Red Numbers Can Be The Game's Friend!

Over at GolfDigest.com I posted about some of the nuances we're seeing today that have bred some downright thrilling Ryder Cup golf.  It's so simple really. A little room off the tee, hole locations not buried in places to prevent birdies, green speeds within reason and an overall philosophy of allowing for aggressive play.

The question I ask, as always: why can't we do this all the time in golf?

Is protecting par really that sacred?

Is everyone able to watch day one enjoying it as much as I am?

"The tour's veterans may sense it's time to go back to the Way of Palmer, but the young guys know only a one-way street."

I'm not sure how I missed this, but Jaime Diaz files an intriguing diagnosis of the pro game's woes and picks up on the theme echoed in other recent columns: the players have lost touch and don't have much flair.

Golf without Woods underscores how decadent the PGA Tour has become—and by extension, how fragile. In a tanking economy in which leisure time is evaporating, what was thought to be a momentary bobble is looking more like a bursting bubble. With corporate America and TV networks worriedly wondering if they overvalued the product, that dreaded euphemism "market adjustment" is in the air.

And...

All the taking without sufficiently giving back didn't seem to matter for a long time, but now it does. As CEOs reassess where to spend their money, purses actually could be headed down for the first time in decades (following TV ratings). The tour's veterans may sense it's time to go back to the Way of Palmer, but the young guys know only a one-way street.

Camilo Villegas is a good example. Much has come the 26-year-old's way because of his looks, his body, his clothes and his game. But the native of Colombia has never been expansive with the media, so it was a welcome change when after his third-round 63 at Boston, he thoughtfully reflected on subjects ranging from his struggle as an A-student at Florida to speak English, to his fitness regime. But then, casually but with a hint of impatience, he said, "If you guys let me go, I'll go get another workout in." It's a sentence the PGA Tour doesn't need. It does need Phil Mickelson signing autographs, Padraig Harrington opening the book on his recipe for winning majors, Geoff Ogilvy offering astute analysis, Paul Goydos being droll and Rocco Mediate being Rocco.

New D.C. Area Course Closes

Kendra Marr in the Washington Post reports on the closure of The Presidential.

Billed as a boardroom with a golf course, The Presidential aimed to be an exclusive retreat for corporate businessmen to network and entertain clients. Membership was capped at 150 companies, each paying $60,000 a year for employees and clients to use the golf course and clubhouse on Waxpool Road, east of Loudoun County Parkway. It also attracted a number of big names, such as Bill Dean, president and chief executive officer of M.C. Dean, and former Washington Redskins player Darrell Green, as investors.

A second phase, with an additional nine holes and other amenities, was planned to be added by 2010 at a cost of $30 million.

Shocking that it would fail with those numbers.

According to the club website it's a Dave Heatwole design.

"Unfortunately, this is what the post-Tiger golf world will likely look like."

I've wondered when we'd see a mainstream media rant about the state of golf. It seems the LPGA's boneheaded moves combined with the PGA Tour's odd green-lighting of the media room execution chamber lit a fire under the AP's Tim Dahlberg.

Remember, this went out on the wires...a sampling:

With TV ratings plunging even before the start of the NFL season and the concept of the FedEx Cup still lost on millions of golf fans, the tour apparently thought that putting a few rows of seats behind mirrors in the media tent so people could watch the sweaty media ask a few questions to equally sweaty players would be a great way to allow fans to bond with their favorite players.

What they didn't count on was that reporters might not like the idea of being on display like criminals in a police lineup. One packed up his stuff and left, while others are boycotting the interview room all together, taking a cue from players who try to escape it whenever they can, too.

Too bad, because there's nothing like listening to Singh regale the media with tales of great 7-irons and putts that were so good they had to go in.

What a guy, that Veej, clearly enjoying himself so much that even the folks in the cheap seats could see he could barely tear himself away after five minutes of going over birdies and bogeys to head back to the range.

Imagine telling your buddies about that the next day at the office.

"He was close enough to touch, if we hadn't been behind the one-way mirrors, that is. You know, I've never noticed how he takes his visor off and wipes his brow when he sits down, either. And the look of exasperation he gave when a reporter dared ask him about his 3-putt? Priceless."

Unfortunately, this is what the post-Tiger golf world will likely look like. Boring players who make no effort to connect with the fans going through the motions only because they have to.

Here's what I don't get about the media room viewing area. It may not sound like a big deal to most, but consider that Tim Finchem did not sit in there for his chat with the media for obvious reasons. There's a bit of privacy lost. Now, players are already careful with the media as it is, but these press sessions are still where we learn the little details that humanize them to the average fan. But with an audience behind mirrored walls, the players are just a bit more unlikely to open up.

Is that something the Tour really wants?

NY Times Flash: Golf Made Easier When You Can Hear and See

Bill Pennington offers another instruction piece in Monday's editions. Because the world needs more golf instruction stories and what better place to read about them than the paper of record?

Ah but Pennington isn't serving up only "it's-all-about-you" fluff. He shares this interesting bit from a USGA test center visit with

Dick Rugge.“It’s all about how much water is channeled away by the grooves,” Rugge said. “Deeper grooves get rid of more water more quickly.”

This month, the U.S.G.A. announced new restrictions on the size and edge sharpness of grooves for clubs manufactured after Jan 1, 2010. The U.S.G.A. said the new rules were aimed at professional golfers who have had an advantage hitting out of the rough with modern U-shaped grooves in their clubs. With more control in higher grass, the pros haven’t had to worry as much about keeping the ball in the fairway, an accuracy challenge the U.S.G.A. hopes to restore on some level.

No worries mate!

But the scientific research behind the groove debate is fascinating, especially as seen in super-slow motion video. At the U.S.G.A., Rugge showed me that when a club cuts through heavy rough, grass squeezed against the face of the club actually releases water. This microscopic bed of water is what reduces spin on the ball. Larger, deeper grooves whisk away the water, like treads on a car tire, and allow for crisper contact with the ball. And in expert hands, more imparted spin.

Back in March, Rugge didn’t tell me what the U.S.G.A. might do about the more efficient U-shaped grooves in golf clubs. But playing that video back and forth, and watching clubs in thick grass putting spin on golf balls, I had an inkling. It’s all about the water.

So, shouldn't the USGA and R&A just advocate putting less water on courses instead of changing the grooves?

"USGA restrictions are hindering product innovation."

Adam Schupak reports that times are tough for the equipment industry and of course, it's mostly the USGA's fault...if you ask the manufacturers.

Retailers and analysts say consumer spending domestically has stalled over concerns about an economy wracked by foreclosures and soaring fuel prices. Adverse weather has limited rounds played in key areas, which also is affecting equipment sales, they say.

Another persistent complaint: USGA restrictions are hindering product innovation. In an analyst report on Callaway, Casey Alexander of New York-based Gilford Securities wrote: “The U.S. market looks like it could produce a year where equipment sales come in down 7 percent to 8 percent, which may not sound that bad until you judge it against 10 years of equipment sales that were plus or minus 2 percent regardless of what the economy was doing.”

At this point Schupak lists all of the ways the manufacturers have made things tougher on themselves:

Retailers also say they’re being hurt by shorter product life cycles. The growing practice of launching products in almost rapid-fire succession is conditioning consumers to wait, say six months, to buy a premium-priced driver because they know it will be marked down. That consumer behavior has become more pronounced during a sluggish economy.

Those darn consumers! Don't they know they exist to help each quarter's earnings? What is wrong with you people. Shop!

“That mindset has come back to bite us,” Marney says.

"So the great thing is that professional golf might just be on the edge of seeing the end of long rough."

Geoff Ogilvy pens a grooves-related guest column for Scotland on Sunday. After explaining the beauty of the flyer lie that might return with the 2010 elimination of U-grooves, Ogilvy warns:

My big concern is that, once the grooves change, a corresponding alteration must be made to the length of the rough. There will be no point in continuing with foot-long grass. When rough gets that long, it really doesn't matter what grooves we are using. So I'd like to see rough no longer than it presently is at Augusta National. The Masters in 2010 will be interesting in that the rough will actually become much more of a hazard than it has been since it was introduced.

So the great thing is that professional golf might just be on the edge of seeing the end of long rough.

That would be the best case scenario, but I'm not as optimistic. Just look at the PGA this week, where they were coming off one of their most successful events ever with incredibly short rough and turn around with a narrow fairway, high rough setup.

However, you have to think the U-groove announcement provides a face-saving opening for the folks at Augusta National to eliminate the second cut in 2010.

I loved this point, which gets at the silliness of the hoped for elimination of bomb and gouge play.

Anyway, I like the fact that the new grooves will at least make players think more about hitting the fairway. Which isn't that big an issue, actually. I'm trying to hit the ball as straight as I can and I'm sure every other pro is too.

Geoff and others are trying to hit it straight, but sometimes it's just kind of hard to hit a sloping 24-yard fairway, no matter how good you are. That's not bomb-and-gouge, it's lousy setup.

