What golf needs is a fight.

Let's go back in time. It's 1979, a time when there were only 3 channels on the television, and 2 of them required an acrobatic manuever with a metal rod called an antenna.
Sports on TV were baseball, football and basketball...stock car racing was an unknown "sport" to the masses, and was only followed in backwater daily's, and niche magazines.

That all changed after "the fight".

My idol in my youth was Cale Yarborough, a fast...hard-as-nails driver, who's grit and desire to win was usurped only by his determination.

It was The Daytona 500, and that race was the first entirely televised broadcast of its sport. Coming down turn 4, Cale and Donnie Allison got into a crash crowding each other for the lead. Both spun-out in the grass...got out of their cars...and proceeded to beat each other's heads in with their helmets. While this trackside brawl was going on...Richard Petty went on to win the race.

It was the greatest sports event I ever saw on television.

What that race did, was start NASCAR into it's ascent in becoming the most-watched, televised sport, in our era.

And that's what golf needs...a fight.

We could have had one at Turning Stone. That first-year tournament, started and finished without a whimper...but it could have been so much more.

John Daly was there...rumored to have spent more time in the casino than the actual 7 holes he played in. Too bad for the fans, as he was knighted the headliner after (surprise) no star-studded players entered.
Rumored to have won 200G's the night before the tournament at the tables, he partied the night and early morning away...leaving him one (craps)-y hangover.

So this is what should have happened:

The players in his group should have confronted him on that 7th hole. Never Compromise putters should have been drawn...Daly could have drawn them back with his 540cc driver.

Sparks should have flown, fists should have been raised, clubs...instead of helmets...should have been broken over heads.

But none of that happened..instead Daly walked away with his 5th WD this season a little richer, and his fans a little poorer. No more than a side-note in the papers followed. Folks just got on with their lives...and the little town in Verona moved on.

Golf is a "gentleman's" game...and maybe that's the problem.

...its time that "gentleman" met its 'turn 4"


Thanks for reading. Keep it in the short-grass,

JFB

Michelle Wie...meet John Daly

About a year ago, I wrote about the coming problems for Michelle Wie.

Well, as of last Thursday they've officially arrived.

As has been well documented with her WD last Thursday at The Ginn Tribute in North Carolina due to a "wrist injury" right before "Rule 88" was to be christened upon her...as well as the events leading up to this weekend's LPGA Championship, Wie's lack of class and professionalism have suddenly enabled her to become the new bad-boy(ess) on the golf circuit.

Maybe this is her way of getting street cred.

Last Saturday, she missed the commencement at her high school in Honolulu. How did she miss that? Her Blackberry had to have had a big X marked through the weekend? Surely she'd have made the time to be with her graduating class for that momentous occasion?

No, she was practicing at the Bulle Rock Golf Course...in Maryland...on the other side of the world from Hawaii...with nary an ice-pack or an Ace bandage.

Can you say "Let's have a Luau Hawaii-style?" I'm thinking pig roast...with Wie in the pit. To make it really sexy, let's have Sorenstam fit her mouth with the apple.

Okay...so she missed one of the most important days of her life...she obviously feels bad that she mailed-it-in with a "bad wing" just to collect an appearance fee at The Ginn...and wants to make it up to the Golf Gods by grinding it out a couple days early to really start the LPGA Championship with a bang.

So she plays Monday in the pro-am...and...her playing partners file a complaint on her.

Talk about buzzkill.

Michelle Wie was a marketing phenom....nothing more, nothing less, but she is well on her way to becoming a media-induced toxic blend of Anna Kournakova and John Daly.

She's lost respect for her elders as evidenced over the last 2 weeks. And her crutch of being "a young teenager going through a hard time" doesn't hold water anymore. She's old news because she's not "the new kid" on the scene anymore. If your not fresh...your trash in the media-world. Wie is 2-week old stale bread.
I'll be surprised if she's making half of what she earned in endorsements next year.

The LPGA Championship is in a little town called Harve de Grace...it means "harbor of grace".
If Michelle Wie cares anything about her career in the future, she needs to be a harbor of grace...

