Hendren's Hyperbole -- Farewell to a Friend

What’s up Golfdom fans?!? Hendren here after a great weekend of Masters golf. Congrats Bubba! I don’t know what was better, seeing Bubba win or the fact that Tiger keeps proving he is who I thought he was. Either way it was a great weekend. On another note, the entire Golfdom crew was in Kansas City last week, which doesn’t happen often. We had a great time watching the NCAA Championship game and spent some time at the Country Club Plaza. All in all the last ten day in Hyperbole Land have been top-notch.

I did get some sad news a couple of weeks ago. Rockwood Golf Club in Independence, Mo., is no more. Rockwood is the first course that gave me a shot as a superintendent and for that reason has always been a special course to me. Rockwood was a small budget course as of late but had a huge history. President Truman was a member of Rockwood back in the day and it was rumored that many of the gangsters of the 1930s also hung out at Rockwood.

I realize courses are closing their doors at an alarming rate during these tough economic times but I don’t think course owners fully realize the impact this has on maintenance staffs and superintendents specifically. To most course owners the course is just a business opportunity. Nothing could be father from how a superintendent feels about “his” course. Blood, sweat, and more hours than I would care to admit are spent by superintendents at their course doing everything in their power to produce a quality product.

I was reading an article in Golf Business recently that was about ways courses can overcome challenges while motivating and retaining employees. The majority of the article was about clubhouse operations, but course maintenance was touched on as well. The articles talked about how courses are starting to replace assistant superintendent positions with a “crew foreman” and slash the position’s salary by $14,000 while keeping all the responsibility.

Hendren's Hyperbole! -- Celebrating a Tiger Win

What’s up Golfdom fans! It is me, Matt Hendren of Hendren’s Hyperbole back at you after an eventful hiatus.

In January my wife and I welcomed our third child into the world. After two girls I guess the third time really is the charm because I finally got the boy I have been wanting. The funny thing is he was born with a Wolverine beard and is the spitting image of his pop!

I also had the privilege of going to the 2012 GIS with the Golfdom crew. It was a great show and I had the opportunity to meet a lot of new people and catch up with some people I hadn’t seen in a while.

So, yesterday Tiger finally won a tournament. This was his first PGA Tour win since September 13, 2009. Good for Tiger but isn’t that what he is supposed to do? No one makes a big deal when Seth puts out an awesome magazine month after month… that’s what he is supposed to do!

Anyways, this got me thinking about what Tiger might have done to celebrate his first victory in a while. Here’s my shot at Tiger’s top 5 things to do after his big win. Here goes nothing!

Hendren's Hyperbole! Episode 44 -- Maintenance blogs

This past week, over the Thanksgiving holiday, I was just wasting some time surfing the internet -- you know, checking out the Golfdom Daily as I am sure you do quite often -- and I started thinking about the pros and cons of maintenance departments keeping a maintenance blog to help keep members and the public aware of what is happening on the course.

I’ll just start off by saying personally I think the pros by far outweigh the cons. It makes sense to me that by keeping an updated blog about what is happening from a maintenance perspective members and especially greens committees would be less likely to constantly hound you about what is going on and what projects are in the works. Another positive aspect is that superintendents from other courses in your community could check out your blog and possibly use the information you are posting as inspiration for projects at their course. To build on that idea, if a super is having problems convincing the powers that be about a certain project your success story posted on your blog might just be enough to tip the scale in their favor.

As far as cons go I think the biggest issue would be time. Keeping up a blog doesn’t have to take a lot of time but it does take time nonetheless and as a fellow super I know how valuable time is. Even though you have complete control over what is posted on the blog I could see how posting projects and information about your club for the world to view might also be considered negative by some.

Overall, I think the positives by far outweigh the negative regarding a maintenance blog. Shoot me a quick comment and let me know what you think and let me know if you currently have a maintenance blog or are planning on starting one.

-- Matt Hendren

Hendren's Hyperbole! Episode 43 -- My Summit experience

Every now and then you get the opportunity to be a part of something great whether it is by design or it just so happens you are just in the right place at the right time. This past week I had one of those opportunities present itself. Last week I had the pleasure to be a part of the first ever Golfdom Summit.

I realize that to some of you it may sound like I am blowing up the skirt of Golfdom, and to some extent I am, but for those of you who know me, know that any form of praise from me has to be deserved and the Golfdom Summit was one of the highest marks of my golf course maintenance career.

