Friday, April 16, 2021

Late-Week Lamentations

 Well, we did have that one nice day on Wednesday... I think Blossom Dearie said it best:

They say it's spring
This feeling light as a feather
They say this thing
This magic we share together
Came with the weather too

Will it leave with the weather as well?  More importantly, will that be soon?  Not according to accu-weather, which informs me to keep those shorts in deep storage for a few weeks yet.

Shall we move on to our regularly scheduled programming?

Masters Scat -  The official party line is that Matsuyama's Augusta glory will propel a golf boom in Japan.  Fair enough, I assume, with the only quibble being that it's hard to imagine Japan being any more golf crazy than it was on April 7, 2021, a premise this Mike Stachura profile seems to confirm:

Japan may comfortably stand as the world’s second largest golf market, accounting for a fifth of the global golf business all by itself, but it is long removed from the country’s golf boom of the late 1980s and ’90s. With the last decade seeing flat revenues and declining play and players, Matsuyama’s win is an opportunity to inject new life in a nation that has been waiting for a golf moment like this for more than half a century.

“We could only dream of something like this,” said Andy Yamanaka, secretary-general of the Japan Golf Association. “Honestly, who could have even imagined it? It’s more than a dream, really. I can’t find the words to explain it. Maybe it can be like 1957 again, our first golf boom.”

That year, the Canada Cup (the precursor of the World Cup) was held in Japan and the Japanese team of Torakichi “Pete” Nakamura and Koichi Ono won the title by nine shots over Sam Snead and Jimmy Demaret. Nakamura won the individual title by seven shots. That performance begat the lineage of golfers that started with Isao Aoki and Tommy Nakajima in the 1970s, to the Ozaki brothers (Jumbo, Joe and Jet) of the 1980s and ’90s to Shigeki Maruyama, Shingo Katayama and Ryo Ishikawa in the 21st century. That wave of golf’s popularity in Japan included the country’s first major champion in Chako Higuchi, who won the LPGA Championship in 1977.

But I'm sure the reaction was prudent and measured:

Matsuyama’s victory already is bigger than all of that, though, because while Japan was a burgeoning golf country back then, it now finds itself trying to figure a new way forward with new momentum. More than half of the country’s televisions were watching the 29-year-old pull out the Masters victory at 8 o’clock on a Monday morning. The country’s national alert system, usually reserved for natural disasters and other emergencies, sent out a notice of congratulations the minute Matsuyama holed the final putt. Special extra (print!) editions of newspapers announced his win. His Sunday Srixon hat was sold out by noon and a story published in Japan says the company has sold out of its stock of the ball he played that it had made with the Masters logo. TV commentators already are calling for Matsuyama to receive a People's Honour Award, which is traditionally bestowed by the prime minister for national figures in sports, acting and music but never before to a golfer.

So that national alert system covers everything from Fukushima to Matsuyama.... Got it.

That newspaper coverage included this seemingly tedious rendering of each of Hideki's 72 holes:


Geoff has the historian's perspective here, likening it to coverage of one of Bobby Jones' U.S. Open wins:

Golf Illustrated printed hole-by-holes from a few of Jones biggest wins using aerial images from the day. (Which later came in handy for restoring places like Winged Foot). This is holes 13-18 of Jones’ 1929 U.S. Open playoff win over Al Espinosa:


Hmmmm... On No. 18, Espinosa seems to have taken the Phil line.... Of course, that was a playoff he lost by 23! strokes (36 holes), so I'm sure that he had long since lost his will to live.

Comparing the national hero to Bobby Jones is a no brainer, but this seems more problematic:

Gaughwin compared Matsuyama’s potential impact to what Greg Norman did for Australian golf in the 1980s, and what another Japanese player did for the country in the early 2000s.

"For" vs. "To".... You make the call.  I'll just take comfort in the fact that as he approaches senescence, Hideki seems the guy least likely to develop a need to show off his naked torso...  So, we've got that going for us.

 It does seem that golf has been in the doldrums in Japan for a while:

Japan has half of Asia’s golf courses, but the country that was famous for recreational golfers lugging their clubs on subways and trains and wearing out the more than 3,000 driving ranges has suffered through the economic bubble bursting in the 1990s and a struggling economy ever since that no longer consistently supports private clubs and their long ago $400,000 initiation fees. The demographics were a concern, said Japanese golf great and World Golf Hall of Famer Isao Aoki. Speaking to the National Golf Foundation’s Golf Business Symposium in 2019, he pinpointed an issue that’s no stranger to golf in the U.S. either.

