BUSHWOOD COUNTRY CLUB

Michelle Wie's Spring Class Schedule at Stanford: "Social Dances of North America III", "Beginning Improvising", and "Interpersonal Relations"....SWEEEET

2011-03-10T18:53:00.044-06:00

Ah Fricking Ha !!!! If you have been a BCC reader from back in the early days, you will recalll how I ripped on Michelle Wie and her imbecilic responses to countless interviewers - calling into question exactly how difficult the curriculum could be at Stanford if she could continue to make the deans list. If you have listened to, or read even ONE interview with Wie, none of this will surprise you...she's clearly as dense as she sounds...
Weeeeeel... as my Dad would say, "The Genie is out of the Jug". As reported by Fox News yesterday,it seems that the AD at Stanford has assembled a " list of classes for athletes" like the "Big Queasy"... (Can't your hear the Church Lady..... "well isn't that special"...)

check excerpts from the story below...

Stanford University allegedly offered a list of easy classes to student-athletes, according to the Stanford Daily.

The college newspaper reports it was a closely guarded list only offered to Stanford athletes and not the rest of the student body.

"It's definitely not going to be a hard class if it's coming off that list," sophomore women's volleyball player Karissa Cook told the paper.

Some of the courses identified on the list were "Beginning Improvising," "Social Dances of North America III" and "Interpersonal Relations."

Stanford athletes have been known to ask for the list from the Athletic Academic Resource Center, despite the "courses of interest" list not being posted on its website. Advisers in other college departments tell the paper they didn't know such a list existed.

A spokesman for the athletics department claims the classes are no pushover.

"An objective evaluation of the courses included on the list reveals several courses that most students would consider to be academically rigorous," Austin Lee, director of academic services at the Athletic Academic Resource Center, told the Stanford Daily.

Some university professors say athletes are treated differently than your average student.

"(Stanford) accommodates athletes in the manner that they accommodate students with disabilities," professor Donald Barr told the paper.

(Say that one again ???? "Students with Disabilities" ???)

The list -- which had existed since at least 2001 -- was discontinued last week after student reporters began asking questions about it.

L O F L.....

A New Golf Season....

2011-03-09T23:18:00.001-06:00

This weekend, I played my inaugural 2011 event on The Golf Channel's Amateur Tour at one of my favorite courses ever - Farmlinks. I was also lucky enough to be paired with two of my closest golfing buds, and we had a blast (we finished 2nd, 3rd, and tied for 7th in our flight). The weather was pretty dismal (for "down south weather", anyway), with temps in the mid 40's, clouds, and a steady wind - but it was great to get the competitive golfing season started.

For those of you who are new to BCC, or have not heard of The Golf Channel's Amateur Tour, its a really cool thing, and I recommend you check it out. Regardless of your skill level, it's an awesome way to enjoy some competition and play some "real golf" - something that lots of golfers (including me, before I joined) seldom if ever played. Playing completely by the Rules of Golf ("playing it down", no gimmes, no mulligans) is vastly different than how most people play...don't get me wrong, I'm not bashing the game filled with "do overs" - just saying that playing where you count every stroke and must make every putt is a lot of fun, and will really improve your game.

Anyway - with this being my 4th season to play on the "AmTour", I decided to make some changes in my approach this year. The way the tour works is that every couple of weeks there is a one day event (with 8-20 people in your flight), every couple of months there is a "Regional Major" (a two day event with 50-100 people in your flight), and then the season ending National Championship (with 150 people in your flight). Although I have done well in the local events (winning a few here and there), I have placed reasonably well in only one major, and have struggled at Nationals for 3 years - message " I don't perform well in large events"....thus, I have decided to lessen the focus on local events this year (planning to play in 6-8 of them), and play in several "Majors", in hopes that this prepares me better for Nationals.

I will be writing more this year about my experiences on the AmTour, so please check back often to see how my plan works out. Of course, no new season here at Bushwood would be complete without an edition of "What's in the Bag"...so here are the highlights:

The official ball of BCC is now the Titleist Pro v1
We have also put a new driver in the bag, a Titleist 910D2, at 9.5 degrees (review of this driver is coming soon, but initial results are promising)
TaylorMade r9 irons are back for another year, as are r9 Fairway woods and hybrids
TP Mills "Hand Forged" Trad 2 is now the putter of choice (strongly recommend checking out TP Mills gear - he was truly a visionary artist of the putting instrument, and his son David has continued his legacy..although David IS a bit of a flake)
Callaway Jaws wedges have booted out the Vokeys....can't say enough good stuff about this line of wedges. As much as I liked the Vokeys, these are the best for me...

Anyway, thanks for reading Bushwood Country Club, and please come back soon for more .... I'm hoping for a great golf season in 2011 for me and for all of BCC's readers...

Interesting Golf in October....Say it Ain't So, Joe !!!

2010-10-22T19:21:00.007-05:00

Today, as I was trying to recover from a nasty cold, I had some free time to veg in front of the tube...scrolling past the golf channel, I saw not one, but TWO fairly engaging tournaments in action. The Nationwide gang is slugging it out at Pete Dye's Valley Course at Sawgrass, while the last season PGA crew teed it up in Sin City at the Justin Timberlake/Shriners gig.

I've played Dye's Valley course 4 times this year, so it was pretty darn cool to watch the pros playing somewhere I visited as recently as 4 weeks back. These guys are currently scrambling to make it into the Nationwide's version of the FedEx Cup, with only the top 60 finishers this week making it into next week's season ending Nationwide Championship. It was good to see the crop of NW'ers who will make it onto the PGA Tour next year by virtue of finishing in the top 25. Among these are Tommy "Two Gloves" Gainey (formerly of The Golf Channel's "Big Break") and Jhonattan Vegas - both very good players and a lot of fun to watch.

JT's brought more than "Sexy Back" this year to his signature event - as a fair number of top tier players are in the field ( Rickie Fowler, Hunter Mahan, et al). It's been wet in Vegas this week, so the scores are low - be sure to check this out in between football games this weekend.

One last thing before I go - be looking for some kick azz new irons from the boys at TaylorMade golf - I've only seen photos (and have not read anything about them - so consider this a SCOOP !). More info coming next week as I start digging around on this story.

Oh, as a matter of fact...It IS good to be back.

Thanks for Clearing THAT up ! (or, I always wondered what you REALLY did)

2010-05-17T01:24:00.000-05:00

Well folks, I know its been a while since I wrote anything...call it

(a) writer's block,

(b) "I've been working on my game" (which I really have), or

Thankfully today, one of golf's burning questions over the past 6 months has been answered... and no, it's not whether or not E will stay in Scandinavia land.... Today, dear readers, we have ALL learned the answer to the question "What in the hell does Rachel Uchitel DO anyway ?

Clearly, the "VIP Hostess" title is suspicious at the very best...and those texts with David Boreanz weren't all that insightful,...and her tweets about a "9/11 conspiracy" would lead one to think she is a bit of a quack. Never fear, though..she is a MODEL!That's right - a model !!!

Various media outlets are reporting today that she will be showing her girly parts soon in the pages of none other than Playboy magazine. At this point, she has agreed to show her "top and bottom"... and, yes, as a matter of fact, I am laughing out loud... I suppose she is saving the rest for the "back 9"...

2010 Masters Preview

2010-04-04T07:23:00.013-05:00

The Bushwood gang is in full effect this week in the lovely state of Georgia. We continue the tradition of our annual tradition of playing golf like Kirstie Alley at the Denny's breakfast buffet - all you can eat for as long as you can go, and then finish off the week with two days at Augusta National. Most people think that the practice round starts on Monday, but we used our enormous influence as messiahs of a new generation of golfers to get into Augusta National yesterday. Below are photos of a few golfers we saw there:

Rory McIlroy...

Camilo, Shark, and Sergio.....

That means she has PERMANENT tickets...

From the set of WAY BACK HOT TUB TIME MACHINE...

Sean O'Hair

Philly Mick and Pelz-o

Alvaro Quiros was wowing the ladies

Bubba rocks a Camo Bucket hat....while Badds looks on

Paddy is lookin for some Lucky Charms...

Camilo again....what a little dude....

Freddy and AK

El Tigre'

Mo Camo

More photos are on the way on Wednesday.....

From Webster's Dictionary..."Arrogant Prick" (see Tim Finchem)

2010-03-16T10:57:00.005-05:00

Somehow, the "Commissioners" of professional sports have come to believe that they are a relevant,driving force behind the sports over which they "commish". Perhaps it's due to the ridiculous salaries that the gluttonous leagues are able to pay them, or the fact that many of them were also-rans in their particular sport of choice, or the fact that their professional training is as a lawyer - all of which provide them with a full on prick pedigree. Whether it's golf, football,baseball,or basketball...the commissioners all seem to have an ample supply of idiocy.

This pedigree isn't gender specific, either. Witness Carolyn Bivens and her all too successful attempts to ruin the LPGA.

The latest example, sadly, comes from our beloved sport of Golf. Check out the quote from none other than our own "Tiny" Tim Finchem regarding Tiger Woods' return:

"I don't have the specific date when he's going to come back. Tiger has indicated he will give us reasonable notice," Finchem said. "We're going to have advance notice and we're going to be comfortable with the notice we have."

"We're going to have advance notice AND we're going to be comfortable with it".... RIIIIIIIGHT...

Well, I guess you can start swallowing your pride, lil' Timmy....because whether you liked it or not, whether you ahd advance notice or not, TW is coming back at Augusta, or WHENEVER HE DAMN WELL PLEASES.... Today's reports do, in fact, indicate that Tiger will return in Augusta in early April - something we all look forward to. But trust me, his return date has absolutely NOTHING to do with whether Finchem is "comfortable with it".

Pro tip to the Commish...shut your pie hole until it's something you know a little bit about, ok...nobody cares what you think, and we don't want to hear a word from you except to announce that you FOUND SOME NEW SPONSORS!

The Kitty and the Big Snake

2010-03-10T11:26:00.012-06:00

"Hmmmmmmmmm,wondering if I'd hit that"

We had to know something was wrong when Cobra announced that they were "exiting the market for Tour level equipment" - as I wrote here when that was announced, something just did not smell right. Well, today the other shoe fell. Many reports had surfaced over the last several months that Puma was trying hard to get into the equipment business...and those reports have at last come true.

Puma announced today that it had reached agreement with Acushnet (parent company of Titleist, FootJoy, and Cobra) to acquire Cobra Golf. Acushnet bought Cobra for $700 MM in 1995, and Cobra reported sales of $200 MM in 2008. Using some middle of the road multiples on the deal, it's not likely that Acushnet made any real profit (especially considering they held onto it for 15 years...)

This deal raises some interesting questions relative to the players...

Cobra has a very respectable stable of young guns (Villegas,Poulter, and JB Holmes) ...I can't imagine that Titleist is anxious to lose their connection with them, as all of them have won within the last year.
Meanwhile, Puma's "face" on the Tour (Rickie Fowler) is a die hard Titleist loyalist from a hardware perspective (Driver,Irons,Wedges,Putter,Ball, Glove, etc). I will be curious to see if they apply any pressure to switch
Finally, Puma's previous "face" on Tour, Geoff Ogilvy, has just switched from Cobra to Titleist this year...and I can't help but think there are some bruised feelings somewhere in there.
Rumor has it that the Olsen twins somehow play into an outing with the next Cobra staff player to win. Somewhere, Camilo is smiling...

Anyway, I hope the deal is good for all involved. It's great to see an international brand like Puma enter the golf equipment business, as they will surely need deep pockets to play in that arena.

Some interesting Observations from the Waste(d) Management Open

2010-03-01T01:56:00.003-06:00

I know that most of you were glued to the Olympics this weekend - according to the folks I follow on Twitter, only a moron was watching the Waste Management Open (until Sid Crosby slapped in the final goal). Well, if you weren't at least channel surfing to catch SOME of the event, you missed a few interesting things.

Congrats to Hunter Mahan on a great win...

Hunter Mahan is one of my favorite golfers, and really put the pedal to the medal (except on #17 & 18) on the back 9 to secure his 2nd win. One of my very first posts was a recap of the 2008 Ryder Cup, where Hunter really stepped up his game and established himself as a young gun to watch out for. His experience really set him apart on Sunday, and I hope he wins a few more this year. While I was perusing the "Hunter Mahan's winning clubs" post on golf.com, I noticed that Hunter plays a Ping Rapture driver...the same one as Masters champ Angel Cabrera. What's interesting about this you say...not much except that this is Ping's "SUPER game improvement" driver...with MAXIMUM forgiveness. In other words, two guys who do this for a living are playing a "Max Game Improvement" club...I'm just sayin...

Rickie Fowler....hmmmmm....well....

To be fair, I'm just gonna say that his lack of experience was as obvious as Hunter's experience was. His decision to lay up on the par 5 #15 has been roundly derided by everyone with a laptop, so I won't pile on any more. The young man has game, I think we can agree on that...but he did not close like a winner...that's for sure. Rickie is also catching a lot of flak for his clothing choices, and most of it is deserved. I get it that he is being "young and fashionable", and that those clothes are "not intended to appeal to people like me"...however, some "young and fashionable " people also think Lady Gaga looks cool...and they are just wrong. And sadly, in Rickie's case, his defenders are just wrong as well. The clothes are bad enough,but not nausea inducing, until you get to the headwear. I'm not sure who in the world has told him that the "hat over the ears look" is "working", but for the love of humanity, JUST STOP...it is flat out scary. And please, dude, CHANGE THE HAIRSTYLE ! I don't care if you grow some dreads, get it Tiger striped, bleach it white, rock an Arsenio Hall fade, or shave it off...but the "20's Flapper 'do" is frickin' KILLING me (and dozens of other people) - plus it SO makes you look like a WOMAN... As I tweeted yesterday, Katharine Hull called, and she wants her hair back...

The biggest feel good story of the weekend - a GREAT finish by Chris Couch

Most of you probably don't even know who Chris Couch is...just another journeyman PGA player. Others will remember Chris as the guy who won the 2006 Zurich Open in New Orleans by chipping in from 55 feet on the 18th hole...., but only after hitting a really crappy bunker shot and practically throwing away any chance he had to win. Unfortunately, that win did not lead to much more success for him. He was 167th on the money list in 2007, sat out 2008 with a shoulder injury, and played in part of 2009 on a major medical exemption..but made only 3 cuts, winning less than $60k. Chris was in the field this week via the major medical exemption, and by birdieing 5 of his last 10 holes, he finished in a T4, and pocketed a cool $300k. Congrats to a great guy, and someone who I hope continues to play well this year.

Tiger and the Ghost of Bud Dwyer

2010-02-19T11:19:00.006-06:00

Well folks, if you are here to read another blogger rip on Tiger and act all sanctimonious, I guess you will have to just move along now - cause that's not gonna happen here. I've had my fill of everyone from Alex Micelli (of the Golf Channel, founder of golf.com, and obvious lover of Krispy Kreme 12 packs), to Nick Faldo, to various bloggers (too many to mention) giving Tiger hell. Enough already. Yes, he cheated. Yes, they were by and large skanks. I could go on...but that's the point...we have all heard enough of this crap.

