Was Palmer Kidding Around?

Did anyone catch the Jimmy Roberts interview where a grinning Arnold Palmer talked about changing two of Bay Hill's par-5s to 4s and moving the sixth green based on Bubba Watson's play?

I thought he was joking, but the NBC crew seemed to think he was serious.

It would be somewhat ironic that he criticizes Hootie Johnson for so radically altering Augusta in response to the ball, while doing the same at Bay Hill.

Update on Monday, March 20, 2006 at 07:12 AM by Geoff

Steve Elling reports that Palmer was "brainstorming" when he mentioned the ideas pointed out above. And Elling reports that Tiger gave a big thumbs up to the idea of reducing par at Bay Hill.

I say take it down to par-68, then you will get rid of even more red numbers and all will be right with the world!

More On The Sawgrass Gore Tex Layer

Great hearing the Commissioner tell the NBC boys at Bay Hill about the new irrigation system that allows them to water on the roughs and not the fairways. I'm so glad MacKenzie and Behr aren't here to see this! Anyway... 

Ryan Herrington looks at the TPC Sawgrass renovation and includes this quote from the Tour:

"We spend a lot of time talking to our tournaments about the need to upgrade what they do," said Bob Combs, the tour's senior VP for communications. "Yet we're the marquee event, and if we're going to urge others to keep raising the standard, we have to show them what it is."

I'm having a hard time envisioning that $16-18 million clubhouse renovations and $6-8 million course upgrades are that necessary for one week of Tour play. Especially when the course redo motivation is driven in part by a dislike for low scores, as this Garry Smits story pointed out:

Since Greg Norman torched the Stadium Course for a record 24 under in winning the 1994 Players, the Tour has attempted to set the course up with firm fairways and greens and high rough. In years when there wasn't much rain, that has been accomplished. An example was 1999, when David Duval won at 3 under, the highest winning score in Stadium Course history.

But if the area experiences a wet winter, there's not much Klauk could do with the current course to help drainage, as too much organic material has built up near the surface of fairways, causing them to be slow to drain.

The contrast between wet and dry has been dramatic. During years the Tour considered dry, the average winning score was 8.5-under-par. During years considered wet, the average winning score was 13.6 under, according to PGA Tour statistics.

Fifth Major Watch

This Scotsman story says "it is hardly surprising that the Players' Championship is commonly referred to as 'the fifth Major'. Golf's powers-that-be have yet to give it that status but they may as well." 

Meanwhile, Dermot Gilleece reports that Johnny Miller says the status of the event is "getting to be a real issue." 

Please Johnny. It became an issue when won Craig Perks won. That's when I thought, "this is the fifth of four majors!"

Anyway, Gilleece talks to Padraig Harrington who noted a change in the TPC Sawgrass:

"Sawgrass used to be fearsome, but it is now quite a normal test of golf. There's nothing extreme about it anymore. But if they get the greens really firm and fast, which they can in May, now you're talking scary course, especially with the rough up."

Would this strengthen its major aspirations? "Maybe," he said. "But I believe that if there is to be a fifth major, it should be the Australian Open, provided you get the right field. Most of the great players have played it; it's been around for more than 100 years (instituted in 1904) and has a choice of some wonderful courses. So all that's missing is the right field."

Oops.

Gushing Johnny

Thanks to reader Noonan for this item from Phil Mushnick's NY Post column:

 It can't get much sillier than this:

Johnny Miller, forthright NBC golf analyst since 1990, until two weeks ago never pointed to a car sponsor and gushed how great its cars are. Until two weeks ago he was never moved to blatantly shill for any sponsors' products.

But two weeks ago, as the Doral Ford Championship was being played on NBC, Miller began to appear in Ford commercials. And then, during NBC's coverage of the Ford Doral, Miller, on at least two occasions, saw fit to interrupt that coverage to tell us what fabulous cars Ford makes.

For that, Miller was scolded in newspapers and golf magazines. The sarcastic question was even raised whether Miller, during NBC's coverage the next weekend of the Honda Classic, would see fit to give his automotive take on Hondas.

And then, during the Honda, Miller, with a straight face - and for the second time in two weeks after having never acted similarly in 15 years with NBC - volunteered his automotive take on Honda, even stating that Honda makes better trucks than Ford and Chevy.

And some folks felt his comments about Honda were evidence of Miller's integrity as opposed to having painted himself into a ridiculous corner, a corner far, far away from the golf commentary he'd been entrusted to provide.

