Midweek Musings

I've given myself a short break from the daily blogging grind, but there's a few things for us to kick around before my daa begins in earnest.

The Lion in Winter - The great Pete Dye celebrates his 90th birthday on December 30th, as in today, and there's still a little starch in the old guy yet, per Bradley Klein from last week:

Not that Dye himself needs more excitement. Next week marks his 90th birthday, and he

and his bride (and design partner) Alice Dye are set to attend a gala birthday party held in Pete’s honor at Gulfstream Golf Club in Delray Beach, Fla., where they winter. 

Pete walks at least nine holes there every day, usually in the company of his loyal dog Sixty. He plays there a lot, too. That is when he’s not out on the road working on his current projects. 

He’s completing a big project at Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex – Ackerman Hills, on the campus of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., where he’s adding four new holes and re-doing the other 14.

But of course this was the bit that interested me most:

Right after the 2016 Players Championship at the Dye-designed Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., PGA Tour officials will oversee a major renovation, including a regrassing of the greens and an expansion of the range. But the biggest news is theconversion of the 358-yard, par-4 12th hole into a shorter, more risk/reward drivable par 4. 

Previously, Dye has looked askance at such holes, deriding efforts at other championship courses as a way of cheapening the shot value of par 4s. “They have a name for drivable par 4s,” he has said. “Par 3s.”

Yup, he's never liked them one bit ad I can't recall him designing one of his own volition.  One assumes that Commissioner Ratched pointed a Colt at his temple and said, "Either you do it or we'll have it done."

But Dye is one of the all-time nice guys in the biz, and his relationship with Alice, a very fine player in the day, is one of the great romances of our time.  Happy Birthday, Pete.

A Coke Bender? -  Well, what's your first reaction to this header?

TURNS OUT, DUSTIN JOHNSON GOT OVER HIS U.S. OPEN LOSS IN THE MOST DUSTIN JOHNSON WAY POSSIBLE

I almost wouldn't blame the guy, but it just so happens that there's a more innocuous answer:

Wayne Gretzky was standing on a hill looking over the 18th green at Chambers Bay as he watched his future son-in-law, Dustin Johnson, go from a chance to win the U.S. Open to the most crushing loss of his career in a matter of three putts. 

Johnson headed to Idaho with the Gretzky clan for a getaway. The next morning, Gretzky said he took a group out to play golf. On the second green, they looked behind to see a cart fast approaching. It was Johnson, who wanted to know why no one asked him to join the game. 

Gretzky told this story in August, and it amazed him how much Johnson was able to move on from setbacks. 

"I know this much," Gretzky said. "If I ever lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals, I wouldn't want to skate with a bunch of amateurs the next day."

I'm not a psychologist nor do I play one on TV, but perhaps such a quick "recovery" is indicative of not caring all that much?  Just askin'....

Yes, Next Question Please - Beth Ann Nichols on Inbee's HOF status:

Congratulations, Inbee Park! Winning the 2015 Vare Trophy gets you into one of the

toughest halls of fame in all of sports, with 27 career points. Except for one detail: You haven’t competed long enough on the LPGA 
to be eligible. 

The LPGA Hall of Fame requires a 10-year commitment, and though you’ve managed to collect majors like stamps, you owe the LPGA one more season of hard work to meet the final requirement. 

Hope you don’t get injured! 
Or choose to start a family with that devoted husband beforehand. Otherwise you’ll be in HOF purgatory with Lorena Ochoa, who amassed 37 points in seven glorious years on the LPGA before dedicating herself to motherhood. 

Shouldn’t the LPGA Hall of Fame be a benchmark 
of greatness and not time served?

Exactly.  In fact, the shorter the elapsed time in which the qualifying points are earned, the more impressive and Hall-worthy the accomplishment.  But let's not let logic intrude...

Notes From the Spin Room -  Darren Clarke does what Ryder Cup captains do with this tweet::

Darren Clarke @DarrenClarke60

Current standings of @RyderCupUSA are very strong with @Love3d leading them. We will be underdogs but away matches are always hard! #fight

Trust me, Darren, after losing six of the previous events, our guys are the 'dogs in every sense of the term.

Alt. History - Curmudgeonly James Corrigan turns his eye to Jordan Spieth's 2015 season and takes a shot at rewriting history in reaction to Jordan's own comments about that four-jack on No. 8:

The point is that if Spieth had enjoyed even one of his average putting weeks, he would, by his own reckoning, have become just the second golfer to win the Masters, US Open and Open in the same year and become the first to have the chance to win all four at the USPGA. In the event, he finished second at Whistling Straits behind world No 2 Jason Day, but who knows much how the Claret Jug could have inspired him in that August week?

We could easily have been talking about the greatest season in golf instead of just “one” of the greatest and with the strength in depth in the game we can only wonder when we might witness a player coming so close again; especially a player of his tender years.

I don't recall whether James was among those that called on Jordan to head to Scotland early to familiarize himself with local conditions.  But he has it right that Jordan's putting, notably his speed, was off all week.  Would an additional week of practice have helped?  We can't be certain, but with the fate of the free world Grand Slam in the balance, which way should he have gone?

