"Golf is a $65 billion industry"

Outgoing PGA of America president Roger Warren, talking to Tommy Braswell in the Post and Courier of Charleston:

"Golf is a $65 billion industry in this country. One thing we have been trying to do is raise people's awareness around the country about that industry. Not just the person that pays greens fee on Saturday morning to play golf. There's so much more to it, the real estate associated with golf, the tournaments, the manufacturing."

Anyone ever heard that $65 billion number before? I know PGA Tour Vice Presidents are making a lot, but...it seems a bit high. 

Huggan On Azinger

John Huggan does his best to get off on the wrong foot with the new U.S. Ryder Cup Captain.

Over the course of four Ryder Cups, the 46-year-old golfer all but covered the playing and behavioural spectrum, from sublime to distasteful. Indeed, Azinger's whole career has been regularly blighted by doubts over his character amid accusations that his adherence to golf's rule-book is sometimes less than exemplary.

Oh but he said that about Lehman too, and they've since bonded. Though this may be tough to overcome... 

Listening to a winning speech laced with Azinger's warped brand of so-called patriotism is something that we should all be spared.

Huggan's just jealous that we have a Captain and points system that will get us into double digits in '08. 

Punchlines In Need Of Finetuning

Richard Hinds offers new Australian Open tournament director Paul McNamee to defend some of his rumored changes to the event, and it becomes a chance for him to debut his stand up routine. Kind of makes long for the wit and wisdom of Carolyn Bivens...

"I've had people come up to me saying absurd things like, 'I've heard you're going to have girls in bikinis caddying for the players'," he said.

"That's just ridiculous. Have you ever tried to find 100 swimsuit models strong enough to carry those heavy bags around for four days? I have and it's just not feasible."

McNamee admitted that several initiatives not mentioned at the launch would be in place. "When I said the tournament would be following some of the fine golf traditions created by the ancient Scots, I meant Ronnie Corbett, not old Tom Morris," he said.

Accordingly, the Australian Open is believed to be the first significant championship at which a randomly selected member of each group will unwittingly be given a novelty exploding golf ball on the first tee. "That should start things off with a bang," said McNamee, who admitted some of his punchlines would need finetuning before the tournament.

There's more if you click on the link.

Week In Review, November 5-11: Tiger The Architect

Last week's Tour Championship turned out to be a mini-fiasco for Tim Finchem, the PGA of America introduced Paul Azinger as Ryder Cup Captain on Monday, and guess who stole the spotlight this week? Tiger Woods of course.

But first, John Huggan kicked off the week with a column on Michael Bonallack, another of those former golf executives who suddenly wishes he had done more when he had the chance. Still, the former R&A man's complacency is nothing compared to the current regime, as Sean Murphy noted:  It doesn't matter what Michael Bonallack would do or not do. Who was head of the R&A during 2002 when the Joint Statement Of Principals were issued by the USGA and the R&A??? And what is that person going to do about it?

On news that Paul Azinger will make his 4 Captain's picks the week before the Ryder Cup, reader Bob S. wrote: Will the player's wife have enough time to get all primped for the event? I mean, you just don't go to SuperTarget and get an evening dress for the Grand Ball in 7-days.

And finally, the story that generated 43 posts: Tiger's bizarrely timed entry into the course design business. The news prompted a wide array of reactions.

CEB: He'll probably spend about as much time on his course designs as he has on the developing the sleek new 2007 Buick LeSabre

Pete the Luddite: I would not be surprised if his work turns out to be incredibly detailed and a great product. I can't see someone as driven and focused as Tiger putting out a prodcut that he would not agree should be associated with his name. Patience, folks. Time will tell.

Adam Clayman: IMG shoots...and scores.

Pollner: Did Nicklaus actually 'hang out his shingle' before some of the 'consulting' he did with Dye? It's interesting that Tiger doesn't even have a project yet. I would have thought that he would have gotten his toes a little wet by working with a known architect before launching his own firm.

Scott S: We can only hope that his love of the game extends to being willing to get down into the dirt every now and again.

Mark Ferguson: Umm, whereabouts around the world exactly has Woods been, to have absorbed all of this local design knowledge? Two oh-so-brief visits to Oz and one to NZ don't count much. It will be interesting if the Woods group gets a really great piece of land that lends itself to some great short fours, threes and fives for a par 69 or 70, but the owner wants 72 for 7300 yards - will he stand up to the owner and walk away?

