Golf And The Election...

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The Guardian's Frank Keating ponders Tuesday's presidential election and golf's place in White House history.

Is it compulsory for golf to enhance the CV of a US president? John McCain remembers to tell how he "hit a mean ball" at naval college, and only as the election campaign hotted up, we're told, did Barack Obama suspend his "seriously committed" golf lessons with his Springfield club pro. Another source announces that George W Bush has begun to beat his father, even as the 84-year-old 41st president is now playing off the ladies' tee.

I Know How I'm Getting To Australia!

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Only in LA would they promote the arrival of a new aircraft with street pole banners.  But since I was in the neighborhood and I still have fond memories of seeing the Spruce Goose on display in Long Beach, I couldn't resist taking a few photos even though they don't do it justice. Either way, now I know why I've been waiting to see Royal Melbourne. I had to fly there in style!

Besides the massive size, the lack of engine noise may be most startling.

Here's a little on the A380 and a cool comparison to the 747 and the Spruce Goose. That little 707 you see in the images to the left of the Qantas belongs to John Travolta, who was on hand for today's festivities.


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Sarah Visits The Villages!

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Sounds like a great scene when the Republican Vice Presidential candidate spoke at the home of the PGA Tour's most consistent advertiser!

At one point while signing autographs for the sweltering crowd, a surprised Palin laughed when a supporter reached over and handed her a giant, plastic lipstick replica -- an obvious reference to a joke delivered by Palin at the Republican National Convention. Palin's comment about the only difference between a pit bull and a hockey mom being lipstick has since inspired a volley of campaign rhetoric. As the crowd cheered, a smiling Palin autographed the novelty before moving on for more autographs and handshakes.

The line to see Palin passed the Old Mill Playhouse with the marquee that said "The Villages Welcome Governor Palin." It went by the 2-for-1 beer tents and passed the vendors that sold $20 baby-girl pink T-shirts and buttons -- 3 for $10 -- that said, "I'm Proud to Be Voting for the Hot Chick."

"The thing that makes Sharp Park unique is it's a (public course) and it has a low green fee, so Joe Six-Pack can play."

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Marisa Lagos reports on the escalating feud over the San Francisco city courses and in particular Alister MacKenzie's Sharp Park on the eve of a city golf meeting to determine the fate of the city courses. There just has to be a way to make this work...

An environmental group is accusing the city of San Francisco of illegally killing two federally protected animals that live at a publicly owned golf course, and is threatening to sue if city officials refuse to close the golf course and restore the coastal wetlands.
The potential legal challenge over Sharp Park Golf Course - a city-owned, beachside course built around a lagoon in Pacifica - is the latest salvo in a continuing battle over the future of the city's five public courses. The announcement was made just days before a public meeting on the issue.
The Center for Biological Diversity plans to file a claim today in an attempt to protect the endangered San Francisco garter snake and the threatened red-legged frog, which are native to the area. The claim accuses the Recreation and Park Department, which owns the 77-year-old golf course, of killing both animals through regular maintenance activities, including lawn mowing, the use of chemicals, the draining of water from the area and alteration of the habitat in other ways.

"As the country's golf boss, he was regularly photographed with such homegrown greats of the game as Bob Charles."

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And here I was just about to add links to some of my best acting work only to find out from reader Warren via this Jonahan Marshall and Jim Mahoney story that they fire people for that kind of acting.

The recently appointed head of the New Zealand Hotel Council has resigned after his board discovered he starred in a porn movie and was pictured having sex in a six-page spread inside an X-rated Kiwi magazine.

Garth Stirrat, 40, last night quit the council as it also emerged he had featured in the porn shoots using the alias Steve Parnell when he was employed as chief executive of the New Zealand Professional Golf Association.

As the country's golf boss, he was regularly photographed with such homegrown greats of the game as Bob Charles.

I'm reallly glad the writer prefaced that sentence by noting that "as the country's golf boss."

But the more graphic images of Stirrat in R18 magazines NZX and Brass left NZHC bosses at a loss for words.

"I don't know what to say," said Southern North Island area manager Zayne Boone, who appointed Stirrat.

"Obviously we need to make sure that the way in which we conduct our business is in keeping with what we would expect our members to expect."

Boone said the spread, which featured Stirrat having sex in a number of positions, was "disappointing".
He found the positions disappointing or the sheer number of them?
The NZHC confirmed on Friday it was investigating Stirrat's secret life as a porn star but yesterday issued a statement saying he had moved on after just one week on the job.

"I've spoken to Garth and he told me that he was involved in some filming over six years ago, while he was single, living in Auckland," chairwoman Jenny Langley said in the statement.

It's Auckland's fault!

"The helicopter was supposed to fly over the course Friday and drop 1,500 numbered golf balls."

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Let's hope that these guys pull through. And let's hope that next time they rent a balloon.

One man is in critical condition and another in fair condition following a helicopter crash at a Schuylkill County golf course.

A nursing supervisor at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville says co-pilot Joseph Matteo is in critical condition. Pilot Al Roman is listed in fair condition at Reading Hospital and Medical Center. The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating.

The helicopter was supposed to fly over the course Friday and drop 1,500 numbered golf balls. The person whose ball was closest to the pin would have won 50 percent of ticket sales.

The fundraiser was for Access Services, a group that helps people with disabilities.


Obama Tees It Up

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Gene Park and B.J. Reyes report on Presidential candidate Barrack Obama's round of golf in Hawaii, while local station KGMB has video footage of his swing. It needs work, but hey, he's been a little busy.

Over at WorldGolf.com, William Wolfrum has fun with Cokie Roberts (I know, easy pickings) and her suggestion that if Obama wants to appear more American, he'd be vacationing in Myrtle Beach instead of elitist, foreign soil like...Hawaii. (Yes, you have to watch the YouTube video to believe it.)

