The city of Denver got their shiny new Christmas present early: Allen Iverson, the much-maligned Philly point guard who was finally traded after a decade of turbulence with the 76ers and nearly two weeks of exile. Iverson is one of those sports figures who garners controversy because of hypocritical hack sports writers eager to “Kobe” any star they can once a blemish is found on their record. In reality, between the cornrows and tattoos, he exemplifies more traits I admire than Tiger Woods. Tiger’s childhood was more or less perfect. He had a mentor in his father and a supportive ...

Last week I flew back to America after being stationed in Europe six months (tear). It was a lovely time, which was soon forgotten once I found myself hauling four overstuffed bags through what seemed like countless airports, each bigger than the next. One of the side effects from having this much luggage is you kind of just stuff things where it fits and towards the end you really have no idea where anything is. I flew from Prague to Amsterdam to Chicago and finally ending up in Washington D.C. a couple days later. As I sorted through my assortment ...

I haven’t golfed since an early November trip to sunny Portugal, so my itch is spreading a bit. Imagine my glee when at the ESPN Zone just off Michigan Ave. in downtown Chicago boasted a putting simulator amongst its plethora of sports video games and simulations. But the thing is a joke. I didn’t waste my points (it wanted 12, which is a jip. 60=$15). It also has an old, tiny blade putter that old-schoolers like Gene Sarazen might call low-rent attached to the machine with a rope. Other flaws in the game include a lack of importance on lag ...

Who says golf isn’t a contact sport, especially when you’re riding around on the roof of your golf cart at a charity tourney? Nextel Cup winner Jimmie Johnson has learned the hard way that shenanigans on the golf cart should be left with teenagers and cart barn staff at the muni. He simply couldn’t hang on as the driver took a sharp left, he fell off and broke his wrist. Though I’ve spent my time beating the hell out of carts on golf courses in my days working in the barn at a country club, I’ve never been on the ...

Golf course rankings: subjective, arbitrary, incomplete and AWESOME! Who doesn’t like looking at rankings, especially right before or after a big golf trip where you played a bunch of nominees of the world’s best? I recently posted my Official Scotland Top Ten at GolfEurope.com: ranking the best courses I played while over there in the fall. I have now compared the list to three others: Golf Digest’s Best outside America, Golf Mag’s Best in the world, and Golf Monthly’s best in the UK and Ireland. Now, I do have one - count ‘em one - trip to Scotland under my ...

I never thought of Michigan as a cheap golf destination growing up there. It wasn’t until I saw gaudy prices in Florida, Scotland and Las Vegas that I realized I was blessed to be in the backyard of some fantastic courses at a great value. Golf Digest seems to agree in their Top Ten new courses for 2006 under $75 list. The Sundance course at A-Ga-Ming in Traverse City finished 3rd and The Mines in Grand Rapids placed 10th. I played both earlier this year. The Sundance I thought was still very immature when I played it. The ground is ...

The latest terrorist threat to airline travel is flatulence. And no, I’m not making this up. A woman caused a flight to be diverted to Nashville after she lit a match after she passed gas while in the high skies. Terrorist paranoia has gotten so out of control that common courtesy has become cause for extreme inconvenience. For no reason should anyone have to land in Nashville. Sure, she should have known better. But a suitable punishment could have been simply sticking her in the restroom for the rest of the flight, not causing 100 people to be unecessarily searched, ...

We live in a superficial world full of fashion statements and preconceptions based on looks. This is especially true in the world of golf blogging. So when TravelGolf.com asked me to submit a bio pic for my blog, I was unsettled. As a result of my mug shot - the only glimpse one can get into the person behind the internet’s shield - many readers out there have made their own conclusions about my age and how it affects my views on golf and the world at large. “Brandon, I can’t believe you actually “get it” about Michelle Wie. ...

Sure, a shiny new driver fits under a tree better than stuffing some 40-year old pro in a stocking, but if you really care about your loved ones, you’ll get them golf lessons, not new equipment this holiday season. Getting someone a new club is a temporary fix, not a solution. You’re really just buying someone who is broke a shiny new set of rims. It’s appreciated, but won’t get him out of the poor house. Lessons provide substance and the chance to be a better golfer. My parents would get me winter lessons when I was playing competitively ...

The pros in the European golf travel industry have spoken, and this year the best spot for golf in Europe is Portugal’s other golf destination. The International Association for Golf Tour Operators, 1000 members strong, voted and awarded the prize to the Lisbon Golf Coast. The coastline, which encompasses Estoril, Sintra Golf Coast, Costa Azul Golfe and Golfoeste, features 22 golf courses - about a dozen less than the Algarve - and incredible weather year round. The historic capital city of Lisbon, Cintra and Atlantic coastline and other attractions give the area an added edge. “In the Algarve, you’ve got ...

A lot of grouchy writers are giving Michelle Wie a hard time right now because she’s exploiting her good looks (c’mon, a short, chubby teen wouldn’t be getting exemptions) and above average golf game in order to make money playing golf against men instead of sitting in Ms. Goober’s 5th period Algebra class in Hawaii. In the court of public opinion, her “quest” to beat the men has turned from “trail blazing” to “money grubbin’". But before we ship her off to the infamous isle of teenaged celebrity failures, let’s remember she’s just playing golf (and sounding really dorky at ...

