Tuesday Tidbits

Just a few items for your delectation today.  Tomorrow is the regular Wednesday game, though one featuring an iffy weather forecast.  Likely that I'd take the day in any event, given the slow period in our little golf bubble.

Bryson In Full - A couple of deep dives that are well worth your time, the first from Golf.com gearhead Jonathan Wall.  While most of us are still in chin-scratching mode, trying to figure out the implications of his play at Winged Foot, Wall offers a behind-the-scenes look at the preparation:

At the heart of the call was a question DeChambeau was hoping to answer: What was the standard deviation from the rough? As Rehberg put it, “the standard deviation from the rough is basically the spray. Most players say left and right, long and short, but it’s really the standard deviation of what the ball is doing. Bryson understands that better anybody in the game.”

DeChambeau already knew the rough was set up to penalize wayward shots, but if he could put a number on how the ball would react and amount of spin that would be lost on, say, a flier lie from certain distances, it would allow him to create a blueprint for the club(s) he could hit from specific yardages. With one of the fastest club-head speeds on Tour, DeChambeau figured he could generate sufficient spin, and a playable ball flight, from the rough to score around the course — even if he wasn’t finding the fairway with a nuked drive.

“If he normally generates 10,000 RPMs with a pitching wedge from a clean lie and knows a flier will knock the spin down to 7,000 RPMs, he’s able to calculate how much longer he’ll hit it in that situation. A lot of players are just guessing when they get a flier. The testing we conducted was all about helping him build those numbers for the clubs he figured he’d use often on approach shots — 8-iron, 9-iron, pitching wedge.

This is where his casino analogy applies.  He puts in the work to create these narrow edges over the others guys, and it quite obviously works, at least when combined with near-200 m.p.h. initial ball speed.

 Shane Ryan, in contrast, comes at the phenomenon from a completely different angle, to wit:

For a moment, let’s forget the specifics. Let’s forget the weight and distance gain, the muscle activation fitness regimen, the protein shakes, the single iron length, the putting lasers, and a thousand other things that fall under the umbrella of “science.” Forget it all and think broadly. We

need some distance to understand Bryson DeChambeau’s win at the U.S. Open—the most consequential result for golf since Tiger Woods won the Masters in 1997—and to internalize the only conclusion that really matters: On an intellectual level, nobody else is trying hard enough.

If that sounds like an insult to a group of professionals who have dedicated their lives to becoming elite practitioners of the sport, so be it. DeChambeau is putting them to shame simply because he has the courage not just to seek out innovative ideas, but to pursue them with monomaniacal energy. His commitment is so rigorous, so fanatical, that everyone else comes off looking like a dilettante.

This makes people uncomfortable, fans and players alike, but the ultimate legacy of his astonishing win at Winged Foot—a course that was supposed to be the antithesis to and kryptonite for the DeChambeau Style—is that we can no longer dismiss him as a pretentious pseudoscientist. That comfort is gone, and now we reckon with a reality that forces from the mouths of the doubters the three most painful words imaginable.

He was right.

Shane draws a comparison to Tiger's 1997 Masters coming out party, to which I see both the similarities but also obvious differences.  Here's Shane's road map:

What will the DeChambeau Effect look like? In 15 years, will we watch a new generation of hulked-up bombers chain-guzzle protein shakes, pecs bursting out of their golf shirts, each iron as long as the next, as they analyze complex topographical charts and an assistant clocks the speed of their putts?

The answer is, probably yes. DeChambeau is so full of good ideas that some of them are going to trickle down, particularly if he keeps winning. Whatever Chris Como, his coach, is doing, other coaches will do. Muscle activation technique, which has been a staple in the NFL for years, will become widespread in golf. Barring any major rules change, power will reign even more completely than it did before, and player physiques will reflect it. All of DeChambeau’s good ideas will be copied.

For sure, though those caveats are worth noting.  When Tiger burst onto the scene in 1996-97, he came with this lean, flexible body that seemed perfect for the game.  His swing would never be characterized as effortless or silky smooth like a Fred Couples, but it was far more pleasing to the eye than Bryson's.  Add that to potential health concerns from the added muscle mass and a prickly, overly-entitled personality (Bryson, it's always special when you speak of your brand), it will indeed be interesting to see how this evolves.  

But, as Shane makes clear, what Bryson is doing seems to be working:

The nice thing about athletic innovation is that the results are measurable. DeChambeau’s physical transformation attracts the bulk of public attention, and puts the focus on his drives (which are spectacular). Did it work? Well, in the 2020 season, he finished first in strokes gained/off the tee. That’s compared to 24th, 12th, and 35th in prior years. It worked.

His putting game deserves its own feature-length article, but you can get a small taste from this quote: “If I hit a 40-footer and it says 10.1 miles per hour on the device, I know that I’ve executed it correctly. And if I see the ball go two feet past that 40-foot mark, I know it’s perfect.” So it involves radar and arm locks and lasers and men holding towels when necessary. Did it work? In 2020, he finished 10th in sg/putting, compared to 28th, 32nd and a woeful 145th in prior years. It worked.

The weakest part of his game has obviously been his wedge game, attributed to longer shafts in his single length sets.  But, as I've noted previously, it's not like he won't address that weakness:

Today, his approach game is relatively poor (119th by the strokes gained metric last season), but you can bet he’ll find a way to improve that, too, and if his performance from the thick grass at Winged Foot is any indication, he’s on his way. “I don’t think they can set it up for him, to be honest,” Louis Oosthuizen said on Sunday, “he’s so strong out of the rough.” In fact, DeChambeau was first in the entire field at Winged Foot in strokes gained/approach, accumulating a massive 7.551 strokes in four rounds. It’s working.

Shane uses Rory McIlroy, specifically his deer-in-the-headlights comments after the Open, as framing device, and it's an apt one.  To me, Bryson is the anti-Rory, with a relentless drive to improve that will inevitably leave the Rory's in his wake.  Rory is built for comfort, witness the childhood best friend on the bag, whereas Bryson is built for speed, as evidenced by his being the last guy on the range Saturday night in Mamaroneck.   

 In his blogging of the Jonathan Wall item above, Shack had this closing comment:

Again, tip your cap to him. But is this where maybe we begin asking if things are maybe not headed in the right direction?

Well, there is that....Developing, as the kids are wont to say.

Golf's Moment -  The National Golf Foundation has released this analysis of recent trends in our game, some of which we've discussed previously.  Here's a taste:

The August rounds played report shows that rounds were up 20.6% year-over-year.

That sets another record for the biggest increase in a peak season month since Golf Datatech began tracking rounds two decades ago. We’re talking about a lift of roughly 10 million rounds in August alone, which comes on top of a burst of 17 million added rounds in June and July compared to a year ago. It’s been quite a summer for golf.

Which graphically looks thusly:

 But see if you find this comment oddly disconcerting:

But nothing about the past few months seems structurally different for golf, whether with the product itself, the service that supports it, or the overall user experience … unless you count extended tee time intervals, which for a time seemed to produce faster, smoother and more enjoyable rounds. Either way, we weren’t suddenly marketing ourselves differently, onboarding new players differently, or managing customer relationships differently. (In fact, remote check-in procedures may have made it more impersonal.)

Excuse me, but are you folks aware that we've been locked down since March, virtually all other forms of entertainment and/or amusement have been shut down and no one is allowed to go to their office?  I mean, you should be, as I'm pretty sure it's made the newspapers... 

So, yes, nothing changed structurally within our game...  It's just that the rest of the world shut down and stayed closed.  Is that your strategy for the future?

When Bad Things Happen... - Tony Finau has always seemed a good guy, but of course this story is troubling:

Utah professional golfer Tony Finau is being sued by Molonai Hola, a former business associate, for more than $16 million.

The suit, which was filed last week in 3rd District Court, claims Hola paid Finau and his family’s expenses for several years with the agreement of being paid back, but was never compensated.

Hola became acquainted with the Finau family around 1997, and as the owner of Icon Sports began financing expenses for Tony and his younger brother Gipper, according to the suit.

Also named in the lawsuit are Finau’s brother, Gipper, his father, Gary, his agent Christopher Armstrong and the Wasserman Media Group.

Gipper?  I guess they're Ronald Reagan fans.... 

Now the math is a little hard to follow:

The suit claims Hola paid for the Finau family’s mortgage payments, medical insurance, a new car as well as golf-related travel expenses for Tony and Gipper, including living expenses for the Finau family to reside in Florida for approximately a year while they received lessons from renowned golf instructor David Leadbetter.

Later, Hola helped form the Finau Corporation to help promote the young golfers and was designated as the corporation’s registered agent.

The expenses, according to the suit, added up to $592,371.37 over several years.

The suit asks for that amount, plus interest and for compensatory damages of “at least $16 million, plus interest,” which the suit claims represents approximately 20% of the two golfers’ career earnings to date. Hola claims he was promised 20% of the Finaus’ future professional earnings.

Perhaps not so much the math, as that the agreement to reimburse seems to have morphed into an agreement to share 20% of the brother's winnings.  I see no issues with the lawsuit, as long as that agreement regarding the 20% interest was properly documented.  

I know nothing, but I smell extortion.... Stay tuned.

Quick Hits - I need to start my exit segue, so I'll tee up some reading for those that crave more.  First, I suspect this is a competitive category, but we have a new candidate for the best golfer of whom you've never heard:

To reduce his flesh-and-blood life into pitch-meeting shorthand, you could say that Papwa Sewgolum was the Charlie Sifford of South African golf. It’s an inadequate analogy, of course, just as the few words typed here get you barely past the starting line of Papwa’s life. What I know for sure is that I have done an inadequate job, over the years, exploring the lives of Black and brown golfers, female golfers, handicapped golfers — golfers who moved mountains to get to the first tee. This space, both today and tomorrow, will try to address that. For starters, here’s Papwa.

He was born in 1928, nine months before Arnold Palmer, near Durban, the large coastal South African city with an enormous population of Indians, many of whom worked in sugar fields. To say that Indian South Africans in Papwa’s time and place were treated as second-class citizens is a grotesque understatement. Papwa, who could not read, grew up poor and came to the game as a caddie. In his 30s, he won the Dutch Open three times—in 1959, ’60 and ’64. (Seve Ballesteros and Bernhard Langer won it three times each, too.) Papwa’s wins were proof of what he could do, if his skin color did not disqualify him, if he had the money to get to a tournament, if his government would grant him a passport. He played in six British Opens — he finished 13th in 1963 — but no other majors.

 

 Good stuff.  More like this, please.

A little Masters tease?  Don't panic, it won't look like this in August:

Here's the skinny:

But the shot, which made the rounds on social media, is simply the famous golf course’s traditional September look. It’s unnerving, for certain, but not out of the ordinary.

Overseeding is set to begin soon, if it hasn’t already. The grasses take less than a week to surface after the original seed is spread.

As you might expect, summers are steamy in Augusta, with a humid subtropical climate taking its toll on the famed golf course. Although the Bermuda grass can handle the heat, it starts to turn brown in the fall when cooler temperatures set in. For example, low temperatures are expected to get down into the 40s by week’s end.

Around this time each year, Augusta National crews start to put down a rye grass, which returns the course to green — even if it’s not as lavish as in spring. The course is typically closed from May until October while this process plays out.

It’s a different experience, but still a good one, according to those who have walked the fairways in fall.

OK, I guess I'll watch.  Alan Shipnuck has a suggestion for CBS:

This is glorious. https://t.co/Kv53CRUpk4

— Alan Shipnuck (@AlanShipnuck) September 27, 2020

OK, but I'd rather have a blimp and on-course reporters.

Are they twinned?  If not, perhaps they should be...

Pinehurst, St. Andrews connected by more than just history

Give or take a DeChambeau drive, it’s about 3,750 miles from the town of St. Andrews in the Kingdom of Fife to the village of Pinehurst in the sandhills of North Carolina. But what distance separates, golf connects.

St. Andrews and Pinehurst are often mentioned in the same breath as homes of the game in the Old World and the New, respectively, not least because both places don’t just embrace golf but rather seem to have grown organically around its finest canvases.

Pinehurst has long been called the St. Andrews of the new world, a comparison that I find a stretch.   It's a completely wonderful place, don't get me wrong, and quite the golfy town.  It's just never had any formal role in the game, though that may be changing with the latest news from the USGA.  

But I very much agree with Eamon's comments here about No. 2:

When I first visited No. 2 about 15 years ago, much of its strategic charm was buried beneath

sod. Its fairways were wall-to-wall grass, generous enough to land an aircraft without disturbing a pine cone. What little it demanded of players off the tee, it made up for around the famously crowned greens, where someone with a stonemason’s touch might ping-pong hither and yon for some time. To wit: A friend once shot an ignominious round of 121 at No. 2. With one ball!

A long season of change at Pinehurst began a decade ago, when No. 2 was restored by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw. The duo ripped out 35 acres of turf, leaving native areas dotted with grass and scrub that not only returned long-lost playing angles to the old masterpiece but gave it back real character and authenticity too. You’ll still find almost every wayward shot out there – trust me on this – but No. 2’s demands off the tee are considerably more thoughtful and exacting than they once were.

I had exactly the same reaction.  On my first visit, from the tee one saw only a sea of green, unable to distinguish fairway from rough.  Now the course reflects its natural environment, and the lines of play are obvious and visually pleasing.

Of course, according to this guy, lost balls will be a thing of the past:

Sick of losing golf balls? Here are 5 tips to never lose one again

 I'm glad he resisted the temptation to over-promise...

