Nevertheless, as we all know, strokes are much worse in real life than they are in golf, and Bob could use some help from his golfing fans and friends.

In Mary Anne’s own words:

“My aim is to raise enough cash to protect what Bob has built so that he can return to it. My dream is that his Author Editions will go ‘viral’ on the internet so golfers as a whole can get to know Bob’s books. Bob’s books are the most motivational books in golf – shoot, maybe even in sports writing itself. With your help, I think I can turn Bob’s stroke into something inspirational for him and for golf. Bob has given his heart to the game of golf. I would do anything to protect what he has done and can do in the future. Can you help?”

The signed Author Editions of Bob’s books are exquisitely designed, and would make wonderful gifts for the upcoming holiday season. If you’re looking for a truly unique and inspirational gift, or maybe if you simply want to help out one of the truly unique and inspirational golf writers of our day, please visit Bob Thomas Books and order one of these lovely volumes.

Every golfer deserves a friendly mulligan every once in a while.

I’ve just discovered a multifunction divot tool called the DivPro. But to call DivPro a “divot tool” is a massive understatement. I can count at least six functions for this Swiss Army Knife of golf.

First, it is a divot tool with extra-long tines and a sleek, curved shape that fits to your hand and makes the gardening on the green as easy an efficient as possible.

Second, it also has a magnetic ball marker that pops out with a slight push.

So far, pretty standard stuff, right?

Well, next we come to the cigar-holding brackets on the back of the DivPro, which will cradle your precious stogies and keep them several inches above the chemical hazards of the turf.

The brackets also do double-duty as club-holders, upon which you can prop a club or two to keep the grips off the dewy ground.

And those long tines? Well, they are tapered to a point fine enough to scrape out the grooves of your irons, wedges, or crow’s feet (yeah, they filled with sand on that last bunker shot into the wind).

Finally, the truly unique DivPro feature: The butt-end of the tool is slightly pointed, and when the cigar brackets are hooked underneath a beer can, you can pop open the suds from both the top and the bottom, creating a perfect beer shotgun.

The DivPro even comes with instructions for playing Shotgun Golf, including, for example, “A player hits a house, then the player shotguns a beer.”

But whether or not you choose to shotgun brews on the links, even with just five functions, the DivPro is by far the most well-rounded divot tool in the game. In essence, it can get you lit, keep you lit, and fix your divot.

Now if it could just call my wife to tell her I’m staying late to play another nine…

Here are my four favorite DivPro functions.

Many of these fabrics are synthetics, incorporating the flexibility and durability of polyester with newer structures and materials.

Antigua has just introduced its new Desert Dry Extra-Lite (D2XL) line, which improves on their previous moisture-wicking technology.

The line features fabrics that are so light, they almost feel like you’re not wearing anything. Best of all in my opinion, though, is the combination of bamboo fibers into the fabrics of some of the shirts in the line.

The problem I have had in the past with many of the moisture-wicking shirts I’ve tested and reviewed is that once the round is over, it feels like the high-tech material locks in the dampness and doesn’t let it evaporate. The result is a cold, clammy feeling for hours after the round if I don’t change shirts.

In sharp contrast, Antigua’s bamboo fabric not only pulled the sweat off of me during a recent humid round in which I carried my bag for 18 hilly holes. It also allowed the moisture to escape; within a half hour, the shirt felt quite dry and not in the least clammy.

And if you happen to be an ecologically conscious golfer as I am, it is worth noting that bamboo is extremely eco-friendly: grows faster, requires little to no pesticide, and stresses the soil far less than cotton.

Finally, for those of you who like shopping from home, Antigua just announced the opening of its online store, also accessible via the hotlink above.

Antigua’s shirts ($40-$50) are some of the lightest and driest on the market.

According to the AP, “Padraig Harrington and Michelle Wie addressed the IOC in person before the vote. Wie talked about starting to play golf when she was 4 but never being able to dream of an Olympic medal until now.

“‘I can dream about doing something that neither Tiger nor Ernie [Els] have ever done, and that is to make the final putt to win an Olympic gold medal,’” Wie said. ‘If this dream comes true, somewhere in the world there will be another 4-year-old who sees me on that podium and perhaps starts her own Olympic dream.’”

