Ready Golf Makes A Difference? The R&A Says So And Plans To Show How

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Major League Baseball is threatening to fundamentally change a small but occasionally comical element of its sport in lieu of telling batters to stay in the box, which makes the R&A's gentler push for a speed-up tactic more appealing.

Martin Dempster reports that "ready golf" is going to be implemented at The Amateur's stroke play proceedings this year after other trial runs.

He quotes R&A Chief at Martin Slumbers at length, who also scolds players for not yelling fore in response to Pat Perez beaning a spectator Sunday at Riviera after not yelling fore (the landing area on that hole can't hear or see the tee, but I digress...)

On the topic of ready golf...

“When you get to the professional level, there’s no doubt in my mind that the professionals are role models, and they are fantastic role models for young people. They’re healthy, they’re fit, they’re strong 
and they’ve got unbelievable skill. “But part of that role model is pace of play, and there is no doubt that younger generations take a steer from them. So I think I would just encourage the Tour pros to realise that pace of play is part of them being that role model, and it’s not helpful to growing the amateur game when the youngsters are slowing down.

Interestingly, the R&A has guidelines for proper ready golf.

And at the Irish Close Championship last year, they reported a 45-minute round improvement when ready golf was implemented.

While this doesn't address distance, green speed and the refusal to penalize (where hath you gone Keith Pelley?), ready golf is at least something and the R&A is going to earn huge points for being at the forefront of the slow play issue.

When It's Okay To Be Slow vs. Just Plain Rude

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After getting to see some solid PGA Tour action and some not-so-solid pace of play, I have read with interest Karen Crouse's New York Times story from Riviera on the topic. Leadership in golf has generally--with exceptions--signalled a desire not to act. 

Going forward I believe we need to separate the issue a few ways so as to not allow the issue to be clouded by excuses.

1.Length of round for the everyday game.

WSJ's Jason Gay included golf in this humorous roundup of what sports are doing to speed things up for an increasingly distracted younger generation.

It isn’t just the big leagues that are worried. It’s every sport. And it isn’t only the sports we watch on TV—it’s the sports we all play, too. Every game needs to be fast. Golf, in particular, is in a high panic that asking anyone under 80 years old to play 18 holes is like asking them to take a month-long canoe trip down the Amazon.

Are you kidding me? Eighteen holes of golf? What do you think I am, dead?

Speed is the rage, we’re all constantly told. People want experiences that are quick and effective and capable of being packed into a torrent of life events. My Journal columns, for example, are now mostly read on mobile phones by readers who are parachuting out of airplanes while using Instagram, fighting robot dinosaurs and making lunches for their kids.

2. Consistently slow golfers who disregard the 45 second rule and fail to play ready golf. There are some--like Ben Crane--who has spent over a decade taking too long to play even a basic shot. Because they're "nice guys" or they make light of their pace in lame videos, they get a pass. When their play is so disproportionately slow compared to their peers, the behavior is unbecoming of a professional golfer. From an in-person spectator view, such play will make people stay at home instead of coming to pro golf tournaments. And its rude to a player's peers.

John Feinstein and I tackled this question on Golf Central today. While I agree with those who say penalty shots are the only solution, I'm increasingly of the view that the only way to make people speed up is to shame in the form of huge (published) fines, reporting each week's bad times and/or having a bonus pool that rewards faster golfers based on ShotLink data.

3. Golfers taking their sweet time in a high-pressure situation. This is the issue Crouse considers in her piece, with Jason Day as the centerpiece. While he is perpetually slow, I think we all understand his view that he should not rush a key shot down the stretch. He even cites the support of Tiger Woods.

However, Day's argument falls flat because he is slow all of the time. Tiger plays at a normal clip, buying some political capital when he has set up shop over a key shot. Same deal with Phil Mickelson. And from what I saw of Jordan Spieth last week when paired with rabbits Bubba Watson and Bill Haas, he's moved into the same category as Tiger and Phil.

