If you're chasing snow in the Mountain West, Open Snow.com will be your guide. This was Utah Snow Forecaster Evan Thayer's fore cast from yesterday:
Short Term Forecast
So. Much. Snow.
True that... Oh, and he has pictures as well:
Just think of it as ski porn.
So you'll understand if I can't devote too much time this morning...
Iced In Hawaii - Too much football for me to have watched, though I did switch over to check in at an opportune time:
Yup, I caught Brendon Steele in the fairway with a clock charting the elapsed time since his prior swing.
Brendan Steele missed the green on the par-3 17th and made a bogey, which cut his Sony Open lead to just one with one to play. Forty minutes later(!) he finished the 18th hole and dashed off for a sudden-death playoff with Cameron Smith. But what happened in those 40-some minutes in between? Well, a little bit of everything.
It was a wet and soggy day at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, Hawaii, but there were still a handful of players in contention when they reached the par-5 18th on Sunday. An eagle was in play on 18, and with final-round nerves ready to bite at any moment, so were bogeys. Here’s how it all went down.
Mark Anderson, Sungjae Im and Bo Hoag, the third-to-last threesome of the day, were on the 18th green and trying to finish up their rounds. As they waited for grounds crew workers to squeegee water off the green, Webb Simpson, Collin Morikawa and Ryan Palmer stood in the fairway and rough. A couple hundred yards behind them stood Steele, Smith and Kevin Kisner, waiting on the tee, in silence, stationed under massive umbrellas. The rain was pouring. The wait continued.
Perhaps the funniest bit was that I tuned in during the search fro Ryan Palmer's ball, quite clearly in a location no intended to receive incoming. Stuff happens.
Paul Azinger will be taking a victory lap for predicting Cam Smith's ascension to best Aussie, not the most competitive category these days. But you have to feel for the Man of Steele... No one should think that life or golf will be fair, but that was an eternity to wait to hit consequential golf shots (at least for him).
Trinity, Not So Holy - Ahead of the most recent schedule contraction, I had thought the Byron Nelso might be vulnerable. But a change of venue allowed them to skate through, making this a bit of a surprise:
After two years of weather setbacks, disappointing attendance and declining financial results, the PGA Tour has decided that the 2020 AT&T Byron Nelson in May will be the last one held at Trinity Forest Golf Club.
The Tour’s decision to pull the plug on Trinity Forest, which is just south of downtown Dallas, will end an innovative initiative by the Florida-based professional golfers’ touring organization, the Salesmanship Club of Dallas and the private golf club to use the Tour’s annual event as a magnet for economic development in the southern sector.
So, one more year at Trinity, but of course there's little reason for any top player to play this year. Yeah, I assume club member Jordan will be there, but we were talking about top players.
So, where to?
We have learned that it’s over, that the 2020 Nelson will be the final one held on the south Dallas course. Eventually, the tournament will move to PGA Frisco but it may need to make a stopover back at the Four Seasons TPC for 2021, which is sort of like telling your ex-wife: “Hey, things didn’t work out with my new partner, but I need to come home and crash before moving on to my next one, is that OK?’’
The Four Seasons, d/b/a Las Colinas, was routinely voted by the players as the worst dog patch on Tour, so thanks for that fellows.
Frisco makes sense in a certain way, and one assumes that Gil Hanse will produce a good track. That said, it obviously does nothing for the organization's 29,000 dues-paying members, but serving them hasn't seemed a high priority in recent decades.
As for the event, it's sad to see the diminishing legacy of the great Byron Nelson. The players were great at honoring him while he was still with us, but I'm not sure this newest generation even knows who he was.
We'll take our first dive into this week's Tour Confidential on this subject:
5. The PGA Tour’s tenure at Trinity Forest was short lived. The Tour announced the Byron Nelson is leaving the Dallas-area course after 2020, putting an end to a courtship that lasted just three years. Trinity Forest, built in 2014 by two of the game’s hottest architects in Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, is a rolling, treeless neo-links that is unlike any other regular Tour venue and never drew much support from the game’s top players. Is this a sign that when it comes to host courses, Tour events shouldn’t stray too far from the norm?
Shipnuck: Most Tour players don’t want to be asked interesting questions by the venue. They just want to dial in their TrackMan swings and make birdies. Trinity was too quirky and unorthodox to ever make it as a Tour venue. To quote another golfer who doesn’t get it: Sad!