...but unfortunately, I think her ships have sailed.


Thanks for reading. Keep it in the short-grass,

JFB

A Year Behind the Scenes of the PGA Tour

So begins the subtitle to the latest golf-read to hit the bookshelves.

The Scorecard Always Lies- written by Chris Lewis, forecaddies its readers through the 2006 PGA Tour season.



Written in a similar-tone to the venerable tome A Good Walk Spoiled, Chris Lewis seamlessly blends the season into 14 don't-bother-me-son,-can't-you-see-I'm-reading-here chapters that encompass everything you didn't know-but wanted too, about the golfers that comprise the PGA Tour.

There is cart-path cred to backup Chris Lewis, as he has been covering golf for over 10 years, and now contributes the majority of his work for Sports illustrated.

The Scorecard Always Lies hurries the reader past all the stats and final round numbers...shuffles you past the brightly lit pressroom of sterile soundbites...and puts you right next to a fly.

That's right...a fly on the wall, as you are given an exclusive behind-the-ropes- look (with pictures!) at some of the Tours best-of's in 2006.


Thanks to the good folks at Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read such a fantastic biography of one year in the history of The Tour. The timing to read it was fantastic, as I finished the book in my wife's room...delivery room that is...

Being just like a fly on the wall. :-)


Thanks for reading. Keep it in the short-grass,

JFB

Something I'd like to see...

Nike has entered the confectionery business by partnering with the Hershey company.

In an interview with Phil Knight, the plan of action with the partnership will be to rename the PayDay candy bar to "TigerBar".

"It's the next logical step in branding Tiger, it follows other great athletes who put their names on candy bars...Babe Ruth, Ken Griffey...etc..." Knight said.

The renaming of the loved nougat will contain the same chewy-peanut-filled ingredients that made the popular candy bar a consistent leader in the sweet-tooth business.

As with Tigers' career, the bar will be placed in stores at a higher shelf level than the other candies scattered at kid's-eye-view. "We're placing the bar on the top shelf of aisles only to be attained by the truly-hungry souls that clamour for the sweet taste of success." Said a Hershey spokesperson.

Why the Hershey/Nike partnership?

Hershey's candy sales in the US have been in decline, and they need to make-up lost market share from their competitors, and Nike needs to continually push the Tiger brand further into the mainstream. This partnership will undoubtedly lead to other Nike-sponsored athletes personalizing other nougats in an attempt to ride the coattails of Tigers' if-successful partnership.

From the answers I got, all signs point to another victory for Tiger:

John Daly: "I like the nuts...they make me feel warm all over."
Mathias Groenberg: "I hope they offer it in kosher."
King Finchem: "Boy, this is good. Can the PGA license this with Tiger?"
Name withheld: "It's good, but I don't see any sign of fruits...I like fruits."
Another name withheld: "I like it cause it gets rid of HGH aftertaste"
Mikey (6 years old): "Does it come with an autographed card?"

But the best answer:

Phil Mickelson: "Well, it doesn't suck!"

Look for it in stores April 9th.

Thanks for reading. Keep it in the short-grass,

JFB

Just don't ask him for gambling tips

Since July 17th, AuctionJAM Inc. (a subsidiary of EBay), has been auctioning off an opportunity to caddy for John Daly in the Telus Skins Game in Banff Springs Canada August 7-8.

The auction ends July 27th...so get your bids in now.....oh by the way, the current bid is $17,600 US (bidding is in Canadian units).

So far, there have been 53 bids, the highest bidder (bu111ercup), and of late, has been in a bidding war with reg5577golf.

Nicklaus, Norman, Garcia, and Stephen Ames (Ames? even my 3-year old can pick which one doesn't fit in this group) will join Daly in this Skins event, with all the proceeds (tournament and auction) going to the Alberta Childrens Hospital Foundation. Read the mice-type before you bid though, because even though the winning bidders' money will be donated to charity, tax laws will consider it as a purchased item, and you will be taxed.