“The serious problem is the aging golf population,” Aoki said. “The biggest age group is 60. We need to get more younger people to play golf.”

Aoki said there have been some encouraging signs. Those initiation fees have dropped by 80 percent in recent years as courses sought younger members, even offering free golf to college students on their 20th birthdays and setting aside traditional strict dress codes by allowing “Jeans Days.” And the increase in golf simulator bars has stirred interest in golf as a social activity, prior to the coronavirus pandemic. Still, some courses in the far suburbs haven't survived, eventually turning into solar farms.

"The picture of Japan as ‘golf mad’ is probably a bit overstated by media reflecting upon what once was the fastest growing golf market in the world, back in the 1990s,” said John Krzynowek, partner at Golf Datatech. “Over the past several years, the business of golf in Japan has been flat to slightly down. That said, there's no reason to think that the win by Hideki and Tsubasa Kajitani at the Augusta National Women's Amateur can be anything but great for the game in Japan."


Obviously you could replace Japan with the U.S. in the above, and not have to change much else.  But, while Aoki's call to arms to the younger generation is logical, there is a bit of a snag:

What if there is no younger generation?  I'm really not kidding:

Japan's population is projected to fall from a peak of 128 million in 2017 to less than 53 million by the end of the century.

Not exactly a bullish environment for golf equipment sales, eh?  That's why I'm a tad skeptical of the Matsuyama effect....  I'm more worried about who will turn out the lights.

Geoff linked to this similar article, from which this caught my eye:

At the driving range on Monday, restaurant owner Onogi agreed that Matsuyama’s win could help revamp golf’s image in Japan.

“As the news spreads, people might stop considering golf to be a sport played by old men, and take an interest in it,” he said.

“If we can create a more inclusive environment that allows people to take up golf more easily, I think Japanese will become better at it.”

Sheesh, sounds like the Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion at a major university.  But that "inclusive" bit is interesting in it's own way, because it's of course the most genetically pure population on the planet.  Most societies featuring low birth rates turn to immigration to solve the structural issues involved, including our own United States (by comparison, U.S. birthrates are approximately 1.73 per woman, far below the 2.1 replacement level).  But Japan doesn't do immigration, so what happens as the population circles the drain and asymptotically approaches zero?  No one actually knows, so stay tuned.

I've got a couple of open tabs related to past champions who had bad weeks.  First up is this guy, whose bad week is very much a first world problem:

In a year when the defending champion makes the cut, it usually happens quickly, and that's some consolation. You finish your round on Sunday, wait around for a bit, present the jacket to the new winner in Butler Cabin, and you're on your way. But what happens when you miss the cut, but
you can't go home? When you have to hang around for a full weekend just to commemorate the moment when you are officially no longer the champ?

Well said, but the more interesting topic came when asked what he did all weekend. As it turned out, after feeling more than a little annoyed at how poorly he putted to miss the cut, he spent most of Saturday bored and frustrated, and eventually went back to Augusta National to hit a few balls. Sunday, wanting to avoid a repeat, he headed to Champions Retreat in Evans, Ga., for a morning round.

"I was just bored, so I went out and played," he said, in his usual succinct fashion.

When another reporter asked him if he thought about asking Augusta National to let him skip the ceremony—a laughable idea—he was quick to make his position clear.

"No, I would not do that," he said. "Yeah, no, I would never have asked. It's an honor to be part of the ceremony, and so I was happy to stay and be a part of it."

Yanno, there's exactly no reason he couldn't have flown home for a couple of days, and returned around 6:30 Sunday evening.  Unless, of course, the club puts an ankle bracelet on him...  Kinda surprised that Clifford Roberts didn't think of that.

But there was one detail buried in the piece that I'm not sure I had heard at the time:

Of course, you can make up for this lost time by doing what Billy Casper did, which is to ask for and receive permission to be buried in the jacket.

 How do we think the aforementioned Roberts would have handled such a request?

The second guy is no doubt harder hit, though the circumstances are so hazy as to render it impossible to know what to think:

Another Masters champ is absent this week but it has provoked little discussion and no sentimental tributes. Instead of enjoying his place among the sport’s royalty, Angel Cabrera stews
in a jail cell in Brazil. The void left by the winner of the 2009 Masters was a taboo subject at the Champions Dinner. Says Larry Mize, “We don’t know the details so there’s not much to say. We’re sorry he’s not here and just hope things get better.”

