Weekend Wrap

I do hope that you appreciate that I'm giving up a portion of my Cyber Monday to add a modicum of pleasure to your otherwise drab existence.  At least, that's how it seems from my vantage point...

Normanesque, Almost - Did you catch any of the Australian Open?  It was wild and wacky Down Under:

Matt Jones said he never felt comfortable. When the final putt curled around the left lip

and in the up to shut the door on Jordan Spieth and Adam Scott, two of the best players in the world, Jones put a fist in the air and arched his back with the palpable relief of man who has almost blown his greatest opportunity. 

He tried to lose the Emirates Australian Open all day. He began bogey, double bogey to lose the advantage that he had started with. He triple-bogeyed the ninth after hitting his second shot into the pond in front of the green. Going up the 18th hole with a one-shot lead, he almost hit his third shot into the water, saved by the wind that blew it back on to the green. "Sloppy,'' was how he described his final round. "Terrible,'' was another adjective he drew upon. But Spieth did not play to his usual levels, and Jones' three-shot buffer was enough. Only just.

Somehow that doesn't quite capture the aura.  I saw those opening holes before retiring Saturday night, and caught the ninth hole on the replay Sunday afternoon, and it felt like a slightly watered down replay of Greg Norman' 1996 death march.

Even knowing that he had won, I couldn't see how he was going to pull it out after that no-good, awful triple.  And to give you a sense of the train wreck in process, after that triple Rod Pampling, already off the golf course, was tied for the lead.  Pampling started the day a mere 14 shots off the lead... He shot 61, but still...

Mike Clayton sums up the schoolboy errors

On cue Jones made a complete mess of the difficult 9th when his second shot found the pond and a seven was the best he could do from there. Thirty-nine out with two birdies is no way to establish any level of equanimity. 

Another Jones double bogey beckoned at the seemingly simple 12th hole and only a shot holed from the sand saved a par. His sand wedge had kept him level with Pampling in the clubhouse and tied with Adam Scott and Spieth who had predictably hung on and then got himself back into the fight.

It should be noted that that second shot was assisted in finding the pond by a tree, one that Jones was ill-advised to attempt to clear.  But he held it together just enough.... and I do mean just.

He held off two certified show ponies, Jordan Spieth and Adam Scott, but they hardly brought their best stuff.  The next swing that Spieth finishes with two hands on the club will be the first in a week, and Scott remains a basket case on the greens.  He has his good stretches with the short putter, but it can turn on a dime, and we all know that makes him suspect under pressure.

Perhaps of greatest significance, Jones, Pampling and Nick Cullen earned tee times at Royal Troon in July.  

We hardly need further evidence that life as a Tour pro is pretty sweet...but Matt Jones ain't exactly Spieth or Day in talent, yet he bags a former Miss Idaho:

For those keeping a scorecard, that's the former Melissa Weber.  Thanks to Alex Myers for posting that at The Loop "For Context".  Context is good, but I'm posting it her for Maggot.

Horses for Courses -  Alternative Title: Home Cooking... Charl Schwartzel is promoting Leopard Creek Golf Club as a future major venue:

Did we ever doubt that Charl Schwartzel would walk away with the Alfred Dunhill Championship, the first event of the 2015-16 European Tour season? 

Not really. 

In fact, tournament organizers would be as well to cancel the tournament next year and just hand Schwartzel the trophy and the first-place check. He practically owns Leopard Creek Golf Club. He is 122 under in 11 appearances in the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek. 

Schwartzel won the tournament for the fourth time on Sunday, and for the third time in the last four years. He took a comfortable three-shot lead into the final round, and walked away with a four-shot victory over France’s Gregory Bourdy after composing a 15-under 273 total.

That's all well and good, but the man has never won anywhere in the summer months, when some important events are typically played.  And, per this, he's not delivered on the promise of his Masters win in 2011:

The victory was overdue. Schwartzel may have won 13 times as a professional, but there’s a sense he hasn’t pushed on from his 2011 Masters win. He has only had three top 10s in the majors since that Masters victory, with a best finish of seventh, at the 2014 British Open and 2015 U.S. Open. 

Schwartzel is only 31. Time is on his side. He has too much talent not to contend in more majors in future.

We'll see, but it's not getting any easier to win important events, and it's telling that so many of his wins have come in events with watered-down fields.

 This Could Take a While - When last we visited the subject of slow play, New Euro Tour chief Keith Pelley was soliciting the help of the aptly-named new R&A majordomo Martin Slumbers to combat the scourge of five-hour rounds.  They held a two-day summit on the subject, and Martin Dempster had this report:

Martin Slumbers, the R&A’s chief executive, believes it is time for golf’s slowcoaches at all levels to be named and shamed after their behaviour was described as both “selfish” and a “form of cheating”. The accusations were made on the second and final day of a pace-of-play symposium in St Andrews, where it was revealed that world No 1 Jordan Spieth had been put on the clock there in this year’s Open Championship. 

While normally one of the game’s quicker players, the step was imposed after the American ignored an earlier nudge from rules officials to speed up in the company of Spaniard Sergio Garcia in the third round. “Sergio made an effort and, on the ninth tee, I said, ‘thank you Sergio for your efforts, but Jordan you’ve made no effort whatsoever, so you are on the clock’,” Kevin Feeney, one of the European Tour’s referees, told the conference. 

He described that step as sending out a “hugely powerful message” and went on to add that it had a positive effect on Spieth rather than a negative one. “When he was on the clock, Jordan went birdie-birdie-birdie and he came over and thanked me after, saying it was essentially the kick he was needing,” added Feeney.

