Top 10 Golf Fashion Don'ts

Golf fashion has evolved rapidly in the past few years.

I mean, just look at Rickie Fowler in his fluorescent outfits, John Daly in his Loudmouth pants and Hunter Mahan in his rapper style golf hats...

Let's face it, though, popular PGA Tour pros can get away with it.

Others can't.

Like these guys...

1. Wearing Your Shirt Out to Hide Your Gut--Nothing says, "Hey, I'm trying to camouflage my massive boiler/beer gut" like guy who wears his golf shirt over his belt.

2. Oversize Non-Golf Belt Buckle--Wearing a buckle sporting a skull or beer company logo might be more appropriate at Daytona Beach Bikefest. On the golf course, ya might want to tone it down a bit.

3. Cargo Shorts--If you're a college student, vacationer on a safari or ornithologist, you're welcome to wear cargo shorts. If you're on a golf course, not so much.

4. Golf Sandals--Can we just leave sandals to surfers. Just because you're in the bunkers all day, doesn't mean you have to sport this footwear.

5. Jeans--It's a great American fashion statement, but just not on the golf course. The fabric doesn't breathe well, there is no pocket room for golf balls, tees and markers and they make you look like a ranch hand with a golf club. Other than that, I guess they're ok, right?

6. Hawaiian Shirts--Please save these for luaus and backyard barbecues. They never looked good on Duffy Waldorf and they don't even look that great on Hawaii golf courses.

7. Visors--Please leave the visors to Brandt Snedeker, Phil Mickelson and Steve Spurrier.

8. Watches--Unless your "Phil the Thrill" scoring some big endorsement dollars for wearing one, you don't really need a watch to tell you how slow the group in front of you is moving.

9. Knickers--Should only be worn by those participating in a hickory stick tournament or by the goofy emcee at a charity golf tournament. Please leave the knickers (plus fours) in the closet.

10. Matching Hat and Shirt with Masters Logo--It's okay to wear a shirt or even hat separately, but when you wear both at the same time it screams: "Hey, I went to the Masters, you didn't, and you wish you could be me."

Twitter: Top 10 Golfers to Follow

The next best thing to following big name golfers in tournaments is, of course, to, uh, follow them on Twitter, right?

If you want to read and respond to some of the best tweets in the golf kingdom, try some of these:

1. Ian Poulter (@IanJamesPoulter)—Poulter takes great pride in his Twitter banter and you never know what he’ll come up with from day to day. He’s brash and sometimes annoying, but always interesting.

2. Paul Azinger (@PaulAzinger)—The outspoken “Zinger” comments on everything from politics to golf and other sports. He’s never dull.

3. Stewart Cink (@stewartcink)--He has an amazing 1,157,740 followers so he must be saying something interesting on a regular basis.

4. Rory McIlroy (@McIlroyRory)—The young Irish phenom seems to drone on incessantly about his great girlfriend, tennis star Carol Wozniacki (@CaroWozniacki), but also has personal tidbits about his daily life.

5. Bubba Watson (@bubbawatson)—Known for his offbeat tweets like “View of 16^thhole in Bermuda from jet ski”, Watson keeps you posted on his great life.

6. Natalie Gulbis (@natalie_gulbis)—The LPGA’s glamour girl keeps you updated on her life on and off the course and always provides a lot of eye candy with great photos.

7. John Daly (@PGA_JohnDaly)—Nobody lives a wilder life on the PGA tour than J.D. He was made for Twitter because you never know where he’ll be and what he’ll say.

8. Rickie Fowler (@RickieFowlerPGA)—One of Tour’s rising young stars, Fowler’s interests go well beyond golf. He sort of over tweets on the Oklahoma State Cowboys (where he attended college), but he’s still a good one to follow.

9. Brittany Lincicome (@Brittany Lincicome)—Good behind-the-scenes LPGA information available here. Lincicome and LPGA’er Christina Kim (@TheChristinaKim) recently got into a highly entertaining Twitter dust up.

10. Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods)—He has the most followers in the golf industry (2,718,053), but he never seems to say much that’s enlightening or interesting. Here’s a classic mundane tweet by Tiger: “Amazing first visit to Turkey. Thanks Turkish Airlines, event organizers and fans. Very special place and a really fun event.” Yawn.

Best and Worst PGA Tour Golfers to Watch

Best Player to Watch

There's nothing like the "oh no" moment when the television camera in the tower focuses on a slow and annoying golfer playing in a PGA Tour event.

Watching one of these agonizingly methodical pros work through a seemingly endless pre-shot or putting routine drives me crazy. These guys really know how to ruin good televised golf.

Here's my list of  favorite players to watch and some of the worst culprits of slow, hard-to-watch golf:

BEST-Mark Calcavecchia--The ultimate shotmaker, "Calc" is also a fast player. In 1992 in the final round of the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, he played a round with John Daly in 2 hours and 3 minutes.

