Judge To Tour Caddies: Bibs Are Your Uniforms

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That's what Judge Vince Chhabria wrote in dismissing the federal lawsuit filed by 168 tour caddies.

You may recall that caddies were suing over a host of issues, but the primary issue was with having to wear caddie bibs with tournament or other sponsor branding, free of compensation.

Rex Hoggard reports:

“Even if this contract language might appear susceptible to two different interpretations when considered in isolation, there is only one reasonable interpretation when the language is considered in the context of this case,” Chhabria wrote. “The bib has been the primary part of the ‘uniform’ that the Tour requires caddies to wear.”

Jordan Spieth Rested And Has His Speeds Back

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With a week off following his trips to Abu Dhabi and Singapore where he complained of fatigue, Jordan Spieth says a week off has him refreshed and ready for Pebble Beach.

Will Gray reports for GolfChannel.com:

“I feel great. I feel very rested now,” Spieth said Wednesday. “It’s amazing what a solid week back here of kind of rest and regeneration will do. My speeds are where they need to be, my rest is back, everything feels good.”

Speeds? Could a Spieth linguistics slideshow be looming somewhere down the line?

Spieth and Jake Owen tee off at 11:55 Thursday with Dustin Johnson and Wayne Gretzky. Gray previews that and other notable celebrity/pro groupings.

Lydia Ko: Olympics Are Priority No. 1

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I'm fairly certain world No. 1 Lydia Ko has always been excited about the Olympics, as have all of the women getting their first chance at a gold medal. But it's still fun to see players sounding more and more excited about golf's return to the Olympiad.

From an unbylined AP story:

Ko, who will defend her New Zealand Open title from Friday, said there was ''so much excitement and vibe'' around the Olympic tournament, ''especially as it's the first time women will play at the Olympics in golf.''

The 18-year-old New Zealander said ''ever since they announced that golf will be in the Olympics I said, 'Hey, I want to get myself on that team.' For any athlete to say you're an Olympian is a whole new proud feeling, and to represent your country on such an international stage it's going to be a pretty special week.''

Parsons: Players Pursued Us, Not The Other Way Around

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ESPN.com's Bob Harig files a nice profile of Bob Parson's, founder of Parsons Extreme Golf, which has signed a dozen tour players. The piece also features a Michael Collins video interview with Parsons.

Parsons is selling very expensive club with sophisticated milling and metals, which adds a high-end approach to golf club manufacturing.

His claims about the tour player staff all coming to Parsons, however, doesn't seem entirely believable.

Ryan Moore was the first player to sign on with PXG early in 2015, and his clubs became a bit of curiosity on driving ranges throughout the PGA Tour.

But getting a group of players to join the company has given it a big push. In addition to Johnson, Horschel and Hahn, PXG also signed the likes of Chris Kirk and Charles Howell III. LPGA Tour players Cristie Kerr, Gerina Piller, Alison Lee, Beatriz Recari and Sadena Parks as well as Anna Rawson are also on the payroll. So is Champions Tour player Rocco Mediate.

"I was happy to see it,'' Parsons said. "It did increase our momentum. I did not go after any of them. Every one of them came to us. We eventually put a deal together with them. After the last one we signed, Mr. Kirk, we decided that 12 is enough. Thirteen ain't going to help us more.''

What's Going On With The World Amateur Golf Ranking?

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On the list of issues facing the sport how amateurs are ranked by the R&A's World Amateur Golf Ranking probably doesn't leap off the page as prime click bait.

Which is even more reason to check out Golf Bible's analysis of a lightly viewed press release announcing changes to how the rankings are tabulated. Namely, a two-year window is now considered to tabulate an amateur golfer's ranking, which can impact if the player is eligible for something like the Asia Pacific Amateur.

There has long been great discord within amateur golf ranks over the ranking, including at the moment when the current NCAA and U.S. Amateur champion, Bryson DeChambeau, is ranked third, yet lands a more logical first in the Scratch Players World Amateur Ranking.

I'm guessing this would be example A as to why it has less credibility than it should, as Golf Bible writes:

Prior to last week’s announcement Jon Rahm was due this week to drop a huge number of points that he won for finishing tied 5th at the 2015 Waste Management Phoenix Open. Now he will stay at No. 1 I guess. Oppositely the SPWAR has more smooth and gradual changes because it applies points ageing.

[Somehow Rahm was awarded more points (30.250) by the WAGR for this high pro finish than DeChambeau got for winning either the US Amateur (19.875) or the NCAA Division 1 Championship (22.000) which explains why he is No. 1 if you were wondering].

World Golf Foundation CEO: Millennials Will Be The "Core"

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In today's what golf will do to be loved by the 18-to-34 year olds, World Golf Foundation CEO Steve Mona says they're coming and the game should adjust to their every need.

Tod Leonard reports for the San Diego Union Tribune on the bullish tone Mona has for the state of the game.

They key segments to all of golf are youth and the millennials, which the NGF deems as those between 18 and 34 years old. The NGF did a comprehensive study of millennials and found that six million are currently playing and contributing about $5 billion annually to the golf industry. Another 12 million millennials expressed interest in taking up the game at some point.

"This kind of sky-is-falling talk that millennials aren’t playing the game, the facts belie that," Mona said. "It would be disingenuous of me to say, though, that there aren’t issues to address."

The NGF study reported that millennials value the tenets of the game as much as their older peers, but are turned off by perceptions of stodginess or lack of acceptance. Among the areas that need to be addressed, Mona said, are dress codes, use of technology on the course and even the use of music while playing.

"There are courses that already are reshaping their whole experience to be extremely millennial-friendly," Mona said. "There are others who haven’t so much. But if you talk to any operator who is paying attention to the business, most of them will tell you they are making adjustments to appeal to the millennial audience.

"They’re the next group coming along, and they’re going to be the core."

Yes, in about 20 years! In the mean time...

Mrs. Forman's Update: Images, History, Where To Write

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The shock of potentially losing the historic Mrs. Forman's has taken a few days to wear off, but the forces are aligning to preserve golf's most historic social gathering spot as a structure. But why stop there? Conversion to a residence when it hasn't been one for nearly 200 years seems shortsighted.

After the last fight over Musselburgh Links, I've given up trying to understand the inability to grasp the lack of appreciation for Edinburgh historical sites like Musselburgh and Mrs. Forman's. Perhaps it's a matter of branding and marketing, or maybe this traces to the longtime rivalry between St. Andrews and Edinburgh. At this point, nothing should matter but protecting the game's most vital sites of importance.

Enough people know how vital this area was to the shaping of the sport as we know it today. Therefore, preserving golf's first mid-round snack bar and a historic post-round "19th hole" should supersede any rivalries.

For a nice, succinct bit of background on how the demolition plans were discovered, check out Ru Macdonald's discussion with Neil Laird on the Scottish Golf Travel podcast. Laird's excellent Scottish Golf History website is worth a look for background on this saga and for future trip planning.

Our discussion today from Morning Drive:

My photos from inside the now-shuttered eatery, including the view from Mrs. Forman's window, which she opened to serve golfers during their rounds.

Here is the history of the place and more on Mrs. Forman:


And finally, courtesy of building architect Mungo Park, relative of Musselburgh's legendary Park clan, here is where you can write to influence the future of "The Cradle of Golf."

His comments are on a fantastic GolfClubAtlas.com thread about the closing.

Anyone that wants to do the same, or your own version, should do so by e-mail before the 17th February.

You can e-mail direct to,
environment@eastlothian.gov.uk 
but you must quote the Application number 15/01035/P, 2 Ravensheugh Road, Musselburgh and state whether you are supporting or opposing or just commenting.

You can also write to,
 
Planning Department, John Muir House
 Brewery Park
 Haddington
 East Lothian
 EH41 3HA.

Again quote reference number '15/01035/P - 2 Ravensheugh Road, Musselburgh'.

You can also comment on line, but will need to register on the web-site before doing so - not onerous but a bit tedious.

I think it is worth putting a marker down at this stage, so that East Lothian at least knows that Mrs Forman's has a significance to the history of golf, and that people care about it. There is a good level of concern nationally and internationally, and the more comments they receive the more  notice will be taken now and in the future. I shall keep an eye out for future applications.

The Zika Virus And Olympic Golf...

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While most of the various grave threats posed by Rio's Olympic golf course have passed or been overblown, the Zika virus would seem the most problematic since it is transmitted through mosquito bites.

On the news that PGA Tour LatinoAmerica is briefly postponing two events to let the mosquitoes pass (per Golf.com's report by Marika Washchyshyn), UPI's Tom LaMarre says all inquiries are being made.

"We're having discussions about the precautionary steps we feel need to be taken in and around the golf competition, and making plans to implement them to the maximum degree," said Ty Votaw, vice president of the International Golf Federation.

Votaw said special mosquito repellant might be distributed to fans, and officials plan to create movement in the ponds to eliminate standing water.