Golf Take Note: NASCAR's 90-Minute iRacing Series Yields Ideas For Major Change

The LA Times’ venerable sports business writer David Wharton considers NASCAR’s return Sunday—an hour after live golf begins at Seminole—and the recent iRacing invitational series’ impact. (For those from a more experienced demographic, that’s the video game deal.)

While golf was not able to muster up anything like the iRacing series due to various issues and a concern about perception, Wharton notes that NASCAR’s continued concerns about fandom remains a major focus. As noted here, they’ve already instituted efforts to make the racing more strategic again by slowing down cars and ratings have improved.

But post iRacing, they reported attracting new fans who had not watched a real race. The length of races and an open mind to more variety of track settings in a fan-free world, was also noticed.

The success of the 90-minute iRacing broadcasts has reinforced an already existing push for shorter Cup Series events.

“I don’t think we need all those four-hour races,” said Myers, a long-time motorsports fan. “It’s hard to ask a family guy to carve out that much time on a Sunday.”

Shifting away from traditional, oval tracks — at least some of the time — could counteract NASCAR’s reputation as a “left-turn league.”

More road courses, popular in the past, could help. So could the occasional dirt track and street circuits akin to the Long Beach Grand Prix. NASCAR has planned a first-ever doubleheader with IndyCar later in the year.

“It really is about the fans,” NASCAR president Steve Phelps said recently. “We need to make sure we are putting on compelling racing and having full grandstands when we do that.”

Another thing about the iRacing series — it helped personalize a sport born of moonshine runners and larger-than-life personas. Fans saw drivers’ faces normally obscured by helmets and window nets. They listened to favorites talk strategy and crack jokes.

Wharton goes on to note other elements, but should NASCAR put into practice shorter races and more variety of approaches, the lessons for golf could be both tangible and backed up with real data.

Just off the top of my head, the upcoming exhibitions at Seminole and Medalist probably should have been nine holes, and without large gatherings of fans, might the professional game reemerge looking at more “boutique” or remote venues for tournaments?

Top Europeans Not Likely To Travel To U.S. For PGA Tour Restart

From Ewan Murray’s Guardian story on PGA Tour testing and the issues facing European players who will face a 14 day quarantine to play, with another 14 days awaiting in the United Kingdom upon returning.

Mostly notably, Tommy Fleetwood and Francesco Molinari do not expect to be among those supporting the planned restart.

Speaking at the start of this week, Fleetwood suggested he regards the restrictions as too prohibitive. “I’m not going to travel to America and stay away for four months, that is simply not a consideration,” the world No 10 said. It is understood Molinari, who lives in London, will not travel for the June events either.

PGA Tour Rolls Out Testing Plans: Quick Results From Local Labs And No Disclosure Who Tests Positive

The PGA Tour officials charged with getting operations going are in a no-win situation as COVID-19 offers new surprises and different understandings each day. That said, the testing and protocol rollout for select media highlighted potential flaws, starting with the oddity of a player receiving a positive virus test while in contention.

From Luke Kerr-Dineen’s Golf.com on what happens with a positive:

If the test comes back positive, that player is immediately escorted off site, withdrawn from the event and given a last-place payout.

It doesn’t matter if that player is leading the event, is largely asymptomatic, is in last place or somewhere in between; you test positive, you’re out. It’s a smart but tough new rule, the kind required in the current landscape. A sign of the times would be a scenario where the leader of the event could be withdrawn from the contest for safety concerns, rewarded with a last-place check and a 10-day quarantine.

The Tour, for its part, said that it wouldn’t disclose the identity of any player who does test positive.

But as Pat Perez told Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post, it’s hard to see that scenario playing out. He made the remarks in his overall statement suggesting the return is happening too soon.

“Let’s say I leave Scottsdale [his home] and I don’t have that virus and I get to Dallas and I’ve got it?’’ he said. “The Tour’s going to have a real problem with me if that happens. Let’s say a guy gets tested on Tuesday and he tests positive when he comes back on Thursday. Is he [disqualified]?

“And, are you telling me that if Tiger Woods or Rory McIlroy or another big name that drives our tour is leading entering Sunday, you’re going to DQ him if he tests positive? I dare you. There’ll be a [bleeping] riot.’’

