Lots of news and notes from all over, in addition to the festivities at Doral. Let's sort through a few, shall we:
- Shanks for the Memories: As I was debating a name for this blog in those more innocent times back in January, I toyed with calling it Hosel Rockets. Amusingly enough (at least to me), hoselrockets.blogspot.com was taken. We were treated to a great example of the genre yesterday, when Henrik Stenson, the No. 3-ranked player on the planet, hit what Shackelford deemed a cold, hard shank (as distinguished from a plain vanilla or semi-shank) on the 2nd hole at Doral yesterday.
There are many who believe that the "S" word should not be uttered in polite company, seemingly in the belief that the dreaded affliction can be transmitted orally. But shanks have been with us since forever, Webb Simpson readily admits that his swing is prone to hosel rockets and Hunter Mahan famously survived an early shank to defeat Rory McIlroy in the Match Play final a couple of years ago. I even remember Johnny Miller defacing his hosel on the 18th fairway at Pebble many moons ago and handing a Clambake to Jack. You know that had to sting...
But stay with me here... several versions of Stenson's shankapalooza were posted on YouTube, and then disappeared due to an alleged copyright violation from the suits in Ponte Vedra. Ahhhh, I hear you say, they wanted this piece of comedy gold for pgatour.com, and who could blame them? You would be wrong, they felt this video was to inflammatory for our tender sensitivities.... Seriously, do you have to have your sense of humor surgically removed to work there?
Fortunately there's something called Vine (don't ask me, these crazy kids are so darn clever), but please make sure the women and children are not within viewing range:
Henson, Commisioner Ratched will be shocked to discover, joked about it later on Facebook with this cute picture:
Someone at Tour HQ needs to be reading the responses to Stenson's post at the link above. That kind of interaction between a player and fans is priceless, and the Tour proves that it, as the old adage goes, knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.
These days, Henrik Stenson is known as arguably the best golfer in the world never to have won a major championship. He's come a long way.
Not that Stenson wasn't in that conversation before his hot stretch in 2013 that culminated with him winning the FedEx Cup. Stenson won the 2009 Players and was ranked as high as No. 4 in the world before a brutal slump. But until recently, he was most remembered for, well, this:
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| Hey, at least it wasn't Lumpy! |
And here's the Tour-approved video memorializing the event:
So in the Bizarro World that is Ponte Vedra Beach, it's OK for Henrik to show us his package but God forbid we see a hosel meeting golf ball. Go figure... I'm just sorry that Fanny had to see this.
- Three Nights with the King - Via Shakelford, Golf Channel has announced its three night video tribute to Arnold Palmer to be aired during Masters week. Imaginatively titled "Arnie," Golf Channel calls it the definitive retrospective on the life and impact of Arnold Palmer. The first installment will premieres April 13th, which is Masters Sunday.
Shack has some good fun with GC calling this one of the most ambitious projects in its history, noting that Big Break Florida didn't set the bar terribly high. Fair enough Geoff, but next time pick on someone your own size. Here's the breakdown of the three installments:
“Arnie & His Army” – Sunday, April 13 at 10 p.m. ET following Live From the Masters – This first episode recalls the people who influenced Palmer and instilled the values of integrity and human kindness that helped make him the man he has become both on and off the golf course, with special tribute to his parents Deacon and Doris. This retrospective ranges from stories of Deacon teaching him how to grip a golf club to his early days on the PGA TOUR with his first wife, Winnie, as they raised a family together to those who helped build Palmer into a worldwide brand. And this brand was built around a man who never fails to acknowledge his fans or sign an autograph, an autograph famed for always being legible. Palmer believes if you are going to take the time to sign, make it right, which is a philosophy he has ingrained in other sports superstars. The first hour also delves into Palmer’s influence on sports marketing. Before Michael Jordan and Nike there was Arnold on his tractor touting the benefits of Pennzoil motor oil. He was the first athlete who had any kind of significant influence on popular culture, an influence that continues to this day. In fact, his range of influence has been unrivaled – evidenced in part by the fact that he could perform as a spokesperson for Pennzoil while, concurrently, serving as an ambassador for the luxury Rolex brand.
“Arnie & His Majors” – Monday, April 14 at 10 p.m. ET – The second episode remembers Palmer’s competitive career, his go-for-broke style and his ups and downs at golf’s major championships. Covered are his amateur victories, including the U.S. Amateur in 1954, which he calls his most important win ever; his four Masters titles in a span of only seven years; the thrills of his U.S. Open victories and how winning the Open Championship in 1961 at Royal Birkdale changed that major championship forever in the minds of American players. Also explored is Palmer’s challenging history with the PGA Championship – the only major he never won.
