I think that Pebble Beach is my favorite golf course to go to. I think Augusta is my favorite place to go play golf. - Jack Nicklaus There are four tournaments that comprise the Grand Slam of golf -- the British Open, the U. S. Open, the PGA championship, and the Masters, the only one of the four held on the same golf course every year. And considering the fact that Jack Nicklaus won the Masters a record six times, it's certainly understandable why he would say that particular tournament was his favorite, even if it weren't the most prestigious of them all. There's something special about the Augusta National golf course, which was designed by golfing legend Bobby Jones. … [Read more...]
The Pearl: 10 April 2015
April 10, 2015 by Leave a Comment
It took me seventeen years to reach 3,000 hits in baseball. I did it in one afternoon on the golf course. - Hank Aaron Golf can certainly be a humbling and frustrating game to play. While Hank Aaron's quote was an exaggeration, it can certainly feel like you've hit three thousand shots when you're having a bad day on the golf course. But never forget - your worst day golfing is better than your best day at work, even if your day job is playing baseball -- a sport in which batting .300, meaning one fails 70 percent of the time, is still considered a great success. Of course, a golfer's ability to break par would be severely diminished if the ball were moving. Both games require great skill to play well. … [Read more...]
The Pearl: 9 April 2015
April 9, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Golf is a game where you yell 'fore', shoot six, and write down five. - Paul Harvey The great radio commentator Paul Harvey had a dry sense of humor. However, this pearl only applies to hackers like me who really don't even know all the rules and slights the genuine golfer who respects the game. Golf etiquette demands that golfers self-report violations of the rules, even if a certain rules violation carries an automatic penalty. Golf is a game meant to be played by the rules, with honor and integrity. The great Bobby Jones famously set the ultimate example of this when he called a one-stroke penalty on himself that eventually cost him the 1925 U. S. Open. When sportswriter O. B. Keeler suggested afterward that Jones deserved universal admiration and respect for this incredible example of good sportsmanship the golfer scoffed as he famously replied, "You might as well praise me for not robbing banks." But Keeler was absolutely right. The native Georgian deserves universal recognition and our respect for setting the quintessential example for how to play the game that continues to this very day. … [Read more...]
The Pearl: 7 April 2015
April 7, 2015 by Leave a Comment
For many years nobody talked about adoption. I hate to say it this way, but a lot of men feel like they don't want to adopt because it doesn't make them feel like a man not having their own child. I've never felt like less of a man adopting. I look at Caleb and Dakota, and I don't think of anything else except, God made this child in somebody else's womb for us. There are so many beautiful kids out there who didn't ask to be put in a certain situation; they're just looking for love. It's a blessing for Angie and me that these beautiful kids are now ours and we get to raise them. Winning golf tournaments is great, and I hope I can keep doing it, but I know that the most important thing I'm going to do in this lifetime is be a dad to Caleb and Dakota. - Bubba Watson Because the Masters begins this week, I thought I'd hunt for some pearls related to golf. But since the tournament doesn't actually start until Thursday, I decided the first few quotes don't have to related to golf itself, but words of wisdom from people famous for playing the game. If you know anything about me or read much of what I write, you've probably figured out that I'm an avid fan of the Georgia Bulldogs. Normally whenever a past or present Bulldog accomplishes something special, alumnae and diehard fans will call that person a DGD -- the acronym meaning a "Damned Good Dawg." Bubba Watson played collegiate golf for the University of Georgia. Watson may be called a DGD for things he's done both on and off the golf course. He deserves it for winning the Masters golf tournament in 2012 and … [Read more...]