I watched his press conference today (boycotted by the same media who will be kissing his a$ within the next 90 days)...yes, it was scripted, yes, it was awkward, and no, there is no way to know how sincere he really was. For the people who were SO incensed that they could not ask him questions - wake TFU...you weren't gonna ask him his views on World Peace, Universal Healthcare, or the Haiti earthquake, now were you ? Nah, you wanted some blood...you wanted Dirty Laundry..."keep the widow on the set, we need dirty laundry", as Don Henley once sang

For those critical of his "performance" today, I don't know what anyone really expected, I mean, was he supposed to go all Bud Dwyer on us. Nonetheless, folks will keep on flogging Tiger for sure, and every word he uttered today will be sliced,diced, and tested for DNA evidence. From my perspective, he did the something today, and if that's the best he could do, the we will just have to accept that and move on. Let's get back to Golf, fer Chrissakes... Now, about the blue dress from the Gap

That Boy has some GAME....

2010-02-16T22:35:00.000-06:00

If ~~GLOBAL WARMING~~ Climate Change (and the blizzard of 2010) has forced you to run your generator just to catch a few holes of the the West Coast Swing (sounds like a soft core porn convention to me), you have probably made a few observations from the events thus far. Among those you may have noticed:

Titleist has been dominating the events, with the winners of all except one event playing Titleist Irons and Balls.
Rickie Fowler is either colorblind, is being paid an obscene amount by Puma to wear those outfits, has absolutely the worst taste in golf fashion on the planet, or all of the above.
Even when he is not playing, a certain someone STILL dominates the news.
Dustin Johnson is a sure fire bad a$$ n.

I've already written about #1 and #2, and if you want to learn all about #3 you can go here, but here are few facts about the guy known as "DJ"....

Currently #1 in FedEx points (and already within shouting distance of his 2009 total)
2nd on the $ List
2nd in Driving Distance
2nd in Top 10 finishes thus far
4th in Top 25 Finishes
8th in Scoring Average
Ranked #25 in the (bogus) World Golf Rankings

I've watched Dustin play quite a bit last year and thus far in 2010, and I can assure you he has some game. He isn't flashy, doesn't talk a lot, and doesn't court attention - he just knocks the living crap of of the golf ball. With all the attention that McIlroy,Fowler, Ishikawa, and other young guns are getting, the folks at Bushwood have their money on Dustin Johnson. As Sir Mix a Lot would say, he is "Long, Strong, and About to Get the Friction On"...

P.S. - Here's a look at "What's in the Bag" (courtesy of Golf Digest)

Tiger 3.0 - Update

2010-02-15T01:06:00.003-06:00

Last week, I wrote about the new and improved version of THE WORLD'S GREATEST GOLFER.....Tiger 3.0. In that post, I shared with you that one of the steps in the "7 step plan" was the replacement of Stevie Williams with an "upgraded" version of a Caddie...a sort of Americanized version of the Henrik Stenson approach.

As you well know, Bushwood rarely, if ever, disappoints....and this should be no exception. I've received word from "The Chemist" that Caddie interviews were conducted WHILE TW was in ~~Image Makeover Timeout Bullshit~~ Sex Rehab, and the competition was fierce. However, as we predicted, the winner is someone who is also recently "NEW and IMPROVED"

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you Tiger's new Caddie...

And she is wearing the latest in Nike's new line of "Caddie Gear"... Including Soft Spike Strappy Slut Sandals...

P.S. - If you are wondering exactly who this is....well, let's just say you should look here...

Another Lost Art...

2010-02-11T01:48:00.004-06:00

Spelling and ~~grammer~~ grammar....obviously these are a lost art in America circa 2010. I know that many bloggers and socmed "experts" are of the opinion that "spelling and grammar don't matter " in the "web 2.0" world. Still, for a traditionalist like me, its a little hard to stomach. Here is the latest example - except its not from any "web 2.0 , Gen Y, beret wearing, twittercentric self-congratulating neophyte"...

Shown below is a screen grab from the venerable Golf.com website...Poor Adam Scott..he's lost his skillz ...

Titleist is on a Small Roll...

2010-02-10T01:39:00.004-06:00

Back in the day, one of my buds had a saying.... "I'm on a small roll". To the world, that meant "I managed to get a girl to talk to me more than once in a 72 hour period without slapping my face" - however, to Jim it meant " I am having a great deal of success with something that is my primary focus in life".

Well, based on the results thus far in 2010 on the PGA Tour, the folks at Titleist are "on a small roll"... Check This Out...

Event	Winner	Irons	Ball
Northern Trust Open	Stricker	Titleist 755	Pro V1
Farmer's Insurance Open	Crane	Titleist AP2	Pro V1x
Bob Hope Classic	Haas	Titleist CB Forged	Pro V1
Sony Open	Palmer	Titleist AP2	Pro V1
SBS Classic	Ogilvy	Titleist MB	Pro V1

No question, this is a pretty impressive showing. I've previously written about Titleist, and given them some grief for losing young players soon after they join the pro ranks (Danny Lee, etc.). However, in addition to the impressive list above, they have done a kick a$$ job in the last year snagging some real young guns....ponder this list:

Rory McIlroy
Rickie (Aerosmith) Fowler
Michael Sim
Nick Watney

They also migrated Geoff Ogilvy over from sister company Cobra (can Camilo,Ian, and JB be next ??). Hat's off to Titleist for keeping the pedal to the metal and setting the standard among the Tour players. Another thought provoking factoid:

- 2010 Results - 5 Winners, All played Titleist Irons and Balls

- 2nd half of 2009: 21 Winners, 4 played Titleist Irons, 9 Played Titleist Balls

For the Math nerds among us, that means that Titleist has improved their iron's success rate by more than 500%, and have ALREADY had more different Winners in 2010 than they had in all of 2009 ( 5 vs. 3). In addition, their ball success rate has improved by more than 2X.

Just curious about a couple of things...

(1) I wonder how long it will be until a ball made by anyone ELSE wins a 2010 event ? My guess... March.

(2) Could the new grooves have anything to do with Titleist's dominance thus far ? Are their balls performing better with the new grooves ? Are their "new grooves" somehow better ?

(3) Is this the Tiger effect ? (sorry, could not ignore that....)

And you thought Bushwood never did any real research....take THAT Waggleroom !

Tiger 3.0: A 7 Step Plan

2010-02-08T05:35:00.003-06:00

Since Tiger Woods decided to undergo his "therapy" in my hometown, I have been asked repeatedly "what's Tiger's next move" ? Seeing only one way to get the REAL story on this, I reached out to an old friend (recently paroled, but who cares) who happens to be an employee of said rehab facility to get his take on the sitch. Not only was my old buddy (let's call him "the Chemist") able to shed some considerable light on this, he was shrewd enough to make some ~~secret recordings of what he heard~~ notes about what he saw. It seems that his job as the person ~~who lurked outside Tiger's suite as often as possible~~ who was responsible for making sure Tiger's suite was well stocked with fruit and bottled water allowed him ~~easy access to secretly record all their conversations~~ to closely observe Tigers progress.

Based on the ~~tapes~~ notes that the Chemist provided me, Bushwood is prepared to reveal Tiger's top secret strategy to reclaiming his rightful throne as ~~the biggest horndog alive~~ the world's greatest golfer.

Get ready for Tiger 3.0...

Move #1: Get rid of the Blue/Gray on Thursday, Red shirt on Sunday look. We are the now the BAD GUY, so we are embracing it. There are now only two wardrobe choices: (1) All Black (complete with black wraparound sunglasses), and (2) Full Camo. We are here to kick ass and take names, not sell shirts or make Tida and her dumb ass hats happy.

Move #2: Fire Stevie Williams. That's right get rid of the nasty,smelly,worn-out Aussie. Replace him with Heidi Montag. Not only is she a smokin' hot blonde with double G's, but as often as she has her "procedures" done, no one will recognize her from week to week - which means to the world, Tiger will have A DIFFERENT hot blonde carrying his bag every week. Oh, and the dress code for Heidi...let's just say we are gonna let Pamela Anderson be in charge of that...(yep, she's on the payroll too)

Move #3: Fire the wimpy sponsors (Nike,TAG,etc) - we don't need em, and we don't care what they think.

Move #4: Pack heat - That's right, not only will Tiger be carrying a "Bimbo du jour" at his side, he will be packing a .40 caliber automatic handgun on his left hip, too. Think he had a problem earlier with dudes snapping cameras in his backswing...not anymore. Think Tony Montana saying "say hello to my little friend"...

Move #5: In his first tournament back, he asks Sergio and Colin Montgomery to come over for a little chat...and then he breaks out his newly learned (from Elin !) bad a$$ ninja moves on em. He shatters Monty's right knee with one kick, crushes Sergio's honker with the palm of his hand, and then snaps BOTH of his forearms like so many pretzels (that should make Sergio's latest WAG show him how much she REALLY loves him). Tiger then walks calmly to the putting green as if nothing happened, and strokes a few in the hole.

Move #6: Gone are the fist pumps and the benign motions to the crowd...Tiger hires Chad Ochocinco (it's the offseason for the NFL, ya'll), and they team up for a bad a$$ version of the Birdie Boogie after every birdie, complete with a full on spike of the Black Noodle, and a lap around the green while carrying the flag.

Move #7: Ah, lucky #7.... Well,since he has fired Nike, he is free to play any ball he wants. He buys the rights to an existing ball currently made by MaxFli, borrows a marketing idea from an old Nike ball, adds some Cialis to the "mix", and whips out on the unsuspecting public his new trademark ....that's right, it's the

"Black Noodle - It's Long, It's Hard, It's Here to Play...

He then returns to the Tour, and proceeds to win the Accenture Match Play event without losing a SINGLE hole, accepts the trophy, and promptly smashes it over Johnny Millers melon...

Now THAT, my golfing friends, is how Tiger just BLOWS UP on ya!!!

Ummmmm, I Forgotted

2010-02-04T06:58:00.002-06:00

If you pay much attention to the LPGA, or even golf in general, you've probably read that Michelle Wie has an interview coming out in the March issue of Golf magazine (you can read it here at Golf.com). The byline of the article proclaims that she has "bounced back" and that "her future is brighter than ever" (it also has some kind of soft porn-ish shot of her lounging in a hammock ...)

In the course of the interview, in which the interviewer ~~totally kisses her a$$~~ asks some really tough and probing questions, the topic of Wie's struggles in 2007 come up. In what we have come to recognize as typical "Wie-nial" fashion, she is unable to face the music and accept accountability for her,um, actions. However, apparently "Michelle 2.0" is now in tha' house, and her manner of addressing topics such as this is to say..... " I DON'T REMEMBER!".... I know this sounds completely unbelievable..so I have excerpted the most memorable sections for you below (interviewer's questions are in bold)....hang on kiddies, here we go

What was the lowest low point?

I don't remember.

What do you mean?

I don't remember a lot from that time [nervous laugh]. I think I've blocked it out.

You mean you don't dwell on it, or you literally don't remember?

I literally do not remember a lot of things from that time.

You mean entire tournaments?

Just in general. I don't remember a lot of things.

Because it was so traumatic?

Yeah, it was a lot more traumatic for me than people think.

Why? When was it most traumatic?

I can't remember. I literally can't. I don't remember. It all blurs together. The year [2007] feels like it was a really short time.

You said something at a press conference at the 2007 U.S. Women's Open that was very revealing. Do you remember that tournament?

Not really.

It was at Pine Needles [in North Carolina].

I don't remember where it was played.

At a press conference before the first round, you were asked if playing with an injured wrist was a smart move. You said, "Come on, this is the U.S. freaking Open." You shot 82 and ended up withdrawing. But the fact that you played showed heart.

Oh yeah, I do remember that. I was determined not to miss the U.S. Open for anything. Now that I look at that, it doesn't make sense, because there are gonna be so many more U.S. Opens. But at that time, everything felt so important, and I did not want to miss any of it. It was the U.S. freaking Open.

That May, you withdrew from the Ginn Tribute under controversial circumstances. Annika Sorenstam, the event's host, said you showed a "lack of respect and class." Have you ever spoken with her about it?

No.

Did you ever feel a need to?

I actually don't remember. What happened?

You were in danger of posting an 88 in the first round, which would have made you ineligible to play LPGA events for the rest of the year. You withdrew after 16 holes, citing your wrist injury. Two days later, you were seen hitting balls. Critics wondered if you used your wrist as an excuse so that you wouldn't have to submit a score.

I have no comment about that because I really don't remember.

None of it?

I kinda do, but I don't want to say anything false. I don't need to rehash that. I don't want to say anything false because I don't remember.

To be clear, you haven't spoken with Annika since then?

I don't think so, no. I think we're over it. We're past that.

In case you were not counting, she said "I don't remember ELEVEN TIMES!!!!

To make this even more hilarious, her supporters have pointed out how brilliant she is "because not just anyone can get into Stanford"... Well, I guess since she cant seem to remember anything as recently as two years ago, she is either gonna have to repeat a lot of classes, or maybe just admit that she is not NEARLY as smart as advertised. Maybe B.J. and Bo have to helicopter her because she FORGETS where the car is parked.

I know golf is struggling a little bit right now, and especially the LPGA - So I don't mean to try to blunt any momentum it has created - but this is just wrong. Is it too much for Michelle Wie to accept responsibility for her successes AND failures ?

Maybe this isn't all her fault though..maybe it's a genrational thing, and nobody is accountable for anything... Hope and Change, baby....that's what I'm caellin' it...

So, How Many 2009 Wishes Came True ?

2009-12-31T18:23:00.020-06:00

Last year, exactly 365 days ago, I wrote a post which contained my "2009 Wishes for Golf". I could think of no more appropriate way to close out the year than to look back on a select few of these wishes and see how many came true..so without further adieu, I will turn this over to Bushwood's Magic Genie - aka "G-Money" (his replies follow in quotes):

(1) For the LPGA, I wished:

Great performances by marquee players - " Sorry, maybe next time"
Stability among the sponsors - - "No prob, among those who hung around" - Fail..
A replacement for Carolyn Bivens - " SCORE !!! Wish granted..."

(2) For the PGA

Sponsor stability - "Sorry, it's the economy stupid - and we gotta use the TARP funds to pay them bankers their bonuses".
A quick recovery for Tiger - "Well he recovered all right...but a funny thing happened on the way out of the driveway"...
Early wins for some of the players we wish were BCC members (Boo, AK,DLIII,Bubba,JB, IP,Shark, Rocco): "Complete strikeout"
Solid performance at a major by Kenny Perry - "Almost,kimosabe...almost - #18 at August was just too cruel to KP"

(3) For Sergio, some humility and class: "How about a really crappy season and an injured claw at the very end ? Karma is a bitch, el nino...so get some manners or u will have a worse 2010"..

(4) For Michelle Wie, a focus on the LPGA, some solid results, and some space from the 'rents: "Well, you played better,won your first event, and did not seem to make references to the PGA tour - so thats a SCORE. It looked like you were getting some distance from the helicopter duo,but the moment you won,BJ practically ripped the trophy from your hands and did a lap around the 18th green. Two words of advice - patricide now"

(5) For the “twentysomething golf blogger” – a return trip to TGC Amateur Nationals- hope to see you there. "Wish granted - although we both played better, there's still room to get better"

(6)For Amber Prange : Early success in the Spring events - "Not so much early success came your way,but you played in an LPGA event AND got full playing privlieges on the Duramed Futures tour in 2010 - so I'd call that SCORE".

All in all, we should not be surprised or complain....because just like in golf, sometimes we got the break and our wish was granted, and other times we "lipped out". We have lots to be thankful for, and lots to look forward to in 2010. Happy New Year to all of the BCC members and readers !

