Good to see lots of people sticking around to watch the presentation at the Gate Invitational this week. Too often, Gate owner Herb Peyton would be looking out at maybe a dozen people, and that's not much of an impression to make on a guy who comes off the hip to underwrite our best tournament.

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You probably never heard of Gate Invitational winner Chris Bray either but he must be some kind of stick. Gutsy, too.

"He has a four shot lead with nine holes to go, and he drives the green on No. 10," said third-place finisher David Anthony. "If I had that lead, I'd lay up. He just bombed away, 290 yards out."

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Almost everyone has somehow made his or her way to (or, at least, through) Pinehurst. Maybe not to play, because it can be awfully expensive, but surely to look.

Many of you look at Pinehurst as a Golf Heaven, a Southern Valhalla that's people-friendly and a place that provides great golf without the hassles of Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head or almost anywhere in Florida.

If you feel like that, join James Dodson. His new book, "A Son of the Game," should have been titled "A Love of Pinehurst."

Dodson is a former newspaper and magazine writer who got into book writing, and now has settled into Pinehurst's adjacent community, Southern Pines. This book has a readable length (I have the paperback and it's 289 pages) and a very readable series of personal tales about Dodson, his young son and folks he met along the golf trail.

It can get a bit droopy at times as Dodson tries to overglorify things (did you ever suffer through "Golf in the Kingdom"? That's what I mean.) but hey, let the boy have his moments of memory.

You'll particularly enjoy the lore of Pinehurst, its odd founding and its gradual changes that only add to the - and here I go, being on the edge of droopy - mystique!

Yes, Pinehurst is indeed special and Dodson brings out that quality. There's a lot more to the book and, even though you may not care to hear so much about his kid, you'll appreciate the writing.

It's good writing, indeed.

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Golf announcers may affect television watching more than any other sport. Lousy announcers make for lousy TV, and that's why watching the Solheim Cup was intolerable.

Why do women announcers have to be such cheerleaders and apologists for women golfers?

Suggestion: get Steve Melnyk, who knows how to handle fellow announcers. He did the Women's Amateur and carried the day, even making the apologists sound OK.

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Tim Tebow? A 13 handicap at Timuquana.