It's All About Brand Consistency

/

Carolyn Bivens talked to Golf World's Ryan Herrington about the credential release form controversy (which still has not been resolved with the Golf Digest Companies):

"If you don't have some control of how your image is used commercially, you really can't build a consistent brand," Bivens said. "You're not a good steward. And for 55 years we never asserted any rights to that. In order to more consistently build our brand, we have to have control over the commercial use."

See, she's a good steward, unlike those past commissioners who had no sense of brand consistency. 

But here's the beautiful irony part, printed in the same pages where the vital publication in question featured no coverage of the event due to the uh, brand consistency-driven policy:

"When media assert their rights, I don't think that means fans aren't going to come out and see or attend the tournaments or the games," she said. "I don't think to the average consumer this makes any difference."

Flog Talk at Doral

/

FlogGolflow.jpgIt is becoming a new rite of (early) spring: flog talk at Doral.

While Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson waited on the 18th tee during Saturday's third round, Johnny Miller and Dan Hicks discussed the play:

JOHNNY MILLER: Tiger Woods, the odds of him hitting this fairway are no more than 30%.

DAN HICKS: Tiger, 6 of 13 today, Mickelson 4 of 13 and both those golfers are right in among the leaders here.

JOHNNY MILLER: It’s hard to believe, really when you look at these numbers.

DAN HICKS: Yeah it is.

JOHNNY MILLER: Especially Phil, 4 fairways, come on Phil, you’ve been hitting a lot of 3 woods, 3 metals and still not hitting the fairways.

DAN HICKS: This has been the trend here at Doral. We saw a lot of the same thing last year with Phil and Tiger.

JOHNNY MILLER: It’s not like these guys are missing them by 3 feet or 2 feet. They’re out there pummeling their gallery.

DAN HICKS: Davis Love remarked earlier this season that “our game is about hitting out there as far as you can and you take your chances from there.”

JOHNNY MILLER: Well, that’s why I’d like to see the USGA—if you’re listening—let’s go back to V grooves. And then all of a sudden if you’re missing fairways, you’re not going to take advantage of all these lies in the rough. You’re going to have to play maybe, you know hit it on the face or it’ll float up the face or maybe you’ll get a zinger. That was really a big part of the game of golf. I’m telling it’s been eliminated by these square grooves. Some of these players are switching wedges every two months just to they can take advantage of the rough.

I'm all for investigating the groove thing.

But it's like a kid with a cavities having their dentist suggest a new toothbrush to prevent future problems.

Nice start, but something is causing the cavity besides an old, soft brush.

In golf, flogging started with the newfound ability to carry a ball 300-330 yards, all courtesy of optimized launch conditions. This change, caused by the USGA opting to stick with Iron Byron instead of updated testing, allows elite players to get on a machine and pick up 25-40 (at least) yards without lifting a single weight. It remains the root of the problem. 

It seems that the question of distance off the tee must be addressed before delving into the issue of whether grooves are an issue.

Think of it another way. If the USGA gets rid of square grooves, do you think Tiger and others are suddenly going to start using irons off the tee to hit more fairways on some 7,500 yard course?

Doubtful. 

Birdies...They're A Good Thing

/

I don't know about you, but I sensed that special buzz when watching Doral today. The buzz so often lacking these days on the PGA Tour with anti-birdie setups.

Yes, the golf was compelling in spite of the wild driving and widespread low scoring that has the leaderboard still bunched.  Yet the reaction to the low scoring was all too typical.

''I normally like golf courses where 10, 12 under wins tournaments,'' Rich Beem said, "because I think making par, being rewarded with par should not be a bad thing. It's a good thing. Obviously, when the wind is not up and the greens are soft around here, the golf course plays pretty easy, as you can see.''

Thankfully Armando Salguero in the Miami Herald put Beem's comments into perspective.

And that begs this question: So what?

