Thursday, September 20, 2007
Lightning Strikes Twice at the Same Place
Two friends in a foursome had hole-in-ones on the same hole while playing together in Newark, NJ. According to Golf Digest, the odds of two golfer in a foursome hitting an ace on the same hole is 17 million to 1. The back-to-back aces surely won't be forgotten by these two!
Nota Bene
Tiger has once again proven why he is number one in golf...victorious in the last two playoffs and the FedEx Cup. He's taking a well deserved break until his Target World Challenge in December. He's caught flak for skipping the PGA Grand Slam, but why shouldn't he take some time off? He's won 60 tournaments in his career, 7 tournaments this year alone, millions in the bank, and, most importantly, has a new baby. Glad to see he's got his priorities right!
Speaking of families, Michelle Wie has arrived at Stanford University. Of course, she won't be playing for Stanford, but she played nine holes yesterday. I was hoping that she'd live in a dorm and have a college life away from her parents. Unfortunately, that's not the case--her parents have rented a home nearby. I'm not surprised, but it sure would have been nice for her to experience college life as just a teenager without the pressures of her hovering parents.
I played Olympic Club's Lake Course on Monday, and found it to be the hardest course I've played thus far. I played Medinah #3 a month before the PGA Championship and it was tough with the 4.5 inch rough. But, at Medinah, I could at least see the green and the pin location. There were so many holes at Olympic, especially the par 3's, where all I could see was the large deep bunker in the front and the tall lip of the bunker. I couldn't tell if the green sloped left to right, or front to back. Would love to be able to play it again now that I have a little bit more course knowledge.
The PGA and other governing organizations in golf have agreed in principle to an anti-doping policy for professional golf on a global basis. It will be accomplished in two phases. The first phase was to put out the list of prohibited substances, which include the following: Anabolic Agents Hormones and Related Substances, Agents with Anti-Estrogenic Activity, Diuretics and Other Masking Agents, Stimulants, Narcotics, Cannabinoids, Beta Blockers, Enhancement of Oxygen Transfer, and Chemical and Physical Manipulation. The last one is interesting. It sounds vague enough to include chiropractic and physical therapy, but it can't.
The next phase, which is to be completed by the end of the year, is to generate "general standards for all the fundamental elements of an anti-doping program for golf organizations that become signatories to the Policy, while providing flexibility for such signatories to develop specific policies and procedures necessary or appropriate for their organizations."
Obviously tour players and their physicians and trainers need to be careful about the meds or supplements that the players take.
Finally, fall is soon upon us, and the end of the golf season is near, so get out there and play as much as possible. Sunset isn't until around 6:00, so hit a bucket or play nine, but enjoy it while you can!
Speaking of families, Michelle Wie has arrived at Stanford University. Of course, she won't be playing for Stanford, but she played nine holes yesterday. I was hoping that she'd live in a dorm and have a college life away from her parents. Unfortunately, that's not the case--her parents have rented a home nearby. I'm not surprised, but it sure would have been nice for her to experience college life as just a teenager without the pressures of her hovering parents.
I played Olympic Club's Lake Course on Monday, and found it to be the hardest course I've played thus far. I played Medinah #3 a month before the PGA Championship and it was tough with the 4.5 inch rough. But, at Medinah, I could at least see the green and the pin location. There were so many holes at Olympic, especially the par 3's, where all I could see was the large deep bunker in the front and the tall lip of the bunker. I couldn't tell if the green sloped left to right, or front to back. Would love to be able to play it again now that I have a little bit more course knowledge.
The PGA and other governing organizations in golf have agreed in principle to an anti-doping policy for professional golf on a global basis. It will be accomplished in two phases. The first phase was to put out the list of prohibited substances, which include the following: Anabolic Agents Hormones and Related Substances, Agents with Anti-Estrogenic Activity, Diuretics and Other Masking Agents, Stimulants, Narcotics, Cannabinoids, Beta Blockers, Enhancement of Oxygen Transfer, and Chemical and Physical Manipulation. The last one is interesting. It sounds vague enough to include chiropractic and physical therapy, but it can't.
The next phase, which is to be completed by the end of the year, is to generate "general standards for all the fundamental elements of an anti-doping program for golf organizations that become signatories to the Policy, while providing flexibility for such signatories to develop specific policies and procedures necessary or appropriate for their organizations."
Obviously tour players and their physicians and trainers need to be careful about the meds or supplements that the players take.
Finally, fall is soon upon us, and the end of the golf season is near, so get out there and play as much as possible. Sunset isn't until around 6:00, so hit a bucket or play nine, but enjoy it while you can!
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Great Weekend for Professional Golf Fans
This is a busy weekend for fans of professional golf.
