Happy birthday, Tiger!

Just a day away before Tiger turns 30, but already the well-wishers are in line. OK, 30 is still young, but to put things into perspective, Tiger's almost twice as old as Michelle Wie.

1. Christine Brennan, USA Today article.

2. Reuters (London) article

3. And this nice news: Tiger remains richest sports earner

4. UPDATE: Damon Hack of NYT article on Tiger

5. UPDATE: BBC commentator Peter Aliss says Tiger won't surpass Jack

6. UPDATE: Roy Kroichick, San Francisco Chronicle article on Tiger (apparently Jack uses email): "Now, as Tiger Woods bears down on his 30th birthday - on Friday - the question is simply: What will he show us next?"

7. UPDATE: Another excellent article on Tiger from Jaime Diaz of Golf Digest. We should've given Diaz at least the RU for best golf beat writer of the year. Here's a flavor -- Tiger talking about his proposal for golf:

"I'd like to see more spin added to the golf ball, so misses would be more pronounced and good shots more rewarded," he said. "Anytime you bring maneuverability back into the game of golf, it's going to favor the better players who understand how to control the golf ball. It still matters in firm conditions or in wind. I always like to shape something in there a little bit just because I'm giving myself a fatter area for playing a miss, because it's not a game of perfect. I'd eliminate the 60-degree wedge and set a 56-degree limit. For one, it would bring more feel back into the game. Because now guys lay up to exact yardages and hit nothing but full shots. Nobody hits half shots anymore. And it would make the short game around the green a lot harder. If guys didn't have a 60-degree or even a 64-degree wedge to save them, you wouldn't see them being as aggressive going into the greens, because they couldn't short-side themselves as much."

The Mickelson report

My schedule for the coming year will be very similar to the one I’ve had for the last couple of years, busy early building toward the Masters, prepping for the majors a couple of weeks in advance and of course looking forward to the Ryder Cup and playing for Captain Tom Lehman. I’ve known Tom for a long time. He’s a good man and has some interesting ideas about captaining. I hope one of them is a DiMarco-Mickelson pairing.

Looking even farther ahead, there’s been a lot written and said about the proposed schedule for 2007 and beyond. I really don’t have enough information about it, so I really don’t have an opinion about what might happen. I do think two things are important. Having the best players meeting consistently over a season that doesn’t try to compete with football is key for our TV contract and to grow interest in our game. And having the PGA Tour commissioner and his people sell the new product to the players and make it happen.

My hat’s off to Tiger for another incredible year, to Vijay for another nice season at age 42 and to Ryan Moore for getting his card in just eight events. I played with him four days altogether at Augusta and he’s a guy to watch next year.I know our family will be enjoying the holiday season and we certainly hope you do the same. Until next year, thank you for your support. And don’t forget to work on your short game. (more here)

TGB Reads the Green: Caddy For Life: The Bruce Edwards Story

Over the holiday season, I typically read three to four books. Lately, I have read all the books by Dan Brown and the last book I read was Men In Black by Mark Levin. Mostly, I read books from the New York Times Best Sellers list or books from the bargain bin at my local Barnes and Noble.

The last time I was in Barnes and Noble, I bought Caddy For Life: The Bruce Edwards Story by John Feinstein and decided that it was time to read a book about golf.

Caddy For Life was a quick read and was very well written. I found it much better than most of Feinstein's other works. Basically, Caddy For Life follows Bruce Edwards' life from his early caddy years until the later stages of his struggles with ALS. Caddy For Life takes a 3rd person perspective and includes quotes and stories from players, caddies, family, and others involved in Bruce's life.

This book is a gripping story which I had a difficult time to put down. And, I almost cried once I found myself reading about Watson's first round 65 at Olympia Fields in the 2003 US Open and the other moments that involved Tom and Bruce after Bruce's diagnosis. My only critique of the story is that if you were to read it today, it leaves you hanging. Not that I wanted to read about Bruce's final days with ALS, but it would completed the celebration of his life with a couple chapters about his death and funeral services. I wanted to know, Who was there? What was said? Any other stories or memories of those at the funeral. Nevertheless, I still found the book well written and a great, quick read for any golfer who remembers Tom and Bruce.

The Tiger Report

Oh yea, and I turn 30 on Dec. 30! Although my friends keep reminding me, it hasn't really sunk in yet. I don't feel old, but I have been grinding on the PGA Tour for almost 10 years, which is pretty scary. I never thought I'd win 10 major championships in my 20's because that's never happened before. Hopefully, my best years are still ahead of me.

People keep asking me if I can improve. Are you kidding? You never get there. Any time you think you've arrived in a sport, it's time to quit. That's what excites me about 2006: I know I can be better than I am today.That's all for now. Happy Holidays and talk to you next year!

