For some unknown reason, it’s tough to be critical about anything this week. Not that it’s a bloggers job to be pure criticism, mind you, but let’s be honest, it’s fun to lay the blast down sometimes. And therapeutic, I’m sure. But in all seriousness, a great number of times, some good stories don’t get the ink they should because they’re not sexy enough. Case in point, the events of this past weekend’s Nelson Mandela Invitational in South Africa. Now, just the name “Nelson Mandela Invitational” gives you a pretty good idea that charities will be involved, which they are – ...

The holidays are just a fantastic time to be a writer. A writer’s lonely existence is mollified by being surrounded with family, friends and loved ones in a heartwarming, soul-enrapturing yadda, yadda, yadda. But mainly, it’s a great time to be a writer during the holidays because finding topics to write about is just so easy. Let’s see, it’s Thanksgiving, what am I thankful for? It’s Christmas, what gifts would I give to golfers? It’s Hanukkah … Ok, I got nothing for that. Or Kwanza, for that matter. But New Years is just a “2005’s Top-10 Whatevers” free-for-all. It’s sad really, and ...

The year is 2634. Around noon-ish on, say, a Monday. Two beleaguered scientists rummage through debris in a long-abandoned television studio. They find a strange looking video: Beleaguered Scientist 1: Hey, I found a DVD that looks playable still. It looks like a fat guy on the cover, may be another Santa Claus thing, I’ll put it on. Using their super-DVD-modular dealie, the scientist plays the DVD. The pair watch at first, in stunned silence. Beleaguered Scientist 2: It’s just this fat guy sitting there, smoking. Beleaguered Scientist 1: There are a couple trophies on the couch with him, he must do something. Fast forwards Beleaguered ...

This deserves immediate attention: David Duval is leading the Dunlop Phoenix in Japan, as we speak, one shot up on Tiger Woods after shooting a 64. “I played well,” Duval said. “I’ve been playing well for about a month now but just haven’t been scoring well. I’m well aware of how I’ve played over the past few years but I’ve worked hard and it’s good to start a tournament not behind the 8-ball.” People, we need to start lighting candles, or something. If you have any voodoo rituals you’ve been holding back, now’s the time to unleash them. Duval, a British Open champ ...

Michelle Wie’s continued escalation into becoming “The World’s Most Important Human” seems to be going smoothly, as the young star continues to amass headlines and controversy around the globe. Ok, no victories as of yet, but lots of headlines and controversy. First, we get a Sports Illustrated reporter calling out Wie on a nothing foul, getting her disqualified from her first pro tournament. One TravelGolf.com writer has gone so far as to say that the SI reporter did it solely to promote his new golf book, and that the golf book might be the worst piece of literature since “Psychiatrists are Devils: ...

I remember the day clearly. I was summoned to the TravelGolf.com main complex to receive an important assignment. It was a normal day at the complex, which inside is somewhat similar to the bar scene in the original Star Wars. Boss-in-chief Mark Nessmith was running around shirtless, screaming in a language I believed to be Farsi. Tim McDonald was mainlining Rogaine, while Chris Baldwin was furiously trying to locate Paula Creamer’s home phone number. Basically, it was business as usual around here. Then came the assignment: They wanted me to go undercover to GolfBoards.com, take command away from Colonel Kurtz and restore ...

PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem has made it clear he wants his sport to have more and new viewers with his new plan for finishing the season with a “World Series” of sorts. Meanwhile, in Kansas City, Luke Kohl, along with partner Mike Yohay, are looking to introduce golf to an audience that Finchem and a good part of the rest of the golfing industry has avoided – inner-city kids. Kohl, who was a caddie on the Senior PGA Tour as a young teen-ager, has created an ambitious plan to create an environment that will introduce new players to the sport he ...