"We've got to have a climactic finish"

I've been a little busy and the Ryder Cup was just too good to let go of, so I haven't read Tim Finchem's press conference very closely but it looks like he was in one of his more long-winded modes, and we know how well that usually turns out.

I did see this from Doug Ferguson regarding the FedEx Cup.

Finchem said he expects a good week and big crowd, and it helps that Saturday's round will be played early, so as not to conflict with the NBC broadcast of Notre Dame football. Thankfully, Georgia plays Alabama on Saturday night.

In the meantime, he said changes to the FedEx Cup appear imminent.

``We've got to have a climactic finish,'' Finchem said. ``It's going to build to a finish.''

That's why he makes $5 million a year. It only took two years for him to figure that out.

"We have been in constant touch with WADA since the beginning of our effort and WADA has been very supportive of the construct of our programme."

Still waiting on Peter Dawson's transcript to appear to determine what kind of softballs were lobbed by the wannabe and current R&A members in attendance,  but in the meantime we learned that Ty Votaw has the unenviable task of trying to package and sell the IOC on what golf does not need: another 72-hole stroke play event once every four years.

In the first wire story that went out on this with Olympics-related comments from Peter Dawson, I couldn't help but notice this little nugget:

Potential stumbling blocks include the need to move the date of the USPGA Championship to avoid a clash in dates, and the difference between golf's newly-introduced drug-testing programme and the requirements of the IOC and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

"The distinctions between our policies and full WADA compliance are not significant," added PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem.

"We have been in constant touch with WADA since the beginning of our effort and WADA has been very supportive of the construct of our programme.

"There will probably be some issues, but we don't see any major hurdles in terms of reaching an understanding about what changes need to be made to bring us into total compliance."

Now, as you may recall it was pointed out here that Dr. Gary Wadler of the WADA was quite blunt in a recent New York Daily News story by Andy Martino that analyzed deficiencies in the PGA Tour's testing program.

For example, the drug salbutamol, found in asthma inhalers, is anabolic and can build muscle. Salbutamol is banned in the Olympics, but allowed in golf. Also, though human growth hormone is prohibited, neither tour administers the blood tests that would possibly detect it. All 33 WADA labs worldwide test for HGH, although the efficacy of the tests are in question.

Wadler also takes issue with the language used to describe the testing process. The PGA Tour manual says: "Once notified, you should report to the designated testing area as soon as possible. The collector may allow you to delay reporting ... however, you may be monitored."

"What do you mean, 'should' and 'may?'" asks Wadler. "These things have to be required. What if the player goes to the bathroom after being told to report? That's no good."

And here's where one can see this getting ugly...

In terms of public disclosure, the policy states that "the PGA Tour will, at a minimum, publish the name of the player, the anti-doping rule violation, and the sanction imposed" - a statement that is contingent on Finchem having sanctioned a player in the first place. Clearly, if a star player were to test positive for steroids, that player "may" face a punishment and public embarrassment - or he may not. Wadler also points out that amphetamines, commonly used as performance enhancers, are classified under the tour's policy as drugs of abuse, meaning that players, if caught using these PEDs, could be quietly sent to rehab. All of these shortcomings, Wadler says, could be cleared up if both professional golf tours would cede control of their programs to WADA.

I wonder how many PGA Tour players will be willing to see the drug testing program turned over to the much tougher WADA so that three Americans can play 72 holes of stroke play every four years? I'm guessing not many.

Finchem Asked To Take Drug Test By Policy Board?

Rex Hoggard drops this little mini-bombshell on the Golfweek Tour Blog:

According to a member of the Tour’s Policy Board, Finchem was asked to be the first person tested and before an opening ceremony for the AT&T National tournament he obliged.

I don't know about you, but I got the impression from his press conference that this was an executive decision to better understand the process, not something he was asked to do. 

Gee, I wonder who approached the Commish and said, "Uh, Tim, we think you need to be tested too."

Cink? Toms? Faxon? Ogilvie?

Finchem Takes One For The Team: Undergoes Drug Test, Results Not Pending

Helen Ross provides the overview of the big day, while you can read the spellbinding Finchem transcript here.

Let's go to the script...