What's wrong with a course that doesn't become the story, but instead allows the golfers to provide the drama? What is wrong with watching the world's great players post scores and make shots that reflect their status?

Phil Mickelson, among those holding Tiger by the tail in a first-place tie, was the one voice of dissent -- and reason -- when asked about the plunging scores.

''I love the way they have set this course up,'' Mickelson said. ``So what if we see birdies. I think that's great. I think it makes for some spectacular and exciting golf.''

Indeed, the Blue Monster would have more teeth if the greens had not been watered so often this week, or if the wind, which notoriously kicks up in early March, were not absent.

But even if the wind doesn't blow, this tournament is a breath of fresh air when compared to the merciless 2004 U.S. Open at Shinnecock, where golfers and their scores were left strewn on the course like so many divots.

''That's no fun to watch, either,'' Mickelson said.

 

Verplank On The Changing Game

/

At Doral Friday:

Q. There's been a couple of guys in the last two or three years who have gone out looking for extra distance, you don't seem to be one of them; "This is my game, let's see what I do"?

SCOTT VERPLANK: I can't do it. I mean, I can't hit it any harder. I can't swing any harder. I've tried. I don't hit it as straight. I can hit I can use the different golf ball that goes 10 or 15 yards further off the tee, but I can't hit it close to the hole with an iron shot. So I just kind of take what I have.

If I play like I think I can and think I should, then, you know, I don't have any problem with it.

Q. I was going to say, you birdied all of the par 5s today.

SCOTT VERPLANK: Yeah, you know, I think last year I probably finished in the Top 10 in birdies on the par 5s. But I kind of look at a par 5 as, you know, an opportunity. It's obviously a great opportunity to make a birdie, but sometimes if I can't knock it on, then I make sure I put myself in a spot where I know I'm going to be in good shape to still have a good putt at it.

Q. Do you have a strategy on all of the par 5s here or does it depend on where you drive the ball?

SCOTT VERPLANK: Depends on where I drive it, and if it's downwind on some of the holes, I'm going to try to hit a good drive so I can knock it on the green in two. Obviously, I can't knock it on 12, but I can get it up there pretty close where I'm hitting. Sometimes I chip better than some other guys putt.

So it's just it is what it is. I don't think I can hit it significantly further. I've tried. When I do I either hit it crooked or I get hurt. I'd just as soon keep it in the fairway. If I continue to improve, I'll pick up some more distance as the tournament goes on, and as the year goes on, too, pick up more confidence and how solid I'm hitting it. I end up getting it out there far enough to compete.

Q. You said earlier that you haven't really been striping the ball for two days, yet you're sitting here tied for the lead. What do you think that says for how things set up for you this weekend?

SCOTT VERPLANK: Well, hopefully good. I mean, if I continue to make the little strides the next couple of days like I'm hoping I will, you know, I know how to play my game. The way golf has changed, my game still works, just barely, you know. The way they have changed the equipment and the setups and all that, such a demand on bombing it. But there's just barely enough skill left in the game where I can still play (laughter).

Q. It seems like we come into this tournament quite a bit talking about the bombers and the guys that hit it long, and on this course, is that really necessarily a big advantage? You talked about navigational control here a few minutes ago.

SCOTT VERPLANK: No, you don't have to have it. Obviously you can still play. But it's more and more of a factor. If you can hit it straight, I guess I read yesterday that Tiger hit 12 fairways or something. As far as he hits it, that's pretty good. He's going to have a big advantage if he's 30 or 40 yards past me and he's in the fairway, as well.

Most guys don't hit it that straight, though, when they hit it that far.

Torrey Pines (Collateral)

/

Should you ever wonder if your city, county, state or federal government were acting in a peculiar manner, take heart, there's always the City of San Diego and its corruption woes to warm your heart.

