Top 10 Things We Want to See in 2014

Jon Levy

No. 10 – No more bellyaching from the U.S. Golf Association.  With the USGA grabbing a lion’s share of world golf headlines this year by officially adopting Rule 14 -1b, which prohibits the anchoring of a club in making a stroke, let’s just hope the powers that be sit one out for awhile and let the game of golf – which isn’t broken – be.  Please. ‘For the good of the game.’

No. 9 – More high-profile celebrity golf couples like Tiger and Lindsey, or Dustin Johnson and Paulina Gretzky.  Why should the other sports take all the glory? It’s about time golfers got the green and the girl.

No. 8 – A clear understanding of what’s banned – and what isn’t – on the PGA Tour.  After his admission of using a banned ingredient found in deer-antler spray, Vijay Singh and the PGA Tour are wrapped up in a lawsuit that has yet to be solved. Singh – who was suspended earlier this year but then appealed and continued to play – may ultimately win the legal battle when all said and done, but, dude – seriously. Deer-antler spray?

No. 7 – Mic’d-up player-caddie duos.  We all remember Phil and Bones talking it out before his famous 6-iron approach on No. 13 at Augusta in 2010.  Wouldn’t it be cool to listen throughout the whole round?

No. 6 – More announcer-player conflicts.  The Brandel Chamblee/Tiger Woods tiff this year was a bit ridiculous. But golf is entertainment, right? And who’s to say a TV analyst that’s more versed than 99% of us shouldn’t voice an opinion?

No. 5 – Americans break through on the LPGA Tour.  This July’s inaugural International Crown, which will decide the world’s foremost golf nation, could go a long way in elevating the profile of America’s players, who were thrashed by the Europeans in August’s Solheim Cup, and have been dominated by Asian competitors on the LPGA Tour.

No. 4 – A true Tiger-Phil rivalry.  The clock’s ticking on this one and, although we’ve seen snippets of the two best players of the recent era knock gloves over the years, we have yet to really see what we all want: Mono-e-mono bouts down the stretch of multiple majors.

No. 3 – A Cinderella-story win at Pinehurst. Remember Michael Campbell in 2005? Chances are a Tiger, Phil or Rory will win our national title, but it would be way cooler if we witnessed a real-life Tin Cup scenario at one of golf’s most storied venues in Pinehurst No. 2. – without the train-wreck ending, of course.

No. 2 – Tiger Woods win a major.  The drought has to end sometime soon. No, really, it’s feasibly impossible to think Tiger can go yet another year without winning one of golf’s elite championships.  And we thought our financial stability was the only thing to end in 2008.

No. 1 – More Holly Sonders.  Enough said.  

Jon Levy is a former touring professional, NJCAA National Coach of the Year, and Assistant Men’s Golf Coach at the University of Colorado. His Boulder-based company, inspire Golf, focuses on teaching clients the finer aspects of playing the game of golf instead of just improving technique. www.inspiredgolfing.com