Everyone knows Tiger Woods aligns his golfing schedule around the four major championships. Next, he timetables the World Golf Championship (WGC) events. After that, he pencils in Arnie's and Jack's tournaments and then he fits in a few sponsor related spots. But, intertwined in all of these decisions might be the various adultery laws still on the books in the states where he decides to compete.

One of the arguments many people, including this blogist, have made is that Tiger did not break the law by being unfaithful to Elin by committing adultery. Not so fast, buffalo breath. Here are at least four states where there are still laws on the books related to adultery. He might be a little uncomfortable in these states. Notice that the 2009 PGA Championship was played at Hazeltine in Chaska, Minnesota. Was Tiger a little nervous that week and allow Y.E. Yang to catch and pass him on Sunday? Also, in 2004 and 1999, Tiger did not play very well at Pinehurst in North Carolina. He does play at Quail Hollow, but has always avoided Harbour Town in South Carolina. Additionally, he would probably avoid Michigan with a vengeance since the penalty for adultery there could be life imprisonment. Maryland is a "fornicator friendly" state where the only penalty, if caught, is a $10.00 fine.

Any bets if Nevada has 'fornication' or adultery laws on the books? My money is on "no way, Jose".

I viewed with great interest the commentary on a recent fan post by the Chicago Duffer when his reference about Laura Davies was, let's just say, less than kind. I don't personally know Adam, but I will bet the farm the last thing on his mind was to offend Laura Davies, overweight females in particular or any females in general. Nevertheless, he was castigated immediately and without mercy. Being the hypocrite I am, I even mildly called him out on it. In fact, this fan post generated more than five times the amount of comments than a well written article by hound dog, a well respected LPGA blogger, on the retirement of the LPGA's only current superstar, Lorena Ochoa.

At any given time, I usually have 4-5 stories in the 'oven', either partially written or waiting for the right time to post. In fact, I currently have one from a few weeks ago that shows before and after Cristie Kerr photographs and a before photograph of a young, overweight Korean (NOT Christina Kim, trust me) female golfer. The gist of my story was to be if Cristie could do an incredible life changing make over, this young lady should do so also. Thank God something told me to hold off on that one. There was no malice intended, I thought it would be a fun thing for everyone to imagine. Wrong.

The bottom line being, I doubt any of the golf blogists I read, including those who usually just comment, write things intended to insult or hurt anyone. I have been told my 'tongue-in-cheek' comments and posts do not always come across as such, so I have to be careful. I also have to be careful when I disagree with a post. I wish I could go back and retract a few unkind responses I have made to Feinstein and a few others.

A couple years ago, my son threatened to put a twenty-four delay on my email SEND button. For one, I am now going to reread my comment before I hit the button. Might not be a bad idea for any knuckleheads out there just like me.

In an interview with the LA Times, Jack Nicklaus made this comment about the difference in the quantity and quality of 'great' players in his era versus the current group of guys competing against Tiger Woods.

"The problem is it’s hard to compare eras. It’s a different game today, and a lot of guys from before, like even Hogan and Player, would have had a hard time today because of the distance you need to drive it. That’s just a fact of what the game is. I don’t know if we had as many good players, but the great players we had all were multiple major winners, so when I slipped up, there was somebody else on their ‘A’ game." Multiple major winners?

Sorry, Jack, facts do not support that statement. It might actually be the complete opposite.

Jack won his first major in 1962 at Oakmont in a playoff with Arnold Palmer and his fourteenth at the PGA Championship in 1975. a stretch of fourteen years. Tiger's fourteenth was the 2008 U.S. Open and his first was the Masters in 1997, a span of twelve years. You cannot compare Jack's entire career against Tiger's fourteen years. So, I compared their records and the 'strength' of their competition in years between their first and fourteenth major. Jack actually is given the benefit of two additional years. Look at these charts of every major winner during the years Jack and Tiger won their majors. It actually illustrates the exact opposite. (click to enlarge)

 

Some players had multiple majors and are listed in the 'one time wonder' list because it occurred outside the era of the time frame indicated. For example, Watson has numerous majors, but only one during 1962-1975 In the fourteen years Jack spread out his majors, twenty-nine different players won major championships. Twenty-two were one-time winners during that span, only six others were multiple winners. So, using Jack's definition of 'great', there were six great golfers winning multiple majors. So, about 20% of the major winners won more than one time during those years. In Tiger's twelve years, there have been twenty-six major winners. Nine players have multiple major trophies in their den and sixteen only have to polish one major trophy. Using the same math as above, more than 34.6% of the major winners also picked up at least one other crystal bowl. On average, more 'one-hit-wonders' succeeded between 1962-1975 than between 1997-2008.

So, what did we learn in class today, children? Nada! Except, let's stop presuming and postulating when it comes to who is the best, who has the best records, who faced the better field of golfers and who would have beat who...
Can't we just enjoy them both still being around to remind us how incredibly wonderful they both are and were and how great this game of ours is..??
(This is a modified article of one originally written in August, 2009)

I have incontrovertible proof Tiger Woods is easily twice as good the golfer as Phil Mickelson. Actually, he is almost three times better. (you know I am exaggerating, just bear with me)

PGATOUR.com keeps massive statistics on every golfer. But, we know the most important categories are wins, top finishes, money earnings, performance in majors and performance relative to par.

I went back five full seasons and compared every single tournament Tiger and Phil were both entered. I even gave Phil his major victory last week. It did not help him too much. Visit here http://bit.ly/dlK2BV to enlarge stat sheet.

