Everywhere you look some association is busily handing out awards. Male athlete of the year has been bestowed upon Tiger Woods by both the GWAA and by the Associated Press, Lorena Ochoa was given the women’s honor by the same organization and the Sports Illustrated models even gave Michelle Wie the nod by pronouncing her one of the top “hotties” of 2006. Are there any more accolades to be doled out before the start of the 2007 golf season? The LPGA Tour has decided to pay homage to their own, in the same vein as the ESPY’s which gave Annika Sorenstam her ...

Click here to listen. Michelle Wie’s recent acceptance to Stanford gave us pause this week to reflect upon a golf lesson offered up by Ernie Els during the 2005 Sony Open. Perhaps if Michelle Wie practices with more determination this year, all of her PGA Tour dreams might come true…including entrance into the Masters or even a spot on the U.S. Ryder Cup team? Our next subject on this holiday edition of Golf for Beginners answers a listener’s email about bounce. When is it best to use a sand wedge and when should a golfer opt for a more bladed club? Can a ...

Did Tiger Woods text-message Annika Sorenstam to gloat after winning his eighth GWAA player of the year award? Probably not because he must be too busy preening over being deemed Biography Channel’s “Biography of the Year". Catch the Tiger Woods documentary December 21st. Check your local listings. Did Lorena Ochoa inwardly chuckle after snatching that same award from Annika Sorenstam’s grasp? The Golf Writers Association of America believed Ochoa to be more worthy of receiving this year’s accolade than Sorenstam and rightfully so. The Mexican sensation finished off the 2006 season with six wins on the LPGA Tour versus half that ...

Click here to listen. Annika Sorenstam is one busy entrepreneur, from her successful association with Ginn Resorts right down to giving advice to golfers in both Golf Digest and Golf for Women magazines. Barry and I discuss Sorenstam’s one-handed drill that is sure to provide both the golf beginner as well as the intermediate player with better ball contact as well as help generate more clubhead speed. We continue with golf tips for winterizing your golf equipment. How do you determine which clubs should remain in your bag and which should be traded out for something more reliable? Perhaps swapping a three-iron ...

I now have the eyes of the tiger…Tiger Woods that is! It’s now about two weeks since lasik surgery has been successfully performed on my peepers and I must admit, it feels as if it happened a lifetime ago. Even with the new technology of intralase bladeless lasik versus the original Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis, I still chose the original procedure. The price was much more reasonable and I figured that the surgeon (and the VISX machine) would have already had plenty of experience carving that microkeratome into my baby browns. Barry got the opportunity to watch as the operation was televised. The ...

Click here to listen. Here is a conundrum for our listeners and readers. What functions as both raingear and a golf training aid? Why an umbrella, of course! And not just any umbrella, no! The rain reflector we’re discussing in this week’s podcast, Umbrella Plus, has also been hailed by The Teaching Network, a panel of PGA teaching professionals who only accept products which “show true value in the players learning process". We not only concur with the findings of these golf instructors but we also laud the Umbrella Plus’ versatility and ease-of-use. Listen to the details of our findings on this ...

Click here to listen. Not all husbands and wives are meant to share the game of golf. Tiger Woods and his wife Elin, for example, enjoy other activities together as she is an expert downhill skier. As Tiger stated, “Being married to a Swede, you have to ski, no choice.” This week a listener asks about the probability of getting his wife to learn golf. This question started a “friendly” confrontation and an all-out battle of the sexes debate quickly ensued! After a brief reminiscence as to how Barry helped get me interested in the sport, I thought about something that he reiterates ...

Imitation is considered the sincerest form of flattery. I guess Vijay Singh must consider Tiger Woods PGA Tour ‘07 fair game as he has created not only the initial Vijay Singh Pro Golf Game but now an updated version more simply entitled, “Pro Golf 2007″. Vijay has taken his game in a slightly different direction, preferring not to compete with Woods head-to-head but laying up instead on the mobile frontier. I wonder if dropping Singh’s name out of the title will inhibit or spur on this golf game’s growth? Tiger Woods has recently announced his venture into golf course development. No sooner has ...

Click here to listen. With the assistance of his father, Tiger Woods learned early on how to focus not just on the shot at hand but also on that little golf ball directly in front of him. We discuss clarity of mind which helps all golfers including Tiger Woods) free themselves from all other distractions to concentrate on the task of hitting that ball squarely off the tee. We also answer an email from a reader who hasn’t played golf in a while and finds himself hitting off the toe of the clubface. What is he doing wrong and how can he ...

