Mesquite, Nevada still carries a reputation as something of free-wheeling, rugged-jeans-wearing kind of gambling town. It is about the last place you can stop and come to your senses before crossing the border into Utah. And ending up somewhere like Salt Lake City. It’s gambling without the sometimes overpowering Vegas tourist glitz and LA road party scene. It’s where a guy in work jeans can feel comfortable playing poker next to a guy in a golf shirt. The only way you’d get Paris Hilton to Mesquite is if a reality show sent her there in an RV. In other words, it’s just ... full post »

All those rabid Michelle Wie delusionals had to be disappointed to flip through the last issue of Sports Illustrated and see their girl posing in the year-in-review photos. So much for that Wie camp SI ban that the Wie Warriors hoped for after the magazine’s writer Michael Bamberger rightly called her on a rules violation. Wie’s not banning Sports Illustrated. The mere notion was laughable. Not because she knows she was wrong. Because that would go against everything the Michelle Wie marketing machine stands for: publicity. So there was Wie in SI, in a pose Rebel Blogger could appreciate. A California newspaper ... full post »

If you’re in Palm Springs, enjoying the golf and monotonously wonderful 70 degree and sunny days, make sure to check out the weekly Thursday night street fair in downtown. In an area where a black and white photo of Frank Sinatra or Bob Hope passes as high culture, the street fair boasts actual local character. They close the main drag in town to cars, set up booths in the middle of the street (think cheap good food and trinkets) and people stroll around. Yes, sometimes people do actually walk in California. If you’ve always stayed out in La Quinta on your Coachella Valley ... full post »

Standing on top of a plateau tee, it feels like you’re scraping the sky. The clouds never seemed so close. You might check to make sure you still have two feet on the ground. Or duck your head slightly, thinking you could bump it against a cloud the way Shaq might against a doorway. Playing golf at Wolf Creek Golf Club in Mesquite, Nevada is definitely a surreal experience. And as you move around the course, you’ll see other golfers on the towering plateau tees, little dots in the distance. The tee box settings are a show to themselves. What course do ... full post »

Getting a haircut in a little, local Palm Springs barbershop, I found myself running into the whole Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays argument. One of the barbers wished a departing customer, “Happy Holidays.” This caused his next customer to launch into a long lecture on the problem with saying Happy Holidays and how it should always be Merry Christmas. This guy was so passionate about the subject he went on for 20 minutes plus. The barber cutting his hair just quietly listened, somehow resisting the temptation to clip the self-appointed Merry Christmas’ policeman’s ear. No one loves a good controversy more than me. I’m all ... full post »

Just went through a run of two weeks plus in Palm Springs. After about day four, you could be excused for thinking the local weather guys were playing hooky, replaying the same forecast night after night after night. Seventy degrees and sunny every day. Except when it was seventy one degrees and sunny. It was actually 66 degrees and overcast on Saturday. Which caused many locals to break out their winter jackets. No kidding. A woman at the SilverRock course grill told me she’d gotten wimpy after moving from that frigid gulag San Jose. Yes, they’re about as hardy as Michael Jackson ... full post »

Some old reputations die hard. In Palm Springs, literally. This is a place that many people believe is stuck in the 1950s, an area where anyone without white hair is bound to feel like an outsider. And there’s something to that. The lead story on the local TV news last week was Gerald Ford going to the hospital for his yearly checkup. This brought the kind of blanket coverage most news organizations save for reporting on a hurricane or terror threat. He has a cold! Gerald Ford has a cold! Which begs the question: Does anyone outside of Palm Springs still think Gerald ... full post »

If you’re looking for a place in the Palm Springs area devoid of any trace of local color, The River is your hangout. The River is an immensely popular outdoor mall/restaurant row that could have been lifted straight from Minneapolis, Kansas City, Dallas or Connecticut. If you’re golfing in greater Palm Springs, somebody’s going to recommend that you eat there. Probably several somebodies. It’s not necessarily a bad recommendation to take. There’s the requiste Cheesecake Factory, a big Border’s and nice-sized movie theater. Almost all the restaurants and shops are national chains. The best of the bunch - unless you’re one of ... full post »

Know a smug low handicap golfer who’s always rubbing his good shots in your face? The kind of guy who gloats over every $1 hole win, while refusing to give any strokes, even though the competition’s about as evenly matched as a tank versus a paper airplane? Suggest a round at the PGA West TPC Stadium course and watch the playing field level. Yes, we’re talking the Pete Dye design with the petrifying rep, the one with 151 slope rating from the back tees, the one that the pros whined about being just too difficult. Crazy for a high handicapper challenge? Try ... full post »

Morgan Pressel’s grandfather Herb Krickstein is leading the campaign to let Pressel play as a full LPGA member several months before her 18th birthday. Krickstein makes the right point that if Morgan could handle Q-school no sweat and come one Birdie Kim miracle from winning the U.S. Women’s Open, she’s earned full membership. Why should a birthday stand in the way? This isn’t a debate about sticking to the letter of ridiculous rules though. It’s an appreciation of a guardian who tells it like it is. Krickstein challenged outgoing LPGA commissioner Ty Votaw when they met in June with “What if she ... full post »

Everyone who’s ever flown has heard the frightening tales of bungling about LAX. Los Angeles International Airport is known for being evacuated when a housewife manages to unwittingly slip past 10 rings of security, of being shutdown and backed up. It’s supposed to be the air travel equivalent of a root canal, about as convenient as an enema. I know people who fly out of their way just to avoid using LAX. So it was with some trepidation that I found myself going through Los Angeles airport. It only turned into the smoothest golf air travel trip ever. The golf bag was off ... full post »

One of the things that makes Phoenix-Scottsdale such a satisfying golf spot is the sheer abundance of off course options. It’s a town where you get a restaurant like Village Tavern. This place in one of strip mall shopping centers along Scottsdale Road gives you heapings of gourmet food for near Denny’s prices. The salmon benedict plate is packed full of great tasting food for under $10. And you can find restaurants like Village Tavern throughout the spread out desert valley. That’s part of why Phoenix-Scottsdale may be the best value golf hotspot on the West Coast. You’re not eating this well ... full post »

TravelGolf.com isn’t invited to many grand openings. We tend to be a little too honest (no matter what you’ve read elsewhere, every course isn’t great, great, great!), a little too scruffy (have you seen the Cheap Bastard?), a little too irreverent (see BadGolfer). So sometimes we have to create our own openings. TravelGolf.com recently became the first golf publication to play the newly $5 million renovated Robert Trent Jones Sr. courses at Wigwam Resort. More than a month before the official hoity toity opening “event” where mainstream golf writers will be able to share golf tips with mayors, TravelGolf.com was out on ... full post »

The news came in the middle of the night in most of America, news that’s fast becoming as predictable as snow in Michigan in January for all but the Wie Warriors. Marketing monster Michelle Wie folded again when faced with a little pressure, bogeyed the last two holes in her second round to miss the cut at the Casio World Open. At some point, you have to start feeling sorry for this 16-year-old who obviously knows nothing about winning or performing in the clutch. The only funny thing is how the Wie Warriors get so pumped up, convinced they are finally going ... full post »

The USGA recently held the groundbreaking on the new Arnold Palmer Center addition to its New Jersey musuem. A nice enough ceremonial honor to be sure. But Palmer went a little overboard with his USGA genuflection. “I don’t think you can put words to how important it is to me as an individual,” Palmer told USGA.org. “When I was a kid, it was my family and God and the USGA. That was kind of the way I was raised.” Well, of course. My family, God and the USGA. How can your country or your friends for that matter manage to make this ... full post »

Paula Creamer and Michelle Wie both come from relatively privileged backgrounds, the kind of environments that allow for swing coaches and golf academies. But if you didn’t know any better, if you just judged by their actions, you’d think that Creamer and Wie were raised worlds apart. For Paula Creamer is street tough, while Michelle Wie is marketing-focused wimpy. Just ask Annika Sorenstam. There was Creamer sticking up to the often self righteous, self entitled Sorenstam at the ADT Championship, challenging her on a ball drop. Creamer got into Sorenstam’s face (at least literally), refused to show any deference to the No. 1 ... full post »

Retief Goosen strolled into the final round of the Tour Championship, only three shots behind the unproven Bart Bryant. Goosen was playing in the final group, posed to put pressure on a golfer desperate for a breakthrough. So what does Goosen do? He folds. On Sunday. Again. This time it was a 4-over 74 on a course that was playing about as tough as grandparents are on their new grandkids. This included a stretch of three bogeys and a double bogey in five holes. Which is nothing new for Goosen on Sundays. He shot an 81 when everyone was already handing him the ... full post »

I don’t care if Phil Mickelson wanted to take his kids out trick-or-treating as some writers reported and Mickelson’s agent just as quickly denied. I don’t care if he believes that the Tour Championship is about as big time as a bocce ball tournament (looking at the TV ratings you’d have to think that most casual golf fans agree with that). I don’t care if he’s waging his own one-man protest slash hissy fit. I don’t care if he’s using this weekend to research this year’s version of his Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl bet. And I don’t think any golf fans ... full post »

Putting out on 18 just after 6 p.m., at a time when the rest of the country’s been dark for a good hour, is one of the great, little pleasures of Arizona golf. Yes, Arizona’s figured out how to give you more sunshine too. By ignoring the stupid “Fall Back” end of Daylight Savings Times rules that everyone else (except for Hawaii and a few kooks in Indiana) followed this weekend, Arizona allows hackers to get in a good chunk more golf. And everyone else to see the sun when they can actually get out in it. You know, in the evenings ... full post »

Cascata, one of Las Vegas’ $500 per round courses that Michael Jordan, George Clooney and Co. like to play, is easing off on its access rules. But not its price tag. Cascata used to tout itself as a course only open to Caesars guests (and whatever big-name celebrity or gambler it comped). With the merging of Harrah’s with Caesars that changed to a host of Sin City properties. Recently, Cascata started allowing packagers like Las Vegas Golf Travel to sell it. Now, its website also lets golfers know there’s “limited availability” for other guests. Even of nonaffiliated hotels. Limited, as in, if ... full post »

Forget for a moment that Michelle Wie showed no sign of knowing anything about winning in her 30th career pro tournament. Forget even that Michelle Wie showed no sign of knowing anything about the rules in her 30th career pro tournament. The new issue to emerge from the Palm Desert is the ridiculous notion that Sports Illustrated reporter Michael Bamberger turned Wie in because he “wanted to make a name for himself.” Are you serious? Come on, Wie Warriors. No one gets a bigger kick out of you guys then me. I love the creative ways you come up with ... full post »

Michelle Wie’s “first” tournament as a pro is shaping up like all her other tournaments as a pro. She hit a few spectacular shots, particularly with her driver, at the Samsung World Championship. She hit a few clunker shots. She melted down the stretch. She said all the right things in the media room. And she is more than poised to extend her winless streak (the Wie specialty) to 0 for 30 in pro tournaments. And they’re touting this as something new? This would be like Sylvester Stallone claiming Rocky 6 as a standalone original. Wie is playing in her 30th pro ... full post »

Are there any sure bets in Cancun golf? The spring break paradise can be a golfer’s torment with good courses and duds all disguised under the same high-end greens fees. Reader Tommy wrote in “I’m a 8 handicap and really looking forward to this (Cancun) vacation. Any suggestions?” Any suggestions? Shockingly, I just might have an opinion or two. Playa Paraiso Golf Club, the new P.B. Dye linked with the Iberostar Resort Complex, is the best course I played in a week there. The latest Jack Nicklaus nine at Moon Palace, the Dunes Course is a visual, shotmaking treat. Play the Dunes nine ... full post »

If you’re golfing anywhere around Philadelphia or even the Wilmington, Delaware area (in which case you’d be better be staying in Philly for the civilization), a real cheesesteak is a most stop. And no, what you’ve had at the foodcourt at the mall in Indiana does not qualify. You need to head to Passyunk and get into line. Just make sure it’s the right one. For as much as the cheesesteak choice is debated in Philly, it’s no contest. Pat’s is your choice. And it’s not even that close. Don’t go across the street to Geno’s neon for an inconsistent imitator. Pat’s is as ... full post »

If you only read the San Francisco Bay area papers you’d think that Harding Park was collecting the kind of universal gushing reviews that Russell Crowe earned for A Beautiful Mind a few years back. I don’t want to say the Bay area dailies are giving a hometown pump-up job to the renovated muni hosting the American Express Championship, but word is Harding Park crusader Sandy Tatum is asking for a ghost writer’s fee. Yes, the pros have said a few nice things as they playfully wrestle for the $1.7 million first-place check in this still very offseason event. Tiger Woods ... full post »

What’s this? Is there romance in the golf blogging world air? Could we have a case of dating by blog? It sure looks that way. For Grouchy Golf Blog is heading toward TravelGolf.com’s own Jennifer Mario with a rose, a scented candle and a Marvin Gaye CD in hand. Grouchy looks a little nervous, but he thinks he has a shot. All thanks to the gooey, gushy message he posted on Super Mario’s latest blog. “Nice piece Jen M. As usual, a thoughtful, spot-on and well-written commentary,” Cupid, er Grouchy, writes. There’s cotton candy that’s not that sweet. Grouchy cannot jump up and ... full post »

So Michelle Wie decides to wear pink to her big “I’m no longer pretending to be an amateur” press conference. Doesn’t she know that pink is Paula Creamer’s color? That Creamer is the Pink Panther after all. Of course, Wie does. That’s why she came out in Nike pink. She realizes the player she has to live up to, even if she and her Wie Warriors will never admit it. Because this press conference was all Wie spin, all the time as usual. “I’m finally happy to say I’m a pro starting today,” Wie said at the affair. Yeah, like getting flown around the ... full post »

The $500 greens fee Tom Fazio right behind the new Wynn Las Vegas on the Strip is doing well enough. It’s not getting close to the kind of Shadow Creek and Cascata reviews that Steve Wynn no doubt assumed were his tycoon birthright. But it holds some buzz and there are some souls actually paying $500 to play (along with the host of high roller and decent medium roller comps that dominate the tee sheets). Still, there is plenty of talk in Las Vegas that this high-profile course could be here today, gone tomorrow. Many Vegas real estate watchers only expect Wynn ... full post »

No one ever accused the Michelle Wie-Can-Walk-On-Water (but not win a golf tournament) Nincompoops of holding a firm grip on reality, but message board poster Jim Nugent is delivering us to a new level of lunacy. Where’s that 15-year-old high school kid poster who’s convinced he’s destined to date Michelle Wie one day when you need him? If you want to throw your money around at least come up with a bet that actually ties in to the point: Paula Creamer better than Michelle Wie now, will always be better than Wie. This will be measured by the number of tournaments ... full post »

Reflection Bay, the previously untouchable Jack Nicklaus signature design at Lake Las Vegas, took a few lumps last year. Golfers still left satisfied this summer, but not quite as wowed as the reputation would suggest. One bold golf writer even dared to offer that the newage Vegas legend might not be worth the $200 plus greens fees, risking condemnation (hint, he writes a mean blog). But now, it appears the Bay is primed to bounce back better than ever. Reflection Bay just completed a great overseed and people in the Vegas golf industry believe it may be as pristine now as ... full post »

It’s been 20 years since Jay Morrish completed his vision at Boulders Resort and still the two Boulder courses are drawing some of the hottest word of mouth in the Phoenix-Scottsdale resort corridor. In an area where courses come and go out of fashion as quickly as some people change jean brands, this is no small feat. Yet Arizona golf packagers report that Boulders is getting more buzz than ever this season as golfers come back or discover it’s desert wows for the first time. Boulders Resort has figured out what TravelGolf.com’s National Golf Editor Tim McDonald has been searching for forever: ... full post »

