Thursday Themes

There is a tee time in my near future, but I'm always aware of the need to feed the beast....

Bubble Boys - Suggest new PGA Tour slogan:  These Guys Are Clean™:

The PGA Tour reported a second straight week of zero positive coronavirus tests with the RBC Heritage set to begin Thursday at Harbour Town Golf Links. 

The total of 954 tests over two weeks includes the 98 players, caddies and family members who boarded chartered flights from Dallas on Monday to travel to Hilton Head for the second event on the PGA Tour's revised schedule after a 13-week shutdown because of the coronavirus pandemic. Those who traveled to South Carolina on their own were required to take a test on-site.

Zero seems a good result, no?  

The bad news, such as it is, comes from the Corn Fairy Tour:

On the Korn Ferry Tour, there have been 408 total coronavirus tests conducted, with two positive results, both from non-players.

In his post on this subject, Geoff had this reaction:

Obviously issue #1 is the health of those who did test positive. Here’s hoping they get the support necessary to get well and get back looping with no reprecussions for having contracted the virus.

Who says they need any support?  I assume them to be asymptomatic, a case only because their profession caused them to be tested.  The media has been screeching uncontrollably about a spike in positive tests, but there's really no downside here.  Yeah, the individuals need to stay our of circulation for a period, but that's the extent of the damage.

But Geoff has far better footing with this concern:

Issue #2, very much a distant second but nonetheless one totally foreseeable: the PGA Tour does not like to disclose much, including who tests positive for anything. In the case of the virus, while perfectly understandable, the current policy leaves players open to unfair speculation. 

But this week, Scottie Scheffler, Kevin Na and Cameron Tringale all WD’d from the RBC Heritage. There were some reports about Na’s back if you poked around Twitter, but no clear explanation was given for Scheffler and Tringale upon the news breaking.

Again, it’s a difficult situation. But without a clearer disclosure for WD’s during the COVID-19 era it causes fans to immediately worry about the player’s health.

Na's back was noticeably bothering him last week, so I'll assume that's the issue there.

I've been reliably informed that Tringale and Scheffler just wanted to spend more time with their families...  I know, 2020 will be remembered as the year in which no one can bear to spend more time with their families...  

Here's one with a reader warning label, in which Ian Poulter describes in detail what a Covid test looks and feels like:

Full Disclosure:  I myself have not read the piece, because I found myself instinctively rooting for the swab...

Scenes From The Class Struggle - How are you enjoying the woke Olympics?  For me, they're already dragging... Then again, they're have to pry Aunt Jemima from my cold, dead hands.

It's always special when the PGA of America remembers that it has 29,000 dues-paying members, which occasionally can be useful as stage props.  Most recently, they were employed to receive e-mails from their uber-woke officers.  First, from Suzy Whaley:

Together, each one of us has the power to effect change and build an industry that is accepting, compassionate, and proud to stand together. Stand with us in the possibility and the hope that we cannot ignore our lack of inclusion. Stand with us and let’s all take the necessary steps to change it. Please feel free to share your thoughts and ideas through email at Inclusion@pgahq.com.

Well, all the necessary steps up to and including a new e-mail address...  From Seth Waugh:

We recognize that golf can’t cure all of society’s challenges. But because of our nearly

29,000 PGA Golf Professionals, I believe we are positioned to lead the conversation and take action on how golf can help. We are certainly not proud of every chapter in golf’s imperfect past, including our own failings, but we can certainly be proud of the future we can build together if we become a committed part of the solution. PGA WORKS and PGA LEAD are intentional steps we have taken to make a difference in our sport. But now we must do more and reach higher.

 Or, yanno, you could just work hard on behalf of your members...  But, then again, why start now?

We're quite obviously in a moment when every company and organization needs to issue a statement supporting generic concepts of inclusivity, blah, blah, blah...  No doubt with Maoist Struggle Sessions to follow shortly.

Fortunately, I don't have to make the case that Whaley and Waugh are better at the talk than the walk, I merely have to introduce you to Wendell Haskins:

Wendell J. Haskins Pens Letter About Experiences As A Black Executive For PGA of America 

Haskins' PGA of America tenure lacked the inclusiveness, diversity that the company championed in its George Floyd statement.

Suzy and Seth are just poseurs?  Wow, it's all just so disillusioning....But please, sir, do tell me more:

· When I started at the PGA of America in 2014 as Sr. Director of Diversity I proposed that I pursue the Presidential Medal of Freedom for Charlie Sifford (golf’s Jackie Robinson and PGA member) as well as petition the board to induct him into the PGA of America Hall of fame. This was to give Sifford the deserved recognition while he was

alive and to create an opportunity for atonement and better relations between the PGA of America and the Black community. 

