Last Post of 2017

Not for sure, but the title seems a safe bet....

Shack is Back - From his Christmas break, if only to poke fun at Ernie's misdirection and the golf press being forced to their keyboards....  Inside baseball for sure, but the only baseball to be had:

Scrooge! Ernie Els (Unwittingly) Puts Golf Writers To Work On Christmas!

As you've probably noticed by the lack of posting here, some golf writers simply refuse to work around the Christmas holidays. For a few unsuspecting writers and even

MastersChairman Fred Ridley, a simple, not particularly shrewd Tweet by Ernie Els put many to work on Christmas.

Combine this with Tiger dumping some coaching newson Friday, an apparent Jordan Spieth engagement still not confirmed, and the golf writer Cranky Meter is bursting with...holiday joy! 

As Kevin Casey (Merry Christmas Kevin!) explains for Golfweek, Els' brief Tweet about a Christmas Eve gift from The Masters suggested a tournament invite, which Els' management firm confirmed to Golfweek. 

Various media outlets picked up the story, which would have been a significant and unusual Masters invitation for the 48-year-old Els, who is ranked outside the world top 500. 

But the various outlets soon printed updates after AP's Doug Ferguson (Merry Christmas Doug!) penned a piece clarifying that Els actually just received an Honorary Invitee invitation from Chairman Fred Ridley. Who, incidentally had to weigh in with a quote (Merry Christmas Fred!), no doubt crafted with assistance from Masters media man Steve Ethun(Merry Christmas Steve!).

I'm unsure of what the Honorary Invite buys a fellow, but a Thursday tee time isn't part of the package.  Ernie had this, indicating that the chase is on:

Given where he stands in the OWGR, I'd have to think that his only way in is to win an event, and it's hard to see that happening.  But we'll see him in the Par-3 for sure, and at least there's no risk of him 6-putting the first green.

Asked & Answered - Alan Shipnuck has a year-end edition of his mailbag feature, and dives right in on the biggest issue in the game:

"What's the over/under on number of 'What are you crazy?' texts Spieth got from his fellow golf buddies? #askalan" -@NoRealSports 

Far fewer than you or I would if we were 24, famous, fabulously wealthy and yet, rather than chase swimsuit models, decided to marry our high school sweetheart. But with Spieth, we could all see this one coming. At last year's Masters I was watching him play and wound up in conversation with a 14-year old high school golfer who is from Dallas and shares Spieth's trainer, Damon Goddard. Because it was just a casual chat I don't want to use this prodigy's name, but I asked if his idol has imparted any advice when it comes to dating. The kid said, "Jordan told me, 'Find a good one and hold on to her.'" Sounds like Spieth followed his own gameplan.

A nice story and consistent with what we think we know about the young man, but has the engagement been confirmed?  And does that mean that he'll stop rearranging the hair when he takes of his hat?

"Your take on Tiger going without a swing coach for now? #AskAlan" -@CountDownDave

Oh, it's the best present I received this holiday season, besides socks featuring the likenesses of Eazy-E and Biggie. It certainly gives me more optimism that this comeback will be more than a tantalizing tease. Woods was an artist who became a scientist. When he described the chip-yips as being caught between "release patterns" it was a tipoff to how much clutter was in his brain. No one can tell Tiger F'ing Woods how to play golf. He already understands the game on a granular level, like maybe no one ever has. The only way this Mozart in spikes can refind some of the old magic is by freeing himself up to simply play the game and no longer worry about competing swing theories. This is a solitary pursuit and I, for one, am thrilled nobody will be whispering in his ear.

I agree to a point, as I had the same take as Alan on the "release point" nonsense with his short game.  But on the larger issue, let's see whether Como is replaced before we declare victory....

Want more?  There was this:

"If you could go for a beer with Rory, Jordan, Justin (Thomas, not Rose) or Dustin (Johnson, not Gee) who would it be and why?" -@MarkTownsend 

If I could go for eight beers with any of them Dustin would certainly be the choice but I fear those days are over. It really comes down to Rory and Jordan here — they are the two most thoughtful voices among the younger generation of players. Spieth has more of an edge than he lets on: in practice round games and more private settings he is a spectacular trash-talker. But the choice here has to be Rory. He is blessedly uncensored, willing to address controversial topics and even call b.s. on himself, as with his after-the-fact acknowledgement that citing Zika to skip the Olympics was bunk. So, Guinness all around.

That was a pretty cheap shot at DJ, though I'd have suggested perhaps a day on his Jet Ski?  I know, that's really inside baseball....

