Have you been watching any baseball? Not only has it been magical, but airing the games at 5:00 has actually allowed me to see my guys play.... What a thing.
Stymie Day - God Bless Shack, who refuses to listen to the haters on his backstopping jihad. We'll kick this off over at Gofweek, where Geoff and the usually-sensible Brentley Romine debate the B-word. Shack ledes with this:
Shackelford: Time is now to put a halt to backstopping
Backstopping must stop. Now. The image and integrity of the PGA Tour depends on its members playing by the rules. The weird and rapidly evolving practice of leaving courtesy backstops in the vicinity of the hole bends the spirit of the rules and can only lead fans to ask: “If they’re willing to do this for the opposition, what other collusion is occurring?”
Yes, it’s a breath of fresh air that today’s Tour players are pals and wish the best for their opponents. But not at the expense of a hallmark trait that has drawn people to a very difficult sport. We admire the honesty of golfers in a sports world often tainted by corruption. Corporations look past small audience sizes to associate with these noble athletes. Golf has thrived on a paucity of scandal.
Well argued, Counselor, I can't see any openings for the other guy.
Romine: Rushing to judgment about intent is irresponsible
It’s almost impossible to prove intent, which is why people shouldn’t be so quick to speculate about what’s going on in the minds of Tour players.
Sure, Tony Finau’s ball took a fortuitous bounce off Jason Kokrak’s ball at the Safeway Open. But who’s to say if Kokrak intended to help Finau?Simply put: Collusion demands intent.
Brentley, you ignorant slut!
All joshing aside, you no doubt can sense the hyper-legalistic defense involved.... as if we need to prove collusion to understand. Shall we next discuss the standard for proof, be it the preponderance of the evidence or reasonable doubt?
On Twitter, I've gotten a very frequent reply that goes like this: you want the stymie back but you are offended when players leave a ball down (in a form of silent, possibly creepy collusion that does not protect the field.)Yes. I am offended by backstopping and hope we return the stymie to match play.
Because in match play, golf would be faster and far more confrontational if players could clean their ball, then leave it down the rest of the way to the hole. Foursomes, four-balls, individual matches, you name it would all have occasional moments of social-media-friendly drama. Virality, baby!
Virality?
Of course you can't play the stymie in medal play, which should help clarify the inappropriateness of back stopping. That said, the movie of The Greatest Game Ever Played they showed Ouimet stymied in a stroke play competition. I'm not sure how Mark Frost allowed that to happen, but it's a common mistake.
But the best part is that Geoff went deep into the Pathe archives fr examples of the stymie, and they rock. Here's one from the 1951 British Amateur:
And this of Hogan finding an alternate route (though there was no audio):
It's a useful thought experiment I think. Picture the same situation in match play, and you'll see the issue in balls left on the green in places where they can only help the playing partner.
Oh, and as to the concept of looking into a player's heart to judge intent.... well, there was that comment from Justin Thomas:
Just as Romine arguing legalisms was a poker tell, so is Justin leading with the disclaimer that it only MAYBE happens five times a year... But we don't need to prove collusion when the defendant readily admits it.
Guys, it's just a really bad look.
In The Mail - That Jordan Spieth fellow is getting a head start on his Christmas gift list:
It's not often a golf club used during a famous a bogey is encased in glass, but Jordan Spieth's bogey 5 on the 13th hole during the final round of the British Open was far fromordinary.
Royal Birkdale tweeted on Wednesday that it received a "special delivery to the club" -- Spieth's three-iron.
Remember why it's so well-known? Rewind to British Open Sunday at Birkdale, where Spieth and Matt Kuchar, playing in the final pairing, stepped to the 13th tee tied at eight under. That's when Spieth hit his worst drive of the week, which came to rest well right of the fairway and on the wrong side of a massive dune. Spieth took an unplayable lie and was allowed to go back as far as he liked on the same line—and he ended up on the driving range, roughly 70 yards farther back from where his ball came to rest. After what seemed like an eternity, Spieth finally hit his approach. He missed the green, chipped on and one-putted for an eventful bogey. He fell one shot behind Kuchar, who parred.
Best. Bogey. Evah!
But the amusing part remains how much he hated the shot after he hit it.... But missing it a titch left it short of the nasty greenside bunkers.
Shack had this:
(Todd Lewis took us on a rare tour during this year's Open and I can concur after a tour from former club champion Ethan Davies that it's as good a display of historic clubs as any in golf.)The question remains, does Spieth's drop warrant a plaque? I say yes, even if only the driving range attendants will be the only ones who see it!
Does it deserve a plaque similar to Arnie's there and Bobby Jones' at Lytham? Yea, that's an easy question.... But if only the ball picker will see it?
