Bob, it really pisses me off that you got such a short retirement. I knew when you left your on-course announcing position with ABC Sports Golf you were not the kind of guy who would enjoy retirement but, jeez Bob. What did you have to go and die for?

I knew Bob Rosburg well just by being a TV Golf Spotter on numerous occasions where ABC Sports was following the PGA or LPGA Tour. Ah, for the old days huh, Sal?

Bob was a crusty old curmudgeon to some but he had a soft spot in his heart for spotters, considered by most to be the lowest form of human being to be allowed in a TV compound, just ask Johnny K. about those early years with ABC Sports, Sal on the radio, giving us all hell in his own inimitable style. Rossi and Judy Rankin in the fairways, Mark Lumis and Jack Graham in the production trailer (yes Sal, I was wrong that day when you asked me for the order, and I forgive you for the stream of F bombs that you laid on me).

I remember a tournament in the desert once where, as a veteran spotter,  I got the cush job of driving Rossi's golf cart. I soon discovered that man, you better hop to it or he would have your ass good. There were many horror stories of him dressing down a dipshit spotter that was chatting with the gallery instead of watching Rossi. But I made sure that I was like his shadow during the Nabisco Dinah Shore Tournament and as we rolled up to a fairway position that he liked he would then say, "Dickie boy, stay close and watch me."  I will always remember that day Rossi, God bless you, I think that it was the first day in history that Rossi bought a spotter a drink at the end of 72 holes.

He was a cynical guy, loathe to answer questions from the gallery and he would say what he thought, he would walk up to a ball in the rough and say, "no way is he getting this ball on the green" more times than not he would be right but there were some who knocked it stiff from impossible lies. He would say, "well, that's golf."

That Doesn't Taste Like a Diet Drink

Here is a mouth-watering chocolate milkshake recipe supplied by our friends at South Beach Living. It's low-carb, low-calorie and low-fat. Since I have been making this I have managed to avoid countless calories from the carbs I would have consumed had I not been completely satisfied with this particluar substitution. I used Nature Sweet as my sugar substitute but otherwise followed their recipe. (the secret ingredient here is; a touch of vanilla extract). I have made the same shake using other flavors too: cherry, peppermint, almond and rasberry but I keep coming back to the one with vanilla.

Have this one for desert and savor it like you would a fine brandy or as a snack to ward off the sugar-monster. It's a guilt-free way of satisfying your cravings for sweets and it works for me. I have already lost over 120 pounds while enjoying recipes like this. The key to my weight loss success has been substitution - find a way to replace the bad with the good and if it don't taste good - forget about it!

Here is the actual recipe:

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tablespoons granular sugar substitute

Pinch salt

3 cups cold 1% milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Ice cubes

Instructions:

In a medium bowl, stir together cocoa powder, sugar substitute, and salt. Slowly pour in 1 cup of the milk. Whisk until smooth, and then whisk in remaining 2 cups milk and vanilla.Fill 4 (8-ounce) glasses with ice. Pour Chilly Chocolate over ice and serve.

The bottom line: Per ¾-cup serving: 90 calories, 2.5 g fat (1.5 g sat), 12 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 95 mg sodium

For more mouth-watering recipes like this visit our friends at South Beach Living  

My good friend John just returned from a temp job as an on-course spotter with CBS Sports Golf at the Colonial Invitational in FT. Worth, Texas. I had to sit this one out due to a bum knee but spotting major PGA Tour events is something that we have done together on numerous occasions over the last 20 years, from the British Open to the U.S. Open and numerous tournaments in between.

On his way home he stopped here for a round of golf at my club and since he had spent the last five days at Colonial and was on his way to play Riviera CC, the subject of Ben Hogan came up. Neither of us were sure how two different golf courses got the nickname, Hogan's Alley, so I promised to check it out.

Simple really, thanks to Wikipedia. In 1948 alone, Ben Hogan won 10 tournaments, including the U.S. Open at Riviera Country Club, a course known as "Hogan's Alley" because of his success there. Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, a modern PGA tournament venue, is also known as "Hogan's Alley" and may have the better claim to the nickname.

Reason being that Mr. Hogan was born in Texas, lived there, played there, won there and died there. Colonial and Dallas/Ft. Worth area are the real Hogan's Alley, just ask any Texan. 

Did you know the guys and gals at Technorati were huge golf fans? 

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If you had to pick just one guy to make a par on the world's longest par 3, for me, it would have to be Padraig Harrington. This tough Irish pro loves adverse playing conditions and even tougher golf courses. And he proved it by being the very first golfer to par the most bizarre par 3 hole of golf I have ever seen since just about any hole that Loyal H. Chapman could envision for his Fantasy 18 series. And this monster in Africa is real!

This hole they call the "19th" hole at Legends Golf & Safari Resort , located on the Entabeni Safari Conservancy in the Waterberg Region of the Limpopo Province of South Africa, is their signature hole and is officially the world’s longest and highest par three.

