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March 2008 - Posts

• 2008 EDS Byron Nelson Championship

  Hope this week finds you well. Earlier this week I had the opportunity to spend a morning with many of my cohorts at the Four Seasons for the Media Preview of the refurbished TPC course. Over the last couple of years, most of you have heard the rumblings through the media from a number of tour players about the quality of the golf course. The fact that the greens were not up to Tour standards and, because of drainage and soil issues, the fairways left something to be desired. Most of that was very true. Please also understand, no one has ever complained about the facilities or the way in which the Hotel and the Salesmanship Club entertain the Tour players and their families. As a quick aside, what is it with Tournaments named after big name former players? If Arnold Palmer passed away tomorrow, not one tour player would appear at next year’s event. Because the greens were so bad, I was told by two different media people that they felt as if they were back at the 2007 Nelson. The players were constantly swearing under their breathe about putts being pushed off line. (Tiger really is the best bad green putter in the world. It comes from growing up on the public courses of Southern California.) Anyway, Tuesday morning in 20 to 30 mph wind gusts, DA Weibring, Champion Tour Player and President of Golf Resources - one of the leading golf course architecture companies - walked us around a few of the holes. Along with his lead architect Steve Wolford, DA has done a tremendous job redesigning and, more importantly, redoing the TPC. I cannot tell a lie here, and I’m sure there is trouble a-comin’… Over the last 8 months, about every 10 days, I’ve grabbed a cart and driven the course, most of the time getting yelled at by workers for driving in “non-cart” areas. But I wanted to watch. With each rainy day, I kept sensing that there was absolutely no way the course would be ready for the April Tournament. The Tour, Hotel and Salesmanship Club had many conference calls about what to do if that happened. Would they play at Cottonwood (the most likely choice); would they move the tournament (not sure this was ever seriously discussed but it sure was talked about around golf media circles); would they play a combination of the TPC and Cottonwood? The latter was the most likely choice. I could tell in my previews that they were working to get certain holes completed first. As of January, I honestly do not think anyone thought we would play the 2008 EDS Byron Nelson Championship at the TPC of Las Colinas. Sometime in late December or early January, the ghost of a man took over. You can call it religion, divine intervention or whatever you want, but Byron Nelson (I am sure sitting in his chair right next to “The Big Guy”) asked for permission to change the weather. And it did. Weibring talks about standing in front of the life-size statue of Mr. Nelson and praying for some help. With the weather change, the course was completed. The Tour has signed off and Bentley Forbes, the owner of the Four Seasons, is as excited as my kid at the new in-door water park. I want to say that the excitement goes way beyond just being ready to play. DA has created a very good golf course. A lot of it you will never notice many of the upgrades to the facility. Living in Las Colinas, I know about the soil issues. A large percentage of the money spent at TPC was below the ground. New irrigation was sorely needed; dirt moved to areas that had fallen; fairways were designed for water to move in the right directions. These are the things that will make TPC a course that we can play year-round, something that hasn’t happened for a long time. I asked Weibring if he thought the scores for The Nelson would be higher. He said, “Depending on the wind, probably not.” See, what DA did was create a better course for everyone. While he personally spoke to many tour players before he started the redesign and tried to take their suggestions into account, Weibring created a course that is playable. That is what he does best. Think about Gentle Creek and Bridlewood. Both very good designs, both fun for golfers of all levels. How does he do this? Weibring has a knack for giving players choices, especially around the greens. A tour player might hit a flop that none of us can hit, but with a DA design, from that exact same spot, we can putt or run the ball to the green. Kudos to all involved. Imagine your wife, mother and mother-in-law at a table all trying to get together on a project - well maybe you can! That’s what happened in a very short period of time at the TPC. Three different companies, three sets of values, three different modes of operation managed to put trivial things aside and work for the good of the metroplex. This happened because of DA Weibring. DA does not do a lot of personal promotion, so today I am doing it for him. He deserves applause from us all. Search him out tournament week and say thanks. So, the 2008 EDS Byron Nelson will be played on one course. It will be played with beer in hand. No, not John Daly I hope, but the spectators. Along with improving the golf course, I want to compliment the Salesmanship Club on moving their Tournament forward. Some tough decisions had to be made for 2008 and beyond, and the Red Pants have done it right. Allowing beer on the course; a bigger party atmosphere at 17; a much better Pavilion with concerts; a KidsZone for families - they have grown to understand that this golf tournament can be so much more. For the plug of the week… choose from our Lantana outing on the 3rd, our Tierra Verde outing on the 16th, our Augusta Trip or our Horseshoe Bay getaway... Choose one or choose them all, but become a part of The Golfers Home family. Posted Mar 27 2008, 01:43 PM by Steven Gribin with no comments Filed under: Steven Gribin, 2008, TPC at Four Seasons, EDS Byron Nelson Championship, Golf Resources, D.A. Weibring

