This week's PGA golfers are in sunny Florida schmoozing Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck.
All except David Duval, he slammed his trunk and will be taking the long way home in golf-speak. He is one of many that will be finishing lower than the official money bar of 125.
To be sure, he will still be able to enter tournaments in 2010 because he finished in the top 150, giving him the dreaded "conditional status"....similar to the H1N1.
Because of his dramatic runner-up finish in this years' US Open, he will no doubt get a few sponsor exemptions for next year as well, and he is exempt in the first 3 majors next year...so all is not lost for David Duval.
According to the AJC.com, he is already signed up for Q school.
Maybe this is what he wants...it's the challenge of coming all the way back...kind of like this years' US Open, when he had to qualify by starting at the local level, and making it thru the traditional way.
Whatever it is, we wish him luck.
Thanks for reading, keep it in the short-grass,
JFB
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Friday, November 06, 2009
Dress code?...Psshaa!
A while back...(and for me, as fast as time flys...that is a long time ago) I visited a semi-private golf course to hit balls on their range. I was in a rush, so I didn't have the proper attire for this course...but, hay, I was only going to their range.
Nope.
"But sir, I just want to hit a bucket of balls...I'll even go to the far end behind where the ball retriever is sitting".
Nope. We require collared shirt, and no jeans.
Fast forward to today, that course is closed with empty homes on it, and I'm still golfing...
...with jeans.
With the rise of casual jeans in the inner social circles of the pure-breds, the dress-code is under assault.
The G20 convention in Pittsburgh this year was dotted with movers and shakers that looked like they should have been at a rodeo rather than at a world convention to determine the fate of the world.
Recently, this phenomena was covered in the WSJ noting the latest fashion...or a better word, comfort trend.
Golf courses that have strict dress codes will have to rethink their stance. Gone are the days when a $40 pair of Dockers slacks trumps a $150 pair of Diesal jeans. Golf courses need to put their dress code rules in relaxed-fit, lose the straight-legged verbiage, and get the 411 on the 501.
Last week I had the option of playing a lovely semi-private course on my day off. I picked up the phone to call for a tee time...then thought about how nice the Levi 560's that I was wearing felt...
...so I redialed and called the local municipal course.
Thanks for reading. Keep it in the short-grass,
JFB
Nope.
"But sir, I just want to hit a bucket of balls...I'll even go to the far end behind where the ball retriever is sitting".
Nope. We require collared shirt, and no jeans.
Fast forward to today, that course is closed with empty homes on it, and I'm still golfing...
...with jeans.
With the rise of casual jeans in the inner social circles of the pure-breds, the dress-code is under assault.
The G20 convention in Pittsburgh this year was dotted with movers and shakers that looked like they should have been at a rodeo rather than at a world convention to determine the fate of the world.
Recently, this phenomena was covered in the WSJ noting the latest fashion...or a better word, comfort trend.
Golf courses that have strict dress codes will have to rethink their stance. Gone are the days when a $40 pair of Dockers slacks trumps a $150 pair of Diesal jeans. Golf courses need to put their dress code rules in relaxed-fit, lose the straight-legged verbiage, and get the 411 on the 501.
Last week I had the option of playing a lovely semi-private course on my day off. I picked up the phone to call for a tee time...then thought about how nice the Levi 560's that I was wearing felt...
...so I redialed and called the local municipal course.
Thanks for reading. Keep it in the short-grass,
JFB
Monday, October 12, 2009
Marvelous
You gotta love the early SNL skits of Fernando Llamas I believe his "You look Marvelous" line was used 1000 times at my graduation party.
Rio "the marvelous city" will host not only the 2016 games, but will also bring golf to the games, where it so rightly belongs.
The future betting will not however be on the golfer that wins the gold, but for the golfer that builds the course.
See, Rio has no golf courses...it does have pristine beaches with scantily clad sun worshippers and sugar cane fields with...um...controlled burns.
Now it's not Billy that will be saying his famous line, but rather Norman, Faldo and Nicklaus.
No, I'm not talking about their dreams of competing with their sticks...
...they will be competing with their shovels.
So, it is in this beautiful corner of the world, that these great men will train their bulldozers over Rio Terra Firma, to reach the gold in a much more high stakes game than what the actual golf shots will contest, for the Olympic gold.
They will be competing for residuals, the right to call their golf resort the "Official Golf Course of the 2016 Olympiad", and have that moniker to have and to hold way after the Games have gone.
