Appleby and Others: No More Wie

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A respected golf writer and I were discussing how funny it is to hear big, grown up, free-market preaching men who moan and groan about Michelle Wie taking up a spot in the U.S. Open qualifying. Even when she tries to earn her way in and beats a lot of men doing it, they still think the event should be for men only. And they sound ridiculous making their case.

Like Stuart Appleby. As Marla Ridenour reports in the Beacon Journal reports:

"Right now, she should be maturing and playing and winning and getting the rhythm of playing the ladies' tour," Appleby said Saturday. "Playing out on the men's tour, to me, is a pointless exercise, including the Open.

"I don't feel she should be qualifying and should even be allowed. No women should be allowed to qualify in any men's event. Invites I can barely accept, but certainly qualifying... I think it's the men's U.S. Open, and that's the way it should always be." Appleby wondered if Wie's advisers were pushing her in the wrong direction. Some have speculated that Wie's handlers are more interested in worldwide fame than success in the sport.

"I'm not sure if Michelle wants to play with the men or she's being advised through some decision-makers who are having a bigger play in her career than she is," Appleby said. "I think she really has the ability to be a record-breaker on the ladies' tour. I don't believe playing on the men's tour is going to make her a better player.

"If she's going to play the men's tour at all, she should do it when Annika (Sorenstam) did, when she was at her best. That may be 10 or 15 years from now. That's when she should come out and push her game."

Thankfully, there are still some big boys out on the Tour who can handle the competition: 

Countryman Adam Scott didn't share Appleby's opinion.

"Anyone who can qualify for the U.S. Open deserves to play in it," he said. "I think it will be unbelievable if she qualifies." Appleby was the only player asked to comment at the Memorial who did not believe Wie should be allowed to try for an Open spot.

"I always felt if anybody had golf clubs and was able to qualify and eligible to play in a golf tournament, they certainly can tee it up," Memorial founder Jack Nicklaus said. "I don't care if that's a man, woman or child. If Michelle Wie has the ability to qualify for the U.S. Open, fantastic. I think it's wonderful for the game of golf. It brings a whole new element that you've never heard before. I have no issue with it whatsoever. Matter of fact, I support it." Many backed Nicklaus' view. 

The PGA Tour Takes Care of Family Needs

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Erin Bruehl shows us how the PGA Tour and Barclay's Classic do their part to ensure family values are a priority at Westchester.
Ashley Appleby and Phillipa van der Walt are very appreciative of everything the PGA Tour does to cater to players' wives and families.

And they both love coming to New York.

This week they are in town as their husbands, Stuart Appleby and Tjaart van der Walt, compete in the Barclays Classic at Westchester Country Club.

Ashley and Phillipa are two of the many wives enjoying the amenities the PGA Tour offers for families, including trips into New York City to see Broadway shows, free childcare and, specifically at Barclays for a second straight year, an on-site nail salon in the clubhouse at Westchester.

Ashley Appleby came to the salon for a late-afternoon pedicure yesterday with her mother-in-law, Ruth Appleby, and sister Kelsey Saleet.

While it is unusual for a tour event to have its own nail salon for players and their families on-site (most just recommend local places), Appleby and van der Walt are happy it is being offered at the Barclays.

"We love New York," Appleby said. "(Westchester's) so close to the city, everything is so organized (for the families). They take the kids and wives to a Broadway play, have lunch. It is really a family oriented kick-off to summer."

Last year was the first time player services offered the nail salon at Westchester. The salon offers free manicures and pedicures only to players and their families, courtesy of the PGA Tour.

During Barclays she is specifically hired by the PGA Tour's player services.

"Last year all the wives were thrilled," Clark said. "They are the nicest ladies, they were saying 'this is so great, we'll tell everybody.' (This year) some people made appointments over the Internet last month.

"It's a nice service to offer," she added. "The people are happy. Even if you had a pedicure last week, why not come in for a free one?"

The nail salon, located on the first floor of the clubhouse, opened just yesterday and will be open through the end of the tournament on Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.

