Ernie Unleashes Raging, Expletive-Filled Rant In Meltdown Over (His) Wentworth Greens!

The seemingly never-ending saga of Ernie Els' renovation(s) took a surreal turn Saturday as Els blasted the greenkeeping staff, the European Tour staff and even suggested that after trying to play to his baked-out greens, he could relate to complaints about his redesign work in a post-third-round meltdown for the ages.

Paul Mahoney said The Big Easy became the Big Displeasy and, "If his post round post-mortem went out on TV, the bleeper operator would be suffering from an acute repetitive strain injury.

Lawrence Donegan noted that the Els outburst "has become an annual tradition here" and included Els' exact quotes. AJGA-eligible golfers, cover your eyes:

"I've asked them to put water on the bloody greens and then I spoke to JP [John Paramor – the European Tour's chief referee] coming up the 15th and he said we did water it last night. I said you have to triple that. You have a damn 30mph easterly breeze blowing so put fucking water on the greens. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure that out."

Somewhere in the European Tour headquarters building just a couple of hundred yards from where Els was speaking, the meter on the "bringing the tour into disrepute" fine machine was twirling off its axis.

Tony Jimenez for Reuters includes this part of the diatribe:

"How much money did we spend on the 18th? We built a dam there. Why the hell was the green not holding?

"My point is, you hit a driver and then a four-iron gets you in the middle of the green. What else must you do next? Must I be the greenkeeper here?," Els fumed.

Or maybe you didn't need to put that lake in front of the green with uh, that dam and pond players are now forced to carry?

"I'm a player, I'm not even supposed to tell them. Put water on a damn golf course? Surely they should know that? I can't control the wind and (it seems) I can't control the greens staff either."

Uh Ernie, uh, you uh, you were the guy who designed the...ah forget it. Keep whining...

"You've just got to play within yourself, you can't go playing wild shots or you are just going to get killed.

"It's like a major championship test. In two weeks' time at the U.S. Open, if you are just marginally off you'll get killed," said the triple major champion.

"We tried to bring that element in here but you don't have to kill guys."

So you wanted to have that element where the guys get killed, but don't get killed?!

Would this be a bad time to point out that needing to keep greens softer is usually a sign of faulty approach design? Oh wait, let's let Paul Lawrie say it since the Scot knows something about fast and firm golf. Martin Dempster reports:

“The course is getting really dry and bouncy and, because of the design of the course, it needs to be a bit softer,” said the Aberdonian, who ran up a double-bogey seven after straying a yard out of bounds at the 12th.

Comments

[Shakedown]

With all this nonsense going on seems like a lot of players may consider taking this event off of their schedule going forward.

[digsouth]

Rock on!

I don't know whom or what is right. Just good to see EE getting in a word or 2.

[Carl Spachler]

If the course should be softer - put some water on the greens

[Buddha]

Mr. Dig,
You are a kind and gentle soul. Ernie damaged what must not be damaged, a Harry S. Colt course. He has some karmic debris to deal with now. Let him suffer so he can learn and advance...

[davidy48]

That was a wonderful moment during Rose's post-round interview, when he got asked about course conditions - his eyes flickered and he looked away briefly as he tried to find something to say which wouldn't get him fined ! Came up with a very diplomatic answer which suggests a career in politics beckons....

[walkie talkie banks]

Chris Kennedy the head greenkeeper is one of the best in the business but we've had the coldest,wettest spring on record and he was quoted recently as saying the greens were nowhere near where he would like them to be.

[walkie talkie banks]

premature button press there!
Why they would be reluctant to water them is a mystery though.
I think Ernie is finding out that couse design isn't nearly as easy as it seems and that building greens that require high soft shots on a traditionally fast running course isn't such a brilliant idea.

[Stord]

I've had to put up with Chris Kennedy's greens for a number of years.. he always has one excuse after another, time for him to go.

Given the current state of Ernie's game, maybe he should take over!!

