Golfers tend to be macho. Even if they have triple the IQ of your smartest Ultimate Fighting Championship fan. They also tend to be slightly more determined to get their golf in than a pit bull is to finish off a 2-year-old’s arm. This can lead many a golfer to dismiss that lightning flash on the horizon. It’s too far away to worry. Besides I’m putting for eagle on this par 5. In Tucson this is an especially bad idea. I was playing with Canoa Ranch head pro Dave Powell when lightning started flashing over the mountains. Like any self-respecting golfer, I ... full post »

Those who want to deride Tiger Woods for playing smart golf are looking to the wrong sport. Forget for a moment how ludicrous it is for people to be questioning Tiger like he’s some punk newcomer to golf who needs to prove something. Especially when most of these folks are just mad that Tiger once again made one of their idiotic forecasts of his impending failure look as intelligent as that neighborhood dog who eats his own refuse. For while this collection of potential Paris Hilton Jeopardy co-contestants tried anyway to knock Tiger career win No. 56, they missed a truly ... full post »

I’ve never been a big hard liquor guy. I leave that to WorldGolf.com’s Brandon Tucker who’s still so excited whenever he gets served (fake IDs are a wonderful thing) that he’ll drink motor oil. Or to Tim McDonald who’s taken to making recreational drug use confessions a la Barack Obama. (Maybe McDonald’s planning a run for president of the Octogenarians Society of America). If you’re golfing in Tucson though, there’s one hard liquor experience you need to partake in. Every night at 5:30 in the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort’s big outdoor patio bar, there is a free tequila toast. Vanish all ... full post »

There are few moral dilemmas in golf writing. Tell the truth about the golf courses you play - especially their condition - and the destinations you visit, always keep your readers, the regular golfers who will be putting their hard-earned money down for those greens fees, in mind. It’s pretty simple. And the fact that TravelGolf.com is considered unique because it has a staff that does this is more damning on the general state of travel writing than deserving of a slap on the back. We simply tell the truths that all golf publications should tell. Still even here, you occasionally come ... full post »

Let’s face it. when it comes to getting in trouble with law, the PGA Tour guys have long been rank amateurs. Their biggest crime is often their fashion sense (yes, you Sergio Garcia and those yellow pants). You don’t even see many DUIs from this staid crowd. Which is why it’s so refreshing to see Arjun Atwal stepping up to give the Tour a fighting chance against the the NFL. Atwal is under investigation for his role in a fatal crash in Orlando. Police say that this appears to have been a high-speed street race that took the life of the other ... full post »

One of the things that makes Dave Berner such a good host of TravelGolf.com’s weekly podcast is his ability to ask questions that others never think of. He asked me a question on a recent show which opened my eyes to a truth that had been staring me in the face unnoticed. Arizona wallops Florida in spring training golf. And it’s not even that close. It’s like the beating Ryan Howard puts on the baseball. Sure, Howard - the most exciting player in the game - practices in Florida, but that’s it. The not-so-Sunshine-State’s lone advantage. Look, spring training in Florida is great. ... full post »

It’s no secret that Duke basketball is the phoniest sports program in America led by the phoniest coach in the world. When Gerald Henderson went Blue Devil - common translation: acted like a baby - over North Carolina putting another pounding on Coach K’s mob squad - and smashed Tar Heel star Tyler Hansbrough in the face with an elbow of whine, more people just woke up to the truth. As usual, Coach K went into his usual holier-than-thou fraud routine that’s fooled so many over the years. Mike Krzyzewski’s basic defense was that WE’RE DUKE AND WE DON’T DO THAT ... full post »

One of the things that always gave Phoenix-Scottsdale a major advantage over Tucson in the race for winter getaway golfers is the ease of getting direct flights into Phoenix Sky Harbor from almost anywhere. The Valley still holds a clear edge in this regard, but the gap is shrinking. Tucson head pros say they’re seeing more and more East Coast golfers find their way to Arizona’s second golf mecca. This influx not coincidently coincides with a number of direct routes being added from the East to Tucson in the last few years. Particularly in the New York market. JetBlue flies direct to ... full post »

Before the first group teed off at the Honda Classic, I wrote that the PGA Tour needs more courses like the renovated PGA National Champion Course. It turns out that the actual Tour players agree and then some. “It’s the best course, the best test, we play on the tour,” fifth-place finisher Robert Allenby told TC Palm newspapers. Champion, the best course on the whole PGA Tour? Sure, Allenby’s no doubt not including the venues for the majors and other non-PGA-Tour-run events. But that’s still some mad love. Somewhere in the back swamps of the Sunshine State, TravelGolf.com’s own crazed Florida guru with ... full post »

John Daly was minding his own business at the Honda Classic when disaster struck …. Someone clicked a camera. And we all know how crippling that can be right? No, actually we don’t. Only Big John with the little heart does. For when Daly heard a camera click, he whirled around to glare and apparently ended up busting his ribs. Or at least causing them to go ouch. Slightly. So Daly did when any true dedicated professional would: He quit. Right there on the spot, two holes into the first round. Just when you thought John Daly could not embarrass golf anymore … It’s bad enough ... full post »