You see the problem no doubt...assessing Jordan Spieth a penalty stroke for slow play might be a "hugely powerful message."  Putting him on the clock for three holes is a tree falling in the forest.  A very small, sickly tree....

And this should come with a warning label to avoid injury from selfie back-slapping:

During his presentation as the focus was turned on players in a bid to improve pace of play in the game, it was revealed that 24 golfers had incurred penalty shots – the last resort after verbal warnings then cash punishments – for slow play in the history of the European Tour.

The list included Seve Ballesteros and two recent Ryder Cup players, Nicolas Colsaerts and Jamie Donaldson, with South African Charl Coetzee and Chinese amateur Guan Tianlang, who was punished at The Masters, among four players hit with penalties in 2013. “There were none in 2014 and 2015, so the message is getting across,” insisted Feeney of the Tour’s education programme.

When the best you have is a penalty shot incurred during the Carter Administration, perhaps your enforcement is a tad lax... and this is his rousing coda:

While delegates heard that the European Tour posts a list at every tournament of players who have either been timed or fined, it is not normal practice for that to be made public. “I think there is a fear to publish,” said Slumbers in reference to slow play culprits across the game. “But I think it would be better for dialogue to publish some names and numbers in both the club and professional game.”

Ya think?  Though we should note that that's far more rigorous than our own PGA Tour.  In a follow-up piece, Dempster added a number of interesting details, most notably this insight as relates to distance measuring devices:

He reckoned the “jury is out” on whether or not distance measuring devices have helped in that respect. Nigel Edwards, a two-time winning Walker Cup captain, agreed, claiming he felt they were having a detrimental effect on the development of young players. “They have decreased the course management skills of elite amateurs,” said the Welshman, another of the speakers. “They just zap the distance and fire at the flag. I’d rather see them not used as players are not managing their golf balls around a course.”

I guess they don't teach logic in Wales, because correlation is not causation.   They don't fire at pins because they have rangefinders, they fire at pins because they have a sand wedge in their hands because the powers that be have not controlled distance.

Club Struggles - It's a tough environment for golf and country clubs, no doubt, but this story caught my eye (h/t Maggot):

For more than 150 years, he has gazed down on the honourable members of England's oldest golf club, dressed in his finest captain’s uniform beside a 1790s putter.

Now, Henry Callender, the famous Captain General of the Royal Blackheath Golf Club, is to step into the breach once more to secure the future of the club, preventing land from being sold from under it.

The portrait, replicated in golf clubs around the world, is to be auctioned off along with the authentic putter from the painting itself, as the club attempts to raise funds to buy the freehold from The Crown Estate.

It is now estimated to sell for up to £800,000 at Bonhams, London, leaving the club’s premises for the first time since the 1800s.

Give it a read, as the prominence of both the club and the image makes this newsworthy.  And for those struggling on the green, the putter featured in the image is to be auctioned separately.

Inside Baseball - The USGA had this announcement that will satisfy Chief Diversity Officers everywhere:

The next president will be Diana M. Murphy, joining Judy Bell as the only women ever to lead the governing body in its nearly 121-year history. Murphy will serve 20 years after Bell held the post.

The more significant new was of course buried:

Sources familiar with the situation tell GolfDigest.com that a change was made in the USGA bylaws so that, going forward, the new president can be anyone on the 15-member Executive Committee.

The sources say the change was made to avoid the embarrassing situation that has happened several times in which the seeming heir-apparent for the president’s post has fallen out of favor with the Nominating Committee and was passed over. 

Under the new system, there will be no distinguishable line of succession.

I can't work up a proper rant on this, so I'll just excerpt Shack's:

The majority of golfers could care less if there is a line of succession in place, particularly after the decision last week to annoy their core consituency of handicap-posting golfers. 

But add this to the list of trial evidence that (A) the USGA Executive Committee determined to conduct even more business in secrecy, (B) is even more willing than ever to hand power to its nominating committee by leaving open the opportunity to ascend to the presidency with little time on the Executive Committee.

And how about this for your weekly schadenfreude installment:

Sources close to the situation say Murphy, who has business experience and an education in communications, is committed to working intensely with Fox to make the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont C.C. in Pennsylvania significantly better.

It was Murphy who made the announcement of the Fox contract, with that back-of-the-hand swipe at NBC.  Fox was going to revolutionize golf broadcasting... how's that working out?

Those Crazy Brits -  I could have lumped these with the item above, but we do love our former Lords and Masters.  First, we've previously discussed the contretemps at Wentworth as the new Chines owner works overtime to cull the membership herd.  

Now Wentworth members are not used to being treated so shabbily, and today comes word of an unusual appeal to authority.  First this delightful table-setter:

Relations between Reignwood Group, which bought the club last year for £135 million, and its membership have sunk to an all-time low.

In a growing escalation in tensions, Wentworth’s Chinese owners are being accused of a lack of respect after the St George’s flag was lowered to half mast for victims of the Paris atrocity while the Chinese flag that also now stands outside the clubhouse was not.

I'm quite sure that's just an oversight....but here's the gist of the matter:

Philip Hammond, the Foreign Secretary, has waded into the row between members of one of Britain’s most prestigious golf clubs and its new Chinese owners, accusing the Beijing-based conglomerate of “very disappointing” behaviour.

