Johnny Miller mentioned Constantino Rocca’s miracle putt at the British Open to tie John Daly on 18 but he didn’t mention that Constantino then went on to beat Tiger Woods at the Ryder Cup at Valderamma. Ever since Sarah Vardon put a voodoo curse on the American squad in Haiti six years ago the American Ryder Cup golfers have been skating upstream.

The U.S. got off to a shaky start when some unknown Irish newspaper trash talked the team by calling Elin Nordegren and Sonya Toms and Amy Mickelson “filth.” The Americans needed a Dennis Rodman or a John Daly to light a fire in the heads of the Euros by calling Heather Clarke “filth.” Instead the Americans handed the Ryder Cup on a platter to the Euros like Herod handed John the Baptist’s head on a silver platter to his daughter Salome at his filthy wife Herodius’ instigation.

It was all downhill for the Americans from there. They looked like Jean Claude Killy or Jean Van de Velde shussing down the slopes of Grenoble as Steve Williams dipped his white surrender towel in the Atlantic Ocean before tumbling head first into the deep blue sea along with Tiger’s bag.

It was a bad week for Kiwis and crocodiles all around but fortunately Fluff Cowan was also in the group and doubled for Furyk and Woods. On a lighter note Phil Mickelson won his $5 nassau from Henrik Stenson although he did lose all of his matches. It’s going to be cigarette lighters for Phil from now on.

– Karen Fish

The Fall PGA Expo has been hailed a success by the PGA as always and while I can report that there was a nice buzz of excitement on the floor, more than a few of my equipment side friends reported slow traffic and few buyers…whereas on the specialty side, traffic seemed brisk and fun.

The Why Didn’t I Think of That? Award

Las Vegas is the land of beauties and sun, so why shouldn’t golf highlight the same thing? Play Golf Designs is now offering high-level corporate clients who can have a day of golf with such babes as Ashley Prange (Big Break 5 winner) and others. Their motto; “spend a day with a lady that can play” and why not? For only $1,250 to $2,850 … you can have the lady for a round of golf or for the whole golf outing and party afterward with other guests! Let me see … pay out thousands AND get your butt kicked. Nice!

The Devil Made Me Do It Award

While it is not my style to go negative, I can’t ignore the straight up “rip-off” of one of my favorite companies. While walking the isles I couldn’t help but notice the counterweight system being offered at the Winn Grip booth by one man (I won’t even give him publicity by naming him) and Winn offering a grip with a pre-cut hole. He said he had invented the item “about 5 or 6 years ago” which coincides precisely with the work on Tour of Balance-Certified Golf, the leader in Motion Balancing™. Of course, no one has ever heard of this guy or seen him on Tour.

His product is a cheap knock-off and the thread system for keeping it in place in a shaft could result in damaging shafts. So beware … not only is this product a clear patent infringement … it can ruin your clubs! Ain’t the golf business great! Put your heart and soul into building a company so some sleaze can try to rip you off. Stay away DEVIL!

The Hottest Seller, or The Shag Bag is Dead Award

Brian Eagan of Pro Sleeve Golf was so dang busy selling product he didn’t have time to talk to me! It was amazing, no matter what, after each presentation of how this ball placement and collecting device works for you around the green (holding up to 14 balls in a slick plastic sleeve) he would have to bundle up a dozen or so and sell them.

The customer simply wouldn’t walk away without them. Never seen anything like it. It can be made with your logo’s to match your colors and is super high quality … and with a click of the trigger you can place a ball, or pick up a ball. Nice!

The How To Make a Cart Bag Like a Stand Bag Award

Pete Juricic of Chicago, invented the Kart Kaddie only a year ago which allows us who ride to place the bag at a 45-degree angle with a handy plastic brace that angles the clubs back. It allows easier access to your clubs and your clubs stay nicely in order.

This product won the “Best New Product of Show” award by the PGA Expo folks, so my award may not be as prestigious, but I am always on the lookout for young entrepreneurs who are trying to make a difference. Congratulations Pete!

The “I Love New Putters” Award

Every year at Orlando there is 50 new putter entries with the likelihood that we will never see them again. Rick Hamilton an 18 year veteran of putter design for the likes of Carbite, SeeMore, Ray Cook and others decided to give us a sneak preview of his own design, the Hamilton Putter in Las Vegas. He has brought to bear all of his experience in this traditional looking putter, but with some key distinctions. First, he has produced a Microdome™ insert which features a mysterious material with very small “domes” which grab the ball and give it precise directional control.

Second, he has added a variable weight option on the toe and heel. Finally, he worked with Tour players on its appearance to have very soft lines on a Gun Metal steel finish. The putter has a “perfect” sound which adds to the feedback and based on the looks on people’s faces after putting with it … a new winner for sure…and oh yeah, one more thing … this high quality putter is going to retail for $129. I am sure the industry will just LOVE that price point. Go Rick.

