourney in a playoff, I switched allegiances fast. It was hard to watch Reid almost break down in tears during his post-win, televised interview, but fascinating when you consider that here was a guy who blew two majors in his PGA career, the 1989 Masters and PGA Championship. Reid is a grandfather who plays with outdated clubs – they don’t even make the driver and fairways woods he uses anymore – and has the sort of methodical ... full post »

TravelGolf columnist Nicole Kallis, aka the Tee Time Girl, is getting a lot of exposure lately, good news for her fans. Kallis writes a racy column for BadGolfer.com, and will make an appearance on Real Golf Radio Saturday 6 am Pacific time. “Don’t tune in too late or you’ll miss me and then I’ll have to spank you,” Kallis says, in typical fashion. If you want to see her as well as hear her, check out page 202 in the June issue of Golf Digest. Kallis is the author of “Confessions of a Tee Time Girl,” a book that hilarioulsy spells out ... full post »

A New York Times story confirms what most of us already know – despite all the new high-tech golf equipment, most of us still stink at the game. The National Golf Foundation reports that Americans spent $4.7 billion in 2002 on new golf equipment, but the average score for the average golfer still stands at around 100, as it has for decades. The more serious recreational golfers who turn their scores into the USGA have handicaps that have dropped just 0.5 strokes since 2000. So all the big-head drivers, space-age materials and all those press releases from companies crowing about their latest innovations ... full post »

I’ve been wondering for a long time why the PGA Tour, along with its television partners, tournaments, sponsors, advertisers, and everybody else associated with, seems to hate no-name players winning its tournaments. They don’t come right out and say it, but it’s evidenced in so many subtle ways. I, for one, love seeing upsets, particularly when it’s a nobody upsetting a Tiger Woods or a Phil Mickelson. I happen to think it’s good for the game, at least from the players and fans’ perspective. But, even the fans seem to be buying into this marquee lust. Now, I’m not the brightest transistor ... full post »

For all you golfers out there looking for honest, unbiased golf course reviews, let me give you a glimpse of what we here have to deal with sometimes. Kiel Christiansen wrote a good, objective review of the Ironhorse Golf Club in Tuscola, Illinois. It was overwhelmingly positive. But, here comes director of golf Jerry Williams. He wants to nit and pick the few negatives Christiansen wrote about. For example, he didn’t like Christiansen’s comment about the flowers, for god’s sake. “I don’t want quoted as saying, what many people are complaining about …I just don’t think that is necessary,” Williams wrote in an ... full post »

Jackie Gallagher-Smith’s caddie is using the lamest excuse I’ve ever heard for doing the big nasty with a married woman. He claimed he was an “unwilling sperm donor.” Does that mean he was raped? Did she threaten to use her 1-iron on him? Or was it the other way around? It’s lame, but it’s a line I’ll remember when one of my many groupies tries – once again – to seduce me. full post »

I think TravelGolf’s West Coast Bureau Chief and blogger Chris Baldwin should quit his convoluted rantings about golf instructors and take a lesson. I’d like to say he definitely needs it because I’ve seen his golf game, but I haven’t. The one time I was supposed to play golf with him, he showed up with his arm in a sling. This was when he was new to the job and still trying to convince us he once played on the Hooters Tour. Some guys will say anything to get a job. I seem to recall telling publisher Robert Lewis me ... full post »

I know golf is a different kind of sport and you can play until you’re 106, but it still doesn’t seem right to me to have a guy still playing on the PGA Tour and be in the Hall of Fame. Nothing against Vijay Singh, who was just named to the HOF, but he’s only 42. Football, baseball and basketball players retire at that age, but not golfers. Officials say naming golfers to the HOF is tricky because they don’t retire. True, but can’t they wait until the guy is at least ready for the Seniors Tour – sorry, ... full post »

So I’m watching John Daly warm up for his playoff with Vijay Singh at the Houston Open by chain-smoking and joshing with buddies and officials, whoever happens to pass by. He finally warms up when he gets to the first tee, cigarette dangling from his mouth, ashes dropping on his shirt. A politically correct person I’m watching with is horrified. “Why doesn’t he take that thing out of his mouth? Do they have to show that? What kind of role model is he being?” I’ll bet if he had been taking sips off a cool one, you’d never hear such remarks. ... full post »

