The 8th at Pebble is my favorite hole on the course. There isn't a better over the cliff 2nd shot anywhere I've played!
Here’s the third installment of my stories from working at Pebble Beach. If you missed PART I or PART II click on the links to view. The baseball players are easily the most entertaining group of characters that I saw stumble their way the through the golf course. The best part about the baseball guys is that they show up to the first tee smelling like booze at 8-9AM. No other professional sports group drinks nearly as much as them. They will often ask you to grab them a bloody mary to cure the hangover before their round. It’s pretty funny when the mini-store they have at the resort runs out of booze EVERY time they come to town. The only times I saw the store sold out was during tournaments or when the baseball players were there! Another fun part is watching the baseball guys BOMB their drives. They are one of the groups that plays a lot of mini golf games while at the resort such as scrambles/best ball/elimination games throughout the week. I always would volunteer to be a judge for the events and got to most of the time. Anyways, with spring training in full swing here’s my most notable memories from the always fun, MLB players.
Brett Boone – Easily the winner of the biggest drunk guy maneuver. Although there were complaints of someone leaving fecal matter in the elevator on this very night, but nobody owned up to that one, so it will be a mystery forever. We just know it had to be one of the ball players. It might be a coincidence, but the two times that Boone came to Pebble, I saw him occasionally over their week, and about 6 of the 7 times I saw him, he had a cocktail in hand. I remember helping him in the morning of the particular day of the “incident”, and he was dropped off in the front area where the bag drop is. He had a cocktail in hand, and already had that drunk lazy eye look at 8:30 in the morning. Not surprising by any means, but he was slightly ahead of pace on this particular morning if you know what I’m saying.
Anyways, fast forward 16 hours to a little after midnight. Brett Boone and another player that was never identified to me decided to start a bonfire just outside his hotel room at Spanish Bay. A good chunk of landscape got burnt luckily not any fairway, and also a little of the building had some charring on it. This extremely smart idea no doubt came from some heavy drinking, and earned Boone a $20K fine for fixing up the damages. He also received a ban from the resort. In case you were wondering why so many athletes go broke, this could be another good example of why…
Adam Dunn – He holds the title for the best golf shot I’ve ever seen by a non-golf professional. We were doing a scramble, and I was the judge for the six pairings (twelve players overall). Basically, the game was; the two worst scores are eliminated on each hole, each pair had players alternating shots, when there were three teams left it went to a single elimination for each hole. I can’t remember who Dunn’s teammate was for this mini game, but there were only three teams left at the time of the shot. We were on the par 4 15th hole at Pebble. Dunn was hitting his fourth shot, and it looked like the other two teams had VERY make-able par chances(Neither groups made them). He was about 45-50 yards out, and he hit his shot a mile up in the air. It bounced on the green once with a little backspin slowing the balls speed after it touched down, and on the second hop it went into directly into the hole. His 50 yard chip in saved them on the hole, and they eventually won the scramble. It very well could be the only time I’ve really seen Dunn win! Sorry Reds and Nats fans, pun intended.
Derek Lee – The longest drive I’ve ever seen on the 18th hole came from Derek. I’m not sure exactly how far it traveled, but it went close to 400 yards. It was past the trees that are supposed to give you trouble on your second shot. It was a shame he wasted that monster drive by shanking his second shot into the water to the left of the green, but hey, most of us would be happy with just having that first shot… A side note on DLee, my buddy in guest services wouldn’t accept any of his money/tips from him all week while “hooking” him up with upgrades to his room and things of that nature. At the end of the weekend, he sent my buddy to the pro shop to get fitted for clubs and sent him a brand new set of Nike golf clubs. My friend couldn’t turn that down! I’ll always root for him no matter how much he struggles or how much Chicago fans rip him, he just made that good of an impression on me!
Cory Lidle - I was debating whether putting a negative on the deceased was in bad taste, but essentially I’m just telling a story. Also, it’s been two years since the plane crash, so I figure enough time has passed. It’s a shame my memory of Lidle was the most horrid display of putting I’ve seen. I could really see two year old throwing a ball at the hole and getting as close as him. He missed so bad on one putt he was slightly off the green after it. He took his time setting up these putts, and seemed to put some genuine effort into the shots which made it more perplexing. Something just wasn’t clicking, I felt bad for the guy. He ended up four putting that green, and the one that actually went in, was a rocket that he was lucky it stayed down. Maybe he didn’t care or was just THAT bad at putting.
