Golf books come in all shapes and sizes, forms and fashions, literally and figuratively. There appears to be an unlimited number of topic and angles. The subject matter may get stretched at times, but that is one of the more endearing aspects of golf journalism. The genre has an endless range. So, when I saw Catherine Lewis’ new volume, Don’t Ask What I Shot: How Eisenhower’s Love of Golf Helped Shape 1950's America, I was not quite sure what to expect, at least from the golf perspective. Lewis is an associate professor of history at Kennesaw State University and also a curator at the Atlanta History Center. But she also has a bit of a golf journalism background with the previous publication of Bobby Jones and the Quest for the Grand Slam. I must admit, while about one-third of the way through the book, I thought perhaps this should be a history volume with the world golf thrown in a few times. But as I progressed, I realized this is a golf history book also. Lewis has produced a volume that can be used as a college text and also provides scholarly insight concerning the influence that golf had on the American society in the 1950’s.
Using Ike’s love of golf Lewis presents to us his approach to the presidency which at times, according to his critics, had misguided priorities. You’ll learn to love Ike for his ability to relax in the midst of the most stressful job on earth and to despise him for his apparent disregard of his responsibilities. (He played more than 800 rounds of golf during his two terms in office.) But most of all you’ll get a great appreciation for how Ike helped to generate the golf boom in the U.S. In the end Lewis gives us an interesting historical perspective on Eisenhower’s presidency.
This is not a golf history book, but rather a book that demonstrates how golf has influenced history. Baby Boomers who grew up and discovered golf in this period should find Don’t Ask What I Shot a most fascinating read. Golfers in general should read this to explore how golf became so popular in the United States.
Sunday, August 05, 2007
Sunday, July 29, 2007
The Performance Enhancing Drugs of Golf
After being verbally abused and physically threatened in regard to my supposed lack of knowledge in the area of performance enhancing drugs, I have spent the past few days consulting a multitude of experts on this particular subject. And although not every expert responded to my earnest appeal for knowledge – Barry Bonds did not return my call and there was somewhat of a language snafu when I tried to contact the entire competitive field of the Tour de Farce – I have managed to assemble an up-to-date, albeit limited, list of performance enhancing drugs that would be beneficial to golfers. These are available in the prescription and the over the counter variety.
And now that I have an above par knowledge on the subject I feel much more confident to pass on the following information that I have uncovered concerning performance enhancing drugs in relation to the game of golf. We here at Eye On Golf have received word that the following substances are about to be banned by all major golf organizations around the world whether they be self-appointed or not.
Nutter-butter-better-putter
This substance is similar to beta-blockers but much more easily obtained and apparently much more nutritious. The development of this substance involved collaboration among the Sports Psychologist Association & Society (SPASes), Nava Compromise Putters, and the Peanut Integrated Growers (PIGs). It is readily available in supermarkets, golf shops and nut shops. Unfortunately not available to those with peanut allergies.
Driveroid
This is the designer drug of the golf world. It can be customized for each and every player depending on the distances he or she desire from the tee on that particular day. It is fast acting and thus can be adapted for play on a day-by-day basis. It can be obtained by prescription only. The biggest drawback with Driveroid is that this increased distance carries over to every other club in the bag. A secondary downside is that it must be injected into the buttocks each day of tournament play and therefore eliminates the possibility of sitting down on the job. And, sadly, it does not wear off as quickly as it takes effect.
“Tomato Soup”
This being the slang term for the drug. Ingestion of this substance produces results similar to blood-doping – extreme endurance under the most difficult of physical conditions. This would be most beneficial on physically demanding courses, especially at high altitude, or if one is involved in a 36-hole USGA playoff. It too can be found in supermarkets under the label Campbell Plasma Soup and come primarily in a liquid form.
This is what we have discovered and what was on our mind.
And now that I have an above par knowledge on the subject I feel much more confident to pass on the following information that I have uncovered concerning performance enhancing drugs in relation to the game of golf. We here at Eye On Golf have received word that the following substances are about to be banned by all major golf organizations around the world whether they be self-appointed or not.
