No tricks needed at Indian Springs

Sometimes the simplest tests are the most challenging. A case in point would be the fourth hole at Indian Springs, a 432-yard par 4 without whistles or bells.

As the No. 1 handicap hole on the Jack Kidwell-designed course, the fourth hole stands its ground without the need of a water hazard, sand trap or big elevation change. It simply requires two stout shots. Anything less than that and a bogey or worse will likely find its way onto your scorecard. That's why it belongs in Oldgolfdawg's Elegant Eighteen list.

The hole begins from an elevated tee and demands a well-struck drive into a narrowing fairway flanked by tree trouble. Any straying from the straight and narrow will likely lead to a blocked second shot or a bad angle into the green that will require working the ball left or right. If you hit a straight drive, say 250 yards, you're still left with a shot of about 182 yards that plays longer because the fairway slowly rises as it approaches the green. There's also some overhanging tree branches from a group of trees on the left side of the fairway that come into play about 100 yards from the green.

The good-sized green, which slopes generally from back to front, is cut into a gentle hillside and is protected in front by a rise just before reaching the putting surface. Shots hit near the green but without enough force will often roll back down or slide off the rise. If the pin is in the front of the green, it is difficult to hit a second shot near it unless it is hit very high and lands softly. The green is fast. If you end up in the back of it and the cup is in the front or middle of the green, one has to be careful about not running putts way past the hole or even off the green.

Oldgolfdawg used to play Indian Springs, which is located about 37 miles west of downtown Columbus in Mechanicsburg on Rt. 161, three or four times a year when it first opened in 1990. The two nines, known as The Reserve and The Woods, combine for a rating of 72.0 and a slope of 135 from the middle tees, which play 6,630 yards. It's a tough track and one has to bring their A game to this venue if they hope to post a good score.

Perhaps that's why Oldgolfdawg cut back on the number of rounds he's played there in recent years, more a reflection on the state of his game than the course itself. It is a beautiful, well-manicured course with an interesting layout and a variety of straightforward challenges. If the idea of eating a little humble pie doesn't scare you away, you won't be disappointed by the examination Indian Springs will afford your game.

http://www.golfindiansprings.com/

Els turns eyes to green-jacket prize

Ernie Els didn't earn any extra style points but he did hold on to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational by two shots over Kevin Na and Edoardo Molinari yesterday in Orlando, Fla.

Bolstered by one-putting three of his final four holes from 7 (No. 15), 6 1/2 (16) and 8 (18) feet, he parred his way in at Bay Hill while overcoming three missed greens.

After posting a double bogey-bogey finish on Nos. 13 and 14 on Sunday before play was halted by a line of thunderstorms, Els said he might not get much sleep worrying about how he would maintain his two-shot lead over Na when play resumed Monday. Turns out it, he had reason to be nervous.

“The last 20 hours I couldn’t stop thinking about how I was going to finish this thing,” said Els, who carded a disjointed 71 for an 11-under 277 total and his second victory in as many starts.

In winning for the 18th time on the PGA Tour, Els became the only player this year to win twice on the circuit, his other win coming two weeks ago in the CA Championship at Doral. Doing so just two weeks from the year's first major championship will put him atop a short list of favorites at Augusta National. But it should be noted that Els has done nothing in the Masters since his heartbreaking loss to Phil Mickelson by a stroke in 2004, having missed three straight cuts.

Interestingly, the last three players to win the Masters -- Zach Johnson in 2007, Trevor Immelman in 2008 and Angel Cabrera in 2009 -- came into the event more or less under the radar. Els won't be able to pull that off but he will be able to compete while most of the attention will be on Tiger Woods' return to the PGA Tour.

Woods is the last player to win twice in Florida, winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Players Championship in 2001, before going on to win the Masters. Els, a three-time majors champion, would like to pull off a similar feat and earn his first green jacket.

While wearing the blue blazer given to the winner at Bay Hill yesterday, the Big Easy joked about wanting to turn it green.

"I know the history of Augusta pretty well, and there's been a lot of nice stories," Els said. "There's been some cruel ones, thinking of (Tom) Weiskopf and (Greg) Norman and myself. But there's also been some really great ones. We are still hoping for the great one."

Quick divots: The last time Mickelson went this deep into a season without a title was 2006, when he ended his dry spell with a Georgia double -- back-to-back victories at the BellSouth Classic and Masters. ... Ostrander native Ben Curtis, one shot back to start the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, seemed to run out of steam on Sunday and Monday, closing with a 74. He finished sixth, four shots back of Els, and collected $216,000 for his efforts. ... Fred Couples won his third straight start on the Champions Tour, shooting a course-record 10-under 62 Sunday at the Jack Nicklaus-designed Punta Espada for a two-stroke victory over Corey Pavin in the Cap Cana Championship in the Dominican Republic. Couples, 50, is the first player in Champions Tour history to win three of his first four tournaments, and the eighth to win three straight starts, leaving him one behind the tour record set by Chi Chi Rodriguez in 1987.

Information from ESPN, Golf Channel.com, Golf.com and the Associated Press contributed to this post.

No sweet dreams for Els

A line of thunderstorms pulled the plug on the Arnold Palmer Invitational yesterday just when things were starting to get interesting. After building a five-shot lead on the field through 12 holes, Ernie Els inexplicably started leaking oil with a double bogey and a bogey just before the rains came.

So when play resumes today at 10 a.m., the Big Easy is going to have to work a lot harder for his second straight victory on the PGA Tour. Instead of a comfortable five-shot lead, he'll be protecting a two-shot lead over Kevin Na with four holes remaining.

If Els doesn't get a good night's sleep, he'll have himself to blame. He hit driver on No. 13 when he didn't have to and it led to a double bogey when the tee shot wound up in a bunker. Then a poor shot out of a green-side bunker on the 14th led to a bogey and the plot suddenly thickened.

"Not a very nice way to go into a bit of a break," Els said. "I'll be thinking about it all night. It won't be a very peaceful night, I don't think, but I'm going to come out tomorrow and get it done somehow."

Els, who ended the longest drought of career at Doral two weeks ago when he won the CA Championship by four shots, is 11 under. Na is 9 under and on the front of the green on the 15th hole, facing an 80-foot birdie putt. Ostrander native Ben Curtis and Chris Couch, playing in the final group with Els, are 8 under. Retief Goosen is also 8 under through 17 holes.

Curtis, a former standout at Kent State, is on track for his best showing of the season. In five tournaments thus far he has made three cuts and won just $41,708, his highest finish being a tie for 42nd in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in San Diego.

NBC analyst Johnny Miller remarked during TV coverage Saturday that Curtis had seemingly come out of nowhere in challenging for the title. Although Curtis has won a British Open and amassed more the $9 million in earnings in his career, he doesn't seem to command much respect. The nicest thing Miller had to say about him during the broadcast yesterday was that Curtis is a grinder.

Information from the Associated Press and ESPN contributed to this post.

Another potential spill at Chapel Hill

If you roll the dice on Nos. 7 and 11 at Chapel Hill, odds are good you'll crap out on one or both of the difficult par 4s. In a Jan. 4 post dubbed "Going to the Chapel," I explained how the seventh hole can easily become a trail of tears if one isn't on their game. The same can be said for No. 11, but with a twist.

While the seventh hole leaves one with a scary downhill second shot, No. 11 demands a well-placed shot to a mostly hidden green resting on top of a hill. Any shot headed toward the green without conviction risks landing in a bunker protecting the left front of the putting surface or coming to rest in the rough of the slope rising to the green. A poorly hit shot risks a worse fate, rolling into a creek the cuts across the fairway about 20 to 25 yards below the green.

