R.I.P. Peggy Kirk Bell

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Laura Douglass and David Sinclair of The Pilot pen a nice remembrance of a true golf pioneer, who passed away at 95 Wednesday night in Southern Pines.

Great lede:

Bing Crosby serenaded her in the Pine Needles bar. Perry Como played her course. Jimmy Carter stayed at the lodge during the National Governors’ Convention. Rudy Vallee was a guest and she played with Jackie Gleason, Michael Jordan and Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.

This characterization from Jim Dodson is superb:

Jim Dodson, editor of PineStraw Magazine and one of the foremost writers on golf in America, called Mrs. Bell the female Arnold Palmer for her impact both as a competitor and teacher. She was at the vanguard of women’s golf whose career predated the LPGA. Together with her husband Warren, the Bells bought the Donald Ross-designed Pine Needles Resort and Golf Course. Together they raised a family amid its lush-green grounds and comfortable familiar environs that today still draws thousands of golfers each year, including hundreds of women who regularly attend the “Golfaris” that Bell started and continued to participate in up until a couple years ago.

Andrew Barksdale in the Observer talks to her son Kirk also noted her role in Southern Pines' development as a golf community.

David McNeill, the 62-year-old mayor of Southern Pines where Mrs. Bell called home, said she was a resident celebrity who elevated the game of golf for many people.

"She would light up a room when she walked in," Mr. McNeill said, "and in short time would be seen giving a golf tip."

"She solidified Southern Pines as a golfing destination," Mr. McNeill said. "Golfers from around the world return each year to Pine Needles and Mid Pines, because Ms. Bell treated everyone like royalty and made golf fun."

Mr. McNeill said his town hosted the U.S. Women's Open three times in an 11-year span, thanks to Mrs. Bell's leadership.

The Golf Club Atlas reviews of Mid-Pines and Pine Needles serve as nice tributes to Mrs. Bell's lasting place in the game.

 

Peter Senior (57) Calls It A Career

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Not many 50-somethings have ever been able to remain relevant with the flatbellies, yet Peter Senior did so in spite of the game's power surge, even winning the 2015 Australian Masters at 56 (!).

Planning to call it a career at the Australian PGA Championship in a few weeks, Senior had to WD from the Australian Open he's won twice due to hip pain. Martin Blake reports on the ageless golfer finally experiencing father time catch up to a career that included 34 worldwide wins.

"It's a tough pill to swallow. The last two years, I've had that many injuries. I'm just sick of it. It's a game you can't play with injuries. I've had a great run, a great career. I've enjoyed every minute of it. People have been fantastic, you just can't play like that. I don't enjoy playing like this. I can't hit a shot. Every time I hit the ball I get a bolt of pain through my hip.''

Senior gave this interview after withdrawing from the Open.

9th In The World: Who Is Alex Noren?

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With the European Tour limping toward its Race To Dubai conclusion and featuring a Masters winner who "wants his life" back (according to Derek Lawrenson), attention will turn to Alex Noren.

Noren's won four times since July and has risen to 9th in the world after being outside the top 100 in June according to Will Gray, yet he never received any Ryder Cup consideration and would probably need ID to walk onto any major championship range. He's at least dropped to 80/1 in Masters futures odds, but is still behind Jon Rahm and Tiger Woods.

Finding a good profile on Noren was tough, but maybe because he's done it best on by his very ownself. Sure, his blog hasn't been updated since 2012, but Noren's website includes his first person life story if you click on "My Story" in the lower left.

I forgot that the 34-year-old--that's right millennials, you can like him!--went to Oklahoma State and unlike many Euros, stayed for four years. But with all of the talk about short courses, Himalayas greens and growing the game (including today on Morning Drive), this really stood out:

My fight to reach my dreams began 23 years earlier at my home course Haninge GK in Sweden.

The putting green served as a natural kinder garden and it was located in the middle of two straight lines of oak trees. The green was narrow and long and gave us enough creativity to try the craziest shots when having chipping contests. The bet was always ice cream to the winner. We played golf all day. Our parents had to bring food out on the course because dinner wasn't our first priority; lowering our handicap was. We usually played together; sometimes we let our parents join up if we weren't enough kids around. I think the opportunity to play around and not being instructed by anyone gave us the complete joy and love for the game. We could not get enough of it.

Eddie Pepperell Blogs On Losing His Card

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England's Eddie Pepperell last posted just prior to the Ryder Cup and in the meantime has continued to struggle with his game.

Pepperell took to his blog to share his emotions and excessive-obsession with swing mechanics. The 25-year-old ends the post with a positive outlook though, interspersed with some jokes. Mostly though, he's just a wonderful writer and it's a rare look into the tougher side of professional golf.

Unfortunately 2016 has been the year I came to the realisation I don’t love this game the way I used to. It’s like being married to someone you have such a deep, inextricable connection to. It beats you up, yet you still come back for more. Don’t get me wrong I love the challenge of getting better, and I really enjoy being in the hunt on Sunday. That makes me feel alive. But golf has shown me it’s darker, more insidious side this year. Of course the irony is you only ever witness this part when you, the individual, start spiralling out of control. I’d say I started wandering the corridors of discontent with my game sometime last year, and I thought I knew which door I needed to take to get out, but yet I could never open it. That hasn’t happened to me for a while. I went from being a talented 18 year old, to a good professional because I used my brain and figured out what my weaknesses were and how I would go about fixing them.

