Tom Brokaw On The Masters: Race Matters

First, the good news. The bad news can wait...
You can pick up the unassuming-looking April issue of Golf Digest now on newsstands and read how veteran newscaster Tom Brokaw did his journalistic duty to enlighten humanity, and may have squandered his opportunity for "honorary guest" status at Augusta National Golf Club at the same time.



Golf Digest invited Brokaw along as a "guest" at last year's Masters Tournament and the magazine prints his open letter to Augusta Chairman Billy Payne in its (thin) Masters preview. While making it ultimately clear how much he'd relish returning to Augusta National if invited back, Brokaw compares the exclusive club in northeast Georgia to a "pop-up principality" where the outside world's current customs don't apply.

Brokaw made it a point to get acquainted with some of the few black patrons you'll see at the Masters, and came away with this impression: "(They're) disappointed there are not more blacks in professional golf."



He also writes a gripping depiction of a 6-year-old black boy, Carrington Osborne, and his father, Marvin, from Chattanooga, watching Tiger Woods tee off on the first tee on Sunday with a reverence usually reserved for church.



Brokaw's "First Impressions" essay likely won't change a thing about the "pace of play" at Augusta National, but it was encouraging to have a brighter light shed on "Amen Corner" just the same...

...And now, the bad news: Any fans of Travel + Leisure Golf magazine out there need to find some other golf news source to subscribe to. News just broke that T+L Golf is folding under economic pressure. Ironically, the cover feature for its final issue was titled "The 18 essential experiences of the fully realized golf life". Apparently, remaining viable in a troubled marketplace wasn't one of them.






Photo: jeff panis

Ezekiel 25:17

"And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them."
(King James Version)

Here's hoping Tiger Woods gets a chance to tear Phil Mickelson a new one this week at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship.



After all the build-up _ all the World's No. 1's time away from the game, all the Jerry Clooney-like hype surrounding Leftie _ I'm aching for a weekend on the couch, and a "Say What Again" performance from Woods at Phil's expense.

(By the way, if anyone has that NC-17 version of Sam Jackson's Golf Channel intro for Tiger's return to play, please share. That (bleep's) priceless.)

The showdown could happen on Saturday, if Woods emerges victorious from the 16-man Jones Division field and if Phil makes his way through the Hogan quadrant of the Field of 64 bracket.

You just know the networks are salivating over Tiger's return; whether he winds up facing Phil, or lasting through the five-round tourney, or not.



The stakes are so great that Nike's golf web site made a fuss of alerting the media in detail about Tiger's wardrobe for the weekend.

Do you think too much is being made about Tiger's return to competitive play? Or are you as geeked about the great one's comeback from injury as WE are?

Can Charles Barkley's Swing Be Saved?

Maybe Charles Barkley deserves DUI suspicion every time he gets behind the wheel of a golf cart, ot to speak of his now infamous Infiniti SUV.


VIDEO: YOUTUBE

How else to explain a golf swing so ugly that Golf Digest magazine is devoting a six-page, March '09 cover story to it, and The Golf Channel is launching an entire "reality" series showing a vain attempt by the game's top swing coach to perform a miracle makeover with Sir Charles.



"The Haney Project" premieres March 2, and promises to be funnier than Chris Rock in concert. In it, Barkely _ who took a furlough from his gig as an NBA studio analyst for TNT after his New Year's Eve '08 DUI arrest in Arizona _ submits himself to the humiliation we've all felt at some time. Hank Haney plays Dean Martin to Barkley's Jerry Lewis.

The series shows how the Round Mound of Rebound is more likely to punish one of his Nike Sasquatch (to the point of shattering one) than he is the One ball. Regardless of whether Haney succeeds in fixing the impossibly bad swing, it's a reminder to the rest of us to get our kids involved in the First Tee program
with the quickness.
http://www.thegolfchannel.com/core.aspx?page=22353&select2=11422

Tiger Woods' Baby Boy Greets the World

Meet the luckiest baby boy on the planet...

He's Charlie Axel Woods, the first-born son of golf's all-time greatest player, Tiger Woods.

This newborn isn't just blessed because his daddy's ridiculously rich and famous and his mama, the former model Elin Nordegren, is really really good-lookin'.

