Golf Digest Search Results

Rules Are Rules

John Feinstein — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 04:00:00 GMT

John Paramor wasn't picking on a teen when giving Tianlang Guan a slow-play penalty. He was merely doing his job.

When it comes to politics, most tour players lean right

Thu, 06 Sep 2012 19:16:00 GMT

By Sam Weinman

President Obama's speech at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte will draw millions of viewers Thursday night. How many of those viewers will be members of the PGA Tour? Probably not many.

That golf is believed to skew Republican is nothing new, a stereotype reinforced most memorably by that hardliner Judge Smails of Bushwood Country Club fame. (Sample quote: "I've sentenced boys younger than you to the gas chamber. . . ") But it's on tour where Democrats are said to be about as popular as Top-Flites.

The reasons for this vary. The tour has a strong devout Christian contingent. It also has a number of players who, though not maybe necessarily religious, hail from Southern states that traditionally lean right. And yes, a lot of it has to do with money, a sentiment summed up by the tour player Joe Ogilvie on Twitter.

"My vote=Romney," Ogilvie wrote. "I'm a social Democrat & fiscal Republican. Fiscal issues far outweigh the social issues, for now. Obama clueless fiscally."

Related: Golf + Politics, A Delicate Dance

What's important to remember is that this is hardly a new phenomenon. Back in 1993, when there was another golf-loving Democrat in the office, and another Ryder Cup was imminent, a mini-controversy erupted when many players on the U.S. team refused to meet with President Clinton before the matches. The episode was chronicled in John Feinstein's landmark account of the PGA Tour, A Good Walk Spoiled:

"There wasn't a single member of the team who had voted for Bill Clinton in 1992. None of them liked the Clinton plan to tax the wealthy one bit. The politics of the team were probably best summed up by U.S. Open champion Lee Janzen, who said, 'Where I grew up you were better off telling people you were a garbage man than a Democrat.' "

Related: Golf brings Obama and Clinton together

It finally took the intervention of U.S. Ryder Cup captain Tom Watson, who insisted that the team respect Clinton as the country's "First Golfer" for the players to accede to a meeting. But it hardly changed which way the tour leaned.

In 2004, Golf Digest polled 34 tour players about who they'd be voting for in the election between George W. Bush and John Kerry. Eight were undecided or didn't want to say. The other 26 said they were going with Bush.

Follow @SamWeinman

Where Was Williams As Scott Let The British Open Slip Away?

John Feinstein — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 04:00:00 GMT

The caddie who loves taking bows after victories has to take some of the blame for this defeat.

Final Say: When A Can't-Miss Kid's Journey Takes Longer Than Expected

John Feinstein — Tue, 15 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Mat Kuchar's career has now come full circle. Seven years after being labeled a star, he flunked Q school's second stage. Almost seven years after that, he became the Players champion.

Female membership at Augusta National: You love a good debate.

Bob Carney — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 21:29:00 GMT

It would not have shocked me if, after this exhilerating Masters, we'd received a hundred pieces of mail about Bubba Watson, or for that matter about Louis Ooosthuizen's unforgettable double-eagle. But those weren't the straws...

'The Big Miss' a big hit: No. 1 bestseller

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 12:25:00 GMT

"The Big Miss," instructor Hank Haney's inside look at his years working with Tiger Woods, will debut at No. 1 on the New York Times Best Seller Print and E-Book nonfiction list in the April 15 issue (the list appears a week earlier on the Times' website and can be seen there on Saturday). It also will be No. 1 on the Times' E-Book nonfiction list.

The book generated a great deal of publicity, beginning with an excerpt that ran in Golf Digest and was followed with this on GolfDigest.com. The only question seemed to be where it would fall on the Times' lists.

It is not the first golf book to reach No. 1 on the New York Times list. "Harvey Penick's Little Red Book" reached No. 1 in 1992, while "A Good Walk Spoiled," by John Feinstein, was No. 1 in both hardcover and paperback in 1995 and 1996, respectively.

-- John Strege

The Jeremy Lin Story Is Amazing, But Golf Fans Have Seen It Before

John Feinstein — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Comparing the Knicks superstar's meteoric rise to that of 1991 PGA champ John Daly.

Golf World boasts record haul in annual Golf Writers awards contest

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 21:28:00 GMT

Golf World won a record 12 awards, including three first-place honors, in the annual Golf Writers Association of America writing contest.

Golf World Executive Editor Ron Sirak's article on the European Tour deepening its roots in the Middle East earned him his second-career win in the Non-Daily Special Project category. John Feinstein won first place in Non-Daily Columns category for his piece on athletes needing to remember they are accountable for what goes on in their own lives and Chris Millard took first place in the Non-Daily Features category for his profile of Verne Lundquist, who delivered the call on Nicklaus' putt at the 17the hole of the 1986 Masters. These awards were the first GWAA wins for Feinstein and Millard. The 12 awards were the most in a single year for Golf World.

Golf World also won three second place awards, three third place awards and three honorable mentions. Golf Digest and GolfDigest.com received two second place awards and three honorable mentions.

All of the winners will be honored at the GWAA's annual awards dinner on April 4 in Augusta, Georgia.

-- GolfDigest.com Staff

Athletes, Fame And Accountability

John Feinstein — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT

The media needs to stop making excuses for famous athletes.

Like Them Or Not, Changes Are Coming To The PGA Tour

John Feinstein — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT

John Feinstein discusses the proposed changes to the 2013 PGA Tour schedule.