God Puts Long Putter in Bag

THE GROWING POPULARITY OF THE long putter has now spread from country club gates to the pearly gates, as God Almighty announced in a statement that he has added the “broomstick” to his set after a few experimental practice sessions. The creator of the universe has watched with interest as players have won with long putters for three consecutive weeks on the PGA Tour.

Adam Scott was the first, rolling to an impressive win at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. PGA Tour rookie Keegan Bradley followed, winning the PGA Championship with a belly putter in his first major appearance. And on Sunday in Greensboro, North Carolina, Webb Simpson claimed his maiden PGA Tour victory using a long putter.

The strong momentum of the long putter among the professional ranks caught the attention of God—who historically is not easy to impress—and was the impetus for the switch.

The Lord admitted that he putted “very well” with a conventional putter but wanted to try the long putter to see what all the fuss was about.

God expected some good-natured barbs from St. Peter, who is part of his regular group, but said with a chuckle, “I can handle Simon Peter. I’ve long known his weaknesses, both on and off the golf course.”

God characterized himself as a recreational golfer, yet declined to reveal how many rounds he has logged this year. Asked how much he plays, God simply said, “More than the Pope and less than President Obama.”

Next up, he added, is one of his favorite golf outings, the annual father-son tournament.

−The Armchair Golfer

Related:
Weary of Golf, God Rains Out Viking Classic

(This is an ARMCHAIR GOLF spoof.)

My Non-Golf Vacation to Charleston

I’VE BEEN OUT OF THE golf loop for the last several days. I did catch the last 15 minutes of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational on Sunday. I saw Adam Scott sink the birdie on the 72nd hole for an impressive four-shot win and I heard caddie Steve Williams declare that it was the greatest week of his life.

The vent was wide open. Steve Williams and Tiger Woods will not be exchanging Christmas cards.

Meanwhile, I was in Charleston, South Carolina, also known as “The Holy City” for its tall church steeples and sometimes called “Chucktown.” It was family vacation, our last summer fling before the kids saddle up for another school year.

(Photo: Charleston National Golf Club)

We did the historic Charleston market and what we call “fancy lunch,” a white-tablecloth dining experience at Slightly North of Broad, my oldest daughter’s pick, and a good one. We spent a day at Isle of Palms beach and took an evening stroll along the Battery and Charleston Harbor and gawked at the lovely centuries-old homes. We joined a Gray Line city tour from Charleston’s first-rate visitor’s center and ducked in and out of the many shops on King Street.

(Shopping is not my forte, but as the lone male in the family I go along and am a good sport, for the most part.)

It was all excellent, great family fun, even with record heat. It didn’t include any golf for the only golfer in the family, but I didn’t expect any.

I did spy one golf course in our wanderings. The City of Charleston Golf Course, Charleston’s lone muni, is situated on James Island. Maybank Highway bisects the old course. We drove by on the way to Johns Island and I reaffirmed my interest in teeing it up on the 1920s layout where they play the city amateur. It looks like my kind of muni track.

There are a variety of other golf courses in the Charleston area, some of which I’ve listed below. I read about them in the handful of guides and brochures I collected on the trip.

Charleston-Area Golf Courses

Charleston National Golf Club / Semi-Private / Par 72
Coosaw Creek Country Club / Semi-Private / Par 72
Dunes West Golf & River Club / Semi-Private / Par 72
Kiawah Island Golf Resort / Resort Public (90 holes)
(Cougar Point, Oak Point, Ocean Course, Osprey Point, Turtle Point)
Legend Oaks Plantation Golf Club / Semi-Private / Par 72
Patriots Point Links / Public / Par 72
Pine Forest Country Club / Semi-Private / Par 72
Rivertowne Country Club / Semi-Private / Par 72
Shadowmoss Plantation Golf Club / Semi-Private / Par 72
The Links at Stono Ferry / Semi-Private / Par 72
Seabrook Island Restort / Stay & Play (36 holes)
(Crooked Oaks, Ocean Winds)
Golf Club at Westcott Plantation / Public (27 holes)
Wild Dunes Resort / Resort Public (36 holes)
(Harbor Course, Links Course)
Berkeley Country Club / Semi-Private / Par 72
City of Charleston Golf Course / Municipal / Par 72
Crowfield Golf & Country Club / Semi-Private / Par 72
Plantation Course At Edisto / Public / Par 70
Miller Country Club / Semi-Private / Par 71

And to the not-so-distant north and south lie Myrtle Beach and Hilton Head. There’s plenty of golf in the South Carolina coastal area. Where have you played? Any recommendations?

