"There are still additions being made to make the project more family-friendly, such as pools, hiking trails, soccer fields, a top-end spa and roaming herds of longhorns for kids to feed."

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Reading William Pack's story on Boot Ranch hitting Control-Alt-Delete on the good ole boy club concept and Texas-sized lots, I couldn't help but wonder if the attempts to make Hal Sutton's dream club more family friendly will work, especially this business with the longhorns.
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One Of Golf's Most Fascinating Short Par-4's Debuts Thursday!

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Fascinating because it should encircled with a giant Ground Under Repair line.

I finally studied the morphing of the Eisenhower and Zaharias courses at Industry Hills for the LPGA's KIA Classic and to my shock, they are playing quite possibly the worst par-4 in southern California and maybe all of Earth: the infamous ninth of the Zaharias, which I believe is the 10th on this week's Eisenharias layout.

I think the aerial speaks for itself, but if this Google Earth view of the 308-yard ninth doesn't excite the senses, let me help with a few details.

It begins with a magical walk down an asphalt path from the eighth green. At the tee the player will find not one, but four protective screens to guard the neighboring houses from a snap hook. The difficult-to-locate landing area offers neither strategic angles of attack nor spectating room on this coin pocket of the former landfill's mountainside. Good luck this week, ladies!

 

“It sounds like old guys trying to cover their butts. Is this an old boys’ club or who the best players are?"

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Jeff Rude calls the PGA Tour's proposed concept to convert Q-School into a Nationwide Tour qualifying event "too much of a closed shop, too restrictive, too protective of current members making the rules, too much of a half-dream for Q-School entrants and too little of the concept of keeping immediate hope alive."
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"They're playing with the lives of the players to do this."

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Ryan Herrington ponders how changing PGA Tour Q-School to the Sponsorless-Tour-Formerly-Known-As-Nationwide Qualifying Tournament would impact college golf. First, there is this, which Herrington calls a quick aside but it's one of the fundamental questions that the PGA Tour Policy Board should have asked before green-lighting the concept.
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Founders Cup Roundup, Japan Wins And The LPGA Still Needs To Play For Real Money

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Randall Mell wraps up the charitable contributions of the top 10 finishers in the Founders Cup and with several players adding Japan relief funds as a nice touch, it's hard to knock the event. Then again, something about it still just lacked the legitimacy that this week's KIA Classic will carry with a real purse and a great field.
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Wagering On Golf Up; Suckers Still Liking Tiger At 7-1

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Did I say suckers? I meant the wise American public.

John Strege says the Las Vegas Hilton folks expect to surpass last year's Masters wagering, even with Tiger and Phil struggling. Or maybe because of Tiger and Phil are struggling says the Hilton's Jeff Sherman.

"Tiger's right up there with most tickets written compared with other players. But we had most of our money taken [when he was] at 4 or 5 to 1. At the same time, with his odds being higher, Nick Watney at 15 to 1, Dustin Johnson at 20 to 1, all these guys in the 15 to 20 to 1 range, a lot of people are taking a lot of chances on these guys.

"The most popular golfers right now, ticket-wise, are Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar. There are a lot of golfers with a lot of tickets on them. [Tiger's slump] has really spread it out."

What happens should Woods handily win the Arnold Palmer Invitational this week? Or should he miss the cut?

"Based on that scenario [winning handily], I could see him going down to 9 to 2," Sherman said. "If he misses the cut, the odds could hit 10 to 1."

Why haven't the odds moved to 10-1 already?

Tour Considering Dreadful Q-School Change And Other Assorted Iffy Ideas To Help Find A Sponsor For The Nationwide Tour

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Details are sketchy in a short item filed by Doug Ferguson, so I'll leave my wreckless early speculation to the headline. But these ideas smack of desperation in trying to find a sponsor for the about-to-become sponsorless minor leagues of golf (Nationwide deal expires after 2012), and not born out of a sound thinking:
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