Anyway you slice it, No. 11 belongs in Oldgolfdawg's Elegant Eighteen list. The drive on the 399-yard hole from the middle tees is fun to watch from an elevated tee box. But there's danger to the left in the form of a creek that runs all along the fairway until it crosses it at the base of the hill on which the green sits. Everything hit off the tee box wants to kick to the left so one has to be sure to give the creek plenty of respect. If the drive into a valley below is faded too much to the right, you can end up with an awkward side-hill lie that will make going for the green in two are real gamble.

If you hit a good drive that comes to rest in a level area of the fairway about 240 yards out, you'll be left with about a 160-yard shot that plays longer because you have to hit it uphill to the green. It usually plays about 175 to 185 yards long and any shot that starts to bend left or right from there will usually kick off the bank leading up to the green and end up with a very difficult third shot. I recall many times telling myself not to try to muscle the second shot and still being unable to relax and get the tension in my arms to go away. Which, of course, is not what you want to do in that situation. I guess that's why knowing and doing can be two different things.

Anyway, if the pin placement is near the front of the good-sized green that for the most part slopes from back to front, it is more difficult to get second, third or fourth shots close because there's no margin of error if they come up just a little short. If they come up short, they'll often roll back down the hill, leaving one with another difficult shot.

Though the drive to Chapel Hill from downtown Columbus is about 47 miles, I never regret making it upon arriving. The course easily rates 3 1/2 dog biscuits in Oldgolfdawg's best-places-to-play guide.

http://www.chapelhillgolfcourse.com/

Love focusing on task at hand

Davis Love III only has two weeks left to earn a spot in the Masters but said he was trying not not to think about it yesterday after he shot a 6-under-par 66 to gain a share of the lead with J.B. Holmes in the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, Fla.

Love chipped in twice during a five-hole stretch and finished strong with a 45-foot birdie and an 8-foot par putt in bolstering his chances to return to Augusta National for the first time since 2007. If he doesn't win this week, he has to win next week in the Houston Open to earn his way into the first major of 2010. In five starts this season, he's only made one cut, the Sony Open in Hawaii where he finished tied for fifth.

“It’s always in the back of your mind -- or the front of your mind,” Love said. “After a few weeks where I played kind of poorly … I was just mentally kind of frazzled. I just said, ‘You’re going to have to just to play the ones you get in and do the best job you can and quit worrying about everything else,'" Love said.

Love, who has made more than $39 million during his PGA Tour career, has never won at Bay Hill. He finished a shot out of a playoff in 1999, then was runner-up to Tiger Woods a year later. Woods is not playing Bay Hill, where is the two-time defending champion, for the first time in his PGA Tour career. He will play for the first time since his sex scandal in two weeks at the Masters.

Woods announced Wednesday that he will talk to the media as a whole at the Masters, but will not do so on Tuesday, which he had traditionally done in the past. Instead, Woods will be the sole interview subject in the Augusta National media center Monday, April 5, with his press conference scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. Woods spoke Sunday to ESPN and the Golf Channel in a pair of five-minute interviews, his first with members of the media since his scandal emerged last November.

Information from the Associated Press, Golf Channel contributed to this post.

Feedback from Facebook

Just wanted to relay some feedback received from Facebook friends concerning Oldgolfdawg's best-places-to-play guide:

Dennis Fiely -- For my money, Blacklick offers the best value. They've done a nice job of restoring the property to a more natural state.

Francis Hinchey -- Hey Dan: I'd give 3 dog treats to a Jack Kidwell layout Kings Mill in Waldo area. http://www.kingsmillgolf.com/

Oldgolfdawg's Facebook replies -- @Frank ... I'll put Kings Mill on my hope-to-play list. Thanks for the tip. ... @Dennis ... I've definitely got to give Blacklick another whirl. I always thought the prices there were very reasonable and I always liked hitting off those elevated tee boxes on some of the holes. ... Thanks for the feedback.

An Oldgolfdawg hopes to learn new tricks

Some excellent feedback on my best-places-to-play guide from Adam C., a friend and former co-worker, suggested Oldgolfdawg wasn't giving Blacklick Woods Golf Course its due by only tossing it 2 1/2 dog biscuits. Adam is a faithful follower of the little white pea and I respect his opinion when he says, "I personally enjoy Blacklick more than a couple of your three-biscuit courses."

In fairness to Blacklick, Oldgolfdawg has to admit he hasn't played the course in more than five years. So when Adam says he likes how well maintained the course is, it's worth noting. As I explained in presenting the guide, the subjective ratings were based on personal experiences collected over 26 years of playing golf in central Ohio. Some of the memories admittedly are long in the tooth and might not reflect current realities.

Adam's take on the matter makes me want to check out Blacklick again so I can update my impressions at the scene of some of my past crimes. I do recall never putting well at Blacklick, but that could be said about a lot venues I have visited. Perhaps my difficulties on the greens there biased my opinion of the overall experience to too great an extent. I do know there is a correlation between how much one likes a course and how well one played it. In that regard, I'm guilty if charged.

I hope Adam and other followers of Chase The Pea will offer their insights on courses I have listed in my best-places-to-play guide, which will become a permanent fixture in the sidebar area on the right side of this blog. Updated insights and opinions are always better than the memories of an Oldgolfdawg. And insights and opinions on courses not part of the guide would be appreciated, too. Maybe an Oldgolfdawg can still learn some new tricks with the help of others who are also chasing the pea. That was the goal when I started this blog.

http://www.metroparks.net/ParksBlacklickWoodsGolfCourse.aspx

Oldgolfdawg's best-places-to-play guide

The beauty of any golf course is in the eye of the beholder, and what revs the engine of one golfer might not have the same effect on another. But it doesn't hurt to mull a second opinion when picking a course to play, especially if you are considering a new option.

So for what it's worth, Oldgolfdawg is taking it upon himself to rate the desirability of the central Ohio public courses that he is familiar with on a scale of 1 to 5 dog biscuits. In coming up with these ratings, he took into consideration such factors as layout, ambience, greens, fairways and staff. These factors were further broken down as follows: 1) Layout -- excellent, good, moderate, poor and designed by a drunken sailor; 2) Ambience -- excellent, good, moderate, poor and as inviting as rush-hour traffic in L.A.; 3) Greens -- excellent, good, moderate, poor and you cannot be serious; 4) Fairways -- excellent, good, moderate, poor and more appropriate for a goat ranch; and 5) Staff -- excellent, good, moderate, poor and graduates of the Beavis and Butt-Head school of etiquette.

So without any further ado, here's how Oldgolfdawg thinks they stack up:

5 dog biscuits -- Longaberger (affordability is the only drawback)
4 1/2 dog biscuits -- East Golf Club (a classic layout)
4 dog biscuits -- Cooks Creek, Cumberland Trail, Eagle Sticks, Deer Ridge, Golf Club of Dublin, The Players Club at Foxfire
3 1/2 dog biscuits -- Apple Valley, Bent Tree, Chapel Hill, Champions, Granville, Indian Springs, New Albany Links, The Links at Echo Springs and Royal American Links
3 dog biscuits -- Darby Creek, Glenross, National Road, Mentel Memorial, Raymond Memorial, Turnberry, Westchester
2 1/2 dog biscuits -- Airport, Blackhawk, Blacklick, Licking Springs, Safari Golf Club, St. Albans, Table Rock
2 dog biscuits -- Airport, Mill Creek, Oakhaven, Bridgeview, Marysville Golf Club, Minerva Lake
1 1/2 dog biscuits -- Wilson Road, Big Walnut (executive courses)
1 dog biscuit -- Let's not go there

Here's a list of courses I hope to play in the future in order to rank them: North Star Golf Resort, Rattlesnake Ridge, Clover Valley, Phoenix Golf Links, Kyber Run and Buck Ridge.

It should be noted that the top two courses in this rankings list were designed by Arthur Hills, a world-renowned architect based in Toledo. Three classic courses that have played host to major championships were designed by Hills. He was instrumental in guiding Oakmont and Oakland Hills through renovations to prepare for the U.S. Open in 1994 and 1996. He played a similar role with Inverness Club in preparation for the 1993 PGA Championship. Longaberger Golf Club was named "America's Best New Upscale Public Course of 2000" by Golf Digest.

