This Week at TravelGolf.com: April 10, 2007

Let Masters champ Zach Johnson thank Jesus all he wants, for God's sake!

Thanking God after winning a major sporting event can get you almost as much scorn as throwing a sucker punch and backpedaling like a rat fleeing one of those sinking cruise ships the Greeks have.

Masters Champion Zach Johnson thanked his Lord All Mighty so many times after denying Tiger Woods that Jesus probably headed to the caddie shack to wait for his cut.

And you know what? Everyone just needs to get over that, those who find it ludicrous that a supreme being cares about pro golf tournament, and those who want to make Johnson a Christian hero.

The actual words often don't really matter. Instead, the broad boundaries are drawn and another sporting event becomes a discourse between supposed God Squaders and supposed loony liberals.

It's all a disservice to Zach Johnson.

The guy obviously spoke from the heart after his "who can believe it?" win. This wasn't Phil Mickelson calling in the kids for a photo op and Jim Nantz beam. It's Zach Johnson for goodness sake, the former Hooters Tour no-name, the guy once ranked 174th - on the Nationwide Tour. He's not scripting anything at Augusta. You don't prepare for the unimaginable.

So Johnson went spontaneous. (He's an Iowan. For an Iowan, Johnson went off-the-cuff crazy.) And isn't that what we want from our sports champions? Or at least what we say we want?

Genuine emotion is too often missing in today's corporate-ruled sports world where a teenage Michelle Wie is already polished enough to turn a press conference question into an advertisement for a sponsor's watch. A 31-year-old hick from Cedar Rapids let his feelings fly in Butler Cabin and people are obsessing over his Jesus talk?

I used to be one of those sportswriters who gnashed his teeth over repeated God references from winning athletes, wondering if they were appropriate. Then I grew up and realized it's a really stupid thing to worry about.

Now it's sort of funny to see Nantz trying to figure out how to follow up "Jesus was with me."

Zach Johnson won the Masters. He gets to let his emotions out. Whether you like it or not.

Amen.

As always, TravelGolf.com welcomes your comments.

Ranking Miami's top golf resorts

Miami may not have the sheer number of golf courses as Orlando or other great east coast golf destinations such as Myrtle Beach. But what it does have is second to none. The city stuck down in the southern tip of America has some seriously ritzy golf resorts with some seriously great courses. FloridaGolfGuide.com offers its list of the best golf resorts in Miami, including Doral Golf Resort and Spa, home to the famed Blue Monster.

Podcast: Death in a Green Jacket writer James Y. Bartlett

Badlands Golf Club: A Las Vegas
desert course as tough as its name

Badlands Golf Club isn't easy to find. It's off Alta Drive, on a little road. There's no sign saying "Badlands this way." But that's nothing compared to how much trouble you'll have locating your golf balls. Watch your ball go speeding into the desert. See it soar high into the rocks and stop, never to bounce down again unless a jackrabbit comes along and dislodges it. Picture designer Johnny Miller yukking it up at your expense.

Also: Grip and rip at Nevada's best gorilla tracks

Caledonia Golf & Fish Club: 'Gone
with the Wind' in Myrtle Beach

Of all the "plantation golf" in the Carolinas, Caledonia Golf and Fish Club, in Pawleys Island, S.C., may be the finest. This Myrtle Beach-are course is routed through some of the best terrain in the lowcountry and it's full of small flourishes, like the beautiful landscaping, that make Caledonia a pleasure to experience. Add to that a truly magnificent par-4 closing hole, and it's easy to see why Caledonia is definitely a Grand Strand must-play.

Also: True Blue a true love for Myrtle Beach golfers