It’s back!
Twenty years later Tatra Press has kindly allowed me to bring back Grounds For Golf now that golf architecture is of more interest to the masses. A new Introduction looks at what’s driven the interest growth and two new chapters I had a blast adding (plus a few edits to keep things up-to-date).
The Amazon purchase page for the book arriving June 15, 2026.
Jim McCabe writes about Ben Crenshaw's decision to observe a moment of silence for Herbert Warren Wind at last week's Champions Dinner, and recalls Wind's ties to Augusta National.Thanks to reader Greg for noticing that the Hawkins-Shipnuck catfight is heating up after a response on SI.com to last week's jabs taken over at GolfDigest.com.
Proving that some of you are in way too deep when it comes to golf media, I received some e-mail about a curious item that appeared on golfdigest.com during Masters week. John Heffington of Omaha, Neb. writes,"What are your thoughts about John Hawkins of Golf World talking trash about you in his blog (April 6 entry)? He talked about how you could not get an interview with (Greg)Norman about the 1996 Masters and then proceeded to call you 'Shipwreck.' "
Yeah, Hawkins' little valentine was random, but as I told him at Augusta, if you dish it out you gotta be able to take it, too, so no hard feelings. One thing worth noting relating to his post: Norman called me twice in the last week to explain why he was out of touch when I was writing my piece -- he says he was in the Middle East and then Australia and not in good contact with his office. He also claims to be so bummed to have missed my calls he is in the process of overhauling how his media people deal with interview requests in the future.
As for Hawkins, I loved his dig about needing to hire a detective firm to find LPGA fans. Actually, all he needs to do is leave his insular little world a little more often. The guy has been covering pro golf for GW more than a decade but only a year or two ago wrote a condescending column about the strange experience of reporting on his first LPGA event. As for calling me Shipwreck, they were doing that back at University Park elementary school. That's a pretty good reflection of Hawkins' mentality.
Can't we all just not get along for the sake...hits!
The shock is wearing off and Gerry Dulac points out the absurdity of a company doing billions in sales and that spared no expense to make the 84 Lumber Classic a significant event, suddenly worrying about the PGA Tour's measely $8 million price tag. Something strange is going on here...
As if a couple million, even $8 million, can even begin to put a dent in $10 billion?
And when did the Hardy family all of a sudden start worrying about a couple of million?
He has poured more than $100 million into making Nemacolin Woodlands the destination of the rich and famous, and that doesn't include the $66 million Falling Rock lodge that is patterned after The Cloister at Sea Island, Ga. After the first year of the tournament, he bought more than 250 acres to build access roads to the golf course and had a driving range constructed that was the envy of other PGA Tour events. What's more, Pete Dye, the architect of Mystic Rock, was brought back so many times to improve the golf course that even he joked, "That's my annuity."
I'm not sure if this is a victory for the "Play it as it lies" school, or a defeat? Or none of the above.
Mick Elliott reprints the USGA Distance Myth memo as a column.
So let's look at USGA Distance Myth #1 (which has been endorsed by a posting over at Titleist.com):
Golfers with faster swing speeds get disproportionately greater distance benefits from new golf balls that have been introduced after 2000.Most have cited the ball as the easiest remedy to the distance issue. However, most would agree that the distance jumps in the last 8-10 years having occurred due to a few circumstances, with ball-club optimization of launch conditions topping the list. Anyway...
False. Physics, scientific tests, and actual results on the PGA Tour all confirm that faster swinging players have not gained a disproportionate amount of distance from modern golf balls. An example: Corey Pavin, the shortest hitter in 2000, gained about the same amount of distance from 2000 to 2005 (7.4 yards) as the longest (John Daly at 8.7 yards).Interesting that these two players were chosen and the myth declared false with so little support.
Player 1995 2000 2005
Pavin 254.9 251.3 258.7
Daly 289.0 301.4 310.1
So in that ten year span, Pavin's increase was under 4 yards, while Daly's was 21 yards.
But back to the "myth" that players with faster clubhead speeds see disproportionately greater distance benefits. You saw what happened to Pavin, who in his U.S. Open winning year was able to drive it 254.9 and was a whopping 3.8 yards longer in 2005. How about some of the longer hitters?
Player 1995 2000 2005Els 274.3 278.4 302.9
Love 284.6 288.7 305.4
Singh 283.5 279.9 301.1
So just focusing on the 2000-2005 span the USGA cited, Ernie Els is up 25 yards, Davis Love 17 yards and Vijay Singh 22 yards. And on the shorter end of the driving distance spectrum?
Player 1995 2000 2005Funk 256 266.8 270.0
Faxon 261.2 264.4 274.7
Furyk 256.2 269.9 280.0
Again, in the 2000-2005 span Funk has picked up 3 yards, Faxon 10 yards and Furyk 10 yards.
The San Diego Union Tribune's Tim Sullivan looks at the snowballing situation at Torrey Pines, where the mayor is now joining the fight over course access and a new clubhouse.
“I would support a recall of the mayor,” Paul Spiegelman said yesterday. “I'm really troubled when a man talks about sunshine and hatches deals in back rooms. I'm very concerned that the process is being manipulated by some very wealthy people.”
Spiegelman, co-founder of the 1,200-member San Diego Municipal Golfers Alliance, says anyone who supports the five-year city golf plan Sanders put forward last week is “betraying the public.” He said his organization is considering recall petitions and weighing whether to request that the United States Golf Association revoke the 2008 U.S. Open from Torrey Pines South.
All this over tee times and greens fees and the machinations of millionaires. Torrey Pines might be the city's prettiest place, but it is also a political mine field.
And...
Figuratively, at least, Torrey Pines is a spot that has long suffered from political neglect. Contracts have been signed in clear violation of legal settlements and, arguably, the city charter. Private interests have persistently encroached on public land. Plans have been formulated by a privileged few and implemented over the objections of the Average Joe. Cynicism runs rampant.
Among some of Torrey Pines' most frequent players, Sanders' plan is consistent with a pattern in which the little guy keeps getting squeezed for the sake of a grandiose vision advantageous for the adjoining hotels and the Century Club. Those interests, in turn, question the entitlement of entities such as the Torrey Pines Men's and Women's Clubs and, specifically, of Spiegelman, who averages almost three rounds per week.
Gerry Dulac has a little more insight into the impact of 84 Lumber's "aggresive three-year business plan," but the end of this emerging event is still a shocker:
The decision came as a surprise to just about everyone because the tournament recently reached a new six-year agreement with the PGA Tour to move the event to mid-June, beginning in 2007 -- a time spot that had long been targeted and desired by tournament host and sponsor Joe Hardy.What's more, since the inception of the tournament, Mr. Hardy had spent more than $80 million to improve facilities, upgrade the Mystic Rock golf course that hosted the event and make the tournament one of the best late-summer stops on the PGA Tour.
In a statement released yesterday, Maggie Hardy Magerko, owner and president of 84 Lumber Co. and Mr. Hardy's daughter, said the tournament will be discontinued as part of a strategic growth plan in which the company wants to add 125 stores and hit $10 billion in sales by 2009. The firm also plans to close 67 "underperforming" stores; that move would affect 600 employees.
Mrs. Magerko unveiled the financial plan last week and immediately informed PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem. But the announcement that the 84 Lumber Classic will cease to exist didn't come until yesterday, when a tournament in Hartford, Conn., sponsored by the St. Paul Travelers Co., was named as a replacement.
John Hawkins says the long ball talk going into the Masters turned out to be overrated because, among other things, Tim Clark finished second.
"Put that on your soapbox, Mr. Nicklaus," Hawkins blogs, though wouldn't it be fun to see him say that to Nicklaus's face!
"The course is a better test than ever, modernized to premium effect and willing to reward players of all shapes and sizes."
No mention of the narrowness possibly stripping the course of its identity (and unique place in the Grand Slam concept of differing tests), nor consideration of the overall effort to put players on the defensive to counteract a game out of whack.
I know, picky, picky.
We're not the only ones saying it after seeing it: The final round of the Masters was boring, because there weren't nearly enough red numbers. Responsibility for that widespread characterization falls at the feet of club official Hootie Johnson and the guys who authorized the course changes. In fact, the whole week was rather flat from a fireworks perspective. Of the players who made the cut, a not-so-grand total of 15 broke 70 for the entire week -- and none of them did it twice. Way to go, Hootie.
