Golf News

Joe Buck knows Fox's first attempt at televising the U.S. Open wasn't perfect. He also knows he and the rest of the crew were getting better by Sunday at Chambers Bay. What he doesn't know? If they'll be able to pick up where they finished last year when the 2016 U.S. Open rolls around. In between working the World Series, the longtime play-by-play man did a candid interview with For The Win in which he was especially honest about his first foray into announcing golf. "Golf is -- golf is nuts," Buck told For The Win . "You would think it’d be the slowest to do, but it's actually the fastest. I mean, I've done college basketball, a horse race, a bunch of different things and they’d blow by but golf has a frenetic pace of bouncing around from shot to shot and green to green and, in essence, acre to acre over this huge plot of land with over 150 players who are their own team." Buck went on to explain another huge difference between golf an...

Lovers of Augusta National get an annual peak at their favorite golf course each spring. Those who feel similarly charmed by the Old Course, which shares architectural roots with the Georgian layout, don’t get nearly the same amount of viewing time. The new book, Links to St. Andrews: Love Letters to the Home of Golf , allows Old Course’s devotees as much face time with the venerable course as they want. And conveniently enough, it’s a collection of writings by kindred spirits who love the Home of Golf. If you haven’t yet become a fan of the Old Course, with all its unique aspects, Links should get the job done. There have been numerous books written about St. Andrews, so this new one had a lot to hurdle to make it stand out. It does that brilliantly, beginning with the heft and size. The book weighs six pounds and measures 10 by nearly 14 inches. Related: Golf Digest Podcast: How To Plan a Golf Trip to St. Andrews Joshua C. Evenson and Carol Haralson conceived the book for Pi...

Yesterday we showcased the world's coolest putt-putt course. Now meet the scariest. With skulls, caskets and tombstones, players that tee it up at the Ahlgrim course in Palatine, Illinois feel like they're walking through the land of the dead. And that's before they reach the first hole. That's because Ahlgrim is a funeral home. According to Doug Ahlgrim, who owns multiple funeral services around Chicago the course was built by his father, who loved putt-putt. "Business was very slow in the beginning," Ahlgrim told Vice Sports . "We had this large community room underneath the businessâ€"large basement, shall we sayâ€"so he thought, 'Well, what the heck?' and started building himself a miniature golf course." Intended strictly for the family at first, word spread about the underground putt-putt track. Soon, the course was open to the public. "We get kids in there before they have to visit for a death," Ahlgrim said to Vic...

Tiger Woods announced on Friday that he underwent a follow-up procedure on his troubled back. "It's one of those things that had to be done," Tiger said on his website. "I have an outstanding team of doctors, and I'll be back as soon as I can." The surgery was performed earlier in the week in Park City, Utah by neurosurgeon Dr. Charles Rich. "Tiger is doing well, and we expect him to make a full recovery," Rich said. Woods was scheduled to speak on November 4 in Jupiter, Florida to promote his Hero World Challenge. It was announced late on Friday that this press conference had been canceled. Woods is still expected to attend and host the early-December tournament. "I look forward to being at my event," Woods said. "Hero is a tremendous supporter of my foundation and particularly our scholars." Already facing a long road back in return from a previous surgery, today's announcement puts Woods' short-term return -- specifi...

From sports to TV to politics (OK, so mostly the first two), we offer five hot topics that are sure to liven up your round of golf: 1. The World Series: What a crazy Game 1. What a hitting clinic by the Royals in Game 2. Kansas City takes a 2-0 lead into Friday night, but I'm trying not to get too excited about the thought of the Mets finally getting knocked out. The last time I rooted against a team going for a championship this hard, it didn't end well. Speaking of which. . . 2. The Patriots: Haters gonna hate, but you've got to give the NFL's most vilified franchise credit for its 7-0 start, including a 36-7 beatdown of the Dolphins on Thursday. The Pats have now a staggering plus-116 points in their seven games. No word, though, on whether their infamous ball boy is minus any pounds. I hope "The Deflator" has been keeping the weight off! 3. Kristaps Porzingis: Look, as a New York Knicks fan, I have so little to get excited about. But from what I've...

