"This intent thing is a funny one though, and hardly an exact science."

Thanks for all of the great comments on the "intent" issue. John Huggan wrote about it today for GolfDigest.com and reminds us that intent was part of the Rory McIlroy discussion that took longer than Reds to resolve.

This intent thing is a funny one though, and hardly an exact science. Gray areas abound. I mean, how far can using "intent" as an excuse take a player? Yet again, even in a game that sells itself to sponsors largely on the basis of its supposed honesty, integrity and lack of cheating, it depends. But what is certainly true is that golf, it seems to me, wants it all ways.

USGA Prepares For Disaster

No, no not what you were thinking. We won't know those ticket and corporate sales numbers until the end of the year.

Neal Weinberg explains how the USGA has formed a partnership with IBM to provide its servers disaster recovery services.

A couple of things stood out in this 1122-word epic:

E-mail is a critical application for the USGA, which generates 150,000 messages a day. "It's really been on my mind," Carroll says. E-mail communication between the USGA and its members is "necessary to run to business."

She adds, "Last summer the phone system went down for a couple of days and nobody blinked an eye. If e-mail is off for 30 seconds, the help desk phones are ringing."

Safe to say the folks at Far Hills really don't like talking on the phone!

Also note the USGA-supplied image of Ms. Carroll. Might those be high-heels on the new Gil Hanse constructed "Himalayas" putting green?

Testing a new USGA Green Section concept for green aerification are we?

"They don’t ‘make ‘em like that anymore."

Al Barkow remembers Bob Rosburg and tells us a few things we probably didn't know about the man.

He never took a lesson in his life, and rarely practiced. He was not a ball beating range-rat in the Hogan mode. Fact is, he reminded me that when he won the PGA Championship he never hit one practice ball all week. Not even a couple or three warm-ups. “It was really hot in Minneapolis that week,” Rosburg said, “and the practice range was across the road and down in a hollow. I’d watch these guys coming back up from the range all sweaty and I said to hell with it. I’ll never forget the first hole, a 470-yard par four, hardest hole on the course. Every day I hit a four-wood on the green” Drive and a four-wood, the first shots he hit every day on the way to winning his one major.

Update on 2009-05-19 02:39 by Geoff

Thanks to reader Taylor for this Bob Weeks post featuring another great Rossie story. Somehow I don't this one will be submitted for the USGA's new Arnold Palmer "memory book."

Rymer Vaults To Prominent Role After Surviving Golf Channel's Most Vile Hazing

I can't think of a more deserving promotion after suffering through Comcast's in-house version of waterboarding: hosting not one, but two Golf Channel reality shows.

Charlie Rymer Joins GOLF CHANNEL On-Air Team

ORLANDO, Fla. (May 18, 2009) – GOLF CHANNEL announced the addition of Charlie Rymer to the network’s on-air team as an analyst for Golf Central, Live From telecasts and live tournament coverage.

An accomplished player, Rymer spent more than 10 years playing professional golf, with a third place at the 1995 Shell Houston Open his best PGA TOUR finish. He also won the 1994 South Carolina Classic on the Nationwide Tour, and as an amateur, was a two-time All American at Georgia Tech.

Prior to joining GOLF CHANNEL in a full-time capacity, Rymer treated golf fans to his quick wit and “down home” humor as a sports commentator for ESPN since 1998. A native of Fort Mill, S.C., Rymer also contributed to GOLF CHANNEL projects such as Road Trip: Myrtle Beach and served as a co-host on Big Break Prince Edward Island.

"It became a bigger story than who was winning the golf tournament"

Brian Wacker files a nice follow-up to what continues to be one of the best stories in a long, long time: Lance Ten Broeck looping, playing, playing, looping and beating his man. And doing it with a piecemeal set of clubs on a tough walking course.

Ten Broeck, too, would miss the cut, shooting even par to fall two strokes short. He still made history, however, becoming what appears to be the first caddie to loop for a player and play in the same event. "It was really a big deal," added Parnevik. "A lot of players weren't even aware you could do something like that."

As for beating his boss, Ten Broeck knows better than to bite the hand that feeds him. "I'm sure he was embarrassed enough by it," Ten Broeck said. "I didn't want to rub it in."
Parnevik just laughed at that notion. "I don't know if I would have caddied for him [if he made the cut], but I thought about it," he said. "If he would have asked me to caddie, though, I would have for sure."

Just $365 Gets You In The Chalet!

Apparently trying to make a Yankee game look like a bargain, AmEx is getting a little more desperate reminding us of their U.S. Open tournament day passes for cardholders...at $365 a pass.

UNIQUE TICKET PACKAGES NOW AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY FOR AMERICAN EXPRESS® CARDMEMBERS TO 2009 U.S OPEN® AT BETHPAGE STATE PARK (BLACK COURSE)

American Express is offering unique access exclusively for Cardmembers to one of golf’s most prestigious championships. Cardmembers have the opportunity to purchase daily passes to attend the 2009 U.S. Open Championship at Bethpage Black on June 18-21 and enjoy access to a private, fully-catered Cardmember-only Chalet.

This special ticket package grants entry to the scenic grounds of Bethpage State Park’s Black Course and the Chalet in the USGA Partner Village that American Express has reserved exclusively for Cardmembers. The Cardmember-only Chalet is located off the 15th fairway and will feature a climate-controlled atmosphere, televisions for viewing championship coverage and complimentary food and beverage.

