Michael Jordan's Attempts To Contract An Oral Cancer Will Have To Wait

Reason No. 1 why I love California...

"Arguably what's at stake is the future of San Francisco public golf, and by extension, the value of public golf everywhere."

Miraculously no one has asked yet how the PGA Tour and City of San Francisco spent $23 million and got a functional but ultimately disappointing Harding Park redesign. Brad Klein noted quite accurately that "a round here produces the sense of waiting for something to happen that never quite materializes."

Which is why I suppose the Presidents Cup re-routing--a blatant move for the corporate tent folks as Ron Whitten documents in Golf World--doesn't really matter much. If you know the course and want to get a nice feel for the new sequencing, check out Brett Avery and Golf World's interactive map.

Meanwhile, SF native Jaime Diaz makes the case that no matter what you might feel about the course, this is a huge week for public golf with two courses fighting for their existence and beleaguered Harding looking to stay on the PGA Tour's radar.

Olympic Golf In Trouble?

A few stories are hinting at a possible protest vote and overall uncertainty about golf's "universality" by IOC members. Lawrence Donegan thinks some of the recent defenses from Jacques Rogge for golf's finalist slow may not bode well, whiel Owen Gibson believes the concerns may cost golf it's shot in the 2016 games.

Some IOC members retain concerns about whether the Olympics would be the pinnacle of achievement for golfers ahead of the four majors, while others argue that it does not score well on the criterion of "universality" given the expense and difficulty of developing golf courses in Africa and parts of Asia.

I don't know where they'd get any ideas like that before they've even gotten the estimate from Jack Nicklaus and Annika Sorenstam to build the official Olympic course, The Bear and The Swede. And with 60 player fields contesting glorified WGC events that has excited positively no one, how much less universal can you get than that?

And, let's hear from Peter Dawson, who heads up an all-male golf club that'll admit a woman by 2016. Maybe.

Dawson admitted some IOC members had raised concerns about whether the Olympics would represent the pinnacle of the sport but said they had not been widespread. "We have been able to allay that fear by emphasising the broad support among the world's top players. There is only one Olympic tournament for every 16 majors," he said.

And it's still just a boring old 72-hole stroke play event with a goofy world ranking-based format for entry. Zzzzzzzzz.

And then there's this protest vote bit, which is so IOC:

Some IOC members have privately voiced disgruntlement that they will not be offered a choice of sports from which to pick and have speculated that golf might suffer as a result of a protest vote.

But Craig Reedie, the British IOC member who was part of the programme commission that evaluated the seven sports, said: "The executive board clearly feels it is giving the members the guidance that was requested of them."

"Did Tony Romo Forget How To Count To Four?"

That's what Dallas fans are asking after the QB apparently lost track of the downs on Sunday. What they don't know is that Tony Romo was actually just flashing his handicap in celebration of his place atop the latest Golf Digest ranking of athlete-golfers.

Letter From Saugerties, Wally Uihlein Edition

Former USGA Executive Director Frank Hannigan emailed this letter in response to Acushnet CEO Wally Uihlein's recent interview with John Huggan. I emailed Mr. Uihlein to ask if he wished to respond but have not heard back as of this posting.

What a week of glory it was for Acushnet CEO Wally Uihlein!

First, he gives an interview to the always entertaining golf site, "Golf Observer."  What it amounts to is a tribute to himself and his company.  It is longer than "War and Peace."

Then, better yet, the man accused of blackmailing David Letterman wears a Titleist cap in various photos that surfaced. The whole world sees "Titleist" and it doesn't cost Acushnet a dime. (By the way the USGA handicap processing system shows one Joe Halderman, a resident of Connecticut, as bearing a 16.8 at the Longshore Golf Course,  a muni in the posh town of Westport).   

Wally is special.  He would like it thought that he was found in a manger outside the door of the dean of the Harvard Business School.  In fact,  he was a left-handed New England golfer with a modicum of talent who became somebody's assistant pro.  The USGA welcomed him back by granting him reinstatement to amateur status.  He jumped over to Acushnet where he displayed a tremendous ability to sell stuff.

His company owns more than 50% of the golf ball market plus Foot Joy shoes and a couple of lines of clubs.   It is now more than a billion dollar operation.  Wally is not satisfied.  He thinks he should BE golf.  There is nothing he is unwilling to foresee. He predicts there will be no more successful incursions into the golf equipment business by outsiders.  That's an expression of resentment toward the late Karsten Solheim and the late Ely Callaway who came from nowhere to dominate the club business and kick Acushnet's butt in the process. 