This analysis covers 56 tournaments dating from the 2005 Buick to last week's Masters. The majors are highlighted and the stats shown are position finished, shots relative to par and money earnings. In other words, what they shot, what place did they finish and how much dough did they make. If one missed the cut, the other still got credit for everything. Phil missed only three and Tiger missed only two in this head-to-head comparison.

Starting with total victories, TW had 23 and PM had 8. Including wins, TW had 44 top tens to PM's 21. TW's average finish in those 56 tournaments was 6.2 place compared to PM's 21.2 place. During that time frame, TW was a cumulative -405 relative to par while PM was -124. Tiger earned $36,732,000 since 2005 and PM has earned $15,910,000. In major competitions, TW won 6 of those while PM garnered 3 victories. TW's average finish in the majors was 2.9 while PM's was 16.9. In those majors, TW was -97 relative to par and PM was +1.

I do not know any Eskimos, but I bet if I invaded one's igloo and showed him these stats, him not knowing anything about golf, he would undoubtedly guess if TW were the number one player on the planet, then PM must be 5th or 6th. Surely, there could not be that much separation between first and second best players in the world.

I was a little surprised at these numbers. But, I doubt it quieted those now pronouncing Phil Mickelson as replacing Tiger as the best since his win at Augusta. They are probably choosing not to consider his 19th, T45, T8, T24, T14, T30 and T35 in his previous seven starts this year. That is an average finish of 25th. That would really confuse my poor Eskimo.

Phil Mickelson is a very special golfer and obviously, a good husband and father. There is an old saying about looking better when the other person is made to look bad. Phil does not need Tiger's shameful actions to look and be great. His performance at the Masters was nothing short of fantastic. His skills and his personality were on display for the world to see and appreciate. I was very, very happy Phil won and played as well as he did. There was no question who the best golfer in the world was on April 12, 2010. As there is zero doubt who it is the rest of the time.

This might be a job for Ryan or progolf. They are both at PGA Tour events and have access to the players and the club manufacturer's trailers. With all of the controversy surrounding the new grooves this year, I have not seen any videos (or any hard data) demonstrating the difference between the two clubs (conforming and non) when an identical ball flies from the rough and hits the green. Nor, have I heard much conversation or complaining. I know it would be difficult replicating each lie and might take a bunch of attempts to be able to compare the different clubs, but I think it would be doable.

It seems I still see a lot of balls from the rough hit the green, check and back up. Obviously, there is no way to determine if it is a 'flyer lie' or not.

I am curious how difficult it would be to compare the various clubs, including the old Ping Eye2's. I am also curious if I am the only who thinks of junk like this.

Update: Here's Ryan's video from his time with the USGA that shows the difference in grooves from the rough.

There are a few people who comment (and moderate) this blog that have a pretty good feel for what goes on each week at the local PGA Tournament. I am supposing that after golf is completed, young men and young ladies mix and mingle like kids do and have a great time. I am also supposing that includes caddies, TV network staff, tournament volunteers and a nice mixture of the locals. There is even the possibility a touring professional partakes in the festivities.

What do you think would happen if one of the tabloids uncovered facts surrounding Phil Mickelson and a young lady, not his wife, in an arrangement that can only be regarded as coitus non interruptness? It only occurred one time with one young lady in one town on one given weekend many, many months ago.

Believe me, this idiotic post is not about alleviating Tiger's or anyone else's wrongdoings. The chances that Phil did anything like this are more remote than remote. But, what if?

Using the above scenario that young males and females attract each other, it is not out of the realm of possibility that any married professional golfer could find himself in a situation one evening with a partner of the opposite sex. No one is harmed, they sneak out the rooms the next morning and within a few days there is a new tournament in a new city.

I am guessing that it has probably happened to some golfer out on tour more than once. How about you?

How much backlash would Phil get from the press and the public?

 

LITTLE did I think, several years ago, that golf plays the prominent part that it does in domestic circles. But recent years have shed the light of fact upon the subject and convinced me of the folly of my former view. Certain it is they have cleared for me in no mistaken terms a point I never could understand in the good old days: just why a fellow would go to all sorts of inconveniences and hardships to be able to arrive at his golf club early of a Sunday morning and then, after he had gotten himself all worked up over a match, to spoil half of his fun by calling it a day.

As I was saying, I never could comprehend what was back of all this, I felt that every one of them felt as I did about playing on Sunday that it was the one day you couldn't do too much of it. But that was three years ago. Since then all my opinions have changed.

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No Englishman, unless his name is Nick Faldo, has won a golf major championship since Tony Jacklin won the United States Open in 1970 at Hazeltine. That's forty years. That is 160 tournaments.

Three English golfers, Paul Casey, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood, are currently ranked in the top ten in the Official World Golf Rankings (below, click to enlarge). These three gentlemen have a total of three (3) professional victories on the PGA tour and these same three have overwhelmed the European Tour with a total of thirty-one (31) wins.

Have they changed what they add to the drinking water in England since the Beatles left Liverpool in 1960's?

On Friday, Lee Westwood stated there was a high number of English golfers in the top 64 of the OWGR rankings, therefore the state of golf in England is 'strong'.

I am having a hard time putting these first few paragraphs together in my brain.

How does this sound, Lee? In 2020, at a tournament somewhere on the planet, the first tee announcer says, "Ladies and gentlemen, for the 10:00 a.m. group, may I present Lee Westwood (pause), Paul Casey (pause), Ian Poulter (pause) and Steve Jones, winner of the 1996 United State Open (applause)".

