Before I bust out my party hat and bottle of Andre’ for New Year’s Eve, it’s time to look into the crystal ball for 2009. I see a lot of strange things happening in the world of professional golf. Here are five things I guarantee will happen. Call your bookies now. - Sergio Garcia will win a major. I said earlier this year Garcia had a great 2008 season and would turn it into a major before he turns 30. Well, at the end of 2009 he turns 30. If I had to point to a major to double down ...

Myrtle Beach is now within easy reach of to those sun-starved Chicagoans just in time for the Grand Strand’s peak golf season. Starting in March, Spirit Air will begin daily direct service from O’Hare (ORD) to Myrtle Beach (MYR). I’m fully aware how needed this route was. When I lived in Myrtle Beach for close to two years, I flew to Chicago once every few months. Generally, I had to take a Northwest Airlines route through Detroit to get there, and it was seldom cheap. The best I could find was around $270 and it was never the dates or ...

The first draft of my 2008 “Best Of Golf Travel” column was over 2000 words. Alas, there’s still a lot of fond memories in my mind heading into 2009… It took me about two weeks to cut it down to half the size, though maybe one day when I’m famous I’ll release the unedited “Director’s Cut", much to my obsessive fans’ delight. But seriously, when you head everywhere from Kauai to Malaysia to Wales, there’s just too many great moments to revisit, whether it’s on the course or in the pubs. So click here for the full column, where I ...

The worst thing Corey Pavin could possibly do as he assumes the United States captainship from 2008 hero Paul Azinger is try and do too much leading up to Wales in 2010. Don’t mess around with the dinner schedule, don’t make Tiger Woods sing karaoke against his will in front of everyone (ala Tom Lehman), don’t mess with the selection process & captains picks, and don’t over-think the pairings (ala Hal Sutton pairing Tiger and Phil Mickelson). The nitty gritty has already been done by ‘Zinger, leading them back to the winner’s circle in 2008 following a nine-year drought. After ...

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – In the mall next to the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, they’ve got a Christmas tree so tall it’d give the Rockafeller Center tree in New York a run for it’s money. Rest assured, Christmas is celebrated in Malaysian cities and resorts as much as anywhere. Malaysia is about 60% Muslim, but the country’s very own progressive form of the Islam religion, Hadhari, was introduced by former Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi years back, but religious tolerance in the country is nothing new. In historic Melaka two hours south, there is the “Street of Harmony", where ...

MELAKA, MALAYSIA – I suppose at it’s most basic, the reason we plunk down big cash to travel to foreign lands is for the opportunity to see and do plenty of “firsts". Two days into this Malaysian golf trip, my first ever voyage into Asia, I’ve had my fair share. I’ve never seen dozens of golf course rangers driving around on motorcycles. I’ve never seen “Beware of Monkeys” signs all over a golf course. I’ve never seen rangers on motorcycles going into the trees along fairways to shoo away monkeys. I’ve never seen a halfway house attendant fast asleep, lying ...