As for Rory, he's a great kid but stubborn as all hell.  His pre-Masters schedule makes it appear that he's focused on golf, though the boyhood friend on the bag argues otherwise.

This one is off-topic for sure, but hard to disagree:

"Family update letters [with Christmas cards]....overrated or overrated? #askalan" -Jeff (@JBredbeck) 

More than that, they are a crime against humanity. Put it this way: I'm a professional writer and have never typed one. Nor shall I ever!

But this is worth the price of admission:

"I've been to both Bandon and Ireland for a trip. Which do I do for a repeat and why?" -Todd (@tddlw)

Nobody loves Bandon more than I but Ireland has to be the choice. Have you done the entire island, from Waterville in the southwest to Ballyliffin in the northeast? There are dozens of courses waiting to be discovered along the way. Even if you've already played Royal Portrush it's worth seeing again for the Open-inspired changes. Bandon is the ultimate domestic destination but the courses in Ireland are wilder and woolier, the pubs more atmospheric, the locals more colorful, the weather more unpredictable. Just typing this I’m realizing how much I miss that place. Need a fourth?

OMG, he knows Beloved Ballyliffin, though Northeast is a bit of an unforced error.  Though, isn't Scotland the dog that didn't bark?

Alas, this one might just ruin my year:

"Do you think the Vijay vs PGA Tour case will go to court, or be settled, in 2018? #ASKALAN" -Ron (@MintzGolf) 

If Finchem were still commish no chance in hell it gets settled at any point. Both sides have dug in and it's a very personal fight at this point. But Vijay doesn't have the same bad blood with Jay Monahan so perhaps he can find a way forward that mitigates the damage that will be done to both sides if this goes to court.

 Say it ain't so, Jay!  

OK, one more, just because it's actually quite interesting:

"Why is Jordan both the best long putter in the world and shaky/mediocre from 5 feet and in?" #AskAlan -Brian (@brianros1) 

I've asked Spieth's coach Cameron McCormick about this a coupla times and it always comes back to a theory of "compaction," in that on short putts the stats are highly bunched up and the difference between the best and worst putters is a relatively small number of missed putts. To this point, in 2017 Spieth ranked 113th on 5-footers, attempting 102 and making 82. The guy who ranked 9th on Tour, Jim Herman, attempted 101 5-footers and made 90. So across the entire season the difference between Spieth and Herman was less than one 5-footer per month. But as you get farther from the hole Spieth makes putts at a historically high rate, and he seems to make them when they really, really matter.

It's a good point, though kinda unresponsive to the question...  My question is slightly different, I want to know how the best putter on the planet misses those short ones so badly.... He's usually walking even before the putter head has made contact with the ball.

 Year in Gear - Golf Digest gearhead Michael Johnson has an item on the year's biggest stories in gear, but strangely leads with this:

Tiger signs with TaylorMade

Fresh off a solid showing at the 2016 Hero World Challenge, Tiger Woods and TaylorMade announced at the PGA Merchandise Show in late January that the 14-time major champion had signed a multi-year endorsement deal with the company. The deal called for Woods to play the company's driver, fairway woods, irons and wedges and also for Woods to work with TaylorMade's club engineers in the design and development of a "new, personalized iron model" that the former World No. 1 would eventually put in play. The signing bolstered a TaylorMade tour staff already rich in big names, with Dustin Johnson, Jason Day, Justin Rose and Sergio Garcia among its players. Unfortunately for both TaylorMade and Woods, the euphoria of the signing wore off quickly as Woods missed the cut in his only PGA Tour start of 2017 at the Farmers Insurance Open before re-injuring his back. A lengthy testing session with TaylorMade in December, however, gave all hope this investment could still pay off.

Really?  By my count, he used the clubs for exactly seven rounds of golf the entire year...  I'm not even sure that's Tiger's most interesting endorsement contract, as Bridgestone seems the more significant move.

Of course my votes go the the two cage matches in progress, though we'll have to see how those play out:

Acushnet/Costco duke it out

Costco’s four-piece, urethane-covered Kirkland Signature golf ball earned cult-like status in early 2017. Then it learned what life is like in the uber-competitive golf ball market as it engaged in a game of courthouse chicken with market leader Acushnet. Costco fired the first shot, Filing for a declaratory judgment against Acushnet (parent of Titleist)—essentially a preemptive strike, a lawsuit aiming to prevent a lawsuit. In its complaint filed in March, Costco asked the court to rule that the Kirkland Signature not only did not violate 11 Acushnet patents but that the 11 patents themselves are invalid. In August Acushnet fired back with a 284-page countersuit, alleging that Costco violated 10 of its ball patents relating to dimple and core technology. Acushnet asked for "adequate damages," including treble the profits made on the Kirkland Signature ball. Additionally, Acushnet accused Costco of false advertising with its "Kirkland Signature Guarantee" that claims to "meet or exceed the quality standards of leading national brands." Courthouse chicken, indeed.