So, if it has come to the mathematical formulae of the OWGR system to best gauge the quality of golf in England, maybe they should consider winning major tournaments. They are worth way more OWGR points.

When Tiger has a press conference, he can claim to be richer than all of the sports press in attendance, but he cannot claim to be smarter. Billy Payne, the chairman of Augusta National Golf Club is smarter and richer than all in the room.

His presser to day was an absolute masterpiece. He had 110% control of everything. He made Tiger look like a press conference piker.

Several questions were asked about the weather in Georgia this winter. The playability of the course drew a lot of questions. A few knuckleheads tried to sneak in the changes made by Hootie Johnson and how they ruined the Masters. On these, Billy Payne absolutely threw Hootie under the bus. In so many words, he said, "Augusta's goal every year is to make the golf course the best it can be. Changes are made every year. For example, this year, the new practice area opened. It is the best practice facility on the planet thanks to Hootie Johnson. This was a ten year project championed by Hootie Johnson".

That told the press that Augusta National is fully aware some of Hooties changes were probably not too fantastic. However, it is their club. A members club. It belongs to them. What they do there, is in no way, shape or form any of your business. They will fix the course on their timetable and without the assistance of every out of work course architect, course architect wannabee and nosy idiot.

If you want to change a course, change Bethpage or Pebble. Or, you can change St. Andrews, because it is owned the city of St. Andrews.

So, unless something changes, please shut up and keep your opinions to yourself. We happen to like our course just fine.

Tiger started the press conference with a solid A. He answered the first 10-12 questions fully and sounded and acted contrite. The middle section was okay. They were lobbing them in and not following up where they could (should??) have. His last dozen answers were weak. His attitude had shifted a little and he became defensive. And, these might be the questions that are remembered when people determine their own report card for Tiger.

What irritates me is he could (should) have done this on December 15th.

This time last year, I didn't even know I was a golf writer. In my previous three score years on this planet, the most complicated bit of writing I had accomplished was requesting a tax filing extension from the IRS. You talk about pressure. But, I had started a golf blog and it did not write itself, so I must be a golf writer, right?

Other than being the athlete that actually plays the sport, there is no greater aspiration than that of the sportswriter. Whether it be a column in a newspaper, a magazine or a book, these scribes make the words dance in your mind and make you think you were there for that event written about. Names like Red Smith, Red Barber, Mel Allen, Jim Murray and Shirley Povich come to mind. For golf, consider Grantland Rice (right), O.B. Keeler, Dan Jenkins, Furman Bisher and John Feinstein. Nobody does it better than those ten guys. Why would anyone enter a contest pretending to be something he knows he is not? Why? Because sportswriters as we know them and as named above are definitely a dying breed.

For better or worse, the internet is the new force in sports reporting. Very few people wait for the 11:00 p.m. daily sports news, let alone tomorrow's newspaper or a monthly magazine to get their golf information when it is available in blogs within moments of completion. Plus, people figured out you do not need 800 words to describe the action when 300-400 (or even much less) will do just fine. Plus, in many blogs, you can respond to what was written and tell the author what a knucklehead he is. Can you imagine someone writing to the Atlanta Constitution to complain, "Hey, Keeler, you are a jerk and that Bobby Jones fellow stinks, too"?

It is unfortunate, but newspapers and magazines as we know them will disappear in about five years or so. Probably 95% of the golf blogs currently being written will have been long, long gone. The cream will come to the top again. However, I doubt the top writers will get the salaries they currently receive and definitely will not get the expense accounts. So, Dan Jenkins (left), if you ever need the funds for martinis or to travel back and forth around the golf world to keep your column running, you can reach me at my pathetic golf blog which is not being entered in any golf writing contests in the immediate future.

                                                                                   

                                                                                 Click Here

 

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At one end of the spectrum, you hate him and will continue to hate him. At the other, he messed up, he apologized, so let it go. In the world of Tiger extremes, I lean more towards the latter. But, he is really starting to piss me off with these non-interviews and his non-apologies.

Everybody commits sins, a "righteous man falls seven times" (Proverbs 24:16). Every one of us requires periodic forgiveness from our Creator and the people in our life. So, I guess my question is this. What does Tiger have to say or do to get the Tiger haters to at least say, "Okay, Tiger, I still hate your guts, but that is probably the best you can do".

Forget about getting details about the accident, the number of women involved, who knew what and when, etc. To answer these questions only hurts Elin, his mother and his children more and more. He admitted he hit a few things in the Escalade. He admitted there was more than one women. He admitted he was "disgusted" by his actions and that he hurt people with his "reckless attitude and behavior". He is in lifelong treatment for the problem he suffers from and he will continue to make lifelong amends. An amend is NOT an apology. It is a firm resolve to change your thoughts, words and deeds that caused the problem by replacing them with a better set of actions.

I will never look at Tiger the way I did prior to Thanksgiving. I have forgiven him in my mind and wish him my best in his recovery. I do not see the need to punish him further.

As I mentioned above, some will hate him and never forgive him regardless of what he says and does. But, for those of you not that far gone, what will it take to get this incident past your gag reflex?

Even at my age (61), I learn lots of new stuff everyday. I don't always remember what I learned, but that's cool. It really makes my day when I learn something new about golf. Here are a few things I came across a number of years back that I had not known at the time.

1. Practice putting (or chipping) upon completion of hole (7-2/1)

It is legal to practice putting after you finish a hole in both match play and stroke play. I used to see the pros only do it during match play and many people thought it was against the rules in stroke (medal) play. Not so. For each event on tour, the PGA adapts a local rule prohibiting practice after a hole is completed. I guess they did not like the prospect of 6-7 hour rounds of golf. But, it is legal under the rules of golf to practice putting during a medal play round. See if the course you are playing has adapted such a rule.

