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by Jeff Shelley
Blaine Newnham has covered golf as a sports reporter and columnist for over 50 years. He's also been a friend and colleague of mine for over 20 of those years. His professional gigs included working for the Oakland Tribune during which he followed Ben Hogan during the 1966 U.S. Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco.
Reviewed by Jeff Shelley
I get quite a few golf books from publishers to review for Cybergolf. They come in all shapes and sizes, from pocket guides to full-on, four-color coffee-table tomes.
I get quite a few golf books from publishers to review for Cybergolf. They come in all shapes and sizes, from pocket guides to full-on, four-color coffee-table tomes.
by Jeff Shelley
This is an open letter to Bill Maher, who trashed golf during his closing comments in his August 17 "Real Time" program on HBO.
This is an open letter to Bill Maher, who trashed golf during his closing comments in his August 17 "Real Time" program on HBO.
by Jeff Shelley
I let the dog out of the back of the Volvo and trudged - still sick with the flu (but not the Swine variety) - with Stella in tow. And I mean tow. She was hauling my sorry butt to the lake, one weary foot clomp after another.
We all have "bucket lists." You know what these are: the places or things we want to do before kicking the bucket. Well I'm about to check off one of the most important items on my list: a round at the Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland.
by Jeff Shelley
There's a lot to be depressed about these days. The economy. Our nation's seemingly neverending presence in the war-torn Middle East. North Korea's nuclear capability. Global warming. Thousands of layoffs. And on and on.
There's a lot to be depressed about these days. The economy. Our nation's seemingly neverending presence in the war-torn Middle East. North Korea's nuclear capability. Global warming. Thousands of layoffs. And on and on.
by Jeff Shelley
One of my favorite indie groups of the 1970s and '80s was called The The, which is, essentially, a one-man-band comprised of Matt Johnson. A talented sort, the Londoner plays most of the instruments on his albums. Besides the music, which is an acquired taste for sure, Johnson used the English language's most frequently used article for his band's oddly redundant-sounding name.
One of my favorite indie groups of the 1970s and '80s was called The The, which is, essentially, a one-man-band comprised of Matt Johnson. A talented sort, the Londoner plays most of the instruments on his albums. Besides the music, which is an acquired taste for sure, Johnson used the English language's most frequently used article for his band's oddly redundant-sounding name.
Reviewed by Jeff Shelley
The timing of author Joel Zuckerman's massive four-color biography of Pete Dye is nigh perfect; the man known far and wide for his "Dye-abolical" course designs was inducted into golf's Hall of Fame in November 2008.
The timing of author Joel Zuckerman's massive four-color biography of Pete Dye is nigh perfect; the man known far and wide for his "Dye-abolical" course designs was inducted into golf's Hall of Fame in November 2008.
by Jeff Shelley
Mike Keiser, the developer of Bandon Dunes, the 54-hole golf mecca on Oregon's southern coast, is partnering in a new project on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia. Like Bandon Dunes, Cabot Links will be a walking-only links course. Situated on the west coast of Cape Breton, the majority of the site borders the Gulf of St. Lawrence and offers breathtaking views of the water and rugged coastline.
by Jeff Shelley
Even though most of us know otherwise, golf has been regarded for decades as a white (and rich) man's and woman's game. That stereotype is, of course, dead wrong, and the world's most cross-culturally advanced sport continues to prove it. Golf now has excellent players of all skin colors, many with modest, non-country club roots. With his African-American and Thai lineage, Tiger Woods, the biggest and wealthiest star in any sport in the world, clearly evinces that.
Even though most of us know otherwise, golf has been regarded for decades as a white (and rich) man's and woman's game. That stereotype is, of course, dead wrong, and the world's most cross-culturally advanced sport continues to prove it. Golf now has excellent players of all skin colors, many with modest, non-country club roots. With his African-American and Thai lineage, Tiger Woods, the biggest and wealthiest star in any sport in the world, clearly evinces that.
by Jeff Shelley
The people who live or grew up - including this writer - in the broad, desert-like environs west of the Cascade Mountain Range have long felt bereft of high-end golf developments. Though it has a generally arid climate, Eastern Washington is amazingly fertile thanks to the Columbia River that winds through it. Grand Coulee Dam, still America's largest producer of electricity, brought a plenitude of irrigation water and cheap power to the region after the massive structure was completed in 1942.
