State Of The Game, Episode 3: "The game's never been easier and people have never complained more about how hard it is."

That stellar quote came from Mike Clayton during this week's belly putter-focused show.

You'll hear some sound clips from Tiger Woods and a few I picked up at the USGA Annual Meeting. Panelists Clayton and Huggan are joined by special guest and long putter exponent Craig Spence chat about what figures to be a huge issue over the coming year. Rod Morri hosts, and music is supplied by Lloyd Cole. Give it a listen.

Here's the direct link to the third episode.

Here's a directory with the first three episodes.

And here's the itunes page for the show where you can get all three or subscribe, it's free.

Or finally, you can listen below:

Talkin Golf With Rod Morri - Australia In Review

Rod Morri pins me down on the central questions of the day: my (mostly positive) take on Australia golf, the Presidents Cup, and the merits of hand cream after a long, arduous 18 holes.

We go for fifty minutes, so apologies in advance. If you like podcasts, you can (and should) get Rod's free podcast on itunes. He has always gets great guests and asks sharp questions.

HORSE Course Images Gallery, Australia Coverage Warning

The blog will be a bit different for the next few weeks as I am heading to Australia. There will be plenty of Australian Open and Presidents Cup coverage, but I'll also be soaking up the culture and golf. Translation: there may be a less news coverage than normal and posting times will vary, but I think I'll be able to supplement that with something better in the way of cool photo galleries showing golf and life in Australia.

Which reminds me, if you are in Melbourne, The Woodlands will be hosting a special evening featuring yours truly, John Huggan, Mike Clayton (moderating) and others in a roundtable discussion. Cost is $100. For more information on what should be a fun evening at a great club, you can email Matthew Mollica at matthewm@mpx.com.au

To give you an idea how these galleries may look, here's a test run with some images just sent to me by Robert Nelson of The Prairie Club's HORSE Course, which we built in the summer of 2008. Good to see it evolving nicely and thanks Robert for the photos.

I'm still fine tuning how these galleries display images, but they will all be posted on my new Photos page and also embedded in posts. Here's the HORSE Course collection...

"Shackleford is tough because he runs every time."

As thrilling as the playoffs are and as frightening as Irene appears to be, my eyes will be on Shackleford's trip in Saratoga's Travers Cup (NBC 5 pm ET), one of the biggest three-year-old races outside the Triple Crown. Jerry Bossert explains that the big guy can lock up the 3-year-old division with a win and even notoriously-stingy-with-praise trainer Bob Baffert compliments Shack, reports Tim Wilkin.

Trainers who are running against Shackleford have nothing but respect. Hall of Famer Bob Baffert watched Coil chase down Shackleford in the Haskell, but he had to fight for it.

"Shackleford is tough because he runs every time," Baffert said. "Dale has done a fantastic job with him and he is tough to get by. In the Preakness, it looked like Animal Kingdom was going to run right by him, and he didn't let him by. He just said, 'No way, Jose. You aren't getting by me.' When Coil got to him (in the Haskell) it looked like he was going to run right by and win by a length and a half. Shackleford is a real good horse."

Jesus Castanon has been riding him in the mornings, which gives him an edge in the karma department.

Here's Shack's final workout and his dirty post-workout rolling around ritual.

Sporadic Posting For Next Few Days

Under doctor's orders, the one-two punch of Firestone and Atlanta Athletic Club forces me to travel internationally the next few days, so posting will be at oddball hours and fairly light. Mostly, I just want to recharge the batteries for next week's Glory's Last Chance To Promote The Fall CBS Schedule.