Tiger’s losing his sponsors left and right if you haven’t noticed. Gatorade (aka. Pepsi Co.) just kicked his contract to the curb, which isn’t all that surprising since he never said when he’d return to golf. Why pay the guy that goes into hibernation. I’m think that this is a bigger deal than losing his sponsorship with Accenture since they are a company that caters to the upper class. Gatorade on the other hand is drank by pretty much everyone, at least the people I’m around. I guess they thought his little fake sobbing during the speech wasn’t convincing enough to keep him on the payroll. Maybe it was those references to having a tough life, the Gatorade front office thought “Well, we will try as hard as we can to make your super celebrity life harder!” Maybe they decided they only wanted one robot in Federrer. What’s next for Tiger? Only he could tell you that, and I’m sure he’d have to write up a prepared statement that he can’t even memorize ready for you in six short months. This would only confirm he is indeed some type of cyborg, and has only learned the same amount of emotions as a Terminator.
One thing I’d like to see come out of all this, is him losing ALL of his sponsors, and starting from scratch. As soon as he wins his first major all this will be in the past and new opportunities will be coming along. I’m guessing Nike and EA will stick with him, because they have products based completely on him, but he’s going to have to pick up some new sponsors. Maybe he could get sponsored by Playboy. I’d probably pin him more as a Hustler type guy from all the fetishes he seems to have, but since Playboy is a little classier it would be the more likely of the two scenarios. Playboy has had some rough times lately due to the huge surge of internet porn out there for free. Hugh is an idol to most men, and I’m doubtful Tiger’s marriage will work out, so he’d be an amazing spokesman for the company. Instead of getting sponsored, he should just buy the company! We could even have a reality show with him feeding off the Girls Next Door success called Girls on the 19th hole or maybe Get in the Hole. Hugh you need to make this happen, there isn’t better icon to save your empire than sponsoring the most publicized affair of all time. Would people all of a sudden change their opinion on Tiger? Doubtful, because he doesn’t have the dynamic personality that Hugh does.
Hope you enjoyed the rant. I had a long conversation about this with a buddy today.
Last night I was watching the Warriots play on TNT. A mini part of going to a Warriors games at Oracle is the crowd reactions to Andris Biedrins shooting his free throws. He has has the worst free throw form of anybody in the NBA. He’s worse than most guys playing in an AAU game. I mean, don’t you think he should try something different!?! I’ve heard things from sitting in an inflatable chair, to throwing it up there Rick Barry underhanded style. It sounds like he doesn’t want to change his form, so you can be the judge for yourself what he should do.
On to our next contestant of the worst form known to man, is Charles Barkley, and his golf swing. We’ve seen him get a little better through the Haney project, but Charles is far from fluid with a golf club in his hands. I have to admit the first time I saw him swing a golf club I thought it was a joke!
Personally, I think Chuck’s form is waaay uglier, but since he isn’t a professional golfer, I’m giving Biedrins the nod for the worst form. I’ve seen tons of terrible golf swings, but can’t recall a more awkward jerky one than Charles’s. Biens looks less comfortable than Shaq at the line. It looks like he is throwing a medicine ball on all of his free throw attempts…
Chappy81: Well, Tiger did look remorseful, and apologized to everyone including the kids that are his fans. He used “I” in nearly every sentence, which was good to see him blaming himself. I liked how he owned up to everything that he did, but like so many others, I feel like he’s only remorseful because he got caught. I’m surprised that he’s trying to keep the marriage together, and that Elin is actually giving him another chance. It now makes sense why he was in the rehab classes now. I never understood why he was in the classes, especially when it was reported that their marriage was over. I guess they’re really trying to work it out. Maybe his re-found connection to Buddhism will help. The one thing I really wanted to know from the press confrence was when he’s coming back to golf, and that question went unanswered. I’ll still be shocked if he misses Agusta and the Pebble Beach majors since he dominates those courses in the past, but Tiger didn’t rule out sitting out for the whole season. We shall see… I can’t picture him sitting out that long with a mental injury. If it was a physical injury, that would be much different.