The Golf Blog Awards, 2005

The Golf Blog is pleased to announce our 2005 Awards. The runner-ups are indicated in brackets.

The Best
1. Player of the Year - Annika [RU: Tiger]

2. Rookie of the Year - Paula Creamer [RU: Sean O'Hair]

3. Comeback Player of the Year - Michael Campbell [RU: Monty]

4. Biggest Buzz-Creater of the Year - Michelle Wie [RU: Tiger]

5. Best Showdown of the Year - Tiger Woods v. Phil Mickelson, Ford Doral Championship [RU: Tiger v. DiMarco, Masters]

6. Best Golfer Ever - Jack Nicklaus [RU: none]

7. Best Golf Analyst, Network - Johnny Miller and Dottie Pepper

8. Best Golf Analyst on The Golf Channel - Brandel Chamblee [RU: Kelly Tilghman]

9. Best Golf Instructor - David Leadbetter [RU: Hank Haney]

10. Best Golf Calendar - Natalie Gulbis

11. Best Commenter to The Golf Blog - AndrewsDad [RU: Erik at the Sand Trap]

12. Best Alias of Commenter to The Golf Blog - Put Me Down for a 6

13. Best Golf Beat Writer - Tim Rosaforte, Golf World

14. Best Challenger to Tiger next year - Phil Mickelson [RU: Ernie Els]

15. Best Challenger to Annika next year - Paula Creamer

The Worst
1. Worst Short Putt - John Daly, AMEX playoff [RU: Vijay Singh, Bay Hill]

2. Worst Call - LPGA's DQ of Michelle Wie

3. Worst Golf Analyst on The Golf Channel: Steve Dumas [RU: his sidekick]

4. Worst Golf Anchor on The Golf Channel: Kraig Kann

5. Worst Haircut - Ian Poulter [RU: Tiger with highlights]

6. Worst Playing Partner - Rory Sabbatini

8. Worst Final Round Meltdown - Retief Goosen, Jason Gore, Michelle Wie

9. Worst Slump - David Duval

10. Worst Golf Beat Writer - SI's Michael Bamberger

The Golf Blog Awards, 2005: stay tuned

Soon.

PGA season: too long, too boring, too tiring

Tiger Woods is skipping the opening Mercedes Championship in January because he needs an "off season," he says. The guy just finished 2nd to last in his own tournament last week, and must realize that he's just burnt out.

All of this confirms Imgonnapickup's earlier analysis (here): the pro golf season is way too long. When the No. 1 player in the world won't be playing in the 1st tournament of the season because he needs an "off season," there's something drastically wrong with the schedule.

feeling the winter blues: findagolfresort?

Here's an interesting golf travel and vacation site called FindaGolfResort.com. If anyone's used it and can tell us more about it, feel free.

UPDATE: One of FindaGolfResort's representatives informed The Golf Blog, "we are first and foremost a golfing community travel tool, search engine and information site, and not your regular travel agents, the idea is to provide a non biased platform for golfers to use when looking for a golf resort, our strategy of helping the resorts and the golfers is what makes us unique (services on both ends are free, we do sell resorts memberships, but most of what you see now is free – and basic)."

Earth to LPGA: grant Pressel membership

This is the biggest no-brainer if I ever saw one. Morgan Pressel wants to be a full-fledged member of the LPGA at the start of the season, having already earned her tour card at Q-School (based on a special exemption that allowed her to participate). So what's the problem? The LPGA has an age requirement of 18 years old and Pressel won't turn 18 until May.

Who in their right mind cares!? Aree Song was allowed in at 17 years old. And Pressel has shown far more game than Song. Let me see, who was tied for 2nd at last year's U.S. Open and could have possibly won the whole thing had it not been for a miracle bunker shot from Birdie Kim? The New Commish Carolyn Bivens can't make the wrong call so soon into her tenure, can she?

photo op: you pic the winner

OK, here we go again: who has the better reverse-C?

1. Ai Miyazato, winner of LPGA Q School
2. Luke Donald, winner of Tiger Target Championship
3. Jim Furyk

best documentary on Tiger Woods

Sorry, I didn't catch this before. I just watched the best documentary of Tiger Woods yet. Tiger's Prints on The Golf Channel. The documentary is loaded with interviews with Tiger, Jack, Arnie, Mark O'Meara, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, and so many other famous people from golf and other walks of life. The commentary and footage were outstanding.

The analysis of Tiger made me appreciate even more how truly special this guy is. Michelle Wie has a long, long way to go if she wants to come half as far as TW.

emailing The Golf Blog

The Golf Blog wants to thank all of you who have emailed us. Our email contact information is now posted on the right hand column if you haven't noticed yet.

1. Golf manufacturer and golf website emails: We welcome all golf business related inquiries. Due to our short staff and the number of requests we receive, we may not be able to respond to each email. If you've sent us an email in the past, you can be rest assured that we are reviewing and considering it. Sometimes, we are waiting for the right time for the proposed story, or are trying to do some research on the story, etc. In any event, please do keep on sending us these emails. It would be helpful if you put "business for The Golf Blog" in the header of the email.

2. Guest bloggers: The Golf Blog periodically entertains a "guest blogger" to write and submit posts. Sometimes we ask someone who has posted comments to The Golf Blog that stand out. But sometimes people just ask us. We can't promise we'll be able to accommodate every request, but if you are interetested in "guest blogging" on The Golf Blog, feel free to shoot us an email with your proposed or sample post. It would be helpful if you put "guest blog for The Golf Blog" in the header of the email.

Thanks again!
The Golf Blog

the art of golf

Golfing Girl: After the Putt...........Golfing Girl: Pondering the Putt

Martina Shapiro is a talented artist from Vancouver who also happens to play a little golf. Apparently, she's better at putting than driving, but her paintings are her passion. In her words, "the painting acquires a soul - through me, not from me." It shows. You can find more of her incredible works on her website. And, if you're an art lover looking for a stocking stuffer, some of her works are on ebay. More about Martina here.

mystery: how did John Daly break his hand?

Tiger Woods was named PGA Player of the Year yesterday, no surprise. It was also announced yesterday that Fred Funk will be playing in Tiger's tournament this week because John Daly withdrew. Daly broke his hand last week, but isn't saying how. (More here.) It is probaby safe to guess that it wasn't golf related.

Natalie show, final episode

The Natalie show ended, perhaps fittingly, with some birdies and bogeys, emblematic of Natalie's season. The best part was the five minutes in the beginning when we got to see Paula Creamer off the course. To be frank, the show should have had more "behind the golf scenes" coverage to make this a real reality show. If I were directing the show, I would have focused on 1 or 2 tournaments and followed Natalie from start to finish, behind the scenes. We got to see some of that this week with Paula Creamer and with Natalie at the baseball game during the US Open, but there was just too little of it.

Birdies
1. Bowling with Paula Creamer: Natalie was nice enough to take "rookie" Paula Creamer out for a night of bowling with the gals and caddies. Natalie donned her best outfit yet: a white Harley Davidson shirt and some pretty nice blue jeans. But then Paula -- who said this was only her 2nd time bowling and who had started out by rolling the ball between her legs -- proceeded to dust Natalie in 3 frames when there was a bet on the line. Natalie lost. Paula won. Beginner's luck? Sandbagger? A foreshadowing of the season? Anyway, this was the best bit of the night, and I don't even like bowling.

2. Natalie nailing some guy sleeping in the grandstand: OK, this may have been staged. But Natalie saw a guy "sleeping" in the grandstand during a practice round with Paula and asked her caddie how far it was. He said 55 yards, and then Natalie pitched a wedge shot and hit the guy on the leg. Natalie fell to the ground to hide, in what appeared to be a spontaneous reaction. Whether staged or not, it was still a good shot.

3. Throwing out the first pitch: After a few warmup pitches and instructions from Papa Gulbis, Natalie successfully threw out the first pitch at a Colorado Rockies game. She throws better than a "girl," to borrow Papa Gulbis's words. She's a jock.

Bogeys
1. Repeating clips from Episode 1 with Butch Harmon and earlier shows: Wasn't there enough footage to go around without having to repeat things? Too bad the Ben Roethlisberger clips had to be edited out. That guy says he's a 6 handicap. Let's see it.

2. Gambling with dad: I love Papa Gulbis because he is a character. Although I'm a craps player myself, I didn't find the segment of Papa Gulbis gambling with Nat all that interesting. Gambling's just not that fun to watch, unless it is Texas Hold'em. Bring back the Dodge Viper.

Grade: B

Golf myth: "learning how to win"

I've heard a lot of Monday morning Leadbetters complaining that Michelle Wie should "learn how to win" at easier events before competing on the men's tour. Hogwash. If I were her and had her talent, I'd do whatever I wanted after getting advice from David Leadbetter and my parents. Hey, but that's just me, I believe life is too short to listen to critics.

"Learning how to win" is a myth. The example from allCarry's post yesterday and Notah Begay shows that "winning" doesn't somehow make you a better player for life. Just ask David Duval. An even better example is provided by Bobby Clampett. That guy had an amazing amateur career, "learning how to win.": Winner 1978 and 1980 California State Amateurs. Low amateur 1978 U.S. Open. Winner 1978 World Amateur medal. Three-time All-American at Brigham Young 1978-80. Two-time winner of Fred Haskins Award, presented to top collegiate player. Since he "learned how to win," you'd think that Clampett would've won the 1982 British Open after opening up a 6 stroke lead and leading for 3 rounds. He didn't. And he soon retired and found his way to the broadcast booth.

