Ron Sirak's story on the passing of LPGA great Betty Jameson drew this response from a Florida reader.

Dear Editor,
I enjoyed Ron Sirak's article on Betty Jameson in the 2/16 edition of Golf World.

However, you should add Peggy Kirk Bell to your list of founders of the LPGA.

Peggy was a great friend of Babe Zaharias, and the Babe encouraged Peggy to turn pro as the LPGA began in 1950, and she did.

As you know, Peggy went on to marry Warren Bell in 1953, and became one of the premier teachers of golf.
She and her family own Pine Needles Golf Resort in Southern Pines, North Carolina, and Peggy is still active in golf at age 88!. She's a member of the World Golf Teacher's Hall of Fame, a recipient of both the USGA's Bob Jones Award (1990) and the PGA's First Lady of Golf Award (2007). She was the first female to be voted into the World Golf Teachers Hall of Fame in 2002.

Mary Kay Farley
Hobe Sound, FL

Ron Sirak replies: "Thank you for your kind words about my Betty Jameson column. I was fortunate indeed to get to know her, however briefly, late in her life. As for Peggy Kirk Bell and the LPGA founders: The list in the column is not ours but the LPGA's. The tour defines the founders as those women who organized and played the first LPGA season in 1950. Peggy, while hugely instrumental in the growth of women's golf, was not among that group. She is, however, one of the crucial figures in the history of golf, male or female. Indeed, the the LPGA web site notes that "Interest in women's golf escalated due to the style and personalities of successful players like Betsy Rawls, Marilynn Smith and Peggy Kirk (Bell)." Golf Digest's My Shot with Peggy is well-worth a read.

--Bob Carney

(Photo of Peggy Kirk Bell by Peter Gregoire)

It's been a tough couple of weeks for golf. Sure, Tiger came back, but so did Barney Frank, and in most places (see Monterey Peninsula) the weather hasn't broken and spouses across the nation are on the prowl for golf store receipts, unaware of the tremendous power these purchases have as economic stimuli. Times are tough, gentle readers, and you are cranky. A sampling of what's bugging you this week:

Dear Editor,
What the hell is going on! Golf has become a game of lost and found. Every club has a head cover, golf bags have so many pockets you forget which one has your golf balls, let alone the extra time it takes to find your car keys afterwards. How long will this madness carry on? Let’s simplify the game and get back to basics people! Golf is complicated enough !!
Sincerely,
Disgruntled golf person,
Sakinsin Shaffer

Dear Editor,
Who does Dave Shedloski think he’s writing to in his Feb 23, 2009 TourTalk article? His inclusion of “vicissitudes, conundrum and egalitarian” are a sampling of words that sent me to the dictionary. Does this knucklehead have a 28+ handicap and is just trying to aggravate us single-digits? I think I’ll pass next time I see his name at the bottom of a story. Know you audience. This isn’t the New Yorker.
Thanks.
Bill Gowen
Rex Corporation

Dear Editor,
Yet another rained-out tournament at Pebble Beach! When will the suits at the PGA realize that you can't play golf in February in Northern California with any certainty? Move it to Arizona and then come back in April when they can get four days of predictable weather. Am I missing something here or is my logic out of whack?

James Kidd
Toronto

Dear Editor,
Please tell me that PGA Tour caddies aren't taught to stand directly between the TV camera and the cup on the greens. I know they're not, but sometimes it's hard to tell. For example, during Saturday's CBS telecast from Rivieria, Mark Calcavecchio's caddie provided a perfect screen of a putt that would have pulled Calc within a stroke of the lead. Not only is his caddie a large man, but he also put his hands on this waist and with his elbows out, looked like a big bird stretching his wings. If the can teach caddies to chart yardages, rake traps, clean clubs, and especially know where to park their man's bag, you'd think the tour would school them so they don't block the view of thousands of golf fans watching the tube.
Bob Fick
Auburn Hills, MI

Dear Editor,
An edition without Johnny Miller wont be coming to this house much longer.
Ken Bedal
Henderson TN

Thank you all for sharing. I'd suggest you all try a calm-down pill, but your health plans probably don't cover that any longer so take a moment to thank the Lord for the things which still, in the vicissitudes of this recession, haven't been downsized out of your life: woven wool wood covers, instant replay, Davids Owen, Kindred and Leadbetter and the all other writers who are still with us, including, come to think of it, yourselves. Have good weekend.

--Bob Carney

(Photo: J.D. Cuban)

Mike Purkey's February 23 TV Rewind column got a lot of attention, not all of it positive. Here's Mike on the coverage of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Saturday, as usual for CBS' AT&T broadcast, was Hit and Giggle Day, with amateurs doing most of the inept hitting and Peter Oosterhuis doing most of the giggling. Network officials decided to make no effort whatsoever to cover the actual tournament and instead focused on the celebrities, all of whom were gathered at Pebble Beach. We didn't see a single shot from leader Dustin Johnson, who was at Poppy Hills, or 36-hole leader Retief Goosen, who was laboring at Spyglass Hill. If the scenery wasn't enough to hold your attention, the absence of real golf might make you migrate to ESPN for college basketball.

Ken Venturi joined Faldo and Nantz in the 18th tower Saturday. It was his first broadcast since retiring in 2002 after 35 years with CBS. Venturi added little to the conversation, dusting off the ghosts of Phil Harris, Vic Damone and Jimmy Demaret, whom fewer and fewer people remember.

Dear Editor,
Thank you to Mike Purkey for telling it like it is regarding the ridiculous interviews and "non-golf" viewing of the AT&T Pebble Beach Tournament. The tournament used to be fun on Saturday when there were real celebrities and not just CBS "personalities". We also saw real golf from real golfers. Switching over to basketball or anything else was relatively easy. Let's hope Bing's spinning stops soon.

Wayne Schultz
Afton, MN

Dear Editor,
That was a rather snide remark regarding Ken Venturi and "dusting off the ghosts of Phil Harris, Vic Damone and Jimmy Demaret, whom fewer and fewer people remember". If it wasn't for the likes of Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and the celebrities who participated in these events, I doubt the tour would be the success it is today. Totally classless!

Richard Prendergast
La Verne,CA

To reader Prendergast's point, I noticed on Golf Channel the other day how many players, when questioned, named Bob Hope and Bing Crosby as the greatest promoters of the game. But this controversy recalls something the Roman poet Ovid once wrote: "Let others praise ancient times. I am glad I was born in these." He said that way before Phil Harris, by the way.

--Bob Carney

John Hawkins' recent columns about Dubai as a Ryder Cup venue, settling for second and  as a Ryder Cup venue and about the Tour without its Tiger, have drawn spirited reaction. The golf season must be in gear; your Hawkins letters are mid-season form. And oh, yeah, Tiger's back.

Dear Editor,

Is John Hawkins ever happy? He never smiles on the Golf Channel. How can he compare Roger Federer to John Rollins? Federer is at the top of the tennis world. He is trying to make more history by getting more wins. Rollins has hopes to just win enough tournaments so people will know him. Surely at his level $542K would make life good. Maybe the next time Tiger loses a lead and gets second do a comparison. Or hey, maybe Hawkins could write a positive editorial about the things Rollins did to get to second place.

Brooks Pomeranz
Sanford, NC

Dear Editor,

Regarding John Hawkins outrage and comment, that Dubai becoming the site of 2018 Ryder Cup "is blasphemy dipped in the slime of shameless financial gain, an act of treason averse to anyone's definition of what is best for the game," let me say this.

If Hawkins eyesight is adjusted to the European Tour being an organization without conscience, I might suggest he the start of this year's funfest of professional golf. The FBR has become the Munich Octoberfest; the Bob Hope has become such a scratch and giggle thing it's unbearable; it's Disney World without the clown and windmill. The At&T is such a joke to watch an overweight Chris Berman fall down in the bunkers, or watch some celebrity skull a shot over the greens in a feeble attempt to ham it up for the cameras. Most of the bottom tier tournaments are so boring no one is watching. So what is the harm in going to Dubai and dipping into the money bucket and prostituting the event, it already being prostituted! The Ryder Cup begat the Presidents Cup, need we say more. 

Of course we all agree the Ryder Cup had become something of a sophomoric joke gone badly, sitting  on the edge of seats breathless waiting for Boo to ride his stick horse around the course for another victory lap. I vote that we all tune the thing out. Who cares if the thing is held in Dubai, or French Polynesia?

The Ryder Cup is commercialized to the infinite degree: a bunch of bizillionaires playing golf for God and country. Get real, the only people playing for God and country is a U.S. soldier carrying a rifle in Afghanistan

--Bob Jones

Hold on. What was that again French Polynesia? Would Jean Van De Velde captain that year? I like the sound of French Polynesia... it definitely would bring a smile to John Hawkins' face.

--Bob Carney

Golf World's recent story on architect Dick Wilson by Ed Sherman drew this intriguing letter from Michigan:

Dear Editor,

Having played Cog Hill No. 4 (Dubsdread) the week that it opened and numerous times since, I thoroughly enjoyed your article about Dick Wilson. You might be surprised to learn, however, that the two Cog Hill holes that were pictured were not really Dick Wilson holes. Several years after the course opened, additional land was acquired behind the 13th green and 14th tee, enabling a substantial redesign of holes 12--14. Both 12 and 13 were completely redone (new tees and greens in new locations), while 14 was simply lengthened by moving the tee box back. So the only redesign of Dick Wilson's work on those three holes would have been the green complex on No. 14, because everything else was a redesign of someone else's work. Any idea who did the earlier redesign?

Cliff Haka
East Lansing, MI

Cliff, I asked Ron Whitten about it. Here's what he found:

Frank Jemsek confirmed the following:

Joe Lee and Rocky Roquemore built new par-3 12th and par-4 13th holes at Cog Hill No. 4 in 1975, and new tees for the par 3 14th. Local course builder/architect Buzz Didier, who often worked for Joe on projects, handled the work and "moonlighted" some design changes that Joe disagreed with, but it was too late to change them. (Buzz built the new 12th green higher in the air than Joe wanted, and while a new 13th green was located beyond a ravine, Buzz took it upon himself to fill in the ravine so nobody could lose a ball. Rees Jones, in his recent remodel, restored the ravine across the front of 13 green.)

Frank mentioned that Joe and Rocky also added an alternate par-3 second hole in 2003, at the request of the PGA Tour, which felt the original par-3 2nd had too shallow a green for the shot intended. The new second (whose green was separated from the original by a dense stand of trees) was used in the 2004-2005 Western Opens, but then the PGA Tour decided players were hitting irons so high that the original green wasn't all that shallow after all, and returned to that one in 2006. The alternate second is now a teaching hole. Didier also built that one.

More than you wanted to know,

Ron Whitten

--Bob Carney

The subjects of dress codes and grooming policy continue to push your proletarian buttons. Have the comments of Ron Sirak and John Hawkins in Golf World revealed our elitist genes? Jeans?

Dear Editor,

This game is still far too elitist. The game is played by the masses in scrungy Levis, t-shirts, and yes, beards. TPC Scottsdale set up the stadium hole, No. 16, to encourage fan participation; those folks aren't restricted in what they can wear or whether they shave. Get over it and let the game find it's own level of decorum. We don't need the gray hairs to tell us what to do.

George delaCruz
Benicia California
Buchanan Golf Club (public)

Dear Editor,

"Cargo shorts may be worn while building a golf course--but not while playing one." John Wyatt, Payson, Ariz."

Living here on Oahu, I thought I'd go ahead and call the PUBLIC course where Obama played and ask them about their dress policy and how often they run that policy by John Wyatt for his approval.

Turns out that Pres. Obama followed the dress code and they have never heard of John Wyatt. Go figure.

I'm just glad Pres. Obama went ahead and wore the cargo shorts rather than take a page from the Republicans. That would be to have worn them in secret anyway and then issue a stong public statement denouncing such actions from others.

Todd V.
Honolulu, HI

Dear Editor,

You made it sound as if being a DEMOCRAT is some what bad. Sir, there are a lot of us that are DEMOCRATS, and we are as American as you and anyone else.

Tom Gonzales
Cheyenne WY

Sorry, Tom we meant to say that being a Democrat in cargo shorts and a beard is bad. Democrats who dress like Republican dentists are fine.

--Bob Carney

Here's one way to handle the dress code issue, from Golf World reader Bill Fox:

Dear Editor,

Enjoyed Ron Sirak's comments regarding club dress code. Most club's boards have struggled with defining dress code. I suggest keeping it simple and up to the individual member, with this advice: "Simply wear whatever you would wear if invited for lunch and golf with Byron Nelson at Augusta National." If the member asks, "Who is Byron Nelson," write them a check and politely say goodbye.

Bill Fox, Indianapolis

--Bob Carney

You want to make fun of my facial hair? Well, at least I got facial hair... I'm sorry, I was just practicing. It's more letters about grooming, golf clothes and, no surprise, Hawkins.

Dear Editor,

Regarding Jerome H. Clark's comment in the Feb. 9 issue regarding Geoff Ogilvy, he was not the only player with a five o'clock shadow. Perhaps he/they are in the process of growing a beard and that process takes a little time and makes one look scruffy. Mr. Woods hasn't always been squeaky clean faced on the golf course either.

Ron Field
Morton, WA

It takes some nerve, if you ask me, for a guy wearing a snot-green sweater over a white T-shirt (John Hawkins, "Curbing the menace of the 5 o'clock shadow,") to find Sergio Garcia's canary-yellow pants "offensive"--even in semi-jest!

Then again, it's impossible to offend me with your clothing or your facial hair. Ludicrous? Often. Offensive? Never.

I'll second Mr. Hawkins's closing line: "Sometimes, we find problems where there really is no problem at all."

Shouldn't it be obvious by now, to anyone who's been following the news, that appearances do not make the man?

Dan Kelly
Hopkins, Minnesotakquote>

That's a lima-bean green sweater to you, Dan. And if that last line is referring to A-Rod, as a Yankees fan, I resent that. Like Sergio, he's a very misunderstood guy who occasionally wears canary. But thanks, gentlemen, for the letters. I know it's cold where you are, and the cabin walls are closing in. Spring is coming.

--Bob Carney

It's good to get letters that make you re-think your position. We got a couple of very good ones in response to recent Golf World stories and comments hear about facial hair and dress codes, specifically cargo-pants bans. The common message is, "Guys, we're in the 21st century. You want people to play golf? Quit nickel-and-diming them with silly regulations." Not sure I buy it all, but you can't say it much better:

Dear Editor,

Wow! In your Feb. 9 issue I noticed that two of the three letters are from people complaining, basically, about others appearance. One writer states his disdain for cargo shorts worn on the golf course. The other has a problem with Geoff Ogilvy not shaving. Again, WOW! Where do these people get off? As a construction worker, I do not own many pairs of "slacks" (which I find uncomfortable), or the "correct" kinds of "acceptable" shorts.

I don't think these letter writers have any idea what year we're in. I would also submit that, for my odd shape (30-32 waist, 36 inseam), it's difficult to find the aforementioned acceptable shorts or pants that actually fit. They mostly come in what I call fat guy sizes. I would ask these writers: What is the difference between a mock turtleneck and a t-shirt? None, except that the No. 1 player in the world started wearing mock turtlenecks, and, therefore, they became a norm in so-called golf fashion...

I have to add that I'm a golf nut. What matters the most, in my opinion, is playing the game the right way. Following etiquette. Playing by the rules. Congratulating your competitor if they beat you. The pro football comments smack of racism, and both letters remind everyone that golf is still an elitist sport. I hope they read John Hawkins article on the last page of the same issue. Hopefully, it will sink in.

Don McNanna
Bloomingdale, IL

Facial Hair?  FACIAL HAIR?!
 
I’m a 60-year-old suburban businessman. I shave every day, shine my shoes and tuck in my shirt. What little hair I have is cut very short every two weeks.

My 28-year-old son has four substantial tattoos; he always needs a haircut, and his jeans are always one step away from falling off his non-existent butt. My 20-year-old daughter has a pierced nose and navel, dreadlocks and her own tattoo collection. They are average young adults who look just like their peers.

John Hawkins’s piece on the Tour’s concern with grooming stupefied me. If the Tour thinks it can attract substantial numbers of young adults by making all the pros look like Republican dentists, they’re even more out of touch than the USGA. Golf is perceived by most Americans as a game for elderly white men and their fathers.

Guys, wake up! America doesn’t look like that anymore. Even golf junkies like me who have played the game for 50 years can’t stand the Tigerless blandness. I fell asleep in five minutes watching the clean-shaven Nick Watney, John Rollins and Mathew Glover somberly gasp for air Sunday at Torrey Pines. Luckily for the Tour, Camilo Villegas also was in the hunt, so I withstood the ennui a little longer.

The Tour would do well to tell players to speed up and show some excitement, not worry about facial hair.  Sergio, Ian Poulter, Camilo, Anthony Kim--give 'em hell!  Us old farts don’t care if you never shave.

David E. Bassett
Troy MI

Thank you, gentlemen. As John Hawkins said in the column you both refer to, "Sometimes we find problems where there are really no problems at all." Personally, I'd like to erase all tattoos and dress every pro like Tom Weiskopf. But if it takes relaxing those "standards" a bit to share the game with more people, I'll go with share the game. (They'll pick up on the dress code on their own.) Certainly on resort and public courses that's already the case.

But what about white shoes? Certainly we can at least ban white shoes!?

--Bob Carney

Golf World's Lipouts recently included a quote from Jackson State coach Eddie Payton on the dearth of African-American players on tour and the effect that would have a future black golfers. Marshall Stewart of Fort Worth took exception.

Dear Editor,

I may be confused by Coach Payton’s comment, or maybe its intent. However, saying "If we don’t get some black players on tour soon, we’re going to lose a generation of potential African-American golfers" is out of bounds. First, I dare say that he should make reference to "American" golfers be they of African descent, from Sweden, or Mars for that matter. The term keeps segregation going when we would best be served by integration with no mention of race or national origin. As for getting some black players on tour I will ask "Who is ‘we’?" And last I heard a player can join the tour by meeting the rules of qualification. Affirmative action doesn’t play in the game of golf.

Marshall Stewart
Fort Worth, Texas

Here's the point, I think. Is golf getting the best athletes, black, white or other? Maybe not. On February 11 at 9 p.m., check out the new Golf Channel documentary, "Uneven Fairways," based in part on the book by Golf World's Pete McDaniel. It does a remarkable job of telling the story of competitive black golfers who were not allowed a place on the PGA tour prior to 1961 and who formed their own tours as a result. These were some serious players and although you're right, Marshall, in urging us all to get beyond the issue of race, the documentary makes clear that we're still living with the consequences of decisions made those decades ago. As a consequence, it may be easier for whites to put aside memories of the "Caucasian-only" tour than blacks. In the end, I'd like to see all talented young athletes consider golf. What Coach Payton is saying is, that's not happening. It will. What Tiger's doing and what the First Tee is building will eventually make golf truly integrated. But it will take time.

--Bob Carney