This For Birdie!

OF HORSES & BARNS — THE LONG AND SHORT OF PUTTERS

2011-09-10T08:15:00.000-07:00

by Doug McAllister

Much has been said in recent days about long putters. Moreover, a whole lotta rationalizing has been done, on the part of some of the world's best golfers, about how the proverbial "horse has bolted from the barn" and, therefore cannot be brought back to the stable. Makes me wonder whether we're talking more about professional rodeo or horse racing than about golf.

Here's my take on the whole mess. First off, I agree with Tom Watson, one of the greatest putters in the game. Watson observes that anchoring the putter to your body — whether the belly or the chest — creates a stroke that provides an unfair advantage and, therefore, should be prohibited. Watson also states that the stroke used with long putters is not a golf stroke at all.

Interesting!

But, apparently, that is neither here nor there in the minds of the USGA and the R&A, golf's ruling organizations. They are currently spinning their wheels and wasting time trying to look like they are taking action when, actually, they apparently don't want to spoil the current "horse ride!"

But, wait a minute! It's really more simple than anyone wants to admit and I am monumentally surprised that memories in golf circles seem to be so short!

It's been just a few months since the golf world was rocked by the determination to outlaw offending grooves — especially grooves on shorter irons and wedges. I ask you, HOW LONG HAD THAT HORSE BEEN AWAY FROM THE BARN? Way back in 1987, Mark Calcavecchia hit his "shot heard round the world" of golf from deep rough with a Ping Eye 2 iron that feature U-grooves. A shot that screamed to a halt so fast that a collective gasp was heard echoing, not only from the gallery at hand, but also from TV watchers everywhere. Remember? According to the rationale of long putter proponents, the barn door was wide open for golf club technology that would be radically game changing in nature.

So let's add things up. Hmmm. Let's see... 1987 to 2011. 24 some odd years, if my calculation is correct, that the horse was loping all over the place. But after 24 years the USGA and R&A still managed to lasso the elusive equine and bring it back to the so-called barn! The appropriate ban was struck and all of golf is now — albeit grudgingly, in many cases — working to adhere to the new rule.

Which brings us back to the question of long putters. It has certainly NOT been nearly a quarter century — as it was with wedges and short irons — that long putters have been in use. So why is it that so many are vehemently arguing that it is too late to appropriately ban the offending putters?

Resolved! Let's just rein in the out-of-the-barn horse. Time to say no to the long putter and get back to golf as usual. And let's all take a deep breath and recognize that THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BANNING GROOVES AND BANNING LONG PUTTER SHAFTS! PERIOD!

So, go out today to your local putting green and, with a putter of correct length...

Hit 'em (or putt 'em) Long & Straight!

THE DOWNSIDE OF THANKSGIVING POINT

2011-04-25T17:04:00.000-07:00

by Doug McAllister

When Thanksgiving Point Golf Course first hit the scene it immediately began the process of proclaiming that it was the premier golf course in Utah. Why? Because it was designed by Johnny Miller. Because it offered "resort golf at public prices." Because it was bound to be included as the venue in the near future for a PGA Tour event.

Because. Because. Because! So what's my take on the inimitable Thanksgiving Point? Overrated. Overrated. Overrated!

Let's look at the "becauses" one by one and consider whether each is fact or fiction.

1. BECAUSE IT WAS DESIGNED BY JOHNNY MILLER
Fiction!
Mind you. Thanksgiving Point was designed by Johnny Miller. The fiction I refer to here is that Thanksgiving Point should be considered as Utah's premier course on the basis of its designer. Thanksgiving Point used to go to ridiculous lengths to brand the course as a Miller course. The course's head pro was featured on TV commercials drooling and gushing about Miller designing the track with the Hall of Famer embarrassingly standing by.

The proof of the pudding is, indeed, in the tasting and, very likely, there are all sorts of golfers who relish rounds at Thanksgiving Point. I just don't happen to be one of them. Give me, rather, Tuhaye, the excellent Mark O'Meara course in Kamas or any of Gene Bates courses, especially Talon's Cove in Saratoga Springs. Any of these course is far superior to Thanksgiving Point.

2. BECAUSE IT OFFERS RESORT GOLF AT PUBLIC PRICES!
Fiction!
Thanksgiving Point is currently priced for 18 holes at $65 during the week (Monday thru Thursday) and $85 for weekend play (Friday thru Sunday). Interesting. Up Provo Canyon and a bit farther in Midway, Utah, is the Homestead Resort. The place boasts a fine 18-hole golf course. Given Thanksgiving Point's claim to offer "resort golf and public course prices," it should stand to reason that its fees, listed above, should be less than those of The Homestead Resort. Not quite. Currently golfers can play the 18 holes, including a cart, at the Homestead for $55 during the week (Monday thru Thursday) and for $60 during weekend play (Friday thru Sunday).

Not convinced. The Homestead not really a resort? Okay. Let's compare Thanksgiving Point to a real resort course that I was privileged to play last summer — Arnold Palmer's Teton Pines in Jackson Hole Wyoming. I'll even compare Teton Pines prices during its prime season schedule. From June 18 thru September 30, Teton Pines charges $160 for 18 holes of golf (before 2:00 p.m.) and all the range balls you care to hit! Sure, that's nearly double Thanksgiving Point's weekend rate. But look here: After 2:00 p.m. the rate falls to $120, or just $35 dollars more than you'd pay at "the Point." And is that added amount worth it? Is an Arnold Palmer designed course worth an additional $35? In my humble opinion it certainly is! And I suspect that most individuals who are familiar with Palmer courses versus Miller courses would heartily agree!

3. BECAUSE IT IS BOUND TO BE INCLUDED AS THE VENUE FOR A FUTURE PGA TOUR EVENT!
Fiction!
Thanksgiving Point opened for play in 1997. Since then, the closest the course has come to hosting a PGA Event has been Johnny Miller's Champions Challenge, an event that really boils down to an exhibition match between Miller and some of his buddies. And that's it! Does it look like the course will succeed in luring the PGA to send an event — even a Champions Tour event — its way? Not hardly! The course is now 14 years old and has lost that "New Course Smell!"

SIMPLY NOT UP TO SNUFF!

The real problem with Thanksgiving Point has always been ego. They've always worked overtime to position themselves as a course that's just too good to be true and, all too often, way too good for you!

I played the course today and was disappointed that things simply haven't changed. From its exorbitant pricing to snooty and condescending pro shop personnel. The place reeks of exclusivity and out-and-out silliness.

On one hole, for example, we were confronted by a snotty, pushy and unfriendly "Player Assistant." Was he really interested in "assisting" us? Not hardly! Rather, his whole goal was to push and enforce his supposed authority. Why? Because we committed the unpardonable sin of driving our cart on a fairway that was supposedly closed for carts! Did we disregard warning signs — that happened to be conspicuously staked on other fairways similarly closed — warning us not to take carts on the forbidden fairway? No! we were supposed to read the minds of groundskeepers who simply picketed off the fairway with temporary ropes! And never mind that there were so many cart tracks on the fairway in question BEFORE our venturing thereon that you could easily have dubbed the place "Indianapolis Speedway!" There he stood as we exited, like an elementary school principal who has just caught some truant third graders hiding in the lunch room! And he was actually shaking his head disapprovingly!

Enough said. By all means, play Thanksgiving Point if you have a free pass or if a friend offers to pick up your greens fees. Otherwise, steer clear of the place. After all, you'd be better served to choose Talon's Cove, Wingpointe, Old Mill or Hobble Creek — all of which feature resort golf experiences with actual public course pricing!

HELAS!

BALL FITTING MYTHOLOGY & DAVIS LOVE III IS REALLY EXCITED!

2011-01-12T10:21:00.000-08:00

by Doug McAllister

Well, golf fans, we can all rest a little easier knowing that Davis Love III has found a new sponsor. The perennial Titleist poster boy has now joined Bridgestone (isn't it interesting that he has also apparently sworn off FootJoy shoes? Check out the adiPures from Adidias...) and, as noted, on the Bridgestone web site, Love III is "excited!" Well, that's fine.

WHAT WAS SAID:

In the short video clip on Bridgestone's site, Love III mentions:
"I'm excited to be with Bridgestone! I'm really excited about the technology. I'm really excited about the equipment...One of the things that really attracted me to Bridgestone was the whole ball fitting thing...I'm excited about a fresh start with the Bridgestone ball!"

WHAT WASN'T SAID:

Unfortunately we didn't have the opportunity to be a "fly on the wall" of Davis' brain. If we had had such a chance, I think we would have heard something a bit like this:
"More than anything, I'm REALLY excited that a sponsor is willing to shovel a truckload of dollars my way at this stage of my career! I haven't won anything in a light year and, I know, I am on my way out. Just trying to survive long enough to skid into the Champion's Tour. Whew! I was really getting nervous there with Titleist. They're all about keeping a stable of the best young golfers, without any loyalty or consideration for someone, like me, who helped put them on the golfing map beyond just golf balls!"

Okay. I don't begrudge Love III having an opportunity to keep an income from a sponsor. It's just fine! What I can't stand is that — among touring professionals — golf is nothing more than money. NOTHING! They change their equipment more often than most of us change our underwear. And, after all, the golf equipment companies are all about getting their pound of flesh out of you and me.

As Davis Love III changes to Bridgestone there's the real chance that many of us might think it's because there is something dramatically wrong with Titleist's ProV1 family of golf balls. After all, Davis wouldn't jump ship if he wasn't getting a better game, right? Truth is, there really isn't that much difference between Titleist and Bridgestone — other than the fact that Bridgestone makes a far better tire for your car!

BALL FITTING MYTHOLOGY

And let's talk about this nonsense of Bridgestone's ball fitting prowess. Have you visited the Bridgestone site and gone through the ball fitting process they offer? Just in case you haven't, here's the content from a chat session about ball fitting that I just completed (the spelling and exchange is exactly as it occurred online):

Jeff: Hi, this is Jeff. Welcome to B-Fit. How can I help you today?

Doug: wanted to use the ball fitter and see which bridgestone ball to use

how do it get started

Jeff: Hey Doug,

Tell me a little about your game and your ball flight.

Doug: i play to a 7 handicap. Hit it pretty straight with a slight fade

Jeff: Do you know what your swing speed is w/ your driver?

Doug: not exactly...but I have a smooth, probably comparatively slow swing

Jeff: Ok.

About how far do you hit an average drive?

Doug: probably 250-270 yds

Jeff: Good.

Are you a low or high ball hitter?

Doug: generally a higher flight

Jeff: Any issues getting your approach shots to stop?

Doug: nope

Jeff: When you hit your driver, do you get much roll?

Doug: on my driver, yes

Jeff: What would you say is more important to you Doug, distance or spin?

Doug: distance

Jeff: Ok.

What ball do you usually play?

Doug: does that really matter?

Jeff: It gives me a point of reference. If you're already playing a raw distance ball, that would be different compared to if you are playing a spin ball for example.

Doug: At this point, I haven't played a Bridgestone ball. I assumed that the fitting process would look at my game and tell me what Bridgestone ball was best for me — independent of what other companies offer. Was I mistaken?

Jeff: I can certainly make a recommendation without know what ball you currently play Doug, but like I said, if I know what type of ball you are currently playing, that helps me decide which direction we may need to go. If you want more distance, and you are currently playing a firm, low launch high spin ball, I might make a differnt suggestion than if you told me you were playing our e6, which is already a really long distance type ball. It's not that big of deal, I've just never had anyone have a problem with it.

Based on what you've told me, I recommend the B330-RX.

The B330-RX is a high performance, 3 piece tour caliber ball designed for players who swing between 85-105 mph. It's the softest urethane covered ball on the market, making it easy to compress for players who have swing speeds less than 105 mph. It offers excellent distance, spin and shot shaping ability.

Doug: no problem with it. I just didn't want my current ball to bias the proper fit from Bridgestone.

Jeff: It doesn't bias it really at all. Some players are already playing a Bridgestone, but if I know which one, I can put that information together with the info I have been given about their ball flight to make a suggestion. The more info I have the better, that's all. No worries.

Doug: it's just that I have done ball fitting before with other companies and, nine times out of ten, when I have told them what competitive ball I play, they suggest their version of the competitor's ball. What good is that, really?

Jeff: I see where you're coming from.

Is there anything else I can help with Doug?

Interesting, don't you think? Did you follow all of that? The key here is simple. After the usual housekeeping items regarding ball flight, distance and spin — the selfsame items used in every ball fitting exchange, regardless of the manufacturer — the HUGE question is: "So what are you playing now?" In short, the whole gig is "we want to know what you are playing now and we will simply tell you to pick up the Bridgestone counterpart." PERIOD!

You should note, as well, that the jump from "I see where you're coming from..." to "Is there anything else I can help with Doug?..." to the session shutting down from Bridgestone's end was a matter of seconds! Jeff, probably sensing that he had hooked into someone who was onto him and his company, ran for his life!

But, I am REALLY excited about Davis Love III being REALLY excited!

HELAS!

JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT IT WAS SAFE TO...HERE WE GO AGAIN!!

2011-01-07T13:02:00.000-08:00

by Doug McAllister

Well, it's the new year and, with its beginning, its time to get going right where it seems we left off. What am I talking about? Seems Camilo Villegas broke a rule while playing yesterday in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Hawaii. As a result of the domino effect that ensued, he was DQ'd from the event.

Wow! Must have been something terrible! What'd he do? Punch someone in the gallery? Let all the air out of the cars in the course parking lot? What did he do? Okay...we don't even need to talk about that. Really! We don't!

So what's the problem? Also seems that some television viewer saw the violation — something that all the on-site rules officials missed — and called in and ratted on Villegas! Now, if you've read my stuff before, you know that this makes my blood boil more than taking a snowman on a par 3!

WHERE IS THIS CONTACT INFORMATION?!

Okay, I've heard the first part of this too many times. A television viewer "calls" or "contacts" the USGA or the PGA or the Golf Channel or Golf Snitches Anonymous. Where on earth do you find these phone numbers, email addresses or fax numbers? Where are they listed? It drives me nuts! Even if I wanted to play the stool pigeon — which I don't! — I don't know the numbers!

Which begs the question: why is this information available at all, especially during the course of an event? Heck, I can't even change my Fantasy Golf Foursome after tee off time. Why should there be anyone manning a phone or a fax or a computer during an event with the sole purpose seemingly being waiting for some 25-handicap golf vigilante who couldn't hit a straight putt in a rain gutter to blow the whistle?

AREN'T THE RULES IMPORTANT?

Of course they are! But there is also the human element that has to be taken into consideration and honored just as stridently as the rules of the game! There are officials all over the course at each event and it's their job to monitor things and cite those who break the rules. But do they miss violations here and there? Darn straight!

So now, with the added technological possibilities out there, we have thousands of officials sitting comfortably in their Lazy Boy's and watching for the violation that will get past the paid judges.

ISN'T THAT A GOOD THING?

Hell no! The game is played on the course and not inside a TV camera. Ergo, what happens on the course needs to be called on the course — when and where it happens! And what if a rules violation isn't caught? SO BE IT! Once the day of golf is completed the books on that round should be closed, hermetically sealed and dried hard like last week's cement! This nonsense of officials waiting at the 18th green the next day to deliver the bad news has got to stop!

RESOLUTION

It's simple. To the governing bodies of the game at sanctioned events: once the tournament commences do us all the decency of turning off every communications device you own. Turn off your cell phones (and get new numbers, while your at it, so viewers won't be able to call you), shut down your computers. And for Pete's sake, get off Facebook and Twitter! (Everyone knows that real golfers are NOT actively involved in social networking! It causes slicing and hooking!) Make it a New Year's resolution to accept that golf is a game played by fallible human beings and officiated by the same! Yeah, do your darnedest to see that the rules are upheld but, when they're not, don't have kittens over it!

Determine now that what happens on the course will be handled on the course and — regardless of how well-meaning they may seem — resolve to NOT take any tips, phone calls, Facebook posts or tweets from anybody! Not even from your sainted mothers!

Golf doesn't need an instant replay. NO INSTANT REPLAY! Remember? It's supposed to be the game where the players call penalties on themselves. Not the game that allows faceless, nameless, brainless fools to do it for them!

What golf needs is for more of the armchair rules officials to get off their butts and get out their and try to...

Hit 'Em Long and Straight!

NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL GOLF NEWS!

2010-12-13T21:01:00.000-08:00

by Doug McAllister

Sorry for not tuning in for awhile. What's going on? To borrow an analogy from Nature, "the trees have gone dormant. Hibernation. What have you."

But isn't golf a year round pursuit? Maybe if you live in Florida, Southern California or Arizona. Here in Utah, when the mountains begin to fill up with snow, the thought of hitting rock-hard golf balls is about as appealing as the prospects of a colonoscopy! But that's neither here nor there.

But I had to post today! Just read Devil Ball, THE preeminent golf blog out there (supposedly). The title was, nauseatingly and stupidly enough, was "Is Elin moving on from Tiger with a new gentleman? Could be..." (and you thought I was nuts for temporarily hibernating from golf!)

Oh, I should add that the author warned in a slipshod disclaimer at the beginning that the story wasn't, at all, about golf. Oh, really? SO WHY, THEN, WASTE THE DIGITAL INK?

There you have it!

First off, I couldn't give a pachyderm's posterior (that's an elephant's...well...you know) about Elin's latest...whatever you might want to call it. She never was golf news before. At best, she is simply golf soap now (even with the pathetic disclaimer)! Secondly, if you seriously know anyone who really thought that Elin would take her millions and join a convent instead of getting on with her life send 'em my way. I own some wonderful oceanfront property near Delta, Utah that they might be interested in buying.

But, then, that's what's wrong with golf blogs right now, isn't it? Too much "as the Tiger turns" and not enough golf. And nutty commentary about Elin's love life constitutes "as the Tiger turns" once removed! Inexcusable!

Enough said!

Hopefully some of you are getting out where it's warm and continuing to play the game. Golf, I mean. Me? I was hoping to get out this week. Still might if these Chinook winds that we're enjoying right now here in north-central Utah hold up. If not, It may be a while before I can get out and find out whether I can still...at least some of the time...

Hit 'em Long and Straight!

YOU...ARE THE COURSE!

2010-11-04T21:38:00.000-07:00

by Doug McAllister

First off, apologies for being "away." Where was I? I suppose I was temporarily lost in that horrible abyss known as "responsibility." But that's no excuse.

Actually I have been working on a new addition to "This For Birdie!" Remember when I promised "golf-litical" cartoons? Well, I have been brainstorming madly about a new strip — yep, not just a one framer — to be added periodically here. What will it be called. What else? "HEADCOVERS!" Wait and see. Should be fun.

But to today's post...

MYTH: DESTINATION GOLF AS A DEFINING EXPERIENCE...

Ah, St. Andrews! Just the name conjures images of golf in its purity. It's a planned pilgrimage included on many a golfer's "bucket list" — whether that's a large bucket or a small one! If one could only play St. Andrews he or she would surely achieve golfing Nirvana!

But, for many, destination golf is the rule and not the exception. Off they go to this "great course" or that one. Lists include such destinations as Pebble Beach, Harbor Town, TPC Sawgrass and Pinehurst #2. Some of the more deluded even add Augusta to their lists. And in each case the expectation seems clearly to be the search for the perfect round on the perfect course.

But does that really happen. One thing is certain. Regardless of where one travels to play golf he takes his game with him, right? Which simply means that, regardless of where one goes the same game — flawed as all golf games are — goes along.

In short — YOU ARE THE COURSE!

Golf is also a head game. The worst head game there may be! Meaning? Meaning that when you finally save enough kopecks to get to whatever golfing Shangri-La it may be, chances are very good that your best game or, You—THE COURSE, may not be along for the ride.

TO GO OR NOT TO GO. THAT IS THE QUESTION...

So my advice, then, is to stay behind? Certainly not! I have played several "destination" courses when the opportunity presented itself and played MARVELOUSLY at each site.

NOT!! I played the Geronimo Course at Desert Mountain and barely made it in with enough golf balls to finish! I played Teton Pines in Jackson Hole and could never get a fix on length — either way too long or way too short! At Silverado in Napa I killed more worms than I could count! (hopefully they weren't needed for the good of the wine industry there!) And, in each case, I came away feeling like I had somehow betrayed the game and needed to hang it up.

What I wasn't realizing is that the destination course is to be experienced, sometimes, in spite of golf! In other words, you could go to St. Andrews, simply walk the course without hitting a single ball and be the better for it. Of course, if you get there you had better play or you'd be looked upon as an idiot of elephantine proportions!

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME!

But in the end I advocate playing the game between your ears. With that in mind the physical course doesn't really matter. It doesn't matter if you're playing the manicured track of a world-class course or a sorry cow patch. What matters is what happens with course that you always carry with you.

Remember! You are the course!

Now, with that, you're probably wishing I had abandoned this blog permanently!

HELAS!

A MUST FOR THE "WILFULLY" STUPID! PRESENT AND FUTURE

2010-10-20T22:13:00.000-07:00

by Doug McAllister

One of the first entries that you will read in the book THE BEST ADVICE EVER FOR GOLFERS is a quote about golf penned in 1908 by Arnold Haultain. Haultain observes, simply, that to be obsessed with golf "is not so much a sign of pitiable insanity as of wilful stupidity." We'll here's to the "wilfully" stupid and to anyone else to wants a collection of observations, anecdotes, quotes, quips and stories about this sport of sports. THE BEST ADVICE EVER FOR GOLFERS by Robert McCord is a must for you and for your library.

It's all here. Chapters include "Golf the Obsession...", "Down the Fairway...", "Grace Under Pressure..." and subjects that cover just about every aspect of the game. Contributors include some of the greatest names in the history of the game from Hagen to Hogan, from Palmer to Player, from Watson to Woods and from Nicklaus to Nelson and everyone in between.

More than a "How To..." book, THE BEST ADVICE EVER FOR GOLFERS is idle chat about the game by the greats as if you were with them at the 19th hole. It's also a great "almanac" of golf for everyone from seasoned golfers to those thinking about taking the golf plunge. If you are among the latter, be very careful when reading this book. You may find yourself, before you know it, among the ranks of the "wilfully" stupid as Mr. Haultain so eloquently put it.

Hit 'Em Long and Straight — wilfully and stupidly!

THE GOLF HALL OF FAME (OR NOT SO FAMOUS)

2010-10-14T21:16:00.000-07:00

by Doug McAllister

This day in golf history saw the birth of a Golf Hall of Famer and the death of another. In 1890 future U.S. President and golfing fanatic, Dwight David Eisenhower was born on this day in the obscure prairie town of Abilene, Kansas. And, some 87 years later, an equally obsessed golfer named Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby died in Madrid, Spain on October 14, 1977.

I bring this up because of the recent caterwauling that resulted from news of one of the latest inductees into the same storied Hall.

Former President, George W. Bush was inducted and almost immediately the naysaying began. "What has he done to deserve to be there?" was the most common question asked. What indeed?

To tell you the truth, I can't say why. The 'W' in his name does stand for Walker — tied directly to the Walker Cup. Maybe that had something to do with it. Maybe not.

But, hey, why Bing Crosby or President Eisenhower? One used money and influence to establish an event that contributed mightily to west coast golf while the other, through his own talentless addiction to the game, popularized the game in the 1950's. Oh...and he got a tree named after him at Augusta National. Why? Because he couldn't, for the life of him, manage to play a round there without hitting it! Even went so far as to try to use his influence to have the darned thing torn out by the roots! Yep, the stuff of a Hall of Fame Career if there ever was one.

Interestingly, there was a bit of complaining about Ernie Els being inducted this year as well. Barely eligible to enter the Hall from an age-requirement standpoint, some believed that he should have had to wait for a while. Interesting. Some even rationalized, as Els might have another Major in his future, it would be best to wait. As if adding another Major to his impressive credentials might disqualify him? (Okay...so I know what they mean. But it's still a remarkably stupid observation to make, in my humble opinion!)

It needs to be remembered that, like most other sports Halls of Fame, every golfer will not make the Hallowed Hall. Just take a look at the list of those IN the Hall. See any names missing that you were just sure would be there? I did.

Where is Oscar Bane "Pop" Keeler? Bobby Jones' friend and confidant and golf writer. Where is Grantland Rice? Rice coined the famous saying "It isn't whether you win or lose, but how you play the game." In my opinion, these sports journalists are as deserving as Bernard Darwin, another golf writer who IS in. And it goes without saying that Keeler and Rice would be far better additions to the Hall than Crosby, Eisenhower or Bush!

And, then, there are the many "generic" golfers in the Hall. Undoubtedly a case can be made for each, I suppose. But, just to name a few — who the heck are Fred Corcoran, Joseph Dey, Herb Graffis and Richard Tufts? To look at their plaques, they appear to be suited bean counters. No doubt they were perceived as contributors to the game and no doubt, as well, they may have dropped a few too many bucks to be given the privilege. Money, after all, opens far too many doors. But, recognizable names or not, there they are in the Hall. And far less notable than George W. Bush.

But like so many things about the game, The Hall of Fame, really has very little to do with the intrinsic quality and enduring value of the game itself, regardless of who is there or not. But, you knew I was going to say that, didn't you? That's because you're smart!

