R&A's Dawson: Distance Explosion Caused By Geezers Going Away, Flatbellies Taking Their Place

I finally worked my way through the R&A media day transcripts and there are the usual insights and occasional comments that Peter Dawson will probably regret. There are some fun comments about Peter Alliss and slow play. But mostly, there's the indefensible discussion of remodeling courses to accommodate regulatory ineptitude, starting with this suggestion as to why the added distance at Lytham is not a big deal.

So the course is two and a half percent longer.  As I always say every year, instead of hitting it 100 yards, you'll have to hit it 102?.  So it's not revolutionary on length, but it does bring the course up closer to many of the others in overall distance.

So if you are only adding 2 yards to an approach shot, and it's not revolutionary, then why set such a bad example or commit to the expense in the first place?

Q.  Is Lytham pushed to the limit in terms of yardage?  I know it's a tight site.

PETER DAWSON:  There's always room to do something, but we're very close to the maximum to be honest.  There are one or two holes you could perhaps get another 20 yards out of, but that would probably spoil the holes, so we're happy at this length.  As you know, we've said that if hitting distances start to increase, we'll have to do something about it to that end.  But this golf course, as many others on The Open‑‑ that we use for The Open are at the distance they're going to be.  We don't envisage lengthening courses going forward.

Ohhh....there's a statement he'll regret!

Here was the inevitable next phase of the spin cycle...

Q.  (Inaudible.)

PETER DAWSON:  Well, what we've seen in the last year is an uptick of four yards I think it is on the PGA Tour but not on the European Tour or elsewhere in the world.  When you analyse that uptick, it's largely caused by new young players coming into the field and replacing older players who are moving on to the Senior Tour rather than individual players hitting the ball further.  That isn't happening.

And while there certainly is truth to a Corey Pavin being replaced by a Keegan Bradley, does he really think such activity is moving the PGA Tour number four yards? More importantly: "that isn't happening." Distance increases.

But we have our eye closely on it, and I think it's still true to say that we have not seen a significant uptick since the joint statement of principles in 2002.  But we've got our eye very closely on it.

Very closely!

And now for the rally killer of the day...

Q.  This will be the third time in four years they've played a par‑70.  Is that a concern?

And our worst question of 2012 goes to the man in the back from the Lytham Light And Shopper.

On Peter Aliss, who ESPN now slips into the Open telecast for about 15 minutes while someone takes a bathroom break.

Q.  I appreciate the BBC's trump card is the fact that the coverage is available to everyone.  How much of a trump card does Peter Alliss remain to you?

PETER DAWSON:  Well, you've still got the odd gem in there.  I know Peter causes quite a lot of polarisation of opinions, and many people I talk to still enjoy him very, very much and a number don't.  I think on balance he's an asset, but he's getting‑‑ not getting any younger.  I don't think so how long he'll carry on for.  But he's been the voice of golf for a long, long time over here.  And very interesting, if you go to America and talk about Peter Alliss, they think he is the God of the profession.

And this on long putters...

The subject is being looked at more from a rules of golf and method of stroke angle than it is from a length of club angle, and the reason for that is that if you thought you were going to do something about long putters by saying the putter may be no more than 40 inches long, that would still allow short people perhaps to belly putt but not tall people. 

That'd have to be someone pretty short!

Jim McArthur of the championship department made an interesting comment in response to the slow play question.

JIM McARTHUR:  Interestingly enough, I think when Bobby Locke won his Open Championship here at Royal Lytham he was reprimanded for slow play, and he took three and a half hours.

PETER DAWSON:  If you go back long enough when people were playing two rounds in a day at the Open, it's an indicator how pace of play has moved.

JIM McARTHUR:  We are very concerned about it, but we're doing everything we possibly can.  It is something where we need cooperation from other organisations, as well, to do anything.

Translation: Until the PGA Tour sets the precedent, the USGA and R&A are handcuffed. And we know the PGA Tour does not believe slow play is a problem. Well, Tim Finchem does not.

And finally, back to messing with golf courses...Dawson says his work is done!

Q.  (Inaudible.)

PETER DAWSON:  Well, usually we, first of all, discuss the need for modifications with the venue, with the club, and if the club is happy to embark on a programme of modifications, it's a process between the club, the R&A and the architect.  Sometimes the club will have architects that are experienced in its course, and other times we have used architects that we have been accustomed to, if you like, and used at Open venues.  That has resulted in a slightly closed process, which has troubled me once or twice, but the work that Martin Hawtrey (SP.) and Martin Ebert have done for us has been of a very high quality, and we're very happy with it.

I think we're coming to the end now of the course adjustment programme that we started ten years ago.  Of the upcoming venues, they have all now had the treatment, as it were, so we've pretty much finished the programme.  But we've been very happy with the work that's been done, and I think all the clubs and venues have, too.

The treatment work, as it were, is done. We shall see!

Can't The USGA And R&A Just Get Along?

I guess not. But with one simple utterance to a reporter, Peter Dawson pretty much cast a pall over any hope that the USGA and R&A would agree, in our lifetimes, to do something meaningful for the good of the game.