The first ever Golfdom Summit was held at Pinehurst Resort in Pinehurst, N.C., and featured a unique educational experience that combined boardroom/case studies with one-on-one meetings. There were also plenty of networking opportunities including playing historic Pinehurst No.2. Pinehurst No. 2 is one of many courses on my bucket list so I was able to kill two birds with one stone. (Next on my list, Whistling Straits!)

Hendren's Hyperbole! Episode 42 -- Buried, literally, in a bunker

I don’t know about you but for me golf is a sacred time reserved for me, my buddies and occasionally my dad when he can fit me in. It is a four to five hour vacation from normal life. No honey-do lists, no diapers to change, just a time to recharge my batteries. Golf is a time to hang out with good friends, enjoy a few cocktails and swear like a sailor.

At least that is what I thought until I discovered Sunset Hills Memorial Golf Park in Bellevue, Wash. Sunset Hills Memorial Golf Park is a cemetery that features a complete golf hole which allows committed fans of the game to be buried or placed in a permanent golf setting, the nation’s first golf-themed memorial park.

Hendren's Hyperbole! Episode 31 -- Wounded Warrior Project

I receive a lot of forwarded emails from, what seems like, everyone on God’s green earth about all kinds of junk. Most of the time I just delete them without opening them but there are a few people who send me forwarded emails I always open. Sometimes the emails are worth opening and sometimes they are not. The following info was sent to me last week and I thought it was a good story so I wanted to share it with all nine of you who check out my weekly contribution to The Golfdom Daily.

Regardless of your stance on our country and whatever war or conflict we are taking part in this week, one thing has to be unwavering at all times and that is supporting the troops who defend us, our families and our ability to earn a living working on a golf course, the best job in the world!

Here is the email. It is a little wordy but just stick with me.

On Monday, I played the Disney, Lake Buena Vista course. As usual the
 starters matched me with three other players. After a few holes we
 began to get to know each other a bit. One fellow was rather young and
 had his wife riding along in the golf cart with him. I noticed that his
 golf bag had his name on it and after closer inspection; it also said
 "wounded war veterans". When I had my first chance to chat with him I
 asked him about the bag. His response was simply that it was a gift. I
 then asked if he was wounded and he said yes. When I asked more about
 his injury, his response was "I'd rather not talk about it, sir".


Over a few holes I learned that he had spent the last 15 months in an
 army rehabilitation hospital in San Antonio, Texas. His wife moved there
 to be with him and he was released from the hospital in September. He
 was a rather quiet fellow; however, he did say that he wanted to get
 good at golf. We had a nice round and as we became a bit more familiar
 I asked him about the brand new set of Ping woods and irons he was
 playing. Some looked like they had never been hit. His response was
 simple. He said that this round was the first full round he had played
 with these clubs.


Later in the round he told me the following. As part of the discharge
 process from the rehabilitation hospital, Ping comes in and provides
 three days of golf instruction, followed by club fitting. Upon
 discharge from the hospital, Ping gives each of the discharged veterans,
 generally about 40 soldiers, a brand new set of custom fitted clubs
 along with the impressive golf bags.


The fellow I met was named Ben Woods and he looked me in the eye and
 said that being fitted for those clubs was one of the best things that
 ever happened to him and he was determined to learn to play golf well
 enough to deserve the gift Ping had given him. Ben is now out of the
 service medically discharged just a month ago. He is as fine a young
 man as you would ever want to meet.


The story in the email is all good and great but I wanted to know if it was real or just some Ping planted propaganda. It turns out it is real! The program referenced in the email above is referring to Ping being a Gold Sponsor of Disabled Sports USA’s Wounded Warrior Disabled Sports Project. Men and women severely wounded in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan can participate in one of more than 60 summer long sports rehabilitation programs, one of which is golf. Other golf industry related sponsors include, Tee It Up For The Troops, the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club Charitable Foundation and the PGA of America.

I’m probably not passing along anything you weren’t already aware of but for those of you who were not aware of this program I just wanted to pass along what I felt was a good story. For more information on the Wounded War Project visit their website at www.woundedwarriorproject.org.

Until next week,

-- Matt Hendren

Hendren's Hyperbole! Episode 28 -- Are You Flogging Kidding Me?

A few weeks back I wrote about a book written by James Pomerantz titled Tough Guys Always Play From The Tips: A Unisex Guide to Golf, Tough Guys and the Neutered Weenie Fraternity Created By Such an Insane Game. Well, hold on to your manly hat Mr. Pomerantz because I have found something way worse than golf to blame the wussification of America on.

Has anyone heard of Flogton? I didn’t think so. Flogton, (“not golf” spelled backward) according to the AGA, or Alternative Golf Association, is all the rage! Flogton is a version of “golf” (I use the term golf loosely) for candyasses who can’t hack it playing by the rules everyone else plays by so they have to invent their own game so everyone can excel. What a load of B.S. The fact that everyone can’t be awesome at golf it what makes it so attractive to me! If everyone could play like the pros I wouldn’t play! I would go bowl or play some other lame “sport.”

Check out the rules for basic Flogton…… apparently there are new rules the better you get. After you conquer one level, or shoot a score acceptable by the AGA, the rules get a little stiffer. If you get too good at Flogton you might not be able to use a tee from anywhere on the course and penalty strokes might start counting and you might not be allowed to pick up your ball and throw it! Watch out!
------

Rules for Flogton Basic

Use these rules for the first three levels of Flogton

• Move up: Start a par-3 hole 50 yards closer to the green, a par-4 hole 100 yards closer to the green, and a par-5 hole 150 yards closer to the green.
• Don’t dawdle: No more than one practice swing per shot permitted. Violating this rule results in a penalty stroke. (If your real swing misses the ball, however, don’t count that.)
• Tee it up: Use a tee on any shot.
• Bump it: Improve your lie by one club length anywhere but on the green.
• Toss it: Once per hole you can use your hands to toss a “stroke.” (Try it from a bunker!)
• No penalties: Hit it OB or into a hazard? Lose a ball? Either reload or drop near the point where the ball disappeared.
• Putting particulars: Leave the flagstick in – and if you hit it, consider your ball in the hole! Don’t mark the ball – and when it’s your turn, putt until you’re in the hole or have taken two strokes, whatever is sooner. Flogton Basic has a three-putt maximum.
-----

What a joke. If you suck at golf bad enough to make up your own game just stick to something you are good at, like Halo! Seriously, when I read about Flogton it got me fired up. How are we going to grow the best sport on earth if tomorrow's golfers are too busy playing freakin' Flogton to learn the game of golf?

What are your thoughts on Flogton? Go to the official Flogton website and let me know what you think.

Oh yeah! I almost forgot because I am so fired up about this dumbass Flogton! This week is the British Open and with a major comes another edition of The Golfdom Hackoff! In case you are not aware The Golfdom Hackof is a fantasy golf league Golfdom hosts during every major. It is a lot of fun and best of all it is free! Here’s how to sign up….

The Hackoff is going to be at http://golf.fantasysports.yahoo.com/golf just like in the past. Click on "Sign up now!" for "Tee it Up!" fantasy golf (it's the only fantasy golf game they have.) Once you create your team, click "join a group." The group ID is 17466 and the group name is The Great Golfdom Hackoff (Yes I know 'hackoff' is spelled hack-off but I was limited in spaces to enter a name and I had to have the name be The Great Golfdom Hackoff!)



You will need a password to join the group. The password is golfdom123.



If you have signed up in the past just sign in and make your picks for this weekend. If not, what are you waiting for? You could win a number of great prizes! Jones scored some sweet Spy sunglasses for the winner of the U.S. Open, maybe he'll come up with something cool again for the British Open! All you have to do is sign up for your chance to win some great prizes and go down in history as the first British Open edition Hackoff Champion! (We really need to get a trophy with the winner's names engraved on them... I'll have Jones work on that!)

Until next week!

-- Matt Hendren

Hendren's Hyperbole! Episode 27 -- Family Togetherness

Welcome back to another riveting edition of Hendren’s Hyperbole! I hope everyone had a great 4th of July holiday weekend. I spent the weekend at the lake on my boat just hanging with my family. Anyways, enough with the pleasantries, let’s get to it.

Does anyone feel that golf is kind of their time away from the family, four hours to just hang out with friends and do something you love? I do, most of the time. I am not going to lie to you and tell you I've never played golf with my wife because I have, a few times. I actually had a pretty good time playing a round with her but it is not the same as playing with friends. There was very little beer drinking going on and absolutely no cigar smoking and how many time can you feel good about out-driving your wife? The answer is never, if you were wondering.

The following press release is what brought this topic up…..

• Kiawah Island’s “Family Tee” program – Developed as a way for beginner golfers to get out and learn the game of golf, it is also a great way to encourage family togetherness. The program runs all summer long (May 30 – Sept. 4) on Osprey Point, Turtle Point, Cougar Point and Oak Point golf courses. Starting times are in 15-minute intervals from 6pm and 7:30pm. Everyone is required to play from the family tees (ranging for 100 to 200 yards per hole) allowing the whole family the fun of playing together. An adult must accompany children and visa versa. Adults pay $45 per round, children under 17 play free of charge.

