Every year for 20 years now, David Butts has been planning a 4-day golf trip for nearly 40 guys. Since 1998, I’ve been fortunate enough to be among them. An invitation to join is coveted, because once you’re in, you’re in for life. This is the most unique group of men I’ve ever met. Not one among them is a jerk, and despite the fact that our ages range from 21 to 83, and our politics and jobs all vary widely, everyone gets along famously. There is some alcohol, but never in excess. The jokes can be bawdy, but never obscene. ... full post »

As far as I can figure out, I’ve been writing for TravelGolf.com longer than anyone else on staff – eight years now. Based on this experience, I want to reassure Stacy and Barry at the Golf for Beginners blog that their experience with the LPGA denying them tournament credentials is nothing personal. The LPGA can just be added to the list of businesses and organizations that are utterly clueless about the Internet and its popularity among golfers. I have covered the 2004 U.S. Women’s Open, the made-for-TV Tylenol Par-3 Shootout, and the Ford Seniors Championship. At one time I wanted to cover ... full post »

One of the great joys of life is coming home to find a new golf club on my front porch. Lucky for me, as an equipment writer, this is almost a daily joy. It’s gotten to the point where my two-year-old son is disappointed when there’s not a long, rectangular box leaning against our front door when we get home in the evening. Another great joy in life is finding (or being found by) small equipment companies, and testing out clubs with sometimes radical, sometimes downright weird designs. Yesterday, my son and I found a box on our porch containing two ... full post »

In Tom Wishon’s book 12 Myths That Could Wreck Your Golf Game, Wishon points out that the numbers on the bottom of your irons don’t mean diddly any more. The critical number is the loft angle. Simply put: The lower the loft angle, the farther the ball will go, with a lower, more boring ball flight and more roll. So what do equipment companies do? They lower the lofts to make it look like their irons go farther than their competitors’. And each time they do, they raise the bar and force other companies to lower their lofts to compete in the ... full post »

Michelle Wie made her first cut in a men’s tournament this weekend (historical!), and finished in a tie for last place (yawn). But I’m not here to debate the relative merits of the SK Telecom Open as a respectable Asian Tour event. I’m here to comment on the putter Wie played – the Nike OZ Black T130. I’m in the process of reviewing this putter for TravelGolf.com, and have yet to decide just how much I like it. I’ve had trouble with it in a round (admittedly a very early round in the season, when nothing much was going right in ... full post »

In my last blog, I noted that TravelGolf.com appears to be a blessing for players and equipment manufacturers. After we write about them, good things happen. As further evidence of this happy phenomenon, I notice that The Secret by Michael Cortson is the second-biggest selling golf book on Amazon.com, within two months of release. This is really quite amazing, given that Cortson, in his own words, is “still hobbling away out there shooting in the 70’s.” You see, Cortson suffered a stroke and was written off by doctors years ago. Instead of dying, he reabilitated himself enough to play golf ... full post »

You’ve all heard of the Sports Illustrated Curse, right? The one that says when you’re featured on the cover of that esteemed periodical, you’re bound to lose. Or get hurt. Or both. Well, it appears we here at TravelGolf.com have the opposite effect. We’ll reverently (if not humbly) refer to it as the TravelGolf.com Blessing. First, I pointed out that the Nike SasQuatch was being used to win a disproportionate number of PGA Tour and world events. Since then, Chad Campbell, Stephen Ames, Rory Sabbatini, and now even Chris Couch have won while wielding the SQ. (Not to mention Tiger Woods, who ... full post »