Stu Schneider Family Fund

The good folks at Golf Digest have passed along information for those of you who asked about contributing something in Stu Schneider's memory. You may recall that our good pal Stu passed away unexpectedly May 29, leaving behind wife Linda and two young sons.

Stu was a great friend of the game and valuable contributor to Golf World who made many of us laugh every week. (Incidentally there are some great letters in this week's issue from readers touched by his work).  

For those of you who have kindly asked about contributing to the maintenance and operations of this web site, now's the time. Anything will help. Here's where you can contribute: 

Checks payable to Linda Schneider
Reference “Stu Schneider Family Fund” in the notes/memo line

Mail to:
Stu Schneider Family Fund
P.O. Box 670152
Coral Springs, FL 33067

"[His comments] got me, they got our membership and they got the USGA"

Golfdom's Larry Aylward caught up with Oakmont superintendent John Zimmers and the USGA's Mike Davis after the U.S. Open and he asked about Phil Mickelson's remarks.

"[His comments] got me, they got our membership and they got the USGA," Zimmers told Golfdom. "Simply put, 99 percent of the players said it was the hardest U.S. Open they have ever played in. But it was absolutely the fairest one, too. It was a true test of golf."

To that, Zimmers said Tiger Woods came up to him after the tournament, hugged him and said, "That was tough." But Woods made the comment as a compliment, not a complaint.

Davis told Golfdom that the USGA thought Mickelson's comments were "perplexing."

"Maybe in this litigious society, where you're not responsible to anything that happens to you, maybe this was just something where he didn't want to be responsible and he wanted to put the blame on someone else," Davis said. "I don't think the USGA is ready to all of the sudden have no rough at the U.S. Open because somebody hurt his wrist in it three weeks before. But having said that, I will say Phil is a good player, and he was playing such great golf coming into the U.S. Open that it's too bad he hurt his wrist. ... Sometimes we all say things in the heat of the moment that, in hindsight, maybe we take back."

Brand Lady Goes Entire Interview Without Saying Brand!

Dan Wiederer sits down with LPGA Commish Carolyn Bivens to talk about the state of the brand, renumeration for women in corporate America and other upwardly integrated platform value dynamics. Actually for all of the buzzwords, you have to give her credit for instituting drug testing, not screwing up the ADT Championship idea left over from the Votaw regime and for trying to get her players health care.

Still, a Michelle Wie question might have been nice...but no brand references? Impressive!

"It's one of the most irrelevant rules ever proposed in golf."

Thanks to reader Sean for catching John Davis's excellent story on the U-groove rule change proposed by the USGA.

In a joint proposal with the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, U-grooves wouldn't be banned, but clubs would have specifications so they performed like V-shaped grooves, which were the standard before U-grooves were approved.

"Does that mean I would have to buy new clubs?" Kevin Largent of Scottsdale said before a golf round last week. "I just got these."

The answer is yes, although not right away. If adopted, the rules would take effect for high-level competition in 2009 and for all new equipment in 2010. Recreational golfers would have a 10-year grace period in which they can use clubs that currently conform.

I wonder how many golfers actually know this?

Tour pros have had mixed reaction to the proposal, but most club manufacturers are strongly opposed, saying it not only would cost them millions of dollars to meet the specifications but also would be costly for golfers.

Oh come on.

"More than 100 million clubs that are being played around the world would be non-conforming. That's a lot of clubs," said John A. Solheim, president and CEO of Ping. "I'm totally opposed to this thing."

An open comment period runs through Aug. 1, during which anyone can send comments to the USGA about the proposal. In recent years, equipment proposals have been "tweaked," but the end result has been a new rule in each case.

If approved, it would mark the first rollback in equipment since the move to a lighter ball in 1931.

And why is it again the ball can't be rolled back? That's easier to replace than a set of irons.

Benoit Vincent, chief technical officer for TaylorMade, thinks the proposal is "disconnected."

"Their point is that golfers aren't concerned about driving accuracy," Vincent said. "How do they control that? By regulating the spin of the ball on shots out of the rough?

"The probability that this rule is going to solve the problem is very low."

Vincent thinks it unfair that clubmakers and regular golfers would pay a steep price simply because of shots being executed by highly skilled tour pros. He estimates that golfers would pay 10 percent more for the new clubs.

"In order to meet those specifications would cost millions of dollars," he said. "This rule is insignificant to the vast majority of golfers in the world except that they would have to change their equipment. It's one of the most irrelevant rules ever proposed in golf."

This argument looks particularly silly after Oakmont:

Rugge doubts that the proposed changes would have much change on the tour's money list. "Tiger Woods is still going to be the best," he said. "We would expect to see some changes, but these guys are so good, they would adapt their games perhaps to focus more on staying in the fairway."

Right, because they are aiming at the rough. Kind of hard not to when the fairways are 22 yards wide. 

"The FedExCup thingy"

Thanks to reader James for this Norman Dabell Reuters story where you can just feel the excitement oozing from Ernie's lips...

Even though Els found Oakmont exasperating he still maintained the British Open at Carnoustie in 1999 was "the toughest major I've ever played".

After playing Carnoustie for next month's British Open, Els's schedule then really takes off in America -- whether he likes it or not.
   
"It's the start of the FedExCup thingy," he said. "I think I'm going to play six out of seven weeks and try and make some silly points."

"It was frustration talking."

Thomas Bonk notes in his LA Times golf column that Phil Mickelson is apologizing for something he shouldn't have to apologize for.