Am I in love ? Ask my Taylor Made r9 Driver and 3 wood....

2009-12-20T10:47:00.014-06:00

Earlier this year, I switched to Taylor Made's (revolutionary at the time) r9 driver. I wrote my initial evaluation of it in June (you can read it here), in which I was quite impressed. This post will focus on my "extended use" review of the r9 driver, as well as the r9 3 wood, which I put in my bag mid-summer. Since the initial post provided all of sorts of technical stuff, I'm not going to rehash all of that (you're welcome....). Rather, I will provide you my full impressions after playing the club for (most of)a full season - hopefully, for those of you who are looking for a new driver or 3 wood this Christmas (yep, I still call it Christmas...feel free to use your own terminology,tho) this info will prove helpful to you or to Santa.

The specs on the clubs are as follow:

r9 driver, 9.5 degrees of loft, stiff shaft (stock TM Motore)
r9 3 wood, 15 degrees of loft, stiff shaft (stock TM Motore)
both are set with the weights "neutral", and the faces one degree open

Since my initial review, I've played over 40 rounds of golf with the clubs - much of it in a competitive situation (The Golf Channel Amateur Tour, primarily). I think this is relevant because one learns quite quickly in these situations that control of your driver and 3 wood is at least as important as distance. Having set the stage, following are my observations on the two clubs:

r9 Driver

The r9 driver is the longest driver I've played to date, and as a long time TM driver user, this is a good sign for prospective buyers.
The adjustable face technology really DOES work. As I have improved my skills on the course, and worked hard to learn a correct weight transfer, I had fixed any tendency to hit a tee ball to the right side (aka a slice). However, in the process I had overcompensated to the degree that my "misses" were now left - and those misses tended to lead to big numbers on the card. My efforts to use the movable weights (a hallmark of the r7 series) were fairly effective - however, the adjustable face angle REALLY nailed this issue. By setting the face 1 degree open (effectively de-lofting the club), I found that I was able to really go after the ball, swing as aggressively as I wanted, and rarely have to worry about snapping it left. On the days I was really in a groove, I could tell because my drives were long, with a boring trajectory, and a slight fade at the end. The point here is simply that between the movable weights and an adjustable face, anyone with a "consistent problem" can improve their ball flight.
Since I settled on a "neutral weight,1 degree open setting", I have not made subsequent adjustments. While frequent adjustments are easy and straightforward, I was happy with my settings and never saw fit to change them. The tool that's included is easy to use.
I'm a mid handicapper (fluctuating between 8 and 12 throughout the year) - and I found the r9 to be plenty forgiving. It's not what I would consider a "players club" in the sense that you must hit it exactly on the sweet spot to get good results. I did notice (after reading a great review on another blog) that shots hot in the center of the clubface flew the "expected" distance, but a shot hit above center ( a little high on the face) REALLY took off. Once I figured this out, I gained at least 15 yards on my tee shots. That being said, the club retains some workability if you need it - when I was hitting the ball well, I could draw or fade it on command....but on the days I wasn't striping it, I could just as easily play for the center of the fairway and generally hit it straight.
The face and head still look good after much use - no unusual wear or premature fatigue. The sound is pleasant (no "aluminum baseball bat" like ping, or dull, muted "thud") - and this has been consistent since my first shot with the r9. If sound is important to you, this won't disappoint.
As much as I liked the Matrix Ozik shaft in the r7 Classic, I've been very pleased with the Fujikura Motore that comes standard in the r9. It's lively, consistent, and looks good with the red and white paint. The only complaint I have with this shaft is that it tends to scratch easily. Hopefully,no long term damage here - but it's worth noting.
Overall impression of the r9 driver after a full season is a resounding "thumbs up with a snap" (that's for all of you In Living Color fans out there)... I highly recommend this driver.

r9 3 Wood

The 3 wood has been the most frequently changed club in my bag (except for putters) over the past 10 years. Unlike my driver, I've played many different brands - Callaway,Ping,TaylorMade, Titleist, Sonartec ('memba them ?), and Orlimar. Prior to getting the r9, I was playing the TM Burner, and was pretty happy with it. However, my fondness for the r9 driver, and my propensity to experiment with 3 woods, led me to decide to give the r9 3 wood a shot. Oddly, when I got the club to the range for the first time, the face was already set at 1 degree open...a strange coincidence for certain. Here are my observations on the r9 3 wood:

Initially the larger head was visually distracting - and I struggled to hit this club solidly off the deck. Accepting this as a temporary issue, I decided to hit some off the tee. After hitting 10 shots off the tee, WOW... a very similar experience as with the driver. Long, predictable, and right where I was aiming. I went back to hitting balls off the deck, and had some improvement - but still could see I needed to work on this.
Taking the r9 3 wood to the course, I decided to use it on all par 4s that were less than 400 yards. My great results from the range carried over to the course - my tee shots were long, accurate, and I was able to go after the ball aggressively without worrying about hooking - thanks to the 1 degree open face. I was hooked...
Throughout the remainder of the season, my shotmaking abilities with the r9 3 wood continued to improve. In tournaments, this became a real "go to" club when hitting the fairway was a must. I also found the distance with this club to be incredible. In some of the late season events, I was sometimes hitting this club 240 yards plus off the tee. No question, its long...
I was also able to overcome the early problems hitting the r9 3 wood off the fairway - practice and a focus on tempo seemed to cure this - so it was obviously user error!
The face and head had held up well, and remain in great shape.
The issues with shaft scratching that I described above also presented themself with the 3 wood - not really sure of the cause here, as I'm pretty careful with my sticks. At any rate, its something that we hope TM pays attention to and addresses.
My overall rating on the r9 3 wood is a big thumbs up. If you are in the market for a 3 wood, I highly recommend you give this one a try - I feel sure it will be among the finalists for the VP slot in your bag for 2010 !

As I've lamented before, there is no telling what the Golf gurus at Taylor Made are cooking up for 2010 - but for right now, the r9 driver and 3 wood had a secure spot in the bag at Bushwood. I've paid careful attention to the TM staff players, and practically all of them have switched to the r9 - so even the pros seem to agree with me here.

If any of our readers are r9 users, I'd love to hear your thoughts on them !

We are sitting this one out like a Frenchie...

2009-12-06T09:06:00.019-06:00

If you have a pulse, or care at all about the pulse of the game of golf, you have been inundated with stories over the past 10 days about Tiger Woods...did he or didn't he (I think we can figure that one out), how many will come forward (more than there really were,imho), how many "transgressional couplings" were there (who really cares,other than the a certain twisted slice of the pie of humanity), how long has it been going on (who gives a rodent's a$$), I could go on ad nauseum...but that's the point of this post. Like China and France in the war on terrorism, we here at Bushwood are gonna watch this one from the sidelines - hell, maybe we will just head up to the beer garden and drain a few pints till this exhausts itself.

That's right - we won't be "facebooking" Rachel Uchitel, or featuring any photos of a certain Las Vegas cocktail waitress (who in the hell saves a voicemail,anyway), or trying to figure out if Tiger likes to have "Ambien sex", or even speculating on the lie and loft of the club Elin used to "rescue" Tiger from the renegade Escalade. My attitude toward this whole sordid mess may put me at odds with some of my blogging crew (including most of the fantasy football league where I am currently in last place). Please cut me some rope here - I don't mean to sound self righteous or sanctimonious, It just isn't my way to write a (series of) post (s) ripping into his private life.

I'm in no way condoning or endorsing his,um, "transgressions"..., and I am sure as hell not going to defend them. Please don't confuse me with the masses of people who worship TW - I don't. I cheer for the field every week,not Tiger. I wish he did not curse so much on the golf course, because that really does suck. I wish his caddie were not the PGA version of a gangland enforcer. I wish he would show some genuine emotion,other than white hot anger when he hits the rare bad shot. I wish he were less of a "lone ranger", and more "one of the guys". You see, there's plenty of things about Tiger that are not so admirable...in other words, in spite of his amazing golf talents, his megawatt smile, his polished responses to the press probings (until now), he is mere mortal, just like you and I dear reader. His latest round of mistakes are nothing that should shock us as much as we all seem to be shocked (hell, if he were a Hollywood star,this would only burnish his rep...if he were a Hilton or a Kardashian, he would get ANOTHER reality show) - he's not the first person to do what he did, and he won't be the last.

The only conclusion that I can draw (and I submit for your consideration), is that Tiger really IS a just another guy (albeit a more talented golfer than most), and he screws up just like everyone does from time to time.... and while this is certainly a big (think goal line fumble at the Super Bowl) screw up, I believe he is entitled to some privacy and some forgiveness...and that's just what he's gonna get from Bushwood. Merry Christmas,Tiger....hang in there. While I won't cheer for you next year at Augusta, I won't be wearing a "Rachel" mask ala New York Yankee fans showing their love for Arod either...

While this is supposed to be the season for "giving", I'd also like to think it is the season for "for-giving"..

p.s. - If you want to send me something for Christmas, I'd love one of those cool new French Army Knives pictured above ;-)

Screw 2012, The Apocalypse is TODAY ! (yes,this means Michelle won something...)

2009-11-15T16:58:00.004-06:00

That's right folks - you heard me.....MICHELLE WIE WON A GOLF TOURNAMENT !!!! She fired a closing round 3 under par 69 to take a two stroke win over (winless in 2009) Paula Creamer at the Lorena Ochoa Invitational.

I've been a sharp critic of Wie in the past for one simple reason - she had never won a tournament, and always made lame excuses for losing them. Well, check out the scorecard above - not only did she win, she closed like a champ by birdieing the last hole with a one shot lead. Wie has been a much better player this year - as I pointed out in an earlier post...she has focused on the LPGA and seemingly found some friends on tour during the Solheim Cup this year.

Bushwood congratulates Michelle Wie on her maiden victory AND on signs of what appear to be some newfound maturity. Let's all hope that this will help the LPGA right the ship, and have a great 2010. Oh, and one other thing....a request for Michelle...

PLEASE do not PISS OFF EVERYONE ON THE LPGA TOUR BY UTTERING THE LETTERS "PGA" IN SEQUENCE. You are like Moby at a hip hop show....you just don't belong there...

This Cannot Be Good News....

2009-11-10T20:13:00.010-06:00

Over the past several years, we have seen a number of interesting trends in golf - some worthy of a little ink (e.g. major winners other than Tiger, adjustable face drivers), and some completely uninteresting (e.g. Phil's attempts at fashion forwardness, the media's patience (and continued obsession with) Michelle Wie) .
One of the curious ones has been the "youth movement" put forward by Cobra Golf. Not only have they assembled a worldwide posse of kick ass players (Good Ol Boys, Latinos, Aussies, and my favorite Brit), but they have also really pushed the envelope in a number areas (the "Power Game", fashion forwardness, etc.). With a stable that includes major winner Geoff Ogilvy, heartthrob Camilo Villegas, ~~adult film star John~~ Ryder Cup stud J.B. Holmes, and the stylish and steely eyed Ian Poulter, Cobra seemed to really have a feel for a certain "type" of player to have sporting it's logo and weilding it's sticks on the big stage. Not so fast though...
The news broke rather innocuously today "Ogilvie switching to Titleist"...no big deal, since he is staying within the Acushnet family, right ? Buried within the 3 paragraph story,however, was the news that "Acushnet is moving away from a Cobra presence on Tour".... Say what ? With a quartet of young,talented, camera friendly staffers like that ? I'm sure the folks in marketing can explain that one to us....but I know a zillion teenage girls just won't feel the same seeing Camilo in the Castro hat emblazoned with Titleist on the front...

We Found the Missing Link....

2009-10-29T16:24:00.005-05:00

Well, sort of....several years back Rick Reilly (love him or hate him..) wrote a pretty cool piece of fiction about our favorit sport called "Missing Links". Now the story has broken that Missing LInks will be made into a feature film. For those of you who have not read the book, I highly recommend it - you can snag a copy right here.

It's a great story about a group of people who (what else) play golf and hang out at a local muni that's under seige by the neighboring high brow Country Club. It's got laughs, sex (yowza!!!), and even a few moments to tug your emotions. If that's not enough, it's rumored that Steve Carrell of "The Office" fame will take the starring role. I'm more of a fan of Ricky Gervais than Steve Carrell, but I'm sure the flick will be well worth the effort - so be sure to check it out

OK, So I know it's been a while, But Michael F*$#@+@ Jordan ???

2009-10-19T15:53:00.005-05:00

Ok, I admit it...it's been a ~~fu*&^$% long time~~ little while since you've heard anything from here at Bushwood. I could go on and on about how busy I have been, how the new ~~tree fort~~ Clubhouse has taken up all of my time, or how I've found other passions....but nobody gives a sh&t about that anyway..so let's move onto something ~~interesting~~ mind boggling.

Somehow, in the short time I have been ~~incarcerated~~ away, Michael Jordan has morphed from a stogie chompin', gambling addicted, philandering, 7 handicap (cough,cough) hacker into a "Golf Mentor", one able to offer motivational advice and golfing tips to none other than the World's Greatest Golfers ! Yep, thats right folks - none other than MJ has "elevated his game" right off the hardball courts onto the links - with seemingly no loss of stature. I have no idea WTF Freddie Couples was thinking, or what MJ actually DID for the team (other than maybe dispense some "Hot Slots" tips), but watching him on TV at the President's Cup totally was a barf inducing event for me. Top that off with some typically insightful commentary about his presence from Kelli Tilghman- ~~Bacon~~ and you have pure Golf Nirvana.

What the hell is next ? And when do we have the inevitable crossover - you know, like Camillo Villegas as a ball boy at the Wimbledon Ladies Finals ? Or Anthony Kim as as the "Official Mixologist" at the Kentucky Derby ?

What the USA's Solheim Cup Victory Should REALLY mean...

2009-08-24T05:35:00.005-05:00

Wow - what a great victory for team USA this weekend in the Solheim Cup ! We saw great performances for both the Yanks and the Euros, and tons of support from the fans. And while most of the media thus far (less than 24 hours later) has been heaped upon a couple of topics, I see a number of noteworthy topics for you to consider.

- The 2009 Solheim Cup could not have come at a better time for the LPGA: With the LPGA sorely in need of some good,upbeat news, the Cup provided that in bushels. Whether it was the great individual stories (of which there are many), the heartwarming shows of teamwork, or the great individual competition, the LPGA was the REAL winner this weekend.

- Christina Kim is worth paying attention to: Christina Kim proved (again) to be the spark plug that the US sorely needed. Not only did she play well, she also was the catalyst of the REAL Spirit on the team. Although some people seemed to have whined about her behavior, me thinks they were the same folks who felt that Boo Weekly was out of line at last year's Ryder Cup. As someone who witnessed Boo first hand last year, I can rightfully tell those who dissed him, and anyone who bitched about CK's behavior to bugger off - we've had enough of the "stick up the arse" attitudes in golf. We are here to have fun, so get the feck used to it ! Hat's off to Christina for sparking up the crew, and to the crew for stepping up. (For the record, the dance she and Michelle Wie did after their match was fecking PRICELESS...)

- A great Solheim send off for Juli Inkster: Juli is a class act all the way, and nothing could have provided her a better SC send off (as a player anyway) than this. She played solidly all week, especially when she gutted out a halve in her last match. Look for her in 2011 as our Captain...she's ready and the players will unite behind her like no one else.

