This may be hard to believe, but those PGA Tour stars you see on your television there might be using a driver they hate. “There’s so many new drivers coming out, manufacturers want you to use their latest driver,” Vijay Singh told Jennifer Gardner of the Tour Van newsletter. “So that’s been always a battle. You get comfortable with one driver and then they come up with a new model and that’s what they are promoting, that’s what you’ve got to use.” Singh and Jerry Kelly said Cleveland asked them to use its HiBore. They did and they hated it, as ... full post »

There’s nothing more laughable on the golf course than a guy who dresses like Beau Brummell and plays like Beau Bridges. You’ve seen them: color-coordinated socks, pleated, khaki shorts with no hint of a wrinkle, the latest, expensive golf shirt, Nike golf cap. These guys always intimidate the hell out of me until I see them swing. My sole objective in dressing myself to play golf is comfort. That’s why I’ve been agitating for years to bring back the Ban-Lon. As a meek form of protest, I haven’t tucked in a golf shirt in two years. People spent $1.6 billion on golf apparel in ... full post »

I love it when golf companies send out press releases, bragging about top, pro golfers using their clubs, but can’t name names because of contractual complexities. The AT&T Classic winner used a Sonartec club when he won the tournament. Let’s see, all the information I have says that would be Zach Johnson. The PR release refers to him variously as: “The AT&T Classic winner,” “The 2007 Masters champion,” and the “Drake University graduate.” “Zach is on Titleist Staff and they own the rights to his name and likeness,” Sonartec spokesman Erik Boysen responded in an e-mail. “That is the reason we cannot use ... full post »

One of the reasons PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem got together with the parcel delivery service and came up with the FedEx Cup was to try and get the marquee players to play more tournaments and drum up more fan interest. Look at some of this year’s winners: Boo Weekley, Charley Hoffman, Paul Goydos, Aaron Baddeley and even old-timer Mark Calcavecchia. As noted analyst Peter Kostis points out, this isn’t exactly a Who’s Who list. It seems like the top players aren’t as excited as the Cup’s sponsors. They’re not exactly going out of their way to adjust their schedules, and if they ... full post »

Orlando is a great place for a family vacation and a great destination in general, but of all the big cities I’ve searched for golf courses in, it has to rank near the bottom. I think it may even be worse than Houston, which hilariously doesn’t have any zoning laws, and where roads and streets switch names at random and for no discernible reason. You absolutely, positively will not get lost trying to find Disney World in Orlando – I think I saw a bright, neon Disney World sign in my hotel bathroom – but looking for a street address anywhere else ... full post »

Of all the amenities at upscale golf courses, the one I love best is unlimited range balls. That’s worth more than all the aggressive ball boys, GPS, cold towels, free apples, gruff rangers, talkative “hosts,” ice-filled coolers and good-looking, scantily-clad cart girls in the world. Well, maybe except for the cart girls. There isn’t much in golf better than walking out to the range before your round and seeing prime, Callaway or some such quality golf balls stacked in neat, little pyramids. No worrying about stupid tokens that don’t fit, code numbers that don’t work or those itty-bitty green bags full of about ... full post »

Ironic, isn’t it, that Ryuji Imada decided not to lay up in the AT&T Classic playoff on Sunday? He was playing against the master of the layup, Zach Johnson, who essentially won the Masters with his masterful layups at Augusta National’s par-5s. Imada, looking at about 250 yards to the par-5 18th, went for it with a 3-wood, came up short and hit the water. Johnson, who hit a much better drive, made a routine par to win. You have to wonder if Imada was worrying about how his manhood would be perceived if he laid up. Macho or not, it was a ... full post »

Ashleigh Simon is a young, female golfer in South Africa who just announced she is turning pro. Almost in the same sentence, she announced she is signing with IMG, a professional sports management agency, Nike and Golf Digest ("exclusive media partner"). And, oh yeah, something called SuperSport, too. All proud partners. This is what it’s like to turn pro these days. It’s all about branding, about corporate sponsorship, about exploiting your natural talent for maximum profit. Hey, I’m not griping, that’s just the way the world is. “We are thrilled,” said IMG. “We are immensely proud,” said another IMG guy. “We are delighted,” said ... full post »

Nick Faldo is doing fine in his job as analyst for The Golf Channel and CBS, but right now, he’s no Johnny Miller. Miller is one of the best analysts in sports, not an easy accomplishment in the staid world of golf. True, sometimes he says outlandish things – where exactly was that pebble in the TPC Sawgrass Stadium course, Johnny? – but he’s more often right than wrong. The only better analyst in sports right now is Charles Barkley. His main attribute, of course, is that he is willing to tell viewers what they just saw and know to be true: ... full post »

Finally, someone with the guts to challenge Tiger Woods. Rory Sabbatini told the world he wanted a piece of Tiger, separating himself from the pack of those who quake around El Tigre, describing him as more beatable than ever. Great copy. Only problem is, he didn’t back it up. We all love big mouths who can back it up. If you can’t back it up, you’re just a big mouth. Final score at Ponte Vedra Beach: Woods: 288. Sabbatini: 289. Even with Woods having a terrible – for him – tournament, Sabbatini couldn’t beat him. Still, I have hopes. Sabbatini is still a very good player ... full post »

The Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables has shut down its classic, Donald Ross golf course in order to “enhance” Ross’ design. The hotel has brought in Brian Silva to do the work. Silva is looking over original plans and studying aerial photos “to ensure that the original Donald Ross design is both preserved and enhanced,” according to the hotel. I played this course, built in the 1930s, months ago and enjoyed it. It’s short, but has classic Ross features; still, I felt a lot more could be done with the course, and apparently the hotel is now following through. All greens, tees and ... full post »

I wonder if anyone other than Tiger Woods could have gotten away with calling the 17th hole at the TPC Sawgrass Stadium course “gimmicky?” The 17th, rightly or wrongly, is the most famous, or infamous, hole at The Players Championship. The Tour promotes it every chance it gets, even televising live action at the 137-yard island green. The 17th is an integral part of a tournament PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem and the boys desperately want to be considered the fifth major. And here’s Tiger Woods calling it a gimmick. You think Finchem had a quiet, little word with Woods after his Tuesday ... full post »

Every year, it’s the same question: Is The Players Championship a major? Jeff Sluman still has the best answer. “When you go to Denny’s and order the Grand Slam breakfast, they don’t give you five things, do they,” Sluman rhetorically asked the media several years ago. For the record, that’s buttermilk pancakes, eggs, bacon and sausage. So, the Players is the cup of coffee in the Kingdom of Golf. For the penultimate story on the issue, click here to read my insightful column on the matter. It’s so piercing and bluntly forceful, it will settle the question once and for all. full post »

Don’t you love these fruit-balls who live on golf courses and get crazy when their homes, or kids, or dogs, are pelted with golf balls? It seems there is always some lawsuit going on involving errant shots and broken glass. To me, this is one of the absurdities of modern, legal life. What, exactly, did you expect when you bought that golf course home, sitting on the right side of a fairway? Don’t you know that most golfers are bad and that 80 percent of average golfers slice? It’s like buying a home on a lake and complaining about the sound ... full post »

We’ve had a PGA Tour tournament delayed by wind this year. What’s next: Smoked out? I just got a press release from the Golf Superintendents Association of America bragging about how Fred Klauk has the TPC Sawgrass all ready for The Players Championship. That’s good. I know Fred. He’s a good man. I’m sure he’s got the Stadium course in tip-top shape. I wonder, though, if he’ll have the world’s largest, outdoor air cleaner ready. You see, I woke up yesterday morning and the world was full of smoke. Panicked, I called the Lee, Florida city hall, and they told me to calm down, ... full post »

Everybody’s making a big deal out of this Tiger Woods/Michael Jordan pairing in the Wachovia Pro-Am. Not bad, but here some pairings I’d rather see: John Daly/Bubba Watson George Bush/Hugo Chavez Natalie Gulbis/Bridget Fonda Natalie Gulbis/Tim McDonald Trump/Rosie Michelle Wie/Chris Baldwin Hillary Clinton/Barrack Obama Bill Clinton/Karl Rove God/Satan (see above) Rush Limbaugh/DEA agent John-Paul Sartre/ Immanuel Kant 101st Airborne (Screaming Eagles)/First Air Cavalry (Big Red 1) Jesus/Mohammad full post »