Thanks to the fact enough of us sketchy Expats live in Prague, Thanksgiving will be alive and well. Several restaurants and pubs serving traditional (we’ll see about that) turkey dinners will also be showing NFL football on their TVs. And guess what’s scheduled at 6:30 (or 18:30 to these wacky Euros)? Yes, the Detroit Lions vs. Joey Ballgame (I’m absolutely hoping he WAXES the Lions) and the Miami Dolphins. Look, just because the Lions helped institute the Thanksgiving NFL game, it doesn’t mean we should be subject to their embarrassing franchise internationally every Turkey Day. I mean c’mon, we’re trying to EAT here! But ...

Even though the U.S.’s showing has been about as strong as twelve strings of al dente linguini in the last three Ryder Cups, delusional Americans, myself included, have clung to a defense that the competition “meant more” to the Europeans than the Yanks. “That’s team competition,” we muttered. “Man-to-man however, the PGA Tour and its American players are still the best in the world.” After Irishman Padraig Harrington did the impossible defeating Tiger Woods in a playoff Sunday, it’s time for us to end any lingering denial. European golfers are superior. Sunday was simply a prime example of how far the ...

One of football’s most anticipated match ups in years will be played with a heavy heart after former Michigan coach Bo Schembechler passed away in Detroit Friday afternoon. This is hitting a lot of people who grew up in Michigan, especially Ann Arbor, pretty hard. A product of the town myself, it’s hit me harder than I thought it would. I think I’m figuring out why. Bo influenced not only the college football players he coached, but an entire town of kids growing up playing any sport, whether it was hockey, soccer or golf, really. Bo’s intensity, his no-nonsense approach ...

Beautiful golf courses that fall victim to heavy surrounding real estate are nothing new in golf. Golf is a business, and if you can sell homes on fairways that will profit, so be it. That’s why we call it “Capitalism” and not “Pretty-golf-course-ism“. But that doesn’t mean us golf nuts think intrusive real estate ruins great, more natural courses believe it’s right. What bugs me the most about the Marriott Praia D’El Rey resort on the west coast of Portugal is all the glossy course pictures that show nothing but serene fairways and greens nestled against undisturbed coastline. Yet when ...

When I played Carnoustie a few weeks back, site of the 2007 Open Championship, scoring a seven on the 18th wasn’t too hard. It makes you sympathize with Jean Van de Velde’s meltdown (but it’s still funny and Carnoustie seems to find great pleasure in catching the Frenchman with his pants up). But southeast of Scotland there’s another championship course the pros play that is just as long, hard, and has an even worse 72nd hole score to back it up. It’s the 18th at Oitavos in Cascais, Portugal, host of the 2005 European Tour Portuguese Open. The choker this ...

I’ve learned two valuable tidbits of information over the past week while enjoying spirits with friends. One: if your French girlfriend or wife tells you she’s taking off to Senegal for the weekend, be very suspicious. Two: You can get free TV on your computer. “Free TV on the Internet!?!?” you ask? “Tell me more!!” Sure. “TVU” is a free download for your computer that allows you to watch a couple dozen TV channels from all over the world, including ESPN, Comedy Central, NBC, Telemundo and NASCAR Brazil. Is it legal? I think so, says something about “patent pending". ...

I never liked The Apprentice. Then again, office politics are about as relatable to me as keeping the materialistic ego of your supermodel girlfriend in check. It’s easy to knock Donald Trump. In fact, I do it all the time. It’s fun. I hold weekly “Isn’t Trump a doofus?” dinner parties. What do you expect with that cocky attitude and wavy hair you could surf on? But unlike many old school Scots and even TravelGolf.com’s Tim McDonald, I’m not knocking Trump’s development in Aberdeen just yet. (For the full column at GolfEurope.com click here). In a column last year, Blue-Collar ...

Anyone ever see that Seinfeld where George buys a car because he thinks the former owner was Hollywood actor Jon Voight? Well in a few years, golfers will be shelling out big cash to play what they think are courses finely crafted by golf’s Best Seller: Tiger Woods. Some poor saps even think these courses will be built in the image of Woods’ game himself. Get ready for more “playable for all abilities” resort golf with wide fairways and everything is shown in front of you with houses to the sides. Does anyone really think Woods himself is going ...

So rumor has it in America the Democrats are triumphing and Donald Rumsfeld is the first conservative casualty. What would I know? I’ve been at dinner the past week, where in Portugal, it lasts about as long as a round of golf – and is equally, if not more enjoyable. The term “gastronomy” is used here more often than I’ve heard it the rest of my lifetime. The reason for this is that food and the production of entertaining guests, especially dinner, is viewed as an art/science here. It’s taken very seriously. The amount of people in uniform around ...

All good things must come to an end. Which is why I will be golfing again tomorrow. Man I suck these days. What ever happened to the baby fade I had in high school? But sadly I am home from Scotland. What an experience. Scots told me “sorry about the weather” while I was there, but its funny how you can zone out the wind and the rain when you’re on a historic course in the home of golf. You find a “happy place", really. So it rained in Dornoch and Carnoustie and was windy as heck at the Duke’s ...

I don’t watch TV much these days. Maybe it’s because I live in a foreign country and can’t understand much Czech, or maybe its because I can simply pirate old South Park episodes to my computer, which is really all the entertainment I need at the moment. But who needs TV when you’ve got the balcony of the Young Tom Morris suite at the Macdonald Rusacks Hotel in St. Andrews, overlooking the 18th green of the Old Course and all the dramatic theatre it beholds? After I returned from my round at the Duke’s Course down the road this ...