Just in case you missed it, here's Nick Rodger's chat with R&A Executive Secretary Peter Dawson where he was asked about the USGA recently touting the "fresh look" they were taking at anchoring putters against the torso.

Over to you, Mr Dawson. "I wasn't quite sure where that came from, to be honest," confessed the chief executive of the game's ruling body.

Hey, at least he's being honest!

I chuckled after re-reading Jim Achenbach's story quoting a USGA source saying it was the R&A that was at the heart of this desire to take a "fresh look." 

“The R&A do not like the fact that golfers can steady themselves by using a putter as a crutch in windy, rainy or cold weather,” the source said. “In essence, they are steadying themselves with the putter. This was never intended under the Rules of Golf. They are using the putter for something other than a traditional stroke.”

And to be honest, it now seems the R&A is fine with that!

“Nobody (within the ruling bodies) wants children to know nothing else but sticking putters in their bellys,” the source said. “It now seems possible that an entire new generation of golfers could learn to putt this way and never use the traditional method that has been the bedrock of putting for hundreds of years.”

And to be honest, it now seems the R&A is fine with that too!

R&A's Dawson: Belly Putter "Fresh Look" News To Me!

Nick Rodger of the Scottish Herald talks to R&A Executive Secretary Peter Dawson about an array of subjects and it seems we have a miscommunication?

At the United States Golf Association's recent agm, Mike Davis, Dawson's counterpart across the Atlantic, injected the whole affair with renewed vigour when he suggested that there was "a new ban-the-belly movement within the R&A".

Over to you, Mr Dawson. "I wasn't quite sure where that came from, to be honest," confessed the chief executive of the game's ruling body.

So good to see the governing bodies are on the same page!

He also talked about bifurcation. And bifurcators. Which is just a little too close to defecator, no?

"I haven't met a bifurcator yet who could tell me where it ended going forward, they are guessing what will happen," he said. "Golf is golf and that's a major strength of the game. If you want to go and invent another game, that's fine. But golf is golf. You could imagine down the road if there's one rule for the amateurs and one for the pros, then TV companies may say 'well this 18 holes business is taking up too much time let's just have 15 hole rounds'. You could get all sorts of things. It's good for golf to have one set of rules. Let's all be playing golf."

And on slow play he sounds a bit more eager to act...

"It is a huge worry," stated Dawson. "At club level, fourball golf is killing the pace of play. In the pro game, some of the players are so slow something has to be done. We are going to give this a lot more attention at our amateur events this year and our championship committee has determined itself to do something about it and apply the policy more strictly. We will put people on the clock and give penalty shots.

Don't tell the Don of the Ponte Vedra Tattaglias that, he doesn't like penalty shots. They are brand damaging!

"The coaches have to think about this. They do tend to teach these young players to have pre-shot routines where they don't start until the other player has played his shot and so on. It can be terrible. The tour golf needs to be speeded up too. It's difficult to know what to do about it unless field sizes are considerably reduced and I don't think that's going to happen. I'm not going to say less pros in tour events. What I've said is simple mathematics and that's the tricky bit. The whole field goes as slowly as the slowest player. I don't pretend I have the answer. The administrators aren't the ones playing."

The USGA Taking A "Fresh Look" At Anchoring

Here's Ron Sirak's take on the belly putter talk from Saturday's USGA annual meeting, which as I noted Saturday night was the big takeaway from this year's gathering.

Note that Sirak seizes up on the word "anchoring" coming up in the discussion about taking a "fresh look" at long putters. This is quite a (welcome) shift from just a few months ago at the Walker Cup when the governing bodies were dismissing suggestions they should take another look.

R&A Awards Portrush...An Amateur

For Immediate Release...

2 February 2012, St Andrews, Scotland: Royal Portrush and Carnoustie have been chosen as future venues for the Amateur Championship.

Portrush, venue for the 1951 Open, will host the Championship for the third time in 2014 on its renowned Dunluce Links with the initial stroke play qualifying stage shared with nearby Portstewart.

In 2015, the Championship will be staged at Carnoustie for a fifth time with qualifying also taking place at Panmure, a previous Open Local Final Qualifying course.

Johnnie Cole-Hamilton, The R&A’s Executive Director – Championships, said: “The Amateur Championship has a proud tradition of being contested over the finest links courses in the British Isles.

“I am delighted that the Championship will be returning to two past venues that will offer Irish and Scottish golf fans the chance to watch some of the world’s best amateur golfers in action.

“Previous Championships have seen some of golf’s greatest names, such as past champions Jose Maria Olazabal , Sergio Garcia and more recently Matteo Manassero, announce themselves on the world stage. I’m sure in 2014 and 2015 we will again see some future household names competing for the trophy.”

Portrush - which can count 2010 US Open Champion Graeme McDowell as well as Open winners Padraig Harrington (2007, 08) and reigning Champion Darren Clarke among its members -  has a long history of hosting championship golf.

It first hosted the Championship in 1960, won by Ireland’s Joe Carr, and then again in 1993 when England’s Iain Pyman came out on top. It was the scene of Max Faulkner’s Open victory in 1951 and has hosted the Senior Open Championship six times, most recently in 2004. Portrush was recently named by the European Tour as the venue for this year’s Irish Open.