It was one thing to try and push through a clubhouse redo for the 2008 even though the golfers don't care. But this, this is downright wacky:

City Attorney Michael Aguirre was stunned to find out this week that the North Course at the Torrey Pines golf complex was being used as collateral to pay off bonds. It turns out he was only scratching the surface.

Aguirre said yesterday he discovered in his review of city documents that the Torrey Pines South Course – the site of the 2008 U.S. Open – and Balboa Park Golf Course are also being used as collateral and could conceivably be lost should the financially troubled city default on the bonds or file for bankruptcy.

“All of the golf courses are at risk, and none of this was told to the public,” Aguirre said. “It's just incredible.”

Under the current terms, more than $42 million in debt needs to be paid before all three courses are clear of their obligation. The bond tied to the South Course was $18 million, as of the end of the fiscal year in June 2005, and the terms run through fiscal year 2011. The North Course bond was $15.7 million at the end of the last fiscal year and goes until 2009. Balboa Park is committed until 2022 on a debt of $9.5 million.

Week In Review, Feb. 26-March 4: Crack In The Code

/

WeekInReview2.jpgJohn Huggan kindly spent a few minutes fielding intense questions for edition No. 2 of Taking Aim.

Geoff Ogilvy won the match play, but once again La Costa's design proved itself to be the most boring arena imaginable for match play, prompting me to regurgitate complaints about the lack of a "match play" course to host the event. And Ned Ludd wondered, "Wouldn't it be cool if the Golf Channel was able to telecast the Crump Cup? Match play at PVGC with the top ranked mid-amatuers would be great viewing."

But we learned new details about the future site of the WGC match play, including how much The Gallery is paying to host the event. That information provided an interesting contrast to the situation at Innisbrook, which is paid to host a Tour event.

Commissioner Tim Finchem talked to the media on Sunday at La Costa, and as always, offered several new terms and roundabout ways of making a simple answer sound, well, not simple.

Talk of the FedEx Cup and the effort to come up with a point system prompted Sean Murphy to point out that "Every race on the schedule is worth the same amount of NASCAR points. There are no "unimportant" races. I love this NASCAR philosophy. Damn, these guys have to put in their time, which allows their fans to actually get to see them more often, in order to receive the Big PAY-OFF."

Reader Macduff came up with a fairly simple points system and his own Top 70 through the WGC Match Play can be viewed here.

While the "Where's the Balance" thread set a new record for posts, Titleist's anonymous commentary calling out the Orlando Sentinel's Steve Elling and his "biased" take on technology led to this commentary by Ryan Ballangee. He followed up with a 19th Hole Golf Show interview with Elling.

And Elling rebutted the anonymous commentary in his weekly golf column, prompting Smolmania to note: "The media's starting to get on board. The question becomes, will the public?"

Speaking of bias against acting for the good of the game, Elling's in elite company. The King spoke out about distance this week. Surely the LA Times has been added to the "biased" list of publications daring to report the comments of a golfing legend who clearly regrets his stance on the ERC driver.

Golf World's Jaime Diaz looked at flogging, bringing the worst kept secret to a mainstream magazine from one of the game's top writers. The secret is really out, and when people look at the cause (distance, bad course setup), will they consider proper remedies?

Crankpot, apparently not content with posting on his own equipment manufacturer sponsored blog, gave us an insight into how the growing minority will be trying to shape the debate: "This - and almost every other article like it - ASSUMES that technology is the sole and driving (pardon the pun) reason behind increases in driving distance in some sort of self-justifying loop. Technology caused the boom in driving distatnce because of technology. Real logic doesn't work that way."
 
On a lighter note, Carolyn Bivens continued her push to make past LPGA commissioners look brilliant with her latest marketing nonsense.

And in the big story of the week that will continue to be discussed for the next month, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer criticized changes to Augusta National. Reader Steve wrote, "Before the changes, I always regarded AN as the 'ultimate members course' capable of having a major tournament without alterations or the growing of rough."

