Golf

What does National Geographic consider the best island in the world? Tahiti? Capri, Italy? Lord Howe Island, Australia? Nope. According to its recent book, "The 10 Best of Everything," it's actually Nantucket, which takes the coveted spot in the ten best islands category.  Nantucket? No disrespect to the Massachusetts hotspot, but it seems a bit of an odd choice on a list that doesn't even include Hawaii, the Virgin Islands, or the Bahamas. Travel writer Leslie Thomas came up with the list for National Geographic and had the following to say about...

Zach Johnson stood behind the fourth green looking at his club and then the ball that rolled within 4 feet of the hole. "I got lucky," Johnson said about his second shot on the 244-yard par 3 - his 13th hole Thursday - after his tee shot went through the green and stopped in a clump of grass. Three holes later, Johnson was so deep in a greenside bunker that he couldn't even be seen from the other side of the green until he popped up to watch his blast over the ridge to 2 1/2 feet from the cup. Those par-savers were part of a bogey-free 6-under-par 64 that gave him a...

Josh Beckett compared the last three days of his life to being on a reality show. "I'm on ‘Khloe and Lamar Go To Boston' or something," he said while standing in front of the home dugout at Fenway Park on Friday. "How did that happen?" Beckett knows exactly why. We don't need any Kardashians in New England, we have our athletes and they provide plenty of contrived drama. The Red Sox have been a disaster since last September and Beckett is the face of their fall collapse and sickening spring.

Jason Dufner lists Ben Hogan as his hero. At Hogan's Alley, Dufner had the lead halfway through the Colonial with a chance for a Texas two-step that only Hogan has accomplished. Dufner had a bogey-free 6-under 64 on another windy day Friday to reach 11-under 129. A week after winning the Byron Nelson Championship, Dufner had a two-stroke lead over Zach Johnson — the 2010 winner who shot a 67. The only player to win both PGA Tour events in the Dallas-Fort Worth market in the same year was Hogan in 1946.

Ask anyone who either has never played golf, or doesn't play anymore, and their main reason will likely land in one of two categories: It's too expensive. It takes too long. Golf, at least in this country, has always fought an elitist stigma. Not so slow play, but that issue is before us once more after the weekend display from Kevin Na at the Players Championship. To his credit, Na assumed full responsibility for putting himself - and his playing companions - in that situation, baring his soul about the struggles he's had getting comfortable over the ball.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Josh Beckett is at the center of another controversy. This one involves playing golf, not eating fried chicken and drinking beer in the clubhouse during games. Beckett played golf last Thursday, according to a report on 98.5 The Sports Hub. That was a day after the Red Sox announced the righthander had a strained latissimus muscle behind his right shoulder and would miss a start as a result. Beckett was not placed on the disabled list or shut down from any physical activities.

For golfers, spring means a welcome return to the green. When you get on the golf course this season, remember that your muscles and joints are working in ways they haven't for some time. If you don't stretch properly, says Titleist Performance Institute certified instructor Mike Sassarossi, you can cause injuries that plague your entire season. Keeping muscles flexible and joints mobile maintains unrestricted rotation in your upper body while maintaining lower body stability, and allows your core to transfer energy efficiently from your lower to upper body.

Would someone please explain when it was that this country began to completely fall apart? When was it that everything became us vs. them, the rich vs. regular people, the 99 against the 1? Why is it that we have an immovable stalemate in Washington, one that has prolonged what is probably the worst economy we will ever know? How is it that people began sleeping in Dewey Square? When is it that we stopped even pretending to work things out? To that end, consider for a moment the idyllic environs of Willowbend Country Club on Cape Cod, a place of rolling hills, riots of flowers, and...

EDENTON, N.C. -- My wife and I are sitting at a table at Lane's Family Restaurant in this little town, pondering a light lunch of pulled pork, skillet corn bread, potato salad, hush puppies, cole slaw, chopped greens, and tumblers of sweet iced tea. "What's that?" Elaine asks, eyeing a bottle of cloudy liquid. "Vinegar sauce," I tell her. "For the pork. " "I feel like a foreigner here," she says. We are a couple of middle-aged Yankees down here for eight days in May, poking and meandering around the Carolinas on what is something between a vacation and a scouting trip.

By Paul E. Kandarian, Globe Correspondent AAA Four Diamond-rated Samoset Resort in Rockport, Maine, is offering a "Cape Air Escape Package" for August and September, exclusive to customers who fly from Boston to Rockland on Cape Air, a one-hour jaunt out of Logan Airport. Cape Air customers get a free shuttle pickup upon arrival, a free round of golf at Samoset Golf Course (which terrific ocean vistas as you putt along), and a $100 resort credit for any of the resort's facilities, including the new La Bella Vita Ristorante, and the newly opened spa. The...

