Golf Digest Search Results

Golf & Baseball: Mounding Into Form

Brendan Mohler — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 05:00:00 GMT

Why baseball players, especially pitchers, have a longstanding love affair with golf.

Best Backyard Golf Holes

Alex Myers — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 04:00:00 GMT

A look at some of the best backyard golf holes in the country.

PGA Tour: Fantasy Fix: Wells Fargo Championship

Alex Myers — Tue, 03 May 2011 16:00:00 GMT

We discuss being punished by the golf gods, John Smoltz's debacle of a debut and of course, this week's PGA Tour event at Quail Hollow.

Monday Qualifier: Never A Dull Moment: Bubba Wins In New Orleans

John Strege — Mon, 02 May 2011 04:00:00 GMT

While his buddy Tiger Woods suffers a setback, the entertaining Bubba Watson takes another step forward.

John Smoltz's rough Nationwide Tour debut

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 16:18:00 GMT

John Smoltz's Nationwide Tour debut began in promising fashion. The ending, however, did little to justify the future Hall-of-Fame pitcher's spot in the event.

Playing in the South Georgia Classic on a sponsor's exemption, Smoltz, who carries a plus-2 handicap, started on the back nine and parred his first two holes before birdieing No. 12 to get into red figures. The rest? Well, it was ugly.

Over the final 15 holes, Smoltz didn't record another birdie while racking up nine bogeys and two double bogeys. The final number, 84, looked more like the reading from a radar gun after one of his sliders towards the end of his baseball career.

Monday Qualifier: Gary Woodland Makes Vertical Leap

John Strege — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Former college basketball player Gary Woodland enjoys his own March Madness: his first PGA Tour title.

Smoltz to tee it up in Nationwide Tour event

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 19:31:00 GMT

The Nationwide Tour may not have the biggest names, but it certainly is trying to add star power to its events. Former Atlanta Braves ace John Smoltz has accepted a sponsor's exemption to play in the South Georgia Classic next month in Valdosta, Ga.

A resident of the Atlanta area (Read his "My Town" travel feature from the latest issue of Golf World) Smoltz carries a plus-handicap and has pledged to play more competitive golf now that he's retired from pitching. He still works as a baseball analyst for TBS and MLB Network, but plans to play in this event and others like the Georgia State Open, where he made the cut last year, a national two-ball tournament at Whisper Rock in Scottsdale, Arizona, and the annual celebrity event at Lake Tahoe, in which he finished tied for second in 2010.

Last year, Jerry Rice made headlines by playing on a sponsor's exemption in the Nationwide Tour's Fresh Express Classic in Hayward, Calif. Rice finished 17-over par to miss the cut by 19 shots and both he and the tour received some criticism over whether the Hall of Fame wide receiver should have been invited into the field.

By all accounts, though, Smoltz is a better player than Rice. He certainly takes his golf seriously, with a backyard that doubles as a complete practice facility and a game good enough to need only two shots a side from Tiger Woods.

In 2009, Smoltz told Golf Digest Travel Editor Matt Ginella that he has a dream of making a cut on the PGA Tour, but more realistically, hopes to play on the Champions Tour. At 43, he's still got plenty of time to get ready.

-- Alex Myers
Follow on Twitter: @AlexMyers3

John Smoltz's Atlanta

Alex Myers — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 04:00:00 GMT

The former stalwart for the city's baseball team remains a golf nut

Battle Of Backyard Greens: Tiger vs. Smoltz

Matt Ginella — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 13:54:00 GMT

You know you're rich when . . . you have a golf hole in your backyard. You know filthy really rich when . . . you have backyard golf course.After Ambushing a group of wild...

Is professional golf at hand for Smoltz?

Sat, 08 Aug 2009 14:40:00 GMT

The Boston Red Sox have designated pitcher John Smoltz for assignment, which given his age, 42, and her earned run average, 8.33, most likely means that his Hall of Fame career is over. If so, is professional golf next for Smoltz?

In an interview with Golf Digest's Matt Ginella, Smoltz said this about playing professional golf: "I'm real serious. I want to do it. I want to see how far I can go. I want to make a cut on the PGA Tour, but in reality I want to play on the senior tour. I'm fighting age and time, but I'm not afraid of the challenge."

Smoltz plays to a plus-2 and has the benefit of a friendship with Tiger Woods, with whom he plays regularly and on whom he no doubt could lean for advice.

-- John Strege