Before we get to our regularly-scheduled programming, a schedule note for my dear readers. Employee No. 2 and I head to Florida on Sunday for a short stay with friend. Some golf will be played, but no laptop will be toted.
We head from there directly to Utah, and I expect to be back at the keyboard on Thursday. I will have my cousin there as well as the bride, so I'm not a position to promise anything. But since I usually wake up at 3:30 a.m. the first few days there, I'm liking your chances.
Reed My Lips - Are you the slightest bit curious as to how the world has reacted to the Kostis allegations? I have to admit, I was surprised at the gracious manner in which Patrick himself took question after question and patiently explained his thought process and actions.
Did I have you there? Because, he was a dick as he pretty much always is :
Three days after Brooks Koepka blasted Patrick Reed in a radio interview for having improved his lie in a bunker during the Hero World Challenge in December, Reed said on Thursday at the WGC-Mexico Championship that he was “of course” aware ofKoepka’s comments. He also said he essentially had no response to them.
“I mean, I said what I have to say about what happened in the Bahamas,” Reed said. “At the end of the day, all I'm trying to do is go out and play good golf and trying to win a golf championship and hopefully run Rory down.”
The comments from Reed came after an opening two-under 69 at Club de Golf Chapultepec, where he trails leader Rory McIlroy by four.
Of course, asking Patrick about Brooks' comments when the far more damning Kostis allegations are out there is journalistic malpractice, but also about what we've come to expect.
But here's the part that's oh so special:
When a follow-up question was asked — if Reed was at all bothered that the topic of what happened in the Bahamas keeps coming up and following him — an official from the PGA Tour ended the interview, saying that Reed was only there to talk about golf.
Because Patrick's penchant for improving his lie has nothing whatsoever to do about golf....
Shack has caught up to the cool kids, and again makes this analogy:
Those following the Houston Astros debacle in baseball that was not properly handled by Commissioner Rob Manfred would likely agree that had more been done early on to stop the shenanigans, there would less of a crisis than the one now facing Major League Baseball.
I’m also confident in saying that had Patrick Reed been disqualified and suspended for conduct unbecoming a pro golfer following his Hero World Challenge lie improvement, there would not be an appetite for more Reed bashing that we see today.
It is interesting when issues like this hit simultaneously, though I'd caution Geoff not to go too far with this. The games and circumstances are so different that the analogies will inevitably break down. But there is one aspect in which MLB and the PGA Tour are exactly identical, that there primary interest is to reveal as little as possible and to cause the issue to go away as quickly as possible, regardless of the underlying facts.
I'm expecting that baseballs are going to be aimed at heads in April because of the players' frustrations, though they have themselves to blame as well. The reaction of Patrick's peers, though, may take a little time to discern.... Cam Smith had a tough go yesterday, +2 for the day, but is it remotely possible that no reporter has asked him for a reaction? Or are those PGA Tour officials blanketing the room? I've scanned Golf.com, Golf Digest and Golfweek, and find no evidence of another player being asked about Patrick's lie management program. Come to think of, I had been reliably informed that democracy dies in darkness...
But I do want to circle back to Geoff's comment that Patrick should have been DQ'd at The Hero. First, I just don't get how he thinks this might have gone down or that it would have been appropriate. This was handled in the way that such things are handled, the player is brought in to watch the video and the stipulated penalty is applied. Yes, it wasn't a good look, but as a one-off there's simply no predicate for a DQ.
But setting aside what should have been done, isn't it better the way it played out? Patrick was afforded an opportunity to explain himself to the public, and to give us a sense of his personal relationship to the rules of the game he plays. And the world heard his take, and revolted in horror....Guys, it really doesn't get any better than this.
There was one minor...well, perhaps not so minor, a complication, that being the Prez Cup the following week. This incident became a flash point, and we can all understand the instinct to rally around a teammate under attack. What do they think in their heart of hearts? Interesting question, and I'd propose we start with the captain...after Tiger, I'd make a beeline for Webb Simpson.