Rory McIlroy missed the cut at the BMW PGA Championship on Friday after his game disintegrated in spectacular fashion in a second straight errant round at Wentworth, leaving his grip on the No. 1 ranking under serious threat from Luke Donald. The U.S. Open champion made seven bogeys and two double bogeys in a 7-over 79 to finish 9 over — a massive 21 strokes behind James Morrison, whose superb 64 gave him a four-shot lead on Donald (68) and first-round co-leader David Drysdale (70)

For many, college life follows a familiar pattern: A steady dose of Ramen noodles, bad beer, hook-ups, break-ups, noon wake-ups, and the occasional academic all-nighter. Rarely is golf a consistent part of the college experience. Kris Hart is trying to change that. He's already offering it. Hart is the creator of the College Golf Pass, which provides reduced greens fees at participating courses. Started in 2011, the CGP already has 77 course partners throughout New England, including 28 in Massachusetts.

This week's tip comes from Bobby Iannarone, an assistant professional at Granite Links Golf Club in Quincy, who is focusing on the pre-shot routine. Iannarone writes: "In preparing to hit a successful golf shot (something that requires focus and precision), the player must do several things. The first is to assess the conditions. Things such as wind, lie, topography, and even temperature can affect your shot. Next is to select a desired target. Choose something that stands out in your vision and mind.

She might be only 14 years old, but Megan Khang has qualified for the most prestigious tournament in women's golf. Khang, from Rockland, earned one of two spots into this year's US Women's Open at a qualifier on Monday at Longmeadow Country Club. Her two-round, 141 total trailed only the 140 from Westford's Alison Walshe , and sent both to the women's national championship, which is July 5-8 at Blackwolf Run in Kohler, Wis. It'll be Khang's first appearance in the US Women's Open, but she's no stranger to US Golf Association events, having played in the last...

Brookstone has tapped Stephen Bebis, founder of Golf Town, as the new chief executive of the New Hampshire electronics chain. Bebis spent 14 years as founder, president, and chief executive of Golf Town, the largest specialty golf retailer in Canada with 57 locations. It recently announced plans to acquire US rival Golfsmith. "We were impressed by Stephen's track record as an entrepreneur, his hands-on experience as a manager and mentor at the highest levels in the retail industry, and his ability to drive growth and achieve market leadership," Jackson Tai,...

Tiger Woods insists he is close to contending on a weekly basis, even if recent results suggest otherwise. "I think I'm headed in the right direction," Woods said at Congressional Country Club, where he was promoting the AT&T National which takes place June 28 to July 1. "I'm going to try and continue to improve in incremental steps in every facet of my game and try to make every facet of my game more efficient. " Woods has one PGA Tour victory this year, but his game has hit a slump recently with a missed cut in Charlotte as well as 40th-place finishes at The...

By Steve Silva, Boston.com Staff Move over chicken and beer. Golf has been entered into the Red Sox mix. According to a report by 98.5 The Sports Hub's Hardy, Red Sox righthander Josh Beckett played golf in the area last Thursday afternoon, two days before he was scheduled to miss a start against the Orioles because of stiffness in his latissimus muscle. The Sports Hub's Michael Felger said the report had been confirmed when he opened the Felger and Mazz show today, but that Hardy did not reveal the name of the golf course to protect his sources.

WELLESLEY - Perhaps the most selfish of individual sports, golf has a way of carving itself into the mind of even a seasoned player, much less that of a high school athlete. A bad shot may result in three more; one bad hole can kill the attitude for an entire round. "The toughest five inches of golf is between your ears," said Harold Williams, in his 34th season as Franklin High's head coach. "That's what happens with these kids all the time. It's hard to relax. " With at least six players capable of shooting a low score, this...

By Ellen Ishkanian, Globe Correspondent Bicyclists planning a weekend ride along picturesque Meadowbrook Road by the Weston Golf Club will soon be met by a police detail turning them away from the private road often used as a cut-through. Depending on the availability of police officers, a detail will begin either this weekend or next to discourage motorists and cyclists who do not have an access sticker, Weston police said Friday. The detail was originally set to begin this weekend, but the department may be too busy with other events across town, including the...

Ask anyone who either has never played golf, or doesn't play anymore, and their main reason will likely land in one of two categories: It's too expensive. It takes too long. Golf, at least in this country, has always fought an elitist stigma. Not so slow play, but that issue is before us once more after the weekend display from Kevin Na at the Players Championship. To his credit, Na assumed full responsibility for putting himself - and his playing companions - in that situation, baring his soul about the struggles he's had getting comfortable...