The Immortal Locke

John Coyne is an American writer of both fiction and non-, probably best known for his horror novels.  But Coyne is also one of us, a golf nut who's written golf instruction books and the "Caddie" series of golf novels, The Caddie Who Knew Ben Hogan, The Caddie Who Played Wish Hickories and The Caddie Who Won The Masters.

Coyne of the realm.

I'm a bit late to this, but Coyne has been guest-posting a multi-part feature on "Bad-Boy" Bobby Locke at Neil Sagebiel's Armchair Golfer blog.  The series is well worth a read, delving as it does into lesser know stories about the great South African golfer of the 1940-50's.  I've touched on Locke a few times here, most notably in my answer to a Tour Confidential question about which player in gof history would you pick to sink a 10-footer to avoid an alien invasion of Planet Earth.  Locke is widely reputed to be the best putter EVER.

The series is now at six installments (no worries, they're each not too long), and the initial post can be found here.  Locke first came to the U.S. in 1947, and here's how it happened:

After Sam Snead won the 1946 British Open, the first one played since 1939 because of the

war, wealthy South African financier Norbert Stephen Erleigh, who had befriended Locke in '35 when the golfer was a teenage amateur, sponsored a tour for Snead in South Africa. Locke, who had finished second in the Open, would be Snead's competition, and Erleigh promised Locke that, when the tour was over, he would pay Locke's way to America.

It was not Bobby Locke's first invitation to the U.S. In 1936, Walter Hagen and Joe Kirkwood played with Locke during a six-week exhibition in South Africa and when it was over, Hagen, so impressed by the then-19-year-old amateur, asked him to come to the U.S. Locke's parents, however, said no, and while disappointed, Hagen advised Locke, "Young man, your golf might stay still or you may become a great golfer, but remember that your golfing education will not be complete until you have played golf in America."

Bobby Locke never forgot and 10 years later he was playing another American in South Africa, Sam Snead. The two dueled in 16 matches throughout the country. Snead won two, they tied two, and Locke won 12.

OK, he had home field advantage, but that was still Sam "Friggin' Snead he took to the cleaners.  

Part 2 deals with that first trip to the U.S., including his first trip to The Masters.  While those in the know disparaged his swing, he seems to have, you know, done OK:

Locke finished 14th in his first Masters. He then went onto win four of the next five tournaments he entered. He stayed only through that summer's tour. Altogether in 1947, he played in 15 US tour events, winning a total of six, finishing 2nd twice, 3rd once (in the US Open), and top-7 four other times. In total, Locke played full time on the American PGA tour for only 2½ years. In 59 events, he won 11 times, finished second 10 times, third 8 times and fourth 5 times (34 out of 59 tournaments in the Top 4).

Part 3 covers his subsequent trip to the U.S., and features cameos by Der Bingle, Bob Hope and some crooning.   

On this trip, Locke also began to draw the attention of the media beyond the sports world and his persona was being defined by the press. The New York Times called him "Old Muffin Face." Peter Alliss said he "looked 55 since he was 30." Sam Snead nicknamed him "Baggy Pants" because of what he wore playing golf.

Part 4's lede:

IN 1949, A YEAR AFTER HE WON the Chicago Victory Open at Midlothian Country Club by 16 strokes, which remains a PGA record margin of victory, Bobby Locke was banned from playing golf on the American tour. The reason given by the PGA was because he had failed to show up at tournaments and exhibitions without giving any explanations. However, many people thought that he was banned because he was simply winning too many tournaments, making too much money.

 Part 5 details Locke's troubles at home:

This was despite Locke winning tournaments in South Africa and Great Britain, and receiving

money to play in exhibitions tours in Australia. Also, he took the professional position at the Maccauvlei Golf Club in 1939. (Today, Maccauvlei is the home club of Masters winner, Charl Schwartzel.) 

Locke did not last long as the pro at Maccauvlei. He had just won his first South Africa Open held at Maccauvlei when he got the job, and immediately he ran into trouble. In the history of the club, written by member Derek Mocke, it appears that Locke was "forced out" of his position.

Part 6 delves into Locke's allegedly prickly personality and the possible impact thereon of his World War II military service.  And while Coyne notes Locke's death and the tragic end for his wife and daughter, a "To be Continued" at the end has me anxiously awaiting his next installment.  It's a great slice of golf history, for those that enjoy such trips.

Neil Sagebiel, you might recall, is the author of The Longest Shot, the account of Jack Fleck's improbable U.S. Open victory at Olympic Golf Club.  Since he was good enough to arrange for this enjoyable series, it seems appropriate to provide a plug for his forthcoming Draw in the Dunes, his account of the 1969 Ryder Cup at Royal Birkdale.  That's the one where Jack Nicklaus famously conceded Tony Jacklin's final putt on the 18th green, ensuring that the tie would end in a, you know, tie.  A gesture of great sportsmanship that royally pissed off Captain Ben Hogan and other team members.

Moe Knows Golf

Jeff Neuman took over John Paul Newport's Wall Street Journal column this past weekend, and devoted it to legendary golf eccentric and ball-striking machine Moe Norman.  Let's start at the top with his lede:

It is not unusual to see a photograph of a professional golfer hitting balls on the range in front of

a group of interested spectators. But it is unusual when the golfer is a pudgy man in his mid-sixties, and the onlookers include Fred Couples, Ben Crenshaw, Nick Price, and Nick Faldo. 

The photograph, taken before the 1995 TELUS World Skins Game at the National Golf Club of Canada, captures the fascination even the world's best players had with the legendary Moe Norman, perhaps the greatest ball striker the game has ever known. Tiger Woods told golf writer Jaime Diaz in 2004, "Only two players have ever truly owned their swings: Moe Norman and Ben Hogan. "

Norman had psychological issues that prevented him from playing tournament golf, but notwithstanding the lack of a conventional golf resume he remains the Holy Grail of striking the dimpled white ball.  Neuman explains though it's all a bit murky:

Moe Norman grew up in Kitchener, Ontario. When he was five years old, he was riding a toboggan down a hill near his home when he slid under a moving car. Norman was dragged for a few moments before the car came to a stop. He never went to the hospital for treatment. There are suggestions that this incident may be linked to his idiosyncrasies. 

