Golf

Would you really have expected anything else from His Airness?!

Michael Jordan's golf course in Florida features flying drones that deliver food and booze straight to the fairways ... and video captured by tennis star Caroline Wozniacki at the place this week shows it's all AWESOME!!!

The course -- which just opened in 2019 after YEARS of planning, developing and constructing -- is insane ... it's called The Grove XXIII and it's built on a huge plot of land in Hobe Sound, FL.

The holes are super sleek, and the club has a dope 15,000-square-foot clubhouse ... but the coolest part has got to be the drones!!

MJ replaced beer carts with flying ships that bring alcohol and snacks to golfers ... and in videos that show the whole process, you can see just how cool it is.

Wozniacki -- who was getting in some run on the course this week -- filmed the whole thing ... as did others, and you can see it's really freakin' cool.

The problem for you normies looking to experience it? MJ's club is SUPER EXCLUSIVE -- it reportedly has less than 100 members!!

Here it is -- some of the first clear, up-close video of Donald Trump's golf swing ... and it's, uh, something!!!

Golf pro P.J. Cowan -- who's a swing coach for players of all ages -- shared the footage of a round with #45 this week ... showing off a perfect view of one of POTUS' drives.

You can see in the clip ... Donald PIPES the golf ball -- which is kind of surprising, given the uneasiness of his swing.

The 74-year-old has a little jerky motion in his backswing ... but to his credit, the guy is still able to square up the clubface and drive it a mile.

"My man Mr DT," Cowan wrote along with the video. "Textbook."

Trump and most of those who have golfed with him recently have talked glowingly about his game ... with U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham saying over the summer that Donald shot a 74 in one of the rounds they played.

FYI -- a 74 is REALLY good ... some pros don't even hit that mark on a regular basis!

"He beat me like a drum!" Graham said at the time.

Then again, others who have played with Trump in the past have sworn he's a cheat on the course ... with Barack Obama recently saying of DT, "There’s sometimes problems with the scoring. And whether he’s keeping track of his strokes."

President Obama just hit President Trump where it hurts -- right in the golf bag.

#44 basically called #45 a cheater during an interview on "The Later Show with Stephen Colbert" -- explaining how Trump has a reputation for fudging his scorecards.

"Listen from what I understand he’s actually a pretty good golfer," Obama said at first before dropping the cheating allegation.

"I understand that shockingly enough there’s sometimes problems with the scoring. And whether he’s keeping track of his strokes."

BOOM!!!

Hey, for Obama -- that's about a big of a shot as he's gonna take ... but look at the way he smirks as he makes the comment, he KNOWS it's gonna bother Trump!

Fact is, Obama's not the only person to accuse POTUS of cheating on the links ... remember, Oscar De La Hoya has said he's watched Trump cheat first hand.

"I witnessed it. He outright cheated," Oscar said in 2016 ... "not once, not twice but 3 times."

Sportswriter Rick Reilly has also publicly accused Trump of being a golf cheater -- saying the guy sometimes uses Secret Service agents to gain an unfair playing advantage.

"This the ugliest ball in the world right here."

That's Charles Barkley talking about the golf balls his partner, Phil Mickelson, gave him to use on the course Friday ... with Shaquille O'Neal's face plastered on them!!!

Chuck and Phil are going head-to-head with Steph Curry and Peyton Manning for "The Match 3" charity golf outing -- raising money for historically Black colleges and universities -- and Phil tried to give his teammate extra incentive to hit a good shot.

Mickelson told Barkley he's tired of his "NBA on TNT" colleagues disrespecting him -- most notably Shaq -- so it was time for a little payback.

Unfortunately, Charles didn't follow up with a hole-in-one, but didn't hit a bad shot either ... which has been the story of the day so far.

Chuck -- who's known to have a notoriously bad hitch in his swing -- has been swinging pretty smoothly ... and he and Phil are currently up 3 through 9 holes of the 18-hole showdown.