I welcome any and all feedback on my rankings. If they put anyone's panties in a bunch, let me know. If I overlooked a course or should include another one to my hope-to-play list, set me straight. These subjective ratings are based on personal experiences collected over 26 years of playing golf in central Ohio. Some of the memories admittedly are long in the tooth and might not reflect current realities. If I'm way off base, that's my alibi, and I'm sticking to it.

http://www.longabergergolfclub.com/

(Warning: Some of lyrics in the songs accompanying the video below are rated R, for mature audiences only. I wanted to show off the course but found some parts of the audio to be offensive. I'll let you decide if the views of the course are worth having to listen to some of the blue language.)

Woods interviews steal Furyk's spotlight

Jim Furyk closed with a 2-under-par 69 to earn a one-shot victory over K.J. Choi yesterday in the Transitions Championship in Palm Harbor, Fla., ending his longest stretch without a win since he first joined the PGA Tour.

But his first victory since the 2007 Canadian Open was overshadowed by one-on-one interviews of Tiger Woods by ESPN and the Golf Channel, the first of their kind since revelations of his infidelities surfaced last November. Apparently Team Tiger deemed it was better to deflate some of the pressure of future public interviews by once again falling back on a more controlled situation. It probably worked to some degree, but the interviews certainly won't put an end to future questioning.

Furyk's struggles down the stretch in earning his 14th PGA Tour victory made things interesting. On an entertainment scale of 1 to 5, Oldgolfdawg would throw the Transitions Championship 3 1/2 dog biscuits. The shaky finish included Furyk hitting what he called a half-shank from the trees on the final hole that nearly took out NBC sports reporter Roger Maltbie. But it didn't matter.

"It all worked out in the end," said Furyk, who finished at 13-under 271 and moved up to No. 6 in the world rankings. Afterward, he wasn't even upset about being upstaged by the Woods interviews.

“I think it’s good for him to get his face out there and have people see him,” Furyk said. “They are going to make their judgments, but I think it allows him to kind of move on and get focused for the next thing.”

Choi, who started three shots out of the lead, was tied with Furyk through seven holes until a two-shot swing on the par-3 eighth. Choi, who closed with a 67, never got any closer until the final hole. But his runner-up finish should be enough to move him to No. 47 in the world and give him a good chance to get into the Masters.

The PGA Tour has now played 13 events in the 2010 season without having a multiple winner. Other winners this season include Geoff Ogilvy, Ryan Palmer, Bill Haas, Ben Crane, Steve Stricker, Dustin Johnson, Ian Poulter, Cameron Beckman, Hunter Mahan, Camilo Villegas, Derek Lamely and Ernie Els.

Information from the Associated Press contributed to this post.

Classic layout unscathed by name changes

Curiosity finally got Oldgolfdawg to check out East Golf Club on Friday and he came away impressed. If you've never played the course, do yourself a favor and check it out while winter rates are in effect. You won't be sorry.

As soon as you drive into the East Golf Club parking lot, you are stepping into the world of what was once was an exclusive private club. But somewhere along the way the dream to create a Gatsby-like experience for a limited number of members at Winding Hollow Golf Club hit a speed bump and never recovered, forcing the membership to close shop in 2007.

New ownership purchased the facility and spent several months revamping the course, which had been closed and not kept up. The property re-opened for business in late June of 2007. Today, some of the trimmings of its original design, the mostly abandoned tennis courts and swimming pool, are remnants of its lost glory. But the course itself, built in 1991 by Toledo-based architect Arthur Hills, remains a jewel. Last year the course went by the name of Tartan East Golf Club. This year it is calling itself East Golf Club.

By any name, the course creates a classic atmosphere that inspires one to want to play their very best. It's tree-lined fairways value accuracy off the tee and its large bent grass greens are fast and firm. While most of its tree-lined fairways frame shots, there are holes where water hazards dictate strategy. The seventh hole, a 345-yard par 4 from the middle tees, offers an escape from the confines of the trees. But a pond runs down nearly the entire length of the hole's right side. Add in some bunkers down the left, and it becomes one of the course's most penal tee shots. The fifth hole, a 155-yard par 3, has a large pond protecting the front of the green. The 135-yard par 3 13th hole plays over water to a narrow, steeply sloped green protected by mounds on the right.

One of the neatest shots on the course is the third shot on the finishing hole, a 495-yard par 5. A laid-up second shot leaves one with about an 8- or 7-iron into a narrow green that curls around a pond on the right. When the pin is in the back left of the green it becomes a real risk/reward proposition because you have to hit over more of the pond to get near it. No doubt, many a ball has met a watery grave on the 18th as curious eyes watching from the stately brick clubhouse porch saw the drama unfold. The setting on the 18th reminds me a little of the finishing hole a Caledonia Golf & Fish Club in Pawley's Island, S.C., but that's a story for another day.

http://www.eastgolfclub.com/home/index.php

Devilish downhill lies take a toll

Punched the first hole in my 2010 DivotCard this week and was re-introduced to an old nemesis in the process. Blackhawk Golf Club was a favorite haunt of mine when I first moved to Columbus back in 1983. I played the course a lot during the '80s and grew a special appreciation for the difficulty of the third hole, a 431-yard par 4.

As the years passed, I strayed from playing the course for various reasons. But in recent years it has returned to my rotation as a tuneup track because of its association with The DivotCard. This week it didn't take me long to remember why I was always glad to be done with the third hole and why it belongs in my Elegant Eighteen lineup.

The drive from the tee box isn't overly demanding or tight but it does have to be hit long enough to have a real go at the green in two. The problem is the fairway slopes downhill and feeds into a valley where a small brook runs through it. A well-hit drive of 240 to 250 yards almost always winds up with a downhill lie on the side of a hill. And the second shot must be hit over the brook at the bottom of the valley and back up a big hill to a large green from front to back that is basically hidden from view because of the elevation change.

It's very difficult to hit a solid shot from a downhill lie. And hitting one from such a lie for distance and having it climb a big hill in the process is a very tall order. More times than I care to remember, I'd pull or push my the second shot to one side or the other of big hill on the other side of the valley and watch it come to a rest well short of the green. The hill leading up to the green is also flanked by a large tree with overhanging branches on the left side, and a clump of trees on the right side of the hill impedes shots and often knocks them back into the aforementioned brook.

It takes a stout shot to reach the green in two, and even if you pull it off, it is hard to hit one close to the pin because it's basically a blind shot. Most of the time I was 20 or 30 yards short of the green after two shots, facing a wedge shot where only the top of the flag could be seen. If I could get on in three and two-putt, I considered it a minor victory.

Blackhawk, designed by noted golf architect Jack Kidwell, opened in 1964 and plays 6,013 yards long from its middle tees with a par rating of 68.3 and a slope of 110.

http://www.bestcoursestoplay.com/states/blackhawk.html

Goosen seeks Copperhead encore

Fourteen of the top 25 players in the world will be on hand when the Transitions Championship begins play today at the Innisbrook Resort in the Tampa suburb of Palm Harbor, Fla.

South African Retief Goosen ended a nearly four-year dry spell with his one-shot victory over Charles Howell III and Brett Quigley in the event last year. He be seeking his eighth PGA Tour title today as play unfolds on The Copperhead Course, a tree-lined, undulating course that has more of a North Carolina look than a Florida one. The course is a good tune-up for the Masters because the greens are fast and there is pine straw off the fairways. It was the ninth-most difficult course on the PGA Tour in 2009.

Goosen, a two-time U.S. Open champion, may be up for the challenge of defending his title. He already has posted three top-10 finishes this year, a fourth at the Sony Open, a tie for fifth in the Accenture Match Play Championship and a tie for sixth at the SBS Championship. He also is the only player to shoot four sub-par rounds in a Transitions Championship (69-68-69-70 in 2009) since the event moved from the fall to the spring in 2007.

