No Longer a Centurion

Hey, Centurions. That was an awesome cartoon.

I broke 100 at Hallettsville Golf Club on June 22. Even with a few blow-up holes (was choking like a dog) I managed to shoot 98. Look out, Medalist Golf Association.

Quail Valley

As many of you have heard by now, Quail Valley CC is now a municipal course. Missouri City declared eminent domain on the property after the whole Renaissance Golf debacle (Out With Inwood, pg. 18, March 2007; Missouri City Fights Back, pg. 16, April 2007). Two weeks ago a board of three country commissioners set the price of the property at $3.1 million. Renaissance had asked for more than $9 million. The city place the money in the county registry and assumed management of the club on July 3. All memberships were voided, and the club is now open to the public with a temporary green fee of $23. The city is currently deciding on special rates.

My uncle and I headed over to check it out last week. Clearly the place had been neglected. Quail Valley originally consisted of two 18-hole courses, a par 3 course, and an executive course. Renaissance closed all but the La Quinta 18. From the looks of things they were doing a good job of trying to close it, too. The bunkers were probably the worst I have ever seen. They were full of rocks and one was full of stagnant green water. No. 18 was a fiasco. The original hole was a par 4 with a creek crossing in front of the tee box and down the right hand side. Well the bridge crossing the creek to access the tee box, so Renaissance blocked it off and put the tee markers in the middle of the fairway, making the hole a par 3. I don't know whether the bridge collapse was the cause or effect of making the hole a par 3. In any case the hole is uphill, so when it rains the "tee box" is a mess.

But all in all I am pretty pleased. The greens are nice and Quail Valley could fill a much-needed niche for affordable golf in this part of town. I live off Hwy 6 in Sugar Land and play at Gus Wortham. I have to go to Stafford to even find a driving range.

The Fall of Hermann

Hermann Park was Houston's first municipal course and as always been one of its more popular courses despite some controversial redesigns that have radically altered the classic John Bredemus routing.

I have never played Hermann, but I have heard some troubling news. Our main man Kenny Hand played it with a friend several weeks ago and was disgusted. There was trash and cigarette butts everywhere. Rumor is that the management company the CoH hired to run Hermann has basically mailed it in because their contract is about to run out. I was talking to a friend who played it last weekend. Here is a transcript of our chat:

Corey: "As far as herman goes, for the most part it was ok, except 3 holes had the greens closed and they were moved up into the fairway which sucked."
me: "You mean the tee boxes were closed. They didn't actually cut the holes in the fairway did they?"
Corey: "Yes. It was awful."
me: "Mother of God."

Nez

I'm pumped to report that the USGA has informed me that Nex Muhleman is on the list for consideration for the Joe Dey Award!

Many of you know Nez from her work in area junior golf for the past 25 years. She's currently battling lung cancer for the second time, and kicking its ass I might add! The Joe Dey Award is basically the lifetime achievment Oscar for golf volunteers. Keep your fingers crossed for her!

NOTE: Rather than tell you that the U.S. Open was awesome a month after the fact, I encourage you to check out my column in the forthcoming August edition on Dad and I's experience!

US Open Diaries

So while the rest of the world is working Dad and I took the week off and are at the U.S. Open. All together now, SUCKAAAAZ!!!

We were on hand for Tiger's unconscious 30 on the back nine. Following Tiger in contention at a major...nothing better. It was a pretty pro-Phil, Tiger-neutral crowd. The best way I could describe the buzz is stunned, which quickly gave way to can-you-believe-this?! celebration.

San Diego is kind of like Diet Austin with better weather and an ocean view. It's like someone dropped a city right in the middle of a national park. I've seen so many trees that I've never seen before. What the eff is that? is a constant question. It feels like humans shouldn't live here.

Torrey Pines is just amazing. It's perched right on the cliffs North of San Diego with ravines and canyons cutting in and out and (thanks to Rees Jones' 21st Century redesign) coming into play. Good for incredible vistas and hazards, not very good spectator course. The frequent bottlenecks that the USGA has created by moving the gallery ropes WAY too far back haven't helped either. Nonetheless it's a thrill being out here. The undulation and elevation changes are radically different from anything you'll see in Houston.

There's nature all around. I saw two crows fighting a hawk and the hawk did an awesome BARREL ROLL and tried to rake the crows with its talons. Then about 10 ground squirrels surrounded a couple of rabbits in a turf war for...turf.

I have never seen narrower fairways or higher rough. But on of the most effective hazards is the unpredictable Pacific weather conditions. Dad and I sat in the grandstand on the par 3 11th from 9:00 to 2:30. Right as the morning group finished it got noticeably colder and a wind picked up right into the golfer's face. It had played hard for the morning round, but it was diabolical for the afternoon. We saw pros hit it 10 yards short of the green.

