Oberholser Flirts With 59

Arron Oberholser came to 18 at Cottonwood Valley knowing that he needed birdie to shoot 59. His entertaining post round remarks:

TODD BUDNICK: Let's walk back to No. 18, and at that point did you know you had a chance when you got to the tee at 18

ARRON OBERHOLSER: Absolutely. From the tee shot all the way into the putt I knew I had a chance for 59 and it made me smile. It's a great feeling.

TODD BUDNICK: Walk us through that hole.

ARRON OBERHOLSER: Well, the tee shot I wasn't really nervous on the tee shot, although I didn't hit you couldn't tell by the way I hit it. But I absolutely hit the worst chunk pop up 3 wood of my life, not that I hit a lot of those, but that one was bad. And it left me 236 yards to the hole on 18 with a perfect lie in the middle of the fairway.

But a cart kind of disturbed me coming up the path to the right and I was set in my routine and I was focused, and I look up there and in my vision I see this cart coming and they weren't stopping. So I backed off. I was fine with it. I just told my caddie, I said I'm just going to let him come all the way through. So he saw we were on the tee and stopped. But I still didn't feel quite right. Got up there, didn't make a very good swing, popped it up, more of a nervous swing than I had anticipated.

And then I got to the shot in the fairway, and I was still very calm, felt great, just cherishing the fact that I had a shot at 59. It's really cool to have a shot at 59.

Woosley, my caddie, Dave Woosley, my caddie, he kind of maybe could sense that I was getting a little bit uptight, so he asked me about my girlfriend and how is she doing, and I said, she's doing fine, and we started talking about that. So that kind of took my mind off of it. It freed me up to make a good golf swing, and I hit a 3 iron from like 236 to like 15 feet right of the hole.

And then walking to the green, man, I had a smile from ear to ear. It's just so cool. I mean, it's the best nervous you can be because it's exciting. It's the same you're just soaking it in. Like a putt to win a golf tournament. Sure, when you get there, you want to be focused and ready to hit the putt. But up to that, man, you don't have a lot of opportunities out here like that, soak it up, enjoy the moment. It was really cool. I highly recommend it to everybody.

Scott: "They've got to build courses and set them up to how the equipment is"

Adam Scott, after round one of the Byron Nelson:

Q. Some of the clubs you hit in are staggering from the clubs of a few years ago people hit in here. Lob wedge at No. 8, which is 457; 5 wood, sand wedge at 9. There was another staggering 7 iron at 16; pitching wedge at 18

ADAM SCOTT: Well, it was windy today, too. I mean, they were probably the downwind holes. It was windy, but yeah, the ball is going a long way and the courses are getting short. Like 450 is no big deal for a par 4 at all; even if it's not windy you're going to hit a short iron in. That's just the way the game is. You've got to take advantage of it if you can hit it out there.

Q. How do you feel about 450 yard holes now being sand wedge holes?

ADAM SCOTT: Well, I mean, that's how long they've got to be for us to have them a little tricky. It's tough, they've got to build courses and set them up to how the equipment is. For the Tour, anyway, they need to because that's I think the pros get the real advantage out of the equipment. We find 20 yards somehow, every year it seems.

SilverRock Not Up To Standards (But The Classic Club Is!?)

Larry Bohannan reports that the city of La Quinta's $58 million and counting SilverRock project, expected to host the Bob Hope starting this year, has been passed over for 2007 too.

La Quinta city officials expected their SilverRock Resort golf course to be approved for the 2007 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, but a PGA Tour official said Friday the course simply isn't ready for a tour event.

"There has been some progress (at SilverRock), but it hasn't been enough," said Tim Crosby, director of tournament business affairs for the tour. "We told the Hope committee we would not approve the course as a Hope venue for 2007."

The PGA Tour informed the Hope board April 27 that the Arnold Palmer Course at SilverRock Resort was not approved for 2007. The tournament board told the city this week in a three-sentence letter that the course won't be included among the four to be played in January's Classic, and that the sides should sit down to discuss the coming years.

City and course officials say they still haven't been told the exact problems the tour has with the course and have not seen the letter from the PGA Tour detailing the specific concerns. Tom Genovese, the city manager for La Quinta, said he talked with Classic executive board member John Foster on Thursday, and the two sides are trying to arrange a meeting.

"Everything right in front of you"

Add Billy Andrade to the list of those noting Quail Hollow's "everything right in front of you" genius. He's forgiven because he earns himself a fine for ripping TPC's and he's a friend of Brad Faxon, so he must be a nice guy. But Billy, on this everything in front of you stuff, as a guy who likes books, would you want to know how they end before you crack 'em open? Or get the character of a song after one listen, the nuances of a film the first time through, the...okay, I'll stop now...

Q. Do you think you guys play enough courses like this?

BILLY ANDRADE: No, we don't. We play more cooky cutter TPCs are more cooky cutter type golf courses. We don't play old style. The problem is that it's hard to give up golf courses. Their memberships don't want to give up classics. It's hard to come into places look at Westchester. That course there is the best. If we ever left that, that would really hurt that tournament. But I would love to see us play more classic golf courses that you see in the majors, but on a regular Tour event, it's tough to play these type of places.

