Midweek Musings

Your humble blogger is back in ski country, but before we go make some turns there's time for a little golf talk.

Winner Wonderland - Geoff catches up with Mark Rolfing in his Forward Press column to  tee up the ToC, though he can't help but name drop in his lede:

Mark Rolfing’s voice should be well rested. And not because he has been battling a rare form of cancer that had taken him away from his NBC/Golf Channel duties last August. 

His voice is rested because the Trevinos paid a holiday visit. 

“You do a lot of listening,” Rolfing said with a chuckle at the thought of his infamously talkative house guest, the Merry Mex, Lee Trevino.

Forgive a rather long excerpt, but this detailed look at the venue is worth reading if you'll betuning in later in the week:

Rolfing will gladly talk about his cancer battle and what he hopes to confirm with doctor Tom Buchholz in two weeks as a successful fight, but mostly he’s euphoric over this week’s Kapalua field (“best in at least 10 years”), the prospects for 2016 (“an epic year in golf”) and an NBC tournament lineup that will take him to the usual stops (plus Royal Troon for the Open Championship, Rio for the Olympics and Hazeltine for the Ryder Cup). But Rolfing’s also not sugarcoating Kapalua’s inability to produce the dramatic ground game it once did or the precarious state of his beloved Hawaiian tour stops. 

He’s excited about a tee installed last year to make the Plantation Course’s iconic 18th hole play closer to its original intent as well as other plans to more radically shift tees depending on winds. With a Bill Coore-Ben Crenshaw design relying on a prevailing wind, Rolfing has watched as the course plays in less compelling manner for professionals thanks to a different wind direction. And Rolfing should know as a long-time resident who started working as an assistant pro there in 1975.

“The ground plays so much softer than it ever was,” he said, noting that houseguest Trevino was shocked by how long some holes were playing. “The course was designed with three elements in mind: wind, slope and grain, and with those elements changed a bit, the course essentially plays backwards.” 

That has meant a Plantation Course once known for crazy-long drives and wild closing-stretch finishes has not come close to its pinnacle and arguably one of best events in PGA Tour history: the 2000 Tournament of Champions.

That was a long time ago, but with the ground so soft I'm not sure they can recreate that golf-on-steroids feel of the early aughts.

 Geoff is happy about the strength of the field and that the players seem to be enjoying their stay at Kapalua.  I know, a real shocker that last bit....The only that could get in the way of the players bringing their families on a fun Hawaiian vacation is the inanity of Commissioner Ratched's schedule.

Joel Beall gives us three "loves" and three "ehs" about the event, including this:

Eh: It's in Hawaii

Meaning, late viewings for those on the East Coast. Don't get me wrong: Golf in prime time can be a welcomed, enjoyable experience. Unfortunately, in this case -- a potential 10:30 p.m. EST finish come Sunday -- it's a tad too late.

I guess he didn't get the memo that I'm in Utah.  That's a very important two hours...  OK, it is possible that it's not all about me.... he's not as enamored of the field:

Eh: The weak field 

Eight of the top 15 players in the world aren't playing in Maui, five of whom failed to qualify. That's probably more an indictment on the world ranking formula than the tournament's construction, yet it's still a detriment to the competition. 

One of the eight is Rory McIlroy, who, while eligible, is skipping the event. Same goes for Justin Rose and Jim Furyk. Sure World No. 1 Jordan Spieth and No. 2 Jason Day are playing, but it's not a great look for the tournament when top-10 players decide the trip isn't worth their time. 

Plus, the winner's-only prerequisite, while prestigious, equates to a truncated field, with only 32 players on the grounds this week.

It's easy to reconcile those two divergent opinions... the field is better than it's been recently, but still not what it should be.

Strangely, no one has mentioned the the illogic of holding the ToC in the middle of the season.

Parsons Non Grata - We briefly touched on the new player in the equipment world, PXG, and it's signing of tour players including the reigning Champion Golfer of the Year.  PXG is the creation of Bob Parsons, founder of GoDaddy and owner of Scottsdale National.  Shack reminds us of his rather unusual membership policies.... go here and here for that background.

Doug Ferguson sums up the business strategy:

“Making money is not what I have in mind,” Parsons said. “My goal with this is to build

some very incredible clubs without regard to cost, without regard to the process. I’ve been telling people what I’m doing and I’ve heard many times, ‘You’re nuts.’ That’s a very good sign.”

The people he hired to build his golf clubs have no limitations and no deadlines. Money is no object, either, and that better be the case for the consumers. Parsons, the billionaire founder of GoDaddy, is selling his PXG clubs at about $5,000 for the entire set.

How long till they end up in the remainder bin at Dick's?  Never mind....How about this:

“It got to the point three or four years before I started the PXG venture that I would spend about $250,000 to $300,000 a year on equipment,” he said. “I bought pretty much everything and would hit it. I could tell you which irons, woods and all that … were real and what wasn’t. Most of it is gimmicky. You take any manufacturer and they say, ‘This will give you an extra 10 yards and 15 yards.’ If all that were true, we’d be hitting it a mile-and-a-half.”

You mean TaylorMade has been lying to me all these years?  How disillusioning...

So, what do we get for that $5,000?  Golf.com got their hands on a fairway wood, and it's.... well, you make the call:

Clubmakers rarely use the word "sexy" in a mission statement, but it shouldn‘t surprise those familiar with PXG chief and GoDaddy founder Bob Parsons. (Remember GoDaddy's titillating Super Bowl ads featuring Danica Patrick?)

Named after the Marine Corps code for a mortarman, the 0341 is studded with 11 weight ports, allowing players to position five 2.5-gram tungsten and six half-gram titanium screws any way they see fit to make the ball fly high, low, left or right. The plugs sit flush against the sole in a stainless steel body, keeping the CG -- and the spin -- down. 

A super-thin maraging steel face provides the pop, while an adjustable hosel can alter loft +/- 1.5°. This midsize head fits a wide range of players, but it‘s only available direct from the company or through select clubfitters.

 Reminds of the guy in the commercial with a bag that includes only drivers.... 143 hosel adjustments.