Sea Island Slowdown

Thanks to reader Eric for this Tony Adams story on layoffs at Sea Island, as well as the resignation of CEO Bill Jones from the Synovus board.

Columbus-based Synovus declined Tuesday to discuss Sea Island Co. and its decision to lay off between 300 to 400 employees, as well as any impact the upscale hotel and development firm's business might have on the regional bankholding company.

"Basically we're in a position, as we would always be with a customer, and we just cannot provide any additional information on a customer relationship," said Synovus spokeswoman Alison Dowe.

Sea Island Co., which dates to 1928, is headquartered on the Georgia coast near Brunswick. The firm has developed several ritzy resorts in the area, most notably The Cloister on Sea Island and The Lodge on St. Simons Island. A late-July check of the rates at The Cloister showed rooms averaging between $750 and $1,700 per night.

Monday's announcement by Sea Island Co. that it is eliminating jobs follows the July 7 resignation of Bill Jones, Sea Island Co. chairman and chief executive officer, from the Synovus board of directors.

In a recent interview with the Ledger-Enquirer, Richard Anthony, Synovus chairman and CEO, commented on Jones and his resignation from the board.

"Bill, he has been, and continues to be, a very good customer and friend," Anthony said. "He just felt like he needed to spend time on his business, and we can probably serve him better without his being an insider."

Well at least he doesn't want to spend more time with his family.

Meanwhile, this could explain why Tadd Fujikawa picked the Quality Inn over The Lodge or The Cloister.

R&A Finally Acts On Grooves...To Preserve The Importance Of Rough!

Of course, the opening line of the press release is revolting on a level I can't begin to describe.

THE R&A ANNOUNCES NEW GOLF CLUB RULES

St Andrews, Scotland, 5 August 2008:  The R&A has today announced revisions to golf’s equipment Rules, which are designed to enhance the benefits of accuracy by making playing from the rough a more challenging prospect in future.

Yes, yes, rough is vital to the game. Old Tom would have wanted it that way. Don't worry about building new tees on the New Course, just make sure that we can continue to line fairways with rough. Or, in the case of the Road Hole, just eliminate the fairway. That's a priority!  Anyway, carry on...

The new Rules will augment the existing limitations on grooves and will affect all clubs (with the exception of drivers and putters), with the new regulations limiting groove volume and groove edge sharpness.  Essentially, larger volume grooves have the ability to channel away more material, such as water or grass, similar to the tread on car tyres.  At the same time, sharper groove edges facilitate a better contact between club and ball, even in the presence of debris.

Both new regulations will apply to golf clubs with lofts greater than or equal to 25 degrees (generally a standard 5-iron and above) with only the rule limiting groove volume applying to clubs of lesser loft.

So a 3 or 4 iron could have...ah forget it.

The Rules will apply to all clubs manufactured after 1 January 2010.  Clubs manufactured prior to this date, which meet the current regulations, will continue to be regarded as conforming under the Rules of Golf until at least 2024.

Well, that's not going to cause the rush to Roger Dunn's that the manufacturers would have hoped for.

It is intended that the new Rules will be introduced as a Condition of Competition at top professional level from 1 January 2010 and at top amateur level and in other professional events from 1 January 2014.  The R&A and the USGA will introduce such a Condition of Competition at their respective championships in accordance with this schedule.  The world’s top professional tours for both men and women, and the organisers of golf’s major championships, have all indicated their support for the new groove regulations and their intention to implement the Condition of Competition in 2010.

At GolfDigest.com, Mike Stachura summarizes the news while USGA.org offers...no announcement as of 10:15 a.m. PST.

Update on 2008-08-05 17:28 by Geoff

The USGA release arrives at 10:24 PST and includes this oddly phrased line:

The PGA Tour, the European PGA Tour, the LPGA, the PGA of America and the International Federation of PGA Tours have all indicated their support for the new regulations on grooves. Each of these organizations, as well as the Augusta National Golf Club, have told the USGA and The R&A, the game’s governing bodies, that they intend to adopt the condition of competition, applying the rules for their competitions, beginning on January 1, 2010.

They've told them! Works for me.

"The manufacturers got ahead of the USGA and the R&A. That's the bottom line."

John Huggan talks to Tom Watson about the state of game and in particular, the ball and equipment.

"I am very adamant that I think the ball should be brought back," he says, echoing the sentiments of many others of his generation, including Jack Nicklaus. "It goes too far. It also goes straighter and is therefore easier to control in a wind. But there are a lot of factors involved other than just pure distance. The rate at which the ball spins is important. They spin less these days and that is one reason they go farther. A higher spin rate would exaggerate misses and send the ball more off line than at present.

