Tag Archives: Video

YouTube Golf – it’s a thing!

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Do you know about the YouTube golf “community” comprised of channels where average Joe golfers publish videos of their on course adventures. There are a lot of average Joe YouTube channels with small subscriber numbers but then there are some of these “average Joe” YouTube golfers that make a living as “content developers” and are considered big “influencers” in golf. They are a self-described “community” because many do cross-channel content and there are even YouTube channels that just talk about what is going on in the YouTube golf space.

I pretty much stumbled across this whole YouTube golf thing. One day I went on YouTube to see if I could find a course review. I did not find a review but I did find a video of a guy playing the course I would be playing. His YouTube channel is Perfectly Average Golf. I found Alan, the golfer, to have a pleasant personality but I was really watching to see the layout of the golf course, not because I wanted to see him critique his game. After viewing that channel I started to get YouTube recommendations for other golf channels and it was crazy how many golfer “vlogs” exist on YouTube and now I have been watching a number of them and it is incredible how many channels have huge followers; and therefore they are making a living as YouTube Golfers.

Here are some of the most popular YouTube golfer channels. The information is from their “about section” on their channels on March 5, 2023.

  1. Rick Shiels Golf, 2.47 million subscribers, 650,669,633 views, joined YouTube in October 2011
  2. Good Good Golf, 1.14 million subscribers, 234,972,505 views, joined YouTube in July 2020
  3. GM Golf, 857,000 subscribers, 191,815,453 views, joined YouTube in April 2013
  4. Peter Finch Golf, 529,000 subscribers, 139,815,453 views, joined YouTube in October 2011
  5. Micah Morris Golf, 419,000 subscribers, 42,135,491 views, joined YouTube in October 2018
  6. Bob Does Sports, 390,000 subscribers, 47,603,737 views, joined YouTube September 2021
  7. Grant Horvat Golf, 345,000 subscribers, 28,328,887 views, joined YouTube April 2014
  8. Fore Play Golf, 297,000 subscribers, 94,279,403 views, joined YouTube January 2019
  9. Bryan Bros Golf, 198,000 subscribers, 24,611,743 views, joined YouTube March 2014
  10. Zac Radford, 122,000 subscribers, 56,679,596 views, joined YouTube April 2011
  11. Golficity, 81,300 subscribers, 24,818,435 views, joined YouTube September 2012
  12. Busta Jack, 79,600 subscribers, 5,342,020 views, joined YouTube October 2021

Rick Shiels it the “grand daddy” of them all. His numbers far exceed others with 2.47 million subscribers and total channel views of 650,669,633. He was a teaching professional and started years ago with teaching videos but expanded to other content, including matches. He doesn’t teach anymore and is solely focused on his YouTube Golfer job. His “Break 75” videos where he plays a course to see if he can break 75 is very popular. His last “Break 75” from Bay Hill (posted March 3rd, just five days prior to the writing of this post) has 618,767 views. I like watching the series because of the courses. My favorite is Royal Birkdale – Break 75 (again, to see a beautiful golf course I doubt I’ll ever visit myself). I actually ended up enjoying watching the golf because he had two other players with him trying to break specific scores.

If you’re not aware of the YouTube model it’s basically — reach 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours and you can join the YouTube partner program and monetize your channel. Basically, there is a YouTube algorithm, which embeds advertisements into every video and pays the creators depending on how many people watch the ads, and for how long. Also once your content is posted and it continues to get views you can potentially make money forever on the content (even if the video is five years old). Another revenue stream is that once you become popular, companies approach you for promotional deals. Many of these YouTube golfers have apparel deals. They even get deals for non-golf products. I’ve seem them promoting shaving products, alcohol (mostly beer and hard cider), food meal preparation kits, and (not surprising) sports betting companies.

In the last few months some of the channels have gotten so big that brands like Callaway and TaylorMade are sponsoring the YouTube Golfers. Think about it – A golf brand can spend marketing dollars on a Tour Pro that may or may not get TV time or spend money on a YouTube Golfer with over a million followers, posting content weekly, with half a million views per video. And these companies can use these YouTube channels to promote PGA and LPGA players. For example, Good Good and Callaway announced a deal on January 3, 2023. A few months later, on the “Good Good Extra” Channel a video, Knockout Bunker Challenge with LPGA Tour Winner Andrea Lee was posted. Lee is a Callaway Ambassador and gave the good good guys bunker tips and then they played a 5-bunker game. In the first hour on YouTube the video had over 11,000 views.

In general the golf “vlogs” follow familiar formats on each channel, golfers play a match or scramble and post two videos (front nine match video and back nine match video). Again, some of the channels are so popular that they have fans or golf industry contacts that invite them to play amazing courses (many private courses I’ll never play). The marketing impact for the golf courses can be significant too.

Also, adding legitimacy to these YouTube golfers is the fact that PGA tour players are guests on channels. Two fun matches to watch are Max Homa and Keegan Bradley on Bob Does Sports. Ricky Fowler has been on both Rick Sheils and Good Good Golf. Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood and others have been on Fore Play. Other players appearing on various channels are Bryson DeChambeau, Kevin Kisner, Scott Stallings, Beau Hossler, and Billy Horschel.

Cross-channel content is a common format. YouTube golfers will play together and post content from their matches on their respective channels (usually a nine-hole competition on each channel). As a community this appears to be a way they really help each other build followings. It’s how I found out about many of the channels I have highlighted in this post. For example, Good Good Golf members have stated that the playing series they filmed with Rick Shiels helped them passed the million subscriber mark on their channel. I assume Rick Shiels benefited too with the young audience Good Good Golf most likely brought to his channel.

Also once you start watching you realize how various channels are connected. Good Good Golf was founded by Garrett Clark (GM Golf), his cousin Micah Morris and three other guys (who also have their own channels). It is now a huge brand with a very popular apparel line. I found it fascinating that Garrett Clark said at age nine, he watched the Bryan Bros on YouTube and knew that is what he wanted to do – be a YouTuber. This year a “big drama” in the YouTube community developed because Micah Morris and Grant Horvat, who where part of Good Good Golf, left the group (channel) to do “their own thing.”

Rick Shiels and Good Good have great content but some of my favorite channels are currently Bob Does Sports, Busta Jack, and Golficity. Bob Does Sports has three unique guys (Bobby Fairways, Joey Coldcuts, and Fat Perez) with different golf skills and they can be very funny. And Bob Does Sports is a popular channel for Pros to go on and play a match (the pro against the three guys playing scramble). BustaJack is a newer channel and gaining popularity. They are pretty good golfers and have a series “Golfin’ Old Glory” where they are playing a course in every state. Golficity have played a lot of pretty courses in the the Northeast and one of the main reasons I watch the videos is to see courses I may never get to play (e.g., Sleepy Hollow). Every now and then the YouTube Golfers will have silly “challenges” which I think are gimmicky and not of interest to me but perhaps these “challenges” (like Bob Does Sports Taco eating on the course) appeal to their target audience.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the female YouTube golfers. Their presence on YouTube is small compared to the men. A few women female YouTube golfers are well known because they participate on popular channels (e.g., Hanna Cook on Barstool). In this post, I will just highlight the few female YouTube golfers I’m aware of that have their own channels and play matches. I did find a few female golfers with large subscribers but to me their content was more lifestyle brand focused (with little golf playing content) so I am not highlighting those channels.

  1. Paige Spiranac, 391,900 subscribers, 49,129,462 views, joined YouTube August 2016
  2. Claire Hogle, 103,000 subscribers, 16,155,935 views, joined YouTube January 2015
  3. Hailey Ostrom, 43,000 subscribers, 6,543,496 views, joined YouTube October 2019
  4. Mia Baker, 22,900 subscribers, 3,468,654 views, joined YouTube March 2020
  5. Gabby Golf Girl,12,400 subscribers, 413,495 views, joined YouTube January 2014

I’m not really a fan of Paige Spiranac’s social media presence overall since she does play up the “sexy golf girl” persona (especially on Twitter and Instagram) but it’s her way of marketing her brand and that is her choice. Regardless of how one might feel about her brand, you can’t ignore the numbers and she actually does post matches on her channel. Claire Hogle is a great golfer and has played with Garrett Clark and and other YouTube golfers. Mia Baker is a British golfer and more “average skills” but can be amusing.

Gabby Golf Girl is a 15 year old and has 125,000 Instagram followers and setup her “new” YouTube channel in February 2023 (even though YouTube has her joining in Jan 2014). She has game and she has done video matches with Bob Does Sports, Grant Horvat, and as of this writing, baseball star Johnny Damon. I think if she keeps creating the type of content she does that she will be big in the YouTube golf community given she’s only really been posting for a little over a month and with only six videos (and 14 shorts) she has 413,495 views. Her most recent video was Gabby playing a scramble format with Johnny Damon to see how low they could go with their scramble score; and pars were worth $100 and birdies $200. At the end of the video they went to a grocery store and paid people’s groceries up to “the money value of the final score.” Now that is unique content!

So I am now watching golf on YouTube more than on the golf channel. I still love to watch the Majors, a few PGA Tour events (e.g., Waste Management, The Players Championship), and the LPGA tour on TV. Honestly, I never thought I’d enjoy YouTube Golfers but I guess the saying “never say never” is true. I like to watch YouTube golf videos for three reasons. First, to see the beautiful golf courses. Second, I actually find some matches engaging while being entertained by some of the personalities. Third, I can get my golf watching fix when I want (and it’s what I choose to watch and not just whatever is available on TV).

Do you watch YouTube Golf and what is your favorite channel? Let me know in the comments below.

Favorite Golf Instructors and Rules Expert on YouTube

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Over the years I have watched a lot of golf videos for game improvement tips or to understand the rules of golf. In the past year I have found that I go to three YouTube contributors over and over again. Two are focused on swing and game improvement and one is a rules guru.

Danny Maude

I was introduced to Danny Maude via a Facebook post (you know when they push content they think you might like and most times the content push is completely off the mark but this time it was actually relevant). Over time I have found Maude to be a favorite video instructor because he has helped me focus on making my swing more fluid. It is so easy to get too mechanical with your swing and he reminds us with his videos that it is a golf “swing” and to use the club momentum.

Danny Maude YouTube Channel

Get More Pars with Christina Ricci

I’ve have followed Ricci on and off for years. She’s a new englander and I lived in the Boston area for years. I tend to watch her when I want to get back to basics. Plus as a female golfer I do like to watch a female instructor because I’m curious if they have tips that are specific to women. But overall, her videos will help any golfer because they are not gender specific but focus on basic tips all golfers can use in their game.

Get More Pars with Christina Ricci YouTube Channel

GolfRules Questions (David Blake)

Blake is a golf rules expert located in Australia and I find his YouTube site a great source of Rules videos. I’m a visual person so I find it easier to understand the Rules of Golf by watching videos versus reading the USGA Rules of Golf book. I like the fact that he is on the golf course when he is demonstrating a golf rule. Blake also reviews rules issues from recent televised professional golf tournaments.

GolfRules Questions YouTube Channel

Side note: If you like to listen to podcasts, David Blake’s podcast can be found on his website. The website is golf is an attitude. The website also has a rules quiz section.

These three favorites of mine may or may not be your cup of tea. Obviously, we all “click” with something or someone because how we learn is as unique as our golf swings. I do follow other golf YouTube channels but there are too many to list.

If you have favorite YouTube instructors, let me know in a comment below and I’ll go check them out.

“Lydia Ko goes Pro” video gets four stars

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It has been many months since my last post because I have had a lot of life changes in the past nine months (no, I did not have a child).  I have moved to a new state for a dream job! As we all know with a new job and a big move other things fall to the wayside.  But now I am more settled in my job and new home; and of course fall is here (so less daylight hours to play golf), which makes it a logical time to focus on my blog.