Perhaps this newfound interest in affiliations will force an assessment of the relationship that other announcers have with corporations, and how that may influence their commentary? 

Cruden Bay Proposed Changes

Frank Pont posts contents of a letter that went out to Cruden Bay members about proposed changes to the famous links.

Once I read the comment about bringing fairness to the place, I stopped.

With Respect To Innovation Head Room...

In a Copley News Service story titled "Driving For Green," we learn about the state of the golf ball business and its future. It's mostly a look at Titleist's dominance and how much the golf ball has impacted the game (oops...they're not supposed to say that...it's the agronomy, stupid!).

Here's the good part. After explaining how a ball rollback would be detrimental to the game (well, maybe someone's bottom line), we get this:

Any rollback would make it difficult for golf ball makers who spend big bucks on research and development to improve their products, said James Hardiman, an analyst who covers Callaway for FTN Midwest Research. "That's the big fear," Hardiman said. "It's not only will the USGA limit future technological advances but whether they'll roll back the standards of today."

Even now, there is a real question about how much better balls can be made within the current USGA specifications. But manufacturers like Callaway and Titleist insist that they are continually working on improvements.

Callaway's Yagley said the company's HX balls use a hexagonal dimple pattern as opposed to a more conventional round pattern to provide golfers with better aerodynamics as a way to distinguish itself.

"They'll see our HX golf balls stay in the air a little bit longer," he said. Still, golf ball makers also admit that the sea change seen with the switch from wound core to solid core balls will probably not occur again anytime soon.

"With respect to innovation head room, we believe that the limits placed on golf ball performance by physics and current regulations leave very little room for additional distance gains," said Acushnet's Nauman.

That fact may make it harder for ball makers to differentiate their products, especially for those trying to challenge Titleist. "The big player in the golf ball business is clearly Titleist and it remains to be seen if anyone can put a dent in their business," McAndrew said.

So please, help me here because I'm just kind of naive.

If you are the big player, and your position is that there will be little room for innovation or gains, why not solidify your dominance by supporting a rollback that only impacts top level players?

The Norman Conquest

John Huggan writes about the looming Norman-Finchem battle:

What follows is a tale of two citizens, Greg Norman and Tim Finchem. One is a larger-than-life character, as so many Australians seem to be; the other is a former lobbyist in Washington DC. One was a genuinely great, if flawed, golfer who, more than once, was the unfortunate victim of inexorable fate when on the verge of victory in major championships. The other, if talking incomprehensible jibberish becomes an Olympic sport, would make Mark Spitz appear a mere neophyte.

He also quotes Sean Murphy's recent comments, but mysteriously neglected to mention that the remarks were made in the comments section of this website!

Finchem's Response To Norman

Not sure if this ran somewhere else, but the Savannah Morning News and The Examiner (Missouri?) had this response from Tim Finchem on the Greg Norman situation:

However, PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem told the Times-Union Wednesday that the information Norman, aka The Shark, is seeking is provided not only to players but to the public as well.

"We provide to the players and the public as much, if not more, than any public company provides to its stockholders," Finchem said after a joint news conference with Arnold Palmer at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge. "We choose to be more open. We follow all the procedures and report enormous amounts of data."

Norman and the Tour have butted heads before, beginning in the mid-1990s when Norman's attempt to form a series of events for the world's elite players was quashed by the Tour. The Tour later adopted some of Norman's concepts to form the four World Golf Championships events.

Finchem wouldn't talk about Norman's specific complaints. "I'm not going to argue publicly with Greg or any other player," he said.

Week In Review, March 12-18: Augusta Talk Continues

Alan Campbell wrote about Tim Finchem and the WGC's staying in the U.S., calling the commissioner's conduct "despicable."  But as reader scott pointed out, "Phil Mickelson cant be bothered to skip trick or treating for the richest payday in golf--why do you think he will lift a finger to go to Europe for the Pizza Express WGC Open?"

Paul Azinger made some interesting comments during the Honda telecast, bemoaning how technology is depriving us of seeing real shotmaking and suggesting that there is no going back. But the better comments were on the thread after.  Smolmania wrote: "Roc can take all those little numbers and symbols that fly thru the air in his commercial with Tiger, and create a core that just doesn't fly so far. Will I -- a maybe better than average joe (5 handicap) -- not hit it as far? Absolutely. But neither will Tiger and the other bombers. . . and the game will be better off."

