Huffman on Vernon Speech

Bill Huffman in the East Valley Tribune:

Like you, I enjoy driving the ball as far as I can. But I was bothered by comments from USGA official James Vernon, who was the guest speaker at last week’s Arizona Golf Association awards dinner at Moon Valley Country Club in Phoenix.

Vernon is the 2006 chairman of the Equipment Standards Committee. He also is in his first year as vice president of the USGA after serving as a member of the Executive Committee for the past three years.

In other words, Vernon knows golf. And what he said about the high-tech ball in relation to how far it’s traveling these days deserves our attention.

For instance, Vernon mentioned how all of this bombing of the ball has led to a “de-skilling of the golf swing.’’ And he’s right, as Tiger Woods doesn’t resemble Bobby Jones or Ben Hogan in any way, shape or form.

And face it, everybody wants to be like Tiger. If that means hitting it a mile and then searching for it, so be it. That Woods ranks No. 9 in distance (302.9 yards per drive), No. 140 in accuracy and No. 3 in money ($2.16 million) says it all.

According to Vernon, higher swing speeds are “more about athleticism’’ and less about rhythm and tempo.

“Today, there is no correlation — none — between driving accuracy and winning on the PGA Tour,’’ Vernon said. “But there is a clear increase (in money won) for players who drive it over 300 yards.’’

Vernon said it’s gotten to the point where the Tour’s motto — “These guys are good!” — is debatable.

“Maybe,’’ he said of the Tour’s claim. “But more and more, they’re hitting it off-center and getting away with it.’’

And...

Vernon sees the impact of the high-tech ball on the “No Fear” generation, and it troubles him. He said unless the ball gets brought back by 20 yards or so, we’ll be forced to bulldoze our way into the future.

“The lengthening of golf courses is costly, and in many cases, impossible,’’ Vernon said. “That’s why we need everyone’s cooperation on this (issue).’’

The textbook case is Augusta National, which this year has been lengthened — for the third time in five years — to 7,445 yards for the Masters. And it’s a crying shame, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus told Golf Digest.

Trust me, it’s not like Arnie and Jack are old fuddy-duddies lashing out at change. It’s more like golf has become “Star Trek,” with Captain Tiger and his crew powering the ball at warp speed to destinations unknown.

So Huffman wasn't bothered by Vernon, but by theme of his speech.

Here's the lowdown on Vernon's speech to the USGA Annual Meeting earlier this year spelling out what was likely talked about in Arizona.

I must say it's most encouraging to hear that the USGA is letting Vernon speak to groups like this to explain its findings.  Not only does it restore some balance to the argument, but enlightens those are curious about the ramifications, but were afraid to ask.

It also demonstrates that the Executive Committee is not paying much attention to the position put forth by David Fay earlier this year: that the USGA really governs more for the average man than the elite player. 

Rough Call

Garry Smits writes about the apparently monumental decision facing the PGA Tour:

Dozens of players interviewed since the decision was made to move to the tournament to May agree that the course should not be over-seeded for that date, given the warmer temperatures that will now be as much a part of the tournament as cold March winds had been for 40 years. When played in March, the course was over-seeded with grass that would better stand up to the winter months. But with the tournament in May, and new irrigation and drainage systems being installed, superintendant Fred Klauk can simply let the natural Bermuda grass take over.

As a result, the rough would be cut to 2 1/2 inches. Because of the nature of Bermuda rough, and the small, undulating greens of the Stadium Course, anything deeper would be unplayable, since balls tend to sink all the way to the bottom of that grass. Even the United States Golf Association, never shy about torturing players for the U.S. Open, capped the Bermuda rough at 3 inches for the last two Opens held at Pinehurst.

Past Players champions such as Tiger Woods, PGA Tour Policy Board member Davis Love III, Fred Funk, Mark McCumber and Craig Perks, as well as Joe Durant (another Policy Board member), and Jim Furyk, David Toms, Len Mattiace, Frank Lickliter and Zach Johnson are among the players who have come out in favor of not over-seeding, either in news conferences or in interviews with The Times-Union.

Mark Russell, the rules official who set up the Stadium Course for last week's Players Championship, said a final decision hasn't been made. But he also said having shallow Bermuda rough with firm fairways and greens would be closer to what architect Pete Dye intended when he designed the course in the late 1970s.

