R&A Gets No Love From CBS

Check out thesandtrap.com's bulletin board fun with the way CBS refers to the governing body of golf outside North America.

Ochoa's Streak Ends; LPGA Once Again Makes For Better Viewing Than The PGA Tour

Of the parts I caught (hey, the Lakers were on...), today's Semgroup Championship in Tulsa was far more fun to watch than the Wachovia rout by Anthony Kim. It never hurts when firey types like Paula Creamer and Angela Stanford are contending while veterans like Juli Inkster are in pursuit.

Doug Ferguson filed a lively game story, which included this:

Lost in a terrific duel was the end of Lorena Ochoa's winning streak. Going for a record-tying fifth straight victory, Ochoa never got on track, even in a final round absent of much wind. She closed with a 2-under 69 to tie for fifth, five shots behind.

"It's done," Ochoa said. "I tried really hard and it didn't work. Hopefully, I'll start a new streak next week."

The 21-year-old Creamer won for the first time without her parents at the tournament, another small step in proving she can do it all by herself. She immediately called Nancy Lopez, her former Solheim Cup captain and mentor who was in Florida last week consoling Creamer.

This time, Creamer was beaming. She only smiled when asked if Lopez was crying.

Creamer was fuming after some of her mistakes, slamming the end of her putter into her bag after a three-putt on the 13th, then leaving the tee box during a delay to use the concrete crease in a cart path to check her alignment.

And another impressive Lorena stat:

Ochoa's bid to join Lopez and Sorenstam with her fifth straight LPGA Tour victory never got off the ground. She broke par at Cedar Ridge for the first time all week, but starting eight shots behind, it wasn't even close. She had to settle for her eighth consecutive top 10.

Golf Digest Announces Contest Winner, Sparing Us Of Having To Look At That Annoying Photo Of The Finalists

John Atkinson will be the lucky soul who gets to play Torrey Pines for free with Tony Romo, Matt Lauer and Justin Timberlake.

In the write up on Atkinson's winning of the online vote, I noticed this line about the setup.

They'll play from the same tees, which can stretch the course to more than 7,600 yards, to similar hole locations that players will face in the final round of the U.S. Open.

I guess this means that players would be wise to get a scouting report on the event?

Somehow I doubt Mike Davis will tip his hand by using the final round locations for this exhibition. 

No Synergy Here!

A cynical reader noticed this coincidental USGA.org front page photo of U.S. Open entrant Michael Chang backed by an IBM logo, which happened to appear the week the USGA announced a new partnership with...IBM. I explained to the reader that this was likely not intentional as cropping the photo down to just Chang's torso and head would have altered the sense of place and corporate whoring by the USTA, which so kindly provided the image.

If You Have The Opportunity...

...don't miss Lewis Black's current stand up tour if he's in a city near you.

The master curmudgeon is doing 10-12 minutes of his act on...golf!

"That's a pretty good record of identification."

John Huggan appears to be the only writer who saw through R&A secretary/in-house architect Peter Dawson's presentation earlier this week. You know, the one where he explained how he was renovating 16 of 18 holes at Birkdale to fit the game that has move on somewhat.

As Dawson trawled through the various changes made to 16 of Birkdale's 18 holes (16!) in the decade since the game's most important championship last made the trip to Southport, it was hard to suppress an ever-increasing level of incredulity. Justifying those alterations with the kiss-off line that "golf has moved on somewhat since then", Dawson was careful not to mention the real reason why Birkdale has joined an ever-lengthening list of classic courses that have been stretched to within an inch of their boundary fences.

Using carefully chosen phrases like "challenge to the modern-day player" and "increased player capability," Dawson, not for the first time, disguised the fact that the current "programme of significant change" that is well under way at every Open venue has virtually nothing whatsoever to do with the players themselves and virtually everything to do with the collective and joint abrogation of responsibility by the R&A and the United States Golf Association when it comes to their (lack of) legislation on the modern golf ball. Had today's equipment been properly regulated over the last decade and a half, it is a safe bet that the likes of Augusta National and the Old Course at St Andrews, to name but two classic courses that have been forced to endure unnecessary change, would not have had to be screwed up to the extent they have been.

This is juicy about 2009 host Turnberry:

It was reported last week that the Ailsa course that will host next year's Open Championship will be "narrower, longer and tougher." To which the obvious response is: "why?"

Correct me if I'm wrong, but on the three previous occasions in which the Ayrshire links has hosted the world's best golfers, the winner of the championship has been the world's best golfer at the time: Tom Watson in 1977, Greg Norman in 1986 and Nick Price in 1994. That's a pretty good record of identification.

Not only that, but every one of those Opens – in three very different weeks weather-wise – were events that have already lived long in the memories of those lucky enough to witness them. The first one, in fact, the so-called "Duel in the Sun" between Watson and Jack Nicklaus, was so good it transcended golf and became one of the great sporting occasions of the last 50 years.

So, tell me again, why is it that the course on which those great events were played is suddenly deemed inadequate, especially when the R&A, unlike their counterparts at the USGA, are forever claiming that the winning score is, to them, irrelevant?

"We calculate that golf courses have had to cut back 97% on their water usage in this drought, while other water-using industries were only asked to reduce by 10%"

John Paul Newport uses his Saturday WSJ column to look at the water usage debate, with ominous signs for the future.

In Georgia, it has already begun. "We calculate that golf courses have had to cut back 97% on their water usage in this drought, while other water-using industries were only asked to reduce by 10%," says Mike Crawford, president of the Georgia chapter of the superintendents association and the course superintendent at TPC Sugarloaf in Duluth, Ga. "We want to be a good partner, but that's not fair. Golf is a $3.5 billion industry in this state."

Nationwide, golf-course irrigation consumes less than half of 1% of the 408 billion gallons of water used daily, a golf-industry report concludes.

Even so, that's a lot of water -- two billion gallons a day, or enough to satisfy the household needs of more than two-thirds of the U.S. population, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. And it's clear from the pioneering work that some courses have done in reducing water usage how much less water golf overall could get by on.

Four years ago, for instance, the Olympic Club and two other courses in the San Francisco area collaborated on a project to reclaim wastewater before it was discharged into the ocean. The courses now irrigate exclusively with this nonpotable "gray water," as do 12% of U.S. courses.

Many courses have also scaled back the acreage they maintain as turf, substituting low-maintenance vegetation in areas where golfers are unlikely to hit balls. Moisture-metering systems, coupled with watering systems that use as many as 3,000 computer-controlled sprinkler heads, allow some superintendents to spot-water only when and where the turf needs it.

Finchem To Advocate Paying Speeding Tickets In Virginia Law Commencement Address

Thanks to reader Phil for the news that PGA Tour Comissioner Tim Finchem is going to address University of Virginia law school graduates on May 18th. Fire up the jet!

“The graduation speaker is charged with the task of sparking inspiration and confidence in our class,” said Brian Leung, president of the Student Bar Association, who helped choose this year’s speaker.

Wait until he starts talking about value modulations. Maybe he'll liven things up by suggesting to those with political aspirations to not get so many speeding tickets because it just may make you a multi-millionaire.

"Imagine how the new sponsorship development will be received by the guy who lost everything, including his self-esteem, because of the falling dominos in the ailing banking sector."

Steve Elling raises the delicate question of whether fans and company employees will embrace their favorite corporations putting out up to $7 million for a week of professional golf.

 With the U.S. economy in the toilet, convincing companies to re-up or sit tight on deals with the pro tours is going to be increasingly harder, especially those with ties to banking or real estate, like the Ginn Company, a realty development firm which sponsors events on the PGA and Champions tours and two on the LPGA.

 For the PGA Tour, re-signing Wachovia was beyond crucial, since the 6-year-old event has become one of the top 10 tournaments on the circuit. With title sponsors and corporate America being held evermore accountable for questionable, discretionary expenses, it will be interesting to see if companies blink going forward on inking deals.

You know, like 84 Lumber, AT&T, PODS, Buick, Chrysler and Booz Allen have done over the past couple of years -- all have either pared back their sponsorships or walked away from existing tour contracts, largely for economic reasons. The Tampa and Atlanta events are still seeking new sponsors for 2009 and beyond, in fact.

Based on this Larry Bohannan story about the LPGA having trouble with U.S. sponsors, perhaps the economy is already catching up to one tour.

How The R&A Got The Groove Rule Sacked?

E. Michael Johnson reports that the proposed rollback on grooves for competition is all but dead for 2009 and not looking good for 2010.

A call to the USGA last week for a status report on the proposal produced little in the way of news, as senior technical director Dick Rugge declined to comment on specifics -- except to say there was "no set timetable for a decision on grooves."

However, industry sources familiar with the situation tell Golf World the Condition of Competition as proposed is no longer on the table, meaning tour pros are likely to be able to use current grooves in 2009.

Meanwhile, USGA and R&A officials are set to meet again this month to discuss the groove proposal, with one industry insider characterizing the ruling bodies as still somewhat apart. "The USGA is ready to go, but the R&A believes the proposed rule is trying to do too much," said the source.

"Too much" to the R&A is defined as "any action whatsoever."
 

Meanwhile in this week's SI Golf Plus, PGA Tour pros were asked:

If the USGA bans U-grooves, will you sacrifice distance in favor of accuracy off the tee:

Yes: 25%

No: 75%

While I've never believed the U-groove change would impact player thinking off the tee, I do believe it would alter the aggressiveness of their approach shots and restore the importance of firm greens. Too bad the R&A does not agree.

"Actually, my plan is to die in office at the age of 82"

Alan Shipnuck pens a lengthy and compelling profile of Tim Finchem for this week's SI Golf Plus. This is by far the riskiest move yet in the Finchem rebranding project, which started in earnest this February and takes on an edgier tone by the very notion of allowing SI access. (I shudder to think of the negotiations that took place before Shipnuck got the green light.)

