Midweek Musings

A very slow start to things this morning, but better late than never...

Doral Doin's - Shack heads his post with a question of whether Doral will be more "democratic" this year, a nice ironic touch considering its owner's somewhat.....I'm gonna go with authoritarian, tendencies...  Of course Geoff means who the golf course favors:

DJ's epic Sunday poke on No. 18.

The rank-and-file felt discriminated against in Gil Hanse's Blue Monster makeover. EvenBrandt Snedeker's caddy threw a hissyfit for the ages over the apparent bias in the design toward those who could hit it a long way, so this year the course will sport a few narrowed landing areas for the longer hitters which match the driving zones of those less fortunate.

I had forgotten that rant by Sneds' luggage toter, but Rex Hoggard catches up with a more philosophical Brandt this week:

“I felt bad for Gil because he was getting criticized for the redesign, and just said, ‘Here’s the objective view of what I’m seeing and why guys are upset,’” Snedeker said. “Just so it’s more playable and fair for guys who hit it my length. There were times when I was hitting into a fairway that was 12 yards wide, while some of the longer guys are hitting into fairways that were 35 yards wide. 

“I understand that length is an advantage but it shouldn’t be a determining factor to the golf tournament, and it seemed like last year length was the overriding factor on who was going to win.”

There's a reason that Tom Doak refers to "fair" as the F-word....Bold prediction, some constituency of PGA Tour pros will find the redesign of the redesign to favor a style of play other than their own. I know, it's just a gift...

 But I thought this was the most important takeaway, an architect that is actually open to criticism:

“I thought [Snedeker’s] comments were well thought out and insightful. You are always going to get players who are going to vent, but both [Snedeker and Ryan Moore] took the time to analyze the golf course,” Hanse said. “Through the history of the game the longer hitters have always had an advantage, but you’d like to think every class of player would be able to succeed on a particular course.” 

All total, six holes at Doral have been tinkered with to varying degrees since last year’s championship, with the most dramatic change coming at the par-4 seventh hole where Hanse and Co. removed a fairway bunker down the right side. 

“Looking at ShotLink it was obvious the longer hitters weren’t even thinking about that bunker and the preferred angle is down the right side and now we’ve given everybody a chance to use that angle,” Hanse said.

I've been complimentary of Gil over the years, and this lack of defensiveness is part of the reason.  Doug Ferguson lays out the issues looking forward:

It's Trump as a presidential candidate, and the bombastic dialogue that has become a staple of his campaign, which makes the future in Miami look bleak. 

The PGA Tour has a contract with Doral through 2023, although there is a provision that a new title sponsor would have the right to take the tournament somewhere else. Cadillac is in the final year of its title sponsorship and is not going to renew. 

The task is to find a new sponsor that doesn't mind the sideshow that Trump brings to a tournament. 

If a new sponsor doesn't want to be at Trump Doral, there are not many other options in Miami with the property that can handle size of a World Golf Championship. The tour has looked at Crandon Park on Key Biscayne, a strong public course that once hosted a senior event. But with only one road to the course, that might not be practical. 

The end of the PGA Tour in Miami? Now that's a distraction.

I've never been a fan of the golf course, but that continuity and tradition is not to be thrown away lightly.  Trump's brave words about making more money that week without the event aside, I'd guess that even he knows that the long run of the Tour coming there every March is a big part of the resort's image...

While the USGA, PGA and R&A have the advantage of deferring any decision, this is a spot on the calendar that our Commissioner Ratched will need to address with haste.  No sponsor will make a long-term commitment that involves a Trump property, but the Commish has proven adept at covering bald spots with short-term arrangements, as he did last year for the Match Play (ironically, with Cadillac).  I wonder if that might be the path of least resistance to wait out the election returns....

Now I'll direct your attention to this Cam Morfitt rant, and solicit your reaction:

"The PGA Tour has had a 53-year commitment to the Doral community," the Tour's statement continues, "the greater Miami area and the charities that have benefited from the tournament. Given this commitment, we are moving forward with holding the 2016 event at the Blue Monster. We are focused on this week's competition and making the 2016 Cadillac Championship the best tournament possible." 

There are so many problems here it's hard to know where to start. It was only two years ago that the PGA of America swiftly fired President Ted Bishop for calling Ian Poulter a "lil girl" on social media. Compared to Trump's bombast, Bishop's slip-up seems small, but context is everything. Golf was and is in the midst of a reckoning as it deals with declining participation; the sport needs little girls to feel welcome at their local course, not wondering why one of the sport's leaders would use "lil girl" as an insult.

