Midweek Musings

Yesterday's news hit hard, as back in the day I used to roller-blade on that very path.... 

Tiger Scat - You know my horribly conflicted to this story.  On the one hand, I'm something of a golf fan, so OMG, Tiger's Back!  On the other hand, it hasn't been pretty, has it?  There's the serial misrepresentations, the financial cost to others and the shear repetitiveness of it all...

I know, this time will be different....  First, Sean Zak with the history lesson, if you have the stomach for it.

Kevin Cunningham with a roundup of the reactions from the golf world.....  

It was my understand that there wouldn't be any math....

And this guy clearly knows his way around PhotoShop:

The mock turtle is priceless....

I don't know why Golf Digest has Matthew Rudy write this piece when they could have simply recycled whatever they posted a year ago

When Tiger Woods returns, what exactly should we be looking for?

Here's the gist of ot:

"How does his forward swing look relative to 'protecting' his back?" asks Harmon, who is based at Toscana Country Club in Indian Wells, Calif. "Most people with back issues

seem to subconsciously protect their back. Is he still going to be bound by this idea of 'explosiveness' he always talks about, or is he going to be willing to change his style of play?"

Harmon counts Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk and Jay Haas as older players Woods admires who have played effective "old-guy" golf with this different style: "They have played wonderful golf into their 40s and 50s by putting the ball in the fairway, on the green and having good short games. Like baseball pitchers who go from being flamethrowers to learning new pitches and changing speeds, he's way too smart not to go down this road."

At the risk of being a downer, let's remember that last year's hero World couldn't have gone better for Tiger, yet it meant nothing....

Alan Shipnuck got a Tiger query as well, and as always had an interesting take (fear not, we'll cover the rest of his mailbag below):

"Is Tiger so dependent on outside love and adulation that he'll risk years of rehab to grab that ring one more time?" - David (@Dstan58)

And you think I'm hostile to Tiger?  He's a professional golfer, so I'm gonna say that we shouldn't be surprised when people in that line of work want to play golf, but let's see what Alan has for us.

It's pretty clear that we're all in a co-dependent relationship with Tiger. He can't quit us just as we can't quit him. The guy is only 41 – what is he supposed to do for the rest of his life? Of course he had to try to come back. And if he blows out his back again he'll deal with that pain later. Right now nothing matters but instant gratification, for all of us.

It's that "we-can't-quit-him" part that troubles me a little... It may work, it more likely won't pan out, but everyone seems a little too needy when it comes to Tiger.  

Things I Missed -  Was this even televised?

LAS VEGAS — For 10 days this fall, some of the best putters -- and certainly, the most

avid -- descended on Sin City for the inaugural Major Series of Putting. Hailing from all around the country and beyond, they played for big checks under bright lights while showcasing a wide variety of strokes on the green. Here's some of what I saw in my three days covering the event. 

Construction for the MSOP Stadium began in August. It was built in a parking lot just off the Vegas strip, behind Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. The plan was for this to be a temporary structure, but tournament organizers are hoping it becomes a permanent destination, much like Topgolf Las Vegas, which sits about a pitching wedge away (that's Topgolf's net in the background). 

Inside is an 18-hole putting course made by Southwest Greens in conjunction with Nicklaus Design. All the holes are par 2s, but they range from six to 55 feet in distance, and each has two sets of tees, which offer distinctly different challenges.

Lots of way cool photos, inlcuding this of the leaderboard:

Amusingly, they even had course set-up issues reminiscent of the 7th hole at Shinnecock:

The cause of the delay? The diabolical third hole. It's only 15 feet, but it played to a stroke average of 3.0 (.7 more difficult than any other despite being the fifth-shortest hole) during Day 1 of the All Pro Championship. Here, a tournament director sweeps the area while a rules official watches to try to make the severe slope more playable. After the round was over, of course. No U.S. Open/Shinnecock seventh hole controversy here!

Really fun stuff, don't miss the guy whose putter stands up on its own.  And there were ringers:

The setting and format of the event weren't what Knost is used to, either, but he showed his putting prowess throughout the two-day tournament. The 2007 U.S. Amateur champ who will tee it up down the road at TPC Summerline starting on Thursday beat Brad Faxon in the semifinals before falling to Nygren, 3 and 2. 

"It’s a lot of putting. A lot of rounds. But it was really cool, it was fun," said Knost, who ranked in the top 30 in strokes gained/putting in each of his last two full seasons on the PGA Tour. "You’re adrenaline’s going a little. You want to win, obviously."

How is it that CBS passed on this event, when it's a perfect fit.  Lord knows when they cover the Tour they can't be bothered showing us anything but guys putting.... 

