Letter from Saugerties, March 13, 2006

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Frank Hannigan, who last wrote to this site about the USGA Executive Committee's use of private jet travel, spotted the recent Gary McCord-CBS-Masters post and offered his second exclusive "letter."

Dear Geoff,
I notice you ran the weird Golf World story about Gary McCord and the Masters with a straight face.  The story said McCord is no longer persona non grata at Augusta, that CBS can assign him as a Masters announcer whenever it feels like doing so.

BUT (and it says so on page 13) “McCord turns down Augusta National’s offer to return to CBS’ Masters telecast.”

The likelihood of the following is infinitely higher than Gary McCord’s return to Augusta:  Osama bin Laden turns himself in, the president says “no hard feelings” and Osama is seated next to Laura Bush at next year’s state of the union message.

Golf World (owned by the Newhouses, who know less about golf than Osama) also whispers it has long heard that there is a clause in McCord’s contract whereby he will not permit the network to assign him to do the Masters.

For l5 years I had a contract with ABC to lurk around that network’s golf telecasts. If I insisted to my agent, he would have inserted a clause which the network would have accepted as the harmless earmark of a nut, that under no circumstances could ABC assign me to be the host of the Oscars telecast.

Yes, it is true contractually that CBS has the right to put McCord back on the telecast. That would be the last Masters ever to air on CBS. Augusta would not turn it over to NBC because the last thing it needs is a Johnny Miller Masters.

But the Disney Corporation, owner of ABC and ESPN, which recently pulled out of Tour golf effective 2007, would get back into golf in a New York minute given the chance to do the Masters.

McCord’s work was disliked intensely by Hord Hardin and Jack Stephens, the two predecessors of current Augusta National chairman Hootie Johnson.  McCord was seen as trying to sell himself, not the golf, during the Masters. He was warned to cool it.

After the warning McCord, assigned to the 17th hole, then managed to work into his commentary the phrases “bikini wax” (which I personally thought amusing) and “body bags” (which I found miles beyond tasteless.)

Then CBS producer Frank Chirkinian didn’t even have to be told.  There would be no more McCord at the Masters.

So why is the story of CBS new independence being planted in Golf World? I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s because the president of CBS Sports, Sean McManus, has also been made president of CBS News. It doesn’t look right for the president of a network news operation to be shoved around and pocketed by the management of a golf tournament.

Meanwhile, the content of the Masters telecasts is determined as it has been – by the club, not the network.  When Golf World’s girlfriend Martha Burk (whatever happened to her?) failed utterly three years ago, the decision to not so much as mention Ms. Burke’s threatened protest--which had been THE golf story of that year--was that of Augusta National, not CBS.

When McCord did his “bikini wax” and “body bag” shtick my friend Peter Alliss, the great British golf announcer, first sided with McCord. Peter said that if you do live television long enough some things are bound to come out of your mouth you wish hadn’t.

I told Peter that the folks at Augusta were guided by their understanding that McCord’s little witticisms were logged in by him in advance on a laptop.

Peter said “Oh, you mean he wrote down his jokes in advance?  Oh well, that’s cheating.”

Hawkins On FedEx Cup

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John Hawkins's latest Golf World column is also posted on his "blog" (uh, note to GD: a web log is not a blog when you are copying and pasting material published elsewhere on the same web site!)

Anyway, it's an interesting column in that it throws out some of the ideas circulating on the Tour's FedEx Cup "playoff" system.

It sounds like the FedEx Cup could go one of two ways.

One, is a legitimate playoff system that forces top players to play more often, assuming they'd like to be part of a huge payoff at season's end. The points breakdown would produce something similar to what MacDuff has concocted and shared with us here. On paper, a setup with equal points for all events (and extra for majors) would be the ideal "incentivization" system that the Tour's pension program was supposed to provide.

Or, the FedEx Cup will have a cut off of 125 players to make the "playoffs." There would be a points padding system for stronger field events to coddle international players and those who don't like to play more than 20 events. Just what the big names need, more incentive to play less.

But there is one positive with the latter. It would help golf continue to follow the example led by that once-popular sport known as tennis: shift to a power game, have top stars play sporatically and rarely against each other.

(And please, no emails about how splendid Roger Federer is...it's UNWATCHABLE!)

The Microchip Driver

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Thanks to reader Chris for this Maurice Chittenden story in the Sunday Times.

Scientists have invented a computerised club to help golfers hit the ball straighter and further.

The club uses a microchip and electric fibres in its titanium head to calculate where the ball is being hit. In the milliseconds the club and ball are in contact, the microchip redistributes the forces in the head to put as much power and accuracy behind the shot as possible.

It may offer the perfect answer for the bad golfer who wants to reduce his handicap.
But whether it is a fair way to play golf is another matter. The invention seems certain to drive a wedge between Head, the sports equipment manufacturer, and the R&A, the sport’s ruling body based at the Royal and Ancient golf club, St Andrews.

