Elephant In The Room Files: Green Speed Push Blows Up Again

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While I never enjoy seeing a course setup go bad--especially when I know how sick the PGA Tour rules staffers and weather forecasters will be following Saturday's TPC Sawgrass putting bloodbath--it's good to have days like this to remind people how close golf courses are taken to the edge in the name of resisting technological advances that no architecture can keep up with.

When Stimpmeter speeds hover in the 12-13 neighborhood, the slightest bit of drop in humidity mixed with little root structure and unexpected wind can send greens that just days before were said to be too soft (but still wickedly fast) into a state of goofiness. We reached a point in the sport where the green is taken up to extreme speeds and allowed to play too prominent of a role at all levels in part because agronomists are so good at what they do. But mostly, it's about, but the professional game having outgrown just about every course on the planet.

As the 2016 Players joined the list of tournaments influenced by a setup gone wild, we are reminded again that the modern golf ball, when hit by the world's best, goes distances not foreseen by designers and therefore is not something manageable by any design under 8000 yards.

The TPC Sawgrass, once a beast, is often overmatched in today's game. It's final defense, short of 5 inch rough and and adding new tees: extreme green speeds that are manageable until they're not.

Unlike every other professional sports league, the PGA Tour will never get in the business of regulating the equipment played at its events to keep courses relevant and green speeds at a sane level. So there is sweet irony in watching yet another position taken with profit margins in mind bubble to the surface at the Tour's marquee event.

The unfortunate takeaway most will have from Saturday's debacle will believe that the tour was angry at the low scoring and did this. But having been around the TPC all week, I didn't encounter one PGA Tour official even the least bit bothered by Jason Day breaking the 36-hole scoring record. This was a greater-than expected change in the weather that took greens so precariously close to the speed edge and turned them silly.

It's funny that a sport which self congratulates itself repeatedly for having more integrity than any other looks the other way when it comes to protecting the integrity of its playing fields, solely in fear of (potentially) costly regulatory fights that also might call into question golf's devotion to the gospel of unfettered capitalism. How is this sad state of affairs any less ridiculous than looking the other way on a doping scandal?

But I digress...

In Brian Wacker's GolfDigest.com round up of player comments, note Justin Rose's comment about the ball gliding over the greens. That's what happens when all moisture has been sucked out of the blades from mowing, rolling, heat, lack of humidity and perhaps some influence from the Precision air units underneath (assuming they were in use). Also note these numbers:

Over the first two days, there were 122 combined three-putts among the 144 players in the field. On Saturday there were 149 three-putts among the 76 players who made the cut, and 15 of those players had at least 34 putts for their round including McIlroy, who had 37.

Rex Hoggard has some eye-opening putting stats as well, and has this from PGA Tour VP of rules and competitions Mark Russell.

“We have done the same thing all week. We have been double cutting these greens and double rolling them and trying to get them firmed up,” said Mark Russell, the Tour’s vice president of rules and competition. “What happened today was just kind of a perfect storm with the weather. We weren't expecting a 20 mph wind all day, and the humidity 30 percent, not a cloud in the sky. And they just, you know, sped up on us.”

But then that doesn’t explain a three-putt percentage of historic proportions?

The Tour average for three-putts in a round is 2.93 percent, and on Thursday and Friday the field hovered around the norm with a 2.08 and 2.67 percent average, respectively. On Saturday that number skyrocketed to 11 percent.

Rory McIlroy had one of the worst days on the green, reports Will Gray at GolfChannel.com.

“I mean, it’s like a U.S. Open out there. I can’t really describe it any other way,” McIlroy said. “I just found I had a really difficult time adjusting to them. I stood up here yesterday and I said it’s amazing how differently the course plays from morning to afternoon, but I didn’t expect it to be like that out there this afternoon. That was borderline unfair on a few holes.”

McIlroy opened his round with a birdie, but he realized conditions had changed when his 85-foot eagle attempt on No. 2 raced nearly 18 feet past the hole. It led to the first of five three-putts on the day, including three such instances in a four-hole stretch on Nos. 10-13 that dropped him off the first page of the leaderboard.

Jim McCabe says the Shinnecock word came up a lot after the round.

“A lot of caddies kept asking, ‘What’s this remind you of?’ ” said James Edmondson, the caddie for Ryan Palmer. “Everyone said, ‘Shinnecock.’ ”

And when his back-nine 42 and round of 79 was complete, Ian Poulter blurted out “TPC Shinnecock,” only to catch himself and shake his head.
“I’ll refrain from saying anything,” Poulter declared, and wisely he moved to the autograph area and signed for a long line of youngsters.

ESPN.com's Bob Harig says players were not buying the tour's stance on greens getting the same treatment as the previous days. Technically that is true with one extra rolling between the conclusion of round two and the start of round three.

"It was a massive change -- it wasn't very subtle,'' Scott said.

"That was borderline unfair on a few holes,'' Rory McIlroy said.

"I felt like I was putting on dance floors out there,'' Billy Horschel said.

"It was crazy tough,'' Matsuyama said.

There were just three rounds Saturday in the 60s and only six under par. There were seven in the 80s. The 76 players in the field combined for 149 three-putts or worse -- a record for the course. There were 86 double-bogeys or worse.

Sergio's six-putt should not be watched by young children...

 

Early Photos Of Trump Turnberry Reveal Shocking Twist!

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Some of you may know I find the links golf move toward immaculately manicured jacuzzi bunkers to be a depressing evolution of seaside bunkering. Especially given what the old photographs show and the vitality of naturalness in links golf.

