On Club Championships - Originally Posted 08/16/11 

It's championship season here in Erie and a number of clubs have already had their club championships and the local governing body has conducted the "major" tournaments which were won by Dave Hewett (Match Play) and Ellery Tarbell (Medal Play).

Next on the agenda is the EDGA Senior Tournament which will be held at the Lake Shore Country Club on Thursday, August 18th, 2011.  The Raptor is playing in this event and has been fortunate to hook up with two past Champions...Rick Carlotti and Ron Coleman as members of the group along with longtime golf associate, Lou Natalie.  This should be an excellent match.

There are almost 90 entrants in this years event and some of the top senior golfers in the Erie area are teeing it up...

EDGA City Tournament Update "The Raptor Bump" Continues- Originally Posted 08/01/2011 

The Pace Of Play - Originally Posted 07/11/11 

Congratulations Are In Order (In The Jarzo Tradition) - Originally Posted 06/27/2011 

Mike Wolfe and Don Fessler Exchanging A Handshake Following Wolfe's 1-Up Victory In 2011 EDGA Match Play Opening Round

John Sherman...Veteran EDGA Combatant Following His Dramatic Victory Over Austin Romeo

This About Sums It Up - Originally Posted 12/13/2010 

The Raptor was reviewing email this morning and came across this post which caused me to laugh out loud...enjoy...

The Eagle Has Landed - Originally Posted 11/16/2010 

The Raptor is looking back on a long and successful golf season and is taking two separate events which occurred only recently as the subject of today's post...anyone who has played at Whispering Woods Golf Club knows how the course is laid out and it is The Raptor's goal to "make hay" on the front nine and more specifically on holes 2 through 5.  

The second hole is a short par 3, that has a generous putting surface. The 3rd hole is a reachable par 5 while the 4th and 5th holes measure less than 300 yards and are "easy" par 4's.

On Saturday October October 23rd while playing with my regular gang, including Tony Pepicello, Brian McGrath and Al James, The Raptor was playing decent but found myself 3 over par after the first 4 holes, I played a tee ball on hole #5 towards the left side of the fairway roughly 80 yards from the putting surface.

The flagstick was positioned in the back right quadrant of the putting surface and it was fully visible from my position in the fairway.  The Raptor elected to use a pitching wedge as there was a slight breeze in the face.  When The Raptor struck the approach, I actually said "Be The Ball"...that's how good I hit the shot which was tracking directly at the hole!.

The ball hit the putting surface roughly mid green and rolled straight at the hole and dropped in for a deuce or eagle...hence "the eagle had landed".  After a brief celebration, The Raptor moved on to the remainder of the match and played reasonably well...shooting an 81 from the blue tees which is a good score.

Now fast forward to Sunday November, 7th when The Raptor played with Lou Natalie, Tom Tomechko and Ray Kallner.  The weather was a lot colder on that day and The Raptor was playing awful and after 4 holes was already 5 over par!...not exactly making hay, eh...well The Raptor hit a mediocre tee ball on hole #5 and had no positive whatsoever.  As a matter of fact two of the players in the group were looking or tee balls in the left woods and Ray was attempting to size up a tough bunker shot.

So as I prepared to hit my approach, I briefly though about "getting close" to try to turn around an obvious terrible round and actually rolled my pitching wedge shot from 90 yards away.  However, the ball trundled along the ground and got closer to the putting surface as the seconds ticked by.  The ball got to the putting surface eventually and rolled up to the hole and dropped in for another eagle...wow!... how cool was that?

It is safe to say that the first eagle was as a result of one of the finest golf shots The Raptor has ever struck, while the second was perhaps one of the worst shots The Raptor has ever struck..however, they both were a dandy two on the scorecard as The Eagle Had Landed...twice...

Originally Posted 09/02/2010 

Laws of Golf

"They say golf is like life, but don't believe them. Golf is more complicated than that." Gardner Dickinson
 
LAW 1:
No matter how bad your last shot was, you should have Inner peace knowing that a shittier one is yet to come. (This law does not expire on the 18th hole, since it has the supernatural tendency to extend over the course of a tournament, a summer and, eventually, a lifetime.)
 

LAW 2:
Your best round of golf will be followed almost immediately by your worst round ever. The probability of the latter increases with the number of people you tell about the former.

LAW 3:
Brand new golf balls are water-magnetic. (Though this cannot be proven in the lab, it is a known fact that the more expensive the golf ball, the greater its attraction to water. Expensive clubs have been known to be partly made with this most unusual natural alloy.)
 

LAW 4:
Golf balls never bounce off of trees back into play.  If one does, the tree is breaking a law of the universe and should be cut down.

LAW 5:
No matter what causes a golfer to muff a shot, all His playing partners must solemnly chant "You looked up," or invoke the wrath of the universe.
 

LAW 6:
The higher a golfer's handicap, the more qualified he deems himself as an instructor.
 

LAW 7:
Every par-three hole in the world has a secret desire to humiliate golfers. The shorter the hole, the greater its desire.

LAW 8:
Palm trees eat golf balls.

LAW 9:
Sand is alive. It will swallow your balls.
 

LAW 10:
A golfer hitting into your group will always be bigger than anyone in your group. Likewise, a group you accidentally hit into will consist of a football player, a professional wrestler, a convicted murderer and an IRS agent -- or some similar combination.

LAW 11:
All 3-woods are demon-possessed .

LAW 12:
Golf balls from the same "sleeve" tend to follow one another, particularly out of bounds or into the water (See LAW 3).

LAW 13:
A severe slice is a thing of awesome power and beauty.

LAW 14:
The person you would most hate to lose to will always be the one who beats you.

LAW 15 :
The last three holes of a round will automatically adjust your score to what it really should be.

LAW 16:
Golf should be given up at least twice per month.

LAW 17:
All vows taken on a golf course shall be valid only until the sunset.
 

LAW 18:
Since bad shots come in groups of three, your fourth consecutive bad shot is really the beginning of the next group of three.

LAW 19:
When you look up and cause an awful shot, you will always look down again at exactly the moment when you should have continued watching the ball if you ever want to see it again.

LAW 20:
The less skilled the player, the more likely he is to share his ideas about your swing.

LAW 21:
If it isn't broke, try changing your grip.
 

LAW 22:
Golfers who claim they don't cheat, also lie.

LAW 23:
A golf match is a test of your skill against your opponent's luck.

LAW 24:
It's surprisingly easy to hole a 50-foot putt when you lie 8.

LAW 25:
Counting on your opponent to inform you when he breaks a rule is like expecting him to make fun of his own haircut.

LAW 26:
Nonchalant putts count the same as chalant putts.

LAW 27:
It's not a gimme if you're still away.

LAW 28:
The shortest distance between any two points on a golf course is a straight line that passes directly through the center of a very large tree.

LAW 29:
You can hit a 2-acre fairway 10% of the time, and a 2-inch branch 90% of the time.

LAW 30:
Every Time a golfer makes a birdie, he must subsequently make two triple bogeys to restore the fundamental equilibrium of the Universe.

LAW 31:
If you want to hit a 7-iron as far as Tiger Woods does, simply try to lay up just short of a water hazard...or fire hydrant!

LAW 32:
There are two things you can learn by stopping your backswing at the top and checking the position of your hands: how many hands you have, and which one is wearing the glove.

LAW 33:
Hazards attract; fairways repel.

LAW 34:
You can put "draw" on the ball, you can put "fade" on the ball, but no golfer can put "straight" on the ball.

LAW 35:
A ball you can see in the rough from 50 yards away is not yours.

LAW 36:
Don't buy a putter until you've had a chance to throw it.

Originally Posted 08/11/2010 

As many of you know, The Raptor is a learned man.  Unfortunately, the educational advancements have never been able to take The Raptor to higher levels of consciousness.  The Raptor prefers simple mindless things like NASCAR, a USA Network “Monk” Marathon or perhaps a visit to Wal-Mart to obtain visionary enlightenment.