Four-putt: Developers only care about the star-power of the design consultant's name. Translates directly into more revenue from memberships and real estate sales. So why not Tiger? Why should this surprise anyone? I only wonder what took him so long.

John Gorman: When it's all said and done, I'm actually a bit shocked by this announcement. But, maybe he'll do it right and be super-selective about the projects he accepts and only do one per year. I can't imagine that he'd pimp himself out for big fees and little hands-on work.

F.X.: I admire Tiger and hope this turns out well, but it was the last thing I expected to hear him turn his attention to so I am concerned that he's merely lending his name to an IMG collection of designers and course builders.

"Pertaining to specificity"

I'm not clear where Bob Verdi was going with this Golf World column on the PGA Tour's potential drug testing policy. He seems to think this is mostly a a product of the European media.

So where's the beef? Primarily from the media, since it is our duty to make sure all is well in the world. For some reason, most of the pressure is being applied by the European press. At a gathering during the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in August, one of my lodge brothers from across the pond asked Finchem how he could know no golfers are taking drugs if he didn't test them? A fair question. Finchem stressed that golf embraces an honorable culture in which players penalize themselves with no one else looking. That didn't fly with the interrogator. Understand, I have many respected peers in the international press, but I wonder about their drug fixation.

The column did yield this doublespeak dandy from the Commissioner:

So at next week's tour policy board meeting, he and his people will continue drafting a manifesto Finchem characterizes as "pertaining to specificity."

Tiger Investing In An Els Design?

It just gets stranger by the day...

Promising "To Be In Bed Together"

Honestly, you just wonder if they hesitate before hitting the send key on stuff like this. I swear I haven't made this up.

Sawgrass Destination Set To Become The Pebble Beach Of The East; Key Partners Promise To Be "In Bed Together"

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. - Redquartz Boundary Ltd. (RQB), the new Sawgrass Marriott Resort & Spa ownership group -- together with the Sawgrass Marriott and TPC Sawgrass teams -- recently announced a refreshed vision to establish the Ponte Vedra Beach area as one of the premier golf, spa, beach and convention destinations in the world. "The dynamic partnership between RQB, Sawgrass Marriott and TPC Sawgrass is setting up the Sawgrass destination to secure a position as the Pebble Beach of the East," said Debi Bishop, general manager of Sawgrass Marriott Resort & Spa.

Pebble Beach of the East?  Don't you have to have an ocean nearby to claim that? Hopefully a good legal department too.

"Sawgrass will undoubtedly be paralleled with iconic golf destinations such as Pebble Beach and Pinehurst," said David O'Halloran, the representative for RQB Ltd., the joint venture comprised of affiliates of an Irish-based investment company, and chief executive officer of RQB America.

Bill Hughes, general manager of TPC Sawgrass, added, "with THE PLAYERS Championship primed to go to the next level with a new May date, High Definition NBC broadcast with limited commercial interruption, and our dramatic renovation, we are clearly at a defining point in elevating Sawgrass as one of the most unique golf destinations in the world."

During a media briefing held Wednesday, Nov. 8, O'Halloran, Bishop, Hughes and Vernon Kelly, chairman of the RQB Development Committee and past president of PGA TOUR Golf Course Properties, illustrated how they are "in bed together" in an outdoor replica of the resort's revived guest room.

Like I said, you can't make this stuff up.

Tiger-Federer Bond Grows, Tiger Now Picking His "Brains"

AP reports that they aren't quite Lance Armstrong-Matthew McConaughey close, but getting there...

 "We've gotten to know each other. It's not too often you can relate to someone going through certain things, and we both can," he said. "It's nice to be able to talk to someone like that."

Woods said he could relate to Federer like he could with basketball star Michael Jordan.

"It's nice to pick his brains. I've been lucky to get to know Michael Jordan pretty well and it's good to find people you can talk to about preparations and distractions, about getting to the top and then moving forward."

Woods and Federer, who are represented by the same agency, might even have a social match.

"I'd love to play (golf) with Roger. I'd love to play tennis with him too -- I'd prefer to play tennis," Woods said.

"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.