Two days after Tiger Woods won his fifth Masters, I still sit here dumbfounded, in awe.

 

Like so many golfers and sports fans, I never thought I would see this day.  Of course, neither did Tiger, so I don’t feel so bad.

 

It is almost impossible to describe to non-golfers how remarkable this comeback is, or what it means to the game of golf and to Tiger.  Last night, reading one of the business industry websites, they were predicting that Tiger’s victory at Augusta would lift all golf boats, including the stock prices of Acushnet, Callaway and Nike.  I don’t know about that but I am positive that is lifting all spirits.

 

Tiger had fallen so far and disappointed so many.  We all felt like na•ve fools for believing he was somebody he was not.  The shame for him must have been unbearable.  And just when it the tsunami of bad publicity seemed to be over, two writers named Armen Keteyian and Jeff Benedict came out with a book, Tiger Woods, that dug up details that showed it was even worse than we had heard or read.

 

And that’s just the indignity part of the equation, not the four back surgeries, the multiple knee operations and the laundry list of other ailments.  The man couldn’t get out of bed.  At one point, one swing sent him tumbling to the ground in a heap in his own backyard, where he lay for hours until somebody found him. Back then, Tiger told anybody who would listen that he was through.  His glorious career, his chase for Nicklaus’ record of 18 major championship titles was over.

 

Then there were several aborted attempts at a comebacks – attempts that ended early and badly, often with Tiger’s abysmal performance threatening to damage his legacy.  Remember that time he couldn’t chip without chili-dipping or shanking the ball over the green?

 

So, how do you quantify what he has done now?  And how do you account the people around the world who once loathed and mocked him now rooting for him, cheering Ti-ger, Ti-ger, Ti-ger at the Masters?

 

It’s because people are forgiving.  People love redemption.  People love building up a superstar, then knocking them down, and, if they can’t hang around long enough, building them up again.

 

None of this would be possible, obviously, if not for Tiger’s singular talent, determination and self-confidence.   This time around, it all seems to be seasoned with a dose of humility and maturity.

 

Let’s hope Tiger’s comeback doesn’t end here.  Let’s hope he has several good years left in him.  Let’s hope that the Tiger of today wants badly enough to be the Tiger of old again.  I, for one, am rooting for him.  I wouldn’t bet against him.

 

 

A few takeaways from the BMW Championship at Aronimink:

 

- First and foremost, the fact that Philadelphia does not have an annual, first-class stop on the PGA Tour is a crime against golf.  Seriously, a crime.

 

As expected the crowds at Aronimink were big and enthusiastic, in the way that knowledgeable golf fans are.  I love walking the course, people-watching.  You see the upscale crowd donning shirts and hats and pullovers bearing high-end logos -- Pine Valley, Merion, Cricket and Philadelphia Country Club, etc., not to mention out-of-town clubs like Chicago Golf Club, Shinnecock, Pebble Beach and all manner of tournaments, like the Masters and the U.S. Open.  And then you see no-logo folks in cut-offs, tee shirts and flip-flops.

 

The whole scene at the BMW Championship was a reminder that Philadelphia is one of the premier golf cities in the country, a fact we demonstrate every time big-time golf comes our way.  We saw it at the AT&T at Aronimink in ’10 and ’11, we saw it at the U.S. Open at Merion in ’13, and we saw it again these past few days at the BMW at Aronimink.

 

The biggest crowds were following Tiger Woods, of course.  And why not?  Fans here are Tiger-starved and have been for most of his whole illustrious career.  How many times have Philadelphia fans gotten to watch Tiger in the flesh?  The ’10 AT&T at Aronimink, the ’13 Open at Merion and now this.

 

If the PGA Tour were to try to stick us with some off-week stop with a weak field, this town would shrug with in difference.  We saw that at the SEI Pennsylvania Class almost 20 years ago.  But a full field event in June or July with a rich purse and the biggest names in the game – hmmm, maybe the Comcast Championship? – and Philadelphia would got nuts.

 

It wouldn’t have to be at Aronimink or Merion; in fact, neither club wants a regular event.  But there are at least a half dozen courses in the area capable and worthy of hosting an annual PGA Tour event.  Lest we forget, Philadelphia is one of the biggest markets in the country without a regular stop.

 

So, come on business leaders.  Come on PGA Tour.  Make it happen.

 

- Aronimink got screwed.  You’ve got to feel for the club.  It did everything it could possibly do to stage a successful event.  What happens? A gully washer descends upon Philadelphia and much of the Northeast.  Could the timing be any worse?  No.  That is freakish bad luck.