He was ill-at-ease in social settings. He had an astounding memory for numbers. He cared little about how his clothing appeared to others, and spoke in a singsong rhythm with repeated phrases: "C'mon over, c'mon over," Price recalls him saying. "I'll show you how to hit the ball, I'll show you. This is what you do, this is what you do...."

Do read the whole thing if you're not familiar with this legend, as they threw away the mold.  The definitive book on Moe Norman is Lorne Rubenstein's Moe & Me, credited in Neuman's article.  There is nothing in Norman's action that screams ball-striking virtuoso but, as noted above, when the best pros of an era stand around and watch you hit balls, there's something going on.  If, as per Tommy Bolt, Nicklaus would watch Hogan practice, then EVERYONE would watch Moe.

Neuman includes a credible account of Norman's swing, though he can hardly do it justice.  I'll intentionally not provide that excerpt, preferring instead to leave it for you as click-bait.  But get a load of this list of Norman's exploits, some of which might even be true:

• At an exhibition in Toronto, Snead warned Norman that he couldn't carry the creek 240 yards from the tee. "I'm not trying to," said Norman, who calmly stroked his drive across the walking bridge to the far side of the hazard. 

• Following a question from a reporter about his shaky putting, Norman hit driver on a long par-3 and said, "I'm not putting this one," while the ball was in the air. It landed, then rolled into the cup. 

• Leading by three shots on the final hole of a tournament, safely on the green in regulation, Norman putted deliberately into a bunker, just to make things interesting. He got up and down to win by a stroke.

Too good to fact check, as they say.  OK, one last story:

Norman died a week before the 2004 Canadian Open, he'd had bypass surgery several years

before, and upon waking from anesthesia, he was asked if he knew where he was. On the third green, he said, at the London Hunt and Golf Club. Doctors were concerned, but in fact the hospital where he lay was built on the former site of that club; the building that held his room was located where the third green used to be.

Curious about the swing?  There's a ton of video available on YouTube, and here's one sample:

I'm amazed at how far from the ball he stands, and I don't what to think of that recoil in the follow-through.

Flotsam and Jetsam™

Between social obligations, golf outings and a little actual work, I've lagged the golf world and we need to catch up.  This blog is officially on the clock, and each sub-post will be timed by the rules official.  The first bad time will incur only a warning, but the second bad time is a mandatory one-stroke penalty, and we can't have that now, can we?

Your Rory Update - The former/prspective World No. 1 is always in the news, so here's our daily quota.  First, Tim Healy informs us that Rors has won a skirmish in the lawsuit with his former managers:

The Commercial Court heard Mr McIlroy claims undue influence, and alleges Conor Ridge of

The Ulstermen greeting each other at Hoylake.

Horizon made representations to him that he would get similar terms to Graeme McDowell.

Barrister Rossa Fanning said his client had relied on those representations which turned out to be untrue as his client's terms were significantly inferior to Mr McDowell's.

Mr McIlroy was also unaware, either when discussing the representation agreement with Conor Ridge in October 2011 or signing it, that Mr McDowell had a shareholding in Horizon. 

The judge yesterday ruled Mr McIlroy was entitled to all documents held by the defendants related to McDowell's involvement with Horizon, including concerning Mr. McDowell's shareholding in that company.

That's clearly a victory for the youngster, though not necessarily a leading indicator of where the case may go.  But one can only hope that we'll have continued leaks to amuse us.  With McDowell stepping up his play recently and seemingly assured of a captain's pick, that should be a delightfully awkward team room at Gleneagles.  McIlroy has said that he still hopes to tee it up with McDowell at the Ryder Cup, though that seems to be putting a brave face on things, no?

And does anyone remember this scene?

That's Rory throwing away a nice wad of cash.

The quick-on-their feet guys at Green Jacket Auctions tweeted that they would pay $10,000 for the ball, and before you could say Caroline Wozniaki it was listed for auction.  though the current high bid of $5,558 is substantially below that offer to the owner.

In this post, Shackelford lists some other items he'd prefer, including this set of Tom Stewart clubs.  Stewart was a famed St. Andrews clubmaker, in a league with Old Tom and the Auchterlonies.  And, in the way these things seem to go, my New Best Friend Kevin Mendik had Stewart clubs in his bag yesterday.  Small world!

This concludes the Rory portion of our programming.

Weekend Golf Update - In no particular order, Alex Myers has this on Miss Congeniality, Jim Furyk:

This season, although a success overall, has to be particularly painful for the 44-year-old Furyk.

Three runner-ups since May (plus a solo fourth at the British Open) have Furyk up to No. 8 in the Official World Golf Ranking -- the highest he's been since the start of the 2011 season. The difference is that then Furyk was coming off a three-win season in 2010 that ended with him winning the FedEx Cup and PGA Tour Player of the Year honors.

There's no way for me to not sound harsh with this, but Furyk has evolved into a grizzled veteran who can no longer close (Exhibit A is the 2012 U.S. Open).   That is a really bad combination (at least as far as the Ryder Cup is concerned), and I was not an advocate of his selection for the 2012 team.  He has earned his way onto the 2014 edition, but I'm not an optimist.

As relates to Sunday's winner, Tim Clark, Ryan Lavner had this about Clark's preparation for the 2016 anchoring ban:

“I've kind of put it to the back now, and I’m going to just do with what I've got now and maybe give it more thought sometime next year,” he said.

That’s the same philosophy adopted by world No. 1 Adam Scott, who said earlier this month that he hasn't practiced with the conventional stroke at all since the anchoring announcement last May. 

“I thought I’d worry about that when I have to change,” he said.

