Weekend Wrap

Strange days here in the Wasatch Range....  I played nine hole yesterday with a ski buddy, then came home and poured through my tapes of the football games....  Then turned to Golf Channel to find out the results from the Sony.  I caught the playoff on the third hole, but WTF!

Workers of the World Unite - You have nothing to lose but your chains...  Shack seems to have the best wrap-up:

No one feels good about a labor dispute and we certainly didn't need to be caught in the middle of negotiations between Golf Channel and the union representing the channel's technicians. 

Fan feedback was obviously not kind. 

Mercifully, the NFL put on two thrilling playoff games, so thanks to PGA Tour scheduling a final round against the second game, few saw much of the broadcast. And when they checked in, there was no way of knowing what was going on without checking golf website.

The taxing day for all involved, which started with a rough Web.com Tour telecast, followed by a shockingly competent Diamond Resorts Invitational, was not helped by going deep in sudden death for the Sony. Insiders say buses took a huge haul of staffers down to the Diamond Resort outside Orlando to fill in for the striking workers, while the Sony Open was less fortunate. In Orlando, George Savaricus, Bill Kratzert and Jim Gallagher Jr. handled five hours of broadcast commentary, while the pictures were presented from on-site by a few non-striking technicians and even on-course commentator Jerry Foltz.

 It was merely a cross-training opportunity.

Of course that was the second technical glitch of the week.... This was how they awoke Saturday morning:

OK, I accept that it wasn't a drill....  But what was it?  That it was caused by a simple keystroke error seems.....well, fanciful.

I'm reliably informed that Patton "Streetcar Named" Kizzire won the playoff on the hole immediately following my turning of the TV....  But consider it a preview of golf after the zombie apocalypse....

Today in Counterfactuals - Zach Johnson started this with reasonably sensible comments about the big cat:

Johnson remembers what it was like when the entire Tour took a joint beating from

Woods for more than a decade. It was a rare era for a sport often dominated by a few big names at a time (think Nicklaus/Palmer/Player or Norman/Ballesteros/Couples). Johnson remembers, sure, but he also knows none of the current crop of phenoms on Tour do, and he'd like them all to get a feel for it in person.

"I'd love to have these young guys that are dominating the game have a piece, just one year of what we experienced."

It's not quite throwing down the gauntlet, but as a wise man once noted, it is what it is.  Alas, the Tour Confidential panel led with this silly query:

1. Zach Johnson said last week that he'd "love to have these young guys that are dominating the game have a piece, just one year of what we experienced" when it comes to facing a vintage Tiger Woods. When you consider the wealth of talent at the top of the game today, would peak Tiger be as dominant in 2018 as he was in his prime?

This seemed one of the more sensible comments:

Josh Sens: Ah, the old grill room hypothetical. Fun to ponder. Impossible to know. I believe there's no way he could dominate as thoroughly with the depth and breadth of talent on Tour today, a new generation and a new breed of athlete that, of course, Tiger helped inspire. It's tempting to romanticize the past (golf is especially good at that) but reality suggests that any player from any bygone era (Palmer, Nicklaus, Faldo, you name them) would have a much tougher time winning today. I suspect Ben Hogan in the flesh would be hard pressed to win a major in this modern era, and the outrage that comment will inspire in some quarters just further underscores my point about the romantic stuff.

And here we're only scanning a mere twenty years....  But the old guard will protect its memories:

Michael Bamberger: knowable! Tiger, could he play as he once did, would dominate now as he did then. There has likely never been a putter even close to Tiger, circa 2000. He drove the ball better than Johnson, he hit irons better than Sergio, he was mentally tougher than anybody since Hogan with the exception of Nicklaus. 

Sean Zak: Yes. In fact, he might even be more impressive. As Josh says, it's a hypothetical, and in this case, peak Tiger would still be the best player in the game above JT, Spieth, DJ and Rory or Rahm by a long shot. When "peak Tiger" wouldn't play, sure, they'd pick up victories, and I think that might spur on "peak Tiger" to play even more events. It's fun to think about, especially a "peak Tiger" playoff vs. driver-wielding DJ.

