Friday Frisson

We have an inch of fresh snow, so times a wastin'....

Sony Stuff - I watched a bit of it last night, and it wasn't such that we need a game story.... A few small notes.  First, IOU honored:

After Justin Thomas, Kevin Kisner and Jason Dufner finished teeing off on the par-3 17th hole Thursday at the Sony Open, it was time to pay off a bet. 

Thomas, an Alabama alum, pulled out a Crimson Tide jersey and gave it to Kisner, who graduated from Georgia, and he put it on as the two walked toward the green. 

Alabama beat Georgia, 26-23, for the College Football National Championship on Monday night. Making matters worse for Kisner was that he went on to bogey the hole.

Kiz looks good in red......

And this went off without a hitch:

HONOLULU -- The biggest adjustment Jim “Bones” Mackay had to make caddying his

first round for Justin Thomas on Thursday? Setting up on the right side of the ball and cleaning the correct side of the clubs. 

It was understandable after 25 years on lefthander Phil Mickelson’s bag.
Filling in for an injured Jimmy Johnson, who is expected to miss about a month while recovering from a bout of plantar fasciitis, Mackay not surprisingly clicked just fine otherwise with Thomas in the opening round of the Sony Open.

Bones looks all wrong in a Titleist hat..... Though perhaps we're all a little hasty to declare it a success:

Though Thomas made just three birdies en route to a 67 -- a year ago he opened with a 59 in the event -- he was bogey-free at Waialae Country Club in his first lap with Mackay.

Since the only thing he changed was his caddie.....

Tron Carter at No Laying Up has carved out an interesting contrarian's role in the game, and his podcast gets have been really strong.  One of his recurring themes is the waste os sponsors' exemptions, and you guys know how I feel on that subject:

6) I’ll be tracking all sponsor exemptions this year and keeping an eye out for trends – how they perform in the tournament, which tournaments most effectively use them, which players get an unreasonable number of them due to backroom agent dealings (see: Ruffels, Ryan). 

Sony’s performance on this front is a disgrace and an affront to the PGA Tour. They picked exclusively Japanese players with the exception of a couple Champions Tour past-champs who are using this as a warm-up to their season opener at Hualalai next week, and an up-and-coming Hawaiian player. This reminds me of a dad who picks his kids for an all-star team. If getting Japanese players more recognition is the priority, then open up the pocket book and bring a WGC or another big event to Japan. Look at how Korea is doing work with the CJ Cup. It might even be acceptable for a silly-season event. But this is the first full-field event of the year, and one with a rich history that should celebrate Hawaiian golf. The two guys responsible for the most distinctive moments in the last ten years of the event (Tadd Fujikawa & Zac Blair) were left on the outside so the following guys could claim a spot: 

Daisuke Kataoka
Satoshi Kodaira
Yusaku Miyazato
Tyler Ota (the one Hawaiian player they gave an exemption to)
Shugo Imahira
Hyung-Sung Kim
Tatsuya Kodak

Yeah!  Though this may be one where demand for those exemptions is limited, because of the remote location.  I'm sure we'll revisit this issue with Tron during the year.

Scenes From The Chi -  You'll no doubt remember my rants about Tiger's Chicago project, to be built in connection with the Obama Presidential Library.  Today we have more information, this time on the library portion of the project.  But let me first acknowledge that my source is in no way a fan of Mr. Obama... in fact, I'm guessing this was the most retweeted item of those eight years:

So here's Jon on today's subject:

A discarded Chinese take-out box. The backside of a Star Wars sand crawler. The Washington Monument with the interesting bits lopped off. That’s what sprung to mind when confronted with the initial design of the Obama Presidential Center. 

In addition to the tall stone museum with notches and windows cut out at random, the proposal calls for a low-slung forum and library with greenery on the roof. It will be built in Jackson Park in Chicago’s South Side, not far from the Museum of Science and Industry.

You'd be excused for thinking the man exaggerates, but you'd be mistaken:

Perhaps it doubles as a fallout shelter for when the Iranians nuke us?  Too soon?

But stick with us folks, cause it gets worse...

According to the Obama Foundation, this will be much more than a mere presidential library. “Through participatory and immersive experiences,” the website says, “the Center will tell Barack and Michelle Obama’s story, while lifting the hood on the mechanics of change and inspiring visitors to spark their own.”

Lifting the hood on the mechanics of change?  

The Chicago Tribune lefts the hood on what's really going on here with this header:

Without archives on site, how will Obama Center benefit area students, scholars?

But perhaps we're being unfair, I'm sure there will be plenty of cool scholarly stuff:

Once the Obama Presidential Center is constructed, it will have a children’s play garden, sledding hill, green spaces for picnics and outdoor gatherings, basketball courts and even a recording studio, officials have said.

