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| A Look Back: Dec. 13 1937: Johnny Revolta wins the Miami Biltmore Open. 1938: Tom Shaw, winner of four PGA Tour events, is born in Wichita, Kan. 1953: Doug Ford wins the Miami Open. 1970: Doug Sanders defeats Chris Blocker in a playoff to win the Bahamas National Open. 1992: Raymond Floyd wins the Senior Tour Championship, five strokes ahead of Dale Douglass and George Archer in Dorado, Puerto Rico. |
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Tournaments
The
U.S. Golf Association releases its 2002 schedule of national championships
that begin in June and concludes in October. The USGA will visit 11 states and
return to seven venues that have previously hosted championships. For the first
time, local and sectional qualifying will be conducted to award berths for the
Women's Open.
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more...
Equipment
Carbite
Golf introduces two new lines of putters at the 2002 PGA Merchandise Show.
The B Series, with 14 models to retail at $99.95 each, features Polar Balanced
technology to create a bigger hitting area and a "Brass Balls" face insert for
better feel. A premium milled "Signature Series" with the same technology has
two models at $299, which brings Carbite into the premium putter market.
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more...
Business
Apparel maker
Ashworth releases 2001 financial results that show slightly lower net revenue
for the year and a reduction in net income from $6.6 million in 2000 to $2.8 million
in 2001. Diluted earnings per share fell from 49 cents to 21 cents. In more positive
news, the company is getting a positive response to the Callaway Golf Apparel
line it will formally introduce in January.
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more...
The PGA
Tour signs a long-term agreement effective Jan. 1 with MBNA America Bank
to issue PGA Tour and Senior PGA Tour MasterCards. MBNA has previously demonstrated
its dedication to golf by giving financial support to The First Tee, a World Golf
Foundation initiative dedicated to introducing golf and its values to young people.
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People
Wake
Forest University junior golfer Nuria Clau is one of eight nominees for
the 2002 Socrates Award presented by Sporting News Radio and March of Dimes' National
Athletic Awards. The Socrates Award is presented annually to the college athlete
who best exemplifies excellence in athletics and academics.
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more...
Courses
A
course-wide renovation of the Donald Ross-designed Northland Country Club
(Duluth, Minn.) nears completion. Northland played host to the 1946 Western Amateur
and 1956 U.S. Women's Open Championship and the renovation of the par-71, 6,825-yard
course took nearly three years. Northland is ranked by Golf Digest as one of the
top 5 courses in Minnesota and in the top 100 classic courses in the United States
by Golfweek.
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more...
Accessories
Louisville,
Ky.-based Club Pro Products will introduce the Buggy Cooler and all new
Buggy Heater at the 2002 PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Fla., Jan. 24-27. The
unique Buggy Cooler can be positioned on the front of the golf cart and is designed
to help golf courses increase beverage sales. The Buggy Heater fits snuggly in
the cup holder of most golf carts and is designed to keep hands warm with a 3,000
BTU heater.
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more...
Associations
A
permanent exhibition gallery of nearly 400 fine art ceramics and pottery pieces
dating back to the 1890s is now open at the U.S. Golf Association's Golf
House in Far Hills, N.J. The ceramics room showcases products from 70 international
pottery manufacturers, including vintage works, and took shape following the generous
donation of Lowell M. Schulman's 142-piece collection.
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more...
Instruction
Reynolds
Plantation, the residential and resort community on Georgia's Lake Oconee, introduces
the Dave Pelz Scoring Game School. Pelz, considered one of the premier
short-game instructors, will personally operate and manage the school, which is
located at Reynolds Plantation's brand new, state-of-the-art learning academy
and practice facility. The academy is situated adjacent both to the new Ritz-Carlton
Lodge, Reynolds Plantation and the new Rees Jones-designed Oconee course.
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Technology
Travel
Web site Travelocity.com chooses GolfSwitch's Internet booking engine,
WebPro, to power its tee time reservations service. The WebPro system makes it
simple for golfers to learn more about golf courses, find available tee times
and make reservations.
