Kittocks Course to Open October 1st

The Home of Golf is adding a new wing.

The Kittocks Course opens at the Fairmont St. Andrews (Scotland) this Wednesday, October 1st. Located on the site of the former Devlin Course, the Kittocks Course was redesigned by Gary Stephenson.

Gary Slatter, director of golf for Fairmont St. Andrews says the Kittocks Course features "sweeping views" and is a "unique, thrilling golf experience."

Kittocks' debut is part of a larger £13 million remediation project that includes the renovation of Fairmont St. Andrews' Torrance Course, which is scheduled to open in summer 2009

For more info click here.

In Case You Were Wondering...

The golf community has definitely felt the effects of the unstable economy in recent months, but my super-secret, insider-info sources indicate that several golf club manufacturers are already priming for the upswing. In other words, 2009 isn't going to be a slow year for new equipment, as I can personally attest to seeing several new models ready to unveil in early 2009.

What should you be looking out for? There will be new drivers, irons, wedges and putters (as it seems there are every year.) Fitting is still very important, as once again each club company is proving they're willing to make the clubfitting process easier than it its ever been.

Also exciting? There are some new golf balls out there. In my opinion, finding the right golf ball is the fastest, easiest and cheapest way to make some improvements in your game. Having the right ball for your ability is key.

So stay tuned and be on the lookout. 2009 is going to be a really exciting year.

It's Ryder Cup Week. Who Cares?

Despite the incessant media blitzkrieg that happens every couple years there's a Ryder Cup, I seem to stand alone in my opinion that the Ryder Cup is a media-driven, sponsor-soaked, over-hyped exhibition of golf.

I mean really, on behalf of the Americans, there hasn't been a whole lot to get excited about in recent Cups. Why? I think it's because the Euro's are more accustomed to acting as representatives of a greater sum than are the Americans, who like our forefathers, are more focused on our individual liberties and pursuits. That's what America is--a giant mass of individuals. Sure, we have our team sports, but allegiance to cities, states or even regions of the country are practically non-existent when compared to our Euro counterparts.

Put it this way: baseball, football or basketball players don't give a hoot where they play or what town they represent. They're after the dollar signs, no matter where that means playing their given sport. American fans are the same way. My fellow editor? He's a Texas Rangers fan, despite being raised on the East Coast and living now on the West Coast. Transplant fans are everywhere! Rooting for your hometeam is reserved for some, but it's nowhere near like it is throughout Europe (and Latin America for the matter.)

I think this is why sports like soccer are so wildly popular in Europe. It's not because soccer is all that interesting, instead it's the appeal a team has in representing an entire city or country. If you're from Madrid, you'll no doubt grow up a die hard Madrid soccer fan. If you're from Rome (Roma), the likelihood of you growing up as a London fan is, well--don't go there. It just doesn't happen. Fans in Europe are true fans of there hometowns or home countries.

That mentality, sense of pride--whatever you want to call it, is definitely stronger among the Euro players than the Americans. In fact, the last couple Cups, the Americans have looked really uncomfortable playing as a unit. I don't necessarily blame them--you can't compete on the greatest Tour in the world these days without being a little self-centered. After all, nobody is going to pinch hit for you on a long par-3, or putt that tricky 4-footer for you. You're on your own out there. So, when thrown into a team situation, the Americans don't understand the meaning of team unity and shared burden (like the Euros do who grew up with that sense of group pride), instead each American player feels as if he needs to carry the whole team. Their giant-sized ego's get in the way. This is why the players get so freaked out and under-perform. They TRY TOO HARD.

So, what would I do if I were Azinger? First, I'd ignore all the media hacks (like me) who have turned the Ryder Cup into the monumental gimmick that it is. Instead, trace back to the roots of Ryder Cups past, when it was a fun exhibition of true gamesmanship. The kind that started the night before with both teams enjoying drinks together and seeing who can outlast the other. Or, add some of the "in your face" trash-talking, the kind that built the game of golf in the 50s and 60s. Bring back the real persona of the Ryder Cup, which was designed to not necessarily to be a cutthroat live-for-this-moment-put-it-on-my-resume type event, but instead a showcase of personalities, skill and most of all, goodwill from one team to another.

If we ditched the horrible matching outfits and let each American use his persona, hubris and most of all talent in his own way, we'd see better golf coming from the Americans. We already see this coming from the Euros. They know how to have a good time and it shows. The Americans? They're just too darn uptight. If they'd only loosen up, they'd win more often.

And as for you media dudes, perched high in the media center with a 60-inch 1080p HDTV screen in front of you, chill out and have another free cocktail. They'll be plenty more drama for you guys to make up in time for the 2010 Ryder Cup.

Be a Player

Pete Dye fans rejoice. A new package deal affords golfers the opportunity to play The Stadium Course and Dye's Valley Course both at Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL. The Stadium Course is home to the Players Championship.

The package, called "Dye's Duo" also includes a two-night stay at the Sawgrass Golf Resort Spa, personal forecaddie on both courses, one hour golf instruction from the TOUR academy and practice balls. Valid now through February 2009, starting at $663 per person.

