Is He The Last True Amateur Ever?

Im talking about Trip Kuehne. The man who has been dubbed the last true amateur golfer. Trip is a member of the all too famous Kuehne golf family. Trip has finally done it and he won the US Mid-Am last year. This is his first USGA trophy and he can put it in the case with his sister Kelli's US Womens Am and brother Hank's US Am. The family trifecta is complete and at age 35 he will play in his last competitive tournament, The Masters. After that week he will be retired once and for all from golf the same way he started as an amateur. My hat goes off to Trip for respecting the game for so long and going out as a winner. Maybe Colt Knost should give Trip a call and ask what respecting the game truly means.

An update on my own game is due. I am scrambling left and right to make a decent score. I really need some work to get the cobwebs off. I am just not flexible right now and everything hurts. Maybe Im just getting old and can't recoup as good as I used to. I dont know, I am going to try and stretch more and work on my tempo. I will keep you informed on the progress.

Par 3 Contest To Be Televised

The par 3 contest is to be aired on tv this year for the first time ever. There has been some talk about this decision by the Masters powers that be. Some say that it is taking away form the tradition of showing too much and not keeping some things sacred to the ones that can make the trip. Well not all of us can go to the Masters and spend the week taking in all of the glory that he holds. I personally think that it is great. The more of Augusta I can see the better. Before all we got to see was the one or two clips of great shots on hole in ones that were aired briefly on the first days coverage. It is such a great tradition with most of the pros getting there children or friends to caddy for them. It is great seeing those kids carry small bags and wearing the traditional white jumpsuit. There is also talk that Arnie is going to play this year. I hope the big three play this year, Jack, Arnie and Gary. Gary Player will be in the Masters again and I hope he can make a great showing.
On a personal note I will be playing this weekend and I will let you know how it goes. Havent played much this off season, but I think I still have something leftover from last year. I will let you know.

Would You Turn Down A Chance To Play In The Masters?

Colt Knost doesn't want to play. As most of you have heard Colt Knost won the US Amateur and the US Public Links Am last year in an incredible year. He was the standout amateur and also helped the US win the Walker Cup. The prize that you receive in winning those tournaments is an invitation to the Masters the next year. Colt decided that he was going to turn down a chance to play and turn professional. I may be wrong on this issue but how in the world do you turn down a chance of a lifetime. Colt states that it was a tough decision but he thought he belonged on tour and would get another opportunity one day to play in the Masters. That is a huge gamble. He would have to win a tournament that year, be in the top 50 in the world, or finish top 30 on the money list. All of those things have kept some of the best golfers on tour without an invitation. All of those endorsements and money would have been there if he could have only waited to turn pro for 8 months. Colt will never know what it feels like to sleep in the "Crows Nest" and play as an amateur in the purest of tournaments better known as "A Tradition Unlike Any Other". I am a little biased because as most of you know I tried to qualify for the US Public Links Amateur and missed it by a few. I take it as a slap in the face to those of us who gave our all and threw caution to the wind for a chance to even qualify let alone win the thing. I say we put all of our names in a hat and have a blind draw for the invitation. I won't hold my breath but it sure would be fun. The moral of this story is don't take for granted something so special and let greed take away an opportunity of a lifetime. The money may not always be there but the memories will.

The Masters is Only 1 Month Away!

The countdown to the Masters is upon us. I am very excited and I love this time of the year. The time has changed, it is getting warmer, and the flowers are blooming. I am going to embark on a little blogging project for the next month. I will be posting only Masters stuff from now until the tournament is over. I wont be posting everyday but I will every other day or so. There are son many things about Augusta National and the Masters that I should have tons of things to talk about. Please post comments and questions you may have. I will be making my first post tomorrow so stay tuned. You may learn a few things that you didn't know before.

Tripp What Were You Thinking!

I dont know if any of you have read this story yet, but it seems that Tripp Isenhour has stooped to a terrible low. In short it seems that he has been charged with killing a red-shouldered hawk that is a protected migratory bird. Tripp was filming a "Shoot Like A Pro" show when the hawk kept making noise and interupting the shoot. They had to take numerous retakes and Tripp got mad and starting hitting balls at the hawk which was about 300 yards away. He gave up until the hawk came within about 75 yards. He starting hitting shots and saying "I'll get him now", and he did. Tripp hit the hawk and it fell with blood coming out of its nostrils. What the hell? How stupid is he? Not to mention that nobody in the 15 person film crew stopped him so I blame them as well. Tripp faces up to 14 months in jail and $1500 in fines. I am not sure what sponsorship Tripp has but I would imagine that he wont have them much longer. Tripp is playing on the Nationwide tour this year and has not finshed in the top 25 yet. He can't make birdies but can hit birdies. Great job Tripp way to make your family proud, you idiot.

Here is the full story

Primary Day and Nobody Plays Golf On a Regular Basis!

As I watch the election coverage today I was wondering which of these folks plays golf. After a little research I found that nobody plays much. What? How the bleeping bleep does that happen? Mike Huckabee doesn't play at all and McCain has only played a few times in a couple years. Hillary Clinton doesn't play because pant suits are against the dress code. Barack Obama is the only one that has been seen recently on when he played in Hawaii. How can we have a President that doesn't play golf. It just seems wrong. I can't remeber a President that hasn't teed it up a ton of times. That has to be the biggest perk of being the President. Is there any chance that I or anybody else reading this would not make it their first order of business to call up Augusta National and make a tee time. You know I am right. Well maybe being in the White House will make one of them take golf a little more serious.

Way to go Ernie!

Ernie Els won the Honda Classic today in what became a pretty decent tournament. I enjoyed watching him get his first win in almost 4 years on American soil. Ernie is trying very hard to make a comeback and put some pressure on Tiger for the #1 spot. Ernie has alot of work to do but at least this points him in the right direction. Ernie was about to get really emotional afterwards and rightly so. He is super talented and deserves this win. I look for him to contend in several majors this year. As we all know confidence is the best club that you can have in your bag.

It is getting warmer here in North Carolina and I will be playing more golf soon. I will try and post about my game more and keep you up to date on where I stand. I will be playing in a few tournaments this year but not as many as I would have hoped. My work schedule will keep me from playing any tournaments during the week. So mostly weekend gigs and a few during the week. I will keep you posted and thanks to all of the people who are visiting this blog. It is alot of fun and interesting to see how many people are visiting. My visitors keep rising every day. Thank you all.