That Todd Lewis video is fun as well.... In fact, the only thing I don't like about the Birkdale clubhouse is, well, the clubhouse.
Captain, My Captain - I almost missed this great quote from Cap'n. Furyk:
But with a Ryder Cup looming one year away outside Paris, Jim Furyk, the thoughtfulrealist that he is, wishes to tug on the reins a bit.
Winning a Presidents Cup in a walk against an International team that was not in very good form at Liberty National outside New York and winning a Ryder Cup on foreign soil are two very, very different quests.
“We have 25 years of scars to overcome,” said Furyk, who will captain the American side and is in France for a few days to commemorate the 2018 edition of the Ryder Cup being one year out. Furyk played in nine Ryder Cups and doesn’t hide his record. His teams were 2-7.
You know who else was on all those losing teams? That would be Phil, a fact to keep in mind as we revisit that Gleneagles presser....
Alan Being Alan - From Shipnuck's great weekly mailbag feature:
"How are people so delusional to think Tiger can be competitive again? #AskAlan" -Matt (@PurdueMatt05)
For the same reason some people believe in mermaids and ghosts and Sasquatch –because it’s fun! And we all need something to believe in. It was cute that a few folks got excited about the videos of Tiger’s action, not least Hank Haney. But at this point cobbling together a functional swing is the easy part for Tiger. He has to get healthy, and stay healthy. He has to try to overcome the shame of the DUI, and the lingering wounds to his self-image from the scandal before that. He must keep the chip-yips at bay and try to fix a deteriorating putting stroke. He must heal the scar tissue of the 85 at Memorial, the first tee chunk at the Old Course and assorted other disasters. And then he would have to try to keep up with younger, hungrier talents who are brimming with confidence and unencumbered with the demands of being a single dad. Other than that, he’s definitely ready to be competitive.
The scandal before that? Can you refresh my memory?
"Thoughts on increasing purse disparity between the PGA & Web tours coupled with the decreasing talent disparity - should there be a reform?" -@the_fried_egg
I’m fine with the status quo. The leading money winner on the Web last season cleared $562K – that’s serious cheddar. The top 62 all made at least $100K, plus some small endorsement money, which is more than enough to pay the bills. It’s a developmental circuit, not a place to hang out and make a good living.
It's more like indentured servitude, at least for the best of those coming out of the amateur ranks.
"Which Monterey Peninsula–area course would you bulldoze and rebuild if you could?" -Gary (@WillotheGlen)
Oh, it has to be Spanish Bay – such a gorgeous site, such an unsatisfying course. I actually like it more than most, but there are a bunch of awkward holes. Even if the old environmentally-sensitive areas have to be honored, we could still do so much better.
Not Poppy Hills? Though maybe that's because they've already bulldozed the place....
This, you'll agree, is extremely well-argued:
"How do reporters keep their independence when they are playing golf courses for free?" -@joshysam
This is a very important point: If I’m playing $200 to play course A and $100 to play course B and get to play course C for free that could certainly influence my feelings. So that’s why it’s vitally important that I play every course for free, so I can evaluate them objectively.
And this is right in my wheelhouse:
"Golf in Ireland - what are your top 5 courses?" -@Paddy_golf1. Lahinch2. Royal Portrush3. Royal County Down4. Ballybunion5. Waterville
I could quibble, but those are five exceptional tracks and the order isn't terribly important. Interestingly, nothing on the East Coast, Portmarnock or The European Club, makes the list....
But this is just cruel:
"Name the next event Phil wins?" -@brad_brezinski
The U.S. Senior Open.
Nah, he'll have a one-stroke lead on the 18th tee and pull driver....
But this one is just priceless.... a little long, but stick with it for the payoff:
"Your house is about to burn, family and respective pets are clear, what one golf momento is spared a fiery fate?" -Todd (@Titleist_TB)
Hmmm, my first thought is the framed pics from some overseas golf trips with friends…but those are probably replaceable. There’s the signed scorecard from my mini-golf match versus Dustin Johnson, which shows me pressing on the final hole and taking him down. Maybe my caddie bib from the First Tee Open? The hundreds of media credentials hanging from a bookcase?
Actually, I know the answer: it’s the drawing I commissioned 15 years ago that mashed-up Tiger Woods and Tupac Shakur. If I recall correctly, it was for a fanciful Golf Plus column that imagined a hip-hop spin on the golf world. I thought it'd be fun to combine the visage of two icons who, to say the least, had very different public images at the time. The illustration never ran, and I don't think the column did, either. But the sketch is taped to the wall next to my desk and makes me smile every time I look at it.
It's now the first thing I'd grab as well....
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