“Arnie & His Legacy” – Tuesday, April 15 at 10 p.m. ET – The concluding hour delves into the legacy of Arnold Palmer and his influence on popular culture, which stretches way beyond the links. Despite his last win on the PGA TOUR coming 40 years ago, according to “The Golf Digest 50” money list, Arnold Palmer had his best-year ever in earnings in 2013 and was the third-highest earner off of the golf course, behind only Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. This placed Palmer second behind Michael Jordan on Forbes’ list of highest-paid retired athletes in 2013. The Arnold Palmer brand has launched a wide range of businesses, including a lifestyle designer label in the Asian marketplace with more than 400 retail outlets, a self-titled iced tea-lemonade beverage, golf course design and management firms, and even a cable television network by co-founding Golf Channel nearly 20 years ago. And his long-standing relevance in popular culture continues to have an impact, evident by the fact that he was just as likely to have his photo taken with Hollywood starlet Esther Williams as a 17-year-old in 1947 as he was with supermodel Kate Upton as an 83-year-old in 2013. He has always had the ear of golfing U.S. Presidents starting with his special friendship with President Dwight Eisenhower and the admiration of Hollywood icons like Bob Hope and Johnny Carson. And Palmer has reached the echelons of the rich and famous without compromising his core values throughout his life, which are on display with his many charitable endeavors that have raised millions of dollars for charities, including the world-renowned Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies in Orlando and hosting the PGA TOUR’s Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard at his Bay Hill Golf Club and Lodge.
Sorry for the long excerpt, but it's The King. Should be good stuff, though this will be Tivo'd as the inevitable back nine fireworks will leave me a shell of my former self.
The trailer can be seen here, but viewers be warned you'll have to sit through your 1,633rd viewing of the noxious TaylorMade Speed Police commercial.
- What Have YOU Accomplished This Winter? - This trick shot has been making the rounds.
- Crocodile Tears - John Strege posts this item at Local Knowledge about the hit taken by a publicly-traded sports book with the delightful name Paddy Power. Per Chief Executive Patrick Kennedy:
"Beware the British Open! We've had bad results here before (Harrington x2) but Mickelson winning, with other favourites featuring throughout our generous seven place each-way pay-out, was the worst single event result we've ever had (even more painful than the Yanks shouting 'get in the hole' after every shot!)."
Apparently they weren't alone:
Paddy Power did not reveal the extent of its liability on Mickelson, but it wasn't
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| This guy doesn't seem upset with the outcome. |
the only bookmaker that suffered. Ladbrokes lost about eight million pounds (more than $13 million) on Mickelson bets, according to online-betting.me.uk. A William Hill spokesman, Rupert Adams, hinted an impending disaster. "With Mickelson in form and with us playing seven places punters have been lumping on him to both win and to place, we could see yet another million pound Mickelson liability," he told golfbettingpro.com.
I'm not sure what the problem is. Given what I've heard of Phil's sports betting, seems like they should make it back pretty quickly. And think of the endorsement opportunities...
- Be Like Ben - Luke Kerr-Dineen informs us of yet another golf auction:
A full set of Ben Hogan's clubs, one of two sets he used in 1953 when he won the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open, will be put up for sale March 26 by
Green Jacket Auctions, with the auction extending through April 12. The only other known set of clubs from Hogan's 1953 year are owned by the USGA and displayed at its museum in Far Hills, N.J.
The clubs themselves are MacGregors -- predating the start of Hogan's own club company -- and are expected to sell for upwards of $50,000, according to Carey, who added that valuing the clubs is extremely difficult because hardly any like them exist (most of Hogan's other auctioned clubs were ones he used later in his career).
It's unknown which majors Hogan used the clubs to win, although the USGA has pegged with near certainty that Hogan used the set it owns to win the 1953 U.S. Open. The two sets contain mismatched clubs, but are identical to one another, Carey said.
I don't have any particular interest in owning such a set, but would jump at the chance to hit a few balls with them..
- I'm Shocked, Shocked to See Gambling in Tarpon Springs - Tar, meet feathers.....though this one comes with some amusing timing. John Strege shares with us that the Tarpon Springs Municipal Golf Course is in the center of a
white slavery golf betting criminal investigation:
At issue are Tarpon Springs' 14 golf leagues, where in addition to the green fee, each participant kicks in a sum of money that comprises a tournament purse. "The leagues are something every club in America has," Winship said.
The investigation, he said, started with a disgruntled former employee. "He wrote to the city fathers and somehow they turned it directly over to the police department. That's kind of where it is," Winship said.
The possible violations include "keeping a gambling house" (state statute 849.01, a felony) and "game promotion in connection with sale of consumer products or services" (849.094), Tarpon Springs police spokesman Captain Jeffrey Young told the Tampa Bay Times.
Truthfully, that's the only reason we allow the three lawyers to remain in our weekend Gang of Eight fourballs. That way my winnings are protected by attorney-client privilege.
Now it just so happens that the Tour will be at Innisbrook next week, which is in Palm Harbor, a mere few minutes from Tarpon Springs. Phil won't be there, but do we think some sheckels might change hands in the practice rounds? Here's the gist of the issue in the Florida criminal code:
"Technically it well could be [a violation] and that's the trouble with how the Florida gambling laws are written," former Pinellas County prosecuting attorney Robert Hambrick said. Hambrick is now in private practice in Clearwater, Fla. "Unless there are specific exceptions, gambling is unlawful. There are exceptions for bingo, poker, bowling. I guess they'll have to amend it and put one in for golf.
Geez, the bingo lobby has more juice than the golf lobby, and in Florida no less.
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