This week’s PGA Tour event in New Orleans turned out to be quite dramatic coming down the stretch on Sunday, with a lot of guys in contention, but nobody grabbing it in the end. Saturday’s leader Jerry Kelly won for the 3rd time on tour, and I think we’re all okay with that- he seems like a good guy, very down-to earth.

I was actually rooting for Charles Howell… I know, why am I rooting for someone with “III” at the end of his name instead of a regular joe like Jerry Kelly? It’s mainly due to his getting a lot of guff from the analysts on TV lately about his approach to the game, that he’s too technical with his game and should play more by feel. Well, that’s fine to say once, but they keep asking the poor guy almost every week, and it seems to be getting old. I will say that when you see his swing in slow motion, you wonder how he doesn’t win every time he tees it up. It’s just a beautiful swing… meanwhile, he loses to Jerry Kelly, whose homemade swing is put together these days with bailing wire and Advil.

When all is said and done, I wonder if Chuck the III will regret his decision on how to play the par 4 16th hole. It’s a short par 4, and they moved up the tees to only 295 yards on Sunday. there’s a lot of risk… water all down one side, and the other side is humps and bumps like crazy. Yet, most players were bombing it down there and doing well, and Gary McCord questioned Howell III’s decision to lay up off the tee. I guess it’s easy to question it now, after he airmails the green with a wedge and barely makes par. He could have really put the win to rest by being aggressive there, of course he also could have hit it in the water and flopped. I still think he will sleep poorly tonight wondering if he should have hit a driver.

The course, after opening 4 or 5 years ago to mediocre reviews, seems to be winning over the players and critics. A latter-day Pete Dye, it’s open to the public, and at $100 in the off-season, it may be the cheapest course to play that is a PGA stop . The good thing is, it’s only about a 25 minute drive from the French Quarter, so if you’re down on Bourbon street, check it out.

Okay, it’s time to play, right? Enough is enough. How can I get my season started right with a crazy, way too much golf at once blitz? Well, let’s see…

If you can get to Circling raven this week, the rest of April is only $50. That’s a great start.

Packages at the CDA resort are all the way down to $100 for room and golf. Plus they have a reasonable replay rate.

I still say the best “local” deal is Wildhorse in Pendleton, OR. We played there a few weeks ago midweek… it was $28, with NO replay rate… just a 2nd cart fee if you take a cart, and there was perhaps 2 other groups on the course. Plus, it’s in really good shape!

You want golf? How about UNLIMITED golf? Go to Eagle Crest resort just outside Bend, OR. They are having a $99 unlimited golf package… which includes room, golf, cart… and range balls? Are you serious? They have 2 very fun courses there, plus a short course that is very tough! A great deal.

Have you ever played Kayak Point over on the coast? Apparently no one else is, because the deal they have midweek is crazy… $38 for all day golf, cart, a breakfast sandwich, and lunch too! All for the one price.

So I’m guessing you watched the Masters on Sunday… if you didn’t, why in the world are you on this website? One of the best Sundays at Augusta… just incredible. For me, even better, it was up for grabs, as opposed to Tiger winning by a comfortable margin. He had his shot… as did the rest, but kudos to Angel Cabrera for squeezing out the win. Especially after hitting it right behind a tree in the playoff!

Regarding Tiger… I love Tiger, don’t get me wrong. I don’t worship him like some, but I respect his dominance. That said, I can’t remember anything better than seeing him hit a tree on 18 trying to hit one of his miracle shots. Plus, not just grazing the tree, he hit that thing more solid than any shot all day! I shouldn’t revel in it so much, but man, that made me feel better than the birth of my child.

What about Phil? Does that not make you wonder why any of us play this game?? That he plays the front nine better than anyone I’ve ever seen play it at Augusta, just absolutely dominating the golf course, and then makes the turn, and with one bad swing at #12 goes into the toilet like nobody’s business. Absolutely amazing. He still hit some good shots, but especially in hindsight, that was his tournament to win after that front nine. Just make pars on the other holes, and birdie the 5’s, you’re going to win. If he had posted 12 under… I think the rest would have wilted under that pressure.

