If I Was King of Golf

There are going to be some changes ’round here.

Trap Five LogoMarch is the cruelest month above the Mason-Dixon Line. It teases us with the breath of Spring from time to time, and then blasts us with more snow and cold winds. It’s a time of year that can drive a golfer to fits of lunacy… like imagining what it would be like to be King of Golf.

I don’t mean imagining what it would be like to “the King,” Arnie (in the day, that had to be a blast), or golf’s current king, Tiger (I suspect that wouldn’t suck, either). No, I mean, what would I change about golf, if I could change anything I wanted to.

Naturally, I want to reverse my handicap. Go from my -9 to a +9, and see what the PGA Tour is really all about. But that’s too easy. Everyone would want to do the same thing. I’m more concerned with the bigger questions of golf. Here are five things that, with tongue more or less in cheek, I’d like to see changed about golf.

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The Worst of the Worst

Of all the brands of intolerable golf enthusiasts, one stands alone.

Thrash TalkSince I have been in the habit of airing my grievances as of late, I’m going to continue that trend for another week, albeit with a much more insidious target than Phil Mickelson. Those of us who play golf regularly and attend tournaments are most certainly familiar with this individual; although, as I learned quite recently, his natural habitat may be the driving range (more specifically, the indoor golfing facility).

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Golf Talk [Episode 108]

This one’s about an hour later than normal, but you have the various NHL trade deadline tickers to thank for that.

Golf Talk PodcastTiger’s return lasts only two days, Geoff Ogilvy wins another WGC event, Titleist and Callaway go at it again, and some guy wins an alternate field event. Also this week, two new sponsorship changes on the PGA Tour and a whole lot more in this episode of Golf Talk.

You can subscribe to the RSS feed for our podcasts here or download Episode 108 as an MP4 file. For those who want to subscribe to us in iTunes, click here.

For this week’s Show Notes – links to articles we discuss in the show and additional information – just read on.

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Sun Mountain Rolls Out Micro Cart and Four 5 Carry Bag

Sun Mountain rolls out one of the coolest push carts on the market today.

Bag DropBack in the day (okay, only about five years ago) I would look every spring to see what the newest carry bags had to offer. About a decade ago, I had a carry bag that had 14-club individual dividers that I sorta liked (although the design left a lot to be desired) and I was always on the lookout for something similar but better.

I’ve since quite carrying my bag but the folks at Sun Mountain must have been thinking of me when they designed their new Four 5 carry bag. To top it off, they’ve also come out with one of the sweetest-looking push carts on the market today with the Micro Cart. I walk the vast majority of the time and my push cart is one of my most indispensable pieces of golf equipment, so I’m very intrigued by this offering.

Tag along as we check out the latest from Sun Mountain.

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Volume One Hundred Eighty

Tiger’s comeback is cut short, Sir Charles is getting some needed help, and The Shark suggests a pay cut

Hittin' the LinksWell Sand Trappers, Tiger’s comeback was a little anti-climactic but fortunately for us there were some good golf stories this week that didn’t include Mr. Woods. So sit back, relax, and let Hittin’ the Links take you for a tour of whats what in golf.

In this new edition of HTL we investigate Luke Donald’s ailing wrist, find out what Jim Thorpe forgot to do, and look into the upcoming Barkley-Haney joint venture. Also we see what Greg Norman thinks about PGA Tour purses, review which sponsors are in or out with the Tour, and do a full recap of this week’s winners. Read on!

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The Tiger Effect

All Tiger All the Time

Trap Five LogoWell, Tiger’s back (though he’ll be taking the weekend off). I, for one, am happy that he’s back. Sure it was interesting to see more press about some of the other guys on Tour, but they just don’t have the same impact that Tiger does, on Tour and beyond.

We’ve experienced a beehive of buzz (or maybe several) in the week since Tiger announced that he would participate in the WGC-Accenture Match Play. That Samuel L. Jackson spot on Golf Channel was out less than 12 hours after the announcement. Nike wasn’t far behind with its new “The Good Life” where five pros live it up until you-know-who walks back into the locker room. The marketing machine runs at full speed when Tiger is involved.

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I Wish I Could Like Phil Mickelson, But I Can’t

Let the supporters of Philip Alfred ready their arms..

Thrash TalkMentioning Lefty in my column last week seems to have a beneficial effect on the golfer’s play. When, last week, I jokingly suggested Mickelson had lost the ability to compete at the highest level, he went out and won the Northern Trust Open, collecting a cool 1.1 million dollars in the process. I only make reference to the preceding as a way of saying “Phil, I hope the following published objection to you makes you richer and more victorious.” Recent history, and the fallacy of false cause, suggest it will.

It isn’t that I dislike Phil personally, it’s just that, representationally or symbolically I find him tough to stomach. It isn’t as though I haven’t tried to like the guy. I have. However, despite my best efforts, I find myself rooting against him, amused by his two way miss off the tee and quite delighted when his umpteenth unnecessary flop shot doesn’t come off as planned.

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Golf Talk [Episode 107]

Did you hear? Tiger’s back. Seriously, you didn’t hear? Is that even possible?

Golf Talk PodcastTiger is back, Michelle Wie finishes second, Phil Mickelson repeats at Riviera, Dustin Johnson wins in a rainout, the LPGA finds a home on the Golf Channel, and a whole lot more in this episode of Golf Talk.

You can subscribe to the RSS feed for our podcasts here or download Episode 107 as an MP4 file. For those who want to subscribe to us in iTunes, click here.

For this week’s Show Notes – links to articles we discuss in the show and additional information – just read on.

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Contest! Win a Leupold GX-I or GX-II!

Win a GX-I or GX-II laser range finder from Leupold and The Sand Trap .com!

Leupold GX-IWe’ve teamed with Leupold to give away a Leupold GX-I, a GX-II, and three super-spiffy hats.

To enter, we’ve setup a page at http://thesandtrap.com/contest with a few trivia questions about the Leupold GX-I and GX-II. Entering is simple: fill out the form, answering the questions correctly, and submit it. We’ll randomly choose from the correct answers to give away the prizes.

Every answer can be found at the Leupold golf rangefinder site, our review, or elsewhere on the Web.

Click here to visit our contest page. And hurry – the contest ends on March 11.

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