There are moments when a sense of “ennui” erupts.  For those not in the know…ennui is a term associated with boredom or listlessness.  It can also mean a dissatisfaction resulting from lack of interest or motivation.  This same term can also be used to typecast a broad spectrum of golf’s best players.

From Tiger Woods to V J Singh to Sean O’Hair all the way back to Ben Hogan, it has been a golfer’s right to be a detached automaton focused on precision shot making.  This sense of detachment is practiced here in NW Pennsylvania as well.  Consider the famed and fabled Kahkwa Club as an example…when one of The Raptor’s pals joined there several years ago, I jokingly stated that he would have to abandon his cheerful disposition in favor of a look of detachment and boredom.

Obviously, reaching a pinnacle such as membership in an exclusive club merits that sense of ennui.  While maintaining a sense of contentment on the inside is important, it is absolutely necessary to exhibit no emotion on the outside. Practice may be required to develop the correct look and posture.  Smiling is out of the question and the furtive glance will become the trait of the entitled.  A quick look with a blank expression coupled with a “Heisman” type wave with a quick turn of the head in an opposite direction.  The key here is to avoid prolonged eye contact and try to keep conversation to a minimum.  It is also necessary to implement a sniff and/or cough to fortify the detachment.

When speaking to others it is acceptable to talk in the third person.  So, if The Raptor were to ask a player named Jim where his membership was the response could be…sniff…cough…”Jimmie is a member of Kahkwa”…turn head away…glass over…

The manner of dress is also important.  The shirt collar should be pulled up.  This is in an attempt to keep the sun off the neck but more importantly it serves notice that you have permission to look like a tool in the midst of the remaining 99% of the golf population.  After golf, it is imperative to remove inappropriate outerwear such as golf spikes in favor of dress loafers.  Socks are out of the question.  It should be noted that ugly tan lines can be an embarrassment so it is important to use no sock which extends past the crest of the top of the golf shoe.  For this purpose, feminine type PEDS are permissible.  However, make sure to cut of the little balls with your Swiss army knife.  Also, a must accessory is a sharp pair of sun glasses and a cardigan sweater which should be tied loosely around the neck.  The sunglasses should not shield the eyes but be placed on the top of the head, even indoors…just in case Jennifer Anniston or Sharon Stone show up. One final warning…cargo pants/shorts are out of the question! 

Even at my own club, the semi-public Whispering Woods GC, the sense of detached ennui is prevalent.  It’s not necessarily in the manner of dress or the absence of emotion.  It’s more closely tied to which tee one plays their round from.  In previous posts The Raptor has mentioned that there are perhaps 75 members who use the club frequently.  Of that number there are less than 10 who can play from the black tees with any degree of competency.  This intrepid bunch of golf pioneers are living proof that being different is in itself a satisfying personality.

At the crux of this matter is why the “blackies” joined the club in the first place.  After all, it would be silly to resign from a challenging club where playing from the black tees was the norm and then follow it up by playing at the new club from the tee boxes used by a large percentage of the membership.  Therefore, a sense of detachment is prevalent amongst the dark group as they survey the landscape from the tiger tees knowing full well that they are Masters…of their domain.

Whispering Woods GC - First Hole - 205 Yards Of Carry From Black Tees...Sniff...Cough

Is there a sense of accomplishment by going to the club and shooting 78, 80 or even 83?...absolutely...if I could I would...If the blackies decided to move on up, there would be a sense of deflation and humiliation and that makes it difficult for the dark group to associate with members of the blue or white group.  Plus, attempting to match up with the coloreds is proving difficult for the blackies since no common denominator is being propagated.

So, when asked…WWGC’s best players perform a sniff, then a cough and in a hushed tone state with authority…”I play from the black tees”…”Take A Hike”…

Originally Posted 06/07/2010 

The Raptor has always been a big fan of the Star Trek Brand and has numerous episodes archived…especially the original series which was telecast between 1966 and 1969.   One of the most popular episodes included in the run was “A Piece Of The Action” which dealt with the Enterprise visit to a planet known as Sigma Iotia II.

