When you come to think of it that is the secret of most of the great holes all over the world. They all have some kind of a twist. C.B. MACDONALD
Nice line from David Toms in Doug Ferguson's notes column this week on the subject of Tim Finchem making his AT&T debut:
"It might be the only chance we have for this tournament to be moved to October,'' Toms said with a laugh, referring to weather issues that have occasionally plagued Pebble.
In looking at Tiger's Dubai project, Alistair Tait slips in this ominous sounding quote:
Project director Abdulla Al Gurg, when asked for a status report, was hesitant. “We are committed to completing Tiger Woods’ vision here in Dubai,” Al Gurg said on two separate occasions, avoiding a target date.
And thanks to Golf Digest's Deed and Weed posting a blog entry pointing out Jose Luis Jiménez story looking at the environmental and security issues involved with Punta Brava, Tiger's project in Ensanada.
A few things jumped out in Jim Vernon's interview with Mike James of the L.A. Times.
First, the questions, which included topics that few golf publications ask about. And no, I don't believe it's due to some perceived fear that they might upset manufacturers and lose advertising. Instead, I just don't think they care a whole lot about this state of the game stuff.
Second, is it me or does Vernon seem more candid in this interview than any USGA president in recent memory?
Obviously it's refreshing and can only help the USGA, even if you don't agree with the outcome of their research.
Here's the breaking news, first revealed by Barack and Geithner at GolfDigest.com, but not confirmed by anyone at the USGA until now:
We have been looking on a research basis at high-lofted wedges, we've heard anecdotal evidence that they may have some of the same effects as the grooves did. That is, without any particular increase in skill, a player has a way of recovering around a green or over a bunker. At the same time, we hear some pros say it is really tough to hit a 64-degree wedge. We don't have a proposal on the table, but we are taking a look at it.
About the ball study and the study of rolled-back balls:
We also have our ball-research project. We are in the final stages of player testing with shorter-distance golf balls. The ball manufacturers have been very cooperative giving us good quality but shorter-distance golf balls so that we can test them with players of all abilities, from hacks like me to Tiger Woods and that level. If we ever decided that we had to roll the ball back or reduce distance, this is something we can then pull off the shelf and put into effect.
And I don't know if any USGA President has ever acknowledged that some venues might be dated after the recent distance climb, or that it's a negative in any way. No mea culpa on behalf of the USGA here, but a huge start to acknowledging where the distance race has left us when it comes to golf architecture:
There are two problems: Courses are getting built longer, which requires more maintenance, more chemicals, all of which is more expensive. The second effect is you have these established courses our there, the Merions, the Shinnecocks, the Rivieras, these great clubs, and since all those facilities feel they have to accommodate golfers of all abilities too, they have to start incurring great expenses, moving bunkers, moving tees. It's a huge amount of money spent by courses around the country to adapt to increased distances players are hitting the ball. It's certainly added to the expense of golf, and in the long term that may not be a good thing. Golf is an expensive sport. We're going to get more people playing golf if we can keep costs down, and we're going to be better citizens if we can keep whatever effects, use of water or whatever, at a lower level.
Q: Do you see at some point reducing the distance of the ball?A: We've seen a six-year period of stability on the PGA Tour. As long as that continues, I think it would take something pretty dramatic for us to take that big a step. On the other hand, if you were to see a shift in how far those tour pros are hitting it again, like the six or eight or 10 years before the last six, then I think you'd see a lot of pressure to do something, and rolling the ball back is one of the options.
Vernon also talks about the California Golf Tax proposal, golf in the Olympics and the potential of Riviera as a U.S. Open venue.
Well, not to golf. Tiger Woods the dog, at the Westminster Kennel Club show:
A Scottish deerhound named Tiger Woods won the hound group Monday night. The terrier, herding and nonsporting champions were to be picked later in the evening.
John Strege consults Marty Hackel on Phil's decision to wear a white belt with his all black outfit...and it's not pretty.
Jim Gorant on news that Cherry Hills would be awarded a U.S. Amateur, once thought to be a stepping stone to the U.S. Open but in this case, a compromise:
These days most Open courses play at about 7,500 yards, but that's at or close to sea level. At Denver's mile-high elevation, Cherry Hills would have to be stretched to at least 8,000 yards to play like 7,500. At 7,500 it plays more like 6,900. That's roughly the same length as Merion, which hosted the '07 Amateur and will welcome the Open in '13, but Merion is the exception. If you don't think so, consider the worst-kept secret at the annual meeting: The USGA will most likely award the '17 U.S. Open to Erin Hills, outside Milwaukee, a sea-level course that can be stretched to more than 8,000 yards.
I know her English isn't, you know, like perfect, but come on, she's the biggest thing to happen to women's golf since Annika.
Jon Show tries to figure out what the LPGA Tour could be thinking by handling her like every other rookie, minus the blog posts and other news that might actually draw in more fans.
Commissioner Carolyn Bivens, in an e-mail, wrote that Wie and other rookies will be promoted through “varied media outreach,” primarily consisting of stories in local print media.
Wie, by choice, is not taking part in the rookie editorial features at LPGA.com. Other players are participating in Q&As and writing blogs on the Web site.
Rex Hoggard reports on the Ross gem landing the event and making for quite a contrast to 2009 host, Liberty National.
I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you who phoned and wrote to check on my well-being after attending my first USGA Annual Meeting Saturday at the price-gouging Fairmont, Newport Beach (really Fairmont, $18 to move my car 150 feet so it could rained on for 6 hours?). The greetings I received were all incredibly warm, or at least, brilliant impersonations of warm greetings while the bluecoat in question was thinking, has anyone seen me talking to this lowly subversive?
Of course there was that one past president who, when I went to introduce myself to him after having phone-interviewed him a few times, greeted me as a Tate family member would Charles Manson. Maybe it's those Midwest winters.
The very first bluecoat I encountered was none other than the world's most famous Blackberry expert before Barack Obama's election, Walter Driver, who was exiting the men's room after giving president Jim Vernon one final pep talk that perhaps included a suggestion to step down from the podium in order to communicate with the little people gathered to celebrate all things USGA. Needless to say, Jim was probably relieved that he didn't have to introduce Walter and I just moments before his big night!
It was a great honor to finally meet Sandy Tatum in person as well as several other current and former Executive Committee members. Things got a bit dicey when former president tournament committee chair Will Nicholson told Jerry Tarde that he would like to talk to me. When Jerry brought Mr. Nicholson over, the former Augusta National tournament committee chair revealed that he "had a bone to pick with me." As the word "pick" left Mr. Nicholson's mouth, Jerry and Golf World co-hort Ryan Herrington were speedwalking to the nearest wet bar. Thanks guys.
Blessedly, Mr. Nicholson only had a minor issue with the phrasing of Prairie Dunes' construction from my recent Golf World story, and was not pulling out my various rantings about rough at Augusta (which he said we'd discuss another time because he had them all memorized by date and a vitriolic linguistic scale score invented by Glenn Greenspan before he moved on to less stressful jobs).
As for the actual meeting festivities, I had been warned yet was not truly prepared for the sheer volume of navy blue fabric assembled under one hotel meeting room ceiling. (If you don't believe me, check out the John Mummert image from USGA.org, left).
Nor did I realize that the meeting attracted so many powerbrokers, friends of the game and devoted volunteers along with a disturbing number of folks I recognized to be golf architects, rustlers, cut throats, murderers, bounty hunters, desperados, mugs, pugs, thugs, nitwits, halfwits, dimwits, vipers, snipers, con men, Indian agents, Mexican bandits, muggers, buggerers, bushwhackers, hornswogglers, horse thieves, bull...err I better stop there before Mel Brooks sues me. Anyway, there were just many grown men there who would never need Cialis again if George Will would just start writing about golf instead of baseball.
After having to give an ovation to every outgoing and incoming Women's Committee member, and we cleared up the ballot error that left off a new XC member, elected the new officers and XC, then heard from Joe Dey Award winner Dick Rundle (pictured right, courtesy of USGA.org), who delivered a wonderfully heartfelt speech. Vernon delivered his excellent address which, other than mentioning the 14 points of course setup light three times too many to keep 14-point visionairy Walter Driver from having a total tantrum, went over well.
Dinner, for the staffers living vicariously through me at this point (how sad for you!), consisted of a nice ravioli starter, salad, chicken and chocolate cake to prepare us for O. Gordon Brewer's speech to accept the Bob Jones Award. Oddly, I was seated with, among others, Pete Bevacqua and XC member Irv Fish. There were also four others dressed as empty seats. I wonder why! Surely it couldn't been little ole me that sent another table 14 assignee and editor of a very popular golf magazine to a table far from what I thought was the prime podium view.
I was quite excited to hear Mr. Brewer actually utter words since the lone conversation I had with him at Riviera during the 1998 U.S. Senior Open consisted mostly of grunts and other mumbled phrases (lesson learned: never ask someone what they think of a course the day after they miss the cut and are stuck hanging around wearing a USGA logo on their shirt). He delivered an eloquent speech off the top of his head, with one room-squirming mention of a "downside" to the recent distance explosion. That was followed by a couple of great caddy stories, prompting Brewer to declare, "let's work together to keep the caddy as part of the game."