Tickets* are available for purchase with the American Express Card at http://tinyurl.com/pl5ro2. Cardmembers can also take advantage of a Father’s Day weekend offer, saving $100 when pairs or multiple tickets are purchased.

Intent And The Rules Of Golf

In writing about the Kenny Perry dust-up over his FBR Open playoff actions, Lawrence Donegan quotes the European Tour's top rules referee, John Paramor:

"The fact is the player is allowed to put his club behind the ball, otherwise he would never be allowed to address his ball in any circumstance. As soon as any player puts his club on the grass behind the ball, then the grass will be flattened," he says. "The issue is, is there excessive pressing down with the club?" In other words, was there intent? "Looking at this, I don't think Kenny Perry did use excessive pressure when he put his club behind the ball. It does look bad, it does look like the lie was improved but, as long as there was no intent to do so, and I don't think there was, then it is not a penalty."

To our rules gurus out there, I'm curious, is this intent concept used commonly in the rules of golf?

After all, Roberto de Vicenzo did not intend to sign an incorrect scorecard...

After Long And Distinguished Career, Rory Hands Torch To Next Irish Golfing Great

There is no truth to the rumors that Rory sustained injuries when burly agent Chubby Chandler sidearmed his young, in-need-of-a-haircut prodigy to slip a card in the pocket of Shane Lowry, amateur and shocking Irish Open winner.

Actually, not entirely shocking considering his topsy-turvy backstory as laid out by Brian Keogh.

Peter Dixon in the Times:

Among those on hand to congratulate Lowry was Rory McIlroy, who put his arm around him after he had missed the “winning” putt in regulation play and told him, “Hang in there. You are still going to win.” And at the end it was McIlroy who led the celebrations by spraying the victor with champagne and whispering in his ear that it was time to turn pro. “He's got nothing left to prove and will learn much more out here than in the amateur ranks,” he said.

Bill Elliott in the Guardian:

For Lowry, there is much to savour. His first European Tour victory came in his first European Tour event, as only the third amateur ever to win on tour and the first to win on his debut.

Unbylined in the Belfast Telegraph:

As Lowry stood on the 72nd hole over a five foot putt for birdie and victory, the title was at his mercy. Yet he couldn’t resist a look, pulling the putt left of the hole.

“Obviously the nerves got to me and I just pulled it. I was just shaking over that putt,” said the 22-year-old, who buried his head in his hands.

In the massive crowd surrounding the green, his mother Briget did the same.

But McIlroy made sure to put his arm around his former Irish amateur teammate’s shoulder as he left the green, saying: “You’ve still got this. You are still going to win this.”

These vital words and the calm assurance of his caddie, David Reynolds, helped Lowry (pictured right) regain his composure for the playoff and later he’d pay due regard to McIlroy.  “I’ve known Rory for a few years now and I’d wondered if he’d wait around for the finish. I actually thought about that for some reason, I don’t know why,” said Lowry. “It was great to see him there.”

“I do feel like a part-time golfer"

Karen Crouse looks at the LPGA's dwindling schedule in a story that is probably most noteworthy because the New York Times put it on the front page during Sybase Classic week. The Brand Lady only conducting interviews via email is also an interesting development. Can't say I think it's a bad idea.

"Kenny has got a lie – it's a down-grain lie but there is a big clump of down-grain grass behind it"

Lawrence Donegan follows up with a more extensive piece sharing a variety of opinions on the Kenny Perry-FBR-Open-controversy first noted earlier this week.

"When I first heard stories about the video I thought, 'I hope Kenny is not being maligned.' And then when I saw it, I was shocked," says Brandel Chamblee, a former PGA Tour player and now a well-respected analyst with the Golf Channel. "What you can say in his defence is that there is no way he was trying to get away with something on a grand scale. The camera was right there and he knew there were millions of people watching on TV. But I was also shocked that no one who was watching at home called in, or that no one who was doing the television coverage mentioned anything about it on air."

It should be noted that the Super Bowl had begun, so the audience at that point was tiny.

John Huggan says this about the incident.

Even the man beaten in the play-off, Charley Hoffman, wanted nothing to do with pointing out the obvious. "I have no problem with that," he gasped. "We all do it."

If what Hoffman claims is true, not only does golf at the highest level have a serious problem, but some education in the area of what does and does not constitute "improving one's lie" is badly needed.

This zoomed in version of the original is below and also on YouTube in a slightly wider version. Note David Feherty's description of the lie as Perry places his club behind the ball.

"Finchem's minions were apparently hard at work pressuring host broadcaster NBC into not mentioning just how many Fed-Ex Cup points the Swede picked up"

John Huggan with this nugget from last week's Players:

Not only did the diminutive leader of the world's richest circuit manage to mangle the champion's name, calling him "Heinrik" more than once, Finchem's minions were apparently hard at work pressuring host broadcaster NBC into not mentioning just how many Fed-Ex Cup points the Swede picked up along with the $1.7million first place cheque. Embarrassingly, that number is nil, due to the fact that Stenson (who will no doubt have welcomed the sizeable boost to his bank balance in the wake of losing a goodly chunk of his fortune amidst the recent Stanford fiasco) thinks he can muddle by without being a PGA Tour member.