I did, however, get a laugh out of this item:

Jordan Spieth posted a video to his Instagram account on Sunday night showing his prep

for the PGA Tour's first event in 2016 included working with his 3 iron from the comforts of his home. This isn't the first time the No. 1 player in the world has used his home simulator to prepare for an event. 

Earlier in the year, Spieth prepared for the British Open in a similar fashion and finished one shot out of a playoff. No matter where Spieth's practice takes place, it looks like he's ready for 2016.

I'm not being fair here, as he was forced indoors by nasty weather in Dallas.  But I do still remember that he was preparing for The Old Course on a simulator, and I'd like to talk to him about that decision in about twenty years.

That's the First Thing I Noticed -  See if you react as I did to this header:

Victoria's Secret model Behati Prinsloo shows off impressive balance on the driving range

You'll have to go here to view the videos, but I think you'll agree that her balance is her most notable attribute.  As for those pouty lips.....errr...what great balance.

Gotta run....enjoy the rest of your day.

Wind-Aided Blogging

We had another 17" of snow in the last 24 hours, bringing us to 42" for the past three days.  Alas, after heading to the mountain earlt Bob and I found all of the lifts form the base on wind hold, where they remain to now.

We took it as a sign from the deity to give our bodies a rest. but Mitch and Lee exploited  their tactical advantage, having their gear with them, and headed to the Dark Side, also known as Park City.  They were able to head across on the new connecting gondola and texted me this picture of the ghost town:

Yesterday one needed to thread through hundreds of skiers...today it's freshies right out side the lodge.  

You dear reader, are the beneficiary of these winds, so let's talk a little golf.  

The Soft Bigotry of Low Expectations - Shack takes a crack at discerning where we are on the distance issue, and this opening bit will explain the header:

Those of us pointing out the issue are no longer treated like lepers for suggesting the 

ball goes too far. Enough courses across the land have had to deal with safety or function issues. This has meant a much larger audience does not need the issue explained to them. Even better, many more look down on the governing bodies for continuing to work tirelessly not to act.

You'll agree that's setting the bar pretty damn low, but even sadder is that it's an arguable point.   

Shack does a good job in summarizing conflicting data....Per Dave Dusek, average driving distance hasn't moved much the last ten years:

There was a jump of more than 5 yards from 2000 to 2001 as many players switched into solid-core golf balls, and then a 6.5-yard jump from 2002 to 2003 as more players started using larger-headed drivers. But as you can see, since 2005 the PGA Tour’s average driving distance has fluctuated within a 3.7-yard range, between 287.2 and 290.9. That’s about 11 feet, or, 4 feet shorter than a free throw in basketball.

OK, but the awkwardly-named Shoshana Agus-Kleinman tackles the issue differently, first reminding us of these comments from our stewards of the game:

"What we are seeing at the moment is a fairly consistent percentage of some tremendous athletes who are hitting the ball farther," said R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers in China at this week's HSBC Golf Business Forum. "The percentage of them is unchanged. The average is a lot less than what the media talk about. The average has only moved 3 to 4 yards in the last 10 years. There's no burning desire on our part to make any changes." 

"It's a single-digit number of players who hit over 320 [yards]," said PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem, also at the conference. "The average is in the mid-280s -- this is run and carry.

 She then channels her inner Perry mason and hands the witness this graph:

Don't look like no leveling off to my eyes....Here's her conclusion:

The USGA, R&A, and PGA Tour can all suggest what they'd like, but the numbers don’t lie. Driving distance on the PGA Tour is increasing, and it is increasing rapidly.

I don't know the underlying cause of that discrepancy in the data, but it sure seems like the lads are pounding it further.  In the good old days they used to only measure driving distance on two holes, and I've no idea whether that practice continues in the Shot-Link era.

But let me raise a further issue that might muddy the waters.  We all understand that the Trackman technology has allowed the players to optimize their launch conditions, and more recently this has been used to similarly increase the distance with which the guys are hitting clubs other than driver.  See, for instance, Stenson, Henrik and his thermonuclear 3-wood....  If you hit the fairway wood 300 yards and straighter, I'm guessing you'll hit fewer drivers and I wonder if that's buried in the data, dampening the increases.

In any event, if you're not familiar with the concept of bifurcation, read up as that would seem to be the only path forward.

My Year In Golf -  Is an interesting feature of the Golfweek writing crew.  They all go about the task differently, for instance architectural writer Bradley Klein talks about his efforts to teach his grandchildren golf here.   Can't blame the man, especially since Cabot Cliffs was about the only significant new course opening during the year (though Chambers Bay provided no shortage of commentary opportunities).

Kevin Casey is the new kid on the block, covering amateur golf.  Here's my favorite of his vignettes: 

For the most part, this proved to be my first experience interacting with co-workers in person. It didn’t disappoint, as Lance Ringler, Tracy Wilcox, Alex Miceli and Jeff Babineau were all great company. And because he didn’t mention it in his own “My Year in Golf,” I’ll point out two of my favorite moments that week came from Sir Babineau (disclaimer: he’s not actually knighted, as far as I know).

First, his tracking down of what I felt was the detail of the week: Bryson DeChambeau skipping a barbecue early in the week so he could float his golf balls in Epsom salt. The champion-to-be that week was pretty forthright and offered up several newsworthy nuggets about himself on his own, but discovering that quirk took some expert sleuthing. Well done, Jeff.