Yoenis Cespedes' golf game has gotten far more attention than his play on the diamond of late, which is part of the reason why the New York Mets find themselves trailing the Kansas City Royals 2-0 in the World Series. But it turns out, he's not the only Mets player hitting the links during the Fall Classic. On Friday, former player and MLB Network analyst Kevin Millar tweeted this photo of him playing golf at Liberty National with fellow former players John Smoltz and Mark DeRosa. Oh, and who is that guy standing second from the right? None other than Mets ace Matt Harvey: The #UsAgainstJohn refers to Smoltz, who has a plus-2 handicap. Harvey has Friday and Saturday nights off since he's scheduled to start Game 5 on Sunday night. He got a no-decision in Game 1 when the Mets lost in 14 innings. You can question whether Harvey should be playing golf (we guess) two days before the biggest start of his life, but you can't say Harvey is being a bad teammate. That was awful...

Golf legend Gary Player turns 80 on Sunday. That's only going to make what he's done this past year on the course even easier. In an interview with the Daily Mail , Player said he's shot better than his age in every full round of golf he's played this year. Remarkable. Perhaps even more impressive is the fact he still starts his day with 1,300 sit-ups and 300-pound leg lifts. And when he's not traveling on business, he spends 12 hours a day working on his farm in South Africa. "Retirement is a death warrant," the nine-time major champ told the Mail. "I remember in Britain a few years ago when you had that outcry when people were asked to work a year longer. Well, I'm 80 and I'm still the same as when I was 22. I'm still curious to learn, and I don't believe in retirement. I want to die working." Keep on working and playing good golf, Gary. And if you're looking for a new challenge, the Guinness Book of World Records mark for ...

Poor Ernie Els. The four-time major champ used to be one of the best players in the world. Now, we're talking about the second video of him yipping a putt in the same month. Ouch. We feel bad for Ernie. This looks to be the full-blown yips. This video took place on Friday at the PGA Tour's CIMB Classic. And it might be even worse than the first -- as if that was possible. Just three years ago, Els was on top of the game again after winning the 2013 Open Championship. Ernie hasn't been known as a great putter in the last five to six years -- although he putted tremendously as an amateur. Has Els joined the likes of greats such as Ben Hogan and Sam Snead to have lost their putting strokes later in their career? Gosh, after watching these two videos , it's hard to convince yourself otherwise. We all hit bad putts, but these two are on another level. WATCH: GOLF DIGEST VIDEOS

Jordan Spieth was a surprise guest at Willow Springs Middle School in Allen, Texas, on Wednesday, where he spoke to the students and advised them to “say no” to drugs and other temptations.
 He was there at the invitation of his trainer Damon Goddard, whose wife Kristen is an administrator at the school. Goddard gave a speech on the importance of saying no to drugs, then introduce Spieth, who reinforced the importance of doing so. Following is the video: Here is a partial transcript: “Through middle school and high school there a lot of temptations,” Spieth said. “A lot of parties…a lot of stuff going on that you guys are going to if not have already experienced. “I had a lot of friends who kind of chose the wrong route. They’re still friends of mine to this day. It doesn’t change that at all. But they made the wrong decisions and were set back in life in what they really want to do and maybe aren’t able to accomplish their real goals and their real dreams. “For...

On Wednesday, we brought you the cutest golf Halloween costume idea of the year: Mini-Jordan Spieth and mini-Michael Greller: Awww. So adorable. But on Thursday, Barstool Sports passed along another cute golf costume involving a kid -- it's just a little more edgy. Meet mini-John Daly: We think we have a new winner of Halloween 2015. Look at the detail. All that's separating Long John from Little John is a bottle of Diet Coke. You've got the Loudmouth pants. The free-flowing, golden mullet. The tiny driver. The cigarette dangling from his mouth! OK, so we hope that last part is fake. We also appreciate the dad getting involved by being his caddie, but we think we could have figured out who his kid was without him. WATCH: GOLF DIGEST VIDEOS

Shooting an opening-round 80 -- after flying all the way to Malaysia for the PGA Tour's CIMB Classic? That's not fun. Shooting hotel-room shampoo bottles and water bottles in your room? That sounds fun. PGA Tour pro John Peterson gave us this hilarious video after his first round at the CIMB Classic. This is one way to use a bidet, which we're assuming is what Peterson meant when he artfully said he used a "butt cleaner" for his bathroom target practice. Take a look: The glamorous life of a PGA Tour pro. RELATED: Our Think Young, Play Hard profile with John Peterson. As you can tell from his comment, the Louisiana native Peterson is a huge hunter. Check out his Instagram for a taste of his game. Sounds like he's been working on his hunting skills over his golf game. And it's paying off -- at least, in his hotel-room hunting games. Plus, it gives us an excuse to link to this clip from "Get Him to the Greek" -- so that's awesome. Thanks, J-Pet...

