Plane door landed on golf course

And it had landed right on the 16th fairway of the Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa’s championship golf course.

The plane, owned by Aston Aviation and MEDCP Aviation, is used primarily for charters, said Jeff Berkowitz, who manages Aston.

“It was the most random Titleist 910 D3 Driver thing ever,” said Sheldon K. Powell, the property manager of Hallandale Beach’s Duo Condominium, which the door just barely missed during its descent.

The plane was diverted to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, where it safely landed at 4:10 p.m., said Kathleen Bergen, spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration. Bergen added the FAA was investigating how the door came unhinged.

“There was nothing wrong with it at all,” he said. “I really feel lucky to be alive.”

But how the door became the latest hazard on the 16th fairway on one of the two days a year the course is closed for maintenance is a miracle, said Ed Walls,
Where it landed was also precarious — just 50 feet away from the fence separating the course and the condo’s pool deck. Nearby is the RK Diplomat Shopping Plaza, which houses Winn-Dixie and the popular Panera Bread restaurant.

The mysterious door came from a nine-seat Canadair CL-60 Jet that had taken off about 3:40 p.m. Wednesday from the Opa-locka Executive Airport on its way to Pompano Beach.

Powell said he was amazed there wasn’t Mizuno MP-59 Irons anybody out on the pool deck.

Berkowitz had just gotten off the twin-engine plane after a business trip to Vegas with eight of his colleagues, including his two sons.

After dropping off their passengers, the two pilots, whose names have not been released, took off to return the plane to its home base in Pompano Beach.

“If it was going to happen, it happened on a good day,” said Powell.

Stewart Pulley, a professor with discount golf clubs Miami Dade College’s School of Aviation, said losing the door should not affect the pilot’s ability to fly it, adding it’s the wings that keep the plane up.

A number of things could have caused the door to detach, Pulley said, including not closing it properly or a faulty hinge.

Tiger Woods returned to Congressional, AT&T National

As for his golf game, Woods, ranked No. 7 in the world, said he took a few days off after his most recent tournament and has just started cranking up his workouts on the range and in the gym. Since winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March, Woods finished discount golf clubs in a tie for 40th at the Masters, missed the cut in the Wells Fargo Championship (just the eighth missed cut of his career) and wound up in another tie for 40th in The Players Championship this month.

"I love this golf course," Woods told USA Today Sports during a promotional tour in the Washington, D.C., area for the June 28-July 1 AT&T National, which benefits theTiger Woods Foundation. "I think it's a fantastic tee-to-green golf course. You have to drive the ball well to get into some of these flags, but once you get on the greens, there's a lot of pitch to these greens, a lot of movement, usually from back to front.

"I've been through this before," Woods said. "I remember I had a pretty good year in 2000. And I didn't win for a couple months. And the word 'slump' came about. And that's basically the same thing that just happened here. I just played three events, and "When are you back?" Well, I just won a tournament (four) tournaments ago.

"I think that's the nature of the new media business. You've got to be able to stand out somehow to get eyes going to your site or to your medium, and I think that's one of the reasons why there's the criticism that there is."

His 7,500-yard buddy, however, took a beating last year during the U.S. Open. With rains saturating the grounds before and during the second major of the season, the course never could play Taylormade Rocketballz Irons fast and firm. As a result, Rory McIlroy set records en route to an eight-shot romp, finishing what is annually the toughest test in golf at 16-under-par 268. Nineteen other players broke par.

"I would like to see it difficult. I always want to have this golf course difficult or any venue that we host the tournament at," said Woods, who will return to the PGA Tour at theMemorial Tournament next week in Dublin, Ohio. "Unfortunately, because I'm playing the event, I can't influence (the setup) that much — that much. Trust me, I always voice my opinion of how I like the golf course to be, but ultimately it's up to the rules staff and how they want to set it up."

"And placing the ball in the correct spots is vital to give yourself a chance, because a couple of the holes, if you put it above the hole, you're not going to make the putt and more likely you're probably going to end up three-putting unless you make a 6- or 10-footer."

He'll do so in front of the critical eye of the news media and fans. When he won the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the consensus was that Woods was back to his pre-scandal form. After three lackluster starts in succession, the talk now centers on when Woods will be back. Like his golf game of recent vintage, the talk has been up and down.

"I'm headed in the right direction," Woods said of his season to date. "You have to understand, even when I've had some really good years, whether it was in the early 2000s or mid-2000s, whatever it was, even if I was winning golf tournaments, I still felt like I could improve and I could still get better each and every day. I never looked at it and said, 'Wow, that's my peak. I can't get better.' If that was the case, I would have walked.

"I think that one of the things that I am proud of is the fact that I do grind it out," he said. "If I would have TaylorMade R11S Driver packed it in over the course of my career, I would have missed a lot more cuts over my career, especially of late when I have not been playing well. But I fight. I grind it out.

golf getaway with an unparalleled experience in Lake Geneva area

The Geneva National Golf Club features three championship courses designed by the masters, Palmer, Player and Trevino. Carved out of the rolling Wisconsin countryside, all have received a 4½ star rating from Golf Digest magazine. Each 18-hole course is unique in its Titleist 910 D2 Driver layout and design, taking full advantage of the natural surroundings and featuring mature woodlands, lake views and rolling hillsides. You'll also find five sets of tees at each hole, making a wonderful challenge for the experienced golfer while giving the new golfer an enjoyable round.

Set among the rolling slopes of Geneva Lake's southern shore, Abbey Springs Golf Course received a 4 ½ star rating by Golf Digest magazine. Rich in natural wooded beauty, this parkland-style course rises to spectacular views of Geneva Lake and its surrounding hillsides.

Even children can enjoy the golf experience in Lake Geneva at miniature golf course, Paradise Golf Park located on one acre of beautifully landscaped grounds with exquisite cascading waterfalls just minutes from downtown Lake Geneva.

Whatever your experience level, you will enjoy the more than 20 courses found in the Lake Geneva area. Several area courses cater to beginner players, women and juniors through leagues, clinics and special tee times. Even children can enjoy the golf experience in Lake Geneva at a miniature golf course complete with cascading waterfalls and other fun obstacles just minutes from downtown Lake Geneva. Combined with the area's resorts, attractions and dining options, a golf getaway in the Lake Geneva area makes for a fun weekend or a guys' getaway — all less than half a tank of gas from the Chicago area.

Imagine playing on a course designed by some of the biggest names in the game. Gary Player, Lee Trevino, Pete Dye and Bob Cupp have all created championship courses in the area. Or, picture stepping onto a highly rated course as determined by leading national Mizuno MP-69 Irons and travel publications. Golf Digest, Golf Magazine and Conde Nast Traveler have designated several of the area's courses among the best in the region and even the country.

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First opened in 1921, Lake Lawn Resort's championship golf course is set amid 275 lush, tree-lined acres in Delevan and is best known for its stately oaks, deep sand bunkers and subtle undulations. Each hole is set with multiple tee boxes for players of all abilities. Lake Lawn's greens are often the topic of conversation in the 19th hole because of their many tiers.

Just 10 minutes from downtown in Elkhorn, Evergreen Golf Club is a 27-hole public facility featuring rolling greens, sweeping fairways and abundant water hazards. Its East/West course received 4 stars by Golf Digest magazine and was named an outstanding value. Evergreen provides the longest golf season in the area with its continuous cart paths and superior drainage system.

Named by Golf Magazine as one of America's best golf resorts nine years straight, Grand Geneva Resort & Spa is home to two tournament-quality 18-hole courses. The Brute is a par-72, 7,300-yard course rated by Condé Nast Traveler as one of the Top 10 Northern courses in the U.S. With 68 bunkers and huge rolling greens, it's one of the most challenging layouts in the Midwest. The Highlands is a par-71 course originally designed by Jack Nicklaus and Pete Dye, and transformed by Bob Cupp that offers a cultural experience, similar to the scenic hills of Northern Scotland and takes full advantage of the plush, natural landscape of the Wisconsin countryside.

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Fowler emerged the winner

The victory was long-awaited for Fowler, 23, who emerged from Oklahoma State three years ago and almost immediately lost in a playoff, perhaps ratcheting up expectations that dogged him as he toiled in his all-orange Sunday garb as tournaments passed without victory.

"I'm really, really excited for him. He's a member of the band, c'mon," Crane said. "For his sake, I'm thankful it's sooner as opposed to later. I think it just opens the gates from here. I'm just thankful for my friend, who has done a lot of things right. His game is so good.

That wasn't the case when Fowler lofted that wedge shot onto the 18th green in the playoff. It played as the Mizuno MP-59 Irons hardest hole of the day, the green was treacherous, the pin tucked near the left side where a creek came into play.

"It was either going to go there or it might go in the creek," Points said. "The shot he hit was spectacular."

As was the case last month when Fowler was in the gallery for Bubba Watson's victory at the Masters, several of Fowler's tour friends, including Ben Crane, waited around Sunday and were on the 18th green to congratulate him.