Kevin, you're absolutely certain he said "golf" balls?  DeChambeau is one crazy dude and will be turning pro shortly.  Please, God, let him make it out there, as I need the copy.

Jeff Babineau finishes his entry with a Michael Greller story:

If you thought relatively untested Chambers Bay getting to host a U.S. Open was the biggest golf story in the Pacific Northwest this summer, you’d be overlooking a better one. How about Gig Harbor’s Michael Greller, a former sixth-grade schoolteacher, and his happy homecoming? 

Greller had decided to caddie at Chambers in his summer off-days in 2007 with the outside hope that he might land a contestant’s bag when the Open did arrive in 2015. Well, he got his bag. You know the story by now: Greller left the teaching gig to go full-time on Tour with Jordan Spieth, whom he’d met as an amateur. So in June, he not only got to caddie in the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay, which was the original goal – he thinks so much of the place that he got married on property in 2013 – but he’s even a significant part of the winning team. How’s that shaping up for a Hallmark after-school movie? 

But here’s the indelible final scene you didn’t get to see: It’s the Monday after the U.S. Open, and Chambers Bay is near-empty save for the bulldozers and construction crews that are taking the grandstands down. There’s just a few things left on the shelves inside the massive U.S. Open concession tent – Half-Off Sale!!! – and Greller, wearing shades and a ballcap, barely recognizable, is there with his wife, Ellie, eyeing what’s left with a few shopping stragglers. He picks up a handful of embroidered U.S. Open flags. And you think to yourself,Wow, there’s a guy who got to live out a dream. 

It was that kind of year. Pass the pudding. Happy holidays.

Martin Kaufman tells of encountering pitcher David Price on the golf course.  Apparently Price is quite the good stick, but since he has signed with the dreaded BoSox he will be banished from this blog in perpetuity.

Looks like he plays right-handed.

The Hypothetical Mulligan - When I saw the header, I immediately knew the answer:

If he could take one mulligan this year, Jordan Spieth knows exactly where it would be – the final round at St. Andrews.

Any guesses which shot?  Anyone?  Bueller?

He had a long birdie putt on the par-3 hole that he ran so far by the cup that it stopped just off the green. He took three putts from there for a double bogey.

"I made a mistake, and it cost me at least a shot," Spieth said. "The wind was sideways and it was into the rain and I was thinking it would be slow. I'd left it short all week and I didn't want to leave that one short. And, obviously, I didn't."

Yup, four-putts really sting when you finish one shot out of the playoff.  Oh, and there was that Grand Slam thing on the table.

POTUS Walk-Off -  If only, I hear you saying... no doubt you've seen this from his vacation in Hawaii:

Now I don'r criticize him for the amount of golf he plays for the obvious reason that I figure the Republic's safe (well, safer) for those four-hour blocks of time.  But you can no doubt guess who did:

"It was reported today he played 250 rounds of golf and he's going to be in Hawaii, I think did they say for three weeks?" Trump said. "Two hundred and fifty rounds, that's more than a guy who plays in the PGA Tour plays. He played more golf last year than Tiger Woods. We don't have time for this. We have to work."

Big deal, Donald, lots of people played more golf than Tiger last year...  after all, Tiger rarely even hung around for the weekend.

Twelfth Night -  This constitutes actual news:

The PGA Tour has planned the most extensive change for a single hole at the TPC

Sawgrass Players Stadium Course since the 2006 renovation project with Monday’s announcement that the 12th hole will be modified to become the first driveable par-4 on the course. 

The new look for the hole, which measures 358 yards for The Players Championship, will be unveiled for the 2017 tournament. It could play as short as 300 to 320 yards during the week of the tournament, with the players teeing off on some days from what is now considered the member tee.

I actually liked the hole, mostly because it was about the only one on the property with an elevation change, however artificial it might be.  Not any more, it seems:

The large bank on the left will be leveled, the green complex will be modified to allow for players to run shots onto the green and there will be a narrow water hazard that will run down the left side of the green.

I can see their point, as I didn't even hit driver on the hole, and the big boys were hitting mid-irons.  At least the change comes with a risk-reward tradeoff.

Nine Days of X-Mas, Cont'd. -  Shack goes with hard goods in his next two installments.  First a trip down memory lane:

But for those of us whose golf skills peaked during the Bush I years, PING made the wedges we adored putting back into our Jones bags. The Eye2 had a thick sole that made bunker shots (almost) a joy. Then they mysteriously abandoned that for a sole and soulless design which did have one positive feature: a huge face.

I'm guessing a combination of those two elements, along with other ideas inspired Roger Cleveland and Phil Mickelson to design this 2015-debuting wedge (you can hear them talk about the clubs here). While all of the Mac Daddy line wedges feel and look great, it's the 60-degree PM grind I'd highly recommend if you're one of those people who misses the old PING's.

I played around with a demo of the PM grind in a 58*.  It's a great club but was so much shorter on full shots than my existing Vokeys, I wasn't sure how to accommodate it in my bag.  

Next Geoff has a suggestion for the traveling golfer:

For the second-to-last product that I enjoyed this year, we go up the price ladder a bit

withSun Mountain's Club Glider Travel Bag. Granted, as more folks use Luggage Forwardand Ship Sticks, a travel cover doesn't seem like a priority any longer. But knowing how fragile clubs can be, you can never be too safe. 