Alas, there's a complication.... Because, as Shack notes, our hero Patrick isn't the only one that's perfected that move:
After watching players regularly put a club down behind the ball, change clubs, do it again and test how their club sits (even on tight turf), I can only conclude that no one has told a generation of golfers: “that’s a bad look to be, uh, banging at the ground. Some people might even think you are improving your lie.”
As Geoff would say, Le Sigh. Way too much of that going on out there for sure... Is there a valid reason for placing one's club on the turf behind the ball? Of course, even Geoff can be a tad naive:
While it took a long time to get backstopping under control, perhaps someone in golf will begin talking to players immediately when they are seen banging away at the grass and pressing into the ground behind their ball. It might just prevent an integrity crisis the sport does not need.
OK, you think backstopping is under control? That's a good one, Geoff.
But as I understand the current state of play, the only ones being talked to are reporters that ask embarrassing questions.... As the wise man said, Le Sigh.
Charley, Unplugged - A funny Will Gray interview with Charley Hoffman, who happens to be head of the Tour's Players Advisory Counsel. It's funny mostly for this header:
PAC chairman Charley Hoffman rips PGL over 'Saudi money' influence
Did he? Perhaps I shouldn't have called it a Will Gray interview, because it's really a Will Gray article covering an interview Charley gave to Matt Adams, and of course your humble blogger is too damn lazy to listen to the tape.... But per Will, mostly what I see are thoughtful comments such as these:
"I think it's intriguing that another group of people are willing to dump a bunch of money and try to guarantee us money, get some of the best players in the world to come overand play. I just don't think there's any sustainability or really any traction, personally," Hoffman said. "I haven't dug deep enough into any of that to see if it is. I don't know if I would like to be owned by some Saudi money over there, but if something was a life-changing amount of money they offered me, you'd have to look at it as an independent contractor. Because there's no guarantees that I'll have a PGA Tour card in three or four years.""As an athlete, any guaranteed money is very intriguing," Hoffman said. "But I've grown up playing this game that there is nothing given to you, and you earn every penny of it. And I think that a lot of golf fans really enjoy watching that."
I think that last sentence is the crux of the matter. When you remove context, you're left with Tiger v. Phil at Shadow Creek.... We might be disappointed that in some big-time event it comes to Chez Reavie vs., I don't know, Charley Hoffman, but there's also a sense that they earned their place.
In addition to Charley speaking like an adult about the PGL, I'll remind you that he's long been one of Employee No. 2's favorite players....
All I've worked myself into a bit of a blogging box canyon, well it's all Shack's fault. His item on Charley concludes with this:
More surprising is Hoffman’s take on the USGA and R&A, makers of golf’s rules that are mostly played by on the PGA Tour. Given that Hoffman sits on the PGA Tour Policy Board and chairs the Player Advisory Council, I thought he might be more open to the governing body efforts.
After the usual stuff about athletes, technology, everyone loving hit it “further”, no big deal if you just have to add a few tees, etc… Hoffman suggests he’s already one vote opposed to doing anything.“I am not really for whatever the USGA’s trying to prove or do.”
So much for an open mind to the Distance Insights Study! Certain golf hats do have a way of altering perspectives.
I assume that thes comments are found in the Matt Adams interview, because CTR:F: usga on that Will Gray piece yield zero results.
But yeah, I love the open mind. But, in an attempt to tie together my first two items, how do you come down on this "Play it as it lies" bit, Charley? Or is that just something the USGA is trying to prove?
Oceania had always been at war with Eastasia - I couldn't pick Bob Mennery out of a police lineup, but reporters aren't the only ones being silenced by the suits in Ponte Vedra Beach:
Social media funnyman and announcer-we-all-wish-we-had Bob Menery vowed to bring his act back to golf after multiple PGA Tour takedown notices. He did so with a fun post of Genesis Invitational highlights and it got taken down again after Menery’s various social accounts were served an unfriendly notice.