Call PGA Tour Experiences at (888) 421-8555 or click here for more details.

Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame to Open March 2009

News today out of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina that the golf mecca is opening a Hall of Fame. It will be located at Pine Lakes Country Club in its new Hall of Fame Garden, near the club's renovated clubhouse.

Four to six people who've played significant roles in the Myrtle Beach golf industry will be inducted in the Hall of Fame's inaugural year. No names have been announced.

Pine Lakes opened in 1927 and is the birthplace of Sports Illustrated magazine. Originally Ocean Forest Golf Club, Pine Lakes is also the area's first golf resort. This March it reopens after a 20-month restoration headed by Craig Schreiner.

A Convert? Not Yet.

A couple weeks ago Jay Hubbard from Tour Edge paid us a visit. He brought a bag full of their latest offerings: new XCG irons; GeoMax 2 Driver, fairway woods and hybrids; and many, many more.

We hit the clubs for awhile. I was a bit rusty, but I liked what I saw.

When we got to the JMAX Draw Iron-Woods I almost didn't want to hit them. After all, I'm a blade man with a low handicap. Really, what's the point of hitting these game improvement sticks?

Shhoomph.

That's what it sounded like when I hit them. If it isn't one of the most forgiving clubs I've ever hit, it's certainly a close second. At that moment I had a vision of me at 65 swinging a heck of a lot slower than I do now and with a bad back, hips and arthritis. And probably hitting an iron-wood so I can still enjoy the game.

If you fit that description, you should seriously consider testing a set of iron-woods. I think you'll be amazed at how forgiving they really are.

Ryder Cup Notable and Quotable

U.S. Captain Paul Azinger announces his four captain picks: Steve Stricker, Chad Campbell, Hunter Mahan and J.B. Holmes. They join Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk, Justin Leonard, Ben Curtis, Kenny Perry, Stewart Cink, Anthony Kim and Boo Weekley. Here are some excerpts from Capt. Zinger's press conference:

I felt like it would be difficult to win the team if you didn't win a tournament; and it proved to be the case, except for Ben Curtis who played terrific at the very end of the year... and Jim Furyk who has not won this year but plays consistently well every week.

I took a hard look at Kevin Streelman. I took a hard look at a whole bunch of players. You know, like I said, it's hard for me to justify why the guys didn't make the team. I can't really justify, you know, why I didn't pick who I didn't pick. I can just tell you why I picked the guys that I did pick. There's a lot of guys that deserve to be on this team and there's a lot of guys that were really close to making it.


I think that...a bomber is probably going to like the course. There's not a lot of rough. The first cut in spots is going to be pretty wide.
So does it favor anybody in particular, any team in particular? I don't know. I just felt like this event, I just didn't want anyone to feel handcuffed off the tee well, I mean, I don't care if Europe feels handcuffed, but yeah, I don't want our guys to feel handcuffed.

I don't think there's any advantage one way or another, just the way I set up the course personally, you know, Europe I think has been able to exploit an advantage trying to neutralize powerful teams. We don't nicely have a super powerful team at this point but we have a strong team that I'm proud of and some guys hit it long and some guys hit it straight. We'll see how it plays out.

...it will be unique to be... on our home soil as underdogs, but clearly, The European Team is strong. I think it's one of the strongest teams I've ever seen them bring across here.
We will be an underdog. We are missing Tiger Woods, arguably the greatest player on earth well, not arguably; he is the greatest player on earth. Arguably the greatest player ever. That's a big blow to us.
I like the team that we have and I'm really confident with who we have, but I think it's confident that Europe has a terrific match play record and team track record and we are going to be underdogs in this event and I think it's okay to be the underdog. Somebody has to be the underdog and it's very rare that it's evenly matched or a pick 'em. And I don't think this is going to be a pick 'em.

I'm going to have an open phone line to Tiger Woods during the event. I didn't think it was fair to ask Tiger to participate in the selection process in any way. But I am kind of curious how he feels as the event unfolds and as things unfold throughout the week. He's really intelligent and he's a great golf mind, so I'm looking forward to talking to Tiger.

Woody [Austin] is an exceptional person and a terrific player. I've said all along, I don't want to try to justify why I didn't pick anybody that I didn't pick. He would have been a terrific pick, but there are a lot of guys who would have been terrific picks. I just want to stick to my guns on this and just try to justify the reasons why I really like those guys. There are a lot of players that could have been picked for this team. I just chose to go the direction that I've decided.

I really haven't given it that much thought, whether he's [Tiger Woods] going to want to come or whether I want him to come or any of that. I want Tiger to get better, and I want to watch Tiger on TV live. I'm tired of watching him on tape win all these tournaments. I want to see him win some tournaments live again.
I'm pulling for Tiger to get better and return to form. I think the game needs Tiger and misses Tiger. I'm going to really miss that Tiger is not going to be there and Elin and the baby. It's one of my great regrets of this Ryder Cup that he's not going to be a participant in these matches.
Other than that, I haven't really put a lot of thought into he's going to come or whether I want him to come.