Sometimes a Birdie Is More Than a Birdie

Tiger Woods, appearing at a children’s golf clinic in Little Rock, Ark., this week, was asked about a round of golf he played with former President Clinton. It took place at Shady Canyon in Irvine in February before the opening of the Tiger Woods Learning Center in Anaheim.

“Interesting math,” Woods said, according to the Associated Press, in describing a par-four hole on the back nine. “President Clinton rolls one in the bushes, then hits another off the tee,” which, in golf, is known as taking a mulligan.

According to Woods, Clinton’s mulligan landed in the fairway, and from there he hit a wedge shot onto the green about six to seven feet from the pin.

“I hit a bad pitch [that went past the pin] by about 12 feet ... then all of a sudden he does one of these,” Woods said, bending over to show that Clinton picked up his ball and thus gave himself the putt.

“It was 6-7 feet and he walked off the green.... So I’m sitting in the cart. He’s writing down the numbers ... ,” Woods said, leaning back to indicate he peeked at the scorecard.

“Woods 4, Clinton 3.”

*

Trivia time: Against which team did Babe Ruth hit his first major league home run?

*

Why TV show failed: David Thomas of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram says the ESPN reality series “Bonds on Bonds” was a good idea but poor timing.

“The best time to go behind the scenes with Bonds wasn’t 2006, but sometime between 1998 and 2003,” Thomas wrote. “That’s when the truly interesting stuff with Barry allegedly took place.

“Or perhaps the show featured the wrong person. I would have watched an unscripted show called ‘Victor Conte on Bonds.’ ”

*

Mothers in trouble: LeBron James’ mother, Gloria, last week pleaded no contest and was found guilty on four misdemeanor charges for an incident in Akron, Ohio, in January in which her SUV nearly hit an unmarked police car.

The charges were reckless operation, speeding, disorderly conduct and a reduced count -- originally drunk driving -- of physical control of a motor vehicle while under the influence. A fifth count of damaging police property was dismissed.

On the same day, the mother of the Phoenix Suns’ Amare Stoudemire, Carrie Mae, was sentenced to three years in prison in a drunk-driving case. She was arrested in Phoenix in October after crashing into a barricade on Interstate 10.

Wrote Reggie Hayes of the Fort Wayne (Ind.) News-Sentinel: “Don’t you long for the good old days when athletes got into trouble on their own and didn’t have their parents doing everything for them?”

*

Trivia answer: The New York Yankees. Ruth, playing for the Boston Red Sox, hit his first major league home run on May 6, 1915, off the Yankees’ Jack Warhop.

*

And finally: Andrew Morbitzer, the 38-year-old fan who caught Bonds’ 715th home-run ball, isn’t sure what he is going to do with it.

Comedian Tom Dreesen suggests “he inject it with steroids and sell it as a basketball.”

Larry Stewart can be reached at larry.stewart@latimes.com.