Crouse writes:

The movement to speed up the game is driven by the fear that it will not appeal to today’s youth with their increasingly short attention spans or older golfers with limited free time for recreational pursuits. “Is there a way to take 25 minutes off the average round, and is that necessarily going to make for a better product or presentation?” Monahan asked. “It’s not apparent.”

It's also not apparent what the bonus is of watching any round of golf take 25 minutes longer than is necessary.

He noted that events not affected by weather delays or extra holes were being completed within the telecast window, which, like airline flight schedules, is padded to allow for lag time.

“So much of the beauty of what you see week in and week out is what a player faces and how they deal with that,” Monahan added. “Do they change their mannerisms? Do they change their preshot routine? How are they handling that situation?”

Which speaks to the last point: such slow play is interesting when it's a leader down the stretch. But on Thursday to Saturday, the sport is turning people off who come to golf tournaments and watch people stand around.

Bonallack: USGA And R&A Ignoring Legends On Distance

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John Huggan reports that in comments related to Royal St. George's getting the 2020 Open Championship, R&A Chief Martin Slumbers said he has worked "very carefully" with high-profile critics of the distance explosion that isn't happening.

Except that in a disturbing but not shocking twist, former head R&A man Sir Michael Bonallack says he and other longtime players and leaders with Jack Nicklaus' Captain's Club a

“I am on Jack Nicklaus’ ‘Captains Club,’” said the five-time British Amateur champion. “We meet at Muirfield Village every year. At one of those we had Jack, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Bill Campbell, myself, Charlie Mechem from the LPGA, all with huge experience in golf. Jack was talking about the ball. We all agreed it was out of control and going too far. It had to be pegged back. So a letter was composed and sent off to the R&A and the USGA, signed by all of us.

“The only reaction we got was an acknowledgement. But I happened to see a copy of the memo that was passed from David Fay to Peter Dawson. “Have you got this?” it asked. “Please note the average age of those who signed it!” And that was the end of it.

While that was a few years ago and Slumbers may have a different view than his predecessors, no evidence suggests that the wise old guard will be listened to.

Bonallack goes on to recount a conversation with a golf dignitary defending the governing bodies in which he is told that all distance gains are from fitness. Apparently this person isn't watching much PGA Tour Champions golf, where the gains have been largest both off the tee and around waistlines.

Unauthorized And Harmless Genesis Videos Emerge! Pieters Tee Shot Clips His GF And Spieth's Unusual Club Flick

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I've been enjoying Golfballed's video posts from the Genesis Open. All of this was against the tournament rules (for spectators too), though enforcement was non-existent due to the marshal force being severely depleted (weather and the amazing idea that a new sponsor means volunteers must buy a new uniform).

Anyway, Golfballed has 85.4k followers who got to see some nice shots from Riviera not shown on television to the best of my knowledge.

 

Note to Ponte Vedra Police: I just copy and paste...twelve years running. I do not condone this egregious violation of the fine print.

SI Roundtable On The Distance Report: "Nothing about this study rings true."

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I'm continuing to savor the skepticism aimed at the USGA and R&A's latest distance report suggesting all is stable. A growing group of "truthers"--probably a majority of golf observers--are struggling to believe insignificant changes have occurred since 2003.  Especially when the non-flatbellies are seeing big gains.

This week's SI roundtable includes rebuttals from Ritter, Shipnuck, Bamberger, Sens and Passov, but it's the lengthy answer from longtime tour caddie John Wood that is worth diving into.

Here's a snippet related the role Trackman has played in recent years:

Then, there’s Trackman. The launch monitor leaves nothing to chance. Every driver built for these guys won’t make the lineup unless it shows optimal launch conditions. Launch angle and spin rate and landing angle and ball speed aren’t left to chance or feel anymore, but achieved and optimized scientifically. I could go on and on but, mercifully I won’t. The bottom line is that "study" isn’t worth the paper it’s written on. Maximum drives are significantly longer than they were 10-15 years ago. That’s obvious. And in my opinion, while the R&A, the USGA and the PGA Tour may say they’re keeping a close watch and controlling the distance professionals drive it (and providing statistics and studies to back up their claim), I think they’re probably doing so with a wink and a nod.

