Back Off, Golf Haters

GOP candidate would prefer to stay off the links

(NEWSER) - Sounds like this presidential race could be decided at sea. Asked if he's as "hip" as Barack Obama, Mitt Romney said he'd skip out on golf with the president—but "I'll be happy to take him through a waterski course." Speaking on Fox News yesterday, he added, "we have different skills and different interests and different hobbies." The AFP calls it another "tone-deaf" comment emphasizing his riches, adding to a list that includes Romney's mentions of his wife's Cadillacs and his close friends who own NASCAR teams . More»

Big room, brilliant view, fawning staff ... you name it

(NEWSER) - What's $1,000 a night, when you can keep out the riff-raff, eat high on the hog, and get tickets to American Idol? That's the thinking these days at smaller chi chi hotels, where ultra-luxurious grand-a-night rooms are becoming more common, the Wall Street Journal reports. So just how do they pamper the 1% while 99-ers are lumping it at the Holiday Inn?

• Big room, gorgeous view, and fawning 24-hour staff are givens—as are spas and top restaurants with short waiting lists.

Tells them to respect their elders ... as he drives a golf cart into them

(NEWSER) - Things got pretty darn crazy at a Jacksonville Beach, Fla., bachelor party on Saturday, and not because of strippers or booze. The Florida Times-Union reports that a group of six golfing gents was attacked at the 18th hole—by a 61-year-old. James Alonzo Hines allegedly drove his cart into the men before bashing one with a golf club and proceeding to fight ... while telling them, "You need to respect your elders." One 27-year-old, who says a golf club was broken over his head, told the paper that Hines yelled that they were taking too long. More»

Suburbs of Washington, DC, lead the way

(NEWSER) - Forbes rounds up the richest counties in the US, with the DC suburbs in northern Virginia again dominating. The top five:

1. Loudoun County, Virginia: $115,574 median household income
2. Falls Church City, Virginia: $114,409
3. Fairfax County, Virginia: $105,416
4. Los Alamos County, New Mexico: $103,643
5. Howard County, Maryland: $103,273

Bubba Watson takes green jacket with 'unbelievable shot'

(AP) - Trapped in the trees, Bubba Watson had no chance. Good thing he's one of those guys who never hits the ball straight. Unable to even see the green from where he was standing, Watson curled a shot from out of the pine straw and safely onto the 10th green to win the Masters on the second hole of a playoff today over South Africa's Louis Oosthuizen. Watson won his first major and cried hard on his mom's shoulder as they embraced on the 10th green. More»