The original social network tool

You've got your Facebook-ers, your LinkedIn-sters, your MySpace-men...and a cornucopia of other social networking tools to advance your virtual social status.

But eventually, all this virtual esteem-building has to come home to root itself in reality...vis-a-vis...some face-time.

Take the much publicized potential Yahoo/Microsoft merger. These two industry titans are trying to find a way to hook-up.
At first it was a brash attempt by Microsoft to force the hand of Yahoo shareholders, thus forcing the hand of one Jerry Yang.

Jerry Yang, co-founder of "Jerry and David's Guide to the World Wide Web", where he put up scores of his favorite websites as well as his own golf scores....for fun.

Oh yeah, his fun idea had legs...two years later it went public. As Yahoo!

So Mr. Yang upgraded from posting golf scores in a college double-wide, to fingering pitching wedges and practicing his putting stroke during corporate meetings in Sunnyvale.

Sweet.

Jerry Yang is like you and me...a golf nut. So is the CEO of Microsoft: Steve Ballmer, so it was only common-sense for these two high-tech titans...titans that will determine directly or indirectly...the fate of social networking, to do one thing...

Golf. Together. In the real world. Face-to face.

Where did they play? Was is Sankaty Head in Nantucket? Augusta in Georgia? Pebble Beach in California? Will their golf outing seal a deal? Don't know. But here's the bigger picture:

Social networking on the Internet will only help you tread water. Knowing the game of golf helps you swim with the sharks.
The game of Golf is the only social network skill you need to accomplish your goals. Golf bridges barriers, and can determine a successful end game to what initially might have started as a bad beginning. Jerry Yang and Steve Ballmer know this, and this is why they play the game.

One question remains in the Micro-hoo takeover talks...

Does Carl Icahn golf?


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

JFB

Golf for a cause

Mark your calendar's from August 29th through September 1st with a big green smiley face. Put down your gardening tools, and take out your golf tools, and tool-on over to one of over 3000 golf courses throughout our great country, and tee it up for those that can't.

Fighter pilot Captain Dan Rooney...shares like many of you, the love of golf, but he has channeled that love into a grander vision that includes giving back to his country..."Noonan" (the Captain's call sign), thought about his comrades that could not be with him on the golf course, and last year started something big...

...over $1 million dollars big.

He started Patriot Golf Day to benefit The Rooney Fallen Heroes Foundation.

Last year golf courses around our United States of America raised their greens fees by $1. That dollar was earmarked for families of fallen US soldiers killed or wounded throughout our current military operations. This year will be the same...and with your help, even greater results.

This year Captain Rooney will be going back for his third Tour of Duty.

We owe it to him and his foundation to take a couple tours around the golf course. Captain, thank you for your service.

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

JFB

Of walking and carbon credits

I wonder how many carbon credits I got yesterday?

I walked a golf course.

With all the discussion about the financial world making a market in trading carbon credits, I wondered how many credits I added to my account. With the world acting more gun-shy than a cat in a house full of rocking chairs, introducing carbon-credits (a financial means of putting an actual monetary value to pollution) will seem to provide a looking-glass into who (and more importantly) what is a polluter, therefore allowing more finger-pointing than a good soap-opera.

This formula is all well and good to big business...but what about you and me? Who is assigning Joe Public these credits? After all, doesn't environmental-thinking start at a grassroots level?

If I decide to fill up my car in the evenings than during the day...how many points is that worth for me?
If I replace all my kids' regular batteries with the lithium one's, and dispose of them in recycling bins...why don't I get the credit along with big business? Yes, big business provided me an avenue to conserve, but I made the decision to use that avenue.

So it was, that yesterday I took it upon myself to sling the bag over my shoulder, and to experience the beauty of seeing the golf-course at eye-level, rather than the 4-rubber-wheeled windshield-level.

The cart-path only restriction was not going to be an option.

March in Georgia has the makings of springtime. A balmy 58 degrees is a fine respite from the numbing 20's and 30's we have throughout our winter season. Mother Nature comes out of hiding with the birds and animals piercing the hollow sound of the breeze moving through bare trees...trees that are primed to blossom for a showy spring floral display that will occur in a few short weeks!

