Just a few short days after the ball drops in Times Square, PGA Tour pros are back in business at the SBS Championship in Hawaii. Before the first foursome hits Tee #1 on Jan 4, the Caveman’s coverin’ the PGA’s Top 100 Golfers To Watch In 2010.

Let’s cut right to the chase and run through the Top Ten. I’ve added a line or two from the PGA’s write up, but feel free to click the player’s name for the full feature over at PGATour.com:

10: Jim Furyk: “The clock is ticking on his next win, expect it to be a big one. Furyk is far from finished but he won’t be at Kapalua.”
Regular Season Rank: 3 | Playoff Rank: 4 | Bonus Money: $1,500,000

9: Y.E. Yang: “Who would have believed it so far? Who knows what comes next. Y.E. Yang has an opportunity to be the most successful player from Asia to ever tee it up — if he is not already.”
Regular Season Rank: 21 | Playoff Rank: 23 | Bonus Money: $210,000

8: Lucas Glover: “New fame, same great guy. The best may still be yet to come. Lucas will still be the same Southern gentleman going forward no matter what he does in the future.”
Regular Season Rank: 20 | Playoff Rank: 17 | Bonus Money: $240,000

7: Sean O’Hair: “So good, so solid, the sky is the limit. He seems very comfortable in his role on the PGA TOUR. But he still can’t beat his caddy in Golden Tee.”
Regular Season Rank: 7 | Playoff Rank: 5 | Bonus Money: $1,000,000

6: Zach Johnson: “Perhaps it is time to start believing that the Tortoise can beat the hare. He just keeps doing it. I keep thinking that someone like Zach has a great chance at Pebble Beach in June.”
Regular Season Rank: 4 | Playoff Rank: 6 | Bonus Money: $800,000

5: Sergio Garcia: “The winds of change are blowing on the PGA TOUR. Will El Nino blow back or just blow? Expectations are a hard thing to live up to especially when they are so enormous.”
Regular Season Rank: 38 | Playoff Rank: 38 | Bonus Money: $137,000

4: Padraig Harrington: “This year he will reinvent the wheel and discover fire. He and Al Gore invented the Internet. You should see what they are working on for 2010.”
Regular Season Rank: 6 | Playoff Rank: 7 | Bonus Money: $700,000

3: Steve Stricker: “The little engine that could keeps going in 2010. Could be better now than he was early in his career.”
Regular Season Rank: 2 | Playoff Rank: 3 | Bonus Money: $2,000,000

2: Phil Mickleson: “He adds another major this year, mostly because they aren’t playing on in N.Y. No one played better at the end of the year than Lefty.”
Regular Season Rank: 14 | Playoff Rank: 2 | Bonus Money: $3,000,000

And you probably guessed it…

1: Tiger Woods: “Perhaps you have heard of him. He may be taking a leave of absence, but he isn’t going away. I promise.”
Regular Season Rank: 1 | Playoff Rank: 1 | Bonus Money: $10,000,000

Not too many surprises at the top, and only a few other names really stood out to this Caveman, but I gotta say I’ve got a good feeling about these fellas: Stuart Appleby (#100), Ricki Fowler (#90), and Rory McIlroy (#11).

What do YOU think Rock Heads? Anyone wanna go on record now with “The Next Big Thing?” or call a comeback for a familiar face? THIS is the place to do it!

~Scratch

PS: One glaring omission in my opinion is leavin’ John Daly off the list. I know he’s had some troubles but now he’s lookin’ lean and mean, let’s hope he puts up some great numbers on the greens!

First the bad news: Fall has officially faded away, leaving our favorite links covered in ice and snow just about everywhere (Florida and Arizona golfers excepted). But even with spring seemingly an eternity away, the news isn’t all that bleak, because even if you don’t have the time and money to travel to a warmer climate right now, you can still earn your winter golf stripes on the cheap!

