By Phil Kosin in Golf business, PGA Tour, PGA of America, Ryder Cup on August 18 2008
 I recently wrote a blog about PGA Tour player Hunter Mahan’s claim — among other things — that the players soon might boycott the Ryder Cup if they don’t get paid because they’re professionals.
That elicited the following comment from reader Jay S., who wrote:
I totally agree with Hunter. These guys are profesionals not amateurs. They should be paid. It ’s the Ryder Cup not the Walker cup. And the Ryder cup has become a business on a much grander scale than ever before. Tour players spoiled? Of course they are. The PGA Tour has made them that way. Not so long ago they were playing for $80,000 for 1st place. Now they’re playing for close to 1 million or more. The PGA Tour has sold out big time to corporate sponsors to make this big money. For example, remember the LA Open? Now it’s the Nissan Open. I think Hunter was just saying that it’s moved away from a fun competition to more of a big business which is true. So come on , get real. Don’t say this is ranting & raving by Hunter just to make good copy…… Read More…
By Phil Kosin in Golf architecture, Great stuff, Great thoughts, Kosin being Kosin, Of Courses on August 13 2008
Ever wonder how the Golf Club Illinois ended up with a 678-yard par-5 that plays into the prevailing wind?
(This is another one of those 10,000 fascinating stories stored between my ears whose telling-time has arrived.)
For many years, the monster par-5 was hole No. 15 along the northern boundary of the course, known as “Grant’s March” in honor of the Civil War general and U. S. President who once lived in far northwest Galena. Illinois. Most of the original GCI holes were named in the true Scottish style, a contrivance that, based on the current GCI scorecard, apparently did not survive through multiple sets of owners that included Skokie Federal Savings and Loan, Perry Dye and legendary Las Vegas gambler Billy Walters. Read More…
By Phil Kosin in Golf business, LPGA Tour, TV golf on August 13 2008
 Got an extra $4 million in serious gambling money lying around?
That happens to be the asking price the LPGA is putting on an umbrella sponsorship for a made-for-TV, eight-tournament series it would like to position on U.S. network television starting in 2010.
Each of the eight events carries an approximate $1.7 million price tag for TV time and production, plus purse monies and other normal expenses. Sponsors of each of the tournaments would contribute an additional $1.2 million and the other $500,000 would come from the series sponsor ($4 million). Read More…
By Phil Kosin in The Typing Trade on August 11 2008
Facing the financially-troubled Tribune Co. cutting 80 to 100 newsroom staff jobs by the end of this month, after much thought golf writer Ed Sherman opted to take the Tribune’s buyout offer. According to the Tribune, Sherman’s last day was Friday.
Sherman took over from Reid Hanley the Tribune golf beat in early 1997, just before Tiger Woods’ runaway Masters victory. Sherman’s replacement is said to be Teddy Greenstein, who will serve both as Sports Media reporter and golf writer.
Ed’s last entry to his online “Bunker Mentality” blog came last July 8.
The job cuts are part of a company-wide bloodletting, with some 150-200 of 570 editorial positions at the Chicago Tribune being eliminated. Read More…
By Phil Kosin in Chicagoland Golf Radio Show on August 8 2008
 August 9
Billy Rosinia, Flagg Creek pro just back from U.S. Senior Open
Mike Kern, Philadelphia Daily News from Oakland Hills
August 16
Rees Jones, evaluating Oakland Hills changes post-PGA
TBA
TBA
Call-in number: 312-644-6767
The Chicagoland Golf Radio Show is heard in 38 states and four Canadian provinces on CBS Radio 50,000-watt clear channel WSCR TheScore 670 AM. You can listen live at www.670thescore.com or listen to a podcast here.
By Phil Kosin in Great thoughts, PGA Championship, Ryder Cup on August 8 2008
From Publisher’s Message, August 2008 print edition:
Have fun gorging on nearly 30 hours of coverage of the PGA from Oakland Hills. Since TW ain’t playing. I’ve decided a European will probably win. I’ll pick Ian Poulter, just a hunch. Sergio and Vijay will get chewed up and spit out by Oakland Hills’ greens. I like Padraig Harrington, but he may not have yet fully recovered from his win at Birkdale, and we never know which Phil or Ernie will show up. Jim Furyk is another good choice. So is Geoff Ogilvy.
Just wanted to make sure my picks were recorded here. As most of you know, I always have picked Tiger Woods to win any major when he’s healthy conscious and on the premises.
Read More…
By Phil Kosin in Golf is a Circus, Kosin being Kosin, PGA of America, Ryder Cup on August 8 2008
Most of us on this side of the pond didn’t place much stock in the selfish rant by Hunter Mahan as transcribed by Golf magazine last week. After all, Mahan is not at the top of anybody’s list of go-to sources – but we all know controversy from any quarter usually gets front page, above-the-fold treatment.
Here are those comments, and please note: Mahan has never played in a Ryder Cup, so all of his comments are based on hearsay:
“Phil Mickelson and Tiger — their time is worth money. And for the PGA of America, the Ryder Cup is a moneymaker like no other. They don’t have to pay anything. I think when [Mark] O’Meara said players should get paid for it or some of the money given to their charities, I think [he said that] because the PGA takes so much out of the event that the players don’t really get anything. Is it an honor to play? Yes, it is. But their time is valuable. This is a business.
Read More…
By Phil Kosin in Chicagoland Golf Radio Show on July 31 2008
August 2
Aimee Neff, Illinois Women’s Open champion
Joe Emerich, Illinois Open champion
Jack Berry, Chicagoland Golf columnist previewing next week’s PGA Championship in his hometown
August 16
Rees Jones, golf architect aka “The Open Doctor”
Call-in number: 312-644-6767
The Chicagoland Golf Radio Show is heard in 38 states and four Canadian provinces on CBS Radio 50,000-watt clear channel WSCR TheScore 670 AM. You can listen live at www.670thescore.com or listen to a podcast here.