−The Armchair Golfer

(Photo credit: butler.corey, Flickr, Creative Commons license)

The Rory McIlroy Guessing Game

Editor’s note: Brian Keogh is a golf correspondent for The Irish Sun and a contributor to The Irish Times, Golf Digest Ireland and other golf publications. The following excerpt from Brian’s Irish Golf Desk is used with permission.

By Brian Keogh
Special to ARMCHAIR GOLF

THERE’S A NEW GUESSING GAME in golf—what’s Rory McIlroy going to do next. In June he surprised nearly everyone when he followed his implosion at the Masters with an eight-shot US Open win. Fast forward six weeks and he’s overshadowed the return to Tiger Woods to PGA Tour action this week by announcing that he’s seriously considering rejoining the PGA Tour next season.

Nearly nine months ago, McIlroy gave up his card and said:

“I found myself in America last year, especially in the FedEx Cup play-off series, just not wanting to be there…. If you’re not playing well in the States it can be a lonely place. But if you’re not playing well on the European Tour you still have plenty of mates to hang out with. Holly also has another two years at university and we have two dogs, a nice house and I love my life back in Ireland. I don’t ever want to give that up.”

Fast forward to the eve of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Akron and the story is very different. Holly is history, he’s playing well and life in Ireland has become more of grind since his went from golf star to public megastar in the space of a few weeks.

“I spoke to a couple of the guys from the PGA Tour today about it, and I’m leaning towards taking my card up again definitely,” said McIlroy, who is involved a burgeoning romance with the Danish world tennis number one Caroline Wozniacki.

“I feel as if I play my best golf over here. I’m very comfortable in this country. I’m going to look at a few houses down in Florida after the (US) PGA.

“I might go and stay with G-Mac (Graeme McDowell) for a night at Lake Nona and see what that’s like and then down in West Palm Beach and Jupiter, around there. I’m definitely looking towards coming back and playing a full schedule over here.”

McIlroy fired a 68 in the first round of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and trails leader Adam Scott by six shots. Scott blistered Firestone Country Club with an eight-birdie, no-bogey 62.

Brian Keogh covers golf for The Irish Sun and contributes to a variety of golf publications. Pay him a visit at Irish Golf Desk.

Steve Williams, Tiger Woods and ‘Fourteen Red Shirts’

WITH THE DISMISSAL OF longtime caddie Steve Williams, the dismantling of team Tiger Woods continues. Williams was on the bag for 13 of Tiger’s major victories, including the last win at Torrey Pines three years ago. In what was thought to be a temporary arrangement, Williams is now the permanent bag man for Adam Scott.

Tiger’s future remains cloudy. Who will be his new caddie? When will he be healthy and play again? Will he win more majors and chase down Jack Nicklaus?

Artist Steven Anthony Salerno has created a new limited-edition Tiger Woods print that depicts Tiger’s 14 majors. Salerno has intentionally left space in the last row for more “red shirts.” More details from the artist follow.

‘Fourteen Red Shirts’

The latest golf art release (at right) by artist Steven Anthony Salerno entitled “fourteen red shirts” is now available at SASgolf.com in the exclusive edition gallery. This art image, consisting of 14 small “swing portrait” paintings set in rows, highlights the 14 major championship victories of golfer Tiger Woods. The poses and even the various red shirts depicted are all from the final day of each corresponding championship event.

The artist purposely left some open space at the bottom of the composition to express his personal opinion that Tiger is certainly not done winning major championships.

“Fourteen red shirts” is a limited edition of just 100 signed and numbered prints. All of the artist’s golf art prints are printed on 100% cotton rag archival fine art paper with brilliant permanent pigment inks. The high resolution Giclee inkjet printing process used for the edition, sprays millions of continuous microscopic ink droplets with unsurpassed precision and color accuracy. This is the same reproduction process museums use to create print replicas of art in their collections.

For more information and a larger view of the “fourteen red shirts” print, visit SASgolf.com. You can read the artist’s blog post about “fourteen red shirts” here.