Second-ranked Steve Stricker, No. 6 Ian Poulter, No. 9 Jim Furyk and No. 10. Padraig Harrington top the field along with Goosen. First- and second-round play will be telecast on the Golf Channel (3-6 p.m.) NBC will pick up the action on Saturday and Sunday (3-6 p.m.).

QUICK DIVOTS: Golf's weekend television ratings are down 18 percent from last year for the first 10 weeks of the season, according to Sports Business Journal. But don't blame that on Tiger Woods because he did not play on the weekend for the first 10 weeks last year, either. ... Derek Lamely's victory Monday in the Puerto Rico Open was the first by a rookie on the PGA Tour since Marc Turnesa won the Justin Timberlake tournament in 2008. ... John Daly, who tied for 24th at 10 under last week in Puerto Rico, is making his sixth start of the year. ... The last time the PGA Tour went this far into a season (12 events) without multiple winners was 2004, when Phil Mickelson became the first to win for the second time in the 15th week. ... Mickelson hit just 20 fairways at Doral, last in the field, and has added next week's Arnold Palmer Invitational to his schedule to try to work out issues with his game.

Information from PGA Tour.com and ESPN.com contributed to this post.

A Masters like no other looms

Tiger Woods' decision to begin his 2010 season at the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club in April was music to the ears of ESPN and CBS Sports. TV ratings for this year's Masters will likely set all kinds of records when the first two rounds will be televised on ESPN and the final two by CBS Sports.

“Obviously, the ratings will be off the chart," PGA Tour veteran Heath Slocum said. "It will be interesting to watch -- not only the reaction from him, but from the fans, the media, the players. I would venture to say he might be nervous.”

Woods made the following announcement yesterday on his Web site:

"The Masters is where I won my first major, and I view this tournament with great respect. After a long and necessary time away from the game, I feel like I'm ready to start my season at Augusta.

"The major championships have always been a special focus in my career and, as a professional, I think Augusta is where I need to be, even though it's been awhile since I last played.

"I have undergone almost two months of inpatient therapy, and I am continuing my treatment. Although I'm returning to competition, I still have a lot of work to do in my personal life.

"When I finally got into a position to think about competitive golf again, it became apparent to me that the Masters would be the earliest I could play. I called both Joe Lewis and Arnold Palmer and expressed my regrets for not attending the Tavistock Cup and the Arnold Palmer Invitational. I again want to thank them both for their support and their understanding. Those are fantastic tournaments, and I look forward to competing in them again.

"I would also like to thank the Augusta National members and staff for their support. I have deep appreciation for everything that they do to create a wonderful event for the benefit of the game."

Woods has been in seclusion and undergoing therapy since Thanksgiving night when his life began to unravel after a traffic accident led to revelations of infidelity. He has made only one public statement since that time. He last played on the PGA Tour in the Tour Championship on Sept. 28, where he finished second. His layoff between the Australian Masters and U.S. Masters will be 144 days -- the second-longest of his career. He missed 256 days recovering from knee surgery in 2009.

There was a lot talk by many players that it would be best if Woods returned to competitive golf before the Masters to avoid having the staid event become a circus, but that apparently didn't factor in Woods' decision. The world's No. 1-ranked player indicated it boiled down to when he thought his game would be ready and that was good enough an explanation for many of his peers.

"We want the best player in the world out playing golf again," longtime rival Jim Furyk said. "He's got to do what's best for him. I realize looking at the big picture it's good for everyone. What's good for the best player in the world is probably good for the big picture and the PGA Tour."

Fears by some that Masters officials would be upset about having their tournament take a backseat to Woods' return apparently were overblown. Billy Payne, chairman of Augusta National and the tournament, said: "We support Tiger's decision to return to competitive golf beginning at this year's Masters Tournament. Additionally, we support and encourage his stated commitment to continue the significant work required to rebuild his personal and professional life."

The Masters is scheduled for April 8-11. Since World War II, only one player has made his first official event of the year the Masters and gone on to win -- Ben Hogan in 1951 and 1953. Woods is a four-time Masters champion, although he has not won at Augusta National since 2005, his longest drought there.

"We were pleased to learn that Tiger Woods will be playing the Masters in a few weeks," PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said in a statement. "He has invested a lot of time taking steps, both in his personal and professional life, in order to prepare for his return. We all wish him and his family the best as he rejoins the Tour."

Information from ESPN.com, PGA Tour.com, the Associated Press and Golf Channel.com contributed to this post.

Note to Tiger: Sooner would be better

It would be good for many parties if Tiger Woods decides to return to the PGA Tour fold at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill on March 25-28.

For one thing, it would allow PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem to escape from questions about when Woods is returning. Also, beyond the boost in TV ratings and media attention for the tour, it would allow the circus that his return is going to be to happen before the Masters, a tradition-rich event that doesn't relish controversy.

While the restrictions on the press at Augusta National would make things easier for Woods, the circus atmosphere his return is going to bring isn't something everyone will embrace, including many of his peers.

Steve Stricker said Saturday at the CA Championship that Woods making his return at the Masters would be an odd move and might take away from the year's first major championship.

"Hopefully he comes back before that," Stricker told Bob Harig of ESPN.com. at the Doral Resort. "You'd think as a player, being gone for so long, he'd want to come back before that. Whenever he comes back it's going to draw a lot of attention to that tournament and the focus is going to be on him coming back. I don't know if Augusta would like that to happen, you know? To turn it into Tiger's comeback instead of the Masters Tournament itself."

Stricker, a friend of Woods who has not heard from him since the scandal of his infidelities unfolded, said if anyone could win the Masters without playing a tournament for months, it would be Woods. Still, it would be difficult.

"It's going to be hard for him to not only worry about playing but all the hype," said Stricker, who has risen to No. 2 in the world. "It's going to be intensified even more so than it has been. That's why I thought he'd come back for a tournament or two before that to get some of that put aside before Augusta.

"It would be great for him to come back and it be put to rest. Moving forward. I want him back. It gets the attention put on our game for the right reasons."

NBC analyst Johnny Miller also has suggested it would be good for Woods to play a tournament before the Masters.

"Tiger, with his talent, has the ability to have a big break and come out of the box pretty good," Miller said. "But I don't know. If he wants to win at Augusta, which he does, he's going to have to play Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill tournament. No doubt about that.

"I really believe he needs to get one tournament under his belt -- get the cobwebs out, get his confidence going. And you can't do that at the Tavistock (an exhibition before the Arnold Palmer Invitational). You can't do that playing at Isleworth. You've got to play it under competition."

Whenever Woods comes back, it will be interesting to see how galleries will welcome back the game's No. 1-ranked player. Will an ugly and unruly kind of fan that many other sports know surface in the world of tournament golf? If that happens, than all of Woods’ colleagues will pay a price for his indiscretions.

“I’m eager for him to get back out here, hopefully sooner rather than later,” Stricker said. “I don’t know if being in his group the first time he comes back is going to be easy. It will definitely be a challenge. I’ve thought about it. In some regard, you would like to be out there, to be with him the first time. Hopefully, that would make it easier for him, but it’s going to be hard for him and everyone in that group.”

Information from ESPN.com, Golf Channel.com and Golf.com contributed to this post.

All is well with Els

Ernie Els proved he still has what it takes to compete on golf's bigger stages with his four-shot victory over fellow South African Charl Schwartzel in the CA Championship yesterday at Doral's TPC Blue Monster course.

The balky putting stroke that had prevented Els from winning on the PGA Tour for two years evaporated. He needed just 26 putts in his closing 6-under-par 66 and holed a 24-foot putt to save par on the 14th hole in what was a key turning point in his duel with Schwartzel.

"This means so much," Els said. "I didn't think it was ever going to happen again. But I felt all week that the work that I did, that I finally had to trust it at some stage, and there's no better day to really test yourself. I just wanted to prove to myself for once. Charl came at me all day. I had to come up with the goods."

Els, who last won two years ago at the Honda Classic, became only the fifth player with multiple victories in the World Golf Championships, joining Tiger Woods, Darren Clarke, Geoff Ogilvy and Phil Mickelson. With his 61st career victory and 17th on the PGA Tour, Els moved to No. 8 in the world ranking.

Perhaps more important, the three-time major champion declared his relevancy again after going through a rough stretch that had many questioning his ability. Now, at age 40, Els will enter this year's Masters with the knowledge he can still win.

"I've said for the last few years, he's still got it in him," said Ricci Roberts, Els' longtime caddie, who was working for him for the first time this year. "And I think he's still got two or three majors in him, never mind winning other golf tournaments.

"I just think it was a massive factor getting over this first hurdle, and that was getting a win under your belt. The longer between wins the more difficult it gets. This was his first win since Honda. It's massive for him."

The victory, worth $1.4 million, also moved Els past Colin Montgomerie and atop the PGA European Tour career money list with about $33.6 million. On an entertainment scale of 1 to 5, Oldgolfdawg would throw it 3 1/2 dog biscuits. American viewers didn't have much to cheer for other than Matt Kuchar, who shot a 68 to tie for third with Padraig Harrington and Martin Kaymer.

Schwartzel, who won twice earlier this year on the European Tour, was the only player to give Els a run. He was derailed by two bogeys on the last four holes after starting the day tied for the lead with Els. Schwartzel's stout play and closing 70 received lavish praise from NBC analyst Johnny Miller, who predicted the golf world will be hearing a lot more from the 25-year-old South African.

Schwartzel, who will be able to take up PGA Tour membership next year, was not discouraged despite leaking some oil down the stretch. "For me, it's been the biggest stage I've had," he said. "This is a good day for me."

Information from the Associated Press and ESPN.com contributed to this post.

A putter's paradise in Pataskala

Anyone who has played Cumberland Trail in Pataskala comes away from the experience impressed with its greens. One usually has to play at a private country club to play on greens as fast and true as they are at Cumberland Trail, and to be able to do so for less than $50 a round makes it a true value.

But the course is more than just its great putting greens. It also has an interesting layout that offers a variety of challenges. Oldgolfdawg played at Cumberland Trail extensively in 2006 and purchased a package of 50 rounds at the course in 2007. During that time, he developed an appreciation for the importance of hitting a well-placed drive on No. 12, a 529-yard par 5 that carries a 2 handicap. That appreciation is why No. 12 is being added to his Elegant Eighteen list.

From the Gold tees, where Cumberland Trail plays 6,805 yards long with a course rating of 72.20 and a slope rating of 125, No. 12 is not intimidating in terms of length. But if you get off on the wrong foot on the hole, it can quickly become a trail of tears. From the tee box, the golfer is confronted with a marsh area along the right side that gradually crowds the fairway until it recedes about 160 yards out. From there, the fairway widens to the right. Carrying the marsh off the tee box is no big deal, but it plays with your mind and tightens the muscles. The left side of the fairway from off the tee box is high rough that eventually turns into a wooded area of trees that catches a lot of drives that are pulled or hooked out of fear of the marsh area.

If one hits a solid tee shot of 230 to 240 yards on a fairly straight line, it will put them in good position for their second shot. Bigger hitters have to take into account a good-sized sand trap near the right edge of the fairway about 250 yards from the tee.

The second shot must carry a waste area that is flanked by a group of trees on the left and a thick wooded area to the right that runs all along the fairway once you get past the waste area. If your drive is in the center of the fairway or just off to the right of center, a nice fade shot over the waste area and through its gap with a low iron or fairway wood will set up a good third shot opportunity. If your drive is hit more to the left of center of the fairway, you risk the chance your ball will kick left and end up with a bad angle to hit your second shot from, possibly blocked by the group of trees flanking the left side of the waste area.

A large sand trap protects the entire left front of a large green at No. 12. The green generally slopes from back to front and has several areas of undulation. When the pin is placed in the back left of the green, the hole plays tougher because there is less margin for error. Pins placed on the right side of the green create a green-light situation.

If you've never played Cumberland Trail, you owe it to yourself to give it a try and to check out its greens. A stretch of holes on the back nine, Nos. 12-14, were always viewed as roadblocks to Oldgolfdawg's hopes of breaking 80. The eighth hole on the front nine, a 432-yard par 4, also took a bite out of his hide more times than he would like to recall.

http://www.cumberlandtrailgc.com/sites/courses/layout10.asp?id=688&page=38571




Here's a link to more information on buckeyegolfpackages:

http://www.buckeyegolfpackages.com/sites/courses/layout10.asp?id=669&page=37152

Rusty gate swings into action

Ables Golf on Avery was doing a brisk business yesterday when Oldgolfdawg joined the party. The clicking sound of balls taking flight at the driving range was steady as he made his way toward an open tee and began his first practice session of the 2010 golf season.

With each swing of the club, Oldgolfdawg could feel barnacles of rust fall off his back as he methodically worked his way through a big bucket of balls. After being away from the game for more then three months, Oldgolfdawg quickly came to the conclusion that his swing felt more like a rusty gate than the fine-tuned instrument he hopes it becomes before the summer is through.

But that realization didn't ruin the exercise. The first bucket of balls of any season is just one step on the journey toward lower scores. Just to be out swinging a club was enough to make Oldgolfdawg happy regardless of the results. Part of the price one pays for living in Ohio is that three-month period each year when one's game is shut down by weather realities.

In the book Golf & Life, Jack Nicklaus told Dr. John Tickell that he thought Ohio winters helped his game while he was growing up because they prevented him from becoming stale from too much golf. Oldgolfdawg wouldn't go so far as to call winters a blessing of sorts but will admit that players can lose bad habits that were beginning to crop up in their games during the winter shutdown period.

Regardless of one's view on the benefits of winter, don't get upset if it takes some time to get rid of the rust that built up during the days of inactivity. You've got the rest of the season to get better. Enjoy the journey.

* * *

If Tiger Woods returns to competition at the Masters as two sources have suggested to the Associated Press, it won't be the first time he has returned from a layoff to compete in a major without a warm-up event under his belt.

Woods twice has gone nine weeks without competing before showing up at a major. The first time was in 2006, when he didn't play after the Masters while coping with his father's death, then missed the cut in a major for the first time in the U.S. Open at Winged Foot. Two years ago, he was out with knee surgery until winning the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines on a shattered left knee.

Woods has not played since Nov. 15, when he won the Australian Masters in Melbourne for his 82nd career victory. Twelve days later, he crashed his SUV into a tree near his Florida home, setting off shocking revelations that he had been cheating on his wife.

Information from the Associated Press was utilized in this post.

Mickelson trying to regain lost momentum

It's about time for Phil Mickelson to crank up the volume on his game at this week's WGC-CA Championship at the TPC Blue Monster at Doral in Miami. Being the defending champion should serve as extra motivation for the world's No. 3-ranked golfer, who currently stands 52nd in the FedEx Cup points race and whose play thus far this season has been lukewarm at best.

Golf writers were expecting big things of Mickelson after the way he finished play in 2009 with victories in the Tour Championship and HSBC Championship while outplaying Tiger Woods. There was even talk that Mickelson had finally closed the gap separating Woods from everyone else and that Mickelson would carry the sport while the game's No. 1-ranked player was taking an indefinite leave from competition to sort out personal problems.

That scenario has not materialized. In fact, in four tournaments this season, Mickelson has lost his No. 2 world ranking to Steve Stricker and played like a shadow of the version seen at the end of last season. His best finish to date is a tie for eighth at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. He finished tied for ninth in the Farmers Insurance Open, tied for 24th in the Phoenix Open and tied for 45th in the Northern Trust Open, where he was the two-time defending champion.

