Late-Week Lamentations

One assumes that none of the aforementioned lamentations should relate to the quantity of blogging this week.  Four out of five weekdays in late November-early December?  To whom do I address that request for a raise?

A Hero For our Time - Take a wild guess at how much of it I watched?  I'd call it a decent leaderboard and hope you get the joke, though I'm quite sure that certain folks in the U.K. and Saudi Arabia will not.  But this is the Premiere/Super/Bonesaw League writ small:

Rory McIlroy, Daniel Berger, Abraham Ancer lead

Rory McIlroy, Daniel Berger and Abraham Ancer were the best of the best. Each shot six-under 66, albeit in different ways. Ancer bogeyed just one hole, the par-5 9th. Berger birdied his first four

holes, and five of his first seven. McIlroy had six birdies and an eagle — and a double-bogey seven on the 9th.

“On the 9th, pulled my tee shot but got away with it and sort of kicked around that fairway bunker and had enough club to get there in two, so I was trying to pull a shot off and I didn’t and ended up making a double from it,” McIlroy said.

“Yeah, happy with how I responded on the back nine after that. Played the back nine in five-under par. Yeah, it was a nice little response to not quite a mental error. I mean, I committed to the shot, I just didn’t make a great swing. Yeah, it was nice to play the back nine the way I did and put myself back in the tournament.”

Never a good look when one has to explain the gags, but there's never been a bad-looking leaderboard at this event, for the simple reason that the field isn't deep enough to include any players whose surprising position on said leaderboard would have to be excused.

But this might be the best laugh of your Friday:

How good is Hero co-leader Rory McIlroy playing right now? 'I wish it was the end of March'

I know attention spans have shrunk, and it was only a week ago we were declaring Brooksie cured after only nine holes, so why not?  But doesn't it really depend upon your definition of "right now?"  Because this was our most recent look at Rory:

— Rex Hoggard (@RexHoggardGC) November 21, 2021

Rors, just a little pro tip for you.  I know Clifford Roberts is long dead, but I wouldn't be trying that ripped shirt thing at Augusta.... Just sayin'.

That's a funny bit, though Rory himself will be unable to appreciate it.  My own observation is that Rory has himself in such a state that he plays his worst golf when he wants it the most, so a run of spotless play in December is relentlessly on brand.  I've really only included this because of the prominence Rory will play further into this post, but I guess we should at least excerpt this as a marker in the unlikely event he breaks 76 on Thursday at Augusta:

And while a number of players put the sticks away for a good chunk of time during the holidays, McIlroy figures he’ll still head to the golf course a few times per week. The reason is simple.

“I'll get out there and play and practice, just not take a complete break like I've done before," he said. "Because my game's in good shape, and I want to keep it there.”

And perhaps another couple of practice rounds with Jeff Knox?

Just one last bit on this event, something your humble blogger has been whining about for ages, but always nice to have company:

— John Huggan (@johnhuggan) November 30, 2021

I got something worse than that.... Through 2019 they were awarding world ranking points with an 18-player field.  But, yeah, the whole system is designed to ensure that the rich get richer...

Govern Is A Verb As Well - In our first Rory-centric post, we find that the Ulsterman has assumed rule-making authority from the USGA:

USGA, R&A INTRODUCE MODEL LOCAL RULE TO FURTHER LIMIT USE OF GREEN-READING MATERIALS

Option available January 1 and is intended for the highest levels of the game

LIBERTY CORNER, N.J. and ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (Dec. 1, 2021) – Golf’s governing bodies have made available a Model Local Rule (MLR) to further limit the use of Green-Reading Materials.

MLR G-11 enables a committee to limit players to using only the yardage book that it has approved for use in the competition.

This local rule is intended only for the highest levels of competitive golf and, even then, only for competitions where it is realistic for the committee to undertake an approval process for yardage books. It will be available starting January 1, 2022.

The significance here is that this move was driven by the PGA Tour, specifically it's Player Advisory Counsel, headed by, you guessed it, Rory McIlroy.

I find this a great step, specifically that the players would step in, against entrenched opposition, and make a move to protect the importance of skill in our game.  Of course, folks have gotten used to their crutches and will kick and scream, and that opposition makes it even more laudable.

But the other point that needs to be made is that the USGA already issued new rules about green-reading books, and they were highly technical but a huge load of crap.  They're never shy about patting themselves son the back, but they've developed a longstanding reputation for being extremely late to address issues (anchored putting, for example) or incoherent (caddies lining up players), and often both.

