As we dive in I need to warn you that my heart might not be in it... on the other hand, it seems to be raining and the alternative is this stack of paperwork on my desk. So, who knows how long we'll go...
Upon Further Review - The press and social media critics have been quite harsh in response to Stevie Steve Williams' literary stylings, but it turns out that he's drawn some support from a credible source. We'll get to that in a sec, but first let's note that our hero now regrets his use of a certain word:
Williams has been ridiculed for writing the slave comment in his biography, when hemade millions of dollars during his long and enormously successful career as Woods' caddie.
"The response is predictable," Williams said on Thursday.
"It's a bit disappointing that the publishers chose that one piece of the book, I don't agree it should have been used."That is one word, one sentence, out of a whole book."
I'm sorry, I stand corrected.... Stevie is in fact sorry that his publisher accurately excerpted his use of that certain word, which could not reasonably be anticipated to cause controversy. Noted.
And his current employer is smart enough to not get sucked into the kerfuffle:
"I haven't been lucky enough to get a copy. Must be in the mail still," Scott told the AP's Doug Ferguson on Thursday after shooting a first-round 75 at the HSBC World Champions in Shanghai. "I don't know exactly what's in the book. As I said, I haven't read it. I think everyone knows probably what to expect."
Guess nobody told him it's only available as an e-book, which some are interpreting as a means to work around a Non-disclosure Agreement. But I found this amusing:
Despite his rough opening score following a runner-up finish in Malaysia, Scott insists the book won't be a distraction. He also seems pretty sure Williams won't write a sequel.
"I'm going to be on my best behavior so there isn't one," Scott joked.
Good strategy.
What would Adam Scott behaving badly look like? Just askin'...
But the great Jaime Diaz posits that we shouldn't be so dismissive of the book and he's actually read it:
It’s an easy narrative, one that for many places the book beneath contempt and not to be read.
That assessment is simplistic, unfair and wrongheaded. I read the book and was immediately surprised at the amount of interesting detail. I devoured large chunks, only occasionally losing focus.
Then again, I am a golf nerd who has close to 1,000 golf books in his home office. (I know, I know). I’ve read at least parts of all of them. Invariably, even in the bad ones, I find something that satisfies some curiosity and in some way adds to my knowledge and perspective.
How sad to be a golf nerd.... I know, but he does have a larger golf library than your humble blogger... Jaime deals with the "slave" issue as well, but here's his take on Stevie's treatment of his former bestie:
For all the focus on how Williams presumably goes out of his way to skewer Woods, I found his chronicling of his entire experience with Tiger to present a reasonably balanced portrait.
In many ways, the book is a tribute to Tiger’s greatness: his relentless drive to improve, his focus and cool in the face of immense pressure, the intensity that disarmed his opponents. It’s a vivid and, considering Woods’ struggles over the last several years, welcome reminder of how truly great he was.
Give Jaime (and, by association, Stevie) a fair read, because there's no doubt who had the best seat in the house for those thirteen majors. As an aside, Shack is running a couple of related reader polls, including asking the absurd question of how many majors Stevie was worth to Tiger. I know, crazy talk, but then read this:
Before Woods’ third shot to the 72nd hole of the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, in which Williams lied about the yardage in order to help convince Woods to hit a hard lob wedge rather than a sand wedge: “Tiger, you have to absolutely trust me on this one. And if I’m wrong, fire me. I know how much this means to you, so if I’m wrong just fire me.”
Wow! It worked out OK, though, as I recall...The book covers all his famous clients, including this frequently bare-chested one:
Of Norman, with whom he has remained friends: “It’s fair to say I was afraid of the guy…Looking back, I would say he was definitely the hardest guy I have ever caddied for…If I made a mistake, he certainly had no hesitation in letting me know what an idiot I was. And if he made a mistake, somehow that would also be my fault.”
Oh, I didn't realize that The Shark was Robert Allenby's mentor... All joking aside, I'm actually glad to have Diaz's perspective on it.
Nimble, That's the Ticket - No doubt the Chicken Littles will be out in full force on this news:
In his 2015 third quarter report today, Adidas Group CEO Herbert Hainer said the European sporting goods giant will reduce its TaylorMade-adidas Golf global workforce by 14 percent by the end of the year. Hainer did not specify whether or not the majority of the cuts will come from TMaG headquarters in Carlsbad, Calif.
