Wally Uihlein's "Case For Unification"
/Acushnet CEO Wally Uihlein has penned
Read MoreWhen you come to think of it that is the secret of most of the great holes all over the world. They all have some kind of a twist. C.B. MACDONALD
Dorman: Callaway's Investigator Learned That The House Doesn't Always Win, At Least In Phil's Case
/Buried deep in his analysis o
Read More"Landmark" Live PGA Tour Streaming Begins This Week
/For Immediate Release...
Live Network Streaming Debuts this Weekend at Farmers Insurance Open
CBS’s coverage signals start of full live streaming for rest of 2013 PGA TOUR season
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – This week signals a landmark moment for expanded PGA TOUR coverage as network telecasts will be fully available online for the first time through live streaming, beginning with CBS Sports’ weekend coverage of the Farmers Insurance Open.
All 18 of CBS Sports’ FedExCup telecasts will be streamed live. Visitors to PGATOUR.com and CBSSports.com will be directed to a co-branded video player to watch live streaming of CBS Sports’ third-round telecast on Saturday (3-6 p.m. ET) and fourth-round telecast on Sunday (3-6:30 p.m. ET). The live streaming this weekend also will be available on PGA TOUR platforms as well as CBS Sports and CBS SportCaster applications for the iPhone, Android and iPad. CBS also will have a mobile web-based player available at m.cbssports.com.
All Golf Channel, through TV Everywhere availability, and NBC telecasts also will be streamed throughout the 2013 season, with Golf Channel available to multichannel video subscribers, and NBC’s weekend coverage of 12 FedExCup tournaments fully available beginning with next week’s Waste Management Phoenix Open. Golf Channel is televising the early rounds for all 30 FedExCup tournaments on NBC and CBS, as well as all four rounds for six tournaments.
“This is a significant milestone in the PGA TOUR’s digital history,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem. “We are excited to work with CBS Sports to bring live PGA TOUR action online, and look forward to continuing our efforts with CBS, NBC and Golf Channel to develop ways golf fans can access live coverage of the PGA TOUR from wherever they are.”
Golf Channel’s telecasts of the Farmers Insurance Open’s first two rounds and early weekend coverage will be streamed live in conjunction with NBC Sports Live Extra, accessible to Comcast subscribers on a co-branded video player via PGATOUR.com and GolfChannel.com, as well as on iPhone, Android and iPad through NBC Sports Live Extra and Golf Live Extra apps. Live streaming was available to Comcast subscribers during Golf Channel’s four-round coverage of the Sony Open in Hawaii and last week’s Humana Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation. Availability of live streaming during Golf Channel telecasts of PGA TOUR tournaments will expand to additional satellite, cable and telco providers throughout the season.
Tiger On Getting Out Of California, Anchoring, Torrey
/A few highlights from today's Tiger Woods press conference at the Farmers Insurance Open. Looking as fit as ever, Woods answered questions from the assembled slingers and local TV newshounds.
Q. Slightly different topic here. Phil Mickelson made some comments regarding the higher taxes here in California. You being a resident now of Florida, but from here, any comment or any reaction to what he said?
TIGER WOODS: Well, I moved out of here back in '96 for that reason. I enjoy Florida, but also I understand what he was, I think, trying to say. I think he'll probably explain it better and in a little more detail.
Looks like Jerry West has more lobbying to do on getting Tiger back to Riviera for the Northern Trust Open:
Q. Just wanted to check in on your immediate schedule going forward. What tournaments you are going to be playing in, and specifically with the Northern Trust Open, whether you're playing or not, or still undecided? I wanted to know what your thought process is in whether or not you play that one?
TIGER WOODS: I'm going to play a few tournaments coming up.
Q. Which one next?
TIGER WOODS: I don't know.
Q. What will it take for you to play Rivera again?
TIGER WOODS: I don't know. We'll just see.
Is that a non-denial denial? Or just a denial denial?
On anchoring...
Q. With the player meeting tonight and the anchoring ban being discussed, have you ever kind of reflected on how anchoring has impacted the game in terms of your career, in terms of winning certain events and without naming names, obviously, but do you ever feel you've been deprived of some wins because you putt in a conventional way and there was somebody putting using anchoring?
TIGER WOODS: No. I'm not going to look at it like that. Generally, in the past if guys switch methods, it's usually because they're uneasy, they're a little twitchy or just don't feel comfortable, so they'll switch methods.
But we have a whole other generation that have never experienced having those twitches or having any of those type of problems, and they've grown up with anchoring the putter.
And I think that's what Mike was trying to explain when he was trying to implement this new rule is that we're getting a whole 'nother generation that have only putted with anchoring the putter, and they've just learned that one method. He believes every club should actually swing, and I agree with that.
After talking about his memories of the unforgettable 2008 U.S. Open, he was asked about Torrey and another Open. I'm not sure if he knows it's off the USGA's radar.
Q. Your thoughts on the U.S. Open ever coming back to Torrey, and are you in favor of that?
TIGER WOODS: Absolutely, absolutely. I think they've proven that they can host a great U.S. Open here. We, as players, play here each and every year, and we love the golf course. It's hard.
And I think the USGA is trying to make a concerted effort ever since '02 going to Bethpage for the first time and big public venues. This is the west coast version. And it was amazing. The turnout, the fans, the support, the crowds, I mean, it was just a great atmosphere.
I think with having the other golf course right here for parking and all that, I think certainly I think Torrey Pines and everyone here involved in it really made this tournament special, and I think the USGA will definitely come back.
Pssst...that's a negative!
On a serious note, I'm still trying to figure out how to word this question of Tiger: do you want to see the U.S. Open return here one more time before you are, uh, uh,
"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."
Phil: "Finances and taxes are a personal matter and I should not have made my opinions on them public."
/Whatever you think of Phil Mickelson and his comments, you have to give him credit for sensing the reaction and potential deflection of attention from tournament sponsors by
Read MoreR&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.
Poll: Should The PGA Tour Go Along With The Anchoring Ban?
/This is a hypothetical extraordinaire, but on the eve of
Read More"Phil Mickelson, stop whining and give thanks for your good fortune"
/Syracuse professor Len Burman
Read MoreBen Crenshaw Serves As Simple Top-Dressing!?
/Matt Ginella, obviously never having actually seen Ben Crenshaw in action during construction of a Coore-Crenshaw design,
Read More"It is such an inconvenience and it is risky renting it out to people you don't know…On the other hand, boy, it would be nice to pay for my daughter's college tuition."
/Jessica Parks of the Philadelphia Inquirer looks at the
Read MoreVideo: R.H. Lee's Humana Challenge Final Round Ace
/Richard H. Lee's ace in the
Read More"Mickelson expects to make 'drastic' changes because of political, economic climate"
/That's the headline in his hometown paper, the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Read MoreYour PGA Tour Player Meeting Guest Speaker: Mike Davis
/Doug Ferguson previews what figures
Read MoreGolf 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.
