Thursday Threads

Thanks for allowing me that late-season golf yesterday...  In what, I assume, will be my last round of the year in shorts.  So, where were we?

Eye On CBS - This story continues to evolve, first with another of the victims grousing about his fate in a long interview with Rick Young:

Peter Kostis is not bitter. He doesn’t sound angry or upset about how he and Gary McCord were dismissed by CBS Sports. But make no mistake: He is disappointed.

You can hear it in his voice. 

Closing in on 30 years in the broadcast booth and on the fairways as an on-course reporter, Kostis’ loyalty to CBS and the reciprocation of it has been the mortar of what had been a strong relationship. In a one-hour interview at the RBC Canadian Open at Glen Abbey in 2015, the Emmy Award winner spent considerable time talking about loyalty and its importance to him. 

“There is limited loyalty in the world today,” he said. “I’m pleased that CBS and I have been loyal to each other for 27 years.” 

Things change, evidently.

I don't know, but bitterness vs. disappointment strikes me as a distinction without a difference.  Ask to speculate about the reasons for his (and buddy McCord's) non-renewal, Kostis proceeds to throw crap at the wall:

“The timing and the reason for mine and Gary’s departure are the ongoing negotiations

with a new television contract,” Kostis explained. “That’s involved here. I don’t know how exactly or what it could be but I do believe the next television contract is going to be radically different. I don’t have any basis for saying that other than my gut instinct. I do know the tour is gearing up to be able to handle gambling. I think it’s one of the ways they’re hoping to grow their fan base with younger people.” 

This begs an obvious question: Does growing a younger fan base through the gambling activation require younger voices to promote it? 

Impossible to be certain but a youth movement — if you can call it that — is afoot.

OK, we all know there's a long game at play here, but perhaps Peter doesn't know any more than thje rest of us....But here's a unpleasant fact...  Old guys get canned in favor of younger guys.   Young actually goes so far as to add this:

Without any clarification for their dismissal and if you rule out age discrimination in this matter (Kostis is 72; McCord is 71) that was legislated into the United States Employment Act in 1967, the only thing the two announcers can engage in for why CBS cut them loose is speculation.

And I am so very glad that you ruled out age discrimination, otherwise we might be treated to the pleasure of them keeling over on camera.  Here's a news flash for Mr. Young and everyone else following the story.  When guys get fired they get pissed, and that's the most normal thing in the world and means absolutely nothing.

Equally amusing is Peter's recitation of his exit interview, in which there seems to be an assertion of a constitutional right to a satisfying explanation of the reasons therefore.  never considering, seemingly, that Lance Barrow simply didn't want to tell him he's become a laughable old fool....  

But here's where Peter brushes up against reality:

“There’s a fine line between familiarity and staleness,” he said. “What we’ve been hearing over and over from fans since this happened is, ‘You guys are the voices of my weekends watching golf and we’ve grown to love it.’ There’s a familiarity for the viewers with the CBS team. Having said that, I don’t think it was the announcers that were stale. I believe the production has suffered over the last few years. That’s all I’m going to say. I’ll just leave it at that.”

Yeah, that's the interesting thing, no?  Peter is not self-aware enough to know when he's on the mark, but this is a movie we see repeatedly.  Is CBS, like Hack Golf, Greg Norman's pimped out golf carts and other millennial-driven initiatives, risking the ire of the traditional audience in pursuit of new viewers?

Like Peter, I don't think McCord and he are the cause of CBS' dreary broadcast, and the replacement thereof doesn't seem likely to help much.  I think as long as you have the treacly Jim Nantz and the incoherent Sir Nick in the tower, nothing else matters much.  Or they could start to show us some actual golf action...  Nah, that's crazy talk.

But, put yourself in the shoes of Lance Barrow, with a desperate need to appeal to millennials...  You're sitting around the shop and brainstorming how to those young men in their parents' basement, and suddenly the solution presents:

On Tuesday, CBS announced that Davis Love III is joining as a full-time analyst for the Masters, PGA Championship and PGA Tour coverage. Golf Digest's Dave Shedloski

broke the news on Monday that Love, who is close friends with CBS golf producer Lance Barrow, was in the mix for a position.

“I have long considered CBS Sports the gold standard in golf coverage,” Love said in a statement. “Whether playing or coaching, I have always loved the team aspect of golf, and I am thrilled to now be a member of the best team in television."

Maybe that gay millennial market, for sure...  So, why Davis?  Well, they sort of gave it awya up there....  Lance Barrow is hiring a friend, and that always works out, right?

So what kind of analyst will Love be? 

“That’s one of the first questions that came up,” he said. “I have opinions. I just have to learn when to say things. [Retired NBC analyst] Johnny [Miller] was really good at [what to say and when to say it]. I learned a lot by watching him. My only problem is that I have to get my thoughts more concise.” 

Don’t expect Love to be another Miller, though. Johnny was one of a kind. 

That doesn’t mean Love won’t be critical when a moment warrants it, though. 

“Even watching Tiger this past weekend [at the Zozo Championship], I was wondering why someone maybe didn’t say certain things,” he said. “And there have been times when I’ve called the truck when they missed something.”

Can't they even stay on script?  I've been reliably informed that CBS is the gold standard in golf broadcasts, but when the new kid is asked how he'll play it his reference is to the competitor....  But don't worry about streamlining your thoughts, Sir Nick has proven that Barrow will et you ramble on regardless of whether there's a point to be made.

That's Nice - Apparently Golf Digest has been ranking the nicest players on Tour for years, who knew?  This week's list of the top 30 is up, and Rickie wins gold:

Rickie Fowler is no stranger to what has become a tradition at Golf Digest—our ranking of the 30 nicest guys on the PGA Tour. In our first edition, in 2013, Fowler finished

third, and two years ago the California native was ranked fifth when Jordan Spieth took the top honor. Spieth credited several mentors for helping him navigate the pro ranks at a young age, including our inaugural winner, Steve Stricker. Spieth also singled out Fowler for praise, saying the five-time PGA Tour winner is “unbelievably generous with his time and has more energy than I can ever hope to have.” 

Apparently, widespread agreement abounds, because Fowler, 30, heads our 2019 survey, edging U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland and Spieth, respectively. “There are a bunch of good guys on tour,” Fowler says. “I’m just trying to treat people the way my parents taught me to. It’s cool to have my peers view me this way. Very cool, very humbling.”

OK, Rickie does seem like a great guy, and there's lots of them out on Tour.  In fact, much as we at Unplayable Lies love our Golfers Behaving Badly sub-genre, golf seems to mostly attract a better class of person.  Almost as if it's a game for gentlemen, or something...

The full list of thirty includes personal faves such as Joel Dahmen and Harold Varner III, but look who sneaks in at No. 25:

Really?  Hasn't he, you know, been in the news lately?  Here's how they handle the cognitive dissonance:

Now, name the golfer who joined Woodland and Bockerstette during their prearranged exhibition, and though he mostly stayed in the background, he, too, was seen offering Amy encouragement. He has been a perennial on our list, and, in fact, tied Fowler for third in our initial rankings in 2013. It was Matt Kuchar, who, after his somewhat checkered 2019, slipped to 25th this time. 

Kuchar’s good-guy image might have absorbed a hit after a few incidents this year in which he came off looking uncharitable. Months after winning in Mexico, he succumbed to public pressure and paid a healthy bonus to the local caddie who at first received an agreed-upon fee of $5,000 out of Kuchar’s winnings of $1.3 million. There also was a rules dustup with Sergio Garcia at the WGC-Dell Match Play Championship in March. Garcia was in the wrong for whacking an inches-long putt before Kuchar could concede it, but Kuchar’s churlish disposition amid the ensuing disagreement invited criticism. Then there was his interminable embedded-ball argument, which he lost, at the Memorial Tournament. 

Juxtaposed to those episodes is Kuchar’s longstanding reputation as a solid professional, someone who has exhibited a willingness to connect with fans, sponsors and players and talk to the media. Hard to figure.