Cali4Dre: Tiger the budding Buddist? Is this the first time we have really heard this from him, a man of supposed faith at some point in his early life? Interesting that he chose to use this crutch to help him through this situation… I guess that’s what rehab and you’re mom will do to you. And a little surprising to not see Elin there. Especially considering that she’s willing to stand by her broken marriage with an adulterer a thousand times over. I don’t believe it is to keep the family together, I believe her excuse of her own parents’ divorce is prompting this decision is a quite frankly a farce. I think it is more likely because she has grown accustomed to the lifestyle that Tiger has provided, and the future greatness that will be reserved for Tiger and whomever he is with in the future. He was already a legend at 30, hell at 20, and his legend will only grow. He is royalty in the sports and business worlds, which by definition makes him the alpha of alpha’s and any other man would fail in comparison when it comes to picking a mate. I agree Tiger is only apologizing because he got caught, and not because he is truly sorry. He broke his forced humility long enough to berate the paparazzi, which again he brought upon himself by not speaking out in public sooner. This “apology” might have been more believable about two months ago.
This is the second installment of the series. It was mainly inspired by the upcoming AT&T Pro-Am as well as the US Open both being held at Pebble Beach this year. I worked there for two plus years as a customer service rep while in college, and have some random stories that I thought I’d share as I remembered them. If you missed part I here it is.
One funnest parts of my job was seeing various pros come to driving range when I was given that shift. It’s cool to see different pros go through their routines, and what in particular they are working on. One of the funnier things to hear is when the caddies of the players are making bets on their guy to win during warm-ups, but that’s another story for another time. Not all players were friendly, but most would talk to you at least a little, especially if it was slow.
One summer day in 2004, Chi Chi Rodriguez came to the range after a practice round warming up for the First Tee Open. It’s one of Pebble’s Senior Tour events or I guess it’s now called the Champions Tour. Chi Chi was chatting it up near the tent where we gave out the range balls with a couple people including me and my boss. Somehow we ended up talking about Tiger’s Nike commercial with him bouncing a golf ball on the end of his club like soccer players juggle with their feet and bodies. The commercial was pretty new at the time, and caused a mini uproar of guys (including myself) practicing it during the many boring hours at the range. At one point I could pop the ball up and hit it about 30-40 yards, which I thought was pretty good.
Chi Chi’s eyes lit up when we were talking about whether it was real or fake or how many takes Tiger took to shoot the commercial. He grabbed his wedge and said “Tiger didn’t start that sh**. It’s been around forever guys!” He pulled a ball out of his pocket and started juggling it on his wedge while telling a joke. I wish I could remember the joke, but I was mesmerized by the fluidity of his between the legs and behind the back bounces and stalls on the clubface. He never once drop the ball to the ground showing that Tiger most likely did it in one take. After his joke was done, he snatched his ball out of the air, and said I know a trick that nobody I’ve met can duplicate. Of course, we all said, “Let’s see it!”
He once again started juggling the golf ball. This time before he stalled the ball, he flicked the end of the golf club putting some spin on the ball. He then caught it on the end of his wedge like a stall, but this time it wasn’t sitting still. The ball actually had so much spin on it, that it was moving in small circles on the face of his club. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes! Chi Chi is one cool guy, so if you ever happen to be at a senior tour event and run into him, ask him to do this trick! I think he got as much of a kick out from our reactions as we did seeing it! Thanks for the memory Chi Chi!
John Daly said for the umpteenth time that he is done with golf. Not sure how likely it will be for good, since he’s made comments like this before. Either way I’m sad to see him go. He’s been known to quit, and sometimes has quit in the middle of a round, but today he sounded pretty serious saying on the Golf Channel after his round “I’m done, I Just can’t play like I used to… I’m tired of embarrassing myself.”
Strong words from a guy who never really seemed to care what people thought of him. It’s not like he was a big factor on the PGA as it’s been nine years since his last victory, but for whatever personal reason something told him he had enough.