Mr Hammond’s intervention will boost the hopes of Wentworth Club’s golfers that he can succeed in forcing the new owners to backtrack in plans for a massive hike in fees and a drastic cull of members. 

Mr Hammond, who is Wentworth’s local MP, will need to use every inch of the diplomatic skills acquired during his tenure as Foreign Secretary.

He must be a first-class diplomat, because his letter to the new owner immediately elicited this profound apology:

It went on: “We lowered the St George’s flag at the entrance to the Club, along with the Union Flag on the roof of the club, as a mark of respect following the devastating terror attacks in Paris earlier this month. 

“The inference that there was any disrespect as a result of the Chinese flag not being lowered is deeply upsetting. We are extremely disappointed to think that any of our members would construe this to be the case.”

Translation:  We are deeply offended that you took offense at our offensive gesture.  Glad we cleared that up...

 On Micro-climates - People are often surprised that Scotland does not get much snow.  Oh they have some mountains and even a couple of ski areas, but the famed links courses in their seaside environs don't see much of the white stuff.  

So it's news when they do, and the Extra Spin gang posted this photo:

Fair enough, but that's just a dusting.  I have this cool photo scanned from a magazine in my files:

And the folks at Golf.com posted this photo of golfers in holiday attire:

Fair enough, though it's really ski season.  A couple of years ago I got off a lift in Utah to this scene:

We skiers have such contempt for boarders that we even hate a snowboarding Santa.

'Tis the Season

Just a few short items to counter the tryptophan coursing through your bloodstream...

An Honor to be Nominated - Golf.com uses a slideshow to award their prestigious 2015 Turkeys....It's mostly familiar items to readers of this blog, as the runaway winner is, of course, this guy:

The four turkeys were well-earned, and he garnered another four for caddie Mick Middlemo firing him mid-round.  Rory is the only other player with two awards, one for the kickabout and the second for 3-iron into the watery grave at Doral.

And this guy also earned a citation for his behavior at Whistling Straits:

I know he tin cupped it, but the fact is that he shouldn't even be in the field.  How about we split the difference and give him the Lifetime Achievement Award.  

They're all the usual suspects, Tiger's glutes, DJ's 3-jack and the like, but the one I had forgotten was the Keegan Bradley- MAJ cage fight in a meaningless consolation match.  Wasn't that a time?

News You Can Use - It being Friday Noir, the Golf Digest folks share eleven gift giving mistakes of non-golfers.  I certainly get why you don't need one of these:

Really, only two digits?  Doesn't that eliminate most of the available market?

Or these :

Apparently they're designed to help locate lost golf balls.  

But if you wear glasses, as your humble blogger does, this looks positively brilliant:

And the UV protection is unsurpassed...

Crisis Update - As you've no doubt heard, golf is in crisis mode, dealing with a freefall in rounds played....  Not so much, but that's the party line.  So it might be a sign that the narrative is changing, when Pravda runs a thumb-sucker that shows golf clubs adapting and, dare we say it, succeeding?

Of course they can't pass up the overwrought, woe is me, table-setter:

With the winter golf season beginning in Florida — the nation’s leader in golf courses

with more than 1,000 — the extremes of failure and success point to a nationwide upheaval in the sport. It was booming when players like Tiger Woods reigned, but has since been roiled by changing tastes and economics, an aging population of players, and the vagaries of the millennial generation’s evolving pastimes. 

There are about four million fewer players in the United States than there were a decade ago, according to the National Golf Foundation. Almost 650 18-hole golf courses have closed since 2006, the group says. In 2013 alone, 158 golf courses closed and just 14 opened, the eighth consecutive year that closures outpaced openings. Between 130 and 160 courses are closing every 12 months, a trend that the foundation predicts will continue “for the next few years.”

As I always remind the Reader, those 4 million golfers played about 1.5 rounds per capita, so it's not near the loss that the doom-and-gloomers want you to take away. So here's a place that's flourishing, despite a name alarmingly similar to Seinfeld's Del Boca Vista:

The Boca West Country Club’s heavy investment in its facilities, Ms. Tanzer said, “is a perfect example of adapting” to the changing economics of golf. “They’re spending a fortune on making the place family-friendly,” she said. “It’s a home run.” 

At Boca West, where it costs new members $70,000 to sign up, Jay DiPietro, the club’s 78-year-old president and general manager, suggested that the troubles besetting some of his competitors could be blamed on poor management and on their focus on “the business of selling houses.” But he operates on a different principle, he said. 

“We’re in the people-pleasing business,” he said. “These people paid a lot to be here.”

For the umpteenth time, we're a niche sport that's not growing, but isn't dying either.  Golf got way over-built, especially in Florida, and a contraction was very much needed.

The New Outlaws -  Gary McCormack takes a look at the USGA's revised handicapping rules, and includes a few howlers for us to chortle over:

A falsely low handicap rating can carry negative consequences, however. In tournament play, even if it is just your club championship or member-guest, that too-low GHIN rating will prove to be a burden when you aren’t getting the strokes your actual game deserves, and if you play money games based on your published handicap, that too-low number may cost you – literally.

Just your club championship?  Ummm...for amateur golfers, that's their Masters...oh, and club championships aren't typically played with handicaps.  And this:

Reaction from overseas golfers has ranged from bemused scoffing at American backwardness to amazement that golfers in the USA (and Mexico, which also falls under USGA jurisdiction) would even think of posting solo scores – the R&A does not allow the practice. Word from Canada, which uses the USGA system for determining handicaps, is that they will ignore the new rule.