Nutter-butter-better-putter
This substance is similar to beta-blockers but much more easily obtained and apparently much more nutritious. The development of this substance involved collaboration among the Sports Psychologist Association & Society (SPASes), Nava Compromise Putters, and the Peanut Integrated Growers (PIGs). It is readily available in supermarkets, golf shops and nut shops. Unfortunately not available to those with peanut allergies.
Driveroid
This is the designer drug of the golf world. It can be customized for each and every player depending on the distances he or she desire from the tee on that particular day. It is fast acting and thus can be adapted for play on a day-by-day basis. It can be obtained by prescription only. The biggest drawback with Driveroid is that this increased distance carries over to every other club in the bag. A secondary downside is that it must be injected into the buttocks each day of tournament play and therefore eliminates the possibility of sitting down on the job. And, sadly, it does not wear off as quickly as it takes effect.
“Tomato Soup”
This being the slang term for the drug. Ingestion of this substance produces results similar to blood-doping – extreme endurance under the most difficult of physical conditions. This would be most beneficial on physically demanding courses, especially at high altitude, or if one is involved in a 36-hole USGA playoff. It too can be found in supermarkets under the label Campbell Plasma Soup and come primarily in a liquid form.
This is what we have discovered and what was on our mind.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
The Last Word on Steroids
Now I cannot authenticate this, nor do I have time-tested, scientifically affirmed, statistical facts to prove it, nonetheless, I believe the following to be true: Based on what we observe from other sports – baseball, cycling, wrestling – steroids would probably benefit a professional golfer in certain performance aspects, but certainly not all. However, there are other performance aspects where a regular and healthy dose of performance enhancing drugs, especially steroids, would be extremely detrimental.
Steroids would undoubtedly assist the highly skilled professional add length to his shots. The length of drives would probably increase to the 350-400 yard range. Seven irons would travel 225-250 yards and so on. Length, length, length would be the beneficial result from an active steroid campaign. You get the picture. On the other hand there is a downside to all this additional length – a reduced ability in the short game. I’ve got to believe it would be quite difficult to execute delicate wedge shots when you’re all bulked up from steroid use. And the feel required for the putting green is a similar story.
And I think we could also assume that since performing enhancing drugs assist bicyclists in their never ending search for speed, the same benefit could be applied to golfers. Simply put players would walk faster. Now you would logically conclude that this fact might be interpreted to mean that pace of play would increase. But that might not be true. I don’t believe it has been proven but the consistent use of steroids may in fact reduce one’s ability to think clearly. (Let’s face it; anyone who is mentally deficient enough to believe that such drugs are beneficial is already heading down that path.)
So it should be easy for the PGA Tour to determine who might be likely candidates for drug testing. Those players who average over 300 yards off the tee and have short game stats at the bottom of the lists are likely users. A good secondary gauge is those players whose caddies cannot keep up the pace on the course.
Steroids would undoubtedly assist the highly skilled professional add length to his shots. The length of drives would probably increase to the 350-400 yard range. Seven irons would travel 225-250 yards and so on. Length, length, length would be the beneficial result from an active steroid campaign. You get the picture. On the other hand there is a downside to all this additional length – a reduced ability in the short game. I’ve got to believe it would be quite difficult to execute delicate wedge shots when you’re all bulked up from steroid use. And the feel required for the putting green is a similar story.
And I think we could also assume that since performing enhancing drugs assist bicyclists in their never ending search for speed, the same benefit could be applied to golfers. Simply put players would walk faster. Now you would logically conclude that this fact might be interpreted to mean that pace of play would increase. But that might not be true. I don’t believe it has been proven but the consistent use of steroids may in fact reduce one’s ability to think clearly. (Let’s face it; anyone who is mentally deficient enough to believe that such drugs are beneficial is already heading down that path.)