That said, after years of my R2D2-inspired Sun Mountain droid of a travel bag--which thankfully protected my clubs every time they traveled--it was time for an updated travel cover after a wheel finally came off during what was undoubtedly an unusually rough journey. After just one trip using the Sun Mountain "glider" I'm all in (I also bought their suitcase with the same glider wheels and loved it).

 Bought one of these for Employee No. 2 before our Scotland journey in August, and it's a winner.  And really, who deserves it more than she?  He's got one more for us, so I do hope he finishes strong.

Other Holiday Themes - Joel Beall celebrates that other holiday, no not Kwanzaa, occuring this time of year:

Festivus, made popular by the show Seinfeld, is a holiday free of religious or commercial aspects. Festivus begins with the Airing of Grievances, where you tell friends and family all the ways they have disappointed you in the past year. 

We are bringing this tradition to our golf world, for as much as I love the game, I got a lot of problems with it. AND NOW YOU PEOPLE ARE GONNA HEAR ABOUT IT! 

Let the Airing of Golf Grievances begin!

Here's a sample to my liking:

Ryder Cup task force

"Task forces" are for parent-run school boards and plot devices in Chuck Norris films. Trying to figure out why your country has lost six of seven team matches is not one of them. And you better believe that self-important title will be ridiculed if the United States falls again.

Ya think? 

Blogus Interruptus

All blogging activities have been suspended because of this:

For those statistically inclined, that's 25" in the last 48 hours, and it's still coming...

Exit thought:  Do we think Poulter knows how to ski heavy powder?

Weekend Wrap

Did you catch the golf over the weekend?  Liar, there wasn't any...None, nada, zilch, nil zip.  But we still have a few items for you...

Ryder Reax - I've been appropriately tough on the Ryder Cup venue selection process, but the Beeb's Iain Carter takes what seems to be even a harder line:

The decisive factor in Italy's successful fight to stage the 2022 Ryder Cup was the

usual one in these circumstances - money. 

This may seem a cynical assessment, especially when bid documents are laced with words like "legacy", "integration" and "participation". But the European Tour came clean when it acknowledged that Italian golf's financial pledge was "hugely significant". 

While Spain and Germany were considered front runners to become hosts for the third Ryder Cup to be staged in continental Europe, the successful bid team ruthlessly capitalised on the ambitions of Keith Pelley, the Tour's chief executive.

Ruthless?  Well that's certainly colorful... But I actually find the following to be somewhat mitigating:

Now, though, Pelley wants to stem the flow. He wants to create a schedule for Europe's leading golfers that is a viable alternative to the PGA Tour.

For that to happen, the Wentworth-based circuit needs more big money tournaments. Italy's bid team seized on this as they sought to bring the Ryder Cup to the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome. 

The Italian Open currently provides a modest 1.5m euro prize fund. That pot is set to double and from 2017 the tournament will be worth 7m euros for the next 11 years.

Using the Ryder Cup home games to pump up the volume of Euro Tour events is at the very least a worthy objective.  I'll confess to being relived that there's at least some kind of strategy involved...whether it's a viable strategy is, of course, TBD.  Of course, the cynic in me reads this and the eyes roll uncontrollably:

Where the money is coming from remains to be seen. It is a mammoth commitment that will propel an event that has been in existence since 1925 to a new level. 

"We have exciting plans for the development of the European Tour," Pelley stated. "Italy shares this ambition.  "Their commitment to the Italian Open will provide an inspiring benchmark."

Keith, Italy is a good-sized country and I do hope, when you say that Italy shares your ambition, that there's a specific entity or individual that can make good on these commitments.  The Tour Confidential panel kicks this issue around, and aside from the amusing typo in the question (Macro Simone, is that CTR-12?),  they've all given up hope of a Ryder Cup contested on a suitably memorable track.

You Think I'm a Tough Critic? - Remember the Lebron-Ellie Day story?  Well, she's OK and has even tweeted Lebron that "We're good," i.e., all is forgiven.  But you know who hasn't been forgiven apparently?  Jason....at least on Twitter:

It turns out that he took lots of heat for not protecting his lad, though exactly what he could have done escapes me.  But those twitteratis do suffer from a Vitamin D deficiency, so let's hope this from the lady herself silences the mob:

She took to Twitter to silence the haters, saying in part, "To the crazies that think Jason should have protected me -- if he had had time to react, so would have I. Also, I would have not liked both dudes landing on me."

That last bit is a good point.

 Wie Under Expectations - Beth Ann Nichols has an interesting piece on the increasingly fragile Michelle Wie.  It covers the familiar:

The 2014 U.S. Women’s Open at Pinehurst was supposed to be a springboard for Wiesy, catapulting her into the same conversation at Ko and Park. Instead, 2015 began with strep throat and rolled into hip and ankle issues. The woman who wore a boot over the summer was ready to give this season the boot.

Things you knew but didn't KNOW:

It’s head-scratching for those who have followed Wie’s talent from the beginning to know that Ko won more LPGA events in 2015 (five) than Wie has won in her entire career (four).

But the interest lies in the comments of David Ledbetter, her instructor:

Leadbetter said, with only slight exaggeration, that he could look at Wie’s swing, walk down the range and come back to find something totally different. Wie, he said, is a consummate tinkerer. 

