In the wake of the collapse of the International and the rise of Tiger’s new Washington, D.C. tournament, a lot has been written about the importance of Woods’ presence to a tournament. But an article in the New York Times offers an interesting, if bizarre twist:

PGA Tour stops do not offer players appearance fees, so tournament directors try to lure Woods by offering luxurious courtesy cars and fishing excursions, or by leaving personal messages on an iPod.

In telephone interviews with tournament directors, many said they would not drop their current charity beneficiary and shift the funds to Woods’s foundation in an effort to get him to play in their tournament, although Kaplan (Dave Kaplan, director of the AT&T Classic, where Woods has not played since 1998) said, “I hadn’t thought about that.”

“It seems to make sense, but probably not,” said Kaplan, when asked if it was a possibility. “We have supported the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta since 1982 and donated about $13 million for various things they need and do. If you were going to,” he said of switching beneficiaries, “you’d likely have to give the entire amount generated for the tournament. Our tournament is in the Atlanta region, and the better part of the money stays here.”

Now in no way does the reporter suggest that the idea came from Woods or his people. But I have to ask: Where did such a notion come from? What would cause a reporter to come up with the idea that to get Tiger you might need to donate to his foundation? And why would you ask such a question of tournament directors?

Note that reporter Damon Hack asked Kaplan about it, and when Kaplan demurred, Hack pressed the issue by asking if it wasn’t at least a possibility.

There’s something about the tone of this that makes it think that the line of questioning was sparked by a rumor—or at least a whispering. But that has to be all it is. I can’t—even in my most Oliver Stone moment—imagine Woods or his team trying to extort money from a tournament. Not even to benefit his foundation.

You can’t have too many putters. Or at least that’s what my friend Dave claims. Here’s one he doesn’t have in his collection (yet).

Hireko golf says that its new Acer CB2 putter is “the most advanced putter made for the component market.” It features a two piece consturciton with a lightweight milled aluminum face and center section and a stainless steel outer ring.

The outer ring accounts for more than half the weight of the putter, which allows Hireko to achieve the holy grail of golf club design—a high moment of intertia.

It’s also center shafted, which is my preferred style. I also like the fact that you can get it either assembled, or as a component.

Hireko’s got a 60 Day Satisfaction guarantee.

Here’s a story I missed: Late last year, PGA Player Brandt Jobe was working in his garage when he accidentally snipped off the tops of his fingers. In what can only be termed an amazing piece of surgery, the fingers were sewn back on and he apparently will return to the Tour with this weekend’s PODS Championship.

Best of luck Brandt.

Ball flight monitors are all the rage these days in custom ball and club fitting and no self-respecting golf gearhead should be without one. The Zelocity PureContact Ball Flight Monitor features a Dopper radar transceiver for that records your shots ranging from 30 to 420 yards (no one is seriously going to outdistance this baby). It can display your Ball Velocity, Carry, or Total Distance, as well as your Session Average Ball Velocity, and Average Distance with a 100 shot memory.

Its portable, too, so it should be interesting to take this out on the course, and see how it works under real world conditions.

This week’s PGA Tour event is the PODS Championship, played at the Innisbrook Country Club in Tampa, Florida. It’s a new course for me, and I had a hard time finding it in Google Earth. Here are a few photos. More after the jump.

Golf is better than hockey. We all knew that. Green fairways and warm sun versus sheets of ice. It’s no contest.

And ESPN apparently thinks so, too. While the sports network dropped the National Hockey League because poker got better ratings, they’ve signed an agreement with the USGA to show their championships through 2014. ESPN also plans to feature live scoring and streaming video, plus a webcast from one of the par-3 holes at the U.S. Open on Thursday and Friday. New offerings will include a variety of streaming content on ESPN360 and ESPN-branded mobile devices, interactive television offerings on Thursdays and Fridays, plus increased international coverage.

Having conquered the football, track and workout worlds, Under Armour now is setting its sights on golf. It will, no doubt, be popular with the younger crowd, among whom this brand is well established. But they’ve got competition with the Adidas stuff, which is clearly aiming at the same twenty-somethings.

I’m also not sure how it breaks into the slightly older age group, which I would think more likely to get a Nike shirt, or middle aged guys like me who aren’t going to pay that premium at all. I can get a nice Dockers or Haggar golf shirt with moisture management fabric at Kohls for under $25—much less if you watch the sales. And us older guys who have the money to spend are probably more likely to buy a Ben Hogan, Callaway, or Bobby Jones shirts.

Still, the Under Armour shirt at Golfsmith are good looking.