CB Maxwell
President, Maxwell Media Marketing

Equipment companies are having a feast, though they probably feel more like junkies - “wish we could stop this technology madness but I don’t think we can live without it.” Golf ball manufacturers are in the midst of the “Great Golf Ball Wars of the 21st Century.” Pretty soon, even us slugs will be able to manage a 410 yard drive. Our old par-71 course will be reduced to a par 50 or maybe just 7 holes averaging about 600 yards.

And only a few have been brave enough to standup and say anything. Some who should be listened to, like Jack Nicklaus, are politely ignored. TV commentators, some so painfully honest that they’ve never seen a really great golf shot, can’t be bothered. Or, maybe they fear for their jobs.

I like technology. I like my perimeter-weighted clubs and I like golf balls that are really round. I enjoyed my first big bomber driver when I gained an extra 15 yards to offset my age. But we don’t know how or when to stop anymore.

Where are the governing bodies? Has someone gotten to them - told them to bury their heads if they know what’s good for them. There have to be some limits somewhere. Limits are good for you. I’m most disappointed by the R&A. I’ve always assumed that they have a much better appreciation of “tradition” than the USGA. America has been clearly about money since the end of WWII. But doesn’t “old Europe” have a bit more common sense?

At any rate, let’s have a dialogue - you know, a friendly discussion of the situation. Let everyone express themselves, hear all sides - amateurs, tour pros, club pros, retailers, equipment makers, and organizations.

Amateurs, let’s not forget that we are the driving engine. It’s our money that pays for everything else including the tour pros. Without us the whole thing sinks like a ‘55 Caddy in a peat bog. Go to the forum sites and make yourself heard and to the blogs. It’s not just about saving ourselves some money, or saving courses, it’s about saving the game we love. If the governing bodies won’t do it, then we’ve got to do it ourselves fighting hand-to-hand combat.

John Diekmann
www.golfdash.com

In 40 years or so, if we are fortunate, Tiger Woods will publish his body of work on golf and generations of golfers will then have four publications that define how the best played the game.

I own and teach at a golf shop in Orlando, Fla. I build customer relations by encouraging my students to read, no, to study, what the best had to say about winning and how they went about it. The most successful students invariably are those that learn Mr. Hogan’s grip and posture chapters prior to our first lesson. Hours of lessons will be replaced by learning that comes from within.

It took me a long time to shoot a round under par. I had studied Hogan’s and Nicklaus’ books, for about four or five years focusing on technique; on methods. I understood the golf swing as well as I do today, yet performance on the course would always be marred by mental screw-ups that cost strokes and under-par rounds. It wasn’t until I came upon “Bobby Jones on Golf” that the barrier was broken.

“Good play can disappear not because the golfer can’t play while he is thinking of the swing, but because he isn’t sure what he ought to think about, and what he ought to try to do.” This little nugget summarizes what studying Mr. Jones’ book will fix for those who take the time.

Training aids are much overrated. In most cases they become crutches that cause distress on the golf course because they are not there when needed most. Learning the feel of a golf swing - understanding that is not dependent on outside entities - is the only training aid that we can take with us. Successful golf can be ours for about $45 dollars in books and conscientious practice; much less than the now common rates of $200 per lesson, that more often than not leave golfer in a state of confusion requiring a couple more hours worth of lessons to figure out. I can’t say it enough, good golf comes from within.

Miguel Fernandez
Golf Etc. Lake Mary

Four in a row, and two of them majors … and I think it is safe to say that the World Championship at Firestone was close to being a major. It was a real treat to see Tiger give back 4 shots to the field on Saturday only to claw his way back into it at the turn on Sunday. Thank God that Cink put up a fight and we got to see Tiger remain focused, close the deal with that final putt on the 4th playoff hole and win again. At least he wasn’t on cruise control down the stretch.

As for Phil, one can only wonder how much his loss of his third major in a row has effected (affected?) his belief in himself. As we all know, we come home after a round, and if we have made a mistake it can bug us for days. How much more so does Phil replay that final hole in his mind? How much does that eat away at his confidence? How much does it pop during play these last few tournaments? I don’t know, but it must be lurking there somewhere, don’t you think?

They say in bull riding, that after a fall, you have to get back on and have some success. I don’t see Phil doing that. Tiger’s dominance over that latter part of the season can’t be going unnoticed by the world’s number two, as he falls further and further behind in the World Rankings. Dave Pelz can boast all he wants about his number one student; he simply isn’t up to the challenge. He can say, “that should be me,” but the fact is, his body language tells a different story.

Christopher “CB” Maxwell

There are Sandbaggers who play hockey, runners, DISC Golfers, bikers, spys, NASCAR drivers? NASCAR drivers who ride in the draft of a leader? Hockey players who lose a game (or three) so they’ll be dropped into a lower skill level division so they can ONE day win?

