Thursday Threads

I've arrived in Sun Valley and the heat wave continues....  Not sure what kind of mogul course Zack will find, but that's tomorrow's problem.

Muirfield Moments - The story continues to amuse, as the demands of the SJW's can never be sated...

First up is a reminder of why twenty-somethings don't write history books.  Rory McIlroy, a pretty decent sort most days, decides that his input on the membership controversy is required:

“Obviously I was outspoken about this before whenever the vote went the first time around,” McIlroy said. “I mean, in this day and age, where you’ve got women that are

like the leaders of certain industries and women that are heads of state and not to be able to join a golf course? I mean, it’s obscene. Like it’s ridiculous. So, they sort of saw sense. I still think that it got to this stage is horrendous. 

“And yeah, I mean, we’ll go back and we’ll play the Open Championship, because they will let women members in, but every time I go to Muirfield now I won’t have a great taste in my mouth.”

Sigh.  Obviously it's no surprise that a man of Rory's tender years would not have the perspective to understand that change comes slowly and unevenly.  But this is second only to Louise Richardson's hissy fit while the R&A vote was in progress.... You got what you wanted, is a bit of silence too much to expect?

Karen Crouse, maintaining the rigid standards of Pravda's editorial board, has a jeremiad in which she no doubt exhausts her inventory of adjectives and metaphors, most notably describing the Honourable Company as too fetid for an Open Championship.  I'll note that the Times webpage seems to not allow me to copy-and-paste, a wise precaution on their part, but I don't think the warning that I have only nine remaining free articles will cause me too much despair.

This, however, confirms something I've been saying since the glory years of Martha Burke: 

Muirfield’s waiting list for membership stretches at least two years, so women will have to keep a stiff upper lip — there will be no line jumping for history’s sake. It is hoped the club doesn’t follow the example of the Royal and Ancient and earmark for membership a couple of nonagenarian women who don’t have time on their side.

The admission of a few well-connected women to Augusta National/The R&A/Muirfield does little to change the range of opportunities for women in the world.  Oh, symbolism matters for sure, but it will take at least a generation to change the culture of these clubs.  And, of course, the more you insult these older members the more they're motivated to resist change and keep the few women members outsiders....

But there's also the slippery slope, an over-used term if ever there were one....  Via Shack, submitted for your approval is this offering from Steve Eubanks in the Global Golf Post:

...the strong-arm tactics and faux outrage exhibited by some in golf’s ruling class (not to

mention members of the media who get their knickers in a twist far too often) have become a bit much, especially since the vote everyone is praising out of Muirfield occurred the same week that a couple in the United Arab Emirates, arrested on charges of having premarital sex, finally were released from jail after being detained on Jan. 29.

And a question for all of us: Are Arabs in the Emirates held to a lower standard of behavior by the golf world than the gentlemen of Edinburgh? If so, why?

It is fine to ignore the tour taking money from the Emiratis and ignoring their laws and customs. But it’s not OK to then take a high-and-mighty position against an all-male club in Edinburgh, Tokyo, or Chicago where the policies are far less backward and arcane.

It's OK, until it's not....  It's one of those moments which Karen Crouse referred to as the ground moving, not to be confused with the Earth moving, which I hope occured for that rather unfortunate couple just out of jail.

But, shall we bring this full circle?  We started with that brash Ulsterman....anyone have a picture of Rory from a few years ago?  How about this one?

Can you make out that logo?  Jumeirah is based in, wait for it, the United Arab Emirates...  So it's OK to be a paid shill for guys that favor honor killings, but those are some bad hombres at The Honourable Company.... Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

Jay Monahan, Unplugged - Jay Monahan spoke with Guy Yocum for the later's monthly My Shot feature, and there's much of interest contained therein.  But I couldn't get past the first 'graph without excerpting:

I'M JOSEPH WILLIAM MONAHAN IV. The first Joseph William Monahan was born in Cambridge, Mass., in 1888. His family immigrated from County Mayo in Ireland in

the mid-1800s. He went on to become a State Senator and highly accomplished attorney.

Employee No. 2 is also a County Mayo girl...  Mayo is the poorest county in Ireland, unfortunately any extremely competitive category. 

