Disabled Vets to Learn Golf Free with Met PGA Pros

Met PGA Hope (Helping Our Patriots Everywhere) got off to a good start yesterday at the John Kennedy Learning Center at Westchester Country Club when dozens of local pros gathered to find out how they can help veterans with disabilities benefit from the game of golf.

"There's a special link between golfers and our veterans," said Charles Robson, Executive Director of the Met PGA. "With West Point in our backyard, it just seems like a natural."  The eight-week golf instructional program for veterans with disabilities is slated to roll-out at West Point GC this spring.  "For us, it all comes down to giving something back to these people to whom we owe so much. For the vets, it's a great chance for them to benefit from the game."

Elmwood CC's Pete Stefanchik
swings wrong-handed on one leg

The pros attended a morning presentation by PGA Professional David Windsor, an expert in teaching adaptive golf programs for individuals with physical and cognitive challenges.  In the afternoon, they experienced first hand what the vets feel like trying to play golf while coping with various disabilities. The pros wore various devices that forced them to hit a ball on one leg, or with the opposite hand like a switch hitter in baseball, or with only one eye.

"The sensation is totally different," said Heath Wassem, Met PGA President and head pro at Fenway Golf Club. "It really gives you a great appreciation of what they go through."  There were also several disabled vets in the crowd who demonstrated their prowess.

PGA HOPE is the flagship military program of PGA REACH, the charitable foundation of the PGA of America. It is designed to introduce golf -- at NO cost -- to veterans with disabilities in order to enhance their physical, mental, social, and emotional well-being. The HOPE program, led by PGA professionals, helps veterans assimilate back into their communities through the social interaction the game of golf provides.

Interested participants should contact the Met PGA to learn more.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Mount Kisco Hosts MasterCard Westchester PGA

Mount Kisco #16 photo by John Fortunato

Looking for some competitive golf the way it should be played--in matches? Head for Mount Kisco Country Club next week for the MasterCard Westchester PGA Championship, a 64-player match play tournament featuring the best pros in the area going head-to-head over one of the Met PGA Section's most demanding courses.

2013 champion Greg Bisconti will defend his title against Carl Alexander, Frank Bensel, Charlie Meola, Colin Amaral and other top players like Mount Kisco head pro Chris Case.

Monday, April 28, will see first round matches, followed by rounds two and three on Tuesday, Quarters and Semis on Wednesday, and the Final match on Thursday, May 1. First prize is $4,250.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Met PGA Honors Golf's Leaders

Joe Felder and Rob Labritz
photo courtesy Met PGA

Yesterday's Metropolitan PGA Educational Forum  honored a small group of top-notch contributors to the game not just in the NY area but throughout the nation.  Hundreds of pros took time out of their busy spring schedules to not only hear fascinating speakers like Mark Broadie, Mike Diffley, and Michael Breed, but to deliver well-earned applause to some real leaders of the game.

Met PGA Special Awards went to three outstanding contributors:

Joe Felder, 2013 Met PGA Professional of the Year, has served as head pro at Griff Harris, the municipal facility of the Town of Greenwich, CT, for nearly 25 years. Under Joe's direction, the course and other facilities have grown to be one of the best in the area. Among his many accomplishments, however, one stands out: Joe has grown a junior program that could serve as a model for anyone in the industry. When he arrived at Griff Harris, there were 74 juniors in the program. Today there are over 750. Who said golf can't appeal to youngsters? All it takes is a leader like Joe Felder.

The 2013 Met PGA Player of the Year is Rob Labritz, Director of Golf of GlenArbor GC in Bedford, NY. This was the second time Rob has won the title, but it certainly wasn't the easiest. In fact, his season-long duel with Danny Balin of Burning Tree came down to the final event of the season, the Trieber Memorial at Wheatley Hills. Along with Rob's victories in the PGA Head Pro Championship at Tuxedo and the Met PGA Professional Championship at Rockland, the Treiber Memorial win put his name on the top of the list.