Any golfer knows one finite fact: guaranteed tee times on the Old Course in St. Andrews are a bit hard to come by. So imagine: you were entered in the ballot on Saturday and failed, only to walk by the course at 10 a.m. the following day and see the legendary grounds empty - except for two kids playing frisbee on the Road Hole, and an elderly couple taking a stroll over Swilcan Bridge. The world’s most famous golf course is nothing more than a city park on Sundays, open for all and policed by no one. Use the grounds ...

Okay, you got me. I’ve been in Scotland for two weeks, Europe for four months, and I’ve somewhat converted to how they handle golf, from walking to the accessibility of their famous courses. Every single British Open venue in Scotland, from Carnoustie which I played today, to the Old Course at St. Andrews which I play tomorrow, is open to the public. Sure, regular stops like Muirfield and Troon only open their doors on certain days and have limited public availability, and the Old Course can be a challenge to get on during peak months, but that’s still better than ...

Even the worst of duffers get the urge to play the championship tees from time to time. Sometimes it’s because you’re lucky enough to play a course the pros play on TV, and you want to see just how far off you are from competing in the Open Championship yourself. But when you come to Turnberry, Carnoustie, the Old Course at St. Andrews, or just about any other course in Scotland hoping to play the course the pros play, it likely won’t be an option. Not one course I’ve been to has had their tournament (or ‘back’) tees set up. ...

They say good things come to those who wait. In the case of Royal Dornoch, located in the Highlands of Scotland, good things come to those who drive. When is the last time you were truly sad to finish a round of golf, and was it 50 degrees, windy and rainy? That was the case for me this afternoon at Dornoch. Royal Dornoch can be forgotten, it seems. Despite being internationally recognized as one of the best courses in the world, its remoteness leaves it off the British Open rota and many touring golfers’ itineraries. In a way, that’s a ...

So you thought Scotland has so many world class courses built from the beginning of the century or older, it doesn’t need any more? Wrong. The Cameron House Hotel, a stunning five star resort on the shores of Loch Lomond north of Glasgow is getting ready to add another gem to the country’s already stocked list. The Carrick is scheduled to open in the spring of 2007. Only about nine holes are ready for play as others are still in the process of maturation. But in playing the holes that were ready, it’s easy to see this is going to ...

Today I stand before you a changed man. Three days after my arrival in the UK, I proudly admit I can drive on the left side of the road and roundabouts are cake (but I didn’t say I agree with them…). However, I still never fail to walk to my car and start to open my left front door before realizing some bloke snuck in and switched it to the other side again. And without fail, someone is always standing by and looking at me like I’m a numbskull/American. Anyways… This morning I arrived at Prestwick Golf Club, original home of ...

Before my trip to Scotland, I spent a lot of time sorting through glossy Scotland tourism mags and scanning websites of St. Andrews, Turnberry, Prestwick and other famous gems. Nowhere was I warned about the country’s dirty little secret: The Roundabout. Instead of traffic lights, where motorists patiently and humanely wait for their turn to pass through an intersection, Scotland employs roundabouts, which has the same logic as say the ball machine in a batting cage. Cars are inserted into the roundabout, thrown around a circle for an undetermined amount of time, and then BANG! catapulted out into space in ...

The tabloid-obsessed UK is all over the new Madonna adoption of an African one-year old, who apparently has checked into the celeb’s London estate. This story is everywhere in Scotland, even more than Bill Murray’s party-crashing in St. Andrews. Paparazzi and fans are now scrambling to catch a glimpse of the latest trend Madonna is setting. But just like her conversion to electronic music, Madonna’s is showing up a little tardy. Angelina Jolie is already looking at her third impoverished little tike, mixed in with one of her own, natural accents. When CNN enshrined her as the second coming of ...

There is nothing like the first 24 hours in a new country. As someone who has done it quite frequently of late, it still never gets old. I love the confusion, the discovery, the humiliation, excitement, etc. A few notables during my first day in Edinburgh in Scotland… One thing the U.S. roadways needs to adopt immediately from the UK and Europe is the yellow light BEFORE it turns green, thus warning drivers if they don’t get ready to giddy-up, expect to be run over by the double-decker bus behind you. It’s awesome. I feel like Mario Andretti when I lift ...

Ahhh, the day is finally here. In a few hours, I’m off to Scotland for the mother of all golf trips. 15 days, 15 or more courses, and many, many pints and whiskey with friendly Scotsmen. College football, hockey, even the World Series can take a backseat for this voyage to golf’s motherland. This trip is All Golf, All the Time (aside from the ocassional distillery tour or trek up the Royal Mile or hot bath where I soak my aching muscles…I haven’t walked a course in quite some time you know…). Regions include Edinburgh, Glasgow, Highlands, St. Andrews and ...

The Detroit Tigers are on top of the sports world after dismantling the New York Yankeees last week. And as we await their inevitable entry into the 2006 World Series, now is the perfect time to proclaim Detroit as America’s Best Sports Town. It isn’t even close, frankly. Folks in New York, Boston, Chicago and Philly, hear me out. Because this is a golf site, we’ll start there. Consider Oakland Hills, a Donald Ross masterpiece in the northern ‘burbs that’s hosted the U.S. Open and Ryder Cup. It’s also consistently placed among America’s Top Ten. Ben Hogan’s 67 on Sunday ...

So I’m not the only one who notices a few scantly clad, easy-on-the-eyes women near the top right corner of WorldGolf.com. First, Bruce “The Guru” Stasch is going after these girls, all while putting his manliness up for auction. Then a disgusted female reader is saying WorldGolf.com has no class, posting such advertisements on the front page. After all, this is a GOLF site! I have one problem with Caddy Chicks. But first, here’s what’s awesome about them: - I’m tired of looking at Phil Mickelson’s man boobs every time I go to GolfDigest.com or PGATour.com. Finally I can see ...