Speaking of shocking changes in fortune, poor Kenny Perry. I was rooting for him, as were all there I think, but man… how do you hit that shot on #16, that honestly should have been an ace, to clunking up so badly on 17 and 18? Again, why any of us play this game, I’ll never know.

The week before the Masters is usually unnoticed, but some interesting things happened at this year’s Shell Houston Open. Since moving the tournament to the Redstone golf club 3 years ago, they try and emulate Augusta conditions to prepare the players headed to the Masters… i.e. very fast greens, shaved banks around the greens, and the like. This lead to a delay on Thursday… it seems Augusta-fast greens and Texas winds don’t match up so well. Balls were literally blowing right off the putting surface. Afterwards, things calmed a bit, and a very competitive tournament resulted.

By the way… as always, I love a Tour event held on a public facility. Redstone is open to the public… it’s $175 to play. Maybe a lot for a course that looks like it will beat you up to no end. But, if you’re in Houston, check it out.

Sunday was a logjam at the top of the leaderboard, with a lot of guys to root for. Most notably, Fred Couples, who we all love and want to see win, but if you watched his Sunday round at the LA Open, you knew what was going to happen. His putter can’t hold up to Sunday pressure anymore, it seems. Let’s hope he saved his best for Augusta, to get another green jacket.

The guy who got in the clubhouse early was J.B. Holmes, then proceeded to wait 3 hours before going out and hitting his first shot in the playoff into the water on 18. Ouch. Now, I don’t blame him for that. Did you see that shot?? That’s probably the hardest tee shot on Tour other than #18 at the Players, and he has to come out after 3 hours of negative thoughts and hit it. I’ll give him that one. My problem with J.B. is his pace of play. I loved him when he first got on tour, mainly for the fact that, being 5-10 and having a homemade awful looking swing, he absolutely crushes the ball… hitting it 350 no problem. Yet, is a slow player to start with, and when he gets into contention, he grinds to an absolute halt. On Sunday, it was normal for him to take 15 practice swings… for each shot!! Come on, J.B., step up and hit it! It’s not helping your mental game to think about it that much. At the very least, think of us at home having to watch you agonize over shots like a Russian chess master. Hit it!!

Paul Casey was the winner, and it’s suprising he hasn’t won several times on tour already… he’s that good. This will probably open his confidence up for multiple wins. The interesting guy for me to watch on Sunday was Geoff Oglivy, the current FedEx points leader, already with 2 wins this year, and he looked like he couldn’t hit the planet with many of his shots. He was consistently 50 yards wide of almost every target, just fighting his swing like crazy… strange for someone playing so well this year. The thing to notice? He shot 3 over. On a day where he had no control over his ball, he still only lost 3 strokes to par. What that tells me- if you really want to shoot consistent low scores, stop hitting large buckets of balls at the range. Go practice your game from 100 yards and in for at least 75% of your practice time. The guys on Tour hit it wildly like us sometimes, but they always get it up and down for par. Meanwhile, what should be at worst a bogey turns into 7 or 8 with a crummy short game. Practice chipping and putting!

Here’s a plea to the 7 people who read my blog… please post local course conditions so we know were to go! Here’s what I know:

Indian Canyon: hit balls there the other day, not a lot of grass on the range, and it’s very wet. The course is open, bit muddy. Wear the right pants.

Qualchan: In amazing shape. Played it Monday, and had very few if any wet conditions… greens were mowed on Tuesday, so they should be even better than when we played, and they were not bad then. 2 temporary greens from rebuilding, #10 and #14. Other than that, i would be shocked to find a local course in better shape.

Fairways: they are open, but it’s walking only, and even that’s tough. It’s very wet, with quite a bit of casual water. Greens are rolling nice.