You’ve got to give Michelle Wie credit as she tees it up against the men for the final time this year at the Casio World Open. She just keeps on ticking with no sign of stopping. As a determined Wie stated, “Get used to it". And so we shall as Michelle Wie completes the “watch” tour. There was the Omega where she finished at the bottom of the leaderboard and now the Casio where last year’s memory was of a sobbing teenager who had just thrown her chances away after bogeying the final two holes of the tournament. Will she become ...

Click here to listen. This podcast is a biggie, filled with lots of golf tips for the driving range. Our listeners have spoken, letting us know that they take their ipods (and our weekly tips) with them when they practice so we have created this session with them in mind. One email battles over whether or not an instructor can do more harm than good. Can a golf swing suffer from the wrong teaching method? We use a bit of advice from Butch Harmon who feels that a golfer should not try and change a less-than-perfect looking swing but work within his ...

The ladies of the LPGA finally get the opportunity to earn in one event as much as their PGA Tour counterparts. A million-dollar first place purse is being dangled in front of the contestants at the ADT Championship to see which golfer comes out of the gate strongest, fastest and with the tenacity of a pit-bull. Donald Trump has once again plotted and planned to make sure that his Trump International Golf Club was the host for this year’s event. Trump has actively been pursuing the LPGA and attending planning board meetings in the hopes of securing several events for his ...

Click here to listen. Tiger Woods claimed during an interview at the HSBC Champions event that he now feels “refreshed, recharged and ready” to play golf again after his recent bout with exhaustion. We take a tip from Tiger Woods and pass it along to our listeners. Click here for Tiger Woods’ tips on mental toughness! Cold weather? No problem! Barry and I aren’t about to let a little dip in the temperature stop us from playing golf in the great outdoors! We discuss the changes you might find on the golf course during this season and how to deal with lost ...

While Lorena Ochoa struggles to grab player of the year honors on the LPGA tour, Annika Sorenstam has decided she likes the PGA “silly season” better, foregoing the Mitchell Company Tournament of Champions for a matchup against the men. Sorenstam and Fred Couples, known as the “king” of the post-season, have paired up for this week’s Merrill Lynch Shootout. Normally this wouldn’t catch my attention but it appears as if Annika is diversifying, stretching her legs after a terrific golf season and, perhaps, wondering if she can attract the same kind of media attention as PGA tour wannabee, uber-teen Michelle Wie. This ...

I don’t blame Commissioner Tim Finchem for being upset that Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are AWOL from this week’s Tour Championship. He is the head of the organization in which both men have risen to the top of their respective games. He is also the pinnacle of the food chain when it comes to “heads rolling” if the PGA Tour doesn’t receive enough viewership. Without golf’s two biggest stars, how many people are really watching? When I heard that both Woods and Mickelson were kicking back instead of heading out to work, it ticked me off. I don’t get the ...

As you all know, your efforts to triumph over Annika Sorenstam are similar to efforts made by your male counterparts on the PGA tour when competing against Tiger Woods. Here are some tips on how to defeat Annika Sorenstam. 1. All must agree that those playing with Sorenstam must be willing to bend the rules of etiquette. This means they must come supplied with weaponry other than their sticks. 2. One of those in the grouping must make believe that they have a very bad cold. They must also be willing to sneeze and cough loudly in Annika’s backswing. 3. One of ...

Both Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson have opted out of the Tour Championship. Tiger says that he needs to recharge his batteries and Phil is still trying to forget his U.S. Open “flop". Now that Barry and I have a year’s worth of Golf for Beginners podcasts in the hopper, we have also decided to take a short respite. This occurence doesn’t necessarily mean that we aren’t going to provide our listeners with quality golf tips and our usual banter. We have compiled a few of our “vintage” podcasts, filled with Tiger tips, Michelle Wie frenzy and ample instruction to keep you ...

Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, even Michelle Wie, have been hot topics this season on the PGA tour but which story has gained the most sympathy, support and readership? Could Phil Mickelson’s second Masters triumph be the early gossip leader, where everyone proclaimed “Lefty” as a person likely to complete the elusive Grand Slam? Then, with the untimely demise of Earl Woods, all golf afficionados tuned in to see how Tiger handled himself under the pressure of the calamity. Missing the cut at the U.S. Open, Tiger Woods proved that he was human. We felt for him, hoping that he would return ...