I will now present an abbreviated list of items worthy of comment from the interview:

• On the prospect of rolling back distance,  he says any change is bound to be good for some tour players and bad for others.  How come he didn't weep for the prospective losers when he dramatically changed his ball to the HD line in the early 2000s?

• Wally says there is no precedent for rolling back performance - not in golf or any other sport.  Excuse me, but in 1931 the USGA changed the minimum diameter of the ball in its rule to 1.68 inches - up from 1.62 inches. Writing in the late 1930s, Bobby Jones reckoned that the 1.68" ball was about 5 yards shorter than the ball he played with during the 1920s.

• He says the distance explosion is due in part to bigger and stronger people.  Look, distance was stable on the Tour between 1980 and 1995.  It then shot up every year until 2002 when it again became stable - after the horse left the barn with an overall driving distance increase of about 9%.  For the size of people to matter, you'd have to believe that something dramatic happened to the species for an 8 year period only.  Darwin wouldn't buy that.

• He hints at the possibility of litigation on the heels of any equipment rules change by the USGA. That's odd because a few years ago he told me personally that suing the USGA is very bad for business.  Wally said that both Ping, which did sue, and Callaway, which threatened to sue, were singed.

Is the USGA frightened by threats of an anti trust suit?  Perhaps, even though I make them about a one touchdown favorite in such a clash.

What does scare the USGA is the fear of general non-support, which would render the USGA irrelevant. Just suppose the USGA did muster up the courage to do what it knows is right - roll back distance.   If that were to happen I am sure that Wally and other manufacturers would continue to turn out today's balls.   What would the customer do - buy the ball announced as being shorter?   Sure, the pro shops at Seminole and Cypress Point might only carry the new ball.   How about WalMart?  I can't envision the boys from Arkansas acting on the basis of what the USGA says is good for the game.  There would, for a time at least, be chaos, the exact opposite of the uniformity prized above all by the USGA.

The ongoing tension between equipment makers and the USGA is both sad and unnecessary.  It wasn't always so. I remember the day when an earlier CEO of Acushnet, John Ludes, came into my office at the USGA bearing a $10,000 check as a gift for a USGA building fundraiser.  Mr. Ludes understood that the USGA had created a climate in the sport that put all manufacturers on a level playing field and was doing so without any ax to grind. Naturally, I could not accept the check.    

Equipment gets nearly as much play as instruction in commercial golf media because of ad budgets.  Nothing gets the attention of a publisher quicker than a message saying, "You didn't give us enough space last month.  My money is itching to go elsewhere."

So the consumer is led to believe that his or her search for a driver counts more than the choice of a spouse. The truth of course is that equipment does not determine outcomes in golf on every level of the game. If it were otherwise you would see only one brand of ball in use on the Tour. Hostility is meaningless in that equipment simply doesn't matter.  By that, I mean that the choice of equipment on all levels of golf does not determine who wins or loses.  The performance of today's clubs and balls is remarkably similar with minute variations that are almost impossible to discern.   Why is it you never see blind test results in golf?  Because even the greatest of players can't tell one ball from another if the markings on the balls are wiped out.

For reading this far, I reward you with a tip.  The plastics used in modern golf balls do not decompose.  So if you are in a pro shop that has used balls in a bucket for $1.25 each, don't hesitate to reach down for a few. As for the decay issue,  I do not fear climate change.  My fear is that eventually the surface of the earth will consist of nothing but Pinnacles.

Uihlein says no Tour player will use equipment he does not favor. Right on. Tour players are influenced by how much they can extract in endorsement fees.

Remember when Tiger Woods turned pro in the fall of 1996?  He quickly scored a deal with Acushnet granting him $4 million per year.  In no time at all he was recognized as the best player in the world.  Fast forward a few years.  Nike, which dwarfs Acushnet, snatched Tiger away by doubling or tripling Tiger's fee. Tiger remained the best player in the world.  The same would happen if he developed a yen for Callaway or Taylor Made or whatever.    
 
It's astonishing how much attention is paid to equipment now.   The truth is if Acushnet was gobbled up tomorrow by Nike or Adidas nobody would care other than the players on the Titleist staff.

We have to put up with manufacturers since the game requires clubs and balls. But we shouldn't pay much attention to them and it surely doesn't matter which of them prosper and which fail.

Frank Hannigan
Saugerties, New York

Orender: A Non-Denial Denial?

