I like to get up on Saturday, and Sunday when I’m all prayed up and don’t need to go to church,  flip on The Golf Channel and watch what will seldom be boring, unless they are playing in Spain that is…the European Tour.

What never gets in the polls of best golf announcers are the undisputed heavyweight champs in the ”let’s send it out to 15″ group–that is Scotland’s Renton Laidlaw and Dougie Donnelly.  These two make me laugh with fewer words than any two humans possible. 

Like when they exchange:

“Don’t cough on me Rent, you might be spreading the swine flu.”

OR 

“Dougie you’re awfully quiet today, a little too much of the grape last night perhaps?” 

I also love the way they call out the nationality of the golfer, for better or worse…like:

“And another VICIOUS  lip-out for the Spaniard!!!”

OR

“The motorway behind the green seems to be off-putting to the Irishman”

They don’t feel the need to talk the entire time and give their audience some credit for knowing a little about how golf is played…totally foreign to us, pun intended.

The weather was pure Ireland, cold and rainy.  The contestants were Irish, Northern and Regular, Scottish, Swedish, English, Spanish, and French.  But the story of course was Shane Lowry of Northern Ireland or Narn’ Iron’  if he were to say it, a 22-year old amateur known well to Europeans as a phenom…and he more than proved it. 

The fact he had to pass on the half-million Euros after winning in a playoff was such a minor thing in the grand scheme of things, I just hope he realizes that in his youth and holds on as an amateur for a little longer…at least until the Walker Cup at Merion.

Padraig with his three majors, Rory in Dubai, and now Shane?  What’s next…we need to pay attention to find out…and I for one can’t wait.

If you don’t normally watch the European Tour do yourself a favor and give it a try, where you just might hear:

Renton: “This putt reminds me of an Irish Setter I had as a lad”

Dougie: “Rent, you were never a lad”

I don’t have to tell you the Duke/UNC rivalry is maybe the biggest in sports, college or professional.  I’ve been to Packers-Bears, Notre Dame-USC, Cubs-Cardinals,  and they all looked like a Girl Scout cookie sale next to this madness…but more on that in a minute.

I was on this trip, then off, then on, off, and finally, thankfully on.  I was  third alternate and that might be pushing it.  My stock rose and fell as the days approached but that’s OK…I made the cut in the end.  After all, how many Majors have been won by someone “just hangin’ around?”  And this was a Major.

Now regular followers of  B.I.G. know what a  lucky cuss I am when it comes to playing golf and hanging at good spots…no doubt about that.  And I know it’s luck, not deserved.  But what I am about to describe to you, at The Pinehurst Resort and surroundings,  may go down as the Best 24 Hours In Golf…and I’ll be brief in fear that when you read about this I might lose you forever.

It started with dinner at The Magnolia Inn, a creeky old tavern in the Village of Pinehurst with two great pals…a couple hours on the porch outside the recently ruined, I meant renovated, Ryder Cup Lounge and off to bed.  Then the fun began.

Next morning it was biscuits and gravy followed by golf on course  #4, Tom Fazio’s terrific rewind of a D. Ross underachiever. 

We met at 5:00 and motored north for an hour or so to Durham, NC, home to the Duke Blue Devils, Coach K, about 100 banners hanging from the rafters, and last but not least The Cameron Crazies.  These  are the students and they are all painted blue…and I mean they are ALL painted blue.  They never sit or stop chanting in one very loud voice from before tip off until the end of the game. 

Some of it is a little unseemly, like when they repeat the announcers introduction of a Tarheels player with a “you suck,” but the rest is just good college mayhem.

PA Announcer:  “Welcome 5-11 guard, from Clinton Maryland, number five…Tyyyyyyyy Lawson”

Cameron Crazies:  ”Ty Lawson, you suck!!!”  Guess you don’t really need to hear the rest of the roster.

Our fourth was none other than author Jim Dodson (I won’t call him golf writer because his subjects are much more diverse than that) which was a true treat for me.  I’ve read almost all his books on golf from Final Rounds, to Hogan (best Hogan biography by a lot in my humble opinion), to his latest,  A Son of  The Game…this is a good one that I’ll post more about when I’m finished.  You’re going to want this book either as a Dad, for your Dad, or just if you really like good golf writing.  It comes out just before Father’s Day, trust me.

It’s 80 degrees and 90% humidity in the arena…everyone looks like they’ve had a shower at the end of the night.  Krzyzewski on one bench, Roy Williams on the other, not 20 feet from each other…an unholy place…and something I’ll never forget.

Then the trip turned back to golf on B.I.G. personal fave, and home of the Best Par Four to Ruin a Round Early, the #2 course at Pinehurst.  The last time I  was here was at a very high quality road trip to the 2008 US Amateur, watching eventual champion Danny Lee treat the Deuce with the utmost disrespect…birdieing half the holes and showing enough fear to fill a small grape. 

Along for the walk were great friends and customers Jeff Fiorini and Wright Chandler from GolfPride.  We had a match under a sky that North Carolina fans would say proves God’s loyalty to the Heels…just as blue as it could be.

After my good partner and I lost the first two holes to the Grip Boys it looked bad…actually it looked a little like a handicap miscalculation…but we won the third and no one was more than one-up until we lost the match and 10 bucks on 18…money well spent to say the least.

