Travel Daze

Sorry folks.... I had previously warned that Thursday was a travel day, by which I of course meant six hours drinking coffee at the SLC Sky Club.  But I gave Delta a mulligan and they were able to get me home to the loving embraces of Employee No. 2 in time for Friday dinner, so they've got that going for them.

But who knew a couple of days in early February would be so newsworthy....

Tiger, We Hardly Knew Ye - By now you've heard the news, which by now seems drearily inevitable:

"My doctors have advised me not to play the next two weeks, to continue my treatment and to let my back calm down," Tiger said. "This is not what I was hoping for or expecting. I am extremely disappointed to miss the Genesis Open, a tournament that benefits my foundation, and The Honda Classic, my hometown event. I would like to thank Genesis for their support, and I know we will have an outstanding week."

That guy will do anything to avoid playing Riviera....

Brian Wacker takes a shot at the "What Comes Next" column, but apparently his Magic 8-ball is in the shop.  he does, however, provide a little historical perspective that makes us feel old:

Since then? Woods, who turned 41 in December, has withdrawn or missed the cut 11 times in 23 starts. From the time he underwent his first back surgery in April 2014,

Woods has completed 72 holes in just nine of the 19 tournaments he has entered. 

It’s been nearly nine years since Woods won his last major, the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. Yet how long has it really been? Consider this: 

• Jason Day was a rookie on the PGA Tour and still a year away from marrying wife Ellie. 

• Rory McIlroy was a teenager, a pro for less than a year and barely inside the top 200 in the Official World Golf Rankings. 

• Jordan Spieth was still playing high-school baseball, and Justin Thomas couldn’t even reach a par 5 in two.

 Thanks, Brian, but I'm able to feel old without your help...

Shack has a piece in Golfworld under this header:

With each setback, even more pressure on Tiger Woods

Yeah, boo-friggin'-hoo and all, though Geoff does add to our understanding on one issue:

Corporate sponsors want starts and he’s just cut two off his schedule. It was gloriously ambitious of Woods to think he could play four times in five weeks, but the schedule also made good business sense given that, like most players, he is incentivized to tee up. His much-ballyhooed TaylorMade and Bridgestone endorsement deals are laden with incentives, including a minimum starts clause built into the TaylorMade contract, according to sources. The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the terms publicly. That was a smart move by TaylorMade but such requirements to play only add more burden.

When I heard about the WD's, one of my first reactions was amusement at the recollection that just a very few weeks ago seemingly knowledgeable folks were wondering whether signing Tiger would cause Adidas to keep TaylorMade.  No, really....

Did they get any value from the deal?  No doubt Tiger got plenty of air time on Thursday and Friday at Torrey, one of the few players guaranteed to do so.  But a couple of caveats:

1. He sucked;
2. He was playing a Bridgestone ball and a Scotty putter, so any close-ups on the green....;
3. He was swooshed up from head to toe; and
4. Did I mention that he kinda sucked?

Someone please explain to me the mechanism by which that helps move TaylorMade equipment...

Geoff, like your humble over-caffeinated blogger at the Sky Club, focused on the calendar between now and the first full week of April....  You know, reps...  Not a pretty picture, since he's not eligible for the Doral Mexico WGC.  It leaves him Bay Hill, Innisbrook and Houston as possible starts before the big one, only one of which "suits his eye".

He's gone into Augusta without a start before, most notably in 2010, but even that seems like eons ago...

And since everyone is playing to type, here's Joel Beall with the "No-S***-Sherlock" item:

Kevin Malone taught us that if anyone gives you 10,000 to one on anything, you take it. 

While he's not at "John Mellencamp winning an Oscar" odds yet, Tiger Woods' Masters prospects are trending in that direction.

Following his latest injury setback -- one that will sideline him for the upcoming Genesis Open and Honda Classic -- Vegas has inflated the 14-time major winner's 2017 chances of winning a fifth time at Augusta National. According to Jeff Sherman of the Westgate Superbook, the 41-year-old Woods is now listed at 100-1. 

For context, after mixed results in return at the Hero World Challenge, Woods' Masters odds jumped to 20-1, trailing just seven players in the world.

But Joel, have you been drinking?

That said, 100-1? The man does have four green jackets. I suppose there are worse ways to wager $10.

Joel, his last of those green jackets was 2005....  Have you been watching any golf since then?  Burn it, at least you'll get the heat....

A Pebble In My Shoe - I haven't seen a single minute of play from the Monterrey Peninsula, but that doesn't preclude my having strong opinions on it...

In no particular order, stories that amused or interested me...  The term "Crosby weather" has disappeared from our lexicon, which is a shame in this insufferable purist's mind.  But under any name that's what appeared on Thursday and Ryan Herrington has lots of anecdotes from the short 7th hole:

Luke Donald was about to play when he stopped, reset behind the ball and asked, “A

little right to left?” Yeah, it sure felt like it, but the flag was blowing back toward the tee, at about 5 o’clock. Now Donald was really confused. Uncommitted, he yanked his 8-iron left of the green, onto the eighth tee box.

“Huh,” said Donald’s caddie, Mick Horan. “I fancied 9 myself. It’s really an unbelievable hole.” 

Chris Stroud chose pitching wedge and, unlike most players, hoisted it high into the air. His ball hit a wall of wind and dropped 40 feet short. Safe.

Heck, that's nothing, on Tuesday they were hitting five-irons....Anyone remember what Tom Kite hit on Sunday at the '92 Open?

This former Golden Child had himself a good day at Spyglass:

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) -- Jordan Spieth knew the pin position on the ninth hole at Spyglass Hill as much by memory as by sight, which was a good thing considering the

fog creeping across the Monterey Peninsula on Friday.