Obviously some folks are gonna disagree, and caddie-turned-broadcaster John Wood is one of those guys, with a long piece at GolfChannel.com:

Do they make putting easier? Sometimes. More difficult? Sometimes. There is a skill to using a

greens book correctly. It is a different skill than using your eyes and the feel in your feet to read a putt, but it is a skill. When I caddied, I saw as many putts made by using a greens book correctly as were missed by using one incorrectly. I won’t go down a rabbit hole of statistics to support this, but here are two basic stats that represent the comparison. From 1996-2007, in the decade-plus before greens books, 3-putt avoidance on the PGA Tour averaged 3.14%. That means that on all attempted putts on Tour for the twelve years before greens books, pros 3-putted 3.14% of the time. From 2008-21, that number was 3.10%. From ’96-07, 1-putt conversion was 37.43%, while it was 38.1% from ’08-21.

Infinitesimal improvements and differences that cannot be exclusively correlated to greens books. An improved knowledge base, Aimpoint, better coaching with drills and devices, better agronomy (read: smoother greens) have all contributed. Plus, in the last three years, players have been allowed to tap down spike marks, something that’s never been OK in the game’s history. For a statistical comparison, in 1996, Tour average for driving distance was 265.9 yards. Last year? 296.2. Hmm. If players have the power to, in effect, bifurcate the rules, which is what is happening, can they enact other Local Rules? Can they as a Tour decide the ball is going too far and the driver heads are too forgiving? Doubtful, because there’s a lot of money coming from those equipment companies … not a lot coming from Mark Long, maker of the greens books.

There's a lot here and, even though I disagree with John's conclusion, it's well worth your time if the subject is of interest.  John appropriately highlights the profound compliance issues and there will be a learning curve there, though he and I thought of the same player, though with diametrically-opposed conclusions:

Now, let’s talk Bryson. I don’t know anyone who has the potential to be more adversely affected by this new rule than Bryson DeChambeau. His entire green-reading system, one he’s spent years perfecting, is based around slope percentages and greens speeds. I would argue he’s worked harder than anyone developing his system. He is being told to scrap something he’s put an extraordinary amount of time and work into and learn an entirely new routine in a couple months. No matter your opinion on Bryson, it’s unfair. He is meticulous during his preparation, using a launch monitor during practice rounds to gauge spin rates from the fairway, from the first cut and from the rough. He will write down things like, “Nine-iron landing 4 yards on the green, releases 3 yards. Landing 8 yards on the green, releases 5 yards.” In effect, he is measuring the slope of the landing area, in this case the green. But this method is legal because the technology used was from the fairway. I wouldn’t have a clue how to do this, as my high-school physics teacher, Mr. Frisbee (real name), could attest. But I suspect Bryson could determine or approximate that information. He would do this 100% within the rules, as I know him to be a player who would never purposefully be in breach.

All John can see is that some work to date will be lost.  But the bigger issue is how guys learn about the greens and John ignores another fact, which is that they're playing way fewer practice rounds, because the data is available in book form.  Bryson is the hardest worker out there, and I expect him to be one of the largest beneficiaries of this new rule, as he'll put in the time to learn that which he needs.

One last rousing bit from John:

Greens books are an advancement in the game, like forgiving drivers and balls that go forever, don’t curve and spin around the greens; like launch monitors, like distance/slope measuring devices. Why is the line drawn here? Why go backwards here? Say it’s agreeable and everyone shares the same feeling about their elimination. Why not announce the ban and give it a year like they did with the anchored putter? Players had a year to work on a new method they felt confident with when the rule was enacted. There is an entire generation on Tour that has never played a tournament without a greens book. Why not give everyone a year to adapt instead of a couple months?

I do actually prefer the rip-off-the-band-aid approach, though there no shortage of inconsistencies to which John can point.  Here's Geoff's rebuttal to the above:

Because people have read greens without them for a few centuries, for starters.

Also, anything that adds time and cost is not an advancement. And because no one ever took up the game or plays it because of green reading books.

As a bonus, they’re also creating precedent for more bifurcation. Wins all the way around!

And as an irony alert, do remember that Rory might be the single worst reader of greens out there, yet even he can see the issue.  Plus, that photo of hedeki with his nose in the book, does anyone find that a good look?

Let My People Go -  One assumes that our Rory will be cashing a rather large PIP check from his good buddy Jay, because there hasn't been a top-tier player more loyal to the Global Home than young Rors.  But the thig about Rory, and my skepticism about his golf game shouldn't mask the fact that I like him as a human being, is that he believes what he believes.

If you'll recall Rory's rejection of Mr. Norman's paymasters, he had some harsh words for Saudi money and the like, but his controlling belief was in the system of Tour players has independent contractors.  But here's the thing about independent contractors.... Think of our current impasse over that Saudi event in February:

RORY McILROY: I think we're independent contractors and we should be able to play where we want to play. So in my opinion I think the Tour should grant releases. It's an Asian Tour event, it's an event that has OWGR rankings, I don't see any reason why they wouldn't.

I do see reasons why they wouldn't grant releases, but I think if they're trying to do what's best for their members and their members are going to a place other than the PGA TOUR and being able to earn that money, I mean, we're independent contractors and I feel like we should be able to do that if that's what our personal choice is.

