golf

Paul Goydos counts as one of the truly appealing characters on the PGA Tour.

Briny Baird and Martin Laird.
For a short period of time Wednesday, they weren't just a golf couplet that would make Dr. Seuss clap his hands. They were running at the top of the leaderboard at the Bob Hope Classic.
Best of all, they had back-to-back tee times, making it easy for spectators at the Palmer Private Course to follow them.

At an historic time when hope and change are the talk of America, allow me to join the national conversation.
I'm hoping that Tiger Woods' decision to speak during Barack Obama's pre-inauguration festivities Sunday at the Lincoln Memorial, where he gave a two-minute speech in support of our military men and women, marks a change in his attitude about speaking out.

Safe to say, Tim Finchem will not drag an elderly lady into one of Pebble Beach's bunkers, as Bill Murray once did. Finchem wasn't even sure how to answer the question, posed playfully this week, about staging an encore to Murray's act. He hesitated before saying, "That's really not my style."

Now that 45-year-old Vijay Singh is out for at least five weeks to repair a damaged knee, who among the PGA Tour's older players might replace him to show that age poses little barrier to success in golf? How about Davis Love III and Ernie Els, both playing at the Sony Open this week in Honolulu? In recent years, they've all but dropped out of the conversation about major players.

I love getting responses from readers to my golf column. I believe golfers will find some useful information in my response to this e-mail from David Garland in Scarborough, Maine:

"... Being stuck here in the frigid Northeast (Maine), I use (your) articles, along with my copy of "Your Perfect Swing" to work on my swing indoors during the long winter months.

On Golf tinkered with one of those fashionable list columns to launch 2009 -- say, 10 story lines to watch in the coming PGA Tour season, which began Thursday in Maui. Only a boilerplate list might suggest all story lines are created equal, and that's clearly not the case.
Not when You Know Who is lurking in the lobby, restless to join the fray.

Let's face it: Most of you lose at least five shots a round on your course management skills. Or, should I say, lack of course management skills. This new year, buy yourself a better game by learning how to manage your game better.
You don't need a better driver, wedge, or a new putter, but rather a better way to manage the game you already have.

Let's face it: Most of you lose at least five shots a round on your course management skills. Or, should I say, lack of course management skills. This new year, buy yourself a better game by learning how to manage your game better.
You don't need a better driver, wedge, or a new putter, but rather a better way to manage the game you already have.

Times are tough. Belts are tightening due to the economic downturn. Perhaps golf isn't as high a priority as it used to be. We understand.
But we also know that avid golfers are still going to get their fix. So if they received some cash for the holidays, here are few things they can pick up for under $100. It's not everything that's out there, but it's a good start.