For The Good Of The Game...Vol. 3,028

John Strege and Ryan Herrington report on the USGA's latest embarrassment:

Mackinzie Kline's congenital heart defect hasn't kept her from becoming an accomplished junior golfer but it does create obstacles, including bureaucratic ones. Last week, the USGA denied the 14-year-old's petition to use a cart in the upcoming U.S. Girls' Junior, against her doctor's wishes.

The Encinitas, Calif., native was born with a single ventricle and required two open-heart surgeries before age 2. Recently she began feeling listless and disoriented when walking a course. Doctors at Children's Hospital in San Diego discovered her blood wasn't receiving enough oxygen, and exploratory surgery has been scheduled.

In the meantime, it was recommended if she kept playing golf, she use a cart and have oxygen available. However, her petition for a cart at Carmel CC in Charlotte in two weeks was denied on a technicality. USGA rules stipulate players must request a cart when they apply to the event. When Kline submitted her entry, she wasn't aware she would need a cart.

"Obviously you feel for her," said Marty Parkes, USGA senior director of media relations and communications, "but with those entry deadlines, we feel to be fair with everybody you have to hold to those."

She's going to play anyway. And you have to love Casey Martin's honesty:

Earlier in the week, Kline contacted Casey Martin, who was given the right to use a cart by a 2001 Supreme Court decision. Informed of the USGA's decision, Martin was livid. "I can't believe after what I've gone through ... that they would do this on a technicality, shooting down this precious little girl who just wants to play golf," he said. "This is absolutely shocking."

Pucker Up and Shill

That line about the smaller the ball, the better the sports writing? (Wind, Plimpton, Jenkins...one of 'em said it first.)

Well GolfDigest.com's "Bomb and Gouge" blog is going to do everything in its power to prove that it's not true.

This latest puckering up to a certain advertiser based in the lone state where Bruce and Steven can get married:

Gouge:  It is hard for me to say this, but if a professional golfer can average 207 yards off the tee and make the cut at the most prestigious tournament of the year, then maybe we don't need to worry so much about a rollback of any kind. 207? It is true. Rosie Jones did that this week. In fact, only the teenage wondergirl hit it farther than 280 on some of her measured drives. Hardly anyone else even came close to that. OK, so Rosie was barely in the tournament and retired from competitive golf after putting out on the 18th on Sunday. But still the average drive at the U.S. Women's Open was just 228.7, and that's hardly a threat to any golf course.

That's right, they are gauging distance by using a tournament that had standing water in its bunkers and a tournament where they couldn't even let spectators on the course on practice round Monday. Either they are intentionally misreading readers, or they didn't actually watch the event. Either way, not good. Oh but it gets better.

You want to know what's the real problem? People who complain that the golf ball is going too far may be short-sighted. The problem is that at the elite level (men) it's not the ball, it's the golf course. If men are driving it 28 percent farther than women, then why (at least in the case of the U.S. Open) are the men playing a championship course that is only about 10 percent longer? Shouldn't the U.S. Open and all significant men's championships be played at courses that are about 8,000 yards long, or at least 7,500 yards long? Well, I guess they're not because there's no room to make Winged Foot, Oakland Hills, Oak Hill, Southern Hills and Merion that long. That infatuation with the past is what Emerson called a foolish consistency. 

Whoa, we're quoting Emerson now! Deep stuff. (Note to really cool classic courses out there that are sick of spending money updating their courses so people like Bomb and Gouge can play the latest equipment they get for free: it's Mike Stachura and E. Michael Johnson, feel free to charge them double.)

BOMB: But finally, FINALLY you might be coming to your senses. The ball is not the problem. The courses are not the problem. Drivers are not the problem. Know why? They’re ain’t no stinkin’ problem! And we don’t need to go to 7,500 or 8,000 yards, either, to keep it that way.

Opponents of distance regulation have long said “grow some rough.” Worked pretty well at Winged Foot, don’t ya think?

Uh let's see. Tiger said watching the weekend was his "punishment" and according to one publication, the ratings tanked.

Worked great. 

Oh but here's the best part.

Throwing out the Match Play where they don’t keep the stats, there have been 26 events so far on the PGA Tour this year. In nine of them—more than a third—the winner has ranked 34th or higher in driving distance for the week. That’s out of about 70 players or so that make the cut. In six of those events the winner ranked 58th or higher. That’s right, 58TH—a lot closer to last than first. The winner has been in the top 10 exactly 10 times. That means sometimes distance wins and sometimes it doesn’t. And when distance is the difference-maker I’m all for it. Golf is a sport. An athletic endeavor where physical superiority should be rewarded. But unlike weight-lifting, it’s not the sole determinant of success. Tiger, Phil and Vijay may blast the cover off the ball, but I don’t think they’d be choppers if they didn’t. Holmes and John Daly and the like will wow us every so often with a week where they whack the ball a mile and hole an equally-lengthy amount of putts. But Fred Funk will win a Players and Jim Furyk a U.S. Open playing small ball.

So yes, distance only matters sometimes. That's why Bomb and Gouge continue to fight for every golfers right to buy things that let them hit the ball longer, free of USGA regulation.

If distance doesn't matter that much, then why do they so shill so hard to keep it from being regulated? 

It's Avenel's Fault!

Leonard Shapiro confirms that there will be no PGA Tour golf in Washington D.C. until at least 2009.

Prairie Dunes At Dusk

Rand Jerris writes about the beauty of Prairie Dunes and golf's ties to the environment.

More Bad FedEx Cup Reviews

Bob Verdi analyzes the FedEx Cup announcement in this week's Golf World, and like everyone else, he can only find one positive: the increase in donations to the Evans Scholarship fund.

Even worse news for the Tour though is that in the same issue, Tim Rosaforte uses his notes column to say nothing nice about the concept (not posted online yet). 

This not only confirms that the weekly infomercial known as PGA Tour Sunday is dead, but also indicates just how disastrously awful the FedEx Cup setup really is. After all, if the PGA Tour's biggest cheerleader is issuing a lousy review...

Lost At Prestwick

Alistair Tait says the American team of collegiate golfers appeared mystified by Prestwick and links golf, where they were trounced in the Palmer Cup.

Donegan On K Club Dispute

The showdown between the greenkeepers union and the K Club boils down to this, according to Lawrence Donegan:

It is would cost the club an estimated €500 per greenkeeper to resolve the dispute, which is less than the cost of two rounds of golf on the K Club's Palmer course, which will host the Ryder Cup.

Jerry Foltz To Be TGC's 2007 PGA Tour Analyst?

Will this master of saying nothing be named The Golf Channel's lead analyst on early round PGA Tour coverage, or will the cable network lure Bobby Clampett away for the starring role he so richly deserves? 

We have until Tuesday to speculate: 

***CONFERENCE CALL ADVISORY***

The Golf Channel to Announce New Analyst

The Golf Channel will introduce the newest addition to its broadcast
team and main analyst for its PGA TOUR coverage, which will commence in
2007 as part of its 15-year deal as the exclusive cable home of the PGA
TOUR.

Tuesday, July 11
12:15 p.m. Eastern Time

Looking For The Captain?

Since The Captain has gone out of print, I have noticed that it pops up on ebay or abebooks.com from time to time. So for those of you who have emailed in search a copy, there is a shrink-wrapped new Sleeping Bear Press edition currently on ebay.

Sirak On LPGA Resignations

Golf World's Ron Sirak delves a bit deeper into the mysterious resignations of three key LPGA officials and seems close to having an answer as to what happened. Thanks to reader LPGA Fan for the heads up.

The final straw prompting the resignations was the tour's alleged attempt to set a benchmark sanctioning fee of $500,000 for a new tournament that wants to be added to the schedule. According to sources both inside and outside the LPGA, Bivens authorized the negotiation and then denied knowledge of it when the sponsor objected to the price tag. Asked about these allegations, the LPGA said through a spokesperson: "The LPGA is not shopping the LPGA Championship, and it is not seeking a $500,000 sanction fee for any event."