So use the EatGolf Shopper service on the right, plug in "John Daly caddy", and start a new bidding war. Maybe you will be holding John Daly's (see list of items below and insert here) for a couple days in the pure air of Alberta.

To get you prepared. Here is the list of items Big John might want you to hold for him (besides his golf bag):

cigarette
scotch glass
poker chip
Diet Coke can
coffee cup

Hey, who said the life of a caddy is glamorous?!

Good luck! If you win, please get me Stephen Ames's autograph. He'll be the one standing in a corner all by himself.


JFB

Daly's popularity follow-up

From the Taylor-Made Tour Blog:

"This course requires a great amount of shot-shaping and is perfect for TaylorMade Staffer John DalyÂ’s style of play. Fellow tour rep Scott Cuppett and I had a chance to accompany John to the local Hooters again to help him with apparel and hat signings. It was great to see so much TaylorMade and Maxfli exposure, and as always, itÂ’s amazing to see the positive response he gets from the public and how well he relates to his fans."

Yes, it is amazing.

I think the bottom-line here is that the adult golf fan just wants to reach out and touch someone that will recognize them, and your average pro doesn't want to associate with the average adult golf fan. So you have a supply/demand problem here: Lack of supply of congenial pro's to huge pent-up demand of needy adult golfers. If a pro wanted to, there is a HUGE gap here that one could fill easily.

Thanks for reading, keep it in the short-grass.

JFB

"All the past can help you." -Robert Henri-

Big news in the golf-world is that John Daly has a new book coming out next week.
As typical for a book release...the publisher finds the most juicy or controversial tidbit in the book to share with the media. This creates the buzz, and drives sales for the book-tour.

In typical fashion, the publisher has taken out a skeleton (say it ain't so!) in Dalys' formidable closet to use for the book buzz....ready....you won't believe it.....pause for effect....here it comes.....

.....Daly has a gambling problem.

Really? I'm shocked!!! Let me see: a "blue-collar guy" that has a expanding waistline of vices (as any Daly Planet voyeur can see); has more troubles with exes than I have Tour JD balls in my bag (I got 2-dozen); and makes more money than the "typical Joe's" (that he calls his fans) combined.....has yet another problem?!

Wow.

I don't get it! How does this guy continue to be the poster golfer for Joe Golf Fan? Where exactly is the line crossed where Joe Fan says: "hey, if this meathead wants to f-up his life, so be it...as for me, he's off my pedestal." and instead, look for a new guy to replace Daly?

Here, I'll even pick one for ya: hello JB Holmes.

Clearly though, Daly is scraping the bottom of his pickled barrel. To wit: his accelerating commercial presence; TV, his multitude of sponsors (have you seen his tour shirts?), and now this book.

I could be wrong, and his popularity could continue....why?....because he has lots of skeletons in his closet that he generously shares with us ad nauseum.....he knows, as do his constituents, that people always will pay up for the latest and greatest dirt.

He is in fact, his own soap opera, and he plays the media-game brilliantly. So I guess we need to ask who's the meathead? Joe Fan, or John Daly?


Thanks for reading. Keep it in the short-grass.


JFB

These guys are good

I was reading the Taylor Made Tour Blog (which I have featured in my Links section). It's a great site to pick up the nuances of what goes on behind-the scenes at an event (from the perspective of Taylor Made).
I wanted to cut-and-paste a paragraph from their SHO visit this past weekend that talks about Daly changing the loft on one of his irons:

"We got a call from John Daly, who was out at the local Hooters doing a regular appearance outing saying he needed some apparel for signing. Fellow Tour Rep Scott Cuppett, who would normally bring Daly his apparel, balls and gloves etc., was out on vacation this week, so John asked Keith and I to bring out his stuff. While we were out there, John mentioned his long irons needed to be checked, so we met him at 7am the next morning and found that his 3-iron and 4-iron were the same loft. His MB TP’s are soft, coin-forged blades and apparently he was hammering the 3-iron hard enough and often enough the week before at Hilton Head to change the loft. We ended up strengthening his irons and he was back in business."

Yep, these guys are good.

Thanks for reading. Keep it in the short grass,

JFB