Of course, the interesting aspect is how quickly he sundered that sterling reputation.  I do hope they're right, and he is the good guy we all thought he was....  Though that performance as an out-of-touch, entitled Touring pro seemed to be type-casting...

Outlook Cloudy - Alistair Tait with troubling trends from over there:

British and Irish golf club members are continuing to quit the game in worrying numbers, according to a survey published Wednesday.

KPMG’s Golf Participation Report for Europe 2019 highlights a drop in registered golfers and golf club members in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales between 2017 and 2018 that should have alarm bells ringing for golf administrators, and those running British and Irish golf clubs. 

Scotland saw a drop of 7,521 registered golfers, a 4% loss, between 2017-2018. There are now 180,281 golfers registered to Scottish golf clubs compared to 187,802 in 2017.

Wales experienced a 4.06% drop from 44,551 golf club members in 2017 compared to 42,743 last year. 

England, the country with the most registered golfers in Europe, had a 1.63% drop. There were 645,151 registered golfers in 2018 against 655,839 in 2017. 

Ireland remained largely static, with just a 0.58% decline. The Emerald Isle lost 1,063 registered golfers to take its participation rate to 182,398 in 2018.

I don't really know how significant this is, as the aggregate numbers of "lost" members are still fairly small.  We tend to forget how poor these countries are, even though the cost of membership is far lower.

Coincidence? - Who knows, but Shack seems certain he heard something from that grassy knoll:

What Is Delaying The Distance Insights Project?

Here's the press release:

Hey, those books don't cook themselves.....

Here's Geoff's musing:

Why another delay?

After all, it’s not expected that the report will provide a prescription to restore certain skills or to slow down distance. Instead, the report is expected to piece together data and insights from all sectors of the game while considering the role of a technological expansion and skill.

The delay is unfortunate given the growing groundswell demanding we have a discussion about how the elite game is played. Plenty more want to know if the governing bodies feel a need to cap or contract the scale of the sport in some way. While the percentages are still small, I’ve never sensed the sport was more open to the discussion. Particularly as an increasing number sees a bloated game due to the needed to maintain 18 holes.

Either way, any changes will not be implemented quickly, so the longer they drag this out, the harder it is to understand what the end game might be. We’ll have to wait another three months to see if there is an actual end game, or just new forms of procrastination.

Unless, you know, the data shows something that might be hard to ignore.... Stay tuned.

The Times They Are a'Changin' - Interesting times in our game, as I was taken by surprise at the speed of the NCAA cave-in:

The NCAA’s top policy-making group on Tuesday voted “unanimously to permit

students participating in athletics the opportunity to benefit from the use of their name, image and likeness in a manner consistent with the collegiate model,” the association said in a news release. 

The release followed a Board of Governors meeting in Atlanta at which the group received a report from a special working group that had been appointed in May to examine the name, image and likeness issue.

There's a lot going on here, most of which isn't terribly relevant to our little game.  No doubt feed lots are at risk, as is the existing institutional frame work whereby two sports fund the whole gamut of intercollegiate athletics.  And the possibilities for abuse seem endless, so we've got that going for us.

This change seems unlikely to me to significantly reorder the world of college golf, as I can't imagine a college golfer's likeness and name having all that much value...  But this comes at a time when college golf is an increasingly important part of the broader amateur golf landscape, and when the USGA's vision for the elite amateur game is under attack.  here are some brief musings on this from you-know-who:

Given the erosion there of amateurism since players could start receiving free equipment and dress like corporate billboards, there may be sympathy for those receiving endorsement income. Ruling them ineligible for prominent amateur events may get chippy! 

However, given that golfers like Tony Romo and Lucy Li retained their status even after clearly endorsing products on the back of their golf ability, perhaps some clever lawyer will find a way to maintain the distinction between pro and amateur golfers. But right now, I’m struggling to see how that will work.

Perhaps I can help you there, Geoff.  Unlike you, I'm old enough to remember when there were only two genders...  It's not important whether the Romos and Lis of the world were born into one category or the other, it's that they identify as amateur golfers....  

There is a reasonably important issue of the nature of that elite amateur game, and what it should mean in the golf world.  Not that any of us have much remaining confidence in the USGA to sort through such matters.

Now a get a move on and do something productive...I'll see you tomorrow.

Tuesday Trifles

Lots to muse about, so no time for preliminaries....

Tiger Scat - Still pretty much all anyone wants to talk about.  First, the three major golf sites take a stab at the numbers.  First, Todd Kelly at Golfweek:

$120,459,468 – Career earnings (most all-time)

$800 million – Estimated net worth (Forbes)

683 – Weeks at No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking

359 – PGA Tour events played

198 – Top-10 finishes

142 – Consecutive cuts made on the PGA Tour

108 – Worldwide victories

OK, some of that goes back to the Paleozoic Era, but still amazing stuff.  The bottom of the list is interesting as well:

5 – Knee operations

4 – Back surgeries

3 – U.S. Junior Amateur wins

3 – U.S. Amateur wins

2 – FedEx Cup titles

1 – Presidential Medal of Freedom

Are they allowed to mention that last item?  Yanno, since it came from Orange Man?

 Alex Myers at Golf Digest offers his own list.  I'll just pick a few trotted out less often that confirm Tiger's skill at this golf thing:

18: Number of World Golf Championships Woods has won. Dustin Johnson is second

with six. 

10: Number of seasons Woods has won at least five times, a PGA Tour record. Snead is No. 2 on the list with eight five-plus win seasons. 

7: Number of tournaments Woods has won at least five times, a PGA Tour record. Snead and Jack Nicklaus have the next most with three.

8: Number of times Woods has won his first event of the season, the Zozo victory bumping him from seven. For comparison, Rickie Fowler has five PGA Tour titles total in his career.

I just included that last bit for an easy laugh at the concept of the start of the season....  But can we name those seven events that he's won five or more times?  I've got:

• The Masters
• Bay Hill ( I know, the pic above gave that away)
• Memorial
• Torrey
• Firestone/Bridgestone

My guess would be that he's counting that old WGC-Amex and perhaps the Western?  It's hard to tell, even from the perusal of this list of all 82.  

Josh Sens sets the bar high with his number crunching:

9 astonishing numbers that put Tiger Woods’ record-tying win into perspective

OK, I'm all ears... Whatcha got?

44 

Speaking of Phil, he has 44 career wins. Forty-four! That’s an average of two wins per year for 22 straight years. Pretty tidy, right? Well, yeah, unless you’re comparing him to Tiger. Take Phil’s career total and throw in Lee Trevino’s (29) and you’re still NINE short of Tiger’s mark. Wanna get to 82? You still need to toss in Matt Kuchar’s career haul.

Impressive.... I mean for Phil, of course.  What else?

16 and 7 

Talk about a game that travels. Woods has now collected titles in 16 different states and seven countries.

OK, is sixteen states in a 23-year season of dominance astonishing?  Kinda leaves me indifferent, as does the seven countries.  But while the game might travel well to medal-play events, would this be a good time to note that t hasn't traveled well to away-game Ryder Cups? 

This one undoubtedly astonishes, it being miraculous that he can even walk:

9 

Woods has undergone as many back surgeries (four) as Brooks Koepka and Rory McIlroy have each won majors. He has also had five knee surgeries, matching Phil Mickelson’s number of major crowns. Nine in all!

Dave Dusek has a fun item on Tiger's equipment through the years, including this mismatched set back at the inception:

Before he turned pro, Tiger used clubs from a variety of manufacturers. At the 1996 U.S. Amateur, where Woods won his third title, he used Titleist woods, a blended set of

Mizuno irons, Cleveland wedges and a Ping Anser putter. Woods split his irons and used clubs from two different sets to create a blended set because he wanted as little offset as possible, and within the Mizuno family at that time, the combination provided him with the look and the performance he wanted. 

Like other elite golfers at that time, Wood also played a wound ball, the Titleist Professional 90. 