The crowd behind the green couldn't see Spieth, only a golf ball that landed behind the flag and spun back 3 feet below the cup. Spieth tapped that in for his eighth birdie of the round and a 7-under 65 that put him atop the leaderboard in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. 

Spieth was at 10-under 133.

Fun anecdotes about putting into the wind....  We'll have another Jordan item below, but I'm just glad to know that he's still on Tour.  

Phil phlashed some early form by holing a bunker shot on Thursday, but got even more props for this little impromptu speech to some MPCC members (video at link):

Mickelson, playing in this week's AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, took some time to express his and fellow tour players' gratitude towards members of Monterey Peninsula Country Club for allowing the game's best to play their course.

Make no mistake, Mickelson's words are sincere: Monterey came to the rescue after Poppy Hills was poorly received by tour players in the Pebble Beach Pro-Am rotation. Still, it always feels good to get a pat on the back, so props to Phil for the salute.

Poppy Hills, what were they thinking?

Now here's a story I'd not heard previously:

Gary McCord made his first start in the Crosby Clambake in 1974, which was one of the wettest in tournament history. The opening round commenced amid rain and high winds. McCord stood on the tee at the iconic par-3 16th hole at Cypress Point Club 17 over par.

 Anyone not familiar with that golf hole?  

The tee box is out of the frame at about 7:00 or 7:30....  it's about 230 yards of carry over the Pacific Ocean, and to make matters worse the ocean is in play.  Meaning, you hit from the tee until a ball finds terra firma....

OK, so back to our story of the world's best mulligan:

"I had driver in my hand, and I'm thinking, 'How in the world I'm going to play the hole?' " McCord, longtime golf broadcaster for CBS Sports, recalled. "Then [Tour official] Gordy Glenz pulls up in a cart and said, 'Guys, the round is washed out.' I asked him if I could still hit a shot and he said go ahead. Even with a driver it had no chance of getting over the water. It had to be howling 50 mph."

The next day, with the winds abating, McCord stood on that same 16th tee 8 under par. "Only your basic 25-shot difference," McCord chirped. "Had to be the greatest mulligan in tour history."

When I was lucky enough to play Cypress back in the 1980's, I asked my caddie what the Tour pros hit here (Cypress had already been removed from the rota).  His answer was that the 1-iron was the club of choice, but that if the wind was up you'd see lots of 3-woods and even a few drivers.... What a golf hole!  And thank you, Marion Hollins, for being such a badass... 

Golf Digest has a slideshow of celebrity sightings, which is the usual melange of Bill Murray and Justin Timberlake....  But while I have not a clue as to who Kelly Rohrback might be, she can pout at me anytime:

But guys, it's been raining out there...  are you sure you don't have anything of her in a wet golf shirt?

Jordan, A Bit Too Unplugged - We all understand that the fame and fortune available to our golfing heroes comes with a darker side as well, it's just that we don't often hear it discussed:

“I'm not appreciative of people who travel to benefit off other people's success,” Spieth

said “I enjoy signing and sign for kids whenever we get the chance. And when these guys have these items that you've already seen online and people … our team keeps track of that kind of stuff. And these guys that just have bags of stuff to benefit from other people's success when they didn't do anything themselves. Go get a job instead of trying to make money off of the stuff that we have been able to do. We like to sign stuff for charity stuff or for kids, and if you ask anybody universally it's the same way.”

But of course his use of a certain "S-word" is what is grabbing the headlines:

“When you see guys that follow you around the entire round, they're saying afterwards, ‘We're huge fans.’ A lot of other people did follow the entire round and so I want to make sure I sign for them, if I didn't get them out (on the course),” Spieth said. “So I was just a little frustrated at the end and I didn't appreciate the language that was used and … just some scums that just, it just bothered me.”

Signing has to get real old for these guys, so much so that I hate to mention this.  But the way to get back at the "scum" is to make their efforts worthless by flooding the market with your signature.....

Shack had this as well, which sounds like the way to handle things:

At the Farmers Insurance Open this year, there was a special kids-only signing area that most players went to, though a surprising number didn't understand it was only for the little guys and gals and skipped it. But it's definitely something more tournaments should be doing. If nothing else, so the kids don't have to rub elbows with scums!

And lest we think that Jordan is imagining things, John Strege spends a few spare minutes on E-bay:

A cursory check of eBay on Thursday morning shows a flag autographed by Jordan Spieth offered up for $350, another for $375. A Spieth-signed pro-am pairing sheet is going for $49.99, a Spieth-signed program for $75. 

These items were all from the Waste Management Phoenix Open that ended only four days ago. Safe to assume that these are not 10-year-old girls or 12-year-old boys with entrepreneurial spirits doing business on eBay. 

We bring this up in the wake of Spieth having gotten into a verbal spat at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on Wednesday with adults apparently in the business of collecting signed memorabilia for the purpose of selling it.

John, you're killing me... I had my eye on that ProAm pairing sheet.

 Never Too Early To Panic - Methinks that Ewan Murray is a bit overwrought with these worries that the membership policies of the 2020 venue will impact golf's long-term Olympic future:

The International Olympic Committee’s position on this is fascinating. Already, it is understood to have made its unhappiness over the Japan situation perfectly clear. Whereas golf was believed to be very close to securing an extended Olympic run in the early part of this year, issues such as this will not help. The joust between Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson in Rio, albeit overplayed as some kind of tournament novelty, was in golf’s credit column but what arrived before and after is hardly endearing. 

For more than 100 years, the Olympics could look at golf’s distinct troubles with a relief at not being embroiled in them. The change has not been for the better; red faces all round would be appropriate.

