As with many classic courses, tee follows closely on green on my local favorite. While this makes it very easy to walk, it also makes it somewhat easy to hit someone loitering between holes.

So it was that as I lined up my approach shot on the seventh hole last evening, I noticed a guy sitting on the bench between holes. His legs were crossed, he was wearing a wide brimmed hat, and he didn’t look like he was paying any attention. He also didn’t seem to have a set of clubs.

One of the locals, I thought, enjoying the night air.

I swung, and the ball headed left—my usual miss. As I made my follow through, I glanced right to the bench—and the guy was gone.

That was very odd, because I had looked away only for a second. Moreover, there’s no place for anyone to go. There are no woods to hide in—just a couple of isolated trees. The nearest substantial cover is too far away for anyone to reach in that period of time, even if they ran.

I kept scanning the area as I got closer, but he never did reappear.

A trick of the light, I supposed. A shadow that against the setting sun, looked like a man. And one that disappeared as soon as I shifted position.

But still a bit unnerving.

I ended up with a double bogey.

Bratz Sportz Golf Cloe Doll

Ridiculous Golf Item of The Week

The PGA Championship at Oakland Hills next week will feature 97 of the top 100 players, making it the deepest field of the year.

Who needs that guy with the bum leg?

From a PGA Championship press release:

The 90th PGA Championship has received commitments from 97 of the world’s top 100 ranked players, the most for any major this year, continuing a tradition since 1994 of featuring golf’s strongest field in the Season’s Final Major.

The PGA Championship marks its third return to Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Township, Mich., Aug. 4-10, with 69 international players representing 19 countries, the most of any U.S. major.

The Championship field features 10 past PGA Champions: Bob Tway (1986), John Daly (1991), Paul Azinger (1993), Steve Elkington (1995), Mark Brooks (1996), Davis Love III (1997), Vijay Singh (1998, 2004), David Toms (2001), Rich Beem (2002) and Phil Mickelson (2005).

Overall, 27 major Champions who have combined to win 36 majors will be part of the 156-player field: Azinger, Beem, Brooks, Angel Cabrera, Mark Calcavecchia, Michael Campbell, Fred Couples, Ben Curtis, Daly, Elkington, Ernie Els, Jim Furyk, Retief Goosen, Todd Hamilton, Padraig Harrington, Trevor Immelman, Zach Johnson, Tom Lehman, Justin Leonard, Love, Mickelson, Geoff Ogilvy, Corey Pavin, Singh, Toms, Tway and Mike Weir.

The international contingent is headed by Ireland’s Harrington, winner of the past two British Open Championships, and also features 10 of the 12 members of the 2004 European Ryder Cup Team that was triumphant at Oakland Hills Country Club. Eight members of the 2004 U.S. Ryder Cup Team return, as well.

US News and World Report has an article debating the merits of a degree in turfgrass.

If you’re going to be at the PGA Championship at Oakland Hills next week (I’ll be there), you might want to stop by the American Express pavilion. They’ve got a variety of activities, such as a mobile PGA Learning Center and complementary golf lessons. For American Express members, there are other perks. Read more after the jump:

Caiman Fairway Wood

The Caiman Fairway woods are another of those geometrically odd clubs that are designed to offer a high moment of inertia and high launch. Hireko engineered these fairway woods with a variable crown thickness (as little as 0.5mm which is as little as the thickness of 5 sheets of paper!) All the unwanted weight normally reserved for the crown of ordinary fairway wood was repositioned deep within the head. Hireko says that this offers a high launching ball flight with incredible accuracy

The National Park Service has given its approval for a golf course to locate three holes on parkland dunes in Benton Harbor, Michigan. The 22 acres on Lake Michigan will be part of the Harbor Shores development project, which includes a Jack Nicklaus course, 800 upscale residential units, hotels, a conference center, an indoor water park and commercial space. Between $500 and $650 million will be spent on development.

Benton Harbor is one of the worst cities in a state with the worst economy in the nation. The project will be built on former “brownfields” and should attract tourists from Chicago and northern Indiana.

More here.