The worst kept secret in golf - that Michelle Wie’s first tournament as a pro will be the Samsung World Championship starting Oct 13 - is long past rumor stage. Golf World is reporting that Wie could officially announce her new pro status as early as next week (think you’ll see a few swooshes at that press conference?) Once all the Ts are crossed on those mega hype-built endorsement contracts and Michelle Wie goes from closet pro to official one, things get interesting. For while it was long fanciful to argue that Wie was a 15-year-old amateur above criticism (LeBron James ... full post »

People love to compare Jason Gore to John Daly because they’re both fat, eccentric guys who know how to tell a good everyman story. The Gore as the new John Daly campaign is likely to only pick up steam now that Gore’s won a PGA Tour event (the 84 Lumber Classic on Sunday). But it’s a whole lot of baloney (which come to think of it, might be a big component of both the Daly and Gore diet). Gore is not close to as talented as Daly. It’s hard to imagine him ever winning a major. Gore is also not close to ... full post »

The Democrats have William J. Clinton. TravelGolf.com readers have William K. Wolfrum. Wolfrum, if you haven’t noticed, is our new blogger with the picture that looks much more fake than Rebel Blogger’s. Like anyone has that much hair in real life! Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed William K.’s blog on taking the politics out of golf. Because I love it when writers do the exact opposite of what they tell the readers to do. Wolfrum threw this line into his “non-politics blog": The U.S. currently has a president that’s down a World Trade Center and New Orleans in just about five years. Like ... full post »

Back when Beth Daniel was the most dominant player on the LPGA Tour, when Annika Sorenstam was still young and throwing parking lot tantrums, I covered a tour stop in the Lansing, Michigan area for a few years. The LPGA events were actually a huge deal in Lansing, which despite being the state capital had no pro sports (this was pre minor league Lugnuts). In one of these tournaments, Beth Daniel ran away with it to such an extent that she was the only story. Which caused my editors great consternation because everyone knew in those days that Daniel was impossible ... full post »

Paula Creamer pushed the U.S. to Solheim Cup victory, beating European “star” Laura Davies so soundly in Sundays singles that Davies must have been contemplating retirement on the spot. It all showed why it’s no stretch to declare that Paula Creamer is better than Michelle Wie now, will always be better than Michelle Wie. And this isn’t just a knock on the no-win Wie. It’s acceptance of how good Paula Creamer is and how vastly underhyped she’s been. Yahoo Sports’ lead story on the Solheim Cup noted that American golf may have a new star now in Paula Creamer. Apparently, the folks ... full post »

I love it when National Golf Editor Tim McDonald emerges from his Florida swamp (where he’s probably watching NASCAR and the clocks are apparently permanently set in 1945 time) to comment on a newfangled modern issue. Like women’s sports. Giving the men credit for the Solheim Cup interest is absurd. People aren’t fascinated by the Solheim Cup because Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson treat the Ryder Cup Matches like a trip to the dentist. Let’s face it, no one still cares who wins the Solheim Cup. It’s … well, the Solheim Cup. This isn’t about the athletic competition. It’s about the ... full post »

Apparently, some of you redneck NASCAR fans took offense at being called rednecks. (Might want to tell Jeff Foxworthy, he’s made a fortune off getting you folks to buy tapes of his lame redneck humor.) Yet curiously enough none of you NASCAR devotees had any problem with my terming the whole racing thing as athletic an endeavor as cutting your grass with a riding mower. No need to get your Confederate flags in a bunch however. I’m always ready to take on a challenge and see if I might be wrong. Except when it comes to chiropractors, Michelle Wie holding any ... full post »

I have no doubt golfers are athletes. This is confirmed for me every time my complete lack of athletic ability comes out in my swing. But there are plenty of others who disagree, who look at golfers as barely above race car drivers on the athletic scale. Vijay Singh did not exactly help the fight against that with his ping pong injury. Remember, this is Vijay. Arguably the most workaholic of all of today’s golfers. And he cannot survive a game of ping pong without pulling something? That’s pretty sad. And funny. Who do you know who’s gotten hurt playing ping pong? OK, Johnny ... full post »

The all too predictable outcry of the Michelle Wie delusional to Old Man McDonald’s blog on her Solheim Cup status seems to have missed one important point. You Wie Warriors are really slipping. You’re letting your leader down. Don’t you realize what happened. McDonald insulted Jennifer Mario’s hair! How can you stand for that? You crazies really need to read these blogs a little closer. More than 24 hours later, I’m the one who has to step in and defend Mario, the Michelle Wie bower. I kept waiting and waiting for someone to step in. Cheryl? Allan? Wei? Papa Wie! No, no, no, ... full post »

It’s been amusing to see Cheap Bastard chasing Old Man McDonald around the South. Cheap Bastard is right to be jealous. McDonald’s been out cheaping him since before the Bastard’s eye glasses were in style. Cheap Bastard might be wary about spending 50 cents on a newspaper, but McDonald is known for “helping” himself to those leave a penny, take a penny displays. He’s been banned from 7-11s in 13 states. He took me to Denny’s for my job interview (true story). And I paid. And did you read his column on how to cheat at golf. That’s all for $2 total ... full post »

If you’re in Newport, R.I. for some golf, seaside living and yacht ogling, don’t count out a trip to the International Tennis Hall of Fame. The museum itself is more than a little disappointing. If the Baseball Hall of Fame had white posterboard-like cutout placards like this for its inductees, Pete Rose would be saying thanks, but no thanks. About the only interesting thing in the museum is seeing what the tour director calls Chris Evert’s minus size dress. It looks like a 10-year-old girls’ tennis outfit. At the height of her run, Evert weighed 87 pounds. Yes, she could have ... full post »

Newport, R.I. is the land of super-sized, high tech yachts and hulking 19th-century Vanderbilt mansions. And right now, Michelle Wie mania. The country club East Coast vacation spot seems like a strange place to go gaga over a 15-year-old female golfer. But with the Women’s U.S. Open coming to town in June 2006, Wie’s expected arrival is drawing plenty of talk. The funny thing is that all the Women’s U.S. Open signs around town – and everything but the baby strollers in Newport have been plastered with U.S. Open signs – feature the old schoolers rather than Wie or Paula Creamer. Wie’s ... full post »

It’s hardly surprising that Rebel Blogger is defending someone’s right to be an irresponsible spoiled punk. But the reputable golf voices jumping right in line with the Rebel’s blatant Tiger Woods’ pandering is comical. I know Jim Nantz wants Tiger to be his buddy, but to call the tournament after Tiger Woods’ inexplicable PGA Championship bailout and not call Tiger on it is inexcusable. And no, Nantz, saying it wasn’t smart once the whole weekend does not qualify as biting commentary. Tiger Woods turned on everything he supposedly believes in by flying away with the PGA Championship still in doubt. He’s still ... full post »

The Cheeky Monkey is touted as one of the hip, happening places to get a meal in Newport, R.I. And the atmosphere is fine. All the monkey paintings on the wall are funny and the low lighting and dark wood thing works well enough. The problem is the Monkey forgot about the food. If you actually go to a restaurant to eat, you can find much better choices at much more reasonable prices in Newport than the Cheeky Monkey. The food isn’t bad, but with a bill that could easily go to $100 for two - without wine - it’s not close ... full post »

It’s always a little more interesting when the wind plays havoc with your shots, inevitably whipping up on that monster par 5 and letting down on that dainty par 3, just when you’ve started to overcompensate. Sure, it makes golf even tougher, but if you wanted easy you should be playing cribbage. If you’re a Wind Man, the Newport, Rhode Island golf scene is a place for you. With ocean breezes kicking up and dying down at a moment’s notice, courses like Newport National Golf Club play differently from day to day, hole to hole and shot to shot. It’s a blast. ... full post »

