This Week at WorldGolf.com: Nov. 6, 2007

We might not have cared about PGA Tour's Fall Series, but plenty of pro golfers did

Did you catch any of the PGA Tour's Fall Series? No? You're not alone. The climax of the FedEx Cup race, ending as it did back in September, rendered these last seven events on the PGA Tour schedule about as riveting and watchable as afternoon soap operas.

Even the PGA Grand Slam of Golf - suffering from an absent Tiger Woods - couldn't make us care.

Yet there were plenty of people who did: Namely, second-tier Tour players for whom these last seven events of the season had all the importance of major championships.

There was big money involved, a combined purse totaling $32.6 million. That's for seven events .

With an almost total absence of a top-30 golfer in these fields, these titles, and the accompanying paychecks, were ripe for the taking.

The Fall Series serves as a reminder that, while we might think of professional golf only in terms of majors championships and players like Woods, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh and others, the majority of those on the PGA Tour are simply working professionals trying to earn as much as they can in a given year. Okay, I'm not saying just to put food on the table, but compared to the megabucks that the top players make both in winnings and endorsements, a second- or even third-tier pro pulling in $400,000 in winnings seems just to be scraping by.

Turning Stone Resort Championship winner Steve Flesch pocketed $1.08 million. Ginn sur Mer Classic winner Daniel Chopra took home $810,000. Stephen Ames last week collected $828,000 at the Children's Miracle Network Classic.

As I've written before, these are the players who are benefiting from Woods, who has single-handily increased tournament purses since turning pro in 1996. None of these events had any ratings, yet consider again that Turning Stone check.

It's something to noote that even those near the bottom of the Tour's money list manage to make hundreds of thousands in a season, while often times not even seriously contending. Not that it's all cha-ching: A pro's place on the money list helps determine whether he has a Tour card the following season.

So, putts on the 18th of the final day in the Viking Classics and Valero Opens are important, and can carry all the drama of a major. We just don't care about them. Maybe the PGA Tour should try to change that.

As always, WorldGolf.com welcomes your comments.

Dye course at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla. gets historical restoration

PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla. has upgraded its three golf courses - the Dye, Ryder and Wanamaker - and expanded its pro shop. The facility's Pete Dye design got the biggest makeover, now boasting Champion Ultra Dwarf greens and a cleaner look.

Hilton Garden Inn at PGA Village opens featuring Palm Beach style

Historic Dunes Golf & Beach Club still the class act of Myrtle Beach

The Dunes is a perennial pick as the Grand Strand's best course, and rightfully so. It has it all: scenery, difficulty, top conditions and history. The A1 Bentgrass greens installed during Rees Jones' redesign particularly shine from the fall through spring and are lightning fast and smooth, making putting here a real treat. This is the kind of course that in many ways you want to see a few times to get a true appreciation for its design intricacies.

Tee Vision Video: The Dunes Golf & Beach Club's "Waterloo"

Widow's Walk Golf Course outside of Boston: Difficulty is a draw here

Widow's Walk Golf Course south of Boston is an intriguing combination of woodland and links golf styles. It's short but demanding, with narrow fairways but forgiving greens, and amounts to one of best rounds of Massachusetts public golf.

Boston golf clubs: No longer the haunts of blue-blooded Brahmins