Anyone else notice the NHL regular season kicked off this weekend? Tumbleweed blows by…so quiet you can hear David Allen Coe on the jukebox…grizzled drunk at the bar tells me to, “knock off that jive!"…"We don’t serve Molson here, I’m sorry,” notes the bartender as he motions to the exit… Sooooo, I guess there’s other stuff going on in golf and sports then! Ochoa wins in Mexico, enchilladas for everyone! There’s nothing like winning in front of a home crowd. Lorena Ochoa won in her native Mexico Sunday, adding to a fine 2006 campaign that currently has her on top of ...

Much to the dismay of the New York media and fans, A-Rod, the popular scapegoat in the Big Apple, didn’t lose the series for the Yankees vs. the Detroit Tigers. He could have put up Derek Jeter-like numbers and the Yankees still go home early, the games are just a little closer. The problem with the Yankees is two-fold: washed-up pitching and the Curse of Johnny Damon. Maybe it isn’t so much a “curse” as it is a “virus". While I admit I had a minor man crush on Damon during the 2004 Red Sox run, his defection to the ...

Have you ever wondered why we don’t hear more about golfers tossing chairs through bar windows or being chased down I-95 at 4 a.m. with a kilo of blow in the trunk? Today’s headlines are highlighted by two late-night scrums. One involving socialite turned adult movie star and pop singer Paris Hilton. The other involves the NBA’s Stephen Jackson. Several weeks after being arrested for driving drunk, Hilton was allegedly punched in the face and basically “hated on” by some chick from “Dancing with the Stars". It’s nice to see Hilton is finally being serious about becoming a pop singer. ...

Having spent about three months in the former Eastern Bloc of Europe, I’ve been able to witness many of the scars a half-century of Soviet occupation has left behind. These impressions can be found primarily in the ethics of Prague cab drivers. Being a young, white, English-speaking male, I’m seldom discriminated against. The world pretty much caters to us. But as a tourist in Europe, speaking English often suggests ignorance to the lay of the land, hence making you an easy target to be ripped off. In Prague, I’ve come to the conclusion the taxi industry has a Speak English ...

So Tiger won his sixth straight tournament at the American Express Championship in England. Or did he? Well, some say he’s still on a tear, others say “no way” after he fell at Wentworth in match play to Shaun Micheel. To the naysayers who say Nelson’s streak is still in tact (which may include Woods - at least publicly), I say it’s still alive. Why? Because it’s way more fun watching the PGA this way, that’s why. And if we can still say Barry Bonds has a legitimate chance of breaking Hank Aaron’s home run mark and we still ...

Tiger Woods had an interesting set of quotes today about his 3-2 Ryder Cup record at the American Express Championship. He rated his performance as “pretty darn good” and “I did the best I could". He also said he played well enough to place in the Top 15 of a regular tournament. Would Tiger be satisfied with doing his “best” in a major or finishing top 15? Of course not. He is apparently satisfied with mediocrity in the Ryder Cup. It isn’t sparking his interest, and why should it? I’ve said it before, the Ryder Cup has become obsolete. The ...

It’s quite fashionable to bash the current ineptitude of U.S. athletics in global competition. The Ryder Cup team was flat, the U.S. basketball team was upset by Greece before reaching the finals of the World Championships last month, and we’re not even kicking as much Olympic tail as we used to. Thankfully, our strengths can be found elsewhere. Namely: World’s Strongest Man. Yes, the competition where brute’s from all over the world haul tractors, carry atlas stones and trek to the underworld to arm wrestle Satan - or worse a Russian named Rasputin from Siberia. After a 24-year absence, the ...

I came to a few conclusions after watching the Ryder Cup this weekend and the subsequent fallout after Europe’s dominating 18.5-9.5 victory. Americans must engage in pyschological warfare: Since when did America, home of unilaterally invading countries and the 24 oz. Porterhouse steak get so dang polite? Sergio Garcia can’t wait for a shot at Woods, Paul Casey “hates Americans”, Paul McGinley even said after the match: “There’s one reason, and one reason only why we won. We had more talent.” McGinley went 0-1-2 this weekend. That’d be like France saying “we had the better army” after WWII. Guys who ...

I discovered something this weekend between all the leaderboards, box scores and gamecasts. It’s that Abba’s “Gimme Gimme Gimme” video is hypnotically uncomfortable to watch. Also, the “don’t do drugs” speech I give to my kids also just got a lot easier with this video evidence. Anyways, here’s the Sports Weekend in Review: Sports Weekend in Review Woods’ streak over, or is it? Acting like a true patriot, Tiger Woods chose to give up his streak in the World Match Play to stay fresh for the Ryder Cup this weekend by losing to Shaun Micheel early. Then again, Byron ...

Fall golf is here in Michigan, a lovely time to take in the autumn colors and course discounts. The weather starts getting a little spotty, yes, but most courses are offering discounts of 25-45% starting mid-to-late September. Here’s some of the season’s best picks: Forest Dunes: Greens fees are slashed $50 down to $75 after October 1st. Black Forest: Play Tom Doak’s challenging stand-out course at Wilderness Valley for $50 in Gaylord (down from $75). King’s Challenge is a beautiful course in a rustic setting a half hour west of Traverse City, sure to look stunning with an autumn backdrop. Rates ...

