A little of 'dis, a little of 'dat for you today....
An Easy Choice - One of the constant refrains over the years has been the shabby treatment of hosting clubs by the USGA.... They're known to be a bit tight with a buck, except of course for their salaries and travel budgets.
Ron Kroichek has a valuable follow-up to the story of Olympic changing teams, with this stark comparison:
The rivalry between the USGA and PGA of America has become more pronounced in recent years. The Olympic Club is merely the latest traditional U.S. Open course toswitch to the Ryder Cup and PGA Championship, joining among others Medinah (in suburban Chicago), Oakland Hills (outside Detroit) and Hazeltine (near Minneapolis).
One logical explanation for the Olympic Club’s change of heart: money. Olympic could earn a projected $15 million from hosting the Ryder Cup and PGA Championship, according to one source. Another U.S. Open probably would have generated between $2 million and $3 million.
The windfall is expected to help finance an extensive renovation of Olympic’s clubhouse, which hasn’t had major improvements in 23 years.
That's quite a weapon the PGA has, meaning The Ryder Cup, though it's of course only once every four years.... But have they awarded the 2028 Cup? If so, I can't find it via Google...
This is also consistent with that which I've heard from other venues, most notably Baltusrol:
But the story behind Wednesday’s announcement also traces to June 2012, the last time the U.S. Open was held on the Lake Course. Two sources said that’s when the relationship between USGA officials and their Olympic Club counterparts started to fray.They squabbled over restoration costs on the adjacent Ocean Course, which housed temporary hospitality structures, the media center and transportation for the Open. This reflected a larger issue: Olympic Club officials believed they weren’t offered financial terms comparable to other traditional U.S. Open venues.
The damage to the course played is at the periphery, for obvious reasons... but the hosting clubs' second courses are decimated. Shack has some interesting takes here, notably the linkage to their TV contract that expires after 2019. West Coast venues are prized for their prime time TV windows....
But I'm surprised that Geoff didn't have any snark at this Mike Davis comment:
“The USGA considers The Olympic Club to be a wonderful partner who have been tremendous hosts to a number of historic USGA championships over the years. We look forward to coming back to Olympic for the 2021 U.S. Women’s Open.”
That'll be deliciously awkward....
Pushback's a Bitch - If you were with us yesterday, and my pageviews tell me you were, you'll remember the bit on Henrik Stenson's injury, the result of a rather silly pre-tourney promotional appearance in Shanghai. Yanno, this bit of avant-garde stagecraft:
Now let's stipulate that HSBC is a big sponsor in our game, pouring desperately needed cash into its coffers....But Golfweek is apparently struggling with this journalism thing, unless of course Emily Litella wrote your style book. At the top of their homepage, they offer the following clickbait:
Really? So I'm of course wondering how he hurt himself....But when you click through, here's the header on the actual item:
Henrik Stenson 'not happy' HSBC stunt being blamed for injury
Two entirely different things, I'm sure you'll agree.... And when one dives in, it becomes even less clear what Henrik wants us to think, mostly just that he was kidding:
My comment about not being Superman was a sarcastic way of saying that I am susceptible to injury like any other athlete and sometimes these things happen when you least expect them. I was pleased to help promote the HSBC Champions and to continue my string of success at the event and I was never forced to do anything. HSBC is a great sponsor to golf worldwide and I am not happy to see them being made responsible for my withdrawal. The plan as of now will be to participate in the DP World Championship if my body is back to 100%.
Am I the only one to note that it's no coincidence it's called Stockholm Syndrome?
Thanks, But We Knew - Remember that more innocent time back in.....September. The ladies convened in France for their twelfth fifth major of the season and it didn't end well, because the LPGA and sponsor decided that it was more important that a parachutist land on the green than that 72 holes of golf were played....
Commish Mike Whan is prepared to fall on his sword, though ultimately not for the more meaningful offense:
“We will get Evian back to a summer date,” Whan pledged. “It may not be in ’18, but certainly by ’19.”
Whan said he believes in Evian as an LPGA major, but he regrets his decision to move the event to September, with its rainy season and its shorter days.
