I rescind my demand for Jack Nicklaus to be U.S. Ryder Cup captain. Nicklaus conceded a 3-foot putt to Vijay Singh on the 18th hole in the first round of the President’s Cup to give the international team its only point, a half point actually. Then, he credited Phil Mickelson and Woody Austin with the decision. Only Mickelson said it was Nicklaus’ decision and that he, Mickelson, would probably not have conceded the putt, according to several reports. Look, any time you get a chance to humiliate Singh, do it. They’ve gone overboard with this sportsmanship stuff. The Ryder Cup threatened to get out ... full post »

I would really, really like to play and review the Nullarbor Plain golf course in Australia. Then, I could write: “The golf course has some length to it. From the back tees, it plays 750 miles.” When my editors called me, I could say: “Dude, I DID check my facts. Go back to your dank cubby hole and your Natalie Gulbis calendar.” It isn’t actually totally built yet, but Australian officials have already put up some money to turn the Nullarbor Plain, a vast, semi-arid region between western and southern Australia, into a golf course. The layout would be spread out through the various ... full post »

Got any hickory-shaft clubs laying around? How about some knickers? The Kiawah Island Golf Resort is holding the Hickory Golf Challenge in late February, on the Ocean course, one of a series of events it’s holding next year. I’ve played the Ocean course with the best modern technology can offer and it beat me like a red-headed step-child. The club says it has some old-school clubs for the event, but you’re on your own as far as the knickers, dress shirts and ties. There is, of course, a group of people who cling to the old ways, the Society of Hickory Golfers, who ... full post »

The Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club, one of my favorite golf resorts in Florida, has done some dramatic renovations on its Island course. The Island course, one of four at the resort, is considered second to the Copperhead, one of the better courses in the Tampa area, but one that many consider more scenic. The resort, which is under new ownership, replaced all 18 greens with TifEagle, added new championship tees and about 300 yards to the layout, which now measures 7,300 yards from the tips. The 11th hole is now a 520-yard par-4. The resort also plans to renovate its three ... full post »

I blogged the other day about how the Fed Ex Cup needs to be tweaked, and how the penultimate tournament, the Tour Championship, should be winner-take-all. Now, it comes to light, after the math geniuses analyzed the complicated numbers that no one other than Stephen Hawking understands, that Tiger Woods could have spent that week on his yacht with wife Elin and STILL won the Cup. I have no problem with the Fed Ex being a season-long points race, if that’s what they want it to be. But, to call these “playoffs” is ludicrous and misleading. It’s generating fake excitement. Why not have ... full post »

The first Fed Ex Cup is over and I’m betting most of the known world still doesn’t know what happened. Even CBS said it would not bore us with all the details. Oh, we all know Tiger Woods won it. No surprise there. And in truth, even the PGA Tour can’t do anything about the way Woods has been dominating everything this year. But, the Tour has promised it will do some tweaking after this year if it needed it. It needs it. The first thing it should do is widen the field of possible winners. Going into the Tour Championship, only a ... full post »

I remember being at East Lake earlier this year, when they were all excited about hosting the Tour Championship, the final tournament of the Fed Ex Cup. Now, sitting here watching the Fed Ex Cup, I’m a little confused. It’s almost as if the tournament itself is forgotten. For example, Sergio Garcia and Zach Johnson are high on the leaderboard, but – there is no other way to say it – who the hell cares? The only thing that’s really interesting is who is going to finish second in the Fed Ex Cup and win 30 gazillion dollars, and Garcia and Johnson ... full post »

MYRTLE BEACH – I probably shouldn’t say this for selfish reasons, but I don’t understand why more people don’t visit Myrtle Beach in September and October. Yes, there is some over-seeding going on, but it’s worth it to avoid the hordes of tourists that clog the golf courses like fire ants. We played Pawleys Plantation last week, and almost had the course to ourselves. We saw two other groups the whole day. Nobody behind us. Nobody in front of us. We played in a little under four hours, at a leisurely pace. Pawleys is a great play at pretty much any time of ... full post »