Ty, Will Ye No' Call Back Again?

Does this mean PGA Tour exec Ty Votaw won't have time to call editors, writers and bloggers to set us straight that, in fact, the FedEx Cup is exciting?

Say it ain't so Ty!

International Golf Federation Creates
 Olympic Golf Committee to Enhance Drive for 2016


PGA TOUR’s Votaw Selected To Coordinate Olympic Golf Initiative

The International Golf Federation, recognized as the representative body for golf by the International Olympic Committee, today announced the creation of an Olympic Golf Committee to drive its effort for the sport’s inclusion in the 2016 Games. Organizations that will be represented on the committee are The R&A, PGA European Tour, USGA, PGA of America, PGA TOUR, LPGA and Augusta National Golf Club.

During a press conference at Royal Birkdale Golf Club, the IGF also introduced PGA TOUR executive Ty Votaw as the person who will coordinate the Olympic golf movement on behalf of the IGF’s Olympic Golf Committee and other golf organizations around the world. Votaw will serve in a newly created position as Executive Director, IGF Olympic Golf Committee and will work closely with the organizations involved.

Votaw, who will continue as PGA TOUR Executive Vice President of Communications and International Affairs, will lead the Olympic effort until October 2009, when the International Olympic Committee votes on which, if any, sports to add.

“Considering his vast experience in dealing with international golf organizations and issues as a member of the PGA TOUR executive staff and as a former commissioner of the LPGA, Ty is uniquely qualified to lead this effort on behalf of the International Golf Federation,” said Peter Dawson, Chief Executive of The R&A. “Having someone of Ty’s reputation and expertise serve in this capacity certainly enhances our efforts to add golf as an Olympic sport.”

“There is a significant amount of work to be done between now and next October, when the IOC makes its decision,” PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem said. “As the PGA TOUR considers this a very important initiative on behalf of the international golf community, we are pleased to provide Ty and the majority of his time to coordinate this effort.”

And now a word from the poor lad stuck who has to sell this mess man of the hour...

“Without question, golf’s international popularity has grown significantly over the past couple of decades and the sport continues to expand and develop in new countries,” Votaw said. “So the time is right to champion golf as an Olympic sport. It’s wonderful that this has become such a united effort among golf’s leading organizations. I’m excited about this opportunity and very much look forward to the challenge and, hopefully, reward of bringing golf back to the Olympics.”

"I don't think professional golf needs the Olympics, nor does the Olympics need professional golf."

Geoff Ogilvy is the first prominent player to shrug off the golf Olympic movement, reports Adrian Proszenko.

Here he shows a complete disregard for the most important people in the world: network television.

"If the sport does join the Olympics, my suggestion would be that it would be more appropriate for amateurs to play, rather than pros, to promote the true spirit of the Olympics. However, I am generally not in favour of the idea."

Amateurs? That's so last century. 

Remember Geoff, the Olympics are about the needs of the advertisers and the folks hunting for higher ratings and don't you forget it!

"Google 'Olympics' and 'Rogge' and the search engine spits out pages of the kind of bad press golf has so successfully avoided."

Rex Hoggard becomes the first of hopefully many who write off the ridiculous quest for golf in the Olympics.

In the mean time, golf’s powers may want to convince the game’s rank and file of the benefits of golf in the Olympics.

“Golf may already have enough big events with the PGA Tour and the majors and the European Tour and the Ryder Cup,” Stewart Cink said. “I’m just not sold.”

The Tour season begins and ends with the majors, despite the best efforts of FedEx or Finchem. Toss in the Ryder Cup, which hasn’t smiled on the New World side for a generation, and Presidents Cup, which hasn’t smiled on the rest of Atlas over a similar news cycle, and you have a dance card on the busy side of hectic.

“We play over 36 events a year. How many times do you see ice skating, figure skating, speed skating, track and field on TV in a year?” Jason Gore asked. “We get a chance to show our stuff every week.”

The timing of the games would probably be the biggest hurdle faced by Olympic organizers considering this year’s games get underway on the heels of the year’s final major and just before the FedEx Cup playoffs in August.

“If it was in China or some place right in the middle of the season, I’m not sure I’d go play in it,” Cink said.

Golf’s Olympic trump card is Tiger Woods, perhaps the most marketable athlete of his generation. But in 2016 Woods will be 40 years old, maybe four or five Grand Slam keepsakes past Jack Nicklaus on the all-time list and, by all current accounts, working on his fifth swing change and 10 more majors. However, nowhere on the bedroom wall in the childhood home in Cypress, Calif., did Woods hang Greg Louganis’ gold medal totals.

“If you spend a lot of time and resources getting golf into the Olympics and suddenly one or two players don’t play . . . I don’t know. There are a lot of really big tournaments already. Would the Olympics become a major right away?” Cink asked.

Gaining a spot in the Olympic Games is seen by many as the best way to grow the game. But at what cost?

Google “Olympics” and “Rogge” and the search engine spits out pages of the kind of bad press golf has so successfully avoided.

Blackberrying From Lausanne

We learned last week that Tim Finchem let USGA-Executive-Director-in-hiding David Fay and LPGA Commish Carolyn Bivens inside his PGA Tour jet for the low cost, minimal upside trip to Europe to pitch the IOC on the ridiculous notion of golf in the Olympics. I'm sure the PGA Tour's rank and file would be thrilled to see the price tag for this pricey little excursion. 

