Posted: 04 Jan 2011 07:46 AM PST

Ian Poulter is ready to answer your questions. Leave them here or send an e-mail to editor@golf.com.

Born eleven days after Tiger Woods, Ian Poulter was the anti-Eldrick, the star no one saw coming — except Poulter himself. Turns out, unwavering self-assurance can be very rewarding. The day we caught up to him at Orlando's gated golf course community of Lake Nona, Poulter, 35, was between shoots for Cobra and Jaguar. He was still basking in the glow of Europe's victory in the Ryder Cup, where Poulter went 3-1. The Cup has kinged Poulter, who with his wife, Katie, has three kids, along with a sprawling Lake Nona home under construction, luxury cars and a customized golf cart with "Poults" emblazoned on the front. He has more than one million Twitter followers. As he prepares to defend his title at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in Tucson in February, Poulter has never been hotter. He owes it all to the Ryder Cup, match play and his self-belief. In the Lake Nona clubhouse, the Englishman talked about his match play dominance, stroke-play struggles, his cult following on Twitter, and what pole-vaulting has to do with golf.

You're 3-0 at the Ryder Cup in singles, and 18-7 at the WGC-Accenture Match Play. Impressive, but you've got just one win on Tour. Why?
I've yet to transfer that to a stroke play event. Obviously, something's different. What that difference is.. I've been trying to think about it, and I guess it's the fear of losing within 18 holes, or the excitement of winning as quickly as possible. Seventy-two holes is so different than when you've got 18 and that stopwatch is running.

You've said you inherited your competitive streak from your dad.
My dad has got a passion for not losing. I've got a passion for not losing. He's not a good loser. He doesn't take it well.

You don't have a mental-game coach, right?
I'm mental enough. They would need to go see their own psychologist after having some time with me.

You get into a very focused state when you compete. How do you get into that state, especially for singles?
It's a focus thing. I don't do anything different. I don't practice any different. I think about what needs to happen, about the golf course, about certain holes and pin positions. I collate all the information and build that into an intensity that I want to hold for the week.

Are you sharper for a singles event at the Ryder Cup than at the Match Play?
Yes, by a mile. There's nothing close. Nothing gets me any more prepared than the Ryder Cup. I got the bug when I was 17 at the Belfry in 1993. I stayed in a tent three miles down the road with two friends. We walked to the course every day. I saw Nick Faldo make a hole-in-one.

When you were a club pro, your boss said you were the most confident person he'd ever seen. Johnny Miller said the same thing during last year's Ryder Cup. Is anyone more confident?
There might be, but I haven't met them yet. I work under the philosophy "never say never" — in business, golf or whatever. I don't understand how your whole brain works, but I understand it's really powerful. What fascinates me is when you apply yourself and when you focus properly, what can happen. Your focus shrinks, but your target widens. You can log it — the best golf anybody's ever seen is in the Ryder Cup, every time. Why is that? You get more hole-outs in three days than you do in a month otherwise. It's bizarre.

Is beating Tiger in match play still on your to-do list?
I guess. I haven't beat him in match play, yet. I'd like to at some stage. He fascinates me that way. He's someone who's been able to control his intensity to a level that far outweighs anybody else.

You live your life out loud, with the Twitter posts and filming your kids eating breakfast cereal out of the Ryder Cup. That kind of stuff draws criticism. How do you respond?
I don't like being criticized, but I use every bit of criticism as a positive energy. It can be damaging, it can hurt, but I've used it to spur me on to better things. I've always been pretty honest in every interview, so that draws a little bit of hate from people. You can't please everybody.

Paul Azinger and Bubba Watson tweeted that they liked your "Breakfast with the Ryder Cup" tweet. Is there honor among tweeters? Do they have your back?
You know what? I sweat and pour out enough passion in that Ryder Cup, and if I've got that trophy for two days, I'm going to have some fun with it. I think I've got the right. It's not disrespectful. I'm not disrespecting anybody. A little bit of fun shouldn't be any problem at all. If anyone's got a problem with it, that's their problem. There were a lot of people who found it fun.

Do you read all the comments online?
Yeah, I do.

People are angry on the Internet.
No, they're not.

Not necessarily about the Cheerios in the Cup, but people who bother to comment are often the angriest ones.
What about all the good ones? I would say the ratio is 95 percent good [comments] to 5 percent [negative]. As I said, you can't please everybody. You get the ones that are stuck in the mud.