As longtime readers know, I'm not one that thinks professional athletes need to be social justice warriors.  That said, an item like this seems, at best, curious:

Ladies European Tour announces first female pro golf events in Saudi Arabia worth $1.5M

I'm old enough to remember when the men were criticized for playing in Saudi Arabia...  Hard to imagine how anyone can criticize those without cervixes doing business in Saudi...  Well, you can finish my thought.

I'll release you here and see you further down the line.

Weekend Wrap

I'm pleased to report that I had a good weekend.  Was there anything more that I should be covering?  Maybe this?

Here’s everything Hudson Swafford learned when he won, then lost, then won back the Corales Puntacana title

OK, I did tune in for a few minutes of it, when Swafford was throwing up on his shoes.  Glad to see he was able to pull it together, but that's all I have to say on that subject.

The Week That Wasn't - Irony alert. we'll spend far more time covering the event that was supposed to but didn't happen, the Ryder Cup.  From the day the Wuhan Flu hit, your humble blogger assumed that this event would be the first to go.  After all, in a year of dramatically reduced playing opportunities, what kind of self-interested organization would make a priority of an exhibition for twenty-four players?  Unfortunately that question was answered...

Geoff had these comments in his post:

It would have been a somber, fan or partially fan-free Ryder Cup last weekend played under ideal weather conditions. But with Wisconsin reporting 2000 new cases four days in a row and a huge positivity rate as well, combined with the lack of fan access, and it looks like the 2020-In-2021 Ryder Cup looks like a wise postponement to 2021.

While I still think toning down the fan element and other theatrics would have been a good thing, a date the week after the rescheduled U.S. Open was, in hindsight, less than ideal and might have led to a severely diminished event.

 

In a perfect imitation of the current political zeitgeist, I completely agree with Geoff about the benefit of toning down the fans at this event, as long as that can be accomplished at an away game.  Even that's not true, as I worry terribly about the fans at the Bethpage Ryder Cup in 2025.

Our Shack continues to hyperventilate over new cases, a reminder that, after the handful of case at Hartford, he called for the Tour to shut down again.  But the weather is a big factor when they go North in late September, because they have to get the guys around the course twice on Friday-Saturday.  It can be awfully cold and dark for the morning sessions.  You might not instinctively know who that favors, though if you're hoping that Tiger will be on the team you'll likely be limiting Captain Stricker's options.

This week's Tour Confidential panel devoted their exit question to this non-event as well:

6. Sunday would have been the final day of the Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits, which was moved to a year from now due to the coronavirus pandemic. What did you most miss?

Shipnuck: Being right. I have no doubt the young, talented Americans who have been dominating the golf world were going to win to touch off a decade of dominance. Now, who knows how much momentum will be lost over the next year. Alas, Europe even wins the pandemics.

OK, that last bit is good, and we all like funny...  The history here is that Alan had predicted an era of U.S. dominance, which only served to make him the toast of the Euro's victory celebration in 2018.  Not that there was any reason to disagree with his demographic-driven analysis, it's just that our guys have a way of turning into...what was Dottie's felicitous phrase, chokin' freakin' dogs.

There's little doubt that the U.S. team looked far stronger coming into 2020, as after Rahm and Rory the talent falls off quite dramatically (and it's not like Rory has even been that good in this event).  But thier position as overwhelming favorites, added to the need to expunge the bitter taste of 2018, seems unlikely to make our guys play looser.  

Dethier: The crowds. The frenzied Midwestern crowds waking up on a crisp Wisconsin morning, getting out in some hideous star-spangled garb and rooting on their beloved Yanks in a too-close Ryder Cup on a super-fun golf course. Oh, and figuring out if Tiger Woods should be on the team — that would have been a blast of a debate too, no doubt.

Frenzied Midwesterners?   Maybe, but that last bit I find depressing.  Because he shouldn't be on the team, but probably would have been because...well, task force.

Bamberger: The parades of the WAGs. The parade of self-importance, pre, post and during.

I knew there would be a WAG reference, I just didn't see it coming from Mike.

Piastowski: The fans. They made the right call to not go on without them. It’s the event that needs a crowd the most. The one event where you can cheer for your team – and get after the other one.

You can't postpone or defer the 2020 U.S. Open or Masters, because they obviously become the 2021 installment.  The distressing part is how long it took the powers that be to come to the rather obvious conclusion that it's better to simply defer this one.

Sean Zak takes it upon himself to help build anticipation, offering eight reasons that Whistling Straits will prove to be a great Ryder Cup venue.  I'm stubbornly unconvinced, but let's see what he's got, starting with the course set-up:

1. Captain Stricker has already altered the golf course

As many Ryder Cup captains have done and love to do, Steve Stricker has already changed some aspects of Whistling Straits to favor the Americans for next year’s event. Below are the changes as of August:

1. Widened fairway on the par-4 9th
2. Widened fairway on the par-5 11th
3. Rough added around the greens of Nos. 2, 5 and 9, instead of tightly mown areas

Stricker’s goal is obvious with a few of these moves. Open it up a bit more, and let the American brand of ‘Driver Everywhere’ have a little more room. Are these significant changes? Not totally, but it’s definitely a sign of Team USA’s focus when it comes to course setup. After 2018, in which the European team narrowed the fairways at Le Golf National and forced the Americans into playing a throttled-down, precision-focused game, the 2021 setup will likely mirror some aspects of 2016 at Hazeltine. Big ballparks with very graduated rough let the big dogs eat. And we have already seen what that meant at Winged Foot.

Hmmmm... really, Sean?  Because I was reliably informed by a Mr. DeChambeau that, counter-intuitively, narrow fairways actually help the longer hitters.  And since Mr. deChambeau is likely to be an important cog on our team, why are you actively conspiring against him?

3. We’ve never seen Whistling in September

Whistling Straits has been generally adored as a major venue in the three times it has hosted the PGA Championship. But each of those instances took place in early to mid-August. By late September, Wisconsin is a much different place, and Whistling is a different course.

The wind will likely be up and the temperatures will likely be down. BOTH of those are good for Ryder Cups. There’s something special about players rocking beanies on the first tee (which we saw at Hazeltine in 2016), and there’s something really special and proper about Rory McIlroy in a sweater vest bowing to American fans.

Adored?   That DJ fellow seems likely to another important cog on the American team, and I'd guess that his feelings about the place are, shall we say, more complicated?

Strangely, Sean adds this to the above:

Temperature highs in the last week of September can be anywhere from the mid-50s to the mid-70s. The ball could soar, or the course could play brutally long in the cold. Could it snow? Yes, it could! Winds whipping off Lake Michigan will make those lakeside par 3s (Nos. 3, 7, 12, 17) some of the best golf theater we’ll get all year long.

Easy there, Sean, you'll give them the idea to take this event to Dove Mountain...

I have terribly mixed feelings about this venue, but I also have little sense of how it will work in match play.  Then again, we have a year to ponder that.

One last RC bit, this in which Ryan Herrington recounts the fourteen seminal moments in the event's history.  Some of it might surprise, but it also includes another fun typo you'll enjoy.  I think most Americans instinctively assume American dominance until Seve burst on the scene, though the reality is slightly more complicated:

1935: U.S. begins its dominance

Lost to history is the fact that the early years of the Ryder Cup were highly competitive, the two sides splitting the first four matches, each winning at home. But that would change starting in 1935 at New Jersey’s Ridgewood Country Club. British captain Charles Whitcombe, playing with his brothers Ernest and Reg, were no match for a squad consisting of Hagen, Gene Sarazen, Horton Smith and Craig Wood, among others. The Americans won 9-3 and would begin a run of seven straight matches in which they would get the best of the Brits.

Three brothers Reg, Ernest and Charles Whitcombe all competed on the 1935 Ryder Cup team for the U.S.

Interesting history of the event's resurrection after WWII, the addition of continental Europe and the emerging European juggernaut.  But do you remember how, in the preview of Winged Foot, we had fun with Geoff's description (no doubt auto-correct gone awry) of that house behind the 3rd green as "goyish"?  See if you enjoy this one as much:

1991: The War by the Shore

Revisionist history likes to say that the Ryder Cup had been the gentile affair of “The Concession” up until the 1980s, despite the numerous instances of contentiousness that dotted the match throughout its history. But the 1991 edition at Kiawah Island indeed had a different feel, egged on by the fact that the Americans were in the midst of their longest stretch without winning the Cup. A raucous and partisan crowd amped up the atmosphere at the Ocean Course. Combined with just how close the competition was, it created the most highly charged atmosphere in memory. Famously, it all came down to the final match between Hale Irwin and Bernhard Langer, then down to a Langer putt on the 18th hole. Make and the Euros win again. Miss, and the Americans prevail. You didn’t need to watch to know what happened. The sound of the roof coming off the Ocean Course gave it away.

The problem with gentile affairs is that the food usually sucks...  Of course, there's always plenty of booze to dull the taste buds.

 

Don't Know Much About History - Can anyone tell me the origins of golf?  Anyone?  Bueller?

It's a trick question, the answer to which happens to be "no":

Golf Questions You’re Afraid to Ask: Who invented golf, and how did it become so popular?

According to Lagle, there is still quite a bit of debate among historians as to the origins of golf, but there is no doubt that the Scots cultivated the foundations of the modern game.

“Early ball and stick games can be traced back to the 13th century,” Lagle told me. “Not only were these games being played in Europe, but they were also being played in Asia and parts of Africa as well. There were even ball and stick games that can be traced back to China in the 11th century, which is pretty incredible.” But Scotland kept the precursor to the modern game alive, and they were really the ones that ushered it into this present form, which emerged in the 15th century.”

Golfers in St. Andrews in 1798.

 One more excerpt:

So, when did golf become really big?

It wasn’t until the 19th century that golf began to expand in popularity. Its growth, in large part, was due to the Industrial Revolution; the creation and development of the Scottish railway system allowed for English tourists to take the train to Scotland for golf trips and holidays.

Historians believe that early versions of golf — such as the aforementioned ball and stick games and early Dutch precursors to golf— arose in America between 1650 and 1660 in upstate New York. These early versions of the game began to rise in prevalence and popularity closer to the 1770’s in British and Scottish communities in New York City, the Carolinas, in towns such as Pinehurst, and Charleston, and Savannah, Georgia, all of which had golf clubs and active golfing communities. Documents from ship manifests at the time include quantities of golf clubs and balls being shipped from Europe to the United States.

This popularity of the game died down around the War of 1812, but made its final, major resurgence in America in the 1880’s. By December of 1894, the United States Golf Association was established, and by 1895, the U.S. Open, the U.S. Amateur, and the U.S. Women’s Amateur golf tournaments were first contested.

That last paragraph should include the name Charles Blair Macdonald, though we'll leave that for another time.

Quick Hits - I'm eyeing the exit, but a couple of fun items on the way.  First, this video of a ball spinning on a green from Titelist is oddly capticating:

🔄🔄🔄#ProvingIt #1ballingolf pic.twitter.com/wIiw7eOS3P

— Titleist Europe (@TitleistEurope) September 15, 2020

Really, I can stop watching it any time I want to....

The Irish Open was played last week, though at an inland course that wasn't terribly interesting.  Unlike events in the U.S., there seems to have been no impediment to the presence of fans:

 Of course, Geoff posted it under this header:

Mooooo! Irish Open's Only Spectators Resist Social Distancing, Masks

I'm pretty sure he's making a little joke, though his prior hysteria over positive tests leaves me uncertain.

Lastly, since golf is having its moment in the sun, it's the perfect time for a it to show up on Jeopardy, this being the Final Jeopardy clue:

The question? On Forbes’ 2020 list of the 100 highest-paid athletes, at age 50 this active individual sportsman is the oldest.

 Already we have an issue, because that's the answer, the contestants give the question (hence my use of the carefully chosen "clue").  The individual involved took it reasonably well:

Just when I think I’ve arrived ( I was the answer to tonight’s final Jeopardy question) I realize I still have a ways to go (they all got it wrong ):

— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) September 26, 2020

One contestant did get his first name, and in the golf world all one needs is that first name...  But these guys are sticklers for details.

It's unrelated to golf, but earlier in the show there was what to me (Employee No. 2, as well) the single funniest answer (OK, question) I have ever heard.  Of course, your mileage may vary.

We're in the Jeopardy round, and the category is "Guys Named Doug".  The clue is as follows:

Douglass Ginsburg's nomination for this post went up in smoke in 1987 when reports of drug use came out.

The response that had us rolling on the floor?  What is the Pope.

This is funny on any number of levels, obviously beginning with the obvious ethnic origins of the name Ginsburg.  I found this message board that had all sorts of fun with it, including a couple of slants that I didn't see, fort instance this:

And God forbid you try to fill a vacancy in an election year...

And while I was laughing at the confluence of the obviously-Jewish name and the equally-obvious job to which Jews need not apply, this guy has more game than your humble blogger:

Is it true that we've never had a Pope Doug?  

I'll see you good folks tomorrow.

Late-Week Laments

 It's a slow week in our game, since this was initially intended to be Ryder Cup week.  I'll throw a few quick items at you, though the astute among you will quickly discern that my heart isn't in it.

ZoZo Rising - To the surprise of no one, Tiger will peg it at Sherwood:

Tiger Woods won’t need to travel to Japan to defend his latest title. Woods has officially committed to the 2020 Zozo Championship, which due to travel logistics from the coronavirus pandemic has been moved to Sherwood Country Club in California.

The event is Oct. 22-25, 2020, and it will likely be Woods’ first start following his missed cut at the U.S. Open at Winged Foot.

“It is disappointing that we will not be able to play in Japan this year, but Sherwood Country Club will be a great backdrop for what I know will be a great championship,” Woods said in a release.

