Help! Golf's First Snack Bar And 19th Hole Facing Demolition

/

Not to mention that Mrs. Forman's was home to the original and still greatest beverage cart girl.

It's with complete shock and sadness that I read this Golf Business News story (thanks Peter Flinn) on the October closing of Mrs. Forman's restaurant. Even worse than this lovely eatery closing (one that had been reimagined into a modern pub which also paid tribute to the buildings' incredible past), is the plan by a developer to level the 1822 structure behind Musselburgh's 4th green.

Originally helmed by Mrs. Marion Forman for nearly 20 years, this matronly saint of golf dining served golfers food and drink through the back window, or after their rounds. Many of the game's greats have dined and two of the very greatest even feuded there. While a few Bruntsfield establishments might be able to say they were older, Mrs. Forman's was certainly the first mid-round snack bar and it has been a bit of a miracle that this sweet spot had been reinvented to serve locals and honor the past. Scottish Golf History sums up this and many other moments from Mrs. Forman's past.

Longtime readers will know it was on my must stop list in my Golf Digest story and site video about an East Lothian pilgrimage. How I regret not having stopped in from the Scottish Open to The Open.

Another East Lothian Journal story by Sam Berkeley suggests that the building might be saved, perhaps based on some early feedback to a developer's plans for a car garage on this sacred site for golf.

A rethink is now on the cards, with the company considering retaining the pub building, which had been a local landmark next to Musselburgh Racecourse and Musselburgh Old Course Golf Club for many years.

Well, 194 years to be exact.

My YouTube video on the 4th green and Mrs. Forman's.

My collection of Musselburgh images in one video from a few years ago:

I will put together more images from Musselburgh that include Mrs. Forman's as I'll remember it. Because with a heavy heart, I'm afraid this golfing institution has served it's last meal. Hopefully something can at least be done to keep the structure intact as it's very much in play on the 4th hole of the links.

No Sugar Coates: Pettersen And Lee Paired Together

/

The last time they played together the day ended in tears and controversy. So it's just a miraculous bit of algorithm writing which has led to the happy Solheim Cup reunion when first round play starts Wednesday in the Coates Golf Championship (remember, early start to avoid the Super Bowl Sunday window.)

Beth Ann Nichols reports for Golfweek.com.

“That computer, it’s amazing how it spits things out,” U.S. captain Juli Inkster said facetiously.

Pettersen and Lee were embroiled in controversy last September at the Solheim Cup in Germany when the Americans’ Lee scooped up her ball on the 17th green at St. Leon-Rot Golf Club. The Europeans’ Pettersen immediately told a rules official that the 18-inch par putt had not been conceded. Lee insisted that she heard otherwise.

Trick Shot Roundup: Dropped From A Paraglider, Over The Head And Kids Living In Trick Shot Harmony

/

Loving the winter time blues inspiring all sorts of creativity, not that our desert dwelling friends are experiencing tough weather.

First, in the Don't Try This At Home Division, Russell Grove has his ball teed up by a paragliderer.


Trick shot veteran Mathias Scholberg and the strongest hands in golf are at it again:

👌

A video posted by Mathias Schjoelberg (@mathiasschjoelberg) on Oct 26, 2015 at 3:14pm PDT

International recording raconteur Matty has paired with up-and-coming artist Joris, who both got our attention with their shots hit just about anywhere in the world. Let's hear it for Generation Z!

No Green Room Syndrome For Golf's Youth Movement, Yet

/

Two listens are worth your time if you love basketball and golf. Both have helped me better realize why golf's recent explosion of young talent is so impressive: Charles Barkley discusses the demise of fundamentally sound players driving down the quality of NBA basketball (with Bill Simmons), and Roy Williams venting about ESPN deeming "Green Room" caliber players and further damaging the already beleaguered college basketball.

As you know from reading here or hearing us talk on Morning Drive, the age minimum for males winning a significant pro golf tournament has seemingly dropped from late 20s to early 20's. A number of players have been able to seal the deal at an age that was almost an unthinkable winning age in pro golf not long ago.

No one knows the exact cause of this youth onslaught, but some mix of technology, coaching, physical fitness, junior golf, college golf, social media, worldliness and access to equipment has played a role. While this could be a phase and some of the hype is driven by marketers hoping to appeal to ad buyers desiring millennial-friendly enterprises, there does appear to be a paradigm shift. (Though I will always insist golf is at its best when players of varied ages populate a leaderboard.)

Contrast the state of golf with college basketball, where leading voices continue to lament the skill decline of young players.

Charles Barkley discusses this with Bill Simmons on last week's podcast. As with all things Barkley, it's a fantastic listen if you love college hoops or the NBA.

And then there was legendary coach Roy Williams, wheeling out countless golf analogies in his weekly North Carolina press conference before shifting to a rant about ESPN and their use of the "Green Room" label to discuss certain NBA Lottery-caliber players. Williams makes pretty clear that his sport is damaged by its television partner viewing their game merely as a stepping stone to the NBA.

Here is the short version related to the Green Room rant from The Big Lead, though some of you will enjoy (and question) his golf analogies in the full press conference.

I highlight this contrast between basketball and golf because,

(A) it should make you feel better about golf's youth movement if you were understandably uneasy about the rush to anoint young people the next great things, and

(B) it's a cautionary tale for golf if there becomes an insistence on pushing young players too far with silly Green Room-like labels instead of allowing the players to evolve naturally or accepting that not everyone matures quickly, and

(C) both listens are about a sport viewed as in great shape, yet here are two of the most respect minds in that sport openly lamenting the quality of play just as we've seen in golf. The difference is, golf's youth rush has been more organic and the star status earned by the players thanks to their playing prowess.

The Golf Gods Stick Up For Brandt Snedeker's Epic 69

/

As the 2016 season progresses, Brandt Snedeker's final round 69 at Torrey Pines may be the barometer for great rounds going forward, particularly given how well he scored in brutal conditions.

It seemed like the overnight delay might allow Monday's finishers to have better conditions to hold off Snedeker's clubhouse score, but as John Strege notes, that didn't happen:

“At 10 o'clock, I think [the wind] almost hit on the nose and started blowing about 15 to 20 miles an hour,” Snedeker said. “And it blew a complete different direction than yesterday and made those last five holes play absolutely brutal.”

Walker bogeyed four of his final eight holes to drop out and K.J. Choi missed a long birdie effort at 18 to tie. The final-round scoring average was 77.9, nearly eight strokes worse than Snedeker’s score. Twenty-three of 71 players failed to break 80.

“I feel bad for them,” he said. “They got the raw end of the stick this morning. But that’s just the way golf goes.”

Some fun stats from the crack ShotLink gang putting Snedeker's comeback into perspective:

The highlights lack shots from the winner or of a crowd. Strange day indeed.

Forward Press: The Wasted, Dubai And Coates

/

I'm not sure what which event will give traditionalists a bigger headache: the annual party that is the Waste Management Open or the Omega Dubai Desert Classic celebrating the 2-year anniversary of...you know...the commercial.

In this week's Forward Press I talked to Tommy Roy about NBC's plan for the TPC Scottsdale and Feherty's debut. Oh, and while elements of the old Phoenix Open give us all reason to cringe, I ask whether it's time for golf to just let it go?

Also, just in case the dreaded Omega ad does not resurface during the Dubai telecast, a handy link sits below in case you missed hearing will.I.am or want to sort out this week's complicated but fun TV golf viewing schedule.

Here it is.

Snedeker And The (Historic?) Winds Of Torrey Pines

/

Brandt Snedeker's final round 69 at Torrey Pines South should have won him the 2016 Farmers Insurance Open, and it still may depending on the winds for Monday's delayed finish (11 am ET Golf Channel) where Jimmy Walker leads by one, while veterans K.J. Choi, Kevin Streelman and Freddie Jacobsen lurk.

Snedeker earns a prize for best line to describe a wacky day that include no shortage of entertaining (and not so entertaining) descriptions. From John Strege's account of a strange Sunday at Torrey:

Snedeker, who said it was “like playing a British Open on a U.S. Open setup,” completed play at six-under par 282, one behind leader Jimmy Walker, who still has eight holes to play. Play was halted for the third time on Sunday at 1:57 p.m. (PST), and 90 minutes later it was suspended until Monday morning.

A Sunday finish probably represented Snedeker’s best chance at winning, given the strength of the wind and the intermittently heavy rain. “I want them out there playing, since I had to play through this all day,” he said after his round.

Monday's final round will be played without spectators due to more forecasted winds that could render tents flying objects. Though as Eamon Lynch noted, the players will be used to it after last year's U.S. Open at Chambers Bay where they could go holes without seeing another human.

Donald Miralle Instagrammed this clip showing the media never having been seen to be moving so quickly upon learning it was time to evacuate:

 

 

Wentworth Row Heating Up: Members Threatening Legal Action

/

Storied Wentworth Club, host to the annual BMW Championship on the European Tour and once home to an H.S. Colt-designed course, has seen major changes announced by new Beijing-based owner Chanchai Ruayrungruang (bless you control C and V). But not since October have we heard where the fight might be headed.

After having brought in the Foreign Secretary to no avail, the old guard membership that new owner Reignwood wants to move out to be replaced by 800 or so mostly international members, has received a 15-page letter, reports The Guardian's Nazia Parveen (thanks reader Tom).

The letter claims the planned changes to the club’s membership would breach a legal trust agreement in place for 50 years, contravene consumer and equality laws, and possibly even break Chinese laws on joining golf clubs.

Wow. Invoking the Community Party ban on golf club membership. Digging deep!

Lawyers also argue that the proposed “exclusive membership” could be in breach of Chinese law. Campaigners have claimed that such practices are forbidden in China.