Before the 1997 Masters rolled around, Woods made two substantive equipment changes. He added a King Cobra Deep Face driver and a Scotty Cameron Newport Tel3 putter.

Mizuno irons and Cleveland wedges?  Who knew?

Back then, this was a deep-faced driver:

Smaller than our current hybrids....

Brian Wacker makes the case for late-career achievement from legends:

• Gordie Howe had his first 100-point season in the NHL at age 40 with 44 goals and 59 assists, and played until age 51 when he scored 41 points in 80 games for the Hartford Whalers. 

• Brett Favre threw for 4,202 yards and 33 touchdowns at age 40, leading the Minnesota Vikings to the NFC Championship. 

• Nolan Ryan, who threw seven no-hitters in his career with the first coming in 1973, threw his final one 18 years later, at age 44. 

• Michael Jordan had three 40-plus-point games in the middle of his final season in the NBA for the Washington Wizards, shooting over 50 percent in all of them.

And didn't Jack win something big at a similar age...I've taken some recent heat for being a Shack fan boy, so let's amuse ourselves at this head-scratcher he wrote in blogging Wacker's item:

And, old legends tend to remain legends longer than everyone else

So, old legends remain legends longer than folks who never were legends....  Thanks for the clarification, Geoff.

 What he's undoubtedly trying to say is something I learned from Bill James back in the day, that all athletes experience age-related decline in their abilities.  The greats, however, start at a higher level and their skills may decline at a lesser rate, so late-career heroics are possible....It leaves us pretty much where we've always been, that it all comes down to whether he's healthy.

Or, as Sean Martin puts it:

The question now is how high can he go? His win in Japan was his third victory in his last 14 starts. He shot one of the lowest 72-hole scores of his career thanks to impressive iron play and putting. Only one player finished within five shots of him. 

Ninety wins seems in play, but it’s also fair to wonder if he’ll get No. 83. It all depends on his body. As long as his back can support the torque and twisting necessary to create the requisite clubhead speed, his hands will find a way to get the ball in the hole.

Thanks for narrowing it down...  Though, as the wise man said, it is what it is.

Lastly, Bob Harig has an answer to a lingering question:

Too many times, Woods showed up for a golf tournament and didn't look right. And the more that happened, the more you wondered whether the earth-shattering victory at Augusta National had swallowed up every last bit of energy he had mustered in an effort to win another major championship. 

"It was a combination of things,'' said Rob McNamara, Woods' friend and a vice president with his company. "The knee led to him starting to slide and swing differently. And then it affected his back, and then a little bit his neck, and then his oblique. It was sort of a chain reaction of events because he wasn't working properly in the golf swing. Then couple that with some bad weather, and it just wasn't going to happen.'' 

The knee. Who knew? Woods never once let on that anything was amiss. But as he disclosed at the Zozo Championship, he needed to have an arthroscopic procedure to clean out cartilage -- on the same knee that required ACL reconstruction in 2008. And he put it off. 

Instead of doing it a year ago, he waited. And it finally caught up with him over the summer, when he missed two cuts and withdrew from another event in just six tournament appearances. On Aug. 20, he had what was described as routine surgery. A week later -- so as not to interfere with the Tour Championship and FedEx Cup -- he announced it. 

"The knee didn't allow me to rotate,'' Woods said. "And because of that it put more stress on my lower back and my hip. As the year went on, it deteriorated a bit and I struggled. Now I'm able to clear a little bit better, I feel better.''

But should we have known?  As I noted in yesterday's post, I think the Tour will have to enact some kind of disclosure in this area in conjunction with its embrace of legalized sports gambling. 

Settling Scores - I don't know how close Gary McCord is with Phil, though they do bother play out of Whisper Rock in Scottsdale.  But it does seem that he shares Phil's transaction relationship with the truth, in this understandable reaction to being fired:

“He said to me, ‘You’ve been here so long, when you want to go, you tell me.’ I don’t

recall telling him that,” McCord said with notable wryness after news broke last week that his two-year option with the network was not picked up, ending his career of 30-plus years at CBS. 

“This is not how I would have preferred to see it end,” McCord said. “I’m going on 72. I’ve been doing this for 30-odd years. I knew I was coming to the end of the deal, but I was going to go out on my terms. That’s not happening now.

“Bottom line, they fired me.”

“He [McManus] tells me, and he told Peter the same thing, that ‘We think CBS golf is getting a little stale, and we need to go in another direction,’ ” McCord told Golf Digest by phone from his home in Scottsdale. “I’ve been called a lot of things, but one thing I’ve never been called is stale.”

No one likes to be told their services are no longer required, but of course his act, with its planed spontaneous references to body bags and bikini wax, has gotten overly familiar, at best.  

But here's where he loses me:

McCord, a former PGA Tour player and winner of three PGA Tour Champions events, is smarting over the decision mostly because he didn’t have a chance to personally thank all his CBS teammates behind the scenes who have supported him through the years, people who have become like family. “You just don’t do something like this,” he said. “You shouldn’t do it this way. No chance to say thanks to the viewers, to all my CBS friends? That’s what you get for 35 years?” 

A CBS spokesperson said that the two men were offered the chance to work the first two events of 2020, the Farmers Insurance Open and the Waste Management Phoenix Open but both declined. McCord and Kostis are based in Scottsdale and are partners there in the Kostis McCord Learning Center at Grayhawk Golf Club. 

McCord confirmed that he declined because, he said, “The way it was presented, I felt it was more for them than for us.”

Got that?  he's mostly upset because he didn't get that chance to say adieu on air, but declined out of pique.  And a reminder that that's how Johnny bowed out, and Phoenix would seem just perfect for the send-off, no?

On the whole, Peter Kostis, with his understated UPS jibe, comes off better of the two.  We do, however, get our first hint as to  what might come next:

Rumblings picked up by Golf Digest suggest that the network is going younger by making Trevor Immelman, the 2008 Masters champion, one of the new mainstays. He is expected to be join by his brother, Mark, a former All-American golfer and currently a college coach at Columbus State, who also does broadcasting on PGA Tour Live and on SiriusXM Radio. And 1997 PGA champion Davis Love III, a close friend of golf producer Lance Barrow, also could be in the mix at select events, including the Masters, according to sources.

Trevor seems OK, but doesn't have me walking on air.  But his kid brother as well?  

As I've noted before, I certainly agree with Sean Macmanus about the relative staleness of the broadcast, though not with his diagnosis of cause.  This seems closer to the root cause:

Fresh insight on CBS and being ‘stale’ 

Gary McCord and Peter Kostis, “stale”? I think not. They’re the two who add the most life (McCord) and interesting analysis and information (Kostis) to CBS golf broadcasts (“How old is too old to talk about golf on TV?” Oct. 27). 

If you really want to identify “stale,” look no further than the tower at 18. Jim Nantz and Nick Faldo (yawn) suck the life out of the telecast from the opening music theme.

Well, about that theme music.....

Trip Blogging -  I don't know whether we'll have a Shipnuck mailbag later this week, because the lucky stiff is off in New Zealand playing Tara Iti and Cape Kidnappers.  But before dpearting he posted a travelogue of a buddies golf trip to celebrate his 40th birthday.  It's got some gems in it, so let's dive in, beginning on the first tee of The Old Course:

Two hours after leaving Muirfield, we roared into St. Andrews with just enough time to poke around the R & A clubhouse before our 4:50 (!) tee time. We were all feeling the

majesty of the first tee. Kevin is a superb driver of the ball, but he hit a smother-hook that ran clear across the 18th fairway onto The Links road. We granted him a mully and he piped it down the middle. “I can’t remember the last time I felt that nervous,” he said walking down the fairway. 

His caddie, a leathery older gent, said, “Ian Baker-Finch did the same thing. But unlike him, you recovered.”

Your caddie didn't go by Shithead, by any chance?  You had to be here in August to understand that one....   If you stepped onto that tee with the objective of missing the fairway, you'd hardly know how to do it... And yet, it happens far more often than we'd ever believe.

This is a good precis of The Old:

I’ve been lucky enough to play the Old Course a few times, so it was interesting to see it through Kevin’s eyes. He found it underwhelming off the tee, and it’s true — many tee shots are awkward and mostly blind. But the course grows progressively more interesting the closer you get to a given hole, and there’s nothing like the wild double-greens. Even the hillocks have nicknames. The 15th fairway features a couple of shapely mounds known as “Miss Grainger’s bosom.” This left Tom feeling a bit homesick, as Grainger happens to be his wife Amy’s maiden name.

Bosom is such a delightfully archaic term....

His description of Trump Aberdeen is worth reading, though we need to bust him for way oversharing:

It was after 4 p.m. when we arrived. While I was smearing Body Glide on my thighs in the bathroom, the boys migrated to the driving range, the first one we had seen on the entire trip. I joined them and we were all whacking balls with glee when Matt said, “What the hell are we doing to ourselves?” We marched to the first tee. 

On the opening holes, it’s impossible not to be dazzled by Trump’s rugged dunes, which are taller than any I’ve ever seen on a golf course. But eventually the dunes never really come into play — they just frame the holes, and the playing field is kind of flat and ordinary. A round at Trump is like going through a stack of Playboys — you appreciate the beauty, but at some point it all starts to look kinda the same. The greens are another problem. Multi-tiered with sharp edges, they look wildly out of place in such a natural setting. The fairways are pretty narrow given the breezes, and there’s no wispy rough here — a couple of feet off the short grass and you’re dead. I wasn’t hitting it badly, but I lost a ball three holes in a row to close the front nine.

I remember posting an image of the edge of a green, where there were crazy edges going all sorts of ways.  Way over-designed for sure....

And his ode to the wonderful Cruden Bay:

Laid out by Old Tom Morris in 1899, the course offers a perfect mix of holes: long, tough ones to test your ballstriking, a pair of drivable par-4s to test your nerve, and a blind par-3 to stretch your imagination. From the ninth tee there is an all-encompassing view of the coastline and the spooky majesty of Slains Castle, where Bram Stoker reputedly stayed while writing “Dracula.” Along with the sixth green at Pebble Beach, this is my favorite spot in golf. Maybe my favorite back-to-back pair of holes anywhere begins with the par-4 14th, which requires a blind approach to a gorgeous green nestled into a narrow dell. The 180-yard 15th calls for a hard draw around a towering dune to an unseen green. Then you get to rush down the hill to see what fate awaits. This is the kind of unique golf that compels a man to cross an ocean. 

There's a joy to playing at a place like Cruden Bay that Alan captures so well, and that view from the ninth tee is indeed spectacular.

It's a fun read, especially with my next trip there a mere ten months away.

The Lido Shuffle - Non-geeks may want to give this a pass, but I tripped over this wonderful Twitter thread on The Lido, the Macdonald classic on the South shore of Long Island that was lost to the depression and WWII:

How many golf clubs have perished from an edifice complex?  Add this one to the list:

To add insult to injury:

Yes, I can imagine he was....  Keep scrolling if this sort of thing is of interest to you.

Golf tomorrow, weather permitting, so we'll meet again on Thursday.

Weekend Wrap

I thought I'd copy that Shipnuck fellow and open up today's post to the readers... Anything in particular you want to discuss?  Oh, that little event in Japan?  Curious, but as you desire...

ZoZo Risin' - As early as last Thursday I noted that I didn't see this coming....  Bob Harig agrees:

The journey to Japan was ostensibly about fulfilling corporate obligations, participating in a made-for-TV exhibition and getting in some reps following knee surgery and

physical challenges that dogged Tiger Woods' throughout the summer. 

Nobody -- including Woods, if he is honest -- was thinking about a victory, and a record-tying one at that.

I don't suspect that Tiger has any interest in indulging in that level of honesty at this late date, at least not with us...  I'll circle back to this point below as relates to another news item.

I had hopes that Mike Bamberger might have an interesting take on the achievement, but he also might not have had much time to file:

Tiger rolled in his 10-footer for a closing birdie, the three-shot win, his 82nd title, a

closing 67. It was subdued, but it was big. This has been, in ways, one of the most remarkable years of his career. The Masters win, followed by a lot of futility. The win in Japan. The Presidents Cup coming up. The baby steps to a reconfigured life. Amazing. “I know what it’s like to have this game taken away from you,” Woods told Todd Lewis of Golf Channel. Yes, he does.

Yeah, a Monday finish on the other side of the world with barely any spectators there, so it's gonna feel subdued.  Of course, part of that is the arbitrary nature of Snead's record, inevitable for the era in which he played.  

Shack had this comment about Tiger's play, with which I agree:

The Monday finish went much faster than the ensuing trophy ceremony, but even though he came out looking a tad tight, Tiger Woods finished off the 2019 ZOZO Championship for his 82nd PGA Tour win. He is now tied with Sam Snead for the all-time tour victory total and did it nine years before Snead recorded his final win.

I also thought he was moving tentatively, and I caught him rubbing his back at one point.  But when he dialed in that short iron on the 13th, I figured he'd be OK (notwithstanding his wipe of the birdie putt).

Dylan Dethier has our required over-reaction:

But now, after a commanding win at the Zozo Championship, it looks like we’re going to get more anyway. Welcome to the Tiger Woods Bonus Era.

There’s no question what this week’s win means. This is No. 82, which means that no golfer in PGA Tour history has won more than Woods. This is Japan’s first-ever PGA Tour event, which means golf’s most global star continues to shine brighter. This means we’re guaranteed to see Tiger as a playing captain at the Presidents Cup in December. It means he’ll be a serious threat to qualify for the U.S. Olympic team next summer. More than anything, it means that Tiger still has plenty more left in the tank. 

This week in Japan wasn’t some miracle late-career last hurrah. It was a dominant showing from a player in complete control of his game. Woods didn’t win because he needed to. He won because he was, for these four days, far and away the best golfer in a field that included some of the world’s best golfers. He won because he is, as it turns out, still one of the best.

I feel compelled to remind you that Dylan is still so very young...  I agree with Dylan that this was an impressive performance, and also with that last bit, at least when he's healthy.  But here's where Dylan gets out over his skis:

Tiger Woods is now the owner of 82 PGA Tour wins. But what feels even clearer is that No. 83 is around the corner. It’s all gravy now, of course. This is the Bonus Era. Enjoy it.

Amusingly, Dylan recounts how he said much the same thing after the Masters, yet doubles down here.  With age comes wisdom, at least that's what I'm calling it, because I'm so old I can remember when Hillary was inevitable... the first time.  Nothing in sports, Dylan, is preordained.

The Tour Confidential panel wants in on this, leading with this interesting conundrum:

1. Tiger Woods won the weather-delayed Zozo Championship on Monday in Japan, which aired in prime time in the States on Sunday night. Woods has now won three times in the last 13 months, which includes victories at the 2018 Tour Championship and the 2019 Masters. His Masters win gave him 15 majors, and now he’s tied with Sam Snead with 82 career PGA Tour victories. Which is more impressive, the 82 wins or 15 major titles? 

Michael Bamberger: Really interesting question. If you could only have one, you’d want the majors. He wins majors at the rate he wins non-majors. I guess the 82; SO many 

years with SO many massive numbers of titles. But 15 takes your breath away, too, maybe moreso. But 82 is like 800 home runs. You wouldn’t think it’s possible. 

Josh Sens: Both are astounding but Tiger’s reaction today was, I think, a pretty good indication of which he finds more impressive. He smiled and looked pleased. But this was no fist-pump and roar celebration. I wager that he’d trade a dozen or so Zozo Championships for another major or two. 

Dylan Dethier: Sens is right. Yeah, the 82 is hugely significant — but this week felt strangely ordinary. Woods used to win PGA Tour events (and Euro events, too) at strange parts of the calendar, in far-off places. This felt like a return to that type of feeling, and a reminder that he’s certainly not dead yet. 