I have a feeling that his ultimate demise had something to do with his lap band surgery, and how he lost nearly 100 pounds in just a couple of months. He looked like a shell of his former self, literally after the weight loss. Since the surgery, he hasn’t been nearly as good on the course, and looked even worse health wise. I guess some of that could well be father time doing the damage plus all those millions of drinks and smokes he had on the course. I’ll always remember him for his Happy Gilmore like attitude that screamed I don’t give a f***what you think of me! One of my favorite examples of this isn’t his mullet, but when he was beaten by his girl, and he could have withdrawn from the tourney, but he still showed up scratched face and all. Much more than I can say for Tiger, and his assault case… Have we even really seen a picture of Tiger since it all went down? Whatever, hopefully he’ll join the senior tour, so he’s not out of golf for good. I wrote a tribute to him awhile back, but felt I needed to dedicate one more post to one of my all time favorite golfers. He was one of the main reasons I even tried golf out when I was a kid. I guess I just liked the mullet!
With the dawn of a new PGA season upon us, I feel it’s only right to get my golf posts started up again. I’ve been putting this off for awhile, but I feel like I owed it to some people to put up some good stories from when I worked at Pebble Beach Golf Links. I was working there for two years and some change during college, and had a few interesting experiences along the way. I will try to continue this series for as many stories as I randomly remember! The main reason for this inspired series coming up now, is that, the 25th AT&T National Pro AM is fast approaching (Feb. 10-14), and the US Open is also being held at Pebble this year for the first time since Tiger dominated it in 2000. I’m pretty excited for the Open, so hopefully some of these posts will get you excited as well…
Every year the AT&T National Pro-Am is held at Pebble Beach in early to mid February the resort gears up for their biggest tournament of the year, which is a good thing for the employees. They always hire on so much extra help/volunteers for the tourney, we really don’t do anything during the day except drive golf carts around, watch the tourney, and help the players where we can, like shuttling them around. The inspiration for this first post is people hitting golf balls at people.
The Fijian Bastard
On a Wednesday before the tournament started in 2005, we were closing down the range, and Vijay was the last guy there. It was getting dark, and he was the only guy out there for the past half hour. I guess this isn’t an uncommon thing as Vijay usually practices longer than a lot of guys, so my boss says. My coworker told him he needed to wrap it up, because we needed to clean up and get out of there. He told him to finish off the balls he had, and that was it. Vijay finished the balls in his trey and sent his caddy to get more balls. His caddy took them from one of the barrels that we just picked up off the range. My boss went over to him, and said that he had to go because we were closed, but let him hit the ones that he had just put on his trey. After he had hit those ones, he still didn’t leave. Instead, he pulled out his own balls and started firing them from the range tees over to where me and another employee were cleaning up the chipping green area. He almost hit the gardener that was about to cut the lawn. Biggest dick move I’ve ever seen from a professional golfer. I could see if he wanted to practice deep into Saturday night, if he was in the hunt for a win, but this Wednesday before the tourney even started. He played the tough guy I’m a star card, and refused to stop practicing. This is the main reason I will never root for him. He’s a selfish bastard that thinks he can do whatever he wants. Anyways, the gardener got in his face, and Vijay finally left the range an hour after everybody else that was practicing. The best part was that he didn’t come close to winning the tourney, and he didn’t even make the cut! Karma is a bitch!
Swami Nails the Family Jewels
Chris Berman or “the Swami” gets invited to the pro am each year, and is always super excited. He’s a great guy to talk to, full of energy non-surprisingly to many. Anyways, one tourney he was right on the cut line, and was waiting in the clubhouse to see if he made it. When the third to last group bogeyed 18 he jumped up and down hugged a few people in the pro shop saying “I made it!” over and over. It was like he won the tournament or something, but I guess being a broadcaster you have to feel like you belong to the athletes your always talking about. Anyways this story of the Swami takes place on the 14th hole, and quite possibly the hardest hole on the course (easily the hardest par 5). It’s a long dog leg right, that is uphill after the tee shot, and takes most at least four to get on the green. I was standing with a co-worker watching a few groups go by, and Berman was one of them. His tee shot was a shank, and heading for us/the crowd through the dog leg. The ball came within about five feet of us hit the cart path and went directly into some guy’s nuts like it had a heat seeking lock on them. Me and my friend were both wearing our work clothes, but couldn’t help from cracking up. I’ve always found it amazing that people don’t pay attention during this tourney or any tourney there are amateurs at. Don’t they know that amateur means not that good? Shanks are going to happen on the regular! By the time Berman got to his ball, it’s pretty doubtful that he even knew what happened, except for the fact that his ball was saved from going to the 8th fairway.
