Hawkins On The Commissioners

John Hawkins in the latest Golf World:

In 2006 we've learned Carolyn Bivens and Tim Finchem share at least one common trait: a zeal for prioritizing revenue generation over the game's competitive welfare, then trying to disguise their corporate mentality by peddling it as progress.

And...

The FedEx Cup format has been panned both inside and outside the ropes, becoming the first playoff series to include more participants than are eligible for the regular season.

Coming off the controversial decision to forsake ABC/ESPN and sign for 15 years with an endemic network such as The Golf Channel, Finchem appears to have bartered his legacy to strengthen the tour's fiscal standing. He calls title-sponsor suits to the podium at news conferences, a practice that further reveals his transparent motives. He uses his own time at the microphone to embark on tangents about the tour's economic prowess, then fends off pertinent questions with his patented semantic splendor.

Another Feather In Bivens' Cap

I tell you, I am going to miss her. You can't make this stuff up!

Robert Thompson writes about Carolyn Bivens in Canada and here beyond belief comment to Lorne Rubenstein.

“Lorne, you are much better looking than you sounded on the phone yesterday,” Bivens said. Is it just me, or is this an unusual comment to make to a major newspaper writer in the midst of an interview?

If Tim Finchem said that to Christine Brennan, he'd be packing up his office.

Coffin On ShopRite

Golfweek's Jay Coffin on the ShopRite situation, which is making Tim Finchem's handling of Washington D.C. look graceful.

"The ShopRite folks have not signed a contract with the LPGA since 2001," Bivens said. "We wanted them to have the same date, and while we were negotiating with several other tournaments their date was not in play. Then, after their tournament was over, we had no indication they were going to re-sign. That's when the ShopRite date was pulled into play. We are hoping we can work something out."

ShopRite's last LPGA contract did expire in 2001, but that's the LPGA's fault, Harrison said. He contends that the event has been more than willing to sign on the dotted line for the past five years but the tour has constantly dragged its feet in expediting the process. Besides, in 21 years the ShopRite has given more than $12 million in charitable donations, with more than $1.8 going to charity last year, the highest of any LPGA event. Harrison believes those statistics entitle him to better communication from LPGA brass.

"For somebody who says they care about the LPGA, (threatening a lawsuit) is not consistent," Bivens said. "We've retained a terrific law firm, (which) has reviewed this. We wouldn't be putting the LPGA at risk if we weren't sure we have the right to do this."

Whether, or how, the situation is resolved will not diminish Harrison's distaste for Bivens.

"She has no integrity," he said. "None. And if the (LPGA) board (of directors) doesn't do something soon, the whole tour will have no integrity."

In With Ginn

You'll be shocked, SHOCKED to find out that IMG was involved in the LPGA ShopRite Classic getting set aside for the "Ginn Tribute Hosted By Annika Sorenstam."

The press release:

<sup>GINN SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT TO STAGE ONE OF RICHEST LPGA TOUR EVENTS WITH $2.6 MILLION GINN TRIBUTE HOSTED BY ANNIKA SORENSTAM IN CHARLESTON, S.C.

ARNOLD PALMER DESIGNED RIVERTOWNE COUNTRY CLUB COURSE TO HOST WORLD'S GREATEST FEMALE PLAYERS MAY 31-JUNE 3

MT. PLEASANT, S.C., July 17, 2006 - Ginn Sports Entertainment LLC announced today that Ginn Clubs & Resorts will sponsor and stage its second LPGA tournament-- the Ginn Tribute Hosted by Annika Sorenstam at the Arnold Palmer designed RiverTowne Country Club Course at the Belvidere Resort, May 31-June 3, 2007.  The announcement was made today by Ginn Clubs & Resorts President Bobby Ginn and LPGA Commissioner Carolyn F. Bivens.

Ginn also announced that the Ginn Tribute Hosted by Annika Sorenstam will be run and operated exclusively by IMG and televised nationally by NBC Sports.

The 72-hole event will also focus on a tribute to an LPGA great each year.  The player will be honored and saluted in ceremonies during tournament week.

The addition of this $2.6 million event brings the fast growing Ginn Clubs & Resorts portfolio to four professional golf events-two on the LPGA Tour and two on the Champions Tour.  Ginn Clubs & Resorts hosted the LPGA's Ginn Open in Reunion, FL earlier this year and two Champions Tour events have recently been announced for 2007-the Ginn Championship at Hammock Beach set to be played March 26-April 1 with a $2.5 million purse and the Ace Group Classic Champions Tour event in mid-February of 2007 which will be hosted at Ginn's Quail West community and golf courses in Naples, FL.

