The Return of Golf

You might think I'm pointing you towards Sunday's event from Seminole, but Alan Shipnuck has owned the Scottsdale Open story.

An upstart champion and a nervous fist-bump cap an unprecedented Scottsdale Open

Perhaps this explains the absence of Alan's mailbag for weeks....  Now I might be exaggerating there, as time seems to drag on lockdown.

As Alan shares, it was a mini-tour event in the time of Corona, meaning recognizable names popping in:

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Zach Smith didn’t know his life was about to change while standing in the 13th fairway of Talking Stick Golf Course on Thursday afternoon, but he had an inkling. The fresh-faced UC Santa Barbara grad was in a dogfight with fellow

mini-tour grinder Carson Roberts, with Colt Knost and Joel Dahmen in hot pursuit, lugging along their impressive golf resumes. Roberts played first on 13, firing at a dangerous flag that was tucked on a ridge on the left edge of the green. His ball carried a yard too far and rolled into the abyss. It was the kind of little mistake on which a tournament can flip. Smith, 24, looks barely old enough to vote, but he followed with a canny veteran play, his delicate shot landing well short of the pin and trickling to a stop 8 feet short.

Dahmen, the third player in the group, appreciated both the execution and the prudence. “Great play!” he shouted across the fairway. Roberts charged his putt 4 feet long. Smith took an extra look at his birdie putt and then brushed it in like a practice-round gimme. “I knew that was a big momentum putt,” he said afterward. In a classic match-play twist, Roberts missed his comebacker. Minutes earlier, they had been tied and now Smith led by two. On the 14th hole, the kid did it again, feathering another short iron in close for a birdie that pushed the lead to three strokes, what would ultimately be his margin of victory at the Scottsdale Open. 

“I don’t know much about him, but this guy can play,” Dahmen said while waiting to tee off on 15. “He makes it look easy. I guess it is when you drive it down the middle and hit it to 10 feet hole-high every time.”

As you know, Dahmen is a fave of your humble blogger, seemingly with the soul of a mini-tour grinder.  

But it's this earlier dispatch from Alan that most caught my attention, in which he shares the this discomfiting truth:

Why PGA Tour players are PGA Tour players and why mini-tour players are mini-tour players

Alan spends the piece trying to discern the special sauce, with mixed results: 

“It’s different for every player, and it’s your responsibility as a player to figure out what

is keeping you from being better,” says Kirk Triplett, a three-time PGA Tour and eight-time Senior Tour winner, who shot 70-69 at Talking Stick Golf Course to make the cut on the number. “These guys are all tremendous physical talents, but they’re not all good tournament golfers. That can be a profound difference. To understand it can take some real soul-searching. You have to ask yourself some questions you might not want to know the answers to.” 

Triplett found his way to Tour success by making his improvement intensely personal. “At every level, I was never the best player,” he says. “I could always find somebody ahead of me where I could say, I can be as good as that guy if I practice this, this and this. That’s been my M.O. all the way along. Like a greyhound chasing the rabbit.”

You weren't expecting a simple answer, were you?  But this event punched above its weight class this year, which turned out to be an interesting example of disparate worlds colliding....  Well played, Alan.

Wither GB&I -  John Huggan takes on the issue of what are these folks thing, as golf's re-opening is schizophrenic:

Dark” since March 23, golf in the United Kingdom is on the way back. In bits of the four-part state at least. While courses in Northern Ireland and Scotland are to remain closed, those in England will re-open Wednesday, with Wales expected to follow suit on May 18. Which will no doubt come as something of a relief at Llanmynech Golf Club. The course where former Masters champion Ian Woosnam spent his formative years has 15 holes in Wales and three in England.

That's nice for England and Wales, though what took so friggin' long is left unanswered.  As for our game's ancestral home, they seem indifferent to their own birthright:

All of the above is coming about at the behest of the U.K. government led by Prime Minister Boris Johnson. North of the border, however, Scottish Golf is following

instructions from local authorities, specifically Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, who is preaching a more cautious approach. (Health and sport administration are delegated from the London-based U.K. government to the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh).

“Scrapping the ‘stay-at-home’ message could confuse people,” says Sturgeon, explaining the government’s position. “Extreme caution is required at this critical juncture to avoid a rapid resurgence of the virus. It is not an exaggeration to say decisions now are a matter of life and death. That is why they weigh so very, very heavily and why they must be taken with great care, and it is why as I take them I will continue to err on the side of caution.”

As with our own Andrew Cuomo, she seems locked down on stupid and impervious to reason.  Not only is Vitamin D apparently helpful to folks, but there seems to be an interest in maximizing their citizens' frustrations during this self-inflicted would.  Also in common is their instinct to insult their constituents, because we're all not sufficiently intelligent to make our own decisions....

 But by far the biggest issue with this is another parallel with Il Duce Cuomo, the stubborn refusal to acknowledge the reality that the lockdown also causes deaths...Apparently, Nicola and Andrew have lived such sheltered lives that they've never heard of deaths of despair.  The best such an official can do is to balance the competing issues, and choose policy options that minimize the effects.  But if you're not factoring in the full effects of your policies....

I just feel for our Scottish and Irish (Northern, at the least, though the Republic doesn't open until Monday) friends, needlessly precluded from their recreation of choice.  The clubs themselves would be devastated in any event, given their reliance on traveling golfers' greens fees.

The Restart - Details continue to emerge related to the Tour's proposed testing protocols.  But fear not, the Tour's hard-earned reputation for opacity will survive these trying times.  

Luke Kerr-Dineen spins some fun what-if's, though he does first make this important point:

First off, let’s start by saying it seems unlikely that any player or caddie will be Covid-19 positive while on-site at the event. Players will be tested before they travel to a tournament, chartered by the tour to the site, and then tested once again when they arrive. They’ll be instructed to maintain social distancing guidelines, will stay in an isolated hotel and given daily questionnaires and thermal screenings.

Let's also note that these are young, healthy folks, ones we shouldn't need to worry all that much about.  Of course anyone looking to go back to work is tarred as a merchant of death, so perhaps we should print up some T-shirts to that effect...

But this is the bit from Luke that has gotten some attention:

If the test comes back positive, that player is immediately escorted off site, withdrawn

from the event and given a last-place payout. 

It doesn’t matter if that player is leading the event, is largely asymptomatic, is in last place or somewhere in between; you test positive, you’re out. It’s a smart but tough new rule, the kind required in the current landscape. A sign of the times would be a scenario where the leader of the event could be withdrawn from the contest for safety concerns, rewarded with a last-place check and a 10-day quarantine.

It's not gonna happen, but one sees the necessity in such provisions.  Of course, it's our Tour and that accountability thing is for losers like us...

The Tour, for its part, said that it wouldn’t disclose the identity of any player who does test positive.

Got that?  Think any crusading journalist will ask Jay Monahan why?  These folks are well on their way to turning me off professional golf...

Mark Canizarro catches up with Pat Perez, who raises another uncomfortable question:

“And, are you telling me that if Tiger Woods or Rory McIlroy or another big name that drives our tour is leading entering Sunday, you’re going to DQ him if he tests positive? I dare you. There’ll be a [bleeping] riot.’’

Oh, Pat, don't you know how this here game is played.  Tiger or Rory would be allowed to DQ due to an unfortunate jet-ski accident...

Mark discusses his own trepidation at traveling to Fort Worth, similar to Perez' concerns about it being too early...  All well and good, until the polymer hits the road:

Here’s the thing, though: Perez is as conflicted as I am, because when asked if he’s going to play at Colonial despite his concerns, he didn’t hesitate with his answer. 

“Oh yeah,’’ he said. “Hundred percent I’m going to play.’’

Pat, you're just another merchant of death.

Geoff blogged these and similar items, as well, though he continues to misunderstand the nature of a positive test:

I’m sure there are local labs not burdened somwhere in the United States, but given the third day in a row of over 1000 new cases in Texas driven mostly by outbreaks in jails, the first market may have some backlogs on the test-results front.

The week two tournament is in Hilton Head, where he closest lab is reportedly in Charlotte.

On the optics front, if PGA Tour players, caddies, officials and others get priority over locals, it could be disastrous. And even if labs are not strained, the visuals of players getting tested and moved to the front of the line is not great. Especially if it’s so they can play a practice round. That could easily make national or international news and backfire on the event sponsor.

I get his concern about the demands on labs, a very real issue indeed.  But is there a less relevant number than new cases?  It just reflects who we've tested, in most cases affirming the availability thereof.  But left unsaid in all such reports is the fact that these are overwhelmingly asymptomatic people, so why is it a negative?  

Ewan Murray tells us that the restart will likely exclude UK-based players:

Players and caddies hoping to travel from the UK for the restart of the PGA Tour season face 14 days in quarantine on both sides of the Atlantic, officials have confirmed. The restrictions will affect Tommy Fleetwood and Francesco Molinari plus a batch of top-

level caddies. 

The PGA Tour is pressing ahead with plans to return to competition on 11 June at the Charles Schwab Challenge in Texas. Detailed guidelines have now been issued, including rigorous Covid-19 testing procedures, contact tracing and physical distancing measures at tournaments. The first four stages of the Tour’s relaunch, at least, will take place minus spectators. 

“We are working with the federal government to facilitate the return of players and caddies who are currently residing outside of the United States and we’re optimistic that’s going to occur. We have a relatively small number of PGA Tour players, around 25 or so, that are currently outside of the United States.” 

So, too, are those who caddie for Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose and others. Speaking at the start of this week, Fleetwood suggested he regards the restrictions as too prohibitive. “I’m not going to travel to America and stay away for four months, that is simply not a consideration,” the world No 10 said. It is understood Molinari, who lives in London, will not travel for the June events either.

If they test negative why would they be required to self-quarantine?  What am I missing here?

All Eyes on Seminole - There are a few of those "Everything you need to know" items up about the TaylorMade event this Sunday, including this:

What are the safety measures that will be in place?

The TaylorMade Driving Relief charity event will adhere to strict social distancing

guidelines and FDA-approved measures to help protect the health and safety of the golfers and production crew. The event will also follow all guidelines, executive orders and mandates issued by the State of Florida, Palm Beach County and the city of Juno Beach.

All four players and on-site personnel will receive COVID-19 testing prior to traveling to the golf course as well as upon arrival. Each player is permitted one guest, and only those deemed “essential” in conducting the competition will be allowed on site. The players will not have caddies, and will instead either carry their own bag or use a push cart. Flags, flagsticks and cup liners will be disinfected before play, and only members of the Rules Committee will handle the flagstick. All bunker rakes will be removed from the course. Players will be allowed to use distance-measuring devices.

It'll have the feel of the NCAA's, and I just love them carrying their bags...I think we can all agree that bunker rakes aren't an issue with only the one foursome on the course...

Anyone know whether the Tiger-Phil match will have caddies?  I can't see those old guys carrying, but buggies would be quite the horrible look... As for the format, I've never really seen skins as a team game, so we'll see how that comes off.

This sounds less than promising though:

What will the broadcast be like?

Much like the NFL Draft, the broadcast will be entirely virtual. NBC lead anchor Mike Tirico will be providing commentary from his home in Michigan. Analysts Paul Azinger and Rich Lerner will join Tirico from an off-site production facility, while Jerry Foltz, Steve Sands and Gary Koch will be on the grounds of Seminole. All four players will be mic'd up for the duration of the competition. There will be no spectators.

The purpose of announcers is to convey knowledge, of which Mr. Tirico will have none....  But these times of social distancing, why exactly does one foursome require three on-course reporters?

This accompanying Golf Digest piece is worth clicking through to for the aerial views of the course in the embedded video (I was unable to embed it here).  It features stunning waste areas that seem to blend seamlessly into the Ross/Coore-Crenshaw bunkering, more Pinehurst than Doral...  

Today's Long Read - Written in conjunction with their hosting of the 1995 U.S. Open, is this tawdry tale of a notorious love triangle that ended tragically for the architect of Shinnecock Hills' iconic clubhouse:

Every great golf course has its heroes and its legends, which, however noteworthy, appeal exclusively to that tiny segment of society that is interested in golf. (According to a national statistical survey, only 6.5 percent of the American people have ever played, or watched, or read about golf.) But Shinnecock owns a legend quite apart from the world

of golf, and the shocking truth that spawned the legend at one time engrossed the populations of New York and Pittsburgh, of London and Paris. The link between this society sex scandal and the comparatively chaste world of golf is Shinnecock’s clubhouse. And whenever I pass that white country house planted up there on the hill directly off the through road, I think not of any golfer but of a ghostly threesome that still haunts the place: a middle-age man about town with a bristling mustache and a blazing eye; a young, highly neurotic, Pittsburgh playboy, and the beautiful, dumb girl who was the nemesis of both of them.

On pretty solid authority, Shinnecock’s clubhouse is down in the books as the first country clubhouse in America. Considering the high-toned social status that golf claimed here at the start—what with the Vanderbilts, and such, fetching golf clubs from Scotland to amuse themselves on their new playground on the South Shore of Long Island—we should not be surprised that they picked not a builder but an architect to design the novelty of a clubhouse, and that he should have been the most fashionable practitioner of his time.

Before there was O.J. there was Stanford White and Evelyn Nesbit...  

You'll want to read it if you're unfamiliar with the story....

My long read of yesterday was this, given to me earlier in the week by Shawn Powers, our head professional:

I blew through it yesterday, a quick and devastating read, though one very difficult to review for others.

It's also an extremely uncomfortable read, as Green recounts sexual abuse experienced when his family strangely moved to Honduras when he was a young boy.  The details Green leaves for a chapter at the end, a chapter I didn't feel compelled to force myself to read.

Green is a guy most of us remember only vaguely, good enough to win five times on Tour and make a Ryder Cup team.  The book for me worked best as an iconoclast's view of life inside the professional golf bubble, and you'll not be surprised that Green has less use for Nurse Ratched than even your humble blogger does...  In terms of his fellow players, Seve comes in for the harshest treatment, something that shouldn't surprise any of us.

Unfortunately, the book also has a choppy feel to it, with a curious sequencing of chapters and no shortage of continuity issues.  I'd almost guess that at some point the chapters were reordered, because one notices the repetitive introduction of topics as if unaware that that subject was developed two pages earlier.  Green could have use a strong editor as well...  He's pleasantly self-effacing when he tells us he's an idiot, at least the first few times.  But it devolves too readily into a gimmick, 

The caveats notwithstanding, I'm happy to have read it.  We get precious few looks behind the curtain, and Green doesn't pull his punches.  You'll not always agree with his reactions, but one does sense that he's being genuine in his reactions to folks.  But the books power comes from the shear volume of misfortune that befalls him, and his survival seems especially poignant in the current times.

Have a great weekend and we'll catch up on Monday, with actual golf to discuss.