Just Say "No" to Tiger for Ryder Cup

Do we really need a struggling and befuddled Tiger Woods on this year’s Ryder Cup team?

Hey, Captain Corey, just say “No”.

Realistically, I know this will never happen because television networks and sponsors will put too much pressure on Pavin to add Woods as a Captain’s pick.

Pavin is playing the diplomatic politician card when it comes to Woods’ Ryder Cup participation. Here’s what Captain Corey had to say when asked about the situation recently at a press conference at the PGA Championship:

“I think a couple of things have happened the last couple of weeks. Obviously he played better last week. He's working on some things that seem to be improving his game. So I was obviously pleased to see that happen last week. His comments to the press and the media are very positive. He wants to play and he wants to be on the team. Again, he's high on my list. He's certainly a big consideration, no doubt.

But as I've said before, you know, everybody I'm looking at, and come September 7, I will let you guys know who those four are going to be. But he and a lot of other guys are up on my list, and probably that list will grow in the next three weeks.”

The Euros haven’t been quite as complimentary of Woods lately and are circling him like sharks after some fresh bloody chum. Irish phenom Rory McIllroy first called out Woods, then Luke Donald chimes in and you know Colin Montgomerie (Monty) won’t be far behind. They can’t wait to get a piece of the new Tiger—the one who barely breaks par anymore, can’t hit two fairways in a row and hasn’t hit a 10 footer since his Escalade ran over a fire hydrant.

Remember, too, we didn’t even need Tiger back in 2008 at the Ryder Cup Matches at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky. Heck, we pasted the Euros 16 ½ to 11 ½ without Tiger. In fact, when Tiger did play previously, the U.S. had losses three successive times.

I’d rather have somebody like Champions Tour star Fred Couples be a Captain’s pick. At least Freddy is at the top of his game right now. Tiger  has too much baggage and he’ll detract from the team concept Pavin is trying to perpetuate. Do we really need the British tabloids attacking Tiger daily while our other lads are trying to sharpen their games for the TwentyTen course at Celtic Manor?

I’m not a Tiger hater, but I really think he should sit out this Ryder Cup and open the spot up for a youngster who would treasure the opportunity.

As I said, that’s not gonna happen. So, get ready for the “American Ryder Cup Team and the Tiger Woods Road Show.” With Euro team members popping off regularly, the British tabs about to join in and the steady murmur of controversy that Tiger woods brings these days, it should be one heckuva Ryder Cup.

 

 

 

The Sport With the Most Ridiculous Rules

I have always thought that the creator of the Rules of Golf must have been some sort of mentally challenged sport sadomasochist. Isn't the feat of rolling a ball into a tiny hole from hundreds of yards away using only sticks hard enough by itself? I guess not because there are a plethora of rules to make this darn sport even more difficult.

All the golf rules ruckus right now is over Dustin Johnson's 2-stroke penalty for grounding a club in a hazard during the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits. The controversy is that Dustin failed to recognize that his ball lay in a bunker because the crowd had been standing in it and trampled it down. Sure, it wasn't clear that his ball lay in a bunker, but it was a bunker none the less. Because he grounded his club prior to his shot, he violated USGA Rule 13-4: Ball in Hazard; Prohibited Actions of the Rules of Golf.

However, my problem isn't with the determination of a bunker or other hazard on a golf course. My beef is that there is a rule about grounding your club in the first place! Grounding your club is just a natural resting spot for your club before you swing. Why should it be any different in a hazard? Isn't it penal enough to have your ball lay in a hazard? But more to the point, is there really any advantage to grounding your club? It's not like you're allowed to tee the ball up. I have been playing this godforsaken game for over 15 years and not once did I feel that not grounding my club in a hazard materially affected my shot. I'm sure that Dustin would have had the same result with his 2nd shot on hole #18 if he had not grounded his club in the bunker. The rule prohibiting grounding of the club anywhere is just asinine to me and is just one of the many rules that should be stricken from the Rules of Golf.