2. Identifying your golf ball during a round (12-2)

I used to think I could simply go to a ball that I think is mine, pick it up, identify it and replace it. Not so. You must ask an official or another player to watch this procedure, which includes marking the spot, identifying the ball and replacing the ball as best possible exactly as it was prior to the ID process. A member of our club used to "identify" his ball on every shot. The resulting lies he left himself were amazing. The funny thing is, he used to also "identify" everyone else's ball also. In other words, an equal opportunity cheater.

3. Posting partial round scores in the handicap computer

If you play from seven to twelve holes of golf by the rules, you must post a nine-hole score in the computer. If you play thirteen or more, you must post an eighteen-hole score. For any unfinished hole, you would give yourself a par plus any handicap strokes due on the holes not played.

4. Dave Pelz' test results show you should leave the flag in the hole the overwhelming majority of the time

I am guessing every radio and TV broadcaster or director has what is known as a "delay button". It allows you to cut off the audio and/or video if something occurs that should not occur. Usually, it catches curse words or off-color statements before the audience hears or sees it and the broadcast station gets fined. Ask The Greaseman, Don Imus and Howard Stern if a delay button would not have saved them a lot of hassle and a few million dollars.

Men and women have been throwing golf clubs and cursing since Robin Williams the Scots invented the game. Last week I saw a golfer playing in the WGC-CA at Doral toss a club after his bunker shot failed to extract itself. There is a pretty chance he may also have murmured an expletive or two. I forget his name because he was probably on camera a total of 11 seconds from Thursday to Sunday. I am also supposing 97% of all club tossing and cursing occurs when the cameras and microphones are elsewhere. I would also suppose if a golfer had the camera on him 98.5% of the time, he might caught occasionally tossing his club or cursing. And, that is just not fair.

When Tiger returns, I feel TGC and the networks have a responsibility to use the delay button to maintain non-prejudicial use of the cameras and microphones. I doubt he curses or throws a club ever again, but, if he does, the delay button should be utilized immediately and general public should not see or hear about it.  I think that is only fair.

There are no stats kept on the club throwing/cursing phenomenon, so any attempt to state one golfer is worse than any other golfer in this area is ludicrous. Though, some may try. Like Perry Mason used to say, "It's hearsay, your honor". Per minute on screen Tiger may throw clubs less than any other professional golfer on the planet.

It's time to stop picking on this poor guy. After all, he has not had sex in almost 111 days

After winning the US Amateur Championship four times between 1924-1928, Bobby Jones lost to Johnny Goodman at the 1929 event. Jones wrote this article for the October 1929 issue of the American Golfer. This article has been excerpted, with permission, from that publication.

(NOTE: Jones also found time after being eliminated to referee the match between Jimmy Johnson and George Voigt. Can you imagine a young amateur sticking around today after being beat?)

LITTLE Johnny Goodman of Omaha fixed it up for me to see more of the Amateur Championship at Pebble Beach than I have ever before been in position to observe. I cannot say that my gratitude to Johnny is not tempered by some regret, but I found that being relegated to the gallery is not an entirely unpleasant experience especially when the later rounds of the championship prove as interesting as those staged by Messrs. Johnston, Willing, Ouimet, Voigt and others.

Photograph of Bobby Jones' first round loss at Pebble Beach, 1929

I think everyone connected with the tournament was immensely pleased when Jimmy Johnston won. Certainly it was impossible to hear a note of regret anywhere. There has never been in golf a finer sportsman or a more lovable chap than the new champion, and throughout the week he displayed a command of his shots and a courageous spirit which entirely deserved the honor which he eventually won.

Johnston has long been a topnotch player, an outstanding member of several Walker Cup teams and always prominent in National competitions, although until this year he had failed to win one.

The feature of the tournament from a competitive standpoint was the thirty-nine hole match which Johnston won from George Voigt. I had the good fortune to referee this match, and so saw every stroke. Both played very consistent and very good golf with rarely more than one hole and never more than two separating them at any time.

The thirty-eighth hole of this match showed us by what slender margins are championships won. Both players put together two fine wood shots to this par-five hole. Voigt lay just off the front edge of the green, while Johnston's ball was in the rough to the right, where he had to pitch over a bunker to reach the hole. Jimmy played his shot very well, but the ball slid ten or twelve feet past the hole. Voigt's chip left him scarcely more than six feet away. Both had courageously saved themselves from a good many serious difficulties and everyone in the crowd felt that there must come a break on this hole. Yet Jimmy holed his putt, the ball going in then almost coming out as it rolled around the edge. Voigt rapped his putt in, as confidently as onecould desire. There was a splendid exhibition of nerve on both sides, but it was a fearfully close call for Jimmy, where the decisive margin was very narrow.

The tournament and all things in connection with it were handled with impressive efficiency by the California Golf Association and the Bel Monte organization, as everyone knew it would be. The event was something of which California may long be proud. The galleries were unusually well behaved and conducted themselves as though they thoroughly appreciated the players problems. In this it was easy to see the effect of the amazing popular interest in golf on the Pacific Coast. It is always a delight to a golfer to play before a gallery of golfers who appreciate the fine points of the game, as those did.

This article has been excerpted, with permission, from the September, 1935, issue of the American Golfer

By BOB DAVIS

LUCK pieces, hunches, signs, portents, yes even jinxes, all have their places in human psychology. Superstition has played an important role in history. It is difficult to imagine a normal person who is not in some measure affected by these things. Read on!

