PGA Tour Video Onslaught: Tiger Was Great, Is Great And Will Be Great, But Never As Great As He Was

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You see a lot of things in the blogging business that make you scratch your head, but I have to say the onslaught of videos posted on YouTube today by the PGA Tour celebrating Tiger's place in the game, made me double check to see if he had announced his retirement. The videos speak of him as if he's left the game, or, God Forbid, left the planet.

Not once, not twice, not three times, but four different videos are dedicated to the same basic theme: Tiger was great, is great, may never be great again because the competition is tougher, and has been a great player in the game. It's revelatory stuff.

Almost like Commissioner Sure, Use-Our-Clubhouse-But-Bring-Your-Own-Blue-Drapes randomly called down to PGA Tour Productions and said, "order me up some the nostalgia, heavy on the Tiger."

Woods did appear in the AT&T National press center (transcript here, Golf Channel video below) for a Q&A and admitted his short game has been lacking. Steve DiMeglio reports:

"I finally have a swing that doesn't hurt, and I am still generating power, but it doesn't hurt anymore," said Woods, who overhauled his swing previously with Butch Harmon and Hank Haney and is now working with Sean Foley. "I would say certainly my short game has been something that has taken a hit, and it did the same thing when I was working with Butch and the same thing when I was working with Hank.

"During that period of time, my short game went down, and it's because I was working on my full game. Eventually I get to a point where the full game becomes very natural and I can repeat it day after day, and I can dedicate most of my time to my short game again."

More interesting, Woods endorsed the notion put forward by some that younger players will be turning pro earlier than they might have in the past

Ryan Ballengee covers that part of the presser:

Woods, whose agent Mark Steinberg also represents Cantlay, endorsed the approach of the 2011 U.S. Amateur runner-up.

"I think that gives you the best chance," he said. "You play the Masters. You get the U.S. Open. You get a couple majors under your belt. You get to play with your team in college, play your entire collegiate schedule. And now you've got a lot of tournaments under your belt, and then go ahead and turn pro and try and get your card."

You can watch the entire press conference here:

The Bear's Club Homeowners Has Standards...Sort Of

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Thanks to reader Larry for Paul Barrett's Businessweek profile of online .xxx domain tycoon Stuart Lawley, who has an office on PGA Boulevard and who tried to buy a $3.8 million home at the Bear's Club, but was briefly rebuffed this month by the homeowner's association over his profession. The story closes by reveal that Lawley eventually was approved.

Hopefully they don't put Lee Westwood through as much grief.

Duval And Stricker Added To Hall Of Fame Ballot?

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Here's a PGATour.com report on the latest World Golf Hall of Fame ballot including David Duval and Steve Stricker joining the list. Really.

Garry Smits breaks down the ballot and reveals who he voted for in the regular and International categories of the World Golf Hall Of Fame. Let's hope that Retief Goosen induction speech doesn't happen for a few years.

David Graham Wants Equipment Rules Revisited...

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...but not a word about distance issues from the former U.S. Open champion and member of the Masters Cup and Tee Marker Placement Committee.

Jim Achenbach says Graham believes amateurs should be able to carry as many clubs as they want, with as much loft as they'd like to allow them to hit flops like Tiger and Phil (even though that takes special skill) and he's for the long putter too.

“If we examine long putters, it’s easy to see they have allowed a lot of people across the board to get more enjoyment from the game,” Graham says. “Absolutely the long putter has helped the game. It’s a good thing.

“Besides, even with a certain amount of opposition to the long putter, it may be too late to change it. Many golfers thoroughly depend on these putters. With this kind of passion, I think the game itself becomes the benefactor.”

As for the real issue at hand? Mum's the word!

TPC Sawgrass' 17th Is Barely An Island Green Today

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Tony Agolini Tweeted this post-tropical storm Debby image of the 17th at TPC Sawgrass, date and time unknown.