GolfDigest.com’s Joel Beall noted that “ambiguity remains” about many of the planned elements, including how many positive cases at an event would be cause for a stoppage.

What remains unclear is what number of positive tests constitute a critical mass for the Tour. A single test would not be enough to deter the tournament from continuing, said senior vice president of tournament administration Andy Levinson, and there’s not a specific number of positive tests the tour has in mind that would enact a cancellation.

Not ambiguous is the PGA Tour’s plan to use local labs in each city to check nasal swabs for the virus, highlighting how cumbersome it is right now to run a testing operation for 400 of the expected 1100 or so on site while moving from city to city.

The Tour’s Andy Levinson from the transcript of the press session:

Our testing group includes all of our players and caddies, and as I mentioned earlier, some other select personnel that have to be in close proximity with them. That number on average weekly will be around 400. As the mayor of Fort Worth was quoted earlier this week in saying they have facilitated conversations for us with UTSW, who have laboratories throughout the area, and we are confident that we'll be able to conduct our testing in a manner that is not taking away from the community. We will be providing our own supplies and sourcing all of that, as well.

For the results, we know we can get results back immediately on the questionnaire and thermal screenings. In most communities, PCR test results take anywhere from one to three days, but what we're really focusing on is identifying local laboratories who aren't overly burdened with community testing or may not currently be community testing at all at this time, and trying to decrease that turnaround time to a matter of hours instead of a matter of days, and as we've said, we wouldn't do this with local laboratories, if, again, we were taking resources away from the community.

I’m sure there are local labs not burdened somwhere in the United States, but given the third day in a row of over 1000 new cases in Texas driven mostly by outbreaks in jails, the first market may have some backlogs on the test-results front.

The week two tournament is in Hilton Head, where he closest lab is reportedly in Charlotte.

On the optics front, if PGA Tour players, caddies, officials and others get priority over locals, it could be disastrous. And even if labs are not strained, the visuals of players getting tested and moved to the front of the line is not great. Especially if it’s so they can play a practice round. That could easily make national or international news and backfire on the event sponsor.

The Shack Show Episode 10 With Guest Joe Beditz, National Golf Foundation CEO

The National Golf Foundation’s research is generally for private business and organizations, but since March 31 the organization has been putting out weekly figures on the state of golf. The data culled from extensive surveying by the NGF staff has been posted and summarized by CEO Joe Beditz.

Particularly impressive has been Beditz’s willingness to navigate the difficult task of encouraging the return to the safe confines of a golf course while reiterating the delicate balance for golf should the industry defy local ordinances. His guidance, combined with the data provided by the NGF to inform understanding of where things stand, will some day be looked back upon as having helped the golf industry remain centered and forward-looking through these uncertain times.

This is all my nice way of saying why it was high time to have another Shack Show with Beditz as this week’s guest. We chatted about the research effort among other topics.

Here is the book, Culture By Design, referenced later in the show by Beditz.

The Apple Podcast link to Episode 10.

And the iHeart embed below if you want to listen here:

Players (Mostly) Laud PGA Tour's Efforts To Return From Pandemic To "Help The World With Something To Watch"

Steve DiMeglio talks to several players who laud the PGA Tour’s efforts to return to action and the efforts to set an example for the United States to return to a form of normalcy.

From Kevin Kisner:

“So, we’re going to go about with the safest, healthiest way to get back to work and have a quality product for our fans, have a presentable product for TV and help the world with something to watch.”

Zach Johnson feels the COVID-19 virus isn’t going away, so move forward.

“This thing is not going away. You can’t mitigate the entire risk. At some point you have to open up this country. You have to start thinking about some semblance of normalcy. We are just golf. But the beauty of golf is we are outside, we can take social distancing to the extremes, and within our bubble we can create as much safety as we can. I don’t think it’s too soon.”

Add Harold Varner to the list saying we can’t live in fear.

“I have to live,” Varner said. “I have to get my life back to normal as much as possible. I’ll do whatever they say, I’ll follow all the rules. We can’t live in fear.

“We have to start to get back up from off the floor.”

Brian Harman also took the view the PGA Tour will help get the country moving again.

“It’s important that we make the effort to get started again,” Brian Harman said. “It’s important for the country that we all start easing back into work because at some point or another, we have to get over this thing, as awful as it’s been and is. In some way, shape or form, we have to get things moving again.”

