"Elite players need to be selfish if they want to prosper."

Lawrence Donegan in The Guardian writing about Tiger's design career:

An announcement is expected shortly, although it is safe to assume the financial details will remain secret. Woods enjoys his privacy, leaving others to speculate. And in this instance there has been no shortage of speculation, with figures ranging from $10-35m being bandied around. One leading course architect said yesterday that he had been told the world No1 last year turned down an offer of $20m (£10.5m) to design a course in the US. If this is the case, it has to be assumed that Woods' decision to embark on his new career has been prompted by an offer in excess of that - a sum not even a man with his bank balance could refuse.

"Whatever Tiger is asking for, I hope he gets it because his fees will make mine look reasonable," laughs Tom Doak, an American architect. "Twenty million would be worth it if there was just one Tiger Woods golf course. The fee can just be written off as marketing budget for the next 50 years because the developer will have something that is unique."

And... 

The assumption that a great player will automatically be a great course designer is misplaced, argues Greg Turner, a former European tour player who has embarked on a design career since retiring from top-class golf.

"Just because you've played thousands of courses around the world doesn't necessarily mean you know what makes a good one for the average player," Turner says. "When you play a course as a professional you are looking at it from a single-minded viewpoint - how does this fit with my game? Elite players need to be selfish if they want to prosper. They don't have time to take in aspects of a golf course that might affect other people."

"That’s like getting a personal call from Lance Armstrong..."

Tom Fazio, talking about his new Fallen Oak course in Mississippi:

For me, Beau Rivage is very unique and special because – as someone asked me earlier; how did I get involved – it’s very simple. I got a call one day from MGM-MIRAGE people saying “Tom, we’re getting ready to do a golf course for our Beau Rivage property and we want you to come down and look at the some of the land we assembled and tell us what you think.” Well, on your side of the industry, that’s like getting a personal call from Lance Armstrong, Tiger Woods or Peyton Manning. If you’re in the sports writing industry, that’s kind of what it’s like for me.

Good, But Not Yet Norman

Mike Colman offers some interesting anecdotes on the state of Australian men's pro golf and the top players love-hate relationship with Greg Norman.

Speaking of the Great White Shark, reader Mike reports that in his new book, Norman writes about the 14th at St Andrews and what a genius designer Alister MacKenzie was.

"In the Royal and Ancient clubhouse there is a hand-drawn diagram byMacKenzie that shows how he designed the hole to be played in five different ways."

Now there's a revelation!  

IM'ing With The Commissioners III

My NSA sources have been tied up with the elections and all, but they did forward this IM exchange between Commissioner Tim Finchem and Carolyn Bivens yesterday. Previous exchanges between these two can be read here and here.

twfPGATour©: Carolyn. Are you there?

DaBrandLady: sup twf?

twfPGATour©: Oh doing fine here, I suppose.

DaBrandLady: yeah I saw the brand resurgence took a hit last week.

twfPGATour©: Yes, lots of surprises last week at the TOUR Championship Presented by Coca Cola. First Pernice, then Azinger. I'm still shocked by their tone toward me.

DaBrandLady: oh I was thinking of tiger and phil not playing.

twfPGATour©: Right, well that too. Though we feel that their absence only reinforces the coalescence of the 2007 platform as both a coterminous and real brand force that alleviates certain scheduling permutations.

DaBrandLady: can i use that line?

twfPGATour©: I'll have to check with our legal people.

DaBrandLady:well i'd like to because i have to deal with press about annika and karrie skipping the tournament of champions.

twfPGATour©: Oh? When is that?

DaBrandLady: actually it's this week.

twfPGATour©: Right, of course. Is Wie playing?

DaBrandLady: it's the tournament of champions tim!

twfPGATour©: And she hasn't won yet, correct? 

DaBrandLady: uh no, tim

twfPGATour©: Sorry, I haven't been keeping up.  It's been hectic around here. I had to hire Ross Berlin back. Tough negotiation that was. But I kept him under $500,000 for the first year. The Viking people, our new sponsors in Mississippi, kicked in a new range for the house we're putting him up in.

