On September 7, Corey Pavin, the U.S. Ryder Cup team captain, will announce his four captain’s picks. Currently, there are eight players who have automatically qualified to play on the team, and now it’s up to Pavin to fill out the roster.

With the way Tiger has been playing lately, it’s no surprise that no one thinks he’s guaranteed a spot on the team. Earlier in the month, Pavin said that “Tiger wants to play and he wants to be on the team, and he”s high on my list. He”s certainly a big consideration, no doubt.”

So other than Tiger, who else could Pavin pick? A few other golfers in consideration include: the 2009 US Open winner Lucas Glover, 2009 British Open champion Stewart Cink, Anthony Kim, Zach Johnson, Bo Van Pelt, Ben Crane, Nick Watney, Sean O”Hair and Rick Barnes.

What do you think? Will he pick Tiger, but more importantly, should he?

The Armchair Golf blog recently noted that while not every professional golfer will make it into the golf hall of fame in St. Augustine, Fla., a few have figured out how to get their equipment in!

Stuart Appleby, who shot a PGA Tour record-tying 59 on August 1 at the Greenbrier Classic, has nine PGA Tour wins to his name, but no majors. These stats don’t scream hall of fame, but despite the stats, his purple Cutter & Buck shirt, black pants and a white Callaway visor are now on display in the golf hall of fame.

Another golfer, Paul Goydos, who shot his 59 at the John Deere Classic, has his hat, shirt, pants and Titleist golf ball in the hall of fame. Even some junior champions have made their way in, including Bobby Wyatt, an 18-year-old who shot a 57 at the Alabama Boys State Junior Championship earlier this summer.

These golfers may never be inducted into the hall of fame, but they are represented well, as they should be. These scores are incredible. So, note to self: To get into the golf hall of fame, we just need to shoot a 59 or lower. Got it!

LifeintheRough.com recently wrote a blog post about how there are few places where you’ll hear more expletives and angst than on a golf course. It got us wondering, is this true, and if so, what’s the worst thing you’ve said or heard on the course?

Luckily, LifeintheRough.com has compiled a list of the top 10 things you don’t ever want to hear or say on a golf course. Take a look at the top 5 and let us know if they sound familiar. We hope not.

1. “Wow, your club went further than the ball.“
2. “Uh oh, that’s in the fairway on the next hole.“
3. “Fore!“
4. “I think I saw a splash.”
5. “You’re still away.“

Curious about what’s on the rest of the list? To read the post and see the full list, visit Lifeintherough.com.

George Vecsey of the New York Times recently wrote an article asking “has any great athlete, at the top of any sport, ever had his or her game blown to smithereens so fast — not just from age, not just from injury, but pretty obviously from some deeper miasma of psyche and soma.”

Woods has been on a downward spiral for the last nine months, and after last week’s performance, there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight. Vecsey talks about other athletes who have seen slumps in their careers, including Roger Federer, who’s recently lost matches that he would never have lost a few years ago, and Derek Jeter, who was hitting .276 as of last week. Neither of these athletes had major scandals occur recently, so what happened there?

We do know that great athletes can come back. Take Ted Williams, who had a sudden dip, but came back strong. History also shows us that things can go the other way; such was the case with Mike Tyson, who was knocked out by Buster Douglas in 1990 and never made his stellar comeback.

So, what will happen with Tiger’s career? I guess we’ll just have to sit back, watch and wait.

Phil Mickelson, the No. 2 golfer in the world, has been diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis. Mickelson said he first noticed the pain before the U.S. Open and started taking ibuprofen. The pain spread from just his ankle, left index finger and right wrist to his hips, ankle, elbows and shoulders, at which point he decided to get professional help.

Currently he’s taking a drug called Enbrel, which his doctors at the Mayo Clinic prescribed. He’s also changed to a vegetarian diet to improve his health.

Can he recover from this and come back to take the top spot? Fox Sports quotes him as saying he “feels 100 percent.” Have you ever experienced any pain like Mickelson?

The next time you need an excuse to hit the golf course, try “it”s good for my health!” We”ve always known that golf can be relaxing and fun, but can it make you healthier?

About.com says that “Researchers in Sweden found that walking golf equated to 40-percent to 70-percent of the intensity of a maximum aerobic workout (assuming 18 holes played).” If you think about it, depending on the course, a walker covers somewhere between 3 and 5 miles in a round, and we all know the great health benefits of walking.

The PGA has weighed in on the issue as well, noting that a recent study finds that given the number of calories burned, it’s certainly OK to call golf a sport, and that the actual act of swinging a golf club takes significant energy, enough that it can be considered good exercise.

Golf can be good for your health, but fitness experts warn it doesn”t actually increase your overall aerobic capacity.

So get out there and golf; it”s good for you!

Hilton Head Island will soon be buzzing with all the celebrities coming to town. There isn”t a movie premier or fashion show; these celebrities are coming to support a great cause, the Hilton Head Island celebrity golf tournament, which raises money for children”s charities.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the tournament, which was first started in 1979 and has raised more than $3 million for children”s charities. The tournament will run September 3-5 and matches amateur golfers with a celebrity.

A few of the celebrities signed up this year are:
-Peter Alexander, NBC New/TODAY Show
-Ken Anderson, Cincinnati Bengals
-Bobby Cremins, Coach
-Mark Malone, ESPN
-Paul Williams, Singer/Songwriter/Actor
-Bret Baier, FOX News

Want to play or just check out all the action? Visit www.hhcelebritygolf.com for more information.

Golf etiquette: Some have it, and some will just never get it! Brent Kelley of About.com asked his readers to share their worst golf etiquette stories, and all we have to say is WOW!

We had a hard time getting through some of the horror stories, like the nightmare story of a clueless golfer driving his golf cart right up onto the collar of the first green or the guy that hit into the group ahead of him on purpose!

You”ll cringe at the story of the slow-playing group who decided to run off and get a drink, slowing up play even more, or the guys who drink more beer and smoke more cigars than play golf. The worst part is that they litter the course with their bottles and cigars. What a disgrace!

Some of the stories are funny, and some are just sad. If you”ve experienced some less-than-stellar golf etiquette, Kelley also invites you to share your story.

Old Tom Morris, one of the pioneers of professional golf, obviously knew golf, so what does his great great grandson, Melvyn Morrow, think of the game now? Well, Melvyn let the world know last week, when he wrote to the Armchair Golf Blog to express his opinions.

His main concern was that most golfers don”t know or don”t care about the game’s core values. He refers to a quote from an 1890 article titled “The Spread of Golf” to show how far we have drifted from the original game, “the game of golf is a walking, thinking game that requires the players to have a good eye, lasting power as a walker, nicety of calculation, and, above all, good temper.”

Golfers use carts, which changes the entire game, since now golfers won”t be tired physically or mentally from a day of walking and playing the course. He also discourages the use of yardage books and electronic aids, saying that golfers should instead use their “brains and eye coordination” to play the game.

Melvyn wants golfers to use their minds again, the challenge is to play the game with what you have, and improve your own skills, without the aid of yardage books or gadgets. He says in closing that “those who are walking and thinking—not using any form of outside aid—are playing a game called golf.”

What do you think? Is golf a better game now then it was 100 years ago? We all know what Melvyn thinks now!

Golf.com has ranked the 10 hardest holes you can play in the United States in alphabetical order, of course.

The shortest on the list is only 137 yards, and the longest is 595 yards. Florida leads the list with four holes in the top 10, and California is second, boasting two holes in the top 10.

Here they are:

Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge
Orlando, Florida
18th hole, 441 yards, par 4

Doral Golf Resort & Spa (Blue Monster Course)
Miami, Florida
18th hole, 467 yards, par 4

The Dunes Golf & Beach Club
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
13th hole, 590 yards, par 5

Ko’olau Golf Club
Kaneohe, Oahu, Hawaii
18th hole, 476 yards, par 4

Pebble Beach Golf Links
Pebble Beach, California
9th hole, 466 yards, par 4

PGA National Resort & Spa (Champion Course)
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
15th hole, 179 yards, par 3

Spyglass Hill Golf Course
Pebble Beach, California
1st hole, 595 yards, par 5

TPC Sawgrass (Stadium Course)
Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
17th hole, 137 yards, par 3

Whistling Straits Golf Club (Straits Course)
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
18th hole, 489 yards, par 4

Wolf Creek Golf Club
Mesquite, Nevada
8th hole, 248 yards, par 3

Have you played any of these holes? What holes don’t belong and what holes did they leave off the list?