One of the many causalities of the economic collapse is and will be golf courses.  Golf is a game many play for leisure, when they're not cursing themselves.  Which means for most to play they will be spending some hard-earned dough and forgo other needs.  As in any other market or industry, some businesses (courses) will not stay open into 2010.

This blog has talked many times about how golfers can follow in the footsteps of golf legends by playing the courses they've played, like St. Andrews, Pebble Beach, etc.  However, these statements are not exactly accurate.  There are many courses which have been conceived, designed, funded, opened, played and closed, sometimes with a short life span.  An article in the Chicago Tribune by Robert Channick brings to light one course with a rich history and short existence, The Mill Road Farm Golf Club.

In the 1920's Robert Laskar, a very successful Chicagoan, financed the building of the course mostly because he was denied membership to many of the local private clubs.  His new club's membership was extremely limited.  The course over the next 10 years would be considered one of the best in the country by the likes of Bobby Jones and Gene Sarazen.  In 1942, the course would be closed and forgotten.  This past winter, 30 Lake Forest College students were able to map out 10 holes of the original layout even finding some bunkers.  A special 2-hour tour was given this past weekend, where those of us interested in the deep history of golf could wander the fairways of years gone by.

This is only one example of 100's of courses which have suffered a similar fate.  If you'd be interested in learning more about other courses which are gone and mostly forgotten, pick up the book, "The Missing Links:  America's Greatest Lost Golf Courses and Holes" by Daniel Wexler.

Be Well!

    

There are many amazing aspects of the game.  In the course of four or in this case five days of golf, a professional golfer's career can be defined.  Lucas Glover is no slouch, but is rather obscure compared to the heavyweight names in the game.  There are fews things someone can do which will garner a million dollar payout after 4-5 days of work. 

Granted, one could argue I'm not taking into account the years of work Glover put in to reach this point.  The fact is someone who could be unranked, barely ranked or an amateur golfer can win the US OPEN.  David Duval put us in a time warp of a decade ago.  Ricky Barnes, the sensation from Augusta many years ago, gave us a thrill ride for the first 3 rounds.

We all make predictions on who will win majors.  More often than not the actual champion is a welcome surprise befitting a game full of surprises.

    

The USGA announced today for the first time in the USGA's storied history, the Men's and Women's U.S. Opens will be held in back-to-back weeks.  The 2014 U.S. Open will be on June 12-15 and the 2014 U.S. Women's Open will be June 19-22 at Pinehurst No. 2.  It's being hailed as a "double-header."  The release explains the hope is to increase exposure to the Women's Open.  It's a good move and it makes sense from a logistics standpoint. 

In reading further, the release explains that most courses couldn't maintain playability because of the wear and tear a major is to a golf course.  But, since Pinehurst No. 2 is a unique course with a sand base and lack of rough around its greens, it is perfectly suited to host a set of majors in subsequent weeks.

I'm sure this will garner a lot of attention leading up to the tournaments.  This idea alone will not sell the golf fans.  As always, the players will bring in the paying public and if enough eyes decide to follow the back-to-back action, only then will it be deemed a success and if it will be repeated.

It's this type of outside the box thinking which sometimes starts new traditions and makes an already great event even better.  It's nice to see from a somewhat ridged organization such as the USGA.  Now we only must wait 5 years!

    

This is a pretty cool marketing campaign.  The World Golf Tour is the virtual way to compete in tournaments for prizes.  The USGA has partnered with this group to bring a fun way for us amateurs to play Beth Page Black virtually against other players from all over the world. 

What do you get out of it?  It's free to join up, which is where the sponsors get your email info and you get to look at their logo.  They have tutorials on how to play the game.  Qualifying rounds are underway until June 21st.  If you can make the cut and have one of the top 156 scores, you'll be invited to play in the championship round which begins on June 22nd.  What happens if you win it all?  A trip of a lifetime on the USGA's dime to be their guest at the 2010 US Open at Pebble Beach, CA.  Not too shabby!

If this peaks your interest, visit the US Open web site and join up.

Virtual fairways and greens!

    

Scotland has long been thought of as the home of golf.  It's considered a pilgrimage to the holiest of lands where the forefathers of our great game began beating the ground with their clubs in angst.  We are most certainly not disappointing them.

One aspect of golf which separates the game from other sports is the ability of golfers to follow in the footsteps of golf legends.  Play these courses and walk in the shadows of Tiger Woods, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen to name only a few.

The economy is certainly on the minds of most, but if you've been considering a trip of a lifetime to Golf's home, there are great deals to take advantage of and it would be a journey of golf discovery.  The links below will provide further information and golf breaks in Scotland you'll have a hard time passing up.

To play many of these courses and secure advanced tee times, local hotel stays are required and will be thoroughly enjoyed.


St. Andrews Old Links
St. Andrews Old Links or better known as the Old Course is the granddaddy of them all.  Don't miss a chance to play these storied links.



Carnoustie
Carnoustie Championship Course is also called Carnasty!  A great challenge to any golfer since The Open Championship is played here often.



Turnberry
The Ailsa Course at Turnberry is considered the best links course in Scotland.  Turnberry is another must play as the British Open will be hosted here during July, 2009.



Troon
Royal Troon has many of the world's best players shaking at its famous "Postage Stamp" par-3.  Known as just "Troon", it's another British Open course not to be missed.



Muirfield
The historic Muirfield Golf Links has records dating back to 1744.  The U.S. Constitution wasn't even written yet!  Beginning to see a trend?  The British Open will be returning soon.



Panmure
Panmure Golf Links is a fantastic golf course very close to Canoustie.  It's been said Ben Hogan practiced here before winning the Open Championship in 1953.



Kingsbarns
Kingsbarns Golf Links hasn't passed a decade in age yet.  However, in this short period of time, it has developed a reputation as a must play along side the Old Course!  That is good company.



Gleneagles
Gleneagles is considered one of Scotland's most luxurious 5-star resorts.  If you're looking for great golf and great accommodations, look no further.



Dundonald Links
The Dundonald Links should not be mistaken for "The Donald" in Manhattan.  While it hasn't attracted the Open Championship yet, the Senior British Open Championship and European Tour Qualifying School have roamed its fairways.



Blairgowrie Golf Club
The Blairgowrie Golf Club dates back to 1889.  Dr. Alistair McKenzie designed The Rosemount championship course.  You may know of a rather obscure course he designed as well, Augusta National.

    

Pro's such as Anna Rawson, John Daly, Natalie Gulbis, Chris DeMarco, Stewart Cink, and Parker McLachlin to name a few, post regularly on Twitter.  If you're not familiar with Twitter, it's a web site that's been a growing internet tool for people and businesses to communicate in short messages to anyone following their activities.

Golfers are not alone as many celebrities are tweeting away.  The question to ask is why would they do it and what do they get out of it?  Based on the "tweets", it gives celebrities as well as golfers a very easy way to communicate directly to their fan base.  It also allows the fans to feel almost like they're good friends with these people.  The tweets typically discuss how they're feeling or what they're doing.  Basically, it's personal and impersonal at the same time!  The fans can feel a connection to their favorite players/people and there is no obligation to respond.
 
It's not like having someone's cell phone number or even email.  There are ways to contact these golfers and actually yours truly did reach out to Anna Rawson.  I wanted to write an article about how young girls can follow in Anna's footsteps and succeed.  She did respond giving me the email address of her manager.  I'm still (zzzzzz) waiting for a response from him.

It's hard to tell if Twitter will continue to grow or just some internet fad, but if you have a player or celebrity you enjoy "following", check out twitter and you'll be surprised what information players/people are sharing.

As the site says, the world is a-twitter!

    

The Chicago chapter of the Golf Galaxy Tour for amateurs kicked off it's 9 in 09 season this past Saturday at Pheasant Run Resort.  We were in attendance to check out the 2009 version.