 

- Tiger Woods. I don’t know about you but I am forced to bow with respect.  A year ago, all indications were that he was done, career kaput.  This comeback, with a fused back no less, is a bonus for Tiger and a blessing for golf.  The man who carried the game on his back for almost two decades is doing it again.  For how long, who knows.  One bad swing and he could drop to his knees in agony.  But for now, hey, who isn’t pulling for him?

 

-  The scores.  The 62s and 63s at Aronimink were other-worldly.  Aronimink is no easy golf course, even if they made it look like it.  It tough and it is 7,200-plus yards, even at par 70.

 

True, all the rain made for soft conditions but it was more than that.  PGA Tour players today are just that much better than even top amateurs and club pros.  Also credit, or blame, the modern golf ball. Until the dial back the golf ball, which they will not do, no golf course can contain today’s players.

 

 

For once, I don't mind eating my words.  Like now, after what Tiger Woods did at Aronimink in the first round of the BMW Championship.

 

It was one of those 8-under par 62s that makes you shake you head in disbelief, good enough for a share of the lead with Rory McIlroy. 

 

A 62 would have been impressive during Tiger's heyday but now, with a fused back and a career that everybody, including him, thought was shipwrecked, that is well beyond impressive.

 

Going into this season, I was among the many people who firmly believed that Tiger had no chance – zero, zip, nil – of resurrecting his career.  I said that to anybody who asked me.  He had fallen too far and his back was too damaged and fragile and heck, he is on the wrong side of 40.  Even Tiger told people that he was finished, no chance of coming back.

 

But back he is.  He didn't win this year but he could win this week and he can certainly win next year.  Even the possibility of him winning a 15^th major is no longer unthinkable.  (See PGA Championship, 2^nd place, with rounds of 66, 66, 64).

 

So I will be back at Aronimink tomorrow. Tiger Woods is still the show. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The last time I checked in with Joe Bausch, the good professor was marinating in the joy of Villanova basketball -- because his beloved Wildcats were on a run that would culminate with its second national college title in three years.

 

Bausch’s non-hoops time was devoted to chemistry, of course, which he seems to understand and enjoy, and golf – specifically playing and photographing as many new golf courses as is humanly possible.

 

Since last July, Professor Bausch has added 119 more courses to his golf course photo gallery, the Bausch Collection, for a total of 469.

 

Of that total, new courses: 52

Updated albums: 18

Destination courses: 49

 

The breakdown of new courses, scattered across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware and New York is as follows:

 

1.  Rookery South

2.  Rookery North

3.  Sunningdale

4.  Metropolis

5.  Crossgates

6.  Forsgate Palmer

7.  Hopewell Valley

8.  Mystic Rock

9.  Shepherd's Rock

10.  Fox Chapel

11.  Vince's Par 3

12.  Engineers

13.  Newberry

14.  Irem

15.  Green Spring Valley

16.  Southampton

17.  Quogue Field Club

18.  Maidstone

19.  South Fork

20.  Jericho National

21.  Wyoming Valley

22.  Glen Maura

23.  Fiddler's Elbow - Forest

24.  Fiddler's Elbow - River

25.  Cranbury

26.  Forest Hill

27.  Carroll Park

28.  Willow Brook

29.  Harbor Pines

30.  Hanover

31.  Squires

32.  Eastlyn

33.  Springfield Golf Center

34.  Pines at Clermont

35.  Highlands of Donegal

36.  Laguna Oaks

37.  Heritage Links

38.  Village Greens

39.  Atlantis

40.  Mercer Oaks West

41.  Hooper's Landing

42.  Briarwood East

43.  Royce Brook East

44.  Royce Brook West

45.  Island Hills

46.  Tallgrass

47.  Greystone

48.  Bethpage Red

49.  Bethpage Green

50.  Skytop

51.  Bidermann

52.  Country Club of the Poconos

 

Destination courses:

 

1.  Pinehurst No. 2

2.  Streamsong Red

3.  Streamsong Blue

4.  Pikewood National

5.  Steelwood

6.  Yale

7.  Sylvania

8.  Inverness

9.  University of Michigan

10.  Country Club of Florida

11.  John's Island West

12.  Dunes Club

13.  Maketewah

14.  Pine Tree

15.  Whistling Straits - Irish

16.  Yeamans Hall Club

17.  Ocean Course

18.  Barefoot Fazio

19.  Barefoot Love

20.  Barefoot Dye

21.  Barefoot Norman

22.  Thistle

23.  Prestwick

24.  Palm Beach Par 3

25.  Breakers Ocean

26.  Cavalier

27.  Princess Anne

28.  PGA National:  The Fazio

29.  French Lick Ross

30.  Mountain Lake

31.  Pinehurst No. 4

32.  Pinehurst No. 8

33.  Pensacola

34.  Cotton Creek

35.  Gulf Shores

36.  Rock Creek CC

37.  Pete Dye Golf Club

38.  Abbey Course at St. Leo

39.  World Woods Pine Barrens

40.  World Woods Rolling Oaks

41.  Lake Jovita South

42.  Cleveland Heights

43.  Lake Jovita North

44.  Streamsong Black

45.  Boston Golf Club

46.  Belterra

47.  Cambridge

48.  Royal New Kent

49.  Old Hickory

 