And Josh Hoisington offered this: "The difference between the Longest and Shortest average drivers over the years. As of now, the driving distance leader, Bubba, is averaging 320, Brad Faxon, I guess he's the driving distance loser? Anyway, he's averaging 260. Obviously it's early, but last year the difference was the same at the end of the year: Scott hend 320, Corey Pavin 260. The difference is 60 yards. In 1980, which is as far back as pgatour.com seems to go, Dan Pohl was leading with 275, the shortest hitter was averaging 240, making only a 35 yard difference."

John Hawkins reported in Golf World that it's CBS making the call to keep Gary McCord off the Masters telecast, not Hootie Johnson.  This prompted Frank Hannigan to write another Letter from Saugerties.

MacDuff gave us an updated look at his FedEx Cup points standings, which award points equally from event to event. The result? Playing well and playing a lot are rewarded. Another great discussion broke out after this post.
 
njmike pointed out what could be a nightmare scenario in the FedEx Cup concept: "Can you imagine Tiger winning two majors and nine events and not having enough points to win it? Ranked lower to someone that played in 25+ events- big deal."

And reader J.P. wrote, "the Top players really only play in the larger purse events, where they are payed a lot more than just your average Tour event. If every tournament purse was the same across the board as well as a Fed Ex Cup points structure, I think we would be seeing a totally different group of players being considered the Top Players."

Greg Norman let it be known to Tim Rosaforte at Golf World that he was contemplating a lawsuit to force the PGA Tour to open its books. Sean Murphy shared some of his experiences in a similar quest to Norman's.
And some of Norman's past comments were posted here and here.

The question of whether there is any interest in DVD's of golf events in their original telecast form, with bonus commentary and extras. Several readers offered great suggestions for possible events to release.

John Davis looked at the abysmal start to the Carolyn Bivens era, which now is about to have its first major, with golf's most prominent publication still not reaching an agreement on covering the LPGA Tour. Amazing.

John Huggan brought us up-to-date on the situation at Musselburgh.

And finally, (and I mean finally!), the drastic changes to Augusta National have taken center stage three weeks before the season's first major.

I wrote about the recent remarks of Nicklaus and Palmer, and the past writings of Bobby Jones.

Jack Nicklaus held a press conference and continued to question the design changes. Arnold Palmer tried to back off some of his remarks and also jokingly ducked the golf ball issue with Commissioner Finchem present.

Tiger Woods called the new look Augusta "interesting," his nice way of saying he thinks it stinks.

Ernie Els said the event has become no fun and may be the toughest of the four majors. Reader Steven T. noted, "The Masters is taking on some characteristics of a US Open course setup. Perhaps they will move up the tees on the back 9 on Sunday to create some fun. Perhaps not. Also, Jack Nicklaus must be really ticked off that Fazio got the job to rework AN instead of him."

And reader Jay wrote, "Tying this into the Nickaus in '86 thread, it was way more fun to watch because he was making birdies to roar past the field."

More Els remarks on Augusta and technology were looked at, but maybe the best comments about Augusta came from Mike Weir, who questioned what Bobby Jones would think of changes to his design.

Never has Augusta received so much (constructive) course criticism in a week from so many former champions. Maybe the club will re-think it's approach to the course?

More likely,they'll re-think inviting former champions as members or allowing contestants to play the course before Masters week.

Ermergence of Tribal Courses

Bruce Selcraig writes about the emergence of tribal courses in the New York Times. Included was this quote:

"I think the tribal courses are probably the single most impressive force in golf architecture over the last 10 years," said Ron Whitten, Golf Digest's architecture critic. "I've been impressed with every one."

I smell a new list!  America's Best (Native American) Tribal Courses?

Vijay Regret$ Middle East Trip

Vijay thinks it might have been a mistake to go to Dubai to collect a big check for appearing and for making a design site visit:

Singh began the year by getting into a playoff with Stuart Appleby at the Mercedes Championship and finishing sixth in the Sony Open, but then traveled to two European Tour events in the Middle East -- something he now considers to have been a mistake.

"It was a real bad move," he said. "The first week is just getting used to it and you come back over here, you do the same thing. It was a good trip, but it was very tiring on my body and I think I wasted three weeks."

Singh tied for eighth in Abu Dhabi Golf Championship and shared 24th place at the Qatar Masters. Since returning to the States, he has been 20th, seventh, ninth and 15th -- not awful, but not what he wanted.

I don't know about you, I'm tearing up...