Players are welcome, although Clark said she has yet to have one come, this year or last.

Don't worry, Monty will play one of these years!
Even on the first day, Clark and the three other manicurists were already busy.

Van der Walt came in to have a french pedicure and manicure and is so happy with how the PGA Tour caters to the families.

"This is a treat; it is definitely special," she said of the nail salon. "(The PGA Tour is) wonderful in hospitality of the wives and just everything the tour does to make us feel comfortable."

Oh To Be A Subscriber, Synergy Edition

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Some of you longtime readers may recall that at various times I've had trouble receiving my golf publications here in the very remote, isolated Home of the Homeless (only about 9 million neighbors in my county).

Anyhow, I know you were dying to know about my Golf World subscription. Yes, it's back up and running. But when the post office apparently determined one of my issues was undeliverable, the good folks at Conde Nast decided to put a stop on my Vanity Fair, New Yorker and Golf Digest subscriptions too!

Synergy is a beautiful thing.

Anyway, it's all good now, And not only that, but my Sports Illustrated Golf Plus has arrived three weeks in a row!

Tiger's Distance Secret

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Thanks to reader George for ruining the excitement of receiving my July Golf Digest by revealing the very first thing I read in non-Buddies Issue months: Tiger Tips!

Apparently July's Tiger Tip goes something like this, and it really, really puts a crimp in the argument wheeled out by writers, announcers and manufacturers: 

Tiger Tips: How I got my power advantage back

A couple of years ago I didn't need stats to confirm a disturbing new reality for me: Guys were blowing it by me off the tee. Power can be a huge advantage on tour, but mine appeared to be static.

Nothing gives me more satisfaction than bombing a drive, especially when it's shaped the way I pictured it. I felt to regain my edge and keep up with the young guys, I had to find more yards in the same place they did: equipment. By switching to a lighter and longer shaft (45 inches instead of 43 ½), a larger driver head (460 cubic centimeters) and a new ball, I've caught up.

The Brand Lady Strikes Again

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According to Jay Coffin at Golfweek.com (and thanks to reader Van for the head's up), they can't resign fast enough from the Carolyn Bivens's regime.

Liz Ausman, chief strategic officer; Deb Richard, senior vice president of golf; and Julie Tyson, vice president of partnerships,
Is that like life partnerships? Sorry...
turned in their resignations June 7, a day before the start of the McDonald's LPGA Championship, the tour's second major championship.

Ausman and Richard have left the tour immediately. Tyson will stay with the LPGA for two more weeks.

The announcement means seven of the LPGA's highest-ranking officers have left since Carolyn Bivens took over as commissioner in September.

Kathy Milthorpe, executive vice president and chief financial officer, left the LPGA in September after 17 years to take an executive position with the International Speedway Corp. Barb Trammell, senior vice president of tournament operations, abruptly resigned in October after 20 years with the LPGA and Rob Neal, vice president of tournament business affairs, left in December to take over as executive director of Tournament Golf Foundation Inc. Karen Durkin, the tour's executive vice president and chief marketing officer, left in February after 11 years to assume a role with the National Hockey League as executive vice president of communications and brand strategy.

The latest news is strange because Ausman and Richard were hired by Bivens. Richard began her post in November and was a replacement for Trammell. Ausman was hired in February.

Richard, Ausman and Turner could not be reached immediately for comment.

And leave it to Bivens, to issue an absurd statement:

"Given the LPGA's incredible mix of talent, diversity and personalities, now is the time to take this organization to new heights. While we change the business model in order to better monatize our success, fans can continue to expect the very best in women's professional golf. We're committed to collaborating with all of our key constituents to create a stronger LPGA.

Better monatize our success?

Now, according to Websters, monatize means: "A mineral occurring usually in small isolated crystals, phosphate of the cerium metals."

I think she means monetize, which according MBA jargon watcher JohnSmurf.com, is frequently used in the Internet world to figure out how "make money off each page view, visitor (eyeballs), or anything else. If you work at an Internet company, you've used this term."