I understand needing to come up with new and inventive ways to encourage play at your course; I really do, but encouraging family togetherness!?! I think the line has been crossed! Families are great, I think mine is the best but my golf time is sacred to me. After all, we're only talking about four hours to yourself every once in a while! I just think that a guy's time on the course and his time in the restroom are two areas that should be free from mandatory family togetherness!

Fire me a comment and let me know what you think!

-- Matt Hendren

Hendren's Hyperbole! Episode 25 -- U.S. Open Results

Hendren here, of Hendren’s hyperbole! Thanks for checking back again this week! I hope all you fathers had a great father’s day weekend. I had a great one. I watched as much of the U.S. OPEN as I could, hung out with my kids and spent some time at the pool. All in all it was a great weekend.

Congratulations to Gumsguys for winning the inaugural U.S Open Golfdom Hackoff. Also, congrats to Long Knockers and Nowhere Near Scratch for taking 2nd and 3rd. Some sweet prizes are headed your way, or will be as soon as you you all email Seth (sjones@questex.com) with your mailing address and true identities! I hope everyone that signed up enjoyed it, except you Neuty. I hope you had a horrible time!

Stay tuned, everyone, for info on the British Open edition of the Golfdom Hackoff taking place July 14th-17th.

I watched a lot of the Open this past weekend for several reasons. The first reason being that it is my favorite tournament of the year. The second reason is I wanted to see if Rory could hold it together. The third reason was because Tiger wasn’t playing.

I am still kind of in shock that Rory kicked everyone’s ass the way he did. He made it look easy. Is he really that dominant of a golfer? I thought the Open’s setup was supposed to be one of the most difficult of the year. Why were there so many players under par for the tournament? 20 players were under par for the tournament. I know the weather had an effect, but... whatever. It left me scratching my head. Did you think it was too easy?

I just hope Rory is the real deal. I hope he becomes the next big deal in professional golf and not just another really talented golfer who never reaches his full potential. Time will tell.

Until next week!

-- Matt Hendren

Hendren's Hyperbole! Episode 23 -- Sissifying America?!?

Welcome back to Hendren’s Hyperbole. I hope you all had a great weekend and your week is off to a good start. How about Jones playing golf at Sunflower Hills, which is essentially in my back yard, and not even throwing an invite my way! I see how you are Jones. I am not going to lie, it hurts a little. I know he didn’t invite me because he is tired of getting beat like a Grand Canyon mule but it’s still bush league, bush league I tell you!

Anyway….

I think you will all get a kick out of this. There was an article I read on how golf is the cause of the extinction of tough guys. Apparently there is a book; Tough Guys Always Play From The Tips: A Unisex Guide to Golf, Tough Guys and the Neutered Weenie Fraternity Created By Such an Insane Game, written by James Pomerantz, which delves into why golf is the cause of tough guys going extinct.

I have not read the book, nor will I, because it is a ridiculous take and I don’t want to give any of my hard-earned money to the idiot, I mean author, who decided it was his place to blame golf for all of societies short comings. Short comings in his eyes anyways.

Don’t take my word, decide for yourself. Here are a few excerpts from the book..

“The popularity of golf and the decline of the American Tough Guy certainly have a direct connection,” Pomerantz said. “If they don’t, then can someone please explain plaid pants to anyone with an IQ above concrete? Think about this. While alcohol is forbidden on the field of play in baseball, football and other manly sports, it’s not only available, but encouraged in golf. In contrast, try downing a cold one while coaching your kid’s Little League team. Also, on the exertion scale of physical effort, golf falls in just a hair short of playing poker or sleeping. Finally, football and baseball have complex rules and umpires to prevent cheating of any kind. Meanwhile, on the golf course, players are perfectly content to skip a stroke, take a mulligan, move a lie, concede an easy putt and kick a ball out of the tall grass when no one is looking. In summary, golf is an exertion-free game for alcoholic blowhards.”



Pomerantz points out that golf is a game that rank amateurs can play at a professional level from time to time.
 
“Where else can an overweight, middle-aged, half-in-the-bag Fox News addict hit a shot better than Tiger Woods?” he added. “Put Tiger Woods on a 150 yard par 3 with Skippy the Accountant, and let them each hit a bucket of balls toward the green. I guarantee Skippy gets a shot closer to the pin than Tiger at least once, if not more, during the challenge. Now, take Skippy and tell him to chase Michael Vick out of the pocket a few times. Just have a defibrillator and an EMS team standing by.”



In the final analysis, the culture of golf is in direct conflict with the culture of men, and that’s why Pomerantz thinks it is one of the key factors that is sissifying America.
 
“You know, mothers tell their sons to study hard, get a good education, make the right friends and be nice to people,” he said. “Well, that’s like asking the Dalai Lama to work at Haliburton. Life is about confrontation and confidence, perseverance and integrity. Golf is about drinking, cheating and competition with as little effort as humanly possible. After all, how has golf, a seemingly candy-ass, pull your dress down, non-contact, don't make a sound sport become the most popular amateur sport in America for men of ALL ages?”

This whole thing is ridiculous! What do you think? Shoot me a comment and let me know. But, I guess it is fairly entertaining.

The U.S. Open is only two short weeks away and we will be having another Golfdom Pick’em Challenge, U.S. Open edition. Check back to the Golfdom Daily for more information coming soon!

--Matt Hendren

Hendren's Hyperbole! Episode 22 -- Memorial Day Edition

Welcome back to Hendren’s Hyperbole! I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend. I had a great weekend even though I couldn’t get out and play a round. I just enjoyed spending time with my family. Hopefully you not only had a great three-day weekend at the lake, but you also had a chance to wave a flag and remember what the holiday stands for... I know we did at the Hendren house.

I can’t believe this is the 22nd episode of Hendren's Hyperbole! I figured Jones would send me packing after the 2nd. I guess I could still get canned... especially if someone doesn’t start leaving some comments!

There was lots of golf on the tube this past weekend. Tom Watson rallied to win the senior PGA championship. At the age of 61 that’s pretty incredible. Keegan Bradley earned his first PGA Tour victory at the HP Byron Nelson Championship over Ryan Palmer and Luke Donald won the BMW PGA Championship beating Lee Westwood in a playoff. Donald’s victory moves him to 2nd in the Fed-Ex Cup standings. He only trails Bubba Watson by 29 points for the top spot. Over all this last weekend was a great weekend to log endless hours watching golf.

Well, because this is a short week due to the holiday my post is going to be rather short. Check back in next week and I will fill you all in on why golf is the main cause for tough guys going extinct.

Until next week…!

-- Matt Hendren

Hendren's Hyperbole! Episode 17 -- Mucho gusto, me llamo Golfdom?

Welcome to Hendren’s Hyperbole broadcasting live from the beautiful Dominican Republic! What an awesome country! Well, at least the drive from the airport to the resort and the beach at the resort is pretty stinking awesome! We are going to go play Golf Punta Blanca, a Nick Price design today and hit Corales, a Tom Fazio course at Puntacana Resort, tomorrow. I love vacation! Nothing to do but golf, drink, eat and lay on the beach! I'll share some photos and stories on the golf down there next week.

In my last post I reluctantly stated the obvious. As much as it pains me to say it, I am officially off the Johnny Vegas bandwagon. Because I am on vacation I am not logging the usual amount of golf watching, so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to share a story involving one Mr. Johnny Vegas.

A few months ago, when Johnny was playing golf with a little passion, Seth called and told me he had secured me a spot to take part in a mass media phone interview with Johnny Vegas, Camilo Villegas and Angel Cabrera. Needless to say I was pumped! I was going to get an opportunity to ask my boy Johnny Vegas a few questions... or so I thought.

I asked Seth if the phone interview was going to be in English. He told me the first half of the interview of going to be in Spanish and the second half was going to be in English. No worries, I just have to listen to a few questions and answers in Spanish and then it would be my time to shine, my time to earn my keep here on The Golfdom Daily.

I spent some time writing down a few questions to ask, things I thought I could use as material for my post. Needless to say, I had some awesome questions, and was ready to roll.

Also working in my favor was my wife. Erica has a minor in Spanish so I convinced her to take a few hours off work and listen to the interview with me and translate some of the interview I couldn’t understand. Foolproof plan, right? Not so fast.

The interview started and I had no idea what was going on. Is this Spanish? The extent of my Spanish speaking and understanding ability is what I learned from the band Sublime’s song “Caress Me Down.” You know the one: “mucho gusto me llamo Bradley!” I know that means, “Glad to meet you, my name is Bradley!"

That’s it. That is all the Spanish I know and unfortunately my name isn’t Bradley and neither was anyone I was interviewing. This is when I turned to Erica and said “What are they saying?” Erica proceeded to shush me, because she was trying to take in every word. After a few minutes I asked again "What are they saying, come on, hook me up!”