By Phil Kosin in Local golf on July 30 2008
Received July 29, 2008
Hello Phil,
As a passionate fan of Moe Norman, I enjoyed your dialogue with Lori Gertz from Natural Golf (here, here and here). She is a publicist for the current owner as I have dealt with her on numerous occasions.
My name is Todd Graves also known as “Little Moe”, a professional golfer nicknamed for my likeness to Moe Norman’s golf swing. I met Moe Norman in 1994 and he became a friend and companion. I got to know him and his golf swing before he died.
I have recently been appointed by Barry Morrow (Oscar winner for “Rainman”) as the technical director for “Dance The Green”, (the Moe Norman Movie.) Read More…
By Phil Kosin in Great thoughts, Kosin being Kosin on July 29 2008
 I think most of us are at the age where we suffer from little aches and pains, worse on some days, easy to ignore on others.
It is our generation that has zoomed Alleve and Advil to the top of the charts and into nearly every golf bag in the country.
Having played a variety of sports including college football, and in my 50s, I have not only my share of nagging reminders from those days, but vivid memories of some of the injuries I suffered. Sprained wrists and ankles, twisted knees, broken ribs, dislocated toes, a femoral stress fracture, pinched nerves, broken and dislocated fingers (16-inch softball and boxing). And how long it took to recover, despite following the implicit instructions from some of the best athletic trainers in the business, and that includes my friends who served in that capacity on the Chicago sports teams I covered and were kind enough to volunteer their help. Read More…
By Phil Kosin in Great thoughts, Kosin being Kosin, LPGA Tour, Michelle Wie, PGA Tour, TV golf, Tiger Woods on July 28 2008
If you listen to the suits from the PGA Tour — aka The Boys from Ponte Vedra Beach — everything that has anything to do with professional touring golf is just hunky-dory right now, thank you. In fact, it’s not hard to find their quotes saying the PGA Tour is about to rise to the next platform… er, level.
I can tell you they’re not happy when critics evaluate what’s really going on and come up with the conclusion that the PGA Tour is in trouble. My best guess is that some of the PGAT suits are believing the stuff they’re shoveling to sponsors, that everything will be just dandy just as soon as Tiger Woods returns.
Everything won’t be dandy when Tiger Woods returns. Because that doesn’t solve the growing dilemma of how to keep title sponsors happy when the world’s number one player – the Tour’s One Man Show — never plays in their events. Read More…
By Phil Kosin in Chicagoland Golf Radio Show on July 23 2008
July 26
Bob Verdi, senior writer, Golf World & Golf Digest
Barney Adams, Founder and Main Man, Adams Golf
Mike Miller, Illinois PGA executive director in advance of next week’s Illinois Open
Call-in number: 312-644-6767
The Chicagoland Golf Radio Show is heard in 38 states and four Canadian provinces on CBS Radio 50,000-watt clear channel WSCR TheScore 670 AM. You can listen live at www.670thescore.com or listen to a podcast here.
By Phil Kosin in Golf business, Great thoughts on July 20 2008
Ya gotta figure Padraig Harrington’s successful title defense at Royal Birkdale will give a boost to Chicago-based Wilson Golf. Harrington has been using its equipment and wearing its logos since 1998, one of the few tour players on Wilson’s pad – and certainly the most prominent.
One of the marquee-name players sponsored by Wilson was John Daly, and that association ended early thanks to Daly’s antics. But that was a long time ago, in the days when Wilson was using golf’s bad-boy to push its ill-fated Whale Driver and Ultra [rock-hard] golf balls in the early-to-mid-1990s. Unloading Daly’s contract was one of the first orders of business when Jim Baugh, the genius behind Wilson’s tennis success, was moved over to resuscitate the dying golf division. Baugh next changed the philosophy of the company to creating game-improvement equipment for the average player, but not at the expense of Wilson’s successful line of equipment [i.e., Staff forged blades] for highly-skilled players.
Wilson then signed Vijay Singh, but that association wasn’t as productive as Wilson had hoped, and here’s why:
Read More…
By Phil Kosin in Great thoughts, Open Championship, Royal & Ancient, Tiger Woods on July 20 2008
 Even without the world’s number one player in the field, the Open Championship turned out to be, as proper Englishmen like to say, a “jolly good show”.
But it took a matrimonially-rejuvenated 53-year-old warhorse on unsteady legs and a tough-as-nails Irishman who played with a wrist that could hit only two shots during Wednesday’s half-hole practice round to make it happen.
Doesn’t say much for the rest of the international field, does it?
Maybe the key to the stellar performances turned in by both Padraig Harrington and Greg Norman was the near absence of pressure. Neither one of them walked to the first tee Thursday morning figuring to be around for the weekend, let alone playing together in the final group on Sunday. Norman was at complete mental ease in the middle of his honeymoon after recently marrying America’s tennis sweetheart, Chris Evert.
Harrington’s wrist was so bad Wednesday night he flirted with the idea of withdrawing — he said the only reason he did not pull the hook was because he wanted to defend his title. Read More…
By Phil Kosin in Chicagoland Golf Radio Show on July 18 2008
July 19
Jim Litke, national columnist for The Associated Press, live from Open Championship at Royal Birkdale
Brent Wadsworth, Wadsworth Co, Golf Course Construction King who built over 500 courses
July 26
Barney Adams, Founder and Main Man, Adams Golf
Call-in number: 312-644-6767
The Chicagoland Golf Radio Show is heard in 38 states and four Canadian provinces on CBS Radio 50,000-watt clear channel WSCR TheScore 670 AM. You can listen live at www.670thescore.com or listen to a podcast here.
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