Golf News & Commentary
California
How to Grow the Game of Golf (includes images from the Farmers Insurance Open)
Story by Jeffrey A. Rendall, Photos by David Vier... LA JOLLA, CA – 28-year-old Scott Stallings’ clutch play during Sunday’s final round earned him a victory at the 2014 Farmers Insurance Open, sharing headlines with Tiger Woods’ shocking third round 79 (which led to missing his first career secondary cut) and...
Connecticut
Book Review: Sweetspot -- Confessions of a Golfaholic
By Jeffrey A. Rendall, Photos Courtesy of John O’Hern... WESTPORT, CT – Deep down inside many an avid golfer beats a heart of compulsion, a desire for perfection so intense that it can rarely be assuaged or satiated. For these folks, even when they’re playing well, they still believe they can...
Georgia
2006 Masters Preview – Newness Points to a Familiar Champion
2018 Masters: Not everyone really wants Tiger Woods to win the Masters
By Jeffrey A. Rendall, Photos from the Masters Facebook Page... AUGUSTA, GA -- I don’t get it.... Today marks the beginning of golf’s annual Masters Tournament (played at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia) and the media seems fixated on only one story – the “return” of Tiger Woods to playing...
GolfTheMidAtlantic.com’s 2005 Masters Preview – Funk and Strange Tout the Big Guns
By Jeffrey A. Rendall, Photos by David Vier... ... AUGUSTA, GA – You know spring’s finally here when you switch on the TV (to a golf related telecast) and see commercial ads for the upcoming Masters -- the acoustically pleasing Masters theme song accompanying the beautiful imagery of Augusta National’s par three...
Hawaii
2015 PGA Tour Predictions: Tiger, Phil, Rory and a new American star
By Jeffrey A. Rendall, Photos by David Vier... KAPALUA, MAUI, HI – The 2015 PGA Tour kicked off at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, played in the beautiful island paradise that is Maui, Hawaii, with 34 winners from last year teeing it up competing in what was traditionally seen as the...
Maryland
2004 Booz/Allen Classic Recap – Beginning of Something Great
By Jeffrey A. Rendall, Photos By Jeffrey A. Rendall... ... POTOMAC, MD – They said it was going to be different, and it was.... ... Starting with some sunny weather, there were many improvements at this year’s premier Washington DC area PGA Tour event, the inaugural Booz/Allen Classic. Whereas last year’s tournament was plagued...
Booz Allen Classic Preview – New Name, New Faces, New Attitude
By Jeffrey A. Rendall, Photos By Jeff Janas... ... POTOMAC, MD – For those familiar with the annual June PGA Tour event in the Washington DC area, you’ve probably noticed some changes occurring in the last couple years.... ... First off, the name’s different. Known as ‘The Kemper Open’ for a quarter-century, last year...
Congressional Country Club’s Blue Course and the Booz Allen Classic – Back to the Future in Washington
By Jeffrey A. Rendall; Photos By Kevin Gaydosh and Jeffrey A. Rendall... ... BETHESDA, MD – The Washington area’s Booz Allen Classic is on holiday this year. No, it’s not taking a season off, and it’s not going on vacation – to be played at some exotic alternative locale.... ... In a way, it’s...
DIY indoor nets and hitting ranges that can be constructed in your home
By Earl Reidlen ... We play golf for an endless number of reasons. It's competitive, it's fun, and it's the perfect excuse to spend the day outdoors. And sometimes you just want to hit a few golf balls for no other reason than you like it. But improvement...
Golf Fitness with Dr. Steve -- AVOID HEAT ILLNESS ON THE GOLF COURSE: CARE AND PREVENTION
By Dr. Steven M. Horwitz, Maryland Director, National Strength and Conditioning Association... ... This summer has been a hot one and I have heard many stories of people suffering from the heat on the golf course. Both heat exposure and dehydration will diminish a golfer's ability to play; however, even if a...
