Golf Central

If only we knew what on earth Halle Berry, Tiger Woods, Retief Goosen, John Daly and the design boffins at TaylorMade had in common then we wouldn’t be sitting here reading this introductory paragraph. We’d have read it already and in doing so become so full of wisdom and insight that we were fit to burst. Try it, you may like it…

1. Forget Hilary, Obama and Super Bowl XLII …

Tiger and Phil tee it up for the first time this weekend for the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines; and it’s not just good news for golf. US TV station CBS leaked figures that there was a 171% increase in their viewer ratings when Tiger plays.

2. Add Vijay Singh to the starting line-up and you’ve got the fourth version of The Big Three.

That’s according to golf columnist Ron Sirak. Not convinced? Have a read and let us know what you think…

3. And we thought golf was already hard enough …

After fiddling with interchangeable weights in your clubs, the revelation from last week’s PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando TaylorMade are among the manufacturers who will encourage us to swap shafts before taking to the course. And will you be paying more for this groundbreaking technology…?

4. Never try to court controversy in golf …

It started as an inadvertent gaffe from Kelly Tilghman that the only way to stop Tiger winning was to “lynch him in a back alley.” Next thing you know Dave Seanor, editor of GolfWeek is sacked for sticking a noose on the cover of the US mag. Serves him right, we say…

5. We think glasses are quite dignified, actually …

So why are there no golfers to our knowledge who wear them? Defending champion Retief Goosen was forced to withdraw from the Qatar Masters after laser surgery to correct his eyesight went awry. Temporarily we hope…

6. And America used to criticise the Soviet Union for historical re-writes …!

A fantastic fact unearthed by our friends at Waggle Room: "The PGA Tour's media notes this week remind us that four players in PGA Tour history have won the same tournament four consecutive times: (Young Tom Morris, British Open; Walter Hagen, PGA Championship; Gene Sarazen, Miami Open; Tiger Woods, Arnold Palmer Invitational) ... The Tour retroactively recognizes majors from pre-PGA Tour times as PGA Tour events, so yes, Young Tom's wins nearly 140 years ago are considered PGA Tour victories." Unbelievable…

7. We thought we’d made it up when we heard this latest Golf Channel commentating gaffe.

But we didn’t – if you don’t mind an inadvertent four-letter-word, it's something that you must see.

8. We always have time for a quick quiz …

European Tour veteran Barry Lane becomes only the fifth player in history to top 600 tournaments this week. Name the other four in the comments field (we’ll stick the answers on Golf Central on Friday).

9. Forget the All Star Cup …

This is a celebrity golf event we’re definitely turning up for - The Halle Berry Celebrity Golf Classic. April 28, Mountain Gate Country Club, Los Angeles. See you there…

10. Is John Daly the Britney of golf?

I know it sounds unlikely but the carrion are circling, reporting every beer sunk, every cigarette smoked and every burger munched. All he needs now is an unsuccessful singing career. Oh …