Weekend Wrap

I awoke to a covering of snow....  but the joke's on me, as I'm at home in New York.

The Irony, She Burns - You may have noticed that I'm not a fan of the blob they call the Wraparound Schedule....  I know, I need to tell you how I really feel.  But in the present moment all I can do is note how absolutely friggin' perfect it all is...

I'll let Shack take the lay-up:

Because 2016 apparently never wants to end, the last fall PGA Tour event will continue a sudden death playoff on Monday morning after failing to finish Sunday night. While two holes of sudden death were played and frankly, based on the number of mentions by all

about the darkness, the second hole probably should not have been played.

Most telling was Rich Lerner's mention from the booth that the final round threesomes took five hours on what appeared to be an almost wind-free, crisp fall day at St. Simons Island.

Yet on Sunday there was Tim Finchem's vision at its most glaringly tired: players seemingly in slow motion, lacking any fear of penalty, taking their sweet time even as the sun was setting. But all was well because hats came off and hands were shaken to reaffirm that this was a (slow) genteman's game. While this provides a the visual that stirs the souls of Finchem's favorite corporate chieftains, it doesn't move a single sports needle and scenes like this reaffirm that golf is for only those with enough free time to return on a Monday morning. 

So the McGladrey Classic wraps up a day late, minus Billy Horschel, who served up a short putt miss he refused to attribute to the dark playing conditions.

When Billy Horschel is the calm voice of reason, you might admit that you have a problem.

Shall we convene a task force to determine how they made such a hash of it?   The reader can sing along without aid of a libretto....  They insist on an event every week, so they're out there in late November, trying to cram five hour rounds into the 4 1/2 hours of daylight...  and of course still trying to finish as late as possible, so they're television masters can capture the six human beings not watching the NFL.

I just hope that Jay Monahan is taking notes....

An Hullacious Finish - Yeah, that was unnecessary, so I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me:

Charley Hull has one speed: fast. Everything she does – walk, talk, swing a golf club – operates at full blast. Even her rise to fame came quickly, debuting on the European

Solheim Cup team at age 17. 

That first LPGA victory, however, felt like it came in slow motion. Though 2016 marked Hull’s first full season on the LPGA, and she’s only 20 years old, it took 52 starts for Hull to nab her first tour title at the CME Group Tour Championship. The fact that 52 seems high speaks to Hull’s level of talent. 

“Feels like I got the chip off my shoulder,” said the former phenom. 

The $500,000 winner’s check at CME made Hull the 15th player this season to eclipse the $1 million mark. She finishes 2016 No. 12 on the money list with $1,114,295 and a career-high 18th in the Rolex Rankings.

Kind of surprised to learn that she hadn't already won.....  No doubt you heard that the season-long race for the $1 million pot went to the deserving Ariya Jutanagarn,  causing Jaime Diaz to analyze what went wrong for our Lydia.  Here's his lede:

It’s often said that the great ones make it look easy. By that measure, given that Lydia Ko has achieved the fastest start in the history of women’s golf with an effortless swing and unflappable temperament, there’s little question that, already at 19, she is great. Other than not being a long hitter, Ko is a complete player through the bag. She combines a capacity to have fun with a fierce focus. And she possesses the biggest intangible of all for a tournament winner: the ability to make big putts.

But when he gets around to quantifying that "not a long hitter" bit, you'll see that he undersold it:

Its instructive that for the entire season, Ko statistically lost distance and accuracy, dropping to 126th on the tour with an average of 246.73 yards off the tee, after averaging 

250.39 yards to rank 60th last year. Meanwhile, she went from second in greens in regulation in 2015 to 32nd this year. What saved Ko in 2016 was putting, as she was first in both the LPGA’s putting categories. After her first-round 68 at the CME in which she missed seven greens from the fairway, Leadbetter got Ko to make a steeper backswing, and the result was a spectacular Friday 62. But her ball-striking—and scores—got worse on the weekend as she dropped to T-10.

And that's with apparently tweaking her swing to add distance....  It's really quite the substantial handicap, especially against Ariya who can match her short-game skills.  And this came as unwelcome news to me:

Also in the offing is a change of equipment. Well-placed sources confirm that Ko will be leaving Callaway for PXG in 2017, with the new company reportedly offering a sweeter financial deal. Like any equipment change, the move carries risk.

She doesn't seem like a PXG girl, does she?   I've always said that distance would ultimately determine her career arc, as it's just too hard to play this game over the long-term from thrity yards back in the fairway.  

Tour Confidential Bits - The best part about this week's confab is the absence of a single question about the PGA event in Sea Island.  Well played, Commish!

They lede by reading tea leaves for that kid from Texas:

1. Jordan Spieth won his second Australian Open in three years on Sunday at Royal Sydney, joining an elite list of multiple-time winners that includes Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Greg Norman. How much should we read into this victory, given he prefaced his monstrous 2015 season with a win at the Aussie Open?

And some sample answers:

Mark Godich: I can't imagine anything bad coming out of winning. I'd also suggest it is

largely the result of a lesson learned from his globe-trotting early in the year. Spieth had a bounce in his step, his ball-striking was good enough, and he did what he does best, draining must-make putts on the last three holes of regulation and the first hole in the playoff. This is most definitely something to build on for 2017. 

Michael Bamberger: I totally agree, Mark: mental tiredness shows up in putting more than anything else, and the win, and the way he won, shows a well-rested Jordan Spieth.

If only there were a blog he could read to avoid such mistakes?

On the one hand I get that kids think they know everything and aren't prone to seeking advice from their elders....  Nah, my heart wasn't in that.  These were unforced errors that many saw from great distance.....

I'm still particularly rankled by his refusal to go over early for the Open Championship at The Old Course.  The point was that you don't want to look back and regret giving it your best shot, as he'll never have that opportunity again.  And for what?  To play the John Deere.....  All that talk of him being an "Old soul" was just talk....

And how do we feel about this question?

5. Pat Perez told GOLF.com that the media hype around Tiger Woods's scheduled return to competition in two weeks has been overkill. Given that Woods hasn't won since 2013 and struggled mightily during his last "comeback" in 2015, does Perez have a point? Is the media's attention on Woods out of sync with the public's interest?

Really?  What else should the golf press have been focused on?   The responses are mostly waht one would expect, this being the most notable:

Sens: Woods is going to be a big story until he hangs it up for good, and even then, a headline with his name will draw eyeballs for good reason. See "Key elements of Greek tragedy" for further explanation as to why. On a side note, I know we're living in the post-irony age, but worth nothing how Perez's comments about the excess coverage only generates … more coverage.

How amusing that in this year in which the major media outlets beclowned themselves, it's the golf press being held accountable.

Lastly, while this is a turkey of a question, the answers are pretty good:

6. Happy Thanksgiving! As a journalist, which golf story are you most thankful for this year?

Godich: The celebration of the life of the King. RIP, Arnold.

Bamberger: Nice call by both of you. I'm not thankful for it, and it was p-a-i-n-f-u-l to watch, but Jordan Spieth at Augusta reminded us, powerfully, that GOLF IS HARD. Not just for us. For everybody.

Passov: Since I'm chiming in at the end, I'll see your four stories and raise you a duel for the ages between Stenson and Mickelson at the Open. For sustained competitive excellence and sportsmanship (mutual respect), it had no peer in 2016.

All good stuff for sure.  I'd add Diana Murphy's awards ceremonies, but that's the kind of snarky guy I am....

David Owen, Unplugged - You know our David the guy that alternates between scholarly treatises and pure whimsy.  Today it's the latter, much more suitable for your humble correspondent's mood.  Doesn't this header seem promising?

A scientific hierarchy of shelf lives for logoed golf shirts

You know he's gonna deal some snark:

SHELF LIFE: IT SHOULD NEVER LEAVE THE CLOSET 

A shirt that holds zero personal affiliation or connection 

That was very sweet of your parents to buy a Hard Rock Cafe polo during their trip to Vegas, but that shirt brings no prestige to the table.

But what if you just like the shirt?  Never mind...

But here it becomes controversial:

SHELF LIFE: FOUR YEARS

St. Andrews 

Perhaps the most controversial spot on the list, as it's the undisputed Home of Golf. And forget its stature in the game; the town of St. Andrews might be one of my favorite places on earth, period. Keeping that in mind, there are so many counterfeit, knockoff St. Andrews items on the market that they devalue its esteem. Moreover, I've seen plenty of non-golfers wear ensembles baring the St. Andrews emblem, further hurting the brand. Kudos if you've stepped foot on the sacred ground, but it falls short in our rankings.

Wow!  Quite the diss,   Not that any of my shirts last more than two years anyway....

But here he's talking madness: 

SHELF LIFE: 10 YEARS 

A SUPER exclusive course 

The list is short but distinguished: Pine Valley, Cypress Point, Seminole. Click here for the full rundown. One of the few shirts that instills instant jealousy.

I've played only three of those courses, a sorry state of affairs indeed....

You can guess what logo can be warn until it vaporizes, after all, he literally wrote the book. 

The header on David's second item will make certain heads explode:

Why we should do away with bunker rakes

I'll let David explain:

Complaints about “unfair” bunkers are especially contrary to the spirit of golf: aren’t hazards supposed to be hazardous? On TV, the standard greenside-bunker shot is about

as thrilling to watch as a two-foot putt. You know the guy is going to spin it close, and he knows he’s going to spin it close -- otherwise, he wouldn’t have yelled “Get in the bunker!” when his ball was in the air. Sand’s function in a tour event is often just to make the surrounding grass seem troublesome. 

There’s a simple remedy: follow the example of Pine Valley, the legendary New Jersey golf club, which for decades has been listed at or near the top of nearly every ranking of the best courses in the world. Pine Valley has many, many bunkers -- some small, some large, some soft, some hard some coffin-shaped, some bottomless, some seemingly miles across -- but no rakes. The club’s maintenance regularly smooths everything out, but, if your ball ends up in a footprint (or behind a rock or under a cactus), that’s your tough luck, and you deal with it. As you should.

Dustin Johnson was unavailable for comment....

I certainly agree that bunkers have ceased to be hazards for the best players in the world, though my instinct is that they should challenge because of shape and location more than footprints.  But maybe I've gotten soft....