Trump National Review

Thanks to reader Brian for this review of Trump National Los Angeles, host of the LPGA Tour this week.

“We took an average, nice course on a spectacular location and created a truly special golf course on a spectacular site,” [Donald] Trump says.

Of course, the former could be debated — average yes, but far from nice. Fairways & Greens was never a fan of the original Dye design, with its tight, overly penal landing areas, poor sightlines and hidden hazards. That the Earth tried to swallow the 18th hole seemed only fitting. It was a good walk spoiled.

But the original investors’ nightmare has become an oceanfront dream come true for golfers willing to pony up a few presidents.

And it’s worth every penny, especially if you’re a player who pays similar prices for Las Vegas courses that have neither the sea nor the scenery that swirl around this National treasure.

 

Huggan on the Cups

John Huggan compares the various Cups and quotes Greg Turner.

Seve Unplugged

James Corrigan in the Independent writes about Seve's comments Saturday. Here's the entire transcript. A few of the more interesting exchanges:

Q. Apart from Tiger Woods, any of the Americans that impress you?

SEVE BALLESTEROS: Not really, no. Good swings, good players, but I thinking in that really keeps myself watching TV for a long time. It's true. Good players, good players. It's not easy to impress me, something special.

Q. Can you break that down a little?

SEVE BALLESTEROS: It would take a little long to explain that, we don't have time. Haven't even had lunch yet.

Q. Do you think that part of the reason is the ball that they play with and the equipment

SEVE BALLESTEROS: Yeah, I think it's a good point. You know, it's very hard because the newer equipment, with the metal woods, it's very hard to shape the shots because there's no grooves and it's difficult. The ball has dimples, they are designed with a specific dimple and they have a kind of trajectory. When I play on the course, it seems like they are turning to the right and it looks like they have radar and they come back to the fairway. It's true, it's more difficult to shape the ball on the course and equalize everybody with all of these new clubs, the putter, the 65 degrees loft in the club for certain players; with the grooves, the ball spins as good as ever. I said that a long time ago, and I'm going to say that again, that something has to be done with the rules now, otherwise golf will become more power than anything else.

Q. Inaudible?

SEVE BALLESTEROS: That's one of the reasons, yes. They play shots around the greens that, because of the equipment. But I understand, if they have the equipment available, they use it.

Q. How does it affect your game, the new equipment?

SEVE BALLESTEROS: I'm happy with the Callaway equipment. I think they will do very good. Good ball. I have a new set of irons and I'm happy with the driver. Again, with the driver, it's difficult to shape. It seems to me no matter how you hit it, you have to hit it hard, and it goes or less straight. If you have a good tempo on the swing, as before it was much easier.

Q. A number of Europeans have gone to play in America

SEVE BALLESTEROS: I don't know. I don't know how many there are playing in America.

Q. More are playing

SEVE BALLESTEROS: I really haven't been keeping an eye very much on The European Tour for the last year and a half or so. If they go to America, there must be a reason.
 

Sunday Match Ups

Golfweek's Rex Hoggard previews the Presidents Cup singles matches and picks winners.

It Just Took Forever

The Presidents Cup has made clear yet again that the players are trying their best to make golf entertaining despite once again playing a course that does little to inspire. This has been the case all year on the PGA Tour, yet all too often the drama never quite crescendos.

Perhaps it's the television coverage?  Or more likely, the pace of play?

Vijay Singh did not hesistate to comment when given an opening after Saturday's dramatic Presidents Cup play.

Q. Talk a little about playing against Tiger and Furyk today, they seemed to be a pretty good team.

VIJAY SINGH: Yeah, just damned slow, just too slow. It took me it took us 5 1/2 hours to play. Getting up in the morning and playing with them, you know, it's okay when they are hitting the ball, but around the greens it just took forever to play. Towards the end, it took its toll.

I had a partner [Stuart Appleby] that wasn't very fast, either, and there's three guys that are playing you know, Tiger is fine around the tee shots or, you know, the second shot, but when he gets to reading putts and all that, they just took forever. You start hitting a minute a hole for a player and there's three of them, that's three minutes a hole, it adds up toward the end of the day. It just took forever.

Vijay opened the door for more talk of the subject (what he would do to speed up play), or the tension between he and Tiger on the course. Naturally, a rally killer tried to intervene.

Q. I think just watching the games on TV and a little bit in person, you seem like you're having more fun than almost anybody here. Is it just a fun week for you overall?

VIJAY SINGH: I don't know if I'm having fun, I'm here to win my matches and if I'm having fun doing it, you know, it's good for me.

I enjoy my teammates. I gel with them better than probably anybody else. I don't care who I get, I'm comfortable with everybody. So I just go out there and play my game and enjoy my company.

Thankfully, someone brought Vijay back to the pace of play issue.

Q. If you played John Daly in a match in the Presidents Cup, how long would it take?

VIJAY SINGH: It's tough, it's not the speed of play, it's just how slow they play. I play with a few other guys that are very fast. I have a pace and I play to my pace. When you have to wait every single hole, I don't know what the officials are doing, you know, and we had 20, 25 minutes behind time, they are just not stepping up and saying, "hey, you are slow, hurry up."

Early Greatest Game Review

Bill Huffman in the East Valley Tribune looks what makes a golf movie work and he reviews The Greatest Game Ever Played, with quotes from the film's participants that would make the marketing department proud:

We met — which is how you phonetically pronounce Ouimet — Paxton during a party prior to the screening. Paxton knew one member of our foursome of amateur critics from their past days at Whispering Palms Golf Club in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.

"It’s a movie that (golfers) will appreciate, and women will love,’’ said Paxton, who is better known as an actor for his roles in such films as "Apollo 13,’’ "Tombstone,’’ and "Weird Science."

