Tuesday Tidbits

It's mostly a slow news day, so count yourself lucky that I had all sorts of open browser tabs to start the day....

All Things Bryson - He's the gift that keeps on giving, but who knew that the kid plays hurt?

On Saturday night, the Golden Knights brought in DeChambeau as a special guest. He came in to pump up the crowd after the second period and tackled his role with enthusiasm. Too much enthusiasm, as it turned out. 

“I went a little too hard on the air horn,” DeChambeau said after his win. “I think that’s what it’s called. Yeah, and I ripped part of my hand off, which is nice.” 

It’s easy to laugh anything off after a win. But watch the video below. Just as DeChambeau finishes cranking the team’s pump-up siren you can see him look down in concern at his extremely valuable right hand, which he had just damaged.

As noted, video at that link, but you can see the bandaged hand in this photo:

We're all so used to Bryson the Professor that I almost missed this evidence that fractions aren't taught at SMU:

“Hey, I gave that thing a whirl and got the crowd pumped up for the third quarter and they went on to win, so more power to them and more power to me, I guess,” DeChambeau concluded.

Quarter?  Didn't it seem strange to him that everybody left after that third quarter?

This listing of the eleven most unusual things about Bryson is fun, though you'll agree that a mere eleven seems inadequate to the task.  

4. His autograph is the most unusual on tour. Though he's right-handed, Bryson can sign his autograph backward with his left hand. He spent hours perfecting his handwriting left-handed. "If I wanted to learn Arabic or Russian, I could. Or tie my shoes in a new way, I could. Why? Dedication," he told our Jaime Diaz in 2016. "I'm not really smart, but I'm dedicated. I can be good at anything if I love it and dedicate myself. And I love history. I love science. I love music. I love golf. I love learning. I love life. I love trying to be the best at anything and everything."

Goofy, for sure...

11. Before he won the Shriners in November, we also found out that DeChambeau is working on his breathing. In August, he told us about his brain training experimentation, attempting to find the parasympathetic states and sympathetic states cohesive to good golf (yes, really). Now, we know he's focusing 

“Breathing is a monster part of resting,” DeChambeau told USA Today. “Breathing in a way that will help get your brain into a parasympathetic state instead of a sympathetic state. It’s to make it easy on yourself to get to a more of a sleep state rather than a stress state. You can breathe in a stressful way. Or you can breathe in a relaxed state. Breathing in the proper state gets you into a state where you digest food better and calms your brainwaves down. 

“That helps you get into a state of recovery.”

Of course he is, though I can actually get that one.  Give it a read, as he's one of a kind.

Shack has a valuable post on the kid's seriously good ball-striking, including these data:

Shack has this cryptic note:

It’s pretty unusual to see a putting performance that mediocre win a PGA Tour event.

I would also argue that TPC Sumerlin would be a hard place to separate oneself tee-to-green, especially in the benign conditions they experienced.

Shack also has this from Bryson's five wins:

Good ball-striking and inconsistent putting is a profile with which we're all too familiar, but there's a reason to think that Bryson could improve the latter since he's, well, new at it:

10. At the start of the year, DeChambeau putted side-saddle. And the 23-year-old ran into some trouble with the USGA after they ruled one of his side-saddle putters non-conforming: "They’re not a good organization, and you can quote me on that. I’m part of their family and as family it’s very frustrating to see them stunt the growth of the game.” He later apologized.

Be afraid, kids.... Be very afraid.

Schedule Blues -  Curmudgeonly Scot, but I repeat myself, John Huggan has an interesting read on the scheduling implications for European players of the new golf calendar:

It is the biggest. And the richest. And so the most powerful. So when things happen on the PGA Tour there tends to be a ripple effect down, across and through the world of

professional golf. 

Nowhere is that more true than in the realm of scheduling. Next year’s changes to the FedEx Cup and the PGA Championship’s move from August to May provoked an almost immediate response from the European Tour. In 2019, the Old World circuit’s flagship event, the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, will be played in September rather than fill its traditional spot in late May. 

There are, of course, further implications for the European Tour, both good and bad, depending on who you talk to. For the leading Europeans—those with PGA Tour membership and, often enough, U.S residence—the news is generally favorable, even if it comes with a certain foreboding for their home circuit. 

After the now two-pronged Middle East swing in January/February/early March, the European Tour calendar through the U.S. Open in mid-June looks more than a little bare. Take April. For the rank-and-file European Tour member who has not qualified for the Masters, there is but one event to play in, the Trophee Hassan in Morocco two weeks after Augusta. Then it is off to China and, immediately, back to England for the British Masters. Hardly the most convenient—or affordable—travel itinerary.

It's really not an issue at all for the guys pictured above, but it could hinder their development of the next generation of Justins and Tommys.  Though Alan Shipnuck assures me we're in an era of U.S. Ryder Cup domination, so it's no biggie...

