Bryson's Irons Redux: "It’s a potential paradigm shift for golf equipment."

Mike Stachura reminds us at GolfDigest.com that attention spans are short, because it wasn't that long ago golfers were witnessing Bryson DeChambeau's success wondering if same-length iron sets were around the corner.

With DeChambeau's Web.com Tour playoff win and signs that Cobra Puma Golf has a prototype that looks promising for a market debut in the "now-increasingly-imminent future," he writes:

But DeChambeau’s almost religious prophet approach to his iron-length concept is more than some quirky personal trait or party trick. It’s a potential paradigm shift for golf equipment. Is DeChambeau's win like Billy Burke’s win with steel shafts in the 1931 U.S. Open, or Jim Simons victory at the Bing Crosby Pro-Am at Pebble Beach in 1982, the first televised win for a metal wood? DeChambeau, not surprisingly, thinks it has that potential.

“I think you will see a change take place among junior golfers over this next year. I know it’s not just better for me but for all kinds of players,” he said. “I think this was an important day. Maybe we look back and say this is the day the game changed.”

Kostis: "The USGA and R&A look like ambulance chasers, eager to find fault with you at every turn."

If you can get Golf.com to hold still for a second and stop playing irrelevant videos, this Peter Kostis piece on the current state of golf's rules is worth a read.

Strong words here on how the rules seem to no longer be our friend, but instead, the golfer's enemy:

In addition to updating the "Ball at Rest Moved By Player, Partner, Caddie or Equipment" rule (18-2), which went into effect at the start of this year, the USGA also decreed that you may no longer post scores for handicap purposes if you play by yourself. It's another example of the governing bodies looking over our shoulders, like Big Brother. Apparently, they don't consider golfers to be trustworthy. So we have an issue: Golf is either the pristine, righteous game they proclaim it to be, or it's not—in which case the USGA and R&A look like ambulance chasers, eager to find fault with you at every turn. The latter mentality mocks everything the game is supposed to stand for.

Vandenburg A.F. Base Golf Course Closing Over Water Costs

One of the best military base golf courses in the country is another casualty of California's drought and rising water prices.

Dave Alley of KEYT files a full report from the nearly 60-year-old course.

"It's the price of water," said Col. John Moss, 30th Space Wing Commander. "The price of water and what it requires to water the course has just gotten to the point where it's prohibitive for us to be able to afford that. This year alone would have cost us several hundred thousand dollars to water the course and it's just money we don't have."

The course, which opened to public play in 2005, has been sustained by non-appropriated funds during that time span. However, escalating water costs has made operating the course financially unsustainable. As the price of water has risen steadily over they years, the base has had to tap into MWR funds to cover costs.

"We are taking immediate action to ensure we are good stewards of our funds," said Josie Cordova, 30th Force Support Squadron (FSS) deputy director. "When the MWR Fund is in danger of bankruptcy, that threat includes potential closure of our other base support functions."

To help cut costs, the course implemented a series of measures over the past several years to conserve water, including installing more efficient water infrastructure.

"We stopped watering the middle of the fairways and reduced the amount of water we were putting in the course overall and ultimately we're at the point we're at now and we were only watering the greens and the tee boxes and even that wasn't enough," said Col. Moss.

I've played the course many years ago and saw it again in recent years and it's a gem on great terrain. Really a shame.

The War on Cargo Shorts: Country Clubs Looking Prescient!

Nicole Hong of the WSJ reports that men are trying to stick with their cargo shorts as women find them deplorable.

Country clubs, which have long hated cargos for mysterious reasons (too working class?!), are suddenly looking like pioneering trendsetters after years of being badgered for disallowing certain fashion, including cargos.

Hong notes golf's role in the cargo pant/short war.

Many upscale golf courses have banned cargo shorts in recent years. In 2012, Michael Jordan was playing golf in cargo shorts at a Miami country club when he was asked to change his pants, according to news reports at the time. He reportedly refused. His agent released a statement afterward saying Mr. Jordan had previously worn cargo pants at the club without incident.

Around 2010, slimmer men’s shorts started to replace baggy silhouettes. By then, the backlash against cargo shorts was well under way.

Fashion guru Tim Gunn said in a 2007 interview with Reuters that cargo shorts were the least fashionable item of clothing in his closet. British tabloid Daily Express called cargo shorts “a humiliation for any man over 21 and should be sold only after proof of age has been presented.”

The Perks Of Firestone: Seeing What Happens When Top Players Actually Get To Hit Driver

There isn't much to get excited about with this year's WGC Bridgestone, especially given that without it on the schedule in an Olympic year, the players would have a lot less to gripe about with excessive playing options.

But we march along so the boys can collect their easy $50k, world ranking points and--silver lining alert--huge driving distance numbers!

As Mike Stachura explains after seeing Justin Thomas hit a 413-yard drive, Firestone remains one of the few courses were players can hit driver on nearly every non-par-3. But with an earlier date on the schedule and less humidity, Stachura says the field's 317.3 yard average from last year should be down this year.

If it's not...

What’s the number to beat? Aside from last year’s 317.1-yard mark, the tournament with the highest driving-distance average in the last year was the Shriners Hospital Open in Las Vegas last fall at 305.4.

Now, is it fair to say that if the average this week surpasses last year’s number, there should be more concern about driving distance increasing? Statistically speaking, it’s merely one set of data that carries as much weight in determining trends as does the driving-distance average at Harbour Town for the RBC Heritage, which this year was 278.8 yards. That’s, in a nutshell, the point the USGA was making in its recent report about the relatively modest growth in driving distance over the last dozen years or so.

State Of The Game Podcast 67: Roger Cleveland

The master club designer and collector joines Rod Morri, Mike Clayton and myself to talk about his career in club design, the state of the game and the 2016 U.S. Open.

The show page.

The MP3 version. And of course you can listen below, or subscribe on iTunes.

Video: Crenshaw On Save Lions Muni

Let's interrupt the grow-the-game claims to give attention to a place to grow the game and now is in danger of redevelopment.

Ben Crenshaw speaks in this 18-minute tribute to a public course that was vital to his development as a player. But as he explains, Lions is more than just a historic place for shaping a two-time Masters champion. It's a place that kids could hang out and learn the game. It's a place adults could learn the game affordably. It's centrally located in an urban area. It grew the game. There are many just like it that have been neglected and golf doesn't seem interested enough in saving them. Maybe Lions will turn things around!