−The Armchair Golfer

Drop Dead Gorgeous Golf Swings

JAIME DIAZ OF GOLF DIGEST pens a “My Five” series that ranks golf topics such as “Greatest Masters Performances,” “Best PGA Tour Courses,” “Golf’s Greatest Athletes” and “Best Match Players.” His most recent “My Five” edition caught my eye: “Golf’s Prettiest Swings.”

What players, past and present, possess the prettiest swings on the planet? (My apologies for the excessive alliteration.) Here’s Diaz’s list:

1. Sam Snead
No argument here. Snead would make everyone’s list. As quoted by Diaz, John Schlee summed it up: “Watching Sam Snead practice hitting golf balls is like watching a fish practice swimming.”

2. Al Geiberger
Mr. 59 focused on tempo.

3. Jerry Pate
1976 U.S. Open winner whose career was cut short by shoulder problems.

4. Payne Stewart
Yes, a pretty golf swing, but I’m surprised to see Payne in the top 5.

5. Steve Elkington
An exquisite swing. Elkington’s original teacher said, “Steve has the ability to swing the club in an almost musical way.”

Who Else?

So that’s Diaz’s top-5 list of pretty swings. It got me thinking about others. Legendary golf teacher Bob Toski said that Geiberger had the best tall-man swing. Maybe. But another tall man, Tom Weiskopf, also had an enviable golf swing. If Weiskopf could have putted better, he would have won at least one Green Jacket. (He finished as runner-up at the Masters four times.) And how about “The Big Easy,” Ernie Els?

Gene Littler rates a mention. Adam Scott. Mickey Wright. Tom Purtzer. Old-timey, Robert Tyre “Bobby” Jones Jr. And Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey. Wait—scratch that last one.

−The Armchair Golfer

A Stunning New Episode of Masters Theater

“TO ME, GOLF IS GREAT THEATER.” Those were the words of Frank Chirkinian, the legendary CBS-TV golf producer who recently died after a long fight with lung cancer. Chirkinian, considered to be the father of televised golf, explained that he never thought of himself as a golf or sports producer. The golf course was the setting for drama, tragedy and triumph. Above all, it was theater.

Can you imagine what Chirkinian would have thought about this most recent Sunday at Augusta National Golf Club?

Like a lot of golf fans, I’m still trying to process what I saw take place yesterday amid the pines and azaleas, through Amen Corner, and on those last four holes. I wholeheartedly agree with Chirkinian. The Masters is certainly “great theater.” I’ve been spellbound by it for three decades. I remember 1986 and so many others. But I’d never seen this episode. Not even close. This one had everything, and it was mesmerizing.

The mind tries to pick a winner. Who has the lead. Who has the look. Who still has enough birdie opportunities and nerve on the way to the clubhouse. But yesterday it was impossible to identify the 2011 Masters champion. I couldn’t even narrow it down to two or three. This was by far the largest cast of Sunday contenders on Masters Theater.

Who would wear the Green Jacket?

It was Rory. It was Tiger. It was Rory. It was Angel Cabrera, K.J. Choi and Charl Schwartzel. It was Tiger. It was Geoff Ogilvy. Bo Van Pelt? No. It was Adam Scott. Definitely Adam Scott. Wait, maybe Jason Day. No no no no! It’s Schwartzel. Yeah, that quiet skinny guy who sinks every five-footer. (And chips in for birdie and holes out for eagle.) For the love of Jimmy Demaret, that 26-year-old birdied the last four holes to win the Masters!

Who had done that? Exactly no one in the 75-year history of Bobby Jones’s invitational.

Those four Schwartzel birdies, especially the final three that were medium-range putts, were stupendous.

Charl “Don’t Add ‘es’” Schwartzel didn’t lose any sleep on Saturday night like young Rory McIlroy. As Phil Mickelson said, it’s pretty difficult to sleep on a 54-hole Masters lead. It’s even more difficult to play with a four-shot lead. Poor Rory.

McIlroy’s implosion was probably the least surprising aspect of Masters Theater. Tiger’s charge was amazing and tragic. But nor was it the most surprising thing. What surprised me the most about the 2011 Masters was the number of players who struck quality shots down the stretch, who played their fancy white pants off to win the Green Jacket, even after Tiger set off explosions all over the grounds.

That was incredible stuff. It was good for golf. Most of all, it was great theater.

−The Armchair Golfer