Just biding time before the weekend.... No not the Wasted...Not even that little football game Sunday night. We've got storms heading our way, with the promise of lots of that white stuff. So, what should we talk about in the interim?
Phoenix On My Mind - A good fit for Super Bowl weekend, The Wasted has the good sense to peak on Saturday, when close to a quarter million souls will brave the drunkards and attend.
Golf.com has flooded the zone with coverage, first four things to know about the venue:
The origin of the course: The PGA Tour commissioned course designers Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish to build a new course to host the Phoenix Open that was similar to that of the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, the home of thePlayers Championship. The goal was that every spectator at the event could have a good view of the tournament. Thus, in 1986, the Stadium Course at TPC Scottsdale opened for business. The following year, it began hosting the Phoenix Open and has so for over 30 years.The design of the course: The par-71, desert-style course runs 7,266 yards from the championship tees and offers golfers four different tees to use. The championship black tees, the players blue tees, the resort white tees, and the forward red tees are all available to players at the Stadium Course, which has three par-5’s and four par-3’s. The course features forgiving fairways, considerably large greens which run fast, and over 70 bunkers that are strategically placed in the fairways and around the greens. The fairways and greens are both made from TiffDwarf grass. Another intriguing component to the course is the role of water, which comes into play on six of the course’sholes.
I don't hate this event and venue as much as you might expect, though I do mostly hate Weiskopf's most recent tweaking thereof. The faux Church Pews and Coffin Bunker seem quite lame, and the blindingly white sand that's readily visible from low-Earth orbit is quite jarring.
The obvious follow up concerns their iconic golf hole:
The par-3 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale is the most iconic hole on the Stadium Course at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. It’s where the event rightfully earns its name as “The Greatest Show on Grass.” Here’s everything you need to know about the place where the party happens in Arizona.
1. The par-3 16th is the only fully-enclosed golf hole on the PGA Tour.
2. Because the grandstand seats completely surround the hole, it has earned the nickname “The Coliseum.”
3. The grandstands seat 20,000 spectators. As a result, it hosts some of the largest and, let’s just say, enthusiastic fans on Tour.
To me the more interesting factoid is that said Coliseum is rebuilt each year for the event. If I were running the joint, I'd try to leave it up and put dummies in every seat (yeah, I know will be dummies in those seats over the weekend) and pipe in sound effects to recreate the experience of the event.
Other than that, it's about the least interesting golf hole imaginable.... But this is fine the one week of the year, the best news is that absence of imitations at other Tour stops.
And a story like this may just get you over any reservations you might have about the hole:
Reigning Phoenix Open champion Gary Woodland said Wednesday that Amy Bockerstette’s par on 16 was “by far the coolest thing I’ve ever experienced. … I’ve never rooted so hard for somebody on a golf course.”
Woodland, during a practice round a day earlier, helped the PGA Tour and the Special Olympics surprise Bockerstette with a chance to play TPC Scottsdale’s signature hole and a resulting PGA-produced video has gone viral.
“It feels amazing,” Bockerstette told azcentral sports after sinking an 8-foot putt to get up and down on the par 3 with a sandie.
Do they pay for junk? Of course this is my favorite bit:
Joe Bockerstette went through the sequence in detail, the way only a sports parent can.“We knew a 120-yard shot was a sweet spot for her,” he said. “So we gave her one of her top clubs … We had a good feeling that she’d hit a good tee shot.”
She put it in the bunker.
Woodland offered to take it out, but she wanted to play it.
“She said, ‘No, I’ve got this,’” he said. “She was right.”
You go, girl!
Good Night, John-Boy - Y'all know that Saturday will be devoted to drunkards and louts.... Well, drunkards and louts screaming at Johnny Miller.
We'll take our first dive into Alan Shipnuck's weekly mailbag feature, including this especially clueless questioner:
Why is Johnny Miller retiring at a gong show tournament like the Waste Management? Shouldn’t he go out at the British Open or the Players? What kind of blubber-fest are you anticipating when he signs off? -@mdstoner
In the ‘70s, some of Miller’s most iconic blowouts came in Phoenix, to the point that he was known as the Desert Fox. But I think once Johnny decided this winter it was time to go he wanted to ride into the sunset as soon as possible. Since it is NBC’s first broadcast of the year, that meant Phoenix. And yes, there is no doubt Johnny will be leaking badly. Despite his barbs he’s a deeply sentimental guy, and he’s taken tremendous pride in being recognized as the most influential voice in the game. I’m sorry to see him go.