Zak: I think this course was welcomed by all, and appreciated by many. Was the tournament being played there set up for total success? It sounds like the answer to that question is “No.” Tour players are less likely to return to events with new courses they haven’t seen. The event also had a tough spot in the schedule. Some aspects like fan experience and viewing experience seemed to be lacking…but is that the course’s fault?
Sens: I’ve heard Tour pros say they would return to playing the AT&T if Cypress Point were brought back into the rota. But as a general rule, the artistry of a design isn’t high on the checklist. These guys will play on a tarmac, so long as the price is right and it fits their schedule. Not long ago, during a photo shoot, I asked Xander Schauffele what his favorite course was. His response, in essence, was: “Dude, I’m a professional golfer. I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about course design.” That’s not an uncommon answer on Tour. Guys like Geoff Ogilvy are more the exception than the rule out there.
Dethier: I’m with Sens — the quality of the course architecture has little to do with who shows up for events. There’s a sense of haves and have-nots when it comes to PGA Tour events at this point, and the Byron Nelson is stuck in the latter category for now. It sounds like there are some business decisions behind this move and we should resist reading too much more into it.
Bamberger: Golf holes on TV really need something to define them. All the Open courses have holes with defining characteristics. National Golf Links, Shinnecock Hills, Sankaty Head, the same. That course did not. I’d like to play it, but with no TV buzz it wasn’t going to draw a crowd to see it in person. On TV, you couldn’t see what they were trying to do.
Ah, the irony, she burns! The bashing of Tour Pro's design sensibilities is good fun, you'll no doubt sense my head nodding in reaction. But the irony comes with the fact that as budding new architect, Bill Coore was advise that he's never get the time of day unless he took on a Tour player as design partner. Worst. Advice. Ever. Sens is spot on, just add Ben to Ogilvy, and you have the full list.... And, of course, Bryson...... Kidding.
Some brief comments from Geoff:
It’s a shame. Trinity Forest may be the most eccentric Coore-Crenshaw design of all and one of their more amazing accomplishments given the not-thrilling landscape. But without the lively bunkering they are known for, an emphasis on the ground game (except during Nelson week when things were kept softer), and an awkward clubhouse/course/range setup for a big tournament, this was going to be a tough sell in May date prior to the PGA.(The course would be the perfect Open Championship tune-up test, but the club is closed by July when players are prepping for the last major.)
It'll be a shame if this move impairs the club's reputation, because it's a great design. Great in the sense of figuring how to use an eccentric piece of property to create an interesting golf experience. It's a place I'd love to play, but you guys know how I feel about that little white ball bouncing on the firms turf. I just feel that they should have at least gotten one good year of weather to see how it would have played.
Confidentially Yours - Hey, I'm on the clock, so please don't begrudge me some anaerobic blogging. I don't know if it's by statute or tradition, but each weekly session leads with a Tiger question:
1. Tiger Woods announced he’ll start the 2020 calendar year at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines on Jan. 23. Tiger’s aiming for win No. 83, which would break Sam Snead’s record of Tour wins. What potential victory would be most meaningful for Woods in 2020: No. 83, an Olympic gold or major No. 16?
Who wants to break it to the questioner that he can't get No. 16 without also getting No. 83? I know, no one said there would be math...
Alan Shipnuck: No. 16, because it would put him that much closer to Jack and show that the Masters win was not a last gasp. But don’t discount how much Tiger wants a gold medal — he knows this is likely his last chance. How amazing would it be for Woods to lead the U.S. team into the stadium in Tokyo during the Opening Ceremony, waving the stars and stripes with the whole world watching?
I'm actually relieved by Alan's answer here. He's been so all-in on the Olympics, but at least he showed a measure of self control.
Michael Bamberger: Number 16, because it will turn into Number 19 with the new math, and leave him one short of Nicklaus, sitting on 20 and not going anywhere.
New math? Tha's the old math, Mike, specifically Jack's.
Sean Zak: Sixteen! This is what it’s all about now. Majors, majors, majors.
Josh Sens: A 16th major, especially a major other than the Masters. Even after that astounding win last April, there were the inevitable “yeah, buts.” As in, “Yeah, but Augusta is likely the only one of the big four he can still win.” Getting yet another somewhere other than Augusta would be one more way for Woods to — pardon the cliche — prove the doubters wrong, etc.