The people who live or grew up - including this writer - in the broad, desert-like environs west of the Cascade Mountain Range have long felt bereft of high-end golf developments. Though it has a generally arid climate, Eastern Washington is amazingly fertile thanks to the Columbia River that winds through it. Grand Coulee Dam, still America's largest producer of electricity, brought a plenitude of irrigation water and cheap power to the region after the massive structure was completed in 1942.
by Jeff Shelley
As Washington State University prepares to open its new golf course, in one sense the school will surpass its sister institution in Seattle, the University of Washington. UW may have a bigger student body and receive more federal grants, but it doesn't have a top-flight golf course on campus.
by Jeff Shelley
Cybergolf's Jeff Shelley is at the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines this week. Here are some of Jeff's observations about the event.
Cybergolf's Jeff Shelley is at the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines this week. Here are some of Jeff's observations about the event.
by Jeff Shelley
As noted in yesterday's installment, hosting the U.S. Open is like building an instant city, with all the infrastructural elements needed for a municipality of 42,500 - the number of tickets purchased for each day of this championship. That number doesn't include the thousands of volunteers, officials, corporate schmoozers and media, of which I'm one of the lucky several hundred. Here are some more observations of this annual ritual:
As noted in yesterday's installment, hosting the U.S. Open is like building an instant city, with all the infrastructural elements needed for a municipality of 42,500 - the number of tickets purchased for each day of this championship. That number doesn't include the thousands of volunteers, officials, corporate schmoozers and media, of which I'm one of the lucky several hundred. Here are some more observations of this annual ritual:
by Jeff Shelley
Here's Jeff's final installment from the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, which concluded Monday on the 91st hole. Rocco Mediate and Tiger Woods finished tied at 1-under on Sunday and, following an 18-hole playoff Monday in which both shot even-par 71s, Woods beat the 45-year-old on the first sudden-death hole with a par. Here are more glimpses of the just-concluded tournament:
by Jeff Shelley
The year was 1979 and that day in June was sunny and beautiful. My wife picked me up in our 1959 Chrysler Imperial after I finished a shift at a pathology lab on Seattle's Capital Hill. I had just gotten out of college with an English degree in Creative Writing and the job was an interim way to support my family while trying to get hired someplace as a writer. Also in the car was our 9-month-old daughter, Erica. After giving a kiss to Anita and Erica, I got behind the wheel of the 5,700-pound car I dubbed "The Whale" in homage to Hunter Thompson and immediately switched the radio dial to the Sonics-Bullets game for what turned out to be the finale of that year's NBA Championship Series.
The year was 1979 and that day in June was sunny and beautiful. My wife picked me up in our 1959 Chrysler Imperial after I finished a shift at a pathology lab on Seattle's Capital Hill. I had just gotten out of college with an English degree in Creative Writing and the job was an interim way to support my family while trying to get hired someplace as a writer. Also in the car was our 9-month-old daughter, Erica. After giving a kiss to Anita and Erica, I got behind the wheel of the 5,700-pound car I dubbed "The Whale" in homage to Hunter Thompson and immediately switched the radio dial to the Sonics-Bullets game for what turned out to be the finale of that year's NBA Championship Series.
by Jeff Shelley
On occasion, golfers encounter serendipity in unlikely forms. Such moments may occur while playing new and exciting golf courses, meeting interesting characters, experiencing rare and exquisite moments of playing brilliance, and forming life-long friendships out of trying, but ultimately fulfilling, circumstances. Something similar to these happened to me in March 2008.
On occasion, golfers encounter serendipity in unlikely forms. Such moments may occur while playing new and exciting golf courses, meeting interesting characters, experiencing rare and exquisite moments of playing brilliance, and forming life-long friendships out of trying, but ultimately fulfilling, circumstances. Something similar to these happened to me in March 2008.
by Jeff Shelley
With apologies to the Chambers Brothers - a Seattle band, by the way, that wrote the song with the above title - the news that the USGA will be holding the 2010 U.S. Amateur and 2015 U.S. Open at a course in the Pacific Northwest, Chambers Bay near Tacoma, is, like that tune, wonderful to hear.
With apologies to the Chambers Brothers - a Seattle band, by the way, that wrote the song with the above title - the news that the USGA will be holding the 2010 U.S. Amateur and 2015 U.S. Open at a course in the Pacific Northwest, Chambers Bay near Tacoma, is, like that tune, wonderful to hear.
by Jeff Shelley
The golf club I belong to grinds to a halt on Christmas Day. The clubhouse, pro shop and golf course are all closed. But that doesn't prevent members from playing the course, nor does it keep an annual rite of winter from occurring: non-members who live in the surrounding neighborhoods trekking to our place for a not-so-surreptitious round of golf.
The golf club I belong to grinds to a halt on Christmas Day. The clubhouse, pro shop and golf course are all closed. But that doesn't prevent members from playing the course, nor does it keep an annual rite of winter from occurring: non-members who live in the surrounding neighborhoods trekking to our place for a not-so-surreptitious round of golf.
by Jeff Shelley
I just received a most remarkable document in the mail. It was sent to me by my niece's husband, Nick Campbell, from their home in Bend, Ore. Nick, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., and former Naval officer, searched through various Navy organizations and found a copy of my late father's Navy Cross citation awarded to him following World War II. The citation for Boatswain's Mate, Second Class Richard Graham Shelley reads:
I just received a most remarkable document in the mail. It was sent to me by my niece's husband, Nick Campbell, from their home in Bend, Ore. Nick, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., and former Naval officer, searched through various Navy organizations and found a copy of my late father's Navy Cross citation awarded to him following World War II. The citation for Boatswain's Mate, Second Class Richard Graham Shelley reads:
by Jeff Shelley
Golf legend Gary Player put his foot squarely in his mouth last week when, almost cavalierly, he remarked that he knew "some golfers" took steroids. Player's comments, which came during the British Open at Carnoustie, were exacerbated by his refusal to identify the miscreants.
Golf legend Gary Player put his foot squarely in his mouth last week when, almost cavalierly, he remarked that he knew "some golfers" took steroids. Player's comments, which came during the British Open at Carnoustie, were exacerbated by his refusal to identify the miscreants.
by Jeff Shelley
For the past few years the state of Washington has taken a back seat to its neighbor to the south, Oregon, in the unveiling of world-class golf courses. While the Beaver State has seen such exemplary layouts as Bandon Dunes (three of them with another on the way) along the Pacific Coast, Pronghorn and Brasada Ranch near Bend in central Oregon, and others on both sides of the Cascade Mountains, the Evergreen State has lagged behind.
by Jeff Shelley
The above question sounds heretical, but a recent article made a compelling argument that when Tiger Woods doesn't play in a PGA Tour event, it can suffer fatal consequences from the ensuing dearth of corporate-sponsorship, falling attendance and poor television ratings.
The above question sounds heretical, but a recent article made a compelling argument that when Tiger Woods doesn't play in a PGA Tour event, it can suffer fatal consequences from the ensuing dearth of corporate-sponsorship, falling attendance and poor television ratings.
by Jeff Shelley
There are many perks attendant with working in the golf industry. Perhaps none of them are as special as receiving the annual Superintendent's "Best Friend" calendar from Golfweek's SuperNews magazine.
There are many perks attendant with working in the golf industry. Perhaps none of them are as special as receiving the annual Superintendent's "Best Friend" calendar from Golfweek's SuperNews magazine.
by Jeff Shelley
I may have just walked what may become one of the best and most-heralded courses on the West Coast. That may be a brash statement, considering us "Left-Coasters" boast such acclaimed tracks as Torrey Pines, Cypress Point, Pebble Beach and the triumvirate of soon-to-be-quartet of courses at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in southwest Oregon.
by Jeff Shelley
A new golf course is unfolding near the small town of Indianola in Western Washington. White Horse Golf Club will be the centerpiece of a mixed-use development emerging in a rural part of Kitsap Peninsula. Nearby is the quaint town of Indianola, which, with a country store and a few homes overlooking Puget Sound, represents the bulk of concentrated civilization in this beautiful part of the Evergreen State.
by Jeff Shelley
Considering that I'd have to fly from Seattle to California to play the only Donald Ross-designed course on the West Coast - Peninsula Golf & Country Club in San Ramon, it was a thrill to be able to wield the mashie and spoon while in New England visiting family and friends.
