After Watson and Oosthuizen recorded final rounds of 68 and 69, respectively, the two golfers found themselves deadlocked at -10 for the weekend. On 2nd playoff hole against Louis Oosthuizen, Bubba found himself in the trees with no direct shot at the green. What does a 40 yard hook with a 52 degree wedge look like? The picture to the right shows the flight of his ball, to within 5 feet of the hole.
“The Swinger” by long-time golf reporters Alan Shipnuck and Michael Bamberger, tells the story of Herbert X “Tree” Tremont. Tremont was a golf prodigy who became the best golfer on the planet, a billionaire athlete recognized all over the world, and the center of a maelstrom when life came crashing down after his secret life of extreme infidelity and use of performance enhancing drugs was exposed. Sound a little too familiar?
Shipnuck and Bamberger don’t try to hide the fact that this “fictional” novel is thinly disguised as the Tiger Woods story we all know. But with their combined four decades of covering the PGA Tour, the authors provide a really great look at life behind the ropes of the PGA Tour – and definitely have a lot of fun with the story.
The first person narrative gives the book an easy flow and makes it easy you to put yourself in the shoes of the narrator. Just like the real Tiger story, after the scandal most fans seem to welcome “Tree” back with open arms and want to see him succeed. Tremont looks for redemption, has a renewed enjoyment of time the fans and his fellow players, and from the experience emerges as a much more humble and human person. I think most of us are still waiting and hoping for the real Tiger to perhaps take that cue.
Overall, “The Swinger” is a fun read, especially for anyone who is a fan of golf and the PGA Tour. It is a little bit like reading the book after you’ve already seen the movie, but the story keeps you on your toes with twists and turns as Tree’s life starts to fall apart all around him. It can be seen as a hopeful story for those that are waiting for Tiger to return to form, and emerge as the person many of us hope he can become.
Merion Golf Club (East Course)
Location: Ardmore, PA
Architect: Hugh Wilson
Year Constructed: 1912
Played: June 20, 2008
Merion Golf Club . . . so much history has happened here that a book could be written on that alone. With a current count of 17 USGA events having been contested over Merion’s East Course that is more than any other course in the United States. Bobby Jones’ first major was the 1916 US Amateur played here, he won the US Amateur here in 1924 and of course his historic US Amateur win for the Grand Slam in 1930. Ben Hogan executed a miraculous comeback to the game here at the 1950 US Open after a near death automobile accident just 1 year earlier. Lee Trevino defeated Jack Nicklaus in a dramatic 18 hole play off to become the US Open champion in 1971. As much great history as there is, the story is far from finished for Merion. The USGA will be coming back to Merion for the Walker Cup in 2009 and the US Open will return in 2013.
Until 1941 when the club changed it’s name to the current version the club was known as the Merion Cricket Club. There are two courses here, the West and the more famous East. The club was originally founded in 1896 and played on the original golf course in neighboring Haverford. In 1910 the members decided to build a new course and sent member Hugh Wilson, a Scottish immigrant, to Scotland and England for 7 months to study golf course design. He returned with a head full of ideas and proceeded to layout the East Course which opened in 1912 and then the West Course which opened in 1914. That is a pretty incredible turn around time for getting courses built considering that it was done without the help of modern machinery in those days. Another amazing feat is that the East Course covers just 126 acres which is nothing compared to other golf courses. Augusta National covers almost triple that acreage at 365. If you want to get a chance at playing a Hugh Wilson course you have very few options. The only other courses he designed besides Merion’s East and West are Cobb’s Creek and the last 4 holes of Pine Valley. Continue reading “Top 100 Courses: #7 Merion Golf Club (East Course)”
This one is a bit over the top. If you’re a die hard golfer near Bellvue, WA, you can now spend eternity buried in a bunker at the Sunset Hills Memorial Golf Park.
Yes, you read that correctly. Sunset Hills has built a replica golf course/cemetery. This gives new meaning to being “dead” in a hazard. Be warned though, sand traps are reserved for cremated remains only.
The course will naturally feature a leaderboard where your name will be listed if you’ve reserved a “future tee time.” I guess you’re winning if you’re still upright?
There is little that can better spice up a good golf game than waging a little bet with friends. Most of us keep it small and simple, betting a couple of bucks or a round of drinks. However, golf folklore is infamous for costly, outrageous, and just plain wacky bets.
Have you ever bet that you could make a hole in fewer strokes than your partner? So did Sir David Moncreiffe and John Whyte-Melville in 1870, but they probably played with a little higher stakes than your average bet. The records of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews report that the bet was literally life or death and the loser had to die. Although the records omit the outcome of the match, it is recorded that 13 years later, John Whyte-Melville gave a speech where he lamented “the causes that led to…” the death of Sir David Moncreiffe.
Such wagers in early Scottish golf were not uncommon, especially among the aristocratic class. Restrictions were even formally set by the Honourable Company in the mid-18th century to limit the amount one could bet on a game of golf, but were not followed as elite gentlemen continued to play for large sums.
In the early 20th century, golf bets became less extreme but far more unusual. There are stories of a man who bet he could win a game wearing a suit of armor, and another of a man who bet he could score under 90 in a dense fog.
There are also tales of golf debauchery in order to make sure a bet to swings in one’s favor. Infamous gambler, Titanic Thompson, bet that he could sink a hole in one 40 feet away. His poor opponent probably gawked in amazement as he made it in, unaware that Titanic payed a greenskeeper to lay a track straight to the hole. Don’t get any ideas!
