Such is your humble correspondent's excitement at the start of the new PGA Tour season that I took Friday off from blogging... But the season's first frost delay has created some down time, so let's catch you up on some stories you might have missed.
But That's A Pitcher's Park - Among baseball fans San Diego's Petco Park is especially unfriendly to the bombers, but this sounds like fun in any event:
The San Diego Padres and Callaway are setting up a nine-hole golf course at Petco Park next month. Dubbed "The Links at Petco Park," the course will be open from Nov. 6-8 with tee times starting at $100 for a twosome and $200 for a foursome.
OK, that seems a little pricey, but how exactly will this work?
The Links at Petco Park will begin on a putting green in the home dugout. Golfers will move to the ballpark's upper deck for Nos. 2-5, where they will hit shots onto the field from various locations. The sixth will tee off on the field near the Western Metal Supply Co. building in the left field corner before golfers move to the batter's eye in center field for No. 7. The eighth hole will be a putting green in the bullpen. The final hole will be on the roof of the Western Metal Supply Co. Building.
Remember, guys, everything breaks towards...errr....eh, who knows? A fun idea and here's the course:
We need more ideas like this in our game....not that we should overstate its effect, but no doubt the local media will be filled with video of people with golf clubs in hand laughing and having fun. That can't be a bad thing for our game...
Oh, and Shack added this:
**Apparently people really want to hit wedge shots in their favorite ballpark. The event sold out by 5 pm and has now added November 4th to accommodate more Padre fans.
Yeah, and it's the freakin' Padres. Can you imagine if they did this in the stadium of an actual major league team? You'd have to go to a shotgun...
A World-Class Segue - Did someone mention a shotgun? I thought that's what I said....
The news came early Friday from the European Tour: Because of weather concerns atthe Portugal Masters, the impending third round will be played as a shotgun start.
Almost immediately, social media reaction likened it to any other shotgun start featuring mere mortal golfers.
Is it a shamble format? Can players buy mulligans in the pro shop? Will there be a long-drive contest? Closest to the pin? How many beverage carts are out there?
Now Jason Sobel completely over-interprets this story, as with this:
Think about it: In the opening two rounds of any event, you're able to catch your favorite player on live television for only one of those days. Sending a large portion of the field out in a shotgun start would afford television networks the chance to cover a greater variety of players while giving viewers a better chance of catching their favorites.
Anyone know what the heck he's talking about here? Golf Channel typically comes on in the afternoon and the course is completely full with players. The only time a shotgun can improve the viewing options if at 7:00 a.m., and who really cares?
The only real question is whether it would help the tour pick up time and be able to finish on Sunday when faced with weather delays. It seems to me that it might help but only in a limited range of circumstances, such as when an entire round is lost.
These Guys Gals Are Good - The LPGA is in Korea and the reader can insert his or her own tree in the forest joke. But Amy Yang went low on her back nine, and by that I mean Kim Jong Un low:
That's nine straight birds for a tidy little 27.... I don't care if it's on The Links at Petco Park, that's some shooting.
Legs Firmly Crossed - I'm still in need of a teenager to help me with certain technical aspects of this blog, including embedding Instagram videos, so I'll just link you to Geoff for this great trick shot that induces a certain physical reaction from the male of the species. An no, I have no knowledge of what happens if he catches it heavy....
That's all for now, folks, but I'll see you tomorrow morning.
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