Recent outrageous opinions by writers and readers on TravelGolf.com have been a very amusing read. First, the 9/11 conspirators have come out in droves on Chris Baldwin’s recent blog, citing “proof” the Bush Administration not only knew the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon were imminent, but orchestrated by the U.S. government. Please. Like we’re supposed to believe one of the free world’s most incompetent administrations can not only orchestrate, but execute AND keep secret one of history’s gravest attacks. Don’t give them so much credit. Then, two of TravelGolf’s resident dinosaurs, Kiel Christianson - who was writing ...

Rick Dipietro, goaltender of the New York Islanders signed a 15-year deal this week worth nearly $70 million - all guaranteed. Only Magic Johnson’s 25-year deal with the Lakers is believed to be longer in all of sports. Ever. It’s hard to believe the guy who sat next to me in high school Latin class (and consequently detention) is worth $70 mil (but he doesn’t have a kick-ass golf blog. Boo ya!). DiPietro, who played on the USA Olympic team this winter, is a better-than-average NHL tender and was the first ever goalie taken number one overall in the draft. ...

Did anyone get anything productive done this weekend? Besides taking down your previous record of buffalo wings and Miller Lite consumed in a 48-hour span? The NFL season opened, college football had a #1 vs. #2 matchup, Tennis’ U.S. Open was filled with storylines and the MLB’s pennnant and wild card races continued to heat up (thanks to my Tigers doing what Detroit sports have been doing best lately: choking in crunch time after league-leading regular seasons). And with Michelle Wie ducking out of the Omega early, we didn’t have to waste our time tracking her over the weekend; instead ...

2002 – Reporters: “So Ma’am, you’ve just won the lottery! What are you going to do with all the money?” Valerie Wilson: “I can’t believe it, I’m going to spend all the money on…lottery tickets!” If Michelle Wie keeps taking weekends off, so will I. I’ll get back to golf-related blogs on Monday, promise.

I cannot stress to you enough the importance of “googling” your name every so often. It’s the only way you can really know how you’re perceived by the Google gods in this digital world. And the best part is finding out what all the other knuckleheads in your Name Fraternity are up to and how the search engine rankings change week to week. Battling for the top spot on Google is myself, Brandon Tucker the wrestler (toughest BT), Brandon Tucker the “make poverty history” guy (BT with the best cause) and Brandon Tucker the fine artist (poorest BT). Until today, ...

So what did you do while Michelle Wie was out of the news? It seemed like an eternity, didn’t it? (I was getting sick of writing about success stories the whole time) But in the interim I was able to read Wikipedia.org from A-Z, find six stray puppies a new home, and personally convinced Bill Ford its time to step down as CEO at Ford Motor Co. What a waste of time that was. Now we can all become obsessed with the inevitable Wie trainwreck at the European Masters this week - and we call the Maury Povich Show a ...

I’m confused. First I get reemed by our conservative readers (calling me a Democrat was below the belt, by the way. Anyone who reads me regularly knows I’m Socialist) for trying to spice up the mundane Tiger Woods conversation by questioning the legitimacy of his Sunday dominance, suggesting maybe he’s “distracting” his opponents the night before like another Hall of Fame athlete did in the 80s. (Is that more sensitive everyone? Hate to ruin any 9-year old’s future with a golf column…) Then, in an attempt to write credible journalism about a recent trip to Poland, someone in my own camp ...

My elders tell me that when cable television debuted, the reason TV suddenly wasn’t free anymore is because there weren’t advertisements on them. Today, cable TV usually has more than networks. Tiny Jim down at the corner barbershop tells me MTV had music videos 24/7 when he was a teenager. Today, it’s all product placement and big record companies paying big bucks for some artist face time on Pimp my Ride or Laguna Beach. In a decade, when my kid is playing his first X-Box 6000, which actually comes with a year’s supply of ritalin and potato chips, I’ll remark ...

Europe’s cheapest and possibly worst airline is now on the verge of becoming the most annoying as well. RyanAir, the discount air carrier that flies passengers all over the continent and drops them off at airports in the middle of nowhere will begin allowing cell phones on planes. The carrier plans to have each plane in their fleet capable of cell service by February 2007, a move likely targeted at all the young backpackers than jaunt around Europe on low-cost airlines and have meaningful conversations on their phones constantly such as: “Hey, I’m on the plane, where are you?…Ya isn’t ...

The ongoing steroid witch hunt has taking another step towards proving just about everyone is cheating these days. Tiger Woods wants steroid testing while Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem says its not necessary. I think Woods may be more right… The Carolina Panthers, who reached the Super Bowl in 2004, reportedly had a handful of players jacked up on ‘roids. While it’s no surprise three of them were meathead offensive lineman, the most hilarious thing to come from it is that the team punter - yes, punter - has been identified (and it’s not even the boneheaded Mike Vanderjagt, he’s just a ...

So what’s your ideal post-round hangout? A few beers at Buffalo Wild Wings or a BBQ on your buddy’s patio? Watching SportsCenter or playing some Golden Tee? I still haven’t found an “All-you-can-eat” joint in Europe yet (God bless America and their endless bowls of chips and salsa). But I have found the perfect way to take out all your post-round frustrations. Krakow Valley in Poland has a gun range just steps from the 18th green. Shank your pitch on the 12th? Lip out your par on the 14th? Sick of playing a “mental game” for four hours? That’s nothing ...