Who Ya Gonna Believe - Yeah, I saw some of it and it wasn't pretty....  It being late-season Hideki Matsuyama:

Matsuyama’s putting during his slump in the four-event FedEx Cup Playoffs was worse than his season average, culminating in an awful performance at the Tour Championship, 

where he finished last in the 30-player field in strokes gained: putting with an average of -2.462. 

But going inside the numbers reveals poor putting may not have been the most significant cause for concern. 

Matsuyama overcomes poor putting at many events with superior driving and iron play, but during the FedEx Cup Playoffs he was inconsistent with his woods and irons. As seen in the chart on these pages, Matsuyama’s strokes gained: approach-the-green average was erratic, and in two of the four events he had a negative average off the tee and around the greens.

Let's also remember that while the stats are interesting, these are also a very small sample size....  But for those of us that have trouble dealing with how our own games get out of sorts, it's comforting to see it happens as well to the best players in the world. 

A Moral Dilemma - Should golf architects be choosy about their clients?  The obvious answer is that it depends..... Anyway, this was the story:

Dictators have been known to stretch the truth about their golfing abilities in public, and now the leader of Turkmenistan is no different, according to a report by The Guardian. 

Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, the president of Turkmenistan, opened a brand-new golf course in his home country last week. On hand was Jack Nicklaus, whose company the leader tapped to build the course. 

The Guardian tells us how the government publicized the opening, "In footage aired on the state TV channel Altyn Asyr and published by Radio Liberty, a voiceover claimed that at the opening of the course last week, 'our nation’s leader hit the hole from 75 metres [246ft]', despite windy conditions."

OMG, he did that in the wind!  Funny swing video at the link...

But this is Jack's client (from Wikipedia):

However, according to most international observers, he now leads one of the most oppressive and closed regimes in the world. Freedom House has consistently ranked 

He has all the expected friends as well.

Turkmenistan near the bottom of its Freedom in the Worldrankings ever since Berdimuhamedow took office; in 2017, for instance, the country was one of 11 with the lowest aggregate scores for political and civil rights.[46] Human Rights Watch noted that Berdimuhamedow not only has complete control over public life, but presides over a regime that does not tolerate "alternative political or religious expression" and has complete control over the media.[47] Reporters Without Borders has ranked Turkmenistan near the bottom of its Press Freedom Index for most of Berdimuhamedow's tenure. In 2017, for instance, it ranked Turkmenistan 178th out of 180 countries surveyed--ahead of only Eritrea and North Korea. Besides noting the government's total control over the media, RSF noted that Internet access is heavily censored, and that satellite dishes--one of the few remaining ways to get independent news coverage--have been removed by government officials.

They're not building too many golf courses in the developed world, so what's a guy to do?  I'd prefer that Jack not enable such a thug, but you'll see a point develop below.

They Said It Wouldn't Last - We've seen all sorts of player struggle when changing equipment, but some deals seem crazier than others.  Tell me this one didn't have you scratching your head when it was announced:

Well, chicks dig the long ball... Did this in any way cause his horrible play?  I have no clue, but he's got no one but himself to blame....

Alan, Asked - Here's the payoff for the trip to Turkmenistan:

"This is bugging me: Shoal Creek's owner in 1990 said, "We don't discriminate in every other area except the blacks." PGA Championship was pulled. Trump Bedminster owner in 2017: "Some very fine people" marched among Charlottesville neo-Nazis. The 2022 PGA Championship has not been pulled. Is Trump "good for golf," as PGA of America CEO Peter Bevacqua says?" - @SethCooley6

There's a whole lotta nonsense in that question, including some historical revisionism.  Here's Alan's lengthy take:

It's a minor point, but the 1990 PGA Championship was in fact played at Shoal Creek as scheduled, even in the wake of founder Hall Thompson's incendiary comments. But it was a watershed moment for golf, forcing the sport to address its long history of institutionalized racism and leading to new bylaws ensuring that any host venue have non-discriminatory memberships. (Of course, this also led to weaselly rationalizations that Augusta National wasn't subject to the jurisdiction of the PGA Tour, USGA or PGA of America.)

Trump is a different kettle of fish because, on a very simplistic level, he's the President of the United States. Enough Americans love the guy – or, at the very least, voted for him – that golf's governing bodies can simply point to the election results as proof that the public is not bothered by his inflammatory rhetoric.

And to have the sitting President tweet 8 times about a women's golf event, as DJT did from the Women's Open, buttresses Bevacqua's claim that Trump is good for business. To walk away from one of Trump's venues now would lead to a political controversy that would spill off the sports page into the mainstream. Given Trump's fondness for weaponizing the legal system, a lawsuit would be inevitable.

OK, some good, some not so much.  But there's no denying golf's history of exclusion, and we can all agree that much progress has been made.

But sport is intended as a refuge from the cares of the world, and I'd prefer that we not spoil said refuge.  I've been informed that Trump is, literally Hitler, but that presents an obvious problem....  If Trump is Hitler, what is Hitler himself?  Or, say, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov?