The jet took on extra weight with PGA Tour's Ed Moorhouse and after a stop in London, Euro Tour headman George O'Grady, who joined the braintrust for the final leg to Lausanne, Switzerland. 

My NSA sources were able to intercept Blackberry messages sent by three of the passengers after stepping down in Lausanne, starting with Bivens writing to top lieutenant Jane Geddes.

Jane,

Greetings from Lausanne by way of London by way of Daytona and Teeterboro!!! We just touched down in the tour jet. What a cool ride. Thankfully we had George O'Grady to liven things up on the flight from London to Lausanne. It was just Tim, Fay and Ed Moorhouse on the first leg of the journey. Tim and Ed pretended to fall asleep about an hour into the flight, but I know they were awake because Ed kept kicking Tim's seat every time Fay mentioned the Yankees. Which reminds me, could you look up who this Joba guy is that Fay kept talking about needing to come off the DL? Is this a Star Wars reference I didn't understand?

CB

PS - how did Corning go, are they going to bump up their purse or are we going to have find another sponsor willing to pay full market value? 

PGA Tour Commish Finchem wrote to VP of International Affairs, Ty Votaw.

Ty,
Be grateful you didn't make this trip, even though the bottle of PGA TOUR cab we opened is just stunning. Nice sunny, smoky flavor, probably from the California wildfires? And please thank Chef for the cheese production, very appropriate selection with the cab. Hope the Corning HOF induction ceremony went well. Ed and I got some much needed rest on the flight over. Not much in the way of coterminous interfacing with our guests. Bivens and Fay looked lost when I suggested ways of monetizing and value modulating the Olympic movement. I finally had to take a nap when Fay kept reminding me that he'd love to run the Olympic golf federation if we are successful. I explained that we need to get golf in the games first, then we would codify the resource structuring.
Ed sends his best,
TF

And David Fay wrote to USGA CBO Pete Bevacqua, who apparently has created some fascinating new rules for staff.

Pete,

Just arrived in Lausanne. Even though this wasn't an official USGA function, I only had two drinks on the flight over from Teeterboro per the new company policy. That okay? Or does the two drink max not apply to me and the XC? Either way it was fine, Tim opened a bottle of the PGA Tour's new cab and it tasted like the fire hydrant runoff from a building fire on the upper eastside. I had to talk to Bivens most of the way. She tried to convince me we needed to hire her branding firm for this Olympic golf movement. She talks about branding more than you do. As I explained to you, President Rogge would not be interested in that at his point. Let's hope she doesn't bring it up at the meeting. Well, that's my update, I look forward to your response in less than two hours, again, per your new policy.

DBF

Golf Invited To Vie For 2016 Olympic Slot

I know, stunning news, but it's official: all of the rejected sports from 2005 have been asked to make their pitch for the 2016 games, and golf is one of them.

"The Olympic competition would be four days of individual stroke play for men and women."

In the April 18 Golf World, Ron Sirak opens The Bunker with an item atttempting to figure out why there is this sudden love for golf in the Olympics, a movement that finally received an official endorsement from Tim Finchem this week.

Sirak's piece sounds very similar to something we would have read a few years ago when the last Olympic golf push last died. There's the USGA's David Fay and R&A's Peter Dawson pushing hard in the name of growing the game. Besides the obvious hypocrisy of pushing for growth as they have defended "progress" in distance advances that bloated the game, the "International Golf Federation" predictably came up with a format that will do absolutely nothing to demonstrate the potential thrills and passion that we see in Ryder Cup golf.

Sirak writes, "The Olympic competition would be four days of individual stroke play for men and women."

Couple that with the possibility that the Olympics could go to Chicago in 2016 where the least interesting course possible will be selected (Kemper Lakes...no wait, Olympia Fields!), and it's hard to see how this would grow the game.

Finchem Endorses Olympic Golf Movement...

...and does it in a blog post!

I’ve just returned from Augusta National and The Masters. I always enjoy Masters Week very much, not only for the great golf we see, but also because everyone involved with golf attends. It gives me an opportunity to discuss issues and ideas with everyone from around the world.

And see Tom Fazio in a seersucker jacket. Sorry, continue...

One of the matters that we have talked about over the last several years and which came up again last week is whether golf should be an Olympic sport. In 1993, we actually announced that golf would be in the 1996 games in Atlanta. However, this never materialized for various reasons.

Let's not go there.

Since then we have continued to examine the various issues presented by golf being an Olympic sport.  While there remain questions to be answered and issues to be resolved, I believe the time is now right to move forward. The LPGA and the European Tour have previously indicated their support for Olympic golf. Also, the R&A, the USGA and the PGA of America are evaluating the possibility of Olympic golf.

And David Fay and Peter Dawson have been dreaming of their next jobs.

Finchem goes on to explain how he's been inspired by a study that says golf in the Olympics will grow the game and bring peace to the Middle East.

Here's why it will be interesting to watch this unfold: the entire thing will be geared to what NBC and Dick Ebersol want.

Now, Dick could either be shallow and obsess about getting Tiger Woods to play, then settle on some dull, simple-for-TV format like 72 holes of individual stroke play. 

Or, Dick could be bold, forget trying to please Tiger and say, we need a compelling team format that brings out passion and patriotism. Something that will prove golf is Olympic-worthy. Something that stands alone from all others in golf, but also exciting for the world's best to be part of something unique.

Say, three-man teams in a Dunhill Cup style stroke/match play event? Suggestions?