Luke Kerr-Dineen: The gold standard in golf is major championships. It always has been, always will be, and always should be. But yes, 82 wins is still incredible, and at a minimum, a testament to how well-rounded Tiger Woods’ dominance has been through the years. 

Alan Bastable: Both numbers are exhausting just to think about, but I think I give the edge to 82, mostly because of the consistency and longevity that number demands. Consider the career win totals of other Mt. Rushmore types who didn’t win even half or one-third of that total: Tom Watson: 39, Lee Trevino: 29, Johnny Miller: 25. Eighty-two is just silly.

Ummm, Luke, the focus on majors is actually a relatively recent phenomenon, at least as compared to the long history of our game.  While there's nothing wrong with the scribes' answers, I'd suggest that the two records together make the most compelling case.  As Dylan hints at, Tiger simply dominated his peers everywhere.... 

As for the importance of this specific record, we've covered this ground previously:

3. Tiger has spent his whole career chasing 18 — was 82 an important number to him? 

Bamberger: Eighty-two never captured the imagination, and still does not, because Snead’s win total changed so often over the years, so no. 

Sens: It’s not insignificant. But if Tiger’s own subdued celebration today was any indication, 82 does not exactly top his list. 

Kerr-Dineen: Important? Of course. As important? No chance. 

Dethier: Maybe not now. But it may matter more as time goes on, because it’s a concrete reminder that he has won more PGA Tour events than any other golfer in history, even as memories begin to fade. 

Bastable: He said after his win today that he started thinking 82 was gettable after he reached 50 Tour victories, so it’s undoubtedly a target for which he’s been gunning. But given the question marks around Snead’s record and the sanctity of Jack’s achievement, yeah, there’s no doubt 18 stands above all other figures.

I guess at least now the new standard will be pure, or at least as pure as can be.  But I'd much prefer that it be considered a modern era standard, as the sniping at Snead's victory total (and I'm as guilty as anyone) risks diminishing Snead's achievement.  It's just really hard to compare across eras, and the same issue applies to majors.

But I guess this is really the question, no?

4. How does this change your expectations for Woods for the 2019-20 season?

Bamberger: He can win anytime he plays if he can make the swing he made in Japan and putt his ball as he did there, too. You can see him contending one time in five. That doesn’t mean he will win, of course. But he could. 

Sens: If he stays healthy, he should be right in the mix at Augusta again. 

Kerr-Dineen: For sure. I thought Tiger was going to have an uneventful, rusty return, and I couldn’t have been more wrong. Tiger’s coming back hot. His game’s in good shape, and he’ll be ready to roll by the turn of the year. 

Dethier: Yes, it does. Tiger is the No. 6-ranked golfer in the world, and at the moment that actually feels about right. That much was not true when we last saw Woods, when he went WD-T37 in the playoffs and failed to qualify for East Lake. 

Bastable: Michael’s right. It’s all about Tiger’s putter. It was like old times this week — he seemed to make everything within 15 feet, just willed the ball into the hole. If his putting stays sharp, no reason he can’t and won’t win three more times before the end of August.

I suspect there's a case to be made that this win was the result of a unsustainably hot putter, though it seems silly to focus on the future when we still don't know what the heck happened last summer.  Was that all the knee, or did he lose some focus and hunger?  

And, of course, this seems a given:

5. After this, Woods has got to pick himself as a playing captain for the Presidents Cup, right? 

Bamberger: As Gary Woodland said so perfectly, it’s dumb if he doesn’t. Good for the event, for him, for the team. 

Sens: Right. I would not have expected this a few weeks ago but it’s now all but a done deal. Note to self: for once and for all, learn your lesson and stop doubting Tiger. 

Kerr-Dineen: There is a zero percent chance Tiger doesn’t pick himself for the team, assuming no major injuries. He’s the obvious pick, and absolutely the right one. 

Dethier: Yes. Even better, Woods will have more time to emotionally recover than he did last year in the abbreviated days between the Tour Championship and the Ryder Cup. Forget the captainship, which I find generally overrated. I’m excited to watch Woods take on Royal Melbourne, which should play differently than the Tour courses we see most weeks. 

Bastable: Now that he’s playing so well, it would be a truly magnanimous gesture to give his playing spot to one of the kids — Wolff, say, or Morikawa. Tiger has never mastered magnanimity.

Ya think?  It's been obvious for a while that it's something Tiger wants to do, and now he can't really be criticized.  Though Alan Bastable makes a point that came to me as well, that it would be a grand gesture to further the U.S. Ryder Cup cause to give one of the kids this experience.  That said, the Prez Cup is not without its own issues, and the event can use the buzz as well.  

Of course, he'll still be on the hook for having most of the team thirteen time zones away from Royal Melbourne the week prior.  They'd better hit the ground running, or he'll have some 'splainin' to do....

A couple of brief notes before we move on.  First, I quickly flipped to the World Series and apparently missed the most painful awards ceremony not involving Diana "Open Bar" Murphy.  Here's a fun round-up of the ensuing social media snark.  

Lastly, Shack posts this on winners and losers from the week, though he makes clear that he had to post before that endless awards ceremony.  First, the winners:

Gary Woodland – Another strong week eliminated any doubt about a place on the Presidents Cup team and gives the U.S. Open winner more momentum, especially given the notoriously-average putter’s work over Accordia Narashino Country Club’s devilish greens.

Maybe.  I'll get my thoughts together on that later this week, since the choices will be made next Monday.  I'm not sure he's even an average putter, but I'd sure hate to see both Finau and Woodland picked for that very reason.  Plus, boring.

Accordia Narashino CC – The rain totals for round two’s washout varied and got to 10 inches by the final-round telecast. Anything over three in one day would wreak havoc on a non-links course, but somehow the place was playable the next day after modifying one hole to make it all work. An amazing bit of salvation work by the crews and the on-site rules staff.

Well, I thought those second greens made the place look strange, but we can all marvel at and envy their drainage.

ShotLink – Watching a tournament won by Tiger Woods without all of the detailed stats we’ve become accustomed to deprived us of deeper insights into Woods’ stunning iron play and overall performance. It was another reminder how much we’ve grown to value ShotLink team and the volunteers who tabulate the data each week.

I guess I won't be able to check Tiger's SG: Putting for the week, but I'm left to wonder why they played that 140-yard hole as a Par-4.  I thought it was for ShotLink, but season-long stats will be tainted with some easy eagles for sure.

And the losers?

Late Night Golf – Watching pro golfers overseas this time of year is always fun for West Coast viewers, but the timing for this week’s Skins and Zozo sounded fun until it ran up against the World Series and start of the NBA season.

Fair enough, but boy did this guy love that Sunday schedule.  We got home from an early family dinner just as they teed off, and they wrapped up just before my bedtime.  Just perfect!

Of course Geoff is a hoops fan (You do know his Dad, right?), but this seems unnecesary:

WGC-HSBC Champions – This week’s World Golf Championship in Shanghai must follow a remarkable week that felt like a WGC. Maybe a player will tweet his support of Hong Kong protesters to liven up the pre-tournament discussion. On second thought, not a great idea.

Isn't the bigger issue how this event will fare without the Prez Cup issues present?  Do all those Captain's Picks wannabees make the trip?  And, if so, isn't it the back-to-back-to-back playing opportunities that draw them off their couches?  I just don't see the WGC as a loser in all this.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes - Their broadcasts have become unwatchable, so perhaps we shouldn't be quite so surprised at the wholesale changes:

Gary McCord and Peter Kostis, two stalwarts of the CBS golf broadcast team, will not return in 2020. Both faced expiring contracts that will not be renewed. 

A CBS spokesman confirmed the news to Golfweek on Saturday and released a statement. “Gary and Peter have been an important part of our golf coverage for three decades. They were both outstanding teammates and we thank them for their significant contributions throughout the years. We wish them both all the best.” 