I know about real golfers who purposefully track only high scores so they’ll win net score prizes in tournaments but I never imagined there were running sandbaggers, pucking sandbaggers, and NASCAR drivers?

It’s a nightmare!

Now I picture a tournament, at say Firestone Golf Club (home of Bridgestone Tires) and in the foursome there’s a hockey stick welding, puck pushing guy on skates, a Discus throwing running man, a guy in a Formula One vehicle with a polo mallet, and a 50 something year old duffer dragging a golf cart. I can see skate trails, tread marks, and disc holes on the greens, and spys wearing a Humphrey Bogart hat lurking behind bushes on every hole. The nightmare ends with The Golfing Sandbagger having 2 strokes added to his score for his slow play.

Wake me up! Please!

J.J. Gowland,
Author, “Confessions of a Sandbagger”

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–Dot Wong

Golf has golf psychologists but why not golf psychiatrists? What is the psychiatric reason for the 50 wars going on in the world today? Why can golfers from all over the world get along perfectly but family members are suing each other?

If today there was a modern young great looking Arnold Palmer clone and if he was a Muslim there would be no Middle East conflict. Japan would make any Japanese golfer winning the Masters Emperor Hirohito. Is it my imagination or did Japan bomb Pearl Harbor but the moment that Isao Aoki tilted his putter up like a flag at full mast the United States and Japan became best friends?

Golfers have connections but why don’t they use them? Butch Harmon spent 3 years as the personal golf coach of the Sultan of Dubai. Why doesn’t the United States make Butch the Ambassador to the United Nations instead of John Bolton. Did he get the job because he’s related to Michael Bolton?

If the modern Arnold Palmer clone was a Muslim named Muhammad Palmer and got invited to the Masters Champions Dinner then instead of calling the Americans “The Great Satans” the Muslims would be idolizing Muhammad Palmer today, and Augusta, Georgia would become the third holiest place in Islam, right behind Mecca and The Temple Mount.

In order to save life on Earth why doesn’t the United States send Butch Harmon, David Leadbetter, Hank Haney, Dave Pelz and a Korean ladies golf coach over to Dubai and quickly develop some boy named Muhammad into the greatest golfer since Bobby Jones?

Imagine the 18th fairway on Sunday afternoon at Augusta lined with Kafiyas and Burkas being shown to 1 billion Mulsims on Al Jazeera as Muhammad Palmer birdies 18 to beat Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Michelle Wie. It would be everlasting peace on Earth forever.

Let Fuzzy Zoeller insult the falafel at the Champions dinner. He would be beheaded in the locker room, which raises the issue, “How could golf be so popular without violence?”

The answer is that it’s a distraction from the violence. If you want violence then just watch Ann Coulter on CNN. How dare she call that lovely college girl “Miss Smartie Pants.”

–Karen Fish

Ogilvy, a 29-year old Australian, talking about golf fans is quoted as saying, “Most of us, if we’ve got fans, they’re generally golf fans and they know how to watch a golf tournament.” But when referring to the fans of Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson is quoted as saying, “There’s people who follow Tiger and Phil who generally don’t know how to watch a golf tournament.”

Meeeeoooooowwww!

I wonder if Ogilvy is completely wrong?

What if the fans of Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson have it right and the other fans don’t know how to watch a tournament? Is there a school or diploma that teaches fans how to watch a golf tournament by the way?

Obviously I’m being a little silly but I think there is a more serious underlying point to this post.

Golf is changing and it’s causing some people to long for the days gone by. Golf is game dripping with tradition and decorum. The traditionalists appear to want to maintain the civility of the game but they are facing opposing views.

In February 2005, when asked if unruly fans are good for the game of golf, Brian Wacker, assistant editor for GolfDigest.com is quoted as saying, “It’s not only good for the game, it’s great for the game.”

Jason Sobel, golf editor, ESPN.com says, “Do fans quiet down before Tom Brady takes a snap from center, then politely clap when he fires a touchdown pass? Of course not, and the gallery at the 16th hole will treat this week’s competition as a sporting event, rather than just a golf event. That means cheering for good shots, booing for bad shots and plenty of fun for four straight days. How can that possibly be a bad thing?”

And finally, Ron Sirak, executive editor of Golf World Magazine says, “As long as they quiet down when it comes time for a guy to hit, what’s the problem? The game needs a little energy around it. And the only crowd control problem I’ve seen in recent years at a tournament was at the 1999 Ryder Cup – and it was created by people inside the ropes.”

As always, one of the fundamental planks of this debate probably comes down to money. The “rowdy fans” of golf means extra money for the game but at the same time, it also means the face of the golf gallery is changing.

How do you ask the new fans of golf, who are pumping lots of money into the game, to be quiet?

Answer: You can’t. You just have to ask them to be polite.

–The Divorced Golfer