You know, then, that I am also going to say...

Hit 'Em Long and Straight!

TALON'S COVE: UTAH'S TRUEST LINKS COURSE

2010-10-13T20:10:00.000-07:00

by Doug McAllister

Seems today that the buzz when it comes to courses is "links." You hear it everywhere, "I played a links course today..." or "it's a links style course..." But the truth is, there is a distinct set of characteristics that are involved in true links courses. Take St. Andrews for example. The granddaddy links course of them all defines what is involved. Most specifically, it involves land that has been washed and worked over time by the action of water. By definition, links land was the land that "linked" the seashore to inland lands used for farming and grazing. Nothing to do, as some assume, with a linkage of holes on a course. It's this water-worked characteristic that truly defines a links course.

Which brings me to Talon's Cove in Saratoga Springs, Utah.

Situated on the northwest shore of Utah Lake, Talon's Cove — I believe — offers a true setting for a links course. The land, washed and shaped by the action of the waters of ancient Lake Bonneville, offers the a rolling and moguled landscape that is ideal for links golf. Shaped by
Architect Gene Bates, the course, featuring panoramic views of Utah Valley in all directions, is nothing short of spectacular.

From the back tees, Talon's Cove offers a monstrous championship track of just over 7,000 yards with a rating of 72.5 and a slope of 127. But five different tees insure that the course offers a great experience for golfers of all ability levels.

But it's the course's setting that sets the place apart. Nothing I have played in Utah is remotely similar. On a fair day the experience is wonderful. When the wind picks up off the lake, be prepared for a true Open Championship experience.

For more information, check out http://www.talonscove.com.

If you get a chance, play Talon's Cove. You won't regret it. I promise!

HELAS!

SWING THEORIES OLDER THAN STOCKTON, HARMON AND THE CAST OF THOUSANDS!

2010-10-08T22:10:00.000-07:00

by Doug McAllister

I'm sure that you've seen the recent avalanche of name-brand golf instruction that has saturated the game of late. It seems that you can't swing a pitching wedge without hitting Dave Stockton or Butch Harmon or Hank Haney or Sean Foley or some other notable in golf instruction squarely in the face. With all the hoopla, I found myself asking, is it really all THAT?

Let's take Eldrick for a case study.

Starts out with the venerable Butch Harmon. The whole world flocks to Butch as a result. Tiger's game flourishes. Eldrick wins majors. Everyone is happy! Then something goes wrong. Eldrick's game fizzles. A drought begins. Can't be that Tiger is to blame. Must be Butch's fault. Out with Butch! Bad, bad Butch!

In with Hank...for awhile.

Haney quits. Global golf disappointment abounds. Next Eldrick strikes out on his own. No coaches needed. After all, how can the greatest ever learn anything from anybody?

But, surprise! Suddenly Sean Foley is seen sniffing around Tiger on the practice tee. Eureka! A swing change is implemented that, we are told, will take months and months to groove! But, hallelujah! Eldrick will be back soon!

Now, the question. If Butch Harmon was the best teacher for Tiger then, why not now? Is it that Harmon underwent a questionable neuro-medical procedure — like Ernest Hemingway — and has now lost IT? The same might be asked about Haney. Why not ask that about Tiger?

And a peripheral question: what ever came of Tiger switching putters back and forth and back, again, at St. Andrews? Hmmm! Kind of smacks of the "musical chairs" game being played with his coaches. But, we'll get back to that...in a future post!

And then there's the strange case of Dave Stockton.

Stockton works with Phil. Long made putts are the result. Stockton appears in every golf periodical under the sun and there is much rejoicing! The golfing gospel has a new messiah—Dave Stockton!

But wait! Funny! It's as if I've heard it before. Golf déjà vu? Why is that? Because I have heard it all before. From my golf class teacher, Jay Naylor, from my university days to lessons with my friend Brent Wade to studying books by Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus.

You mean Stockton isn't preaching anything new in the golf instruction game? Absolutely not. And the really sad thing is that when the winds of changes blow in a different direction, Stockton will like be yesterday's golfing fad. His "original theories" about putting, however, will remain in the lexicon of golf fundamentals for everyone to pick up and try.

What am I driving at here? Quite simply the fundamentals of good golf are probably older than Old Tom. And, as it probably was in the old days at the Old Course, golf is the king of the head games.

In the end, it isn't who teaches you that matters. Unless bragging about designer golf lessons and paying the price for them is what "floats your boat!" It's who you choose to believe that shaves strokes. And, hopefully, that who is you!

Hit 'em Long and Straight
...and you don't need a teacher with a brand name to accomplish that!

THIS AREA RESERVED FOR DEDICATED GOLFS ONLY!

2010-10-06T14:30:00.000-07:00

by Doug McAllister

Golf has become a pathetic business networking dodge all over the planet, as corporate types gather on courses to schmooze each other, their clients and anyone else who might get caught in the crossfire! Sad, really. But, nonetheless, all too true. Golf in far too many circles has become nothing but a write off. Nothing more than a hollow fashion statement.

Why not just go some place at eat? Everyone pretty much knows how to eat and it's a rare problem when someone misses their mouth because of a too much of a slice being applied when trying to get their food from their fork to their mouths!

Why does it have to be golf? Golf is arguably the hardest game on the planet so why subject coworkers and clients to the humiliation? And if it has to be a physical activity, why not start some interest in corporate bowling outings? How about bocci? The alternatives seem endless.

But apparently is has to be golf. But it kills me that people come together to participate in an activity that they have no intention of really pursuing.

Case in point. This morning, while practicing putting at a "premier" local course, I happened to listen in on a conversation among the sort that I am discussing here. The conversation lasted a good 15 minutes and, in that time, guess how many references were made to golf? Yup, the big fat goose egg. NONE!

Oh, the conversation was brisk. Never stopping. They discussed the travel plans of one colleague. They discussed new product releases. They discussed promotions. They discussed corporate politics. They even discussed the venue for an upcoming corporate Christmas party. But not one of them cared enough about the game to say one word about anything golf-related.

They had come to play golf, right? I quickly glanced over my shoulder. Four golfers. Four set of clubs. Two golf carts. Each was wearing a brand new golf glove. Must be here to golf. Surely one of them would drop a few balls on the putting green—where I was the sole putter—and try to get ready for the round. Nope!

And then a thought struck me. Why not allow the corporate outings to come to the course and not play — just network? Eureka! Surely I was on to something big! Let them go through the motions and put on brand new golf gloves and wear really expensive golf apparel and act like they wanted to play — just don't require them to! Charge them the very same green fees. After all, part of the charade is forking over the bucks, especially at really-ultra-cool-premium golf courses.

Naturally, this "Corporate Round" would be able to be "played" in a third of the time that a normal real round would. And a new scoring system could be implemented for the proceedings. Three business cards placed in less that 15 minutes would constitute a birdie, while four would be an eagle. No cards placed or spending more than ten minutes on the cell phone in any given stretch would constitute a bogey. Marshals would have the option of throwing anyone off the course who spent more that fifteen continuous minutes on a call. Longest drive would be awarded to the participant who not only placed a card but closed a sale as a result! Closest to the hole would be awarded to anyone who secured a job interview during the course of the "round" while a "hole-in-one" would be awarded for getting hired right then and there!

It would be fun!

This would have the added benefit of allowing real golfers to access the links. And, since the corporate klatch will be paying green fees, the rates for those of us who really want to play will be less exorbitant!

Okay...so it's not really realistic. But you can't fault me for trying.

HELAS!

RYDER CUP TRIUMPHS AND DISASTERS ARE STILL IMPOSTORS!

2010-10-04T20:46:00.000-07:00

by Doug McAllister

And with that, the end of another Ryder Cup. Now, the eternal analysis begins! Why? Because we are disasterologists. We are drawn to it. We have to try to make a drama out of a game, complete with a script befitting a Shakespearean tragedy!

That being the case, let's get started.

DONE BEFORE IT STARTED?

Johnny Miller, when analyzing the failed shot of a competitor in a Major Championship, once observed, "That shot was missed before he ever hit it! Look at where he placed the ball. Look at where his feet are. He missed that shot with a bad set-up!"

Could the same be said of the U.S. Team at this year's Ryder Cup? I think so. Just compare it to what happened in 2008. There was no Tiger nonsense in 2008. Nothing there to draw Paul Azinger's mind away from the golf. No wild guessing games as to who would make it and who wouldn't. No melodrama.

This year everything centered on Eldrick! And with the farce the attention was drawn away from how the team would compete. How do you think the players who qualified felt? They qualified with their play and yet they were simply bit players in our drama. It was as if the PGA said to them, "Oh...yes...you. Congratulations! Now, go sit over there and be quiet. We need to see whether Tiger will be playing."

AND A STEP EVEN BEFORE THAT!

But, the real problem began when Corey Pavin was tapped as captain. Spare me! I can hear the objections already. "But he's the bulldog! He deserved it! It wasn't his fault!"

Wasn't it? If Pavin is a, so-called, bulldog, then what does that make Paul Azinger? A grizzly? What does it make Ben Crenshaw? A saber-tooth! Surely, there has to be some difference!

What was the difference? Azinger was in charge from the beginning to the culmination of impressive victory in 2008. Crenshaw believed in fate and had "a good feeling!" Pavin simply stood around with the look of a lost little boy who had somehow wandered onto the course at Celtic Manor! Always with that little forced smile of his.

Interestingly, there was never an air of his being in charge. When he announced his captain's picks he sat there with that silly look on his face. It was as if he half expected someone to relieve him of command for his choices.

Maybe someone should have.

THE RUB OF THE GREEN!

Those are arguments that have and will be made. But — truth be told — there was nothing nefarious or scandalous or triumphant or tragic about any of this year's Ryder Cup proceedings. No, there was no questionable gamesmanship by Colin Montgomerie involving delayed reports about U.S. play or involving piling hoards of British fans into the course on the last day (although he did handle things masterfully, didn't he?). There was nothing weird or staged about the weather-forced changes in format (unless, of course, Montgomerie was able to call in a marker with God in order to get it to rain like it did).

In the end, there was nothing tragic about Hunter Mahan's fouled chip at 17. This isn't, after all, the sport of ancient Aztec competition which saw the losing team killed and sacrificed to the gods of the winning players! This is a game. A game that, in its playing out, is as entropic as anything in nature! Think of it. One bit of grass leaning just wrong can transform a championship-winning putt into a Dante-esque disaster! A routine chip, then, can become a career-making triumph or goat-making chunk! And, no, I don't for an instant label anyone as the goat of this year's event!

How very fitting it is that it was a Scottish poet, Robert Burns (perhaps a golfer, himself?), who penned the applicable lines:

"The best laid schemes of mice and men
"Go often askew,
"And leave us nothing but grief and pain,
"For promised joy!"

No doubt everyone involved planned victory, sought "promised joy." No doubt everyone hoped for the best. No doubt the "schemes" for a win were seemingly "best laid" on both sides of the competition. So, what happened?

Well, to use the most appropriate term from golf, Europe's win and the U.S.'s loss was nothing more than a proverbial golfing "Rub of the Green!"

SO, LET'S ALL TAKE A DEEP BREATHE!

Nothing was really lost or won today! Nothing! In fact, Colin Montgomerie cannot say that he finally has his "Major" as a result of today's European win. Last I looked, winning a Major still means playing in and coming in first at one of the four of Golf's Major Championships! But, if it makes him feel better...

Hunter Mahan really doesn't need to feel badly about missing his chip on 17. Oh, of course he would have liked to make it. But he really should feel more badly — as should all of the U.S. competitors — that he lost his match on Sunday, when Europe won 5 1/2 out of 6 points and took a three point lead into today's singles matches! Mahan is still one of the best up-and-coming players in the game and it would be a real shame if this "artificial" setback were detrimental to his ongoing success.

Comparisons will abound as to whether Corey Pavin or Paul Azinger or Tom Lehman or Ben Crenshaw is the better or worse Ryder Cup captain. Luck plays far too much into any of those discussions so it might be best to let sleeping dogs lie. Consider it. Had Justin Leonard missed his putt at Brookline, something that, given the level of his play that week, he probably should have done, Crenshaw would be another also-ran in the long line of loser U.S. Ryder Cup captains instead of being, according to many, the "Patron Saint" of modern American golf. Something to think about.

And with that, the end of another Ryder Cup. Thank goodness! Good thing this year's triumphs and disasters are still, according to Kipling anyway, still impostors.

Treat them exactly the same and get out there and...

Hit 'em Long and Straight!

5 BIG STARS FOR FOX HOLLOW GOLF CLUB!

2010-09-30T14:51:00.000-07:00

by Doug McAllister

Many folks around here remember it as Tri-City. Tri-City? The course, now Fox Hollow, was apparently owned by three cities in northern Utah County: American Fork, Lehi and Pleasant Grove. I think most agree that "Fox Hollow" has a decidedly classier ring to it.

But, regardless of how it is remembered, Fox Hollow Golf Club is about as classy a course as you will find.

It wasn't always that way. Before the new clubhouse and new name, the course sported a rundown shed-of-a-shop that, according to employees, was infested with all sorts of critters and had a basement/cart garage that spent many a day filled with water. After the old place had been torn down I happened to be speaking to one of the club pros. "Did you shed a tear or two when they knocked down your old digs?" I asked. "Hell no!" he snorted without hesitation. He then chuckled as he told me how he and others on staff teed up range balls and broke all the windows in the place just before the wrecking crew did its worst.

And the new spread is something to behold, complete with a full-service pro shop and a reception center!

A VISIT FROM THE KING

Fox Hollow has a reputation of being one of the hardest golf courses in Utah. An apocryphal account still circulates that, while on a course designing trip to Utah, The King, Arnold Palmer, played a variety of courses in the area and Fox Hollow — still named Tri-City — was on his list. After his round, the course staff wanted to know Palmer's impression of their beloved course. According to the story, Palmer noted that it was a nice course. "Too long for the weekend player," he added. Needless to say, it was probably the finest compliment that Palmer could have paid. For years thereafter, the Tri-City faithful would boast to anyone that would listen that Arnold Palmer, himself, had said their course was too hard for just anybody!

Would have been interesting to hear Palmer's assessment of the old clubhouse.

STILL A TOUGH TRACK

A tradition of solid golf continues with Fox Hollow. Never mind what the clubhouse was, the course has always been, in my opinion, a well-designed and challenging showpiece, offering players the feeling that you are away from things when actually surrounded by suburbia. And it seems to be getting better with age.

Yeah, it's a tough track — for those who insist on playing from the back tees of machismo land. 7,077 yards from the back tees, with a course rating of 73.1 and a slope of 123. But, like most courses out there, the course does have three tees besides the back ones, offering an enjoyable time for players of all skill levels.

The Utah Golf Association web page describes the Hollow like this:

"Old style golf course, with water on 5 holes. A premium is placed on the tee shot on most holes, with length and accuracy both required to score well. Many trees and few bunkers with a beautiful view of the Wasatch Mountains."

Most of the individuals who seem to have a problem with Fox Hollow hate its length. Add to that some narrow fairways, lined with old, full-size trees and it's easy to see why many would rather go elsewhere. Fine with me if they do.

TOP-NOTCH PRACTICE FACILITY

Fox Hollow also sports one of the best practice facilities that I have ever seen. You won't find AstroTurf-covered-cement hitting pads to jangle your arms and destroy your clubs if you happen to hit it a little fat. The driving range, planted with natural grass, is also fully lighted for after dark practice.

Fox Hollow Golf Club is a 5-star public course that is well worth the visit. Play 9 or 18 and, given the challenging nature of the course, you'll want to...

Hit 'Em Long and Straight!

THE STRANGE TALE OF BOB HUDSON THE GROCER

2010-09-27T11:52:00.000-07:00

by Doug McAllister

As the Ryder Cup approaches this weekend, I thought a bit historic sentimentality was in order.

Ever hear of Bob Hudson? Me neither and yet it is highly possible that without him there would be no Ryder Cup this week! Really? Apparently so!

Thanks to a wonderful article by James Achenbach that was recently published in Golf Week Magazine, I learned about this unlikely golfing hero. If you love the Ryder Cup you should know about him as well.

The year was 1947. Seems that the Ryder Cup was on the ropes following World War II. The event hadn't been played in a decade. Interest waning on both sides of the Atlantic. No money available to fund the event or bring the British/Irish team over for the matches scheduled to be played that year at the Portland Golf Club.

Enter Bob Hudson. Hudson, never better than a 16 handicapper, was, nonetheless, passionate about golf, explaining that, while his well-to-do friends put their money into yachts, he put his into golf.

To make a long story short, Hudson apparently almost singlehandedly funded the 1947 event. He paid for everything, the price of passage of the British team to the States, their hotel rooms when they arrived — all expenses! And he did the same for the American Team as well! The remarkable article can be read in its entirety at http://www.golfweek.com/news/2010/sep/27/bob-hudson-ryder-cup-portland-golf-club/.

Now, the lesson.

There seems to be no record whatsoever of Bob Hudson — at least that I could discover — arising from searches on the Internet, other than Mr. Achenbach's excellent article. Surely Hudson had to have some semblance of an ulterior motive. Did his wholesale grocery business benefit from his generiosity, just as FedEx's did this past weekend at the culmination of this year's uber-event that so prominently bore FedEx's name? Not that I could discover. Surely a comprehensive biography would pop up on Wikipedia or on some other online encyclopedia. Try as I did, I could find nothing!

Marvelous!

In short, here was an individual who benefited the game at the grandest of levels who seems to have been content that the Ryder Cup continued on! Bob Hudson apparently didn't step forward after first calculating the ROI that he would enjoy. No. Apparently he stepped forward as a golfer, one dedicated to the game and its continuity at all levels and in all arenas!

For me, the story of Bob Hudson will make the matches this weekend that much more meaningful.

With that in mind all of us should be more inspired than ever to...

Hit 'Em Long and Straight!

JIM FURYK SAVES THE (PLAYOFFS) DAY

2010-09-26T20:45:00.000-07:00

by Doug McAllister

And just like that the PGA Playoffs and the FedEx Cup are redeemed! At least for today.

As noted in my last post, I was more than a bit skeptical about how things might turn out this year. Fortunately the new guys fizzled and a tried and true tour veteran rightfully took his place at the pinnacle of this year's golf world.

But, aren't we supposed to welcome new greats to the game? Didn't Jack Nicklaus, Ben Crenshaw, Payne Stewart, Ernie Els and many, many others have to win their first BIG ONE somewhere and sometime?

Sure they did, but none of them did it by sneaking in the proverbial back door of the current "lottery loaded" PGA. The FedEx Cup, with its complicated points system and its unreasonable weighting of the final four events, is the latest in a long line of snotty and materialistic MARKETING-BASED programs, supposedly designed to bring golf to the forefront. It's all about money any more. Golf, the game, is secondary.

I had to laugh as during today's event one of the suits from FedEx was interviewed. Nothing but transparent business posturing! The guy probably wouldn't know a real golf ball if it hit him in the back of the head. All he could talk about — and I was absolutely amused at how unabashedly he laid it out there — was how the FedEx Cup was nothing more to the main sponsor than a pathetic marketing ploy. He said nothing about FedEx's dedication to promoting the good of the game. No! It was all about how the event and FedEx's participation therein was adding to the company's illegitimately bloated bottom line!

Even more telling were the interviews with the players. When each was asked whether they knew during the course of play where they stood in the points tally, each laughed off the system as being wildly complicated. How true! Each would have needed a statistician walking the course with them along with their caddy! In the end, the common statement by each was something like, "I came here to play the best golf I could and really didn't have time to be worried about where I stood in the points tally or calculating which shot would win things for me." Good for them!

And, what if Golf doesn't need to be brought to the forefront? What if Golf was just fine and dandy before everyone and their dog decided that the game was the latest chic fashion statement?

Which brings me back to Furyk's achievement. Here we have a golfer's golfer. No weirdo glamor or pretty-boy face that everyone is trying to get a piece of. Just a steely-eyed game designed to do what it did for Furyk this weekend and all through the year and Playoff series. Minus, of course, his being inappropriately and shamelessly disqualified at the Barclays. But that, my friends, is another discussion entirely.

Everything about Furyk seems to be...well...unattractive. Except for the results he achieves! And no apologies necessary! His hawkish looks. His gangling physique. And swing coaches have been commenting on his unorthodox swing since he hit the tour. You won't find him on glitzy ads for Gillette razors. You won't see him on billboards, wistfully staring off into space, stupidly contorting his wrist so you can't miss seeing his Tag Heuer watch! You won't see his face staring back at you from posters stumping this or that golf brand. As I said, no glamor. No glitz.

But that's what makes Jim Furyk so beautiful! His notoriety — what there is of it — comes from his performance on the greens and fairways of whatever event he is currently playing. Furyk plays golf because it's as much a part of him as his eyes or feet or elbows or heart!

Player of the year 2010? Unquestionably! If the honor goes to anyone else it will be a major injustice to Furyk and to the game.

Enough said! HELAS!

FEDEX CUP WIN = BEST PLAYER OF THE YEAR? NOT HARDLY!

2010-09-24T13:22:00.000-07:00

by Doug McAllister

With the Tour Championship in full swing (some pun intended) at East Lake in Atlanta, thoughts turn toward wrapping up the golf year. With that the focus naturally turns to what a FedEx Cup win really means.

A couple of posts ago, I shared thoughts about the excellent article by John Feinstein in a recent issue of Golf World magazine. You will recall that it is Mr. Feinstein's opinion that the PGA Playoffs are — cutting right to the nerve — a sham! As I have considered it, I have come to completely agree.

Think about the top 30 now playing in the culminating event of the PGA Playoffs. Who is there and who really could be classified as a top player — let alone PGA Player of the Year? Okay, we have Phil Mickelson. Kudos to Phil. Big check mark there. We have Ernie Els — new inductee into the World Golf Hall of Fame! Congrats! Ditto. Ditto. Jim Furyk, Retief Goosen, Geoff Olgivy and Zach Johnson — all past Major Championship winners as well — are in the field. Check. Check. Check. Check.

Then we have Steve Stricker, a consistent journeyman player who has arguably paid his dues. Check!

And then things start to get really dicey! Many others in the field — chiefly the Dustin Johnsons, the Charley Hoffmans and the Matt Kuchars — are here as "lottery winners." Face it, they got lucky by winning Playoff event that dumped unreasonable jackpots of FedEx Cup points on players who, given regular season play, might have been lucky to be included in the Tour Championship field at all!

Sadly, the result of all of this is that the PGA has transparently become the latest sports organization to almost completely sell its soul to Mammon! Mammon? You know, filthy lucre, "The Almighty Dollar." Mammon!

And with all due respect to the players, the fault is not theirs. They belong to a sports association that says "Here's how it will be" and that's it. None would be expected to walk away from the lottery any more than any of us would be expected to slam our front door in the face of the Publisher's Clearing House representative standing there with a check as big as the door itself! So on they go.

What is left, though, is the sad reality that each of us, as golf fans, may be required to consider the year's final results with a monstrous asterisk floating in the back of our minds. Regardless of who wins the FedEx Cup, along with its inflated paycheck — unless, of course, Phil or Ernie or Retief manages a miracle finish at East lake — each of us is left to "qualify" the results. I can hear it all now. Something like this: "Yeah, Matt Kuchar is a good golfer. Wonder if he'll back up this year with a Major?"

An unfair sentiment? A consummately fair sentiment!

It was another World Golf Hall of Famer, golf writer Herbert Warren Wind, who stated in 1954, "A golfer's true greatness must always be measured by the number of Major Championships he wins." Hear, hear! Currently, despite the questionable marketing efforts of the PGA, the FedEx Cup is not recognized as a Major Championship. And — unless the PGA gets its act together and works out a system that fairly and accurately recognizes appropriate annual golfing achievements that warrant an invitation to the Playoffs and result in participation in the Tour Championship — here's hoping it never will be!

But, I'm abandoning my favored mantra that nothing that the PGA does matters to the heart and soul of Golf or that of each individual golfer. Apologies. After all, I'm only human.

But, keeping the proper golfing perspective in mind, take up your clubs, smell the grass and listen to song of the meadow larks that love a golf course nearly as much as you do and get out there and...

Hit 'em Long and Straight!

SEPTEMBER 20TH — AMERICAN GOLF'S "INDEPENDENCE DAY!"

2010-09-20T14:08:00.000-07:00

by Doug McAllister

One can look back at the history of golf and spot important dates. Some on a world scale, others more bound to the American home front. (Or should I say Course front?) Majors won. Ryder Cup victories and defeats. Some triumphs. Others tragedies.

But for all American golfers there is but one date that should stand out above all others. This date was — in my view — the day that America became a legitimate golfing presence. Like the American Revolution and July 4th, 1776 go inseparably together, American golf and September 20th, 1913 should go together like ... well ... dimples and golf balls! What's so special about that date? Some of you know, but for those who don't...

AN MOST UNLIKELY "TRIUMVIRATE"

Harry Vardon (left in photo) was considered by many to be the greatest Englishman to play the game. Arguably he till is. Up from the most humble of beginnings, Vardon would amass a championship record that included winning six Open Championships (a record that still stands today). The Vardon grip was named for him.

