It’s déjà vu all over again: Although the writers at The A Position made a mess of things predicting the top golf stories of 2011, they’re taking another shot this year. A year ago, when most people were recovering from New Year’s hangovers, the members of the leading golf/travel website were guaranteeing that Rickie Fowler and Dustin Johnson would win majors (they didn’t), the Champions ... Read more

From a press release: St Andrews Links has become the first Open Championship venue to achieve the prestigious GEO Certified ecolabel in recognition of its sustainability commitment and achievements. St Andrews Links Trust, which manages the seven courses at the Home of Golf including the Old Course and The Castle Course, has operated a sustainability programme for many years and this approach was described by Mike Wood, ... Read more

“One Golfer At a Time” - The Old Course's Humble Swilcan Bridge This short, sturdy little stone bridge might be overlooked anywhere else, but because it's at St. Andrews and the funnel which every golfing pilgrim or gladiator must pass, I call it “Golf’s Holiest Place.”  It’s weather worn stones and gentle arch that were erected some 700-800 years ago (no one knows exactly when) ... Read more

You know how it is, you’ve just hit a ball out of bounds, your playing a provisional ball and you smash it down the middle of the fairway, you think to yourself, why didn’t I do that the first time? Or you are playing match-play and you have a 6 foot putt that just shaves the hole, but doesn’t drop, you pull it back and ... Read more

When Darren Clarke won the Open Championship last week, he not only collected the $1.4 million first prize money from the R & A, he earned a bonus of two million Euros (about $2,833,000) from Dunlop, courtesy of a clever marketing deal created by his agent,  Andrew “Chubby” Chandler.  Lee Westwood, another Chandler client, had the same deal, but didn’t make the cut. Clarke and Westwood ... Read more

I enjoyed the British Open and, like everyone else, was happy to see Darren Clarke win. But it also reminded me of one unavoidable thing that I don’t like about pro golf—only one player can win each week. Yes, Clarke was probably the best story. He’s an Everyman type, without the John Daly baggage, and a genuinely nice guy. He’s had a rough go of ... Read more

Special birdies and bogeys edition for the British Open. Birdie: Darren Clarke. If you didn't feel good about Clarke winning the British Open Sunday, well, then you don't have a heart. Where to begin? Forget about the flat-bellies. We all can relate to a golfer with a big gut filled mainly with Guinness. We also can relate to a middle-aged man who ... Read more

Lots of good stuff in this week's golf report for Crain's Chicago Business. I write how golfers can play at the private clubs that host British Opens. There hardly is an open-door policy, but access is available. I've played several Open venues. I wish that was the case at private clubs in the U.S. I write: Nobody is suggesting that U.S. private clubs start ... Read more

Andres Davidsson, The Golf Stream's analyst, looks into the crystal ball. Royal St. George's is considered among the toughest of the nine links courses on the Open Championship rota. When Ben Curtis stunned the golfing world with his win here in 2003, he was the only player to break par for the 72 holes. In Sandwich, the wind is bound to blow. This will wreak havoc ... Read more

Geoff Shackelford wrote an excellent story in this week's Golf World about Royal Cinque Ports, the course next store to Royal St. George's. It reminded me of my experience on the course during the 2003 British Open. Harvey Greene, the PR director for the Miami Dolphins, stayed in our house that week. I first got to know Harvey when he served as PR man for the ... Read more