Let's remember what's going on in other sports...  I'd suggest that this should be a cautionary tale as opposed to a how-to guide:

I don't actually think the score is that close....  

OK, lecture is over and we'll get to the sillier stuff in Alan's mailbag, such as this:

"#AskAlan Is it ever okay for guys playing in a USGA qualifying event to wear yoga pants under shorts?" - @Bob_Debaker 

Yeah, I saw those photos, too, and it was indeed horrifying. I think we can all agree that yoga pants are one of mankind's greatest inventions, but they should never be worn by men…even in yoga class.

Men go to yoga classes?   I'll need names please....

"If Kevin Sutherland (0 victories this season) wins the season-ender next week in Phoenix and Bernhard Langer (7 wins) finishes 2nd, Sutherland gets the Schwab

Cup and $1M bonus. How is this remotely a thing?" - @LinksPlayers 

First of all, bonus points for being the first person ever to get worked up about anything related to the Senior tour. But the answer is, it's a true playoff, in which a lower seed can win the championship if they pull off the upset. To extend the metaphor, Langer is clearly the regular season MVP and Player of the Year. But if he wants to be the champ, he has to perform in the big game.

That's far too loose a definition of "a thing" for me....  I just want those insidious commercials to end.

"Laser, handheld GPS, phone app or walk it off?" - Lou (@Lou_TireWorld) 

Your timing is amazing. For my entire adult life I have resisted any devices and walked off the yardages. I enjoy the romance of having to figure it out on my own and the mental workout of triangulating all the factors to arrive at what I think is the best guess. But I've grown wary of the side-eye from playing partners as I huff up and down the fairway looking for the elusive sprinkler heads, and lasers are undeniably more precise. So, with a heavy heart, two days ago I ordered a Bushnell Pro X2. We'll see how it goes, but I'm sure I'm gonna miss the days when I absolutely pure an iron shot and miss the green entirely because I've done the math wrong.

Perhaps Alan's famous lack of an ace has been clarified?  I love walking stuff off as well, but it's really hard to argue with an exact yardage to a pin.  I actually find myself annoyed when caddies don't have lasers....  Spoiled much?

"Will Patrick Reed win multiple majors? #AskAlan" - Kod (@chief11)

How about multiple Tour events?! For all of the Ryder Cup heroics, memes, and Captain America jokes, Reed has won only two events over the last 3.5 years, and lifetime he has only one top-10 in the majors: this year's PGA Championship, where he had a chance to win until making a mess of the 72nd hole. Hopefully he can build on that experience and becomes a consistent contender.

The majors should actually suit Reed's game better than everyday Tour events; he is one of the best chippers and putters in golf, a skill set that is more important as the setups become increasingly extreme. But his work with the driver is miles away from many of the top players and that is what holds him back when the grass gets longer and fairways skinnier at the majors.

Alan is spot on, as reed's Ryder Cup heroics have blinded many to the fact that he's an also ran on Tour.

"I'm still fixated on Phil winning the U.S. Open. How many years ahead is he exempt from qualifying and do you think Pebble is his best bet?" - Jim (@jimsorr) 

Winners of the Open Championship are exempt into our national championship for the next five years, so the 2018 U.S. Open is Phil's last free ride from the victory in Muirfield. He can punch his ticket to the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach by finishing in the top 10 next year at Shinny or making the Tour Championship. The top 60 in the World Ranking at the cutoff point in June 2019 also get into the field. 

If Phil fails on all of these fronts he could still get a special exemption from the USGA, which seems likely given his special connection to Pebble Beach: in addition to winning the Clambake four times, he made his pro debut there at the '92 U.S. Open. If the USGA doesn't come through Phil can still play his way in through qualifying, which he is certainly not too proud to try.

Yes, Pebble Beach is definitely his best shot, and not just because of his past success there. Because of houses, roads, maintenance buildings and, uh, the Pacific Ocean, the course is already maxed out, distance-wise. At barely 7,000 yards and in the firm conditions of summer, it will play so short that Phil won't need to hit driver on any hole. That club has always been his weakness, and he's now giving up a lot of yardage to the bombers half his age, so reducing its importance helps Mickelson in a big way. At the '19 Open, Phil will be able to lean on his iron play and short-game magic, in addition to his course knowledge. Sounds like a good place to make a last stand.

I'm thinking it's not quite as good a fit as Alan, because of the wind and greater firmness of the course in June.  It played very linksy in 2010, and that will be the objective in 2019 as well.

As for an exemption, he'd be better served to earn his way in.  The USGA can be very stingy with those...  More importantly, if he's not in the top sixty at that time, why would we think he can do anything useful there?

 Best Golf Halloween Costume Evah - We have a wiener, courtesy of the folks at Pinehurst:

Where do a get a 6" shaft for my putter?