The inhabitants of Iotia had been visited by a survey mission of The Federation 100 years earlier and at that time the crew of the mission had given some reading materials to the Iotians including a book entitled “Chicago Mobs of The Twenties”.  This book had become viewed as a Holy Relic by the Iotians and they had built an entire culture around it and referred to it as “The Book”.

The leading gangsters of this culture were Bela Oxmyx and Jojo Krako.  At one point in the episode, Oxmyx contacts the Enterprise and speaks to Mr. Spock.  The dialog goes something like this…

Oxmyx…”Hey, up there…you better come back down to the planet…Krako has your boss (Captain Kirk) in a bag…”

Spock…”Why would he put a bag on my Captain?”…

Oxmyx…”Kidnapped him…ya dope”…

Spock’s statement of naivety “Why would he put a bag on my Captain” has always been a Raptor fav.  I repeatedly use the colloquialism when I view the naïve actions of others and there are numerous situations when the phrase could pop up in my consciousness.

Here is an example…The Raptor is a member of Whispering Woods Golf Club and this Friday, June 11^th, the club is sponsoring a member guest invitational.  Member Guest events are a common practice in this region as they are all over the place.  The theory goes something like this…WWGC has a Member Guest and the WWGC members “invite” guests from other golf clubs in the region in order to conduct a tournament which includes lunch, golf, dinner and awards.

The invited guest in turn reciprocates by inviting the WWGC member over to his club for some subsequent Member Guest being held there.  This happens all the time.  The clubs in this region include Lake View, Lawrence Park, Lake Shore, Kahkwa as well as Meadville CC and perhaps Corry CC.

There is a very critical pecking order here and the rotating group of “players” who participate in this process are in a select bunch.  Unfortunately, the membership roster at WWGC is smallish with only perhaps 75 who are regular players.  As a result attempting to conduct a Member Guest is tricky since the prospective WWGC member is bound to ask himself (in parody to the naïve statement uttered by Spock…”Why would I want to invite someone to WWGC?)

Well…there are a number of reasons.  First, is the reciprocal…if the WWGC member can invite someone to the home club; he has a chance to get an invite somewhere else.  Unfortunately, another aspect of this whole conundrum is that most of the members of WWGC have no friends.  In most cases the WWGC members have developed into a bunch of ball hawking trolls who prefer to spend their time searching ravines and creeks for Pro V1’s rather than promoting a harmonious golf club.

Example Of a WWGC "Hazard" - the 12th Hole - Home To many Lost Pro-v1's!

This is also known as a “zero-sum trade off”.  Work with The Raptor here.   WWGC is the ultimate golfer’s utopia.  The course is fairly well groomed.  The members can play any time they want as there are virtually no exclusionary days.  The cost per year for the member is $2,000.00 and this includes your cart.  The member can bring just about any sort of food or beverage onto the grounds with out being questioned.  I suppose a crafty member could even keep a supply of cold beer in their car and dip into it without being found out...this is also known as "The Burnside Gambit".

Another Example Of A Treasure Trove For Ball Hawkers - The "Raptor's Ravine" At the 12th Hole of WWGC

Each round played brings the WWGC member closer to “zero-sum”.  Once a member reaches about 40 - 18 hole rounds played, they have reached a “break even point” After that, the cost per round calculation brings them closer to “zero-sum”.  By factoring in the finding of Pro-V1’s and playing upwards of say 80 to 100 rounds…the cost per round dips into the rarified territory of say…$25.00 per round…are you kidding me?...Why would I want to invite a guest to my club?.  Consider this, The Raptor started playing organized rounds this year around March 15^th…I have now played in excess of 30 - 18 hole rounds!  I will reach break even by the middle of June and I will still have 4 and ½ months to work towards “zero-sum”!!!

If a WWGC member took a chance on inviting a guest, first he would face the real crisis of a reversal of “zero-sum”... Obviously, there is a $120.00 out of pocket fee to pay.  This is the cost of the tournament.  Then there would be additional funds expensed for small stuff like tips or bets, and the “zero-sum member” may even be forced to actually talk to another human being and perhaps suspend ball hawking activities for the day.