A Stadium Course set-up such as that would offer two strategies that don't exist now: a lot of drives previously caught by heavy rough (and giving players only one alternative, hacking out with a wedge) will run into the trees on holes such as Nos.1, 2, 6, 9, 10, 11 and 16, forcing the pros to play recovery shots. Since the days of Arnold Palmer, golf fans have enjoyed watching professionals try to hit shots over and through trees.

"We like that challenge also," said Love. "That would give us the chance to try a lot of exciting golf shots."

And there was this from Jim Furyk:

"They're trying to get the input of guys who have won this tournament, and guys who play at this course a lot, in all kinds of weather and conditions," said Furyk, a Ponte Vedra Beach resident. "I'm encouraged by what I'm hearing. Not over-seeding, cutting the rough down to around 2 inches and getting this course really firm and fast would tremendous for this tournament."

Champions Dinner Menu

Is Hootie a flour or corn tortilla man?

Yes, it's a slow news day. Tiger is serving fajitas.

Hannigan on Bivens v. Media

As usual, Golfobserver's Frank Hannigan whittles the brouhaha down to a few sentences:

Suppose a calendar maker in Thailand lusted for a photo he's seen of Morgan Pressel in Golf World wearing a skirt that would not be allowed on the premises of Winged Foot or Seminole. The issue: Who does he pay? Big stuff, huh?

Forget about readers who have gone hungry in order to pay for subscriptions in the expectation they would get Michelle Wie's SAT scores. All Golf World has been running is little agate print results of LPGA events way in the back of the magazines, next to its Viagra ads.

Amen Corner Live

Tangible benefits to Hootie's progressive ways:

For the first time ever, visitors to masters.org, the Tournament's official Web site, will be able to see every golfer play Amen Corner live.

Visitors to "Amen Corner Live" on masters.org will be able to see live action prior to the start of the daily television broadcast. The free service will be available Thursday, April 6 through Sunday, April 9. Approximate web cast times are 10:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 12:30 p.m. - 5 p.m. Saturday and 1:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Sunday. Visitors should check masters.org daily for exact times. All times are eastern daylight savings times.

"The importance and use of the Internet continues to grow and we think this is another service to our patrons," said Hootie Johnson, Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament. "The ability to see live action at Amen Corner is something very special."

In previous years masters.org has provided live coverage of hole Nos. 6 and 12, but only during the practice rounds.

The Bivens Files

Leonard Shapiro of the Washington Post sat down for an interview with the LPGA's Commissioner and brand development specialist prior to this week's first major.

"It's a matter of taking a product that's really on the upswing and figuring out how to market it," she said in a recent interview at tour headquarters in Daytona Beach, Fla. "What motivates me now is making certain there will never be another generation of women who leave the game without having realized economic stability.

"We're changing the business model for how we operate. It's all aspects -- the way we run tournaments, the way we structure them. We're looking at health care options and retirement options. It includes figuring out whether we want to own our own real estate. We're looking at everything."

LTPC's...just what the world needs.

Asked about Augusta National Golf Club's all-male membership policy, she said: "I do believe a woman should be a member. It is a private club and they do have the right to invite private members, and I do believe at some point they will invite a woman. I just hope it's soon, and I do think Nancy Lopez would be ideal for them."

You go Carolyn! Take that Martha!

As for the media regulations boondoggle, Bivens told Peter Yoon of the LA Times that there is a black market for LPGA related photos that is cutting into revenues. Yoon writes:

Bivens said the regulations were designed to give the tour more control over how it is branded, much like other major sports leagues.

It was also an attempt to slow the proliferation of black-market photographs often taken by credentialed photographers under the guise of working for a news agency.

"The regulations were not directed at the mainstream media at all," Bivens said. "Everything hinged on the commercial use of the images and stories. It was not an attempt to step on 1st Amendment rights."

Paul Swangard, managing director of the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the University of Oregon, said the regulations were a good idea gone bad.

"Some would sort of scoff at some of those policies," he said. "Too much control can work against you."

Gee, you think?

Swangard, the sports marketing expert, said Bivens' next moves are critical.

"The LPGA sits at an interesting transition point," Swangard said. "It's climbed one flight of stairs, but it's still trying to find its place. The issue now is how to attack the next flight of stairs."

Nothing like a good stair metaphor to put things in perspective. 

New Yorker On Deepdale

The New Yorker weighs in on the Deepdale eminent domain situation with a "Talk of the Town" piece.

Tait on Slow Play

Alistair Tait offers a radical approach to slow play on the PGA Tour.