“The challenges we’ve faced are man-made,” Whan said. “And I’m the man who made them.”
Yeah, it's not really a major, notwithstanding how many times you say it is...
It's also quite amazing that a Tour with notoriously horrible luck thinks it has no worries scheduling in their rainy season....
Headline of the Day - It is, at least if you're not offended by the tragedy involved:
Family sues golf course, LA County after woman dies in golf cart hit-and-run
It's the 21st Century, so no tragedy can be allowed to go unlitigated.... But Golf.com, the source of this item, is no better than Golfweek when it comes to accuracy in their headers:
A golf course west of Los Angeles, a golf cart manufacturer and Los Angeles County itself have been hit with a lawsuit after a golfer was hit and killed by a car while driving a golf cart at a local course.
The incident occurred at Royal Vista Golf Club in Walnut, Calif. The deceased, 59-year-old Lisa Park, was crossing a road that bisects the course in a golf cart when a car driving on the road collided with her. Park was thrown from the golf cart and later died from her injuries, according to the website of the Rancho Santa Margarita Patch.
The car and its driver fled the scene and have still not been identified.
You really can't find the driver? I'm guessing the car is a bit dented, but otherwise it's really quite the horrible story....As for suing the cart manufacturer, good luck with that:
In the lawsuits, Park's surviving family seeks damages from the golf club and the company that renovated the course for not providing a safe road crossing for golfers, from the county for not providing sufficient warning to drivers about the dangerous crossing, and from the golf cart manufacturer, Textron Inc., for not including a seat belt in their cart.
Good luck with that portion of the claim....
It's Different This Time - The estimable Jaime Diaz sense that this comeback might be different:
It furthered the cynical view that Woods is only playing – or showing off his swing – toretain his endorsement deals. Some thought Woods' priority is orchestrating a graceful end to his career as a warrior brought down by injuries, rather than from self-inflicted mental wounds stemming from Thanksgiving 2009. That narrative gained more fuel when Woods announced on April 20 that he had just undergone the most extensive surgery of his life – a fusion of the lowest spinal vertebrae (L-5) with the first vertebrae of the sacrum (S-1).After the admittedly stop-gap measures of the microdiscectomies, the “anterior interbody lumbar fusion” was an all-or-nothing play in terms of future competitive golf. When the healing process goes well, the material that has been inserted into an area opened up between the vertebrae adheres and hardens, ending the cycle of disc fragments or hardened spinal fluid wreaking havoc with nerves. The goal is the end of spasms or shooting pains, and since it is an area where there is virtually no rotation, there should be little if any loss of range of motion. It gives Woods a chance to take a clear-minded, healthy and pain-free cut at the once ball again.
OK, that's way above my pay grade, and it seems a bit premature to assume it's worked to the extent that the back will now endure the rigors of professional golf.
Jaime does fill in how that podcast came about, as well as skirt a certain recent issue:
When in public, Woods seems to be carrying himself more lightly. At the Presidents Cup, he interacted easily with the team and engaged in a memorable hug with Phil Mickelson.
I'm just glad to see a girlfriend without the peroxide. Some of his tweets have been humorous. Last week he devoted more than an hour to a podcast hosted by UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma (a good friend of Woods’ caddie, Joe LaCava). When it came to his game, he couldn’t suppress his enthusiasm. “I can’t believe how far I’m hitting the golf ball.”
Woods didn’t discuss the elephant in the room, his arrest in May for suspicion of driving under the influence, but the aftereffects could be a net positive. Certainly video of his sobriety tests were embarrassing, and Woods had to appear in court last month to plead guilty to a reduced charge of reckless driving. But after 23-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps, who turned his own life around after a DUI arrest, told the New York Times he considered Woods’ mistake “a massive scream for help,” the incident began to be widely considered as an opportunity for Woods to take stock.
Of course Jaime elide his original theory that Tiger's fall from grace was a function of the shame he feels from the original scandal back in 2009. I can't leave with this amusing appeal to authority:
Two more aged Hall of Famers—Lee Trevino, 77, and Lanny Wadkins, 67 —both have had a long history with back problems. Both described excruciating pain that was completely alleviated in their most recent back surgeries that were similar to Woods’.