A spokesman for Hootie Johnson said that "Mr. Johnson has no opinion about their comments. Every past champion is entitled to his point of view." That prompted reader RThompson to write "Listening to Jack and Arnold, and becoming more and more educated by your blog Geoff, it would now seem inevitable that Chris [DiMarco] start experimenting with some of those Vijay length drivers, and soon."

And GeorgeM said, "Hootie should know better. This was not 'every past champion'. These are ANGC members and multiple winners of their little invitational."

Finally, Mark Brown, an important modern day writer whose founding of Links Magazine helped paved the way for someone like me to learn about architecture and write about it, passed away this week. Brad Klein offered this remembrance. 

FedEx Cup Points - MacDuff's Take

/

Reader MacDuff came up with a simple points system for the FedEx Cup. The actual breakdown of points is causing all sorts of fun and apparently not-so-pretty internal debates within the Tour.

The players were given four models for points breakdowns this week. Talk at the Nissan focused on some sort of weighted system for events with better fields, using, what else, but the World Rankings. In other words, the system might protect those playing in the limited field events that feature more players high in the rankings. When in fact many others believe the system should reward consistent and persistent play.

Davis Love had this to say at Doral earlier in the week:

It's just a matter of how do you tweak it so you get, like NASCAR, you get the guys in there you want, you get the best players that make it, and the best players are incentivized to play. The NASCAR thing wouldn't work, if you got seeded No. 1 and all you had to do was show up for the races and you would win; that's not exciting.

So they want you to make the Top 10, and they want you to race hard the rest of the season. That's what they want here. We want guys to race hard, get a top ranking and then want you to have to play hard to win, and play all of them. So that's the balance

MacDuff offers this look at the top 70 based on a rather sensible points breakdown (25 pts as a base for those making cut and finishing last, with top ten having a better differential and the top spot "getting a hefty bonus.") He also lists the events played. Note that everyone in the top 10 had played at least 5 events.

It appears that solid, consistent and frequent play would be rewarded under a system where points are rewarded equally from tournament to tournament.

And that last trait will make those internal FedEx discussions quite interesting. Apologies for the formatting...and thanks again to MacDuff for doing this:

Sabbatini     10891.66      7
C.Campbell        8025          6
Mickelson        7484.37        5
Furyk        7133.33        5
Singh        7021.87        5
Petersson     6983.33        6
Lehman        6962.5        5
Appleby        6858.33        5
Glover        6754.16        5
Oberholser    6737.5        5
Toms        6709.37        4
Gf. Ogilvy        6400        4
Weir        5834.37        4
Palmer    5691.66        5
Rollins    5662.5        5
Donald    5609.37        4
JB Holmes    5433.33        4
Verplank    5362.5        4
N.Green    5137.5        4
T.Clark    5067.5        5
Barlow    5051        5
Cink    5021.33        5
Van Pelt    5015        5
Parnevik    4905        5
Leonard    4862.5        4
J.Ogilvie    4545        4
Chopra    4512        5
Mayfair    4491.66        5
Calc    4450        5
Olazabal    4412.5        3
Olin Browne    4387.5        5
A.Scott    4375        3
Jobe    4355        4
Rose    4341.66        4
DiMarco    4159.37        3
Watney    4137.5        4
Matteson    4100        4
Bub Watson    4000        3
Love III    3987.5        3
T.Woods    3971.87        3
Vn Taylor    3825        4
Branshaw    3812.5        3
Pernice    3787.5        3
Estes    3775        3
J.Byrd    3750        3
D.Wilson    3737.5        4
Kelly    3725        3
Bertsch    3700        4
Choi    3675        3
Bohn    3650        3
Couples    3650        4
Triplett    3537.5        2
Bjornstad    3530        4
Atwal    3487.5        3
Immelman    3487.5        3
Crane    3482.5        3
Gay    3475        4
J.Smith    3462.5        3
Slocum    3450        4
Warren    3420.83        3
Senden    3412.5        3
Gore    3350        3
Z.Johnson    3337.5        3
Garcia    3325        2
Perry    3300        3
Pampling    3292.5        4
Bryant    3287.5        3
Purdy    3262.5        4
Maruyama    3225        5
Langer    3129.16        3

Another Distance Device Clarification

/

Does the latest USGA clarification on distance measuring devices speak to anything in particular?

