Coming off the course yesterday the sun attempted to break through and one could make out something approximating a shadow. I therefore asked our starter what seemed a logical question...."Ralph, I just saw my shadow. Does that mean we have six more weeks of winter?"
Trinity Doings - I greatly enjoyed watching the golf yesterday, and have a few thoughts to share. But I've also caught a couple of headers of note:
Marc Leishman sets 36-hole Byron Nelson record, leads by one shot
Take a chill pill, lads, it's a brand-spanking new venue. It's value as a "record" is....well, you get it....
SCORES: Can anyone catch Leishman at the Byron Nelson?
Errrr....let's review the data. He has a one-shot lead after 36 holes, so I'm gonna go way out on a limb and suggest that he could be caught. Those are both from the same source, so I'm wondering what's in the water supply over at Golf Magazine?
I shan't even bother to link to a game story, but Marc Leishman backed up his Thursday 61 with a credible 66. However, he caught the better side of the draw, as Thursday afternoon provided the first breeze of the week. Nothing extreme, but in the 10-15 mph range, just enough to be a factor...
I'm struggling to characterize this golf course.... We're seeing tee shots run out considerably and some very impressive bounces as balls strike the turf. But, at the same time, some of the guys are firing straight at pins and are able to make the ball check up....
I also noticed far more wedge play on the green surrounds than we'd ever see on a proper links. Clearly the Trinity Zoysia turf is offering some cushion under the ball, such that the guys aren't terrified of the bounce on their wedges.
I think the course looks better on TV than I expected. The issue is that the camera flattens out the terrain, and you lose the drama of all the humps and hollows and hillocks involved... I feel like I can see the interesting contours, meaning that it must be quite a thing live....
Despite the pleasures of home cooking, What the hell is wrong with Jordan Spieth remains a highly relevant question:
There has been much concern about Jordan Spieth’s putting this season. One moment Friday had to have pushed Spieth fans closer to panic.
There are short putts missed, and then there was … well, this.
Spieth faced a 22-footer at Trinity Forest Golf Club’s par-4 15th during the second round of the AT&T Byron Nelson and saw that birdie effort roll 15 inches by the cup.
That’s harmless for a PGA Tour player, especially of Spieth’s caliber. Well, 99.9 percent of the time, that is.
The Tour completely misses the point. Yeah, it can happen to anyone, but the larger point is that it keeps happening to Jordan, who I was reliably assured is the best putter on the planet.
Be Still My Foolish Heart - The Irish Open is going to one of my favorite golf courses on the planet, historic Lahinch. Shack can barely contain himself:
The race to secure the most exotic venues for European Tour events continues, as Lahinch was announced as the 2019 Irish Open site by host that year's host, Paul McGinley. Crossing fairways, a blind par-3, Old Tom, MacKenzie and goats, what's not to love?
OK, but the goats aren't really in play....But his reference to two of craziest holes in golf in very much on point. We'll get to that in a sec... First, a bit on how this happened:
“Paul’s introduction to Lahinch was caddying for his father (Mick) in the South of Ireland, he broke 80 for the first time on the Castle Course here. Then he came andplayed himself in the South and won it in 1991. That got him his place in the Walker Cup and that ultimately gave him the opportunity to turn pro.”
It was a return visit to Lahinch last year that Keane believes put the Old Course, whose architects since 1894 have included Old Tom Morris, Alister MacKenzie, and Martin Hawtree, firmly in McGinley’s thoughts when he was asked to consider possible host venues for the Irish Open.
“He came back for our 125th-anniversary celebrations last year when we hosted a day for our past South of Ireland champions.
This is gonna be so great. First, Lhninch is great town on the Atlantic Ocean. The course features some of the wildest dunes you'll see, and the town itself is a delightful mixture of surfer-dudes and golfers. I'm going to resist diving in for my own pictures and the like, as this is still 14-months from now, but it's gonna be great.
The Old Tom - Dr. MacKenzie architectural credit is truly extraordinary, though the truly amazing part is that the Good Doctor had the great judgment to leave these two golf holes intact. Like the Road Hole, no architect would ever design them after the earliest part of the twentieth century, but we should be thankful that they've survived.
This is going to be so much fun.
This flyover is slow to ramp up and I recommend the sound be turned off (the music is cloying), but it'll give you a feel for the wild dunes and spectacular vistas. There's a view of Old Tom's famous Dell green you might look for...
Have We Lost Our Collective Minds? - One gets the sense that our governing bodies don't actually think much of our game, that it can't possibly appeal to the snowflake generation:
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry has long professed his love of golf. Now he's close to hosting a PGA Tour event.
ESPN has learned that Curry's representatives at Octagon are working with the PGA Tour to finalize a deal that allows the agency to work with the Tour to sell marketing and sponsorship deals for a tournament that will be played in the fall of 2019. Sources told ESPN calls were being made to prospective sponsors of the event.
Does anyone remember Bob Hope and Bing Crosby? Yanno, guys that made a substantial contribution to out game....We've defenestrated those guys from the events they created, but we have room for a point guard?
What's it all about Alfie?
Frank Zecca, a managing director at Octagon who has worked with the Curry family for more than 25 years, would not confirm that a deal was inked but did acknowledge that conversations happened.
"Besides family and basketball, philanthropy, investing, technology and golf are high up on his list," Zecca said. "Culinary, community and the Bay Area are also priorities."