· In November of 2014 no PGA of America leadership came to Washington D.C. to congratulate Charlie Sifford for receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom. 

· Charlie Sifford was denied being expedited into the PGA of America Hall of Fame at 92 years old. My petition was denied by the board and Sifford ended up being inducted posthumously. 

· My peer-supervisor directed one of my co-workers to blind copy her on all of her emails with me regarding the Sifford initiative. (Yes, my white coworker was kind enough to inform me)

· My peer-supervisor instructed me to return 12 complimentary Delta Travel certificates that I arranged through my relationship with a Delta Airlines Employee (who happened to be African American and my college alumni) to fly certain dignitaries that had written letters to the President, to attend my PGA private dinner congratulating Sifford. The people included Jim Brown, Bill Russell, Alonzo Mourning, Renee Powell, Pete McDaniel, Jesse Jackson, Ken Chenault and others. Subsequently, I was not approved to invite these guests and the dinner for Sifford was diminished to a humble gathering. My supervisor at the time emailed me saying, “if people weren’t going to the actual White House ceremony she didn’t see why anyone would be interested in attending a dinner for Sifford.”

 As you no doubt know already, I'm not the biggest fan of the diversity racket.  But if there's an organization that does need to actually atone, this might the one.  Just a reminder of this from Haskins' recommendations:

The PGA of America’s Caucasian only clause wouldn’t even allow Blacks to play golf until 1962. You have to acknowledge these facts and show some kindness, faith and action to make golf a better industry.

His recommendations are the typical stuff, hard for me to get excited about in the normal circumstances.  Here it's just weird, because the organization's greatest failure is that it treats its dues payers with a mix of contempt and indifference.  but this one got my attention:

Rename The Horton Smith Award – He was a racist.

There is certainly evidence for that claim to be found, though it's always hard to separate a man from his era.  

It's just an organization for which I have little use.  It's unsurprising to find them on the worng side of an issue, because they're noteworthy mostly for being on their own, insular side.

Distaff Doings - As will surprise no one, those lower on the food chain have been hardest hit.  We've not checked in with the ladies in some time, but I'm happy to see some good news therefrom:

The Marathon LPGA Classic presented by Dana will take place Aug. 6 to 9 at Highland

Meadows Golf Club in Sylvania. 

And a second one-time, three-round tournament will be played at Inverness Club the week before.

The Marathon Classic was scheduled for July 23 to 26, but the cancelation of the Evian Masters in France prompted a change so there wouldn't be a lull before players traveled overseas for the Scottish and British Opens. 

On June 5, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced that a ban on large gatherings would be restricted, giving the Marathon Classic the green light to have fans attend the tournament.

Forget Marathon, it's the look-see of Inverness that's notable.   For those testing positive for the architectural geek gene, this profile of the restoration of the Donald Ross gem is recommended.

Rory, Unplugged - Some comments from the World No. 1, for whom we might recommend some message discipline in the future.

First, on that beast pounding the ball at the notoriously beast-unfriendly Colonial:

It’s easy to imagine McIlroy downplaying DeChambeau’s gains. The numbers suggest the latter could displace the former as the game’s preeminent driver of the golf ball; what 

great athlete wants to coronate his successor? But the wow-factor of DeChambeau’s tee ball is undeniable. Talking with reporters on Wednesday, McIlroy spoke freely about what it was like to play alongside DeChambeau in person. 

“Yeah, I mean, obviously at the start of the year he came out and he was a bit bigger. You could see he was getting a bit of speed and stuff, and he was hitting it a long way. But he hit a couple drives on Sunday that [McIlroy’s caddie] Harry and I just looked at each other, and we’re like, ‘Holy s—, that was unbelievable.’

What the lawyers call an admission against interest.  

But this is the one that I find curious:

The need for a two-week quarantine for any British golfers travelling across the Atlantic, in either direction, has provided further complications to players who want to get back

into tournament action but McIlroy has little sympathy. 

“If I were in their shoes and I was asked to come over to the States and quarantine for two weeks before these tournaments, I would have done that,” he said. 

“If you really care about your career and care about moving forward, you should be here, I think. Last week was 70 World Ranking points for the winner, this week 74. 

“I get there are different variables and families involved, but we all have the means to rent a very nice house in a gated community in Florida. It’s not a hardship for two weeks to come over and quarantine. 

“You can bring your family with you. We all have the means to do that. 

“I honestly don't understand the guys complaining because there is a solution to it. You can come over here and do what needs to be done.”

Admittedly it's small beer, but why pick this fight with your Euro teammates?  I've just never found that telling other people how to manage their affairs leads anywhere useful.

A Deep Dive -  Anyone know the answer to this?

Why do we carry 14 clubs?

Anyone?  Bueller?

The USGA instituted the 14-club rule in 1938. The R&A got on board in 1939. Why 14? Why not 12, or 13, or 15, or 16? No one really knows why the two bodies settled on 14.

Bobby Jones might have had an influence. He had a conversation with Scotland’s Tony Torrance, a five-time Walker Cupper and captain of the 1932 Great Britain & Ireland side, during the 1936 Walker Cup at Pine Valley about the number of clubs players should be allowed to carry. The conversation no doubt cropped up because U.S Walker Cup player Scotty Campbell carried 32 clubs in that match, a set that included seven 9-irons. He could obviously use them because he won both his matches as the U.S. whitewashed the visitors 9-0.

Torrance told Jones he only carried 12 clubs, while Jones said he was carrying 16 in 1930, the year he won the Grand Slam (or Impregnable Quadrilateral) and retired from competitive golf. Supposedly they compromised on 14.

Campbell wasn’t the only player to favour an excessive number of clubs.

Lawson Little reportedly carried up to 31 clubs when he won back-to-back Amateur Championships and U.S. Amateur titles in 1934 and 1935.

A member of the 1936 U.S. Curtis Cup team which played at Gleneagles told reporters:

“I carry 23 clubs and, gee, I need them all.”

As with most of golf history, the origins remain unclear.  The other amusing aspect to note is that the development of the golf bag happend far later than folks might expect.  So, not only could they go out there with as many clubs as they wanted, but they were carried awkwardly...

I found this on the bag:

The first club-carrying golf bags appeared in the late 1800s and early 1900s. They were utilitarian affairs with a small opening – usually four inches in diameter, about the size of a golf hole – and stitched together with canvas. They were called “pencil bags” for their slender, cylindrical appearance.

This is from Alistair Tait, who has an agenda:

Interesting question from Ken Brown on Twitter a few days ago. The five-time Ryder Cupper turned brilliant TV commentator asked: 

“Is it time to reduce the max number clubs from 14 to 10? There is no downside to the game, reduces costs, more exercise with clubs being carried, less time to play AND more SHOTMAKING required! In the past majors have been won using as many as 31 clubs and as few as 7.”

It's really something worth considering, though perhaps another front in the war with equipment manufacturers would be uncomfortable at this time.

To Ryder Or Not -  To opine that the decision-making process has been torturous would be to defame torture. Doug Ferguson has a worthwhile update on where things stand, as it seems the cranberries are hardest hit:

The final weekend in September in Wisconsin was expected to be bustling with good times and gigantic crowds, upward of 45,000 people and some 1,300 vendors taking part in an event steeped in tradition.

But with the unpredictable nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, organizers decided “the cautious course is to allow more time for the situation to stabilize.”

And so the Warrens Cranberry Festival was canceled.

Wow, it really is an interconnected world at that.... So, what's the big deal with a postponement?

There are plenty of differences between golf and cranberries, not the least of which is how much money is involved. The Warrens Cranberry Festival does not have mega deals with corporate sponsors or broadcast contracts, nor does it count 28,000 professionals as members of the association.

This is a complicated decision for the PGA of America, and it’s not as simple as postponing it until next year, as was the case in 2001 after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Among the many moving parts is the Presidents Cup, the event that looks like the Ryder Cup but isn’t.

Never mind that the Presidents Cup doesn’t have the history, tradition or interest level of the Ryder Cup. It’s not even close. But it’s a financial boon to the PGA Tour, just like the Ryder Cup is to the PGA of America, even if not to the same degree. And it was a big seller not long after the announcement it would be at Quail Hollow in 2021.

Moving the Ryder Cup back one year would allow for the full experience — for players and fans, even those watching on television. Would a Ryder Cup without fans be that much different from last month’s charity match at Seminole?

Le Sigh.  We're going to sacrifice the event everyone lives for to maintain an event about which no one cares?  Yup, sounds like our golf folks are on top of their game.

Hysterically, the PGA Tour went and polled their players about the various options and... well, see if you can discern the bias:

It’s important to the tour to play the Presidents Cup next year. That’s why the tour went to some of the top players last week at Colonial for a survey. Players were asked to prioritize the following scenarios: a Ryder Cup this year with no fans, a Ryder Cup with half the fans or a Ryder Cup in 2022.

Anyone?  Busy day for Bueller, it seems....

I'm shocked... shocked, I tell you.  Left out of the options polled is a 2021 Ryder Cup and 2022 Prez Cup.  Yanno, that solution that actually makes sense.

It's almost as if they have no concern for anything above and beyond their own cash flow... Almost.