State Of The Game 32: Australia 2013 In Review

We recorded this week's State of the Game just a few hours before Adam Scott played one of the more amazing rounds of the year--62 at Royal Sydney with six birdies to start, four to finish--but we talk with Mike Clayton about his impressive play at the even more impressive Royal Melbourne.

Other topics covered include Royal Melbourne's design and setup, Rory McIlroy's game as seen up close by Clayton and 15-year-old amateur Ryan Ruffels.

As usual you can access all episodes here on the State of the Game webpage, or on iTunes.

Or for this week's episode you can download the mp3 here or, subscribe/listen on iTunes. Or here:

State Of The Game Podcast 31: David Eger

A lot about David Eger was learned in his recent Golf Digest My Shot, but we decided to have the Champions Tour player and former USGA/PGA Tour executive on to talk about a variety of subjects. Yes, the Tiger drop at the Masters is revisited, as are the usual State of The Game issues. Eger is one of the more interesting figures in the game and certainly a player who has the experience and knowlege to back up his opinions. I think you'll enjoy hearing from him.

As always, you can listen and subscribe via iTunes, download the MP3, download prior episodes here or hit the play button below:

Beman: "Why is it now so important to eliminate bifurcation?"

I finally got a few minutes to take in the entire Deane Beman address (text version) from last week's USGA Pace of Play event, and besides enjoying the image of folks squirming as he talked bifurcation of the rules where the rulemakers reside (and steadfastly oppose bifurcation), you have to admire the dry wit.

Beman, most certainly never considered for a sidekick role on The Tonight Show, turned the tide on the bifurcation discussion by accepting that we already have it, and why are we the big, bad governing bodies trying to get rid of bifurcated rules?

The former PGA Tour Commish lays out the ways we are bifurcated now (grooves, one-ball rule) and writes:

Why is it now so important to eliminate bifurcation?  There is no evidence that bifurcation has hurt the popularity of our game -- just the opposite can be creditably advanced.  Golf’s popularity was surging in the 1950’s and 60’s when two different size golf balls were played around the world.  Don’t let the stance on bifurcation stand in the way of addressing some of golf’s problems.

He ties it into the slow play discussion and makes this point about longer, narrower courses in championship play making their way into the everyday game:

The problem of slow play, as well as the decline in the growth and financial viability of golf in the U.S., has some of its seeds from the well-intended notion that in order to identify “a worthy champion” in major championships, it was necessary to alter the playing field to accomplish that objective.

The Red Sox won the World Series and they are the undisputed world champions of baseball.  Baseball did not feel the need to add another 10 feet to get to first base, grow longer grass in the infield or move the home run fence farther out.  They also have bifurcated rules that allow a designated hitter in one league versus the other and were able to make a mutual accommodation for the World Series for the good and harmony of the game.  None of these actions would lessen the crown that Boston wears or harm baseball as a popular sport.

Stat Dude: "Long game is more important than short game."

The inevitable re-interpretation of the amazing ShotLink treasure trove is about to start becoming a major topic in the game as Tim Rosaforte recently noted.

Jason Sobel delves into Mark Broadie's view on golf stats and mentions Broadie's upcoming book, “Every Shot Counts.” His message: "Long game is more important than short game."

“When I compare the top players on the PGA Tour, I find that the long game contributes about two-thirds to their success while the short game and putting contributes about one-third,” Broadie said. “Initially I was surprised, so I analyzed the data in different ways and found that all roads led to the same conclusion.”

For example, in any given year if you looked at the scoring average of the top 10 on the money list compared with those ranking 116-125, the scoring average differential would be about two strokes. Based on Broadie’s comparative analysis, about 1.4 of those strokes gained would come from the long game, while only 0.6 would be attributable to short game and putting.

Larry Dorman also takes a look at Broadie's book and offers a similarly positive review, though he focuses on several different elements, including this about Tiger's putting prowess getting too much love:

As the author points out, “applying math to settled wisdom,” putting accounted for an average of 28 percent of the strokes Woods gained in his 24 victories.

“This is significantly less than the winners overall average of 35 percent,” Broadie writes. “In his victories, Tiger gained 1.14 putts per round on the field, but he gained 2.94 strokes per round with his tee-to-green play.”

North Berwick Inspires Watson Designed Kids Course In Missouri

Bryce Mereness of the St. Joseph News-Press looks at Tom Watson's proposed kids course design in Maryville, Missouri, inspired by local Dr. Bruce Twaddle who clearly made a visit to North Berwick.

Fundraising for the $550k course attached to a First Tee is underway:

“That’s the whole idea for this, to make it fun for them and not too long, where they can hit a shot and get rewarded for it.”

The proposed new nine-hole course at Mozingo Lake could become reality by the spring of 2015.

The project came after Dr. Bruce Twaddle, a local dentist, took a trip to Scotland before the 2011 British Open. His caddy pointed out a group of young kids playing on a shorter course.

From there, Dr. Twaddle worked to secure funding for the project, similar to many others sprouting up across the country as a response to the declining number of youths participating in the sport.

“They had a sign there that said, ‘No adults allowed unless under the direct supervision of a child,’” Dr. Twaddle said. “That’s when the light went off. Everyone I related that story to, it made sense."

The sign(s) in question:

State Of The Game Podcast 28: Judy Rankin

Judy Rankin is a 26-time winner on the LPGA Tour, a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame as a player, and if there was ever a golf broadcasting wing, she'd be inducted again for her eloquence, class and succinct appraisals that set the standard for on-course reporting.

Judy kindly spent more than hour with the State of the Game podcast to talk about her career, the LPGA Tour, golf broadcasting and of course, the state of the game.

You can listen via MP3 here. Or to past shows the same where via this page. And the iTunes option for all past shows, or this week's episode to listen/subscribe.

Update on 2013-10-01 18:05 by Geoff

**And while we're in podcast mode, here's my chat with Josh LaBell and Adam Fonseca on the Dimplehead golfer podcast about the Presidents Cup.