This Week at TravelGolf.com: Sept. 12, 2006

Who's the culprit in the obsessive Michelle
Wie circus: the sports media or golf fans?

As Michelle Wie prepares to duke it out with the men for the second week in a row at the 84 Lumber Classic, writers and readers alike will soon bomb TravelGolf.com and other media outlets bashing or supporting the controversial phenom's path to greatness/failure.

Let's admit it: we all have a serious Wie addiction. Frankly, I haven't been so riled up over a teenaged girl since I asked my high school crush to prom.

So who is responsible for the circus that has drowned her in pressure and expectations: The media who gossip like school girls over her caddie firings, questionable drops and lack of eloquence at press conferences (c'mon, like you were a regular Cicero at 16)? Or is it the swarm of fans who attack each other and the writer of an article with the kind of unrelenting viciousness generally reserved for after you've caught the pool boy with your wife?

The sports media has a real knack for grabbing a storyline and clinging to it for dear life. Terrell Owens, Shaq-Kobe, Brett Favre and Roger Clemens' ongoing retirement, etc. Similarly, Wie's "news" is increasingly becoming little news at all.

Maybe the rest of the golf world is simply that bland. We even tried to pathetically ignite a steroids debate in golf. C'mon now, steroids would harm more than hurt any golfer. Hormone imbalance would certainly affect their mental stability, and they'd almost assuredly blow up and toss their playing partner in a pond by the 8th hole – resulting in a disqualification (or at very least a 2-stroke penalty).

Even so, a rush of sell-out guilt flows through me whenever I blog about Michelle. I can only imagine the late Rick James felt similar when he agreed to appear in those Old Navy commercials. So even if it brings on an onslaught of violent withdrawal, I'm taking a vacation from Wie. Starting ... now. Certainly I can find other issues in golf that can stir a heated, yet academic and productive debate.

So, tour pros using farm animals as their caddie so they don't have to hand over 8-10% of their prize money each week: pros and cons?

As always, TravelGolf.com welcomes your comments.

Lake Las Vegas a women's golf
paradise in shadow of Strip frenzy

Finding a great golf experience is no easy task for most women. If the forward tees placement doesn't show all the forward thinking of a cave man, the clubhouse staff does. From needlessly hassling marshals to Herculean forced carries, there are plenty of potential obstacles between golfing gals and any golf paradise. These are things you don't have to worry about at Lake Las Vegas, a man-made lake town 20 minutes from the Vegas Strip. Instead, like any other golfer, women are free to obsess over making birdie.

Blog: How Patty Berg helped me learn to love golf

Long courses - good for golf? Tips from
Trump's pro, and high-end Scottsdale

PGA Tour spots keep getting longer, but courses for Joe Public are too damn long. Trump Properties' new director of golf instruction on The Donald, and some ideas to help you with your game. Plus: What's so hot about Scottsdale golf? Everything.

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Owners of golf course homes
should re-think insurance

Each region of the United States poses its own unique threat to home owners, but golf course communities have one added risk: golfers. What happens if your house becomes a common "slice zone," being pelted by errant shots daily. That’s where good insurance comes in. It’s often hard to determine who’s responsible for damage to a house – golfers rarely own up to the slice that landed in your bowl of Cheerios – but insuring your home can help clear it up.

Also: Post free real estate listings at GolfCourseRealty.com