When you come to think of it that is the secret of most of the great holes all over the world. They all have some kind of a twist. C.B. MACDONALD
Ryan Lavner reports from Tucson where he spoke to Policy Board member Jim Furyk about last night's phone call.
Not surprisingly, Furyk was cryptic in his remarks though this made me wonder if the PGA Tour will not be asking for a withdrawal of the proposed ban:
Said Furyk, “We’re not discussing what we’re going to do – if the USGA does this, how are we going to reply; if the USGA does that, and so on. That’s down the road. We have to wait and see what the USGA indeed does do and then we can figure out what our job is at that point. For right now, it was just a real friendly talk getting ideas.”
A nice donation but I thought this component was even more interesting:
The $1 million donation will be used to enhance the experience of The First Tee participants in a variety of ways. Besides supporting The First Tee network, funds will be used to create and launch a golf maintenance career- oriented youth development program, in conjunction with the PGA TOUR. Local chapters of The First Tee will partner with the TOUR’s Tournament Player Courses (TPC) to provide the opportunity for high school-aged participants to learn about topics in agronomy and golf course maintenance careers. As a planned extension, participants will also have the chance to experience what it’s like to maintain a TPC golf course during a tournament week.
The latest letter from Frank Hannigan, former USGA Executive Director, responding to the recent talk of bifurcating the rules.
Dear Geoff,
From During a recent exposure to the press tour commissioner Tim Finchem mused about the occasional benefits of bifurcation-, that awful word-, citing instances when the Tour went off on its own, presumably to its benefit. Specifically, he cited grooves and adoption of what is generally called the "one ball rule."
U-grooves were introduced into the Rules of Golf by the USGA in 1984. Finchem's predecessor Deane Beman was obsessed with grooves. He felt the U-grooves changed the essence of the game. The USGA did not agree.
The Tour announced it would ban U grooves. Ping, the first manufacturer to adopt U grooves, sought and received an injunction restraining the Tour. Ping first sued the Tour and a little later the USGA which had ruled that the Ping version of U-grooves alone did not conform to the Rules of Golf.
Ping charged the Tour with 9 violations of the law. The case was heard by a federal judge in Phoenix, Ping's home. The judge ruled from the bench that the Tour had acted so outrageously that it was guilty per se of one of the 9 charges. As a consequence, if the case came to trial the jury's only role on that count would be to determine a dollar amount representing damage done to Ping.
Since it was an anti trust case that amount would be automatically trebled.
The jury would consist of 6 local citizens trying to stay awake during a lengthy trial on an arcane matter. They would have surely have been aware of one factor: Ping, with about 1500 employees, was good for the economy of Phoenix.Might they have been influenced on the remaining 8 counts by the judge already having labeled the Tour as bad guys? I think so.
Karsten Solheim, the owner of Ping, opted to settle. The key point in the settlement was that the Tour would not ban U grooves. Quite simply, the Tour lost. I can think of no other instance in which a professional sports entity is legally prohibited from determining what its equipment will be. It's as if major league baseball could not ban metal bats.
The other settlement terms were not announced I have always assumed the Tour had to compensate Solheim for his considerable legal fees. As for Beman, the late Leonard Decof, Solheim's lawyer, once boasted to a group of anti trust lawyers at a Chicago meeting "He'll be gone soon."
Ping's suit against the USGA was also settled. No money changed hands, I know that because I was named with others in the USGA hierarchy as an individual defendant and therefore had to sign the settlement. The USGA relented on an important point. All Ping clubs made up to a specified date would be grandfathered eternally under the Rules of Golf. Solheim, however, changed his grooves on the same day so as to conform with USGA rules, which he had vowed never to do,
The Tour, to this day, flinches when it hears a threat of anti trust behavior.
As for the one ball rule, it was enacted with the concurrence of the USGA. It was directed at the use of balls performing differently in different conditions. The 2 piece balls of the 1970s had a distance advantage depending on the angle of launch. This advantage peaked at about 19 degrees, 5 ironish. (Incidentally, the two piece ball also putted longer. A stroke producing a roll of l0 feet with the 2 piece ball would roll 9 feet with the softer balata ball).
It was also a time when Acushnet was producing a different version of its Titleist balls. Seve Ballesteros used the one with larger dimples driving downwind as he won his first British Open at Lytham. He reverted to a traditional ball on the other holes..
I once had a conversation with Tom Watson when he expressed outrage about ball changing. He had ripped a 3 iron, using a balata ball, to the green of a hard par 3 hole. Watson said he then watched in dismay as fellow competitor Rik Massengale unzipped his ball pouch, pulled out a Molitor, and used a 5 iron successfully.
