This Week at WorldGolf.com: Jan. 16, 2008

Remember, there are some interesting stories in golf besides Tiger, Lorena, etc.

This Tiger Woods column is interrupted by the stars on the mini tours...

We write about Tiger Woods so much around here that it sometimes seems we're part of his public relations team (really, we're not). That could be one of the myriad reasons Michelle Wie got so much ink for so long - she wasn't Tiger Woods.

But if you choose to write about the PGA or LPGA tours, your options can start getting limited. Lorena Ochoa has finally started to get a lot more press, and deservedly so. Phil Mickelson is always a win away from getting several thousand column inches dissecting everything from his girth to his golf. LPGA stars like Paula Creamer and Morgan Pressel are always good for a few stories when they're playing well. And when other winners emerge from the tours - like K.J. Choi this past week - they'll get some press, right up until someone else wins the next week.

And then Tiger wins a tournament and he owns the golf media once again. It's not particularly unfair or biased, though. When you put seasons together like Woods has, the media attention comes as naturally as the trophies.

In so many ways, however, we're missing some really good stories. Because those battling to work their way up the ladder in golf have stories to tell, and to follow. This thought comes as Luke Swilor, a pro golfer out of Utah, blogged about his next tournament - on the Wasatch Tour and other mini tours. But Swilor, who blogs about his battles to get onto the PGA Tour, is just as excited as anyone who will have a PGA Tour tee time this week.

"It's been a LONG time since my last competitive round, so I am PUMPED. I feel like this is going to be a great year," Swilor wrote in his blog.

But it's not just Swilor. There are literally thousands of golfers, young and old, who will be battling the competition and their games to take the next step in their careers. There are seemingly hundreds of other tours out there, both nationally and regionally, from the Nationwide Tour to the Futures Tour on down to the Wasatch Tour, all replete with great competition and interesting players.

So in 2008, one resolution is to write more about the golfers working their way up the ranks. The stars of tomorrow are working their butts off, traveling in broken down cars and scrapping together enough money to enter tourneys. And maybe this would be a good year for golf writers - and golf fans - to start giving them just a little more attention.

As always, WorldGolf.com welcomes your comments.

Down in Mexico, a beast lurks behind Cabo Real Golf Course's flowery romance

Robert Trent Jones Jr.'s Cabo Real Golf Course will have you sweating bullets in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. It's Robert Trent Jones II at his most fearsome - and his best. It's a course that takes you nearly to the edge of the surf and gives you views of bikini-clad hotties lounging on the pool deck of one of the world's most exclusive resorts.

Also: Tacos with the sea at Cabo del Sol Ocean

Golf club review: Srixon's Z-Steel is a pumped up old-school fairway wood

Introduced in August, 2007, Srixon's Z-Steel line harkens back to revolutionary low-profile fairway woods of the early 90s. The maraging steel clubface is stronger and thinner than regular stainless, but not as light as titanium. It's perfectly suited to tight lies and shot-making players, Equipment Editor Kiel Christianson writes.

Also: Reader club reviews at WorldGolf.com's Equipment Room

Enjoy an easy-going, laid back golf vibe at Black Mountain Golf & Country Club in Henderson, Nevada

As anyone who plays knows, a golf facility is much more than a collection of doglegs, hazards and well-conditioned fairways and greens. Most golf courses tell a story, which is often evident the first few minutes after arrival. Black Mountain Golf & Country Club near Las Vegas is one of those clubs. They've got a half-century to draw from, and it's evident from the time you drive up that you're in a place that melds the past with the present.

Also: Black Mountain Golf & Country Club by the numbers