Boo for Mark Calcavecchia. Houstonian and former Sam Houston State golfer Robert Gwin was alternate, waiting for someone to withdraw. Calcavecchia decided to take up a tee time, but only saw fit to play nine holes. He withdrew, citing injury. The fans in the 11th grandstand didn't buy it. They said Calc was just pissed he was playing bad. He was carelessly rapping putts looking to get it over with. He was 8-over when he withdrew.

"It was classless," an anonymous fan said.

My perspective is, if you're hurt enough where you can't play nine holes you probably know it before you tee off. Sean O'Hair knew that his back wasn't up to snuff and gave his spot to someone else deserving. It's another thing if you hurt yourself during the round and withdraw before the second. I think Calc should've had more respect for the championship than he did. I would've much rather seen a young pro like Robert have a chance.

Enjoy work.

Short Game Wizard

wh IZARD!!!

I always think of the Who song "Pinball Wizard" (click on image above) when we're talking about Phil Mickelson, who birdied the 54th hole to get to 12-under and take a one-shot lead over Rod Pampling and Stephen Ames. Maybe it's because he's always described as the game's best short-game wizard. If Jake Trout and the Flounders were still around they would probably do a cover about him using that song.

Colonial

So I'm at the Colonial right now.

The two DFW tour stops are very different from the SHO. The Byron Nelson and the Colonial are EVENTS. What I mean is, during the weeks of those tournaments the entire community responds to the PGA Tour's presence. Many of those attend aren't necessarily golf fans but go to meet up with friends, hang out, and watch people (and occassionally golf). They're closer to the Rodeo than the Shell Houston Open. Think how much attention the rodeo gets while it is in town.

I think the SHO is getting there, though. That kind of community support doesn't happen overnight though and Houston is still getting used to the tournament being out in Humble, and it having a good field.

But both tournaments have a mystique about them that I doubt the SHO will be able to match. Hell, practically no other PGA Tour tournament. It's because of Nelson and Hogan. Byron Nelson sat by the final green and greeted players as they finished for years. It's his tournament.

While not as directly involved in the founding of the Colonial, this is and always will be Hogan's tournament. He won it five times. No one else has won it more than twice. From his statue by the clubhouse, to the Hogan memorbilia display, to the narrow ball-striker's paradise that is the course itself, his presence is unmistakeable. Not to sound over-dramatic, but it's almost spooky being here. It's feels like you could round a corner and run into him...white Kangol cap pulled low, cigarette in hand, with that famous steely glaze sizing you up. Chilling, but I AM a nerd that way.

"Y'all the State Champs!"

Okay, quickly, Byron Nelson bookend.


Thatch had a rough Saturday, shooting 2-over 72 to fall well back. He rallied on Sunday to tie for 7th, so good on him. Adam Scott of course, defeated Ryan Moore on the third playoff hole by draining a 48'7" putt for birdie. Coincidentally, that is the exact same length (down to the inch!) of putt that he made on the final green to win the SHO in 2007. It also marks the second consecutive year (don't forget Scotty V's mini-Crenshaw moment) that the Byron Nelson has had a memorable finish despite a lackluster field, so no complaining, Dallasites!

So this week is all about getting as much writing done as possible in time to cover the State High School Championships in Austin all next week.



Houston has a lot of horses in the race...from Montgomery 4A girls going for eight (8!) in a row, to Clements' Blake Redmond (left) defending his 5A individual title, to The Woodlands defending their 5A team title, to Cory Whitsett (right) trying to get the win that slipped away from him last year. I love covering high school golf but to be honest, I get the impression that a lot of the upper-tier talents have a lackadaisical attitude about. They play in so many quality tournaments that high school is kind of second rate. However, as take-it-or-leave-it they may feel about the actual tournament, you can see that they all really care about their teammates. Team golf is always fun to cover.


So who's the team to beat in Austin this year? I'd say the Dillon Panthers.

Seriously though. They should do a high school golf episode of Friday Night Lights, my favorite show. They already have showcased volleyball and soccer. We all know that bad boy halfback Tim Riggins plays because of that one episode where he got hustled by his alcoholic, deadbeat, Corpus Christi golf pro father. Did I mention this show is awesome? SO glad it's coming back. I imagine Dillon Golf Club being a lot like another small town golf course that I frequent. Suffice to say, Hallettsville Golf Club's most arresting architectural feature is the chain-link backstop behind the eighth hole.

Good luck at State, kiddos!

Keep them doggies Roland..RAWHIDE

So the plan this weekend was to leave early Sunday morning for Whispering Pines in Trinity and to cover the final round of the Big 12 Championship before (finally) going home.