Considering that I'd have to fly from Seattle to California to play the only Donald Ross-designed course on the West Coast - Peninsula Golf & Country Club in San Ramon, it was a thrill to be able to wield the mashie and spoon while in New England visiting family and friends.
by Jeff Shelley
Though it's very much in the nascent stage, all the ingredients are assembled for what should become the next top-shelf golf course in the Pacific Northwest. These elements - a supportive developer with plenty of financing, an outstanding golf course architect, and an experienced builder - are now constructing Salish Cliffs Golf Club, a new layout underway near Shelton, Wash.
Though it's very much in the nascent stage, all the ingredients are assembled for what should become the next top-shelf golf course in the Pacific Northwest. These elements - a supportive developer with plenty of financing, an outstanding golf course architect, and an experienced builder - are now constructing Salish Cliffs Golf Club, a new layout underway near Shelton, Wash.
by Jeff Shelley
At some point in time, a golfer realizes that he'll never make it onto the PGA Tour and earn millions of dollars in prize money and endorsements. Coming to grips with being stuck as a 10 handicap for the rest of one's life is a bit of a downer. Yet we must all, eventually, move on.
At some point in time, a golfer realizes that he'll never make it onto the PGA Tour and earn millions of dollars in prize money and endorsements. Coming to grips with being stuck as a 10 handicap for the rest of one's life is a bit of a downer. Yet we must all, eventually, move on.
by Jeff Shelley
In the second installment, Charlie Schaubel talks about moving to New Orleans, crewing on boats, a red-haired girlfriend, replacing Johnny Miller at a celebrity event and his star-crossed experiences with a training device. In this third and final installment, Charlie goes into his move to a place as far as possible within the continental U.S. from his adopted hometown of New Orleans. Here, he confesses to some difficult times brought on by personal tragedies.
In the second installment, Charlie Schaubel talks about moving to New Orleans, crewing on boats, a red-haired girlfriend, replacing Johnny Miller at a celebrity event and his star-crossed experiences with a training device. In this third and final installment, Charlie goes into his move to a place as far as possible within the continental U.S. from his adopted hometown of New Orleans. Here, he confesses to some difficult times brought on by personal tragedies.
by Jeff Shelley
I began teaching golf in 1971 at City Park Driving Range in New Orleans after some guy who was watching me practice asked if I gave lessons. He said he had five dollars and wanted a lesson. Without hesitating, I said, "Sure do give lessons, what's the problem?"
I began teaching golf in 1971 at City Park Driving Range in New Orleans after some guy who was watching me practice asked if I gave lessons. He said he had five dollars and wanted a lesson. Without hesitating, I said, "Sure do give lessons, what's the problem?"
by Jeff Shelley
I met Charlie Schaubel 20 years ago when he was the operator and golf pro for the old Interbay par-3 and driving range. Due to the facility's location near downtown Seattle, Charlie probably gave more lessons at that run-down range than any other golf instructor in the Pacific Northwest and maybe even the West Coast. We're talking thousands of golfers.
I met Charlie Schaubel 20 years ago when he was the operator and golf pro for the old Interbay par-3 and driving range. Due to the facility's location near downtown Seattle, Charlie probably gave more lessons at that run-down range than any other golf instructor in the Pacific Northwest and maybe even the West Coast. We're talking thousands of golfers.
by Jeff Shelley
My friends Charlie and Becky just returned from a five-week vacation in New Zealand. Besides a lifetime of wonderful memories, they brought back to Seattle a tiny football-shaped golf ball with dimples and a funky-looking tee to hold it.
by Jeff Shelley
There's no doubt that most of us admire the "big boys" on the PGA Tour. Their effortless swings, calm under fire, competitive instincts, flair for the dramatic, feathery touch around the greens, and magnanimity toward fellow competitors are certainly good reasons for adulation.