After walking 18, I returned my clubs to the dark storage of my car-trunk. Looking around at the golf course, I took a long-deep breath, pleased at the fresh air that filled my lungs...and pleased that my body was fit enough to have experienced that foot-driven exercise, and I realized...

...that I had just received my carbon credits.


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

JFB

Not you Mother's HGH

For dinner tonight I had chicken-pot-pie. As I devoured it, I hearkened back to my youth when my late Mother would make this cornucopia of vegetables and chicken, wrapped in a flaky-golden pie crust. My Mom always said "now eat your vegetables so you'll grow big and strong". At the end of the week, the vegetables that didn't make it off my plate, made it into her chicken pot pie. And I got big and strong.

Back then, the vegetables came out of our garden, and the chicken came from my Grandpa's chicken coop. Looking back, there was nothing fake about it. Everything was right there in the open...right there for the taking and using. Maybe that's why the past tastes better than today.

No offense Ms Callendar.

Today the world is a different place...today everything in "our" chicken pot pie has been laden with unknown artificial ingredients to ensure we perfect the past. Some of this is positive, some of this is negative.

The illogical labeling of HGH as an illegal substance in the professional sports world will take us down a long treacherous, gut-wrenching downward spiral, that will (and in some sports has already) never allow us the free-will to believe in greatness.

Ankiel, Landis, Jones, Byrd...

Remember Shaun Micheel? Yep...he's a user.

My point is not to single out these athlete's, but to cast a wide net of sports this single substance catches.
The single reason athletes are big users of HGH, is there is nothing better that aids in muscle recovery...that means less down-time recovering from a workout or a game, and more time practicing...playing...winning (while we all stand and say GO TEAM!).
The names we have heard are only the tip of the iceberg...now that Jones has owned-up to her usage...this media-driven house of cards will continue to collapse...questioning what we believe in. And whether we should have taken this road to nowhere ever since spotting McGwire with creatine.
My opinion?All sports should legalize HGH at the professional level, so we can have an official roster of users. That way I can chose who I want to believe in, and I can believe in his or her greatness without the questioning that comes with it being illegal.

There's a whole lot of athlete's eating chicken pot pie, getting big and strong.

Problem is...it ain't Mom's.


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

JFB

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

Hand Job

Something stuck out at me like a sore thumb (pun intended) when I glossed through my Golf and Golf Digest magazines this month.

First, GD had an advertisement for Ashworth clothes. A man (Peter Beames) in the middle of what looks like a field in Texas, demonstrating the correct hand posture during his follow-thru. The caption read: "Hand of the Magician".

Then, in Golf, is the new Nike ad in which there are 9 PGA pros demonstrating the correct way to demonstrate a "Victory Wave" with the new Platinum golf ball. At the bottom of the page is...I kid you not...is a shadow box with drawings of incorrect and correct ways to hold the ball in your hands when making a "Victory Wave".


So why the sudden hand fetish with golf? And since when has golfers' hands become modeling material? I mean how in the world can Rory Sabbatini's hands be considered marketable?


I think Nike has it wrong on one of the "incorrect ball displays", so for those of you who haven't seen the ad...here it is...an in-the-flesh version:

Yeah...I know...you're wondering if I'm a hand model...um, no...I'm not.

I have a bone to pick with Nike on this ball display. They say this is not a correct way to display the ball as a "victory", but they are assuming that everyone has had an actual victory, as in skins victory...or Eagle...or maybe even Birdie.

But what about all the rest of us? We all have slightly different versions of victory. Let's say you just break open a sleeve of these Platinum balls. They smell so fresh you'd swear they just came off the assembly line. You put one on the tee and THWACK! Into the drink it goes...you even forgot to properly introduce yourself to the poor ball as it sailed right past a Gosling...making a subtle KerPlop. You come up to the pond figuring you'd say the balls' last rites...when out of the corner of your eye you see a shimmer of the Platinum ball! you reach your hand in, and wallah!

That is what your hand looks like in the moment of that victory.

You can also see this hand position while hunting for your ratty old ball in the woods. Thrashing through the high plains like a Sulawesi rainforest guide, you come upon a brilliant-white-dimpled orb...untouched by the surrounding bird poop and poison ivy. Not yours, but better...a Platinum!

That is what your hand position looks like.