Ramifications Galore From Spieth's Plan To Remain Titleist-Loyal

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There were some intriguing remarks by Jordan Spieth to CNBC's Jessica Golden about his plans to remain loyal to his Titleist sticks. Three primary reasons: one, he's not helping his negotiating position going into a contract renewal. Two, he's exhibiting unusual loyalty and foresight compared to many of his peers who made costly switches And three, he doesn't sound like someone laying groundwork for Under Armour to join the golf equipment industry.

From the story:

When Nike announced it's getting out of the golf equipment business, Spieth said that caught many people off guard. "That was a bit of a shock when that came down," he said. However, Spieth said his PGA tour colleagues sponsored by Nike, most notably, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, enjoy the flexibility of playing with what they want. Spieth says they frequently talk shop to each other about the different equipment brands and clubs.

Despite that, Spieth has no plans to give up playing with his Titleist clubs. "I have played Titleist my whole life, so I just trust it," he said. Acushnet, which owns Titleist, had an IPO this month. Spieth said he didn't get any stock with the offering but he imagines he'll be a shareholder at some point.

"In golf trusting what you are wearing and playing with is first and foremost so you don't have to worry about anything but your game."

When Golf Pros Push Back: Steven Bowditch Edition

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Sean Zak at Golf.com backed up his case that Steven Bowditch made an extraordinarily large amount of money (Nearly $500k) given some historically poor play on the PGA Tour.

Nothing about the item was personal, but given the sensitive nature of pro golfers, who are coddled by the tour to believe they are doing the Lord's work, Zak received social slaps from giants in the game who apparently hold tour cards, notes Michael Shamburger at The Big Lead.

Steve Wheatcroft, Andres Gonzales, Colt Knost and Hudson Swafford all expressed their dismay, while an all-out blackout threat came from Graham DeLaet, who, while suffering through the yips this summer, blew off all writers at the Rio Games.

And I can tell you, none of us have been the same since.

Anyway, maybe Zak should have moved the dollar amount and easy-WGC money up higher in his item to not bury the lede exposing Tim Finchem's grand vision for rewarding something worse than mediocrity. Zak, because he's a nice fellow, actually portrayed it as good news in trying to find some silver lining in Bowditch's season:

Bowditch was 3.209 strokes worse than the field average in the 55 rounds he recorded last year. Robert Allenby finished 184th in strokes gained, albeit in 14 fewer rounds, but lost just 1.95 strokes per round. So the second-worst golfer, strokes gained-wise, was still a stroke better per round than Bowditch was. Just one player in the ShotLink era (David Gossett in ’04—sorry, David!) finished a season with a worse average. Those 3.209 strokes lost per round looks like this.

Alas, there was some good news among all the gloominess. Bowditch still managed to earn $458,891 last season, good for 158th on the money list -- a far cry from his 185th-best form.

Bowditch’s Tour wins in 2014 and '15 earned him spots in the no-cut WGCs that ensure a paycheck. Those three starts alone helped him rake in a cumulative $158,500, slightly more than 34% of his season earnings.

Bowditch took to Twitter to push back:


DeLaet's threat mentions something about a sit down, something (A) players rarely do anyway (B) no one but maybe some Canadian press, are dying to do with DeLaet:

 

Golf Pros Who Read Files: Padraig Harrington Credits Book (Really!) After Portugal Masters Win

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Shockingly there is a golf pro willing to confess his love (and good use) of the written word.

Even better than the idea a future Hall of Famer is searching so hard, is that Padraig Harrington credited the mental performance book after winning the European Tour's Portugal Masters on Sunday.

From Brian Keogh's account of the tournament:

What pleased him most about his win was his mental attitude and he credited coach Dave Alred with the turnaround having read his book, The Pressure Principle: Handle Stress, Harness Energy, and Perform When It Counts, earlier in the week.

"I feel really good," Harrington said. "I was very relaxed all week. I was in a nice place mentally.

"I've been reading Dave Alred's The Pressure Principle and it gave me a few pointers that maybe I'd been missing out on and I stuck to those all week. It was a big plus for me.

"I just realised how poor my own language is about myself and my game. So I was very focused on my self-talk this week and what I was saying to myself and very focused on my posture walking around on the golf course and it was a tremendous help."

"Ultimate gesture players can make is living like Arnie"

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The timing is bold but the topic has been on the minds of many who follow pro golf: too many of today's lavishly paid stars act in sharp contrast to Arnold Palmer in character, actions and passion for the game.

Ryan Lavner at GolfChannel.com says the passing of Mr. Palmer puts the onus "on the players to decide for themselves how to honor his legacy."

That’s why these days, weeks and months ahead are an important period of reflection for the current pros.

There is an ever-widening divide between fans and the stars of our game, the mega-millionaires who are safe in their cocoon, protected by managers and publicists and image specialists. The money has never been greater – Rory McIlroy deposited $11.44 million Sunday; Palmer made $1.86 million in his career – and the lifestyles never more different. Each year, it seems, they only drift further away, the connection becoming more tenuous.

And so, moving forward, will our stars use their fame, their fortune and their status to shield themselves from the public, from the fans that enriched their fabulous lives? Or will they stay grounded and humble and relatable – will they stay connected – the way Palmer did?

The Olympic Zika virus fiasco this summer opened the door to this discussion and while the debate is not something that should overshadow the remembrances of The King, but throwing the point out seems fair as we hear from the players over the next few days about how they view Palmer's legacy and their places in the game.