Cabrera was arrested by Brazilian federal officers on Jan. 14 in an upscale neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro. He had recently been the subject of a Red Notice issued by Interpol, which alerts police worldwide about internationally wanted fugitives. Cabrera’s legal troubles date back several years, to a filing in his native Argentina by ex-wife Silva Rivadero, who alleged physical assault and verbal threats. A former partner, Cecilia Torres Mana, accused Cabrera of being physically abusive and in one altercation trying to run her over with a car. Her lawyer said publicly that Cabrera repeatedly violated a restraining order that Mana had filed.

Another ex-girlfriend, Micaela Escudero, also has alleged domestic violence. Over the last three years, as law enforcement in Argentina investigated the allegations, Cabrera was compelled to notify authorities in his hometown of Cordoba whenever he planned to travel abroad. In August 2020, shortly before a trial was to begin, Cabrera failed to give notice that he was flying to the Senior Players Championship in Akron, Ohio. This triggered the Interpol alert, which led to Cabrera’s arrest. The terms of his extradition back to Argentina to stand trial continue to be negotiated.

While that certainly disqualifies him from taking his place at the Masters Champions Dinner, it does render him uniquely qualified for the governorship of the State of New York.

Really sad.  His Masters moment is logically his win, though I remember him more for the thumbs up he gave Adam Scott in the tenth fairway during his losing effort against the Aussie in that 2013 playoff.

Geoff has some architectural notes on the week.  A little geeky, as he himself admits, but still interesting:

  • By all player accounts the course played as well as it has in years and was noticeably more strategical than in November. But ANGC remains a contradictory presentation of shaggy fairways and rock-hard, practically scalped greens. And without bouncy approaches, the conditions destroy the kind of shotmaking Bobby Jones wrote about. The shaggy fairways are created to slow down roll and offset today’s distance-boosting bulk (Will Zalatoris) or adolescent rage (Billy Horschel).
  • The 2021 fairways look even shaggier after watching CBS’s airing of Jim Nantz Remembers before the final round. Even with 1998’s standard definition footage, the ball clearly sits up better then than now.
  • The putting surfaces did not look good at all but seemed to putt fine. We’ll never know what ails them and at some point we’ll find out if they decided to re-grass them. Don’t lose sleep, they’ll find something in petty cash if need be.
  • The 5th hole needs more work. Assuming the club was sincere in trying to interpret and capture some of the original Jones-MacKenzie design, it’s just not making much sense now after three Masters. But this is what happens when you entrust a strategic course to an anti-strategist like Tom Fazio.
  • “The Gap” right of the 11th fairway highlights the 2002 tree planting mistake and continues to not age well. Cutting down the trees would eliminate the embarrassment of players driving way right only to enjoy a nice view. In wet years, the lie there is atop packed-down green infield dirt and definitely better than the fairways.
  • At least in the branding of “The Gap” by CBS announcers, this will be much more succinct form of Masters parlance than its working title: “Patron Walking Path To Get To Amen Corner, Area Which Used To Be Fairway As Envisioned By Our Founder Mr. Bobby Jones” or, PWPTGTACAWUTBFAEBOFMBJ.
That first point is something I've not seen covered anywhere else.  Inevitably that means that the short-game shots around the green are rendered easier because the lies aren't as tight as we'd expect.  Quite the interesting secondary effect/unintended consequence of the distance explosion, no?

A for the greens, I just assumed that they browned out a little as part of rendering them so firm.  

As for "The Gap", it gets its own treatment here:

The small inequity of the 11th was on full display last week, particularly during the final round for Jon Rahm. Rahm turned in four under Sunday afternoon, bogey-free to that point, when he sent his tee shot on 11 high and to the right. Right of right, actually.

“Slice, SLICE. Keep going right,” he said to his ball. “Get into that gap that everybody hits it on. Please.”

“Everybody” was said sarcastically. You could tell that Rahm, fantastic driver that he is, doesn’t love the idea of a bailout where bad drives suddenly offer good angles. And with frequency.

And the evidence that Rahm was being sarcastic is what, exactly?  On the contrary, as the photo below confirms, he was logical and quite serious:


Do you remember who else hit that gap?  Maybe this will refresh those memories:

So, why is it there?  I've seen speculation that it's for the rampaging hordes patrons, 

 A couple of amusing bits on which to exit.  First, one can only wonder how many folks have done the same:

Good stuff, though the most amusing bit is that on a moonlit outing to spread their father's ashes over Pebble Beach, they tripped over a romantic couple violating a different California statute....  Comedy ensued.

 We have a late-breaking update to Playergate:


Yeah, though perhaps we need to consider the source....  When last seen, Marc Player was being sued by his father, whereas the wonder is that Wayne was ever allowed back into Augusta National.  The only thing we can conclude with absolute certainty is that the contest for most useless Player Spawn is highly competitive.

