Reader Mike Fiechtner writes to give thanks, for, among things, Dan Jenkins' "The First Masters I Covered" piece.

I just wanted to let you know that I really appreciated reading your article on golfdigest.com and hearing about your first experience of the Masters. I'm still waiting for my first and I'm not sure I'll get to experience it but it was nice to hear your impressions and descriptions. I can't even imagine how beautiful it is there. It definitely looks amazing on TV and I'm sure it's even more beautiful in person. How long do you plan on covering the tournament? Seems like you should have some sort of record like Arnold Palmer's 50 Masters. You got him beat by 6! Thanks again for the nice article! Have a great day and God bless, Mike

Mike, Dan says thanks, that he'll cover the Masters until they tell him he can't, and maybe a couple after that.

For more on the Masters (we're sure we're not the only ones already looking forward to the first major) check out our Masters countdown area, prepared in conjunction with Masters.org and ESPN.com, where we're bringing back stories like Dan's.

Happy New Year! And good luck getting to Augusta in April!

--Bob Carney

Phil Monk of Granger, Indiana, takes exception to our characterization of Marty Hackel's gift suggestions in the January issue:

"Smart Gifts" must be an acronym for "Some More Awfully Ridiculous Trinkets." I mean, $875 for a paperweight, $185 for driving shoes, a $175 umbrella or a $42 scorecard holder?  Sorry Marty, just drop off a dozen Pro V1s or a Natalie Gulbis calendar and you can cross me off your list while saving a grand or so.

You make an excellent point, Phil. But it's a slippery slope. Once you've bought that $42 scorecard holder, you just kind of have to have the $875 paperweight. (And anyway, what's a Monk doing with a Natalie Gulbis calendar?)

For real gifts, check out the February-issue 2008 equipment Hot List.  Nine hundred dollars goes a long way there...

--Bob Carney

As the U.S. Open Contest passes 16,000 applicants, the essays take on certain themes.

One is, what I'd shoot and how I'd break 100. Our readers have lots of formulas. My favorite is "Bogey, bogey, double bogey; smile & repeat." That will result, as Dan from Portland, Oregon, put it, in "A Gretzky. A solid 99."

The second theme is loved ones nominating loved ones. Two of the latest and best:

I am nominating my husband, Dan, for this honor of a lifetime. He is an avid golfer, hits a very long drive, and has won a community golf challenge. He lives and breathes golf. We will be married for 40 years in June, and he has never missed a golf tournament on TV. He practices, plays, and practices more! Dan would be challenged. He'd play his heart out, and it would fulfill a lifelong dream to be in the midst of golf professionals. He has what it takes!

The talk continues on Tiger and our photos and story about him in the January issue. Besides the comments on this blog, reader Steve Kass of Castle Rock, Colorado, has something to say about Jerry Tarde's references to Tiger in his Editor's Letter:

As an avid reader of your magazine, I take exception with some of Jerry Tarde's characterization of Tiger Woods in the December issue.

First, while Tiger may find connection with his father through an interest in the military, let's not forget that Tiger is but a golfer. He may be the best golfer of all time, but his life is not in danger and unlike our military, he is highly compensated for his work. Let's not confuse Tiger's dabbling in military training with the very real service of our armed forces. It is an insult to those risking and losing their lives to provide
the freedom we enjoy. I'm sure Tiger is thankful for the armed forces, who like his father, give us the society that enable him to play golf for a living.

Also, Tiger's physical fitness regimen may be based on Navy Seals training, but that is a trend sweeping gyms throughout the country. Tiger is obviously in great condition, and among golfers he stands apart. The closest Tiger comes to taking a hit from a 270-pounder is when Tim Herron slaps him on the back in congratulations for another win.

Never a bad idea to keep a bit of perspective on our sport and our heroes, Ray. I think Tiger would agree.

--Bob Carney

(Photo: Walter Iooss, Jr.)

Reader Virgil Burmaster of Fort Wayne wants to know how we compile the list of Best New courses featured in the January issue.

I read with great interest the article in January about all the new and rebuilt courses. My question is where do you get all this information? I am always looking for a new course to play and am especially interested in new courses in the state I am planning on retiring to in a few years. I have searched the internet many times but unable to come up with a web site that tells me any of this information!

--Bob Carney

(Photo of Best New Public Spring Creek Golf Club by Stephen Szurlej)

Our U.S. Open Contest, through which one lucky reader will play Torrey Pines under Open conditions in front TV cameras the weekend before next June's Open, has reached 13,067--a heck of lot of Walter Mittys. One of them is Jeffrey from Chadd's Ford, Pennsylvania:

I represent the enthusiastic weekend golfer who has always dreamed that, "If only I had the time to devote to the game, then I could be really good." Alas, work and the real world have left me, now at 50 years old, still enthusiastic, but overweight, struggling to maintain a 5 handicap, and obviously not playing on the Champions Tour like I thought I would when I was 35. Still, I've got some game and would surely find a way to break 100 - my prediction: 86.