We'll need some time to unpack this nonsense... first and foremost, the R&A has no jurisdiction over handicaps.  They are the purview of the national golf associations, and in the UK handicaps are administered by the Counsel of National Golf Unions.  More substantively, the primary difference in handicapping systems between the U.S. and U.K. is that over there they only post tournament scores. 

When I explained that to one of our assistant pros last year, her reaction was that they therefore have more accurate handicaps.  But that's not necessarily the case, as while the individual scores might be more reflective, their system suffers from a small sample size.  Handicaps will often be based upon a mere tow or thee scores, which would cause your favoritre statistician to turn up his nose.

McCormack does raise the interesting issue of how Handicap Committees will police this issue, though it's interesting only in the abstract.  Because it's been my experience that handicaps are only policed by playing partners, if at all...  but I did like this concluding sentence:

So now many of us will become outlaws; honest, and dishonest, all in the same action – and all because the USGA has decided to reverse a practice which had been in effect for decades.

As Taylor Swift so astutely noted, sandbagger's gonna sandbag....

Nothing Mini About This -  Old friend and Askernish founder John Garrity files this amusing dispatch from, oxymoron alert, the world's most prestigious mini-golf tournament.  Here's a little flavor for the event:

This was a few weeks ago, on a sunny, breezy morning in North Myrtle Beach, a golf-

and-sandcastle destination on South Carolina’s Grand Strand. Katrek and I were there to cover the $12,000 U.S. ProMiniGolf Association Master’s, but the radio man -- a scratch golfer who has played in the U.S. Mid-Am -- was competing as well. “It’s not a joke,” he said of the 65-member USPMGA. “I’m a pretty good putter, and they just kick my ass. I don’t know how Kevin Na would do out here, but I don’t think he’d win.”

Fair enough.  Now the USGA used to consider mini-golf pros to be pros in golf as well, but I don't actually remember whether that has ever changed.  But I did enjoy the emotions:

A few words about temperament. Unlike their PGA Tour counterparts, who back off a shot if a squirrel should so much as sneeze in a treetop, the Myrtle Beachers seemed laid back. They maintained their equanimity with camera crews breathing down their necks, spectators hopping over blue-dyed streams and caged cockatoos shrieking during their backswings. It wasn’t until the final rounds, on Day 3, that the pressures of competition began to show. One pro snapped his putter over his knee. Another took an angry swing at some gravel and then spent the lunch hour alone in his car. “It can get intense,” Detwiler said, watching a tearful Prokopova huddle with her Czech entourage after a T-6 finish.

The best emoter was Matt McCaslin, brother of defending champ Danny McCaslin. Leaving an ace attempt inches short near the end of his 10th round, McCaslin dropped his putter and began banging his forehead on the trunk of a palm tree, wailing, “Why? Why? Why? Just get it there, Matt, you f------ weasel!” Pressing his hands to his ears, he looked skyward and shouted. “Argggghhh!!!”

And this also caught my eye:

The winner of $4,000 and the green windbreaker, I’m obliged to report, was Matt Male, the aforementioned practitioner of anchored putting. Male, who handles client correspondence for J.P Morgan Chase & Co., shot 72-under par for 12 rounds, 29.92 strokes per round -- the first sub-30 average in tournament history. Male, who employs the long putter because of a dodgy back, looked relieved to have survived a final-round charge by McCaslin, who finished a stroke behind. “Yesterday was what won it for me,” the champion said. “I was able to be ‘clean’ -- no threes, no bogeys. I answered the bell every time.”

Hmmmm...like me, you're probably curious as to whether mini-golf is on board with the forthcoming anchoring ban.

Enjoy the weekend. 

Turkey-Day Trifles

Just a few short items for you this morning, then we'll let get on with your day.

Jordan Rules - Our Jordan  made quite the impression on the Aussie's last year with his dramatic final-round charge in the Australian Open.  It's nice to see that he's only added to that legacy by returning to defend his title, and enjoy his time in Oz as well.

First, he seems to have acquired his own cheering section:

Before defending his Australian Open title this week at the Australian Golf Club, Spieth took some time to give a group of about 60 junior golfers some lessons. And they looked identical.

Who's that tall kid in the center? 

 You want to grow the game?  Take notes....

But nearer and dearer to my heart is this:

When Jordan Spieth checked off what he called “bucket list” rounds at Kingston Heath and Royal Melbourne, he experienced those masterpieces in all of their Australian glory: he took a trolly (sic).

So, pull carts are allowed at Royal Melbourne but not at Willow Ridge?  Just sayin'...

That's a Shack item from The Loop, and here's his micro-rant on the subject:

It was vintage Spieth and an act that would be discouraged if not totally outlawed at most American country clubs. 

For reasons still unknown, American clubs view golf with a pull cart as some sort treasonous act. Perhaps the sight of 22-year-old tastemaker Spieth enjoying one of the world’s great courses will help shed the pull cart stigma once and for all?

Good luck with that, Geoff, as I have Maggot's voice ringing in my ear that "It looks like a muni".  If you have a little time on your hands, I highly recommend this three-year old item from Geoff on golf Down Under.  Every golf superintendent should be required to read the section on bunkers, though it would seemingly require an act of God to do anything about ours.

 Though, if I understand the dress code correctly, these guys are in non-conforming socks:

I Vant To Play Alone - So yesterday we discussed the USGA's new rules governing handicaps, and hilarity ensued.  The Twitterverse exploded over solo scores not being posted, per this screen shot from Shack:

That New York guy is entirely correct, there is no Taliban regulation proscribing the posting of solo scores....  However, among that which is proscribed at Tora Bora Golf and Tennis Club, are women driving carts, mixed fourballs, swing juice, loud cart music (hey, common ground) and pretty much the entire FootJoy women's golf apparel catalog.

Along the same lines, Keely Levins posted some reactions on Facebook, including this:

Yanno, comparing the USGA to the Taliban is a valid rhetorical device, but that IRS refrence is beyond the pale.  And Tom, if you think the IRS trusts you (maybe you didn't notice that W-2 your employer filed), I've got some swamp land you could make a fortune with.

The USGA in the Islamic Maghreb has violated the first rule of holes with this further clarification:

What constitutes not playing alone? 

As long as someone accompanies the player during the round (e.g., fellow competitor, opponent, caddie, marker for a tournament, friend riding along in a cart) the player is not playing alone. 

How many holes can a player play alone to post the score? 

The player must be accompanied for at least seven holes for a nine-hole score or 13 holes for 18-hole score.

This is consistent with Section 5-1 and the minimum number of holes played under the Rules of Golf. 

For the holes played alone (not accompanied), the player would treat these as not played under the Rules of Golf and post according to “par plus” any handicap strokes the player is entitled to receive.

OK, well that certainly clears up any lingering confusion... The reaction is actually pretty amusing, in that there's no shortage of peer review built into the system.  For instance, if you go out in a stroke play tournament a playing partner will keep your card.  Yet this sets off folks...

Any handicapping system has to be based upon a community of like-minded individuals, because they're the only ones that will know when an index is out of whack.  

The Pelley Beat -  I'm quickly coming to the conclusion that new Euro Tour majordomo Keith Pelley will be good for business.  For my business at least, as he's a walking quote machine:

Keith Pelley has set his stall out with plans to turn the European Tour into a financial

fortress to rival the PGA in America, while also targetting pace of play issues across all levels of the game.

But while the measures could attract bigger crowds alongside the fairways at European events – and bigger television audiences – Pelley also has a major plan to improve the golfing fortunes of the millions of club golfers playing their Sunday morning medals. 

He has declared a ‘personal war’ against slow play on the golf course, and has agreed to meet with The R&A’s rule-makers to formulate a programme that will improve the speed of golf at all levels.

My, aren't we ambitious?  I for one might suggest that you start with improving the pace of play among those that are under your jurisdiction, but I'm just an unpaid blogger in my pajamas...

But say, have you met those R&A folks?  Are they on board with this?

“Slow play drives me mad,” said Pelley. 

“I have had the chance to talk to a number of players at all levels – the elite, the medium and low-ranked players – and one of the things that keeps coming up, and which we are going to address, is slow play. 

“We are going to be the leaders in dealing with slow play.

“I cannot tell you what that means from a concrete perspective right now, but I have had significant dialogue with Martin Slumbers from The R&A, and they are in violent agreement that it is something we need to deal with.

Violent agreement?  Does that mean we agree with you but if you use our name we'll make sure you can never have children?  The only violence in the R&A clubhouse of which I'm aware is when they run out of claret at 10:00 p.m.  

“I cannot tell you what that means from a concrete perspective right now, but I have had significant dialogue with Martin Slumbers from The R&A, and they are in violent agreement that it is something we need to deal with. There is a conference call next week with The R&A. We will participate in it and do this in cooperation. 

“I can tell you that when we sit here next year we will have a completely different philosophy on slow play. Slow play is a critical part of our game and we will address it.”

Oh, a conference call?  Never mind, clearly they're on board...Actually, the R&A is on board, kinda sorta, as per this report:

"Maybe we need some marshals out on the course to help find balls," he added. "Maybe we need to play over shorter formats, nine-hole golf; playing off tees that are further forward, not cutting the rough as thick and deep as possible.

On board with pretending to do something about it...  Think about all the cynicism in that 3-line 'graph above.  Failure in controlling distance has led to dramatic increases in green speeds and narrowing of fairways/longer rough to control scoring, but Slumbers speaks as if there's nothing to see here.  And unless and until he's will to roll back the ball, he's unfortunately correct in that assessment.

Important News - certain PGA Tour players will be getting coal in their stockings after this:

Enjoy your holiday.

Tuesday Tidbits

There is some golf being played this weekend, you just need to know where to look for it (hint, it's likely down under from where you're searching.

The Spieth Retrospective Tour - How the time flies...it was a mere twelve months ago that we were wondering if Jordan Spieth would ever get that second win.  Well we have to wonder about something, but it all seems silly given that he's winning on demand and forget that second "W", he's got his second major...

For those needing a refresher, Jordan threw up a tasty Sunday 63 in strong winds to win last year's Australian Masters, then the following week torched the field in Tigers event in Florida.  For those with the time and inclination, Golf Channel will rebroadcast that round on Wednesday at 1;00 p.m.  And he's not taking his foot off the gas pedal it seems:

World No. 1 Jordan Spieth has reset his goals after his astonishing 2015 season, but has

not lost any hunger. In the words of his Australian coach, Cameron McCormick: "He aims for the stars and challenges himself to get there.'' 

Spieth told a media conference at The Australian today that he is hellbent on winning the Emirates Australian Open again as well as Tiger Woods' tournament in America next week, just as he did in consecutive weeks in 2014. 

"I believe my best is forward,'' he said. "I believe that my prime is ahead of me. I have to believe that, but I do. Sure, if last year happens to be the best I ever have in my career, I hope that I had a few that approached it at least.''

The editors cut of Spieth's presser is below, in which I particularly like his discussion of spending a week playing "bucket list" courses such as Royal Melbourne and Kingston Heath (after the 7:10 mark):

As for the fact that he arrived a week early for the Aussie Open, whereas he showed up late Monday afternoon of Open Championship week with the Grand Slam hanging in the balance, we'll just have to agree to disagree.  Yanno, Jordan, there's a couple of bucket list worthy courses in Scotland as well.

As for his comments on the Olympics (at the 17:30 mark), I've no quarrel with his excitement about marching in the opening ceremonies and hanging in the village with Usain Bolt.  As for the Olympic gold medal being up there with a major, he's very young.

The Aussie Open is being played on The Australian, Sydney's highly-regarded track that was remodeled by Jack Nicklaus.  Here's Australian course architect Mike Clayton speaking of his favorite holes on the course prior to last year's event.  Pay particular attention as there's a quiz coming:

So, remember this video from a short while back?  Is it the same Mike Clayton?

In the videos above he seems to favor a baseball cap, whereas the player below is in a visor.  I e-mailed Geoff Shackelford, who does a podcast with the Mike Clayton above, but didn't get a response.

Solo Contendere - The USGA has been a hive of rules-making mischief, and today comes word of six changes to the handicap system.  This is the one garnering the most attention:

Of note is the inadmissibility of posting solo scores for the purpose of determining a handicap. As of the new year, golfers will not be allowed to count rounds played alone toward their handicap. According to the USGA under Section 5-1: Acceptability of Scores, "this change underscores the importance of providing full and accurate information regarding a player’s potential scoring ability, and the ability of other players to form a reasonable basis for supporting or disputing a posted score."

As someone that plays a fair amount of golf on his own (on summer evenings), I've always thought that this didn't make sense.  The basic premise of the handicap systems is to create a self-governing peer review system, and the admissibility of scores without witnesses seemed to violate both the letter and spirit of the law.

The other changes are fairly arcane, with this likely the most significant:

    • Definition of a tournament score: Additional guidance is provided to Committees conducting competitions regarding the definition of a tournament score, placing greater emphasis on “significant events.” The definition excludes fundraising events and regular league play, in favor of designated competitions such as a member/guest or club championship, local amateur tournament or national qualifying and competition. (Section 2: Definitions)

I just love the bit that equates member/guests and club championships, because of their obvious similarity... I mean the one has all-day drinking, tequila girls and certain Board Members dropping trou (Inside joke for WRCC members), whereas the other is serious business.  

Shack has the full press release here.

Tour Confidential, Unplugged - The Golf Magazine weekly panel tossed around some interesting questions this week.  Shall we listen in?  First, as relates to our favorite cart driver:

1. What do you make of Davis Love's decision to appoint Tiger Woods as one of his vice captains for the 2016 Ryder Cup? And could making the appointment nearly a full year before the event in any way demotivate Woods to try and make the team as a player?

Joe Passov, senior editor, Golf Magazine: When we last tackled this possibility, I couldn't understand why Tiger would point for this role, rather than embracing the prospects of a massive comeback as a player. Permit me to flip-flop. Perhaps this is the smart route. The move displays Tiger's willingness to be a team player, in contrast to what many felt about him in his Ryder Cup past. It also puts him in line for proper ascension to the Captaincy. Finally, maybe this takes the pressure off him to mount a Ryder Cup-inspired rally in terms of performance. This way, if it happens, great. If it doesn't, he's still an integral part of the team.

Other panelists used phrases such as "facing reality", but it still mystifies me, since Davis would have afforded him the same courtesy hold on an EX-Go as he did Phil.  After all, it was Tiger and Phil that gave Davis his mulligan.  I find it passing strange that three players, Phil, Tiger and Alas, Poor Furyk, seemingly similarly situated, were treated in three completely different ways.  All without any urgency to make announcements this far in advance.

4. On Sunday, 18-year-old Lydia Ko won the Race to the CME Globe for the second straight year and has already totaled nearly $5 million in earnings. Whose teen resume is more impressive: Lydia’s or Tiger’s?

BAMBERGER: Tiger's. Those six straight USGA title he won as a teenager is golf's equivalent to DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak.

SHIPNUCK: Ko by a million miles. Tiger's cameos on Tour as a teen were nothing special at all, though it must be noted he was an amateur, not a seasoned touring pro like Ko. But what she's doing is mind-boggling, and it's an absolute pleasure to watch her play.

How's that for a hung jury?  Both of those guys know their golf and seem quite certain of their response... one panelist said it was apples and oranges, but isn't more like apples and....lug nuts?  I mean there's just little basis on which to compare the two career arcs... though, as I've said many a time, Tiger's six consecutive USGA match-play wins might be the most incredible achievement of Tiger's career, and that ain't chopped liver.

But you'll readily understand why this final question is my fave:

6. It’s Thanksgiving week! In the spirit of the holiday, who was golf’s biggest “turkey” of 2015?

Call on me, teacher, pullllleaze!.  

SHIPNUCK: DJ and Scott are excellent choices but I think Allenby has retired the category.

Dustin and Adam, please consol yourself with the knowledge that it's an honor just to be nominated.  It's simply nor fair to hold you to Allenby's standards...

Strange Bedfellows -  The PGA Tour has boldly gone against the grain of the NFL and other sports leagues:

The PGA Tour has prohibited its players from playing with or endorsing daily fantasy sports providers like DraftKings and FanDuel. 

