Stunned, Thrilled & Resigned: Tiger Doing '97 Masters Book

Stunned because the timing for a book is a bit surprising.

Thrilled because some of the topics mentioned in the release sound as if he'll expand on some of the more interesting thoughts shared with co-author Lorne Rubenstein for a Time interview earlier this year. And Tiger has a lot of fascinating takes on the game he's held back.

Resigned to the idea he's not feeling the itch when someone who doesn't like to look back is agreeing to doing a book reminiscing.

The release posted at TigerWoods.com:

Grand Central Publishing (GCP), a division of Hachette Book Group, is thrilled to announce the acquisition of UNTITLED TIGER WOODS 1997 MASTERS BOOK by sports icon Tiger Woods, co-written with Lorne Rubenstein. Jamie Raab, president and publisher at GCP, negotiated world rights to the book with Mark Steinberg of Excel Sports Management, with Gretchen Young, VP, Executive Editor at GCP editing. The book will be published in hardcover, e-book and audio editions in March 2017 in conjunction with the 20th anniversary of Tiger's win at the 1997 Masters.  

Tiger, then only 21, won the 1997 Masters by a historic 12 shots, which remains the widest margin of victory in the tournament's history, making it arguably among the most seminal events in golf. In UNTITLED TIGER WOODS 1997 MASTERS BOOK, Woods will recount, in his own words, his experience of winning his first major, becoming the youngest Masters champion ever. The 1997 Masters was Tiger's first appearance in the tournament as a professional; he had turned pro only the previous August. Tiger was already among the most-watched and closely examined athletes in history. He was the first African-American/Asian player to win the Masters, and this at the Augusta National Golf Club, perhaps the most exclusive club in the world, and one that had in 1990 admitted its first black member. His utter domination of the field after shooting a 4-over-par 40 on the front nine of the first round, and then recovering with a 6-under-par 30 on the back nine, captivated and astonished the golf world and beyond. Tiger has called it the defining tournament of his career, having won 13 more major championships since.  

The book, Woods' first since his 2001 book, "How I Play Golf," will explore Woods' history with the game, the tournament itself, how golf has changed over the last 20 years and what it was like winning.

Hopefully Tiger reads up on the USGA/R&A report saying distances haven't spiked much the last 13 years! We wouldn't want to get our facts wrong!

Woods will open up about his relationship with father Earl Woods, dispel previous misconceptions and will candidly reveal many more stories that have never been told before.

"The 1997 Masters was one of the most important tournaments in my life for many reasons," Tiger said. "I think about the hug with my dad and all the events that went on that week. A lot of people know generally about that tournament, but this gives me a chance to tell in detail what happened on and off the course."

"It is a great privilege to help bring to light this vivid account by the legendary Tiger Woods of his barrier-breaking win at the 1997 Masters Tournament," Young said of the acquisition. "For the first time he shares with readers the personal, professional and societal challenges he experienced in reaching and winning the tournament, providing keen insight from one of the game's all-time greats on the Masters then and now, as well as on the sport itself."

Maybe a chapter on the changes to Augusta National that resulted from the performance? We can only dream!

Video: Crenshaw On Save Lions Muni

Let's interrupt the grow-the-game claims to give attention to a place to grow the game and now is in danger of redevelopment.

Ben Crenshaw speaks in this 18-minute tribute to a public course that was vital to his development as a player. But as he explains, Lions is more than just a historic place for shaping a two-time Masters champion. It's a place that kids could hang out and learn the game. It's a place adults could learn the game affordably. It's centrally located in an urban area. It grew the game. There are many just like it that have been neglected and golf doesn't seem interested enough in saving them. Maybe Lions will turn things around!

#growthegame Files: Natalie Gulbis On The Donald She Knows

Listening to well-paid players justify their move from what was a stalwart, 54-year PGA Tour event stop Miami to the charming confines of Mexico City over money, several did not wanting to get fined suggested it was a grow the game moment. Even Jack Nicklaus, whose Memorial Wednesday was overshadowed by the news, wheeled out the grow the game maxim, adding yet another chapter in this catchphrase.

The inclusion of golf in the Olympics ushered in the justifying of any and all behavior as part of growing the game. In the case of the Olympics, there is truth to the partnership if the exposure or funding promises come true, or if there is subliminal legitimization of the game in places it was previously mocked.

Most times, grow the game is a protective shield to justify the mere act of making money. Or, for choosing unconventional paths to brand glory. "Grow the game” was wheeled out to celebrate the antics of the #SB2k16 gang, and no doubt thousands who knew nothing of golf and saw a semi-naked Smylie Kaufman dancing atop a golf cart and Jordan Spieth impersonating David Feherty have since invested money earmarked for paying off college loans to the purchase of a club membership. However, it was an even greater joy to read Natalie Gulbis employing the phrase when telling us about the Donald Trump she knows for Golf.com’s podcast and in a written piece.

The two grow the game references, for your reading pleasure...

He encouraged me to look at myself as a brand and as a professional golfer with a huge platform to grow the game of golf, regardless of my gender.

And...