[carnaptious and camsteerie]

All that water so close by too. How ironic. Karma indeed Buddha.

Ernie, have you fogotten already that we in Britain have a fundamental loathing for soft greens? Besides which ... if you desgin a hole that doesn't allow for all types of weather conditions, surely that is not the fault of the greenkeepers ... but the architect of that hole?

Incidentally, we also happen to have a fondness for the aesthetic appeal that heather brings to british inland courses. You and moneybags got rid of that too. Between the pair of you, you've destroyed the whole character of the Burma Road.

[D. maculata]

Exactly, Buddha! Nothing good ever comes from messing with the work of a dead master. I wonder what "Papwa" Sewgolum or R.G. Grimsdell would think about Ernie's masterpiece?

[KLG]

OK, I know who Sewgolum was, but Grimsdell? Haven't watched a millisecond of the tournament. Sounds like I'm missing something. As for messing unnecessarily with Colt (& Alison in the case that comes most readily to my mind), Ernie ain't the only one with a karmic debt to pay...

[metro18]

Ernie didn't screw up Wentworth - the ball did. Get ready for more of the same too.

[metro18]

Before Ernie "tinkered" with Wentworth, the par 5 18th was a driver, five iron to the longer of those out there.
Is that what Harry Colt envisioned, never mind intended, when he drew up the plans for Burma Road?

[morphy]

Gee Els, isn't everyone out there playing the same greens as you? TOOOOO bad if you still can't putt.

[metro18]

@Morphy. I'm pretty sure that Ernie was speaking as an architect and not a player with his remarks.

[D. maculata]

KLG - R. G. Grimsdell was the architect at Durban and Royal Johannesburg. I'm thinking Ernie could have benefited from his type of guidance before he ever put shovel to earth. R. G. has been called: "A golf architect of rare skill."

[elf]

All golf courses need some water, it's merely an issue of degree. And really last time I checked England wasn't known for its hot, dry climate.

Met is right, the course needed help bc of the distance these guys were hitting it. Blame the R&A/USGA

[Abu Dhabi Golfer]

The ball has nothing to do with renovating the West course - The course is marginally more difficult with the renovations, but that is about all. I believe that if the course was playing soft (which has never been the case yet, post the 2009 renovations), the leaders would be around 20 under (with #12 back to a par 5).

The real reason for the renovation is the vanity of its owner.

(I would say the same thing about Trump, Hanse and Doral - but Doral is a total P.O.S., so it is not a comparable situation when discussing the tinkering with the Burma Road).

[digsouth]

Buddha;

Thank you for your kind words, and so correct is your read of me, or whom I try to be, at least.

With so many 180* posts, it seems my ''I don't know'' view is pretty prophetic, or safe anyway. I remain in the middle., though your post and others make me lean in the direction of considering EE just wrong, no gray area it seems.

[Nubi]

This is what happens when you dick around a classic design. They should never have touched it to begin with. The course was perfectly fine as it was. There are ways to make it challenging even for the highest caliber of players. How sad it is.

[Buddha]

Mr. KLG,
We all have karmic debris for which to reflect on and pay for. Its how we deal with it, whether we make amends with our soul or dine and dash, that we take the next step of enlightenment or the eternal plunge into the abyss.

Mr Dig,
It would seem that Ernie has taken a positive step this morning in dealing with his anger and attitude by making a donation for a good cause for his remarks. Good for him, there is always hope. Now all he has to do is answer for Wentworth, which in some ways is no different then Carlo having to answer for Santino.

May his journey be a enlightened one.

[BTW]

Can't understand why more Americans aren't playing. Seems like a great tournament!!!

[elf]

@BTW the purse at Colonial is larger, it's also a great course and historic tournament and US players don't get RC pts for any non PGA tour event. So other than owgr pts there's no incentive & a lot of downside

[carnaptious and camsteerie]

@ elf ... eh? This had nothing to do with the ball per se. T-shots at the 18th hole had a strong (non prevailing) following wind so, inevitably shots were going to travel further from the tee.

Ernie's gripe centred on the 18th green not being soft enough to receive subsequent shots.

[greg c]

Ernie should stick to what he knows best...swinging a golf club and keeping his mouth shut. It's a shame he decided to take out his inability to design a proper test of golf on the green keeping staff...I won't be able to pull for him from this point on...what an ass

[digsouth]

Buhhda-

''Mr. dig'' is my dad; I'm just ''dig''...d:{>

all: Is there a website or? that has before and after photos of the holes/changes?

[Buddha]

It is proper to always address one with respect and honor, and certainly you have shown this moxie in your many good posts on this honorable website.

There are books with photos of the holes in more modern times. There is also the outstanding LA84 website which you can search there limited archives of British Golf illustrated which might turn up an original photo or two. Ernie could have/should have used these resources in his efforts.

[digsouth]

Mr. Buddha,

Darn, I was gonna start calling you ''Bud".... d:{>

Thanks for the tip on photos. Have a great Memorial Day if you are here in the US...I'm not clear on that. At any rate have a great Monday.

[American Superintendent]

I find Ernies comments hilarious and very insightful at best. As a Superintendent in the states and hose of PGA and LPGA events in the past during the hottest of summer months in the transition zone of American im extremely familar with water management on bent and cool season grasses. As a "greenskeeper" (as you Britts call it) its very very difficult to bridge the gap between healthy/asthetics/playability. Its damn near impossible to make everyone happy. Water management is the single most difficult thing we deal with. For events like this it is again almost impossible to bridge the gap and find the middle ground between too soft and too firm with those weather conditions.
My personal view was that the staff did a fine job. The greens were firm and that seems to be the way tour officials wanted them. I never saw any greens that were "dead" as EE described. Many of them were certainly wilted and in strong heat stress but not dead. Its also PLAINLY evident from someone who has worked with some of the best designers in the business, the redesign of that golf course was awful on Ernies part. He botched it quite simply. Blaming a Superintendent and staff for your own lack of design accumen is laughable at best.
Now on the flip side, what i can tell is that Chris Kennedys comments were not encouraging. A wet cool spring isnt going to effect his cool season greens to the point of not having them ready for this event. That certainly would prevent them from being maintained with proper water management.

[Fan]

American Superintendent

I believe the correct term is "greenkeeper".

[Chris from DE]

I'd like to see an EE original design. I do know that his redesign of Wentworth was highly influenced by the property's owner. I'd like to think that a guy who has played all of the world's best courses and is a student of the game would be a little bit better at crafting his own course than what happened at Wentworth.

There were some great posts above, but I'd sure like to give Ernie some kind of pass here just because I like him so much. He does have an awesome temper, but when he calms down he always apologizes. He's just a regular dude. He slams beers at his local watering holes with locals very regularly. I like that about him.

[walkie talkie banks]

Superintendant-I can't help but thik that night time frosts and daytime temperatures of 5 or 6 c through all of April into early May was hardly conducive to growth

[Buddha]

Mr. Dig, (with respect and honor)

I am here, located in the town of Terra Firma, near the village of Consciousness. All in the Republic of Living.

Be in the moment. It is here we find our center and find out that we are neighbors.

[John Adams]

Ernie saying "fucking" (once) was a problem because he said it on the BBC in front of a woman presenter and non golfing people who fund the BBC with their licence fee complained.
I was in his gallery in the 3rd round. He was playing magnificently but his putting is starting to get good again but was tested on that day. All the players were suffering.
There has been paranoia about over watering because the country has been in drought. Comments were extra controversial because of Chris Kennedy retiring. But EE is right. The greens were very difficult to play because of 30mph Easterly wind. Club didn't anticipate the weather properly.
The burn on 18 is an ugly thing but the owner's fault for wanting it not Els.
It is a brilliant tournament and a proper preparation for the US Open. More US players should come over and play. Their once a year visits for the Open Championship are not enough. We want them here.