Golf

A salute to the military, MoH recipient at AT&T National

By Sean Smyth on June 28, 2012 Golf, Uncategorized

The opening day of the AT&T National golf tournament, held at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md., had a military flare to it, as it usually does. But it went above and beyond standard fare. In addition to a Black Hawk flyover and a performance by the U.S. Air Force Honor Guard Drill Team, there was an appearance by a Medal of Honor recipient — not every PGA Tour event can claim that. Army Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Petry, who received the Medal of Honor last year, spoke during the opening ceremonies. Petry was participating in a house-clearing operation in…

Coined by the Corps

By Sean Smyth on April 9, 2012 Golf, Marine Corps

You hear a lot about Amen Corner and all those other cool spots at Augusta National, home of the Masters. You don’t usually hear much about the sixth hole, a par-3 180-yard piece of work. If you followed Twitter over the weekend, you may have. Noted ESPN writer Wright Thompson, who has written a bit about the course home to the green jacket, had an interesting encounter on No. 6. Here are a couple of Thompson’s tweets: [HTML1] [View the story “Marine Corps at the Masters” on Storify] Semper Fi, indeed.

Former coach: Tiger Woods wanted to be Navy SEAL

By Andy Charest on February 29, 2012 Golf, Iraq, Navy

A new book by Tiger Woods’ former swing coach says the golf megastar’s real passion was to be a Navy SEAL. In “The Big Miss,” due out March 27, Hank Haney details Woods’ ambition to become an elite special operator. According to Haney, over four days spent at a special operations training camp at Fort Bragg, N.C., Woods did “hand-to-hand combat exercises,” “four-mile runs wearing combat boots” and wind tunnel drills, and completed “two tandem parachute jumps.” Woods’ late father, Earl, was an Army Green Beret who did two tours in Vietnam. And Woods’ own AT&T National golf tournament is…

Tiger's modest backyard putting green

By Mike Hoffman on March 9, 2011 Golf

Look, it’s March and, well, two of the service academies’ seasons have already ended while the third, the Air Force Academy, needs a minor miracle to win the Mountain West Conference tournament to make “The Big Dance.” Not too maddening of a March for this blog. So we’re stretching for material. What I serve in its place is an atypical golf update. It’s March 9. Time to drag those golf clubs out of the basement and dust off that swing. How would you like a putting green along with three tee boxes in your backyard to do just that? If…

Driving ranges litter Camp Victory

By Chris Maddaloni on February 4, 2011 Golf, Iraq

BAGHDAD — Now that combat operations have ended, it seems soldiers have time to work on their swing. It seems there’s a driving range at each one of Saddam Hussein’s old palaces at Camp Victory in Iraq. “If you dredged the lake you’d probably find close to 10,000 golf balls,” said Maj. Kristian Sorensen, an Army spokesman at Camp Victory. Saddam’s former palaces, now packed with American soldiers and contractors, sit around a man made lake. Supposedly, Saddam shut off Baghdad’s water for three days in order to fill the lakes. Now it’s also filled with golf balls and giant…

Tiger and the troops: What does the future hold?

By on December 19, 2009 Golf

In the wake of his bizarre car accident on Nov. 27 and the subsequent stream of tabloid revelations and accusations about Tiger Woods’ personal life, multiple big-name sponsors have dropped the golfer or dialed back their use of him in advertising. With another sponsor distancing themselves from Tiger Woods yesterday, it raises questions about the golfer’s own tournament, the AT&T National, and its relationship with the military. Tiger is still featured on the front page of the event’s Web site, and there is still a link for military members to inquire about tickets (check back in April, it says). AT&T…

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