I had seen "The Apprentice." Who hadn't? It was cutthroat and competitive, and it featured a lot of arguing, so I wasn't sure I was a fit. But Donald said that as a participant I would achieve three things: grow the game of golf, draw positive attention to the LPGA, and raise money to start my own Boys and Girls Club, which he knew was one of my life goals.

Yes, consider the legions who might have taken up the game had Natalie appeared on Celebrity Apprentice! We can only dream. #growthegame

For Your U.S. Open Consideration: Conventional Grip McIlroy

If you were looking for a reason to back Rory at Oakmont, he certainly gave punters all they needed to see on some of the tour's toughest greens.

From Bob Harig's Memorial report on Rory McIlroy's play (-13, T4) just a little over a week before the U.S. Open at Oakmont:

But perhaps more important was McIlroy's putting. Typically a sore spot and the aspect of his game that holds him back, McIlroy was second for the week in strokes gained putting and never took more than 29 putts in a round. (He had more than 30 in each round two weeks ago in Ireland.)

"Off the tee I was really good this week, and I feel like my putting improved a lot,'' he said. "If you look at the stats from my putting, I feel like it's been really good. So all things considered, it's been a decent week. Time to get ready for Oakmont.''

And this from Golf Channel's Justin Ray:

.@McIlroyRory: final round 68 (-13 overall). 2nd in field this week in strokes gained putting - was 122nd this season entering week.

— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGC) June 5, 2016

I think most fascinating about the putter grip change from left hand low to conventional is just how much less he "pops" a putt instead of a stroke. Popping is not a good thing on greens running 14. IMHO.

Tim Warsinskey notes that McIlroy has been preparing by watching the USGA's flyovers.

Apparently he's jumping on the Oregon bandwagon en route to Oakmont...

When you're about to takeoff but tell the pilots to wait! Playoff looked likely but not now! ✈️ pic.twitter.com/cPusHv3YUE

— Rory McIlroy (@McIlroyRory) June 5, 2016

Video: Oakmont's 7th & 8th, The Tough Begins

Not that there has been an easy moment so far, but Oakmont only gets tougher from the 7th tee on. Even more exposed than it was nine years ago, this is one of the more sloped greens and a nice contrast to the flat eighth.



I'm not sure releasing a paper outlining the lack of distance gains and then lengthening the longest par-3 in U.S. Open history twelve or so yards does much to make your argument stronger. Especially when the hole saw only 27% of the field hit the green in regulation last time the U.S. Open was played here.

Nonetheless, the least interesting looking and playing hole at Oakmont is still interesting, a credit to its design.

Video: Oakmont 5th & 6th Holes, Two Of The Best

It's been a while since I've been to Oakmont but the flyovers and green contour lines in these USGA flyovers remind what a great pair of holes these are.

It'll be interesting to see if that directional post behind the fifth green survives...

Nice to see the 6th green enlarged, as I vaguely recall it played a little too small during the 2007 U.S. Open.

NCAA Men's Wrap: Big Ratings, Team Match Play & Substitutes?

There was a little grumbling about Texas not getting to replace the injured Beau Hossler and a lot of raving about the play by both Oregon and UT in the thrilling NCAA Men's finale.

Lance Ringler says "with so much on the line in college golf, it only makes sense to be able to change a lineup during the event."

But as he notes...

For any change to be effective, substitution would have to be allowed for any reason, be it injury or poor performance. Leave it to the coach’s discretion, just as in other team sports.

With a national championship at stake, Hossler’s pivotal injury provided a textbook example of why substitutions in college golf make more sense than ever.

In a sport already teetering on the brink of serious have vs. have not, carrying another player to the national finals and incorporating a sixth player during the season would add another cost factor that college golf can't ignore. Ringler points out the topic is a regular topic at the coaches convention.

As I explained to Cara Robinson on Morning Drive, the resources were there at this year's final. But more often than not, injuries rarely happen and adding another cost wouldn't do college golf any good. Also note the highlights played as I'm talking, Brandt Packer and team really captured that final putt in style.

In chatting with a few golfers and media today, the joys of team match play became another prime takeaway for many from the event. Once again, the combination of head-to-head play and representing a larger institution other than one's self led to a different level of energy, tension and passion we do not get with stroke play. Once again, folks couldn't help but wonder how Olympic golf is not something similar to this, perhaps with three-person teams?

Kevin Casey of Golfweek takes a closer look at the national champions and some of their trevails from last week.

And in case you missed it, Beth Ann Nichols filed this on UT's fast-playing Taylor Funk, who ended up in the spotlight trying to help Texas win the title as things went to sudden death.

The overnights are in and SportsTVRatings says the three hour, forty minute telecast in east coast primetime averaged 325,000 viewers, with 94,000 from the only demo that matters. I'm not sure where that number lands, but that's definitely double any PGA Tour fall event and has to be one of the channel's higher rated non-PGA Tour live telecasts. Hopefully that helps Golf Channel's investment pay off with the combination of eyeballs and buzz.

Video: Turns Out The Giant Gator Is Real And A Big Lush

Nice spot Patrick Kiernan to find another video of that enormous Buffalo Creek Golf Course gator in Palmetto, Florida.

Make sure to watch both to see how large he is compared to the nice-sized tree, and then to enjoy when he just collapses in joy on the grass for a Vitamin D and relaxation.

Are The Governing Bodies Cherry Picking Distance Data?

Mike Stachura breaks down the USGA-R&A report issued today on distance. It felt like an effort to buy time from having to act in a significant way. So they'll continue to lazily change courses, stare at their swelling hedge fund investments and quietly slide into irrelevancy due to public stance on distance that passes few basic smell tests to longtime observers of the sport. (Luke Kerr-Dineen did a nice job rounding up the reactions and explaining the debate for those new to the issue.)

Digging in on the current distances as acceptable while lengthening championship courses severely contradicts the (noble) efforts by the USGA's staff to make the game more sustainable (a correlation more and more golfers are making).

Couple in elements like going after anchored putters instead of distance, compiling massive vanity war chests and glossing over huge distance changes prior to cherry-picked years, and it adds up to damaged street cred.

Stachura got a sneak preview and was able to talk at length to the USGA's John Spitzer, a bright, level-headed fellow who is merely presenting what the data is telling him. But in one area I felt like he went a tad far in trying to discredit the potential jump in distance that 2016 is so far seeing.

“If you are looking to tell a story, you can cherry pick data and tell whatever story you want, and some of that has happened,” he said. “We just want to make sure that everyone knows that we are looking at this and we’re looking at it in a statistically significant and a statistically robust way.”

But as Stachura notes:

The report does not include any data on elite amateur players or even average golfers. Nor does it detail any of the results of USGA and R&A testing of shorter-distance golf balls. The ruling bodies requested these balls from manufacturers in 2005 as part of their research on distance and conducted a series of player tests over the last decade.

Spitzer said both of those areas may be part of future reports, and he indicated the plan is to release an update on distance research on an annual basis.

Furthermore, I've noticed that one of the primary arguments for possible distance and groove regulation in the past has been abandoned: the correlation between driving accuracy and success on the professional level. Not a peep in this report.

Brandel Chamblee's piece from two years ago on "total driving" remains relevant today in considering the old governing body stance on balancing the skillful acts of distance and accuracy.

Which brings us back to 2000. That year, Tiger Woods led in total driving, David Duval was second, Sergio Garcia third and Ernie Els seventh. It would be one of the last years that great driving mattered. Since then, it seems, the whole of professional golf is in the rough. Wild as the weeds they find there.

Here is the current Total Driving list from 2016, but an even more stark contrast in the have and have-nots is seen when looking at the Distance and Accuracy leaders.

I ask, based on your knowledge of the 2016 results and money, what list would you rather populate?

Let's humor the governing bodies and agree that there have been only minor distance gains since 2003, that all is well, that the leaps have been capped and, accordingly, no piece of golf equipment going forward will allow anyone to hit the ball significantly longer.

Just concede this: the gains made from 1998 to 2003 remain hugely destructive, expensive and counterproductive for the health of the game at the highest levels. After all, I'm pretty sure anchored putters never raised the cost of golf a cent, but the gains made in that five year stretch did untold damage to the planet by expanding the footprint of a modern golf course.

If you can concede that and the other side concedes that the current Overall Distance Standard is working, then why not tweak that standard to help bring hundreds of courses rendered irrelevant back to relevancy? 

In 2003, that number increased to nine and it has kept climbing. Better athletes who have grown up not knowing what a persimmon miss looks like and who have optimized launch conditions are able to drive it significantly longer than their predecessors. So why not change that standard just a little bit to address this change in skill and restore relevancy to things like 6,900 yards, irons below the 8 and maybe only see a handful of players averaging over 300 yards off the tee instead of the 24 that currently do so? 

Would that in any way damage the sport?

Update on 2016-06-03 05:44 by Geoff

**Kris McEwan at Golficity breaks down the numbers and says the year-by-year analysis is "the equivalent of measuring the growth of a child and only reporting the year to year change.  In turn, you are ignoring how much taller the child is actually getting across the overall span of time.  Suddenly, you look at your kid twenty years later and he’s six feet tall and you’re asking yourself, 'when did that happen?!'"

Looking at the USGA's charts, he writes:

Take a look again at the red line representing the “measured holes” of the PGA TOUR.  In 1992, with the advent of the over-sized driver, average driving distance is about 260 yards.  Ten years later, players are hitting the ball an average of 20 yards farther with the driver.

Now let’s put that twenty additional yards to work in an actual scenario.  A pro hits driver in 2002 on a par-4, 400 yard hole, that means his second shot is going to be 140 yards.  In 2012, the same drive leaves him with 120 yards to the hole. Any hack on a municipal course on a Sunday morning will tell you how significant those twenty yards are.

Fast forward from 2002 to 2012 and pros are now hitting driver another ten yards farther.  Meaning over a twenty year span, golfers on the PGA TOUR gained an extra 30 yards off the tee.

Oh, and before you tell me, “players today are in better shape and more athletic,” allow me to point out that the Champions Tour guys—you know, the old dudes—are hitting the ball 275 yards today versus 250 yards twenty years ago.