"From the 1997 Open to the 2005 Booz Allen Classic, when you used the Shot Link, the players hit it 49 yards longer over that period."

Larry Bohannan talks to Rees Jones about all things Rees. On Torrey Pines:

Not everyone is going to like the course. The ones who don't play as well won't like it as much," Jones said. "I think in the case of Torrey Pines, the players are going to be enthralled by it."

Specifically, Jones said the players should like the Open greens at Torrey Pines far more than the Opens in recent years.

"(Torrey Pines) doesn't have the pitch to the greens like Oakmont did (this year)," Jones said. "So if you get above the hole you really get a chance to make the putt a little bit more."

This next part really speaks to why we need drug testing since we know this is all thanks to the extra lifting:

Jones said in his research and work on renovating the courses for Opens and PGA Championships, his understanding grows of how good top professional players have become.

"We did Congressional over for 1997 (the Open), and now we are having to add a lot of tees for 2011," Jones said. "Atlanta Athletic Club, we did for the 2001 PGA. For 2011 we had to push the bunkers out, re-bunker the course and add length."

Jones says statistics back up the need for stretching golf courses out for major championships.

"From the 1997 Open (at Congressional) to the 2005 Booz Allen Classic, when you used the Shot Link (measuring system), the players hit it 49 yards longer over that period," Jones said. "In championship golf, we had to upgrade the golf course. We just took Oakland Hills back 350 yards. And now it is a challenge for these guys."

I found this odd: 

Scores are almost guaranteed to be more under par at Torrey Pines than at other recent Open courses, but for a reason Jones himself discounts.

"They are going to play it a par-71 at Torrey. The last couple of years it has been a par-70," Jones said.

Now, according to my PGA Tour media guide, they've always played Torrey at par-72. Eh, minor details!

"So it will be a chance to be more under par, which doesn't mean much.

Much.

"Still, the greens at Torrey are challenging. There can be this little terrace in the back that can be hard to access because they spin the ball so much."

Having the high-profile nickname of the Open Doctor and having his work critiqued and criticized by the game's best players isn't a burden, Jones believes.

"It's very beneficial. I've got three of the next four Opens, I've got three of the next four PGAs," Jones said. "The scrutiny of the golfing world is intense. If you do a good job, you get a lot of credit."

Everybody Hate Raymond's Pre-Shot Routine?

I have really enjoyed the intelligent discussion on slow play under the Links Magazine column by George Peper and was prepared to try and continue the discussion by looking harder at the USGA Pace of Play policy to see how it could be, ugh, "tweaked' to work for the PGA Tour.

But really, how can you even have a slow play debate when you see video such as this one, shot at Lakeside during Golf Digest's recent celebrity get together.

Warning, this uncomforable watch. I clocked it at 18 seconds of his waggles and hitches.

Oh, and is Ray Romano trying to pull off a Stack and Tilt move here? If so, it doesn't bode well for their hopes of helping the average man.

Are You A Scottsdale Golfer?

This Business Journal of Phoenix story reports that 80 golf writers from around the globe will be descening on Scottsdale to mooch off of Troon North and the TPC Scottsdale Dec 2-5.

This year's writers represent publications such as Golf Digest, Golf Chicago Magazine, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, USGA.org, Golfweek, Fore Texas, PGATour.com, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Golf Times in Japan, as well as TV shows, including the Golf Channel, Golf Iceland TV, KGO-TV San Francisco and Backspin The Golf Show.

"Golf continues to be an important driver for Scottsdale tourism," said Laura McMurchie, vice president of communications for the Scottsdale Convention & Visitors Bureau. "These media help us reach core golfers planning their next vacation."

This was interesting... 

A Scottsdale golf vacation survey conducted by the Golf Digest Publications Research Resource Center found that the city's customers - compared to non-Scottsdale golfers - are more affluent ($252,000 average household income vs. $183,000), more skilled (13 handicap vs. 15), and play more golf (72 rounds annually vs. 65).

