It Would Have Been Such A Good Resolution Too...

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Check out this Deadspin post* on a proposed Congressional resolution celebrating 90 years of the PGA of America (and no, it's not the PGA Tour as Deadspin and another blogger make the amazingly frequent mistake of confusing the two).

But more importantly, check out who was sponsoring the bill. Key word: was.

*Corrected link.
 

"I never felt that golf was something that should be sung about"

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That's our pal Lloyd Cole, in a Telegraph profile discussing his new album.

Clearly Lloyd has not downloaded anything from John Daly's, uh, body of work.

It would be hard to imagine a better place to rubbish youth taste, and talk to Cole about his 14th collection of catchy-clever, grown-up songs, than Roehampton Golf Course. A regular player with a handicap of five, Cole has decided to commence a day of promotional activity with a swift nine holes.

As we drive off at the first, he explains that the sport he calls "my only hobby" has taught him a lot. The character needed to negotiate your way out of the rough is the same, he finds, as that required to improvise patter on stage when you're touring solo, as he has been, on and off, for most of the 21st century.

As he maintains a steady par through to the long and winding sixth hole, it turns out that Cole knows as much about the history of golf-course design – via an online discussion group – as he does about obscure krautrock bands.

These days, his social life revolves around fellow members of the local club at Easthampton, West Massachusetts, where he lives with his wife and two sons. His American buddies "have nothing to do with the arts. They're closer to blue collar than white collar and they couldn't give a shit what I do for a living." Disdaining the folderol of stardom, these are the sort of people Cole has hung out with ever since he moved to New York after the Commotions split up in 1988.
Golf has actually loomed large in his life for most of the past 45 years. Cole's parents managed golf clubs all over the UK. Buxton in Derbyshire was where he grew up before the family re-located to the Home Counties and then moved to Scotland. It was while Lloyd was studying English and Philosophy at nearby Glasgow University in the early 1980s that the band he had formed with a bunch of fellow students took off.

Around the time that he should have been finishing an honours degree, Cole released a modern classic with the Commotions – the album Rattlesnakes (1984) – and was being feted all over Europe as Scotland's answer to Lou Reed.
The new album tackles a range of middle-aged concerns from neo-con economics (Young Idealists) to how chat-up procedures alter as you get older (Woman in a Bar) and ends with a track called Rolodex Incident. The title track – a jokey number recounting the insecurities of a boy who works in Starbucks – was partly suggested by the death of his friend and sometime collaborator, the guitarist Robert Quine, who developed a lethal fondness for mixing anti-depressants and booze.

One of the few adult activities that Cole hasn't worked into any of his lyrics is now ending with a tricky putt on the ninth. "I never felt that golf was something that should be sung about," he says, sinking an impressive five-yarder.

"Thirty-, 40-year-old friendships have dissolved over this"

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25700053.jpgHector Becerra in the LA Times looks at the possible precedent-setting situation with Glendora Country Club, where a developer made a land swap deal with club members and then took approval of a prospective club move to a special election.

But some land-use experts say the situation in Glendora is unusual because the developer, NJD Ltd., is proposing radical planning changes to the upscale suburb — moving a landmark country club, building a new golf course and creating a new community — through a ballot measure carefully crafted by a developer rather than city planners.

"That's extremely clever and creative," said Paul Shigley, editor of the Ventura-based California Planning and Development Report. "I have never heard of a land swap like that. That's very novel."

The developer has raised eyebrows by offering $10 Ralphs gift cards to residents who vote in the special election. City officials questioned the propriety of it.

But a consultant for NJD — whose owners live in Colorado and California — said they have had to mount an aggressive campaign because the city has placed numerous roadblocks.
And...
Opponents have waved signs along streets and charged that the measure would ruin the neighborhood around the 100-acre country club and scar the picturesque hillside.

The developer owns about 400 acres in the hills above Glendora and nearby San Dimas. But it has struggled to build houses on the land because of tough zoning restrictions.

