"The tour purposely wanted to go long on Saturday so that NBC could direct viewers to Golf Channel for the conclusion of the third round."

The NBC-Golf Channel merger has been a home run for viewers: energized telecasts, higher standards for production values, live Presidents Cup viewing, Johnny was able to drag himself to lowly Kapalua, and shoot, they've even had better guests on Morning Drive (well, except when I appeared). The list goes on and on, and we're only in the early stages.

That said, this revelation from Doug Ferguson's slow play column is bugging me for probably no good reason.

Here’s the bigger issue with TV. Mark Russell, one of the chief rules officials, showed off his atomic watch at Sherwood last month. The seconds were ticking toward 6 p.m. EST, just as the last group on the last green was tapping in. The timing was perfect.

The next day? Not so much.

Despite being in twosomes, play took much longer because of a strong wind. That leads to more time in club selection and on the green. Yet tee times were left alone, thus the third round went well past four hours and the 6 p.m. finish time on NBC Sports.

That wasn’t an accident.

The tour purposely wanted to go long on Saturday so that NBC could direct viewers to Golf Channel for the conclusion of the third round. It was another example of NBC Sports trying to help boost the visibility of Golf Channel now that both are owned by Comcast. Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily. Especially not when TV foots so much of the bill.

I suppose that is true, and I also know networks are generally sensitive to ever being seen as having influenced competition in a negative way, but this seems like a potentially dangerous direction to head. Yes, it was the Chevron World Challenge, and yes, tee times were not moved. And it's not a major. But considering how stubbornly the PGA Tour refused to do anything that might be seen as influencing competition with things like storyline pairings, they've had good reason.

I'm torn in even noting this because ultimately, the benefits of Golf Channel on NBC and NBC on Golf Channel will outweigh the negatives for viewers. Still, this just feels like a precedent setter that could someday backfire, though I'm not sure how. Thoughts?

PGA Tour, USA Today Vow To Love And Support One Another Until Their Five-Year Official Marketing Relationship Ends

For Immediate Release...

PGA TOUR and USA TODAY Sports Media Group-Create Official Marketing Relationship

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – The PGA TOUR and the USA TODAY Sports Media Group announced today that they have entered into a five-year official marketing relationship through 2016.

As part of the agreement, USA TODAY receives the exclusive U.S. rights to use the association and TOUR logos for sales and marketing purposes for the print and digital extensions of USA TODAY sports.

The PGA TOUR will have the opportunity to purchase advertising at preferred rates and to develop several TOUR-themed special sections over the course of each year of the agreement.

“The PGA TOUR is one of the premier sports brands in the world, and we’re honored that they’ve selected us as their partner, especially for the long term,” said Tom Beusse, President of the USA TODAY Sports Media Group.

“We welcome the opportunity to work with the USA TODAY Sports Media Group and look forward to developing our relationship and leveraging this platform to bring added value to our entire family of corporate sponsors,” said Tom Wade, Chief Marketing Officer for the PGA TOUR.

“The PGA TOUR is extremely forward thinking when it comes to creating value and impact for its sponsors,” said Merrill Squires, SVP, Leagues and Properties for the USA TODAY Sports Media Group. “They really understand the unique capabilities and assets we can bring them to help maximize great content and marketing opportunities for the PGA TOUR and its sponsors. We can’t wait to begin our collaboration with them.”

Rest Assured, 42 Is Getting In Some Golf Too...

Bill Clinton is hosting a private fundraiser Wednesday and Arnold Palmer is flying out to greet him at The Tradition, Palmer's west coast home club.

And Clinton will be playing Greg Norman for Saturday's telecast, teeing off at 10:20 reports Sean Martin.

Before then he makes history with his premiere on...Wednesday's Morning Drive in a sitdown grilling from Annika.

Reminder: Humana Challenge Health Matters Conference

All events are streaming live at the Clinton Foundation website. These will be the events I'm attending...

9:30 – 10:00 a.m.
Conference Welcome & Opening Remarks
    •    Karolee Sowle, CEO, Desert Regional Medical Center
    •    Tim Finchem, Commissioner, PGA TOUR
    •    President Bill Clinton

10:00 – 11:00 a.m.
Achieving Lifelong Health & Well-Being
Opening Discussion
    •    Moderated by President Bill Clinton
    •    Jillian Michaels, Health & Wellness Expert
    •    Billie Jean King, Founder, Women’s Sports Foundation
    •    Dr. David Satcher, Former Surgeon General & Director, Satcher Health Leadership Institute, Morehouse School
of Medicine
    •    Richard Gephardt, President/CEO, Gephardt
Government Affairs
    •    Dr. Mark Hyman, Chairman of the Institute for
Functional Medicine

1:45 — 2:45 p.m.
Health, Wellness and the Bottom Line: A Dialogue Among Business Leaders
    •    Moderated by Jerry Tarde, Editor in Chief, Golf Digest
    •    Travis Bogard, CMO, Jawbone
    •    James Curleigh, CEO, KEEN Footwear
    •    Casey Wasserman, Chairman and CEO, Wasserman Media Group
    •    Michael McCallister, CEO, Humana
    •    Bob Lanier, Special Assistant to the Commissioner and NBA Cares Global Ambassador

3:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Building Healthy Communities
    •    Moderated by Karolee Sowle, CEO, Desert Regional Medical Center
    •    Susan Dell, Founder, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation
    •    Lakeysha Sowunmi, Mom & Wellness Community Leader
    •    Notah Begay III, Health & Wellness Advocate
    •    Annika Sorenstam, Founder, Annika Foundation
    •    Goldie Hawn, The Hawn Foundation

5:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Closing Conversation: Why Health Matters
    •    Moderated by Dr. Nancy Snyderman,
Chief Medical Editor, NBC
    •    President Bill Clinton & Special Guests

Coachella: "Today nearly one out of every four homes listed for sale is on a golf course."

Probably a coincidence as the rebooted Bob Hope becomes the Humana Challenge, but USA Today's Mike Perrault and Keith Matheny focus on the Coachella Valley in writing that the "unbreakable linkage between golf and real estate" has been broken.

In the nine cities of the Coachella Valley, including Palm Springs, where multiple presidents, Bob Hope and Frank Sinatra swung the clubs and lived in golf-centric resorts, today nearly one out of every four homes listed for sale is on a golf course.

"We're entering a new normal," said Pete Halter, chairman of The Halter Companies, an Atlanta firm that advises developers. "We can't think this will be over soon. Things have changed for good."

Among the forces reshaping the relationship between golf and real estate:

•Fewer people play golf, and Baby Boomers don't have the time, money or interest in the game their parents did. The number of golfers in the U.S. has fallen by 13% in the past five years, according to National Golf Foundation statistics. The number of golf rounds played nationwide last year through November was down 3.5% from the previous year, according to the foundation.

Something to note for clubs looking to adjust to the times...

Resort communities are already beginning to offer fewer golf courses, and high-priced courses designed by top golfers or famous architects will become rarer, Goodkin said. Allowing non-residents onto club courses and letting them pay by the round will become more prevalent as a way to control costs within golf communities, he said.

"There will be a lot more focus on soft amenities — education, fitness and health programs — not just playing golf four or five times per week," he said. "Things where there isn't a lot of physical equipment, land and high maintenance associated with it."