The Clubhouse

In case you’ve missed it, Canada’s own James Lepp has made it all the way to the final three of the Golf Channel’s Big Break: Greenbrier reality show. The former college standout who left golf shortly after turning pro to start a golf shoe business (Kikkor) has become a show favourite with his candid and colourful off-camera remarks... and he’s also exposed golf fans to the latest sensation - the saucer pass!

If you caught the last episode, you saw Lepp in all his sauciness as he used the unconventional (but legal!) golf stroke to win a game of Tic-Tac-Toe, going a perfect six-for-six in shots and ultimately winning immunity which put him through to the next show. Here’s Lepp explaining the mechanics of the saucer pass.

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TOP SCOT: A 60-year-old farmer from Aberdeenshire who proved to be a thorn in the side of one of the richest real estate developers in the world has been named the “Top Scot” at the Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Awards.

Michael Forbes gained worldwide recognition after refusing to sell the land his home was situated on to Donald Trump so that it could be demolished to make way for Trump’s billion dollar Scottish links golf course.

Forbes, whose struggles against the bombastic Trump were the centerpiece of the documentary “You’ve Been Trumped”, says he was surprised to learn he had beaten out several British Olympians and tennis player Andy Murray for the honour which was voted on by the public at large.

Forbes told the Scotsman newspaper about the first time he met the infamous Trump.

“I had no idea who he was at that point. I might have kept my mouth shut, but I went right off him the first time I met him,” explained Forbes. “He was being all nicey, nicey and talking about how successful he was and how much money he had. That was it for me. I took an instant dislike to him. He called me a village idiot and accused me of living in a pigsty but I think everyone knows by now that he’s the clown of New York.”

Forbes says he’s had to stop salmon fishing because he no longer has direct access to the beach from his house which is now blocked by the golf course. But he remains firm that he’ll never “sell up to Trump”.

Trump decided to take to Twitter to not only bash Forbes but announce that he was banning the sale of Glenfiddich, which sponsors the award, and every brand of whisky sold by William Grant & Sons from his resorts and hotels.

William Grant & Sons said in a statement that while there may have been some confusion and misunderstanding concerning the structure and running of the award, it respects the decision of the people of Scotland.

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GOOGLE IT: He didn’t win a major and he was beaten out for the PGA Player of the Year award but there is one year end honour that Tiger Woods can hang his hat on. For the second time in the last four yeras, Woods was the most searched athlete of 2012 according to Yahoo.com. The three-time PGA Tour winner was followed by tennis star Maria Sharapova and NFL quarterback Peyton Manning on the search engine's list. No other golfer was among the top 10. The last time Woods topped the category as the most searched athlete was 2009, when he was embroiled in an extra-marital scandal. In 2010, Woods was number two behind boxer Manny Pacquiao while last year he finished runner-up to driver NASCAR driver Danica Patrick.

As far as Microsoft’s bing search engine is concerned, Woods was the second most searched athlete for the second straight year, this time behind Peyton Manning. (Google has yet to announce its year end search results)

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: Even as a 14 year old, Tiger Woods was very much in touch with the world around him. In this Trans World Sports interview, Woods is very candid - something you don’t get these days especially post-hydrant crash. Note how Tiger’s late father, Earl, talks about his son and the potential impact he would have, not only on the sport of golf, but on a much greater social level. Tiger himself acknowledges in the interview that he might be the Michael Jordan of golf. Also note that while most teenagers had posters of Farrah Fawcett on their bedroom walls, Tiger has posters of Jack Nicklaus!

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CALL HIM, PLEASE: No one can accuse Rickie Fowler of not dancing to his own beat. As USA Today’s Steve DiMeglio recently found out, Fowler has gotten personal with one of his clubs - his 60-degree Titleist wedge to be exact. Fowler has stamped the words, “Call Me... Maybe” onto the sole of the wedge, an homage to the summer blockbuster hit by Canadian pop star Carly Rae Jepsen.

"Her song is very catchy, made it to the top of the charts, and it's just a fun thing to do," Fowler said at the recent World Challenge at Sherwood Country Club. "I've always stamped some fun things on the wedges to make them my own."

Even after putting a photo of the wedge up on Instagram, Fowler admits he has yet to hear from the Canadian songstress.

"I haven't heard anything from her yet," he said with a frown.

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BIG DOG: It might not be legal, according to the USGA’s rules on length of golf clubs, but a Texas-based golf pro managed to drive a golf ball 146 yards using his 14-foot, 2.5-inch driver. Michael Furrh, who entered the Guiness Book of World Records with that drive, says he’s hoping all the notoriety and future appearances with the club will help raise some money for charity.

(Video courtesy of NESN.com)

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FINAL WORD

“I love that it causes controversy because whenever there's controversy it means you're doing something — on one side, you're doing something right. The more putts I make with this putter, the crazier it's going to make people. I hope that this is going to be a huge issue because I hope I'm going to be making as many putts as possible." -- Keegan Bradley on his decision to continue using the anchored stroke until the proposed ban comes into effect in 2016.