Masters: Get a Different View Of Butler Cabin
/Another day, another Masters mood-setter, this time with a little different view of Butler Cabin. (Hit the link if embed not providing a play button).
In golf construction art and utility meet; both are absolutely vital; one is utterly ruined without the other. GEORGE THOMAS
It’s back!
Twenty years later Tatra Press has kindly allowed me to bring back Grounds For Golf now that golf architecture is of more interest to the masses. A new Introduction looks at what’s driven the interest growth and two new chapters I had a blast adding (plus a few edits to keep things up-to-date).
The Amazon purchase page for the book arriving June 15, 2026.
Kerr On Ko: "Her game’s not in good shape"
/No one wants to kick Lydia Ko when she's down, but given the turnover of coaches and caddies she's fired in recent years, this assessment filed by Golf Channel's Randall Mell from the Bank of Hope Founders Cup is noteworthy. (The event was won by Inbee Park, who held off world No. 363 Laura Davies among others, as Ron Sirak writes in this game story from Phoenix.)
From Mell's story on Ko:
Ko came to Phoenix ranked 112th in driving distance, 121st in driving accuracy and 83rd in greens in regulation. She was sixth in putting average.
Cristie Kerr saw the struggle playing two rounds with Ko.
“Her game’s not in good shape,” Kerr said. “She seemed a little lost.”
ShackHouse 56: Rory Wins At Rowdy, Dramatic Bay Hill
/House and I discuss the 2018 Arnold Palmer invitational just minutes after the round concluded and cover the gravity of Rory McIlroy's win, his comments on fan behavior, Tiger's strong week and House's Knock off the Rust tour where two winners are announced (and I need to hear from you guys!).
As always, ShackHouse is brought to you by Callaway, who rolled out new customization of Rogue drivers this week and on Tuesday, debut season four of Callaway Live with Apple executive Eddy Cue.
Tiger: "Crazy As This May Sound I Haven't Putted On Bent Grass In Two Years"
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Tiger had plenty to say after not committing to a 16th hole tee shot, driving out of bounds and finishing the last three holes at the 2018 Arnold Palmer Invitational poorly.
But another contending week has his now heading to The Masters with his game in strong shape at a tournament he's won four times.
From this Golfweek roundup of his post round comments Sunday:
“I’m looking forward to it. I haven’t really thought that much about it, especially this week. I’ve been grinding and focusing on this week, trying to win this thing and now the tournament’s over, I’ll start to make some changes for Augusta, what kind of equipment setup I’m going to go with, some things I want to do with my swing. As crazy as this may sound I haven’t putted on bent grass in two years.”
Statistically, Tiger's putting is astounding, but as David Dusek of Golfweek notes, this also means an over-reliance on the flat stick.
ESPN.com's Bob Harig on Tiger's non-committal at 16 that ended a fantastic final day run.
Rory Vaults Himself Into The Masters Discussion With Resounding API Win
/Rory McIlroy entered the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by Mastercard 124th in Strokes Gained Putting. He left Bay Hill 23rd in the category and also takes home a new red cardigan, a pile of cash and loads of confidence just two weeks from the Masters.
Golfweek's Dan Kilbridge with the nuts, bolts and quotes from Sunday's dynamic finale.
Ryan Lavner reminds us just how long it's been since McIlroy has won and what the victory means.
Eamon Lynch with lots more on Brad Faxon's putting lesson and contest with Rory earlier in the week that helped turn things around for McIlroy.
Will Gray at GolfChannel.com with a fun Rory anecdote from a dinner with Arnie.
A fun comparison with Rory's 18th hole birdie putt to shoot 64 and one from Tiger's greatest hits collection:
Pulling off the Alpaca cardigan:
The round four highlights from PGA Tour Entertainment:
More Impressive? Bryson's API Runner-Up Or His Use Of Big Words?
/Big words gets my vote, though if there was any question about former U.S. Amateur Champion Bryson DeChambeau's ability to play with the big boys, he settled that by hanging in with a -15 2018 Arnold Palmer Invitational performance, as Will Gray reports for GolfChannel.com.
But as Kevin Casey notes at Golfweek.com, DeChambeau's post-third round answer on his recent injury could be equally as important. The quote from Bryson about his back issue:
"Well it was the QL and that really got inflamed for me. It was because my quadratus lumborum wasn’t working, my iliacus, longissimus thoracis, they were all kind of over working, if you want to get technical on that. But they weren’t working very well and I overworked them. Pretty much my lower right back was hurting and I rested it. How about that?"
Oh to have seen the looks on press room faces!
BTW, the back looks to be just fine in this shot posted by his friends at Cobra:
Video: Lerner On The (Legible) Player Autograph
/Rich Lerner helmed this swell Golf Central feature on Arnold Palmer's legacy of autograph signing and eye contact. The footage of Deacon's tractor is fun, as is the bigger point conveyed makes this one a good story for young players to absorb.
Tiger's Ratings Influence Continues During First Two 2018 API Rounds
/He even makes people watch the days he's not in the television window!
Rory: Time To Limit Alcohol Sales On Course
/Rory McIlroy offered a constructive solution to the loud-loser issue that has crept up in recent weeks (well, and years at the Ryder Cup): limit alcohol sales.
I've suggested a cut off hour is badly overdue at tournaments featuring loud and abusive fans. But since most of golf's leaders would give their grandmothers the Heisman for the chance to belly-flop on a loose penny, we've yet to see a golfing equivalent of the 7th-inning cutoff.
Bob Harig of ESPN.com reports on McIlroy's comments following a round where one fan kept yelling out his wife's name.
"There was one guy out there who kept yelling my wife's name," said McIlroy, who shot 67 on Saturday to pull within two shots of leader Henrik Stenson. "I was going to go over and have a chat with him. I don't know, I think it's gotten a little much, to be honest. I think that they need to limit alcohol sales on the course, or they need to do something because every week, it seems like guys are complaining about it more and more."
State Of The Game 76: Zac Blair (@z_blair)
/Rod Morri, Mike Clayton and yours truly caught professional golfer Zac Blair before he was off to go play to talk the distance debate and various architecture subjects.
Thanks to Zac for taking the time and listening to old men grumble about distance and as always, to Lloyd Cole for the musical intro.
If you aren't following Zac on Twitter, you can find him here.
The episode's permanent link is here.
The show's iTunes store link here.
Episode 76 on iTunes here.
Or the episode here:
Instagram Roundup: Tiger's Heroic Recovery, Arnie's Tractor, Bobby Jones's Birthday And A Creative Masters Teaser
/A vintage Tiger Woods shot Saturday at Bay Hill. He trails Henrik Stenson by five heading into Sunday's 2018 Arnold Palmer Invitational finale, Dan Kilbridge reports. A fantastic leaderboard should make for a great last day.
The tractor belonging to Arnold Palmer's dad was brought down from Latrobe and parked at Bay Hill this week to commemorate the influence of his father.
Saturday was Bobby Jones' birthday. The USGA posted some images of the amateur golfing great.
The Masters has begun their social media efforts earlier than normal and feature this look at the club's co-founders.
Christmas Comes Early Files: Every Final Round Masters Broadcast Since 1968 Now On YouTube!
/Some day we'll look back fondly on the years when we'd relive great Masters moments on YouTube watching a jittery cell phone recording of someone's television set. Or not.
H/T to Sean Zak at Golf.com for alerting us to this incredible treasure trove of broadcasts.
Where to start? It's overwhelming. Here is the menu.
Shoot, might as well go back 50 years ago and work my way up to the present!
Enjoy.
And just for giggles, I screen captured this and will come searching for the number a year from now:
Forecaddie: Rory #1 In Strokes Gained Putting After Lesson From Brad Faxon
/The Bears Club, Brad Faxon, Rory McIlroy, a putting "meeting," and T11 heading into the weekend? The intrigue! The drama!
The Forecaddie with details that might explained how McIlroy has gained almost six shots (First in SG!) on the Arnold Palmer Invitational field with his balky putter.
This sounds like more than a simple meeting and given the looming Masters, the desperate times did call for something...
One immediate change McIlroy made this week after seeing Faxon was in the length of his putter. He is back to using a 34.25-inch model, the same as he used in winning his four majors. Kenyon had McIlroy using a 33-inch putter.
Kapalua Getting Coore & Crenshaw Restoration After '19 Sentry TOC
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The Forecaddie with details of the Mark Rolfing reunion with Coore and Crenshaw to liven up and restore elements to the Kapalua they created in hopes of recapturing its glory years. Even some of the original shapers are expected back. They're on a mission from God!
Golf.com's Joe Passov talked to Bill Coore about the project and I think we have a new classification of restoration with this:
From a design standpoint, Coore is "most fascinated" by the addition of a new tee box at the par-4 4th, close to the 3rd green. "We actually had it roughed in there from Day 1, but it was never put into use. Back in the days when many of the guys were hitting persimmon drivers, that tee was considered too demanding. Today, the guys are hitting it so far, well past the existing bunkers, that reviving that tee would be perfect. It's been sitting there all these years. We will just add some irrigation and cut back the native grasses."
Restoring a tee never built for the modern game. Wrap your head around that one.
Roundup: Tiger's Bay Hill Round One 68 Makes It Seem Like He Never Left
/Golfweek’s Kevin Casey with the nuts and bolts of Tiger’s opening round 68 on the course where he has won eight times.
ESPN.com’s Jason Sobel focuses on the 71-footer Woods made at the 7th, his 16th hole, and Tiger’s description is pretty fun.
Karen Crouse focuses on different reactions from players to having Tiger and his crowds back in the mix, including some fun comments by Paul Goydos.
Jay Coffin of GolfChannel.com on the drive hit out of bounds that annoyed Tiger because of the shot quality and not having hit a provisional while at the tee. A side note: the second shot after his provisional tee shot was particularly stout and one of the more impressive I’ve seen in his comeback bid. He had to cut it around a tree from the rough, with water left and already lying three. A slight double-cross and he makes seven or eight.
Eamon Lynch at Golfweek puts some of the hype and excitement into perspective with help from Graeme McDowell.
The reality is that this week is just another staging post on Woods’ climb back to the top, not the destination. And nor is it an omen for what might follow three weeks from now in Georgia. Woods has won the Arnold Palmer Invitational four times since he last slipped on the green jacket in 2005.
Form here does not beget form there.
None of which detracts from the excitement Woods’ strong play has brought to the sport. “It doesn’t say much for the world of golf. We were all saying how healthy things were when he was gone, and now he’s back beating us all up again. Maybe we’re not as good as we thought we were,” McDowell says, laughing. “It’s pretty impressive. And it’s good for us all.”
ESPN.com's Bob Harig profiles Joe LaCava, patient looper who waited until Tiger's return.
And the shot of the day captured during the PGA Tour Live broadcast:
