Loose Threads

Lots to cover, so shall we open the floor to questions...just kidding, at this place we only talk about that which I want to discuss.

Doral Drama - Shack devotes his Forward Press feature to a more than typically interesting week at Doral.  He does a good job covering all the sub-plots, including the Resort's Owner (supposed to make a low-key appearance on Sunday), venue (second longest event on Tour held at one venue to only Colonial) and sponsor (Cadillac apparently wants out, and they hold the keys to the event's contractual commitment to Doral).  I expect we'll be diving deeper into each of those as the week progresses....

There's also the minor detail of the filed being strong, Big 3/4/5/10 and all....But, geekishness trigger warning, this was of greater interest to your humble correspondent:

As for that player feedback, it seems the course is not a favorite of those who only drive

it 290. The whining has been kept behind closed doors, but the tour has responded by asking Trump and architects Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner to make the bombers work a little harder. According to Gary Young, the rules staff’s advance man on site, several bunker complexes have been extended into fairways, a few palm trees planted and fairways have been narrowed beyond 310 yards. 

More importantly, lake banks that were playing almost like the shaved ones we see at Augusta National sport a healthy rough after a thin first two years. Those nice shots players were hitting and losing into the water will likely stay on the banks, while those who play a bad shot will find Doral’s many water hazards. 

Young says Director of Agronomy Don Thornburg has done a stellar job guiding the Blue Monster through a dreadful growing season and believes players will find the greens receptive. (They were plagued by the usual new-green firmness that doesn’t discriminate against good and bad shots sometimes.)

I respect Gil Hanse as much as any architect plying his trade these days, I just don't know how you make South Florida golf interesting.  

Honda Detritus - A couple of leftovers from the weekend... First, a slideshow of the most amusing photos of the week, including these (not all from The Honda):

Can you two please get a room.

You mean I'm not invited to Jack's dinner?  But I can beat that Keegan guy!

And of course, who doesn't like a close-knit family:

And, while Shane Lowry appears to be soft and cuddly, make sure the children are safely out of earshot for this:

Here's the Irishman's response to the kerfuffle:

Bad Shane!  We all know what this game can do to a fellow and no matter how amusing to hear those words in his lilting Irish brogue, but profanity is the one no-go zone.  I've said the same thing about Tiger many, many times, but if you're lucky enough to play this game for a living, you should be able to control what comes out of your mouth in public.

As for this from Adam Schupak, haven't we suffered enough:

PGA National deserves another major – how about 2020 PGA, in February?

Would someone please remove all the knives from Shack's home...Why would any sentient human being think that?

PGA National proved once again that it is a major-championship site. Only 13 players at the Honda broke par for 72 holes. The course already has hosted a PGA Championship, in 1987, when Larry Nelson hoisted the silver Wanamaker Trophy, and a Ryder Cup, in 1983. From 1982 to 2000, the course was the home of the Senior PGA Championship, and its list of winners is a Hall of Fame roll call: Arnold Palmer, Peter Thomson, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Ray Floyd and Hale Irwin among them.

OK, when you put water everywhere, there's gonna be some carnage....that doesn't make it good course or necessarily a good test of skill.  But while the PGA of America has this weird love of Southern venues in August, as though seeing Tim Herron in a sweat-soaked golf shirt is a positive, in a better world no major would ever be contested on Bermuda. 

Or we can just let Shane Lowry make the call... 

Fox Update - Good news for the Pavin family, as I assume they'll see more of their patriarch:

Fox Sports continues to revamp its talent roster with the addition of Curtis Strange, who will be the network’s lead on-course reporter.

Strange had been working as a tower analyst for ESPN, but that network’s golf inventory has been cut substantially with the loss of the early-round U.S. Open rights and the decision last year to give up its British Open rights with one year remaining on the contract. Strange said that led him to “put out a couple of feelers.” He had worked with Mark Loomis, Fox’s golf producer, at ABC and ESPN, and Strange said he and Loomis have stayed in touch over the years. 

This will be Strange’s first job as an on-course reporter. He worked as a lead analyst for ABC and later as a hole announcer for ESPN. But he said has wanted to try on-course work since his ABC days.

Curtis fits nicely into that category of inoffensive commentators, and inoffensive will be a substantial upgrade for the Peacock.  Pavin seemed miscast in the role, though that's somewhat unfair as he of course had limited time to figure it out.  As far as I know, there's been no word as to whether he still has a job.