In 1913 he might have lost a step or two but was still considered a major golfing threat to the fledgling United States Open being played that year in Brookline, Massachusetts. Although not as shining a star in the golfing firmament, Vardon's friend and partner, Ted Ray (right in photo) was nearly as formidable an opponent as was Vardon. So when these two British giants came to the States with the intent of carrying away the U.S. Open Championship most believed them capable of doing it.

I won't go into additional biographical detail for Vardon and Ray. Suffice it to say that they were preeminent golfers and champions — as golf writer, Bernard Darwin would later put it — "Two Goliaths" that struck fear into the hearts of most of the competitors of the day.

Which brings us to the third member of the trio in question.

Francis DeSales Ouimet (at center in photo) was, in every sense, a golfing "David" when pitted against the gigantic foes considered here. Not a golfing hack in the least, Ouimet was a champion in his own right having won the Massachusetts State Amateur and other events. But to consider the notion that he could stand with the likes of Vardon and Ray was something that no one seriously entertained.

THE GREATEST GAME EVER PLAYED

And so it was that the fray was joined and, in the end, a three-way tie resulted at the 1913 U.S. Open. A playoff was scheduled for September 20, 1913 and included Vardon, Ray and Ouimet. The story is one that has been appropriately told and retold. In my opinion, the best accounts are to be found in the book The Greatest Game Ever Played by Mark Frost and in the excellent Disney movie of the same title with Frost contributing the screenplay.

It is history that every American golfer, at least, should know about.

It has been appropriately argued that, without Francis Ouimet and his unlikely victory at the Country Club in Brookline, there would have been no Bobby Jones. No Arnold Palmer. No Jack Nicklaus. And, if we must, no Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods. Oh, sure things might have rolled out in subsequent years to legitimize golf in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. But Francis Ouimet was the perfect hero to give golf the boost into America's sporting mainstream that it needed. American's dearly love the underdog — especially when he is a stripling 20-year-old and one of their very own.

In the end, Ouimet was able to proudly raise the U.S. Open trophy high, having defeated his two professional foes in classic style. And, like all good stories, Ouimet, Vardon and Ray remained fast friends over the course of their lives.

PUT IT ON YOUR CALENDAR — REMEMBER IT!

And so, September 2oth, which just happens to be today, should be a day that is inscribed in ink on your collective calendars. Commemorate it just as you would the 4th of July. Why not? After all, prior to Ouimet's striking championship, British golfers dominated championship golf in these United States. No, we have no record of them wearing red coats or harassing the citizens of Boston. But isn't it fitting that, in 1913, a golfing George Washington stepped forward — in the same vicinity as the famous military shots heard round the world! — and put golf solidly on the map of the American sporting psyche!

Pick up Frost's excellent book. Watch and enjoy the Disney movie.

Get out there today — on this day of days in American Golf — and celebrate! What better day to tee it up, waggle proudly at the thought of our golfing history and...

Hit 'em Long and Straight!

A WEEK OFF: A FEW RANDOM THOUGHTS

2010-09-18T15:02:00.000-07:00

by Doug McAllister

What a void a week off from the regular PGA schedule makes. I guess that the thought is the 30 who have qualified for East Lake need time to regroup, to rest and to get ready for the finale.

Given the fact that I wasn't able to spend my Saturday following the latest event, I found my mind entertaining a few random thoughts about the Playoffs, the game generally and, with the Ryder Cup just around the corner, about my favorite golfer of all time, Payne Stewart.

THE PLAYOFFS

I have to admit that my thoughts today about the Playoffs and the FedEx Cup were spurred by a rather astute article in this week's issue of GolfWorld magazine by John Feinstein. Tucked in the very back of the issue, the article provides some rather eye-popping facts about the current playoff system.

Did you know that, should a player finish a legitimate Grand Slam during the course of the calendar year — all four majors during the same annual season — he would garner only 2,400 points toward winning the FedEx Cup? But isn't 2,400 a pretty impressive number? Not when compared to the 2,500 points that the winner of a single Playoff event receives. That's right, Matt Kuchar won 100 points more for winning The Barclays than he would have won had he completed the Grand Slam! Ridiculous!

Even more ridiculous is the fact, so eloquently communicated by Feinstein in his article, that Charley Hoffman garnered the same 2,500 points for winning the BMW and never hit a single shot in any of this year's Major Championships. That's correct! Hoffman could walk away with the FedEx Cup — a trophy positioned to represent the best player on tour this year — without having qualified for a single Major. Preposterous!

I had never really put 2 and 2 together here. It's mind boggling to admit that the Playoff seems to be as broken a process as it is. Oh yes, the Player of the Year honors are not inseparably tied to the FedEx Cup, but shouldn't they be? Should someone this year win the FedEx Cup and not be the Player of the Year, that would certainly begin the debate in earnest!

Read Feinstein's article if you get the chance. You'll, perhaps, come away as I did, with the notion that the PGA these days is far, far more about money and not nearly enough about real golfing excellence and achievement.

GOLF'S STAYING POWER

But, as I've noted ad nauseam in past posts, Golf's staying power is as far from the workings of the professional ranks as Earth is from Pluto (that is is the second-largest known dwarf planet in the Solar System (after Eris) and the tenth-largest body observed directly orbiting the Sun. Originally classified as a planet, Pluto is now considered the largest...er...but I'm woefully off track!).

Think of it (again). Whether Eldrick misses this year's BIG DANCE or whether Camillo Villegas switches his clubs from Titleist to TaylorMade or whether John Daly's golf pants can actually trigger seizures among viewers in the gallery IS TOTALLY IMMATERIAL! That's right! Not one of the seemingly earth shattering scenarios can straighten your slice or sharpen your ability to read a hard-breaking putt or add twenty yards to your drives.

Want to know why? Because Golf is as personal to you as your own fingerprints. If you're a true golf aficionado the PGA could go to Pluto and you would keep on playing the game just as you always have. Think about that. If your satisfaction of the real game of Golf depends on the workings of the PGA it's time to hang up the clubs and join Roosevelt Grier's online crocheting club!

THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER PAYNE STEWART

Owing to the lack of a tournament today, I popped in a recording of the 1999 U.S. Open at Pinehurst #2. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. I recall watching the tournament back in '99. The drama of Payne's final round. His amputated rain jacket. Stewart's long, sweet swing. The final putt. Magical stuff then. More magical still when one realizes that Payne had just a few months left to live.

Since '99 it's been interesting how much Payne's legend has grown. TV specials. Biographies. Special foundations and funds in Payne's name. Remarkable!

Payne's class, especially when juxtaposed against recent goings on in the lives of various Tour players, is sorely missed in far too many ways. For one, no doubt — if Stewart were alive — we wouldn't be tolerating Corey Pavin at the helm of this year's Ryder cup venture.

But despite the fact that Stewart's life was so rudely snuffed out over a decade ago, there are those who forge on in the same spirit. I miss Payne because he was one of the rare few on Tour who seemed to be able to separate Golf from the professional game. He was also able to put Golf and life in the proper perspective. One need only watch the end of his triumph at Pinehurst in '99 — as he clutched Mickelson's face and wished luck for Mickelson's imminent fatherhood and offered the counsel that fatherhood was the BIG DEAL — to know the truth of that!

With that, HELAS!

EVEN FOR TIGER, IT'S DRIVE FOR SHOW AND PUTT FOR DOUGH. OR IS IT?

2010-09-15T17:23:00.000-07:00

by Doug McAllister

As Tiger makes an early exit from this years PGA Playoff series, the excuses begin to buzz like flies near a cow pie! The Tiger-o-philes are quick to explain why the #1 player in the world is completely justified in his paltry play over the past few months, generally, and his dreadful play in the past few weeks, particularly: Give him a break! He's retooling his swing. You don't do that overnight. It can take months! He's got a new coach. That's why Tiger is a bit off his game. If golf were totally about driving and approach shots — the full-swing shots apparently being addressed presently by Coach Foley — I would probably wholeheartedly agree. But it isn't.

We've all heard the old cliched adage, "Drive for show and putt for dough." Quite simply the meaning here is that, regardless of the steps taken to get to the green, the real dividing line between those who win and those who don't is how the putter is working. Right?

Walter Hagen's version of this was, "Three bad shots and one good shot still makes par!" And you don't have to be a genius to note that the one good shot he was talking about was invariably a putt.

Let's face it, Tiger has never been a straight shooter from the tee. Far from it. He sprays the ball all over the course. What used to make Tiger unbeatable was his ability to scramble in and sink Hagen's good shot — the winning putt.

So what is all of this nonsense about Tiger needing time to reengineer his swing in order to win? Take a look at the putts he's missed of late. He's seen far more than his share of makeable putts and, truth be told, he has simply blown too many of them.

Or am I missing something here? Has Foley got Tiger changing his putting stroke as well? I haven't noticed bizarre new grips for Tiger. Unlike Vijay Singh, who lately changes his grip with every putt, Tiger is using the same setup, the same grip and, with the exception of a some play at the Open Championship earlier this year, the same putter.

So let's all take a deep breath and face the facts: Tiger is where he is right now because his confidence is totally blown! That's it and that's all! Foley will work with Eldrick. They'll go through the process. It will take whatever time it takes and...Voila!...without confidence it won't amount to a hill of beans! Tiger is where he is because his idyllic little life was shattered by a series of really stupid decisions and not because he somehow wore out the swing that literally set the world of golf afire in 2000.

Let's stop all of this nonsense about Tiger's losing streak is fine because he's "working things out." Let's face the music and own up to truth that Tiger just can't put his head where it needs to be right now. And — oh, yes — can we please stop with the stupidity that Tiger's slump is destroying the collective health of the Game of Golf?!

Want to realize the truth of that? Get out there, yourselves, and...

Hit 'em Long and Straight!

GRANDPA ROPER'S ROUND: THE FLIPSIDE OF GOLF HATERS

2010-09-13T20:45:00.000-07:00

by Doug McAllister

A few posts back I spoke of golf haters and told the tale of how my paternal grandfather was one the first I ever encountered. But that's okay. To each his own. I was recently reminded of how my maternal grandpa spent his first day on the course, an event that, to this day, will always bring a smile to my face, regardless of how bad I may have been hitting it on my most recent outing.

Vernon B. Roper was a content man. I can't spell it out any better than that. Circumstances deprived him of most of life's greater professional opportunities but you never heard him complain about it. His became a lifelong railroad engineer. Years navigating the rails for Union Pacific. Hard work. Would have been all too easy to simply let everything go and accept his place as a typical blue collar hero. Instead, he went about educating himself in every way he could possibly think of. He read everything he could get his hands on, was curious about everything and wasn't afraid to try new hings.

Which brings us to golf. Grandpa Roper had reached the apex of life's middle years and was gliding contentedly down the other side when he first tried golf. As is often the case when children attempt to buy a parent something new and different for a birthday, a range of possible gifts was discussed. In the end — you guessed it — the family determined that golf clubs would be a great gift.

And so it was that the birthday rolled round. A set of clubs was presented, along with plans for the first formal outing. Naturally, the venue was just up Grandpa's beloved Springville Canyon, a truly remarkable course called Hobble Creek.

You need to understand Hobble Creek, then and now, is anything but a "pitch-and-putt" track. Narrow fairways, tightly bordered by tall trees, favor exceptionally well-placed shots. To make matters infinitely more interesting, Hobble Creek — the stream from which the course gets its name — winds back and forth and back again over much of the course, forcing the prudent player to carefully choose clubs that will keep his golf ball dry. Once, my father-in-law, when asked whether he would like to come and play Hobble Creek, smiled and impishly noted, "I don't have the balls to play that course!" An eloquent assessment. In short, Hobble Creek was an exercise in advanced golf to which, some might have said, Grandpa was being led like a lamb to the slaughter. The stage was set for his first and, very likely, last round of golf.

What transpired, though, was a game of golf fit to inspire any and all who play this sometimes maddening game.

The first hole, as I was informed, played out fairly well. Not a par by a long shot, but no significant damage done. The second hole, a short par four, was where potential troubles should have begun. Despite its short length, the second is the first of numerous holes where the golfer gets to stare Hobble Creek, the stream, right in the face, the mountain brook traversing the fairway twice. No roll up shots here. And no worm burners — often the shot du jour of many a first timer — as these would find the stream just a few yards from the tee. It was suggested that a 7 iron from the tee might be a good choice for Grandpa.

Call it beginner's luck but Vernon Roper struck a near-perfect 7 iron — not terrifically long, given the length of the hole, but straight down the fairway. After the hearty congratulations were handed out, all in the group headed off for their next shots. When they reached Grandpa's ball, owing to the nice stroke he had made to get it there, it was suggested that he might try a 4 iron — enough to carry the stream on the other side and put himself in a position to chip his third to the green.

But an interesting thing happened. Grandpa's take on things was different. Why not stick with what works? Hadn't he just hit a nearly perfect shot with a 7 iron? Why rock the boat? It was quickly explained that a set of golf clubs includes fourteen different members in order to effectively address the numerous lies and scenarios encountered in a typical round of golf.

But, despite the best explanations possible, Grandpa Roper proceeded with his new favorite club. In fact, he hit every single shot for the rest of the round — whether on the long par 5's or the short par 3's — with his 7 iron. And, while his score (which he didn't keep) may have been an embarrassment to an obsessed golf aficionado, he came away from the round beaming. I had many chances to talk golf with him on various occasions after that. He always spoke glowingly of that first 7 iron and his first round at Hobble Creek.

The moral of the story: there is far more to enjoying golf than going low and perfect drives. More to it than pars, birdies and, occasionally, eagles. While these add considerable interest to the experience, I can't help but believe that Grandpa Roper got it right from the start and took it with him thereafter.

So next time your out for a classic round, remember the example of a contented old gentleman, making his way happily around a difficult course with a 7 iron on every shot. Every once in a while the quality of a shot trumps the length.

Keep that in mind and...

Hit 'em long (even by a 7 iron's standards) and straight!

SIGN ME UP FOR THE DUSTIN JOHNSON FAN CLUB!

2010-09-12T15:43:00.000-07:00

by Doug McAllister

What can be said of Dustin Johnson? Think of it. In June he blows up at Pebble Beach with 82 during the final round of the U.S. Open. Has a freak scenario at Whistling Straits — a club grounded in a sand trap (that really wasn't a sand trap...but was by local rules for the week!) — and loses a chance to win his first major.

So, you would think, Johnson, by all rights, should go off and get into sales. After all, how could he get his head back into a game that had treated him so abominably over the course of just a few months? The game is rife with stories of other players who, having experienced similar disappointment, quickly evaporated from the forefront of the game and were never heard of again.

But today Dustin Johnson proved what he is made of. Playing his usual brand of Cool Hand Luke golf, Johnson won the BMW Championship — the third leg of this years PGA Playoff Series — and heads to next week's Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in the #2 position on the FedEx Cup rankings.

What does it mean? Quite simply, Johnson is now in a position with a win next week to take it all! A $10 million bonus and the Tour Championship to boot. Can he do it? With the resilience that he has shown since Pebble Beach, I would say that you'd have to bet the ranch on Johnson. Still, golf is an incredibly fickle game. Just ask Johnson. One minute you're tapping in a putt, believing you are to enter a playoff to win your first major and the next you're erasing the score you thought you had, adding two strokes in penalties for grounding your club where, just seconds before, half the population of Wisconsin had convened for a cheese-tasting festival — and you're heading for the showers. Fickle as can be!

But that's what makes golf what it is. And it's just the sort of game that someone with Dustin Johnson's character traits would excel at. And don't forget, Johnson is just 28! I'd say that he's got a lot more success ahead of him.

NOW, if we could only get him to shave off that ridiculous soul patch!

Until my next post...HELAS!

TIGER'S LATEST EXCUSE

2010-09-11T19:17:00.000-07:00

by Doug McAllister

Tiger's regular golf season seems to be coming to an end as he straggles farther and farther from the number necessary to see him though to next week's Tour Championship at East Lake. And as the end draws near Tiger — as usual — has something to blame.

This time it's his retooled swing. Picture this. At the end of each round the reporters mob the "world's #1" and ask questions galore. And the one that gets the response? "So, Tiger, what's going on with your game?" No, it isn't enough for him to say, "Frankly, I just suck right now." No. He has to have something more, something that takes the blame away — something that let's him remain #1, at least in his own mind.

So it goes something like this. "I'm in the process of really extra-special, extraordinarily complicated, super-major swing changes! And — you know — it's all something that I have done before. It isn't that I'm losing a step and falling from the pinnacle of golf. So don't go out and get rid of your 'TW' logoed paraphanalia just yet. It'll all be back and I'll go right back to destroying everyone in sight! I have to be patient. I'm the new and improved Tiger!

"What? Take steps to win this week and move on to next week's Big Finale at East Lake? Oh! No, no, no, no, NO! I have to stick with my ultra-major swing changes or else Coach Foley will be mad at me and tell my mommy that I'm a bad little Tiger!"

It would be refreshing, just once, to hear him admit that his game's off for any one of a hundred good reasons. That, like his friend, Roger Federer, he's riding into the proverbial sunset. Instead, he makes it sound like there's some sort of nobility in sticking to his new swing. Balderdash! Everyone knows that Tiger would sell his mother for a chance to win again...and again...and again! Time to realize that his best days of golf are about ten years in the past.

And, having said all that, I'm still waiting for someone out there to make an rational argument on Tiger's behalf that will make it possible for me to — at least — tolerate the annointed one. Please!

Happily, the fact remains that golf is one of those pursuits that is totally enjoyable regardless of the professional players and their various win or losses or personal problems. Whether or not Tiger makes it to next week's event has absolutely no impact on my personal enjoyment of and participation in the greatest game of all! So, with that in mind, get out there, have a great time and...

Hit 'em Long and Straight!

SOMEONE MAKE A CASE FOR TIGER! PLEASE!

2010-09-09T09:07:00.001-07:00

by Doug McAllister

After one of my recent posts I received a question: "What is with you and Tiger? Why don't you like him?"

A valid question. It got me thinking. I tell ya, it would make life a lot easier for me if I could appreciate Tiger. After all, it's likely that he'll be around for some time and I'll be watching him, week in and week out, as I tune in to watch PGA events. Like Tiger would make it possible for me to more fully enjoy the events that he wins — which is currently impossible for me to do.

So I ask you, why should I like Tiger? Someone please make a case that I can accept.

And, in the interim, here's my case against Tiger in four particular points.

1. ARROGANCE. Golf is a game of class. It's a game where opponents play to top all the other competitors but, at the same time, realize that their common opponent is the course, NOT the other golfer. This is something that's been difficult for Tiger and his parents to understand. For example, comments by Tiger's mom, Tida, include how she believes that Tiger "owns" his opponents' minds. How he has gotten into their heads and, by so doing, has defeated them. Hmmm. Again, the opponent is the course and not the other golfer. So let's keep our minds and mind games, whether intentional or not, to ourselves. Maybe if Tiger could embrace this point and reflect this more often in his persona I would begin my first turn to Tiger-philia.

2. SOUR GRAPES. At this year's U.S. Open Tiger was interviewed about the fairness of Pebble Beach, as prepared by the U.S.G.A. Tiger's response was that the course was, unequivocally, unfair. Interestingly, Phil Mickelson was interviewed shortly after Tiger and the same question elicited a far better response from Phil. He noted that Pebble Beach was playing very hard but quickly noted that it was playing fair and that his difficulties were due to his own shortcomings as a player. Refreshingly bright! David Fay of the U.S.G.A. was asked about the two responses and appropriately applauded Mickelson's assessment of things and correctly labeled Tiger's pettiness as unacceptable. Sure there will be bad days and bad moods but sour grapes is something for which Tiger is famous. Nothing is ever his fault.

3. DELUSIONS. Tiger needs to stop with the "I've already completed the Grand Slam" stupidity. I've heard him say twice in press conferences — when asked whether the Slam is really a possibility — that "it's possible. In fact I've already done it." Tiger needs to realize that continually campaigning to have his comparatively puny "Tiger Slam" canonized as a true "Grand Slam" not only makes him look stupid, but appropriately magnifies Bobby Jones' preeminent 1930 accomplishment.

4. STEVE WILLIAMS. Admittedly, Williams is a separate individual. But, after all of the nonsense from Stevie (crude and stupid comments about Phil Mickelson, yelling at the gallery, breaking cameras, etc.), Tiger needs to give the krazy kiwi his walking papers. For Tiger to keep this psycho and to say very little in opposition to his gracelessness is a sorry reflection on Tiger's character.

I am sure that I could think of more, but these are sufficient for today's post. Notice that I didn't say anything about his personal indiscretions, as bad as those are. Frankly, on that score I tend toward Jack Nicklaus' assessment of things. While I adamantly disagree with Tiger's amoral lifestyle, we are talking golf here.

So, there it is! The gauntlet is thrown. I would sincerely love to bury the hatchet and be able to be, at least, a moderate Tiger fan. After all, he is one of the greatest golfers of all time. If someone out there happens to have a good argument that can help me, I'd sincerely welcome the exchange.

If not, HELAS!

RYDER-WHACKY PART II — WITH PROFOUND APOLOGIES TO LEWIS CARROLL!

2010-09-07T15:25:00.000-07:00

by Doug McAllister

As promised, what follows is my second poetical installment regarding the 2010 U.S. Ryder Cup Team, the now completed roster and it's captain, Corey "The Bulldog" Pavin. Whether you agree with me or not, enjoy!

___________________

It’s nonsense! But after all it’s fine!
I’m not surprised it went this way!
That the BULLDOG’s bark became a whine.
That the TIGER brought the pup to bay!

Or was it that the pooch was bought,
That in the end, the thing was fixed?
That money talked, as we are often taught,
And by it’s charm the hope of fairness nixed?

But wait — Rymer and Roseforte
Each claimed the choices done just right!
But, as you’ve read my stuff beforte,
I think they’re both up in the night!

But Eldrick’s, bad as his nod was,
Was not the only flub today.
The youngster, all in orange fuzz,
Has no business going to the fray!

For Rickie doesn’t have the stuff!
He’s more a dandy — big hat toad!
In the end his play will prove just fluff,
And, mark me well, he’ll just implode!

So, boys and girls, the thing is done!
They’re off to Wales, that timid band!
I’ll be surprised, when race is run,
If they return with Cup in hand!

But it doesn’t matter, in the end.
“On the team or off” just doesn’t rate!
Golf is yours and mine, my dearest friend!
So, go out and Hit ‘em Long and Straight!

ONE LAST ATTEMPT AT RYDER CUP SANITY

2010-09-06T21:23:00.000-07:00

by Doug McAllister

Interesting goings on at the Deutsche Bank Championship! What? You don't think so? How could Mop Top Charley Hoffman's victory NOT be interesting? Precision shots all day — the sort that everyone used to expect from you-know-who. A personal cool that almost brought an early winter to Bean Town. Most interesting to anyone with good eyes and a fraction of a brain!

Still, despite Hoffman's stellar play, the spotlight kept drifting elsewhere. Oh well! Things are as they are. So, let's dig in.

Tomorrow is the big day. Captain Pavin will at long last announce his final four pick for the United States' Fall Golf Sales Event...er...sorry...the United States' Ryder Cup Team. Got confused there for a minute. All that nonsense about money making.

The waiting is nearly over and here's hoping that we are all in for a big surprise. The media has been appropriately scripted and the headline typeset: TIGER MUST MAKE THE TEAM — OR ELSE! The doomsday sales machinery is in place and humming furiously! Yeah, yeah! I get it. Eldrick has to be there because he deserves it. Because he's number one in the world. Because without him the result will be a mini-recession in the world of golf!

Rubbish! Folks, let's get real here. We saw a performance today that is far more deserving right now than Eldrick's claims. Hoffman played better over the course of the last four tournament days than Eldrick did.

Oh, so your fine with Hoffman on board but don't think anyone else deserves to bump the Striped One out of the picture?

Let's talk about just a few more: Ryan Palmer, Zach Johnson, Ben Crane and J.B. Holmes are all currently ranked higher in the FedEx Cup standings and seem far more hungry for the opportunity than El(drick) Tigre! But what does that have to do with it? EVERYTHING! As I have tried to note too many times already, the Ryder Cup is to be won and not simply attended. It's primarily a golf competition and secondarily a moneymaking scheme! Can we all please agree upon those two rather straightforward points?

Finally, everyone seems to agree that Eldrick is in no shape to compete in the Ryder Cup but afraid to actually push for it. Yes, he seems to be making progress back but this is not a futures game. I hear a lot of individuals arguing that he will be ready come the start of the matches in October. Unfortunately — and I hope Pavin is honest, smart and courageous enough to see this — the decision has got be made NOW! And right now, like it or not, Eldrick is not — I repeat NOT — among the 12 best golfers that the USA has to choose from. Period!

So, get out there and
Hit 'em Long and Straight!

I'm betting that Eldrick is not quite able to do that yet!