Apparently, Tiger Woods believes in Phil Mickelson’s nerves more than anyone else in golf. Including Mickelson himself, who joked about the agony of having to sleep on the lead for yet another additional night at the delayed PGA Championship even after he finally won it Monday. Tiger must think Phil Mickelson is Jack Nicklaus, rather than just some red-light-loving dork who taps on the Nicklaus plaque because he knows the cameras are watching. How else can you explain Woods’ bizarre admission today that he flew home to Isleworth on Sunday night even though he was the clubhouse leader. Yes, if there had ... full post »

So Phil Mickelson wins the PGA Championship. Only needing an inexplicably overconfident Tiger Woods first-round 75, an even worse underachiever than him (Davis Love III) as a final round playing partner and a Mother Nature and CBS TV combination one-day delay to make it happen. Sounds like an easy recipe for frequent repeats, no? But seriously, enough of you Lefty doubters dragging the man’s legacy down! This blogger, for one, is sick of it. Sure, someone may have shouted loudly and repeatedly that your future finals majors count would read Tiger 22, Phil 1. But the shame is a little easier to ... full post »

Phil Mickelson and Davis Love III. Could there be a more jittery final round pairing in majors history? It feels very good to be in the chase at the PGA Championship because of who’s on top heading into Sunday. Phil Mickelson and Davis Love III. Two total majors won and an immense amount of talent squandered. Peyton Manning’s wondering when these guy’s are going to show up in a big game moment. John Stockton and Karl Malone are curious how anyone could be this bad at closing the deal year after year. Heck, even the fans of Cleveland have declared we cannot ... full post »

You can watch every NFL preseason game. You can buy a package that lets you catch every second of every blowout NCAA Tournament first-round game. When the World Cup is waged next June, you will be to see every game from Germany live - in the U.S., where soccer ratings rank just above log rolling. On a good week for soccer. Heck, you can see the Nathan’s Coney Island Hot Dog Eating Competition every 4th of July in all its gooey, gory detail. But we cannot watch Phil Mickelson shoot a 65 live on the second day of one of golf’s four ... full post »

Phil Mickelson isn’t winning the PGA Championship. That’s like expecting Britney Spears to drop the trailer park schtick and transform into Gwyneth Paltrow. At a certain point, your character’s set. No, that 2004 Masters will remain Mickelson’s one shining moment. Your future majors count is still going to read Tiger 22, Phil 1 when it’s all said and done. But Phil Mickelson can save the PGA Championship this weekend. This is the major that’s barely holding onto its major status and the PGA knows it. They tout the fact that the PGA has the best field of all the majors so often ... full post »

Greg Norman does not have any more guts at 50 than he did at 30. The Shark withdrew from the PGA Championship citing “muscle fatigue". Apparently, that’s the new code for fear of embarrassing oneself. Something tells me Norman saved himself from one humbling, uncomfortable first round. For Norman took some shots at Tiger Woods last week. Before he found out he would be paired with Tiger and Michael Campbell in the first round of the PGA. Norman emphatically declared that Jack Nicklaus in his prime would dominate Tiger Woods in his prime. “Put the technology that we have nowadays in Nicklaus’ ... full post »

Here’s what Morgan Pressel had to say about everyone’s favorite marketing machine Michelle Wie in the latest issue of Sports Illustrated: “I was shocked that there wasn’t more talk of Michelle Wie’s final round 82 (at the U.S. Women’s Open). I mean, why is that? Or about how when it looked like she was going to make the cut at the John Deere Classic, she played the last four holes in three over par. “Are the press and other players just trying to be politically correct? I don’t believe in being politically correct. Michelle hasn’t played a lot of junior golf, so ... full post »

I love these Saturday night eve of a major final round posts from TravelGolf.com’s Jennifer Mario. The ones where she’s obviously had that one glass of wine or in the case of her Hawaii adventures that half mai tai that’s pushed her over the top. At six shots back heading into the final round of the Women’s British Open, Michelle Wie isn’t lurking as our Super Mario sets the stage. In fact, Wie is the one golfer within hailing distance that Jeong Jang does not need to shed one once of worry over. For Wie does not win. In fact, Michelle Wie ... full post »

Sure, the temperature’s hovered between 108 and 117 for the last two months straight in the Phoenix-Scottsdale resort corridor. Sure, stepping outside feels like stepping into an oven that’s been preheated for a while. Sure, even that dry heat argument is out the window with it being monsoon season (a hopeful desert term for a few plops of rain) and the usual 10-15 percent humidity shooting up to 30-35 percent (you’re sweating in this 115, in any 115 for that matter). But where else but in heat hell can you play a Pete Dye course for $13.50? That’s the rate the Karsten ... full post »

While Michelle Wie’s endless defenders come up with more excuses for their no-win marketing machine, Paula Creamer continues to show why she’s the best young talent in women’s golf. It’s hard for Wie’s hype mongers to accept this because Creamer has actually earned her way to the trophy stand. Then, you have Michelle Wie who is starting to make Susan Lucci’s old trophy drought look like child’s play. The debate’s over people. Creamer destroyed Wie by eight strokes at the Evian Masters, one of the women’s golf biggest money events. And let’s drop that ridiculous argument that Wie’s finished ahead of Creamer ... full post »

It turns out Ty Votaw did not just resign his LPGA commissioner’s post just to leave. He left to become a PGA Tour higher up. Votaw is set to assume a high-ranking post in the PGA Tour that will essentially make him Commissioner Tim Finchem’s right-hand man, an industry source told TravelGolf.com. When Votaw first announced in early January that he would be stepping down, there was immediate speculation of a PGA jump. Votaw denied all the talk and it died down. Just a few weeks ago at the Women’s World Match Play, Votaw told TravelGolf.com, he did not know if his ... full post »

Guess that Tiger Woods needing Butch Harmon talk can go away now, huh? That ridiculous notion that Woods would never be dominant again without Butch evaporated into Scottish fog faster than even Retief Goosen. No one’s saying that Harmon isn’t a great teacher. I’m sure he could even eliminate seven strokes off my game with a few lessons (which is the ultimate compliment considering the state of utter confusion in my swing). But arguing that Harmon made Tiger Woods, as more than a few sports writers who should know better did in the last few years, is as ridiculous as saying Keanu ... full post »

While Tiger Woods marched on toward the second of the three majors he’s winning this year, a familar sight appeared just behind the best golfer of all time. There was Retief Goosen throwing up a 6-under 66 in Saturday’s third round, moving within three shots of Tiger. Sometimes objects in your rearview mirror are closer than they appear. And sometimes they’re much farther. For Goosen has as much chance of catching Tiger as Tom Arnold does of stealing Katie Holmes away from Tom Cruise. Here’s predicting another final round meltdown for the Goose, who as it was predicted here is done as ... full post »

On the same day that Tiger Woods turned the British Open into one of his runaway major wins, the kind that all those clueless critics said he didn’t have in him anymore, Michelle Wie was completely overpowered at the U.S. Amateur Public Links. And all’s right in the golf world. For Woods is the greatest of all time and Wie still cannot even prove she’s the greatest young female player of her time. All my blog message board critics are missing my point on Wie. I don’t think she shouldn’t play in men’s events because she is a woman or because she ... full post »

TNT must think it’s covering the Olympics. For it’s sure not treating the British Open like a real sporting event. Once again, the braintrust at the network which boasts “We Know Drama” is giving us most of the drama on tape delay. When everyone who really cares already knows what has happened. This is the 21st century, a time of instant Internet gratification. And TNT keeps deciding it’s not necessary to show the Open as it happens. Tiger Woods seized control of what is shaping up as the second of three majors he’s going to win this year with a first-round 66 ... full post »

Michelle Wie is doing just enough not to do anything at another tournament against the men. This time it’s in the men’s Amateur Public Links where everyone’s favorite 15-year-old marketing marvel is in serious danger of not even making it to the match play after her second day of stroke play. Remember, this is the tournament that those caught in Wie’s fantasyland, including her family and coaches, thought she’d have a good chance to win. Which traditionally means a Masters invite. Now, she might not even make it to Wednesday of the Amateur Public Links. It’s about time for someone to remind Wie ... full post »