The head of the Belfry called the cereal in the Cup disrespectful.
Hang on. Gary Silcock? I mean, he's not the head of the Belfry. He's the general manager. [Silcock is the Belfry's director of golf.] I don't know him. What's it got to do with him?

Just that he commented on it.
The papers asked him because they probably couldn't get hold of the people they wanted to get hold of. He was as good as they could get. Over the 83 years it's been going, do you think Cheerios is the worst thing that's ever gone in the Ryder Cup?

Or the Claret Jug.
Stewart Cink put coffee in there. It was in a Nike commercial.

Twitter is a technology that's tailor-made for celebrities. You can take out the middleman of the media.
Absolutely. It's fascinating to be able to get hold of a million people instantly. That to me is truly bonkers. I've got a hold of a lot of people through Twitter, personalities, sportsmen, which on a normal day-to-day basis I wouldn't be able to get hold of them. Jack Wilshere, the lad who plays for Arsenal, for instance.

Every shot you hit is on TV. You're on Twitter. Ever want to just be a private person?
I have that here. It's a gated community. The only people here are members or members' guests. It's very respectful in here. Not that I want to lock myself in.

You must get recognized constantly outside the gates.
The last two and a half years has stepped it up an awful lot, since I finished runner-up to Padraig [Harrington] in the '08 Open, since that ['08] Ryder Cup, the WGC-Match Play, and this Ryder Cup. My profile is a lot bigger than what it was in the States.

Have your endorsements gone up?
Yep. That's part and parcel of being a top-20 player. It's good. It's not offensive in any way, shape or form. The odd autograph or photograph is not a problem. I take the kids to Disney. I'm recognized. That's all good, all fine.

Off the course, as a person, what's your biggest strength and your biggest flaw?
Strength? My mental strength — being able to stay positive in all things. Biggest flaw as a person? Never being able to say no.

Do you wish you'd said no to this interview?
No. It's hard to say no sometimes. If you look down the range, media people like yourself find themselves in a position where I know they're eight or 12 feet behind me waiting for a moment to step in. If I hit some shots and step back to my bag, they walk in. Do they walk in on Tiger or Phil? No. They have that bubble.

You need a better bubble.
I guess. The reason that's happened is because I never say no. And I always speak my mind. That's one of my flaws.

How about your flaws as a golfer?
I have a concentration problem. It's why sometimes I don't perform. I've let something slip into my brain that I shouldn't think about.

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Anthony Kim wants to be about golf, not gossip

Posted: 04 Jan 2011 12:01 PM PST

KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP)—Anthony Kim wants 2011 to be a season that changes his career.

He hopes it might be enough to change his reputation, too.

One of the most dynamic young talents in golf? That's what people were saying two years ago, when Kim blew away the field with a record score at Quail Hollow, then shot 65 in the final round at Congressional to win the AT&T National. It made him the youngest American since Tiger Woods to win twice in one year.

If that wasn't enough, he brought energy and attitude to the Ryder Cup and was the catalyst of a rare U.S. victory.

That now seems like a long time ago.

It's not that the 25-year-old Californian has disappeared. He is still among the elite at No. 31 in the world, having reached as high as No. 6 toward the end of 2008. And only PGA Tour winners enjoy the oceanfront room that Kim has at Kapalua, where the Tournament of Champions kicks off a new season Thursday.

But he has a bitter taste about how last year ended.

He won the Houston Open in a playoff, then closed with a 65 at Augusta National to finish third. Thumb surgery a month later kept him out of golf for three months, and he failed to make the Ryder Cup team when he couldn't make a cut upon his return.

Kim still managed to make news, or at least gossip columns.

He has a zest for living, which first came to life with tales from his Ryder Cup celebration at Valhalla and carried on through Twitter and blog reports from a night in the Las Vegas casinos in October.

Is he closer to being like Tiger Woods or John Daly?

"That's a hell of a question," Kim said, smiling at first before pausing to contemplate.

Daly makes more news off the course these days, so it's easy to overlook an amazing talent that brought him a PGA Championship title as a 25-year-old rookie in 1991 and a British Open victory at St. Andrews. Kim found it coincidental that after headlines he made in Las Vegas in October, Daly was the only tour player who reached out to him in a text message.

"Both have majors," Kim said. "I think I'm closer to Tiger because I love putting in the time. Now, I've gotten away from this. But I definitely feel like I'm closer as far as the values of the Asian culture and putting in time, not worrying about tough times. In a lot of ways, I think people see me as a guy who likes to have fun, and that's it. But I care about a lot of things."