My own take is somewhere in between.  I do think Tiger caught a soft spot in terms of the competition when he first came on Tour....  More importantly, the technology continues to evolve in ways that work against the great ball-strikers.  Think, for instance of DJ using his Trackman to dial in wedge distances....  All this tech makes the game easier and has to disproportionately hurt those with the higher level of talent.

Really, I'm Not Bitter -  Regular readers might remember that I threw my hat into the ring to become a Golf Digest course rater a while back, and after a nice e-mail exchange with Stephen Hennessy, he couldn't be bothered to confirm that that they didn't want me.  

In January they released their new list, and UK Golf Guy is on the case for us....  First, with his very own worldwide ranking:

1 Cypress Point - USA

2 Pine Valley - USA

3 Royal County Down - Ire

4 St Andrews (Old) - UK

5 Shinnecock Hills - USA

6 National Golf Links of America - USA

7 Royal Melbourne (West) - Australia

8= Oakmont - USA

8= Royal Dornoch - UK

10 Sand Hills - USA

11 Augusta National - USA

12 Royal Portrush - Ire

13 Pebble Beach - USA

14 Merion - USA

15 Muirfield - UK

16= Kingston Heath - Australia

16= Ballybunion - Republic of Ireland

18 Bandon Dunes (Pacific Dunes) - USA

19 Fisher's Island - USA

20 Turnberry (Ailsa) - UK

I couldn't resist including No. 20 just to make a few more heads explode, but it's very much The Usual Suspects.   

Of greater interest is his rant about the Golf Digest rankings, including this:

Well, the 2018 edition is out and despite the title 'World's 100 Greatest Golf Courses' they have stopped bothering to rank golf courses from all over the world. Instead they

have made this a list of their top 100 golf courses outside of the USA. And thoroughly disingenuously, they have shown the previous positions of the golf courses in the rankings - despite the comparator including courses from the USA. 

This allows many courses to claim they have moved up places in the world rankings. The tweet below from Bluffs Ho Tram in Vietnam is a prime example. 

The methodology for selecting the list is fairly awful. The Golf Digest team ask 'international panelists organized by our affiliate magazines around the world'. Oh dear, that would be the affiliate magazines who rely on the course's advertising to pay their bills, the associate magazines whose staff get wined and dined by the latest new courses wanting to make a splash.

I just want to point you to his list above and the tie at No. 8, which provides a perfect reflection of how serious we should take this undertaking.  My affection for Royal Dornoch is well known, and Oakmont, which I've never had the fortune to play, is worthy of respect as the brawniest of U.S. Open venues.  But the concept of weighing their attributes and determining that they are equal (or that either one is better) is just fanciful, since it's not even the same game.  It has to be just for fun, because it can't possibly be meaningful....

Mikey Likes It - Nowhere does it indicate that this item should be considered part of Golf.com's Style Week coverage... But what's a fellow to think?  Old-school Mike Bamberger goes....well, really old school with this:

I was always going to wear the pants, no question about that. For four or five years now,

I've been buying Sansabelts (from the French sans, "without") on a website devoted to the beltless slack. And now I was on my way to a showroom in the heart of New York City's Garment District to see the man who makes them. 

Sansabelts, historically offered in colors plucked off a Froot Loops box, were a staple of the American golf scene in the 1970s, when I got trapped in the game's web. Eventually, they were replaced by another look: baggy, pleated, belted chinos, in colors ranging from off-white to tan. The Sansabelt was endangered until Peter Schwadel, a second-generation New York garmento, brought the line back in 2013. I've been buying in bulk.

Mike, isn't this why men get married, to avoid such fashion gaffes?  But there's more:

My wife was half-okay with it (I overstate) until I started ordering them for our still-in-college son. I will capture Christine's objection by citing what Tom Watson said to me at the Masters last year: "How many polyesters did they kill to make those things?" 