While it doesn’t surprise me that our resident Nutty Professor is arguing that whetever Michelle Wie does is wonderful because well it’s wonderful, this isn’t reality. Truth is Michelle Wie absolutely needs to make the cut today at the John Deere Classic, which she was one the wrong side of after the first round even if Jennifer Mario and Kiel Christianson, aka Nutty, were too busy to notice as they jumped up and down in glee. Wie needs a moment – a win, a dramatic comeback, making the cut in a men’s event – to stop herself from becoming a novelty that’s ... full post »

I enjoy it when Robert Thompson, Canada’s gift to golf, writes about having to file a story later because his 10-month-old daughter’s Sydney’s only allowing him four hours of sleep. That’s interesting stuff. It adds some extra crackle to Going For The Green, Robbie’s blog. Seriously, there isn’t any sarcasm here. My loyal readers (and I know there’s at least one of you out there - no, that’s one besides you mom) will find this shocking. For if I’m not being annoyingly sarcastic I just don’t feel like I’m putting in 110 percent. Only this is a temporary break. For stories ... full post »

Ty Votaw is a public relations man’s dream. He shows up at his press conferences looking like he stepped straight off the pages of GQ. He’s not salesman charming, he’s mother charming. If you were lucky enough to be this guy’s wing man in college, you’d have been a happy fellow indeed. But that doesn’t necessarily translate into the stuff of great commissioners. Or hide how Votaw sometimes sounds as logical as Yogi the Bear when he’s attempting to rationalize away the LPGA’s popularity problems. Asked about a 2004 Scarborough Sports Marketing survey highlighted in the Newark Star-Ledger that showed only six percent ... full post »

NBC’s cameras captured Michelle Wie obviously unsuccessfully fighting tears after one of her two-foot putt misses in the front nine of her collapse Sunday afternoon. Nothing wrong with that. She’s only 15. Well, there’s nothing wrong with that unless you’re wagering the future of your entire sport on this still fragile competitor. Still think LPGA officials are so convinced their Wie future is so bright? Call me heartless, but Wie looks like a Jennifer Capriati of golf waiting to happen. Scratch that. At least, Capriati won some major tournaments before she burned out. And Capriati was 10 times tougher than Wie at ... full post »

A recent golfing trip through Mexico once again illustrated the folly of leaving home without enough golf balls. I ran into several golfers who told me stories of shelling out $100 for 24 balls (and these were the kind of cheapies you can usually get 24 for $24 in the states). If your bag’s not stocked when you leave home, expect to get socked. It’s also a good idea to exchange some money in the airport. While everyone will eagerly take U.S. dollars in Mexico, you’ll lose a sufficient amount in this unofficial exchange rate game. The airport’s the best place to ... full post »

While Rebel Blogger makes a halfway decent point with his Robert Horry, clutch role player analogy, the hat man is missing the big picture. There are no Robert Horrys in golf. No role players with guts galore to carry a star when they’re feeling the pressure. An Horry can bail out a floundering free-throw clanking and put-back missing Tim Duncan in an NBA Finals game. But no one can help Retief Goosen hit a fairway in the final round of the U.S. Open. Golfers are on their own, more naked under pressure than almost any major sports star (even the auto racer ... full post »

Do you think Retief Goosen started believing the press clippings about him holding the pulse rate of a cadaver under pressure? For Goosen seemed more shocked than anyone at his Greg Normanesque implosion at Pinehurst No. 2 on Sunday. It was like the Goose figured he only had to show up and the calm putts would follow. TravelGolf.com’s own Goosen ogling Jennifer Mario wasn’t the only one heartbroken by Retief’s meltdown. For the run of one of golf’s seemingly genuinely good guys is over. Goosen is done as a major player. He already stood as golf’s version of a clay court specialist, capable ... full post »

This just in: Jennifer Mario, who amazingly declared that she predicted Retief Goosen would win the U.S. Open back before it started, only she didn’t want to tell anyone, so she waited until he had a three-shot lead on Saturday night to reveal this insight, is at it again. Now Jennifer is forecasting that Tiger Woods will win the 2005 Masters, thanks in no small part to an amazing chip shot that will be the stuff of Phil Knight’s wet dreams. Next week, Jennifer has a feeling that this Deep Throat mystery is going to be solved. Will the wonders never cease? Retief ... full post »

Retief Goosen may not be dull but watching Retief Goosen with a three-shot lead over Beavis and Butthead at the U.S. Open is duller than watching paint dry. Or a reality show with cabins. Or our own Nutty Professor deliver a lecture. Let’s face it. There’s one reason and one reason only to watch the final round at Pinehurst No. 2. To see if Tiger Woods can do something special. Sure, it’s unlikely. Especially with the way Tiger scraped up the greens on Saturday. But Tiger is the only hope for an interesting U.S. Open. He’s the only golfer capable of ... full post »

The fact Phil Mickelson carries the mental fortitude of Greg Norman is no secret. But usually, someone has to at least make an effort to rattle America’s favorite runner up, a la Vijay Singh and spike gate at the Masters. But not this year at the U.S. Open. No, Mickelson reduced himself to a puddle of shanked shots at Pinehurst No. 2. After moaning about course conditions in interviews following his first round, he went out and shot himself out of another major with a seven-over-par 77 in the second round. You have to give the man credit. It may not be ... full post »

Phil Mickelson is always good for a choke at a major, but now America’s lovable runner up is revealing himself to be just another pampered athlete who’s going to kick, scream and hold his breath when he doesn’t get his way. Was that Phil or Vijay Singh whining after the first round of the U.S. Open? Say it ain’t so. For when Phil’s joining the chorus carping about the big mean USGA’s course conditions, you know all is lost. Mickelson is usually the happy-go-lucky, no-complaint golfer. It’s part of why he’s so loved. Yet there he was echoing … Vijay. “It played ... full post »

If this was Masters, British Open or PGA Championship week, Retief Goosen would have as much chance of winning as Rory Sabbatini does of collecting a Miss Manners trophy. Contending? Sure. Winning? No way. Goosen just does not have the game to win tournaments where the scores are going to go low. But because this is U.S. Open week, Goosen vaults into one of the favorites’ roles. No golfer relies on those funloving USGA groundskeepers to create their legacy more than Goosen. For more on Goosen, being a one major golfer, check out this WorldGolf.com story. For more on what the USGA’s done ... full post »

I like to play golf at a brisk pace. Not George Bush Sr. and W. fast, but fast. And sure there’s nothing more annoying than waiting while some double-gutted yahoo who thinks he’s Tiger Woods sizes up that five footer for the 15th time. But that doesn’t mean I’d storm off the green and tee it up on the next hole. Because I’m not an donkey’s behind. The Rory Sabbatini situation is really as simple as that. The smattering of Sabbatini defenders, including TravelGolf.com’s own Tim McDonald are either clueless or dedicated to rude arrogance. This guy is a pro. At least he’s ... full post »

So Annika Sorenstam dominates another LPGA major, gets halfway to the grand slam and … all anyone’s talking about is the men’s U.S. Open. Even Kato had a bigger window of fame. The only one talking about Sorenstam on the radio is our own Jennifer Mario. And Danica Patrick, one of those hot women athletes who actually get attention because they market around their sex appeal, had to be included in that conversation. Even Mark Nessmith, who attempted to feign interest in LPGA good news moved on to the U.S. Open at Pinehurst faster than Tom Cruise jumps on a couch. Are you ... full post »

Played Playa Paraiso Golf Club, the new P.B. Dye in Riveria Maya (Cancun area) that’s scheduled to open next Saturday, June 18. It’s not as tough as you expect from a Dye. In fact, if you’re looking to get absolutely beaten up and then pounded on some more, Dye style, you may be disappointed. P.B. definitely kept the average resort golfer in mind on this one. He watched one golf writer shoot a two-over 74 on preview day from the back tees and seemed to love every minute of it. And you thought every Dye was a merciless monster? One of ... full post »

In Vancouver, one of the more cosmopolitan cities in the world mind you, a course like Westwood Plateau is regarded as a purely rich man’s playground by most locals. Westwood Plateau is $159 Canadian and it’s more than worth it … yet if you tell someone you’re playing Westwood Plateau, they’ll make like you must have just hit the lottery. $159…Canadian! Meanwhile, you can pay $250 for a round in Las Vegas and rightly feel like you got a decent value. Of course, you can also pay $195 for a round in Las Vegas and know it wasn’t worth more than $30 ... full post »

Well, Tim McDonald and Rebel Blogger’s latest attempt at reenacting the Madonna-Britney Spears MTV kiss is touching, our Archie Bunker’s once again showing his ignorance. I know it’s been a long time Tim, but remember the first rule of journalism: Follow the money. And the money in this case centers on all those ads being bought in all those glossy travel magazines by all those resorts and destinations being written about. Granted there are a number of writers, in the Society of American Travel Writers and out, who wouldn’t be critical of a rundown rat-infected sink hole if they thought it ... full post »

Listening to the Rebel rant on travel writers makes you wonder if the guy’s ever worked for anyone in his life. Is that a cigarette or a silver spoon dangling from his lips? Sure, the Rebel’s right that most travel writers bring the spine of a jellyfish to their work, “informing” readers about as well as a late-night infomercial on Viagra substitutes. And yes, as Tim McDonald details, the Society of American Travel Writers shows it believes in its rules about objective reporting like Putin shows he believes in a Democratic, open Russia. But the Rebel and even McDonald to a lesser ... full post »

Another Memorial Day’s come and gone with most people blissfully barbecuing away with little clue about what the long weekend’s really about. Golf should step up as an industry and remind everyone. Veterans should play for free at any course of their choosing over Memorial Day weekend. What better way to show appreciation for the men and women who’ve served than giving up one of your precious weekend tee times? Some courses have already embraced the idea. The Legacy Golf Courses at Cragun’s in Minnesota have been letting veterans play for free on Memorial Day weekend for years. But this should be ... full post »

If you get past all the blue-haired ladies camped out at the slot machines and slowing traffic on The Strip to a crawl, there might just be a little sizzle left in Las Vegas. The new Wynn Las Vegas casino and Casears have joined trendsetter Mandalay Beach in offering topless pools. Besides reaching back to Vegas’ more carefree days, the option is turning into a pricless marketing and money making niche. Mandalay Bay rents out the cabanas above the pool to high rollers for $500 on the weekends. Play Wynn’s new Tom Fazio or rent a cabana overlooking the topless pool? Same ... full post »

Leave it to TravelGolf.com’s resident curmudgeon Tim McDonald to diss golf’s new space-age technology. Just because McDonald’s been playing in the same pair of backwards Florida swampland overalls for the last 40 years doesn’t mean the rest of us don’t want a few updated tools. And McDonald completely misses the point (as usual). The new equipment’s not about improving your score. What golfer with half a brain worries about improving his score? Improving your score! So passe. It’s all about gaining a little edge in the status department. McDonald must think the guys driving around in Hummers are doing it for ... full post »

Well, it’s true as my boss Mark Nessmith points out that I haven’t actually gotten around to taking my ordered golf lesson yet, that doesn’t mean I haven’t been getting guidance the chiropractor hucksters would swoon over. Just the other day, Randy Panton, the longtime pro at Creston Golf Club in the Kootneys region of British Columbia, gave me an impromptu middle-of-the-round sand game lesson. With one slight tweak of my pinkie position and a three degree angle adjustment of my club face, Panton revolutionized this horrific hacker’s wedge shot. Unfortunately for Panton, he didn’t get to see the fruits of ... full post »

Forget the lessons from the chiropractor quack worthy golf instructors. On at least one course I’ve found an easy solution to my problems. The next time I play Furry Creek, a scenic marvel of a thrilling golf amusement ride on the road between Vancouver and Whistler, I’m simply hiring our own Brandon Tucker. Brandon’s feats of ball moving skill will never be more valuable than at Furry Creek. This is a course with enough blind shots around bends and up over ravines into valleys below that you’ll feel like you’re Stevie Wonder playing golf. There’s even a mirror you have to look ... full post »

Chateau Whistler Golf Club, a Robert Trent Jones II design just a walk away from the charming village of Whistler, offers some of the most incredible mountain views in Canada. Chances are better than 50-50 that you’ll even get to see a few black bears going about their business as you swing away. But that’s not the most remarkable thing about Chateau Whistler. The most remarkable thing is how they welcome bad golfers, hopeless hackers and dubious duffers. Led by Director of Golf Rod Cochrane, the staff at Chateau Whistler sets an incredible tone of just having fun for all golfers. This ... full post »

Whistler in May provides a most unique opportunity. Where else but in this resort community two hours from Vancouver could you ski and golf in the same day? And not in some tricked up manner where you’re freezing as you line up your putt or sloshing through barely there snow on the slopes. No, this is the real deal, the best of both worlds. Here’s how it works. You ride up a nearby mountain where there’s plenty of snow left, ski away and make it your afternoon tee time down below closer to village. Where it’s only about 70 degrees and the ... full post »

Now, I’m no Doug Carey, airport freak. Call me crazy, but the least amount of time I can spend in the airport the better. Like most frequent travelers, it’s all about getting in and getting out as quickly as possible. I don’t want a fancy shop or a gourmet meal in the airport. I just want my flights on time and my bags actually following me from location to location. Under that philosophy, the Vancouver airport just may be the best airport for golfers ever. On two recent trips into and out of the airport, my golf bag came out of the ... full post »

Being a Midwesterner by birth and a East Coaster by choice most of my life, I always regarded that “But it’s a dry heat” line desert dwellers throw out there as holding as much truth as “Tastes Great, Less Filling” or a campaign promise. Only after a recent trip to the Phoenix-Scottsdale area, I can report it’s actually valid. Or at least semi valid. Swinging the clubs in 92 degree Phoenix weather isn’t nearly as stifling as it sounds to us Northerners. Now, 120 degrees in July is another matter completely. But 92 in Arizona, not that bad. Almost comfortable. This from ... full post »

Wynn Las Vegas, the just opened Las Vegas shrine to all things money, is impressive enough. All the fresh flowers are a nice touch if you’re not allergic to the beauties. The themelessness of the casino is a welcome departure. And who can quibble with the idea of a Ferrari dealership to browse through on the grounds? But with all that said, it’s still just a casino. Which is why the scene at this week’s opening extravaganza spoke to the ridiculousness of the Las Vegas hype. People waited in line for four hours and more to walk through the doors. Four ... full post »

Well, I did have a root canal scheduled for next week. I guess I can cancel that and go with the more painful option: a golf lesson. Now that my boss has ordered me to take a golf lesson, I’ll be trying out the world of Zen mumbo jumbo and nifty props. (Can’t wait till I get handed a porcupine in one those swing something besides the actual golf club to learn how to swing the golf club properly drills.) I go into it with an open mind (or at least not a completely closed one) and a putrid swing. And you can ... full post »

Yes, I did say that golf instructors always struck me as the modern-day equivalent of snake-oil salesmen or chiropractors in the latest TravelGolf.com newsletter. And yes, I stand by the notion that some of these PGA-certified instructors charge hourly rates that some lawyers would be embarrassed about. But my instructing friends (forget the chiropractors, they’re definitely quacks), I was ready to come over to your side. I was prepared to take my first lessons, see how they improved my horrible hacker game and write about it in a series for BadGolfer.com. I had been swayed by Tim McDonald’s Stepford Wives ... full post »