Q. Is it important for you to go first?

COMMISSIONER TIM FINCHEM: No, I don't think it's important to go first. I think it's important for me and certain of our executives who are involved with the program to understand exactly what the procedure is, because by doing that, you can kind of see what player reaction will be, what players questions will be, and it's just a good, healthy learning experience. I don't view it as anything meaningful from a symbolism standpoint, but just I think it's important that we understand it in the detail of it.

Q. Did it go as efficiently as you thought it would?

COMMISSIONER TIM FINCHEM: It did. I was very pleased with the way it went, and I think that we have every reason to be optimistic that we're not going to have logistical problems; that it's not going to be a big disruption and it's not going to take much time.

The people that are doing it are quite professional, well organized, buttoned up, and that also conveys a sense of integrity to the process; because as we all know in this area, the integrity of the process is very, very important.

I'm glad they're buttoned up. That could cause problems if they weren't.

Q. Do you know how long it took you?

COMMISSIONER TIM FINCHEM: Nine and a half minutes. And I asked some questions.

Questions? You mean like, "Have you ever seen..." oh I better stop.

Q. Yesterday or today?

COMMISSIONER TIM FINCHEM: Let's just say I've been through it. I don't know that it's necessary to get really specific.

Yeah, TMI could get ugly here, especially if you had asparagus for lunch.

Q. Secondly on drug testing, do you think that when this is up and running for a year, that if there are no positive tests, as it relates to performance-enhancing that this will take care of any naysayers?

COMMISSIONER TIM FINCHEM: Any naysayers? That's impossible. I think the thing in the whole world of drug testing and anti-doping is that if you're not getting positive tests, somebody is going to write a blog that says your testing is screwed up: How can that be?

Write a blog? Such hostility to the blogosphere Commish. We're hurt. It's also possible someone will write a column, or an essay, or even a Haiku wondering why everyone is so clean and yet, throwing so many more clubs than they did prior to July 1.

You have a testing program; you must have had a problem to begin with or you wouldn't have done it. There's going to be naysayers regardless of what happens.

But on balance, among people who follow the sport and know these athletes, I think a rigorous testing program will add credibility to the general notion, which I think we all recognize, there are not that many people who believe that there is any significant issue here prior to this rule going into effect. Credibility requires that we have the program.

Thatta boy, that's a better answer! And hey, how about a comment that you're doing this testing stuff for the kids? Big family values Q rating points in that.

Blackberrying From Lausanne

We learned last week that Tim Finchem let USGA-Executive-Director-in-hiding David Fay and LPGA Commish Carolyn Bivens inside his PGA Tour jet for the low cost, minimal upside trip to Europe to pitch the IOC on the ridiculous notion of golf in the Olympics. I'm sure the PGA Tour's rank and file would be thrilled to see the price tag for this pricey little excursion. 

The jet took on extra weight with PGA Tour's Ed Moorhouse and after a stop in London, Euro Tour headman George O'Grady, who joined the braintrust for the final leg to Lausanne, Switzerland. 

My NSA sources were able to intercept Blackberry messages sent by three of the passengers after stepping down in Lausanne, starting with Bivens writing to top lieutenant Jane Geddes.

Jane,

Greetings from Lausanne by way of London by way of Daytona and Teeterboro!!! We just touched down in the tour jet. What a cool ride. Thankfully we had George O'Grady to liven things up on the flight from London to Lausanne. It was just Tim, Fay and Ed Moorhouse on the first leg of the journey. Tim and Ed pretended to fall asleep about an hour into the flight, but I know they were awake because Ed kept kicking Tim's seat every time Fay mentioned the Yankees. Which reminds me, could you look up who this Joba guy is that Fay kept talking about needing to come off the DL? Is this a Star Wars reference I didn't understand?

CB

PS - how did Corning go, are they going to bump up their purse or are we going to have find another sponsor willing to pay full market value? 

PGA Tour Commish Finchem wrote to VP of International Affairs, Ty Votaw.

Ty,
Be grateful you didn't make this trip, even though the bottle of PGA TOUR cab we opened is just stunning. Nice sunny, smoky flavor, probably from the California wildfires? And please thank Chef for the cheese production, very appropriate selection with the cab. Hope the Corning HOF induction ceremony went well. Ed and I got some much needed rest on the flight over. Not much in the way of coterminous interfacing with our guests. Bivens and Fay looked lost when I suggested ways of monetizing and value modulating the Olympic movement. I finally had to take a nap when Fay kept reminding me that he'd love to run the Olympic golf federation if we are successful. I explained that we need to get golf in the games first, then we would codify the resource structuring.
Ed sends his best,
TF

And David Fay wrote to USGA CBO Pete Bevacqua, who apparently has created some fascinating new rules for staff.

Pete,

Just arrived in Lausanne. Even though this wasn't an official USGA function, I only had two drinks on the flight over from Teeterboro per the new company policy. That okay? Or does the two drink max not apply to me and the XC? Either way it was fine, Tim opened a bottle of the PGA Tour's new cab and it tasted like the fire hydrant runoff from a building fire on the upper eastside. I had to talk to Bivens most of the way. She tried to convince me we needed to hire her branding firm for this Olympic golf movement. She talks about branding more than you do. As I explained to you, President Rogge would not be interested in that at his point. Let's hope she doesn't bring it up at the meeting. Well, that's my update, I look forward to your response in less than two hours, again, per your new policy.

DBF

"I have told the players we are going to make them play faster."

John Hopkins reports on the slow play epidemic, and though he says the final pairing at The Players took only 4:15 (according to some readers it was 4:40), he offers this:

The answer lies partly in easing the set-up of some courses but more in harsh penalties for slow players. The LPGA Tour in the US recently introduced a policy of penalizing players who took more than 30 seconds a stroke and, furthermore, penalized Angela Park when she was only one stroke out of the lead. Compare this with the PGA Tour's policies under which a player has not bee fined for 15 years.

Tim Finchem, Commissioner of the PGA Tour in the US, said in an interview with The Times last week: "I have told the players we are going to make them play faster. I think we owe it the sport, to the players who play at this level and to the fans that we are doing everything we can to analyse and take steps on this issue."

Well, it's something. This isn't so hot:

Last Monday the World Golf Foundation, a body incorporating the United States Golf association and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, the professional tours from around the world as well as Ladies Professional Golf Association (in the US), met in Jacksonville. I understand that slow play was on the agenda but nothing substantive was discussed even though slow play was an item on the agenda.

Thankfully, there is great news. According to Doug Ferguson, the big execs in golf are working on the real priorities at the expense of their carbon footprints. What for? To grow the game with 72-holes of stroke play once every four years. 

PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem headed for London this week, stopping along the way to pick up USGA executive director David Fay and LPGA commissioner Carolyn Bivens.

They were to join R&A chief executive Peter Dawson and European Tour chief George O’Grady at a meeting with the International Olympic Committee, the first step toward bringing golf back to the Olympics.

It was not a formal meeting, but no less important to show the IOC a unified front in golf’s desire to be part of the games.

“This will be a protracted process,” Fay said. “But this is an important first step.”

Vital. Just vital.

IM'ing With The Commissioners, Vol. IX, Goodbye Annika

My sources have been lacking, but after The Players and Annika's retirement announcement, they finally procured an instant message exchange between our beloved Commissioners.

DaBrandLady: tim, you there?

twfPGATour©: Yes, I'm still unwinding from a busy week. My sympathies Carolyn.

DaBrandLady: for what. i'm doing great! :)

twfPGATour©: Well one of your top-of-the-line products is deplatforming and discontinuing production.

DaBrandLady: oh annika?

twfPGATour©: Yes, what a shame. But I'm sure her Q rating will spike with a pregnancy and we know how that translates for your value streaming and interfacing.

DaBrandLady: hehe i know, it's great news all the way around. we're moving outdated product off the shelves and rollingout in fresh inventory that the targeted demo relates to! speaking of that, congrats on Sergio beating that frumpy non-demo guy.

twfPGATour©:  Thanks. But don't forget that she was is the greatest single product of our time in women's golf, I'm sure you'll miss her a little?

DaBrandLady: naw. her brand was tired, lorena's our macro brand now. more importantly, i wanted to tell you how I loved your 5 tips for managing well in last week's WSJ. it got me thinking that my staff and players might want to know my 5 tips.

twfPGATour©: They might.

DaBrandLady: may i run my 5 by you?

twfPGATour©: Do it now.

DaBrandLady: oh, are you in a hurry?

twfPGATour©: No. Do it now was my No. 1 tip for managing well, remember? I would put one of those eye wink smiley faces here but I don't know how.

DaBrandLady: oh i get it! hehe lololol

DaBrandLady: so okay here's my first tip:  brand it now.  

twfPGATour©: Hmmm...strong, to the point and sound strategy. You might think of punching up with some language on the qualitative analytics of measuring commercial inventory.

DaBrandLady: okay, dutifully noted!  here's no. 2: interface, interface, interface

twfPGATour©: Interesting, resembles the infrastructure of my tip No. 2, Communicate, communicate, communicate.  But I like it. Makes good business sense. I don't particularly care for interface with my players, but someone has to do it.

DaBrandLady: me neither. they can be such a problem. and so slow on the course!

DaBrandLady: moving right along, here's no. 3: seek brand strength at all costs, but recognize when to sacrifice value streams for cohesive platform interractivity.

twfPGATour©: That's strong. I haven't used interractivity in a long time. Such a vital concept.

DaBrandLady: i thought so too!

DaBrandLady: here's no. 4: remember that, as the leader of a charitable organization, you must also generate bench strength through constant refreshment of said organization.

twfPGATour©: That sounds much like some of the language we cooked up for last week's reshuffling press release?

DaBrandLady: well it is, i'm sorry if it makes you uncomfortable. it's just such a great metaphor.

twfPGATour©: You can run with it. I wish I had thought of that for my tip number 5. But you know I had little time to prepare my 5 Tips For Managing Well because I had misunderstood what they wanted and instead concocted my list of 5 Tips For Managing Wellness. I should have known the WSJ wouldn't be asking about my thoughts on Omega-3s.

DaBrandLady: well i would still read them!

DaBrandLady:  okay, finally, no. 5: you can pick your friends, you can pick your brand, but you can't pick your brand's nose.

twfPGATour©: I might end it with "but you can't pick your friend's brand"

DaBrandLady: oh right! that's what i get for reading my old fortune cookies without glasses!

twfPGATour©:  Well I hope the WSJ gives you a shot. I'm having my five tips embroidered to framed placemats for the 8 EVPs, the 22 SVPs and on throw pillows for the 32 VPs.

DaBrandLady: very nice touch! that's a lot of pillows!

twfPGATour©: No kidding. Say, carolyn, I hate to cut you off, but it's been a long week. We had to do over 90 minutes on slow play at a player's meeting last week and I have to write a memo to pretend I am following up.

DaBrandLady: ironical that you would have a long, slow meeting on slow play!

twfPGATour©: I'm really not believer in irony.

DaBrandLady: i'm not sure i know what it means.

twfPGATour©: Say Carolyn, I suppose we will have to keep giving the impression we are worried about this slow play issue. I've crunched value modulations on our network telecasts running long and it's a huge bonus for us when it happens, always good for a solid Nielsen point. So I'm not in any hurry to see things speed up. Is that how you feel?

DaBrandLady: wish we had that problem, but we're not on any networks in the late afternoon.

twfPGATour©: Well, in time perhaps. Give my best to...

DaBrandLady: He would say hi back if he were here!

2008 Players Championship Photo Caption Help, Vol. 1

golf.com's images from round two featured this Mark Humphrey shot of former President Bush and Commissioner Finchem. The golf.com caption says they were out on No. 17 watching golf. I know you guys can do better.

"5 Tips From Tim Finchem For Managing Well"

Wall Street Journal online readers were deprived of five tips accompanying the "Boss Talk" interview with the PGA Tour Commissioner. However, because advice like this just can't be withheld from the online reading public, I share with you Tim Finchem's 5 Tips For Managing Well.

1. Do it now.

Succinct, highly original and said with such warmth. Do it now Senior Vice President No. 32 or you'll be a Vice President faster than you can say product incentivization!

2. Communicate, communicate, communicate.

Take that John Wooden!  Only two communicates would have been less, uh, impactful.

3. Seek consensus, but recognize when to sacrifice unanimity for decisiveness.

Well, we know Tim came up with that convoluted way of saying, $#@% the Policy Board, we'll do what I want to do! 

