It was either going to be the Green Jacket or a straightjacket; there was no middle road for Hideki Matsuyama. Japan’s newly-minted greatest golfer ever won the 2021 Masters, but only after nearly squandering a 6-shot lead and hanging on narrowly after late charges by Xander Schauffle and...
It was a bullet-grey sky that blanketed Southport, England, on a July Sunday in 1998, but the low clouds that hung oppressively over Royal Birkdale Golf Club were parted by the radiant sunshine of a young, fresh-faced high school kid who carried all of England on his shoulders. Skinny as...
Everyone always says the Masters doesn’t begin until the back nine on Sunday, but you can’t get to the back nine without playing the front nine. And that’s no walk in the park. Maybe Tiger Woods can fire a front nine 40 during the first round and still win the Masters, but mere mortals...
Odds to win the 2021 Masters Championship, April 8-11, Augusta National Country Club Dustin Johnson +850 17/2 Bryson Dechambeau +900 9/1 Justin Thomas +1000 10/1 Jon Rahm +1100 11/1 Jordan Spieth +1200 12/1 Rory McIlroy +1400 14/1 Brooks Koepka +2000 20/1 Xander Schauffele +2000 20/1...
A huge thank you again to the National Ski Council Federation for running a portion of and posting a link to my Loon Mountain article. (Click the link above.) As usual, they do a fantastic job; we’re grateful for their support. By the way, join a local ski club or two: it’s a...
It’s still a sure bar bet winner: what’s the oldest country club in America? It’s Philadelphia Cricket Club, founded in 1854. It’s always a joy to get a day at Philly Cricket, but now that restoration architect Keith Foster and head super Dan Meersman have their...
(Pic courtesy of Loon Mtn.) Border War! Vermont vs. New Hampshire Skiing Part 9 – Loon Mountain —by Jay Flemma LINCOLN, NH – Day 1 of 2, circa 1:00 pm – It’s not often that one can tiptoe past a sleeping dragon, but occasionally even dragons must doze. And so it was that I caught...
Last week saw an excellent premiere of Golf Course Trades’ webinar series. The first subject was upstate New York’s Copake Country Club, a 1921 Devereux Emmet design. I interviewed restoration architect Mark Fine and Head Superintendent Mark Anderson for the segment. The...
Don’t look now, but Indypass is eating Vail’s and Alterra’s lunch as the best value in the mega-pass game. Already amassing an impressive lineup of winter sports parks including Jay Peak, Cannon Mountain, and Magic Mountain in the east, and Red Lodge, Brundage, and...
PGA Tour legend and 15 time major champion Tiger Woods was seriously injured in a one-car accident in Orange County California early this morning. The car rolled over several times, ended laying up on its driver’s side door, and Woods had to be extricated though the vehicle’s...
I’m really grateful to both the National Ski Council Federation and the North American Snowsports Journalists Association for running my Greek Peak article and interview with their marketing maven Drew Broderick. Thanks also, of course, to Greek Peak. Happily, I’ll be writing...
(Pic above: THE LONELINESS OF THE LONG DISTANCE THREE-PUTT, photo by Mike Mosely) Golf Course Trades has a new webinar series of podcasts, interviews, and lectures that promises to be an interesting look at the golf, skiing, and resort industries. On February 23, at 1PM EST, I’ll...
CORTLAND, NY – Sadly, I’ll never get to say, “I’ll take Mythology for a thousand please, Alex,” (as Jeopardy’s long-time host has now gone to that Great Game Show in the Sky), but I would have run the category. Western Civ is a long suit of mine, and still the best way to educate young...
As always, Golf Course Trades did a fantastic job with my article on Links at Hiawatha Landing, one of my favorite courses and an old home of mine way way waaaaaaay back in the day. The entire piece is here. From the article: “The year was 1994, and although the golf world didn’t...
Torrey the Prediction Cat went 3-1 last week, 1-1 in teaser bets. His lone loss was – surprise surprise! – the Bills couldn’t cover. Still, Torrey is a solid 10-2 on the season, 4-2 in teaser bets. The Super Bowl has been a bit of a bugaboo lately in this column. Then...
With a whopping 93.6 percent of the vote, the Golf Writers Association of America selected Dustin Johnson as PGA Tour Player of the Year. Germany’s Bernhard Langer took home the same honors for the Senior “Champions” Tour, while Sei Young Kim won the award for the LPGA...
Torrey the Prediction Cat went a perfect 4-0 last week, (2-0 in teasers), bringing his playoff record this season to a sterling 7-1 overall, 3-1 in teasers. Here’s this week’s winners before they happen. All lines from vegasinsider.com, HOME TEAM IN CAPS. NFC buccaneers +9.5...
So a huge thank you to Golf Course Trades, Many Francis, Rich Hurley, and Doug Homan for their help with my article about Vesper Velvet. The entire piece is here. From the article: “So Manny [Francis] converted Vesper’s greens to the strain he found in his yard, and both he and the...
Torrey the Prediction Cat went a solid 3-1 overall last week, 1-1 in teasers. He hit with the Saints and Bills and the OVER in STEELERS-browns. As usual we do two team teasers here and move the Vegas Insider Consensus line six point sin our favor. HOME TEAM IN CAPS PACK IT UP! PACKERS ...
Augusta National will look to allow patrons for the 2021 Masters, scheduled for next April 8-11. The 2020 Masters, won by Dustin Johnson, was delayed until November last year due to Covid-19, and was contested without patrons for the first time in its illustrious history. “Following...
The only thing that can turn Super Wild Card Weekend into Super Duper Duper Wildcard Weekend isn’t an eighth team with an under .500 record getting stomped by the 1-seed. It’s the return of the greatest animal sporting handicap column – this one. Torrey the Prediction...
***Updated as of 01-08-21*** A Christmas morning avalanche caused “significant damage” to the mid-station “Overlook” lodge of New York’s Belleayre Mountain Ski Resort in Highmont, forcing the mountain to close for the day. No one was injured, but several...
…and as the shepherds lay in their fields tending to their flocks, an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and they were frightened at first. But the Angel smiled and said, “Fear not. For I bring glad tidings of great joy! For today in the City of David a savior is born to free...
Man cannot live by skiing alone; frequently there must be a dinner. So I just became your new best friend. We all know how merciless I am when it comes to calling out bad on-mountain dining. Well I may talk the talk, but I also walk the walk. Hence this column. My chef pals and I are...
It was an absolute joy to return to Albany area’s Copake Country Club this summer. As usual the Golf Course Trades team did a fabulous job in both print and on line. From the article: “When you stand atop the 12th tee of Copake Country Club on an early fall day, the entire...
OLD FORGE, NY – Everyone just calls him “Stevie U,” and the joke is that the U either stands for “unspellable” or “unpronounceable,” depending on usage. But Stephen G. Uzdavinis, (that’s “YOOZE-duh-VENUS” for those of you scoring at home), a.k.a. Stevie U, is living his Adirondack...
Thank you to Joe Harvis, the National Ski Council Federation, and the folks at the North American Snowsports Journalists Association for all their help syndicating my Mount Sunapee article. Joe, you really made it look great. Here’s a link to the NSCF site. From the article: “Money...
Border War! Vermont vs. New Hampshire Skiing Part 8 – Mount Sunapee —by Jay Flemma Special to Slave to the Traffic Light Adventure Magazine— [Editor’s Note: In a wonderful bit of synchronicity, this piece is published on Jay’s 16th anniversary of becoming a sports writer. Through the...
Dustin Johnson won what the entire world hopes will be the only Masters Tournament ever contested without patrons, delayed by a pandemic disease. But take away the Coronavirus masks, turn the color of the trees back about six weeks, and look at Augusta National Golf Club and the 2020...
Augusta National Golf Club announced Monday that 2017 Masters champion Sergio Garcia informed the club he would not participate in the event after the positive test result.Sergio Garcia joins Joaquin Niemann as players to withdraw from the 2020 Masters after testing positive for COVID-19...
