Thanks to one of those multiply-forwarded e-mails I rarely read, an interesting quirk of the Internet came to my attention this morning: Google “failure.” Depending on your political bent, the top result will strike you as funny, unpatriotic, conspiratorial, true, false, lame, hilarious, sad, or something in between. Two facts cannot be disputed, however. One, it is an official source. And two, it has nothing to do with Phil Mickelson at the U.S. Open. full post »

Say you’re a college golf coach, faced with a cocky crew of flat-bellied, pimply-faced new players who can drive the ball 300 yards hungover and think they can beat the world left-handed? How do you grab control – and respect – early? One way is by stepping up to the tee box with a staff bag full of street cred. Just ask Mike Small, coach of the University of Illinois Men’s Golf Team in Urbana-Champaign. You see, Small has played in his share of PGA Championships, and this year at Medinah, he’ll be hitting the inaugural shot at 7:00 a.m. CDT. Small made ... full post »

“The cart boy” is one swanky service I can do without I’m sure some golfers love to be coddled. Love to have their clubs wiped and carried to the bag drop or car. I, for one, cannot stand the obsequiousness of the cart boy. The reason is simple: Every time someone other than myself returns the cart, I lose something. I recently played the TPC Deere Run in Sivis, Illinois, where first-rate service is standard. Before I could say, “Don’t touch a thing on my bag or cart, and I’ll still tip you,” the fawning young lad was all over my stuff. Sure ... full post »