That denial will ring hollow if the LPGA Championship ends up in Virginia or South Carolina, for example. And the players will pay a steep price if McDonald's -- a generous and supportive LPGA tournament sponsor for 26 years, the last 13 of the LPGA Championship, the tour's flagship event -- takes its Big Macs and goes home. What happened that day at Bulle Rock may be in the past. But it is not over.

Dolch On FedEx Cup

Craig Dolch writing in the Palm Beach Post:

The FedEx Cup is clearly still a work in process. Finchem admitted that many of the final details have not been worked out. It's not even a certainty the $35 million will be hard cash or deferred money. It's likely the system will continue to be tweaked the next few years.

Some already have questioned why the top 144 players in points will advance to the playoffs. After all, traditionally golf has rewarded just the top 125 players on the money list with their playing privileges for the next year. But 144? That's almost like all 30 NBA teams qualifying for the post-season — plus several top college hoops teams.

And what if Woods or Vijay Singh matched their recent nine-win seasons? They could dominate the PGA Tour all season — and watch someone else take home the biggest paycheck.

Some players are willing to overlook some of the details and take a wait-and-see approach.

"I think it's something we clearly needed to do," said Joe Ogilvie, a member of the Tour's Advisory Board. "We have some holes in our schedule, weeks that traditionally don't get a strong field. Hopefully with a yearlong point structure I think some of those holes will be filled."

But will they? Whether the FedEx Cup becomes a success depends upon the same thing: Will the top players decide to play in more tournaments? Woods never has played in more than 21 PGA Tour events in a year, and he says he doesn't expect that number to change.

I also wondered about this take from the Tour's Henry Hughes:

"I think the most challenging thing was finding a reluctance to change," said Henry Hughes, the Tour's Chief of Operations. "You could easily argue that our Tour has prospered, our television ratings have significantly increased over the years. But all sports are taking a little bit of a leveling out now, so we thought it was important that we take a look at our product."

Significant increased over the years?

You know, back in the days when a NASCAR rainout would not outdraw live final round coverage.

Knowing Club Selection In Advance

Heres what Phil Mickelson had to say about his club selection on 18 at Winged Foot while meeting with da medja in Chicago:

Fortunately what I have found has helped me play well or have that type of performances these past years in the majors is that I've done the prep work beforehand and I know what club selection I'm going to hit off each tee, given weather conditions, whether it's raining, whether it's hot or not. I already know and have known for weeks in advance what clubs I'm got to hit off each tee, so it's helped me approach the tee box with confidence knowing what club I'm going to hit.

It helped me when I hit the driver on 18 at Baltusrol on the last hole and ended up making a birdie. It helped me at The Masters knowing what club and what driver I was going to hit off each tee, and it helped me at the U.S. Open. Unfortunately I didn't execute the way I wanted to.

But it has erased a lot of the doubt as to the decision-making, what club am I going to hit, what club should I hit. I already know weeks in advance, and it helps me hit those shots and visualize those shots in practice before I ever show up the week of The Open.

Now, we have debated Phil's two-driver concept at Augusta here and here and here.

But I'm wondering if his ability to select clubs in advance says something about the state of the game.

This is not a technology question, but I believe one about the state of course setup and course design.

Is there something wrong with setups and designs when a player of his magnitude (and others like him) know what they will be hitting on holes well in advance of tournament time?

Or to put it another way, is the golf more interesting and testing if the design and setup create decision-making situations that can not be made in advance?

Wind and the player's philosophy play a role in this, but isn't there something seriously wrong when some spontaneity is missing from the major championship equation?

I was both elated and troubled by Mike Davis's decision to announce the alternating of tees during the U.S. Open. Elated that he was doing it, troubled that he was giving everyone advance notice.

Don't we learn who is most skilled by finding out who can handle a club selection and playing strategy question under pressure?

Enough rambling...your thoughts? 

B.C. Open To Turning Stone?