Mary Beth Childs was awarded the 2013 Sam Snead Award, making her the first female recipient of the Met Section's only honor that is bestowed on both professionals and amateurs. Mary Beth's role in the sponsorship by Lincoln dealers of numerous Met Section events for over fourteen years is just one of her many contributions to the game.

The Met PGA Hall of Fame inducted three members yesterday:

Jim McLean is well-known to golfers around the world as one of the leading instructors in the game and founder of the well-respected Jim McLean golf schools. He began his teaching career, however, as an assistant at Westchester Country Club in 1975. He also served as head professional at Sunningdale, Quaker Ridge, and Sleepy Hollow before moving to the Doral in Miami to launch his schools. Jim was recognized by the Met PGA as Teacher of the Year in 1986 and named National Teacher of the Year by the PGA of America in 1994.

Craig Shankland's roots to the Met PGA run deep. He served as the head pro at Rye GC, Middle Bay CC, and Fairview CC, and served as the section's president among many other positions in the organization. He was Met Professional of the Year in both 1974 and 1975, and was named PGA National Teacher of the Year in 2001.

Bruce Zabriski dominated golf in the Met area for nearly three decades, winning 22 events including the NYS Open, Met Open, Met PGA Championship, and many, many others. He competed in eleven major national championships, played the professional tours for seven years, and was named the National PGA Club Professional Player of the Year a record five times. After tiring of life on the road, he returned to the Met area to teach at Fresh Meadow, Oyster Bay, Winged Foot, and Westchester CC. Eventually, he took positions as head professional at Trump West Palm Beach, Old Palm GC, and Mayacoo Lakes in West Palm before returning to Westchester CC in 2012 to teach.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Brynwood to Host Met PGA Pro/Assistant Bash

One of the Met PGA Section's most entertaining events will be held at Brynwood Golf & Country Club in Armonk on April 14. It's the Taylor Made/Adidas Pro/Assistant Better Ball, where a head professional teams up with an assistant pro to take on their compatriots in the section. One of the PGA Met Section most popular and coveted championships, it will be hosted at Brynwood for the first time.

“Brynwood is very proud to host such a prestigious PGA event in the MET section such as the 2014 PGA MET Section Professional-Assistant Championship,” says Josh Lowney, PGA Professional and Brynwood General Manager. “The MET section includes some of the best Golf Professionals in the world and Brynwood is an ideal venue to test their skills. Brynwood will represent two teams with PGA Professional and General Manager Josh Lowney fielding one and Head Golf Professional, Michael Mercadante showcasing another.

Also in the field will be defending champion Chris Case from Mount Kisco, 2013 PGA Championship competitors Rob Labritz from GlenArbor and Danny Balin from Burning Tree, and dozens of others. The head pro will team with each individual assistant, so he can have multiple games going in the tournament, making for some fun by-play on the course.

Met PGA Executive Director Charlie Robson said, “The MET PGA is excited to bring this Championship to Brynwood for 2014. The Brynwood Member experience has innovated the country club industry and produced a resort style, private country club feel. Our Golf Professionals are looking forward to experiencing the life of a Brynwood Member.”

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

PGA of America Opens Golf Central Office

Here comes the PGA of America. 

The organization is returning to its roots in Westchester by opening a satellite office in Elmsford this fall. The office will be at "Golf Central" on Knollwood Road, which houses the headquarters of both the Metropolitan PGA Section and the Metropolitan Golf Association as well as the Women's Metropolitan Golf Association, the Westchester Golf Association, the Metropolitan Golf Writers Association, and the Hudson Valley Golf Course Superintendents Association (did I miss anybody?).

Kevin Ring, The PGA of America’s chief marketing officer, will relocate to the area to head the office, which will be helpful as the organization gets ready for its Centennial Celebration in 2016 and 98th PGA Championship to be held that year at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J.  The office will also be used to build deeper PR, marketing, and communications relationships in the NY media market.

Robert White, a club pro and entrepreneur at Wykagyl CountryClub in New Rochelle, became the PGA’s first president at a meeting of leading pros and amateurs called by Rodman Wanamaker, son of the department store founder, to organize the group at the Hotel Martinique, now the Radisson Martinique, in Manhattan. Wanamaker donated the namesake trophy awarded to the winner of the PGA Championship each year. The inaugural PGA Championship was played in 1916 at Siwanoy Country Club in Bronxville.

