'Dis and 'Dat - Getaway Day Edition

Some amusing stuff in the golf world this a.m., so as time permits let's see who else we can help realize the error of their ways:

• Leave the Tree-Wood in the Bag - Shackelford provides this photo from Mark Immelman (brother of Trevor) of the naked 17th hole at Augusta:

Current view from the 17th tee.  Not sure how that guy's tee ball ended there, with no Ike tree to stop it.

This is a good follow up to the discussion in the prior post, as that line of trees down the right side was a recent addition.  In the good old days you could balloon it way right without being blocked, though you'd have a very difficult angle into one of the trickier greens on the golf course.  

• Upon Further Review:  Sergio Garcia, the gift that keeps on giving.  Shack points us to this Golfweek staff item.  The relevant bit:

What if the same situation presented itself in the Ryder Cup, Garcia was asked?

“Yeah, I probably would have done it, too,” he said. “You shouldn’t change because it’s the Match Play, the Accenture Match Play, or the Ryder Cup. I think at the end of the day, we all have a great opportunity to be role models to a lot of guys, a lot of kids and a lot of people, and you should be like that every time you have the chance.”

Carpe diem, captain McGinley. 

•  The Grind:  That's the name of Alex Myers' weekly feature at Local Knowledge, and the current version is full of juicy link bait.  Let me just copy-and-paste the good stuff and try to stay out of the way.  First, from his prop bets of the week:

-- Rory McIlroy will withdraw because of a wisdom tooth again: 1 million-to-1 odds 

-- Johnny Miller will correctly pronounce Victor Dubuisson's name the first time he brings him up: 10 million-to-1 odds 

-- Johnny Miller will still do a better job than Nick Faldo: LOCK

Next, his quote of the week:

"For a 23-year-old kid, he's got a lot of game." 26-year-old grizzled veteran Jason Day on Dubuisson.

And his photo of the week (Jason Dufner's bad hair photo was excluded due to its lifetime achievement award:

Ian Poulter's first round loss allowed time to hang with his homies, including 50 cent.  I'm guessing Poulter is the one on the left.

 Myers closes with a few questions, as follows:

What would Seve think of Victor?

What would Seve say to Sergio?

Do you know what gophers can do to a golf course?

• Stop Him Before He Tweets Again - Steve Elkington is of an age where tweeting is optional, a fact he simply refuses to acknowledge.  He burst on the tweeting scene with this gem of a sequence about golf blogger Stephanie Wei:

Let this be a lesson for you all, friends don't let friends drink and tweet.

In subsequent Twitter adventures, Elk has managed to offend the entire nation of Pakistan and the Asian continent.  Quite the accomplishments in only 140 characters, I'll grant you, but doesn't he have any friends to arrange an intervention?  His latest contribution displays the same profound level of sensitivity:

• Legends Revisited - Bill Fields has the scoop on a new PGA Tour initiative, alter cockers playing a Par 3 course, with format going something like this:

Seniors -- the field will feature divisions for ages 50 to 65 and 65 and older -- will split rounds Friday and Saturday on the Tom Fazio-designed 18-hole Buffalo Ridge course and the Top of the Rock nine-hole Par 3 designed by Jack Nicklaus. The final round of the $2.75 million event, also sponsored by the State of Missouri and MasterCard, will be contested solely on the short course.

Somehow this is supposed to promote alternative forms of golf that take less time....whatever.  It's all worth it, though, for the accompanying photo:

That's our hero in the PETA-approved headgear with Bass Pro Shops founder John Morris, who thankfully had the sense to go hatless.

• In the E-Mail - I always love hearing from Theresa's former pen-pal Mike Keiser.  Especially as the restraining order should be expiring any day now.  Always business-like, Mike wanted his closest friends to know that Punchbowl was ready for its close-up:

Situated next to the first tee at Pacific Dunes, The Punchbowl is a 150,000-square-foot, 18-hole putting course designed by Tom Doak with Jim Urbina. Here they’ve built a stand-alone course that’s fun to play with friends either between rounds or to celebrate the end of your day. The Punchbowl is complimentary for resort guests and will be open for play beginning May 20.

Want a look?

It's modeled after the original Himalayas putting course at St. Andrews and looks like good fun.  The only small negative is it's location near the first tee at Pacific Dunes, noot especially convenient unless you're playing that track.  

I'm still struggling for the perfect analogy... Hiring Tom Doak and Jim Urbina to build a putting green is like hiring Da Vinci to paint your bathroom (couldn't go with ceiling there, could I?).