• The Golfers' Weekend Roundup - 3/24/2008

  Each week I am asked by the wonderful Tees2Greens staff to write a review of the weekend’s golf.  Rather than our weekly review, I have a couple of “bones to pick” and want to deal with my issue rather than the scores, so here is a quick recap about the World Golf Championships. Tiger Woods streak comes to an end.  It was one of those times that Tiger dreads.  Hitting the ball well enough to win, but being unable to “get” the speed or line of the greens, Woods was unable to catch a leader who did not play well. Geoff Ogilvy shot a last round 71.  With delay after delay, Sunday’s final round got moved to Monday morning.  With all the birdies in the first three rounds, no one believed Ogilvy could hold the lead shooting just one under par. "I had a shot at it and just came up short," said Woods, who had won 16 of his previous 26 events on the PGA TOUR. It seemed each tour professional awoke Monday morning and could not bring that birdie that most had during the first 54 holes.  With a 4 shot lead in hand, none of the closest followers could manage anything lower than 68 and that number could not get it done. The Bone… A majority of the field is not American; the majority of every WGC event is not American.  SO WHEN WILL WE FINALLY PLAY A WORLD GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP SOMEPLACE OUTSIDE AMERICA?  I know this is 17 days before Augusta.  I know the top American’s prefer to not travel great distances, but this is not a World Golf Championship. We have three WGC events each year, I think we should be able to find a location outside our borders that will make all the entrants happy.  There is plenty of money being made by the players and the Tournament so let’s get a bunch of private jets and take the World Golf Championships to Scotland.  Don’t like that idea, hell, how about Canada? We ask the Asian and the European players to travel around the world; I think it’s time to ask the PGA Tour players to do the same.  Don’t want to go?  See you next year. Finally - I like Greg Kraft; I like Bo Van Pelt.  I like all the guys that played in Puerto Rico and I think they should make all the money they can.  But giving them one Fed Ex Cup point is totally wrong.  It is one thing to play in a tournament when the top players choose to not join in the fun; it is another to win a tournament when the top players are competing against each other and you win.  So make your money; let it count for the Top 125 (although I do not think that should happen either but this is America), but do not give these players points towards winning a possible $10 million dollars when they are not facing one player  in the Top 30. What do you think? Posted Mar 24 2008, 02:33 PM by Steven Gribin with no comments Filed under: Steven Gribin, Tiger Woods, Weekend Roundup, Geoff Ogilvy, Greg Kraft, World Golf Championship, Bo Van Pelt