 

“We are very excited about establishing a foothold in the New York metropolitan area, near the birthplace of The PGA of America,” said PGA CEO Pete Bevacqua. “New York holds a key to our future and a special link to our storied past. As we drive forward towards our centennial in 2016, the region will play a major role in telling the story of the first 100 years of The PGA and what the next 100 have in store for our association.”

Welcome home!

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Charlie Robson To Be Recognized by Met Golf Writers

Charles Robson

Metropolitan PGA Section Executive Director Charles Robson will be honored at the Metropolitan Golf Writers Association’s 62nd National Awards Dinner on June 18, at the Westchester Marriott, Tarrytown, NY. Robson, who joined the Metropolitan PGA Section in 1972 and is currently the longest-tenured Executive Director among the PGA of America’s 41 sections, will receive the MGWA’s Distinguished Service Award.

As Executive Director of the Metropolitan PGA Section, Charlie Robson has overseen a dynamic growth in the scope and membership of the organization, which administers programs for over 700 PGA professionals and a 1,300-member Met PGA Junior Golf Association.

Raised on Long Island, Charlie graduated from Washington & Lee University in 1972. After a brief stint as a golf professional at Plandome Country Club, Robson began his career with the Metropolitan PGA, where he has been the driving force in establishing the Met Section as one of the most prestigious and respected PGA sections in the country.

Perhaps his greatest contributions, however, have come in the area of junior golf.  He established the Met PGA Junior Golf Association and Junior Tour, and in 1988 began the ‘Golf In Schools’ program, which served as a model for many other inner-city programs across the nation. Robson was also an integral part of the group that founded The First Tee of Metropolitan New York, headquartered at Mosholu Golf Course in the Bronx, and continues to serve as Treasurer on their Board of Directors.

The Metropolitan Golf Association presented Robson with its Distinguished Service Award in 2003 and he received the John Reid Lifetime Achievement Award from the Met Golf Course Superintendents Association in 1998.

The MGWA’s National Awards Dinner is the longest running and often the largest golf dinner held annually in the U.S. All of golf’s governing bodies actively support the dinner — USGA, PGA of America, LPGA and PGA TOUR — and up to 700 industry leaders, local golfers and golf groups attend. Proceeds benefit the caddie scholarship programs of Long Island, New Jersey and Westchester/Fairfield, and the MGA Foundation. More than $1.3 million has been raised over the years for these charitable endeavors.

For tickets, visit www.metgolfwriters.org

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

The Mental Game and Jim McLean

Jim McLean

Jim McLean paid a visit to a roomful of old friends this year at the Met PGA Educational Forum, spending about two hours on the stage sharing his insights and many tales from his long career in the game and chatting with WNBC Sports Anchor (and McLean pupil) Bruce Beck. It was a fascinating presentation.

McLean is the director of the fabulously successful golf schools bearing his name across the nation. He's headquartered at Doral in Miami, but his roots run deep into Westchester, where he started his club pro career as an assistant at Westchester Country Club. He later served as head pro at Sunningdale, Quaker Ridge, and Sleepy Hollow. One of his greatest contributions to the game is the long trail of pros who worked for him here and in Florida.

Beck, who took many lessons from McLean at Sleepy Hollow, asked him how he manages to switch from coaching standout PGA Tour pros like Keegan Bradley and Webb Simpson to teaching rank beginners and duffers like you and me. McLean said, "That's not a problem because you have to focus on every golfer as an individual anyway. Regardless of their skill level, everyone needs help with specific, different parts of their game." He seldom works with Bradley, for example, on swing mechanics but instead concentrates on his mental approach to the game.

Bruce Beck and Jim McLean. Photo courtesy of Met PGA

McLean also pointed out that there is hope for everyone of us, regardless of how poorly we hit the ball. "There really are solution to every problem in golf," he said. "The biggest obstacle is people who won't follow the plan to solve them. He also commented that so-called "feel" players need to use practice drills, too, because, "You need to get the feel for doing it right."