And then there's Vijay Singh, who worked as a club professional in Borneo after being suspended from the Asian tour for alleged cheating. Singh had no storied amateur career, and he hardly won anything when he first started. But look where he got.

Q School: it's a cruel, cruel world 2.0

Wow. More than 160 participants, but only 30 spots (plus ties). That leaves the following notables with no tour card: Notah Begay, Briny Baird, Dan Forsman, Steve Stricker, Jay Don Blake, Matt Gogel, Kevin Stadler, Jason Allred, Skip Kendall, Bob May. Full leaderboard.

For me, the guy I feel sorriest for is Bob May. That guy played so beautifully at the PGA Championship at Valhalla, coming up short to the the amazing Tiger Woods in a 3-hole playoff (see here). No major, now no card. What next?

never lose your ball: GPS for your golf ball?

OK, the way I play, I can lose balls in the drink or way in the woods. But here's an interesting idea: a ball with GPS, so you can locate it. Cost? How about $350 a dozen. More from radargolf.

Money, Money, Money...... Money

Thanks to allCarry's Q-school post, I took a quick look at who was playing for their cards this year, and I was surprised to see well-established PGA pros like Briny Baird and Frank Lickliter having to fight to stay on the tour. And when I looked at some of their stats, I was not sure whether to have any sympathy.

Baird, as you can see here, made over $620,000 in 2005, but that left him #126 on the money list. As a sign of how much money is now to be made on the PGA tour, consider that 20 years ago, nobody on the tour made over $600,000, and even 10 years ago, Baird's take from 2005 would have placed him in the top 30 on the money list. Indeed, just five years ago, $620,000 would have placed in the top 75. But now Baird, after making more playing golf in 2005 than most people make in their lifetime, has to go fight for his card again.

Lickliter, as you can see here, is a similar story: he made nearly $500,000 in 2005, but just barely cracked the top 150 on the money list. What I find fascinating is that Lickliter, while now fighting for his card, is already in the top 70 in career earning (full list here), which places him nearly 50 spots ahead of Jack Nicklaus!

Nicklaus still has Baird beat in career earnings... until Briny makes another $6,000. Nicklaus dropped out of the top 100 in career money recently; Arnold Palmer and Gary Player are no longer in the top 250. Ryan Palmer, however, made nearly as much money in 2005 (by finishing 60th on the money list) as Arnie made throughout his career.

Q-School: it's a cruel, cruel world

While most professional golfers are winding down the season, a couple hundred men and women are fighting for their tour cards at the mind-blowingly harrowing Q-School with 6 rounds of golf. 6 rounds? what's up with that!?

Among the men, several notables are suffering the pain of having to go to Q-School: Notah Begay, Larry Mize, Tom Byrum, Bill Glasson, Alex Cejka, Bill Haas, Hunter Mahan, Frank Lickliter, Briny Baird, Jason Allred, Dan Forsman, Steve Stricker, Kevin Stadler, Skip Kendall, Bob May. Leaderboard here.

Among the women are: Annika Sorenstam-- just kidding, her sister Charlotta Sorenstam, Kelli Kuehne, Ai Miyazato (leading by 7 strokes), Morgan Pressel, Beth Bauer (former Rookie of the Year, already DQ'd), Brittany Lang. Leaderboard here.

Question of the Month: Ernie's true return?

Now that he's back playing (after recovering from his knee injury), will Ernie Els live up to his full potential and be the No. 1 competitor to Tiger Woods in 2006? Or will the Big Easy be a "big doozy" and lay an egg next year?

The Tiger Report

1. Tiger says he's using a 5-wood now: "I've been experimenting with 7-woods, 5-woods, hybrids, just trying to find some kind of club that I could work up in the air about the same distance as my 2-iron. I'm not getting any younger and the 2-iron isn't the easiest club to hit. The 5-wood has done that. I hit it probably eight to 10 yards further than my 2-iron, but certainly much higher. That bridges the gap. Plus, I can also choke down on it and hit it low off the tee if I want to, which is nice." OK, I'll let the 5-wood go, but if Tiger starts putting the 7-wood in the bag, I'm giving up golf.

2. Tiger's given up the old (Butch) "stinger" for the new one: "I hit my old 'stinger'--essentially a knockdown shot with a longer club--by bowing my left wrist early on the downswing and keeping it bowed through impact, feeling as though the emblem on my glove was facing the ground. After hitting 10 or 15 of those during a tournament, it would take me a couple of weeks before I could get the ball in the air again with my normal swing.Now, I don't bow my wrist as early, and I don't move as much laterally on the downswing. I try to keep the club pointed toward the ground for more extension and soften my elbows to keep my hands leading the clubhead past impact--the key to keeping it low. My divot is the same depth as for other iron shots, and my ball position is the same--slightly forward of center."