Our caddies were great as usual and included Hall of Famer Eddie Mac, who spends the same amount of time talking about the  latest poetry he’s reading as he does 10-footers for bogey.  He likes to hear what you think the putt will do before he expresses his opinion and even has his own unique way of doing this. 

“What say you knave?” is a typical Eddie Mac question…now I ask you who says knave?

That’s it for now and maybe forever for the reason listed above…I hope this happens to you some day, I really do…now what say you knave?

In the final Danny Lee, via Korea, via New Zealand, made thirteen birdies in 32 holes on Pinehurst #2…let that sink in for a second.

After 25 holes his opponent, Drew Kittleson from Florida State, was only 2 down…let that sink in for a second. 

In the final round they matched birdies on 1,8, and 13.  On the par four 7th Kittleson made two…Lee made 3 to lose the honor…amazing stuff.

I’ll have to read the paper to see about the PGA Tour event…never switched the channel.

For a variety of reasons it’s not on the short list of avid golfers looking for a high quality vacation but it should be. This week we played Pine Needles during the National Amateur held a few thousand pine cones down the road over at The Amazing Deuce…Pinehurst #2…a little on that in a minute.

“Buddy Trips” as they’ve been coined, are among the most sacred events in  the game.  It doesn’t take much to make one a success.  The elements are good friends, good or great golf, a nice but not too nice place to stay, and a little beer.  But the best part was none of the above.  The thing that made this 36 hours The Best In Golf was, you guessed it, night chipping.

Since we were staying next to 18 green the lure was too great.  We had to hit a few lobs in the dark, not quite sure where the flag was…then again who cares about that anyway.  I’m pretty sure I lost. 

Then over to the US Amateur for a couple hours.  If you ever want to have a great getaway, find a golf course near the Am to play, then go watch college kids hit it miles and putt 13.5 greens with all the fear of a US Marine.

The fun part is you get to do all of this from the middle of the fairway.  It takes a hole or two to get used to this…big major chamoionships are supposed to be mob scenes, with all the intimacy of a fall Saturday at Death Valley…but not here.  These amateur championships have got to be the last best secret in the game.

Strolling up a perfect fairway behind two great golfers is a treat…take it from me.  And the best part?  You don’t have to ruin the experience by playing.

The course was no Oakland Hills (who needs that anyway?) but it was set up with enough 3″ rough and slick-stimp-i-ness to register a 78.1 course rating, enough to send me to the trunk at the turn for more pellets I can promise.

She was in the final last year and you can check out my musings on last year’s event here.

I too was riveted by the ending of yesterday’s PGA Championship and quite frankly forgot about the ladies…what a shame…why?

Because they were fighting it out for what is, without a doubt, The Best Trophy In Golf.  The Masters is OK, The US Open, and I know I know The Claret Jug filled with Guinness.

The fact is the women’s trophy (above) is the oldest original trophy in the game.  The stories are a bit sketchy on what happened to the originals for the other championships but I can use my imagination if I want.

This from the USGA’s website on the fate of the first U.S. Open trophy, “The trophy was destroyed by fire at Lloyd Mangrum’s home club in 1946 so a replica was ordered to replace it.” 

C’mon there has to be a better story than that.  Something like:

“It was New Year’s Eve, 1946,  the Great War finally over.  In high spirits, and awaiting the  return of their gallant warrior husbands, several of the ladies of the club began a wet frock contest while consuming copious amounts of flaming tequila cocktails.

After midnight the event got quite out of hand when Mrs. I.M. Oavapah took a swing at the club’s new Tennis Pro, Dick Pukenburg IV.  A melee ensued and one of the flammable concoctions was dropped on the bearskin rug installed that very morning and the rest is history…a fire engulfed the mixed grill destroying the US. Open trophy…a total loss.”

Lloyd was both judge and bartender…at least I would like it better if that were so.

So hail to the Women’s Am trophy…The Best In Golf.

While being outside any time between 8 AM and 8 PM is pretty much like 9 holes and a bowl of lava at Satan Acres CC, it does allow for the time to watch something on TV you might normally take a pass on.

Thanks to the Golf Channel for their wire-to-wire coverage of the US Women’s Amateur from Crooked Stick in Indianapolis. The semis were today, matching Duke standout Amanda Blumenherst against defending champion Kimberly Kim.

I lost track of the times Blumenherst stiffed it starting on about number 8 but it was several in a row. Her opponent hit some incredible shots also but just couldn’t keep up. These chicks aren’t at the club for a little tea and bridge…they’re here to knock your teeth out…this is the face of tomorrows golf and it’s bright.

It was also good to see and hear Steve Melnyk come out of storage…Steve was putting golf fans in a coma when Bobby Clampett was knee-high to a Lunesta. Always love to hear Steve say, in that Gaw-ga drawl,  ”Dottie, the players seem very comfortable at Crooked Stick, is this a good course for the gals?” You can almost hear the drop of sweat dripping down her neck on that one.

About 50 spectators were there following the matches…give or take an Aunt or Granny.

It’s what golf is at it’s core…good hard competition with laughs, manners, and guts.

Hope it’s hotter tomorrow so I can watch the finals…guilt free.