Midweek Musings

A slow and sluggish start to the day, so just a few quick items and I'll let you get on with your day....

The Loudest Hole In Golf - Are you sick of it yet?  You know the drill, drunken louts screaming, players throwing trinkets into the stands, caddie races....  Actually, those last two have been proscribed by the Tour, it's a wonder they even let them sell alcohol...

Chances are I posted this last year, but I'm too lazy to dig through the archives, but it's still fun:

The strangest of facts remains that they build this stadium anew each year, as opposed to leaving it in place.  And it's such a nothing golf hole on its own merits, it must feel bewildering to the tourists that come to play the famed 16th hole.

Shack speculates that there must be some sort of legal or zoning issue, which sounds right.  But perhaps Trump can intervene and make TPC Scottsdale 16th Great 24-7.  I'd add speakers and crowd noise for the visitors, including boos when they miss the green.

As I've discussed previously, the insufferable purist in me requires that I keep a bit of emotional distance from this spectacle...  just can't let the mask slip.  But I'm actually OK with it, as it developed organically and, most importantly, hasn't been copied by other events.  In a way, this is a case study for other events in how to differentiate themselves form the pack.  This scene isn't for everyone, but there's no law requiring one to play in it.

And, as a reminder of how this has evolved, here's the video of Tiger's ace from 1997.  Notice the absence of grandstands: 

Watch Patrick Reed wow the crowd with a trick shot here.  Even earned praise from Caesar The Bryan Brothers...

I'm awaiting Bubba's pre-tourney comments this year, as he got himself into hot water last go around.  He had the temerity to note that he didn't really like the golf course, but was there to support his great sponsors (including Ping, which is based in Phoenix).  Oh the inhumanity of man....  can you imagine the arrogance?  But the think is, he's quite right....  It was an acceptable version of desert golf, nothing special but also nothing too extreme.

Then Mr. Wesikopf decided that what was needed was faux Coffin and Church Pew bunkers, no doubt under the misguided notion that they're indigenous to the surrounds.  And the latter of those specifically designed to deter the long hitters, such as out Bubba, from taking the straight line off the tee on the finishing hole....  And don't get me started on the blindingly white sand that's visible from the Space Station....

The Merchandise Show - I'm not a gearhead nor do I play one on TV, but it seemed from my vantage point that this year's PGA Merchandise show came and went without much buzz.  I had one short item a few days ago but, according to Tony Covey at MyGolfSpy.com, I'm not imagining things:

While the daily propaganda blasts from show organizers might have you believe otherwise, I’m here to tell you that the 2017 PGA Show was an absolute sloth. With

noticeably light traffic in the aisles and plenty of open space (both on the show floor and the range at demo day), 2017’s easily qualifies as the most depressing PGA Show during my time in the industry. 

Take it for whatever it’s worth, but several of my media colleagues (and others I’ve spoken with from inside the industry) are in complete agreement. Call it a worse show on the heels of a bad show on the heels of a not so good show.

C'mon Tony, tell us what you really think.  Now Tony goes on to talk at length about the sow, including these two seemingly contradictory insights:

TaylorMade Won the PGA Show

Maybe that’s overstating it just a bit, but if you’re looking for the defining moment of the 2017 PGA Show, it was TaylorMade’s announcement that it had signed Tiger Woods to a 

long-term deal. Tiger will eventually play 13 TaylorMade clubs. For now, it’s just metalwoods in the bag, as the company willfully admits it’s going to take some time to develop irons and wedges that are suitable for the notoriously difficult Mr. Woods. 

The announcement at 8:30 AM of Day 1 of the indoor session overshadowed absolutely everything else at the show. Lost in the Tiger news; Michelle Wie signed with Callaway, PING released its Sigma G line of putters, and Titleist formally announced a new generation of Pro V1 and Pro V1x golf balls.

OK, but were they still buxxing after he went 5-over on four holes on the back nine Thursday?  OK, but then this:

The TaylorMade/adidas situation is getting weird 

And speaking of TaylorMade…while the PGA Show booths were side by side, for the first time I can recall, you couldn’t walk directly from the adidas booth to the TaylorMade booth. We’re talking a firm or at least a semi-firm barrier between the two brands. 

