I swore I wouldn’t do it again. Told myself that, by God, I can stop any time. Promised myself last year, when I looked at myself in the mirror at 3 a.m., shivering, unshaven, panic-stricken, that no way in hell would I succumb again to the heroin that is Fantasy Golf. That’s right: 3 a.m. I’d fall asleep, peacefully, gratefully, only to jolt awake in the wee hours, realizing I’d forgotten to change my picks for the weekend, and the deadline for replacing players who’d missed the cut was 5 a.m. Eastern time. Because I was living in Massachusetts at the ... full post »

Golfers can be very particular about their game and all that goes with it. Here are my top 10 pet peeves on the course. 10) Golfers who refuse to walk anywhere, ever, just because they are sharing a cart. 9) Not reparing divots. 8) Rangers who don’t watch where you ball is going even when it’s right by them. 7) Hard-to-find yardage markers. 6) Golfers who make their group wait while they talk on the phone. 5) Not repairing pitch marks on the green. 4) Cart attendants who drive off without checking to make sure you have EVERYTHING off the cart. 3) Cart-path only at all times. 2) Infrequent ... full post »

I’ve caught a few glimpses of 2005 peeking out of the mist swirling inside my crustal Titleist. And since it is my job to share such knowledge with you all, here we go: With Tiger’s schwing in full form (Elin likes to dish when she’s had a few egg nogs, so trust me on this), everyone’s watching his swing. It looks good so far, and should get better. One problem: Vijay’s swing is still as good as ever. Look for these two to fight it out more than once on a Sunday. And look for Vijay to win the big ones. John ... full post »