Kim is careful not to be motivated for the wrong reasons.

He has trimmed the number of his traveling party and has heard from enough people whom he trusts that playing with the purpose of proving people wrong is the wrong route. Even so, he feels as though fans, the media and players are questioning his devotion to his sport.

"I have a lot of people doubting me, which I like," he said.

When asked why they are skeptical of his future, Kim first mentioned the arrival of so many players in his age group. Indeed, that's what makes golf more intriguing than it has been in years. Martin Kaymer, who just turned 26, last year became the youngest major champion since Woods in 2001. Rory McIlroy won at Quail Hollow at age 20. Ryo Ishikawa was still 18 when he shot 58 to win in Japan. Jason Day won in Dallas, and at 23 is the youngest player at Kapalua.

Slightly older than Kim, and still very young, are the likes of Dustin Johnson and Hunter Mahan.

"A lot of guys played well who are younger, and they're overlooking me, which is fine," Kim said. "It's not that I have something to prove. I know I'm capable of winning golf tournaments."

But it's more than the youth movement bugging Kim.

When asked whether he was troubled about players doubting him because of his activity off the course, Kim's eyes widened and he turned in his chair away from the Orange Bowl game on television.

"One hundred percent. Couldn't have said it any better," he said. "I feel that is a major reason why people doubt me. They don't think I care about golf. It's hard for people who don't know me to say, 'He's 25, having a good time with his friends.' If anyone knows me, they know I'm willing to admit to my mistakes. But when I do something, I want to be the best at it. I'm going to scratch and claw my way up the ladder. People around me see that."

Kim doesn't see the need to explain what happened in Las Vegas. If there was a lesson that came out of that, it was understanding that it's better to be the center of attention inside the ropes than under a neon sign.

"I feel obligated to my sponsors to do a better job of not even letting some of these stories come out," he said. "I don't want to be a player no one can relate to. Sure, I've made some mistakes. I know that I was brought up well by two very great people, people that everyone respects. I'm not the type of person to stray off course. Maybe I did for a minute, but I've realized that I've got to have a game plan—not for my next round, but for my life."

Leave it to Kim to draw an analogy from George St. Pierre, who said the Ultimate Fighting Championship was a lot like golf. He didn't get the sense the UFC welterweight knew much about golf, but his words stuck with Kim.

"He said once you make the golf swing and hit the shot, you can't control it. You have to do everything before the shot to control the outcome," Kim said. "I'm going to do whatever I can to control what I can."

That starts this week at Kapalua, and his hope is to carry that through this year and beyond to get his name back in the conversation for all the right reasons.

Golf on three budgets: Las Vegas

Posted: 03 Jan 2011 01:26 PM PST

By MIKE BAILEY
TravelGolf.com

Posted: December 31, 2010

wynn las vegas golf
No. 18 at Wynn Golf Club (TravelGolf.com)

If you're planning a trip to Las Vegas and golf is part of your itinerary, there are a lot of options, from high-end courses that treat you like a high-roller to more economical plays that still treat you pretty well.

Vegas is different than a lot of golf markets, particularly in terms of pricing. More and more green fees are dynamically priced, which means rates can vary from day to day, week to week and certainly season to season.

Mid-summer, for obvious reasons, is the most economical, but there are slow times the rest of the year, too, and generally mid-week green fees are priced lower than weekends, when Las Vegas sees the bulk of its vacationing travelers.

Many of the golf courses in Las Vegas also have tie-ins with the big resort casino hotels on and off the Strip, so you might want to check in with the concierge where you're staying. What follows is a loose price guide to playing golf in Las Vegas on three different budgets: like a high roller, going with the flow, and playing golf in Sin City economically.

High Roller Golf in Las Vegas
There are three golf courses in Las Vegas that stand above the rest, not only terms of the quality of the conditioning and layout of the courses, but in the service, exclusivity and – of course – price. Rack rate for these courses can be as high as $500, although in some cases, true high rollers might get special deals and on occasion you might also see a discount.

We're talking about clubs like Wynn Golf Club, Cascata Golf Club, Shadow Creek and Bali Hai Golf Club. Often you feel like you're the only group on the course. Cascata, for example, sets players up with a personal locker and a forecaddie. A waterfall streams down from behind the range and through the clubhouse, and each hole of this terrific Rees Jones design stands alone as the other holes on the course are almost invisible.