They have doubled the number of attendees from last year.  Plus, two women played in the event and let me say, they can play.  The ladies played on separate teams but both teams finished in the top three!  The players ranged in age, gender and playing ability.  The most reoccuring comments were that everyone as having a great time.  Tournament golf isn't for everyone, but it was nice to see people enjoying a sunny, yet windy day out on the course, regardless of how they were playing.

The tour director is a great guy and very focused on everyone's experience while playing in the tournaments.  If you happen to live in the Chicago area, give a shot.  The next tournament will be a two player scramble at the very tough Klein Creek Golf Club.  Use coupon code:  GTC0016 for $10 off your first entry fee.

Tees to Greens and everything in between!

    

The 2009 World Series of Golf Tournament kicks off this week.  It's a televised event that is gaining in popularity but surely rackles the purists of the game.  Actually, this kind of thinking and investment helps draw new people to the game and that helps everyone.

Here's some information taken from their site. 

LIMITED TO 125 PLAYING POSITIONS. The 2009 World Series of Golf
"Amateur Event"
Played the week of May 11th, 2009 – Las Vegas, Nevada
The tradition continues with the 2009 WSG Amateur Event. This $10,000 buy-in event will be capped at 125 playing positions. The winner will receive $300,000, with $700,000* in payouts! Once again the 2009 WSG will be hosted by the Mirage Hotel & Casino.
Player Benefits (what you get for $10k) • WINNER RECEIVES $300,000! • TOP 25 SPOTS PAY OUT! • $700,000 IN PAYOUTS • 3-DAY GOLF TOURNAMENT • LUXURY ACCOMMODATIONS AT THE MIRAGE • 3 NIGHTS OF PARTIES THAT YOU HAVE TO SEE TO BELIEVE • GREAT PLAYER SWAG! • $500 TEXAS HOLD ‘EM POKER CHALLENGE (BUY-IN EVENT) • YOUR FAVORITE POKER PRO’S • NATIONALLY TELEVISED EVENT!!!!

It's worth taking a peek at since you never know, you might actually find it fun to watch. 

    

Golf would be a great date.  Spin offs from dating sites like match.com or eharmony.com are integrating golf as a commonality for people to meet and date.  Now that dating on the internet (once thought as desperation) is becoming widely accepted in society, spin offs have become more lucrative and thus more companies getting in the market.

One such site is golfmates.com.  There doesn't seem to be anything fancy or different from other sites except golf is the key ingredient.  While I'm not sure playing golf on a first date would be ideal, considering we don't want to invest too much time on a first date.  It would be a great second or third date.  We learn a lot about people on the golf course.  We learn how they handle adversity and how they handle success.  You'll learn more about someone on the golf course than 30 years in an office.

One bit of caution before diving in and looking for love.  Don't go into it thinking you're looking for your Mr. Right or Mrs. Right.  Treat it as if you're looking for some golfing buddies with potential.  It's a healthier approach.

Fairways and Greens!

    

In Chicago, the local chapter of the Golf Galaxy Tour for amateurs will be kicking off the 2009 season, Saturday, May 16, 2009 at Pheasant Run GC in St. Charles, IL. Tee times will run from 11:00 AM - 12:21 PM.  There is a $92 entry fee and a $77 entry fee for VIP's including riding cart. The tournament will be a two Person Best Ball Format.  Sign up here. 

This chapter of the tour has a fantastic tour director who's willing to go the extra mile for all of the players.  The email to reach him for inquiries is info@chicagogolftour.com

There will be 8 more tournaments during the summer.  The tour director is offering $10 off your entry fee, use Promo Code: GTC0016.  Make the most of the Chicago summer and play some golf where the putts mean something.  You can win prizes in the form of Golf Galaxy Gift Cards and you will meet some fellow Chicagoans with the golf bug.  Good company indeed.

Fairways and Greens!