2015 Wrap: Where Are We On The Distance Issue?

/

Since the distance debate was the basis for this blog as it enters its tenth year as a full-fledged blog on Squarespace and thirteenth in some form as a monitor of golf issues, where do we stand?

--Those of us pointing out the issue are no longer treated like lepers for suggesting the ball goes too far. Enough courses across the land have had to deal with safety or function issues. This has meant a much larger audience does not need the issue explained to them. Even better, many more look down on the governing bodies for continuing to work tirelessly not to act.

--A surprising-but-still too-low number of golf fans recognize that distance is relative. This continues to quietly render the real bombers and their occasional 382-yarders less awe-inspiring than they should be. There is also the overall relatability factor, where too many just find pro golf a little less fun to watch because so few can relate to 210-yard 7-irons.

--The PGA Tour driving distance average only went up a yard in 2015. Despite so many obvious signs that players continue to get longer either through equipment, fitting technology or fitness, what gives? Because this last point allows the governing bodies to go back to counting their millions instead of acting. So how is it that the PGA Tour number is not seeing a huge spike even as we see players regularly CARRY the ball 300 yards?

David Dusek explored this at Golfweek.com and while he had no real answer why that one number has not budged much in recent years, he does note the shocking change at bottom end of the spectrum.

In 2000 there were 166 players on the PGA Tour who averaged less than 280 yards per drive. In 2002, that number was down to 100 and in 2003 it was sliced to 47. By 2005, there were just 30 players who averaged less than 280 yards per drive and it dropped to 25 players.

The 25 under 280 number was the case for 2014 (the 2015 list won't come up at PGATour.com).

Things get confusing when you consider Shoshana Agus-Kleinman's GolfNews.net analysis of PGA Tour "carry," something tracked since 2007.

Since that year, the average and median carry number of PGA Tour drives has spiked by ten yards.

To recap: the driving distance average is up a yard in from 2007 to 2015, but carry average is up by ten yards in the same time frame.

We have been told time and time again that course conditioning leads to more roll, yet with a 10-yard increase in carry the distance average has remained almost flat. This means the "more roll" argument is bogus as most anyone who stands in a PGA Tour landing area can tell you. Yes, agronomics have never been better and grass heights never lower, but turf has also never been healthier or more nourished, offsetting any gains made by lower mowing heights.

(Side note: players have already caught up to Hootie's back tees as he predicted, despite literally no roll on those fairways thanks to a higher cut and grain effect created to slow down drives.)

Sadly, this leaves us in that odd place where the governing bodies refuse to acknowledge an issue because to do so would (A) remind us that they let the game down and (B) would see their sustainability campaigns severely undercut by what is an obvious need to keep expanding the scale of golf courses to manage modern distances.

At least a more sizeable audience sees the sad hypocrisy in their mixed-messaging.

Olympic Golf Field As It Stands Now: 14 Outside The Top 200

/

Hard to say if this is about where we would have expected heading into golf's 2016 Olympic debut, but Doug Ferguson says in his AP notes column that 14 of 60 men are outside the top 200 as it stands now. That is unlikely to change because of the qualification guidelines and may even present a greater disparity on the women's side given that so many top players are from the United States and South Korea.

On the "Pro" side, this theoretically means that those who qualify for the Olympics will have a great shot at medaling. On the Con side? Limited fields with more than 20% clearly not as deserving means we could get either a runaway, random victor, or a massive upset. The latter (underdog element) being less of an issue in my book.

Are Young Guns Building Television Ratings?

/

In a totally random example, for the first time in over a decade, no one is wondering if Tiger or Phil is going to show up at, say, the Northern Trust Open. But Rory McIlroy is and Jordan Spieth will likely play, so when you mention that to most fans, that's shifted to the answer people are hoping to hear.

But do they translate to better television ratings that ultimately pay most of the PGA Tour bills? That's been debatable, but in an interview with Larry Fine of Reuters, Golf Channel president Mike McCarley says the network hosting the Olympic coverage this year believes the numbers do not lie.

The 2015 first quarter ratings for Golf Channel were down 14 percent compared to the year before, but momentum shifted with Spieth's win at the Masters.

The second quarter showed a gain of 3 percent over the year before and grew to an increase of 8 percent in the next quarter before booming to a 13 percent year-ago gain in the last period.

McCarley noted a competitive parallel in the women's game with the rise of 18-year-old Lydia Ko of New Zealand as world number one and a natural rivalry with American Lexi Thompson, the 20-year-old world number four.

"Looking ahead, 2016 is shaping up as a transformational year for the game of golf," he said.

Presidential Golf: Obama's Walk-Off, Trump's Numbers Low?

/

As President Barack Obama drains a walk off chip at Mid-Pac Country Club, the LA Times reports on a Morning Consult study saying that the folks who actually answer their phone for pollsters may actually be downplaying their support for Donald Trump when asked. We may have another golfing president just yet!

Wait, stop the presses! The Donald just pointed out to Iowa voters that the President played more than Tiger Woods in 2015, vowing he would not do the same. Golf.com Staff reports:

"It was reported today he played 250 rounds of golf and he's going to be in Hawaii, I think did they say for three weeks?" Trump said. "Two hundred and fifty rounds, that's more than a guy who plays in the PGA Tour plays. He played more golf last year than Tiger Woods. We don't have time for this. We have to work."

The Obama hole-out:

Nine Days Of Christmas: Mac Daddy PM Grind

/

While longtime readers know how much discussing clubs gets my juices flowing (it's more like a slow leaky faucet drip), I do have a new addition to the bag that is great fun to play around with: Callaway's Mac Daddy PM Grind wedge. In particular, I'd point you to the 60 degree, but only if you have the stomach for a certain era of wedge design.

We're living in a Golden Age of wedge construction and engineering, you can't go wrong with Vokey's, Clevelands, Mizuno's etc... Walk into any store or golf shop and they all look pretty sensational.

But for those of us whose golf skills peaked during the Bush I years, PING made the wedges we adored putting back into our Jones bags. The Eye2 had a thick sole that made bunker shots (almost) a joy. Then they mysteriously abandoned that for a sole and soulless design which did have one positive feature: a huge face.

I'm guessing a combination of those two elements, along with other ideas inspired Roger Cleveland and Phil Mickelson to design this 2015-debuting wedge (you can hear them talk about the clubs here). While all of the Mac Daddy line wedges feel and look great, it's the 60-degree PM grind I'd highly recommend if you're one of those people who misses the old PING's.

Edwin Watts is having a 20% off sale on the SS line (here and here), though only some discounted shipping options right now for other purchases there.

You can view the full lineup here, but this is the one I love. Especially when my drop kick flop shots hit about 2.5 inches up the face and there are still some grooves.

TPC Sawgrass 12th Hole Plans Emerge...

/

The committee has decided--and boy is it a committee--what to do with the absolute dud of a back nine hole at TPC Sawgrass. You may recall that the 12th has always had some sort of mound to add visual distraction but Pete Dye's two iterations of the hole have failed to illicit much enthusiasm.

The concept of the new hole sounds ideal, injecting some much-needed risk-reward design. In concept, anyway.

No shortage of cooks have thrown in their pinches of salt, which is never a good thing.

Garry Smits reports on the design details, set to be carried out after the 2016 Players (thanks reader Steve):

The large bank on the left will be leveled, the green complex will be modified to allow for players to run shots onto the green and there will be a narrow water hazard that will run down the left side of the green.

“Wev’e studied all the great driveable par-4 holes, not just on the PGA Tour but in general, and we have the pieces of what we think go into making it a great short par-4,” said Andy Pazder, the Tour’s executive vice-president and chief of operations. “One common trait is the risk-reward factor, which we think the water hazard will create. The other is that it’s driveable for everyone in the field, and that will be the case.”

Pazder said the changes to the 12th hole have been in discussions for the last two years. Stadium Course architect Pete Dye, Tour in-house architect Steve Wenzloff, Tour players who live on the First Coast and past Players winners have been consulted.

Smits also details other renovation plans for the property.

Video: Poulter Reinforces Why Golfers Should Never Ski

/

There is much to quibble with in Alex Myers' annual listing of the Top 25 viral videos (the Turbulators at #2!?), Ian Poulter has made a late bid to join the best viral golf videos of 2015.

The missing audio will rank with the Nixon tapes on the all-time mute list. And to think it was muted on the keyboard!

Agents, bookmark this for your players next time they mention they plan to go skiing, only don't tell them Ian came out unscathed. At least physically...

Nine Days Of Christmas: Let Photobucket Make A Canvas Print

/

With only four days until you do not get the gifts you wanted, hopefully you bought yourself something between Seamus, Johnnie-O, St Andrews, Lululemon pants or Wybranski major art.

My selection of a Wybranski for your office or mancave walls was directed at those who have been to a memorable golf tournament in recent years and just wanted to liven up their walls with a fond memory. And all for 20% off exclusively to readers of this site courtesy of Wybranski.

But if tournment golf isn't your thing, why not just have favorite golf photo of your own enlarged? After all, with apps like Snapseed, there is almost no excuse now to have a bad photo. Even better, most smart phones now take a photo that can be enlarged to sites like Photobucket. Which is why this excellent service comes in to the picture.

For years I've been waiting for someone to offer photos printed on canvas at an affordable price. The look is cool and the extra cost more palatable than framing photo. Canvas-printed photos should also age better.

Having uploaded a few golf course images to Photobucket for printing on canvas, I can wholeheartedly recommend them for quality, service and consistency with the original image. At 80% off their canvas prints right now (enter code: HOLIDAY80), there is no more affordable and classy way to enlarge your favorite golf course images. Photobucket's canvas prints allow for the option to wrap your image around the 1.25 inch thick canvas (or you can go with white and black borders). The canvas' come with UV coating and a surface easily cleaned with a dam cloth. Oh, and they offer every size imaginable starting at  6x6 up to 32x48. At 80% off you can take a chance on images you aren't sure have the resolution or gravitas to be printed on canvas.

Though judging by my early experiences with Photobucket (which has not paid for this post or even knows abvout it). even an average photo will look timeless printed on a canvas.

Merry Christmas!

Save "Muni" Campaign Ongoing, UT Determined To Not Listen

/

It's been nearly twenty years since Stanford alums had to fight off an attempt to develop that historic course, but that losing effort surely isn't on University of Texas system's radar as Lions Municipal Golf Course continues to be under siege.

Ralph Haurwitz in the Austin-American Statesman reports on the latest effort to register the first segregated course in the Confederacy states, which also happened to have been key to the development of Ben Crenshaw and Tom Kite. Crenshaw supports the effort to save the course. The University does not.

Extensive scholarship on Southern golf course desegregation “proves that Muny was the first golf course to desegregate in the states of the former Confederacy,” said Glenda Elizabeth Gilmore, a Yale University history professor, in a letter supporting national listing.

“It is as much a piece of the American story — and potentially as powerful as a teachable experience — as the historic battlefields we protect and embrace,” wrote Jacqueline Jones, who chairs UT’s history department.

The Board of Regents cited financial and ethical obligations when it decided in 2011 to let the city’s lease expire without renewal in May 2019. The city pays a few hundred thousand dollars a year in rent for land that could fetch at least $5.5 million a year if leased for a mixed-use development, the UT System’s executive director of real estate estimated at the time.

Got to help pay those assistant football coaches!

KXAN's David Scott filed a separate report (including video) on the effort to save a community treasure.

Nine Days Of Christmas: The ABC Pant

/

As the big day looms and you figure to receive nothing you actually wanted, we carry on post-Seamus, post-Johnnie-O, post-St Andrews books, and post-Wybranski major art with a Vancouver-designed product that almost never is discounted. While I love sharing a good deal, I'm buying one more day to see what offers turn up related to three of the final choices before recommending. So in the meantime I give you...$128 pants!

What a guy!

Back in February a golfer friend told me of his love for teeing up in Lululemon's ABC Pant. Like most, I only barely knew of the company as female and yoga-centric. Then I found out the price of the ABC Pant and laughed. His reply? No dry cleaning, no ironing, lots of durability and you can wear one pair three times on a trip and they'll never smell or feel dirty.

Pre-millennials are saying right now: this is what they used to say about Sansabelts.

(For millennials: Sansabelts were the hideous beltless polyester pants worn in the 1970s and 80s by professional golfers who would start with a flat hand well above their stomach and hug the skin as they lowered their hand toward their pocket in search of a coin to mark a ball, all the while short of breath because the poly wasn't that comfortable.  They are still made today.)

Lulu's ABC pant does not make you work to get something out of your pocket. Ever better, they breathe. Quite simply, they are the greatest pant ever made and seem like they were created just for golfers. They weren't. In fact, the old CEO (now gone) didn't like golf at all.

To rationalize the cost, ask yourself...

Do you travel a lot?

Play a lot of golf?

Hate ironing?

Hate paying for dry cleaning?

Like to feel like you're wearing your favorite pair of sweat pants all day?

Like a modern cut of pant that gets just the right amount of non-dad jean snugness?

Lululemon's ABC Pant is for you then. Check them out here. And sorry, no discount. Also, be prepared for their scarcity model, which means colors and sizes come and go and vary widely from store to store.

I still say Johnnie-O's are more ideal for most golfers in cut and style, but if you're all about pure function and willing to pay for it, you'll never once entertain thoughts resisting a visit to what was once thought of as only the domain of Yoga instructors: a Lululemon store.

Merry Christmas!*

*PS - go a waist size up. If you're a 30, buy 32s, etc... some sort of Canadian sizing thing.

Fox Age Discrimination Lawsuit Cites Hiring Of Holly Sonders

/

Sports reporter Colleen Dominguez is suing Fox Sports over age discrimination and the sometimes-golf, sometimes-NFL reporter citing 28-year-old Holly Sonders as evidence of the network putting someone with less experience ahead of her. Dominguez's issues with Sonders relate to football telecasts, not golf.

Sean Zak at golf.com with the details.

In the lawsuit Dominguez alleges that "[Sonders] has no experience with the NFL, yet FOX has assigned Sonders to cover the 2015 NFL season. Dominguez is not receiving any NFL assignments although she has substantial experience covering the NFL."

When reached by GOLF.com, Sonders declined to comment about the lawsuit.

Ryder Cup To Italy: About The Money In Many Ways

/

Good to see Iain Carter taking a hard but optimistic look at Italy landing the 2022 Ryder Cup with the most lucrative bid for a golf course that doesn't look very compelling. Ultimately he concludes this was a Keith Pelley play to piggyback off the model set forth by George O'Grady with the French Open: add a huge purse for the Italian Open and bolster a late season run of events in an effort to keep more Europeans playing their home tour.

I know that's not comforting when we'll be watching golf played under power lines, but a strong European Tour is a good thing for golf.

The Italian Open currently provides a modest 1.5m euro prize fund. That pot is set to double and from 2017 the tournament will be worth 7m euros for the next 11 years.

Where the money is coming from remains to be seen. It is a mammoth commitment that will propel an event that has been in existence since 1925 to a new level.

"We have exciting plans for the development of the European Tour," Pelley stated. "Italy shares this ambition.
"Their commitment to the Italian Open will provide an inspiring benchmark."

These are the sort of prize purses that Pelley wants to have on offer week in, week out. He clearly hopes a more lucrative Italian Open will provide an example for other national championships to follow.

Nine Days Of Christmas: Lee Wybranski's Major Art

/

Longtime readers know I'm a huge fan of Lee Wybranski's commemorative posters that are available at three of the four majors). Wybranski's pieces combine the atmospheric 1930's railway art vibe while adding necessary modern touches to provide us the ideal keepsake from major championships.

Lee's 2013 Open Championship poster from Muirfield has been a favorite in my office, aided in part by the special week that unfolded.

As we all know, some majors are better than others, which is why this is a great time to go through Lee's page of past major posters for weeks that were special to you or a friend (there are also some fun surprises in the form of course maps and select amateur events like the 2005 Walker Cup).

There is no better way to liven up your man-cave or office walls with a Wybranski major championship piece from an event you attended or remember fondly. (His 2016 Oakmont poster is now available too).

If you enter the code GEOFF at checkout, he'll give you 20% off any of the posters for sale on his site, including the signed art.

Merry Christmas!

And thanks to Lee for offering a discount on his art work.

Video: Year End Roundtable On The Youth Movement

/

I continue to be confounded by the number of pro golfers who are so good at what they do at such a young age. Male or female, players are blossoming earlier in life than ever before, and in this digital-only segment taped after the year-end roundtable, Tim Rosaforte, Matt Adams and I discuss the kids.

The actual shows air Saturday and Sunday at 6, 6:30, 11 and 11:30 p.m. ET. 


Nine Days Of Christmas: Two Epic St. Andrews Books

/

I'll be blunt: I'm was kind of over coffee table books. They're big, they're bulky and rarely do they really resonate. That was, until the two epics on St. Andrews published this year.

I can almost guarantee that barring some nice family member asking what you want and making the effort, one of these two books will not be under the tree on Christmas morning. But that's why we have the internet and this holiday gift suggestion list.

Roger McStravick's St. Andrews In the Footsteps Of Old Tom Morris is easily the richest visual history of early golf. The clarity of the early imagery and Roger's sense for what was important to include make this an amazing trip back in time when a small group of golfers had an inkling that they were onto something.

Just seeing many of the early landmark locations in golf and the people who devoted themselves to refining the sport will make you proud to be a golfer. McStravick discussed the book with us earlier this year, and you can buy any of the three editions here, with the softcover starting at sixty pounds.

Josh Evenson's Links To St Andrews is one big love letter of sorts, with a wide range of contributors sharing stories of all kinds related to the town, the courses and the people who made it the Home of Golf. But beyond that, the book quietly tells the history of golf art right up to the present with works commissioned for the book. And thanks to incredible production values, joins the many historic pieces displayed as a work of art itself. This will look excellent in your vacation estates throughout the globe.

You can order the book here and also check out this PDF sampler.

We talked to Josh on Morning Drive about the book, and also looked at the evolution of golf art.