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MI Golf Holidays

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28

Feb
Thu

Golf World Preview: Beware the Bear Trap

By Ron Sirak From the February 28 issue of Golf World Preview: Okay, so about the time of the third snowstorm at the Accenture Match Play Championship your bracket in the office pool resembled exit polls from the 2004 Presidential election -- not much was correct. Time to recoup your losses this week by making a wager on how many times holes 15 through 17 on the Champions course at PGA National will be referred to as the Bear Trap during the Golf Channel/NBC broadcast of the Honda Classic. If the over/under is "too many," take the over. Related: 10 players we'd love to hear as announcers Let's face it, we love to give names to things. I have a tree in my backyard I call Ed. Ever since those dudes were found bugging the Democratic National Headquarters at the Watergate Hotel the word "Gate" has been tacked on the end of any scandal. Football had the Steel Curtain, baseball the Big Red Machine and college basketball the Fab Five. The sad thing about such shorthand is that sometimes it short-changes the subject matter by making the hype newsier than the happening. That's the dilemma of the Bear Trap. While some may argue about the quality of holes 15-17 from a design standpoint, the difficulty of that stretch is beyond dispute, especially when the wind is up. Since the Honda Classic moved to PGA National in 2007, the Bear Trap has accounted for 24 percent of all bogeys in the tournament, 56 of the double bogeys and an astonishing 74 percent of the triple bogeys. Remarkably, 97 percent of annoyed TV viewers are watching the Bear Trap. What makes that stretch so difficult? Wind. Water. Sand. Contour. Hole location. You know; golf. No. 15 is a 179-yard par-3 that usually plays into the wind with sand left and water right. No. 16 is a 434-yard par-4 that doglegs to the right and slopes toward the water on the right. Bail out left and you have a 220-yard shot over water. No. 17 is another par-3, this one 190 yards. With a bunker long and left and water right, the green is the only place to put the ball, and when the pin is middle-left there is only a 30-foot landing area. In tournament golf, good things seem to come in threes. Augusta National has Amen Corner, Nos. 11-13 in the Masters. The Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow concludes with the Green Mile. And the Horrible Horseshoe at Colonial in the Crowne Plaza Invitational comes early -- Nos. 3-5. None are more difficult than the Bear Trap, which gets its name from the course's architect, Jack Nicklaus, the Golden Bear. Get it? Related: How will Tiger & Rory fare at PGA National? Grab a snack and a beverage and settle in to watch the Honda Classic on TV. And brace yourself for this inevitability: Slow pan of the bear statue (above) at No. 15. Zoom in on the plaque proclaiming the next three holes will kick the stuffing out of you. The announcer's voice takes on a tone both ominous and excited. Then sit back and enjoy as the Bear Trap mauls the field. Cutesy name, annoyingly overused, but great entertainment. Follow @ronsirak(Photo by Getty Images) !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs");

27

Feb
Wed

Best Courses In 203 Countries

Exploring the seven continents for the best courses in the world.

27

Feb
Wed

Gear On Tour: The Honda Classic

A glimpse of what players are using this week at PGA National Champion Course, Palm Beach Gardens, FL

27

Feb
Wed

Tiger not budging on anchor ban stance

By Dave Shedloski PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- Commissioner Tim Finchem may have expressed his opposition on behalf of the PGA Tour to the anchoring ban proposed by the USGA and the R&A, but he doesn't speak for Tiger Woods, who is sticking to his guns that golf's governing bodies should adopt the rule change. "My position hasn't changed," Woods said Wednesday at PGA National Resort as he prepares for the start of this week's Honda Classic. "I still think that it should be swung, it shouldn't be anchored, and that hasn't changed at all. . . . Hopefully, we don't have to bifurcate or adapt a local rule like we do sometimes out here on tour with the stones and bunkers and things of that nature. Hopefully we won't have to do that with our putter." Related: Five things we should be discussing instead of anchoring The No. 2 player in the world, Woods said he understood where Finchem was coming from. But that doesn't change his mind. "Yeah, I get it. I mean, the guys that play our tour, all three of them play our tour fullâ¿¿time (who) have won major championships with an anchored putter. I understand his position, but I still feel that all 14 clubs should be swung." Woods, who won his 75th tour title last month at the Farmer's Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, is making his second start at PGA National's Champion Course after moving to nearby Jupiter. With a career-best final round effort, an 8-under 62, Woods surged up the leader board, but ended up T-2 behind Rory McIlroy. That effort served as a springboard to breaking a three-year victory drought three weeks later at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. "I made a run, and I thought it might get me into a situation where I might have a chance at a playoff," Woods said. "But Rory made a couple birdies down the stretch and basically iced it." Both Woods and McIlroy, the No. 1 player in the world, are coming off first-round losses in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. That circumstance afforded the friendly rivals a chance to play 36 holes together Sunday at Medalist Golf Club. "We thought we would play our own matchâ¿¿play final except it was over 36," joked McIlroy, who recently moved to Jupiter. Related: Keegan Bradley dealing with belly putter backlash Woods won the first 18 holes, McIlroy the second. "We figured, let's get a game sometime. We were kind of hoping that it wouldn't be that Sunday, but we were both free and went out and played," Woods said. "(We) played a quick 36, and he headed off to do whatever he needed to do, and I went back home and did some more training." McIlroy, 23, and Woods appear to have struck up a friendship in recent months, and McIlroy in December joined Woods in the endorsement game by switching to Nike golf equipment. They trade text messages, and McIlroy has picked the brain of the 14-time major champion on occasion, but Woods said he doesn't consider himself a mentor to the youngster from Northern Ireland. Related: What can we expect from Tiger & Rory at the Honda Classic? "I don't think it's quite the same level as I was with Mark [O'Meara] and Cookie [John Cook]. Back in those days, those guys really took me under their wing," Woods said. "Went out to dinner all the time and basically traveled together on tour, went fishing all the time . . . they were like my big brothers at the time. They basically still are. It's a different type of relationship. "He's a friend of mine, who just happens to be the No. 1 player in the world. That's about it." Follow @DaveShedloski(Photo by Getty Images) !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs");

27

Feb
Wed

USC women 'fight on' in coaches' polls

BY Ryan HerringtonDo the the voters in the Golf World/WGCA women's Division I coaches poll have a crystal ball?While ballots had to be turned in last Friday for the first spring poll of the 2012-13...

