I really love golf. There. Now when the inevitable chorus of, “What does this have to do with golf?” arises, you can just read that first sentence. So, on to the 2007 NBA Draft. This is a day I dread worse than my annual prostate exam. Why? Because history has taught me that my home-state team, the Minnesota Timberwolves cannot make a decent draft pick any more than I can qualify for the U.S. Open. (Oh, there — another golf reference.) Now the team – whose very first exhibition game I attended with such high hopes and bright-eyed naiveté – is shopping around ... full post »

I am, at present, completely enamored of the Duramed Futures Tour. So I am delighted that the “Road to the LPGA” will once again be running through central Illinois this week for the Team WLF.org Golf Classic. The tournament, which is being held at the Kankakee Elks Country Club in Saint Anne, is not nearly as big or prestigious as the Michelob Ultra Duramed Futures Tour Players Championship, which I attended two weeks ago. Nevertheless, all the good things about that “major” still hold for this event: cheap parking, intimate galleries, no entrance fee, and some superior golf. Who will I ... full post »

Over the years, I’ve been fortunate to have covered PGA, LPGA, Champions, and Nationwide Tour events. But I have to admit that I never made the effort to see what the Duramed Futures Tour. Never, that is, before attending the Michelob Ultra Duramed Futures Players Championship at Hickory Point Golf Course in Decatur, Illinois. This tournament is one of the Futures Tour majors, and the purse of $105,000 (winner’s share $14,700) is the largest all year, yet it was modest in comparison to even the Nationwide Tour. Nonetheless, there were 144 golfers from 26 countries competing in the event, and the ... full post »

The highest-profile college walk-on basketball player this season is surely Jeff Jordan, son of NBA legend Michael Jordan. Jeff turned down four-year full rides at several mid-major universities to walk on at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. As luck would have it, UIUC is also where a certain golf writer also serves as a professor. And we all know how much Mike likes golf. So, without further ado, I extend an open invitation to His Airness to play golf here in Champaign-Urbana. My treat. Heck, the poor guy’s got to scrounge up the dough to pay for his kid’s college tuition. The least ... full post »

Raise your hand if you recall the hoopla surrounding Phil Mickelson in the 1999 U.S. Open at Pinehurst, and the beeper he carried around with him in his golf bag. The beeper was in Lefty’s bag that week so that his wife, Amy, could contact him if he went into labor with their first child (daughter Sophia). According to a CNN/SI report at the time, “Mickelson wouldn’t think twice about leaving early. “‘It’s not worth the tournament,’ he said. ‘As important as the U.S. Open is to me and every other player in the field, this is the birth of ... full post »

I don’t know if there was even a girls’ golf team when I attended high school at Minnehaha Academy in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I remember a boys’ golf team, and seem to recall that they were less than stellar. As a matter of fact, I don’t even recall ever hearing any of the guys on the team talking about golf at all. Usually not a good sign of a strong team. So I was skeptical when my mother, who is still a librarian at Minnehaha, introduced me to “a fantastic young golfer” a few years ago. Her name was Katie Detlefsen. All ... full post »

Well, the title of this blog pretty much says it all, don’tcha think? The 2007 U.S. Open Official Website is now open for business. I am literally all a-twitter with excitement. Literally. Twitter…twitter…twitter… Darkhorse prediction: Camilo Villegas, who’s played well at Oakmont before. Horse for courses. full post »

As equipment editor of the WorldGolf.com network and former editor of GolfInstruction.com, I get to play a lot of new golf equipment. Every time I hit the links, there’s something new in my bag that I’m testing for a review. People who play with me know this, and are always asking what I’ve got up my sleeve now. The thing that constantly amazes me is that when I tell them, unless I’m toting the new square-headed driver by Nike or some other big-name club, they’re completely clueless. It seems even avid golfers are generally unaware of smaller club manufacturers, despite whole-page ad ... full post »