And you know who threw a little hissy fit?  Peter Kostis:

OK, Peter is a paid member of Team Titleist and distance denier, but he's shocked, shocked to find out that there's gambling in Casablanca....  But I'm quite certain that those following Peter on twitter constitute a perfectly valid random sample for his online poll.  Put me down in the "Some" camp...

Shack amusingly awaits Peter's first awkward post-round interview with Zach or Billy Horschel.

Lastly, Josh Sens had an interesting back-and-forth with Parsons, including this bit getting the most attention:

GOLF.com: Great feel. Great look. Longer shots. Isn’t that what every club manufacturer tells us? What's so different about that? 

Parsons: What’s different is that our clubs actually do what we say they do. Have you talked to anyone who has hit them? 

GOLF.com: Not yet. 

Parsons: You haven't? How is that possible? Brother, you need to get out more.

Josh actually started the interview as I would have:

GOLF.com: What’s this we hear about $250,000 a year on golf clubs? 

Parsons: Yeah, I’ve been quoted as spending that much, but the year before I started the company it was probably closer to $350,000. People say, how is that possible? Well, if you buy every club and you buy all sorts of different shafts and have the clubs re-shafted in every combination ... it adds up. I can tell you what’s good, what isn’t, what is not a gimmick.

What I find of interest is that this is the first I've seen the subject of shafts come up.  Given my belief that shafts matter more than clubheads, I've seen to mention of what shafts he's offering.  

A Love Letter - Upon my return to Park City I found this open tab in Chrome, a Michael Bamberger 

love letter to golf, wife Christine and/or both.  You quickly see where the tab got opened from the title:

Spouses Be Warned, the Game Is a Fever That Must Be Fed

Set aside that old adage about starving fevers.....Just read the damn thing, as it's quite personal and moving.  

The missus and I, married 25 years ago today, spent the first summer of our married life in Scotland. For our silver anniversary we came here, to New Scotland, where the village signs are in English and Scottish Gaelic. There were days in that summer of "91 that I played 36 -- in St. Andrews, in Gullane, in Machrihanish. Christine was not then or now a regular golfer, but she has had a general tolerance, and even enthusiasm, for my golf. During our courtship, she would clip New York Times game stories by Gordon S. White Jr. -- the third round at Akron, that sort of thing. Young love.

That initial trip to Scotland was the subject of To The Linksland,  or at least it was of the second half.  The first half was his account of his work as a caddie on the Euro Tour, but you'll have trouble deciding which half you like better.

As for this piece, I think we can agree that Mike "pured" it, but you'll have to actually read it to understand that remark.

Fun on Twitter - Nope, not an oxymoron....Do you follow STP?

One of the most popular golf follows on Twitter these days is a player who wishes not to be revealed. The Secret Tour Pro (@secrettourpro), in case you haven't heard of him, is just that, a secret tour pro who takes to social media to offer insight into life on tour (like the time he said a tour pro used his caddie to help pick out a Christmas present for his wife), give golf advice, give strong golf opinions and even break news.

Alex Myers tries to figure out who he might be, chasing down these leads:

• He thinks Miguel Angel Jimenez is the "coolest man ever." (OK, so that doesn't help at all.)
• He can't stand Robert Allenby. (OK, so that doesn't help, either.)
• He's "not a huge fan of the range."
• He is a big fan of drinking.

Well, that first one does likely eliminate Keegan Bradley...  Good time, that.  And the third might call Veej into question, but it's mostly a wild goose chase.

But the STP things Sergio is one of the game's greats and a great guy, you'd think that would narrow the field considerably....

Cobbs Creek - Is a venerable Philly muni that I played a lot when I lived there.  Their clubhouse was destroyed by fire in a tragic loss:

That's a long video, but Shack has a shorter local news account here.  The clubhouse was almost 100-years old and Shack has photos of it in better times.

I've got more, but I'm going to head fro the mountain.  Catch you later....

Anchors Away and Other Thoughts

How'bout 'dem Jets?  I know, good thing I found other ways to amuse myself during the second half.  More on that at the bottom, but a quick warning that tomorrow is a travel day.

Anchor What? - You'd think that we'd already put every issue related to this to bed, but there's still fun to be had in picking at the carcass.  Jason Sobel takes us on a tour of the history of anchoring, though he only starts in 1961.  We'll pick him up at c2000:

Even if the floodgates never officially opened, anchoring became more fashionable in

following years. When Paul Azinger claimed a victory in 2000, he insisted of the method, "I was instantly better." When Steve Flesch won while anchoring three years later, he concluded, "This is like cheating."

Whatya mean like?  And, of course, the best quote ever on the subject:

Before his Open Championship victory, Els famously maintained, "As long as it's legal, I'll keep cheating like the rest of 'em."

Comedy gold.  Golf Digest Equipment Editor E.  Michael Johnson posted information that I neede to know, though I didn't know it.  No, really....

OK, smarty-pants, did you know this?

4.) Watch those forearms.

No, we’re not talking about table manners. Under the rules your forearms are allowed to rest against the body, but only if your hands are not separated on the grip (see photo). If your hands are split (much like you would see from someone using a long putter), then your forearms may not be in contact with the body as that is deemed to have created an anchor point.

 Johnson also deals with the Kooch method with this:

For those who want to try bracing the club against your forearm, there are some putters on the market specifically designed for such a stroke. Bettinardi offers a Kuchar-style putter as does BioMech, whose putter has been used on the PGA Tour by Bo Van Pelt, Heath Slocum and Tim Clark among others.

I've thought about and even tried briefly the Kooch method, but as I understand the physics of it you need 8-9 degrees of loft on the putter for it to roll properly.  In fact, as I type this Charlie Rymer is using the Bettinardi putter on Morning Drive and confirms the loft noted above.

The Tour Confidential panel is back and they were asked to speculate on the effect of the rule change.  Here's a sample of their thoughts:

SENS: Hank Haney has said it already and it's hard to argue with him. Players who adopted the long-putter did so for a reason, and the reason wasn't that they thought it looked cool. They did it because they'd developed the yips, or some other malady with a conventional flatstick, and desperate times call for desperate measures. Those sorts of ailments don't just vanish, so it stands to reason that any player transitioning away from an anchored stroke is going to struggle. Keegan Bradley. Adam Scott. Ernie Els. Tim Clark. Take your pick. You've got to figure there's a challenging year ahead for all on the greens.

