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CURTIS STRANGE IS BACK,
SO IS FOREIGN LANGUAGE
I'd forgotten exactly how annoying Curtis Strange is as a golf announcer, but we got an immediate reminder when he joined the ESPN crew for the U.S. Open telecast.
Strange has impeccable credentials, as a two-time Open champion and World Golf Hall of Famer, but he has one glaring deficiency:
He doesn't speak English!
For instance, take the word "find." In the Strange language of Curtis, "find" somehow rhymes with "pond."
He has some kind of Virginia backwoods accent that takes simple "i" sounds -- you know, like "eye" -- and turns them into "ahh" sounds. You know, like "Stick out your tongue and say 'Aaahhh.'"
And it's amazing how often the "eye" sound comes up in golf:
• Drive becomes "drahve"
• Five-iron becomes "fahve-iron"
• Tiger becomes "Tahger"
Here's a typical Curtis Strange analysis: "Tahger hit a really big drahve here, leaving no more than a fahve-iron to the green on this tough par-fahve. That is, if he can fahnd his ball. Aah'm not sure he can fahnd it in that deep rough."
Hint to ESPN -- they have dialect coaches who can help Curtis lose the strange pronunciations!
Ken Carpenter is the editor and publisher of The Golf Gazette. He can be reached at ken@thegolfgazette.com.
Copyright 2008 The Golf Gazette. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Posted by: The Golf Gazette
on Friday, June 13, 2008
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NOOSE ON COVER OF MAGAZINE
WAS FATEFUL CALL MADE BY 1 MAN
First, full disclosure:
* I was once managing editor of Golfweek magazine (1992-98), then became editor of Golfweek.com, and in 2001 fell victim to a staff reduction when Callaway Golf pulled its sizable ad schedule in reaction to a column written by editor Dave Seanor that criticized Callaway endorser Arnold Palmer. The column carried a lamentable headline referring to Palmer as "Benedict Arnold."
Now, some "insider" information:
* The scuttlebutt is that the decision to use a photo of a noose on the Jan. 19 cover of Golfweek was made by Seanor alone, over the objections of nearly everyone on the editorial staff. Several people that I talked to, inside the company, said they were adamantly opposed to the cover, and are sickened by the resulting controversy.
* That Seanor chose to use the cover does not surprise me. He once worked for the New York Post, and always had a bit of a tabloid streak in him. He likes to agitate, which it a trait highly regarded in journalism. He's a good newsman, and not afraid to take bold approaches to stories and coverage. Some call it pushing the envelope, but in this case he pushed way too far.
* Why no one stepped up to challenge Seanor and stop publication is a mystery, but it might have something to do with the fact that the president of the company lives in Connecticut, the publisher lives in Dallas, and Seanor was making the fateful call in Orlando.
* I worked a long time for Dave Seanor, we raised more than a few pints together and played many memorable rounds of golf on far-flung courses. He is a friend. And I'd like to think that if I was still working for him last week he'd still have his job -- because I would have fought him, literally come to blows if necessary, to stop him from making one of the worst decisions in the history of our industry.
Sadly, there was no option but to fire him.
All that being said, if the opportunity ever presents itself, I'd work for Dave Seanor again. And if I ever have the chance, I'd hire him to work for me. Making one big mistake doesn't make Seanor a bad journalist or a bad guy.
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Posted by: The Golf Gazette
on Friday, January 18, 2008
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STOP THE DEBATE AND SILLY ARGUMENTS,
PGA TOUR'S CROWN JEWEL IS DESERVING
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Since no one else will step up, I guess I’ll just have to say it.
The Players is a major championship.
There. How hard was that?
Who’s to say what is or isn’t a major? By whose authority does a golf tournament earn that distinction? No one’s authority. There is no czar of golf. Old Tom Morris did not pass down some engraved tablets to Francis Ouimet spelling out the requirements for a major.
So, let’s stop all the veiled questions and nonsensical arguments.
The Players is a major championship.
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Posted by: The Golf Gazette
on Thursday, May 10, 2007
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LITTLE-KNOWN JOURNEYMAN SHOOTS LOWEST SCORE,
BUT IT'S THE HIGHEST WINNING NUMBER IN HISTORY
Congratulations, Zach Johnson, you just won the worst Masters Tournament ever played.
Not to take anything away from the 31-year-old journeyman, but his victory won’t be remembered for stellar play, or miracle shots, or even gutty determination. Anyone who recalls the 71st Masters at all beyond, say, September, will think only about the boring week of generally awful golf.
How bad was it? Consider:
 * Johnson’s score of 1-over 289 matched the highest-ever winning number, posted by Sam Snead in 1954 and Jack Burke in 1956. That’s more than 50 years ago, folks. That’s pre-metalwood, pre-graphite shafts, pre-Pro V1x, pre-Jack Nicklaus, pre-Tiger Woods, pre-Golf Channel, pre-HDTV, heck pre-television!
