Garcia/Weekley feud

This is perhaps a story that the main news channels haven't picked up on; the Golf Blog claims that Sergio Garcia, during his WGC match last week against Boo Weekley, made a noise as the American was about to play his shot in an attempt to put him off!

This apparently stems from an incident last year when Weekley filled in Garcia's scorecard for the PGA Championship incorrectly, leading to the Spaniard's disqualification from the event.

The little piece of gamesmanship didn't help though, as Garcia lost 3&1.

Picture by Bret Arnett/Flickr

Golf on the decline?

EagleParBirdie, Gauging Golf and the Golf Blog have all posted articles voicing their concerns that the number of people playing golf is declining every year; perhaps millions in the US.

EagleParBirdie (EPB) states that "according to the National Golf Foundation, the core golfer today is someone who plays 8 rounds a year." This to me sounds pretty alarming considering that I, as a kid with my Dad when I briefly took up the sport, must have played 8 rounds in, at the most, six months.

EPB does not believe the problem is time, they argue the issue is purely financial; "a skateboard or even an Xbox 360 costs less than your average set of irons."

However mulligan, of the Golf Blog, does believe the problem is time and says he has the solution: "make a round of golf 6 holes. You can divide up 18 holes into 3 courses. People can finish in under 90 minutes."

This idea has attracted several comments and more ideas on the blog. Click here to view them. The main problems within golf people have highlighted are lack of etiquette, lack of quality instruction, poor golf course marshalling and, perhaps most humorously, as one person wrote: "Taking 15 practice swings on your putt. It's not going to help. take two, three, and then freaking putt the darn ball."

These posts all refer to an article from the New York Times published 21 Feb. Click here to read.

All these blogs have addressed a very significant issue within the sport and each have interpreted the problems and come up with their own thoughts and ideas. But most importantly, they have also allowed scope for people to agree or disagree and to suggest other ideas and concepts. The best place to look for solutions to golf's problems may well be in its blogging community.

Golfing history

A brilliant article written by the Armchair Golfer comments on his meeting with Errie Ball, a 97 year old resident of Florida who played in the first ever Masters and was reportedly the youngest ever player to compete in the Open in 1926!

In it Ball remarks on the time he spent with Jack Fleck, who in 1955 pulled off one of the greatest sporting shocks in golf history by defeating the great Ben Hogan in an 18 hole US Open play off.

Aparrently before the tournament, in the qualifying section, Fleck told Ball he would not be going through to the main event after shooting a disappointing total over 36 holes. Ball wagered a dollar that he would and the rest, as they say, is history.

For the article in full, click here.

This article shows that much more intimate, genuinely interesting and humorous stories from the past can be found in the golf blogging community.

Too much golf?

I noticed a very interesting article written by Chris Henry on his blog site EagleParBirdie. He highlights a potential issue within golf that no other regular golf news site would.

He suggests that now, due to the golfing season never ending (running from Jan 3 to Dec 31), we are seeing fewer of the top ranked players in tour tournaments; they are 'cherry picking' the events they play in.

This means that rather than watch the likes of Woods, Mickelson, Garcia, et al fight it out for titles week in week out we are simply seeing one or two of the world's best immersed in a sea of average players desperately searching for their first win.

Henry comments that "golf fans will have to be as selective in the tournaments they watch as the players are in selecting the tournaments they compete in."

This article shows that these more personal blogs address issues that may be 'off the radar' to the mainstream golf websites. The suggestion is that the golfing season may be too long, which is certainly a matter your average skysports or espn would not tackle.

To read the article in full click here

My first post

Welcome to my blog! Here I'll be taking regular forays into the world of golf and picking out the stories that interest me. Enjoy!