27

Feb
Wed

A highly personalized wedge

By E. Michael JohnsonWedge issue: Vokey's TVD-K has many, many options. Want to look like a tour player but lack a PGA Tour card? Titleist's new Vokey Design TVD-K wedges ($160 and up) let...

27

Feb
Wed

SkyGolf introduces SkyPro golf swing analyzer

By John Strege The quest for better golf through technology has been undertaken by SkyGolf, maker of the SkyCaddie rangefinder, with the introduction of SkyPro. A swing analyzer and training tool, SkyPro features a...

27

Feb
Wed

Five things we should be talking about instead of anchoring

By Sam WeinmanAs we debate every side of the proposed ban on anchored putting -- whether it's good for golf, whether it's necessary, whether the PGA Tour should follow the USGA's lead -- another important question has risen to the surface: Don't we have anything better to talk about?The answer, even in golf circles, is OF COURSE. It's true, three of the last five major championships have been won by players with anchored putters, but it's still an issue that is relevant to only a fraction of the golf population. So when PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem took to national TV to declare the tour's stance against the anchoring ban, there was a sense that he missed an opportunity to talk about issues with far wider ramifications. You want to talk about important issues in golf? This is an important issue. Photo by Cy CyrIn case you forgot what those were:1. The ball. Again, this is more of a problem at the tour level than it is among recreational players -- when was the last time one of your buddies complained about his ball traveling too far? -- but it's still an issue that has influence over how the game is played, how golf courses are built, and of course, how golf balls are made. So even if the decision by golf's governing bodies is to leave the ball alone, it's a decision that will have real significance.Related: Why the PGA Tour is opposing the ban2. The cost. We have a hard time believing there will be scores of golfers who will stop playing the game because they can't anchor their putters. What we can believe is there are plenty of dormant golfers who no longer play because the game costs too much. Clubs, balls, green fees -- the expense of it all is a major reason why golf participation has been flat for the better part of a decade. If Finchem were to bend Johnny Miller's ear on ways the tour wants to help golf be more affordable, well that would be compelling TV. OK, maybe compelling is too strong a word. It is Tim Finchem...3. Slow play. The same case can be made about pace of play, another obstacle in golf's fight for relevance. Imagine a scenario in which the USGA announced it was going to implement stiffer penalties for slow play while the PGA Tour said it didn't want to follow suit. Who would you side with? That part is almost immaterial. The point is it would be a debate worth having.4. All-male memberships. Did you ever think you'd be longing to hear the name Martha Burk? OK, maybe not. But there is an important distinction between the limited reach of the the anchored putting issue and the limited reach of the Augusta National membership controversy: the Augusta discussion had great symbolic meaning. It wasn't so much about the membership practices of an elite Southern club as it was about golf's lingering air of exclusivity and the rights of private entities. And seeing how there are still plenty of esteemed golf clubs with all-male memberships, it's an issue that influences the perception of golf in our society. Anchored putting, meanwhile, is mostly just about anchored putting. 5. Cell phones. You laugh. But if an anchored putter isn't likely to factor into your Saturday game, there's a very good chance a cell phone will. Should you be allowed to make a phone call from the golf course? What's your feeling on texting? It may seem like a trivial matter, but given how prevalent technology is in our society, golf needs to reopen the conversation about what is and what is not appropriate on the course. Because remember, at most courses, someone with a phone jammed in their ear is still a far more common sight than someone with a putter in their gut. Follow @SamWeinman !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs");

27

Feb
Wed

Podcast: A victory, a defeat and anchors away

Listen to the podcast By Ryan Herrington Matt Kuchar's nice-guy persona remains even as his on-course competitiveness seemingly intensifies. His win at the WGC-Accenture Match Play, as Azinger and Jaime Diaz note in this week's Zinger's Corner, is more impressive given the swing change he made--and quickly absorbed. Ariya Jutanugarn's 72nd-hole stumble at the Honda LPGA Thailand is also discussed, as is the matter of anchoring in the wake of Tim Finchem stating the PGA Tour believes the proposed ban is a mistake. A healthy argument ensues regarding the wisdom of the tour opposing the USGA/R&A, with Paul and Jaime in opposite camps. Download and subscribe to the Zinger's Corner series in iTunes

27

Feb
Wed

Zinger's Corner Podcast: A victory, a defeat and anchors away

Listen to the podcast By Ryan Herrington Matt Kuchar's nice-guy persona remains even as his on-course competitiveness seemingly intensifies. His win at the WGC-Accenture Match Play, as Azinger and Jaime Diaz note in this week's Zinger's Corner, is more impressive given the swing change he made--and quickly absorbed. Ariya Jutanugarn's 72nd-hole stumble at the Honda LPGA Thailand is also discussed, as is the matter of anchoring in the wake of Tim Finchem stating the PGA Tour believes the proposed ban is a mistake. A healthy argument ensues regarding the wisdom of the tour opposing the USGA/R&A, with Paul and Jaime in opposite camps. Download and subscribe to the Zinger's Corner series in iTunes