That's a good one....  Because, you know, the IOC was a paragon of virtue, with nary a doping scandal on its resume....  And that 1972 Basketball final?  Nothing to see here....

But this is the bit that got my attention:

For the IGF to issue such a warning suggests it either has a Plan B – Wakasu Golf Links has been mentioned – or believes Kasumigaseki will ultimately change its ways. But this rather misses the point; who on earth thought choosing this club was sensible at the outset, in 2013? If it did not know about the membership policy then, it was a dereliction of duty by the IGF. If it was known and accepted, then it is even worse.

This is the IGF’s second sizeable Olympic blunder in as many attempts; previously, they comprehensively failed to convince marquee golfers such as Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, Adam Scott, Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson why Brazil was both safe and worthwhile. And it should be recognised that the senior IGF officials are not rank amateurs, these are established administrators.

Where is the extreme vetting when we need it?

Now, we do have one small bit of good news on this subject:

A group of Brazilian businessmen have stepped in to assure at least the short-term viability of the Olympic Golf Course in Rio, according to the president of the International Golf Federation. 

“Things are looking a little better, there’s a group of people who have come together that have a relationship with the land owner there, and they’ve re-engaged enough of the greens staff to keep the maintenance going,” said Peter Dawson, the former chief executive of the R&A and current president of the IGF. “The greens staff are now being paid, which they weren’t.”

Though other venues aren't faring quite as well.... 

I know it's a minority opinion, but I was brought up with the understanding that when you lie down with dogs...  you know the rest.  

Nothing To See Here - We hear continuously that, despite the obvious improvements in equipment and especially golf balls, that amateur golfers are as bad as ever....  Really, who ya gonna believe, the governing authorities or your lyin' eyes?

Mike Stachura says that it just isn't so:

Golfers not only are getting better, they may be getting better at their sport than any other 

group of athletes are getting at theirs. 

This bold statement isn’t originally mine. I was having an email exchange with former USGA Senior Technical Director Dick Rugge, when listening to the recent Hot List podcast. When there was a suggestion that golfers really haven’t improved despite all the advances in technology, Rugge, who often talked about the subject of handicap trends during his tenure at the USGA, told me about some handicap data that suggested just the opposite. 

A quick call to the USGA confirmed that very fact. In the last 25 years, the average USGA handicap for a man has improved nearly two full strokes, from 16.3 to 14.4. For women, the improvement is no less impressive, dropping from 29.7 in 1991 to 26.1 in 2016.

That's fairly significant, as Mike explains.  But why, Mikey?

Why are golfers getting better? It certainly seems a reasonable suggestion that a key contributor to making average golfers better is the fundamental changes in equipment technology over the last two decades. Go hit some tee shots with a 1990 TaylorMade Burner or try to find a decent hybrid from the first Bush Administration. Quite simply, it’s easier to get the first shot up in the air and in play today than it was 25 years ago. And it’s also easier to hit longer shots from the rough or fairway than it was in the days of 2-irons and steel-shafted persimmon 5-woods.

Ya think?  

Mike does point out some of the offsetting factors, such as longer courses and faster greens, but so much of this comes back to the ball.  Not just that it goes further, but also that it spins less....  Though I'd have proffered that he not turn the item into an advert for their Hot List.

Since we're talking about players getting better, how about this guy?

There's getting hot, feeling it, in the zone, "He's on Fire!"... and then, whatever dimension Bernd Wiesberger's Friday performance occupies. In the second round of the European Tour's Maybank Championship in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the 31-year-old Austrian put on a historic display, recording nine straight birdies at Saujana Golf and Country Club.

I don't care what miniature golf course he accomplished that on, it's still amazing....

Best Headline Ever - Some people really get the concept of click bait:

Luxury doomsday community announces "Course of the Gods" golf complex

Really, where do you start?  Here, apparently:

Trident Lakes is a luxury end-of-the-world gated community set to open in 2018.

Located in Fannin County in Northeast Texas, the $300 million development will feature over 530 fortified subterranean condos built to withstand a major catastrophe. Also set for the grounds are a spa, 100-stall equestrian center, four miles of jogging/biking trails, five gun ranges, tennis courts, polo fields, indoor gym, shops, restaurants, and statue of Poseidon holding a golden trident, billed as one of the largest in the world. (There's no room for subtly in the post-apocalyptic world.) 

Add one more recreation to the mix: an 18-hole golf course and driving range. In early February, Trident Lakes named Dave Edsall with DE Golf Design to helm the "Course of the Gods."

Yanno, I could riff on this, but there are times (end times?) when you just copy-and-paste:

Sprawled over 700 acres of land, the course will go along with the resort's Greek mythology theme: the par-4 18th hole will finish over two ponds and be called “Poseidon’s Revenge.” Other holes may include “Zeus” (a potential 650-yard par 6), “Hermes” (surrounded by hazards and boundaries) and “Nesoi” (an island-green par 3). 

"Course of the Gods" sure is an, ahem, audacious name for the links; not sure you want to be deriding the heavens after a worldwide disaster. Nevertheless, what better way to spend the final days on earth than an emergency nine?

Yeah, the emergency nine gag is a good one....  I also thought about whether they have four-hole loops in case the end times come ahead of schedule.....  But what in heck do you think this means?

“Dave’s experience and vision fits perfectly with the special community we are building,” said Trident Lakes CEO Jim O’Connor in a statement. “We’re confident we’ll have a golf course that exceeds our residents’ lofty expectations.”

What's he, a Nagasaki survivor?   

Midweek Musings

Tomorrow is a travel day, assuming of course that travel is possible given the snow storm heading for the East coast.  And yes, I do appreciate the irony of your humble correspondent being delayed by snow...  Though appreciate isn't quite the word for whick I'm grasping...

