When 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
From Reuters, the utterly spell-binding but great news that this would seem to mean we won't have to endure Andy North during ESPN's day one coverage of the 2014 Ryder Cup, as Captain Tom Watson names North to a lead cart driving post.
Talk about a headline grabber. Egypt, schmegypt!
Ron Kroichick with the exclusive news that Johnny Miller's renovated North Course at Silverado resort in Napa will be hosting the Frys.com Open starting in 2014, and not the Frys' brothers ultra private Institute disaster course across the highway.
The Rickie Fowler generation won’t remember this, but Silverado hosted one PGA Tour event (1968-80) and another, the Transamerica, on the then-Senior Tour (1989-2002).
Home to the legendary J.C. Snead-Dave Hill fistfight on the range! Oh sorry, go on...
Miller joined Silverado’s new ownership group in 2010. He promptly renovated the North Course, with an eye toward bringing back high-level professional golf.
Kudos to David Higgins for authoring a first-person statement exclusively to GolfCentralDaily.com on his 15-club DQ during from Tuesday's Open Championship qualifying playoff.
I decided to go the range to warm up again and hit a few balls. I just took driver, mid iron and wedge. It was still raining really hard so I kept the rain cover on my bag. My caddy for the day, Monty, a local man that knows north Berwick like the back of his hand, had done a great job all day and was up for the playoff.
We headed for the tee. I hit a good tee shot, and good second to about 15 feet. I was hunkered down reading my putt when the thought suddenly came into my head, "fu€k, did I take that other rescue out if the bag?"
I stood up and felt a bit sick in my stomach as I walked over to the bag to check. And there she was looking up at me! "Bollix"..........
A statement released today after the PGA Tour and PGA of America came on board with the anchoring ban. No acknowledgement of the suggested extension for the amateur game.
“The United States Golf Association is pleased with the decision by the PGA Tour and The PGA of America to follow Rule 14-1b, when it goes into effect in January 2016, for their respective competitions. As set forth in our report, “Explanation of Decision to Adopt Rule 14-1b,” the game benefits from having a single set of rules worldwide, applicable to all levels of play, and the acceptance of Rule 14-1b by the PGA Tour and The PGA of America supports the game in this regard.”
Translation: as it should have been all along until you guys decided to get all independent minded...
Doug Ferguson's notes column leads off with the news that the World Challenge--subsidized to the tune of $4 million last year by Tiger Woods--is returning December 5-8 with limited sponsorship. For now.
Jack Nicklaus was invited to the Live@Wimbledon booth by friend Mats Wilander to talk for nearly 15 minutes about a range of topics including Rory McIlroy, majors, the state of American tennis, etc...
Nicklaus was a guest in the Royal box the day before. Thanks to reader Michael for the tip.
It's hard not to get your Open juices flowing when reading about the 288 lads who made the valiant effort to qualify for the 12 Open spot up for grabs, especially when Nick Rodger is giving accounts of their efforts from Scotland's Golf Coast: North Berwick, Dunbar, Gullane and Musselburgh.
The Open can't come soon enough!
Oh and a special nod to His Montyness for a fine effort off playing in the Senior TPC Sunday and making it to East Lothian to open with a 69 only to understandably fade to a second round 76.
By the time he had completed 12 holes, the big man was five under and on a roll. His bid for one of the three Open tickets was motoring along nicely but the wheels began to shoogle with bogeys at 13, 14, 16 and 17. Despite a birdie putt of 15 feet on the 18th in a two-under 69, the face and the shoulders were beginning to crumple towards half mast and the mood would become increasingly sombre during the second round.
An average splash-out from the greenside bunker on the eighth led to him thundering the offending club back into the bag before he turned round and booted the rake into the sand pit. The silence was so tense that even that aforementioned butterfly was trying desperately to control its flatulence. In the end, a weary 76 for 145 meant he slithered down the field while the assembled scribblers steeled themselves to approach him in the same tentative way as you would edge towards a sleeping lion.
