5. I am such an idiot. At Winged Foot in 2006, Phil Mickelson had three major titles on his resume and the chance to finally land the big one that got away. Phil had suffered U.S. Open near-misses at Pinehurst, Bethpage Black and Shinnecock Hills, and all he needed was a par at the 18th to win this Open, or a bogey to force a playoff. You know the rest. It was Jean Van de Velde all over again, only with trees instead of grandstands and a water hazard.

Mickelson blocked a tee shot left off a hospitality tent, took two to get out of the trees, blasted out of a bunker and made a double-bogey 6 to blow the Open in New York, where he is a huge crowd favorite. His subsequent self-effacing quote, “I am such an idiot,” said it all and made Mickelson the new poster boy of major championships squandered. At least in golf, that’s only a temporary position. (For details, see Colin Montgomerie, Scott Hoch, Greg Norman or Kenny Perry, to name a few.)

6. The Battle of Augusta. What if … Masters chairman Hootie Johnson had just ignored the letter from Martha Burk of the National Council of Women’s Organizations? We might have been spared a year of unseemly — and ultimately wasted — animosity over the absence of women at Augusta National Golf Club. Instead, Johnson hit back, and his comment that the club wouldn’t change its policies “at the point of a bayonet” started a year-long war that led up to the 2003 Masters.

Burk went from relative unknown to a regular guest on national news shows, and she enjoyed strong backing from the New York Times, which editorially urged Tiger Woods to boycott the tournament, USA Today and the Washington Post. When Burk shrewdly began to apply gender-based political pressure to advertisers, Johnson outflanked her by canceling all tournament sponsorships. The battle dragged on for months, and Burk promised that picketing protestors in Augusta “will give those good old boys the vapors.”

Long saga short: Burk was denied permits to demonstrate near Augusta National’s main gate and had to move the protest elsewhere. What protest? Fewer than a hundred demonstrators showed up. Score a win for Johnson as the Masters went on uninterrupted. Two years later, the tournament sponsors were back on board.
The only real winners, as usual, were the lawyers. Burk sued the city of Augusta over its protest ordinance and won a favorable ruling from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which ordered the city to pay $150,000 in NCWO legal fees. When the court refused to hear an appeal, city officials negotiated a $120,000 settlement.

7. American idols. The U.S. Ryder Cup team was at rock bottom going into the 2008 Ryder Cup, having won only one of the last six Cups, including consecutive 9.5-point thumpings in 2004 and 2006. So captain Paul Azinger drew up a new points system and grouped his players in four-man pods according to personality type, which built familiarity during practice rounds. Azinger made all the right moves as his relaxed-but-determined lineup (minus the injured Tiger Woods) defeated Europe by a satisfying five-point margin to regain the Cup.

J.B. Holmes, one of Azinger’s picks, came up big in singles, as did Kentucky native Kenny Perry, who heeded Azinger’s advice on how to minimize the pressure of playing in front of his vocal home-state supporters.

Lightly regarded Boo Weekley was unbeaten and provided the moment that symbolized Team USA’s fun approach. In his Sunday’s singles match, he hilariously galloped off the first tee riding his driver like a pony. The enthusiastic fans responded to Azinger’s request to become the 13th man and gave the event a loud, football game-like atmosphere. “After this,” Golf Channel analyst Steve Flesch said, “the next tour event is going to seem like a member-guest.”

President George Bush invited the victorious team to the White House, where a wowed Weekley, who had an upcoming hunting trip planned, had the last word. “The only thing that would top this year off any better for me,” he said, “would be to go out and get me a big deer.”

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The Up and Down in 2009 Golf

Golf here!!

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Do you know what can happen when golfers use terms incorrectly or which are not defined in the Rules of Golf? Here we submit to you the “Top 10 Misused Terms in Golf.”

No. 10, “Through the Green”
No. 9, “Rough”
No. 8, “Fairway”

These three terms have a strong relationship to one another in that they are typically misused when referring to areas of the course. The terms “rough” and “fairway” are actually areas of the course that the Rules call ” through the green .”

The issue with “through the green” is that most tend to believe it refers to the area over the back of the green. However, by definition within the Rules of Golf, if an area of the golf course is not a hazard (i.e., a bunker or a water hazard), and is not the teeing ground or the putting green of the hole you are playing, it is “through the green.”

Did you know the word “rough” does not appear in the Rules of Golf , and the word “fairway” appears only once? Ironically “fairway,” while not defined in the Rules, is used to clarify the term “closely mown area” for where a player is entitled to relief for a ball embedded in its own pitch-mark ( Rule 25-2 ). Although golfers at all skill levels use these terms, you will not be able to find these words in the index when attempting to look them up in the Rules of Golf booklet. Quite simply, both fairway and rough fall under one term: “through the green.”

No. 7, “Waste Area/Waste Bunker”

Many modern golf courses have areas often referred to as “waste areas” or “waste bunkers.” These are typically areas that don’t meet the definition of either a water hazard or a bunker . Generally, they are unmaintained natural areas installed by modern-day course architects to add another test for golfers to negotiate (or to reduce maintenance costs), and are simply “through the green.” That means the Rules allow you to ground your club and/or take practice swings in these areas. And that can be a good thing.

No. 6, “Trap”

Continuing with bunkers, let’s get another misnomer out of the way. A bunker is not a “trap.”

By definition, a bunker is a prepared area of ground, often a hollow, from which turf or soil has been removed and replaced with sand or the like. Many golfers like to refer to them as traps or sand traps. Now, the last time I checked, a “trap” is not something anyone or anything wants to be in (i.e., bear traps, rat traps, speed traps). What’s more, if one attempts to look up the word “trap” in the Rules of Golf, the search will be fruitless, as the word is not there. A bunker, on the other hand, has a much less punitive connotation and is the proper term as defined in the Rules of Golf.

No. 5, “Cup”
No. 4, “Pin”

It is a bit of a mystery as to how the terms “cup” and “pin” came to replace the proper terms of ” hole ” and ” flagstick .” Seems that it is just as easy to refer to them as a “hole,” and a “flag” or a “stick.” Most golfers should cringe every time they hear television announcers refer to the hole location as the day’s “pin placement.” After all, the purpose of the game as laid out in Rule 1-1 is to put the ball in the hole, not in the cup.

No. 3, “Tee Box”

Let’s talk about the “tee box.” Historically, the tee box was a small wood crate filled with sand used for building a small mound to place the ball for the tee shot; that is until the wooden tee peg became all the rage in the early 1900s. The starting place of each hole is a rectangular area, two club-lengths in depth and the width of the tee-markers, and the proper term for it is ” teeing ground .”

No. 2, “Rub of the Green”

Another term often misused by television announcers is “rub of the green.” Most use the term to refer to bad luck. According to the Rules of Golf, a rub of the green occurs when a ball in motion is accidentally deflected or stopped by an outside agency. Sure, it’s frustrating when a perfectly good shot heads toward the flagstick, only to have the ball strike the flagstick and careen into a greenside bunker. That’s a rub of the green that is bad luck. However, a ball destined for out of bounds or a bad place, that miraculously strikes a tree and comes to rest in a more desirable spot is a rub of the green that is good luck. Some know this as a “member’s bounce.” Here is a link to a terrific video clip of Payne Stewart receiving a very lucky ” rub of the green .”

Can you guess what term is NO.1?

Golf quotes and sayings you may never heard of

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To play and fully enjoy the great game of golf there are certain items that are considered necessary, such as, drivers, golf balls, putters, woods etc, whereas, some other golf paraphernalia is classed as , merely, golf accessories. However many items that may fit under this heading could just as easily be classed, not as, golf accessories, but, as golfing essentials in their own right.
Golf waterproofs are for golfers who hate to miss, even, a moment of golf time and golfers who live and play the game in the UK require golf waterproofs as a standard piece of golfing equipment.

Golf towels are used to wipe golfer’s hands to remove sweat and moisture; from golf balls, especially to remove dirt/mud or after a water hazard because the golf ball behaves differently once it has been for a swim; to dry golf clubs, thus, preventing a build up of moisture which can severely damage clubheads; to dry golf shoes before putting them into a golf shoe bag, which would help to maintain shoes and extend their life. A golf towel certainly deserves to be high on a golfers shopping list.

A divot repair kit is another article which merits a place within an inventory of vital golf accessories. Throwing up divots and then walking away will not endear you to the hardworking greens keepers or the golfer who follows your shot.

Another golf accessory, which is more of an indispensable item than many non-golfers would think is the golf head cover because it keeps clubheads at a constant temperature which is said to assist consistency of play. A headcover, also, protects exposed clubheads from rain and helps to prevent accidental clubhead damage whilst in transit, be that during a round or in the car.

Wearing a golf glove, whilst by no means compulsory, is certainly advisable because it will give a golfer a far more secure grip, especially, if a golfer’s hands are prone to perspire.

If there’s a sport that requires the most number of accessories, it’s golf. What with its golf bags, golf gloves, golf tees, logo golf balls, golf socks, and golf shoe bags, when you start up a hobby like golf you can almost guarantee that you will need a lot of golf accessories. Golfbuyitonline stock and supply many golf accessories that deserve to be counted amongst a golfers inventory of essential golf items.

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