On Our Mind Golf Blog

Their names have become synonymous with the game of golf as the legendary figures and champions that tread upon the hallowed grounds they've carefully created.

Alister MacKenzie, Donald Ross, Robert Trent Jones, Pete Dye and Tom Fazio are as recognized in the realm of golf as Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer.

Today, course design is hardly an afterthought. 

Over the weekend U.S. Ryder Cupper Hunter Mahan defeated Ryder Cup teammate Anthony Kim in a playoff to win the inaugural Kiwi Challenge, a 36-hole made-for-television golf tournament contested on two lovely courses (Kauri Cliffs and Cape Kidnappers) in New Zealand. Four young up-and-coming stars (Adam Scott and Brandt Snedeker also played in the event) and stunning panoramic pictures overlooking Hawk's Bay weren't nearly enough to warrant my interest; especially on a football weekend.

Presumably, the problem with made-for-TV golf is that it often features extremely small fields or celebrities who already have enough money to last them a lifetime, playing for, you guessed it, more money. 

When the precipitous economic freefall began with rising travel costs and a disappearing real estate market this spring and summer, everyone operating within the golf industry wondered whether a "recession" would impact the sport or if a pursuit if not exclusively enjoyed by, but more readily accessible to the affluent, would be immune to such a frugal consumer climate.

That, of course, was before bailout packages were handed out to fledgling companies like PGA Tour championship trophies to Tiger Woods. After watching giants of the financial, insurance and auto industries fall to their knees, it was clear that no sector of the American economy would be spared by our growing financial mess. 

During my visit to Jacksonville, well technically St. Augustine, to watch six new members join the World Golf Hall of Fame, I stopped at two of the city's most recognizable golf courses.

The first is the private Sawgrass Country Club, located in Ponte Vedra Beach. The day I visited Sawgrass, the club was hosting the Ed Seay Invitational, a tribute to Arnold Palmer's lead golf architect who just happened to design the golf club's 27 holes. 

Two of the saddest sporting careers of all-time have unexpectedly intersected at the corner of bleak and blacklisted this week.

The boozy John Daly was taken into custody after apparently passing out outside of a Hooters Restaurant, the same Hooters establishment which Daly clings to as the last of his high-profile corporate sponsors, so he could sleep it off. It also bears noting that Winston Salem, home to Wake Forest University, isn't exactly Las Vegas.

Tiger Woods' workload hasn't seen a significant drop-off, even if he isn't playing competitive golf.

Over the past month or so, Woods has been busy helping with his foundation and learning center in Southern California, pouring over his three golf course design projects and fulfilling a few sponsorship obligations. He has even picked up a golf club again, but it's not his Nike driver. 

Tiger Woods’ career will likely be defined by the number of Major Championships he wins, but he will also be remembered for his unique ability to perform at the highest level whenever the situation calls for such an effort.

His golfing legacy will include defining moments such as his gritty play at Torrey Pines in this year’s U.S. Open, his record-shattering win at the Masters in 1997 and his utter domination of the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. His chip shot at the 2005 Masters complemented by Verne Lundquist’s impassioned “In your life” call and the putt he followed to the cup during a playoff against Bob May at the 2000 PGA Championship will surely be replayed long after Woods leaves the game.

The Palmetto State is devoid of professional football team, unless you count the Charlotte Panthers. The Savannah Sand Gnats play in the border city of Savannah, but hey, Savannah is still in Georgia. The New York Knicks spend the preseason in Columbia, but even if they moved to the state's capital city permanently it wouldn't be much cause for celebration. And the state's real sporting passion, college football, hasn't been too successful this decade, just ask Tommy Bowden.

But South Carolinians love their golf, and tourists love golf in South Carolina. Every year millions of visitors flock to Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head and Kiawah Island to hit the links. So who needs an exclusive NFL franchise, give SC another golf tournament. 

If you watched last night’s World Series Game 5 and witnessed Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park turn into Noah’s Ark, you were treated to your fair share of unpleasant imagines including a cold soaking rain and the sight of exhaled breath. The dreary, damp weather transformed ballplayers on the brink of euphoria into cold and wet little kids seeking shelter from the elements, and a jolt of warmth that could only be found in a hot cup of cocoa made by mom.

Combine the visuals of last night’s game with the chilly temperatures throughout much of the Southeast today, which are well below average for this time of year, and most of us are already dreading winter and desperately hanging onto the last hints of summer. 

Miracle finish is a misnomer often associated with a heroic last second play in sports when a team, in a sense, rises from the dead and captures the unlikeliest of victories. The names associated with these famous plays like Doug Flutie, Lorenzo Charles, Kevin Moen, the 2004 Boston Red Sox and Christian Laettner, live on in the highlight reels of history.

Now we can add another name to that list, and his miracle is more miraculous than all of the others combined.