Click here to enter. I promise you we'll read every single one.

--Bob Carney

Reader Gil Roy of Keller, TX likes Golf Digest's "What's in My Bag" section, but notices that it sometimes gets upstaged by player deals with equipment manufacturers.

It was kind of funny reading your January 2008 edition. Just before reading your very fine publication, I was informed that Charles Howell has ended is relationship with Callaway.

Maybe you should do a revised version with Howell's new clubs or start a "What Was in My Bag". We could have Tiger and his old Ping Eye2s in college or Corey Pavin with his funky Cleveland irons in the 90s.

Callaway's loss is Bridgestone's gain, or maybe it's Callaway's freedom now becomes Bridgestone's burden. Either way, January remains the toughest month to put up a "What's In My Bag". The only safe bet was the year we went with Bob Gilder, who played Ping irons for 30 years. Of course, he went and changed his putter before we went to press, so what are you going to do? Look for Mark Calcavecchia in March, but be warned. Calc says he's got 200 putters in his closet. Doesn't know which one he's taking until he packs his bags.

Wow. Two hundred putters! I don't think I own 25 , even if you count the ones in trees.

--Bob Carney

(Photo: espn.com)

Reader Dave Ebmeyer from Marysville, Michigan, is a cynical man. In his darkness, he's cried out to us:

Last month I took a trip to Southern California to play golf. I arrived at LAX around 10:30 PM on a Monday night and I went to go get my golf clubs and suitcase at the baggage claim. As I was walking to the baggage claim I noticed a man opening my golf bag and loading my golf bag onto a cart and start to walk away with it. I ran him down got in his face and asked him where he was going with my golf clubs. He then stated that the bag looked just like his. I then stated that they were my clubs and pointed to the name tag on the bag. The guy give me a disapointed look and I picked up the bag and walked of. On the bus ride to the rental car place I was thinking he was bummed out he could not sell the Hi-BoreXL Driver , 3 wood, X18 irons, Big Bertha Steelhead Plus 5 wood, or Cleveland wedges on EBAY. I am sure it was the same kind of thief that stole Morgan Pressel's clubs from baggage claim at the Flort Lauderdale airport. I know that there are plenty of delays at airports but it is unreal how someone could just walk in take your suitcase or your golf clubs and just walk out the door. Something needs to be done .

Then I read a front-page story by Jeff Bailey in today's New York Times about the complaints of airline employeesand I thought, you know, maybe that Dave has a point. Here's an excerpt concerning US Airways:

The current US Airways is a result of the most recent big airline merger, with America West Airlines in 2005. [CEO W. Douglas] Parker tried unsuccessfully to acquire Delta Air Lines a year ago. Now, other airlines are mulling mergers as a way of cutting costs to offset high fuel expenses. Such deals could start a broader service decline.

In recent months, US Airways had the worst record for on-time flights and misplaced bags among the major airlines and it piled up the most customer complaints at the Transportation Department.

“How long do you think the airline will be around the way it’s running right now?” a US Airways worker wrote Mr. Parker in July.

At least Parker is listening. Not sure the next CEO to do a merger like this will bother. If you read the story--about filthy planes, late planes, reservations system that don't work--you'll understand why watching your bags at the carousel might be a low priority and could become an even lower one.

Happy trails.

--Bob Carney

Each Christmas I tell my wife Julie that I don't want any presents, just her okay to take the annual spring buddies golf trip that four of us have been doing for 26 years. It's a wonderful gift and fortunately she doesn't believe me about giving anything else. So perhaps the timing is why this story from reader Bruce Swail about playing a November buddies round at Pine Meadow near Chicago hit home. Or maybe it's just that Woody Austin's Presidents Cup plunge is fresh in mind. Anyway, settle back for Bruce's story:

We had a three man game at Pine Meadow today. Being November 20th any golf is better than none. Meyer, Swail and Vasselli teed it up. A generally damp day misting the whole round. The 14th hole was most interesting though. A par four to a green with water to the right the final 75 or so yards of the fairway. It seems Pine Meadow just drained the water hazards for the season leaving just a small puddle instead of a large water hazard at this spot.

Our friend Joey V. hit a nice second shot to the green but, due to an unfortunate bounce, the ball went right and hopped into the hazard. The ball trickled down just short of the water (recall the water was drained so this point was well into the hazard). Joe didn't know he had this unlucky bounce until he arrived near the green looking for his ball. After a quick stomping of the feet and a couple of expletives, Joe took three clubs with him and marched promptly into the hazard. The ball appeared to be sitting up nicely he thought. A good shot and par was still in reach.