While future ownership of the TaylorMade brands remains unsettled, it appears to be operating as an adidias company in name only. I would describe the current relationship between the two brands as married, but sleeping in separate bedrooms.

Metaphorically speaking, both sides are holding it together for the sake of the children, but there is a clear division between the two. While the addition of Tiger Woods is inarguably good for the TaylorMade brand, it has also served to expand the growing internal rift.

I'll pause to allow you to appreciate the world-class trolling involved in using such an analogy in the very same paragraph as a discussion of Tiger....

If you're at all interested in the subject, Tony is your guy....  He's got a lot more in the linked piece, so have at it...

 Ben Hogan, RIP - CEO Scott White went Mark Twain on us a few weeks ago, but while we like a good quip as much as the next guy....

Ben Hogan Golf Equipment Co. filed for bankruptcy over the weekend, less than a

month after it laid off the bulk of its workforce in Fort Worth.

The Chapter 11 petition, filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Fort Worth on Saturday, lists both assets and liabilities between $1 million and $10 million. Among its top creditors are Perry Ellis International, which licensed the Hogan name to the company, owed $267,500, and Conti Edgecliff-Sias LLC, its landlord in south Fort Worth, owed $77,256.74.

I thought the irons looked good but, in a stopped-clock moment, here's one thing I got right:

Introduced at a time when the golf business has been in the rough, the new Hogan clubs took the novel approach of numbering irons by loft -- anywhere from 20 degrees to 63 -- instead of the traditional 2-9 plus wedges.

Last August, Koehler was replaced as president and CEO by Scott White, who previously worked as an executive at both Callaway Golf and TaylorMade. In November, the company said it would add the traditional 2-9 numbers on the hosels of the clubs.

I'm certainly not saying that's what killed them, but do you know the loft on your 7-iron?  It was just a needless complication, as the vast majority of players is perfectly fine with 4 degrees between each of their irons....  let them focus on wedge and wood lofts above and below the set of irons.

Nt sure they would have made it anyway, but I thought PXG would hurt them the most.  Bob Parsons and his unlimited budget sucked any reminsing oxygen out of the equipment business....

Tiger Nostalgia -  For those hoping Tiger could recapture the magic at Torrey, Thursday had to come as a shock to the system.  I'm over it, but Sean Zak has some fun with his nostalgia... He takes one picture from the 2008 Monday playoff, this one, and does a deep dive:

I'm not even going to bother with an excerpt, just give him a click and watch him provide many of those spectators their 15 minutes of fame.

On oyther breaking Tiger news, Tiger takes advantage of the Euro Tour's dress code:

My God, those are worse than his Dad jeans....don't they have tailors in Jupiter?

Perhaps even stranger, is that Tiger got to Dubai flying commercial!  Yup, you heard me right... and it didn't go smoothly:

The 14-time major champion and former World No. 1 stuck around in San Diego after missing the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open before flying to Los Angeles for his connection -- his first commercial flight in about 10 years. 

But Woods, like most everyone else at LAX, found himself snarled in a widespread protest over President Donald Trump’s executive order banning travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States. 

“We were on the other side of the terminal. You could see it,” Woods told ESPN.com. “But we just couldn't get there.”

Breaking Sergio News - I know, it's the oxymoron of the day....  This story shows that he at least has a sense of humor....or something:

Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence," Calvin Coolidge once said. Mark Johnson took that guidance to heart. 

For Johnson tweeted at Sergio Garcia for 206 straight days, each message containing the same request: let me caddie for you.

Don't you just love a happy ending....  Mark, just a word of advice from an experienced hand, make sure you have possession of his 8-iron at all times.  Trust me on this....

But I thought this header at Golfweek was needlessly hurtful:

Can Jon Rahm win a major before Sergio Garcia?

Salt, wound.....  and how about this:

Although Garcia didn’t say it, some feel the former Arizona standout may join the major club before Garcia.

Some?  I'd have gone with something between "all" or "most" but, interestingly, that includes Sergio himself, who is on record saying that he's not good enough to win a major....