Golf was approved 63-27 with two abstentions, and will stage a 72-hole stroke-play tournament for men and women, with 60 players in each field.

Interestingly, Michelle Wie can already say she’s done something that President Obama hasn’t done: Deliver a successful plea to the IOC.

Of course, Obama just one-upped Wie in the Nobel Peace Prize category, too.

Anyway, welcome back, golf! We here at WorldGolf.com always knew you were a World Sport (hence the name). All the IOC had to do was ask us.

That’s the premise for “The Back Nine,” a golf documentary that is as much about Fitzgerald himself as it is about golf.

To be fair, however, in order to understand Fitzgerald’s quixotic journey, one must understand the man who decides to mount up on his donkey, driver in hand, and tilt at golf courses.

Being a film-festival organizer, Fitzgerald knows what it takes to produce both a slick film and a compelling story. The conundrum he faces, though, in the making of his film is the same as that faced by golf authors and story-tellers in any medium: How do you make a story about golf also be about more? In other words, how do you appeal to a larger audience?

I watched “The Back Nine” with my brother-in-law, and we both had the same response at the end: “I would have liked to have seen more of the golf.”

According to Fitzgerald, though, he has received very positive feedback from golfers and non-golfers alike on the “chasing the dream” theme of the film.

“While we certainly wanted to appeal to golfers as our core audience,” wrote Fitzgerald in a recent e-mail, “what it seems we’ve ended up with is a story that crosses over to general audiences - similar to ‘Hoop Dreams.’”

It turns out that for Fitzgerald, the game of golf is intertwined with his relationship with his father, his step-father, his day job, and his own lovely family. Through the course of the film, viewers are shown how his various relationships are tested and ultimately strengthened by golf. This is sometimes quite moving, for example when he visits Scotland with his biological father, or when he says good-bye to his daughter before leaving for a tournament.

Golfers watching this film will be impressed by Fitzgerald’s improvement. He lowers his12-handicap by 11 strokes and qualifies for the Amateur Tour National Championship in just 18 months, thanks to hard work…and to elite swing-training, a tailored fitness program, and all the technological advantages available to PGA Tour pros.

It seems that golfers in the audience cannot help but be inspired by his progress, and by the dedication and guts he shows.

To be honest, though, my brother-in-law and I wanted to see more of these details: Did he get fit for clubs? How did his launch monitor stats change over time? What drills did he find especially useful? What sort of strength training did he do?

However, for people who might not be so into the intricacies of the game, perhaps the self-reflection about his father(s) and family and work is more interesting. For us, well, we sort of felt that there might be something to be said for not thinking too much (or at least not sharing so much of it on film).

In the end, we truly enjoyed the excellent camera work, the flashes of insight into serious game-improvement, and the evocative scenes from Scotland and Ireland. We also acknowledged, along with Fitzgerald, that, yes, indeed, golf is like life. (But we knew this.) And yes, sure enough, life gets in the way of golf. I mean, instead of teeing it up on this gorgeous day, I’m writing this review.

But I’m not making a film about it.

(To get your own copy of “The Back Nine,” try Golfsmith or GSI outlets.)

And because night-golf is played in the pitch dark with glowing golf balls and glow-stick-lit flagsticks, even the players don’t know what they’re missing – or hitting, for that matter.

Nevertheless, we rang up eight birdies against just one bogey on the devilish greens of the par-3 course at Lake of the Woods Golf Course, starting off with a miraculous putt from the fringe, followed by an other-worldy chip-in from across the green, and then three straight one-putts … in the pitch dark.

We soon realized that the less we thought about things like break and speed and, well, pretty much anything one normally fixates on during golf, and just FELT our way around the inky blackness, the better we did. Sort of a Jedi thing, with putters instead of light-sabers.

Thus relieved of cognition, we began drinking. Sure enough, we got even better.

As I am always enthusiastic about a wee tipple, I thought I’d share one of my new favorite drinks, which was shared with me by my friends at Ketel One, the famed Dutch vodka: The Ultimate Cucumber Cooler.

Ingredients
1 1/2 ounces Ketel One Citroen vodka
1/4 Seedless cucumber, thinly sliced
2 Lime quarters
2 oz. Chilled Ginger Beer

Preparation
1. Muddle all but one of the cucumber slices with the lime quarters.
2. Add ice and vodka, shake well and strain into an ice-filled highball glass.
3. Top with ginger beer.
4. Garnish with a cucumber slice.

Tournament patrons at the upcoming TOUR Championship can cool off at the Club Ketel One lounge and enjoy one of these refreshing cocktails. If you can’t make it to the tournament - or if you have no interest in the tournament - you can always toast Arnold Palmer’s 80th year with a Ketel One, as it is in fact The King’s vodka of choice.

As for me, I’ll be drinking to a resounding, nay, epic, night-golf victory - Salud!

I’m Tired Of makes bracelets from recycled and renewable materials that say things like “I’m tired of cancer” and “I’m tired of global warming.” The black rubber and green metal bracelet I received said, “I’m Tired of Bogeys", and lord knows I am tired of those.

More importantly, though, is that half of the $10 price of each bracelet goes to Caddy For A Cure, a not for profit organization that supports and funds over a dozen different regional and national charities, including the Wounded Warrior Project, Fanconi Anemia Research Fund, PGA TOUR caddy Benevolent Fund, Alzheimer’s Foundation, St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, and the Tiger Woods Foundation.

So I donned my bracelet and headed to the links to show my support for good works and my disdain for bogeys.

Sadly, even good karma can’t redeem my game. Perhaps my bracelet should say, “I’m tired of double-bogeys” instead.

A number of groups have contacted me recently about helping to get the word out about their deserving causes, so I thought I’d devote a few blogs to them.

The first of these is a charity bicycle ride in October that begins in Scottsdale, Arizona on the 14th and ends 430 miles later in San Diego, California on the 17th.

The objective of the ride is to raise funds and awareness for The Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund. The IMSFF is a 501c3 organization that has given more than 15,000 grants and over $31 million to Marines and Sailors who suffer from life threatening illnesses or who have been injured in combat or training. This year the ride will be joined by PGA Tour pro Mark Hensby, who has volunteered to not only help in raising funds, but also to ride the 430 miles to San Diego.

Holy smokin’ Moses! Did I just type “430 miles"?

To support the IMSFF and Hensby in his valiant, if masochistic, effort, click here and donate to this worthy cause.

Laura Davies was the first Euro to raise the issue. “Is Hawai’i even in the U.S.?” she asked. “I’ve been watching FOX News a bit—which we all know is fair and balanced—and they seem to believe that it is not.”

Suzann Pettersen, a native of Norway, also raised the issue, when she noted, “In Norway, we used to etch birth records into the shells of hollowed eggs. Can Michelle Wie, if that is her real name, produce even an eggshell? Or a plate of lutefisk? God, I could use a nice plate of lutefisk right about now.”

At this time, there is no response from the U.S. Team other than clearly audible derisive laughter and lots of terrorist-like knuckle-bumping. Stay tuned for further developments…

Kim just birdied the par-3 16th with a superb downhill six-footer. She and Tania Elosegui are now dormie. Kim’s tee shot hit a foot or so from the pin, and if it had gone in, I believe her head would have exploded.

Not sure what the rules say about that sort of thing.

Now, Michelle Wie went unbeaten, 3-0-1, and deserves some thought as MVP. But Kim is pure dynamite, and whether you like her antics or not, there’s no question that she is pumping up the fans and her teammates.

And you know what, when you play as well as Kim does, you are allowed to be rowdy.

Class, from beginning to end.

And, according to Inkster herself, this is her last Solheim Cup. “I’m not pulling a Brett Favre,” she quipped.

Well…her last Solheim Cup as a player, that is. Inkster will be a great Captain someday.

The U.S opened with two strong performances from Paula Creamer and Angela Stanford, and Michelle Wie is 1-up with one hole to go against Helen Alfredsson. Can Wie close it out??

How does one go about intimidating without sacrificing sportsmanship?

Well, one way is to knock approaches absolutely stiff. On the par-5 2nd hole at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Illinois, Helen Alfredsson hit an excellent second shot to about four feet. Then Michelle Wie stepped up to her ball and fired a laser to three feet.

Alfredsson missed her eagle putt by inches. Wie didn’t miss hers.

Lose a hole when you card a birdie? That’s intimidating.

As for more imaginative ways to intimidate, I’m at somewhat of a loss. Heck, I can’t even intimidate my own six-year-old. But I would imagine that the steely glare of Suzann Pettersen would get an opponent sweating just a bit. However, Petterson’s opponent today, Paula Creamer, doesn’t seem perturbed at all by Pettersen’s icy demeanor.

As for Creamer herself, I have no idea how she intimidates anyone – she’s just too darn adorable. Even when she’s glaring and grimacing and growling.

Well, every player has their own cross to carry, I suppose. And as of now, Creamer is also carrying a 1-up lead into the 12th hole.

Paula Creamer, when not in intimidating match-play mode.

One thing that strikes me about the fans is how well-coordinated the chants are, and how pep-rally-like the rally of “U.S.A.! U.S.A.!” There are even leaders for all of these, some of whom are peppily spelling out the letters with their arms.

The scattered European fans are understandably less numerous and more sedate, but they chip in with their own “Olay, olay, olay, olay!” when the U.S. fans stop to take a breath. And to their credit, the U.S. fans politely applaud when the Euros have said their piece.

That is, they do so everywhere but on the first tee. The fans in those somewhat pinched bleachers are absolutely rabid. I’ve seen quieter groups at raves. And when Christina Kim bounded onto the first tee, it was like Phish walking on stage at a hippie-fest. The roar was deafening. The talking heads at the Golf Channel have named her Rock Star Christina, and for good reason. I cannot recall a more demonstrative and FUN player to watch at any event, of any gender.

Quick update: Paula Creamer just went 1-up on Suzanne Petterson for the first time in their match, and Morgan Pressel just holed a bunker shot to go 1-up on Anna Nordqvist.

As I trudged, I also eavesdropped on the fans streaming in. Over a half-dozen times I heard someone exclaim, “Ohh, Paula Creamer off first. That’s strong!” I thought, Well, it had better be. It’s all knotted up 8-8.

Then on the Golf Channel in the media center, I heard analysts muse about the “front-loaded” U.S. Team. Here are the pairings:

10:05 a.m. Suzann Pettersen vs. Paula Creamer
10:15 a.m. Becky Brewerton vs. Angela Stanford
10:25 a.m. Helen Alfredsson vs. Michelle Wie
10:35 a.m. Laura Davies vs. Brittany Lang
10:45 a.m. Gwladys Nocera vs. Juli Inkster
10:55 a.m. Catriona Matthew vs. Kristy McPherson
11:05 a.m. Sophie Gustafson vs. Brittany Lincicome
11:15 a.m. Diana Luna vs. Nicole Castrale
11:25 a.m. Tania Elosegui vs. Christina Kim
11:35 a.m. Maria Hjorth vs. Cristie Kerr
11:45 a.m. Anna Nordqvist vs. Morgan Pressel
11:55 a.m. Janice Moodie vs. Natalie Gulbis

I’m not sure I agree with the “front-loading” analysis, though. Match two pits Angela Stanford (0-2-1) of the U.S. against Becky Brewerton (2-1-0). Instead, it looks like Captain Beth Daniel is interleaving her stronger and weaker players, and then toward the end, placing a couple of players who have not played well this week (Pressel, Gulbis). So I suppose in that sense it’s “front-loaded,” but for the most part, it seems more staggered.

On a personal note, it is a real pleasure to watch players like Creamer, Wie, Kim, and Lincicome again, now that they are pre-eminent professionals. The first time I watched and reported on any of these outstanding players was at the 2004 U.S. Women’s Open. Back then, Creamer, Pressel, and Wie were much-heralded amateurs, Lincicome was an unknown who actually lead the Open after 36 holes (if memory serves), Kim was an unknown rookie, and Gulbis was a pin-up girl.

What a difference five short years make!