Updated photo albums:

 

1.  Applebrook

2.  Huntingdon Valley

3.  Jack Frost

4.  Timber Trails

5.  Concord

6.  Mainland

7.  Architects Club

8.  Mainland

9.  Country Club of Scranton

10.  Lancaster

11.  Woodcrest

12.  Spring Ford

13.  Lehigh

14.  Tumblebrook

15.  Waynesborough

16.  Philadelphia Cricket Wissahickon

17.  Broad Run

18.  Hickory Valley Presidential

 

After this latest addition of courses, I asked Joe to do me and his readers a favor.  From these new courses, pick his five favorites and write a sentence or two explaining why they stand out in his mind.

 

Here is what we wrote:

 

Pines at Clermont:  You're down at the Jersey Shore and a number of courses await you.  Wait, you've never heard of Pines at Clermont, have you?!  It is a fun, very cheap, 9-hole course that really serves it purpose.

 

Bidermann:  This private club, located in Winterthur, Delaware, has a serene atmosphere and excellent Dick Wilson-designed layout.  I'm fortunate to know a member and gosh I'm glad I do!   Joe Logan’s story on Bidermann

 

French Lick:  Donald Ross course:  In the hometown of Larry Bird (The hick from French Lick!) is a fabulous example of the genius of the golden age architect Donald Ross.  This resort course nicely demonstrates how Ross could come up with a fun, challenging layout on a small piece of land.

 

World Woods:  This destination site in Central Florida contains two Tom Fazio layouts and is a perfect place to play two in a day!  The Rolling Oaks course is an Augusta National inspired layout, while the Pine Barrens has some looks and feel of Pine Valley.  

 

Streamsong Black:  The latest course part of the Streamsong Resort in Central Florida is designed by local architects Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner.  It has a look and feel unlike any course I've played.  If you enjoy being able to utilize a ground game and watching your ball roll and twist and turn, this place is for you.

From time to time, I get an email from a reader unhappy that I have posted yet another story about Donald Trump.

 

I got one just this morning. I’m guessing it was because I posted a story yesterday on the fact that Stormy Daniels, the porn star Trump is accused of having paid off, is bringing her strip-show act to a gentlemen’s club across the street from Trump’s International GC, just up the street from Mar-a-Lago.

 

I won’t identify the reader but here is his email:

 

 

 

Joe-

 

Might want to lay off the anti Trump crap on your site. Stick to golf.

 

 

 

In my email reply, I told him what I would tell anyone with a similar complaint:

 

 

Thanks for your advice, which I am sure is well-intentioned and heartfelt.  Thing is, Trump is so much a part of golf, it is hard to ignore him.  Even before he was president, he was one of the major golf course owners in the country; since he has become president, he has become the face of golf, as much so as Tiger Woods.  That is a fact, not crap.

 

This is not a political website, to be sure.  Generally, I avoid politics.  That has become more difficult since Trump was elected, because of his involvement in golf.

 

I’ve got readers who hate Trump and I’ve got readers who love Trump.  My rule of thumb is, post Trump-related stories only if they are somehow connected to golf.  Anything else Trump-related or political, I steer clear.

 

My other rule of thumb is, if I find a story interesting, or compelling, or disturbing, I believe many of my readers will also.  I post stories all the time that I disagree with or that I find distasteful, or mule-headed.  To me, it’s part of the job.

 

Thanks for taking the time to write.  I hope you’ll visit myphillygolf.com as often as possible.

 

Joe

 

 

I do post plenty of Trump stories.  I don’t apologize for that.   Like it or not, the man dominates every news cycle and his every move is scrutinized, even on the golf course.  But like I said, I don’t stray from the golf-related stuff.

 

I also don’t deliberately dwell on the negative Trump stories.  I have all kinds of Google alerts set up to funnel stories to me, among them "Trump golf," which makes no distinction whether stories are positive or negative.   I posted a positive story today, a CNN International report crediting him with having a "pretty good" golf swing and a golf game that stacks up well against his presidential predecessors.