In the end, this is just another instance of why golf is often the laughingstock amongst the sporting world.

Golf in Venice, Italy? Yes, Bravo.

Last month, I spent several days in Venice, Italy. Like most tourists, I strolled the sidewalks lining the canals, sipped wine at a café on San Marco Square, indulged on gelato and watched the passing parade of boats on the Grand Canal.

My biggest discovery in Venice (my third visit) had nothing to do with culinary delights, gondolas or Murano glass. Through a well-informed and connected lady named Tabita Miotto, I found out about the wonderful golf opportunities around Venice and Italy in general.

Miotto is a key principal in Amazing Venice Golf , a marketing coop organization that not only promotes golf in Venice but in other regions of Italy, such as Tuscany, Piedmont, Rome, Apulia, Sicily and Sardinia and the Italian lakes region. If you want to play golf in Italy (which has about 200 golf courses), I highly suggest you consult this site first. They’ll guide you to great golf as well as incorporating other activities such as gastronomic, art and wine tours.

Miotto summarizes the appeal of Italian golf this way: “Sipping a cappuccino in the main piazza, under the Italian sun surrounded by art masterpieces….I have always been used to the Italian sweet life…I was inspired to share these emotions with other people…Italy has excellent courses and I hope you will experience the unique feeling of playing in Italy.”

Designers like Arnold Palmer, Robert Trent Jones and Kyle Phillips (designer of Kingsbarns in St. Andrews) have fashioned courses in Italy.

The Amazing Venice Golf site includes a “Great Deals” section which features package deals and an E-Quote, which allows you to submit your destination, accommodations, golf and other requests resulting in a customized quote.

Back to Venice. The closest golf course to Venice is the Golf Club Venezia, which was built in 1926 and is ranked among the top ten courses in Italy. Thirty minutes away in the picturesque, college town of Padova, there are several options to play, including the Golf Club Montecchia, Golf club Frssanelle and Golf Club Padova.

The Veneto Region, where Venice is located, is diverse topographically and you can enjoy a variety of golf experiences in and around main cities like Venice, Padova, Vicenza, Verona and Treviso as well as layouts in mountain settings in the Dolomite Mountains.

Amazing Venice Golf works with a long list of hotels, resorts and luxury bed and breakfast properties and golf courses. Ms. Miotto arranged for me to stay in the Domus Orsoni, a fabulous luxury boutique bed and breakfast situated next to the Orsoni glass factory, which manufactures glass mosaic with gold leaf. The five rooms and hallways are brimming with works by different Italian artists and the mosaic-tiled bathrooms are phenomenal. Located in the quiet Cannaregio section of Venice, the Domus Orsoni is a great respite after a day of playing golf or traipsing over and around canals.

So, if you’re seeking “la dolce vita” (the sweet life) and an Italian golf experience, go to Amazing Venice Golf and you’ll be sipping cappuccino in sidewalk cafes and playing golf among the olive trees in no time.

Arrividerci.

The Sunny Side of Life

I spent the first week of August playing golf at Sun Valley Resort in Ketchum, Idaho. Sun Valley, which just celebrated its 75^th winter season, is known as one of the best ski resorts in the world, and it’s definitely distinguishing itself as an exceptional place to play golf from April 1 to October 1.

Here are some of the highlights of my visit:

·     I played the 18-hole Trail Creek course a couple of times and was impressed with the 6,941-yard layout offering fairways framed by tall evergreens and Aspens.  From the middle and resort tees it has generous and fair landing areas and there’s suitable challenge when low-handicappers move to the back tees. The mountain panoramas, open, flower-laden meadows and wildlife at seemingly every turn (I saw deer prancing by on several holes) provide a great way to spend four hours.