If you’re brave (or crazy?) enough to face the cold, I promise you won’t regret it. There’s something about being out in the elements, alone on the course or with a few of your closest friends, and living to tell the tale that makes it all worthwhile. Just make sure you take a few precautions to ensure you escape the sting of frostbite and keep your extremities intact:

• Wear lots of layers – You’ll need to find a balance between warmth and mobility, but the days of down-filled parkas are a thing of the past. There’s plenty of thinner, thermal fabrics that will keep your warm without restricting your swing.
• Protect your noggin, pinkies & piggies – Humans lose the most body heat through their heads, so make sure you’ve got something covering your cranium at all times. You’ll also want to keep your hands warm & dry, so stock up on some cold weather golf gloves and keep a towel and some handwarmers in your golf bag. If you find the extra padding of the winter gloves interferes with your grip, you can take your gloves off before each shot, but be sure to slap ‘em right back! Invest in some insulated socks and keep your feet dry at all costs, too.
• Change ball colors – Common sense, but since so many players only use white golf balls during the regular season, you may need to make a special effort to get some orange or yellow golf balls before headin’ out to the course.

Speakin’ of balls, you’ll notice that the same golf ball will perform differently in the cold than it did back in August. Since the air is denser in winter, your ball will harden and be more difficult to hit, so think about playing a low compression golf ball to offset this issue.

~Scratch

PS: Have any experience playing in the snow? I’d love to hear your stories!

Here’s hopin’ your holidays are fun and full of good cheer! It’s been another great year at The Rock and I have YOU to thank for it!

As a small token of my appreciation, I’ve got a $25 gift certificate good for anything in The Cave that I’m going to give out to one lucky Rock Head! Here’s what you gotta do to get your name in the hat:

• Take a picture of you or someone you know with their new golf gear from Rock Bottom Golf
• Upload the picture to my Fan Page on Facebook

That’s it!

The rest of my Rock Heads will vote for their favorite photo by clicking the “Like” button or leaving a comment. The pic with the most thumbs up wins the $25 gift card! Simple, right? Just be sure to post your photos and spread the word to your friends and family!

~Scratch

PS: I wish the holidays could be 100% perfect for everybody, but sometimes something goes wrong. If you’ve got a reason to frown instead of smile when you get your new gear from me, let me know and I’ll do my best to make up for it! Check out my Return Policy or get ahold of the Caveman’s Customer Service Crew by sending an email to scratch@rockbottomgolf.com with your name, order number, and detailed description of your issue.

A new year is just around the corner, but before we can start celebrating the new we gotta sort through the year that was and pluck out the best of the best! Keep your eyes on the Cave this week for more Best of ’09 blogs, but today I’m starting with Golf.com’s Top 10 Golf Books of 2009, compiled by Jeff Silverman:

1. Creating Classics: The Golf Courses of Harry Colt; Author: Peter Pugh and Henry Lord. Publisher: Totem Books.
   Colt indeed created classics, the reach of his imprint as architect, remodeler, thinker, and theorist spreading from Old World outposts — Sunningdale and Swinley Forest; Royals Liverpool and County Down — to Pine Valley in New Jersey. This large-format appreciation, thoroughly researched and splendidly illustrated, examines the man and his achievement in a style as captivating as the courses themselves.
2. Golf’s Dream 18: Fantasy Courses Comprised of Over 300 Holes From Around the World; Author: David Barrett. Publisher: Abrams.
   The title’s a mouthful, which is fitting, for what Barrett’s cleverly assembled is a series of arguments masquerading as a coffee-tabler. His intriguing collection of loops — scenics, historics, strategics, etc. — builds to a single, tantalizing all-world 18 that hops from Machrihanish to Pebble Beach with stops at Augusta, Ballybunion, Royal Melbourne, and the National Golf Links. It’s a flight of fancy worth booking.
3. Ancestral Links: A Golf Obsession Spanning Generations; Author: John Garrity. Publisher: New American Library.
   Garrity, an SI contributing writer, mines what sounds like an old premise — the search for familial roots in the Old Sod — and surfaces with a gem: a refreshing memoir rife with history, poignance, good humor and the wherewithal that keeps playing a single hole — the 17th at Carne on Ireland’s west coast — over and over and over again as stirring the umpteenth time as it was the first.
4. Jenkins at the Majors: Sixty Years of the World’s Best Golf Writing, From Hogan to Tiger; Author: Dan Jenkins. Publisher: Doubleday.
   Finally, a way to rein in the riotous Texan: corral his majors efforts. Whether the 94 selections, many of which first appeared in SI, represent a compilation of golf’s greatest hits or Dan’s hardly matters; across six decades, it’s dead-solid-perfectly clear that the two have become indistinguishable.
5. Shooting for Tiger: How Golf’s Obsessed New Generation Is Transforming a Country Club Sport; Author: William Echikson. Publisher: Public Affairs.
   Consider the progression: a) Tiger marks his turf, b) a new generation begins prowling, and c) parents fixate over their cubs’ quests. By following a year of AJGA competions, Echikson neatly balances a compelling, if cautionary, tale on the thin line between superbly talented young players and the pressures — internal and ex- — that can push healthy drives into the overcooked and overdriven.
6. A Course Called Ireland: A Long Walk in Search of a Country, a Pint and the Next Tee; Author: Tom Coyne. Publisher: Gotham Books.
   Who wouldn’t want to navigate every links on the Emerald Isle? Coyne’s twist is that he not only walks the 900 holes he plays, but every step of the coastal trek that connects them, as well. The craic’s in this: He didn’t just schlep a set of clubs around for 16 weeks; he carried along his wit, his thirst, his fine eye for detail, and his curiosity — on and off the golf course — about Ireland and the Irish.
7. Planet Golf USA: The Definitive Reference to Great Golf Courses in America; Author: Darius Oliver. Principal photography by John and Jeannine Henebry. Publisher: Abrams.
   Oliver’s Brobdingnagian sequel to his 2007 globe-trotter may narrow the scope of the planet to America’s borders, but it still delivers a salivating assortment of eye candy distinctly Godivan in its tastes. Just try averting your eyes from such a sensual canter through the nation’s most storied — and photogenic — fairways.
8. Golf in America; Author: George B. Kirsch. Publisher: University of Illinois Press.
   For all the snobbery attached, golf, at its heart, is a democratic proposition. By examining how America’s average Joneses — in addition to its Bobby Joneses — have shaped the game, Kirsch’s comprehensive social study ultimately cuts across barriers of race, class and gender to accomplish something golf histories have essentially avoided: giving duffers their due.
9. Golf: The Art of the Mental Game; Author: Dr. Joseph Parent. Drawings by Anthony Ravielli. Publisher: Universe Publishing.
   Add a gallery of graceful Raviellis to some solid Parent-ing and the result is an instructional marvel: 100 insightful tips — aimed at shrinking runaway numbers by expanding golfing minds — that are as luscious to look at as they are profound in their usefulness and simplicity.
10. The Science of Golf; Author: John Wesson. Publisher: Oxford University Press.
    Granted, not every golfer cares about Newton’s laws, D’Alembert’s paradox, Stokes’s model, or the Magnus-Robins effect, but all impact the game, and Wesson, a retired physicist, interprets them with a facility that would have helped Einstein understand golf’s mysteries. His Mr. Wizard approach to winds, muddy balls, the probability of aces, and the bias of handicaps only amplifies his wizardry.

This Caveman will be the first to admit he doesn’t get through too many books, so I’ve left Mr. Silverman’s as-is, but I’d love to hear from my readin’ Rock Heads – what was your favorite new golf book this year, and why?

~Scratch

Golf Digest is running a cool little contest right now that will put one lucky player on the first tee at Pebble Beach for a free round under US Open conditions, including a celebrity-filled foursome and NBC cameras. If you think you’re up for the challenge, you can enter here by telling them “how playing in the 2010 Golf digest US Open Challenge would change your life” in 60 words or less.

~Scratch

Well, there may be a small amount of gold in the hole that Tiger Woods has dug himself into, and that’s the fact that Sundays should be way more suspenseful and competitive this season! When Tiger was within single digits of the lead late Saturday, I know I wasn’t the only one who almost expected him to come back, seal the deal and walk away with a win.

With Tiger out of the picture during his indefinite leave, there’s a huge void that a handful of golfers can step into on any given Sunday. Will Phil Mickelson finally deliver on his years of potential and become the elite player, the flashes of which we’ve only seen occasionally? He ended the 2009 season on a high note and may be the de facto star of the Tour now, but he’ll need to start strong to keep his critics silent. Can John Daly’s new lean look lead to fatter paydays in 2010? He’s played pretty well in Australia recently, but a few good weeks does not mean he’ll hold it together, even if we’re all pullin’ for him. Anthony Kim is another name on a lot of lips right now, too.