Look for Part II coming soon, on the baseball players!
So, you may have heard by now that Tiger has cheated on his wife more times than he has fingers, but most major sports outlets aren’t really saying their opinion. Yes, I’m talking about you ESPN, SI, Yahoo, etc. I’m guessing it’s because of money, but I found it interesting that sites like TMZ and US have shed the true light on our most recognizable sports figure of this generation. Giving us the texts and voice-mails he sent to his mistresses. It got me thinking are these media outlets scared of the Jordan factor. When he went to play baseball Sports Illustrated put him on the cover of their magazine telling him to go back to basketball. He blackballed them for the rest of his career never giving them another cover shot, advertising shots, interviews, etc.
Tom Cable had a dream, and that dream was to be a head coach. The dream has worked out pretty well so far, as the Raiders have more hope than they’ve had in years, and like anyone living a normal life, he has had some “transgressions” along the way. I can’t defend whatever happened to “the punch” of assistant Randy Hanson. He was portrayed as target #1 bad guy by ESPN as they even ran an Outside the Lines report on the women he abused, and people he didn’t get along with. It was fine and all, because all of it was true, but where’s our expose on Tiger!?! It’s lame how they pick and choose what guys they are going to throw under the bus, and in fear of upsetting possible future connections they aren’t going to run a trashy story on Tiger. Make your mind up ESPN give us the tabloid trash or don’t, just stop being a hypocrite!
You may as well put her out there since Ulacher's replacements haven't stepped up.
I was pretty pumped on Saturday, as I hit both the predictions I made for the Civil War and SEC Championship game. I didn’t do quite as well when it came to Sunday, but I still went 5-3 on the week bringing the season record to 36-34-1. It’s nice to see I’m not losing money as fast as Tiger is with all these mini settlements or the big one with his wife. One thought on the game I didn’t actually see tonight. How bad is this Steelers team that lost back to back games to the Raiders then the Browns? I’ll let you answer that one, but it’s not a playoff contender that’s for sure. As always the home teams are in bold.
Denver (+7) Over Indianapolis
Indy easily handled one of the hottest team in the league taking the Titans down in blowout fashion, but in the end the Colts love to play in close games. I think this week will be close as Denver seems to have regained some of their early season form and won their last two games. With Orton looking healthy again their offense is back on track, and can keep up with the Colts on the scoreboard. I’m not predicting that the undefeated streak is going to end here, especially the way the breaks are going for them. I know that the Broncos sure have a lot more at stake with this game, and I could see them possibly winning outright.
Cincinnati (+7) Over Minnesota
I guess this is bold picking two teams in a row to upset two of the top three teams in the league, but last week was the Vikings first real test since they played Green Bay six weeks ago. Minnesota showed that they aren’t unstoppable when they play a GOOD team, and Cincy is a GOOD team this year. I also think Cincy will come out a little more pumped than normal as they play the game with a chance to clinch their division. Aside from the game fell asleep on against Oakland they have been great this year. I’m sure they picked up a few pointers from Arizona last week, so maybe we will see Favre turn into Farva! This should be one of the best games of the week!
Green Bay (-3) Over Chicago
Uh oh, last week I picked all road teams, and now I’ve already picked three! I really like this line though! It might be the easiest pick of the week! I think I like Charles Woodson more than the Monday Night Crew. He’s always been a favorite former Raider of mine. I still can’t figure out why teams would throw to his side of the field. If only we still had him and Asomugha, nobody would throw on us… Anyways, Green Bay is rolling right now, and the Packers have finally been keeping Rodgers upright. He’s currently tied for third in the NFL in passing TD’s and I don’t see any reason for him not to continue putting up big happy fantasy owner numbers against a suspect Bears D. I know this is a rivalry and all, but one team just isn’t that good, and the Bears fall off was worse than Tara Reid’s fall from fame.
The Media (-1,250 articles) on Tiger Woods OVER
I have to admit that I am surprised I ended up doing two posts on Tiger’s troubles, but since it’s all we hear about I had to add to the 30,000 articles already out there. Anyways, I’m taking the over 1,250 articles coming out this weekend that are Tiger related. This is slowly turning into a bigger fiasco than Michael Jackson’s death! Hopefully A&E doesn’t make a show about it like they did with the Jackson 5.