Golf is a game that rests heavily on tradition. Imagine looking back 20 years on the game and seeing…nothing. Such is golf in Poland, a country of 38 million but just 2,500 registered golfers. That’s like saying L.A., Chicago, New York and some change have just 2,500 golfers (Bethpage Black probably sees that amount every Saturday). There was only one course prior to World War II in the whole country, then the communists came in (not golf fans apparently) and the game was banned. After the revolution in 1989, golf was once again available, but with no culture and no ...

Here is the one and only reason why the FedEx Cup series and year-end tournament will never be that big of a deal - even if Tiger Woods flies in from one of his private hideaways in the Pacific every once in awhile to compete: It’s called the FedEx Cup. Really, PGA Tour? You needed a sponsor? Gotta squeeze out every couple million you can? Hasn’t Tiger made you all enough money???? Now you’re canceling his “winter happy time” just as soon as he finds a knockout wife to spend it with? He’s gotta be pissed. I know there’s a ...

Congratulations Kimberly Kim, on your fantastic U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship! The bad news…Michelle Wie beat you to a lot of the good sponsors - which you sorta deserve for staying amateur this long - but the good news is that exploiting teenage girls in America never goes out of style, I’m sure we can make some deals. But we’ve gotta cash in fast before some 12-year old with a pet monkey as a caddie wins next year. The lifespan of a golfer is only about 30-60 years. Each month counts. First off, the name. Your parents clearly didn’t have ...

At the beginning of the 2nd half in last night’s New Orleans Saints/Tennessee Titans game, “T-Rac", the Titan’s mascot, ran over Saints QB Adrian McPherson with a golf cart and knocked him out of the game. It was also the first game for Heisman winner Reggie Bush. Can you imagine if T-Rac ran Bush over, knocked out his knee and his NFL career was over before it began? The field at the upcoming PGA may want to inquire of T-Rac’s services if they hope to have a chance at stopping Tiger Woods. With Phil Mickelson missing the cut this week ...

The good news is the terrorist plot to blow up more airplanes was uncovered before execution, the bad news is air travel just got a little stickier. For instance, if you’re one of those “I don’t check my bags” people, you will also be one of those “I don’t brush my teeth or hair” people either – gels, toothpaste, liquids must be checked now. The Detroit Free Press has a good primer of new rules. If you’ve already purchased tickets for travel this month, many airlines are offering refunds or you can postpone your flight to a later date. But if ...

Paul Azinger has won over $14 million on the PGA Tour, not including sponsorships or overseas winnings. So if it takes 20-plus years to make a measly $14 mil, can you blame him for skipping the U.S. Bank Championship for taking a shot at $9 million in one tournament at the recent World Series of Poker in Las Vegas? The PGA Tour can’t really do much more than slap Azinger on the wrist, but there’s a much bigger issue at stake here. Poker doesn’t need more celebrities - or in Azinger’s case, niche celebs - making poker more widespread than ...

The U.S. Women’s Amateur kicks off this week at Pumpkin Ridge in Oregon - a perfect venue for Michelle Wie to end her winless ways and beat some of the finest young women in golf. Sadly she went pro before ever winning it and is now ineligible to ever enter the tournament again. Tiger Woods of course won three consecutive U.S. Amateurs before letting Nike reel him in. As Tiger won his 50th tournament this weekend and Wie wasn’t a factor in the British Open, allow me to insert the obvious “woulda coulda shoulda". The Women’s Am would obviously be ...

I love golf marketing. I mean, how much different are courses to one another, really? Why not just say your new course has “18 flags with cups, some dirt moved around, water, hot dogs at the turn"? To put your new course in the same breath as two of America’s most legendary, exclusive layouts, now that takes some serious marketing balls. That’s just what Forest Dunes, an upscale course in Roscommon, Michigan is doing – comparing their Weiskopf design opened in 1998 to Augusta National and New Jersey’s famous Pine Valley. Having not played either Pine Valley or Augusta ...

Travel and real estate investors just can’t wait until Fidel Castro kicks the bucket. As the 80 year-old Cuban leader enters surgery this week and hands over his power to his brother (not in tip-top shape himself), that day could be coming soon, and there is speculation once he signs off, the United States will lift their embargo they’ve had in place since 1961. While Cuban travel is a no-no for US travelers, their borders have been open to tourists for over a decade, and many other countries, like the U.S.’s grudge-less neighbors to the north, have been puffing authentic ...

I thought Mel Gibson’s tactics on promoting his devotion to the Roman Catholic church was done a little more tastefully – albeit a little too graphic – when he produced Passion of the Christ. But his recent drunken anti-semetic tirade and DUI can’t be scoring him too many points with the Man upstairs, or the significantly large Jewish population in Hollywood. Reports say he told deputies “Jews are responsible for all the world’s wars” among other idiotic, anti-semitic statements. In lieu of Mel’s drunken hate speech, let’s pay homage to some other less-than-civilized quotes in the golf and sports ...

Detroit Pistons’ All-star point guard Chauncey Billups isn’t traveling with the Team USA basketball team to the World Championships in Japan. Instead he plans on being with his wife in Denver where they’ll care for their newborn daughter. However Billups will be given a quick mulligan by the misses to go to Detroit for his Charity Celebrity Golf Classic. Next week, Billups will host the Children’s Center Celebrity Golf Classic at Birmingham Country Club. The 22nd annual classic will be hosted by Mr. Big Shot, and also scheduled to attend are Pistons coach Flip Saunders, former Pistons Vinnie Johnson ...

