Happy Holidays from Grouchy Golf Blog

Well, I'm going to take a much needed break from this golf blog to enjoy some of the balmy weather here in Los Angeles. It won't be a White Christmas here, but I'd much rather have a "Sunny" Christmas in T-shirts and shorts each and every year. I lived on the east coast for about 3 years so I know that people who claim to want a White Christmas are just trying to make something positive out of a miserable situation. I think my sociology professor called this "cognitive dissonance."

Here's what a White Christmas means to me:

• Freezing your arse off
• Layering and bundling, but the cold still finds the smallest opening to freeze your arse off
• Staying indoors and going stir crazy
• Sliding out of control on the icy roads
• Astronomical heating bills
• And most of all, no golf

Anyway, I plan to play a couple of local So. California courses with some friends that are visiting for the holidays. I may also venture out to Vegas for some cooler climate golf and some Texas Hold'em...

I will return to golf blog again in the first week of 2005. Best wishes to all.

The World In Tiger Wood's Paw Again?

Congrats to Tiger on winning his Target World Challenge this past weekend. His new swing finally looks like it's working as he hit some unbelievable shots. To the left is a pic of Tiger and the winning hardware.

Honestly, I don't think I've ever seen an uglier trophy in my life. It looks like it came straight out of a Liberace garage sale. It depicts a young tiger with the world in the palm of its paw. Gee, what do you think that represents? I'm just relieved that Craig Stadler doesn't host any golf tournaments. A statue of a walrus would be just too much to take for this golf blog writer.

Q-School: Golf Hell On Earth?

I used to believe that if I could play one sports professionally, I would choose golf. I thought, what a great life. You get paid to play the best courses in the world, the threat of injury is virtually non-existent and you can play professionally well into your 50s.

But there are some serious drawbacks that make pro golf really only attractive for the truly elite. The primary reason is that you must qualify to play on tour every year. Sure, there are many ways to qualify, but that kind of pressure weighs on most players their whole careers.

The most dreaded way to qualify for the PGA Tour is the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament, better known as "Q-School." No sporting event makes or breaks people's careers like this 6-round test. I don't really follow Q-School, but I do remember watching it four years ago. I remember watching an unknown golfer named Tim O'Neal cruising through the tournament. On the final hole, he needed only a bogey to secure his PGA card. Tragically, he made triple-bogey. That's when I knew how cruel this game can be.

This year O'Neal tried once more in Q-School. This time he needed a birdie on the final hole to secure his PGA card. He had a 15 foot birdie putt. He pushed it wide right. That's when I knew I'd rather be a pro baseball player.