Maybe she's like, you know, going to like crystalize the Tour? Or something.

"As women's golf continues to grow and the popularity of the LPGA skyrockets, our organization will continue to evolve. We wish Liz, Deb and Julie success in their future endeavors. 

You know have a feeling it's not long before Bivens is pursuing other opportunities or spend more time with her husband? 

Winged Foot With Tilly: No. 3

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wingedfootlogoThe third features the new sod farm replica tee courtesy of the Fazio gang, and has been lengthened well beyond the USGA's official 216 yardage.

They probably won't be hitting spoons or 2 irons here (as Tilly suggested in '29). But the plan is for the new 240+ back tee to be used once in hopes of forcing someone to lay up like Billy Casper did in '59, all so that NBC can go into a fog-filtered feature on Casper's triumphant decision to lay up and make pars (just kidding).

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(click on image to enlarge)This is another wonderful green that may not translate to television.

And even though it features the left-right bunkering that you'll see on the other par-3's, the green is distinct and loaded with fun hole locations. 

What's With...

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...Brian Hewitt of The Golf Channel reporting that Geoff Ogilvy did not qualify for the U.S. Open, and I remember noticing in Golfweek's initial sectional reporting that he was listed there as well. Hewitt:

The names of the players who didn’t survive Sectional play are almost as fascinating as the list of the players who did:

Jason Gore, who captured our hearts at Pinehurst in last year’s Open. Brad Faxon. Geoff Ogilvy. Aaron Baddeley. Jesper Parnevik. Trevor Immelman. Peter Lonard.

Since they both made the mistake I'm guessing Ogilvy may have been listed as a WD or DNS in a sectional that he may have entered long ago?  (Same deal with Darren Clarke, who was listed as a WD even though he's in easily based on his world ranking.)

Anyway, Ogilvy is most definitely in because of his world ranking status, as this USGA press release said in May. 

Kostis: Where's The Cry For Wie-Proofing?

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Maybe one too many weeks doing CBS infomercials telecasts has blurred his vision, because Golfonline columnist Peter Kostis (and Titleist "Golf Products Design Consultant") publishes a doozy with his latest attempt to tell traditionalists that they have it all wrong:

...Tiger Woods won the 1997 Masters and courses felt they need to become Tiger-proofed. Many facilities around the world added length and started cutting holes closer to the edges of the green. For golf traditionalists, the idea of playing par 4s with a driver and a wedge was just blasphemy, and boring as well.

Have those purists bothered to watch an LPGA Tour event lately?

Actually, not really.

Sorry, you were saying...

Proportionate to the length of the courses they play—typically between 6,300 and 6,500 yards—the women on the LPGA Tour are getting as long off the tee as the guys. Just look at this chart:

Longest Hitters on LPGA and PGA Tour by Year
1999     260.7 (Jean Bartholomew)     305.6 (John Daly)
2000     270.1 (Caroline Blaylock)     301.4 (John Daly)
2001     265.8 (Wendy Dolan)     306.7 (John Daly)
2002     269.3 (Akiko Fukushima)     306.8 (John Daly)
2003     269.7 (Annika Sorenstam)     321 (Hank Kuehne)
2004     270.2 (Sophie Gustafson)     314 (Hank Kuehne)
2005     270.3 (Brittany Lincicome)     318 (Scott Hend)
2006     288.7 (Karin Sjodin)     321 (Bubba Watson)

Now let me ask you this: Have you heard anyone say that the LPGA needs to do anything to its courses in response to players getting longer? I certainly haven’t.
How do I explain this deep, very complicated concept?
 

You see, your typical LPGA tournament course is 6800 yards from the tips and the LPGA is playing it at 6300 yards.

So let's say they need to add some length to offset the advances in agronomy and instruction, so they just go back to the 6600 yard tees, and they have another 200 to spare.

Cost? $0. Nada. Zilch.

