How would a golf-ball rollback affect competitive amateurs? It’s complicated
While we might have expected their thoughts to be more developed, the USGA does at least offer their thoughts on these youngsters:
Where do you draw the line?’At a press conference Tuesday morning to discuss the USGA and R&A’s proposed model local rule, USGA CEO Mike Whan said the conversations between the rules bodies and groups like the NCAAhaven’t happened yet.“It would make sense to me given what we see at the college level to implement this,” Whan said. “Whether or not that’s something that they will or won’t do is conversations that we’ll have to have going forward from today.”Then there’s the question of what constitutes an “elite” amateur tournament. Does that designation start and end with the U.S. and R&A Amateurs? Does a state open or state amateur count as elite? What about your local club championship, some of which are won by scores well under par? When pros and amateurs mingle in events like the famed Seminole Pro-Member, will the pros play one ball type and amateurs another?
Funny you should mention that first major of the year, because Brendan Porath exhumed this old quote:
Found this Tiger Woods quote from a few years ago: pic.twitter.com/LsnFri2Klt
— Brendan Porath (@BrendanPorath) March 15, 2023
I've used that same baseball analogy myself, noting that Wrigley Field seems to have held up better than Merion....
Of course we can't get through this without an example of the N.Y. Times stock whine that women and minorities are hardest hit:
But what if the college game adopts the rule? Carter Thompson, a former collegiate player at Florida State and the University of Pennsylvania, said the modification could make for inequities.“College-level players will adjust more quickly as they generally have more time to practice and play, and more consistent access to coaching,” Thompson said. “This puts mid-ams at a disadvantage in events like the U.S. Amateur.”Then comes the issue of a college team or junior player who may have to prepare for multiple tournaments under different sets of rules.“Inequity at the junior and amateur levels could become more pronounced,” Thompson said. “Players and colleges that have the means will be able to have two different sets of clubs: one set optimized for tournaments where the local rule is adopted, and one set optimized for tournaments where the local rule is not adopted. This adversely affects programs that are underfunded or don’t have a relationship with an equipment company, or junior golfers who already struggle to pay tournament entry fees.”
We certainly can't allow for an inequities in this world, so I guess we better just shut down college golf, no?
I do agree that there's this obvious issue at the amateur level, we can also agree that, if the intention is to roll back the ball at all levels, that nothing will ever happen:
What does bifurcation mean for the competitive amateur?This brings us back to the point that perhaps the players who would need to make the greatestadjustment with this proposed model local rule are not the game’s best players, but the players a tier or two below them.My home club in Philadelphia has a stout stable of amateurs who vie for the club championship each year. Among them are players who have qualified for USGA events, won local amateurs and played collegiately. Yet, I struggle to foresee the club implementing the proposed local rule for its club championship. Not everyone who tees it up also plays in those outside events.This could lead to confusion, given the USGA would like the NCAA to adopt its proposal. If that happens, you can imagine top amateur events would follow suit, seeing as college players regularly play in those tournaments.
Given that players need to adjust to varying conditions (wind, temperatures, altitude and the like) on a daily or hourly basis, is it really too much to expect that they can adjust their preparation based upon the rules of the event?
I'll spare you the hue and cry from the manufacturers, not that they don't have some justification for concern about their feed lot. But the whining form players was, as expected, quite precious, as making them play for $25 million purses with a ball that goes 15 yards less is certainly up there with mass beheadings as a human rights issue...
Of course we had Bryson's profound thoughts on the subject, a man with quite the limited perspective:
“It’s a great handicap for us guys that have worked really hard to learn how to hit it farther,” DeChambeau said. “I think it’s the most atrocious thing that you could possibly do to the game of golf. It’s not about rolling golf balls back; it’s about making golf courses more difficult.”
The single most atrocious thing, Bryson? Worse than turning professional golf over to the Wahabis? What's 81 beheadings in a day compared with Bryson having top practice with a different golf ball?
