The Eagles has landed in Utah.... I'm off tomorrow to watch my nephew compete in the Freestyle Junior Nationals at Sun Valley, but while we have some time...
API Blues - While teeth continue to be gnashed and garments rendered over the turnout at Arnie's place, I want to revisit this from the most astute golf blog out there:
A case could be made that 2016 was "the year", though admittedly one needed a prescient Magic eight-ball for that...
As amended and restated by this from Shack:
There is continued consternation over various stars passing on this week's Arnold Palmer Invitational, the first since The King's passing. I get the anger, but I'd also argue that passing on last year's API was worse given that Mr. Palmer was battling health issue and PGA Tour officials were reminding players that he was having a tough time.
OK, forget the obvious GMTA moment.... You might have noticed that I have my occasional differences with the Ponte Vedra Panjandrum, but to the extent that they were warning players of The King's deteriorating health before last year's event, I'm floored... and grateful. But that's exactly what they should have been doing, quietly of course, and I'm almost speechless that they were so thoughtful....
Forgive my laziness, but Shack played aggregator-in-chief, and it seems foolish to re-invent the wheel. Steve Elling makes the rounds of players and has much of interest:
“The guy was a legend, and with all that he has done for Orlando and the game, heshould be celebrated,” Charles Howell III said.
As was the case for Sorenstam and McDowell, Howell’s two kids were born in the Palmer hospital complex in downtown Orlando. Thus, there are bound to be some moist eyes when the 13-foot statue of Palmer, erected over the weekend, is spotted between the first and 10th tees. Forged larger than life in bronze, Palmer figuratively will be looking down upon fans and organizers.Memorabilia from Palmer’s treasure trove of personal items will be on display in multiple locations for fans. His cart, replete with two golf bags brimming with clubs, will be parked on the grounds. Players will have Palmer’s logo umbrella stitched into their clothes, caps and bags. For the first time, there will be an opening ceremony on Thursday morning.
A nice touch.... Jeff Babineau grabs my favorite Arnie memory from Brad Faxon:
I’d never met him before, so I’m calling him Mr. Palmer. We’re walking off the first green, to the second hole, there’s the gallery ropes, and it was the biggest crowd I’d played in front of to that point. Arnold looked at me and said, ‘Son, if you want to have yourself a long and successful career’ – here he was, spreading the word – ‘you look people in the eye when you walk. Don’t look down. Always make eye contact.’ That turned out to be something prophetic. I thought that was fantastic.
That's so Arnie....
This Mastercard #arniewould campaign is a tad treacly but still....
Now, whether going for the green was such a smart play.....tougher question. Funny thing is I caight a few minutes of Phil on Feherty last night, specifically talking about that second shot on Winged Foot No. 18 in '06.... A very #arniewould moment, no?
And the genre of choice for tributes....silly question, wedge stampings of course:
No doubt you recognize Morgan Hoffman's hand....
Augean Stables, Cleaned - Awaiting word from Golf Digest on my application to jojn their ranks of course raters, they've now gone and dumped my two favorite golf bloggers....
First came David Owwen, who wrote the Muny Life column for the print magazine and moved his My Usual Game feature to The Loop. I happened upon his old place recently, and found that he's posting there again, though on a weekly or less basis....
Then comes this lightning bolt this morning:
Geoff Shackelford, considered one of the most influential multimedia journalists in golf, has been named Senior Writer for Golfweek. Golfweek was acquired by USA TODAY Sports Media Group in October 2016.
Shackelford’s critically acclaimed website, GeoffShackelford.com, covers the state of the game, players, organizations and course architecture. He will share his insights across golf coverage for Golfweek and across the USA TODAY NETWORK. Shackelford’s website will also be added to the USA Today Sports Media Group.
Here's Geoff's take and outlook for the blog:
The new site will be mobile and tablet friendly while hopefully remaining just as readable on the desktop. (I don't track the numbers religiously, but it's been interesting to see how desktop readership has remained steady after initially losing ground to mobile.)