"After 20 years of this, I've learned to stay pretty calm," said Fowler's mother, Lynn, referring to all the days of junior golf, amateur golf and now professional golf. "It's easy watching normal rounds. A playoff hole is sort of like watching match play. Every stroke counts, every hole counts. You feel like you're going to throw up every time they swing the club."

That wasn't the case when Fowler lofted that wedge shot onto the 18th green in the playoff. It played as the hardest hole of the day, the green was treacherous, the pin tucked near the left side Titleist 910 D3 Driver  where a creek came into play.

"It was either going to go there or it might go in the creek," Points said. "The shot he hit was spectacular."

The victory was long-awaited for Fowler, 23, who emerged from Oklahoma State three years ago and almost immediately lost in a playoff, perhaps ratcheting up expectations that dogged him as he toiled in his all-orange Sunday garb as tournaments passed without victory.

Crane, along with Watson, Fowler and discount golf clubs Hunter Mahan, make up a goofy group known as the Golf Boys that produced a You Tube video that most consider funny, if not unwatchable.

"To do it at such a great event like this, one of the best fields we face all year, and then to get in a playoff and play two perfect shots like that and seal it with a putt. … That's a pretty cool way to do it."

Tiger is look for new solution

Tiger couldn't have been surprised a few weeks after the Masters by the comments from another ex-coach, Butch Harmon, who said his former pupil looked "robotic" and that he was playing "golf swing," not golf. Harmon wants the man who he helped win eight majors to "feel" his way around the course more, something more akin to the attitude that carried Bubba Watson to his first green jacket.

I was standing behind the Augusta National range on that Friday night after Tiger shot a miserable second-round, 3-over 75. I saw him hit dart after dart into a dark sky. His posture and takeaway didn't look any different than it had at Bay Hill. Obviously, with the golf swing we're dealing with, little subtleties aren't always easily perceptible to the naked eye. Woods shouldn't try to explain his poor performance through an examination of a few minor swing flaws. Tiger is too good for that. He's won too many discount golf clubs tournaments to make his swing bear the burden of his inconsistencies as a ball striker.

I know Foley wants this for Tiger. No good teacher worth his salt wants his player standing over the ball in a pressure situation with a million swing thoughts running through his head.

Perhaps the golf swing has become a convenient way to deflect attention from some of the larger issues in his life. During Masters week, I heard another reporter say of Woods: "It must be hard for him to play well carrying around all that anger."

Yet thanks to the PGA Tour, Woods has a tournament this week at Quail Hollow to try to make amends for his embarrassing performance at the Masters. He can answer all of his critics who say he's done or he can affirm the predictions of his believers who say he'll make it back to No. 1 in the world.

But as Garrison so astutely put it about jazz, it's time for Tiger to lay aside all the swing theory and learn how to play. Harmon said as much in a Wall Street Journal interview.

We probably won't ever know what's going on inside Tiger's head. His swing is as close as we might come to knowing the inner workings of his mind. When he's happy with his swing and winning tournaments, we can suppose, he's happy with his life. Right now that's a fleeting happiness, a tenuous hold on a game that took just two weeks to break down between Bay Hill and the Masters.

"If he ever asked me what I thought he needed to do, I'd tell him, look, go on the practice tee without anybody -- without me, without Sean, without Haney, without a camera, and start hitting golf shots," Harmon said. "Hit some high draws, some low draws, high TaylorMade RocketBallZ fairway wood fades, low fades, move the ball up and down, move it around; don't worry about how you do it and go back to feeling it again."

But as Garrison so astutely put it about jazz, it's time for Tiger to lay aside all the swing theory and learn how to play. Harmon said as much in a Wall Street Journal interview.

We probably won't ever know what's going on inside Tiger's head. His swing is as close as we might come to knowing the inner workings of his mind. When he's happy with his swing and winning tournaments, we can suppose, he's happy with his life. Right now that's a fleeting TaylorMade RocketBallZ Driver happiness, a tenuous hold on a game that took just two weeks to break down between Bay Hill and the Masters.

Even Jack Nicklaus, who has mostly praised the man trying to break his record of 18 majors, has questioned Tiger's mental game since the Masters.

Tiger has had great teachers, from his father, Earl Woods, to Rudy Duran to John Anselmo to Harmon to Haney to his present teacher, Foley. In their own ways they have all helped Tiger's progression as the best player of his era. There isn't a better student of the game than Tiger. He probably has forgotten more about the golf swing than most people ever learn about the mysteries of the game.