How-EVUH!!

There is the small matter of Roland Thatcher, Houston native, Carlton Woods member. Through 16 holes yesterday Thatch was tied with Adam Scott for the lead at 5-under. A bogey-bogey finish dropped him back into a tie for fourth. He's close though, and chipping and putting well. If he has a good ball-striking round today he could be in the final group.

This could mean that I leave Dallas at about 6 p.m. tomorrow, since I'll be staying in the event that Thatch picks up his first PGA Tour win. Not as bad as Texas-OU when I left Ft. Worth at 10 p.m. (thank you Dylan Welch).

Iron Byron

I got to say, of all the commutes between the major cities in Texas (Austin-San Antonio, Austin-Dallas, Dallas-San Antonio, Houston-Austin, Houston to San Antonio) that Houston to Dallas is the worst. Normally I'm aces about driving whatever distance you need but this drive really taxes me. For one, there is nothing to look at. I-45 cleaves straight through the Pinney Woods. You get the sensation of driving down a shoot of featureless green. No scenery. At least Austin to Dallas has Waco to break the monotony, not to mention views. When the Buckees in Madisonville opens (coming soon!) it will be the biggest thing along the route. No, Huntsville doesn't count. It's basically North Houston anyway.

There's one interesting sign though. Woody's Smokehouse in Centerville claims to be the jerky capital of the world. I mean, really? I'm testing it out on the way back. Exit 134. Can't be as good as Whittington's in Johnson city, I say.

As you can guess, yeah I'm at the Byron Nelson.

Anyway, this is the first day of the tournaments. Matthew Goggin (no idea) is currently leader. No Tiger, no Phil, no Vijay, no Ernie, no Boo (my fav). There is Sergio and Adam. Both are paired together the first two days and both should draw plenty of Nelsonettes.

If you're a Houston sports fan resentful of the Cowboys, come to Dallas during Rangers season. Instant Schadenfreude. They allowed 19 runs last night. I'm smiling as I write this.

The media amnenites at this tourney are nuts. They have a huge lounge area for us to relax, read, and talk on our cell phones, incredible food, a frappuccino machine, and the kicker....A NINTENDO WII FOR MEDIA USE!! Green eggs and ham that's awesome. I soundly defeated Mark, our executive editor, in a three-hole Wii Golf match this morning.

By the way, if you're ever at the McKinney Starbucks off ElDorado and Jimmy is your barista, order the "Gentleman's Latte." It'll change your life.

Late Post

Umm...sooo. Are there any readers of this left besides my dad? *crickets chirp*

Apologies for the lengthy absence. Instead of trying to catch up by posting what I should have, allow me to offer some quick hits:

Johnson Wagner wins the SHO

Pretty impressive considering that Phil, Geoff Ogilvy, Steve Stricker, and a lot of other winners were playing in Houston, AND Wagner didn't rank highly in almost any PGA Tour statistical category. He's a real nice guy, and you can tell this win meant more to him than it would have to a proven champion. Fun fact, his actual first name is Montford. Awesome. The first Blair offspring has a new first name: Montford Danger Blair.

Trevor Immelman wins the Masters

Or Tiger lost it, depending your mood. Even though much hullabaloo was made over Tiger's missed chances (and rightly so) Immelman won it more than Tiger lost it. How clutch was hit putt from off the green at 11. Super clutch. everyone kept saying he was going to crack under pressure and he didn't. By the way, did you hear he's a fan of Gary Player? Coincidentally I'm at the Byron Nelson right now and he opened with an 8-over 78. D'oh.

Adam Scott Likes This Course Okay

On the final hole at last year's SHO, Adam Scott made a 48-foot par putt to win. On the first hole today he made a 55-foot birdie putt that jump-started a course record 9-under 63. The funny thing is that he almost withdrew. Scott took awhile to come into the press center after his round because he was being looked over by the medical staff. Turns out he is running a fever and could be suffering from strep throat. He said he's felt crappy all week and didn't want to get out of bed. In the end, he decided to come out and see how he did. I wonder who felt worse, Scott or Jason Gore, who did withdraw due to illness?

Welcome to the SHO! Part I

Wow, I can't believe SHO week is already here. Seriously, it's APRIL!! I feel like I'm still recovering from Christmas. Apologies for not updating sooner during the week...I also can't believe it's already Thursday.