Wadkins in 2008 had double spinal fusion on higher vertebrae than those Woods was operated on. “It was immediate improvement,” he said. “Just a little soreness, and then making sure I did no twisting for three months. But because the pain had gone away, I couldn’t wait to do the rehab. I became the go-in-early-and-stay-late guy. Within five months, I was hitting drivers, which is the easiest club to hit post surgery. The short irons force you to bend over a little more and stay in your spine angle.
“I really lost very little, if anything. Unfortunately, I did it at a time when my competitive career was basically over. Maybe a little rotation, but that goes as we get thicker anyway. Tiger is in so much better shape, he may rotate just as much.”
Don't be modest, Lanny, you were always plenty thick....
Bad Advice About Bad Weather - Jessica Marksbury offers the following advise for playing golf in bad weather, though it's unclear for whom the advice is intended:
RAIN
Preparation is key when it comes to playing in the rain. First, you need to gather your arsenal:
- Umbrella- Rain hood (for clubs)- Waterproof hat- Towels—big ones!
Next: Stay organized. Make sure you know where everything is located so you don't waste precious moments fumbling around in your bag as it starts pouring.
When it's time to tee off, open that umbrella and hang some extra gloves and towels on the ribs underneath. Plan on keeping the umbrella open for the entirety of your round, unless the rain stops. Use the towel to dry your grips before every shot. If you opt to use regular gloves instead of rain gloves, the towel is also handy for keeping your hands dry.Staying as dry and warm as possible will make a world of difference, so try to minimize your practice swings and time spent out from under the umbrella.
One last tip: after you replace your ball on the green after marking, keep your umbrella over it as long as possible to reduce the amount of water that falls on the ball before you putt.
A minor query, Jess.... when playing a shot, what do you think your followers will do with the umbrella? Unless it's a Tour pro with his own sherpa, or we're in Scotland where the caddies only take one bag, umbrellas are very difficult to manage out there.
In fact, she elides the threshold decision to be made when normal people play in the rain, namely, do I use my everyday glove and try to keep the grips dry, or do I resort to my rain gloves and allow everything to get soaked.
But she's all over cold weather golf... Layers. Who knew?
A Buried Lede - The New York Post had this take on Winged Foot and a certain member thereof:
President Donald Trump is a member of the elite Winged Foot Golf Club in Westchester,and members have come out swinging because the club will not honor him by putting up a POTUS portrait.
Insiders say that the Republicans among the 800 members of the exclusive golf club — which charges as much as $200,000 in initiation fees — have been lobbying for a portrait of Trump to be erected inside Winged Foot’s stone clubhouse. But opponents aren’t putting up with it.
One insider said, “Trump has been a member since 1969, and there is a big push to honor him at the club. We should be proud that the president of the United States is a member of Winged Foot: It is prestigious to have him here. But the senior club management has refused to put up a Trump portrait,” the source added.
There is speculation that the decision not to honor Trump is either to avoid driving a wedge between members — who include many prominent New York law firm partners and investment bankers — or a financial move so as not to offend any charities or organizations that may wish to hold events there.
I can see both sides of this argument quite clearly, as golf should be a refuge from politics. A safe space, if you will.... Heck, I'd even be inclined to side with management, but there was this:
“Each member has a locker with their name on it, but Mr. Trump’s name has been mysteriously taken down. Some members are outraged because there seems to be no justification, apart from, perhaps, too many people were trying to take selfies at Trump’s locker, or they simply don’t want to advertise his membership.”
Club President Thomas Leslie — an attorney and managing shareholder at Greenberg Traurig, which was one of Hillary Clinton’s top contributors in the last election cycle — didn’t return calls.
But here's the buried lede:
The insider continued, “It seems the leaders of Winged Foot do not want to rock the boat and politicize the club, given that the US Open will be at Winged Foot in 2020.”
Let's see if I have the match correct.... Trump was elected in 2016 which means that he'll be running for reelection in....4+6 =10, carry the one.... OMG, could they have picked a worse year to host the Open? Good luck keeping politics out of it....
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