Wow, I think we all need to become Scottsdale golfers if it will help us make more money and play more golf. Wait, oh, oh I get it.

"The procedure is strict and more than a little humiliating."

The WSJ's Skip Rozin pens an op-ed piece on the ins-and-outs of drug testing, focusing on the standards labs face. Here's something the PGA Tour's finest have to look forward thanks to all of that hard work they've put in at the gym to help them hit it longer in spite of their equipment:

The procedure is strict and more than a little humiliating. The athlete is accompanied to the testing area by a trained collector of the same gender and provides the sample within plain view. Quoting from WADA regulations: "The athlete must remove all clothing between the waist and mid-thigh, in order that the witness has an unobstructed view of sample provision." The athlete then watches as the sample is split into two bottles--labeled "A" and "B"--sealed in a package to be shipped to the lab. 

It's Not A Mitzvah!

Jeff Shain reports on a lawsuit filed against the Fairmont hotel chain over the LPGA's new event at Turnberry Isle.

Organizers of an annual 10-day Passover vacation retreat at the Fairmont Turnberry Isle have sued the resort for breach of contract, alleging they are being kicked out to make room for the LPGA.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court, asks the court to uphold the contract. Some 500 Orthodox Jews from around the world are expected in Aventura for the retreat.

''This event has been promoted for a year and a half,'' said attorney David Freedman, who filed the suit on behalf of Presidential Holidays Southeast Inc.

``Most people have nonrefundable [airline] tickets for the event. . . . Everyone needs to know what happened here.''

According to court papers, the Fairmont Turnberry Isle is in the final year of a three-year agreement to hold the Presidential Holidays package. Next year's retreat is set for April 17-27.

The 2008 LPGA schedule features an April 24-27 stop in South Florida. Although details have been kept under wraps, Turnberry Isle's role is central to the lawsuit.

''They wanted the LPGA,'' said Lynda Clare, who owns Presidential Holidays with her husband, Stuart Vidockler.

``We were stunned when they first called and said they were canceling the contract.''

The Fairmont Turnberry Isle recently completed a $100 million transformation, including a $30 million redesign of its two championship courses. The resort held the ADT Skills Challenge earlier this month.

And it looks like LPGA legal will be busy on this one:

Donald Soffer, founder of Turnberry Isle and managing partner of Turnberry Associates, also is named as a defendant, along with the LPGA.

An LPGA representative also declined comment, saying officials were unfamiliar with the lawsuit.

The resort notified Presidential Holidays in an Oct. 16 letter that it was ''exercising our right to cancel'' the 2008 Passover retreat, without giving explanation.

However, the contract specifies the resort cannot cancel unless the retreat fails to meet its housing or financial obligations.

According to the lawsuit, the Passover holiday brought more than 850 participants over the past two years -- utilizing more than 3,000 room nights.

Clare estimated some 250 people already have signed up for next April's retreat.

''We've met our obligations,'' she said. ``They're not allowed to cancel for a better piece of business.''

Although the resort has worked with Presidential Holidays to find an alternative site, the requirements of Jewish rabbinical law make it difficult to relocate.

Among other things, the event requires two kitchens to prepare food according to kosher laws. Two Seders are part of the program.

''We've worked really hard to build this program,'' Clare said. ``For us, it's very sad.''

Q-Schools Underway

Helen Ross previews PGA Tour Q-School and some of the big names who are teeing it up this week at Orange County National. And PGATour.com has a stellar looking page devoted to Q-School.

Doug Ferguson reflects on results for some past graduates.

Steve Elling and Ross Devonport debate whether or not it should be televised and both are in favor. Elling:

However, frankly put, if ESPN can show 11-year-old kids making errors that cost teams the championship at the Little League World Series, then watching a grown man gag on a nervous 3-footer with his tour card at stake pales in comparison. The tour guys are professionals, after all.

Eh...I always feel like I'm spectating a car accident while watching the final day of Q-School. Some things are better left to our imaginations, and Q-School is one of them. Let the boys suffer in private, I say.

Rex Hoggard considers the plight of the flatbellies + Colt Knost.

Also at Golfweek Beth Ann Baldry previews LPGA Q-School

For leaderboards, you should be able to get the LPGA page here and the PGA Tour results here.

Restoring Cricket Grounds

Thanks to reader Josh for this story on calls to restore multi-dimensional character to cricket. I guess golf and tennis are not the only sports that have shifted to a power game in recent years.

Escena On Hold?

Thanks to reader Scott for noticing this Palm Springs TV station story and Escena web site notice that would seem to indicate a very strange turn of events for a much anticipated desert course with some huge names in the golf course and home development business apparently backing out just weeks before a scheduled opening.

David Young, a subcontractor with MK Development, said he worked on the Escena clubhouse. "Three weeks away from finishing the job and the general contractor told me that Lennar had told them to shutdown," he said. Young said he was never paid for the work. "They owe me $72,000 dollars and they're not talking to me. I'm following up with an actual lien."

Meanwhile, golf course operations are closed. Troon Management oversees the golf course. They would not confirm if the closure is for temporary reseeding or if it's indefinite.

Frank Winsor, a potential homebuyer, is currently in escrow. Winsor said he had remained optimistic until he heard the news about the golf course. "[I heard] the management company running the golf course turned off the water. They're turning off the power tomorrow," he said. "[I'm] still confident someone is going to pull it together," he added.

One Escena prospect said it's not Lennar that is planning on pulling out of the project. He was told that it was the community's master planner who was pulling out.

"On behalf of the USGA Nominating Committee, I would like to offer the following facts"

Former USGA President and 2007 Nominating Committee Chairman Dr. Trey Holland wrote to take issue with my post of last week on current president Walter Driver purportedly seeking a third term. I reprint his comments here with his permission:

Geoff:

Like numerous other USGA volunteers and staff, I have now read the November 19 posting on your Web site entitled, "Driver Sought Unprecedented Third Term As USGA President."  On behalf of the USGA Nominating Committee, I would like to offer the following facts:
    •    At no time during the committee's deliberations in 2007 did either Walter Driver seek or the Nominating Committee consider his serving a third term.
    •    At no time did Walter Driver turn "his attention to nominating Jim Hyler over Vernon."  The obvious reason why none of the sources could explain this is because it simply did not occur.
    •    As you know, the USGA's nominating process was amended in 2004 and utilized for the first time in 2005.  You are correct that Walter Driver and the remainder of the Executive Committee were notified of their status for 2006 in late June and early July, 2005.  This procedure was consistent with the notification timeline set forth in the new process.  Upon reflection, the Nominating Committee, after face-to-face interviews with every member of the Executive Committee, later concluded that it would be in everyone's best interest if the decisions of the Nominating Committee remained confidential until sometime after the conclusion of the U. S. Amateur Championship.  That procedure has been followed in each of the last two years.  That is the sole explanation of why it "took so long to learn that Jim Vernon was the nominee."

While the deliberations of the USGA's Nominating Committee are largely confidential, you can rest assured that, within the framework of that confidentiality, the president, the senior staff and the Communications Committee will make a concerted effort to work with the Nominating Committee and provide you with factual information regarding this process if you should have questions in the future.

With best personal regards,

Trey

I followed up with Dr. Holland, asking him if he was in fact aware of the widespread rumor that Mr. Driver was interested in serving a third term, or, if the Nominating Committee did anything to dispel the rumor within USGA circles. From Dr. Holland: 

My initial exposure to this baseless rumor came at the U. S. Amateur championship.  No action was necessary because anyone who understands our nominating process would immediately recognize that this proposition is so irrational that it couldn't be true.  (And anyone who knows Walter knows he would never consider it.)  As you said in your blog, no one since Theodore A. Havemeyer -- 111 years ago -- has served a third term as USGA president.

Now, there are a few things I'd like to point out.

First of all, with all due respect to Dr. Holland, no one outside of a tiny group of insiders understands the nomination process.

