“But he’s doing it in the wrong place.”

A little behind I know, but on Monday Sarah Lyall filed this NY Times piece on the Trump-Forbes battle near Aberdeen, and there are a few new items, including some interesting scrutiny of the local hero by authorities. But the ultimate takeaway from the piece was this:

“I’m all for development and for people building golf resorts,” said one local resident, Bill Grant, 54, who spoke in downtown Aberdeen. “But he’s doing it in the wrong place.”

Mr. Grant explained that the dunes tend to suffer from the notorious haar, a thick fog that pours in from the sea. “You cannot see your hand in front of your face, and if the wind goes calm it can stick there for days,” Mr. Grant said. “If you were playing golf, you would need a homing device to find your ball.”

It's amazing that in a world where so many projects with great potential struggle to get financing, while something with a well known hazard potentially detrimental to revenue and reputation is apparently ignored. The Donald is just that convincing I guess.

TPC Sawgrass No. 10 Tee Then And Now

Number 10 circa 1987...

And today...

"Yeah, I've found that hunting zombies and carjacking a Ferrari in South Beach is a lot tougher in real life than it is in video games, too."

Jay Busbee with that killer line to this revelation that Rory McIlroy is finding the real TPC Sawgrass much more difficult than the video game version he knew before this week.

Rory McIlroy, who knows a thing or two about both real golf and the video kind. He kills time between tournaments by playing Tiger Woods '09, and just this week got his first live taste of Sawgrass, a course he's completely mastered --he once shot a 54 over 18 virtual holes -- on the game. His verdict, according to Reuters:

"It's a lot different. You get up to holes like 11 on the computer and you can drive it up to the big tree on the right, which is like 150 from the green, I had a good drive yesterday and was still hitting a five wood in, it is not quite like it is on the Play Station," he told reporters.

Yeah, I've found that hunting zombies and carjacking a Ferrari in South Beach is a lot tougher in real life than it is in video games, too. (Tip: neither one is recommended.)

Wednesday At The Players

A lovely breeze combined with a lively atmosphere made it quite enjoyable to tootle around the TPC Sawgrass.

The Wednesday Caddie Competition lived up to the hype, with a huge gallery turning out to add to the caddie misery experience.

After walking off of the 16th green, players arrive at the net protected tee and greet some less fortunate souls who are thankfully given a front row seat by the tour. After a wait, the players leisurely swing away at the 17th green, which, contrary to some claims is not as large as portrayed (3,900 square feet and steeply contoured, it plays very small). All you can think is, the tempo won't be so fluid tomorrow. Enjoy it while you can!

Will MacKenzie, looper (click on image to enlarge)Following their practice shots, the players move over to the left side of the tee where another set of blocks are placed. A tip jar allows players to make a charitable donation. Some loopers on the range later said the haul was around $4000 and that the PGA Tour matches the number.

Great up-to-date info on the incredible video screens keeps fans involved in the caddie competition (click to enlarge)The caddies begin their preparation, some taking practice swings, others moving over to the side to loosen up a bit, though most have probably taken a few swings earlier in the ridiculously slow practice round.

Before teeing off, player heckling is a given. While I was watching, only Will MacKenzie actually lugged his player's bag from tee to green, a tradition that doesn't seem to be too closely adhered to by other players. (Granted, that would be an embarrassing reason to WD...strained lower back caused by caddie competition luggage toting.)

Vijay's caddie, Chad Reynolds. Not the scoreboard info for fans (Click to enlarge image)As for the overall scene, the overall atmosphere--and here comes the first dreaded major reference--is major-like. For a Wednesday it was remarkably festive out on the course, all highlighted by the action on 17.

The amenities, presentation and overall convenience factor for fans is second to none once you are on the property. (Apparently the city of Ponte Vedra Beach hired a lunatic to time their A1A signals. Nor do they apparently have any traffic control officers on the payroll. And that's the last time I'll bitch about traffic, tonight.)

Most striking thing of all. There are kids everywhere. Having fun. Enjoying golf.

The players seemed more friendly than normal, doling out balls and autographs. Apparently most schools just take the week off, or, in the case of Teacher Of The Year Mr. House's second grade class, they get their own standard bearer.Mr. House's second grade class gets the royal Players treatment. (Click to enlarge)

Either way, it's great to see and probably the reason there is such a festive feel at The Players.

Writers Infiltrates PGA Tour Headquarters; Finds No Sign Of Duplicitous Behavior

Thomas Bonk gained entry into the west wing of PGA Tour headquarters where Tim Finchem and most of the vice presidential army pushes paper crafts arfully worded memos and religiously reads GeoffShackelford.com (#1 in city in Florida, four months running!) PGATOUR.com.

Inside the West Building is where you find Finchem's office, down a carpeted hallway, past a flotilla of dark brown wooden office furniture and rows of metal cabinets. Photographs of smiling players cover the beige walls.

The green-carpeted Executive Suite is the biggest office in the building, as it probably should be. At the end near the window, two sofas and two chairs surround a coffee table. And at the other end of the office, Finchem's horseshoe-shaped wooden desk fronts a phalanx of six chairs that face him.

Is that one chair for every VP making over $1 million?

There are two computers on the credenza. A huge, flat screen television hugs on the wall. An armoire rests against the opposite wall, a striped dress shirt hanging on the outside.

Besides dozens of golf clubs leaning against the wall, other mementos are all around, most prominent among them a couple of dozen photographs of Finchem with presidents and golf's elite. There are also golf bags from four past Presidents Cup events -- a Finchem invention, just like the three-year-old FedEx Cup.

