The new year in golf architecture began with word that two veteran golf architects died on January 1st, both in Arizona and apparently within hours of one another. Jeff Hardin, a native of Arizona, was 84. Dick Nugent, a Chicago boy who retired to the Phoenix suburb of Sun Lakes 15 years ago, was 86.

Welcome to another edition of The Grind, where we had our own Dustin Johnson moment last week. Just not one of which to be proud. While venturing to the basement for some toilet paper, I slipped and fell down the stairs. But unlike DJ last year, I made it into work the next day. Of course, also unlike DJ, I wasn’t in Hawaii this past week making millions while hitting awe-inspiring golf shots. Folks, beware of this man dominating the golf world in 2018:
FacebookPinterestStan BadzAnd beware of walking on wooden steps in socks. OK, let's proceed with what else is going on in golf. Carefully.
WE'RE BUYING
Dustin Johnson: With an eight-shot victory at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, the World No. 1 strengthened his grip on the top spot in the rankings while being the first to grab this sweet new trophy:
FacebookPinterestMasterpressThanks in part to this spectacular drive during Sunday's final round, a near hole-in-one from 430 yards out!
https://twitter.com/PGATOUR/statu..

We're about three weeks away from the biggest girlfriend sporting event of the year—Puppy Bowl XIV—and as the big game approaches, star players from both Team Ruff and Team Fluff have taken to an unlikely platform to blow off some steam: Tinder. But don't worry, this isn't as creepy as it seems. The dogs aren't there to date (first of all, they're dogs, and second of all, gross). They're there to find a forever home.
Part of a partnership with the ASPCA, the Puppy Bowl has always been more than something to distract you while scarfing down all the guac before your bandwagon Pats-fan friends arrive. Predicated on adoption, each dog who takes the field on Super Bowl Puppy Bowl Sunday is placed in a new home following the game, and this year, Animal Planet and the ASPCA have invented a whole new way to scout your draft pick. Here's a look at some of the good doggos you'll find on Tinder starting January 22nd:
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FacebookPinteres..

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) A federal judge says Augusta National Golf Club will hold three green jackets and other Masters memorabilia while a lawsuit over an online auction plays out.

The Augusta Chronicle reports that U.S. District Court Chief Judge J. Randal Hall on Friday granted the club’s request to hold the items. A lawsuit filed by Augusta National Inc., which owns the club and tournament, asks a judge to stop Florida-based Green Jacket Auctions Inc. from selling the famed green jackets in an online auction.

The club contends the items are either stolen or fakes prohibited by the club’s trademark. An attorney for Green Jacket Auction says the company acquired the items from third-party owners.

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Information from: The Augusta Chronicle , http://www.augustachronicle.com

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) Thomas Bjorn dismissed any suggestions that his Europe-led contingent will steamroll to another landslide victory over Team Asia at the EurAsia Cup which begins on Friday at the Glenmarie Golf & Country Club in Kuala Lumpur.

Europe strolled to an 18 +-5 + victory over their Asian counterparts in 2016, but Bjorn is aware of his opponents’ prowess this time as he prepares to captain the Westerners.

”We’re very well aware that Asia has never fielded a stronger team than they do this time, and golf is a strange game,” Bjorn said.

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”Whatever it says on the paper very rarely comes on top. So, those 12 players in that room are very well aware that they have to go out and play golf this week. This is not going to come to them easy, and they are up for it.”

The Dane, who will also captain Europe at the Ryder Cup in France later this year, will have a stellar cast at his disposal.

Tommy Fleetwood, who won the season ending Tour Ch..

Pebble Beach Golf Links is known as the crown jewel of American public golf courses—the place most golfers put on their bucket lists. And while the course lives to up to its lofty reputation, many visitors are equally vowed by a completely different, somewhat surprising aspect of the iconic resort: its eponymous spa.

If you can't keep up with the Spider-Man movie saga at this point, we don't blame you. First there was the Tobey Maguire trilogy, then a pair of Andrew Garfield reboots no one asked for, and finally a 2015 deal which saw the Sony-owned character merge into Marvel's Cinematic Universe (home of the Avengers & Foes) with little-known UK actor Tom Holland taking on the role of Peter Parker. This summer, Holland made his full-length debut as Spidey in Spider-Man: Homecoming—a John Hughes-ian coming-of-age comedy wedged into the skeleton of a pyrotechnic superhero flick that was way better than it had any right to be—and while he acquitted himself well on-screen, it's not his acting chops we're here to drool over. It's actually his swing.
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According to Holland, the video—which he posted on Instagram on Sunday night—was shot during some downtime on the set of Homecoming and, to be honest, we're pretty impressed. Good balance, nice tem..

Was Dustin Johnson's near ace on a par 4 the “greatest shot” in golf history? Brandel Chamblee thinks so

KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) Dustin Johnson won’t be staying in the same house at the Masters.

One with no stairs?

”I don’t care if it’s two floors,” he said. ”But we aren’t staying in that house.”

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Johnson can smile about it now, even though his short stay at Augusta National remains one of the few memories that linger. He still recalls the spill he took down the stairs on the eve of the Masters last year, at first fearing that he had broken his back in two.

”I knew it wasn’t good. You could tell,” he said. ”It wasn’t like, `Oh, I might be hurt.’ I knew it was hurt.”

The topic was timely Sunday evening at Kapalua because of his eight-shot victory in the Sentry Tournament of Champions, and the feeling that Johnson was closer than ever to the form from last spring that had some players talking about him in a tone usually reserved for Tiger Woods.

He won three straight tournaments, all of them against the strongest fields of the year to that point. He was ..

In addition to coaching the NBA's second-youngest team, Luke Walton has to deal with the world's most annoying stage parent. But while the Lakers' leader has only guided his squad to 12 wins as we near the NBA season's mid-point, he already provided a press conference response that will be tough to top in 2018.
RELATED: Lonzo Ball roasts his dad in funny Father's Day commercial
Following an ESPN report over the weekend in which LaVar Ball, the blowhard dad of Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball, claimed Walton has lost control of the team and that players “don't want to play for him.” LaVar has now tried to meddle in his three sons' coaches at the NBA, college, and high school levels, so this is nothing new.
Walton initially handled the report well, and then made light of the situation following the Lakers' win on Sunday night, which snapped a nine-game skid. When asked why he subbed out Lonzo earlier than usual in both the first and third quarters, th..