September 2006

Bad choices from Tom Lehman, again.

He has 3 of the 4 best golfers in the world, according to the World Rankings and he didn’t put them in the first four spots on Sunday.

That’s gonna cost us.

You knew, based on the past Euro Sunday lineups, that Montgomerie and Garcia would be one-two.

Tiger should have been first, Furyk second and Mickelson third.

We have to get 5 of the first 6 points and we haven’t got a shot at that with this lineup.

Going strong in the middle and weak on the ends gives you two weak spots and twice the chances of breaking as going strongest to weakest.

Once again, our captain has no idea that if they get two or three points early, it over.

Wonder if anybody tried to tell him that they were four points from retaining the Cup ?

We had to go down the line, rankings wise, and hope we could get to the last 2 matches, rather than save a couple of guns for, what looks to be now, meaningless matches.

Maybe we can get the Cup back in ‘08, when it comes to Valhalla. We’ll need a smarter captain the some of the last few we’ve had.

Wonder if Arnie’s busy in ‘08 ?

Here’s a tip for the next American Ryder Cup Captain - change the freakin’ teams.

Why do our captains continue to send out teams that get their asses handed to them ?

Why do we have 12 players for 8 spots ? To change up the teams, of course.

Furyk and Woods keep getting beat, so we keep sending them out together ? Bad decision.

DiMarco and Mickelson keep getting beat, so we keep sending them out together ? Bad decision.

How about putting a supposed stalwart with a rookie ? Why not put it on Tiger’s shoulders and give him J.J. Henry to pack around for a couple of matches ?

Why doesn’t Furyk, who’s the number 3 player in the world get to play with a Vaughn Taylor or a Zack Johnson ?

I’ll tell you why. Because our captain, and I love him to death, is making the same bad decisions that the losers before him made.

And why do the Americans have so much trouble getting the ball flag high with their approach shots and why do their putts always miss on the amateur side ?

I wish I knew.

Maybe in ‘08, when the Ryder Cup comes to my state and city where I spend several days per week, I can offer some fantastic advice.

Oh heck, why wait, I’ll offer it now - get the ball to the hole and putt it with a little conviction.

Simple, huh ?

Just in case you’d missed it or forgotten, there’s live blogging going on over at Ryder Cup Diary.

Click thru and keep up with a bloggers views from Ireland, I am.

The Travelling Golfer made a stop in Louisville a couple of days ago and his good friend, Todd Hart, introduced him to Lynn and Nancy, owners of L & N Bistro and Wine Bar, one of the best places to dine east of Los Angeles.

Now, we all know that the Travelling Golfer is 6′2″ and 250, so we know he’s got the experience to tell fine dining from bad grub.

At L & N, your favorite golf blogger found some exquisite offerings on every part of the menu.

The Baby Spinach Salad is now officially tied for 1st place with The Del Frisco salad as my all-time favorite.

It consisted of Point Reyes blue cheese, pears and candied walnuts, with a lavender honey champagne vinaigrette. That was my first time to taste Point Reyes blue cheese and it was extremely tasty, not too gamey, yet very full-bodied.

Next came the Georgia Burger. It was a full ½ lb. of ground chuck, homemade Worcestershire, Kenny’s colby cheese, applewood smoked bacon and it was served with pommes frites.

Let me tell you right here, right now, the Worcestershire sauce was out of this world good ! The burger was enormous and the applewood smoked bacon was worth the 2 hour trip by itself ! I don’t know Kenny, but Kenny knows Colby, ’cause that cheese was perfect.

If you don’t know what pomme frites are, they’re fine dining french fries standing on end, cooked and seasoned to perfection.

And last, but by no means least, the Creme Brulee that we had for desert was the best I’ve ever had. Maybe the one I had at The Petroleum Club in Evansville (IN) was close, but not any better.

I believe Todd told me they used brown sugar for the topping and I’m sure I got a hint of the same mouth watering food-gasm you get from a marshmallow on a stick in a campfire.

To say the least, the service was impeccable. Lynn and Nancy came by several times and our waiter had a great personality to go with his serving skills.

Great job all around and I have to award them 5 Stars !

Please don’t hesitate to go by and experience some of the best atmosphere and ambiance that Louisville has to offer. I’d even go so far as to say that you would not find anything any better in Paris …. France or Kentucky !

Thanks for taking me, Todd and to the owners and staff at L & N, thanks for letting me into your world for a few moments of absolute dining bliss !

It’s time for the HSBC World Match Play Championship in Wentworth, England.

I’ve always enjoyed this event and would love to go over and watch it, but them freakin’ snakes on them planes are gonna keep me from ever doing that !

Since Jim Furyk just won the Canadian Open, I’m gonna install him as my pick to click. He’s also my pick to lead the American team, along with - get this - Tiger Woods, to victory in Ireland.

Tune in and enjoy this weeks event and get ready for the Ryder Cup next week !

There’s no better time than now to tour the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Alabama. Golf and Alabama go together this time of year like football and Alabama.

The Trail’s offering in Greenville, Alabama, Cambrian Ridge, is one of my favorites. My buudy Rob Condo, from Louisville, drove down to play it with me a while back and we both were completely amazed at the weather, the great condition of the courses and the friendliness of the people.

The Loblolly nine has gently rolling fairways, majestic pine trees and enough water to make you think about it, but not enough to be offensive.

The Canyon nine, which used to be an old hunting grounds, has some dramatic drops in elevation and it’s more of a target style of golf than the other nines.

The Sherling nine, which was my favorite, could be the best nine holes on the entire Trail. No kidding, it’s that good.

The double green at the ninth, shared with the ninth on the Canyon, is the finish of a wonderful test that leaves you feeling good, rather than beat up.

Run down to Greenville, Alabama as soon as you can and enjoy the best fall golf I’ve ever found.

If you’re a road warrior like me, and happen to stay at Hilton Garden Inns, you’ll be glad to find out that they have a promotion that gives you a free round of golf with a stay on thursady, friday or Saturday.

Here’s a link to the promotion and I hope to see you on the links !

I just found an interesting article about golf in the state of Mississippi on the TravelVideo website.

In their article, they report that ” in addition to being annually acclaimed for its great golf courses and other tourism attractions, Mississippi has collected a slew of distinctions recently.

For instance, Golf Digest, Golfweek and Golf magazines have previously rated Magnolia Golf Trail courses as some of the best in the South.

A collection of 14 premier, critically-acclaimed golf courses designed by many of the game’s top architects and launched in 2002, the Magnolia Golf Trail is rapidly gaining recognition as one of the nation’s finest and most value-laden golf trails. It conveniently helps visitors book stay-and-play packages. For more information about the trail, visit www.MagnoliaGolfTrail.com . ”

Why travel to Mississippi to play golf ? Glad you asked -

- Great year-round weather and direct flights from major carriers

- More than 150 courses offering all price points and design varieties in five distinct regions

- New and existing courses designed by top golf course architects that garner national recognition

- World-famous cuisine, blues music and luxurious casino resorts offering big-name entertainment

- Family-themed attractions of all types

- Widespread acclaim from the annual PGA Tour golf tournament held in Jackson

- History, heritage and architecture, including Antebellum Era mansions turned award-winning B&B venues.

The state of Mississippi offers five diverse topographical and cultural regions -

- The Delta - birthplace of the Blues and comprised of Northwestern flatlands

- The Hills - home of gently rolling, Northeastern landscapes

- The Pines - located in the Central-East part of the state and blanketed with quiet forests

- The Capital/River - with its winding waterways and rich history in the state’s Central-Southwest

- The Coastal - located in the South and featuring the Gulf of Mexico’s sparkling water and beaches

Highly regarded golf-course architects are also well-represented in Mississippi, including Tom Fazio, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Davis Love III, Jerry Pate, Bob Cupp, Arthur Hills, Hale Irwin and others.