"They have always known what our rules were, but they didn't like the rules," said City Manager Eric Ziegler. "So their proposition is for the 50,000 residents of Glendora to change their rules so they could meet their profit margin."

Mayor Doug Tessitor said passage of the initiative would result in a loss of local control.

"They've concocted an initiative which completely negates our hillside ordinance, all our zoning codes and our building standards," he said. "It basically gives them a blank check."
And... 

But Davis said the measure would actually protect the hillside because it would mean building a golf course on about half of the 400 acres rather than more invasive homes. He said the country club and golf course would be integrated as much as possible in the foothills' natural terrain, adding that one way or another, homes will be built somewhere.

"They try to make it sound like we're going to go up there and flatten hills and drop a golf course on top," Davis said. "We're going to build into the terrain. It's not going to be green fairways the whole way."

The idea of the land swap first surfaced early last year, said Terry Beal, president of the Glendora Country Club. Beal said the idea of having a new country club and golf course to replace a facility dating to 1955 was attractive.

Earlier this year, most of the club's 455 equity members voted on the proposal, Beal said. Sixty-one percent voted to support the plan.

"It was a big mandate to move forward," Beal said. "We'd get a new facility for nothing. It's a good deal."

Beal complained that city officials have sent letters implying that the city would try to seize the land.

Ziegler said eminent domain was not considered but that the City Council did call for an appraisal of the country club in order to study whether the property could be purchased. But the city does not have the money, he said.

Dennis Winn, a longtime Glendora resident and club member, said the issue has split friendships in the community and at the country club.

"Thirty-, 40-year-old friendships have dissolved over this," he said. "Families stopped talking over this. It's really a shame that it has divided not only the club but the city."

"I just wanted to get it out quick."

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Gosh, I hope someone got photos or video of this:

Japanese golfer Mitsuhiro Tateyama is likely to shudder whenever he comes across the number 19 in future after a horrific round at this week's Acom International.

Still, though, Tateyama could see the funny side after setting a Japanese record by taking 19 on a par-3 hole at the Ishioka Golf Club on Thursday.

 The 38-year-old found the rough with his second shot before hitting it into bushes where he took 14 shots to hack the ball out -- but at least he avoided three-putting.

It was the worst single-hole score since Norio Suzuki incorrectly signed for a 42, his nine-hole total, at a Japanese tournament in 1987. The previous worst for one hole was 15.

"There were more reporters around me than for the leader," joked Tateyama after his meltdown on the eighth. "That must be a world record or something."

Tateyama added: "My mind went blank. I lost count of the number of strokes I had. I couldn't even see the ball when it was in the bushes. I just wanted to get it out quick."

Tateyama, who has never won a Japanese tour title, finished with a 13-over-par 84 but surprisingly avoided carding the day's worst score after recovering with four birdies.

 

Skins Game

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I usually flip right on by William Safire's NY Times Magazine "On Language" column not because I found the author to be a blowhard. No, instead I usually flip on by because I'm so eager to read about those vital ethical quandaries tidied up by Randy Cohen a few pages later.

But Sunday's column caught my eye for two reasons. The first is to establish the next great MBAism that we can expect to hear from Tim Finchem or Carolyn Bivens any day now.

Microsoft’s Certified Professional Magazine Online — an insistently nonamateurish house organ — quotes a vice president, Rick Devenuti, saying, “Customers want confidence, especially with this new product wave, that Microsoft has skin in the game.” A reader can presume that this means the company will hire new employees in its new-wave consulting business because the executive hints provocatively that “there is some relationship to head count.”

At the same time, on the other side of the world, Lachlan McKeough, chief of an Australian insurance brokerage on an acquisitions spree, told The Sydney Morning Herald that the key to the company’s success is the way that “front-line staff” retains a substantial equity in the business. Asked to describe his business model, he replied, “They have got skin in the game, so to speak.”

This eventually led Safire, or his researcher, to call the USGA in search of a link to skins in golf.

I can hear gambling golfers in the readership firing up their computers. Golf’s skins game, about a half-century old, has a foursome betting against one another: “Three categories each account for one-third of the pot,” writes Steve Pajak of The Sacramento Bee, which are “team play (best four of six balls on each hole on this day), individual skins (any single low score on a hole) and individual greenies (closest to the pin on par 3’s).” The U.S. Golf Association librarian says that “skins is also known as cats, scats, skats or syndicates.”

Is there any doubt now that we'll be hearing this soon? The question is, who first? Bivens, Finchem, or maybe a not-so-darkhorse like Senior Champions Tour headman Rick George? Yep, this has George written all over it!

"Typically golfers are skeptical that a supplement can effectively improve their golf score..."

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Well, it looks like the golf writers of America can't claim they haven't heard of golf performance enhancing drugs vitamins:

TO:    Golf Writer
FROM: GolfBizNews.com
RE: Tests Show Panovil Supplement Improved Scores For Golfers

Tests Show Panovil Supplement Improved Scores For Golfers

LAS VEGAS, NV -(September 12, 2006)- Recently released tests show a large group of golfers experienced dramatically improved scores after regularly taking Panovil Supplement.  "These were double-blind clinical trials conducted with 18 to 77 year-old golfers over a period of many years.  The results are astounding," says Panovil distributor Gus Skarlis.

More than 86% of those in the study shot lower (better) golf scores. Even more impressive, 78% lowered their scores on the more difficult and important Back Nine.

"Clearly Panovil gives just about any golfer a big advantage, wether they're just playing for fun or involved in competition," Skarlis said.

Panovil is a proprietary blend of natural herbs and plant extracts that encourages Herbal Invitro Cell Cultivation and Extraction Concentration.  These processes in the body are specifically designed to give golfers improved performance.

"Back in the 80s when this science first came out, Panovil tablets would have cost $18,000 and were only used by the ultra-wealthy.  But thanks to recent advancements, this remarkable advantage is available to golfers at everyday affordable prices," Skarlis said.

Panovil currently comes in a 5 round supply, 10 round supply, and 20 round supply and costs as little as $13.99 per round.  Order Panovil from the web site at http://www.Panovil.com.

Typically golfers are skeptical that a supplement can effectivel improve their golf score, but are soon won over after trying the product.  "Most golfers understand how lessons with a pro or a set of better clubs can lower their score.  So the idea of simply taking a tablet to win your next round is a new and exciting concept," Skarlis said.

Panovil is completely natural and safe.  The herbal blend causes none of the side-effects that harsh prescription drugs often create.

Panovil comes with a complete money-back guarantee.  "If you try Panovil and don't see an improvement in your golf score, we'll refund your money no questions asked," Skarlis said.

Socialism And Golf Do Not Mix

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I guess this probably rules Venezuela out for a WGC World Cup event...

The mayor of Venezuela's capital Caracas says he plans to expropriate two exclusive golf courses and use the land for homes for the city's poor.

Mayor Juan Barreto has said playing golf on lavish courses within sight of the city's slums is "shameful".

Mr Barreto, an ally of President Hugo Chavez, has been trying to address a dramatic housing shortage in Caracas.

But critics say property rights are being eroded in Venezuela, where farms and ranches have also been seized.

Three years ago Mr Chavez's left-wing government started redistributing agricultural land that it said was underused to help landless peasants. 

Thanks to reader Kevin for this story. 

Bobby Knight Golf Outtakes

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knight.jpgThanks to reader Rob for the link to this Bobby Knight golf show outtake package over at YouTube.com.

Now, this is a family values website, so naturally I'm only posting this for the entertainment of certain members of the browsing audience. If you are going to watch this at an office or with young children or with spouses nearby, I highly recommend headphones! And be warned, as soon as you hit the link, it starts rolling!