Really? “The Story of Golf at The Country Club” Wins 2009 USGA Herbert Warren Wind Book Award**

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According to the USGA Museum website, The Herbert Warren Wind Book Award...

recognizes and honors outstanding contributions to golf literature. Named in honor of the famed 20th-century American golf writer, the award acknowledges and encourages outstanding research, writing, and publishing about golf. The award attempts to broaden the public’s interest and knowledge in the game of golf.

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"Are athletes now going to use social media as a form of retaliation?"

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Garry Smits files an SI My Shot this week about the John Daly cell phone posting saga.

At first I was mostly amused and then a bit annoyed when the call count surpassed my usual golf score. But my main concern was the precedent. Are athletes now going to use social media as a form of retaliation? Daly posted my office cell number — in reality, no big deal. But many athletes have reporters' home numbers. Will that be the next line crossed? I would not have wanted my daughter to hear some of what her father heard. I can take it, but my child or my wife shouldn't have to.

"Since the beginning of the year, the golf police have been frisking finished and unfinished golf courses throughout central China's Sichuan province, a hotbed of construction activity."

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Two days ago I posed a question about the sanity of exporting the American version of golf to China. With that soul-searching out of the way, the latest installment of great coverage from China by Dan Washburn is up at Slate.com. Titled "The Forbidden Game: China's on-again, off-again war against golf" looks at the bizarre relationship between the government and golf course development, highlighted by the partial bulldozing of the prominent King Valley course, slated to host a Ladies Euro Tour event this year.
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"Of the 10 Englishmen in the world 100, I reckon that maybe two have benefited from the elite squad system."

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In the context of Olympic golf and how we hear that funding will arrive to create academies in various countries to breed future medal winners, check out Alistair Tait's look at the small role the English Golf Union has played in the development of the outstanding Englishmen currently in the world top 10.
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"We will have a statement after the tournament."

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Jeff Shain looks at the likelihood of Doral losing CA as its sponsor and the Tour having to find someone willing to put up the, gulp, $12 million or so necessary to sponsor a WGC event.

Without someone to pony up the approximately $12 million price tag each year, Doral could get stripped of its WGC status. One pessimistic view suggests the Blue Monster could fall off the schedule altogether. PGA Tour brass, however, rejects that scenario.

"I'm confident there will be a PGA Tour event here," tournament boss Eddie Carbone said at last month's CA media day.

Ty Votaw, the tour's executive vice president, was quick to stress that CA can't be counted out yet. He said the two sides will sit down after the event to discuss an extension to their four-year deal.

However, CA communications chief Bill Hughes didn't leave much room for optimism. "We will have a statement after the tournament," he said.

Well at least he didn't say they were looking to spend more time with the families.

"Employees don't get to rat out employers as a general rule, with all due respect to our shamefully toothless whistle-blower laws, and especially not in a one-on-one relationship like that of golfer-caddie."

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You know I've been watching the Stevie Williams interview over and over again trying to figure out what's so comical about it and Ray Ratto makes a great point about it which I was unable to see: if Stevie is all hot and bothered with Tiger, and is claiming he would blown the whistle on Tiger's off course activity, how does Stevie keep his job? Oh that's right, he's full of it too and Tiger knows that. Shoot, maybe even likes that about him.
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"If the numbers are correct, how could the average Chinese person go out and spend $2,000 on a new set of Nike clubs, then spend $80+ for every 18 hole round?"

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With this Reuters report making the rounds suggesting only one in 20 golf courses in Beijing having been developed legally, what better time than to debate China's horrible human rights track record the idea of exporting the failed American model for golf.
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