...and that will allow one of these great men to check their bank account while the Rio gold flows to them and say..."Mahvalas".
Thanks for reading. Keep it in the short-grass,
JFB
Rio "the marvelous city" will host not only the 2016 games, but will also bring golf to the games, where it so rightly belongs.
The future betting will not however be on the golfer that wins the gold, but for the golfer that builds the course.
See, Rio has no golf courses...it does have pristine beaches with scantily clad sun worshippers and sugar cane fields with...um...controlled burns.
Now it's not Billy that will be saying his famous line, but rather Norman, Faldo and Nicklaus.
No, I'm not talking about their dreams of competing with their sticks...
...they will be competing with their shovels.
So, it is in this beautiful corner of the world, that these great men will train their bulldozers over Rio Terra Firma, to reach the gold in a much more high stakes game than what the actual golf shots will contest, for the Olympic gold.
They will be competing for residuals, the right to call their golf resort the "Official Golf Course of the 2016 Olympiad", and have that moniker to have and to hold way after the Games have gone.
...and that will allow one of these great men to check their bank account while the Rio gold flows to them and say..."Mahvalas".
Thanks for reading. Keep it in the short-grass,
JFB
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
Sibling Rivalries
You have your Eli's and Peyton's...your Serena's and Vanessa's...and the Laroche boys...
...get ready for the Thompson's.
In case you missed it, Friday held some trepidation for two youngsters from the same household: Nicholas Thompson, and his little sister Alexis.
Big brother Nicholas, a former Georgia Tech golf standout who shared the leaderboard with the eventual winner, and Techster, Matt Kuchar at the Turning Stone Championship in Verona NY.
Little sis Alexis, a Florida high-schooler who's 14, shared the leaderboard with eventual winner Lorena Ochoa at the Navistar LPGA Classic at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail's Capitol Hill spread in Prattsville AL.
I'm sure the household was abuzz! And I'm sure the biggest question was not where they would finish in their respective tournaments...
...but rather which course would the parents walk.
Thanks for reading. Keep it in the short-grass,
JFB
...get ready for the Thompson's.
In case you missed it, Friday held some trepidation for two youngsters from the same household: Nicholas Thompson, and his little sister Alexis.
Big brother Nicholas, a former Georgia Tech golf standout who shared the leaderboard with the eventual winner, and Techster, Matt Kuchar at the Turning Stone Championship in Verona NY.
Little sis Alexis, a Florida high-schooler who's 14, shared the leaderboard with eventual winner Lorena Ochoa at the Navistar LPGA Classic at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail's Capitol Hill spread in Prattsville AL.
I'm sure the household was abuzz! And I'm sure the biggest question was not where they would finish in their respective tournaments...
...but rather which course would the parents walk.
Thanks for reading. Keep it in the short-grass,
JFB
Saturday, October 03, 2009
The hole-in-one
There are many reasons to golf: we go to relax, commune with friends or go just for the challenge. There is the beauty and serenity of the golf course that makes a round of golf a unique experience each and every time we go...and that's what makes the game of golf so easy to get hooked on.
So when my friends and I decided to go take a day off work to play The Echelon Club in North Georgia, we were going for all those reasons.
But one of my friends got way more than he bargained for.
When you hear of people hitting a hole in one, you listen with detached interest...because, I guess as it is with a lot of events, unless you're in the moment, you can't understand the passion of being there.
Well, I was there, and I now understand the moment.
It happened on the 3rd hole. At 160 yards on an elevated tee it looks inviting, but throw a sand trap the width of the green...10 mile an hour cross-winds, and a pin placement that made you wonder if the greenskeeper "got any" the night before, and you had all the makings of a snowman in 70 degree weather.
When the ball hit in front of the hole, took one bounce into the flagpole and dropped in, we all cheered as if we had completed an insurmountable task.
We are all part of that event now, forever will our names be on that scorecard that will soon be mounted on his wall...with ball. We four are part of something that we won't forget.
My friend has accomplished something that has odds of roughly 12000 to one. Forever and a day that we play, he will have that on me.
He could have shot 500 that day, but in the end...he was the one that got his ball to fly to the stick and go in.
Yes, passion is a big reason folks golf. But hit a hole in one, or witness one, and you'll be hooked beyond passion. You'll understand the essence of the passion...
...to hit the perfect shot.
Thanks for reading. Keep it in the short-grass,
JFB
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Golf Journal: John Paul Newport on the FedExCup and Whether It Needs Fixing - WSJ.com
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Cloudy...with a chance of...