A trip last week opened my eyes to how bad US air travel can be. As numerous US airlines cite financial woes, bankruptcy etc, I can’t help but think it’s their fault. Believe it or not, airlines in other parts of the world don’t make you put up with the kind of junk we put up with in the states. Exhibit A: I flew Delta last year from Florida to Spain, which was nothing short of a nightmare. I was kicked off a flight I was already seated on, because my seat happened to be double assigned to a mother ...

I just can’t stop comparing women’s golf to women’s tennis. And why not? They’re both pretty awesome right now and both more appealing than the men’s tours. But cutie pie/golf star Natalie Gulbis remains winless on the LPGA after losing in this weekend’s playoff at the Jamie Farr – despite her reality TV show, calendar and magazine spreads. Indy Car phenom Danica Patrick is also doing provocative shoots before her first checkered flag. Anna Kournikova teased us with her semifinal appearance at Wimbledon when she was 16. That was as close as she got to anything and can now be ...

All the cat fights that have taken place on our little blog boards make me wonder: When is the LPGA going to cash in on the high drama they currently possess? Last time i checked, no blog that ripped any pro male golfer had 35 comments. Frankly, no one cares about a Woods/Immelman duel like they do a Wie/Anything one. Look at Professional tennis: Right now the only major that doesn’t pay EQUAL is Wimbledon, and that will soon change in the next couple years. What’s the difference between tennis and golf? Not much. They’re both sissy country club sports ...

We’ve now seen twice in the past few weeks, that being the best in the world doesn’t exempt you from being a bonehead – literally. That’s exactly what French soccer superstar Zinedine Zidane did last night in the World Cup Finals – inexplicably head-butting an unsuspecting Italian in the open field. “Imbecile!” Zidane was ejected, the game went to penalty kicks - his specialty - and the French were losers in the battle of the European romance countries. Thankfully it was a head-butt, not a “Frenchie". Zidane and Mickelson have showed how difficult emotion and ego can be to control in ...

Super-genius Stephen Hawking has chimed in on none other than Michelle Wie lately. “In a world that is in chaos politically, socially and environmentally, how can the human race sustain another 100 years, especially with all the fuss over Michelle Wie? I’m not all that great of a golfer, of course, but shouldn’t you win your high school state championship before taking on pros?” All it takes is the smartest man in the universe and libel to determine Michelle Wie is going about her career all wrong. It’s also amazing to think she transcends not only sports, but her existence ...

All hell in Michigan has officially broken loose. The Tigers are on top of the MLB. Ben Wallace is no longer a Piston. #19, The Captain will no longer lace up the skates. Phil Mickelson decides that a week with his swing coach, Rick Smith at the Par-3 Treetops Shootout in Gaylord isn’t what he needs now? Man, I leave Michigan and in ONE week this happens. The Buick Open, the PGA’s lone stop in the Glove State is coming up at the end of the month. At the rate things are going. . .I’m picking Michelle Wie. Detroit Sports ...

Gaylord, Michigan is filled with resort-style golf: elevated tees, bowled fairways, driver on every hole, big landing zones, etc. Unlike your muni or CC back home, the biggest trait of “resort golf” is 18 holes that don’t have any tricks. What you see is what you get, and you won’t waste shots because you didn’t know distances to the hazard or the dogleg. These courses exist of course, because they do well. Most golfers suck, and when they pay big money for their big summer golf trip, they want to come home with at least a handful of shots they ...

Pardon me for quipping about this two days after it happened, I’ve been getting settled in Europe (small dogs, smaller cars) and learning my way around TravelGolf.com’s massive Castle Office. Suspending the U.S. Open an entire day for fog is ridiculous. I thought the U.S. Open was supposed to be golf’s most difficult test. So shouldn’t fog be exactly what they’re looking for? Who says difficult conditions can be regulated ONLY by the tournament committee? Man, the LPGA is so hot right now even Mother Nature decided that she wanted to participate in making the U.S. Open golf’s ultimate ...

First rule of the “Op Ed” world: If you’re gonna dish it, better be ready to eat it. TravelGolf.com’s own playground spat has Chris Baldwin calling blogger Ron Mon a teacher’s pet for his remarks on Balls Out’s latest post. On a more serious scale, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen is calling Chicago Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti a “fag” for his write up’s on the Sox pitching. Guillen is giving the whole “well in my country, ‘fag’ doesn’t mean what it does here” defense. Actually Ozzie, like many words in English (and Spanish), “fag” has several meanings of varying offense. ...

It’s not fun to watch refs decide games on touch fouls, especially if a championship is on the line. I’ve got to give props to my boy Bill Simmons - whom I had a slight falling out with when he was Miami-biased last year - for this column on Page 2. While the next ten years of the NBA will be filled with one-man shows and free throws, I think I’ll turn my attention to the LPGA. It’s got everything I thought the NBA did, including fresh phenoms, savvy vets and high drama on a weekly basis (at least ...

Sunday’s first tee times are a few hours away, but there’s nothing more fun than throwing a bunch of predictions out the night before, especially when everyone has penciled in Phil by now. And I agree with Tim, by the way, about having some balls when making predictions. Here’s some not-so-obvious picks: WINNER: The final grouping of Mickelson and Kenneth are just too lovable. Have you seen their press conferences? Did they just won a spot on American Idol? Don’t be so damn nice! I like my champions grizzled and tough, not pudgy and cordial. On the 18th on Sunday, ...