An interesting walk down memory lane.  First, because that win in Japan seems like it was a lifetime ago, which mostly reflects upon the annus horribilis of 2020.  But also reminds of how shocking Tiger's great play in Japan was.  Four days of strong play that seemed to come from nowhere...  and, irony alert, nowhere is Tiger's current area code.

The buried lede is that, except for things like Tuesday's exhibition in conjunction with the opening of Payne's Valley, this will be his only event before the Masters.  Problem is, I'm old enough to remember when Tiger would speak of his need to get his reps in....  It's just hard to see him showing up at major after major woefully unprepared.  

The Week That Was Supposed To Be... - Is this supposed to make us feel better?

Ryder Cup reset: How things are shaping up one year from the rescheduled event at Whistling Straits

 Ummmm...slowly? 

When you close your eyes for a moment and let your mind wander, the visions come fairly easily. You can “see” the large grandstand surrounding the first tee and nearby 18th green at Whistling Straits. You can “hear” the cheers and laughter and general raucousness of the full-throated spectators. You can “feel” the excitement that is unique to a Ryder Cup.

Those visions would have come to life on Friday along the shores of Lake Michigan, in what was supposed to be Day 1 of the biennial competition between the United States and Europe. Of course, COVID-19 had other ideas, forcing a one-year postponement of the Ryder Cup.

It’s easy to lament what might have been, particularly when you glance at the weather forecast this weekend for Haven, Wis., and see temperatures in the low 70s and loads of sun. And no doubt there is a bit of a void this week that can’t be replaced by the standard PGA Tour and European Tour stops.

You mean like this?

 Except that it couldn't have been like that, which is really the point of rescheduling it.

The tease includes a look at the rosters as of now, the value of which eludes me because, well, that year.  First, the home team:

1: Dustin Johnson, 10,278.79

2: Bryson Dechambeau, 9,586.86

3: Collin Morikawa, 6,901.81

4: Brooks Koepka, 6,805.27

5: Justin Thomas, 6,293.21

6: Webb Simpson, 6,044.09

As if we didn't know the names.  Of course, it doesn't help much unless you can specify which Brooks Koepka?  If it's the 2020 model year, that's a hard pass.

The list goes as far as fifteenth place, a position occupied by you-know-who.  That could be quite the dilemma for Captain Stricker, but there's little value in discussing that right now.  Obviously Strick will have the benefit seeing how he plays over the next year.  But to lay down a marker, I'll just remind you that Tiger hasn't been all that helpful to Ryder Cup captains of the past, most notably leaving Tom Watson twisting in the wind in the approach to that 2014Cup.  Of course, Strick is one of Tiger's homies, whereas Watson was more of an antagonist, but it will be interesting to see how difficult he makes things if his physical condition and game are in doubt.

As for the Euros, that's always a bit messier:

European Points

1: Tommy Fleetwood

2: Jon Rahm

3: Rory McIlroy

4: Victor Perez

I do so hate to be critical, but I sense a bit of a fall-off from the third to the fourth guy on that list.  I say the Euros are always messier because the two points list involved, so you can click through and dive in to the extent you're interested this far out.

I left a bit of Alan Shipnuck's mailbag unmined yesterday, which included this Ryder Cup Q&A.  Just a reminder that Shippy is the lad that predicted an era of U.S. dominance in this event, which hilariously crashed and burned in Paris:

On paper the next 3 Ryder Cups are ours with the youngins carrying the load. Bryson, Wolff, Morikawa, Xander, Berger, English, Finau, JT, DJ, Cantlay, Webb and Champ. — @MarkHel88720875

Amazing that this list doesn’t include former alpha Koepka, one-time Capt. America Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth, who owns almost as many major championship victories as the dozen players you listed. A big reason why I wrote my infamous column forecasting a decade+ of U.S. Ryder Cup dominance was the awesome young firepower of the Americans, which continues to emerge as the core of the European team (minus Rory) is approaching or have reached their 40s and begun to fade away. (That’s Rose, Stenson, Garcia, Poulter, Molinari and Westwood, for those keeping score at home.)

So, while I love your thinking, we all know that talent alone isn’t enough. The Americans have been consistently out-captained and their chemistry has varied from awkward to combative. Hopefully at least the latter changes with all the fresh faces.

Yes, but they have Victor Perez... But how funny is it that Alan would even mention Jordan Spieth?  I think I have as good a chance of making that squad as our Jordan....

But I view this Ryder Cup as a really scary one for the Americans.  They will come in with a serious fire power advantage and will obviously be the home team...  So, they sorta have to win, don't they?  It's really hard to play loose when you're supposed to win, which pretty much encapsulates Ryder Cup history since Seve burst on the scene.

I'll also throw in this one that tangentially relates:

Do you feel DJ and Bryson have sent a loud and clear message to their BFF Brooksie? — @BobbyTeeitup

And how! I’m all for a little trash-talking, but maybe Koepka shouldn’t have poked the bears during the worst season of his career. There’s no arguing with Brooks’ success in the major championships, but while his body breaks down both Dustin and Bryson remain week-in-and-week-out forces, another reminder that even in the best of times Koepka has never summoned that level of sustained intensity.

Four majors will get Brooks a spot in the Hall of Fame, but would Dustin trade all his wins and loot for what Koepka has achieved? I’m not so sure. And who is likely to achieve more over the next decade, Brooks or Bryson? My vote goes to the guy with the maniacal work ethic and insatiable obsession with improvement.

I do agree that DJ sent a message, but there may be some disagreement as to the underlying message.  The way I see it, Brooksie called out his buddy DJ on Saturday night and DJ did what DJ does, win gaggles of Tour events but create new and exciting ways to cough up majors... I'm thinking that Brooks got that one right.  Bryson, of course, is a different matter entirely...

More Bryson - I know, why ruin a perfectly good weekend?  Just a couple of bits, and then I'll bid you adieu.  First up is one via Shack that addresses that elephant there in the corner.  As you know, I've been a skeptic on golfers bulking up since Tiger did so.  Like Many, I worry about the long-term health effects and point to the stress injuries of Tiger and Rory.  But Tiger and Rory were already insanely long and never spoke of bulking up as a way to get longer.  That's where Bryson changes the dialog.

Geoff has this long post up about the children:

Do We Really Want Young Golfers To "Pull A Bryson"?

In the post he links to this August profile in the L.A. Times of 16-year old Lincoln Melcher:

When on-campus classes stopped in March, golf courses also closed, leaving the then-sophomore scrambling. His mother bought him a target to practice his chipping in the backyard. He tried hitting off a mat, but that doesn’t help for real golf. He went for runs, rode a bike and worked on building his strength while trying to keep his slender 6-foot-1, 145-pound body in shape. He can drive a ball 280 yards but says he’s been “eating a lot.”

He and his golf friends have been talking nonstop this summer about PGA sensation Bryson DeChambeau, who gained 40 pounds and has been hitting balls beyond 400 yards.