“She’ll go from a wide stance to a narrow stance, to a long backswing, to a short backswing, to a flat backswing, to an upright backswing, to a cupped wrist, to a bowed wrist, to more rotating hip action ...” said Leadbetter before taking a breath. 

“I said listen, in my experience of all the great players that I’ve had the good fortune to coach, they don’t move too far off their base.”

And this telling anecdote:

Take for example the Solheim Cup, where Leadbetter showed up on Sunday and gave Wie a technical tip on the range. She birdied six of seven holes in a 6-and-4 drumming of Caroline Hedwall. 

Whatever you do, Leadbetter told Wie, don’t change a thing in the Asian swing. Wie’s father, B.J., messaged to say that version of her swing lasted until the pro-am round of the first event.

Seems to have lasted the plane ride...

Back To The Future - Funny, we were just discussing the Solheim Cup the other day.... Now comes this:

How can Juli Inkster possibly top 2015? That will be the question many will pose after it

was announced Dec. 18 that Inkster will return in ’17 to captain Team USA at the 15th Solheim Cup in Des Moines, Iowa. Seems risky to lead another team after accomplishing the great comeback in Solheim Cup history. 

My answer to that: Doesn’t matter. 

To have any other player at the helm in Des Moines would’ve been a disappointment. The players want more of Inkster, as do the media and fans. And regardless of how it plays out in two years against Europe, it seems only right that Inkster leads the team – and possibly ends her Solheim career – on American soil.

Anything that adds buzz to the event is worth doing, though it's always hard to recapture the magic.  But as I noted contemporaneously, I thought Juli handled herself quite well, especially when her team was stinking up the joint.  And I especially liked her Thanksgiving comments in response to the little mini-controversy that arose from Anika exceeding her authority as a cart driver.

Why not, I say?  But she's gonna need some players to step up.

He Should Have Called - Guess who's in Park City with your humble correspondent?  No, not Tiger, but a good guess....enough back surgery for now.

But Ian Poulter is here and posted this video...  I didn't realize what an accomplished skier he is:

 Follow

Ian Poulter 

✔@IanJamesPoulter

Ok here is my wipeout... I've cut out the bad language. @GoPro

7:42 PM - 20 Dec 2015

 
•  8080 Retweets
 
•  416416 likes

I could help him with that.  On the other hand, I'd like our guys to win at Hazeltine...

What Will Kooch Play at The Open Championship? - This is kind of a surprise, no?

Bridgestone Golf, based in Japan, will stop selling in the United Kingdom and Ireland this March. A somewhat shocking announcement as, according to joint findings from Golf Datatech and Yano Research, the UK is the fourth-largest golf market in the world at a 5.2 percent share. 

“Despite having lifted market share in the ball sector in the last three years, it has been determined that any future investment was unsustainable,” said Bridgestone UK managing director Steve Kettlewell.

They make good balls, but it's a brutally competitive part of the market.  Unless, of course, you're Titleist....

The Nine Days, Continued - Shacks been pumping out the gift self-indulgence suggestions, and they're all interesting.  First was an opportunity for a trip down memory lane:

Longtime readers know I'm a huge fan of Lee Wybranski's commemorative posters that are available at three of the four majors). Wybranski's pieces combine the atmospheric 1930's railway art vibe while adding necessary modern touches to provide us the ideal keepsake from major championships.

Lee's 2013 Open Championship poster from Muirfieldhas been a favorite in my office, aided in part by the special week that unfolded. 

As we all know, some majors are better than others, which is why this is a great time to go through Lee's page of past major posters for weeks that were special to you or a friend (there are also some fun surprises in the form of course maps and select amateur events like the 2005 Walker Cup).

I too love those old British Railway posters, and these can be quite good as well.  And Shack shows off his vast personal influence by offering a discount at checkout using the code GEOFF.  That's a pretty good sign you've made it, when you have your own personal discount code.

I didn't see this one coming, as Geoff ventures back into the apparel realm:

Back in February a golfer friend told me of his love for teeing up in Lululemon's ABC Pant. Like most, I only barely knew of the company as female and yoga-centric. Then I found out the price of the ABC Pant and laughed. His reply? No dry cleaning, no ironing, lots of durability and you can wear one pair three times on a trip and they'll never smell or feel dirty.

Pre-millennials are saying right now: this is what they used to say about Sansabelts.

For any millennials that happened onto this site in error, Geoff gives a tutorial on Sansabelt slacks.  I know, wasn't that a time?  But these are $128.00 pants and no discount code, eponymous or otherwise, available here.  That's certainly rich for the Unplayable Lies pay scale.

Geoff's last thought (for now) is perhaps the most interesting yet:

But if tournment golf isn't your thing, why not just have favorite golf photo of your own

enlarged? After all, with apps like Snapseed, there is almost no excuse now to have a bad photo. Even better, most smart phones now take a photo that can be enlarged to sites like Photobucket. Which is why this excellent service comes in to the picture. 

For years I've been waiting for someone to offer photos printed on canvas at an affordable price. The look is cool and the extra cost more palatable than framing photo. Canvas-printed photos should also age better. 

