Vijay! "Singh's battle against the Tour comes into focus"

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The lawyers are racking up big billable hours right now in Vijay vs The People Who Helped Make Me Rich, with the PGA Tour and the legendary golfer filing motions for a voluntary, non-binding dispute resolution hearing with a mediator.

As Rex Hoggard reports for GolfChannel.com, "the lawsuit reached a milestone last week with a flurry of filings," with over 130 filings posted to the public record with no shortage of redactions. Still, Hoggard was able to go through the filings to find some intriguing elements to the messy case brought by Singh.

There was this:

Some of the discovery offers a glimpse into the nuanced world of anti-doping, like an email exchange between Ty Votaw, the Tour’s executive vice president of communications, and a golf writer from the Associated Press who asked, among other things, if deer antler spray was on the Tour’s list of banned substances.

Votaw responded that, yes, deer antler spray is on the Tour’s banned substances list, when in fact it is not. The substance IGF-1, an ingredient found in the spray, is on the banned list, but not the product itself. It’s a nuanced distinction but central to Singh’s claim that the Tour was negligent in its handling of his case.

And then in the TMI HOF files, there was this image of Jason Dufner in the men's room reading the tour's warning regarding use of deer antler spray.

“[Dufner] said it was accidental how he read it,” Singh said in the deposition. “He was sitting in a can having a you-know-what and it was laying on the floor so he picked it up, and he was surprised that it was on it.

“He said if he hadn’t been in the can at that moment in time, he’d have never known that it was [on the banned list].”

Many items were redacted according to Hoggard. Just not that one.

"Stanford's McNealy recharging for run at wins record"

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Ryan Lavner files an excellent GolfChannel.com piece on Stanford's Maverick McNealy taking a brief golf reprieve after winning three of four fall events. That brings him within two individual titles of the school record held by Tiger Woods and Patrick Rodgers, leading to national intrigue for a measely school mark. There is also McNealy's assertion he might not turn pro after college, giving hope to what's left of that weird societal subset viewing the act of choosing to remain an amateur golfer on par with curing cancer and rescuing dogs from burning buildings.

Regarding McNealy's incredible summer and continued great play in the fall, Lavner writes.

How McNealy has been able to summon the goods while teetering on the edge of burnout can be traced back to smart preparation and an extensive journal that documents every practice session, round, tournament and year.

One entry in particular stands out, from his first fall tournament last year.

In the lead for the first time in his career, McNealy realized he had 2 ½ hours to kill before his final-round tee time. He can eat only so many breakfasts, and hit so many balls, so he developed a stretching routine that he has used ever since. For a half hour, in the hotel room or in the locker room, McNealy throws on his headphones and listens to music that slows down his internal tempo.

During that quiet time, he puts the next few hours in perspective: What do I need to do today? What does this round mean to me? Who am I playing for? The answer to the last question, always, is his teammates.

“It feels like everything slows down in my mind,” he said. “Physically, it feels like I’m getting ready for somebody to punch me in the stomach. There’s a tense feeling. And then there’s an intense focus on the target.”

Cabot Cliffs: Golf Digest's Best New 2015

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Here's the full slideshow on Golf Digest's "Best New" list, back in full force with panelist comments edited by Ron Whitten.

Sadly though, the first nine courses look like minor video game designs, mercifully capped off by the stunning 2015 Best New winner, Cabot Cliffs. But compared to where we were just a few years ago with too few courses to even have a "Best New" this is progress.

Cabot Cliffs course is designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw.

It's A Wrap: The Links At Petco Park, 1600 Rounds Later

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Monday night at Petco Park concluded with over 1600 rounds having been played inside the Padres home stadium. What turned out as a semi-publicity stunt/goodwill effort to share Petco with golfing baseball fans turned into something much larger. ESPN sent Kenny Mayne for a post-MNF feature, local newscasts around the United States showed footage and Golf Channel covered the madness.

What happened here that so intrigued people?

For starters, baseball stadium architecture has always shared similarities with golf architecture in reflecting tastes of the era in which they were built. In the last twenty years, fans have come to see baseball parks as statements about regional architecture. When the ballparks are so good that they become places of civic pride, they take on another level of interest.

Turns out that golfers, already armed with a critical eye, have quietly dreamed of hitting a shot from home plate over the center field wall just to confirm how short the distance is. For good measure, eight more holes meant five days of sold out golf at $50 for each round, with several thousand relegated to a waiting list.

It was surreal to be hitting shots inside a stadium and it all turned out to be shockingly safe. (A tent covered the home plate tee for safety). Every element of the experience was meticulously planned by the Padres, while Callaway handled all of the golf details. There isn't a thing I'd change except maybe the water hazards and even those provided a few laughs.

As for other parks in the future, the obvious dream locales include Fenway, Yankee Stadium, AT&T Park, Dodger Stadium and Wrigley. But this is no small undertaking and the buzz surrounding it may never match what just took place. But if you saw the clips of golfers inside their home park, the joys of this form of Stadium Golf were so great that any promotional value is bound to be superceded by golfer demand. Oh, and it's a nice way to sell a few season seats while reinforing the magic of two great American pastimes: golf and baseball.

My video report after playing the links:

If you're a millennial, this is the Skratch look at the course's creation, minus a mention of co-architect Johnny Rodriguez.

And just to show that there are no new ideas, Gary Player's group tweeted this epic shot of a stadium golf setting from 30 years ago. Take that Johnny!

 And Kenny Mayne just had to dive into one of the ponds.

 

Mayne's ESPN feature as only he can tell a story.

Forward Press: The Squeeze, Mexico & Water Week

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In the latest installment of the Forward Press, I marvel at and preview The Squeeze, supplanting Tin Cup on the Golf Channel schedule this week.

It's noteworthy that Golf Channel is the first landing spot for a theatrical release and that Tin Cup gets a break, even though a nice sized audience watches every time it airs (or a Nielsen family just really likes Ron Shelton's work).

On a serious note, Morning Drive is tackling the totally unsexy but utterly vital topic of water and golf. As I note in the Forward Press, Matt Ginella's visit to Goat Hill on Friday is what I'm most anticipating, but there are some really solid, meaty topics on tap for Tuesday through Thursday.

The rundown of topics and guests discussing the most important issue in the game.

While our segment was shortened because the Commish took his sweet time sharing his exciting news of a venue-less new Champions Tour stop, Matt Ginella and I only briefly discussed this most vital topic on Morning Drive.

Photo: Golf Course Gator Gets Python...

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I'm not really sure what's more unsettling about this photo from Fiddler's Creek Golf Course: the alligator as predator, or that there was a python of that size in the golf course lake.

Thanks to Andy Zunz for spotting and The Classics Country Club for sharing.

Our Member, Pat Aydelott took this great shot while playing Fiddlers Creek down the street from us. Pat - can you get closer next time so the photo isn't so grainy? Thank you! :-) Caption this!

Posted by The Classics Country Club at Lely Resort on Thursday, November 5, 2015

Champions Tour Back In LA: Launching At Powerhouse Venue?

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Commissioner Pizzazz And Then Some is not a morning person! He did his best virtual sleepwalk through a Morning Drive announcement of the new Champions Tour stop for Los Angeles as part of...are you sitting...the introduction of playoffs PLAYOFFS(C)!

Yes the Valiant Competitors Tour is getting a playoff series and an LA stop will kick things off. Ryan Ballengee explains.

Here is the PGATour.com clip of the Commish launching the news, while subtly looking at his cards to get the sponsor's name right. (Can't say I blame him with a name like The Powershares QQQ, which is almost as bad as LA's stop from the 80s: The American Golf Carta Blanca Johnny Mathis Classic. Yep, look it up.)

Now, if Ben Carson just isn't the Ambien replacement you were hoping for, I think this performance today on MD might do the trick despite the effort of Gary Williams to wake the Commish up. Note that the head guy from Invesco Powershares (Dan Draper) refers to the PGA twice, not the PGA Tour. The Fines Department might submit an invoice for that.

Sherwood Country Club, host to many events like the Shark Shootout and Tiger's World Challenge, will land the QQQ in 2017 and 2018. Bob Buttita reports.

But the kickoff year venue is even more intriguing, depending on a member vote: Bel-Air Country Club. There has been some buzz in LA golf circles about the possibility even though no one can fathom how it would work. The former George Thomas-Billy Bell design that's been much-mangled over the years and would provide a wildly fascinating locale for a tournament, albeit one with little room for spectators or hospitality. Members are scheduled to vote very soon on the 2016 date.

The tournament is also looking for an Executive Director. Here's the posted job description, with limited cynical interruptions:

Executive Director - Champions Tour - Los Angeles
PGA TOUR - Pacific Palisades, CA

We presently have an opportunity for an Executive Director for a new Champions Tour event in the Los Angeles, CA area. The Executive Director is the lead executive of the tournament and has overall responsibility for delivering a world class experience for players, fans, partners, volunteers and all tournament constituents. The Executive Director will lead a team that will develop and execute plan to increase tournament net revenue, player prize money, charity, and reserve levels through best in class sales and marketing strategies. The Executive Director will increase onsite hospitality sales, increase attendance

In other words, you better be a part-time magician...

and community activation, and ensure excellence in all operational aspects of the tournament. The Executive Director reports directly to the Senior Director, Champions Tour.

Responsibilities:

Develop and execute long term strategic plans to grow revenue and evolve the event to engage a broader range of people and sponsors

Provide oversight of departmental operations, staffing, P&L results and both internal and external communication

Establish and monitor metrics that drive business strategy and performance

Work those metrics!

In cooperation with the sales staff, develop and implement an annual sales plan for all product and sponsorship categories; The Executive Director is responsible for generating all event revenues above the title sponsorship, including presenting sponsors and preferred suppliers

Build strong relationships and serve as the executive interface with the volunteers, club members, community, media, PGA TOUR, Title Sponsor, players, agents and others as needed

Executive interface. Hmmm...so, so good.

Enhance field strength and elevate image of the tournament.

Now we're just copying and pasting from the regular PGA Tour boilerplate HR manual.

Serves as executive interface with Title Sponsor, the PGA TOUR and all other strategic partners to ensure a collaborative working relationship, fulfillment and transparency of contractual obligations and to ensure that all partners are receiving value as a result of the partnership

Value deliverance through executive interfacing. Translated: be a nice person to the people who write the checks.

Use varied influence strategies to persuade all stakeholders and groups to grow the event

Interface with community leaders to foster the overall impression of the event in the community

Lead the team to deliver a successful event against all objectives set by the PGA TOUR

Motivate, coach, and hold others accountable for performance to maximize business results

Now we're just copying and pasting out of a Tony Robbins book!

Develop a comprehensive volunteer structure

Develop and implement an effective operating committee structure for planning, preparing for and executing the tournament with appropriate committee chairs, vice chairs, and other committee members.

Our benefits include:
Competitive wages including performance bonuses

Medical/Dental/Life/Disability insurance

Paid time off

401k plus employer match

Employer funded retirement plan

Health Savings Account/Medical and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts

Wellness Program

EOE/DFW

Required Skills

No TPC Valencia membership? Oh wait, that's not a TPC anymore. Maybe Sherwood!

Qualified candidates will have the following education and prior experience:

Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Marketing, Sports Management or equivalent discipline is required; Master's Degree preferred

Minimum of five years’ experience running a major sports event, or equivalent experience in business

Understanding, appreciation and respect for the game of golf

Required Experience

[THE MERCIFUL END]

Stevie Williams, Caddies Gets Support For Sharing Their Stories

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The early voting must have reflected the outlier counties, because after a strong "Never" presence in early balloting, a majority of you supported looper Steve Williams for writing a memoir.

The final tally: 29% said any time is a good time for a caddie to pen a memoir, 40% said it was kosher as long as the book arrived some time after a player has retired, and 31% said a caddie should never put their stories in book form.

The golf.com weekly Confidential kicked around this topic, which is admittedly an inside-the-ropes issue, But it's one I sense won't go away in the modern media age where players are less forthcoming about behind-the-the-scenes stories we want to hear about key moments in golf history.

There were great answers from all of the golf.com gang, but here's a sampling...

VAN SICKLE: There ought to be a statute of limitations on the caddie cone of silence at some point, although there are plenty of caddies who would go to the grave before they spilled any dirt about their bosses. In the case of Tiger, one of the two most important figures in modern golf, stories about him carry historic significance since Tiger is closed off from the public behind circled wagons. So Williams, like Hank Haney, provided historical clarity to something that mattered. But I'm sure a lot of caddies and players will believe that Williams broke the code.

PASSOV: In today's tell-all climate, are there any confidentiality codes to be respected anymore? If you still harbor old school values, then yes, Williams' nasty jibes and ill-conceived recollections are out of bounds. I'm in favor of adding caddie-player to the list of Constitutionally protected conversations that apply to doctor-patient and lawyer-client.

BAMBERGER: There is no code. There's an individual's sense of right and wrong. Once you decide to write, the question becomes what to leave in and what to leave out. It wouldn't be my place to judge what Williams decided to include, but I will say that I never thought for a minute, He's gone too far.

Tiger Only Missed The Seven Hole Opening Of First U.S. Design

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One of the strangest things about Tiger's follow-up surgery to his follow-up back surgery was the willingness to miss the opening of his first U.S. course design.

Yet, reading Art Stricklin's account of the opening, I'm starting to understand why alleviating back pain took priority over what seemed like an important career moment. Why? Turns out this is only the opening of seven holes, not 18. That suggests a certain (not unprecedented) anxiety by the developer to generate publicity but also makes me understand why Tiger put his ailing back ahead of the opening.

From Stricklin's report:

“For this day to finally come is very exciting,” said Bryon Bell, President of Tiger Woods Design. “It’s really important for this course to finally be open, and the real payoff is to hear the members talking positively about it.”

Nearly 100 members were on the grounds at Bluejack, which had a seven-hole loop open for the initial play, with the full course expected be ready by early 2016.

Wake us when all 18 are open. Right Tiger

Such A Relief Files: Vijay Agrees To Represent Fiji In Rio

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Granted, he still has to qualify and stay off the deer antler spray, but because of the Olympic Golf format the 52-year-old should be eligible to represent Fiji next summer in Rio.

And because I know you were losing sleep at night wondering what his decision would be, I bring you good news and bad news for whoever gets stuck in an Olympic Village room with the Big Geezer Grump! He's in!

The Jet reports:

“Vijay is a proud Fijian who has been successfully representing our nation for more than 30 years, bringing great credit to Fiji by reaching the top of world golfing. For him to agree to be part of the Fijian team for Rio if he qualifies is something that every Fijian sports fan will welcome. Because I have no doubt that on his current performance, the chances of him doing so are very high”, he said.

The Prime Minister also revealed that Vijay Singh has agreed to mentor the Fijian Rugby Sevens team, which has already qualified for Rio, along with the Under 19s National Football team.

And when I think mentor, I think Vijay!

Anchorers Go Down In...Schwab Cup Success

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Sure there may be a few stragglers through December, but the era of anchored putting essentially came to and end this weekend when Bernhard Langer and Michael Allen battled Billy Andrade down the Charles Schwab Cup Championship stretch. The first two are achorers but will have to give up the habit January 1, 2016.

But as Al Tays notes at GolfChannel.com, Langer is sounding more optimistic going forward than he has in recent years.

Langer has anchored his broomstick putter for 17 years, but he says he's not worried about making a change.

"I've thought about it a little bit," he told reporters in Scottsdale. "I've gathered a few putters, different styles, different lengths, different grips. My first thought is I'll probably go back to what I did before I went to the long putter, which was what [Matt] Kuchar does, holding the putter against the left forearm that way, and Soren Kjeldsen in Europe does the same thing.

"I putted that way for seven years and I won a number of tournaments including the Masters, and if you can putt on the Masters greens and win with a grip like that, I would think I could do it in other tournaments, but we'll see. There's other options."

On the flatbelly circuit, Adam Scott notched a second place finish in Malaysia and looked good over the putter, while former anchorer Ernie Els hasn't been quite so confident over his blade.

New President Bush Bio Opens With An Old Golf Story

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As George (41) Bush's presidential legacy continues to grow in stature and Rummy's feathers are ruffled (not to mention 43's) over the new biography authored by esteemed historian Jon Meacham, it turns out golf is a nice part of the much-anticipated tome.

While I'm not sure pollsters would buy Jerry Tarde's assertion that President Bush is the "most beloved living president who played the game," we golfers adore anyone who made pace of play a priority and whose family has long been front and center in American golf.

Tarde says the book opens with a golf story about Samuel Prescott Bush standing on top of the Hotel Traymore in Atlantic City. Nucky Thompson was apparently not around, however.

"A prominent Midwestern industrialist, Bush was at the Jersey Shore in the early summer of 1915 to take part in what was described as ‘the highest golf driving contest ever held in the history of the great Scotch game,’ ” Meacham writes. “Facing the Atlantic, in a long-sleeved dress shirt and formal trousers, Bush, driver in hand, took his stance and swung smoothly. He connected just the way he wanted to—cleanly and perfectly.

The ball rose rapidly, a tiny spinning meteor. Bush’s shot streaked out over the sea, soaring over the white-capped waves before disappearing deep in the distance, the sound of its splash lost in the wind and turf.

“Bush won, of course. Though his opponents did what they could, they failed to surpass Bush’s dramatic drive. It was not the most serious of competitions, but that did not matter. The New York Times reported Bush’s triumph. A contest was a contest.”

SMU Signs Two-Time Cancer Survivor Justin Thompson

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Golfweek.com's Kevin Casey's story about Justin Thompson committing to SMU for 2017 is of note for a few reasons. Mostly that Thompson is a two-time cancer survivor (Casey details Thompson's battle) and that he's a pupil of Jordan Spieth instructor Cameron McCormick.

But there is also the idea that the program, hit with a virtual death penalty by the NCAA and Bryson DeChambeau dropping out, might scare off prospective recruits.

So far it sounds like they are not slowing down in the signing department.  

It's fitting that someone who has already gone through so much adversity will soon enter a golf program beset by sanctions for the near future. When asked about that potential hurdle to committing, Thompson felt that by the time he gets on campus most of the sanctions will have dissipated, and the fact that the current players and coaches weren't involved in the violations swayed him to minimize their importance.

Besides, if something were to go awry, Thompson has already had plenty of experience in that department. And it's only made him better.

“With the cancer experience, you learn about having courage, having faith and that there’s a plan for everything," Thompson said. "I’m stronger and more mature as a person than had I not gone through it.”

20-Year-Old Li Haotong On Cusp Of History

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Doug Ferguson reports that Kevin Kisner holds a two-stroke lead over Dustin Johnson, a former HSBC Champions winner. But if you've watched any of the event (and the ratings say you haven't), there is a really fun story potentially looming with 20-year-old Li Haotong.

Ferguson filed a separate story on Haotong, who gets some pretty entertaining crowd reactions to his shots.

“This tournament is so big - it’s too big,” Li said after a 6-under 66 that left him one shot out of the lead going into the final round. “I know that the final day, a lot of people are going to be making a lot of birdies. That’s why I thought my goal of this tournament would be making the top 10, because making the top 10 will already be a highlight and a milestone for my short career.

“I hope that tomorrow I can do well and finish at the position where I want to.”

Here's a little taste of a Li roar. Golf Channel coverage starts at 10 pm ET: