Perhaps it was all of those hours at the drawing board that caused that finger ailment to mysteriously act up for the Chrysler Championship?

Charleston, SC--It is the mission of the National Golf Course Owners Association (NGCOA) to enhance the lives of golf course owners by making their businesses more profitable, more efficient, better managed and more stable.

We join the USGA, the R& A, the PGA TOUR and the American Society of Golf Course Architects in expressing concern about the impact of technology that, without any improvement in swing technique, enables golfers to hit the ball farther; and, the possible negative effect this may have.

We endorse the rules and regulations of the USGA and the R&A. Further, the NGCOA agrees that the purpose of the equipment rules is to protect golf's best traditions, to prevent over-reliance on technological advances rather than skill, and to ensure that skill is the dominant element of success throughout the game.

It is the belief of the NGCOA that any further significant increase in hitting distances is undesirable. Our concerns are the following:

Increased golf ball distance results in errant shots missing their intended target by greater distances than before. New golf courses are required to be built with more land in order accommodate the need for larger safety buffers to either side of the preferred line of play. The effect has been that golf courses take up more land, with subsequent increases in land acquisition, construction and maintenance costs. The consequential lengthening and widening of courses will also have a negative effect on increasingly important environmental and ecological issues.

Older courses, many of which have been brilliantly designed, are being rendered powerless to challenge the modern power hitter and no longer play as designed. Additionally, in most cases the older courses are faced with a concern due to their inability to expand the safety buffers required with the longer-hitting golf equipment. Owners and operators of older courses are burdened with increased liability costs as a result.

Off-line shots, due to the greater dispersion that is generated by increased distance, also contribute to slow play. Additionally, greater hitting distances subject longer hitters to increased waiting periods between many shots, further impacting the pace of play. The result is diminished enjoyment of the game and increased cost of play.

The NGCOA is in support of the efforts of the rule making bodies to limit the impact technology has on golf ball distance. We view this issue as a top priority for the industry; and, encourage both the rule making bodies and the manufacturers to develop a timely and credible set of parameters that restrict further technology-driven increases in hitting distances.

With more than 6,000 member courses worldwide and an audience of more than 18,000 through Golf Business magazine, NGCOA is the leading resource for golf course owners and operators looking for tools to assist them in making their businesses more profitable and successful, while promoting a high level of service to partners, customers and members.

"Unfortunately, we still have that attitude in Australian golf where golf clubs have their egos and they don't want their course beaten by these pros."

Green’s extensive quotes reflect the continuing problem worldwide: in the face of incredible new technology, setups that allow for the aggressiveness that Green says would return excitement might result in record low scoring. Which, sources say, could end the sun’s long run of rising in the east and setting in the west.

But his comments took on an edgier tone while visiting Australia. Shockingly, he is not on the "better athletes" World Tour, instead offering these comments during a visit to the Australian Open. They were reported by Bernie McGuire in the Irish Independent (reg. required):

“You cannot stop R & D on golf equipment no matter what rules you put in place, but what we have to stop is the golf ball. That doesn't require a major change but we do need to slow the golf ball down.

"The golf courses that I am designing all over the world now are upwards of 7600 yards and if you hire me to do a golf course for you, you want a course that they won't tear apart. You'll say, 'Build it so they can't shoot the scores'.

"I'm not sure I can because they are hitting it so far. I have a grandson who carries the ball in the air with a driver 300 yards consistently. He is 17 years old.

"It is an ongoing thing. It is happening and it will continue to happen. The only way you are going to curb development is with the golf ball.

"We can make golf courses impossible to play without lengthening them but that is unlikely to happen. The one area where you can keep golf as we have all known it in our lifetime in proper perspective is the golf ball."

The article also included comments from Nick Faldo and Bob Charles who both reiterated Palmer’s message.

"The golf ball has changed the face of golf forever and it was left way too long before anything was done about it," Faldo said.

"The first big leap was 20 years ago when Titleist brought out their 384 model and that went 20 yards further than anything else at the time.

"Slowly since then the golf ball is being driven longer and longer and (Jack) Nicklaus has been beating the drum about the golf ball for two decades now and nothing's happened.

"It's all too late now and this is where we are now with the public, the players and the tour's all loving the fact that guys hit it now 350 yards.

"The whole issue with the golf ball is in the hands of the manufacturers and they have to come up with something that is really challenging for the pros but I can't see that happening in the foreseeable future."

Bob Charles said: "It's just that modern technology has taken a lot of skill away. The ball goes straighter and it's easier to control.