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more...
Events
Innovative
Expositions, producers of the Florida First Coast Golf Show series, announces
the dates for the 2002 Orlando Show. The fourth annual Florida First Coast Golf
Show will be held April 20-21, 2002 at the Central Florida Fair and Exposition
Park.
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more...
Five Questions
Davis Love III
PGA
Tour Player
Davis Love III has long been one of the premier players on the PGA Tour, and 2001 began as one of his finest with five top-10 finishes in his first six starts. In that torrid run was a win at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and a playoff loss the next week at the Buick Invitational. But nagging neck and back injuries hampered him throughout the rest of the season, one that featured seven more top-10 finishes and a fifth-place finish on the money earnings list with $3,169,463. Beginning today, Love seeks to defend his title at the Williams World Challenge.
Q: As good a season as you had in 2001, did you feel you were maybe just a whisker away from having a phenomenal year?
A: I feel that way about every year. I was close to being really, really good. I was hurt a lot. I was in and out; I had two big breaks from playing. I made something out of nothing.
Looking at it, what am I going to do for next year? I've got to be 100 percent healthy and play with the same attitude I had this year. I played 20 events, and I was in the Top 10 more than half the time. I was happy with my mental approach and with the way I managed my game, but physically I just wasn't there. I didn't get to practice, and I wasn't 100 percent healthy.
So next year I've got to do a better job of being in better shape and feeling good. I couldn't control it this year. Hopefully I can control it next year and play with the same attitude. I got a lot out of being hurt. In an injury year, I got top five in money, top five in the world and made the Ryder Cup, which was a big goal. The reason I played hurt all this year was to make the Ryder Cup team. It was kind of disappointing that we didn't get to play, but next year should be better because I'll be healthy. I was telling Curtis (Strange, the U.S. captain) all year I wanted to play one round a day, just get myself through it, but next year I might be 100 percent healthy and can play all five matches like I'd like to.
Q: What do you have to do to try and resolve the problem with your neck?
A: Just get in better shape. I had a lower back problem and fixed it. I took care of it. I've just got to take care of me neck and get in better shape. I was talking to Tiger (Woods) and David Duval and we all three agree that maybe their physical strength hasn't made them play better, but it's made them feel better. It hasn't fixed their golf swings or made them play better because they're stronger, but it gives them more endurance and more confidence. I'm going to get in better shape and be prepared for anything rather than just trying to get through.
Not hitting golf balls makes it go away, so by the next time I have to hit golf balls for real I need to be in better shape in my upper body and my neck. In golf, it's hard to do specific things for your upper body without getting bigger or hurting my neck. I'm going to do little things, work on my posture, not slump, just get stronger, work on my endurance. I played 20 events this year; I'd like to make it 21 or 22. I proved this year that I can get by without a whole lot of practice. I just need to be in better shape so that when I do go play, it doesn't take so much out of me.
I had a real lower back and hip problem for a year or two and got on a program and got it fixed and moved it up to my neck. I've got to get it in my ear now so it doesn't bother my neck. I've had some great advice from doctors, and I'm working now with therapist Tom Boers, who's one of the top back guys in the world.
Q: You were 0-for-6 in 2001 when you were in the final group of the day. What's your take on that?
A: Whether you're in the final group or next-to-the-last group or fourth-from-the-last group, if you've within a couple of shots of the lead, you've got a chance to win. The one time I won I was so far back nobody even thought about me. My final-round scoring average is really, really good (68.88, third-lowest on tour) so it's hard to figure. The way I look at it, I just got by. I was playing well enough that I got into the last group a few times and finish second a few times.
Click here to read the rest of Five Questions with Davis Love III.
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The 19th Hole As usual this time of year, there are plenty of lists being checked. So The Wire thought it would check one of its own. We want to know what/who you, the reader, think is (1) the best course in the United States; (2) the course you most want to play; (3) the best course designer -- past or present. Send your picks to stuart@gpagolf.com with RE: Poll in the subject line and the results will be published in The Wire in early January. |