"What we're saying is, 'Guys, you've got to lay back of this cliff because you won't have any rough to stop your ball if you hit it too long.'"

We've heard a lot about the elimination of turf buffers along the cliffs at Pebble Beach but haven't seen much in the way of images. The look of turf right into the cliffs is sensational, though I can already hear the bitching by players!

Brett Avery reports on some additional last minute tweaks to the U.S. Open setup and provides some images of the changes. The work on No. 8 seems sure to make players a little less aggressive with their tee shot lay-ups.

The aiming rock was removed and the fairway shifted dramatically to the right, toward the cliff, long ago in preparation for the event. But only a few days ago the mowers removed all rough at the end of the fairway, too.

Update on 2010-05-18 00:05 by Geoff

Rob Matre offers some perspective on how the buffer between golf course and cliff looked at Pebble Beach prior to this change.

The Stevie Firing Watch Commences?

Slipped into John Huggan's column on Hank Haney was this about Tiger looper Stevie Williams.

Last week at the Players, Williams was even more taciturn than usual, a fact that betrayed a growing frustration with both his boss and the rubbish golf he was playing at Sawgrass. There seemed to be little or no interaction between the pair, even at times when Williams would normally be expected to step up and get in his man's ear.

There are growing rumours too that Mrs Williams (a close friend of the soon-to-be ex-Mrs Woods), disgusted by the salacious behaviour of Woods over the past few months, is keen for her husband to work in a, shall we say, cleaner atmosphere.

It is rather apparent in person that the old Stevie-Tiger vibe is gone, with Stevie much less animated and the conversations between the two minimized.

"Now I question everything he says."

Hank Haney's insights into Tiger's possible progress in his sex rehab should be questioned, but his thoughts on PED use by Tiger drew even more ridicule from the SI/golf.com gang:

Bamberger: Haney says that he doesn't believe Tiger ever used performance-enhancing drugs. I hope he's correct. But if Woods had, I think there is NO chance that Hank would have known about it. In my experience, athletes who have used PEDs will lie to their grandmothers about it.

Morfit: Exactly. If I'm Tiger and I'm taking PEDs, I'm not picking up the phone and saying, "Hey, Hank, it's T — you'll never believe what I just put into my smoothie." Not going to happen.

Godich: There is no way Tiger would share THAT with anyone.

Morfit: Remember, this is a guy who wouldn't even tell us his neck hurt.

Herre: Haney says he didn't know about the women, either.

Evans: Remember guys, Hank was just an employee of Tiger, he wasn't a Jack Grout figure to him, some super-influential, fatherly figure full of pearls of wisdom.

Dusek: Hank said the only thing he saw Dr. Galea put in Tiger was what Galea had just taken out of Tiger and spun. But Hank can only really comment on what he saw. As Haney (and the rest of us) learned, there were lots of things in Tiger's life that were happening, but not out in the open.

Gary Van Sickle, senior writer, Sports Illustrated: This is where Tiger's being untruthful about so many things comes back to haunt him. He has no credibility. Now I question everything he says.

Bobby Clampett, Please Quit Your Part-Time Day Job

With play like this, who needs fill-in gigs at CBS or Masters online? Right? Please?

"Had enough."

I didn't mind much when Jerry Rice was playing in the Nationwide event he hosted, but now he's just taking up a spot belonging to someone who actually belongs in the field.

Rice shot a 92, the highest score ever since this Nationwide Tour event began in South Carolina's Upstate in 1992.

Rice talked before the tournament of buying Cristal for everyone if he'd reached his goal and made the cut. He saw those hopes doused early when he couldn't avoid the water at The Carolina Country Club.

He put three shots into the water on the par-4 second hole for a 10. Things never improved from there. His 20-over finish was two shots worse than the 90 put up by Shawn McCaughley in 2006 at The Cliffs Valley Course.

Sounds like someone else we know...

Rice signed autographs for about 15 minutes after finishing No. 18. He then bypassed several TV cameras and media waiting to discuss his round.

"I don't want to talk about golf right now," Rice said before getting in his car. "Had enough."

