Tiger Finds His Ball, Other Nike Guys In Hoarding Mode

In reading Doug Ferguson's story reporting Tiger's golf ball endorsement deal with Bridgestone, it's fun to read just how neurotic players remain about the ball they put into play.

I'm enjoying the thought of Brooks Koepka parking his cars outside the garage because of his Nike golf ball hoarding now that they are out of the business...

By choosing a new golf ball, Woods went a different direction from two of Nike's highest-ranked players. Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka said they have asked Nike to set aside as many golf balls as possible.

"I have about two to three years' worth," Koepka said in the Bahamas.

David Dusek's Golfweek.com story on the signing of Woods says Bridgestone ran the numbers, Japanese-style.

Corey Consuegra, Bridgestone’s senior director of marketing, said Monday evening that his company has an internal philosophy based on a Japanese phrase, Genbutsu-Genba.

“What that means is that we make fact-based decisions, decisions that are based on data,” he said. “So when we looked into the opportunity to be a partner with Tiger Woods, we studied closely and learned (in focus groups) that our brand perception increases by 50 percent when he is connected to our brand, and the purchase intent of our consumers goes up based on the nature of his credibility.”

Old Course Hotel Takes Better Shelter From Road Hole Tee

I'm not sure why I found this roofer quote so funny given that he's been tasked to eliminate the £1,500 each week spent by the Old Course Hotel to replace damaged slates, but I will certainly cite this as my reason for hitting the hotel roof twice in 2015.

From an unbylined Sunday Herald story:

Euroshield owner Henry Kamphuis said: “I was stunned when we got the call because it was St Andrews. I was up on the hotel and the gutters are just full of golf balls. It’s very easy to hit the hotel. It’s right in the middle of the fairway.”

Costco's Kirkland Golf Ball "Out Of Stock" Until December 20th

Thanks to reader Steve for Erik Matuszewski's Forbes follow-up on sales of Costco's knock-off ball zooming from shelves large crates for $29.99 per TWO dozen. A date of December 20th is listed as the earliest re-stocking of a ball that has tested well.

Even more remarkably, folks are trying to resell them at a premium price.

The balls, not surprisingly, have popped up on auction sites like eBay, with listings of $48.99 for a dozen, $90 for two dozen or $189.99 for 48 balls. Those aren't wholesale club prices there, folks. Costco has declined to say how many of the Kirkland balls have been sold since the launch or generally give any detailed information about the balls at all. It's actually not a bad approach; the company is letting (positive) word of mouth speak for the ball, the same as it has for, say, its high-quality wines.

It will be interesting to see how long this phenomenon continues until (or if) the lack of elite-player usage undermines some of the excitement.

Wilson Submitted (Non-Conforming) Driver To USGA Four Days Before It Hit Shelves

From reality show winner to rocky retail road, the Wilson Triton driver did not pass USGA conformity testing in all but one model.

More fascinating for those of us getting to see the difficulties of bringing a product to the marketplace quickly, Martin Kaufmann's latest Golfweek follow-up on the saga notes the USGA seeing trouble the moment samples arrived in Far Hills, and includes this:

Spitzer said the USGA did not receive Triton test samples until Nov. 21, just four days before the product went on sale. He said the turnaround time for testing products is “about 14 days.”

Spitzer described the modified Tritons it received this week as “a separate submission.”

“We have to go through the full test, and we have not completed the full test,” he said. He added that under an expedited review, the modified Tritons could be placed on the Dec. 19 list if they’re determined to be conforming.

"Golfstat founder Mark Laesch stays positive as his time runs out"

Golfweek.com has posted a very powerful piece by Beth Ann Baldry on Mark Laesch, who built GolfStat.com into an essential place since 1984 (!) and relevance-maker for college golf to this day. Laesch is the fourth member of his family to suffer from ALS.

Here is the full story that also includes a video component worth checking out.

“I happen to believe that the instant we die,” Mark said, “is probably the greatest single moment of our life.”

Laesch uses his left index finger to control a motorized wheelchair, the same finger he now uses to type. In recent months he has lost the ability to use his legs and his right arm. His left arm is going. His analytic mind, however, remains as sharp as his wit.

“I want everybody to be in heaven,” he said, “even my ex-wife.”

SBJ's Predictions For 2017: Look For FedExCup Changes, No New PGA Tour Broadcast Deal

There are a couple of intriguing insider notes from SBJ's well-connected John Ourand related to PGA Tour business in this 2017 predictions column.

9. No new broadcast deal for PGA Tour

It’s no secret that the PGA Tour will have conversations with CBS and NBC about opening up their broadcast deals. But the tour knows that there’s no big deal to be had here. The big media money comes in 2021 when the PGA Tour’s cable rights with Golf Channel are up. Until then, look for the PGA Tour to cut interesting streaming deals with companies like Facebook and Twitter as it studies the landscape before its cable negotiations kick in.

The column also includes a note on Amazon's desire to get into sports this year, though Ourand cited the emerging streaming network as targeting other sports such as tennis.

10. FedEx Cup changes coming

There’s been a lot of talk inside the tour about shortening the FedEx Cup so that it would not run up against college and pro football games in September. The tour will decide this year that it will conclude the FedEx Cup on Labor Day weekend starting in 2019. The knock-on effect from the compressed August schedule will see the PGA Championship moved from August to May and the Players Championship moved from May to March. That will start the golf season with a lot of momentum with one big event a month (from the Players to the Masters to the PGA Championship).

I'm still struggling to see how this works for the PGA of America in two big ways: agronomically and financially. A May date all but rules out several markets they visit or want to revisit (Rochester, Minneapolis, middle-of-nowhere Wisconsin), while the August date is actually a decent one given the fairly uncrowded landscape.

From a historical perspective, giving up the August date for the low-rated, lowly-anticipated FedExCup also seems short-sighted.

On the plus side, returning The Players to March beefs up a Florida swing already feeling a little depleted by the elimination of the Doral stop, while a May PGA Championship would open up a few markets of interest.

Reality Show: Wilson's Driver Ruled Non-Conforming

Martin Kaufmann, who recently detailed the issues involving getting the Wilson Triton on the USGA's conforming club list, now reports non-conformity status for all but one the tour player model of the winning-reality show products.

From his Golfweek.com report:

The company said in a media release mid-day Monday that the company is working with the USGA to address the design elements that led to the club being rejected from the conforming list. Wilson said the USGA will review fixes to those elements this week. Wilson also said in the statement that it hopes a modified product could be ruled conforming as early as Dec. 19.

The USGA would not specify the reason the club was ruled nonconforming. In its release, Wilson said there were two problems: an aesthetic issue involving the size of the sole plate, and the springiness of the face when the adjustable weights are used in a specific configuration.

Kaufmann notes that most retailers had already pulled the club until conforming status had been bequeathed on the club, and that Wilson hopes to have USGA-approved adjustments made as early as December 19th.

Q&A With Jim Moriarty, Author Of Playing Through

Longtime golf writer and photographer Jim Moriarty has penned Playing Through (University of Nebraska Press), his look at the incredible thirty-or-so-year window that has seen massive change and the Tiger Woods influence.

Best known for his revealing Golf World feature stories, Moriarty has used those pieces to weave together a nice overview of the game as it saw major changes. Other writers have put together anthologies, but Moriarty's style makes this one a little sexier than the usual anthology.

If you want a signed copy and to support a great Pinehurst institution, you can buy the book here at the Old Sport Gallery page.

Or, if you just need a good golf read or a smart gift, Amazon also has you covered with hardcover and Kindle editions.

Jim kindly answered a few questions about the book and what he's seeing with Tiger, the state of golf media and the next generation of stars.

GS: This is not an anthology, but a combination of new thoughts and essays on key players over the last thirty years. What made you go this route with the book instead of an anthology of previous Golf World and Digest features?

JM: The concept was pretty simple, which is good because complex thinking isn’t in my wheelhouse. Two of Herb Wind’s books, The Story of American Golf and Following Through (the latter a compilation of his New Yorker stories) taken together do an admirable job of telling the story of golf in America from the Apple Tree Gang to right around Nicklaus/Watson at Pebble Beach. While I certainly don’t — in any way — put myself in Herb’s category, the idea was to more or less pick up where he left off. There are lots of terrific books about a player or a tournament but nothing that sort of covered the field sideline-to-sideline. Then the question was, do I take on the last 30 years chronologically or in essay form, and I chose the latter.

GS: Tiger naturally gets a big chapter, what did you make of his most recent comeback?

JM: Honestly, I'm thrilled. One of the essays in the book is called "Last Acts." The great champions all seem to get a curtain call, discounting Jones and Nelson, who just walked away. I’d love to see Tiger get his. It’s completely unclear whether the body will hold up. The truth is golfers are athletes like any other. A football player blows his knee out. A baseball pitcher loses his arm. Either you can go or you can’t. It’s very cruel.

GS: You continually note the game changing at the hands of technology but insist the essence of elite golf has not been negatively altered. But do you think Tiger and perhaps Phil Mickelson have had their skill advantage dulled by the way equipment is more forgiving?

JM: I think the USGA and the R&A have been guilty of malpractice when it comes to equipment regulation. Do you see them moving the fences back at Wrigley Field? Having said that, what makes Tiger Tiger or Phil Phil is that whatever-the-hell-it-is that allows one to hole a putt bouncing like a Ping Pong ball down the 18th green at Torrey Pines or the other to attack the 13th green at Augusta National out of the trees and off the pine straw. Rocco knew Tiger was going to make that putt because, well, that’s just what Tiger does. In a different time or place someone could have, would have, said the same thing about Jones or Hagen, Hogan or Nelson or Snead, Nicklaus or Watson. In that respect, I don’t think the game has changed one little bit. The message is in the bottle — British version — always has been, always will be. It’s the stuff TrackMan can’t measure that ultimately matters the most and they don’t pass it out in equal amounts.

GS: Where do you see the current young generation of stars in a few years? Do you see shorter careers due to the money, increased visibility and stress compared to previous generations?

JM: I don’t think great players give a damn about anything except beating other great players. And we’ve got some great young players. I hope I live long enough to see them kick the hell out of each other a lot.

GS: Over the last thirty years, when was the game at its (A) best and (B) worst/lowest?

JM: Every time I go to Pebble Beach, the first two things I do are 1) go to the spot where I was kneeling beside the 17th when Watson chipped in and 2) walk around Stillwater Cove to the spot above the 7th where I had probably my longest conversation with Herb Wind. Moments stick out. The ’86 Masters was pretty good. And Tiger at Torrey wasn’t half bad. Same with Payne at Pinehurst. Our’s is a game that sooner or later can’t help but rise to a level above our expectations. This is personal but, to me, the lowest point was the disgraceful way everyone behaved toward Casey Martin. For a long time the sport was looking for the Next Nicklaus. I'll bet we  find the next Woods before we find the next Casey Martin.

GS: Star you most enjoyed covering and star you least enjoyed covering?

JM: They’re both Tiger.

GS: You were a longtime photographer who transitioned to writing. Player profiles were a big part of your career, but now we are down to really only Sports Illustrated still doing deep dives into stars. Do you see this and the overall decline of golf media having any impact on how we enjoy the sport?

JM: Actually, I was a longtime writer who got suckered into photography when I joined Golf World in ’79 as the associate editor. Taking pictures was part of the gig for the last guy on the masthead. As time went on my photographer friends thought I was a writer and my writer friends thought I was a photographer. So, I fooled everyone. And, yes, I’m absolutely gutted that there aren’t more places where writers get the time and space to do what what they do best. Geoff, you and I were both friends of the late, great Frank Hannigan. Remember the piece Frank wrote on A.W. Tillinghast for the old Golf Journal? It was staggeringly good. Where does that story go to be told today?

