Golf Digest has announced that Tiger Woods' series of instructional articles in their publication will cease during his indefinite leave for golf.
"Golf Digest has had a long-standing relationship with Tiger Woods to provide instruction articles for the magazine, and we do not have any plans to change that," the magazine said in a statement. "We respect Tiger's decision to take a break from professional golf and focus on his family; Tiger's bylined instruction articles will not be published in Golf Digest during his time away from the game."
However, Tiger is pictured on the January 2010 issue's cover. In that issue, Golf Digest published a feature article titled "10 Tips Obama Can Take from Tiger," which was released prior to Tiger's traffic incident after Thanksgiving.
For this edition of "Read It?" I wanted to talk about a section in the November '09 Golf Digest. GD has published the second annual "Green Star Awards" to celebrate the accomplishments of golf resorts that have made extraordinary efforts to protect the environment.
In addition to listing the courses that received this year's awards, Golf Digest also published several articles related to golf and environmental protection.
The links between golf and the environment, as Golf Digest notes, are obvious. For one, a vast majority of those who spend their days on the links have a love of nature and the outdoors. On the other hand, the pesticides and immense amount of water used in maintaining our courses poses a severe environmental risk.
My favorite piece in this section was Roger Schiffman's interview of Thomas Friedman (
The World is Flat),
a well-known NYT columnist. Apparently, Friedman is an avid golfer who has several ideas on how golfers and courses can take responsibility for the environment.
Friedman urges the golf community to unite in order to establish norms governing the environmental responsibilities of players and courses. He explains, "Everyone needs to get together and say: 'Our objective is to preserve and enhance the game and the planet on which it's played. To make golf a leader in greening the world."
For Friedman, golf courses should post a rating of their carbon footprint next to slope and course ratings.
I am introducing a new ZealousGolfer.com feature covering some of the stories that appear in golf's major publications.
This month, Golf Digest released an exclusive interview with Open Championship runner-up Tom Watson. Watson discussed the details of his rise and fall at Turnberry during the 2009 British Open.
For example, Watson was asked what shot he would most like to do-over from the tournament? His response:
"I'd probably hit the 8-iron easier to the 72nd. I had 170 yards to the front, 164 to the right front, where you didn't want to go because the green runs to the right. So I hit it at the flag. [...] You'd think I could stop it, but that crest was probably the driest part of the green."
The rest of the interview is available in the October 2009 edition of Golf Digest.
If you are thinking about a golf trip to the UK, make sure to click
Travel Guide - Scotland. This article provides a wealth of information about Scotland's best hotels for golfers.
To read more about Stewart Cink's victory over the 59 year old golf legend,
here is our article from the ZealousGolfer.com vault.
Anyone who has read an issue of Golf Digest over the past two years is probably aware of the "US Open Challenge." In 2007, Tiger Woods claimed that a 10 handicap would not break 100 if they were to play Oakmont Country Club under the USGA's conditions.
The result? Golf Digest has tested Tiger's hypothesis by taking three celebrities/golfers and pairing them with an average Joe, selected by an application process.
This year's group consists of basketball phenomenon Michael Jordan, two-time Super Bowl winner and Pittsburgh Steeler Ben Roethlisberger, pop music star Justin Timberlake, and Larry Giebelhausen. Larry is a police officer, and he will be put to the test to see if he can beat 100 at Bethpage Black.
The foursome hit the links this morning, and they are still on the course.
Golf Digest has been publishing hole-by-hole updates on
their website as well as
Twitter.
By 12:10 PM EST, the players finished the first four holes. Timberlake is +3, Roethlisberger is +4, Jordan is +8, and Giebelhausen is +11.
This morning, Twitter informed me that Golf Digest had posted a "short list" of players who have a shot at winning the U.S. Open at Bethpage Black. The article is available here.
Their list:
*Tiger Woods
*Paul Casey
*Henrik Stenson
*Jim Furyk
*Ernie Els
*Kenny Perry
*Phil Mickelson
*Geoff Ogilvy
Though I concur with the magazine on many of the picks (especially Jim Furyk and Geoff Ogilvy), I think GD's hypothesis that the list of potential winners is that short is a little off.
In my opinion, the lack of Padraig Harrington on this list is a bit troublesome. Come on! He won two major championships last season, and he played pretty strong golf at Augusta National. He certainly can handle pressure, and I wouldn't be surprised if he scales the leaderboard.
On the other hand, I couldn't foresee a strong U.S. Open for Ernie Els. His putter has been cold all season, and his length won't help him too much at this tournament due to the sheer length of Bethpage Black. He also missed the cut at the Masters this year. The Big Easy will not be in contention.
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo led a group of amateurs yesterday in a celebrity packed foursome.
Playing in NBC and Golf Digest's U.S. Open Amateur Challenge, Romo fired a stellar 84 under "tournament conditions." Romo, who failed to qualify for the actual tournament, led the group on the 7,600 yard course.
While it will not match the spectacular scores that will inevitably be put up next weekend, Romo certainly accomplished his goal: to break 100. As written on the blog previously, the point of this event was to test Tiger Woods' claim that no 10 handicap could break 100 on the course the pros played at Oakmont last year.
On the other hand, Romo still isn't a 10 handicap. Romo, in fact, plays to a 2.2 under the American system.
More surprisingly, singer Justin Timberlake also was able to break 100. The Associated Press so beautifully noted, "Timberlake, outfitted in a dashing black trilby hat and tuxedo-stripe pants, started hamming it up with the gallery once his taut dancer's swing started to go south, blowing on the ball as it rimmed the seventh hole without any luck and asking the crowd to approve his drop into the rough at the edge of the fairway." He was able to sign for a 98 at the end of the day.
"The Today Show's" Matt Lauer limped in to a 100. Though, the star of the group, Omaha's John Atkinson was unable to beat Tiger's expectation, posting a 114. However, Atkinson, playing while facing inoperable lung cancer, was glad to have the experience and enjoyed the round thoroughly.
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