So it should be easy for the PGA Tour to determine who might be likely candidates for drug testing. Those players who average over 300 yards off the tee and have short game stats at the bottom of the lists are likely users. A good secondary gauge is those players whose caddies cannot keep up the pace on the course.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Another Costly Mistake by the USGA
Once again the USGA has made a costly mistake. By scheduling the U.S. Women’s Open in North Carolina in the summer that have brought the inevitable weather delay into play for virtually every round. The southeast is the hot, unbearably humid, dangerous thunderstorm capital of the U.S. If you really want to sweat (or glow) like a little piggy when you play a round of golf, go play there in the summer.
So now the USGA is stuck in the middle of round two. Half of the field has not even teed it up for its nineteenth hole and the majority has not finished 36 holes. It has now become a logistical nightmare to finish this tournament on Sunday assuming there are no more weather delays.
But the solution is simple. Hold the event here in southern Arizona in late June. There are a myriad of reasons why So. AZ is a better choice than some tree-lined, Donald Ross-designed course in the middle of one of the self-appointed golf capitals of the world.
Consider just a few of the undeniable benefits:
The weather will be no problem. We can almost guarantee all day sunshine with the temperature about 110 degrees with virtually no humidity.
There will be no need for evacuation vans in the event of thunder and lightening.
Parking will be no problem for the few hundred spectators and staff. There are hundreds of acres of desert.
The players won’t have to put up with all those damned pine trees that tend to reach out a grab a golf ball. And there’ll none of that ultra-thick, made-for-hay bluegrass rough that’s ill advised for the limp-wristed.
Yes, and I have no doubt there are a multitude more valid reasons for AZ and the place. Just add your own.
So now the USGA is stuck in the middle of round two. Half of the field has not even teed it up for its nineteenth hole and the majority has not finished 36 holes. It has now become a logistical nightmare to finish this tournament on Sunday assuming there are no more weather delays.
But the solution is simple. Hold the event here in southern Arizona in late June. There are a myriad of reasons why So. AZ is a better choice than some tree-lined, Donald Ross-designed course in the middle of one of the self-appointed golf capitals of the world.
Consider just a few of the undeniable benefits:
The weather will be no problem. We can almost guarantee all day sunshine with the temperature about 110 degrees with virtually no humidity.
There will be no need for evacuation vans in the event of thunder and lightening.
Parking will be no problem for the few hundred spectators and staff. There are hundreds of acres of desert.
The players won’t have to put up with all those damned pine trees that tend to reach out a grab a golf ball. And there’ll none of that ultra-thick, made-for-hay bluegrass rough that’s ill advised for the limp-wristed.
Yes, and I have no doubt there are a multitude more valid reasons for AZ and the place. Just add your own.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Book Review: The Scorecard Always Lies takes us behind the scenes of the PGA Tour
2006 was a most magnetic and perhaps watershed year on the PGA Tour. You could say it was all about Tiger and Phil. Tiger Woods missed the cut at the U.S. Open, his first missed cut in a major championship as a professional, albeit because of the passing of his father less than two months prior. But then he roared back with convincing wins at The Open and the PGA Championship reestablishing his dominance. At that same U.S. Open we witnessed disaster after disaster on the final hole with the grand finale being Mickelson. Just when you thought he was going to win his third straight major Lefty self-destructed. Alas, it was also the final year that the Official Money List carried any significant meaning at least as far as the PGA Tour Commissioner declared.
But along the way there were a multitude of other memoirs, heart-warming or tear-jerking and encouraging or repressing. These were the sagas you seldom read about in the media. These were the stories that might influence someone to take up the game or the tales of the ups and downs of the traveling troupe known as the PGA Tour as it traversed the country. These were the happenings of the human part of their existence.
To engage us with the statistical maze is commonplace. To capture the humanity of that year in words is a wonderful triumph. And that is precisely what Chris Lewis has done with his new offering The Scorecard Always Lies published by Free Press. It is not a statistical junket through the year on the PGA Tour relating all the meaningless numbers that are forgotten when the next season commences. Rather, it is a human interest narration. The Scorecard… presents us with entertaining and seldom expressed back stories of well-known players (Mickelson and Woods) and lesser known players such as Michael Allen and Robert Garrigus. It takes us behind the scenes of the tournaments. Lewis will break your heart from the beginning with his account of Stuart Appleby’s relationship with his wife Renay and her untimely death.