DON'T MISS TOMORROW'S POST:
RYDER-WHACKY PART II

BOOK REVIEW: YOUR 15TH CLUB: THE INNER SECRET OF GREAT GOLF BY DR. BOB ROTELLA

2010-09-05T10:03:00.000-07:00

by Doug McAllister

I first became acquainted with Bob Rotella, as many others did, through his book, GOLF IS NOT A GAME OF PERFECT. So well written, so straightforward and so applicable, PERFECT spoke to all of the mental concerns that I have had with my golf game.

So, naturally, it made perfect sense to get Rotella's newest book, YOUR 15TH CLUB: THE INNER SECRET TO GREAT GOLF, especially since Rotella had positioned this book as a companion volume to, PERFECT, the landmark work that so many had read and loved.

At first, 15TH CLUB seemed to be everything that I hoped it would be. Aside from a few sections where Rotella seems to get too enamored with his own psychology, the book seemed to flow and read just as well as PERFECT.

But, just when things seemed to reach the denouement promised in the title, namely revealing the SECRET TO GREAT GOLF, Rotella completely falls off the planet. Enter Padraig Harrington and Rotella's previously unknown position as President of the Padraig Harrington Fan Club! Two tedious, inexplicable chapters emerge wherein Rotella simply sings the praises of Paddy without really relating anything to the abandoned reader. Yes, the first of the chapters, titled "What I Learned from Padraig Harrington," seems to promise the reader a chance to learn some important mental tips from the Irish champion but then becomes Rotella's regurgitation of how Paddy played this tournament or that one.

But as I finished wading through the mess, the next chapter title seemed to offer some hope. Titled "Putting it All Together," this final chapter would surely get things back on track and, at long last, reveal the secret to great golf promised by the author. I couldn't have been more wrong. The final chapter was nothing more than Padraig Harrington - Part Deux!

Oh! One last thing. If you want to get the Yips, the neurological putting problem that plagues many of the game's best, simply read 15TH CLUB's Chapter 13: Nip the Yips. Nothing that I have ever read will put the wrong putting thoughts into your head more than this well-meant but surpassingly misguided chapter!

Stick with Rotella's excellent book, GOLF IS NOT A GAME OF PERFECT, and forget this one. It's a certainty that PERFECT will help you...

Hit 'em Long and Straight!

RYDER-WHACKY PART I — WITH APOLOGIES TO LEWIS CARROLL!

2010-09-04T08:21:00.000-07:00

by Doug McAllister

As this year's Ryder Cup process has become as weird as the adventures of Alice in Wonderland, I thought it only fitting today to borrow a snippet from the master of nonsense, Lewis Carroll, for today's post. Here's my golfing slant on Carroll's poem, Jabberwocky, renamed, appropriately:

Ryder-Whacky

It's Silly! How the Ryder goes,
As golfers vie to make the team!
It used to be that the Captain chose
The tour's best players -- the year's Golf Cream!

Beware the Ryder Cup, my friend!
For politics now rule the game!
Beware! Those chosen, in the end,
May be simply those who bring a name!

Corey took his pencil in his hand:
Long time he scribbled, long he thought --
"Who should I choose to join my band?
"Should Eldrick make the team of not?"

And, as he wrestled with the mess,
The pressure mounted, fierce and cold!
It came from members of the press!
And from Tim Finchem's desk, I'm told.

"Tiger has to be on this year's team!
"If he's not, it spells catastrophe!
"It matters not that his game might seem,
"As weak and awful as it can be!"

"For it matters little if we keep
"The Ryder Cup -- now you must know,
"It's the dollars that will surely creep
"Away, should Eldrick miss the show!"

So there it is! It's sad but true!
For Pavin's picks we'll have to wait.
So until Tuesday, it's best that you
Go out and Hit `em Long and Straight!

To Be Continued...

MORE CRAP ABOUT HOW ELDRICK "DESERVES" A RYDER CUP BERTH

2010-09-03T15:14:00.001-07:00

by Doug McAllister

Well, things are heating up as America prepares its defense of the Ryder Cup. And, with the heat, comes the apparent irrationality!

Golf Central on The Golf Channel today. Brandel Chamblee and — my old pal — Charlie Rymer discussed the probable picks to be made next Tuesday by Captain Corey Pavin. And there it was, for all to see. Chamblee, discussing the current playing stats of Eldrick Tiger Woods, noted that, from the standpoint of winning, there was no way that Tiger should be on the team. Very quickly, he then noted that, because of economic considerations, Tiger would have to be on the team! Otherwise, he noted, the PGA would loose beaucoup bucks — "Tens of millions of dollars!" — as fans would flee this year's competition — and taking their wallets with them! — in droves. Rymer sat there, like a dazed duck, hardly believing that his colleague had, at least, had the courage to tell the truth (at first) about Eldrick. He then stupidly babbled something about how he believed Tiger would make the team and deserved to be there!

At this point, nothing surprises me. I have loved and followed golf under the apparently false premise that Golf, playing excellence and the game's history were the Big Deal! Silly me! I'll say it again, O.B. Keeler had it right when he lamented that money would destroy sports, generally, and golf, particularly!

Look at what we have here — and apologies for repeating myself. Eldrick supposedly deserves to be at the Ryder Cup because of his...er... freak value! Please! Golf used to be the only sport that was impervious to the graft and corruption that plagues all of the other games. Now, I am supposed to believe that the United States should jeopardize its chances of defending the cup because the greatest prima donna in the game's history demands to be there? Okay! Fine, here's what I propose: put Eldrick in a cage at the event and let people spend the day throwing rotten food at him. Dress him up as a Tiger so that an appropriate theme is achieved! Better yet, have a Dunk-the-Tiger dunking booth at the event. Let people throw baseballs at him and put him in the drink. Charge $500 a pop and televise the proceedings internationally. That should make millions. Which, after all, is the prime motivation. Right?! And, never mind the actual playing of Ryder Cup golf or televising it. That's all secondary!

Total nonsense!

Here's hoping that, somehow, Pavin bucks the supposed predictions, uses his head for something more than a hat rack and leaves Eldrick behind!!

Advice to Chamblee and Rymer: Go out and play a few rounds...of golf! Try to remember what this great game is all about. Try to remember why you got involved with it in the first place and, in the future, start speaking more of the truth and less of the ordure.

Oh...and one other thing, gentlemen...despite your current crooked views of the game, go out and try to...

Hit 'em Long and Straight!

(I'll bet they can't!)

TAYLORMADE'S ROSSA CORZA GHOST: IT'S SPOOKY HOW GOOD THIS IS

2010-09-03T09:41:00.000-07:00

by Doug McAllister

After viewing the video remarks of putting guru, Dave Stockton, and researching everything I could about Rossa's new CORZA GHOST PUTTER, I decided to take the leap and buy one. The Result? It's absolutely "SPOOKY" how good this is!

First, I admit I was skeptical that a white putter would make any difference at all on the green. It does! I tested it head-to-head against my much darker colored putter and I was absolutely amazed at the difference. Blown away! as Stockton put it! A far clearer view of the front line of the putter and its position next to the ball. Dramatically clearer.

Next, what about the three black sight lines on the top of the Corza? Remarkable! The slightest tip or twist of the putter head and you can clearly see whether the face is square, open or closed. In fact, I will go as far as to say that you shouldn't waste your time with and of the blade versions of the GHOST that are due out in stores soon. And I have always been dedicated blade putter aficionado — until now! In my view, three sight lines are better than the one you will apparently get with the "Core Classics" and Kia Ma blade versions.

In short, the mallet shaping of CORZA GHOST is the perfect format. Period! For example, I have seen photos of one of the blade versions of this putter that is to come out — different from the all white "Core Classics" version that is currently available at some outlets. Placing a round "bubble" on the back of a blade to apparently mimick the circle on the back of the Corza — even with three shorter sight lines — makes no sense to me.

Finally, I was astonished at how quietly solid the ROSSA CORZA GHOST is when making contact during the putting stroke — especially on long putts! More solid than any blade I have owned and even more solid than Odyssey's two-ball counterparts. I echo Stockton's praise for this putter.

Go out and try it for yourself. And, while you're at it...

Hit 'em Long and Straight!

THERE MAY BE MAGIC IN THAT 1978 PENNY!

2010-09-01T11:39:00.000-07:00

by Doug McAllister

So by now you know me, right? I'm the guy who wants to look at Golf from a bigger (perhaps nuttier) perspective. Yes, there's all sorts of tabloid-like golf stories swirling in the media right now. That's fine. And there always will be. Yes, most of the golf blogs out there deal with them. Good, good! No, I am not a professional golfer who can help you with your slice, hook or with your putting. Probably fine too. Just golf-obsessed and willing to write about it.

So, let's proceed with today's post: Marking your ball.

Why this? Frankly, it's one of my favorite things about golf. Marking the ball is as fundamental as teeing it up. There was a time, you know, when it wasn't even permitted. In those days a Stymie — getting your ball in front of your opponents ball on the green and effectively blocking access to the hole — was the rule of the day and a time-honored strategy.

Moreover, there have been all sorts of controversies regarding marking the ball. One of the most preeminent came to the forefront during the 1999 Ryder Cup Matches at the Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. At that time Jarmo Sandelin — a Finnish born Swede with some interesting views on the game and on his golfing wardrobe, as well — had previously accused Mark O'Meara of improperly marking his ball. Sandelin went so far as to say that O'Meara had intentionally been improper in order to gain an advantage.

Say it isn't so!

The episode elicited an interesting response from O'Meara in which he referred to himself by his complete name: "Everyone who knows Mark O'Meara knows that improperly marking a golf ball to cheat is something Mark O'Meara just wouldn't do!" Wow! I guess the structure of that tirade might be because, as we all know, there is no 'I' in golf!

Ball markers vary tremendously. Some are free while some are expensively not! Some are as big as a house, having gigantic logos on them from this company or that one. Some are metal and some plastic. Some fit on the side of golf gloves as little pearl snaps. Some are magnetically attached to ball mark repair tools or the those swanky new magnetic areas on the brims of some golf hats (I'm a bit worried about those. Who's to say that the magnetic field so close to the brain might have adverse effects?!). Some are as ordinary as dirt while some are supposed to be...MAGICAL!

What about me? I always use a 1978 Lincoln penny to mark my ball. The significance of that year? It's the year that my brother-in-law literally forced me to start playing the game. So a 1978 penny is my marker.

Why a penny? I know that some like bigger coins — say a nickel or even a quarter — arguing that a larger coin is easier to see when lining up your put from the opposite side of the green. Okay. I recall, though, an article in which Golf Great Hale Irwin talked about marking ones ball "like the pros!" He then went on to say that pros use pennies because they are adequate and big enough to see without becoming an abstraction to other golfers. Good enough for me. Accordingly, I went out and began to collect all of the 1978 pennies that I could find.

Mind you, not just any coin from that year will do. I prefer circulated coins. There's a magic in a coin that's been circulated. Think of it! One of the coins that I have collected in recent days might have been in my pocket on that day at Cascade Golf Course, in Orem, Utah. I may have instinctively pulled it from my pocket and used it to mark my ball. After that, it may have traveled all over the place. It may have been used by Hale Irwin, himself, to mark his ball during one of his three U.S. Open victories. Or it may have been the coin that Billy Ray Brown threw, in dismay and anger, at a wayward rolling putt and was nearly penalized. Perhaps, seemingly losing its luck, it was pitched into the water hazard at Sawgrass' 17th hole — only to be seen and rescued by a diver, there to dredge balls that missed the famed Island Green! It may have then found its way to the change drawer of the cash register at Pebble Beach's pro shop. And then... Pretty magical stuff, eh? I think so.

Okay, so I'm either a little too sentimental or too weird or too something. So be it! I will continue to pull out of circulation every single 1978 penny that I can find! And, who knows, with all of the luck that each one is sure to emit...well...I might just be able to go out, one fine day, tee up my golf ball at each hole and...

Hit 'em Long and Straight!

WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH MY HEADCOVERS?! AND PLEASE KEEP YOUR MIND OUT OF THE GUTTER!

2010-08-28T18:32:00.000-07:00

By Doug McAllister

Yep. That's my golf bag. Right there. Seven headcovers, if you please. Seven! And Darned proud of it! My driver is covered by a Grizzly Bear. That's an American Bison on my 3-wood. A Coyote on my 5-wood. A Hedgehog, a Moose and a Mouse cover each of my three hybrids. And a Bear Cub, right there in front, covers my putter. So, what's so unusual about using headcovers — even seven of them in one bag? Come on! What's the big deal!

I ask because of the reactions that I have gotten of late at various golf courses where I've gone to play. When I played Teton Pines in Jackson Hole, the excellent Arnold Palmer designed track in west-central Wyoming, my playing partner and brother-in-law, Rich Herlin, joined in with the course staffer assigned to load up our clubs, in openly making fun of my furry entourage. "Are there golf clubs somewhere under all that?" the staffer laughingly asked.

Then there was the latest outing at Tuhaye, Mark O'Meara's superb course near Kamas, Utah. Same playing partner, this time joined by Rich's son and my brother, Bruce McAllister. Once again a course bag man looked askance at my bag and everyone laughed but me. Why should I laugh? I bought 'em, didn't I?

So! What's wrong with my plush playing partners? I have been very careful to stay within a theme. And never underestimate the importance of staying with a theme when it comes to headcovers! All prairie creatures. No dragons. No killer whales or giraffes added.

Okay. The one possible holdout is the hedgehog. But in Finland hedgehogs abound in the prairies there so I figured it wasn't too much of a stretch. Why Finland? Well...because I once lived there and was enchanted by the little creatures. Also, it stands solidly to reason that, had the Queen of Hearts of Alice in Wonderland fame played golf instead of croquet, no doubt her ball of choice would have likely been a hedgehog — wearing a Titleist logo, of course.

I also find my choice of covers better than the brand named covers so prevalent out there. I get bored with bags sporting Taylor Made or Titleist or Ping headcovers. What's the real purpose, after all, with those? Quite simply, it's all too transparent an application of the Emperors New Clothes to golf. Those with branded covers are screaming, "Look! Look at me! My clubs are more expensive (or newer or more prestigious or whatever) than yours!"

Right, right! You disagree! So be it! Oh. You...that just tuned in, you agree with me? Didn't mean you! But thanks!

But back to my experiences on the course, and this one's the weirdest encounter of all.

At Cedar Hills Golf Course, just across the way from my Fox Hollow home, I ran into an interesting threesome. Two men and a woman. I was there with another brother-in-law, Jeff Bennion. As a twosome we were, naturally, outplaying the threesome. They graciously allowed us to play through. As we passed where they had parked their carts, on the way to the tee that they had vacated, the woman in the group began to giggle uncomfortably. Never mind that she seemed to be a bit tipsy. She held a beer and there were several empties in the basket of her cart. "What's with so many stuffed headcovers?" she asked. I explained that I just liked them and that they reflected my love of the outdoors. Laughing much harder now, she slurred, "Rrrrighttt! No S--t! Sure it isn't something...else?" I was totally confused. She then went on to drunkenly explain that she was sure that the playful plushes were a reflection of some bizarre and intimate fetish that plagued me (not her words, mind you! but I'll spare you her exact phraseology). "Shhurrre that's not it?" She gigglingly asked, adding a wink for good measure.

Holy cow! Now it was my turn to feel like the defrocked emperor in Hans Christian Andersen's tale! And on a golf course, to boot! I just sat there and stared at her. I just shook my head. And, as we drove up to the tee, she could be heard to laugh uncontrollably.

So there it is. I am sure that my troubles arising from my golf bag decorations are not over.

You be the judge. You have the picture here. You got problems with my furry friends? I'll send you a quarter to call someone who cares! If I had the number of the inebriate already described, I'd include it here.

This much is certain. A bear, bison, coyote, hedgehog, moose, mouse and bear cub — all excellently created by the folks at Daphne's Headcovers (had to get that in for my marketing good turn of the post!) have only helped me...

Hit 'em long and straight! Okay! At least some of the time!

GOLF COURSE REVIEW: UTAH'S MURRAY PARKWAY GOLF COURSE

2010-08-26T21:14:00.000-07:00

by Doug McAllister

Nestled at the south junction of I-215 and I-15 in Murray, Utah, you will find Murray Parkway Golf Course. No doubt, if you've driven east on I-215 from Salt Lake International Airport, heading for points south, you've seen the course on the south side of the road. You can't miss the giant golf ball perched in the middle of the course's driving range.

So, let's talk golf at the Parkway — as this promises to be a fairly short post!

To put it in a nutshell — which is exactly how you feel while playing this claustrophobic little course — Murray Parkway, in my view, is 18 holes laid out like a can of sardines from hell. And, worse still, the feeling when playing the course is that you have to hold back or you might hit something! You might hit a car on the interstate. You might hit one of the many buildings that borders the course on virtually every side. And, most pointedly, on the 9th hole the golfer has the distinct feeling that a well-struck approach might end up in clubhouse! To borrow a phrase from the immortal Rooster Cogburn of True Grit fame, this course is "tighter than Dick's hatband!"

Now, I can already hear the arguments from the Parkway faithful: "It's a good track, given the land that they had to work with!" But that's the point isn't it? Most fine volumes on golf course design agree, location is of paramount importance when choosing the site for a course. Accordingly, I would argue that making the most of a bad location spells trouble from the outset!

And then there is another argument that is sure to arise: "Maybe you just need to control your golf ball better!" Funny! That one is also applicable at your local Putt-Putt, with which the Parkway has too much in common!

Skip this one.

Besides there are too many fine courses to choose from within a short distance to waste any time at Murray Parkway. Try Wingpointe, Arthur Hill's fabulous course adjacent to the International Airport. Continuing east on I-215 (without stopping at the Sardine Can just discussed!) and you'll find Gene Bates' wonderful Old Mill Golf Club. Head south a bit and you'll practically run right into Bates' other fine Salt Lake County course, Riverbend. I could go on and on.

But I won't.

Murray Parkway gets one star out of a possible five from me for one very good reason: Because if you hit 'em straight there, you had better NOT hit 'em long!

A FEW RANDOM (OKAY, WEIRD) OBSERVATIONS ABOUT GOLF HATERS

2010-08-24T17:23:00.000-07:00

by Doug McAllister

What's in golfers to hate? I ask you. The more I am involved with golf, the more I learn that there is a rather large society of golf haters and haters of golfers out there. No? Well let's chat about that for a minute.

I first became acquainted with animosity toward golf and golfers shortly after I began playing the game. My paternal grandfather, a lovable old mountain man/cowboy/rock hound, apparently hated and disrespected golfers. I didn't know it, though, until I had the bad luck, one day, to ask him where the local golf course was.

Grandpa lived in the little, one-horse town of Delta, Utah and, at the time, the city had a little 9-hole track "down by the rez (short for reservoir)." The designer of the local cow patch was said to be, apocryphally, none other than Billy Casper. I was never able to substantiate this, but that was the word on main street Delta. Unfortunately, shortly after the events described here, the rez apparently flooded, washing away the little course and any reference to who might have designed it. Casper or otherwise. But, back to my post.

When I asked where I could find the course, Grandpa's face took on an exaggeratedly "pinched" expression. I doubt that I could have coaxed such a look of disdain from him had I informed him that I was joining a hippie commune in Los Angeles! After eying me up and down and up again, with a tear in his voice he asked, "Are you a...golfer?" He disappointedly dropped his eyes, shook his head, inaudibly mumbled something, gestured violently to the southwest and began to walk away. Had his wife not stepped in and demanded that he give me exact directions to the course, I doubt I would have been able to find it and been spared one of the worst rounds of my golfing experience — my fault. Not the course's! The point is he hated golf and, it wasn't too much of a leap to assume, he hated golfers as well!

Since then I have noted here and there a tendency on the part of many to hate those of us who are obsessed with "spoiling good walks!" Aha! Mark Twain! Potentially another golf hater!

One of the most interesting statements about hating golf and hating golfers comes from the inimitable Country Lawyer, Gerry Spence. In his book, How to Argue and Win Every Time, Spence unabashedly notes:

" I am prejudiced against bankers because of their spite toward the poor, which is a reflection of their own deep, abiding and ugly prejudice. They will pass a starving man on the street, but give generously to the socially correct symphony (but only if their names appear on the evening's program as major contributors)."

With all due apologies to bankers, let me get to the point as Spence continues:

"I am prejudiced against golfers because any given group of golfers is likely to include a lot of bankers, or friends of bankers, and because golfers, on the whole, are as boring as bankers. They offer little by way of enlightenment other than their golf scores. I argue (through my prejudice) that if on any given day God should strike all golfers on all golf courses dead — all at once — the world would likely go right on without missing a beat."

Holy Cow! Oh, the vitriol! Oh, the horror! Good thing I'm not prejudiced against lawyers (many of whom are golfers)!

So why the hate? Why the lampooning? Why the shamed disrespect. I suspect that much of it arises from the fact that golf is about as hard a game as there is. Admittedly, there are — just as in any group of enthusiasts in whatever — a few snobs and bores among golfers. Who knows why my Granddad felt the way he did. But I suspect that Mr. Spence's problem might have arisen from a bit of putter envy (can I say that?). More than likely, pursuing the lifestyle of a young lawyer, he decided to take up the game. I can imagine it. Out with his fellow barristers to enjoy a day on the links. And poor Gerry can't putt! Is it his nerves? His ego takes a beating. There is snickering in the gallery at his expense when putt after putt after putt comes up short! Oh, the agony! Walking off the course he throws his putter to the four winds and, shaking his fists at the heavens, vows he will never putt again! Not to mention that the young lawyer is sued by the own of the BMW through whose window the putter crashes. Or something along those lines. Perhaps a bit less Wagnerian (and, no, that's not what really happened!).

Whatever the reason, I have to admit that I belong to a hated fraternity. A hated association. So what is to be done? Shall I take to the golf closet, sneaking out now and again to anonymously ply my trade? What shall I do if friends notice callouses on my hands — exactly where Ben Hogan said they should be — and ask me what I have been up to? Am I to be relegated to back alley rendezvous to buy used golf balls from the kid who combs the local course for strays?

Or can I fearlessly stride into the local Wal-Mart and buy new Titleist NXT Tours (for that same kid to find a week from now)? Yes! I am here to say that I am above the hatred. I will hold my head up, attend my GA meetings and stand and loudly proclaim, my name is Doug McAllister and I PLAY GOLF!

Actually, I'll just keep on keepin' on and work as always to...

Hit 'em Long and Straight!

CAN WE GET BACK TO GOLF IN ITS PURITY?

2010-08-23T12:42:00.001-07:00

by Doug McAllister

Don't you hate that golf has become fodder for the tabloids? I can recall when — just a few years back — golf was considered the last, pure gentleman's game. No out-of-the-ordinary reports about this golfer getting caught with his pants down (literally). No wild and crazy photos showing up about that golfer struggling with an addiction (of a variety of sorts). Peaceful stuff.

Now golf seems to be headed — albeit and thankfully more slowly — in the same sordid direction as many of the globes other games.

For me and my blog here, there has been the temptation to address some of the same stories as other blogs about the sport. No more. Yes, I may have to weigh in if there is truly something earth-shattering and golf-related as well. Other than that, though, it's time to focus on golf!

I have said again and again and again that golf is the bigger than any single professional player or golf personality. Bigger than any golfer, for that matter. Big enough that it cannot really succumb to dips and valleys in the market. Oh, sure, there may be a drop in player participation stats when the economy gets tight but, thankfully, it will never be such a catastrophe that the game ceases to be played.

There is something far too fundamental, far to foundational about golf. It seems almost timeless, regardless of whether yellow golf balls are "in" or "out." It has been and always will be a BIG DEAL. When a King of England goes out of his way to try to ban the game for fear of its effects on national security, you know that this isn't something a faddish as longboarding or hackysacking.

So, I'll say it: To hell with Tiger! To hell with his personal problems. To hell with guessing about whether his wife beat him up or not. To hell with speculating about why his game has gone south.

There are far better golf-related subjects about which to speculate. For example, a better question — one more pertinent to golf in its purity — is why has David Duval's game gone south? Huh? How about that? Or why did Johnny Miller's game go south when it did? Or, even better, why has your Uncle Stan's game gone south? OR why is it that going south is such a bad thing?

The interesting thing about golf is that it is played at all levels with just as much emotion — sometimes even more so — as in the professional ranks. We lose sleep over it. We worry about whether we can make a high school golf team. We agonize over whether we will still be able to play it a decade from now or, worse, whether we'll still want to. We mess with it and we fidget about it. We buy too many golf balls or too many pairs of golf shoes. Why? Because, when we can't be on the course, buying something that is golf-related gives us a feeling that we are still actively part of the game!

So, I'll try to keep this interesting WITHOUT stooping to the stupid nonsense that has come to pervade golf journalism. It's true, we love a scandal. But, surely, there is so much of good and noble and lasting about this game that I should be able to explore it and write about it. No?

So you go hit 'em long and straight and I'll get working on putting together stories that go a bit deeper than the tabloid ordure that's all the rage for today!

MORE IDIOTIC GOLF VIEWER VIGILANTISM!

