"Exactly why the board decided to let Finchem make the call remains, for the moment, unclear."

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Steve Elling on the PGA Tour's Policy Board Tim Finchem's groove call:

It will be interesting hearing the four players who have seats on the board explain what happened at the meeting, but at minimum, it removed them from a potentially uncomfortable situation – the players have endorsement deals with manufacturers, which might have created a conflict of interest.

And The PGA Tour's Groove Rule Verdict Is...

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...they are going ahead with the 2010 "condition of competition." Victory for USGA, Finchem, rough mowers. Finchem conference call highlights:

"full and thorough discussion on delaying, reaffirmation of general support for rule, some issues with the enacting date"

"the board finished discussion by continuing the history policy of using condition of competition, our intention to move ahead January 1, 2010"

"full court press" to make sure every player is paying attention to what he has to do, working with his manufacturer, to be prepared

"some challenges"

"Delaying at this point in time was not in our overall best interest"

"continues to be wide support for rule itself"

Ferguson asks: why in best overall interest? Finchem: "late in the process"

"Board did not take action" according to Finchem. Means no vote was taken, left up to the Commissioner.

"But we think we've taken a C-plus experience and elevated it to an A."

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Barker Davis profiles the rebranded and reopened TPC Potomac.

"It was a PGA Tour golf course that was getting C ratings. We just couldn't have that - not in our nation's capital," said PGA Tour Co-CEO Charlie Zink, a Maryland graduate who helped direct the renovation. "This has been a long process with a lot of people, time and resources involved. But we think we've taken a C-plus experience and elevated it to an A."

New type of design classification here:

Though noticeable minor changes were evident on every hole (shifted, smaller greens, sharper bunkering, squared tee boxes, etc.), the following overhauls were noticeable improvements:

The sixth hole - formerly a wretch-reward par 5 begging a lottery-style, long, fading second shot over a creek to a shallow green - has been converted into a superb par 4.

Wretch reward. I guess that describes a hole that is simply unplayable? And here I was thinking that was one of the best holes on the old course!

The Punchbowl Golf guys also filed this review.

Groovy Goings On...

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...assuming you like tales of big egos, big money and big power plays.

The PGA Tour Policy Board votes Tuesday whether to adopt the 2010 condition of competition requiring the use of new grooves. As Alex Miceli reported Friday, three of four player votes are likely going to say no to adopting the condition for January play.

That means in order to uphold the PGA Tour's original stance in support of the USGA/R&A groove spec change, the five non-player policy board reps would have to overrule the player directors. Most insiders believe this has never occurred in the history of the policy board.

Because it's Congressional week and I try not to contemplate the idea of watching golf played there, let's consider the possible votes and ensuing fallout should the policy board postpone the implementation until 2011:

  • Postponement would be a hit to Tim Finchem's perceived power or at least, the assumption that he has control of the policy board. Finchem has made several public statements in support of the groove change. Having to spin a reversal at this late date will test Ponte Vedra's For Immediate Release wordsmiths.
  • A blow to the USGA/R&A. For obvious reasons. They'll have to retreat from their 2010 implementation at the U.S. Open and can expect to face a full assault, and perhaps even legal action. Bomb and Gouge summed it up better than I in this post.
  • Postponement would be a major victory for Titleist and Wally Uihlein. Several players have told me that master wedge designer Bob Vokey has not yet come up with a replacement groove configuration to his and Titleist's liking. Couple that ongoing research with Acushnet not feeling it will have enough time to properly develop a ball they believe is to their standards and soft enough to satisfy players who would be shifting to less-helpful grooves come January, and you begin to understand why this has become an issue (and why there was Ian Poulter's recent Twitter whining).
  • Postponement could be a major blow to the image of PGA Tour pros depending on how it's spun. Shoot, some have already likened this to golf's version of steroids. If the players need more time to prepare for the changeover, I think they'll be shocked at the apathy and even hostility they face from serious golf fans. Media types have been asking since last fall what players were doing to prepare and most had not given the subject any thought. Curiously, the Nike guys seem very prepared and many of the more thoughtful players have done their homework. (Cink here, Woods here, Immelman/Mickelson/Furyk here, Ogilvy here.)
  • Tough questions would be raised about the policy board's motives. The three players leaning toward a no vote all play the Titleist ball. Ironically, all three stand to benefit from the rule change based on the USGA's theory of forcing a softer ball into the hands of players. David Toms, Brad Faxon and Zach Johnson aren't the longest hitters in the world but all are respected for shotmaking and short game prowess. They will be expected to make convincing arguments about the strength of the USGA's research and implementation if they hope to deflect inevitable criticism. Doable, but also a lot of headache and annoyance they don't need.
  • A huge setback for the new groove configuration. Many behind-the-scenes types roll their eyes at this latest chapter in the grooves saga because they insist that the policy board would only be postponing the inevitable. I don't agree. This is bifurcation and I've never understood how the manufacturers would allow this precedent to be set without a fight. We discussed this several times (including here, here). If the board postpones, I predict that over the next year we will see the USGA's research scrutinized, attacked and we'll witness an all-out PR assault on the decision. You'll hear questions--some very legitimate--about just how many players were interviewed, how many were involved in testing, how wet newspaper shreddings simulate rough, how bifurcation is good for the sport and how exactly the USGA concluded that driving accuracy declined because of grooves instead of say, 22 yard wide landing areas.

If the board adopts the condition of the competition, it's a clear victory for Finchem, the USGA, R&A and fans of the flyer lie. Consider how many golf courses and tournaments were already improved this year by having less rough in anticipation of the rule change (along with common sense kicking in). More of that starting in 2010 is good for the PGA Tour, even better if the less-rough mentality filters down to the everyday game.

If you are in favor of regulating distance for the safety, function and interest of golf architecture, you have to love the equipment rollback precedent set by the groove rule change. But big money is at stake here and I'd be shocked if certain manufacturers go quietly.

At least after Tuesday night we'll know who the most powerful man in golf is.

"Who actually runs golf?"

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John Huggan on the possibility that the PGA Tour won't adopt the groove rule change:

When it comes to the rules, the book says it is the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews and the United States Golf Association. But you have to wonder sometimes.

Take the recent news that the PGA Tour, urged on by equipment manufacturers, is unlikely to adopt the new regulations for grooves on wedges come 1 January. The likes of Titleist, TaylorMade and Callaway are claiming they can't make clubs and balls the leading players will be happy with in time to meet the deadline. Aye right.

Verdict: Meet golf's real supremo, Wally Uihlein, chairman and CEO of Titleist.

"Unfortunately, the only uncertainty in the game right now lies with who's in charge of it."

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GolfDigest.com blogging duo Bethpage and Garden City kick around the power struggle over a groove rule condition of competition and ultimately determine that the USGA has handed over power to the PGA Tour and that the uncertainty over 2010 implementation has the USGA acting as a follower instead of a leader.

I can tell you this, though: The rule as currently written will not be a hardship for the playing of the game by average golfers in any meaningful way, shape or form. Not now, not in 2014, not in 2024, not ever. The rule as currently written does present the possibility for uncertainty in the minds of the best players in the game, however. Uncertainty (or as most of us know it, outright fear), I think, makes for a better game at the elite level.

Unfortunately, the only uncertainty in the game right now lies with who's in charge of it.

UK Rejoices As Tour Lands TV Provider In Time For Travelers

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Now I can sleep...

PGA TOUR, Eurosport announce UK television rights agreement for remainder of 2009 season
Telecasts to reach more than 10 million UK homes

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL JUNE 25, 2009

The PGA TOUR and Eurosport today jointly announced an agreement in which Eurosport has secured the PGA TOUR television rights in UK for the remainder of the 2009 TOUR season, beginning tonight, Thursday, June 25, with live coverage from the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Connecticut.

Action from the remaining 2009 TOUR events will now be accessible in more than 10 million UK homes on British Eurosport and British Eurosport 2, through Sky and Virgin Media platforms.

“We are pleased to announce this agreement with Eurosport, which ensures that PGA TOUR coverage will continue to be made available, live, every week to golf fans throughout the United Kingdom,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem.

“We are delighted to welcome the US PGA TOUR to the Eurosport platform in the UK,” said Eurosport Chairman Laurent Eric Le Lay. “British golf fans can now see the world’s best players competing live as the 2009 season unfolds. We can give the US PGA TOUR’s iconic tournaments excellent coverage across our two UK TV channels, and fans can follow regular news and results at Eurosport’s leading sports website.”

The PGA TOUR telecasts will also be available to UK fans in simulcast through Eurosport’s online subscription service, Eurosport Player.