Don't know much about history, and am eager to display said ignorance.... Alan was gentler in response than I might have been, but Johnny is sufficiently comfortable in his own skin to know that old soldiers just fade away.... It's actually a generous spirit that knows not to step over a more important event.... Would that more folks understood.
You might enjoy this compilation of Johnny's most famous moments in the booth, including this classic of the genre:
1. “If Ben Hogan saw that, he’d puke.”
That image of the Wee Ice Mon upchucking came in the waning hours of the 2004 Ford Championship at Doral as Craig Parry, the Popeye-forearmed Aussie with the unconventional action, made his way toward a playoff against Scott Verplank. Miller’s mic-drop comment brought chuckles from Dan Hicks, Johnny’s longtime broadcast partner. But it was Parry who enjoyed the last laugh by jarring his approach for a walk-off eagle on the first playoff hole.
We've even got the video:
It's quite a swing, one has to admit....
Care for some Ryder Cup insights?
4. This is “probably on paper the worst Ryder Cup team we’ve ever fielded.”Harsh, right? But given the 18.5-9.5 shellacking Team USA endured at the K Club in 2006, do you really want to argue that Miller got it wrong?
5. “My hunch is that Justin needs to go home and watch it on television.”There’s no doubt Justin Leonard wasn’t on his A-game. But many still believed that Johnny was being an a-hole with this comment at the 1999 Ryder Cup in Brookline. Miller later expressed his regrets, saying he’d like to have a mulligan on the remark.
I know Justin sank that putt on Sunday, but he was clueless when Johnny called him out.... Anyway, I'd take even the older, incoherent Johnny over the babbling Sir Nick any day of the week.
Distance Makes the Heart Grow Fonder - Peace be upon you, but you may be shocked to learn that professional golfers are hitting it further.... I'm sure there's nothing to worry about, our governing bodies have it well under control.
The U.S. Golf Association and the R&A jointly released their fourth Annual DrivingDistance Report on Tuesday, and the data showed that average driving distance was up 1.7 yards across the world’s seven major professional tours.
Driving information was gathered from the PGA Tour, European Tour, Japan Golf Tour, Web.com Tour, PGA Tour Champions, LPGA and the Ladies European Tour.
While every tour saw a distance increase, the most significant year-over-year increase was the PGA Tour’s rise from 292.5 to 296.1 yards (1.2 percent). The smallest increase was on the LPGA, which went from 252.6 yards to 252.7 yards (0.1 percent).
The professional tour with the longest average driving distance was the Web.com Tour, which saw an increase of 2 yards in 2018 to 304.9 yards (0.7 percent).
Gee, might that man pictured have affected that last data point?
There's a ton going on here, and I'm only one unpaid blogger..... Shack's post on the subject is worth your time (as always), and includes this table:
I'll agree that the increase in clubhead speed is surprisingly low for guys consuming an alarming amount of kale and raw cauliflower (the latter was Shack's contribution), though the combination of reduced spin and launch angle has ball going far.
More importantly, while the Trackman data isn't available that far back, you really need to go back to the introduction of the ProV1 in the early aughts:
That "Stability through Regulation" is a howler, no? More like like Stability through Kicking the Can Down the Road.....
Shack links to interesting takes on the data from gearheads Dave Dusek and Mike Stachura that are well worth your time, assuming the subject is of interest.
But just a reminder, this data is all PCC..... That's Pre-Cam Champ. Sta tuned.
Acorn, Tree - Not that I have any experience at it, but I've always thought that raising children was a great big black hole, by which I mean that you can do everything right and have it turn out wrong. Still, who can read this and not feel for Dad?
Wayne Player, the son of golf legend Gary Player, has been arrested over an incident involving a house rental at the 2018 Masters. The Augusta Chronicle reports that WayneGary Player, 56, was charged with deposit account fraud for a bad check on Jan. 23 in Columbia County. The arrest stemmed from an incident involving an Evans, Ga., homeowner. Player had rented a house for two nights during last year’s Masters, but his payment check bounced due to insufficient funds.