2010-08-22T17:27:00.000-07:00

by Doug McAllister

Last Tuesday I wrote about golf vigilantism gone crazy; armchair rules officials calling in to rat out hapless golfers who — most often without thinking — break the rules.

Well, it's happened again. Just like that. Julie Inkster, the veteran of the LPGA, was disqualified after a pseudo sleuth called in and reported seeing Inkster using a training donut on her club as she waited to continue her round. Damnable! To think that a consummate pro like Julie Inkster would attempt to take advantage of her fellow players in such a way. Why, it's as bad as using performance-enhancing substances! Don't just disqualify her. Stone her!

Moreover, the infraction has become the stuff of other golf blogs. Parents, lock up your sons and daughters! First, Dustin Johnson seeks the downfall of our youth by cheating at the PGA Championship and now Ms. Inkster has done the same. Shameful!

RUBBISH! As noted in my previous post, it's time to turn the water cannons on the idiots who call in and, by so doing, break up the sensible play of golf tournaments everywhere. Golf, just like other sports, continues to be a game played by fallible humans — just like you and me. Also, the game continues to be officiated by similarly mistake making carbon-based life forms. Ergo, mistakes of every sort are going to me made. Mistakes by players and by those assigned to officiate. And that should be a locked circle!

Allowing individuals to call in and report infractions is tantamount to sanctioning an instant replay in golf — the game that is supposedly so honorable that players can and should call penalties on themselves.

My appeal, then, is as it was in my previous post: Please, PGA and USGA and R&A and all others upon whom falls the responsibility to officiate golfing events, turn off your phones. Refuse to accept calls from outside agencies who want to become your extra pair of eyes and ears. Determine that you will officiate yourselves and, should mistakes be made or infractions be missed, accept that it's all part of the game.

For the rest of us...

Hit 'em Long & Straight!

TODAY'S FLOTSAM AND JETSAM: WYNDHAM, DUSTIN & TIGER

2010-08-20T10:41:00.000-07:00

by Doug McAllister

Some days there are just too many golf subjects to weigh in on. One of those days today. So, this post will be several pieces crammed together. The only unifying element here is golf but, in the end, that's probably okay!

"MINOR LEAGUE" WYNDHAM WITH SOME MAJOR ISSUES AT STAKE

More and more, events that seem to lack the supposed marquee players of the Tour have gotten a black eye, labeled as almost minor league events. But, at the Wyndham Championships this week, that really isn't the case — even if what's his name is too good to come. Too much at stake this week to be considered minor in any way. All of the "bubble" players are scrambling hard to make the start of the playoffs next week and that makes for some exciting stuff. I guess when there is, seemingly, a ton on the line, high interest is generated.

But, don't you think if there were appropriate levels of interest given to all of the previous "minor" events of the year, many of the Bubble Boys would have already qualified for the playoffs? Something to think about.

Others, like Anthony Kim, who are coming off injuries or other setbacks during the season really aren't to be blamed. I am sure that their interest was there, even though they were unable to play. Also, let's not consider any PGA event minor, regardless of who shows up. It's golf, isn't it? Golf at this level is all that really needs to be there. But, for minor league golf, please tune into the Nationwide Tour.

DUST(IN) IN THE WIND!

While it seems that Dustin Johnson has wisely moved on following his unfortunate debacle at the PGA Championship, everyone else in the press seems to be chewing the bones. So, not to be left behind, I will too.

The finger pointing has begun in earnest as everyone is blaming everyone for the mess. Even Pete Dye is being criticized for including the 1200+ bunkers in his exquisite design. Hilarious! It was Dustin's fault for not reading the unnecessary local rules sheet (unnecessary because, in my view, the whole deal shouldn't have been handled on a local rules breakout!). It was the PGA's fault for their professionals on the scene remaining silent when they should have been sending up red flags right and left. And it's surely Lake Michigan's fault for being there in the first place and for helping form the links land upon which the course was built.

I liked Nick Faldo's take on things during an observation made while commentating at the Wyndham Championships. He noted that only once previously in his entire career had he ever seen spectators standing in a bunker that was in play on a golf course and that was in France (leave it to the Frogs! — my comment not Nick's). His comment was that he couldn't believe that the spectators were allowed to stand there (probably the fault of the PGA!) and that, given the fact that they were allowed there, the sandy track was not immediately declared a waste area. Hear! Hear! Sir Nick! Why didn't someone on the scene think of that? Seems to me that if an area is tracked all over by a bunch of human cattle the only fair thing to do is consider it a waste area. Faldo for PGA President!

AS THE TIGER TURNS!

I would have said "as the Eldrick Turns" but the nice alliteration would have been lost.

We can all rest easier. Eldrick has announced that he will begin his defense of the FedEx cup at next week's Barclay's. Defense? Right! I don't know about you, but I was losing sleep wondering whether or not he would sanctify the event with his presence. But breathe easier, golf fans! The exalted one will be there and the world of golf will be saved for one more weekend!

Also, speculation is running higher than high that Pavin will pick Eldrick to grace the ranks of America's Ryder Cup Team. If you didn't shout "hallelujah!" regarding the breakthrough at the Barclay's, here's your next chance. Again, America will be saved as El(drick) Tigre leads our boys into the fray to vanquish the foul European foes! And, if you believe that — that we will vanquish the foul European foes — I still have that oceanfront property here in Utah for you to consider buying.

I'm afraid that poor Pavin is under immense pressure to make sure that the PGA's erstwhile Poster Boy is on the team, whether it's for the best or not. After all, money talks and that other stuff walks. Can't have money without a product and, mistakenly, Eldrick is viewed as the product.

Funny. I always thought golf was the product. Silly me!

So, there you have my random meanderings for today. Do yourself a favor and get out there and...

Hit 'em Long and Straight!

GOLF COURSE REVIEW: SOLDIER HOLLOW SILVER COURSE AT MIDWAY, UTAH

2010-08-19T14:16:00.000-07:00

by Doug McAllister

In 2002 the world came to Utah in the form of the Winter Olympic Games. Big stuff! Venues were built all over the norther part of the state for the various events. For Cross Country Skiing a site was chosen in the picturesque Heber Valley, southeast of Salt Lake City. The west mountains of the valley offered the ideal terrain for skiing and the Soldier Hollow Cross Country Ski Center was born.

Wanting to take full advantage of the beautiful setting, it wasn't a very big jump for the State of Utah to propose further developing the area for year-round activities. And what activity would benefit from the gentle rolling terrain favored by cross country skiers? Why, golf...of course!

Soldier Hollow now sports two 18-hole courses designed by Gene Bates, renowned for his collaborations with Fred Couples.

This year I made it a goal to play at Soldier Hollow and my three sons and I accomplished that goal earlier this week.

For our round we chose the Silver Course. In keeping with an Olympic theme, the other course is...you guessed it...named the Gold Course. Now, if they would put in an additional 18 and call it the Bronze Course, we'd have a complete medal set.

SOME GREAT STUFF: THE POSITIVES ABOUT SOLDIER HOLLOW SILVER

Gene Bates has designed four courses in northern Utah, all within just a few miles of each other in Wasatch, Utah and Salt Lake Counties. Having now played them all, they have in common some incredible links-style designing and bunkering. This is especially true of Soldier Hollow. The gently rolling hills of the slopes are wonderfully punctuated with bunkers that add both challenge and beauty.

The setting, with its views of the Wasatch Mountains all around, is nothing short of spectacular. Add to that a terrific clubhouse — complete with one of the finest, friendliest staffs to be found anywhere — and a country-club-like attention to greens, fairways and overall groundskeeping and you have a definite must-play golf destination.

From the standpoint of playability, the course is top notch, featuring yardages ranging from a 7,355 yard track from the back Black tees (rating 73.2, slope 131) to a course of 5,532 from the front Red tees (rating 68.3, slope 111). Each tee offers its share of challenge for golfers of every skill level. Really good stuff!

NOW, FOR THE DOWNSIDE: MY NEGATIVES FOR SOLDIER SILVER

We teed off at 6:56 a.m., just in time for the sun to peek over the eastern horizon. That would have been just fine, except for the unfortunate fact that the Silver Course, especially its first six holes, is configured primarily on an east/west orientation. I cannot describe how absolutely discouraging it was to make good contact on the tee and in the fairway and not have the first clue where or how far the ball had gone!

Might seem like a small thing. However, great golf course designers are usually careful to consider such things as sunlight when determining hole orientation. Having played the other Bates courses in the area, it seems obvious that this is a designer that should know better. It was more than a little confusing, given the visibility and fanfare surrounding the Soldier Hollow complex, that such a blunder would be made.

WRAP-UP

Can I recommend the Silver at Soldier Hollow? Definitely! I would, however, strongly recommend taking care when scheduling a tee time, unless, of course, you routinely carry special sunglasses designed for watching sunspots or eclipses or what have you.

Overall Rating: 3 Stars out of a possible 5

You will want to try Soldier Hollow and when you do, be sure to...

Hit 'em Long and Straight!

REPAIR THOSE BALL MARKS...CORRECTLY!

2010-08-18T17:09:00.000-07:00

by Doug McAllister

I learned something new the other day. I have always prided myself on being a good "Golfing Citizen" in that I always fix my ball mark on the green. Moreover, I usually try to fix several others as well.

Out of curiosity, I surfed the web to see if I could find actual instructions about how fixing a ball mark should be done. I did this, mind you, more to reinforce my efforts than to really find out anything new. Shame on me! What I discovered, however, really surprised me. I had been doing it wrong all along. In fact, I had been doing it in a way that actually did the green more damage than good!

Want to know what the correct method is? I thought you did.

IT ALL STARTS WITH A FAMILIAR TOOL

You are all familiar with this tool, right? No, it's not a divot tool or divot fixer, despite being called that everywhere. Divots, remember, are those shaggy little turf throw rugs that result — we all hope — from catching the turf during iron shots after you make contact with your golf ball. Divots are replaced. Ball marks are repaired. Hence, we use a ball mark repair tool like the one pictured at left.

Ball mark repair tools come in all shapes and sizes and, if you want, you can pay a king's ransom for one. Having bought a variety of these tools, I find that all you really need are the simple, inexpensive ones sold at most pro shops for a couple of bucks.

LET'S GET STARTED

Remember that a ball mark is the result of a ball hitting the green, usually from rather high in the air. The result is the ball coming down and opening up a mark that pushes the turf out in all directions. This is important to remember so that the repair process is clean and effective.

The mistake that I was making was thinking that I needed to lever the center of the ball mark up. Accordingly, I would insert my repair tool at an angle and then press down, lifting up the center of the ball mark. Turns out this is a big NO-NO! This action tears the roots of the grass, making it ever harder for the green to heel. Ever seen a green with a bunch of brown, splotchy old ball marks? More than likely greens that I repaired wrongly. My sincere apologies!

It's also bad to insert the tines of your repair tool into the center of the ball mark and try to repair it that way.

The correct way to begin to repair a ball mark is to insert your repair tool into the grass at the side of the ball mark as illustrated above.

TWIST AND SHOUT!

Well, maybe not shout. But a twisting action is the best way to begin an effective ball mark repair. After inserting your ball mark tool at the side of the ball mark, push it toward the center of the mark while gently twisting the repair tool, as illustrated here. Remove the repair tool, reinsert it at another spot on the side of the ball mark and repeat the action.

The effect will be that the ball mark will begin to be "squeezed in" instead of "levered up" and the process will appropriately and effectively "close" the ball mark.

FINISHING THE JOB

When you've finished "making your rounds" around the ball mark, you will notice a lumpy, closed spot where the ball mark opening used to be. You know what to do now. Using your putter or your foot, gently tap down the irregularities, leveling out the green.

The final test? If what is left is something you wouldn't want to roll a putt over, you may want to tweak things a bit more. I have found, though, since employing this technique for repairing ball marks, that the process is faster and more effective than what I used to do.

So there it is! The correct way to repair ball marks on the green. Really cool stuff, don't you think?

Many thanks to the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) and their excellent web site at http://www.gcsaa.org. They graciously provided the images I used here. You'll want to visit their site for additional items of interest.

Try it out on your next round. The putting greens will thank you and you and everyone else, as a result of your efforts will be able to...

Putt 'em long and straight. Short too, if you need to.

THIS IDIOTIC GOLF VIEWER VIGILANTISM NEEDS TO STOP!

2010-08-17T06:41:00.000-07:00

by Doug McAllister

Regardless of how you feel about the outcome of last week's PGA Championship, I hope you would agree that one thing needs to change. It's time for golf to rule out all of this nonsense golf vigilantism that occurs.

What am I talking about? It seems that the whole issue of Dustin Johnson's supposedly grounding his club in a bunker arose as a result of a phone call from a television viewer. That's right! Some idiot armchair golfer watched what happened and called the PGA to report the "hellish" infraction. And this isn't the first time. There have been numerous situations where viewers, supposedly working to insure the integrity of the game of golf and its rules, have called in and reported possible problems to golf rules officials. It happened when Stewart Cink supposedly improved his lie when competing with Ted Purdy. It happened when Paul Azinger supposedly created a stance by raking his shoes back an forth and disturbed a few offended pebbles. It happened when Craig Stadler supposedly created a stance in a difficult lie under a tree by putting a towel down to keep from soiling the knees of his trousers. In each case some nitwit called in to report each damnable breach of the rules. Mark me! It has happened before and, unless something is done about it, it will happen again!

But hold the phones! First off, where is the number to call? How on earth do people get an inside line to the PGA's ear — like a personal Batphone! — during some of the most important tournaments and heated competitions of the year? Why don't I have that number? Why don't you have that number? (Oh...you do have that number? WELL, WHY DON'T I?) But I'm seriously off track!

With all of that in mind, isn't it time for the PGA to simply turn off their phones during such a contest? Why not just decide that mistakes at all levels will be made? Why not make it a rule that what happens on the course has to be dealt with on the course?

What would the world of sports be like if hundreds of viewers were allowed to call in and tattle on this misstep or that one. I can see it now: "I don't think the runner tagged up on that pop fly, better look at the tapes." or "On my giant home theater television screen, you can clearly see that the football didn't break the plane of the goal line. Better review a replay." Yeah, I'm nuts to even bring this up.

But what about golf. Why is it that the PGA listens to the crazies that call in? As just noted, shouldn't it be that golf officials need to be the ones calling their own game? It's a safe bet that the PGA officials walking with Dustin Johnson on Sunday would have missed the call just as Dustin did and things would be a lot more peaceful this morning.

I suggest that the world of golf turns off its collective phones during events like this. Golfers will make mistakes. Sure. Rules officials will make mistakes. Even better. The tiny-minded pygmies who pride themselves on being the vigilantes that brought down Dustin Johnson and others will just have to deal with it. Golf will be a more realistic sports experience for everyone.

And to get the ball rolling, I've included here a possible script for the message that will play when someone calls in, hot to bring down the next unfortunate player. Imagine the sweetest Barbie Doll voice reading the following:

"Thank you for calling the PGA of America. We know that you have just seen a possible rules violation on TV and are wetting your pants to tell one of our rules experts about it. Goody for you! We appreciate your extreme love for the rules of the game and want to extend you an important message: PLEASE DON'T BOTHER US AGAIN AND GET A LIFE, IDIOT! Thank you, so much, for your call."

Until next time, I'm Doug McAllister for the This For Birdie Blog. Be sure to hit 'em long and straight and, please, leave golf officiating to the on-site golf officials!

WILD, LAUGHABLE STUFF AS THE PGA CONCLUDES

2010-08-16T13:16:00.000-07:00

by Doug McAllister

Now that all of the dust (and sand!) has settled, it's time to weigh in regarding the shocking denouement of this year's PGA Championship.

First off, well-deserved kudos to Martin Kaymer and Bubba Watson. But, after playing their hearts out, I fear that, sadly, they run the risk of becoming unfortunate footnotes to the event in question. Sort of like Bob Goalby. Oh...don't know who he is? Well, he's the guy who won the 1968 Masters when Roberto de Vincenzo signed an incorrect scorecard. Absolutely! You've heard of de Vincenzo. But Goalby, the champion, is the footnote. Ironies!

Which brings us to Dustin Johnson.

No, I won't rehearse a blow-by-blow of what happened on Sunday. It is sufficient to say that Johnson hit his ball into the gallery. Right! Happens all the time. But in this strange scenario the gallery had been allowed to stand in a bunker. And more to the point, SOMEHOW THE BUNKER WAS RULED TO BE IN PLAY, WITH ALL OF THE CHARACTERISTICS AND ATTENDANT PENALTIES OF A USUAL BUNKER. Strange that! How could spectators be allowed to stand inside a bunker and have it remain a bunker by the standards of the rules of golf? Horrors!

Making a long story short: Johnson thought he was dealing with a patch of scarred hard pan, proceeded to ground his club — as I am sure 100% of his fellow competitors would have done — and played on. No harm. No foul. WRONG! Johnson was deemed to have illegally grounded his club and the attendant penalty blew him out of the championship and cost him $600,000!

I, like so many of my fellow golf bloggers, am shocked and appalled that there was no compensation made. I could see the peewees of the PGA coming unglued had Johnson absentmindedly grounded his club in a greenside bunker. Sure! That's defined. That's logical. But to assess a championship compromising penalty — regardless of how the players had been forewarned — was about as ludicrous a thing as I have ever witnessed. Even Old Tom Morris was surely somersaulting in his grave!

I had to chuckle when the PGA rules official was interviewed on camera following the incident. He looked as scared as a Christian in the Colosseum! He acted as if he fully expected to be torn limb from limb by wild fans at any second. If the whole thing hadn't been such a travesty I suppose it would have won the prize on the next installment of America's Funniest Home Videos!

Okay. Are the rules of golf important. Absolutely. The rules define play for nearly every possible golfing situation. Right. There are, for example, rules for ground under repair. Why not compensations for ground under stampede? Who on earth allowed the wild herd of human bovines to occupy a part of the course that was still damningly in play? What's next? Allowing the gallery to occupy portions of putting greens? I'm beginning to believe that the PGA would agree with the conclusion of the golf farce, Happy Gilmore, and make players putt and chip through collapsed broadcast towers and flaming automobiles!

In my thinking, a classic "No Call," the sort seen nearly every game in college football or basketball would have been both classy and expected. Instead, the PGA rules Lilliputians hustled out and accosted Johnson as he was exiting the final green, still appropriately believing that he had a chance to win the tournament.

Wild stuff! Tragic stuff! Idiotic stuff!

At this point, I'd say "Hit 'em Long and Straight!" but, after this, who knows if that will be good enough!

THE 2010 PGA: AND THE WINNER IS...

2010-08-14T22:35:00.000-07:00

By Doug McAllister

While watching today's broadcast of the 2010 PGA Championship, I was struck by a stunning fact. After all is said and done. After the last putt drops and the champion is crowned. After all of the should've's and would've's and could've's are silenced. One thing and one thing only will truly remain.

Whistling Straits.

The grand track on Lake Michigan will likely be there — barring some weird, natural catastrophe — to be enjoyed by generations of golfers yet unborn. And it won't really matter a damn who wins tomorrow. Regardless of who it is — whether a first-time winner like Nick Watney or Matt Kuchar or a seasoned veteran like Jim Furyk — the course will be as unaffected as Lake Michigan itself. The winner will be Whistling Straits and, of course, each of us who was able to witness the spectacle. Whistling Straits, like the game of golf, will be the thing that weathers time, the thing that will be remembered for years to come. And that's as it should be.

Think of it. For example, name for me the winner of the Open Championship — any one of them! — who won at St. Andrews during the twenties or thirties or forties. Who were they. Yeah, the consummate golf fact benders will be able to do it but who really cares. Certainly, in the years following their victories, they were toasted and remembered. The fact remains that St. Andrews lives on while the players — even the winners — fade away like MacArthur's old soldiers!

And so it will be with tomorrow's winner at Whistling Straits. He will be gone from sight almost as rapidly as the tracks in any of the 1,200+ sand traps are raked away at this striking course.

So, enjoy the larger aspects of the game of golf. Enjoy the timelessness of the places where it is played. Don't fret so much about who has or has not come back. And, until next time...

Hit 'em Long and Straight!

THE END OF ELDRICK IS NOT THE END OF GOLF!

2010-08-13T17:47:00.001-07:00

by Doug McAllister

Like many of you, I spent the day at PGA.com watching the marquee coverage. For part of the day that included the winners of the three previous majors of the year, Mickelson, McDowell and Oosthuizen. But, for the afternoon, it included Tiger Woods (Oh...and a couple of other guys. I think their names were Singh and Yang).

And what transpired was unbelievable. Just how biased toward Tiger do you need to be in order to land a spot as a PGA commentator? Every time Tiger managed a par — which is all he did during coverage, including a horrible lip out for a missed birdie on the last hole played! Every time he managed a par they spoke in terms so glowing that you'd think we were witnessing again something akin to Tiger's run-away win in 2000 at the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach!

And what was said about the stellar play of Matt Kuchar, who just happens to currently lead the event? Nothing! Not a word. Sure. They would say every now and then that Kuchar was leading. No praise. No kudos! I had to laugh when, after play for the day was suspended, they recapped Tiger's round, something that we had all just watched! Holy Cow! Let's recap Tiger's play? What the heck for? It was obvious that the best play was by other players. Why not recap them?

Here's hoping that things improve tomorrow. We don't need a wild PR blitz to attempt to tell one and all that — should Tiger not win this one or not be picked for this year's Ryder Cup team or not make the FedEx Cup Playoffs — that the golfing world will implode like a black hole and spiral into the sun!

Tiger Woods is not golf and golf is not Tiger Woods. It's that simple. So why all of this nonsense about Tiger? Quite simply, Tiger is a marketing ploy. That's it! Some marketing executive for the PGA has his head on the block. He thinks that the only way to save golf's bottom line this year is to have Tiger back in the proverbial "swing of things." Will the bottom line take a hit without Tiger? Not where true golf aficionados are concerned. Golf will go along just fine without Eldrick and other golfers, sensing a freer, clearer field, will grab their chance to win and go out and...

Hit 'em Long and Straight!

HE SAID HE SAID AND THE "MERITS" OF THE RYDER CUP

2010-08-11T19:49:00.000-07:00

by Doug McAllister

A pretty telling day at the PGA! Where to begin. Let's just take 'em as they come.

HE SAID HE SAID

Seems yesterday was just bursting with developments. Tiger finally cracks a bit and says that he will accept an invitation to be a captain's pick on the Ryder Cup Team. Surprise, surprise! But that's just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

Turns out Jim Gray — yep, the same as got in Pete Rose's face about coming clean on gambling, among other notable breaches of good taste and good sense — is skunking around, looking for a juicy scoop. He just happens to run in Corey Pavin and just happens to mention the Tiger statement. Naturally, he presses Pavin for a commitment about taking Tiger as a captain's pick. Pavin hesitates. Can he trust someone like Gray, so known for shooting off his mouth? Well...okay! Sure he'll take Tiger. Sure he'll extend an invitation. He'd be crazy not to. After all, Tiger is still number one in the world.

Like a happy little squirrel that's just found an acorn, Gray scampers off to spill his guts. Soon it's all over the Internet and leading the sports news. Good, good Gray!

But suddenly there's a snag. Pavin mysteriously turns tail and runs. Posting on his Twitter page, Pavin claims that he never said anything of the sort to Jim Gray or to anyone else. Moreover, he's not saying anything until the captain's picks are officially announced on September 7!

OUCH!

But hell hath no fury like our Jimmy Gray-Squirrel scorned. As quick a wink he's on the Golf Channel claiming that, although he thinks highly of Mr. Pavin, in this case Pavin's a dirty rotten liar! Not exactly his words but you get the picture.

Hilarious! First off, who ya gonna trust? A greasy nut wad like Jim Gray or Corey Pavin? I know who's got my vote and it's not Pete Rose's bestest buddy! The whole thing reeks to high heaven! Why, after months of claiming that he wasn't going to be railroaded about Eldrick and his place on the Ryder Cup Team, would Pavin run out and dump the story into a gutter like Jim Gray.

But things weren't over yet.

Corey Pavin and Colin Montgomery hold a Ryder Cup Captain's press conference today at Whistling Straits. Second question in and Pavin is on the spot straightening things out once and for all. "No, that's not what I said!" he says! "No, I won't rehearse my conversation with Mr. Gray!" he continues. And that's the end of it. And if you believe that I have some prime ocean front property here in Utah that I can sell you cheap!

HE DESERVES IT ON HIS MERITS?!

Next we turn to a peripheral issue arising from the aforementioned spitting match. After the "He said He said" had subsided, Golf Channel commentators naturally had to weigh in on the entire mess. Enter Charlie Rymer. When asked whether Eldrick should be on the team, this pearl of great price popped right out of Rymer's clam shell boxers:

"Of course he should be on the team. On this one and the next three. He deserves to be there on the merits of his career alone!"

Stop the presses! I get it. We've turned the Ryder Cup into a golf Disneyland with our favorite golf characters walking around for no other reason than to be seen...ON THE MERITS OF THEIR CAREERS! Okay. I can see it now. Better roll out Jack and Arnie. Wait, O'Meara has had a pretty stellar career. Oh, and Watson, as I recall, won a few majors and, more to the point, won most of them in Britain — where this year's Ryder Cup is being played! After all, we're really not in this to win it. We're just going to scare the European team away on our merits!