• Reflections

  Hope all is well... For most, I guess this is spring vacation week, so get out and play some golf with your kids. I was able to do that this week in Hawaii - the advantage of having a wife that gets invited on movie junkets. Everyone thinks I have a cool job, but Sandie beats me hands down. It was one year ago next Monday that my dad passed away. During my vacation, I had some quiet time to reflect on some of my memories with him. Other than the Cuban missile crisis, they all seemed to be sports oriented. I so remember him talk about the Yankees of the late 20’s. He watched Ruth and Gehrig; he watched Willie Mays and Joe DiMaggio When the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles, we got season tickets; when the Lakers moved to Los Angeles, we got season tickets..... I think watching these greats had much to do with his success. He always talked about man's ability to focus on individual goals. Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to see from the stands so many incredible sports moments. I got to see Fernando Valenzuela pitch two no-hitters; I got to be a part of the longest running infield in Dodger history, Garvey, Lopes, Russell and Cey; I was in the stadium when Kurt Gibson hit his famous home run. Of all I saw, Orel Hershiser’s scoreless inning streak was, by far, the most amazing. During that streak, I saw something most athletes only pray about. Being an athlete in complete command of his body, mind and soul; an athlete in such control his competition basically melts at his site... In 1971, I saw the ultimate success, not from one basketball team, but from two. The Los Angeles Lakers got Wilt Chamberlin, the games greatest scorer, to realize that by changing his game he could win a World Championship. They also managed to win 33 in a row. 1971 also saw the start of an 88 game winning streak by John Wooden’s, UCLA Bruins. Of all these moments, last Sunday moves right up the list. The only problem with Sunday... it wasn’t a major. As Tiger stood over his putt on the 18th hole, I knew it would go in. That is what he does. What makes him so great? He loves doing it. His greatness shines like the most vibrant of rainbows. He allows it to be exposed. Through all his desire for privacy, when it comes to his golfing success, he allows each of us to share in his glow. The look as the putt rolls in; the fist pump; the smile; the hug... always the same order, yet always so new and real. If Bay Hill was the one that concerned all the pundits, what happens now? As I am writing, I am watching and Tiger is one off the lead. Gosh, wasn’t it just a few months back when a number of reporters and Golf Channel “experts” were telling Tiger he should fire Hank? Well, Hank, you hang in there... you get to keep your job for a couple more weeks. But, if you are concerned, at some point in the next year or two, I assume Tiger will lose and then people can start asking for your head again. Just a couple of questions as we come to a close: Does anyone care about who is number two? Does anyone care about the 2nd field in side-by-side events? With the great news that the Tour has approved the use of the TPC only for the EDS Byron Nelson, will we get the field we deserve? Posted Mar 20 2008, 05:04 PM by Steven Gribin with no comments Filed under: Steven Gribin, Tiger Woods, EDS Byron Nelson Championship

• Daly Delima

  I admit it... over the last 12 months, I have beaten on John Daly as much as anyone in the media. I’ve tried in every way I know to help John in his fight against alcoholism (my belief) and mediocrity. I’ve said John needs help, John needs someone to intervene. John needs Tournament Directors to “back-off”, to understand, that yes, John is a huge draw to the attendance numbers of their golf tournament, but as long as they keep giving Daly exemptions, there is no reason for John to do what he needs to do. Stop drinking - fix his body - get into shape physically and mentally - find his swing, a swing that won him two majors - find his desire to succeed - play his way back into tournaments rather than being given a spot. Through all that, John has taken everything. John actually sees himself as doing nothing wrong and, to a certain extent, I agree. There is nothing wrong with Daly going to a Hooters tent, sitting for 4 hours and signing autographs for the patrons. There is nothing wrong with John asking Coach Gruden to carry his bag for a few holes. There is nothing WRONG with any of this. Except... it is all happening at the wrong time. Daly needs to focus on two things and two things only... stop drinking and his golf game. Golf is what got him celebrity status. That is why I keep asking Directors to leave him out. Let him decide if it is what he wants. If not, I honestly believe that John Daly will be the John Candy of the 21st Century. Today, however, I have a much bigger problem. I have never known Daly to lie. I know he might move the truth a little to make himself look better. But through all his “stuff,” he has never been caught in a real lie. He is an alcoholic, we know that, and alcoholics tend to “broaden” the truth. But, with that in mind, let us assume for a minute that John is telling the truth when he said, "I just wish Butch would have called me and let me know he was dropping me." If John is telling the truth about Butch Harmon, then I have lost all respect for Mr. Harmon. When did it happen that a teacher of the game became bigger than the player? What gives this man, a paid employee of John Daly, the right to discuss things with the media? I believe that John’s drinking hurts Butch and a number of his brothers, but going to the media without speaking to John? I always knew Harmon had a big ego, but my gosh! Throwing his employer under the bus: how wrong is that? Over the last four years, Hank Haney has taken plenty of grief from the media about Tiger’s swing and about his approach to the media. Stevie Williams might be the most hated caddy on the tour. I think they are both incredibly solid human beings. They allow their player to do the talking. They are always there for him, standing “right behind him” where they belong. Butch Harmon has used the John Daly situation to make himself look like the winner. Harmon was wrong. How you would like to be Stephen Ames? He is becoming the Rodney Dangerfield of the PGA Tour. First, he makes comments about Tiger Woods and then Tiger thrashes him 9 and 8, giving him no respect. Now, my sources are telling me that there are major changes coming to the Skins Game. Stephen won last year and would automatically get exemption into 2008. But, rumor has it that after years of falling more and more off the radar, The Skins game wants to change the players. They are looking at inviting the Ryder Cup and The President Cup Captains. That could take a bunch of money out of Ames' pocket. And also let him know, “He gets no respect.” This is a great time to be a part of The Golfers Home. We're starting a new TopGolf League. We have the outing Monday at Trophy Club. We have our getaway, June 20-22 to Horseshoe Bay, a resort with three golf courses as good as any in America. And, we have our trip to Augusta. In recent days we’ve added outings to Tierra Verde and Gentle Creek Country Club. You need to bring your friends and family, and have a good time. Posted Mar 13 2008, 01:47 PM by Steven Gribin with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Steven Gribin, Drinking Problem, Butch Harmon, John Daly

• The Golfers' Weekend Roundup - 3/10/2008

  O’Hair returns to the Top – “You see these guys like Tiger, like Phil, and they come out there and play and win and it's almost like men against schoolboys,'' O'Hair said. “What are they doing differently than me? And you try to learn from them, but all of a sudden, you get caught in this vicious circle of trying to be somebody you're not.” “I'm not Tiger. I'm far from Tiger,'' he said. “I'm far from Phil.’’ Sean O’Hair is the winner of the 2008 PODS Championship. O'Hair rallied from a three-shot deficit at the PODS Championship, pulled ahead when Stewart Cink suffered a four-hole meltdown, and closed with a 2-under 69 for a two-shot victory at Innisbrook. The victory will move him into the top 40 in the world ranking, giving him a spot in the $8 million World Golf Championship at Doral in two weeks. And it earns him a trip to Augusta National for the Masters next month, another surprise. Cink seems to be having some problems with closing events. Recently, he lost to Tiger Woods at the World Golf Championships by a substantial margin. “I'm a little shell-shocked and a little bit angry,'' Cink said. “I'm extremely frustrated after this. What happened to me - what I allowed to happen to me - is going to make me a better player in the future. But I've got some soul-searching to do.'' Sean O'Hair felt as if he was doing everything required of a winner except winning. Despite long hours on the practice range, he found himself near the bottom of the leaderboard, if he even made the cut. A weekend off at the Honda Classic last week gave him ample time to visit with his father-in-law, and the message finally got through. "He told me how he believed in me, how he felt I was on the right track, and if I started believing in myself, everything would happen," O'Hair said Sunday after winning the PODS Championship. For O'Hair, a big celebration is in order. He hadn't won since 2005, when he was a rookie and golf felt easy. He had fallen to No. 75 in the world and had no plans the second week of April. But his victory moved him into the top 40 in the world, making him eligible for Doral and Augusta National. "When I won [the first time], it just kind of happened," O'Hair said, wiping tears from his eyes. "I didn't really appreciate it. I thought I was good enough to do this every year. But it's been such a struggle to get to this point again. This is awesome, and I'm going to enjoy it." With his second place finish, Ruyji Imada's moved into the top 10 in the FedEx Cup standings and qualify for Doral. D.J. Trahan, Daniel Chopra and J.B. Holmes also qualified for the $8 million WGC through the FedEx Cup points. Players can still qualify through the top 50 in the world and top 10 in the FedEx Cup standings after the Arnold Palmer Invitational next week. O'Hair is doing some renovation on his house near Philadelphia, and before leaving for a three-week trip to Florida, they called PODS to store some furniture. "We've got one of those PODS [Portable-On-Demand Storage] in our driveway," wife Jackie said. "That has to count for something." It took 25 holes, but Langer raises the Trophy – Bernhard Langer outlasted Jay Haas in the Toshiba Classic on Sunday, birdieing the final hole of regulation to force a playoff and winning with a birdie when Haas missed a 3-footer on the seventh extra hole. "You hate to get that far and not be able to finish it off," said Haas, the 2007 winner. "I hit a pretty good putt. ... I didn't think I missed it. Langer, the 50-year-old German star who won the 1985 and 1993 Masters, has two victories in nine career Champions Tour starts. Last October, he won the Administaff Small Business Classic in Texas in his fourth event on the 50-and-over tour. After bogeying the par-3 17th to drop a stroke behind, Langer made a 12-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th to force the playoff at 14-under 199. Haas closed with a 6-under 65, while Langer had a 69 on the Newport Beach Country Club course. Both players two-putted from about 30 feet for birdies on the first extra hole, the 18th, then traded pars on the par-4 16th. On the third playoff hole, the 17th, Langer matched Haas' par after driving into a greenside bunker. The playoff then shifted back to 18, where both players made pars after hitting their second shots into greenside bunkers. They then traded birdies on 16, with Langer holing out from 28 feet and Haas answering from 13 feet. "That was big. I had a feeling he would make it," Langer said. "My putt was able to trickle in." After pars on 17, Langer finished off Haas with the birdie on No. 18. The seven-hole playoff fell short of the tournament record of nine, set by Bob Murphy in a 1997 victory over Jay Sigel and matched in 2001 in Jose Maria Canizares' victory over Gil Morgan. The Champions Tour record is 10, set by David Graham’s victory over Dave Stockton in the 1998 Royal Caribbean Classic. Stats and quotes courtesy of golf.com and espn.com. Posted Mar 10 2008, 12:57 PM by Steven Gribin with no comments Filed under: 2008, Bernhard Langer, PODS Championship, Toshiba Classic, Sean O’Hair, Champions Tour, Jay Haas