And then there is Nate Lashley, playing in the Scottsdale Open, with this reported by Alan Shipnuck:

Lashley was similarly relaxed about the virus, saying, “It’s not something I’m overly worried about right now. If you get it, you get it; you get through it and move on with your life. At this point, here in Arizona I don’t personally know anybody who has been affected by it, so for us to come out and be extremely precautious feels like it’s a little overblown.”

Those final remarks by Lashley, if heard on a national scale when the limelight is on the PGA Tour, could be devastating in the optics department.

One player who is planning to play at Colonial also thinks “it’s not time to go yet.” That’s Pat Perez, quoted by Mark Cannizzaro in this New York Post story today:

“It’ll be ready when its ready. You can’t rush this kind of thing. You can’t rush getting people back together in this sort of deal.’’

The PGA Tour’s new safety regulations include COVID-19 testing for all players and caddies before they arrive at the tournament and when they get there, along with thermal testing every day before entry to the golf course, social distancing and a number of other stringent guidelines that will make the tournaments feel very different than usual.

“If I can’t go back to work normal, then there’s no reason to do it,’’ Perez said. “Get it right, get everybody safe. People act like it’s been five years without sports. It’s only been about five or six weeks [actually nine].’’

NGF: 91% Of U.S. Open Courses Open, Golfers Still Want Their Distancing In And Outdoors

The latest edition of the National Golf Foundation’s weekly survey and research once again provides interesting data for those on the business side.

CEO Joe Beditz continues to take a refreshingly honest and cautionary tone in reminding readers that the spot has a “yellow light” to reopen that could turn red very quickly with the perception of lax behavior and rules. Country clubs, in particular, are on their radar as struggling to discipline members.

Golf has been given the go-ahead because it’s considered a relatively safe activity when social distancing is maintained and other precautions are followed. But make no mistake, what has been given can be taken away. It’s now up to both golf course operators and golfers to keep golf open. Bad behavior will get noticed, and possibly recorded on a smart phone. One course in Florida was recently shut down by the local sheriff’s department for flagrant safety violations.
 
This isn’t just the beer cooler crowd we’re talking about. Many private club boards are struggling with disciplinary decisions concerning members who refuse to follow the rules.
 
This is why NGF is sending a message this week to golf courses around the country, encouraging operators to follow the excellent guidance that’s been provided by leading golf associations, and reminding golfers that it’s up to them whether golf courses continue to remain open for play.

Of note in this week’s findings, goflers were asked about comfort levels with shopping indoors (wisely and understandably not great) meaning more troubles for in-person golf retailers. And this was a good sign that most golfers are appreciating the perks of being outside while recognizing physical distancing:

PGA "Talking About" Possible 2020 PGA Championship Venue Change

With California looking unlikely to have a fan-filled sporting event and increasing doubts about one played with 156 players from around the world, the PGA of America’s Kerry Haigh acknowledged alternatives are under consideration for the postponed 2020 PGA.

From Rex Hoggard’s GolfChannel.com item:

Although California began lifting its stay-at-home restrictions last week, the state is still trailing other areas of the country in its return to something close to normal. Haigh acknowledged there is also a Plan B.

“We have been talking about [possibly changing venues],” Haigh said. “Ultimately, it’s going to depend on what the city, county and state allow us to do and not do. Safety of everyone is utmost in our mind.”

Would this be a bad time to remind the PGA of the suggestion to play their championship outside the United States in Olympic years to make the schedule more palatable and bring international prestige to the decidedly fourth major?

Australia can be beautiful in December as learned every year during the swing of events Down Under. It’s a thought…

PGA Tour Presents Players With Health & Safety Plans, Including A Recommendation To Use Avis Rental Cars

GolfDigest.com’s Brian Wacker reports on the 37-page “deck” provided to players and PGA Tour constituents outlining the “Return To Golf Events” starting June 11-14 at Colonial.

Chief among the plan’s tenets is that COVID-19 testing will be required of players as a condition of competition, similar to that of the organization’s drug policy. Testing protocols will include three methods—a questionnaire, thermal reading and nasal swab or saliva test. Players and caddies will have to be screened pre-travel, upon arrival with all three methods and daily with a questionnaire and thermal reading.