In a world where the PGA Tour is eager to add young viewers, the focus on Menery’s efforts is surprising. He has 2.3 million followers, including Justin Thomas, Graeme McDowell, Phil Mickelson, Matthew Wolff, Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry, Luke Donald, among others. Not to mention some of the biggest names in sports who don’t mind Menery’s roasting of both athletes and announcers.The post, as of this post, has received nearly 3,000 comments. Good engagement!
Le Sigh. And I had been reliably informed that he came in peace:
Please, Bob, that wouldn't be prudent....
What exactly do these idiots think they're accomplishing? Sight unseen, that Premier Golf League is suddenly looking pretty good. But an irony alert, Rory is zealously guarding his freedom, for which I don't blame him in the least, whereas the guys running the Tour that offers him said freedom are behaving like crazed fascists. It's a guy trying to have some fun on social media...Lord knows we can't allow that.
Alan In Full - I expect next week's mailbag to be all-Patrick, but shall we dive into the current edition? This is probably the most substantive Q&A:
Q: Is network coverage of golf really that bad, or is the Twitterverse so insulated it’s much ado about nothing? What can be done to improve it? – @kevin_demsky
Well, Kevin, those two things in no way conflict with each other...
The answer to the first question: both. There is no doubt the networks are failing to deliver a satisfying product. I hate to sound like an old fogey but some of this is generational. In the old days, TV golf was expected to be genteel, the perfect background to a mellow weekend afternoon. Ken Venturi was the perfect voice for this era, never saying anything of deep substance but lulling us into a pleasant nap with his dulcet tones. (Think IBF without the Aussie accent.) The media environment has changed massively in the past decade-plus, but golf coverage has remained pretty much the same. This is infuriating to millennials, who have grown up being able to curate their own non-stop content streams, and these youngish pundits are leading the charge in blasting the current golf coverage. Much of the criticism is warranted, clearly. In 2020, the coverage gap is inexcusable, especially when tournaments are getting decided in the darkness, as on Sunday at Riviera. At this point, you would expect that every fan at home should be able to watch every shot from every player. This will happen at this year’s Players, proving the technology exists; what’s missing is the will to give the fans what they want. The Tour needs to drastically rethink how its product is being presented, both on the traditional TV networks and through its own offerings. The endless criticism on Twitter has made this a much more urgent issue, and I salute the muckrakers who are going to force change.
All of this being said, criticizing the TV coverage has become as much of a sport as the golf itself. Sometimes on the weekend, I tune out from Twitter just so I can get lost in the golf and get away from all the shouting. After all, a man needs to nap occasionally!
First and foremost, we can talk deep into the night about what a golf broadcast can and should be, and Alan's generational points re important (especially as relates to Twitter mobs). But CBS is an order
of magnitude worse than NBC and Fox, after dramatically restructuring their personnel to meet changing needs.... Davis Love seems an awfully nice man, but the next interesting thing he says will be the first.
Of course, the problem we face is that they're delivering exactly that which PVB wants, or perhaps what CBS thinks PVB wants. But look at what we've covered in one silly little blog post... Take down orders to social media accounts and enforcers in the locker room to protect Patrick's delicate sensibilities.... So, Jay, do we ever talk about that damning video of Patrick at the Barclays? Or you expect to us to pretend that these guys are all angels? Because, Jay, I'll always be an avid golfer and will always love the game. But your version of the game may not be to my taste.
Could the PGA Tour benefit from an All-Star Weekend? Top players by ranking and fan voting, various skills challenges, rookies and shooting stars round, All-Star round with ace/birdie/eagle opportunities on an easy course set-up. – @GoranBarnes
This would be great fun. The no-brainer time to do it is Players week, when the Tour is eager to showcase the players and prove it can be fun. The only institutional resistance I can see is that it might take away from the, ahem, gravitas of the event. But the PGA Championship is an actual major, and the early-week long-drive contest there has proven to be a hit. Why not expand upon this fan-friendly idea?
No, no, no.... simply wouldn't be prudent to show professional golfers having fun.