TaylorMade/PXG tussle over patents

Following the legal tussle between PXG and TaylorMade has been a little bit like following a volleyball match—the lawsuit bounces back and forth while both sides try to nail the winning spike. The dispute started with PXG founder Bob Parsons tweeting on Sept. 12 in Trump-ian fashion, “Taylormade Golf's new P790 irons infringe upon many PXG patents. Sued them in Federal court today!” Two weeks later, TaylorMade fired back with a 603-page response denying any infringement and asking for PXG’s patents to be invalidated. The filing included some harsh words, including this gem: “PXG describes the claimed hollow-bodied design filled with an elastic polymer, and perimeter weighting, as a ‘eureka moment’ in golf-iron design. That could have been a ‘eureka moment’ only for a golf-club designer who had been living in a cave for the past 25 years.” Come December, PXG—which in the interim changed law firms—amended its claim, adding three more patents it was accusing TaylorMade of violating, bringing the total to 11. So what’s next? Not much, as legal experts anticipate it being well into 2018 before any movement unless the parties agree to settle. Given that both sides appear to have dug their spikes in, this tussle might just go the distance.

Parsons as The Return of the Primitive....  Talk about Eureka moments, that's our first Ayn Rand reference ever on the blog.

 Envelope Please - Golfweek tells us who will win the four majors in 2018.....  Drum roll, please:

The Masters, Augusta (Ga.) National GC

Winner: Dustin Johnson 

We all remember Dustin Johnson’s misfortune last April, when he had to withdraw from the Masters last-minute due to a freak back injury. 

But let us also not forget … Johnson was easily the favorite at the year’s first major prior to that unexpected slip. Of course, much of that had to do with winning three straight events coming in, but his record of late at Augusta (T-6 and T-4 in his last two starts) also played a role there.

I assume that the Gretzky clan will remove every pair of socks he owns, though its unlikely he'll come into the event as unbeatable as he seemed in 2017.

U.S. Open, Shinnecock Hills GC, Southampton, N.Y.

Winner: Rory McIlroy 

We were tempted to go with Rory McIlroy at Augusta, but that pick seems to fall flat every year. (We do feel he will win there eventually, though.) 

Instead, we’ll peg McIlroy for the U.S. Open. It may not seem like a great marriage with course fit considering what Shinnecock showed in 2004. That year, the track was shorter, tighter and burnt out. In other words, 2004 Shinnecock played to the more accurate driver rather than a power hitter, and McIlroy has always seemed to enjoy soft tracks far more than firm ones.

But don’t be fooled. The firmness in 2004 was certainly extreme, so the course likely will play at least a bit softer in 2018. And the layout will be a lot longer (almost 450 yards) than 14 years previous. A restoration widened the fairways, and although the USGA has called for a narrowing since, the short grass should still be easier to find than in previous Shinnecock U.S. Opens. (Here’s a full synopsis on Shinnecock’s look heading into 2018.)

Perhaps the author hasn't heard that after the restoration that widened Shinnecock, the USGA is frantically tightening it up again.  There's nothing about Shinny that whispers Rory's name, at least to me.  He's such a poor player in the ind that Ulster should revoke his passport.

The Open Championship, Carnoustie (Scotland) Golf Links

Winner: Rickie Fowler 

Once again, there’s a really tempting pick … for Carnoustie, it’s Sergio Garcia. How cool would it be if the Spaniard could capture the Open Championship at the same venue where 11 years ago he posted possibly his most agonizing major championship defeat? It would be incredible redemption!

But we won’t pull the trigger just because there’s a feel-good element. There’s certainly a feel-good nature toward Rickie Fowler finally getting that first major, but the pick here is based on golf factors.

You'd think the Open Championship is as likely as any for Rickie, though I'd keep him in mind for Shinny as well.

PGA Championship, Bellerive CC, St. Louis, Mo.

 Uh-uh!  This one is craven clickbait, so let's not give them the satisfaction....

If you need to waste more time, here's a 2017 golf quiz.  Your humble correspondent got 9/11.....

Happy New Year to all.