4. Remember that, as a leader of a team, you are also a member of that team.

Remember that, just because I am paid, $5.2 million, don't act like it.  

5. Take what you do seriously, but not yourself. 

There is no punchline for No. 5. It is a punchline. 

"Companies are so much more sophisticated in their analytics of measuring value."

The unbiquitous Tim Finchem was in the press room today at The Players and in the pages of the Wall Street Journal where John Paul Newport asked questions for the "Boss Talk" feature.

First the Journal, which included exclusively in print "5 Tips From Tim Finchem For Managing Well." We'll save those for another post tomorrow.

I found this interesting:

WSJ: There has been some criticism by players of the Tour's new drug policy -- not the need for it but the fact that players will have to be watched giving samples.

Mr. Finchem: The doping stuff is an interesting phenomenon in that virtually all the younger players, from say 32 or 33 down, say this is a no-brainer. Many of them have been tested in college, observed testing. Some of the older players who have been around for 2½ decades bristle a little bit. And I think that's totally understandable. I don't like it in sports generally, and I don't like it for golf in particular because in golf we play by the rules and know the rules and call rules on ourselves and drug testing smacks of, "OK, we don't trust you." But the reality is, drug policy has to be a credible exercise. Our image is probably our No. 1 asset.

Okay, that was fun while it lasted. Break out your businesspeak bingo boards.

WSJ: Image is important to tournament sponsors. How are they holding up in light of this possible recession?

Mr. Finchem: Over the last 20 years in my experience, every time there is a recession, companies that want to be involved in this platform redouble their efforts to scrutinize every nickel they are spending. This is stressful for us. But when they come out of it, you've got a partner that is more educated about the possibilities. Companies are so much more sophisticated in their analytics of measuring value. It's very different than it was years ago.

There are some companies that are primarily focused on the branding/advertising side of the equation. There are other companies that are primarily interested in taking advantage of the platform from an incentivization [perspective], for their employees or business to business. But if they are narrowly focused in their approach, they tend not to have a long relationship with us. Companies that take advantage of all the elements are getting the most value and stick with us. By that I mean a public-relations interface, a charitable interface, an operating interface from the standpoint of getting business to business, and of course a branding/advertising interface.

So good to see platform and incentivization making a comeback. I missed them. 

In the press room, Finchem offered a nice tribute to retiring TPC super Fred Klauk, then borrowed a page from Billy Payne's Handbook on Schmoozing Media That Will Fall For Anything. Finchem singled out those who have covered way too many Tournament Players Championships The Players Championships The PLAYERS.

Let me also, since we are talking about milestones; that we have a number of people in the media who have been with us for a good number of years. Some of these people I'm going to mention may not like to be mentioned in this context, but nevertheless, it's our 35th year here at THE PLAYERS, and Melanie Hauser has been with us for 25 years; Tim Rosaforte has been covering here for 26 years; and both John Hopkins and Furman Bisher have been here 28 years; and Tom Stein has been here 27 years.

Take that Herb Wind!

With that,

...where I've greased some of you up but don't have neat little awards to give you...

I'll take a few questions and try to answer whatever you'd like to ask me.

Q. I know at last week's players meeting, slow play was one of the main items on the agenda. Do you accept the premise that it's a problem, and if so, do you have any specific ideas in mind as to what you might do about it?

COMMISSIONER FINCHEM: It's a complicated subject that I'd be happy to spend some more time with you off-line perhaps later in the week.

Off line. I'm sorry, is this an instant message session?

He yoddles on for a bit about all of the factors influencing pace, then says...

But because some of these factors have accentuated in recent years, it's come to a point where we are going to have to really analyze all of it and ask ourselves: Is there a better way to do it, whether it relates to a slow player, whether it relates to the setup of the golf course, whether it relates to field sizes and the rest, and we are committed to doing that.
We feel strongly on this issue now. I think it's a whole other debate as to the extent to which what people watch on the air impacts how long it takes the average player. I watch virtually all of our golf on the air, and it doesn't make me a slow player, as I want to get done as fast as I can get done. But there is that sense that we need to set a good example, too.