McCord, 71, joined CBS Sports in 1986 as an analyst following a 13-year career on the PGA Tour. McCord handled multiple roles in his 33 years but was best known for calling action from the 16th hole tower along with various late night highlights show alongside former CBS announcer David Feherty. McCord infamously joked that bikini wax was used to speed up Augusta National’s greens, leading to an unofficial ban from Masters broadcasts since the 1995 tournament.

Combined with CBS moving on from Feherty and Peter Oosterhuis' retirement for medical reasons, that leaves only Ian Baker-Finch from the crew we knew for decades.

The key thing to bear in mind is that CBS' contract runs only through the 2021 season.  Jay Rigdon at Awful Announcing tries to put it in perspective for us:

It is truly tough to imagine CBS golf coverage without both McCord and Kostis. The

move coming now is also interesting; clearly both men expected to be back, as there was no on-air goodbye in the fall. CBS is also in the midst of bidding for the next round of PGA Tour rights. 

CBS has their current rights through 2021, so it’s unlikely this move is the result of a vote of no confidence in their own bid. It could be a move signaling a revamp of their coverage, or at least a willingness to evolve; maybe that’s something the PGA Tour is looking for in the next round.

The guys are at that age, and it's logical that CBS might want to revitalize things before their bid is considered for the longer term.  the problem is, well, Jay nails it ever so subtly:

These would not the first two changes most people would choose to make to CBS coverage, but regardless, golf on CBS is going to sound a lot different going forward.

Those would be found in the 18th hole tower....

Kostis issue a gracious statement, though he could resist a jibe on his way out the door:

Finally, I have to say a big thank you to all the announcers I’ve worked with over the years. I believe that the CBS golf announce team is the gold standard. A special shout out to Gary McCord who has been with me every step of the way, (including that infamous 1989 Ryder Cup broadcast team!) and Jim Nantz who has been there for my entire CBS career. To the cameramen, technicians and support staff at CBS I simply say it was a privilege to work alongside you. Bye for now! I’m off to UPS to send some packages!”

Heh!  I guess he's happy to not have to work "FedEx" into every other sentence...

Surprisingly, no speculation to be found as to who might replace them on the Konica Minolta Swing Vision gig.

The Tour Confidential panel devoted five of six questions to Tiger, but they did squeeze this one in at the end:

6. Let’s end with a non-Tiger question, shall we? Mainstays Peter Kostis and Gary McCord won’t be returning to the CBS golf team in 2020, as both of their contracts will not be renewed. McCord, 71, joined CBS in 1986, and Kostis, 72, came on in 1992. Good move? Was it time for new blood? 

Bamberger: It was time for new blood 20 years ago. Yet the familiarity was comforting.

Sens: It was fun while it lasted, and it lasted a long time. A change makes sense. 

Kerr-Dineen: Two legends of the game and of CBS, but with the ongoing courting of the PGA Tour ahead of its new rights deal, this was an important message from CBS to the powers that be. Things are getting freshened up for the better. 

Dethier: Man, I dunno. I think I was a bigger McCord fan than most, and I thought he made those in-between moments far more entertaining in a way that still felt in keeping with the broadcast. I’m all for freshening up the broadcast, but only if it’s an actual improvement. I’ll remain open-minded, but this isn’t an automatic win. 

Bastable: Statler and Waldorf. I’ll miss ’em.

Legends of the game?  Obviously laughable hyperbole, but the golf audience is not one that deals with change all that well.   As Dylan notes, let's see if it actually feels like an upgrade when replacements are names.

I like Alan's Sesame Street reference, perhaps a first in these pages, though it might have fit McCord and Feherty better.

Magic 8-Ball Says Outlook Cloudy - I have serious reservations on this subject:

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, in an exclusive interview with AFP at the Zozo Championship in Japan, said that there will be on-site gambling options for fans in 2020. 

“You’ll start to see product in the market place next year,” Monahan told AFP. “It’s all about engagement. … When done right, it gives fans the opportunity to engage with your sport over a longer period of time and have more interest in what’s happening across the entire player field.” 

Noting that sports wagering is legal in many international markets, Monahan says the Tour has “put the right systems in place, both in terms of an integrity … and monitoring activity.”

OK, the key word seems to be "Engagement", which might indeed be a good thing.  It's just that when you're "Engaging" with a system design to separate fans from their money, caution would be advised I think.  

I do understand that the legal environment is changing, and I'm also open to the logic of the seat at the table in order to control how the gambling is structured, such as Jay's assurance that you won't be able to bet on negative outcomes.  That said, Jay seems far too eager for his Vig, and that strikes me as unseemly....  And as I've noted earlier, I'm skeptical that betting on other folks' golf has all that much appeal.  

Shack devotes this post to the potential for fan interference, also linking to his piece on the reduction to one year in the Bio Kim suspension:

While Kim was no angel in flipping off a fan whose cell phone went off as he was trying to win a golf tournament and pay his bills, he’s also a victim of golf’s reversal on phones and belief that fans could behave. The sport went from from policing, confiscating or banning phones at tournaments to encouraging fans to become documentarians.

Look, we all love our phones and the younger demographic that golf wants to attract will not attend a tournament if they were to be separated from their baby or unable to promote their presence. The same goes for older adults now too. That’s fine. But policing the use of mobile devices near competition must not be solely up to caddies and volunteers to police. Golf cannot be naive to the inevitability that a noisy mobile device could be used to alter the course of a tournament (and therefore, a bet). 

I have no idea what the solution is, but an incident in the gambling age seems inevitable. Then there’s the overall look is peculiar and energy deadening to a sport already deprived of fan noise.

It seems inevitable, no?  Either that or a bet goes horribly wrong because of backstopping?  

But with Tiger dominating the news, I'd like to note a different issue.  How do we think those placing losing wagers on Tiger would feel after hearing that he suddenly had knee surgery?  Those NFL injury reports aren't so much for the fan, as for the betting public.  So, Jay, can you allow the public to bet without a clear understanding of the health status of the players?   

I just think it's all a disaster in the making, and a predictable one at that.  Perhaps golf can't avoid this entirely, but they seem committed to benefiting from the activity, and that will make them responsible when and if it goes south. 

Thursday Threads

Which, alas, will have to serve as your Friday Frisson as well.  Your humble correspondent, having seen Sunday's forecast, needs to get in a little more Fall golf tomorrow.  Robert Conquest famously has his three laws of politics, but I've only got the one about blogging.  To wit, the blogging of the golf shall never preclude the playing of the golf.

Didn't See This Coming - While we slept, Tiger posted a number:

The shovels were at the ready, the piles of dirt in place to be tossed on Tiger Woods. 

After not playing for nine weeks, after returning from a fifth surgical procedure to his left 

knee, after getting only three weeks of solid reps playing regular rounds of golf, Woods began bogey-bogey-bogey on Thursday in his season debut in the Zozo Championship at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club. 

Clearly, the time had come to end any talk of Woods naming himself to the Presidents Cup team. Seriously, it had been four months since he had a top-10 on the PGA Tour and six months since he won the Masters. 

And then Woods did a remarkable about-face. 

After looking like a chop, he could barely have looked better.

He shot 64 after that dreadful start and finds himself tied for the lead with Gary Woodland, another lad vying for a free plane ticket to Australia.

Tiger's post-round comments are typically anodyne, though he does tip off that they've got weather issues with which to contend:

On his approach to the remaining 54 holes of the tournament 

“Well, I think that it’s going to be sloppy and tough for us tomorrow morning before the storm gets in and I think we’re probably going to get a little bit wet while we’re playing out there tomorrow and then it’s going to be a grind on the weekend. There’s going to be a lot of golf on the weekend for all of us, probably be close to, what, 54 holes or so for some of the guys that are going out there on the weekend. So it will be a long couple days for us.”

Can't be a pleasant prospect for a guy with a surgically-repaired back...