My latest GolfOberserver column is now posted.
Bob Dicesare in the Buffalo News, writing about the general brilliance of changes at Augusta National:
Someone has to stand up to technology. Someone has to protect the integrity of the course and the tournament.In other news, Dicesare writes that steroids should be welcomed back into in baseball as long as they raise the fences and grow infield rough to protect the integrity of the game.
Just when you thought the USGA was building a case for stronger equipment regulation, it appears the governing body of American golf is more fractured than the Republican party.
Two months removed from a powerful statement on equipment by Equipment Standards Committee Chair Jim Vernon, comes the "Distance Myths" memo authored by Dick Rugge but reeking of Walter Driver and lobbyist Powell-Tate's touch. (Note that in this story, Driver was quoted about the importance of the memo, declaring the "facts" contained within.)
The memo's general theme: we didn't blow it on optimization and we have things under control.
But the document only raises questions and would seem to threaten any credibility the USGA has with those encouraged by the recent Vernon speech.
Is there a split between the technical staff and the Equipment Standards Committee? Or is this the first airing of a divide between Executive Committee members on the distance/skill issue? How else can you explain two distinct messages coming out of the same organization in such a short period of time?
Either way, if you are Tim Finchem and you are counting on the USGA to bail you out on equipment, the "Distance Myths" memo cannot be comforting.
Here's how the memo was introduced to the media:
Can you separate fact from fiction when it comes to golf equipment performance?
To show how perceptions can be misleading, here below is a list of items prepared by Dick Rugge, senior technical director at the USGA, that separate fact from fiction.
I invite you to use them as written, if you are interested.
As you may know, the United States Golf Association acts to regulate equipment so that skill remains the most important tenant of the sport. The USGA is often asked to address the needs of a game that appears to be changing. Facts and opinion need to be considered when the USGA makes important decisions about golf equipment.
Love the underlying tone that the distance debate is the product of a biased, uninformed media.
..it is disillusioning to know that the opposing facts are often conveniently overlooked. Where then do the 25 million golfers in the U.S. get exposed to a balanced perspective on the long-standing technology and tradition debate?
Oops, sorry, that's from an anonymous writer at Titleist, not the USGA. Just seemed like a natural fit.
Before getting into these myths in later posts, I wondered, how is myth defined?
From the American Heritage Dictionary:
# A fiction or half-truth, especially one that forms part of an ideology.So after reading the Rugge memo, it seems to be implying that the distance explosion is pure fiction that has led to an ideological movement.
Well as I've told many people, I sure like the company in this little ideological fantasy world of ours.
The PGA of America announces that Medinah will be the longest course in major championship history this August. And even better, they have MacKenzie/Tillinghast bunkers.
A world-class field of 156 will converge Aug. 17-20, 2006, at the 88th PGA Championship, competing on the 7,561-yard, par-72 layout, which will be the longest course in major Championship history. (See chart below).
The Championship will be the fifth major to be contested at Medinah, following the 1999 PGA Championship, won by Tiger Woods; and three U.S. Open Championships (1949, 1975, 1990).
"I think the players will notice a different golf course from 1999 when they come here," said Jones. "When players return here, they're going to really see a different golf course, a golf course that really has more definition."
The Jones' restoration featured the removal of 300 trees, which allowed for more of the original Tom Bendelow design to be in play, and eliminated "blind" shots on the first and eighth holes. Additionally, the tee at No. 17 was moved back, the green positioned closer to a pond; and the 18th green was elevated to require a more precise approach shot.
Nice irony there...Bendelow designs it with blind shots, they're restoring his design, and eliminating the blind shots! Sorry...the best part:
"We have classic old-style sculptured bunkers, which are like A.W. Tillinghast or [Alister] Mackenzie bunkers," said Jones. "So it has much more character. The bunkers are deeper, the green contours and sizes of the seven greens that we did are complimentary to the greens that were originally here. I'm very pleased with the results."
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
Copyright © 2022, Geoff Shackelford. All rights reserved.