This can be a problem as there could very well be some covert ball hawking going on by others which could potentially deny a prospective zero-sum member a Pro-v1 opportunity…total and utter devastation awaits!

Another reason to invite someone to WWGC is to “showcase” the facility.  After all, WWGC now has a nice driving range and there is the ultra posh “Asphalt Bar and Grill” complete with TIKI bar to provide the fluids for the “inner man”.  Unfortunately, there are virtually no members who are attempting to approach zero-sum who will also use the driving range since that would require an additional out of pocket expenditure of perhaps $100.00 to $150.00…this is bound to cause a zero-sum’s “Johnson” to “turtle”.  In addition, the driving range is somewhat provincial in that the managers periodically move the hitting zone back to the hard mat area in order to provide some healing to the turf area.  This promotes a paraphrase of the Spockism to: “Why would I want to use the driving range?”!!!

The "Asphalt Bar & Grill"

A third reason to participate in the Member Guest is the camaraderie theory.  This is the hardest thing to do in the world.  It requires an actual personality to interact with normal people, especially when you have developed a “zero-sum” personality.  Normal people will consider your zero-sum shenanigans to be obtuse.  Obtuseness is a colloquialism for “round at the sharp edges”…alas sharpness is not a trait of the zero-sum operative.

A fourth reason to participate in the Member-Guest is that it is a tournament and you can actually “win” something.  That promotes a feeling of accomplishment. This is the greatest feeling in golf.  For the average Joe, winning something at golf is impossible…right?  The game is difficult.  Hitting quality golf shots is rare…Ben Hogan stated that he hit few perfect shots – there was always a slight error.  And putting?...virtually no one is an excellent putter 100% of the time. So, if an approach on a par three happens to land next to the hole or maybe a few putts drop the potential exists for someone to be a “winner”

Unfortunately, zero-sum members are already winners.  They have nothing else to prove.  Nothing else to gain since they have done it all.  Plus, since the Member Guest is a handicapped event there is always the real possibility that the outcome is resolved through some sort of golfing “voodoo” which eliminates real skill in favor of some contrived calculation which benefits the unskilled.  And there is the rub. There is a large percentage of WWGC members who are “competitive”.  As a result, they abhor a handicapped competition since the benefit flows to the common “chop”.  As a consequence…“Why would I want to put a bag on my captain?”

Originally Posted 05/16/2010 

The Raptor has now played about 25 rounds of golf at WWGC since the season began around March 15th and it's been mostly famine with no feast to speak of.  Today was a perfect spring day and the course has begun to dry up a bit after some hard rain during the week. The logistics of developing a play group have taken up a life of it's own and it's through the patience of the members of The Raptor's roster that a series of successful weekend matches have resulted.

Generally the roster is initiated the week before the actual play date when The Raptor queries the members to see who is interested in playing the following week. In some cases roster members are locked in and play every week regardless of their calendar or weather conditions. Obviously, these individuals have no life  In other cases, roster members have conflicts that preclude them from joining in the play date.

The Saturday matches were not too difficult to prepare for as WWGC had a club Scramble and no scheduling was necessary.  However, the roster for Sunday was a super challenge.  For starters, five regulars were elsewhere and the left The Raptor with very little wiggle room in order to field a roster of 12 players in three groups...that is the key...foursomes provide the best platform for conducting matches.

As of Saturday at 2:00PM The Raptor had 13 players counted with no apparent way to get to 16 bodies.  So, a decision was made to contact the last individual who had placed a reservation and cancel his appearance...this was very difficult to do. By 5:00, The Raptor had released the pairings and thought the matter was closed.  However, at 6:30 an individual who had been queried earlier in the day to play, called The Raptor, throwing his hat in the ring.  The Raptor was forced to deny him a slot in Sunday's match, even though he had gotten clearance from the tower to fly.