"The manufacturers got ahead of the USGA and the R&A. That's the bottom line. Those companies made balls that conform to rules that unfortunately allowed them to go too far. They're too easy to play. And that is true for all classes of player. Yes, they make less of a difference to the handicap golfer, but they still make a difference. Just not to the degree they do for the better leading professionals."

As you'd expect of a Stanford graduate – his fellow alumnus and close friend, Jim Vernon, is the current president of the USGA – Watson has solutions to the problem that has led to the vast majority of the current generation of players never knowing the joy that comes with perfectly shaping a shot into a stiff crosswind.

"When the ball goes as straight as it does now, you don't have to 'work' it from left-to-right or right-to-left; all you have to do is aim right at your target," continues Watson. "That takes a skill factor out of the game.

"The old guys had that skill factor, but the younger guys don't seem to have that same ability. Yes, they learn how to play that famous Tiger Woods 'stinger' – I saw a few of the kids using it at Birkdale last week – and that is a useful shot to have. But can they hit a stinger from right-to-left or left-to-right? That's what I want to see them doing, but right now I'm not.

"In defence of the young players, they have never had to learn a variety of shots. They have three wedges, for example. They have never had to add loft to their 56-degree wedge to make it play as if it has 60-degrees. I'm sure they understand how to hit the ball a little higher, but it's a lot easier to hit a high lofted shot with a 60-degree wedge than it is to hit one with only 56-degrees."

"How to solve the problem of the 'ball going to far' is not easy. Liability is not an issue. Doing it correctly is."

Ran Morrissett talks to former USGA President Grant Spaeth for a GolfClubAtlas.com feature interview. It's all very enjoyable, but as always I can't resist clipping a few highlights:

9.  What are your thoughts on classic golf courses, like Stanford, that are subject to continuous renovations?

Regrettable. We are in the midst of an “updating” which means pushing tees back.  Some modernization is inevitable, given how far we hit the ball. And one is forced to wonder whether there should be two sets of equipment rules, because distance is not a factor for non-tournament players, or older ones. But the foregoing suggestion of two sets of rules is sacrilege in many quarters.

This surprised me as an answer, but speaks to how much the game has changed:

10. The State of California was blessed with numerous outstanding designs during the Golden Age of golf course architecture. Time has not been too kind to many of the courses. Is there one course in particular that you lament, either its passing, or wish its original playing character could be restored?

Cypress Point, clearly. I am told the Stanford Golf Team went down and to capture the way the course originally played, each player had to take his drive and go back 40 yards and play. Awful shame that it is pitch and putt for the good players although the greens still hold up for today’s play.

And...

20. You have mentioned the ball numerous times.  It was an issue when you were President and still and issue today.   Is it inevitable that a tournament ball must be implemented sometime soon?   Is the liability issue to the USGA the reason it has not been implemented?

The process must be thorough and fair.  How to solve the problem of the “ball going to far” is not easy.  Liability is not an issue.  Doing it correctly is.

"Energy costs are going up, and the cost of fertilizer has doubled in the last two years"

Matthew Rudy pens a lengthy examination of the state of the golf industry for Golf Digest and Businessweek. I didn't finish it yet, because I can see there's a lot in it worth considering. Starting with this...

This sophisticated research shows that course operators are facing problems more complicated than just a reduced flow of customers. Courses' peak fees have gone up at the same rate as inflation, but off-peak rates -- which account for a majority of the rounds played -- increased 33 percent more than the CPI. In other words, prices have risen even in the face of flat or reduced demand. That doesn't bode well for attracting new and younger golfers in a weak economy. "Energy costs are going up, and the cost of fertilizer has doubled in the last two years," says Longitudes President Sara Killeen. "Course operators had to raise rates or go under -- and the number of daily-fee courses has dropped 2.5 percent in five years. They're feeling it from all sides. The successful ones are working very hard on their business 365 days a year and managing the details very astutely."

I'm thinking (hoping?) one of those details might be less fertilizer if indeed it's doubled in cost? Or are we going to go down with the ship making sure that turf is pumped up on stuff?

"Supporters of the course say the soul of Austin golf is at stake."

Kevin Robbins does an excellent job of detailing the fascinating (and depressing) saga unfolding in Austin where battle lines are being drawn over the fate of Lions Municipal, which sits on University of Texas land and is leased to the city through 2019.

