Ron Rhoads, R.I.P.

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ronrhoadsFrom today's LA Times obituaries (no link) (link here, thanks reader Kevin), sad news about one of the game's great gentlemen who I feel privileged to have known and taken lessons from:

Rhoads, Ronald Harrison

Ronald Harrison Rhoads (Ron) passed away peacefully on April 12, 2007. He leaves his wife, Martha, his daughter, Carolee, her husband John, and grandaughter Nancy. He is also survived by his brother Roger Rhoads (Linda), brother, Rick Rhoads (Joan), sister, Lorraine Greenburg (Ray) and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Virginia, in 1996.

A native Southern Californian, Ron graduated from Beverly Hills High School and The University of Southern California. He married his high school sweetheart, Martha. Ron was able to spend his career playing the game he loved; he was the head golf professional at Sahalee, Riviera, Sherwood and North Ranch Country Clubs, as well as the golf coach for his alma mater, U.S.C. Ron was devoted to the game of golf and touched many people with his expertise, work ethic and caring attitude. Ron also enjoyed fishing and hunting and divided his time between homes in Whitefish, Montana and Malibou Lake, California. He was a wonderful husband, father, father-in-law, grandfather, brother and uncle and will forever be missed by family and friends alike.

A private memorial will be held on May 12th. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation would be appreciated. 

Golf.com Poll

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Caught this poll on golf.com. Naturally, you can guess what I voted for (sorry Mr. Nelson).

We want to know...

Byron Nelson won 11 tournaments in a row in 1945, a record that may never be matched. Which of the following records do you think is the most impressive?

    * 30.5% Nelson's 11-straight victories
    * 4.8% Hank Aaron's 755 career home runs
    * 9.2% Jim Brown's record of eight NFL season rushing titles
    * 37.7% UCLA's run of 10 NCAA basketball titles in 12 years
    * 15.3% Wayne Gretzky's 2,856 career points

I think the only thing more amazing than the inclusion of Wayne Gretzky's 2,856 career points was that 15.3% actually voted for him!  

The Times They Are A Changin

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ndylan17b.jpgAuslan Cramb in the Daily Telegraph reports that Bob Dylan and his brother have purchased a Scottish mansion and speculates that the purchase was driven by the singer/songwriter's love of golf.

(Because the Scots can't fathom why else someone with a home in Malibu would want to live there?) Cramb writes:

Dylan's interest in Scotland was also revealed in 2004 when he accepted an honorary degree from St Andrews University. The only other degree he had accepted was from Princeton in 1970.

The arrival of the 65-year-old star was the talk of Nethybridge yesterday, but Dylan's status as one of the greatest singer-songwriters of the modern era appears not have fazed the residents.

Stuart Black, a local resident, said: "It should be a bit of a boost for the area. But I don't think he will be pursued by any groupies any more as I think most of his fans are now in the middle-aged bracket."

Dylan is a keen golfer and plays off a 17 handicap at Malibu Country Club in California. His new home is close to the more utilitarian Abernethy golf club, where a day ticket costs just £10, but membership is never a foregone conclusion.

Jack McCool, the treasurer, said: "Mr Dylan would have to apply in writing just like everyone else and be vetted by the committee.

"If there were no objections then he would be a member after paying the membership fee, which at present is £105."

 

Klein Headed For Caddie HOF

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Add multiple points to the Rapture Index, Golfweek's Brad Klein is headed for the PCA Worldwide Caddie Hall of Fame.

Bradley S. Klein, Ph.D.- 52, resident of Bloomfield, Conn.
Klein is a former PGA Tour and club caddie and a longtime advocate for caddies worldwide. A respected golf industry leader, he is the architecture editor for Golfweek and founding editor of SuperNews. He is author of "Rough Meditations: from Tour Caddie to Golf Course Critic, an Insider's Look at the Game" where he devotes an entire section to caddying and the history of caddying. PCA Worldwide was honored by the fact that a majority of the caddies mentioned in Klein's book are former inductees in the PCA Worldwide Caddie Hall of Fame.

Klein owes part of his success to caddying. His hard work and determination qualified him to become a recipient of the Long Island Caddie Scholarship Fund in 1971, which enabled him to attend college and earn a Bachelor's degree and eventually a Ph.D. in political science. While in graduate school and even afterwards, Klein caddied on the PGA Tour, 1976-1986. He has combined his love of golf and writing in form of numerous articles, not only about course design but often about caddying.

Besides His book "Rough Meditations" he is the author of four other books, including "Discovering Donald Ross," which won the USGA International Book Award. Klein, is an expert in golf course architecture and at Golfweek he oversees the "Golfweek's Best" golf course rating program that publishes annual lists of the top-100 Classic and Modern courses. He is a frequent keynote speaker at allied golf association meetings in the United States and Canada.
 

"The Participant's Gift"

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Thanks to reader David for the heads up on this John Garrity take on over-the-top trophies, highlighted by this:

But consider the plight of Jim Furyk, Geoff Ogilvy, and Mike Weir, who finished two, six, and nine strokes behind Tiger, respectively, at Poipu Bay. Their "participant's gift" from the PGA of America was a free-standing wooden locker with leather interior and brass name plate, each locker being large enough to store a staff bag, 10 green jackets, or three PGA Grand Slam trophies.

Furyk has a house on Maui, so he can probably float his locker over on a catamaran or outrigger canoe. But Ogilvy and Weir must be frantic, trying to get their lockers into the overhead bins for the flight to the mainland.

If I were a tournament sponsor, I'd try to cut this trend off at the pass. How about a hummingbird trophy for the winner of The Memorial? How about a commemorative scroll for the Phoenix Open champ? Hey, it's the digital age. The next time Tiger wins, I'd give him a leather-bound highlights DVD (with bonus features).

Or not. Big is in, ponderous is popular, and somehow the natives on Easter Island moved those big stone statues. Anyway, it's not in certain people's interest to discourage big trophies. Look who's sponsoring the PGA Tour's new season-ending points race: FedEx.