There would be no startled roar and savage bite, though. "Five-under and I threw it away; I played very badly," he groaned in a resigned, downbeat assessment before beating a glum retreat.
Thanks to reader Mike for Frank Fitzpatrick's superb story on Cape Fear CC professional Joey Hines playing all of the 49 existing U.S. Open courses.
He's now on a quest to now play the existing Open Championship courses and hosts of PGA's too.
But after three or four of those trips, a friend said, 'You know you've played an awful lot of U.S. Open courses.' That interested me. "I started researching. I found out there were 49 of them - actually 50, but Englewood in New Jersey had closed. So I started nibbling away." Once he gave up his dream of playing on the PGA Tour - he failed to earn a card at qualifying school on several occasions - the pace of his quest quickened. He played Open venues in bunches with friends, then began to pick them off one-by-one on his own. As difficult as the golf was at many of those exclusive venues, securing tee times was even tougher.
"They all had their rules, and you had to respect them," he said. "It wasn't easy getting on at Baltusrol or Riviera. Chicago Golf Club was brutal. Sometimes they paired you with a member. Sometimes you had to beg, borrow, and cry."
Riviera was hard to get on? They take anyone's money!
"And Merion. I've come across that road [Ardmore Avenue] five times and I've been at even, 1 under, 1 over. But I think the lowest I ever shot there was a 77. Fifteen, 16, 17, 18 have just eaten my lunch every single time." Some of the courses, particularly those that haven't hosted an Open since the event's early days, were pleasant surprises. He liked Philadelphia Country Club (1939) much better than the Philadelphia Cricket Club (1907, 1910). Among the other out-of-the-rotation "sleepers" Hines enjoyed were Myopia Hunt near Boston, the site of four Opens from 1898 to 1908; and three Chicago-area courses, Chicago Golf Club, Onwentsia, and Glen View. "Chicago Golf Club is like Merion," Hines said. "If somebody gave you a million dollars and told you to improve it, you'd go crazy because it's already perfect."
Yet another chapter in the why-oh-why files has been put to rest as Cassie Stein reports the USGA is not going to insist on Casey Martin using a one-man scooter or walking at their events to do his recruiting duties. Which, must be at least three times a year!
Martin says that his lawyers are on standby after reviewing the circumstances, but Martin has held off filing any lawsuit in hopes of a different resolution. The USGA has reached out on two occasions – executive director Mike Davis called him, including an apology in the first telephone call – and Martin is thankful for that, but still thinks this situation warrants a public apology from the organization.
The question still remains, who at USGA headquarters called out to the host course to insist Martin lose his cart privileges? And why when everyone with an ounce of common sense, including the USGA (historically), the SCGA and the host course had no issue with Martin using a cart to help him work around his disability.
Martin posted here about the escapades (30th or so post), but it was caught up in spam filters (yes, he even gets spammed!) but it is now visible to read his side of the weird day.
Encouraging news for the Scottish Open and Open Championship this year via The Guardian.
Also, defending Open champion Ernie Els has added next week's Scottish Open to his schedule, according to this Sky Sports report.
Alistair Tait files an extensive look at the St. Andrews Links Trust's trademarking efforts and their continued demands of payment from local St. Andrews businesses that have been using the town name on their town businesses for years. 
Also noteworthy in the story was the annual report revelation of $27.9 million in 2012 revenues, including $16.7 million from golf operations on operating expenses of $24.3 million.
Doug Ferguson's game story on the Monday news dump reminds us that Commissioner Tim Finchem said in February the tour was opposed to the new rule because there was no "overriding reason to go down that road."
And now we've gone down that road with his blessing!
Though judging by the intial poll results, not many of you buy into the idea of extending the use of anchored putters for the amateur game, as the tour suggested.
Jason Sobel feels the PGA Tour's announcement pointed to political maneuvering, but what that is remains murky.
What can’t be argued is that there was indeed a political agenda at play here. Finchem is well versed in the strategies involved in such issues. He’s implemented them in the past with similar success and this matter was no different, as he planned three, four, five steps ahead at every checkpoint throughout the process.
It may not explain everything about this decision, but it does serve to explain how an organization that outwardly opposed an anchoring ban just a few months ago is voting in support of it this week.
Scott Michaux had less trouble interpreting the decision, saying "the tour couldn’t stop itself from sticking its nose in where it doesn’t belong and sounding pompous in the process."
It's a transparent attempt to strong-arm influence any future policy regarding equipment.
The tour clearly believes that the game and its millions of golfers around the world revolve around its hundreds of tour professionals.
I've pondered the press release for a few hours now and would conclude that Michaux has it right, with the caveat that there was also an element of face-saving in this awkward language that followed the policy board decision.
Finchem knew all along from the person he has on the USGA Rules committee that the proposed ban was going to happen, yet seems to behave as if he was surprised, prompting this absurd statement in the press release:
“It is not inconceivable that there may come a time in the future when the Policy Board determines that a rule adopted by the USGA, including in the area of equipment, may not be in the best interests of the PGA TOUR and that a local rule eliminating or modifying such a USGA rule may be appropriate."
Translation: we know from our representative on the ball and implement committee that you have a ball spec and overall distance standard rollback in mind and we can't make up our mind if we like that or not, so we'll mention something about the everyday game to show we care and to appease our friends at the PGA Of America who are opposed to any kind of distance regulation.
Which then makes this largely a blatant attempt to confuse those who are not aware of the amount of access the PGA Tour has to USGA/R&A deliberations...
“Having said that, we have been assured by the USGA that as we move forward we will have an open and effective communication process on a number of levels with the decision makers at the USGA,” Finchem added. “Importantly, this will include a direct communication between the Commissioner’s Office of the PGA TOUR and the USGA Executive Committee. Such a process will ensure that our position is fully and carefully considered and addressed in future rule making.”
Apparently the Commissioner's interactions with the USGA and R&A at the USGA Annual Meeting, PGA Show, Masters, International Golf Federation conference calls, World Golf Foundation/Hall of Fame/Players Championship meetings, Golf 20/20 meetings, First Tee gatherings, U.S. Open, Open Championship, PGA Championship and assorted other points during the first nine months of the year are not enough?
Good grief.
The USGA was asked for a comment on the PGA Tour press release and declined. Frankly, who can blame them?
**Gary Van Sickle kicks off his always fun mailbag by taking issue with Tim Finchem's actions, writing that "Finchem and the Tour aren't there for the players. The players are there for Finchem and the Tour."
He played both sides of the fence. Like lawyers often do. Using words is just a game. You know, like the whole famous routine about the definition of the word, "is."
I'm not surprised. I know one thing about the PGA Tour: It talks a big game about how much it has raised for charity; its tournaments are a tremendous vehicle for community fundraising and, yes, they're working on their second billion. That is amazing. One of its old slogans was, "Anything's possible." There were dozens of feel-good commercials.
And then, when a player came along with a disability -- a withered leg, say -- and made it to the Tour, the Tour responded by trying to sue him into oblivion instead of making him the poster boy of hope and "Anything's Possible." Casey Martin needed a cart to play golf. He was a true underdog, a true feel-good story, and the courts upheld his right to use a cart in competition under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
So the PGA Tour didn't back up Martin, either. It talked the talk but didn't walk the walk. It fought him every step of the way and did everything it could to stop Martin. Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer and others who should be embarrassed filmed depositions speaking out against Martin. Finally, against the advice of the Tour's legal experts, Finchem appealed the case to the Supreme Court. The justices sided with Martin, proving the Tour's lawyers finally got something right.
Finchem and the Tour aren't there for the players. The players are there for Finchem and the Tour.
**Garry Smits has the Florida Times-Union take including this reminder:
With the Tour accepting the ban on anchoring, a number of its stars will have 30 months to find another method of putting. The list includes Masters champion Adam Scott, current British Open champion Ernie Els, 2012 U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson, 2011 PGA champion Keegan Bradley and 2010 Players champion Tim Clark.
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
Copyright © 2022, Geoff Shackelford. All rights reserved.