Kemper Open 2002 -- A (near) beginning, an ending, and a continuance
By Jeffrey A. Rendall... ... POTOMAC, MD -- It didn't rain -- unless you're talking about applause emanating from above as Bob Estes lifted his final putt from the cup on the eighteenth hole, collecting his fourth PGA Tour victory after outlasting challenges from past Kemper Insurance Open Champion Rich Beem ('99)...
Michigan
Evolution of Golf Club Development
By David Hansen, Contributor to GolfTheUnitedStates.com... For many centuries, games have been played using a stick and a ball. While the 18-hole game of golf we know today originated in Scotland, variations of the game began with a stick. If you are at all familiar with golf, you know that investing...
New Jersey
2005 PGA Championship – The Second Time is just the Beginning
By Jeffrey A. Rendall, Images Courtesy of the PGA of America... ... SPRINGFIELD, NJ – Phil Mickelson may not be the best player in golf, but he sure is the most stressful to watch.... ... It isn’t often when a major champion shoots over par the final two rounds in a tournament and still...
Golf should position itself as the anti-NFL
By Jeffrey A. Rendall, Images from YouTube... It’s fair to say ever since former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick started the now NFL-wide American flag protesting controversy last year that many people have been reconsidering their love for professional football as America’s most popular pastime.... Seeing as the players’ sitting and...
New York
2006 United States Open – Scenes From a Day in the Bleachers
By Rob Canady; Photos by Rob Canady... ... MAMARONECK, NY -- They say you can learn a lot about a person’s character by playing a round of golf with them. You can also learn a lot about people by sitting with them all day at a golf tournament, like I did at...
The 2004 US Open -- Tiger, Goose, Mick and Duval Play Off Broadway
By Jeffrey A. Rendall, Images from ESPN.com and PGATour.com... ... Just days after finishing up the 2004 season’s second major, there remains an audible buzz of excitement in the world of golf. Stories are swirling like a tornado in the aftermath of Sunday’s US Open conclusion, where South African Retief Goosen held...
North Carolina
2005 US Open Championship – Kiwi Campbell Saves the Day
By Jeffrey A. Rendall; Photos Courtesy of the USGA... ... PINEHURST, NC – Thank God for Michael Campbell.... ... Just when the 2005 US Open, America’s National Championship, was on the verge of devolving into a re-run of the 2002 Masters (one of the biggest fold-jobs in history), Campbell rose to the challenge and...
The U.S. Open Golf Championships Return to the Home of Golf -- Pinehurst
By Jeffrey A. Rendall; Photos by Jeff Rendall and Kevin Gaydosh... Note: Congratulations to Martin Kaymer and Michelle Wie for their dominating victories in the 2014 men's and women's U.S. Opens. In the overview below, we're happy to say we mentioned both Kaymer and Wie as players to watch! Pinehurst proved...
Virginia
2003 PGA Tour Season In Review -- Singh The Praises of Vijay, He Deserves It
By Jeffrey A. Rendall, Editor. Images courtesy of ESPN.com... Fitting it was, perhaps, that someone like Chad Campbell was the player making the 2003 PGA Tour's final stroke at the season ending Tour Championship. Fitting, because Campbell's victory was perfunctorily characteristic of a season that can only be described as 'atypical'...
2005 Presidents Cup Preview – Nobilo Predicts they’ll Settle the Score
By Jeffrey A. Rendall, Photos by David Vier... ... LAKE MANASSAS, VA – It’s been five long years, but the world’s come back to Virginia. The United States and International teams have arrived at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club to compete in the Presidents Cup, and it looks to be an exciting...
2006 Ryder Cup Preview – When Enough is Enough
By Jeffrey A. Rendall, Images Courtesy of The PGA of America... ... STRAFFAN, IRELAND – When is too much, too much?... ... That could very well be the main theme going into the 2006 Ryder Cup Matches, being held this weekend at the K Club (Palmer Course) in Straffan, Ireland (7,335 yards, par 72). ...
Does Tiger really intimidate other golfers?
