PGA State Of The Game: "Certainly it feels like there is recovery in the industry."

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The PGA of America's State of the Industry Roundtable at the PGA Show is an annual gathering of bluecoats talking up the great state of the game and their latest initiatives. Thursday appears to have been no different as they unveiled the 2012 intiative, Golf 2.0, complete with a Boy and Girls Scouts component.
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State Of The Game Podcast, Episode 1

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Introducing State Of The Game, an occasional podcast on a range of topics in the game with a revolving cast of semi-regulars, hosted by Rod Morri with Mike Clayton, John Huggan and yours truly. Opening and closing music appears courtesy of another golfing subversive, the great Lloyd Cole, who fittingly selected Writer's Retreat from his most recent release, Broken Record.
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"The most refreshing thing was that for a change he could actually see his ball land in the fairway."

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Tom Dunne's excellent case for a shorter ball and downsized game was inspired in large part by a visit to Kingarrock, an experience he says "felt straight out of an episode of Downton Abbey." He makes a couple of key points for those who react in horror at the thought of hitting shorter drives on shorter courses...

After playing a few holes, I looked at a 300-yard par-four in exactly the same way I would a 400-yarder using all modern stuff. And on the one occasion that I outdrove my playing partner, I felt exactly the same way I would have otherwise.

And this point interested me because I was absolutely smitten with the noticeably shorter time between teeing off and reaching your drive, an element that dramatically improves the flow of a round.

Since my visit to Scotland, I've kept in touch with David Anderson, Kingarrock's proprietor. He told me a great story a couple of months ago. A South African touring pro (not one of the household names) visited and played hickory over the summer. After his round Anderson asked him if he'd enjoyed himself. The pro said yes, adding that the most refreshing thing was that for a change he could actually see his ball land in the fairway. That's the game they play. And we could play it, too, under Solheim's three-ball solution.

Here's my video diary from a day at Kingarrock:

Add Brandel To The Pro-Bifurcation List

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Golf Channel's Brandel Chamblee, subject earlier this week of a New York Times story with some strong endorsements from his boss suggesting he could be in line to move up the NBC/Golf Channel ladder, penned a "Commissioner-for-a-day" piece for GolfChannel.com.  And he pegged bifurcation as the number one issue he'd address.
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Tom Dunne: "We don't want Hummers anymore, and unless we're playing on TV, we don't need 7,400-yard stadium courses, either."

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You may recall John Solheim's three-ball solution for the game and while I laughed it off at the time, Tom Dunne has made me reconsider with an absolute must read piece asking many pertinent questions about what we really want from this silly game.
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Pecan Valley Closes

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Bill Fields reports on Sunday's closure of former PGA Championship site Pecan Valley, where management company Foresight Golf's talking points for employees included a claim that the "main reason" for the course's lack of profitability is because it's "too difficult for the average golfer." The J. Press Maxwell 1963 design was renovated by Bob Cupp in 1998 and hosted the 2001 U.S. Amateur Public Links.

Foresight has posted a message on the Pecan Valley home page minus their talking points, merely offering a plug for its closest nearby course.

Bloomberg "Not Sure" The Donald Got A Good Deal

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Ray Rivera of the New York Times talks to New York mayor Michael Bloomberg about the sweetheart deal the city gave Donald Trump to manage its Jack Nicklaus-designed Ferry Point muni. Seems the Mayor is openly suggesting the city did not give the contractor a good deal in this case and he's basing this on the state of the golf industry.
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"The game at the top level has almost become one for bombers. You can’t survive out there if you are short by tour standards."

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You have to admire Andrew Coltart for not being ashamed to admit his game doesn't work with today's equipment and setups, but don't you also have to wonder if there's something wrong when the game becomes so blatantly one-dimensional? John Huggan profiles the professional, who discusses his "lack of competitiveness.
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