So imagine my shock and joy in seeing the first photos emerging from Trump Turnberry showing off the finished product. No more bathtub bunkers. Architects Mackenzie and Ebert deserve most of the credit, especially since they convinced The Donald to go this route.

Exciting stuff from Turnberry, which reopens soon and will be getting a full inspection from yours truly this July:


And click on the lower left photo to see the new par-3...

 

Tiger Opens Bluejack National: First Round Since Last August

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Well maybe those who don't want to see him tee up before he's absolutely ready may not need to worry about Tiger Woods teeing off for a while, as he revealed Monday's Bluejack National opener was his first since August, 2015.

Then again, as I noted in this week's Forward Press look at the week ahead, anything is possible with a man who showed up at a Masters untested. He has until late Friday afternoon to decide on Quail Hollow, so there is always the chance he enters a favorite tour event next week.

Bob Harig reports from the club home to the first Woods design in North America. It's a redesign of an existing course, opened on what appeared to be a much-needed beautiful day for Houston.

"I'm definitely a little tired but I feel pretty good," Woods said in an interview afterward. "I haven't been out here playing like this. I hadn't played any holes until today. I know people have said I've played holes back at Medalist, but I haven't. This is actually the first time I've played holes since Wyndham. It's been awhile.

A short highlight reel from the opener heavy on Woods, light on good looks at the course. And you may recall the club's short course opened in rather unbelievable fashion.

Adam Scott Not Opposed To Bifurcating Equipment Rules

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We'll put him down for reducing the driver head size. Since the scientists can only make a ball longer and not shorter, this may be an option.

From a very enjoyable Q&A with Brian Wacker at PGATour.com:

BW: If you were equipment czar of the game for a day, running the USGA and R&A, what would you change?
 
AS: I think it's possible that you could make an argument for having different equipment rules for us than the amateurs. I think that's almost logical to do that. I’d re-implement anchored putting because until I'm given facts that it actually is a game-improver, performance-enhancer, then I'm going to have to say I'd put it back in. Maybe driver head size is something I'd look at. That’s a massive difference now. When I was a kid, pulling the driver out of the bag was a concern, like you're going to have to make a great swing to hit a good drive. Now it's the go-to club. It's the most forgiving club we have. That's a huge difference in how you get off the tee to start a hole of golf.

And in the one-course-you-could-play-for-the-rest-of-your-life division, Adam picks...

 AS: I guess I'm torn. I could play Kingston Heath every day for the rest of my life in Australia, and the upside of that is in it's Australia and it's an amazing golf course. But I love Cypress Point. It's my favorite course in the world. I just love playing socially on those golf courses that are so much shorter and just less demanding length-wise for me, and then the people I play with can enjoy it. It's very hard to enjoy a round of golf when I play 90 yards from them. It's like we're on different courses. So those two, if I’m allowed to say two.

Video: Pinehurst No. 2 Five Years Later

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Lee Pace walked Pinehurst No. 2 with Bill Coore five years after the restoration that transformed the resort back to its architectural roots. While Donald Trump and a few were turned off by No. 2's presentation, the Donald Ross course has returned to prominence thanks to the work.

I found this about the rugged look of the course interesting. It's always amazing how folks equate a rustic look with more maintenance than a maintained look.

Indeed, there were plenty of cynics early on. Members and resort guests in 2010 in the backwash of the 2008 financial collapse simply thought Pinehurst didn’t have the money to maintain the course. Some in the design and maintenance business said you might get an interesting look out of the gate, but the vintage aesthetics would be difficult to maintain. All were wrong.

“Five years is a long time,” Coore says, gazing at the jagged bunker outlines up near the ninth green. “Look at those bunker edges, some people said they wouldn’t hold up. I’d say they’ve held up pretty well. The biggest fear we had was it would not be maintainable. Some people said the bunkers would fall in, you can’t maintain them. I guess it worked. They’re still there.

 The video:

Rejoice! Austin Country Club May Favor No One In Particular

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I can't spot an obvious design bias after getting reacquainted with Austin Country Club. The inward nine features three par-5s that will allow the bombers to attack, but also features some par-4s and 3's that will reward the patient precisionist. And the impeccable putting surfaces look to be about 12 feet and have no shortage of contour, aiding the creative minds at this week's WGC Dell Match Play.

Throw in the matter that the event starts on a Wednesday at a course that only really Jordan Spieth has played extensively, and there seems to be no obvious bias. Phil Mickelson admitted to be a little behind in his course knowledge preparation (Ryan Lavner writes for GolfChannel.com), which is probably a view shared by most of the players and caddies.

All of this is why I revised my bracket tonight and backed down off of my Rory McIlroy win selection. Of course, as Jim McCabe presents at Golfweek.com, unpredictability is the essence of this event.

Not that McIlroy can't dominate the course or handle the greens. It's the wind. The course was exposed to a healthy breeze today and much more is in the forecast. And as much as I love McIlroy in match play making 7-8 birdies a round, I don't love him in strong winds on a short, tight Pete Dye course (yes he won at Kiawah, but he could hit driver there...ACC looks like a 4-5 drives per round course).

Spieth's vaulted into my top spot based on his local knowledge, good karma after suggesting he might turn to reading things printed on paper over social media, clearing the air with his caddie, and his love of match play.

BTW, if you haven't filled out a bracket in our league, you still have time!

A few images from the course this afternoon:

 

 

. @justinprose99 under watchful eye of @truegolfcompany & Mark Fulcher, par-5 14th Austin CC @dellmatchplay @pgatour

A photo posted by Geoff Shackelford (@geoffshac) on Mar 22, 2016 at 4:47pm PDT