Favorites

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Instead of the usual boring pre-tournament release, the always efficient and helpful folks at Brener-Zwikel sent this list out to generate interest in this week's Grand Slam of Golf.

Favorite Course, U.S.?
Tiger Woods: Augusta National
Michael Campbell: Pinehurst No. 2
Phil Mickelson: Whisper Rock
Vijay Singh: Augusta National

Favorite Golf Hole, U.S.?
Tiger Woods: Cypress Point, Hole 16
Michael Campbell: Pinehurst, Hole 17
Phil Mickelson: Augusta National, Hole 12
Vijay Singh: Pebble Beach, Hole 18

Favorite Course Outside U.S.?
Tiger Woods: St. Andrews, Old Course
Michael Campbell: Kauri Cliffs, New Zealand
Phil Mickelson: St. Andrews, Old Course
Vijay Singh: Ballybunion Golf Links

Favorite Golf Hole Outside U.S.?
Tiger Woods: St. Andrews, Hole 18
Michael Campbell: Kauri Cliffs, Hole 4 "Cambo's Hole"
Phil Mickelson: Lahinch, Hole 5
Vijay Singh: St. Andrews, Hole 17

Favorite Golf Course Architect?
Tiger Woods: A.W. Tillinghast & Donald Ross
Michael Campbell: Tom Fazio
Phil Mickelson: Donald Ross
Vijay Singh: Alister MacKenzie

Best Shot of Your Career?
Tiger Woods: PGA Championship, Hazeltine, 18th hole, second shot from fairway bunker
Michael Campbell: My bunker shot at the 17th hole at St. Andrews, 3rd round, 1995 Open
Phil Mickelson: Putt on 18 at Augusta, 2004
Vijay Singh: Final round of 2000 Masters, Hole 15

One Mulligan You'd Like to Take?
Tiger Woods: No mulligans in golf
Michael Campbell: My 2nd shot at the 5th hole at St. Andrews, final round of 1995 Open
Phil Mickelson: Tee shot on 17 at 2004 U.S. Open
Vijay Singh: Final round of 2002 Masters, Hole 15 third shot

Favorite Club in Your Bag?
Tiger Woods: All 14
Michael Campbell: Callaway FT3 driver
Phil Mickelson: Putter
Vijay Singh: Putter

Oldest Club in Your Bag?
Tiger Woods: Putter, 6 years
Michael Campbell: Putter
Phil Mickelson: Putter
Vijay Singh: Cleveland 3-wood

Best Golf Book You Have Read, Not Written By You?
Tiger Woods: "Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf" by Ben Hogan
Michael Campbell: "Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf" by Ben Hogan
Phil Mickelson: "Who's Your Caddy" by Rick Reilly (A Good Laugh)
Vijay Singh: "The Natural" by Sam Snead

Last Time You Bought a Golf Ball?
Tiger Woods: In college
Michael Campbell: When I was 12 years old
Phil Mickelson: No idea
Vijay Singh: 2003

All-Time Favorite Movie?
Tiger Woods: "Caddyshack"
Michael Campbell: "Star Wars"
Phil Mickelson: "Usual Suspects"
Vijay Singh: "Forrest Gump"

 Favorite TV Show?
 Tiger Woods: ESPN Sports Center
 Michael Campbell: "Friends"
 Phil Mickelson: "The Practice"
 Vijay Singh: "CSI"

 Who would be in your dream foursome?
 Tiger Woods: Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, Bobby Jones
 Michael Campbell: Gene Simmons, Michael Jordan, Nicole Kidman
 Phil Mickelson: Amanda Mickelson, Sophia Mickelson, Evan Mickelson
 Vijay Singh: Qass Singh, Bobby Jones, Walter Hagen

Favorite Male Athlete?
Tiger Woods: Michael Jordan
Michael Campbell: Lance Armstrong
Phil Mickelson: Too many favorites!
Vijay Singh: Lance Armstrong

Favorite Female Athlete?
Tiger Woods: Mia Hamm
Michael Campbell: Sarah Ulmer
Phil Mickelson: Too many favorites!
Vijay Singh: Serena Williams

 Favorite Sports Team?
 Tiger Woods: Lakers, Raiders, Yankees, Dodgers
 Michael Campbell: NZ All Blacks-Rugby
 Phil Mickelson: San Diego Chargers
 Vijay Singh: New York Yankees

Favorite Sporting Event, Non-Golf?
Tiger Woods: Baseball World Series
Michael Campbell: Olympic Games
Phil Mickelson: NFL Football
Vijay Singh: World Cup of Soccer

Who Would You Buy a Ticket to Watch?
Tiger Woods: Ali vs. Frazier (1, 2 & 3)
Michael Campbell: U2 in Concert
Phil Mickelson: San Diego Chargers
Vijay Singh: Pink Floyd in Concert

Favorite Musician or Group?
Tiger Woods: Van Halen, Prince, Janet Jackson, Madonna
Michael Campbell: Kiss
Phil Mickelson: REM
Vijay Singh: Pink Floyd
 

Tiger On A Rollback

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Kelly Tilghman interviewed Tiger Woods September 28th. Because a transcript was slow to appear and I was more interested in his surprising comments that he'll be getting in the course design business soon than expected, I missed this bit where he says there is "no doubt" that Hootie, the USGA and R&A want to roll the ball back. Thanks to reader Tom for the reminder.

And credit Tilghman for asking some fine questions in a tough environment (Nike plugfest). The entire interview is much more interesting than Tiger's usual game of press room Dodgeball. (Not that I blame him.)

Anyway, here's what should have made headlines:

Tiger Woods: Here's the deal, I have talked to Hootie and talked to the heads of USGA, also to Peter Dawson, they want to roll the ball back, no doubt about that. They want to put a speed limit and there is one now but they are making golf courses so long that you can't play some of the old championship venues. That's what they are afraid of. They are trying to protect the integrity of some of these major championship venues and the great golf courses, where they can still provide a great championship but not have us shoot 20 under par. But also to have it so that the average golfer can enjoy a round of golf. Well, that's the dilemma. New technology has helped the average golfer hitting balls slightly further and slightly more accurate. But for professionals, we have made leaps and bounds because our proficiency and to be able to make contact and launch the ball correctly each and every time. If you take the average consumer and they hit a driver, they have probably got old equipment five years ago to now maybe 10 yards, 12 yards carry, and we're carrying it to 25, 30 yards further than some of the guys. The further you hit, the more technology is going to help you. That's what they are looking at. They have got all these lists of numbers especially at Augusta, where we're landing the golf ball versus three years ago, and three years ago guys are hitting it 12 to 15 further in the air easily, everybody. That's what they are afraid of. That's one of the reasons why Augusta made some changes each and every year and are probably a leader in that.

I am sure there will come a point in time where they will have to slow it down because we can't play Merion anymore. You can play U.S. Amateur but a professional I think would probably shoot a little lower scores than they did. St. Andrews, if they have to change the course there to accommodate us, then you know things are changing. Hey, I am one of the guys that if they did roll the ball back, it would help me out a little bit. I would have an advantage. Any long guy who hits the ball long and high would have more of an advantage because now we're having to hit longer irons in the greens, other guys are having to hit hybrids and woods, so you have an advantage.

From a personal standpoint and competitive standpoint, I won't mind them rolling the ball back because I would have an advantage.

Tiger in China

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Sounds like Tiger had a lot of people taking pictures of him today.

Q. There were a lot of cameras going off on the course; how big of a distraction was that to you?

TIGER WOODS: It was a little bit of a distraction certainly, but hey, you know, golf they are not used to seeing golf here, so we can understand it. But they are pretty respectful. They felt bad. They don't know when to take the pictures and once you learn, they get better.

 

Haven't these people seen what Stevie will do to a camera?

They should just hand out a little leaflet at the entrance with a picture of Stevie chucking (gosh I miss that word) a Nikon into a lake. That'll teach them to leave their cameras at home.

Tiger On?

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Not sure what to make of this from Tiger's pre-tournament press conference:

Q. You mentioned that you feel a 300 yard drive that you didn't feel in your 20s. What are the things you see later in your career that you might change in your game? We know MJ went to the fade away later in his career. What are some of the things you may incorporate into your game later on?

TIGER WOODS: I don't know. Certainly that's dependent on equipment changes, whether or not we're going to make any equipment changes, whether I can roll the ball back or not, reduce the club face or whatever we're going to do. You're going to have to adjust. I think that's the great thing about this game. You have to keep it fluid. Things always have to adjust. I have plenty on my plate to work on, all the changes I'm trying to incorporate in my game. That will keep me busy for a long time.

