Ernie Els’ unlikely victory in the Open Championship at Royal Lytham pumps a large dose of decency and grace into the weakened soul of golf. As much as Tiger Woods’ charisma and dominance have influenced golf to change in some undeniably better ways, his rude persona on the course, his grating boorishness and vulgarity, have […]
British Open
Links Golf and the Creation of Augusta National–and a Chance to Win the Golf Trip of a Lifetime
Links golf courses are not popular in China, where Augusta National is regarded as the beau ideal. This is ironic, because Bobby Jones and Alister Mackenzie both esteemed links course above all others, and the Old Course at St Andrews most of all. Mackenzie insisted that the “Spirit of St Andrews” pervaded Augusta National, although […]
Chubby Chandler’s Gamble Pays Off for Darren Clarke
When Darren Clarke won the Open Championship last week, he not only collected the $1.4 million first prize money from the R & A, he earned a bonus of two million Euros (about $2,833,000) from Dunlop, courtesy of a clever marketing deal created by his agent, Andrew “Chubby” Chandler. Lee Westwood, another Chandler client, had […]