Golfers have a love-hate relationship with trees....we love them when they knock our errant shot back into the fairway and we loathe them when they make golf even harder. But, a group of concern citizens too umbridge when the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay announced they were considering cutting up to 10% of the trees on the Shorewood Golf Course.

Thinking that it was just standard golf course maintenance the golfing public had different ideas.

According to the WBAY TV in Green Bay:

Those with a vested interest in the golf course walked its greens Tuesday and learned why officials are looking to hack away over 10 percent of the course's total 1,600 trees. They say it's part of an improvement project.

"Impact is in most areas. The removal is somewhere between ten and fifteen percent of a particular grove. It's one here and one there. If there's 100 trees, there's 15 that'll maybe come out," golf course director Rick Warpinski said. Golf course officials cited several reasons for the trees' removal:

* Reduce maintenance costs by $2,000 to $5,000 a year

* Improve the course with extended tee boxes

* Promote new growth by making space for younger trees

Stately oaks, tall pines, shady elms might all fall victim to the course's plan...at least that is what citizens think.  The course management thinks differently and believes it is just a standard process to manage a golf course.

Stay tuned because this isn't over yet.

The WBAY TV article/video link:
Golf Course Considers Cutting Down 200 Trees

I realize there are huge egos in golf. That’s a given. With millions at stake every weekend, there’s big talk and bigger winnings. We all know about the two-year meltdown that is Tiger Woods. I don’t have to go through all the sordid details.

What is starting to bug me is the piling on that is occurring.  First it was the media, then fellow players, then his caddie, now it’s his swing coach.

Now I don’t know these guys personally nor is it likely that we’ll ever meet, but boy are there some babies out there. Namely Hank Haney (who was fired as Tiger’s swing coach) and Steve Williams (who was fired as Tiger’s caddie).

When Steve Williams was fired Hank Haney said “I’m SHOCKED.”

"Needless to say, this came as a SHOCK," Williams said in a statement posted on his own website.

"The thing that bothered me the most was T.W. not calling Dustin and asking if he could talk to Joe," said Butch Harmon, who used to work with Woods. "That's the way it's done. I'm a little disappointed with the way Tiger handled it. But I'm not surprised."  Are we somehow supposed to believe that a former swing coach of Tiger’s isn’t bitter and as an adult, can rise above taking cheap shots at a former student when he’s down…..not hardly.

In golf, you’re only as good as your next tournament victory.  If you don’t win you’re next to irrelevant.  We know the likes of Phil, Sergio, VJ, and Ernie because they are brands, but when the number one player in golf falls, and Tiger, Inc. has fallen hard and far, everyone becomes a critic and passes judgment on each of his decisions. Fire the caddie “what’s up with that?” Change the swing coach “what is he thinking?” “Oh, look what sponsor dropped him today?”

Not to be ignored because he wasn’t even Tiger’s former swing coach, Butch Harmon said he was “SHOCKED” when Tiger picked LaCava as his new caddie. So? Why should this be an issue?

Do these people live in caves? Golf is a billion dollar industry. At one point Tiger, Inc. had earned $500 MILLION in just a decade and all of these people got compensated as they came along for the ride.

Every professional, from coaches to caddies, is in the game of golf to win tournaments, otherwise they should find something else to do. It’s the end of the season and I’d assume that every golfer and his/her caddie is having an end-of-year discussion about what their plans are in 2012. Being someone’s caddies isn’t a permanent job. Even less so is being someone’s swing coach.

When Tiger was winning, everyone was willing to sell his soul to touch his robe.  The man won tournaments on a regular basis. Ten percent of a multi-million dollar payoff was pretty sweet if you’re the caddie. When Tiger was winning Steve Williams wasn’t complaining. He was racing stock cars in New Zealand. If you’re the swing coach of a winning player, you try to make everyone believe you have the Midas touch. When that winning player falls off the map (remember David Duval), what happened to your Midas touch Mr. Swing Coach?

When it appears that the money tree isn’t going to pay off anymore, people start to pile on and offer up their opinions to anyone will listen. If Tiger start to win again, these same people will be saying “I knew he’d be back”. They’ll be heard saying they “never doubted him, every golfers has slumps in his career.”