DaBrandLady: wow, poor ross. even I make $500,000, which isn't much, but  enough to make the board think twice about buying out the last two years of my contract! lololololol :):):):)

twfPGATour©: Say Carolyn, I was actually Instant Messaging for a reason.

DaBrandLady: and that was?

twfPGATour©: Well I don't know if you heard Azinger's attack on my personal and business brands last Thursday during the ESPN on ABC telecast on ESPN? Or wait, that was just ESPN on ESPN. Anyhow, he suggested we needed to hire a personal branding coach for the players.

DaBrandLady: hey, i can finally help you!

twfPGATour©: My thought exactly. You signed someone earlier this year?

DaBrandLady: oh person-centered branding is great. best of all they're in beverly hills, so maybe you and susie can get a weekend trip to rodeo drive out of it.

twfPGATour©: Right. Well, I'm not sure Susie and I would use them for our own branding work. But for the players, perhaps. We've had great success with our recent branding campaign.

DaBrandLady: yes i've seen those ads where chad campbell takes pride in being totally uninteresting. very nice positioning with the red state 50-79 pickup truck driving demo.

twfPGATour©: Yes, we're very pleased with those spots, Chad comes off so non-threatening and pathetic, I mean, sympathetic. But I still think we can do more, as much as I hate to give Azinger any credit. Especially since he had trouble finding his shaver last week. I wonder what a brand coach would say about that?

DaBrandLady: well tim, i'm proud of you for reaching out like this. player branding is really the future of our world. tailoring a brand focused campaign will do wonders for your metrics.

twfPGATour©: Well thanks for emailing that information Carolyn. And give my best to, to, uh...

DaBrandLady: he says hi back!

twfPGATour©: Bye.

DaBrandLady: bye! :):):):)

 

"LPGA Playoff" vs. "PGA Tour Playoffs"

In the AP story previewing this week's LPGA Tournament of Champions The Mitchell Company LPGA Tournament of Champions presented by Kathy Ireland Worldwide, it is noted that Lorena Ochoa is trying to wrap up the LPGA Tour's player of the year award before she faces Annika Sorenstam and Karrie Webb again.

And to show how determined she is to prevent Ochoa from winning, Annika is playing "in Greg Norman's Merrill Lynch Shootout this week, while Webb is taking a break after winning the Mizuno Classic in Japan to move into second place in the points race."

Now, I guess I don't follow the LPGA closely enough, because I was confused about the player of the year points race. Apparently it's different than the points race to get into next week's ADT Championship, where first place is $1 million and they have a pretty wild final day format planned.

The ADT goes like this:

a. The first cut will be after 36 holes to 16 players with a sudden-death playoff used in case of a tie.
b. The second cut will be after 54 holes to eight players with a sudden-death playoff used in case of a tie (scores are cumulative through 54 holes).
c. The final round will be played in four groups of two, with all players starting with a fresh scorecard.
d. Whoever shoots the lowest score in the final round will win the ADT Championship. A sudden-death playoff will be used in case of a tie.

Now that's a playoff! 

Imagine if the PGA Tour incorporated something like that for the Tour Championship TOUR Championship?

Key word here: imagine.

Because the ADT concept is bold, creative and crazy in a fun way, qualities we probably don't have to worry about associating with the PGA Tour.

What Do You Think Tiger Is Worth?

On Tuesday Tiger had this to say about his design studies:

As far as my course design, it's something I've always wanted to do and I wanted to make sure that I played around the world before I ever got into course design. I wanted to see what basically every continent has to offer and basically observe and play and experience those different philosophies that all of the different architects have had in each region, and I'm lucky enough to have done that. I just felt it was time for me to try something different, something creative and something that will challenge me in a different way. Certainly something I've really, really been looking forward to.

