A Seminole Primer And Preview Plus A Distance Debate Note

Michael Bamberger predicts that Seminole will be the real star of Sunday, May 17th’s TaylorMade Driving Relief Skins Game.

The club’s history with elite players dates to Ben Hogan’s era and his affinity for the place, as Jim McCabe writes for PGATour.com.

Making its national TV debut Sunday on NBC and Golf Channel (2 pm ET), the Donald Ross design could come off a bit underwhelming with limited production values due to safety concerns. But Andy Johnson’s article about the Ross approach to a tough site is worth a read as well as for Jeffrey Bertch’s photos.

David Normoyle also looks at Seminole and captures some of what makes it special.

Seminole is admirable and worthy of study because Donald Ross, helped by several other architects since 1929, offers for us today a course in the swamps of Florida very much like St. Andrews and the National in that: 1) it is remarkably easy for a group of average golfers to get around quickly, while 2) being remarkably difficult for an expert in that same group to get the ball into the hole quickly.

That is the holy grail in golf design, and Seminole achieves it. Few others do, though many more should.

Finally, there is the foursome taking on the course and what Mssrs. McIlroy, Fowler, Johnson and Wolff might do to make Seminole look like a museum piece.

Bamberger has a theory that this could be one final eye-opener to kick start distance regulation conversations currently on hold.

Henry Kissinger likes to say that great historical events begin with great personalities. The resurrection of the 560-yard par-5 may not qualify as a great historical event, but it would make for better golf.

Rees Jones, a Seminole member and the course-architect sometimes called The Open Doctor, believes that. Mike Davis, the USGA’s CEO, is a Seminole member and a driving force behind the USGA’s recent Distance Report, believes that. Nick Price, a Seminole member and USGA executive committee member, believes that.

Seminole will be the site of next year’s Walker Cup match. That will give Jimmy Dunne, the Seminole president, and Mike Davis plenty of opportunity to compare notes and their wish lists. McIlroy, as the son of a Seminole member, as a U.S. Open winner, as a former GB&I Walker Cupper, can offer his insights. He can help chart a course. He can persuade the lodge brothers — his fellow touring pros — that the time has come.

Tipping points are movements. Movements start with people. They start with a message. Enter Rory, a microphone under his chin.

Quail Hollow Lands 2025 PGA Championship On Top Of Next Year's Presidents Cup And Maybe Even This Year's PGA

Don’t get me wrong. LOVE Charlotte. The people, the places, the food, the short rental car center walk.

But how Quail Hollow became America’s southeastern St Andrews, I have no clue.

The over-renovated, over-extended and over-glorified club is kind of everything that seems past its time, if it had a time: long, light on character, ugly and expensive blinding-white bunkers set on the outside of doglegs, bales of Bermudagrass rough, an elitist vibe and extreme overexposure.

With that said, the club finalized a second PGA Championship in 2025 today in case you were mapping out your summer five years from now. The club is scheduled to host next year’s Presidents Cup, probably has Wells Fargo’s on PGA Tour the 2022-24 calendars, and based on what I’m reading from Dave Shedloski of Golf World, this year’s PGA. That is, when it’s officially apparent California and other states are not an option.

The PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh acknowledged California’s “Phase 4” reopening of the state will not happen by August, all but killing Harding Park’s chances of hosting with or without fans.

You do not need a doctorate to see a possible replacement site is down to a pair of venues if the PGA Championship is played in 2020.

As for major-caliber layouts on the CBS schedule, once you eliminate California contenders Riviera Country Club and Torrey Pines, the leaders would be Muirfield Village Golf Club, in Dublin, Ohio, and Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte. It’s doubtful Muirfield Village, which has held a Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup, would get the nod when it’s annual Memorial Tournament, hosted by Nicklaus, is rescheduled for July 16-19. Quail Hollow was the site of the 2017 PGA, won by Justin Thomas, and was just announced Thursday that it was being awarded the 2025 PGA Championship. The course wouldn’t require much extra effort to get into shape, because the Wells Fargo Championship that Quail Hollow was slated to host through May 3 was among the nine tournaments the PGA Tour was forced to cancel during the pandemic.

Rory On McKellar Podcast: Appreciating Architecture, Ohoopee, Seminole, Carrying His Clubs On Sunday, Swing Ownership, Golf With Trump (Probably Not Again)

Rory McIlroy joins the latest McKellar podcast to discuss this Sunday’s charitable match at Seminole and anything else Lawrence Donegan and John Huggan asked. Thankfully, the hosts did their best Columbo impression and drew all sorts of fun things out of the world no. 1 past the allotted time.

Highlights:

—McIlroy discussed his appreciation for golf course design as he’s gotten older, wiser and played enough less interesting courses.

—Seminole and his fascination with the design.

—He confirmed players will be carrying their bags at this Sunday’s charity relief fundraiser, saying the look of golfers in carts would have been a poor one (perhaps the Woods-Mickelson-Brady-Manning event a week later in carts will rethink that dreadful look).

—Playing with less than 14 clubs and the importance for young players to learn shots by playing and perhaps doing so with fewer clubs in the bag.

—He’s a big fan of Kingston Heath and considered playing the Australian Open there this year just to rekindle his affinity for the course.

—Shared that he is a founding member of Hanse Design’s Ohoopee Match Club and why he loves the course.

—Instruction and the importance of players taking ownership of their swing.

—He discussed his golf with President Donald Trump, was critical of his leadership during the COVID-19 crisis and seems unlikely to accept a future invitation to tee it up.

—McIlroy continues to believe the Ryder Cup should not be played without fans and should be postponed a year if galleries are not permitted at Whistling Straits

Head to the iTunes link to listen or below or wherever you get your podcasts. And don’t forget to support McKellar Magazine!

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”.