By RODNEY PAGE, St. Petersburg Times

Golf course operators have heard all the excuses as to why fewer people are playing: It's too hot. It costs too much. Work takes up more and more time.

But one excuse is bound to make them cringe: It takes too long to play. Operators can't do much about the weather or work, but they can do some things to speed play.

Perhaps no sport lends itself to humor more than golf. The game is so maddening that you have to laugh to keep from crying.

So let's lighten things up with a sampling of golf humor. We kept it clean, and we tried to steer clear of husband/wife jokes ( "I got a set of golf clubs for my wife. I think it was a good trade,'' etc.). That still left us with many to choose from:

The PGA season has passed the midway point. As usual, Tiger Woods has made plenty of news, mostly for how he has not played. But plenty of other stories have surfaced thus far. A look back and a look forward:

TRENDS

-- 1. Golf is better with Tiger Woods healthy

For most of us, picking the golf balls we use is about as scientific as grabbing a few from the bargain bin or playing ones we find on the course. But not all balls are created equal.

Golf is not a contact sport. So why can the game be so physically painful sometimes?

If you've ever played golf, you know it is one unpredictable -- and sometimes maddening -- sport. Some days it's fairways and greens, others it's rough and bunkers. So trying to figure out what is going to happen in the golf world in 2011 is kind of like making a 50-foot putt. But here are some topics and players likely to be talked about in the upcoming year:

If you've ever played golf, you know it is one unpredictable -- and sometimes maddening -- sport. Some days it's fairways and greens, others it's rough and bunkers. So trying to figure out what is going to happen in the golf world in 2011 is kind of like making a 50-foot putt. But here are some topics and players likely to be talked about in the upcoming year:

Every year the sports world gets a few new heroes and loses some as well. This year had its share of sports icons die, young and old. A list of notable sports figures who died in 2010:

Baseball:

For the most part, the pro golf season is over. The major champions have been crowned, the FedEx Cup winner has been decided, and the Ryder Cup has gone to the Europeans. The only thing left is the PGA Tour's fall series and the "silly season,'' where golfers line their pockets in unofficial events.

So here is a look back at this past season on the PGA Tour and a look ahead to 2011:

Quick quiz: What kind of putter does British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen use?

Answer: A Ping Redwood (but who really cares?)

Ask the same question about what kind of putter Tiger Woods uses, and many know it's a Scotty Cameron Newport 2. And when he changed to a Nike Method-001 Classic Blade Putter for three rounds of the British Open last week, it made big news.