Coaching the mental game was the topic of much of the discussion. McLean said he's worked with all the sports psychologists at one time or another but believes the golf instructor needs to be a psychologist, too. He told a brief story about when Keegan Bradley first hit the Nationwide Tour: "After a few tournaments, Keegan told me how much better he was than most of the other players he was up against. I asked him how many times he had won so far and the answer was none. Then I asked him how many times he had led a tournament at any point and that answer was also 'none.' When that sunk in, Keegan realized that being the best golfer in the field doesn't mean anything unless you put the numbers on the scorecard to prove it."

McLean suggested that most golfers could improve their putting by learning which arm dominates their swing by making a few one-arm putts to get the feel for it. "If you run into trouble," he said, "try the other arm for a while until you get comfortable." He also observed that it's not a good idea to practice putting--or any one thing--for too long at a single session because it will become tedious and the practice will lose its effectiveness.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Breed, Alexander, Kennedy Honored by PGA

Thee outstanding members of the Metropolitan Section of the PGA will be honored at the PGA of America Awards in January. They are Michael Breed, popular Golf Channel personality and head professional at Sunningdale, who was named PGA Teacher of the Year, Carl Alexander, head pro at The Golf Club of Purchase, who will receive the Horton Smith Award, and John Kennedy, Jr., Director of Golf at Westchester Country Club, who will be honored with the Patriot Award. Here's what the PGA press release said about them:

MICHAEL BREED - PGA Teacher of the Year

Michael Breed of Greenwich, Conn., whose telegenic instruction skills through his signature Golf Channel program, "The Golf Fix," has motivated countless viewers to enjoy the game, has been named the recipient of the 2012 PGA Teacher of the Year Award.

Breed, 50, is in his 12th season as PGA head professional at Sunningdale Country Club in Scarsdale, N.Y. He follows Michael Hebron (1991) of St. James, N.Y., as the only Metropolitan PGA members to receive The PGA of America's highest honor for a golf instructor.

A native of Greenwich, Conn., Breed began his athletic career in baseball as a shortstop, and was introduced to golf at age 13 by his father.

Breed is a 1985 graduate of Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Va., where he was a standout player for the Yellow Jackets, and was a 2004 inductee into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame. Breed declared professional in 1985, and made a bid in 1991 to earn a berth on the former Ben Hogan (now Web.com Tour). Breed was a PGA assistant professional at Augusta (Ga.) National Golf Club from 1989 through 1992, before serving as assistant from 1992 to 1995, for former PGA Professional National Champion Darrell Kestner at Deepdale Golf Club in Manhasset, N.Y. In 1994, Breed competed in the Greater Hartford Open on the PGA Tour.

Breed made his venture into golf broadcasting at Golf Channel in 1999, appearing on numerous "Golf Academy Live" programs as both a guest instructor and host. He has served as an on-course reporter for the former Nationwide Tour and PGA Tour events, and as a guest on such Golf Channel programs as "Viewer's Forum" and "Golf Central." Breed also contributed numerous golf tips for CBS, Turner Sports, and Cablevision.

In 2009, Breed was selected to host "The Golf Fix," elevating it into one of golf's most popular instruction programs on cable television. He also serves as host instructor for Golf Channel's "Big Break Academy."

Breed's broadcasting venture, he said, would not have been possible without the support of his home facility, Sunningdale Country Club, where he has been PGA head professional since 2001.

Breed served from 2005 to 2010 on the Metropolitan PGA Board of Directors and is in his second term on the national PGA Instruction Committee. A past chair of the Metropolitan PGA Education Committee, Breed won two Ely Callaway Awards in 2010 and 2011, recognizing individuals earning the most service hour credits for education recertification. He was the 2000 and 2009 Metropolitan PGA Teacher of the Year, and recipient of the Section's 2006 and '07 Horton Smith Award for contributions to PGA education.

For more than a decade, Breed has served as a Titleist Leadership Advisory Staff member and is among Golf Digest's Top 50 instructors in the U.S., and since 2003 has been listed as a top 100 instructor by GOLF Magazine. Breed's worldwide travels include trips to Canada and China to promote PGA education and has appeared before more than 15 PGA Sections nationwide.

Breed has coached 2003 PGA Champion Shaun Micheel, and past Tour winners Chris Smith and Joe Ogilvie. His current students include five-time Web.com Tour winner Darron Stiles, Ron Whitaker and LPGA winner Meghan Francella.

CARL ALEXANDER – Horton Smith Award 

Carl Alexander of Bedford, N.Y., whose leadership within the Metropolitan PGA Section resulted in showcasing both model programs and inspiring new audiences to the game, has been named the recipient of the 2012 Horton Smith Award for outstanding and continuing contributions to professional education.

Alexander, 46, is PGA director of golf at The Golf Club of Purchase (N.Y.), and a 16-year member of The PGA of America. He is the fourth member of the Metropolitan PGA Section to receive the Horton Smith Award, which was established in 1965, and named for the late PGA Past President and inaugural Masters Champion.

Born in New York City, Alexander is the son of renowned golf photographer Jules Alexander, and attended Rollins College in Orlando, Fla., before transferring to the University of Arizona. He turned professional in 1992, and joined the Grand Cypress Academy of Golf staff in Orlando, Fla. In 1997, Alexander accepted a teaching and assistant professional position at Pine Hollow Country Club in East Norwich, N.Y. In 1999, he was recruited to join GlenArbor Golf Club in Bedford Hills, N.Y., as PGA head professional to help build the new private golf club.

In 2005, Alexander joined The Golf Club of Purchase, where he has built successful teaching programs, and managed a first-class golf club with high-end services. Throughout his career, Alexander has hired and trained many assistants, several of whom have gone on to their own head professional positions in the Metropolitan PGA Section.

Alexander was introduced to golf at age 6, encouraged to join his neighborhood friends, and would take his first formal lessons from then-Westchester Country Club assistant professional Jim McLean, who went on to become one of the country's most celebrated instructors and the 1994 PGA Teacher of the Year.

Since 2003, Alexander has served as a member of the Metropolitan PGA Board of Directors; was Section vice president from 2007 to 2011; and has been a member of the Section Education Committee since 2004, and chair of the committee since 2009. He also is co-chair of the Section Communications and Public Relations Committee, serving in those capacities since 2008.

Alexander was the 2006 Metropolitan PGA Teacher of the Year and the 2010 Section Horton Smith Award recipient, and the 2000 Westchester Golf Association Player of the Year.

Among Alexander's endeavors of the past several years include teaming with LPGA Tour player Jane Blalock and other LPGA Tour professionals for a women's executive golf clinic; and developing a junior golf program at The Golf Club of Purchase, which pairs junior golfers for clinics, contests, and on-course competition with professional staff.

In 2009, Alexander met with and recruited Stuart Levine, formerly of Dale Carnegie, and together they developed a leadership and governance program for the Metropolitan PGA Educational Programs and the Board. In 2010, Stuart Levine was one of several keynote speakers at the Met PGA Spring Educational Forum along with Barry Hyde of the USGA and PGA Chief Executive Officer Joe Steranka. The PGA of America's Education Department later created four regional educational conferences and teamed with Stuart Levine & Associates to create the Power of Fundamentals Executive Program.

Alexander later served on the committee to develop the Met PGA Head Professional Handbook, which featured more than 400 pages of materials and outlines designed to help professionals in every phase of their operations, business, and personal development. Alexander created the Teaching Center at Purchase, a year-round state-of-the-art facility offered to players of all skill levels.

JOHN KENNEDY JR. – Patriot Award 

John Kennedy Jr. of New Canaan, Conn., whose leadership within the Metropolitan PGA Section extended to establishing a foundation for supporting the men and women of the military along with affiliation with the VA to help instruct disabled veterans, has been named the recipient of the 2012 Patriot Award.

First presented in 2008, the Patriot Award honors a PGA Professional who personifies patriotism through the game of golf and demonstrates unwavering commitment and dedication to the men and women who have valiantly served and protected the United States of America.