Dylan Dethier: With Tiger, it’s always been about the majors. He’s made it that way. Olympic gold would be some kind of fun, though.
Josh has a good point there as well, just because those other events seems so unlikely due to weather and the like. He's only got three of each of the Opens, so those would make the most difference I'll say. Problem is, those 2020 venues just happen to be places where Tiger has played some of the poorest golf of his life.
2. Our Michael Bamberger wrote about the Sentry Tournament of Champions finish and the real meaning behind the Patrick Reed heckling incident. (In the days since, Reed and Justin Thomas both said they didn’t hear a fan yell “Cheater!” In other Reed news, according to a Golfweek report, a lawyer representing Reed sent Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee a letter demanding that Chamblee stop calling Reed a cheater.) What kind of fan reception do you expect Reed will receive during his 2020 starts, and is there anything the Tour can do to improve the situation?
Shipnuck: It’s going to get worse before it gets better because Reed, with his ridiculous shoveling gesture at the Prez Cup, showed every yahoo out there that they can get under his skin. And look how much attention that lone shout of “Cheater!” got. In the social media age, every bro wants their 15 minutes.
OK, time to take Alan to the woodshed. First, he used that same bit about the shoveling in his Ask Alan, and I just don't see it that way. I also think it was an a*******e move, but one more in the "I don't give a f*** what you think" genre.... But to me the lawyer letter is the comedy gold here, it being such a weaselly move... I do hope the fans see it as such and throw it back in his face.
But of far greater importance is that last sentence, which shows a blatant disregard for the time-space continuum. Fifteen minutes of fame is a Warhol reference, dating back to pre-Internet times. Today's social media age does not include attention spans long enough for fifteen minutes of fame.... More like fifteen seconds.
Zak: I expect it to remain this way — jaded, loud, vile — for a number of months. It probably fades, like most things do, once he gets 10 or so more starts in.
Sens: I still think Reed could defuse the situation with a heartfelt mea culpa (“I lost my mind for a minute; I’m really sorry; don’t know what I was thinking,” etc.), because if there’s anything the sporting public likes more than jeering a perceived villain, it’s watching that villain self-flagellate his way to forgiveness. Don’t underestimate the appeal of feeling holier than thou. But since that kind of apology isn’t likely coming from Reed, I’m with Sean and Alan — the verbal abuse will go on.
Dethier: It’s going to be interesting to watch how Reed’s year plays out, especially if he keeps playing as well as he has. If he’s missing cuts, he won’t hear many jeers. But if he’s in contention, everything ramps up. The politeness of Augusta National will remain his haven, but a Winged Foot U.S. Open? Not so much.
Bamberger: I think fan reaction will continue to be vocal and will force the Tour to look at the real issue here, which is not fan reaction to Patrick Reed but fidelity to the rule book, the thing that has always made tournament golf tournament golf.
I love Mike, but I think he's over-reaching just a bit here. Reed, as I've noted often, is just a jerk to everyone, even when he's not shoveling.
As long as we're on this tired subject, Eammon Lynch bares his teeth amusingly:
A number of truths became apparent when Golfweek revealed that Reed has engaged a lawyer in an effort to silence Brandel Chamblee, the most prominent critic of his alleged cheating at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas last month.
First: If you’re willing to pay, you can always find an attorney who’ll dispatch a cease and desist letter on your behalf, regardless of how legally flimsy its claims are.
Second: This story owes its continued existence not to clickbait media but to Reed’s tone-deaf arrogance, from his brusque denial of wrongdoing to his taunting shoveling gesture during the Presidents Cup to this half-baked 1-800-LAWYER caper.
Third: Reed either ignores good advice or receives bad advice, and neither scenario recommends his inner circle, a group so small and lightweight it could fit comfortably on a golf cart and still leave room for his Tour bag.
Fourth: Others care more about Reed’s reputation than he seemingly does, specifically the PGA Tour. And that is where the deepest disconnect exists in this sorry episode — not between the Tour and Reed, or between Reed and fans, but between the Tour and a public that believes it has seen the evidence for itself.
Good fun, though that second point lets Reed off too easily. He didn't hire just any lawyer, he hired the lawyer that defended Ray Rice.... really, doesn't that tell you all you need to know?
read the whole thing, though I remain unclear what else Jay could or should have done about this incident. I don't for instance, think it's the Commish's responsibility to keep these guys from revealing who they really are.... that's part of the fun of being a fan.