But some supporters of Lions said they fear the lease could be broken. If that happens, the 141-acre course could be little more than gauzy memories and scrapbook pictures by 2019.

Supporters of the course say the soul of Austin golf is at stake.

They wonder where the next Ben Crenshaw or Tom Kite, who played junior golf at Lions, will learn to carve tee shots around a wooded dogleg. They ponder the civic benefit of providing a fair and inviting golf ground to people of all ages, abilities and incomes.

They question where those who play the 67,000 rounds of golf played annually — 3,200 of them by youths 18 and younger, 15,000 by people 62 and older — at Lions will go. They see a relic, worth preserving, that makes Austin Austin.

And...

By early June, when Kemp and the other Save Muny organizers staged their rally, principals with the New York master-planning firm Cooper, Robertson & Partners had spent enough time in Austin to begin to appreciate the sentiment behind the effort to spare Lions.

But they also had a charge from the regents, who agreed to pay the firm up to $5.14 million, to explore a number of possibilities.

Including the golf-course lease, revenue from the 345-acre Brackenridge tract amounts to about $940,00 a year for UT-Austin. The land could be worth far more, a suspicion articulated in 2006 when James Huffines, the chairman of the regents at the time, ordered a 10-member task force to devise a plan "to utilize the asset to the maximum benefit" of UT-Austin.

Oh boy...

The Save Muny movement has expressed no interest in rebirth or rejuvenation. Advocates of Lions prefer to salvage the 6,000-yard course as it looks today, preserving everything from the massive tree in the middle of the No. 2 fairway to the modest green fee that gives access to anyone with a shirt, a ball, a bag of clubs and the desire to play.

"It's owned by one group, it's used by another group and you're not maximizing the value of the property. The University of Texas has basically given golf to the citizens of Austin since Muny has existed," said Kite.

You go Tom! You need that money!

But Crenshaw, who lives a short stroll from Lions, said: "There's no question the atmosphere would change."

Crenshaw and Kite were rivals in junior golf. They won national championships at Texas before their long and decorated careers on the PGA Tour. They're both enshrined in the World Golf Hall of Fame. They hold very different opinions on the future of Lions.

They tried earlier this year in Hawaii to resolve them. While playing a tournament there. Kite and Crenshaw met over lunch to talk about the new design. By that time, Crenshaw already had announced his position. He wanted to save Lions.

"I'd made up my mind," Crenshaw said.

The debate underscores a broader issue affecting municipal golf in many American cities. Around the time of the Save Muny concert and auction last month at Lions, Golfweek magazine published a report describing a crisis in municipal golf.

The report suggested that many of the trends coloring the Brackenridge tract situation have been responsible for a slow decline in the number of municipal golf courses.

It cited factors such as "strained city budgets" and "increased real estate development pressures."

"You just can't continue to lose these inner-city golf courses," argued Kemp, who rallied supporters at the concert and auction in June.

Kemp, the Austin developer, served more than 30 years as chairman of the city golf advisory board, which helps set policies governing Austin's five municipal courses. Kemp said the goal of Save Muny is to acquire Lions — with the help and authority of the city — once and for all.

"We can pay cash. We could trade land," he speculated. "We don't want to penalize the university. We just want to save the golf course."

"If you think about some of the shots Lee Trevino hit in his lifetime it breaks your heart to see what goes on today."

John Huggan catches up with instructor Bob Torrance who joins the list announcing that shotmaking is almost gone from the game.

"As someone who has spent a lifetime in and around golf, it is a great sadness to me that the game at the highest level is so much less interesting than it used to be," he sighs. "It is that way because of the modern equipment and the ball, of course. I rarely see anyone shaping shots any more. Instead of hitting high shots, low shots, fades and draws, most players now hit the same shot time after time.

"I don't blame the players for that necessarily. Varying your shape of shot is just too hard with the modern ball. It goes straight almost no matter how you hit it.

"If you think about some of the shots Lee Trevino hit in his lifetime it breaks your heart to see what goes on today. He had all the shots, the modern player has only one.

"The whole thing is pretty depressing, if I'm honest. But it hasn't affected what I teach. What I teach today is exactly what I taught years ago. Maybe I'm just stubborn."

I'm surprised more hasn't been written about this, then again...

"The European Tour is getting more and more like America, where conditions are all but identical every week. They hit the same shots from the same lies all the time.

"I have to admit, I hanker for an era that is long gone and doesn't look as if it is coming back. I think of players like Christy O'Connor senior. He could hit any shot with almost any club in the bag. Sadly, we will never see his like again."