So now everyone is wondering what's the problem? Well, for one thing, the hot putter he displayed at the end of last season, thanks to some putting sessions with Dave Stockton, has cooled off. Mickelson currently ranks 87th on the PGA Tour in the putts-per-round category.

His swing, and in particular his driving accuracy, has been another problem area. He ranks 176th in driving accuracy percentage and ranks 73rd in greens in regulation. This would be a big problem for a player of less ability, but he's relied on his short game to rank 19th in scoring average at 69.85.

Mickelson ranked tied for 33rd in greens in regulation but led the field in birdies when he won at the Doral Golf Resort last year. It might take a similar formula for him to score a repeat at the TPC Blue Monster. He likes the track. It played -1.085 in relation to par a year ago. Of the 24 par-72s played on the PGA Tour in 2009, it was the eighth-easiest and figures to be the perfect venue for him to snap out of his slow start.

The wind is expected to be a factor through Friday at least. A fair chance of rain exists through the second round. Last year, winds ranged from 10-20 mph throughout the tournament, but 19 golfers finished double-digits under par. With greens anticipated to be receptive given the moisture, and TPC Blue Monster prone to giving up birdies in less-than-ideal conditions, the tournament could be a real shootout decided on the treacherous final hole.

No escape from anxious moment

At first glance, No. 11 at The Players Club at Foxfire doesn't appear overly threatening and par 3s rarely earn much respect in handicap ratings. But it is a mistake to let one's focus wander too much when taking on this pit bull of a hole, especially if hitting into a slight breeze.

Because No. 11 comes after two of The Players Club's most difficult par 4s, Oldgolfdawg made the mistake of assuming he could relax on the 165-yard hole from the middle tees when he first started playing the course on a regular basis. Over time, he gained a healthy respect for No. 11's ability to derail a decent round just when he thought things were going to get easier. For that reason, Oldgolfdawg is adding it to his Elegant Eighteen list.

A pond sits in front of No. 11's hourglass-shaped green and it gobbles up balls hit without conviction the way John Belushi inhaled jello in Animal House. Balls hit through the green often collect in one of two bunkers just off the backside of the putting surface or roll down off the crowned fringe, leaving a difficult second shot and the possibility of visiting the aforementioned pond with the comeback effort.

There's always an anxious moment while watching one's tee shot to the green because it's hard to be sure if you've dialed in the distance just right and there's little margin for error. If you figured right and hit a solid shot that settles on the green, your work isn't over. The green is severely sloped with balls running off the highest, narrowest part of the hourglass to lower elevations on the right or left, similar to a saddlebag on a horse's back but not quite as extreme.

When the pin is positioned on the right half of the green, the hole plays easier because the putting surface is a little deeper from front to back than on the left side. Also, one can bail right and avoid having to carry the pond and still manage par from just off the green with a good chip. If the pin is positioned on the left side, however, the degree of difficulty goes up a couple of more notches. The hole plays longer when one is going for the left side of the green and there isn't a lot of room to work with for low, boring shots.

The best way to play the hole is to hit a high shot that floats straight down like a spider dropping from the ceiling. But distance control is crucial. A miscalculation in that department can quickly lead to a bogey or worse, and a good deal of the time it seems like you're hitting into a shifting breeze.

Messy problem has groovy ending

A tip of the cap is in order for Ping chairman and CEO John Solheim and the clubmaker's decision to waive its rights that prevent the PGA Tour from prohibiting the use of Ping Eye2 irons and wedges that do not meet the Condition of Competition from being played at tour events.

The waiver, announced yesterday, goes into effect March 29 and puts an end to the Groovegate scandal and the possibility of someone winning the Masters with a legal but controversial club. Thanks also should be given to Phil Mickelson for bringing the U.S. Golf Association's rulemaking process under scrutiny with his decision to play the pre-1990 Ping Eye2 wedge in the Farmers Insurance Open earlier this season. Mickelson made major headlines with the move when Scott McCarron called using the wedge cheating, fueling the controversy.

Now, thanks to Ping's decision, a messy situation has come up with a win-win solution and golfers and golf fans don't have to read any more about square grooves and an unfair playing field.

Ping's waiver applies to the PGA Tour, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour. At the request of the U.S. Golf Association, the clubmaker will also apply the waiver to the U.S. Open in June. The PGA Tour will then adopt a Condition of the Competition that does not provide an exception for the Ping Eye2 irons made before April 1990.

"John Solheim and Ping had a terrific opportunity to do something very positive and significant for the game of golf and we very much appreciate his willingness to take this action," PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said.

Ping and the PGA Tour stated the waiver does not take all Eye2 irons and wedges out of player’s hands as Ping has made versions of the wedges with grooves that conform to the new rule. Those clubs remain eligible for use.

“We’re thankful for Commissioner Finchem’s understanding of our position and his role in helping bring about this resolution," Solheim said. "We all believe it is in the best interests of golf. It levels the playing field on the PGA Tour and resolves a very unfortunate situation that we predicted would happen when the USGA first proposed the new groove rule more than two years ago.”

The resolution keeps in place all of Ping's other rights established in the 1993 PGA Tour settlement and the 1990 USGA settlement, including ensuring amateurs will continue to be able to play their pre-April 1990 Eye2s at all amateur events played under the USGA Rules of Golf.

The PGA TOUR and PING said they were pleased with yesterday's announcement by the USGA that it will be conducting a forum in the fall of 2010 in an effort to find ways to improve the equipment rulemaking process utilized by the USGA.

"Today's announcement by the USGA that it intends to review its rulemaking process and consider the input of all stakeholders in the game of golf demonstrates the USGA's commitment to our great game and its obligation to develop and implement rules for the game that are in the best interests of all concerned," Finchem said. "The PGA Tour will actively participate in the forum and will offer its own views on how the process may be improved."

Solheim is also encouraged by the USGA's announcement that the volunteer organization will share more information with, and seek more input from a variety of sources, including manufacturers, in the rulemaking process.

"I've been consistent in voicing my concerns over the last several years about the challenges of the current rulemaking process and the needs to improve it to the benefit of golfers," Solheim said. "I am hopeful this will be a significant first step in realizing this goal. We're looking forward to the forum and will be an active participant when it convenes sometime this fall. Our goal is to help ensure innovation remains an important part of golf's tradition."


Information from PGA Tour.com was utilized in this post.

Villegas is on a roll

The Bear Trap was in position to produce some late drama in the Honda Classic yesterday, but Camilo Villegas wouldn't cooperate. Instead he built a six-shot lead with three straight birdies beginning on No. 8 and then held on for a final-round 68 and a five-shot victory over Anthony Kim.

On an entertainment of scale of 1 to 5, Oldgolfdawg would throw it 3 1/2 dog biscuits. If someone had made a run at Villegas when he missed short par putts on Nos. 11 and 12 and three-putted from 50 feet on the par-3 15th, the Bear Trap (the 15th, 16th and 17th holes) might have bared its teeth and perhaps made things more interesting. But it never happened.

Villegas, who climbed to No. 12 in the world rankings, finished at 13-under-par 267, the lowest 72-hole score since the Honda moved to PGA National in 2007. He capped his round and his first victory since the Tour Championship in 2008 with a 20-foot birdie putt on the final hole.

"It's very special," Villegas said. "I'm just very privileged to do what I do. But trust me, it's tough. These guys are good. That is so true. Those guys are good."

Villegas, 28, became the fourth player who's still under 30 with at least three PGA Tour wins, joining Adam Scott (six) and Dustin Johnson and Sean O'Hair (three each).