Last April while attending the golf tournament at Augusta where the cream of amateur and professional players gathered in competition, I ran into my old friend Gene Sarazen. (right, click to make image larger) We shoot hands, too warmly, I fear. At least Gene detached his mitt from mine exclaiming, "Are you wearing brass knuckles?"

"Sorry, Gene, but I forgot the heavy silver ring on my third finger."

"Who made it; some blacksmith?"

"A souvenir from Mexico. The maker passed from this life more than a century ago. Concerning its history, if you care to listen . . . ?"

Yes he would; so I let the tale unfold. Originally the silver band was worn by Benito Juarez, first president and liberator of Mexico, the man who opposed the right of France to set up a monarchy on Mexican soil for the enthronement of Maximilian, who was executed by a Republican firing squad in 1867. That was an end to the French desire. Mexico continued free and a Republic.

"Now the point that will interest you, Gene," I continued, "is that the father of the present Premier of Italy, land of your forebears, and the birthplace of Sarazen, Senior, named his firstborn Benito in honor of the Mexican patriot. Three years ago when I dined at your home in Pelham, your dad discussing Mussolini, told me how II Duce got his given name.

"In view of the fact that this ring, once the property of Benito Juarez, linked vicariously with Benito Mussolini, is now in my possession, convinces me that destiny has set the stage for a ceremony to be performed, in the surrender of this ring to your keeping, in the hope that it will bring you good luck in the four days' competition on the Augusta National Course. Therefore I place in your keeping, with all the influence for good that may obtain, this silver relic once the possession of Benito Juarez."

Following this brief recital I removed the ring from my finger and handed it to Sarazen. That he was impressed is putting it mildly. Although reserve is not Gene's strong point when speech is justified, on this occasion he hesitated. "I'll accept it for my father's sake," he said finally, "not to be worn during play; it is the wrong shape for comfort and would interfere with my stroke, but to be carried in my pocket. I won't attempt to express my thanks. You know how I feel. Perhaps. . . Well, let's see what happens tomorrow."

"Go with confidence down every fairway, Gene. You can't fail." I slapped him on the back as he walked away, fingering the luck piece.

"Honestly, did that piece of junk ever belong to Juarez?" asked Tow Dewart, who had heard my whole conversation with Sarazen.

"Absolutely not, it was made by a modern Mexican silversmith and presented to me by Major Arthur Hamilton Gibbs last December."

"Well, what's the big idea in loading your friend Sarazen up with the fake history?"

"An experiment in suggestion. It may work."

"Suppose it doesn't. What then?"

"If he wins the tournament, it won't make any difference. If he loses, I'll tell him the truth and he will probably find some other reason for his defeat."

"When you tell the truth," said Tom, "that will be something new. I'll be interested to watch developments."

Sarazen slugged his way through all opposition with scores that were hung up on the front page wherever newspapers are printed. Not in the history of American golf has a more consistent performance been staged by any individual. On the fourth day the custodian of the ring rubbed its bright silver and sunk a double eagle, dropped a ball in two on a 485-yard hole that called for five strokes on the card. A sensational performance that gave Sarazen a tie with Craig Wood whom he defeated by five strokes on the following day. The silver ring was parked during the whole course of the competition in the plus fours watch pocket of the sturdy Italian whose father is an admirer of Benito Mussolini, named after Benito Juarez. As an additional stimulus to confidence I sent Sarazen the following telegram from Sprucepine, North Carolina, through which I passed the next morning, when he paired with Hagen in the fourth round.

At Roanoke that night I heard the news of the great victory and suddenly became smitten with the consciousness that I had pulled a preposterous fake under pretext of experiment. But after a night's sleep and a soaring conviction that perhaps the suggestion of power implanted in Gene might in the light of results be forgiven, and perhaps even applauded.

By Gene himself the whole truth will be known when he reads this page. And that's soon enough. In the interval I wrote Major Gibbs to whom I confessed without reserve, not forgetting to put in the plea of extenuating circumstances. I should have known that a man of his timber, schooled in the ritual of sportsmanship, would react according to Hoyle.
"I commend your audacity," he sternly wrote, "and ratify the transfer of the silver circlet. At least the ring is now on the hand of one worthy to wear it. I'm bringing you a duplicate as a reward for constancy. Gibbs."

I have a strong hunch that Sarazen will win the American Open Championship honors as well as the British Open, not because of this silver ring, but because of his iron heart.

A note from the blogist: Gene Sarazen had won both the US Open and The Open Championship in 1932. Unfortunately, he did not win those majors in 1935, nor ever after.

 

Read the following sentences very slowly. Slow play can be fixed. Slow play can be fixed. Slow play will not be fixed. Slow play will not be fixed.

John Feinstein reported yesterday on The Golf Channel how many rounds were in excess of 5 1/2 hours. A few players mentioned to him they thought 'sports psychologists' were at least part of the problem. Some players are taught a long pre-shot routine and are also taught to back off the shot if they are not 100% ready to perfectly execute the shot. That's fine, but not 4 1/2 minutes worth of it.

Good piece, John, but the Tour is not listening. Everyone player on Tour, the caddies, the TV crew and every Tour official from Finchem on down know the offenders.

Obviously, the PGA Tour does not genuinely care. If they did, they would take 37 seconds and implement the following:

First time out of position on course - one stroke penalty

Second time - two strokes

Third time - two tournament penalty

Penalty would apply to everyone in group. There would be no appeal process and no instant replay.