We also met Frost, whose previous claim to fame came as a writer for the hit TV series "Hill Street Blues.’’ Frost said the movie was a "time machine" dating back to when "the athlete was a role model, which is not always the case in America these days."

Both Paxton and Frost were center-cut with their explanations of what to expect. Now, the question became, did the chemistry of the actors and plot in "The Greatest" work in a way that left people as moved as they were after watching "The Rookie?"

Well, one of our foursome did cry — and clap! — at the conclusion. But the best comment came from the other female member of the foursome, who said of "The Greatest": "If it came down to buying a movie ticket or renting the DVD, I’d wait for the rental."

Love's Mistaken Lift

The misunderstanding in the Love-Cink v. Weir-Immelman morning foursome play provided an interesting dilemma. Love thought he heard Weir suggest that the 1-2 foot putt was good, but Weir merely said that Cink had hit a great shot.  Love picked up the ball. Weir protested, Immelman suggested it mean loss of hole. Captains were called in. Gary Player looked like he just woke up from a nap.

The PGA Tour official seemed perplexed, so guess who came to the rescue? That's right, the USGA's Tom Meeks.

He correctly ruled that because it was clearly a misunderstanding, Love could replace the ball with no penalty. Meeks cited Rule 18. Reader Blue Blazer emailed to suggest the ruling was correct, the rule cited by Meeks may not have been the right one.

2-4/3  Player Lifts Ball in Mistaken Belief That Next Stroke Conceded  

Q. In a match between A and B, B made a statement which A interpreted to mean that his (A’s) next stroke was conceded. Accordingly, A lifted his ball. B then said that he had not conceded A’s next stroke. What is the ruling?

A. If B’s statement could reasonably have led A to think his next stroke had been conceded, in equity (Rule 1-4) A should replace his ball as near as possible to where it lay, without penalty.

Otherwise, A would incur a penalty stroke for lifting his ball without marking its position — Rule 20-1 — and he must replace his ball as near as possible to where it lay.

TNT Knows...Drama?

Since I can't watch the Presidents Cup without wondering if Tiger's goatee is a tribute to Waiting For Guffman's infamous Corky St. Clair, I thought I'd track an hour of TNT's coverage.

In between plenty of commericals, plugs for TNT drama/NASCAR, blimp shots (that's of the blimp), a Jim Huber pre-packaged tribute to Jack and Gary, and my favorite, a graphic on "Presidents Cup Lefthanders," TNT showed us the following from 1-2 eastern:

27 putts
3 drives
16 approach shots or par-3 tee shots
5 chips

52 total shots in one hour of coverage. Not sure how that stacks up with other networks. 

Oh, and I loved it when we saw Jack Nicklaus looking at the grass (probably trying to ID the variety), whild Bob Murphy told us that Jack was "pondering his thoughts."

Oh, and the first foursome took 2:20 to finish the front nine. And that's the short nine at RTJ GC.

Gore and Arizona

Greg Hanson in the Arizona Daily Star writes:

The most meaningful accomplishment in UA golf history, connected to those who played for the Wildcats, could be Annika Sorenstam's ascension as the world's leading female player.  But it is not.
 
You might choose to nominate Jim Furyk for his victory at the U.S. Open, or Don Pooley for winning the U.S. Senior Open.

How about Eric Meeks' triumph at the 1988 U.S. Amateur, or that of Ricky Barnes at the 2003 U.S. Amateur?

 Close, but no.

 

Today in Idaho, former UA golfer Jason Gore is playing in the Nationwide Tour's Boise Open, which, if you are asking for perspective, is the triumph of his career as a man and as a golfer.

Not to quibble, but uh, Jason Gore transferred and led another school to an NCAA title.

That might explain why Hanson called on the former golf beat writer for a quote instead of UA coach Rick LaRose to back up the assertion that it's the "most meaningful moment in UA golf history."

Presidents Cup Day 1

Hard to get behind the U.S. team if they don't tattoo American flags to their cheeks! I mean, where's the patriotism with these guys?

 Seriously, here's the game story on the first day of Presidents Cup play. Rivetting it was. So exciting was it that I realized, if this were the Ryder Cup, no way the doctors let David Toms play. Too much stress. Presidents Cup? Eh, why not, who cares?

Here's a story on Toms as well as Jim Furyk, who was injured on day one but says he'll be fine.

If you have absolutely nothing to do, here is the Captain's post round press conference.  

Why Is It That...

...American teams can never color coordinate? Maybe the red hats are a tribute to Donald Trump's favorite golf hat color.

And why is that the player wives are walking in the fairways with their husband's matches?  Oh right, family is one of the PGA Tour's core values. I forgot, sorry.

Course looks great. Love how the cameras can't quite pick up the white bunkers, turning them into white blurs. So natural. 

Moriarty on Alternate Shot

Jim Moriarty looks at the (surprising short) and strange history of foursomes.

Peter Thomson, three-time captain of the Presidents Cup International team, held a somewhat less favorable opinion of foursomes. "I think it's a goofy game, frankly," he said in 2000. "It's a bloody British invention for old ladies at golf clubs."

Humorless Americans?

Robert Lusetich in the Australian News:

Leave it to Peter Lonard, that plain-speaking sage from south-west Sydney, to dissect the cultural dichotomies between the International team and the US at the Presidents Cup.

"The main difference is that we don't get our knickers in a twist if someone calls us arseholes," Lonard said yesterday.

Ten Reasons To Watch

Steve Elling's ten reasons why we should watch the Presidents Cup. Entertaining as always.

The Gores of Toronto

Lorne Rubinstein looks at the Gore family history and their connection to Canada, with plenty of photos.