No Pun Intended: Trump Bedminster Considered As U.S. Open Armageddon Option

Ron Sirak reports that the USGA has looked at Trump Bedminster as an emergency option in case of issues with a host site.

"The subject of 'what if Armageddon happens' has been discussed," USGA director of competitions Mike Davis told GolfDigest.com. "What if all 18 greens are dead; what if there is vandalism beyond repair; what if the weather is so bad the week of the US Open -- flooding -- you can't play; what if 9/11 happened the week of the U.S. Open? We have had this conversation the entire 21 years I have been here."

And certainly when I think of last ditch, desperation, Hail Mary options for the U.S. Open, I think The Donald!

Monty Announces That He's Embracing Twitter!

Bookmakers put odds on first regrettable/deleted Tweet by end of February at 1-5.

Here's the great news even though Monty has been sending out messages for oh, a year?

Quick (And Also Rough) Look at Riviera's 6th

Today's look, with a few glitches, at the par-3 6th hole which features some new short grass behind the green.

It's Up To Arnie To Restore Pebble Beach's 14th Green

Jim McCabe tells us how the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach came to be announced and slips in this about the 14th green.

Harper said they will hold tickets at 37,500, the same as 2010, but one thing that won’t be the same come 2019 is Pebble Beach’s diabolical 14th green.

“It will be rebuilt according to USGA specs,” Perocchi said, though he emphasized it’s part of Pebble’s long-range plan to convert all of its greens. The 14th as it currently sits presents an enormous challenge to players, even with wedges in their hands. There’s very little room to land approach shots to an elevated left side, and the right side is very low and hole locations are virtually non-existent.

Perocchi said Arnold Palmer – not only an icon, but part of the group that owns Pebble Beach – will oversee development of a plan for the 14th. Expect an expansion of the upper left side of the green, as well as a softening of the steep slope to the right. No decision has been made as to when the changes will be made, but Perocchi said it probably would be in the next two to four years.

"It's proving even tougher to live up to his own words."

Doug Ferguson makes the case that while Tiger is definitely not living up to his own words as Saturday marks the one-year anniversary of his infamous Ponte Vedra speech, there is some perspective required on the fine and spit saga.

Actually, it does get slightly lower when it comes to expectorations.

Imagine being in the group behind Sergio Garcia when he bent over and dropped a loogie into the cup after missing a short putt on the 13th hole at Doral in 2007.

Video of Woods spitting already was going viral on the internet Monday when the European Tour said he will be fined an undisclosed sum for breaching the tour code of conduct.
This was not his first fine.

This was not the first time he's spit.

"People make the mistake of thinking golf on the PGA Tour is what American golf is."

Australian Golf Digest's Rohan Clarke interviews Mike Clayton and they post a preview online. A couple of highlights:

People make the mistake of thinking golf on the PGA Tour is what American golf is. America is full of incredible golf courses but it's a huge mistake to think tour golf is what American golf is. Tour golf is entertainment golf, that's not American golf. Those courses don't rate in terms of the great American golf courses.

And this on Royal Melbourne:

The middle of the fairway was never the best place to play to the hole from. You always had to go to the edges to get to the best line because the greens were hard and it was windy. I guess you just grow up thinking that's what all golf is like. You watch golf now and it's just hit the fairway, hit it between the lines. Kick field goals between the posts. So my philosophy is shaped initially by Royal Melbourne, which was the best example of what golf was about in Melbourne. I played St Andrews in 1984 and you get totally confused by that place. You see there's no rough, really. Figure it out for yourself where to play. So my philosophy is don't tell anyone where to go. Don't dictate to the player anything. Just give them space and let them figure it out for themselves where best to play it. So if they're strong at one part of the game, they can use that strength somewhere.

"People today understand that being in movie theaters, church or somewhere rings are frowned upon, they get that."

That's the PGA Tour's VP & COO Andy Pazder speaking about the new cell phone policy going forward starting with the Honda Classic.

“We learned that the fans were very conscientious about keeping their phone on silent,” said PGA Tour Exec VP & COO Andy Pazder. “That really was the easiest piece of the puzzle to solve. People today understand that being in movie theaters, church or somewhere rings are frowned upon, they get that. We had a ring or two, but that was very minimal."

A Quick (And Rough) Look at Riviera's 5th

At the end of last year many of you requested more posts on architecture. So I took my iPhone out to Riviera Monday and shot this four minute look at the 434-yard fifth hole, one of my favorites and one of the few that hasn't been tinkered with too much in recent years.