State Of The Game, Episode 3: "The game's never been easier and people have never complained more about how hard it is."

That stellar quote came from Mike Clayton during this week's belly putter-focused show.

You'll hear some sound clips from Tiger Woods and a few I picked up at the USGA Annual Meeting. Panelists Clayton and Huggan are joined by special guest and long putter exponent Craig Spence chat about what figures to be a huge issue over the coming year. Rod Morri hosts, and music is supplied by Lloyd Cole. Give it a listen.

Here's the direct link to the third episode.

Here's a directory with the first three episodes.

And here's the itunes page for the show where you can get all three or subscribe, it's free.

Or finally, you can listen below:

Shock: The Donald In Feud With Politicians Who Approved His Scottish Course

An unbylined AP story on The Donald's shocking, I mean shocking turn against the same politicos who ramroded his Scottish golf project through despite objections. This time it's over the wind farm that'll spoil The Donald's views the days the water is not shrouded in fog.

Trump has launched a blistering attack on Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond over plans to build a "horrendous" wind farm off the coast of his luxury Scottish golf resort. In an open letter, Trump accuses Salmond of being "hell bent on destroying Scotland's coast line and therefore Scotland itself."

The bitter words are a far cry from the love-in the two men enjoyed four years ago when Salmond backed Trump's 750 million pound (US$1.2 billion) golf development 12 miles (16km) north of Aberdeen despite protests from environmentalists and locals about damage to rare sand dunes.

Back then, Trump invited Salmond to join him and actor Sean Connery to be the first to tee off on what the businessman described as "the world's greatest golf course." Trump also heaped praise on Salmond's government after it overruled local lawmakers who rejected the planned golf resort.

The Scottish leader backed the golf course by claiming it would create hundreds of tourism jobs around the Aberdeenshire area.

The Donald wrote a letter...and brought China and his mother into it.

"Jobs will not be created in Scotland because these ugly monstrosities known as turbines are manufactured in other countries such as China. These countries, who so benefit from your billions of pounds of payments, are laughing at you!" Trump said.

Trump concludes the attack by referring to his mother, who was raised in Scotland.

He adds: "I'm doing this to save Scotland and honor my mother..."

He ridicules the Scottish National Party's renewable energy policies, claiming the economic benefit is going to China and other countries, not Scotland.

Friday P.M. News Dump Special: Non-WGC WGC Finally Confirmed For South Africa

You may recall there was a lovely bit of European Tour gamesmanship with the scheduling of a 2011 event that would have forced the South Africans to decide between playing in their homeland or the Presidents Cup. It was averted with a compromise to create a $10 million World Golf Championship event that will conflict with Tiger's event at Sherwood and preceding the Race To Dubai conclusion.

Well, deep into this Friday while Tiger's out on the course at Pebble Beach and media around the rest of the world are not likely to be checking for breaking news, the press release went out announcing the first ever WGC that's not technically a WGC event.

There's nothing on PGATour.com, so here is the release...

International Federation of PGA Tours to sanction Sunshine Tour’s Tournament of Hope in South Africa

2013 event to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment

The International Federation of PGA Tours, an organization of the top professional golf tours in the world that sanctions the World Golf Championships and the World Cup, today announced that the Southern Africa PGA Tour (Sunshine Tour) will stage the Tournament of Hope as an International Federation of PGA Tours-sanctioned event beginning in 2013.

The Tournament of Hope will be the centerpiece of a worldwide awareness effort to be undertaken by the Sunshine Tour and partner promoter SAIL Rights Commercialisation (Pty) Ltd to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment in Africa and globally. In addition to the Tournament of Hope, the promoters will organize other awareness functions in South Africa and around the world during the week of the tournament.

The Tournament of Hope will be staged in South Africa for the first time in 2013, the week of November 25 and culminating on December 1, which is World AIDS Day. The tournament will be staged on similar dates in future years.

The US$8.5-million Tournament of Hope will be a major international competition for the world’s best professional golfers with eligibility similar to that of the four World Golf Championships, based primarily on the Official World Golf Ranking and supplemented by the individual money lists and Orders of Merit of the various Tours that make up the International Federation of PGA Tours.

The European Tour, one of the founding members of the International Federation of PGA Tours, has already confirmed that prize money won at the Tournament of Hope will count towards The 2014 Race to Dubai, further consolidating an already strong partnership with the Sunshine Tour that stretches back to 1995 and which, in 2012, will see The European Tour co-sanction four tournaments in South Africa.

The Tournament of Hope will be the sixth worldwide event sanctioned by the International Federation of PGA Tours, joining the four World Golf Championships – Accenture Match Play Championship (Arizona, USA); Cadillac Championship (Florida, USA); Bridgestone Invitational (Ohio, USA); HSBC Champions (China) – and the World Cup (China).

Planning for the event and related activities is ongoing and further details concerning the Tournament of Hope, including specific player eligibility and venue for the event, will be announced at a later time.

"Clubmakers, instructors and best players on planet will tell you that belly putters are here to stay"

This Gary Van Sickle compilation of quotes and look at the belly putter's evolution is stamped February 2, just days before the USGA suggested they were taking a "fresh look" at the legality of such putting.  Either way it's a great primer on the topic with some quotes I hadn't seen before.

One of the key reasons the USGA took notice, according to new USGA President Glen Nager, is the spike in sales. Something Van Sickle touched on:

Scotty Cameron Putters is expecting a huge year. Before Scott’s run at the Masters, Cameron says his company would sell 500 to 1,000 alternative putters a year. By the end of ’11 the number was 10,000. Cameron is gearing up to move 15,000 to 20,000 this year.

Instead of simply adding length to conventional models, for the first time TaylorMade designed its alternative putters to perform at belly- and long-putter lengths. Last year, according to Michael Fox, a TaylorMade product-marketing manager, the company sold four times as many alternative putters as in 2010, and he expects to double 2011’s sales this year. “We were back-ordered 30 days at one point last year,” says Fox.

"Hole-In-One" Means Hole-In-One In Any Language

Note the commentary of Martin Kaymer's ace in Dubai Friday.