That's one of the reasons that, while supportive of the ban, I thought it a mistake to delay implementation for so long.  That and the fact that every win by an anchorer in the interregnum deserves a Roger Maris asterisk.

 As for the Senior Open Championship, it appears that bernhard Langer missed an extra point, winning by an amazing thirteen strokes.  I can't do better than this quip from Alex Myers:

Yep, he won a major championship by 13 shots! 13! Martin Kaymer's eight-shot win at the

U.S. Open isn't even the biggest blowout in a major by a German this year anymore. Langer turns 57 in August, about a month before the Ryder Cup. Is it possible that European captain Paul McGinley, nearly 10 years his junior, will put Langer on the team?

As I noted in this post, that still seems unlikely to me.  The real issue is that names like Poulter, McDowell, Bjorn, Blixt and Wstwood are all on the outside looking in.  But it's sure less of a longshot than it was a few days ago.

Here's an idea, pick Langer and put him against Furyk in the first singles match on Sunday.  It would be dinner time in Los Angeles before anyone finished.

Belen Mozo.

And now to the Ladies' International Crown, the newly-created team match-play event the had it's debut this weekend.  The event was won by the Spanish quartet of Azahara Munoz, Beatriz Recari, Belen Mozo and Carlota Ciganda.  All of those ladies are sufficiently.....errr...let's go with photogenic, yet the event suffered a body blow when the American's were eliminated on Saturday.

I'm not opposed to considering tweaks to the format, and since I saw none of Sunday's play I'm not even clear on whether they reset the points and how the singles points were allotted with five teams involved.  But it's a great idea to try something different, and it doesn't get much better than the win-or-go-home of match play.  But that intensity isn't there if the loser doesn't go home (I'm speaking to you, Stacey Lewis).

PGA Prognosis - This is kinda cool, don't you think?

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – (July 29, 2014) The PGA of America announced today that the top 100 players in the Official World Golf Ranking have committed to play in the 96th PGA Championship, Aug. 7-10, at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky. Barring any withdrawals before the opening round, this would be the first time any major championship would feature every one of the top 100 world-ranked players.

Eat your vegetables and stay healthy, boys, we want to see all of you make it there.

Tiger Beat - Kevin Maguire at ESPN updates us on the state of play:

Tiger Woods owns eight PGA Tour victories at Firestone Country Club, site of this week's

WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. He just might have to earn No. 9 if he doesn't want a forced monthlong break after the PGA Championship that would put his Ryder Cup hopes in jeopardy.

That's because Woods picked up all of two FedEx Cup playoff points with a 69th-place finish at the Open Championship. He's sitting in the 215th spot in the rankings. To qualify for the playoffs, a player needs to be inside the top 125.

So, how bleak is the outlook?

Coming into this week, Woods has 45 FedEx Cup points. That means he needs some combination of at least 358 points just to squeak into the field at the Barclays. A victory at the WGC-Bridgestone or the PGA Championship should get him a tee time at Ridgewood Country Club. Without a win, though, things get murky.

There are many permutations as to what could happen the next few weeks. For example, say Woods finishes solo 10th in Akron; that'd be good for 78 points, which would leave him 280 shy of the 403-point mark. He likely would need a second-place finish at the PGA Championship (worth 330 points) to make the playoffs.

So he doesn't need to win to get into the Barclays, but he sure does need one or more VERY high finishes.  And by high we mean a second or a third, back door top tens won't move the needle.

And The Hawk needs all of one 'graph to eviscerate Commissioner Ratched's wraparound schedule:

Just as the snarkiest of cynics feared, the PGA Tour’s 11 ½-month golf season has become a long walk to a small house. Jimmy Walker hasn’t contended on a Sunday in almost six months, yet he still leads the FedEx Cup points derby by a comfortable margin – Bubba Watson is the only player within 500 points of Mr. Dy-No-Mite. 

Remember Patrick Reed? He's been missing in action since the WGC-Cadillac Championshipin March, yet he just slipped out of the top 10 and remains one spot ahead of British Openchamp Rory McIlroy. Same goes for Jim Furyk, who doesn't have a victory in almost four years, yet remains four spots ahead of Martin Kaymer, who won The Players and U.S. Open.

Yawn.  Commissioner Ratched takes care of No.1, the rest of us be damned.

The Bermuda Triangle for Golf Bags - Karen Crouse, Pravda's golf editor, devoted last weekend's column to the perils of traveling avec golf bag:

The golfers’ stress level is heightened this time every year because the British Open brings into play London’s Heathrow Airport, which Hunter Mahan's caddie, John Wood, described as “the Bermuda Triangle for bags.” 

On the advice of his caddie, Woodland bypassed London, “and they still didn’t make it,” he said of his clubs. Allowing time for any mishandled bags to catch up was also a factor in Woodland’s decision to move his travel plans up a day. 

“If I had come over on Monday and they didn't get there Monday and they didn't show up until Tuesday, that makes it a little difficult,” he said.

The alternative is to ship the clubs ahead of time, but when I've inquired it's been quite pricey and it further requires you to live without them for many days on both ends of the trip.  But we all know it's a crapshoot.

Millennials, Schlimennials -  There's two concurrent thumbsuckers on why millennials hate golf, both of which give us a Chicken Little "The Sky is Falling."  First out was Sara Germano's piece in the Wall Street Journal:

But the participation rates of people aged 18 to 34 fell roughly 13% in 2013 from 2009, while their rates for other active sports like running rose 29%, according to SFIA data. Greg Nathan, senior vice president of the National Golf Foundation, notes that the overall number of U.S. golfers has hovered around 25 million for each of the past three years, still down from the high of 30 million in 2003.

Again with the apples and oranges, not providing a consistent baseline to allow us to form our own judgments. So, with most recent graduates living in their parent's basements, we're supposed to acknowledge approaching Armageddon based upon a comparison with jogging and yoga, sports with slightly disparate cost profiles?  Color me unconvinced.

