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Showing posts from June, 2013

'Lord, He's Going to Run Us All Off the Tour'

Golf Digest has a slideshow up in which it collects some good caddie stories from its archives. You can read the full piece here . But this is the standout: Jariah Beard, on caddieing at the 1963 Masters, when Jack Nicklaus won his first green jacket : "I've got [Don] January, and Pete [Willie Peterson] has got Jack. On 13, Jack popped up his drive, and he's about 260 from the green. He says, 'Willie, can we get there?' and Pete says, 'No sir, Mr. Jack.' Jack kind of stands there for a minute before he says, 'Willie, now you know I can hit it as far as I want to.' So he takes the 3-wood and kills it at the green. When the ball lands, Don says to me, 'Lord, Jerry, he's going to run us all off the tour.'

Amazing Video of the Effects of Calgary Flooding on Golf Courses

The great city of Calgary is still trying to recover - and will be for some time - from torrential and devastating flooding that occurred nearly a week ago. And the damage to golf courses in that flooding is pretty far down the list of things to worry about. This flood took people's lives, homes and dreams. But we're a golf blog. So here is an amazing video showing the damage at one of Calgary's golf courses called Kananaskis: And here are a few more videos showing the Calgary flooding at area golf courses:

78-Year-Old Frank Stranahan Deadlifting 265 Pounds

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You might have heard the news that two-time British Amateur champ Frank Stranahan passed away recently at the age of 90. Here's a video of what Stranahan did to celebrate his 78th birthday back in the year 2000: To celebrate turning 78, Stranahan deadlifted 265 pounds. The video was shot by his son Lance and posted to YouTube. Stranahan was the first person in golf to take weightlifting seriously. Gary Player has credited Stranahan with turning him on to fitness. After Stranahan's death, Player tweeted this: My condolences to the family & friends of Frank Stranahan who passed away yesterday. My fitness mentor, friend & inspiration. RIP — Gary Player (@garyplayer) June 25, 2013 Stranahan wasn't just a prolific winner in amateur tournaments; he also won multiple PGA Tour events (some of them while still an amateur), and three times while an amateur was runner-up in a major (once at the Masters, twice at the British Open). That's impressive. Deadlifting

Gary Player Explains the Nudie News

So you've heard that 77-year-old Gary Player appears nude in the 2013 Body Issue from ESPN the Magazine , right? What do you think about that? Here's what Mr. Player thinks about it: After a lifetime dedicated to health & fitness I’m chuffed to be in @ESPNmag 's Body Issue to hopefully inspire others to workout & live well — Gary Player (@garyplayer) June 25, 2013 I was at first hesitant, but @ESPNmag 's Body Issue celebrates the human body. No matter what your age, we should all look after ourselves! — Gary Player (@garyplayer) June 25, 2013

Unveiling Sebonack

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Sebonack Golf Club is the site of this week's U.S. Women's Open, and it's the coming-out party for this ultra-exclusive club on Long Island. Located next door to Shinnecock Hills and National Golf Links, the cost of joining Sebonack is reportedly anywhere from $500,000 to $1,000,000. That's a lot of zeroes, either way. When a club costs that much to join, it better have a great golf course. And if the tweets from golfers playing the U.S. Women's Open are any indication, Sebonack is a great golf course. This, from Amy Yang, is typical: The beautiful 18th hole at Sebonack!! Love this course #USWomensOpen @usopengolf #lpga @lpga #golf @USGA pic.twitter.com/J9Uw3vvJ7h — Amy Yang 양희영 (@AmyYangLPGA) June 25, 2013 So this week Sebonack goes from almost completely unknown (at least to everyone outside those who fetishize golf course architecture) to the spotlight. Here are a few of the photos of the course being posted on Twitter:  @golfnjeray /Twitt

The Time Jack Nicklaus Was Mistaken for Arnold Palmer

A Sports Illustrated reporter in Miami for Game 7 of the NBA Finals: Heat fan just walked past Jack Nicklaus. Says, 'Hey you're Arnold Palmer!' Nicklaus says, 'No. But close.' Can't make this stuff up — Chris Mannix (@ChrisMannixSI) June 20, 2013

Justin Rose's Top 10 List on Letterman

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After winning the 2013 U.S. Open, Justin Rose got himself on the tee-vee. He headed to New York and made the rounds on a few talk shoes. That included what is almost becoming a tradition: the Masters and U.S. Open winners delivering a Top 10 List on the Late Show with David Letterman . And Justin Rose made the trip to the Ed Sullivan Theater to deliver Letterman's Top 10 on Tuesday, June 18. The video is below; if you want to skip watching and just read the list, look below the video. Top Ten Questions People Ask Me About Golf delivered by Justin Rose 10. "There is regular golf, there is miniature golf - how come no giant golf?" 9. "Why don't all balls have dimples?" 8. "Does Obamacare cover the yips?" 7. "Ever get tired of Jim Nantz whispering?" 6. "Would you let President Putin hold your trophy?" 5. "How often do you slap your caddy?" 4. "Is a threesome better than a foursome?" 3. "Can

Careful with that US Open Trophy, Justin!

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Here's a photo of new U.S. Open champ Justin Rose walking through the streets of Manhattan, U.S. Open trophy in tow: Seems a little casual, no? You might want to be a little more careful with that trophy, Justin. Don't want something like this to happen:

The New Dufnering: Throw Your Wedge In the Water

Hey everyone, there's a new form of Dufnering! All together now, let's throw our wedges into the water hazard! Dufner's wedge toss happened on the fourth hole of his second round at the U.S. Open.