But it's just such a this reminds me a lot of home, a lot of old style New England, old golf courses that are just everything is right in front of you. It's easy to see, it's easy to figure it out, and a lot of the courses we do play are built for spectators, and a lot of dirt is moved and more manufactured. It's different.

I don't think you get too many players out here that are going to complain about this place. I think all it is is praise when the golf course is this good.

Love Those Pro-Ams

From Davis Love's first round Wachovia press conference:

Q. I'm doing a story on Pro Ams, and obviously you play in a million of them. Do you have any kind of favorite quotes or stories of guys driving to out drive you or looking for that magic tip?

DAVIS LOVE III: No, there's always the guys trying to play really good. Somebody asked me that the other day and I couldn't come up with one but then I came up with one later, which always happens.

My brother was caddying for me at La Costa back when it had a Pro Am, and I guess it was a guy topped it and it was wet and went in front of him and then it spun back and went behind him. We said, now we've seen it all. We've seen every shot that can be hit. I've never seen one go spinning backwards.

He hit it again and hit it in the rough and then he hit it down there and he was in the first cut of the fairway, and he hit it and he topped it again, and it went straight down and he lost it. It was in the dirt. It went in the dirt so far down that we couldn't find it. We would have had to have a shovel to dig it up. It was like six or eight inches down in the mud.

Q. What's the USGA rule on that?

DAVIS LOVE III: I told him just to pick up. That's when we said maybe we haven't seen it all and we've got to keep on our toes.

The Conversation Kind of Wanes...

John Dell files the now-traditional Wachovia perks story, but includes this gem from Billy Andrade:

Another benefit is three-man pro-ams - one pro and two amateurs. Most of the other pro-ams on the PGA Tour are foursomes or fivesomes.

But Andrade said it's sometimes awkward playing with only two amateurs.

"You pretty much know everything about the two guys you are playing with by about the sixth or seventh hole," Andrade said, "so then the conversation kind of wanes after that."

Big Easy Blues

Ron Kroichick is already tired of the PGA Tour back-patting for returning normalcy to New Orleans. Wait until he hears CBS debut Yanni's new Fats Domino-inspired "Katrina Theme," backed by a 400-member violin section. Just kidding.

It's obviously a sign of progress for normal business to resume. But golf as therapy for one of the worst natural disasters in United States history? Easy now.

Make no mistake, the PGA Tour has been generous in its response to Katrina. The Tour's hurricane-relief fund has raised more than $5 million. Louisiana native David Toms has contributed time and money. Phil Mickelson, playing in New Orleans for the first time, announced Wednesday he would donate his prize money to hurricane-related charities.

Still, the tone emanating from New Orleans this week has bordered on excessive. The presence of professional golfers will not magically clean up the destruction, nor will it abruptly revitalize the region. And though the PGA Tour is skilled in the art of self-congratulation, it's not as if all the top players flocked into town to support recovery efforts.

Speaking To The Decision-Makers...

Reuters offered these Tim Finchem comments on the Tour's return to New Orleans:

 "The PGA Tour is trying to do its part to communicate to corporate America what is happening in New Orleans and what can still happen," Finchem told a news conference after hosting an economic forum attended by around 100 chief executive officers (CEOs).

"Our telecast this week will be speaking to the decision-makers throughout America.

"Our telecasts skew higher than any other sport in terms of reaching CEOs, vice presidents, chief marketing officers, people that would make the decisions to bring groups here, the individuals who make the decision about how to expand their businesses.

"I don't think most people recognise it, but if you add up the cumulative audience of a PGA Tour event it is second only to the NFL (National Football League) in terms of the total number of people that come in for a telecast."

The Lukewarm Reviews Are In

AP's Chris Duncan reports that the Rees Jones-David Toms course at Redstone didn't exactly remind them of Riviera.

The Shell Houston Open will move to the weekend before The Masters next year, a change organizers hope will lure a more star-studded field.

It's not the date, but the course that could keep many away.

The Tournament Course at Redstone, where Stuart Appleby shot 19 under last weekend to win the event, got a lukewarm response from the players, most of whom were seeing it for the first time.

Vijay Singh won the previous two Houston Opens at the adjacent Jacobsen/Hardy course at Redstone. The event moved to the 7,457-yard Rees Jones layout this year.

Singh said too many of the holes look the same.

"The golf course did not grow on me," said Singh, the 2000 Masters winner. "Normally, the more you play, the more it grows on you. I just hope they go back to the old golf course next year. I think that's the consensus of most of the players."

Bob Estes, who finished second to Appleby, didn't like the distance between holes. The second tee was more than a quarter mile from the first green and though players had carts waiting to shuttle them, Estes said the process backed up play.

"It's just so spread out, the rounds were really long, and that's the downside of it," Estes said.

I'm shocked.  Jim Nantz said it was getting rave reviews!

Hartford: They Were The First Port 'O Call!

