'tis a sad day in golf.... well, in your humble bloggers' golf that is, as aeration commences. You know the drill, large tines creating huge holes in the turf that will still be visible when we first play in the spring. I won't be bitter...maybe just a little.
Can't Anyone Here Play this Game - I actually watched much of the Saturday and Sunday coverage, and what I saw should definitely have stayed in Vegas. Though one has to be happy for this young man:
Before all the pain, the exhausting and frustrating rehab sessions, and before the long interludes in which he wasn’t allowed to so much as pick up a club, Patrick Cantlay hadtalent and promise and hardly a care in the world.
That was five years ago, when he turned professional after a stellar amateur career and was expected to be the next big thing before Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and their peers began their incursion into the game’s upper ranks.
On Sunday at TPC Summerlin, Cantlay proved he still has talent and promise. He is still that same golfer.
He’s just not the same person.
Cares in the world? Got ’em. So be it.
He was the can't miss kid that seemingly missed, due to injury and tragedy.
Meticulous, stoic, and adroit, Cantlay heralded his potential a year earlier in the same event when he fired a second-round 60 at TPC River Highlands, the lowest score ever recorded by an amateur in a PGA Tour event, in grabbing the 36-hole lead. That came after finishing T-21 at the 2011 U.S. Open at Congressional.
The kid had the skills and the head for the game. Just not the back.
Cantlay first was sidelined after withdrawing from the 2013 Colonial with a back injury that turned out to be a stress fracture in his L5 vertebrae. Somehow, he came back in the fall for one start in the Web.com Tour Finals, finishing second in the Hotel Fitness Championship to retain his PGA Tour card.
And the tragedy?
That’s because of the terrible loss he suffered in 2016 while working his way back to health. In February, he watched in horror as his best friend and caddie Chris Roth was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver. Cantlay was just 10 feet away when the accident occurred at an intersection in Newport Beach, Calif.
Not a day goes by that he doesn’t think of that terrible night.
That said, the golf got quite ugly down the stretch, as the three guys in the playoff played that 18th hole a combined 6-over par, without so much as a ball in the water. I like to see the guys challenged as much as anyone, but this was just cruel.
Fittingly, the Tour Confidential panel had nothing to say about this event, as no questions were asked.... What happens in Vegas apparently really does stay in Vegas....
Tiger, Unplugged - Coaching legend Geno Auriemma is going after the cool millennials with his Holding Court podcast, and scored Tiger for the second installment. Curious, but interesting....
Now I've not yet listened, but Shack has and is highly complimentary:
Woods opens up about everything from technology to fly fishing to how he pays hiscaddie. Huge props to Coach Auriemma for asking great questions (and knowing the game and Tiger), but also to Tiger for doing a podcast where the conversational atmosphere leads to better insights. More than any interview I can recall, you hear him go into the kind of depth that shows how smart he is and how much thought he gives to all subjects.I most enjoyed his thoughts on technology and the ball. Transcribed here for proper documentation as I'm sure his support of any effort to create a tournament ball will be very important.
OK, so here's Geoff's transcriptions, with his set-ups as well:
After talking about persimmon and the differences in spin and accuracy of contact for his generation and today's stars, Coach asks "if they had to play with persimmon and the old balata balls, would they still be able to do it?"No. Because we were taught to knock off spin and the new balls don’t spin a whole hell of a lot. They go a lot further and a lot straighter but they don’t spin. Well, now these guys, let’s say Bubba Watson, who curves the ball a ton with these harder balls. If he played a balata it might be coming back at him. Like a complete boomerang.
Auriemma then asks if Tiger would be in favor of any equipment changes in the game right now?
The only thing I would say is that we need to do something about the golf ball. I just think it’s going too far because we’re having to build golf courses…if you want to have a championship venue, they’ve got to be 73, 7400 yards long and if the game keeps progressing the way it is with technology, I think that the 8,000 yard golf course is not too far away. And that’s pretty scary. We don’t have enough property to be designing these types of golf courses. And it just makes it so much more complicated.
Tiger also makes the case for the B-word:
Some of the guys say yes. The USGA is already looking at it. They’re doing some research on what the world would look like if you rolled it back 10 percent, 15 percent and 20 percent…the game of golf is on the kind of, there’s a down cycle as far as participation. We don’t have a whole lot of new golfers coming into the game. We don’t have any sustainability in the game as well. So, with that being said, you don’t want to give up the amateurs from hitting the ball further and straighter. But with the tour pros you might want to roll the ball back. The talks we’ve had on tour with the Commissioner and our board is where is the line of demarcation. Do we have it at PGA Tour levels, do we have it at the Web.com Tour level, do we have it at the mini-tour level, so there is that debate as well. I don’t see it happening in the near future but at least there’s talks about it now.
That last bit isn't quite as big a conundrum as Tiger seems to think, as the line would be drawn at the top tier of the amateur game. If there's a Masters bid on offer, you'd need to be playing with Masters-compliant equipment. The analogy here I think is baseball and the use of aluminum bats in college and below.
Shack in a later post fires up his Wabac Machine, which he'll use to good effect a couple more times in today's post, to remind us that this is actually a consistent position for Tiger. he has this from Tiger in 2005:
Hey, I am one of the guys that if they did roll the ball back, it would help me out a little bit. I would have an advantage. Any long guy who hits the ball long and high would have more of an advantage because now we're having to hit longer irons in the greens, other guys are having to hit hybrids and woods, so you have an advantage.
From a personal standpoint and competitive standpoint, I won't mind them rolling the ball back because I would have an advantage.
Geoff makes two important points to keep in mind as relates to this subject:
- This is not merely and older and shorter-hitting Tiger looking to level the playing field with the brutes from the Class of '11, and;
- It's as much about spin as it is about distance.
This is the main focus of this week's Tour Confidential, in which they are first asked whether Tiger's comments will have any effect on the powers that be:
Alan Shipnuck: No. The toothpaste is already out of the tube. The USGA rolling back the ball would force the blue coats to admit that, as an institution, they have royally screwed things up. They are not inclined to make such an admission. It also risks litigation from the ball manufacturers, which no one wants. To use another Tigerism, it is what it is.Josh Sens: Agreed that there will be no mandated roll-back for the reasons Alan cites. But maybe a growing interest in events designated for the throwback ball? A certain club in Georgia would have the power to do that. A new tradition unlike any other, anyone?
Jeff Ritter: Or, maybe a Fall Series or exhibition event could try a limited-flight ball, just to see (wait for it) how it flies. But as mentioned, the juiced ball is probably here to stay. I do like that Tiger is slowly taking on more of an advocate role as time passes. How would he fix slow play? That's one issue where he, along with other players, could band together and create some changes.
I just can't see how Augusta National can do this in isolation, especially given the level of effort that would be required for the players to adapt to any kind of rolled-back ball.
You can go read their second question on this subject, which misses that Tiger has actually been consistent on this subject, and would have been in his prime a major beneficiary of any such effort.
I'll give Geoff the last word:
Also, Woods included a lengthy and illuminating chapter in his 1997 Masters book earlier this year that goes into great depth about why he sees the situation not helping the sport. It is not a coincidence that he's reached a stronger conclusion than a decade ago since he's gone into golf course design.
I'm inclined to quibble only because he's done so few courses, and actually seems more enthusiatic about his short courses and practice facilities.
While everyone is focused on this one issue, apparently there was quite a bit of blogging gold in that interview, as Dylan Dethier has nine takeaways:
3. HE'S STILL UPSET THAT HE BEAT STEPHEN AMES 9 AND 8 INSTEAD OF 10 AND 8
Yeah, it's safe to say that Tiger is quite the competitor. This exchange said it all:GA: "When Stephen Ames said that nonsense about you right before you played him in the world championship match and you beat him like…"TW: "9 and 8."GA: "…9 and 8. That was nothing personal, right?"TW: "He didn't quite respect the way that I could play the game of golf. So I just had to show him that I could still play. And you have no idea how ticked I was when I missed that putt on the 10th hole to beat him 10 and 8."
But it's not like he holds a grudge or anything....
And this:
4. HE CAN'T GO BACK TO THE SWING HE HAD IN 2000, NO MATTER HOW OFTEN PEOPLE BRING IT UP"So people ask me, why don't you go back to your 2000 swing?" Woods said. "I can't. My knee is trashed from all those years of playing that way. I've had four operations on my knee. Forget when my back was bad — pre-surgery and pre-back problems, people were saying the same thing: 'Why don't you go back to 2000?' I can't, my knee's trashed from playing that way, I can't do that any more. I have to look for a different way."
I always thought it was the left knee that would end his career.... And, in a sense, I may have been correct.
And I am simply not capable of leaving the Tiger beat without a link to the estimable Ron Sirak's take on Tiger's comeback, including this rather curious analogy in the lede:
If you feel like you’ve heard this story before, you have. If you feel like this is that episode of Gilligan’s Island where the castaways are almost rescued but Gilligan messes it up, it is. Believe me, I know. I’ve written it before. Tiger is coming back. We’ve been here before, yet this is a show always worth watching.
Tiger as Gilligan? I'm guessing that Ron is now in that slot right below Dan Jenkins on Tiger's s**t list.
Shanghai Surprise, Part II - You think DJ had the worst week in China at the HSBC, with his Sunday collapse handing the title to Justin Rose? It turns out that Henrik Stenson injured himself and his participation in the late stages of the Race to Dubai is in doubt.
Always a shame when that happens, but I'm wondering if the swing in question was captured on video.... What? Surely you jest?
As to how he injured himself Stenson was also cryptic, suggesting that the injury occurred during a pre-tournament publicity presentation that included the Swede being hoisted into the air by a harness like a “superhero.”
“I’m not superman even though certain people thought I was superman,” he said in Turkey.
No, and stop calling me Shirley.... But do you mean this little bit of fun?