According to a Sept. 24 memo sent to players, “fantasy gaming websites that pay out money in exchange for an entry fee, as well as other wagering websites and apps, are considered illegal in many states. Therefore, the PGA Tour will regard any player participation in these games as conduct unbecoming of a professional.”

Now this is grey area to be sure, and the Tour has sent some mixed signals:

Golf has been a growing market for daily fantasy sports providers. FanDuel does not offer golf games, but DraftKings is heavily invested in the sport, having put up $11 million through four “Millionaire Maker” contests connected to this year’s major championships. In August, DraftKings' co-founder Matt Kalish toldGolf Digest "it's phenomenal how much golf has grown over the summer. Nothing's growing faster than golf." 

The Tour’s memo, however, raises questions about its own relationship with daily fantasy sports. In March, the Tiger Woods Foundation announced a partnership with DraftKings in which the company would be designated the “Official Daily Fantasy Sports Partner” of the Quicken Loans National and the Deutsche Bank Championship.

There seems little doubt that these daily fantasy games are a scam, perhaps even more so than casino gambling.  However, to the extent that its legal and they allow Phil to bet on football, it would seem that they would be on firmer ground to ban their Tour members from participating in any golf-related betting.  

But if you've a little time, Shack helpfully posts this humorous John Oliver video on the subject.  By far the best bit is John, a Brit, correcting an American reporter's Yiddish:

Weekend Wrap

They were all playing, though I doubt too many were watching...so here's what you missed.

Salvaged?  - John Strege covers that which he characterizes as a salvage operation:

It was a day to remember in a year to forget for Rory McIlroy, who in 2015 made more

news kicking a ball than hitting one. 

McIlroy won twice on Sunday, his victory in the European Tour’s DP World Tour Championship also giving him a victory in the tour’s Race to Dubai. 

Now he won’t have to limp off toward a new year, and instead can prance toward it, having replenished his storehouse of confidence in what now is officially a quest to reclaim from Jordan Spieth the No. 1 spot in the World Ranking.

I caught the last five holes before going out to play, and the only energy was supplied by Andy Sullivan, a 3-time winner on the Euro Tour this year who gave Rory all he could handle.  But the outcome of the Race to Dubai was never in doubt after their Commish broke reinterpreted the rules to allow Rory to participate.  My biggest pleasure was hearing the crowd's rendition of Stand Up for the Ulstermen, the hypnotic fighting song we last heard when attending a rugby match in Belfast.

Iain (Vanna, I'd like to buy a consonant) Murray informs us that Rory has given mid-season kickabouts the boot:

"I had a big lead in the world rankings and you see Jordan and Jason play the way they did. Fields are so deep, you can't let up at all. 

"Tagging along with that, you know, this is my time to capitalise on my career. The next 10, 15 years is my time. 

"I really can't be doing silly things like playing football in the middle of the season to jeopardise even six months of my career. It's a big chunk where I could make some hay and win a major or two. 

"I won't be making those mistakes again next year."

OK, but clarify based upon his prior comments, this does not apply to their traditional Boxing Day kickabout, because, you know, that's their FA Cup finals.

And for those keeping their own scorecards, that is Erica Stoll on the far right of the photo, yanno the helpful PGA staffer that got Rory to his tee time at Medinah, so she's showing more staying power than Kerensky (anyone get that last reference?).

But, for the Euro Tour, the Good Lord giveth and taketh as well:

Paul Casey will not feature in next year’s Ryder Cup, with one of the sports longest-

running sagas resulting in a surprise decision by the Englishman not to rejoin the European Tour. Casey has cited family commitments for a move that will inevitably raise eyebrows 

Casey, who has set up home in the United States, has rejuvenated his career on the PGA Tour to the point where he would already have a strong claim to feature for the European team at Hazeltine in September. Each member of that party, though, must belong to the European Tour.

He would have to play five of their events, excluding majors and WGC's, and there's not a lot of off-weeks on the calendar.  Scheduling and the resulting fallout will be a recurring issue looking forward...

We'll Call Them Ko-Champs -  Strange doings at Tiburon yesterday, where three of the gals made news:

The tears belonged to Lydia Ko, the 18-year-old phenom whose tie for seventh was just good enough for her to snare one prize that will help her bank account (a $1 million bonus for winning the season-long Race to the CME Globe, her second straight) and one that will be part of the already growing history she is writing (Rolex Player of the Year, an encore to her 2014 Louise Suggs Rookie of the Year honor). 

The champagne was the 18th-green victory fountain from fellow players for Cristie Kerr, the 38-year-old American who pulled away with an eagle on the par-5 17th hole to finish at 17-under 271 and defeat Gerina Piller and Ha Na Jang by one stroke for her second victory of the season and 18th in her career. 

Inbee Park was dry-eyed and dry-shirted after finishing sixth, but it was much more than another routine top-10 for the 27-year-old, along with Ko a five-time winner in 2015. By having a season scoring average of 69.41, fractionally better than Ko's 69.44, Park won her second Vare Trophy for low scoring average. The honor is worth one point in consideration for the LPGA Hall of Fame, and gives Park the 27 points necessary for selection after the ninth-year player has the minimum 10 seasons on tour.

Ummmm...that last 'graph veers dangerously close to a wet T-shirt reference, and we don't want to go there... But the Race to the CME Globe, and doesn't that slight mellifluously from the tongue, is designed to award season-long performance, and will therefore result in two champioms being crowned as often as not.