The USGA felt that the choice of different brands of balls during a round should play no part in the outcome. But it wanted to know what the players felt. So we sent a letter to every member of both the PGA Tour and the LPGA (having obtained the mail addresses from both organizations). The players were asked if they would favor or oppose a local rule which would limit them to use of but one brand of ball during a round,
Remember, this happened during the days of snail mail. Tour players were not famous for being correspondents. But they reacted in large numbers. Overwhelmingly, including those who had taken to switching brands during rounds, the players favored adoption of the one ball rule.
During this episode the USGA said not one word to ball manufacturers. The USGA didn't give a damn what manufacturers felt. They are involved in golf for the purpose of making money. The USGA exists in an attempt to preserve a game.
Those who favor bifurcation never explain what it is they want to happen. They are in the business of golf, and the golf business is bad. So they blame the USGA, defining it as a totalitarian entity that does whatever it feels like doing without any concern for or interest in what the rest of golf thinks. The head of the Taylor Made outfit recently predicted the absolute demise of the USGA, a death which would presumably cause golf to glow again. I took that to mean that Addidas, the sports equipment colossus that owns Taylor Made, is not thrilled with its subsidiary's performance.
In point of fact, the rules-making process is remarkably democratic. There are 5 members of the committee proper drawn from the USGA executive committee. They have no axes to grind. They are influenced and to some extent educated by the USGA staff. Additionally, there are 4 advisory members representing the PGA Tour, the LPGA, the PGA of America and the country's regional golf associations. They matter. I can't conceive of the 5 regular members shoving a rules change down the throats of the advisory people.
The Tour representative, named by Finchem, especially matters. For better or worse, the Tour has come to have something close to veto power,particularly when it comes to equipment. If there is a discussion about a rules change and should the Tour's man says "We will not play that rule," the discussion is over.
Frank Hannigan
Saugergties, New York
The inaugural non-WGC Tournament of Hope in South Africa has been "postponed" due to "economic climate."
For Immediate Friday News Dump Release:
February 1, 2013 - The International Federation of PGA Tours and the Sunshine Tour announced today that the Tournament of Hope, scheduled for the week of November 18, 2013, has been postponed.
The Tournament of Hope is an event to be contested in South Africa with a primary eligibility category of the top 50 players in the world, supplemented by the individual money lists and Orders of Merit of the various Tours that make up the International Federation of PGA Tours. The Tournament of Hope is also to be the centerpiece of a proposed worldwide AIDS awareness effort, to be coordinated by the Sunshine Tour.
“We are confident that the initial enthusiasm for the Tournament of Hope remains in South Africa and among other potential international sponsors,” said Selwyn Nathan, executive director of the Sunshine Tour, speaking on behalf of the Sunshine Tour and the International Federation of PGA Tours. “We are hopeful that, with an improvement in the economic climate, we will be able to conclude all arrangements for a successful staging of the Tournament of Hope at a future date.”
Further announcements concerning the Tournament of Hope will be made periodically.
The entire thing was a bit complicated from day one and up until last February when its status was finally decided.
It all started with a Presidents Cup scheduling brouhaha when the European Tour scheduled the 2011 South African Open the week of the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne.
Jason Sobel talked to Brad Fritsch this week about his group holding up Tiger Woods during the final two rounds of the Farmers Insurance Open. Fritsch had this to say:
At the Waste Management Phoenix Open on Tuesday, Fritsch maintained that not only was the threesome never put on the clock, they were never even warned by a PGA Tour rules official.
“Nobody ever even approached us,” he said. “I tell you what, all we ever heard on the Web.com Tour was, ‘We’re doing this to you guys now, because it’s worse out there in terms of them getting on you and staying on you.’ We didn’t see anybody all day.”
As you may recall, the rules staff has been working without a contract since the start of the year. And you may also recall Commissioner Tim Finchem gets the willies just thinking about a penalty for slow play, something that has not happened under his reign.
He infamously told John Feinstein:
"Slow play is a legitimate issue," he said, "but not to the point where I think we need to do something like that."
Considering that he's giving himself and his senior executives lavish bonuses and can't afford to take care of the people (outside of the players) most important to running a successful event, the contract situation is embarrassing.
But I also wonder if it's neutering the rules officials to the point that they don't want to upset the apple cart has created a situation where the Commissioner's attitude means they no longer feel empowered to get tough on slow play? I hope not, but it is a danger of letting such a silly contract situation linger, especially as Rules of Golf and slow play issues are such hot topics. Another danger of letting this linger is that the officials could be accused of doing nothing on purpose as a negotiation ploy.
Or as Finchem calls these things, "distractions."
AP's John Nicholson reports, though it's light on details. Not that anyone really is shocked following the admission that he violated the PGA Tour's doping policy.
