Flyovers: Hirono's C.H. Alison Restoration

Always high on the list of courses architecture aficionados hoped to see restored: C.H. Alison’s design of Hirono Golf Club design. Not only did it exhibit some extraordinary bunkering, but the amazing property has long been seen as one of the more dramatic in golf and deserving of a sensitive replenishment.

Brad Klein at GolfAdvisor.com scouted out the work recently and filed this piece.

And now architect’s Mackenzie and Ebert are tweeting side-by-side aerials showing the work before and after. I believe this is the first time I’ve seen such a thing and it’s quite compelling.

You can check out the holes posted so far at their Twitter account.

Here is the third hole. And if you go to full screen with a decent connection, the details really shine through.

Hirono has been regarded as the Pine Valley of Japan. The creation of a sand area in the carry of the 3rd strengthens this comparison. Two world class courses which benefited from Colt & Company input. pic.twitter.com/zCwIzhhZh4

— Mackenzie & Ebert (@golfarchitects) September 16, 2019

Club Pro Guy Shows How You Can Improve Your Fairway Bunker Lies, Just Like Matt Kuchar

Finally, answers to solving the dreaded fairway bunker shot, thanks to Matt Kuchar’s liberal interpretation of the golf’s revised Rules. (Thanks reader Stephen for the head’s up.)

In this edition of the ClubProGuy #LearningCenter, I'll show you how the new rules of golf have made a once difficult shot, much easier. @usga pic.twitter.com/UEQwAwevNy

— Club Pro Guy (@ClubProGuy) September 16, 2019

Tiger Reveals Plenty About His Presidents Cup Plans

Usually Captain blog entries are full of fluff and merely part of the job as outlined in whatever agreement the cart drivers sign to fetch bananas and pick out rainsuits.

But Tiger Woods’ latest blog post updating his Presidents Cup thoughts telegraphs more than I would have expected about December’s much-anticipated match at Royal Melbourne.

Before we get to the meaty stuff that matters, the initial post included this unfortunate mistake that was not picked up by the Ponte Vedra Senior VP of Microediting.

Of course there are many innocent explanations for Viktor Hovland’s inclusion: he speaks better English than most Americans! And with a nice Oklahoma twang. And he’s kind of looking like one of the best players on the planet right now.

However, he’s 2020 Ryder Cup captain Padraig Harrington’s to have since the Norwegian on his squad than Tiger does of bringing Mr. 64 (another one Sunday at Greenbrier) to Melbourne.

For starters, it’s clear now that Tiger’s play in Japan this fall (Zozo, skins game with Rory) will determine whether he is the first playing captain since Hale Irwin:

While I was disappointed to not earn one of the top 8 spots, I’m hopeful to perform well at my next start in Japan. In the meantime, I’m going to rely on playing with some of the guys in Florida to stay sharp. I’ll practice hard, work on my game, and we'll have some matches. It’s a lot of work, but it’s also always fun.

He later signed the blog post with this, as I believe he’s done before:

Maybe I’m reading to much into thoughts that I know Tiger slaved over while doing his nightly novel writing at the computer, but Kevin Kisner seems a more logical addition to the team given his recent match play record.

There are so many guys who are world-class players who aren’t yet on the team like Rickie Fowler, Tony Finau, Phil Mickelson, Patrick Reed, Gary Woodland, Jordan Spieth and many more.

Thankfully, he remains high on Royal Melbourne and how much the players will enjoy it.

The guys will thoroughly enjoy the fact that the ball runs. It'll move on the fairways and it'll move on the greens. Some of the guys who have played events in the Sandbelt in the past will tell you it’s one of the best collections of golf courses on the planet. It’s really a unique experience and some of the greatest golf you play.

I can’t wait to feel the atmosphere at Royal Melbourne. Melbourne is one of the greatest sporting cities in the world and I know their fans will turn out to watch another great Presidents Cup. If you haven’t gotten your tickets yet, make sure you head to PresidentsCup.com.

Now there’s a buried lede: good seats still available. While supplies last.

Perhaps sales are lagging since my visit to PresidentsCup.com this evening was producing an error message, but according to Ticketmaster, weekly badges are AU$530 and weekend dailies go for AU$155, about $364 an $106 in US dollars.

AT&T: Stephenson Makes Exit Plan Known, Activist Investor Pounces And Lodges Proxy Fight

And we in golf just want to know what will happen to one of the best corporate partners in the game.

The Wall Street Journal’s Drew FitzGerald, Shalini Ramachandran and Corrie Driebusch lay out in fascinating detail how AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson signaled his forthcoming exit and set off an activist investor proxy by Jesse Cohn of Elliott Management. The battle for AT&T is sure to have ramifications for golf down the road and more immediately, upcoming PGA Tour television contract negotiations where the company is reportedly prepared to offer a new golf-only channel.

The next day, Elliott Management issued a 23-page report that publicly questioned the logic of AT&T’s $49 billion takeover of DirecTV in 2015, shortly before cord-cutting accelerated, and its $81 billion deal last year to buy Time Warner, home of HBO and Warner Bros, only to replace almost all of its experienced entertainment bosses.

Elliott’s report Monday also questioned whether Mr. Stephenson’s presumed successor could successfully integrate the conglomerate into a force able to compete for advertising dollars against the likes of Google and win a costly battle for streaming supremacy with rivals like Netflix Inc. and Walt Disney Co.

Plans for Mr. Stephenson’s triumphant exit, as early as next year, now threaten to turn into a monthslong fight over the direction of the $280 billion telecom company and a test of the board’s loyalty to his long-term vision.

The challenge issued by Elliott pits the 59-year-old AT&T chief executive against a 39-year-old Wall Street manager known for pressuring his targets to shake up their operations.

The letter does not question any of AT&T’s investment in golf, which includes sponsorship of two PGA Tour events and the Masters. So there’s that.

A Solheim Cup Finish For The Ages: Pettersen Makes The Ultimate Walk-Off Winning Putt

I feel like we’ve had more “sad someone had to lose” events in golf in recent years, and you can add the 2019 Solheim Cup to the list. Team USA and Team Europe—once they actually hit their shots—put on valiant efforts under intense pressure. Everyone really should get a trophy for the show they put on.

But it was the final 45 minutes, where the outcome was in doubt and a screenwriter seemingly scripted the series of events in brilliant coordination with Golf Channel, that makes this one so unforgettable. (It replays at 11 am ET Monday.)

Beth Ann Nichols of Golfweek captured the magical day here very well, and in this paragraph summed up the stunning composure of Bronte Law and Suzann Pettersen, along with the brilliant captaining by Catriona Matthew to place them in the last to singles slots.

Everything down the stretch had to go Europe’s way. Bronte Law, an English lioness who sprinted out the tunnel and onto the first tee, walked in a birdie putt on the 16th hole and closed her match against alternate Ally McDonald on the 17th to leave the fate of the Cup in Suzann Pettersen’s hands. They are cut from the same mold, Law and Pettersen. High-octane players who feed off of moments like this, particularly in team competition.

Ron Sirak has seen has share of great moments and writes “you’d have to search far and wide to find a more dramatic finish anywhere in the history of sports.”

Suzann Pettersen was blocked out on 18, wedged out, wedged close and made the winning putt. A controversial captain’s pick, she returned from a maternity leave and announced her farewell soon after the matches, writes Alistair Tait.

Brentley Romine with the Sunday singles roundup…each match mattered.

As with all team events, the day yielded many emotion-laden images.

As for Sunday’s strategy, Michelle Wie made her TV debut and confidently questioned Juli Inkster’s decision to middle-load the USA lineup with veterans while Matthew clearly looks brilliant for backloading hers with the most fiery competitors:

Golf Central’s highlight package:

This Week In Game-Killing Pace Of Play, Slowheim Cup Edition

Four-ball play has become a glacial-paced nightmare at all team events, yet appears to be festering in new and amazing ways at the 2019 Solheim Cup, writes Golfweek’s Beth Nichols.