Maybe it's just me, but this seems an admission against interest:
“I think it’s the most unimaginative, uninspiring, game-cutting thing you could do,” DeChambeau said ahead of this week’s LIV Golf event in Tucson, Ariz. “Everybody wants to see people hit it farther. That’s part of the reason why a lot of people like what I do. It’s part of the reason a lot of people don’t like what I do.”
That last bit is rather as large carve-out from everybody, though he's clearly underestimating the wide range of reasons people don't like what he does. I,. as an example, still remember when he berated a Golf Channel cameraman for damaging his brand.... So, maybe people don't like how far you hit it, Bryson, or maybe they've just seen you for the entitled jerk you can be?
Then there was JT:
Thomas, speaking Wednesday at the Valspar Championship a day after the USGA and R&A proposed a new golf ball testing standard for elite competition that could see a major reduction in driving distances, did not hold back on his feelings towards the announcement.The two-time PGA champ said he was “disappointed” by the news, but “not surprised” by the developments before sharing his thoughts on the USGA.“I think the USGA over the years has—in my eyes, it's harsh, but made some pretty selfish decisions,” Thomas said. “They definitely, in my mind, have done a lot of things that aren't for the betterment of the game, although they claim it. I had conversations with some USGA members and it just—to me, I don't understand how it's growing the game. For them to say in the same sentence that golf is in the best place it's ever been, everything is great, but...
Selfish? I'd like a list of all these allegedly selfish things the USGA has done to poor little JT>
While you were talking to these blue jackets, JT, did you happen to share your theory that you have the right to play quickly in order to use your playing partner's ball as a backstop?
Obviously Wally Uihlein is getting good value for his money:
“And I'm like, well, there shouldn't be a but. You're trying to create a solution for a problem that doesn't exist. To me, it's so bad for the game of golf, for an opportunity—I mean, some of the great things to me is the fact that you can play the exact same golf ball that I play. I mean, that's cool. For an every day amateur golfer, it's very unique that we are able to play the exact same equipment. Yeah, I understand that I may have a different grind on a wedge, whatever you want to call it, but you can go to the pro shop and buy the same golf ball that I play or Scottie Scheffler plays or whatever.“But the USGA wants to bring it to a point where that's not the case. They want it to be, okay, well, the pros play this way and the amateurs play this way, and that just doesn't—I don't understand how that's better for the game of golf. The amount of time, money that these manufacturers have spent trying to create the best product possible and now you're going to tell them and us that we have to start over for potentially if the PGA Tour, PGA of America, don't adopt this local rule. So for two of the four biggest events of the year we're going to have to use a different ball? Like, try to explain to me how that's better for the game of golf.”
JT is free to differ with Mike Whan, but I'm still waiting to see that selfishness I was promised.
JT hints at the Tour's potential reaction:
“I can't speak on behalf of what [the tour is] planning on doing. But to my knowledge, they haven't necessarily been on board with it or wanting to pursue the rolling the ball back,” Thomas said. “I mean, I'm all for not letting it go any further. And I think this is another important thing, like, this would help me. Rolling the ball back is only going to help, I feel like, somebody who hits it far and is a good ball-striker. It's just an advantage for me even more so, I feel like, than I have and I'm still not for it. It's just—it's a bigger picture. It's about the game of golf. If I can hear some reasons that claim it's better for the game of golf, then so be it, but I've yet to hear any.”
For a guy that can't speak on behalf of his tour, he just tried to do so....
While I'll acknowledge that there's no good time, it's hard to see where this action from the governing could have hit at a worst time, where the LIV threat overwhelms the normal player-Tour dynamics. Eamon Lynch has an extremely optimistic take on how this could all go down:
If indignant PGA Tour players are to be believed – bear with me – Mike Whan and MartinSlumbers are unaccountable despots bent on ruining golf, in which case they’re due thanks for momentarily distracting us from the unaccountable despot who is actually decimating the game, though MBS won’t ever be criticized for such by players under his writ.Sam Burns went so far as to suggest that players could one day present themselves at a major championship and insist on using regular balls, daring organizers to turn them away. The first opportunity to make such a stand is likely to be April 9, 2026. In Augusta, Georgia. Private Burns would find few in his imaginary army willing to go over the top with him.There is clearly no widespread support among PGA Tour players for a rule limiting golf balls, but nor is support nonexistent. Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods are among those who have called for distance to be mitigated, and more prominent voices may be added to their chorus in the coming days. While it seems awfully improbable now that the PGA Tour and its members would choose to adopt a new rule, changing circumstances can change minds.
