John Daly

Robert Gamez may not garner the national media attention that Daly does, but his fall from grace is no less incredible. As the 1990 Rookie of the Year, Gamez appeared to have the world at his fingertips. Instead, Gamez's propensity for things away from the course rather than working on his game cost him his card. Now, with a pledge of rededication to practice, the former University of Arizona star is hoping to once again compete for wins, not weekend tee times.

Finally, be sure to check out Behmer's profile of a lesser-known star, PGA Tour rookie Geoff Ogilvy, who finished third at the Tucson Open and actually had the first-round lead. Ogilvy follows in a long line of Australians who have moved from the European Tour to the U.S. PGA Tour with success. Ogilvy told our reporter that he likes Arizona so much he's decided to call it home. "A few other Australians, Craig Spence and Matthew Goggin, live in Scottsdale. My manager lives in Scottsdale," said Ogilvy, who will call the TPC of Scottsdale his home course. "(Scottsdale) is a pretty good place and the weather's nice. I'm better in dry heat so we'll have to wait and see."

TravelGolf.com:
Top of the Range in Spain

	Valderrama Golf Club

While we're clearly highlighting the Arizona swing of the PGA Tour this week, there's no doubt that our primary focus remains on bringing you the best course reviews on the web. In this week's issue of TravelGolf.com, staff writer Carla Harvey offers a complete overview of the Valderrama Golf Club in picturesque Sotogrande. Spain's most famous club has been host to some of golf's finest tournaments. For nine years, Valderrama was home to the PGA European Tour's grand finale, the Volvo Masters. Then came the 1997 Ryder Cup when millions of viewers watched Europe's top players defeat their American counterparts. Harvey said the course lives up to expectations: "Fred Couples' first glimpse of Valderrama evoked an almost reverent 'Awesome.' And so it is. While some magnificent holes stand out for their beauty, others are cursed for their hazardous challenge." Even if you're not planning a trip to Spain this year, you won't want to miss this quick look at one of the top courses in the world.

GolfArizona.com:
On The Road To Desert Golf

Our senior writers play a lot of golf in a given year. They also have plenty of stories to tell that don't always fit in their reviews. This week in GolfArizona.com, senior writer David R. Holland tells a few of those stories in his column, On The Road To Desert Golf, a series of vignettes from Arizona. Over the next couple of months, Holland will chronicle a snowbird's trip that included seven of Golf Magazine's Top 100 You Can Play list. For now, you can enjoy his stories from the clubhouse, including a celebrity sighting at Tucson National and a luxurious bed and breakfast in Palm Springs. And if your travels take you through Albuquerque, N.M., on the historic U.S. 66, don't miss Rudy's, home of the best spicy BBQ sauce in the country. Writes Holland, "Take home a big bottle of it and don't be a weenie and buy their "Sissy Sause"-- get the hot stuff."

Related Links • This Week at TravelGolf.com (Jan. 22-28) • Past articles by Douglas Carey

TravelGolf.com:
A Inside Look at the Showman

Our friends at Turnstile's Golf & Travel Magazine present an insightful look at the life of Robert Trent Jones, a bold designer who created the blueprint for the modern course. He was, of course, so much more than that. Before his death in June at the age of 93, he left a legacy of roughly 450 courses that he designed or redesigned in 45 states, 29 countries and five continents. Jones's look was bold, big and broad-shouldered-airplane carrier-scale tees, wide fairways, oversized bunkers at the insides of doglegs and in front of greens, and enormous greens with hole placements tucked craftily behind bunkers that had to be flown. This week's article hints at what helped make him such a legendary figure.

GolfTexas.com:
Norman's Inquest Not For Timid Golfers

	The Creeks at Beechcreek

GolfTexas.com senior writer David R. Holland has a way with metaphors. Consider his description of the this week's featured course: "The Creeks at Beechwood is tighter than a camel's rear in a sandstorm." Suffice to say, the course is a challenge. Just as course designer Greg Norman had in mind. When designing The Creeks at Beechcreek (located in North Fort Worth), Norman envisioned a theme maximizing the land's natural features and he minimized dramatic changes to topography. He ended up with one of the more demanding layouts in the region, featuring fewer than 40 bunkers with massive, gently sloping greens. After playing the course, Holland offered a definite thumbs-up: "This is a golf course that's as handsome as Mr. Universe for the most part." If you like golf holes that are long and narrow, this is the place for you.

From the Rough

In case you missed last week's report, be sure to catch senior writer Shane Sharp's journey along the U.S. Interstate 77 corridor, which runs between Statesville, N.C. to the north and Rock Hill, S.C. to the south, and is buoyed by Charlotte just south of the middle. Sharp acknowledges that most Charlotte residents think of I-77 in terms of congestion and construction. But if you can get past that, you'll find the corridor also serves as a portal to some solid daily fee golf. "While you won't be treated to the most stunning country the state has to offer, the sampling of golf courses located just a five iron's drive from the ubiquitous roadway will provide ample reasons for traversing this corridor whenever you head to the beach," writes Sharp, who highlights several of the top courses near I-77 in this week's tour through the Tar Heel state.

As always, if you disagree with our reviewers on a certain course or just want to sound off about Tiger's views on the PGA Tour, be sure to visit GolfBoards.com, a series of message boards where visitors can write about everything from the Myrtle Beach golf scene to new equipment. There's also a free classifieds section where golfers can advertise that old set of clubs they've been meaning to sell for years. And if you haven't checked it out already, be sure to visit the new TravelGolf.com Pro Shop, a joint venture with The Golf Warehouse. With all of this at TravelGolf.com, there's no need to go anywhere else on the Web.

Until next week….happy golfing!