Certain Scots will tell you that St. Andrews may be the birthplace of golf, but the oldest extant links are in Edinburgh, at Musselburgh Old Links. Still, with the immense historical import of Scotland’s second-largest city, including the castle, the universities, and the Royal Mile, Edinburgh is not only the second most-visited tourist city in Europe, it is also a fantastic starting point and ending point for golf vacations. Or so I thought. I arrived this morning in Edinburgh, with my wife and two kids in tow. On my way to golf at St. Andrews (including the yet-to-officially-open Castle Course) and in the ... full post »

Once again, I’m in Indianapolis for the Indianapolis 500 weekend. And thank God, it was years ago that I decided to stop attending the race itself. The following observation and/or opinion is bound to incite vehement protests from race fans, but I find auto racing to be just about the most boring sport on the planet. This may sound odd coming from someone who will watch golf on television all day long. Nevertheless, both in person and on TV, auto racing – be it open-wheel Indy Car or NASCAR – is just plain dull. Drive fast, turn left. Repeat. Can’t see the drivers. ... full post »

It’s a rare couple of weeks that sees golf-related stories getting attention in the non-sporting news world. First, Tiger Woods was named by MEN’S FITNESS magazine as America’s Fittest Guy. Then, President Bush stated (in an extremely awkward interview) that he had given up golf in some sort of display of solidarity with the troops in Iraq. Now, the great thing about golf in my opinion is that it is one of the few professional sports that allow us regular folk to compare ourselves with the pros. Just as Tiger can nail a 40-foot putt, so can we (though far less often). ... full post »

Dearest Friends in Golf, We are gathered here today to remember Old Tom Morris, who on this day in 1908, passed from this world through a darkened doorway he thought was the door to the loo. He was 86 at the time, and had outlived his wife, and his son, and most everyone whom he had loved. He had ensured, however, that one great love – golf – would live on in perpetuity. Despite the best efforts of modern myth-makers, Old Tom was not a myth. He was a flesh and blood man, complete with his own foibles and follies. He was ... full post »

It’s nice when a small equipment company makes good. We were one of the first publications to review the Tour Edge Exotics fairway woods, and this year, the newest incarnation of the Exotics line has rated at the top of the lists of some major traditional golf publications lists. The Illinois-based company, which actually got its start filling up some box store bargain bins, has launched a new website to tout its growing line of increasingly Tour-proven equipment. The nice thing is that despite the high quality and extremely competitive performance of Tour Edge’s equipment, prices remain low in comparison to some of ... full post »

Paul Goydos is 42 years old, and a portly 5″9″, 190 lbs. He hits sort of a cut shot (i.e, a controlled slice), not terribly far, but extremely reliable. He putts with one of those huge, ugly mallet putters – a TaylorMade Rossa Monza – that looks like a model of a space ship, or a branding iron, or a medical device. And he doesn’t even have a sponsor. He wears a hat with the logo of the Long Beach State 49ers, and a mock turtleneck in the final rounds of The Players Championship. When Goydos was asked why he buttoned ... full post »

We here in the Midwest apparently don’t deserve more than two warm, dry days in a row. Farmers cannot get their crops in the soil, and golfers cannot get their tees in the turf. It’s a toss-up, at this point, as to who is more frustrated. So two days ago, when it was actually sunny AND 74 degrees, I headed to the course faster than Charlie Sheen to a bordello. I even put on a brand new golf shirt to celebrate: A black Callaway X Series Drysport polo (MSRP $30). It was comfortable and light, almost like wearing nothing at all, ... full post »