The Raptor woke early Sunday as he always does full of nervous energy particularly worried about who may not show etc.  Unfortunately, The Raptor noted a text message which was the worst possible news...a member could not attend due to a prior unrecalled commitment.  Now The Raptor was pissed since I had denied two potential players a slot.  However, I was able to contact one of the ousted players and he agreed to sit in and fill the group to 12 players.  As a result, a good time was had by all.

Originally Posted 04/05/10

Well...it's Masters Week at last and most folks are keen on tuning into hear Tiger Woods...at his upcoming 2:00 PM News Conference which should be...interesting but not fascinating.  The Masters Committeemen who handle media relations have promised to control the questions to a narrow range of topics which is OK with me.  The Raptor personally hates it when the golfers get brought up before the press.  Who can forget Arnold Palmer crying at the 1994 US Open at Oakmont or more recently Brandt Snedicker weeping into his golf towel when he pulled the chocker at Augusta National which handed the Green Jacket to Trevor Immelman...ouch!

It's difficult to predict who is going to win this thing...last year it was the hard charging, hard smokin, hulking Angel Cabrarra while the previously mentioned Immelman stumbled into the winners circle in 2008 with Zack Johnson (and his dopey sunglasses) taking home the top prize in 2007.

The Raptor still is conflicted over one important issue and that is...can The Masters really be considered a "major"?...ok it's a popular tournament and it has been contested since the 1930's.  The winners have traditionally been the cream of golf's top players.  The Raptor's dilemma is the restrictive invitation process and the heartbreak that can go with that process.

Consider yesterday at the Shell Houston Open...Vaughn Taylor had shot a valiant closing round of 68 which included an awesome birdie three at the difficult 18th hole...the eventual winner, Anthony Kim made a convenient bogey at 18 during regulation play to let Taylor into a playoff which ended when Taylor made bogey in the playoff at the 18th hole.

Taylor had a human interest story line here since he was not qualified to play in the tournament and a win in Houston would have gotten him through the gates at Augusta.  It should be noted that Taylor is a resident of Augusta Georgia and had "dreamed" of playing in the Masters.  The look on Taylor's face was one of massive disappointment and its too bad he couldn't have qualified some other way, but there is always next year.

The golf majors originally were the British and American Opens and Amateurs and when Bobby Jones won his bundle of 13 majors he was considered the "grand champion"...The Master's wasn't even considered a major until after World War II so the winners while certainly due respect can pad their "majors" total ala Jack Nicklaus by the sole fact that they are the only participant in the tournament who has a chance to win the event!

This should be an interesting week...

Originally Posted 03/11/10

Tiger Woods was in the news again!!!...today it's been announced that his team has hired a former Press Secretary to President George W. Bush, Ari Fleischer to act as his spokesman.  The hot flash off Google also stated that Woods is planning a comeback at the Arnold Palmer Invitational on March 25th, 2010!  This is great news!

Originally Posted 03/05/10 

Tiger Woods was in the news again...well...his caddie, Steve Williams is the newsmaker this time...Williams, who resides in New Zealand this time of year, was recently interviewed on TV and stated emphatically that he didn't pay attention to what Woods was doing once the golf was over.  Steve said that he new "nothing" about Tiger's activities and also mentioned that he was friends with Tiger's wife Elin and also knew the kids...

OK...The Raptor will give Steve the high road here.  He has had a great run as Tiger's looper.  It's usual custom to give the caddie an annual stipend plus a percentage of the players winnings...say 6% for finishing plus a 4% bonus for a win.  Just tabulating the wins which number in the 70's, Williams could very well have earned in excess of $7,000,000.00 for his ten year stint.  Tiger's winning percentage is about 30 to 35%.  So in the course of 10 years he probably has played in about 200 golf tournaments and Williams probably has earned another $2,000,000.00 from those events.

So...Williams could very well be earning $1,000,000.00 per year to caddie.  That's hot!...There is a lot to the job though...especially with Woods as your player.  The Raptor has caddied a few times and had a great time performing the tasks.  Several of these caddie jobs were in the Erie Charity Classic. It was a great way to get inside the ropes while avoiding the embarrassing shots.

It's possible that Williams is telling the truth...He could very well report for work in the morning and check out once the day is done.  He probably lives a nice life and could very well have his own stable of skanks.  It's common for the player and caddie to only associate on the course.  This makes it easier to dump the caddie when necessary.  Just ask Mike "Fluff" Cowan who was Tiger's caddie before Williams took the bag.  Fluff is a colorful character of a man and it was believed that Tiger didn't appreciate that Fluff was becoming famous as a result of the notoriety.  So Tiger dumped him and now Fluff is toting Jim Furyk's bag.  Kind of a let down from the monetary standpoint but still not bad as Furyk has won some tournaments including the 2003 US Open.

It's also interesting that Jack Niclaus and other observers feel Tiger may be poised to make a comeback...The Raptor sure hopes so...I can only take so much of Ian Poulter's shenanigans.

Originally Posted 02/21/10          

The Raptor has always been a big fan of Tiger Woods.  Woods burst on the golf scene in the early 1990's and The Raptor felt at that time as he watched Tiger win three USGA Juniors and three USGA Amateurs that he was awesome.  So much so that The Raptor registered a potential website domain name "tigersarmy" in anticipation of the Tiger barrage which was soon to come...

Tiger...in his most famous pose...yeah!

Woods had a news conference on Friday which has come under scrutiny by most news personages as being "incomplete"...that's how Jon Feinstien summed it up on The Golf Channel on Saturday.  So where does Feinstein feel that Tiger came up short...

First, Feinstein feels that if Tiger wants to apologize...he can't place a "but" in the apology.  This centers around his request "not to harass my wife and kids".  So what is Feinstein (and other media types) saying here...The Raptor took it to mean that Tiger can apologize and that's it - the media can go photograph his wife and kids because Tiger is a "public person" - that's awful!

Second, Woods stated that he is going to change his ways - become more people friendly etc.  So just about everyone who hates Tiger (Dan Jenkins...Tom Watson...Jon Feinstein...Mike Lupica) believes that for Tiger to be sincere about this...Tiger can't throw clubs any more...he can't swear on the golf course...he has to sign more autographs...grant more interviews...and support more charities not associated with the Tiger Woods Foundation.  In addition, Woods has to start supporting small market tournaments that supported him during his first season...

Is that it...according to Jason Whitlock of the Kansas City Newspaper, this may be a perfect time for Woods to pull a "Barry Sanders" and retire from the public spotlight.. Give up that dream of winning 19 professional majors. which would make him the "greatest golfer of all time"...just thumb his nose at the whole thing.  Well...if people like Jon Feinstein are make these demands on Woods maybe he should give it up.  After all, he can't remain a public person forever.  Eventually he will have to be concerned about the kids and his business interests and his mother etc.  Every professional athlete has to do it and Wood's will be no exception.

As a sidebar, read what Dan Jenkins wrote in Golf Digest...

"Friends have been asking me why I haven't written my take on "the Tiger Woods deal," so here it comes.

First, let me just say that I'm still having trouble getting past the video games and Fruit Loops.  That's if I'm to believe the report that Tiger was so distraught after his indoor athleticism became public---and turned into what some people call a Shakespearean tragedy---that he crawled into deep, lonely hiding and occupied his time playing video games and eating Fruit Loops.

Maybe it is true, and that's why Tiger's agent, Mark Steinberg of IMG, said to the media at one point, "Give the kid a break." Kid?

Tiger Woods was a month away from 34 years of age when his debutantes began turning up in the news. He was a grown man with a wife and two children. Well, we supposed he had a wife, but that was before we learned she was only an ornament. Kid?

Kids flew B-17s in daylight bombing raids over Germany in World War II. Kids fought in Korea and Vietnam. Kids are serving today in Iraq and Afghanistan so Tiger Woods can live in a world where he can win 14 majors and match that number, the last time I counted, with 14 casting couches, most of them reserved for blondes.