This will no doubt generate some buzz:

WHAT DO I ADMIRE MOST ABOUT OTHER MAJOR-LEAGUE SPORTS? Two things. One, the way the NFL, MLB, the NBA and the NHL conclude their seasons. I love where we are with the FedEx Cup, but keep in mind it's only 10 years along, is still evolving, and we're always on the lookout for ways to sharpen our postseason-playoff structure. Two, I admire the way they build and market their brands through their own networks. Having a 24/7 presence has served those sports very, very well.

Jay, pull up a chair, this might take a while....

Everybody is jealous of what the other guy has, seemingly never seeking to explain perceived inequities.  Who remembers that the USGA gave their contract to Fox out of jealousy over the Masters' TV ratings, never bothering to acknowledge the unique aspects of that event with which they cannot compete.

One can tell how misguided this will be by the comparisons he makes, specifically to team sports.  Obviously tennis would be the better comparison, but has anyone noticed that here are no tennis playoffs?  Now I do like to acknowledge when we approach this subject the unique problem faced by the PGA Tour, to wit, that the most prestigious Tour in the world does not control any of the four events about which people actually care...  It must be maddening inside Fortress Ponte Vedra but, as a wise man said way too often, it is what it is....

However, in trying to graft the playoff concept on to golf, the transplant has been rejected by the host.  The problem is quite obvious, the best players in the world win far fewer than 10% of the events in which they play, so how do you structure playoffs to accommodate that?  I've shared my thoughts on how to make it more entertaining, but at this point it's just a gaudy money-grab that likely as not crowns Billy Horschel or Bill Haas something or other....

As for his second point, Jay wants a network and he wants it bad....the why is harder to ascertain.  The leagues' networks are after-thoughts from where I sit, pretty much irrelevant to following their games.  There's also the small matter of there already being a golf channel, but it sounds like he'll be negotiating for a slice thereof.  But I've lived my life with one simple rule...  when someone offers you a large check, take it.

As for those hoping the new Commish will do something about pace of play, think again:

WHICH TAKES US TO THE SUBJECT OF SLOW PLAY. I don't see a problem with rounds on our tour taking four hours, 45 minutes, because it's been consistent around that number for a long time. What drives the small amount of criticism is the impulse in the modern world to do everything faster than we did it last year. So am I going to push for faster rounds? As it stands, no.

No, that criticism comes from a different place entirely.... But at least that's not my top tier issue he's dismissing out of hand...

Despite the above, I've seen enough from Monahan that has me reasonably optimistic about his stewardship going forward.  Or perhaps the bar has simply been lowered...

Wither The API - Jeff Babineau has a good piece on the event, but it's Shack singing from my hymnal that I like most.  First Jeff's history lesson:

The API, which moved to Bay Hill from nearby Rio Pinar (Florida Citrus Open) in 1979, 

has come quite a long way. The purse has been bumped to $8.7 million, and this week’s winner not only will leave $1.56 million richer, but will receive a three-year PGA Tour exemption, not the usual two a winner grabs.

This week’s event will celebrate the everyday fan who connected with the blue-collar likes of Palmer, with large public grandstands now sitting up close to seven of the course’s greens.

It’s a far cry from Year 1 at the then-named Bay Hill Citrus Classic in 1979, when the makeshift grandstand that sat behind the 18th green was borrowed from nearby Boone High School.

And Geoff with the tip-in:

That little nugget is a perfect reminder that is was events like the Bay Hill Citrus Classic, the Western Open, the Los Angeles Open, the Houston Open, the Bob Hope and on and on we can go with 10-12 events that built and stabilized the PGA Tour. 

And with too much regularity, the focus of these events revolves around their weaker-than-normal fields, their strange new dates or their difficulty in attracting a sponsor. Nearly all have been adversely effected by many factors, but it's the creation of World Golf Championship events that consistently tops all side-effects. 

We all understand the globalization of golf and market forces, but when those forces so adversely impact even an event nurtured by a modern sports legend. it's time for all current players and executives to take a hard look at the tour's purpose. Because if this is, as they say, about playing opportunities and charitable dollars, it's these core founding events that deserve to be treated as kings.

This ties in nicely with the Monahan interview above....  Is there any chance that a reporter will ever ask what became of the Western Open?  We all understand the need for growth, but the extent to which the WGC's and FedEx Cup have cannibalized and weakened the Tour's schedule and historic events is maddening. 

More Alan - There was more in his weekly mailbag than the book list, so shall we take a peek?