Houston (-6) Over Seattle
Yeah, I know the Texans have sucked lately, and the Seahawks have been playing decent, but just looking at Seattle’s 1-5 road record and haveonly score 16.7 points per road contest. Those numbers alone make me a believer in the Texans. Matt Schaub should be able to put up a solid fantasy day with a TD connection or two with Andre against a banged up 25th ranked passing defense. The Seahawks DON’T have a good offense, especially their supposed big play-maker TJ Houshmanzadeh who is averaging a stellar 3 catches for 7.9 yards per game with no touchdowns. One thing I do like about Seattle is that they are giving a chunk of carries to Forsett as he gets his shot to be the next big thing out of Cal. Funny note from Yahoo on Forsett about Jim Mora’s awesome job as coach!
Dec 7 Forsett scored a touchdown but got only eight touches Sunday as the Seahawks stubbornly stuck with the less dynamic Julius Jones.
Recommendation: Jones got 25 touches and did little with them, totaling 64 yards. Forsett totaled 34 yards, almost all of it coming on a 25-yard reception. It seems obvious to everyone but coach Jim Mora that Forsett should see more action. Perhaps that will happen, but don’t count on it until there’s official word. Forsett’s “tweaked” quadriceps was not a factor.
Tennessee (-13) Over St. Louis
The Titans hit a speed bump last week on their march to an improbable playoff berth. I doubt they can do it, but you never know. I see them winning convincingly after a tough game against Indy. Going home is always a boost, but playing the Rams might be even more of a boost. The biggest hype for the Lambs is Todd Mcshay and Mel Kiper Jr. arguing over whether they should pick Jimmy Claussen at the top of next year’s draft. I’m already sick of their big boards and projections, we don’t even know if the Rams will have the honor to pick that high! They might even improve their pick by pulling out a win in Tennessee! Ok, just kidding, I think if that happened, the Nets will make the NBA playoffs! Which by the way you can get a good discount on this site by buying them now!
Oakland (+1) Over Washington
Yes, I finally get my chance to gush on Gradkowski, and yes, I’m going to go right ahead and jinx him right now by picking the Raiders to win at home. Sure he throws some ugly looking passes, but didn’t Jeff Garcia do that his whole career!?! Bruce has given us a true leader in the huddle. I haven’t been this proud/excited with anything Raiders related in quite some time, and now that the offense looks like it actually has some confidence with the play-makers after FINALLY getting them some touches! Louis Murphy has been a fan favorite since they drafted him, and it’s good to see him being able to showcase his skills by having a QB that can get the ball to him. Washington does everything they can to lose each week, and that was on full showcase against the Saints. They are about as healthy as Al Davis, so I wouldn’t expect much of a showing on the road. If their spirits weren’t broken last week, then maybe Zorn isn’t that bad. Maybe they’ll come out fired up, but more than likely after that rough loss they might just pack it in for the rest of their games this season.
San Diego (+3) Over Dallas
This match up features the hottest team in the league versus the luckiest. Is it just me or do teams like to give games away when they play the Cowboys. I hate that their game is always televised, and I hate even more I have to watch some dumbass move by the other team that gives Dallas a win. It’s getting ridiculous. I keep thinking that it can’t happen again right!?! Well, I’m sure it could, but the Chargers look as focused as they’ve ever been. I think even Norv Turner has made me think that he can actually coach a little. I guess those Turner theories only work in the playoffs. I see Romo making one too many mistakes this week against an improving San Diego defense. We all know that Dallas likes to crumble in December, so lets just hope it’s fun to watch!
The new Golfers Digest hit newsstands, and the front cover will not be changed in leiu of Tiger’s many mistresses that seem to be popping up daily now. I’m not sure why these girls didn’t try to get their payday earlier! Now that Elin knows what’s up there are no more paydays coming! This cover has tons of unintentional comedy or maybe the Golfers Digest people are funnier than I ever thought. (Load it & Let it Go! How to Outsmart your Buddies. Tips Obama Can Take From Tiger.) Classic! Anyways, the article talks about how golf can be good for the economy, and the picture was actually photo shopped in case you were wondering if Obama actually had time to go golf. The Tiger Saga continues to unfold and keeps getting more fun to me at least, since I never truly liked the guy in the first place. Not to say I’m not impressed when he wins tourney’s or any of his accomplishments, just never liked him… We are doing the right thing and being true Americans, by bringing down Tiger. It’s the American way to bring down anything that is at the top! Here’s some Golfer’s Digest reader responses to the cover some of them are a little to serious for me.