Thanks to reader David on this story that seems to indicate some possibility of a B.C. Open move to Turning Stone resort.

Tiger: "I watched both days. That was my punishment."

Tiger talking at the tournament soon to not be called the Western:

Q. Did you watch the end of the U.S. Open?

TIGER WOODS: You know, I watched both days. That was my punishment.

Q. Thoughts on Montgomerie and Mickelson?

TIGER WOODS: I thought in my opinion that it was Monty's tournament. In the fairway on 18 with -- not only in the fairway, he was on the right side, on the flat spot with a perfect angle with his fade. It doesn't get any better than that. With Phil on the tee, anything can still happen. He could still make bogey on the last hole and lose the tournament. I thought it was Monty's tournament, put the ball on the green and it's over. Obviously that didn't happen, and then Phil had his mistakes. It was a very interesting finish, one that none of us who are involved in the game of golf probably ever would have predicted we would have seen happening.

Monty's tournament? 

"his putting can resemble a form of electric shock treatment"

Thanks to reader Chris for noticing this unusually fun writing from Mark Reason in the Daily Telegraph. Reason was covering the bizarre events at the French Open and filed this story on July 2.

Michael Campbell was leading the French Open by three strokes standing on the 17th tee. Half an hour later he had hit three drives, lost one ball, had another kicked by a lady in a pink hat, had a third mistakenly picked up by his partner's caddie, received more rulings than handed down by an entire session of the House of Lords, and finished the hole by putting out twice. It was beyond strange.

The sequence started when Campbell slashed his opening drive wildly to the right. Initially he thought he had found it in bounds, but it turned out to be neither his ball nor in bounds. So back to the tee he went and carved the ball away for a second time. Thinking that this, too, was out of bounds, he then pulled a provisional drive into the rough on the left.

In fact Campbell's second ball had careened into the tents and hit a lady on the knee. Her first touch was not the best, so she chased after the ball, flicked it with her right foot, brought it under control with her left and then ran upfield with her blouse mercifully not pulled over her head. By the time the ball had finished rolling it was back in bounds.

And this made me cringe...the dreaded "didn't fit their eye" which, I understand usually does some have truth to it, but still...

Many of the top players claim that Golf National, one of the top courses on the circuit, doesn't "fit their eye". It must certainly come as a shock to be playing a course that doesn't allow them to wallop their driver 100 yards west into Frau Schmidt's cucumber frame and then claim a free drop under that week's local rule. But the colossal prize money - 666,660 euros to the winner - has attracted one of the best fields of the season and even the last-place prize money would be more than Barry Jaeckel would have earned for winning the French Open in 1972.

"Barry who?" you may well ask, but the 50-something-year-old Jaeckel turned out to be a cove. He once walked off the course in the middle of a tournament for no apparent reason. He says: "I just short circuited, I felt very crowded." The son of Richard Jaeckel, an accidental character actor who made countless films from the Sands of Iwo Jima with John Wayne to The Dirty Dozen, Barry opted for a life in golf because there were too many "strange" people in films. Jaeckel's final drive of the French Open was a vicious duck hook that was heading for a wasteland of gorse and water. He stormed off the tee quite oblivious to the fact that one of his playing partners was anxious to hit a provisional. His partner waved the ball at Jaeckel's back, then smiled, shrugged and started walking himself. Strange.

And saving the best for last...

Bobby Clampett was another welcome diversion from the tour's usual diet of white-trousered Swede. Some may remember that Clampett, something of a "phenom" in his youth, once led the Open by seven shots after five holes of the third round. He then exploded, perhaps afraid of his own theory that "with great players there is almost something wrong with them."

But here Clampett was in France, his youthful curls going much the same way as Art Garfunkel's, his ball striking still a joy to watch. Unfortunately his putting can resemble a form of electric shock treatment. Clampett is sponsored by Yes Golf - "no other putter in the world is as accurate".

The problem is that the static from Clampett's hair combined with his self-confessed excitement at this amazing product rendered his putter as useful as a lightning rod.