Next up with a me-too offering is Matt Powell in Forbes, wondering why golf lost the millennials.  At least he offers some data, though the portion size certainly isn't to my liking:

What happened to create this reversal of fortune? The Golf Industry failed to attract Millennials to the game. The National Golf Foundation said there were 400,000 fewer golfers in 2013, with 200,000 of the decline coming from Millennials. Since Millennials represent 25% of the nation’s population, this decline is devastating to the sport.

So, why don’t millennials play golf?

OK, there were 400,000 fewer golfers we're told, but from WHEN?  Secondly, how many of the baseline were millennials, it's called a percentage and I guess they don't teach that in J-school.  But we lost 200,000 kids from a reduced base of 25 million, and that's considered material?  Sheesh, his author bio pic makes him look old enough to know better.

Golf has always had a skewed demographic, rich but old.  The golfer demo is so old that the average golfer has been dead for three years (bonus points for anyone who can identify from whom I pilfered that quip).  But the rich part has value, just ask the folks who make Cialis.

And both pieces contain profound category errors, confusing the hiccups in the equipment industry with the more nebulous concept of the health of the game.  When, for instance, they speak of "losing" 400,000 golfers, it's highly likely that those souls are the least dedicated, most infrequent players, thus depriving the industry of precious little revenue. 

I too want to attract young people to the greatest of all games.  I just think the rending of garments and gnashing of teeth is a bit much.  We're a niche sport, and it's better for all if the game's leaders can acknowledge that.

Tough Duty

The Metropolitan Golf Writers Association held it's July meeting yesterday at Baltusrol Golf Club, and they twisted my arm and made me attend.  As the header implies, I'm prepared to tackle the tough assignments for my loyal readers.

Baltusrol will need no introduction to readers of this blog.  It's simply one of the premiere names in the golf

Directions to our meeting room included a right turn at 1980 Jack.

world, as they've been host to seven U.S. Opens, four U.S. Amateurs, two Women's U.S. Opens and they will host their second PGA Championship in 2016.  It's probably best known (at least in our era) as the location of two of Jack Nicklaus' four U.S. Opens (1967 and 1980), but it's been hosting USGA events since 1901.

Perhaps two other events are worthy of mention.  First, Bobby Jones lost in the final of the 1926 U.S. Amateur to George Von Elm.  he found himself two down to Von Elm on the 13th holes, and played a risky shot attempting to carry a creek that angles across the fairway.  He did not succeed and lost the match, but it is said that his appreciation for that hazard was replicated in the angle of the creek on the 13th at Augusta National.

While Baltusrol as a club dates to 1895, that was of course too earlt to have involved the great Tillinghast.  He found the existing course not worth preserving, and developed Baltusrol as a "dual course", routing, designing and building both courses simultaneously between 1918-22.  From the club's website:

Untried prior to Tillinghast’s proposal, the Dual Courses concept was an historic accomplishment in the world of golf course design at the time and made Tillinghast’s career. In fact, his seminal work at Baltusrol is the subject of an application for National Historic Landmark status, currently pending with the National Park Service. Baltusrol is already listed on the State of New Jersey and Federal Registers of Historic Places.

The storied clubhouse from the chipping green.

Our outing was on the Upper Course, which I much prefer.  As it's name implies, it's on the higher ground of the property with greater elevation changes, and it's the far more playable of the two.   The Lower is no doubt a great test of championship golf, but I'll confess it's a bit of a Bataan Death March with back-breaking Par-4 after back-breaking Par-4.  And lest you think we played min-golf, we played this alleged "members' course" from the so-called Baltusrol (green) tees which clocks in at 6,558 yards, and carries a gaudy rating and slope of 72.5 and 142, respectively.

I shan't bore with details of the golf, but fun was had by all.  I played with Bill Baum, who has become a friend after we played together at Knickerbocker and Bethpage.  We were paired with two very nice

The NYC skyline from the 5th tee.

gentlemen named Mike and Dan, with whom we got on famously, or so I thought.  As we were walking up the 18th fairway (our 5th hole of the afternoon), I noticed that Dan's ball had unfortunately come to rest in a large divot.  He asked me whether he was required to play it from there, and I mumbled something about the rub of the green and it was unfortunate and not completely fair and....by then I was probably out of earshot.

I can only conclude that my answer was unsatisfying to Dan, because he hit me with his shot from the divot.  I tell you, these guys are good!

It one-hopped into the fleshy side of my knee and there's only the slightest discoloration and no pain, but I take your point, Dan.  I don't know what got into my head to think the ball should be played as it lies, and I shan't be making that mistake again.  A good laugh was had by all for the remainder of the round and over an adult beverage later, and since a blogger needs good stories, I thank you, Dan.

The other story starts on the putting green, when I look down and see something completely unexpected but known to me, since I blogged about it last week here.  It was an actual Schenectady putter wielded by a gentleman named Kevin Mendik.  Kevin plays exclusively with hickories, and I stopped on my way out of the parking lot to go through his bag with him.

There were putting and approach cleeks, spoons and one of the concave wedges designed by Walter Hagen but banned in 1931.  Come to think of it, Kevin, while I know the R&A's ban of the Schenectady putter was overturned, is that concave wedge, you know, conforming?

I can't tell you the joy at running across someone geekier than your humble blogger.  I must get Kevin and his hickories to Willow Ridge... how much fun will that be?  There is one issue, though, and that's that the old equipment doesn't work with the modern golf ball.  Anybody know where I can score some Tour Balatas?

Kevin with his non-conforming wedge in the parking lot.

In addition to a presentation by club members on preparations for the 2016 PGA Championship, we also had a presentation by Bobby Jones related to their apparel and equipment lines.  Best of all, the equipment portion featured Jesse Ortiz, the renown golf club designer who made his reputation at Orlimar, anyone remember the Tri-Metal Wood?   First and foremost, Jesse couldn't be a nicer guy.....I met him on the range and he approached me and introduced himself.  We spent a few minutes discussing his clubs, mostly the hybrids, which my old Governors' Cup partner and blog blurber (try saying that three times quickly) Elliot DeBear absolutely loved.

