The Common Golfer

If you’ve purchased golf clubs off eBay, there’s a good chance they’re counterfeit!  The group operated out of Great Britain and Thailand, and sold primarily counterfeit golf equipment and fake golf balls that often times exploded when hit.  They also sold accessories, clothing, airline lounge passes, and memory sticks.

The golf clubs, such as the fake Odyssey putter shown above, cost less than $5 to make and were typically sold for over $160.  The conspirators were able to successfully operate for nearly five years under the radar by providing refunds to any customers that complained.

The leader of the group, Gary Bellchambers, lived in a very modest house in Great Britain and drove a beat up car (part of his effort to not draw attention to himself).  However, he went by the nickname “The Man” in Thailand where he owned multiple homes, and part of a $2.5 million yacht.

The group was finally caught, after a disgruntled customer complained to authorities.  Her multiple emails weren’t responded to by the company because Bellchambers was busy “relaxing” in Thailand at the time.

To give an example of how much money was made, in November of 2006 at least $119,000 was made.  Unfortunately, I have a feeling eBay isn’t going to be providing refunds if you discover that you’ve been duped!

Now you can desperately try to outrun Tiger Woods’ wife in a Cadillac Escalade!  A new online game called Tiger Woods Wife Outrun, is becoming a huge hit across the Internet.

In the game, Tiger sits in the passenger seat as one of his mistresses drives the Escalade.  Running behind the car with a golf club is Tiger’s wife Elin.  The object is to collect golf clubs and trophies, and avoid trees, rocks, and fire hydrants.  If you crash the Escalade, Elin runs in front of the car and bashes Tiger over the head with the golf club!

The game is surprisingly addictive, and has already been played over a million times.  Although, I have to admit I wish something else would happen soon in the golf world; I’m getting tired of only talking about Tiger!

Is it responsible to post pics like this? Probably not – but neither is cheating on your wife! So we’ll call it even

I’m not suggesting anything, but next time you see Tiger Woods’ giant biceps, this story may give you pause.  Dr. Tony Galea, whose revolutionary “blood spinning” techniques helped Woods recover from knee surgery, is being charged with three counts of illegally importing and selling drugs.

Galea is popular in the sports world, and his patients have included Olympic gold medalists, NFL players, and NHL players.  Most notable on the list of “illegal” drugs is Actovegin, which is a drug containing extracts of calf’s blood.  It promotes healing and increases stamina, and has been banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency.  Actovegin is also not approved for sale in Canada – part of the reason for Galea’s pending legal issues.

Galea claims that the charges are due to a misunderstanding because while not approved by Canadian health authorities, he is permitted to use the drugs by the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons.  The other drugs, less related to sports, are Ambien (a sleep aid) and Vicodin.

Again: I am in no way suggesting that Tiger Woods is using performance-enhancing drugs.  But these allegations could not have come at a worse time for Woods.  And if we’ve learned anything these past two weeks, it’s that we don’t know Tiger as well as we thought we did.  Previously, being tied to controversial doctors has not bode well for other athletes.  What do you think?  Is it possible that Tiger has been cheating on more than just his wife?

Every time I post something related to Tiger Woods lately, I swear to myself that it will be the last post related to his infidelity.  But there’s nothing else to write about!  Yes Jim Furyk just won the Chevron, yes Q School is going on, bla bla, boring!

Here’s the silver lining to all the Woods drama: if you act fast, you can get Tiger Woods figurines for dirt cheap at Toys ‘R’ Us!  Since all the cheating/porn stars/etc. went public last week, the figures have been put on clearance.  I think I’ve found stocking stuffers for my entire family

Apparently, Colin Montgomerie’s driving skills are as bad as his social skills.  The European Ryder Cup Captain/Jerk had his driver’s license suspended for six months after he was cited for driving 37 mph in a 30 mph zone.

The speeding offense added 3 points to his driving record, putting him at the legal maximum of 12 points.  In Scotland, District Judge Gerald Chalk also hit Montgomerie with a £850 fine, £4,000 court costs and a £15 victim surcharge (not really sure why there’s a “victim surcharge” when there weren’t any victims).

Surprisingly, I do have things other than Tiger Woods to talk about!  I love me some putt-putt, and this seems like a really cool idea.  I wish I lived nearby, so I could try it out!

Spirit Airlines is running an “Eye of the Tiger” sale, trying to cash in on the buzz being generated by Tiger Woods current family problems.  The sale depicts an actual tiger behind the wheel of a Cadillac Escalade crashed in to a fire hydrant.

It’s a jungle out there! Make sure you avoid all the obstacles and get the lowest fares. Take advantage of fares from only $9* each way!

I have a feeling this promotion is going to anger a lot of people.  Personally, it doesn’t anger me – I think Tiger deserves whatever he gets for cheating on his wife, and I find the ad funny.  However, I still find the move questionable on the airline’s part.  The shocker here should be that you can get a plane ticket for $9!  Why risk alienating potential customers?

This Taiwanese news station couldn’t stand the lack of video/photo surrounding the Tiger Woods car accident.  So they did what any reputable news outfit would do: they made their own!  The best part is how they intermingle actual video of the Florida Highway Patrol with a re-enactment of Tiger getting beat down by Elin.

Jesper Parnevik is suing golf clothier J. Lindberg for not paying for his use in the company’s marketing.  The lawsuit seeks $1.3 million.

For years, Parnevik was the primary player on tour for J. Lindberg and at one point was a shareholder in the company.  Stefan Engstrom with J. Lindberg said, “It is sad that it has been like this, but his contract was in 2008. It is not true that we have used him in our marketing. Jesper has been valuable for the company and built up the brand, but our primary name the last five years is a Colombian player Camilo Villegas.”

I have done absolutely no research on this subject, but I do vaguely recall having seen Parnevik’s face on some J. Lindberg material somewhere over the past year.  More importantly…what ever happened to Parnevik?  He was always one of my most favorite players to watcy, and roughly 10 years ago he was one of the most dominant players on tour!