Having uploaded a few golf course images to Photobucket for printing on canvas, I can wholeheartedly recommend them for quality, service and consistency with the original image.

That's a really cool idea and is obviously not limited to golf photos.  There's a substantial discount offer available and, well, I'm thinking....

Insiders Debacle

It wasn't that bad, but it sure wasn't very good.  The "it" in this case being Golf Central's Insider's Debate, the new show unveiled by Golf Channel yesterday featuring Tim Rosaforte, Geoff Shackelford and Matt Adams.  My readers need no introduction to those first two names, but the latter was new to me as well.  Adams hosts a SirirusXM morning show called Fairways of Life and has been recently hired by Golf Channel.

Let's get the bad stuff out of the way... the set is a complete misfire.  First, it's set in the Gold Channel newsroom, which Shack gamely tries to acknowledge early on as "Where it all happens."  Errr, not so much Geoff, as it mostly happens out on a golf course somewhere...  The network news broadcasts have occasionally used this trick, but it makes sense that the NBC newsroom would be staffed 24/7 to react if a bomb goes off somewhere or somebody important meets their maker.  But golf?  Especially in late December, not so much....

Secondly and more substantively, they have the guys standing around an elevated round table and it just screams, "Awkward."  Rosaforte gets the middle slot and when he's speaking both Shack and Adams have their back to the viewer.  You can watch the video at the link above, from which I grabbed this screen shot of Shack speaking while facing Tim:

Ummmm...we're over here, Geoff.

As for their interactions, they've tried to allocate the moderating duties equally, which also seems a curious choice.  I'd have added a moderator to control the broadcast and pose questions to the three "Insiders".  I also think they were ill-served by kicking the show off with a 2015 year in review show, as there's little new to add about Tiger or Jordan at this late date...  I actually think it will work better on a weekly basis with lower expectations...

As for the Solheim Cup discussion which comes at about the 9:45 mark, it would help if your so-called Insiders got the issue.  Geoff leads this segment positioning it as a debate about whether or not the putt was conceded, and Matt Adams goes off down an unlit path where he argues that the controversy wasn't the trigger for the comeback, but was the fuel....  Boy these guys are nuanced.  But Tim is the guy that drop-kicked the interview with Pettersen and I still await that brave soul that will show Suzann and Charlie Hull the picture of Hull storming off the green and ask what conclusion Allison Lee was to take from that?

The show seems to work best when  looking forward, as that's more fertile terrain for them to keep it fresh.  I do hope they tweak the format, especially as they won't get Shack into the Orlando studio every week, and wish them well.

Friday Frisson

Just a couple of loose ends before I head out to make a few turns:

The Tiger Death Watch - As a programming/DVR alert, Golf Channel will be airing a discussion of that Woods guy's career on December 30th, which just so happens to be the Striped One's 40th birthday.  Given that it features Jaime Diaz, Tim Rosaforte and Brandel Chamblee and, more importantly, there ain't anything else on to watch, it might be worth a look.

Shack has an interesting clip here of Brandel calling Woods the best golfer ever because of his dominance of the competition.  It's a theory, though other would argue that the talent pool was sufficiently thin that domination came easily.... When Bill James published his first Historical Baseball Abstract, he ranked players based upon both Peak and Career Value, an insightful distinction that negated many longstanding barroom arguments.

As an example, James found Mickey Mantle to be clearly the superior player to Willie Mays at their respective peaks, but of course Mays' entire career had far more value than the Mick's because he played into his early seventies....I kid, but anyone remember Willie as a Met?  That was unfortunate to say the least....  In our case Tiger is The Mick and jack is the Say hey Kid, so where does that leave Bobby Jones?

I Saw It On TV - Golfweek has a curious list of the TV top ten moments of 2015, mostly stuff such as changes in television rights and personnel that weren't, you know, on TV.  But this is their No. 1 item:

1. Fox airs its first U.S. Open: The newcomer's Open effort was uneven, and certainly

Holly earned her own spot on the list.

hindered by the USGA's regrettable decision to hold the event at Chambers Bay. Fox has big issues to address on its announcing crew in 2016. But it is pushing innovative technology, forcing CBS and NBC to follow suit, and it already is doing a better job than competitors at capturing on-course audio. In the long run, the new competition will make the industry, and the consumer experience, better.

Ummmm, you're gonna need a whole lot more lipstick for that pig.  I'll concede that they came up with some interesting graphics and that the mic in the cup added to their ability to capture audio, but like most I fear that with Joe Buck and The Shark in the booth none of that matters a damn bit.

When Worlds Collide - In a be careful what you wish for moment, Jason and Ellie Day scored courtside tix for a Cavs game.  No doubt they could have gone into the locker room after to meet Lebron, but Ellie couldn't wait:

Great hustle by Lebron but what are the odds?  Here's Ellie being taken out on a stretcher:

I'll remind you that Ellie delivered their second child just last month... Ellie was admitted to the hospital as a precautionary measure but has subsequently been released.  Ever the gentleman, Lebron later tweeted an invite to another game.

In a stream of consciousness moment that shows my inner thoughts at their darkest, Lebron landing on top of Ellie Day reminded me of this recent story.  I hate when that happens....

