The Warning Signs of Clinical Depression

For some reason I've been receiving an inordinate amount of spam recently related to clinical depression..... Coincidence?  Perhaps not, as we desperately await the arrival of spring and the opening of our golf course, while outside it snows.  

It doesn't snow in Utah, but it won't let up here in New York.... not that I'm bitter or anything.  So before I hurt someone, let's see if we can amuse ourselves...

Are They All Playing Fly Away Technology? - Yesterday we saw Phil's 8-iron catch the lip of a fairway bunker....literally.  Alex Myers informs that on the same day Troy Merritt had quite a different equipment malfunction:

OK, what the heck is going on at the Valero Texas Open? The first day featured the craziest birdie ever by Aaron Baddeley as well as 31 players failing to break 80 at TPC San Antonio in windy conditions. It also provided two of the strangest equipment malfunctions you'll ever see.

First, Troy Merritt, whose 2-iron's face caved in somehow on the 11th hole:

Troy, it's 2015...nobody carries a 2-iron any more... and he won't be carrying this one again.  He plays Wilson, and that's not a great advertisement for the soft Wilson balls... 

In other news of slack manufacturing tolerances, Luke Kerr-Dineen posts a video of Stephen Gundrum's rough day at the range.   I can't get the video to play there, but you can see it here on Instagram, and I'll post a screenshot below:

That UFO to the left of his left elbow would be the head of his driver.  Looked like a TaylorMade driver in the video, so we've covered Cally, TM and Wilson just in the last twenty-four hours...

America's Sweetheart, The Sequel - We won't see her next Sunday at Augusta National, but we will see more of her, which is all that matters:

The inaugural U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball field just received a delightful boost. Young Lucy Li, the ice cream-wielding tween who wowed us at Pinehurst No. 2 last summer, medaled at Pasatiempo Golf Club March 26 with teammate Kathleen Scavo, a 17-year-old senior at Justin-Siena High School in Napa, Calif. 

Li, you might recall, beat Scavo by seven strokes at Half Moon Bay to become the youngest to ever qualify for the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open. This time around, however, they will form a formidable team May 9-13 at Pacific Dunes in Bandon, Ore. Li, now 12, is wise beyond her years but only in the seventh grade. Scavo received a scholarship to play at Oregon next fall.

I do hope this is included in Fox's package with the USGA, as Pacific Dunes will be a great venue...

Tiger, Flush - Josh Sens informs that any plans to hold a rent party for Eldrick can be put on hold, as he'll be cashing some big checks:

The practice range isn't the only place where Tiger Woods has a lot of work to do.

Golf.com has learned that Woods has been tapped to redesign a golf course in Beijing, China, a layout that will become the flagship in a constellation of a dozen private clubs that will provide members access to all courses in the cluster. 

The project will mark Woods’ first foray into Asia as a course designer and two sources closely involved in the golf industry in Asia tell Golf.com it’s a lucrative one -- part of a two-course deal that will pay him a staggering $16.5 million.

Wow, that is staggering and quite curious... hold on for a sec as to why I find it curious, but as Josh and Shack note, golf in China is it's own tangled web.  Back to Josh:

The Beijing project will bring Woods to a country with a deeply conflicted relationship to golf. Though scorned publicly by government officials, the game is wildly popular among the wealthy. 

Since 2004, when the Chinese government announced a moratorium on course construction, more than 400 new layouts have been built. However, the current regime in China has soured on golf and a number have been closed in the past year. Other courses -- including a design by celebrated architect Tom Doak on Hainan Island -- appear to face uncertain futures. 

In June, the Chinese government is expected to announce new golf course regulations, with more rigid limitations on development on agricultural land and in national forests, as well as in coastal areas. How well those regulations will be enforced is another matter. But in China, as most places elsewhere, plow-over renovations should remain easier to push through the approval process than new construction.

So Tiger as a felon?  Could be interesting...

The curious part to me is that this seems a rather large long-term investment in the reputation of Tiger at a most curious time.... I have my quibbles with Jack's design work, but if you commissioned a Nicklaus design in the mid-1980's you would be pretty secure in the knowledge that Jack would remain a major figure in our game, and wouldn't do anything to tarnish his reputation.

Do we have a similar level of comfort with Tiger?

Speaking of Which... - Alan Bastable gives us nine reasons why The Masters needs Tiger to play, and I must confess that "Do it for Les Moonves" leaves me cold as a rallying cry:

2. RATINGS WILL TANK WITHOUT HIM

There are three constants in life: Death, taxes and woeful TV ratings when Tiger skips a major. Look no further than the Tiger-less 2014 Masters, which produced the lowest Masters weekend ratings for CBS since 1957. (Doug Ford over Sam Snead, y’all!) Total viewership last year: a depressing 11 million. That’s 4 million fewer viewers than tuned in for the premiere of Season 5 of Downtown Abbey.Downtown Abbey!

The graphic is probably the most compelling part of the piece... there isn't a golf fan that doesn't want Tiger to play, as it adds a compelling story line to the proceedings.  But I'd guess that the truly interested party will be ESPN, as that first chip would be Must See TV.  

This is Alan's coda:

9. HE’S NOT GETTING ANY YOUNGER

Tiger turns the big 4-0 in nine months. Forty may be the new 30 in some walks, but not in professional golf—at least not when it comes to winning majors. Since 1960, just 9 percent—or 20 of 220—of majors have been won by the 40-and-over set. And no player over 46 has ever won a grand slam title. Clock’s ticking, Tiger. Don’t let another Masters pass you by.

All true but it elides maybe the most important point... If he still dreams of getting to nineteen, the Masters isn't just another major because it's far and away the easiest to win (if you have a tee time).  The other three are just brutal, but this one you only need to best about seventy guys, so have far greater margin for error.  

But does he still hunger for it or, as he's been known to say, is he good.