Buy the Ben Hogan Company

This is an open appeal to Tiger Woods to make a much needed call and buy the Ben Hogan Company from Callaway. You can have Nike revitalize it as a great golf company producing golf products of the highest quality, something for which it was known for decades. I could do it myself but they would probably take your call and listen to your offer over my efforts. I would guess others have tried to do this but with little success. Its definitely a challenge.

Olympics in the future for golf?

The debate on golf in the Olympics is taking a more serious turn it seems now that China is showing some growth in facilities and people who enjoy golf. Golf in the Olympics seems like a natural. It is now a game that is truly enjoyed world wide in so many countries and seems to be growing at a rapid pace outside the US. There are some questions.

The biggest questions is when? 4, 8, 12 years from this summer's games?

What would the format be? Stroke play, match play, teams?

How does a country select its teams? World golf rankings, competitions as qualifiers?

Would they have to be amateurs or allow professionals to compete? Now there's an easy answer!

What about the ball? Will there be an Olympic ball with specific requirements that allows each manufacturer to produce it for their sponsored player? Logos on the ball? This one could be tricky as there are patents and legal issues to resolve. Maybe in 8 years the legal battles would be resolved. What about other equipment?

What will the governing rules be for the games? USGA or a special set of rules for the Olympics? They change a lot of rules for basketball. Will they need to do so for the Olympics?

Will Tiger Woods be there?

What country will Ernie Els play for?

Will the rules and venues be the same for women?

Will the top players in the world show up? Some players don't like to travel the world, others love it as a way of life. Kenny Perry comes to mind as does Ben Hogan. Perry sits out the British Open. Ben Hogan was finally convinced by his friends and legends of the game to play the Open Championship in 1953 before it was revived as a substantially well known and respected event in the US. Gary Player used to spend most of his sleeping time during any given day on a plane travelling the world to play and win his beloved game. Phil Mickelson is now becoming a globe trotter for the game. The fellows that play on the PGA Tour have not been heard yell a resounding yes to the Olympics even though the Commissioner has endorsed golf in the Olympics.

What will the role of the PGA, PGA Tour, USGA, LPGA, PGA sections, NCAA, etc. be in the selection and rules process?

Will there be 'official' Olympic training site(s)? Will they be selected based on the types of grass used, the types of greens, their championship venue characteristics? Bent or Bermuda?

Where will the competitions be held? A good guess would be a Jack Nicklaus design golf course and if not his, the Pete Dye will have his mark on it.

Who will be the coache(s)? What will the coaches teaching philosophy and technique? Five Lessons, The Modern Fundamentals of Golf, Stack and Tilt, McLean's 8 Step Swing, Faults and Fixes?

And last but not least, will I get to go and see this wonderful event!?

Asterisks

Must we look at tournament wins and other golf records with an asterisk? Why yes, because one of the greatest players that ever lived did not play in them. Even though the best golfers of the time played in them and one of them would win or set a new record we need to get our asterisk stamp pad and ink it up. I agree with the golf pundits who keep talking about this on air and in print and now in cyberspace. Any tournament that Ben Hogan did not play in should have an asterisk, woops, I mean Tiger Woods, woops, I mean Bobby Jones. Now I am all confused. Maybe all tournament wins should have asterisks and explain why it was or wasn't a 'normal' tournament. I guess that includes those tournaments that happened even before Tigber was born and at some point when he hangs up his spikes. Or should it be a double asterisk if Jack did not play? Heck, none of them can count unless we mention that Ben Hogan probably would have won it anyway.

Golf on TV, missing Tiger Woods, Five Lessons - The Modern Fundamentals of Golf dvd

Great golf on TV this weekend, from the Scottish Open with players getting a taste of golf in the old country, the John Deer Classic with a playoff won but a really hot player, Kenny Perry, and the LPGA Jamie Farr tournament. Mickelson looked like he was having fun out on the golf course as usual and hit a lot of nice shots. It looked like practice rounds for him.

Perry did a nice job of nailing the playoff on the birdie putt while everyone else went wet. He is playing spectacularly and will be a strong presence on our Ryder Cup Team. He definitely looked like he knows how to win. And, he probably won't take any guff or be intimidated by Azinger, his captain. That guy needs to lighten up.

Paula Creamer is a darling to watch in the hunt or out front. I did have to chuckle when she threw down her club yesterday and ended up on the green for a birdie putt. She has pretty high expections. The pink golf ball does look a little odd as another golf writer observed recently. She is getting to be a consistent leader board player and frequent winner. The LPGA is showing us some great golf overall and perfectly enjoyable on TV.

I did miss seeing Tiger out there but think that he also missed being out there playing those other guys as well. Maybe not this tournament per se but just the same, watching and knowing you can't play even though you want to must be tough. Being out for months like he will is a pretty severe sentence for over training during rehab!

I am pleased that The Ben Hogan Collection and BenHoganCollection.com will be producing and eventually carrying the Five Lessons dvd. Along with Classic Golf Brands and their original Ravielli drawings the production will be truly a symphony of modern computer graphics, motion capture technology, and classic golf instruction and golf art.

The pre production process is in full swing with an outline for the RFP for the technical production aspects completed. The RFP will be going out in the near future and expect that this great new golf classic will appeal those interested in movie making and golf. The very same technologies that is used to make the more recent blockbuster movies should fit very well with the Five Lessons story on dvd. I have great visions for this production.

Right now the extensive amount of new and archival video of Ben Hogan that can be found in 'The Ben Hogan Collection' gives any student of the game a great video model to observe and learn technique. Mr. Hogan was a master shotmaker and all round perfectionist and his golf swing is the very well displayed in these dvds.

Well, for now, back to working on my golf swing and shot making.