• Verplank is Great?

  North Texas Golf Expo I want to personally invite you to stop by our booth at the North Texas Golf Expo - we'll be right by the Texas Rangers. The event takes place at Market Hall, off I-35 near downtown Dallas. The expo owners have added a third day, so the show begins tomorrow at 4p and runs through Sunday at 5p. There will be so many cool things to do and see! A number of the Hooters Calendar girls will be stopping by The Golfers Home booth with goodies and games. In addition, we will be introducing our new membership program which includes free rounds of golf and tickets to either the Colonial or the Nelson. See you there! I had a great discussion yesterday with a number of our members after our Waterchase outing. They pointed out a few things that we might do a little better. One is to better explain our golf outings, so here goes... Twice a month, we invite anyone that likes to play golf to join us for a Golfers Home Golf Outing presented by Hooters. You do not have to be a member to play. You get discounts for being a member, but anyone can join us. How great is greatness? If I gave you 10 choices for the Tour player with the most consecutive rounds at par or better, I am pretty sure you'd have a tough time getting it right. See, it's not Tiger Woods, who does hold the all time record at 52 rounds. It's not Phil or Vijay, Ernie or Adam. It's a guy that currently ranks 160th in driving distance and 42nd on the money list. It's Scott Verplank. Scott enters the PODS Championship with 27 consecutive rounds at par or better. But, there is a difference between great and greatness. In Verplank's last 7 stroke play tour events, he has a 3rd, two 5th places and even a missed cut. In Tiger Woods last 7 stroke play tour events, he has 24 rounds in the 60's and 3 at one over par. He has won all 7 of those events. Verplank has done very nicely for himself, earning just under $1,000,000 dollars; Woods has also done ok for himself, earning $7,300,000. Guess it's ok to shoot 1 over ever once in a while. Is Els back? I want to congratulate Ernie Els on his first tour win since 2004. It was great to see him raise a trophy. On the other side, how bad did you feel for Calc.? With tournament in hand, The Bear Trap popped up and picked his bottom. Boy is that course hard, but come on Mr. Miller! Don't get crazy. PGA National is not a US Open golf course and never will be. One, it is a water-oriented course and that is not what the USGA looks for; two, it is in Florida... you know, a state that has never held a US Open; three, and most obvious, it has PGA in its name. Wake up Johnny... think before you talk, at least every once in a while. TPC at Four Seasons... During the last few weeks, we've begun promoting the 2008 EDS Byron Nelson Championship. I am really excited about this year's event. I know the field is not as strong as it once was, but I blame the Tour almost completely for that problem, not the Salesmanship Club. The golf course is looking really good: the change to one course has the players more excited, there's the addition of beer on the course, and finally the Salesmanship Club desire to make Number 17 a real experience could make 2008 one of their better tournaments ever. So, want a ticket? Look to The Golfers Home. We'll tell you more at the North Texas Golf Expo. Finally, being in such a giving mood today... I want to make my annual pitch. If you own, or know someone that owns or runs, a business seeking an upscale, active audience, The Golfers Home could be for you. Here comes the pitch... if we sign that company to an annual sponsorship, we will give you a check for $1000. Incidentally, don't think about only golf businesses; think also about businesses that want to reach the golfer. Stay out of the snow and see you this weekend at the Expo. Posted Mar 06 2008, 02:41 PM by Steven Gribin with no comments Filed under: Steven Gribin, 2008, Ernie Els, TPC at Four Seasons, North Texas Golf Expo, Scott Verplank, EDS Byron Nelson Championship