To add insult to injury, I heard them mention "Golfdom" by name (apparently, "Golfdom" in Spanish is "Golfdom.") -- so maybe they were talking about me. Maybe they were talking about my awesome questions! Perhaps they were even asking my question! (I had emailed a question in before the actual interview.)

This is where the whole interview started falling apart, at least for me. Erica told me they were talking too fast and it had been a long time since she had to translate anything. Basically, she tried her best but was no help. CRAP! Oh well, on to plan B, the English portion of the interview...

I waited and waited and waited, listing to what I am sure was a riveting question and answer session. All of a sudden I hear several people say “gracias!’ one after another and then there was a click and the phone was dead.

What just happened? The interview ended without an English portion? SERIOUSLY! SETH TOLD ME THERE WAS GOING TO BE AN ENGLISH PORTION! I just wasted the last hour of my life!

I was sort of pissed but then Erica started laughing and suggested I try to get an English transcript. Brilliant! All the great ideas I take credit for usually come from my better half.

Unfortunately, I was unable to get an English transcript despite Seth's email to Johnny's PR person. So instead of getting to read about the awesome interview I had with Johnny Vegas, you get to read about what a train wreck the whole interview was.

I should have known after that debacle Johnny Vegas was going to break my heart and run over me with his “bandwagon.” But hey, at least I got a good story out of it!

-- Matt Hendren

Hendren's Hyperbole! Episode 1 -- Fantasy versus Reality

Editor's note: Beginning with this installment, the Golfdom blog will feature a regular column from Matt Hendren, a superintendent for the city of Kansas City, Kan., and all-around golf nut.

Welcome to the inaugural entry to Hendren’s Hyperbole! This will serve as a weekly outlet to rant about all things golf and golf related. Now while I have absolutely none of the needed skills to be a great golfer, I do have all the needed skills to rant and rave about the 2011 PGA Tour Season. Check back here weekly for additional updates.

Believe it or not the 2011 PGA Tour kicks off this week in Kapalua, Hawaii with the Hyundai Tournament of Champions January 6th through the 9th. Being a big fan of all fantasy sports I decided to do a little research on World Golf Rankings versus fantasy rankings. If you currently participate in a fantasy golf league or are considering joining one I think you will be interested in the difference. Let’s compare the current top ten World Golf Rankings versus the average top ten fantasy draft golf cheat sheet.

World Golf Ranking
1. Lee Westwood, Eng
2. Tiger Woods, USA
3. Martin Kaymer, Deu
4. Phil Mickelson, USA
5. Graeme McDowell, N.Ire
6. Jim Furyk, USA
7. Steve Stricker, USA
8. Paul Casey, Eng
9. Luke Donald, Eng
10. Rory McIlroy, N.Ire

Fantasy ranking
1. Tiger Woods, USA
2. Phil Mickelson, USA
3. Zach Johnson, USA
4. Geoff Ogilvy, Aus
5. Padraig Harrington, Ire
6. Steve Stricker, USA
7. Jim Furyk, USA
8. Hunter Mahan, USA
9. Henrik Stenson, Swe
10. Dustin Johnson, USA

Only five of the current World Golf Ranking top ten are on the average fantasy ranking top ten. It would seem to me the top 10 on the World Golf Ranking would be a safe bet for any fantasy golf roster. They are, after all... the World Golf Ranking top 10!

All golfers listed on the fantasy top 10 are indeed top 25 golfers with two exceptions: Henrik Stenson, listed 9th on the fantasy ranking, is 53rd on the World Golf Ranking and Geoff Ogilvy, listed 4th on the fantasy ranking, is 27th on the World Golf Ranking.

Another interesting note: check out how many American golfers are on the top 10 fantasy golf list, and how many are on the actual World Golf Ranking top 10. We're looking at 7 American golfers on the fantasy top 10, but only 4 on the World Golf Ranking top 10. This is indeed a case of fantasy versus reality, and I'm sure those American golfers wish it were the other way around (I know I do).

Like all fantasy sports, fantasy golf is a crap shoot and the “sleeper” pick may be the pick to make but probably not break your fantasy roster. I just found it interesting to compare the World Golf and fantasy golf ranking top 10.

OK, that's it for for my first installment of Hendren's Hyperbole! I'll be back with more hyperbole next week, after we've seen one week of actual results. Thanks for reading, everyone!

-- Matt Hendren