After reaching a teeing ground at the top of Hanglip Mountain (named for it's sheer dropoff and reachable only by helicopter), a dizzying 1,410 above the fairway, you are faced with some 830 metres or about 600 yards straight down to an African Continent shaped green. Hang time for spanked drives are estimated at between 25 and 30 seconds before either landing on the green or in the transition area surrounding the green.

Your average thrill-seeking golfer can play this bizarre hole in addition to a round of 18 holes, or as an experience on its own, and a hole-in-one will earn you one million US dollars! Mr. Harrington joins some esteemed company of well-known international golfers; Trevor Immelman, Bernard Langer, Colin Montgomerie, Justin Rose, Vijay Singh, K J Choi and Retief Goosen have each designed a hole at Legends.

Golfers can choose to play the challenging 19th hole in addition to their round of 18 holes, or as an experience on its own.  A hole-in-one earns the lucky golfer one million US dollars!. Conceived by Graham Cooke of the UK, embraced by CEO, Peet Cilliers, and designed by David Riddle, the Extreme 19 is truly unique - an unforgettable golfing experience!

Fit And Fat?

All you need to do is look at some of the bigger players on your favorite NFL team to know that while these big guys might appear to be fat they are actually fit as a fiddle!

Size Doesn't Matter

When it comes to fitness, and it turns out that those skinny little wide receivers are more prone to heart disease than their blocking buddies!

2009 was the 52nd Masters for Gary Player, the South African and three-time Masters Champion. He says it will be the last and that spells the end of an era for this boomer golf enthusiast. Gary Player has been a part of my life in golf for almost as long as he has been playing. Goodbye, and thanks for the great golf memories, Gary!

So, what does it mean when you don't recognize most of the names on the PGATour? You can't take the club past parallel any more, you take a cart more than you walk 18 holes, you flush a drive and it goes 240 yards, and the 19th hole is a jacuzzi? Well, just like Mr. Player, everyone reaches a point where they are happy to let the youngsters have their stage. I don't mind, this boomer is still swinging.

I was looking for the video that this article on Fox Sports conveyed about his final two rounds, the standing O's for each of 36 holes, etc. But I do have this nice video which recaps his three wins at the Masters.

Funny thing about the Marines. As much as you think you hate it when you are in it, you tend to only remember the good times when you are no longer a part of it and woe the person who says a bad word about MY Marine Corps! Then, when you first step that un-booted foot on the civilian shore again your new concept of freedom takes on a life of it's own. Suddenly you can eat what you want, stay in the rack as long as you want, grow your hair down to your butt if that's what makes you happy and all sorts of un-marine things.

Naturally, this sort of attitude has great potential for disaster - and brother did I ask for it! All of a sudden I turn around and I am a FAT 55 year old capable of being weighed accurately only by a truck scale out on the interstate! Seriously, at 5'-9" tall and close to 400 lbs. that is nothing short of blobsville.

Long story short, self-esteem goes down the tubes, depression leads to eating, eating leads to depression, a cycle you can ride straight to hell if you aren't careful - and on this hog a helmet won't help! At the point where I thought I had reached bottom I discovered the book, Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution and saw light at the end of the tunnel. If I had learned anything at all about my yo-yo battle with weight over the years since leaving the Corps I had forgotten it and then it hit me; everything I had put in my mouth up to that point had done absolutely nothing for me but make me unhappy, why not try something new?!

And when I went through my Mother's losing battle with cancer my stress relief was eating. I am paying for that now but believe me, it's never too late to change, no matter what your age or condition. I have already lost a 120 pounds but a guy as big as me can lose that in no time.

Chocolate really is addictive! Well, maybe not like alcohol or heroin is but there are definately some similarities. The same parts of the brain affected by chocolate are the same parts activated in drug addicts!

Blame it on dopamine, the hormone in us that is linked to the pleasure and motivation centers of the brain. If you have a problem with weight gain you may have fewer dopamine receptors and need more food to get that food "high."

I finally figured out how to describe, what's commonly known as the "angel and the devil on your shoulder" syndrome as it pertains to diet and weight loss. You know the one; you're trying to lose those extra pounds and inches when a temptation comes along, up pops the angel, advising you what you should do, and you know in order to reach your goal this is what you must do. But want overcomes right and you start listening to the dark side, "have some of that candy, darlin, you been so good you deserve it." "It's just that one piece," "just eat this donut now, you can make up the calories later" (with some exercise that never happens), etc, etc.

I heard somewhere that conscience is "internal dialog" and I immediately recognized it as the number one factor in my inability to lose weight, I would commit to dieting then almost immediately start telling myself it was ok to eat this and ok to eat that. No devil required, I was doing fine all by myself, thank you. Even though my internal dialog kept reminding me of past failures, falling off the diet wagon so many times even though successful at losing weight with plans like; Weight Watchers, Nutrisystems, Low-Carb, Low-Fat, Cabbage soup, Grapefruit Diet, I still didn't get it.

It wasn't until I could truthfully acknowlege the righteous voice in my head, a voice that allowed me to see the error of my ways and pointed me to the light of self-discipline and accountability that I was able to succeed in acheiving my weight loss goals.