Shocking as it may seem, people are irked when courses add length, take out trees, shift bunkers, blowing up rock and in general, spend ridiculous amounts all so that the grown men can keep shopping free of regulation.

In fact, Michelle Wie is creating a global fan base and earning millions in endorsements because she is not only young (16) and attractive, but overpowering LPGA courses exactly the way Tiger overpowered Augusta back in ’97.
Now, I think the world of Wie and tire of the "she needs to learn how to win debate." But uh, Tiger was winning in 1997 and doing it in a way that was clearly going to change the men's game, and therefore, the courses tournaments are played on. 
Is there an outcry that Sjodin is hitting it 18 yards longer than the 2005 distance leader like there was for Kuehne in 2003? I don’t think so! Are people blaming a new golf ball for the sudden 18 yard increase in distance at the top of the LPGA stats?
No, it must be the agronomy and improved diet that helped Annika pick up, oh, 50 yards.
Nope! Is anyone complaining that LPGA play has become boring? To the contrary, it is more exciting than ever!

So to conclude this dark conspiracy? Get ready to laugh...

This is yet another sign of just how sexist golf can be.

Oh, it gets better.

Seriously, there are only about 40 men in the world capable of overpowering a course. But the knee jerk reaction to these players has created a call not only for courses to be lengthened, but restrictions be placed on equipment and the golf ball.
Only 40 men in the world capable of overpowering a course? A knee jerk reaction has created a call? Uh, it's not 40 and it's not a call anymore, just ask the course owners who've spent millions and millions of dollars or the Winged Foot members who spend $500k to build a new tee on No. 12 that will be used twice next week. 
If you are going to talk about what’s good or bad for golf, please have the courtesy to remember that women play too.

This could be one of those turning point columns that awakens even fence-sitters to just how far-fetched and comical the pro-distance shilling has become.

Winged Foot With Tilly: No. 1

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wingedfootlogoKicking off what will be Winged Foot's final U.S. Open (unless the USGA does something about distance), I thought it would be fun to look at some of the holes from A.W. Tillinghast's perspective in 1929.

This series of articles, photocopied from the old National Greenkeeper magazine, features his hole descriptions and a some old photos.

I will try to include some modern shots as well so you can soak up the confining setup.


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(click on image to enlarge)Anyway, here's #1 from Tilly's point of view, circa 1929. 

My advice: don't miss it left of the tee. Bomb it as far down the flat fairway as possible, and lay up short depending on the hole location.

The green is that wild and maybe one of the neatest in all of golf. 

15 Year-Old In U.S. Open

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From AP:
Tadd Fujikawa, a 15-year-old who just completed his freshman year at Moanalua High School, beat out nine other players in the smallest U.S. Open sectional qualifier to earn a trip to Winged Foot next week.

"Maybe in my wildest dreams I thought about it," Fujikawa said.

Fujikawa missed by one year becoming the youngest player to qualify for the U.S. Open. Tyrell Garth was 14 when he qualified to play in the 1941 U.S. Open at Colonial.
And...
Lori Fujikawa said her son didn't start getting serious about golf until four years ago when he began taking lessons. He was previously into judo. Despite being just over 5 feet, the teen averages about 285 yards off the tee.

Fujikawa said he doesn't know what to expect, but he likes the idea of being inside the ropes with the best players in the world.

"I don't really have a favorite player, but of course it will be pretty cool to be in the same tournament as Tiger Woods," he said.

An Observation From Muirfield Village

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A reader who was at the Memorial wanted to note that another element adding a bit of curiosity to the whole furrowing madness: fairway bunkers were cared for by the grounds crew while greenside bunkers were handled by the caddies. (This would explain why we saw "Bones" walk away from the 6th hole fairway bunker with Mickelson after that miraculous shot Sunday.)

The reader also notes that with the caddies handling the greenside bunkers, players were at the mercy of the players in the groups ahead of them as much as they were at the mercy of furrows. 

In other words, as much fun as it was to see danger returned to the hazards, they needed to think this one through a bit better.