USGA to Re-Open Museum. Adds new Palmer Center

If you thought Disney’s feature film “The Greatest Game Ever Played” was all fiction, then you may be surprised to know that you can see Francis Ouimet’s golf clubs, golf ball, and scorecard used in his stunning victory at the 1913 U.S. Open June 3 when the USGA unveils the new Palmer Center in the totally renovated and expanded USGA museum on the grounds of USGA Headquarters in Far Hills, New Jersey.
Under construction for nearly 3 years the new center updates what was the first museum in the U.S. dedicated entirely to a sport-- a venue older than even the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.
The new museum houses over 40,000 artifacts and memorabilia, 500,000 photographic images, plus thousands of hours of historic film, video, and audio recordings. Together, the museum's collections present a comprehensive history of the game's development in the United States over the course of nearly 250 years.
Oimet’s treasures are among more than 2,000 golf artifacts that will be on public display, many for the first time. The centerpiece of the expanded museum is a gallery that celebrates the life and career of Arnold Palmer. The Palmer Room showcases more than 100 items from Palmer’s personal collection arranged as an exploration of his career both on and off the golf course.
At the center of the Palmer Room is a remarkable portrait created by James David Chase, and composed of more than 22,000 words to create an image of Palmer An interactive kiosk enables visitors to explore the portrait in detail.
For more information about the USGA and Opening Day events, click here.
(Ivan this links to USGA site. See MGL Homepage)

Tiger and Lorena Keep Rolling

Just a month or two into the 2008 golf season and already Tiger Woods and Lorena Ochoa have demonstrated that their extraordinary performances from 2007 may have been nothing more than previews of coming attractions.

From his dramatic winning putt on the 72nd hole of the Arnold Palmer Invitational to Ochoa’s 11 shot runaway victory in Singapore and 7 shot win in Arizona in her first two Spring 2008 outings, these two phenomenon have created an excitement and heightened interest in the game of gold that has not been seen for two generations. For those of you who are not enough, that’s since Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer dueled what seemed every week over thirty years ago.

Perhaps the most unusual aspect of how Tiger and Lorena perform so well week to week is their resilience in the face of the level of ‘noise’ around such athletes today. There is more media coverage and outlets, driven by more technology, plus longer tougher courses, and more tournaments, period.

Maintaining the level of play required to win so many times in any season, never mind in back-to-back seasons, makes their accomplishments all the more special. Add to this their personal schedules and endorsement commitments and the dominance factor becomes astounding. As enthusiasts for the sport, we get to watch, be entertained and enjoy. And, that’s special to.