Namely, is it an indication that there might have been a rush to approve the devices without giving the rules staff ample time to consider and clarify various scenarios that would arise?

Or are these addendums and clarifications standard issue when something previously forbidden is allowed to enter the game?

Since the announcement in September, there was this clarification on local rule wording, this announcement on the legality of such devices in USGA competition, and the latest regarding handicapping.

These Girls Rock (In Oscar Gift Bags Too)

/

I wish I could make stuff like this up...gosh the Carolyn Bivens years (if she makes it that long) are going to be fun. Shoot, they already have been! This is really special:

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., March 2, 2006 – The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) just made possibly the biggest cut in Association history.  When the 78th Annual Academy Awards Presenters Gift Bag is distributed exclusively to celebrity presenters, performers and key show executives at Sunday’s Academy Awards, the LPGA will have a gift among a myriad of top-of-the-line items that total more than $100,000. 
          Each gift bag, which is presented on behalf of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences as a thank you to celebrity presenters and performers, will include a “These Girls Rock” themed CD case (see attached) containing a certificate redeemable for all-access, VIP treatment at any LPGA Tour event throughout the 2006 season.  Additionally, each celebrity will receive a photograph and biography of an LPGA Tour star who will provide an exclusive golf lesson at the LPGA tournament of the celebrity’s choosing.
           “We believe the committee chose our gift because the LPGA is one of the hottest sports properties in the world right now, and the LPGA gift is a unique offering that stands out from the spa packages, electronics and hotel trips that are traditionally included,” said LPGA Commissioner Carolyn F. Bivens.  “Our product is our players, and what better way for A-list Hollywood celebrities to experience the LPGA than at a tournament and through a golf lesson with one of our stars.”
           The bag is filled with a diverse range of luxurious items, putting the LPGA’s offering in the company of premier gifts of resort stays, jewelry, top-of-the-line kitchen appliances, cellular phone service, cashmere clothing and cosmetics.  The 78th Annual Academy Awards, hosted by Jon Stewart, will air March 5 on ABC at 8 p.m. EST.
           In addition, six players will be in Los Angeles on Sunday night to attend some of the infamous Oscar after-parties.  Paula Creamer, Natalie Gulbis, Jimin Kang, Cristie Kerr, Christina Kim and Stephanie Louden will be outfitted in designer gowns and accessories and join Bivens as VIP guests at the Oscar Rocks: US/Rolling Stone event and the Elton John AIDS Foundation Viewing and After-Party.

Diaz: Big Ball

/

Regular visitors to this site know I've been calling it flogging for a year now, thanks in large part to Johnny Miller's comments at the 2005 Doral (wow a lot has happened in a year!).  And I wrote about it here, here and in the 2006 season preview, declaring this the year that flogging goes mainstream. Shoot, I even proposed on a book on it exploring the causes, ramifications and other good stuff. (Hint: it won't be coming to a bookstore near you anytime soon!)

Well I feel a whole lot better now that Jaime Diaz writes in Golf World about what he's calling "big ball." I do like Tigerball better (New York didn't!).

Increasingly, the PGA Tour has become the land of driver-wedge.

Not just piping it and pinching it, but even spraying it and flaying it. The majority of players have decided that most weeks, a sand wedge from the rough beats an 8-iron from the fairway. What's different is that more than ever, "big ball" is the percentage play in which even long and wrong can be right.

The movement's founders are Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh who, it's safe to say, arrived at their conclusions independently. (Their forerunner was John Daly, but he made too many 11s to be a model.) Mickelson went overboard in 2001 when he came out talking about trying to birdie every hole and seemingly rebutted himself by eventually riding an educated cut to his first two major titles. But his current experimentation with a 47-inch driver shows where his heart has always been. Singh has never vacillated in letting the big dog eat.

With Hank Haney's encouragement, Tiger Woods has bought in.

And...

Like all drastic style changes in the history of the game, this one started with advances in equipment.

Oh, it wasn't the athleticism that led to the new equipment?

Specifically, multilayered balls that go farther and curve less and 460cc clubheads that increase distance and mitigate misses (Holmes frighteningly claims the driver is his straightest club).

The new tools have emboldened players to attack from the tee, knowing that even if their ball does end up in the rough, their increased strength and the latest square grooves will usually allow them to get the wedge or short iron they have to hit to stay on the green. At the same time, firmer greens with increasingly remote pin positions have raised the incentive to make the approach shot as short as possible.

But maybe if they just narrow the fairways some more...eh, we know that's doing a heck of a job!

Here's the fresh material: 

Statistics from ShotLink further tell the tale. Average PGA Tour driving distances keep going up, reaching 288.9 yards last year, when for the first time, more than a fifth of all measured drives (22 percent) traveled more than 300 yards.

Average driving accuracy keeps going down, reaching a low of 62.9 percent in 2005, with the numbers in the last two seasons representing the biggest single-year drop since the tour began keeping such stats in 1980.

And according to extensive information gathered from their caddies for the past two years, most tour players hit some kind of wedge to an average of at least four of the 10 par 4s on a par-72 course.

An average of 40% of the par-4 approaches are with "some kind of wedge." Wow. Now that's a juicy stat.

But my favorite, the dreaded tennis analogy that is so commonly scoffed at by our Far Hills leadership and manufacturer shills. And this time, from of all people...

But still monster-long Davis Love III said that during last year's U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2, he got frustrated watching 7-iron approaches fail to hold greens and successfully switched to a long-ball strategy on the weekend to produce as many wedge approaches as possible.

"It's a lot like the way tennis players today really need to burn that serve," he mused. "Sure, [Roger] Federer has all the shots. But if he didn't have a big serve, he wouldn't be winning. In our game now, it's try to get it down there as far as you can, and if you have a good driving week, you should make a bunch of birdies. If you hit it in the rough, you might get by anyway. It all starts with hitting it long."

As the tour heads to Florida, and soon to the further-lengthened Augusta National, the analogy with a sport made less interesting by the proliferation of power should give pause.

Not one reference in the piece to this happening because of improved athleticism. 

Oh times, they are a changing. 

To Pay Or To Be Paid?

/

Reader Frank pointed out something that caught his eye in the story about Tucson receiving the WGC Match Play. Greg Hanson reported that:

"The Gallery is expected to pay something in the $500,000 to $750,000 range to play host to the Match Play Championships."

Contrast that with Bob Harig's story on the struggle to get a deal finalized between Innisbrook and the Suncoast Golf Classic (non-profit running the Chrysler event moving to the March Florida swing).

Deals between tournaments and their host venues vary. At the TPCs, tournaments get the course for free. But most tournaments pay a base rental fee and that may or may not include office space, rounds of golf for entertaining, catering, outings, etc. The tournament and the venue may share in revenue, such as concessions and merchandise sales.

But that has proved to be challenging. Tournament director Gerald Goodman said the event will pay a "significant" increase to Innisbrook for course rental in a new contract that would begin in 2007 and run through 2012.

The PGA Tour understandably prefers to go places that pay them to host an event, instead of paying places like Innisbrook or Riviera or Westchester substantial sums.

So The Gallery pays to host a WGC, while most venues are paid to host a PGA Tour event.

This trend, while understandable from a pure dollars and cents perspective, may explain why the Tour plays so many mediocre layouts in locations far away from population centers.