The Never Search for Golf DVD looks really useful for those who love to love to mix golf with travel. It’s a computerized reference and map to all of the 18,000+ golf courses across the United States, and includes detailed information on each. The DVD also includes driving ranges, golf stores and information on 9,000 golf instructors. According to the website, if you have a GPS attachment for your computer, it also can give you directions to the courses.

This is one I’d love to have.

In 1923, Popular Mechanics apparently published an article on contests between archers and golfers on the course.

From the Modern Mechanix Blog

Silver Spoon With Flag Top And Sliding Ball

Ridiculous Golf Item of the Week

When Bobby Jones had his unparalleled year in 1930, he won the four biggest tournaments of his day: The US Amateur, the US Open, the British Amateur and the British Open Championship. It was a shocking achievement that made Jones a sports hero on a par with Babe Ruth—greater even, for the Babe never got a ticker tape parade in New York.

People struggled for words to describe the event. Atlanta Journal sports writer O.B. Keeler, Jones’ unofficial biographer and publicist, dubbed it the “Grand Slam,” borrowing not from baseball, but from a bridge term.

It must be remembered that, at that time, tournament golf was as much an amateur’s game as a pro’s. Walter Hagen may have been the only man at the time making a full time living playing tournament golf (as opposed to working as a club pro) .

So in 1960, after having won the Masters and US Open, Arnold Palmer was asked about Jones’ achievement by Pittsburgh sports writer Bob Drum on the plane flight to England where Palmer was to play in the Open Championship. Drum apparently lamented the fact that Palmer could not match Jones’ achievement because golf now was a pro’s game and not an amateur’s. No one would ever win the Amateur and Open national championships again.

Palmer then speculated that in the age of the professional, a more realistic Grand Slam would be the Masters, the US Open, the Open Championship (British Open) and the PGA Championship.

Palmer lost on the Old Course by a single stroke to Australia’s Kel Nagle.

But the dream had been indelibly etched into the mind of the golfing public.

The International Herald Tribune has an article on Tiger Woods’ increasingly picky schedule. As has been noted in this blog before, a majority of his wins have come on a very few courses.

The reporter writes:

Woods will be going for his fifth title at the Arnold Palmer Invitational starting on Thursday. He opened his 2008 season by winning the Buick Invitational for the sixth time. He also has six victories in the Bridgestone Invitational, and six more at the World Golf Championship that now goes by the name CA Championship.

He has four green jackets from the Masters, four Wanamaker Trophies from the U.S. PGA Championship.

Woods, perhaps more than any other golfer, is a creature of habit.

He has won 63 times in his U.S. PGA Tour career, yet he has trophies from only 24 tournaments. Vijay Singh has a far more diverse record, winning 31 times at 23 different tour events.

And more:

Consider another statistic that illustrates how his schedule works in his favor. Woods has won 52 times at the 17 tournaments tentatively on his 2008 schedule (that doesn’t include two victories at Doral in Miami, which has been merged into a WGC).

One thing about Woods as he gets older — he doesn’t add events, only subtracts.

To all of this, I’ll add that it looks even worse when you consider his major wins. Six of his thirteen majors have come on two courses: August and St. Andrews.

Woods is all about winning—and winning majors in particular—so his strategy makes perfect sense. I just wonder if he doesn’t manage to outsmart himself at some point. When he eclipses Jack and Sam Snead, will critics point to this as a blot on his record?

I don’t know if anyone’s noticed, but GolfBlogger has a new logo:

Hirekogolf Mantara Iron

Hireko Golf’s Mantara irons feature an ultra-high moment of intertia to reduce twising on off center hit. By strategically removing mass and reapplying it to the low and rear corners of the club, Hireko has created massive perimeter weighting. Hireko says that the wide sole and twin rear wings provide hybrid-like accuracy, while still maintaining the preferred look of an iron. A radiused sole is designed to help prevent “fat” shots and make this the most playable club offered by Hireko.

I think it’s very sharp looking.