Bay Hill Will Be New To The Players...Again

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Jeff Shain on Arnold Palmer's latest redo of Bay Hill.

"We've literally done something to every hole," said Palmer, who has made Bay Hill his winter home since 1965 and acquired the club 11 years later. "It'll be new to most all [the players]."

Bedecked with an old-school par. After three editions as a par 70, it reverts to 72 as two long par-4s are returned to their original state as par-5s. One of those comes at No. 16, which should help inject some risk/reward thrill to the closing stretch.

"I think it's going to be more fun for the players and a lot more entertaining for the fans," said rookie pro Sam Saunders, who as Palmer's grandson has more familiarity with the new look than anyone else in the field.

Like an aging house, every golf course gets to a point where it needs some maintenance and upgrade. Greens and bunkers tend to shrink as rough slowly overtakes the edges; new technology requires some modification.

Or some committee guy or benevolent dictator jacks around with it to the point that no one really likes it anymore!

Whew. Glad Bay Hill doesn't fall into that category.

On a serious note, wouldn't it have just been cheaper to mow the rough down and change 16 back to a par-5?

What Would Ari Fleischer Have Done?

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It's a question I ask of myself every morning, and it's the question that keeps coming back to me after Tiger's whirlwind, out-of-the-blue, totally bizarre Sunday interview hits with ESPN and Golf Channel.

Remember that Fleischer client Mark McGuire sat down for a long, tough interview with Bob Costas along with several other Q&A's. The New York Times' Richard Sandomir called it a "how to" strategy that, while not perfect, allowed McGuire to return to baseball as Cardinal hitting coach:

In his repeated confessions Monday, he had no defiance or anger, just sadness and tears.

“I like the door-to-door strategy, in that he is telling his story in long form and in less confrontational settings,” said Kevin Sullivan, a former White House communications director who runs a strategic-communications company. “He needed to rip the Band-Aid off before heading to spring training.”

With that in mind, it's hard to fathom that Fleischer would have concocted today's first step, which was poorly timed on many levels. It took away from what little attention a regular tour event would have received, it arrived on the first weekend of the NCAA tournament and on the day of the health care bill vote.

Then there was an enormously strange arrangement (5 minutes?) that exerted too much control over the media agencies for the interviews to have any lasting credibility (except with the Golf Channel studio analysts).

It makes me wonder if Fleischer really did leave the Woods advisory team because he had become a distraction?

Sources: Tag Heuer Not Yet Developing Dual Watch/Buddhist Bracelet

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I'm sure Leno, Letterman and everyone else will have fun with the cutaway shot of Tiger's new Buddhist bracelet (he swears it will never come off). Naturally, the cynic in me smells a possible first Golf Digest instruction tip: "How I Gained 10 mph of Clubhead Speed With a Rubber Band-Like Thing On My Wrist."
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How's The Transitions Championship Coming Along?**

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Just kidding, I saw that Furyk shank on 18 before he won. Then it was time to turn over to the interviews.

But how are the Transitions people feeling right now? They have a late Sunday finish, great leaderboard and Tiger decides to do promptu-impromptu interviews that take attention away. Even Golf Channel, which had an on-course set (doesn't Transitions pay for that?) virtually deserted post-game coverage to put the interview show on a loop.

Q: "How did you lose control of the car?" A: "That's between Elin and myself."

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My first reaction to the interviews is that Tiger was well prepared, but the above exchange with Tom Rinaldi was the the lone blunder.

Your thoughts on the interviews? Oh and would love to hear what you thought of the Golf Channel post game coverage as well. I have my thoughts, but I first have to go scrub this pesky sap off my hands.

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