First, we have the final playoff of the FedEx Cup which is the Tour Championship and final event of the year for the PGA tour. Tiger is in the lead, but Steve Stricker and Phil Mickelson are close on his heels. Check out the t.v. schedule on the Golf Channel and NBC. Besides winning the Tour Championship purse of $1,260,000.00, a FedEx Cup champion will be crowned and will win $10 million bonus prize. If Tiger wins the tournament, he'll win both!
If you enjoy watching women's golf, the Solheim Cup is also being played in Sweden. It's the American players against the European, like the Ryder Cup. Check out the action on The Golf Channel on Friday and Saturday, 2:00 p.m.-midnight ET and on Sunday, 3:00 a.m. to 10 a.m. ET.
First, we have the final playoff of the FedEx Cup which is the Tour Championship and final event of the year for the PGA tour. Tiger is in the lead, but Steve Stricker and Phil Mickelson are close on his heels. Check out the t.v. schedule on the Golf Channel and NBC. Besides winning the Tour Championship purse of $1,260,000.00, a FedEx Cup champion will be crowned and will win $10 million bonus prize. If Tiger wins the tournament, he'll win both!
If you enjoy watching women's golf, the Solheim Cup is also being played in Sweden. It's the American players against the European, like the Ryder Cup. Check out the action on The Golf Channel on Friday and Saturday, 2:00 p.m.-midnight ET and on Sunday, 3:00 a.m. to 10 a.m. ET.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Golfer Grunts
I watched the Ferrer-Nadal match last night at the US Open and thought two things.
First, when did male tennis players start grunting as well? I remember there was that first gal who grunted on her backhand. Now it seems they all grunt. I'd prefer not to hear the squeaks and grunts, but watching tennis without the ball sound doesn't feel right.
When will our future generations of golfers start grunting on their drives? I hope never, but I can see it one day as a marketing ploy to make that one golfer stand out from the rest.
My other thought is how glad I am that I play golf instead of tennis. I could never play with those pros. I could never see the ball to hit it back let alone make contact with it. With golf, the game has two built in levelers of the playing field--handicaps and different tee boxes. On a bad day for a pro and a great day for me, with handicaps and a shorter course, at least I might have a chance to win.
It's ironic that the game that gets so much publicity for not being equal toward different sexes has those equalizers so men can play against women and pros against amateurs.
Play on golfers, but in silence please!
First, when did male tennis players start grunting as well? I remember there was that first gal who grunted on her backhand. Now it seems they all grunt. I'd prefer not to hear the squeaks and grunts, but watching tennis without the ball sound doesn't feel right.
When will our future generations of golfers start grunting on their drives? I hope never, but I can see it one day as a marketing ploy to make that one golfer stand out from the rest.
My other thought is how glad I am that I play golf instead of tennis. I could never play with those pros. I could never see the ball to hit it back let alone make contact with it. With golf, the game has two built in levelers of the playing field--handicaps and different tee boxes. On a bad day for a pro and a great day for me, with handicaps and a shorter course, at least I might have a chance to win.
It's ironic that the game that gets so much publicity for not being equal toward different sexes has those equalizers so men can play against women and pros against amateurs.
Play on golfers, but in silence please!
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
What Did Butchie Tell Phil?
In Phil's comments after the third round of the Deutsche Bank Championship, Phil said Butch Harmon told him about a couple of things that Tiger does to playing partners. According to Phil, Tiger did things to and Phil just chuckled about it recalling what Butch told him.
It hasn't been said what Butch told him, but as an attorney I'm wondering whether Phil just got Butchie in trouble with Tiger. I find it hard to believe that Tiger did not negotiate a confidentiality clause with Butch to prohibit Butch from telling anyone Tiger's secrets or whatever Phil was alluding to. (Just as there was likely a non-compete clause for certain number of years that prohibited Butch from working with certain players.)
Besides after playing ten years together, don't you think Phil should have figured some of those things on his own by now? Tiger was off in his putting yesterday, so winning by two strokes doesn't suggest Phil has gotten Tiger's number. The victor between those two will vacillate most likely, so let's hope they just both play great golf.
It won't be next week unfortunately at the BMW Championship since Phil withdrew this morning from the tournament.
It hasn't been said what Butch told him, but as an attorney I'm wondering whether Phil just got Butchie in trouble with Tiger. I find it hard to believe that Tiger did not negotiate a confidentiality clause with Butch to prohibit Butch from telling anyone Tiger's secrets or whatever Phil was alluding to. (Just as there was likely a non-compete clause for certain number of years that prohibited Butch from working with certain players.)
Besides after playing ten years together, don't you think Phil should have figured some of those things on his own by now? Tiger was off in his putting yesterday, so winning by two strokes doesn't suggest Phil has gotten Tiger's number. The victor between those two will vacillate most likely, so let's hope they just both play great golf.
It won't be next week unfortunately at the BMW Championship since Phil withdrew this morning from the tournament.
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