Bend's newest golf club, Tetherow, opened with all the pomp and circumstance you'd expect.  Roughly a week after opening The Castle Course at St. Andrews, David McLay Kidd brought the kilts and bagpipes for a proper opening.

With Tetherow, Kidd has given Bend it's most unique golf course.  It's a break from the typical Northwest layouts that most of the resorts offer in the Central Oregon area.  It's a true links course with mounds, undulating greens, ragged bunkers and more. 

It's almost like a coastal links course was scooped up and moved to the desert.

The first time around, Tetherow isn't easy.  The many blind tee shots and difficult green complexes make it hard to decide which club to hit and where to hit it.  It's a great challenge, though, and one that people will remember and want to play it again.

Greg Norman's third place finish in last week's British Open garnered him an invitation to next month's PGA Championship.  The Shark says he'll give the TOUR an answer within 24 hours on whether or not he'll go.

What's the hang-up?  The 53-year-old says he's not sure his surgically repaired body would hold up to four straight weeks of competitive golf.  In addition to the British, Norman plans to play this week in the Senior British and next week in the US Senior.

If he thinks he can hold out, I'd encourage Norman to play.  It's an honor to get to play in the PGA Championship and Norman likely won't have many more chances to qualify.  He's proven that he still has what it takes to be competitive, especially around the greens.

It also wouldn't hurt for some of today's younger stars to play with more of the guys who really had to work to make their living in golf.  While it's true that Norman was one of the first ... Read More »

Michelle Wie announced Monday, following her disqualifiication from the LPGA State Farm Classic, that she would play in next week's Reno-Tahoe PGA Tour event.  It will be the eighth time she's played in a men's tour event.

She has yet to make a cut, which makes you wonder why she would want to add another blow to her already fragile psyche.  Wie has played so poorly the last few years that if she wants to continue playing golf, Q School will be her only option for next year (assuming she can't win $80,000 in her final LPGA event of the year).

I'm not against women playing sports against men.  There are just times when it doesn't make sense because it's not a level playing field.  Men's events are played on longer courses, making it harder for the women to compete.  The top 10 players on the PGA Tour are all over 301 yards in average driving distance, while the top 10 on ... Read More »

 Watching Tiger Woods win a major is a little like driving past a fender bender.  You don't wanna see it, but you can't help but turn and look.  Woods has taken the game of golf to new heights and his play in recent majors has been nothing short of remarkable.

There's something to be said, though, of a major championship that's completely unpredictable.  Without the option of betting on Tiger or the field, it's hard to say who'll step in to fill the void left by the world's top player.

I can think of one person who will and one who won't.

The sexy pick this week has been Ernie Els.  The Big Easy has won the British in the past, but I just don't see him playing well enough to come out on top.  Despite winning the Honda Classic ... Read More »

The largest golf course management firm in the Northwest -- Oki Golf -- has announced the beginning of a program to get junior golfers on the course for free.  I'm applauding them for making golf more accessible to young players, giving the region a better base for the future.

Here's a little bit about the program.  Visit OkiGolf.com for more details...

Oki Golf is excited to introduce the Family Golf Program, allowing junior golfers ages 8-17 to play golf for FREE after 6pm any day of the week at public Oki Golf courses when playing with a paying parent.

Now this is something you'd expect in Japan or maybe Dubai, but the Netherlands?  It's been announced that the world's largest indoor golf complex will open in the European country sometime in 2010 (target date). 

The 150,000 square foot facility will incorporate 20 ProTee golf simulators, a roof-top driving range, putting greens, chipping and sand facilities and more.  There will also be a children's training facility and wellness center/spa.

Golf is the fastest growing sport in the Netherlands and a facility like this can only help speed that growth.  Developers believe the arena ... Read More »

Chamber's Bay, located near Tacoma, Washington, announced this week that Northwest native Jamie Fay would take over as Director of Sales and Marketing.  Here's the full press release from Kemper Sports:

UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash., July 8, 2008 – KemperSports today announced Jamie Fay as sales and marketing director of Chambers Bay, the nationally acclaimed links-style golf course awarded the 2010 U.S. Amateur and 2015 U.S. Open Championships. In this role, Fay will be responsible for steering sales and marketing initiatives and programs for the course that opened in June 2007 just outside of Tacoma in University Place, Wash.

Fay, a graduate of Tacoma’s University of Puget Sound, brings nearly six years of experience in coordin ... Read More »

By now, everyone knows that phenom Anthony Kim won his second tournament of the year Sunday at the AT&T.  Unless you watched the final round, you missed out on some really great golf.

Granted, it wasn't on the level of an 18-hole playoff followed by a single hole of sudden-death, but it was still good stuff.  Kim had to rally from behind, grab a multi-shot lead and then hold on as others made their rallies.  Even without Tiger, there can be drama.

With a second win, Kim puts himself in a special position to do well in this year's FedEx Cup and, hopefully, bring some youth and a spark to the year's final two majors.