John Feinstein puts his dedicated Ponte Vedra parking spot at risk with this plea to the Captain:

Why Tiger shouldn’t pick Tiger for the Presidents Cup

The gist of the argument comes from this little anecdote:

In 1993, after the United States had rallied on Sunday to win a dramatic Ryder Cup—the last time the Americans won in Europe—Seve Ballesteros and Nick Faldo sat together

during that night’s press conference. Bernard Gallacher had captained Europe to two close losses, and someone asked Europe’s two biggest stars who should lead the team at Oak Hill in two years. With a wide smile, Ballesteros said, “It should be Nick. I think he’d do a great job.” 

“What?” Faldo said, genuinely shocked and a little concerned that Ballesteros was serious. “You want me to decide who to put in the team, get everyone ready to play, decide who is going to play each day and win my matches? No way.” 

For once I agree with the not-yet-Sir Nick... At least as far as assessing his own capabilities, but perhaps that's because I remember seeing him out-maneuvered at Valhalla in '08.  

But this bit is a howler:

But there are a myriad of reasons Woods shouldn’t name himself. Let’s start with his health—which is always an issue. The week before the matches, Woods is going to play four rounds in the exhibition he and his foundation run in the Bahamas. Then he has to fly across the world to Australia and, if he’s playing, will need to play practice rounds and tee it up as early as Thursday, if he puts himself in the lineup on the first day. 

That might not sound terribly daunting, but Woods has said he needs to pick his spots to play as he approaches his 44th birthday with a back that’s always going to be a question mark. There’s no need for him to play in Australia. His only playing goal right now should be to prepare for the Masters. 

He has no choice but to play in the Bahamas. He has a choice at Royal Melbourne.

Ya got that?  He has no choice but to play in an exhibition?  John seems to be struggling with the concept of free will....  Not that the Prez Cup isn't an exhibition as well, but you'll get my point.

John's point, and it's one worth considering, is that Tiger should play because it's too much for hsi delicate body.  Of course, the Tour signed off on this schedule to benefit Tiger, so you'll appreciate the irony.  

But just to lay a marker down, it would seem that this schedule is a bit of a risk.  Tiger and a good chunk of the U.S. Team will finish the Hero on Saturday night, and get on plane for Down Under.  By contrast, no players from the opposition will be in the Bahamas, though there are still two spots in that field to fill.  So, should the U.S. team arrive jet-lagged and get off to a poor start, where do we direct the vitriol?

Further complicating John's thoughts is the fact that Tiger might need five names as opposed to four:

World No. 1 Brooks Koepka underwent a stem-cell procedure Aug. 26 for a partially torn 

patella tendon in his left knee, which had been bugging him since last March. 

After missing the cut in his first start of the season in the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open the first week of October, the four-time major winner aggravated the same knee after slipping on wet concrete during the second round of last week’s CJ Cup in Korea and withdrew from the tournament the following day. 

The status of said knee now is unknown, as is his participation in next week’s World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in China and the Presidents Cup in December in Australia.

Kevin Na, come on down....

Captain Tiger is chill, perhaps not sensing any serious competition to be had:

“As of right now, we’re just waiting on what the surgeon says and what Brooks is going to do,” Woods added. “He is getting other opinions on what are his options. You want to go through as many different opinions as you possibly can before you decide what you are going to do. 

“I told him to take his time. No hurry. You’re part of the team. You earned your way in the top eight spots. You’re on the team. You have to figure out what is best for your career and your knee and if you decide you can’t play, great. I totally understand. We’ll cross that bridge when it comes.”

Obviously, Tiger can relate.  Most folks think that his career record against Brooks comes down to his 15-4 lead in majors, but I focus more on the fact that he has him 5-1 in knee surgeries.

Those Delicate Flowers Need Everything -  For some reason this story tickles my funny bone:

Five years have passed since the R&A was dragged, virtually at the point of a bayonet, towards something approaching the 21st century by allowing women to become members. That time-honoured traditions (discrimination), even slower to break down at Muirfield, lasted so long is as farcical now as was the case in 2014. 

In early 2017, it was revealed there were still no changing facilities for females within the R&A clubhouse. The R&A was unrepentant about a policy whereby women had to wander up the street at St Andrews to Forgan House when seeking a shower or place of privacy to switch clothing.

Belatedly – and surprisingly – this scenario is to change. In a move that must be linked in part to the backlash the R&A suffered almost three years ago, a female changing room is to be built into the historic clubhouse. It says everything about lingering perceptions that this is notable in the first place.

“We are in the early stages of planning upgrades to the clubhouse, including the installation of women’s changing rooms,” a spokesman for the R&A said. “We are consulting with members before we finalise our plans. There is no firm timetable but it will be a phased programme which will take us beyond 2021.”

In their defense, it's a really old building, dating back to 1854, that's gotta be quite the bitch to renovate.   But I can only hope that they're using the opportunity to get ahead of the curve and build a transgender changing facility (changing, get it?) at the same time.

Why I Don't Worry About The Future of Golf - All in a single header:

John Smoltz and other pro jocks embrace golf for many reasons, but mostly because that competitive fire never leaves

Fact is, as we get older the opportunities to compete diminish.  Golf fills that void perfectly, the kicker being that you don't even need to be especially good at it.

My nephew is a hot-shot mogul skier, ranked as high as 31st in the country.  I keep advising him to find his way to golf when he can, using this very point.  

Skins Detritus -  Shipnuck's mailbag starts with some Skins-related queries:

#AskAlan- I’m going to assume that Tiger, Rory, Jason, and Hideki got a huge appearance fee for doing the Skins Game. My question is, Why do it? These guys already make so much money, and travel so much, how much is enough? I’d rather have a real off-season. – @war_eagle1988 

Well, you can enjoy any off-season you want, but I see your point. The charitable answer is that Tiger needs reps and the other guys couldn’t say no to the player they grew up idolizing. Obviously there are business considerations well beyond the paltry Skins purse, but as you point out, these guys already have tons of money. I really think the cult of personality around Tiger is what compelled everyone else to get on the plane. And Tiger knows he has a finite number of swings left so he is trying to maximize this playing/endorsements window before it slams shut.

The guys have always played during the Tour's offseason, think of Jack's many trips to Australia.  I assume the foursome was going to play the ZoZo anyway, and the Skins was just a paid practice round.

The beter question is about the Tour's fall schedule, such as this one:

What does it say about me, Jay Monahan, reflexive American self-indulgence, the death of restraint or anything else it may reflect upon that I find these coming months of the (mostly non-PGA Tour) golf calendar to be the most enriching and deeply satisfying of the year, by far? – @Lou_TireWorld 

I take this is an indictment of the PGA Tour product: the one-dimensional venues and style of play and the, uh, less-than-charismatic persona of the archetypical competitor. After months on end of this, there is an unmistakable sameness. Meanwhile, the European tour is visiting exotic places and its leaderboards are populated by more colorful characters. Pretty soon Australia and South Africa will begin serving up stellar events. But when it comes to the PGA Tour, I will say that the Fall season has grown on me. (Sounds like you, too.) There is low-key charm to events like Napa and Sea Island and Greenbrier that is a throwback to a simpler time, before FedEx Cup points were the coin of the realm.

I agree with Alan about venues such as The Greenbrier.  But surely Alan and his questioner aren't digging money-grabs such as the HSBC and CJ Cup?

Back to Skins Stuff:

Is a women’s Skins Game possible sometime in the future? What would it take to make it happen? Who would be the likely four players? Lexi, Brooke, Jin Young Ko, Ariya???? – @PopsandSunshine 

l love this. All it would take is a sponsor to step up and underwrite the show. The purse the other night was a teeny-weeny $300K so a big investment isn’t needed. Golf Channel is so desperate for programming Monday-Wednesday, surely a spot could be found for something fun and new like this. You need extroverts and stars who transcend borders, so I’d pick Lexi, Danielle Kang, one of the Kordas, and the Tiger of the women’s game, Inbee Park. 

