Golf

This was the best US Open I've ever witnessed live since I started watching, the first being the 97 US Open, where Lee Janzen outlasted smooth swinging, likeable Payne Stewart, who had the bad luck of landing in a divot during the late final round, which may have cost him the Championship.

For selfish reasons, I'm glad Woods didn't listen to his doctors, but for his own good, I question whether he should have played or not on seeing his first painful wince. None of the press really asked him what specifically was wrong with his knee, especially during the lead up to the Open. Only after he won, did they press. I wasn't at the press conference, but I'm only guessing no one asked him if doctors thought there was more cartilage loss than believed or if the healing was not progressing.

Woods himself said a successful year consisted of at least one major win. Perhaps he thought the chance of winning was worth the risk, given he nearly owns Torrey Pines.

So while the world awaits the status of his knee, the coverage by NBC this year was as expected. Instead of focusing on Tiger and Mickelson, how could you not do a segment on a guy with a name like Dinwiddie, one of the unknowns on the leaderboard? Justin Hicks, the first round leader from the minor leagues, was all but forgotten by the weekend.

I wanted to root for both Rocco, the underdog and Tiger, in a quest that's lasted 11 years so far, so I stayed neutral. Miller said that guys with the name Rocco don't get etched on the sacred US Open trophy, I guess referring to his everyman-ness, but the name, Tiger, which sounds pretty everyman-ness to me, is already inscribed twice.

Johnny Miller, during the 2nd round US Open broadcast, recommended an interesting practice drill that Tiger Woods uses. It involves nine shots - normal trajectory draw, fade, straight. High trajectory draw, fade, straight. Low trajectory draw, fade, straight. If you can do this, you have pretty darn good control of your swing. Also keeps you neutral. Miller sometimes says things that are way out there, but he also makes his fair share of interesting comments that make you think and this is one of them. Of course, this is something for a very skilled player, but it sounds fun to try. I think Miller mentioned a driver was used, but a 4 or 5 iron might be a good club selection as well.

For the Northeast golfer, two of the obvious early spring golf meccas to get your winter doldrums golf fix are either Myrtle Beach or Pinehurst. For me, it's Pinehurst, hands down. The bucolic atmosphere, the pine trees, and the charm of the place is so much better than the overdeveloped, tacky strip mall MB.

MB has many more courses to choose from, but there is more than enough in Pinehurst. Also, on less busier days, most courses allow you the option to walk. I've never been able to convince a course to let me walk in MB.

From New York, it's about a 10 hour drive to Pinehurst, an extra 1.5 hours gets you to MB, so Pinehurst is a tad closer.

You don't have to play Pinehurst #2 to make the most of your trip. I've heard people say a trip without playing #2 is not worth it. Hello? Not many folks, especially in this economy, have $350 to drop on one round of golf. There's a variety of courses, from old fashioned, classic Ross layouts, to newer, non-traditional Strantz designs. Most courses feature elevation changes, water, trees, chutes and minimal fairway condos.

Most of the courses are within a 10 minute drive from most hotels and condos and there is no traffic, unless you're there during a US Open.

An odd juxtaposition I noticed is nearby to the rarefied country club atmosphere of a golf mecca, to the east is a huge military base - Fort Bragg, home of the 101st airborne. Talk about opposite spectrums.