I wanted to start with something light and fun!  And Lydia Ko’s announcement that she is turning pro is just the ticket!  I read that she decided to release a video rather than do a press conference and sure enough she tweeted out to her followers the link to the video on October 22.  Here is the video for your enjoyment:

I give the video four stars because it is entertaining (Lydia speed golfing) and shows her personality (e.g., she laughs a lot); and it certainly beats a boring press conference video.

I have said in a previous post that I am not a fan of the younger and younger players we see in professional events.  And that a player like Michele Wie is a cautionary tale because she is only 23 and struggles to find her game.  But, Lydia Ko seems to be a very poised and talented young women.  Ko has won a number of professional tournaments and made history winning the CN Canadian Women’s Open in 2012 and 2013. As the press has pointed out, Ko has left over $1 Million in money on the table as an amateur.

Now we just have to wait for the LPGA Commissioner, Mike Whan, to approve her request to waive the rule requiring LPGA professionals to be at least 18 years old.  The waiver is a  “fiat accompli” given the popularity of Ko, the fact she has already won multiple professional events as an amateur, and Whan waived the age requirement for Lexi Thompson after she won an LPGA event.

As a professional, Ko will face a new kind of scrutiny because everyone will be watching to see if she falters under the “pressure” of being a pro. Time and time again a young amateur golfer is hailed as the next “Tiger or Annika” and seems to lose their talent (or maybe free spirit) as a professional.  Only time will tell if Ko is able win as much as a professional as she did as an amateur.

Hopefully, she will have a smooth transition from the “darling of the amateur ranks” to a regular pro on tour. Bottom line, I know I will be watching to see how she plays in her first tournament as a professional.

Weather impacts another PGA tournament

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For those of us that live in the Northeast the weather has been snowy and cold this March.  Normally as a golf fan I can get away from the drab cold days of winter by watching golf and day dreaming about the coming summer golf season.  This year even watching golf to escape the cold is not guaranteed.

Today, I was hunkering down to watch the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational.  I was anticipating a great afternoon of golf with Tiger Woods (who I had picked for my fantasy team this week) and Rickie Fowler (one of the golf boys) in the final group.  But mother nature had a different plan in mind and the final round has been moved to Monday.  How bad was it?  Watch the video below…

Golf Analyst Mark Rulfing mentions in the video that it reminded him of Kapalua.  He was referencing the first tournament of the 2013 season, the Hyundai tournament of Champions, which was delay due to high winds (gusting 40 to 50 mph).  The Golf Channel has a great photo slide show of the windy tournament.

Another tournament impacted was the Farmers Open at Torrey Pines which was delayed due to Fog.  So rain, wind, fog all seem like expected reasons for golf to be delayed but how about snow?  Yup, the WGC Match Play in Arizona was delayed this year due to snow.  Snow in Arizona.  It was so bizarre that all the players were tweeting photos of it. Bubba Watson even posted a 30 second video of his snowball fight.

I don’t know if any other start to a golf season has had this many delays due to weather.  Certainly there have been memorable delays in previous years. Watch the PGA Tour “Top 10: Weather Interruptions on the PGA Tour” for their list.  One of my favorite golfers, Phil Mickelson, makes an appearance as he chips in the hail (2.35 second mark in video.)

Maybe I should be happy for the weather delay today because my fantasy pick for the Hyundai, tournament, Dustin Johnson, won.  So, if I were at all superstitious I would be thinking the weather delay is “a sign” that Tiger should win tomorrow.

Still I would rather have the final round played on Sunday so I could watch it live.

2013 PGA Merchandise Show – Morning Drive and LPGA News

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The ability to follow the PGA Merchandise show from the comfort of your own home is amazing!  I am here in the cold Northeast (seven degrees this morning) and seeing updates on Twitter, Facebook, Ustream and more.

The Golf Channel Morning Drive show and the LPGA both started tweeting early in the morning that big announcements were coming.  Given I am a fan of both, I was curious to see what was “big” to each organization.

