The State of Australia

Whiffling Straits is proud to be joined once again by Australian professional golfer and golf journalist Grant Dodd, for an update on the state of Australian golf in America. Thanks for "coming back," Grant! I trust your red-eye flight on the Cyberspace Express (where they never charge extra for baggage, even the emotional kind) was a pleasant one. Now let's get right down to it ...

On Sunday, 29-year-old Aussie heart-throb Adam Scott returned to the PGA Tour winner's circle for the first time since 2008. By all accounts he's a very likable bloke and popular amongst his peers, so it's good to see him back on top. Did you ever have any doubt that he would be a winner again? To what do you attribute his recent struggles? And do you think he's back for good -- or is one win (plus the Australian Masters, of course) just one win? (Image: AP, via golf.com)

 Actually, it was the Australian Open, but what's a title between friends! I always thought that he would win again, but I wasn't sure at what level. He seemed to be suffering such a crisis of confidence, particularly with the putter, that I wondered whether he had contracted the yips. And as Sam Snead said, "When you've got 'em, you've got 'em". Very few guys, Bernhard Langer excepted, ever truly excel at this game once they have caught the yips so I'm pleased to see that this wasn't the case.

 At his best, he is one of the most dynamic players in the world, a gifted ball striker who most definitely has the potential to spend the next decade in the world top ten. It really depends on his hunger and drive, and I can't speak for that.

[Note: One of the reasons I like getting Grant's perspective is that here in the States, it's all too easy sometimes to get tunnel vision about American tournaments and not fully appreciate what's happening elsewhere in the world – as evidenced by my confusing the Australian Open and the Australian Masters (which Tiger Woods in fact won in 2009, his last victory before all the unpleasantness hit the fan). So thanks for straightening me out, Grant!]

Who is Geoff Ogilvy? Let's Ask an Aussie ...

In the wake of his second consecutive win at the season-opening SBS (nee Mercedes) Championship, Geoff Ogilvy is once again being hailed as a golfer to watch. In 2009, he won twice early on, adding an impressive conquest at the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship to his Mercedes victory. But after that ... we didn't hear a whole lot from him.

     So who is the real Geoff Ogilvy? Is he a true up-and-comer on the verge of greatness or just another golfer who gets hot here and there, now and then? And what's he like away from the course? Is he a good guy? He strikes me as the kind of golfer I could really get behind, but before jumping on the Ogilvy bandwagon, I want to know more. And it feels like there's a lot we Americans don't know about the lanky lunker from Down Under.
     His official PGA Tour profile tells us this much:

Was given a cut-down club by his dad at age 7 [good idea, Dad!] and progressed to a scratch handicap by age 16...Talented junior athlete in many sports, winning numerous athletics medals at state and national level...Interested in history of golf [excellent!]...Avid guitar enthusiast who has several Gibson guitars at home [good, good]...Ogilvy Family Foundation benefits children's hospitals and other organizations that assist children [wonderful].

All good stuff. But there must be more! So to dig a little deeper I went to Australia – in a "magic of the internet" kind of way – and asked former touring pro, current wine aficionado and writer for the Australian Golf Digest Grant Dodd to share a few insights from Ogilvy's native land (a Whiffling Straits exclusive!) ...