On this date 28 years ago, the first round of the inaugural Tour Championship, then called the Nabisco Championships of Golf, was held at Oak Hills C.C. in San Antonio. When it ended a few days later, the event was notable for being the first end-of-the-year event of its kind and for the winner, Tom Watson (shown below), who hadn’t been victorious on the PGA Tour since 1984. Winning the first playing of any tour event is a unique milestone, and Watson has done it at least twice if you include present tour events along with the defunct Seiko Tucson Match Play Championship, first held in 1984. A complete account of what player in PGA Tour history has won the most tournament inaugural events would be difficult to achieve; dozens of tour events have gone by the wayside. But there are a substantial number of tour events from decades ago still on the schedule, and we can tabulate an honor roll of players who won inaugural events the most times. By doing so, we can still appreciate the grea...

The next time you’re lamenting a bad day of golf, consider the plight of an unidentified man, who had what he calls “the worst golf experience ever.” Assuming he’s telling the truth, few would argue otherwise. Ninth green at Hansen Dam Golf Course (Google Maps) It occurred at Hansen Dam Golf Course in Pacoima, Calif., a Los Angeles City course. Here is his Reddit post about his experience (we’ve broken it into paragraphs to make it easier to digest): "I can't believe this actually happened. Last Saturday [Oct. 17] my buddy and I played at Hansen Dam golf course, a Los Angeles Muni. It's in a bit of a sketchy neighborhood but I've never had any problems before. "I parked the cart on the path near the 9th hole (which happens to be next to the parking lot and driveway) to putt and when I got back it was gone. The green is next to the cart path but no of us noticed it being driven off. The bastards got away, down the driveway and into the neighborhood. Some...

OK, Mark O’Meara finally was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame this year, better late than never. But naming a street after him, isn’t that a road too far? The city council in Mission Viejo, Calif., thought so. It voted, 4-1, against changing Country Club Drive, the road on which Mission Viejo Country Club is located, to Mark O’Meara Drive. O’Meara, winner of the Masters and British Open in 1998, grew up close to the club and learned to play there. Members at Mission Viejo CC, where there is a Mark O’Meara Lounge and Sports Bar, were in favor of changing the name of the road to pay homage to their favorite son, according to the Orange County Register . But residents of the area were opposed. “About 20 residents who live near Country Club Drive came to the council meeting to voice their opposition,” Tomoya Shimura reported. “They said they were frustrated that the city didn’t notify them of the proposal; instead they learned about it from an article in Mondayâ€...

"The Legend of Bagger Vance" seemingly had all the ingredients for a successful union. A big budget, Robert Redford on directing duties and a cast featuring Matt Damon, Will Smith and Charlize Theron, yet it tanked at the box office. But not all films to feature the graceful art of golf have been decried as "excruciatingly boring," by the New York Times. Who can forget Kevin Costner at the peak of his powers in the 1996 smash "Tin Cup," the most successful golf film of all time in terms of box office takings? Slapstick and silliness are the order of the day in the legendary "Caddyshack," from 1980, that sends up the stuffiness of some golf clubs and stars Bill Murray and Chevy Chase. Similarly, Adam Sandler's turn as "Happy Gilmore" in 1996, saw a hothead, foul-mouth ice hockey failure ruffle all sorts of feathers in the restrained and modest world of golf. But who came out on top? In reverse order.... 5. PAT AND MIKE (1952) A golf ...

Golf, it's often said, is a lifetime sport. And now two of our favorite celebrity golfers, Derek Jeter and Hannah Davis, will have the rest of their lifetimes to enjoy playing the game with each other. On Wednesday, E! News confirmed the retired baseball star and the model are engaged. Congrats to the lovely couple! Jeter, who received a bunch of golf gifts during his Yankees sendoff tour in 2014, has long been a fan of the game. But he made the brilliant move of getting Davis, the cover girl of the 2015 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue into golf earlier this year . Hey, they need another shared activity other than attending galas. WATCH: GOLF DIGEST VIDEOS

For a long time now, golf’s been obsessed with youth movements. Arnold Palmer was part of the first one, back in 1960, when Sports Illustrated on its cover declared him â€" along with Dow Finsterwald and Ken Venturi â€" one of golf’s “young lions.” Palmer was 30, as was Finsterwald (Venturi was 29), youngish for top golfers then. Several projections of domination by new waves of 20-somethings have followed, none of which came to true fruition. Some hitched their wagons to a virtuoso who had picked off a fistful of majors by age 25 â€" like Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. But one golfer does not a youth movement make. It’s why I remained a youth movement skeptic, even as touring pro’s prime years have begun to start earlier. For every Rory and Rickie and Dustin there were a counterbalancing Phil, Furyk and Zach. And at least in 2013, a certain Player-of-the-Year named Woods. As Johnny Miller, who had 18 victories in his twenties (as did Tom Watso...

