After some extreme pain in my pectoral region following several snowboarding crashes, I got checked out by the doc.

I feared that I’d cracked or broken ribs and that I was looking at 12 weeks of recovery (and 12 weeks without swinging a golf club). Fortunately I “sprained” the area connecting rib bone and rib cartilage. Recovery time is approximately three weeks.

You learn something new every day. I didn’t know that the rib area between your sternum and your pectoral is actually cartilage and not really bone.

I’m very happy and thankful the injury isn’t as bad as I’d thought it was. The pain certainly feels that bad I’m glad I’ll only have to wait about 3 weeks to swing a club and not several months.

The last poll of 2005 is closing soon. Tell us what your driving average is. Vote now and be honest!

Today is Tiger Woods’ 30th birthday. Think of all he has done in his career before the age of 30. Amazing.

I’d get him a present for his birthday, but I figure he’s got everything he needs..

The PGA Tour season starts in 7 days folks! Pretty short break it seems.

So what is in store for 2006? I’m going to pose some questions and my opinions and we’ll see how close my answers were when we open up the time capsule at the end of the 2006 season. Comment your answers in and we’ll see who’s closest at the end of ‘06.

Q: Will Tiger continue his domination? Will he win more majors? Will he have children?
A: Until Tiger shows some reason for us to think otherwise, he’ll continue winning at a high clip. He’ll win 1-2 majors. Kids? Not yet.

Q: Will Michelle Wie make a cut in a men’s tournament?
A: I don’t think so. I think she needs to focus on winning on the LPGA Tour. She will (or should) win on the LPGA Tour however.

Q: Will a woman (like Wie) get into the Masters?
A: No. Even if she qualifies.

Q: Who will be the big surprise positive story of the year?
A: Tough one. Let’s go with Ryan Moore.

Q: Will Sergio win a major?
A: No. In fact, he won’t win in 2006 unless he works out his putting and driving woes.

Q: Will DiMarco win a major?
A: Possibly the US Open.

Q: Will Mike Weir come out of his slump?
A: I doubt it.

Q: Will Duval come out of his slump?
A: I doubt it. He may have a flash in a tournament or two, like the Bob Hope.

Q: Will anyone challenge Annika?
A: She’ll get challenges from a few different players throughout the year, but no one player will be a constant threat.

Q: Who will be the meltdown player of the year?
A: Jesper Parnevik. Retief will drop out of the big 5.

Q: Who will lose their tour card after 2006?
A: Nick Price, Corey Pavin

Q: John Daly?
A: Mullets, ciggies, beer and a top 10 or two.

Q: What will be the biggest equipment stories of 2006?
A: Titleist will release a new ball. Taylormade will have the hottest new driver. Range finders will be a dime a dozen soon.

Q: Will the USGA and R&A do anything about the “distance problem?”
A: No. If anyone does anything, it will be Hootie.

Q: Will an LPGA player pose nude in a girlie magazine?
A: Yes. That seems to be the direction they’re going with the bikini calendars etc. popping up. Perhaps Christina Kim, Pat Hurst or Laura Davies?

Q: Will the U.S. win the Ryder Cup?
A: Yes.

I played 18 today. For December 28th that is darn near a miracle in these parts. I even birdied the hardest hole on the front 9. But by the back 9 I was in extreme pain in my right pectoral region.

The pain is from my recent snowboarding trip. I’m a golfer. I’m a skier. I’m not a snowboarder. Though I snowboarded OK, I did manage some pretty hard wipe outs. One wipe out in particular left me in pain in the upper right chest. This wipe out involved me doing some kind of combination cart wheel front flips.

I now fear that I’ve cracked or broken a rib. The pain is certainly located in my ribs and not in the tissue outside. I guess I’m going to have to see the doc. Hopefully it’s only bruised ribs. I’ve read that cracked ribs can take 4 weeks or more to heal, and cracked ribs roughly 12 weeks.

Here’s a shot of Tiger practicing on his own private driving range in Dubai.

More pictures in the HOG Photo Gallery.

Negatives, downers, disappointments, meltdowns…

Michelle Wie DQ

The Michelle Wie DQ is probably the biggest downer story of the year. In part because of her DQ, and partly because of the way her rules infraction was made public by a member of the media whose name rhymes with hamburger.

David Duval

After once holding the world’s #1 ranking and winning the British Open, Duval’s tailspin is one of the biggest in recent history.

Duval earned $7,630 in 20 events. That’s 260th place, and $381 per event ($38.10 for the caddy per event).

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Not much in the golf world this week to discuss, so it’s a good time to review some of the happenings of 2005.

The feel good stories of 2005

Tiger Woods

Tiger’s year is #1 in my book (though these are not in any particular order). Here’s a list of some Tiger nuggets of interest:

Two majors (Masters, British).
6 wins.
Player of the year.
Money title for PGA and world.
1st in scoring.
1st in all-around ranking.
1st in birdie average.
2nd in driving distance (316.1).
5th in putting (1.731).
Longest drive: 408 yards (2nd).
1st in back 9 scoring.
2nd in top 10 finishes.
1st in final round scoring.
1st in par 4 and par 5 birdies.
188th in driving accuracy*.
83rd in total driving*.
Missed 2 cuts.

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