The 61-year-old Kennedy is in his 22nd year as PGA head professional at Westchester Country Club in Rye, N.Y., and is a 36-year member of The PGA of America. He is the second Metropolitan PGA Section member to receive the Patriot Award, following John Hines of Calverton, N.Y., in 2011.

Kennedy established Golfers in Support of the Troops Foundation in 2008, which has raised more than $90,000 over a four-year period to distribute more than 20,000 articles of clothing to U.S. troops and their families. Clothing was sent to Baghdad, Iraq; Fort Benning, Ga.; Fort Hood, Texas; Fort Collins, Colo.; and Fort Drum, N.Y. Kennedy contributed 50 percent of the clothing that he purchased for his own golf shop.

In addition to Westchester Country Club serving as a strong supporter of Patriot Golf Day since the initiative began in 2007, it also has supported Kennedy's efforts to build an alliance between the New York VA Hospital Prosthetics Device Department and 2010 Patriot Award recipient Jim Estes of Olney, Md., founder of the Salute Military Golf Association. Together with 2011 Patriot Award recipient John Hines, the group are working to expand training of PGA Professionals to give golf instruction to disabled veterans.

Born in Fairfield, Conn., Kennedy graduated from Fairfield University in 1972 and turned professional that year. He was elected to PGA membership in 1976, during which time he was an assistant professional at Sleepy Hollow Country Club in Scarborough, N.Y. In 2010, he became the third member of the Metropolitan PGA Section to be named a recipient of the national Horton Smith Award, which recognizes an individual PGA member for outstanding and continuing contributions to professional education.

Kennedy also was the 1997 Metropolitan PGA Golf Professional of the Year; and recipient of the 2005 Section Bill Strausbaugh Award; the 1985, '88 and 2009 Section Horton Smith Award; and the 1983 and '91 Section Merchandiser of the Year for Private Facilities.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Brad Faxon's Putting Wisdom

Eight-time PGA Tour winner Brad Faxon shared his thoughts on putting with an eager audience of PGA club professionals at the Spring Education Forum presented by the Metropolitan Section of the PGA this week. In a golf world awash in mechanics and digital diagnostics, his words were refreshing, to say the least.

photo courtesy of the Met PGA

"Players spend too much time working on their stroke and not enough time hitting the ball into the hole," Faxon said at the beginning of his conversation with NBC's Jimmy Roberts.

Faxon went on to say that there aren't really many absolute fundamentals in putting. "Everyone grips differently, especially these days. Where you aim your feet, where your eyes are over the ball, do your shoulders have to be square? Not necessarily. You don't even have to hold your head still," Faxon said as he talked about the many variables he's seen among the great putters he's observed.

There are some things he recommends, though, and they're hard to dispute. "You can have the best stroke in the world, but you'll never be a great putter unless you have confidence," he said. "You have to look at the putt and know you're going to make it." He adds, "You can't be afraid to miss. As long as I give the ball a chance to go in by executing well, I know I will make a lot of putts."

Setting the mental aspect aside for a moment, Faxon talked about keeping his arms soft when he putts. Many players, myself included, try to putt with soft hands, but Faxon points out that your arms need to be relaxed, too, if you want to take tension out of your stroke. You need to hold the putter just firmly enough to keep it from twisting--maybe a three on a scale of ten.

When it comes to practice, he stressed the importance of working on your pre-shot routine as well as your stroke. His routine, like that of all good players, doesn't vary, nor does it take all day. "I start lining up my putt as soon as I walk on the green," he says. "Subconsciously, I know which general direction it's going to go. I look at the putt from both sides of the hole, then put my ball down with the center line on the path I want it to follow. I visualize the curve of the line."

"Once I have my read, I don't waste time," Faxon continued. "I walk up to the ball from behind, take a practice stroke to feel the length before I take my stance, put down the putter face, take one look at the hole, and go."

During his PGA career, Faxon was known as one of the best putters in the game. He led the PGA Tour in Putting Average in 1996, 1999, and 2000, the year when he set a single-season record with an astounding 1.704 putts/greens in regulation. It was great to hear him say something I've always believed: "Putting should be the easiest part of your game."

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf