Midweek Musings

Awfully quiet out there, so no need to put on that second pot of coffee...

Shack's Schadenfreude - I like Shack and I love schadenfreude, though I'm decidedly lukewarm on this melding of the two.  Geoff contrasts yesterday's item on the poll to award a sponsor's exemption with the outrage generated from Golf Digest putting Paulina Gretzky on its cover two years ago:

With an LPGA tournament holding a Twitter poll to determine a sponsor's invitation, there is an apparent blessing from Commissioner Mike Whan that seems inconsistent with the outrage his organization directed at Golf Digest two years ago.

To recap: Golf Digest put Paulina Gretzky on the May 2014 cover and many in the women's golf world were outraged given how few females had ever graced the front page. And when a woman did make the cover, it was not one of the LPGA's many stars.

Mind you, I don't think he's wrong...  In this case I just think that the ShopRite poll is wrong on two such obvious issues, both in using Twitter and in having a beauty contest, that it almost diminished those arguments by bring up the Paulina cover.

I also understand that Mike Whan was playing to his constituency with these comments, whereas it's unclear as to his role in this tawdry mess.  Fact is that the LPGA is so desperate for sponsors that he might not have had as much leverage as is assumed...

Geoff has further rants at the link, as well as the quotes from Whan back then.  And a short back-and-forth with obvious horn-dog John Feinstein from Morning Drive.

Feeding On Itself - A recurring theme of this blog has been how the PGA Tour, under the stewardship of the unlamented Commissioner Ratched, competed with its own sponsors.  Here's another example, related to this week's event:

Don't mind Kym Hougham if he gets a little nostalgic for the good-old days. The

longtime executive director of the Wells Fargo Championship started in Charlotte in 2003 and built the tournament into one of the must-play events on the PGA Tour. 

"We were in kind of the dead zone between the Masters and the U.S. Open. We came out with a big purse – $5.6 million was big at the time – and we had a great course that the players adored," said Hougham, referring to Quail Hollow Club. "In 2007, we had 29 of the top 30 in the world. That was unheard of."

So, what's the problem?  

That was then; this is now. This week's Wells Fargo Championship is being held at Eagle Point Golf Club in Wilmington, N.C. – a "one-off," as Hougham put it – to accommodate Quail Hollow's role as host of the PGA Championship in August. It's a fine course in its own right that is ranked in several top-100 course lists, but the field took a hit. A decade after scoring that "unheard of" 29 of the top 30, Hougham landed only seven of them this time. (He did woo World No. 1 Dustin Johnson, who will be making his first start since a freak back injury sidelined him from the Masters.) The weaker strength of field also is reflected in the 50 Official World Golf Ranking points that will be awarded to this week's champion, down from 58 a year ago.

Tour pros are independent contractors and make their own schedules, as long as they play the minimum 15 sanctioned events. 

"Scheduling is so hard," Hougham said. "I equate it to college. You have your requirements and your electives. For years, there used to be four requirements – the majors – and the rest of the events were electives. You had four that were a given and then had 14 others to choose from. Now there are four majors, The Players, four World Golf Championships and four playoff events. All of a sudden, the requirements now are up to 13. The electives are vying for four or five spots. It's changed a lot in the last 10 years."

See the issue?  From when Wells Fargo committed to building this event, the Tour has added four events to compete with their partners, as well as moving the Player's into this unfortunate sap's back yard.  The PGA of America going to a regular Tour stop like Quail Hollow remains profoundly silly in my humble estimation, but the pain might not be over in Charlotte:

Hougham didn't point fingers, but the biggest hit to his field has been the move beginning in 2007 of The Players Championship from March to May, a week after the Charlotte stop. There's a lot of talk of the Players’ returning to its March date as soon as 2019. Would that be a good thing for Wells Fargo?

"It depends," Hougham said. "It's a zero net gain if the PGA (Championship) moves to May. We'd be a week before a major."

One suspects that the real losers in all this are the Wells Fargo shareholders.

Asked and Answered -  Alan's mailbag is replete with silliness this week, but it's a slow day...  I do actually like this question:

Which annual Tour stop is at the course you'd least like to play? NOLA? Memphis? (Only golf, no entertainment options considered.) –Todd (@tamcfall) 

Having just played the TPC of Louisiana, I didn't find it offensive in any way. There is a nice variety of holes and some really fun shots to hit. The terrain is flat and boring, but for what it is, it's perfectly fine. I'd have to go with PGA National, site of the Honda Classic. That's also a flat, featureless site but every hole is fraught with man-made danger. It's an ass-kicking from start to finish, and not my idea of fun.