Mickelson, who after missing the cut at the U.S. Open blamed the USGA for his wrist injury because of the length of the rough at Oakmont during his practice rounds, backed off his comments on his website Wednesday. He said he was simply upset about being hurt: "It's probably why I said some of the things I did on Friday and some of them may have been a little out of line. It was frustration talking."

Uh, frustration was also talking Wednesday night on The Golf Channel.

More importantly, as one golf scribe said to me today, these calls for Phil to apologize for saying what was on his mind (and what was clearly the case since two players WD'd because of rough-induced wrist injuries), is precisely the reason  players offer so few original, profound or bold statements anymore.

Questions Raised About FedEx Cup; Tour Elated Someone Cares Enough At This Point To Have Questions

Ken Gordon in the Columbus Dispatch wonders about how this FedEx Cup thing will work (Golf World's John Hawkins declared it dead on arrival last week). If nothing else, perhaps the story raises money for John Rollins' charity of choice:

"Your career is based on majors," John Rollins said. "Quite honestly, if I won two majors this year, I could care less if I won the FedEx."

You can't tear down a brand like FedEx and not be fined. Come on John!

This is fun from Ty Votaw: 

"Whenever you create something new and different, there is no small amount of skepticism," he said.

Uh, we've moved beyond skepticism to apathy.

Cherry Hills Invites U.S. Amateur

Anthony Cotton reports that the club would like to host one, while Coore and Crenshaw's new Colorado Golf Club is doing all it can to attract USGA events.

USOpen.com Sees Record Hits

...imagine how well they would have done had it worked at all on Thursday.

The Dangers Of On-Site Blogging

Shelly Anderson of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette questions the NCAA's concern$ over writers doing live game updates and mentions the USGA's policy on live blogging on site at Oakmont (don't even think of whipping out a PDA on the course...unless you are Walter Driver!).

"What's the difference between God and Walter Driver?"

From Bob Verdi's Golf World column on the U.S. Open:

...you know what they say around USGA headquarters. What's the difference between God and Walter Driver? God doesn't go around acting like Walter Driver.

I think Bob has just moved ahead of me on the hit list! 

"If I'm Phil Mickelson, I'm crafting a letter of apology to the USGA"

Sigh. Yes, Tim Rosaforte says Phil needs to apologize for his remarks about the rough at Oakmont causing his injury.

If I'm Phil Mickelson, I'm crafting a letter of apology to the USGA and the membership at Oakmont, then, at my next press conference, I'm saying I really messed up after missing the cut by blaming my wrist injury on "course set-up." For his competitiveness, and the way he treated the people in the town of Oakmont during his stay, Mickelson really won everybody over. But his comments were damaging and he needs to make it right before moving on. Another good move would be to enter Tiger's tournament, the AT&T National, but that would mean three straight weeks of tournament golf -- Lefty's already committed to Loch Lomond the week before the Open Championship.

Damaging? To? 

It seemed to me no one took Phil seriously?

Well either way, Rosaforte needs to add Chris DiMarco to the list then, since he told Golf World's Jim Moriarty in this week's issue (story not posted yet):

"It's going to take somebody swinging through and breaking an arm or something for them to finally realize that maybe the rough is a little too much. It's going to take somebody getting hurt for them to maybe gear down a little bit."

Erin Hills And The U.S. Open?

Gary D'Amato says Erin Hills is looking decent for the U.S. Open, perhaps 2017, though buried deep in the piece is this from the USGA's Mike Davis.

"But it really is so premature it would be unfair to comment other than to say they have the infrastructure there to do it."

Drug Testing Policy Almost Done

Wow, a PGA Tour drug testing policy is almost here but still no ball study complete. And just think gents, all we had to do was throttle the ball back 15-20 yards and stop having everyone telling us that you were better athletes and you wouldn't have to pee in a cup the rest of your careers! Oh well!

The Commish Wednesday:

“It’s unfortunate that these realities are with us, but they are,’’ Finchem said Wednesday at the Travelers Championship. “And we have to deal with them, and I think it’s important that golf deal with them collectively.’’

"The great coincidence about this birth was the timing."

Doug Ferguson weighs in (tastefully I might ad, thus likely ruling him out for GWAA award consideration) on the birth of Tiger and Elin's first child.

The great coincidence about this birth was the timing.

Woods’ daughter was born the morning after he finished second by one shot at the U.S. Open, needing a 30-foot birdie putt on the last hole to force an 18-hole playoff Monday. It might be the one time, in hindsight, Woods didn’t mind settling for second.

Eight years ago, Phil Mickelson was about to become a father when he missed a 25-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole at Pinehurst No. 2 that would have forced a playoff against Payne Stewart. His daughter was born the next afternoon.

Everyone knows the Mickelson children because they are dressed to the nines when they run out to the 18th. The exception was The Players Championship, when Amy and the kids were in San Diego, and Mickelson had to settle for a hug from Butch Harmon.

The only time Elin Woods was a prominent part of the picture was last summer at Hoylake, and only because Woods was a blubbering mess of tears having captured his first victory since the death of his father.

Elin once talked about wives and children going out to the 18th green to celebrate victory, and while she thought it was “very cool,’’ she had a hard time doing it herself because “it’s just not my personality.’’

I'm actually looking forward to the press questioning Tiger about the timing of the birth. It seems like there is a decent chance he had some inkling Sunday that she was about to give birth.

I'd be curious what he knew, when he knew it, and most of all, where he drummed up the audacity to not milk the situation like you know who did back in '99!