For many decades, the solution was right in front of their face. They saw it. They just do not have the gumption to pull the trigger and implement it.

I have defended Tiger and his actions inactions since hearing about the accident later that Friday morning. First, I started defending his privacy. I denounced the denouncers by questioning their overall morality (the old glass house and not throwing stones crap) and recently I even vilified the Golf Writers Association of America and any other golf media that complained about Tiger's 'statement conference'. If you could golf like Tiger, all else was inconsequential. It took exactly 93 days to see how wrong I have been.

In this morning's USA Today golf section, there are three headlines about Tiger. The first is, Gatorade ends endorsement contract with Tiger, then, PETA won't use Tiger's image and finally, NIKE: Okay for Tiger to take a break from golf.

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In 2007, a group of forty-eight golfers from my club took a trip to Florida. We went to the Ginn Reunion Resort in Orlando and it was fabulous. I had been with most of them on previous trips to Lake Tahoe, Las Vegas, Myrtle Beach and other places. Most of these guys I know very, very well.

Long before Las Vegas had their, "What happens in Vegas" ads, most golf groups had already come up with their version of that caveat. For the most part, my friends are drinkers and card players. Some are drinkers and dancers. A few drink, dance and try for that next step. We rarely hear about any success stories. Not that they aren't out there.

I usually help make the teams and set up the daily tournaments and golfing formats by handicap. I used a MS Excel spreadsheet, so I still have those forty-eight names in a column. For the heck of it, I went down the list and asked myself this question:

If the most gorgeous female in the world approached one of these guys and there was a zero percent chance of him ever getting caught, might he succumb to those feminine charms? I counted forty-one guys who I thought might capitulate. That is slightly over 80%. Surveys and studies recently have estimated adultery among American males to run between 40-60% and among females at 25-45%. Who knows if that is accurate? If you think it is too high, cut it in half. Whatever the number is, people are being unfaithful in America every second of every day in every city and state. The only segment of the population immune to this debauchery appears to be golf writers, bloggers and those commenting on those golf blogs. I have not read where even one person disqualified himself (herself) from commenting on Tiger's immorality because of conflict of interest in the infidelity category. Or any other category of poor character and judgment.

For example, if you beat your wife, should you be able to sit there and write negative things about Tiger's unfaithfulness? Which one is worse? Do you lie and steal at work? Call in sick when you feel well? Play a little solitaire and blog a little too much during the day? How much does that cost your boss? I'm sure your boss would rather Tiger messed around on his wife than you mess around with his money. Don't you? Do you ever talk about others behind their back? That is the lowest form of life.

If you are without sin, continue casting stones at Tiger Woods. If not, just shut up. If, in the future, you may ever need to request forgiveness from someone, I hope your decision to call Tiger's apology insincere does not come back to bite you in the butt.

Another bad thing about living in a glass house is it is hard to hide.

but, I believe it was plenty good enough for the time being.

I was not 100%, or even 75%, satisfied with Tiger's explanation/apology. I think the content and intent was there, but his delivery was a little stilted. He seemed out of place.

However, if you think about it, unless he is speaking specifically about golf, Tiger is not very articulate. He was never very good behind the microphone when discussing his charities or the other things in his life not related to golf. He was never at home even when on the stage at Tiger-Jam. Why wouldn't he be a little less than eloquent when addressing the world and admitting he is powerful over his sex addiction and that his life had become unmanageable. I remember the first time I had to admit my character defects in front of 100 people, let alone the world.

He admitted his flaws. He stated that he must 'start living a life of integrity', He asked for others 'to find room in their heart to one day believe in him again'. He expressed his desire to start to begin to exhibit 'behavior respectful for the game'.

There is no doubt he had help writing this statement. He is neither a speech writer nor a public speaker. Tiger was not perfect yesterday, but I thought he did as well as he was able to do.

During the Hitler Nazi regime, Joesph Goebbals had the position of Reich Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda. Apparently, Vartan Kupelian has usurped that title and uses it as his pulpit for his version what is appropriate for the golfing press in America. The very best golf writers in America are usually members of the Golf Writers Association of America. I am not a member because I am not even close to being a real golf writer, let alone one of the better ones. Here are a few quotes from GWAA Chancellor President Kupelian.

"The position, simply put, is all or none. This is a major story of international scope. To limit the ability of journalists to attend, listen, see and question Woods goes against the grain of everything we believe".

"The GWAA also believes strongly that its presence, without the ability to ask question, gives credibility to an event that isn’t worthy of it".

In other words, if Vartan Kupelian and the GWAA says it is so, it is so. If not, it ain't. In this case, the GWAA will not 'sanction' Tiger's statement session unless all 950 GWAA members are invited and allowed to ask questions. At 90 seconds per question, that Q&A session would last twenty-three hours and forty-five minutes.

And, I always thought it was the public that in the end that determined if a particular event was 'worthy'...

 

 

TW bought Elin a boat. TW is in a sex clinic. TW will start season at the Match Play. Rumor. Rumor. Non-fact.

I will make a list of the facts I am aware of regarding the Tiger Woods farce.

 

1.TW leaves his home in Escalade, hits fire hydrant and tree. Neighbor calls 911. Tiger goes to hospital

2. Members of TW household three times refuse to allow Florida police to interview Mr. Woods

3. TW's first statement on tigerwoods.com

4. TW drops out of 2009 Chevron World Tourney

5. TW's second statement on tigerwoods.com

6. Transvestite Parnevik vomits his opinion

7. Picture of Elin pumping gas

8. TW does not enter Northern Trust

9. TW does not enter Match Play

 

Those are the facts I am aware of. I do not have the patience, the time nor the inclination to even begin to list the scores of rumors perpetuated by the media, including some by golf blogists I respect.