·     The new 9-hole White Clouds course is extreme mountain golf at its finest. Some holes feature tee shots from highly perched tee boxes to wide-open fairways down below. The views are stunning. You have 360-degree wrap-around panoramas of the Wood River Valley encompassing world famous ski runs on Baldy Mountain and Dollar Mountain, the Pioneer Mountains, Angel’s Perch, Devil’s Bedstead and the home of Ernest Hemingway. For a vast understatement, Sun Valley Resort owner placed a stone with a plaque on the 5^th tee box that reads: “This is not all about golf.” My favorite hole is the 523-yard, par 5, number eight where you smash your drive from an elevated tee into the brilliant blue sky to a spacious valley below.

·     One of the amenities that makes Sun Valley a great family golf destination is the innovative 18-hole Sawtooths Putting Course, which is patterned after the one at St. Andrew’s. Though I actually scored a nine one of the wildly undulating holes, the course is an absolute blast to play.

·     After a round, there’s a great treat waiting for you—Sun Valley’s golf clubhouse, a 59,000 square-foot stone edifice with wrap-around terraces with mountain views and indoor and outdoor fireplaces. The menu goes well beyond your typical, boring clubhouse fare. Here I munched on sweet potato fries and a Mediterranean Lamb Gyro and washed it down with a frosty brew from the tap. I hear the grilled wild salmon sandwich is a good choice as well. For traditionalists, the Kobe Beef Burger, a half-pounder with cheddar, Swiss or bleu cheese will make you forget about all your bogeys, too.

·     I got to see country crooner Garth Brooks in concert (see photos) with the Sun Valley Summer Symphony at the phenomenal new outdoor pavilion. The copper roof structure accented by Italian stone has a superb sound system and seats 1,500. Among the acts that have appeared recently are former Eagles lead guitarist Don Felder, singer/songwriter Peter Cetera, formerly of the band Chicago and violinist Itzhak Perlman. The Sun Valley Symphony performs free concerts at the pavilion throughout the summer.

·     One of the highlights of visiting Sun Valley Resort in the summer is the Olympians on Ice program staged at an outdoor rink directly behind the main lodge. The night I saw the show, Olympic Silver Medalist Sasha Cohen was the featured performer and she headlined a dynamic show.  The shows are staged every Saturday night from late June to early September. I was told many top skaters use the Sun Valley Resort facility as a summer training ground so there’s never a shortage of great skaters for the show.

·     To really get a sense of what the resort has to offer, you’ve got to rent a bike. The on-site bike shop has everything from serious mountain bikes to big tire cruisers. I chose a cruiser and rode into the town of Ketchum about a mile away. A picturesque village peppered with bistros, restaurants, bars and gift shops, Ketchum is laid-back without the pretentiousness of, say, Aspen or Vail.  Celebrities apparently love the understated lifestyle.  Among those with homes in the area are actress Demi Moore, actor Bruce Willis, and California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger

·     Legend abounds that Ernest Hemingway, who lived in Ketchum off and on later in his life, wrote part of “For Whom the Bell Tolls” in a room in the Sun Valley Lodge. From the 5^th tee on the White Clouds Course you can see Hemingway’s house.

·     The dining at Sun Valley has a little something for everybody. Following a gondola ride up Baldy Mountain, I dined at the legendary Roundhouse (Averell’s), one of the great on-mountain dining places in the world. At The Ram, the resort’s top gourmet restaurant, I had one of the best German cuisine-inspired dishes to ever grace my palette. It consisted of a seasoned piece of pork roasted for eight hours then placed over a bed of spatzle with a course mustard sauce. Absolutely superb. One of my dining partners raved about the oven-roasted Chilean sea bass and the pan-seared prosciutto stuffed breast of free-range chicken is a can’t miss as well. Don’t leave the property without dining at the Trail Creek Cabin, a fixture since 1937 that sits next to a babbling brook and features and outdoor bar with phenomenal mountain views. Locally raised beef, Idaho Trout, baby back ribs and meat loaf are the top menu choices. In the summer, you can take a wagon ride to the cabin for dinner.