BEST-John Daly--I've followed Daly on the course for years and he never, I mean never, stands over a shot for more than a few seconds. Better still, love him or hate him, he's exciting to watch with his exaggerated driver swing that goes way past parallel and his phenomenal wedge play.

BEST-Rickie Fowler--You gotta love Fowler. Put a stop watch on him and he typically takes less than 15 seconds to hit a fairway shot or a putt. (once he steps over the ball). In a world dominated by technically obsessed pro golfers, Fowler is a feel player brimming with confidence. I find myself wanting him to succeed and rooting strongly against slow players.

WORST-Jim Furyk--I like Furyk. He's one of the classiest guys on Tour. In fact, he generally plays at a steady pace on the fairways, but once Jimbo reaches the green he goes into slow motion. The worst is when he stands over the ball about to pull the trigger only to step away and reevaluate. When Furyk gets to the green, I'm heading to the fridge for a brewski.

One of worst slow play culprits

WORST-Sergio Garcia--Right behind Kevin Na as one of the slowest players on Tour, Garcia has actually improved somewhat over the years. Back in 2002 at the U.S. Open at Bethpage he was heckled unmercifully by the rowdy crowds put off by his endless waggles. He solved that problem but still takes way too much time before hitting a shot or putt.

WORST-J.B. Holmes--You never like to bum kick a guy that's come back from brain surgery, but Holmes is one of the slowest players on Tour. That said, I still like to watch the guy because he's got serious game.

BEST-Dustin Johnson-He's the ultimate lock-and-load guy who plays fast in the fairway and on the green. You've got to follow Johnson in person on the course to get a true appreciation of his athletic ability. He's got tremendous flexibility and it's a joy to watch this guy off the tee.

BEST-Rory McIlroy--Fortunately the World No. 1 is a fast player. To be sure, I never get tired of watching that beautiful, natural swing of McIlroy's. Just think, we've got another good twenty years of watching Rory.

BEST-Phil Mickelson--I enjoy watching Mickelson play because he respects the game on so many levels. He's a relatively fast player on the greens and there's nothing like watching Phil hit a "hero" shot when he's in trouble ala his 6-iron on the 13th hole at the 2010 Masters.

WORST-Kevin Na--You're the champ, big fella. Na has the reputation as the slowest golfer on the PGA Tour. He takes forever on the fairway and the green. You sometimes think he goes through his endless pre-shot routine just to jack with fans. Who can forget Na at this year's Players Championship with his never ending waggles. Five, six, seven waggles.....just hit the freakin' ball will ya. Glaciers move faster than this guy.

WORST-Tiger Woods--You can't argue with success (14 majors and 74 PGA Tour victories), but Woods likes to take his time. While it was tolerable when he was dominating, now it's just annoying. This guy grinds over shots with the best of them. He analyzes every shot like it's his last and while that may be good for his game, it's boring to watch over four days.

Where's John Daly?

With all the media fireworks created by Rory’s ascent to No. 1 in the world, Tiger’s Achilles issues and Phil’s march to the Masters, John Daly has disappeared from the PGA Tour limelight.

The last time we heard much about Daly was at the Australian Open in November when he created a stir by smashing a series of shots into a lake and saying he had run out of balls.

With no PGA Tour card and reliant on sponsor’s exemptions, Daly has been spanning the globe to play in a wide variety of tournaments. In January and February, J.D. teed up in Qatar, Dubai and India. Daly withdrew from the Avantha Masters in New Delhi after injuring his elbow in the first round.

Daly said on “Twitter” that his “elbow snapped”.

Reportedly healthy again, you can see Daly near Tampa this week. He plays in the Transitions Championship at Innisbrook Resort. Daly now resides nearby in the Clearwater area. He played in the Transition’s pro-am on Monday with Rays hurler David Price.

The following week, it’s back overseas again for tournaments in Morocco and Sicily. Daly has more stamps on his passport than an international jewelry salesman.

No matter where he plays these days, the 44-year old Daly hasn’t been doing well. He’s only made one cut in five tournaments in 2012.

Pay close attention when you’re watching the Transitions Championship because you might not even recognize the once rotund golfer. Daly now weighs 187 pounds.

You can see the svelte Daly at the Masters next month. He won’t be on the course, however.

He’ll be in Augusta hawking his merchandise.

Anybody need any Loudmouth pants, “Being John Daly” t-shirt or signed hat ?

5 Worst (But Most Successful) Golf Swings

There's one major difference between your hacker's swing and the list of gentlemen on my list of worst golf swings. They've managed to win millions of dollars with their less-than-technically perfect swings, and you probably don't have a dime to show for efforts. Check out my latest post at Golf Partners Online to see who made my list.