Fifth of Four Majors Watch

Last year, this site commenced on the 1st annual "fifth of four majors" watch, where our  radar searched for the inevitable Players Championship stories that,

A) Proclaim the 72-holes of swamp golf to be Golf's Fifth Major (sometimes capitalized)

B) Said the Players is deserving of "fifth major status," whatever that means...it could be ninth major too if it wants!

C) Or quite simply, called it a major because the Players displays major-like tendencies (the worst of which is an uncanny tendency to mimic the best attributes of the other four majors...well, the other three in the U.S., which explains the azaleas, the rough, and the blinding white sand).

This annual rite of spring, which has become a fallback column or Wednesday story, has even earned The Players a mention in a golf glossary under "fifth major."

Contending stories in our "watch" inevitably include mentions of the field being the greatest ever assembled, the course the finest of its kind, the PGA Tour deserving of its own major, and the list of champions incredibly diverse. (After all, how else do you deal with Jimmy Roberts' favorite, the Craig Perks win?)

PGATour.com references do not qualify. 

Amazingly, none of the credentialed scribes filed a genuine fifth-of-four majors story last year, though we did get several fifth-of-four references, and even a few "so-called" fifth major mentions (those cynical European writers).

Yet here we are on the eve of the Players, no one has even had a chance to get bored sitting around the press room in search of a story, and we have 2006's potential Grand Prize winner!

Let the mundane stories begin! 

Weir: Jones Would Be Like !?!?!

Ken Fidlin in the Toronto Sun talks to Mike Weir about the new look Augusta National. As we've seen with other players, the recent criticism by Nicklaus and Palmer seems to have made the observations much more to the point. And again, the club's move away from his design vision while citing Jones quotes to justify the changes seems to have opened the floodgates...

Once again the tall foreheads who run Augusta National have chosen to mess with God's golf course. For more than half a century, it was considered unique and beautiful and very nearly perfect in every way. Now those bright lights in green jackets have taken to tearing the place apart just about every year. Just because they can.

It used to be bad form for players to make anything but complimentary comments about the place but now these latest changes are getting trashed from all sides

"I'm sure if Bobby Jones was still around," Weir said, "it would be, like 'What are you guys doing?'"

Weir played Augusta on Sunday and Monday and is somewhat dismayed. They've added more yardage to bring the length up to 7,300 yards but in the process, they've started to tinker with the personality of the golf course.

"I don't know what they're doing," he said. "I don't mind them lengthening the course. That's fine.

"The thing that kind of disturbs me is they're getting away from the character of the golf course. Now they're bringing in all these trees. Besides lengthening No. 11, they pinched the trees in even tighter on the right side. It's like a tree-lined golf course now. Totally different from 10 to 15 years ago. It's not even the same place.

"I don't think Mr. Jones wanted that. I think he wanted it cut down so you could see creative shots from all over the place, into tough greens."

Oh it's going to be a fun Champion's Dinner!

Twenty Years Later

Thomas Bonk looked at the anniversary of Jack Nicklaus' Masters win and offered this perspective on changes in the game.

And Nicklaus' Masters victory in 1986 clearly represents the end of an era in more ways than money.

The two most important pieces of equipment in golf were going to take on a drastic new look.

It wasn't until 1991 that Callaway Golf revolutionized drivers with the large-headed Big Bertha, shoving into the back of the closet the flat-faced, unforgiving block of persimmon wood on a steel shaft.

And it was in 2003 when Titleist brought out its Pro V1 ball. A three-piece ball instead of a wound ball, and with a thinner cover, the Pro V1 was immediately hailed for its greater control, better feel, improved trajectory and longer flight.

The combination of driver and ball has altered golf's landscape, perhaps forever.

In 1986, Nicklaus averaged 266.4 yards off the tee. A 22-year-old Davis Love III led the driving statistics, averaging 285.7 yards and the PGA Tour average drive was 261.6 yards. The 190th and last-ranked player in driving distance this year is Brad Faxon at 260.7 yards. Love is ranked 27th in driving, averaging 299.3 yards, but 23 players are averaging more than 300 yards.

Woods, by the way, is eighth, with a 304.8-yard average. Bubba Watson is hitting it farther than anyone, averaging 320.9 yards, and the average PGA Tour pro drives the ball 289 yards — about 27 yards farther than the average pro in 1986. And Watson's lead over what Love averaged in 1986 is more than 38 yards.

Don't think these kind of numbers have been overlooked. Just check the numbers at Augusta National. In 1986 when Nicklaus won, it was listed on the scorecard he kept at 6,905 yards. In a couple of weeks, they're going to play a course that's 7,445 yards and has been lengthened for the third time in seven years.

Els On Augusta and Technology

There was so much to post yesterday I didn't get around to Ernie Els' press conference, which sadly (for the Bay Hill folks) turned into a Masters chat session. Here he is talking about the changes to the course:

No. 4 is big. The one day it was downwind, I hit a 4 iron to the left flag. The second day, the wind was a little into us to a right flag and I hit 2 iron. Both times I made par, thank goodness. But going with a 2 iron into that hole is quite something. It's a bit of a change.

7 was another big one. I hit driver and a 7 iron both days was a little into the breeze. Going into that green with a middle iron is also quite a big change. I wouldn't want to go in there with 4 or 5 iron like some of the guys might go in there with. It's quite big.

Again, 11, quite a big change with the tee further back. That fairway is really narrow now. It's almost like a U.S. Open hole now. And then 17 I thought also was a big change with the fee further back.

So all in all, you know, it's very tough. If we have tough weather conditions, it's going to be a very tough week. It will be it's becoming one of the toughest one of the majors now. Where it used to be kind of the most fun of all the majors, it's becoming the hardest one now.

Q. How about No. 1?

ERNIE ELS: Yeah, No. 1, another one. No. 1 I feel the tee shot is almost easier for us. It's 297 yards to the front edge of the bunker, so you know, again, 80 percent of the field is not even going to reach the bunker. It's an easier tee shot, much more difficult second shot. I was going with 6 iron my second shot. On the first hole, you know, it's kind of a tough start to your round.

Q. Did you see that tongue in the bunker the way it's separated?

ERNIE ELS: Yeah, if you go into the front of the bunker, you essentially can't get to the green, even if you go just to the right of it, I don't know if you'll have a stance to hit the ball out of there. Yeah, very different.

And here he is responding to a question about the possibility of back nine charges:

You know, I think the second part of your question, I mean, 13, I think most of the guys can still get it on there in two shots. But 15, there was a bit of a breeze into us and I really cranked a drive there. As I say, I had 230 in.

So it's going to take a bit of the excitement away definitely. The time like with myself when Mickelson won, that kind of golf, I don't think that's going to happen that often anymore because the holes are getting so long. I mean, 10, you can still get 10 down there, hit an 8 iron into the green. 11 is so long now, you're going to probably hit 3 , 4 iron in there, so that's not really a birdieable hole. 12 obviously is. 13, you probably can get there. 14 is longer, you're not going in there with wedge anymore you're going in with 7 iron. 15 is debatable if you're there in two. 16 is what it is and 17 is longer; that's not a birdie hole, and 18 is not a birdie hole. So you're going to do well to break par the back nine.

And here's where the always eloquent Els started stumbling through his answer, perhaps because he might recall that three years ago he said that a "governor" should be put on the ball and even suggested that there should be some consideration of a return to wood heads.

Q. How do you feel, you're one of the prime examples of the modern power game, how do you feel away the traditionalists and courses are going about trying to rein in the power game and bring nuance, subtlety and accuracy back into it; do you think the way they are going about that is the right way and how do you feel about being one of the causes of it?

ERNIE ELS: Well, I think technology is a good thing. I think the world, we keep ticking on, don't we. We've got to get better in many ways and golf is just another sport that's going that way. Athletes I think are bigger maybe, and I wouldn't say more healthy, but they are a bit stronger. And with technology, you know, we're going to hit the ball longer. It's like any other sport. Cars get faster; guys in the NFL, get bigger, hit harder. That's just the way of life.

But we've got some great, great golf courses that are just not they just don't play the way they used to play. Bunkers are just way out of play. We play a great golf course down in Melbourne, an Alister MacKenzie course and on a good day there I shot 60 around there with no wind, I was bombing it to the greens, chipping it on and making putts, I was in perfect shape. That course played on that same weather conditions in the 50s or 60s, we would have done really well to maybe shoot 65 coming in with 7 irons, but I was just hitting sand irons into the green.

So we have to look at that, changing golf courses a little bit. That's what they have done at Augusta. I don't agree with all it. There's a good argument that you can have, with technology and the design of golf courses. I think the modern day golf courses that we design, I wouldn't design a course under 7,500 yards, off the back tees, not for you guys. I think it's definitely there's two different games being played today. There's the professional game where we hit it 300 and the amateur game where you guys hit it 200. I mean, I played at Augusta off the back tees it was 7,400 and a bit, and the member I was playing with was playing off 6,300 and a bit.

