In the roughly eight weeks of my life I’ve spent in Great Britain & Ireland, not one observation or conversation has led me to believe the NFL could ever be successful there. Yet here the NFL is on Sunday, storming into London’s Wembley Stadium. After repeated failings in Europe with World League Football, here they are, still peeing into the wind. Look, I’m cool with Americans spreading our credit and obesity epidemics to the four corners of the world. But c’mon, lets spare the globe from American football. How would you like it if suddenly cricket highlights started popping ...

Hey, don’t look at me, look at the latest edition of the World Golf Ranking. For the first time in it’s 22-year history, a Scottish golfer is not on the list after Alistair Forsythe slipped from 98th to 102nd. Colin Montgomerie has slipped down to 114th. When the rankings debuted in 1986, Sandy Lyle checked in at No. 3. But for the first time, the Scots are shut out. That’s three less than tiny neighbor Northern Ireland. Graeme McDowell is 32nd, Darren Clarke is 62nd, while phenom Rory McIlroy checks in at 81st. Wales has no representation either, but since ...

Debuting on TravelGolf.com this week is our newest installment of TravelGolf.com On Campus: Ohio State and Columbus. As the byline indicates, I wrote it. But what the story doesn’t disclose, and what I must tell you now, is that I spent the first 18 years of my life in Ann Arbor. I am offspring of two University of Michigan alums. I’ve drank the water that flows through campus and have been subject to countless hours of Bo vs. Woody quarrels. And despite attending college at Indiana University, my full-blown malcontent for all things Ohio State had already been fully formed. In terms ...

We’re thick into the middle of college football season and TravelGolf.com’s On Campus series, where we highlight a different big game and that town’s golf every week. But I’m noticing an alarming trend: many public university’s golf clubs are closed to the public. The University of Michigan, University of Florida and University of Texas are all campuses we’ve highlighted through this series. All three are similar in that their golf clubs are not open to the general public, who can only get on if they are playing with a member or university affiliate. Next week, I’ll post my story on ...

Debuting this week on GolfEurope.com is my feature on Hamburg, Germany, written based off a trip I took to the northern region earlier this summer (click here for a previous column on golf in the region). You may notice the article is not epically long. And that’s the problem. One of the great cruelties of this job is that often times we are invited to some of the most beautiful places in the world…And we’re shown the destination so swiftly it’s as though we’re tweaked out contestants on Supermarket Sweeps. Perhaps more than any other trip I’ve been on, this ...

As I’m sure is the case with most of my colleagues, I often receive emails and IMs from friends asking for golf trip advice. I may as well share my answers with everyone since what I’d tell my aunt is the same I’d tell you. So now a buddy of mine is asking about golf trip advice for next June. Here’s what he is looking for: “Some friends and I are looking to go on a golf trip in June. Things to weigh: quality of golf and nightlife. Would be nice if it were cheap, but I’d rather it be ...

There is a golf course renovation just underway that I’m greatly interested in: The Makai Course at the Princeville Resort on the Hawaiian Island of Kauai. Princeville is most famously known for it’s demanding Prince Course, widely regarded as one of Robert Trent Jones Jr.’s best designs and a mainstay on all Top 100 lists. I think it might be the most challenging course I’ve ever played, especially when the trade winds are up. There are some knee-knocking shots out there, none more so than the tee shot on the par-4 12th hole, that’s like trying to knock a 3-wood ...

If you’re like me, your portfolio is seeing more red these days than a slasher film. And if you watch business channels for a half hour a day like me, chances are you’re so freaked out you’re cutting your budget left and right: Toothpaste is for the elite (tap water has perfectly good fluoride). I haven’t had a decent breakfast since Lehman Brothers went down. I even stopped buying ringtones, so forgive me if you hear my “Destination Calabria” ring at the bar (sooo spring 2008, I know). So I can bet some of you golfers out there are ...

The demise of Sergio Garcia has been greatly exaggerated! I’ve been crunching some numbers for 2008, and it’s shaping out to be the best - if not the most painful - year of his career. While Sergio sips his sangria somewhere in the south of Spain, I can’t imagine him overly disappointed with his tumultuous 2008 campaign. He’s probably quite pleased with it. We’re going to stew on his three runner-ups this year, all in high-profile tournaments (The PGA Championship, Barclays and Tour Championship). But let’s recall earlier this year he won The Players Championship. The Players’ field is deeper ...