By Mike Friedman, Special Contributor to GolfTheMidAtlantic.com... Photos by PGATour.com... ... While covering this year's incredibly exciting PGA Championship, CBS offered an interesting statistic tucked in between Rich Beem's 'everyman' victory and Tiger Woods' near storm-from-behind comeback try. It showed that in major championships where Tiger Woods entered the final round holding or...
Dominion Valley -- Dreams to Greens -- Golf Course Construction at Dominion Valley Country Club
By Jeffrey A. Rendall, Photos By Jeffrey A. Rendall... HAYMARKET, VA -- Standing on the first tee of most golf courses, you can't help but admire what you see. It might be a boldly shaped seaside landscape reminiscent of the old country; or a tightly contoured parkland fairway bordered by yawning...
GolfTheMidAtlantic.com’s 2003 Awards – Looking Back To The Rainy Season
By Jeffrey A. Rendall, Photos By Jeff Janas and Jeffrey A. Rendall... ... MARCH, 2004 – Spring is in the air. Finally, after a winter’s sized dose of frostbite, gray skies and colorless landscape, the trees are starting to bud, the temperature’s golfing friendly and the days are getting longer. Here in...
GolfTheMidAtlantic.com’s 2004 Awards Show – Looking Back on a Memorable Year
By Jeffrey A. Rendall, Photos By Jeff Janas, Jeffrey A. Rendall & Kevin Gaydosh... ... JANUARY, 2005 – It’s strange, the feelings you get every New Year’s Eve, a mixture of excitement and remorse – anticipation for the coming year, and perhaps a bit of sadness to see the old one go. ...
GolfTheMidAtlantic.com’s 2005 Awards Show – Honor and Thanks to the Best of the Year
By Jeffrey A. Rendall, Photos By Jeffrey A. Rendall and Kevin Gaydosh... ... February, 2006 – It’s amazing how every year’s different, and it’s more than a cliché to say that you learn something new everyday. So far, 2006 has been a study in contrast, from living through the warmest January on...
How Golf Saved Souls During the Coronavirus Pandemic
We are living in strange times. It doesn’t take a genius to make such a pronouncement, as life has been turned upside down and round and round in the past couple months due to the devastating impact of the so-called novel coronavirus, which has all the telltale signs of originating...
Michelob Ultra Open (2004) – Hall of Fame Material
By Jeffrey A. Rendall, Photos By Kevin Gaydosh... ... WILLIAMSBURG, VA – Last year it was all about Annika; this year it was all about Michelle -- and neither ended up winning.... ... Several story lines emerged from the LPGA’s 2004 Michelob Ultra Open, played May 6-9th at Kingsmill Resort’s River Course, the 6,270...
Money Players' Follies Are Golf's Gains in 2003
By Jeffrey A. Rendall, Editor. Photos Courtesy of ESPN.com and PGATour.com... ... You certainly had to admire Shaun Micheel, the unlikely PGA Champion who held up like a seasoned winner under what must have been unbearable pressure to defeat Chad Campbell and a host of challengers at this season's final major.... ... Micheel is...
Play fast, play fair, play smart, play Best Ball Scramble
By Jeffrey A. Rendall, Images from YouTube... We’ve heard it all before. The game of golf isn’t growing because of reasons x, y and z, with time, expense and difficulty typically filling in the blanks as excuses for why more people aren’t taking up a game which tens of millions of...
President's Cup Brings the World to Virginia
By Jeffrey A. Rendall... ... I knew when I went to the President's Cup that it would be unlike any golf event I've ever attended. I knew it would even contrast regular PGA tour events, such as the Michelob Championship. But it was more than the unique tournament format that highlighted the...
Presidents Cup Recap – Americans’ Chip Needs Little Salsa To Swallow
By Jeffrey A. Rendall; Photos by Jeffrey A. Rendall... ... LAKE MANASSAS, VA – A few things were obvious when watching the 2005 version of the Presidents Cup. First, that there’s no reason, at all, to take these matches less seriously than the Ryder Cup. Second, the American Team’s clutch play kept...