“That’s who we’re chasing in the fitness world,” he said.

Long drives with friends this summer produced, “You pulled a Bryson.”

 Troubling indeed.  Not that I have any answers...

For those contemplating the confluence of Bryson and Augusta National, Ryan Lavner takes us hole-by-hole as to what that might entail.  here's his intro:

Bryson DeChambeau’s U.S. Open victory was less than an hour old, his celebratory glass of chocolate milk still cold, when he was asked about game-planning for the Masters.

“Length is going to be a big advantage there,” he said. “I know that for a fact.”

So he got straight to work – with the trophy in tow, DeChambeau flew to Denver on Monday to meet with fitness coach Greg Roskopf and begin outlining the next phase of his evolution.

Less than a year after transforming his body to add more than 40 pounds of muscle and gain 20-plus yards of distance, DeChambeau was the only player under par at mighty Winged Foot and won by six shots for his first major title. But as always with DeChambeau, it’s about what’s next – more strength, more length, more speed. Asked late Sunday how he’ll prep for Augusta National, he said he’ll begin testing a new 48-inch driver, the maximum length allowed under the Rules of Golf. He already has the highest apex height (140 feet) and longest carry distance (314.1 yards) on Tour, but if his driver is dialed in properly, that’ll bring him even closer to the holy grail, which to him is a ball speed consistently in the 200-mph range.

Distance is always an advantage, and should be.  But at ANGC, it's a little more complicated.  The nature of the course lead us to conclude that distance is a greater advantage there, but reality then intrude.  For instance, the course was famously lengthened and tightened in advance of the 2003 event, Tiger-proofed in the parlance, which resulted in a Mike Weir-Len Mattiace playoff.  

In any event, here's just one take:

SECOND HOLE, 575 YARDS

Pro’s take: “Full Kraken. Aim at the left edge of the right bunker and let it eat. He’s gonna wail on that thing. And when he does, he’s going to have anywhere from 6- to 8-iron in. He also has all that room through the fairway, toward the third hole. If the flag is way over on the left, he can hit it dead straight over the bunker, maybe with a tailing draw, and give himself a phenomenal angle.”

Yanno, we could save some time if we just focused on those holes where he doesn't go full-Kraken.

Lastly, Gary Van Sickle uses the U.S. Open as a frame to argues for rules changes.  But it's Harris English that has him exorcised, not the Kraken:

The three-minute warning: It was only a matter of time before the U.S. Golf Association got bit in the rear by the worst rules change of last year. I liked most of the group’s forward-thinking changes, especially the one about leaving the pin in while putting, but it made no sense to reduce the amount of time to find a lost ball from five minutes to three minutes under Rule 18.2.

Obviously, some desk warden did the math and figured, Hey, I know how to knock two minutes off a round of golf for every lost ball! Except that’s not how it works in the real world.

We saw the reality when Harris English teed off in the U.S. Open’s final round at Winged Foot, bailed one into the rough on his opening drive and didn’t find the ball within three minutes, even with help from fellow players, caddies and volunteers. The USGA’s John Bodenhamer had assured players that there would be plenty of marshals stationed at all of the key landing areas so lost balls wouldn’t be a problem. Had spectators been allowed onsite, the ball almost surely would have been found. Ditto if the marshals on the opening hole had done their jobs. But English trudged back to the tee to reload and made a double bogey.

I continue to believe that those rules changes indicate something profoundly troubling about our governing bodies' understanding of the nature of our game and its participants.  Like Gary, I couldn't understand the fuss over two minutes, though I was more focused on the severity of the penalty.  

Gary goes further, explaining how even that two-minutes savings in pace-of-play isn't real, because of the time involved in the walk of shame, as well as the fact that it will induce players to hit more provisionals, which itself tales time.  Were I a man prone to cynicism, I might be inclined towards the opinion that the USGA and R&A were more interested in giving the appearance of tackling pace-of-play, as opposed to actually addressing the issue...  

Gary interestingly also has criticism for the rule change allowing the tamping down of spike marks and other imperfections on greens.  Not sure I but his arguments here, though it's moot because even he acknowledges that this genie will never see the inside of a bottle again.

On that note I shall make a dignified exit and wish you an enjoyable weekend.  

Thursday Themes

Lots to cover, so consider putting on another pot of coffee.  We'll have some further thoughts on Bryson, but there's actual news to get to first.

Wither Mike Davis - The longtime CEO of the USGA will be moving on:

The course set-up man is changing course.

Mike Davis, a 30-year employee of the United States Golf Association who became the

organization’s first CEO in 2016 and who for more than a decade oversaw course setups at the U.S. Open, will leave the governing body by the end of 2021.

The news came Tuesday in a prepared statement from the USGA, which said that Davis will be shifting gears to work in golf course architecture as a partner with Tom Fazio II, Tom Fazio’s nephew, in a firm the two have formed, Fazio & Davis Golf Design.

Mike has been a fixture in the golf firmament for those thirty years, and has been the Far Hills jefe since 2011.  What do we make of that tenure?

During his tenure as top dog in Far Hills, Davis was credited with beefing up the USGA’s financial muscle by cultivating stronger corporate relationships, most notably through the inking, in 2013, of a $1.2 billion deal with Fox Sports (a deal that ended prematurely earlier this year, with NBC stepping back in as the USGA’s lead broadcast partner). He was also recognized for introducing welcome changes to U.S. Open setups, such as graduated rough and drivable par-4s.

So, you're a writer for a major golf publication, charged with capturing the man's 30-year career at the game's governing body, and you lead with his accomplishments in adding zeros to the organization's bank accounts?  I don't think your notoriously snarky yet humbler blogger could come up with a more passive-aggressive criticism than that.

Even worse, Davis played a curiously passive role in that, as per this from Ron Sirak's seminal article on that TV rights award:

After Wasserman was hired, the USGA's Carlson, who had done TV talks for 23 years, was no longer being invited to meetings. What was clear was that the two "golf people" on the USGA's Gang of Five—Davis and O'Toole—played the smallest roles in the talks, which were handled by the three "corporate people"—Nager, Hirshland and Stevenson.

 And is a fatter bank account at the USGA a good thing?  Presumably, though I find the organization increasingly irrelevant.

So, how should we we view Mike's tenure?  Let's briefly sort through his major accomplishments.  He first became a fixture in conjunction with those U.S. Open set-ups:

Before taking over as executive director, Davis served as the head of course setup for the U.S. Open starting in 2006. He was praised for his introduction of graduated rough, drivable par 4s and use of multiple teeing grounds to challenge players to take a more conceptual approach with how to play holes.

The significance of 2006 being mostly that it came after 2004, when the organization famously lost the seventh green at Shinnecock.  Losing greens happens, but it's awkward when it happens on Fathers Day on national TV.