"It's ridiculous. It's not golf, and the sooner the powers-that-be put clamps on the performance of the ball, put restrictions on manufacturers on how far the ball goes, the better for everybody.

"A lot of courses are becoming obsolete with the ball being driven 300-350 yards. Courses should max out at 7000 yards. They're now playing 7200-7400 yards. It's not a level playing field any more.

"Everywhere you go people are looking for tees further back. It shouldn't be that way."

That is a problem considering it's a municipal, daily fee facility.

The article raises more questions about turning the North Course's fine soil-based greens into USGA greens to improve turf conditions, even as the North greens have been far better than the South's for three years now.

That destroying-the-village-to-save-it concept never does sit well, does it?

Amazingly, the debate and outcry centers around the need to update the course, which golfers don’t want to play or pay for if it'll turn out like the dreadful South Course redo.

The driving force behind the redo seems to be the Century Club and the folks running the pricey Lodge at Torrey Pines, which prematurely announced the renovation in its newsletter.

He also isn’t too excited about the Skins Game being played the same week as the Australian Open and slams the American Thanksgiving golfing tradition as if it had made an unusual decision to select these dates for play (uh 21 years and running now on Thanksgiving weekend). Thomson chooses not to criticize Australian Adam Scott for opting to play at the picturesque Trilogy Golf Club active adult community instead of his home nation’s biggest event.

In the future, Scott shouldn't have to worry about the decision. As a now-former IMG client who dared to quit the agency, this is likely his first and last Skins appearance, barring a victory.

*** Note that Thomson wasn't upset about the Grand Slam of Golf being booked this week. Perhaps because like me, he forgot about it!

*** My latest Golfobserver.com "Tradition Matters" column is now posted on the demise of the Skins Game.

Meanwhile, Links Editor Dave Gould writes about balls embedded w ith tiny chips that emit a signal golfers can identify and track via hand-held scanners. , “A ll I can say to traditionalists is get out there and enjoy conventional golf while you can.”

Gould makes a strong case that this form of progress, while well-intentioned, will strip the game of a few more subtle character-building and bonding traditions.

Pretty soon, golfers will need to wear those Brian DePalma fishing vests, with pockets to store the Laser Link for yardages, another pocket for your ball scanner, and a big pocket to store a paperback to read when pace of play isn't helped by any of this nonsense.

ACUSHNET COMPANY CLARIFIES RELATIONSHIP WITH PROFESSIONAL GOLFER PAUL CASEY

Fairhaven, MA (November 19, 2004) - In the wake of recent comments made by professional golfer Paul Casey, Acushnet Company, owner of the Titleist, FootJoy and Cobra golf equipment brands, today clarified its relationship with the 2004 European Ryder Cup Team member.

"First and foremost, we want people to understand that Mr. Casey's comments do not reflect the views of the Acushnet Company and were not made in his capacity as an endorser of our products," said Wally Uihlein, Chairman and CEO, Acushnet Company.

"In addition, Mr. Casey's contract with Acushnet Company expires on December 31, 2004, and both parties have mutually agreed that it will not be renewed or extended."

Acushnet Company will have no other comment regarding this matter. Titleist, FootJoy, Cobra and Pinnacle comprise the major golf brands of Acushnet Company, an operating company of Fortune Brands, Inc. (NYSE-FO). Titleist, FootJoy, Cobra and Pinnacle are trademarks owned or licensed by Acushnet Company.

He's clarified! Err, fired. This was an important move for Titleist to make, because when Casey made his remarks about hating the American Ryder Cup team, most people's first reaction was, wow, he's saying that as a Titleist man!

***Update: This UK Telegraph story sums up the mess well and clarifies what Casey actually said, versus what the tabloids pinned on him. And John Huggan does an even better job summarizing the matter, with a source telling him that Titleist had planned to let Casey go long before this incident.

Not mentioned: affordability, cost, pace of play, value, accessibility, architecture, alternative facilities and every other factor that just might be worth discussing.

Sun: Since you first got into the design business, how has your design evolved?

JN: It just continually changes. It continually changes ideas as you learn to develop. I suppose when I first started, I could do golf courses one, maybe one and a half different kinds of ways. I say one and a half meaning I was trying to do something else and I wasn't sure I could do it. I can do golf courses now probably a dozen -- at least -- different ways.

Different ways to put things together, make everything look different -- that's something you learn and you do it.

Sun: Going back to Coyote Springs for a second, the majority of majors are played in the East. Is this the kind of facility that could bring, say, a PGA Championship out West?

JN: My guess is the answer would be very definitely yes. I would be very surprised if it didn't.

Oh yes, a PGA in Las Vegas in August. Definitely no!