Now, here's another victorious hand position:

That's the victory hand-pose of your retailer snagging a couple Jackson's out of your wallet for these balls.

Thanks for reading. Keep it out of the short-grass,

JFB

Political irony

The trophy for the newly-minted Tiger Woods Congressional is a small replica of the US Capitol. On Sunday, KJ Choi hefted it above his head after taking a Ghinsu knife to the field, and de-boning the competition.

What's ironic to this event is when you compare it to what's going on off the golf course, a few miles away inside the US Capitol.

Right now, in the House and Senate...our political leaders are battling each other about how to handle the immigration problem, and the media is doing a fine job of polarizing our opinions on the subject. Should we let illegals in...should we keep them out...if their families are here should they stay...should we hand out more or less HB-1 visas...should we have worker programs to assist those that want to work toward becoming legal citizens?

Meanwhile in a world that is perfect (or as close to one as you can get)...yes, the golf world...KJ Choi, the first Korean to earn a PGA card...not an American...not an American-ized Korean...but a full-blooded South Korean who earned the right to play in America, banked over $1 million US with his win.

$1 = 920.60 Won...anyway you translate that, it's a lot of money, and its final resting place won't be in an American bank.

I'm sure there were a lot of Congressmen's dentures that fell on the floor after that win.

And there you have it. Such a simple solution to what has thus-far been an over-politicized and red-taped-morass of a problem has been solved from a guy named Tank.

You earn the right to come to America. Just like you earn the right to play on the PGA Tour.
You want to come to America to build houses? Here's a nail-gun...here's the roof...let's see how you perform. Do it well and earn a green card. Do it wrong...you'll get a red, and a taxi-ride back to your country.
You want your family to go to school? Here's a language test...pass, earn a green card, fail, and it's so long USA.
Abide by American rules...earn the right to live in a free society. Break the rules...go to jail...and I don't mean in America.

KJ Choi said that he read Nicklaus' 'Golf My Way' to help him become the golfer he is today.

I suggest today's Congressmen write a new book based on the teachings of the PGA.

They could call it: 'Immigration...our way'.


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

JFB

07/07/07

Today is the luckiest day of our lives!

Whether you're getting married today (http://www.theknot.com/ estimates 38,000 brave pairs to make the plunge), gambling (whether it be in a casino or around a poker-table in your neighbors' basement), or running with the bulls in Pamplona during the San Fermin Festival , MyDailySlice wishes all my readers to make the most out of this lucky day!

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

JFB

PS: If you're golfing today...you're already lucky...but I see an ace in your future!

Hey Dad...umm...ever hear of Michelle Wie?

This video, on the surface, is awesome. A little kid that's got all the mechanics and interest for golf...and he's good to boot!

I'd love to have a video of his Dad taking the video of his son...I'm sure he's super-proud, chest puffed-out, ready to tell anyone that his son is the next big thing in golf.

Hey, it's his party...I don't want to rain on it....

But there is a danger lurking...not just for this Dad, but for all Dad's. It's called great expectations. And it has the ability to destroy relationships. It's what happened to Michelle Wie...Ty Tryon...Josh Hamilton, and every young person overachieving in sport for the sake of Dad's vanity. Sports Illustrated has dossiers on kids like these...file cabinets full.

We're all guilty of it...hey, I'm psyched coaching T-ball...and my kid's four! Heck...I didn't know a baseball from popcorn until I was 7. Yet here I am...oiling my sons made-in-China glove...telling him to "keep your elbow up to hit down on the ball."....Good grief. Is what I'm teaching him now going to stick? It's doubtful...is it worthy of trying? Absolutely.

Let's not get our own vanity get in the way of our kids. God has a humorous way of humbling us. For instance, let's take this kid in the video...and let's flash-forward 12 years. What if he has a bolt in his tongue, matching studs in his ears, and a tattoo on his back that would make Paris Hilton blush, and likes playing in the virtual Second Life rather than in the real present one? Will his Dad love him just as much? Sure he would. But does he love him as much as if he were a PGA pro playing in his first Masters with Dad on the bag? Doubt it.

Not every kid is going to be Tiger...not every kid will have tattoos over their body. Our job as Dads, is to expose them to as many positive experiences as possible...then step-back, cross the fingers, and hope we've succeeded.

And let's keep our great expectations at a distance.

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

The art of moving on

My son turns 4 next month, and it seems that every advancement he's made in his little life has come with sad and happy feelings. Happy that he's "growing up", but sad that he's closing another chapter of "being little".

These are my son's first clubs. They are Little Tikes. All plastic...even down to the plastic bag. For the last 6 months, my son and I have played with these clubs in the backyard...I at one end of the yard...he at the other, as he would smack the ball to me...I'd throw it back to him, and he'd thwack it back. Man, we have a blast!

You can see by the wear-and-tear on these clubs, that he's a free-swinger...sometimes a little too free, as the bare spots in my yard can attest...but I don't mind, because I can point out and tell you a happy story about each divot, sadly knowing that when the grass grows back and covers these worn patches..that I too will forget these stories.

For his birthday he is getting a new set of real clubs-not plastic, but metal and graphite...with a canvas bag to put them in. We are advancing from playing with plastic in the backyard, to playing with graphite on the range.

Where will these plastic clubs end up? Most likely in the basement. I won't discard them...it'd be too hard, and someday when he has kids I'll hand them over.

You see, he's ready to move on, but my heart needs a little more time.

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

JFB

Mother Earth Day

A long time ago, a co-worker told gave me a nugget of advice in the form of a joke that I've never forgotten.
Q: How do you eat an elephant?
A: One bite at a time.

In the big picture, we are in a losing battle with the environment. The talking heads in Washington and in the media would make you think the crisis will happen tomorrow, and that you'd better plunk down $30k on a Prius right now or you'll be castrated.

But what if we looked at the big picture, and instead of trying to solve the big "elephant" problem today, we started changing little "bites" of our everyday lives to do right by the environment.

Anthony Williams is taking little bites.

He is the superintendent at my favorite golf course: the 36-hole layout at Stone Mountain Golf Club in Atlanta.
Golf Digest and the Golf Course Superintendents Assoc. of America recently awarded him as the 2006 National Environmental Leader in Golf.

On every hole, I've always noticed his bluebird houses...most of them with painted roofs that are logos of college teams. Seeing these bird houses inspired me to put up a bluebird house in my backyard last year.
I put up 1 that housed one bluebird family last year...he's put up 39 that produced 238 bluebirds, 10 nuthatches, and 12 Carolina chickadee...

...well, he does have a bigger backyard.

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

JFB

PS: If we all took little bites like Anthony, we would all be contributors to saving the environment. Here's a couple more ways:
1)Buy a travel mug and use it when you go to Starbucks. Not only will you save the landfill from one more paper cup...they will give you a ten cent discount off your coffee!
2)Pack your lunch for work. Not only will you save gas from driving to, and waiting in line at the local fast-food stop, but you won't have the bag and other paper waste to throw in the trash can...which goes into a landfill.

Happy Earth Day!

JFB

The definition of a Classic

Zach Johnson is in a self-described "surreal" moment right now. The 2006 Ryder Cup wunderkind, hailing from a state that is known more for its world class wrestlers than golfers, has probably been in a surreal moment since the birth of his son Will in January.
As a parent...and I speak of experience here...the first 4 months are so ridiculously hard, that everything is just blurred from what is real, to what is not.
Next month, when Zach wakes up from the 4-month newborn blur, will he then realize what he has accomplished on the most hallowed of grounds in golf.

In general, the 2007 Masters will be viewed as a great golf tournament, just because the element of the one thing that the players couldn't control...the weather...determined the outcome of this years' event. It is rare to see such a revered group of professionals be brought to their knees.
I personally think there are a lot of golfers this morning crying Uncle...and Hootie is smiling!

Next month, I will start my own personal 4-month newborn blur, as we are due for our second. Again, it will involve a lot of late-nights, and early mornings.
Thankfully, a tried-and-true Starbucks is right around the corner!

During the next 4 months, I will undoubtedly wonder how hard it must have been for Zach to win this major while caring for his son. I will then be amazed at how truly great his victory was.

On the surface, you may think the weather played a hand in dealing Zach his reward.

But as a parent you know it's more than that.
And that's what makes the 2007 Masters an instant classic.


