A List:

Starter: Spencer Levin, Bench: Charles Howell, III

There were literally four players to choose from in the ‘A List’ this week, but Levin is by far the best option to choose on that short list. Two top-10′s (including a top-3) in 2012 make Levin a solid start this week, especially considering his success at this tournament in 2011. CHIII is due for a good tournament, and already has a top-3 finish so far this season.

B List:

Starters: Harrison Frazar, Briny Baird; Bench: Robert Allenby, Chris Stroud

This is likely to be the only tournament all season where Baird has a chance to contend for the title, so starting him was a bit of a no-brainer. Frazar has shown some promise so far in 2012, record two top-10′s for his efforts. Allenby and Stroud are complete gambles on my bench, with both players missing half of the cuts they’ve attempted this golf season. Allenby does seem to have odd stretches where he is amazing, however, so here’s hoping he wakes up on the right side of the beach in Mexico.

C List

Starter: Johnson Wagner; Bench: John Huh

Both Wagner and Huh have played well this season, including a win for the former and a top-10 finish for the latter. Wagner is the defending champ this week, so he definitely knows how to play the course well. I wouldn’t be surprised if Huh puts together four solid rounds this week and captures his first PGA TOUR victory, especially in a weaker field.

One of the more impressive booths of the day was that of Mistwood Golf Course, located in Romeoville, Illinois. While it was merely another booth inviting visitors to “come out and play”, my brief conversation with “Dan” was quite informative in regard to the course redesign. The changes on the course (which I haven’t been to in probably 10 years) look amazing, especially with the addition of new hazards and hole layouts on most of the acerage. Most of the major changes were completed in 2011, so I hope to make my way out to Mistwood in the next few months to try out the new look.

I also had the opportunity to hit the new Tour Edge XCG5 driver, albeit against a net in the back of the convention center. Regardless, I can already tell that this was an extremely solid club in both feel and appearance. The red and white coloring makes the club pleasing to the eye at address, and the unique sound the ball makes when leaving the clubface make the latest offering by Tour Edge that much more attractive. $329 is a lot of cash for a man of my ilk, however, so I may have to search for a deal if I plan on putting a XCG5 in my bag anytime soon.

All-in-all the convention was somewhat entertaining. Lessons were available for a modest price of $30, and even the limited number of putting and chipping contests helped pass the time in what appeared to be a rather small expo (in relation to the size of the building, at least). I also was able to pick up a Golf World magazine subscription included in my $10 admission fee, so I’ll consider that a win.

(Note: If anyone has a better video or .gif of the dude in the white shirt falling down the hill, let me know and I will gladly post it.)

It is a topic that has been discussed and debated for as long as the game has been played. While racial boundaries are slowly being broken around country clubs and golf courses across the globe, an unmistakable aura of sexism still exists around golf, even if only in limited circles (frankly, I think it is much more prevelant). Waggleroom.com’s Emily Kay touched on one such example in an earlier article, however I feel another perspective can help drive her point home further: a male’s perspective.

Having worked in the golf industry for over 10 years earlier in my life – and now as a golf writer/blogger – I have had the opportunity to witness the various behaviors and candid whisperings from country club members from an outsider’s perspective. As a bag room employee at my local club in Illinois growing up, I would routinely assist members with preparing for their rounds, cleaning their clubs, and organizing golf outings for our membership.

When working with the club’s female members, a few characteristics were commonplace. Many of our female members had either just recently picked up the game or would seldom come out to the course to practice, which did lead to some longer rounds of golf. On average, this specific country club’s female demographic was also a bit older than the much larger male membership count (our Ladies’ Club Champion was in her 60s for most of my time there). There were also a few ladies who seemed to be a bit more “demanding” in their customer service requests in comparison to others, but nothing out of the ordinary. Every so often a “Mrs. Havercamp” joke would be exchanged among the male members, but for the most part everyone got along quite nicely.

Our male membership exuded more… interesting qualities rather frequently, which included:

- Excessive swearing and shouting, even while in the presence of junior golfers

- Displays of public drunkenness that would sometimes result in my having to retrieve a golf cart from a creek

- Overly-aggressive hacks at a missed putt on a green out of anger that often resulted in gaping divots taken from the putting surface

- Incessant chauvinistic comments and gestures towards female waitresses, employees, and lifeguards that went above and beyond sexual harassment

- Failure to maintain even the most fundamental etiquette while on the course, such as replacing a divot or repairing a ball mark

- and, to top it all off, issuing constant complaints to the Pro Shop about the female golfers “playing too slow”

Try as we might to promote equality within our private memberships and premium tee-times, a few misinformed loudmouths continue to cast stones in the direction of female golfers for simply trying to enjoy perhaps the greatest game in the world. In most cases, these same individuals could learn a lesson or two from our female counterparts about how to respect the game.

(The above article was originally posted by the author for Waggleroom.com)

A List

Starter: Luke Donald; Bench: K.J. Choi

WORLD NUMBER ONE IN DA HOUSE! Donald makes his 2012 PGA TOUR debut this week, and I think he’s going to be in the top-3 on Sunday. 2012 is the Year of Luke, which I believe will include a major victory. Let’s see if he can get on the winning mentality early in the season. Choi is actually my pick to win The Masters this season (as far as Vegas is concerned), and he has played well at Riviera in the past. Adam Scott would have been another great pick here considering his victories at the course.

B List

Starters: Hunter Mahan, Brandt Snedecker; Bench: Robert Allenby, Ken Duke

Mahan hasn’t gotten a start from me yet this season, however he always seems to fare well in terms of fantasy golf points every year. His best efforts seem to come away from the majors, so perhaps the Northern Trust is a good opportunity for him to record a quick win. Snedecker already has a victory under his belt this season (thanks, Kyle Stanley) and he usually plays pretty decently on this track. Ken Duke finished tied for third last week and might be a bit of a hot-hand. Allenby played well at this event in 2011.