Greller, Unplugged - Cam Morfitt scores an interview with Jordan Spieth's looper Michael Greller, The Spieth Whisperer per the header, and it's a fun read.  Here's a random excerpt:

It takes something special to reach a sixth-grader in the throes of a math meltdown. Did that job prepare you for caddying on Tour?

No matter how frustrated Jordan’s gotten in my three years with him, it’ll never compare to working with 12-year-olds and their frustration levels. As a teacher, my biggest priority was getting the kids to believe in themselves, and you can apply that skill directly to Jordan. My biggest role has been encouragement and getting him to believe in himself.

Probably the take away for most would be that he finds Spieth and his family nicer than they seem on TV, and if you've seen Jordan with his sister, he looks plenty nice.  Easy to root for these two...

Coulda, Woulda Shoulda - Gary Van Sickle's entry in the Tiger Woods farewell tour is this piece on the majors that he should have won but didn't.  Normally I'd have little use for this revisionist history, but Gary sucks me in with an homage to Jack:

Earlier this year, I re-examined the career of Jack Nicklaus, who famously had 19 major championship runner-up finishes along with 18 titles, and concluded that while Jack could have won as many as 35 majors, perhaps, he should have won 28. I was conservative in determining that Jack let 10 slip away.

That's crazy talk, though admittedly fun crazy talk....In any event, Gary takes us through the Y.E, Yangs, Rich Beems, and Zach Johnsons of the world, with his only omission seeming to be the 2005 PGA at Baltusrol.  The common thread seeming to be poor putting and unimpressive winners.

The interesting thing in the comparison to Jack is how so many of Jack's near misses were to immortals, primarily Lee Trevino (Jack was runner-up in four of Lee's six majors) and Tom Watson.  I'm not sure what that means, but Jack's nineteen second place finishes in majors is its own record.

The Nine Days of Christmas - We've got two days to catch up on from Shack's self-indulgence tour.  First he ventures into the apparel world with this testimonial to Johnny O's golf apparel: 

Now, what to get from this maker of golf-inspired (and cleverly engineered) menswear from midwestern-raised and the decidedly-West Coast converted John O'Donnell? 

I've been buying Johnnie-O's clothes for years and sense from my own purchases (along with what I see golfers wearing), that they've dialed in both the fit, color and sensibility of their brand, which is to let you wear something functional on the course, while also owning something you can wear in a non-golf setting. 

Golf shirt-wise I love all their offerings, but of late have leaned toward the "Prep-formance" polos because who needs ironing when you're traveling. I've been virtually sleeping in their current golf-friendly vest, one of many new outwear items served up this fall. And for off the course, their button down shirts feature Johnnie's why-didn't-Ralph-Lauren-think-of-that "Tweener" button.

 Focus, Geoff, you're making this far too complicated (though the tweener button sounds promising).  But if you're going to suggest one item?

But I'm most excited about Johnnie-O's recent forays into pants because it's hard to find

pairs that work for both golf and social settings. You'll notice by the dwindling supplies that theirFillmore cords have been a big hit thanks to three elements: great fit, a touch of stretch in the fabric you don't normally get in a cord, and colors not normally seen in cords. 

For year-round golf purposes, check out the Napa pant. It's closer to a traditional cut but still modern enough. The style I've been enjoying most, however, is the Cal pant. It's a jean fit not cut too tight but definitely not a dad jean.

Alas, your humble blogger could only consider these if they come with a stretch waist.

Next Geoff goes the coffee table book route, with two intriguing options related to the auld grey toon.  First:

Roger McStravick's St. Andrews In the Footsteps Of Old Tom Morris is easily the richest visual history of early golf. The clarity of the early imagery and Roger's sense for what was important to include make this an amazing trip back in time when a small group of golfers had an inkling that they were onto something. 

Just seeing many of the early landmark locations in golf and the people who devoted themselves to refining the sport will make you proud to be a golfer. McStravick discussed the book with us earlier this year, and you can buy any of the three editions here, with the softcover starting at sixty pounds.

Or this:

Josh Evenson's Links To St Andrews is one big love letter of sorts, with a wide range of contributors sharing stories of all kinds related to the town, the courses and the people who made it the Home of Golf. But beyond that, the book quietly tells the history of golf art right up to the present with works commissioned for the book. And thanks to incredible production values, joins the many historic pieces displayed as a work of art itself. This will look excellent in your vacation estates throughout the globe.

For those looking for a gift for their favorite golf blogger, you could do far worse. 

Trumpelstiltskin

This story continues as the Blogger Full Employment Act of 2015... We've got some fun lined up for you this morning, what say we start with the actual news:

Presidential candidate Donald Trump continues to lead polls in the U.S. In Britain,

however, he's now "three times a loser." 

That was the remark made by the Scottish National Party's foreign affairs spokesperson Alex Salmond following Trump losing a third and final legal battle to stop an off-shore wind farm from being built. Trump has been fighting the creation of the farm since he feels it hurts the views from his Trump International Golf Links in Balmedie.

Just to be clear, this is the course he built in Aberdeenshire on Scotland's East Coast.   A second course is just under way but he has held back from building the large resort property originally planned.

This news triggered the best instincts in both men, with Trump firing back in a completely unemotional fashion:

But the Trump Organisation hit back at Salmond in a pointed and characteristically colourful statement: “Does anyone care what this man thinks? He’s a hasbeen and totally irrelevant. The fact that he doesn’t even know what’s going on in his own constituency says it all ... He should go back to doing what he does best: unveiling pompous portraits of himself that pander to his already overinflated ego.”

