Trumped! R&A Welcomes Muirfield Back Years Before The Club Admits A Woman Member

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Let's savor the comedic component of Muirfield joining the new century. After all, they re-voted to finally change their membership policies, reports Martin Dempster.

That the R&A's Martin Slumbers welcomed their rivals back into The Open rota the moment a policy was changed and well before candidates from the other gender were even considered for membership, speaks to one thing and one thing only: the R&A is happily postponing a return to Trump Turnberry.

Remember, Turnberry last hosted The Open in 2009 and has since undergone a fantastic renovation incorporating former Chief Inspector Architect Peter Dawson's design suggestions. In theory, the spectacular resort should be in line for the next likely open date in 2022.

Muirfield last hosted in 2013 and while a wonderful place for The Open, a 2022 return would be a bit faster than normal for the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers. Especially in light of their resistance to progress and their long standing rivalry with the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews. To see these two clubs in such a loving embrace, well, it moves me on this Tuesday morning.

Of course, the real comedy comes from knowing it'll be years before we know if Muirfield even admitted a woman. From Alistair Tait's Golfweek.com story:

There is no timetable for women to join the club. In an official statement the club said: “The current waiting list for membership at Muirfield suggests that new candidates for membership, women and men, can expect to wait two to three years, or longer, to become a member of the club.”

The immediacy of the R&A's embrace of their old rivals can very easily be interpreted as an opportunity to postpone a return to Turnberry for another year.

Politics makes strange bedfellows indeed.

Global Golf Post Picks Up SF City Championship Fees (Again)

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Last year Randy Haag pointed out that male and female semi-finalists in the historic San Francisco City were paying high fees at the expensive post-renovation (TPC) Harding Park. So Global Golf Post picked up the costs in a kind gesture for one of the nation's oldest city championships.

Once again all 22 finalists competing at Harding in various male and female city championship flights won't have to pay green fees.

Nice going GGP!

Masters Ends Par-3 Contest Rounds For Past Major Winners

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There are two ways to interpret Doug Ferguson's AP story on the Masters no longer including former major winners--aka "honorary invitees"--to the Par-3 Contest proceedings:

A) The club thought having the extra participants was deterring current Masters invitees from playing the Par 3.

B) They just didn't like the look of the occasional "who is that" taking part in the Par 3 or, more likely, playing a practice round on the big course.

I'm guessing the answer is A, but I have to wonder if today's players skip the Par 3 in part because the family fun day vibe it's taken on. Yes, yes, it's a wonderful family event, etc... But the Par 3 is not nearly as fun as what it had become through the years: a lively, quick competition involving most of the tournament participants that just happened to include some former major winners.

Because for every Mitch Voges there was a Jack Fleck who added to the fun and aura of the proceedings. Anyway, the Masters folks have their reasons no doubt and maybe it'll be better. And the former Masters champions are still there, which, to most fans, is most important.

From Ferguson's story:

Now, however, the club is asking that they no longer play practice rounds or use the practice facility.

Augusta National said in an email that honorary invitees still have special access to the Masters, but that the Par 3 Contest will be limited because of increased participation and interest. ESPN has televised the Par 3 Contest since 2008.

"As a person and an honorary invitee, I'm disappointed because it was my favorite day of the year," former British Open champion Ian Baker-Finch said Tuesday. "I loved it. I'll still be there, though, and I'll watch like everyone else."

Lorne: "I was provided the opportunity to dig deep into the mind of a golfer who had accomplished amazing things in the game."

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Lorne Rubenstein's much-anticipated collaboration with Tiger Woods on the 1997 Masters book was hopefully going to mean many interviews for Lorne to discuss the story and his co-author.

Unfortunately as Rick Young notes at ScoreGolf.com, Rubenstein has made clear this is Tiger's book.

Lorne did, however, write this enjoyable piece for Medium on working with Tiger on the book and it definitely gets you more excited about what is in the pages beyond what we saw in the early Golfweek excerpts.

In the early stages of our discussions we watched video of that Masters. One vivid memory led to another, one story to another. I attended that 1997 Masters and followed Tiger as he shot 40 on the front nine. I watched as he walked from the ninth green to the tenth tee, deep in thought. What had gone wrong? How could he turn things around? Was he worried?

I was interested and even surprised when he said he had put the front nine out of his mind by the time he reached the tenth tee, and that he had already focused his attention on what he needed to do. It wasn’t so much that he needed to correct what had gone wrong. He resolved to find the feeling that had allowed him to shoot 59 the week before at the Isleworth Golf & Country Club when he had played with his friend Mark O’Meara.

This was the sort of insight that helped me appreciate Tiger’s golfing mind. I kept this story in mind as we continued to chat during our talks in a conference room in his office in Jupiter, Florida, and many follow-up conversations over the phone.

Precious Millennials Files: SXSW's Golf Panel Edition

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The cool kids are gathering in Austin this week prior to next week's WGC Dell Match Play and in a tradition unlike any other, a golf panel was assembled Sunday because, well, someone probably paid for it.

Apparently South By Southwest turned to an automated copy writer or someone from Bruce Lee's artisanal, small-batch, craft scriptwriting team to describe this "Intermediate" gathering.

Remember, I just copy and paste...

Brands must evolve and sports brands are no exception. But sports traditions are sometimes the most sacred of customs and golf may be the most brutal of masters.

It's debatable whether that was an attempted play on words, but the judges'll give it to them. Go on...

Golf is attempting thrive in an era that is changing so rapidly that the way a sport is consumed might be radically different in just one season.

Hmmm...profound, though not entirely accurate until I get a PGA Tour Live press release touting some numbers. Any numbers.

But hey, it's a golf panel at the cool kids conference, so I get the hard sell mode. I'll stop interrupting...

Does a round count at a Topgolf range and is a fan of an irreverent smartphone video worth the same attention as an argyle-wearing TV-watcher?

Ok, I know I said I was done interrupting but seriously? An argyle association?

How can golf keep the attention of potential fans? This panel will explore these challenges, examining what a game that can be burdened with its tradition and but lives by its history needs to do to survive the attention span of a 20-year-old.

Eh-em, golf's history dates back at least 400 years so I'm guessing it'll survive the attention span of today's 20-year-old.

But hey you guys explore, we can't wait to study the transcript for deep, deep thoughts on how to survive the 20-year-old's attention span!

Video: The King's Augusta National Yardage Book

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I can't think of a better way to kick off Bay Hill week than this great stuff from Amanda Balionis inside Arnold Palmer's office sharing The King's handcrafted, homemade, small batch ANGC yardage book:

 

Cantlay Shines Positive Light On Tour's Major Medical Exemption

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There has always been plenty of grumbling over the PGA Tour's major medical exemptions and players using them in strange ways, but I don't think anyone can doubt the importance of the clause when it works. At least, that was my takeaway from Patrick Cantlay's stirring bid to catch Adam Hadwin at the Valspar Championship Sunday.

Funny though, Cantlay suggested he wanted the win (and played like it). The exemption essentially is satisfied by the second place check, though the former UCLA Bruin wanted (and played like) someone wanting a win. From Brentley Romine's Golfweek.com report:

Still, Cantlay will leave Tampa disappointed. He bogeyed his 72nd hole. A par would have forced a playoff and a birdie would have won him his first PGA Tour tournament.

“It didn’t really feel like a burden to begin with,” Cantlay said of the medical extension. “I’m not too worried about that. You know, it doesn’t really feel like much consolation at the moment. I didn’t finish the deal.”

As for Hadwin, the win capped off a 2017 run that has been building toward a signature victory. His post round comments, his bag, Kevin Casey's Valapar roundup, and the PGA Tour Entertainment highlights.

Thomas Tizzy: Maybe We Should Let Pros Repair Spikes Marks?

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I've been crafting a few thoughts for an eventual post on the proposed rule change for spike mark tapping. But after belatedly seeing Justin Thomas lose his cool in Mexico over a blemish by creating more damage to the green, maybe this explains the rule change: allow players to tap so they don't dent the green to let us all know their putt took a bad bounce. After all, it's a time-honored tradition that will not be missed with the rule change!  

Tag a mate that can't putt 😂 #golfgods #definitelythedivot #fuckbogeys #golfmeme #golf #putting

A post shared by Golf Gods (@golf_gods) on Mar 11, 2017 at 4:49pm PST

 

Interestingly, Thomas was one of the players to voice concern over the proposed change.