More Best New's For 2007

Golf.com features Golf Magazine's annual top 10 best new courses that you can play, and even starts listing green fee instead of greens fee. A major victory for golfing linguinistas!

Travel and Leisure posts their international top 10 with several different courses, but they both seem to agree on Chambers Bay. 

Comments

[Tighthead]

On the Golf Mag list, it is encouraging to see that many of those courses are in the $50-80 range.

The description of the Faldo course is interesting. His course in Muskoka was shut down this summer as most people found it ridiculous. It is being reworked after only about three seasons. Losing a summer of play in the Canadian climate can't be good for revenue.

[Pickworth]

Re 'green' fees, not 'greens' fees:

Geoff, can you set up a 'pedants corner' somewhere on the site where those you call 'linguinistas' can express their horror at the ongoing abuse of the language? Could be fun.

I'll start with 'journeyman' as in, 'he's been a journeyman on the mini-tours and overseas and this is a big day for him'. The word actually means a skilled person employed by someone else, with the root word being journal or day. It's got nothing to do with journey or travelling at all. I've heard commentators use it ten times this year. Someone's probably even written a book 'My life as a journeyman pro golfer'.

And maybe there's still some grief to express about 'metal woods'.

They're a couple that come to mind. It could end up quite a list.

[Lynn S.]

Pickworth my favorite is further and farther. Distance is farther. Further is progressive.
"Johnny Phil is further away." "Well Roger Tiger is just farther along in his development."

[Tony Richardson]

Pickworth,

I don't think this use of journeyman is meant to indicate that there is a lot of travel involved. It is more about the unsettled nature of a "minor league" player (a day laborer) rather than one who has a secure spot on a team (or at the highest level of golf, for instance).

[Tighthead]

I always think of journeyman as meaning an established tradesman - no longer an apprentice, but not rich either. Just working their trade with diligence.

Incidentally, I am afraid to type anything on this topic as I provide ripe fruit for the linguists and grammarians.

[Pickworth]

I have heard 'journeyman' used many times by golf commentators to indicate the travelling lifestyle of a second string pro, usually with several exotic place names thrown in to support the inaccurate label.

I don't actually recall ever hearing it used in its correct form by a golf commentator. Reflecting on the responses, it may be only Australian commentators who use it in the way I'm describing. Interesting.

Tighthead, in 'pedants corner' you'd be safe I hope. It would be a condition of membership to acknowledge frequent lapses...sort of an AA thing. We are all sinners...

[M. Tolleson]

Or how about television golf anchormen and course analysts describing a shot that rolled "through the green." Maybe it rolled "over" the green, or flew "past" the green...but basically every shot on a course is "through the green," excepting balls on teeing grounds and putting greens.

[Ronald Montesano]

Linguinistas? Is that where linguists start eating thin pasta after golf?

[Pickworth]

Linguinistas is somewhere near Mexico. It's a new resort course and housing estate (asylum?) for pedants established by Funk and Wagnell as a community service. They felt guilty, or something.