·     If you’re looking for a summer or early fall golf getaway where everybody in the family will find an activity to enjoy, I highly recommend Sun Valley Resort. Among the activities available are tennis, hiking and biking, horseback riding, paddle boats, trap, skeet or sporting clays shooting at the gun club, gondola and ski lift rides, fly-fishing, three swimming pools, on-site boutique shopping, wining, dining and shopping in the nearby village of Ketchum, spa, fitness center, ice skating, on-site six lane bowling alley, kid’s program and the list goes on.

 

 

 

Colonial Country Club

Colonial Country Club (ranked #100) is located in Ft. Worth, Texas. It is the only top 100 course ranked in the state. Readers located outside the U.S. may not be familiar with the psyche in The Lone Star State, which is summed up cleanly in their unofficial state motto, "Don't mess with Texas." Texas isn't so much a separate state as it is a state of mind. Ft. Worth has an interesting history as a genuine Western city. If someone walks around Dallas with a big cowboy hat they would be assumed to be a Yankee trying to fit in. In Ft. Worth, the cowboys are real, based on the local cattle industry. Ft. Worth is also a major rail hub, but more about that later. Ft. Worth's city motto is "The West Starts Here," and there is much truth to that. It was previously nicknamed "The Paris of the Plains" due to its freewheeling reputation during the mid 1800's. Ft. Worth had a rowdy saloon district in the latter part of the 19th century, known for its debauchery and crime. It was called "Hell's Half Acre," predating the use of this nickname for the seventh hole at Pine Valley by a good fifty years.

Colonial was built by John Bredemus in 1936, and modifications were made by Perry Maxwell a few years later. Maxwell was the same designer as Prairie Dunes & Southern Hills. The course is famous because it was Ben Hogan's home course during the height of his career.

The Golf Course

Colonial starts out simply enough on flat ground. The first hole is a straight forward dogleg right par five of 555 yards, one of only two on the course. As you can see in the picture below of the first green, the course is well bunkered around the greens. It has possibly the whitest sand I have seen on a golf course. Stepping into the immaculate bunkers can be blinding because they are so white.

The first green

It becomes clear pretty quickly at Colonial that the greens are small. Along with Pebble Beach, Harbour Town and Inverness, they are among the smallest of all the courses I have played.

The three hole stretch three through five is known as the "Horrible Horseshoe." Horseshoe, because the third tee is right next to and left of the fifth green, and the three holes swing around in a U shape. Horrible, because they are not easy. The third is a 468 yard par four dogleg left with a slightly elevated green. The fourth is a tricky 220 yard par three, also with an elevated green.

The par three fourth green

The fifth hole is one of the most renowned in the world. It gets endless accolades. Golf's 100 Toughest Holes includes it on its list. The 500 World's Greatest Golf Holes ranks the fifth among its top 100. Dan Jenkins, in his 1966 book The Best 18 Golf Holes in America, selected the fifth hole as well. It is a 459 yard par four (481 for the pros), dogleg right. As Jenkins describes it: "The drive must be almost perfect, a slight fade and 250 yards out, if you are going to reach it in two. But fade too much, and there is the Trinity waiting. You can bail out to the left but there is a line of trees and a ditch there." The Trinity he is referring to is the Trinity River, which snakes along the outside of the course.

It's a hard hole for sure, but not that hard. As my readers know, I'm not exactly a scratch golfer and I parred the fifth. In fairness, the prevailing left to right wind wasn't blowing when we played; I imagine it's a different hole if the wind is up.

The sixth is a lovely 381 yard par four, dogleg right with another elevated green. For the record, the greens were as well conditioned as I've seen in my travels, so my compliments to the greenskeeping staff. They keep this place immaculate, which, given the heat and humidity down here, they should be commended for.