Great White Shark Promises To Break Governing Body "Cast Iron" Fist In "Middle Second Quarter Of Next Year"

Hot off hosting another life-changing Shark Franklin Templeton Shootout, Greg Norman is fully engaged in his brand remake.

Saving the game from the governing bodies appears to be superhero Shark's latest mission. In association with Verizon. Mid-second quarter '17.

I realize that most of you have already signed up the Shirtless Shark for the funny farm after seeing him return to chainsaw work after nearly severing a limb chain-sawing brush.

But it's hard not to get excited about the looming brilliance that will be Shark's attempt to save the game (in a way that makes him more money).

Young writes:

By his own admission the Shark is planning to rock golf’s paradigm. He will do so, he says, in partnership with Verizon, the communications giant with whom he recently signed an eight-year deal. Verizon, incidentally, has never been associated with the golf industry on any level. That is until its hook up with Norman through 2024.

Young was at the launch of his newest design, the Greg Norman Signature Course at Vidanta Neuvo Vallarta, Mexico. During a fireside chat the Shirtless One started asking rhetorical questions about the state of the game.

“In the middle second quarter of next year, I’ll invite you guys down to my office,” he said. “We will tell you exactly how we’re going to break this cast iron that’s been wrapped around golf for so long. We’re going to shatter it. The institutions (USGA, R&A, PGA of America, PGA Tour) will eventually buy into it because they will have to buy into it. They won’t have a choice.”

Someone's been watching The Godfather too much! Horse owners among the governing bodies, check your barn locks.

But in case you didn't know how selfless the Shark can be, just think of the work he's doing to extend his brand into the next 200 years.

“If I died tomorrow what would happen to a lot of my businesses. Eventually they would die off,” he explained. “I never want that to happen because I want my brand to go on to perpetuity. So I started to think about a game plan about three years ago, in 2013, revolving around a 12-year game plan AND a 200-year game plan. You have to build a company for today but also for the future. Re-branding and repositioning is a big part of that.”

So are lots of vitamins! The awkward Fox Sports visit booth a year after being canned:

Young then writes:

Something head scratching? Norman gets little to no credit for his course design abilities. Rare, if ever, is his name mentioned with modern architects like Bill Coore/Ben Crenshaw, Gil Hanse, or Tom Doak. Design based on a least disturbance approach? Norman was engaged in this philosophy long before it became en vogue.

“I think I got slammed in the early part of my career for designing golf courses that were too hard,” he said.

Having at least one close due to difficulty before anyone even got to play it...will do that! Shame too, as the Bob Harrison years were impressive.

“But in my own defense, that was quite often the owner or developer that wanted that type of golf course. On at least a half-dozen occasions I’ve gone up to owners or developers, walked off the site and told them, ‘You build the golf course.’ Nobody every writes that of course. They just say Greg Norman builds too hard of golf courses.”

Well at least it's not bothering him.

“Opinions are like assholes: everyone’s got one. And I respect people’s opinions if they respect mine. What I despise are people, bloggers especially, who write articles about me who don’t even know me, never picked up a phone or even asked me a single question about my design philosophy. That blows me away,” he added.

There is a design philosophy beyond making money? Breaking news alert!

But back to that mid-second quarter, or third quarter at the latest...

“I can tell you this: by the third quarter of next year we’re going to market with a new product. You guys are going to say ‘Wow, nobody has ever thought about this,’” said Norman with a grin. “The partnership with Verizon goes beyond golf. They have never been involved with the game before and now they’re my partner going forward for the next eight years. It’s related to golf to some degree but totally related to some other places. These are the opportunities I have always seen within the company but I never had the right personnel or opportunity to do it.”

Can't wait.