I did very much like the club, the sole of which is far more rounded than most hybrids you'll see, which is why Jesse believes they work better out of the rough.  He even took me over to the side of the range where I could create a range of lies in the rough, and I was quite impressed.  Of course I just bought two new hybrids, so I'm not exactly in the market, but I'm happy to plug a good product and guy.  Later Jesse gave a world-class rant (and that's a genre in which I consider myself competitive) on the state of the equipment market, taking the TaylorMades of the world to task for their hour and a half product cycles and the like.

Lastly, how do you know you're at a first rate club?  Sometimes it's the small stuff, such as my love of the ball-washer towels at Round Hill.  In this week's installment, it's the cooler on the golf course filled with Fuji apples:

I can't tell you how good the Fuji's were.

Weekend Notes

We've got some of this and some of that for you today...  spanning the globe as we do on your behalf.

Female by Mail - Shackelford points us to the announcement from the R&A that vote on whether to allow women members will take place by mail, allowing all of the estimated 2,500 worldwide members to participate.  From the club's press release:

25 July 2014, St Andrews, Scotland: A postal ballot among members of the Club on a motion

to admit women as members will be conducted prior to the announcement of the result on 18 September 2014. This replaces the vote that was previously scheduled to take place at the Club’s Business Meeting on that day. By taking this decision all members can take part in this historic vote.

In a separate post at The Loop, Shack continues his "What They Said and What They Meant" riff, providing this translation:

"A ballot is to be sent by mail because many of members of the Club still do not use email. The motion to admit women as members, a portion of the population we still rather unbelievably do not allow in our club. The vote will be announced on Sept. 18, 2014. Not coincidentally, that is the day Scotland votes on its independence, ensuring this embarrassing situation is tucked deep into the Empire's newspapers the next day. This postal ballot replaces the potentially disastrous vote that was previously scheduled to take place at the Club's Business Meeting on Sept. 18 and which might have only been attended by those still hoping for a big, all-things 19th century comeback. By taking this decision to all members, including those preferring the 20th century and even the handful who have faith in this new 21st century, all members can take part in this embarrassingly historic vote."

Your humble blogger takes comfort in the realization that there's at least one person less likely to be invited to join the R&A.  But the fact that an organization that was formed in the 1700's would, you know, have older members that don't use e-mail shouldn't surprise us.  Nor should the fact that their membership policies change a bit more slowly than we'd like.  I understand that the Wrath of Khan will descend upon them if the vote goes the "wrong" way, but shouldn't we be a tad more supportive during the process?

I don't think I'm any less cynical than Geoff, but my interest is more in understanding how the wider balloting might affect the outcome.  I had initially assumed that Peter Dawson felt that he could better control the balloting of the in-person attendees, but now I'm not quite so sure.  

Chicks Dig the Long Ball, PGA Championship Edition - As previously noted, the PGA of America is going Back to the Future or some such thing at Valhalla.  We're long on press releases today, but I'll let them tell it:

The 96th PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club will host the return of the PGA

Championship Long Drive Competition, which originated in 1952 when the Championship was conducted at Big Spring Country Club in Louisville. 

During a practice round on Tuesday, Aug. 5, all players will be offered the opportunity to hit one tee shot from the No. 10 Tee. The ball will have to come to rest in the fairway to be eligible to win the Long Drive Competition. 

Awards will be given to the top three finishers with winners receiving a money clip inspired by the one that Jack Nicklaus received in the first of his two consecutive PGA Championship Driving Contest titles in 1963. That year, Nicklaus, using a persimmon driver and wound golf ball, hit a winning drive of 341 yards, 17 inches.

I wasn't aware that the event was first held at a Louisville PGA, so that's kinda cool.   And the money clip, the original of which is pictured above, is also great.  But I had a stand alone event in mind, yanno one with yardage stripes like a football field.  Doesn't sound like we'll see much of it on television, which seems like an unforced error.

My prediction is that Tiger will play only the front nine on Tuesday.  

Midterm Grades:  The newly-created International Crown has reached its midpoint, and since there was American blood you can assume there will be tweaks next year.  Here's how Beth Ann Nichols summed things up:

The International Crown was fantastic right up until the point when the U.S. got knocked out.

That’s not opinion, it’s a fact for all involved – sponsors, fans, TV viewers. Sunday’s rainy forecast for Caves Valley got even gloomier when South Korea eliminated the home team in a sudden-death total score playoff. 

The four American players – who admittedly underperformed the first day – walked into the interview room in a mild state of shock. Paula Creamer was all set to walk out on the first tee to Lenny Kravitz’s “American Woman” on Sunday (player’s choice). Instead she’ll probably walk to the mall. 

The U.S. was one point away from being tied for the lead in Pool A, but an unlikely loss for Stacy Lewis and Creamer on the 18th to Thailand’s Pornanong Phatlum and Onnarin Sattayabanphot put the top-seeded Americans in a playoff with No. 2 seed South Korea.

Actually, both of the highly-favored teams underperformed, that's how the two top-seeded teams ended up in a "wild-card" playoff.  I had many interruptions, but the format seemed to provide for an intense day of team match-play, with many iterations and permutations being tossed around.  It was perhaps slightly more complicated than need-be, and I suspect we'll conclude that Saturday was the high-point of the event.

One of the losers had this to say after the fact: 

 “I think that everybody, every team should be playing on Sunday,” said Lewis. “I just think it’s too bunched up with the points.”

Stacey, dear child, you're still in the denial stage of your grief, entirely understandable.  With some time you'll come to understand that it's the win-or-go-home dynamic that creates the intensity and makes it must-see television.   In the meantime, I do hope you'll take pride in your participation medal.

