"The environmental question is really the one that is difficult for the manufacturers to refute."

Richard Gillis files an interesting WSJ piece (thanks reader John) about distance where Nike's Cindy Davis preaches the joys of pursuing longer drives and selling the next great driver.

Thankfully, my colleague Gil Hanse brought some sanity to the discussion.

"We're at a point where something has to be done," Hanse said. "We're talking about a tiny proportion of golfers where distance is an issue, a small handful of tour players and accomplished amateurs. Whether its bifurcation or rolling the ball back I don't know what the answer is, but the environmental question is really the one that is difficult for the manufacturers to refute."

The new normal in golf course design is the 8,000-yard layout.

"Two hundred acres is the new standard for a golf course compared to 150 acres a few years ago," Hanse said. "And 120 of those acres have to be maintained and watered as opposed to 80. You really are going down an unsustainable path. From a manufacturers standpoint, how can you argue against that? They can talk a lot about marketing, about player endorsements and how there's always been the same set of rules, etc., but the environmental argument is the winning one."

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.