If anyone has any verifiable facts that I missed on my list, please elucidate them to this doddering old fool.

It is not exactly writers block, but it is often difficult to come up with something fresh and new to write about every day. Most golf blogists have a fall back topic they can rely on. For example, I often choose golf stats or the rules of golf if something does not hit me for a good subject that day.

If you look to the right column on my blog, I have a blog roll with my favorite lady and men golf blogists' most recent offerings. If these guys (and girls) checked their daily stats, they would see I actually visit and comment frequently on their sites. These people are very good. And, they are great people. And, I am going to ask each of them for a favor.

For some unknown reason, possibly because of the excessive snow this winter or the fear of losing their jobs at their golf magazine or newspaper, many main stream golf writers have reverted to writing about unconfirmed rumors. Even some golf blogists are succumbing to this tactic also. I am seeing headlines like, "Unsubstantiated reports have Tiger and Elin leaving the sex clinic", or, "Tiger to return for the Match Play, according to RadarOnline.com", or "Elin renegotiates pre-nuptial agreement and Tiger is left with $456.00, according Golf365.com". See what I mean?

Obviously, there was nothing on their minds about real golf things when they woke up that day. I would like to help them. I am asking my buddies on my blog roll to donate a free topic every day for other golf writers to consider using. I have over fifty different first class golf blogs on my site for people to choose from.

This way, these golf writers could stop writing golf fiction and start writing about just golf. The first topic available for other writers is one from me. "Phil Mickelson wins the "Just Shut Up Award" on ESPN's "Mike and Mike In The Morning Show". .

John Daly's lawsuit against the insurance company covering the Honda Classic in 2007 could give him the necessary funds to return to the tour. Allegedly, at the PGA National Resort & Spa, a fan took a photo in JD's backswing and the resulting injury to his shoulder and ribs has kept him from playing the quality golf he needs to compete and succeed on the PGA Tour. If he can get the case in court and in front of a judge, any reasonable judge would award JD a couple hundred million.

Or, his many fans, who swear by him and tell us he is good for the tour, can help him. They could put their money where their mouth is and choose one of these "Let's get JD back on the tour" Stimulus Plans:

1. Buy his book. GOLF - My Own Damn Way. It sells for $15.95. Buy hundreds of them and pass them out around the neighborhood, at work or at your golf club

2. Consider buying and using John's 'Grip It And Rip It' golf gloves

3. The one size fits all John Daly 'The Lion' belt buckles and belts in all sizes are an ideal gift

4. Pick one of 27 other fabulous gift ideas and memorabilia from JD's merchandise site

5. Become the sole investor in the "Bring John Back" sponsorship program. Send a check in the amount of $1,000,000 to: The One-Eyed Golfer, Baltimore, Maryland. All monies received less fees, commissions, expenses and salary will be sent to Mr. Daly - $200,000 guaranteed.

I hate to tell you I told you so. But, I told you so.

 

 

First off, I have never felt there is something wrong with the current U.S.G.A. Handicap System. It has been devised and tweaked by the best golf minds on the planet. It probably is not perfect, but it works quite well and is fair to everyone. And, if it appears it may not be fair to a certain segment of the golfing public, the U.S.G.A. explains their rationale. The problem with any system, even this handicap system, begins when the human element is involved.

About five years ago, I took over as handicap chairman for my club. We had approximately 500 members with a U.S.G.A. index and a lot of complaints from the membership about 'inaccurate handicaps'. Every golf group has cheaters. Let's call a spade a spade. If you know the guidelines for obtaining a U.S.G.A. index and you do not follow them, you are a cheater. Every bit as much as someone who moves his ball in the rough or puts the wrong number on a scorecard. A cheater.

As I started reading the U.S.G.A. handicap manual, I realized how little I really knew about the rules for getting and keeping a handicap index. I found out how often I had violated these rules because I did not know them. In effect, my handicap index was probably never 100% accurate since I joined this club in 1979. Here it was in black and white. It was not brand new. I should have known these rules, but I did not. Neither did anyone at my club. Nor did anyone else from outside my club I posed certain questions to. Here are a few items I was not aware of. (These assume you are playing each round of golf by the rules with the intention to shoot the best score on every hole. NOT a practice round, for example)

1. If you complete seven holes of golf, you MUST post a nine-hole score.
2. If you complete twelve holes, you MUST post a nine-hole score.
3. If you complete thirteen holes, you MUST post an eighteen-hole score.
4. Regardless of your current index, you MUST post EVERY score, even very high ones.

On the above, for all unplayed holes, you MUST record par plus any handicap strokes the player is entitled to receive on that hole.

5. In match play, if you are conceded a hole, you MUST record the most likely score you would have made on that hole.
6. In match play, if you pick up your ball, you MUST record the most likely score you would have made on that hole.

On the above, the score on your card and the score you record for U.S.G.A. index purposes do not necessarily have to be the same. Also, make certain Equitable Stroke Control (ESC) is used in every appropriate instance. Remember, for ESC purposes, depending on the slope of the course you are playing each day, the amount of handicap strokes given varies.