Click here to listen. You would think that Tiger Woods already has every shot in his bag but he, too, is always learning. This week’s golf tip focuses on all-important chip shot. At the end of a round of golf there can only be one winner, whether it be a professional or amateur tournament. Even on the publinks, when betting a two-dollar Nassau with your friends, it really hurts when you are the person handing out the dough. Do you follow basic golf etiquette? How good of a loser are you? Finally, we reveal an all-important occasion for Golf for Beginners. Continue sending your golf ...

If you come to New York toting your sticks, you won’t be able to play a round of golf on the course that will host this weekend’s skins game featuring Donald Trump. It’s really a park that is being gussied up to bring attention to Governors Island, originally a coastal fortification for the City. That being said, “The Donald” will be teaming up with Tom Watson with the hopes of defeating Annika Sorenstam and Natalie Gulbis even though he will be the only amateur on the course. Trump sports a five or six handicap (depending upon what internet source you read) and ...

At first I was considering letting the whole Michelle Wie debacle come to a close after her floundering performance at the Samsung. Why rub salt on the wounds and what more could be said about the 17-year old who is said to be one of the LPGA’s great hopes and the future of professional women’s golf? I wished to see Wie near the top of the leaderboard. I wanted to see her contend with Sorenstam and Ochoa. I expected to be dazzled by her extraordinary talent, cheering her on to victory. Instead I watched as Lorena Ochoa proved herself to be ...

Click here to listen. Strengthen your focus and concentration with this game-within-a-game tactic! Pia Nilsson (Annika Sorenstam’s mental coach) and Lynn Marriott’s (Golf Digest Top-50 instructor) golf tips will keep you “in the moment"! Both are co-founders of “Vision 54″, a tutelage that all golfers are capable of shooting a birdie on every hole! Phil Mickelson has a tendency to get into trouble (remember his U.S. Open collapse?) He also has many shots in his bag to get him back onto the fairway. We discuss the punch-out with help from Golf Digest teaching professional Rick Smith who, I believe, has seen ...

Michele Wie would like nothing more than to be the golfer who dethrones Annika Sorenstam at the Samsung World Championship. Considered by some to be the LPGA’s “fifth major", this would be a crowning achievement for the young Hawaiian girl who has tried but failed all season to triumph on both LPGA and PGA tours. Fifth major? Laura Davies makes that assertion on the Samsung website adding, “Just to get in means you’ve had a great year". The Michelob Ultra Open has also been declared a fifth major by some players for it’s high purse but seriously, how many can ...

Click here to listen. How you swing the golf club can really make a difference! A lesson from his golf professional taught Barry which plane which works best for irons, woods and driver. Fred Astaire was not only a terrific dancer but also a low handicap golfer. We share his secret. And, we couldn’t help ourselves when we heard Phyllis Diller’s wisecrack about her golf experience, so here it is! Continue sending your golf questions and comments to golfforbeginners@aol.com. Subscribe to our weekly podcast through this RSS feed: http://feeds.worldgolf.com/stacy_solomon or through iTunes. Nextel/Sprint cell customers type http://www.mymbn.com/podcast/ in your browser and click on “sports casts". ...

Annika Sorenstam had little interest in entering this week’s Corona Morelia Championship. She already proved convincingly that she can crush the LPGA’s ADT money leader Lorena Ochoa and she’s too busy preparing for her guest appearance on NBC television’s “The Tonight Show". Just two weeks ago, Sorenstam put on a golf “clinic", a friendly skins game, in which she thrashed Lorena Ochoa eleven skins to seven, causing the Mexican sensation to quickly ask for a rematch. Annika agreed. Why not? She’s already up one match! Now that Ochoa has had time to “ponder” her loss to Sorenstam, she has to take on ...

This is S. Scott Rosenberg’s recent remarks about golf’s beloved Tiger Woods. He further goes on to tell us that Woods should be the one man that America should love to hate. Could it be that Rosenberg is just a tad bit jealous knowing that he will never achieve the popularity nor the charitable greatness shown by the number-one golfer in the world? Although he is considered golf’s first “billion-dollar man“, Woods also gives millions to charities (Tigerjam and the Target World Challange in which Woods donates his winnings every year) and helps the youth of America through the Tiger Woods ...

Click here to listen. I found myself searching for a reason why my self-assurance increased this past week after crushing opponents during a round of golf. The “dean of mental coaching", Dr. Bob Rotella, seemed to offer up the closest ideas as to my improved cerebral performance. What would make Tiger Woods retire from golf? We relate this quote plus one in stark contrast from Vijay Singh. “The Rules of Golf plainly spoken” helps the golfer whose ball finds an unplayable lie. Continue sending your golf questions and comments to golfforbeginners@aol.com. Subscribe to our weekly podcast through this RSS feed: http://feeds.worldgolf.com/stacy_solomon or through iTunes. Nextel/Sprint ...

