Golf Empire

Blue Hill Golf course in Rockland, New York is a friendly little course; can’t wait for it to open.

Who says golf is boring? Not us especially after seeing these unusual golf courses.

1. Brickyard Crossing, Indiana, USA – This is mostly an average golf course EXCEPT that four of its 14 holes are located inside of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway 2.5-mile track. You’ll even find a water hazard in the shape of a lake within the boundaries of the track. Address: 4400 W 16th Street, Indianapolis, IN 46222-2512 USA, Telephone: (317) 492-6570

2. Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Course, USA – The 14th hole here is the site of the world’s only floating green, hovering 150 yards offshore. The putting surface is 15,000 square feet and can only be reached by taking the Putter Boat shuttle. When golfers finish the hole they receive a certificate of achievement. Address: 900 S Floating Green Dr, Coeur D Alene, ID USA – Telephone: (208) 667-4653

3. Coober Pedy Opal Fields Golf Club, South Australia – The grassless golf course here has small patches of grass planted at the tees but beyond those places, the 18-Hole Coober Pedy Opal Fields Golf Course is one seemingly endless sand trap. Address: Lot 1509 Rowe Dve, Coober Pedy, South Australia, 5723, Australia, Telephone: 08-8672-5353

4. Hans Merensky, South Africa – This par-72 golf course sits smack on the edge of Kruger National Park, an environment teeming with all sorts of exotic wildlife. Golfers encounter giraffes, elephants, zebras and more while making their way down the fairway. Address: 3, Copper Street, Phalaborwa 1390 South Africa, Telephone: +27 15 781 3931

5. Joint Security Area, Korean Demilitarized Zone, South Korea – In 1988, this course was named the World’s Most Dangerous Golf Course by Sports Illustrated. Situated in the Korean Demilitarized Zone, this single, 192-yard, par-3 hole is bordered on three sides by mine fields. When you arrive at the course, golfers are urged not to retrieve balls that have gone off course. Address: Camp Bonifas, Panmunjom, South Korea

6. Legend Golf & Safari Resort, South Africa – The 18 holes at this golf course distinguishes itself as being the longest golf course in South Africa, but it’s the optional 19th hole that makes it remarkable. Golfers need to ride a helicopter to get to the tee at this par-3 course, which is 1,410 vertical feet high. Four video cameras and tracking equipment allow golfers to track the flight of the ball. The green is in the shape of Africa in honor of the African Renaissance. Address: Block D, IL Piacere Office Park, 49 New Road, Midrand Gauteng, South Africa, Telephone: +27 11 729 6700

7. North Star Golf Club, Alaska, USA – America’s northernmost golf course and the only golf course in the world that includes an animal checklist on the score card, is great for more wildlife gazing. Tee off in the early morning or late afternoon to see the animals that wander near and on the course. You may rub elbows with eagles, mooses, waterfowl, muskrat, foxes, hawks and coyotes. Grizzly bears and lynx have been seen on the course, too. Address: 330 Golf Club Drive, Fairbanks, Alaska 99712, Telephone: (907) 457-4653

8. Nullarbor Links, Australia – This golf course is the longest in the world, being 850 miles in length! There is one hole in each participating town along the Eyre Highway from Kalgoorlie in Western Australia to Ceduna in South Australia; the average distance between each hole is about 50 miles.

9. Uummannaq, Greenland – North of the Arctic Circle, golfers gather at the course created in Uummannaq for the World Ice Golf Championship. The event is a 36-hole competition played over the course of two days, but competitors get a feel for the course via a “Ryder Cup”-style tournament held the day before the championship begins. The creation of the nine-hole course is dictated by the weather, sea, and ice, and only good weather and safe ice conditions determine whether the championship will be played each year. Address: DK-3961, Uummannaq, Greenland, E-mail: info@icegolfgreenland.com

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Today was the first round of the Verizon Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head, SC and look who’s already off to a hot start: K.J. Choi. After a solid performance at the Masters, pairing up with and outplaying (and outclassing) Tiger Woods, Choi jumped into the lead with a seven under 64 to lead all players. It looks like a certain someone might have rubbed off on K.J. last weekend (golf-wise). Also in the hunt are Mike Weir (-5) and Sergio Garcia (-4). Naturally, many of the top names took this weekend off after the Masters, so this is not a huge tournament, but will still provide some great golf.

In other news, former 49er, star dancer, and football legend Jerry Rice looks to expand his resume even more by joining professional golf. Now, Jerry is not going to be joining the PGA tour, but is entering a tournament in the Nationwide tour (not the NASCAR one) and hopes to make the cut. This is incredible for a couple of reasons. First of all, it is incredible that this man can dominate one sport and be good enough to compete with professionals at a completely different one. And secondly, and possibly even more impressive, is that the forty-seven year old only started playing golf when he was thirty. He used to wake up at 4 in the morning to go to the driving range before he had practice later in the morning. Now that is dedication.

That is Rice on the right and former Steeler great Jerome Bettis on the left, but I couldn’t pass up a chance to shamelessly plug a movie for one of my favorite actors (Don Cheadle, center). See Iron Man 2 in theaters May 7!

If you’ve been living under a rock then here’s some big news: Phil Mickelson won the Masters this Sunday by three strokes over Lee Westwood. This of course is old news but what made it so important was the fact that Lefty was able to overcome a difficult year off the course, coping with his wife and mother’s cancers, and win one for the family. After sinking a birdie putt on 18 to further cement his victory, Phil made his way over to his wife Amy and his three children with whom he shared a touching moment. At that point in time, everything that was so important in the last four days seemed insignificant. Here was a family that loved each other and supported each other through the toughest of times, and there wasn’t a person in the crowd who would’ve had it any other way. Gone was the controversy of Tiger’s infidelities when Phil was able to pull one out for the good guys, the underdogs, the faithful hard-workers. In that moment, Golf once again became a wholesome sport, full of strength and character.

Despite that major story (no pun intended) there was another one that I was more than pleased to be witness to, and that was the official coming out party for Anthony Kim. Most people have heard of Kim, who is the currently the tenth best golfer in the world, but no one really considered him a threat at a major. This quickly changed on the back nine of the final round on Sunday. After a disappointing bogie on eleven, Kim went birdie, birdie, birdie, eagle, birdie on twelve through sixteen to pull into a tie for second at twelve under (by the time he finished). People were talking about Phil’s rise earlier in the tournament where he almost had three eagles in a row, but now Kim took the spotlight and showed his true potential. He will now begin to get some of the praise he deserves, plus a cool crystal trophy for posting the low score of the tournament (65).

Wow is all you can really say about the last couple of days. So far this years tournament is looking to be one of the best in recent memory and its not even the final round yet. As I had predicted a couple of days ago, Phil Mickelson has raised his game to a whole new level and has taken Augusta by storm. Not only did he shoot a five under 67, he had two eagles (and nearly a third) in a row to take the lead after being down four strokes. Unfortunately he slipped up a little after that, but he still is only one stroke back of the surprisingly consistant Lee Westwood.

Lurking close behind the Westwood and Mickelson are K.J. Choi and Tiger Woods who are both eight under for the tournament. These two guys started the Masters in the same group and look to play their fourth consecutive round together later Sunday afternoon. And just behind Woods and Choi is Fred Couples who appeared to be out of contention with a weak second round but rebounded nicely on Saturday with a four under 68 to return to relevance.

So who will pull it off? Will it be the wily Englishman Westwood who has been the consistant leader? Or Lefty who has overcome the hardest year of his life in search of his third green jacket? Or the fallen hero that is fighting to reassert his dominance in the sport of golf? Only one can win, hopefully we will be treated to a classic finish.