Midweek Mishegoss

A fair amount to discuss today, but being 2020 little of it is good... 

Open And Shut - The USGA has confirmed the inevitable:

Switching this year’s U.S. Open dates from June to September won’t be the only big change brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. The USGA is canceling local and final

qualifying, the infamously arduous process by which half the field makes it into the championship. Instead, the 120th U.S. Open contested Sept. 17-20 at Winged Foot in New York will feature an all-exempt field. 

“This is a decision that was exceptionally difficult. The openness of our championships is our DNA—10,000 people following their dream,” said John Bodenhamer, the USGA’s senior managing director of championships. “It was not on the table at the beginning. We felt confident we could conduct qualifying for everything.” 

The original schedule called for 108 local qualifying and 12 final qualifying tournaments, the latter conducted in eight states, Japan, England and Canada. 

“Rescheduling that into the fall just wasn’t possible,” according to Bodenhamer. “The biggest consideration has been the need to test players, caddies and essential workers inside the so-called bubble. We looked at every single scenario before we decided to cancel anything.”

Unfortunate, though we all understand that qualifying had to go if there is to be an Open this year.  In addition to the logistical challenges of holding the many local and sectional events, there's also the likely need to cull the field given the shorter days of September.

Qualifying isn’t the only USGA event falling victim to the reality of a public health emergency: the governing body is also cancelling another four of its amateur championships, in addition to the six events that have already been iced. That leaves just four of the planned 14 championships to be contested in 2020. Those are the USGA’s four oldest and most important tournaments: the U.S. Open at Winged Foot; the 75th U.S. Women’s Open, which was moved to December 10-13 at Champions Golf Club in Houston; the 120th U.S. Women’s Amateur, scheduled for August 3-9 at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Md.; and the 120th U.S. Amateur, which takes place August 10-16 at Bandon Dunes in Oregon.

The Am is going to Bandon?  How did I not know that?

Dan Rappaport makes the case that it's our loss:

In a normal year, roughly half of the field comes from qualifying, though the vast majority of the guys who make it were exempt from the local stage and went straight to sectionals. The most recent winner to come from a sectional was Lucas Glover in 2009 at Bethpage Black, with Michael Campbell also pulling it off in 2005 at Pinehurst.

It’s much rarer to make it through both local and sectional. Rare, but not unheard of. A number of guys—touring professionals, teaching pros, college players, teenagers, insurance salesman—have made it through both rounds and then left their mark on the Open itself. In light of today’s news, here are a few of the best.

Can anyone name any?  Sight unseen, I'll throw out Marty Fleckman....

Ken Venturi, 1964

The World Golf Hall of Famer’s career got off to a solid start in the late 1950s, when he broke out on Tour and nearly won a couple Masters. But he experienced such a dramatic loss in form that he had to play in a local qualifier for the 1964 U.S. Open. Good thing he did—after nearly collapsing from opprsive heat during a 36-hole final day, Venturi ended up winning at Congressional, a comeback significant enough to earn him Sports Illustrated's Sportsperson of the Year. 

The Sarge.

Orville Moody, 1969

Moody won exactly one of the 266 tournaments he played in during his pro career: the U.S. Open at Champions Golf Club in Houston, And like Venturi, he did so after playing his way through both local and sectional qualifying. He is the last player to win the championship after such a journey.

Sarge puts Andy North to shame, as that Open was his only Tour win, although he did have some success as a senior.

No appearance from Fleckman, and Google did not reveal how he got into that 1967 Open, during which he was the shocking 54-hole leader.  Shocking, because guys named Nicklaus and Palmer were on his heels...

I'm a nice guy, so I'll let Geoff have the tip-in on this story, although I'm not sure his shotgun approach was his best strategy:

As GolfDigest.com’s Daniel Rapaport notes, no one is happy about the U.S. Open having to be an invitational this year, on the slim chance it’s even played at Winged Foot this September 17-20.

The charm of an open national championship has become so profound, the USGA found a few extra pennies to come up with golf’s second worst slogan that is now in a sprint with Live Under Par to the trash heap of ad agency asininity.

So, put me down for conflicted, wanting to see a U.S. Open at Winged Foot but wondering how it can be called a U.S. Open when it’s no longer open. Which is my cowardly way of asking for a deciding vote on whether this is a good idea.

By the way before you vote, can you imagine what His Ownself is saying right now that the U.S. Open has been announced as an invitational while the USGA won’t credit Hogan with a fifth (Hale America) U.S. Open?

