"Hang on a sec while I look this up. Ah, yes, it's come back to me now. Zach Johnson."

Always great fun, Martin Johnson goes picking on Zach Johnson while writing Monty's Masters obituary:

It is not as if the Masters doesn't need a bit of extra pizzazz this year, given the identity of the holder of the green jacket. It is, for those of you who might have forgotten, Jim Jackson. No, sorry, Jack Jimson. Hang on a sec while I look this up. Ah, yes, it's come back to me now. Zach Johnson.

Johnson will have a lifetime exemption into the Masters (please try to contain your excitement) and could still be playing in it when he requires a zimmer frame to get on to the first tee. The Masters is not only an invitation tournament, but until recently it took away places from the likes of Montgomerie to accommodate Methuselahs like Doug Ford, Charles Coody, Tommy Aaron and Billy Casper.

Els Dumps Leadbetter

Steve Elling reports on the latest sign of desperation intense desire to improve from Ernie Els...

The third-ranked player in the world told CBSSports.com on Monday night that he has joined forces with Butch Harmon, who can now boast three of the top eight players in the world rankings as members of his stable. Els had been a client of David Leadbetter for two decades.

"We have been friends for 20 years and will always be friends," Els said of Leadbetter. "I'm giving him a ticket here for this week. This is purely a professional thing."

Uh, Lead couldn't have got in otherwise? What, he's not paying his PGA of America dues?

And..

Yet the coaching change came as a surprise, given how long he and Leadbetter have been allies, not to mention former neighbors at an upscale Orlando, Fla., club. Els began working with Harmon three weeks ago on the range in Miami and has been sending the Las Vegas-based swing guru video via computer for the past couple of weeks.

"The wonders of technology," Els said.

Dateline Augusta: Monday April 7 Edition

My daily clippings collection debuts at GolfDigest.com.

Warning: it's a long one. I can't help it that the media has done its usual bang-up job setting the table for The Masters.

"They are missing the point really. Surely what we shoot should not matter."

John Huggan talks to Geoff Ogilvy about his recent practice round at Augusta and about last year's event.

“Even before the character of the golf course was so obviously changed, the angles were slowly being killed off,” counters Ogilvy. “In their place has come an obsession with how fast the greens are, surfaces that should really be slightly slower and a bit firmer. If the club achieved that, the angles would be brought back into play.

“As things stand, the turf is too soft for the course to truly play ‘firm and fast.’ On holes like the 5th, where Jones wanted you to run the approach shot in, you can’t do it because the ground is too soft. So it isn’t just on the greens where too much water is applied. But if they cut back on that they would lose the ‘greenness’ of the place. If you look at the pictures of Augusta back in the 1970s, the course wasn’t green at all. It was a motley brown, just as it should be really.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge fan of the course – especially the putting surfaces – and Augusta does look pretty special when it is as green as they like it to be, but that verdant colouring does compromise how it plays. It’s a shame. They are missing the point really. Surely what we shoot should not matter. But everyone seems to think it does these days. And what has been lost is the fun we should be having playing the course and, in turn, the fun the spectators should be having watching us. The original point of the Masters was that it should be fun to play and fun to watch.”

Regarding the change at No. 7...

“With that new pin position you can expect to see guys putting off the green. It’s at least a real possibility. Knowing what is possible, you’ll probably see guys playing safely to the right then leaving their first putts eight feet short. I’m sure that is the effect the officials want. Fear is their biggest weapon sometimes.

And the tree removal at No. 11 does not sound very Oakmont-like...

“The 11th hole is just the same. They claim to have removed some trees, but if they hadn’t told me I wouldn’t have known. What has changed is that there are pine needles rather than grass under the trees. That only makes things worse, as the needles are those big fluffy ones. They are horrible to play off when they are not raked and smooth. Again, I’m not sure what the motivation for that is; if you hit it over there you are going to have to chip out anyway, just like last year.”

"He took it off"

In profiling Augusta National chairman Billy Payne for the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Steve Hummer talks to Payne buddy A.D. Frazier.

Frazier, who is not an Augusta National member but regularly attends the tournament, witnessed his buddy inform a club member in passing how much he disliked the man's hat. It was nothing obviously tasteless — it had neither "Caterpillar" nor "U.S. Beer Drinking Team" stitched above the bill. It was just a straw hat as Frazier remembers it. But Payne thought it not quite appropriate for a green-jacketed symbol of the Augusta National ideal.

And what did this un-named member, a powerful man as befits a member of one of golf's most exclusive enclaves, do?

"He took it off," Frazier said.

Maybe Payne is more like Clifford Roberts than we think?  Meanwhile, Hummer also includes this about the chairman's job: 

"It's a tough job," said David Owen, author of "The Making of the Masters," a look at the beginnings of the club and the tournament. "No one wants to be the one [chairman] who makes a big mistake."

The good news is the classification of chairman who made several mistakes was nabbed by Hootie Johnson several years ago. 

"They could play it almost how we used to play it."