Wynn Golf Club was designed by Tom Fazio with Wynn Las Vegas resort owner Steve Wynn. Fountains, streams, imported mature trees, and crystal white sand bunkers abound, and it's one of only a couple golf courses located right on the Strip. Again, caddies and over-the-top personal attention are the order of the day.

Fazio also crafted Shadow Creek Golf Club, the original high roller course in Las Vegas. Shadow Creek, which used to be the domain of the privileged few, is now accessible through MGM Resort International for a sizeable fee. Like Wynn, it doesn't resemble the desert with its imported trees and lush fairways, roughs and greens. A Shadow Creek appointment begins with a limo ride to the course to be greeted by a personal caddie.

Like Wynn, Bali Hai Golf Club, a Pacific-themed escape to the islands, is also located right on the Strip, next to the Mandalay Bay Resort. The course always boasts lush conditions and outstanding service. Forecaddies are also available and recommended.

'Normal' Las Vegas courses
Defining this category can be difficult to pin down in terms of green fees, but let's just say these courses are substantially less than $500 and more often than not, over $100 in terms of rack rates. They make up the vast majority of well known Las Vegas golf courses, and in almost every case, you can expect terrific service for which the city's big resorts are known.

Starting with the Rees Jones-designed Rio Secco Golf Club in Henderson, you can expect to be challenged much like the pros are in the annual Wendy's Three-Tour Challenge. The greens can be especially difficult if you get on the wrong side of the pin, and they aren't easy to read. But soak up the scenery; Rio Secco, which is also home of the Butch Harmon Academy of Golf, offers great views of the mountains above and the Strip below.

On the subject of views, another good choice is the 36 holes of Revere Golf Club, also in Henderson. Marketed as "revolutionary," both the Lexington course and the Concord course (designed by Billy Casper and Greg Nash respectively), are routed in and out of canyons around streams and lakes and high above Las Vegas for some of the most impressive views in the area.

Besides Bali Hai, Walters Golf also offers Royal Links Golf Club, a tribute course that pays homage to the great venues of the British Open. The castle-like clubhouse and authentic Scottish pub inside really set off the experience.

The TPC Las Vegas is also a great choice to get the feel for Sin City golf. Promoted as "desert elegance," this stunning course with views of the Red Rock Canyon was designed by Bobby Weed and Ray Floyd. It's also home of the PGA Tour Academy, which offers an array of excellent instructional programs.

Value-priced golf in Las Vegas
To put this category in perspective, you have to remember we're talking Las Vegas here, where even the more economical plays have a certain flare and level of service you don't find in most golf markets. These are courses that can generally be played for less than $100, often much less, but generally don't lack in conditioning and interest.

Back in Henderson you'll find two great plays in Siena Golf Club and its sister, Arroyo G.C. at Red Rock. The former is a Schmidt-Curley design that offers spectacular conditions and will keep your interest from start to finish – it also has an impressive restuarant and clubhouse. Arroyo is an Arnold Palmer design just a couple miles away. It, too, has plenty of great holes, terrific service and impeccable conditions.

Desert Pines Golf Club, another Walters Golf course, is a Dye Designs track that also takes you out of the desert. With bentgrass greens and more than 4,000 mature pines, this tight course offers a number of risk-reward opportunities and a taste of Carolina Sandhills golf. It also has a double-decker range open at night.

Other more economical choices include Tuscany Golf Club and Rhodes Ranch Golf Club, both of which are really nice Ted Robinson designs; the 27 holes of Black Mountain Golf Club; Silverstone Golf Club (also 27 holes); and Angel Park, which has two championship-level courses as well as a very inexpensive short course called Cloud 9 that everyone should play.

And then there's Las Vegas National Golf Club (http://www.lasvegasgolf.com/courses/lasvegas/lasvegasnational.htm), which has undergone several name changes over the years. It's old-school Las Vegas, a former haunt of the Rat Pack and the site of one famous golfer's very first PGA Tour win. Back in 1996, a young Tiger Woods won the Las Vegas Invitational there, and although it is overshadowed these days by the bigger, grander casinos and golf courses, Las Vegas National is still a nice walk in the park with plenty of stories to tell.

Golf Zone

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

“GOLF Magazine Interview: Ian Poulter” plus 2 more

“GOLF Magazine Interview: Ian Poulter” plus 2 more

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