Golf Spelled Backwards

I played today a course where I've played probably 50 times previously, and as recently as 10 days ago. The 18th hole is a 180-yard par-3, a very simple hole. As I stood on the tee, however, something jumped out at me: a small but steep-sloped bunker, right smack in front of the right side of the green, was staring me right in the face. When did they put that thing in? I was absolutely positive this bunker did not exist when I played this hole just a week and a half ago. And boy, what a difference it makes in how the hole sets up, how it looks from the tee. When I finished playing, I stopped in the clubhouse to ask about the bunker. "When did you put that in?" I asked. "It's always been there," the pro told me. Whaaaa? It's always been there? Wow. I would've sworn that bunker was brand spankin' new. Obviously, in the 50 or so times I'd played this course, I'd never hit into it. It had never even been a concern. It couldn't have ...

Who the heck is "Count Yogi," and what does he have to do with golf? Count Yogi was an enigmatic - some would say mysterious - golfer born in the early part of the 20th century who barnstormed the country playing exhibitions, conducting trick-shot shows, and occasionally playing real tournament golf (although not on the PGA Tour). He was also, some claim, "the best golfer you've never heard of." A golfer who had "the secret" to playing better golf. You might say he was the Moe Norman of an earlier time. As you can see from the photo, Count Yogi - whose real name was Harry Hilary Xavier Frankenberg - was an odd duck. He sometimes played in a cape and turban, as in the photo. There's a golf instructor today who sells the Count Yogi way of playing golf. "Golf's greatest secret finally revealed," his Web site says. It also says Count Yogi is "the most imitated man in golf history." I'm not sure how someone can be ...