Despite my sometimes obsessive attitude towards golf, I do manage to find the time for other interests. One of my favorite television shows on the air right now is the NBC sitcom Parks & Recreation. A recent story arc on that series is the introduction of auditors who have been sent to solve the budgetary woes of the Pawnee city government. One of those auditors is played by an actor named Adam Scott, who is of no apparent relation to the most recent winner on the PGA Tour.

As far as I know, there’s no specific term for the phenomenon of one person sharing the same name as another person. Seeing as I grew up wondering how my state’s senator also managed to sing with Art Garfunkel, though, there probably should be. Anyhow, here are five players who happen to have identical names (or at least strikingly similar ones) as other noteworthy people outside the golf world. Are the golfers on this list worthy of being considered ÒtheÓ ones with their respective names over their non-golfing brethren?

Number Five: Adam Scott

Who he is: The 29-year-old Australian is fresh off of a victory at the 2010 Valero Texas Open, his seventh official victory on the PGA Tour. Also a six-time winner on the European Tour and 2009 Australian Open winner, Adam has been ranked as high as third in the World Golf Ranking.

Who he isn’t: Having appeared in 60 films and TV series, the actor Adam Scott currently (and perhaps most notably) stars in the Starz comedy series Party Down.

Who owns the name? While Scott the actor is a rising star in Hollywood, only one Adam Scott is dating Ana Ivanovic. The nod goes to the golfer.

Number Four: Heath Slocum

Who he is: Heath’s underdog victory at the 2009 Barclays propelled him into the public’s consciousness, but he had already won twice on the PGA Tour before. One of the best ballstrikers in professional golf, Heath currently leads the tour in driving accuracy.

Who he isn’t: Heath “Heathcliff” Slocumb is a retired major league relief pitcher, whose career highlight was an All-Star appearance as the Philadelphia Phillies’ closer during the 1995 season. Heathcliff pitched for eight teams during a ten-year major league career.

Who owns the name? Slocum (no B) will be remembered in golf circles as the guy who outplayed Tiger Woods at Liberty Nationals; Slocumb (with a B) is best remembered in baseball circles as the guy Seattle traded Derek Lowe and Jason Varitek to the Boston Red Sox for. The nod, once again, goes to the golfer.

Number Three: Jim Thorpe

Who he is: Arguably the greatest black golfer not named Tiger Woods, Jim won three times on the PGA Tour, but became a force on the Champions Tour, where he has earned 13 victories. Unfortunately, the IRS decided that Jim didn’t pay taxes on the $13 million he had won on the senior circuit (where he is seventh on the all-time money list), and he was sentenced to a year in prison for tax evasion earlier this year.

Who he isn’t: Jim Thorpe was sports’ first superstar. From a Native American background, Jim won the decathlon in the 1912 Olympics, but had his medal stripped for playing minor-league pro baseball. As a football player, he was a key figure in the foundation of what is now the NFL.

Who owns the name? The early-20th century Thorpe was such a legend that a Pennsylvania town changed its name to “Jim Thorpe” for no reason. No golfer can top that. The nod goes to the non-golfer.

Number Two: Bill Rogers

Who he is: Almost inexplicably, Bill had one of the better golf seasons of all-time in 1981. In addition to winning the British Open, he scored three victories on the PGA Tour, the Australian Open title, and finished runner-up at the US Open, all of which propelled him to Player of the Year honors. Despite a bright future on tour, the grind of tournament golf burned Bill out, and he was out of the pro game by the middle of the decade.

Who he isn’t: Bill Rodgers is the greatest American marathon runner ever. During the late 1970s, Bill won the Boston and New York marathons four times each. Only the U.S. boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics prevented Bill from claiming a gold medal of his own.

Who owns the name? As the last significant American long-distance runner, Rodgers (with a D) is still revered by running enthusiasts. Rogers’ (no D) achievements came between years when Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson each won multiple majors. The nod again goes to the non-golfer.

Number One: George Burns

Who he is: The 1981 U.S. Open was a good year for golfers with the same names as more famous people. The aforementioned Bill Rogers shared second place with George, who won four times on the PGA Tour between 1979 and 1987.

Who he isn’t: Though his real name was Nathan Birnbaum, the man who became known as George Burns had a show business career that spanned for eight decades. A star of stage, radio, film, and television, George remained a highly active performer until his late nineties.

Who owns the name? Let’s be serious: there’s only one George Burns. The nod goes to the non-golfer.

This article was written by Adam Myers, better known as Chilli Dipper in the forum.

© Guest Author for The Sand Trap, 2010. | Permalink

Credits: The Sand Trap

This is a brief introduction video to the Law of Focus for Golfers Mastering the Inner Game of golf training workshops. These training workshops are delivered to golf courses across North America.

Every golfer needs a golf instructor who teaches the correct way to play the game. Without a individual coach, you cannot develop a triumph strategy that works in support of you outside a particular level. All those admired expert golfers utter around the value of a correct golf instructor. Though you can make use of online possessions to pick up online golf training, you need to obtain a private instructor to help you devise a winner strategy in support of you. As golf is a common game, you can observe many folks calling themselves golfing experts. You have to hire an expert if you aspire to commit a value in favor of the investment you have made in golf. PGA and LPGA are the important golfing associations that recognize qualified golfers. The instructor you take should be an apprentice or class A member of one of these associations. These members can be trusted even though veteran trainers charge more. The certified members need to keep posted themselves with the most up-to-date technologies and for this reason, you can expect the top training from these experts. The instructor be required to be raring to go to work out with you to identify your ideal game. He be required to know what you can and cannot figure out. If you discover that the coach is not interested in listening to you, you ought to subsequently move to some other person. It is of the essence to keep up a constructive relationship involving you and your instructor. If whichever single of you is not comfortable, breaking the link is beneficial on behalf of both of you.Make certain that your instructor introduces different teaching from phase to stage. Also, he should grant you more or less moment in time to practice the training. Experienced trainers know many tips and tricks that amateurs don’t know. You can make use of their skill to keep away from bad mistakes and gather excellent practices. The learning process should be smooth and gradual and the instructor must be glad to teach you latest techniques.While many trainers charge a significant amount of money to provide you the training, don’t grow with someone who values money more than everything. If your coach is working with you entirely in favor of money, you can by no means pick up better training. The instructor should have appropriate and essential learning aids which can help you make progress the game. He have to be geared up to be patient with your faults and work with you on the course. To gain reduce scores, short game skills are requisite and the coach ought to furnish you inside information on gaming skills. More than everything, you don’t wish for a humiliating coach. If you find out your coach criticizing you often, it is time to look elsewhere in favor of someone who really cares for you. The coach must be able to direct to your mistakes, but at the same instant, you don’t yearn for him to insult you. Self confidence is far more significant as soon as you play golf, as lacking confidence, you cannot target for your target. The golf instructor must be a capable motivator, helping you discover your golfing talents. Working with your coach, you must be able to arrive at a golf strategy that works well instead of you.

George Angus introduces the Team one golf teaching method for golfers over 40