- A Real Breakthrough for Michelle Wie (Maybe,Possibly,Hopefully...): Already, the media hordes have descended upon her performance at Sugar Grove with the appetite of the biblical swarm of locusts - citing this as her asserting her coming dominance on the tour. Readers of Bushwood know that while I respect Michelle's raw talent, she still has a lot to prove. Her performance at the Cup this weekend was very strong - make no mistake about that. However, her difficulties with making putts down the stretch remained evident - and she must fix that before she will win on any tour. I'm going to make a prediction here - if Michelle Wie remains focused on the LPGA, ceases to ever speak again about competing with the men on the PGA tour, and respects the fact that she is STILL unproven; the she will have great success (both individually and as a future SC player) and the support she enjoyed from the crowd and her fellow players this week will continue. However, if she starts talking about the PGA again (or making other less than believable comments), she will lose the camaraderie she seemed to relish so much this week faster than Usain Bolt can steal your lunch. She desperately needs to understand that her teammates (and fans like me) are waiting for her to embrace the LPGA and respect them - rather than sending them the message "thanks - I like you a lot...until I get a better offer". Michelle, if you are listening, take this advice: (1) Forget about the PGA - it will only hurt the image that you are close to reparing, and this time, there won't be any forgiveness; (2) Keep Mom and Dad at arms length - you are a grown woman now, and are ready to make your own decisions, (3) Watch the replays from this week, and look at your face - you were HAPPY, your Teammates LIKED YOU, and your played well. Understand the value in that and focus on recapturing it - if you can do that, you will find that your detractors will fall by the wayside and your REAL fanbase (not those akin to fans of bearded lady freak shows at the circus) will grow.

Sugar Grove is one tough track - and these Chicks can PLAY: If I've heard one scratch (male) golfer say he could compete with the ladies of the LPGA,I've heard fifty. One look at the track they played this weekend should put those comments to rest - granted it was not 7,500 yards, but the pins were tough, the rough high, and not many places to safely bail out. ...and they were flat out hitting some great shots. Enough said..

Bigger is Better, Longer is Stronger - Right ?

2009-08-21T06:31:00.000-05:00

OK, I confess - I'm going with the attention grabbing headline today....what the hell, it's been a long week and I have earned it.
Everywhere you look in our culture, we are obsessed with a size...whether it's in promoting tourism (Everything is Bigger in Texas), male "vitamins" like Extense (Having a larger penis* and enjoying a more fulfilling sex life is possible and attainable !), or the vehicles we drive ("Our SUV has 4000 Square Feet more cargo space then the nearest competitor") - Bigger is Better and Longer is Stronger.

And our dearly beloved game of golf is not immune from the siren song of "if you are not long,then you are flat out wrong". This year's new drivers are longer, the new model of irons ("The Set is DEAD) are advertised as being longer, and EVERYONE's balls are touted as being longer ("Nice Ball, Phil"). One could certainly argue that on the golf course we are even MORE obsessed with size and length than in other facets of our life. Lest you call me a sham, and accuse me of thinking I am immune from this, I confess...I am not! Look no further than my last post, where I wrote about a training tool (The Orange Whip) which has added (much needed) distance to my driver and my irons...so PLEASE color me guilty....
After pondering this in the pre-dawn hours today (She Who Must Be Obeyed was at her Friday session of "Booty Camp", and I was up early), I decided to conduct an experiment to see if we have all been bamboozled...if, in fact ,"Long is Wrong & Big is Bad". I decided that my next round, I would conduct a scientific analysis of golf, using the following simple rules:

All tee shots (Par 4's and 5's) will be hit with no more than a 3 wood.
All par 5's willl be played as lay ups.
All iron shots will be struck with one more club than normal, with perceived effort adjusted accordingly

Upon completion, I will compare the following statistics to my "normal" averages:

Total Strokes
Fairways Hit
GIR
# Putts

I will be posting the results of this experiment here next week, so stay tuned. Until then, I am curious to know if any of you have ever conducted a similar experiment, and what your results were. IN the meantime, keep your head down and your eyes on the ~~BIG BOOBS~~ ball....

Hey Bartender, Gimme an Orange Whip....

2009-08-18T04:33:00.005-05:00

No it's not a cocktail...or a "cover band" from Ohio....Instead it's a unique new golf training aid that I have been using for the last couple of months. It's really called an "Orange Whip", and was invented by Jim Hackenberg, a PGA pro.. It's popular on the PGA tour too - currently used by Vijay, Justin Rose, Pat Perez, Scott McCarron, Matt Kuchar, and many others. (see below for info on how you can win an Orange Whip Trainer courtesy of Bushwood CC and the fine folks who make the Orange Whip)

According to Jim, " The Orange Whip is the ultimate golf swing trainer and fitness tool for today's golfer and athlete. It is versatile, dynamic and the most effective swing aid on the market. Consistent use of the Orange Whip will improve your golf swing and provide an essential core-muscle workout. The elegant design combines a counter-weighting system and flexible shaft that work together to promote the natural golf swing motion unique to each individual. The Orange Whip will help you find your ideal swing plane, create "tour pro" lag, achieve perfect sequence of motion, and promote balance that's supported from the ground up. Your strength, flexibility, and swing speed will increase, and your shot-making will become more accurate and consistent."
Now that you have heard the marketing pitch, and seen the "street cred" offered by the PGA players, I'm going to offer you Bushwood's take on the Orange Whip. I came across this device at my local golf emporium - the proprietor watched me take a couple of swings with my 6 iron, and suggested I give the Orange Whip a try. He handed it to me with a set of three simple instructions:

Take a golf grip, and swing so as to move the orange ball (located at the business end of the trainer) as slowly as possible.
Keep your belt buckle in front of the white ball (located at the base of the handle)
Keep said white ball ahead of the orange ball throughout the swing.

Pretty simple,huh ? Well, I took about ten swings with the whip, until I had perfected the three components above. Then I took my 6 iron, stepped up to the launch monitor/video setup and took a few swings. The difference was staggering - instead of my old jalopy of a swing - I was now on plane with good tempo and a swing which my lower body lead my upper body into. Needless to say, I bought the Orange Whip (retail is $109, I think...). I've been using this training tool regularly since then, and the changes in my golf swing are nothing short of amazing. Here are just a couple of the more obvious developments which I attribute solely to the Orange Whip:

20-25 yards longer off the tee (no shizz here,folks -I mean it)
An extra club to club-and-a-half on all of my irons - for example,I've picked up 20 yards on my PW (I've gone from hitting a club more than my longer hitting buddies to hitting a club less than them most of the time).
My swing actually now looks like something you would recognize as a golf swing, rather than a ~~meth head~~ really nervous person trying to kill a rattlesnake with a 9 iron.
After watching a million hours of golf on TV, and listening to the announcers talk about "LAG" in the same glowing terms as one would describe Scarlett Johanssen's, um, torso, I finally understand what "lag" is and can create it in my swing.

Seriously, the Orange Whip is an amazing tool - simple to use and understand and one which will cure a myriad of ills for most hackers like me. Thanks to the folks at Orange Whip for creating a really great training aid.

Oh, and to show you how cool they are at Orange Whip, Jim has agreed to give away one of their amazing devices to a lucky reader of Bushwood. To enter the contest, just drop us an email at bushwoodcountryclub@gmail.com with your name,address, and a couple of sentences about why YOU should be the winner of an Orange Whip !

Yang Becomes the First (fill in the blank) to Win a Major

2009-08-17T06:13:00.002-05:00

Unless you have been dead for the last couple of days (or longer), you are aware that Y.E. ~~Yank~~ Yang has set the golf world on it's ear by pulling off a stunning upset of Eldrick the King. Everyone, it seems is TOTALLY amazed that a self taught dude from South Korea won a major tournament. No matter where you look,be it the blogosphere, the traditional print world, on the tube, or every damn golf website you can find - Y.E. (what the hell - is he embarrassed of his name ? I mean, is his real name something like Yevoniquis Elbert or something???) Yang is being hailed as the newfound conqueror - the FIRST ASIAN GOLFER TO WIN A MAJOR !

As usual, however, the whole freaking media empire has missed what is TRULY unique and groundbreaking about Mr. Yang's win (somewhere, Rodney Dangerfield is laughing his a$$ off). What you ask, oh wise one is the REAL story ? Is it that he:

Started playing golf in his twenties and is self taught ?
That he carries a 3 and 4 hybrid, and his iron set starts at a 5 iron ?
That he plays conventional cavity backs like the rest of us ?
That he honorably served his country BEFORE he pursued fame and fortune ?

Although those are all good guesses, and may or not be correct...here is the real deal.... the breaking news that ONLY Bushwood is reporting on.... Yang is the first "Taylor Made Visor Wearing Major Championship Winner".

Additionally, he joins Freddie, Vijay, and Ben Curtis as the Major winners bold enough to "rock the visor", as we say here at BCC.

Bushwood Congratulates Yevoniquis Elbert (Y.E.)Yang on his groundbreaking win at the PGA Championship Hazeltine !!!

Bushwood Celebrates a Birthday (and learns the shocking truth about Mom and Dad)

2009-08-17T01:40:00.001-05:00

That's right, Bushwood Country Club celebrated it's first birthday this weekend. In keeping with the tradition of so many big companies who are losing their a$$ in the marketplace , we said "What the hell, screw the shareholders, we need a 'Management Retreat' "- so took the Bushwoood Management Team on a boondoggle to Memphis,TN.

More to come on that adventure later - but in short, we played a bunch of golf, saw Elvis, harrassed people we did not know (my apologies to the funny looking lady in the cowboy hat), danced in the street (thanks to Richard Johnston), and generally wasted the shareholders money in a fashion that would have made the captains of industry proud.

Anyway - Happy Birthday to us - we celebrated without you....

P.S. - That's my sister in the photo above on her 4th Birthday - I was 17 at the time, and was responsible for getting the cake. HaHaHa....

Dude Looks Like a Lady... or Separated at Birth - You Decide

2009-08-05T10:03:00.011-05:00

Rickie Fowler - DUDE .......................................Katherine Hull - LADY

This weekend, while watching current Oklahoma State golfer Rickie Fowler playing in the Nationwide Tour's Children's Hospital Invitational, I was immediately struck by two things:

(1) Fowler is one hell of a talent, who will very soon be a force to be reckoned with - first on the Nationwide Tour, but soon enough on the PGA Tour. He has the tools, the shotmaking ability, and the moxie to get it done on Sunday (even if he did lose the playoff)

(2) The dude's hair totally freaks me out - the androgynous sideburn hair thingys he is rocking make him look almost exactly like LPGA player Katherine Hull (shown above).

So, I leave it up to you loyal reader:

Is he the modern day incarnation on Aerosmith's "Dude Looks Like a Lady", or were he and Ms. Hull merely "Separated at Birth" ?

Captain Daniel - A Wise Sage, or Drinker of the Kool-Aid - Wie Shall See...

2009-08-04T01:20:00.000-05:00

On Sunday, Beth Daniel, Captain of the 2009 U.S. Solheim Cup team announced her team to the world. In addition to the players who qualified straight up, based on their performance over the last two seasons, she also was afforded two "Captain's Picks". Her first pick was probably no surprise - she selected Juli Inkster, who was ranked 16th on the list of qualifiers.

Her second pick,however, was one that was bound to raise some eyebrows and get the media revved up hotter than Ryan O'Neal breathing down his daughter's neck at a funeral. That's right, Beth took the big plunge and selected the heretofore underachieving Michelle Wie. For those of you who have read a couple of my posts, you recall that I am very pointed in my assessments of Michelle Wie - some may call me a "hater",but that's far from the truth. I am nothing more (or less) than a realist - I asses her on how she performs on the golf course, AND the remarks she makes before and after her performances.

Some folks are suggesting that Wie's selection to the Solheim Cup team was forced upon Daniel - that the recent difficulties of the ladies tour only highlight the need for the Captain to do something "marketable and newsworthy". Still others suggest that she was pressured to select Wie by sports behemoth (and Wie sponsor) Nike. Meanwhile, Wie supporters counter that Michelle was handicapped by having the results for automatic selection be based upon two years of results - and her results only reflect one year of preformances on the tour.

Bushwood's stance on Michelle Wie's selection, after considering all of the factors, is that Beth Daniel made a good choice. Wie has performed reasonably well in the events she has played in this year, and obviously wanted to be selected to play for the U.S. in the Solheim Cup. We congratulate Michelle on her selection to the team.

Now the real question - How will she hold up under the enormous pressure that is sure to follow ? Only time will tell for sure...

Stewart Cink Floats to the Top of the Jug

2009-07-19T13:44:00.007-05:00

Stewart Cink, who has largely been left out of most of the "best players to never win a major" discussions got it done today at Turnberry. As much as some may think that he was handed the claret jug by a fading Tom Watson - my take is a little different.

When Cink drained his putt on #18 during regulation,I had a funny feeling. I turned to she who gets her way, and said "There's your winner - I have a funny feeling that he just did something that will result in him winning his first major". She looked at me like I was crazy, and began to debate me vigorously ....ok, actually she just continued her "golf nap" while I prattled on....but I am pretty sure that my dogs got what I was saying. As I watched Watson miss the par putt on #18 which would have won it for him, I was certain that Cink would close the deal in the playoff.

Hats off (and a little sunscreen for the noggin') to Stewart Cink - he played well and was at his best when it counted the most. He is a kind and deserving winner, and was a gentleman all week long - something ALL golfers can be proud of.

Us Southern boys gotta stick together,ya know...

Calling All Golf Equipment Companies - Can we show the LPGA a Little Love ?

2009-07-14T02:30:00.000-05:00

As I was watching the US Women's Open last week, I was reminded of something that I have been very curious about for a while. I watched many of the players, and even looked back at some video of earlier events, and the evidence was staring me in the face like a hungry wolf....and I could no longer ignore it.

Equpiment manufacturers practically IGNORE LPGA players from a "staff player" perspective. Rather than try to argue my point however, I will let the facts speak for themself. I put together this chart which shows the major equipment companies (TM,Titleist,Ping,Callaway,etc) and a list of their LPGA STAFF players (players who are sponsored by the equipment companies). Don't confuse this list with one which shows which players USE which company's gear - this shows who actually has LPGA players as sponsored "Staff" players. Check it out (no, I don't expect to make any friends with this list by the way...)

Equipment Company	Staff Players
Titleist / Cobra	None
TaylorMade	Creamer,Gulbis
Callaway	V. Hurst, Lindley,Gal,Pressel,Ueda
Cleveland	Blasberg
Adams	Lang,Leon,Lincicome,Tseng,Wright,Loudon
Ping	Delasin,Friberg,Hjorth,P.Hurst,Koch,Nordqvist, Ochoa,J.Park,Stahle,Stanford,Steinhauer,Ward,I.K.Kim
Nike	Blumenherst,McKenzie,G. Park, Pettersen,Wie,Simon

Now,compare this list of 33 LPGA players with the PGA Staff players for just ONE of the companies above....interesting,huh. Rather than try to draw any conclusions from this (other than Ping really supports the LPGA), I think it is much more meaningful to use this in a positive manner. As more and more women are playing golf at the amateur level, these companies are seeing more opportunities to sell them product. In a time of difficulty for the LPGA, wouldn't it be great to see several of these companies step up and show some strong support for the LPGA ? Perhaps one of them could sponsor an event that's looking for a one ? Or how about committing to sponsor at least 5 LPGA players ? Maybe a 2 year sponsorship deal for the top 5 qualifiers from the Duramed Tour ? There is a lot that these companies can do to help support the LPGA even more thasn they already do, and there could not be a better time for them to step up.