It's because Woods' young son will no doubt receive as rigorously disciplined, thoughtful and nurturing an upbringing as any child can ever know. After all, who's had a better example of what it takes to successfully raise a son than Tiger, who was cultivated legendarily by his late father, Earl.

Of course, the international media has gone ga-ga goo-goo over the child ever since Woods' officially released family photos (including 20-month-old daughter Sam) this week.

The only downside to being Tiger Woods' son, of course, could be the impossibly high expectations the world might callously place on him to meet or (heaven forbid) exceed the heroic heights his father is achieving. That's nonsense that the Woods family will relentlessly strive to shield Charlie from.

Still, there's no harm in having fun with this guessing game: What nickname will Little Mr. Woods carry with him through life?

Since Tiger's got a wry sense of humor, and the infant shows whisps of reddish-brown hair, I nominate the nickname "Chuckie". Can you come up with one better? If so, comment below

Photo: Getty Images

Feds: 'Jim Thorpe Whiffed on Taxes'

Troubling news from reliable golf sources...



The IRS is after black golf pioneer and successful Champions tour player Jim Thorpe for tax evasion.
It's ironic how this news broke so soon after the premiere of The Golf Channel documentary, "Uneven Fairways". In it, Thorpe spoke openly his days spent so dirt poor that he risked scorn (if not worse) by betting on pick-up games he didn't have a dime to back up.
Thorpe is yet another heroic figure who might ultimately be laid low by the tax man's mighty rake.
Let's hope he escapes this hazard with his dignity intact.
Photo: YAHOO.COM

Joltin' Joe's Mightiest Blow?

Does anyone have a fast and reliable way to contact Joe Louis Barrow?



Since it's Black History Month, any respectable media entity that can is paying homage to the roots _ deeper than anyone grasps _ black men have to the game of golf. So, Barrow's father, the great boxing champion, Joe Louis, figures prominently in the conversation. (The Golf Channel and even majorleaguejerk.com score well in noting this.) Now's a good time to cull Barrow's brain; put the past, present and future of the game in perspective.

Besides smashing the Germans' last vain claims of Darwinian superiority over all other humans by crushing Max Schmelling in the boxing ring in the late 1940s, "The Fist" also broke down a major PGA barrier for all that followed him.

It was in 1952, at the San Diego Open. I won't bore you with all the details here. Just read up on it at your leisure. It'll put your next round into perspective...
Photo: Joe Louis on the links/majorleaguejerk.com

Need A Job? The PGA's Hiring...

Some of the coolest cats I know are caddies...

And in this economy, as time goes by, their career choice seems more and more appealing.
Any man searching for honest work, or key opportunities, would relish the chance to walk with so-called "kings" of industry the way my boys Gato and Robert have on the regular at East Lake and the Piedmont Driving Club have.
Every hacker who combs the rough like I do for stray Titlelists and Bridgestones like I do to keep from buying them would relish something so simple as an unlimited supply of quality shag balls, if nothing else, as a perk of the job.
Nothing grabs my interest more on the PGA's official web site than the pronouncement that February's the main month to applying for jobs as golf course employees. What better workplace could someone like me want?
But it begs the question: would a white-collar professional in "transition" be truly gratified carrying someone else's bag?
If you're got an opinion, launch it here....

Photo: Golfilepics/FLICKR

Does Barack Obama Play Golf?

I'm frankly still feeling too wiped out from all the election hysteria that culminated two nights ago to go through Google to find out what else the President-elect and I might have in common; hobby-wise.


VIDEO: YOUTUBE

But I will; and if the golf industry sees any chance to make his connection to the game a win-win in terms of publicity, it'll soon be known anyway.

For some reason, I keep envisioning Barack and Tiger Woods in a dream pairing; playing privately at Woods' Isleworth compound. Imagine the conversation, the laughs, the bets, the precious pauses.

To lighten things up on this blog, for a change, let's focus on golf. Black men who play golf. How black men play golf differently, if at all. What draws more and more black men to the fairways?

More importantly: what's the best way to get more of our black children into the game? My son is 5, so I can't get him into the First Tee program for another two years. I've tried, without pushing, to get him used to swinging clubs. But it's hard to hold his attention for more than 20 minutes.

Any suggestions?