Besides being the arguably the game's greatest player ever, Tiger also has to be its most massive lightning rod.

From reader Tom Todd this week:

Best golfer on the PGA Tour? absolutely. Will he break Jack's records? probably. Was Tiger's profanity laden outburst "out-of-bounds"? Most definitely - young people look up to Tiger as their hero and the way he acted in front of these kids was unacceptable. Shame on ESPN and The Golf Channel for giving Tiger a pass on this. It appears the media is afraid to take him to task when he has a grave !apse in judgment. Tiger whines about the quality of the greens. Then he goes ballistic over the sound of a clicking camera ruining his shot. Come on Tiger. You make millions and millions of dollars playing a game. By wanting to be the very best in the world, you should accept a few minor distractions in your very blessed life.

Reader Jim Woods says good job to John Hawkins for reminding us of "Tiger saying he was impervous to such disturbances because Earl, his all-knowing father, used to jingle keys in the kid's backswing."

Thanks to The Angry Golfer for printing what I've been saying to friends for a couple of years. After hearing the story a million times about how Earl jingled coins and performed other tricks to distract Tiger, I was baffled by how Tiger would go ballistic because of the click of a camera. Two choices.....stop the Earl story, or have Tiger live up to it.

--Bob Carney

When Tiger wins or Tiger loses, when the streak continues or when it ends, you want to talk about Tiger. In the wake of Geoff Ogilvy's victory at Doral, that's still the case:

Bob Creemens of North Richland Hills, Texas:

Clearly Tiger Woods is the best golfer on the planet and will most likely be the most heralded golfer of all time. He is also a true sportsman and a fine gentleman. Having said that, thank you Geoff Ogilvy. I am tired of hearing about the perfect season. But most of all I am tired of hearing about the Fed Ex Cup. Who cares! I am so tired I intend to use the United States Postal Service from now on.

Ron Field of Morton, Washington:

A good number of associates are really fed up with the bias reporting, in both print and TV, shown towards Tiger Woods. On Saturday, NBC commenced their broadcast with 'Tiger Woods is in second place to Geoff Ogilvy'. It should have been 'Geoff Ogilvy is leading Tiger Woods by a shot'. Then, what do they do? 'They immediately show what happened at 5.45pm the previous Sunday with Woods winning.

Please give us all a break and report the golf properly from the leaders back. Then, to make matters worse, Woods is six strokes off the leader and heis getting more space than the leaders....I bet that Geoff Ogilvy won't be shown next time he plays if he is six shots behind.

I suppose 'Golf World' will put Woods on the cover again this week because he finished fifth.

And then there is J. Johnson, of Topsham, Maine, who sees it a bit differently:

Former high shool golf team or spectacular shot of Tiger Woods winning. I can see how difficult it was to decide for you brain dead fools.

--Bob Carney

Ron Sirak's column urging golf and its fans to stop enabling John Daly has drawn lots of response. (Leonard Shapiro of the Washington Post has also done a strong column on the subject). Some of you, like North Carolinian Dennis Thomas, are empathetic:

The saddest part of this ongoing nightmare with John Daly is that it is self-inflicted. I know what I’m talking about on this one, as I had a 26-year battle with alcohol. Unfortunately, John Daly will have to hit bottom before he is willing to turn his life around, if it’s not to late. Mr. Sirak is correct--sponsor exemptions are only enabling his bad behavior.

Others, not so much so. Rick Patterson of Tennessee:

Daly's nothing but a third rate drunk! He should be kicked off the tour and allowed to drown in his own sorrow. Plus he's addicted to gambling! He's been given too many chances already. Cut him loose!

And Texan Wayne Gordon:

Read the book...absentee parents...no boundaries...no discipline...no morals. Why would he change when he got older? I've watched him from Crooked Stick to the Memorial and nothing has changed, no boundaries...no discipline... History repeats itself. The abuse of the promoters, dedicated volunteers and golf fans has gone on long enough.

John has many fans. And he's losing many others. But his popularity is not the point. The uneasiness that Ron and Leonard and that many of us feel is that some night we'll get a call that will make John's troubles until now seem insignificant by comparison. That's a bad thing.

--Bob Carney

(Photo: Mark Feldman/Getty Images)

Bill Fields has won lots of support for his run for the presidency of golf. Two of latest supporters are Ohio reader Larry Nagy and highly-respected PGA professional Mike Hebron, of Long Island:

From Larry:

Fields for president! After reading Opinion, March 14 Bill Fields has my vote. Here are a couple more planks he might want to add to his platform. (1) Make the pros wear spikes in the retro silly-season event to give them a taste of chewed-up greens. (2) Ban the awkward terms “three-metal”, “fairway-metal”, “metal-wood”, etc, that TV announcers struggle with, and restore the perfectly good name for these clubs, i.e., the “spoon”. With these two planks Mr. Fields could run the gamut from the best (soft-spikes) to the worst (putting numbers on clubs) things ever to happen to the game of golf.

Research about the nature of learning finds that following “how to” directions does not fully engage the higher cortex in the brain, where learning takes hold. Studies also show when learning, "general ,just in the ballpark suggestions” give a greater return on investment... than technical information filled with details.

"Pleasurable Game for All" is what the PGA call letters should stand for. During the last 20 years the golf industry has focused on the perfect swing, the perfect ball, the perfect set of clubs, and I could go on. For many this focus on perfection has put aside the pleasure of playing the game. Trying for perfection can create frustrations and makes the game less inviting for individuals, which does not grow the game for the golf industry.

Mike, I love that last comment. You know a lot more about the learning part than I do. But I know that it's a game of walking with a bit of swinging interspersed. Our obsession with that second part has sometimes kept us from enjoying the second. Thanks.

--Bob Carney

North Carolinian Tom Corrigan begs to differ on our choice of a Pinehurst bar for the 50 Best 19th Holes.

Of all the bars in all the hotels in Pinehurst, you picked the wrong one. The Pine Crest Inn stands foresquarely first for foresomes. Where else can you chip into the fireplace? The Ryder Cup Lounge is for stiffs.

Tom, of all the lists in all the magazines in all the world, you read ours and (some of us would argue) got it exactly right.

--Bob Carney

Ethel & Andy Miller of Walnut Creek, Ohio, prove that Montana is not the only state with winters that drive men to madness. Evidence attached:

From Dick Hochman, of Savannah, comes a mild chiding...

Attribution. That's all that's missing; and it's really no big deal at that.

The important thing is that I LOVED Fred Couples' article:" Swing Easy, Hit Hard". What a joy to be able to re-visit this concept again, 43 years later. You see, the book, "Swing Easy, Hit Hard", was written by Julius Boros and published in 1965. Great 'stuff' then and, in this day of super-power golf, even more important now.

I guess it takes someone of a 'certain' age to recognize and enjoy good thing again and again.

Dick, thanks for the note. We remember Boros' book and should have reminded readers, too. The two players have a bit in common. Boros won 18 times, including three majors. Couples has 15 wins, including one Masters and two Players Championships. Couples has made a living in the Silly Season and Boros helped start the original Silly Season, the senior tour.

Mostly they share swings that make the game look simple and power easy to come by.

--Bob Carney

Justin Blair of Three Rivers, Michigan sends a candid assessment of the Bomb & Gouge article in the April Golf Digest in which Bomb supported and Gouge opposed the new adjustable clubs that have reached golf store shelves this season. At the risk of cross-blogging (Bomb and Gouge do an equipment blog on this site), we obtained a response from Mike "Bomb" Johnson, equipment editor of Golf World.

First, Justin:

I just want to say: Bomb is an idiot, but Gouge, you are a genious!  The stance you've taken on the new adjustable shaft golf clubs (April 2008) is right on the mark.  I have yet to hear anyone put it as succinctly as you. 

People at these golf magazines wonder why so many "Average Joe's" leave the game year in and year out, well, that's your answer.  The game is getting too expensive for regular golfers, and these new-fangled "ideas" do absolutlely NOTHING to help us out.  Club manufacturers want to help?  Try cutting your costs, especially with these idiotic "ideas"!

Again, Gouge, a BIG "thank you" for being realistic about this new club fad.  At least you have the guts to look into our best interests, and not the manufacturer's.  Sorry to be so harsh Bomb, but try learning a few
things from your partner.

Now Mike, er, Bomb the idiot: 

Hi Justin: No offense taken. As I noted in the article, the cost of these adjustable clubs is somewhat obscene. But that doesn't detract from the fact that, if you put cost aside (and some golfers do), these clubs can possibly help.

Now everyone has to do their own cost-benefit analysis on that. And I would certainly agree that the number of folks buying into adjustability at this price tag will be extremely low. And I think that's good. I am in total agreement with you and my partner (who I also agree is a genius) that the cost of equipment is approaching out of control. It is why we both regularly tout fine, affordable equipment such as that produced by Adams and Tour Edge, to name a couple of companies.

But I don't believe that we should stymie innovation just because the initial cost of products is sky-high. If the price offends you, simply don't buy it. But remember that DVD player you have in your house would not have been made possible if someone hadn't started the idea more than 20 years ago with those old betamax tape machines—which, at the time, cost more than $2,000. In short, I'm more a fan of the possibilities of adjustability down the road than I am of the current offerings.

Thanks for writing, Mike.

Thank you both. I'm heading off now to change the weight on my Zebra.

--Bob Carney

Thanks to Gene Madsen of Bigfork, Montana, for making our 45-degree weather here in Connecticut (where the pins are in!) feel absolutely balmy:

Thought you might like to see what we do for golf here in the north. As the crow flies we are about 50 miles south of the Canadian border. I have 4 holes, 2 par 4s of 125 yards, a par 3 of 75 yards and a par 5 of 150 yards. We play 4 holes out and 4 back with pins near the tees. Always play skins with partners, 25 cents a hole. We had a hole-in-one at the par 3 yesterday. I drill the cup hole down about 6" and use old fish sticks for the pins. It takes me 20 minutes to plow with my pickup truck. Usually start making the course when the ice is 6" thick. We use one club, a putter.

Thanks, Gene. That first cut looks like a bear. Wait, I think that is a bear!

For more Montana Madness click below....

--Bob Carney

Michael McMullen of Newburgh, New York, writes to amend our list of Golf Digest's 50 Best 19th Holes.

After reading your top fifty list of Best 19th holes I noticed that the regular guy's golf bar is strikingly absent. I am sure that after playing a round at Pebble Beach that the Tap Room for a 21-year-old scotch is just the thing. While you did mention the Newport C.C. you overlooked its blue collar cousin across the bay, the Jamestown Golf Course. The 9-hole layout is challenging and fun but the best part is the pub/pro shop downstairs. The Newport Storm and Sierra Nevada is ice cold and the girls behind the counter make a cheeseburger that is worthy of anyone. Bear in mind that most of the readers of your magazine are muny players and members of the burger and beer crowd. Sorry, no whole roasted garlic.

You're right, Michael. We are light on the regular-guy hangouts: The grill at Spook Rock Golf Course in Ramapo, New York, the Ross Room at Warren Valley near Detroit, the bar at Royce Brook in New Jersey or the one at Centennial in Carmel, New York (standard but highly serviceable). But based on your description, I suspect that Jamestown has won the pub-slash-pro shop division. I'll have a Dark and Stormy.

--Bob Carney