Frank Hannigan's singular intellect was a force of nature in golf over his 82 years of argumentative rigor that ended quietly in Saugerties, N.Y., on March 22. His withering opinions and persuasive writings influenced generations of golf administrators and people who have a passion for the game. His most famous accomplishment was bringing the U.S. Open back to Shinnecock in 1986, but that understates the way he left the game shaken, stirred and better off. Like his predecessor, Joseph C. Dey Jr., who came to run the United States Golf Association after a brief career as a sportswriter, Hannigan was a golf columnist for the Staten Island Advance before joining the Governing Body as public-information manager in 1961 and eventually rising to become its senior executive director, 1983-'89. He arrived on the national scene at the same time as Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, so it's not an exaggeration to say that his fingerprints and prejudices were visible on every major issu...

Like the great UGA run of 2013-14, apparently, being a 23-year-old rookie guarantees success on the PGA Tour this season. Smylie Kaufman followed the lead set by Emiliano Grillo, and now we're left searching media guides to figure out which other tour first-timers are that magic age. Unfortunately, at this week's CIMB Classic, there are no rookies in the limited field, but hold onto that research for future weeks. Here's who I'm taking on my PGA Tour Fantasy Golf squad in Malaysia: Related: Sign up for PGA Tour Fantasy Golf Driven By Avis Ryan Moore: The unofficial Mayor of Malaysia has won this event EVERY time it's counted as an official PGA Tour event. OK, so that's just the past two years, but still, those two victories account for half of his career PGA Tour titles. I'm sure there are reasons not to pick Mr. Moore, but it's the fall season, so I'm not going to overthink it. Kevin Na: The easy leader in scoring for the PGA Tour's fantasy...

"The Legend of Bagger Vance" seemingly had all the ingredients for a successful union. A big budget, Robert Redford on directing duties and a cast featuring Matt Damon, Will Smith and Charlize Theron, yet it tanked at the box office. But not all films to feature the graceful art of golf have been decried as "excruciatingly boring," by the New York Times. Who can forget Kevin Costner at the peak of his powers in the 1996 smash "Tin Cup," the most successful golf film of all time in terms of box office takings? Slapstick and silliness are the order of the day in the legendary "Caddyshack," from 1980, that sends up the stuffiness of some golf clubs and stars Bill Murray and Chevy Chase. Similarly, Adam Sandler's turn as "Happy Gilmore" in 1996, saw a hothead, foul-mouth ice hockey failure ruffle all sorts of feathers in the restrained and modest world of golf. But who came out on top? In reverse order.... 5. PAT AND MIKE (1952) A golf ...

We're not sure how we missed this one, but the golf announcing stars aligned this weekend -- at a college football game. In a strange twist, both Jim Nantz and Dan Hicks have daughters who attend USC, and with both having Saturday off, the two biggest play-by-play guys in golf ran into each other while watching the Trojans take on Utah. Hicks went with a USC shirt AND hat. That's a lot of school spirit, especially for someone who attended Pac-12 rival Arizona. Dan and his wife, Hannah Storm, made the trip for parents weekend: And what a weekend it was. In addition to the Trojans upsetting the Utes, Hicks was very pleased with the other entertainment the school provided: WATCH: GOLF DIGEST VIDEOS

The idea of energy-return cushioning has proven effective in running shoes with the success of the Hoka One shoes and other similar entries. This concept is finding its way into golf with this year’s AdiPower Boost shoes from Adidas, and now Puma is getting into the cushioning game with its new TitanTour Ignite shoe, which the company unveiled Tuesday. The TitanTour Ignite uses a liquid polyurethane blend during the manufacturing process to form a cushioned midsole between the outsole and your foot. Puma’s head of golf footwear Grant Knudson describes the material as having “providing unparalleled support and cushioning.” "[The Ignite foam system] provides virtually unlimited design freedom in terms of shape, color and texture," Knudson said. "This allows us to utilize the correct amount of foam, as well as position it exactly where needed to provide golfers with the perfect blend of cushion and performance." Knudson says Puma noticed substantial performance...