Now excuse me a moment while I try to envision Ben Hogan,  Arnold Palmer, and Jack Nicklaus playing video games and eating Fruit Loops  while they try to deal with a career problem. Of course, Hogan, Palmer, and Nicklaus never set themselves up to become future statues in Central Park. They never pretended to be the All-American Daddy-Pop Father of the Year Who Also Wins Golf Tournaments. They never sold themselves as the greatest Family Values brand ever, and conquered the marketplace with it, shamelessly scooping up hundreds of millions of dollars while saying, "My family will always come first."

They were never what Tiger allowed himself to become from the start: spoiled, pampered, hidden, guarded, orchestrated, and entitled.

I'll tell you what Hogan, Palmer, Nicklaus were at their peak. They were every bit as popular as Tiger, they endured similar demands on their time, but they handled it courteously, often with ease and enjoyment.

They were accessible, likeable, knowable, conversant, as gracious in loss as they were in victory, and, above all, amazingly helpful to those of us in the print lodge who covered them.

That was their brand. All the things Tiger never was.

As for Tiger's brand, boy, did that take a hit. For all of the Tiger idolaters out there, it must have been like finding out that ice cream sundaes give you gonorrhea.

Never in my knowledge of history has any famous personality---in sports, show biz, or politics---ever fallen so far so fast. Tiger Woods is graveyard dead, as the Southern expression goes.

Life as Tiger has known it is over. His reputation is ruined, possibly forever. His name that once meant mastery over competitive golf now invokes cringes, giggles and all the internet jokes you  want to pass along.

Sure, he can come back and even win again, if he  man's up, but if he does he will only be a hero to the "you-da-man" and  "get-in-the-hole" crowd. And I can't imagine him coming back as a "humbled man."  That wouldn't be the owner of a yacht insultingly named "Privacy," the guy that the press has slobbered over for these past 12 years.

I covered Tiger winning his 14 professional majors, but I can't say I know him. I knew the smile he put on for TV. I knew the orchestrated remarks he granted us in his press room interviews. I knew the air he punched when another outrageous putt went in the cup. That's it.

I once made an effort to get to know the old silicone collector.  Tried to arrange dinners with him for a little Q-and-A, on or off the record, his choice.

But the closest I ever got was this word from his agent: "We have nothing to gain."

Now it's too late…I'm busy."

Unlike Dan Jenkins, The Raptor feels Tiger doesn't owe him anything.  He is the best - there is no doubt in my mind.  I've lived through Palmer, Nicklaus and Watson.  Unfortunately I missed Bobby Jones, Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan.  Look at that pose again...how many times has Wood's pulled the impossible?  Hole in one on 16 at Phoenix...hole outs, chip ins, clutch putts in near darkness,  If this is it...The Raptor will miss it but he won't be sad.  Tigers Army will continue to march!

Originally Posted 01/03/10          

The Raptor has been feverishly attempting to nail down the major local golf stories of 2010 and at this point, there is only innuendo and hearsay to state.  It seems there has been a member transition process going on at two private clubs.  The first, Lake View CC which is located in North East, Pennsylvania has apparently lost three prominent members to the Kahkwa Club.

According to anonymous sources, the three LVCC members partnered with five Lake Shore members to obtain a special rate on the initiation fee.  At one time this initiation was in excess of $30,000.00 but was lowered to $10,000.00 per man for this "Gang of Eight".  The Gang members will put up $4,000.00 to join and then put up $3,000.00 per year in 2011 and 2012 respectively.

The member counts at the private clubs continue to lurch backwards with both Lake View and Lake Shore hovering at a head count between 180 to 200 members.  Meanwhile, the Lawrence Park Golf Club membership is hovering at about 325 members.  While the roster at Kahkwa is difficult to determine, The Raptor feels that there are about 325 to 350 members there as well.

The Whispering Woods roster will probably start 2010 with 125 to 150 members.  The member fee is scheduled to be set at $2,000.00 for a single and $2850.00 for a family.  There will be special rates in play for driving range usage which equate to about a 25% discount from the advertised price.

The Raptor submits for you approval some selected pictures of Whispering Woods Golf Club for the fall of 2009 - enjoy!

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