Now, keeping in mind that the big name players get somewhere in the neighborhood of $2-2.5 million for a "signature" design (and the right to market the living daylights out of their name and er, gulp, "lifestyle"), I'm wondering what you think Tiger's design fee should be? (This is assuming a project that includes some real estate component.) 

Home Of The Four Hour Round

Thanks to reader Steven T. for this link to a Morris County, New Jersey course marketing itself as anti-slow play.

Tiger To Start Investing (!?) And Designing In China

At least according to Paul Tharp in the New York Post...

Golf megastar Tiger Woods is going to invest some of his $200 million fortune in building golf courses - mostly for China's new country club set.

The sports world's highest paid player yesterday said he's launching Tiger Woods Design to build high-end links across the globe.

"I've had the luxury of playing golf around the world," said Woods. "I'd like to share my experiences and the lessons I've learned, and hopefully create some amazing, fun courses."

Woods is expected to follow in the footsteps of golf's best-known course builders - Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer - and tackle projects in China for his first three or four layouts.

"China says it needs 2,000 golf courses in the next several years, and Nicklaus and Palmer are already there working on it," said Michael E. Gleason, a leading golf architect and consultant.

"Tiger's following them because that's where the demand is. It's booming. His name is going to draw a lot of investors - and he can name his own price."

It takes upwards of $50 million to open a 36-hole golf course, depending on the location. Gleason is currently completing a new course on a mountaintop outside Seoul Korea for $36 million.

"China isn't going to give up agricultural land, and will probably be building them on mountaintops or even remediated brown fields," Gleason said.

Here V Go Again...Redux

Golf Digest has posted Mike Stachura's excellent October story on the pending grooves controversy. You might recall that I posted something about this story a while back, but there was no link to the actual piece.

Stachura, who is part of the Belch and Gulp Bomb and Gouge blog team that writes so highly of this site, explores the USGA's preliminary report. In it, the Far Hills gang signals their concern that U-grooves are the cause of all world problems.

One of the key graphs from Stachura's story:

Rugge has repeatedly pointed to analysis of PGA Tour driving-accuracy statistics in his discussions about modern technology. Using a mathematical formula called a correlation coefficient, Rugge shows the correlation between accuracy off the tee and rank on the money list has dropped to zero, as in the two events are completely independent of each another. That's a dramatic change from the 1980s, when driving accuracy was as statistically strong an indicator of success as greens in regulation and putting. "We have 20 years of data from the tour that suggests this might be a problem," Rugge says. "Grooves could be a logical cause of that change. We also have better means of evaluation than we had 20 years ago, and that includes equipment and staffing."

Fairway widths cut by 15-25 yards may have something to do with it too. It will be interesting to see if the USGA addresses this component of the equation. I have my doubts.

Those in the know suggest that given the USGA's mandate for a single set of rules, going after grooves might be a way to put a regulator on distance without affecting average golfers. In a Bomb-and-Gouge world, if shots from the rough were more difficult, an elite player needing to hit it close to the hole might opt for control off the tee over power. Average players, content to hit shots close to the green, might be less impacted by the inconsistency of V-grooves.

Of course this is a backdoor attempt to deal with the distance issue, but more importantly seems a bit dubious when you consider what Frank Thomas wrote in his Golf Digest column about the impact of U-grooves in tournament caliber rough.

From light rough (up to two inches), a ball will spin 40 percent less than it would from dry conditions. This is because the water in grass serves as a lubricant between the ball and the clubface. Because the cover never penetrates more than .005 inches into the groove, which is limited to a depth of .02 inches, this is the only condition in which groove configuration matters. Out of light rough the groove depth can carry away more water and decrease the effects of lubrication on spin. However, from rough of four to five inches, it doesn't matter what type of ball or grooves you are using.

A Good Walk...

Lorne Rubenstein reflects on a late season round of golf...