To say the Anaheim Ducks are in an offensive drought is like mentioning Volkswagen and the EPA aren't on the best of terms . The Ducks, picked by most to win the Stanley Cup this season, are off to a 1-5-2 start, and have been shut out in five of those eight contests. How bad is Anaheim's scoring? Three NHL players have scored more goals than the entire Ducks team . Luckily, words of hope have emerged for the Ducks...from a golf course. Retired star Teemu Selanne, who won a championship with the Ducks in 2007, offered advice to his old club during a recent round: "You look at the target, you go, you shoot, you score." That's some Ty Webb-esque wisdom . This isn't the first time Selanne has filmed himself on the fairways. In 2013, the one they call the Finnish Flash announced he was coming back for his 21st NFL season from a golf course , facetiously bemoaning that golf was too hard and that hockey was easier. Basically, dude is the bizarro Happy Gilmore. WAT...

There’s plenty to love about spreading the gospel of golf internationally. That is, unless you’re a professional golfer traveling this week to Kuala Lumpur, Turkey or China. In a nutshell: PGA Tour golfers going to Malaysia have been warned to not drink the water and or breathe too deep. European Tour players in the Turkish Airlines Open are in the same country raising the ire of a U.S-led coalition battling radicals in Syria, adding more tension to what was already the nerve center of world strife. And for good measure, the LPGA’s finest may have it best in China, where the Communist Party banned golf memberships last week and pretty much implies it’s a crime to play. But hey, FedExCup, Race To Dubai and CME Globe points are on the line, so what’s a little risk? Typhoid, Schmyphoid The PGA Tour issued a warning to their players heading to the co-sanctioned CIMB Classic , advising those with pulmonary or cardiac issues and an aversion to typhoid that it may be a long week at ...

When it comes to parting presents, it's hard to top Speaker of the House John Boehner's bag swag. In his last week before retirement, the 65-year-old politician was bestowed a bounty of golf gifts from his fellow Republicans, including a new set of clubs, a bag and his own golf cart. That's right, his OWN golf cart: Boehner is an avid golfer, and one of Washington's best. Despite an unconventional approach -- Boehner swings from the right, but putts from the left -- Golf Digest's Top Political Golfers list had the Ohio Representative at a 7.9 handicap. Armed with new equipment, accessories and more free time, expect that number to go down. By the way, if that's the goodbye offertory associated with the Speaker of the House gig, let this be my formal announcement for candidacy for the vacated spot. Here's my resume: I don't know how to balance a budget, my attempts at humor are misguided and offensive, I'm terrible at conflict resolution and I piss ...

On the white board hanging on the wall outside Golf Channel president Mike McCarley’s Orlando office is a ton of facts about the importance of a 21-week stretch in 2016. It’s a crucial time for the only television network dedicated to golf, from the Players in May through the Ryder Cup in October, bookending men’s and women’s NCAAs, the British Open, the Olympic Games and the FedEx Cup playoffs. More than ever, television is how most fans experience tournament golf, and the new seasonâ€"which began with the wraparound PGA Tour schedule this monthâ€"signals significant changes for Comcast-owned NBC/Golf Channel and CBS, the two dominant broadcast forces in the game. First off, the game’s oldest tournament, the Open Championship, moves from ESPN to NBC/GC. Along with that, David Feherty ended 19 years at CBS, landing at NBC/GC, with Dottie Pepper hired to replace him. She’ll maintain her analyst role at ESPN, working 35 days for ESPN and 20 tournaments for CBS, most...

Instead, think car boots, plastic buckets, plant pots and brass gorillas. The third edition of the European Urban Golf Cup (EUGC) took place in May this year and it saw a new breed of golfers pitch and putt their way across a bizarre set of obstacles throughout east London. "50% of players play urban golf for fun and the other part play for competition," EUGC co-founder David Lardier told CNN at Stratford's Olympic Park, which served as an impressive backdrop for the 120 participants vying for the much-coveted winner's trophy. "It's normal that there is a competitive spirit because it's a cup and there is a winner, but firstly it's very convivial and there is a friendly spirit." While some golfers are known for their own individual fashion senses -- Ian Poulter and his loud clothing, for example -- Lardier wanted to give his tournament its own unique touch. Each player was given a t-shirt that bore the words "God save the Queen," a re...