Friday Frisson

Apologies, Dear Reader, for yesterday's unscheduled mental health day.... I could blame it on family and other obligations, but the reality is that I just needed a day away from the keyboard.

There are currently seventeen open browser tabs...  don't panic, as that includes Chase and a small number not for your reading pleasure, but we have much to cover.  Perhaps a refill on that coffee?

Sand Valley - Golf course closures are more the norm these days, making this all the more enjoyable.  Mike Keiser is about the only guy still building, and fortunately he doesn't do one-offs.  Gary Van Sickle made his way to central Wisconsin, and the rest of us won't be far behind:

LOST IN WISCONSIN—Pardon the dateline, but I’m not exactly sure where the hell I

am. 

That’s strange because I lived in Wisconsin for 18 years and even graduated from a small-town high school maybe an hour away. But I couldn’t put an I Am Here dot on a map.

Here is Sand Valley, a fabulous new course and future resort that’s about to open for public play. It is the brainchild of Mike Keiser, the man who put Bandon Dunes on your golf bucket list, and his sons, Michael Jr. and Chris. There’s only one drawback to Sand Valley: getting there. Funny, but Bandon Dunes, on Oregon’s remote coast, initially had the same problem. Now, 81 stunning holes, spectacular ocean views and an upgraded commercial airport have made location a moot point. Bandon is a smashing success.

On the You-Can't-Get-There-From-Here scale, which runs from zero to Askernish, Bandon Dunes is a seven and this is no more than a five.  Wisconsin is about to become a golf destination of major proportions, incorporating Koehler, Erin Hills and this little project.

Back to Mike:

Still, Keiser sent business associate Josh Lesnik on a reconnaissance mission, all the while expecting him to shoot down the idea. His report to Keiser is now the stuff of legend: “I’m sorry to tell you this, but you are going to love it.” Within a few months, Keiser had bought 1,500 acres, and the Sand Valley saga began. 

The first course, designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, is ready for play, and it’s terrific fun, with green fees ranging from $85-$195 for resort guests and $95-$235 for daily play. Sand Valley kind of resembles Bandon Trails, another Coore-Crenshaw effort that some visitors argue is the best of the tracks at the resort. The second Sand Valley course, by Bandon Dunes architect David McLay Kidd, is under construction and is scheduled to open in 2018.

The over/under is four courses, as we've previously discussed.  That's because Kidd won an unusual bake-off for the design contract for the second course.  Keiser challenged three design teams, the other two being Tom Doak and Rod Whitman (Cabot Links), and amazingly the three groups all chose different sections of the site over which to route their courses.  Which means that Mike has Sand Valley Nos. 3 & 4 all teed up....

If they come he will build it....and my guess is that they will come.  A gallery of photos from the Coore-Crenshaw design is here.... Here's another sample:

If you like this sort of thing....

Don't Tease Me Now - You guys know the drill, we have to support the off-putting Vijay Singh in his lawsuit against the PGA Tour because....well, lesser of evils and all that.  I can't possibly recite the bill of particulars, but the Tour's disciplinary process needs a strong dose of sunlight, just so we can see what's growing in there...

So, fingers crossed, with this from a Pete Madden interview with Veej's lawyer:

GOLF.com: You've represented several professional athletes in disputes against the leagues they play for, including the NFL and the NCAA. What makes Vijay Singh's case against the PGA Tour unique? 

Ginsberg: The golf world is a unique place, and Vijay is certainly a unique person. He is the prototype of a professional, a mature man who has achieved what people dream of achieving. He is a thoughtful, decent person who was wronged by an arbitrary and irrational decision by the PGA Tour. The PGA Tour is also different than most leagues because it isn't subject to the same guidelines or restrictions that a collective bargaining agreement imposes on some of the other leagues. And the players themselves, the labor part of the sport, have not organized or acted in coordination the way that they do in some of the other leagues.

Now there's much of merit in the bottom half of his answer, but I may need a moment to absorb the concept of a mature professional using deer antler spray.....

Please do read the entire thing, as there's no shortage of comedic high points, such as Vijay's extensive due diligence on the product:

Singh and his assistant both looked into the product. He has always been very careful about that. They checked the bottle. He met with the man who was manufacturing the product. I believe they talked with some of the other golfers, but he certainly looked at some of the testimonials from other golfers. There was nothing they could find that made the product suspicious in any way. And I think the fact that other golfers were not only using the product, but publicly endorsing the product and continued to do so without the PGA Tour standing up or stopping it -- as far as Vijay could tell -- gave him no reason to feel like there was a reason not to take the product.

Clearly there's nothing to see here....well, perhaps except for this:

As Sports Illustrated's David Epstein reported in 2013, Sports with Alternatives to Steroids, the company selling the spray, was a two-man operation run out of the back of a gym near Birmingham, Alabama, and its founder, Mitch Ross, was a former male stripper and steroid dealer who did not even have a college degree in science. After he read the article, did Vijay feel deceived?