So we have identified not a complete list, but certainly the beginning of a framework of how to effectively analyze this subject more effectively. I think it's time to do that, and I think it's a combination of identifying things that could be done in communicating effectively, primarily with players, talking about the professional; but also yourselves and the fans about what the realities are, what the causes are and what steps could be done.

Q. Might you consider the steps the LPGA has done, such as timing players without even warning them, and penalizing them?

COMMISSIONER FINCHEM: Sure, absolutely, that would be one of many things on the list. Some of these things require more staff. Some of them require more expenditure.
But rather than go forward and say let's go try this and let's go try this, we want to try a more comprehensive approach to it.

Well, that's a start?

Questions For The Commish: 2008 Players Edition

The fifth-of-four majors means Wednesday will include a Tim Finchem "state of the tour" gathering with the media. I have a few questions, and naturally, your questions are encouraged to excite the scribes to break off a juicy curveball.

The USGA and R&A are at a stalemate over the grooves issue, with the R&A holding up the previously proposed change to competition conditions for 2009. You have stated the PGA Tour would "like to see the groove configuration requirements changed."  Would the PGA Tour consider joining forces with the USGA to support action at some point if the R&A continues to resist acting?

You told Sports Illustrated's Alan Shipnuck that "an organization needs to be constantly refreshed," yet you joked that you may stay on beyond the end of your current contract. Why do you feel the commissioner's job is above refreshment?

The R&A's Peter Dawson revealed that slow play is on the table for the World Golf Federation meetings. The PGA Tour has not issued a 2-shot penalty in 16 years. Do you have any specific proposals on the table?

Finchem To Advocate Paying Speeding Tickets In Virginia Law Commencement Address

Thanks to reader Phil for the news that PGA Tour Comissioner Tim Finchem is going to address University of Virginia law school graduates on May 18th. Fire up the jet!

“The graduation speaker is charged with the task of sparking inspiration and confidence in our class,” said Brian Leung, president of the Student Bar Association, who helped choose this year’s speaker.

Wait until he starts talking about value modulations. Maybe he'll liven things up by suggesting to those with political aspirations to not get so many speeding tickets because it just may make you a multi-millionaire.

"Actually, my plan is to die in office at the age of 82"

Alan Shipnuck pens a lengthy and compelling profile of Tim Finchem for this week's SI Golf Plus. This is by far the riskiest move yet in the Finchem rebranding project, which started in earnest this February and takes on an edgier tone by the very notion of allowing SI access. (I shudder to think of the negotiations that took place before Shipnuck got the green light.)

There are many highlights including lots of new insight into the $5.2 million man. We learn about how his political career was derailed (got to pay those speeding tickets Tim!), about where he likes to vacation, why the WGC's are staying in the U.S. (it's TV's fault now!) and more seriously, moving anecdotes about his mom who sounds like she was truly a special person. We're also reminded what a big Democrat Finchem used to be, which is always good for getting the juices flowing with the groupthinkers on tour.

The only disappointing aspect of the piece was not Shipnuck's fault, but instead, the peculiar decision to headline it this way: "PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem has made a lot of golfers very, very rich — and a few very, very angry."

While we hear from a few angry folks you'd expect to hear from (Norman, Vickers, Pernice), it would have been nice to hear more from the rank and file about beefs with say, his excessive salary, their take on lavish executive compensation, the stockpiling of VP's or Finchem's weak record when it comes to actions related to equipment regulation, slow play and course setup. Though we learn Phil Mickelson is still definitely not a fan.

There was also this quote about his passion for restructuring and, well, firing people.

"An organization needs to be constantly refreshed," he says.

You ever notice that executive types who say stuff like that never feel that applies to themselves? And in Finchem's case, it seems he may want to keep working beyond the end of his current deal.

Should it come to pass, the Olympics would wreak havoc with the Tour's schedule, but Finchem sees it as one of the best ways to expand the game globally, which makes it the right thing to do. On the other hand, 2016 is the target date, by which time the logistics will be another commissioner's problem.

Or will they?

"Actually, my plan is to die in office at the age of 82," Finchem says with a hearty laugh.

In fact the commissioner says he has no time line in mind for the end of his tenure and that "it would be a mistake to assume" he will step down in four years when his contract expires.

How can I complain? He makes blogging easy.