There are numerous award-winning golf courses in Mississippi and most notably -

Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point, which will host the U.S.G.A.’s 2006 Women’s Mid-Amateur, was the host site of the 1999 U.S. Women’s Open won by Julie Inkster and was recently named No. 96 in Golf Digest magazine’s “America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses”.

Dancing Rabbit at Pearl River Resort and Casino in Philadelphia, which boasts two 18-hole championship courses jointly designed by Tom Fazio and Jerry Pate - Azaleas and Oaks - with the Azaleas course being named No. 70 in Golf Digest’s “America’s 100 Greatest Public Golf Courses”.

There are several new golf courses currently being developed and opening in the near future, including Fallen Oak by Tom Fazio, a stunning track which is owned by the Beau Rivage Casino Resort, and offerings from Arnold Palmer, Jerry Pate and others.

In the first telltale bit of info to come out, Thomas Bjorn has declared his anger that Lee Westwood was chosen over him to represent Europe at The K Club.

Woosie apparently told him in the hotel bar, a favorite spot of Woosnam it seems, after I read his interview in the September edition of Golf Digest.

It seems Woosie has an answer for every situation in golf and it revolves around a pint ot two.

The Euro’s have always claimed to be a better team than the Americans. They claim to have closer bonds.

That would look to be out the window with, I predict, a poorly run and soon to be losing captaincy from Woosnam.

Need advice from the Captain ? He’s in the bar, go buy him a pint and he’ll talk til it’s gone.

Want to know your pairings ? They’re posted in the bar.

It looks like the Americans finally got the right Captain …. on the other squad !

Here’s the CNN take on this developing story.

Saddle Creek Resort, 900-acre Castle & Cooke community in the scenic California Foothills, has been named to the ZAGAT Survey listing of “America’s Top Golf Courses” for the fourth straight years.

In addition to being named to this prestigious listing, Saddle Creek was also honored by the ZAGAT Survey as “Best of” in the “Bunkering” and “Environmentally Friendly Courses” categories.

Being named to the ZAGAT list is the latest in a long line of distinctions and accolades Saddle Creek has received. For two straight years, the course ranked among the Top-10 courses in California in Golfweek’s “America’s Best Courses 2005” ratings, appearing at No. 8 on the prestigious list and moving past the famed South Course at Torrey Pines - site of the 2008 U.S. Open Championship.

Saddle Creek was also recently included on Golfweek magazine’s Top-100 listing of “America’s Best Residential Golf Courses.” The resort placed No. 39, ahead of esteemed residential courses Reynolds Plantation, PGA West, Isleworth, Hammock Dunes, Colleton River and others.

Saddle Creek, designed by Carter Moorish, is framed by the Sierra Mountains and challenges players of all levels with five sets of tees, more than 100 crystal white sand bunkers and several shimmering lakes.

To create an atmosphere of tranquility and isolation, Morrish devised a routing in which no two holes run parallel to each other. Saddle Creek’s thoughtful design and sublime conditioning have led to numerous national accolades, such as being rated one of the top four semi-private courses in Northern California by Golf Today.

Residents and guests of Saddle Creek can also enjoy the beauty of the Quail trail with miles of hiking trails and mountain biking and nearby skiing, snowmobiling, and the nearby Lake Tulloch.

Also of interest are the sports club, featuring a 3,000-square-foot facility offering yoga and aerobic classes, a large pool, kids’ wading pool and a Jacuzzi spa.

The Saddle Creek Lodge features a fully-stocked bar and an extensive wine list, stunning vistas and the food of Executive Chef Richard Whipple at the acclaimed Copper Grille.

Saddle Creek Resort, as well as Coyote Creek Golf Club outside of San Jose, is owned and operated by Castle & Cooke, Inc. that, along with its affiliated companies, has operations in over 24 states. The company’s diversified businesses include the development and ownership of real estate, leasing of transportation equipment, manufacture of brick and ownership of public warehouses. The company’s real estate developments include master planned communities such as Mililani Town on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, Lake Sherwood in Thousand Oaks, California, and Seven Oaks in Bakersfield, California. The company also owns two of the world’s highest-rated resorts on the 98% owned island of Lana’i in Hawaii.