Would a Skins Game at a tough course between four long-drive champs be fun? – @MagicNumberLA 

Yes, please. Watching them wreak havoc off the tee would be almost as entertaining as the short-game blunders and yippy putting strokes.

I'd think the second has a far greater likelihood of happening...   But really, don't these things pretty much always underwhelm?  

Mystic, Schmystic - Taking time better spent sorting through his mailbag, Shippy tries to sell us old and tired goods:

Into the mystic: Golf in the Kingdom’s magical power still inspires, as does its visionary author

“Norman Mailer said every writer gets one book that is a gift from God,” says Michael Murphy with a twinkle, “and Golf in the Kingdom was mine.”

But which deity bestowed the gift? Was it Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction and 

Murphy (r) with Aldous Huxley.

redemption, whose name is evoked by Shivas Irons, the mysterious Scottish teaching pro at the core of the novel? Is it the Episcopalian god the young Murphy served in the 1940s as an altar boy in his hometown of Salinas, Calif.? Perhaps it is Buddha, whose teachings first entranced Murphy in the comparative religion class he took at Stanford, the seminal experience of his life, which set him off on a quest to become, in his felicitous phrasings, “an astronaut of inner space” and “lead a Manhattan Project of the psyche.” Maybe the book was a present from the very golf gods that beguile and bewitch us all, given to Murphy so he could help us make sense of an inexplicable game of which he writes, “How often have we seen a round go from an episode out of The Three Stooges to the agonies of King Lear — perhaps in the space of one hole?” When Murphy talks of the writing of GITK, his first book and, indeed, his first attempt to write one, he speaks in biblical terms, saying, “It came like a flood.” 

That the very spark of GITK remains a mystery to its author should come as no surprise considering the book has been disorientating readers ever since its publication in 1972. The first half of it is a tale in three acts: a young Californian named Michael Murphy is on his way to India to study the teachings of the guru Aurobindo but first stops in Scotland, where he plays a round of golf in which, under Shivas Irons’ tutelage, his consciousness is altered and game unlocked. This is followed by a convivial dinner party where the meaning and mysteries of the game are discussed and debated. Finally, at midnight, Michael and Shivas return to the course (the fictitious Links of Burningbush, which shares much in common with the Old Course) in search of Seamus MacDuff, a sage and a seer who is Irons’ mentor. They never find this specter-like creature, but Shivas makes an ace in the moonlight using an old feathery and MacDuff’s only club, a crude Irish shillelagh. The second half of the book is a series of musings on the game, purportedly copied from Shivas’ journals.

You say mystical, I say impenetrable.  Though I do admittedly think sometimes that I should give it another try....   Nah, life's too short.

More Alan - A few more random items, then I'll store some things up for Monday:

Rory took the high road when asked about Brooks’ comments at the Skins Game, but deep down, they had to hurt at least a little. Do you think the comments will stoke Rory’s competitive fire this coming season, or do you expect him to continue his Zen-like approach in 2020? – @MichaelGeiger13 

I was deeply disappointed by Rory’s response. This was no time to be classy and diplomatic! Brooks challenged his manhood and McIlroy retreated, just as Bryson did when Koepka said he’d kick his butt in a fistfight and DeChambeau agreed. You can’t give a competitor that kind of mental edge, especially one who is already preening about like Brooks. Rory certainly played at an extremely high level in 2019 but I’m not sold on his commitment to equanimity. He has always been a passionate player and that mojo is an important part of sports. If anything, during those dispiriting moments when Rory has shrunk from the moment, he’s seemed too subdued and introverted. I want more fire from him, not less.

Rory seems more and more like a healthy, well-adjusted young man.  Trouble is, that doesn't work well at the highest levels of sport...  

Let me interject a couple of Rory sidebars at this point.  First, Rory is getting props for this jab at the U.S.:

Leave it to Rory McIlroy to echo this sentiment ahead of this week's Zozo Championship in Japan. Two days removed from an appearance in MGM Resorts The Challenge: Japan

Skins, the Northern Irishman met with the media on Wednesday at Accordia Golf Narashino C.C., and he was asked why he thinks the Americans dominance in the Presidents Cup doesn't translate to the Ryder Cup. His short answer was both funny and painfully accurate. 

"They're not playing Europe in the Presidents Cup?" McIlroy coyly offered.

Ouch.

Though the one Euro the Yanks have little trouble beating is that same Rory fellow.   Rory also made news with this:

In May, Rory McIlroy said he would “likely” play next year’s Olympic Games in Japan. On Wednesday at the Zozo Championship, he removed the caveat and confirmed that he plans to play for Ireland in the 2020 Games.

Really an impossible position to be in, nationality wise.  Hard to understand unless you've spent some time in those six counties of Northern Ireland.

But in a post-Brexit world, should he and the Brits be allowed to play for Europe in the Ryder Cup?  

OK, back to Alan:

Will Phil be on the President’s Cup team? Will Phil be on the 2020 Ryder Cup team? Does Spieth need his swing rebuilt? How soon will Viktor Hovland win? – @TheTexasSteve 

No. No. No. Soon.

I certainly agree with the first two of those negatives...

You have very public thoughts on ANGC and the pomposity of the rules, chairmen, etc. What tournament is in 2nd place for journalists (and players) having to mind their Ps and Qs? #AskAlan – @1beardedgolfer 

There really isn’t a second place — Augusta has retired the category. Though the uptight folks at the R&A continue to make the working conditions at the Open more and more difficult by restricting access to players and the locker room. But there are still work-arounds and no fear of reprisal, unlike at the Masters.

Reprisals?  Care to fill in some background here?

This is worth the price of admission:

Your most embarrassing moment from the beat. Go. – @PGATourSmartin 

Oh, that’s easy: Sunday at the 2015 Open Championship. Jordan Spieth is chasing the Grand Slam, and I’m chasing the story. I was inside-the-ropes but got marooned in an awkward spot left of the Road Hole green watching Spieth make his killing bogey there. I wanted to get over the 18th tee to have good view of Spieth’s tee shot; given the crowds and assorted infrastructure the most direct path was cutting in front of the 17th green and looping back to 18 tee. I bolt without hesitation. As I am traversing that sacred sod the people in the massive grandstand behind the green begin whistling and shouting at me. In my haste, I didn’t bother to look down the fairway! Louis Oosthuizen was about to hit his approach shot into the 17th green but backed off when I cut in front of his target! I made a hard left turn just past the green and started hoofing down the edge of the 18th fairway. I was so mortified I became short-of-breath and a little dizzy. I was convinced I was going to get kicked off the property and maybe banned from the Open for life. Imagine if King Louis had hit his shot and it doinked me, potentially costing him the Open and earning me an everlasting infamy. My gawd. Four years later I still wince at what might-have-been. But since no cameras were trained on the empty 17th green and all the focus had shifted to Spieth’s attempt to birdie 18, no one saw my blunder except the fans at 17. Blessedly, it never showed up on social media. Still, it remains one of the most traumatizing moments of my life.

The only thing that would improve that story was if, in lieu of King Louis, it had been a Euro Ryder Cup player.  Alan, of course, being the savant that predicted the current era of U.S. Ryder Cup dominance...

Enough Lori Laughlin bashing. Who do you have to pay to get your younger brother into the CJ Cup? – @laz_versalles 

We can only hope that Chase Koepka marries Dru Love’s sister so two great dynasties can unite and rule as one.

He didn't have to pay, all he needed to do was agree to show up.... But, to be fair, Chase has made more cuts than his older brother this season.

To wrap up, just in case you though we needed to remove all the knives from Alan's home:

Why do you hate everything? – @MLawler34 

I don’t! I’m a fundamentally happy person. I have a great life. The only time I’m ever grouchy is whilst tweeting about golf. I’ll work on that.

No, no, no, MLawler34, I'm the guy that hates everything.  Alan is annoyingly upbeat all the time.

Have a great weekend.