Donald Trump got in a few holes before his Thanksgiving dinner, but it went about as well as the election for him ... and he was VERY vocal about it.

Trump was playing Thursday at his golf course in Sterling, Virginia, and he got teed off after he teed off and the ball went in the drink.

You hear Trump grouse, "Oh s**t," and it's clear he had a history with this particular hole, and it ain't a good one. As he watches the ball disappear in the water, he mutters, "I hate this f**king hole!!!"

You'd think he'd change the configuration of the pesky hole ... after all, he owns the course. He doesn't even need to be President to do that.

Maybe Trump was off his game because he's still so pissed off about the election. He was tweeting up a storm, again claiming he won the election, saying, "Just saw the vote tabulations.  There is NO WAY Biden got 80,000,000 votes!!! This was a 100% RIGGED ELECTION."

Birdies, pars, bogeys ... and fat jokes?!

If Charles Barkley and Peyton Manning's pre-golf tournament trash talk is any indication of how Friday's The Match III is going to go down ... we're in store for a whole lot of the above!!

Chuck, Manning, Phil Mickelson and Steph Curry all logged on for a Zoom call to preview their big tourney -- which will air on TNT this week -- and there was plenty of joking banter between the four.

But, the best heckling was between Manning and Charles ... with Peyton hitting Chuck with a hilarious tubby joke!

Here's how it went down ... Charles claimed he's been working on his game tirelessly to prepare for the event -- even saying he's hit the Stone Canyon course in Oro Valley, AZ a few times.

Then, he took a shot at Peyton's alma mater ... saying, "You know, Peyton, I just got to make sure he got my phone number. He texts me all the time, but, since Tennessee hasn't won a game, it's been a few weeks since he texted me!"

That's when Manning went into full-on roast mode -- hitting Chuck with this hilarious zinger ...

"That's kind of news to me that Charles has been to Stone Canyon three times. He hasn't played golf. He's just gone there to eat three times. They have great lunch and dinner service. So, this will be his first time playing the course in the actual match on Friday."

SHEEEEESSSHHHH!!!

There was a whole lot more from the guys' interview ... Barkley made fun of Manning and Curry's Hall of Fame chances; and everyone generally cracked on Charles for having a horrific golf swing.

Good times!!!

By the way, the event is all going down for a good cause ... the foursome is playing to raise money for HBCUs across the country.

John Daly is recovering after undergoing a surgical procedure related to his cancer this week -- a procedure he bumped up in hopes of playing a golf tourney with his son in December.

54-year-old Daly was diagnosed with bladder cancer back in September -- but he's been fighting like hell and recently told us straight-up, "I'll beat this sh*t, f*ck cancer."

Gotta love John Daly!

In fact, Daly's so confident, he recently entered the PNC Championship along with his 16-year-old son Little John Daly so they could play together during the Dec. 17 to 20 event.

The issue ... doctors recently told Daly they wanted him to undergo a procedure connected to his treatment -- and the timing could have clashed with the golf tourney.

So, John took the bull by the horns and bumped up the procedure -- which took place on Wednesday -- so he could have enough time to recover and get himself ready to play in December.

We're told John is doing well so far and is in good spirits -- and remains confident he'll give Tiger Woods and his son a run for their money!

Forget The Masters ... here's the golf event you NEED to watch -- Tiger Woods and his 11-year-old son have committed to play in a tourney against John Daly and his son!!!

The epic matchup -- featuring the 2 legends and their boys plus several other family pairings -- will all go down at the 2020 PNC Championship in Orlando from Dec. 17-20.

Woods will enter the event with his son, Charlie, whose swing is so good ... he's already been described as a golf prodigy.

Daly, meanwhile, will compete in the event for the 2nd straight year with his 16-year-old son, Little John Daly, who has also been heralded as one of the next possible great ones in the sport.

Of course, the annual tournament is just for fun ... the event won't count on anybody's career records or anything crazy like that -- but there actually is some money on the line!

The PNC Championship -- which, in total, will feature 20 major winners paired alongside a family member of their choosing -- has a total purse of $1,085,000 ... and winners even get a dope trophy!