“What happened to the Florida Swing? Is there even a Florida Swing anymore? #askalan” –Len (@LenHochberg) 

Clearly, plopping the WGC-Mexico Championship in the middle of the Florida Swing was not helpful, nor was having the Match Play come hard on the heels of all the Florida events. As players are trying to peak for Augusta, they’re thinking about rest and practice time, too, and with two WGCs to schedule around, the lesser Florida events have taken a hit. And let’s face it, not having Arnold anymore has made it easier for some of top players to skip Bay Hill, though the overall strength of field this week is pretty good. At Chapultepec, a handful of players mentioned to me that they have registered their displeasure with the Tour and that going forward they expect the Mexico Championship to move to the week after Riviera, before the Tour hits Florida. That makes geographic sense and, more to the point, pushes it further away from the Match Play. But you still have to worry about the future of the Arnold Palmer Championship. Not many players love that course, and as we saw in Dallas, once Byron Nelson was gone, a lot of big names started skipping the event.

If I were running the API, I'd be very concerned and the Nelson is the perfect analogy.  Because the Nelson's troubles come from the loss of Byron, of course, but also from a terrible venue (probably the worst on tour, though it will be moving).  But slotting the two WGC's in so close before the Masters is bad news for Bay Hill.

“If they played head to head tomorrow, who wins, Jack or Tiger?” –Jeff (@jeffvalois) 

Brutal. But since Jack can still break 80, and I’m not sure Tiger can even get off his couch right now, I’m taking the Olden Bear.

That's just sad....beneath even my standards.

“If you could change any Masters hole (gawd help us), which would it be? I'll start with making #7 fun again.” –Chad (@KennyDaGambler) 

Excellent choice. I’ll take 11. It used to be a great do-or-die hole, but now it’s mostly risk with very little reward, and so the golf it produces is defensive and boring, with most players bailing out right of the green. It’s basically a 30-yard par-2.5; a straightforward chip that players either get up-and-down or they don’t. The tees should be pushed up considerably, so players have less lumber in their hands and might be inclined to play toward the flag. And the trees down the right side must be thinned-out dramatically. It used to be thrilling to stand on that rope-line and watch guys try to thread recovery shots to the green. Now the Hootie-fied forest is so think there is rarely an avenue of escape.

Great question and two good answers.... Those trees on the right of No. 11 do suck, as do the trees on No. 15.  

“I love all things golf, but suck at the game. Would I be happier if I sold my clubs? #golflovelife” –Alex (@alwilly13) 

When people ask me if they should take up golf I suggest heroin instead – it’s cheaper and less addictive. But don’t sell your clubs. How about a few lessons? It never ceases to amaze me that golfers will spend $400 on a new driver but keep using the same crappy swing. Invest a little time and money in getting some real help and a few new swing thoughts. Or perhaps you should go left-handed?

OK, you'll have to read the full column to understand that last bit, but I like the heroin line....  I've always said as relates to golf, I can quit at any time.

Rut Roh - Phil has been a constant presence in recent weeks, due both to his play as well as the two-part Feherty interview.  But it appears that he's going to be interviewed again, though we usually call this testimony:

NEW YORK -- A prosecutor and a defense attorney at an insider trading trial agreed that golfer Phil Mickelson was pivotal to their case Wednesday, telling jurors that what they'll 

learn about him will help them decide whether a professional Las Vegas gambler earned more than $40 million illegally through insider trading. 

Mickelson's name was cited by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Ferrara when he told Manhattan federal court jurors that gambler William "Billy" Walters encouraged friends, including Mickelson, to buy stock in Dean Foods Co., a Dallas-based company that is one of the nation's largest processors of milk for retailers. 

Ferrara said Walters knew inside information he got from a former Dean Foods board member was a sure thing. He called it "another way you know Walters had the hottest information in town."

Is it too much to hope that he'll wear the same Arthur Fonzarelli get-up that he wore with Feherty?  This has to be a nightmare for him, as it just has to get ugly....

Though I wouldn't pin my hopes on this argument:

Given his turn before jurors, defense attorney Barry Berke invoked Mickelson's name as proof that his client is innocent, saying it wouldn't make sense for Walters to tell secrets to a celebrity. 

"If you're Bill Walters and somebody's giving you inside information, the last thing you would do is give it to Phil Mickelson, one of the most famous athletes in the world who is going to attract regulatory scrutiny."

I agree... unless, you know, there was, and I'm just spitballin' here, an unpaid seven-figure gambling debt....