Being a good physical condition likely played a role in his victory. Villegas didn't even play at practice round at PGA National last week. After finishing tied for eighth at the Phoenix Open, he headed to his native Colombia on Monday to help open the Nationwide Tour's Pacific Rubiales Bogota Open, the first PGA Tour-sanctioned event in South America. He returned to his south Florida home in Jupiter on Wednesday and opened the Honda Classic with back-to-back 66s. Apparently, jet lag doesn't bother him.

In three starts on the PGA Tour this year, Villegas has finished first, third and tied for eighth and has earned $1,764,000. He also has moved up to third in the FedEx Cup points race with 773.

Blinkers could come in handy

The Golf Pass offered by the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department is a great deal for value-oriented golfers who savor variety in their course menu. Oldgolfdawg bought a season pass to Columbus' seven municipal layouts in 2005 and came away satisfied much like an overly indulgent eater after a pig-out session in the buffet line.

The majority of Oldgolfdawg's play took place at Champions, Mentel Memorial and Raymond Memorial, but he learned to appreciate the demanding second shots of Turnberry along the way. Of those, the one required at No. 17 proved to be the most elusive. On several occasions a round with a chance of breaking 80 was directed to the off ramp with a poor second shot to No. 17, a 384-yard par 4 from the back tees. For that reason, it is being added to Oldgolfdawg's Elegant Eighteen lineup.

The tee shot on No. 17 requires accuracy into a narrowing fairway with tree trouble off to the left. Tee shots sprayed right also can run into tree trouble or necessitate a punch out shot if blocked. A smooth 3-wood with a slight fade right leaves one with about 150 yards to a narrow green protected to two bunkers on the left and high rough and a creek to the right. The green is slightly crowned and shots hit short of it often kick left, leaving a difficult third shot.

As one sizes up at the green one last time before hitting their second shot with something normally ranging from an 8- to a 6-iron, they can't help but be a little bit twitchy. There's very little margin of error to the narrow green. If you block the shot right or let it get away from you, you'll be lucky to find it in the high rough just off the green. The natural tendency is to play it safe and pull the shot rather than suffer that fate. But the bunkers protecting the left side of the green are no bargain and anything left of them is even tougher. It's simply one of those holes where you must tread lightly. The traffic light never switches to green on No. 17.

Turnberry is best played from its back tees, where it plays 6,757 yards long and has a course rating of 71.8 and a slope of 124. The course, designed by Arthur Hills, opened in 1991. Airport, Walnut Hill and Wilson Road are other courses in the Columbus Golf Pass lineup.

http://www.columbuscitygolfcourses.com/golf/proto/columbuscitygolfcourses/

Getting a grip on the situation

Forget about the countdown to Tiger Woods' return to the PGA Tour. It's time for golf dawgs in central Ohio to focus on their own return to the links and to start preparing for the coming golf season.

The recent break in the cold weather warms Oldgolfdawg's heart and has prompted him to take the first step in such preparations: the re-gripping of his clubs. The next best thing to buying a new set of sticks is having clubs you are comfortable with re-gripped. Oldgolfdawg dropped all of his clubs off at the Golfsmith store at New Market Center Way on Wednesday to be re-gripped and is planning to pick them up today.

Faithful followers of the little white pea who play 30 or more rounds a year probably should have their most used clubs re-gripped after every season. Being comfortable with your grip pressure during a swing is important. Worn-out grips might be affecting your swing in ways you don't realize.

A new set of soft Winn grips and a new Tiger/Shark putter grip is just the ticket to get Oldgolfdawg to move into the next phase of his preparations: conditioning. The rapid melting of the snow has made it possible to walk the streets and bike trails again and Oldgolfdawg is taking advantage of the opportunity by getting out and stretching his legs. He's also just about ready to dust off two conditioning CDs -- Roger Fredericks Reveals Secrets to a Fundamental Golf Swing and Katherine Roberts Yoga For Golfers -- in preparation for his first visit to a driving range in more than three months and the possible start of the season in two to three weeks.

Having one's clubs re-gripped brings immediate gratification while getting into a stretching and exercise routine requires a bit more of a commitment. As a carrot in this regard, Oldgolfdawg likes to create a wish list of courses in Ohio he wants to play this year that he has never played before. It gives him something to shoot for and extra motivation to get into better golf shape. To that end, here is his 2010 wish list: Tartan East Golf Club, Clover Valley, Avalon Lakes, Little Mountain Country Club, StoneWater Golf Club, Grey Hawk, Beavercreek Golf Club, Vineyard Golf Club, The Links at Firestone Farms and Quail Hollow.

If anyone out there in blogger land has additional ideas on good courses to play in Ohio, please e-mail them to Oldgolfdawg@columbus.rr.com.

Newspaper story upsets Daly

John Daly doesn't react well when confronted by the truth and still hasn't learned to blame himself for most of his problems. Yesterday he prompted his followers on Twitter to complain to a Florida sportswriter who wrote a story about the seemingly star-crossed golfer based on public court documents.

Daly called Florida Times-Union golf writer Garry Smits a "jerk" and posted the writer's personal cell phone number. "Call and flood his line and let's tell him how we feel," Daly wrote. He added two tweets on the matter, saying "this isn't journalism, it's paparazzi -- like gossip." In a later post, he again ran Smits' phone number.

Ironically, Golf Channel's Being John Daly, a television show chronicling the golfer's bid to make a comeback, premiered Tuesday night. No doubt, Daly will have a logical explanation for his lame reaction to the story in a future episode.

The Times-Union reported last night that The Golf Writers Association of America has asked the PGA Tour to discipline Daly for his actions. The Ponte Vedra Beach-based PGA Tour told the Times-Union it would not comment on Daly's tweets.

GWAA president Vartan Kupelian told PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem in a letter yesterday that Daly should be suspended given the vindictive nature of his actions, adding Smits was reporting on a matter that was public record. The golf writers organization also wants the PGA Tour to make public any suspension because the Tour’s policy is not to disclose player discipline.

The newspaper was granted access to Daly's PGA Tour disciplinary file as part of a lawsuit Daly filed in 2005, accusing it of libel. The lawsuit was thrown out and when Daly's appeal was rejected late last year, the information became public record.

The Daly story detailed numerous issues the PGA Tour had with the golfer over the years, including six suspensions, 11 citings of "conduct unbecoming a professional," and 21 times in which Daly was cited for failing to give full effort. The PGA Tour also on seven occasions ordered the two-time major champion to undergo counseling or seek alcohol rehabilitation.

Daly, 44, has five PGA Tour victories, but none since 2004 and has spent the past several seasons playing on sponsor exemptions because he has failed to retain exempt status.

* * *

The PGA Tour kicks off its Florida swing today with the start of the Honda Classic at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens. The tournament has attracted four of the top 10 players in the world and 12 of the top 30, making it the best non-World Golf Championship event to date in 2010.

The Jack Nicklaus designed par-70 Champions course with its famous "Bear Trap" holes ( 15th, 16th and 17th) has ranked among the toughest on the tour. In three previous tournaments at the venue, the Bear Trap has produced a lot of drama coming down the stretch.

Padraig Harrington, for one, is looking forward to the challenge.

"This is a very difficult golf course at PGA National. You really want to be on top of your game, as it has shown over the years," he said. "I know there is the Bear Trap, but there are a lot of seriously tough holes out there. It is definitely one of the toughest regular courses of the year. This golf course is just a big, tough golf course."

Y.E. Yang will be among the favorites to win when he defends his title. Last year's PGA Championship winner has played five times this year and has not missed a cut. The first Asian-born male player to win a major championship is coming off a third-place finish at the Phoenix Open.

Countdown begins for Tiger's return

Reports yesterday that Tiger Woods is back at home after a week of family counseling in Arizona and that he is trying to get into a routine that includes golf and fitness are sure to begin speculation when he might return to the PGA Tour.

A source told the Associated Press that Woods returned to his home near Orlando on Saturday and has been hitting balls on the range at Isleworth, not far from where he ran his SUV into a tree in a middle-of-the-night accident on Nov. 27 that set off revelations of his extramarital affairs.