The day one debacle, which did not improve as day two conditions deteriorated and matches barely finished in daylight, earned this rant by Golfweek’s Alistair Tait.

Snails, turtles and tortoises move faster than some of these players, especially in the fourball matches.

Yet only one player was given a bad time.

Just one!

How slow were they? The first fourball match featuring Suzann Pettersen and Anne van Dam against Danielle Kang and Lizette Salas took 2 hours and 57 minutes for nine holes. Nine.

They took five hours and 11 minutes to play 16 holes.

USA Captain Juli Inkster added:

"Yes [it was an issue], it's painfully slow out there," said Inkster. "I know we had maybe a couple on our side that are maybe a little bit slower, but they have a few on their side, too, that are a little slow. So I don't know, I don't know what to do.

During Saturday’s play, pace talk took up much of the broadcast as players often took shockingly long over putts and poor weather added to the misery.

That said, the matches are tied heading to Sunday singles and things should move faster.

Ponte Vedra: “What’s not up for debate is the Tour’s integrity — in this process or otherwise.”

The PGA Tour is pushing back at transparency deficiencies, including this from Alex Miceli noting that we even know vote totals in Russian elections but not in the PGA Tour Player Of The Year race.

Josh Berhow at Golf.com contacted the Tour and was provided the Player of the Year ballot and was told the voting process by the PGA Tour’s Laura Neal. Why this wasn’t disclosed before, I have no idea.

Neal said the ballot is delivered electronically to eligible voters — players who have played in at least 15 events. The completed ballots go directly to the Tour’s accounting firm, Grant Thornton.

A Proud Partner at The Players won by Player of the Year Rory McIlroy, btw.

Employees there tabulate the votes without Tour supervision and send the results to the Tour. The process is broadly similar to how Academy Award votes are tabulated.

“Feel free to debate whether the PGA Tour membership should have voted Rory or Brooks as Player of the Year,” Neal wrote in an email Friday. “What’s not up for debate is the Tour’s integrity — in this process or otherwise.”

Exactly. It’s not like Tour recently waited until the afternoon to send a 30 player field out in Atlanta with afternoon thunderstorms predicted and people almost died!

100 Years Old And Hitting A Shot At The KLM Open

Susan Hosang has to be the most agile and sprightly 100-year-old of all time.

Great stuff from the European Tour’s annual KLM Open stunt, where everyday golfers hit a shot or play a hole with the pros mid-tournament:

Meet 100-year-old golfer Susan Hosang 👵🏻💪

Today she played alongside Matt Wallace, Thomas Pieters and Patrick Reed at the #KLMOpen. pic.twitter.com/a5W6ptjbxg

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) September 12, 2019

Golf Getting Behind Efforts To Help The Bahamas

While the southeast United States was quickly back up and running after its brush with Dorian, parts of the Bahamas are gone as documented by GolfDigest.com’s Brian Wacker and photographer Dom Furore , just back from the unfolding humanitarian crisis.

They report on that and the golf scene which is devastated at a few high-end locations, but that’s not stopping all involved from raising money to help the islands ravaged by Dorian. Tiger and Justin Timberlake are stepping up to endorse a fund with lofty fundraising goals.

Amazingly, the home of Woods’ World Challenge, Albany, was spared, writes Wacker.

Albany, on New Providence and site of Tiger Woods’ Hero World Challenge, meanwhile, was unaffected by the storm and a tournament official told Golf Digest the event, scheduled for Dec. 4-7, will go on as planned.

Bamberger On POY Surprise: Follow The Money

Michael Bamberger weighed in on the surpise vote by PGA Tour players to give the Jack Nicklaus Award to Rory McIlroy over Brooks Koepka, despite Koepka winning a major and nearly two others.

He seized on the possibility that players voted to validate the huge financial rewards of the Players and FedExCup.