Shall we see what the boys think of Pete Dye?
3. Pete Dye, one of the most influential golf-course architects of the last half-century, died on Thursday. Dye, who was 94, had a portfolio that included the likes of Whistling Straits, the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island and TPC Sawgrass, home of the Players Championship. What is most significant about Dye’s legacy?
Shipnuck: He elevated the course designer to celebrity status and made them brand names sought after around the world. He also offered audacious templates expanded upon by the likes of Tom Doak, Mike Strantz and other auteurs.
Hogwash. Tillie and Trent Jones ("Give your golf course a signature") quite obviously got there before Pete.
Zak: His ability to make unforgiving tracks and not apologize for them. It is genuinely fun to watch Tour players struggle, think, struggle some more, and Dye was incredible in piecing such holes together.
Sens: For all the modern elements in his designs, he drew plenty of inspiration from British links and from Golden Age designers like Seth Raynor. In that way, he was a crucial link between the great courses of long ago and the modern minimalist courses earning so much acclaim today. Not to mention that he also directly mentored some of today’s biggest-name architects, including Doak, Bill Coore, Brian Curley and others.
Dethier: When TPC Sawgrass opened in the early 80s, J.C. Snead said the course was “90 percent horse manure and 10 percent luck.” Tom Weiskopf told reporters, “It’s like being inside a great big pinball machine.” These days, we’re used to basically everybody catering to the tastes and frailties of PGA Tour players, but the idea of giving them a test they hate sounds so refreshing. Needless to say attitudes have changed about TPC Sawgrass, but the spirit behind the place defines Dye’s legacy.
Bamberger: The pendulum has swung so far away from the thing that made Pete Dye famous, the beautiful course that’s unplayable for the 95-shooter, and I don’t see it ever going back in Pete’s direction. He was one of the game’s great characters, but so was George Low. I think in the year 2120, golfers will be more inclined to talk about A.W. Tillinghast courses than Pete Dye courses.
One of the biggest surprises to me in all my years of play was that I actually enjoyed Sawgrass much more than I expected to. His courses are more playable than people expect, as per Mike.
4. Dye’s courses were both lauded and criticized for their difficulty, yet architect Rees Jones told GOLF.com: “When the players criticized Pete, he said, ‘Thank you.’ Pete’s courses are hard. Hard and visually exciting.” Which of your experiences on a Dye course most sticks with you?
Shipnuck: Playing Whistling Straits, my caddie said that the day before he and a fellow looper had two older female golfers who didn’t speak English, so to pass the time they had a bet who could get their player to hit into more bunkers. The winning number was 56.
Zak: I’ve played Whistling Straits on the calmest October day, where the course felt straightforward. I’ve also played it on a wind-whipping June afternoon where the 18th, into the fan, felt like the longest, toughest par-4 of my life.
Sens: You mean, other than the time I slipped along one of the railroad tie railings on the Dye Course at Barefoot Resort in Myrtle Beach and fell into a pond? I’d say my one round at the Ocean Course at Kiawah, when I was four under for a wind-aided front nine, and then a zillion over after I turned into the fan. That is sort of the essence of Dye for me. Wild swings on the pleasure-pain continuum. I love playing his courses but I often think I should have a safety word.
Dethier: I’m spoiled as hell, but I’ve had memorable moments tackling that fantastic finish at TPC Sawgrass, slogging through college spring break rounds at PGA Golf Club, basking in the country goodness of Boone Valley and challenging the big-time design at Pound Ridge on a GOLF outing. But my favorite has to be the Honors Course, which I played with longtime course superintendent David Stone, his dog, and then-anonymous course designer Rob Collins. The combo made for a masterclass in architecture appreciation set in a bucolic Southern setting. I’ve never had a round quite like it.
Bamberger: First hole of my married life. Teeth of the Dog. One golfer, one caddie, one bride. Driver in play, 8-iron to 10 feet, made the putt after a caddie consult. In it went. A good start. Dazzling course, by the way. Pete built some beauties.
Gave you mine above, but I also love how the big boys struggle on Harbor Town, as short a track as they see all year.
I'll leave you there. I've no idea about the ski and blogging schedule for the remainder of the week, we'll just play it by ear. I do head home Thursday, so a prayer for snow until then would be appreciated.
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