"It is unbelievable how fast we are growing," said Bobby Ginn, President and CEO of Ginn Clubs & Resorts.  "I certainly didn't think we'd be where we are this fast with four professional events for our rapidly developing golf resort and real estate communities.  "We had an unbelievable first venture with the LPGA in Reunion and we'll stage another fantastic event in Charleston.  To have Annika Sorenstam, the world's greatest female player as our host makes this tournament even more special."

"I am thrilled and excited to host this prestigious inaugural event," said Annika Sorenstam.  "I have a great relationship with Bobby Ginn and Ginn Clubs and Resorts and this tournament further highlights the direction that we are taking together."

"We are very excited to once again team up with Bobby Ginn and the Ginn Company for the Ginn Tribute Hosted by Annika Sorenstam, which will debut in 2007," said Carolyn Bivens, LPGA commissioner.  "Ginn's initial event with us, the 2006 Ginn Clubs & Resorts Open in Orlando, was world-class from the start. I am confident that this will be repeated at the inaugural event in Charleston where players will experience exceptional hospitality and a fabulous course and fans will be treated to great competition by the best players in the world."

The Arnold Palmer designed course at RiverTowne Country Club that will test the skills of the greatest women players in the world was named the 2004 South Carolina Course of the Year by the South Carolina Golf Course Owners Association.  The 18-hole par 72 layout measures 6,679 yards from the medal tees.

Sixteen golf courses have either been constructed or are in development and Ginn's course architects are a Who's Who in the world of golf-Hall of Famers Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Nick Faldo, Nick Price, Tom Watson and Tom Kite all have either designed or are designing courses on Ginn's resort properties.

The Ginn Company commissioned golf legend Arnold Palmer to develop Charleston's first Arnold Palmer Signature Golf Course.  The 18-hole championship course includes 13 holes that wind along the Wando River and Horlbeck Creek.  The five sets of tees on this 7,200-yard venue provide spectacular challenges that are meant to deliver a memorable golfing experience to every player of the game.  RiverTowne Country Club received a 4.5 star rating in Golf Digest's Place to Play in 2005 and it was the South Carolina Course of the Year in 2004.</sup>

Shopping The ShopRite's Date

Michael McGarry on the LPGA's decision to give the ShopRite Classic's date away:

A South Carolina news conference today could escalate a feud between the ShopRite LPGA Classic and the LPGA.

The LPGA is expected to announce a new golf tournament at RiverTowne Country Club in Mount Pleasant, S.C., during the news conference.

Classic General Chairman Larry Harrison said Sunday night the LPGA wants the South Carolina tournament to be played the first weekend of June — the weekend the ShopRite Classic has been held the past two years.

Harrison said the Classic would sue the LPGA if its dates were given away.

“I feel like somebody punched us in the stomach,” Harrison said. “We were talking to them about a contract, and they were negotiating behind our backs with someone else. That didn't sit well with me.”

And just in case you weren't sure how ugly this was going to get:

Classic officials have had their differences with past LPGA commissioners and that is not unusual. Most LPGA tournaments at some time in their history have a dispute about dates with the LPGA. But this feud is above and beyond anything that has happened previously.

Harrison wants Bivens out as commissioner.

“It's mind boggling,” Harrison said, “why the LPGA board just doesn't cut its losses.”

Logan On Bivens

A few things worth noting in Joe Logan's analysis of the Bivens era:

Bivens also has developed chilly relations with many of the media that cover the LPGA, among them Dottie Pepper, the veteran LPGA player-turned-analyst for the Golf Channel.

"I started out as a fan of hers," Pepper said last week. "But she won't talk to me now. Unfortunately, it's Carolyn's way or the highway."

That approach always ends well for executives. And so smart to be rude to someone with both a column and a microphone. Or, as Carolyn would call, it, a multimedia platform. 

Even some of Bivens' early and ardent supporters within the player ranks, including Sorenstam and Juli Inkster, are beginning to waffle.

"I am quite concerned about some of the decisions and changes I have seen lately," Sorenstam said recently, breaking her silence to Golf World magazine. "I just wonder where we are headed."

And... 

To hear Bivens' critics tell it, she owes her rocky start to a style they liken to the proverbial bull in a china shop or, perhaps more apt around the family-oriented LPGA world, the lout who crashed the picnic.

"I think she came from a business that was pretty cutthroat," said Stephanie Hall, president of the TOA. "Where she came from, she was probably excellent. This may be a difficult transition for her."

Larry Harrison, general chairman of the ShopRite Classic, who is at odds with the LPGA over the future date of the Jersey Shore tournament, questions Bivens' integrity.

"I had some differences with [Bivens predecessor] Ty Votaw, but everything was always out in the open, and I never doubted his credibility," Harrison said last week. "I have trouble with her. While the LPGA was talking to us about our contract, they were in negotiations with somebody else to take our date."

Market forces Larry, market forces. 

More LPGA Class

Apparently Carolyn Bivens is determined to make Tim Finchem's handling of Washington D.C. and Chicago look good, as Ron Sirak reports on the latest head scratcher from LPGA headquarters:

According to sources familiar with the situation, the LPGA will announce next week a new event in South Carolina and sponsored by Ginn Clubs & Resorts, which debuted as a sponsor this year with a $2.5 million stop in Orlando. That's the good news. The problem is the date discussed with the new tournament is the week before the McDonald's LPGA Championship--a spot currently occupied by the ShopRite LPGA Classic, won this year by Seon Hwa Lee (pictured). Larry Harrison, general chairman of the Atlantic City event since its inception in 1986, says he'll sue if his date is given away.

"We have a letter from the previous administration guaranteeing us that date in '07 and '08," Harrison told Golf World. "Our lawyers think we have a very strong position. We told [the LPGA] if they announce this date we will pursue legal action."

Ginn has confirmed only that it has an LPGA-related announcement scheduled for July 17. The Post and Courier of Charleston, S.C., says the new event will be held at the Ginn property at RiverTowne CC in the nearby suburb of Mount Pleasant. 

Bivens: "I do speak in complete sentences"

John Branch of the New York Times weighs in on the struggles of Carolyn Bivens. Nothing new here except for brilliance from the commissioner:

 “I really don’t have three heads, I don’t have an eye in the middle of my forehead, and I do speak in complete sentences,” Bivens, the L.P.G.A. commissioner, said in a telephone interview Friday from the organization’s headquarters in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Branch drops this mini-bombshell, but leaves it up to someone else to explore what the Brand Lady has in mind.

Even re-evaluating the majors is on her mind.

“If a fairy godmother dropped down tomorrow, what would be the criteria for a major?” Bivens said.

Thanks to readers Noonan and John for sending the link to this. 

Say Goodbye To Hamilton Farm...

...say hello to The Donald? Thanks to reader Tom for this Kevin Manahan story in the Star Ledger about the possible move of the recently concluded LPGA match play event (I don't the name and I'm too lazy to look it up).

 "This is a great course. I love this place," runner-up Juli Inkster said yesterday. "But it's probably not the best place for a match-play tournament. I'll be disappointed. It's a great golf course, and the people here have been wonderful, but it's probably not the perfect setting for an event like this."

Brittany Lincicome, the 39th seed, upset Inkster in the title match, 3&2. But the 20-year-old also ousted Michelle Wie, the 16-year-old phenom, and Lorena Ochoa, the LPGA Tour's leading money-winner this season. Inkster said people should have seen it coming. Lincicome is one of the longest hitters on the women's tour, and Hamilton Farm, with its wide-open fairways, lets the bombers swing fearlessly on the tee boxes.

"I didn't hit my driver well this week, and I think I missed one fairway," Inkster said. "If there are courses for horses, this place was made for Brittany. She has a tendency to get wayward with her driver on other courses, but here she could just bang away.

"For match play, you need a course that gives you more risk-reward situations. Give the long hitters a chance to go for the par 5s in two, but make them pay a price if they miss the shot. I love this place, but it's not the best place for match play."

With the two-year contract expired and a new deal unlikely, the tournament will have to find a new home. Marc Webster, the tournament director, had no comment yesterday on the future, but there is speculation the event could move to Trump National Bedminster, which is less than 10 miles away.

Trump officials have denied interest in the event, but that might have changed. Carolyn Kepcher, managing partner of Trump Golf Management and the chief operating officer of Trump National courses in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., and Bedminster, was spotted at the pro-am on Wednesday, and people connected with the event said she was at the course "more than once."

LPGA Cookbook To Feature Bivens Recipe For Benchmarking

I'm teeing this one up for you, feel free to submit your recipe suggestions under "Comments."

GOOD LPGA EATS: LPGA Tour commissioner Carolyn Bivens and current and former players have combined with Canyon Ranch integrative wellness resorts on a 60-page cookbook: The LPGA Cooks with Canyon Ranch. Proceeds from the $10 US book will benefit Shape Up America!, a not for profit organization for raising awareness of obesity as a health issue.

Bivens submitted a recipe for beef lasagna.