It's really a shame for the event that the Americans are gone, as TV ratings will naturally plummet.  I know Sunday is individual match-play, but I have no idea how the match-ups are decided with five, four-person reams in the mix.  But team match-play is da' bomb, and I do hope this event survives.

And one last note on the event, which is a kudo to Commissioner Mike Whan for inviting Carol Mann, a women's golf legend and Baltimore native, to the event.

For Golfers Who Read - That great bastion of effete Eastern intellectualism, The New Yorker, has done us

a solid, opening up its archives of all published articles since 2007.  This matters because they publish some of the best long-form golf pieces anywhere, covering writers such as David Owen, John McPhee and even Larry David.

Both Shackelford and Luke Kerr-Dineen provide links to worthy pieces, with much overlap between the two lists.  Included is David Owen's The Ghost Course about Askernish, my great white whale to which I've linked previously and his more recent article on The Yips, which I discussed here.    

For the record I'd like to note that I disregarded 4,000 years of cultural heritage and paid full newstand price for the issue with David Owen piece on the Yips.  In his announcement, David Remnick, the Editor with whom I grew up in bucolic Hillsdale, NJ and whose butt I whipped on the tennis court, also announced that they'll be periodically releasing older articles from behind the paywall, so here' hoping that includes some of the Herbert Warren Wind works.

All Hail the Keiser - Peter Finch poses a simple question, if the golf industry is in the toilet hos can Mike Keiser keep building golf courses?  Turns out that the secret is in the dirt sand:

How can he keep building all these courses when news about the golf economy is generally so

dour? The difference is the sand, he says. 

“As you know, these are links golf courses built on sand and using fescue grass,” Keiser explains. “Most U.S. courses are built on dirt. People love the links courses. They always have. They’ve flooded over to Ireland and Scotland for decades, for that reason. The Wisconsin courses won’t be links because they’re not on the ocean, but they will be virtually treeless and links-like.”

Click through for updates in Cabot Links (pictures) and  Sand Valley, in the middle of Nowhere, WI.  Though I do need to let him add this:

For this 1,500-acre site, set about an hour and 45 minutes north of Madison, Wis., Keiser imagines multiple courses. "We're near the final 18-hole routing" on the first, also designed by Coore and Crenshaw, Keiser says. "It will be final after a mid-August trip with Bill and Ben and my son, Michael, and me. We'll also nail down a final clubhouse site, at which point we’ll begin grading the course. Next year we’ll put in the irrigation, do the fine grading in September 2015, and by 2016 we'll have some founder play." 

Founder play? Keiser rounded up 155 investors -- "friends who wanted to be part of a golf-course project" -- to help finance the development. It was a sort of Keiser Kickstarter. "They get all kinds of freebies," he explains, including a chance to play the course first. 

He’s already talking about starting a second course there. "My philosophy is 1 plus 1 equals 3," he says. "One course is a curiosity, two is a destination."

You got any golf bloggers in the Rolodex, Mike?  

 He's a Pro in His Chosen Field - Ever get annoyed at the favorable treatment of pros at resorts?  Then you might enjoy this bit of schadenfreude:

A Michigan man recently took that to an extreme when, according to police reports, he constructed an elaborate scheme in which he secured $16,146 in "goods, services and lodging" at the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in outside of Pittsburgh.

His name wasn't Leviton by any chance (inside joke for Willow Ridge members)?

Ordeals by Asparagus -  Those who have had the honor of dining with me know that my aversion to vegetables rivals my contempt for John Daly.  How can this possibly relate to golf, I hear the reader asking, and I'll just link you to this David Owen piece about the village of Formby, up the road from Royal Birkdale.

It's the typical David effort, meandering through foxes, hippos and an autopsy.  We played Formby and S&A, tow of the courses he mentions, on our 2010 trip to the area.  And the Formby Ladies Club, which is entirely contained withing the circular routing of Formby Golf Club, was amusingly described as being 6,000 yards long and one yard wide.  Just read the whole short piece and enjoy the picaresque ride...

Spousal Abuse - As the bride adjusts to her non-conforming hip, she's been hitting it longer and throwing up some really good scores.  Yesterday we had an amusing scene, where her cousin mad an unplanned drive-by on the way home from Martha's Vinyard to Washington, DC.  But Theresa was on the golf course and, as she explained to me in a hurried phone call, it was round she "needed to finish."

Sure enough she parred No. 18 for an 88, her all-time low on our home track.  And No. 18 is her toughest hole on the golf course, so good on her, and I fully expect that she'll best that score shortly.  I just want to get out there that she is undoubtedly going to clean my clock on our Ireland trip... I've created a monster.

Blogus Interruptus - Blogging will likely be light between now and Tuesday morning.  This afternoon we'll be hosting our Scottish friends Elsie and John Coupland at The Ridge (yes, the famed Scottish Housewife will be in the building, alert the media) and tomorrow is the Metro. Golf Writers Ass'n. meeting at Baltusrol.  We'll be playing their Upper Course, which I've not played since the latest renovation, and I might have something to say about it.  Fingers crossed that we dodge the thunderstorms for both.

Ryder Cup Update

I've been promising this for a bit, but let's take a look at how the teams are shaping up at the three-quarter

pole.  We'll break precedent and start with the home team and holders:

If the points race ended after the Open Championship, the nione automatic qualifiers would be:

1. Rory McIlroy
2. Victor Dubuisson
3. Jamie Donaldson
4. Henrik Stenson
5. Sergio Garcia
6. Justin Rose
7. Martin Kaymer
8. Thomas Bjorn
9. Luke Donald

For the time being, I've ignored the complication in their points system.  I'm not surprised to see Donaldson qualifying off the Euro points list, since that's where he plays all of his golf.  But I am surprise to see Bjorn and Donald in the mix, as they don't seem to have done much lately (especially Donald).

Since anyone who might sneak into the top four on the Euro list also appears on the international list, we'll list those just on the wrong side of the bubble:

1. Stephen Gallacher
2. Graeme McDowell
3. Ian Poulter
4. The Most Interesting Man in Golf
5. Francesco Molinari

Before we get to my thoughts on how this team will fill out, there was this from our Monty:

“If Langer and I were paired together in the foursomes, we’d feel we could bring a point home

for Europe,” Montgomerie said. “We’d need to sit out the fourballs though – we’d be knackered. 

“But it is definitely a possibility for a 50-year-old-plus to play and compete. 

"Tom Watson proved it at the Open in 2009 and I’m so looking forward myself to playing in the USPGA Championship in a few weeks. If I can play the way I did in the last round of the Senior PGA and the first round of the US Senior Open – two 65's – then I can compete at Valhalla.”

It's  great to have confidence, but.... In watching the Senior Open Championship yesterday, I was amused to hear the commentators opine that Bernhard Langer will receive serious consideration as a Ryder Cup Captain's Pick.  Really, guys?  'Cause I'm guessing he'll get as much consideration as I will... he's a great player who's become a force of nature amongst the round-bellies, but McGinley ain't going there.  The only senior who might be on McGinley's radar is Jimenez, who has actually earned Ryde rCup points, but the Spaniard is such a short hitter that I can't see it.

From where I sit, I consider Poulter and McDowell to be mortal locks for Captain's Picks, leaving one slot up in the air.  Names such as Lee Westwood, who is pretty far down the list will be bandied about, as will Gallacher because he's a Scot.  If I were McGinley, though, I'd think long and hard about Jonas Blixt, who is one of the better putters out there.  Remember, you heard it here first.

Now shall we look at the Yanks?  As of today, your nine automatic qualifiers are as follows:

1. Bubba Watson
2. Jimmy Walker
3. Rickie Fowler
4. Jim Furyk
5. Dustin Johnson
6. Jordan Spieth
7. Matt Kuchar
8. Jason Dufner
9. Zach Johnson

Not sure of you're reaction, but that roster sure doesn't blow me away.  Here's a short list of those who might still have time to make a move and qualify:

1. Patrick Reed
2. Phil Mickelson
3. Brendon Todd
4. Chris Kirk
5. Ryan Moore

Names like Webb Simpson, Harris English and Keegan Bradley are further down the list, and I needed a CTR-F to find Tiger in 70th places.

And again before getting to my thoughts, Sam Weinman brings news that Jack has stuck his nose in where it really has no business:

Are you ready for the ad nauseam discussion over whether Tiger Woods deserves to be on the U.S. Ryder Cup team? No? Too bad, because it's already well under way.

After Woods himself chimed in on Sunday at the British Open to say he would contribute to captain Tom Watson's team, Jack Nicklaus said on Thursday a Woods wildcard pick is essentially a no-brainer. But hey, no pressure, Tom!

Is it really that hard to beg off the question?  Just say that it's Tom's decision and look around for the next hand in the air.  We've been all over the issue of Tiger having nowhere to play after the PGA, so it is a conundrum for the Cap'n. no doubt.

I found it interesting how Tiger and Phil differed in their approach to the question.  The former was electioneering at the polls per this Guardian account:

It's more likely Watson pulling out his hair.

Meanwhile, if Woods were in Watson's shoes -- and you know one day he will be -- he said he'd have no problem picking himself. 

"I got picked by Corey back [in 2010]. I was coming off an injury as well there with my Achilles and I sat out for most of the summer, and I felt like I was able to contribute to the team," Woods said. "And that's all you want as a pick -- you want someone who can contribute to the team, whether it's in support or it's in play. I did it then and, hopefully, I can actually earn my way onto this team."

I think Cap'n. Tom is as likely to pick Tiger for his "support" as he is as an excuse to meet Lindsey Vonn.  

Phil took the opposite tack, candidly speculating as whether he's deserving:

"I don't know if I played well enough this year to deserve a spot," he said. "You want players

Why is this man smiling?  Errr, because he always is.

that are hot, that are playing well. And I need to step (up) and start doing that."

He also had this, with which I fully agree:

"I don't want to look at it and think about it too much," Mickelson said. "If I play like I did this week at Akron and the PGA, I'll be fine. I'll be on it. But it would be beneficial for both me and Tom [Watson] if I can do it on my own."

The American list looks to be more fluid than the Euro list, making it far more difficult to know who will qualify on their own.  I do believe that Phil needing a pick will complicate the Tiger decision, I still believe it to be highly likely that both will be in Gleneagles.  After all, the Tiger decision is not about him in isolation, it's a matter of Tiger vs. the alternative, say Chris Kirk.   As the Ghostbusters asked, "Who ya gonna call?"

Dispatches From Planet Rory

As we all know, it's Rory's world and we're just lucky to live in it...

Think golf moves too slowly>  Miss any of Rory's Sunday march to the Claret Jug?  Then enjoy the supercut:

Worried about Rory's earning potential?  Concerned that Dad won't share any of the payout from his audacious bet that Rors would snag a Claret Jug before age 26?  Fear not, Peter Finch provides some background on the typical contractual terms for struggling Tour players:

"Almost all contracts have bonuses tied to winning, and to winning majors," agent Mac

Barnhardt of Crown Sports LLC told Golf Digest’s Ron Sirak earlier this year. "And the bonus for winning a major is two to four times higher than for a regular win. So we're talking bonuses from $100,000 to $500,000 per contract."

Sirak continued: “According to one agent who spoke on the condition of anonymity, [Justin] Rose's $1.2 million TaylorMade deal doubled in value after his Open victory. The same agent says [Phil] Mickelson got a $1 million bonus from Callaway for winning the British Open. A second agent says Rose and Masters winner Adam Scott will earn an extra $3 million to $5 million annually for winning a major."

No actual data is provided for Rory's Nike contract, but I'm guessing we can hold off on that rent party for the lad.

Next up, remember the indignity of Rory playing with a marker after making the cut at the Masters?  Well, with the whole world looking past the PGA and towards Rory's first attempt  at a career slam, he's channeling his inner Johnny Mercer to "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive":

"I've always been comfortable from tee to green at Augusta," said McIlroy, who wound up shooting 69 the day after his Saturday pairing with amateur Jeff Knox "And it's taken me a few years to figure out the greens . . . if I can just figure out the greens a little bit more. What really helped me last year was playing with Jeff Knox in the third round. He's my amateur marker and he's the best I've ever seen on Augusta's greens." 

Of course, Knox isn't just any amateur. The longtime member of Augusta National has played in two U.S. Amateurs, is a two-time mid-amateur champion in Georgia, and holds the Augusta National course record from the members tees with a 61. He has been a noncompeting marker if there has been an odd number golfers to make the cut in the tournament since 2002 and reportedly upset Sergio Garcia by beating him in the final round in 2006. In this year's third round, Knox shot 70 to McIlroy's 71, but McIlroy reacted much differently.

Well, let's first note that that was the old, spit-in-the-cup Sergio, not the current high-on-life incarnation.  Phil Casey had this from Knox:

And Knox declared last night that he could save McIlroy a handful of shots which might make all the difference to his bid to join Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods in winning all four major titles.

 Good on ya mate for your openness to help from unexpected sources.  

And Rory also grabbed himself a Sports Illustrated cover:

He does look the Very Model of a Modern Major Winner, doesn't he?  Bonus points for those who got the oh-so-clever Gilbert & Sullivan reference...And G&S and Johnny Mercer in the same post?  You guys should be paying for this stuff.  But I digress...

Though Ed Sherman found the Masters Preview reference to be be a none-too-subtle dig at the PGA:

I imagine this headline on the cover caught the attention of the PGA of America: “Masters Preview 2015: Why wait?” 

Michael Bamberger’s story already is pumping up the anticipation of McIlroy trying to complete the career Grand Slam at Augusta National next April. Still, I’m sure next month’s PGA Championship in Louisville will feel a bit overlooked. At last check, it still is considered a major.

Yanno, from the start of the year I liked him best at Valhalla.  It's a target golf course and in the sweltering heat of Louisville in August, you have to figure the course will begetting lots of water.  Oh, and when Rory wins, he tends to win them in bunches.

Like me, are you wondering how the Claret Jug is holding up under the stress of keeping up with a youngster?  It's had a bit of a tough week, per Josh Sens:

Having partied hard with the Claret Jug in the wake of his big win at Royal Liverpool, British

Open champion Rory McIlroy showed up empty handed Tuesday at Stormont Castle, the seat of government of Northern Ireland. 

“Sorry I don’t have the Claret Jug,” McIlroy told his home country’s First Minister and Deupty First Minister Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness, according to the Independent newspaper. “It is not going everywhere with me. It is getting a bit of clean up after last night.”

McIIroy, it seems, had spent the previous evening at Ollie’s nightclub in Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter, camped out at a table in the VIP section in the company of buddies, beer and Red Bull—and the iconic Open trophy.

You mean it's not dishwasher safe?  That's what's wrong with the Old World, it's, you know, old!

Are you despondent that Rory and Nadia Forde are just friends?  Do you worry that he didn't have that special someone with whom to celebrate the big win? Let your heart be light, as Luke Kerr-Dineen informs:

Who knew flappers are back?

But new reports are surfacing that Rory has been seeing someone else: 23-year-old part-time model, part-time receptionist Sasha Gale. The two have been spotted around town, and The Sun quotes an anonymous source saying their romance was "blossoming."

And if you can't believe The Sun, who can you believe?   

Looking for an update on former BFF's Rory and Graeme?  Gotcha covered as always... We noted Graeme's day-of comments earlier, here's what he had to offer after further reflection:

However, McDowell feels the talented new generation in the game will make it impossible for his fellow Northern Irishman to match Woods at his prime, the former world No 1 winning

seven of his 14 major titles between August 1999 and June 2002. 

"I don't think we'll ever see the dominance of Tiger Woods in the late '90s, early 2000s. I don't think we're ever going to see that again," said McDowell, who was one of 15 different winners of the 16 majors played between 2009 and 2012. 

"For every Rory there's an Adam Scott and Jordan Spieth and Sergio Garcia and a Tiger and a Phil (Mickelson). There's too many good players now. It's so deep. It's so strong. Everyone is so good.

I thinks that's absolutely true, but wonder if in the context of the litigation if it's ripe for misinterpretation.  I also think Jeff Rude makes a valid comparison here:

Rory McIlroy, newly minted Open Championship winner, has a remarkable record that actually has characteristics of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. 

Besides Woods, he is the lone rare separation player in decades. Not only is McIlroy three corners into the career Grand Slam, he won two of the major championships by eight strokes apiece and had a seven-shot lead on Sunday in the other. That’s Woodsian stuff. 

The performance tendency of McIlroy, because he is only 25, will take a certain unknown shape over the next decade or so. But until now, his graph chart for winning resembles the up-and-down of Mickelson way more than the regular success of an in-prime Woods. Like Lefty, the trend shows that when McIlroy is on, he’s really on, and when he’s not, he can resemble just another player.

Are you, like me, staying up nights in the hopes that Rory will settle his suit against his former management company so that he and Graeme can rekindle their spark?  The news on that front isn't encouraging, as per the Belfast Telegraph:

Sources close to ongoing talks between lawyers for both sides indicated the case is likely to go to a full trial next year. 

Those talks, which have been ongoing for several days, have been limited to the issue of documents that may be involved in the case. 

There has been no discussion about a possible resolution of the complaint made by McIlroy against Dublin firm Horizon Sports Management.

Well, we do want it to drag on past the Ryder Cup, don't we now?   I don't put a lot of stock in the value of team room awkwardness, but we Yanks need all the help we can get.