Here in Georgia, we have been known for things like fried chicken and hospitality.
The last few years, however, we've been known for droughts, and as the state that has a lake that's 17' below level.
I'd be referring to Lake Lanier.
The last time that lake was level, was the same year my friend bought a pontoon boat, and berthed in on a slip in the marina....oops.
Both the boat, and slip are gone since those days. Nobody wants to boat on tree stumps, and you only had to walk out to pick up your fish, no need for trolling...no water.
But all that has changed recently with this years' H2O deluge...most recently last week's. Now the trees are green, no more drought, and the lake is full again...
...but so are basements , attics, and soccer fields.
And East Lake Golf Club.
...wait...scratch that...they have a full time maintenance crew that have the crazy task of making the golf course playable for this weekends FedEx Playoff, and they have succeeded...but will be tasked again this weekend as rain is coming.
With the advent of HDTV, greenskeepers' jobs have gotten ridiculously hard. Not only do the golf courses have to be pristine for the golfers, but also for the TV viewer. Gone are the days when the TV viewer couldn't discern a green from a..oh, let's say...brown.
Watching the golf tournament this week, I am amazed at the beauty of the course. especially the green greens. I mean, this area has had so many flash floods, that the DOT just decided to shut down major roads. I mean, my neighbor below me has a fescue lawn now, from the seed I planted in my yard the week before!
So, as we're following golf's season finale this weekend, please remember the men and women that made your viewing pleasure possible: the superindendant, and their crews...and the greenskeeper.
...I'm hiring him to do my yard next week.
Thanks for reading. Keep it in the short-grass,
JFB
The last few years, however, we've been known for droughts, and as the state that has a lake that's 17' below level.
I'd be referring to Lake Lanier.
The last time that lake was level, was the same year my friend bought a pontoon boat, and berthed in on a slip in the marina....oops.
Both the boat, and slip are gone since those days. Nobody wants to boat on tree stumps, and you only had to walk out to pick up your fish, no need for trolling...no water.
But all that has changed recently with this years' H2O deluge...most recently last week's. Now the trees are green, no more drought, and the lake is full again...
...but so are basements , attics, and soccer fields.
And East Lake Golf Club.
...wait...scratch that...they have a full time maintenance crew that have the crazy task of making the golf course playable for this weekends FedEx Playoff, and they have succeeded...but will be tasked again this weekend as rain is coming.
With the advent of HDTV, greenskeepers' jobs have gotten ridiculously hard. Not only do the golf courses have to be pristine for the golfers, but also for the TV viewer. Gone are the days when the TV viewer couldn't discern a green from a..oh, let's say...brown.
Watching the golf tournament this week, I am amazed at the beauty of the course. especially the green greens. I mean, this area has had so many flash floods, that the DOT just decided to shut down major roads. I mean, my neighbor below me has a fescue lawn now, from the seed I planted in my yard the week before!
So, as we're following golf's season finale this weekend, please remember the men and women that made your viewing pleasure possible: the superindendant, and their crews...and the greenskeeper.
...I'm hiring him to do my yard next week.
Thanks for reading. Keep it in the short-grass,
JFB
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Coca-Cola and Kroger Tee Up “Tickets Fore Charity” Program
All Ticket Proceeds from THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola donated to the East Lake Foundation
Coca-Cola is entering its seventh year as the presenting sponsor of THE TOUR Championship, a tournament featuring the top 30 players in the PGA TOUR playoffs for the FedEx Cup and one of the most prestigious events in all of golf.
As part of this year’s sponsorship, Coca-Cola is partnering with Kroger to support “Tickets Fore Charity” – an innovative new fundraising program designed to improve the quality of life in communities where PGA TOUR events are held.
Kroger will sell single day tickets to THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola in 134 Atlanta-area stores through Sept. 26. One-hundred percent of the proceeds of every ticket purchased through Kroger stores will be donated to the East Lake Foundation, which collaborates with public and private organizations to offer Atlanta's East Lake residents opportunities to build a better future through education for children and adults, affordable housing, job readiness and connections with the broader community.
“Through ‘Tickets Fore Charity,’ individuals can experience the best of professional golf, while positively impacting the lives of those in need in the East Lake area,” said Scott Tillman, brand operations manager, Coke TM, Coca-Cola North America. “The program is a great way to further extend the positive impact Coca-Cola and THE TOUR Championship have on the local community. Through our support of the East Lake Foundation, we’ve played a role in helping to revitalize a neighborhood in our own backyard, and that’s something we all feel good about.”
