"Meet the environmentally conscious teens cleaning up the Pebble coastline"

It was one of my favorite stories in some time and now budding marine biologists Alex Weber and Jack Johnston get the full SI-style profile treatment from Alan Shipnuck, complete with Robert Beck photos and a nine-minute film.

Shipnuck addresses many questions about the kids cleaning up the cove off Pebble Beach Golf Links, including the toughness required to dive and dig up the golf balls.

When Alex first came upon the balls during a recreational dive with her father in September 2015, she had no idea these man-made pearls would consume her life. "There wasn't this big master plan," she says. "I just knew they didn't belong in the ocean, and I wanted to get them out." In the ensuing dives her father was a constant—Mike owns a chicken ranch that produces 150 million cage-free, organic and kosher eggs a year—but while various friends of Alex's tagged along once or twice, only Jack kept coming back. It is grueling work that begins with hauling the kayaks down the steep sand hill at Carmel Beach, followed by the long paddle across the bay through strong winds and tides, and then hours of diving in frigid water that always leaves their lips blue, despite thick wet suits, hoods, gloves and booties. After all that, they have to schlep hundreds of balls and their gear back up the hill to their cars. The balls are stored in the Webers' garage, and some stink—a sulfuric, chemical smell that is a hint of the toxins they may be releasing into the sea. As the collection became more numerous (and malodorous), Alex and Jack were galvanized to take the fight public. "It became pretty obvious this issue was bigger than us, and we had to go to people who could help us change things," Jack says.

I gladly made a donation to their GoFund me page and notice it still could use some help to their $10,000 goal as they get ready to further their education!

The film (golf.com embed code only allows this size):

Clock Ticking On Rome's 2022 Ryder Cup Status

When Rome pulled out of the 2024 Olympics running, the winning 2022 Ryder Cup bid also became a potential target for Italian government officials opposed to funding major sporting events.

The first leg of this potential issue for the 2022 Ryder Cup venue, the not-esteemed Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, came last month when the Italian Open was moved from Rome to Turin. The Italian Open is part of the European Tour's new Rolex Series.

Now the president of the Italian Senate has stripped off a funding amendment that was to guarantee $103 million for the 2022 Ryder Cup (and presumably the Italian Open). Whether it's a technical or significant issue will become more clear in the coming weeks.

Quotes from an unbylined AP story suggest it could go either way:

"The Ryder Cup is and remains a great opportunity for the country," said Andrea Marcucci, the president of the Senate's culture and sport committee. "Grasso's decision is technical; it's not about the content of the amendment.

"I hope the government quickly finds a solution which responds to the prerequisites asked for by the organizers. I want to remind everyone that the tournament has a considerable economic spin-off and television rights. The amendment in question didn't call for further public spending."

Is it too early to start nominating an actual golf course that would be suitable for the Ryder Cup? Is it to early to beg to see a Ryder Cup on a links just once in our lifetimes?

ShackHouse 26: Pebble Beach Week & Herm Edwards

Before one of the most engaging commentators in all of sports TV--ESPN's Herm Edwards--joins us to talk the Super Bowl, Monterey golf and his first Crosby with Peter Senior (!) a long time ago in a galaxy far away, House and I talk Tiger, Pebble Beach week and the importance of the next two weeks for Masters prognosticating.

As always, you can subscribe on iTunes and or just refresh your device subscription page. Here is the direct link to this week's show.

Here is The Ringer's show page.

Same deal with Soundcloud for the show, and Episode 26 is here to listen to right now!

As always, ShackHouse is brought to you by The Ringer while kindly sponsored by Callaway, who have unveiled the new Great Big Bertha Epic driver, Microhinge Technology-fueled Odyssey putters coming to stores February 17th, and the lively Callaway Community.

Bring your love for golf talk online to the Community where House and I debut a debate this week on the West Coast Swing vs. Florida Swing. Post below on whether you think I won 7&6 or 8&7!

And if our coastal bickering bores you, you can always find out about testing and review products before they are in stores, get custom fitting advice and more at the FREE Community.

Under Armour Enters The Bag Business With Sun Mountain...

On the heels of their disappointing earnings news turned into a virtual calamity by an irrational Wall Street, Under Armour's golf expansion took an interesting turn with a new Sun Mountain partnership.

Long known for their golf bags and travel gear--count me as a huge fan--Sun Mountain will be making an Under Armour branded bag.

Given that so many have wondered if UA would ever enter other parts of the golf business beyond clothes and shoes, could this signal what their planned model looks like?

For Immediate Release:

Sun Mountain to Make Under Armour Golf Bags
 
February 7, 2017 -- Sun Mountain has entered a licensing agreement with Under Armour to create and market a new line of golf bags. The 2017 collection includes two stand bags (Speedround $239.99, Match Play $259.99) and one cart bag (Armada $259.99). These new golf bags are scheduled to be at on- and off-course golf specialty stores beginning in April. Interested retailers should contact their Under Armour sales representatives to place an order.
 
The UA Storm Speedround golf stand bag is the lightest bag in the collection and offers a 9”, 4-way divided top and the X-Strap® Dual Strap System for easy on/off. Speedround offers nine pockets, two are water resistant, and comes in men’s and women’s styles with a retail price of $239.99.
 
The UA Storm Match Play golf stand bag features a 9.5”, 4-way divided top and the E-Z Fit© Dual Strap System for customizable fit. Match Play offers 11 pockets, two are water resistant. Retail price is $259.99.
 
UA Storm Armada is a golf cart bag with a 10.5”, 14-way divided top and single shoulder strap. Armada features 10 pockets, two are water resistant, and the new Smart Strap System to secure the bag to the golf cart. Retail price is $259.99.

Faxon On Putting Stats: "No great athlete thinks about that as they perform"

Golfweek.com's David Dusek talks to Brad Faxon about all things putting and while this has no immediate news value, the move toward analytics in golf may make this bit an important go-to quote for parents dealing with a stat-obsessed youth. Especially as the PGA Tour's ShotLink system moves closer to more detailed putting stats in the coming months thanks to their Mircrosoft partnership.

From Faxon, one of the best putters of all time:

Q: Were you aware of your putting stats, and if you had today’s analytics would you want to have known when you were putting well and when you were putting poorly?

A: That’s a very good question, and here’s what I’d say about that. I loved to know any stat I could, and you can use them in a couple ways. They can give you confidence in your feeling of self worth, but no great athlete thinks about that as they perform. Tom Brady is not thinking that he’s the greatest quarterback ever as he’s throwing a pass. Ian Baker-Finch told me that when he was considered a great putter, he put more pressure on himself because he felt like he was supposed to make more putts. So it can work two ways.

Shipnuck: MPCC The Best 36 In America!?

I hope The Knockdown's Alan Shipnuck lands a membership for declaring Monterey Peninsula's Dunes course America's "next great golf course" and the "best 36-hole club in America," nudging out Winged Foot, Baltusrol and, uh, Whisper Rock?

Shipnuck, resident of nearby Salinas and now eligible for Chamber of Commerce HOF status, writes:

Winged Foot and Baltusrol each have two courses with championship pedigrees but at both properties the tracks look and play pretty much the same. Whisper Rock is a cool scene and enjoys the starpower of various Tour players as members, but the outskirts of Scottsdale can’t compete with the grandeur of Pebble Beach.

No, the best 36-hole club in America is now Monterey Peninsula, with two very different courses that are every bit as good as those that share the same famous coastline.

The piece also features links to a slideshow of the Dunes, which is likely to host the AT&T National Pro-Am in 2018. It's sister Shore Course is currently hosting along with Spyglass Hill and Pebble Beach.

A High Top Golf Shoe We Can All Embrace?

Maybe it's generational but the Air Jordan's debuting February 11th in stores and retailing for $140 look pretty sweet. If, that is, you are of a certain vintage. And unlike recent high-top golf shoes, not 80s velcro!

