Here’s another great restaurant in the Smoky Mountains area: the Sagebrush Steakhouse. It’s in Morristown, where Davy Crockett grew up. It’s one of those huge, wood buildings with big tables and acres of room for when after you eat and you got de big belly. It has some great, local dishes, like cheese pistols, sweetwater salmon (bourbon marinated), grilled mountain trout, rodeo chicken and Billy Boy chicken. Start off with a Sagebrush Pina Colada and/or a Blue Tornado Margarita. Get your sides of bunkhouse beans, kicked up collard greens or Redskin mashed potatoes. Finish the whole deal off with home-made bread pudding. Make no mistake, mountain ... full post »

Deadbeat Pete’s is a great place for vittles in the Smoky Mountains. It’s in Townsend, a very pleasant, non-tourist town, sort of, two minutes away from the Great Smoky Mountain National park. Deadbeat Pete’s is a ramshackle joint, with an outdoor, screened patio overlooking a rock-strewn river. It serves mainly Southwestern food, like the chili bread bowl – home-made chili served in a warm, crusty bread bowl topped with cheese. The menu has a “hillbilly medical glossary.” Sample: “Benign: What you be after you be eight.” full post »

I was surprised to find out Grand Cayman even has golf. This was a few years ago, of course, before I became the leading expert in the Western world on Caribbean golf. The small island, only about six miles wide and 22 miles long, has three courses – one 18-hole layout and two nine-holers. The best course, most people would probably agree, is Blue Tip at the Ritz-Carlton. Designed by Greg Norman, it has the usual impeccable conditioning of Ritz-Carlton courses, and it’s a fun, challenging layout. Officials are talking about adding another nine holes – they should, if they want to ... full post »

You’d think I would know better by now, but every time I leave the country, I’m struck by the differences between American and foreign air carriers. I took a flight on American Airlines to Miami recently. The plane was dark, dingy, cramped and dirty. It felt like being locked in a dungeon. The cranky flight attendants had dark circles under their eyes and smelled like goats. I got the feeling that if I summoned one of them, she’d bite me. They didn’t offer any food and the beverage service, such as it was, was awful. The flight was delayed, as usual ... full post »

I’m tired of all this talk about Tom Watson being the “consummate professional” and all that baloney. I wanted to see him throw a club during his truly horrendous collapse at the U.S. Senior Open at Whistling Straits. This was a meltdown of stupendous proportions, starting the day with a three-stroke lead and skyrocketing to a 78 to finish five strokes back. Yes, he was magnanimous. Yes, he tried to the very end. Yes, he answered all the media’s questions. He even grinned at the end, waving his cap to the crowd. It was unnatural. This is what’s wrong with Tom Watson. He’s ... full post »

I don’t know about you, but I’m hoping the AT&T National becomes a major before The Players Championship in Ponte Vedra. I doubt either one of them ever will – we don’t even know if the AT&T will stay at the Congressional – but if one does, I hope it’s Tiger Wood’s tournament. Woods was a big reason the AT&T was so successful, and why some players said it had the feeling of a “mini-major.” Woods kept the ticket prices low – $25 for a single day-ticket – much, much lower than the Players. Parking was free. At The Players, they charge ... full post »

I’ve been reading about Ashleigh Simon and once interviewed her in South Africa for a story. We sat on a verandah in the hot African sun drinking iced tea, after a round at Glendower Golf Club, one of South Africa’s top courses. She’s sort of that country’s version of Michelle Wie, and she told me then, about two years ago, she wasn’t very interested in playing in men’s tournaments. “I like playing with men in exhibitions, but not competitively,” Simon said. “I feel women should compete against each other and the men should do the same.” She’s reiterated that since turning pro in ... full post »

Michelle Wie has turned down a sponsors exemption to play in the upcoming HSBC Women’s World Match Play Championship, and says it is not because of her wrist injury. Wie would have needed an exemption to play in the prestigious event because she does not qualify for the tournament, which invites the top 30 in the world rankings – Wie is currently 36th. Last year, she was the second seed. Tournament officials and Wie’s representatives said she turned down the invitation, but did not give her reasons. Wie, of course, withdrew from last week’s U.S. Women’s Open, citing her wrist injury. At the ... full post »

When I went to Vietnam on a golf trip a few months back, I met several veterans of the “American War,” as the Vietnamese refer to it. Some were Americans, who appeared largely to have forgiven the Vietnamese people and were eager themselves to make amends. I also met some Vietnamese who had fought in the war, and they seemed to have a much easier time forgetting the bitterness. To them, the war was just one in a long succession of struggles. Then again, I also received letters and e-mail from U.S. vets who said they believed giving tourism money to Vietnam ... full post »

I’m no swing doctor - if you ever saw me take a hack, that would surely be obvious - but it sure looks like legendary golf teacher David Leadbetter has Michelle Wie’s swing all screwed up. It may be due to other factors - her injured wrist, her deflated self-confidence - but I don’t see that beautiful, natural rhythm in her swing any more, especially off the tee. I’ve attended a Leadbetter school. Not with The Legend himself, of course, but one of his minions. The Legend himself only makes himself available to the superstars. They had every kind of newfangled, ... full post »

Jim Furyk is one of the top golfers in the world, and yet he is frequently dissed by so many golf writer, spectators and others. I don’t understand it. Is it his weird swing? The fact he can’t excite the crowds by routinely blasting 300-yard drives? Maybe it’s because he wears shirts that button all the way down? Is it his concave chest and hawk face? His mammoth, gleaming forehead? Too many consonants in his last name? That wacky putting routine? Furyk may not be the most charismatic guy in golf – who the hell is? – but he deserves more respect. He’s ... full post »