Rory, Professional Golf and Obsolete Golf Courses
By Jeffrey A. Rendall, Images from YouTube... It’s no secret that Rory McIlroy speaks his mind.... The Northern Irishman’s PGA Tour interviews are always interesting, not only for their content but also because the world top-five player consistently holds nothing back. McIlroy made headlines for finishing second, again, in this year’s U.S....
The 2002 GolfTheMidAtlantic.com Awards -- Not Just Another Tin Statue!
Text and Photos by the GolfTheMidAtlantic.com Staff... ... MANASSAS, VA -- We think it's safe to say people are sick of awards. Not getting 'em, of course, but seeing awards-ceremonies on TV. Essentially, such shows feature a collection of largely over-exposed stars, wearing all the latest outlandish fashions -- gathered together to...
The 2004 PGA Tour Season – Curtis Strange Sets The Stage
By Jeffrey A. Rendall; Photos By Jeff Janas... ... WILLIAMSBURG, VA – The 2004 PGA Tour season’s first event was the Mercedes Championship (at Kapalua, Hawaii) in early January, followed by the Sony Open, also in Hawaii. Since then, the Tour’s moved to the California desert, over to Phoenix, back to California...
The Making Of A Course -- Old Hickory Golf Club
By Cheryl K. Chumley, Photos And Captions By Jeffrey A. Rendall... ... LAKE RIDGE, VA -- Standing atop the green, putting stroke at the ready, the mind is hardly focused on the complexities that lead to the successful construction of a course.... ... But by completion of a single green, owners have already dropped...
Thoughts and comments on the 2002 Ryder Cup
Mike Friedman, Special Contributor to GolfTheMidAtlantic.comPhotos by Rydercup.com... ... Curtis Strange isn't the villain responsible for the US team's loss in the Ryder Cup. His pairings were clearly well thought out, and the results of the first two days prove that he was effective in managing his team. On Sunday, however, there's...
Who's the 2003 PGA Tour Player of the Year?
By Jeffrey A. Rendall, Editor. Photos Courtesy of ESPN.com and PGATour.com... ... Now that 2003's major championships are fading scenes in our seasonal rearview mirror, golf fans' attention shifts towards naming the PGA Tour Player of the Year. It's a question we haven't had to ponder for nearly a half-decade, as Tiger...
Why Tiger Woods won't win a Major in 2014
By Jeffrey A. Rendall, Photos by David Vier... It’s always fun reading about New Year’s predictions and resolutions, because the prognostications are usually about as accurate as the resolves are long-lasting. Most golf commentators that I’ve seen are foretelling of a Tiger Woods victory in a major championship this year, and...
Zar's Guide To Better Golf -- Alignment Made Easier by Visualizing a Line Through the Ball
By Rick Zarlengo, PGA... ... BRISTOW, VA -- Editor's Note: This is the first installment of a monthly golf instructional series on GolfTheMidAtlantic.com, written by Rick Zarlengo, General Manager of the Broad Run Golf & Practice facility in Bristow. This month's subject is the value of proper alignment.... ... Value of Alignment:... ... Most golfers know...
Zar's Guide To Better Golf -- Connecting With Your Clubs Through A Proper Grip
By Rick Zarlengo, PGA... ... BRISTOW, VA -- Editor's Note: This is the second installment of a monthly golf instructional series written by Rick Zarlengo, General Manager of the Broad Run Golf & Practice facility in Bristow. This month's subject is connecting with your clubs through a proper grip. See Part I at...
Zar's Guide To Better Golf -- To Putt Your Best, Conscious Thought Avails You Not - or, Just Don't Think About It!
By Rick Zarlengo, PGA... ... BRISTOW, VA -- Editor's Note: This is the third installment of a monthly golf instructional series written by Rick Zarlengo, General Manager of the Broad Run Golf & Practice facility in Bristow. This month's subject is putting basics. See Part I at Alignment Made Easier, or Part II...
