"Players don't get better in the long-term if they stand on the tee and are not required to exercise their imagination."

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It's comforting to know that the shallow love for rough and narrowness at the expense of strategy is not relegated to PGA Tour course setup. Derek Lawrenson on the setup last week in Dubai:

The Emirates Course in Dubai is one of my favourites but I do think the way it was set up last week meant it lost some of its charm.

Architect Karl Litten cleverly designed it so players would have numerous options both from the tee and with their approach shots. Many of those options, however, were taken away by growing the rough.

Take the par 4 sixth, where Litten's idea was to hit your tee shot as far to the left as you dare to get the best line into the green. Not last week.

That would have left you in the thick rough, meaning the only option was to aim for a thin strip of fairway.

Those in charge could point to a high quality leaderboard for validation. But players don't get better in the long-term if they stand on the tee and are not required to exercise their imagination.

Minds Crossing Over Dubai Ryder Cup Idea

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Mark Reason on the European Tour's disastrous idea to possibly entertain a 2018 Ryder Cup bid from their partners, Leisurecorp

Golf is a massive tourist pull in the area and David Spencer, the chief executive of Leisurecorp, confirmed the group's interest in heading a bid for the Ryder Cup.Spencer said: "It makes sense. Golf tourism is a fantastic product that we can gain more market share in. [A bid] has certainly crossed my mind. It's crossed [European Tour chief executive] George O'Grady's mind.

"It's a given that the Ryder Cup in 2018 will not be in the UK or Ireland. Is it possible for the UAE or Qatar to make a bid? Yes. Would a company like Leisurecorp want to be part of that and spearhead that bid? Most definitely."

It makes no sense whatsoever, unless of course, your a tour willing to do anything for a buck.

This is just sad:

Sir Michael Bonallack, the former R&A secretary, sounded a note of caution about the plans: "The Gulf is a major part of the European tour now and I'm sure they'd host it well," he said.

"My concern would be whether they would get the crowds that we see in Europe. It would be great for the fans to experience it as long as it's not too expensive."

Rory's 64 Underlines His Ryder Cup Potential!

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Isn't it just a tad early for a lede, albeit unbylined, like this? Reader Patrick thought so and sent the link in:

Northern Ireland teenager Rory McIlroy underlined his Ryder Cup potential with a timely eight-under-par 64 in the first round of the Dubai Desert Classic before play was suspended due to bad light.

The talented 19-year-old carded nine birdies to open up a one-stroke lead over Sweden's Robert Karlsson, only a day after new Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie named him as a potential candidate for Celtic Manor next year.

How does a 64 on some slab of desert indicate Ryder Cup potential?

Anyway, another legendary Irishman, Long Beach's Mark O'Meara, played with Rory and declared him the Next Tiger. 

Gee, I remember the days when they were the Next Nicklaus.

"All dollars being equal, what exactly does lucrative mean?"

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While Greg Norman is talking about the dim prospects for PGA Tour purses in the coming years (thanks to reader Jim), Doug Ferguson makes a pretty strong case that even a decline would only then bring the purses in line with the European Tour.

Much is made over some of its players - none named Tiger Woods, by the way - spending more time in Europe, even though that amounts to playing only five extra tournaments overseas. Ridicule is aimed at the FedEx Cup, even though its bonus pool is $35 million (27 million euros), which is 3 1/2 times more than what the Race to Dubai offers.

All dollars being equal, what exactly does lucrative mean?

The HSBC Champions, for which Mickelson is the defending champion, is among the richer events on the European Tour with a $5 million (euro4 million) purse.

That's $400,000 (312,000 euros) more than what is offered at Disney, the final event of the Fall Series.

What this doesn't take into account is golf course setup and architecture. Some of the players leaning toward the European Tour have made clear they are either fed up with PGA Tour course setup, bored with the architecture, or in some cases, searching for more week-to-week diversity as a means of honing their games.

 

"But it felt like I was always just a foot into the deep stuff and a foot away from having a perfect lie, and it wore on me."

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Steve Elling looks at the concept of PGA Tour players fleeing for the European Tour and includes this more detailed version of Robert Allenby's suggestion that course setup is influencing his decision.

Next week, while the Disney event will be mostly filled with journeymen seeking to retain their cards for next season, the HSBC field is expected to include Mickelson, Padraig Harrington, Adam Scott, Kim, Henrik Stenson, Sergio Garcia and Trevor Immelman. To be sure, the European Tour allows players to receive appearance fees, but the imbalance of power is pronounced.

Allenby said he's looking for variety, too, and took a thinly veiled shot at the PGA Tour's prevailing bomb-and-gouge mentality.

"I joined because I wanted to expand my golf, I wanted to play a different style of golf," said the Australian, who has lived in Florida for nearly a decade. "I thought I was getting a little bit stale. The golf courses (in the States) are set up the same way every week. I kept getting injuries over here, pretty much because the rough was so high, and I got sick of it.

"I got sick of playing out of six-inch rough every week. I'm not bitching or moaning about it. I know I am a great ball-striker, and I drive the ball very straight. But it felt like I was always just a foot into the deep stuff and a foot away from having a perfect lie, and it wore on me."

Fair enough. But like they say on the police shows, if you want to find the real reason behind the mystery du jour, follow the money.

"As a professional golfer we have to adapt to that by playing more internationally because that is where the opportunities are and that's where they will continue to grow."

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Martin Parry reports that Phil Mickelson really likes the idea of playing overseas. Why do I think Tim Finchem reads this and says, "why weren't you so eager to play overseas when we played WGC's on foreign soil?"

Phil:

"Certainly, the dollar weakening over the past few years has made foreign currencies much stronger, which makes the purses much larger, so there's been a lot of international wealth being created," he said.

"The US golf industry has been stagnant for quite some time so all of our growth has been occurring on a global basis.

"As a professional golfer we have to adapt to that by playing more internationally because that is where the opportunities are and that's where they will continue to grow.

"So I look forward to having opportunities to continue to play more internationally and I understand that that is going to be an important part of being an international golfer."

The 38-year-old, who has won twice on the US Tour this year, added that he hoped other golfers recognised the importance of not just playing more overseas but helping popularise the game in under-exploited markets.

"The States' market is stagnant so the more opportunities we can have where top players play throughout the world and expose those places to golf I think will help grow the game," he said.

"That's an important part of what we do. The (season-ending) FedEx Cup ending in September has given us much more opportunity to do that now."

"Is it Harry Vardon we have on our new Tour thing [logo]? Why isn't it Seve?"

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James Corrigan talks to Padraig Harrington about Seve's contribution to European Tour golf and offers this intriguing idea.

Said Harrington: "Is it Harry Vardon we have on our new Tour thing [logo]? Why isn't it Seve? He is the man when you think about it. He is the European Tour, and it is at times like this that you kind of say, well, we wish we had more of Seve."

Imagine if he proposed that in branding obsessed America? Let's hope this idea, uh, gains traction.

Shocker: Van de Velde Quits Full Time Play, World Is Stunned To Learn He Was Still Playing Full Time

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Norman Dabell reports:

"It's not like I'm going to stop playing completely but I'm definitely going to slow down a lot," Van de Velde told Reuters in a telephone interview on Tuesday.

"My career I can compare to a good bottle of wine. You take a glass and enjoy it; you take a second glass and really enjoy it; a third, then the bottle is getting empty.

"I've been going around the world for so many years and at the end of the day you can only do so much. Next year I will only play the tournaments I really enjoy.

"I don't know exactly how many I will play but the maximum will be a dozen," added the popular Frenchman who was struck down in 2007 by a virus which at one stage looked likely to end his career then.