There's no doubt that most of us admire the "big boys" on the PGA Tour. Their effortless swings, calm under fire, competitive instincts, flair for the dramatic, feathery touch around the greens, and magnanimity toward fellow competitors are certainly good reasons for adulation.
by Jeff Shelley
After 38 years of running a modest short course near Vancouver, Wash., its proprietors - like so many other mom-and-pop golf facilities around the U.S. - are finally turning in their scorecards and calling it a day.
After 38 years of running a modest short course near Vancouver, Wash., its proprietors - like so many other mom-and-pop golf facilities around the U.S. - are finally turning in their scorecards and calling it a day.
by Jeff Shelley
Golfers seeking something different than the courses in Florida and along Alabama's golf trail should take a serious look at Mississippi. Though the venues along its Gulf Coast were ravaged by Hurricane Katrina, alternatives abound in the central and northern parts of the state. In addition to sharing the same excellent conditions and challenges as its neighbors, Mississippi offers a very attractive bang-for-the-buck quotient.
by Jeff Shelley
My wife and I just returned from two straight weekends in British Columbia, the beautiful westernmost province in Canada. The trips were kind of a fluke. The first one to Whistler - among the biggest year-round resort areas in North America - is an annual excursion with several couples. The second four-night jaunt - an invite from another set of friends to stay in their condo at Sun Peaks Resort north of Kamloops - was the first time we'd ever ventured this far afield into Canada.
My wife and I just returned from two straight weekends in British Columbia, the beautiful westernmost province in Canada. The trips were kind of a fluke. The first one to Whistler - among the biggest year-round resort areas in North America - is an annual excursion with several couples. The second four-night jaunt - an invite from another set of friends to stay in their condo at Sun Peaks Resort north of Kamloops - was the first time we'd ever ventured this far afield into Canada.
by Jeff Shelley
The fourth and final part of this Irish golf adventure finds us at two similar, yet contrasting, golf courses: Doonbeg Golf Club, a Greg Norman design hatched in 2002, and Lahinch, a classic 1892 links that sprawls across sand hills near its namesake town and boasts a fond place in the hearts of golfers around the world.
by Jeff Shelley
The next stops in this travelogue are a couple of spectacular links layouts on the west coast of Ireland. Located east of Kenmare and south of Cahersiveen, Waterville Golf Links features a recently remodeled course and one of European golf's true characters. A bit farther north is Tralee which, to my unprejudiced eyes, boasts one of the most spectacular sets of holes - its back nine - anywhere on Earth.
by Jeff Shelley
It's amazing how much the game of golf is part of Irish culture. Throughout our travels around the west and east sides of the nation's southern half, we'd find tidy par-3s and sweet executive-length tracks on the edges of towns. Along with grazing cows and sheep, on many village peripheries are naturally lush expanses with tiny greens sporting wee flags, quaint mushroomed tees, and local kids strolling after their next shots.
by Jeff Shelley
After spending 10 days in mid-May playing golf across southern Ireland, I'm not quite sure where to start with this tale. Should I begin with the virtually flawless weather - no rain during seven rounds of golf! Or should I stray from the golf courses - a regular occurrence on- or off-course anyway - to the wonderful eateries, pubs, ancient ruins and historical sites along the way? Perhaps the focus should be the Irish themselves, a lyrical, passionate people who never hesitate to sing their hearts out when the mood hits - which, if possible, is nearly every night at the local pub.
Jeff Shelley
This missive is the equivalent of the old "Gone Fishin' " sign posted on storefronts throughout rural America. This one, however, has a more appropriate twist for our website.
This missive is the equivalent of the old "Gone Fishin' " sign posted on storefronts throughout rural America. This one, however, has a more appropriate twist for our website.
by Jeff Shelley
The Cybergolf team ventured out of the Great Northwest to participate in the recent Golf Industry Show in Orlando. This expo isn't the same as the PGA Show, where golf professionals get wined and dined by manufacturers in the hopes that their pro shops will stock up on the newest soft goods and equipment. Staged by the Golf Course Superintendents Association (GCSAA) and the National Golf Course Owners Association (NGCOA), the Golf Industry Show intends to attract vendors and services involved in the turf industry and the operations of golf facilities. It also brought together the heads of every major golf organization (except for the LPGA Tour's outgoing commissioner, Ty Votaw, a late scratch) for a State of the Industry Q&A session.
The Cybergolf team ventured out of the Great Northwest to participate in the recent Golf Industry Show in Orlando. This expo isn't the same as the PGA Show, where golf professionals get wined and dined by manufacturers in the hopes that their pro shops will stock up on the newest soft goods and equipment. Staged by the Golf Course Superintendents Association (GCSAA) and the National Golf Course Owners Association (NGCOA), the Golf Industry Show intends to attract vendors and services involved in the turf industry and the operations of golf facilities. It also brought together the heads of every major golf organization (except for the LPGA Tour's outgoing commissioner, Ty Votaw, a late scratch) for a State of the Industry Q&A session.
by Jeff Shelley
I once volunteered for a two-year gig on the Seattle Municipal Golf Advisory Committee in 1992. My intentions were honorable - I wanted all-new irrigation systems for the city's three 18-hole golf courses, while getting the operations of the facilities away from the city, which viewed the courses as cash cows and rarely made capital improvements - this during a time when golf was hot.
What could be wrong with that? Two birds with the same number of stones - redo the watering systems and fairways/tees; set up a heretofore unrealized scenario in Seattle: Improve historic golf courses and upgrade 500-plus acres of golf property in a city with limited physical space, phenomenal physical attributes, a rich history in the game.
I once volunteered for a two-year gig on the Seattle Municipal Golf Advisory Committee in 1992. My intentions were honorable - I wanted all-new irrigation systems for the city's three 18-hole golf courses, while getting the operations of the facilities away from the city, which viewed the courses as cash cows and rarely made capital improvements - this during a time when golf was hot.
What could be wrong with that? Two birds with the same number of stones - redo the watering systems and fairways/tees; set up a heretofore unrealized scenario in Seattle: Improve historic golf courses and upgrade 500-plus acres of golf property in a city with limited physical space, phenomenal physical attributes, a rich history in the game.
by Jeff Shelley
I'm not alone in trying to emulate Fred Couples' smooth take-off and delivery in hitting a golf ball. As a golfer from Seattle, I, along with thousands of fellow citizens, realize - like Fred - that a golf glove is pretty useless in this rainy place. Those who need a glove to grip a golf club during the many drenched times of the year here might as well pack eight of them for a single 18-hole round. So most of us Jet City hackers, just like Freddie, play golf glove-less in Seattle.
I'm not alone in trying to emulate Fred Couples' smooth take-off and delivery in hitting a golf ball. As a golfer from Seattle, I, along with thousands of fellow citizens, realize - like Fred - that a golf glove is pretty useless in this rainy place. Those who need a glove to grip a golf club during the many drenched times of the year here might as well pack eight of them for a single 18-hole round. So most of us Jet City hackers, just like Freddie, play golf glove-less in Seattle.
by Jeff Shelley
I was really looking to playing good golf this year. Despite my 54 years on this planet - some would say I've done time on Mars, I'm as fit as ever. I workout at the gym three times a week, and do 90-minute sessions of yoga on the other two weekdays. Golf on the weekend, always packing my clubs at my hilly home course, Sand Point in Seattle, completes what seems to be a decent physical regimen. Coming into 2004, I viewed my prospects thusly: The golf world would be my oyster - or to quote the band, World Party - "The future's so bright I gotta wear shades."
I was really looking to playing good golf this year. Despite my 54 years on this planet - some would say I've done time on Mars, I'm as fit as ever. I workout at the gym three times a week, and do 90-minute sessions of yoga on the other two weekdays. Golf on the weekend, always packing my clubs at my hilly home course, Sand Point in Seattle, completes what seems to be a decent physical regimen. Coming into 2004, I viewed my prospects thusly: The golf world would be my oyster - or to quote the band, World Party - "The future's so bright I gotta wear shades."
by Jeff Shelley
One of the best courses to open in the Pacific Northwest in recent years lies 30 minutes south of one of the region's most heralded tracks. Circling Raven Golf Club is situated along U.S. 95 next to Coeur d'Alene Casino Resort Hotel. This establishment is not to be confused with the Coeur d'Alene Resort. That place - with the much-photographed golf course and the famous floating green - is in its namesake town next to its eponymous lake.
