I’ve been fielding calls and e-mails from friends and family all day with the same questions … Where are you? Are you home yet? Did you hear about the hurricane? Yes, I’m back in the cool, friendly confines of Michigan. Thankfully. As much as I’d love to stay and play more golf in Mexico’s beautiful Baja Peninsula as long as possible, I flew home Sunday, Aug. 30, just in time. Hurricane Jimena, a dangerous Category 4 storm, is closing in on Los Cabos. According to reports, it could land anywhere from Cabo San Lucas to La Paz, where I spent ... full post »

The year 2010 is shaping up to be the biggest in the Seattle area in more than a decade. Not since the 1998 PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club, won by Vijay Singh, has there been such a palpable buzz of anticipation about tournament golf in the Pacific Northwest. After spending two weeks exploring the Emerald city’s underrated golf scene, I better understand just how rare it is for such prestigious tournaments to come to town. Seattle’s golf nuts can thank the USGA for generating the excitement. Sahalee will host the 2010 U.S. Senior Open almost as a serenade to ... full post »

We all know about the TPC of Sawgrass, home of the island green and The Players Championship. The TPC of Scottsdale’s Stadium course, host of the FBR Open, has its own signature hole, the raucous par-3 16th that is home to thousands of partying, screaming fans. But did you know there’s another TPC course on TV every year with a hole just as dramatic as those two? The 14th hole at the TPC at Snoqualmie Ridge in Washington state doesn’t get comparable fanfare, but I’m here to make believers out of anyone who will listen that it’s just as good, if ... full post »

I’ve often wondered this age-old question: What do your putt-putt scores really mean? I’m no rock-star putter. I’ve got a sort of Billy Mayfair stroke that cuts across the ball. Generally, though, I’m a solid putter. I don’t make a lot, but I don’t make a fool of myself, either. At least not until yesterday. For the first time, my son Carter, who’s 7, beat me in putt-putt at a hilly, Pirate-themed joint in Canton Township, MI. I kid you not. The battle was fair and square. He whipped me by five strokes over 18 holes (I gave him one do-over ... full post »