Dear LPGA - One word of Advice: "ANNIKA"

2009-07-13T17:24:00.005-05:00

Now that the Wicked Witch of the LPGA has ~~had a complete meltdown~~ been vanquished to parts unknown, the LPGA should not waste time in making a strong,decisive move to fill the role of Commissioner. I know they have named an "interim commissioner" to fill the immediate void, but I am hoping that they will see the obvious, and act in a suitably prompt manner to name a full time replacement.

Considering all of the uncertainty, unrest, confusion, chaos, angry sponsors, disillusioned fans, and a decidedly risky road to recovery, there is one clear choice for the Commissioner's position - Annika Sorenstam. The LPGA has made a small move toward Annika, naming her as an advisor to the Board of Directors - a role which she has publicly embraced already. This baby step, however, needs to be followed up by a full court press to convince Annika that she is one person who can stabilize and restore the LPGA to some semblance of it's recent self.

Here are just 5 reasons that this makes sense:

Annika is still the most recognizable name in women's golf - both in the US and abroad - something KEY to the LPGA's resurrection.
She brings the credibility of a player, the business savvy of a businessperson, and the grace of someone who truly understands the women's game - all important attributes I wrote about earlier on this blog when I called for a replacement.
She has the admiration and respect of the players, the sponsors, the manufacturers, and the fans - this is something that cannot be underestimated. When she speaks, everyone involved in women's golf listens.
She has the backbone to call things like she sees them, and the wisdom to know when to leave a burning pile of crap alone and let it flame out - both characteristics that she demonstrated repeatedly while on tour. This ability to know when to fight and when to walk away will present a marked contrast to the previous regime - another important factor in convincing people that a REAL change has occurred.
She has the "juice" necessary to get the equipment manufacturers more involved in and supportive of the LPGA (ever notice that Titleist and Cobra have ZERO women golfers as "staff players" - WTF ???)

I will stop at 5 in the interest of brevity, but I could easily write another 10 or 15 reasons. Oh, and one other thing - She actually understands the game, plays the game, and SHE SHOT A FREAKING 59 !!!!!

Oh, in case you were wondering about the photo above, That's Annika too - bet I fooled you !

Bivens Must Go...

2009-07-08T22:06:00.004-05:00

"Let the Eat Cake - from Denny's !"

If the title of this post sounds straight to the point, well, I make no apologies - it IS exactly the point that I am making. I've read several opinions throughout the blogosphere that the LPGA Commissioner "should not be blamed for the current situation", and that she "has made a number of good business decisions". Those comments would be laughable if they were not so sad.

I suppose it has become commonplace in our society to NOT hold people who are in positions of authority RESPONSIBLE for their actions and the ultimate success of the organization which they are paid to lead.

Here are the (abbreviated) facts, plain and simple:

Bivens took office amid a whirlwind of change at the LPGA.
She quickly sent everyone a message that there was "a new sherriff in town", and let everyone know that things would operate according to her rules.
She made numerous staff changes, cutting loose several long time members of the LPGA team.
She took a very hardline with sponsors and tournament organizers, again setting the tone that it was "her way or the highway".
Since she took the helm, the LPGA has flat out struggled.
Even in these times of crisis, she is virtually INVISIBLE (and has been for the last year).
The LPGA is losing events at an alarming rate.
She clearly lacks the confidence of the players.

After considering these facts, I invite anyone to explain to me exactly how Bivens is NOT responsible for the situation that she has led the LPGA into. I know it's much more fashionable to blame something or someone else (Bush, Obama, the economy, bloggers, Perez Hilton, a vast right wing conspiracy, etc.) - but, please wake up and smell the napalm...Bivens has created this situation, and the only way out is to cut her loose. When leaders fail to lead, they should be replaced...not excused for the consequences of their actions.

How does the LPGA Right the Ship ?

2009-07-06T05:36:00.001-05:00

Folks, there is smoke belching from the engine room of the good ship LPGA - and the Captain of the ship is nowhere to be found. Although I have long been a huge fan of the ladies tour (see one of my first posts here), and was slow to acknowledge the early naysayers, there is no denying now that there are serious problems afoot. To wit:

Multiple events cancelled in 2009
No sponsor for one of the LPGA major events
Confusing (and worsening) TV Coverage schedule
A 2010 schedule that is melting faster than the wicked witch in a monsoon
Seeming lack of identity / presence in the U.S.

Not making things any easier is the fact that the most marketable / talented U.S. players (Creamer,Kerr,Pressel,Gulbis, Wie (yes,I really wrote that),Lewis, etc ) have not been winning much lately - as recently as this weekend, Morgan Pressel lost in a playoff. Couple that with a flood of players from the Far East (and don't call me racist,ok - this is just a fact) and you have an organization sorely lacking a marketable identity in the eyes of U.S. consumers.

The latest news (and perhaps this is a sign of better times ahead) is that the players have (finally) grown tired of the (lack of) leadership from Commissioner Carolyn Bivens. I've been fervently wishing for a change here, and maybe change is a comin'. Sports Illustrated reported yesterday that a meeting was held last week in Sylvania,OH (home of the Jamie Farr Classic) in which the players wrote to LPGA President Michelle Ellisthey had "lost faith in Bivens' leadership and policies". For the sake of the LPGA, let's all hope this is true. Bivens mismanagement, poor decisions, and total lack of a strong presence in a time of crisis is laughable - the game and the LPGA deserves so much better than this.

The sad part to of this to me is that on an amateur level, interest in the ladies game appears stronger than ever. More quality female players are out there, better equipment is available for them,and female golfers are more welcome than ever on the links. Couple that with some awesome young talent on both the LPGA and Duramed Futures tour, and you can see why this is so frustrating. Rather than roll around in our own misery here at BCC, however, we have decided to prescribe a cure for the LPGA. Here are our 5 suggestions:

BUSHWOOD'S "CURE FOR PAIN" FOR THE LPGA

Fire Carolyn Bivens immediately - she has placed your livelihood in a death spiral.
Form an Executive Oversight committee to redefine your business model. This would be made up of Players (male and female, current and past pros), Golf Equipment Execs, and Sponsor Execs. This committee should first seek to understand what each group can contribute and what each group needs to participate - thus defining your business model and the skill set needed for your Commissioner.
Hire a Commissioner who can create a Strategic Plan for the business model - one who appreciates and understands all three perspectives (players, manufacturers, and sponsors).
Accept the fact that the game is globalizing, and make that a strength - not a liability.
Develop a plan to market the players and the game more effectively - The "These Girls Rock" campaign was, I thought, pretty good - but it simply died on the vine and had no sustainability.

These are pretty basic business turnaround fundamentals, and clearly something that the players deserve and should have expected to receive from the beginning. Bushwood has long been an LPGA supporter, and we will redouble our efforts here to back them...I can only hope that things improve fast for all of the talented players of the LPGA...

Bloggers Beware - You May Get Blocked on Twitter !!!!

2009-06-21T09:44:00.007-05:00

I'm writing today's post while waiting for the US Open to resume, sort of like Atlantis rising from the deep. As I sat here this morning, I was catching up on my reading, checking my favorite blogger's posts for the past week, and reading some of my recent posts. Something happened a couple of days ago that really "connected" two of my recents posts.The first post was from a few weeks back, when I wrote about what I regarded as the difference between a "journalist" and a "blogger". The second post was from last Sunday - when I pointed out that, despite some recent indications to the contrary, it seemed that when Michelle Wie has a microphone in front of her she reverts back to making excuses and other comments that can only be considered delusional. Yes, I have been called a "hater" by some - but I believe I'm doing nothing more than holding someone accountable for their comments made in a public forum.

In an effort to be completely open minded, I decided a few weeks ago to "follow" Ms. Wie on Twitter. During these few weeks, she made some witty and quite normal (140 character or less) remarks - and seems to be well accepted by her "tweeting" peers. In an effort to reach out to her, I sent her a "tweet" asking who she was picking to win the U.S. (Mens) Open.

Now, If you are wondering how these storylines converge, here is the punchline. I noticed today on my twitter account that "themichellewie" (her name on twitter - gotta love the "THE") had BLOCKED ME FROM GETTING HER UPDATES !. It would be funny if it were not so sad - I mean,seriously - she has like 4,000 "followers", and she (or someone from"Camp Wie") is tracking them to be sure none of them DARE say anything critical of her ? I guess I should not be surprised - her team has never dealt well with criticism. It's clear to me that these lame attempts to characterize her as "normal" are destined to fail.

I guess this means I won't get to read anymore profound thoughts from her on twitter like "Did u know that the 7-11 extreme gulp is 50% bigger than the volume of the human stomach?!? . or "i love you guys..whenever i read your comments its gives me such a confidence boost!" (Obv the last one was not meant for moi - what in the hell is she learning at Stanford ???)

Not exactly censorship I know - but pretty poor form (and thin skin) from someone who craves the spotlight....

Sunglasses on the Links - Supah Cool or Oh So Cruel ? ?

2009-06-16T05:57:00.006-05:00

If you watched ~~much~~ any of the St. Jude's Classic this weekend, you were confronted with a couple of interesting observations. And if you followed players like Brian Gay (the eventual winner), Robert Allenby, or John Daly you probably concluded that golfers have finally embraced sunglasses as a necessary piece of equipment.

However, I think this weekend was merely a fluke - as most pro golfers STILL do not wear sunglasses on the links. It's really difficult to understand,but Tiger, Phil, Geoff Ogilvy, Lorena Ochoa, Steve Stricker, and MANY others are still among the majority of pro golfers who have not embraced performance eyewear as a necessary piece of equipment - despite plenty of reasons to do so.

To better understand this topic, let's take a brief sashay down memory lane. The first golfer that I recall regularly wearing sunglasses on tour was none other than David Duval. Back in the days when Double D (sorry, I could not resist using that phrase !) was ranked at the top of the heap, he was rockin a pair of Oakleys that we were,um, very noticeable. Like it or not, ol' DD (there I go again) had started a fashion/performance trend. Within a few years, it was very common to see many amateurs (from your local muni to college players everywhere) sporting the upturned Oakleys on the back of their golf caps - but still very few pros. Before you think this was all sizzle and no steak, note that eyecare professionals everywhere were strongly recommending that we protect our eyes from the sun whenever we spent prolonged periods outdoors. Couple that with the eyewear makers developing a much better understanding of the specific needs of various sports and the athletes that played them, and SHAZAAM, sport specific eyewear was born. Now you can find not only sport specific eyewear(from a design/performance perspective), but also sport specific lenses (Oakley, Nike, Kaenon, and Maui Jim are just a few who make "golf specific" lens tints). On the LPGA side of the house, none other than the "American Beauty" herself, Paula Creamer has worked with Sundog to design her own line of Sunglasses - fashion forward and performance oriented.

Now I know that some of the traditionalists out there will scoff at all of this - thinking that eyewear is only a "fad" or simply a "fashion item". I disagree, however - my belief is that performance eyewear is here to stay.

Here is a brief listing of PGA and LPGA players who always have their shades available :

- Davis Love III - Rory Sabbitini - Brian Gay

- Robert Allenby - John Daly - Paula Creamer

- Zach Johnson - David Duval - MIchelle Wie

- Chris DiMarco - Ian Poulter - Yani Tseng

- Morgan Pressel - Carin Koch - Christina Kim

- Henrik Stenson - James Nitties - Kristy McPherson
To further support my position, one needs to look no further than the breeding grounds for our professional tours - the college and high school ranks. Take a look there, and fully 80% of the players count eyewear among their "required" equipment. In conclusion, one may assert that the games leaders are actually laggards in recognizing the need to protect their eyes, AND look damn cool while doing it.

Oh, In case you are looking for me, I'll be the guy in the Visor (that's a topic for another post) and sunglasses, calmly lining up my birdie putt on #18 !

LOOK FOR AN UPCOMING REVIEW OF GOLF EYEWEAR FROM OAKLEY, KAENON,AND MAUI JIM !

P.S. - If you are curious, Brian Gay was wearing Kaenon's "Jetty Black" with a G12 lens on Sunday in Memphis.

Oh Michelle, Just when I thought you were LEARNING...

2009-06-14T19:48:00.010-05:00

If you have read BCC for very long, you know that I am straightforward in my assessments of players,equipment, and anything golf related. I've previously shared my ~~disgust nausea~~ disappointment with the media mania and constant unwarranted adoration that surrounds the perpetually underwhelming Michelle Wie. Her history of poor performances, fired caddies and agents, and never ending stream of excuses is enough to get someone to searching for the nearest straight razor.

HOWEVER, recently there seemed to be signs that she may ACTUALLY be getting better. To wit, her posts on "Twitter" showed a relatively normal side of her (albeit a bit nerdy,but I'm not gonna nit pick here)...and some players responses to/comments about her seemed to indicate that she is gaining some acceptance on the LPGA tour. After reading Shane B's glowing commentary on Michelle here (and the fact that she was displaying a little self deprecating sense of humor), I was about ready to admit that perhaps she had changed/grown up/rebooted and was perhaps "normalizing" a little bit.

How foolish of me....all it took was a camera,a microphone, and a post round interview on The Golf Channel after the McDonald's LPGA Championship to erase all hopes that she had "changed". After finishing a cool 14 strokes out of first place and not breaking 70in any round,one would think that her first comments would be to praise the winner (rookie Anna Nordqvist) and to talk about working harder to improve and perhaps win an event. WRONG !!!! Instead, we had the same ol' Michelle Wie...., making excuses, telling us that "the score really did not reflect how well she played", and that she really "played great" for the whole event. Um - let me be sure I'm right here - if you subtract the two eagles she made on iron shots (one an ace, the other a hole out on a par 4), her score would have been 3 over - good for a sterling 49th place. Before you call me a hater, stop just a moment - all I'm calling for is some REALISM. I she (ever) wins, I will be the first to give her her props - but until then, she is just another player on the LPGA tour striving for that first win, albeit one who is sorely in need of a dose of humility and reality.

Who the hell is Anna Nordqvist ?

2009-06-14T19:10:00.008-05:00

Well, until today that was a question that probably did not get much thought outside of Ekilstuna,Sweden or Tempe, Az. In case you missed it, Anna smoked the field at Bulle Rock to capture not only her first win on the LPGA tour - but also to win an LPGA major event. Considering that this is her ROOKIE season, one has to be suitably impressed with her dominating display. Prior to today, Anna had earned about 30k in 2009, but something tells me that's about to change in a big hurry.

Her performance throughout the event was nothing short of amazing, and she blistered through the last two rounds leading the pack the whole way - and seeming to never even look over her shoulder. This was an exhibition in "cool" that any competitor (including the great one, TW) would hold up as an example.

A few facts about the lovely Miss Nordqvist:

• Won the 2008 Ladies British Open Amateur

• Qualified for the 2008 Women's British Open

• Tied for sixth at the Ladies European Tour Scandinavian Open, finishing on shot out of second

• Will represent Sweden in the 2008 World Amateur

• Made the cut at the 2007 Women's British Open at the famed Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland

• Tied for fifth at the NCAA Championships

• 2008 NGCA First-Team All-American

• 2008 First-Team Pac-10

• 2008 NGCA Academic All-American

• 2008 Pac-10 All-Academic Second-Team

Anna is sponsored by Puma Golf (that's where the cool outfits come from), Ping (like a lot of LPGA players), AXA, and Henderson Global Investors. She currently resides in Scottsdale,AZ.

