This Week at TravelGolf.com: Feb. 1, 2005

The arrogance of the golf course industry establishment may be unmatched in the entire sports and entertainment universe. Which is saying something.

Yet it is hard to picture even a Sammy Sosa showing the sense of entitlement a general manager displayed when I showed up to review his course recently. The GM looked me straight in the eye and smugly summed up his confidence that a glowing article would be forthcoming.

"I've never read a golf course review that wasn't positive,'' he said. "It's just not done."

Can you imagine a chef, even a five-star celebrity chef, saying that to a restaurant critic? Could you ever see a movie star assuming such a free pass? As much as Ben Affleck has desperately needed such treatment in recent years, even he knows it's but a dream.

Only in the world of golf courses do owners, general managers and pros expect to be buried in hosannas no matter what shape their course is in or how it really plays. The golf media is largely responsible for this overlord haughtiness. Years and years of coverage about as hard-hitting as FOX News is toward the Bush White House and certain New York Times' editorial writers are toward the Democrats have fostered this self-assured, above-it-all confidence.

As Tim McDonald shows in the only golf media column with the guts to name names, there are several places that try to report it right. But there are also plenty of others that deserve to be called out by the only critics that matter: their misguided readers.

As always, your comments are welcome on any topic, including golf course GMs with the regal attitude of Henry XIII. Have a great week.

Behind center or behind
the desk, Brady a class act

These days, Tom Brady wears red, blue and silver, and belongs to the Boston-area faithful. But before he was winning Super Bowl MVP's, escorting Hollywood starlets to award shows and being labeled by numerous magazines one of the world's most beautiful people, Brady was making $7 an hour at the University of Michigan Golf Course. Staff writer Brandon Tucker checks in with his former boss, clubhouse manager Charlie Green.

Full story | Tedy Bruschi finds an escape on the golf course

Best clubs, richest golfers,
petty Seve and wild dogs

In Tim McDonald's "Inside Media" column, he spotlights this month's "overblown, incomplete and misleading travel writing award," which goes to Marcia Levin, a member of the Society of American Travel Writers. Levin, writing for Cruise Mates, describes St. Thomas' Magen's Bay as "one of the prettiest crescent-shaped beaches you'll ever see." What she doesn't bother to point out is that many locals don't go there anymore because of the trash that litters the beach.

Full story | Media tees off on U.S. Ryder Cup team

Drive for show, putt
for dough with Mangum

National Golf Editor Tim McDonald got a chance to talk with renowned putting expert Geoff Mangum on everything from belly putters to the yips. "My objective is to be the best putting instructor in the history of the game, so I am committed to mastery of the art and science of putting as a student, teacher, and golfer," said Magnum.

Full story | Small companies offer BIG drivers