It’s back!
Twenty years later Tatra Press has kindly allowed me to bring back Grounds For Golf now that golf architecture is of more interest to the masses. A new Introduction looks at what’s driven the interest growth and two new chapters I had a blast adding (plus a few edits to keep things up-to-date).
The Amazon purchase page for the book arriving June 15, 2026.
Seems like there more great Q-School finals storylines than normal? John Strege lays out his favorite stories and Sean Martin singles out several to follow.
From Golf Digest:
In the upcoming January issue of Golf Digest, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief Jerry Tarde is going straight to the top in the name of improving golf’s image in Washington D.C. That’s why President Obama, along with Tiger Woods, is on the cover:
The message to Congress and the Obama administration? The golf industry accounts for 2 million jobs with a total economic impact of $195 billion annually.
In addition to the cover, the feature article focuses on 10 things Obama could learn from Tiger—and vice versa. Providing the tips is a group of influential writers and players, including Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Tom Brokaw, Mark Whitaker, Don Van Natta Jr. and Steve Rushin. The piece is attached below:
Additional highlights include:
· Golf Digest Survey – “What’s a Reasonable Amount of Golf for President Obama?”: 45.9% of readers said “As much as he can without affecting his work,” compared to only 7.8% who said “Never”
· Fun Fact: Using Golf Digest’s Presidential Rankings, we compared the Dow Jones Industrial Average on both the inauguration and final day in office of our best golfing Presidents. Nine out of the top 10 saw increases in the Dow during their terms.
Thanks to reader Kyle H for this:
Since the first AP alert on Tiger's accident, I've subscribed to the theory that he needs to just say what happened, maybe crack a joke or shed a tear, and move on ala Letterman or Kobe.
However, evidence is mounting that Tiger has been correct in remaining silent, though not for the reason these two more columnists noted today (here and here, thanks reader Tom).
Date: Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Time 3 p.m.
Location Florida Highway Patrol Station, 133 South Semoran Blvd. Orlando, Fl. 32807
SUBJECT: Updated information in the Tiger Woods single vehicle car crash.
The good news for Tiger? Most of the written conjecture has shifted from the particulars of the accident to a focus on his handling of the crisis.
The bad news? Most experts and non-experts alike think silence is not the way to go about putting this to rest.
It was sounding so good until the Curt Schilling part:
Tonight at 7 p.m. ET, Rich Lerner will host a Golf Central Special: Tiger Woods, examining all of the news and providing analysis on the Tiger Woods situation. Contributing to the show will be the network’s team of reporters and analysts including Steve Sands and Jim Gray reporting from California and GOLF CHANNEL contributor John Feinstein and business reporter Adam Barr reporting on Madison Avenue’s reaction to the situation.
I'll be appearing on KABC 790's John Phillips show tonight at 7 PST and TalkRadioOne.com's Mark Germain Show at 8 PST. Both sites stream online.
And in case you want to clear your calendars, I'll be on with Peter Kessler's XM/Sirius show at 10:40ish a.m. Wednesday. It has been known to stream at PGATour.com.
Nick Allen in the Telegraph offers an update on the possible warrant situation and shares some insight from a "police source" about the tone of the investigation.
Officers from the Florida Highway Patrol want to establish whether Woods' facial injuries were caused by the incident, in which he hit a fire hydrant and a tree outside his mansion at 2am, or a domestic violence incident.
Last night two officers were seen visiting Health Central Hospital in Ocoee, Florida, where Woods was treated following the accident on Friday.
Police also want to see if the moments leading up to the crash was captured by security cameras at Woods' £1.5 million mansion in a gated community in Orlando, Florida.
Woods, 33, the world's number one golfer, and his wife Elin Nordegren, 29, have declined three times to speak to patrol officers about the crash.
They are under no legal obligation to do so but their decision has been described as "unusual" by police and led to a swirl of speculation about the circumstances of the crash.
A Florida police source said: "There is a feeling that the police are being made to look foolish in this matter.
"They have tried to be accommodating but it has been thrown back in their face. Tiger has refused to help on three occasions. We're being given the runaround."
TMZ now has what it claims is an accident eyewitness account.
And Lawrence Donegan files an in depth look at Tiger's backstory and how it plays into the media handling of the accident, with yet another excellent reminder of how best to deal with these things:
If modern media manners have taught us anything, it is that nothing works as well as the swift mea culpa. Woods, an avid sports fan, will know only too well about the case of baseball star Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees, who, after repeated denials he had used performance-enhancing drugs, was revealed before the start of the 2009 baseball season to have tested positive for steroids.
Stephanie Wei takes a look at the media coverage and in particular, the golf media's take on the accident:
This is also unfamiliar territory for the media that covers him. Even though many columnists are prodding Tiger to tell the truth, they’re doing it for selfish reasons — they want to stop writing about it, too. It makes their jobs a lot tougher if one of the greatest athletes of any generation with a pristine reputation turns out to be a(n) (allegedly) womanizing jerk who is (literally) above the law. The media is so enamored by Tiger that even if he were to spit in an old lady’s face or slap a child taking a picture of him in the middle of his backswing, many writers would still probably find a way to compliment him on his competitive drive.
As I Tweeted about half an hour ago, Golf Channel is now confirming that we won't see Tiger Woods at this week's Chevron World Challenge. Their sources are saying that doctors are advising against travel due to post-accident headaches he's suffering.
Here's the current field:
Tiger Woods**
Steve Stricker
Kenny Perry
Jim Furyk
Sean O'Hair
Lucas Glover
Stewart Cink
Zach Johnson
Anthony Kim
Mike Weir
Vijay Singh*
Camilo Villegas
Y.E. Yang
Paul Casey
Padraig Harrington
Lee Westwood
Martin Kaymer
Ian Poulter
*Justin Leonard (replaces injured Singh)
**Graeme McDowell (replaces injured Woods)
*From the folks who run Tiger's event:
Thank you for your interest in the Chevron World Challenge. The press conference with Tiger Woods previously scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 1 at 1:45 p.m. has been cancelled. We will provide you with any other press conference updates regarding the Chevron World Challenge field as they become available.
Sam Weinman at GolfDigest.com says that we still might hear from Tiger this week via teleconference.
**Took slightly longer than the hour I predicted, but here's Tiger's official announcement and apology:
"I am extremely disappointed that I will not be at my tournament this week," Woods said. "I am certain it will be an outstanding event and I'm very sorry that I can't be there."
"We support Tiger's decision and are confident the strong field and excellent course will provide an exciting week of competition at the Chevron World Challenge, said Greg McLaughlin, Tiger Woods Foundation President & CEO Woods will not participate in any other tournaments in 2009 and will return to action next year.
The tournament offers a refund for those who want one and also a 20% discount on 2010 tickets.
Looks like they are trying to defuse some of the TMZ reports, but leading off with a reminder that Tiger is refusing to speak only maintains the intrigue...
As of Nov. 30, 2009, the Florida Highway Patrol has been unable to speak to Mr. Woods about the crash he was involved in on the morning of Nov. 27, 2009, despite attempts to do so.
FoxNews.com is refutting TMZ's claim of a warrant search for medical records with a quote from the Florida Highway Patrol's Chief of Affairs.
"We don't need a warrant to get records, that is incorrect," said Florida Highway Patrol Chief of Public Affairs Capt. Mark Welch.
However TMZ now reports that the warrant may be in a quest to obtain surveillance video footage.
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
Copyright © 2022, Geoff Shackelford. All rights reserved.
