February 2011

The man behind the first ever golf tournament in North Korea doesn’t even play golf.  Dylan Harris runs Lupine Travel, a British company that specializes in arranging “unusual” vacations.  If you want to go visit Chernobyl or North Korea, Lupine Travel can set it up.

According to Harris:

Some Scottish guy phoned me last summer and said he wanted to play golf in North Korea.  He kept phoning back. He said he had played golf countries all over the world and North Korea was one of the only ones left. He said; ‘can you just ask them?

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Last year, Bubba Watson was all that stood between Martin Kaymer and his first major.  Kaymer defeated Watson in a 3-hole playoff to claim the PGA Championship.  Yesterday, Watson was all that was standing between Kaymer and the #1 world ranking.

It took just a little bit longer (a full 18 holes), but after Kaymer won the 16th hole to go dormie, he seemed destined to displace Lee Westwood on top of the world golf rankings, a spot that Westwood has held since Oct 31st.

I’ve stated a number of times that I think Martin Kaymer is currently the best player in the world.  Nobody else has matched his performance over the past year and now the rankings have finally caught up to reality.

Kaymer will now face Luke Donald in the final match of the WGC-Accenture.  The number 1 spot is secure, but I’m sure that Kaymer would love to put an exclamation point on it with a win.  That’s going to be a tough task, as Donald has birdied 13 of his last 27 holes.  But he can’t stay that hot forever can he?

exploding golf cart

If you were looking for an excuse to walk instead of ride when playing golf, here you go.  A golfer was burned on Thursday afternoon when his cart caught fire at Rivercliff Golf Course in Bull Shoals, AR.

Jimmy Sanders was playing the 7th hole when his cart began to malfunction.  He heard a loud popping noise and then the cart caught fire.  Like any devoted golfer, he retrieved his clubs from the flaming cart, but unfortunately burned his hand in the process.

Batteries are basically little bombs.  The water level gets too low, the vents don’t work correctly, or the battery gets shorted out and “BOOM”.  I wouldn’t want to be sitting in a golf cart on top of 6 batteries when they go.

The cart also started a grass fire that almost reached the house you can see in the background of the photo.

Baxter Bulletin (via Waggle Room)

David Feherty takes one in the jewels

by Derek on February 25, 2011

in Humor,Video

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JP_LPVm-gY4&feature=player_embedded

SNAG, the maker of the golf learning system featured in the video, was a participant at the PGA Show demo day.  I can vouch that it’s a lot of fun to hit tennis balls with an oversized golf club at a person wearing a sticky target.

According to Tiffanie at SNAG, Feherty was wearing the pants backward which placed the target in an unfortunate location.  Personally, I really like Feherty, but I’m pretty sure that there are people out there who would pay good money to get to hit him in the junk.

Well at least I still have my dignity…

Am I the only person who got the feeling that this wasn’t the first (or last) time that Feherty has uttered those words?

via

Not only did Ben Crane give Rory McIlroy a serious beatdown today, he also played the fastest round of his life.  Looks like his workout and pre-round rituals are legit.

OK, so I don’t actually know how long it took for Crane and McIlroy to play their match, but since Crane won 8 and 7, that means they only played 11 holes.  So it couldn’t have possibly taken more than… I don’t know… 4 hours?

For Ben Crane, that’s like playing speed golf.

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Defending champion Ian Poulter wasn’t feeling to good about being knocked out in the first round of the WGC-Accenture Match Play yesterday.  Given that he wasn’t the only upset, he proposed a match with Tiger this weekend, and suggested that Paul Azinger could provide commentary.  Steve Stricker might want in on this thing too.

Honestly a Poulter/Woods grudgematch would probably draw ratings as high as any other match left to play this weekend.

And on a side note, how good did Martin Kaymer look yesterday?  If he keeps playing like that, it’s only a matter of time before the world #2 finds himself in the #1 spot.

Review: Tifosi Optics Scatto FC

by Derek on February 23, 2011

in Equipment,Reviews

Tifosi Scatto FC

Are you looking for a pair of sunglasses that have high end performance but don’t have the high end price tag?  Then you need to take a hard look at Tifosi Optics.

I met with Tifosi at the PGA Show last month and walked away very impressed with their offerings and holding a pair of their Scatto FC sunglasses to review.  The bottom line is that they’re a really solid piece of eyewear.  And when you consider that the list price is $39.95, they might just be the best dollar for dollar value in the market today.

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Dustin Johnson’s DUI Video

by Derek on February 23, 2011

in PGA Tour,Video

Dustin Johnson DUI

Yesterday, the South Carolina Dept of Public Safety released the dashcam footage of Dustin Johnson’s DUI arrest in 2009.  Last week, Johnson’s DUI charge was dropped and he instead plead guilty to Reckless Driving.

When Johnson was arrested, his bail was set at $2247 which is the amount recommended for people arrested with a BAC higher than .16 (the legal limit is .08).  It’s pretty clear from the video that he shouldn’t have been driving.

On a side note, how do you get released from jail 22 minutes after being booked for DUI?

Inside the Nike Tour Van

by Derek on February 22, 2011

in Equipment,PGA Tour,Video

We recently saw inside the Ping Tour Van.  Now, NGNation has posted a 2-part video of the Nike Tour Van at the WM Phoenix open.  Part 2 after the jump.

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Going back to his roots pays of for Badds

by Derek on February 21, 2011

in PGA Tour

A video comparing Baddeley’s pre-leadbetter Dale Lynch swing with his S&T swing.

Just under 2 years after returning to his childhood swing coach, Dale Lynch (once rumored to be Tiger’s next coach), Aaron Baddeley found himself in the winners circle on the PGA Tour.

Baddeley originally left Dale Lynch to train at the Leadbetter camp in Florida.  Not finding the results he was looking for, he transitioned to Plummer and Bennet’s Stack and Tilt Swing in 2006, becoming their poster boy.

And although he won twice early on, Baddeley grew frustrated with his poor tee to green play with S&T.  While he led the tour in putts per round, he was 199th in driving accuracy and 197th in GIR.  He returned to Lynch in 2009, looking for answers:

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