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

JFB

Quick slices;

I played 9 holes today. Couldn't get a baby-sitter to extend my round to 18. I'm sure when my 4 year old is 21, he'll thank me for not leaving him alone today.

Michael Jordan was playing behind me...that's right...THE MJ...Mr NIKE...the man...THE greatest basketball player of my time...

...playing behind me.

But I had to opt out of playing the back nine...just as it was getting backed-up...just as the groups were waiting on each tee box...just when MJ and his entourage pulled up to wait for our foursome (minus me) to tee-off.
A conversation...or to just have him see my swing could have ensued. He might have said "nice shot"...I would have said "it's good to be like Mike". Alas, that never happened.

Notice there aren't any pictures of him on this post. That's because my son thought my camera's lens-cap was s'pose to be taken off the camera. Um...it's a Canon A610 SureShot...

...I found the "lens-cap" in multiple pieces in our house...

"Oops"...he said. "Can we hide them like Easter Eggs?"

Yeah, my son owes me...big.

Is it too late to stamp a return-to-sender label on his forehead?


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

JFB

PS: Check out my new feature: golf shorts via Google/YouTube on the sidebar. The Letterman one is hilarious!

It's that time of year

Spring is here! It is "snowing" pollen...the yellow/green dust has covered EVERYTHING.
Wildlife populates a scenery that was bare and lifeless just one month ago.

The sounds of birds chirping and people sneezing fill the air.

All that's needed is the thwack of a golf ball to begin the annual ritual of a Southern springtime.
I eagerly turn the 7-iron-shaped handle of the basement door to open it. Like a sarcophagus, the basement holds the answers to my inner-most questions...

Like where did I put my damn golf bag?"

Looking around the junk that didn't sell at the garage sale, tucked behind the stacked boxes of Christmas decorations, there the Jones Bag stands...forged irons peeking their heads out...still shining, as if to say:

"I hear the birds chirping and the people sneezing....LET'S GO GOLF!"


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

JFB

Make sure to keep up on the latest sports
news and stay on top of your favorite sports team. Be an
informed citizen with
science news that's up to date, and
entertainment news about your favorite celebrities. There are
all sorts of news
sources on the web, so make sure you choose a news site
you trust.

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

Why we have misery in golf

Ever wonder why you can't play a perfect round of golf? I mean there is always that one hole that you can come back to in a conversation and say: "yeah, I would have blistered the course if it weren't for that hole".

It's because of greens keepers.

When you play a golf course...think for a minute...whom do you tip? Everyone that touches your bag, serves your drink/food, and cleans your clubs/shoes...right?

When was the last time you said to your playing partners: "you know guys...we need to pull out some scratch for the guys mowing the grass...I mean, those greens were slicker than my grandmas hosiery".

(Um, not that I've ever felt my grandma's leggings. But I digress.)

But I'm right...right!? I'll bet the last time a greens keeper got a tip is when he overheard the club pro telling his playing partner about a hot stock.

That's why we have that one bad hole. Trust me, there are millions of greens keepers with a huge chip of schadenfreude on their shoulders, that when channeled properly, can claim the lives of the best attempts at a perfect round.

So the next time you're out for a fun round of golf, and that one hole comes out of nowhere and bites you...somewhere in the bushes, a greens keeper with a bad case of schadenfreude is snickering.

So tip your greens keeper.


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

JFB

Why we have misery in golf

Ever wonder why you can't play a perfect round of golf? I mean there is always that one hole that you can come back to in a conversation and say: "yeah, I would have blistered the course if it weren't for that hole".

It's because of greens keepers.

When you play a golf course...think for a minute...whom do you tip? Everyone that touches your bag, serves your drink/food, and cleans your clubs/shoes...right?

When was the last time you said to your playing partners: "you know guys...we need to pull out some scratch for the guys mowing the grass...I mean, those greens were slicker than my grandmas hosiery".

(Um, not that I've ever felt my grandma's leggings. But I digress.)

But I'm right...right!? I'll bet the last time a greens keeper got a tip is when he overheard the club pro telling his playing partner about a hot stock.

That's why we have that one bad hole. Trust me, there are millions of greens keepers with a huge chip of schadenfreude on their shoulders, that when channeled properly, can claim the lives of the best attempts at a perfect round.

