Back In The Saddle

Thanks to readers for continuing to check back during my absence.  Today will be all-you-can-eat at the musings bar, so feel free to take some breaks along the way....

Meet The New Boss... - The econiums continue to roll in for the President-Elect, with nary a Not My President sign to be found on Tour.  Jaime Diaz caught up with Seth Waugh, former CEO of Deutsche Bank and the man who recommended Monahan to Finchie, and see if you can read between the lines:

“Tim did a great job, but the client-service part of it is not something the tour has done well, and I think Jay will change that,” says Seth Waugh, who while CEO of Deutsche

Bank Americas hired Monahan as his tournament director. “Jay makes everybody feel like a partner, because he thinks that way. 

“The world has changed. Before if a CEO liked golf, he could probably have a tournament. The secret sauce of the whole thing is getting 35 companies to spend $10 million-plus a week. And that doesn’t just happen. It should be kind of fun, and sponsors haven’t been feeling that good about the deal. That has to be cultivated.”

I'll confess that I've been surprised at Finchem's ability to keep the gravy train running ("keeping gas in the Mercedes", in the words of Peter Jacobson), given how poorly they can be treated.  Exhibit A would The International, a perfectly fine event at Castle Pines that the players loved, but couldn't get their phone calls returned from Ponte Vedra Beach.

This Doug Ferguson account is also of interest, including anecdotes such as this about Jay's people skills:

One example of that came on the practice range a few years ago during the Bridgestone Invitational. 

Caddies were in the middle of a class-action lawsuit against the tour over their treatment.

Tension and mistrust were running high, especially at the sight of Tim Finchem talking with players on the range that day. Along came Monahan, and one caddie was asked if he knew much about Finchem’s new deputy commissioner. 

The caddie, his eyes narrowing as he looked Monahan’s way, said a player introduced them four or five years ago and while Monahan seemed like a decent guy, he would be just like the other suits at tour headquarters. 

Moments later, Monahan saw a familiar face and stopped to chat. He first introduced himself to the caddie, calling him by his first name. 

“I don’t know if you remember, but we met a few years ago,” Monahan told him. 

The mood lightened. Judgment was reserved.

Those kind of skills are truly underappreciated, and combined with a love of and appreciation for our game have this observer feeling more upbeat.  

There are some other wonderful anecdotes contained in the two linked pieces, but this is the bit that surprised me most:

“I think he’s 10 percent more Irish than I am, but substantially more likable,” Finchem said. “If you talk about public speaking, I have a bit of an advantage over him because I’ve been doing it longer. But he has a huge advantage over me because he really connects with people. 

“He has this ability to say things that draw you in, in a meaningful way,” Finchem added. “If I tell a story, I give the overview. If he tells a story, he takes you there into the minutiae of what happens, and you really live through the moments of the story.”

It goes without saying that our Commish is not nearly as effective a public speaker as he thinks... But that aside, this is a level of self-awareness that I never thought we'd see from a man some people compare to Nurse Ratched.

We Get Results -  No sooner do I post  a rant on the mind-numbing boredom of weekly life on Tour, the world is hit with this earthquake measuring 8.5 on the Richter scale:

The Zurich Classic of New Orleans will reportedly switch to a two-man team format in 2017, becoming the PGA Tour's first team event in nearly 40 years. 

According to Golf Channel reporter George Savaricas, the event will feature 80 teams of two. Both members of the winning team will receive the two-year Tour exemption that typically accompanies a victory in an official event, and each winning player will receive 400 FedEx Cuppoints. A regular tournament offers 500 points to the winner and 300 to the runner-up. 

According to Savaricas, both winning team members will earn spots in the Tournament of Champions and PGA Championship, but will not receive Masters invitations for the team win.

To milk my inapt metaphor further, I can't wait to see the after-shocks.  This is really good news, and the interraction between teammates will add another interesting component to the broadcast.  As will, I predict,  the process by which the players pair up:

The top 80 qualifiers will be allowed to choose their own teammate, with the caveat that their partner must have at least some PGA Tour status this season. If not, the selection will require the use of a sponsor invite. 

Savaricas reports that play will include one round of foursomes (alternate shot) and one round of fourballs (best ball) before the 36-hole cut to the low 35 teams.

This is how our little world should work.  The second-tier events should compete for the players' participation, using the full quiver of options available.  In this case, watching players enjoying team competition will spur further innovation in other events....  Or, you know, we could just playe 72 holes of stroke play every friggin' week....

The only thing that would make this story even better would be to find out that that Monahan guy was involved..... 

Ron Sirak, one of the good golf writers and longtime supporter of the LPGA, absorbs the good news with this analogy:

The decision by the sponsors and the PGA Tour to make the Zurich Classic a two-man tournament reminds me of the joke: “What do you call a thousand lawyers chained together at the bottom of the Ocean? A good start.” This is a good start, but it’s only a start. 

While the professional tours are doing very well they need to add some spice to the stew to expand the number of fans who sample the product. The key to this growth is television. That’s where the prize money comes from. Innovation will create more exposure and that might create more growth for a stagnant recreational game.

You can never go wrong in trashing lawyers or politicians, can you?  Ron riffs on some additional opportunities to tweak formats, including this obvious one:

2). MIXED TEAM EVENT: There should also be a best-ball, match-play tournament that counts as official money and world ranking points in which a man and a woman are paired together. The man would play from the PGA Tour tees and the woman would play from the LPGA tees. Again, the teams can be chosen either by computer or humans. My preference is for the latter. Phil Mickelson and Stacy Lewis, for example, have a natural chemistry because of their KPMG connection.

Better yet, we could have Phil caddie for Stacy.... 

The most likely way something close to this could occur would be a Fall Finish/Silly Season kind of event...  But see what you think of this:

4) A WOMEN’S EVENT AT AUGUSTA NATIONAL: This idea would have been unthinkable in the pre-Billy Payne Era. But under Payne, Augusta National Golf Club has taken a real leadership role in the growth of the game. The Asia Pacific Amateur Championship, the Latin American Amateur Championship and the Drive, Chip & Putt Championship are all events in which ANGC has partnered with governing bodies to help grow the game globally and with junior players. A women’s event at ANGC would be a one-off or an occasional event, the way The Old Course at St. Andrews has hosted two Ricoh Women’s British Opens. The three logical candidates for Augusta National are the Solheim Cup, the U.S. Women’s Open and the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. It would bring great exposure to the women’s game.

I'm actually of mixed minds on this....  I totally get his point and it would be some great publicity for the club.  For instance, I anxiously await Paula's cartwheel on the Hogan bridge:

My concern is that I don't think it would dispaly the ladies' game in the best light.  They play an early season event in Ocala with its tribute copycat holes, and watching an endless series of weak wedges into their version of the 13th is cause for skepticism....

Go Short Young Man - Did you buy into the Acushnet IPO?  The company went public at $17/share, and closed Friday at $18.46, so-far, so-good.  But if you're long on the stock, you might want to skip to the next item, because MyGolf Spy has a rave review of a competitive product, including these cnclusions:

VERDICT 

The Kirkland Signature Tour Performance golf ball stood its own against the "#1 Ball in Golf." 

Although tester subjective feedback revealed the Kirkland ball felt "firmer" the data shows it performed better than the Pro V1 in many aspects. 

The largest and most noticeable differences are found within the driver - the Kirkland ball flies almost a full 10 yards further. 

The Tour Performance lives up to the Kirkland name - to perform just as good, if not better than the leading brand. 

10/10 highly recommend

I wouldn't worry...it's not like golfers are concerned with distance....

Trump, The Morning After - We've devotes lots of pixels to the increasingly complex relationship between the various golfing bodies and the candidate, all filtered through the lens of his anticipated loss.  Holy exit polls, Batman, the guy actually won, so what do we do now?

Shack posted Wednesday under this header:

Flashback: When The PGA Tour Left Trump Doral And How It Could Prove To Be An Expensive Mistake

Yeah, it has that feel, but largely because of reasons removed from the man himself.  Geoff reviews the history, including his common-sense suggestion at the time:

Pick up the big tab for a year to avoid upstaging the Memorial, to avoid a spat with a presidential nominee, to stay in Miami a year and to not set up a dangerous relationship with a man who might be the next President of the United States!

And here's his comments in the current moment:

Months later Finchem was moving the tour out of the Miami market and on to uncertainty inMexico City to ensure WGC status and to get away from Trump. Upon hearing that the WGC was headed to Mexico while campaigning, Trump joked about needing kidnapping insurance. 

There is much we won't know about what went on behind the scenes, but given the stakes, the PGA Tour is now on the not-so-good side of the next president. Given that some senators have regularly questioned the tour's non-profit stax status, Tim Finchem's quest to maintain World Golf Champioship status for one week of the year and to rid his tour of Donald Trump, could prove to be a very costly decision.

I don't actually think that there's much there there, and I'm not actually sure what the President-Elect could do to affect the Tour, except perhaps some harsh 3:00 a.m. tweets.  The tax exempt status is really a red herring, as the taxes are ultimately paid on all the six-figure salaries involved.

The real issue, as Geoff notes, is the Tour's cutting ties to a vibrant city and a longstanding venue.  seemingly indifferent to its ties to its storied past.  And then, as per the current BMW Championship claiming the legacy of the iconic Western Open, we see the regret.

Venue News - A couple of items that excite nerds such as your humble correspondent.  First, a return to this classic course:

The LPGA made it official Wednesday, formally announcing that Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, will host the 2021 Solheim Cup. 

Inverness has hosted four U.S. Opens, two PGA Championships, two U.S. Senior Opens

and one U.S. Amateur. 

“We’re thrilled to have Inverness host the 2021 Solheim Cup,” LPGA commissioner Mike Whan said in a news conference at Inverness. “Inverness is one of the premier venues in golf and will serve as a great test for a match-play competition. Additionally, Toledo has been part of the LPGA family for over 30 years and we can’t wait to see the excitement, enthusiasm and hospitality that this great community will undoubtedly bring for the Solheim Cup.”

I much enjoyed (and agree with) Shack's snark towards the Fazios, though how does one discuss Inverness without reference to its most famous landmark.  Smart of the ladies to grab historic venues that distance has rendered obsolete, and Toledo is exactly the kind of community in which the LPGA should be present.

And as long as we're dissing the Fazios, this fits nicely:

After the successful transformation of Pinehurst No. 2 by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw ahead of the 2014 U.S. Open and U.S. Women's Open, Pinehurst No. 4 will get a similar facelift with the resort hiring Gil Hanse to restore the Donald Ross design, in addition to Hanse building a short course at the resort in 2017. 

Pinehurst No. 4, which was ranked No. 59 on Golf Digest's latest ranking of America's 100 Greatest Public Courses, and No. 16 in North Carolina, will close in the fall of 2017, with the goal of re-opening the next fall.

Shack takes his best shots here, but comments such as these are catnip to yours truly:

Just as No. 2 saw a return to hard-pan sand and native wire grass and Donald Ross-

signature domed greens, there's a similar plan to match that natural, minimalistic feel and look at No. 4. 

Pinehurst No. 4 had previously been ranked as one of North Carolina's top-five courses in the 1990s, but it slipped to No. 16 in our last Best in State ranking. The course, which was designed by Donald Ross in 1919, had previously been remodeled by Tom Fazio -- who called the No. 4 restoration one of his proudest remodels to date.

It probably was, so more's the pity....

Paul Goydos, Unplugged - Goydos is a character, and we need more of those in our game, so this SkratchTV interview is worth your time.  I like his perspective on himslef and his place in the game, but this is the best bit:

Paul Goydos admits that he has a bit of a temper. 

The two-time PGA Tour winner told SkratchTV that he has a tendency to speak in four-letter words and admitted that he had been fined four times by the PGA Tour. 

One of them, however, stands out. 

"I got fined by PGA Tour Travel for leaving a message on their answering machine that was less kosher than it should have been," Goydos said. "That’s the temper thing again."

I can relate to the temper thing, especially when he acknowledges it so candidly.  But fined for a voice mail message?  That's just priceless....

And I also like the man because he posts:

Wonder what that 62 did to his trend?

I'd Give It One More Go - OK, I might have jumped the gun with that catnip analogy, because....well, this:

Robert Allenby pondered quitting '1,000 times' in aftermath of Honolulu incident

Unfortunately the actual Daily Mail article is behind their paywall, so we only have this limited dosage of pathos and self-loathing for you:

“Allenby has opened up on his psychological turmoil after a two-year period that saw his golf career sink and controversies plague him. From his claims about being kidnapped

and robbed in ­Hawaii, to his caddie quitting mid-round, a Twitter feud with a fellow player and being arrested for disorderly conduct in the US in August. 

“‘I have had stages where I was going to quit 1000 times,’ Allenby said. ‘I just said: ‘You know what, screw this, you have to forget about everything and push forward. I haven’t killed anyone, I haven’t taken drugs — apart from being drugged. I really haven’t done a lot wrong. We are all humans and humans make mistakes.’”

And do you know who else makes mistakes?  Yup, caddies.....

The Allenby stories have been out there for years, long before anyone had heard of the Amuse Wine Bar.  He's legendary for his mistreatment of loopers as well as others, so there's little appetite for his pleas for sympathy and privacy.

His game, never top drawer, has fallen to a level where we're not likely to see all that much of him looking forward.  And, because it's all about me, I'm facing the bleak prospect of maintaining this here blog without Tim Finchem and Robert Allenby to kick around....

Say It Ain't So, Ko - My girl Lydia has been limping to the finish line and firing her caddie, Allenbyesque behavior setting off alarms.  A possible explanation is to be found on this Kiwi website:

“While Ko's coaching team insist this isn't the case, some astute judges believe Ko has begun changing her swing on the LPGA Tour's Asian jaunt… 

“Ko began changing to David Leadbetter's A swing about two years ago in an effort to find more length off the tee by learning how to draw the ball – moving it from right to left – which has made her less accurate without noticeably increasing her distance.

We've all seen this movie before, and has it ever worked out?  Unfortunately, Luke Donald was unavailable for comment.... Worse yet, it seems to have infected her putting....

Team Ko is blaming it on James Comey....err, well this seems about as credible:

But Ko's coach, Sean Hogan, who works with Leadbetter, said the changes were more about managing her through a long and exhausting year. 

"She's battling fatigue," he said. 

"This has been a very busy season and the last part is especially busy with the trips to Asia. 

"So we're working through that and she's working to get over the finish line."

I can see why she feels the need to get longer, but I fear the consequences..... her problem right now is that her most obvious rival, Ariya Jutanugarn, has her short game skills but absolutely bombs it.   How's a girl gonna compete wit that?