Establish a fixed time to play a stipulated round. If courses such as Pebble Beach and St. Andrews can establish fixed times, then I'm sure tours around the world could do so on a daily basis. If a player – any player – comes in over that time they forfeit a stroke. For serious violations two strokes. The onus would then be on every player in the field to get around in good time.

The time doesn't have to be penal and can be adjusted daily taking into consideration factors such course difficulty and elements.

Radical? Yes, but desperate times demand desperate measures. We've put up with this cancer long enough. 

Finchem's Pay

Ryan Ballangee goes where apparently no other writer will dare, questioning the new 6-year, $4.5 annual salary given to Tim Finchem by the Tour policy board, and cutting salary, uh, points for various acts he sees as Commissioner missteps.

Speaking of the FedEx Cup, no one — even the Commish — seems to know how in the world this thing is going to work less than 12 months from now. What exactly has he been doing to make this happen since the concept was announced last fall? You would think that since the Tour will dramatically change in response to the concept that the boss would expedite the rules for how it will work.

It is astonishing that the Fed Ex concept would be announced without what appears to be much idea how it would work.

...the Tour response has been to encourage course lengthening (except at the TPC at Sawgrass for some reason) at tournament sites and to use pin placements that are nothing short of brutal on Sundays.

This remains a great mystery: why does the Tour refuse to lengthen Sawgrass? As much as I feel course lengthening  is a disastrous trend, it should be done at Sawgrass if you want to maintain some strategic interest during tournament play and until a change comes (if it does). Ballangee points out that the Tour has quietly encouraged course extensions and yet, here they are not budging on the "crown jewel" in the TPC family.

And...

NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue gets paid $5 million per year to do his job. Look at his track record over his tenure and see what he has accomplished — salary cap, enormous TV deals, and football has become the national pastime. Now compare all of that to what Finchem has achieved, and remember that he doesn't have to deal with 32 billionaire owners. And you're telling me that Tim Finchem is only worth $500,000 less than Tagliabue?

Thongchai Is In!

Apologies to reader Blue Blazer who contended that major draw Thongchai Jaidee was a last minute invite to the Masters. Seems he was.

Take that Camillo and J.B.  I've long said the Malaysian Open winner deserves a spot in the Masters. Much stronger field than the FBR Open!

Elling On Tavistock

Steve Elling reports that one day after Gary McCord referred to Mark O'Meara as Tiger's b$#@h (family values web site here...), David Feherty handled the first tee introductions with more fun one-liners.

15 and Counting!?

Thanks to reader Steven for noticing that on top of Monty's WD at the BellSouth (there goes the gate revenue!), 14 others have pulled out.

What's the deal? Are they making the players come back for the final round on a Monday in August?

Hot Property

Doug Ferguson is covering the LPGA's first major of the year, and on behalf of his AP colleagues, gets a little revenge for this season's LPGA shenanigans.

But there is much work to be done if the LPGA Tour, as new commissioner Carolyn Bivens recently gushed, is really "one of the hottest properties in the sports world."

Of course, it's hard to take her seriously when Sorenstam's 2006 debut was shown on tape delay in the evening by The Golf Channel, which devoted its afternoon coverage to the Canadian Tour.

Now comes the first major championship of the year, and there is work to be done.

It takes away from the aura of a major when an Oscar Meyer "wienermobile" is parked between the putting green and the practice range. Equally rare at a major championship is when the top players have to play a pro-am for two days before Thursday's opening round.

The reasons why the LPGA Tour is riding a wave illustrates how far it has to go.

You go Doug! Oh and you thought the wienermobile couldn't be topped?

And there is Christina Kim, who speaks her mind, and sometimes she makes sense.

Sometimes she doesn't.

Asked about the world ranking in women's golf, which has been lampooned since the day it was published, Kim thought it should be based on more than performance.

"I think there should be opinion put into that," she said. "I think there should be other factors, not necessarily popularity, but if people, you know ... it's hard to describe. I think you have to have your heart and opinion put down on paper. And for that reason, I don't think it's ever going to be a truly successful means of ranking."

Key words: not necessarily popularity.

I mean, you know, it's like, you have to have your heart and opinion put down on paper.

You just can't make this stuff up.

This Guy Rocks!

I often find myself concerned that our friends outside the United States are missing out on the wonderful world of MBA/marketingspeak.

Then I read stories like this one courtesy of reader Graeme that nourish the soul.