Expect a lot more video, starting with an upcoming video series in conjunction with Callaway Media Productions titled Eye On Design, which will highlight elements in all forms of golf design, from courses to clubhouses to clothes to clubs. And count on plenty of video with Golfweek.com, especially around the majors.
An interesting purge of talent, the significance of which I'm unclear....
Masters Tease - It's coming and it's coming soon.... Of course, I'm a bit screwed up calendar and weather-wise, because I had to exfiltrate form NY ahead of a major storm and arrived in Salt Lake City where it was in the mid-70's.... Still north of 60 degrees when I drove to altitude.... But enough about me.
Big changes afoot, but only to the Par-3 competition:
Augusta National has sent letters to its honorary invitees to inform them that the Par 3 Contest, held on the Wednesday before the opening round, will be limited to players in the field and past Masters champions.
"It's sad," former British Open champion David Duval said. "But I understand it. Maybe there's not enough spots in the Par 3."
Well, that had to do something.... I already used the adjective "treacly", but the thing has become unwatchable....
This guy is trying to take it like a man:
"As a person and an honorary invitee, I'm disappointed because it was my favorite day of the year," former British Open champion Ian Baker-Finch said Tuesday. "I loved it. I'll still be there, though, and I'll watch like everyone else."
Well, duh, it's a work week for you....
And don't miss this on Arnie's ANGC yardage book and Phil speaking about the course favoring lefties, both from you-know-who.
Misogyny, Suspended - We knew this was coming, but it's good to have it official:
Muirfield Golf Club voted to admit women as members for the first time in the club's 273-year history on Tuesday.
The venerable Scottish golf club faced controversy -- and the loss of its place in the Open Championship rota -- after a vote last year resulted in only 64% support for the motion to allow women to join the club, which was short of the two thirds needed to pass. Tuesday's second vote, however, garnered 80.2% support to end the club's male-only membership policy.
"This is a significant decision for a club which was founded in 1744 and retains many of the values and aspirations of its founding members," said Henry Fairweather, captain of Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, which operates Muirfield, according to the BBC. "We look forward to welcoming women as members who will enjoy, and benefit from, the great traditions and friendly spirit of this remarkable club."
And the R&A didn't waste any time welcoming back their wayward sons:
"In light of today's decision by the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, we can confirm that Muirfield will become a venue for the Open once again," R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers said. "It is extremely important for us in staging one of the world's great sporting events that women can become members at all of our host clubs."
Now let's wait and see how this proceeds, as I've been led to believe that women will be given no priority on the waiting list, which is quite lengthy. While we'll be into the 2020's before The Open will return to Gullane, one would think they'd have to have actually admitted some members with indoor plumbing before the award of an Open....
Snark Run Wild - Shack is at his snarkalicious best here, and I'm going to attempt something quite mad.... to outsnark the Master. I know, Godspeed John Glenn.... The subject is a pnel discussion of golf at the millennial-fest known as the South-by-Southwest Festival (SXSW to the cool kids).
Here's the header:
Sharks Gotta Swim: Golf Tradition and Millennials
OK, I'm very confused.... Shack ignored the header and it's not clear who the sharks are? To me, the snowflake millennials don't show that much ambition but, perhaps more importantly, what have the done with the Jets?
OK, so let's get the righteous Fisking of Shack's Fisking.... I know, it's all so post-modern....(I'll bold Geoff's comments):
Remember, I just copy and paste...Brands must evolve and sports brands are no exception. But sports traditions are sometimes the most sacred of customs and golf may be the most brutal of masters.
It's debatable whether that was an attempted play on words, but the judges'll give it to them. Go on...
You mean masters/Masters? Where is that East German judge when we need him?
Golf is attempting thrive in an era that is changing so rapidly that the way a sport is consumed might be radically different in just one season.
Hmmm...profound, though not entirely accurate until I get a PGA Tour Live press release touting some numbers. Any numbers.
But hey, it's a golf panel at the cool kids conference, so I get the hard sell mode. I'll stop interrupting...
I was unclear as to whether the subject was the playing or the watching thereof, though Geoff thinks the latter.... But don't worry, the not interrupting will have a short shelf-life.
Does a round count at a Topgolf range and is a fan of an irreverent smartphone video worth the same attention as an argyle-wearing TV-watcher?
Ok, I know I said I was done interrupting but seriously? An argyle association?
I agree that argyle is a comically-inept smear, but how does Shack not react to a "round at Topgolf"?
How can golf keep the attention of potential fans? This panel will explore these challenges, examining what a game that can be burdened with its tradition and but lives by its history needs to do to survive the attention span of a 20-year-old.
Eh-em, golf's history dates back at least 400 years so I'm guessing it'll survive the attention span of today's 20-year-old.
But hey you guys explore, we can't wait to study the transcript for deep, deep thoughts on how to survive the 20-year-old's attention span!
OK, as far as the snarkometer is concerned, it's Shack in a rout, which is fine since he got there first.
Here's the panel that's going to save our game:
I feel better already.... The panel took place last Sunday, so we all anxiously await a transcript....
Party Like It's 1997 - I've found the timing of Tiger's book on the '97 Masters to be curious and, perhaps, ironic, coming amid his struggles to stay sufficiently healthy to actually play golf. Though, of course, most of the work probably took place while he was physically impaired, but it just seems a strange time to be looking back wistfully....
There's also the small issue of what he can add to our understanding of that week, given his SOP of sharing nothing candid. But co-author Lorne Rubenstein is singing his praises in this piece:
In the early stages of our discussions we watched video of that Masters. One vivid memory led to another, one story to another. I attended that 1997 Masters and followedTiger as he shot 40 on the front nine. I watched as he walked from the ninth green to the tenth tee, deep in thought. What had gone wrong? How could he turn things around? Was he worried?
I was interested and even surprised when he said he had put the front nine out of his mind by the time he reached the tenth tee, and that he had already focused his attention on what he needed to do. It wasn’t so much that he needed to correct what had gone wrong. He resolved to find the feeling that had allowed him to shoot 59 the week before at the Isleworth Golf & Country Club when he had played with his friend Mark O’Meara.
This was the sort of insight that helped me appreciate Tiger’s golfing mind.
Fair enough, though I'd suggest a bit more skepticism.... For the period 1997-2008, Tiger's focus was the stuff of legend, but I'm more interested in insights as to how he could do this that few others can.... We all remember that he shot 30 on the back nine that day, but none of us saw it coming after the 40 going out.
And this:
I found it particularly enlightening to see how deeply Tiger thought about the holes at Augusta National: what he saw, how he played them. He’s an architecture aficionado, and he went far into analysis of the course. He told me that the tee shot at the par-three twelfth “is one of the most demanding and confusing in golf,” and elaborated in depth on why this is so. He expanded on the strategies he employed and the way he saw the holes. There were many times I realized that I didn’t need to ask a question, but only had to let him continue talking. His body language told me when a question totally engaged him.
OK, but we've heard all this previously from Jack and others.... Lorne is an astute observer and good writer, but he's also obviously in salesmanship mode. Let's see if the book actually delivers....
Labels Matter - You might have heard this story, about which I have a bone to pick:
A group of environmental activists pulled off an elaborate act of vandalism at one ofPresident Trump’s premier golf courses early Sunday morning.
The group — which labels itself an “anonymous environmental activist collective” — snuck into Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., and carved a message into the green with six-foot-tall letters that said: “NO MORE TIGERS. NO MORE WOODS.”
"In response to the president’s recent decision to gut our existing protection policies, direct action was conceived and executed on the green of his California golf course in the form of a simple message: NO MORE TIGERS. NO MORE WOODS."
Really? I understand that they call themselves environmental activists, but given their actions couldn't you manage at least some scare quotes?
And giving away the game is this notice now at the top of the item:
Editor’s note: The beginning of this story was changed to more accurately reflect the nature of the actions taken by a protest group against the Trump golf course in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.
Wanna bet that the original did not characterize this as vandalism? Yup, we're now calling vandals "protest groups". Do we think the WaPo style guide allows for the use of "criminals"? Nah, that's crazy talk....
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