More Ryder Cup Points Reaction

John Hawkins on the new U.S. Ryder Cup point system:

I think it’s interesting that the PGA of America chose to base its standings on dollars instead of Fed-Ex points. Club Pro Central is not real happy about the PGA Tour’s holding its ’08 playoff series in the four weeks immediately preceding the Ryder Cup, which, as I pointed out yesterday, can only hurt America’s chances against the Europeans at Valhalla.

What he doesn't point out is that the Captain's picks will be made the week of the Tour Championship, which in the brand platform marketing world seems like a gigantic screw you to the PGA Tour. Then again, isn't NBC covering the event now? So maybe they will love it. I can't keep up with all of this synergy. 

Meanwhile over at SI.com, Hawkins' favorite press dining room companion Alan Shipnuck cuts through all of the points analysis and hits the point that really matters:

Paul Azinger's Ryder Cup captaincy is already off to a great start with a new qualifying system that is vastly superior to the point system instituted by his predecessor Tom Lehman. With any luck we'll only lose by five or six points in '08!

US Reaction To Azinger and New Points System

John Hawkins weighing in at GolfDigest.com:

He’s a guy who lived and breathed for the third week in September of every other year, relishing the chance to play for Old Glory.

Can the new captain impart that attitude throughout his squad? Not in three or four days, or however long the Yanks hang out before we start keeping score. Not with the ’08 Ryder Cup being played right after the Fed-Ex Cup playoffs—the top U.S. players are sure to be drained by six or seven starts in the eight-week stretch leading into Valhalla. And not with the core group Azinger is sure to have. Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Jim Furyk are the best in the world when golf is an individual sport. In a team format, however, the Yanks have proven competitively dysfunctional, unable to maximize their bounty of resources as a group.

And Steve Elling in the Orlando Sentinel:

Going forward, Ryder Cup candidates will be rewarded for their performance at the majors, if not for their earnings. In 2007, players can't earn points unless they make the cut at a major championship. The 2008 season has been given far more weight, with players amassing points based on their dollar totals and performances at Grand Slam events.

"Wow, that's pretty amazing," said two-time Ryder Cupper Chris DiMarco when told of the new scheme on his way to an event this week in China. "Now you have to be in the top eight to make the team? I'm not sure I know how to respond to that. But everybody is sick and tired of losing, so it's probably time to try something very different."

Whereas U.S. players previously were rewarded for top-10 finishes -- with the influx of foreign talent, that's become increasing tougher -- now anytime they make a check in 2008, they'll make some progress toward a spot on the team. Azinger and six PGA officials came up with the new configuration.

"Money has always been the barometer out here," Azinger said.

Whether the revision will result in wholesale changes in team personnel -- or turn around America's flagging fortunes -- appears debatable. PGA President Roger Warren said his organization, which runs the event, ran the numbers from the 2006 team and noted there were few, if any, changes to the composition of the top players on the points list.

"There wasn't much difference in the top 6, 7, 8 players," Warren said.

Azinger, however, said the system weeds out players who collected too many points several months before the competition.

"I do think that there is going to be one clear distinction in '08, and that's simply that there is not going to be a single player on tour that's going to know in January of '08 that they're a lock for that Ryder Cup team, including Tiger [Woods]," he said. "The reality is, nobody is going to have qualified for this team based on their performance in '07."

A Letter To Tiger...

Tiger,

Yesterday's announcement of Tiger Woods Design was not--how I can I put this as a prospective design partner--very impressive. Oh yeah, I'm nominating myself to be your associate. All I ask in return is 1% of your design fee based on the International and North American rates that your agent has been giving out.

And speaking of the big guys taking 10%...

I wouldn't have announced this one day after the Tour Championship that you skipped to save your energy for the $6 million in appearance fees you'll be hauling in over the next few weeks. Someone might get the wrong impression that you are in this design thing or this playing golf thing to accumulate more money than you'll ever need. You and I know otherwise. And I know you are probably about to announce your first course in that human rights hotbed China, but I still think another week might have bought just a little more memory loss from the golfing public. That's why you let them take that big 10%...and I could have offered this advice for just 1%!