• The Golfers' Weekend Roundup - 3/3/2008

  Maybe Els is not finished... It was near the end of the 2006 season that Ernie Els stated that he had a three-year plan to overtake Woods in the world rankings. Now, 15 months later, Els is third in the world but nowhere near overtaking Woods. "I didn't realize that Tiger was going to win 10 times or more since I said that,'' Els told reporters, after winning the Honda Championship at perhaps one of the Tours hardest courses, PGA National. "I definitely said that because I really needed something, some kind of a goal for me. I could quite easily go and enjoy my kids and go build golf courses and stuff. But I really want to achieve a lot in the game and I still want to win a lot. Els’ start to 2007 was not quite what he expected. He blew a four-shot lead to Tiger Woods at Dubai, then got blown out of the WGC Match Play Championships by Jonathan Byrd after just 13 holes. But at 38 years old, Els jumped back on the wagon and came from 3-behind to win. That is the largest deficit Els has ever made up. "It has to feel even sweeter, you know, losing so many tournaments and one now going my way," said Els, who snapped a 0-for-47 streak in PGA Tour events, dating to the 2004 American Express Championship in Ireland. Speaking about his 2006 quote, Els said, "I just felt that's the kind of goal for me to really strive for and practice for. So I'm not sure where I am right now, but we'll see.'' And who says it’s not time for the LPGA to shine the brightest... Competing for the first time since winning the ADT Championship in November for her eighth 2007 victory, Lorena Ochoa finished at 20-under 268 on Tanah Merah's Garden Course to win the HSBC Women’s Championship in Singapore, Thailand. The top-ranked Mexican star earned $300,000 for her 18th career LPGA Tour victory. What a start to the 2008 season! Annika Sorenstam sends a wake-up call that perhaps “enough is not enough.” Then Paula Creamer wins the second event in Hawaii, announcing that she is America’s best women’s player. Now in tournament number three, Lorena says, “Hello world, 2007 was not a fluke.” "Sometimes there is just no explanation," Ochoa said Sunday after beating Sorenstam by 11 strokes. "It just happens and it was a great win for me. Everything came together at the right place." Ochoa entered the final round with an eight-shot lead, and steadily built on it through three rain delays. She passed the down time by chatting with her brother. "It was more mentally a tough day than physically. You needed to be patient and not to worry too much, and hit the ball with precision," Ochoa said. Annika finished second and won the “flight B” tournament, with Paula Creamer finishing third. With these three women setting their sights on the World’s number one Carolyn Bivens, Commissioner of the LPGA and her entire staff have to be more excited then ever by the possibility of true competition. Posted Mar 03 2008, 03:03 PM by Steven Gribin with no comments Filed under: Steven Gribin, Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, Lorena Ochea, Annika Sorenstam, LPGA