 For those who have blocked it from memory, this is that silver medalist:

I think "From a Few, One Lucky Bastard" has a nice ring to it...  The USGA is on quite the roll...  Not only have events overtaken that slogan, but they spent another kings ransom developing that worldwide handicap system, just at the moment people stopped traveling... Of course, they're pikers compared to the CDC, but it's not fair to hold anyone to those standards.

Trouble In Paradise - The clubs in GB&I have long been dependent upon the traveling golfer, a logical if somewhat risky business model.  The UK golf guy has a must-read pots on this subject, beginning with an analysis of how aggressive the pricing of these tee times has become:

I’ve looked at the increase in green fees for a selection of top courses since 2000. The average summer weekend green fee for these courses in 2000 was £88. Coming in to summer 2020, the average for that same group is over £240. Had the cost increased in line with UK inflation then the average would be only £145.

Now your humble blogger has never complained about the price of tea in China for the simple reason that I'm too grateful that these clubs allow me to darken their doorways...  Our host explains:

The great Australian golfer, and professor/student of the game, Peter Thomson said that no golf course in the world should charge more than a round at the Old Course, but now a round at Turnberry is almost twice as much. 

The increases have been eye-watering, but tee-time sheets have still been filled. There have always been enough visitors willing to pay the prices, while the local market has largely been priced out of playing some of the nation’s most revered courses. 

For some, it may be the only visit to these shores in their lifetime and they have been understandably keen to squeeze everything in to their trip. Most golfers from the US won’t have access to the uber-private courses that dominate the top of the rankings at home. So while green fees here have increased, visitors are often surprised and delighted to find that the top UK courses are open at all.

 Unfortunately, he's unable to answer my most pressing question, as this is as close to it as he gets:

From the clubs’ point of view, the pricing of a green fee is a simple case of supply and demand. If people are willing to keep paying for the tee times then they will keep on putting the prices up.

Most clubs will have a target for green fee income in a year baked into their financial plan and they basically have two levers to pull - the cost to the visitor per green fee and the number of visitor tee times they make available.

To me,the threshold question is how much of the clubs' budgets come from such traveling golfers?  I assume he simply doesn't have access to such data, but it has to be a scary big number.

The case is made for lowering guest fees to make up for part of this lost revenue from those who don't need an airplane to get there, a point that seems pretty obvious from my perspective.  That said, it's hard to get excited about that when our Scottish friends remain under house arrest, and even here in the U.S. guests are hypothetical at best.

But clubs in GB&I are going to be hit much harder than the clubs here at home, so if you've ever had a hankering to be an overseas member at one of their clubs, you'd be helping tremendously.  I've had a few friends jokingly asking me if we've gotten or money's worth from Crail, but the answer is surprisingly "Yes".  I've taken some pleasure in having helped them in a very small way....

Lastly on this subject, I've been somewhat critical of the R&A for not even attempting to hold their signature championship... OK, upon further review, you can strike that "somewhat".  In the interest of fairness (Ed: Why start now?), there is this R&A press release:

The R&A today launched a £7 million funding package, The R&A Covid-19 Support Fund, to help golf deal with the impact of the pandemic. 

The fund will be largely aimed at national associations and other affiliated bodies in Great Britain and Ireland. 

Assistance for clubs and facilities 

With the global pandemic leading to widespread temporary course closures and drastic reductions in domestic and international travel, many golf clubs and facilities are facing serious financial difficulties. The fund is being provided to help The R&A’s affiliated national associations to support those clubs and facilities, although some of the money may be used for other activities key to the future health of the sport. 

Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A, said, “The pandemic is having an unprecedented impact on golf and many clubs are facing dire financial situations through no fault of their own. Golf is in our DNA and we want to see the sport continue to thrive from grassroots right through to the top level on the professional tours. We have a responsibility to do what we can to help in such a crisis.

Yes, this is the reason they cited for grabbing the insurance money, though I remain unconvinced.  Not only were the coffers already pretty full from their recent TV contracts, but to me they'll look silly if the three U.S.-based majors come off.  Now I could see their point if this year's Open was to have been in Scotland, where Nicola Sturgeon's boot remains firmly pressed against her citizenry's throat.

Golf In The Time of Corona - Have you followed the secondary marker in.... pushcarts? 

If you're shopping for a push cart, get in line and take a number. 

The fallout from the coronavirus pandemic has put a strain on the push cart market. Major retailers are reporting that they are sold out and won't get new product in for several months. Trying to buy one online through a third-party like eBay or Craigslist will set you back considerably, as prices have soared for new or used models. I found a $260 clicgear model for $500 on Craigslist. 

"There's been a tremendous rush for push carts," said Craig Ramsbottom, the president of Dynamic Brands, which sells popular BagBoy models like the Nitron. "It caught us off-guard. The demand, it’s hard to describe. ... Over the last week, we got down to zero carts. It's amazing. Whether it was a slower moving model or color, anything and everything sold."

I make far too many boneheaded mistakes, but here's one that I aced.  In mid-March, even before I could get confirmation from Fairview that they would be allowed (and, it goes without saying, before it was clear that we could lay through this), I just decided that I wouldn't risk being without and therefore unable to play.

You have to love this WSJ header as well:

We’re Out of Toilet Paper, Hand Sanitizer—and Golf Pushcarts?

The good news is, should you need it, you can swap out your Clicgear for about six ventilators....  Of course, Gavin Newsome thinks the federal government is morally liable to solve this problem...

So, what else has changed in this moment?

Coronavirus is retiring the handshake. Here’s why that could change sports forever

If the custom fades — and not everyone thinks it will — experts hope something else

will take its place. 

Contact might not be required, the mere orientation of the hand conveying fundamental information. Think of a friend raising his hand in greeting or people turning their palms upward in exasperation or confusion. 

So a simple nod and wave might suffice, or maybe the Hindu greeting of namaste, with hands pressed together as in prayer. When the PGA Tour returns with a tournament next month, officials have asked players to consider “a tip of the cap or an air fist bump or something from a distance.” 

“You wouldn’t get the full effect of the actual touch,” Givens said. “But the recognition of another’s physical presence, you’re taking them seriously.”

I'm still of a mind that this recede more quickly than anticipated, but that doesn't mean all of our traditions will return.   It's a nice tradition in our game, though often mistaken for actual sportsmanship, so I do hope we can find something acceptable with which to replace it. 

As the piece makes clear, this is a factor in almost every sport.... In fact, he frames it in the ritual handshake line of the conclusion of a Stanley Cup playoff series.

I don't even really see why this should be an issue, as long as the athletes use a sanitizer or sing Happy Birthday immediately afterwards.

 In other news, we have music to Seth Waugh's ears:

We recently had Tommy Fleetwood indicating that he wouldn't likely head to the U.S. anytime soon, dues to local quarantine policies.  Now comes Lee Westwood:

These guys are speaking of the Tour's projected reboot in June, which raises an issue of fairness for the Tour.  But probably a few Euros unable to make it is manageable, unless U.S.-based players prove reluctant to travel as well.  But the standards are higher for a major, and if international players are unwilling or unable to make it, tit quickly becomes the Hale America Open.

Today In Long Reads - That Golf Digest vaults holds many gems, not all penned by Dan Jenkins.  But they have one of Dan's today, that is somewhere between politically incorrect and a hate crime:

Dan Jenkins: Why I hate family golf

I'll just allow the Master to make his case:

Not long ago I had the unforgettable experience of trying to play 18 holes behind one of those foursomes known as a plague on earth when it is not known as the Family That Golfs Together.

I don't believe I've ever taken vacations that long, frankly.

Upon finishing the round, I limped into the men's grill and asked the bartender for a pen and notepad. While trying to calm my rage with a few cocktails, I thought it would be therapeutic to make a list of things I would rather do in this lifetime than play another round of golf directly behind such lovers of the game. I decided I would rather:

Eat a veggie burger.

Lift heavy furniture.

Attend a political rally

Drive across country without smoking.

Watch a game show on TV

Listen to accordion music.

Discuss wine.

Read Proust.

Go to a rock concert.

Try to deal with "frozen cursor syndrome" on my word processor.

First, what is the "word processor" of which you speak?  And second, shouldn't there be a Jopardy exclusion in number five?

But since this article dates to 1994, I'm a bit baffled by the Patrick Reed reference:

What's more, I can hit two mulligans while my companions are improving their lies.

His description of the family's play on one hole is spot on, though you'll have to click through to enjoy it by your ownself.   

I'll release you here, and plan a return to the keyboard on Friday.  I've saved up the items on Sunday's match at Medalist, and we'll preview that match then.