Also, I think the 10% folks needed to have the web site up and running today when the press release went out. Minor detail, I know. And when this scribbler called the Tiger Woods Design office to ask a few quesions, it would have been nice to get a real person instead of a low grade voice mail message. If we were partners, they could have called here to my suite in the Home of the Homeless and I would have gladly answered questions. Well, until it hit 85 at around 11:15 a.m., an emergency situation that forces me to work out of my western office at 1 Pacific Coast Highway.

Anyway, I'm still waiting for my return call from the TWD offices. I was calling on behalf of a pretty big magazine, but so far, no luck. Not a good sign.

The last thing has to do with the nuts and bolts of this design stuff we both love. 

Your press release said that, "Every project will incorporate its chairman's highest standards and passion for golf."

Great, though I'd lose the chairman thing. I know the corporate people eat that stuff up, but they don't usually build golf courses.

Also, this is a little strange:

Having played on almost every continent, TWD plans to share Tiger's varied experiences with every skill level of golfer. For Tiger, this important goal embodies what he really loves about the sport. Whether it's bringing a traditional American design to Europe; or a links course to America  or Australian designs to China, TW Design knows the possibilities are endless.

So you want to import unique environments to create really cool courses. I hear ya there.

But the very next line in the press release material should not be this:

The belief in the importance of preserving the existing natural environment is another of TW  Design's core values.

See, you can't quite do the whole importing links to America and sandbelt to China, and then say you are preserving the natural environment.

I know, I'm quibbling again. But hey, just trying to show you how I'd earn my 1%.

This I liked:

To help us achieve this goal, we plan to utilize experts from around the  world who are dedicated to environmental preservation. As TW Design continues to grow, so will our roster of experts.

Remember, just 1%, that's all I charge. Shoot, for the Internationals gigs, I'll take .5%...I can still pull in, oh I better not say. I'll even figure out a way to design water hazards that Stevie can drop 9-irons into without losing them. Now, designing for the Nikons he chucks might be a little tougher, but we can work on that.

Yours in design,
Geoff

UK Reaction To Azinger and New Points System

James Corrigan was easily the toughest when reporting for the Independent: 

America have proved just how desperate they are to reclaim the Ryder Cup by granting their new captain unprecedented powers.

John Hopkins in the Times:

What the PGA of America has come up with is far-reaching and significant...Perhaps the most significant change of all is that the bizarre qualification process used for this year’s match has been abandoned. In its place is one that rewards Ryder Cup candidates for their good play in tournaments on the tour in the US and gives extra points in the major championships.

Lawrence Donegan in the Guardian:

Paul Azinger was yesterday appointed captain of the United States team for the 2008 Ryder Cup match against Europe and began his tenure with the now-traditional swipe at critics who argue that the US team loses because they care less than their opponents. "I think anyone who suggests that our players won't be as hungry as their players might be in for a big shock," he said during a press conference at Valhalla in Louisville, Kentucky, where the next match will be staged.

And the Principal's Nose offered this:

In one swoop, the PGA of America has reduced the PGA Tour to a mere side show to the Majors and the Ryder Cup, for as they throw their hat into the ring with the Majors, and although they are the anti-Christ of all things good in golf, they see the Ryder Cup as being bigger than a whole season on Tour. In other words, the PGA Tour no longer holds any power.

Rees On Tiger

Mark Soltau went right to the top for a reaction to Tiger's entry into the design world:

"I think he'll do quite well," said noted golf course architect Rees Jones. "He's the biggest name in golf, and he'll command a big fee.

Wow, the insights you glean from those Jones boys.

"It's good for the interest of the game. He's going to have to go through a little bit of a learning curve to get his ideas on the ground. It's a craft; you learn by doing it.

"My only advice would be to limit himself to good projects, clients and sites. Concentrate on the game while he's still the best."

Translation: don't you even think of redoing one of my courses that needs redoing.