There are many highlights including lots of new insight into the $5.2 million man. We learn about how his political career was derailed (got to pay those speeding tickets Tim!), about where he likes to vacation, why the WGC's are staying in the U.S. (it's TV's fault now!) and more seriously, moving anecdotes about his mom who sounds like she was truly a special person. We're also reminded what a big Democrat Finchem used to be, which is always good for getting the juices flowing with the groupthinkers on tour.

The only disappointing aspect of the piece was not Shipnuck's fault, but instead, the peculiar decision to headline it this way: "PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem has made a lot of golfers very, very rich — and a few very, very angry."

While we hear from a few angry folks you'd expect to hear from (Norman, Vickers, Pernice), it would have been nice to hear more from the rank and file about beefs with say, his excessive salary, their take on lavish executive compensation, the stockpiling of VP's or Finchem's weak record when it comes to actions related to equipment regulation, slow play and course setup. Though we learn Phil Mickelson is still definitely not a fan.

There was also this quote about his passion for restructuring and, well, firing people.

"An organization needs to be constantly refreshed," he says.

You ever notice that executive types who say stuff like that never feel that applies to themselves? And in Finchem's case, it seems he may want to keep working beyond the end of his current deal.

Should it come to pass, the Olympics would wreak havoc with the Tour's schedule, but Finchem sees it as one of the best ways to expand the game globally, which makes it the right thing to do. On the other hand, 2016 is the target date, by which time the logistics will be another commissioner's problem.

Or will they?

"Actually, my plan is to die in office at the age of 82," Finchem says with a hearty laugh.

In fact the commissioner says he has no time line in mind for the end of his tenure and that "it would be a mistake to assume" he will step down in four years when his contract expires.

How can I complain? He makes blogging easy.

"I think guys are tired of using the same tee box for all four rounds"

Steve Elling reports on David Toms' course setup/slow play related comments following an opening 67 at the Wachovia. Why didn't I get this rant when I talked to him for my Golf World story on setup?

"The issue came up this time about golf course setup, and why does it have to be so difficult?" said David Toms, a member of the PGA Tour Policy Board, the governing body of the circuit. "I mean, golf-course setup is why you see pro golfers, the best in the world, a guy shoot 67 and then another guy shoot 79, is because there is such a fine line there.

"You get on the wrong side, and it just takes a while (time-wise). So I think we can do a combination of things. Obviously if you ask the field staff, they would tell you there are way too many people playing, and you can't get them around that fast."

Au contraire, Toms said.

"Golf course setup, I think, is a big deal," said Toms, the first-round leader at the Wachovia Championship. "If you saw pins in the middle of the greens like you do for the pro am, I think we'd get along a lot quicker. All of it goes hand in hand, and we'll see.

This is interesting...

"I think they looked at last week. J.J. Henry made the comment, 'Listen, I worked on that golf course, and you guys didn't use the multiple tees that we built to make holes play different, and it doesn't always have to be all the way back on every hole and the pins, two, three, four (yards) from the edge on a day when it's blowing 25 or 30 mph.' So all those things might help."

Henry was a player consultant on the revamped Nelson course in Dallas. Was it coincidence, then, that players noted a slightly less toothy Quail Hollow setup in the first round?

The testy course's two toughest par-3 holes were softened considerably Thursday, a welcome development for players. The tee on the sixth hole was moved from 250 up to 236 yards and the markers on the brutal, water-choked 17th were moved from 217 to 175.

"I think guys are tired of using the same tee box for all four rounds," veteran Tag Ridings said. "Especially on the par-3s. They obviously made a quick change on that already."

The Comeback Of The Caddie?

Thanks to reader Nick for Blaine Newnham's story in the Seattle Times about the comeback of the caddie.

To get an idea how big the caddie renaissance is, Bandon Dunes has nearly 300 caddies in its recently erected $1 million "shack" near the practice facility. It has a high-tech TV and large lunchroom and locker room for the employees.

At Chambers Bay, where there are 170 caddies, the lure for the older guys is the chance to play one round for every five you caddie.

For the kids there is chance for a college scholarship.

There are 19 students attending the University of Washington on an Evans Scholarship, money dedicated for tuition and housing at the UW or WSU for kids who meet the entrance standards and have worked in the golf industry, historically as caddies.

Phil Says Torrey Is The Hardest Course In The World; Vows To Use Newfound Heighth To Tackle It

Andrew Both reports:

"Even if it's soft I don't think anything close to even-par will win," Mickelson told reporters after firing a four-under 68 in the Wachovia Championship first round on Thursday.

"I think it's the hardest course in the world, 7,600 yards at sea level."

The 37-year-old Mickelson said the rough was particularly brutal, even by usual U.S. Open standards.

He played the course with two friends, both scratch-handicap amateurs.

"They are two very good amateurs and they shot about 85," said triple major winner Mickelson. "They had a better-ball score of 80."

Iconic Chambers Tree Vandalized; Rees Jones Not A Suspect At This Time

David Wickert of the Tacoma News Tribune reports. Thanks to reader Greg for this.

Update on 2008-05-02 02:24 by Geoff

Tim Booth reports that the first arborist to inspect the tree says it probably can be saved.