I'm sure it's a personal failing, but the career arc of Keegan Bradley isn't keeping me up nights, as he's sucked while anchoring was legal.  But Josh and Hank make the important point, that the guys who anchor are guys that struggle on the greens...

Guess They Didn't Hear The game is Dying - I'm not sure this is a business I'd go into, but surprising news on the equipment front:

Although the PGA Tour is a few months into its 2015-’16 schedule, the start of the new year remains the time when equipment companies typically add new players to their tour staffs. Making the biggest splash as the calendar turned was start-up Parsons Xtreme Golf (PXG), which announced Monday the signings of British Open champion Zach Johnson and former FedEx Cup champ Billy Horschel, as well as James Hahn, Chris Kirk, Charles Howell III on the PGA Tour and LPGA players Cristie Kerr, Gerina Piller and Alison Lee.

What's the strategy?  They're not exactly positioning themselves as a value brand:

During the past season, word on PGA Tour ranges was that Parsons would be a major player in the endorsement game. That talked gained further credence when the company respected PGA Tour rep Matt Rollins from Ping. Still, one had to wonder just how active PXG would be given that its business strategy does not appear to be predicated on appealing to the masses. Its drivers sell for $700, its fairway woods for $500, hybrids for $400 and irons at $300 each—not exactly the kind of target audience heavily influenced by what tour players use.

Kind of surprised to see Zach take such a leap into the unknown at this stage in his career.   It would seem he's got only a handful of years to make further hay, you'd hate to see him waster one on adjusting to new equipment.  On the other hand, we don't know how many zeros might have been involved...

Wee in What Sense? - Something like that can be bad for a fellow's reputation, though I'm guessing he's beyond that now.  The subject of the Irish News profile is Rory, and there's several bits worth noting, none more so than this:

I'm the proud owner of Holywood GC swag, courtesy of
my buddy Lowell.

Young McIlroy wasn't just a golf machine, though. St Patrick's Primary School has a photo of him in a First Communion group. While his fellow communicants look suitably solemn, Rory is seen sticking out his tongue. His teacher Geraldine Teer called him a "cheeky wee boy" and said if anybody was asking who killed Santa, it would be the sports mad McIlroy in P5.

Why wouldn't they have included that photo in the gallery accompanying the piece.  Though I don't think you can pin that on the lad without a corpse...

But for Erica's sake, let's hope he's outgrown this sort of thing:

But unlike that perfect connection between iron and little white ball, McIlroy's career to date has had just enough wobbles to make things interesting. In his private life, he has definitely been in the rough a couple of times. While living with Holly Sweeney, McIlroy admitted he fancied Danish tennis player Caroline Wozniacki as they watched a match on TV at home.

Let's hope Holly has moved on by now, but give the item a read. 

The Shark Undressed - It's been hours since we've feature a picture of the Topless Shark, so I'm pleased to report that our long national nightmare is over.  The tenuous hook is this paywall-protected WSJ article informing that our Shark is now a VC (I always thought he was Australian:

The tablet maker selected the fund, an investment arm of Mr. Norman’s sprawling Great White Shark Enterprises, lead bidder for its business at a hearing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. The fund has also agreed to finance Fuhu’s bankruptcy case with a bankruptcy financing package. 

The entry of Mr. Norman’s fund sets the stage for a bidding war over Fuhu, whose lawyers spent most of Wednesday in court fighting for the right to conduct an auction at all.

And here he is studying the case file:

You're welcome.

Confidentially Yours - The above-noted panel kicked around a couple of quasi-interesting subjects, so shall we listen in?

1. Which majorless player is most likely to win a major in 2016? (Bonus points will be awarded for correctly pairing the player with a tournament.)

Strongest support goes to DJ, who is picked to win at either Oakmont or Troon.  Among the eccentric answers are David Linmerth and Danny Willet.  And notables noted include Rickie, Branden Grace, Sergio! and Patrick Reed.

Well, I'm pretty sure we can rule out Sergio, after all he has...  Rickie seems the obvious choice since he's learned to close, but the guy that threw out Patrick Reed might be on to something.  As for DJ, has he actually scheduled the lobotomy?

2. Which young player not yet on the average golf fan's radar will make the biggest splash in 2016?

 Names thrown out include Kisner, Schniederjans, Thomas, DeChambeau, Fitzpatrick and, amusingly, Patton Kizzire.  

I would almost argue that all except that last are already on the golfing public's radar...  Patrick Rodgers certainly belongs in that group, and I'll guess that Bryson DeChambeau, much as I love good copy, will struggle initially.  How's that for ducking a tough one?

4. Just one week separates the Open Championship (July 14-17) from the PGA Championship (July 28-31) this summer, and the Olympics come just two weeks after the PGA (and fall on the same week as the John Deere Classic). How will players respond to the crowded and demanding schedule? 

This is probably the most substantive answer:

SHIPNUCK: It would be awesome if Spieth skips the Olympics in favor of the Deere. Short of that, I think the Barclays and Deutsche Bank will be most affected, as burnt-out players cut back their FedEx Cup schedule, especially with the Ryder Cup looming. I can see folks also scheduling lighter in the spring, so Quail Hollow, Memorial and the Texas events may be missing some familiar faces.

It's been an eternity since we've beaten up on Travelin' Joe, but he's always there when you need him:

PASSOV: The great ones always adjust, and the losers make excuses. Yes, it will be a grind, but these guys are healthy, hungry and adrenaline-fueled. Cynics scoffed when Jordan Spieth chose to defend at the John Deere last year, leaving him a long flight and little prep time for the Open. And then he nearly won the Open.

I just love the man's absolute certainty...  Call me a cynic, but does Joe even consider that an extra week of prep might have been worth a shot or two?  Just askin....

More Tiger -  But mercifully not much more.  By the way, did you hear that he turned forty?  Golfweek had its writers relate their favorite Tiger quote, and surprisingly none involve reps, feels or glutes activating.  It's mostly run of the mill, but I did like this !a. from Jim McCabe:

1a — “The dimple pattern from a distance looked like a Precept.” — When asked if he

knew what kind of ball came flying over his head as he putted on the 12th green at Augusta National in Round 3 of the 2000 Masters. The ball had come from a wild shot at adjacent Augusta Country Club and Woods said he caught a glimpse of the “dimple pattern” as the ball flew overhead at a speed that was quite substantial. Said it with a straight face, too.

There's never enough funny to go around...

Metaphor Alert -  Curmudgeonly James Corrigan writes a senseless column, especially for January, but at least he has the grace to do it well:

So who will he be? Old Captain Blunder who unforgivably allowed the Europeans to win the Ryder Cup twice on United States soil? Or The Redemption Man who fought back from being the victim in the Miracle of Medinah and broke the blue-and-gold stranglehold?

Regardless of their nationality, anyone who has enjoyed dealings with Davis Love would hate for the kindly figure from North Carolina to be classified as the former.

But then, the Ryder Cup does not respect reputations as the Starred and Striped have discovered to their embarrassment in the past two decades of European dominance.

I'm not sure what triggered this column in early January, but I do hope he had Tiger in mind when he typed "Striped."  And it's early to lay markers down, but don't we think that the Yanks win?  Corrigan points to the issues that Darren Clarke faces in this concluding 'graph:

Darren Clarke happens to be extremely close to Love, but will certainly not want to join Sir Nick Faldo as the only Europe captains in eight matches to fall short. He will look to the likes of Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Luke Donald to make comebacks after their slumps this season. The Ulsterman has some fine youngsters in Danny Willett, Matt Fitzpatrick and Andy Sullivan, but he will not wish to go to Hazeltine with too many rookies.

I would bet that none of those first three Englishmen is even on the roster, and the latter three will not strike fear into American hearts.  But more than anything, everything regresses to the mean, and I'm confident that the Americans will win at least once more this century.    

Sunday In January - Employee No. 2 got home yesterday and suggested, just as the Jets-Bills went to half-time, that we take a walk on the golf course.  But she also had a further suggestion, that I grab a golf club and a couple of balls and make a few swings out there.  So off we trod with my six-iron and a Callaway SuperSoft and a marvelous time was had by all.

I think you'll all agree that the swing looks to be in mid-season form:

Shockingly, my touch around the greens was off just a bit...  This was no doubt the hardest shot of the day:

Willow Ridgers will recognize that as the bunker near the 13th green.... Not only am I on the downslope, but the green is some 10-12 feet above the bunker... oh, and my caddie for some reason gave me my six-iron.

But I did make a nifty up and down for par at No. 14, but mostly it was a lovely walk with my bride.

Soporific Sunday

Winter has finally arrived, so since none of us is in a hurry to brave the cold, what say we euthanize a few browser tabs....

Tiger Stuff - Lots of loose ends from The Striped Ones 40th.  Tiger's been in a sharing mood lately, and he even shared some of the details of his birthday celebration:

Hootie?  Alex Myers goes with "age-appropriate", but to me that's just sad.  I guess Hall & Oates were booked?

To celebrate Tiger's milestone, Golf.com ran a series on his 40 "Biggest" Moments, and those scare quotes are there for a reason, as it's quite the curious list.  They don't provide a copy-and-pastable list, so I'll have to do some actual typing:

1. The 1997 Masters
   
2. The 2000 U.S. Open
3.  The 2008 U.S. Open
4. The Fire Hydrant (OK, they refer to it as The Scandal)
5. The Drop at the Masters
6. Completing the Tiger Slam at the 2001 Masters
7. The 2000 PGA (the duel with Bob May)
8. The Win over Chris DiMarco at the 2005 Masters
9. Hoylake -2006 (The Win for Earl)
10. The Ace in Phoenix - 1997
11. Y.E. Yang

Weird, no?  I guess it all depends upon the meaning of big...

My first reaction is that they probably should have limited themselves to  that which occurred on a golf course.  And even there they stray...Seriously, the drop at the Masters?  It was no doubt a fascinating story at the time and it was one that could have only happened to Tiger, but I'm not even sure that it's one of the five biggest moments in Fred Ridley's career.

The Phoenix ace is another fleeting moment of great television, but scant lingering importance.  As you further down the list there's much to criticize... For instance, the famed press conference is its own entry, whereas it obvious should have been covered in No. 4.  

His awkward pairing with Phil in the Ryder Cup gets a mention, thank you, Hal Sutton, but the far more significant singles loss to Constantino Rocca and other more significant Ryder Cup flame-outs are missing.  His break-ups with Hank and Stevie bear mention, but Butch is nowhere to be found.  

But while two of his three Am wins and one of his juniors are noted, it's those six straight USGA match-play titles that I think is most under-appreciated in his career.  I don't care about the level of competition, no one wins that many matches in a row.

And a little Dominance Defined comp has broken out between Alex Myers and Jim McCabe.  The former aspires to blow our mind with seven offerings, of which I'd go with this as most surprising:

3: Times Tiger has had at least a five-tournament winning streak. No one else has done it in the past 60 years. Woods also has three of the five longest streaks, including a personal best streak of seven in 2006-2007.

McCabe calls him with this bit:

2) At one point last season writers gushed because Day had a stretch in which he won four of six starts. Impressive, for sure. But perspective, please, because Woods at the end of 1999 and the beginning of 2000 won six consecutive PGA Tour starts. 

Then at the end of 2006 and beginning of 2007, he won seven straight tournaments — eight, if you count the Target World Challenge. 

Oh, and at the end of 2007 and into the start of 2008, Woods won eight of nine tournaments (including the Target), with his non-win being a second-place finish.

OK, the guy was pretty good there for a while...

And Mags sent along this summary of a selection of Tiger's greatest shots, with lessons to be learned from each.  Hey, I'm just happy to see that our old friend hasn't gone too L.A.  Yet...

And lastly, the Secret Tour Pro has been Punked.  He posted this photo yesterday, reported to be Tiger practicing half-shots in the dark at The Bears Club.  

Now, those of you that know too much about the Florida golf club scene immediately sense the issue, since Tiger belongs to Medalist.

It is Tiger, but one of Shack's readers identified the image as coming from the 2014 Honda Classic, where on Pro-Am day they were delayed by fog.  In the immortal words of Emily Litella, "Never Mind."

My Year in Golf - Fortunately for you, this isn't actually MY year in Golf...but rather that of actual working golf journalists.  They're all worth reading, but How can you resist this kind of anecdote from Alistair Tait?

Being the first journalist to shake Tom Watson’s hand when he finished his last British

Open. I just happened to be standing at the top of the steps to 18th green when Watson finished. When he came up the steps, I held out my hand and simply said, “Thank you.”

There were tears streaming down my face as I shook his hand. “The hardened press?” 

said a voice behind me. It belonged to Peter Dawson, who since has retired as the R&A's chief executive. 

“I’m not ashamed of these tears, Peter,” I replied. 

“Nor should you be,” he said.

 Adam Schupak packs a lot of emotion into two short 'graphs:

Access is the currency in which we writers trade these days. I was lucky enough to score a credential to the champion's toast at the PGA Championship. It has become cliche for the winner to thank the volunteers and course superintendent, but there seemed something especially genuine when Jason Day, who rose from a hardscrabble existence in Australia, told those holding glasses of champagne, “We’re just a bunch of overprivileged children out here.” I'll remember his candor and down-to-earth good nature as much as his eyes, rimmed red from holding back tears, when he holed his final putt. 

I was close to tears myself while watching former PGA Tour commissioner Deane Beman, of whom I wrote a book, receive the PGA's Distinguished Service Award. The honor was long overdue, and frankly, unexpected, but not as unexpected as seeing Beman's eyes glistening, his lips quivering as he spoke of his family during his acceptance speech. It was a beautiful moment, matched only by seeing Julie Crenshaw and her daughters wipe away tears as they listened to Gentle Ben give a stirring press conference after missing the cut at his final Masters as a competitor.

But I am my mother's son, so I can't help but take Adam to the woodshed over this grammatical faux pas:

In March, Adams Golf invited me and several writers to participate in a clinic and golf outing with the Champions Tour stalwart.

Sigh!  Are there no editors left at Golfweek?

I Lied - And not for the first time for sure...  But I did like this from Cheyenne Woods in honor of Uncle Eldrick's birthday:

Sweet, and don't miss the Phoenix Open sweatshirt.

Hits and Misses - Style guru Marty Hackel has an amusing slideshow on the year in golf fashion...  

I have a number of quibbles with Marty, including his assessment of Jason Day, DJ, Billy Horschel and Victor Dubuisson, among others, but we can certainly agree on this Kevin Na blouse:

Seriously, what could he have been thinking?

Back9, Back Again? - Remember the "sure thing" golf lifestyle channel?  No real need to, unless of course you're a Connecticut taxpayer.  The Hartford Courant certainly remembers, and brings us this update:

Back9Network, the troubled golf lifestyle channel that received $5 million in state backing, is seeking bankruptcy protection and plans to revive as a "slimmed down" online company with additional private investment. 

The company, founded in 2010 as a golf lifestyle channel, suspended operations early this year and cut most jobs, about 85, in two rounds of layoffs. 

"The restructuring will result in a slimmed-down, online-focused golf entertainment network that can be successful and grow on a go-forward basis," CEO Charles Cox said . The company will remain in Connecticut.

Only this one mention of the Bosworths:

James Bosworth, founder, largest shareholder and chief executive until his resignation in 2014, criticized the bankruptcy filing. Cox did not inform him or other shareholders of the legal action, he said. 

"What people invested in is being changed dramatically," he said. "There has been zero communications to me or most of the other … investors. I'm not sure if restructuring makes sense or not."

I'm sure those investors will find Jamie's concerns touching, if a bit tardy.... since the money he raised seemed mostly to be to give his then hot wife a platform (a clarification, I've no reason to believe that she's not still hot, she's just no longer his wife).

This Wall Street Journal article casts a generally more skeptical eye on the filings, though there's a couple of journalistic howlers that I can't overlook, including this:

Under the purchase plan, the investors will continue to repay roughly $4.75 million in low-interest loans extended through Connecticut’s media tax credit program. The state’s decision to invest in the golf channel gave critics of Democratic Gov. Dan Malloy something to grumble about.

Wow, people can be so petty....I mean the man is beyond reproach, right?

As the Connecticut Post pointed out, Mr. Malloy’s former chief of staff is married to a former Back9Network employee. Former Democratic state Sen. Sanford Cloud Jr., his close ally, once served on its board.

This seems unconvincing in terms of the conflict of interest angle, how about we all just agree that taxpayer money shouldn't be used as a venture capital fund?

Then there was this:

The channel’s collapse stung an impressive list of more than 200 investors, including tech entrepreneurs, Wall Street executives, doctors and golf industry players. People who own small slices of the channel include New Jersey Devils part owner David Blitzer and UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma. It also names a Connecticut lottery winner whose Audi caught on fire in 2010, though Bankruptcy Beat couldn’t confirm that the channel investor is the same unlucky person.

Is the WSJ now covering car fires?  But lottery winners investing in startups is almost as good as the government doing so, with eerily similar ROIs.

I Have That Shot -  Friend of the blog Mark W. sends us this instructional video on how to add the stinger wedge to your shot-making arsenal:

Mark asserted intellectual property rights to the shot, though at best it's unprotected trade craft.  The problem is that Mark has used it in public with such frequency, that it's long since been found in the public domain.

It's reasonably cute, but it really should have been shorter and funnier, methinks.

Punching Down - He does make us laugh for sure...  Can't go the whole week without a Trump item, can we?

During a South Carolina stop on Wednesday, Trump tried to scare up the Hilton Head

Island crowd by claiming that second-place Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders wants to raise taxes to 90 percent (presumably the marginal rate) for the wealthiest Americans. Although Sanders has never explicitly mentioned a rate hike that steep, it didn't stop Trump from using it in tandem with one of the island's most enjoyed activities.

“This guy wants to tax you — think of it — this guy wants to raise your taxes to 90 percent,” Trump said. “No, no, think. You’ll have to move out — I love this area by the way, I’ve been here many times. Great golfing area, right? We love it. No more golf — no more golf. You won’t have any golf any more. You won’t have any money left to be golfing.”

Can someone explain to me the purpose of picking a fight with Bernie?  The sadness that there won't be golf under President Sanders is kind of hypothetical, no? 

Flotsam and Jetsam™ - New Years Edition

Wow, you folks were really bored yesterday....I haven't had that many pageviews since....well, maybe evah!  Who knows, since I don't spend much time look at the blog stats.  Too depressing, yanno...

Out With The Old... - Tis the season for wistful nostalgia...  Let's lede with Cam Morfitt, who assures us that 2015 was The, Best. Year. Ever.  After the obligatory Tiger and Phil-centric table-setting, he gets down to business:

You wouldn't have held out much hope, right? And yet here we are at the end of a season 

in which we barely paid attention to any of those guys. That's because it was a season that entertained from start to finish, gave us a compelling narrative named Jordan Spieth as he nearly made it three-quarters of the way to the calendar-year grand slam, and forced us to look at the game and the foreseeable future in a whole new light.

"I used to worry about Tiger Woods going away," Tour veteran Will MacKenzie told me before the recent RSM Classic. "But I'm not worried about that anymore."

OK, I thought Mackenzie's issues were more with DJ, but, yanno, bygones.  You know from the picture where he's headed, and it was, indeed, a fine year of golf.

Alan Shipnuck files this amusing item on the rigors of the golf beat:

I am typing this poolside on New Providence, an island in the Bahamas. It’s 81°, and a

pleasant breeze is tousling my hair ever so slightly. I am perched 15 feet from the edge of the sea; occasionally a wave crashes with enough force to spritz me with a refreshing mist. The sunshine caresses me…wait, hold on a second, I need to accept a mai tai from (and flirt with) my waitress, a green-eyed beauty with a lilting accent. Um, where were we? Oh yes, the rigors of the golf beat. I am here in the Caribbean for you, the reader. It is a life of service.

There’s a reason the Ben Hogan biography was called Follow the Sun -- professional golf is a warm-weather sport. The PGA Tour visits nice places, and we ink-stained wretches get to tag along. If you cover the NFL, you spend a lot of time freezing your Spaldings off in Green Bay or Buffalo or Foxborough or Cincinnati. NBA writers are compelled to winter in Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee and Oklahoma City. The first five months of my year typically go like this: Maui, La Jolla, Scottsdale, Pebble Beach, Santa Monica, South Beach, Augusta, Hilton Head, St. Augustine. This year’s majors included glorious trips to the Pacific Northwest and St. Andrews.

Thanks for your service, Alan.  Actually, there's more than gloating involved, as Alan references some more exotic and occasionally dangerous trips and links to some of his better articles, a better use of your time than continually hitting F5 on this page (which seems to be how you spent New Years Day).

Golf.com and Golfweek filed the obligatory item on the best stories of 2015, and there's many a nit to pick.  For instance, the latter had this at No. Seven:

7. Robert Allenby fires caddie midway through first round in Canada: Add another line to Robert Allenby’s forgettable PGA Tour season. The year began with a reported mugging and robbery at the Sony Open in Hawaii, and Thursday at the RBC Canadian Open, it continued with a caddie altercation.

C'mon, guys, that's not even the best Allenby story from 2015.  Fortunately, we'll always have Hawaii... Hmmm...., does anyone know if he's in the field for the Sony?  I can't help but hope so...

Alex Myers credited Jordan Spieth with the perfect year-end tweet:

I certainly see his point, though this one was more to my taste:

I don't know the gent, but I like the cut of his jib.

In With The New - That Van Cynical guy picks a fight with his colleague Cam Morfitt:

Name a better, more exciting year of golf than 2015.

What's the matter? You can't do it?

I can. Try 2016.

It's certainly teed up well, but tell us more:

There are also a million ways that 2016 can go right and I like the odds. For 15 years, we got tired of hearing the same old refrain: Tiger Woods needs a rivalry. Yes, Phil Mickelson was his rival but they never had a Duel In the Sun moment like Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson or a U.S. Open playoff moment like Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer at Oakmont. Tiger and Phil, in fact, rarely went head-to-head in regular PGA Tour stops, much less majors. 

They were rivals but they weren't the Nicklaus-Palmer-Watson-Gary Player rivalry we hoped for. 

This is why 2016 could be even better. Now we’ve got the New Big Three. With Spieth, Jason Day and Rory McIlroy, the odds are better that we’re going to have some in-your-face, anything-you-can-do-I-can-do-better big moments.

And as Gary goes on to relate, below the top three is a wealth of talent waiting to break through.  I might watch, if I don't have to wash my hair or something important...

Joel Beall shares Nineteen Brazen Predictions with us, and his first has my brazenometer immediately in the red zone:

Dustin Johnson will have his major breakthrough 

I've been particularly hard on DJ, and at age 31, he's not the spring chicken that we envision. However, it's easy to forget that, at this juncture last year, Johnson wasn't even playing golf. In that purview, Johnson's 2015 -- a win at Doral, 11 top-10 finishes, fifth on the money list -- is impressive.

Well, I suppose it COULD happen.... interestingly, he uses Phil's early major struggles as the benchmark, and there are no doubt parallels in their careers.  But, to the best of my knowledge, Phil steered clear of the Bolivian Marching Powder and otherwise applied himself to his trade.  

Now I wish Joel would have specified where the breakthrough might occur, because he takes the seemingly most likely opportunity off the table with this:

Rory McIlroy completes the career grand slam 

Meaning McIlroy wins the Masters. 

Since his infamous meltdown at Augusta National in 2011, Rory hasn't come close to competing for the green jacket. Even his fourth-place finish last year was six shots behind Spieth. 

But McIlroy's length and precision iron game are built for Augusta success. Now that McIlroy has found a putter to his liking, the rest of the field may be rendered patrons.

He won't be the only one predicting this.  It's hard to imagine that Rory won't have a strong bounce-back season and this is the one he wants most.  But I need to see more from his putting to get fully on board.

Joel has lots of interesting thoughts, including that Tiger skips the year entirely.  He also predicts that Spieth repeats as POY, which I'll throw a fiver up to take the contrary position.  Not intended as a knock on Jordan, there's just so much talent there and I'm just guessing he's due for some disappointment from our cruel game.  Just a hunch...

Joel also comes up with 18 golf-related resolutions for the new year, including this:

Keep an open mind regarding golf's return to the Olympics 

I'm all for ripping the Olympic committee, a group so corrupt it makes Spiro Agnew look like Robin Hood. But while many are lukewarm on golf's return to the, ahem, "amateur" games, give it a chance. The format won't facilitate the strongest field, yet any event boasting the likes of Spieth, McIlroy, Jason Day, Rickie Fowler, Justin Rose and Dustin Johnson is worth watching.

You're about three years too late on that one, my friend.   It's a huge unforced error, and it does no good to sweep it under the rug.  It's going to be BORING, and we all know who to blame.

Tiger at Forty

Happy New Years to my readers....yes, both of you.  

On the same day that Pete Dye turned ninety, Tiger Woods "celebrated" his fortieth birthday.  Less the Lion in Winter than the Tiger in Late Autumn, it seems to this observer... (h/t Shack for his roundup).

It being the slowest of slow periods, virtually everyone in the golf world with a byline had thoughts on the milestone.  There's almost too much to get our arms around, so we'll just take one of our typically idiosyncratic walks through the terrain.....as usual, we'll laugh, we'll cry and we'll spit out our coffee at least a couple of times.

We'll let Steve DiMeglio set the table with this succinct 'graph that sums up the State of the Tiger:

He last won a major in 2008. His world ranking as of Monday will be 416. It’s a stunning reversal for the player who holds the record for 623 weeks atop the world rankings. A player who once went 142 consecutive tournaments without missing a cut. A golfer who won four consecutive majors and won five or more tournaments in a year a record 10 times.

I see a buying opportunity....If he makes it back you can get him on the cheap in your fantasy pool.  Next up is Ewan Murray, and he steps in it a few times, starting with his lede:

Just as the dominant presence of Tiger Woods was impossible to foresee during his teenage years, so it would have taken an astonishing level of prescience to pinpoint his status when turning 40. Woods reaches that landmark age on Wednesday seeking to emerge from a mountain of golfing obituaries with his name returned to the summit. Regrets? He’ll have a few.

Sure, except that both were, in fact, predicted.... The former By Earl Woods most notably but not exclusively, and the latter by many including your humble correspondent.  Then this a couple of 'graphs later:

Once, on a July Saturday morning in St Andrews, hundreds wandered on to the Old Course from the town as word emerged that Woods was playing the closing stretch with a group of juniors. No other player can, or will, command such an audience. It is fascinating in itself that Woods’ on-course decline has not blunted the scale of attention towards him.

Ewan, you man the golf desk at The Guardian and you've never heard the story of Bobby Jones'  return to St. Andrews?  I hadn't previously heard that story of Tiger playing with youngsters, but the parallel to The Auld Grey Toon's embrace of Jones would have been a far better hook for your piece.  But see what you think of this bit:

In his last bulletin as a 30-something, he verged on the reflective. “My friends keep asking me how it feels to be turning 40 at the end of the month and my response is, ‘It depends when you ask me,’” he said. “Mentally, people who know me know I’m like a five-year-old. Physically, sometimes I feel old and sometimes I feel like a teenager. I don’t like the polar opposites of the two. I’d like to be somewhere in the middle where I feel 40.

A five-year old?  It's a tad disconcerting that he seems to think that's a positive....

Curmudgeonly James Corrigan has a meandering bu interesting take on the man.  First, this:

But as he waits for the spine to recover – naturally, this time as he has promised there

will be “no more procedures” – what Woods can do is immerse himself in his family life like he never has before, and although the cynics will doubtless sneer at the notion of the Great Philanderer turning into Superdad as he enters middle age, an anecdote from the Hero World Challenge shines some light on his new self. USA Today reported that, as they accompanied their fathers up the fairways, his two children, Sam, 8, and Charley, 6, were asked by a family friend whether they would rather be Lionel Messi or Tiger Woods. Both replied “Messi” and when pressed for a reason, Charley responded: “He’s still playing.”

I'm not sneering...  That's the power of raising kids and that's a seemingly great thing about Tiger, assuming the image we're being fed is at least somewhat real.  But I did sneer at the item just above, because if he's a good Dad that's the antithesis of being a five-year old.

Corrigan adds this take on His own assessment of his achievements:

“Number one, you have to go back to my first major win, which was the Masters in 1997. How I did it, winning by 12 strokes, was so special. And then winning four in a row and owning the Grand Slam, something no professional golfer has ever done. Third would probably be my 142-consecutive cuts-made streak. Consistency for a long period of time ... there’s a lot that goes into that. You have bad days, you have bad weeks, but to battle and endure and suck it up and get it done – I’m very proud of that one.” Just as he should be and just as golf still should be proud of its superstar; and be wishing him well on this day more than perhaps any other.

Though I think this is wildly optimistic:

If he can feel like a proper, fit 40-year-old then the history of golf shows that his career does not have to be over. Woods evidently still wants to compete, but has allowed himself the privilege of looking back. In 20 years, he redefined his sport, broke down some of its barriers and brought so much pleasure and awe to so many. It is intriguing to read what he judges to have been his finest achievements.

I could respond, but what say we use this as our segue into Christine Brennan's thoughts:

Tiger Woods turns 40 Wednesday. Forty, going on 70. 

It certainly seems that way what with all the injuries and surgeries and controversies and missed tournaments and headlines stretching across the decades since he appeared as a 2-year-old on The Mike Douglas Show in 1978. 

Happy Birthday to the oldest 40-year-old in sports.

That's really the issue, isn't it?   How's this for a surgical blotter?

This fact says it all: Tiger has had three surgical procedures on the same spot in his back in a span of 19 months. And it hasn’t been just the back: at various times, he has had knee, Achilles, leg, wrist and neck problems, including four surgeries on his left knee alone.

And even though I don't agree with her basic premise, this still took me by surprise:

And yet, a milestone birthday also comes with hope. Interestingly, even though the Masters always will be Tiger’s best shot at another major victory, he went oh-for-his-30s in Augusta. Unbelievable, but true. He last won the Masters in 2005, when he was 29. 

That’s a run of bad luck that none of us saw coming.

I'm not sure that she's using the concept of "luck" correctly here.

The previously unknown-to-me Mercer Baggs (is that a name or what?) goes into the wabac machine for this:

Tiger’s talked a lot over the last two decades. Did you know he has 1,364 transcripts on asapsports.com since 1996? That’s about 72 transcribed interviews a year during that span. Well more – over 200 more – than Phil Mickelson has given in a greater time frame. And that only counts when a stenographer was around. 

Back in the day, the early professional days, Tiger regularly came into Golf Channel studios. He did interviews. He even viewed tape. We could peek into the window of the library screening room and watch him watch footage of past majors, gleaning knowledge on an unfamiliar venue. We were told not to bug him, and we always kept a respectful distance. Think he drove a Mercedes. 

Tiger seemed relatable back then. Like, if you just introduced yourself that would lead to a chat. A chat would lead to more casual conversations. That would lead to some level of friendship, and maybe this superstar athlete would hang out with some regular folk throwing darts in a Winter Park pub and drinking bourbon two hours after close.

Probably too much of an ask, but we were kids. A bunch of young, single people, fresh out of college and beginning their professional careers, living in a fairly vibrant Orlando area. We saw the same in Tiger.

Don't remember that at all, but he's got video with Peter Kessler.  But I have to quibble with this:

That was 19 years ago. Just a brief history of time, but a lifetime ago. At that time, only Earl had a proper understanding of what his son would become. He likely nailed it with that 14 career major victory prediction. But he was a little off on that more-impactful-than-Gandhi-and-Buddha thing.

Why?  How many majors did those guys win?  Even combined...

It's a long but interesting piece as he incorporates thoughts from many of Tiger's friends (Marko, Cooksie and other usual suspects), but ultimately I'm less interested in who he sees in the mirror than  in whether there's anything left in the tank.

Jason Sobel rounds up some amusing quotes from fellow players about the milestone, the most relevant of which is this from Jack:

"Forty was just a number for me," he explained. "It really didn't make any difference. The hardest birthday I had was 65, because I knew 65 was the year I wasn't going to play anymore."

Well yes, but Jack was healthy his entire career.  Here via Bleacher Report is the complete list of players from the beginning of time that won majors in their forties:

AGE 48

Julius Boros, 1968 PGA Championship, Pecan Valley

AGE 46 

Jack Nicklaus, 1986 Masters, Augusta National
Old Tom Morris, 1867 British Open, Prestwick 

AGE 45 

Hale Irwin, 1990 U.S. Open, Medinah
Jerry Barber, 1961 PGA Championship, Olympia Fields 

AGE 44 

Lee Trevino, 1984 PGA Championship, Shoal Creek
Robert De Vicenzo, 1967 British Open, Royal Liverpool
Harry Vardon, 1914 British Open, Prestwick 

AGE 43 

Ben Crenshaw, 1995 Masters, Augusta National
Raymond Floyd, 1986 U.S. Open, Shinnecock Hills
Julius Boros, 1963 U.S. Open, The Country Club
Ted Ray, 1920 U.S. Open, Inverness
Old Tom Morris, 1864 British Open, Prestwick 

AGE 42 

Payne Stewart, 1999 U.S. Open, Pinehurst No. 2
Tom Kite, 1992 U.S. Open, Pebble Beach
Gary Player, 1978 Masters, Augusta National
Tommy Bolt, 1958 U.S. Open, Southern Hills
J.H. Taylor, 1913 British Open, Royal Liverpool
Willie Park Sr., 1875 British Open, Prestwick 

AGE 41 

Vijay Singh, 2004 PGA Championship, Whistling Straits
Mark O’Meara, 1998 British Open, Royal Birkdale
Mark O’Meara, 1998 Masters, Augusta National
Sam Snead, 1954 Masters, Augusta National
Henry Cotton, 1948 British Open, Muirfield
Harry Vardon, 1911 British Open, Royal St. George’s
Old Tom Morris, 1862 British Open, Prestwick 

AGE 40 

Jack Nicklaus, 1980 PGA Championship, Oak Hill
Jack Nicklaus, 1980 U.S. Open, Baltusrol
Ben Hogan, 1953 British Open, Carnoustie
Ben Hogan, 1953 U.S. Open, Oakmont
Ben Hogan, 1953 Masters, Augusta National
James Braid, 1910 British Open, St. Andrews
Old Tom Morris, 1861 British Open, Prestwick

This list tells us a few important things about Tiger's chances of adding to his fourteen majors.

No. 1 -  The list is dominated by great players.  As in all sports, the effects of age-related decline are apparent in the careers of all these gents, but the immortals start from a higher level.  Yes, there's always exceptions (O'Meara, Jerry Barber and De Vincenzo), but that's mostly a list of the greats of our game.  Since Tiger qualifies, this is cause for  optimism.... though it's the only conclusion that cuts in hat direction.

No. 2 - The List  is  Bottom-Heavy - Players that win in their forties are far more likely to win in their early forties.  I know, Duh!  But that sound you hear is a clock ticking, and Tiger starts his early forties on the DL.

No. 3 - Those Guys Stayed Healthy.  About the only guy on that list with a history of physical issues is Hogan, and that was the result of an ill-fated encounter with a bus.  Most of those guys features smooth swings that didn't put unnecessary strain on their bodies, and even a guy like Jack, whose swing was a bit more violent, stayed remarkbly injury free for decades.

No. 4 - Most of those are ancient history.  You can decide where you draw the line, but the sample size for the modern era is extremely small.  Considering that more than one of these took place on a twelve-hole golf course, the relevance is highly speculative.

It's hard not to conclude the the deck is stacked decidedly against the man....  But he was once Tiger Woods and if he could get healthy, quite the big "if", who knows?  That's what makes sports great.