Congrats to Anna for a great showing this week - and a wish of much future success.

TaylorMade r9 Review - IT ROCKS !!!

2009-06-10T05:24:00.002-05:00

The long awaited BCC review of TaylorMade's bangin' new driver, the r9, is finally complete. Since this was such a revolutionary product, I took a LOT of time testing and evaluation this club - thus the delay in completing my evaluation. If you have read this blog for very long, you know that I am a long time believer in TaylorMade's big sticks (see BCC's review of the r7 Limited here). I've tried Ping's G10, a few Callaways, Titleist, and Nike - but for me (and seemingly a bunch of guys who get paid to play), TM totally has the driver game wired. So wired in fact, that they continually churn out new gear at an astonishing pace - but, I digress.

About the r9:For those of you who don't know much about the club, it combines the "Movable Weight Technology" of the r7 series with a new feature - one which allows you to move the clubhead on the shaft. This allows you to rotate the clubface into 5 different settings - from 2 degrees open to 2 degrees closed. For a pro, this functionality is nothing new, as they can get their clubs "bent" to fit - but for the rest of the mere mortals,this a completely new feature. The r9 comes in a variety of lofts and is equipped with a rockin' Fujikura Motore shaft. For more on the technological intricacies of the r9, just go here.

Intro: I've played TM Drivers since the 90's , and since late 2008, I had been playing the r7 Limited, and really,really liked the club. So much so, that I went into the "evaluation" of the r9 fully expecting this to be a fairly short process. I figured I would hit some balls on the range, play with the adjustments, complete a few loops with it in my bag, and come back and write the review. Well, that's where it started to get interesting...

First Date: Out of the box, my first thought was that the r9 is a very good looking club. The head cover has some nice,updated graphics, it is plenty durable, and overall very well finished. The head of the r9 is relatively similar to the r7 Limited, with a bit of a "triangle" shape. The black metaflake pain looks nice - nothing too flashy there. One kind a weird thing I did notice - the little alignment aid seems to be off-center, closer to the heel of the club...not a big deal, but something I thought odd. The new r9 logo is prominently displayed on the bottom of the club. Adjusting both the weights and the face angle are simple, and are accomplished with a special tool that TM provides with the club. As previously mentioned, a Fujikura Motore shaft, all dolled up in TM Red,Black, and White comes standard in the r9 - a kick azz upgrade for certain. IT comes in a variety of lofts, and mine is a 9.5 degree version. Another nit - with the popularity of the Golf Pride Multi decade compound grips, it seems that TM could give some thought to stocking those on the club ( I put a white one one mine to match my set - it looks shweeet), as it currently comes with a TM branded grip.

Making My Move: So my first trip to the range with the new bat, and I was excited. A few practice swings and I was impressed with how solid the club felt when hitting nothing but air...hard to describe, it just felt good. I had been fighting a bit of a hook off the tee, so I decided to take advantage immediately of TM technological wizardry - I whipped out the wrench and cranked the face 2 degrees open (max setting), but left the weights set on "neutral". 10 swings later, and I had yet to hit a drive left... a good sign. However, I was not happy with the ball flight ( a bit to high), so I adjusted it back to 1 degree open. It only took 3 shots, and BANG, I knew I was onto something. Based on this, I decided to take my new toy to the battlefield. The first hole at my home track has always been a challenge to me - the fairway is super tight, and I had long struggled with pulling this shot left. BANG again - right down the middle, high and straight as an arrow. 18 holes later, I had hit 10 fairways, and only missed two of them to the left (one a bad miss, the other only slightly in the rough). Initial Thoughts - This evaluation will take longer than originally planned. I was very,very impressed.

3 weeks later, I have played 7 rounds of golf and continue to be impressed. The adjustability has really helped me (I've not changed the setting of 1 degree open) fully release on my driver swing and not worry (too much) about going left. Meanwhile, I have consistently hit the best drives of my life. Distance, trajectory,ball flight - it's all there. However, one of the really amazing things I have noticed about this club - and something that I have NEVER been able to do consistently or predictably, is "work" the ball. Whether it is the club, my confidence, my swing, or some combination thereof - I can now hit a draw reliably when needed AND hit a fade. Now, for those of you scratch golfers out there (HOLLA, Shane B.), this may not sound like a big deal,because you have been able to do this forever. ..but for a mid handicapper like myself this is a pretty big deal.

Not content to write this review with just my assessment, I let a buddy use it this weekend (he normally plays a Ping G10). He immediately started bombing it - first 4 holes he used it, 4 split fairways, way long. By the 6th hole that he used it on, he was ready to buy one at the turn !

Here are my ratings by "category":

Sound: Consistently receive comments on how "solid" the club sounds, which I have never gotten before (including on other TM gear). Very pleasing overall. Grade:A+
Distance: I'm killing it and so are my buddies. I know they say the r9 460 is longer, but I'm hitting it onto the downhill lie sections (which is further than you'd like to be) on a lot of par 4s so far. It's a bomber. Grade:A+
Trajectory: With the multiple adjustments, you should be able to fix this to your liking. I certainly was, with only two adjustments. My only advice - go slowly o the adjustments, make one at a time, and make them in the smallest increments possible. Grade:A+
Grip: As mentioned, I wish they would offer the Golf Pride Multi Decade Compound grip - the white one or the red one would look great on this club. The stock TM grip is sufficient tho. Grade: B
Other: The movable weights and adjustable face angle are simple,well constructed, and easy to understand and use. No complaints there. Grade: A
Overall Performance: I won't belabor this - this is the BEST DRIVER I have ever played. I like everything about the club (ok,ok, except the grip...but that is so minor).

Will He or Won't He ?: This is a great club, and a huge advance in golf technology. If you are in the market for a new driver, do yourself a HUGE favor - give the r9 a long,serious look. I've never had so many people borrow a driver, hit it, and absolutely LOVE it as with the r9. If you are already a TM fan, just go buy it....it completely rocks. Grade: A+

Postscript - Check back soon, I'm hoping to do a review of the TM r9 Fairway wood as well !!!

Sergio Garcia - We Found Him, and He is HAPPY !!!

2009-05-31T14:41:00.008-05:00

On The Links.........................and At The Prom....

Sergio Garcia's troubles of late have been well chronicled - missed cuts, poor play, and (oh yeah) the endless stream of excuses. From the British Open of two years ago to this year's Masters Sergio seems to have had an excuse for everything. Although the track at Augusta National was not to his liking, his latest round of troubles have been linked to his "personal" struggles - read difficulties with the opposite sex. His relationship with Morgan Leigh Norman has ended (rumor is that she kicked him to the curb....), and according to recent press releases from across the pond:
Garcia said that it had been Morgan’s decision to part. Further stating “Myself, when I am not feeling happy on a golf course and not up for it, that is the way it is. You can’t do anything about it. I can’t do well. Obviously the break-up with Morgan didn’t help. You get over some things. Others take a little longer. “It was her doing, not mine, and it happened the week of Miami. It is unfortunate, one of those things. Do I still think of her all the time? No. It is pretty much back in the past now.” Sergio has been suspiciously absent from the public eye of late, so, the sleuths at Bushwood went looking for him. We are happy to report that we not only FOUND Sergio, but also found him VERY HAPPY. It seems that Sergio has made some, um, "changes" and has really "found himself"., and...well, the article below sums it up better than I could:

DATELINE LOS ANGELES – Sergio Garcia said he felt "invincible" when he was crowned queen of the Fairfax High School dance at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel on Saturday. Days before the dance, Garcia told fellow students that he was "not your typical prom queen candidate. There's more to me than meets the eye. He also promised that he would be wearing a suit on prom night, but "don't be fooled: Deep down, I am a queen. And he made good of that promise Saturday, wearing a thong and a tiara."I don't wish to be a girl," he told the Los Angeles Times. "I just wish to be myself." Although many students were supportive of Garcia's run, others were upset and didn't understand why Garcia chose to run for prom queen.
"I'm not really happy about that," said 17-year-old Juan Espinoza. "He should've just tried to win a major..."

P.S. - That's SG on the left in the picture above !!!

Blogger vs "Journalist" - A Case Study HBR would be Proud Of...

2009-05-26T06:30:00.003-05:00

The debate over "blogger" vs. "journalist" seems like one we will hear for a long time. For a multitude of "reasons", many "professional journalists" have a real dislike for bloggers. Rick Reilly (whose writing I happen to really like) makes no attempt to contain his raw contempt for bloggers - and the list of journos who diss bloggers just goes on from there. The reasons have become so rote, that a pre-schooler could recite them:

No editorial control or review
Nor PROFESSIONALLY trained
Mostly opinion, not "researched"
Often anonymously written
blah,blah,blah

Well, something happened last week that allowed me to examine this argument from a completely different perspective - and one which I hope will open a few eyes. It all started when I was scanning the daily news and I came across a headline that included the words " Lady Golfers" and "Escort Services". Intrigued (as was no doubt the JOURNALIST'S intent), I clicked through. I then proceeded to read an article on Time Magazine's website which pretty much made me want to puke. Seems some ivy league punk named Sean Gregory did a complete hack job on a completely legitimate business - one that is new, innovative, and totally above board. The business, Play Golf Designs is run by one of Bushwood CCs Charter Members, Nisha Sadekar. PGD's staff includes a list of other BCC members such as Amber Prange, Blair O'Neal, Kim Kouwabunpat, Caroline Larson, and others.

Given this, any attack on Nisha and her crew is pretty much guaranteed to get me ready to drop some old school,down south,give no quarter ass whipping on that dude in the Princeton letter sweater.....but that's for another time. This slanted,biased,unprofessional "story" is complete crap at best, and outright slanderous at worst - but don't just take my word for it - you can read many other people say the same thing here, here, and here.

Therefore, I'm taking a different approach - I'm going to use this as an opportunity to call out the differences between a blogger and a journalist, from a blogger's perspective. Belly up to the bar, and get ready for a tall, cold one...

Bloggers rarely, if ever, get paid - so they are likely to write about something they care about. That means you get REAL passion, not some wanker trying to make a deadline or gen up ad sales evenue..
Bloggers are less likely to take a slanted or biased angle on a story - because they are glad to be talking to someone who will take the time to chat with them.
Bloggers DO threaten traditional journalists - because we don't have to generate (much) revenue to cover costs, we don't have to be sensationalistic or biased - we call em how we see em, and if no one reads the story, no big deal. We don't churn up whatever sensationalistic smeg that we can muster just to move a little product.
Bloggers tend to "care" about the people they write about - because they may want to actually be able to talk to them again in the future - there is no "churn and burn" mentality in the blogosphere (unless, like "The Queen of All Media", you are a corpulent, self important, windbag).
Some bloggers (like me) are, in fact, NOT anonymous. Neither are my colleagues Patricia Hannigan, Shane Bacon, Ryan Ballangee, Nisha Sadekar, Stephanie Wei, Jay Busbee, and a host of others.
Some bloggers (like me) offer their interview subjects a chance to review the story and correct any obvious mistakes - you may call that a lack of independence, I just call it being fair to the people who I talk to. If I don't like their requested changes, we either work it out or I dont post the story - either way, no respect is lost and no one is hosed.

Rather than go on with the list, I want to leave something for the Harvard Business Review to study upon. So the to folks at HBR, I've laid it out for you - you help us figure out, once and for all ,the answer to the Sphynx like riddle - Journalist or Blogger ?

P.S. - Hey "Tiger of the Week"

Remember the scene in Pulp Fiction when Marsellus is talking to Butch...well, if you see a coupla dudes with some pliers and a blowtorch, they aren't coming to fix the water heater...

Bushwood Member Blair O'Neal is,um,QUALIFIED !

2009-05-20T17:00:00.002-05:00

A few weeks back, we interviewed Blair O'Neal - this year's uber-hottie from TGC's Big Break PEI. Blair was super nice throughout the interview process - and shortly after the post was up, our membership committee met, and voted rather UNANIMOUSLY to extend a membership to Blair.

For those of you who follow The Big Break, you probably noticed that early on Blair was sort of considered "just a pretty face", and was not given much of a chance - while we can surely understand the former, the latter has turned out to be far from the truth. After 5 people have been booted from the show, our girl Blair is still there kickin azz and takin' names... However, that is not the big news.

On Monday May 18th, there was a little event at the Phoenix Country Club - called the U.S Women's Open local qualifier. Entered in the event was none other than the lovely and talented Blair O'Neal. I won't make you wait any longer to learn what all the excitement is about here at BCC - Blair rocked the house, shooting a cool 3 over par 75 to QUALIFY FOR THE SECTIONALS ! To show Blair our support, the members have voted to sponsor Blair in the sectionals - that's right - we have assessed our members and will be paying her entry fee into the US Women's Open Sectional.

We caught up with Blair today, and asked her a few questions about the local qualifier:

Cash: First of all, congrats on takin' some names at the Phoenix CC this weekend. We were cheering hard and long for you! Tell us a little about it.

Blair: Thanks for the Congrats. I had an awesome day - it was a little nerve wracking at times, but I am happy with the result.

Cash: How did you start the round ?

Blair: Oddly, I started off not so well - I hit my first drive into a fairway bunker, and eventually double bogeyed the hole ! UGH! But then, I settled down and put together a string of pars.

Cash:When was your first birdie ?

Blair: On my 9th hole (actually the par 5 #18) b/c I started on the back 9), I hit a great drive, laid up with a 6 iron, and was about 100 yards out. From there, I hit my approach to about a foot - that gave me a lot of momentum for the last nine holes. I also had one of my good friends from high school caddying for me - so she helped keep me focused on the moment.

Cash: What was the layout like ?

Blair: The course played pretty long - probably 6,600 yards or so - which helped me because I was able to use my distance off the tee to my advantage. The greens were very fast,but in great condition - so I was rolling the ball pretty well. Oh, and it 107 degrees at around 1:00 !

Cash: OMG - that's ridiculous ! So what's next up ?

Blair: Well, I selected the Maryland site for playing in the sectionals. I have some friends in the area, and I think the course sets up well for me - so hopefully I will play well, and make it into the U.S. Open.

Cash: Well, everyone here is cheering hard for you - we are all proud of how well you are playing. It's obvious that the hard work you told us about earlier is really paying off for you. I gotta tell you one final story - I was playing last week and one of my partners brought along his 13 year old son named Caleb. When I told him about Bushwood, and that you were a member here he almost melted.

Blair: Melted ?

Cash: His immediate response was this "Blair is the PERFECT woman - she is a model, she plays golf, and she is HOTTT! I wish could meet her !". I told him I would ask you to send him one of your famous autographed photos - can we do that ?

Blair: Sure..I'm happy to !

Cash: Blair, thanks again for your time. Always nice talking to you - and keep on rockin !

Ok gang, that's it from BCC today. Keep watching and cheering for our homegirl Blair O'Neal, and check her out at www.blairgolf.com.

Dudes Messin' with John Daly - FAIL

2009-05-13T11:42:00.005-05:00

I came across story today on John Daly (imagine that!). Martin Rogers has written a pretty slanted attack on Long John Daly over at Devil Ball Golf . The article calls into question everything from Daly's golf attire (provided by LoudMouth Golf - check em out !) to his attempts to right his financial situation. While Devil Ball is usually written by Jay Busbee, a dude who I like a lot, and is a real leader in the golf blogosphere, I suppose they have given a guest editor a shot today.

