So this is the deal. I don’t want to be too graphic but without the iPhone that was left in his pocket, then pain just doesn’t seem to cover what Irwin Koss from New York would been in.

His playing partner struck a three-wood like a beast at almost 100 mph, the ball then proceeded to shatter into his side. And shatter is the right word, because instead of hitting flesh and more importantly the scar that was left from his recent prostate cancer operation his iPhone took the brunt of the impact.


Apple, is there anything they can't do?

He said that as the pieces flew out of his pocket he could hear the words of his ring tone from his favourite band the ‘Smashing Pumpkins.’ Ok that’s not strictly true but if I had one piece of advice Mr. Koss it would be do the lottery tonight ‘cause your lucks in.

For more on this story click here....

8/23/2007 4:55:40 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Blog Master General James has been banging on about a couple of dustbin lids who are well good at golf. We reckon he's jealous and a little in awe. But mostly jealous.



Both balls flew true in the air, landed on the green and released like laser guided missiles towards the hole. It can’t happen, it won’t happen and yet it did happen.

Ulverston Golf Club juniors are in what some would call (including me) a bit of a purple patch. Still searching for my first hole-in-one this story does stick in the throat but after three in three weeks these juniors just can’t miss. However incredible that feat is, it is nothing compared to the fact that two of them were one after the other, in the same group, on the same day. And it doesn’t stop there.

Luke Allonby, 17, and James Taylor, 16, didn’t just get their aces on a poxy, wedge hole but a 188 yard monster that would challenge any golfer.

I just can’t help but feel a little sorry for them because they had to celebrate with a nice glass of coke. I’m sure they made up for it with that bottle of White Lightening down the park after though, or maybe even returned to the scene of their triumph under the cover of darkness. Either way guys keep going like that and this won’t be the only time your name is in lights.

"TWO Ulverston golfing partners landed consecutive aces on the same par three on the same day — but could only celebrate with a round of Coke.

Teenagers Luke Allonby and James Taylor were paired during the same competition at Ulverston Golf Club when the unthinkable happened.

The odds on playing partners managing successive holes in one are estimated at a staggering 17 million to one.

The two were playing in the junior medal competition, the Wilkinson Trophy.

Luke, 17, teed off first at the 14th hole, described as a difficult 188-yard par three.

His ball flew straight and true through the air, landed, rolled along the green and into the hole.

Then the unthinkable happened. Playing partner, James, 16, repeated the feat.

And there were plenty of witnesses."

For more on this story click here...

8/22/2007 10:47:45 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

What is going on in the world? There was a time when I, along with most members of GP Towers, thought we were above average at sport. We could do a job for you at 5-a-side footy, have a knock about for your pub cricket team and wouldn’t embarrass you on your Sunday four-ball. Now that the sands of time keep leaking from the hourglass of potential sporting achievement it’s becoming clearer that much of this prowess existed only in our heads. You can always look back with rose tinted wrap around shades at that time you really impressed in those county under 16 trials. But as you get older you will inevitably be reminded more often than not that you are not a sleeping giant of unique sporting talent, in fact you’re probably below average.

Take this story for example. Sheila Drummond has achieved golf’s holy grail by acing a 144 yard par-three at Mahoning Valley Country Club in Lehighton, Pennsylvania on Sunday.

Deserved congratulations, but this feat was made all the more impressive by the fact she is blind. Yup blind. Now that is sporting prowess.

” LOS ANGELES, Aug 20 (Reuters) - American Sheila Drummond, with her heart pounding, recorded what is believed to be the first hole-in-one by a totally blind female golfer at Mahoning Valley Country Club in Lehighton, Pennsylvania on Sunday.

Playing with her husband Keith and another couple in damp conditions on a course she knows very well, the 53-year-old amateur aced the par-three fourth from 144 yards with a driver.

Drummond, blind since 1982 because of diabetes, heard her ball strike the flagstick before it dropped into the cup for the best moment of her golfing career.