Hey, he's clearly the best baller to ever become president, so I see their logic.  Back to Jon Gabriel:

But the Obamas are going to use it as a community organizing bootcamp to teach new generations how to make hyperviolent Chicago an even less comfortable place to live and work.

Of course, it's what they do...  all by the book. 

But I would ask that we remember that there are two local golf courses heavily utilized by the local populace being sacrificed to the Sun King.  And the folks that play those course are not amused.....

Wazzup With This - I'm not saying this is a bad thing, I just really don't understand what's going on with this strange branding initiative:

The Rangers and the city of Arlington have reached a first of its kind agreement that will put the team's name on one of the city's golf courses.

When it reopens this summer after a major makeover, Chester W. Ditto Golf Course will be called Texas Rangers Golf Club. 

Mayor Jeff Williams said this will be the first golf course with a Major League Baseball team's name attached. Under the 36-year promotional and licensing agreement unanimously approved by the city council Tuesday, the Rangers give the city the right to use its brand on the golf course, which is about three miles from Globe Life Park and the entertainment district.

The article notes that The Rangers are not paying for the display of their name, though it doesn't say that they are not cashing checks.  Though this seems to veer into delusional territory:

The $20 million project includes new routing, tees, fairways, bunkers and greens by Arlington-based Colligan Golf Design as well as a new clubhouse that is expected to be ready in 2019. 

"We want this course to be a bucket list course for people that like to play golf, not just locally but nationwide," Gary Packan, the assistant director of the parks and recreation department, told the council.

And good luck with that, Sir.  I'm revising my bucket list as we speak and placing your muni between Pine Valley and Augusta National....

And this was tucked away at the bottom of the piece:

Hogan Company signs Henry: Fort Worth's J.J. Henry, who played at TCU, has signed an endorsement deal with Ben Hogan Golf Equipment Company. Henry, who played Hogan clubs earlier in his career, will play PTx mid and short irons along with Fort Worth Hi-Utility Irons.

I actually thought we had lost the latest iteration of the Hogan name.  I hope they make, just because it's a grand old name....

Bucket List-Worthy -  Joe Passov previews ten new tracks that may actually make it to someone's bucket list.  He starts with an obvious choice:

1. MAMMOTH DUNES AT SAND VALLEY RESORT, NEKOOSA, WIS.

On the heels of Sand Valley’s new Coore-Crenshaw layout that debuted in 2017, the resort’s second course, Mammoth Dunes, looms large for 2018. Designed by David McLay Kidd, aptly named Mammoth Dunes occupies a massive, 620-acre plot. It features more dramatic terrain than Sand Valley’s original course, highlighted by an 80-foot-high, V-shaped ridge that gives rise to Ballybunion-style sandhills. More than a dozen holes opened for preview play in 2017, to enthusiastic reviews.

It does look awfully tasty:

That's Mike Keiser's new resort in central Wisconsin, so of course.

Hard to argue with this one either:

2. HOGS HEAD, WATERVILLE, IRELAND

With neighbors that include Ballybunion and Waterville, it can’t be easy for a new golf course to make an impact in Southwest Ireland, but Hogs Head, which had a soft opening in 2017, has the potential to do just that. Robert Trent Jones II forged an entirely new track atop the defunct Skellig Bay layout, which lasted just 11 years. Hogs Head sports a front nine with holes that tangle with the Finglas River, a superb stretch of 8 through 16 that overlooks the Atlantic and architectural nods to MacKenzie, Tillinghast and Colt.

Waterville is a great links, and the one time I played it there was not the slightest breeze.....  that happens once a millennium.

This one sounds really intriguing:

4. OHOOPEE MATCH CLUB, COBBTOWN, GA.

Gil Hanse is one of golf’s hottest, most successful architects and his new low-key private layout an hour or so west of Savannah will continue his success run. Pair Hanse’s emphasis on contour and angles with design partner Jim Wagner’s shaping skills and the acumen of their “Cavemen” crew and introduce the novel concept of a course explicitly created for match play and you have the makings of something special. Drape it atop a rolling, forested, lakeside property which will yield a series an outstanding risk/reward holes and you have a sure-fire winner.

Of course, since we know what Gil looks like, this photo wasn't especially helpful:

And I can't wait to see how this one comes off:

6. ARCADIA BLUFFS (SOUTH), ARCADIA, MICH.

Following the smashing success of the original course here, the Bluffs, a heavily mounded, partly forested, 19-year-old track that overlooks Lake Michigan, Arcadia Bluffs is going retro with its next design. Dana Fry and partner Jason Straka of Erin Hills fame are creating an homage — not a replica — of ultra-exclusive, ultra-historic Chicago Golf Club, one that will embrace the C.B. Macdonald/Seth Raynor style and strategies, with deep, flat-bottom bunkers and geometric lines to greens, tees and hazards.

Veddy interesting, at least to geeks such as your humble blogger.