The elevated sixth green from the left side

I must say, though, that walking off the seventh green, I was not terribly impressed with the course. Very pleasant, for sure, but I was thinking to myself, ok, so it's in the top 100 in the world because Ben Hogan was a member. Nothing wrong with that. We should respect the wee ice mon. I'm good with that.

By the time I walked off the eighteenth green, I had a different opinion.

I liked the 169 yard par three eighth hole. It has some wicked bunkers and trees around it, and the green slopes back to front. Starting on this part of the course, there are two dramatic changes. First, there is a lot more change in elevation and terrain; and second, you play alongside the massive adjacent railroad yard. I know, stick to the golf, you fool, who cares about rail yards? Well, in my view it is an integral part of playing at Colonial. I'm not talking about an occasional train that goes by like at Carnoustie or Royal Lytham & St. Annes. We're talking a major working rail yard right next to the course. Serious rolling stock, my friends.

The par three eighth hole

Because of the cattle business and stock yards, Ft. Worth has had railroad yards since 1876, so they have been here a lot longer than the golf course. It's not unusual to be hitting a drive or a putt and hear train cars smacking into each other as they are coupled up. Train whistles toot their horns throughout the round more than Donald Trump when he is on camera.

The tenth was also one of my favorite holes. It is a nice 381 yard dogleg right par four. Your second shot is over a big swale to a well protected green. Like Harbour Town, Colonial is a narrow, shot makers course. You don't need to bomb the ball to score well here. What you need to do is hit around trees and be smart with club selection.

The tenth hole, approach to the green

The eleventh hole is the other par five on the course, and it is Texas-sized at 600 yards from the pro tees. The green is protected extremely well as seen below.

The par five eleventh green

It won't be uncommon to hear high-pitched screeching as you play around this part of the course as metal train wheels brush against the metal tracks as they are continually put together and leave the station. I'm not bringing up the trains to be critical of them. In fact, the course has a perimeter of trees that block out most of the noise. It's not obnoxious, but it is constant background din all day. Just like it would be hard to describe Moray Golf Club in Scotland without talking about the everpresent jets taking off from RAF Lossiemouth, it's hard to talk about Colonial without discussing the bustling rail yard.

The twelfth was also a very good hole, a 400 yard par four dogleg right with a bowl-like fairway. The elevated green is protected by trees and beautiful bunkers. The green is the smallest on the course, which is saying something here, given that they are all small. Where Colonial excels is in its subtle but sneaky-hard use of doglegs. Ben Hogan's assessment of the course describes how the doglegs are used so effectively, "A straight ball will get you in more trouble at Colonial than any course I know."

The tiny twelfth green

Fifteen was my favorite hole, another 400 yard par four, this one another dogleg right. Tee shots will kick right-to-left off the sloping terrain. There is a creek that guards the left side of the elevated green, which you approach from the bottom of a hollow.

The fifteenth green

Sixteen through eighteen are strong finishing holes that I enjoyed. It is a finishing sequence like this that makes Colonial such a good venue for the PGA tour. Seventeen is a 373 yard par four that gets progressively narrower as you approach the green, and you have to hit over a swale in the middle of the fairway. The eighteenth has water left of the green. When Phil Mickelson won the tournament here in 2008, he hit a miracle shot over trees after being completely out of position. When he made the putt for birdie, some drunken fool did a cannonball into the little pond adjacent to the green. He was arrested, but you must agree that it was a rather imaginative move. At least he had the decency not to take his shirt off before he jumped in. The video on YouTube.

Obviously, I liked the back nine better than the front and liked Colonial overall. I almost always walk when I play, but I took a cart at Colonial because, like Shadow Creek, it's just too hot. We were treated with true Texas hospitality by everyone at Colonial including our forecaddy who was a nice young man who always had a mouth full of chewin' tobacca' and called us "y'all" the whole round.

As they say, don't mess with Texas.

Colonial and the rail yard from the air