"Our main focus is to immediately begin, and aggressively begin, to explore our options"

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Lawrence Donegan noted Saturday that Setanta's demise could cost the PGA Tour upwards of $60 million in UK rights fee money. Now Steve Elling notes in an item buried in his Up and Down column that the tour has in fact acknowledged the checks won't be coming and that they are looking for a UK broadcaster.

"Our main focus is to immediately begin, and aggressively begin, to explore our options," tour VP Ty Votaw said Tuesday. The phones will be ringing at Sky Sports, Eurovision and ESPN, if they aren't already. As it stands, this week's Travelers Championship will not be broadcast in the U.K. -- nor any PGA Tour action outside of the majors and WGC events going forward -- unless a new deal is struck.

"According to a Titleist official, the company is trying to persuade the Tour to hold off on its plans to adopt a condition of competition that would require new groove cross-sections"

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Remember a few weeks ago when Greg Norman mentioned rumors that the groove rule change was in doubt? You had to figure the Shark wasn't just throwing that out for attention.

Adam Barr reports that Titleist/Acushnet is trying to convince the PGA Tour to postpone their planned 2010 adoption of a condition of competition requiring conforming grooves in response to the USGA/R&A decision.

Still, all the major manufacturers claim to be ready to proceed with the effective date for the condition of competition the Tour wants to adopt, which is Jan. 1. (Beyond the Tour, the rule would apply to any club manufactured after that date, but clubs made before then will be permissible for use for recreational players until 2024.) Even so, Titleist is asking the Tour to push the rule implementation date back a year because of the intricacies of fitting players under the new groove rules.

None of the major manufacturers would speak on the record for this story. But sources close to the situation have said that the refitting process will be much more complicated than switching out some “old” wedges for new ones. It has been suggested that the performance of wedges with new grooves might even require swing changes, which could lead to the use of a different ball model and, in turn, encourage a driver switch. In other words, the ripple effect of the groove rule could be felt throughout the entire bag. That has some manufacturers and players thinking they need more time to experiment and adjust than the post-season stretch usually reserved for incorporating such new equipment.

So much work drama! Over some grooves. Who knew?

So these big, all knowing manufacturers can't keep up with the USGA now?

“Some manufacturers have said they’re not going to be ready [for the change],” said PGA Tour player Brett Quigley, a member of the Player Advisory Committee. “[But] there’s also the argument that players won’t test until they have to. So why wait another year until 2011? Guys still won’t bother to do it.”

This is really funny:

Of course, players these days won’t stand for any loss of yardage off the tee from the new generation of higher-spinning balls, said the ball manufacturer source. That will be the chief engineering challenge, he said.

"If the GM bankruptcy filing was supposed to calm the waters, it had the opposite effect at tour headquarters"

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Steve Elling on how little anyone seems to know about what GM's bankruptcy means for the PGA Tour:

If the GM bankruptcy filing was supposed to calm the waters, it had the opposite effect at tour headquarters, where it seems to have fostered more uncertainty, if anything.

“We look forward continuing our discussions with Buick about the future,” the tour said in a three-paragraph statement that created as many questions as it answered.

PGA Tour spokesman Ty Votaw said the organization would have no further comment on the GM situation -- likely because nobody at the tour has a clue about what will happen next, especially since the federal government has assumed partial ownership.

Larry Peck, Buick golf’s marketing chief and the promotions manager for Buick, Pontiac and GM -- three automobile lines that face extinction as GM shutters 12 plants -- did not return a phone call. A tour official said Buick representatives have been prohibited from discussing the status of the tournaments until the dust settles.

Intent And The Rules Of Golf

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In writing about the Kenny Perry dust-up over his FBR Open playoff actions, Lawrence Donegan quotes the European Tour's top rules referee, John Paramor:

"The fact is the player is allowed to put his club behind the ball, otherwise he would never be allowed to address his ball in any circumstance. As soon as any player puts his club on the grass behind the ball, then the grass will be flattened," he says. "The issue is, is there excessive pressing down with the club?" In other words, was there intent? "Looking at this, I don't think Kenny Perry did use excessive pressure when he put his club behind the ball. It does look bad, it does look like the lie was improved but, as long as there was no intent to do so, and I don't think there was, then it is not a penalty."

To our rules gurus out there, I'm curious, is this intent concept used commonly in the rules of golf?

After all, Roberto de Vicenzo did not intend to sign an incorrect scorecard...