Scott Michaux considers the chances of long-driving Masters rookies J.B. Holmes and Bubba Watson, sharing this from Tiger Woods:

"God, it would be so much fun to watch those guys play with no rough out there and just have them bomb away and see the angles they could create," said Tiger Woods, thinking back on his early experience before major changes to the course. "They could play it almost how we used to play it."

Of course, the club's stance is that players would never think of using such angles in today's game, even though they really don't ask them how they play the course.

But even worse, Tiger is saying the course plays differently and it sure sounds to me like he finds it far less interesting.  

"Of those 90, there are 20 old guys still playing, past champions, who shouldn't be playing golf. So, technically, it's a field of 70."

Thanks to reader Rick who posted on thegolfwatch.com blog about Jim Byers' story on Stephen Ames saying something...that's right, stupid!

"When you compare it to the other major events, it is the weakest field technically. There are only 90 players (at the Masters); the top 50 players in the world are guaranteed. Of those 90, there are 20 old guys still playing, past champions, who shouldn't be playing golf. So, technically, it's a field of 70."

Of course some might say there are former Players Champions who shouldn't be exempt, either...

"Hey, I'm just quoting facts," Ames told the Calgary Herald. "The Players Championship is a stronger field than that one."

Commissioner Finchem note to assistant: send Stephen yet more cases of PGA Tour wine for that one. 

"At Augusta, there is a huge range of difficulty on the greens."

John Huggan previews Tiger Woods' chances this week and talks to Geoff Ogilvy about various things.

"Putting is a big thing in any event, but it is huge at Augusta," points out the Australian. "Especially the short putts. You usually find that making a lot of six-footers is a pretty accurate gauge of who is hitting good approach shots. Six-foot putts from certain spots at Augusta can be a whole lot easier than a two-footer from the wrong place, usually above the hole. So bad second shots usually lead to tough six-footers for par. And, sooner or later, you are going to miss one of those. At Augusta, there is a huge range of difficulty on the greens."

That assessment isn't exactly good news for Ogilvy and the rest, of course. Week in and week out, Woods holes out better than almost anyone. And his relative failure at Doral will, if anything, have made him even more determined to begin another of his patented runs of success.

"My beating him may have hurt our chances at Augusta," admits Ogilvy. "Now the pressure is off him and he can freewheel. Who knows though, expectations have never seemed to weigh him down too much in the past."

Masters Week Coverage

The blog here will have the usual Masters stuff like posts, links to sites and live blogs of the four tournament rounds. However, I'm pleased to announce one change.

In the past I've done a daily "clippings" breakdown highlighting the media coverage from Augusta National.  However, as part of its Masters coverage GolfDigest.com has provided me a page titled Dateline Augusta where I will be offering a daily breakdown of the most important reading and reminders about television coverage.

My introductory post is up and full coverage will start early Monday morning.

Posting here at GS.com will be light Friday and Saturday as I'll be remembering a friend and watching the Final Four.

"At Augusta, you do not fully appreciate many of the nuances until you have made a double or triple bogey by hitting it in the wrong spot."

The latest Links Magazine features Masters-related columns penned by Ernie Els and Geoff Ogilvy.

Ogilvy compares the Masters and U.S. Open and sums them up this way:

Overall, if I could only play either the Masters or the U.S. Open this year, I’d be lying if I did not say the Masters. With the exception of the changes to the 11th and 17th holes, where the club has planted too many trees, it’s easily the most enjoyable, exciting and fulfilling tournament we play all year.

Meanwhile Els seems to have had an epiphany and now likes the changes to Augusta National:

I really like the changes to the course over the past several years. But then again, being one of the longer hitters, I guess in theory it’s supposed to play into my hands. I remember talking to Tiger a couple of years back and we agreed that there’s a real chance the long hitters could separate themselves from the field if they get their games together.

One thing that has intrigued me is how some purists have a kind of “don’t touch” attitude to Augusta and many of the other great courses. These updates are not an unsightly stain on a masterpiece, but rather a successful restoration that brings back some of the original shot values that the designers intended for players. I support that philosophy.

Ernie used to be one of those purists who liked Augusta without the second cut:

Ernie Els wishes they would do away with the rough completely.

``It's hard to criticize Augusta National,'' Els said. ``It's one of my favorite places, and it still is. But I really enjoyed it the way it used to be.'

Second Guessing

My Golf World story on the second cut's 10th anniversary is now posted.

I couldn't use this Geoff Ogilvy quote with the story because it didn't fit in with the theme of whether the second cut has made Augusta more difficult or easier:

Augusta's setup is the model setup for every course on the tour except for Augusta. Flyer rough and slightly wider fairways would be perfect.

"What Hootie Got Right"

There are many points worth looking at in Ron Whitten's biennial reversal of his previous take on Augusta National's changes (we still love ya Ron!), so let's start with something that illustrates the club's approach to recent course changes.

Whitten writes:

To us, Hootie seemed haughty. Asked if players or architects were consulted before any course changes were implemented, he answered, "No, no players were consulted. Only Tom Fazio. We didn't consult him; we worked with him."

Then, later on in the story:

Fazio, consulting architect to Augusta National in recent decades, usually declines to speak on the record about any changes to the course. But last year, when told of Jones' article -- and about the specific language regarding approach angles -- Fazio couldn't resist."Why would we redesign a course for a game that nobody plays anymore?" he said. "Nobody hits fades or draws to certain spots in a fairway. They bomb it. They hit it very long, they hit it very straight."

