As if the Reynolds Plantation in Greensboro, Georgia wasn’t already stocked with great golf courses, now Pete Dye is getting ready to add another one. The place, which is one of the best golf communities anywhere, has courses designed by people like Jack Nicklaus, Tom Fazio and Rees Jones. The Dye course will be the sixth at the plantation of Lake Oconee. Dye, who will be inducted into World Golf Hall of Fame in November, is designing it as a walking course. “The site has marvelous tree coverage and water – all the aspects to make a good golf course,” Dye said in a ... full post »

I’ve played some beautiful golf courses – the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, Richard B. Russell in Georgia to name just two – and the Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course in Stateline, Nevada is right up there with them. It’s 6,000 feet above sea level and surrounded by the Sierra Nevada Mountains, with Lake Tahoe thrown in as part of the deal. The lake itself is in full view from the clubhouse, but only comes into full, glorious view toward the latter part of the course itself, but it’s worth it. The green at the 16th and the whole of the par-3 17th ... full post »

I think I speak for all golf fans when I say I’m in breathless anticipation waiting for the big event at East Lake in Atlanta, site of the last of the four FedEx Cup playoff tournaments? Who will win? Will it be Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Paddy Harrington? This will put the Ryder Cup to shame because these are the best of the… Wait – this just in. Oh. I see. Sorry, it says here Vijay Singh has already won it. Whu? Yep, all the big Fijan has to do is put on his golf shoes every day and show up for the post-round press ... full post »

I know you’ve been holding your breath. The five finalists are in for the “Who’s behind your success” essay contest sponsored by Natalie Gulbis and some accounting firm. I read through the five finalists’ essays, and they were pretty impressive. One was from a handicapped person, another was from an Iraq war veteran. The others were pretty darn inspirational, too. But, the question is: How exactly is Natalie’s story so inspiring? Yes, she’s an excellent golfer, but it isn’t like she had to overcome terrible obstacles. And it isn’t like she’s Lorena Ochoa or Annika Sorenstam. Gulbis’ father worked for the Sacramento County ... full post »

I’m not saying Tiger Woods isn’t the greatest player on earth, so there’s no need for you Tiger fans out there to treat me like I’m dirt or Lee Westwood. But, Woods isn’t a team player, at least in the Ryder Cup sense. He has never made any bones about the fact he is less than wildly enthusiastic about playing for his country. That attitude, intentional or not, trickles down to the rest of the team. Woods is a leader by default anywhere he goes, and his influence, particularly with younger players, is enormous. That may be why the winning U.S. team this ... full post »

I say we have Lee Westwood over to the Possum Trot Bar over there off Highway 319, you know the place, down that county-graded dirt road, past that fancy trailer park, back in them deep woods. Feed him a little poke salad, toss down a few Schlitz Malt likkers with him, get him hoppin’ to some Lynyrd Skynyrd. Show him a little Southern hospitality. Your Highness, meet Joe Bob. Now, squeal! Nah, maybe not. Worst thing you can tell a hick is he’s getting on your nerves. Once they get in your head, ain’t no getting’ rid of them. Which is what happened to Westwood early ... full post »

I don’t mean to brag here, but I’ve been to a great many places in the world – Africa, Asia, Europe and all over the Caribbean – and one of the best golf trips I’ve ever taken is a tour of the Georgia state park golf system. The courses may differ in quality, in terms of strategy and aesthetics, but they are uniformly in great shape, they are in beautiful, scenic parts of the state and green fees are relatively low. There’s just something about playing golf in a state park setting that’s as serene and peaceful as fishing for bream ... full post »

Have you ever been at a party and your wife, girlfriend or idiot-buddy says, “Hey man, tell everybody that joke you told me the other day!” Or a friend introduces you to a stranger, saying, “This is that guy I told you about who was so funny!” Now you have to be funny. Only professional comedians can be funny under pressure. That’s a wee taste of what Boo Weekley is going through this week. How many stories have you seen, both from here in the U.S. and abroad, hailing Weekley as the social savior of that tense, uptight, Republican bunch of mopes otherwise known ... full post »

First of all, I’m going to pair up all the rookies with each other. That way, none of the stink or taint from previous Ryder Cup humiliations will rub off. 1- J.B. Holmes and Boo Weekley. I was tempted to put Weekley with Ben Curtis to calm Curtis’ nerves, but I like the idea of these two hefty fellas bombing it all over Valhalla, where the rough will be short. 2 - Ben Curtis and Anthony Kim. Hopefully, Kim’s personality will soothe Curtis’ nerves. 3 - Hunter Mahan and Steve Stricker. Two guys with enormous talent, maybe Mahan can get Stricker wound up. Veterans ... full post »

Seve Ballesteros has said for the second time this year that the Americans need to win the Ryder Cup or else the public will start to lose interest. “In one way I’d like to see the Americans beating the Europeans because we’re beating the Americans so clearly at the moment that the Ryder Cup is losing interest,” Ballesteros told the media. “I wouldn’t say the Americans don’t want to compete, but if the victory is so one-sided then people from both sides of the Atlantic will lose interest.” All you people out there who believe Ballesteros is sincerely concerned for the Ryder Cup ... full post »

I’m a guy who pays attention to slope ratings, that number they give to golf courses that supposedly tells you how hard it is for the average hacker. So I gasped a little when I played Mystic Rock at the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in Pennsylvania the other day. I played it from the blues, which are hard enough, but my playing partners pointed out some of the back tees – 7,533 yards from way back there – some of which were 100 yards behind the blues. It got me thinking about the hardest golf courses in the U.S. and the world. The ... full post »

A lot of people are griping about the possibility of Padraig Harrington missing the Tour Championship in Atlanta because he’s missed two cuts in the PGA Tour playoffs. Harrington, of course, had a career year, winning two majors, the British Open and the PGA Championship. But, he’s missed two cuts in the four-tournament playoff and dropped to 44th in the standings, from fourth. Harrington himself has said he has no problem with it. Neither do I. Look, if the bigwigs can sully baseball, why the hell not golf? Baseball was designed to bring out excellence over the long haul. That went out the ... full post »

LPGA Commissioner Carolyn Bivens isn’t stupid or racist or completely out of touch or jarringly, bone-headedly idiotic like many of you may believe. Oh, she may be crazy all right. Crazy like a foxhound. Here’s the model: You do something so stupid and outlandish, so ridiculously out of touch, that it can’t help but create a public firestorm of controversy. Then, you back off, telling the world you’ve heard their “concerns” (there’s a euphemism for a near-lynching) and what’s left seems reasonable. In this case, those LPGA players who don’t learn English by next year may face fines, not suspensions. It’s a modified, but efficient ... full post »

Ryder Cup captain Nick Faldo must be associating with too many Democrats during his time in America. The Democrats can take a sure thing and screw it up – how on earth could John McCain be even-steven with Barrack Obama in the polls? – and Faldo seems well on his way to doing the same thing. Faldo, in charge of what looked on paper to be one of Europe’s strongest teams ever, pulled a polarizing stunt by picking Ian Poulter and Paul Casey as his captain’s picks, passing over Darren Clarke and Colin Montgomery. The European press is in an uproar, calling the ... full post »