The new driver could cost as much as £1,000, more than a whole set of standard clubs.

Johan Eliasch, the multi-millionaire chairman and chief executive of Head and a scratch golfer himself, said last week at his office in London’s Mayfair: “We have been through the rules of golf and we believe it is legal.

“Even though it started as an April Fool’s joke people bought into it and now it is for real. It will revolutionise golf and take the sport’s technology to a new level. We have tested it with robots and the new club will drive a ball 10-15% further and the shot will be 25% straighter.”

His company uses what are known as piezoelectric fibres, which are made of lead zirconate titanate. They were developed by the US defence department and are used in satellites and Stealth bombers.

Thinly layered in the head of the golf club, they react to the mechanical energy of the ball being struck, converting it into an electrical current that is fed to the microchip.

The microchip produces its own electrical response, which is sent back into the fibres to produce a corrective force behind the ball. All this happens while the ball and the club are still in contact.

Head is also reportedly working on a brain microchip implant that electronically zaps any feelings of regret that the golfer might sense after spending $2000 dollars and still not hitting it any straighter.

On a serious note, Tony Jacklin was asked about the club. As usual, the technophobic media led him astray...

“It’s mindboggling what is going on in developing new clubs. The professionals have already made some incredible headway in the distances they are hitting the ball.

“But while golf gets hooked into this technology, traditional golf courses, especially in Britain, are becoming obsolete for professionals because there is no room to lengthen them.”

MacDuff's Post Honda FedEx Cup Standings

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Thanks again to reader MacDuff for this list, which does include points for the Mercedes and WGC Match Play, but no extra points for the limited field events (as is reportedly being considered). The Top 70:

1    Sabbatini    10891.66        7
2    Toms    10509.37        6
3    Mickelson    8934.37        6
4    C.Campbell    8850        7
5    Glover    8529.16        6
6    Singh    8371.87        6
7    Gf. Ogilvy    8350        5
8    Donald    8109.37        5
9    Petersson    7308.33        7
10    Mayfair    7191.66        7
11    Chopra    7149.5        7
12    Furyk    7133.33        5
13    Lehman    6962.5        5
14    Appleby    6858.33        5
15    Parnevik    6817.5        7
16    Pernice    6800        5
17    Oberholser    6737.5        5
18    Verplank    6712.5        5
19    Barlow    6601        7
20    T.Woods    6471.87        3
21    Palmer    6166.66        6
22    Rollins    6137.5        6
23    Villegas    5925        5
24    D.Wilson    5925        6
25    T.Clark    5892.5        6
26    Weir    5834.37        4
27    Love III    5762.5        5
28    Van Pelt    5490        6
29    JB Holmes    5433.33        4
30    Franco    5412.5        5
31    Jerry Kelly    5325        4
32    Imada    5212.5        6
33    N.Green    5137.5        4
34    Calc    5125        6
35    Cink    5021.33        5
36    J.Ogilvie    5020        5
37    DiMarco    4984.37        4
38    Leonard    4895.83        5
39    Bjornstad    4830        5
40    Bertsch    4725        5
41    Z.Johnson    4687.5        4
42    Senden    4625        4
43    Gay    4625        6
44    Matteson    4600        6
45    Langer    4429.16        4
46    Olazabal    4412.5        3
47    Olin Browne    4387.5        5
48    A.Scott    4375        3
49    Jobe    4355        4
50    J.Smith    4350        4
51    Rose    4341.66        4
52    Atwal    4312.5        4
53    Bub Watson    4250        4
54    Choi    4237.5        4
55    Watney    4225        5
56    Baird    4200        5
57    Couples    4125        5
58    Warren    4083.33        4
59    Harrington    4050        3
60    Cook    4000        4
60    Ames    4000        4
62    Veazey    3962.5        4
62    Kenny Perry    3962.5        4
64    Hoffman    3852.5        4
65    Vn Taylor    3825        4
66    Branshaw    3812.5        3
67    Estes    3775        3
68    Fischer    3775        6
69    M.Wilson    3765        3
70    J.Byrd    3750        3

PGA Tour Driving Distance Watch, Vol. 10

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pgatour.jpgThe PGA Tour driving distance average finished up 1.5 yards to 288.956. Oh heck, let's call it 289!

But here's the post-Honda Classic eye-opener: there were 288 drives of 350 yards or longer for the week, bringing the season total to 828 at 350 or more (they're nearly halfway home to 2005's total of 2,059 and haven't played a major yet!).

Despite the onslaught of big tee shots, only 1 over-400 yard drive was added, bringing the total to 16 (19 in all of 2005).

As for the percentage of drives over 300 stat, the PGA Tour average remains 27% of drives finishing over 300 yards.

Don't Blame Hootie For This

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bunker_mccord.jpgJohn Hawkins reports in Golf World that CBS is keeping Gary McCord from working the Masters, not Hootie Johnson. And McCord is grateful.

