"Damned right it's the land of opportunity."
/Steve Elling with some interesting math on the number of playing opportunities as the tour wraps up it's final official event this week in Orlando.
Read MoreWhen you come to think of it that is the secret of most of the great holes all over the world. They all have some kind of a twist. C.B. MACDONALD
Sisters In One
/An amazing story of Central Oklahoma college golfers and sisters making aces on the same day, same round!
Read More"Give the man a gold star for six-out-of-six."
/Sounds like we really missed a lot with Tiger's presser yesterday. Only thing missing was an "it's all right in front of you" endorsement of Victoria. John Huggan writes:
Which is not to say that Tiger didn't try at all during the 20-minutes or so he spent in front of the gathered media. He did make an effort, a little bit more than normal, if truth be told. But still, much of what went on was little more than an insult to the collective intelligence of those with posteriors in the cheap seats. It was also utterly predictable.
One late-arriving journalist, who missed the Tiger show by a good two hours, was asked to speculate on the content of the world number-two's oratory. He came up with the following:
1) "I love the Sandbelt."
2) "The bunkering here is just fantastic."
3) "I always enjoy coming here to play."
4) "This is just a great course."
5) "We just don't get to play these sorts of courses in the U.S."
6) "The fans here are just tremendous."
Give the man a gold star for six-out-of-six.
Say It Ain't So: Poulter Says He May Have To Pick A Tour
/Frankly, I don't know if the PGA Tour could survive if the fashionista, Orlando resident and master Tweeter were to devote himself to Europe.
"Hopefully it won't get more difficult as I will have to make a decision myself," said Poulter ahead of his Singapore Open title defence this week.
"We are in the process of sending a note to Rory and his management."
/
Steve Elling checks with the tour about Rory McIlroy's decision to not take his membership for 2011 and finds that Rory's plan of still playing 11 or 12 events is, well, not within the rules.Golf Digest Armchair Architect Winner
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Golf Digest launched an innovative new Armchair Architect contest that collected submissions using imaginary properties and computer aided designs.
While a couple of the finalist images might make you cringe (a golf cart, really?), I think they highlight just how difficult it is to design a golf hole on a computer.
That said, a great start to what could become a fun annual experiment as more readers become computer savvy. Especially since we won't be seeing many new real holes for a while.
And The Hits Keep Coming: Phil To Launch '11 Season In UAE
/Does anyone want to play the PGA Tour? Sheesh. I'm almost feeling sorry for the Commissioner. Almost.
Read More"The PGA Tour needs the players a lot more than the players need the PGA Tour."
/Jason Sobel on the accelerated globilization of golf with this week's news:
It remains to be seen what kind of foresight and creativity can be employed to keep more top players competing in the U.S. more often. One thing is certain: This is a critical juncture for the PGA Tour and without a proper plan in place, its power could be severely weakened by those players who wish to ply their craft elsewhere around the world.
PGA Tour House Organ Fights Back At Fleeing Euros!
/You can just imagine how this one went down: PGA TOUR EVP of Spin Control sees a flurry of reports that Euros are passing up tour cards because of the FedExCup and calls over to the PGATour.com offices and demands a story putting some form of spin on the news. As if this will fool unsuspecting television network execs:
Read More"It's a very complete-game golf course."
/Angus Morgan reports Geoff Ogilvy's comments on his home course, Victoria, on the eve of the Australian Masters. FYI to American viewers, Golf Channel lists times as 8:30 p.m. to 1 a.m Wednesday. I believe that's EST, but not positive.
Read MoreWoods Hecklers Have Exactly One Chance To Speak Their Peace
/From the HeraldSun blog in advance of the Australian Masters:
Read MoreHow Does The FedExCup Return In 2013?
/The PGA Tour's next television contract negotiation will occur in 2011 and with the recent defections of Europeans Westwood and McIlroy citing the FedExCup as the final straw in opting to remain loyal to the European Tour it would seem that the FedExCup foundations are crumbling.
Since many writers have touted the Cup as a success because it brings top players together at a time they wouldn't otherwise play, this latest episode of non-commitment to the tour from Euros would seem to deflate that argument. Throw in the absurd points system, the branding as a playoff with almost no authentic playoff characteristics, and general apathy from fans, and the tour would seem to have no choice but to be radically rethink the cup in every respect.
Thoughts?
Rory: America Can Have Its Tour!
/Brian Keough on Rory McIlroy's abrupt reversal to not take his PGA Tour card in 2011.
Read More"The team’s mantra is ‘212 Degrees,’ the temperature at which water boils."
/Sean Martin, filing a must read for the college-golf-coaches-have-too-much-time-and-money-at-their-disposal files, tells us that UCLA now sports numbers on their uniforms and bags to give the players a sense of "ownership." The coach also has a number.
Freeman is No. 212. Why? The team’s mantra is ‘212 Degrees,’ the temperature at which water boils. Since water cannot boil at 211 degrees, the implication is that one degree – the degree that pushes water to its boiling point – makes a huge difference. It’s an effort to push players to put in that small incremental increase in effort that makes a huge difference.]
Way too cerebrial for me!