It seems to me that the problem of golf courses charging premium fees even while their courses are udergoing aerification or other types of maintenance that disrupt the golf, should be addressed by the National Golf Course Owners Association. This is a hot-button topic for golfers, who really get the screws put to them when they play a good course under lousy conditions. Any other business would give discounts or at least SOME incentive to play under sub-par conditions. Golf courses who respond that it costs them just as much money to operate the course under such conditions are ... full post »

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Brandon Tucker recently wrote a good blog about a course with bad conditions, but a reader pointed out that Brandon didn’t NAME the course, which is why a lot of people read TravelGolf.com, to learn which courses to avoid as well as which courses to play. So I’m calling on Brandon – name that course! full post »

I don’t know what The Rebel blogger has against Santee, but he’s at it again, disparaging the small, South Carolina town – even though he has apparently never been there. How can you ‘diss a place you’ve never been to? Easy, you call on all the old stereotypes. I’ve been to Santee, and enjoyed it thoroughly: the golf, the fishing and especially Spinners, the Gentlemen’s Club. This isn’t your average strip joint, like they have in Myrtle Beach and other places. It’s more of a friendly-bar type atmosphere, dare I say even a family environment, where the strippers ... full post »

There’s nothing I detest more than a phony, and Dennis Silvers, aka the Las Vegas Golf Guru, takes the cake. Here’s a guy who brayed and bragged about being a no-holds-barred, kick-ass, tell-it-like-it-is blogger. But, when it came time to do just that, he backed down into a corner like a quivering, church mouse. Turns out, the Guru was making money from all those Vegas kingpins who think nothing about screwing the little guy to make an extra buck. Oh, he had all kinds of nasty things to say about people OUTSIDE of Vegas, but when it came time to ... full post »

The older guy who had been playing in the group in front of me, who looked like he was comfortable ordering people around, was in a lather about the ball boy wiping his clubs down without permission. Now, it’s one thing for someone not to tip, it’s another matter entirely to try to embarrass people. Yes, I would probably agree the act of wiping down clubs is a manufactured task designed to get tips, but so what? These kids are working on the cheap, many of them trying to save money for college, so what’s the harm in tipping ... full post »

TAMPA – I’m becoming one of those people I loathe. It’s the result of staying at two of the best golf resorts in Florida – the Westin Innisbrook and Saddlebrook. Since they’re both excellent, I can’t help comparing the two in small, selfish ways. I don’t say these things out loud, but I can’t help them from forming somewhere in the pampered-and-obnoxious region of my brain, right below the medulla oblongata. The Westin has better parking, you can drive right to your villa – Saddlebrook makes you walk if you don’t want to pay for valet parking. Saddlebrook has fluffier bath robes, ... full post »

PALM HARBOR, Fl. – Hey, I’m no rube fresh off the hay truck – I know when you go to a golf resort, you’re going to pay resort prices. Just as when you go to an airport, you pay airport prices. But, still – enough is enough. I ordered a shot of Chivas from a clubhouse bar here at the Westin Innisbrook. I gave the bartender a $10 bill. You know how much I got back? Nothing, just a handshake and a how-do-you-do. I should have been a man about it and ventured onto Highway 19 and gone to ... full post »

If you’re a serious carnivore and you’ve been to Tampa, you’ve probably eaten at Bern’s Steakhouse. I have another great steak place for you: Packard’s, at the Westin Innisbrook resort, at nearby Palm Harbor. They bring out a cart-load of meat for you to stare at before you order, so you know it’s a classy joint. It looked so good, I wanted to eat it right off the cart, but I backed off because there were women in the room. They have cuts ranging from “mega-lumberjack” to “instant-death-by-cholesterol.” I got a barbecue shrimp appetizer and a filet with ... full post »

PALM HARBOR, Fl. – I was born and raised in Florida, so when I drive down the horror that is Highway 19 these days, starting well north of Tarpon Springs, I can only shake my head and mutter at what it’s turned into. Tatoo joints, strip malls, bumper-to-bumper traffic. That’s why I was pleasantly shocked when I turned into the Westin Innisbrook resort, right off 19. I’ve only played one course here so far, the Island, but there are pockets of swamp that looked like the Florida I grew up in as a kid – moss-draped Cypress trees, bald eagles, ... full post »