Other recipes included Hall of Famer Nancy Lopez's turkey chili; Natalie Gulbis' healthy beef stew, Beth Daniels' Dijon chicken, Karrie Webb's avocado, mango and walnut salad, Ai Miyazato's Edamame rice balls and Morgan Pressel's championship bundt cake. Paula Creamer has recipes for raisin scones and chicken salad. Canyon Ranch chefs also provide new recipes.
 

Technology On The LPGA Tour

Steve Hummer penned this piece on technology and the LPGA Tour, with a few noteworthy quotes and anecdotes.

LPGA rookie Brittany Lang is in love. And it shows in that little extra bounce in her step as she hikes it down the fairway. Way down the fairway.

"The new technology is hot," she said.

Speaking early in the season, during the Florida's Natural Charity Championship at Eagle's Landing, Lang was just getting adjusted to professional life and some of the new toys at her disposal. Currently sixth in the LPGA in average driving distance (271.9 yards), she is part of a new generation combining greater strength and the latest supercharging of club and ball to add oomph to the women's game.

"By the time Q [qualifying] school ended and the time I started playing on the Tour this year, which was like three months, I worked on my swing. But I switched equipment to the newer stuff, and I was hitting my driver 15 to 20 yards farther."

Oh I don't know, maybe it was the agronomy that changed. You know, faster fairways. No? I agree.

The impact of technology on women's golf is largely superficial, though. Because women's tees are set ahead of the men's, they are easily adjusted as players add length without altering the character of a course. Unlike the men's tour, no one is worried about these players rendering classic old tracks obsolete.

Tell that to Peter Kostis!

The debate over how the new club and ball designs are fundamentally altering the soul of golf remains pretty much the property of the PGA Tour. Today's golf clubs are bigger, lighter and made of materials --- such as titanium --- that cause the ball to go farther. Vast improvements have also been made with the ball, increasing its distance and playability.

"I think that technology has helped the top male pro more than it has anybody in the game," said Karrie Webb, a 31-time LPGA winner. "It's supposed to be helping the average amateur golfer. I don't think they are getting the benefit out of the knowledge. They are just buying it all."

Karrie, Karrie...we need to get you some talking points!

The average distance of the top 10 drivers on the LPGA Tour has climbed steadily over the past 10 years, from 252.7 yards in 1996 to 274.7 this season. That is part of the package of younger players and the increased excitement around the Tour.

Well, and the branding intiatives that have brought it all together.

Sirak On LPGA Resignations

Golf World's Ron Sirak delves a bit deeper into the mysterious resignations of three key LPGA officials and seems close to having an answer as to what happened. Thanks to reader LPGA Fan for the heads up.

The final straw prompting the resignations was the tour's alleged attempt to set a benchmark sanctioning fee of $500,000 for a new tournament that wants to be added to the schedule. According to sources both inside and outside the LPGA, Bivens authorized the negotiation and then denied knowledge of it when the sponsor objected to the price tag. Asked about these allegations, the LPGA said through a spokesperson: "The LPGA is not shopping the LPGA Championship, and it is not seeking a $500,000 sanction fee for any event."

That denial will ring hollow if the LPGA Championship ends up in Virginia or South Carolina, for example. And the players will pay a steep price if McDonald's -- a generous and supportive LPGA tournament sponsor for 26 years, the last 13 of the LPGA Championship, the tour's flagship event -- takes its Big Macs and goes home. What happened that day at Bulle Rock may be in the past. But it is not over.

Mechem Stepping Down From LPGA Board

This may be old news, but I don't remember seeing it in Golf World or online anywhere. Sports Business Journal's Scott Hamilton reports that former LPGA Commish Charlie Mechem is stepping down from the LPGA Board at the end of the year.

The LPGA will have another management hole to fill at the end of the year. Former LPGA Commissioner CHARLIE MECHEM’s second term on the tour’s BOD expires at the end of this year and he will step aside. Seven top executives have resigned since CAROLYN BIVENS took over as commissioner last September, including three last week (two of whom were recently hired by Bivens). There has been no change on the BOD. Mechem would not comment on the turnover and other LPGA matters, saying, “It’s really up to the chairman of the board and the commissioner to speak for the tour, not for me.” Board members are limited to three, three-year terms, meaning Mechem could have kept his position through ’09. “It’s time,” said Mechem, who was LPGA chief from 91-95. “I’ll be 76-and-a-half years old then. There’s a time when people ought to think of turning it over to younger people. I’ll remain involved, but there comes an appropriate time for others to move in.”

Thanks LPGA Fan for the tip.