The Shell is one of the few weeks of the year when we get to cover the professional circuit. It's interesting to see how the national golf media lives. Sometimes it can be pretty messy. Yesterday we all wanted to talk to Phil Mickelson after his pro-am round, but Phil didn't want to come into the media center, and wanted to do his interview outside the scorer's hut. It was drizzling, and us print guys had to jockey for position with the TV vultures. We stood in a semicircle for almost 15 minutes waiting for Phil to finish 18, and complete the autograph guantlet. As soon as Phil stepped into the circle the TV cameras closed like a trap, shutting most of the print guys outside of the circle. I almost lost an arm shoving my recorder through a gap. The TV guys (who only think about golf when they drive by a putt-putt course) asked only six stock questions, including such gems as "With all the attention to (Tiger) do you ever feel like your career is overlooked?" Answer: "Not really." THAaaaaNKS!!!

It was lame. After this week I can't wait to get back to the events where it's just me.

Bobby Lord Update

It's really easy for us to dehumanize the athletes we watch on TV. Their extraordinary level of play, their bank accounts, their jet set lifestyle are all factors that help us forget that sports stars are regular people. For me, the most memorable moment of Tiger Woods' career wasn't a fist pump or a chip-in, but the emotional hug he gave Steve Williams after winning the first major after the loss of his father. Because you know what? We've all been on the giving or recieving end of that hug.

We were reminded again when Ernie Els announced that his five-year-old son Ben has autism.

The news made my think back to one of my favorite stories of 2007: Special Olympian Bobby Lord. We profiled Bobby in our May 2007 edition. Bobby worked at the driving range at Magnolia Creek. As far as I know he still does. But what the golfers aiming 7-irons at the ball-picker didn't know was that the driver, Bobby, could deadlift 600 pounds. That's right, Bobby is the best Special Olympian power-lifter in the country. When I talked to Bobby and his parents way back in April, Magnolia Creek had just hosted a golf-a-thon to raise money for a trip to Shanghai to compete in the Special Olympics World Championships in October. I know I'm a little late with the update, but nonetheless I'm happy to report that Bobby captured two golds and one silver while competing in the highest level of power-lifting. Bobby also loves playing golf as much as he does lifting.

I wish everyone could have a chance to meet and talk to people like Margie, Robert and Bobby. They really opened my eyes to some misconceptions about autism.

"(Most people) think that autism is a severe mental handicap when in fact it is a perceptional disorder that does not in any way limit their motor skills or ability to perform sports," Margie told me. "In some ways it enhances their ability to play sports because of their tenacity. They're never going to quit. When everyone else is leaving the golf course or putting green, they're still going to be there."

What's Going On?

There are some big changes in the works at Houston Links, and we're all excited about the next few months.

Currently we're in the process of looking at an overhaul of our website, www.houstonlinksmagazine.com. Up until now it has been a skeleton job who's basic function is to host our media kit and allow people to sign up for free home delivery. We stopped updating it back in September once we knew we were going to revamp it.

I, for one, am bouncing off the walls with ideas for our new page. Kevin has had to reign me in a bit, but I am keeping my fingers crossed that he would be willing to host this blog on the parent site. We're also knocking around a bunch of other neat ideas.

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I covered the AJGA's season kickoff at Redstone two weeks ago. The Houston Boys Invitational was won by New Jersey's Morgan Hoffman. Dallas' Cody Gribble (No Relation) finished bogey-quad after holding the lead after 16. He showed real class though afterwards in talking to the media and warmly congratulating Hoffman. AJGA Invitationals are loaded with the top junior golfers in the country. The Tournament Course was set up less than 200 yards shorter than it will play for the PGA Tour pros. Looks like we're in for a good show.

In other junior news, Cory Whitsett has leap-frogged good friend Peter Uihlein for the No. 1 spot in the AJGA's Polo Junior Golf Rankings. Cory's response?

"It only matters if you're No. 1 at the end of the year."

True dat.

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The TGA season kicked off last weekend with the South Four-Ball. Houston Links' 2007 Mid-Am of the Year John Dowdall and his partner Jonathan Shipley (who we almost picked) shot a blistering final-round 62 for the win. Both of them are great guys and two of the best mid-ams Houston has. Glad to here they started off 2008 the right way, with a win.

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Look, I like Tiger as much as anyone, but after reading the stuff people are writing you think he invented the game. No doubt Tiger will shatter Jack and the Slammer's respective records, but is he golf's greatest champion? Don't think so. I still say it's Bob Jones, who won 62 percent of the majors he played in, won 13 championships in 7 years, and retired at 28. This was a time when he had to play against amateurs like Francis Ouimet, Jerry Travers, Lawson Little, Chick Evans, and Johnny Goodman, who all won U.S. Opens. He also had to beat World Golf Hall of Fame professionals Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen, Leo Diegel, Mac Smith, and Tommy Armour. Oh yeah, and also did it while earning degrees from Georgia Tech, Harvard, attending law school and passing the bar.

I would say that Tiger Woods is the best mental player ever. That's why I like to watch him. In contrast, it was Jones' nerves and the strains of championship golf that made him decide to retire early.