C List

Starter: Aaron Baddeley; Bench: Ricky Barnes

Baddeley is the returning champion, so here’s hoping he can turn in a repeat performance in 2012. Barnes was a pleasant surprise for me last week, slowly creeping his way up the leaderboard while all attention was being paid to Phil Mickelson. I wouldn’t be surprised if he recorded another top 10 finish this weekend.

You can listen over the interwebz via the following link: http://tunein.com/radio/WSIA-889-s22807/

Phil Mickelson had a familiar opportunity presented to him on Sunday at Pebble Beach, but it was going to take a mixture of great play on his part and a faltering by 54-hold leader Charlie Wi. Oh yeah, he also had to play better than his final round pairing opponent, Tiger Woods.

Piece of cake.

Most of the attention on Sunday would be directed at Woods, who continues to search for his old form from what now seems like decades ago. As Yahoo! Sports’ Jay Busbee points out, Mickelson seemed to be more comfortable starting the day in the back of everyone’s mind. Sure, he had won at Pebble a few times in the past. He has also been on a bit of a hot streak when paired with Woods in the final round of a tournament, having bested Woods in each of their last four occasions. All Mickelson had to do today was do what he does best: be himself when it mattered most.

Mickelson would ultimately turn in one of his most dominating performances on a golf course in recent memory, shooting a final round 8-under, bogey-free effort that catapulted him to the top of the leaderboard. Wi would begin his round with a double-bogey on his opening hole, and really didn’t come back into contention for the remainder of the day.

Even when standing on the 18th tee staring down what he has called the most intimidating tee-shot in golf, Mickelson seemed cool, calm and collected. Meanwhile, Woods continued to record bogey after bogey to the point where Woods’ pro-am playing partner – Dallas Cowboy quarterback Tony Romo – actually made more birdies than El Tigre.

Mickelson was flat-out perfect today, mastering Pebble Beach in both execution and course management. His tee shots were accurate, his short-game was Phil-like, and he made putts when he needed them. Nobody else in the field came close to matching his performance, and above all else Mickelson was able to show the world – and perhaps even Woods – what strong confidence and a clear mental game can yield for one of the game’s all-time greats.

Seriously. I’m not making this up.

EA Sports’ Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 13 is going to feature a game mode in which you can literally relive the childhood years of Tiger’s golf life. I’m not just talking about his triumphs at the US Amateur or college. No no… I’m talking about the “Tiger chipping balls into kiddie pools as a child” years.

One can only hope that later installments in the popular video game series will include Tiger Woods Knee Operation Mode, Tiger Woods Leisure Suit Larry Mode, and of course, Tiger Woods Driveway Racing Mode.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/327580/videogame-trailers-tiger-woods-pga-tour-13-legacy-trailer

A List

Starter: Phil Mickelson; Bench: Spencer Levin

Lefty has to get his game together sooner or later, and last week he started to show that he might be headed in the right direction. Mickelson has had a slower-than-expected start to his 2012 season, however he has always played well at Pebble Beach and looks to do the same again this week. Spencer Levin had a strong week in Phoenix and almost won the tournament before ultimately blowing up on the back-nine on Sunday. Will he be able to redeem himself this week like Phoenix-winner Kyle Stanley did last?

B List

Starters: Tiger Woods, D.A. Points; Bench: Hunter Mahan, Bryce Molder

Yep, that’s correct: Tiger is now officially listed as a “B-Player”. Even so, Woods seems to have his game back on track having finished high on the leaderboard for his last four tournaments, including a win at the Chevron World Challenge late in 2011. His performance in Abu Dhabi a couple weeks ago was very promising for Tiger, and we all know how well he plays at Pebble. Points is getting the start this week over red-hot Hunter Mahan only because he is the defending champion, although I forsee a possible roster change in my future by the weekend. Molder is having a solid fantasy golf season thusfar, so he is also a strong option off my bench.

C List

Starter: Jeff Maggert; Bench: John Huh

Both Maggert and Huh are having strong seasons so far, both of whom recording one top-10 finish in three starts in 2012. Either man could get the start this week, but I am going with Maggert’s experience at Pebble to at least get me through the first round. I still anticipate a strong year for Huh, however, as he has shown a great deal of talent and poise when it matters late on Sunday.

Kyle Stanley – just one week removed from his tradgic freefall in his final round last week at Torrey Pines – held off his fellow competitors to win the Waste Management Phoenix Open in impressive fashion. In doing so Stanely secured his first career PGA TOUR title and was able to put a disappointment in the past where it belongs.

It would be Spencer Levin to make the big mistake this Sunday, which came in the form of a nasty double-bogey on the par-5 15th hole. After hitting his tee-shot into a nearby cactus, Levin was forced to hit a recovery shot back into play by using his mallet putter as a garden hoe (Carl Spackler would have been so proud). After doing so – and let’s give credit where credit is due, because that shot was pretty good considering the thorns impaling Levin’s abdomen – Levin would attempt to hit the green on his following shot but would fall short and send his golf ball into a lake.

That provided just enough clearance (and confidence) for Stanley to see the light at the end of this proverbial tunnel. Three holes later, Stanely would be hoisting the trophy for the first time. In the process, he would also hit one of the coolest golf shots you will ever see off of a nearby cactus.

Stanley would cry again following this final round, but this time tears of joy were in order.

“I’m not sure what I’m thinking right now,” Stanley said. “I just needed to focus on playing golf. I needed to put last week behind me.”

“I just want to thank my mum and dad. They’ve done a lot for me. I’m speechless,” Stanley said in the scoring area moments after the victory.

(Note: The above article was originally posted by the author for WaggleRoom.com)