Pro athletes are so predictable. All you have to do is pick them to win, and they lose. Pick them to lose, and they win. It’s all about motivation and perceived respect – or disrespect. I’ve done this for years in my storied journalistic career, and it is a nearly infallible rule. When I wrote that Tiger had taken himself out of the running at the Masters, after his initial screw-ups, I knew exactly what effect it would have. Now, I happen to know that, obviously, Tiger doesn’t read this blog, but a very close friend of his ... full post »

Here’s some thoughts from TravelGolf’s Jennifer Mario. I was wondering the same thing: Why is CBS holding the Masters hostage? Right now Tiger’s made seven straight birdies to steal the lead from Chris DiMarco. This is exciting stuff, and what is CBS airing? Besides CBS News Sunday morning, we’ll also be treated to The Backyardigans and Dora the Explorer. Okay, so maybe they’re married to their own programming, but CBS doesn’t even have the decency to farm it out to ESPN, or even USA. USA is now showing some quality infomercials. Surely the Golf Channel would be happy ... full post »

I knew Vijay Singh was Indian, but I didn’t know he was a master tracker. I thought it was only American Indians who could track a lizard over rock, but apparently Singh, an Indian from Fiji, managed to track Phil Mickelson’s golf shoe cleat prints, which have gone from six milimeters to eight in recent weeks, on the greens of Augusta. The guy recognized a TWO MILLIMETER difference! Singh noticed what he considered illegal cleat marks on the group in front of him in Friday’s round, and determined them to be from Mickelson. He told officials, who checked Mickelson’s ... full post »

I’m watching these chuckleheads on TV, one of those idiotic shows where a bunch of sportswriters sit around arguing (what is it about this country now where all we do is sit around either arguing or watching other people argue?) and they’re all high and mighty about the people who called the Masters on the phone to say Tiger Woods broke the rules when he tapped in a bogey putt. “Bad for the game.” “Ridiculous,” they intone. I say, what’s the problem? Golf is an elitist game – geting a little interaction from the Great Unwashed is good. Giving ... full post »

What’s up with Tiger Woods at the Masters? He putts the ball into a CREEK. He hits a flag, knocking his ball into a bunker. On Friday, he hits a tree on No. 8 and ends up with a bogey. A soggy Augusta has El Tigre tossing clubs and kicking his bag. Then he gets accused of an illegal putting stance when he tapped in a putt at No. 14. You think there’s a golf official in the world, even at the Masters, who’s going to penalize him for a tap-in putt? How does he feel about all this? We ... full post »

With rain pouring down at Augusta, like it is here in northeast Florida, I’m going to take this opportunity to tell you who is going to win the Masters. Everybody’s talking about Phil Mickelson, who won’t win it because he has the game but not the nerve. Ernie Els has had his chances; you only get those so often at Augusta. Tiger Woods, maybe. Retief Goosen is just not playing as well as he is capable of right now, which even he will tell you. The guy everybody seems to be forgetting is the one who should be on everyone’s ... full post »

I guess all that controversy over letting women join the Augusta National boys club is over. It was never that much to begin with – only 40 people showed up at the rally well-known feminist Martha Burk organized there a couple years ago, less than the media and cops present. Hootie Ingram defused that situation very efficiently: he just held his tournament without advertisers, who felt threatened by the idea of a boycott. Now, they’re back of course, and there will be more television coverage than ever – 90 minutes more, to be exact. As for Burk, she said she would ... full post »

I have to agree with my younger and less insightful colleague, Chris Baldwin, though I usually disagree with him on more complicated matters, which tend to confuse him. This one is easy, though: I don’t see Phil Mickelson repeating at The Masters either, especially if it’s close, as the tournament is likely to be. There seems to be this national subtext: we all want Lefty to win. He’s smiling all the time – why, I can’t say – and he’s got the soft, lumpy body of most weekend warrriors. He talks like us, he says “awesome,” and “cool,” all that ... full post »

I agree with the decision of Hootie Ingram not to introduce a doctored golf ball to this year’s Masters. Why single out the tournament to play with golf balls that don’t travel light years, as today’s modern golf balls do? Jack Nicklaus feels the Masters is one of the few places that has the power to introduce the change, since the USGA doesn’t have the guts to do it. Part of golf’s popularity lies in the fact the average hacker uses the same equipment and the same venues as the pros. Nicklaus should get off his high horse. At ... full post »

Dennis Silvers, blogging for TravelGolf under the name “Las Vegas Golf Guru,” has been suspended until further notice, pending the outcome of an internal review. Silvers failed to disclose business interests in Las Vegas to TravelGolf, prompting the review by the golf network. full post »

Surely, short hitters everywhere were celebrating Fred Funk’s win at The Players, at the TPC Stadium course at Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra. Funk showed you don’t have to be a long bomber, like a Vijay Singh, Tiger Woods or those guys, to win on the PGA Tour. Funk takes some ribbing about his short stature off the tee, but no one makes sport of his soft approaches into the green. Course management, baby, that still has a place in this era of 350 and even 400-yard drives. Give John Daly a touch of Funk and you’d have a dominant force ... full post »

The Oaks golf course in Biloxi is having serious problems with its greens, as are a number of courses in the area. Officials there say freak weather in November is the culprit – first it was unseasonably hot and then they got 10 inches of rain, destroying the overseeding. Fine, that’s acceptable, but shouldn’t courses that are in admittedly bad shape give discounts? Their product isn’t up to par, so shouldn’t the price be adjusted accordingly? Most other businesses sell damaged goods at a reduced price. Why not golf courses? Look for the full review coming soon… wpeop full post »

Hmmmm, so Dennis Silvers, the Las Vegas Guru, doesn’t know what I do for a living. Hey Dennis, you might want to check out the site you blog for a little further. Check out who the National Golf Editor is, and you’ll find my name. This isn’t a difficult thing to do, Dennis. It’s called “research.” I’m the National Golf Editor for the very site you blog for! Now I guess, research – even baby research like knowing who you blog for – is something talk show hosts are incapable of. But, you would think they could read, couldn’t you? Maybe, ... full post »

I didn’t hit every casino in the Biloxi, Miss. area, but I hit enough. For my money – and they have most of it – the Casino Magic in Bay St. Louis is the best, especially if you’re a golfer. Casino Magic has everything you need right there on the grounds – the slots, the tables, a couple of very good restaurants and a good, Arnold Palmer-designed course, The Bridges. The Bridges is a fun course that gets a lot of play, so the conditioning isn’t as good as, say Shell Landing or Grand Bear, but it’s more of a challenge ... full post »

The Favres are big in this part of Mississippi. I’m speaking mainly of Brett Favre, in particular, the extraordinarily talented quarterback of the Green Bay Packers, but also Favres in general. It’s a popular name in this part of the South. Scott is Brett’s brother, and like his brother, a big, friendly, easy-going Mississippian who inherited a ton of athletic ability. The brothers are renowned down here for their ability in sports, and both of them hit the ball a mile off the tee. People tell stories of some of the legendary drives they’ve hit. I played with Scott at ... full post »

The drive along U.S. 90 in the Biloxi area has to be one of the prettiest stretches in the country on the cross-country highway that starts – or ends – in my hometown of Jacksonville, which ain’t so pretty. In fact, it’s ugly, but that’s another story. The Gulf of Mexico is off there to your right as you cruise this part of the Gulf Coast, and the great state of Mississippi gives you plenty of access to the water – unlike my hometown, but that’s another story. Well, here goes anyway: If Florida politicians got ahold of this ... full post »

What is it with Yankees and beaches? Doesn’t matter how cold it is, if they’re on vacation, they’re going to the beach. It’s about 40 degrees, overcast and windy here, unseasonably cold for Biloxi, Miss., this time of year. And there they are, out on the beach, in shorts and swimsuits, trying unsuccessfully to pretend it’s blue skies and 85 degrees. They’re getting bowled over by an Artic gale, almost bare naked, trying to toss a football back and forth like they’re standing in Waikiki. How did these guys win the War? full post »

Biloxi is sort of the poor man’s Vegas. You see a lot more RVs than you do limos, and they have Hank Williams and Minnie Pearl impersonators to go along with the usual quota of Elvis look-alikes. But, it’s a low-key, unpretentious sort of place where you can play golf during the day and gamble to your heart’s content at night – at substantially lower prices than Vegas. This is Biloxi’s high season, and you won’t find green fees over $100. Costs that much in Vegas to have the ball boys wipe down your clubs. When you’re leaving the Biloxi casinos, ... full post »

If you’re in the Biloxi area, and you like barbecue, you must – repeat, must – go to the Shed. It’s a little ramshackle place right off I-10 near Gautier, not too far from Mississippi National golf course. It looks like it was made from several different junk piles, which it was, basically. It looks like what a barbecue joint should look like. The barbecue is fantastic. The baby back ribs fall off the bone without any prompting. The potato salad is the best I’ve ever had. Get yourself a big ol’ sweet tea and sit outside and watch the dogs ... full post »

Actually, it’s hard calling the Great Southern Golf Club in Biloxi hidden – it’s been there for about a hundred years. I can see where a lot of big hitters might look at the yardage – 6,236 yards from the back tees – and scoff. Until they played it. The greens remind me of the greens Donald Ross also did at Pinehurst No. 2: they’re small and elevated and fall off dramatically – landing a soft approach shot is a must if you want to score well there. Ross has the same strategically placed bunkers here and throws some other small ... full post »

So I’m in the motel parking lot, with the sparkling Gulf of Mexico shimmering behind me, rummaging through my car for that banana I brought with me but forgot to eat, when I hear a voice from behind me: “Big man! Come here for a second. Got something to show you.” I walk over to the car, a 1991 Lincoln Continental, and the man behind the wheel, looking around surreptitiously, pulls out a diamong ring. I take it from him and stare at it. Then he takes out another, and another. Each ring is gaudier than the last and has ... full post »

My young colleague Chris Baldwin is oh so typical of many of his generation: they’ve grown up being bombarded by commercials and are so brainwashed they have become oblivious tools of the vast marketing machine that has taken over America – yes, we are a nation of car salesmen. Sure, it’s great to have Tiger, Phil and Vijay going head to head in a tournament, but do we really want them 24/7 at the exclusion of everyone else? Look at Doral: the final day coverage was a love-telecast of Mickelson and Woods – hey, there was some pretty good golf ... full post »

The corporate fat cats are at it again. A sports management company, IMG, wants to get its tournament directors to lure big stars to tournaments by paying big “appearance fees” to top players like Vijay Singh, Ernie Els, John Daly, etc. for “corporate outings” held before tournaments. This, in spite of the fact it is expressly against PGA Tour rules to use appearance fees to induce players to compete in tournaments. And what player is going to accept $500,000 to play with the fat cats before a tournament, and then bolt? You can bet there is all sorts of pressure ... full post »

The Rebel Blogger blasted Santee, S.C. as a golf destination recently, and I think the guy is inhaling his own cigar smoke. Santee is a little place that tries hard. It’s true, their marketing efforts are pretty hokey – the place is definitely not a world-class golf destination – but the place itself is OK. Decent golf courses for very reasonable rates, and the people are friendly as Mayberry. It’s a great place for people who like to golf and fish and tired of the Myrtle Beach hustle. That’s basically what I said in the story I did on Santee ... full post »

Steve Campbell of the Houston Chronicle put forth a ridiculous premise in trying to explain why Phil Mickelson choked against Tiger Woods Sunday at Doral. Campbell said Mickelson “underestimated” Woods, and that was the reason he lost. Incredible. Mickelson was clearly intimidated by El Tigre. You could see it in his eyes. How could anybody – most of all Mickelson – underestimate Woods, now the No. 1 player in the world again? Some sportswriters will say anything to get attention. I know, I used to be one. full post »

Jim Koppenhaver of Pellucid is a guy who’s been tracking golf over the years. He’s a bit of a rebel in that he differs drastically with the estalished guys like the PGA, Golf 20/20, etc.; he paints a much more pessimistic than the happy-talk business suits. Koppenhaver makes a good point in his most recent report, saying that the polarization of the consuming middle-class – or the phenomenon of “trading up” at places like Wal Mart (you save money by buying cheap toilet paper there and use that savings to buy nicer things elsewhere), isn’t happening in golf. In other words, ... full post »

NBC didn’t miss a single chance of cramming in as many commercials as it could during the final holes Sunday at Doral. They broke away every 30 seconds, it seemed, and showed us Mickelson and Woods walking to the 18th via tape. That should have been live. And is there anything more worthless than the live interview with the sponsor bigwig dduring the final, dramatic moments? These guys never add anything to the broadcast. The Ford clown said nothing of any value. full post »

It was painful watching Phil Mickelson succumb to nerves in Sunday’s last round at Doral. Tiger Woods showed signs of choking, too, but Mickelso blew two chances to move past him, and when Woods had his shot, he made the putt. It was almost like Mickelson knew he didn’t belong in Woods’ rarefied air, even though he has a bigger and more imaginative array of shots than Woods. This wasn’t the Ryder Cup or even a major, but Lefty couldn’t get his nerves under control. The guy isn’t ready for No. 1, and who knows, he may just ... full post »

The Society of American Travel Writers has told us in the past it stands behind it members, but it must not be keeping a close watch. Every time I read stories by members, I find incredible exaggerations, outright lies or – at the least - misrepresentations and purposeful ignorance. In short, they turn a blind eye to the bad things going on in the destinations they write about. Why? Because they have a great life – free trips to exotic locales. Who suffers? The people who read these stories and think everything is hunky-dory. If the SATW was serious about ... full post »

A freelancer of ours caused quite a stir a while back when he called Pinehurst No. 2 overrated. After playing it recently, I agree with him – with a qualification. All of No. 2’s difficulty lies in its greens, which resemble a stainless steel bowl turned upside down. You could throw a dart in the middle of most of those greens and it would roll off. I understand John Daly’s frustration at the 1999 US Open there, when he hit the same putt twice – after it came rolling back down. The fairways are wide open, and there is virtually no ... full post »

This time I agree with the cranky old Rebel Blogger – somewhat. Most golf trails are bogus, nothing more than a few courses getting together with a Chamber of Commerce, throwing some marketing money together, and calling themselves a “trail.” But at least the RTJ trail has a theme. What about the Arkansas Golf Trail? What’s that – a string of third-rate goat tracks scattered around interstate rest stops? The RTJ was a great, original idea – it’s successors have cheapened the concept full post »

Kiawah is a beautiful island, but it seems like they’ve walled it off to the common folk. You can enjoy Kiawah only if you’re in the six-figure income bracket. The natural setting is unbelievable – wind-swept dunes, pristine marhses and all that – but the man-made part seems artificial and contrived to me. There’s a sameness to all the houses, villas, roads and signs. It was never allowed to evolve naturally with all the rules and codes; the place has that “developer” stamp all over it. Where’s a barbecue joint? full post »

Anybody over, say 38 years of age, should forget Myrtle Beach as a golf destination, and head to Pinehurst. Myrtle Beach is a mess, with nothing but withering traffic and fried food joints, and only a handful of good courses. Pinehurst is about nothing but golf. You can drive in minutes to any of several great courses – including of course, No. 2, and contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to spend a fortune. Of course, there’s no nightlife, but aren’t you tired of the same old, tired, run-down MB “gentlemen’s clubs?” full post »

The PGA Tour makes some stupid rules, being an organization just to the right of the Gestapo, but it’s making a tournament winner “unofficial” after only 36 holes is the smart thing to do. I’m not sure what the stats are, but I’d say 36-hole leaders go on to win tournaments only a small percentage of the time. It isn’t like baseball, where the five-inning rule prevails – there’s only two teams. In golf, the odds are drastically higher someone other than the 36-hole leader will eventually win the tournament. I know, I know, this is one of the dullest blogs I’ve ... full post »

All those South Africa golf veterans who told me I was in for a treat were right: South Africa is indeed a special treat for golfers. Forgetting the golf for a moment, it is an intriguing place to visit: great roads, big cities, wild game roaming some parts of the country, fascinating history. You can tour Zulu batttlefields, take slow trains to watch the countryside, take long drives through mountains and desert, surf on great waves on the coastlines. The golf itself is superb, with some world-class courses. It seems alomost every little town has a golf course, even Soweto! I came ... full post »

I’m embarking on a trip to the Dark Continent tomorrow, where I will mainly write about golf in South Africa. All I know about South Africa are the names Ernie Els, Nelson Mandela and JM Coetzee, one of my favorite writers. All I know about the golf is that the country has plenty of courses, many of them allegedly world-class. I have no idea what to expect. This is similar to the time before I moved to Alaska, where I expected to find people living in igloos and polar bears wandering the streets. I found Anchorage has malls, McDonalds and some of ... full post »

I don’t know about you, but I’m really tuned in to the Sony Open for Paul Casey’s 2005 debut on the PGA Tour. Casey, of course, is the Brit who called Americans “stupid” and “annoying” after the Ryder Cup. As if beating the U.S. wasn’t enough. I don’t usually pay much attention to these things – pro athletes are always shooting their mouths off and it’s usually fairly adolescent stuff – but this one sticks in my craw for some reason. For the record, I’d like for Americans to show Casey how they feel about his attitude toward America – where he ... full post »