Just In Time For Father's Day, Vol. 2

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Thanks to the reader who passed along the Talking Points Memo item on John McCain's fundraiser/father's day gift idea, with "Golf Gear" featured prominently at the top of his web site next to categories titled, Decision Center, General Election and Obama & Iraq.

Judging by the images, it's just what dad has always wanted. A cute little pursey kind of shoe bag, some balls, tees, towel and ball mark fixer, all for just $50.

It's not the UroClub, but what is?

Study Claims Golfers Likely To Live Longer

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Obviously John Daly wasn't part of the study that Bloomberg's Carey Sargent reports on (thanks to reader Jim):

The death rate for golfers is 40 percent lower than for other people of the same sex, age and socioeconomic status, a study published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports found.

This equates to a five-year increase in life expectancy, scientists led by Anders Ahlbom and Bahman Farahmand at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm said. Golfers with a low handicap -- a measure of a player's ability -- are the best protected, they said.
Wait, but they hit fewer shots, which means less walking, no? 
"A round of golf means being outside for 4 or 5 hours, walking at a fast pace for 6 to 7 kilometers (3.7 to 4.4 miles), something which is known to be good for health,'' Ahlbom said in an e-mailed statement. ``People play golf into old age, and there are also positive social and psychological aspects to the game that can be of help.''

These guys obviously don't play the game if they think there are positive psychological aspects.

"Improve your golf scores by being able to concentrate on your game and not worrying about where the next tree is!"

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p_detail3.jpgThanks to reader Steve for locating this absolute must Father's Day gift: the Uroclub, which promises to help you relieve yourself...of the worry of find a place to relieve yourself. For only $49.95.

Consider the design ingenuity:
The privacy shield hooks to the sides of the pants or belt and adds stability.  This allows freedom of the hands to manipulate the club and zipper.

The entire club is made of a non-porous material.  Therefore, caring and cleaning is effortless!

The UroClub™ is intended to eliminate anxiety and any feeling of uneasiness on the course.  It can be emptied at the nearest restroom or later on, when the golfer returns home.

Capacity: Over half a liter, twice the volume commonly urinated.

About That GPS Tracker In Your Cell Phone...

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Thanks to Alan Bastable at the golf.com Press Tent blog for spotting this Fran Spielman story in the Chicago Sun-Times about the city employee caught golfing on the clock.

It takes an unhealthy mix of dishonesty and daring for a city employee to drive to a suburban golf course to play 18 holes on the taxpayers' dime.

You've got to be a fool to do it when you're carrying a cell phone with a GPS tracking device.

That's apparently what happened this week, landing the city's $106,115-a-year superintendent of sewers in the disciplinary equivalent of a sand trap.

Winston Cole has been placed on administrative leave with pay after he was tracked to an unidentified suburban golf course when he was supposed to be on the clock at the Water Management Department's South District headquarters, 1054 W. 95th St.

"It's under investigation, and he's on administrative leave with pay" pending disciplinary proceedings, said Tom LaPorte, Water Management spokesman.

When GPS-equipped cell phones were distributed to city employees and tracking devices were installed on city trucks, the stated goal was to increase employee productivity.
Oh that's good. Employee productivity! 

Little did anyone know that GPS would be used to catch someone playing golf.

Right!

"I couldn't care less whether a President chops wood or plays Chopin in his free time."

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gwar01_080523bush.jpgBill Fields weighs in on the president giving up golf to help grieving families with a common sense point and some strong quotes from an Iraq vet. First, the common sense:

I couldn't care less whether a President chops wood or plays Chopin in his free time. If he happens to enjoy golf, hail to the chief for that, multiple mulligans and all (Gerald Ford seems to have been the presidential exception in not utilizing breakfast balls). I want a president to have his eye on the ball and keep his head down when he is in the Oval Office. What he does when he is away from it is his business, although I would prefer that he has something deeper than the latest John Grisham best seller on his nightstand and that his vacations can be counted in days, not weeks.
I say Fields is offering common sense wisdom because I had just seen some of the reader comments over on the golf.com Press Tent blog. My favorite was posted by "rmadsen" who writes: 
I remarked to a friend several years ago that if I were invited to play Pebble Beach with Bill Clinton, that I'd have to decline. This is coming from a certified fanatic of the game. I hope all you sad people that are bashing President Bush are not really true fans of the game; because in my experience; people who truly understand the game tend to be conservative and honorable. Bush has made mistakes of course. I wish he could communicate better to an American society that unfortunately is made up of mostly juveniles who understand very little of what makes a country great and vote like they are choosing a prom queen. He also should have vetoed a lot more spending bills and used his position to try and reign in congress. But the biggest failures of our government lately have little to do with the position of president, be he a democrat or republican.

Now, I think most of those juveniles he refers to would not turn down a round at Pebble Beach with Bill Clinton. Talk about juvenile! 

"I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal."

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Reader Tim clearly wants to get me in trouble. From an unbylined AP story:

President Bush said Tuesday he was disappointed in "flawed intelligence" before the Iraq war and was concerned that if a Democrat wins the presidency in November and withdrew troops prematurely it could "eventually lead to another attack on the United States."
Don't worry, we'll get to the golf part. I just wanted to share that precious snowflake. 
In an interview with Politico magazine and Yahoo News, Bush also said he gave up golf in 2003 out of respect for U.S. soldiers killed in the war, which has now lasted more than five years.

"I didn't want some mom whose son may have recently died to see the commander in chief playing golf," he said. "I feel I owe it to the families to be in solidarity as best as I can with them. And I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal."

When you can go fishing off Kennebunkport, dance around like a fool and hold hands with the King of Saudi Arabia, golf would send the wrong message?

The sport is doomed!