Great question and the answer fine, yet I have one little reservation. Has anyone asked the players? Because you might just find out that they would tank this because it takes them out of their comfort zone....
This to me is a world-class question:
We almost had a Kang/Dahmen playoff at Riv. Where does that rank among the best current potential possibilities? – @WallDwarf
Near the top, for sure. Other highly spicy options: Koepka-Reed, Cam Smith-Reed, Spieth-Reed … pretty much anyone and Reed! Brooks-Bryson. Brooks-Rory. Tiger-Phil. Tiger-Abe Ancer. Tiger-Sergio. Grayson Murray-Ben An. AK-Allenby.
This is the very reason I started the blog, as golfers behaving badly is what we do here. The problem is that it's really Reed-Anybody, Allenby-Anybody and Grayson Murray-Anybody, because that's who those guys are....
Amusingly, I was just discussing that Dahmen-Kang cage match yesterday in conjunction with L'Affaire Reed, making the point that we can't even rely on rules officials to actually do their jobs.
What do you think we as a country can do to raise the level of Joel Dahmen awareness? Apparently neither CBS nor Adam Scott on 15 knew he was out there. – @hwgt9
I agree the dude is a breath of fresh air and deserves more coverage, though we’re doing our part at GOLF.com with this recent podcast. Given what we’ve heard lately from Peter Kostis, it’s easy to come up with a conspiracy theory that Dahmen is such a truth-teller the lords of Ponte Vedra Beach don’t want to give him a platform because he might, ya know, call out another pro for cheating or do something else that subverts the these-guys-are-gentlemen narrative. Here’s hoping Dahmen plays so well he can’t be ignored.
He has become one of my favorites out there, but the greater sin was CBS' treatment of Max Homa.
Now, here's one that will allow us to demonstrate our ignorance of current memes.
What’s the golf equivalent of “F–k-Marry-Kill?” How about Scramble Invitation, Four-Ball Partner and Top Golf Hang? Start with David Duval, Luke Donald, and Hunter Mahan. – @paulkoehorst
Dear reader, did you know that F**k - Marry - Kill? is a thing? I can't help but think that I need to get out more...From the definitive source on all such things:
fuck-marry-kill
A game that is played in a group. One person gets three names chosen by the group. The names are people he/she knows or it could be celebrities.
Then that person chooses which of those three he/she would fuck, marry, and kill.
Again, I'm having trouble seeing those alternatives as mutually exclusive...Also, while F-M-K might be a thing, I'm pretty certain that Hunter Mahan is no longer a thing.... And don't get me started on DD, who beclowned himself at Pebble, then made it worse by withdrawing.
Scramble: Hunter, because I’m assuming he can still smash it. Four-Ball: Luke, because I need a steady partner. Top Golf: Duval, because he’s a good talker and there are nets to catch foul balls.
Luke is steady? Not until a cure for Luke Donald disease is found...
Dishing on Riv:
Given all the love for Riviera, and the challenges it presents to Tour players, why hasn’t it hosted more majors and why isn’t it ever in the discussion to host future majors? – @Tombagjr
Some of this is economic – the ’95 PGA Championship had famously sparse crowds, and that scared away the governing bodies. The 2023 U.S. at LACC will be an important test of whether golf fans in Tinseltown will turn out for a big-time event when the weather is warm and there are so many other things to do. The ’95 PGA was also not an artistic triumph – the greens were soft (and bumpy), and the pros torched the course. And then there is the membership composition at Riv. It’s become more corporate over the years, and there doesn’t seem to be a big push internally to host a major championship, which comes with a ton of hassles for the venue. Add it all up, and there just hasn’t been the will to bring another U.S. Open or PGA Championship to Hogan’s Alley. If LA North is a home run in ’23, as expected, it could become another West Coast anchor for the USGA. And with the PGA Championship now in May, do we want to play tournaments at Riviera twice in the span of three months? Obviously not, which would mean moving the L.A. Open to another venue for a year or two, and the Riviera folks love being one of the few splashy events on the L.A. sports calendar in February. So, while I agree Riv would be a sensational venue, I’m not sure we’re going to see another major championship there.
