A few thoughts to share with you on a lazy Saturday afternoon.
No Surprises Here - Will Gray catches up with Webb Simpson and you'll be shocked to discover that he had a touch few days in Auchterarder:
"The golf side was a terrible experience because I only played in two matches," Simpsonsaid.. "I showed up in Scotland really ready to play and excited to play, and when you sit through three matches in a row, it's tough.
"So the golf part for me stunk, I'm not going to lie. I mean, if I said the golf was great, you could call me a liar, and we didn't win. If I sit three matches and we win, I'll have a different answer."
No doubt, as if he was good enough for a valuable Captain's Pick, you'd think you'd want to play the guy. Of course he was taken either a.) Because he's the Bubba-whisperer; or b.) Because of his impassioned telephone plea to Watson, neither of which speaks well of those parties.
Meanwhile the local paper caught up with Jack Nicklaus in the midst of his umpteenth revamping of PGA National, and Jack sprung to his old adversary's defense:
“(The Europeans) just played better,” Nicklaus said at a ribbon-cutting ceremony marking the official reopening of the Champion course at PGA National Resort. “It doesn’t make any difference how much planning you do, if the other team plays better, they’re going to win.”
“When I had teams and guys had problems, we went back to the team room and talked about it. That’s where the conversation should be. (And) I feel the same about the task force thing. That’s sort of overkill. We’ve had 70 years of the Ryder Cup and it’s gotten along just fine. The pendulum will swing back without making a monumental thing about it.”
But Jack, don't you think the Euro's would play poorly if we had pods? Now that last bit I like, though Jack is old enough to remember when the Ryder Cup was just an exhibition, and maybe that attitude would be more helpful at this point. Or, you know, pods...
Apple Golf - Amongst the other virtues of Quaker Ridge was a very well stocked pro shop. One of recurring gags is to ask our pro shop staff where the section with my size is, because the only accurate answer is either Golfsmith or perhaps Westchester Country Club.
I was surprised to see that the QR Pro Shop carried Game Golf, a system for tracking your play using sensors placed on the butt end of each club. I'm quite intrigued by the system, but haven't taken the plunge. The woman at Quaker told me they had just reduced the price, she thought because of a competitive system about to hit the market.
So I'm wondering if this is that competitor:
Arccos has developed sensors that attach to the butt end of golf clubs and automatically deliver real-time statistical data to an iPhone app. Apple stores began carrying Arccos sensors on Wednesday.
“It has to make sense for Apple to have your products,” Syed said. “Our product is directly integrated to the iPhone and basically brings the iPhone to life on the golf course. That is something that hasn’t been achieved before. For golfers, it gives them a compelling reason to take their iPhone on the golf course and derive value for it.
“A huge reason is the product itself. This is the first time in golf that there are going to be automatic sensors that detect shots and transmit data information without having to do anything. The immediacy of the information via the iPhone platform is a game changer.”
With Game Golf, you need to tap the club against a device on your belt. Here it seems that the shots are sensed through movement of the sensors on the clubs, and there's no possibility of missing anything. Though that immediacy could be an issue...
But it's October and almost ski season, so no need to do anything for six months.
Stepping In It Again - The politics of Northern Ireland are quite convoluted, as the world's No. 1 player found out when pressed on his plans for the 2016 Olympics. He ultimately declared for the Irish team, but he got himself in a spot of bother recently over the local soccer team. Here was the offending tweet:
That was in response to the Northern Ireland team's win in Greece, but those in the Republic took offense that he ignore their win that same day.
There's almost no way one can win in these things, so perhaps better to keep it to yourself. Though that makes things quite dreary and what can be wrong with Standing for the Ulstermen (Lowell, if you're reading, I still can't get that tune out of my mind).
And, if you're like me, there's a certain depraved schadenfreude in watching a PGA Tour pro play a shot from a water hazard knowing that'll soil their perfectly white pants. And since you undoubtedly missed the PGA Grand Slam of Golf, do click through and watch Rory make a complete mess of both the hole and his slacks, only to chip in for a sick par.
Now That's an Anchored Putter - Henrik Stenson has been seen breaking in a new putter. Want a look?
I'm pretty sure that's illegal after 1/1/16.
World Yawn - Are you, like your humble yet ecstatic blogger, excited about the move of the Chevron Hero World Challenge to Isleworth, Tiger's former lair? I know, thank God we don't have to wait for The Tavistock Cup to see this great track, and the event is scheduled for December 4-7.
In any event, Brentley Romine has the field for Tiger's silly season event, and it's a pretty good one,
including the Bubbameister, Horschel, Spith, Kuchar and other name brands.
I've never had a problem with the Silly Season, though I'm unclear why we need one with the 2015 season underway. But I do think it's quite crazy that they are now awarding world ranking points for this event, with an 18-man field. Quite crazy!.
Heeere's Johnny - Love him or hate him, sometimes in the same moment, but it remains Miller Time through at least 2017:
"I was thinking I'm 67. I'm getting up there," Miller said over the weekend at Silverado, where he was the unofficial host at the Frys.com Open. "I didn't know how my marbles were going to be at that time. So far, I haven't lost too many. I'll be the first guy to quit this if I start losing it."
Instead, he extended his deal with NBC Sport through at least 2017, with an option for another year.
No lack of self-confidence, but many will be demanding a second opinion. Of course with the loss of the U.S. Open and no Ryder Cup, his biggest event in 2015 will be....The Honda? Just kidding Commish, it will of course be the Tour Championship, the culmination of the season-long race for the FedEx Cup. Now will you take my call?
Eric Who? - Golf, Inc. Magazine is out with it's list of the most powerful people in golf, and the headline is that Donald Trump isn't at the top of the list. Gonna ruin his day no doubt, but of course
that's why it's the headline.
No. 1 is Eric Affeldt of Club Corp., which is now the largest owner of golf courses and one of the largest management companies (yawn). But the list mixes course operators such as you-know-who at No.2 with Jack Nicklaus (No. 4) and Commissioner Ratched (No. 5), and seems a hopeless muddle to your correspondent. Sam Weinman has a piece on why that makes sense, if you're so inclined or need something to help you sleep.
No comments:
Post a Comment