This Week at TravelGolf.com: April 17, 2007

Stop bullying us Yanks around, Europe! The Masters shows we're still the best

I'm feeling unusually patriotic today. So much so that this morning I put on my red, white and blue tighty whities and went for a long ride in my gas-guzzling SUV, windows down and rocking out to Lynyrd Skynyrd.

It's got me thinking the good ol' U.S.A. - golfers included - need a firm "atta boy!"

It isn't fashionable to be American now. Not in golf, not in any world issue. We've been demoted to punching bags by much of the world – a result of invading countries unilaterally, creating more waste and harm to the environment than anywhere. Not to mention our golfers don't dominate the world rankings like they used to. It's hard to go anywhere abroad these days without someone - usually drunk in a pub - explaining to you all the wrongdoings of our President or, even more insulting, how much we stunk it up in the Ryder Cup Matches.

Living in Europe last year I must have somehow bought into the propaganda.

How else could I have declared prior to the Masters that a U.S. 20-something had no shot at winning, not to mention predicted this would be the year the Europeans break through in majors?

I blame these delusions on the "voices." No rational American would have written that.

Post-Zach Johnson's win at Augusta, it's safe to say Europeans are still softies. How about five U.S. top 10 finishes to Europe's four? Or eight years since a European won a major? Europe isn't a threat to the U.S. dominance. If it's anywhere, it's the Southern hemisphere.

And I'm no longer listening to Europe's Ryder Cup smack. It's one great big continent (Europe) vs. one tiny little country (America). I know Europe has a unified currency that puts my greenbacks to shame, but how about countries versus countries in stroke play? Then we'll talk.

The United States of America: We may not get second opinions before invading countries and could probably ditch the air conditioner we have running full blast in our garage come summer time - but our golfers are still the best in the world.

As always, TravelGolf.com welcomes your comments.

Golf, grassy knolls: Dallas perfect
for conspiracy-minded golfers

Courses like Cowboys Golf Club and the TPC course at the Four Seasons Resort make Dallas a magnet for convention-going golfers. Dealey Plaza and the grassy knoll of JFK-assassination infamy make it pretty good for history and conspiracy buffs too. We headed to the city's most infamous attraction to ask the guy in a fatigue jacket and camouflage hat selling "Who Shot JFK?" t-shirts the one question even Oliver Stone was afraid to address: Do conspiracy theorists golf?

Also: Chris Baldwin shoots Cowboys Golf Club in Dallas

Northern Ireland's best golf, Wedge Guy Terry Koehler, the USGA's photo book

Northern Ireland not on your short list of hot golf vacation destinations? It should be, Brandon Tucker tells podcast host Dave Berner. Terry Koehler, aka The Wedge Guy, on V-SOLE technology for wedges. And author Marty Parkes on the USGA's new photo book, Classic Shots.

Podcast: Subscribe to the podcast via RSS

King's Course at Gleneagles outshines
PGA Centenary, host of the Ryder Cup

The Ryder Cup Matches are set to come to the five-star Gleneagles resort in Scotland in 2014 and will be staged on the modern, Jack Nicklaus-designed PGA Centenary Course. But the King's Course, architect James Braid's 1919 masterpiece is arguably the British Isles' best traditional parkland. It's also the most popular among the three offerings at Gleneagles. Huge bunkering, blind shots and stunning scenery in the hills of Perthshire make it one of Scotland's best.

Photo gallery: See the King's Course at Gleneagles