Atlanta hole-in-one witness tells all

Have you ever hit a hole-in-one?
If so, what's the story behind the shot?
The photo above is of one of my regular playing partners, Brent Dixon, after he aced the 168-yard third hole at the quirky Atlanta muni course, Candler Park.
The picture doesn't do the occasion justice. In fact, Dixon was so nonchalant about his feat that I had to coax him into posing for a shot AFTER we'd already teed off on the fourth hole.
(He did brim with glee, however, while phoning his father quickly and thanking him for introducing him to the game as a child.)
Kudos to Dixon, a gentleman on the course and a genteel admirer of the finer things in life off it.
If you've got a "first ace" story to relate, share it by clicking on the comment box below.
A. Scott Walton

Davis Rubs His Own Nose in PGA Rules

NO CRYING IN BASEBALL, NO FUDGING IN GOLF

By George Burnette
Fore!BlackGolfers Correspondent

A friend of mine introduced me to the game of golf. He hadn’t been playing long either. He told me he saw Calvin Peete on TV, read a “Snoopy” rules book, went and bought a starter set and headed over to Candler Park Golf Course in Atlanta, Georgia (Candler Park is the most municipal of our municpal golf courses here in Hotlanta). By the weekend duffer’s standards this friend would be considered naïve and stuffy; but only because the weekend duffer maintains a casual adherence to golf’s rules and etiquette whereas my friend enforced them with a Gestapo-like fervor. Such was my introduction to the game: and old habits die hard.

A few years ago I was watching a Tour event and saw Brian Davis, described here in an AP story, assessing one of the gnarliest lies you can imagine. As the camera zoomed in I saw him violate a very basic rule of golf concerning the movement of the ball. I don’t remember the exact situation but Brian got the Oscar for Best Golfer to pretend like he didn’t just cheat. There is no way he didn’t see what I saw. He suffered no repercussions other than this casual observer's disdain and disgust.

Brian had a similar experience - in a hazard - during a two-man sudden death playoff at Harbor Town this past Sunday. His club hit a reed in the hazard on his backswing. The TV cameras caught the violation. This time he called a penalty on himself and immediately conceded victory.

This series of events caused me to ask myself a few questions. Did Brian Davis come to the realization that if he chooses not to penalize himself the TV cameras may do it for him? Did he finally realize that if I saw the previous violation that I mentioned earlier millions of others could have too and that a repeat performance at Harbor Town would be cause for banishment? Will the tours around the world ask the networks to refrain from zooming in too close on shots so as to minimize controversy? Will instant replay ever play a role in golf?

A special thanks goes to Brian Davis for reaffirming my belief in the second chance.

Leave a COMMENT (below) to weigh in on Davis' dilemma.

Tiger Needs Earl In His Ear Right Now

By A. Scott Walton
If Earl Woods was among the living, his prodigal son Tiger might still be embroiled in this tragic "sex scandal" that won't go away.
The only difference: the 14-time Major tourney champ would have a paternal (not "enabling") presence he could trust wild boldly returning to modern sports' biggest stage.
Regardless of the original context in which the late elder Woods evoked the words, "I want to find out what your thinking was", and "Did you learn anything?", now looming in Nike Golf's new commercial, those words hover with more haunting earnestness than any shallow punditry rattling around ever since Tiger's PR tailspin started.
For all we know, it might not have been Madison Avenue masterminds who spearheaded the ads slated to run exclusively during the Masters. Maybe Tiger himself insisted that the next big product placement venture shouldn't be about "product" at all.
What better way to show true contrition than to stare down the scorning masses while the only voice of approval you've ever sought calls you to task?
And, whether he conceived the commercial or not, this much is certain: Tiger could have refused to appear in it.
If Nike stood by him throughout the debacle he admittedly caused, the sports giant surely would have obliged a snit-fit on the soundstage.
This commercial shows encouraging signs that Tiger hasn't been "Punk'd" by the ruin of his reputation. On the contrary: he's been "Scrooged".

All Eyes On Tiger ...

Woods meets the press on eve of Masters comback!
By A. Scott Walton
Throughout Masters Week, rely on Fore!BlackGolfers for a constant flow of updated news and commentary about Augusta National's major tournament. Here you can keep track of Tiger Woods' progress amid the media maelstrom, as well as his play, on a non-stop basis.
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