To be fair, on the subject of overinflated egos our Donald is giving a Master Class.  Now, as these things go, the two once shared a metaphorical bed:

Our protagonists in happier times.

The two men were once warm allies, after Salmond backed Trump’s £750m development of the Menie golf resort in Aberdeenshire, and after planning permission had initially been refused by Aberdeenshire council.

But they fell out over plans for the windfarm, and the US property mogul, whose mother was Scottish, wrote a blistering open letter in 2012 that accused Salmond of being “hellbent on destroying Scotland’s coastline and therefore Scotland itself”. Trump, 69, did not appear in person at the supreme court for any of the hearings.

To be clear, the windfarms are monstrous, ruining far more than just the view, as they are also extremely loud and kill quite a few birds.  They also provide extremely expensive power, as they're output is intermittent and requires full back-up from conventional power generation sources.  and the Scots will see such costs on their electric bills.

Salmond unsurprisingly found some local allies, and the gloves came off:

Patrick Harvie, economy spokesperson for the Scottish Greens and MSP for Glasgow, 

It is a shame to spoil this view, no?

said: “This crucial project has been delayed for too long by one rich climate change denier. This is the latest rejection for an irrational bully whose brand is increasingly toxic.”

Referring to earlier controversial comments made on the US campaign trail, Salmond also said of Trump: His behaviour and comments are unlikely to attract the votes of many Mexican Americans or Muslim Americans. Given his treatment of Scotland, Scots Americans are likely to join the ever growing list of people alienated by Trump.”

So the general state of play remains unchanged, as Trump's outlandish campaign posturings continue to simultaneously engage disaffected voters but cost his golf ventures.  Now comes curmudgeonly James Corrigan to remind us of why Trump has struck such a cord, with this rather improbable lede:

It is a long shot, but a golfer such as Mardan Mamat or Siddikur Rahman or Rahil Gangjee could yet qualify for the WGC Cadillac Championship at Doral in March and, who knows, even win and so be there on that 18th green holding the trophy and shaking hands with Donald Trump.

How would the Doral owner feel then? Congratulating a Muslim who Trump would believe should not have been allowed into the country until it had been made clear that, because of his religion, he does not represent a threat to national security?

Would Trump squirm, grovel, show a trace of humility? Nah, he would just shrug it off and bluster in that wretchedly arrogant manner of his.

James, we're very impressed that you could find three such names in the world of golf, but I've got a better chance of qualifying for that event than any of that group.  But he was just making a point, I get it....James continues in full lather using terms like dangerous individual and grotesque patronage sound for all the world like.... well, very much like the subject of his opprobrium.  But onward James rants:

To be honest, the PGA Tour and R&A should have acted already. I was originally of the opinion that Trump could be a good thing for the sport as he invested in resorts such as Doral and Turnberry which were in such danger of turning into faded glories. 

Even though he had accused Mexico “of bringing drugs, crime, rapists” into the US and even though he opined that “tremendous infectious disease is pouring across the border”, my suspicion was that the game should hesitate from taking the high ground.

Ummm James, the R&A hasn't give him an Open, so I'm a bit unclear on your accusations there.  But here's where he goes off the deep end:

But then, Trump so scandalously turned Turnberry - beautiful Turnberry - into part of his 

election trail at the Women’s British Open in August and the penny dropped. Seeing Lizette Salas, the daughter of two Mexican immigrants, being mobbed by news crews immediately after her first round was one of the most pitiful scenes I’ve seen in sport. 

Salas was there to compete, not to defend her heritage against Trump, but as soon as his helicopter whirred into view for all the publicity shots, it was inevitable she would be hounded.

OK, that was in fact unfortunate, but Salas handled herself well and the earth continued to orbit on its axis around the sun.  Most pitiful scene in sport?  Hardly a blip on the radar....

Yes, Trump was his usual bombastic self, sucking up as much oxygen as he could, item one on my list of reasons the R&A might not return to Turnberry.  But see how you react to this:

Never mind its image, golf first of all needs to protect its participants. It is a sport which claims to be global, for goodness sake, and which is making huge inroads in Asia including in the UAE where Trump unashamedly cosies up to the Sheikhs with his ongoing Dubai development. 

That is Trump’s integrity, right there. He wants their money but does not want them. It is time to rid this man from the sport, by complete disassociation.

Gee James, you know who else cosies up to Sheikhs?  Let's see, the Euro version of the FedEx Cup is called The Race to ______?  I'll give you a hint, it's a five-letter word that you yourself used above?  So, if that explicates Trump's integrity, how does it reflect on the parties that you're encouraging to banish him?  

But what most gets my blood a-boiling is that "Golf first needs to protect its participants" bit.  So you want golf to be a safe space where no controversy is allowed to intrude?  Like, for instance, Yale or Mizzou?  

Regular readers know that I'm no fan of Trump, but I'm even less of a fan of the paternalistic attitude that informs us that our betters will protect us.  They've done a horrible job of doing so, and their attitude has produced Trump, as a healthy subset of the population gives its elites the middle finger.  More of this nonsense and I might actually warm up to the guy...