Webb Still Thinks Architects Just Aren't Installing Enough Bunkers For An Ever-Changing Game

1920’s golf cartoon still—sadly—relevant

It’s too exhausting at this point to even try to address golf pros—even smart and nice ones like Webb Simpson—who fail to understand even the basics of what it takes to create a golf hole of strategy and interest for a variety of players.

So I’ll let the above Tweet do the talking, but if you must, here is the entire question and answer in Memphis raving about the brilliance of TPC Southwind, one of the most beloved courses on the planet, said no one. All while wearing his Titleist billboard (Wally what brainwashing chips do you embed in those caps?).

Q. Going back to what you just said about this course being--not being a--or being a point A to point B golf course, looking ahead to next week at Harding Park, how would you characterize that golf course?

WEBB SIMPSON: Yeah. So that one I think is kind of a tweener. It is long and bombers will have an advantage, because it is longer, there's a lot of drivers, but there's not as many forced carries out at Harding Park as some of these long golf courses.

And I've been pretty vocal. I don't think technology's the problem with our game, I think it's golf course design. I think you would solve a lot of problems on this length issue if architects would get a little more creative on doglegs,

Because those are so easily adjusted…wait I said I wasn’t going to interrupt. Please, continue:

where they're placing these bunkers, tightening fairways, making greens smaller. That way you're saving money on the land, you're saving money on watering the golf courses when we play too many courses where you get to a hole and hey, it's 290 to carry a bunker.

Oh yes, that’ll save water. Did I interrupt again?

Well, guess what, 30 guys on the PGA TOUR now, they're not even thinking about that bunker whereas 20 years ago it was really in play.

Maybe you should consider a Keto diet and adding more crunches to your pre-round routine, just saying.

So I've been vocal, hey, put another bunker out there right over that one and then you've fixed your problem.

Solved! Now keep paying $50 a dozen for those Pro-V’s!

So I think looking forward to next week, the rough's going to be up, I'm sure, it's a major championship. So there will be a premium on fairways, but it's not necessarily a point A to pointB golf course like Southwind is, where you miss your target, it's very penal. It's more of just tree-lined rough, kind of old-school.

And it only cost $26 million to renovate.

It was nice to see Twitter wasn’t totally standing for these remarks:

Ah yes, if only Dr. Alister MacKenzie had only been a better designer of golf courses Augusta National wouldn’t have to buy every surrounding house and Taco Bell to make room for new tees. https://t.co/bhFpEoNECJ

— Nick Mackay (@NickFMackay) July 29, 2020

New York Gives U.S. Open At Winged Foot Its Blessing Without Fans But With "Rigorous Protocols" In Place

While the lack of U.S. Open fans garnered most headlines, the status of New York’s quarantine rules and those attempting to make the September event a go has been addressed. From Brian Wacker’s GolfDigest.com report:

Earlier this month, the New York Department of Health issued guidance that eases the travel order for all professional sports teams, allowing players, coaches and team staff to be exempt from quarantine to play games, practice or provide support.

That exemption also extends to competitors in the U.S. Open. And not just to players and caddies but to everyone on site at Winged Foot, including staff, officials and media.

“Every person on site will be considered essential personnel,” USGA CEO Mike Davis told Golf Digest. “Everyone will be tested before they come on site.”

Governor Andrew Cuomo made the news part of his daily update and gives the impression of potentially tougher protocols than essentials have been facing at PGA Tour events.

The USGA will put protocols in place to protect players and staff, including rigorous protocols for testing, cleaning, use of face coverings and social distancing. 

"The 2020 U.S. Open will take place at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck this September. The national championship is a great event. It will be held without fans and the organizers are working with the State Department of Health to ensure everyone's safety," Governor Cuomo said. "Today's numbers show continued progress - and our goal now is to protect that progress as states across the nation see their infections rates surge. We cannot go backwards, so remember to wear your mask and stay New York Tough."

New York’s restrictions on visitors continue to expand, but will now be irrelevant to essential U.S. Open visitors.

Costco's First Foray Into "Kirkland" Clubs Surfaces On USGA Conforming List

Andrew Tursky at Golf.com notes that the designer of the discount retailer’s first serious golf club is “Southern California Design Company” in Carlsbad.

But of greater note, the company has shown it can make an impact on the industry with a quality product.

@costco Kirkland Signature wedges are real, and they're on the @usga conforming list (52, 56 and 60 degrees). Would you give them a try?!

Davis Love's CBS Tenure Has Come To An End

In the middle of an 11-week run with two majors on the schedule, CBS has lost Davis Love after the Hall of Famer has decided to focus on his playing career:

pic.twitter.com/KPUYrI0QLY

— Davis Love III (@Love3d) July 28, 2020

Hired after the network did not renew Peter Kostis and Gary McCord, the Love era got off to a rough start earlier this year.

In March, the Love family home burned down.

Only recently did the 56-year-old resurface on the airwaves after he played in the RBC Heritage, Travelers and Workday Charity Open.

Love, however, was relegated to Thursday, Friday and early weekend coverage not on CBS.

Earlier this year, former CBS broadcasters Peter Kostis and Gary McCord discussed the situation around their non-renewals and the early reviews. McCord and Kostis each said they were told broadcasts had grown stale.

Next week the network covers the PGA Championship in association with ESPN and now minus one.

**Speaking with Golf Digest on Tuesday, Love said he found out how difficult the job is.

“I always had respect for everyone [at CBS], and now I have even greater respect for them,” Love said. “It was a lot more challenging than I expected.

“When [someone in the booth] would say something about one of my shots I’d think boy when you climb up into the tower you become a genius. I’d think, How come no one’s any good at it? What I found is that I was right. I found out it’s hard to do. I was nervous on TV, surprisingly nervous.”

CBS offered this brief statement on Twitter:

We are fully supportive of Davis’ decision to spend more time with his family and to focus on playing. He is a special person, a great teammate and the entire CBS Sports family wishes him nothing but the best. https://t.co/t8TmyLJGLb

— CBS Sports PR (@CBSSportsGang) July 28, 2020

As Infections Continue, PGA Tour Softens Stance Even More On Rights Of Positive-Testing Players

I can’t fathom what is the rush to get players back who are not needed to sell tickets—the events are fan free—or to risk what is increasingly looking like the one sport that will carry on in America. And yet…

Bob Harig reports on the PGA Tour allowing players to play and intermingle with their peers within 24 hours of not having a fever, even if they continue to test positive for COVID-19.

They also will be allowed to use the clubhouse and locker room and will not be separated with special tee times, as has been the case in recent weeks. The policy goes into effect at this week's WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational and the Barracuda Championship.

The special COVID-19 theme groupings were a brutal but a necessary precaution. Yet as with having an indoor gym each week, the idea of letting positive players roam freely indoors boggles the rational mind given what we now know about COVID-19 spread.

Reminder time!

Things are going well. The health and safety of golfers is in a very good place. A small number of golfers and caddies have tested positive and thankfully, as far as we know, there have been no major illnesses. Amazing.

Furthermore, the sport is seen as a safe activity played by clean living Human-Americans (mostly), even as the virus continues its spread (though mercifully, two days in a row with under 60,000 new U.S. cases, but still awful numbers and tough days ahead for hospitals).

And yet the PGA Tour, based in the new epicenter that is Florida, has decided now is the time to soften guidelines?

Why?

To ensure playing opportunities? To keep from having to give Tony Romo or Club Pro Guy a sponsor’s invite after culling the late 90’s winners list and finding no Wyndham takers, as appears the case at this week’s Barracuda?

Nuts.

PS - New York, home to this year’s September U.S. Open, is not exactly softening its stance on visitors.

November's Australian Open At Kingston Heath To Be Rescheduled

11th hole at Kingston Heath (Geoff Shackelford)

No Kingston Heath later this year. Best case: January to March is an option.

For Immediate and Disappointing Release:

AUSTRALIAN OPEN RESCHEDULED

The Australian Open will not be played in 2020.

Golf Australia operations manager Simon Brookhouse remains very hopeful that the national championship, the fifth oldest in professional golf, will still be played this summer.

“These are very challenging times for all Australians and the uncertainty the global pandemic has caused makes it very difficult to be definitive in relation to future dates at this time,” Brookhouse said.

“We will continue our positive ongoing discussions with our major stakeholders which include the Victorian Government, our corporate partners, the ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia and other international tours about potential dates. However, it must be noted that there are many unknowns at the moment, which is problematic.”

The 105th edition of the Australian Open was to have been held in November, with multiple dates having been on the table. But Brookhouse said public health considerations had been the main reason behind making the decision to postpone.

“Then, when you consider the rescheduled major championships, particularly the Masters from 12-15 November, assembling the customary world-class field was also becoming increasingly difficult,” he said.

“Unfortunately, it is not a simple matter of whether or not we could co-ordinate any international stars to visit. The uncertainty of the quarantine requirements for any players coming from outside Australia needed to be considered. These requirements would undoubtedly have an impact on our homegrown heroes before they would be able to consider playing, too,” he said.

“With all that in mind, we would like to think we could still play the Australian Open this summer and will work with the host, Melbourne’s Kingston Heath Golf Club, to find a date suitable for all.

“However it may have to be in the January-March 2021 window with so many variables still to play out.”

The decision means the Australian All Abilities Championship, which features the top 12 players on the World Rankings for Golfers with a Disability, will also be delayed as the tournament is played as part of the Australian Open field.

Brookhouse said Golf Australia and its event partner, Sportfive, would continue to monitor the situation and provide updates when any additional information is available.

3M Ratings Up 14%, Beating Last Year's WGC FedEx On Similar Weekend

The lack of a star-studded leaderboard still didn’t hurt CBS and Golf Channel’s numbers too terribly, as the 2020 3M Championship win by Michael Thompson saw a 14% increase over last year’s event captured by Matthew Wolff.

According to CBS, the overall run of “return” events is up 25% over last year. A nice increase even given that 2019 ratings were down.

CBS Sports’ @PGATOUR Coverage Continues to Score Viewership Increases, this time with @3MOpen pic.twitter.com/4tC756tBNi

— CBS Sports PR (@CBSSportsGang) July 28, 2020

The 3M’s ratings also highlight just how dismal the numbers were for a strong field at the 2019 WGC FedEx St. Jude, won by Brooks Koepka and which aired on a comparable weekend:

DraftKings Transitions From PGA Tour's "Official Daily Fantasy Game" To "Official Betting Operator"

The most discernible difference beyond the new name and first use of “Betting” appears to be more access to video for DraftKings. For those with aspirations, the release also indicates others can become “Official Betting Operators” so bookies of the world, don’t get too discouraged by this release:

DraftKings becomes PGA TOUR’s first Official Betting Operator

Expands DraftKings’ rights to include betting in addition to daily fantasy

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA, and BOSTON – The PGA TOUR and DraftKings Inc. (Nasdaq: DKNG), have announced an expansion of their multi-year content and marketing relationship today that now designates DraftKings as the first “Official Betting Operator of the PGA TOUR.” In July 2019, DraftKings became the TOUR’s first “Official Daily Fantasy Game of the PGA TOUR” as part of a multi-year, exclusive arrangement.

From ODFG to OBO in Ponte Vedra meeting parlance.

“The PGA TOUR couldn’t be more pleased with growing our collaboration with DraftKings,” said Norb Gambuzza, PGA TOUR Senior Vice President, Media and Gaming. “The growth in consumption and fan engagement we have seen over the last year in our DraftKings Daily Fantasy games has been tremendous. The expansion of the relationship to now include sports betting is a natural evolution and one which fully supports and promotes the PGA TOUR’s objectives of reaching and engaging new segments of fans while introducing them to our players, tournaments and media platforms.”

Oh and I’m sure another objective not mentioned was an oversight: making more money.

By becoming the first to join the TOUR’s Official Betting Operator program, DraftKings will have rights in the United States to use PGA TOUR trademarks, rights to advertise within TOUR media and TOUR partner platforms, plus content and video rights allowing DraftKings’ Sportsbook solution to create pre-game and post-game betting programming, as well as distribution of highlights to users who have placed bets.

"DraftKings and the PGA TOUR have continued to make history with the innovative additions to our agreement which began last year,” said Ezra Kucharz, Chief Business Officer of DraftKings. “We are excited to further our relationship with the PGA TOUR as their first Official Betting Operator as well. Golf has been an especially important outlet for fan engagement over these past few months, and this latest collaboration is a significant next step for both the golf and gaming industries.”

Several of the most popularly bet PGA TOUR events in DraftKings company history have occurred since the TOUR’s return in June. Currently, in terms of sports betting, golf is DraftKings’ fourth most popular sport.

And probably moving up again soon.

Fans can access DraftKings Sportsbook and PGA TOUR DraftKings Fantasy Golf in legal states by visiting www.draftkings.com or by downloading the DraftKings app via iOS and Android.
Following the Supreme Court’s repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act in 2018, the TOUR instituted an integrity program in collaboration with Genius Sports to protect its competitions from betting-related corruption. Later that year, the TOUR announced a global partnership with IMG ARENA to license its official, live scoring data to betting operators all over the world. 

In July 2019, following an update to its sponsorship policies in the gaming category, the TOUR partnered with DraftKings to relaunch “PGA TOUR DraftKings Fantasy Golf” with exclusive intellectual property to differentiate DraftKings in the daily fantasy space. This past March, The Action Network and the PGA TOUR announced the launch of GolfBet, a first-of-its-kind, golf-focused betting content platform.

The PGA TOUR and DraftKings are Platinum Members of the National Council on Problem Gambling, committed to industry-leading responsible gaming practices.

Platinum status!

The PGA TOUR also runs its free-to-play fantasy games, including PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, PGA TOUR One&Done, and PGA TOUR Champions One&Done. 

People bet on Champions golf? Lord have mercy.

These games and related content can be found at https://www.pgatour.com/fantasy.html.

It should be noted that this announcement could be viewed as pretty unseemly in a time of pandemic, economic hardship and only 18 states currently offering legal sports betting.

Cowen On Koepka's Struggles: "We don’t need excuses, we need to sort it out."

In his weekly Daily Mail column, Derek Lawrenson catches up with instructor Pete Cowen who is clearly feeling better after suspecting in March he had contracted COVID-19.

The guru to the star golfers is in Memphis this week to work with Brooks Koepka find his game. Koepka has a strong track record in Memphis and is the two-time defending PGA Champion next week.

Cowen does not see Koepka’s balky knee as a hurdle to success.

‘When you get an injury as bad as that you’re never 100 per cent right again,’ said Cowen. ‘But I don’t think it’s a problem. That’s finding excuses for the fact he’s swinging it badly. We don’t need excuses, we need to sort it out.’

Cowen believes it is more a question of attitude. ‘When he’s at his best, he’s bulletproof. He doesn’t care what other people are doing, he just puts results on the board,’ he said. ‘The US Open at Shinnecock Hills in 2018 was a classic case in point. With his caddy Ricky Elliott, I was talking it through with him, how he played every hole in the final round, he was all over the place at times. But he had belief he would win. He had body language that said, “I’m going to get the job done”. That’s what we need to get back.’”

Milbank: “President Trump is not playing enough golf”

Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank thinks President Donald Trump could use more time on the golf course to apply the game’s values to the COVID-19 fight.

Above all, though, golf is a game of honor. If you hook your tee shot into the woods, you look for the ball for five minutes, then assess yourself a penalty stroke if you can’t find it. That may be the hardest lesson of all for Trump. According to those who have played with him, Trump doesn’t take a penalty stroke; he simply gives himself a “mulligan” — a free do-over. It lowers his score, but it’s cheating.

Maybe that’s why he has such trouble with the pandemic. He can get away with cheating on the golf course. But covid-19, as we have seen, does not allow mulligans.

Hey at least for a change a prominent columnist sees golf as a plus!

Great Listen: Fried Egg's Podcast Stories, The Ball

Fine, fine work by The Fried Egg’s Garrett Morrison to present the history of the golf ball in fresh fashion and format. I highly recommend all three episodes and his effort to educate audiences to the remarkable strife and conflict the matter of selling golf balls has delivered to golf.

I learned a lot and felt unabashedly reassured that some form of golf ball regulation would be a really good thing for the game. But that’s me. I’m guessing even those who do not agree and place the perceived profit impact of a few companies over what’s best for the sport, will still feel more intelligent after listening.

Check out wherever you get your podcasts or listen here:

2020 PGA Marks ESPN's Debut: You'll Want That ESPN+ Subscription Dialed In

Without having seen CBS’s schedule, little imagination is still not required to tally up and realize ESPN, with CBS, will essentially provide wall-to-wall coverage from Harding Park. That’s a product of the new long-term rights schedule for next week’s PGA Championship. Notice just how much ESPN+ (only available via streaming that milliennials still don’t pay for), is handling coverage, including early in the week and even when CBS is taking over. While the Worldwide Leader will have nice-sized cable broadcast windows all four days, this is still my nice way of reminding hardcore fans to get your affairs in order: namely, your streaming subscriptions.

And while you’re at it, the Disney+/Hulu/ESPN+ bundle is the better deal. Everyone could use some Mandalorian in their lives.

Video: Preview Of The 2020 PGA And Harding Park Without Fans

We’re a week away from the first major championship of 2020 and Ron Kroichick previews what a fan-free major will look like. While this one is particularly tough to look at given the fan energy we would have seen at a true muni, I will say, the views through the property and the Cypress will shine based on the video below. So there’s that.

Nice work here by the PGA of America imagineers to make the best of a difficult situation…

Knee-High Rough Or Rollback Distance?

Because I’ve heard enough “just the grow” rough proposals over the years and didn’t need another blog post pointing out the silliness, you didn’t see a post about Ernie Els saying “knee high” rough was an answer.

But the Golf.com Confidential gang decided to take up the topic and we have three ball rollbacks to one endorsement, if my math is correct…

Bamberger: Only with the F&F part. The game lacks balance now. There’s too much emphasis on the tee shot. It’s certainly not the players fault. But foot-high rough doesn’t make golf more interesting, it makes it less interesting. We want to see all manner of shots, including the recovery shot. Tiger became Tiger on the basis of his recovery game, his iron play, his driving game, his chipping game. His everything. 

Sens: I agree to a point. Problem is, there comes a point where defending through course conditions alone leads to flat-out goofy setups, and then you’re not making it more fair for anyone. At that point is where I start to think: rolling back the ball is the better long-term solution.

Wood: Of course, he’s correct. I would love to see firm fairways, hard greens, deep rough every single week. But It’s not going to happen. There’s no way for tournaments to collude to make course setups more difficult, with more emphasis on hitting fairways. And here’s why:  the tournaments are in competition with each other to attract players. When a player is choosing a schedule, they’re just like anyone who plays golf: a major factor in deciding where they play is choosing someplace they enjoy. They know a handful of times a year, namely U.S. Opens, the Masters, they’re going to have to play courses with less room for error. But week-in, week-out, they won’t do it. And to be honest with you, I don’t think the networks would enjoy it either. Long drives sell. The ratings just simply wouldn’t be as good if the guys who can hit it 350 are hitting 4-irons off every tee.  

Shipnuck: John’s point is well-taken, and amplify’s Michael’s: the setup Ernie is advocating sounds dreadfully boring. Who wants to watch the best players chipping out sideways? It’s fun at a few select majors, but every week would be a snooze. And the problem with resting everything on firm/fast setups is that it’s an outdoor game, and rain showers are common in the spring and summer. To test players with the current benign Tour setups we need courses that are 9,000-10,000 yards, but that requires an obscene amount of land, water and maintenance hours. The only real solution is obvious: throttle back the equipment. But Ernie and many others are paid to subvert that point.

40 Years After Caddyshack, Trying To Understand How Caddyshack 2 Happened

Forty years to the day of Caddyshack’s theatrical release, the author of its definitive book tells us about the eventual debacle that was Caddyshack 2.

Writing for SI.com, Chris Nashawaty gives you the impression that a film on the making of Caddyshack 2 might have been far more entertaining than what some say is the worst sequel ever.

On Jan. 18, 1988, the Caddyshack II cast and crew descended on Rolling Hills Golf Club in Davie, Fla.—the same location used for the original. Right away, nothing felt right. Not only was Mason’s golf swing an abomination even after working on the set with a pro, but he also couldn’t remember his lines and was gorging himself at the craft services table—so much so that the wardrobe department had to keep letting out his pants. Aykroyd decided that his gonzo military character should speak in an odd, high-pitched whinny (which, he later claimed, was based on the voice of Iran-Contra figure Oliver North, and which the producers absolutely hated). Mason and his onscreen love interest, Dyan Cannon, had zero chemistry and couldn’t be bothered to hide it. And as for Chevy Chase . . . well, he was Chevy Chase.