Sawgrass - Final Thougts

Before we move on to the Byron Nelson and look forward to the back-to-back U.S. Opens at Pinehurst, a few reactions to Sawgrass and the Players Championship.  There will be homework and you'll be forced to memorize all manner of new verbs, so you've been warned.

Shackelford has written extensively on his reactions to the golf course and fan experience, so let's go first to his post at his blog:

I've decided The Players is one of the best tournaments to attend in part because it's a

community gathering as much as a golf tournament. The purists do not care for that, especially so soon after the Masters where the party is restrained and kept away from the golf course. I certainly get the appeal of that, but in a beach community like Ponte Vedra, the annual addition of new elements and other touches keeps the event fresh.

More tournaments should incorporate things like the outstanding food truck court introduced this year, if nothing else to raise the bar on sports event eating. How the idea of having a mix of funky Airstreams serving eclectic food got approved by Commissioner Monk is beyond me, but perhaps the highly-edible quality of their grub appealed to a man who is passionate about healthy living.

I don't spend much time worrying about the fan experience at events, but the addition of food truck sounds simply brilliant.  And the Monk reference is priceless.

But the more substantive reflection is captured in Shack's piece for Golf World, in which he makes the case for the Pinehurtsting of TPC Sawgrass.  That link is to an e-mag digital version of the article, from which I'm unable to copy-and paste, but he also provides a link to a great Geoff Ogilvy piece from a couple of years ago.  This sums up the case well:

One of many side-by-side views of the changes from Dye's original rugged look.

I would love to have played TPC Sawgrass just after it opened in 1980. The pictures I have seen of the Pete Dye-designed Stadium course back then look so cool. The fairways were beautifully maintained, but outside those playing areas there was an unkempt, Pine Valley-type feel to the place. 

Not that I've ever seen any of that at Sawgrass. In my time on the PGA Tour, it has always been strictly maintained and manicured. Which is a pity. I'd like to see the course allowed to be a little more "wild." It's a bit too neat. It would be nicer to look at if it wasn't so nice to look at, if you know what I mean.

It's a shame that Ogilvy's game has eluded him in recent years, because he's always been one of the more thoughtful players on Tour.  He's not a big fan of No. 17, as he explains here:

Undoubtedly, Sawgrass is a very punishing course, especially toward the finish. The penalty for just missing your target is brutal. I would argue too much so, actually, on the par-3 17th. The par-5 16th and the 18th are great holes. If you hit good shots on each, good things will happen. But on the 17th that's only true some of the time. I've seen solid shots go in the water there. Come Sunday, with so much on the line in such a prestigious tournament, that's not the most comforting scenario to be facing. 

Plus, in terms of actual shotmaking, the 17th is inherently dull. We all stand on that tee and try to hit essentially the same shot with a short iron. There's not a lot of imagination required. But there is some luck. Two balls landing maybe a foot apart can lead to a birdie or a double bogey. The line is that fine. 

On the other hand, the 17th is great theater. It is hard to criticize too much without coming across as a golf snob. But the hole is a bad fit. The difference between good and bad is too many strokes. We've seen too many guys--having played a great tournament--come completely unraveled there with one bad shot that would normally have led to a bogey but on that hole meant double or triple. I'm not quite sure that is appropriate in the circumstances.

That sums up my reaction to the hole exactly, profound discomfort with its fickleness but a train wreck-in-waiting from which we can't avert our gaze.  

Shackelford makes the case that the best opportunity will likely be lost:

I lay out a case in this week's Golf World for Pinehursting the TPC. Sadly, the best opportunity to do this comes after next year's Players when the greens are re-grassed, but Tim Finchem will still be calling the shots and I don't foresee he or Pete Dye telling the players to shut up and embrace a more interesting and sustainable look. Then again, Pinehurst might change minds.

'tis a pity, but perhaps folks will feel differently after we see two weeks of spectacular recovery shots from the waster areas at Pinehurst.  Or not.

In other TPC/Players-related news, I avoided any mention of Jordan Spieth in the immediate aftermath of his Sunday collapse, as there seemed to be some pleasure taken in some quarters over his comeuppance.  You know folks have jumped the shark when I'm the voice of reason, but this Alan Shipnuck piece seems on point:

Jordan Spieth is going to be fine. The kid is too smart not to figure this out, and he has too

much talent and desire not to apply the lessons. At the tender age of 20, Spieth has all the time in the world. But watching him lose his way on Sunday at the Players was particularly troubling because it came hard on the heels of his final-round fade at Augusta National. It’s asking a lot for a player to win either of these tournaments in his first go-around, given the institutional knowledge both courses demand, to say nothing of the pressure of such grand stages. 

But Spieth, who since the start of last year has climbed from 810th to eighth in the World Ranking, is not just any ol’ phenom—he’s the most accomplished young American to come along since Tiger Woods, and his rookie year in 2013 was defined by late-game heroics and a steep learning curve. Spieth’s gift is such that he deserves to be judged by a different standard than other youngsters. The Masters and the Players were a chance for him to do something historic, and the hard truth is that his swing, putting stroke and mental game were not up to the task. Oh, he’ll win plenty before all is said and done, but on the continuum of gritty Texans, is he going to wind up closer to Justin Leonard (12 wins with one British Open) or Lee Trevino (29 W’s, six majors)? Failing to convert these precious opportunities is not a good portent.

 As I said a couple of months ago, Spieth has been off-the-charts good at getting himself in the hunt and not so great at closing the deal.  And I said that before the Masters.  So while Sunday was certainly a setback, he seems like the kind of kid who will learn from his failures.  And this, from a Jeff Rude post, also leaves me encouraged:

About a month apart this spring, 20-year-old Jordan Spieth led the Masters and The Players during the final rounds. It follows that he was asked Wednesday at the HP Byron Nelson Championship if he considered talk of his being golf’s “next big thing” as a burden or compliment. 

Demonstrating maturity beyond his years and being consistent with past behavior, Spieth again showed he thinks it’s important to block out external factors. This will serve him well if he stays the course. 

“I don’t even hear it,” he said. “I don’t view it as either one. I’m just here to get on the first hole and try and win a golf tournament. ... That kind of talk, it doesn’t do good to pay attention to either way.”

 How can you not like this kid?  But spend a few moments as I have on his Tour stats page, and you'll quickly see the problem.  His ball-striking is thoroughly pedestrian, he's not in the top 100 in any of the traditional statistics (ranging from No. 102-130 in driving distance, accuracy and GIR's), obviously offset by short-game prowess (25th in strokes gained putting).  His simple reality is that he's going to need to improve his ball-striking before we talk about greatness.

One last Players-related item, which is the no-good, awful ratings for the Tiger-less Players.  Per Josh Sens:

Without Tiger Woods in the field this weekend, the Players Championship drew a feeble 2.6 overnight rating on NBC Sunday, according to Sports Media Watch. That’s a 54 percent drop from last year, when Woods claimed the title, and the lowest Sunday showing for the event in 15 years.

Yes, the tournament had other factors working against it, including a 90-minute weather delay that likely turned a lot of viewers off. A tepid Sunday showing by 20-year-old American star Jordan Spieth surely had an impact, too.

I read elsewhere that the Saturday ratings were down 23-24%, which is bad enough but probably more reflective of reality.  Remember, last year's final round wasn't just Tiger, it was a Tiger-Sergio cage match which happens all too infrequently.  But yes, in the absence of the Striped One, and with Phil and other show ponies MIA, the ratings are going to suck.