The link also includes Stu Schneider's TV column and the other fun Bunker stuff. 

And miracle of all miracles, I actually got to read this issue. It arrived Thursday. Two days after the Feb. 10 issue with coverboy J.B. Holmes!  

PETA and Golf

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Golfdom logo.gifMy Golfdom interview with PETA's Stephanie Boyles has been posted. I'm pleased to say that she's gotten many calls and I have not received one "you-animal-rights-fanatic-communist-anti-golf-activist" piece of hate mail. Yet.

Actually, even the supers out there who love killing Canada geese would have a hard time finding fault with Boyles' practical solutions to wildlife and golf. 

LPGA Driving Comes Long Way

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Tom Spousta wrote last week about the recent increase in LPGA driving distance. The recurring theme: players are working out to take advantage of the equipment.

In other words, today's players are focused on adapting their bodies to equipment, instead of the equipment to their bodies. 

Spousta writes:

"It's the same thing we're seeing on the PGA Tour. Players are stronger and longer. They've matched up the technology to their golf swings," says Dottie Pepper, a TV analyst and on-course reporter for NBC and The Golf Channel.

And...

"There's no doubt in my mind swing speeds are increasing," says David Leadbetter, who coaches Wie and several others on both tours. "Certainly with the equipment nowadays they can go at the ball a lot harder without fear of going that much off line."
And...
"The girls are getting strong enough to see the feedback from the new technology," Pepper says. "They're finding the optimum swing speed for these balls to do what they were designed to do. It's cool stuff."

Again, this is not news.

But the theme here goes to the questions many have about steroids possibly entering golf.

After the effects of working out have leveled off, might a player be tempted to turn to performance enhancing drugs to increase clubhead speed to take advantage of equipment that disproportionately rewards high-end clubhead speeds, and in a game where course setups reward power?

Azinger On Honda Telecast

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Paul Azinger was interviewed after Saturday's third round:

JIMMY ROBERTS: Well you see it from the booth, but what about being out here on the ground? I know it's not like you went away completely but to be out here on the ground and see these guys hitting 400-yard drives, playing the game like this, how different is it for you?

PAUL AZINGER: I think on average I'm probably not that much different than I was when I was playing my best, personally. But you see...I think technology, in a lot of ways, minimizes the talent of the guys who are bombing it, because they are really, really good. But somehow the press wants to make them out to be just guys that can bomb it. And I think it minimizes their talent. Which is one of the drawbacks of the technology issue. But it's just a reality, you know, whoever needed to control that let it get away and it's unfortunate. But I don't know how you dial back the clock, Jimmy. We're stuck with it.

Finchem Is Talking Bunkum...!?

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Alan Campbell in the Sunday Herald may have to pay for a Tour media guide after this little WGC inspired column:

...what is despicable is the conduct of PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem. Not content with ruling the roost over a circuit which is the Premiership to Europe’s Coca-Cola Championship, this myopic golf controller has annexed the so-called world golf championships for the greater good of Uncle Sam. Next year all three WGC events will be staged in the United States, just as they will in 2008, 2009 and 2010. Finchem’s defence? “They’re staged at a level which can pay significant prize money,” said the PGA Tour commissioner. “That costs money.”

Pausing only to let this staggering sliver of logic sink in, Finchem continued: “The American marketplace is best suited to generate those kind of resources. I think that’s why, historically, three of the four Major championships are in the United States.”

Finchem is talking bunkum, as the American marketplace wasn’t involved in the evolving of the Majors. He compounds his error by inviting the question: given that the United States already has the cream of world golf’s championships, why does it need to selfishly syphon off the next tier?
And...
The unwillingness of the Phil Mickelsons and Davis Loves to rack up transatlantic air miles is, along with the financial muscle of US corporations and the dictates of the American television networks, the reason why the world golf championships have become almost as big a misnomer as the World Series in baseball.

John Daly and Woods are just about the only two high profile Americans prepared to leave the country for anything other than the Open Championship. While both are paid handsomely in appearance money, they see the bigger picture. “There should be at least one [WGC] every year somewhere other than America,” said Woods. “Obviously the market is huge here, but it is a world game and any opportunity to get the best players to other parts of the world is a great way to grow golf.”

The PGA Tour have cemented the WGC events into their revamped schedules, which start from next year. It stinks, but then money usually does.

China Golf Boom?

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John Huggan says "the business of golf that is booming in China rather than the game itself."

But what's really going on behind the Great Wall? Does the much-vaunted golf boom in China really exist? Or is the egalitarian game so beloved of we Scots doomed to be a mere plaything for a rich elite made up mostly of foreign-born temporary residents and tourists?

In the short to mid term at least, it would appear that the depressing answer is the latter. During a two-week, first-time visit to China, this correspondent saw little evidence that the average citizen has any idea that golf even exists, never mind feels any pressing inclination to give the game a try.