That's spit-out-your-drink-funny, though probably not to Henrik. Can't wait to see what they come up with at the HSBC next year.....
Balls, Said the Queen - We had some fun with the Bubbamesiser being "Ball-free" last week, a comment too good to pass up. But, as referenced above, Shack reminds us of Bubba's comments in announcing his deal with Volvik:
"I was naturally intrigued by the colors Volvik offers,” said Watson. “Then I started testing the ball and saw what I could do with it. It does everything I want it to: go high, go low, curve, spin and it has the distance I’m looking for. I’m always trying to find new ways to grow the game and have fun out there and Volvik’s approach is the same. I couldn’t be more excited to have a colorful start to the year with Volvik!"
Yanno, a cynic could almost conclude that it's all about the money with these guys....
The Shirtless One - Greg Norman has gotten weird beyond belief, most notably in his need to share his naked torso with us all. But there's a grandiosity to him that's also off-putting...
On Thursday we had a bit of fun with his huge product launch of the pimped-out golf carts, which seemed to this observer to confirm all the worst stereotypes of golfers.... But, maybe there's a business opportunity there....But Geoff finds that tease from the Shark to which I alluded, and I think you'll see my point about delusions of grandeur:
“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.”
Has anyone else noticed this cast-iron wrapped around our game? Apparently the PGA Tour, where they actually walk the golf course, will be saved by pimped-out golf carts with Internet connectivity.... Meanwhile, back on Planet Earth....
Oh, and think I'm overdoing the full frontal bit? For reasons that I'm sure appealed to him, he posted this on Instagram of his visit to the Golf Magazine offices:
As one commenter notes, even Adam Scott seems to be asking, WTF?
Strange Daze in Social Media - Curious:
If you thought President Donald Trump's now-famous round of 73 with Sen. Lindsey Graham was pretty good, wait until you hear what he did next.
According to his GHIN page, the president posted a round of 68 in October of this year, by far the lowest score listed on his handicap report (h/t The Hill). The 68 is also the only round Trump has posted since he became president, and it dropped his handicap index to a 2.5 as of Nov. 1.
This is alarmingly easy to do, though whoever did it put in a ridiculously low course rating. Of course this is only golf, not nearly as important as this. Remember kids, nothing on the Internet is safe.
PGA of America News - Pete Bevaqua, the face of the organization, had his contract extended through 2024.
I don't have any strong feelings here, though I do think the move of their marque championship to May is an unforced error.
In more meaningful news is this:
San Francisco’s Olympic Club, a venue awash in golf history, has agreed to host the2028 PGA Championship and 2032 Ryder Cup, The Chronicle has learned.The deal, which will be officially announced Wednesday in a news conference at the club, effectively removes Olympic from the U.S. Open rotation for the foreseeable future.
That’s big news in golf circles, because the club’s Lake Course has hosted the Open five times, from Jack Fleck stunning Ben Hogan in 1955 to Webb Simpson winning in 2012. The United States Golf Association, the organization that runs America’s national championship, offered the 2027 U.S. Open to the Olympic Club, but contract talks stalled over the past several months.
Really? You think it a good idea to force me to calculate how old I'll be in 2032? Unnecessary roughness for sure...
Committed to May for the PGA Championship, I can see the appeal of San Francisco.... But the attraction of hand-me-down U.S. Open venues continues to strike me as a mistake. The PGA is the one major without an established identity, and the recycled venues just makes the event seem second tier. I think they've been better served when they've found newer courses such as Whistling Straits and perhaps Kiawah (despite its logistical shortcomings).
One of most rigid rules of blogging is to tread cautiously anywhere I'm in agreement with Joe Passov, so imagine my concern when the Confidentialistas were asked if this is a good move:
Shipnuck: This is all about the Ryder Cup, not the PGA. There hasn't been a West Coast Ryder Cup in more than half a century, so hallelujah!
Sens: Hear, hear! Right in the ‘hood. I'm taking extra fish oil pills now with the hopes of still being around for it.
Ritter: Congrats, Left Coasters. The Ryder Cup out West will be a blast.
Passov: I'm glad you all love the idea of prime-time (West Coast) Ryder Cup golf, because the lack of risk/reward on Olympic's Lake course will make for some sleep-inducing matches. Olympic is blanketed with tough par-4s, with fairways bracketed by demanding rough—and not a single water hazard. It's a great, stern U.S. Open venue, but there's no drama involved for a Ryder Cup, no matter how the PGA re-routs the course. Maybe flatten the 17th fairway a bit and shorten the 18th by 30 yards to inject some match-play excitement, but I'm not holding my breath.
It's an OK U.S. Open venue, but a dreadful choice for the Ryder Cup. Unfortunately there's no imagination as to where to take the event, whose smaller footprint and match-play format would allow for more interesting venue choices.
Let's hope after Greg Norman brings them to their knees with his pimped-out golf carts, that the venue choices improve.
See you tomorrow. I've got lots in reserve...
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