Not to always slip back into a baseball analogy, but in the midst of the home run binges of Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, etc. it’s well known that other players, managers, GM’s and owners had an inkling of what was going on, but it was in their best interest to let things proceed as they were. Why? Because fans loved it. Attendance and ratings soared. So, why would the golf establishment want to restrict or roll back the golf ball? As Greg Maddux once told us, "Chicks" (and fans) "dig the long ball." Simply put, more people will pay to watch DJ power his way around a golf course hitting 360 yard drives than would pay to watch another player plot and strategize their way around shooting the same score.

It's fascinating that with something like Trackman, which has become mainstream well after the Statement, offers an opening to admit a discussion must be had. And yet, they pass...

Increasing Athleticism! Then How Are Geezers Picking Up Yards?

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With the tour in town I haven't had a chance to read the USGA/R&A distance report, so I'm relying on Mike Stachura's take at GolfDigest.com. It's fascinating to see that those suggesting distances are changing were labeled distance "truthers", implying a conspiratorial element.

That description is even more peculiar given this:

To clarify, the PGA Tour driving distance average has grown by 2.8 yards from 2013-’16, or 0.7 yards per year. In that same time frame, the PGA Tour Champions has seen a 5.7-yard increase, or nearly 1.5 yards per year, while the Web.com Tour is up 2.1 yards since 2013, or better than half-a-yard per year.

So the not-flatbellies of the PGA Tour Champions have picked up five yards in four seasons--once an eye-opening number--yet we are to believe athleticism is driving many increases as opposed to the manufacturers and Trackman out-maneuvering the governing bodies?

The Distance Report specifically breaks down distance into several groups, including the percentage of 300-yard drives as tracked by the European Tour and PGA Tour. Most notable is how the PGA Tour with 31.2 percent of its drives longer than 300 yards in 2016 shows nearly a 17-percent increase since 2003.

When the 2003 Joint Statement of Principles was issued by the organizations it discussed the skill word, the significant word and the statement did not care what caused increases. A 17 percent increase is, apparently, not significant.

As well, the number of players averaging more than 300 yards for the season has increased. In 2003, that number was nine. That figure was 13 in 2008, 21 in 2011 and 25 in 2014. By 2016, it had tripled to 27. This year’s number (38) is actually about 20 percent fewer than a year ago (47).

But back to increasing athleticism. From the USGA's John Spitzer:

“We do not have a trigger and there’s no contemplation of one, but clearly even if you look at this slow creep of one foot a year and attributed that to athleticism, in 20 years you’re going to have a seven-yard increase,” he said. “Athleticism is still going to increase and at some point it may need to be addressed, just not as an equipment issue but as a pure distance issue long term.”

How did the Joint Statement of Principles fail to address the long term?

Genesis Open Second/Third Round This And That

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It'll be a 36 or so hole grind on Sunday at Riviera, with Dustin Johnson leading Pat Perez and Cameron Tringale by one.

Riviera drained beautifully after three inches of rain, but given the pristine conditioning and benign weather forecast for Sunday, the 72-hole record could be in jeopardy. Players will be playing the ball down for the final 36 holes, speaking to just how well Riviera has drained.

Still, it seems like the early/late side of the draw got a huge advantage weather-wise, Rex Hoggard writes.

The early wave scoring average for Round 2, those who played through the worst of Friday’s tempest, was 72.86 (including just 29 of 72 rounds in the 60s), while the afternoon draw was more than two strokes better with a 70.47 average.

There were several WD's, including Bubba Watson (two holes to go after morning restart), and Bryson DeChambeau (injury). Hoggard reports.

Sahith Theegala has made the cut and the Pepperdine sophmore is getting to play with Phil Mickelson for the final 36 holes. My Golfweek.com story on Theegala.