I couldn't believe my ears. Here was a respected golf commentator actually saying that Eldrick Tiger Woods deserved to play because he wanted to and because we owed him a spot! Total Rubbish!

Why not put players on the team who are...let's see...actually PLAYING and PLAYING WELL?! If Tiger's game goes any farther south he'll have a penguin on the bag. In short, let Tiger sit this one out — unless he miraculously wins at Whistling Straits — because right now he's totally unable to...

Hit 'em Long and Straight!

BOOK REVIEW: GRAND SLAM BY MARK FROST

2010-08-10T11:04:00.000-07:00

by Doug McAllister

Upon completing GRAND SLAM by Mark Frost, author of THE GREATEST GAME EVERY PLAYED, I took a moment to read some of the online reviews for this book. I was not surprised by what I found. One, however, struck me. The review was titled, "The Tiger Woods of Another Era." Indeed!

The fact is, Bobby Jones was and is irreplaceable. Period! Frost's marvelous biography, if read carefully, paints such a portrait that honest assessors of the game of golf have no choice but to agree with Oscar Bane "Pop" Keeler: "There will never be another like him!" Not the Tiger Woods of another era. Far from that. Frost's volume clearly points out that every other golfer -- from Hagen to Sarazen to Palmer to Nicklaus to Woods -- is but a shadowy also-ran when compared to the inimitable Robert Tyre Jones, Jr.

GRAND SLAM tells the story of Jones' unlikely and never again equaled feat of winning all four of golf's major championships in a single calendar year. And if you are remotely interested in the game of golf -- beyond taking the sticks out once a year -- you cannot read this book and come away with any other notion than that, very likely, the greatest golf every played on this planet was played some 80 years ago! And there is nothing wrong with that fact. Who says that, as time passes, we need to see better and better golfers? Just because the equipment is supposedly better and the conditions are supposedly better doesn't for a minute mean that the best to ever tee it up has already finished his round. And please don't come to the table with arguments that today's competition is greater or that life on tour is harder or that today's Majors are more rigorous.

Yes, there is Eldrick Tiger Woods and, yes, there is his amazing Tiger-Slam. A great sporting event in its own right. I admit it. But, despite Tiger's claims that he has already matched what Jones' did, it doesn't even come remotely close to equaling--as retold in Frost's GRAND SLAM--what Jones accomplished in 1930. Not hardly! That's it and that's all. Let's just all take a deep breath and accept it!

Like THE GREATEST GAME..., GRAND SLAM is masterfully written, telling the story of Jones' early experience in golf, his brush with death at East Lake, his steady rise to golf's greatest pinnacle and his elegant retirement from competitive golf at the ripe old age of 28. And Frost's narrative regarding the four majors of 1930 is simply riveting reading for any true golf aficionado. The volume also presents wonderful biographical sketches of the other major players in the drama, including Walter Hagen and Chick Evans.

GRAND SLAM is a must read for anyone who fancies himself a devotee of the grand game. Read it and allow yourself to be amazed, as I was, that such a one a Bobby Jones ever, in flesh and blood, played the game that we love!

Read it and then...HELAS!

LOVE AT THE DRIVING RANGE

2010-08-09T19:29:00.000-07:00

by Doug McAllister

If you've read my stuff before you know how I view practice at the driving range as being almost as sacred as teeing it up on number 1. Etiquette, please! No unnecessary talking. Concentration. Kinda like a library. Okay, well, maybe not quite. You get the picture.

So, tonight, my son and I went to the Fox Hollow driving range for a bit of appropriate golf introspection. We had just gotten set up when here comes Mr. Young Stud and his Doting Date. Yep. He's come to introduce the young lady to the game of kings. And, yep, he's chattering away as the two of them stroll...you guessed it!...to our end of the range. Angels and ministers of grace defend us!

Golf Rule #103A23Z: Never take a date to the driving range unless she's the golfer and there to teach you!

My first reaction was to glance up and down the range to see if my old friend, Baldy Bermuda, was anywhere in sight. But then I was struck by the sheer comedy of the situation. I turned my attention away from my practice and bent my ear as much as I could upon the conversation.

"I'm good at all sports, ya know," the rambunctious Romeo intoned, "Baseball, football and basketball. But golf is so hard and so challenging that I've decided to focus all my efforts on golf." Polly Purebred just nodded at this. She was probably wondering why on earth she had agreed to this. If the game was as hard as just described, why was he about to subject her to such torture? The lover boy linkster continued: "Yep, golf is my game...no doubts...my game for the rest of my life!" And at that it seemed that his chest got so big that all three button on his golf shirt exploded into the air.

Interesting approach. Was he trying to get her interested in the game or warn her that, should she stay with him, she and her children were going to have to accept being a distant fourth on his priority list, solidly after golf, baseball, football and basketball. And it became rapidly apparent that he hadn't a clue about teaching a novice how to begin the game.

First thing you know, she's hefting a driver like a sledge hammer at the fair and looking at it like she had a cobra by the tail. Now, I don't profess to be an expert on teaching the game, but everything I have experienced with the lesson side of things has a beginner starting with an iron, something with a shorter shaft and a little loft. Something to get the ball into the air.

You with me? I remember warming up before a round once with Bruce Summerhays of the Champions tour. There he was, a pounder that hit his drives a country mile, starting out with a wedge, delicately half-shooting pitches down the driving range. But, as is a problem with me, I digress.

Our hero tees up a ball and sets his sweety up to the side of it. Instructions fill the air like a swarm of angry bees: Keep your head still. Keep your head down. Take it away low and slow. Don't bend your left arm. Sweep it off the tee. Watch it leave the tee. Not surprisingly, his dearest love was as confused as can be but it was immediately apparent that she wasn't there for the golf. Looking at her with a stupid smirk on his face, he says, "Don't look at me! Look at the ball!"

I just about laughed outloud! This kid really did need to devote himself solely to golf and the sooner the better. Here he was with a beautiful young lady who, it was obvious from the way that she was dressed and the way that she looked, wasn't interested a nit in golf. She's staring at him with those big green eyes and all he can say is "Look at the ball?" Priceless! I can just see it. A few years from now there will be an ad in the paper or an advertisement on TV or on the internet. "Come join Brother Benedict's order of Golfing Monks!"

For her part, the fair young lass of tonight's melodrama will one day tell her teenage daughter how she once dated this loser who was so preoccupied with hitting this stupid little white ball that he couldn't see the birds for the bees!

For me, my continuing hope is to find a time on the range, with other golfers whispering like...well...Brother Benedict's monks. Yes. If I close my eyes and concentrate I can see it. A perfect setting to...

Hit 'em long and straight!

TIGER "SLUMPGATE" IS LETTING THE AIR OUT OF THE GAME

2010-08-08T21:18:00.000-07:00

by Doug McAllister

What a day in golf! Disasters aplenty. Defining play by some of the games up-and-comers.

But the day, in large measure, was all about Tiger. Having finished his round well before the cameras began to roll for the network coverage of the World Golf Championships - Bridgestone Invitational, a recap showed how Tiger's slump continued to wallow in all new lows. Hole after hole. Bogey after bogey. A stunning final round 77! Yep! 7-7!

And after it all, Eldrick was good enough to field a few questions from the press.

I have to say, as I watched him answer some of the stupidest questions ever posed by supposedly intelligent reports (Q: Do you think you'd like to play in the Ryder Cup? A: Not if I'm playing like this!), I actually felt sorry for Tiger. Yes, his demise is largely of his own creation but, still, he is also the victim. Isn't he? Programmed from birth to be the greatest golfing machine in history. No siblings. Likely no real social life (until he could buy one). Pretty darn pathetic. And it showed in those tired eyes. There was real doubt today in those eyes — eyes that in past conversations with the press have been supremely fiery and confident.

But I am digressing just as most of the world's golfing media did today.

Golf's press corp said very little about the fact that Phil was worse today than Tiger by a stroke. Ernie blew up as well. Sure, the final total scores for the #2 player in the world and for today's leader of the FedEx Cup standings were commensurately better than the player formerly known as Tiger. Interesting, though, that on a day that saw more meltdowns than I can ever recall Tiger was still the center of attention. But, then, I'm really not surprised.

In the background — almost anonymously, Hunter Mahan shot a brilliant 64 and crept away silently with the championship trophy. His win won him more than the purse and the trophy. As a result of today's triumph, Mahan is assured a spot on the Ryder Cup Team — and, yes! he is certain that he wants to represent The United States!

That's the real downside of all of this Tiger "Slumpgate" nonsense. Many have basically put golf on hold while Eldrick tries to figure out whether he wants to play anymore. Golf continues as it always has and let's not forget that the future of the game is not in its past!

HELAS!

LET TIGER WATCH THE RYDER CUP FROM THE SIDELINES

2010-08-06T22:43:00.000-07:00

by Doug McAllister

I am sure that many of you saw the clip of Eldrick's press conference from Firestone earlier in the week. If you didn't, here's the briefest of summaries: Tiger was asked if he would accept being a Captain's Pick for this year's Ryder Cup team. In typical Tiger fashion, Eldrick pointedly said that he was going to "Play [his] way on to the team." The reporter persisted two more times, realistically seeming to point out that a place as a Captain's Pick was probably about as good as the erstwhile "greatest in the game..." could expect. Twice more Eldrick defiantly insisted that he would make the team on his own merits. Interesting.

I have a better solution. Why not let Eldrick watch this year's competition from the sidelines or from home? Anyone remember what happened the last two times the World's Number One led our boys into the Ryder Cup? WE GOT TROUNCED! Yep. That about sums up Eldrick's influence on winning the Ryder Cup.

"But," you quickly argue, "there was 1999!"

Yes, there was 1999. But if you will kindly look back, you will note that, while Tiger did provide a needed Sunday point in the miracle comeback at Brookline, it took him, essentially, his entire match to dispatch the worthy Scot — Andrew Coltart — who wasn't even ranked anywhere in the world's top 25,000! (Of course, I am exaggerating. But you should accept the point!)

And then there is 2008. As you will recall, Eldrick was in medical exile, nursing a damaged knee that had been surgically repaired. As a result, the undisputed #1 golfer in the world wasn't anywhere to be seen. Word had it that he wasn't even communicating with other members of the American Ryder Cup Team. (Personally, I am grateful that he saw fit to totally absent himself from the proceedings. He probably thought that, given the two previous American disasters, there wouldn't be much of a show anyway.)

But a Tigerless American Team came to life and walloped the European squad so soundly that all of us were wondering how we could have doubted that a victory was possible if not expected. Stars emerged during the event that continue to shine. Anthony Kim. Hunter Mahan. An old flame was reignited as Kenny Perry, inspired by his Kentucky roots, went on a putting spree that bedazzled everyone. In short, we did just fine without Eldrick when he was supposedly at his best.

Which brings me to this season. If Tiger doesn't hold up his end of his nonsensical boast and play his way onto the team, why extend him a Captain's Pick? His game is solidly in the toilet right now and shows no signs of changing anytime soon. Why saddle the team with a toothless Tiger? Because he somehow deserves it? Hardly!

Here's hoping that Captain Pavin confabs for a couple of days with Paul Azinger and comes away realizing that Eldrick on the team, at least for this year, means nothing more than lost Ryder Cup points!

Besides a little time off will give him time to learn, again, to...

Hit 'em long and straight!

JOIN US FOR TODAY'S EPISODE OF "AS THE TIGER TURNS"

2010-07-23T06:51:00.000-07:00

By Doug McAllister

It's like the Energizer Bunny — it just keeps going and going and going and going...
What am I talking about? The melodramatic, almost soap opera-esque commentary on everything Tiger Woods does or doesn't do with his golf game these days. Getting tired of it? Amen! I am too.

Today on the Golf Channel web site it was the nonsensical delving into Tiger's putting woes at St. Andrews. "Is his confidence gone? Putter changes signal loss of confidence!" Really? I couldn't tell Tiger was lacking confidence and, assuredly, the putter is the culprit! Thanks, so much for making that one clear. Please! It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that Tiger has confidence problems these days. So why talk about it? Because if the USS Tiger sinks the whole game of golf sinks with him! Right?

Wrong!

Sorry to put on the broken record again, but — for the umpteenth time — TIGER WOODS IS NOT GOLF!! How many times does it have to be said? The game of golf is bigger than any one player and will continue to be long after Eldrick takes up the rocking chair.

So why not spend time singing the praises of newly-crowned Open Champion Louis Oosthuizen or of US Open Champion Graeme McDowell? They surely represent the next chapters of the game — especially in the case of the former. Quite simply, we don't care about the new South African sensation because he doesn't sell newspapers or, in this case, he doesn't attract blog readers. Instead, AS THE TIGER TURNS makes for much more interesting — or, perhaps, provocative — reading.

Humans love disasters far more than they love victories and — unfortunately for those of us who just want to continue to play the game — Tiger will continue to offer all of the melodrama necessary.

So, when you tee it up today, wipe those Tiger-induced tears from your eyes, and...

Hit 'em long and straight!

ALERT! BATH WATER GONE, BABY WITH IT!

2010-07-17T15:20:00.000-07:00

By Doug McAllister

As bad as the weather was yesterday at the Open Championship, there is something far more nefarious eating at the the game of golf these days — especially its professional entity! In the golf movie Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius, O. B. "Pop" Keeler, played wonderfully by Malcolm McDowell, is purported to have said, "Money! It's going to ruin sports!"

Enter today's ABC broadcast of the Open Championship.

The regular TV version of coverage was supposed to begin at 11:00 a.m., EDT, and run for three hours. But there was a glitch. All of the groups were unable to complete the second round yesterday and had to complete play early this morning. This resulted in a delay of 3rd round play. No problem. Right. Wrong!

When it was starting time of the tape delayed Open network coverage to begin the 3rd round wasn't quite done. Again, no problem. Right? Wrong! ESPN flexed its steroid induced muscle. We won't allow ABC to broadcast until our live coverage is done. Why? Starting a tape delayed presentation would never catch up with a live broadcast and ruin the ending. Nor would it seduce away faithful ESPN watchers. Really bizarre materialism here.

The result? When I tuned in to watch Open coverage, I was "treated" instead to a musty program that should have been titled Alonzo Mourning! This is Your Life! After this "heart-warming" bit of nonsense was done I held my breath and hoped that, finally, the Open would commence. "BBBLLLAAAPPP!" Thanks for playing! Instead, I was "privileged" to watch Kobe Bryant's Self Appreciation Hour, followed by a documentary about how Haiti's under-seventeen girl's soccer team was bludgeoned to death by the U.S. shortly after the massive quake devastated the Haitian homeland!

But the very best was still to come. Once the event was finally up for broadcast, commentators quickly welcomed me to "The Open Championship Highlights Show. Death and taxes! A highlight show?! Of course! How could ABC think to dump the stellar programming, infomercials up the yin-yang, that were scheduled to follow the Open Championship broadcast? Still, I tuned in hoping to, at least catch a glimpse of St. Andrews.

What was there was marvelous, including a couple of "beauty" pieces about the Old Course, narrated by the inimitable Ian McShane.

The rest was absolutely criminal. Commercials ad nauseam! Seems that, while the program (without breaks) was to be abbreviated to a little less than 90 minutes, the full barrage of commercials scheduled for the 3 hour broadcast would air anyway. Ridiculous! Picture this the players on the course. Commentary by Paul Azinger and Mike Tirico and...Wham! Bang! We cut to one of those stupid Pacific Life ads — as if whales cared about life insurance anyway. Or we see players approaching the green to finish a hole and...Blam! Boom! We are finding out how IBM is making the earth a smarter planet!

I don't know about smarter. IBM is certainly more materialistic than ever!

But ESPN and ABC were the ones — the marketing criminals — who threw the baby out with the bath water on this one. Please! Pull your heads out and realize that there are times when such shenanigans may be forgivable. Certainly not during the most hallowed golf event of the year when it is being broadcast from the "Home of Golf!" It should be explained to potential sponsors that, should things go wrong, the golf will take precedence over their stupid ads — a risk that they will just have to accept! And risk is something that these pinheads should know all about!

Fortunately the game — as I have noted and will continue to note — is far bigger and significant than the dealing of today's idiot marketers — even though they think that golf is their personal oyster. Time to go back out and continue to try to...

Hit 'em long and straight!

ISN'T THAT WHAT THE BRITISH OPEN IS SUPPOSED TO BE?

2010-07-16T06:55:00.000-07:00

By Doug McAllister

Perhaps the one major complaint that I have about professional golf today is the highly temperamental nature of the players. The slightest problems with conditions on the course and the complaining begins. This year's U.S. Open at Pebble Beach was awful — complaints ad nauseam that the greens were too fast or the pin placements were unreasonable.

Now, take the Open Championship at St. Andrews as a case in point. Suspension of play because of high winds?! What is that all about? There are supposed to be high winds? Why else did the Scots do so much to invent roll-up shots, for Pete's sake?! I was watching the play and my son asked what was going on. I said that play had been suspended because of high winds. His response was classic: "Isn't that what the British Open is supposed to be?" Absolutely right!

Interestingly, Tiger Woods had just begun play when the suspension was called. Interesting. NO! I am not saying that play was suspended because Tiger Woods — golf's preeminent prima donna — never does well in such classic Open conditions. I'm just saying that it's interesting.

Okay, I'm really mad about this. Mad as hell! This is the sort of thing that makes the Open Championship what it is. This is the very snap of good luck needed to show that St. Andrews is still a viable course in the Open rotation. The course has come under fire of late by many critics. It's too short. It's not challenging enough. Take it out of the rotation except for ceremonious events and such. And, now, when the Old Girl has a chance to beat the crap out of the world's best and reestablish herself as the challenging course that all should consider her to be — especially when there are intense weather conditions...PLAY SUSPENDED BECAUSE OF HIGH WINDS!

I say let 'em play. Sure, they'll squeal like pigs about conditions being unfair with Tiger being the lead singer and making up the entire soprano section. Let 'em squeal! Again, isn't that what the British Open is supposed to be?!

I'll be back on more from the Open Championship and, hopefully very soon, they'll be allowed to be out on the course very soon — wind and all — trying to Hit 'em long and straight!

THANK GOODNESS LEBRON JAMES ISN'T ON TOUR!

2010-07-10T18:13:00.000-07:00

By Doug McAllister

I have watched reluctantly over the past several days how things have played out in the NBA as several free agent players have strutted their stuff, seeking to turn the balance of power in the league. Chief among the nitwits was LeBron James, seemingly this week's "God's Gift to Sports!"

As I stayed in touch with the nonsense, one thought arose preeminently in my mind: "THANK GOODNESS LEBRON JAMES ISN'T ON THE PGA TOUR!!" Think of it. What if golfers jockeyed for position every time they were trying to determine which sponsor they would go with this season. And — with the possible exception of Eldrick Woods — there hasn't been this sort of nonsense in golf — EVER!

Sure, Woods had his "Press Conference." Sure, he supposedly attempted to do to golf what James has shamelessly done to basketball. But, in the end, golf just wouldn't allow it. Everyone yawned at the nonsense of Woods' attempted PR coup and went on their way.

It all made me proud and grateful that golf is the sport that it is. Sure, our sport has its share of ego and egotists. But the very nice thing about golf is that, just when someone is getting too big for his britches, golf has a way of slamming them down to the terra firma faster than you can say double bogey!

Some might call this aspect of golf tedious or boring or even frightening. Why not be able to manipulate things in the press and in the arena? Why not have a scenario where officials are reluctant (if not directed) to call fouls on the leagues "major product" — as commissioner David Stern once referred to Michael Jordan. Hell, in golf the competitors call "fouls" on themselves!

With LeBron James' shenanigans, the NBA, more and more, seems similar to the World Wrestling Federation, steeped all of the sham of being entertainment first and sport second!

I won't go as far as to use the language that the Cleveland Cavaliers' owner did when venting about his lost "asset." Rather, isn't it refreshing to be affiliated with a sport that has featured and continues to feature the likes of Old Tom Morris, Bobby Jones, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Phil Mickelson and David Duval, just to name a very few? Yes, the Eldrick's and the Pat Perez's and the Steve Williams's add unneeded flare from time to time. They will come and they will go. Sometimes they will climb to golf's loftiest levels. But, rest assured, golf has had and will continue to have the ability to rid itself of unsightly scars and present itself as good as new to the next generation of aficionados.

Be grateful for that and...HELAS!

GOLF COURSE REVIEW: THE RANCHES at Eagle Mountain, UT - GRAZE COWS, DON'T GOLF!

2010-07-09T19:29:00.000-07:00

By Doug McAllister

THE RANCHES was a sweet course. I began playing there shortly after it first opened. A challenging track cut into the prairie grass and sagebrush, the course was as true a desert links as I have ever seen. Really spectacular! Topping The Ranches off were great golf professionals and clubhouse staff, making the place nearly perfect.

And then things changed. As is often the case with golf courses, the temptation to sacrifice sport for real estate became too much. Cul-de-sacs compromised tees and practice facilities. A magnificent front 9 finishing hole became a backward driving range and was replaced with an uphill par 4 that is so steep that one half expects oxygen masks to fall out of the sky when reaching the green! A preposterous hole!

The ambiance of the clubhouse was next to suffer. New management and new ownership meant the end of the excellent people part of the experience at The Ranches. Don't get me wrong. The new folks try their best to make the experience worthwhile but, in my opinion, fall short. Just the way it is!

I played the course today...

These day there just seems to be...I don't know...a "we-don't-care anymore" attitude about The Ranches experience. Things that may seem small are problems to me — like no cups at the water stops, no water in the ball washers, grounds crew that goes about their work during play and doesn't seem to give a rip whether your hitting or putting and how their actions may affect things. And on and on. And, no, I'm not talking about having a Country Club atmosphere at a respectable muni.

I predict that golf at The Ranches will soon be a thing of the past. As more and more players — like me — have their fill of changes at the course, golf revenue will suffer and then management is sure to start selling things off. Soon there will only be nine holes and then none. Before that happens, I suggest turning the place back over to cattle for grazing!

So, until next time — hit 'em long and straight! Just somewhere other than THE RANCHES.

YOUR PUTTING GIMMICK-O-METER SHOULD BE GOING CRAZY!

2010-06-30T21:25:00.000-07:00

By Doug McAllister

Marketers are all about gimmicks. Their job is to find a bigger fool and get them to buy a whole lotta whatever it is that they're sellin'. In this case the marketers work for Taylor Made Golf and what they're sellin' is an expensive new putter by Kia Ma.

Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against real quality. My problem is...well...let's just get to the point at hand.

The new Kia Ma Rossa Putters are an interesting combination of a high-tech, milled head with Rossa's trademark AGSI insert and movable weights. I'll give them the movable weights. Taylor Made has become famous in recent years for their movable weights. But it's the AGSI insert that caught my attention and got me thinking. The insert is what ultimately comes in contact with the ball, right? So why go to the exorbitant cost of a "100% Milled" putter head if the contact with the ball is an AGSI insert that is found in any of Rossa's less expensive models?

I had to check out the difference for myself. Accordingly, I went to my local golf retailer and compared, head-to-head, Rossa's Core Classics Daytona with the new Rossa TP Kia Ma Daytona with the AGSI insert. The comparison—at least where my experience is concerned—showed that...can I get a drum roll, please...THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO DIFFERENCE IN FEEL OR PERFORMANCE BETWEEN THE ROSSA CORE CLASSICS DAYTONA AND ITS FAR PRICIER KIA MA COUNTERPART. NONE!!!! What we have here, it seems, is the putting gimmick of gimmicks—an inexpensive, though effective, AGSI insert housed in an ultra-expensive milled putter head. Nothing more!

The good news is that, if you want the excellent feel and performance of Rossa's AGSI inserts, they can be had at a considerably lower price in any of the Rossa Core Classics Models. And, if you want the superior performance and precision of a totally milled putter look no further than Rossa's original TP Kia Ma putters!

Avoid putting the two together in Rossa's new Kia Ma offering. You're smarter than that anyway, right?

So go with the inexpensive Rossa and putt 'em long and straight (except, of course, if you've got a testy breaker that needs just a nudge!).

MY FOREST DALE NIGHTMARE! GOLF ETIQUETTE BY GOLFING PROFESSIONALS

2010-06-26T15:21:00.000-07:00

By Doug McAllister

So, have you been boning up on what golf etiquette is and how you can be an even greater good practitioner of it? Reading from THE RULES OF GOLF? Becoming more determined to be part of the solution and not a continuing part of the problem?

Great! Because today we need to address what might be an even bigger part of the problem: GOLF PROFESSIONALS in the form of Course Managers, Starters and Marshals who need, themselves, to step forward and be greater practitioners of good golf etiquette.

MORE IS MORE, RIGHT?

Ever teed off at your favorite course, right on time and giving the group in front of you an appropriate amount of space before letting the pill pop — only to find that, within minutes, the group following you is breathing right down your neck? In my experience, it's happening more and more and more as golf courses try to pack foursomes and threesomes and singles onto the course in numbers more befitting sardine cans than golf courses.

It's true! Many of the problems with golf etiquette are being started and exacerbated by irresponsible course managers and employees, trying to squeeze as much revenue as possible from crowded courses. Let me share with you the most irresponsible case of this that I have ever experienced.

A NIGHTMARE AT THE 'DALE'

Forest Dale Golf Course is a treasure. The oldest golf course in Utah, it sports a wonderful nine-hole track that is both quaint and challenging. I have consistently made it a point to play the Dale in order to savor a true piece of Utah Golf History. That is before my last round turned into a laughable nightmare.

Last November my foursome decided to play Forest Dale. We called the course in the early afternoon in order to see whether a tee time was available. PLEASE NOTE THAT. We didn't just show up at the course and ask to be worked into the rotation. We called and asked whether a scheduled tee time was available.

Now, I don't know about you, but scheduling a tee time means buying and reserving a playable piece of real estate — a reasonable block of time — on the course for a given day. It means that you are allowed to play reasonably over the course of — in the case of Forest Dale — nine holes. Two and a half hours, at the most, if good golf etiquette is followed by the players AND the course managers. Seem rational? I thought so. What ensued was the most bizarre and laughable episode of golfing experience that I have ever had.

We were given a tee time, placed on the schedule and arrived about twenty minutes early and checked in at the clubhouse. The first red flag that I should have recognized was that there were no motorized carts available. NOT ONE! I brushed that one aside and ran right smack into the next warning signal: a practice green stuffed with more golfers than I could imagine the place could hold. There were, literally, five players putting to each practice hole. That's right! At least fifty people (yep...5-0 people!) milling wildly on the practice green. By this time I was sufficiently benumbed that I stopped looking for dangers signs, otherwise I would have noted that there were three groups of golfers waiting on the first tee!

AND THE HITS JUST KEEP ON COMIN'!

You are smarter than me. Had you seen what I had, you would have packed things up, gotten a refund and headed for the parking lot. Right? But, as noted, you are smarter than me. I shrugged it off, rationalizing that things would surely open up once we got out on the course. Wrong!

To make a long story short, after three hours on the course we had completed — are you ready for this? — we had completed just four holes. FOUR HOLES!! Less than half of the round completed in 30 minutes longer than it should have taken us to play the entire track!!

My mind tried to rationalize what was going on. I thought back. On the second hole, a par 5, I had counted six groups — two waiting to tee off, one teeing off, two in the fairway and one on the green putting. Six groups!! There must have been, I thought, a huge slow play logjam somewhere ahead. I finally couldn't take it any longer. I called the pro shop on my cell phone and reported the situation. The person to whom I spoke assured me that he would get right to bottom of things.

Nothing improved. As we waited behind the plethora of players waiting to play and playing the fifth hole, I made my second call. AND HERE COMES THE REVELATION THAT YOU HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR — THE WHOLE POINT OF THIS ABYSMAL STORY. "Well, we sent a member of the staff out on a cart to check things out," the pro calmly assured me, "and there doesn't seem to be any group out of order."

Okay, did you catch that? The pro was telling me that there were no open holes ahead of me on the course! As if he were describing business as usual, he was telling me that, GIVEN THE NUMBER OF GROUPS ON THE COURSE, PLAY WAS PROCEEDING AS IT SHOULD!! Holy crap! He was saying that he was aware of the etiquette crime being committed on the course at that very moment and that HE WAS THE MAIN PERPETRATOR! In other words, he had scheduled, probably, twice as many tee times as the course could — in accordance with good golf etiquette — appropriately support! And when we, abandoning the travesty of which we had been reluctantly a part, asked for at least a rain check (why I would ever want to play there again is the greatest of mysteries!) he, at first, refused.

THE MORAL OF THE STORY

You can see the problem. What is to be done when the keepers of the game and its rules and its etiquette become, themselves, the major problems? What do I think should be done? Simple:

1. Golf courses need get back to being the keepers of etiquette. They need to start groups at time intervals that allow for appropriate play, under the rules of the game and in keeping with good golf etiquette. Leaving players to police themselves off the first tee is a recipe for disaster.

2. The courses need, also, to step up and police play on their greens and fairways. In all of my years of play I have only played one course — the incomparable East Course at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs — that had the gumption to put offending players in their place. They warned slow players to move on and, if offenses kept on coming, players were required to pick up and move on to the open hole or be expelled from play! I am sure that there are many other courses out there that follow these procedures. The East Course is the only one that I have actually witnessed.

3. NOW I HATE THIS ONE AS A PLAYER WHO ENJOYS AN INEXPENSIVE ROUND OF GOLF, but — If it becomes a matter of cramming courses full of groups or raising greens fees to bridge the gap, chose the latter. I know I would far rather pay a few more kopecks than put up with a disaster again, the likes that I experienced at Forest Dale.

It's high time that Golf Courses, their managers, keepers and staffers become a part of the golf etiquette solution. Since my disastrous day at Forest Dale, I have wondered how a PGA-approved golf professional could sit in his clubhouse, load up the course with as many golfers as he did and keep his PGA card?

While you're mulling that one over...remember...Hit 'em Long & Straight!

GET WITH GOLF ETIQUETTE — OR GET OUT!

2010-06-25T08:56:00.000-07:00

By Doug McAllister

Since my comments about the mouthy golfer and his friend at the Fox Hollow driving range, I have had a chance to discuss things more with a few fellow golfers about that omnipresent question in golf: HOW MUCH SHOULD ETIQUETTE PLAY A PART IN THE GAME?

So let's discuss things.

In order to do justice to the subject, it will take two separate posts, one to discuss the responsibility of the individual golfer and one to discuss the role of the golf establishment in perpetuating good golf etiquette.

RESPONSIBILITIES FOR GOOD GOLF ETIQUETTE: A GOLFER'S RESPONSIBILITIES

When trashing my friend, Baldy Bermuda, some thought I was too harsh. The notion, after all, of a giant bat carrying away a lovable golfing nerd! Simply too much! What's wrong with a well-meaning guy getting verbally loud and obnoxious on a public driving range? Isn't golf supposed to be fun? Isn't a little exuberance to be expected and welcomed?

Certainly! Golf is supposed to be fun. But it must be remembered that golf is primarily an activity exacted in the space between the ears. As such, golf — I should qualify that, GOOD GOLF — demands tremendous concentration and even well meant silliness can be a tremendous distraction to other golfers. Baldy's problem was that his shorts shouted, at times, even louder than his mouth. But golf etiquette, as it pertains to attire, is entirely another discussion altogether. So, let's get back on track.

How can the golfer know what is and what isn't good golf etiquette? First of all, golf etiquette is best learned by example. Those who introduce friends or associates or children to the game have a responsibility to teach etiquette as much as any of the other aspects of the game. Sure, teach the full swing with the driver — but why neglect the equally important full swing with the rake in the bunker? Teach a young golfer the importance of taking a divot with an iron to achieve backspin AND be sure to teach the importance of replacing that divot when you're done! Golfers who have questions about the subject of golf etiquette need look no further than "THE RULES OF GOLF," published annually by the United States Golf Association. There's a whole section there on golf etiquette and it's importance. Read it and you'll have accomplished something that Tiger Woods apparently hasn't even done! In a nutshell the USGA notes, "The overriding principle [of golf etiquette] is that consideration should be shown to others on the course at all times." There it is. Short and sweet. In short, Golf's central rule is golden: On the course (and practice facilities!) do unto others as you would have them do unto you!

I suppose Baldy Bermuda might argue that he's just fine with people screaming and yelling and audibly evaluating their clubs and their swings RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF HIS PUTTING OR SWINGING OR WHATEVER. So that gives him all the leave he needs to do the same at all times on the course. Unfortunately, golf etiquette works to a much higher standard. It demands that we look at other golfers and determine what their needs might be and, then, act accordingly.

THE MECHANICS OF GOOD GOLF ETIQUETTE

I could go on and on. But I won't. (There, everyone take a deep breathe and exhale a huge sigh of relief!) Suffice it to say that good golf etiquette involves being sure that the golf course, physically, and all those participating thereon are as good or better as a result of your play or participation on any given day. Period. If the course or any player is damaged — in even the smallest sense — as a result of your being there, it's a sure bet that good golf etiquette has not been served. In short, rake it and fix it and whisper it (such as when someone is playing) and yell it (when warning those ahead of your unintentional though decidedly errant "true flight" shot) and leave it better than you found it! Simple.

TOO MUCH FOR YOU?

And if you're not up to it — to taking the time to learn the processes and practices of good golf etiquette and then putting them to work in your golf experience with increasing devotion — fine. There are plenty of etiquette-less games and sports and pursuits out there from which to choose. Please! Do us all who love the game a favor and leave! Don't wait, do it today! Sell those clubs NOW. Give away your golf balls. Become a rambunctious rugger (that's a rugby player). Scoot into skateboarding. Hell! Become a soccer or hockey fan and be as loud as you want and beat the crap out of everyone you see! Just stay as far away from the great game of golf as possible. Thanks, in advance for your consideration.

NEXT TIME: Golf Etiquette for the Golf Establishment

HELAS!!

"LET THE RAT KILLING BEGIN"

2010-06-21T22:39:00.000-07:00

By Doug McAllister

Now that the 2010 U.S. Open is on the books, let's, as my friend Rooster Cogburn would say, "Let the rat killing begin!"

As it pertains to golf, now is the time everyone — whether informed or not — starts to dissect what happened. It wasn't enough to witness the event on television or in person or through informed new stories. Now we have to endure writers from every station taking the thing apart from every possible angle and, then, telling us what really happened!

For example, a rather well-known golf blogger has begun a crusade against commentator Johnny Miller regarding his astute observations during the event. I won't dignify the blog with a repetition of allegations here. Suffice it to say that Miller said absolutely nothing about which to write negatively. End of statement!

And then there is the inevitable evaluation about Tiger's supposed breakdown. Why is it so difficult to simply look at Tiger as just another golfer and recognize that he might have an off day or be subject to nerves just like any other golfer — whether professional or not?

Phil's performance will be scrutinized ad nauseam, as will Ernie's.

And very few will give Graeme McDowell the credit he deserves.

Just like the galleries running to the next hole at last week's U.S Open, golf writers will also frantically race to the next venue: The Open Championship at St. Andrews. The speculation will begin about whether Tiger can tear that great course apart — just like he supposedly did the last time he won an Open there.

Kinda makes you sick doesn't it?

Once again, and this is a hobby horse that I will continue to frantically ride, golf is far larger and grander than any one golfer and whether Tiger does this or that or something else is entirely immaterial to the game. Yep. I said it. The game is light years beyond the outcome of the latest tournament or the current performance of today's "greatest golfer." The game is the frantic struggle of the teen who, just taking up the game, is dealing with the demons of the golf that she is freshly discovering. The game is the sixty year old, struggling with arthritic hands, wondering whether larger grips might help or Aleve (as propounded by several touring professionals) or whether the beloved game is slipping from those aching hands for good. The game is the solitary golfer who, just wanting some prime solitude, slips onto the Country Club at dusk, knowing that two, maybe three holes will be all that he will get and knowing that that's enough for today.

In other words, golf, in its purity, was never about the public spectacle. Sadly, that just the grubby, commercialized face that we have been conditioned to see. It has always been about the personal battle of every individual golfer on the globe to shave just one more stroke from the card.

So whether Tiger imploded or Phil fell apart or Ernie bounced back and forth like a...you get the picture! Because none of these outcomes or how they happened will affect your personal golf battle in the least.

Remember that! And continue teeing them up and working overtime to hit them — hopefully long and straight!

CHEERS TO THE CHAMPION, GRAEME MCDOWELL!

2010-06-20T21:24:00.001-07:00

By Doug McAllister

In a finish befitting a true U.S. Open, Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland held on to win the 110th U.S. Open! Pretty stunning, really. Tiger was hard charging at the end of yesterday's play. Ernie and Phil were within striking distance. And, of course, Dustin Johnson entered the final round with a three shot lead.

But, as should be the case when so much is on the line, the putts didn't fall today as they had yesterday—for anyone! And that was especially true for leader, Dustin Johnson. Nicknamed "Flat Liner" because of his being seemingly impervious to the pressures of a major championship, Johnson quickly flat lined, literally, as far as hopes of winning his first major within the first few holes. Shot after bad shot and Johnson was dead! I suspect, had his caddy tried to find it, Johnson's pulse was gone before six holes had been played.

Not much better for Tiger. Bogeying the first hole was all it took. The spring left his step and the light left his eyes and, as is so often the case when things don't immediately go his way, Tiger threw in the towel, for all intents and purposes by the end of the front nine.

But then Pebble Beach wasn't the same friendly course it had been just 24 hours before. The lack of sunshine seemed to ominously set the stage for the day. It was as if Pebble were saying, "We'll see who's boss" to everyone who teed off. And everyone seemed to feel it.

Even McDowell seemed resigned to simply hold on, not make too many mistakes and, hopefully, come out at the top of the pack in the end.

But isn't that what a U.S. Open—and winning one—is all about. I had to laugh at all of the whining that went on all week about the course conditions and how they were so unfair. Hilarious! After all, isn't the course the same for all comers? So what is all this talk about whether Pebble Beach—especially hole 14—was unfair this week? Commentators chatted brainlessly about whether things need to be changed before the 2019 U.S. Open returns.

The only rational comment—at least among those that were aired on T.V.—came from the champion, Graeme McDowell. In his victory speech, McDowell was gracious and quick to note that the course was fair for all, rewarding good shots and punishing bad ones. In a nutshell, he summed up what I believe golf is all about. The whiners, after all, were those punished by bad shots and whined because they knew that their chances of winning were small at best. Ian Poulter crybabied above the rest. And to what end? What good did it do him? Perhaps he was able, by blaming Pebble Beach, to save a measure of face. Verily he had his reward. Besides, had the course been made simpler it would have been so for everyone and, given the state this week of Poulter's game, it wouldn't have made any difference anyway!

But the big winner was obviously McDowell, not only from the standpoint of toting away the big prize, but also because he, as a fellow Brit—Rudyard Kipling—once put it, "[kept his] head when all about [him] were losing theirs" and blaming Pebble Beach. Cheers to the champion!

Long and straight As usual, long and straight!

AS PROMISED, A LIMERICK FOR THE U.S. OPEN DAY 3

2010-06-19T21:51:00.000-07:00

By Doug McAllister

So the Open Day 3's in the books
And it's time to take note and take looks,
Of what happened today
During tournament play
Over Peb Beach's crannies and nooks.

Let's first look at Par 5, 14
The hole was a difficult scene!
Players claimed they were robbed.
They cried and they sobbed!
When errant shots rolled from the green.

Number 7 didn't play very well.
Poulter moaned the pin placement was hell!
But Johnson's sweet shot,
Was right on the spot,
And a birdie resulted...Do tell!

Poor Phil stumbled around the fair track.
Made some very poor shots, like a hack!
But he ended, it's true,
Near the top of the queue,
Hope tomorrow will see his game back!

And Ernie is still in the fight.
Don't count him out, after tonight,
He may still make the shots,
That he needs in tough spots.
Win his number 3 Open Delight!

It looked like the Tiger of old!
His 66 moved him, quite bold,
Back into the fray,
Everything went his way,
People claiming he'd won the thing, cold!

But Dustin had something to say.
Matched Tiger by end of the day.
His "Stupid Long" game,
And "Flatliner" nickname,
Kept him 5 strokes up, end-of-play!

So tomorrow, we'll see who comes through.
My prediction? Well, it's nothing new.
Tiger won't keep the pace;
He'll come close in the race.
Dustin Johnson will win, it is true!

So there it is, my Golf Open rhyme.
So until my next blog writing crime,
Hit 'em long, hit 'em straight!
Golf's legacy's great!
Regardless of who wins this time!

LET'S ALL TAKE A DEEP BREATH, MR. HICKS, AND GET A GRIP!

2010-06-19T10:58:00.001-07:00

By Doug McAllister

While waiting to watch today's U.S. Open broadcast, I happened to tune in to the Golf Channel and listened in to some predictable, though sickeningly old rhetoric about the game. And what else was the inane jabber about? Who else? Tiger! The commentators were claiming, among other things, that the rest of the professional golfers in the world are a bunch of scared, impotent losers who can't look Tiger in the eye without wetting their pants! Some were so bold as to claim that Tiger is golf's savior, an inimitable star who has turned golf into what it is today. One commentator, Dan Hicks, even went so far as to claim that no golfer in the history of the game has been the champion that Tiger has been. Hicks said that he would love to debate anyone about this claim.

Well, Dan, here I am! Let's boogie!

First of all, despite Tiger's formidable accomplishments, there is only one name to consider when looking for the "Greatest of All." Bobby Jones. As the immortal O.B. "Pop" Keeler correctly noted, there would never be another like Robert Tyre Jones, Jr. And despite what others have done, when considering things in sharp perspective, none has come remotely closes to Jones' accomplishments! So let's get started.

MAJOR PERFORMANCE
Everyone is going nuts about Tiger's 14 majors, just 4 shy of catching Jack's record of 18. But, when looking at percentages we can see a different picture. In a short period of 7 years—from 1923 to 1930, Bobby Jones played 21 major championships. Of that number, Jones won a whopping 13 of them! He won 62% of all of the majors that he ever played! By comparison, as of today Tiger has played in 55 majors and won 14—for a 25% winning number! Not even close to Jones' record.

THE GRAND SLAM
First off, I don't give a tinker's damn for the so-called Tiger Slam. While holding all four major trophies simultaneously was quite a feat, it was not—as Tiger continues to wrongly maintain—a Grand Slam. There are a few things that need to be remembered about the true Bobby Jones' Grand Slam when comparing things to Tiger. First, it was a bona fide Grand Slam. By definition, the Grand Slam is winning all of the major events in the same calendar year. Period! I thought it was pretty telling when Sam Snead was asked about Tiger's accomplishment and whether Snead thought it was a "true" Grand Slam. Snead looked at the reporter with a look on his face, as if to ask, "Are you kidding?" and said, "The Grand Slam is all four majors in a calendar year. As far as my count goes, Tiger didn't do that."

Add to that the fact that Tiger had over six months to rest up and think about things between the 2000 PGA Championship and the 2001 Masters. Some might argue about what that has to do with anything. Tons! The Grand Slam is all about pressure. Pure unadulterated pressure—both physically and mentally! And when Jones completed his Grand Slam he did it over a period of weeks. The process, literally, nearly killed him. So don't come to me with the argument that a six-month rest between majors isn't an issue.

PURE CLASS
Interestingly, Jones gave up the game because his priority was always his family. He viewed the game as a game and recognized that his most important roles were as husband and father. Don't even get me started about Tiger by comparison. Tiger gave lip service to "taking a break from the game" in order to "save" his family. If he were half the man, half the golfer, that Jones was, Tiger wouldn't even be a spectator this week at Pebble Beach. Tigers break and his comparatively swift return to the game was more about marketing than morals.

------------------
I could go on and on. The record speaks far too well, far too loudly in support of Bobby Jones as the greatest the game has ever seen. Regardless of what Tiger does in the future, nothing is going to change things.

And I have to laugh at Earl Woods' foolishness when talking about his son's possible impact on the world—not just golf, on the world! Earl was not only stupid but consummately foolish when he had the audacity to claim that his son would, somehow, have a greater impact on the world than Gandhi. Was he channeling John Lennon? Totally ludicrous! Absolutely laughable! Perhaps if Earl had expanded his study of world history—if he could read at all!—he might have been wiser and kept his big mouth shut!

HELAS! (Hit 'em long and straight!)

...AND WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES: DAY 2 AT PEBBLE BEACH

2010-06-18T19:44:00.000-07:00

By Doug McAllister

The tale of the top two. Tiger and Phil. Both slopped it up about as badly as could have been done, yesterday at the 2010 U.S. Open. Not a birdie between the two of them +3 and +4 respectively. Botched chances on a beautiful golf day.

Enter the dynamic duo, Day 2. What would be the tally 24 hours later?

Not long in finding out. Tiger finally chipped in to achieve his first birdie of the tourney. But then it was a roller coaster rid—up and down—birdie after bogey after birdie. The result? An improved round of only one over for a +4 total.

Phortunately Phil wouldn't phollow! Phil's phront nine phlew by with birdie after birdie. Phlawless! Except phor an unphortunate phlop at nine. Still, a round of 31. Phil's phinest in any of his U.S. Open nines! And he was quick in getting back his lost stroke, taking him back to Phive under...a score that he maintained to the phinish! I Phil phor real? Count on it. He's talked of philling out a career slam and a win at this year's U.S. Open would would be a phine step in the right direction!

Of course there are others who might have something to say about that. Graeme McDowell and Ernie Els played wonderfully today as well.

So it's on to the weekend. Enough of this nonsense. But, hey, aren't you surprised that I actually wrote two days in a row. Tune in tomorrow. I might even wax poetical with a U.S. Open limerick. Now, that's not something you encounter everyday. Certainly not something to be missed!

And don't forget, as always to bash them lengthily and accurately!

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DECADE MAKES: DAY 1 AT PEBBLE BEACH

2010-06-17T19:02:00.000-07:00

By Doug McAllister

Okay...so it's only the end of day one of the 2010 U.S Open. But, still, one has to stop and consider what has changed in ten years for Tiger and the rest of the field at Pebble Beach.

If you are like me, the 2000 U.S. Open was a monumental disappointment. I remember, for the first time in years, being totally bored with one of Golf's greatest events. I actually went out in the middle of the third round and mowed my lawn—stepping back in periodically to see if things had "improved." It just wasn't any fun to watch the field scrap for second place. It was also uncanny to hear comments from all over the golfing world, wondering whether Pebble Beach had become just another easy golf course and whether its days of hosting majors were over.

This year seems different. Sure, we have Tiger-Gate in all of its sordid hues. We have a Tiger who is somewhat toothless, given the hand that he has been dealt—perhaps, more accurately, the hand that he has dealt himself—over the past seven months. But, more to the point, I think the USGA has learned a few important lessons since Tiger last came to play Pebble. The course seems to be set in perfect U.S. Open difficulty and, as a result, on a gorgeous day with nearly perfect golfing conditions, the leaders were only able to manage -2 on the storied track.

Okay...so -2 is pretty darn sweet for a course the likes of Pebble Beach. But the course seems bent on redeeming itself at this year's Open. Watching the play, things seemed more like old times. Pros struggling to save par. Pros struggling to save bogey! Really good stuff. And, yes, I think Golf was very well served by Tiger only managing a +3!

Moreover, the USGA is sufficiently confident in Pebble Beach to have already extended an invite for the 2019 U.S. Open. Cool Stuff!

How can you not love Pebble Beach? It's a venue for the ages and I say that with the closest I've ever come to actually playing the place being TA Sports Tiger Woods Golf 2005 for Game Cube! My best round there? -22!

Tune in tomorrow. I'll be reporting in on Round 2. I'll be reporting on...you guessed it...who was able to hit 'em long and straight!

UNDER THE LIGHTS AT FOX HOLLOW!

2010-05-26T20:59:00.000-07:00

by Doug McAllister

First off, my apologies to my followers — both of you — for not posting anything for awhile. Funny things about golf, when it gets cold—such as the spring we've been having in Utah this year—I find that my interest in golf can wane pretty quickly.

But I'm back and what better way to swing back into things than a post about Fox Hollow's new lights on its driving range. Fox Hollow, for those of you who may not know, is the new name of the old Tri-City Golf Course. Brand new, luxury clubhouse. Really cool new logo. Kinda makes one want to actual buy and wear golf hats from the course. But I digress.

The latest innovation is the addition of lights to the driving range! Really cool. Not the first time I have used such a facility. When I lived in Kansas I used to go to the driving range a bunch at night. Method in that madness, though. The Kansas spring and summer days tended to be hot and humid so hitting under the lights made particular sense from a comfort standpoint. But I digress again!

Fox Hollow has always had a very fine practice facility. Top notch. No AstroTurf covered cement pads with stupid rubber tees—such as other "premier facilities" like Thanksgiving Point have. A fine grass driving range. And now the place is open until 10:00 p.m.! There's something eerily magical about hitting a golf ball at night. Maybe it's just the visibility of the lighted ball against the dark backdrop of the night sky. I certainly recommend it. Fox Hollow is located at 1400 North 200 East in American Fork.

Now for the downside—at least regarding tonight's practice session.

As the lights came on I noticed the floppy flight of a bat making its way towards the lights. Lights, as you know, tend to attract all sorts of vile creatures. They even attract insects! But, for the sake of this post, let's stick to the vile creatures drawn by the lights. Don't know why but tonight the range seemed particularly infested with loudmouthed losers who seemed to believe that they were the only ones on the range. As I entered the range I noticed a bald headed Bermuda-shorted gent who was going through all the motions—wild stretches and practice swings without clubs—the sort of things that many a golf guru claims are good for developing and keeping a consistent swing. Now, don't get me wrong. I have nothing against the follicle-ly challenged. Neither am I a Bermuda shorts bigot. And, while I am not a proponent of the weird gymnastics that many golfing teachers prescribe, I do not deny others such stupidity! Er...whatever it is!