Well, it’s impossible to miss the news that Tiger crashed his car in a distraught state, and it’s been widely debated on what the dispute was over. There’s about a 99% chance it was a argument with wifey Elin that prompted Woods to speed off into a tree. Either way it’s been on every media outlet from CNN to TMZ, so we know the story! I guess I don’t care THAT much what happened or happens, but along with everyone else just mildly curios from a distance. It’s always exciting to see something great come crashing down, maybe it’s just the American way. We like to destroy things that were or are the best. Showing the public any type of mortality just gives us more of a reason to pick on him. Anyways, I wouldn’t have written about him, unless dyslexic e-mailed this picture over that reminded me, even Tiger gets OWNED every now and then!
Lao Mi or Phil Mickelson won the HSBC Championship in Shanghai on Sunday, which was really Saturday here in America. Highlighted in Nanfung Daily was how Phil might be ranked second in the world, but he was number one in approachability. This comes to no surprise of the Americans, as we’ve always felt closer to Phil than Tiger. I just found it interesting that Tiger wasn’t more well received, since he is in fact Asian. I guess they aren’t that big on half Chinese. I figured that alone would win him a good chunk of the popularity vote. The paper cited how Phil would hang around and sign autographs, but Tiger would leave immediately. It also said good luck getting Tiger to acknowledge you even if you are one inch from him! Once again, we see that Tiger is just a machine, and probably is the one reason I still root against him to this day.
I think that's better than I could do!
In the end it was Laohu (Tiger) vs. Lao Mi (Phil), and Laohu only really had one good moment during the day sinking a birdie from about 14 feet away. He was constantly distracted by camera’s clicking during his backswing, and was quoted “I couldn’t wait to get out of here.” Phil on the other hand was giving the classic high-five to everybody that he walked by as he edged Els out for the victory by one stroke! Hopefully Phil is getting back on track after a disappointing season last year. His family seems to be okay, so now we’ll see if his focus goes back to the golf course!
Beaufort, South Carolina – Officials say an alligator bit off part of a golfer’s arm as he leaned over to pick up his ball at a private South Carolina course.
The man, who is in his 70s, was retrieving his ball from a pond when the 10-foot alligator bit him at Ocean Creek Golf Course in Beaufort County. The gator pulled the golfer into the pond and ripped off his arm in the struggle. His golf partners were able to free him.
Wow! That’s a pretty gripping account! I mean, Chubbs made golf course alligator attacks famous when he lost his hand, but this guy really one upped him. Getting pulled into the pond and having his arm ripped off? That’s really raising the bar.
For a large percentage of the folks who enjoy the sport, smoking cigars and playing golf go hand-in-hand. You’ll see guys lighting up a stogie in good weather and in bad, during a good round and through the shanks. And it seems as though the wealthier the golfer, the more abundant the cigars.
Which brings me to our subject today, the Honorary Assistant Captain of the US President’s Cup Team, Michael Jeffrey Jordan, “His Airness”. This weekend the 8th President’s Cup will be hosted at Harding Park in San Francisco, pitting a talented US Team versus an International Team comprised of the top twelve players in the world outside of the US and continental Europe. Harding Park is a municipal course owned by the Parks and Recreations of San Francisco, and hosting a tournament of this magnitude is a tremendous and distinct honor. And for Jordan being selected an Honorary assistant to Captain Fred Couples is another great perk for the basketball legend and celebrity.
Jordan spotted preparing for his role as Honorary Assistant Captain... in Cabo!
Along with being a course of the people comes the laws of the people, specifically health ordinances recently put into play. Little known fact: San Francisco banned the smoking of cigars (and cigarettes of course) as part of a city-wide ordinance to keep the city parks smoke-free. And Harding is certainly near the top of the list in terms of kept up Parks in the city. I’ll also vouch for beautifully kept Fleming, the nine-hole executive course located on the same property between Harding’s front and back nine.
