Tuesday Trifles

As I touched on yesterday, I have way too much golf planned for the remainder of the week, so blogging will be on a catch-as-catch-can basis.  Of course, that all assumes I survive my play date with our favorite five-year old boy later this morning.

Memorial Daze - It's just so great to be back at Jack's place.... seems like ages.  What?  Really...just last week?  

Our game has many problems during this annus horribilis, but PGA Tour Strength of Field has not been one of those:

As Shack and others point out, that's despite lots of dead wood:

Le Sigh!  And that's even before I note that Brentley missed one... and not just anybody, as Geoff explains:

Singh, 57, has yet to make a cut in 2020 in seven starts, has on top ten the last four years on the PGA Tour, and has made just 12 cuts in 42 starts during that time.

Le Singh?  Might have been early with that Le Sigh...  

Early in the pandemic I played a game with myself, trying to identify that which might change for the better because of the virus.  Yeah, but it helped me... for about a week, then the inevitable answer of "nothing" presented itself.

But is it possible that we could reexamine the issue of sponsors exemptions and the status certain elder statesmen have on Tour?  I get that these exemptions were likely arranged before the year went South, but does Jack think that Stewart Cink is a draw?  

Admittedly, this guy might be taking it a little hard:

Tron, is that the mashed potatoes guy?

The mellifluously-named Zephyr Melton reminds us of how the set-up will differ this week:

Faster greens 

One of the most striking difference for players — though it may not be as obvious to the viewers — is how much faster the greens will play this week as opposed to last. For the Workday Charity Open, the greens ran around an 11 on the Stimpmeter. For the

Memorial, the greens will quicken considerably to around 13. They had to slow the greens last week in order to unlock some different hole locations that are not possible with lightning quick greens, but more on that laster. 

Different hole locations 

With the greens being faster, there are fewer useable hole locations on each green. This means that hole locations should be easier for the Memorial — at least in theory. Some of the gentle slopes that don’t repel balls when the greens roll at an 11 will suddenly turn into slippery mountains when the greens roll at a 14. Hole locations should look more accessible to the naked eye, but whether or not they play that way is a different story.

Longer rough 

The rough will also be a bit gnarlier for the Memorial than it was at last week’s event. The thick stuff was measured in the 3.5-inch range last week while this week it will grow to around four inches. Loose shots will be much more penal as a result.

A/K/A the usual suspects.  I'd like to see them get the place firmer, but a quick scan of the weather forecast doesn't offer much optimism there.

 Writing in the local paper, Rob Oiler has this concern:

Memorial's challenge: Keep an already quiet sport from being silenced by having no spectators

For sure, though there's pleasure to be found in the quiet as well:

The PGA Tour’s Workday Charity Open that ended on Sunday at Muirfield Village Golf

Club was live (good) but not alive (bad), lacking the energy and jump usually associated with a firecracker finish to a sporting event. 

Now it is on to the Memorial Tournament, which this week faces a similar challenge: keep an already quiet sport in need of all the electricity it can get from being silenced by having no spectators.

It was riveting theater. Unfortunately the theater felt like it was located off-Broadway without spectators — as has been the case in the five tournaments since the PGA Tour returned from a coronavirus hiatus, and as it will be for the Memorial and at least the next four events on the schedule. 

Thomas lamented the lack of buzz because of the lack of fans following him and Morikawa over the final hour of play. “Just in terms of the ups and downs and the shotmaking,” he said.

The choices were golf with out spectators or life without televised golf...  I'm still thinking they made the right choice.

 Lastly, were you hoping they might pair some of the show ponies together?  

Never Let a Crisis Go To Waste - R&A panjandrum Martin Slumbers took time out from his core obligations of canceling championships to offer up some juicy quotes, veritable catnip to those concerned about the frightening distance golf balls are being sent these days.  He does go to some effort to make it clear that it's not personal:

R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers told Sportsmail that the next step of their review into distance, delayed by the COVID crisis, can't be kicked into the long grass forever. 

And, while Slumbers is personally impressed and fascinated by the way Bryson DeChambeau has beefed up to blow apart the competition, he isn't shying away from the need to restrain the top 'bombers'.

'I'm not sure I can remember another sportsman, in any sport, so fundamentally changing their physical shape. 

'I can't think of anyone. I'm thinking of some boxers because I love boxing. 

'But what is extraordinary is that Bryson isn't the first one to put on muscle in golf. 

'How he's able to control the ball, with that extra power, is extraordinary. All credit to him, he's a true athlete. 

'But I still come back to the belief that golf is a game of skill. And we believe we need to get this balance of skill and technology right.

Here's the gist of Martin's comments:

”Once we feel that the industry is stable again, which isn't going to be tomorrow, because 

we don't know what's going to happen over autumn and winter, we will be coming back to that issue in great seriousness. 

”It is too simple just to say change the ball. Way too simple. You can do things with the ball. 

'But it's the relationship between ball and club which is most important, to me. 

”The fundamental change in the golf ball since 1999-2000, with the introduction of ProV1 technology, is the ball spins less. 

”And drivers have been designed so it spins even less, which makes it go further.”

First, we'll just note that date in the penultimate 'graph, confirming two decades of abdication of responsibility.  In fact, it's more like active collusion, since those early distance reports seemed specifically designed to obscure said distance gains.

But you've been hearing me rant on the subject of spin for years now... I think we've erred in allowing the debate to be exclusively about distance.

But what of his larger argument that both clubs and the ball require consideration?  Shack seems to take encouragement, while also parsing Slumbers' grammar:

Or, farther. Either way, it’s good to know the intent is to target both ball and clubface.

Obviously these distance gains are the result of a variety of factors, including of course the construction of the clubs.  But it should also be noted that many of the predicates, think conditioning and launch monitor technology, are wholly out side the scope of the game's governing bodies.  My belief has always been that it doesn't really matter why they're carrying it 340 yards, it only matters that they're doing so.

While Slumbers is correct that it's not just the ball, regulating the golf ball is a far simpler process than regulating both the ball and the clubs.  And, as I've often noted, golf is the only sport where players choose their own golf ball, so I see a logic in the regulation thereof.  

Of course, the far bigger problems are political, in that the PGA Tour and the PGA of America are intractably opposed to any meaningful regulation.  I'm happy to have Slumbers on the case, but are Mike Davis and he prepared to see this through over the opposition o the various professional tours?  I have argued several path of least resistance points, including bifurcation (which, at least in theory, should make the PGA of America agnostic) in order to limit the fronts on which the battle is waged.

Shack links to this interesting Golf Club Atlas thread on our topic, including this Tom Doak perspective:

If they wanted to make changes, what better time to make them than when everything is in upheaval? That's exactly when capitalists pounce on the opportunity to do things they want to do. 

But when you DON'T want to make changes, that's when politicians say "it's too soon" to consider new policies and that "we don't want to be reactive," or "people need time to grieve." So we might as well start grieving, because it sounds like this report is going to limit the options for change.

I guess Tom is unfamiliar with the concept of regulatory capture. 

As the kids are wont to say, developing...  However glacially.

Did Someone Mention Dornoch? - yesterday we had an item on Royal Dornoch and it's new 7th hole, courtesy of our dear friend John Coupland.  Today we have a more detailed description of this change:

Royal Dornoch Golf Club in Scotland has unveiled its new seventh hole and is now preparing to build new tees for the eighth. The changes were proposed by Mackenzie & Ebert.

The seventh hole has been pivoted to the right so that the sea is in view for the entire hole, and a new green – a replica of the previous one – has been built. New tees for the eighth hole will be built on the location of the previous seventh green.

The work was first proposed after a course review in 2013 and approved by the club in 2015. “I very nearly did not include this concept because it felt almost inconceivable that the members would agree to alter the hole,” said Tom Mackenzie. “It was resoundingly approved – lesson learnt.”

The 7th featured an elevated tee that provides perhaps the best panorama available of the course, but I was having trouble understanding the re-routing, which is explained here:

“The view from the seventh tee is one of the most famous in the world of golf. Is there a first-time visitor to Dornoch who has not taken that photo down over the course? It

seemed frustrating that once down off the tee, the sea disappeared until the green on the highest part of the course. There was plenty of room to the right, so logically, it made sense to rotate the hole that way so that the entire hole enjoyed the same view with a new sea vista behind the green.

“The added advantage was that it freed space to restore the eighth, which had been overwhelmed by new clubs and balls. Thirty-seven years ago, when I first moved to Dornoch, even the best players chose whether or not to drive down the scarp. Many opted to stay on the upper level to benefit from a much better view and line to the green. Today, virtually every player drives down to the bottom. The removal of the old seventh green allows the hole to be extended and the tee shot realigned so that the drive is almost parallel to the top of the slope.”

Is it too early to book a 2021 tee time?  Or, you know, several...

Wither Whan -  Mike Whan has been a strong steward of the LPGA, repairing much of the damage incurred during the Carolyn Bivens Reign of Error.  But see how you react to this:

Mike seems unfamiliar with the concept of cause and effect.  He seems to think that LPGA ratings are low because they're not on national TV.  Whereas, it's far more likely that they're not on national TV because, shield your little girl, no one watches.

Somewhat related is this item from Ron Sirak, a consistent supporter of the women's game:

For as long as I’ve covered the golf – which is three times longer than Twitter has existed – I’ve heard from male amateurs who say they could beat the average LPGA player. Those claims used to come in letters to the editor at Golf World magazine. Now they are amplified on social media. 

I say let’s call their bluff.

Here’s my idea: Let’s have a contest in which three male amateurs with single-digit handicaps win the right to take on an LPGA player on an LPGA course set-up. For added interest, one of the men could be a celebrity. Peyton Manning comes to mind. 

The notion that any male with a 4 handicap could win on the LPGA not only severely underestimates the talent of women who play golf for a living, but it also grossly overestimates the proficiency of those men whose handicaps are established in a Saturday morning two-dollar Nassau.

Ron accomplishes quite the feat, in that he's likely 100% correct, while simultaneously missing the larger point.  

What Ron and Mike both miss, is that you can pass whatever laws you want, but you still can't force people to watch women's sports.  That audience has to be earned, but you'll not earn it by whining... Or by demanding 30 weeks a year of network coverage.  To me, that only deters them from figuring out how to sell the events and garner an audience.

In that vein, it seems to me that Sirak, as well intentioned as he could be, is pointing Whan in exactly the wrong direction.  He's likely correct that the 4-handicap man would throw up over his shoes, but where does that get you?  What it makes clear is that men golfers are simply far better than women golfers, and that if the four can't beat the girls then the two likely will.  It doesn't matter where you draw the line, the ladies lose this argument.

The women's tour needs to be sold with the understanding that these are not the best players in the world, though they're pretty darn good.  To a certain extent, their old "It's Different Out Here" ad campaign was right on target, although that was focused more on promoting the live event experience.  The ladies obviously need to be in the right kind of markets, smaller cities seem an obvious choice, and to make the LPGA experience more accessible than that bigger tour's.

I also differ with Mike on the silver bullet of network coverage.  Given the niche size of the golf audience and that the PGA Tour will be on one of the networks, do we really need two network broadcasts of golf?  I actually think Golf Channel is exactly the right place for the gals, and their promotion of the ladies' tour can be mutually beneficial.  Not to mention the benefit of knowing where to find the broadcast...

But I want to be clear, LPGA lives matter.

Picking a Horse - I unintentionally skipped over this from the Tour Confidential round table yesterday, a question we might have years to think about:

4. Who ends up with more career wins: Morikawa, Matthew Wolff or Viktor Hovland? 

Zak: As the first person to answer I’ll take the obvious choice and choose Morikawa. Though that putter is concerning. 

Dethier: These questions are funny because they ALWAYS draw us into becoming prisoners of the moment. Thus far, Hovland and Morikawa have had some similarities in the way they’ve made so many cuts but only contended a handful of times each. They’re each really solid off the tee, elite irons players (yeah, Morikawa is better) and shakier (relative to Tour players) around the greens. Both seem like more sure bets than Wolff, unless things really turn to a long-drive competition (which isn’t out of the question). But I’ll take Hovland after he puts in a TON of work on that chipping. 

Sens: Morikawa. The most consistent ball-striker. That gives him the edge.

Bamberger: I wouldn’t know how to even venture a guess. I don’t think the three of them together will come close to 82, though. Half that would be a lot.

The funniest part of this is that we'll probably have three new names to obsess over within a few weeks.  Sam Burns, anyone?  Or Bryson will put on another thirty pounds and it'll all be moot.

Quick Hits - Way too many open browser tabs, so shall we dispatch with a few:

Like Now?   Martin Kaufmann has been MIA from his usual focus on golf broadcasts, but the moment seems curious for this travel piece:

Couples Destination: 72 Hours in the Twin Cities

I have this nagging thought that Minneapolis has been in the news lately....Though our romantic getaways invariably involve looting and rioting, so we're all in.

Not For the Faint of Heart -  There's little that depressed me more than this:

Future Ryder Cup sites through 2037

There's Bethpage, where we only have to worry about fan behavior, to a series of unexciting venues such as Hazeltine, Congressional and Olympic.  As for the Euro venues after Rome, Adare Manor has been named for 2027, but the checks haven't cleared for anything after that.  Which means we can defer our depression to a later date.

In the early years of the event it was held at all sorts of wonderful links, including Birkdale, Muirfield, Lytham and Walton Heath (that last is obviously a heathland course).  Not to mention Southport & Ainsdale, which I had cause to mention recently, that actually held two Ryder Cups back in the 1930s.

The fantasy would be a Ryder Cup on the Old Course, which would be just perfect for match play.  Chances that it could happen?  Yeah, let me know when you've stopped laughing...

Statue, Toppling - He's a non-person now, the PGA of America award named for him is no more, but you still might want to give this a read:

Legacy of first Masters champ Horton Smith comes under scrutiny

It should come under scrutiny, as the PGA of America's Caucasian Only policy is a dark stain on the game, not least because of how long before it was changed.  But it seems to me that the organization is protecting itself from its own history and laying the blame on individuals.  I agree that the award should not be named for Horton Smith.  But I also believe that that was the case for decades, yet the PGA of America was happy to trumpet Smith name.  What changed?

Have a great week and do check in, as I'll try to share some thoughts before the weekend.