There is still no timetable for golf's No. 1 player to return to competition. It appears unlikely that Woods will play next week in the World Golf Championship at Doral, where he has won three times. His next possibility on the PGA Tour is the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, where he is the defending champion and a six-time winner. The Masters, which Woods has played every year since 1995, follows. Augusta National officials have not indicated whether they expect Woods to compete.

"When he does come back, I hope it's in the Masters, and I hope he's in great form," Masters champion Angel Cabrera said yesterday on a conference call.

Meanwhile, Woods received support from an unlikely source yesterday when his former college girlfriend came to his defense. Check out this link to Golf.com:
http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/article/0,28136,1968826,00.html

* * *

After all of the promotion it has received from Golf Channel, the premier telecast of Being John Daly was almost bound to disappoint. After watching it, Oldgolfdawg was asking himself why he bothered when he could have been watching the Ohio State-Illinois men's basketball game. To say the show was lame would be a gross understatement.

The show is supposed to be chronicling Daly's comeback from personal demons and his return to being a champion golfer. Yes, Daly has lost more than 100 pounds with the help of surgery and has vowed to change his ways with the support of his new girlfriend. But watching Daly smoke cigarettes and justify his outlook on a life full of blown chances -- with an occasional close up of his sad puppy-dog dog eyes thrown in -- doesn't exactly instill one with confidence that he's on the right road.

The show closes with Daly strumming his guitar and singing before a group of friends (perhaps more appropriately described as enablers) around a campfire. To date, Daly's "comeback" has produced lackluster results. In four tournaments in 2010, he has made the cut just once. His best result was a tie for 67th at the Mayakoba Classic in Mexico, where he shot a final-round 81.

Everyone likes pulling for an underdog, but betting on Daly is risky business even if he is a two-time major winner. Oldgolfdawg would be very surprised if Being John Daly enjoys a successful run. It's probably just a matter of time before it becomes derailed by its main character. To better understand Oldgolfdawg's misgivings, check out this golf.com link:
http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/article/0,28136,1969088,00.html

Cooking on the back nine

Over the years high school and college friends have asked Oldgolfdawg for recommendations on where to play while on visits to central Ohio. If money isn't an issue and they don't mind driving to Nashport, they are always directed to Longaberger Golf Club. If they don't want to break the bank and don't mind driving 25 miles south of Columbus, they are directed to Cooks Creek.

Designed by Michael Hurdzan, Dana Fry and former Ohio State All-American John Cook, Cooks Creek opened for business in 1993 and measures 7,071 yards from its longest tees for a par of 72. The well-maintained course has a rating of 73.7 and a slope of 131 from its back tees. Golf Digest has awarded it 4 1/2 stars and Oldgolfdawg can't argue with such a rating.

No two holes at Cooks Creek are alike. They all are interesting and provide a variety of challenges. Breaking 80 on Cooks Creek is cause for celebration for Oldgolfdawg. In an estimated 40 rounds at the course over the years, he's been lucky to do it just a handful of times.

More times than not, the biggest hurdle has been the last hurdle, aka the 18th hole. It's a 474-yard par 4 from the Scarlet tees (6,648 yards, par 71.3, slope 128) that has bitten Oldgolfdawg in the butt more times than he cares to remember. That's why it has earned a spot as the first hole on the back nine of Oldgolfdawg's Elegant Eighteen lineup.

The 18th hole's tee shot must be pounded in order to reach the green in two. A faded drive to the right can run into a pond the runs all along the right rough. A pulled or hooked drive to the left can also find a watery grave but more than likely will be stopped by a waste bunker the runs along where the left rough ends. A well-hit drive of 250 yards will leave one with a 3-wood shot to a green nestled on top of a gradual rise that is protected by seven bunkers and a steep drop-off to the right. Hitting uphill, the golfer can't see the surface of green, only the front fringe and the upper portion of the flag.

Three menacing bunkers lined in a row protect the left front of the green and anything hit in them or to the left of them in high rough is a punched ticket to a bogey or worse. Another bunker protects the right front, leaving a gap of about 40 feet to fit a shot through. Two more bunkers protect the middle left and back left of the green, respectively. A seventh bunker sits off the back right of the green to catch shots hit long. The worse place to be is right of the green in the drop-off valley below. It makes for a very demanding third shot to a large green with many undulations.

Repeated crash landings on the 18th hole have left a mark on Oldgolfdawg's psyche, but not to the point that he doesn't want to give it one more go. His only advice to those taking on the beast is to bring your A game. If you bring your weak stuff, it will be rejected.

http://www.cookscreek.com/

Mahan victory shares spotlight

Hunter Mahan quieted critics who were beginning to call him an underachiever with his come-from-behind victory yesterday in the Phoenix Open at the TPC Scottsdale Stadium Course. In what boiled down to a shootout between two former Oklahoma State players, Mahan made clutch par putts on the 17th and 18th holes to hold on for a one-shot victory over Rickie Fowler.

Mahan, 27, had an eagle and two birdies in a four-hole span of the back nine to finish at 16-under 268 and post his first victory since winning the 2007 Travelers Championship. By overcoming a four-shot deficit entering the final round, he became just the eighth U.S.-born player still in his 20s to win more than one tournament. It was a gutsy performance and on an entertainment scale of 1 to 5, Oldgolfdawg would throw it 4 1/2 dog biscuits.

While Mahan has played well the past two years, many golf insiders were expecting him to win more often. He played on the 2008 Ryder Cup team and had six top-10s in 2009, but his stock appeared to be falling because of his inability to prove his first victory wasn't a fluke.

Maybe that's why he sounded so relieved to have won.

"It's just finding a way to win. I just haven't been able to do it," Mahan said. "So obviously it feels great to get off the year on my fifth tournament to win. It gives me a lot of confidence in myself that I'm doing the right things in my game, and it feels great, it really does."

When you post back-to-back, bogey-free 65s in the closing rounds of a victory you would expect it to earn you all of the spotlight, but that wasn't the case. Much of the talk after Mahan's victory was about Fowler and his decision to lay up on the par 5 15th hole while trailing by a shot.

It was a surprising move for a PGA Tour rookie heralded for his aggressive play. When the strategy backfired and he only managed a par the broadcasting team of Rich Lerner and Brandel Chamblee immediately second-quessed him. In didn't help that Fowler's playing partners -- Camilo Villegas and Mark Calcavecchia -- went for the green in two and they were farther back than Fowler. But then they weren't in contention and Fowler was going for his first professional victory in only nine PGA Tour starts.

"I was a little farther out than I would have liked to have been to go for it," Fowler said. "Obviously if I was a couple back in that position and feeling that I needed to make a few birdies coming in, I would have gone for it. But being that I was at the time, I think, just one back, putting a wedge in my hand from 80 yards, a lot of times I do make birdie there.

"I played 16 well all week. I had a look at birdie there. With 17 being a short hole, there's a birdie chance. So I felt that instead of bringing trouble into play, in a way which a lot of times I don't play, I took the safe route, easy lay up, and like I said, I had an easy wedge shot with soft greens. I just hit it a little soft."

The debate will rage on whether the player pulling the trigger was right or the know-it-alls in the booth were correct. All Oldgolfdawg knows is that he enjoys watching Fowler play. The 21-year-old probably knew he would be second-quessed for laying up on No. 15 and he did it anyway. He was fearless in following his own heart. There's no question he could have reached the green with his second shot. He finished sixth in driving in the tournament with an average of 308.4 yards. He finished tied for fifth in greens in regulation.

Fowler, who makes violent lashes at the ball like a modern-day Arnold Palmer or Lanny Wadkins, appears to have all the tools to become a major force in the game. But his putting will have to improve. The television stats indicated he made one putt out of 27 from beyond 20 feet and he still managed to finish second. Just think what he could do if the flat stick ever comes around. It should be fun to watch his progress.