"I hit the ball and one of my opponents said: 'Oh, that's a great shot'," Drummond told Reuters in a telephone interview on Monday. "Then she said: 'It's going over (the green), no wait, it's going in the cup!' We all heard the ball hit the pin and I asked: 'Are you sure it's in the hole?' "Then we raced off in our carts over the bridge and the water toward the green before I knew I had my first hole-in-one…”

For more on this story click here…

8/21/2007 10:13:50 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

It’s amazing what feats people will go to test themselves. And golf seems to attract more than it’s fair share of such people. Take the story of David Bentley attempt to play every golf hole in the Kansas City metropolitan area in a calendar year. Not easy, take it from someone who flakes out after 36 holes in a weekend, 2,691 would certainly put me on my backside.

“David Battey has a setup any avid golfer can appreciate. A mere 40 yards or so from the back door of his Fairway home, through a simple gate and a thin shroud of trees, sits the 11th green and 12th tee at The Kansas City Country Club. A member there since 1990, he has the luxury of grabbing his clubs and teeing up on an urge. But Battey had something else in mind last year. A few days past his 43rd birthday, buoyed by an even-par round at Painted Hills Golf Course in early March 2006, Battey set out on a quest to play every course in the Kansas City metropolitan area by the end of the calendar year. His journey would end up covering 2,691 golf holes — of many varieties — within his continually expanding definition of the metro area…”

For more on this story click here…

8/20/2007 11:44:22 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

This has come in from Charley one of our global golf punks. A nice idea, we hope golf can do some good.

Not sure if you have already heard about this, but Dan Rooney is an F-16 fighter pilot in the Oklahoma Air National Guard and a PGA Member that is preparing to launch Patriot Golf Day on September 1, 2007. Dan has served two tours flying F-16s over Iraq and, being familiar with the devastating losses some families have suffered due to their loved ones´ service to their country, he was determined to find a way to help them through the power of golf. Dan’s true passion for this cause has garnered the attention of some pretty big supporters in the PGA of America and USGA. Patriot Golf Day is a program that is asking golf facilities for a $1 donation on top of every green fee received, or in the case of private facilities, for a donation from every club member who tees off that day. Its that simple. As you may know, more than $3 billion charity dollars are raised every year through golf. He is simply a man who wants to make a difference for families of fallen soldiers through the game that he loves. A great story on Dan appeared in the August issue of Golf Digest



Rooney is out at the PGA Championship all week and just took David Feherty up in his F-16 for a story that will be a part of the in game PGA Championship coverage. I have attached a release from the PGA of America, that is encouraging golfers to rally behind Dan and his amazing cause.

Here’s the link to his foundations website, Fallen Heroes’ Foundation: http://www.fallenheroesfoundation.org/index.html

8/17/2007 9:04:56 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Kids huh? When most men of a certain age (and weight) we’re rejoicing in the refreshing words of JD our clean lunged, ultra fit workie James Farrelly had other ideas. Take It away Jimmy lad.



“I did better than most players last week who do work out,” Daly says after Tiger blamed the field’s lack of fitness for not being able to catch him in the USPGA.

In typical JD style he went on to elaborate saying, “fat boys like me can get through the heat,” adding, “I tried but every time I worked out I threw up and I thought to myself you can get drunk and throw up, so its just not for me.” Not exactly the role model we look for in our pro golfers but we don’t care big man, keep bringing colour to the old grey tour.

The one thing I do have to pull you up on though my swashbuckling friend is that Tiger only beats you on the greens. “I think the thing is that separates Tiger from everybody is that he makes more putts than we do,” says Daly.

And why is that? Because by the time he gets to the green he isn’t gasping for a fag and wondering if the caddy remembers how to get to the nearest Burger King.

For more on this story click here…

8/16/2007 10:00:20 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Our campaign to make golf the number one sport may just be working. World.com say that it was the No.1 Professional sport in the US during July.

” Historians will look back to July 2007 and reach a startling conclusion - golf is the greatest sport in the world. It reached that lofty height by default, of course, but there can no longer be any doubt - golf is king of all professional athletic endeavours.



Cycling, which has officially ceased being a sport and is now a pharmacy on wheels, took another hit as Tour de France leader Michael Rasmussen was tossed from his team and the race after violating Rabobank team rules. Rasmussen grows the growing list of cyclists who have at least been accused of using performance-enhancing drugs, a list that now includes everyone from Floyd Landis to Lance Armstrong to Robin Williams. But that's just cycling, and face it, it's a sport that committed seppeku about this time last year with Landis. But right now is about the most miserable time in professional sports history….”

For more on this story click here…

To join our campaign click here…

8/15/2007 11:53:21 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

The Dimond geezer is back again, this talking about Tiger Woods and David Beckham.



In what must have been a fairly slow news day for members of the press at the USPGA the other day, headlines were made when Tiger Woods proclaimed that David Beckham probably had a higher global profile than he did.

"As far as world athletes, I don't see how Beckham didn't beat me. As far as global figures, he's probably more global than me.”

This whole debate arose from a programme the US broadcaster ESPN ran, called ‘Who’s Now’, in which 32 high profile athletes squared off in a series of knockout bouts to find the public’s most popular sports star. Tiger emerged with a comfortable final victory (winning 65.1% of the vote against Cleveland Brown’s basketball star LeBron James). David Beckham, meanwhile, had to put up with a narrow defeat to world renowned LaDainian Tomlinson (the San Diego Chargers Running Back, and 2006 NFL MVP).

Now, while the fact I felt the need to explain who Tomlinson actually is effectively demonstrates the narrow-mindedness of the poll (I mean, Austin Healey would probably beat him in a popularity AND most stupid name contest this side of the pond) it does raise an interesting debate. Tiger has consistently been voted the most high profile sportsman by the US media – and to do that in a predominantly US-sports market (i.e. baseball, basketball, American football…..WWE) is no mean feat. Yet, unless he is playing a clever media game, he does not believe that hype. As he puts it:

“You know, golf is not truly played all around the world. It is played in most places but not like soccer or football is”

He’s not wrong. Golf is not truly played around the world – hell, half the people I play with cheat! And while football might not be universally popular - it is after all the 27th most popular sport in America (narrowly behind dodgeball and hotdog-eating) - it does have a huge following pretty much everywhere else. It seems to me (as nothing more than a GP workie) that the best yardstick probably comes from their earnings. Becks has a far bigger take home pay (wages of $25m compared to Tigers $10m depending on season results) but it is sponsorship where the big bucks lie. Becks doubles up through sponsorship, but Tiger rakes in over $70m to emerge rich-torious. I would use this as conclusive evidence, but then again David Beckham did play at the FIFA World Cup (the world’s most watched sporting event) whereas Tiger gets a fraction of that audience for his annual Augusta jaunt. So, at the end of all that, I am going to bottle it, call it a draw and quickly hurry onto another topic…….



Away from the Billy Big-Timers arguing over who is more popular, there is an intriguing quandary gripping the working classes of golf. With the FedEx Cup heading towards the final stages (well, qualification for the last 144 players ends after the USPGA) attention is beginning to turn towards the hunt for overall victory – and the $10million prize that goes with it. Such a prize is unheard of in golf, and arguably still is as the sum will actually be paid as a supplement to the lucky players PGA pension (rather than the standard oversized cheque - though no doubt one will make an appearance). For the players this is no big deal, for the caddies it creates a delicate situation. With caddies generally earning 10% of all winnings, the lucky bagman will be in line for a $1m windfall. With no PGA pension, said person will be expecting to see that money, in full, soon after that drunken victory party has ended. But with the victorious player not seeing that money for between 20 and 50 years (depending on whether he is Vijay Singh or Tadd Fujikawa) it is unlikely they will be too keen to stump up $1m they don’t actually have. How will they resolve this problem? Who knows, but everyone will be watching with a great deal of interest (well, at least when they get their money they will, arf arf) Whatever the case, the champion golfer will have some issues to deal with, which rather reminds me of Puff Daddy, who infamously (and wisely) sang about ‘Mo Money, Mo Problems’. How true these words could be, and in the video it was at a golf tournament this fact was illustrated!!

Tournament Questioner: I guess this means more money, more problems for you?
Winning Golfer (Puff): Yeah, [sighs], yeah. Mo money, mo problems……

A modern day Nostradamus I tell you!

To read about ESPN’s ‘Who’s Now’ click here

For all you need to know about the FedEx Cup, click here

To watch Puff Daddy’s video for ‘Mo Money, Mo Problems’ click here

8/9/2007 4:12:54 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0]