R&A Will Not Be Adding A Walker Cup Mid-Am Quota

Nick Rodger reports that the Great Britain and Ireland Team will not be joining the USGA's American team in requiring two mid-amateurs play in the Walker Cup. Mostly, the mid-am is a distinctly American obsession.

Nathan Smith, the current holder of that particular crown, has played in the past two Walker Cups while the last time Team USA had two mid-amateur men in the line-up was at Ganton in 2003, where Trip Kuehne and George Zahringer flew the flag.

In the UK, the British Mid-Amateur Championship, run under the auspices of the Royal & Ancient since 1995, was discontinued in 2007 while the Scottish equivalent withered on the vine and eventually dropped off the domestic schedule a couple of seasons ago. Given the mid-am culture here, it's hardly a revelation to discover that the R&A don't have any plans to follow the USGA's somewhat bold Walker Cup lead.

Golf Datatech: 60% Of Serious Golfers Support Anchoring Ban

You can read the full release and survey results here.

The highlights from a survey of "1,766 randomly selected golfers drawn from Golf Datatech’s exclusive Serious Golfer Database, who play an average of 68 rounds per year with an average handicap of 14.3."

· 60% of respondents believe that the governing bodies of golf should ban the anchoring of clubs to the body, while 40% believe they should not.

· 62% of respondents do not believe the anchoring ban will cause some amateur golfers to enjoy the game less.

· If the proposed rule is enforced in 2016, 31% of current long putter users will continue to anchor their putter, while 31% will not anchor against their body, and 38% will switch to a conventional putter.

Neighbors Rejoice Over Minor Damage To Trump Scotland

Simon Murphy reports on the damaged to the burn on the fourth hole, which overflowed during last month's storms.

Last night, Suzanne Kelly, a local resident who discovered the damage, said it was ‘beautifully ironic’.

She added: ‘The amount I know about golf would fit into a teaspoon. However, I do know when I’m walking on a pathway and come to a big chasm, that’s not the best.

‘I’m just glad the light hadn’t gone by the time I got to that point on the course otherwise I’d be talking from a hospital bed with a broken leg.

‘There’s no fence, no sign, no warning you’re about to fall into a hole, just a few traffic cones.’

Clinton Meets His Match! Finchem Eventually Lets Former Prez Take Humana Mic

You can watch about 7 minutes of former President Bill Clinton talking about a range of topics to the press at the Humana Challenge, his last appearance there before heading back for the inaugural events this weekend.

You'll have to sit through 5 minutes of Commissioner Platform first. Sorry.

And sorry about the iPod mini player window, it's not my call.



You can read the transcript here and see if the Commish out-platforms the Humana board chair.

Lanny Lands Champions Lead Analyst Gig

Lanny gets the call.

And don't even think of asking me who was the lead analyst before him.

Known as one of the fiercest competitors on Tour during his playing career, Wadkins will be in the booth this week for the season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai, one of 22 Champions Tour events on Golf Channel in 2013. He will also appear on news and instructional programming throughout the year.

"Lanny was one of the greatest golfers of his generation, and we are thrilled to have him as a member of our Golf Channel family," said executive producer Molly Solomon. "I have been a fan of Lanny's for many years, and we look forward to his return to television and hearing his familiar voice each week on the Champions Tour."

Video: Rory's Duck Hook

Who says you can't hit a duck hook with modern equipment?

The good news? No one was there to see Rory McIllroy show off his new equipment en route to an opening 75 in the HSBC at Abu Dhabi.

The bad news? Television was there.

Who would have guessed it's January?

Update on 2013-01-17 18:40 by Geoff

**Bob Harig addresses Rory's club change and short transition period in light of the opening round.

Although indications are that McIlroy knew he'd be making the switch as far back as September, the transition period has not been that long.

It is hard to imagine McIlroy working with the new clubs much when he still had tournaments to play and was contractually obligated to use the old ones. He visited Nike's testing center in Forth Worth, Texas, and got hooked up with all manner of apparatus to lock in launch angles and swing speeds and all the other technical stuff professional golfers endure to try and get their equipment just right.