Snow. Sigh . . .

There's a snow forecast today for South Carolina.  The golf courses are closed as well as the state legislature and the court system.  Sigh!

Rule #23. Loose Impediments vs Movable Obstructions?

I'm convinced that the pros have as much trouble with Rule #23 as the rest of us.  Did Tiger's ball wobble in place or did it roll at the BMW Championship?  There was a bit of confusion at the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic about stones and shells in bunkers.  Stones were movable and shells weren't? Hummm.  Since when can anything -- loose impediment or obstruction -- be moved in a hazard?  Read on.

Diabetes & Me: What's In My Bag?

Back in November, after months of thinking about and struggling to find a way of dealing with diabetes-related problems, I shared a bit of what I'd learned in Diabetes and Me.  I was both surprised and grateful for the public and private responses I received to that post.  Given the demographics -- half of amateur golfers are over 50 and age is one of three major risk factors associated with the onset of Type II diabetes -- I shouldn't have been surprised.  Those responses helped me understand that I'm not alone on the golf course and that was a comforting awareness.

Then I recently had a conversation on Ricky Potts' Friday Foursome that has pushed me to revisit the very practical problem all of us who are living with diabetes confront and manage with greater and lesser degrees of success every time we tee off: How can I maintain a relatively stable blood glucose level and sustain my energy through 18 holes of golf?

Chicks With Sticks: 2014 Forecast

Paula Creamer's Instagram Shot. Courtesy LPGA.com

With the 2014 season just days away from tee-time, I'm going to stick my neck out and make some predictions.

Cold Weather Golf Injuries - Dr. Ryan York's Advice

Dr. Ryan York

I met Dr. Ryan York when I was asked to review his book, Age Defying Golf.  Since I'm a woman of a certain age, I was drawn to a book about golf by a physical therapist who promised to help me keep on playing through my 70s, into my 80s and, I hope, my 90s.  Dr. York did not disappoint.  When winter weather arrived (albeit, a bit later in South Carolina than elsewhere) I started following his advice and simultaneously realized that other golfers might benefit from his wisdom, insights, and advice.  Dr. York has been generous enough to provide this guest column.  I hope you find the information as useful as I have.  
Elizabeth Bethel

Robert Trent Jones: A Walk on the Wild Side

Shirley and I spent our second day at Hilton Head playing the Robert Trent Jones Course which, in addition to offering a superb round of golf, also provided a naturalist's feast.  The course is an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary and with fairways wrapped around canals and and lagoons there's an abundance of natural habitat as well as a continuous golfing challenge.

We took one look at the course map and agreed that we were going to need to focus on direction.  There was water everywhere!

Every Bogey Will Be Like A Par

Shirley and I faced strong gusty winds and a cold sunny winter day for our first 18 holes on the George Fazio Course.  We pushed our tee time from 10am to noon, optimistic that the 2 or 3 degrees of warmth we'd gain would make a difference.  But quite honestly, there's not much difference between 40 and 42 degrees when the wind's blowing at 20+ mph.

The Great Escape: Hilton Head Island

For pro golf fans, Hilton Head Island means the Heritage Classic.  For Snow Birds, Hilton Head Island means trading the misery of snow and slush for the gentle world of sand, surf, and bike trails and unbelievably juicy oysters.  Well, for everyone who's ever ventured onto the island, Hilton Head means unbelievably juicy oysters.

For history buffs, Hilton Head Island calls up a vast sweep of historical memory that pre-dates the Pilgrim's landing on Plymouth Rock, extends through the era of great indigo, rice, and cotton plantations that created unbelievable wealth for a privileged few through the labor of a vast, dark-skinned forced labor force, continues through a military-managed rehearsal for the failed economic transformation of the South during the late 19th Century, to an early 20th Century era of sand roads and clapboard housing and sport fishing in Port Royal Sound.

And for those of us who just love to play golf, Hilton Head Island means a choice more than 20 world-class golf courses, a dizzying set of options that are all good.  That's what drew Shirley and me away from our post-holiday domestic mop-up chores to a quick, 2-day escape.