Eamon's citing of Sam Burns is at the very least curious, given that the former LSU stud has a long-standing and justifiable grudge against the USGA.
But shall we follow Eamon's logic? First as relates to that certain golf club in Georgia:
Whan and Slumbers made clear that both Opens will implement the rule if it’s an option in 2026. Those attuned to Augusta National’s hymnal can anticipate Chairman Fred Ridley’s preferred coda: the Masters will join the governing bodies in adopting a modified ball. That creates a dilemma for the PGA of America, which prides itself on not vexing players, either in course set-up or rules disputes. The PGA Championship is already regarded as last among equals. If the other majors go with a modified ball, will the PGA of America really balk and further cleave itself from the club in the minds of fans? If opponents of the proposed rule are hoping for support at the pinnacle of the sport, Frisco could prove a pretty flimsy firewall.
Like Eamon, I have difficulty believing that the governing bodies announced this change without a buy-in from the Lords of Augusta, though three years is an awfully long time to expect those winks and nods to remain in full force and effect.
But this seems quite the triumph of hope over experience:
A similarly unappetizing predicament looms for the PGA Tour. The majors already exist above the weekly fray, much to the Tour’s chagrin. To what extent would the Tour be willing to see that perception grow? Choosing to emphasize an entertainment product – players smashing the long ball, which I’m told chicks dig – risks diminishing the Tour’s competitive image, at least when measured against major championships.It would be ‘golf, but longer,’ in the parlance of dud marketing.
Ummm, Eamon, have you been in a coma these last few months?
In caving to the demands of the Delaware Mafia, the Tour has agreed to conduct their premiere events with tiny fields and no cuts, which is the very definition of choosing to emphasize the entertainment component over the competitive aspects of their events... Even handing LIV a talking point just to placate those who must be retained....
I think the flaw in Eamon's logic is that he seems not to appreciate the extent to which the inmates are running the asylum. Jay wasn't even invited to that Delaware tribal counsel, and it appears that all decision-making authority is now vested in a handful of....well, terrific penises. I'm quite certain they'll take care of themselves....
I've been saying for some time that biggest effect of LIV will be to expose all the players as the overly-entitled a******es that they are.... Good work, Phil!.
LIV Stuff - LIV is in Tucson this week destroying the cactus ecosystem and otherwise growing the game....Some random stuff of a mostly amusing ilk, first this intellectual property set-back:
Looks like Greg Norman has take another L this week … this time to Florida Man.A trademark application from the Saudi-backed league has been denied by Miami Beach’s LIV nightclub, the renowned discotheque in the Fountainbleu Hotel. (Random note, but how good is the word discotheque? We should use it more.)Both entities use the Roman numeral for 54 as their avatar—the nightclub as an allusion to Studio 54 and LIV Golf for the number of viewers they get for each event—and the South Florida mainstay would not let Phil Mickelson and co. steal their brand outright.
Even that I suspect overestimates the audience, but just another due diligence failure....these guys really aren't very good at this, are they?
I do hope that Seal Team 6 will be placing microphones in that Champions Dinner at Augusta, but I couldn't help but be amused at these side-by-side hearers at Golfweek:
Scottie is a gentleman, though I suspect he calls most of those LIVsters "Uncle", given the age difference....
But I didn't expect it would be this guy telling Scottie to hold his beer:
Just a nice evening with old friends catching up....
This header struck me as, well, odd:
NBC tries out Phil Mickelson’s ’obnoxious greed’ broadcast idea
Yeah, it's quite the stretch....though with a nice dollop of irony. Here's the predicate:
Speaking from the Saudi International, Mickelson shredded what he called the PGA Tour’s“obnoxious greed.” As he spoke, the 6-time major champ honed in on golf’s broadcasts, claiming the Tour sat on an untapped pile of “digital assets” worth ”$20 billion,” and utilized that to stifle its own broadcast product.“If I had access to my own channel and access to my own media, I would have a camera and microphone on my hat. And on my [caddie] brother’s hat. And on my golf bag with a 360 view. I would bring the viewers in,” he said. ”They would see and hear what is going on. But none of that happens [currently] because why would any player do that? To make more millions for the Tour?”“They already make enough,” Mickelson said. ”The Tour only understands leverage. And now the players are getting some of that. So things are changing and will continue to change. I just hope the leverage doesn’t go away. If it does, we’ll be back to the status quo.”
And here's what passes for a payoff:
On Thursday morning, NBC announced the creation of ”BagCam” — a new piece of golf TV tech utilizing a camera that will capture a golf hole from the vantage point of “a 7-iron,” per NBC’s release.Justin Thomas will be the first player to experiment with the new technology, which will be utilized during the 17th and 18th holes during Friday’s Golf Channel broadcast from the Valspar Championship. According to NBC, ”BagCam” will capture a 360-degree view of Thomas and caddie Jim ”Bones” Mackay’s final two holes on Friday, providing a golf-specific expansion upon the on-course interview segments that have become so popular in recent months.Of course, it should be noted that BagCam bears a striking resemblance to the golf broadcast technology first proposed by Mickelson last year, both in concept and reality. In all likelihood, NBC is borrowing technology similar to what was utilized by both Thomas and Mickelson during the pair’s appearances in The Match, in which behind-the-scenes cameras and microphones were central to the overall viewing experience. (Thomas’ BagCam will not have an attached microphone.)
Remind me, Phil, who did Bones work for before JT? More to the point, why did he quit? He wasn't getting paid, which to me should be ascribed to Phil's obnoxious greed, no?
But, more to the point, how does LIV handle those digital rights? Really, so they're obnoxiously greedy as well? Though we won't be saying that because, well, how did Phil put it? Oh yeah, they're scary mofos....
The most interesting LIV-related item is this from the AP, which draws a potentially larger significance from the most recent ruling the anti-trust litigation:
Which likely overstates the case, but still..
Yasir al Rumayyan, appointed under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to manage the oil-rich Saudi government’s $600 billion-plus stockpile of wealth, is “up to his eyeballs” in managing the golf tour, Labson Freeman declared.The finding follows PGA Tour claims that al Rumayyan himself recruited LIV players, approved LIV contracts and was otherwise the golf league’s decision-maker and manager. Lawyers for Saudi Arabia counter that Rumayyan’s actions were those of an eager investor, not of someone actually running a business.The case matters beyond the world of golf. Saudi Arabia has been assertive in U.S. business investments and political relationships and could now face court demands for greater transparency and accountability.
It's a factor in this lawsuit, though I think it's a stretch to include something like this:
The insistence by Saudi officials that U.S. courts have little or no say over their actions is especially sensitive. Last year, the kingdom, with legal backing from the Biden administration, successfully argued that American courts had no authority to try the prince in a lawsuit over the 2018 killing of U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi. U.S. intelligence officials had concluded that aides and other Saudi officials sent by the prince killed Khashoggi. The slaying has opened a lasting rift between the Biden administration and Prince Mohammed, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler.
The issues here are so much larger than golf....
I've never spared a kind word for the Saudis, but we've unfortunately squandered a huge opportunity in the Middle East under the current administration. We were in the process of building a Sunni alliance to oppose Iran, whereas we've now pushed the parties in an Axis of Evil that includes China, Russia and Iran. Good thing the smart guys are in charge.... unless, of course, you're from Taiwan or Israel.
I remain amused by the trouble the Saudis have brought on themselves, but I'd never believed that the antitrust case would bring them any joy. But there is still that curious Justice Department antitrust investigation, seemingly begun just as Biden was calling the Kingdom a pariah state..... None of it makes much sense.
I'm off to cook breakfast for Employee No. 2, so shall leave you here. I'll see you Monday for our usual wrappage. Have a great weekend.
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