Of course my interest is the needlessly opaque Tour disciplinary policies as relates both the recreational (DJ, call your office) and performance-enhancing drugs.  

Stay tuned....

Ryder Cup Recriminations, Part XVII - First off, we'll refer you to this September Golf Digest September issue with behind the scenes comments on Ryder Cup hopefuls....  Lots of good dirt dished and keen insights to be had, though it's way to long because it covers the entire universe of possible players.

Let me restate that last bit, since the section on American players starts with Keegan Bradley... I don't care if you went to press last September, Keegs was never in the mix.... As for Webb Simpson, I'm hopeful that he doesn't actually have Davis' cellphone number....

But here's the take on an old fave:

Sergio Garcia (18-9-5)

AMERICAN TAKES: "More than any of their guys, Sergio likes to mess with you. He likes to play little b.s. games, and he's comfortable winning playing those b.s. games if he can't beat you with his clubs. It's totally chickenshit, and you have to give it right back to him or ignore him. And if you do give it back to him, it can affect him." ..."You can get in his head the easiest, but he still seems tough in the Ryder Cup. If you really wanted to try to rattle him, make him putt everything." ... "If you need to have the last point of the Ryder Cup, you'd want to see Sergio playing for their side." ... "Sergio isn't a choker, but has he ever made a putt in a major when it really counted at the end? That's why you feel like he can be beaten." ... "He can go dark, and his body language is going to tell you a lot about where his head is at. And if that happens, then you have the opening to try to put him away because he might have checked out. He can go haywire in the head, yeah." 

EUROPEAN TAKE: "Sergio is so streaky on the greens. Sometimes he actually looks OK. And his stats are better inside eight feet. But he doesn't win nearly as often as he should. And that can only be because of his putting. He stands up there just not believing they're going to go in, an attitude that soon becomes clear to an opponent. Having said that, he has holed some terrific putts in the Ryder Cup. But look what Anthony Kim did to him at Valhalla. Sergio was putting poorly, and armed with that knowledge, Kim hammered him [5 and 4]."

Sergio's a funny guy, a force of nature in the team events but quite beatable in singles.  But expect him to putt like Bobby Locke on Friday and Saturday....

There's much there of interest, but perhaps the best suggestion is to keep it open for the rainy Sunday and Monday ahead.

The case for Bubba?  This might be it...

The Tour Confidential guys took on the orange enigma with this long-winded question:

2. Rickie Fowler held a one-stroke lead over Reed after 54 holes at Bethpage Black but played his final nine in four over to finish T-7,costing him an automatic bid onto Davis Love III's U.S. Ryder Cup team. Was Fowler's mostly stellar form throughout the week evidence that he deserves one of Love's four captain's picks, or was his loose play under Sunday-afternoon pressure a sign that his game's not quite there and he should sit out this edition?

Here's a tasting menu of answers:

VAN SICKLE: Fowler is one of the guys who Love fought for to get on the team at

Wales when he was maybe a controversial choice, and Fowler came through on the last four holes of that singles match. He's got a match-play mentality and pedigree that means Love is going to pick him, pretty much no matter what. Rickie should play. He will play.

SHIPNUCK: After the slippage at Bethpage Fowler is now oh-fer four in converting 54-hole leads on Tour. A spot on the team was there for the taking on Sunday and he stumbled badly. What to do with him will be Love's biggest choice. Personally, I think Rickie has played his way off the team.

Alas, some questions can only be answered with another question, to wit, Who you got that's better?

 There was also this one:

Vegas has made the U.S. a heavy favorite to win back the Cup at Hazeltine. Do the oddsmakers have it right?

Continuing our homage to Jeopardy, I'd counter with, If they can't win this one, when will they win?

But here's one that won't trigger a question in response:

4. Fueled by big, vocal galleries, Bethpage Black was its usual electric self during the Barclays. Is there any threat of Bethpage becoming untenably rowdy when the Ryder Cup visits in 2024?

That's a feature, not a bug.... It's also the answer to my question immediately above.  Sergio could not be reached for comment, but I'd predict a 2023 retirement announcement.

 Cheap Shots -

Charles Barkley, Call Your Office - This dude shot 80 once -- yes, with this swing.  Needs to be seen to be believed.  Hard to imagine he can even put the club face on the ball...

Beware The Injured Golfer - Henrik Stenson has torn meniscus, will skip BMW to rest up for Ryder Cup

I'd Have Gone With a Shrink - Rory McIlroy hires putting coach to help stanch the bleeding

Is His Name Constantino Rocca? - Euro Tour player has putt come nearly back to his feet, and then drains the next one

No. Next Question... - Would you pay $99,000 for this clubfitting experience?  

No Thanks, I'm Good - What exactly will Tiger Woods do as a Ryder Cup assistant? Let's take a closer look.  I'm just praying that there's no squirrels involved.....