Schwadel, a white-haired gent wearing yellow-framed glasses and Sansabelt jeans when I saw him, waves his tanned hands when confronted with such snidery. "The American man wants comfort and ease," Schwadel said. "Look how it drapes!" He was preaching to the converted.

Are pants supposed to drape?  And how do they drape for, say Tim Herron?

But Mike's wife Christine has to be a candidate for sainthood, as they left for Europe right after the wedding so Mike could caddie on the Euro Tour as delightfully recounted here.  Including a terrifying moment on the caddie bus.....

Predictions are Hard.... - Especially about the future....  Those TC guys focus on a couple of guys, both of whom went with comfort food for caddies:

2. Phil Mickelson makes his 2018 debut at this week's CareerBuilder Challenge, and for the first time he begins a calendar year with a caddie not named Bones. At 47, with his brother, Tim, on the bag full time and now four years removed from his last win, what can we expect from Lefty in 2018?

Sens: He's still capable of winning in any given week. It would be silly to think he doesn't have any thrills left in his bag. But will he win the week of the U.S. Open?

Methinks no. And at this point, when we talk Phil, we aren't really talking about any old tournament. We're talking about events he could add to his legacy. 

Zak: He's definitely good enough to win, but we can't expect it. In fact, I don't think it will happen. Sure, it's no fun being a pessimist, but the guy simply is too wild with his driver, and my intuition tells me his all-world ball-striking will fade as Father Time continues to wear on his body.

Shipnuck: Same as the last few years — lots of mediocre play, some flashes of brilliance. But whether it's physical or mental, Phil just seems incapable of putting together the four consecutive strong rounds required to win. 

Bamberger: I think he'll win this year and there's no reason he cannot win at Shinnecock.

 Mikey Bams with the no risk call.....  After all, no one will remember in June.  I'm thinking the U.S. Open is the week he's least likely to win these days, though who knows if the wind is down at Shinny.  Still, doesn't Pebble seem a better fit for Phil?

3. In an interview with The Telegraph, Rory McIlroy revealed that he suffered a viral infection in China a year and a half ago, which left scar tissue and caused a thickening of his heart's left ventricle. McIlroy also said that he's firing on all cylinders as he kicks off his 2018 in Abu Dhabi this week and that he's ready to start winning majors again. "I don't fear any of them. Any one of them," he said of his rivals. "I've beaten them before." Where's your McIlroy Meter these days?

Sens: Where do I get one of those McIlroy Meters? My new iPhone doesn't seem to have one. I believe in taking a man at his word until his actions prove otherwise, so his confident talk alone is enough to make me bullish on him. As for the fear thing, zzzzzz. Has anyone feared anyone since peak Tiger? Doubt it. 

Zak: I'm so over the Rory Revenge Tour. It's become cliche to "expect a big year" from him since he's shown flashes but not won a major. Don't get me wrong; he's a phenomenal player when he's clicking, but there has (rather consistently) been something different missing from his game at various points the last three years. Right now, he says he's ready to get back to winning majors, but he's two steps away. He's played well, sure, but the next step is contending, and once he gets there, then he can talk about winning again.

Passov: Tough, if honest talk from Rory. Confidence begets confidence — but it all starts with results, not chatter. If the putts start dropping again, he's long enough, and great enough, to stand with anyone in golf. If they don't, we'll all be stuck in what-might-have-been land. 

Shipnuck: I agree with Sean. Rory has been teasing us for long enough. Enough talk, time to deliver again.

Let me repeat, there is no player more in need of a strong caddie than Rory, yet he chose his boyhood best friend.  That screams "Short" to this observer....  Expect to see plenty of wedges flying twenty yards over greens, as always...

