Presidents Cup and More

It is great to see the the American team working as a team! They're tied with the International team as they go into the final day of singles matches. It's going to be an exciting day tomorrow and I hope the American guys prevail as the women did in the Solheim Cup. Go USA!

On Thursday, I played in a local Chamber of Commerce tournament and had a great time. I wasn't sure about how well I would play since I was sore from aerating my back yard. To my surprise, I played well. I suspect I did so because I didn't try to hit the ball hard, but took easy swings. The ball was going far and straight unlike my ugly slices of recent rounds.

One thing I had to catch myself from doing was being a stickler about the rules. My team was over par in a team scramble format, yet I was still worried about how many drives each player had hit and whose drive we needed next. My cart partner reminded me that we didn't have a chance to win and just have fun. He was right, yet I would have hated to have won knowing we didn't follow the rules. I like to walk my talk about playing with integrity and according to the rules at all times. Fortunately, we didn't place, but we had a great time.

Go USA!!

I awoke this morning watching the 9/11 memorials at Ground Zero and the Pentagon. You can't help but think back about that horrific attack on our country four years ago. From the somber mood on TV, I tuned into the Golf Channel to watch the Solheim Cup and was thrilled to see the USA was leading in several matches. Most notable of the matches was Paula Creamer over Laura Davies. I took her confidence onto the course and played with the best tempo in my swing and putting stroke in quite awhile.

Perhaps the lesson to be learned is watching the best play can help take your game up a level. Congratulations USA!!!

Rules are Rules in Solheim Cup

Did you happen to see the afternoon match with Annika Sorenstam? On the 17th hole, she had what looked like spike marks in her putting line. She asked for a ruling and whether there was any exception if they were indeed spike marks. After a fairly long delay, the Rules Official ruled that they were spike marks. Thus, she would have to putt around the marks as Tiger said when Vijay Singh complained about Phil Mickelson's spike marks.

It was nice to see that rules are rules. Until the USGA changes the rule about not being able to tap down spike marks on putting greens in the Official Rules, there was no reason for Annika to receive an exception and tap down the marks. Neverthless, it was unfortunate that the person who created the spike marks did not tap them down.

So, in your next round, if you happen to create spike marks with a slip or shuffle of your feet on the green, be considerate and tap them down.

Golf in Perspective

After seeing the horrible devastation of Katrina, it's a good lesson for me to remember golf is only a game. It's heart-wrenching to see the loss and suffering. I will play on Sunday and remember how lucky I am to play the great game of golf.