Probably you’ve never heard of Kyle Reifers. He’s a 25-year-old rookie on the PGA Tour and has made four of his first seven cuts with two top 25 finishes, earning about $200,000 so far this season. That’s not enough to raise the interest of even the most intense pro golf fan, but - and you read it here first - Reifers will be a name you’ll get to know. Maybe you saw he shot 64 on the first day of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. He didn’t finish too strongly on the weekend, carding three rounds in the 70s. ... full post »

Have we come to the point of reaching critical mass in the golf industry? If central Ohio is an indicator, we might have. Two private facilities in the area, Dornoch Golf Club and Winding Hollow Golf Club, have both been the subject of intense scrutiny this spring because of fiscal difficulties. Dornoch recently was sold at auction for a little more than $2 million by area real estate developer Ron Sabatino, who says he’ll operate the club this year but hasn’t given any commitment to the future. Winding Hollow, the traditionally Jewish club, is mothballed and the receiver in its bankruptcy ... full post »

There are great golf courses all over the world, though the best ones are in North America and the British Isles. Sure, the rest of the world is coming along, but as of right now, these two places rule the roost. When one thinks of great golf in the United States, Florida, California, Arizona, New York and even Texas come to mind. What would you say if I made the argument that Ohio belongs in that same golf School of Rock? Just look at the latest Top 100 rankings in Golf Digest’s May issue. Muirfield Village Golf Club in Columbus ... full post »

I don’t know where you come down on the most recent Masters, but I personally was bored stiff. You know that saying, “The Masters doesn’t really start until the back nine on Sunday,?” I think they forgot that this year. In hindsight, I guess it was appropriate that CBS went ahead and coronated Zach Johnson when he left the 18th green. He did win, in the end. But the crying and baby-kissing is usually done after the tournament’s over, not when there are still two guys on the course who could possibly win. Conditions at Augusta National were so difficult that ... full post »

My friends and I play a game before the majors and sometimes bigger PGA Tour events, but especially the Masters. Five or six of us get together on the Wednesday before the tournament begins and draw numbered balls out of a bottle. Whoever gets the No. 1 ball drafts first. You establish an order, then each guy picks a team of eight players, and once a golfer is off the board, he can’t be chosen by someone else. For instance, as you might imagine, the guy with the No. 1 pick this year chose Tiger Woods. No one else can ... full post »

About a week ago, I wrote about a local Columbus, Ohio newspaper columnist named Joe Blundo for taking potshots at two private courses closing down. Blundo was attempting to liken the problems to the state’s burgeoning charter school fiasco, and I didn’t think it worked. I also said that I thought it was like shooting fish in a barrel making fun of golf, and easier still when the industry is on its back. One of the replies posted to my little blog was from fellow TravelGolf.com blogger Ron Mon (if that is his real name), saying, “Don’t be a victimist, and don’t ... full post »

Columbus Dispatch columnist Joe Blundo took the opportunity in the April 3 edition to ridicule the imminent demise of two Columbus-area private golf courses. Thanks for reinforcing stereotypes, Joe. I freely admit that I’m a registered Democrat who doesn’t believe in a liberal media bias. Just check out Fox News if you believe that the media is against everything Republican. But Blundo has done nothing to convince other people there’s no such thing as a liberal bias. Why? His column skewers golf and golfers by the insinuation that anyone who belongs to a country club is an elitist snob on the order ... full post »