Pebble, The Premortem - In The Morning Read, Gary Van Sickle boldly goes where few dare to tread:

The first year that I covered the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am was 1990, the last year that legendary Cypress Point was part of the three-course rotation. 

Of course, no one knew then that it would be the last call at Cypress. I went to the tournament for the express purpose of walking those hallowed holes for the first time. That’s how I happened to be at the 14th tee, the course’s outer edge along 17-Mile Drive and the Pacific, in one of the early rounds, when I saw two familiar faces teeing off: Burt Lancaster and Robert Wagner.

Really?  Cypress used to be in the rota?  I hope they got more than a cow pasture to be named later in swapping it ut for Poppy Hills....

But here's the gist of Gary's item:

The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, which made its debut 80 years ago and returns to the Monterey Peninsula this week, isn’t what it used to be. Celebrity golf isn’t what it used to be, maybe because celebrities aren’t what they used to be.

When it was the Bing Crosby Clambake, stars teed it up. Big, big stars. By 1990, we were almost out of big, big stars. Lancaster certainly was. (Although I always wished he’d been paired with pro golfer Jim Thorpe because one of Lancaster’s memorable roles was “Jim Thorpe All-American,” about the American Indian super-athlete. Wagner was a star, too, and was huge in several TV series.

It Takes a Thief was one of the seminal TV series of my youth, though that's not important now... Here's Gary's rousing coda:

The corporate executives far outnumber the celebrities in the pro-am these days. I don’t blame CBS for shamelessly hyping these execs; they know where their bread (pun intended) is buttered. But I don’t have the patience to watch rich guys in whom I have no vested interest chopping it up and seeing Phil Mickelson hit one shot every 12 minutes, then waiting for Peter Kostis to analyze some schlub like Huey Lewis and his god-awful swing on the Konica-Minolta Biz-Hub Slo-Motion Marlboro IBM Messerschmidt Action Cam. 

I’m not saying bring back the good old days. I’m saying, it’s time to get rid of the celebrities on account of … we’re all out of Burt Lancasters.

Gary, there's a little spittle on the corner of your mouth...  No, the other side.  Got it.

But this is over Burt Friggin' Lancaster....imagine if he were old enough to remember The Rat Pack and The Match.  Here's a bit of Geoff's reaction to Gary:

We all want to see more Pebble Beach, but the format is well known and won't be

changing. Reconcile yourself to this tradition unlike any other. Many casual fans seeing celebrities play golf--at least they ones they've heard of. For every Gary Mule Deer there is a Justin Timberlake, Mark Wahlberg, Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers who put their games on display in what is, for them, a difficult stage compared to their day jobs. (Full celebrity list here.) 

The bigger issue plaguing the AT&T National Pro-Am arrives with the coverage. Namely, who CBS chooses to cover, how little their golf broadcast model has evolved and a sense that change is bad. As the tournament has added younger celebrities and more athletes, the broadcast feels almost the same as it did 20 years ago (except for some new voices, HD, some Trackman and snippets of jaw-dropping drone shots). In an event where it is impossible to please all, CBS pays a price for excessive coverage of certain CEO's and other friends of the network. 

Would a fresher take on the coverage help? Of course. One of the most visually stunning venues on the planet deserves to be shown off more with those mysteriously seldom-used drone shots, while more sound from group conversations would bring viewers closer to the action.

Kudos to Gary for at least acknowledging that there's a problem, because few in the PGA/Golf Channel Media Complex will go there...  It is The Most Painful Day in Golf Broadcasting, and my attorneys have bene instructed to trademark that title.

Back to Van Cynical for a second, who crystallizes where it all went wrong:

Comedy actor Bill Murray took the tournament’s mantel from Lemmon and carried it brilliantly. Even CBS Golf made it a point to show as little of him as possible for years while trying to shove Ray Romano and the unfunny Kevin James, both starring in CBS sitcoms then, down our throats. I once followed Murray for 54 holes to do a story, and he put on a daily six-hour improv show for the fans. Amazing.

I have mixed feelings about Murray, but Gary states the obvious, that he's an actual entertaining.  CBS somehow forgot that their broadcast needs to either show competition or entertainment...  One or the other, guys.  If I'm in the mood for a 3-hour infomercial, I'll tune in to Golf Channel at 3:00 a.m., thank yu very much...

The other issue is that CBS has become alarmingly treacly when broadcasting any Tour event... Combined with B-list celebs and suits, it's become unwatchable.  The only solution that I can see is to give the event to NBC just to shake things up.... Turn Johnny and Feherty loose on the amateurs and maybe something entertaining will ensue.  I can't promise a full cure, but I'm pretty confident it won't get any worse.

USGA R&A A-Go-Go - Am I the only one that thinks this statement from Mike Davis a tad hyperbolic?

“Most widespread, significant set of rule changes that’s ever been made. If you go back over 100 years and look at the changes that have been made, these are significant.

Ever?  I'm not sure exactly what he's smoking, bt I do hope he brought enough to share... A reminder, this is what's under consideration:

• Reducing search time for lost balls from five minutes to three
• Allowing players to repair spike marks on greens
• Emphasizing the use of red stakes for water hazard

• Eliminating the use of club lengths when taking relief and allowing players to drop from any height rather than shoulder-length

Sorry for the formatting issues above, as that last bullet should be two separate items.  Does anyone really think that changing the allowable search time from 5 to 3 minutes is going to discernibly change pace of play?   Especially when it precedes an illegal drop, because no one without his or her name on their bag actually akes the walk of shame back to the tee.

What's missing from these discussions are real-world examples of the effect of changing yellow stakes to red, for instance.  Also, if you're focused on fairmess and pace of play, aren't white stakes more of an issue than yellow or red?

And as we've previously discussed, I have deep reservations about eliminating the club length measure for relief.  It seems to this observer that the places from which we take relief, water and cart paths, feature severe conditions in their surrounds.  I just don't see how you don't allow the player limited flexibility in where to drop... Perhaps we should leave it there until we see the actal proposed rules changes?  Earlier, Davis had this as well:

In aiming to make the Rules more easily understandable, the modernization project has focused on using visuals to help articulate the Rules in a more impactful way than mere words. Bodenhamer said that the use photos, images and even video to provide greater explanation has been explored and is likely to be implemented. 

Davis, too, stressed a need for technology to help update and deliver the Rules in the 21st century. 

“How come we can’t have an instance where someone can [take their phone and] say ‘Siri, I hit my ball into a water hazard. What are my options?’ ” Davis said.

But isn't that a slippery slope?  What's to stop a player from instead asking, "Siri, why am I hooking the ball today?"  If a player has arange finder with slope adjustment in his bag, he's deemed to have used it in violation of the rules...  

Although Geoff has a more personal reaction:

It pains this Apple fanboy to say it, but Alexa would probably do better on the Rules of Golf test.

Hey, we all have personal issues, but there's no need to burden others with them....

Pebble, After The Deluge -  I have other weather worries, but they had true clambake weather yesterday:

Remember 2009 when weather dominated the scene at that AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am? Well, Mother Nature came back for Round 2 today in northern California. 

High winds and heavy rain tortured the gorgeous course throughout the day. Thankfully, the tournament was prepared, and warned spectators about the dangerous conditions. Considering 2009’s natural nonsense, they have a good amount of experience. From pros to celebrities to common folk, the treacherous conditions are detailed for you below. You made the right move staying indoors.

And this obligatory shot:

Wow, I'm just relieved that this didn't happen in Phoenix, otherwise two or more folks might have been injured.

There's more great photos at that link and also here, where Tony Finau and J.B. Holmes post great video from the famed 7th hole.  Spoiler alert, J.B. hit 6-iron, but Tony wnet with a hold-off 5-iron....

Can't Miss Update - Via Shack, a very nice feature on former can't miss Patrick Cantley, who while dealing with a devastating back injury was given an even more devastating lesson on perspective:

It was around 1 a.m. on a February night a year ago when the two friends decided they would walk to Woody’s Wharf in Newport Beach. Cantlay was still dealing with the

latest diagnosis from his doctor. 

After dominating as an amateur – Cantlay was the No. 1 player in the World Amateur Golf Rankings for a record 55 weeks – he finally seemed poised to start cashing in on the PGA Tour when the back injury struck. For three years he struggled to return to the sport full-time, but he had just received devastating news – the stress fracture in his lower back wasn’t healing and he couldn’t touch a club, not even a putter, for at least 10 months. 

But that was just the beginning of the nightmare.

Sometimes life just really sucks, and there's no glossing over that.  Patrick will be in the field this week as he tries to work his way back, one of ten events he can play on his major medical exemption.  Maybe CBS will even deign to show us the young man unless, of course, Ray Romano is in the field....

Yeah, That's The Ticket - The International Olympic Committee isn't at all full of itself, so this will meander on along its predictable path:

The Kasumigaseki Country Club, which is set to host golf for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics,

failed to reach a decision about ending a ban on women as full members on Tuesday, with the head of its board of directors calling the situation "a nuisance." 

The board meeting followed calls to shift the tournament from the private club in Saitama prefecture because of the rule, which allows women to play Monday through Saturday but bars them from becoming full members and from playing on Sundays.

A nuisance?  That's just priceless....  he also called it perplexing, which might be even better....

Sir, let me explain things for you....  You will obey your betters or you will be banished from polite society.... Any questions?

This Week in Gear - A few quasi-interesting items, including Under Armour expanding its golf presence.  From the press release:

Sun Mountain to Make Under Armour Golf Bags

February 7, 2017 -- Sun Mountain has entered a licensing agreement with Under Armour to create and market a new line of golf bags. The 2017 collection includes two stand bags (Speedround $239.99, Match Play $259.99) and one cart bag (Armada $259.99). These new golf bags are scheduled to be at on- and off-course golf specialty stores beginning in April. Interested retailers should contact their Under Armour sales representatives to place an order.

UA just had a bit of an earnings debacle, though of course this had to be in the works for some time.

There has long been speculation that the company might dive deeper into the golf business, but I think that unlikely.  They have the benefit of already being positioned in the higher margin side of the business, and this smells like a low-risk strategy to enter one small additional category.  If you ever hear that they have designs on becoming a full line equipment company run, don't walk, to the exit....

Are you ready for the next big thing?  

John Daly, 50, is now playing a driver with vertical grooves. The Vertical Groove Driver looks pretty much like your typical titanium-headed design, except for one significant

thing: The scoring lines go north and south. In the press release, Daly says, "I've been hitting the ball further and straighter off the tee since putting the Vertical Groove Driver in my bag." Well, who doesn't want that?

Well, I always assumed that something was misaligned in Daly....<rim shot>  But drivers, you know, don't really have grooves: 

Whether it works is a more delicate question. Most name-brand manufacturers have concluded that grooves on thin-faced titanium drivers do nothing except create stress points. That's why most drivers have just trace scoring lines, there mostly for aesthetics, or, at the sweet spot, no lines at all. The good people at Vertical Groove Golf, not surprisingly, will tell you that the problem is one of orientation.

 But do go on:

"When people see the vertical grooves, they say, 'Why didn't I think of that?'" Rubin Hanan, one of the entrepreneurs behind the driver, told me. He and his partners secured the patent rights to the idea from the estate of Tony Antonius, a serial golf inventor credited with putting the Velcro strap on golf gloves.