According to the document, the results from nasal swabs will take at least 24-48 hours. Players who are waiting for test results may practice or play on-site but will have no access to course facilities.

Parking lot shoe change for you.

Should someone test positive for COVID-19, they will be required to self isolate for a minimum of 10 days with no subsequent symptoms, or two negative test results at least 24 hours apart. The Tour and tournament would provide support throughout the isolation period and travel home by car would be allowed if deemed safe.

So just remember, rent with Avis and hopefully they’ll be flexible on the drop off location. Likely to be DFW but could be somewhere in Florida, too.

Speaking of Avis, the PGA Tour’s “official rental car” got a nice shoutout in the document’s transportation slide that, along with select other screen grabs, were shared with me:

As for testing, the document notes players, caddies and volunteers will get that picked up by the Tour. Media? No. And the television crew situation will be addressed by the networks, with information coming at a later date.

Here is the testing summed up by Rex Hoggard at GolfChannel.com:

Results for the PCR nasal swabs will take 24-48 hours and those waiting for results can still practice and play but will not have access to other onsite facilities.

“In implementing our testing plan, we will not do so in a manner that takes away from testing and medical resources in the communities in which we play or for affected groups in those communities,” the plan read.

Those who test positive will not be allowed to continue with the competition and, per federal and local health guidelines, they will be isolated for at least 10 days. A player who tests positive after making the cut at an event will receive last place earnings.

And one can presume, though one never knows when talking about something so precious, last place FedExCup points.

The document’s is, mercifully, reassuring when it comes to the Tour’s priorities.

I found this item on scoring and roping of interest, though it was the Masters scoreboard clipart that temporarily had me wondering if manual scoreboards were making some sort of retro-infused comeback.

Of course it’s not all about health and safety, commerce must go on and various acronyms are exploring all forms of exposure. Wait, maybe that’s not the best word these days.

Speaking of commerce, the ten-percenters and their stand-ins are not welcome on site, but the other folks who can work out a few kinks will be there.

Oddly, the on-site media will be allowed, but not tested, just temperature checked and asked questions. That could return misleading numbers since we all know how hot writers get when shuttles fail to run on time or the WiFi drops to double-digit download speeds.

On the full Orwellian front, “pool” reporters will be used to lob softer balls than normal. And if they bring a recording device capturing what someone actually says, life in prison awaits.

Oh, and approval of interviews of the independent contractors, is necessary:

All in all I’d say the plan appears well thought out and logical, with caddies getting to act like they normally do, the necessary folks allowed on site and safety well-considered. But it’s also amazing how many questions need resolution with just under four weeks to go and the folks working in enclosed spaces—media and TV—not inside of the regrettably termed “bubble”.

More News You Just Didn't Need To Know This Week: PGA of America Locks In Previously Announced 2030 PGA At Southern Hills

A decade from now and the lone golf writer will look back and say, wow, the PGA of America locked in the 2030 PGA Championship after previously having already announced this likelihood. All while the country was in a pandemic with a few thousand people dying daily and golf fans only wondering if the 2020 PGA will be played. How odd, said the lone golf writer.

Anyway, what was official became more official with the recently restored Southern Hills returning to major championship golf ten years from now. Here is something on the Hanse Design restoration by The Fried Egg and some flyovers in this YouTube video below so you can start imaging how it’ll play in May, 2030.

Olive, Mabel And Andrew Cotter Are Back, Zoom Style

More brilliance from BBC commentator and golf podcaster Andrew Cotter. Previous versions here and here, in case you’ve been in a coma.

Still having the company meetings online. pic.twitter.com/aR3LfuSdKl

— Andrew Cotter (@MrAndrewCotter) May 11, 2020

Player: Vijay Singh Has No Business Playing Korn Ferry Tour

With so much going on in the world far more grave than whether Vijay Singh takes up a spot in a Korn Ferry Tour event, plenty have wondered why the story got so much attention.

Before I direct you to Mike Van Sickle’s guest piece for MorningRead.com, I’ll say its pretty simply a case of entitlement.

When Harvard and the Lakers were found to have accepted PPP funds during the COVID-19 pandemic, they returned the funds because no sane individual could make a case for either entity being entitled to funds meant to keep workers on payrolls.