There’s a strong crop of up-and-comers, too, who may benefit from a wide-open field this year. Rory McIlroy cracked into the world’s Top Ten rankings before being able to legally crack a beer here in the US, and a few early wins would only build the buzz around this guy. One more youngster to look out for is Rickie Fowler, who hasn’t won much (although he did lose in a PGA Tour playoff, which is about as close as you can come) and made it through Q-school before his 21st birthday. Check out the PGA’s Top 100 Golfers To Watch In 2010 for a complete list of potential breakout stars!

There’s no doubt that the PGA Tour will miss having someone who can win, or at least be a threat to win, every week like Woods. Analysts are predicting losses of as much as $220 million in 2010 for the Tour, TV networks and golf merchandisers due to Tiger’s absence. They didn’t have to go back too far to get some numbers to back that estimate up: last Time Tiger left the sport (due to injury in 2008-2009 season), there was a 47% drop in TV Ratings The PGA is bracing for similar setbacks this year, something along the lines of a 20% drop in tournament attendance.

What do you all think? Get on the record NOW about who’ll be the biggest winner in 2010!

~Scratch

BONUS: Tiger might be the tip of the iceberg when it comes to athletes in the field of advertising

Wow – reading this list over at CNN.com almost had this Caveman reachin’ for a golf travel case! But since I’m up to my elbows in holiday golf gifts, I figured I’d just pass it along to my Rock Heads – enjoy!

The best golfers on the planet can expect beautifully manicured greens and perfect fairways when they take to the Hazeltine National Golf Club course in Minnesota for the U.S. PGA Championship next month.

But the increasing popularity of the sport has seen golf courses spring up in some unlikely places.

Here Living Golf takes a look at some of the weird and wonderful golf courses which will not be found in the average guidebook:

1. Longest
The average round of golf usually lasts a few hours, but prospective players on the Nullarbor Links Course in southern Australia can expect to complete the course in closer to four days. Measuring 848 miles in length the course is the longest in the world and spans two time zones with holes situated at 18 towns and service stations aimed along the Nullarbor Plain. Check out the Caveman’s take on this course!

2. Hottest
Situated on the rim of the active Mount Merapi in Indonesia, the Merapi Golf Course is one of the most unusual courses in the world. The course has breathtaking views and is one of only a handful of courses where golf is played next to an active volcano – although the course architects are yet to include lava hazards.

3. Coldest
Uummannaq in Greenland is home to the World Ice Golf Championships where the entire course is laid on gigantic icebergs and rounds of golf are played in subzero temperatures. The rules remain the same as regular golf although the course is a little shorter, the holes a little larger, the ball is orange and the green is white.

4. Most dangerous
Camp Bonifas is the closest military base to North Korea on the border in Panmunjom and is also home to what has been dubbed the world’s most dangerous golf course. The ‘course’ is a single hole, par three which stretches 192 yards and is close to the most heavily fortified border in the world. And it is no place for a stroll in the rough either – the fairway is ringed by landmines. Check out the Caveman’s take on this course!

5. Back to nature
Established in 1993 the golf course of La Jenny in France is one of the few places in the world which caters especially for golfers who prefer to hone their skills au natural. The only naturist course in Europe, La Jenny even has its own professional and stages numerous tournaments throughout the year.

6. Highest
If you are struggling to get distance on your drives then head to the Government Golf Course found in Gulmarg, India where the course is the highest in the world at over 8,500 feet. Established by British residents in 1904 the air is thinner on the course because of the altitude which means that the ball will travel further to increase the distance of a drive.

7. Unluckiest hole
Jean Van de Velde infamously pondered a chip out of the water at The British Open at Carnoustie in 1999 but he would be well advised to not try the same at the Lost City Golf Course in Sun City, South Africa. The water trap at the 13th hole houses 38 hungry crocodiles which is a graveyard for the balls of hundreds of sliced shots.

8 Full steam ahead
Located in a picturesque suburb of the city the Royal Colombo Golf Club in Sri Lanka has the distinguishing feature of the Kelani Valley steam railroad running through the course. Four of the holes are traversed by the trains which run past packed full of people ensuring the golfer will often have a audience, although a drop is permitted if your drive lands on the tracks.

9. Bunker-tastic
There is barely a blade of grass in sight in the small opal mining town of Coober Pedy in the Australian outback but that does not hinder the interest in golf. The Opal Fields Golf Club is a giant sand trap while the ‘greens’ must be oiled with grease to prevent the dirt being blown away by the dry desert winds.

