Golf Spelled Backwards

How much are you willing to pay to play golf? What's the highest green fee you've ever paid for a round of golf? The most-expensive green fee I've ever paid is $120, although the most I've ever paid for golf is $480. I'll explain the apparent contradiction in a minute. First, here's a list of the 10 highest green fees in the United States. 10 Most-Expensive Green Fees at USA Golf Courses 1. Shadow Creek, Las Vegas, $500 2. Pebble Beach, California, $495 3. Pinehurst No. 2, North Carolina, $450 4. Whistling Straits (Straits course), Wisconsin, $430 ($370 green fee plus mandatory $60 caddie fee) 5. Greenbrier Resort (TPC Old White), West Virginia, $395 ($375 green fee plus $20 forecaddie fee) 6. Doral (Blue Monster), Florida, $390 7. Spyglass Hill, California, $385 8. French Lick (Dye Course), Indiana, $380 ($350 green fee plus $30 forecaddie) 9. TPC Sawgrass (Players course), Florida, $375 t9. Wynn Golf Club, Las Vegas, $375 This ranking, and the ...

If you have a spare $250,000 (or more) lying around, you can be the proud, new owner of a driver that was used on the PGA Tour for 17 years by Sam Snead. Yep, back in Snead's day you didn't trade in your driver every other weekend for the newest release by your club sponsor. You found a persimmon driver you loved, you stuck with it. And Snead stuck with his baby for 17 years, from 1936 through 1953. The auctioneers, Heritage Auctions, say that this driver was used by Snead in more than 100 victories - many, obviously not all of them, PGA Tour wins. How did Snead get the driver? He took it out of the bag of fellow pro Henry Picard. In a letter dated Nov. 12, 1993 (and in which he repeatedly misspells Picard's name), Snead told the story of the driver: In 1936 I was signed with Dunlop, along with Henry Pickard (sic). We were at a tournament on the practice tee when I spotted this driver in Pickard's bag. I took it out and tried it and felt it and really liked ...

Hey, it happens even to the best of us. What happens? This happens: Yep, that's LPGA major championship winner and No. 1-ranked Stacy Lewis hitting one of the worst shots you'll ever see a tour professional hit. The shot happened during the 2014 Evian Championship, and during a third-round 73. Lewis' reaction says it all: Ohmigodwhatthehellhappenedthatwassoembarrassing! But there's a bright side: We can all honestly now say that we've hit fairway woods better than Stacy Lewis.

Where is Win McMurry? The winsome blonde broadcaster has been absent from the Golf Channel for a while now, and hasn't popped up in any other (regular) TV role as I write this in September of 2014. But don't feel bad for Win. Judging by her Instagram account ( @WinMcMurry ) she's busying having a fantastic time that can be summed up in three words: beaches, bikinis, cocktails. So what happened to Win McMurry at the Golf Channel? Why is she no longer employed there? Nobody seems to know (except those who aren't talking). I reached out to Golf Channel via email and a network spokesperson replied simply that "Win's contract was not renewed at the end of 2013." The spokesperson added that the network "wish(es) her the best in her future endeavors." So Win was out as a full employee of the Golf Channel as of 2014 (I believe she did still appear on the network in spots afterward, probably on a per-piece basis). Is it just a coincidence that McM...

Malaysian golfer Natasha Oon recently scored a hole-in-one during the RSGC Ladies Amateur Open Championship at the Royal Selangor Golf Club in Kuala Lumpur. Awesome! More awesome: It was the hole-in-one contest hole. Awesomer! So Oon won the hole-in-one prize: a Volvo XC60 T5, a big, luxury SUV valued around $90,000 USD. There's only one problem for Oon: She's not nearly old enough to drive. She's only 12 years old. In the video below, Oon says she didn't even realize she was on the hole-in-one hole. She also says she "duffed" her 8-iron. The ball landed atop a hill next to the green and rolled down, onto the green and into the cup. She's a very mature 12-year-old, this video makes clear. Oon would probably make a more responsible driver than many others already on the road. Via paultan.org , here's what the crossover SUV looks like: So if little 12-year-old Natasha Oon can't drive in Malaysia until she's 17? What happens to the...

We've written before about Michelle Wie's art . She paints and draws in various forms, but the end result is always striking, interesting and intriguing. At least to my untrained eye. Wie is currently out of action with a finger injury, which has given her plenty of time to focus on painting. And this time she hasn't just posted photos of the end product. This time she has shown us herself actually creating her artwork. Now we can watch the artist Wie at work:

Did you hear about the odd incident involving LPGA golfer Chella Choi at the 2014 Canadian Women's Open? Choi mis-marked her golf ball on the putting green and when, after the round, she was confronted with clear evidence of a rule violation - one that came with a 2-stroke penalty - she withdrew from the tournament rather than accept the penalty. Choi's reaction was odd because there is absolutely no doubt she committed a penalty. A rather obvious penalty. She can't possibly think the application of a penalty was unfair. Maybe her score had something to do with it. With a 2-stroke penalty added, Choi was going to miss the cut. Rather than have an "M/C" on her record, she took a "WD" instead. (Does that choice affect how much money she gets? Anyone know?) Also odd because the penalty was just so ... flagrant. Choi putted about a foot past the hole. Tap-in range. She quickly walked to the other side of the hole and placed a ballmarker on the left side ...

Were they or weren't they? Dating, that is. Were Natalie Gulbis and Dustin Johnson a couple in early 2011, or weren't they? Not even Natalie and Dustin could agree on the answer. Do you remember that strange series of events? Public figures generating rumors about dating, girlfriends/boyfriends, are-they-or-aren't-they is a common thing. But it hasn't happened too often in golf. Before Dustin Johnson blew up the rumor mill with allegations (yet unproven, and in some cases denied by affected third parties) of drug use and sleeping around with other men's wives, he and Gulbis blew up the rumor mill in 2011. Well, "blew up" is too strong a word. Not many people outside golf paid any attention. So let's say DJ and Natalie "inflated" the rumor mill. The rumors started at the 2011 PGA Tour season opener, the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, where Natalie was spotted in the crowd following Dustin's group. Gulbis then confirmed to Golf.co...

Funny Instagram/tweet from Michelle Wie today: I totally fit in when I visit Japan... #flashbackfriday #swearimnotagiant @mp_foundation ai_shorty http://t.co/uIzQWBilK7 — Michelle Wie (@themichellewie) August 1, 2014 What makes it funny is the photo: Wow, is Michelle in heels or on stilts? Anyone else reminded of this: Or maybe picture Wiezilla rampaging through Tokyo? Kudos to Michelle for having such a sense of humor about herself. I especially love the #swearimnotagiant hashtag. And I think I've found the best representation for how Wie might have felt while taking that photo:

Unless you've been putting under a rock, you've heard about Dustin Johnson's departure from the PGA Tour to seek help with "personal problems." And you've probably heard the allegations included in a Michael Bamberger report on Golf.com : Johnson was (allegedly) suspended for testing positive for cocaine use. For the second time. After an earlier failed marijuana test. This may or may not be true; we may or may not know for sure someday. But something like this happening to DJ is absolutely no surprise at all to golf insiders. (The Golf.com report also includes the allegation that Johnson slept with another PGA Tour player's wife and caused the breakup of that marriage. Allegations of an affair with a second tour player's wife have since been made. It's apparently open season for Dustin Johnson misbehavior rumors.) Wherever Johnson is now - and I hope he really is getting help for whatever problems he has - I suggest he add this song to his pla...