While Phil Mickelson and others backed the 57-year-old Singh’s right to take a spot away from a player trying to build or rebuild their career on a developmental tour, it is the golf equivalent of the Lakers taking money they do not need.

From Van Sickle’s guest piece, and I do feel a channeling of another writer named Van Sickle with the closing zinger here:

The player who gets bumped from the field may be stocking grocery-store shelves to pay his mounting bills, such as what KFT player Erik Barnes has been doing at a Publix in southwest Florida during the coronavirus-imposed golf shutdown, just so Singh can get some “reps” to get ready when senior golf resumes.

Obviously, the rules say Singh can play. A PGA Tour player can dip into the KFT if he isn’t eligible to play in a PGA Tour event during the same week. Singh, a World Golf Hall of Fame member with a lifetime exemption, is not in the field at the PGA Tour’s Charles Schwab Challenge on June 11-14 in Fort Worth, Texas. So, he can play his local KFT event, which is practically in his backyard. He lives in the Ponte Vedra Beach area and is a divot-making machine at the TPC Sawgrass range. Singh is within his rights to play, under tour rules, even if it’s like Phil Hellmuth showing up for the weekly $10 buy-in poker night at your neighbor’s house to “get some reps.”

For Reasons Unknown, Files: Steve Stricker And PGA Of America Announce Two More 2020 Ryder Cup Cart Drivers

I stand corrected: the vice captains no longer drive their own carts. At least, in pandemic-free times.

However, if the 2020 Ryder Cup happens this year, these task force favorites may return behind the wheel to retrieve bananas and shuttle WAGs.

Wait, that’s not happening for a while, either.

Anyway, why anyone thought the world needed to know Zach Johnson and Davis Love were joining Jim Furyk as Steve Stricker’s kitchen cabinet when the U.S. death toll from COVID-19 topped 80,000, is beyond me.

The brevity of Joel Beall’s GolfDigest.com item about sums up the importance of this “news”.

Fort Worth Mayor Has No Reservations About Colonial Return; PGA Tour Reportedly Plans To Use Chartered Flights Between Events

ESPN.com’s Bob Harig interviewed Fort Worth mayor Betsy Price, who has been working closely with the PGA Tour on plans to present the rescheduled Charles Schwab Challenge June 11-14. The mayor says she has no reservations about moving forward with the event and addressed the primary hurdle presented by Commissioner Jay Monahan: testing.

Price said that as of now, widespread testing is not available in Fort Worth, which the PGA Tour has said on a few occasions would be one of their criteria for returning at any of the events it plans to stage. But Price said she expected that to change "in about 10 days.''

"It has just been for people who show virus symptoms, but we have moved beyond that,'' Price said. "Pretty soon anyone will be able to get them, and that is what we are striving for. We're a town of 900,000 people, so it's going to be difficult for any city to test every one of their residents. But the testing is going to be much more robust.''

Complicating matters in the area: neighboring Dallas County saw a record-tying number of cases in its Monday report and the area also expects to lose federally funded testing capable of handling 1000 people per day even as numbers are going up.

Also, the current CDC guidelines on testing priorities fails to list professional golf or even anyone asymptomatic.

One question often asked about PGA Tour’s June return: air travel. A Golfweek report from Todd Kelly quotes Kevin Streelman, who said the plan is to use a chartered event between tournaments. I’m not sure how that affects the elite players who use private jets but it would seem to improve the chances of players not spreading the COVID-19 virus to air travelers while moving from city to city.

“There will probably be four, five, six of us who will split a plane to get to Colonial,” Streelman said. “The Tour has chartered planes, like big ones, for all the players and caddies in between events, trying to keep our bubble nice and tight.”

Oh it was a tight bubble already. But is anyone really wanting to be in a tight bubble of any kind just yet? Particularly one encased in hard surfaces with a robust air flow system? We’ll find out soon.

Bittersweet Monday At Harding Park On What Would Have Been PGA Championship Week

Will Gray talks to Harding Park GM Tom Smith on what would have been PGA Championship Monday for the San Francisco muni turned TPC.

Play has been robust at the course but thoughts are turning to a possible hosting in August.

Like with many PGA Tour events slated for later this year, there are still two distinct possibilities in terms of tournament operations: one that calls for the event to be played in front of at least some fans, and one that would include no fans at all. While Smith still holds out hope for fans to be able to experience a “traditional PGA Championship” in what would be the first PGA played on the West Coast since 1998, he admitted that course officials will be reacting to – and not making – the decision to allow fans.