Yeah, my reaction is a bit different, more like that if this were a good idea, we'd have seen it fifty years ago when the golf ball really spun....   Anyway, good luck to you all, because I'm thinking you'll need it.

But we move on....  are you ready for high-top golf shoes?  I thought you were....

“The Air Jordan I was the first sneaker that really pushed the limits on what was

acceptable,” Michael Jordan said. “It’s like being a young kid, when his parents say he can’t do something but he wants to do it. I felt like I wanted to be different.” 

The limited-edition Air Jordan I Retro High golf shoe is certainly that, defying the status quo much like its basketball predecessor. The shoe does have a few notable differences: extra padding to provide additional comfort and support around the ankle, Jumpman logo on the tongue, Nike Free-inspired outsole with soft spikes and a fully waterproof upper.

Can someone please inform me of what actual problem this new product solves?  Because, the extra support of a high-top kinda makes sense when you're picking and rolling to the hoop.... Oh never mind, though I do have to ask, who's responsible for the shorts-and-compression-tights look?

Can we agree that this is not a good look?

Great Places In Golf - Monterey Peninsula Golf Club

Alan Shipnuck has been en fuego....  Golf.com gave him a platform called The Knockdown, and he's been turning them out quicker than I can blog them... I'm not sure I know what a "platform: is in this context, but more Shipnuck is a good thing.

You all know what week it is....  it's time for the most painful broadcast in all of golf, Saturday's pucker-fest from Pebble.  But the aforementioned Shipnuck has the skinny on the third leg of the Crosby stool, including this fine lede:

America's next great golf course is here: the reimagined and reborn Dunes Course at Monterey Peninsula Country Club. The name will be familiar to enthusiasts of the old 

The Par-3 14th.

Crosby Clambake, as from 1947-64 the Dunes was one of the tournament's host venues. In recent years MPCC has developed a national profile as its other course, the Shore, has joined the Pebble Beach Pro-Am rota and become one of the favorite tracks among PGA Tour pros because of its artistic holes and endless views. It was the success of the Shore renovation -- overseen by the late architect-poet Mike Strantz at the turn of the century -- that helped convince MPCC it was time to polish its other jewel. 

The Dunes dates to 1925 and has a strong pedigree. The course was drawn up by Seth Raynor but he died in the early phases of construction. Fortuitously, Dr. Alister MacKenzie was working on Cypress Point, just a few bends down 17 Mile Drive, and his collaborator Robert Hunter oversaw the completion of the Dunes, which like Cypress winds its way through the forest and down to the sea. But unlike Cypress Point’s sandy soil, the Dunes was built largely on clay. Back when it used to rain in California, drainage could be a problem. In the late 1990’s MPCC retained Rees Jones to help avoid the winter quagmires.

Only two 'graphs, but lots of architectural name-dropping....  Mike Stranz was truly one of the crazy men of the field, right up there with Desmond Muirhead.  Like Desmond he was capable of great work when he was on his meds (I speak figuratively, of course), or perhaps the better analogy is to Tillie when he was hitting the bottle.  

Like his namesake Grateful Dead lyricist, Robert Hunter's reputation is almost completely obscured by the passage of time.  He might be the greatest architect of whom you've never heard, especially when you consider that of Mackenzie's masterpieces, Pasatiempo is the only one he saw through to completion.  Shall we let Alan continue?

Jones’s solution was to raise the small, well-protected greens. This aided drainage but made for very demanding approach shots; the deep bunkers severely punished even 

The Par-5 ninth.

small misses. Strantz’s redone Shore Course was much more user-friendly than its longer, tighter big brother, and in recent years the MPCC membership was playing two-thirds of its rounds on the Shore.

MPCC talked to many top names about the Dunes redo but ultimately settled on Tom Fazio, who couldn’t resist the chance to be part of what is almost surely the last large-scale golf project in Pebble Beach. But Fazio, 71, is easing into retirement. Knowing he wouldn’t often be traveling out West, he entrusted day-to-day operations to two former associates, Tim Jackson and David Kahn, who have now hung up their own shingle, Jackson-Kahn Design. They were omnipresent throughout the project and did such tremendous work that the bronze plaque on the first tee gives Jackson-Kahn Design equal billing with Fazio.

Funny, but if there are two guys that I'd never trust with a restoration of a great architect's work, it would be Rees and Fazio.   I don't take back a word of my prior criticism, but it's also gratifying that they can check their egos at the door when appropriate.

Once upon a time the Clambake rota included Cypress Point, and there's no replacing that Sistine Chapel of golf.....  But, we can all agree that either course at MPCC is a huge step up from Poppy Hills....  Of course, just about anything would be.  According to Shack, the Dunes Course will be used next year in the AT&T, while the Shore course is in play this week.

But this is the bit that's got folks buzzing:

Winged Foot and Baltusrol each have two courses with championship pedigrees but at both properties the tracks look and play pretty much the same. Whisper Rock is a cool

scene and enjoys the starpower of various Tour players as members, but the outskirts of Scottsdale can’t compete with the grandeur of Pebble Beach. 

No, the best 36-hole club in America is now Monterey Peninsula, with two very different courses that are every bit as good as those that share the same famous coastline.

All righty.....  Winged Foot, Baltusrol and... Whisper Rock?  Alan, you do realize that one of these things is unlike the other two?

Thin is, despite my credentials as an insufferable purist, I'm prepared to accept that MPCC is a better 36 than the two storied Tillie clubs.  Not that i's a fair fight, built as it is on the shores of the Moterey Peninsula.... as opposed to central Jersey.  The quality of the land trumps all....

