R&A Preparing To Punt On A Trump Turnberry Decision?

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Alistair Tait says R&A head honcho Martin Slumbers is meeting with media Monday and may be prepared to announce a 2020 Open Championship venue.

The name in the envelope is unlikely to be Trump Turnberry.

This is fun from Tait's report:

As reported previously in Golfweek, Trump acquired the mobile phone number of new R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers last year. Trump has made frequent calls to Slumbers to promote Turnberry’s 2020 credentials. The property tycoon is spending approximately $250 million to upgrade the course and hotel on Scotland's southwest coast.

Slumbers will sit down with golf writers Monday for a roundtable discussion on a number of issues. Trump, and his Turnberry course, likely will dominate the discussion.

Wentworth! And You Thought Your Club Had Issues

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Disfunction is often part of the club world but Audrey Gillan's Guardian piece summing up the Wentworth situation should make most club members feel better about any situation they might be questioning.

Thanks to reader Tom for sending in the piece, which recaps the £135m purchase in 2014 by a Chinese conglomerate chaired by Dr Chanchai Ruayrungruang, one of China’s wealthiest men. He promptly announced a plan to make the club a place for the super rich and now members are battling back, with a website and plans to create problems for the European Tour's flagship event in May, the BMW.

The group is even suggesting this is a national issue for Britain, which seems a bit of a stretch.

The threat to the BMW sounds real, however.

Wentworth Estate Roads Committee has the right to enforce restrictive covenants under the deed, because its prior approval “is required for any future property development, use of sponsored advertising signage, erection of tents and grandstands and organisation of rock concerts”.

This is a subtle threat to the PGA Tournament to be held in 29 May. It goes on less subtly: “The PGA Tournament is a nuisance and causes significant disruption to the day-to-day quality of life of the residents of the Wentworth Estate for many weeks before. The disruption and nuisance is amplified by additional activities such as BMW-sponsored events, including rock concerts, which are not necessary or incidental events to a golf tournament.”

Riviera Ready: The Final NoTrust Open, Your Comments

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It's another glorious weather day here in LA, the leaderboard is stacked, and let's get the complaining over with now: the potential playoff rota is 18-18-10-14.

After seeing all of John Mutch's back nine setup and most of Stephen Cox's effort on the front nine, the course won't yield the scores it did yesterday. However with greens smoother than the announcers may be suggesting and no wind to speak of, there is a 65 out there for someone to snatch victory away from the 12 players within one of Bubba Watson's lead.

Enjoy the Golf Channel telecast from 10 am to 11:30, followed by the half hour re-entry from outer space circa 1967, followed by CBS showing some college basketball and eventually, the noon(ish) telecast that will mark the last time this 90-year-old tournament is called the Northern Trust Open!

And anyone who fires at this hole location is risking life and limb... 

 

90 Years On, Riviera Ready To Test World's Best

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A much needed storm will take some fire out of the greens for Thursday's opening of the final Northern Trust Open. That's normally a bummer but considering the speed of Riviera's greens and the impact they have on certain holes--namely the par-4 tenth as we discussed on Golf Central--but it should provide room for some aggressive shotmaking that has been missing in recent years. Jordan Spieth might lose a little of his iron play advantage on day one but I still like his chances by day four.

The forecast is excellent for all four days where Spieth and Rory McIlroy bring a rare No. 1 vs. No. 2 3 to the PGA Tour (notes the NY Times's Karen Crouse), while a host of interesting names begin their Masters prep.

McIlroy is not merely making his first Riviera start, but his first West Coast Swing appearance. And while Brandel's getting under his skin, he's otherwise speaking with a confident, almost trash-talking edges, notes ESPN.com's Jason Sobel.

"Sometimes I still get those feelings of -- I don't want to say I have guilt, but sometimes I feel like I haven't had to work as hard to get to where I am as some other people. I don't know if that's guilt or if that's questioning, 'Why is that me? Why am I the one that feels this way?' But I feel now that I definitely have got a ruthlessness on the course that I maybe didn't have a few years ago."

In the demure world of golf, that's as boastful as a player will ever get.

It's hard to believe since I can still remember his drives barely clearing the hill on 18 and just how poor the conditioning was back then, but Lanny Wadkins' 20-under-par scoring record is the oldest on the PGA Tour.

Doug Ferguson caught up with Wadkins about that remarkable week where he broke the tournament scoring record by six. Ferguson also explores why the record has stood so long (hint, rough, then course changes and most recently green speed are probably the culprit).

James Hahn won in a playoff at Riviera last year at 6-under 278. Told the scoring record, he wanted to know who shot it.

"Is he in the Hall of Fame?" he asked. "I think just off of that, he should be."

Not to worry. Wadkins was inducted in 2009. He won 20 other times on the PGA Tour, including a PGA Championship at Pebble Beach.

Memories of that week remain clear for Wadkins.

He didn't have to save par until the par-3 fourth hole in the third round. He never went for the green on the short par-4 10th. And he ran off four straight birdies around the turn.

I reviewed the airtimes in this week's Forward Press, including PGA Tour Live, Golf Channel and CBS times, plus the much needed Featured Group/Featured Hole windows.

And here's a fun, fast look at the 10th:

Video: Players Try Three Generations Of Clubs At Riviera

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To celebrate the 90th anniversary of the first Glen Campbell Nissan Los Angeles Nissan Northern Trust Los Angeles Open, the PGA Tour set up clubs for the curious to try at what will be the final "Northern Trust" Open before Hyundai takes over in 2017.

Rory McIlroy, Kevin Na, Charley Hoffman, and Anirban Lahiri were among those who hit a variety of vintage clubs from the 1920's, 50's and 90's to commemorate the occasion. Many other players I witnessed--including some of the mid-30s variety who not a single person is paying money to see this week--passed.

From Adam Schupak's Golfweek.com roundup:

As if we needed any further proof that golf equipment has evolved, according to TrackMan data, McIlroy’s carry distance with hickory was 226.1 yards; he stepped it up to 269.9 with persimmon; and 270.6 yards with the original Callaway Big Bertha. When the tournament begins on Thursday, McIlroy likely will use his Nike Vapor 3-wood to avoid driving over the green.

The PGA Tour's highlights:

While we're acknowledging this anniversary, how about a shout-out to the folks who started the event with its eye-catching $10,000 purse, post-Rose Bowl date to attract media before they headed back to Union Station, and the inaugural winner at Los Angeles Country Club, Harry "Lighthorse" Cooper.

Here's a fun read from the late Mal Florence on the late Harry Cooper.

Rickie & Rory To Be Joined By Marky & JT?

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Brad Galli of WXYZ Detroit says the Rickie Fowler vs. Rory McIlroy (under the lights) exhibition will be rounded out by A-listers Mark Wahlberg and Justin Timberlake.

Doug Ferguson first reported the made-for-TV event that is expected the week prior to this summer's U.S. Open.

Of course unbeknownst to fans at this week's Northern Trust Open, Wahlberg played the Wednesday pro-am today. I only found out because a friend of Wahlberg's mentioned it. Because, you know, people in LA wouldn't want that promoted. The NoTrust Twitter account shared the news when it was a little too late for Wahlberg's fans to make it out.

 

Poll And Question: "Is the time right for non-conforming clubs?"

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That's the question Mike Stachura refreshingly attacks for GolfDigest.com in the wake of 2016's PGA Show.

After exploring the efforts in the Asian market to introduce such clubs, Stachura writes:

But no major U.S. company is looking at the nonconforming market and getting intrigued. Several major manufacturers contacted by Golf Digest said they would not be pursuing nonconforming equipment; others had no specific comment on the issue. Typical was this response from Callaway: “We think there is a lot of runway to give distance and performance while still playing by the rules.”

Even proudly renegade upstart Parsons Xtreme Golf defended golf’s rules. Said PXG and GoDaddy.com founder Bob Parson, “PXG believes that the USGA upholds the integrity of the game. As such, PXG’s clubs comply with all USGA regulations and we have no intention of introducing nonconforming equipment.”

The pressures of Wall Street and the weakening Rules of Golf will conspire at some point to bifurcate the game. Throw in the difficulty of finding suitable venues for the pro game played with ever-improving equipment and the hand of a major governing body will be forced to act in the form of a tournament ball. If it's not that, then the pressure will come from Wall Street for annual innovation and growth, and at some point that will mean non-conforming clubs.

So with those inevitabilities in mind and after reading Stachura's piece, I'd ask you to vote...

Is it time for bifurcation?
 
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