From the looks of things, Finchem runs a buttoned-down ship, at least judging from the buttoned-down dress shirts that are part of the dress code. Ties are required, except this week, because it's tournament time. But even on casual Fridays, golf shirts aren't allowed. Finchem walked in at a brisk pace. He was wearing a red golf shirt (Dress codes aren't for commissioners).

In all seriousness, I finally figured out how to look like an important tour staffer: Carry leather "padfolio" under arm, light blue oxford, dark slacks, designer shades. You can gain entry anywhere on the property with that look. Anywhere!

Brand Lady Rolls Up Her Donna Karan Sleeves To Pitch In For Charity

While Tim Finchem basks in the glory of The Players, Commissioner Bivens went all Jimmy Carter on us and joined in the LPGA's Habitat for Humanity photo-op.

Here she is with Jiyai Shin.

Did Ian Poulter Change His Name?

You have to admit, it's a nice branding move for his golf course design business. Or is this clothing design? Maybe not such great branding?

USGA Rent At Bethpage

I've searched a few articles on Monday's U.S. Open media day and most focus on the sale of unwanted corporate passes, but a witness said that the state of New York's Dave Catalano David Paterson mentioned that the USGA is paying $5.5 million in rent for the Bethpage week. Has anyone seen his comments mentioned? ASAP only features Mike Davis and Tiger Woods' transcripts. That number sounds ridiculously high.

Update on 2009-05-06 14:41 by Geoff

We have clarification! It was the governor. From Mark Herrmann's story:

Gov. David A. Paterson, who appeared at media day, said, "They say that sequels are never as good as the originals, but we are working very hard to make sure that this U.S. Open will be as exciting and as energetic as the one seven years ago. From the tens of millions of dollars that will be generated into the region to the $5.5 million that has already been paid as a rental fee by the USGA, this will be a real shot in the arm for Long Island and for our entire state."

Q&A With Dan Jenkins, Vol. 2

Today marks the release of Jenkins At The Majors, a collection of Dan's best write-ups from those four events not called The Players. You may recall that Jenkins answered questions last year upon the release of The Franchise Babe, and he kindly talks to us about his second golf anthology. The book includes an Introduction to the essays and a commentary on golf journalism, along with an Epilogue where Dan lists his "all-time golf team, driver through the putter and the interview room."

GS: So you've got a new book out of your major championship essays. Is this all of them or a selection of favorites as picked out by you or some really bright book editor?

DJ: My original title of the new book was "Deadline at the Majors." I still like this better than "Jenkins at the Majors." Nevertheless...I chose 94 pieces from newspapers and magazines as being representative of the 198 majors I've covered since 1951. From Hogan to Tiger, as it happens, or from the Fort Worth Press to Golf Digest, with the Dallas Times Herald and Sports Illustrated in between.

All of the pieces had to be shortened, of course, and some of them I've tweaked, and there is a bit of fresh material included, but basically it's stuff I wrote on deadline. I hope it presents a pretty good picture of pro golf as it unfolded before my very eyes over nearly 60 years.


GS: Some writers would rather go see a Celine Dion concert than revisit their past rants. How do you handle reading your old stuff?

DJ: I don't enjoy looking back at my old stuff, other than to enjoy the historical value of it. Sometimes I'm amazed at how less than regurgitating it was, and quite often I'm left to wonder who that stranger was that sneaked into my office and wrote that embarrassing tirade.


GS: The Players Championship is this week. You lived down there for a while. Do you miss Ponte Vedra much?

DJ: I enjoyed my time in Ponte Vedra---it got me back on the golf course after all those years in Manhattan when the major sports were smoking, drinking, typing and hanging out. But it was finally time to go home to Texas. You CAN go home again and be happy. I'm living proof. I haven't been back to Ponte Vedra in 10 years. I'm sure it's changed a lot in some respects but stayed the same in others.


GS: The U.S. Open returns to Bethpage and close to another place you used to live. Are you hanging out in the city for old time's sake or staying out on boring old Long Island?

DJ: The Bethpage Open will be my 200th major and I'll be at the press hotel again in a part of Long Island I never knew existed, an hour from the course or anywhere to eat.


GS: Any deep thoughts heading into Bethpage?

DJ: I'm not a big fan of the course. There's no hole you want to take away with you, which is true of most places other than Pine Valley, Cypress Point, or Augusta National. There's a terrible sameness to Bethpage, but it plays tough, and the old-fashioned round greens look like unidentified flying objects have landed there.


GS: Seen any good movies or read any good books lately?

DJ: Good movies are harder and harder to find. But plenty of good books are out there if you like some of my favorite authors---Daniel Silva, Michael Connelly, James W. Hall, Alan Furst, and John Sandford, to name a few.


GS: Interspersed throughout your literature has been the line about "nothing that a good old depression wouldn't fix." Well we could be there. Is it at least righting some of the wrongs?

DJ: Yeah, I used to say a good old Depression could fix a lot of things---meaning greed. But it hasn't fixed the PGA Tour yet. I do love the game, but what has prompted that statement is purely my own frustration with the fact that I can work two years on a book, and some guy I've never heard of, who didn't graduate from college, and never went to class when he was IN college, and doesn't know how to do anything but hit a golf ball, can make more money in one week than my book will by finishing 5th in a regular tournament I don't give a shit about , and it's not even achieving anything. It's not WINNING or even accomplishing anything.

There's something wrong with that picture. It's why in my declining years I have arrived at the point where I don't give a damn about anything but the four majors and the Ryder Cup. They are important. The regular tour sucks.

I should mention that the regular tour didn't used to suck. It used to be quite glamorous, when the LA Open was always first, when the Crosby was the Crosby, when the players wore snappy clothes and movie stars hung around them, when the Florida swing had its own charm, same for Texas, and so on. But mainly when every winner was SOMEBODY.

I live in the past. It was a better world.