Second, anyone who has seen Walter Driver at a championship over the last two years, knows that he is not discreet in breaking a sacred rule banning the use of cell phones and Blackberry's. He has even broken this rule when working as an official observer.

So again, with all due respect to Dr. Holland, I can't agree that this is someone who has shown himself to be a rule or tradition abiding USGA volunteer who would never think to flaunt the rules and seek a third term. In fact, he's been quite sure of his mission as a change agent, with little apparent dissension among Executive Committee members and volunteers who are intimidated by the man, so it's perfectly reasonable to believe he was capable of seeking an unprecedented third term.

That said, after initially hearing of Driver's purported interest in continuing on from volunteers and later from staffers, I did not immediately follow up since I'm far more interested in focusing on the rosier future the USGA has under newly nominated president Jim Vernon. However, the sheer number of sources that continued to mention this, particularly among the volunteer base, along with the quality of their information and level of detail, drove my decision to make the post. I have trouble imagining that there was any kind of volunteer or staff conspiracy to embarrass Driver, but instead, widespread disdain with the direction of the USGA under his tenure and a fear of another year under his guidance.

It should also be noted that another writer mentioned this "baseless" rumor and he has confirmed that his story was not the result of my blog post.

This would normally be the point when I share some more details from my sources to justify why I wasted precious bandwidth on this matter, however, the level of Executive Committee vindictiveness displayed this summer in the highly suspect removal of Communications Director Marty Parkes, combined with the disturbing amount of energy spent by some behind-the-scenes folks on this post, makes me very uncomfortable sharing any details at this point for fear of costing someone their position on a committee. There are too many great volunteers and staffers who need to stay with the USGA, so that when the organization does move in a more positive direction, I want to be able to say I did not eliminate their chance to serve the game they love by sharing details that would aid those who will pursue a witch hunt at the behest of the Executive Committee.

However, let's assume that Dr. Holland's statements are true (and he's definitely a devoted servant of the game and widely respected past president), this affair says a couple of very telling things about the USGA.

Walter Driver's presidency has so poisoned the waters in Far Hills and across the country, that a significant number of volunteers and staff were actually convinced this rumor was true. And we're not exactly talking about folks still trying to get their high school equivalency degree, but honest, hard working, conservative and very bright people who are not prone to rumor mongering or otherworldly conspiracy theories.

Furthermore, it's fascinating to me that a rumor like this was allowed to fester for so many months, and no one addressed it internally to staff or devoted volunteers.

It makes one wonder where the leadership has gone.

Update on 2007-11-28 13:18 by Geoff

Steve Elling also follows up on his reporting related to this story.

Flash: Tiger To Play Dubai!

I was really hoping for a quote stating that since Sam is now old enough, he's going to play abroad more often so that he can make these trips to Dubai educational.

For those keeping score at home, the Dubai event is the same week as the PGA Tour's Scottsdale stop.

So there is still hope that he will consider playing at Pebble Beach and the opportunity to play six hour rounds on Softspike-dented greens. 

"And if it's not top of the list for the players, it is for their managers"

Nick Mulvenney talks to Mission Hills' David Chu about the World Cup and the resort. Chu is one of the founders of the massive resort, which aspires to be the Augusta of China. Really...

The Mission Hills Golf Club is hoping to become synonymous with the World Cup by building up a tradition like that surrounding the U.S. Masters and its Augusta National venue.

The World Cup has already had a varied history since Canadian industrialist John Hopkins founded it as "an Olympiad of golf" in 1953 but its home for the next dozen years will be the $650-million complex hewn out of the hills of southern China.

Since the first 18 holes were completed in 1994, 11 more international standard courses have been built in the resort with a list of designers that reads like a "Who's Who" of international golf -- Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo, Greg Norman, Ernie Els, Vijay Singh, David Duval.

And some of them have even been there!

However, it was the heavily bunkered Olazabal course that hosted the 53rd World Cup at the weekend and that is where it is likely to stay for the forseeable future, according to Tenniel Chu, son of the founding father of Mission Hills, Dr David Chu.