Well, the first two steps past the grass line would have been enough for most of us. You see the bottom of the creek while exposed to the air after draining was still quite saturated. Joe’s feet sunk in 8-10 inches in the first two steps. Not to be deterred, Joe  took a further 5-6 paces into the hazard. With each step he sank a little deeper reaching his ultimate depth of 10-12 inches. While we're not proud of it, Ron and I burst into spontaneous belly laughs at Joe's misfortune. Not to be rattled, Joe continued to adjust his stance in sheer defiance to the situation. He stuck his two extra clubs in the mud in what proved to be a handy club stand and prepared to address the ball. Nearly falling over he nicely regained his balance saving what surely would have been a complete mud coating. He took aim, drew the club back, then  SLAP. An eerie silence fell upon us until the bucket-load of mud fell back to earth. Another look showed Joe managed to advance the ball a lesser distance. About 6 inches forward. Following the next series of expletives Joe decided enough was enough. He'd picked up and conceded the hole.

Try as he might, Joe then attempted to pull his feet out of the muck. All he could manage was to push one leg deeper while pulling up on the other. More expletives were heard. Ron and I attempted to regain our composure and assess the situation. I had flashbacks of a PBS documentary where a Zebra died while thrashing in quicksand. All I could think of was that if Joe sunk that far I'd be in over my neck. A direct rescue was clearly out of the question. Maybe a tow truck and a rope and we could drag him out. But where would we find one and more importantly we had to get the next four holes in before dark. Compassion dictated we didn't leave him behind so we had to find a way to free Joe.

Amazingly, throughout this, Joe did not lose his shoes. A particularly well done shoe lacing this day saved those MudJoys. Well we all know Joe's legendary determination. With a strain and a grunt he was able to make a couple steps closer to the edge where we were able to pull him up to dry land. Fatality avoided.

Joe decided to pocket his ball and wait for the next hole. Ron and I still out of breath (from the laughter) attempted to complete the hole but could do no better than double bogeys. That was enough to take the 14th hole this day.

At this point Joe's feet must have weighed 50-60 pounds each due to the 2 inches or so of caked mud completely covering his shoes and most of the way up his calf. We still had 4 holes to go so Joe kicked off what he could and on we went to the 15th tee.

Now you might think this would be the end of this story. Not so though. You see the 15th has a rather large carry over another part of this same drained hazard. Joe leaked his drive right. When we got to the other side we saw a few balls down in the hazard. We couldn't identify any. With the thought of being out another hole Joe was certain to not give up too early. So in he went two paces and quickly sank. Here we go again we thought. Thinking better of it, and still slightly out of breath from the last hole, Joe came back and avoided his earlier fate. After reassessing the situation we realized in fact Joe was actually another 50-60 yards ahead nowhere near the hazard so this near fatal ball rescue wouldn't have even been for his own ball. Now some might wonder if Ron and I withheld information of Joe's ball location to steer him in the direction of the hazard. No I say, golf is an honorable game (and besides neither Ron or I had the idea at the time).

Well we went on to finish the round and I can say we were without further events.
 
I believe Pine Meadow's hazards will remain drained until the spring. If you happen to get a round in there (and after reading this you must make this one of your holiday must see visits) take a moment and look into the right hazard at 14 near the green. Those 12-inch deep footsteps will surely last the winter and be a monument to shear golf determination. Jean Van de Velde, you got nothing on our boy Joe.

Isn't golf a great game!!!

(Illustration: Carlos Lara)

We continue to get lots of comment about the Tiger cover photo and story in the January issue. V.J. Meyers of Woodbridge, Illinois, agrees with some other writers about Walter Iooss, Jr.'s photo:

Just to let you know that I was not impressed with your cover photo of Tiger Woods in your January issue. He looks someone who lives in the hood rather than the number one golfer in the world.

I read the feature article from the January 2008 issue of Golf Digest on Tiger Woods. Around the same time, I watched the weekend television coverage of the Target World Challenge at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks CA and attended the first two days in person. At this point my Tiger tank is full—too much Tiger! From reading the article and watching the TV coverage I was astounded after attending the tournament in person to learn that there were other players in addition to Tiger and his almost anonymous playing partner in the tournament. I now know how Tiger got his name, how his newborn baby got her name (yes, I do know that the baby is a girl), the name of his boat, that his wife has a twin sister (who, by the way, my son wouldn’t mind meeting), where he lives, who his “best buddies” are on tour (the FOT—friends of Tiger), his swing changes and details about his swing (“he has a tendency to turn this and that, dip here and there, which occasionally causes him to block the ball right which is an overcompensation for his most dreaded shot---the duck hook), and it goes on and on. Enough already....

Give me more about other players, Barry says. "Don’t get me wrong—I have nothing against Mr. Woods and his often superior play on the golf course---but let’s not go overboard..."

Barry, we hear you. And I could say, well, it was Tiger's event and he was leading by 5 shots. But I won't. The fact is, as long as TV ratings double when Tiger plays and web site traffic jumps when he's in contention--fully half of our traffic over the past few days can be attributed to the Tiger gallery and Jaime Diaz's story--you'll be hearing about him.

Nobody wrote us about Fred Funk this week.

--Bob Carney

(Photo: Walter Iooss, Jr.)