Flashback

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While doing research for a story, I stumbled across this article on Tiger from May, 2001. He was asked if course design was in his future.

Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player began their design businesses in their 30s and 40s.  The 25-year-old Woods said he has no clear timetable for beginning a design career. He also said that he wouldn't necessarily design long courses just because he is known for his length.

"You really don't have to have the hole 470 or 480 yards for it to be challenging," Woods said.

I point this out because 470-480 was sort of still a "long" hole four years ago for most players, except maybe Tiger.

Yet how many times during the Presidents Cup did you see players hitting wedges into 475 yard holes?  And NBC's announcers making sure to point it out?

While watching I was thinking that you would need another 75-100 yards to create a "long par-4" in the modern professional game, assuming you would like to see a mid-to-long iron approach.

 

Firestone's Bowling Alleys

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I forgot to point out this interesting quote from Tiger's NEC early week press conference.

Q. You say this is one of the best golf courses. Tell us why.

TIGER WOODS: It's straightforward. There's no hidden agendas. There's no elephant burial grounds like we play nowadays where it's target golf and the fairway angles so that it ends at a certain distance and that's it. Every hole is like a bowling alley and you've got to somehow fit a ball down there.
Never heard "bowling alley" used to describe a course in a positive way!

Tiger Watched With Us, Vol. 3

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tigerteeingoffnissan.jpgGolfweek's Jeff Rude looks at the Tiger fiasco and raises similar questions about the intimidation factor his presence would have had. And he has some quotes from Stewart Cink at the end, questioning Tiger's thinking.

Here's Tiger's press conference at Firestone. Notice that the assembled scribes asked some decent questions, despite attempts by a rally killer to change the subject. And then there's the point-misser who puts the exchange out of its misery.

Q. What did you do Monday?

TIGER WOODS: I was at home working, working on my game, trying to get ready for this week, make sure that everything is sound and solid.

Q. You obviously had to show up Monday. What did you do Monday morning?

TIGER WOODS: I was at home.

Q. What time did you leave Sunday night?

TIGER WOODS: After the delay.

Q. Did you look at the leaderboard?

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, there was three guys ahead of me, two guys tied and Goose at 1 with two par 5s. They're not coming back.

Q. It was a risk?

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, it was, but also it really wasn't, either. These are the best players in the world. Look at who's on that board. It wasn't like guys who have never been there before. If you have guys who had never been there before, then it might have been a different story, but each one of those guys had won major championships up there on that board.

Q. What's your favorite moment here, 21 under, playing against Furyk, finishing in the dark with headlights?

TIGER WOODS: Probably that one because I didn't want to come back on Monday, and Hal and I were racing around, and they asked us do you want to call it. We were on 17 tee, we can call it, and I looked at Hal and Hal said, no, I'm going for it. So we played quick and hit that shot, and the story behind that shot is that Stevie's favorite number is 21, and I was stuck at 20. He said when the ball is in the air, he says, "21." He knew it was the right club, and that's what made that shot so sweet.

Q. Were you watching Monday morning?

TIGER WOODS: I caught a piece of it. I caught it towards the end. I was in the gym working out. When I turned it on, I thought that Elk was hitting his second shot on 18, like, "what's he doing right there?" Then they showed a replay, and I was like, oh, he got a good break to get there. Then he ends up in a divot. Those are not very hard holes with the wind like it is. You can be pretty aggressive on those flags now, especially on 17. You couldn't get it close when we played it because it was straight downwind. Now it turns into the wind you see those guys backing the ball up. Nobody even sniffed at backing the ball up on Sunday.

Q. I'm working on a story on autographs up on ebay and things like that. What's your policy on that?

TIGER WOODS: It's frustrating.

Tiger Watched With Us, Vol. 2**

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Apparently ESPN's "Around the Horn" windbags debated Tiger's decision to fly home from the PGA Sunday night instead of sticking around in case of a playoff. I didn't see it, but here's my first thought:

If you're Tiger, don't you stay around Monday, show up in the locker room, hit balls on the range and hang around the practice green while the guys are getting ready?  Just to send the subliminal message, "I think you guys are the biggest dogs in golf, I'm looking forward to watching you throw up all over yourselves, and I'll see you on the 4th tee in an hour."

Couldn't have hurt, could it?  Weird stuff.

** This Reuters story says a playoff missed by Woods would have been one of the biggest blunders in sports history. Sounds fair to me. You?