**Steve Elkington's latest editorial cartoon. The Vijay edition.
**The official reason for the WD is "back soreness." Oy vey.
I was a tad skeptical of Vijay Singh's admission to using deer antler spray from his friends at S.W.A.T.S. But after listening to SI's very credible and thorough David Epstein on Morning Drive for ten minutes, it's going to be very hard for Singh to claim a context issue. Especially when the writer has seen the big check Singh wrote for the products! (Uh Veej, pay cash next time big guy, you have plenty of it.)
Ryan Lavner summarized the Espstein interview and noted this:
Asked if he thought Singh knew he was taking a banned substance because of how forthcoming he was in discussing the products, Epstein said, “It makes me think that he probably didn’t know that. It would be a little strange because the guys in the company are usually very upfront that their products are banned by major sports organizations, but they can be a little equivocal about why it’s banned sometimes. But a quick Google (search) would tell anyone it’s banned.
“I’m guessing that Vijay Singh doesn’t know the product has been called out by the PGA Tour specifically.”
Check out the Epstein interview with Morning Drive here:
Rex Hoggard contacted the PGA Tour for comment.
“We were just made aware of the report and are looking into it,” said Ty Votaw, the Tour’s vice president of communication and international affairs.
Votaw declined to comment on whether Tour officials had spoken with the Fijian, who is in the field at this week’s Waste Management Phoenix Open
Doug Ferguson's weekly AP notes include items on Bill Clinton getting the best political advice he's ever gotten from Tom Watson, a note on the retirement of Augusta National's Jim Armstrong and this insider item on Geoff Ogilvy's nomination to be a chairman of the Players Advisory Council. If elected he'd be elevated to the Policy Board.
The election would be historic because no international player has ever been on the policy board, even though one-third of the players are not U.S.-born.
“It would be interesting to be on the board. This is an interesting time for the tour,” Ogilvy said. “I’m not inclined that way, but I am interest in the operations of the tour.”
The former U.S. Open champion, who also has three World Golf Championships to his credit, is not about to campaign for votes.
He’s not even sure what players want in a chairman and future board member.
“I would have said at least 50 percent of the players don’t mind who the board members are and really don’t care about the operating of events. As long as they get $6 million to play for 30 times a year, they’re happy _ and they like the way the courses are set up. That’s pretty much the interest of half the tour. They don’t go much further than that. They vote for their friends, I would think. That’s how politics work in general, isn’t it?”
For Immediate Release...
Live Network Streaming Debuts this Weekend at Farmers Insurance Open
CBS’s coverage signals start of full live streaming for rest of 2013 PGA TOUR season
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – This week signals a landmark moment for expanded PGA TOUR coverage as network telecasts will be fully available online for the first time through live streaming, beginning with CBS Sports’ weekend coverage of the Farmers Insurance Open.
All 18 of CBS Sports’ FedExCup telecasts will be streamed live. Visitors to PGATOUR.com and CBSSports.com will be directed to a co-branded video player to watch live streaming of CBS Sports’ third-round telecast on Saturday (3-6 p.m. ET) and fourth-round telecast on Sunday (3-6:30 p.m. ET). The live streaming this weekend also will be available on PGA TOUR platforms as well as CBS Sports and CBS SportCaster applications for the iPhone, Android and iPad. CBS also will have a mobile web-based player available at m.cbssports.com.
All Golf Channel, through TV Everywhere availability, and NBC telecasts also will be streamed throughout the 2013 season, with Golf Channel available to multichannel video subscribers, and NBC’s weekend coverage of 12 FedExCup tournaments fully available beginning with next week’s Waste Management Phoenix Open. Golf Channel is televising the early rounds for all 30 FedExCup tournaments on NBC and CBS, as well as all four rounds for six tournaments.
“This is a significant milestone in the PGA TOUR’s digital history,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem. “We are excited to work with CBS Sports to bring live PGA TOUR action online, and look forward to continuing our efforts with CBS, NBC and Golf Channel to develop ways golf fans can access live coverage of the PGA TOUR from wherever they are.”
Golf Channel’s telecasts of the Farmers Insurance Open’s first two rounds and early weekend coverage will be streamed live in conjunction with NBC Sports Live Extra, accessible to Comcast subscribers on a co-branded video player via PGATOUR.com and GolfChannel.com, as well as on iPhone, Android and iPad through NBC Sports Live Extra and Golf Live Extra apps. Live streaming was available to Comcast subscribers during Golf Channel’s four-round coverage of the Sony Open in Hawaii and last week’s Humana Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation. Availability of live streaming during Golf Channel telecasts of PGA TOUR tournaments will expand to additional satellite, cable and telco providers throughout the season.
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
Copyright © 2022, Geoff Shackelford. All rights reserved.