Can we still put you down for a competition ball Ernie?  We'll assume you'll take a pass on the return of persimmon.

TCC As A Tournament Host

Jim McCabe puts to rest rumors reported in Golfweek that The Country Club was looking to join a Deutsche Bank rotation with the TPC Boston (just typing that was difficult). He also reports that the 2013 U.S. Open at TCC is highly unlikely.

'We definitely want to do some sort of celebration of the 100th anniversary of Ouimet's victory, but it's highly unlikely it will be a US Open," said John Cornish, a longtime TCC member who is on the club's Tournament Policy Committee and was instrumental in pulling off the 1999 Ryder Cup, a spectacular event. ''An amateur event would be more appropriate. We've always been a big supporter of amateur golf."

Two Views On Golf Industry

Blaine Newnhan writes about the struggles of the Pacific Northwest golf business while Chad Graham paints a different picture of the situation in Arizona, where they feel the slump has ended. If nothing else, check out the Newnhan story to see the pictured golf hole and its subtle mounding.

Huggan On Musselburgh

John Huggan files a lengthy dispatch on the Musselburgh Links situation, which doesn't sound so hot if you are in that strange camp that has a hard time envisioning how floodlights and an all-weather track will improve the setting.

Here's the "Hands Off Our Links" web site with the latest on today's vote by the East Lothian planning commission. 

Golf "Wife Swap"

Ah, nothing like a little reminder that the Big Break is harmless, shoot, even classy compared to this, which came courtesy of the Golf Nuts Society:

CASTING CALL FOR ABC'S "WIFE SWAP" TELEVISION SERIES

 

The hit show Wife Swap is currently casting amazing families with huge personalities that are incredibly passionate and dedicated to the sport of Golf! (must be married with kids 5 or older) Ideally our candidate, loves to play and its something the whole family can do together! There is also a $20,000 honorarium offered to the family that is selected! Any additional exposure you can bring to this project would be greatly appreciated! So, if you or anyone else you know is up for the experience of a life time, please feel free to contact me on how to apply for the show today!

Best regards and many thanks,
Daniel Markell
Casting Producer
Wife Swap
212-404-1441

Another Norman Flashback

Ron Sirak writes in Golf World that he hopes Greg Norman's threatened lawsuit is not about petty vengeance.

This July, 2003 Golf Magazine interview with Peter Kessler may indicate what Greg Norman wants to know about the PGA Tour's financial dealings.

How do you think the Tour is doing these days running the business end?

I still am unhappy about it. I really don't think we know the entire story. Because when I speak to some of my business friends about certain ways the Tour operates, they say they couldn't do that in their world. It always intrigues me that they have this huge business. It is hard to be a master of everything and if you dilute yourself too much, sometimes you lose a little focus.

That is the most careful response I have ever heard from you.

When I spoke out on this at the end of last year, the message I was sending was to the 21-year-olds, not the 30- or 40-year-olds. I wanted them to think: OK, everything is great right now and your future looks fantastic, but where will you be when you are 45 or 50? Where will the Tour be? There is no business in the world that can sustain that growth curve that the PGA Tour is on. If there is a correction, how are they going to manage it?

Put your mind to it. Find out where the money is going. Find out how big the administration is. Find out what actually goes on. It is very difficult to get an answer, but if you are young enough and you ask the questions, you eventually will get the answers. It is the players' Tour. It is not one administration person's Tour. The players have every right to do all they can do to understand the internal workings.

If you were appointed commissioner for a day, which three things would you tackle first?

I would take a look at the players' pension. The retirement plan is an asset of the Tour. But let's just say there is another Ping scenario. [The company sued the Tour in 1989.] That asset is vulnerable. The Tour's so-called retirement plan goes poof. It is not a true pension plan where it is protected.

I would like to really understand the structure of the TPCs [Tournament Players Clubs], how profitable they are. I see the annual report, but it is not a full-blown, in-line report.

In all the years I have been involved in golf, I have never been asked to give my opinion. Yes, we have these forms to fill out. And we have our players meetings, our Players Advisory Council, and our player directors. That's wonderful, but still I think you need to tie into the best players because they do have some good sense. I'm talking about four or five players. The problem with the Tour is that it's one man, one vote. A vast majority of the players are happy with the security blanket instead of saying they want to build this thing to be a better, safer, longer-lasting organization.