Threetops Par 3 Shootout is right around the corner, and believe it or not, the resort is having a heck of a time finding some regular folk to play in the Pro-Am. Regular folk with $6500. . . Ford pulled out its sponsorship since its having a bit of a problem making ends meet these days, meaning this is the first year the tournament’s Pro-Am is open to the public. That means for $6500 you can be paired up with one of the 2006 contestants (Mickelson, Fred Couples, Andy North, Craig Stadler) or PGA pro/designer/Treetops owner Rick Smith. Don’t have $6500? ...

I don’t know if it was because a major championship was on the line, or because I’ve always found Asian women cute (a little of both of course) but I was giving the LPGA way more viewing attention on Sunday than Vijay and the boys in New York. And I’m still not sure whether to be impressed or not with Michelle Wie’s good-but-not-winning finishes at her youth. I suppose as long as she’s playing with the women where she belongs (for the next decade at least) I must commend her, even though down the stretch she still showed signs she’s ...

“The course is playable for all skill levels” I’ve heard this from designers and golf PR guys about few dozen times, read it even more, and I’ve never really thought it’s an effective way to market a golf course. “Google” it and about 10,000 courses show up. The only purpose a saying like this has is trying to include every golfer with a set of clubs in their market share. I heard a marketing rule once, that if you market a product to generalize, you end up marketing to no one, right? On the flipside, I think about a course ...

Let’s not go overboard about Mexican hospitality, Chris. It’s still a long way from Grandma’s house. Mexico is by no means the Valhalla of unshady, feel-good service by any stretch of the imagination. And the service folk are after your money as much –if not more– than US service workers. The only place I’ve been in Mexico is Cozumel, but from what I’ve been told is it’s no different than any other tourist hot-spot in Mexico. Anywhere you go, you’re bombarded with requests to buy fake silver, t-shirts, or any kind of crap possible. Don’t even try to “relax” ...

I was told the 18th at Pilgrim’s Run, just north of Grand Rapids, Michigan was an “exciting hole” in the clubhouse by employees there. But what I witnessed yesterday took the cake. As I approached the 18th tee, I saw six guys with their complimentary range bucket wailing away on the tee. The green is drivable (apparently Lee Janzen did it a few years back), but wraps around a little pond, making it an ultimate risk-reward hole, as well as plain-old fun. These guys were wailing away, with at times multiple splashes occuring in the pond at once. They unloaded ...

I basically watched ESPN all day Friday, so in an attempt to convince my bosses I was “working", I’d like to share some thoughts. . . First off, I think Jack’s got the right idea as far as this whole bunker mess. Since when did it become okay to have bunkers that were more manicured than Ryan Seacrest? Pine Valley, regarded by many as the best golf course in America, doesn’t use rakes. Frankly, I think the tour should let the bunkers go starting on Monday, thus making lumpy, PENAL lies in sand traps. If you look in the rule book, ...

So what, Arnold Palmer doesn’t steamroll the competition anymore. Ya, he might shoot 95 at the Open, but most retired people are bored out of their mind. His legacy makes a lot of golfers a lot of money these days, so it’s his tour, welcome him with open arms. Golf tournaments, especially on the Senior Tour, are about more than just where you place. You know, I once entered a golf tournament I knew I wasn’t going to win. Come to think of it, I entered about 150 tournaments growing up I knew I had no chance at. Why did ...

A long time ago I gave up on playing golf on holidays. There’s too many golfers on the course, most of which haven’t played since last Memorial day. Rounds end up taking six hours and I can never use the little coupons I cut out of the Sunday paper. I think I’d much rather spend Memorial Day, hanging out on the back porch with an ice cold Dr. Pepper, trying to figure out why Rasheed Wallace–other than the fact he’s clinically insane–doesn’t post up more. I know most courses make a good buck on Memorial Day weekend, July 4th, etc. ...

The mass-exodus out of Michigan thanks to the auto industry means the hundreds of private clubs are scrambling to fill memberships, leaving members worried about the future of their exclusive playgrounds. To quote Cuba Gooding in Jerry Maguire: “Well boo fu**ing hoo.” Finally, this means some of the state’s most well-kept and historic layouts are opening up to more than those who have 40K to drop on initiation fees. These courses should be open to anyone who appreciates the game’s tradition, regardless of who they know or whether they properly invested in a diversified 401k early in their career. This ...

Damn Chris, you’re a fellow Michigan man, right? You’ve been spending too much time at Bob Evans in the desert without your visor and ’sun’brella. I’m in northern Michigan again and I’ve reaffirmed that THIS is where its at, especially in May. Fine scenery and plenty of options. There’s over 100 courses in the three-county area and you can find anything from $20 clunkers to Mackenzie’s Crystal Downs (tried to talk my way on today, at the least just to take some photos and was kinda told the only way I’m getting on this course is with a rake or ...

I made up my mind that I’d blog tonight— sometime during my morning drive up to Traverse City, MI for my first summer golf trip of 2006. I also decided the topic would be largely based on the solid summer vacation destination of Traverse City, and how it’s striving to prove it’s no second fiddle to Gaylord and Boyne’s golf scene. But this would be a very different entry had my boys lost to Lebron & Co. tonight. My CAPS LOCK would probably have been on the whole time and my scribe would have been largely unlegible because I ate ...

It appears one of the newest big things in golf travel marketing is the “golf trail". It sounds pretty catchy, right? Traveling one small nitch of countryside, playing a series of courses that speak to you like chapters of a book. Maybe the trail charts a designer’s growth from first design to later masterpiece. Then there’s the ad-wizards who look at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Alabama and love the ring to it so much they try to fabricate their own. Arthur Hills is a very capable course designer with a solid reputation nationally, but trying to market 12 ...