Because as Martin Blake shows us in The Age, true leadership has made it to golf in Australia. Look out Ponte Vedra and wherever in the world the LPGA headquarters is located, because Paul McNamee is going to give Commissioner's Finchem and Bivens a run...for their inanity.

Paul McNamee has taken the reins of the Australian Open golf championships — both men's and women's tournaments — with a warning about unrealistic expectations.

McNamee, who has signed a three-year contract as executive chairman of the Open, says the notion that the men's tournament can become the "fifth major" is rubbish.

Ah, you're thinking, I like this guy. Here's the first sign of trouble.

McNamee confronted a similar malaise when he took over the running of the Australian Open tennis 12 years ago, although he made one distinction yesterday. "In brand development yes (it's similar), but there's one very important difference we should never forget. It (the Open golf) is not a major. It's not going to be a fifth major. But in brand development I do see similarities."

Brand development. Remember that Ponte Vedra. You can platform and re-contextualize it all you want, but never forget your brand development. And how does McNamee envision his brand development?

One of the methods he intends using is adding music as part of the entertainment package. "What I'd like to see is the Australian players feel they're really now being put on a pedestal and that the event really rocks. Once you do start selling tickets to the general public you are in the entertainment industry."

Adding music? Really rocks? Hey wait, the LPGA already has first dibs on rocks.

So I wonder, when he says rocks, does McNamee envision something like Al Czervik cranking up the volume to Journey's Any Way You Like It?

As for the intensely unpopular Moonah Links, McNamee really shows why he's fit to be running major golf events. Yes, that's right, you are no one in golf until you have a raging conflict of interest, and McNamee passes with flying colors!

This year's Australian Open is at Royal Sydney from November 16-19, but McNamee will soon have to confront the fact that Golf Australia has a contract to play the tournament three out of every five years at Moonah Links, a venue that has attracted savage criticism from Australian players. It is complicated by the fact that he is an investor in Moonah Links, giving him a clear conflict of interest that drew a laugh from him yesterday.

"You have to respect the contracts are in place," he said. "Whatever it is, it is."

No, you have to respect that a man has taken 2004's sports cliche of the year--it is what it is--and given it a gritty, post-modern Yogi Berra edge.

Whatever it is, it is!

And don't forget Paul, until it's done, it's not done.

The Big Bang

For over a year now flogging (or Tigerball) has been a much-debated topic on this site and written about on Golfobserver.com, so it was nice to see the Golf World cover story on this radical new approach that younger players are taking.

Ryan Herrington and Tim Rosaforte explore the concept with excellent sidebar support from Dave Shedloski, Matthew Rudy and E. Michael Johnson, focusing on the how the players are able to power the ball via equipment and improved physical conditioning (though in lumping J.B. Holmes in here, they appeared to ignore his comments earlier this year that suggest physical conditioning has little to do with his prodigious length).

The main story is a solid overview with several interesting anecdotes. Though I was disappointed that they didn't explore the role that course setup may be playing in all of this. (The narrower they get, the more pointless it becomes to worry about hitting it in the short grass...).

Loved this from Bubba Watson:

My goal is to hit it inside the white stakes. No matter where it is, fairway, in the trees, as long as I have a swing [I'm happy].

More worth your time is Herrington's blog post on the story. He looks at who in college golf will be the next wave of floggers ("big bangers" just doesn't quite work).

He includes more comments from a coach quoted in the story who talks about the mindset of younger players:  

 “A lot of people look around and say, ‘that’s really different,’ ” says Georgia Tech coach Bruce Heppler. “Well, not to [them] it’s not. It’s second nature. [They've] done it [their] whole life.

“It’s just crank it on down there and deal with it,” he continued. “Because I think they feel like short shots, no matter how hard they are, they’re really not that hard any more. You heard growing up ‘Don’t get that in between yardage. Don’t get that finesse shot.’ Well they laugh at that now. There are no hard shots if you know what you’re doing. They’ve figured out how to get it up and down and how to hit the flop and how much better the wedge is. How much more spin … now you’re reading you can get too much spin. So there are no hard shots if you know what you’re doing. So it just becomes an absolute birdie fest.”

“I think it’s a culture. Guys just play different. I mean I can go up and down my team and it’s little guys and it’s big guys. To see where we play from … that’s one thing about being at a place where you play the same place all the time. We’ve been at Golf Club [of Georgia] for eight years, nine years now. I can’t tell you how different it is. There were par 5s initially they didn’t go for. And longer par 4s now that they just try to knock it on, shorter ones now. Or just get it up there around the green and get it out of the bunker rather than with a wedge.”