Rio Loco, An Ongoing Series - This could have been filed as well under The Soft Bigotry of Low Expectations:

New report says controversial Rio 2016 golf course has boosted environment, organisers claim

Here's the gist of it:

Documents released by the State of Rio de Janeiro Department of Justice reportedly say the course in Barra da Tijuca has "contributed to the growth of local vegetation" in the Marapendi area.

Well, the absence of raw sewage is an advantage, and that will likely remain the case, at least through the Olympics.  After that, who knows?

And in a related item, this is my shocked face:

The Olympic golf test event has come up short on Olympians. 

The world's best players have opted to skip the one-day exhibition at the Olympic Golf Course in Rio de Janeiro on March 8, leaving organizers to proceed with a small field of nine Brazilian golfers.

International Golf Federation VP Ty Votaw told GOLF.com that organizers sought commitments from Olympic hopefuls on the PGA Tour, European tour and LPGA tour. But with the WGC-Cadillac Championship at Doral and the HSBC Women's Champions in Singapore competing for golfers' time this week, the pros couldn't squeeze in a jaunt to South America. 

"We talked to a number of top players," Votaw said. "They expressed interest but at the end of the day the tight worldwide schedule made it tough to justify a one-day trip down there and back."

Gee, Ty, any idea who created that tight schedule?  

Thirteenth Thoughts -  While the rest of us went immediately to Defcon-5, Shack yesterday had calming words about the ANGC land grab.  He's expanded those thoughts in response to a reader's e-mail:

--As I wrote in today's Golf World, based on the club's plans to expand their campus and rearrange the Masters week patron experience following the 2016 and 2017 Masters, the primary reason for this land purchase appears inspired by greater control of Augusta National's perimeter. The purchase of nearby homes and the move of Berckmans already exemplified this desire to expand the ANGCboundaries. (BTW Berckmans Road opened yesterday with no major issues, in case you were wondering.) Acquiring this land allows for better control of prime acreage behind Amen Corner.

Perhaps this is a good time to look at the property involved:

To me, because of the severity of the dogleg, the yardage has always seemed an irrelevance.  You still need to fit it into the line of play, and that's why for years now only the shortest of right-handed players have hit driver.  But back to Geoff:

--The option to lengthen the 13th could be part of this purchase, and yes, with the artistically hapless Tom Fazio at the controls, endless precedent exists for total architectural point-missing. There is a reason he's been canned at several of the classic courses he once consulted at (Winged Foot, Merion, Bel-Air, etc...), which most could have seen coming when he referred in his book to the "so-called classic" era and architects. In the case of Augusta National, there is certainly the danger that the same point-missing ways that produced the unfortunate 11th hole could happen to the 13th. But my instincts about the current club chairman suggest he is well aware of the 13th hole's place as golf's greatest risk-reward hole. Any new tees added will be installed with preserving a balance of risk and reward.

Architecturally hapless?  I'd recommend keeping your back to the wall at the GCA Christmas party, Geoff.... But while these folks do have more money than God, $27 million large is a big number just to, you know, secure the perimeter....

One aspect I've not seen discussed, is spectator patron access...  One often overlooked aspect of these holes is that the 12th green and 13th tee box are eerily quiet, since no one is allowed across Rae's Creek.  Geoff?

The Tour Confidentail guys had at this issue, and here's a sample exchange:

SENS: Going in the wrong direction? When it comes to how far the ball travels today, the past tense “went” is more like it. That horse has already left the barn. And I understand why some tournament courses have had to be lengthened in response. Regarding Augusta, though, Horschel is right on the money. You’re going to modify what might be the greatest par-5 in the world for the sake of protecting par? Makes no sense to me. 

GODICH: I beg to differ, Josh. These days on Tour, a 510-yard hole makes for a good par-4. How many players are hitting 3-wood and a mid-iron at the 13th? Shouldn’t they at least have to pull driver if they want to have a go at a reachable par-5? 

SENS: I hear you on that point, Mark. No argument that the hole plays shorter than it used to. But if that’s your concern, call the hole a par-4 and move on. Change its designation, but not its design.

Even these SENSible folks fall into the trap of just looking at the yardage.... Look at the photo above again, and remember that to hit it a great distance the player has to shape the shot significantly, and that entails the assumption of significant risk.  The hole typically plays to a stroke average in the 4.5 range, so it's a classic half-par.  I'm still trying to figure where there's a problem with it as is, including the Par.  But no question, better to change the Par than the hole....