“Tickets Fore Charity”
· Single day tickets are available at 134 Kroger stores for the following tournament days and prices:
o Wednesday, Sept. 23: $20 (includes $20 voucher redeemable in the Merchandise Tent on-site)
o Thursday, Sept. 24: $45
o Friday, Sept. 25: $45
o Saturday, Sept. 26: $60
o Sunday, Sept. 27: $60
· One-hundred percent of the proceeds of every ticket purchased through Kroger stores will be donated to the East Lake Foundation.
The East Lake Foundation:
The East Lake Foundation was founded in 1995 on the belief that everyone deserves a chance to succeed.
The East Lake Golf Club and THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola have helped revitalize the community and golf has been a tremendous activity for mentoring neighborhood children through The First Tee of East Lake program.
· Web site: http://www.eastlakefoundation.org
The TOUR Championship Presented by Coca-Cola Details:
· THE TOUR Championship features the top 30 players in the PGA TOUR playoffs for the FedEx Cup and one of the most prestigious events in all of golf. This year’s tournament is held from Sept. 23-27, 2009 at East Lake Golf Club.
· Web site: http://www.pgatour.com/tourchampionship
The TOUR Championship Presented by Coca-Cola Charitable History:
· Since 1998, THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola has donated more than $9 million to a variety of local and national charities – including $1.4 million in 2008 alone.
· Primary beneficiaries have been the East Lake Foundation and The First Tee program.
· The PGA TOUR, its sponsors, and tournaments have together raised more than $1 billion for charitable causes across the U.S.
Coca-Cola is entering its seventh year as the presenting sponsor of THE TOUR Championship, a tournament featuring the top 30 players in the PGA TOUR playoffs for the FedEx Cup and one of the most prestigious events in all of golf.
As part of this year’s sponsorship, Coca-Cola is partnering with Kroger to support “Tickets Fore Charity” – an innovative new fundraising program designed to improve the quality of life in communities where PGA TOUR events are held.
Kroger will sell single day tickets to THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola in 134 Atlanta-area stores through Sept. 26. One-hundred percent of the proceeds of every ticket purchased through Kroger stores will be donated to the East Lake Foundation, which collaborates with public and private organizations to offer Atlanta's East Lake residents opportunities to build a better future through education for children and adults, affordable housing, job readiness and connections with the broader community.
“Through ‘Tickets Fore Charity,’ individuals can experience the best of professional golf, while positively impacting the lives of those in need in the East Lake area,” said Scott Tillman, brand operations manager, Coke TM, Coca-Cola North America. “The program is a great way to further extend the positive impact Coca-Cola and THE TOUR Championship have on the local community. Through our support of the East Lake Foundation, we’ve played a role in helping to revitalize a neighborhood in our own backyard, and that’s something we all feel good about.”
“Tickets Fore Charity”
· Single day tickets are available at 134 Kroger stores for the following tournament days and prices:
o Wednesday, Sept. 23: $20 (includes $20 voucher redeemable in the Merchandise Tent on-site)
o Thursday, Sept. 24: $45
o Friday, Sept. 25: $45
o Saturday, Sept. 26: $60
o Sunday, Sept. 27: $60
· One-hundred percent of the proceeds of every ticket purchased through Kroger stores will be donated to the East Lake Foundation.
The East Lake Foundation:
The East Lake Foundation was founded in 1995 on the belief that everyone deserves a chance to succeed.
The East Lake Golf Club and THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola have helped revitalize the community and golf has been a tremendous activity for mentoring neighborhood children through The First Tee of East Lake program.
· Web site: http://www.eastlakefoundation.org
The TOUR Championship Presented by Coca-Cola Details:
· THE TOUR Championship features the top 30 players in the PGA TOUR playoffs for the FedEx Cup and one of the most prestigious events in all of golf. This year’s tournament is held from Sept. 23-27, 2009 at East Lake Golf Club.
· Web site: http://www.pgatour.com/tourchampionship
The TOUR Championship Presented by Coca-Cola Charitable History:
· Since 1998, THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola has donated more than $9 million to a variety of local and national charities – including $1.4 million in 2008 alone.
· Primary beneficiaries have been the East Lake Foundation and The First Tee program.
· The PGA TOUR, its sponsors, and tournaments have together raised more than $1 billion for charitable causes across the U.S.
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