Honorary Assistant Captain Jordan was spotted on Tuesday at Harding in a practice round with a very large stogie simmering away. Heck we have the pictures to prove it. Only problem is, if the city wanted to prosecute, the most they could do is send him a ticket for a measly $100. One would guess Jordan could pay the fine with one of the benjamins he uses to light a new cigar, but he doesn’t, he uses old thousand dollar bills and would have to ask for change.
His Airness after he heard about the $100 fine
So the debate rages on: Should Jordan obey the order from the city or should he ignore it for this special occasion? He was asked about the topic and responded by saying he knew it was wrong but thought he could slide by in this situation. Asked in an interview by PGATour.com how many cigars he would smoke during the week, “I would say (it’s) a three-cigar round. I would try to keep it at a minimum of three.” That’s right, a MINIMUM of three per day.
After further review, I think the city should uphold its ordinance in this situation, and follow Jordan around the course all week. If/when he smokes three per day, over the next 5 days, send him 15 tickets at $100 a pop. For a guy like Jordan this is tip money at most, and in a city like San Francisco his money is more than welcome. Whether or not I agree with the ordiannce is a different story, but the law is the law! Reflecting back on his recent Hall of Fame induction speech, Jordan’s not the only one who can leave a bad taste in someone’s mouth…
mceezy
dyslecix
chappy81
cali4dre
Although there were complaints of someone leaving fecal matter in the elevator on this very night, but nobody owned up to that one, so it will be a mystery forever. We just know it had to be one of the ball players. It might be a coincidence, but the two times that Boone came to Pebble, I saw him occasionally over their week, and about 6 of the 7 times I saw him, he had a cocktail in hand. I remember helping him in the morning of the particular day of the “incident”, and he was dropped off in the front area where the bag drop is. He had a cocktail in hand, and already had that drunk lazy eye look at 8:30 in the morning. Not surprising by any means, but he was slightly ahead of pace on this particular morning if you know what I’m saying.
Adam Dunn – He holds the title for the best golf shot I’ve ever seen by a non-golf professional. We were doing a scramble, and I was the judge for the six pairings (twelve players overall). Basically, the game was; the two worst scores are eliminated on each hole, each pair had players alternating shots, when there were three teams left it went to a single elimination for each hole. I can’t remember who Dunn’s teammate was for this mini game, but there were only three teams left at the time of the shot. We were on the par 4 15th hole at Pebble. Dunn was hitting his fourth shot, and it looked like the other two teams had VERY make-able par chances(Neither groups made them). He was about 45-50 yards out, and he hit his shot a mile up in the air. It bounced on the green once with a little backspin slowing the balls speed after it touched down, and on the second hop it went into directly into the hole. His 50 yard chip in saved them on the hole, and they eventually won the scramble. It very well could be the only time I’ve really seen Dunn win! Sorry Reds and Nats fans, pun intended.
Derek Lee – The longest drive I’ve ever seen on the 18th hole came from Derek. I’m not sure exactly how far it traveled, but it went close to 400 yards. It was past the trees that are supposed to give you trouble on your second shot. It was a shame he wasted that monster drive by shanking his second shot into the water to the left of the green, but hey, most of us would be happy with just having that first shot… A side note on DLee, my buddy in guest services wouldn’t accept any of his money/tips from him all week while “hooking” him up with upgrades to his room and things of that nature. At the end of the weekend, he sent my buddy to the pro shop to get fitted for clubs and sent him a brand new set of Nike golf clubs. My friend couldn’t turn that down! I’ll always root for him no matter how much he struggles or how much Chicago fans rip him, he just made that good of an impression on me!
Lao Mi or Phil Mickelson won the HSBC Championship in Shanghai on Sunday, which was really Saturday here in America. Highlighted in Nanfung Daily was how Phil might be ranked second in the world, but he was number one in approachability. This comes to no surprise of the Americans, as we’ve always felt closer to Phil than Tiger. I just found it interesting that Tiger wasn’t more well received, since he is in fact Asian. I guess they aren’t that big on half Chinese. I figured that alone would win him a good chunk of the popularity vote. The paper cited how Phil would hang around and sign autographs, but Tiger would leave immediately. It also said good luck getting Tiger to acknowledge you even if you are one inch from him! Once again, we see that Tiger is just a machine, and probably is the one reason I still root against him to this day.