But Cam, there's also no shortage of problems with your position.  First and foremost, Bishop was the PGA of America's President, whereas Trump is an outsider with whom the PGA has a contractual relationship.  You're advocating that the Tour breach said contract for nothing more than the constitutionally-protected free speech of its owner with which you disagree.  Is that what you want little girls who tune in to see?  Have you perhaps considered a change in career, as you'd make a first-rate college administrator...

I'll also remind the reader that the Bishop firing was not the peg of enlightenment on which I'd like to hang my hat... it smelled more like Ryder Cup score settling.  Yes it was unseemly having Ted mix it up with Poults on Twitter, and I'm perfectly fine with that being a firing offense.  Just save me the moral sanctity, let those among us who have never said to their opponent, "Nice putt, Alice" cast the first stone....

But seriously, what is the responsibility of the Tour for the statements of the owners of the courses on which it holds events?  I believe in accountability for that which people or organizations control, but I'm having trouble seeing what other course of action the Tour could take here.

If Cam wants to argue that the Tour should not renew its contract with Trump-owned properties, that also seems a discussion we can have....  

But Cam, you should also be aware that The Donald is on a roll with celebrity endoresements, and this latest example is important because of his unique ability to be Chris Christie's body-double:

Birds, feathers....John Daly telling us what the country needs.... what could go wrong?

A Name To Remember - Trinity Forest, a new Coore-Crenshaw course outside Dallas, and it's poised to relieve us of one of the weaker venues on Tour:

After three years, Trinity Forest is getting poised for its unveiling. The course is on schedule to open by early fall, perhaps as soon as Sept. 1. When the curtain is pulled off the old dump, Dallas will have a marquee course with dunes, sandy waste areas and native grasses swaying on the rolling hills. 

"I don't want to sound like a promotional machine, but it was very interesting to walk out there and remember the conversation we had when we first came out here to look at the land," said Coore, who returned for two days of inspection about two weeks ago. 

"Interestingly enough, of all the courses we've done, this one is probably the closest to what we envisioned. Amazingly similar in the sense of how the holes fit. It was just fascinating to see how it came together from the very beginning when it was a landfill."

Here's an aerial of the property:

Though I always recoil when they use the "L" word:

When designer Bill Coore first viewed the site of the proposed Trinity Forest Golf Club, he envisioned a seaside links. 

Of course, being 5 miles south of downtown, there was no sea, only a 400-acre landfill by the Trinity River.

As much as I respect Bill Coore, one really can't build a links in Texas because of the heat-tolerant grasses that must be used.  But, and this is the importance, I could design it and it would be better than Las Colinas where they currently hold the event.

And they're obviously smart guys:

Eight holes of the main course are getting limited play -- including from world No. 1 Jordan Spieth of Dallas, who's a longtime student of Trinity Forest director of instruction Cameron McCormick, and fellow Tour player Hunter Mahan of Dallas, who is also a member.

That folks is how you get the best player in the world to tee it up at your second-tier Tour event.

Bad Timing -  I assume you all know Danny Willett, rising Euro Tour star that finished second to Rory in the Race to Dubai....  Well, he apparently has trouble with his figures, specifically in the counting to nine area:

DORAL, Fla. — It’s been a year of steady gains by Englishman Danny Willett. No. 45 in the Official World Golf Ranking when he left the WGC-Cadillac Championship last March, he arrives at this week’s event 15th.

“We’re in great position, obviously, now to really push on,” he said. 

Willett with wife Nicole at last year's Par-3.

But as Willett, 28, prepares to tee it up in his eighth World Golf Championships event, it is a gain on another front that may disrupt his plans for the upcoming Masters. 

“I’m looking forward to Augusta,” Willett said, “if I get to go play.” 

The “if” is because his wife, Nicole, is pregnant with the couple’s first child, and the due date is Sunday, April 10 — the due date for Round 4 of the Masters.

He's taking it all in stride:

Give Willett credit, though. Not only is he not stressed out, but he had a descriptive way of illustrating the scenario. 

“Obviously, (Nicole) is due that week, so it all depends on how our little man is faring," Willett said. "If he fancies coming out early on, it would be great. But if not, I won’t be playing.” 

Hear, that kid? The pressure’s on you.

Well, he could always pull a Phil and have his caddie wear a beeper....

A Tug At Your Heart Strings -  How can we worry about the future of our game when we see things like this:

I think my favorite part was her sister's body English on her shot.... and in a stream of consciousness moment, it reminded me of this cute sign from my local coffee shop: