2011 Super Bowl MVP Aaron Rodgers (L) Of The Green Bay Packers And Playing Partner Ho Sung 'The Fisherman' Choi Pose For Photos At The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am - All Images Credit Alfie Lau

By Alfie Lau

The movers and shakers and the superstars of the PGA TOUR were all at Monterey Peninsula Country Club Thursday morning.

There’s Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth, playing with their normal amateurs Wayne Gretzky and Jake Owen. Johnson and Spieth would each shoot (-5) and just two strokes back, both are definite contenders to win again at Pebble.

You’ve got Miss America 2015 Kira Kazantsev, comedians Bill Murray, Larry the Cable Guy and Ray Romano, and a pretty saucy U.S. Ryder Cup team of Patrick Reed and Phil Mickelson, with Reed shooting (-3) and Mickelson (-6).

Mickelson made history when he discovered that he hit every fairway and to his knowledge, that’s the first time in 27 years that he has accomplished this feat. The PGA TOUR would later correct that and say it was the first time since 1998 – 21 years – that Mickelson had hit every fairway during his round.

Korean Ho-sung Choi Is Garnering A Lot Of Attention With His Unusual Swing At This Week's AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am - Image Courtesy YouTube

By Alfie Lau

It’s Pebble Beach week and the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am is known as a place where time seems to stand still, where it’s who you know and how much dough you have that determines what sort of status you have during this week.

Take for example, 2003 Masters Champion Mike Weir. Usually a protected species here because his six-handicap amateur partner, George Roberts, a rich venture capitalist, loves playing with the Canadian, Weir is not amongst the eight Canadians teeing it up Thursday.

Instead, Roberts has the long-hitting Cameron Champ as his new amateur partner and who can blame him for wanting to play with the new “It Guy” on the PGA TOUR.

In this first 2019 version of The PGA TOUR's The Good, Bad & Unusual, Teryn Gregson recaps the Sentry Tournament of Champions, where Xander Schauffele’s clutch final round performance made him the first multiple-winner of the season.

Golfers shared their New Year’s Resolutions and tried to navigate the new rules changes with some pretty unusual moments.

Scotland's Russell Knox might have won the 2018 Dubai Duty Free Irish Open in dramatic fashion this past summer, but not every shot he took went quite where he intended...

Knox had just finished eating an apple and was intending to toss the core into the long gorse surrounding the green, when something caught his eye...and apparently his aim. Watch.

Okay, most golfers have heard the phrase, "It's not how...it's how many," or "There's no pictures on the scorecard," when it comes to getting a result in a game of golf despite what may be less than exemplary methods. 

South Korean golf professional Ho-Sung Choi has created a new standard. His incredibly unique 'golf swing' has just enabled him to capture the Casio World Open on the Japan Golf Tour. It's actually his 2nd win on the tour but now people are starting to notice. Choi needs to be in a major...soon.

Just watch.

Of course the game of golf has gone through many changes over the years, quite notably the evolution of equipment. So how would today's top players fair having to hit a seemingly benign 180-yard shot - normally a 7-iron as Rickie Fowler put it, if they had to choose from only an array of old hickory-shafted clubs? 

Some not too bad...others, well, let's say they likely now have a greater appreciation for today's modern equipment. 

The 'Golden Boys' George Ross (L) And Jerry Lawrence (R) Pose Without Their Other Two Brethren, Roy Nixon And Gord Dakin At BC's Golden Golf Course - Images Credit Jim Claggett

By Jim Claggett/iG

When you hear the saying, "Golf is a game for life" what do you think is meant by it? Well, when you meet people who are living proof of that claim, you begin to understand.

Enter George Ross and Jerry Lawrence. They are half of a regular foursome of members at the beautiful Golden Golf Course in British Columbia.

George is a 93-year-old from Scotland who flew Spitfires and Hellcats for the British Navy at the tender age of 18. He arrived in Golden about fifteen years ago. George got newspapers from Canada, Australia and New Zealand before deciding to come here to stay.

8-year old Dean Janssens tee'd up in the 2018 KLM Open in the Beat the Pros competition, and it's safe to say he stole the show.

Golf fans will recall the hue and cry that accompanied the 2015 U.S. Open Championship held at Chambers Bay Golf Course just outside of Seattle. The condition of the greens was a widely talked about sore point with many of the players, media and fans alike. 

The good people at Chambers Bay heard those complaints and they are doing something about it in advance of the next championship they will host, the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship,originally scheduled to be held there in 2019,which will now happen in 2021 instead,moving to Bandon Dunesin Oregon for next year.

Watch this video to learn more about the decision to switch from all-fescue to poa greens at Chambers Bay GC and what it means for course conditions for hosting the 2021 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship. You'll hear from Matt Allen and Eric Johnson with Chambers Bay, and Larry Gilhuly with the USGA.

Many of us are familiar with having a golf ball interfered with during the course of play by an 'outside agency' (see Rule 18-1). In this video you'll see another example of the many unknowns that await us during a round of golf.

Some may recall a song from the 1970's (1974, to be exact) called Fox On The Run by Sweet - well here's the golf video tribute to that tune. 

Few Golf Movie Scenes Are Better Than The Bob Barker Fight Scene In "Happy Gilmore." - Photo/YouTube

Recently T.J. Auclair from the PGA of America paid homage to one of the most popular and oft-quoted golf movies of all time on the occasion of its 38th birthday on July 25th. In so doing he also provided us with his version of the top-5 golf movies ever made. Lists of this sort are always great fodder for debate and certainly for entertainment. That said, here is Auclair's ranking. - ed

Just when we thought we'd seen it all...Phil 'Lefty' Mickelson gives us this.....

Image courtesy GolfBC/Arbutus Ridge GC

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Cobble Hill, B.C., (May 23rd, 2018) – Arbutus Ridge Golf Club is launching a revolutionary golf program for people who love golf but don’t have the time to play…it’s called the FAST FIVE!

“Arbutus Ridge Golf Club is committed to growing the game of golf by eliminating the barriers preventing people from playing,” says General Manager Richard Ingle.

“The Fast Five program offers golf for a significantly discounted price to those that don’t have 4 hours to play a full round and is the only 5-hole rate available on Vancouver Island,” he continued. The Fast Five is a discounted rate of only $15 to play the first five holes at Arbutus Ridge Golf Club; the 5th green is closely located to the clubhouse, making the perfect short loop for time restricted golfers.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 9, 2018

Vancouver, B.C. – viaSport is supporting the advancement of women in sport through a new grant that will provide greater access to leadership opportunities to break down the barriers for female coaches, officials and organizational staff throughout B.C.

“I congratulate viaSport for offering this important grant to promote gender equity. Having female role models in these key positions in sport is vital to inspiring the next generation,” said Lisa Beare, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture.

“This funding will make it possible for many British Columbian girls and young women to discover the lifelong skills of resilience and leadership that sport generates – a great thing for our whole society.”

Some talented up and coming young golfers paid a visit to the Jimmy Fallon show to take part in a contest showing off their skills. However they didn't realize who they were going to be competing against until Fallon introduced a couple of guys who definitely caught the kids a little off guard.

Janson Chapman And Becca Covey At Government House In Victoria, Where Chapman Was Honoured For Saving Covey's Life - Photograph By TIMES COLONIST

A hiking date on Vancouver Island for two friends turned into a life-saving rescue from the edge of a frigid waterfall that earned Janson Chapman a bravery medal and a lifetime partner.

Chapman, a golf course greens keeper from Colwood, was one of 46 people honoured Wednesday with medals of service by Gov. Gen. Julie Payette during a ceremony at British Columbia's government house.

Twenty-two-year-old Chapman said he was on a date last March with Becca Covey near Gold River when she slipped on ice, fell about 15 metres and ended up clinging from a log at the edge of the Lower Myra Falls.

CLICK HERE to see full story

Image credit (Michael Schroeder/ Golf Canada)

By John Gordon/Courtesy Golf Canada

“Bifurcation” is a word we’re hearing more and more in the world of golf. It means to divide into two parts. But don’t let that simple definition fool you. It’s an increasingly controversial concept that strikes at the heart of the game as we know it.

The first area of the current bifurcation debate relates to the Rules of Golf. Should there be one set of guidelines for recreational golfers and another for elite amateurs and professionals?

The second bone of contention, which has set off near panic among many of my colleagues in the golf media and some golf administrators, is this: Are golf courses too short? Do we need to stretch them to 8,000 yards? Do we need to rein in the ever-advancing ball and club technology?

No. And no.

Always able to remind us of how talented they are, the European Tour presents their Top 5 'Escapes' of 2017 for our entertainment.

Some of us may even be able to identify with this...at least in terms of attempting to 'escape' from a perilous position on the golf course.

Once again the lads from the European Tour have given themselves a challenge and put it out there for the rest of us to marvel at.

Now, we know these guys, like their counterparts on the PGA TOUR and other professional circuits "Are Good"....but do you think one of them could land a ball some 300 yards away and keep it on the fairway...that's only 2 yards wide?

It is said that the widest fairway in golf is the first hole of the Old Course at St Andrews. But what is the narrowest? Might it be somewhere like Valderrama, perhaps Golf Club Milano, or possibly Crans-sur-Sierre?

Not even close.