Brandel Bleeds Out - That TC Panel gets it's first shot at Brandel, and it's not all pretty:

5. Brandel Chamblee called Dustin Johnson's near-ace on the 433-yard par-4 12th hole that led to a tap-in eagle during the final round of the Sentry Tournament of Champions — which helped DJ to an eight-stroke victory — the "greatest shot ever hit." Do you agree with Chamblee and, if not, what gets your vote?

These two guys acquit themselves reasonably well:

Sens: I confess that my memory isn't Rainman-ish enough to have all of history's shots recorded. But I'd take Oosthuizen's double-eagle on the 2nd at Augusta over DJ's drive any day. And I'm sure there are many, many more. Hogan's one-iron at Merion? Bob Tway's bunker hole-out to win the PGA. My buddy's second shot on the par-5 2nd hole on the West Course at Royal Melbourne many moons ago. Smoked a 3-wood from 240. Two hops and in for a double-eagle. DJ shmee-Jay.

Shipnuck: I'm a fan of hyperbole but if we're talking about long, straight drives, Palmer's opening blast on the final round of the 1960 U.S. Open has to be the king of the category. Jack's one-iron at the '72 U.S. Open? Tiger's pitch-in on 16 at Augusta? Padraig's 5-wood on the 71st hole at Birkdale? We can go on and on. DJ's shot was incredible and a sign of the times but he was already cruising to victory in a mostly meaningless tournament; pressure and history is what makes a shot truly great.

Josh scores with both the Rainman and amateur dig, while Alan scores with his closing diss of the event.

But then there's Travelin' Joe:

Passov: This has been a fun debate. I think I understand Brandel's perspective, in that (perhaps) there's never been a shot of such a great distance that was so perfectly executed by a leader of a big-time golf tournament in a final round.

Big-time, Joe?  Did you perhaps take time to read your colleagues answers above....  Those are big-time events.  Kapalua?  It's harder to win a web.com event....

Your Daily Laugh -  I'm unsure if this is the same guy we featured with his call-out of cheap club members that didn't contribute to the assistant pros' winter fund, but he has apparently lost his lucrative equipment contract:

As a professional athlete, one of the hardest things to cope with is understanding that

when the lights fade and the cheers die down, this is a business. I learned that the hard way yesterday when I was unexpectedly and unceremoniously dropped by my long time sponsor, collaborator and partner Lynx Golf.

It’s easy to forget now the earthquake that rocked the world of mini-tour golf when I forged my partnership with Lynx shortly after they declared bankruptcy in 1998. My celebrated and closely watched transition from Cleveland VAS to Lynx's signature BlackCat Irons played a pivotal role in my 44 straight cuts missed streak in ’98-'99 and their vaunted SilverCat Driver was a key contributor to the uncontrollable left to left ball flight that I became known for. The loose epoxy that audibly bounded throughout the shaft of every club they produced became a subtle and soothing reminder of why none of their checks were clearing.

I am intimately familiar with that left-to-left ball flight....Fortunately the lad has sponsors he can count upon the get him through this:

To those who have supported me throughout this process, I thank you. To my current sponsors (most notably CastleBay Iron Covers and Sparko® Manual Stroke Counters) I appreciate your friendship and your continued loyalty. As the process to find a new club sponsor begins, I ask for your thoughts and prayers as Tawny and I embark on this difficult time together.

Hmmm...I've never tried the Castle Bay product....

Pin Rotation -  As noted above, ski-buddy Mitch and I went out for a quick nine yesterday down in the Salt Lake Valley.  It was about 50 degrees, and a very pleasant walk.  I did take this one pic with my phone:

For those unfamiliar with winter, those mountains aren't as white as they ought to be....  

But I saw something new that I've not seen before.  Two holes were cut into each greens and, rather than placing the pin on the ground, the players place it into the second hole to which the next group plays.  I can see an advantage for those using range finders, who can get their exact yardages before the group ahead clears.

But other reasons for this policy?  Less wear and tear around the hole later in the day, but I suppose the lingering question is whether in season the cut two holes every day....  Something new.