Osama's Pakistan Cave Had A Golf Course!

I'm guessing he didn't play since that dialysis machine would be a bit cumbersome, but Osama Bin Laden's (now former) safe house was almost across the street from a golf course.

Besides having the worst name ever, the Abbottabad Golf Club is kind of an odd looking track with what appear to be about 15 halfway houses.

"Maldives plans 18-hole floating golf course"

Here I was thinking the royal wedding was pricey, but then reader Rob sends me this Wired story by Duncan Greere about plans for a $500 million "floating" golf course.

The 18-hole course might sound like the kind of energy-guzzling project you'd see off the coast of Dubai, but it's intended to have zero footprint on its environment. It's powered by solar energy -- a resource that the Maldives has plenty of, lying as it does just north of the equator, and the development will also employ sustainable desalination and water cooling techniques.

The course will be made up of a series of floating platforms containing two or three holes each, which will be linked together and to a series of surrounding hotels by underwater tunnels. Waterstudio.NL designed the project, which is being engineered by floating-architecture expert Dutch Docklands. Troon Golf is on hand to offer their expertise in the design of the course itself.

"The couple said they're selling partly because Susan, who oversees interior design for all their homes, is ready for a new project."

Thanks to Mike O'Malley for Tweeting Candace Jackson's Onionesque WSJ story on noted sandbagger Billy Walters selling one of his seven homes. In this case, the $29 million Carlsbad lovenest.

Situated on a quiet surfing beach, it's one of eight homes the couple has owned in the area over the years. The couple said they're selling partly because Susan, who oversees interior design for all their homes, is ready for a new project.

Home sweet home!

And talk about romantic...

The office is where the couple spend the majority of their time. Mr. Walters and his wife have adjacent desks facing an 85-inch television mounted above a built-in Brazilian-walnut-driftwood wall panel. It's also home to what Mr. Walters calls his mascot—a sculpture of a football referee. "It reminds me that the most important thing in our life is to have fun and keep things light," he said.

If you really want to know more, you can still watch the 60 Minutes fluff piece on Walters.

"This Week's Tournament Will Be Played Through The Slums"

Thanks to reader Greg for sending the link to this amazing ESPN E:60 short documentary on a caddy and his sponsor in Mumbai, India. Connoisseurs of cross country golf will want to see the handmade clubs and slum design the caddies create to test their skills.

Mumbai Golf - ESPN E:60 from Evolve IMG Films Ltd. on Vimeo.



"A 'dog sandwich.' Only in the British Isles."

Great blog item by Alistair Tait on yet another major divide between golf in the U.K. and the bastardized version we play here: hounds.

The Sunningdale Foursomes is a unique event in British golf since it features tour pros, club pros, elite amateurs and ordinary club amateurs with a handicap of three or better. Men and women can compete.

Dogs, too, are welcome at Sunningdale, even encouraged. My dog Izzy felt very welcome during her visit to this year’s Sunningdale Foursomes, but then my dog feels welcome at many British golf courses.

Dogs are almost de rigueur at traditional clubs like Sunningdale, The Berkshire, Swinley Forest and many others. Ryder Cup player Paul McGinley felt slightly disconcerted during qualifying for the Open Championship at Sunningdale a few years ago. McGinley is a member of the club and felt out of sync because he had to play the 36 holes without his dog. The Irishman couldn’t remember the last time he’d played Sunningdale without his faithful hound in tow.

That's McGinley and his friend pictured above.