The homeowner made several attempts to contact Player via his lawyer. According to the Chronicle, Player eventually told the lawyer he would send $1,000 to cover his debts, but the homeowner never received the payment. In July, the homeowner reported the incident to police.
If this seems trivial, there's more at the link.... Carpe Diem.
More Alan - Shippy's mailbag has become a top-tier feature for effortless blogging, today he leads with multiple queries regarding The Professor:
Alan, what are your thoughts on how much of an advantage Bryson really has over other golfers or is it all in the mind? -Paul (@prhughes)
It’s both. With his one-plane swing and single-length equipment, Bryson has taken muchof the complexity out of the game, making it easier to repeat the same swing over and over, which is what every player desires, especially under pressure. Some of the things he does at first blush seem silly – like spritzing range balls with water to see how that affects their flight – but in a game where one yard can be the difference between agony and ecstasy, you gotta respect Bryson’s endless quest to find tiny advantages.
Maybe on a damp morning he will be more dialed in than other players who have only ever practiced with dry range balls. Maybe it makes no difference at all. But the key is that Bryson believes he has an edge, and, therefore, he does. Factor in his endless capacity for work, the know-how that has come with winning at every level and his single-minded drive to be great, and you have a player in full flight.
Alan himself is playing with single-length irons, so he's not some impartial observer.... That said, Bryson has won with alarming frequency recently, so it's all working for him.
Given this run of play, what is the ceiling for Bryson? -JJ (@bigeasyWI)
The roof? Nah, that only works when MJ says it. Clearly DeChambeau has the game to win on any golf course, and this year’s majors are an intriguing mix, with Bethpage and Portrush being big and brawny, while Pebble is a finesse course that demands precision. I think he can excel on any of them, and even as an amateur Bryson showed he can contend at Augusta National.
One thing we’ve seen recently in the game is that young superstars have these bursts of incredible play and then fall back. Rory and Jordan and Jason Day had their runs, Koepka is enjoying one right now, and JT is trying to keep his going. It appears to be hard to sustain the intensity and focus needed to stay at the summit for more than 18 months to two years. This coincides with unimaginable wealth, global fame/scrutiny, increased corporate demands, and big life changes like marriage and kids. Bryson is so maniacal he might plow straight through all of that, but it’s not easy to do so.
It's all this great mystery, which is why we tune in every week....
#AskAlan Is Bryson taking the piss with his caddie every time he asks for a yardage? -@DungsauPing
Yes and no. Bryson loves to be the smartest guy in the room, and he knows that the mics will now always find him, so it’s fun for him to engage in esoterica like air density. But the scary thing is that he is also deadly serious about this stuff.Taking the piss? Don'y you love how much you learn here? From the invaluable Urban Dictionary:
OK, glad we cleared that up....
Here's a topical subject:
Would the ruling Li have happened if it was a top 10 U.S. player? -Rikki (@eWanYoungSon)
A few years ago Tiger got dinged for a bad drop in Abu Dhabi, and Spieth was hit by the Euro Tour with a slow-play penalty, so I don’t think we can say Li is the victim ofprejudice, either against non-Westerners or those outside the top 10. I’m in the minority here but I liked the ruling! Caddies lining up players is so tacky, as is loopers hovering over 3-footers, as Li’s caddie was doing when the penalty was assessed. This is the big leagues, players need to figure out this stuff on their own. Whether or not Li had taken his stance is debatable, but there is no question his caddie was farting around back there where he didn’t belong. I hope this penalty has a chilling effect on helicopter caddies.
Rory as well, for a bad drop.... But the implication is that in America Patrick was correct, that your name needs to be Jordan Spieth (though he's of course no longer in the top ten).
Now the next bit is interesting most for the questioner:
Why are the rules of golf so terrible? -@PaigeSpiranac
It really is amazing that so many dedicated and presumably smart people spend so much time cogitating on the rules and tweaking them endlessly and yet the pro game remains engulfed by endless b.s. I really think golf needs only three rules:
1. Play the ball as it lies.2. If you a lose a ball, drop it where you think it disappeared, one stroke penalty.3. If something weird or unprecedented happens, talk it over with your playing partners, apply common sense, do the right thing and move on.
That wasn’t hard, was it?
