Thursday PGA Championship Clippings

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If the preview stories are any indication what's in store for this PGA, then we're going to be watching a lot of the Olympics. The scribes seem bored or maybe just distracted by the loud AC's in the Oakland Hills press center. Of course, I also paid no attention to Ryder Cup related stories, which there was no shortage of.

Anyway, there's the usual theme of the golf course and how it's going to be the hardest ever, etc... Bob Harig addresses that tired theme.

We often hear how brutal a golf course is on the eve of a major championship, then see weather conditions change or the expected difficulty turn out not to be as much as first touted. And there has not been a winning score over par at the PGA Championship since 1976, when Dave Stockton won at Congressional Country Club.
But during a stretch in which major championships have been more tough than not -- four majors in the past two years have been won with over-par winning totals -- there have been an array of comments about Oakland Hills, none suggesting this is going to be an easy week.
"I played Augusta this year for the first time and Torrey Pines, and those don't even come close to how hard Oakland Hills will play," said Daniel Chopra, who played Oakland Hills last year in a British Open qualifier.
Randall Mell says the course is the star and offers this from Sergio:
"It's a great golf course, but it's probably the toughest PGA I've ever played," Garcia said.
Doug Ferguson compiles player comments about the difficulty:
Rocco Mediate was playing the 18th early Wednesday — his only nine holes of practice — when one of his tee shots strayed to the right. His caddie went looking for it, and when he finally found it, picked it up and said, “No good over here. Make a note of that.”
Predicting a score is pointless because no one knows how the PGA of America will set it up when scores start counting Thursday. But wherever they put the tees and pins, Oakland Hills has gotten the players’ attention.
John Huggan on the course and the chances of a European winning.
"This course is set up like a US Open of three or four years ago, where missing the fairway by a couple of yards is the same as missing it by 10 yards," asserted Harrington. "So this is a tough and intimidating test, very penal. And if you miss a green in the wrong place it's a struggle to chip it closer than 25 to 30 feet. The constant debate is whether to play aggressively or cautiously."
Rich Lerner delivers "hooks and cuts," including this:
Geoff Ogilvy thinks this may well be the first time that the U.S. Open will have been the easiest of the four majors. “Augusta and Birkdale were impossible,” he said. Oakland Hills won’t be impossible, but it won’t be easy either. “It’s a beast,” said Paul Goydos.
Steve Elling shares this from Paul Azinger:
"Hardest course I've ever seen," he said Wednesday. "The rough has neutralized everybody. There's no shot-making out of that rough. I've never seen greens like this. It's tough."
Azinger faced the scribblers for a Ryder Cup press conference, which yielded this groundbreaking question:
Q. Can anything other than a win be regarded as a success for you?
Brian Hewitt reports exclusively that Kenny Perry scratched his cornea taking out his contacts Wednesday and his play will be impacted by the injury.

In the picks department (I know, too late for your pool...), ESPN.com has some thing called a FOREcaster that lets fantasy geeks hit a bit red button and answer questions. The geeks like Geoff Ogilvy to win.

John Antonini files his pre-PGA report card on the world's top 10

Jason Sobel at ESPN.com ranks his top 25.

Daniel Wexler chimes in with his breakdown of the favorites.

If you want your cornea to feel like Kenny Perry's, just try to read Joe Steranka's longwinded "interview" opening comments today. The scribes managed to get three questions in.

Steve Elling reports that the seemingly comical sight of a cop strangling Jim Weathers with a baton wasn't so funny after all as Weathers faces surgery.

And finally, from the Golfweek blog, I wasn't the only one who took exception to the USGA/R&A announcement coming during PGA week. Jeff Rude writes:
Timing isn't always everything, but I'm thinking the USGA announcement on grooves the week of the PGA Championship isn't all that different from Scott Boras revealing A-Rod's contract intentions the week of the World Series.
I mean, sometimes respect needs to wait a week.

"There is a simple litmus test to determine whether a sport is of Olympic caliber: Does winning a gold medal trump anything else an athlete can do?"

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I feel for Bob Harig tonight, because he's likely to be getting a phone call (go easy on him Ty!) for making the most persuasive case yet against golf in the Olympics...

There is a simple litmus test to determine whether a sport is of Olympic caliber: Does winning a gold medal trump anything else an athlete can do?
In golf, the answer is quite obviously no. You would be hard pressed to get a single player to say he would rather win at the Olympics than capture one of the four major championships. Let's face it; those four tournaments are golf's Olympics. They are for players from all around the world, with numerous countries represented. True, the players do not show up to represent their countries, but these tournaments are the most important events.
There are several logistical hurdles as well. How would you alter the current schedule? If golf were in the Beijing Olympics, would players be expected to head right from the PGA Championship to China? Would they be forced to skip important tournaments on the PGA Tour, including the FedEx Cup playoffs? Would the tour alter its schedule to accommodate?
In the name of growing the game, of course they would!
What about the format? Being discussed is 72 holes of stroke play. If golf is going to be included in the Olympics, at least make the format for the competition one that is not used every week, one that is more fun, perhaps one that is more team oriented. At least in that case, players would be competing for their teams instead of themselves.
Oh yeah, you're definitely getting a phone call. Even if he has to do it from Beijing and through a PGA Tour-logoed smog mask.

Baltusrol Gets 2016 PGA

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Bill Fields reports on the awarding announced by Joe Steranka Wednesday, which is interesting only because the PGA of America is locking up a venue eight (!?) years in advance with the 2014 date still open (somehow I don't think that one's coming back to Riviera!). Perhaps they were locking up the New York area market in case the USGA was thinking about returning there in 2016, even though they are widely believed to be headed back to Oakmont that year.

The Fields post includes lists of all future major venues.

"Wouldn't it be fun if the possibility really existed that Tiger might have hit his approach out of the light rough on the 72nd hole of the U.S. Open over the green?"

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I'm still collecting my thoughts on the groove announcement (hey, I've only had a year). But Bug and Gnat over at GolfDigest.com chime in with a couple of questions that have been, uh, bugging me too, though maybe for different reasons. First, Bug (E. Michael Johnson):

How are they going to enforce this rule and what happens if it doesn't have the desired effect of restoring accuracy as an important part of the pro game?
There is a very good chance this will only have a minor impact, which gets us back to the ball study. Which I'm sure is moving right along.

And enforcement wise, I suspect the USGA testing department gurus have developed an easy way to test. I hope.

Then Gnat (Mike Stachura) asks:

Wouldn't it be fun if the possibility really existed that Tiger might have hit his approach out of the light rough on the 72nd hole of the U.S. Open over the green?

Actually no, and it was something I contemplated while standing there watching Tiger lined up that now famous birdie putt. I wondered how much his shot spinning back was influenced by grooves and how much was the result of his swing speed and personal Nike ball. I hope for future viewing interest the grooves played no role, because even the governing bodies must know that the backspin he imparted on that ball helped make for one of the great moments in golf history.

Wednesday PGA Championship Clippings

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Jeff Rude fittingly kicks things off with a summary of where the wacky year in golf leaves us on the eve of the PGA and asks:

What will Phil do next to his bag? One can worry himself nauseous trying to guess the configuration. After all, Lefty has played majors with five wedges, two drivers, no driver and a driver that kept going left.
Can a junior set be far off?
On that front, Steve Elling files an interesting piece with insights from other players on Phil's club tinkering, with plenty of assuredness from Dave Pelz about the Team Mickelson thought process.
"He wouldn't be Phil Mickelson if he didn't change clubs and try new theories," said Geoff Ogilvy, a fellow member of the world top 10.
Welcome to golf's version of saying, "That's Manny being Manny."
Bob Harig says Kenny Perry is using criticism of his red-blooded American ways to uh, well, show up at Oakland Hills this week in his final preparations for the Fall Finish. Randall Mell (here) and Craig Dolch (here) also ponder Perry's place in the game.

John Huggan reports that Luke Donald's wrist isn't any better and that he's contemplating surgery.

Titled "Another successful surgery for the Open Doctor" or something silly like that, I feared that Jerry Potter was going to celebrate the Oakland Hills rees-tore before it's even seen one tournament round, but far from it:
Phil Mickelson finished 18th, shooting 6-over-par on a course he had played since he was a junior golfer. During the Bridgestone Invitational last week in Akron, Ohio, Mickelson was asked about Jones' work.
"Not a big fan," he answered.
Asked what he would do if he were Jones, he answered, "I would try to not be so monotonous."
Ohhhh, I think Rees will be hunting a certain Lefty down!

Doug Ferguson offers notes on Tiger telling ESPN radio that he won't be back for at least 5 months (and he's not watching much golf, which makes two of us, only I can get to the bathroom without it being a chore). And Ferguson shares this on the Olympic golf movement, where Phil seems to be reading off a script.
"Having golf an Olympic sport is exponentially more important to the game of golf than the majors," Mickelson said Tuesday from the site of the season's final major, the PGA Championship at Oakland Hills. "The reason for that is it would bring in 168 different countries and their Olympic foundation and all those revenues and that would be going towards the growth of the game."
Hunter Mahan (sadly) apologized for his comments about how players perceive the Ryder Cup (too many cash cow parties for the PGA of America!). Seems he was called into the principal's office.
“They took it personally, and I don’t blame them,” Mahan said after meeting with PGA president Brian Whitcomb and CEO Joe Steranka. “I deserve what I get. I take full responsibility for what I said.”
Alan Shipnuck's always fun Hot List features Oakland Hills, Ben Hogan, and this on the "business model of golf":
Ratings for Firestone and the Women's British were microscopic, and sponsors on every tour are pulling back in these lean economic times. Most ominously, neither Van Sickle nor Shipnuck traveled to the British Open.
Don't worry, 72-holes of stroke play in 2016 at some stalwart like Medinah will change it all, Alan.

Okay, to the important stuff. Your pool picks. Golfweek's staff issues their selections, this time actually more than 24 hours prior to the start of play. Ed Sherman weighs in here.

PGA.com's staff offers sleeper picks while PGATour.com's Fantasy Insider shares his thoughts on who might win. And finally, Tod Leonard chimes in with his likely contenders.

Groove Change Clippings

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Here's the announcement from the USGA if you missed it.

Doug Ferguson noted this in his story:

USGA officials said it was the first rollback in equipment since a brief experiment in the 1930s to reduce the weight of the golf ball. That was deemed ineffective, and the rule was scrapped.
Which looks minor really compared to this.

As for the pros using V-grooves in 2010 but other major amateur golf not having to conform until 2014, Steve Elling writes that "It's mildly akin to the use of aluminum bats in the amateur or college baseball ranks, versus the wooden bats of the pros. It's the same game, sort of, but it sure sounds different.

Or more succinctly defined another way, as Elling offers...
Frank Thomas, a former technical director at the U.S. Golf Association, was nibbling on a snack on Tuesday at the 90th PGA Championship when the change was broached. He wiped the crumbs from his chin and offered one word.
"Bifurcation," he said.
For the uninitiated, that's a red-letter term that means split and separate, and most assuredly not equal.
Not reported anywhere but nailing a vital point about course setup was Trevor Immelman:
I think they need to decide which way they want to go about running the game. I think you've either got to have the courses set up the way they are now, with extremely deep rough and 500 yard par-4s, which is the way they have it, which seems to be working fine. I mean, you know, nobody's blowing away these Major Championships shooting 15-, 20-under. So that seems to be a recipe that has worked over the last few years.
Or, you can change the grooves, but then they're going to have to scale the golf courses back, because you can't give guys no advantage with grooves. Because you got to understand one thing: As soon as we change the grooves, we're probably going to have to alter the ball we use, because if you're not getting as much spin, you're probably going to have to start using a softer golf ball.
In the last few years, we're using harder golf balls because the drivers allow us to launch the ball higher off the tee. So we need less spin, and we have had good grooves on our irons, so we have been able to launch the ball to create enough spin.
So we're going to have to go back and the manufacturers are going to have to go back to the drawing board. And I know Nike has been working on this since the USGA started sending the smoke up that they may be doing this. I had a look at a few prototypes where they have started working on some different groove variations.
And I like I was saying, as we change the grooves, we're going to have to start maybe looking at the way our golf ball is performing. And at that point the R&A and USGA may have to decide how they're going to set the golf courses up. Are we still going to have rough that is this deep (indicating). And like today out there, we have got guys the rough is pretty juicy here but you still got guys with these rakes out there making sure that it stands up this high. It's quite interesting.
But so I think that you're going to have to give and take. So that's where they're going to have to figure out how are they going to give and take. Because they can't just keep taking. Because at that point, you just are going to have players having just a lot of struggles out there with golf courses being too difficult. That's my opinion.
And this from Phil Mickelson was also not picked up in reports, but is nonetheless profound:
And one of the biggest issues I have with course setup is having the same penalty for everybody regardless of skill level, and that leads to the thickness of rough. If you have a ten-inch rough -- and I'm sorry a lot of people say five and a half inches or whatever the length is; everybody wedges out 80 yards into the fairway. It's the same penalty for everybody and so skill level is factored in there.
And I'm hoping that the course setups won't be like that, but they will be like the PGA TOUR has done this year and had a little bit more playable shot-making abilities, recovery shots, more integral part of the game from the rough on mis-hit tee shots.
So I kind of like it. But what's interesting for me is that this exact study was done with triple the data back in 1988, was given to the USGA, and it was disregarded, and now 20 years later, it's considered valid.
Again, I don't care, because I like the new rule change, but it just is funny to me how that -- the way the process worked out.
I assume this from Jim Furyk will be music to the USGA's ears...
I think that I might have a couple wedges in my bag that might be borderline or over the proposed limit, so I would have to pull that back.
And what that will do is it will make guys want to play a softer golf ball, and it probably doesn't go quite as far anymore, because they will want to have more control over that ball around the greens and with their wedges, where they score.
So I think all in all, it's probably going to be positive.

Thoughts On The Grooves Announcement

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In announcing Tuesday's U-groove ban, the USGA and R&A accomplished something truly spectacular, unprecedented and frankly, impossible: they had people feeling sorry for the PGA of America.

I'll get to the good stuff about this rule change in another post, because for fans of strategic course architecture there could be some very exciting developments from this news. But momentarily, let's sit back and ponder at the utter lack of respect our fine governing bodies have shown their friends from Palm Beach, who have one week a year to shine and who have suppported the decision to ban U-grooves starting in 2010.

After dragging their feet so long, with R&A lollygaggery largely responsible for missing the initial announced timeline, how could anyone in these organizations say, oh, we must announce this on Tuesday of the PGA Championship?

Let's forget the disrespect shown to the PGA of America and consider this strictly from a practical perspective: you want to announce one of the biggest changes in the history of the rules at a time when people can digest the ramifications and give it full attention. With dwindling space devoted to golf in major media outlets, who in their right mind would want to compete with the year's final major?

Oh that's right, the R&A and USGA. Brilliant.

R&A Finally Acts On Grooves...To Preserve The Importance Of Rough!

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Of course, the opening line of the press release is revolting on a level I can't begin to describe.

THE R&A ANNOUNCES NEW GOLF CLUB RULES
St Andrews, Scotland, 5 August 2008:  The R&A has today announced revisions to golf’s equipment Rules, which are designed to enhance the benefits of accuracy by making playing from the rough a more challenging prospect in future.
Yes, yes, rough is vital to the game. Old Tom would have wanted it that way. Don't worry about building new tees on the New Course, just make sure that we can continue to line fairways with rough. Or, in the case of the Road Hole, just eliminate the fairway. That's a priority!  Anyway, carry on...
The new Rules will augment the existing limitations on grooves and will affect all clubs (with the exception of drivers and putters), with the new regulations limiting groove volume and groove edge sharpness.  Essentially, larger volume grooves have the ability to channel away more material, such as water or grass, similar to the tread on car tyres.  At the same time, sharper groove edges facilitate a better contact between club and ball, even in the presence of debris.
Both new regulations will apply to golf clubs with lofts greater than or equal to 25 degrees (generally a standard 5-iron and above) with only the rule limiting groove volume applying to clubs of lesser loft.
So a 3 or 4 iron could have...ah forget it.
The Rules will apply to all clubs manufactured after 1 January 2010.  Clubs manufactured prior to this date, which meet the current regulations, will continue to be regarded as conforming under the Rules of Golf until at least 2024.
Well, that's not going to cause the rush to Roger Dunn's that the manufacturers would have hoped for.
It is intended that the new Rules will be introduced as a Condition of Competition at top professional level from 1 January 2010 and at top amateur level and in other professional events from 1 January 2014.  The R&A and the USGA will introduce such a Condition of Competition at their respective championships in accordance with this schedule.  The world’s top professional tours for both men and women, and the organisers of golf’s major championships, have all indicated their support for the new groove regulations and their intention to implement the Condition of Competition in 2010.

At GolfDigest.com, Mike Stachura summarizes the news while USGA.org offers...no announcement as of 10:15 a.m. PST.

"Ihe idea of hanging the back right of the famed 16th green out over the water befits a second-tier TPC, not a classic course like this."

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While there has been the usual gushing over the Rees-toration of Oakland Hills, Bradley Klein offers cringe-worthy details in his analysis...

Ambitious plans to move several greens were shelved, but the course has been lengthened by 296 yards from its Ryder Cup muster. More significantly, many fairway landing areas have been made harder through additional choke-point bunkering, a steepening of some bunker faces and a narrowing of fairways to 24-26 yards.

The original boldness of the holes and of the putting surfaces remains, even if tee shots and approaches now are played through narrower defiles on this 7,395-yard, par-70 layout.

