Who is it --- #Tiger Woods or Rory #McIlroy?

Thank you to Author James Ross for this submission to Golf for Beginners blog.

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The golf season was around the corner and the grinding professional Tour was about to begin. The weather outside was gloomy. It was way too cloudy and windy to even think about playing. Of course flurries of snow were predicted in the forecast. That was also a discouraging factor.

What’s a fellow to do? If you’re a golfer the local pro shop and clubhouse is the perfect meeting place. It was no different at Prairie Winds Golf Course high atop the Mississippi river bluffs just east of St. Louis. Fred, the portly one with a baker’s dozen of doughnuts, was the first to arrive. His rotund backside had left an impression in the booth nearest the far corner.

J Dub, the nice looking, lanky head pro had a pot of coffee brewing before the night maintenance foreman at the local auto plant had come through the front door. Julie, his chic assistant, was filling the cash register with petty cash. They expected a slow day of golf but plenty of banter from the regulars who considered the clubhouse their home away from home.

Captain Jer, the functional alcoholic, arrived early. He had travelled to the course with two sidekicks. Doc, the elderly veterinarian, and Trot, an old vaudeville comedian, entered behind him. As news of the upcoming golf season flashed across the TV screen the conversation switched to controversy.

“That kid from Ireland can play,” Fred shouted.

“Rory?” Doc questioned.

“Yeah, McIlroy.” Fred wiped the back of his oversized hand across his mouth in an attempt to clean the excess cream filling from the doughnut off the side of his mouth.

 “Lots of talent there,” Captain Jer agreed, “but I still think that Tiger is the guy to beat.” The retired airplane pilot motioned for Julie to bring a cold beer to his table. “When they tee the ball up I guarantee you the rest of the guys in the field are looking out the corner of their eye to see where Tiger is.”

“Maybe so,” the head pro said as he threw his opinion out, “but Tiger doesn’t put the fear in them like he used too. There are a lot of new guys out there that can flat play the game.”

“Guys you’ve never heard of,” Trot added. “There are hoards of young kids that rip the ball.”

“But that McIlroy kid is the best of the young bunch,” Fred argued.

“No question,” Doc said, “but you know the way sports are. On any given day…”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Captain Jer shot back. “Give me Tiger Woods anytime. He has that uncanny ability to will the ball in the hole. When he’s got his putting stroke going there is nobody that can stay with him.”

“Granted, but the others know that if he’s in the hunt it just might be his tournament to lose.”

“I’ll still take the new kid on the block.”

“He can roll the ball in the hole with the best of them.”

“And his ball striking is as good as Tiger’s was in his prime.”

“Why don’t you guys take a break for a while?” Julie butted in. She was no novice when it came to the gentleman’s game. “Nobody is going to win this discussion. Was it Jack or Arnie? Or how about Ben Hogan or Sammy Snead? Each era has its own hotshot --- and the opinions will always vary.”

The others exchanged glances. They wondered how the lady in the group could be such a golf historian.

“That’s why golf is the truest sport out there. The guy that plays the best for four days will win the tournament.” Julie placed another beer in front of Captain Jer, delivered a screwdriver to Trot and filled up Fred’s coffee mug. “That’s the one that deserves the moment. Be glad that we have the opportunity to disagree.”

“Yeah, it makes for great viewing on Sunday afternoon!”

“And everybody has their favorite.”

James Ross has written five novels from the Prairie Winds Golf Course setting. Visit Amazon online on Wednesday #12_12_12 for a book promo on his latest, Pabby’s Score. The story delivers innocence, greed, corruption and Internet dating as well as mysterious intrigue from the cast of recurring characters --- and two newcomers with special needs, Pabby and Shae.

Join James Ross on Twitter as @golfnovels and @JamesRossBooks or on Facebook.

And... as always, voice your opinion on Twitter @Golf4Beginners and on our Facebook page.

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Did You Win YOUR Bet That Mandela Would Make it to the European Tour?

The European Tour is the second largest tour in the world of golf coming in second only to the PGA Tour. The increase in popularity of the European Tour can be attributed to its broad inclusion in other parts of the world featuring venues held not only in Europe but also in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Smaller tours, such as the Sunshine Tour, are part of a global constinuency which makes up the International Federation of PGA Tours, co-sanctioning four events with the European Tour.

That being said, the most recent event played this past weekend on the Sunshine Tour was the inaugural Nelson Mandela Championship. A possibly more well-known tourney taking place this week on the Sunshine Tour is the Alfred Dunhill Championship. Both events count toward the Race to Dubai, a year-long global affair with a prize in excess of $1 million dollars.

Although few Sunshine Tour events attract top names in golf, this week, Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel are both competing: adding the name Mandela to any event also elevates it don't you think? These golf tournaments also give rise to fresh faces who might one day move toward a permanent spot on the Euro Tour.

Since gambling is an inherent part of golf, with these events comes the opportunity for sports betting.  As I have come to learn (no, I don't gamble but I read a lot), in the past, these sorts of transactions were done with a bookie, however, with the rise of the internet over the past few years many forms of gambling have taken full advantage of the online culture of this medium. Now bookmakers and casinos can be found online and everything that goes with them. People who fancy a quick go on the slots on their computer, or even their smartphone, can now do this at sites such as LuckyNuggetCasino.com online casino, along with card games such as Poker or Blackjack which are usually found to be more popular among sports fans. Betting on golf can now be done before or even during the game wherever they are; this new face of gambling also has expanded the types of sporting events on which bets can be placed.

The Nelson Mandela Championship, for example, showed me that a bettor would be able to predict finishing positions. This type of sports bet is where you make a prediction on where a golfer will finish at the conclusion of the tournament. This is a bit different than other bets as you can bet high which means you expect your selected golfer to do poorly in the tournament. On the other hand, you can decide to go low which means you expect him to do rather well. To know specifically what this looks like depends on the quote associated with a specific golfer. For instance, he may be quoted to be 5-8. This means that the sportsbooks have him predicted to finish either 6^th or 7^th. If you want to bet low, meaning he will do well, you would sell the finishing position at 5. If you expect this golfer may not place as well as expected, you would sell the finishing position at 8.

Where I do not condone gambling, I found the process quite interesting and wanted to share it with the audience. There are many people who go in ready to place a bet but not understanding the modus operandi in order to give themselves a chance at success.

Voice your opinion on Twitter @Golf4Beginners and friend on Facebook.

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