And Herrington ends his post with this:

One last point … this philosophy of play in many respects is much like baseball catering to home runs and basketball evolving into dunk contests. Yet while people dig the long ball, that doesn’t mean it’s good for the game. Just as each of the coaches said that the Big Bang theory is practiced in college golf, they all each lamented this fact, longing for the time when shot-making was still important. I have to say I agree with them. By becoming infatuated with distance, players aren’t necessarily better, just longer.

Oh boy, another one to the add to the converted list. This media bias is contagious! 

Tour Pension Numbers

Andrew Both writes:

At a meeting hosted by commissioner Tim Finchem last week, players were given some examples of their projected retirement payouts.

For example, a 2006 rookie who has a Fred Couples-type career - more than 20 very successful years on tour - can expect to receive a pension of about $247 million, according to the tour's figures.

OK, you say, but not many players have as good a career as Couples. True, but consider the case of a player who has a Don Pooley-like career, 20 years on tour averaging about 75th on the money list. He can expect a payout of about $142 million, not bad for a so-called journeyman.

Of course, these figures, provided to SportsTicker by a player at the meeting, are only projections, educated guesses at best, but even if they are grossly overstated, the tour's bottom feeders will still be very well taken care of barring a major long-term economic catastrophe.

Some of the newer tour members were flabbergasted to learn these figures, and there are skeptics who doubt their accuracy.

"Where is this money coming from?" asked one insider. "You're talking billions of dollars. Are these guys smarter than every other investor in the world? If a journeyman stands to get that sort of money, how much can Tiger expect?"

It seems the key to receiving a massive pension is longevity, keeping your job for a decade or more, even if you never win. And you thought it was all about the trophies.

Sean, try to keep the posts to 500 words or less!  And thanks to reader Noonan for this story.

The First Green Jacket

From Larry Stewart in the L.A. Times, writing about 60 Minutes producer Rick Schwartz:

Schwartz and a camera crew visited Earl's home in Cypress, as well as the home of Woods' mother, Kultida, in Tustin Ranch. After the crew was done shooting in Tustin, Kultida invited Schwartz in for lemonade and showed him her shrine to her son — pictures, trophies and lots of memorabilia.

"One picture stood out," Schwartz said. "It was of Tiger the night he won his first Masters. He was curled up in bed in a rented Augusta house, sound asleep, arms wrapped tightly around his first green jacket.

"I asked if I could bring our cameraman in just to shoot that one picture. Kultida smiled and said there was more of a chance of me winning the Masters."

Masters Field Is Set

Sabbatini, Ames and Oberholser are the last three to qualify...

Trial Balloon

Watching players struggle with 6-8 inch rough at TPC Sawgrass that Tiger Woods took issue with because it compromised Pete Dye's design concept, I couldn't help but wonder what will happen when a player is injured by such a setup tactic.

Imagine an injured wrist, elbow or shoulder caused by rough that was harvested to take driver out of the players hands. And why? Because players might make a few too many birdies and hit 350-yard drives, causing people to notice that the game is out of balance.

Readers of The Future of Golf know that I wrote about the possibility of a player someday suing a governing body over a Meeks-like setup boondoggle, but I think injury is going to come first.

If a player is injured trying to hit out of ankle high, over-fertilized rough watered differently than fairways, will this be shrugged off as a "rub of the green," "that's the risk they take" situation? 

With the USGA's David Fay suggesting at last year's SI Roundtable that he would like to see 8 inch rough heights for shorter holes like Winged Foot's 6th, it seems that the anti-birdie, anti-distance rough is going to be coming to major championship golf. Inevitably someone will get hurt.

How absurd is that?

Hansen On Treviso Bay

Tom Hansen writes about the latest Florida TPC course at Treviso Bay:

Gray leans over his dusty, green Land Rover and expands the rolled-up drawings. [Arthur] Hills and [Hal] Sutton have already collaborated on the layout of the course. They used aerial photos to create the potential masterpiece.

That's a new one...I wonder if they've ever met?

Gray explains that the 1,050-acre project is actually four parcels of land. One parcel, called B, won't be developed for several years.

"People don't realize how big this development is," he said.

The 7,200-yard course will occupy the south end of the project. It stretches almost to State Road 951. The golf course will be separated from most of the housing development by the wetlands. Only 40 estate sites will be for sale on the golf course.

"It's going to be pretty core golf," Gray said.

We had core golf, now we have "pretty core."