How Merion Messed Up Its Memorial Plaques

There are two plaques at Merion Golf Club commemorating famous things that happened there. You probably know about the Ben Hogan plaque - it's in the 18th fairway at the site of Hogan's famous 1-iron shot in the fourth round in 1950. There's also a plaque on the 11th hole memorializing Bobby Jones' victory at the 1930 U.S. Amateur - the win that completed his Grand Slam. But did you know that Merion originally screwed up both plaques? The original Hogan plaque had the wrong date of Hogan's 1-iron shot. The shot happened on June 10, 1950. But the plaque Merion installed had the date as June 11. The erroneous plaque was replaced by a new one in 2000. And the mistake on the Jones plaque was a real whopper. That plaque identifies Jones by his full name - Robert Tyre Jones Jr. Except that the original plaque gave his names as "Robert Trent Jones Jr." Trent Jones is the architect, not the golfer. Oops! Merion corrected that one by placing the correct name

Remembering Ouimet - and Why Isn't the 2013 Open at Brookline?

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The 2013 U.S. Open is the 100th anniversary of amateur Francis Ouimet's victory that stunned the golf world in 1913, when the local boy beat British legends Harry Vardon and Ted Ray in a playoff at Brookline. Ouimet grew up across the street from The Country Club, he was 20 years old, and his caddie was a 10-year-old named Eddie Lowery. Ouimet's story is told in the book by Mark Frost, The Greatest Game Ever Played , and in the movie of the same name starring Shia LaBeuf . In 1963, Brookline was the site of another U.S. Open to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ouimet's win. So in 2013, naturally, the Open returned to Brookline on the 100th anniversary. Except that it didn't, of course: the U.S. Open is at Merion this year, not Brookline. Why not? Former USGA executive director David Fay explained in a Golf Digest article: That's a sensitive subject. Some members of The Country Club regarded the 2013 Open as a foregone conclusion, a birthright. I like The

Top 10 Ways for Tiger, Sergio to Settle their Differences

Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia don't like each other. Their decade-long spat devolved into public insults just a few weeks ago. Can they get over it? The two stars took a step to putting the controversy (if not the dislike) to rest by shaking hands and talking on the driving range at Merion on Monday prior to the 2013 U.S. Open. But we think they can do more. We have 10 foolproof ways that Sergio and Tiger can put their problems behind them and move on to a better, healthier relationship. Top 10 Ways for Tiger, Sergio to Settle their Differences 10. Two words: hot tub 9. Agree to stop hating each other and start hating Matt Kuchar 8. Flamenco dance-off 7. 3-irons at 30 paces 6. Exchange flowers and chocolates 5. Call a moratorium on tricking one another with the ol' pull-my-finger routine 4. Acknowledge the homoerotic tension and agree to "take it slow and see where this leads" 3. Slap fight 2. Oil each other up, pump each other up for ultimate pose-off 1. Girl

Does the 'Prick Pairing' at the US Open Still Exist?

There's a legend about the U.S. Open pairings that says the USGA, each year, groups together three golfers who are known for being ... difficult. Prickly, you might say. Jerks, others might say. The infamous "prick pairing." Well, it's not a legend, it's fact. At least it was the last time any USGA official was willing to go on the record to confirm its existence. John Feinstein wrote about the U.S. Open Prick Pairing in his book The Majors: In Pursuit of Golf's Holy Grail , getting then-executive director of the USGA David Fay to fess up to its existence. The prick pairing was a USGA "tradition" started by Frank Hannigan. From Feinstein: "(Fay) had not, however, given up on one of Hannigan's more hallowed traditions: the prick pairing. Hannigan swears he did not give the pairing its name, but he admits that each year he would put three players together he didn't like or who were generally disliked in the golf world. Insiders lov

Modano, Micheletti Get Engaged

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We told you early this year about the romance between hockey legend (and avid golfer) Mike Modano, and onetime Big Break contestant (and pro golf aspirant) Allison Micheletti. Now these two crazy kids in love have taken it up a notch: They're engaged. Modano made the announcement on his Facebook page in early June. Here's a screen grab:    If you can't read the text (and you probably can't), Modano wrote, "It's official- we're engaged! #couldn'tbehappier". Allison hasn't said anything directly on point yet on her social media outlets, but she did provide this career update on her own Facebook page: "Quick update! It's been a long road back to recovery after a torn shoulder and nerve issues in my left hand/wrist. Next week I leave for Montreal to start off my summer with a Canadian Tour event. Thank you for all of the support, its been a great year off the course and looking forward to adding to it on the course." Con

Major League Baseball-LPGA Husband-Wife Both Have Triples on Same Day

There's an LPGA Tour player who is married to a Major League Baseball player, and on Saturday they both had triples! Alas, that's only a good thing in baseball. It was the LPGA player who pointed it out: Nate had a RBI triple yesterday!!! Unfortunately, so did I:( stupid wind. But today is another day! — Amanda Blumenherst (@Blumenherst) June 2, 2013 Amanda Blumenherst is married to Nate Freiman, who plays for the Oakland Athletics. Nate, who is a 6-foot-8 3B/1B/DH, tripled to deep centerfield in the fifth inning of Oakland's 4-3 win over the White Sox on Saturday, driving in one run. Meanwhile, at the ShopRite LPGA Classic, Blumenherst - who briefly had the second-round lead - was trying to play through very strong winds on a very tough golf course. And on the second hole, she scored a triple-bogey 7. Two triples in one sporting family on the same day, one of them good, one of them bad. Well, for better or for worse, you know?