10. Out of this world
Astronaut Alan Shepard is the only person to actually hit a golf ball on the moon when he did during 1971′s lunar visit, but plans for a course on the cratered satellite are already on the drawing board. Japanese company Shimizu Construction revealed a blueprint for the development of a course for the future, although an intergalactic open championship is probably quite a few years off yet.

Scratch here again with a quick question: If money were no object, would you rather play one of these crazy courses, or opt for a round at a “traditional” beauty like Pebble Beach?

Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2009/SPORT/07/27/golf.courses.pga.championship/index.html

John Daly had some ups and downs this year, but 2009 is ending on a high note for the man formerly known as Big John.

In fact, Daly’s on the brink of becoming a multimedia mogul. Besides some new endorsements and his soon-to-drop country music album, John is talking about returning to the ranks of published author by writing a follow-up to his best-selling book, My Life In & Out Of The Rough. If the new book sells well, you can expect a feature film to capitalize on the success.

It’s true his career and comeback might make a good flick, but who would be the star? Daly’s thought about who he’d like to see play himself, both pre- and post-weight loss. “I just saw Matt Damon, how he swung a golf club, and I thought if I ever made a movie I want him to be me,” Daly said. “The tough part is who would play me at 290 pounds. Now Kevin James, he’s my bud but he’d be good.”

When you think about it, Damon does have golf-movie experience, but I just can’t see the squeaky-clean star suckin’ down cigarettes & diet soda like Daly does. This Caveman’s no casting agent, but how about someone with a bit more “character” like Billy Bob Thornton?

There’s also one more bit of casting controversy: “Who is going to play all the ex-wives?” asked Daly, half-joking. He’s got four of ‘em!

~Scratch

PS: Do YOU have any suggestions for stars to include in John Daly’s movie? And how about his fellow golfers – should Tiger, Phil & and the rest play themselves or get an all-star Hollywood makeover? Lemme hear ‘em Rockheads!

BONUS TRIVIA: How do PGA Tour players earn the Vardon Trophy? Check your answer here!

Comin’ off this Caveman’s examination of the new groove rules and the USGA’s explanation that less accurate approach shots will put an added emphasis on drive length and accuracy, a few of my Rock Heads had the same follow-up question: “Why not just keep lengthening courses?”

More than a few elite golf courses have gone this route and added yards from the tips, with still more on the way. Over at The Riviera, for example, plans are to add almost 40 more yards to the already 418-yard, par-4 #9, and 50 yards to #12, a 413-yard par 4.

But if you ask me, the lost playing time and high cost of stretching a course doesn’t hurt good players so much as punish us hackers. Will those extra 40 or 50 yards at Riviera really matter to a PGA’r who’s already pushin’ 300 off the tee? Probably not. But to a regular Joe still strugglin’ to break 90, even a slight increase in distance might mean the difference between a bogey and a double. Most of us just don’t have the swing speed and power that the pros do.

Of course I won’t be playing Riviera any time soon, but at my local courses I’d much rather see new bunkers, water, or other elements than simply have more ground to cover. The shot selection and course management side of the game is one of the most difficult (but rewarding) aspects to work on.

Golf course architect William Amick agrees. He wanted to know how to give golfers of every skill level a great round no matter what tees they picked to start from. So, he sorted golfers into eight different levels, collected a TON of data about the distances each type of player could reach, and looked for patterns.

And what he found was really interesting:

Although golfers varied widely in how far they could hit the ball, the relationship between the distance each hit their different clubs was strikingly similar. For instance, each of the eight golfers hit their next longest metal wood nearly 88% of the distance of their driver. They hit their 5-iron approximately 70% of the length of their driver and their 9-iron was about 52% of their driver. And these mathematical relationships were close to the same for both men and women.

Once he knows a golfer’s average drive, he can pretty accurately determine their distance with any other club in their bag. Armed with that, Amick feels he can deliver a better playing experience no matter what handicap a golfer carries.

So, getting back to the groove rule, here’s hoping the change does in fact make elite golfers focus on drive accuracy more, and that course superintendents can stop stretching their fairways for a while.

-Scratch

PS: I’m lookin’ for tips & techniques that will add distance to my drives. Have you found any drills or exercises that have given you a few more feet off the tee?