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Archives for: November 2009

Discover Monarch Dunes, golf on the central coast of California

Friday November 20, 2009 | 12:10:26 pm 152 words, 323 views  
While the Monterey Peninsula and Southern California area enjoy a reputation for fine golf, often overlooked is the central coast of California. It’s a little tougher to get to, but it’s well worth it if Monarch Dunes Golf in Nipomo is any indication. First, there’s the already-established and superb Old Course at Monarch Dunes. But the newest addition, the 12-hole Challenge Course, is the icing on the cake. If you’ve only got a couple of hours to kill, it’s the perfect solution. Plus it’s a great one-two punch with the Old Course. This is no ordinary par 3. In fact, I would ...

Course marshals at The Bridges Golf Club tops in my book

Wednesday November 18, 2009 | 12:50:44 am 375 words, 641 views  
When I arrived at The Bridges Golf Club in San Ramon, Calif., this morning and was introduced to my playing companions, I knew it was going to be a good day. The Bridges is a fairly challenging Johnny Miller-credited daily fee course (It was really designed by Damian Pascuzzo) that just celebrated its 10th anniversary. While it isn’t exactly target golf, having a guide to get you around this KemperSports-managed golf course is helpful. This morning I got three guides, who were decent sticks and even better people. Barry and Dick are both retired from non-golf careers; Craig is in between ...

Tiger Woods' antics on the golf course are so polarizing

Sunday November 15, 2009 | 06:32:26 pm 581 words, 1531 views  
So it’s come to pass that once again Tiger Woods has won a tournament, and once again, he is being criticized for his on-the-course antics. Over the weekend, Woods won on the other side of the globe. He fired a final-round 68 en route to a two-shot victory at the Australian Masters at Kingston Heath Golf Club near Melbourne. Ho-Hum, it’s Tiger’s seventh win of the year. So what else is new? We’re pretty used to that part. And, by the the way, anybody who says Woods isn’t the greatest player of all-time also believes we faked the moon landings (yeah, I ...

A little incentive to play golf in Mexico

Thursday November 12, 2009 | 10:56:26 pm 190 words, 878 views  
How’s this for an enticement to come to Cozumel, Mexico? Free golf. Well, OK, nothing in life is ever truly free, but if you book a package at the Playa Playa Azul Hotel ($255 a night) in Cozumel, you can play all the golf you want at Cozumel Country Club for free. Just pay cart fees. And yes, it’s time for United States citizens and Canadians to start thinking about going south. Designed by Jack Nicklaus’ son, Steve, Cozumel Country Club is the first course in Mexico to earn designation as a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary from Audubon International. The course has ...

Troon Card could pay off on the golf course

Tuesday November 10, 2009 | 04:37:49 am 282 words, 1109 views  
If you’re planning to travel around the country next year or as early as this winter, and your plans include a lot of golf, you might want to look into a discount card or program. In this case, I’m referring to the Troon Card by Troon Golf that will allow to you to play the company’s courses for up to 50 percent off as well as replays for as little as $10. If that seems somewhat limiting, consider this: Troon Golf has a pretty nice portfolio, especially in Arizona, where it is based. And in the winter, green fees in Arizona ...

Fry.com Open's run at Grayhawk Golf Club short and sweet

Thursday November 5, 2009 | 11:51:29 pm 292 words, 1266 views  
Scottsdale, Ariz., has one less tournament now after the PGA Tour made this announcement yesterday: The Frys.com Open is moving from Arizona to California. For the past three years, the Fall Series event has been played at Grayhawk Golf Club’s Raptor Course in golf-rich Scottsdale. Now it will move closer to Fry’s Electronics headquarters in San Jose, Calif., which is just a 30-minute drive from the tournament’s new home – exclusive CordeValle Golf Club in San Martin, Calif. This really shouldn’t come as a big surprise as this tournament has moved quite a bit in the last few years. Before Scottsdale, ...

PGA Tour suspension of journeyman golfer tells us very little

Tuesday November 3, 2009 | 07:50:57 pm 388 words, 1388 views  
So it’s come to light that Doug Barron, a little known player who lost his PGA Tour card three years ago, is the first to be suspended for testing positive for a performance enhancing drug. Barron only played one PGA tour event and a handful of Nationwide tournaments this year. The PGA Tour isn’t saying what he tested positive for, and Barron hasn’t divulged what the substance is either. Barron, a 40-year-old from Memphis, did issue an apology, though, for any “negative perception of the tour or its players” resulting from his suspension, which is a year. That’s right, a ...

Plenty are bummed out about losing Viking Classic golf tournament this week

Sunday November 1, 2009 | 08:52:44 pm 340 words, 1930 views  
If a golf tournament is canceled and you didn’t notice, is it missed? The answer is a resounding yes. While the casual golf fan stops watching golf after the Tour Championship and most likely any event that Tiger Woods isn’t in, these PGA Tour “Fall Finish” events have plenty of drama. In this case, the Viking Classic at Annandale Golf Club just outside of Jackson, Miss., was the victim of Mother Nature this week. Ironically, this tournament survived Hurricane Katrina four years ago… well, sort of. The course was severely damaged and the event was moved from September to October that year ...

The Accidental Golfer The Accidental Golfer

The Accidental Golfer (AKA Mike Bailey) has spent more than 15 years writing about the game that has brought him unbridled joy and temporary bouts of insanity. Now on staff at WorldGolf.com, Bailey is a former senior editor for PGA Magazine, senior writer for Golfweek's SuperNEWS and Turfnet magazines and past president of the Texas Golf Writers Association. He has covered every facet of golf, including the PGA and LPGA Tours, equipment and course architecture, as well as the bane of his golfing existence: instruction. The last has led to at least 30 different golf swings, which all feel different but appear to his playing companions to be the same.