Those Tom Meeks-era U.S. Open set-ups were simply dreadful, and I found Davis a wonderful breath of fresh air.  As much as I embraced half-par holes and graduated rough, the real world affect of such initiatives was a yawn.  I remember the attempt to turn the 14th at Torrey into a drivable Par-4, which mostly just created an awkward golf hole.

But, of course, then we come to those venue selections:

In subsequent years, however, players called into question setups at Chambers Bay in 2015, Erin Hills in 2017 and Shinnecock Hills in 2018, and Davis handed over those duties to John Bodenhamer in 2019. There was also the frustrating handling of a rules issue involving eventual winner Dustin Johnson at Oakmont in 2016 that caused Davis and the USGA to receive condemnation.

OK, apples and oranges.   To me, Chambers and Erin Hills weren't set-up issues, it was far more existential.  What made those look like U.S. Open venues to Mike?  Chambers was a weather-related disaster, but I never quite understood the logic of a links as a U.S. Open venue.  We already have one of those (except, ironically, in 2020), and a links seems a curious choice for America's national championship.

Others will cite the rewrite of the rules of golf and the world handicap system as major accomplishments, which merely elicits another yawn.  On the rules I continue to bitterly cling to words like "hazard" and "all-square", which I deem a more important issue than might seem immediately apparent.  That we would dumb-down the rules and vernacular of our game seems an admission of a failing in our sport, a rather curious admission from the guy in charge.

Others cite this step:

Also during Davis’ tenure, the USGA, along with the R&A, adopted a rule change that prohibits anchoring a club while making a stroke.

Yes, for sure.  But at best this was done 15-20 years too late...  

But now comes the defining issue of Mike's tenure:

And, more recently, again in partnership with the R&A, the USGA initiated the Distance Insights Project, a comprehensive study on the impact of distance in golf that was released earlier this year. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the governing bodies have delayed the next phase of the project—specific topics of further research. That delay, Davis said, likely means that decisions based on the study might come after he has departed.

First, at the risk of stating the obvious, there is a direct link between distance and USGA set-up issues at Shinny and Oakmont.  Green speeds have become the principle defense of USGA venues, and balls don't remain stationary for long on glass surfaces.  

To me, the USGA had its head in the sand for far too long on this issue.  Prior to the most recent report, they gave the appearance to this observer of actively understating the effects of distance.  And while that most recent Distance Insights Report at least featured a welcome change of tone, the timeline for action lacked any sense of urgency.  Just as with the anchoring ban above...

The timeline also seems awkward, as a game in need of leadership will, for the next year+, be led by a lame duck.  With a segue into the design business, is Mike prepared to take on entrenched interests?  Of course, we sensed that with the deferral of follow-up due to the pandemic, so it's a dog-bites -man story.

I'm left with a profound sense of disappointment at Mike's tenure.  And it's hard to imagine a successor having the mandate (even assuming a recognition of the need) to take on this issue, so why even issue another report?

Danny Boy - A couple of follow-ups to that Danny lee story.  First and foremost, Lee has apologized:

“I apologize for my poor actions at U.S. Open last week,” the statement read. “It was very unprofessional and foolish. obviously hurt lots of my fans and followers and my sponsors out there... my frustration took over me and combined with injury I had to fight with it for all week.

“Still it’s just an excuse. I shouldn’t left like that... and also like to apologize to USGA they did Tremendous job last week at Winged Foot. On the course and off the course. Now I'm going to take some time off and think about what I did and starting next time I’ll show up as a better person and have better sportsmanship. Thank you.”

Lee has always seemed to me a delightfully-goofy kind of guy, so I'm glad to see him step up and take responsibility.  I'm also glad to see an apology that wasn't obviously written by a PR hack.  Obviously we can't know what's in Danny's head and heart, but this at least feels genuine.

That it took three days?  

But this is maybe the funniest riff on the incident:

5 things you can learn from Danny Lee’s six-putt meltdown

Ummm, there's really just the one....  But it's a biggie.

A Niche Sport - As you know, I've long been a sceptic about all those golf-in-its-death-throes stories that we see with regularity.  I typically react to those by reminding folks of the game's timeless appeal and that fact that said appeal has translated to generation after generation.

On this subject we have two interesting stories... Well, the stories themselves aren't all that interesting, the interest comes from the fact that they seem to point in opposite directions.  First, via Shack, this on golf's moment:

Kissimmee, FL., September 21, 2020 … On the heels of the U.S. Open, golf’s second major of 2020, Golf Datatech, LLC, the golf industry’s leading independent market research firm for retail sales, consumer and trade trends, has announced that U.S. retail golf equipment sales for August 2020 were up nearly 32% over the same period in 2019, exceeding the previous all-time high August (2006), by 15%.

In total, U.S. golf retail equipment sales for August 2020 were $331 million, compared to August 2019, which were $251 million, and the previous record year of August 2006, which were $287 million. Additionally, five equipment categories, set all-time records for August: balls, irons, wedges, bags and gloves. Overall, golf bags were the best performing equipment category in August, up 55% vs. August 2019, while YTD bag sales are up 5%.

The last time we had hard goods data, the oddity was the relatively slow growth in ball sales.  Given the insane number of rounds being played, I couldn't understand why the consumable category wasn't similarly exploding.  I guess we can deem that statistical noise.

But, while golf is having its moment, it still remains a niche sport:

The rescheduled 2020 U.S. Open provides a rare, and (hopefully) one-off look into what happens when a major championship moves to the fall against the NFL.

The numbers, courtesy of ShowBuzzDaily.com’s Mitch Metcalf, saw Sunday’s final round earn a 1.99 overnight rating, on par with the better “Return to Golf” events but easily a record U.S. Open low.

The previous benchmark for a U.S. Open final round came in 2014 when Martin Kaymer’s runaway win earned a 3.0 on NBC. However, that event was not going up against top-flight NFL matchups on CBS and Fox, where this year’s tournament was crushed by two dynamite games: Cowboys vs. Falcons and Chiefs vs. Chargers.

Against less competition Saturday, the 8-hour third round telecast averaged a 1.92, or 542,000 viewers in the only age group that purportedly shops.

 NBC’s weekday coverage drew more decently, with a 1.33 Thursday and a 1.51 Friday.

Golf Channel’s first-year televising U.S. Open action appears have established record overnight lows which will almost certainly improve in 2021 when the event returns to June and a west coast venue.

 

Those numbers are little more than rounding errors...

So, our game isn't dying, though perhaps it should see someone about that persistent cough...

Further Reflections On Bryson - It's fun to watch folks struggling to understand what they saw and what it all means.  Shall we sample some?  First, Tim Dahlberg at the AP:

The USGA and R&A are so concerned about the impact of long hitting on the game that they issued a report earlier this year that said, in part, that advances in distance off the tee were threatening to ``undermine the core principle that the challenge of golf is about needing to demonstrate a broad range of skills to be successful.’’

Now they may have to update that report. It was done before DeChambeau added 40 pounds during the pandemic break and began swinging at every tee shot like Barry Bonds used to swing at baseballs.

It was impressive to some, worrying to others. The fact is, golf has always evolved, from the days of hickory shafted clubs and gutta percha balls to today’s big headed drivers and balls that fly far and stop fast. But the beatdown DeChambeau gave Winged Foot this week might have been a tipping point in the debate over just how far the evolution of the game is allowed to go.

They are updating that report, it's just they're not in any hurry.  This as well, capturing the architectural challenge:

The first was that this was a dominant performance and his final round one to remember.

The second is teachers all over the world will be telling kids who watched on television and dream one day of winning a great championship that they had better learn to hit the ball 330 yards through the air, because there is nothing surer than that’s what the next generation will routinely be playing against.

Ultimately, though, watching DeChambeau with a driver in his hand is no more thrilling than watching Nicklaus, Daly, Woods or, indeed Bobby Jones, drive the ball.

Indeed, his biggest influence on the game is not likely to be his driver; but his understanding of data, statistics, probabilities and how they relate to strategy and the best shot to play.

The key for architects is to work out how best to disrupt the data without resorting to trickery – because this week the winner showed trickery in the form of narrow fairways and long grass can be defeated by power.

Mike, what else do you have in your bag of tricks?  let me know how it all worls out.

Alistair Tait points in the same direction as my thoughts take me:

That rumbling noise in the skies above Winged Foot was Old Tom Morris turning in his grave at what DeChambeau could potentially do to his beloved Old Course at St Andrews two years from now.

Let’s just put that in perspective. There were six par fours under 400 yards for the 2015 Open Championship at St Andrew: 375 yards for the 1st – thank goodness for the Swilcan Burn!; 398 yards for the third; 371 at the seventh; the 10th measured 386 yards; 348 yards at 12; and the 365-yard 18th.

Jack Nicklaus drew gasps when he drove the 18th green in the 1970 Open Championship. DeChambeau and co can probably hit 3 woods to carry the Valley of Sin in ideal conditions.

Do you think the R&A might be hoping for four days of strong winds for the 2021 Open Championship?

 Yeah, 2021 is now 2022....  Giving Bryson another year further beef up.  

Some smart guy made the pint recently that Augusta can always be defended, it's the Old Course that's at risk.  I'm not as sanguine as he on the former (commentary thereon is at hand), but the latter is quite true.

Before we segue to Augusta, one more bit from Padraig Harrington:

“With the capabilities at the moment, I would say Bryson is swinging at about, if you compare it to 100 metres, he’d be running at 12 seconds. The human capability, he’s running 100 metres at about 12 seconds at the moment, so he’s still got another 20 per cent more in the tank in terms of human capabilities for other players to come along.

Bryson is just the current symptom....  Remember, evolutionary vs. Revolutionary.  Then again, if you're put off by Bryson adding forty pounds, you might want to skip this excerpt:

“I actually think the biggest change could come in women’s golf. You’re going to get a woman out there playing well into the mid-170s ball speed and would be competitive on the men’s tour.”

 I don't actually think he's right with that last bit, but it's good to know things can still get worse.

From here I'll segue into the latest Ask Alan mailbag feature, just to leave on a more amusing note.  Here's the signature query:

Alan, with one major under his belt, will this performance propel Bryson to overpower the field at The Masters 2020? — @forearmshivers

 I’ve been thinking a lot about how Bryson will play Augusta National. Of course, it depends on the weather and wind, and he has to execute, but it’s easy to imagine him having wedges into 1, 7, 9, 10, 13, 14, 17, and 18. And he can drive it onto the green at number 3. On the par-5 2nd and 15th holes he might have at most a 9-iron in, and he’ll get home on 8, too. Short-irons on three par-3s: 6, 12 and 16. If he’s driving it well the only long clubs he’ll have to hit all day are on 4 and the second shot into 8. Yowza!

Certainly this applies to a few other bombers like Matt Wolff, Cam Champ, and Bubba, but Bryson has shown himself to be the most ruthlessly efficient at executing this overpowering style of play. Sad to say that Augusta National has become laughably short for the modern game. Of course, every other course on the planet has, too.

Just a reminder that Bryson was seventh in driving distance at Winged Foot.  He's long, but so are they all... Of course, he's not done:

Bryson DeChambeau says that prior to the Masters he aims to put on another 10lbs and might be using a 48 inch driver on the hallowed turf at Augusta National. How might Fred Ridley respond to this in terms of the way in which the course is set up, do you think? — @TheGolfDivoTee

No doubt the Sub-Air will be humming. Firm greens remain the best defense, and especially at Augusta National. But it’s an outdoor game and if there’s rain — a distinct possibility in November — there is only so much that can be done to dry out the course. The green jackets could go full on USGA-at-Merion and concoct a series of ridiculous pin placements, but Ridley is a purist and he doesn’t want a bunch of goofy four-putts in a futile attempt to protect par. The best thing Augusta National could do is shave down the ill-conceived rough so drives run into trouble instead of being stopped short of the trees and water hazards.

Alan certainly knows the joint better than I, but color me skeptical on that last bit.  The takeaway from Winged Foot is that rough no longer carries a sufficient penalty, so the solution is less rough?  I mean, yes but no...

Augusta's defenses are quite different, and I'm not advocating 5" rough there.  But if you shave those areas down to fairway height, you lose the challenges of controlling the golf ball with that little bit of grass on the face.  Isn't that all we have at this point?

I'm old enough to remember when Augusta National was our last, best chance:

If boom and bang succeeds next month is there an Augusta Tournament Ball for 2021? “We look forward to welcoming you to Augusta National and here’s your ball supply for the week” — @TimAggettsport

I sincerely hope not. That’d be like raising the rims to 11 feet just for the NBA Finals. Players spend years/decades perfecting their games and equipment, and now they have to change everything at the most important tournament of the year? That would be tacky. The green jackets don’t want anything that might besmirch their tournament and the debate/complaining about a dumbed-down ball would overshadow the Masters itself.

It's a bit much to expect from a club, even this particular club.  

Who and what can stop Bryson? — @Swingtheclubken

Obviously there is concern about how Bryson’s body will hold up in the long term — his Achilles tendons and knees and elbows and the discs in his back and neck are suddenly dealing with a lot more weight and torque. But as for other distractions, I don’t see it. Last year, when I was hanging out with Bryson for a GOLF Magazine cover story, I asked about his then-girlfriend. He said they had recently broken up. When they were hanging out she’d catch him staring off to space and would ask, ‘Honey, what are you thinking about?’ The answer was always the same: golf.

Which is spot on with this timeless Dan Jenkins' comment:

"Only two things can stop Tiger — injury or a bad marriage."

Well, Tiger has gone two-for-two, though Alan throws cold water on one of those as relates to Bryson.

I shall leave you here.  I've got more from Alan's mailbag, as well as some udder stuff quarantined for tomorrow.