 

As I said in that email, I post stories all the time that I take no pleasure in passing along, often golf business or golf industry stories that report that rounds are down, or that yet another course is closing, or that golf’s business model is out of whack, or that millennials find the game stuffy and too time-consuming.

 

I operate on the presumption that the people who come to myphillygolf.com are knowledgeable, sophisticated news consumers.  I try to give you anything that I think you might want to see, or ought to see, or at least have the opportunity to see.  And I try to err on the side of letting you evaluate the information for yourself.

 

Until I become convinced that is the wrong way to operate, I’ll continue doing it.

 

 

 

 

 

Now, where was I?

 

In the months since my last blog post I have been busy, but not nearly as busy as Joe Bausch, curator/photographer of the Bausch Collection, MyPhillyGolf.com’s invaluable repository of golf course photo galleries.

 

Since I last updated his progress a year ago, Bausch, a Villanova chemistry professor, has played more golf than Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson combined and likely visited more golf courses than a fertilizer rep.  With Villanova out for the summer, Bausch is up and out of his house every morning, off on another golfing quest – always with his trusty camera.

 

The results of Bausch’s passion (some might say obsession) are readily visible on MyPhillyGolf.com – the Bausch Collection is now up to 370 galleries and growing by the day.

 

In addition to the 29 new galleries, Bausch is most pleased about the expansion of the Bausch Collection from a regional resource to include a new category we’re calling "Destination Courses."

 

The first destination course Bausch posted was Erin Hills, host of last month’s U.S. Open.  In recent days, he has added 10 more Destination Courses.

 

Here is a breakdown of the courses Bausch has added or updated:

 

Destination Courses

1.  Dormie Club

2.  Erin Hills

3.  Cabot Links

4.  Highland Links

5.  Cabot Cliffs

6.  Whistling Straits - Straits

7.  Tidewater

8.  Blackwolf Run - River

9.  Blackwolf Run - Meadow Valleys

10.  PGA National - Champion

11.  Kiva Dunes

 

 

New Galleries

1.  Rossmore

2.  Sawmill

3.  Foxchase

4.  Cedarbrook

5.  Wedgewood

6.  Hershey's Mill

7.  CC of Harrisburg

8.  Wanango

9.  Foxburg

10.  Indiana

11.  Deal

12.  Hollywood

13.  Glen Brook

14.  Pomona

15.  Hamilton Trails

16.  Latona

17.  Wilmington CC - North

18.  Hayfields

19.  Bent Creek

20.  Rolling Road

21.  Twin Oaks

22.  Lehman

23.  Pinelands

24.  Washington Twp

25.  Tanglewood Manor

26.  Wolf Hollow

27.  Fox Hill

28.  Sparrows Point - Inside Nine

29.  Sparrows Point

 

Updated Galleries

1.  Lancaster CC - Highlands

2.  Blackwood

3.  Turtle Creek

4.  LuLu

5.  French Creek

6.  Bala

7.  McCall

8.  Ridgewood

9.  Overbrook

10.  Atlantic City CC

11.  Llanerch

12.  Deerfield

13.  Cobb's Creek

14.  Springfield

15.  Linfield National

16.  Twisted Dune

17.  Scotland Run

18.  Phoenixville

19.  Greate Bay

20.  PineCrest

21.  Linwood

22.  Honeybrook

23.  Reading

24.  Pitman

25.  Seaview Pines

26.  St. Davids

27.  Riverwinds

28.  Applecross

29.  Locust Valley

30.  Valley CC

31.  Pickering Valley

32.  Bella Vista

The outpouring for Arnold Palmer has been heartwarming and deserved.  He was truly one of the most remarkable American icons of the past century.

 

When the news alert hit my cell phone last night, and the generous and respectful tributes began to pour in, I couldn’t help but think back over my own interviews and personal encounters with The King over the years.

 

A few:

 

- Whenever Palmer was in the room, it was a pleasure to stand back and watch the adulation, the adoration.  Everyone smiled when they saw Arnie.  Everyone wanted to get a moment with him, to tell him how much they loved him.  Even very rich men swooned like little kids.  Women melted, no matter how old he was.  Arnie just exuded magnetism and charm.

 

Unlike many celebrities who shrink in such situations, or become aloof, Arnie basked in it, loved it.  He knew that to make fan for life, all he had to do was be cordial and, say, "Hello, nice to meet you."

 

One such moment still stands out in my mind.  It was late in Palmer’s Champions Tour career, when he was pretty much a ceremonial golfer but still the biggest draw in the field.  One day, when he walked off the 18^th green, he was approached by a woman who began to gush over him.

 

I’ve seen plenty of famous people – plenty of famous golfers – who would have blown right past that woman.  Palmer did not.  He stopped and listened to what the woman had to say.

 

"Arnold, you probably don’t remember me," she began.  His ears perked up; he was intrigued.

 

She launched into a tale about how 25 or so years ago, when she was a girl, she had shyly run up to him at a tournament and asked him to autograph her visor.  He had stopped then, as now.  Now, years later, that little girl was having her second moment with Arnie, holding out that visor to show him that she still had it.

 

Palmer looked at the visor, then at the woman.  It was obvious he had no recollection of her or of autographing her visor.  But he didn’t tell her that.  He smiled and said, "It’s so good to see you again..."

 

Palmer left that woman on Cloud 9, just like he left so many other people in life.

 

- The first time I ever interviewed Palmer was in 1983, at a Champions Tour event outside Boston.  He was 53 at the time, no longer competitive, frustrated with his game.  But he was still Arnold Palmer, in all his glory.

 

For much of the hour-long interview in his hotel room, he sat at a table, autographing the stack of photos and memorabilia that get sent to him every day.

 

-  Palmer always gave some of the best press conferences in golf.  Many of today’s star players go through the motions of press conferences reluctantly, sometimes sullenly.  More than a few of them only show up for press conferences because the PGA Tour requires it. They don’t need think they need the press any more. If they have something to say, they’ll say it on Twitter, not to the media.

 

Not Palmer.  He valued his relationship with the press, and even cultivated personal relationships with many of the writers and TV people who covered him.  Ask Palmer a question and you’d likely to get a long, thoughtful, candid answer.  And he never ended a press conference until all the questions had been asked and answered.

 

- It was no secret that Palmer’s relationship with Ben Hogan was chilly at times.  Even when Palmer was the biggest star on the PGA Tour, you wouldn’t know it from Hogan’s reaction.

 

I once asked Palmer about his relationship with Hogan.  There was a long silence before Palmer finally said, "He never called me by my name..."

 

- I shook hands with Palmer a number of times over the years.  He had maybe the best handshake ever.  Here is a blog post I wrote about it in 2013:

 

When NBC’s Dan Hicks and Johnny Miller welcomed Arnold Palmer into the booth at Bay Hill a few moments ago, Hicks joked that it was good to feel Arnie’s handshake again.

 

I totally agree – you never forget Arnold Palmer’s handshake.

 

It’s not that Arnie is one of those bone-crusher guys, not at all.   His is just a firm, friendly, manly handshake.  Two quick pumps and he releases.

 

What makes it so unforgettable is Arnie’s hand itself: it’s big and strong and as padded as a major league catcher’s mitt.  The fingers he wraps around your hand are as thick and beefy as sausages.  You feel like you’ve fallen into the embrace of a mama bear or something.

 

And I don’t care who you are, or what you can or cannot do for him, Arnie looks you in the eye, smiles and says it’s good to see you.  It’s one of the reasons Arnold Palmer is one of the great ambassadors the game has ever had.

 

- In the early days of Golf Channel, before they had a stable full of high-priced on-air talent, it was a leaner operation.  Most nights, primetime programming consisted of Peter Kessler hosting interview shows.

 

For one of those shows, on Sunday nights, they flew in a steady stream of newspaper and magazine writers down Golf Channel studios in Orlando.  Oftentimes, they’d put you up overnight at Bay Hill Resort because Palmer, who owned Bay Hill, was one of the founders and early investors in Golf Channel.

 

I was one of the writers they flew in, probably a half-dozen times.  One Monday morning after the Sunday night show, I walked into the restaurant at Bay Hill for breakfast, before heading to the airport.  It was early and the place was almost empty, except for staff and one table over in the corner.  There sat Arnie and Winnie, just the two of them, having breakfast.

 

Arnie looked up in my direction and nodded.  I nodded back.  I didn’t want to intrude; I took a table on the other side of the restaurant to give them their privacy.

 

- I once spent the morning at the offices of Arnold Palmer Enterprises, across the road from Latrobe Country Club and only steps from Palmer’s home.  The offices also serve as a sort of Palmer Museum, full of memorabilia from his legendary career.

 

Palmer’s longtime, loyal assistant Doc Giffin, had promised to give me a tour.  Palmer himself wasn’t expected to be there that day but it turned out he was.   At one point, he came out of his office, shook my hand and we chatted for a few minutes, before he was off to make a phone call.

 

A day later, I was back, along with a couple of fellow golf writers.   Doc had invited us to play Latrobe CC, the course where Palmer grew up and which he has owned for many years.  Afterward, we had lunch in the Latrobe grill room, a comfortable, no-frills place.  It still ranks as one of my Top 10 days in golf.