I was pulling for Jerry Pate to win the PGA Senior Championship this past weekend, but after Mike Reid’s emotional response after he won the tourney in a playoff, I switched allegiances fast. It was hard to watch Reid almost break down in tears during his post-win, televised interview, but fascinating when you consider that here was a guy who blew two majors in his PGA career, the 1989 Masters and PGA Championship. Reid is a grandfather who plays with outdated clubs – they don’t even make the driver and fairways woods he uses anymore – and has the sort of methodical ... full post »

TravelGolf columnist Nicole Kallis, aka the Tee Time Girl, is getting a lot of exposure lately, good news for her fans. Kallis writes a racy column for BadGolfer.com, and will make an appearance on Real Golf Radio Saturday 6 am Pacific time. “Don’t tune in too late or you’ll miss me and then I’ll have to spank you,” Kallis says, in typical fashion. If you want to see her as well as hear her, check out page 202 in the June issue of Golf Digest. Kallis is the author of “Confessions of a Tee Time Girl,” a book that hilarioulsy spells out ... full post »

A New York Times story confirms what most of us already know – despite all the new high-tech golf equipment, most of us still stink at the game. The National Golf Foundation reports that Americans spent $4.7 billion in 2002 on new golf equipment, but the average score for the average golfer still stands at around 100, as it has for decades. The more serious recreational golfers who turn their scores into the USGA have handicaps that have dropped just 0.5 strokes since 2000. So all the big-head drivers, space-age materials and all those press releases from companies crowing about their latest innovations ... full post »

I’ve been wondering for a long time why the PGA Tour, along with its television partners, tournaments, sponsors, advertisers, and everybody else associated with, seems to hate no-name players winning its tournaments. They don’t come right out and say it, but it’s evidenced in so many subtle ways. I, for one, love seeing upsets, particularly when it’s a nobody upsetting a Tiger Woods or a Phil Mickelson. I happen to think it’s good for the game, at least from the players and fans’ perspective. But, even the fans seem to be buying into this marquee lust. Now, I’m not the brightest transistor ... full post »

For all you golfers out there looking for honest, unbiased golf course reviews, let me give you a glimpse of what we here have to deal with sometimes. Kiel Christiansen wrote a good, objective review of the Ironhorse Golf Club in Tuscola, Illinois. It was overwhelmingly positive. But, here comes director of golf Jerry Williams. He wants to nit and pick the few negatives Christiansen wrote about. For example, he didn’t like Christiansen’s comment about the flowers, for god’s sake. “I don’t want quoted as saying, what many people are complaining about …I just don’t think that is necessary,” Williams wrote in an ... full post »

Jackie Gallagher-Smith’s caddie is using the lamest excuse I’ve ever heard for doing the big nasty with a married woman. He claimed he was an “unwilling sperm donor.” Does that mean he was raped? Did she threaten to use her 1-iron on him? Or was it the other way around? It’s lame, but it’s a line I’ll remember when one of my many groupies tries – once again – to seduce me. full post »