No, Circling Raven and its accompanying casino resort were developed and are owned and operated by the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, headquartered in the much less tourist town Plummer.
by Jeff Shelley
In a visit to the Pacific Northwest to see how the First Tee programs are going in Portland, Seattle and Olympia, the organization's executive director, Joe Louis Barrow, Jr., sat down and talked with the media. The leader of the nation's preeminent junior golf program is charismatic, intellectually impressive, and a fine communicator. He even talked about his father and namesake, arguably the best boxer ever - Joe Louis.
It's not too often a native of the Pacific Northwest gets to golf in Louisiana, but that's what happened to me in early May 2004. I and several writer cohorts from elsewhere in the U.S. were invited to play four courses along the Audubon Golf Trail. The state of Louisiana oversees this newest of golf networks in the Southeast.
During these first few days of spring most people are eager for the golf season to begin, particularly those in iced-up places where the game has become a distant memory. That's not the case for us folks in Seattle, where golf is generally a 12-month - albeit muddy - activity. Yet this has been one of the weirdest personal years in memory. Not that I haven't played golf, but because I've undergone a serious operation and been sick with a nasty flu/cold four frigging times, spending at least two of the past six months on the disabled list. Last night, while tossing and turning during another codein-cough-syrup night of restlessness, I recalled some bizarre rounds of golf. Here's one of them.
by Jeff Shelley
I wrote this piece three years ago after Tiger Woods opted out of the old "Clambake" at Pebble Beach, citing the course's soft and moist poa greens. He hasn't played there since, so I think it has some pertinence today.
I wrote this piece three years ago after Tiger Woods opted out of the old "Clambake" at Pebble Beach, citing the course's soft and moist poa greens. He hasn't played there since, so I think it has some pertinence today.
A few years back I was on the board of directors at my Seattle club, Sand Point. Put in charge of the Golf Activities Committee, my primary goal was to ensure maximum participation in the club's 30 or so annual events. Leaving our Women's Division alone as they did their own things, the rota listed men, mixed, senior, and junior tournaments throughout the year. It wasn't a tough task handling the committee as most of the 15 or so members on it had a good time and enthusiastically sought to enhance member participation in the club's golf activities.
Besides this motley little web site where you're finding these pearls of wisdom we have another Internet portal called golfconstructionnews.com, aka GCN. This online entity tracks golf projects around the U.S. It's derived from a variety of sources, most especially newspaper clippings from every podunk daily, weekly or monthly newspaper published in this great nation of ours. Some of the stuff I've seen written about golf and its role in the greater scheme of things is pretty amazing.
Here in Salem, Mass., about a good 3-iron from Kernwood Country Club (ironically, for the purposes of this journal entry, a nearly all-Jewish private club), I am with my wife Anni at her Aunt Kay's house off Salt Wall Lane. The snow is still about 3 feet deep in the yards of this quiet neighborhood, the remnants of one of the Boston area's biggest pre-winter storms in history still very much in evidence. Not much golf in the forecast during our week-long sojourn in New England. But that's okay. Christmas is in the air.
Before leaving Seattle for Gold Mountain, Calif., I'd heard a lot about the Dragon Golf Course, mostly in press releases from Dan Shepherd of Buffalo Communications. In addition, a friend in the golf business now living in Seattle, Mark Miller, helped design the course when he was working with Nelson-Haworth, whose Robin Nelson is Dragon's architect of record. Mark spent several months in Plumas County during construction and was familiar with all the ins and outs of the project. So he primed me about the course and, after seeing my game at my home club, Sand Point, said I'd have a difficult time slaying the Dragon.
The Dragon Golf Course and adjoining Gold Mountain Inn & Spa are situated in remote Plumas County in northeast California. The closest big city is Reno, about an hour's drive to the southeast. The "largest" towns in Plumas County - population 21,203, according to its website - are Portola and Quincy. Our 'fam' group's home for the next four days would be in the piney hills west of Portola. A golf ball travels far at The Dragon, perched at 4,000 feet above sea level.
Among the nicer benefits of being a golf writer are invitations to attend golf course grand openings and junkets to resort areas with fellow writers. In the first category I've been lucky enough to "break in" about 25 new courses - mostly in the Pacific Northwest - over the 20 years I've been writing about golf.
