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Results for July 2011 Back to Where's Matty G? Index

Golf in Chicago: The Rainy City?

Friday, July 29, 2011 Comments
Lately, I've been a part of a lot of Twitter exchanges about golf in Chicago. Is Cog Hill a buddies-trip destination? (Yes.) What's the best former private course, now available to the public? (Ravisloe.) Colleague Pete Finch was just in the Windy Rainy City, and filed this trip report:

I played five Chicago-area golf courses last Friday, Saturday and Sunday. When you write about golf for a living, that isn’t so unusual. But what made these rounds extraordinary was . . . well, did you get a look at the Chicago weather last weekend? A couple of major rainstorms pounded the city, flooding golf courses and closing highways. The City of Broad Shoulders was on its knees Saturday. (Check out this video.)

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Taking advantage of "recovery" green fees

Monday, July 25, 2011 Comments
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Matty G is the maven of green fee bargains, but I’ve come across one that I think is worth sharing.

Normally the two fabulous Fazio 18s at Pelican Hill Resort in Newport Coast, Calif. -- the South Course, ranked 71st on Golf Digest’s list of America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses, and the North Course, ranked 80th on the same list -- are available for a green fee of $270 apiece, which includes a cart and forecaddie.

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Gil Hanse, on deck at Bandon Dunes

Thursday, July 21, 2011 Comments
A week ago I received a tip, via a tweet (thank you @LuxHomeMagPDX), about an article that appeared in a Bandon-based newspaper. The gist of the article: Bandon's owner, Mike Keiser, is ramping up efforts to get the land he wants to build another 27 holes. Bandon Muni will cater to locals and state residents with reduced green fees. 

After some socially-charged speculation about who might be the architect, I called Keiser, who gave me Gil Hanse. Thus, this blog item, which appeared last Thursday, and now the following story, which appeared in this week's issue of Golf World and includes a subsequent conversation with Hanse:  

In a battle of what’s bigger news -- another 27 holes at Bandon Dunes versus Gil Hanse as the architect -- doesn’t a tie go to the avid golfer?

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For the Opinionated Golfer

Thursday, July 21, 2011 Comments
Colleague Pete Finch helps manage, produce, organize and edit a lot of projects at Golf Digest. And in addition to writing a monthly money column, some travel stories and cleaning up most of my copy, Finch also works on the 100 Greatest lists, and most recently he helped developed the Course Critic app. 

The what? Finch explains:

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Update: Shane Battier made __ pars for charity.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011 Comments
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If you missed my quick Q&A with NBA defense specialist Shane Battier, he was using three days of "competitive golf" at the American Century Celebrity Golf Tournament in Tahoe to raise money for his charity, the Take Charge Foundation. Battier, a 20 handicap, has been working on his game and predicted a break-out performance. For every par, birdie or eagle, Battier would donate $1,000. 

Battier, a former caddie from Birmingham, Mich., made four pars on Friday, one par on Saturday, two pars and one birdie on Sunday. After it was all over he tweeted: "2 Pars and a Birdie today!!!! We raised over $13,000 today for scholarships. And 8 total pars for over $32,000 in scholarships."

The tournament itself was a two heart-throb race. Jack Wagner won it, beating Tony Romo, one of the worst placeholders in the history of the NFL, by three points.

Battier finished 77th out of 83, and more importantly, beat Charles Barkley (81st) by 10 points. Ray Allen, the best active NBA golfer, finished T23 with Michael Jordan, the best non-active NBA golfer. Jimmer Fredette, of BYU and recently drafted by the Sacramento Kings, finished last. 


Here's the complete list of the Top 150 Athlete Golfers, and here are some of their swing sequences, including Romo and Allen.

--Matty G.

(You can follow Battier on Twitter @ShaneBattier. You can follow me @Matt_Ginella.)


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Are Forse and Nagle better architects than C.B. Macdonald?

Monday, July 18, 2011 Comments
Ron Whitten on the design team of Ron Forse and Jim Nagle; their work at Bedford Springs, Lancaster Country Club and the East Course at The Broadmoor:

Spent two days last week catching up with golf architects Ron Forse and Jim Nagle, the principals of Forse Golf Design, who specialize in remodeling and restoration from a base in western Pennsylvania. They’re the perfect odd-couple team. The red-haired freckle-faced Forse, in his mid-50s, has always looked like director Ron Howard (his childhood nickname was Opie) and is a bundle of nervous energy. Nagle, in his early 40s, looks like a suave leading man from one of Howard’s movies, and is so cool in every situation, I’d never want to play poker against him. 

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Quick Q&A with (underachieving) golfer Shane Battier

Friday, July 15, 2011 Comments
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Shane Battier, 32, is an NBA free agent who has played the past 10 seasons. After playing the first five years for Memphis, he joined the Houston Rockets in 2006. Last year, they traded him back to Memphis. He won the NCAA championship and was national player of the year at Duke in 2001. At 6-foot-8, he’s often considered one of the best defenders in the league. In Moneyball: The NBA Edition, author Michael Lewis used statistics to conclude Battier was the greatest player alive. In 2010, Sporting News ranked him No. 7 on their list of the smartest athletes. As for golf, Battier admits he’s an underachiever. He’s playing in the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship at Edgewood in Lake Tahoe, which starts today. He seems to think this is his time for a breakout performance.
 
I spoke to Battier last week, where he was enjoying his summer in Birmingham, Mich. Battier discussed golf, travel, the NBA lockout and Charles Barkley.

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If there are another 27 holes at Bandon, the architect will be . . .

Thursday, July 14, 2011 Comments
Assuming Bandon Dunes owner Mike Keiser gets the land and the appropriate permits, he told me in a phone interview on Thursday evening that he’d hire Gil Hanse to build another 27 holes along the southwest coast of Oregon.

“I like to work with a different designer each time, and it’s his time,” says Keiser, who has already spoken to Hanse about the project.

In an article on Thursday, printed in The World, a paper that serves the Bandon area, it says the resort’s GM will address the Oregon Parks and Recreation Commission next Wednesday to lay out the details of a potential land swap, and an addition to a golf complex that already has 72 holes, with another 13-hole short course in the works. 

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LIST: The worst of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw

Thursday, July 14, 2011 Comments
Some colleagues and I were playing golf last week (Woodway Country Club in Darien, Conn.), and we were debating a list of the worst designs by the team of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw.

Having played eight of the 18 courses that they’ve built while working together, here’s my list of the ones I don’t like:

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Special deliveries

Wednesday, July 13, 2011 Comments
Have you heard about Ross Bridge's summer savings? The crown jewel of the RTJ Trail in Birmingham, Ala., is offering a 4-for-3 special. 

Here are some more sweet deals throughout the world of golf and travel from my colleague Pete Finch, who has has filed his Wednesday blog:

Like anybody else with an email address, I get a lot of spam. But lately I’ve been taking a more careful look at some of my “junk” email -- and I’ve been surprised. There are some seriously good deals on golf in there. 

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