'Tis the Season

Fish gotta swim and birds gotta fly, and those that write about golf gotta file their reflective,year-end summary pieces.  So, shall we review the reviews?

From the Golf.com stable we'll kick off with this roundtable of winners, losers and personal reflections.  We'll excerpt Alan Bastable in the latter category:

Bastable: Me pulling a Zhang Xinjun. Yes, shamefully I, too, signed an incorrect scorecard, at an office tournament at North Shore Country Club in Glen Head, N.Y. The gaffe cost my partner (who carried us most of the day) and I a runner-up finish and led to merciless razzing over lunch. “Hey, De Vincenzo, could you pass the salt?”

Alan, I'm cool with the self-loathing thing, as I'd no doubt react similarly.  But in no way is this a Zhang, for you seem to have done it only the once.  A very important distinction, no?

 The best stuff by far is in the last category, along the lines of things you saw that others should know of, and includes this wonderful gesture from a certain Ulsterman:

A father was nearby with his disabled son, who was wheelchair-bound with limited

Well done, lad.

motor skills, but clearly an avid golf fan. Graeme McDowell sent his caddie over with a pass into a nearby tent that was air-conditioned. Later he wandered over and talked to the pair for a while. Then, with no cameras or commotion, he wheeled the kid to the edge of the putting green, placed his putter in the kid’s hand, and helped him stroke a few putts. It was a nice show of class.

There's also a wonderful anecdote about Phil that's not to be missed.

Batting second is Mike Bamberger, with a highly personal list of highs and lows for the year, the

latter amusingly limited to those involving the PGA of America.  Yeah, they did kinda suck all the oxygen out of the room in the back half of the year, but Mike doesn't even include the nocturnal completion of their signature championship on his list.  But I do like that he separated Bishopsgate into its two equally inane constituent parts.

Mike's list of high points is good as well, including everything from Lucy Li to Oliver Wilson.  But Mo Martin's eagle at Birkdale as Numero Uno?  I know it's a personal list and you wrote the book on links golf, but still....  

Our old friend John Garrity, he of Askernish and Carne fame, is next up, awarding the coveted MPOY award to Ben Crane.  I know, but stick with me on this....  The gist of it was that Ben Crane flew from Portland to Manchester in the hopes of getting into the Open Championship.  He arrive five hours before play started, but ultimately no one dropped out to open a spot for him.

Here's how he reacted:

For three holes, Ben and Joel (Ben's caddie) sipped their bottles of Davenports and shared the clubs in 

Ben Crane, Mike Bamberger and John Garrity in ascending height order.

Ben's bag. On the cloud-scraping 4th tee, Ben spread his arms to take in the sandy shore and the shimmering sea. “Does it get any better than this?” he asked. “I mean, are you telling me there's something better than this?” Hearing no objections, he accepted Wallasey as more-than-adequate compensation for the trying journey. “I'd love to have gotten in,” he said of the Open, “but I wasn't going home without playing some links golf.” 

One of Crane's playing partners, who writes for Sports Illustrated under the name Michael Bamberger, was visibly moved. “You will be paid back for all this, karmically,” he told the pro. The other Yank, after taking some photographs, scribbled in his reporter's notebook. The notes would come in handy, he explained, when awards season rolled around.

I love that reaction as much as John does, and I remember that 4th tee box as well.  But John elides the elephant in the corner.... out for a wonderful stroll in the sun, does Ben still play at the speed of time-lapse photography?  Inquiring minds want to know...

Golf.com also provides a list of The Weirdest Moments in Golf, but be forewarned that the Bubbaclause puts in an appearance.  

The Golfweek staff provides similar retrospectives on the PGA Tour, the LPGA Tour and a nice personal reflection on some of the more interesting (though not most successful players) by Adam Schupak.  

Brad Klein hands out his 2014 architecture awards, no easy task in this era when we no longer, you know, build golf courses.  Tom Doak's Dismal River takes home the big one, though I was most interested in this category:

Best Renovation/Restoration: A three-way tie here. Keith Foster’s restoration of the Philadelphia Cricket Club-Wissahickon Course brought out original designer A.W. Tillinghast’s genius for compelling landforms in a way that finally enabled this singular property to excel after decades under wraps.

I can't wait to see it when it hosts the PGA Professional National Championship next year.  Perhaps if Kunta Kente qualifies I'll loop for him.

We'll go out on a whimsical note, as Alex Myers helpfully compiles his top twenty-five viral golf videos of the year.  They're all here, from the 4-foot putt at Elie to the bear playing with the flagstick...  If you have nothing to do between now and New Years, pour yourself an adult beverage and sit back and enjoy.  Oh, and no worries, the Bubbaclaus didn't make the cut.