For leader Johnson, it's another chance to win at Riviera.

From the ShotLink team:

Cameron Tringale with the shot of the day:

 

 

Phil Mickelson with the recovery of the week, by far:

 

 

Monty's Back! Wouldn't Trade His Career For Tiger's And How Technology Deprived Tiger Of Majors

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It wasn't all about Monty. In fact, he said some pretty interesting stuff about the de-skilling of elite level golf due to technology, which was once a concern of the governing bodies (they even put it in writing!).

Speaking to golf.com's Michael Bamberger, who wisely just turned on his tape recorder and let Colin Montgomerie talk. After reminding us repeatedly that he predicted Tiger's success at the 1997 Masters--he was villified!--Monty offered this assessment of technology and Woods.

“What might Woods have done had the game never moved off the balata ball and the wooden wood? Many golf fans would say he would have won less. I believe he would have won far more. He has the 14 majors. Without the equipment changes, I believe he’d have well into his 20s now. Because now everybody has clubs where they can do what he could do.

“Two others lost out hugely to technology. Greg Norman was one. He was the best driver of the ball with the wooden club ever. He lost out when drivers went to metal and suddenly we could do what he did. He lost his asset. And the other was Seve. When Ping developed its L-wedge, with box grooves, we could suddenly do what Seve could do with a 52° club. He lost his asset too. Tiger had all that, in spades. And then we were given equipment that allowed us to do what he could do."

But driving distances are steady, so all is well.

The line that is getting all the attention.

“I never won a major. Tiger won 14. But would I trade my career for Tiger’s? No. I started out this game a pretty good golfer and finished in the Hall of Fame. I feel I have overachieved. So how could I say I wish it were better? People will say, `Well, he didn’t win a major.’ And, yes, I would have liked to shut them up by winning one. But that’s my only regret, really. Great that I have won senior majors, which has quieted the odd person.

Odd, indeed.

"Are pro golfers losing their longevity?"

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That's the topic tackled by the WSJ's Brian Costa in light of injuries to top players, huge purses, wraparound calendars and signs that we may see shorter runs by tour players.

After setting up the premise, Costa includes this:

Of course, no one wants to end up exactly like Woods, no matter how many tournaments they win along the way. His present is painful and his future appears increasingly bleak. And there are plenty of ways today’s stars can avoid the same fate.

Day said he is making a slight swing change this year that will make it easier on his back even if it is likely to cost him a few yards off the tee. Players are becoming ever smarter about the way they approach fitness. And if more of them break down at earlier ages, their peers can draw lessons from that.

“If these guys only have 10-year careers, that will be more learning for golf,” said 2006 U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy. But if they have 20-year careers, that might well be enough for some of them.

Thomas Pieters, a 25-year-old Belgian who is one of golf’s rising stars, said for as much as he wants to win major championships now, he wants to do something else by the time he is in his mid-40s. He has thought about joining some of his friends in the real estate business one day.

“There is more to life than golf,” he said.

Euro Tour Chief Wants Thursday-Friday "Payoff"

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Alan Shipnuck talks to European Tour Chief Keith Pelley and commissioner Elton is questioned about his eyeglasses and other fun stuff, but it's his comment on Thursday-Friday play that intrigued me.

The "payoff" quote:

"Because in the way that people live their lives, they want immediate gratification," he continued. "They want to be able to get immediate results. And they want to follow things that are meaningful, because there is such a saturation of content. Our Thursday-Fridays are not as meaningful as they need to be. Yes, they position you for the weekend, but there is no result. There is no payoff at the end of Thursday or Friday. So what I'm turning our attention to internally is what are we going to do in 2018 to address Thursday-Friday? Because we need more engagement. We need higher ratings. I think that is a worldwide challenge for every tour. You're the only person I've ever said that to."

Lucky Alan! His poor staff.

This is the nature of a golf tournament, unless the formats create more volatility. Can't wait to see what they come up with!