Judging by the comments to this post, a "SHOT" is something Martin is likely to get if he shows his face anywhere - likely the 12 gauge kind. His take on Daly's comeback is clearly less than flattering, and he has angered a ton of people in only a couple of hours. Here are a few of the choice comments from the readers:

why don't you actually do some reporting on the entire story, rather than just harping all over him. you're a douchebag and it's getting really old. how about some comparisons between the how difficult an italian course plays as compared to the courses the pga plays on. how about some insight on the competition he faced in that tournament? how good are they? how do they stack up against the pga? it gets [explicative] old listening to you constantly harp on daly. i understand that is what the media is all about these days because they feel so inadequate about their own choices in life, but please stop it already.
I'm sure this Martin is desperate for attention, pissing people off, Bad example for young writers, to learn that putting people, when they are down, is good writing. That you can have a job, or keep your job, That's a shame, or a scheme, for readers to respond, I'm writing or responding to this idiocracy. My advice to you Martin, is to practice cleaning toilets, Coz that's where you going, Good Luck John, Congrats!! and Good Luck in the European tour, You are the Man!!
Hey Martin, I think you've exposed yourself as just another freeloader trying to get some attention on the back of JD. It's funny how many unknown writers have come out in the last couple of weeks with stories about how Tiger is done and John Daly is a "freak show." Yeah, he's a freak show with 2 major championships, you douche bag. Fact is, John moves the needle in golf. Now that he's playing well, LOTS of people care, you included, apparently. If you had a big event with John, Tiger and Phil playing in different groups, who would have the smallest gallery? Hint: It wouldn't be John or Tiger. Yahoo, please stop publishing these outlandish and ridiculous columns from no-name writers trying to get attention. PLEASE.
'Sad? Yes, but also proof that Daly no longer has any pride left, whatever his financial state.' Are you serious with this statement? Could it be that he has come to realize the sitiation he as put himself in and is taking steps to improve things? Seems to me that he attempting to change because he has some pride left. What is sad is that we are burying people before they pass. He just may be giving everyone what they have been hounding him about for years and they still aren't happy. That isn't a reflection on JD, my friend.

There are a ton more comments - and perhaps the most interesting thing is that not ONE PERSON agrees with the Rogers take on JD. Now, I am no professional journalist - but a 0 percent success rate tells me maybe it's time Mr. Rogers decided write about lacrosse or something.

Whitey Ford (actually Shane B.) and What It's Like ....

2009-05-12T12:10:00.004-05:00

Forgive me for co-opting (sort of) the name of an Everlast record there - below is a link to a great post from my man Shane Bacon about what it's REALLY like to play some tournament golf...

Props to Shane B. for having the ballz to go for it...

http://golf.fanhouse.com/2009/05/12/a-u-s-open-qualifying-disappointment/

Carl Spackler and The Sawgrass Redemption

2009-05-12T01:12:00.010-05:00

The Patient...................The Doctor.....................The Solution

Hopefully, lots of you got to watch THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP this weekend. Plenty of good golf, and a fair amount of drama. For the last several years THE PLAYERS has really pushed itself as the "5th Major"-complete with some pretty,um,outlandish quotes in their commercials. As challenging as the course is, complete with the controversial 17th hole (some love it, others say it is gimmicky), there was something that was pretty obvious this year...something that requires Bushwood's (recently promoted) Head Greenskeeper, Carl Spackler to get involved.

There were many,many areas of the course that looked flat out crappy this year - I mean dead,brown,middle of a drought, subject to spontaneous combustion bad. None were more obvious than the greens on Sunday - which looked like (and played like) brownish concrete with a little green overspray. I get it that the folks at TPC Sawgrass wanted to make the greens "fast and challenging" and the pin placements tough - but they went way beyond that. When a PLAYER who is competing at THE PLAYERS lands a shot ON the green, I don't think it is unreasonable for a PLAYER to expect the ball to bite just a little, and stay on the green. I counted about 30 examples of what looked like good shots (short or mid irons, struck well, landed on the front of the green) which hit the green, and rolled clean off the back. I don't buy the argument that having "KFC extra crispy" greens is the only way to make 'em fast - hell, the folks at Augusta don't seem to have a problem with super fast greens that are receptive to good shots.

Apparently, I am not the only one who noticed this - because the folks from Sawgrass called Bushwood last night. They said they were deluged with calls from PLAYERS and fans alike - all of whom requested that we dispatch Carl Spackler down to the sunshine state to cure what ails 'em. Early this morning, Carl loaded up a semi full of ~~bales of~~ pallets of his custom blend Spackler Turf Grass. He was ~~smoking~~ digging up some samples of it for the folks down south, and planning to get started immediately on their greens. I'm sure the addition of his invention will make the greens at Sawgrass much ~~smoother and mellower~~ more receptive to those high flying approach shots right away!

An Elevator Ride at Bushwood CC...

2009-05-11T01:06:00.001-05:00

WARNING - What follows is Bushwood's first foray into a quasi-political issue. What I say may anger you, upset you,or make you laugh. However, take note that I am simply EXERCISING MY RIGHT TO FREE SPEECH.

Sadly, the current (political,media,social,whatever) climate is now managed by folks who seems to have forgotten that the first amendment applies to ALL Americans (as my man Ice T once said "freedom of speech,just watch how you use it) - regardless of whether they are in vogue or not. That means Wanda Sykes or Wanda at WalMart, David Feherty or David Brinkley, Tom Cruise or Tom Sawyer - ALL have a right to express their opinions.

Last week,news of some comments that David Feherty made to D magazine surfaced. In case you have been under a rock since then, Fehertry made some colorful (humorous,I thought - others say disrespectful)comments about a couple of politicians who are (presently) in leadership positions within their political party. In essence, he said that based on his actual experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan,our soldiers don't think much of these two people (Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid). Subsequently, David was widely criticized and skewered by the media for his fact-based observations. Sadly, this criticism failed to give much consideration to two important facts:

He was exercising his 1st Amendment rights.
He based his comment on FACTS gathered in discussions with US Soldiers - thus,he was simply reporting accurate information (I suppose one could allege that hewas just lying,but then he is not running for office, so what are the odds of that)

In an effort to verify #1, I checked - and thankfully, no one has managed to amend or delete that provision in the constitution. To check out #2, I emailed 3 friends who are serving active duty at this time. Without exception, they expressed a, um, "no confidence"(that's being pretty damn mild,btw) vote in Pelosi and Reid - no big surprise, since these two elected officials have been anything BUT supporters of our troops.

Personally, I think both political parties have anything BUT the interest of the average American in mind - so this is not a politically biased commentary. However, it IS sad when someone gets chastised for simply speaking the truth. As for Mr. Feherty, I hope he does notlet this in any way impact his great golf reporting OR his full and complete support of our brave soldiers. They are, after all, the ones who help ensure that we get to keep our rights as promised by the framers of the Constitution.

Now,if David had asked me the question...well, lets just say that the world would be a better place after those elevator doors opened...regardless of how many people got off.

Blogger's Picks - Playahs @ Turn

2009-05-08T16:24:00.019-05:00

Earlier this week, my ~~hero understudy arch rival~~ buddy Shane, author of the Pulitzer Prize Winning blog "Dogs That Chase Cars", came up with a novel idea - poll some of the,um, "reputable" golf bloggers to see who they were picking to win THE PLAYAHS this weekend. (check out his post here). At the halfway point, here is where they stand:

Don't look now....but I am headed to have me some Powerball after seeing this...

Give some love to my fellow blogers who were bold enough to step up to bar:

Dogs That Chase Cars

Golf Girl

Wei Under Par

Devil Ball Golf

Waggle Room

Jason "Of Twitter" (sorry bro, Shane's link to you was skanky...)

Armchair Golfer

The backstretch should be interesting, but I still like my boy Spiky....

Disclaimer: There are some references in here that may be considered by some to be "gangsta", "hip-hop","rap", or "urban". If these in any way offend your sensibilities or sensitivitities, please go immediately to your nearest bunker and POUND SAND !

Tiger, I got your back man...(Did I just write that ?)

2009-05-06T05:07:00.004-05:00

World #1 Tiger Woods (L) Tiger's New Coach (R)

A couple of weeks back, I willingly admitted that I am not a Tiger "fan" - no doubt he is the baddest of the bad a$$es, but I prefer to root for other golfers. It's all cool - he knows he is welcome here at BCC anytime, but he has to pay for his brewskis just like the rest of us.

Anyway, today I read (another) absurd article from an AP writer (name withheld) who proclaimed that "Tiger is back, but without the same power". The article goes on to document how Philly Mc was blowing it by Tiger, and how Tiger is hitting "two more clubs" now than he was pre-injury. Furthermore, Tiger is now averaging "only 300 yards " off the tee. Now, all that may be true....but when did we start equating pure length with winning ? For the last several years, TW has not been the longest off the tee ( I think, by design) - but does that really matter ? I mean, we CONSTANTLY hear that "distance is not everything", and "drive for show, putt for dough"....but now, thanks to the AP, we know that was all just bullsh!t.

Well, I am so friggin glad that we cleared that up. This can only mean one thing for ~~Mr. Ferguson~~ the AP dude...that's TGC on your phone right now offering you a job alongside Kelly T.

Tiger, for God's sake, get rid of Hank Haney and hire this guy, he has got it all figured out....

Bonus Factoid: I'm picking Ian Poulter to win this week at The Players. As much as I cheer for the Red,White,and Blue, I have a feeling that the spiky one is poised to kick some major arse this weekend...

Frogger Golf - Better than a Sham Wow, No Nasty Stripper Beat Down Required...

2009-05-04T07:35:00.008-05:00

If you watch very much Golf Channel programming, you have probably seen your share of infomercials/commercials pimping the latest new golf invention. Hell, TGC even had (has ?) a show focused on new golf related inventions. Even the industry gets in on the game, as each year the annual PGA Show awards a "product of the year" to some deserving outfit. Recently, I've seen several ads from a company called Frogger Golf - makers of the the Amphibian Towel and BrushPro that I thought were pretty cool. When I started checking this out a little closer, I saw that these guys have won the "Best New Product" at the PGA merch show for the last TWO YEARS RUNNING. That's right - the "Brush Pro" won in 2008, and the Amphibian Towel won in 2009. Now you know that we here at Bushwood run with the winners, so I felt compelled to check their gear out. I contacted the nice folks at Frogger, and my gear was soon on the way - The BrushPro, The Amphibian Towel, and The Amphibian Ball Towel.

About the Gear

Frogger's three products are all focused on one pretty simple premise - keeping your clubs and ball clean. They are all available in a variety of colors.

What We Thought

Nice packaging on all three products - clear, easy to understand instructions for replacing the brushes,groove cleaner, etc.
Pretty cool that they offer replacement brushes and groove cleaners - not a lot of truly reusable golf products out there.
The BrushPro is a great product,period. The handle is easy to handle (good), but may be a little large for some (deal with it). It comes on a retractable leash, and attaches to your bag with a sturdy carabiner. The brush also has the aforementioned retractable groove cleaner - a nice metal gizmo that works a lot better than a tee. As mentioned above, both the brush AND the groove cleaner are replaceable. Also available is an all-nylon brush which you can slide on that's great for cleaning off your shoes or bag - a nice touch. Another nice touch is that all of these add-ons come in clear plastic storage boxes for secure storage. Grade : A
The Amphibian Towel comes in two flavors - The "regular" size which attaches to your bag, and is for cleaning clubs, grips, etc; and the "mini" size, which is designed for cleaning your golf balls. The mini also comes with a small carabiner and can be attached to your belt loop (not my look, but if you want to rock it like that, go for it). Both towels work the same way - their design is allows you to keep the inside wet (for cleaning stuff) and the outside dry (for drying stuff off). WHAAAA ? Well, that's what I thought too. The towels are built like a envelope that's open on two sides, and the inside is a different,separate piece than the outside. To make them "work", simply wet the inside (I used 24 oz. of water on the larger one, and about 4 oz on the smaller one), and let the water get absorbed by the inner layer. As crazy as that sounds, it works. The large towel, which I attached to my bag as a replacement of my regular towel, worked very well - and kept my clubs clean all day. The inside stayed wet, and the outside stayed dry - as promised. The smaller towel, or "ball towel", was useful all day long - I just carried it to the green with me, and it did a great job of keeping my ball clean. I did have to re-moisten it mid round, but that is no big deal. Overall, I was pretty damn amazed that these products worked EXACTLY as the infomercial said they would (unlike the Sham-Wow - suck it, Vince) . The quality of the materials is very high - clearly the guys at Frogger Golf are in it for the long haul, and care very much about making a high caliber product. Grade : A+

My overall impression of the company and their products is very high. When you check them out (and you will want to), remember that they are a small shop - so be patient of you don't get a chirpy voice from Mumbai on the first ring ( actually, I got the Founder when I called - who is a super dude), just leave them a message or drop em an email at info@froggergolf.com. They will respond, and I think you will be delighted with their products.

Gotta run, Big Break PEI is coming on tonight - and I just know that Brian is gonna melt down hard...

TaylorMade R9 Baptizes another True Believer

2009-05-01T06:00:00.000-05:00

The Newest Convert to an R9......and a nice reward for switching...

Lots has been written about TaylorMade's newest big stick, the R9. Look for a product review of this mighty staff coming soon from Bushwood. However, in the world of the dudes who play for millions each week, TM has just had another top player join the ranks and be baptized in the holy water of the River TaylorMade.

It seems that none other than Ryder Cupper and Fluff employer (not to mention the proud owner of perhaps the largest collection of earth-tone golf clothing in the world), Jim Furyk has jumped ship and switched to the R9. Furyk is rocking the new bat with a Mitsubishi Kai'li k 60 gram X Flex shaft and a 10.5 degree head. No word yet on his loft, face angle, or favorite shade of beige yet....but stay tuned...

(ed note: The talented young lady above did indeed present said roses to the beige clad one...at the 2003 U.S. Open...)

Hollywood has a LOT of FAKE H_ _ _ _ RS

2009-04-28T05:55:00.000-05:00

Get your mind out of the gutter....I'm talking about the "celebrity" ~~golfers~~ HACKERS who sport those handicaps that are complete bullsh!t.

We have all watched with great amusement as "celebrities" hack it around in the "Celebrity Pro-Ams" that we are tortured with. There are two utterly ridiculous parts to this ruse: (1) the celebs (alleged) handicaps, and (2) the inane remarks that the commentators feel obliged to pimp out (Google "Kelly Tilghman & Tim Finchem's solid six handicap" for a real gutbuster). It would only be funny (and not sad as well) if we just had to watch them play - but to listen to the talking heads act as if these are "real" handicaps is preposterous.

Well - finally,someone has broken ranks and has come clean about the "Celebrity Golfing" community. According to a quote in Golfweek from Mark Wahlberg (creator of "Entourage" , aka"Marky Mark"), "All the guys in Hollywood stink. They've all got fake hadicaps". Wahlberg, who has been previously reported as a "single digit" handicapper, admits that his game has slipped of late, and that he usually shoots in the high 80's and 90s.

The photos above are just a few of the most egregious offenders, but below is an excerpt from a recent "celebrity golf" list and their um, handicaps - read it and laugh your azz off...(my comments in italics)

1. Dennis Quaid 1.1 Improved from 4.5 to 1.1 in four months - RIIIIGHT. That equates to about 7 strokes per round improvement.

6. Samuel L. Jackson 4.9 Most improved since our 2001 rankings - Ever watch him play - Don't...

15. Bill Murray 7.5 Pebble fave keeps Index on East Coast - As a Caddyhack standard bearer, he should be ashamed of posting this.

23. Andy Garcia 9.1 Won AT&T with Paul Stankowski in '97 - All flash, no game.

T34. Sylvester Stallone 12 Plays often at MountainGate in L.A. - About as real as that hair and that taut jawline. "Yo Adrian, I'm taking 5 mulligans today"..

45. George Lopez 14.2 A hit on ABC and with AT&T galleries - Glad to see him gone from the ATT Pebble.

T46. Joe Pesci 14.3 Plays most rounds at Lakeside - Maybe the most laughable on the list. He hits it like 165 off the tee.

Who among you would not be happy to take any of these guys at their handicap ? I'll admit there are some celebs who can play (Jack Wagner, Quaid, Kenny G, etc) - but most are, as Marky Mark so aptly puts it "fake"...

Oh, as far as the Donald, he's currently a 1.2 . That handicap is about as real as a Mother-in-Law's love...Come on out to Bushwood, Donald - I'll play you straight up..., but remember "There is no gambling at Bushwood" !!!

Playing "Tiger Golf"...

2009-04-26T09:08:00.019-05:00

Let me start by admitting that I am not a Tiger "fan" - there is no denying he is a dominant presence, and probably the best ever, but he's not someone I root for. It's kind of like cheering for the Yankees or the Patriots - it's easy to be a fan because they are almost guaranteed to win. I'm more of a Raiders and A's fan...I suppose I like some uncertainty with those whom I cheer for...

We've all heard about (and witnessed) what a fierce competitor that Tiger is. More specifically, we often hear that he "never quits" and is "always playing to win" - contrary to some PGA players who,once they know they are out of contention, seem to play it safe.

Anyway, enough background info - this post is about a real life experience. I am a decent golfer,but will never be a real low handicapper. My handicap fluctuates between 8 and 12, depending on the season and my iron game. I've been playing competitively for about a year (thanks TGC Amateur Tour), so no one would ever suggest that my competitive edge is as finely honed as a well stropped razor. Generally, I play hard because I want to do well, but certainly accept my shortcomings with good humor. What follows is a story about how I learned what "Tiger Golf" really means to us mere mortals.

Last week, I was playing golf with some buddies - we were playing cart vs cart, and our team won the front nine (and the small wager) by a couple of strokes. I was low man by 3 strokes, with a 40. At the turn, on of my colleagues suggested he and I play straight up on the back nine with a small side bet. I gladly accepted, eager for a little individual challenge (note that I bested him by 4 strokes on the front). My pal, let's call him "Phil", started the back nine like a man afire - 5 under after 4 holes, and no putts of more than 8 feet. As I found myself 8 strokes down after 4 holes...I was thinking that I had been completely set up. So what did I do ? Did I suck it up, and focus ? Draw upon my enormous intestinal fortitude ? Will myself to mount a comeback ?

Not exactly.... I conceded the bet, effectively giving up after 4 holes (impressive,huh ?). I then proposed a second bet match play for the final 5 holes, which he (obviously) accepted, as this looked like a sure thing for him. Then, something funny happened - I hit it to 4 feet on a par three and he went over the green and into some tall grass. I birdied, and he triple bogeyed (we continued to play as if it were stroke play, because the team bets were still on). Two holes later, I had won three in a row, and thus won the second bet (3 and 2). We then agreed on a THIRD bet - stroke play for the last two holes. I went up one stroke on 17, and we were both in the fairway on 18. I pulled my approach left, while he was just short of the green. At the end, he had a four footer for par, which he missed - while I made my 8 footer for a bogey, and the win.

Now for the moral of the story, and the entire point of this post. When I tallied up the final totals for the back nine, and circled the final scores, I was rather violently reminded of all those times I had heard about Tiger "never giving up". You see, I had beaten "Phil" by one stroke...meaning that I would have won the ORIGINAL BET, if only I had not given up after 4 holes...

I think that's what they mean by "Tiger Golf".... . As obvious as this all may seem to those seasoned competitors out there, it was a very enlightening and powerful lesson to me.

Caroline Larsson Interview

2009-04-23T17:06:00.000-05:00

The third part of our interviews with the Ladies of Big Break PEI is here and ready for your reading pleasure. Pleasure is a good word to describe our chat with Caroline Larsson - she was a joy to talk to, and was quite patient with yours truly after a series of calendar FUBARs . Anyway, Caroline was SUPER COOL, and we thank her for that. We caught up to her as she was on her way to play in the Louisiana Pelican Classic (which was shortened to 36 holes by torrential downpours). She was making the mega haul from South Florida (where she lives) to Lafayette, La for the event. Caroline is a full member of the Duramed Futures tour this year, and is widely rumored to be the favorite among the female participants on The Big Break.Anyway, enough with the intro, let's roll the tape !

Cash: Hi, Caroline - It's great to catch up with you. Thanks for taking time to chat with me.

Caroline: No problem, Caroline: Glad to be here - I never imagined it would be so nice in here. These are some plush digs !

Cash: Nothing but the best for the Bushwood Brigade....you should see it around here on the weekends ! But enough of that, let's learn a little more about you.
Caroline: Ok, cool....well, I am 25 years old, 5'9" tall, and I am from Stockholm, Sweden. I came to the States in 2002 right before college, but my family is still back in Stockholm. Luckily, I get to see them a couple of times each year - they just came to visit me a couple of weeks ago.

Cash: Go on...

Caroline: I attended college at Florida State, where I played on the golf team for four years. I received a degree in Psychology, and graduated with a 4.0 GPA. My time at FSU was amazing and I have Coach Dillman and my lovely team mates to thank for that! We played against some great teams (Duke was one of them), and the tournaments were always filled with great players. One of most fun things was our friendly rivalry with South Carolina, especially my first two years - we were always pranking around with them, throwing water balloons and just generally having a good time. Some great memories there, for sure.

Cash: So are you like, a nerdy bookworm or something ?

Caroline: No, but I am a really determined person and I do my very best in the things that are important to me. During college that was school and golf and now I can put all my energy to golf!

Cash: Wow! So tell us a little about what we can expect from you in 2009 - what are some of your goals ?

Caroline: My top priority is to qualify to play on the LPGA tour next year, so everything I do professionally is directed at that. A great way to achieve that goal is to finish in the top 5 on the Duramed Futures Tour money list this year.

Cash: Tell us about playing on the Duramed Futures Tour.

Caroline: I've played on that tour for two years. I played in every event both 2007 and 2008. My best finish is a 2nd place at El Paso,TX, but I've also had a couple of 3rd and 4th finishes, so it feels like the win is just around the corner! Last year, I finished 23rd on the money list and the year before that 14th. The Tour is a great place for us get the final tune up before moving onto the LPGA - there are some super talented players on the tour. I plan to play in all 17 events this year, so my schedule is pretty full.

Cash: What are you working the hardest on ?

Caroline: Well, I'm always focusing a lot on short game because it's REALLY important. This off season I also worked a lot on my swing in order to get more consistent and to get more distance. I average about 245-250 with my driver, so now you don't have to ask that, haha.

Cash: So, what's in your bag ?

Caroline: I am a hard core TaylorMade fan, and have played their clubs since I was 12 years old. I play their Tour Preferred irons, and R7 460 driver, and R7 TP 3 wood, Rac TP Wedges, and a Daytona Putter (no hybrids, at least not yet). My ball is a Titleist Pro V1, which I mark with a circle around the number. I like to use red, because red means "birdie", haha.

Cash: Tell us a little about your on course style...

Caroline: I don't really have a preference with shorts or skorts, but the best kinds are the ones you can have a big belt with! I prefer sleeveless tops and I like visors the best. When it comes to colors, I like to wear either black or white and match that with a fun color! I don't wear a lot of earth colors like beige or khaki. On guys, I like it when the pants are not too wide...come on, I am from Sweden! Hats or visors really depends on the individual.

Cash: How many hole in ones in your career ?

Caroline: I've had 3 aces in my career, but my none in a tournament, so I'm due!

Cash: Tell us about your dream golf foursome...

Caroline: Tiger (the best ever!!!), Will Smith (he's hilarious and a great actor), and Ellen Degeneres (don't even know if she plays golf, but her show is the absolute best!)

Cash: What do you do when you are not golfing ?

Caroline: I like to work out, hang out with friends, go shopping, or some fun activities outside like kayaking or go to the beach.

Cash: Tell us something about Sweden that will surprise us..

Caroline: We don't have snow 6 months out of the year ! Actually, we only have snow in Stockholm about 2 months each year. We do have the midnight sun in the middle of summer, which is incredible. However, our climate is milder than people think due to the Gulf Stream.

Cash: Well, Caroline, that about wraps us up. Thank you so much for taking time to stop by Bushwood...you are out first international member, ...what can we say except "välkomnande till klubban" !!!

Caroline is a SUPER TALENTED golfer and a SUPER COOL CHICK - so don't be surprised to see her go far in the Big Break PEI. For more info on Caroline, check her out at www.carolinelarssongolf.com and also at www.thegolfchannel.com/bigbreak.

I'ver gotta run now because , as Caroline would say, Det är coctailtimmen på Bushwood!

Why Can't Titleist Seem to Hold on to Young Players ?

2009-04-22T06:03:00.006-05:00

Let me start this post by apologizing to you - because, generally people come to Bushwood for ANSWERS, dammit....not questions ! However, this is one that I have pondered for a while...

I've noticed a long time trend that is puzzling to me - tons of young players come up through the ranks (Amateur and Early Pro years) sporting the Titleist logo and/or being sponsored by Titleist. I get it that amateurs are not accepting sponsor cash, but if they are pimping someone's logo the chances are pretty damn high that they are using that type of equipment. However, it does not take long before they switch.

David Dusek reports on the latest young gun to switch from Titleist to someone else - this time it is Danny Lee switching to Callaway. And I don't mean just a partial switch either - it's the whole hog...balls, clubs, wedges, etc. (my boy Al Czervik says Danny even asked for some Callaway "naked lady" tees, but everyone knows those are a Bushwood exclusive !!!!)

Although I am only a middling golfer at best (8-11 handicap throughout the year), I am pretty specific about my gear, and pay close attention to it. It's tough for me to imagine that people who are playing for millions would just switch - I know, I know, thay are GETTING big bucks to switch, but it just seems awfully strange.

Could Rory McIlroy be the next high profile defector ???

(postscript: I see that he has recently played Callaway irons..., but still it seems that Titleist would have really gone out hard to keep this guy in the stable...)

Taylor Made Performance Lab Perfects Cloning...

2009-04-20T15:34:00.009-05:00

Ok, I admit the headline is a little sensationalistic, but heck it IS Monday - so we needed to juice it up a little bit (No, A-ROiD, that's not a casting call for you and your latest "New York Housewife" ...).

Many of you know of the space age wizardry that TaylorMade has in it's quiver of TaylorMade Performance Labs scattered across the USA - well, I have some good news for readers in the Beantown area (no, it's not those photos of Alex and Perez Hilton that you were hoping for - it's even better ! TaylorMade is announcing tomorrow that they are opening their newest TaylorMade Performance Lab at The International in Boston on April 27th - and it's rumored to be the best yet.

A few snippets from TaylorMade:

Beginning April 27, TaylorMade Performance Lab’s certified professionals will fit men, women and junior golfers of all ages and abilities to a custom set of TaylorMade® golf clubs using an exclusive technology previously available only to Tour professionals, called Motion Analysis Technology by TaylorMade (MAT-T).
“After visiting The International and seeing the fabulous golf courses and great facilities, I knew we had to bring our exclusive fitting system there,” said Herb Meistrich, President and CEO of TaylorMade Performance Labs. “The International is steeped in tradition and we know golfers from the Northeast will take advantage of the opportunity to enjoy an unparalleled custom fitting experience at a world class facility.
Dan Weadock Jr, President of The International added, “With the introduction of the TaylorMade Performance Lab, The International reinforces its commitment to providing a world class golfing experience to our members, guests and the golfers around the world who come to play our two fabled courses.”

The labs use something called "motion capture technology", which is the same stuff used in the Tiger Woods golf game, and lots of movies. From what I have seen of the process, you feel a little bit like you are in a sci fi flick and are getting fitted for your on screen bod. From there, they analyze your swing,body movements, and posture - capturing the data necessary to come up with a custom set of specs for you. Based on these specs, a custom set of new sticks - driver to wedges, can be cranked out JUST FOR YOU in about 48 hours. The TMP Labs are located at The Four Seasons Resort in North San Diego,CA; the Hyatt Grand Cypress Resort in Orlando, Florida; Reynolds Plantation in Greensboro,GA (where I was last week !!!); and The Olympia Fields Country Club in Chicago,IL. More info is available at www.tmplabs.com.

Stay tuned for updates on this - I will be paying a visit to the TMP Lab at Reynolds Plantation later this summer, and will put up a couple of posts detailing what it is like from a ~~first person~~ guinea pig's perspective. I'm hoping that they can even clone a perfect golf partner for me (to the TMP guys - Use this recipe: Angelina Jolie + Megan Fox + Paula Creamer + my wife...)

That's it for today - gotta go watch some "Eastbound and Down".....Kenny Powers is callin' my name !

Dr. Beeper Prescribes a Cure for What Ails the PGA...

2009-04-19T09:08:00.016-05:00

Not many people know this, but here at Bushwood, we employ a team of economists, statisticians, accountants, philosophers, and general brainiacs....all part of our "Think Tank". This team of brilliant individuals is led by our own Dr. Beeper. Beeper's crew was recently contacted by the PGA and the new Democratic administration to see if we could come up with a cure to current round of ailments that the PGA is suffering with - you know, sponsors who are revealed to be ponzi schemers, sponsors who need some bailout funds, viewers who no longer have homes to put their TV sets in, and layoffs everywhere.

Our team of crack "think tankers", led by longtime member Dr. Beeper (the presenter), convened at the 19th hole, tapped a fresh keg of Sweetwater 420, and prepared to enlighten the membership (and the world). As they began their presentation, they promised that their solution would do four things:

(1) Create Jobs (yeah, baby....we've got a future in politics)

(2) Increase viewership (thereby increasing ad revenues)

(3) Create excitement at the events (increased attendance)

(4) Increase revenues from product sales (hooray for the manufacturers)

The entire membership was on the edge of their seats, anxiously awaiting more information. The presenters went on to assure the crowd that this was a proven solution, and had been used successfully by many other organizations and different sports.

What could this panacea be, you ask dear reader ?

One word, proclaimed Dr. Beeper.... CHEERLEADERS !!!

That's right official PGA Cheerleaders! Not only could the manufaturers have cheerleaders (gimme a P, gimme an I, gimme an N, Gimme a G...gimme a PING !!!! Go Ping!!!) And we won't stop there - each player could have their own cheerleading SQUAD !!! Can you IMAGINE what kind of talent Camilo and Sergio would bring to the event ! Ay caramba !!!! (note to Mark Calcavecchia - please do not recruit your cheerleaders from the cast of "The View" - maybe you can just sit this one out..). For those doubting Thomases among the readers, I proudly submit the following examples of what could be in store for us....

By the way, in case you are wondering - two of the three teams represented above made the playoffs this year - so we are definitiely on to something !!! "Gimme a T, Gimme an A, Gimme a Y"..... Hooray for Cheerleaders !!!

(All photos property of Sports Illustrated - see more at www.si.com)