Morning Drive Announcement

The Morning Drive show is expanding to seven days a week.  Great!  They are adding to the cast.  Most of co-anchor additions make sense because they have been on the show or are members of the golf channel.  The one odd addition is Ahmad Rashad. He is an NBC broadcast “star” so I get that but what does he know about golf?  I guess we will find out soon.

The other big reveal was the new set of the show.  Below is a photo of the old set.

Morning Drive Set

TV Screen Shot of Holly Sonders on Morning Drive Set. Click image to Enlarge.

Now one thing I always liked about the current set is that it seemed “cozy” and had lots of golf memorabilia and “chotskies” on the set.  I also think the intimate feel of the set added to the relaxed style of the co-anchors.  It never felt like a “formal” news show like the evening recap show, Golf Central.

The Golf Channel provided a photo gallery of the new set.  If you click on the photo below it will take you to a cool time-lapse video of the construction of the new set.

Click on Photo to see a time-lapse video of the construction of the new set.

Click on Photo to see a time-lapse video of the construction of the new set.

The new set and staff is a clear indication of the success of the show.  I will keep an open mind but I hope what I loved most about the show does not get lost in the new high-gloss set.

LPGA Announcement

In a previous post, The LPGA’s Marketing Challenge, I noted some concerns about the tour’s perception in the American market.  Basically, the LPGA is a global tour but the American market needs a new star which I felt was Stacy Lewis.  I am happy to see that the tour is now promoting Stacy Lewis.  Stacy certainly made it easier for them by winning Player of the Year.  I am happy to see the management at the LPGA finally embracing Stacy Lewis as a tour star.

The LPGA also deserves credit for figuring out a way to capitalize on the statement they have been emphasizing all year that they are a “global tour.”  I was thrilled with the announcement of the “International Crown” by the LPGA.  It is a new match play tournament that will debut in 2014.  The tournament will be 8 countries vying for the crown. I also like the promotional video.

And to my point earlier about promoting Stacy Lewis, there is a nice video of Stacy talking about the new tournament.

I like the International Crown for two reasons.  First, the LPGA did not just follow the PGA tour and create a “Presidents Cup” for the ladies.  The Presidents Cup is the USA against the rest of the world (minus Europe).  Second, it ties nicely to the fact that golf will be part of the Olympics in 2016 and what do we all love to do during the Olympics? Cheer for our country.  The fact fans love to cheer for their country should make the International Crown a big hit among golf fans; and hopefully, bring new fans to the LPGA.

Communicating Change – USGA not so “old school”

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The golf industry has been anticipating the ruling on long putters all year and finally the announcement came that the governing bodies of golf, the USGA and The R&A, are proposing a ban on “anchoring” the putter against the body.

I was not planning on writing about this announcement because I use a traditional putter and I don’t have an issue with the rule.  What I found interesting and what has compelled me to write is my surprise at how well the USGA and The R&A disseminated the information!

Obviously if you are a golf geek (as I am), you expected the news to unfold on the Golf Channel.  Both Mike Davis, USGA Executive Director and Peter Dawson,  The R&A Chief Executive were on TV.

What I did not expect was the variety of materials created to communicate and explain the proposed rule change, and the fact that they are promoting a 90-day feedback period to allows stakeholders to share their opinion on the proposed change.

INFOGRAPHIC

Proposed rule 14-1b Infographic USGA Infographic Anchoring Putter, Proposed Rule-14-1b

Infographics are a great tool for visually explaining the rule.  I’m a visual person so I love infographics.

From a communication perspective, the use of infographics in business is becoming more common but is still not really widely used and is not considered a “standard” in the communication toolbox. Therefore, it is nice to see the forward thinking of the communications folks (at the USGA and R&A) using an infographic to support the explanation of the rule change.

Video Explanation

The other visual I did not expect was the in-depth video explaining the reason behind the decision and demonstration of the putting options.  Yes, many videos are done but not all of them are done well or posted in a timely manner.  The USGA and R&A had the video posted on the websites and on YouTube ready for consumption and sharing.  I cannot tell you how many times I’ve seen a major company (or brand) announce a new product and not have a decent video demo posted to YouTube.  And, demo videos are a standard in communication toolboxes in business today.

Email and Social Media

The next thing that impressed me was the email I received from the USGA.  I am a member (just a regular golfer membership for $25/annual fee) so I was not surprised to receive an email, but once again the timing of the email was impressive.  It came at 8:52 a.m. (I was literally watching the golf channel listening to the live press conference at that time).  Again, this simple act of sending an email early to the members is “first-class.” The email included a link to the rules explanation on the USGA website and encouraged feedback via the website feedback tool.

I was not surprised at the USGA’s use of social media (Twitter and Facebook) because they have been using those channels; and the status updates on twitter and Facebook are always timely.  Of course, one key to successful social media is to have great photos or images to share so the infographic and video play nicely into the social media communication channel.

Impact on Reputation

Finally, I think many golfers think the USGA and R&A are “old school” with a bunch of “old boys” and “old traditions.”  I’m sure there are golfers that will view the decision on anchoring the putter as wrong and view the USGA and R&A leaders as hurting the game.

However, based on the execution of the communication of the proposed rule change, the USGA and R&A have shown that although they are protecting the traditions of the game of golf; they are modern in their transparency and communication of their initiatives.

The LPGA’s Funny Girl – Tiffany Joh

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Another US Women’s Open has come to a close and most bloggers will be writing about the winner, Na Yeon Choi but I’m going to highlight a player that did not even make the cut — American golfer, Tiffany Joh.  Why?  Because, whether it is intentional or not — she is in the process of building a unique personal brand.

This year Joh is struggling a bit with her game and is 115 in the Rolex World Rankings.  However, Joh is a solid player and shows promise.  Joh won twice on the LPGA’s Future tour.  As a member of the LPGA 2011 Rookie Class, Joh had an excellent year with $237,365 in earnings and ranked eighty-seven (87) on the Rolex Women’s World Golf rankings list.  Joh also had a top 10 finish in 2012.  She was second at the Navistar Classic.  Unfortunately for Joh, it was the tournament Lexi Thompson (Golf’s newly anointed “phenom”) made history as the youngest winner (at age 16) on the LPGA.

So what makes Joh unique?  The PGA may have the Golf Boys but the LPGA has Tiffany Joh.  She loves music and has become known for her music videos.  This week, the week of the 2012 US Women’s Open, she posted her most recent video on her YouTube channel (Just Your Morning Cup of Joh.)   The video is All I Do is Win (LPGA Remix).  A parody of the song, “All I Do is Win” by Ludacris.

Joh has had a YouTube channel since 2008 but she really got noticed for her LPGA video last year “Grip It” (a parody of Freak Nasty’s 1996 hit song “Da’ Dip”).  It’s amazing how she get’s her fellow LPGA players to be silly on video.

Not only is she clever and creative with music videos but she has a great channel title “Just your morning cup of Joh” and user name “CupofJoh” and has a cartoon-like drawing (self-portrait – I’m guessing) and uses it as her YouTube channel and Twitter background.  All creating a unique personal brand.

The one thing that surprised me is that her website does not carry this branding.  However, if you visit the website, Joh’s humor and attitude come through loud and clear with just a single page stating “You are a Nerd…Websites are for Nerds.”  Is she ahead of the curve or just representative of her generation who live on social media?  I believe it is the later.  After all, the websites of the big golf stars are supported by big sponsor money.  So Joh’s site may get an upgrade if she lands a major sponsor.

It’s not just that Joh is using social media but she is savvy too — do you think the timing of the recent video was a fluke? No way.  The US Women’s open gets more press than any other women’s golf event and Joh’s video was all over twitter (at least the people who tweet about golf).

