Friday Frisson

You guys must be exhausted after all the reading I made you do yesterday....  No rest for the weary, we've struck another vein....

DJ in Full - We should all be so lucky as to have Paulina eating crackers in our bed Alan Shipnuck profile us in Golf Magazine.  The thread here is the support from Clan Gretzky that allowed DJ to begin realizing his enormous talent.  Here's one example:

But three months later, at Chambers Bay, he suffered the most wrenching loss of his career, three-putting the 72nd green to hand the U.S. Open to Jordan Spieth. The entire Gretzky clan watched helplessly from a sand hill behind the green. "We live and die with

every one of his shots," Wayne says. But after everything he'd been through, Johnson had a new resolve and greater accountability. That night, the family retreated to a rental home to gather their belongings; they'd be flying to Gozzer for a previously scheduled trip. Johnson insisted on carrying out all of their suitcases and loading them into SUVs. When Wayne expressed concern about Johnson's back, the golfer shot back, "After the way I played today, this is what I deserve." 

The next morning, at 7 a.m., Wayne teed off at Gozzer with his cronies, a sprawling group that includes Mike Mattivi, a 16-handicapper who is also a part of the regular games at Sherwood. Johnson said he would join them on the first tee, but no one was surprised when he didn't show. They were in the second fairway when a ball whistled over their heads. "We all knew it was Dustin," Mattivi says. "He comes roaring up and says, "I told y'all to wait for me!" After what he had just been through at Chambers Bay, I was shocked. Most guys would spend a week in bed, hugging their pillow, but this kid loves the game so much he didn't want to miss out on the fun." 

The second hole at Gozzer Ranch is a 589-yard par 5; Johnson smashed an 8-iron to four feet for an eagle try. "He's standing there waiting for us to give it to him," Mattivi says. "And one of our buddies goes, "Dustin, that would normally be good, but since you missed one about that length 12 hours ago, you're gonna have to putt it." Dustin laughed so damn hard. He knows we love him no matter how many 4-footers he might miss."

Jeez, Alan, don't leave us hanging....did he make the damn putt?

DJ is unbelievably lucky that the hottie for whom he fell just happened to be The Great One's hottie-daughter....  They actually believe in family and live it as well....  Word on the street is that Wayne and Janet weren't initially happy with the pairing, but they of course love their daughter and have embraced her choice.

 You'll of course read the whole thing, well worth your time.  I've been critical of DJ in the past, but credit is do for him taking control of his life.  The raw talent, of course, has never been in doubt...

Also of interest is this Mark Broadie item on the statistical breakdown of DJ's breakout season...  here's the lede:

Dustin Johnson had a breakout season in 2016, rocketing from No. 8 to No. 2 in the

world—along the way winning three times (including his first major) and a bucketful of money. Statistically, his triumph is the tale of two Dustins: the DJ whose 2.0 strokes-per-round advantage over the field in 2015 proved his burgeoning greatness, and the DJ who, in 2016, achieved something incredibly difficult by raising his formidable game even higher. 

The popular narrative is that Johnson dominated in 2016 by bombing his drives, which left him with wedges into greens; then his improved wedge play got him closer to the hole, yielding a load of birdies. But this story is only partially true. In fact, while his driving average (301.5 yards) was an impressive 20 yards longer than the field's, it was two yards shorter than his typical blast in 2015. In 2013, he was a below-average wedge player from 100 to 150 yards (135th in Strokes Gained) and is now significantly better (12th), but much of that improvement came between 2013 and 2015, not in 2016.

The gist of it, spoiler alert, is that fractional improvements (meaning .1 or .2 strokes per round) in individual components of his game, amounting a .5 strokes per day, was the difference between a good 2015 and an epic 2016 season.

Tiger Tidbits -  I don't know about you, but I'm close to being Tigered-out....  It was a good week for the guy, and it'll be fun to see how 2017 rolls out.  Just, you know, let's not be handing him the Masters just yet....

But this guy got one of those Chris Matthews tingles up his leg:

Corey Consuegra, senior director of marketing for Bridgestone Golf, confirmed that Woods and Bridgestone do not have a formal relationship. Woods and his agent, Mark

Steinberg, asked Bridgestone to send over some golf balls for testing, and the company happily complied.

Consuegra said that having staff Tour players such as Brandt Snedeker and Matt Kuchar is extremely valuable, but Woods’s use of a Bridgestone ball created an immediate impact. In fact, Consuegra said Bridgestone’s website received about the same amount of traffic last Monday through Friday that it did in the entire third quarter of this year (July-September), and most of those visitors were going to the Tour B330S page. 

“It changes the way we can tell the consumers and the public how good we are in the golf ball category,” Consuegra said. “We get outspent by our biggest competitors, but (Woods is) one of the best players to ever play the game, period, and he could have selected any golf ball on the market today he wanted, and he chose to go with the B330S.”

That doesn't speak well of their Q3 traffic, does it?  Dare we ask if Sneds and Kooch are, you know, as valuable as he thinks....

It's also amusing because Bridgestone has carved out a niche in selling balls for amateur clubhead speeds....  I once did a Bridgestone ball fitting at a met. Golf Writers meeting, and it was comically disingenuous....  But chances are that those guys checking out the B330S page will be ill-served by that ball.

And FWIW, one of Golf Mag's Top 100 teachers analyzes Tiger's week here.  It's all true enough, but I'm at this point more focused on what comes next....

Pinehurst No. 4 - We've previously discussed the Gil Hanse restoration of their No. 4 course, one of the Ross originals.  Alas, it's no longer a Ross in any meaningful sense...

So, first I want you to go watch this video of Matt Ginella's interview with Tom Pashley and Hanse about the project.  What are you waiting for?  Don't worry, I'll be here when you get back...

First, I hadn't heard that a short course was in the plans, which is just perfect....  Combined with the Thistle Dhu putting green, that will create all sorts of options for folks to hang out and amuse themselves, perhaps with an adult beverage or three....

Second, did you hear that list of alleged architects?  Trent Jones, Rees and Fazio....talk about your basket of deplorables..... here's just one example of what happened on their watch:

It's the sand hills of North Carolina....why would you want to remove the sand?  These videos are clever as well:

I may just have to pencil in Pinehurst for 2018.

A Badass Nine - Bob Parsons is himself quite the badass....  We've spoken of him in connection with his PXG golf equipment company, but also with his purchase of Scottsdale National Golf Club.  There, you might recall, he basically told most of the members that they weren't needed any longer....  I know, interesting business model...

But for those that stayed there's a new treat:

The Bad Little Nine: The World's Hardest Stretch of Par-3 Holes

Designed for Scottsdale National Golf Club by Jackson Kahn Design, the Bad Little Nine was made to challenge, frustrate, and test even the best golfers. Not for the faint of heart, the Bad Little Nine is full of "unsympathetic" obstacles arranged to make for an unrelenting trial. The designers are billing the course as "the most difficult collection of par-3 holes found anywhere in the world." Once you get a look at these holes, you'll understand why.

Here's a taste:

Hole 5: Shotgun - The one-of-a-kind hole 5 is designed to evoke an old battlefield site.

Short course are typically at the other end of the difficulty spectrum, thugh this would certainly be fun to have a go at....

Short Takes - This is billed as the most painful punch-out ever.... That's way too competitive a category for me the credit the claim, but this screenshot will tell you how it ends:

Things that never get old, eh?

On a more heartwarming tack, how about this achievement by the delightfully-named Ralph Sleeper:

“It was one of those days where everything was going well,” he said. 

Shooting 17 below age ties the recognized Guinness record, held by two golfers who also were 89. James D. Morton shot a 72 at Valleybrook Golf and Country Club in Tennessee in April 2001. Keith Plowman carded a 72 at Maungakiekie Golf Club in Auckland, New Zealand, in November 2007.

This may though be the more amazing factoid:

Sleeper carries a 9 handicap, indicating that most of his rounds are in the 79-81 range. 

He also had two holes-in-one this year, bringing his lifetime total to 15. 

Sleeper said his weakness is putting, but a putt for that 72 capped his best round of golf.

He's a nine at age 89....Wow!  But take heart, Ralph, everyone's putting gets a little hinkey when they get older.... yanno, say, in their forties.