Though, Alan, where does this rate compared to the first two Bandon courses?  But let us not fall into the trap of obsessing over rankings, two great courses in a spectacular location have been lovingly and faithfully restored....  feel free to rejoice.

Weekend Wrap - Sudden Death Edition

I keep hearing that this was the first ever to go to overtime, though I'm pretty sure that Hidecki's win last year was also in sudden death.... Everyone loves OT, that is until it goes past kickoff.

Scenes From The Wasted - OK, Matsuyama v. Simpson isn't exactly Brady v. Ryan, but still:

Hideki Matsuyama was the last man standing at golf's biggest party -- again. 

Matsuyama won the Waste Management Phoenix Open on the fourth hole of a playoff

for the second straight year, outlasting Webb Simpson on Sunday at TPC Scottsdale. 

Matsuyama won with a 10-foot birdie putt on the short par-4 17th, the same hole where the 24-year-old Japanese star finished off Rickie Fowler a year ago. 

"I just had faith and believed that my chance would come again, and I just waited and waited, had patience," Matsuyama said. "Finally, that last one went in."

First, who knew that Webb Simpson was in the field, or even still on Tour?   But be honest, when the Pats won the coin toss you knew that the Falcons' defense coudln't stop Brady from taking it to the house....  In Phoenix, it didn't feel like either of these guys could make a putt, or even get a putt to the hole....

There's little doubt that the Japanese star has raised his game, and deserves to be on our radar for the coming majors.  I'll just lay down a marker and then we can move on, but I still see a tentative putter under late-Sunday pressure.... But this amused me no end:

Matsuyama broke a tie with Shigeki Maruyama for the most victories by a Japanese player, and became the first to win playoffs in an event two straight years since Ernie Els in the Sony Open in Hawaii in 2003-04.

If you watched the playoff broadcast (I'm speaking to both of you, though I in fact watched the last three holes of the playoff after you-know-what), Jim Nancy-boy was trying to convince Sir Nick that he was the last to win back-to-back in playoffs, specifically the 1989 and '90 Masters.  CBS peddling fake news?  Who woulda thunk it?

Now comes the Point-Counterpoint portion of our programming, beginning with this query from AZCentral.com:

Golf tournaments rarely transcend the sport. Few appeal to the masses. Only one can

thrive on a party vibe alone, where the best golfers in the world are merely bit players. 

The Waste Management Phoenix Open is the exception. And after another record-breaking event in 2017, only one question remains: 

How big can it get?

Maybe a better question is how big should it get? 

“It’s hard to know where it’s going to go,” tournament chairman Andy Markham said. “It’s hard to imagine it’s going to get bigger and better. But it’s been getting bigger and better consistently for 30 years.”

Those two words are not necessarily synonyms.... This event is clearly a major success story, and all credit to the Thunderbirds for that.  It's a the most attended golf event on the planet, and accomplishes the impossible of drawing non-golfers to the spectacle.  Let's also acknowledge that they succeed in succeeding on a weekend that other events would turn their nose up at, competing with that one football game that non-fans actually watch.

The linked piece you should read in full, including this answer to a question from Shack earlier in the week:

There is also the issue of growth. In 2017, the Phoenix Open doubled the size of the Bay Club, an opulent destination that abuts the 17th hole. Ten more skyboxes were added to

the 16th hole, along with 500 more general-admission tickets. Internal debate continues regarding the construction of a permanent stadium on the tournament’s signature hole, which now holds more than 16,000 people and still can’t meet the demand.

“The tough part is the agronomy because it’s such a massive structure,” Markham said. “We drop the first load of steel on October 1. It takes four months to put up and six weeks to pull down. If someone can figure out how to grow grass in the shade, then we might think about it.”

Wow!  They spend almost half the year assembling and disassembling..... 

They've been awfully clever, making Saturday the ultimate party day, knowing that on Sunday they're lucky to finish before kick-off....

But Phoenix, you ignorant slut, as you know all that alcohol has to include a darker side...  And Brian Wacker has the rather disgusting details:

It takes not much longer to confirm through a police officer who spoke on the condition

of anonymity because he’s not authorized to speak on such matters that last year one female had passed out from intoxication near a porta potty having defecated on herself. That was the least of her problems as she had a certain white, powdery substance around her nose that is illegal in all 50 states. 

Speaking of the porta pottys, more than one officer also confirms the biggest complaint from fans is people having sex in them. Later, I overhear this very complaint from a woman to a friend after returning to her seat. The officers also confirm these will actually be the least of their problems among the liquefied masses of 204,904 at TPC Scottsdale this day, a record crowd for the event.

Ick!  You couldn't pay me to do it there, even with Gisele Bundchen.... Oh, there's lots more, though mercifully we're past the bodily function portion of our programming:

The most popular items? Foam curly fries from Andrew “Beef” Johnston and actual cans of Guinness from Shane Lowry (it should be noted that in the wee hours a day earlier,

player Steven Bowditch was arrested for “Extreme Driving Under the Influence” after being found asleep at the wheel at a nearby intersection).

With every group comes action, too. Bets on everything from closest to the pin, to who will win the caddie races, another activity banned by the Tour but often disregarded by the caddies, including Camillo Villegas’ brother Manny, who face plants just short of the green in his footrace in the third group of the day.

Foam french fries seems kind of clever, though the frisbees noted earlier seem a bad idea for rather obvious reasons.  As for Manny, his brother's career has kind of morphed into a face plant as well...<rim shot>  I'll be here all week folks, please don't forget to tip your server.

Golfweek had a listing of sights you won't see at any other Tour stops, including these on point:

*Bag room attendants placing bets on what time they will see their first stretcher of the day.