“I think that’s really the unknown at this point,” Smith said. “We’re working scenarios right now for when it’s safe, when it’s responsible to do so, and of course under the guidance of the public health officials here, we will resume the build with whatever we are presented in terms of fan scenarios for August. Right now everything is in a holding pattern.”

The with-fans possibility appears all but dead and there is, sadly, a third-and-increasingly likely scenario: no PGA at all. Bay Area counties, which were the earliest in the country to order stay-at-home measures, are still “nowhere near” meeting reopening criteria as of Monday.

With Major League Baseball rolling out a proposed schedule keeping teams closer to home and playing without fans, Governor Gavin Newsom reiterated that much will need to happen even for the California teams to play in their stadiums.

From Jeff Passan’s ESPN.com story:

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said during a media conference Monday that he had spoken to the commissioner as well. "He said, 'We won't do anything that's not consistent with state guidelines,'" Newsom said. "We certainly look forward to Major League Baseball and all sports resuming, but again, the question is when. And that will be determined on the basis of public health and public safety and the spread of this virus."

In contrast to baseball, the PGA Championship would be attempting to bring players from all over the world 15 weeks from now.

Golf Values Reset: Rekindling The Early Days Of "Play It As It Lies"

With new rules and regulations during the COVID-19, golfers are flocking to courses and based on social media, enjoying their golf more than ever. Even with all sorts of safety precautions stripping away elements thought essential to enjoyment of the game, it turns out the mere privilege of being outside, getting exercise and hitting the ball has brought priorities into focus.

Play it as it lies has been under fire some time. Golfers get to touch their ball too much, particularly on the greens. (Though magically, for a short, dark period in the early 2000s would mysteriously leave it down to provide a backstop for competitors even when playing for millions of dollars. Go figure.)

There are also drops, excuses to touch the ball to gauge how it lies or if it’s scuffed too much. And then there is all of that dabbing, touching, extricating and other surgery allowed in the immediate surrounds of the ball. The effect puts a few dents in play it as it lies.

Worse, massive amounts of capital and man hours are expended annually to prevent golfers from having to find a lie that might set in motion a series of ” tragic” events like sixes and sevens. Land has been rearranged to flatten stances, bunker floors have been remodeled to allow for an ideal stance. Even in hazards, where technically no one should not be entitled to any coddling, golfers demand perfection and today’s talented superintendents deliver.

But with the COVID-19 precautions such as unraked bunkers and flagsticks in holes, golfers are reporting normal eastern sunrises and western sunsets despite these pandemic-related “concessions”. Many are enjoying the stripped-down game even more.

So while we’re hiding rakes and treating flagsticks like they are radioactive, why not pretend golf balls are potential virus carriers and return to the days of leaving them down unless absolutely necessary. The backstoppers should be thrilled. The realization that a bad lie now and then is a small price to pay for the privilege of playing in these times of quarantining. We might even be able to shed a few ounces of bloated entitlement bred by exposure to mostly pristine playing opportunities?

While doing some research I popped open Scotland’s Gift-Golf and C.B. Macdonald explained in Chapter I (Introduction to St Andrews) how the early golf he played there as a young visitor was centered around a “code of honor” where “the player must play the ball as it lay.” He ended the first chapter with this longing for American golf to capture the essence of the primal game that hooked him:

So strong was the influence of my associations with St. Andrews that for many years touching the ball in play without penalty was anathema to me, a kind of sacrilegious profanity. The impression of the true old game of golf is indescribable. It was like the dawn or the twilight of a brilliant day. It can only be felt. The charm, the fascination of it all, cannot be conveyed in words.

Would that I could hand on unimpaired the great game as it was my good fortune to know it. The iconoclast and the Bolshevik, knowing nothing of golfing law or golfing sin, may mar its spirit, but I have faith in its supremacy.

Based on the early reactions I’ve heard about unraked bunkers and slower, less refined maintenance, the spirit, the “charm” and “the fascination of it all” is being “felt” again. Maybe with less touching of the ball, more acceptance of playing it as you found it, and scorecards taking on a little less importance, perhaps we can see a return of the primal St Andrews sensations that so enamored Macdonald.