Rory On Arm-Lock Putting ("I would like to see addressed") And Green Reading Books ("It's made everyone lazier")

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Strong stuff from Rory McIlroy at the 2021 U.S. Open. As noted in today’s Quadrilateral, these comments and the apparent bifurcation of the rules attempt by PGA Tour players will have huge ramifications if true.

Two key exchanges:

Q. When you were answering the question about the greens book, you said that you thought maybe it would be better for golf if there wasn't a greens book. I think that's pretty much what you said. Can you talk about what other things you'd like to see changed that you think would better golf that currently are being implemented in the game right now? Like if it's anchoring putting, whatever it might be.

RORY MCILROY: I thought we got rid of anchoring putting three years ago.

Q. I don't know, did we?

RORY MCILROY: No, probably not (laughter). Yeah, that is certainly something that I would like to see addressed, as well, and I think there's a common consensus with the players on that one too. Look, the game of golf is in a great place. I think we always have these conversations of what we can do to make the game better or grow the game or expand the game.I think it's in a pretty good place. Yeah, there's a couple of little things that us golf nerds want changed, whether it be green reading books or arm-lock putting or whatever it is, but from a whole and looking at the game from an entirety of it, I think it's in a really good place.

Forget Brooks-Bryson, let’s get Rory paired with an arms-locker!

But let those words sink in. The Vice Commissioner and key vote has just kick-started what should be debated about the current anchoring rules. He’s also took down green books:

Q. Can you expand on just why the green books are such an advantage?

RORY MCILROY: It's not that it's an advantage really, it's just taking away a skill that takes time and practice to be mastered. I think reading greens is a real skill that some people are better at than others, and it just nullifies that. It nullifies that advantage that people have.Yeah, honestly, I think it's made everyone lazier. People don't put in the time to prepare the way they used to, and that's why you see so many more players at Augusta, for example, take their time around the greens, hit so many more putts, it's because they have to. It's because there is no greens book at Augusta. Look, it might take practice rounds, it might make practice rounds a little longer, and you might have to do a little bit more work, but I think, once we get to the tournament rounds, it will speed up play, and I think it will help the guys who really have done their homework, it will help them stand out a little bit more.

Quadrilateral: Wednesday's U.S. Open News And Notes

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Report: PGA Tour's PAC Votes To Outlaw Green Reading Books By Season's End

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The players are bifurcating back to restore skill!?

No really. In a move no one saw coming and will have huge ramifications on multiple levels, the PGA Tour Player Advisory Council reportedly voted to get rid of green reading books by season’s end.

Eamon Lynch with the Golfweek exclusive that will be especially interesting given today’s USGA press conference.

The Tour’s Player Advisory Council voted to outlaw the books at a meeting two weeks ago. Support for the ban among the 16 players who comprise the Council was described by one person who was present as “overwhelming.”

“The books should be banned,” the player added. “Green reading is a skill to be learned.”

The skill word is huge here and will liven up other discussions about distance, grooves, rangefinders and any other number of things that have altered the sport.

Despite claims otherwise, the books slow the game down, provide an awful look for the “product” and have likely reduced time put into practice rounds in search of local knowledge. Oh, and the whole general skill of reading greens, imagination, etc. that was warned about when players fought to have the (expensive) cheat sheets.

The USGA and R&A attempted to reduce their influence—even while including them in official yardage books for their Opens—by changing rules on size of the information accessible during competition. The change has had the opposite effect, with players pulling the books closer to their face, appearing to work harder at reading smaller lines and only highlighting the absurdity of the books.

Lynch’s report says the vote would ban the books in Tour events by the end of the 2020-21 season in August.

The irony of players via their PAC in taking back an element of skill for the sport is beyond heartening. This move could also embolden the other organizations to expedite rule changes with skill in mind.

Report: USGA Reached Out To Bryson About Brooks Pairing, 2021 Groupings Out

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Tee times are out and the USGA did offer a few themes, albeit G-rated and safe.

Defending champ Bryson DeChambeau gets U.S. Amateur winner Tyler Strafaci and Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama. Most of the other themes consist of former champions, Californians, Dallas residents, etc…

Regarding the possibility of the ultimate &^%@ pairing, Brad Faxon made an interesting claim** on SiriusXM’s PGA Tour radio show hosted by Michael Breed. Full audio embedded above. The comments:

Breed: “The idea of having Bryson (DeChambeau) and Brooks (Koepka) playing together, do you think that this would be good for the game of golf? Do you think that having this type of animosity between players is good for the game of golf and grows the game of golf”?

Faxon: “I was with a bunch of the Titleist guys, as you know the club facilities out here. … We were talking about, what do you call growing the game? Is it viewership or is it participation? Because those are two different things. And Wally Uihlein, who was chairman of the board wasn’t there last night, but he would have said years ago when Michael Jordan was the best basketball player in the world, was he growing the game of basketball? He had more people watch, but he wasn't selling more basketballs. And that's exactly what's happening with Koepka and DeChambeau here. More people are knowing about this kind of little fight. It's kind of become a little bit of a Vegas sort of situation here. And I found out last night that the USGA actually did call Bryson DeChambeau and his agent to ask him if they would be okay with that, and Bryson declined.” 

Boy that must have been wild and crazy party talking how to sell more golf balls!  Hopefully Wally at least Zoomed in for an appearance!

**The agent has replied that Bryson was not contacted but does not address if he was approached…

Quadrilateral: 2021 U.S. Open Monday News And Notes

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Monday’s Quad for paid subscribers is note heavy, with traces of snark and a little growing concern for the fog.

Plus a roundup of betting stuff, reads, Tweets and an update on The Open Championship after the UK extended the current COVID restrictions until July 19.

Thursday’s edition is free to all who’ve signed up free, but here’s the link if you want to join for the letters every day…

Getting Torrey Pines To Have Predominantly Kikuyu Rough

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Having grown up playing over the noxious weed I’ll be curious what role kikuyu plays if it’s as prominent as billed.

Mark Zeigler in the San Diego Union-Tribune took a deep dive into the decision to make kikuyu more prominent in the U.S. Open rough compared to 2008.

“The rough, I think, will be the big differentiator,” says John Bodenhamer, the U.S. Golf Association’s senior managing director of championships. “The biggest difference between January and June will be the kikuyu.”

Knowing how much the USGA loathed the idea of playing a championship with kikuyu approaches and rough—possibly hurting Riviera’s chances at times—I dare say this is the first time a U.S. Open is played with it. (Two PGA’s at Riviera featured prominent kikuyu not seen in the winter months when it’s less active and the U.S. Senior Open).

Superintendent Rich McIntosh, who has dialed in Torrey, explained the approach to get it there this week:

So McIntosh and his crew shaved the rough down to an inch in some places, along with reducing overseed rates of the ryegrass and increasing chemical eradication “to get the kikuyu moving.” That seemed to help, although the gloomy, cloudy spring didn’t cooperate until this past week. The kikuyu is higher than in 2008, up to 6 inches or more in some area, although not uniform height and density across the course.

If it were uniform and that dense throughout we’d be almost assured of an injury or two. Either way, it’s old fashioned U.S. Open hackout stuff and with fewer crowds and marshals than normal to help find balls or mash it down, a potential difference maker.

Torrey Preview: The Course, The Broadcast And More

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I haven’t gotten around to a prognostication post but we still have time and early week reports to sift through.

In the meantime, just my contributions to the 121st U.S. Open preview coverage.

NBC returns to the scene of their greatest golf broadcasts.

Why the USGA cannot go the *&^%@ pairing route this week.

U.S. Open News and Notes, June 10th.

What to make of Torrey Pines with lots of pictures dissecting lazy, dated and costly renovation work.

Podcast-wise, I discussed my history with Torrey Pines and the thinking behind my McKellar Issue 5 essay on its design:

And the latest State of the Game covered an array of topics including the U.S. Open:

The 1-18 flyover compilation from the USGA. Unfortunately it appears to have been shot a while ago, so we don’t see the final rough lines and buildout:

Quadrilateral: Why The Brooks-Bryson *&^%@ Pairing Can't Happen This Year

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A featured Bryson-Brooks grouping would be entertaining but also a mistake. I explain in this edition without, spoiler alert—speculating on past three-balls featuring esteemed friends of the USGA.

Plus, notes on Jon Rahm, the course and this week's player interview schedule. This one is exclusive to those who support The Quadrilateral by chipping in a few bucks to the cause.

What To Make Of Torrey Pines This Time Around?

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Torrey Pines third hole (Geoff Shackelford)

Torrey Pines third hole (Geoff Shackelford)

I penned a Quadrilateral on Torrey Pines South that’s open to all after forgetting to hit the old Everyone box yesterday.

And on this week’s McKellar podcast, I chatted with Lawrence Donegan about my Issue 5 article on Torrey Pines along with the recent U.S. Women’s Open and Pepperdine’s NCAA win.

Quadrilateral: U.S. Open News And Notes, June 10, 2021

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Random is the theme here from thoughts on the momentum going into this U.S. Open, to Golf’s Longest Day coverage, to the 2008 U.S. Open rebroadcast and Mike Whan’s possibly controversial take on rangefinders.*

Check it all out here and this weekly edition is a reminder as to why you should up for free.

*Sorry free subscribers, I screwed up and clicked the wrong button. You should not be able to read it via the link.

Phil Makes A Pitch For Rickie Fowler To Get His U.S. Open Special Exemption

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In stark contrast to Brooks and Bryson, we have Phil Mickelson replying to a follower that he’d like to see Rickie Fowler get the special invitation no longer needed after winning the PGA Championship.

Fowler has two top-5s in the U.S. Open, including a second place in 2014, though based on past special invites, he seems unlikely to get one. Fowler failed to make it through the Columbus qualifying by just a shot after Tuesday morning’s rain-delayed finish. Fowler has not missed a U.S. Open since 2010.

Golf's Longest Day Is Here, A Quick Guide

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In the old days of this blog I used to do some heavy Golf’s Longest Day lifting when the USGA did not. (I’ll still will never forget seeing 500,000 page views in one day all because golf sites didn’t care). Mercifully the ultimate display of democratic golf offering to fill out next week’s U.S. Open field will be covered in a few places sites.

For a while the USGA sent writers and photographers to venues, we’ll see if that happens this year at their dedicated page currently featuring just scoring links.

Golfweek has this dedicated page with preview of each site and promises of reports from writers as the day goes.

And as detailed in last week’s Quadrilateral, Golf Channel is back with all day coverage until midnight ET.

The final qualifying storylines, as compiled by the USGA.

Early on it seems cicadas are an issue at the Woodmont qualifier:

Quadrilateral: Major(s) Rahmifications, U.S. Women's Open Final Round Primer And The Reids Of Nottingham

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