As I mentioned above, I routinely was posting incorrect scores due to ignorance. I did not know about posting scores for incomplete rounds, let alone what score to post. If someone conceded a putt or a stroke, I took it and added one to how many strokes I had taken. If I knew the rules, I might have had to put a 10 on the card. As a 6-7 index golfer, I never posted a score above 85, thinking it didn't matter because it would never be in my best ten of the past twenty rounds played. So, big deal, you say, I do not need a U.S.G.A. Index. I'll do what I want. That's cool. But, you will never play in any amateur events in your state or any USGA amateur events. You cannot play in other clubs' member-guests, either.

Virtually no one knows all of the rules of golf. Most people do not know the handicap rules, either. I went to age 55 not knowing my U.S.G.A. index was inaccurate every month. It is no big deal. If anyone has any index questions, please ask. I may not know the answer, but I will do my best to find it for you.

As a kid, my parents bought a TV, we plugged it in and got 3 or 4 channels. The only financial decision was whether we wanted to buy a better antenna in order to also receive the Washington, D.C. channels. Otherwise, everything was free. We really had no right to bitch about anything as we were not invested in the process. Not so in 2010.

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I am sure other countries eventually forgive their hockey, soccer, or cricket players when they mess up, but America has proven time and again that She will forgive anybody for anything. We scream and say, "Enough is enough," but apparently it is not enough. We can always take more.

Other than Kobe Bryant, how about all those athletes who have committed sex-related crimes? Just because you pay off the victim does not mean you did not do it.

Plexico Burress will get out of jail and return to the NFL as did Michael Vick.  And, after a few months all shame has disappeared and 'mea culpa' are just two Latin words.

Bill Clinton disgraced the office of the President of the United States of America. His antics in the Oval Office are now considered fodder for humor.

But, the absolute, 100% proof that America will forgive Tiger Woods is Marion Barry.

Marion Barry was the mayor of Washington, D.C. from 1978-1992. I won't list every arrest and every time he was charged with a crime, but he was released from Federal Prison in 1992 and promptly elected by the citizens of Washington to its City Council.

Two years later, he was again made Mayor of that fine city. Since 1994, Barry has been arrested, charged and indicted by the IRS, the Secret Service, the Capitol Park Police and the Capitol Police on counts ranging from tax evasion and avoidance, to driving under the influence, to stalking an ex-girlfriend. He is currently again serving as the City Council representative from D.C.'s Eighth Ward.

His motel room arrest where he is caught on camera smoking crack and talking aloud has been on Saturday Night Live and other comedy shows. It is the set-up film for Barry's "bitch set me up" comment about his former girlfriend, Hazel "Rasheeda" Moore, who participated in the F.B.I. sting operation.

I try not to throw stones these days, glass houses are very expensive - in many ways.  But if I ever get caught, prosecuted, sentenced and put on probabtion, I hope my peers are only 10% as forgiving as some of the above citizens. They might make me President.

On a TV commercial during the SBS Tournament, 4-5 guys are talking about joining the GC's Amateur Golf Tour. These guys stare in the camera and tell us their handicap. For example, one guy says, "Hi, I am a six handicap". You pay some fees and they put together local golf tournaments and it is grouped by player abilities. Did you notice I did not say handicap? I will tell you why in a moment. The Golf Channel is the world's number media source for golf and the U.S.G.A. is one of the world's largest governing bodies of golf and they must be afraid to tell us something pretty darn important. That something is, there is no such thing as a golf handicap.

I will say it again, "There is no such thing as a golf handicap".

 

The complicated formula the U.S.G.A. and the R&A devised to keep the playing field level for all golfers gives us a number which is our U.S.G.A. Index. Heather Jones, of Real Women Golf, has an index of 9.9. If Heather ever plays in a handicapped event where strokes must be given to the various participants, the U.S.G.A. has another formula so Heather and the other competitors know how many handicap strokes are to be allocated that day for that particular course from a particular set off tees. So, if the course and tees they are playing that day has a slope rating of 116, Heather would receive 10 handicap strokes. If other tees are played and the slope rating is 126, she would receive 11 handicap strokes. If the slope value is 136, she would receive 12 strokes.

You can see the number of handicap strokes vary from day-to-day, course-by-course and tees-by-tees. Only the U.S.G.A. Index remains constant. So, NO ONE has a handicap, they have an index. That index does not give them a handicap, it merely allocates the proper number of handicap strokes for the slope rating of the course they are playing that day.

So, when someone asks you what your handicap is, this is how you must answer, "I really have no idea, but my U.S.G.A. Index is _____. What is yours?"

P.S. Please don't wake up the Golf Channel.

P.P.S. This chart shows you that Heather's 9.9 index puts her in the top 1% of women golfers in the country.

For my generation, the Big "O" was Oscar Robertson. He averaged over 33.0 points per game in college and averaged a triple-double (points, assists, rebounds) during his first five years as a professional and almost throughout his career. For this generation, the Big "O" is Oprah Winfrey.

In my opinion, his actions prior to the fire hydrant damaged his career approximately a three, on a scale of one to ten. It is what he has NOT done since then that may have doubled that number to a six, or higher. The longer he hides out, the bigger that number becomes and the longer it will take to lessen over the years.

The majority of Americans have excellent 'forgetters'. Michael Vick's jersey number with the Eagle became the #1 seller almost immediately. Kobe Bryant is more popular now than at any time in his thirteen year career. There are hundreds of similar examples. The cure was not without pain, but it sure got the job done.

 

 

Tiger needs to go on the Oprah Winfrey show and let her do her world famous, "Tiger, WTF were you thinking"? She would be fair, not easy, but not spiteful and without an agenda. She would force him to look dead into the camera lens and say what needs to be said about exactly what he did. Then, he needs to ask for forgiveness.

And, he needs to do it soon. Like yesterday.