Enough is enough. I’ve been somewhat of a fence sitter on the distance issue in golf, maybe leaning slightly in favor of controlling the distance of the ball rather than shredding great golf courses. But now, my mind is made up. We’ve got to do something about the tour guys and the unbelievable length they are driving the ball. Corey Pavin, notoriously the shortest hitter on tour, has clearly realized it is no longer 1989 (his first step was losing the mustache), and decided to play the same game as everyone else. In route to shooting his record-setting 26 (I ...

If you’re interested in reading one of the worst pieces of garbage written about the British Open, look no further. I’m not sure if I sense a bit of bitterness in ESPN’s “resident Brit’s” tone, but whatever it is, he needs to come up with a few better reasons not to like the final round of the Open. The only point he makes that is even close to worth the time it took to write is the fact that there was never a real lead change; other than that, he couldn’t be more wrong, and he makes it way too clear ...

With the British Open at Royal Liverpool, it is difficult to ignore the fact that The Beatles began their legendary careers in the same area. In fact, the last time the championship was held at Hoylake, the Beatles were at the peak of their popularity. And when one looks more closely at some of their songs, both the well-know and the obscure, it becomes eerily obvious that the fab-four not only knew their way around the guitar strings, but also were able to predict many of the events that would transpire at the next Open to be contested near their ...

Golf, in the immortal words of Mrs. Gump, “is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get.” Once again, I picked up an interesting and helpful fact about my game in the strangest of places- the Charleston City Municipal Golf Course during the weekly skins game that occurs on Fridays. It’s a modest $12 to walk the course as a city resident, and a $15 entry to play the skins. Yesterday there was a field of twenty-nine, meaning that the skins, though potentially large, would be difficult to come by, as the Charleston City course is ...

Golf instruction, especially that offered by celebrity instructors such as David Leadbetter, is very different than it used to be, and the average weekend hack is suffering as a result. Sadly, he doesn’t even know it. Every time I open Golf Digest or watch The Golf Channel in the afternoon, I see the newest and latest training aid developed by David Leadbetter. And every time he creates something new, whether it’s the Laser Guide, the Leadbetter Swing Setter, or his new interactive DVD, he is promoting the same fundamentals, and guaranteeing that his new training aid will get everyone who picks ...

Tiger Woods has made his return to the PGA schedule this weekend, following an extended break during which he was learning to cope with the recent loss of his father. Over the past two months, Woods only played two U.S. Open practice rounds on Thursday, June 15th and Friday, June 16th before realizing he wasn’t ready to return, and taking the weekend off at Winged Foot. Tiger had a slow warm up round on Thursday at Cog Hill with a 1-over 72 before his return began with a 67 on Friday that included a stretch of holes in which he birdied ...

Hilton Head Island, South Carolina is known for its golf, but in order to play Harbor Town, Palmetto Dunes, or even the lesser-known Sea Pines courses (Ocean and Sea Marsh), you had better be prepared to spend, as Kiel Christianson often relates, between $8 and $15 per hole. But with many of these courses you’ll walk away certain that they accidentally added a 1 in front of the actual cost (for instance, The “Ocean” course at Sea Pines allows one glimpse of the Atlantic from the 15th green). Harbor Town is a fantastic layout, but sports less-than-perfect course conditions ...