But Huggan's piece comes with a few howlers, such as this from the Commish:

Indeed, within that period between March and June, anything of real significance on the newly-announced European schedule—the majors and the WGCs—actually takes place in the U.S. For chief executive Keith Pelley it is not only a battle lost but apparently one not worth fighting. Speaking during last week’s Turkish Airlines Open, the perpetually jaunty Canadian for once openly conceded defeat. 

“We know the challenges with the global calendar,” he said. “We’ve studied it forensically. And yes, the PGA Championship moving changed things. We have a very strong schedule early and then we have a number of really good events during the strength of the American majors. But when you look at those and three WGCs it is difficult for the top players to come back for one week. So I’m not sure competing in that period is a wise way for us to spend our money and our efforts. I’m not sure we would get top-player participation.”

Forensically?  You might want to check the actual definition of that word....

And this:

Kaymer: “There will be American players who will think, ‘Why should we come over when we play for $7 million every week anyway?’ Americans are weird in that sense. They don’t like to travel. And they can play for the same amount of money at home. So Europe is relying on guys like Matt Kuchar and Patrick Reed wanting to play overseas. Because they want to and not because of the prize money. Maybe their wives will fancy a week in London (smiles).”

Yeah, we're really weird....Hard to figure that one out, but I'll just note that Martin actually lives in Florida.  Guess he's also not so big on the travel thing....

Rules You Can Use -  Josh Sens riffs off of the Bryson "Leave the pin in" discussions to post this item on nine rules changes that will lower your score.  I hate to be critical, but unless they've changed Equitable Stroke Control, good luck finding any benefit from rules changes such as these:

5. Bunker mentality

Under the old rules, you could spend a lifetime trying to extricate yourself from a buried lie in a bunker. Not anymore. The new rules now allow you to drop outside the sand, and

even though that comes with a two-stroke penalty, think of all the time (and shots) you’ll save.

9. No more walk of shame

Is there anything worse losing your ball and marching back to the spot where you started, only to bang another one into oblivion. Well, no more. Under a local rule, implemented earlier this year, committees can now give you the option of dropping on the line where your ball went missing. Yes, you’ll incur a two-stroke penalty, but it will spare you the potential for far greater harm.

What kind of useful score can you post after absorbing a two-shot penalty?  The argument is really about pace-of-play and getting horrible golfers around the course.  I suppose those are worthy objectives, but notice that the latter isn't even a real rule change, just guidance to course operators.  And I don't know how your course is run, but we already have red stakes in many such locations allowing it to be played as a lateral....  So, perhaps my scores are about to go the other direction.

Can I confess to being a little confused here?  

8. No double jeopardy for a double hit

Pulling a TC Chen (that is, striking the ball twice with a single swing) is punishment enough, so under the new rules, there’s no longer an added penalty shot if you do it. Hate to break it to you, though: the double-hit itself still counts as two.

I think the confusion here relates to match play vs. medal play, but any readers that want to help out will earn my gratitude.  Do I understand correctly that this changes nothing in stroke play?  The change goes from the intended stroke plus a penalty to two shots, meaning if your T.C. was on your second shot, you'll be lying three.  But the real significance is in the far more common match play, where the penalty under the prior rule was loss of hole.

Unsurprisingly, Josh does find some help in the new rules, but it's the ability to repair spike marks and move loose impediments in bunkers.

We feature the Golf.com Tour Confidential panel yesterday, and we'll excerpt this related bit today:

6. In a nod to Bryson, our Josh Sens detailed nine other rules modifications that will make the game more user-friendly in 2019. Which of these amendments do you think will most benefit weekend golfers?

The first couple of writers cited that lost ball rule, but I've already rebutted that.  these two are the more interesting:

Kerr-Dineen: Hands down the “being able to tap down spike marks” rule. Nothing worse than a good putt deflecting wildly off line through no fault of your own. 

Dethier: If everyone stuck to it, the “40 seconds or less” rule would just about change the world.

If?  You said a mouthful there, Dylan.

A New Hire -  I'm not sure if the new kid has sufficient stature to be included in those weekly Tour Confidential Q&A's, but Golf.com has hired a new writer with unimpeachable credentials in..... well, therein lies the rub:

GOLF’s new columnist Paige Spiranac will add both style and substance to your game

Is she going by Paige now?  Because I always assumed her real first name was Instagram Sensation....

But her first column is on the one subject on which she is the acknowledged subject matter expert, herself:

Hello, GOLF readers! I can’t tell you how excited I am to be a part of this great brand.

But before we get going on this journey together, I think there are a few things you should know about me. 

First of all, I’m not just the Paige who “Stars in the World’s First Bikini Trick Shot” (a clickbait headline if there ever was one). Nor am I just the “Instagram Beauty” who “Crashes, Burns in Pro Debut” (thanks for that one, New York Post). I’m not ashamed of my social media following, my Sports Illustrated swimsuit shoot, or the tough time I had in my LPGA debut, but these small facets of my life are easily manipulated by the Internet to get views, and they don’t define me as a person.

