Golf can be tough, anyone who’s ever picked up a club can tell you that. Heck, even professionals struggle every once in a while. And when things take a turn for the worse on the golf course, sometimes the only medicine for a sickly-struck shot is a “gently” tossed club.

When Muhammad Ali passed, among those who paid tribute to him was Lydia Ko. “Thank you very much for being an inspiration to all! RIP Muhammad Ali.” Anyone who follows golf has to appreciate Ko’s words. She’s a 19-year-old who would have known Ali only by what she has seen on video or read on the Internet. Sadly, she grew up in an era in which the greatest boxer of the ‘60s and ‘70s – and arguably of all time – had already descended into the depths of the disease that would lead to his death at the age of 74. But it takes one great athlete to recognize and appreciate another.

Yesterday, millions of Americans honored the brave men and women who have lost their lives while serving in the U.S. military. Memorial Day originated shortly after the Civil War when the Grand Army of the Republic – the Union Army’s veteran’s organization – established the last Monday of May as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the fallen with flowers. From fighting for independence to liberating the oppressed, America’s history is deeply intertwined with its military exploits. Did you know that golf and the military also have a past? Long before Rory McIlroy cruised to his maiden U.S. Open title at Congressional Country Club, the Bethesda, MD club was home to some other major firsts. The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) – the predecessor to today’s CIA and Special Forces – leased the club as a training ground for spies and commandos. Marksmanship training on the driving range put a whole new spin on picking your target while practicing throwing hand grenades into bunkers certainly defined the explosion shot.

Have you ever gone to a range or the practice area at a golf club and noticed how many people are working on their driving? Despite the fact drivers may be needed only 14 times on a standard 18-hole course, they have a particular fascination with golfers, particularly hackers or those who play only a few times a year. There is something fantastic about standing on a mat or on the grass and blasting away to see how far a ball can be driven. If it goes straight and true and beyond 200 yards, it's a great feeling of pride. If it’s sliced or hooked, it’s the surest way to, well, drive you crazy.

On October 11, 2000 at the Invensys Classic in Las Vegas, NV team Titleist introduced what would become one of the industry’s most popular golf balls. The fledgling project dubbed Pro V1 (“Pro” for professional, “V” for the veneer layer of Urethane and “1” since it was the first) was put into play by nearly 50 professionals that week including eventual champion Billy Andrade. On the heels of its record-setting success, a second model – the Pro V1x – was introduced three years later in 2003.

Photo cred: http://nichehacks.com/ Here’s an idea to have some fun watching the U.S. Open next month. Get together with a bunch of friends and put some money into a “pool” in which the winner collects the entire share. I’ve been involved in golf pools for several years, usually involving 20 teams, each investing $10 a piece. We each pick four players, but to make it interesting we automatically eliminate the major contenders such as Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy. These two will automatically be considered favorites to win, along with Jason Day. The winning team is the one with the lowest score.

Russell Knox proved one thing last Saturday at TPC Sawgrass: whether you’re a seasoned professional or picking up a club for the first time, hitting a golf ball over water is tough. Standing on the tee of the Stadium Course’ famed 17th hole, Knox was a few strokes off the lead and feeling pretty good. That all disappeared when the Scotsman donated three, shiny new golf balls to the pond surrounding the infamous island green. His eventual sextuple-bogey 9 (which sadly isn’t the worse score in history on that hole), followed by a closing bogey on 18, dropped him from inside the top-10 to a tie for 40th. One ball, two balls, three balls more; watch as 17 destroys your score.

It’s PLAYERS Championship week and that means a steady diet of golf the way Pete Dye intended it to be: challenging, dramatic and anything but boring. Dye’s Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass has a history as unique as its infamous 17th hole. Back in the early 1980s, then PGA TOUR commissioner Deane Beman bought 415 acres of wooded wetlands and swamp for $1. He then commissioned Dye to design a golf course that favored no particular player and focused heavily on spectator viewing. Dye delivered: the Stadium Course has a wide variety of short and long par-3s, par-4s and par-5s. Oh, and that island green? We can thank Dye’s wife, Alice, for that amazing golf hole, it was her idea after all.

Did you know that golf is one of the country’s most popular sports? Every year more than 24 million Americans play 455 million-plus rounds of golf. That equates to roughly 20 rounds per golfer annually. Did you also know that golfers lose more than two golf balls per round on average? It’s ok to admit; we’ve all been there waiving sadly as our golf ball takes a hard right turn and splashes down in the pond just off the 18th green. Losing a golf ball can be an emotional experience. You may have had your first birdie with that golf ball. You might have used it to shoot your best round ever. Heck, people even frame their hole-in-one golf balls if they don’t lose it first.