Too bad some of the work looks misplaced. New back tees on the par-3 ninth and 13th holes are misaligned to the right. The new greenside bunkers on the fourth and 16th holes have absurdly excessive shaping. And the idea of hanging the back right of the famed 16th green out over the water befits a second-tier TPC, not a classic course like this.


Tuesday PGA Championship Clippings: Kenny's Last Shot

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Glory's Last Hope, puhllleaze...this is Kenny's (First and) Last Shot at a major.

Steve Elling reminds us that Kenny Perry is actually making his major debut this week in one of his final tune-up's for the Wyndham Championship.

Bob Harig looks at T.C. Chen's Oakland Hills double-hit and talks to Andy North about how he was handed a second U.S. Open as a result.

It was at the Senior British Open two weeks ago at Royal Troon where he bumped into Chen again. North was working the telecast and Chen was playing in his first Champions Tour event, although he missed the cut.
So will the stars of that fateful final round in 1985 meet again in competition? Chen, who has a home in California, would appear to hope so, as he plans to attend the Champions Tour's qualifying school this fall.
At PGA.com they offer first and second round tee times in not particularly user-friendly PDF form.

Vartan Kupelian offers the hometown preview for the Detroit News.

Doug Ferguson reminds us that the Europeans have fond memories of Hal Sutton's hatwear  the Phil and Tiger pairing disaster the 2004 Ryder Cup rout.

Ferguson also reports that national club pro champ Scott Hebert is a Michigan native playing Oakland Hills for the first time.

Thomas Bonk previews the PGA and offers a long list of interesting golf world notes as well as the weekend ratings recap. Yikes:
Saturday's third round of the WGC Bridgestone Invitational had a 1.5 overnight rating for CBS and Sunday's fourth round had a 2.1. The women fared worse on ABC, with a 0.7 on Saturday and a 0.6 on Sunday at the Ricoh Women's British Open.
Sean Martin reminds us what fun Woody Austin was last year.

Adam Schupak reports on the auto industry gradually pulling back its investment in golf tournaments and in Detroit area clubs.

Rich Lerner shares some Oakland Hills horror stories.

Carloz Monarrez pens an obituary for the 16th hole willows and talks to Ron Whitten and Brad Klein about the infamous trees and their significance (or lack of).

Speaking of Whitten, he takes a crack at predicting the winning score at Oakland Hills and says it'll be +5.

Golf World's course map with text by Brett Avery, including an interesting breakdown of the epic 1996 U.S. Open overnight bunker salvation project, can be opened here

PGA.com breaks down the changes to each hole and also offers a hole-by-hole tour with Director of Golf Pat Croswell. Many of the photos reminded me what an exquisite property this is for golf and how...oh I won't say it. It's only Tuesday.


Brand Lady: Can You Spare $4 Million?

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Jon Show reports that the LPGA is seeking a $4 million sponsor to oversee an 8-event run in the vein of the FedEx deal the PGA Tour inked, but as he buries in the last sentence:

Also complicating matters is the roughly $20 million in event sponsorships the LPGA already has on the market.

Another complication that also puts the, gulp, value of the LPGA sponsorships in perspective comes in this story (also by Show) on the PGA of America's attempts to lock up two more partners at a pretty hefty figure.

The PGA of America, one year after announcing American Express and RBS as its first official patron-level sponsors, is still trying to complete the final two remaining deals. The first two companies were signed to four-year agreements at an average of $7 million to $9 million annually,

"Play those courses today and you appreciate the craft and talent involved.”

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Very nice story today by Bill Pennington on the impact of Van Kleek and Stiles in northeast U.S. golf architecture.

Some of the names that dominate this era are Ross, Alister MacKenzie and A. W. Tillinghast. You will rarely hear the names of their contemporaries Wayne Stiles and John Van Kleek.
But the Boston-based Stiles was prolific, designing more than 140 courses from Maine to New Mexico. More than 70 remain, including many memorable layouts throughout New England. Van Kleek, his partner for several years, designed courses all over the world and in the mid-1930s was the supervising architect for a renovation of the New York City Park Department’s golf offerings.
Van Kleek put his stamp on golf courses throughout the city, from Split Rock in the Bronx to the Clearview layout in Queens — with Dyker Beach and Van Cortlandt Park in between.
“Stiles and Van Kleek weren’t splashy, self-promoting guys,” said Bob Labbance, who along with Kevin Mendik wrote “The Life and Work of Wayne Stiles” (Notown Communications), a book published earlier this year.
“They didn’t do many big, expensive projects,” Labbance said. “They pleased their clients and their communities with relatively low-cost golf. But play those courses today and you appreciate the craft and talent involved.”