The Scorecard… also takes us through the biennial media spectacle known as the Ryder Cup with some fascinating and revealing insider information. Lewis also chronicles the emergence and the rise to prominence of the Stack & Tilt teaching gurus Andy Plummer and Mike Bennett. It is interesting to observe what motivates a very good golfer to undertake a completely different swing theory in an effort to improve further. Lewis examines this motivation.
There appear to be a couple of historical inaccuracies – like twice stating that Payne Stewart’s putt on the final green at Pinehurst in 1999 was 40 feet. (It was more in the fifteen foot range, I believe) And there are also a couple of grammatical and typographical oversights. Nevertheless, the avid golf fan will find this volume most captivating with its unusual revelations of life on the PGA Tour. The average golf fan will enjoy the human interest perspective.
But along the way there were a multitude of other memoirs, heart-warming or tear-jerking and encouraging or repressing. These were the sagas you seldom read about in the media. These were the stories that might influence someone to take up the game or the tales of the ups and downs of the traveling troupe known as the PGA Tour as it traversed the country. These were the happenings of the human part of their existence.
To engage us with the statistical maze is commonplace. To capture the humanity of that year in words is a wonderful triumph. And that is precisely what Chris Lewis has done with his new offering The Scorecard Always Lies published by Free Press. It is not a statistical junket through the year on the PGA Tour relating all the meaningless numbers that are forgotten when the next season commences. Rather, it is a human interest narration. The Scorecard… presents us with entertaining and seldom expressed back stories of well-known players (Mickelson and Woods) and lesser known players such as Michael Allen and Robert Garrigus. It takes us behind the scenes of the tournaments. Lewis will break your heart from the beginning with his account of Stuart Appleby’s relationship with his wife Renay and her untimely death.
The Scorecard… also takes us through the biennial media spectacle known as the Ryder Cup with some fascinating and revealing insider information. Lewis also chronicles the emergence and the rise to prominence of the Stack & Tilt teaching gurus Andy Plummer and Mike Bennett. It is interesting to observe what motivates a very good golfer to undertake a completely different swing theory in an effort to improve further. Lewis examines this motivation.
There appear to be a couple of historical inaccuracies – like twice stating that Payne Stewart’s putt on the final green at Pinehurst in 1999 was 40 feet. (It was more in the fifteen foot range, I believe) And there are also a couple of grammatical and typographical oversights. Nevertheless, the avid golf fan will find this volume most captivating with its unusual revelations of life on the PGA Tour. The average golf fan will enjoy the human interest perspective.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
The Future of the Young Ms. Woods
Congrats to Tiger and Elin on the birth of their daughter Sam Alexis Woods (SAW). Since the household that figuratively gave birth to Eye On Golf has also raised a daughter of its own, we thought it would be appropriate to pass along some adjectives to Mr. and Mrs. Woods that accurately describe the challenges ahead. So Tiger and Elin here you go: rewarding, frustrating, fun, exasperating and the list goes on and on and on...
But now to the business at hand. Anytime a world-class athlete passes along his or her DNA to an offspring, there is great speculation concerning the sporting future of the child. Eye On Golf has been quite fortunate to gain the possession of a southwestern soothsayer stone, (Said stone was discovered in the Arizona desert while relocating our golf clubs in preparation for future play.) with which we have been able to divine the future of the young Ms. Woods. In other words we were able to foresee-SAW.
The year is 2026 and we have been privileged to gain a glimpse at the season ending money list for the LPGA. There are no doubt a couple of surprises and there are also several enduring legacies that need to be maintained. We were also astonished to find that the list is conspicuously absent of one name in particular.
Sam Alexis Woods
Morgan Pressel
Paula Creamer
Juli Inkster
Tap In Kim
Say Hi Kim
One of the girls in the USGA Advertisement, “I swing like a girl!”
Annika Sorenstam
Natalie Gulbis (still no victories)
Ai Miyazato (thanks to her first win in twenty years on tour)
But now to the business at hand. Anytime a world-class athlete passes along his or her DNA to an offspring, there is great speculation concerning the sporting future of the child. Eye On Golf has been quite fortunate to gain the possession of a southwestern soothsayer stone, (Said stone was discovered in the Arizona desert while relocating our golf clubs in preparation for future play.) with which we have been able to divine the future of the young Ms. Woods. In other words we were able to foresee-SAW.
The year is 2026 and we have been privileged to gain a glimpse at the season ending money list for the LPGA. There are no doubt a couple of surprises and there are also several enduring legacies that need to be maintained. We were also astonished to find that the list is conspicuously absent of one name in particular.
Sam Alexis Woods
Morgan Pressel
Paula Creamer
Juli Inkster
Tap In Kim
Say Hi Kim
One of the girls in the USGA Advertisement, “I swing like a girl!”
Annika Sorenstam
Natalie Gulbis (still no victories)
Ai Miyazato (thanks to her first win in twenty years on tour)
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Prelim U.S. Open Observations
The pairings for the first two rounds of the U.S. Open annually present some fascinating reading (the best from the USGA since the demise of the USGA Journal) and lend themselves to a bit of perverse, or rather, insightful analysis.
So, after a bit of reconnaissance of the groupings, we can present the following declarations.
When the USGA publishes its pairings, players from outside of the U.S. have only their country of origin listed, but U.S. players have the city and state. So why not just United States for U.S. players? Do we really care how many live in Scottsdale?
The player who drew an early tee time on Thursday because he’s up to answer nature’s call anyway, but will probably miss his Friday tee time because it’s right at his nap time:
Allen Doyle (two-time U.S. Senior Open Champion) – 7:22 & 12:52. He’ll be a great one to watch with his home-grown, slap shot swing.
Pairing that will have no English spoken for forty-eight hours:
Jose Maria Olazabal, Sergio Garcia, Pablo Martin – all from Spain.
Pairing most likely to get trampled by the unruly crowd: Jose Maria Olazabal, Sergio Garcia, Pablo Martin. They’re playing right in front of Tiger Woods.
Player most likely to get trampled by the unruly crowd: U.S. Amateur Champ Richie Ramsay of Scotland who is paired with Tiger Woods. I hope the USGA puts a live mike on young Ramsay. His reactions to the golf chaos going on around him will be classic.
The absolutely, most interesting pairing: Charles Howell III, Justin Rose, Sean O’Hair. You don’t have to say much about these three young studs except potential, potential, potential, but…
So, after a bit of reconnaissance of the groupings, we can present the following declarations.
When the USGA publishes its pairings, players from outside of the U.S. have only their country of origin listed, but U.S. players have the city and state. So why not just United States for U.S. players? Do we really care how many live in Scottsdale?
The player who drew an early tee time on Thursday because he’s up to answer nature’s call anyway, but will probably miss his Friday tee time because it’s right at his nap time:
Allen Doyle (two-time U.S. Senior Open Champion) – 7:22 & 12:52. He’ll be a great one to watch with his home-grown, slap shot swing.
Pairing that will have no English spoken for forty-eight hours:
Jose Maria Olazabal, Sergio Garcia, Pablo Martin – all from Spain.
Pairing most likely to get trampled by the unruly crowd: Jose Maria Olazabal, Sergio Garcia, Pablo Martin. They’re playing right in front of Tiger Woods.
Player most likely to get trampled by the unruly crowd: U.S. Amateur Champ Richie Ramsay of Scotland who is paired with Tiger Woods. I hope the USGA puts a live mike on young Ramsay. His reactions to the golf chaos going on around him will be classic.
The absolutely, most interesting pairing: Charles Howell III, Justin Rose, Sean O’Hair. You don’t have to say much about these three young studs except potential, potential, potential, but…
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