Though the subject of green committees* at private clubs has been wrought in all manner of high-falutin', high-minded grandiloquence, these one-of-a-kind gatherings remain worthy of pontification. Like dozens of golf writers, I'm blockheaded enough to tackle the subject. And like all those other whiners, I'll attempt to understand how a group of doctors, lawyers, insurance executives, businessmen and other so-called "professional people" can better a golf course.
My friends know I have a special affinity with saying "salubrious," an odd but powerful little word with tremendous depth. To quote the "American Heritage Dictionary," the word means 'conducive or favorable to health or well-being; wholesome, healthful'. Salubrious is remarkably versatile and can be applied to many things: the golf swing; dinner that night; one's physical and mental condition; your love life - just about anything having to do with body and soul. To really recognize another person's interest, and to offer them a glimpse of your sunny - and in my case, idiosyncratic - personality, replying with a hearty "salubrious" does the trick. Especially when the message is sincere.
After pondering what to write about next in this journal (I know, it's been awhile), I got to thinking about my halcyon days of automobile travel. Over a 15-year period, I logged over 160,000 miles researching my book, "Golf Courses of the Pacific Northwest." Though hectic, those days were great, heading out to unchartered golf courses in the vast 1.5-million-square-mile region covered by my book. At the time, some suggested I ignore a few courses, especially those out-of-the-way dog tracks - or "Cow Pasture Pool Parlors" as they're dubbed out here in the West - that no one plays, and for good reason. But I visited all of the 550 courses anyway, and the other day got to recalling such a bottom-of-the-barrel place.
I'm back after a prolonged absence. Maybe it was the mental evisceration of writer's block (see April 25's entry), or perhaps it was just trying to keep the content up on two websites (the other word eater is golfconstructionnews.com). But I feel recharged following a whirlwind six-day trip to Montana's Flathead Valley June 10-15. So here goes a glimpse of that underappreciated area of American golf - and other stuff.
Castles in the sky from your's truly.
Talk about hitting a guy when he's down. The recent demise of a wonderful publication, Golf Journal, won't be doing anything for my temporarily anemic muse.
It's been a month now since my last journal entry. I apologize for my lack of input. But I have excuses - moving to my home office in Seattle from Cybergolf "world headquarters" in Edmonds; having a new puppy - Stella - who's now 3 months old and getting into all sorts of muddy trouble; and a general malaise that probably stems from weighty world concerns. Maybe Martha Burk has something to do with it.
My comments about George W. and his cronies being responsible for taking America into war may seem out of sorts for a golf website. And to the good-hearted readers/visitors who come to Cybergolf for deals and information.
If you're into rain, Bandon, Oregon, was the place to be over these four days.
by Jeff Shelley
Five years ago today I was barreling down the West Coast on my way from Seattle to Bandon, Oregon. During most of the 450-mile jaunt, I received radio reports on America's new war, which started the night before with George W. Bush's blustery "Shock and Awe" assault on Saddam Hussein's autocracy. The war is still going on, and it's now stretched longer than World Wars I and II and the Korean War. As of today, 3,992 American soldiers have been killed (4,300 Coalition forces killed), over 29,300 injured, 145 Americans forces committed suicide, and an untold number of military families permanently affected by the war. Recent estimates by American leaders indicate to could be at least another three years before our troops can be extricated from Iraq and Afghanistan. When I returned home a couple of days later from that trip in 2003, here's what I wrote about my sense of that moment in American history.
Five years ago today I was barreling down the West Coast on my way from Seattle to Bandon, Oregon. During most of the 450-mile jaunt, I received radio reports on America's new war, which started the night before with George W. Bush's blustery "Shock and Awe" assault on Saddam Hussein's autocracy. The war is still going on, and it's now stretched longer than World Wars I and II and the Korean War. As of today, 3,992 American soldiers have been killed (4,300 Coalition forces killed), over 29,300 injured, 145 Americans forces committed suicide, and an untold number of military families permanently affected by the war. Recent estimates by American leaders indicate to could be at least another three years before our troops can be extricated from Iraq and Afghanistan. When I returned home a couple of days later from that trip in 2003, here's what I wrote about my sense of that moment in American history.