More about Titanic Thompson, the man who could “sink” everybody.
The game and cigarettes have always had an interesting relationship. After reading Bernard Darwin’s essay titled The Golfing Cigarette, a post was warranted. Growing up, cigarettes were a part of my experience – the long drag remains in my father’s pre-shot routine.
In Darwin’s essay, he conveys 5 (of many) different types of cigarettes on the golf course. They are:
There is the one that a man lights on the tee just to steady him and help him over the first hole.
There is the one, particularly applicable to medal rounds, which follows a disaster in a bunker leading to a six or a seven.
There is, in a match, the one that is felt to be absolutely necessary when a nice little winning lead of three up or so has suddenly been reduced to a single hole.
There is the cigarette to be smoked at the turn, irrespective of the state of the game, but because the turn is a definite occasion and an occasion calls for tobacco.
Finally and most blissful is the dormy cigarette…
Golf and cigarette’s relationship has been like any other; good times and bad times ebb and flow. In the early years of competitive golf, it was viewed as disrespectful to smoke in a match. Americans slowly morphed the perception as even the great Bobby Jones took a few drags during critical moments.
Unquestionably the pinnacle of golf and cigarette’s relationship was during the commercialized boom years of golf. The years of post-war golf seemed to curb the stigma and when the likes of Ben Hogan and others made it a habit, the act was more accepted; proven by the King’s promotion of LM’s (image below).
The relationship of cigarettes and golf today is still strong, but more subtle. Although, an opponent lighting up a Camel is in no sign of disrespect, it’s more likely to be perceived as a weakness. Vernacular has even changed. Smoking cigarettes, is no longer called smoking cigarettes, but ‘ripping nails’ is just as easily interpreted in the golfing elite’s terminology.
Cigarettes and golf will always be married together. Both need each other: cigarettes because without golf, there would be less moments needed for them, and golf, because without cigarettes, the game would be that much more difficult.
Arnold Palmer and Ben Hogan smoking cigarettes before their shot.
Darren Clarke smokes a golfer's cigarette.
Post-round cigarette for Ben Hogan.
Miguel Angel-Jimenez smokes cigarettes and cigars.
Arnold Palmer promoting LM's.
Angel Cabrera is one of the most prolific smokers on tour.
The chart below shows the cycles of greatness on the PGA tour since its inception in 1916 through 2004. The chart includes 57 players that have won at least 15 events on tour, as well as the most dominant players, whose rise and fall are graphed out over time. Click on the link to be taken to a page where you can zoom in and view the details of the chart (and can also buy a print, if you would like).
Members of Carbrook Golf Club in Brisbane, Australia, now have even more reason to be cautious about the water hazard on the 14th hole. Believed to be the only Shark-Infested golf course in the world, it has now become a common sight for golfers playing the hole to view these man-eating Sharks swimming near the edges of the lake, just off the fairway.
The killers, some up to 10 feet long, are thought to have washed into the lake during a flood in the early 90s when the nearby Logan river burst its bank. Not all reactions have been negative – As club GM Scott Wagstaff said, “You can’t believe how close you are…just six feet away, “There’s no drama, it’s become a positive thing for the golf course. They are amazing. I’ve become a shark-lover since working here.” The club presently hosts a monthly tournament called the Shark Lake Challenge.
Continuing with our series from the The Itinerant Golfer’s quest to play all top 100 American golf courses, The Scratch Pad is glad to bring you a profile of the 33rd rated golf course in America, San Francisco G.C.
San Francisco Golf Club
Location: San Francisco, CA
Year Constructed: 1918
Played: May 22, 2010
Please just let me find it . . . Is that really so much to ask? . . . Just give me a chance . . . All I’m asking for is a chance. These thoughts raced through my head as I walked to the left side of the 18th hole at San Francisco Golf Club. The 18th hole is a 508 yard par 5 and I REALLY would like to make a birdie here. Under normal conditions I should be able to reach the green in two, but today the wind is blowing something terrible and after floating a weakly cut drive to the middle of the fairway I was well outside the “go zone”. With the ball lying slightly above my feet for my second stroke I hooked the shot out of sight and now I’m literally just hoping I can find it. All I want is to have a chance to knock my third shot on the green so maybe I can roll a putt in for the birdie. To me, this seems like a more than reasonable request.
The Ryder Cup: it’s brilliant, it’s patriotic, it’s a rare moment of bonding that the game rarely shows. For one week, the world’s best from the U.S and Europe team up and compete in a dazzling biennial affair. Hosted this year in the U.S. at Medinah Country Club, outside of Chicago, the golf world will be watching as Europe tries to defend the title and keep the cup overseas. Below are 5 videos every golfer should watch before the first stroke is struck. Each video has been selected to emphasize the emotion, patriotism, and strategy all intertwined into a tournament unlike any other: The Ryder Cup.
Context behind the Ryder Cup:
Before 1985, the U.S. had dominated the Ryder Cup only losing three times since it’s inception in 1927. However, in 1985 the tides began to turn with the help of young, charismatic golfers like Seve Ballesteros, and the competition has never been same since. Below is a chart showing which teams won, by how much, and who lead the team to victory and defeat.
“The Swinger” by long-time golf reporters Alan Shipnuck and Michael Bamberger, tells the story of Herbert X “Tree” Tremont. Tremont was a golf prodigy who became the best golfer on the planet, a billionaire athlete recognized all over the world, and the center of a maelstrom when life came crashing down after his secret life of extreme infidelity and use of performance enhancing drugs was exposed. Sound a little too familiar?