According to Alan, it hosts the fifth major every year....
But the question is the kind of tortured logic I see far too much of... Setting aside the fact that we get to see Riviera firmandfast once a decade, we have this here Tour event that's pretty damn good. An historic venue that the big boys have played for almost a century, strong fields and even a little Tinseltown fairy dust sprinkled over the proceedings, but that's somehow wanting. So we apparently have to ruin that which is working? Tombagir, were you involved with trashing the Western Open as well?
It's good. I look forward to it every year...so no way we can let that stand.
And another:
Is the 10th at Riviera a good, fair hole? – @MarVistaPete
It’s good, but it’s not fair, and I’m OK with that. It’s a misnomer to call it a drivable par-4 when it’s become more of a long par-3, as many Tour players no longer need a driver to get home. But the green has become so severe it repels many good shots. That’s not fair, but it’s wildly entertaining. The rest of Riviera is eminently playable so I love how this hole gets in the heads of so many players. It adds a lot to the drama and fan experience, even as the green has begun to cross the line into unfair. I’ll allow it.
In Tom Doak's Traverse City, MI office, the word "fair" is known as the F-word, for reasons I'm sure you can appreciate. It would be hard to identify a more elastic concept, and of course those building golf courses would quickly tire of being held to such a malleable standard.
But the tenth wasn't built as an unfair hole, the inevitable changes over the decades have caused that. The shrinking of the green and the increasing severity of contours, combined with modern agronomy (Read: modern green speeds) have gotten us here. You could "fix" those things, but the stroke average on the hole would approach 2.5 after doing so. Yet another example of where we find ourselves in the elite game and, are you taking notes Charley, I don't exactly need the USGA to prove that for me.
And lastly:
You constantly hear, “He’s one of the greatest ballstrikers I’ve seen,” or “This really is a ballstriker’s golf course.” Can I just check, who is widely regarded as a poor ballstriker? I thought being a good ballstriker was kinda a prerequisite to being a professional golfer. – @golfbore1
This is also one of my pet peeves. Everyone on Tour can strike it, though there is obviously a range from pretty well to awe-inspiring. Riviera is the ultimate quote unquote ballstrikers’ course – but Brad Faxon (one of the weaker ballstrikers ever to prosper on Tour) holds a piece of the course record, thanks to a mile of putts he made that day. Easier, more open courses are not considered ballstrikers’ courses, but blasting drives over bunkers and knocking down flags will always be an advantage. So, let’s all collectively agree to banish this term from the language.
Who's a bad ballstriker? Jordan Spieth. Luke Donald. Really any great putter that's not winning regularly....
But I'm a little disappointed with Alan here, because one sloppy use of a term should not result in banishment of a legitimate descriptor. Shall I use it in a sentence? Adam Scott is a superior ballstriker, but struggles on the green. Ya got a problem with that?
A ballstrikers golf course? That's far more problematic usage, and boy can people be sloppy there. And we have an example in front our noses, courtesy of Alan. Is Riviera the ultimate in this category? When firmandfast it might be, but when soft it's just another walk in the park....
In handicapping tournaments, something by the way I appear to be quite dreadful at, I focus on the ballstrikers in the presence of firm conditions and wind. That to me is when the guys that can golf their ball have the greatest advantage as opposed to the guys that can roll their rock.
My concern about the game and its future is that the delicate balance has been altered. That range that Alan describes in his answer has dramatically narrowed due to modern equipment. Distance of course is a huge factor, but I continue believe that less understood is the significance of how much less the ball spins today. Jack was clearly the best of his era, and benefited to the extent that he could be blase about his short game. Tiger the same, though with far less separation from the pack. And for those arguing Tiger as the GOAT, this is exactly the argument I'd make.
OK, kids, have a good weekend. I just want you to know that I'll miss you every bit a smuch as you miss me...
No comments:
Post a Comment