As I mentioned earlier, Joh did not make the cut at the US Women’s Open but her sense of humor never fails.  Here is a screen shot of her tweet from the airport the next day:

Tweet from Tiffany Joh on Missing Cut at US Women's Open

If you are old school and think golfers should only get noticed for their golf achievements than Tiffany Joh’s style may not be your “cup of tea” (or joh); but I respect the fact that she has developed a personal brand that sets herself apart from all the other young female golfers on tour.

Professional golfer’s new tool — A chainsaw for Kevin NA

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This week the PGA goes to Texas for the Velero Texas Open and the most written and talked about moment, prior to the tournament, is not about last year’s winner but about Kevin Na’s score on the par-4, 9th hole — the score was 16!  If you like to see “melt downs” watch the video.

So what will Kevin Na shoot on the 9th hole this week in Texas?  My guess is he will be happy with par but hoping to birdie the hole to show everyone that the 9th hole is not going to be his nemesis.  Na has a great sense of humor about it.  He went back to the place of his melt down this week and took a chainsaw to the overgrowth (photo from PGA tour).

PGA Tour Image of Kevin Na

Now that is one way to destroy your demons on the golf course.  And, now for a disclaimer — stunt by a professional golfer, do not try this on your home course.

LPGA – First Major of the Season

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This week the ladies play in the first major, The Kraft Nabisco Championship.  In many ways this is “The Masters” for the women.  I say this because it is their first major of the season (as is The Masters for the men), it has been played at the same course (Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California) since its inaugural tournament (again, The Masters is always played at Augusta National), and the winner jumps into “poppies pond” at the 18th hole as part of the tournament tradition and they are given a bathrobe when they get out of the pond. Many have said the robe is the LPGA’s version of a green jacket (o.k., it is not a green jacket but hey, it’s better than just standing in dripping wet golf clothes).

The tournament was not always a major.  It started in 1972 as the Colgate – Diane Shore tournament.  I remember watching it as a young girl and thinking how exciting it was that the company my dad worked for had a golf tournament.  In 1983 it became a major and the sponsor was Nabisco.  Amy Alcott won in 1983 and two more times.  In fact, in 1991 when she won for the third time she jumped in the pond — this was the beginning of the tradition.  The video below gives a great overview of the history of this tournament.

This year all the golf pundits are saying Yani Tseng will win.  It seems like a “no-brainer” given she has already won 3 times this year, won last week by 5 shots, and is the number one female golfer in the world.  But I’m hoping for an upset like last year.  In 2011, Stacy Lewis beat Tseng by three shots.  Below is a nice video for Stacy Lewis.

Don’t get me wrong.  Yani Tseng is an amazing player but I want an exciting major — and that will only happen if someone can challenge Tseng.  My ideal ending on Sunday would be to see Cristie Kerr go head to head with Yani Tseng and win.

Nicknames for Golf’s Toughest 3-hole Stretches

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This week the Honda Classic is played at the Champions course, PGA National in Florida.  It is most famous for three holes (15,16, and 17) that are statistically some of the hardest holes on the PGA tour.  This 3-hole stretch of golf is called “The Bear Trap.”  At the 15th hole there is a large bear statue and a plaque for The Bear Trap.

It was designed by Jack Nicklaus (whose nickname is “The Golden Bear).  Below is a video of Nicklaus describing the holes; as well as Nick Price describing it from a players perspective.

It got me thinking about what other nicknames I could remember from watching golf on TV and surprisingly I could think of quite a few nicknames for other 3-hole golf stretches including:

Amen Corner at Augusta National (holes 11,12, and 13) where the Masters Tournament is played in early April.  This is probably the most famous nickname and was coined by Herbert Warren Wind in an article he wrote for Sports Illustrated in 1958.

The Green Mile at Quail Hollow (holes 16,17, and 18) where the Wells Fargo Championship is played end of April.

The Horrible Horseshoe at Colonial (holes 3,4, and 5) where the Crowne Plaza Invitational is played in late May.

Of course, this makes we wonder if I have a really good memory or watch way too much golf (I’m afraid it is probably the latter).