Majerle’s Sports Grill draws most of the attention in the Phoenix sports bar scene. It’s owned by Suns fan favorite Dan Majerle, it gets the occassional celebrity drop in and it’s in a downtown building with history. If you just want to watch the games though, Upper Deck Sports Grill in Scottsdale is the much better choice. It’s dominated by a HDTV screen that’s bigger than what many movie theaters offer. Surrounding that main screen are tons of other TVs of various sizes spread over two levels with an open-air front (so you can feel like you’re outside enjoying the ... full post »

Be afraid, be very afraid when checking your golf clubs on a flight into SFO (San Francisco International airport for the acronym impaired). On a recent trip to the San Fran area, I had four different golfers volunteer SFO club horror stories to me. They detailed disappeared clubs, but the biggest complaint seemed to be that sometimes the system at SFO makes you wish they had lost your clubs. Because after waiting and waiting to get them, a vanished set can seem like the lesser of two pains. It turns out SFO has this system where oversized bags like golf club ... full post »

Now, I don’t want to start sounding like the resident old crank blogger - Is that Tim McDonald or Archie Bunker? - but hotel parking is one of the last great scams out there. You have to love these establishments that charge you for a room and then turn around and charge your car for a room. The Omni in downtown San Francisco charges $45 for valet parking, plus $7 in taxes. Heck, you could feasibly get a room at the Omni through one of those travel sites for less than it would cost to park your car. No kidding. ... full post »

Walking into the old ferry building along the pier and taking in the bustling, buzzing city market is turning into one of San Francisco’s true pleasures. Whichever city planner decided the ferry building should be renovated and put to use deserves some kudos. The place is usually filled with people from all walks of life, shopping for dinner ingredients, flowers or books, or just hanging out. It’s everything tourist trap Fisherman’s Wharf isn’t. Which means you’ll actually find people who live in San Francisco here and you won’t be paying the pumped-up, tourist-placing plan (Fisherman’s Wharf: Where a meal worth $30 ... full post »

Now that dimwits everywhere are declaring Tiger not so dominant (no surprise to see my favorite Lefty Loving blogger Matt Paulson joining this Mensa society), here’s a little reality check. Tiger Woods is not only going to break Jack Nicklaus’ major wins record, he going to blow by it, to the tune of at least 22 career major titles. Phil Mickelson, on the other hand, will forever be stuck on one. I think the golf-playing rat Brandon Tucker featured in his latest unique blog actually had a better shot at Augusta than Phil. I wouldn’t have been so confident in declaring ... full post »

The yahoos calling up to complain about Tiger Woods’ stance on a tap-in putt (imagine a viewer phoning ABC to say Shaq took an extra half step on a uncontested slam, who cares?) aren’t as funny as yahoos like Tim McDonald who rushed to call Woods’ Masters over after a soggy first round. Here’s a new flash for Tim and the rest of the contrarians: Tiger Woods is no Phil Mickelson. Tiger’s back. He showed it at Doral when he outdrove Mickelson and turned the people’s choker into a quivering mound of yips in that one-on-one Sunday showdown. And for those ... full post »

Vijay Singh may sometimes make Barry Bonds look like a nice guy by comparision (hear Vijay call his old caddie a drunk, etc…) But no one can doubt how intelligently and ruthlessly cunning Singh is. Not after what he did to Phil Mickelson at the Masters. Vijay messed with Phil’s already fragile mind by accusing the defending Masters champ of ripping up the greens at Augusta. Singh claimed that the metal spikes on Mickelson’s new Callaway golf shoes were “unduly damaging the greens,” brought it up to a rules official and had to grin glare when he heard that Phil was ... full post »

The only time Billy Casper embarrassed himself at the Masters is when he refused to take credit for his record-setting folly. That’s when the 73-year-old former champion went bush league. When Casper “no-carded” - declined to submit his scorecard - electing to disqualify himself rather than write his 34-over-par 106 into Augusta’s record books, he became the worst kind of sports baby. Casper effectively turned himself into Jose Hernandez, the forgetably bad baseball player who sat rather than break the major league strikeout record, in 2002. From a man who showed such class in posting that 106, including the 14 on ... full post »

While it did make me reconsider my Phil Mickelson No Masters repeat guarantee when Grandpa McDonald agreed with me, there are more important things to move onto. Like my new favorite golfer and Masters pick Jesper Parnevik. Jesper went to the Masters without his clubs. That’s right, a pro golfer showed up at the biggest golf tournament in the world, sans clubs. Jesper forgot his sticks back home in his garage. He had to call his neighbor Tiger Woods and ask him to swing by his house and…oh, bring his clubs to Augusta. Could there be anything more perfect than this? Here’s ... full post »

Hope that BellSouth trophy was worth it. For Phil Mickelson hurt his already remote repeat chances at Augusta by doing what he does best: pulling out a win in a run-of-the-mill tournament missing the other big names. I don’t want to say that my fellow blogger Doug Carey is suddenly showing the logic of our favorite Nutty Professor, but…Then again, even Kiel Christianson would know to stuff that money he’s hording from college athletes into his own pockets, rather than betting it on Phil. Here’s a news flash Doug: When humorless Vijay Singh takes a weekend off, it’s probably a good idea ... full post »

Even now that Phil Mickelson’s closet has held a green jacket for almost a year, people have trouble seeing the real Lefty. Instead of recognizing that Mickelson’s had his one shinning moment, a once-in-a-lifetime experience when everything came together for a good guy who deserved it, they project future majors dominance. Mickelson will forever be the romantic pick and seldom the realistic one. Phil repeating at Augusta? That would be the equivalent of the Red Sox winning the World Series again this year (even Stephen King would laugh at that one) or Villanova toppling that Patrick Ewing ... full post »

Just in time for that unique three-weekend, Vegas-holiday of March Madness, the MGM Grand unveiled its revamped, revitalized sports book. After several trips (for research of course), the first word that comes up to mind in summing up this great step forward is…blah. The sports book is nice enough, but it’s not close to the worthy of Caesars Palace or Mandalay Bay. Even with the row of cushy chairs in the back, it’s too scrunched in. It’s just not impressive enough. If you are going to make something new in Vegas today, it had better be bigger, ... full post »

Bradley Ogden’s photo is plastered all over Vegas, especially anyone near the Caesars Palace complex that houses the restaurant humbly named…Bradley Ogden. These ubiquitous ads tell the world that Bradley Ogden was named the best new restaurant in the country by the James Beard Foundation, reportedly the Academy Awards of food trophies. Which only makes one wonder if the James Beard people ever left the Caesar grounds. Or if there was a typical travel writer like incentive program. For this restaurant getting named the best of anything is like Cuba Gooding Jr. winning an Oscar for “Boat Trip.” I’m sure Bradley Ogden ... full post »

There is nothing that bothers me more than seeing the elderly get preyed on by scam artists. This is why Tim McDonald’s dispatch from Biloxi on his parking lot encounter affected me so much. Here one of our seniors was, minding his own business, trying to make sure he gets his daily Potassium allowance with that banana and bam!, there’s a sleazy huckster flashing fake diamonds in his face. Where’s the security? What are we as a nation if we can’t protect the seasoned, wise and graying among us? This fits our Biloxi bashing campaign, right Mr. Lewis? Oh yeah, ... full post »

What is it about this big blog board and people’s unwillingness to let the relative little guy get a taste of the huge corporate money pie? First, we had McDonald’s nonsensical argument about appearance fees zapping gazillionaire Tiger Woods’ motivation. Now we have The Nutty Professor, aka Kiel Christianson, trying to protect the institutions that employ him from actually having to pay an extra small stipend for their athletic labor. While I usually enjoy the professor’s off-the-wall rants, he’s gone out of his element here. This is actually a real-life issue and he shows as much ... full post »

With the congressional hearings on steroids in baseball, taking place the same day as America’s betting orgy (otherwise known as the NCAA Tournament or Las Vegas’ real national holiday), there’s only one man to look to for a little perspective. Pete Rose. That’s right, the one and only Charlie Hustle. On a recent visit to Rose’s autograph box on the Las Vegas Strip, baseball’s hit king shared his thoughts on steroids with TravelGolf.com. While being quick to point out he never used steroids, Rose wasn’t exactly broken up by the idea that a record-setting slugger like Mark McGwire may have used ... full post »

Anyone who’s read me, particularly anyone from St. George, Utah (keep the vile coming, fella!) knows that someone who goes by the moniker Grouchy Golf Blog is likely to have a step up in gaining my respect. But not only does Grouchy Golf Blog have an appropriately grumpy name in the often rip-off golf game, he also gets why Phil Mickelson can be so annoying. Working with Lefty Loving Apologists like Matt Paulson , any ally is welcome. For I know the courage it takes to criticize everyone’s darling choker. I happened to mention how you could ... full post »

I’m really starting to worry about my wizened colleague Tim McDonald. Tim, buddy, are you sure you didn’t get swiped upside the head by one of those lions you’re always talking about from your South Africa trip. Your counter arguement against PGA Tour appearance fees sure left my head spinning. The guy stumbling around the corner bus stop makes more coherent points. Heck, even Pete Rose makes more sense than you. Did you actually argue that pro golf is that rare sport where you have to earn everything you get, a sport where Tiger Woods ... full post »

While it’s good to see that McDonald’s moved on from his on-again, off-again lovefest with the Rebel Blogger and found a new topic, he’s off the mark on his appearances fees rant. None of the old dinosaurs who rail about the good old days in sports want to hear this, but appearance fees actually help the game. They get the stars into the lesser tournaments, give the fans the matchups they want to see. Who cares why Tiger, Vijay and Phil all decided to play at Doral? The only important thing is that they did all play. It’s not ... full post »

Basking in the sunshine of another near 80-degree Las Vegas March day, a passing thought goes to all the devoted golfers I know buried under the blowing snow and ice in New Jersey. In East Coast and Midwest outposts everywhere there are committed hackers just itching for the first sign of thaw. By now, these guys are already making late March tee times on hope and a sunny dream. Two of the most sought-after spots in New Jersey will be the heavy-touted Monmouth County-operated courses, Hominy Hill and Howell Park. While both get glowing reviews and star ratings in places like ... full post »

The Palms in Las Vegas has built a lot of mystique and attracted a lot of customers because of the celebrities that frequent its casino and clubs. Everyone knows they frequent it because the Palms gives “tips” to gossip columnists every chance they get. If Matt Damon happens to pass through their lobby one night, you’re reading about it. But like many PR marketing pushes this is much more smoke and mirrors than reality. This is what you really get if you go to the Palms on a Saturday night: People lined up nearly out the doors in their clubbing best, waiting…and ... full post »

Sitting in his box stand on Las Vegas Boulevard, signing autographs for $50 a pop to curious passing tourists on The Strip, Pete Rose found time to rip on the PGA Tour’s library quiet-please attitude. Baseball’s all-time Hit King claims to have been a 10-handicap himself at one point, but that doesn’t mean he feels for the trials and tribulations of Tiger Woods. At least, not when it involves the need for silence. “I’ve played baseball with whiskey bottles being thrown at my head,'’ Rose said. “At Shea Stadium, in New York. I have no sympathy for these golfers who can’t be ... full post »

Anyone who’s been to Las Vegas in the last 20 years has no doubt walked the gauntlet of guys handing out strip club promotional material. And if you haven’t been to Vegas in 20 years, the campaign goes on. Give me break. It’s the 21st Century. Strip clubs haven’t figured a better way to market their product than to thrust their cards into the hands of passing pedestrians? Does anyone still think this is working? No one takes the cards from the poor guys trying to hand them out. And the rare fool from Utah who does just ends up dropping ... full post »

There’s nothing worse than a $200-plus course that turns around and tries to charge golfers $10 for a yardage book that looks like it cost 50 cents (maybe) to produce. When are these high-end, high-dollar, supposedly high-class courses going to learn that gouging the customer for every last nickel is not the way to build any course loyalty. You’re already suctioning out the golfer’s wallet. No need to turn him upside down and shake out his pockets as well. It’s amazing how a little cheap freebie can change most golfers’ view of the experience. Give them a sleeve of ... full post »

The Las Vegas Golf Guru argues that David Esch – Annika Sorenstam’s soon-t0-be ex-husband – made off like a bandit in his debut blog: http://www.lasvegasgolf.com/departments/blogs/dennis.silvers. I’m not so sure about that. Esch is definitely golf’s Kato, but I somehow doubt that Annika has been a joy to live with all these years. At least not if she’s the Annika I encountered as a young reporter in the mid 1990s. Covering LPGA events in Michigan, including a Women’s U.S. Open, dealing with the young, talented and tempermental Annika was no picnic. She was known for making reporters chase her to her courtesy ... full post »

Anyone who’s been to SoCal recently realizes that many of the golf courses think everyone is a movie star. Or at least on a movie star’s generous payroll. Some of these courses are getting as overpaid as Latrell Sprewell. Which is what makes a course like Barona Creek, in the shadow of San Diego, such a deal. This isn’t the best course you will ever play. It’s not worthy of some of the crazy pub it’s been getting as a Top 20 Resort Course. But it is a really good course at great SoCal price ($100 tops green fee, $50 after ... full post »

My fellow blogger Matt rails against celebrity golfers by moaning about watching, “some overweight multi-quadjillionaire blade his fifth out of the sand over the green, prompting a temper tantrum.” One problem. I can’t figure out if he’s talking about Chris Berman, John Daly or Craig Stadler. Which is the point. Golf is the great equalizer of sports. You don’t have to be in any kind of shape whatsoever. You don’t even have to be very skilled at. You can still go out there and have fun playing with almost anyone. This is why Celebrity Golf works. Golf is the one sport that ... full post »

I have a confession to make. A shocking admission really. I’m a lefty and I don’t worship Lefty. That’s right, Phil Mickelson is just another golfer to me, despite our amazing bond of holding a pen in the same hand. This may not seem like a big deal to some. But to anyone who’s ever listened to other left-handed golfers, including a few who blog here right alongside me, would know this could be construded as heresy. Most of us left-handers love Lefty. Because well…he’s lefty. Which is about the most ridiculously lame reason to root for anyone. ... full post »

While my esteemed colleague Tim McDonald treks/stumbles through South Africa, trying to avoid running into any of those dastardly Brits who might say something that offends his tender sensibilites, perhaps perusing possible retirement homes between lion dodgings, I’m making a golf journey through Arizona. It’s not South Africa. But sometimes the paradise you know is as sweet as the exotic locale you don’t. Especially when the rest of the country is in deep, deep freeze. Including those fools in Tampa who thought they left winter behind by following the birds South and instead have now found ... full post »

My senior, seasoned, weathered colleague Tim McDonald’s Paul Casey obsession is bordering on legendary. Legendary lunacy. For reference, see Tim’s latest blog, his latest column, his column before that. Or just wait until tomorrow when he inevitably writes about it again. Can you imagine if President Bush was ripping on someone for daring to speak out against the U.S. the way Tim’s attacked innocent, fun-loving Casey for speaking his mind? Somehow, I think Tim’s blog would be full of freedom of speech, Bush the tyrant, what’s happening to this country rants. Paul Casey told the truth. He “properly ... full post »

Even with the dollar about as strong as Pee Wee Herman against the Euro, Las Vegas courses are struggling to draw European golfers. It is not about getting Europeans to Vegas. Walk The Strip and you are guaranteed to run into French, German and Dutch accents galore. Europeans love Vegas. They just do not love Vegas golf. As Eileen Crawford, the sales manager at the Hyatt Regency Lake Las Vegas, explains it, it is simply hard to get the European golfers to accept Vegas’ golf prices. They are used to paying 40 Euros back home for a ... full post »