Good answer, Alan, though one has to note that it's a surprisingly competitive category.

His answer here is along the likes of "Time will tell", though I'm not sure I really blame him:

Among today's players, who finishes with the most majors and why? #AskAlan -Aman (@theamanmisra) 

You can't underrate the importance of Rory's lead; he has four major championship victories and the next closest player, with two, is Spieth. Two majors is the career total of Greg Norman, Johnny Miller, Bernie Langer, Ben Crenshaw, Curtis Strange and a bunch of other Hall of Famers, so Spieth has a lot of work to do just to get to where McIlroy is right now. (Given that Dustin Johnson is significantly older and Day is oft-injured, I don't think anyone else is in the conversation.) On the other hand, Jordan is four years younger and has never been hurt, while Rory is accumulating a lot of dings. McIlroy can overwhelm a golf course like no other but doesn't have a great track record on really fast greens and in heavy winds. Spieth has less firepower but his game travels better in varying conditions. I'll take Rory here but would not be the least bit surprised if a decade from now Jordan has caught him.

It's a head-scratcher, which is why it's fun to contemplate....  Alan is spot-on in assessing Rory, though he could have added putting and chipping to his list of issues.  I'm still undecided on the arc of Jordan's career, mostly because he's just shorter than everyone else on the list.  And those guys tend to run into issues over time, as they have so much less margin for error.

This one is really sad:

Big winner last week because Zurich offered no OWGR points: Lee Westwood? After novelty wears off, will no OWGR points affect future fields? #AskAlan -@LenHochberg

Interestingly, both Jordan Spieth and Jason Day mentioned last week that the lack of World Ranking points made for a more relaxing week – if they played poorly it would not have a deleterious effect. I'm sure the Tour's middle class would love to earn points, especially if they can latch on to a better player. But if the stars are content with the current arrangement, don't expect it to change.

If J&J and worried about world ranking points, they need some tough love.  The only guys I can see that should be concerned would be those on the cusp of qualifying for WGC's and majors.  

This one he nails:

What life accomplishments did you achieve during the Kerr-Nomura playoff? -@MikeGLutz 

I don't know why everyone is making such a big deal about this—I only got halfway through “The Brother Karamazov” during the playoff.

Hey, c'mon, Christie assures me that the conditions were really challenging... And the Brothers K is really good.  Not perhaps as good as the Brothers Bryan, but still...

As for this, you be the judge:

Do you take questions only about golf or in general, because there are parts of String Theory I still can't grasp. -@AnthonyPiopp 

Bring it. 

I can't grasp 'vacuum state.' Please help. –Pioppi 

Just imagine the inside of Bubba's head.

I might have been inclined to go with Hal Sutton's, you know that guy that still thinks pairing Tiger and Phil was a service to humanity. Plus, Alan isn't as likely to need to interview Hal any time soon...

My Kind of Bucket List - Here's the premise from the header:

37 things all golfers should and actually can do before they die

I remember a cover from one of the two golf monthlies many years ago that had a list with a similar premise, but included the possible (i.e., shaking hands with Arnie) with the impossible, like making birdie out of the water.  Really, I saw Greg Norman do it once on a Par-5 in Florida, but for us poor schlubs it's well nigh impossible.  

Josh has a collection of good stuff:

1. Play shoeless, like Sam Snead. It’s amazingly liberating and can actually help free up you (and your swing) to post a great score. 

2. Donate a set of clubs to charity. The First Tee is among the many worthy organizations that will take them. 

3. Caddie for your son or daughter.

I like this kind of thinking very much.  Not to quibble, but I think I'm more likely to make birdie from the drink than to be able to accomplish this:

8. Play an entire round without making an excuse, talking to your ball or complaining about a result. No tips on how do that. It’s all on you.

That sound you here is the air current created by every reader that's pegged it with me vigorously nodding his head....

I'm only willing to consider this one....

21. Charge every putt.

If I'm paired with a guy that hasn't checked this one off his list:

11. Concede a sliding four-footer for a half.

I think this is quite true, though if you have a dinner reservation, you might want to check whether Christie is in the field:

12. Play in an LPGA pro-am. It’s surprisingly affordable and the players are refreshingly affable. You’ll find the tournament schedule here.

I really like these, though I suggest them for late afternoon when your course is empty:

31. Play alternate shot. 

32. Play the tips.

33. Better yet: Play the forward tees.

To this I would add playing a Pinehurst with a woman, especially on your home course.  The purpose of all of these things is to put you in unfamiliar spots, and make yourself handle it.

As for this last one, didn't you say these were things that were possible?

26. Beat the yips.