Monday Mishegoss

Just a few items for you this morning, but good ones so don't despair....

The Shark, Tanked - Actually, that he might have been tanked is kind of a best-case scenario....

The increasingly weird and self-absorbed Greg Norman made two public appearances.  Surprisingly, his visit to the Fox booth during the coverage of his Shark Shootout was the lesser in importance, merely Awkward with a capital "A".  

Regrets, I've had a few.....

The second appearance was at the opening of The Greg Norman Signature Course at Del Boca Vista, Phase II....OK, something actually called Vidanta Neuvo Vallarta, which uses up our allotment of "V's" for the week.

Rick Young was among the Elite Eight granted this audience, so let's dive in, shall we?  First, intentionally burying the lede, comes this defense of his body of design work:

Something head scratching? Norman gets little to no credit for his course design abilities. Rare, if ever, is his name mentioned with modern architects like Bill Coore/Ben Crenshaw, Gil Hanse, or Tom Doak. Design based on a least disturbance approach? Norman was engaged in this philosophy long before it became en vogue. 

“I think I got slammed in the early part of my career for designing golf courses that were too hard,” he said.

Yeah, why might that be?  Guess it's just one of life's little mysteries.... Now this is actually a fair point that I've made myself, of course ignoring the self-serving bit that can't be confirmed:

“But in my own defense, that was quite often the owner or developer that wanted that type of golf course. On at least a half-dozen occasions I’ve gone up to owners or developers, walked off the site and told them, ‘You build the golf course.’ Nobody every writes that of course. They just say Greg Norman builds too hard of golf courses.”

To the extent that he gave his client that which the client desired, I agree that he shouldn't be blamed...  But, you know, the body of work speaks for itself...  But of course, I'm just a blogger....

“Opinions are like assholes: everyone’s got one. And I respect people’s opinions if they respect mine. What I despise are people, bloggers especially, who write articles about me who don’t even know me, never picked up a phone or even asked me a single question about my design philosophy. That blows me away,” he added.

No, not thin-skinned at all....  OK, but this was all very much the sideshow, as amusing at it can be.  It turns out that The Sharkness Monster has real news to convey... or at least news that at a future date there will be news of epic proportions:

By his own admission the Shark is planning to rock golf’s paradigm. He will do so, he

says, in partnership with Verizon, the communications giant with whom he recently signed an eight-year deal. Verizon, incidentally, has never been associated with the golf industry on any level. That is until its hook up with Norman through 2024.

Curious that, but as you know, they're wired differently....  Go on Greg, I'm at the edge of my seat:

“In the middle second quarter of next year, I’ll invite you guys down to my office,” he said. “We will tell you exactly how we’re going to break this cast iron that’s been wrapped around golf for so long. We’re going to shatter it. The institutions (USGA, R&A, PGA of America, PGA Tour) will eventually buy into it because they will have to buy into it. They won’t have a choice.”

Is this a hostage situation?  The only cast iron of which I'm aware is this:

OK, I'm penciling you in for May 15th.....  I know I'm just a despised blogger and all, but I'm clearing my calendar.  Anything else you need to get off that bare breast, Greg?

“If I died tomorrow what would happen to a lot of my businesses. Eventually they would die off,” he explained. “I never want that to happen because I want my brand to go on to perpetuity. So I started to think about a game plan about three years ago, in 2013, revolving around a 12-year game plan AND a 200-year game plan. You have to build a company for today but also for the future. Re-branding and repositioning is a big part of that.”

I thought it was "Redirecting" these days....  I'm so confused.  Care to wrap it up, Your Sharkness:

“I can tell you this: by the third quarter of next year we’re going to market with a new product. You guys are going to say ‘Wow, nobody has ever thought about this,’” said Norman with a grin. “The partnership with Verizon goes beyond golf. They have never been involved with the game before and now they’re my partner going forward for the next eight years. It’s related to golf to some degree but totally related to some other places. These are the opportunities I have always seen within the company but I never had the right personnel or opportunity to do it.”

Do we think he got a bad batch of mushrooms?  It's related to golf but not, will break the cast iron (Vanna, I'd like to buy a noun) and involves a company that knows nothing about golf.... What could go wrong?

The Jaime Maneuver - The great Jaime Diaz turns his acute mind the the Ko-Leadbetter break-up, with predictably interesting results.  His lede:

It’s hard to envision a more outwardly well-adjusted superstar golfer than Lydia Ko. On

and off the course, she seems serene, confident, thoughtful and fun. It’s an impression the players she’s been beating like a drum unanimously confirm, and one which the 19-year-old’s own words and actions reinforce. Ko seems to possess the rare combination of talent and temperament that seems perfectly suited to a long reign at the top of the game. 

But, it appears, even Lydia Ko has issues.

We've all got issues, Jaime..... But here's Jaime's case:

According to David Leadbetter, the venerated swing coach Ko fired on Tuesday after a three-year association that produced 12 LPGA victories including two majors, Ko’s golf game is being hampered mentally and physically by hovering, and sometimes intrusive, parents. 

“At this point, their sole occupation is taking care of Lydia’s every need,” said Leadbetter of Ko’s father, Gil Hong Ko, and mother, Bon Sook Hyon, both of whom regularly travel with their daughter. 

“They tell her when to go to bed, what to eat, what to wear, when to practice and what to practice. And they expect her to win every tournament. They are good people, who love their daughter and want the very best for her, and Lydia has never been to college and is still young. But they are naive about golf. And at some point, they’ve got to let the bird fly from the nest. I would often think, ‘It’s not easy coaching three people.’ ” 

Leadbetter is familiar with the affects of the close bonds Korean parents traditionally have with their offspring. In 1998, he parted company with Se Ri Pak, who had recently won the U.S. Women’s Open, after two years, citing parental and sponsor interference. And since 2003, he’s been coaching Michelle Wie, whose parents, BJ and Bo, have always been a regular presence and strong influence in their daughter’s up-and-down career.

Obviously this is Leadbetter's view of things, though his story from the range at the season-ending event does resonate.  That said, it bothers me that he parrots the indictment of her firing an unusually large number of caddies, which seems a misrepresentation.  Lydia tried out a number of caddies without a long-term commitment, a move I found clever at the time.  That the chosen caddie didn't last the year is fair game, and of course added to changes in swing coach and equipment could well signal unrest and concern.

Rules For Radicals - Everyone has their own ideas, so let a million flowers bloom....Bob Carney has five ideas for the USGA.... or so he thinks.  So, let's look at Numero Uno:

1. What does the data say? From equipment regulation to, more recently, pace of play and maintenance management, the USGA’s mantra these days is, data, data, data. It has

eschewed anecdotal “good ideas” in favor of empirical evidence. Hurray. So let’s begin our rules revision with the simple premise that unless an act or incident can be proven to improve a golfer’s score it incurs no penalty. If a player breaks a branch off in his backswing, that’s a justifiable penalty in that it improves his chances for a good shot, if for no other reason than he has eliminated doubt about whether his club will or will not strike the branch. But if a player makes a slightly incorrect drop—see Tiger at No. 15 of the 2013 Masters—to no advantage, why a penalty? Let’s measure a few of these so-called violations and determine if they really aid the player. If not, ignore them.

You see the issue, no?  We need a little more precision, and hence the difficulty.....

But the Tiger citation is curious, to say the least.  If you'll recall, our hero got himself in trouble because of his post-round interview, wherein he bragged about his cleverness in taking his drop a yard behind his divot so that he wouldn't hit the pin again.  So Bob, he thought he got a benefit, so who are we to argue?

Give it a read and decide for yourself, but I don't see much that's actually helpful....

The Tour Confidential gang takes a whack at rules that they would change, with some interesting answers:

Michael Bamberger: I think it is realist but the USGA would not agree: paint the white stakes red. The out-of-bounds rule could be stroke only, not stroke-and-distance. I have a list but that would be at the top of it.

This is one I need to ponder, though I quite agree we could do with fewer white stakes.  But the sadist in me thinks it's quite the test of golf to manage the range of penalties....  For instance, on a hole (think Willow Ridge 12th) with OB right, can you aim it down the middle of the fairway and commit or does your body invariably aim to the trees on the left?

Other thoughts:

Josh Sens: You stripe one down the heart of the fairway. It lands in a sand-filled divot. Ground that has been damaged and which is now under repair. Take a free drop. Play on. Quickly, please.

Yes, please, make divots GUR...  I always felt the same about spike marks on the green.  Or this:

Joe Passov: Technology has outstripped the original rules. Let all competitors use rangefinders at every level, whether or not they also have caddies. The player still has to choose the trajectory and hit the shot. It would speed up the game and that's not a bad thing.

As painful a sit is to agree with Joe, and as much as I treasure the old rituals such as pacing off yardage, I'm forced to agree.   We've always allowed players to access information, as opposed to advice, and this seems to fit...

Cheap Shots - Just a few to get me out of here:

Way Too Much Information - Lexi Thompson holds her own and more playing with the men at Franklin Templeton Shootout

That's A Very Competitive Category - Revisiting "A Gentleman's Game," the worst golf movie ever made

If Lexi is TMI, This IS Way TMI - John Daly is happy to let "Little John Daly" step into the spotlight

Was It Alternate Shot? - Watch Ian Poulter scold a cameraman after making a quadruple bogey