Culinary? But wait for it....
"There's no doubt Stephen Curry brings a young, new, diverse audience to the PGA Tour through his passion for this great game and support for the community," said PGA Tour spokeswoman Laura Neal. "We're excited about the prospect of partnering with an iconic athlete of his caliber in the future."
We've struck Millennial! Of course, since they have the attention span of a mollusk, they'll only be watching for 15 minutes..... And since they're living in their patents' basement, they can't actually afford to buy a ticket....
Upon Further Review.... - I had this browser tab open for a couple of days, but ultimately decided not to blog the story:
On Tuesday we relayed a story from the Oregon high school state golf tournament, in which 12 players were disqualified for hitting from the wrong set of tees. The gist of the issue allegedly derived from a scorecard mistake. But in speaking with those involved in the incident, Golf Digest has learned the confusion didn't end there.
What made me change my mind? This:
Bart Valentine, athletic director for Columbia Christian, said his coach, Todd Hamilton, also immediately recognized a problem. According to Valentine, the official failed to provide any help.
“My coach said, ‘You need to figure this out,’ ” Valentine says. “Well, [the official] didn’t.” The second group followed by playing from the red tees as well.
The third pairing did not leave anything up to chance, approaching the official for the ruling.
According to Pete Weber, Oregon School Activities Association executive director, the official on the 13th hole was a volunteer. Barb Trammell of the Oregon Golf Association said the volunteer was a forecaddie and mistaken for a rules official. Golf Digest's attempts to reach him were unsuccessful.
Golf build character, but not when the adults act like weasels..... The kids were astute enough to notice a discrepancy, but with no avenue to get an answer.... So, by all means DQ the ungrateful bastards.
Cycle of Life - A couple of fun hole-in-one stories, first about knowing when to walk away:
ZANESVILLE, Ohio (AP) — A 93-year-old Ohio man wrapped up his nearly seven decades of golfing with his first hole-in-one.
Ben Bender told The Zanesville Times Recorder "the Lord knew" this was his last round and gave him a hole-in-one.
Bender aced the 152-yard third hole last month at Green Valley Golf Course in Zanesville with a 5-wood.
He says he was in awe watching it, but then his hip started bothering him, forcing him to stop after a few more holes. He headed to the clubhouse, bringing his golfing career to a memorable end.
But these kids are just getting started:
The New York-based couple traveled to Baltimore for Mother's Day weekend and played a round of golf at Baltimore Country Club's East Course on Saturday. Milbourn's father joined them for the front nine. Scholtz was planning to propose on the 17th tee, and hadsecretly invited both his and Milbourn's family to join them for a celebration after the round.
But then: Golf happened. Milbourn, a former collegiate player at Amherst College, hit a 5-iron on the 149-yard par-3 13th hole.
"It took one bounce, and then went in the hole," Milbourn said. "I turned to Jeff, and I said, 'I took more club than I should have, it must have gone over the green.' And he said, 'No, no. That's in the hole.' And he looked so bummed! And I thought to myself, 'Oh my God, he's jealous of my hole-in-one. I have to play it cool now, because I don't want to rub it in his face.'"
Scholtz, of course, wasn't jealous (well, maybe a little bit), but rather, reeling from what he knew needed to be a quick revision of his proposal plans. The original proposal site, the secluded and picturesque 17th tee, simply wasn't going to cut it. Not after Milbourn's ace.
You probably never realized what a much sentimentalist I am, but all I can do is hope that their marriage is better than most.
All Is Forgiven - A funny spin on the Webb Simpson - Paul Tesori relationship:
What's interesting about Simpson, though, is that his move away from anchored strokepredated the official anchoring ban at the start of 2016, mostly because his caddie, Paul Tesori, suggested the two get out in front of the problem.
How did that work out? That depends on who you ask.
"We went in a year early, which was my call, and that cost us at least $5 million because the next year I think he finished third in ball-striking and only made about $1.5 million," Tesori said on this week's Golf Digest Podcast. "We went in and looked at his average putting throughout his career and if he had an average putting year he would have been second on the Ryder Cup list, he would have won a couple of tournaments and he would have made about $6 million.
"I was like, 'Webb, you're welcome buddy. Anything else you need, just let me know.'"
Good thing he doesn't loop for Lydia....
Why Bother? - This at first sounded really unfortunate:
By law, golf scribes are required to evoke the name "Roberto De Vicenzo" anytime something like this transpires, so let's get that out of the way. And, going on a limb here,the stakes weren't quite as high during the second round of the AT&T Byron Nelson as they were during the final hours of the 1968 Masters. Still, what happened at Trinity Forest on Friday is a rarity on the PGA Tour.
"What happened" being a disqualification for signing an incorrect scorecard, the guilty party being Ricky Barnes. The 37-year-old put his John Hancock on a card that had Barnes making birdie on the par-4 sixth hole. Problematic, as Barnes made a four.
An issue Barnes, who shot a one-over 73, didn't realize until after he left the course.
That's more guidance than hard law, but all the same.... Especially for a guy like Ricky that has struggled in recent times.
But the news value seems rather marginal, no?
"I just heard about this," Barnes said on Twitter. "I signed my card when I was done playing. I guess my hole by hole was not correct."
On the bright side—if such a thing can be said on this issue—it didn't matter. At one over for the week, Barnes is well outside the projected cut line, which sits at three under.
DQ vs. MC, there's a debate for the ages....
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