There were too many other fascinating conversations to mention (well, and to protect the innocent). My deepest gratitude goes out to the USGA for allowing me the privilege of attending the event, and in advance, my sympathies to those who suffer repercussions for any intentional (or otherwise) encounters with yours truly.
Tod Leonard, because he wasn't busy enough covering the Buick Invitational, breaks the news.
Ladies and Gentleman of the press, begin your countdown to Tiger's return stories. Oh wait, too late for that.
It's a boy, Michael Walker reports.
Bob Harig on Phil Mickelson's early season struggles despite supposedly correcting a putting flaw:
Difficulty on the greens is what Mickelson pointed to last year, and he said he discovered a flaw along with coach Dave Pelz around the time of the Ryder Cup. Mickelson, seemingly cured, then missed a playoff by a shot at the Tour Championship and proclaimed that the offseason would be used to fine-tune a few areas with an eye on 2009.
But putting remains an issue. During Friday's round on the North Course, Mickelson missed eight putts inside of 6 feet and had 32 total in a round of 72. And just as Golf Channel analyst Nick Faldo was commenting on the shaky state of Mickelson's game during Sunday's final round, Lefty butchered the sixth green by 4-putting.
Steve Elling reports that Andrew Magee has been "disciplined" by The Golf Channel for a dicey remark that led Gary McCord to hit his cough button and utter to his stat-man, "and I got cut from the Masters for saying bikini wax?"
Magee, serving as a roving reporter during the second-round broadcast, told the network he believed he was off the air when he mentioned to fellow analyst Gary McCord that he had just seen a fan wearing a T-shirt that read, "I got kicked out of the Boy Scouts for eating a brownie."
McCord, who works primarily for CBS Sports, didn't react verbally and there were several moments of dead air following the comment.
Golf Channel spokesman Dan Higgins said the network received several e-mail complaints from viewers about the remark. The Golf Channel's online message boards have been filled with fan feedback on the matter.
"He was disciplined for that," Higgins said, from Orlando. "It was a mistake. He's fairly new in the role of on-course reporter, which is no excuse, but he has been disciplined, yes.
My sources tell me that Magee was forced to watch all previous seasons of The Big Break, then pen a paper on its pop culture impact, before having to listen to Inga Hammond read the paper back to him.
John Huggan on Rory McIlroy's impact, with this jab at what's left of the American golf media:
Interestingly – and tellingly – the flurry of banner and admittedly over-the-top headlines that duly followed O'Meara's remarks set off something of a backlash across the Atlantic. Perhaps feeling a little touchy over the almost complete and continuing lack of excitement created by homegrown players on their own tour, a few American journalists felt able to pooh-pooh any comparison with the incomparable Woods. What courage! What insight! If only some of them had actually seen the young Irishman play even once.
More on the USGA annual meeting when my hands have recovered from all of the clapping (even for Walter Driver!), but in the meantime a couple of William Flynn gems landed events: Lancaster for the 2015 U.S. Women's Open and Cherry Hills for the 2012 U.S. Amateur (not mentioned in the linked AP story, but announced at the meeting.)
What was that I said about loving Anna Rawson's brutal honesty? Apparently she took it to heart and touted the progressive heterosexuality of the LPGA Tour and used the "d" word. Oh dear...
She came under fire for her poorly chosen comments aired by NOVA 5AA in Adelaide on Wednesday.
"The tour has got so much better with so many young stars and great players," Rawson told the radio station in an interview arranged by her father Jim.
"But the mentality unfortunately amongst the media and the industry hasn't changed.
"They still think we're at 25 years ago when the tour was full of, you know, a lot of dykes and unattractive females nobody wanted to watch."
The rest of the article reviews her previous remarks on "penis envy." She has that in common with Woody Allen.
Patrick Smith pretty much says it all in criticizing Rawson:
It was an offensive remark showing little respect for the women who toiled here in Australia and internationally so the likes of Rawson could make a comfortable living playing the sport professionally.
And...
Asked whether she needed to apologise to the women who built the tour on which she now hoped to prosper, Rawson replied: "Well, it wasn't my opinion that I was talking about so I don't know. I was just referring to what society is. It wasn't my opinion. I don't believe that. I don't even know what it was." And thus Rawson took a pick axe to her own credibility.
She blamed the remark on the fact that her interviewers asked her questions, which is a little quirky. "Radio is fast and they were asking questions," she said. Later Rawson said she normally got her questions in advance. Not a bad idea.
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
Copyright © 2022, Geoff Shackelford. All rights reserved.