* 11 players from the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking missed the cut, while three players from the over-50 Official Geezer Golf Ranking made the cut. (Sergio Garcia, you’ve got some ’splainin’ to do!)
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Posted by: The Golf Gazette
on Sunday, April 08, 2007
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ORLANDO INTERCLUB RIVALRY INVOLVES
12 OF WORLD'S TOP 31 PLAYERS
Special to the Golf Gazette
ORLANDO, Fla.– A crosstown team event between members of Lake Nona and Islesworth golf clubs here March 26-27, has some names you have heard of, and a $2.6 million purse. Captains Mark O'Meara and Ernie Els will lead the two teams.
Orlando, because of its sunbelt location and its many direct-flight airport connections, is home to a lot of PGA Tour players, and many of them live at those two exclusive clubs at opposite ends of the city. The annual interclub tournament started as a fun thing and is now called the Travistock Cup and is sponsored by the Citigroup Private Bank.
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Posted by: Larry Kieffer
on Wednesday, March 21, 2007
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UNPRECEDENTED VOLUNTARY PROCEDURE
MAY ESTABLISH PROTOCOL FOR INDUSTRY
Special to The Golf Gazette
Nike Golf said it has discovered that an unauthorized manufacturing variance occurred such that the Characteristic Time measurement of a number of drivers fell out of its approved engineering specifications. While the result of this variance is an additional distance benefit of only one or two yards, the company said it lies outside of the parameters as established by the U.S. Golf Association. Nike Golf said there is no impact on the safety or durability of the product.
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Posted by: Larry Kieffer
on Monday, March 19, 2007
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EX-DUKE STAR, NCAA CHAMP
STARTS CHARITY TO AID YOUTH
Special to The Golf Gazette
 LPGA professional Candy Hannemann has announced establishment of Candy Cares, a pledge-based charity program that donates money to charity for each birdie posted during a tournament round.
Starting with the SBS Open at Turtle Bay on Feb. 15, Hannemann will donate $50 for each birdie posted at an LPGA event during the 2007 season to charities that support youth and educational programs in her home country of Brazil.
Entering her fourth year on the LPGA tour, Hannemann is eager to use her position as a professional athlete to give back.
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Posted by: Larry Kieffer
on Tuesday, March 06, 2007
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ONE RESTORES VALUE OF DRIVING ACCURACY;
OTHER EASES RESTRICTIONS ON ADJUSTABILITY
Special to The Golf Gazette
The United States Golf Association has proposed two changes to the Rules of Golf governing golf clubs. The first would introduce new regulations for grooves. The second calls for a relaxed standard concerning the adjustable features of woods and irons.
“These proposals represent the comprehensive, deliberate and thoughtful nature of the USGA’s equipment research,” said USGA Senior Technical Director Dick Rugge. “In one instance, we’re proposing new restrictions on groove configurations to maintain the element of skill at the game’s highest level. In the other case, we’re relaxing standards of adjustability because we believe these changes will benefit all golfers by allowing them to have a better chance to use clubs that can be fitted to their individual swing characteristics.”
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Posted by: Larry Kieffer
on Sunday, March 04, 2007
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HONDA CLASSIC, PGA AGREE TO FUND
GOLF IN PALM BEACH PHYS ED CLASSES
By Charley Stine
 PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. - The PGA of America has joined the Honda Classic and PGA Tour in presenting a check for $106,000 to the First Tee National School Program, a nationwide initiative to inject golf into the curriculum of elementary and middle school children. The donation will purchase equipment for 50 Palm Beach County elementary and middle schools and provide golf training for teachers, impacting an estimated 35,000 local elementary students.
The presentation was made by PGA of America CEO Joe Steranka, who announced the association’s five-year commitment of $250,000 to The First Tee National School Program, as well as mutually agreed-upon programs benefiting Palm Beach County youth. Joining Steranka was Jack Nicklaus and wife Barbara Nicklaus, who is chair of the Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation, which supports The First Tee National School Program.
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Posted by: Larry Kieffer
on Sunday, March 04, 2007
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FARALLON ESTATES AT CAP CANA
TO INCLUDE COURSE, CLUB, HOTEL
Special to The Golf Gazette
Donald Trump is adding to his golf empire. Trump has signed a partnership agreement with Cap Cana, S.A. in the Dominican Republic to develop a resort that will include a golf course, golf villas and golf lots, estate lots, a beach club, a condo hotel, and residences with ocean views that together will be called Trump at Cap Cana. The real estate luxury products to be developed represent an estimated value of over two billion dollars.
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Posted by: Larry Kieffer
on Saturday, February 17, 2007
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