This and That

The reader will no doubt be relieved to discover that folks are talking about something, nay anything, other than the Ryder Cup meltdown.  We'll touch on that to avoid going cold turkey, but we have other fish to fry as well...

Mom Jeans Update - For those of you not in on the joke, here's Wikipedia's definition of the phenomenon:

Mom jeans is a humorously pejorative term for a specific type of fit of women's jeans, considered to be both unfashionable, and unflattering to the wearer's figure. This style usually consists of a high waist (rising above the belly button), making the buttocks appear disproportionately longer, larger, and flatter than they otherwise might. It also tends to have excess space in the zipper/crotch and leg areas.

Apparently the popularity of the term dates back to a 2003 Saturday Night Live sketch, and I'm just surprised that anyone was actually watching SNL as late as 2003.  The Prez has been caught in Mom Jeans, and this photo surfaced yesterday:

While Shackelford put out an APB to Marty Hackel over the white belt, it was the jeans that drew the most attention.  Alex Myers posted An Unauthorized History, which goes back as far as high school:

And Golf.com provides a gallery of regrettable looks, which includes this:

Quite the contrast with his on-course styling, no?

Somebody Should Be Committed - We're used to a buzz on the day high school seniors commit to major college football programs, but this guy is a bit ahead of the curve:

Brad Dalke was 12 years old in the summer of 2010, and entering the seventh grade,

when he announced a verbal commitment to play college golf at Oklahoma. 

Dalke has been trumped by a full year. Last month, 11-year-old Ben James of Milford, Conn., told Connecticut head coach Dave Pezzino he plans to carry a UConn bag beginning in the fall of 2021.

These crazy kids!  But wait, there's more:

Over the summer, James participated in the Connecticut Junior Amateur, where he advanced to match play after a 77 in stroke-play qualifying. James lost in the opening round to eventual champion Evan Grenus, who is a freshman at Wofford. 

James’ nickname, which was given to him when he was a 7-year-old attending the David Leadbetter IMG Camp, may be the best descriptor for his game. Friends call him “Flusher” for his ability to hit the ball purely.

A 77 in torunament play at age 11 is quite impressive, but I'd work on a new nickname. Has he tried T-Bone?

That's How You Shoot Skeet - Brandt Snedeker hasn't been seen atop too many leader boards in recent months, so it's good to see him getting press for something other than Master Card commercials.  See below what he can do with a 4-iron:

Good clean fun, though it should be noted that the European Tour got there first with this:

Who Knew? -  The funniest moment at Sunday's Greens Committee meeting was when the subject of an alteration to our seventh hole to accommodate women players came up.  One of my fellow committee members, whose wife needless to say doesn't play golf, quipped, "You mean they let women play here?"  I'll protect his identity in the interest of gender solidarity, but I in no way condone this dismissive attitude about women golfers.

But that was generally my reaction to this news:

Cindy Davis, 52, the president of Nike Golf since 2008, is planning to retire, the company announced in a statement Tuesday. 

Jayme Martin, the vice president and general manager of Nike Global Categories, said, “We thank Cindy for her leadership throughout the years as she has led the development and growth of Nike Golf Business worldwide. Under Cindy’s direction, Nike Golf has steadily delivered profitable growth year after year since 2009.”

Nike seems to have fared better than the other equipment manufacturers, but I had no clue it was under the leadership of a skort.

Thinking of Giving Golf a Go? - Here's the set-up from Luke Kerr-Dineen:

On YouTube there's a video titled simply: "Brian's entire golf career in two mintues [SIC]". It's not an inspirational time lapse of a beginner-turned-scratch handicap, or an older golfer recounting his life on the links. It's a disaster film featuring a new golfer -- "Brian" -- who tries to play his first round of golf with his friend recording every shot. It's painfully funny, especially because we all know, deep down, exactly how it feels.

Here's the video:

Golf is hard, though I don't think it's quite that hard.  But I need to remember that "It's golf, who cares?".

A Blue Ribbon Committee - That's what you use to avoid responsibility and to kick the can down the road on an issue.  So naturally that's the PGA of America's solution:

A little more than a week later, Bishop said the PGA will be convening a special 12-

person task force consisting of former U.S. Ryder Cup captains, PGA of America officers, and top American players. The goal of the group is to assess everything from captain selection to player selection, to even the competition schedule -- all in hopes of reversing a trend that has seen the U.S. Lose eight of the last 10 Ryder Cups.

So, what suckers distinguished senior statesmen will we see on this committee?

According to Bishop, the task force will consist of 10 to 12 members who will be current and former players, former captains and PGA officials. Numerous sources have told GolfChannel.com the group will likely include Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Davis Love III and possibly Paul Azinger, the 2008 U.S. captain who has been mentioned as the next possible captain.

Just to keep things amusing, Gary Van Sickle is nominating Phil for 2016 captain:

It almost seems like old news now that football and the baseball playoffs have regained our attention. So where does Team USA go from here? Simple. Make Phil Mickelson the captain for the 2016 matches at Hazeltine. Phil has all the answers, or at least he believes he has more answers than Watson did. 

Phil kind of, sort of declined the 2016 captaincy when it came up in the press conference. He joked about being on eight losing teams, backpedaling from the idea that he had all the answers. He also said he intends to play his way onto the 2016 squad. Well, that’s exactly why Phil should be the U.S. captain -- a playing captain. The last American to do that was Arnold Palmer in 1963, back when the Ryder Cup matches were mismatches in favor of the U.S. 

I’ve written many times that Phil is this generation’s Arnie, the beloved and sometimes flawed champion who never gives up. Is the Ryder Cup captaincy so big that no player can also make wildcard picks and send out the foursome and fourball teams each day? Perhaps it is for most players, but not Phil. The fact that he’d be stepping into Arnie’s shoes and doing something that hasn’t been done in half a century would simply add to the theater.

That would certainly be calling his bluff, though you could also accomplish that by asking him to be vice-captain.  When all si said and done, you know they'll offer it to Azinger, because it's criticism-proof (at least until the start of play).