That sounds plenty apocalyptic, no? But this doesn't seem all that bad, does it?
Adidas Group reported TMaG sales for the Q3 of 2015 at 159 million Euros in the quarter, an increase from 138 million Euros the same period in 2014. For the nine months of 2015, Adidas Group reported TMaG’s sales increased seven percent to 678 million Euros.
But corporate flacks being what they are, see if you enjoy this bit of rationalization as much as I did:
“While this will negatively impact profitability by a low-double-digit million euro amount in the fourth quarter, the immediate result will be a more nimble organization, which will have a positive effect on the Group’s profitability from 2016 onwards,’’ Hainer said.
Yes, they'll be so much more nimble.... and why did you hire those plodders to begin with?
The Dog Ate My Homework - A high level of strategery is required in offering excuses, because one can't typically go back to that well again. So ladies, I don't want to hear you using this again any time soon:
Two LPGA stars might miss their next tee time, but they have a pretty good excuse.
According to the Golf Channel, Azahara Munoz and Beatriz Recari are stranded in Bali after a volcano erupted on a nearby island, resulting in the closure of several airports in Indonesia, including the one the LPGA pros had planned to leave from on Tuesday night.Munoz and Recari were in Bali with fellow golfers Jessica Korda and So Yeon Ryu for a Lexus Cup corporate event. Korda and Ryu were scheduled to return home, while Munoz and Recari are supposed to be en route to Tokyo for the Toto Japan Classic, but if the flight delays continue, they might not make it in time.
Stuck in Bali with Beatriz Recari? And I thought Maggot had a rich fantasy life....
How these girls suffer:
I Got Bupkis - It turns out that these Irish golfers are really generous, but it must be that like Adam Scott's book that mine is in the mail.
First, Rory had this exchange with a fan on Reddit:
Now he'll see no end of such future requests, but we do like seeing the guys engage with mere mortals. Though if he really ships his actual old driver, there's no chance that Barry will have any chance with that shaft. But still...
More recently Shane Lowery, a longtime buddy of Rory's, did the same but under quite different circumstances:
In May, a frustrated Shane Lowry broke his putter during the second round of the Irish Open. On Thursday, it appears like he found a better way to dispose of a club he'd had enough of.
Lowry had a rough day on the greens in the opening round of the HSBC World Champions in Shanghai. Despite hitting 10 of 14 fairways and 15 of 18 greens, Lowry, who is trying to win his second consecutive World Golf Championship, was just one of 13 players to shoot over par. The main culprit? The putter. The Irishman average 2.067 putts per GIR, which placed him 73rd out of the field of 78.
The Euro Tour tweeted this final resting place for Shane's offending flatstick:
The European Tour
One lucky fan at the #HSBCChampions got more than an autograph today.
He got @ShaneLowryGolf's ball and putter!
He might have to grow into it, but Shane has made great progress in channeling his anger.
Hahn, James Hahn - Josh Sens must have eaten some bad shellfish or something, as per this offering of professional golfers who would make good Bonds or Bond villains. First he gets them to sit for this group portrait:
So, let's take a quick spin through his 007 candidates:
- Jordan Spieth - A prematurely bald Bond, I don't think so.
- Phil Mickelson - 007 with love handles and manbreasts?
- Ian Poulter - Poults actually looks the part, but to prevail against Goldfinger he'd need to be a substantially better golfer....unless it was in the Ryder Cup.
- Faldo and Tiger - Fair enough, though Tiger would obviously be the MI6 affirmative action hire.
- John Daly - He likes his Bud shaken, not stirred...you see the problems.
As for villains:
- Sergio Garcia - yeah, that's the ticket, a whiny Bond villain that spits into the cup.
- Greg Norman - Let me guess, Bond holes out in the last reel...
- Patrick Reed - I could see Reed as Blofeld with a cat in his lap...
- Michelle Wie - Say what?
There's more, but he lost me at Jim Colbert in the role of Oddjob.
Everyone have a good weekend.
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