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They call the first leg of the PGA Tour the West Coast Swing for an obvious reason: all the action takes place in Hawaii, California and Arizona. But this year, the West Coast Swing could easily have been called the Southland Golf Swing, as players from Southern California dominated as never before. Four homegrown products — Paul Goydos, Tiger Woods, Charley Hoffman and Phil Mickelson — won four of the tour’s first six full-field events and Mickelson probably should have won the Nissan, but we’d rather not dwell on that. We heartily salute the achievements of those who won. But really, Phil, what happened at Riviera? Our circulation may not match that of Sports Illustrated, but just as that august publication has a long-hyped cover curse, we seem to be cultivating a cover blessing. Our cover girl this month, Paula Creamer, started the 2007 LPGA campaign off with a bang, winning the inaugural SBS Open. We’d decided weeks before to put her on the cover of our annual women’s golf issue, so the timing couldn’t have been better. In January a blurb about Paul Goydos made our cover — that month he won the Sony Open in Hawaii. And last year, three other PGA Tour players earned a fat paycheck after appearing on our cover. Tiger Woods won the Buick after gracing our January magazine; Phil Mickelson won the Masters after being on April’s cover; and 2007 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic winner Charley Hoffman appeared on our July cover. Whether a cover spot on Southland Golf carries with it good mojo or not, our recent string of successes makes us wonder: Just how much should we charge professional golfers for the honor? (Just kidding. But it’s not like they can’t afford it.) We visit the Coachella Valley several times a year on business, but rarely do we get to sneak in some quality golf. So we’re happy to report that we recently were invited to play in the 10th anniversary VIP outing at one of our favorite destinations, Desert Willow Golf Resort. We’ve observed this resort grow from a brand-new, unknown commodity to one of the best clubs in the desert — and all of Southern California. It has two excellent courses, with the Firecliff track ranking among the most exhilarating and scenic public courses you’re liable to find. Both it and the friendlier Mountain View course are graced by incredible desert landscaping and afford spectacular mountain views. If you’re planning a golf getaway, or just feel like visiting Palm Desert for the day, check out the facility. And tell them we sent you. Finally, we wanted to give a shout out to our favorite neighborhood golf columnist, Eric Tracy, who, after years of holding down our fort on the last page of the magazine, is moving up front. His humorous, informative column will now appear after this Founder’s Note, which gives him more space for his very user-friendly column to shine. Eric knows as much about Southern California golf as anyone, and we’re delighted to be able to give him the added exposure he deserves. SG |
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