Now I'm not one that thinks the rules of golf are all that bad, given the complications of playing over hundreds of acres of land and all that can occur out there. That said, there are a disturbingly frequent lapses of judgement in the writing and administration of the rules, for which the governing bodies are deserving of the opprobrium. As a for instance, the original rewrite of the rule governing balls moving on greens required the player to know what moved the ball, profoundly silly in the age of greens stimping at 14-15.
But the lede to this feature included this:
Every week, GOLF senior writer Alan Shipnuck fields questions from the masses about hot topics in the golf world.
So, your newest contributor Paige Spirinac is among the unwashed masses? Good to know....
Another topical item:
Is Justin Rose today the same Rosie of prior years, with a slightly higher gear, or is he on his way to elite-level separation from the pack?-@wtgarton1
Rose has separated himself with elite-level consistency. All that’s missing is to convert all of those high finishes into more wins, and that’s why his performance at Torrey Pines was momentous. Over the last six months Rose suffered some considerable Sunday setbacks: at Shinnecock, Carnoustie, during the FedEx Cup and even in Shanghai. To come back from three early bogeys at Torrey and storm to victory, with a stand-in caddie and new clubs, answered a lot of questions.
The missing piece for Rose remains to snag another major championship; hard to believe it’s going on six years since his U.S. Open breakthrough (though I give more weight than most to the gold medal). Rose turns 39 this year. The way he is playing right now he has a chance to go down as one of the best players of this era, but that is measured in wins, not top-10s.
Curious answer, as it seems obvious that the game-changer is the putter grip.... Since the change Rose can putt at a Tour average or better level, and with his ball-striking supremacy that makes him a force.
That said, despite his reputation for consistency and poise under pressure, he has shown some difficulty closing.... But Alan is spot on that, given his age, his career will be defined by the majors over the next 2-3 years.
This one is quite interesting for sure:
If you could trade places with anyone in golf (past or present) for a day, who would it be and why? -@ROIChristie
Maybe Ben Crenshaw on Masters Sunday in 1984. It would be magical to feel thoseputts go in on those greens. But I’m going to say Sept. 27, 1930, when Bobby Jones finished off the Grand Slam at Merion. At that moment, he was probably the most celebrated athlete in the history of the world, and he had just achieved what nearly a century later remains one of the sport’s most iconic accomplishments. And for Jones it brought sweet relief, knowing he was done with the crucible of competition and that he could retire to a life of writing indelible books. Oh, and already on that night he was nursing the ambition to create a unique golf course that could host a friendly invitational, which a few years later he would bring to life on the site of a former nursery in Augusta, Ga.
Much as I hate to quibble (kidding), there's an obvious flaw with that choice, as significant as the Grand Slam is. That being that the entire event was a walkover for Jones.... In fact, Alan fails to note that the plaque is at the 11th hole at Merion, kind of an early end to a match, no?
I'd have gone with a certain weekend in Brookline, MA in 1913, I think. Perhaps Augusta in 1935, though that was really only one swing.... But a fun thought to ponder.
Here's a drum I've been beating for a long time:
Should the LPGA be on Golf Channel more? -Pat (@GalaxyGuy27)
Obviously, but it requires more creative thinking. I’ve long advocated for every LPGA event to run Saturday-Tuesday. You could have the pro am on Friday, which is a great day for businessmen to play hooky. You could still attract big weekend crowds, but in this scenario the LPGA would be the only live golf on Mondays and Tuesdays and, therefore, could command longer and better broadcast windows on the Golf Channel. Majors could still finish on Sundays to placate the bigger TV networks but shifting the other competition days seems like a no-brainer.
There are issues with this, of course, especially since it's still a daylight game. But for events that can be broadcast in prime time, it seems quite the natural.
Ship, sailed?
Is this finally Rickie’s year? -William (@VolHawk411)
Alas, no.
He does seem to be going the wrong direction....
And this as good as any on which to exit:
When will the beer cart girls start selling weed? Or edibles? Talk about slow play!-@JasonABlack
This is actually a fantastic way to support public courses – if they can get away with $8 beers, imagine the profits that can be cleared on this new generation of “swing aids.” As long as the money gets reinvested in lower greens fees, better course conditions and nicer range balls, I say puff and chew away!
Do it for the children, per Alan..... But we need a better name.... Swing Toke? Tempo Toke? You guys got anything?
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