So Bill Syken, who now writes something called the Daily Blog for SI.Com, is the new master of the counter-trap? Actually, since I never played football, I have no idea what that is. How about the misdirection play? Syken lists three reasons why Tiger is starting to show his human side: The goat, the split, and the bod. The goatee is cool, always has been, always will be. Splitting early from Baltusrol was OK. Just showed that he was on a different plane (double-entendre, get it?) than the rest of the hopeful -2 guys. ... full post »

Let me tell you bout a place, somewhere down a Bandon way, where the people are so gay, putting/chipping/pitching the night away. That’s a song. Gay doesn’t mean homosexual there, just happy. Giddy, even. Delirious is pushing it, but why not. After he designed Bandon Dunes, David McLay Kidd stuck around to design the practice center at the resort. It is so sweet, it’s sweeter than the cranberry treats at all the stores in Old Town Bandon. To begin, it ain’t no open field. The major range is 400 yards deep, with about ten target greens ... full post »

Do whatever you want, baby! Make par 80 for 18 holes. Make the fairways really narrow. Make the course really long. I can promise as a dyed-in-the-wool golfomaniac that someone different will win every week. When one of the greats gets on a run, that train won’t pull in the station for anyone. Heck, I’ve seen Billy Andrade get on a run, winning two in a row and challenging at a major. Just as our swings get quite off track, so does the professional swing deviate microscopically from the zenith. That miniscule deviation, however, ... full post »

Day four brought the final new course experience, courtesy of Pacific Dunes. The shortest of the three courses will leave me with the greatest number of memories. To begin, Tom Doak created the most unique nine of the three courses. After a balanced outward half of one five, one three, and seven four pars, the renowned throwback architect went bananas on the inward half. Four par threes, three par fives, and only two par fours make the back nine at Pacific Dunes the most interesting nine hold stretch I’ve seen in forty years (and I’m only ... full post »

Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw had some familiarity with dunesland when Mike Keiser called on them to build the third course at Bandon. Sand Hills, near Mullen, Nebraska, has moved permanently into the top ten of american golf courses in a short period of time. Again, if you want to pass Go and go straight to the photo tour, do so. If you want words (it takes a thousand of them to make one picture), keep reading. Bandon Trails is the inland golf course at Bandon Dunes resort. The soil is the same, sandy loam that you find on the ... full post »

David McLay Kidd was hired to build the course that would share the name of the resort at Bandon Dunes. From what I’ve read, he had little pedigree to justify owner Mike Keiser’s faith in him. What he created at Bandon is little short of miraculous. To begin, there is nothing like walking and playing over a linksland course. The ground feels hollow and firm at the same time, the lies are tight all around, and you see more sand than you ever see soil between blades of grass. In addition, the Bandon area was ... full post »

The flight from Buffalo to Portland was a long one, with a stop in Chicago. The drive from Portland down I-5 past Eugene was an enlightening one. The drive from I-5 to 38 to 101 was an inspiring one. The great Oregon dunes near North Bend and Coos bay served as a precursor to what I will hopefully face in the next few days as I traverse the fairways of Bandon Dunes, Pacific Dunes, and Bandon Trails. How did RonMon get this plum assignment? Back in the March days of this year, Mrs. RonMon asked her significant ... full post »

While bloodying myself on the front nine at Mill Creek today (I rebounded with 41 from the tips on the back), I had an epiphany. I believe that tour players, if forced to carry their own bags or ride with a partner in a cart, would score higher than they currently do. This is a nice and logical notion, albeit not one that really affects any of us chops. The aspect that does influence us, however, is the inversion; each of us would improve a minimum of five strokes per round (unless you are a 4 or ... full post »

Unlike the convention of ED medications that populate our television screens, permeate our print advertisements, and pervade our web blurbs, technology in golf cannot be said to have increased length for extended periods of time, at least for the average Ramesh and Isolda. Here’s the scoop: we non-professionals hit the ball all over the face of our drivers. Although the sweet spot is theoretically expanded, the expansion does not make it sweet all over. Some sweet spots are sweeter than others. If you hit the face on the heel or the toe, you will hit ... full post »

I’ve had enough. Seven blogs in three days, none of them more than a paragraph long. He has faster fingers than RonMon. Wandering the beaches my ass. More like wandering the web. Who is this Cheap Bastard? He’s not Fat Bastard, that’s for sure. He looks like that Osbourne kid. Give us something of substance, you cheap, dashing bastard! Don’t tell us that Costa Rica has beautiful girls and great coffee. We know that. Tell us about the burgeoning golf industry there, about how the American dads won’t do eco ... full post »

“Nickent reports that the second-place finisher at the Price Cutter Charity Championship used a 3DX ironwood.” When you have abandoned your wife, kids, pets, neighbors, clubs, course, and bag, you can certainly be classified as a real cyber golf nut. In order to be so knighted, you must get cool newsletters like The Wire sent your email doorstep, and read golf blogs (thegolfblog, jam boy) on a semi-hourly basis. Quite often, you come across a headline like the one above. It doesn’t take much research (pgatour.com) to figure out just who that second-place finisher was: “A player using a ... full post »

During the halcyon years of Eisenhower, Joe Finger was commissioned to build the most difficult course in the world. He succeeded, and the Monster course at the Concord (Kiamesha Lake, New York) stands as a living monument to an era of excess. The Monster is incredibly difficult from all sets of tees, with many forced carries that are often unattainable. Until recently, it stood apart from most other courses (save The Reserve at Thunderhill, near Cleveland). Two years ago, the Robert Trent Jones II course opened at Turning Stone resort, between Syracuse and Albany in New York. ... full post »

On Wednesday evening, the 3rd of August, John Daly put aside his barrel and tightrope, and instead took up a golf club, attempting to become the first human to drive the Niagara gorge. In the past, daredevils have ridden the waters of the Horseshoe/Canadian falls (the Niagara is death, with rocks below) within and without barrels, with varying degrees of success. Others would stretch a tightrope from side to side and walk above the churning Niagara, again with varying degrees of success. What Long John did was tee up 20 Locos at Table Rock, on the Canadian side of ... full post »

Chris Baldwin–47 comments (some of these posts were in real time, too!) Jennifer Mario and all the rest of us–less than 47 comments. Say what you like, he makes stuff happen. What is the point of a blog? To make people give opinions on controversial issues. Since the word ‘controversial’ fails to appear in my dictionary, I need to ask Chris where he purchased his Webster’s. I have to laugh when comments refer to Chris’ bacon and eggs. Is there a comparable female cut–"You must have the smallest … in the world!” or “Dudette, it’s confirmed, you have ... full post »