Yasuda: Bivens Making More Friends

Thanks to reader LPGA Fan for this Gene Yasuda Golfweek story that makes me think Carolyn Bivens will have a hard time making it past Thanksgiving. 

But during the Wegmans LPGA tournament in Rochester, N.Y., it became evident Bivens' style is causing problems of substance. So much that the tour's most important constituents – tournament owners – publicly have joined the fray.

During a June 20-21 board meeting of the LPGA Tournament Owners Association at the Wegmans, directors expressed dissatisfaction with Bivens' take-it-or-leave-it approach. Their complaints signal the most serious challenge yet to Bivens' administration and give credibility to industry whispers that her tenure may be short-lived.
 
But Bivens dismissed notions that her employment was at risk and assailed what she says is a vocal minority that's attacking her only to "protect the status quo."

"The band of TOA has decided it's all or nothing. . . That's why they sought out the media." Bivens said. "It's been difficult to sit back and read that I'm out here pissing off a bunch of people. Any change threatens some people.

Isn't it wonderful that she's so media savvy!? What branding.

However, at least a dozen tournaments are in various stages of contract renewal. Should events sever ties with the tour, some players, miffed by the reduced opportunities to cash paychecks, could break ranks and seek Bivens' ouster.
 
According to Stephanie Hall, the TOA's president, directors devoted their entire session – 10 hours over two days – reviewing the commissioner's leadership since she took office in September. Most revealing, Hall said the group focused on how it "can help move the needle off the administrational hiccups" and restore "the essence of partnership that's been lost."

Ouch!

Bivens said she is not worried about losing her job because she's doing exactly what her bosses want her to do. 

"The (LPGA Board of Directors) is 200 percent behind me," she said. "The staff and the commissioner are executing a direction that has been staked out by the board."

The staff that's left, anyway. And hey, at least she didn't use 110%!

But Bivens said she has made concessions – including the sanctioning fee adjustments for existing events – and added that "you have to move when the market allows you to move."

That's life in a free market.

"You've got a clash of old world and new, and you've got others who are saying, 'Don't you appreciate I've been here for 20 years when nobody else was here?' Absolutely we do," Bivens said. "But do you not charge market value for a product because somebody has been around for 20 years? That's really what we're talking about."

Of course, we knew that.

Hall declined to identify the events, but her breakdown makes clear that nearly 38 percent of the LPGA calendar potentially is in jeopardy.

Hey, it's not like it's 40%.

In addition, she insisted Bivens' critics were unaware of the strategic initiatives the commissioner is crafting behind the scenes.

"You're going to hear a lot of positive things over the next couple of months," Donofrio said.
 
But owners are tiring of that refrain.
 
"It seems every time we meet, we're being asked, 'Give us another six weeks,' " Hall said. "Or we're being told, 'We've got some great things happening.' It's been a year, and time is running out as far as patience."
 
It is becoming increasingly apparent Bivens needs to work faster if she's to earn positive reviews from more of her constituents – and, perhaps, keep her job.
 
"In all fairness to the commissioner, our owners have certainly discussed the complexities of being in her shoes . . ." Hall wrote in another e-mail. "Many have concurred with the intent of some of her initiatives, however, the means to those particular ends is what they would likely do differently."

Yep, Thanksgiving, that's your over-under. 

6200 Yards Obsolete On The LPGA Tour Now?

Sal Maiorana at the LPGA event in Rochester:

Karrie Webb may have felt like biting her tongue after completing a disappointing 2-over-par 74 in the first round of the Wegmans LPGA on Thursday.

During a pre-tournament interview, Webb was asked if Locust Hill Country Club — with its lush rough and fast greens — would be an ideal prep course for next week's U.S. Women's Open.

"I think it's perfect for driving the ball because it's really a tough challenge driving the ball," said Webb. "We're going to be facing a lot longer second shots (at Newport Country Club in the Open) into par-4s than we do here. But it's always good to touch up the wedge game and the short irons because if you are missing a few fairways at the Open, you're probably chunking it out to about that distance anyway."

Ouch.

However unintentional her backhanded swipe at Locust Hill may have been, Webb's assessment was right on. Locust Hill, set up the way it is for this tournament, is too short at 6,221 yards by today's standards, and that was definitely proven during the second round Friday.

Yes, the course has built-in defenses with its thick rough bordering firm and narrow fairways, and greens that are fast and often difficult to read. Then there's the fickle Rochester weather. Thursday it was swirling winds.

I get all that. But how do you explain this? During the first round, when the wind was whipping and many of the players said it was really tough to judge distances and select lubs, there were 35 rounds under par of 72, nearly double the first-round average of 19 over the first 29 years at Locust Hill.