Ron Sirak shares this email statement from Donna Orender that does not sound like a full denial that she's out of the LPGA Commissionership running:

"I was flattered by the widespread support of the industry who strongly encouraged me to look at this opportunity and the prospect of working again with so many people who I respect and with whom there is a history of success," Orender told GolfDigest.com in an email. "The WNBA Is in the midst of it's most successful finals in the leagues history and to continue to work with the dedicated team who is passionately committed to it's future is a good fit for me."

If You Can't Build 'Em, Sign Licensing Agreements

Since the PGA Tour probably won't be in the TPC building business for a while, they're adding some nice courses to the network via licensing deals. I'm not sure what this means beyond new logos and business for signmakers in Miami and La Quinta, but it is nice to see PGA West rejoining the fold after the last licensing agreement end. Maybe this increases the likelihood of the tour moving the match play to PGA West TPC Stadium Course at PGA WEST when they get tired of Tucson's small galleries and goofy greens?

Doral’s Blue Monster, PGA WEST’s Stadium Course Join TPC Fold
Famous courses will become part of TPC Network through licensing deals


PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL                                                                    October 5, 2009

Two of America’s most recognized resort golf courses, the Blue Monster at Doral Golf Resort & Spa in Miami and the Stadium Course at PGA WEST in LaQuinta, CA, are joining the PGA TOUR’s TPC Network through licensing agreements that were announced today.

The changeover becomes effective November 1 with the name and logo changes occurring immediately. They will become the TPC Blue Monster at Doral and the TPC Stadium Course at PGA WEST. Other aspects of course re-branding will be integrated over time.

“We are extremely pleased to bring these two outstanding golf courses into the TPC family through new licensing agreements,” said David Pillsbury, President of PGA TOUR Golf Course Properties, which oversees the TPC Network. “This marks the beginning to a licensing strategy to bring select resort and destination facilities into the TPC fold. The relationship provides for preferential access to PGA TOUR business partners, marketing partners and TPC Network membership base, while further benefiting the Network with the addition of such highly respected golf courses. We also believe this sort of partnership will benefit each golf course by affiliating it with the PGA TOUR through the TPC brand, thus allowing the facility to promote itself as part of the most respected network of golf courses in the world.”  

Pillsbury said the strategy is to grow the number of licensed golf courses over the next several years, focusing on high-profile domestic and international facilities that will provide and receive benefits from the TPC affiliation.

The Blue Monster has played host to PGA TOUR tournaments since 1962 and now is the site of the World Golf Championships-CA Championship.

“We’re excited about expanding our affiliation with the PGA TOUR and joining forces with the TPC Network,” said Mark Jeffrey, general manager of Doral Golf Resort & Spa, a Marriott Resort. “The Blue Monster has a longstanding history as a host venue with the TOUR and this new partnership undoubtedly will further elevate the visibility and award-winning reputation of Doral’s marquee golf course.”

The Stadium Course at PGA WEST, designed by Pete Dye and previously a licensed TPC course, has held various PGA TOUR and specialty events over the years. PGA WEST remains the western venue used in alternate years for the finals of the PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament.

“This new partnership is an extension and enhancement of a former affiliation the Stadium Course had with theTPC Network,” said PGA WEST Executive Director Mike Kelly. “We look forward to working with PGA TOUR Golf Course Properties on creating exciting new packages and playing opportunities for the TPC Stadium Course at PGA WEST.”

For more information about the PGA TOUR’s TPC network of resort, daily fee and private clubs, go to www.tpc.com.
 

Why Does NBC Draw Much Higher Ratings For Golf?

Jon Show looks at the PGA Tour's number averaging a 2.0, back to 2007 levels with Tiger's return to regular play. But I find it more interesting that NBC averaged a 2.4 while CBS a 1.9...

NBC benefited the most from the return of Woods, boosting its year-over-year rating for 18 windows from a 2.0 in 2008 to a 2.4 this year, which is flat with 2007. NBC aired the highest-rated non-major of the year, the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Woods’ first win after he returned in February.

NBC and CBS each aired coverage of six non-majors that Woods played. He won four events on CBS and two on NBC.

CBS earned a 1.9 rating for 39 telecasts in 2009, up from a 1.6 in 2008 but down from a 2.0 in 2007. The network posted the four lowest Sunday ratings this season with coverage of the FBR Open, Verizon Heritage, HP Byron Nelson Championship and Zurich Classic. CBS was also hurt by a rainout at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and Woods’ absence at the Buick Invitational, an event that normally marks the start of his season.

Why do I suspect this will come up the next time rights fees are discussed?