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Glad someone decided to crack down on this

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Troubling report: More Americans are giving up golf than ever before. From my perspective, I would say that golf is one of the least accessible sports to take up. Unless you can afford to join a private club, the most sensible option for beginning golfers are public courses, where there is a greater fear of embarrassment because of larger crowds. Cost really is a factor. I would bet that most beginning golfers are like me: just entering the workplace. After college, cost is a factor. One way to alleviate this? Walk. I'm of the Robert McKinney School. I enjoy the game better walking. It's better for you, you see more of the course, and you can go straight to your ball. I think carts should only used for people who can't comfortably walk. Hey, if that sounds codgery, I yam what I yam. As my friend and journalism teacher Melanie Hauser once said:

"You're a throwback, so you don't count."

Epic Post to Come

I realize I haven't updated the blog in a few weeks, but things have been pretty busy. Look for an epic post later on this evening, inclusing my thoughts about the best junior golfers in the world playing at Redstone last weekend.

USGA Annual Meeting, Part I

This week everyone who's anyone in American golf administration will be in Houston. The USGA is hosting its annual meeting at the Hilton Post Oak. People such as PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem, LPGA commish Carolyn Bivens, and former prez George H.W. Bush (who's recieving the Bob Jones Award) are attending. Obviously, USGA Executive Director David B. Fay, the entire Executive Committee, and members of all the other (zillion) committees are here. I've been here since 8 a.m., it's now 2:15. The joint isn't exactly jumping, there are a lot of committee meetings (not open to public). But that doesn't mean there hasn't been any news.

Many of the USGA committee members have been here since Tuesday. During that span of times several decisions of the championship variety were handed down. Two extremely new but spectacular courses were just called up to the show. Notably Tacoma's Chambers Bay (built by Houston-based construction firm Heritage Links) was awarded the 2010 U.S. Amateur AND the 2015 U.S. OPEN! Whoa. The course opened only last year! Likewise Erin Hills
just outside Millwaukee was awarded the 2011 U.S. Amateur. That course is also a year old, and will be hosting the U.S. Women's APL this year.

Think the USGA is loving links?

There was a rules seminar this morning. Some interesting things I gleaned:

• A golfer may now lift their ball from a hazard to identify it. Consequently, there is now a penalty for playing the wrong ball from a hazard. Before 2008, if two golfers were in the same bunker but couldn’t identify their balls, they would have to pick one. Then whichever of the two golfers played first would have to go investigate the ball they just hit and figure out if that was indeed his original ball. If it wasn’t, they would’ve had to replace it and replay their original ball. The USGA hopes this change will help improve place of play.

• The definition of advice has been changed. From now on two golfers in competition -or their caddies- may give each other distances without penalty. In the old rule, if you gave an opponent yardage you would lose the hole in match play or be penalized two strokes in stroke play. Professional golf fans may recall that during the 2007 Honda Classic Mark Wilson was penalized two shots when his caddie gave his playing partner. Those two lost shots put Wilson was in a four-way playoff.

• There is also a lesser penalty for a player carrying –but not playing- a non-conforming club. In the 2004 rules the penalty was disqualification. At the 2007 (Las Vegas PGA Tour) Kevin Stadler realized that the shaft on his 7-iron was bent. He hadn’t played a shot with the 7-iron, but he was disqualified because the club didn’t conform. In 2008, Stadler would be penalized two shots for each hole the club was in his bag, but he could not be penalized more than four strokes.

• In the old 2004 rules, if a golfer’s ball is accidentally deflected by themselves, their opponent, either of the caddies or the players’ equipment the player would be penalized two strokes or the loss of a hole in match play. The USGA felt that the punishment didn’t fit the crime, especially when it came to match play. From now on the golfer will just add one stroke to their score for that hole.

• Rangefinders and GPS course-measuring devices are growing more and more popular. The USGA allows local competitive committees to make up their own mind about the use of rangefinders. However in 2008 the USGA has declared that all rangefinders that measure anything other than distance (such as gradient, wind direction, etc.) illegal.
  

FYI.

Vote for Stacy Lewis

Currently there's a facebook campaign going on to get The Woodlands native Stacy Lewis voted the Greatest Razorback of all time. I case you haven't been paying attention, Lewis is defending NCAA Champion, finished in the Top 10 at last year's Kraft Nabisco, and will represent the USA in the upcoming Curtis Cup at St. Andrews.

A TV station has nominated her as a canidate for the title in a bracket vote-off. Clearly she was given much too high of a seed, as she's up against legendary former football coach Frank Broyles.

http://www.4029tv.com/sports/15149025/detail.html?treets=fts&tid=2658735#

Despite the formidable first round draw, Stacy is holding her own and is only trailing by 40 measley votes! Anyone reading this, stack the vote and pull the upset.