So the next time you're out for a fun round of golf, and that one hole comes out of nowhere and bites you...somewhere in the bushes, a greens keeper with a bad case of schadenfreude is snickering.

So tip your greens keeper.


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

JFB

Now on the first tee...President Tiger Woods

Let's look at what has happened in pro golf the last few weeks and see if we can connect the dots:
First, The HBO series 'Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel' fuels expectations of a "Tiger-run Tour".

Then, The International, which started with a bang in 1986, ends with a whimper...we'll, to be exact...with a whimper from its founder, as he lamented the current status of golf without Tiger (as I have recently mentioned is happening for every tournament in this post).

Then last week, while Boo Weekly was in Florida clubbing himself like a baby seal, Tiger wooed King Finch into taking advantage of that opening in the schedule, by letting his Foundation sponsor a new golf event in the recently-scorned DC area.

Finally, Tiger announces that his Tournament, while raising money for his foundation being the prime goal, will also dedicate the weekend of his tournament emphasizing military recognition.
Now the whole world it seems feels that a Tiger Tour is imminent.

Wow. Mark those past weeks on your calendar as a momentous step towards something much bigger, and connect the dots.

It's not a Tiger Tour that is imminent...it's the Tiger Presidency which is imminent.

Earl Woods' premonitions of his boy wonder have silenced most critics. There were so many that he had laid out for his son, that most were brushed away by the media like the cobwebs on a reclaimed golf bag that was stored for the winter.
Premonitions like: golf is just part of the bigger picture for Tiger, just as he will become an ambassador for golf...he will become an ambassador of the world. That one has yet to be accomplished, and I'll bet Tiger has that list...and is checking it...twice.

Today, Tiger is the most recognized face on the planet. Those same people that hate America's idealism? Well, they love Tiger, why?

...Because he transcends boundaries...he has that gift.

Now, let's fast forward 20 years from now. Here's what I think will play out in the year 2028:

Tiger will test the political waters in his home state of Florida as a Senator, then Governor. He will use his DC connections over the last 20 years from his very successful tournament, to position himself into the fast tract for a presidential run.
By this time Unity08 will be Unity 28, and will be have built itself into a formidable 3rd party affiliation. Tiger, because he can choose his own platform without special interest influence, will choose the Unity ticket, and will fund his campaign solely from his wealth.

...an Internet-based groundswell of public confidence will follow him all the way to the Presidency.

Far-fetched? Who's going to bet against him?

Bryant Gumbel has it all wrong. it's not that Tiger has run out of aspirations with the Tour, and his next logical step is to break off, and fund his own tour. That is complete nonsense. Tiger is NOT going to kill the goose that laid his golden egg. No, he is going to partner with it for his own unique personal goals that his father instilled in him. Goals he will accomplish. Tiger getting his foot in the door in DC is the real logical step.

A Tiger Tour? That's too small a picture.

The big picture is The Presidency.

Are you connecting the dots?


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

JFB

Bobby Jones' locker

I recently visited Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta GA. It is here where you can find the grave site of the venerable Bobby Jones, the greatest of all Georgia philanthropists, that left us a few great golf courses (Augusta, East Lake), as well as his collection of golf memorabilia from his playing days that can be found at The Atlanta History Center and The Atlanta Athletic Club.

But it's here at beautiful Oakland Cemetery that you can pay your respects, and it won't cost you a thing.

Many of you know each hole at Augusta is named after a tree specimen. A dozen or so years ago, Oakland Cemetery dedicated these 18 specimens in a configuration around the property. The dead of winter isn't the best showing for the grounds, but there is a metal bench beside the grave...which lends to great reflection...and peacefulness, as there are very few visitors.

Come springtime that will change, as visitors arrive like buds on a flowering Cherry tree. Many come to pay respect to the true gentleman of the game, while others leave mementos that garnish the site.

Each year, right before die hard golf fans make the journey to pay their respects, the SAE fraternity at Georgia Tech cleans the grounds. Why do they ritually do that? Because Jones was a member their when he attended Tech. And this is a way for the incoming class to get grounded, as the are joining the very historic house.

Golfer's like to start off their golf season by visiting this grave for good luck. Here's hoping that good luck will follow you this golf season!

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

JFB