My personal choice is not to do that, but obviously a lot of players are doing that and I think it's fair to let them do that.

Rut roh!  Jeez, has that PIP check cleared yet?

Rory, actually believes that independent nonsense, which is awfully cute:

Q. Going down the road there could be legal battles and arguments.

RORY McILROY: I think the professional game needs to get to a point where we as professionals need to know where we stand. Are we actually independent contractors? Are we employed by a certain entity? That's stuff that's just -- there's a lot of gray area in that and that's what sort of needs to be sorted out, I think.

The sorting has certainly commenced... But, while Rory's naivete has a certain preciousness to it, his belief in unicorns remains intact:

Q. With all the rumblings of the team concept and whatnot that's in the ether there, so to speak, do you feel like that can co-exist successfully with the Tour?

RORY McILROY: No, so for me, like the PGA TOUR is the best place in the world to play.

I'm not saying that the whole thing needs to be blown up and we do a different thing here. I think if people want golf to be more innovative and they want it to be more engaging and they want to see different concepts, there's no reason why the PGA TOUR can't do that themselves, you know? They have the know-how how to put golf tournaments on, they have all the staff, they have everything, they have the best structure in place to do it.

I'm certainly not saying that I want anything else to come of this, but there are certain elements to different concepts of professional golf that I do see merits in, but I don't see any reason why the Tour couldn't do it themselves.

Yeah, where to begin?  As you all know by now, I don't actually see much appeal in that newer model (and I think the team component is quite the red herring), but we all have to admit that this couldn't happen to a nicer group of guys.  Alas, Jay's belief in the product has been exposed as entirely transactional, and that disruption Rory speaks of has been limited to legalized betting (and the vig received thereby) and promoting loutish fan behavior.

The one organization that was playing the role of disruptor, the artists formerly known as the European Tour, have now sold their soul to the Arabs (which is apparently fine as long as it's not the Saudis, although they used to be OK), as well as to Jay Monahan, so any remaining entrepreneurial impulse will will be quashed.  A fine mess we've gotten ourselves into...

About That Captaincy - The branding seems unclear to me at this point.  When folks gather at Marco Simone in 2023, will it be the U.S. vs. Europe, or is it the U.S. vs. DP World?  

Fortunately, lee Westwood has clarified the circumstances surrounding his rejection of the captaincy of that 2023 team, and I for one find his explanation entirely reasonable and believable:

“They were telling me the Ryder Cup captaincy is a full-time job,” Westwood says. “I’m not going to argue with that; I don’t know if it is or not. But I spoke to Thomas Bjorn [2018 captain],

and he told me I would definitely have to forego my career if I did become captain, which made me feel like another year would be a better fit for me. Anyway, I asked the tour to get back to me after a couple of weeks and tell me what is actually involved. Three weeks went by. So I rang up [Ryder Cup director] Guy Kinnings. I asked him if he had the list. He hadn’t, which immediately irritated me. So I told him I was going to take myself out of consideration.

“I mean, they told me it was a full-time job, but they couldn’t tell me what the job entailed,” Westwood continued. “That was no good to me. If and when I do the job, I want to give it 100 percent. But right now, I don’t feel like I could do that. It would almost feel like the captaincy was getting in the way of everything else I want to do, which is hardly ideal. So I told them there must be someone better suited, right now at least, to the job than me. Someone who isn’t playing as much. I’m not dismissing the Ryder Cup captaincy completely. Only this time round. In a way the captaincy is an admission that you are done as a player. I’m not ready to do that.”

The man's been on every Ryder Cup team since the late 1960's, but he needs a list?

Though perhaps this is sufficient to have him turning his back on his mates?

“I’ve played in Saudi Arabia in each of the last three years,” says Westwood, who will, “assuming I’m not suspended or banned,” compete on the DP World Tour in Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the two weeks before the Saudi event. “What really bugs me is that, until now, the European Tour has actively encouraged us to play in the event. Now it’s on the Asian Tour and we can’t get releases? It is an event on another recognized tour, one offering World Ranking points and they’re not going to let us play?”

The two tours have placed their members in an awkward and untenable position, for sure.  Although, to be fair, the corner they've painted themselves into might be worse, because on short notice they'll either have to back down from their own red line, or eff with their members' longstanding commitments and schedules. 

So, who will proudly lead that DP World team into action?  One of the Usual Suspects, one presumes:

Geoff had this second-hand handicapping (second hand because the original piece is paywalled):

The Guardian’s Ewan Murray says the 2023 Captaincy race is between Henrik Stenson and Luke Donald.

I voted for Henrik, because he's much more amusing than Luke.  Actually, Henrik is more amusing than just about anybody...

Ok, kids that's it for this week.  There's an out-of-town Simpson wedding on Sunday, so I shan't be with you Monday morning.  Not to worry, we'll cover it all in good time.