"We have the luxury to play on a different course each year but at the same time, what we want to try and create is somewhat similar to what Augusta has done," the resort's executive director told Reuters in an interview.

"Every year, same course, same venue, same time. For the audience watching around the world, they will grow familiar with it and become emotionally attached to it."

Uh huh...

"But I think as the game is growing here, there is more interest in coming to China. The next frontier for players is to come and showcase themselves is Asia.

"They've more or less hit the ceiling in Europe and North America. And in areas like sponsorship or course design, China is definitely top of the list.

"And if it's not top of the list for the players, it is for their managers," he laughed.

"The news of an alliance between the Japanese, Asian and Australasian Tours should be another warning to O’Grady."

Alistair Tait points out why the possible union of the Japanese, Asian and Australasian Tours could create a strong rival to the European Tour, when they really all could have been working together. But Lewine Mair reports that everyone may be getting along better soon.

"Each home will be between 367 and 700 square metres, with turf and pebble roofs."

Sarah Matheson in the Epoch Times looks at this week's New Zealand Open host site and developer Michael Hill's planned underground housing, along with its almost entire underground clubhouse. Almost.

Meanwhile, Craig Better at Golf Vacation Insider questions the wisdom of the concept and says it gives new meaning to "living in a bunker."

According to GolfChannel.com, coverage begins with the first round Thursday morning at 6:30 a.m. Pacific.

"Now that a sound and defensible system is in place, maybe Tim Finchem will show some courage and business sense."

Outside of some of Darwin's rants on the topic, Links Magazine's George Peper pens the best slow play column I've read in a long time, tackling all of the key points and asking all of the right questions. He explains the USGA's promising new pace of play, something I wrote about for the L.A. Times earlier this year (naturally, it's disappeared from their archives!).

Thankfully George presents it here much better than I did, then takes it a step further and questions why this has not been implemented already.

OK, the system isn’t perfect. So what? Golf isn’t an exact science. In fact, it’s not a science at all, despite the proclivity of some tour players to treat each shot as an exhaustive experiment in physics, geometry, agronomy, meteorology, kinesthetics and psychology. Say the USGA comes down hard on a few players. What’s the downside? A whine or two from the likes of Ben Crane? I suspect they’d be drowned out by the chorus of approval from their peers. Besides, the system has a built-in appeals process, so every accused offender has the opportunity for a postround hearing.

Moreover, when it comes to pace of play, there is no reason for the USGA or R&A to be as fearful as they are of regulating equipment—imposing a limit on time will not bring a billion-dollar lawsuit from Rolex. Nor can they hide behind the other rationale they’ve used on equipment—that most amateur golfers want to keep the status quo. Most amateurs may want to hit the ball longer, but they don’t want to stay on the course longer.

Still the sense is that the USGA is taking the same timid stance as they have on the question of throttling back the golf ball: Let the PGA Tour take the lead.

Fine. Now that a sound and defensible system is in place, maybe Tim Finchem will show some courage and business sense. Seven years ago, the commissioner challenged the game’s movers and shakers to transform golf into America’s No. 1 spectator sport. Instead, television ratings are down and golf participation over the past decade has been flat at best. One big reason: Golf is slow, both playing and watching.

I remain convinced that if the PGA Tour's VP's and players ever paid to go to one of their events and tried to spectate, they would quickly launch an emergency initiative to do something about pace of play.  

NGF's Best Public Golf Cities

Reader/blogger Rob Matre points out that this Golf Magazine/National Golf Foundation ranking of the "10 Best Golf Cities" inexplicably left out one major city that many consider the best anywhere for public golf.

I'm sure it won't take long (after going through the clunky page view format the list is posted in) for some of you to nominate the glaring omission.

Update on 2007-11-26 14:54 by Geoff

Here's the full list of 50. I got a chuckle seeing L.A. at No. 11, a whopping 35 spots ahead of Chicago!