Now, we could focus on the fact that Fazio and Hootie resist consulting the players, yet seem to know that they no longer play a certain game. Some might call it arrogance, from my perspective it's simple incompetence. If you see my story in Golf World this week, it includes many player comments that shed some different light on this.

But this is what I found most interesting:

Hootie Johnson, no doubt in deference to Payne, declined to comment, and in response to questions for Payne, the club replied, "The changes made to the golf course, including the addition and subtraction of trees and the defined second cut have not eliminated preferable angles for the players. The state of golf today must be taken into consideration. Historically, bump-and-run shots, balls hit with low trajectory and Bermuda greens made playing the angles more prevalent. Today, the game is different. Ball flight, how it spins, its trajectory and grooves on clubs have changed how people play this golf course. Players don't play the angles anymore to the same degree that was done in Jones' day. It's also important to remember that this course has always had some rough and that trees have been planted for a very long time." 

So let's say they are right. The players no longer attack the course strategically. They no longer play the angles.

So you take them away?

Now I could understand reducing fairway corridors if the club was trying to cut costs and reduce maintenance. But we know that's not the case.

I'm struggling to understand why you would take away options that believe players don't use. What's wrong with leaving them just in case say, temperatures drop and the course firms up and the options do become relevant again? I know, a stretch.

Furthermore, how do you know that they don't use those options if you do not play like them, or if you are not actually speaking to them about how they play the course? 

"He has zero interest in building the world's largest waterfall."

Alan Shipnuck profiles Adam Scott's efforts to improve his short game and ready himself for a Masters run, and includes this anecdote about his forays into golf course design.

"When he takes on a project, he dives in," says Adam's father, Phil, a prominent course designer in Australia. "He has been candid that last year he felt a bit distracted by all the decisions he had to make off the course." Last year the Scotts collaborated on Crooked River Golf Club, which will be the first Adam Scott signature design when it opens in 2010. Located in Kimana, 90 miles south of Sydney, the enticing site features rolling heathland, winding creeks and old-growth forests. After walking the land on a half-dozen occasions, Adam has come up with an old-school design featuring narrow fairways and small greens framed by challenging runoff areas. "His tastes are from a different era," says Phil. "He has zero interest in building the world's largest waterfall."

Well the waterfall part is good, but we definitely need to have someone explain to Adam that old-school is not narrow fairways and small greens! 

"He does, though, feel he makes an important contribution around the world in promoting golf."

Norman Dabell quotes Monty's agent, who tries to soften the blow of Monday's remarks about Augusta National's exemption policy.

"Colin completely understands Augusta's right to promote themselves," his manager Guy Kinnings told Reuters. "The last thing he would want to do is show disrespect or tell them who they should or should not invite."

Well I don't know if that's the last thing he would want, but...

"He's done everything he can to be there, including changing his schedule, and he's just very disappointed because he values the tournament so highly. He does, though, feel he makes an important contribution around the world in promoting golf."

Ah yes, we know how highly he thinks of himself, but thanks for the reminder. 

"It is a strange way to make up a field for a Major championship – television rights."

Mount Monty blows! The old bird couldn't even wait until the end of the week.

James Corrigan has the tantrum:

The Scot will miss Augusta for only the second time in 17 years after slipping down to No 75 in the world rankings when he needed to be in the top 50 before yesterday's qualification cut-off point. But while lower ranked players from China, Thailand and India have received special invitations to play the first major of the season, the 44-year-old said he will be at home "washing his car". And he revealed that that is because the Asian countries have huge television markets.

See, it's not an April Fool's Day joke. The giveaway: Monty can't wait to wash his car. Brilliant he says.

Oh here's the part that will ensure he's never invited to the Masters: 

"There has been no call from Augusta and I am not expecting one," he said in Munich at a promotional event for June's BMW International Open. "Now, if I were the only person in the country, à la China, I might get in. It is a strange way to make up a field for a Major championship – television rights. They are quite open about why. They were when I missed out last time in 2005 when they picked Shingo Katayama who was 67th in the world and I was 51st. They picked him over me for the Japanese rights. And they have done the same with Thailand and China this time.

"I am not the only one who feels that way and not just because I am not in. In or not I'd be saying the same thing. It is a strange criterion to pick a major field.

"The Masters is the only one you can get invited to. At the Open, the US Open and the USPGA you have to qualify. But the Masters have their own rules so we will leave them to it. It would be easier to swallow if no one was invited and it was done on sporting and not commercial criteria."

And in lieu of a April Fool's Day prank, I give you Mike Aitken's exclusive one-on-one with Monty about the state of his personal life, published in January. It just feels like an April Fool's prank when he writes that Monty was one of Great Britain's most eligible bachelors and that he said his fingers were cut up from moving boxes. But wait, there's the line about the car washing.

Ah just hit the link, sit back and giggle.

Update on 2008-04-01 15:01 by Geoff

Scott Michaux fires back at Monty on the Augusta Chronicle blog.