By the way, as a Longhorn I feel the need to mention this and this.

See Anything Good Yesterday?

Two things happened yesterday: Tiger Woods won and there was some football game. Because the Dubai Desert Classic is in....Dubai, the tournament's final-round tap delay. I knew the outcome when I sat down to watch, but am glad I did. Tiger made a 25-foot breaking putt for birdie on the 72nd hole to win by one. See his reaction? That's why he's the best. He just won a tournament six days before, and immediately hopped on a 20-hour flight to play another 72 holes against the best in the world. He could be forgiven for mailing it in, but no. He's so fired up when he makes that putt that he looks like he's about to turn green and start busting heads.

I tried in vain to find video of the putt, I guess you'll have to settle for the 40-foot monster breaker birdie he made at the Buick that dropped in the back of the hole.

Meanwhile, Ernie Els' heart promptly jumped out of his chest and staggered away just like in that Super Bowl ad. Seriously, what was with all the gross ads? Between that one and the puking baby I could barely hold down my queso and chicken. But I managed.

By the way, did you hear that Ian Poulter declared himself as Tiger's main rival? To paraphrase the interview he gave to UK's Golf World magazine, he said that when he finally plays how he's capable of playing, "it'll just be me and Tiger." B'Okay. I appreciate Poulter's moxie, and Woods didn't sound too ticked about. But that didn't stop Woods from zinging him.

A final word about Woods. The Super Bowl got me thinking about how everyone in the media is practically giving Tiger the Grand Slam. Kind of like how everyone was giving the Patriots 19-0 a week ago, isn't it? Bobby Jones was the greatest golfer of all time. He played in 21 major championships, won 13 of them, and retired at age 28. Yet even he had to get pretty lucky to pull off his 1930 Grand Slam. Trivia time: during the 1930 British Amateur at St. Andrews Jones' approach to the 17th bounced off the green and was heading out of bounds before it hit a spectator. His match was all square, and because of the lucky break, Jones was able to halve the hole and eventually won on the 19th.

Woods' so-so play during the second and third round showed that he's not perfect, which is what you need to be to win the Grand Slam. That, or lucky.

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My Dad and I finally booked our trips to San Diego for the U.S. Open. Here's a photo of our hotel on Google Maps Streetview.

See that white sign on the street in front of the hotel? ZOOM IN!!!

I love technology.

Philly-Mick Coming to the SHO

The HGA told us yesterday that Phil Mickelson committed to playing in the Shell Houston Open. That means Houston's tour stop will have Adam Scott, Ernie Els, and Phil. Time to pack the house and represent, people! Bear in mind though that golfers can be pretty fickle about their commitments. Last year the HGA was expecting both Colin Montgomerie and Seve Ballesteros to play, but neither ended up hitting a shot at Redstone. Mickelson typically plays in to the Masters, but obstained last year when the PGA Tour switched the pre-Masters date from the BellSouth Classic (in Georgia, 30 minutes away from Augusta) to Houston. However, players were falling all over themselves heaping praises on the course conditioning and Masters-esque setup at Redstone in 2007. Guess word percolated.

Did you happen to catch professional football contest?

The clip above is from the classic Eddie Murphy comedy "Coming to America." Freaky, huh?

Here's an interview posted on golf.com with Eli Manning about his golf game:

When did you take up golf?
When I was about 10 or 11. But I've kind of just picked it up again in the off-season.

Your family's full of football players, but do you guys tee it up together?
Oh, yeah. We usually go out a few times a year, my dad [Archie] and my two brothers [Peyton and Cooper]. It's a great way to spend time away from everything.

What's your handicap?
I never tell. I don't want anybody holding me to it!

Is there any strategy that you can apply to both football and golf?
Visualize, then execute. In football, you picture the throw you need to make. Obviously in golf you don't have a guy running up trying to sack you, so you have an opportunity to really visualize what you're going to do before you actually do it.

Linebackers in golf — you just solved the slow-play problem! We hear you're a karaoke fan. Are you a better golfer or singer?

[Laughs] Well, I'm not very good at either. But I guess that's the great thing about singing and golf: you don't have to be any good at either to have fun.

Jimmy Demaret said the same thing about golf and something else, but this is a family blog.

Soapbox

I mean...Really?

I know this ridiculousness doesn't have anything to do with local golf, but as a journalist working at a golf magazine I had to espouse on this. In case you haven't heard, a couple weeks ago Golf Channel broadcaster Kelly Tilighman made a racially insensitive remark when she jokingly said that the only way young American players could stop Tiger Woods would be to gang up on him and "lynch him in a back alley."