Breaking up is not hard to do anymore, especially when it comes to professional golfers giving the “heave-ho” to their caddies. Just as in the marriage front which claims more than a fifty percent divorce rate, these numbers are spilling into the arena of both the PGA and LPGA tours. Some break-ups go well citing irreconcilable differences and others are not so friendly. Michelle Wie didn’t release former caddie Greg Johnston face-to-face. Instead, an “endorsement” was issued via spokesperson. He should have continued to carry the bag for Juli Inkster. Similar results for Lance Bennett, looper for Lorena Ochoa. What’s interesting in this ...

After reading Bill Wolfrum’s article alerting me that my favorite lefty golfer, Phil Mickelson, was all washed up for the remainder of the season, I was crushed. Mickelson semed to be his happiest during the 2004 Grand Slam where he shot an unbelieveably easy 59. Even after losing the 2005 Grand Slam of Golf to Tiger Woods, Mickelson remarked, “it was kind of a fun, friendly round of golf. There wasn’t much of a competition going on out there, so we just enjoyed the day". Come on Phil, to be in Poipu in November is like being in heaven! But ...

The final round of the Longs Drugs Challenge was a nail-biter. Annika Sorenstam pulled off her best Tiger Woods impression giving Karrie Webb a run for her money. As Karrie said in her post-round interview, “I let everybody back in when I doubled seven…I knew that probably would feed Annika’s aggression.” Webb took home the trophy and the honors but the real shocker came while watching Morgan Pressel play in her first professional “final grouping” alongside the veteran females. Pressel not only gained her best bogey-free career round finish as a professional golfer but, most notably, showed the world “live” on the ...

Click here to listen. Molly Baney is not only a celebrated golf instructor at the popular St. Andrews Golf & CC in Illinois but she is also a Golf for Women Magazine Top 50 teacher. We discuss her top five golf tips. Learn the recommendation that Payne Stewart offered up to celebrity real estate mogul Donald Trump at a charity event. Trump provides many more tidbits from professional golfers to top CEO’s in his absorbing book, “The Best Golf Advice I Ever Received". “The Rules of Golf plainly spoken” discusses the penalty for too many golf clubs in your bag and what happens ...

Expressing an opinion is one of the great things we have going for citizens in the U.S.A. So why is everyone berating Johnny Miller over his press conference comments? Miller’s statement that pairings of Woods/Furyk and Mickelson/DiMarco at this year’s Ryder Cup is necessary because of previous successes is a good idea. Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are long drivers and can “go for it” while golfers Furyk and DiMarco are strategists who can take a safer route if necessary. Just look at Phil Mickelson’s theory of “risk/reward” and you will see a perfect example of why he is paired with ...

Ryder Cup frenzy has already begun. From Kiel Christianson’s opinion that the Europeans will once again take the honors to Chris Baldwin’s opposing view, the excitement is building and with good reason. Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson will be teammates and that’s always good ratings. Watching Colin Montgomerie’s frustration should also be tantalizing: he’s usually great at wearing his heart on his sleeve. Sergio Garcia’s colorful couture should also keep viewers intrigued. What about the golf? That’s always top-notch! All Annika Sorenstam and the rest of the ladies on the LPGA tour have to do is patiently wait until Sunday when ...

Click here to listen. Sometimes it’s tough playing golf in the rain but if you carry the right essentials, you’ll beat the elements and have fun doing it! Also, why did Barry leave his Titleist Vokey spin-milled lob wedge in the bag? Barry also plays a weekly game on a golf course with an elevated green. Learn how to easily conquer this odd shot from the tee box. Putting tips are featured in our section, “The Rules of Golf made simple". Continue sending your golf questions and comments to golfforbeginners@aol.com. Subscribe to our weekly podcast through this RSS feed: http://feeds.worldgolf.com/stacy_solomon or through iTunes. Nextel/Sprint ...

Tiger Woods’ hasty exit from the HSBC Matchplay Championship was blamed on his putter. I think his problems were more about the speed of his putts rather than the line. His untimely defeat looked almost as bad as Michelle Wie’s last place finish at the Omega. Ernie Els, Retief Goosen and Jim Furyk were also in the same boat. Paul Casey was worried if anyone would watch the event after his win over Goosen. “I think we lose some TV ratings", he said. Michelle Wie didn’t need a crystal ball to know that she would be ousted after yet another dismal showing at ...

Earlier in the season, Ty Votaw insisted on creating a five-year plan for the LPGA. All professional female golfers were required to attend a meeting in order for Votaw to discuss his “five points of celebrity” to create maximum revenues for a floundering tour. Those key points were, “performance, appearance, passion, relevance and approachability". At that time, Playboy.com held a “sexiest woman on the LPGA” poll asking it’s readers which professional female golfer would they want to see grace the pages of their popular skin magazine. Carin Koch won the title but gracefully declined the offer. Ty Votaw sent pictures of several “clad” ...

Click here to listen. The Golf Channel now shows golf movies! Barry and I recently sat down to watch “A Gentleman’s Game” with Gary Sinise and came away with a great golf tip that can help you improve your stability and balance. Barry reviews “Golfdust”, a new training aid which is becoming the rage among golf instructors. In our “Rules of Golf made simple” a listener asks if he made the correct decision when his golf ball landed on a yardage marker. Continue sending your golf questions and comments to golfforbeginners@aol.com. Subscribe to our weekly podcast through this RSS feed: http://feeds.worldgolf.com/stacy_solomon or through iTunes. ...

“I didn’t even know which sport I was playing out there” stated Michelle Wie after missing yet another cut. No wonder Wie m/c’d. You can’t hit a golf ball with a tennis racket! With a 78 and 79 Wie showed she doesn’t belong on the men’s tour. She even added another distinction to her resume. This is the first men’s tournament in which Wie finished in last place. Another attempt and yet another m/c. That makes nine out of ten times that Michelle Wie has tried, and failed. The professional golfers on the Nationwide Tour should be getting really annoyed right about ...

Ah, the dreams of a teenager. Currently the youngest Omega ambassador in a group which includes golfers Sergio Garcia and Ernie Els as well as supermodel Cindy Crawford and actress Nicole Kidman, the ambitions of Michelle Wie are spreading to dreams of scoring 54’s and joining the U.S. Ryder Cup team one day. “Hopefully I will be able to do it one day, that would be awesome. I think it is totally possible” stated a passionate Wiesy regarding her Ryder Cup aspirations at her pre-round interview for this week’s Omega European Master’s tournament. Another attempt for Wie to qualify in a ...

I’m a little confused. Was that the Deutsche Bank or the State Farm tournament on T.V.? If I didn’t know which golf tournament I was watching I could have easily superimposed Tiger Woods’ face on Annika Sorenstam’s body. In similar come-from-behind fashion, Annika rallied from five back to win by two strokes and Tiger, who seemed to mimic Sorenstam’s performance, took the lead away from poor Vijay Singh, who really thought he had it in the bag this time. Now we all know that it’s a no-no to go one-on-one against the great T.W., don’t we? I would rather be in ...

Click here to listen. It’s no secret that Barry enjoys a friendly side bet on the golf course. Imagine his delight when I found this golf tip from Butch Harmon! In the “Rules of Golf made easy” we discuss the flagstick. To remove or not to remove! We’ll give you the lowdown. Continue sending your golf questions and comments to golfforbeginners@aol.com. Subscribe to our weekly podcast through this RSS feed: http://feeds.worldgolf.com/stacy_solomon or through iTunes. Nextel/Sprint cell customers type http://www.mymbn.com/podcast/ in your browser and click on “sports casts". Our station number is 1955.

While most people will be celebrating the “unofficial” end of summer this weekend, the top golfers on the LPGA tour will all be gunning for Pat Hurst as she defends her State Farm Classic title. Cristie Kerr, who won this event in 2004 but narrowly succumbed to veteran Hurst in 2005, will be out “headhunting” for her. Annika Sorenstam, who required an 18-hole playoff at the U.S. Women’s Open in order to defeat Hurst has entered the final field, her first event at the Rail Golf Course since 2001. Perhaps Sorenstam is back here not only because of a commitment to play ...

Click here to listen. Even though Tiger Woods played his C+ game this weekend at the Bridgestone, he persevered. Yawn. Another week, another victory…that makes four in a row, doesn’t it? Despite a playoff with rival Stewart Cink (2004 winner) Woods’ strong mental game allowed him to stay focused with his “eye on the prize". We are simply amazed by Tiger Woods’ ability and discuss his golf tips on “how to master the mind” straight from his book, “Tiger Woods: How I Play Golf”. In my opinion, Bobby Jones comes in a close second. Remember, Jones still remains the only person ever ...

Time has a way of slipping by during the summer season, especially if you’re not winning on the tour. There can only be one winner per event and the problem with that statement is that there are approximately 75 remaining “losers” each week. Although both Natalie Gulbis and Morgan Pressel have been touted early on as two ladies to watch, their performances have been short of perfection. Come on guys, who remembers the person who came in second…especially on the LPGA tour? Both are great golfers (I can’t beat them…yet) but they have not set themselves up to win, just to ...

If Carolyn Bivens can’t do it, at least Donald Trump is attempting to make the LPGA more visible to golf afficionados. Using his almighty “pull” where he has impacted communities, Trump is now asking Briarcliff Manor (my hometown) to change an ordinance in effect when he was allowed to take over the old Briar Hall golf course. Granted a special permit in 2000 to rebuild the failing course, Trump had promised our community that he would not host professional golf tournaments on the site of Trump National Golf Club although he does conduct charitable functions there . The town agreed, so now ...

Click here to listen. While watching Tiger Woods attack the pins during this week’s PGA Championship, I noticed his constant tempo throughout his round. His swing is a combination of fluidity and compactness. Although Tiger generates terrific clubhead speed, he rarely gets ahead of himself or swings out of his boots. His tempo is rhythmic; he’s like a machine. Although there are some golfers that are quicker in their tempo, such as Nick Price or Lee Trevino, and others who are slow and methodical, such as Ben Hogan, one thing is certain…their swing speeds remain even, as Annika Sorenstam helps us ...

Click here to listen. Ipod-ready quick golf tips to help improve your game. No ipod? Consider downloading them to your cell phone! Take this week’s greenside and fairway bunker tips with you to the practice range or give a listen before your round. Continue sending your golf questions and comments to golfforbeginners@aol.com. Subscribe to our weekly podcast through this RSS feed: http://feeds.worldgolf.com/stacy_solomon or through iTunes. Nextel/Sprint cell customers type http://www.mymbn.com/podcast/ in your browser and click on “sports casts". Our station number is 1955.

Cristie Kerr whomped Angela Stanford once again, this time at the Canadian Women’s Open, an LPGA tournament I missed because I cant find the RSN Network on my list of more than 300 digital cablevision stations. Angela Stanford suffered a moment of deja-vu this weekend and the stunned “deer-in-headlights” look on her face after her long-shot defeat would have been worth millions. At the Franklin American Mortgage Championship earlier this season, Stanford held a four-stroke lead heading into the final round only to be trounced by Cristie Kerr. A worse thrashing occurred this past weekend by Kerr as she awakened from an eight-stroke ...

Click here to listen. During our recent round, Barry noticed that I get frustrated easily and hold on to anxiety much longer than I should. He believes this subliminal mindset is stopping me from realizing my potential. We discuss ways that I could “get out of my own way” and start having more fun. A listener discusses one of our previous podcasts and asks for further clarification on how to fade the ball. Barry and I have noticed that, for the beginner (and for most golfers), the rules of golf can be very wordy. We attempt to simplify them in our new section ...

You’ll have to blink twice to see Natalie Gulbis in a Mastercard commercial that appeared during sweeps week this spring and throughout the golf season. In the ad, a young woman decides that she needs help with her golf game after playing a round with a few guys who are rolling their eyes at her, one of them gazing down at his watch. Isn’t that the way it usually is though, ladies? No matter how well we play, men will always prefer playing golf with other men. This young woman gives herself a complete makeover from the etching on her golf ...

What if Tiger Woods took up a sport other than golf as a child? Where would he stack up against other great athletes of today? This is the premise of an article I read on PGATour.com which pits Woods’ recent milestone of fifty tour wins and career achievements up against other greats in the world of sports. Although the story compares Woods’ record to that of Roger Clemens, Reggie Jackson, Charles Barkley and Wayne Gretzky, there is no consideration for the possibility that if Tiger decided to chuck it all in right now and become a hoop star, would he be ...

Click here to listen. Ben Hogan has been acknowledged as the greatest ball-striker ever by Jack Nicklaus but didn’t know anything about Hogan’s secret which he revealed to Life Magazine in 1955. Barry and I compare his complicated yet instructional knowledge to the simplicity of John Jacobs’ more easily comprehensible lessons for beginners. Where else to get the best golf tips than from the top instructor on the planet? Golf Digest (and Golf for Beginners) taps Butch Harmon’s knowledge about chipping techniques around the green. Finally, we react to a recent blog by John Hawkins, senior writer of Golf World, who claims ...