Lastly, lost in the Horschel kerfuffle was some first class work from his looper:

Yanno, these guys are good™. 

Nothing To See Here - Boy, is there any way we can get the boys to go easier on that ab work?  This was tweeted out from an operations worker at Harbor Town:

 OK, first and foremost, I'll need some background on that name....  Tea Waivy?

Apparently the problem started last year, when there were no civilians to worry about:

As it turns out, that explanation is exactly right. According to Jonathan Wright, golf course superintendent at Harbour Town, things did indeed get a little dicey in 2020, and it wasn't all DeChambeau's fault. With the tournament moved to June in the midst of the pandemic, the wind came from the south—opposite its typical April direction—and the heat and humidity played a role in the ball traveling farther.

"None of that helped at all," Wright said. "But then you got Bryson DeChambeau, who hits the ball 430 yards, and Rory McIlroy, who hits it 430 yards, and it became a kind of competition between the players to see who could hit it over the net. There were no spectators, so they were goofing around, just pelting balls. You had balls hitting eight green, balls hitting the pond near eight green, balls hitting the houses over the road by eight green."

The basic point that needs to be noted is, notwithstanding that tweet, that this is in no way about one guy.  Oh, there's one other little point that we should note as well:

If you're a fan of futility or the universe laughing at your plans, you'll love this next detail: According to reports from the ground, players are still hitting balls over the net.

 Of course they are, but only because of all that ab work.

When You Lie Down With Fleas... - The PGA Tour has long been adept at separating their customers from their Benjamins, but is this wise?

The PGA Tour and DraftKings will partner together to open a sportsbook on-site at TPC Scottsdale—site of the annual Waste Management Phoenix Open—in what the tour calls a “state-
of-the-art, premium experience” for fans to be able to bet on all sports at the golf course, Golf Digest has learned. The news comes as legislation passed in Arizona on Monday that will allow mobile and retail sports betting, but also gives professional sports leagues the ability to open "in-stadium" type of retail experiences. The state’s governor, Doug Ducey, is expected to sign the legislation into law later this week.

Though a bold move for the tour, Gambuzza explained that it represents how fast the space continues to evolve, as this wasn’t an item on the tour’s business model for 2020. But once the legislation was being discussed with tokens available to professional sports leagues last summer, Gambuzza’s team started a proposal that presented to the tour’s senior leadership team, including commissioner Jay Monahan. Gambuzza described this step as taking even more “thought and care” as others in which the tour has taken.

"It’s indicative of this entire space for us—and all of the leagues—and how it really continues to evolve under our feet,” Gambuzza said.

I'm old enough to remember when betting was considered an addictive vice.... even a regressive tax.

I just find this a horrible look for the Tour, almost predatory, and that's without even considering the truly scary possibilities:

Of course, this move raises a few questions: What’s to stop someone from placing a wager at the tour-sanctioned sportsbook, then running to the golf course and screaming in a player’s backswing—potentially influencing the outcome of the tournament? Justin Thomas just a few months ago was asked about this very issue, and he admitted he and other players were concerned about that potential.

Well, as long as there's no alcohol involved... Yeah, right, at the event known as The Wasted.

Tasty Morsels From Down Under - Do you know of Barnbougle?  You should, though only in an academic sense, since you can't get there from here.  It's a spectacular resort with two dramatic courses in Tasmania, a place your humble blogger did once visit, though on a trip that was by statute golf-free (and long before this resort was built).  

The second course at Barnbougle, Lost Farm, was designed by Coore-Crenshaw (the original Dunes Course was a Tom Doak-Mike Clayton collaboration), who have now built a Par-3 short course:

Australia’s premier golf destination – Barnbougle – has officially opened its highly-anticipated ‘Bougle Run’ short course for preview rounds, complete with a picturesque coastal backdrop and the promise of a challenge (in the best possible sense).

Designed by internationally acclaimed golf architect Bill Coore of Coore & Crenshaw, Bougle Run offers 14 holes set atop the undulating sand dunes found behind Barnbougle Lost Farm. The track offers twelve par-3s and two par-4s, which includes some of the highest points of the entire complex.

According to Barnbougle owner & founder Richard Sattler, while a third course was always on the cards, it was important that the new route held three key factors: pose a “true test of golf”, while being both visually spectacular, as well as fit cohesively within the existing facility.

Why not, when it's gonna look like this:

Just a long trip...  

On that note, I'll wish you a wonderful weekend and see you on Monday.
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