Commissioner Tim Finchem drops a juicy nautical metaphor in this Bruce Berlet story on how Hartford landed back on the 2007 PGA Tour FedEx Cup schedule.

First, you might some want some Dramamine after this song-and-dance routine on the summer vs. fall...

"It was a tough call but we thought, for a lot of reasons, that it could work quite well in Hartford in the fall," Finchem said. "But that was a miscalculation of the attitude of the community, which felt strongly that it could not be as strong in the fall. That led to the shift in interest in the Champions Tour, which obviously isn't as big a deal but what [the Jaycees] thought might work better in the summer than the fall date.

"Hartford had always been a priority for us, but [its date] had moved around a lot and inhibited the tournament from being able to grow from a marketing standpoint. We never felt Hartford was a tournament that didn't deserve to be in the summer, but we just had to make some choices. We made the determination that we were going to lock people into dates as best we could, and we felt Hartford would be good in the fall because of agronomics, weather, being one of the top two or three courses in that time frame and being able to be marketed well."

Amazing what work it is to say "the 84 Lumber people were more willing to meet our price, then they changed their mind."

Now, for those permutations of the port of call...

"But the community felt they would much prefer to be in the summer, so we worked with them on all the permutations. We already knew it could work in the time frame and told St. Paul we weren't in position to do exactly what they wanted to do to trigger their commitment. But when 84 Lumber stepped aside, they were the first port of call and everybody got excited."

 You know I've been thinking, the Commissioner could better tap into the youth market if he would talk more like HBO's Ali G. Using the Ali G translator tranzlata, see how that last statement could better connect with the coveted 18-34 year olds:

"but da community felt dey would much dig to be in da summa, so we worked wiv them on all da permutations. we already knew it could wurk in da time frame and told st. paul we weren't in position to do pacifically wot dey wanted to do to trigga their commitment. but whun 84 lumba stepped aside, dey were da first port of call and me crew got excited." 

"Me crew" is just so much more youthful. Anyway, just a suggestion on skewing younger Commissioner. Yours in branding, Geoff.

Oh, and he also talked to Berlet about the FedEx Cup...

Finchem said the FedEx Cup points system is likely to be finalized at a tour board meeting in June, with major championships having more points but not "throwing the system out of whack." Players will accumulate points from January to mid-August, and those higher in the standings will have an advantage going into a three-event series in suburban New York, Boston and Chicago before playing the Tour Championship.

"Top players have to pay attention to the aggregation of points and that translates into the likelihood of playing a more concentrated schedule," Finchem said.

Ah, maybe he's been looking at MacDuff's FedEx point standings?

Campbell on New Redstone Course

Steve Campbell looks at the new Houston Open design by Rees Jones and David Toms that is debuting this week.

If the Tournament Course lives up to the reputation of its designer, then the SHO should be a breakout hit. Rees Jones has established himself as major-championship course doctor of sorts, the man the United States Golf Association and PGA of America turn to when they want to upgrade a classic layout. The son of renowned course architect Robert Trent Jones, Rees Jones has performed major undertakings at the likes of Congressional, the Country Club, Bethpage Black, Pinehurst, Torrey Pines, Medinah, Hazeltine, Baltusrol, East Lake, Sahalee and Atlanta Athletic Club.

"I've been very fortunate in my life to have done a lot of these championship venues," said Jones, whose body of work includes Redstone collaborations at Shadow Hawk and The Houstonian. "The more I do, the more I understand what you must do to challenge the best."

Nothing like learning on the job!

To that end, Jones designed a course that plays longer from the back tees than any on tour so far this season. The Tournament Course is also 51 yards shorter than the adjacent Peter Jacobsen/Jim Hardy Redstone Member Course, which served as SHO's halfway home the previous three years. Jones describes the Tournament Course as a "neo-classic" design that favors strategy and shot-making over raw power.

Longest on the Tour so far, but it favors strategy and shotmaking over raw power. Makes sense.

One of the distinctly Toms touches was No. 12. The 338-yard par-4 is, depending on the wind, drivable. With the reward of a possible eagle comes the risk of hitting the tee shot in the lateral water hazard right of the green.

"I'm hoping they set up the golf course to let guys use that risk-reward strategy," Toms said. "We don't get that very often. There's always thousands of people around those holes, trying to see what the pros can do, seeing if they can make an eagle or a double (bogey). They're well-received with the spectators, and the pros like them as well."

Wishful thinking based on this year's course setups.

"The golfer has a choice," Jones said. "I think that's great for a championship. We're making them strategize. The winner will be under par. But we're making him manage his game by the green contours and the angles of the greens. He knows the easy route may lead to a three-putt or the harder route could lead to disaster but has a greater reward."

It all sounds so good.

Portrush, England

From Bernie McGuire in the Telegraph:

Darren Clarke's goal of playing all four rounds of the Verizon Heritage Classic was not going to plan long before he was introduced on to the last green as "From Portrush, England. Darren Clarke."

Hey if Portrush was in England, we'd actually get to see a British Open played there.

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?

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!