Paige, we won't get along very well if you allude to bikini trick shots without a...ummm...hot link.  But sparing no effort, I went to the inordinate effort of copying-and-pasting it into my browser, and found this description of her efforts:

But she and SI are making sure people don't forget that she's talented with the clubs. On Monday, SI released a trick shot video that Spiranac recorded while she was posing on the beach for the pages of the swimsuit issue. It's pretty damn impressive.

In the video, Spiranac threads a golf ball through the small opening on a giant "A," nails a tiny boat with a ball hit from the beach and repeatedly catches golf balls in her cleavage.

That is talented, though I'm thinking that the target is too large for much of a degree of difficulty score.

I get why they hired her, I'm just not clear on why any of us should read her....

Mark Your Calendars -  You don't expect me to be pumping the Father-Son event, but this news caught my eye:

Jack Nicklaus, grandson GT headline 2018 PNC Father/Son Challenge field

Anyone remember GT?  Anyone... Bueller?  He only hit the best shot all week at The Masters:

And the GOAT had this amusing little bon mot:

“… GT has grown a lot as a golfer. Unfortunately, his grandfather hasn’t.”

Father Time remains undefeated.....

An Addendum -  To that bizarre Doris Chen story, and I'm afraid no one is going to come out with their reputations intact...  well, perhaps this one participant:

Speaking to Randall Mell of Golf Channel, Chen’s caddie, Alex Valer, said he wanted to set the record straight. 

“It’s a mess,” Valer told Mell. “Doris did the wrong thing. I’m just trying to do the right thing, to be fair to all those players at Q-Series who have worked so hard for a whole year.” 

Valer says otherwise. He told Mell it was actually Chen’s mother who found the ball — even though Chen said her mother was farther up on the hole and “doesn’t know what happened.” 

According to Valer, the homeowner pointed at Chen’s mother and said, “That person right there kicked your ball.” 

Valer didn’t know if the ball was out of bounds before it was allegedly moved, but he told Chen they needed to call a rules official. She declined, and when he brought it up again later she told him to keep quiet about the details. Chen was later disqualified after the LPGA spoke to the homeowner and Valer. 

“I’ve never been in a position like this before,” Valer said, “and I’m just trying to do what’s right.”

Oh girl, what were you thinking?  These kids are under tremendous pressure nad they're just kids, so I do hope this doesn't derail her career.  But that said, she needs to come clean and acknowledge her misstep, because this is really bad.

Knuth Knews - Any of you kids familiar with Dean Knuth?  A most interesting man with the greatest of all nicknames:

Knuth, who lives in San Diego and is a 1970 graduate of the United States Naval Academy in Maryland, has been working in golf for the better part of 40 years. Starting 

That's Dean on the right.

in 1981, Knuth embarked on a 16-year, full-time career with the USGA. Perhaps his biggest achievement was something golfers use almost every day. Knuth was the inventor of and driving force behind the course rating and slope rating systems, which were designed to account for golfer ability in rating courses and factoring that ability into the handicapping process. While he's known as the Pope of Slope, his work as a Senior Director at the USGA touched practically every facet of the governing body's work.

Here's a more detailed bio at dean's eponymous website, popeofslope.com.   It's not often that I experience nickname envy, but that's the best one ever.

The strange thing is that dean is now in the golf equipment business, bringing the high heat:

In 2013, Knuth formed Knuth Golf with long-time friend and former USGA associate,

D.C.-area patent attorney Steve Trattner, with Knuth bringing his High Heat design up to modern snuff and Trattner on the business end. The original High Heat, sold in a distinctive cobalt blue color, hit the market in 2015. 

This year, Knuth came out with the High Heat 257+ driver, looking to take advantage of a 2016 change to the USGA's equipment rules concerning characteristic time (CT), or how long the ball can remain on the driver face, in different sections of the head. The USGA ruling established a hitting area, the width of a 1.68-inch standard golf ball, in the center of the face and limited the CT to 257 microseconds. However, outside the central hitting area on the heel and toe, manufacturers could max out CT at 275 microseconds. Knuth, already owner of five US patents for his golf designs, filed a 2016 application for a sixth to take advantage of this design. 

To Knuth, it's simple: Keep the ball on the face as long as possible, and let the center of gravity and bulge and roll do the rest. 

"There are no amateur golfers who hit the ball too far," Knuth said in an interview.

I beg to differ on that last bit, as I play against quite a few of those.   I'd love to give it a go, and they do seem to stand behind the product:

Knuth Golf is so confident in their products, they offer a 30-day, money-back guarantee. And GNN readers can save 15 percent on their order! When you purchase your High Heat, you can select Golf News Net in the question of how you heard of Knuth Golf. The savings are applied right there online!

Wrong time of year to even consider this.....

I'll leave you to your day and see you tomorrow.