When the guy that generates all the wins has his aura of invincibility disappear, he becomes an also ran, who shouldn’t be surprised they’re fired – the swing coach and the caddie. Poor babies. That’s just the business golf.

Can someone say the “H” word?

...by a complete moron.

I once had a friend say that the two most abundant substances in the universe were hydrogen and stupidity and with the attractiveness of shiny new golf carts parked in neat little rows out in front of the Pinewood Country Club in Harshaw, Wisconsin clubhouse, it seems that the stupid ones just can’t help themselves.

According to the Northwood River News:

“On May 16^th, a Rhinelander man has been charged with siphoning gas from golf carts at a local golf club and inadvertently starting a fire in the process.”

Now that doesn’t sound too bad right?  What’s a little fire between friends.

When growing up you probably got repeatedly reminded about a lot of things. “Don’t cross the street without looking both ways” or “don’t run with sharp objects” or “don’t play with matches.” Obviously these warning didn’t take with 19-year-old Matthew Roberts, because:

“The officer's report states police received information that Roberts had been at the golf course siphoning gas from the golf carts and had been using a lighter to see better when the fire started. When confronted by police, Roberts eventually admitted involvement in the fire but said the blaze was not intentionally set.”

Clearly this wasn’t intentional because this guy seems to be too stupid to do something intentionally.

If you think that stealing gas out of golf carts and setting the course on first wasn’t enough, this brilliant criminal also is:

“ facing 15 criminal counts (five felony counts of burglary, five counts of misdemeanor theft and five counts of misdemeanor criminal damage to property) in connection with an alleged burglary spree in March 2011.”

But let’s not stop there:

Police were also told that Roberts told several people he was going to bring a shotgun to the home of a sheriff's deputy, walk down the driveway, kill the deputy's family and burn the house down, according to the report. Roberts had the same plans for the residence of one of Oneida County's two circuit court judges, the report states.

Wow! His mother must be so proud.

I know he probably got some grief for this, but when Jack Nicklaus proposed to host an event over Labor Day at his Muirfield Village Golf Club in which the cups were twice as large (8” vs. 4.25”), and the tournament was only 12 holes (vs. 18 holes), I was in his corner. He is concerned that fewer people are playing golf and that the industry needs to think outside the box. Bravo!!

According to the Columbus Business First article I found:

As part of the Labor Day activities at Muirfield Village, Nicklaus will host 12-hole tournaments in which the hole will be 8 inches in diameter instead of the traditional 4 1/4 inches. To encourage faster play, participants are required to complete the round in 2 1/2 hours. They will be penalized one stroke for every five minutes over the allotted time.

It seems that the industry is loathe to change and acts like the fairy tale kid with a finger in the dike. ..if we just keep our finger in the hole, then the world won’t come crashing down upon us. We’re in denial unfortunately.

We know that participation is dropping. We know it takes 4 ½ hours to play. We know that golf is a hard game and we know that as many people pick it up as drop it each year. If people like Jack Nicklaus start to lead a charge, then maybe others will listen.

It is past the time that golf courses will be able to wait out this double-dip recession (yes, unfortunately I mean that). Courses need to think WAY outside the box and getting behind something like this is a start.

One day in early July a round blackened circle appeared on the golf course. In addition, were four square spots.  Landing gear??

Who were these aliens that landed near the 2nd tee at the 9-hole Ponderosa Golf Course in Glyndon, Minnesota? Were they visiting because they didn’t have golf on their home world? Were they stopping to change drivers or fill up with gas?  Locals either don’t know or won’t say.

Management is covering up the event by saying that a groundskeeper’s golf cart caught fire, but we’re not buying it. In contrast to management’s party line, Ponderosa golf course manager Don Johnson has his theories. From the WDAZ TV website:

 “Had to be a UFO, glad nobody got hurt.”

This burned circular mark in the middle of the fairway, complete with special square marks....could it be?

“Landing Gear, that's Landing Gear Pads”

Maybe these alien golfers are roaming around northern Minnesota golf courses right now.

This isn’t Roswell, New Mexico....is it?