“The decision to ban carts in competitive rounds of the Champions Tour - they can still be used in the pro-am - is part of an intelligent effort to re-establish the glory of a tour that started 26 years ago with Sam Snead and was nurtured along by Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus.”

Of course, this ignores the fact that the Senior Tour became popular with cranky old geezers whizzing by in their carts. So how will losing the carts (and likely entertainers like Chi Chi) return glory that was built with the help of carts?

Sirak also writes, “Prior to the cart decision was the name change - another shrewd marketing move. Senior Tour sounds a little too much like a senior moment - which is not a good thing. Champions Tour creates the image of valiant competitors who have earned their way onto the circuit.”

If these valiant competitors are so boldly earning their way on to the Tour, then they be pushing for larger fields, a more generous number of Q-School exemptions and in general, more competition from non-PGA Tour all-time money list winners?

Speaking of the Valiant Competitors Tour, Gary Van Sickle sits down with Greg Norman and some lug from MacGregor to plug his new endorsement deal. Norman talks about his schedule on the Valiant Competitors tour and it's basically relegated to the Valiant Competitors majors. All five of them.

Al Burleson of the Huntsville Times is sick of receiving mailers from the USGA soliciting money for a membership, even though he’s already a member. The Scotsman's John Huggan looks at David Duval’s struggles, which included a back nine 49 during the third round of the Hope. And Golf World’s take on the pending Champions Tour lawsuit is now posted online, with this stellar quote from Champions Commish Rick George, who couldn't comment on any potential litigation.

"I would just say that we're looking to the future, which is more important than lingering about things in the past."

Uh, Rick it's dwelling. Dwelling on things in the past.

include Torrey Pines, future U.S. Open sites, Whistling Straits, Tiger Woods and Nick Faldo's ABC commentary.

Naturally, after they got done thanking one another and admiring their devotion to minorities, women and their fellow governing bodies, the panel turned to messier topics like technology. This allowed PGA Tour Commish Tim Finchem to plug ShotLink and state for the record that he’s relying on the USGA to get him out of this mess. The discussion gave USGA President Fred Ridley a chance to make a ridiculous statement in defense of the USGA.

Ridley: “We really haven't seen the types of increases in the past couple of years that we saw back in the 90s.” (1999 Tour avg.: 271 yards; 2004 Tour avg.: 287 yards)

But Ridley sees golf coming back. Corporate tent sales at Pinehurst look good: “I think we've seen corporate involvement, corporate spending starting to come back. I know in our environment that has certainly been evident at our championships. Certainly the U.S. Open we are going to have a terrific year this year at Pinehurst.”

These guys are good!

Of course, none of the folks supporting a tournament ball concept advocate only one cover design or one manufacturer making such a ball. Nor is the tournament ball idea any more unfair than the current launch monitor driven nonsense approved by the USGA, and which has widened the gap between those at the high end of the clubhead speed spectrum, and those who are merely average.

Meanwhile, Dorman outlines how the ball would work.

"Based on what I've heard the tour say, what they would focus on would be a ball that essentially was a slower ball. The overall distance would shrink by reining in the initial velocity. You could maintain the same flight characteristics. Each manufacturer could meet those specifications. If the tour would say tomorrow here are the specs and you have to meet these specs in order for your ball to be approved, everybody could come up with a ball that met those specifications."

The AP's Doug Ferguson weighs in skeptically as well and reports that the USGA’s David Fay offered his congratulations to Jim Awtrey in a congratulatory concession call (can we all say, oy vey!).

"I commend the PGA for identifying Whistling Straits early, taking the bold step of taking the PGA there last year and buttoning it up," Fay said. "Once they got what seems to be a winner -- clearly, it's a winner in the eyes of the players, press and public -- it was a good move on their part."

To which Ferguson wrote, “The USGA will move on with no shortage of great courses available. Then again, the U.S. Open doesn't need a golf course to establish its identity.”

Not the way they set up courses!

Finally, the Seattle Times reports that the PGA claims to be considering Sahallee for one of the 2012-2014 open dates. We're on the edge of our seats here!

The fortuitous 2010 opening came about because the February 12-28, 2010 Winter Olympic games in Vancouver presented "obstacles” with the August, 2010 PGA Championship slated for totally forgettable Sahallee.

Interestingly, the USGA’s annual winter meeting takes place in a few weeks and likely would have been a nice time to approve a 2012 U.S. Open at Whistling Straits. But Jim Awtrey and crew beat out David Fay and the Executive Committee. Fay has recently shown Tagliabuesque connivance when it comes to the venue leverage and negotiation game. (Making one wonder what good is he if he’s been outdueled by the PGA of America?).

Well, the good news for Olympic Club, Olympia Fields, Pumpkin Ridge, Riviera, Pinehurst and others hoping to be included in the 2012 Open fray: your main competition is locked up. And all thanks to the Winter Olympics!

A struggling company looking to a firm named Struggles to find a new CEO? Is this a Dan Jenkins novel? Will Hazard, Tweed and Risk be handling their accounting?

“The wink and a nod given to Woods, whose father worked at one point during Tiger's amateur career for International Management Group and who walked the course at the 1996 U.S. Amateur decked out in a Titleist hat and Nike clothing - two companies with which Tiger eventually signed - seems to be on its way to becoming a total blind eye. No one, it seems, wants to blow the whistle on a top amateur who may be getting money under the table, so the alternative is to remove the table.”

Also in this edition of the bunker is word of a review at Venice, California’s legendary Penmar links, where two course employees have allegedly stolen thousands and given out free play passes (isn’t this a way of life at all L.A. City courses?). But don’t worry, our crack Mayor, James Hahn, who himself is the subject of at least three corruption investigations, “has requested an audit of "all golf course admission processes."

Also, don’t miss Steve Elling’s Golf World profile of Tour rookie Sean O’Hair and his struggle to succeed with an absolutely insane father, who appears to be like all of the bad tennis fathers combined into one egomaniac. Makes you really want to root for O’Hair to make it.

Also the San Diego Union Tribune’s Jay Posner has the story on Charles Howell’s horribly unlucky break on 18 Sunday, while Tod Leonard and Ed Zieralski in the same paper write about Tiger’s good fortune on the same hole, along with some other interesting notes, including the touchy 2006 Ryder Cup captaincy issue.

My vote would be for dropping Valhalla as 2008 Ryder Cup host and replacing it with Whistling Straits. Of course, Whistling Straits hosts the much anticipated 2007 U.S. Senior Open, which might force Kohler to drop that highly sought after championship.

***Update: Shocker of all shockers, the Milwaukee Sentinel-Journal's Gary D'Amato reports that the PGA of America appears primed to announce Whistling Straits as the 2010 PGA replacement site, messing up the USGA's plan to possibly award the 2012 U.S. Open to the course. And it looks like Kohler will keep the 2007 Senior Open.

Speaking of amateurs who aren't really amateurs, this AP story outlines how Michelle Wie’s likely jump to the professional ranks could happen at the end of this year.

In a different realm of governing body shenanigans, Golf Magazine's Peter Kostis writes about the barely reported Q-school debacle in Texas, and blasts the Tour for not treating the qualifying school with more respect. Sadly, most Q-School contestants will tell you he's right.