Brentley Romine at Golfweek.com with the details:

“The Air Jordan I was the first sneaker that really pushed the limits on what was acceptable,” Michael Jordan said. “It’s like being a young kid, when his parents say he can’t do something but he wants to do it. I felt like I wanted to be different.”

The limited-edition Air Jordan I Retro High golf shoe is certainly that, defying the status quo much like its basketball predecessor. The shoe does have a few notable differences: extra padding to provide additional comfort and support around the ankle, Jumpman logo on the tongue, Nike Free-inspired outsole with soft spikes and a fully waterproof upper.

Five Families Fun: U.S. Open Purse Jumps To $12 Million

The PGA Tour and PGA of America joined forces in 2013 to match and increase their signature championship's purses as part of a new collaboration. The move by two of the five families significantly bumped payouts to The Players and PGA Championship winners, and eventually pushed the USGA to the $10 million mark.

But as Joel Beall reports for GolfDigest, the USGA's announced move to $12 million should the attention of players.

"When you look at the USGA championships, by and large just about any way you look at, they’re the most important championships not only in the U.S. but in the world," Mike Davis, USGA executive director/CEO, said on Saturday prior to the USGA Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. "And we talked about that and said the purses really should reflect that.”

The winner's share will see a significant raise as well. Last season, Dustin Johnson received $1.8 million for his efforts at Oakmont. This year's champion will take home $2.16 million.

The doubling of the purse since 2003 makes the U.S. Open, at least for now, the richest prize in major championship golf. The move also will bolster the U.S. Open ahead of an anticipated schedule shakeup that could permanently place the PGA Championship ahead of the U.S. Open.

Will the Tataglia's and Barzini's of Florida raise their $10.5 million purses perhaps sooner than planned?

Update on 2017-02-08 13:46 by Geoff

**John Feinstein and I debated on Golf Central in our weekly Alternate Shot segment:

Hey Siri: Rules Of Golf Figure To Look Different In Two Years

Ryan Herrington reports for GolfDigest.com on the likelihood of seeing a vastly revamped, simplified and codified Rules of Golf by January 1, 2019, a year earlier than expected.

Surprising, however, are the plans to take the visual and technological presentation of the Rules to a different level.

In aiming to make the Rules more easily understandable, the modernization project has focused on using visuals to help articulate the Rules in a more impactful way than mere words. Bodenhamer said that the use photos, images and even video to provide greater explanation has been explored and is likely to be implemented.

Davis, too, stressed a need for technology to help update and deliver the Rules in the 21st century.

“How come we can’t have an instance where someone can [take their phone and] say ‘Siri, I hit my ball into a water hazard. What are my options?’ ” Davis said.

It pains this Apple fanboy to say it, but Alexa would probably do better on the Rules of Golf test.

Dawson: Tiger Puts In Dubai Time After Back Spasms

I'm not sure how to read this Rex Hoggard story for GolfChannel.com from Dubai. The obvious takeaway is that Tiger, feeling bad about taking a huge appearance fee, put in a little sponsor time while in discomfort. Wise and good move for sure.

But if he was having more back spasms and chose to sit with Peter Dawson for a Q&A (painful!), does this mean the injury was not serious? 

Either way, Hoggard talks to Chief Inspector of Dubai Golf, former R&A Chief Peter Dawson, who reports on Tiger's many efforts to promote Dubai golf, including post-WD time with sponsors.

“When he withdrew, he and [manager] Mark Steinberg discussed it and thought, 'What a shame we haven’t done everything the tournament was hoping for,' and they offered to do it, which was nice,” Dawson said.

The Q&A, which was emceed by Dawson, lasted about 20 minutes for an estimated 60 sponsors and officials.

“He came in clearly in a little bit of pain, but sat down and soon had a smile on his face and we had a few jokes,” Dawson said. “He responded well, cracked a few jokes, he’s a pro.”