In an appropriate response, The Golf Channel suspended Tilighman for two weeks. You should know that Tiger and Tilighman are friends. In fact, a couple weeks before the incident, Tilighman hosted a Nike Golf event in which Tiger debuted Nike's new line of clubs. After the gaffe, Tilighman apologized on-air, and called Woods personally to apologize, which Woods accepted. Tiger then issued a statement through his agent that he felt their was no racist intent in Tilighman's use of the word. End of story, right?

Just when the furor was beginning to die down GolfWeek busted out with the cover below.

As you can imagine, the cover received an overwhelmingly negative reaction. PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem called it "tabloid journalism" and called the article "outrageous and irresponsible." I agree.

Here are some of GolfWeek's editor David Seanor's comments:

"We're a weekly news magazine. The big story of the previous week was Kelly Tilghman, and that's what we chose," Seanor said. "How to illustrate that? It was tough. Do you put Kelly Tilghman out there? But was it so much about her or the uproar?

"I wish we could have come up with something that made the same statement but didn't create as much negative reaction," he said. "But as this has unfolded, I'm glad there's dialogue. Let's talk about this, and the lack of diversity in golf."

Clearly, Seanor thought he'd be fostering discussion about African-Americans in golf and on the uproar itself. Instead he's guilty of the same crime as Tilighman: underestimating and/or being ignorant of the emotional impact of one of the darkest (and most unreported chapters) in American history. That's the heart of the issue. People just don't understand the connotation the word carries.

For the greater part of this country's history, African-Americans and other minorities were systematically tortured and murdered for no other reason than skin color. I'm not exaggerating. Torture and murder. That's what lynching is: Americans committing terrorism against their fellow citizens. They mainly occurred from right after the Civil War into 1930s. There was a infamous lynching as recently as 1981 in Mobile, Ala. I'm fain to put a direct links to any specific educational websites because of the extremely graphic nature, but a good online exhibit is "withoutsanctuary.org" WARNING: EXTREMELY GRAPHIC CONTENT. When I saw these photos I wanted to vomit. It's on par with photos of Holocaust victims. Maybe Seanor and Tilinghman didn't learn about stuff like this in school, I don't know. I'm 22, and in high school we were taught about the lynching of Emmit Till and how outrage over the 14-year-old's murder initiated the American Civil Rights movement.

The difference between Seanor and Tilighman is that Tilighman committed a slip of tongue in the heat of the moment. That's forgivable, but deserving of punishment. Tilighman was suspended for two weeks and this incident will follow her for the rest of her career. Suitable enough. Seanor had time to mull over the decision before running the image of a swinging noose. Far worse. It's always unfortunate when someone looses a job, but Seanor has since been replaced as editor of GolfWeek magazine.

In closing, I'd like to point you to how GolfWorld handled the issue. Al Barkow wrote an amazing story about one man's struggle to integrate professional golf and the hurdles he faced. It's a great read and really makes you think about the struggles of the many nameless golfers to earn the right to tee it up.


If you've made it this far, thanks. Again, I understand that this post has little to do with the stuff we write about in Houston Links. But people who have read this blog for awhile know what a sensitive subject this is for me. I welcome the chance to discuss an issue like this.

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Oh by the way. Cage won. Anyone see that? Go Woodlands!

Curtis Cup Teams Announced

The USGA announced the Curtis Cup team yesterday.

The Woodland's Stacy Lewis is on it, as are both members of the 2007 U.S. Spirit Team, Amanda Blumnherst and Tiffany Joh. Lewis is a senior at Arkansas, while Blumenherst and Joh are juniors at Duke and UCLA, respectively.

The Curtis Cup will be played May 30-June 1 at the Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland. Lewis plans to turn pro after the Cup.

EPIC Post

Sorry for the delay, but I hope everyone of Houston Links' readers enjoyed the holiday season, because I sure did!

Let's get to it.

One of the things on my Christmas List was a new pair of all-black golf shoes and a nice pair of slacks. I know, I know. My inner-child is disgusted. Anyway, I broke them in while in Austin with my cousin Dylan and brother-in-law E.Z. We played a quick nine holes at the venerable Hancock Golf Course in Austin. And I do mean venerable. Hancock claims to be the oldest golf course in the state. In actuality, it's the oldest golf course in continuous use. Hancock was the original site of the Austin Country Club. It was where Harvey Penick picked up the game. Pretty much everyone from Ben Hogan, to Byron Nelson, to William Howard Taft played there. It's the Austin equivalent of Gus Wortham. Like Gus it's a long way removed from it's glory days. Dad used to play there as a kid, and he said everyone used to derisively call it "Hardrock." It lives up to the moniker, but I later read that the conditions have improved. If that's the case I would've hated to see it before.

That said, it was a fun course with some neat holes. The funny thing is, Hancock, the lowest common denominator of the Austin golf scene (which was recently voted Best Golf City in the country), has more hills, elevation changes, blind shots and undulations than you would find in almost any course in Houston. There's just no substituting for the Hill Country. That's why I was actually pleased to shoot a 52. I took a nine on one hole when I smoked a 5-iron over a hill toward the green, only to crest the hill and discover the green almost 70 yards closer than where I though it was. Look out cars on 32nd street!

2008 is an exciting time at the magazine. As those who read our January issue will discover we've made a new hire. Mark Button left his post as editor of Avid Golfer Houston to become executive editor at Houston Links. He's really going to help us come tournament time and also do a better job of cultivating relationships with our advertisers and readers. Kevin was telling me the other day that when you work as hard as he, Kenny, and I do you don't have as much time to get out and press the flesh and put a face with the content that I hope y'all have been enjoying. Mark is going to change that. Plus, no more two-a-day USGA qualifiers for me!

Funny story about Mark. The first time I met him was at U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying at Lakeside in 2006. I was on my way to follow somebody, when he drove up in a golf cart and said, "Hey are you with Houston Links?" I told him that I was and he said, "Bastard." AG and HL, are competitors, you see. Mark was joking, and we exchanged pleasantries for a bit. But no one insults Alex Blair, so I've spent the time since then planning an elaborate prank that has yet to come to fruition. You'll RUE THE DAY, BUTTON!!! (I jest...or do I?)

Also from a business standpoint, we'll be discontinuing our free subscription service sometime in 2008. Hold your horses and let me explain. See, the most important this for us is that our readers who care enough about our publication to subscribe get the convenience of having their magazine in the timely manner. We pay good money to post office to ensure that your magazine gets there on time, but that hasn't happen. A lot of subscribers I talk to say, "Oh yeah I subscribe, but I pick up the magazine at the course so I can get it quicker." Most of the time, my parents in Sugar Land get the new issue after we've gone to press on the next issue, about the 15th of every month! That ain't right. So we'll be asking about $40 for a premium delivery service, which we hope to offset with some other benefits. This includes access to the magazine's content on the web (no more huge PDFs; website improvement will be big for 08), and access to all the photos we take at tournaments (no more waiting on me to e-mail them to you). There will be some other neat swag to boot. When it comes down to it, I think the product we put out every month merits this, and I hope you agree. But if you have some reservations, relax. This is still on the drawing board and we're not going to go forward with this until we know we can do it right. So please continue enjoying free home delivery service!

Add a new title to my Houston Links position of Managing Editor/ Photography/ Columnist / Blogger. Head Mover. Kevin redecorated the office with a new desk, new table for me to work on, and a newer, faster, sexier computer to help him work faster. Of course, who moved most of that furniture up to the third floor AND had to pull of a nifty bungie cord job to fit all that stuff into his truck? Yo. It was pretty awesome driving down the 610 feeder at 35 mph with my blinkers on, bed cover up, and tailgate down. Anyone see me? Kevin squared the deal with a sixer of Dunkelweizen, though. I'm a Shiner fan.

I read Game of Shadows during Christmas and gee did it make me paranoid about steroids in athletics. It really got me wondering about golf, and this year being the first year for testing. Before reading that book I was in the camp of "They need to have it for propriety's sake." I'm now in the camp of "Someone might be taking something." Dr. Bill Bryan wrote an excellent column about steroids and golf in our November issue. Here's where I come out on it: The same arguments on why steroids wouldn't help in golf were once used for baseball. "It's an a tempo thing. Muscled will get in the way of much-needed flexibility. It won't help hand-eye coordination." Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Here's the thing, you don't have to be a hulked-out bodybuilding wacko to benefit from the juice. Look at Andy Pettite. No one would have ever thought he used, but he did...to recover from injury faster. You can't tell me there are no golfers out there who wouldn't use HGH or another designer steroid to recover from an injury faster and have a shot at winning $1 million a year.

Can you believe this stupidity about Kelly Tilighman? Look, it was incredibly stupid. But when people are on the air for five hours talk-talk-talking stupid things happen. I refuse to believe that she said what she said with any racist intent. If she had said "mug" instead of "lynch" there would be no problem. Maybe she needs to put down the thesaurus, I don't know. Besides, Tiger and Kelly are friends, they've talked, he whole-heartedly accepted her apology, end of story. We don't need you involved, Al Sharpton! Golf Observer, one of my favorite websites has a good analysis of the situation.

COOL!

You've got to read this story about PGA Tour player Will MacKenzie. Party on, brah. Hope you can make it to SHO 2008.

That's all I have for now, have a wonderful day!