No. My case against...well..let's call him Baldy Bermuda. Yes. My case against Baldy Bermuda arose when a friend of his showed up to join the practice session. It seems that B-B was anxiously anticipating the arrival of his partner. So much so that when his friend was still a good hundred yards off B-B began shouting at the top of his lungs. "There he is! 'Bout time! What, no clubs?" Baldy howled. "Well, you can use everything but my driver!" Apparently B-B thought that was a good one as he began to guffaw wildly at the supposed quality of the joke.

Fine. Say hello to a friend arriving at the range. Fine! Surely golf etiquette would ultimately rule the day and the two would settle into an appropriately quiet practice session. Not hardly! Baldy began a loud dialog—seemingly wanting all at the range to tune in—about how he could absolutely hit his driver 'at least 350 yards.' "Just watch. I'm careful not to tee it up too high. You want to catch it on the upswing. These new drivers, you know, lower centers of gravity. Not like the old ones. Okay, watch this one." Silence for a millisecond as Baldy Bermuda carefully swooshed his driver back—way too fast from the sound of it. Off center popping sound and... "Holy moley! That was incredible! I lost that one a bit to the right but the ball flight was absolutely true. Did you notice that? Absolutely true! Okay, here's another one..." Another too fast swing followed by another uncomfortable pinging sound. This time it was his partner's turn, "Wow! Incredible! That had to be 320 yards!" "Probably," B-B interjected proudly, "That one was closer but I lost that one a bit left. But true flight! True flight!"

It went on like this for the better part of 30 minutes. B-B bellowing self appreciatively about his amazing golf ability and patting himself all over for his gifts as a teacher in working with his equally loud and obnoxious friend. And, try as I did, I could never quite figure out how a drive could be lost to the right and then to the left and still achieve "true flight."

I had to appropriately console myself that golf is a game of playing the ball as it lies and the course or driving range as you find it. Every once in a while I looked wistfully at the lights, hoping that one of the bats would prove to be big enough to come and carry away the vile creatures right next to me on the range!

The good news is that the lighted range offers extended hours for practice at a wonderful facility. Hopefully, your session will afford fellow golfers who know considerably more about the dying virtue of golf etiquette. Otherwise, I'd consider bringing some ear plugs!

So until next time—hit 'em long and straight!

WHAT A STUPID RULE! — NOT!

2010-04-19T12:41:00.000-07:00

by Doug McAllister

Did you see the golf tournament over the weekend? The Verizon Heritage was played at Harbor Town Golf Links. Great venue, always, with classic designing and the picture postcard ending with the red and white lighthouse backing the 18th green. A truly superb event.

But, unless you saw the thing through to the very end, chances are you missed one of the great moments in this event — or any golf event, for that matter.

Brian Davis, a little known British golfer was in position to win his very first ever PGA event. Through solid play he was able to force a playoff with Jim Furyk. The playoff proceeded on the 18th tee with both players hitting journeyman shots as they approached the green. Davis, upon hitting his approach shot, missed left and ended up in a patch of grass and flotsam and jetsam and a difficult chip to the green. The stage was now set for the day's drama.

For whatever reason, Davis opted against a drop that would have cost him a stroke but would have given him an easy chip to the hole. Instead, he chose to play the ball as it lay and attempt a shot that would save him a stroke and possibly seal the win. Furyk's shots were fairly routine: an approach that rolled through the green and a long putt back that left him about a four footer for par.

Davis stepped up and, firmly setting his feet as one would in a bunker, seemed to hit a fair shot that skidded past the hole to the opposite side of the green and left him with a putt nearly as long as Furyk's first. He would apparently have two shots from there for his par and a continuation of the playoff.

But, stop the presses! Almost immediately following his "out," Davis called for Slugger White, the PGA official on hand to answer any and all rules questions. Impressively, Davis noted to White that, while making shot, he might have hit one of the many twigs that lay in a heap near where his ball had come to rest. He wasn't sure and suggested that a look a the shot in slow motion on the television might sort things out.

Indeed it did. As things turned, his back swing just clipped a twig. The next step was to determine whether the twig was, indeed, a loose impediment. Unfortunately, it was. The result: a penalty was assessed and, as Nick Faldo immediately, almost impulsively noted, the tournament was essentially over. Never mind that Davis went ahead and hit one putt — and missed. Never mind that Furyk, after receiving congratulations from a stunned Davis, still had to hit his putt — which he made. The tournament ended with a slight clip of a twig in a hazard and a penalty called by and assessed upon Brian Davis.

Truly one of the things that I love about golf. Players willing to call penalties upon themselves.

Never mind that, had he chosen to tell himself that he had imagined the "touch" and not say anything, Davis' penalty very likely would have been caught and reported by one of the plethora of tournament television vulturistic viewers who seem to tune in these days hoping to catch and report such infractions. In that case, Davis very likely would have been disqualified after signing and submitting an erroneous score card — meaning not only the loss of the tournament in total, but also the loss of his second place purse!

Might be tempted to say that Davis' actions were more prompted by that. Rather, I give him the benefit of the doubt, was impressed with what I saw and became, instantaneously, a Brian Davis fan for life!

So, until next time, be sure to hit 'em long and straight and, if necessary, call a penalty on yourself!

NOT ROTELLA'S BEST

2010-04-16T09:20:00.000-07:00

by Doug McAllister

There are certainly a lot of golf instruction books out there. No doubt you've seen many and read some. Have to be careful with these. Many are pathetic rags that will do more to screw up your swing as improve it. Recently, though, I have begun to read books by Dr. Bob Rotella, a sports psychologist that has worked with some of golf's biggest names. One of the things that I like about Rotella is that he does nothing by way of swing instruction. His game is all about confidence and, for the most part, his instruction has been pretty good.

I first became acquainted with Bob Rotella, as many others have, through his book, GOLF IS NOT A GAME OF PERFECT (hereafter, just PERFECT). So well written, so straightforward and so applicable, PERFECT spoke to all of the mental concerns that I have with my golf game.

So, naturally, it made perfect sense to get Rotella's newest book, YOUR 15TH CLUB: THE INNER SECRET TO GREAT GOLF, especially since Rotella had positioned this book as a companion volume to, PERFECT, the landmark work that so many had read and loved.

At first, 15TH CLUB seemed to be everything that I hoped it would be. Aside from a few sections where Rotella seems to get too enamored with his own psychology, the book seemed to flow and read just as well as PERFECT.

But, just when things seemed to reach the denouement promised in the title, namely revealing the SECRET TO GREAT GOLF, Rotella completely falls off the planet. Enter Padraig Harrington and Rotella's previously unknown position as President of the Padraig Harrington Fan Club! Two tedious, inexplicable chapters emerge wherein Rotella simply sings the praises of Paddy without really relating anything to the abandoned reader. Yes, the first of the chapters, titled "What I Learned from Padraig Harrington," seems to promise the reader a chance to learn some important mental tips from the Irish champion but then becomes Rotella's regurgitation of how Paddy played this tournament or that one.

But as I finished wading through the mess, the next chapter title seemed to offer some hope. Titled "Putting it All Together," this final chapter would surely get things back on track and, at long last, reveal the secret to great golf promised by the author. I couldn't have been more wrong. The final chapter was nothing more than Padraig Harrington - Part Deux!

Oh! One last thing. If you want to get the Yips, the neurological putting problem that plagues many of the game's best, simply read 15TH CLUB's Chapter 13: Nip the Yips. Nothing that I have ever read will put the wrong putting thoughts into your head more than this well-meant but surpassingly misguided chapter!

Stick with Rotella's excellent book, GOLF IS NOT A GAME OF PERFECT, and forget this one.

And remember...

Hit 'em long and straight!

A MASTERFUL MASTERS...EVEN WITH TIGER!

2010-04-12T13:04:00.000-07:00

by Doug McAllister

Did you get a chance to see the Masters? Sure you did! You, like me, were drawn by the pristine history of one of golf's greatest venues. You tuned in to view the historical clips and to just take in the astonishing beauty that is Augusta National! That's it right?

Okay, you may have been one of the umpteen viewers who just couldn't stay away from the Tiger sideshow. Granted, I can forgive that. Would he win? Would he play well? Would we see a new Tiger, devoid of the tantrums and profanity as he promised? Well, let's take a look at each of the questions one at a time

WOULD HE WIN? WOULD HE PLAY WELL?
Let's kill the first to birdies with one stone!

I have to admit, along with Nick Faldo in his commentary, that it was astonishing to see Tiger doing as well as he did. The fact that he had become the target of so much tabloid interest, the fact that virtually everyone in the live gallery — not to mention the millions in the virtual gallery — had an polarized opinion, would have driven the sanest of us mad! I have to admit that I was astonished at how well he did. I was predicting that Tiger would implode before finishing the front nine on Thursday! He came far closer to winning that I ever thought possible.

But, no, he fell just short. Sorry if that is a plot spoiler for those of you who haven't yet watched your recorded version of the event. No, Phil Mickelson was just too strong for Tiger — and for everyone else for that matter. And thank goodness he was. His flawless play. His focus on his wife and mother and children throughout the event. His floppy mop of a haircut (wait, that one wasn't supposed to be in there—apologies!). All was woven together to create the fabric of what will be one of the most memorable Masters tournaments ever! And given Tiger's troubles, golf needed the squeaky-clean persona — on and off the course — that only Phil Mickelson could provide!

WOULD WE SEE A NEW TIGER...?
It didn't take long on the Saturday telecast to get an answer to this one. Tiger, as he has been known to do, hits an errant drive and, without the slightest bit of hesitation, lets loose with his trademark barrage of profanity. There it was for the world to hear. No "greater respect for the game..." No "kinder, gentler Tiger..." No "thousand points of light..." But, I've strayed into political cliches. In short, no new Tiger. It didn't take long, either, for Jim Nantz to appropriately pounce on the infraction. Nantz echoed my feelings when he noted how very disappointing it was for Tiger, just six days shy of his most recent penance party, to not even seem to try to restrain himself. Indeed, I was disappointed. But not surprised.

Other news clips featured patrons of the event being interviewed about the various incidents of Tiger's most recent hypocrisy. Two women, when interviewed, did not hesitate for a second when asked whether they felt they had seen the "new" Tiger. "No! Same old Tiger," they both responded, "bad shot and then expletive, expletive!"

Perhaps I can find it in myself to cut Tiger some slack. Under tremendous pressure. Disappointed in his sporadic game. Old habits die hard. Again, Nick Faldo was willing to cut him some slack when asked about it on air. But what most disappointed me regarding the whole issue were Tiger's snotty, disrespectful, in-your-face responses to Peter Kostis when interviewed following the loss. Kostis calmly and politely asked Tiger about his resolutions to keep his word regarding having greater respect for the game. Tiger sprang on his unsuspecting prey. He immediately worked to sidestep the whole question. People were making too much of it. He had every right to be disappointed in a bad shot. Blah. Blah. Blah. As has been the case ever since his return to golf, he wouldn't address the question. Kostis hadn't said anything about Tiger's right to be disappointed. He had asked about Tiger's promised resolution to react differently to disappointment.

For example, I have been watching golf for decades. I have seen the very best in the game make some of the worst shots imaginable. You name 'em: Jack, Arnold, Tom, Gary. In each case, it was easy to read the disappointment following botched shots but there were no episodes of club throwing or of volcanic eruptions of profanity. None. Did people expect them to walk away with, as Tiger ludicrously noted, a "pep in [their] step?" Certainly not. Nor did people at this year's Masters expect Tiger to be dancing jigs following some of the worst shots that he has ever played. What was expected was that he would make a concerted effort to keep his word and begin the process of showing greater respect for the game, its history and its fans. It didn't happen. And the game is the worse for it!

I had to smile when, just prior to the traditional Butler Cabin Green Jacket presentation, Augusta Chairman, Billy Payne, noted how "extremely pleased" he was with the tournament and its outcome. Extremely pleased, huh? Ecstatic! would have been an even better word. With all of the nonsense that Tiger has brought to the game recently, how would you not be extremely pleased to have the sport's current greatest gentleman — arguably a modern day personification of Bobby Jones, himself — stepping forward to don golf's greatest prize?

So in the end, Tiger proved to be the footnote in this year's Masters that many predicted him to be. He was close but was never really a factor in the championship. It was one of the best Masters championships in recent years. One of which Bobby would have been extremely proud. Besides, the refreshing thing was that the other players seemed to be fully focused on what they needed to do to win and not on Tiger. That was especially true for Phil.

Until my next blurb: Hit 'em long and straight!

"DID YOU LEARN ANYTHING?"

2010-04-07T21:14:00.000-07:00

by Doug McAllister

Have you seen it? Nike's new ad featuring Tiger Woods? There he stands with a plastic mug-shot, hang-dog, sad-eyed face — says nothing. The voice over is from Earl Woods, Tiger's late father. "What were you thinking," Earl asks. "Did you learn anything?" Touching stuff.

Well, here I am again, screaming at the top of my lungs that the emperor of golf is naked! There are no new clothes. It's all become a PR sham. And to make matters far worse, I hate Nike's attempt at manipulation here. This is absolute baloney — and I didn't even know that Nike was in the lunch meat market! They want us to feel better about Tiger? They want us to forgive him and allow him his rightful place in the pantheon of golf?

Not hardly! They want our money! That's always been the game and none other. Were Tiger off his game instead of off his morals they would drop him into the nearest water hazard! They could care less about Tiger, the person or the man. All they care about is the bottom line and they want us thinking better about Tiger just as soon as possible.

I can hear some of you now. "MAN, YOU'RE NUTS! Nike, that bastion of feel good American sports that brought us the likes of the "Can You Dig It?" Marion Jones liberation ads, would never knowingly try to manipulate anyone! They are as interested in us and our feelings as were our kindergarten teachers. Right?

Wrong! Let's all try to keep our heads still and our eyes square on the ball, Nike or otherwise, on this one. I don't mind Nike fairly marketing its product and doing its darnedest to make an honest buck. Let's play Nike clubs, tee up Nike balls or wear Nike shoes because we like them better, because they perform better for us than other products on the market. But, please, let's not be duped into believing that Nike needs playing because of the burgeoning, irresponsible media circus that swirls around Tiger Woods!

So until next time, whether with a Nike One Tour D or a Titleist Pro V1, hit 'em long and straight!

THE TIG-EROR'S NEW CLOTHES

2010-04-06T11:01:00.001-07:00

by Doug McAllister

Tiger is coming back and the whole world his happy. Children are preceding his every step, tossing rose petals in his way. The birds sing happily in the trees and the magnolias sway gracefully in Augusta's fair spring breezes! It's absolutely perfect, isn't it?

There's just one problem: like the Emperor from Hans Christian Andersen's timeless fable, Tiger, figuratively speaking, is as naked as the day that he was born. The problem is that none of us wants to admit it.

No, he's not literally naked! That's why I said "figuratively."

So, what do I mean? Quite simply I am tired of all of the hullabaloo about Tiger. I am one of those who feels that his supposed contributions to the game of golf are suspect at best. What, really, has Tiger brought to the game? I ask it simply. What has he really brought to the game? How has he made it better?

HERE COME THE TIGER TRASH!
First, he has brought, by bad example and by his movie star presence, a whole bunch of golfers who really aren't prepared to play the Royal & Ancient game as it should be played. Oh, sure, they have all of the necessary equipment and accessories. They have the wherewithal to pay greens fees. What they lack is any sense of the history of the game or of its etiquette. They tramp around the course whooping and hollering, leaving tracks in sand traps and divots in fairways. They march onto the course and think that all there is to golf is hitting a little white ball from a little white peg and BOOM! they are just like Tiger! My son has appropriately dubbed this breed of golfers Tiger Trash, golfers who wouldn't have anything to do with golf if it weren't for Tiger!

Now, am I saying that golf is exclusive and that some deserve to play while others don't? Absolutely not! What I am saying, though, is if you want to play the game, learn something about its history and rules and etiquette before heading to the course. You will enjoy it more and so will all of those who are there with you on the course!

NEW EQUIPMENT EVERY YEAR!
As strange as it may seem to some, there was a time, not too very long ago, when people actually played a set of golf clubs for as many as twenty years! What a revelation! I can hear the wailing among the Tiger Trash as I write! Yes, people actually bought well-made golf clubs and actually played them for years. They were not told, as we are now, that one's golf game will be better — far better! — by simply changing clubs every year just like Tiger does. Believe it or not, people used to actually buy golf shoes and wear them until they were appropriately worn out too!

Tiger has been a marketing godsend. Yep, I blame Tiger for the mentality that now pervades golf that one should change clubs and shoes and golf balls like one should change his or her underwear. Do it daily. It's good for the game!

No wonder there is such fear in the hearts of PGA executives and of tournament sponsors when Tiger, suffering for this week's hangnail, won't be in the field. The fear is almost paralyzing that fans won't watch. And if people don't watch, they won't be seduced to hurry off and find the latest golf paraphernalia that Tiger and others are stumping. If such is the case, Heaven forbid, mass terror may ensue. Sales may drop. People may make due with the equipment they bought just last week. And, worst of all, a tear may form in the space/time continuum and all life on earth with explode at the speed of sound and cease to exist!

SEEING THE TIG-EROR FOR WHAT HE IS
Okay, enough already. While he has broken records, right and left, Tiger is not the resplendent Emperor of Golf that too many have tried to make him. Tiger is just one golfer and one who, in this writer's humble opinion, will likely be the sort of sports history entry now enjoyed by the likes of Barry Bonds. There will be, given revelations of his recent indiscretions, unsavory footnotes that will follow him forever. There is nothing sport-shattering about him. Yes, he has won and will continue to win — just as Bonds continued to hit home runs long after doubts about his real contributions were raised.

THE MASTERS IS THE MASTERS—WITH TIGER OR NOT!
And please don't forget that the Masters Championship will continue to be the jewel that it is with or without Tiger. I rather think that this year's event—especially if Tiger manages to win it—is already the poorer for the sideshow that has ensued with Tiger's return. I am one of those golfers that believes that, if Tiger had any respect for the game, he would have chosen one of the more commonplace events for his return to golf, rather than turning one of its most honored events into the latest offering from P.T. Barnum and Company!

Until next time and especially during this year's Masters, go out to your favorite course and hit 'em long and straight!

BOOK REVIEW: ROUTING THE COURSE BY FORREST RICHARDSON

2010-03-30T06:14:00.000-07:00

by Doug McAllister

Every golfer, deep down, believes that he or she could and should design golf courses. That being the case, sooner or later you'll want to pick up a book or two on the subject. As you peruse Amazon's selection (and it doesn't have to be Amazon — Amazon just happens to be one of my favorites), you aren't sure which titles will fit the bill. Well, here's one that has its ups and downs. ROUTING THE GOLF COURSE by Forrest Richardson has many good points but, as you will see in my review that follows, for me there was one rather large problem.

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WHERE THE HECK IS THE PIN?!
Routing the Golf Course by Forrest Richardson

Let's say your playing one of the greatest golf courses in the world, a dream round that you have planned for and paid a pretty penny to enjoy. You've just hit a solid 3-iron to the blind 10th green and, given the sweetness of the sound and feel, you're absolutely sure that you'll be in great shape. As you approach the green you can see your ball but there is no flag in sight! You frantically scan the green to see whether a careless foursome ahead of you just forgot to put it back in the hole. Reaching the green, you continue to look all over the place. Where the heck is the pin?! It's at that point that you realize that, not only is the flagstick missing, the hole is missing too!! Needless to say, all of the previous fun, all of the great shots previously hit on all of the front nine, evaporates and the sense of disappointment and emptiness overwhelm your entire round.

This is exactly the feeling that I had with ROUTING THE GOLF COURSE by Forrest Richardson. I had completed a thorough and very enjoyable reading of the first nine chapters -- nine holes, as Richardson calls them -- and most of the 10th, when I hit a snag that was just as frustrating for me as reaching a green and finding no pin or hole. At the bottom of page 293 the reader finds a shadowed box titled "RATING VERSUS SLOPE." Now, this inset just happened to be a question about golf course design to which I have always wanted an answer. I excitedly began to read Richardson's explanation and, completing the first part of the section, with the words "...bunkers, out-of-bounds, water, trees, green sur-", I turned the page and...NOTHING! Absolutely nothing! No completion of the obviously unfinished shadow box on the previous page--like reaching a green without a hole or flagstick!! I frantically searched each of the next few pages. Surely a careless production artist had simply made a mistake and the hyphenated thought, "green sur-...", would follow somewhere. Surely a stressed printer had somehow slipped up.

Not so! Nothing!

Now, you might think me petty for judging this book and its author so harshly based on, what seems, one small slip-up. Knock yourself out. For me, given the exorbitant price of this volume and the positioning thereof as a preeminent book on this subject — not to mention that Richardson is viewed by many as a rising star in golf course architecture and that his emphasis throughout the book regarding the need for precision and detail in routing the golf course is pronounced! — this seemingly small error is nearly unforgivable! Oh yes, I completed "the round," limping through the remaining "nine holes" (Richardson includes the obligatory 19th Hole), but the disappointment of the 10th irreparably tarnished this one for me.

I give it two out of five stars!

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So there you have it. Proceed with caution with this one. Admittedly, there are some interesting things in the book and some terrific insights about golf course design but I just couldn't make it past so blatant and error. Maybe you'll see it differently. It's a rather pricey purchase—even if purchased used and there are, in my opinion, better books available on the subject. But those I leave to a subsequent post.

So, in the meantime, hit 'em long and straight.

Golf: A Seussical!

2010-03-24T10:33:00.000-07:00

by Doug McAllister

With golf talk turning to this year's Masters, owing primarily to Tiger's return to the game, I thought a little golfing poetry would be in order. No groans please! Everyone has heard of cowboy poetry so why not a little golfer poetry? My apologies, as well, to Ted Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss. I am not sure whether the inimitable author and illustrator was a golfer. If he wasn't, he should have been. If he was, he might have written something like what follows here. Anyway, here goes:

It's time for the Masters,
Let's all give a cheer!
The first of the Majors,
The first of the year!

And Tiger is coming!
He'll be back in the pack!
All the sponsors are glowing!
All will welcome him back!

For golf without Tiger
Is surely a bust.
He just has to be there!
It's an absolute must!

But what if he wasn't?
What if no golfers came?
Would Augusta grow weeds?
Would it lose all its fame?

Would Tiger's not being there
Mean bogeys — disasters,
For the great game of golf
And, especially, the Masters?

Or is it that golf
Might be bigger than Phil?
And Ernie and Tiger?
Wouldn't that be a thrill?

A pursuit that persists
Despite who's on top,
Despite who's just birdied,
Despite who's a flop?

A game that is played
By the tall and the small.
By the girls and the boys,
By one and by all!

Well, that just what golf is!
No one owns it, you see.
It continues — it's here!
'Spite where Eldrick might be.

Let's remember that, please,
When we're tempted to cry
'Cause Tiger's not with us
Or his game's gone awry!

Yes, thank goodness that golf
Will be played on and on!
Long after Jack, Arnie
And Tiger are gone!

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Again, my apologies to Dr. Seuss! And I should note that his poem is copyrighted and cannot be used in any form without permission of the author or before a sizable check is received from the broadcasters of the Masters — whichever comes first!

So, until my next posting,
Hit some long
And some straight
And some in between!
Yes, that would be great!

Announcing "THIS FOR BIRDIE!" — The Golf Blog

2010-03-23T13:17:00.000-07:00

by Doug McAllister

I can hear it now, "Not another golf blog!" But why not? If golf is the great parable of life that many believe it to be and if golfers and golf holes are as different—when considering the nitty gritty of it all—as fingerprints, then why not another golf blog? And not just another golf blog, The Golf Blog!

Okay, that may be a bit over the top. The Golf Blog! But, if golf has taught me just one thing, it is that you might as well have confidence in your swing, or in this case, in your blog or message. Okay, so it was over the top! Assess me a two-shot penalty and move on to the next tee. But I digress.

With "THIS FOR BIRDIE!" my intention is to talk about one of my very favorite subjects, a passion, really: Golf!

I plan to talk about my favorite golf haunts, looking at courses I have played—primarily in Utah, but, once in a while, those that I have been lucky enough to play in other places. And not just the courses themselves. I want to gab about their practice facilities. I want to pontificate on their personnel (because nothing can make or break a golf course experience faster than great clubhouse folks or, conversely, the sticks in the mud who somehow think they are entitled and you are just there to pay greens fees!). I want to rate their practice facilities (which ones let you actually hit from grass and which ones believe that a real golf experience is AstroTurf covered cement pads!).

I plan to review books that I have read about golf and movies about golf that I have seen. Who knows? Maybe they will be books and flicks that you might like too!

We may even dabble a bit in my views of golf's current events. After all, everyone wants to chew the fat some about Tiger or Ernie or Paddy or about grooves, dimples or shafts. Who knows? I may even throw in a golflitical cartoon or two (Golflitical? You know. You remove "po" from political and insert...oh, never mind!).

So that's it. I won't bore you any more with the trivialities. And if you like what I have to say—great! If not...well...that's okay too.

Tune in tomorrow and we'll get started. In the meantime, hit 'em long and straight!