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
Graylyn Loomis has photos of the vehicles moving into place and executioner Martin Hawtree overseeing the Old Course at St. Andrews' Phase 2 destruction slated to include new bunkers and most pathetic of all, removing the "acute spur formation" that has guarded the fourth green for centuries.
Even though the spur is integral to the strategy, the R&A, reluctant to change it, agreed because today's greenkeepers can't figure out how to mow what's been around for centuries. 
You may recall that last year in late November, distracted by the anchoring ban, the word dropped late on a Friday (when else?) that changes were being made to the Old Course to help the links prevent a 59 from being shot keep up with the modern game, under the supervision of the R&A's Chief Inspector Architect, Peter Dawson, with help from golf architect Hawtree and from a Links Trust proudly abdicating its responsibility to defend the Home of Golf from vandals.
As you may also recall, the reviews were not good, especially from those pesky Australians (here and here).
Dawson went on a PR swing of sorts to the few outlets that wouldn't press him about his past comments suggesting that any tampering with the Old Course would be akin to putting a moustache on the Mona Lisa and just not a wise thing to do.
There had been indications that support was eroding for elements of Phase 2.
You can relive the entire saga here in the archives. And there was this to be dusted off, courtesy of the art department:
I'll spare you the entire press release announcing Grey Goose as the official hooch of the PGA Tour, Champions Tour, Web.com and assorted PGA Tour-operated facilities. 
As part of the marketing sponsorship, GREY GOOSE will be featured in all PGA TOUR Grills, a new premium restaurant concept focusing on fresh, locally sourced ingredients, which is launching during the spring of 2014 in select airports around the United States.
When I think PGA Tour, I think locally sourced ingredients at the airport.
And it appears platform has run its course as must-use press release jargon, as activate shoots to the front of herd. This is evident when one of the class acts in the VP ranks and a possible future commissioner is even using the "a" word...
“GREY GOOSE is a premier, internationally recognized brand that has a long-standing involvement with golf,” said Jay Monahan, Chief Marketing Officer of the PGA TOUR. “We are very pleased to partner with such a respected brand and look forward to working with the GREY GOOSE team to activate on the three Tours, as well as at our TPCs and special events.”
I'm always fascinated by PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem's theories on growing the game as the mastermind of The First Tee designed to teach life lessons and now a grow-the-game initiative.
Not sure I buy the view he expressed in China Sunday while launching the developmental tour PGA Tour China, which should be a hit with the Australians.
Fourth, we know from looking at the history of golf, that the growth of the game is driven first and foremost by the development of elite players who perform at a unique level. Having the opportunity to grow elite players; thus, accelerate the development of elite players in China, will also translate into the acceleration of the growth of the game in China, which is in all of our interests.
In addition to all of those reasons, I think in summary, it's clear that today's announcement is a milestone to benefit China golf, PGA TOUR, global golf, certainly growth in China, and as a consequence, it is an important day for all of us in the game.
We've got some pretty elite players in the Tiger Woods era, starting with Tiger Woods, and the game hasn't really grown has it? In fact, most barometers suggest it's contracting.
Yet Finchem expanded on his view a few moments later in the press conference:
Q. And for Commissioner Finchem, what do you see as the No. 1 benefit to the PGA TOUR, and what will be your investment?
COMMISSIONER FINCHEM: Well, I think the overall fundamental situation is that the faster the growth, the faster we have growth of the game, impacts every aspect of the sport; certainly the professional side.
And because participation in the game drives, it drives viewership, it drives support for events, etc., etc., and they go hand in hand. Historically, the elite player comes first; strong growth comes second, and certainly that's been the case in the United States since Arnold Palmer came along in 1960 and it's been 40, 50 years of continuous growth.
Continuous? It must be so nice to live on Planet Tim where the flowers are always in bloom and everyone doesn't smoke, shaves hourly and takes their hats off before shaking hands.
So anything we can do to assist the expedition and acceleration of growth is very much in the interest of the professional game, but also golf as a whole.
I'm thinking speeding up play, shrinking the footprint of courses and figuring out ways to create fun, affordable facilities might be more, uh, impactful than developing pro golfers. I know, how absurd.
Peter Baker files a New York Times profile (thanks reader Tim) of President George W. Bush that offers rare insights into the former president's life in Dallas, including his fundraising work for wounded warriors, his concerns about the Tea Party and what appears to now be the same obsession with golf shared by his father.
From Baker's profile that is accompanied by the president in a Presidents Cup hat as Tim Finchem is deep in thought:
But Mr. Bush is most worried about what he sees as a growing isolationism, a retreat from the tough-minded national security policies and assertive American role in the world that he championed. “That’s his main concern about the Tea Party,” Mr. Glassman said. In that vein, Mr. Bush contributed $5,000 to Senator Lindsey Graham, a hawkish South Carolina Republican who is facing a challenge from the right.
His main passions these days, though, are elsewhere. Mr. Bush, who is 67, spent Halloween with his new granddaughter, who was dressed as an astronaut. He has a regular seat near the dugout at Texas Rangers games and gave the coin toss at a recent Southern Methodist University football game. He hosted a charity golf tournament, and after having a stent inserted to open a clogged artery, he is back on his bicycle.
“I would sum it up as library work, speeches, painting, golfing and mountain-bike riding,” said Mark McKinnon, a friend and former political consultant. “The most consistent characteristic about President Bush is that he truly loves and relishes life.”
After giving up golf while in office out of deference to troops at war, Mr. Bush has taken it up again. He sometimes plays with the first few people who happen to show up at courses like the Brook Hollow Golf Club or the Las Colinas Country Club, and he built a putting green at home. “He’s a golf-aholic now,” said his friend Charlie Younger.
Strong stuff from Tom English as usual, this time coming to Brandel Chamblee's defense and in a bad sign for Rory McIlroy, a strong UK press attack on the young lad's rationale for exempting Tiger from criticism.
English writes:
He questioned Chamblee’s “authority” to say “anything like that” about his pal. Then this: “People wouldn’t know who Brandel Chamblee was if it wasn’t for Tiger Woods.”
At that point, you’d have to administer the slap.
Is Rory saying that anybody with reservations about Woods’ on-course behaviour this year should hush their noise because, well, he made us all and we should be eternally grateful? Is that it? Is every golf analyst to turn a blind eye because, hey, they’d be irrelevant without him? Such a lot of nonsense from McIlroy. It’s not less scrutiny that Woods needs. Quite obviously, it is more.
Generally I find the stories of late where sponsors complain about the lack of star presence to be a bit silly since golf is now a 52-week-a-year global sport and most of them signed on knowing this. However, after reading the grumbling of HSBC's Giles Morgan about Tiger's non-appearance in this week's WGC-HSBC despite being in China, I can kind of see the point. 
Reported by Doug Ferguson from Shanghai:
Morgan said he was told a few months ago by Woods' agent that this was not going to work with his schedule. After a week of corporate work, Woods is playing (for another big appearance fee) in the Turkish Open, a European Tour event.
Like other overseas events, HSBC once paid to get the best players. But now that it's a full-fledged WGC, big appearance fees have been replaced by an $8.5 million purse.
"What I can't do is pay him," Morgan said. "And I feel enormously strong about that. This is a World Golf Championship. This is the flagship event of Asia. This is going to be the beacon to carry the game into this continent for many years to come. We could do the wrong thing by golf and drop the prize money right down and just pay one or two players huge fees. From a publicity standpoint, that would give us a certain amount of kudos because we'd get the top player in the world. And I'm absolutely not going down that route.
"We have an opportunity to be a genuine top 10 event in the world," he said. "That requires a massive investment, which we're pleased to do. And that means we want to be an authentic sponsor in the world of golf."
Of course HSBC also might think it's owed a favor as a founding partner of the Tiger Woods Learning Center, but as opening day headliner Bill Clinton can tell you, that doesn't mean a whole lot to Woods. And that may be why he's down to two blue chip sponsors.
It's a great read. It looks something like this:
Whew! Take that, Fergie!
Making matters worse is the headline reel story on Tiger putting the ball in Brandel's court from a few days ago.
Since then, Chamblee (sort of) took that ball, did his thing and said sayonara to his role at Golf/golf.com.
How do you ignore a national news story made so by your own website? Especially since Chamblee exonerated you from any kind of criticism for bad editing by saying he overruled his editor? I know the lawyers are running the show, but this is a bit much.
Here's the news reel the day after the on-air resignation, sort-of apology. ESPN hosts dressing as Lindsey and Tiger, but now Brandel having been dressed down by Tiger?
...even though the weekdays at Muirfield in 2013 were easily the worst attended of any major and the weather was absolutely perfect.
Well, perfect to some, because as Martin Dempster notes, the "heat wave" (high of 75 degrees) remains the reason retirees on fixed incomes stayed away.
Raising ticket prices by £5 from Lytham the previous year £15 more than Sandwich in 2011 – for this year’s event coincided with almost 18,000 fewer people watching Phil Mickelson win at Muirfield than saw Ernie Els triumph in East Lothian in 2002.
Attendance figures were down for all four championship days as a total of 142,036 entered the gates compared to 160,595 11 years ago. The R&A countered claims ticket pricing was behind the drop, saying a heatwave had been the reason for the event failing to hit its projected target of 170,000.
“More than 142,000 people attended the Open,” said a spokesman at the time. “That is almost 90 per cent of the figure in 2002 and we are pleased with this attendance. Advance ticket sales were very strong and we believe the warm weather put off some of our pay-at-the-gate customers."
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
Copyright © 2022, Geoff Shackelford. All rights reserved.