The TPC Sawgrass maintenance blog has video of the scene Monday after over six inches of rain. Good luck to superintendent Tom Vlach and team with the damage assessment and cleanup.

Andy Zhang Resurfaces; Wishes He Would Have Cut Off The Media Questions Sooner

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Stephen Fastenau talks to the 14-year-old U.S. Open contestant about his appearance at Olympic Club as Andy Zhang prepares for the AJGA event at Hilton Head Plantation.

The 14-year-old landed in the U.S. Open field after Paul Casey withdrew with an injury. He played a Tuesday practice round with Masters champion Watson, and after walking off the 18th green was surrounded by media members who didn't stop asking questions.

"It's my first time doing all this stuff," Zhang said. "I should have said 'Stop,' when I wanted to stop. I didn't know what to do. I kept going and answering questions. I didn't want to keep up the group behind us."

Ah the young lad, who was better than most twice his age at answering questions, just needs to understand that we didn't want to talk to the geezers behind him.

Barnbougle Legal "Stoush" Finally Over

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Lost Farms 15th, as viewed from the resort restaurant (click to enlarge)From an unbylined ABC report, landowner Richard Sattler has prevailed in a dispute that has paralyzed one of the great golf destinations from moving forward with future plans and better coordinating operations between two world class designs, Tom Doak and Mike Clayton's Barnbougle Dunes, and Bill Coore's Lost Farm.

Links Golf Tasmania, the operator of Barnbougle Dunes, sued Richard Sattler the owner of the land upon which Barnbougle and the neighbouring Lost Farm courses are built.

LGT claimed Mr Sattler, a former director and chief executive officer of the company, used expertise gained while involved with Barnbougle to set up the rival Lost Farm course.

LGT claimed it should have had the opportunity to build and operate the Lost Farm Course and Mr Sattler breached his position of trust and duties under the Corporation Act when he developed it as his own. But Federal Court Justice Christopher Jessop has found as the owner of the land it was up to Mr Sattler how he used it.

Getting In The Mood: Royal Portrush Edition

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The Irish Open returns to one of the world's great courses in Royal Portrush this week, with a solid field that includes 10 major winners, including Rory McIlroy, Padraig Harrington, Graeme McDowell and Keegan Bradley. This is also an opportunity for Portrush to show the R&A if it's capable of hosting another Open Championship, which last visited Northern Ireland in 1951.

Golf Channel will be airing coverage in the U.S. at 6 a.m. PT Thursday and Friday, and starting at 5:30 a.m. PT on the weekend. Whether you've been there or not, or just remember it from recent Senior Opens, it's a fantastic links worth watching.

Here's a European Tour preview story on the field and expected massive galleries.

Philip Reid explains the history of the event and its much anticipated return to the north.

In the years from 1927 to 1953, an informal rota of using courses North and South operated and, then, after a 10-year hiatus, the tournament returned (under the Carrolls International banner) and was played exclusively in the South (mainly at Woodbrook) before the Irish Open was properly revived in 1975.

Since then, 11 courses, all in the South, have played host to the championship  . . . and, so, its return to Northern shores, for the first time since Belvoir Park in 1953, is both apposite and timely.

Brian Keogh on the 100,000 plus expected for the week.

Deborah McAleese explains how Northern Ireland is preparing for the Queen's visit along with the Irish Open, and notes that Bill Murray is among those scheduled to play the pro-am.

The club has posted a couple of image galleries, with this excellent course overview and hole-by-hole option found in the lefthand column.

Ran Morrissett's GolfClubAtlas.com review has some super insights and images of the Dunluce course.

The club's member site also features this super newsreel video of Max Faulkner winning the Open Championship there in 1951.

Finally, there's an excellent Renton Laidlaw narrated "Hidden Links Golf Tours" video that is just under four minutes and tremendous fun, including a tour inside the Doctor's Locker, a look at one of golf's great halfway houses (but not halfway on the course), and plenty of fun course insights.