But the Tour players, in voting for McIlroy over Koepka, were shunning history in favor of money. That’s their prerogative. They are professional golfers, after all. “Show me the money” works as well for them as it does for anybody else, if not better. “Follow the money” does, too, when trying to figure out their motivations.

The two biggest paydays on the Tour schedule are two Sundays owned by the PGA Tour: the final day of the Players Championship and the final day of the FedEx Cup. McIlroy earned $2.25 million at the former and $15 million at the latter.

What kind of message would the players be sending if they didn’t put their stamp on all that?

Perhaps because fans increasingly are uncomfortable with hearing what athletes make?

As you may recall, I was in the minority in not being taken aback by the FedExCup purse increase but heard from many who were uncomfortable with the amount. Given how much the PGA Tour does for charity and what athletes in other sports make, I believe golfers are a value at the current pay scale.

And it may just be that many agree, but so blatantly celebrating money over majors could expedite the queasiness some fans feel.

Here was the poll result of that post-FedExCup question about money, linked and screen captured.

Video: How Not To Play The Road Hole

Hat tip to Alex Myers for this absolute beauty. The Old Course Hotel certainly is in play, but playing your second from the 16th is a humiliation I’m certain the Station Master’s Garden never inflicted on anyone.

How NOT to play the famous Road Hole at St Andrews...😳😂 pic.twitter.com/DtFCPBHRSO

— Lads Golf ™ (@Lads_Golf) September 10, 2019

The Numbers Are In And No One Can See Them: Players Vote Rory Their 2019 Player Of The Year

Despite getting smoked by Brooks Koepka in the 2019 majors, the PGA Tour’s player vote for Player Of The Year went to Rory McIlroy.

It’s the first time since 1991 that the players differed from the PGA of America’s POY, which is based on a points system. Brooks Koepka won that award by six points over McIlroy.

As I wrote for Golfweek, without knowing how many players voted or how close it was, the award lacks credibility compared to other sports leagues or even other POY awards in golf. It’s too bad, too, as McIlroy had a super year and the case for him to be right there with Koepka is a strong one—until you use the majors as a tiebreaker.

Speaking of majors, you know, the four events on the calendar not owned by the PGA Tour and which always supersede all tour events in magnitude, 2013 was the last time a player won the award without winning a major. Tiger Woods posted five victories that year and two top-6’s in majors.

McIlroy’s best finish in the 2019 majors? A T8 at the PGA. He was 21 strokes worse than Koepka in the three majors he did make the cut in, though he never really contended at any point in the Grand Slam events.

Joel Beall at GolfDigest.com had similar issues with the Tour’s lack of transparency and even the sense that a media conference call ended as soon as the questions about process started.

Or, apparently, privately release them either. Given the election's concealment, the Associated Press' Doug Ferguson asked McIlroy during Wednesday's media conference call if he knew how close the race had finished. "I inquired," McIlroy said, "and they are keeping tight-lipped on that." The call, just seven questions deep, was ended.

Golf.com’s Jessica Marksbury rounded up the Twitter reaction to the news and naturally, there was surprise and some outrage.

And finally, there was the scene of Commissioner Monahan showing up at the Bear’s Club with McIlroy’s trophies, social media helpers, a satellite truck and heaven knows what else for a surprise photo-op with the awards’ namesake, Jack Nicklaus. There is even a photo with McIlroy and the Commish hoisting the FedExCup, cup.

Would Brooks Koepka and his landmark major season—18 strokes better than the next player—have gotten the same attention had players voted for him event without “landmark victories” in the Players and Tour Championship? The overall effort seems desperate to validate a high-priced sponsorship. Too bad that was the only transparent thing about this award.

"I've got goosebumps."

No one better to surprise @McIlroyRory with the Jack Nicklaus Award than @JackNicklaus himself. 🙌#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/cK28uMu8WY

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 11, 2019

Will California's New Law Put Another Nail In The Amateur Status Coffin?

On the surface, major upheaval in college golf seems unlikely when California Governor Gavin Newsom likely signs the assembly bill allowing college athletes to profit off their likeness.

(Steve Berkowitz’s USA Today report here at Golfweek.com.)

This last paragraph in Berkowit’z piece clarifies the student athlete relationship with their school’s official shoe and apparel deals:

The amendments added by the Assembly include provisions designed to address potential conflicts between prospective athlete deals and school deals, such as shoe-and-apparel contracts. An athlete would not be allowed to have a deal that conflicts with a school contract, but a school contract would not be allowed to restrict an athlete from using their name, image and likeness for a commercial purpose when not engaged in official team activities.

While players now get free clubs, are on a first name basis with tour reps, wear corporate logos in the US Amateur and are committed to agents long before announcing the intent to turn pro, amateur status would seem to be a out the window once a player starts profiting off their likeness. The rules are pretty clear on this front.

However, exceptions for Tony Romo and Lucy Li would seem to open a player profiting off their likeness to point to those cases as amateur status-retaining precedent and therefore maintain access to USGA events or the Masters (should they be so fortunate).

The NCAA’s rebuttal is not expected until next month but given the number of athletes and schools in California, they’ll have a hard time containing this given the bill’s easy victory and support from top athletes.

It’s a huge mess, but one brought on by the NCAA’s refusal to find a solution as it rakes in millions and pays its head man $4 million a year on the backs of unpaid athletes.

R.I.P. Brian Barnes

Alistair Tait files an excellent and very personal remembrance of a player he enjoyed covering, Brian Barnes. The English-born Scot, European Tour great, two-time Senior British champion and wild dresser passed away at 74 and is best known for his Ryder Cup career and two wins in 1975 over Jack Nicklaus in one event—in Nicklaus’ prime.

Tait covers the ups and downs of Barnes’ life but there is this gem from the week he will always be remembered for:

Barnes’s famous Nicklaus double was part of an Arnold Palmer set up. U.S. captain Palmer approached Great Britain & Ireland counterpart Bernard Hunt and asked him to name his best player to play Jack Nicklaus in singles. Hunt picked Barnes and the two captains arranged for the pair to play in the final morning singles match. Barnes ran out a 4&2 winner.

The Ryder Cup featured two singles sessions in those days. Barnes was surprised to find himself out against Nicklaus in the final afternoon singles match. He shouldn’t have been. Nicklaus wanted revenge, and had made sure Palmer fixed the draw so he could play the Scotsman again.

Barnes walked onto the first tee and Nicklaus said: “Well done this morning, Barnesy, but there ain’t no way you’re going to beat me this afternoon.”

Nicklaus birdied the first two holes, but Barnes fought back to win 2&1 in what would turn out to be the greatest day of his career.

Nicklaus hasn’t posted anything on social media yet but when he does I’ll include here.

This is a fun Golfing World piece on Barnes from a few years ago:

Wrapping Up Last Season Before Next Season Starts (Thursday): 2018 v. 2019 PGA Tour Ratings Comparison

Robopz calls him/herself “anonymous 3rd-tier 4th estate type” but did some nice work trying to compare 2018 PGA Tour ratings vs. 2019. While the overall number was slightly down and a few events took steep plunges due to date change or a Tiger presence, overall a flat number these days is good news.

While golf is expensive to broadcast and the demographic isn’t as gullible and hooked on its phones as the coveted M’s, it still delivers a lot to sponsors, fans and beats airing informercials (I would hope).

Anyway, give him/her a follow here as you’ll find some other fun stats and info. You can click on the images to see them better:

2019 TV Ratings down compared to last year. Here's a comparison of the 31 Sunday Network final ratings for 2019 to 2018.

Bottom Chart is events played after the OPEN prior to this year. 2019 compared to prior 5-year avgs. @GeoffShac @BobHarig @RyanBallengee pic.twitter.com/vUr361KeVs

— Robopz (@Robopz) August 28, 2019