This Week at TravelGolf.com: July 6, 2004

You may not always like what our new national golf writer has to say, but he'll definitely make you think. In the month since Tim McDonald joined TravelGolf.com, he's already made his mark with commentaries on Carribean golf, Michelle Wie, and Koreans on the LPGA Tour (see below).

This week McDonald takes on Fred Ridley, President of the U.S. Golf Association, who belongs to not one, but two clubs that exclude women. "It's amazing to me there hasn't been more of an outcry," writes McDonald, who calls for Ridley's resignation. After talking with both Martha Burk and LPGA commissioner Ty Votaw, McDonald was stunned by the USGA's hypocrisy. Golf's hollow anti-discrimination policies take another hit in this column, which also questions the LPGA's silence on the issue.

While we wait to see McDonald's next target, be sure to check out our usual full roster of reviews and travel features, plus the latest from Shane Sharp, who's still celebrating the Fourth of July by toasting America for all of its monumental contributions to the grand game of golf. As always, your comments are welcome on any topic. Have a great week.

The state of golf:
Who can you believe?

Our three-part series on the state of golf today tees off with a look inside the numbers. The Golf Research Group and Pellucid, both independent golf research firms, both say the number of golfers in the U.S. is sliding downhill. But, the NGF and other research alliances with ties to the golf establishment say the opposite. National golf writer Tim McDonald goes in search of the truth.

Full story | News from Bethpage Black

Armchair Architect
sounds off on all of those mounds

Senior writer Derek Duncan's list of lamentable features on a golf course may not begin with mounds, but it certainly includes them. "I find waterfalls, island greens, fanciful bunker shapes- or perfectly symmetrical and flat bunkers -all to be more egregious uses of land and money," he writes. "But when mounds are deposited on a course in a contrived, abrupt manner, they claim the most ignoble honor."

Full story | All about bunkers

These girls are good:
Asian invasion worth watching

As national golf writer Tim McDonald notes, it can be a challenge getting to know the new Asian stars on the LPGA Tour: "Their names are hard to pronounce, they don't laugh at all the sponsors' jokes in the pro-ams, and some of their fathers may fudge a bit on the rules." That said, McDonald encourages us all to give the Korean stars a break. Find out why in this insightful commentary.

Full story | San Antonio's 'Village' idiots