Twenty PGA Tour players are helping to re-build the Katrina-ravaged Mississippi Gulf Coast again. Jerry Kelly was the impetus last year, when he and tour official Mickey Bradley, from Biloxi, organized a pro-am event in just 30 days. Nineteen other PGA Tour players played and $76,000 was raised. With help from 84 Lumber, Habitat for Humanity of the Mississippi Gulf Coast built three homes in less than a year. It was supposed to be a one-time deal, but they’ve decided to keep it going until they’ve built 15 homes. This year’s event is scheduled the day after the last PGA Tour event in Florida, ... full post »

It’s odd to think an invasion could be going on and George Bush didn’t provoke it. It’s those European colonialists again. The European Tour is holding a couple of tournaments in Asia next year, the Indian Masters and the Korea Open. The problem is neither tournament is officially sanctioned by the Asian Tour. The Asians aren’t happy about it. The European Tour, on the other hand, say they have given the Asian Tour half of the proceeds from their co-sponsored events for years, while doing most of the work and spending most of the money. Also, Asians can play on the European Tour, ... full post »

I’m kind of enjoying the Fall Series, I’m a little bit embarrassed to admit, but I can see why a lot of people are dissing it. What other sport has this sort of anti-climactic denouement? It’s like the handful of NFL teams who didn’t make it to the playoffs getting together after the Super Bowl. Ah, let’s play, just for the hell of it. It’s like the Nets challenging the Knicks after the Spurs win the NBA title. Besides, it’s interesting to see what the PGA Tour would look like if it had no stars, no money and no galleries. Go, Daniel Chopra! full post »

Got a great new golf course for you. If this one doesn’t make it onto all those “best new” lists, then I’m going to put the system on trial! Old Corkscrew Golf Club is in Estero, Florida, near Ft. Myers. It’s so brand new you can almost smell the wrapping paper. They’re putting the finishing touches on the clubhouse and the carts are under a big tent. The course is a doozy, a big, raw brute of a layout in some of the wildest, prettiest scenery in Southwest Florida. There are absolutely no homes around the nearly 7,400-yard layout. Jack Nicklaus is the ... full post »

The Bangkok Post certainly doesn’t consider itself politically correct. Here’s what an article in the paper says about the Honda LPGA Thailand in Pattaya at the Siam Country Club, an event that attracted Annika Sorenstam, Suzann Petterson, Morgan Pressel and Paula Creamer, among others. “Watching a women’s golf tournament can be fun although it is less rigorous – and probably less exciting – than a men’s event. “Many men attend a women’s tournament only to see beautiful or sexy players. Many LPGA stars are really beautiful and well-dressed. “However, some men refuse to study female players’ swings or their game plans probably because they ... full post »

Yes, it’s true there are similarities between Big John Daly, the chain-smoking big guy with the liquor and gambling problem and Michelle Wie, the presumptuous, would-be superstar. Both are fan favorites, partly because they hit it a mile. Both get far too many exemptions. And neither can play golf very well at the moment. Daly didn’t have much to say to anyone after the Ginn sur Mer Classic pro-am Wednesday. He’s had another mediocre year, in which the two-time major winner’s best finish was a 16th at the Buick Open. “It just baffles me, to be able to hit the ball as far as ... full post »

I’m always struck by the hypocrisy of big, oceanfront resorts that beg you to save the turtles. I’m driving around a fancy, Florida resort island. I used to come down here years ago, fishing the Ten Thousand Islands. It was an unbelievable paradise. I won’t tell you the name (Hint: it’s Marco Island). Today, it’s crammed full of homes, resorts, expensive shops and everything under the sun you can cram onto an island to make money. And a lot of people did make money here, and continue to rake it in in vast quantities. The island I knew as a kid is gone, which ... full post »

I never order chocolate or carrot cake any more when I’m on the road. Restaurants, no matter how good their reputation, somehow manage to turn two of the world’s best desserts into a bland semblance of what they’re supposed to be. Wait! Tony’s Off Third in Naples, Florida has the kind of old-fashioned chocolate cake you’re yearning for, the kind that will take you back to your childhood, when you ran around barefoot and bare-chested and the only thing on your mind was throwing a rock, getting a Co-cola from the corner store and Grandma’s chocolate cake. I was dubious at first, ... full post »

So, you’re in the Bradenton-Sarasota area, you’ve played your little game of golf, now you’re hungry as a lumberjack. What kind of restaurant are you looking for? Haggis! Who’d have thought you could get Scotland’s favorite food down here? But, you can, at MacAllister Restaurant, at Lakewood Ranch. Haggis, of course, is always made with the internal organs of sheep, usually involving the lungs, liver and heart, and often mixed with onions, suet, salt and oatmeal. If you’ve ever had chitterlings, you know sort of what haggis tastes like. MacAllister’s serves it up fresh and fried and mate, it is bloody good. They also serve ... full post »

