Happy New Year from the b5media Sports Channel

Let’s take a look back at some of the best (and worst) of 2007 and a quick peek ahead to 2008.

BCS Frenzy: The Five Best Sports Video Games of 2007

BCS Frenzy: The Ten Hottest Quarterbacks of 2007

Gossip on Sports: Best and Worst of Sports in 2007, Part I

Gossip on Sports: Best and Worst of Sports in 2007, Part II

Hockey Beat: Top NHL Plays of 2007

Hoops Fantasy: Top Ten Breakout Players for 2008

Knuckle Curve: Looking Back on 2007

The Fantasy Kickoff: Top Ten Fantasy Football Surprises of 2007

The Footie: Best Soccer Goals of 2007

More from: The b5media Sports Channel

A hole-in-one, that elusive goal: what are the odds of actually making one? According to Golf Digest magazine (September ‘05), the odds are as follows:

• Odds of a Tour player making a hole-in-one: 1 in 3756
• Odds of a low-handicap player making a hole-in-one: 1 in 5000
• Odds of an average player making a hole-in-one: 1 in 12,750.

In addition, the odds of one player (of any skill level) making two holes-in-one in the same round is 1 in 67 million.

Wishing you a hole-in-one in 2008!

^{(photo credit: istockphoto)}

Lorena Ochoa, the 26-year old LPGA golfer from Guadalajara, Mexico, was named the female athlete of the year for 2007 by the Associated Press, for the second time in as many years. Ochoa, the #1 ranked player on the LPGA Tour in 2007, won her first major tournament, the Women’s British Open at St. Andrews, this season and became the first female golfer to surpass the $4 million mark in earnings.

With the honor, Ochoa joins the ranks of such star athletes as fellow LPGA golfer Annika Sorenstam and tennis star Serena Williams.

^{(photo Credit: OCA/cc license)}

The Golf Channel has announced the cast for its 9th season of “The Big Break, ” a golf reality show where contestants compete for an exemption in a PGA or LGPA Tour event as well as cash, a car, and other prizes.

This season’s series will take place at Maui’s Kaanapali Resort, not a bad prize in itself. All of the cast members are women and most have experience in the LPGA or other professional golf league. They are:

• Lori Atsedes
• Dana Bates Weinmeirer
• Susan Choi
• Courtney Erdman
• Adrienne Gautreaux
• Samatha Head
• Christina LeCuyer
• Tina Miller
• Sophie Sandolo
• Cirbie Sheppard
• Elizabeth Stuart
• Kim Welch

We’ll post more information on the series as soon as it is announced.

^{(logo courtesy of the Golf Channel)}

Few things are more frustrating than hitting the green in two shots only to three-putt for a boogie. Here are a few tips for improving your putting game.

Merry Christmas to all Green Posse readers

As snow descends on much of the Midwest and Northeastern United States, it’s encouraging to look at one of the areas of the country where you can play golf twelve months out of the year–Palm Springs. One of the best resorts there is the Hyatt Grand Champions, in Indian Wells California, just outside of Palm Springs. The 428-room resort has two 18-hole championship courses as well as a practice center, spa, two pools, tennis courts, and more. Take a look at the Hyatt Grand Champions in this YouTube video.

To check rates and availibility at the resort, click here.

It’s not too late to start planning a trip to the Master’s Tournament in Augusta, Georgia April 10-13, but you’d better hurry. Tickets to the event are sold out via the August National Course, but can still be found from ticket brokers, such as TicketsNow. For less expensive tickets and a more casual event, consider attending one of the practice sessions, April 7-9. Accommodations are available via the Augusta Convention and Visitors Bureau Web site.

The Masters Tournament, begun in 1934 by golf great Bobby Jones, is one of golf’s four majors. It’s also a lovely place to visit in April, with balmy weather and flowering trees just starting to blossom.

^{(photo credit © simonds/cc license)}

Remember: spring is just three months away.

^{(photo of Scotland’s Pitlochry course in winter © The Massie Boy/cc license)}

Espn.com’s golf channel recently listed their picks for the top golf courses in the world. They also asked for reader’s comments and choices. Among the predictable (but still spectacular) courses was one with which I was unfamiliar — Bandon Dunes in Oregon.

This scenic resort, with three championship courses, is located along the craggy Oregon coastline, about 2.5 hours by car from Eugene.

The three 18-hole courses there, the first of which opened in 1999, are designed after the great Scottish courses, and the Oregon coastal plain bears a strong resemblance to golf’s birthplace. The courses are “walking only” courses and the resort employs a large pool of caddies. They also have a 32-acre practice center, a golf pro shop, and a fully-equipped locker room and exercise facility.

Accommodations at Bandon Dunes include spacious four-bedroom cottages, dotted around the property, all with wood-burning fireplaces and fully-stocked kitchens as well as cozy lodge rooms, with all of the amenities of a five-star hotel.

^{(photo credit: Pat Grover/cc license)}