"I can’t tell you how excited I am to be playing with Charlie in our first official tournament together," Woods said in a statement about the event.

"It’s been great watching him progress as a junior golfer and it will be incredible playing as a team together in the PNC Championship."

The tourney will be a 2-day, 36-hole event ... and last year's winners, Bernhard Langer and his son, will be in the field again this year.

PGA superstar Bubba Watson says golf is BOOMING in popularity right now all because of COVID -- and it's so huge, equipment companies can barely keep up with the demand!

"Golf is at an all-time high because of the virus," Watson tells TMZ Sports ... "There's more people playing the game, there's more equipment being sold."

Watson isn't trying to be insensitive -- he's just pointing out the facts ... people are looking for safe activities to do during the pandemic and golf checks a lot of those boxes since it's outdoors and you can easily social distance while playing.

Watson -- who's promoting the "Golf Clash" mobile game -- says even interest in golf VIDEO GAMES is through the roof right now.

In fact, Watson says golf equipment companies are "a little behind"  the demand -- and they're struggling to churn out enough product to keep everyone happy!

"They're trying to push through and it's hard to get components to make golf clubs. It's hard to get different golf equipment to be made because of some of the slow down."

A SIXTH green jacket is well within reach for Tiger Woods ... the golf legend got off to a blazing hot start at the Masters -- and is now currently tied for 4th after finishing his 1st round!

44-year-old Tiger shot a super stress-free 68 -- carding zero bogies and four birdies -- and he now trails the leader, Paul Casey, by just three strokes heading into Day 2.

"That's the best I've seen him play in a long time," said golf superstar Michelle Wie, who commentated on Woods' entire round for ESPN on Thursday morning.

It's a great sign for Tiger, who hasn't exactly played his best golf since winning the Masters back in April 2019.

Woods hit 10 out of 14 fairways, 15 out of 18 greens and his average driving distance off the tee was over 280 yards.

If Tiger is able to put together three more solid days just like that ... he could very well walk away with his second straight Masters green jacket -- which would be his 6th overall.

Of course, that number would tie him for most Masters victories ever with Jack Nicklaus ... and would put him just 2 behind the Golden Bear's all-time record of 18 total majors.

Now on the tee ... A BIG-ASS ALLIGATOR!!!!!

A Jurassic Park-like beast interrupted some golfers during an outing in Florida on Wednesday ... and video of the reptile crawling around the course is WILD!!!

Check out some footage that golfers in Naples shot this week ... you can see the gator -- roughly 10 FEET LONG -- was just cruising through tee boxes without a care in the world.

"Holy ...," one golfer said while seeing the animal on the course. "This guy out for a stroll -- oh, my God!"

Gators haven't been shy about making appearances on golf courses over the past year ... remember when two beasts brawled on an 18th hole in South Carolina?

Also, who could forget the gator that stole some dude's ball in Louisiana!!!

It was TACO (and Sushi) TUESDAYYYYYY at The Masters this week ... Tiger Woods finally got to host his champions dinner at Augusta -- and he picked Mexican food and rolls for the occasion!

If you're unfamiliar ... every year at golf's most prestigious tournament, the past year's winner gets to host previous champs for a feast before tee times begin.

Normally, it all goes down in April -- and it's LAVISH -- but because of COVID, Tiger had to wait 7 months to do the honors.

Don't worry, Tiger still was able to get in an April celebration ... remember his backyard Masters dinner with his kids and GF???

But, when the time finally came for Woods to do the real thing on Tuesday before the major tourney begins in Georgia ... he sure as hell delivered.

Tiger picked an exotic menu ... there was an Augusta Roll (featuring tempura shrimp and spicy tuna), and prime steak and chicken fajitas.

For dessert, Tiger offered up flan, churros and sopapillas. He even had everyone wash it down with some fancy red wine!!

Seemed like it was all a hit ... Jack Nicklaus tweeted of the evening, "Mr. Woods has gotten a lot of practice at picking a menu. 💯"

The Masters officials say the dinner was pared down this season to help prevent the spread of COVID ... explaining only 33 people were allowed to attend.

A pandemic like no other ...

Golf star Sergio Garcia has tested positive for coronavirus -- and has withdrawn from The Masters tournament in Augusta, which is set to kick off on Thursday.

Garcia is one of the top golfers in the world and famously won The Masters back in 2017.

The 40-year-old revealed the news on social media ... saying he got tested over the weekend after experiencing symptoms.

"On Saturday night after driving back from the Houston Open, I started feeling a bit of a sore throat and a cough," Garcia said.

"The symptoms stayed with me on Sunday morning so I decided to get tested for Covid-19 and so did my wife Angela. Thankfully she tested negative, but I didn’t."

"After 21 years of not missing a Major Championship, I will sadly miss The Masters this week."

"The important thing is that my family and I are feeling good. We’ll come back stronger and give the green jacket a go next April."

President Trump has his head in the sand, or more accurately, the sand trap ... because he tried to distract himself from reality by hitting the links just as Joe Biden was declared the next President of the United States.

DT left the White House early Saturday morning en route, at first, to an unknown location ... which, as it turned out, ended up being his own golf club in nearby Sterling, VA to golf with some folks. Seems like he knew what was coming -- he's isolated out there.

Here's the kicker ... the photo above was taken the moment Biden was declared the next President. Trump was teeing off on a chip shot ... all by his lonesome, standing next to a golf cart. SAD!

It's unclear if he's officially heard the news or not -- or if he's turning a blind eye until he absolutely has to. Regardless, he's in for a rude awakening when he gets back into D.C. ... as we've shown you, the streets are lined with people celebrating Biden's victory.

Golf legend Jack Nicklaus is officially endorsing Donald Trump -- saying he's "learned to look past" the President's flaws ... including bad tweets.

"I have had the privilege over the last 3-and-a-half years to get to know our current President a little more as his term progressed," the 80-year-old said in a statement Wednesday.

"I have been very disappointed at what he's had to put up with from many directions, but with that, I have seen a resolve and a determination to do the right thing for our country."

Nicklaus says Trump has "delivered on his promises. He's worked for the average person."

Then, Nicklaus addressed some of the controversial and offensive things Trump has said/tweeted over the years -- chalking it up as no big deal.

"You might not like the way our President says or tweets some things – and trust me, I have told him that! But, I have learned to look past that and focus on what he's tried to accomplish."

Jack says he's convinced Trump "has been more diverse than any President I have seen and has tried to help people from all walks of life -- equally."

"This is not a personality contest; it's about patriotism, policies and the people they impact," Nicklaus continued.

"His love for America and its citizens, and putting his country first, has come through loud and clear. How he has said it has not been important to me. What has been important are his actions. Now you have the opportunity to take action."

He concluded, "I strongly recommend you consider Donald J. Trump for another 4 years. I certainly have and have already cast my vote for him."

For his part, Trump liked the endorsement -- saying, "Jack, this is a great honor. Thank you!"

Brooks Koepka and Mr. Miyagi have something in common -- they both believe in a little "Wax on, wax off."

The PGA superstar did a little Q&A on IG with his girlfriend Jena Sims on Monday night ... where the golfer was asked about a rumor that he waxes his ass.

Not only did Brooks answer the question, he totally owned up to some cheeky body hair removal ... and even provided an explanation.

"It is very true," the 30-year-old said ... "I lost a bet to Jena!"

That's when Jena chimed in -- adding, "And, we may or may not have had some friends in attendance!"

Hot wax on the ass party?!!

Jena couldn't believe Brooks talked about it on social media -- saying, "That's a deepest, darkest [secret]."

To be fair, the secret was kinda out ... remember the his and hers thong photo from their 2019 trip to the Maldives?!

We shoulda known!!!

Brooks is currently the #12 ranked golfer in the world -- after winning the PGA Championship in both 2018 and 2019.