The Island golf course has sat for years at the Innisbrook golf resort and stewed, like the lesser known brother of a Hollywood star. Say, one of the Sheen or Baldwin brothers. The Island course was actually the first built at this excellent resort, on the west coast of Florida and within sniffing distance of the Gulf of Mexico. The Copperhead course came later, and became known as one of the pro’s favorites along the PGA Tour’s Florida swing. The Island is now getting some lavish attention. The new owners at Innisbrook, Salamander Hospitality, say they want to return Innisbrook to its ... full post »

I’m not going to comment on Michelle Wie’s terrible day at the Samsung. I’m not going to say anything about the 79 she shot, leaving her in last place, three shots behind the next-to-last competitor after the first round. The blind worshippers of Wie might blame me, since there are those among us who consider me a member of the global media out to get her, for no other reason than jealousy and meanness. If I comment on her 79, it would necessarily be bad, probably in a sarcastic vein, and if she shoots 79 or worse today, then I, along with ... full post »

With George Steinbrenner ailing, I guess all we have left for our global, sporting corporate horse’s ass is Donald Trump. I wish they’d just kick Trump out of Scotland. If this guy loves the country so much, as he repeatedly claims, why does he keep trying to disfigure it with his tasteless, architectural monstrosities? Trump is trying to build what he modestly calls the world’s greatest golf course on a beautiful, sensitive area of Scotland’s northwest coast, near Aberdeen. I’ve been to that area. It’s raw and beautiful, almost haunting in its beauty. Trump wants to build a billion-dollar luxury golf course, more than ... full post »

Fred Klauk, superintendent of the TPC Sawgrass for a quarter of a century, will retire after the 2008 Players Championship, according to Gary Smits of the Florida Times Union. The Stadium course, if you will remember, was blasted by nearly every pro who played in the tournament the first year. Jack Nicklaus said putting on the Pete Dye-designed greens was like trying to stop the ball on the hood of a Volkswagon, and I don’t think he meant to criticize VWs. “I took some time to think about this decision,” Klauk told the newspaper. “But, now that I’ve made it, I’m going ... full post »

You can have all the Fazios, even Tom, and all the Jones, even Rees and Robert Trent Sr. You can take Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Arthur Hills. Take them all, I don’t care. Just leave me Pete Dye. Play this game for a while and you can play a course and, after a few holes, give a good guess at who the architect is. Sometimes it’s easy, sometimes it’s hard. But, with a few exceptions, it’s usually easy to pick out a Pete Dye course. Dye is my favorite golf architect. In a world of mostly blandness, Dye is a Salvador Dali. ... full post »

I don’t normally preview equipment reviews, but this is one I’m pretty excited about. I’ve been carrying around an F2 wedge in my bag for a while, but I’ve been avoiding testing it because it’s so ugly. I glanced at it from time to time, but did a great job of ignoring it. Other clubs I’m testing are prettier. This club is so ungainly, it couldn’t possibly be effective, could it? It looks weird and feels weird, because of its radical design, and to be honest, it’s off-putting. It’s like an ugly woman in a bar making eyes at you – you stare ... full post »

Sorry, that was a dirty trick. It looks like the sordid details about Greg Norman’s personal life aren’t forthcoming. He and ex-wife Laura have officially split, but it wasn’t easy. Laura’s attorneys had threatened to subpoena practically everyone Norman has ever known – and dated – and have them disgorge it all up in a tawdry, public spectacle. That includes Chris Evert, his current squeeze. Because of that and other issues, Norman apparently agreed to give away almost half his net worth, which is considerable, given his savvy business acumen. Some reports put it at between $150-$200 million. But, I don’t want ... full post »

When I left for college, I pulled out of my driveway in a 1950 Ford loaded with a single suitcase, a six-pack of Schlitz and a yearning to get real smart. My parents waved goodbye from the yard. I didn’t exactly become a man, but it was a start. Stanford student Michelle Wie’s parents have bought a house in Menlo Park, next to the Stanford campus, reports Brian Hewitt of The Golf Channel. They are also “regular accompanying” Michelle to daily, two-hour practice sessions at the Stanford driving range, Hewitt says, citing unnamed sources. I thought the whole idea was to get away from ... full post »

The PR people at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland are playing up several, interesting matchups, like Ryder Cup legends Nick Faldo and Colin Montgomerie being paired with Ray Romano and Huey Lewis. That’s a good one, but a couple they didn’t publicize are better, like Denis Hopper being paired with Ian Poulter, Paddy Harrington and J.P. McManus, and Bill Murray paired with Paul Casey and others. I want to see Murray take Casey down for all the stupid comments he made about American crowds. By the way, there are a few “sirs” from England scattered in the field. The British ... full post »