Sean Martin's Rice-update tweets were quite enjoyable and I'm sure he'll be chiming in more today as Rice tries to break 100.

Follow-Up: 17th Hole Club Selection Data And Jeff Young

Jeff Young (right) has the tricky task of trying to find out what clubs players have pulled. It's not an easy task! (click to enlarge)Jeff Young turned out to be one of the really fun parts of my story on the 17th hole and its stagehands. Besides being a super nice fellow, he had some great insights into what is going on at 17 tee where he was collecting what clubs the players hit and sending the information to the announcers. He was kind enough to produce his data from the four days, for those who are interested:

17th Hole Club Selection
Provided by NBC spotter Jeff Young

Sunday Play
8-irons used: 8 times
9-irons used: 36 times   
Wedges used: 25 times

The Week
8-irons used: 16 times
9-irons used: 147 times
Wedges: 266 times

Considering the hole is 137 yards, played that yardage Sunday, it does make me wonder if it might be time to add a little length to the hole. Then again, a fun anecdote of the week just didn't fit my story and it might suggest that length is not needed.

Adam Scott arrived at the tee with the wind at about its peak for the afternoon. The shot called for plenty of club (obviously) and perhaps some sort of semi-knockdown play. Scott briefly debated the shot and pulled a pitching wedge.

Also on the tee was former Players Champion Craig Perks, stationed behind Scott and announcing for PGA Tour Radio. As a courtesy, Jeff Young would flash the club when Perks didn't get the signal from the caddy. When Young showed the clenched fist for wedge, Perks tilted his head at Young, who reciprocated with a shoulder shrug suggesting he couldn't believe it either.

As soon as Scott hit his shot, Young, who had been turning around to watch where balls ended up on the video screen, didn't bother this time, instead turning to me and saying, "That one doesn't have a chance."

The wind knocked it about 8 yards short of the green into the lake.

I looked over at Perks who was looking back at Young, who also looked over at the former Players Champion. Both just shook their heads in disbelief at the selection. I joined them in amazement.

Where's Marty Hackel When You Need Him? Masters Bucket Hat Edition

Somehow it wouldn't surprise me if this was not the first time a Masters bucket cap was paired with those stylish sneakers. From the Mister Mort blog.

"Slow play is a legitimate issue, but not to the point where I think we need to do something like that."

Another head-scratcher from Commissioner Tim Finchem, this time in John Feinstein's Golf World column on slow play:

Of course, it has been 18 years since a PGA Tour player received a stroke penalty for slow play -- and Finchem doesn't sound as though he wants to see it happen again anytime soon.

"Slow play is a legitimate issue," he said, "but not to the point where I think we need to do something like that. The real problem isn't how long it takes to play a round but when one player makes it uncomfortable for the other player or players because of his pace. That's just bad etiquette. And it's true, we do have some players who are in denial about being slow."

So is the Commissioner sending out word, or has sent out word that he does not want a stroke penalty assessed? We know he's not a fan of controversy, so it wouldn't be a stretch to think he's sent word that penalty shots are brand-averse.

Gary Van Sickle also tackled slow play this week for SI and did it in very entertaining fashion. Naturally, he picked the one week they actually played faster at The Players, but he still offers several insights into the problem and a glossary of slow play handbook.

Clockblocked - Forget Greenwich Mean Time. On the PGA Tour, Time Par (no relation to Old Man Par) is what matters. Time Par is the time it should take to play each hole, as determined by the rules crew after careful study. At the Players, for instance, Time Par was two hours, 14 minutes for the front nine and 2:15 for the back, plus five minutes to make the turn. Time Par for the entire round by a threesome was 4:34, 3:58 for a twosome.

The 40 Time - How cool would it be if golf, like basketball, had a shot clock? It would be handy too, because once a group has been alerted that it's on the clock, a player has 40 seconds to hit his shot once it's his turn. The first to play the tee shot on a par-3, a second shot on a par-4 or par-5, a third shot on a par-5 or a stroke near or on the green, gets an additional 20 seconds. If a player exceeds his allotted time, he receives a bad timing.