Here's the history angle, if you're interested:

She is only the fourth LPGA golfer to be top player the year after being top rookie, joining Nancy Lopez (1978-79), Beth Daniel (1979-80) and Annika Sorenstam (1994-95.) Lopez stands alone in winning both awards in the same year, 1978. On the PGA Tour, which has given a rookie award since 1990, Tiger Woods (1996-97) is the only person to pull off the back-to-back achievement.

Fair enough, but we really didn't need to be told that she's amazing, did we?  Or that Inbee is a HOF golfer either...

Our Lydia also shares a Dr. Evil impression here,  impressive given that she was 1-week old when Austin Powers was released.

Early, Not Wrong - The HSBC WGC event a few eeks ago seemed to this observer to be Kevin Kisner's week to break through with his first "W", but Russel Know was in transit and didn't get the memo.  So, this shouldn't surprise anyone:

Kevin Kisner ended a year marked by second-place finishes with his first PGA Tour

victory Sunday at Sea Island. 

Staked to a three-shot lead going into the final round of the final tournament of the year, Kisner ran with it. He doubled the size of his lead at the turn by going out in 30, and he breezed home with a 6-under 64 to win by six shots over Kevin Chappell.

Can't wait to see the ratings for this yawnfest, as it would have qualified as a homeopathic insomnia cure...

In fact, the only noteworthy aspect was Graeme' McDowell's rather unusual gamesmanship as he was futilely chasing Kisner, as twweted by the Tour:

PGA TOUR 

✔@PGATOUR

G-Mac's tee shot at 7 bounced off a fan's ankle back into the fairway. The fan? Kevin Kisner's mom. (She's OK!) pic.twitter.com/AcvS8IlDYt

Was that the ankle he was aiming for?  Here's a pic of Kevin's proud Momma post-impact:

Kisner is the sixth first-time winner of this new season (Ugh!), but you may be surprised to know that's he's not another twenty-something young gun.  In fact, he's a rather elderly thirty-one... hey, some guys just bloom late.

World Ends, Women and Minorities Hardest Hit - That's long been the prototypical N.Y. Times headline about any and all subjects, but even I am a tad surprised when it makes its way to the sports pages.  Karen Crouse writes Pravda's weekly golf column and she's never shown herself to be on particularly familiar terms with the game she covers... but this week's column is really a stretch.

Titled, Competitiveness Seen as a Virtue, at Least for Men, you'll intuit that we're headed into MarthaBurke territory.  Here's what passes for her thesis:

Pettersen’s crime was following the letter of the law in a tight four-ball match at the Solheim Cup in September in Germany. Pettersen, 34, was paired with Charley Hull against the American duo of Alison Lee and Brittany Lincicome in a contest that was all square through 16 holes. At the 17th, Lee missed a birdie putt to win the hole and picked up her ball, thinking the 18-inch par putt would be conceded to halve the hole.

Well, yes, if you willfully ignore that Suzann was on the 18th tee at he time and that Charley Hull marched off the green with her head down, you could maintain that they "followed the letter of the law."  

The fact that the usually sensible Butch Harmon feels compelled to defend his client is unfortunate as well:

To be a female athlete is to be ever mindful that appearances matter. Prettiness is next to godliness, which is why many of the players wear makeup during tournaments and treat their competitiveness as an imperfection that needs to be covered up with hugs and smiles. The same icy stare that identifies Tiger Woods as a fierce competitor is off-putting when it freezes Pettersen’s opponents. 

“Absolutely, there is a double standard,” said Pettersen’s swing instructor, Butch Harmon, whose past clients include Mickelson and Woods. “It’s not right. One of the things I love about Suzann is what a great competitor she is. She prepares, and she plays, to win.” 

Speaking by telephone, Harmon added: “If you look at Serena Williams, she gets put in the same category. People say Serena Williams is overaggressive. No, what she is is very, very good and very, very competitive.”

Don't you just love that first graph?  Pettersen's "Icy stare" might well be intimidating, but she was 100 yards away at the time of the incident, and her partner signaled her lack of interest in "seeing the putt."  

Suzann, for the last time, it's not that you're competitive, it's that you're a rude a*******e.

Upon Further Review - We all remember the famous warm-up routine of The Most Interesting Golfer in the World from the Open Championship a few years ago.  Well he's back and filming himself with a Go-Pro... click through if you want, but I'll confess that I've not watched the video.

It's just that this screen shot screams Seinfeld to me:

Anyone remember that episode?  Anyone?  Bueller?  Maybe this will refresh your memory (or is it mammary):

As I recall, Kramer called it The Bro', but most of us would think of it as a manzierre.

Old Guys Rock - They held the Australian Masters this past weekend, and talk about a youth movement:

Peter Senior has shown that age is no barrier winning the UNIQLO Masters at

Huntingdale Golf Club today. 

24 years after he first won the Gold Jacket and 20 years after he last slipped on the iconic blazer, Peter Senior has once again emerged victorious winning by two shots with a tournament total 8-under 276. 

"It's just amazing. I'm still blown over winning this tournament. The guys played pretty well.".

Hey, he's so good that they named a tour after him.  Now it was supposed to be Adam Scott's week, but his short putter went walkabout on Saturday.

I'll Let You Go Now -  The Euro Tour posted this warm tribute to Ivor Robson:

Shack envisions him with a tall glass of water, but I'd think something that goes through one's system quicker, say coffee, is the ticket.

As the man says, I'll let you go now.