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”

Anyway, that’s another post.  What I want to tell you about today is whether you are playing with brand new shiny forgings (like moi) or are still clanking it around with your Eye 2 Berylliums, you owe it to yourself to slip on some new grips.

A golf clubs parts are simple.  We spend all of our time looking down at irons seeing how they fit the eye, endless chatter about shafts but why not the part that connects you to the ball?  I don’t know about you but the feeling of a new grip just makes me more confident in the shot.  I may very well lay the sod over another chip on the way to a bogey or worse…but man it felt good doing it.

Golf Pride is the undispted heavyweight champ in the golf handle biz and with good reason.  In fact about 80-90% of the tight pants crowd in Georgia this week will be playing one of the 60+ models they produce.

Take it from B.I.G. and put a little love on yourself this week…go get yourself some new rubber…it’s a Most Underrated Thing In Golf.

P.S. I prefer mine in pink.

I hope some day you have the chance to play the Donald Ross gem just refurbished in Charlotte, NC as I did this week.  Charlotte CC, home of the Best Fried Oysters In Golf, is one of the greats…and a place for one of the Most Underrated Things In Golf.

Fall golf is without a doubt one of the true small pleasures in life.  Teeing off at nearly 2:00 allows for a late twilight finish which comes with it’s own special bonus…it’s already cocktail time!

My friend John “Isn’t it Wunnerful?” Corder hosted us for this walk in the park with two superb caddies, Dave and Box Car…the latter got his name when he used to ride the rails to work and one day the train was moving too fast for him to jump off at the construction site where he was working…so he had to ride it to the end and walk back the 30 miles…good Sherpa lore.

I remember working at the golf course as a kid in the fall with the smells of burning leaves in the air…stealing a three hole loop before dinner and riding my bike home in the dark.  No way I’d let my kids do that but that’s another story for another day.

But the fall is a time for some of the best things in life.  We move too fast, especcially in these times, to really enjoy them.  Football, Thanksgiving, fireplaces, and maybe the best of all…golf. 

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.

Royal Birkdale

Not very long ago, before TIVO, the greatest invention since ED drugs by the way, the only time one could roll out of bed, walk the dog, fix a Starbucks, and watch live golf was this very day…Open Sunday.

To review, for something to be considered underrated it must be that which we don’t think much about but would miss greatly if it were to dissapear.

The “day trip” is just such an example.

We met at the bagel place before it opened and scooted down US 17 in the dark. Arriving at Secession GC just before 8, a quick hello to the best staff in golf, and away we went.

Our caddie for the day was Paulie…a guy you wouldn’t want to get into a stare-down with around the poker table for your lunch money.

Paulie is a man of many talents. I take it he has played some 5 card draw in his day…he’s a fine caddy and knows his grass, pun intended. But most of all Paulie is a +2 at talking …unsurpassed at banter, bullshitter par excellence

He did stop talking for about 5 minutes of the 5 hours we spent together, but that was cumulitive…a few seconds at a time. He told us the story of the caddiemaster who won the football pool and bought himself some new teeth with the take and the time he was pulled over in New Mexico with a few thousand bucks in his Wranglers…couldn’t understand why the authorities thought it a bit suspicious. It was all OK because Mark and I took turns listenting or acting like we were.

Paulie had hit the “Looper Lottery” that day. Thirty-six holes, twenty-seven of them before 12:00, and two bags that weigh slightly less than the average pouch of Callaways he hauls over the course of a day…combined.

His fellow sherpas let him know how they felt about his good fortune by shooting him the middle finger wave from a distance on more than one occasion.

The weather was a little rough at first but the last nine we played was perfect. We arrived back at the now open bagel place well before supper…so 36 holes at a course two hours away, a very nice caesar with grilled chicken (blackened), two cold Sam Adams, all within 10 hours.

Ah, give me the day trip any time.

Of course you do.

The next time you’re at the club and see a jar of Ginger Snaps and bowl of Cheez Whiz…give them a try together.

Hey who would have thought of chocolate and peanut butter until a 13-handicapper named Billy Bob Reeses came along?

Now that’s underrated pards!

No this is not a rant on the demise of that most pleasurable of sounds…the spikes in your FootJoys raking across the pavement…or the matching leather headcovers that came on your Kro-Flite’s…or the joy of finding a smile-less Titleist in the rough…no they among others will come along in our next topic “Things I Miss In Golf”