*One concerned spectator checking the pulse of another spectator who had passed out in his bleacher seat Saturday afternoon.

Only one? 

Lastly, don't miss this wonderful Instagram video (still need a teenager to teach me how to embed).  #foreleft indeed!  Just click through, you can thank me later....

Who Doesn't Like a Happy Ending? - Add this to the list of things you never expected to see, a happy Sergio:

Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – Sergio Garcia presented fiancé Angela Akins 

Get a room, preferably not a porta potty

with the perfect engagement present. The happy couple will leave the Middle East with a check for $441,660 after Garcia won the $2.65 million Omega Dubai Desert Classic. 

Garcia, who got engaged to Akins on Jan. 7, won the tournament for the first time with a 19-under 271. It was good enough to see off 2007 winner Henrik Stenson by three shots. England’s Tyrell Hatton continued his fine run of play with a third-place finish at 14 under along with Denmark’s Lasse Jensen.

Is it me, or is that a surprisingly small winner's purse?  There's probably an appearance fee on top f it, but still....

I'm sure it doesn't grate on Sergio in the least that all we're talking about at this point is Tiger's WD....Shack says he doesn't know how to interpret this Rex Hoggard item. though I actually thin what he meant was, "That's an awful lot of lipstick for one pig."

Without further ado, I give you Make-up Artist to the Stars, Peter Dawson:

Peter Dawson, the former chief executive of the R&A and current chairman of the

Dubai-based Falcon Golf, told GolfChannel.com that despite Woods’ withdrawal after just 18 holes, his aura still drew fans and sponsors to Emirates Golf Club. 

“Obviously there is huge interest in his comeback from injury and so on, the fact he was in the field proved to be a massive draw in terms of ticket sales and hospitality sales,” Dawson said. “People still want to see Tiger Woods.”

I'm sure it did, Peter, but at the end of the week do those folks feel they got their money's worth? 

I am, however, pleased to report that Tiger and Steiny decided to make it up to those sponsors that ponied up his seven-figure appearance fee:

Dawson also said that it was Woods who offered to participate in a Q&A on Friday at the course after he’d withdrawn from the competition. 

“When he withdrew, he and [manager] Mark Steinberg discussed it and thought, 'What a shame we haven’t done everything the tournament was hoping for,' and they offered to do it, which was nice,” Dawson said.

“He came in clearly in a little bit of pain, but sat down and soon had a smile on his face and we had a few jokes,” Dawson said. “He responded well, cracked a few jokes, he’s a pro.”

Maybe I'm a bit too quick to criticize Tiger, as that shows an obligation above and beyond his own needs.  What?

The Q&A, which was emceed by Dawson, lasted about 20 minutes for an estimated 60 sponsors and officials.

Never mind.

The Tour Confidential panel dealt with Tiger right out of the box: 

1. Tiger Woods fired a birdieless 77 in the first round of the Dubai Desert Classic, said his back wasn't an issue, then withdrew less than 24 hours later, citing back spasms. On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being he's done), how concerned are you about Woods?

I'm gonna go with 11.  Per Nigel Tufnel, that's one higher than 10....

Alan Shipnuck: 10. How long can he keep doing this to himself?

Himself?  Sheesh, how long can he keep doing this to US? 

Josh Sens: 10, though I wonder if the mental issues aren't just as big of an obstacle as the back. Only Woods knows the depths of his confidence issues, but I can't help wondering whether this isn't the Seve warning coming true: once a golfer loses his nerve …

There were few athletic declines as ugly as the great Seve's.... 

One last visual item from Dubai:

Speaks for itself, doesn't it?  

Wither Jaime - I was recently bemoaning that fact that the great Jaime Diaz hadn't been heard from on Tiger's recent travails...  And right on cue he pops up, but with this:

HOW SERGIO GARCIA GOT US BACK TO THINKING HE WILL WIN HIS ELUSIVE MAJOR (AND WHY YOU SHOULD THINK IT, TOO)

Don't go there, Jaime!  Please!

As a guy who called all six of Sergio's zero Open Championship wins, perhaps it's just too soon....  Here's a trip down memory lane:

More close calls and failures ensued, until Garcia went darkly fatalistic after losing the

2007 Open Championship in a playoff to Padraig Harrington. “I’m playing a lot of guys out there, more than the field,” he whined, seeming to suggest he was being singled out by the golf gods. The woe-is-me got worse in 2008, when after seeming to achieve a breakthrough by winning the Players Championship, he was again nipped at the wire by Harrington in a mano-a-mano clash during the PGA Championship at Oakland Hills. 

After a bad weekend at the 2012 Masters, Garcia melted down, telling the Spanish media, “I’m not good enough. ... I don’t have the thing I need to have.” Asked what he was missing, he said “everything,” adding that “I need to play for second or third place.” Did he mean merely at the Masters? His reply was chilling: “In any major.”

 And that doesn't even cover Bethpage....  but let Jaime make his case:

Long popular among his playing peers, Garcia has also grown more personable with the world at large. A key might be his impending marriage to Angela Akins, a former

University of Texas golfer (above). When Woods signed with TaylorMade, Garcia took the high road, putting aside their longtime differences to welcome him to the playing staff. Garcia even responded in the lighthearted affirmative to an Englishman who begged his favorite golfer—through more than 200 Twitter requests over several months—to let him caddie for him in a tournament. Garcia has agreed to let Mark K. Johnson carry his bag during the pro-am of the British Masters in September.

The cumulative effect is that Garcia is freer than ever to take full advantage of his greatest strength: ball-striking. Among insiders, Garcia is renowned for the way he can compress a golf ball, especially with his irons. It’s a product of the extraordinary lag Garcia achieves on his downswing, a move that was criticized as too extreme, especially as he failed to fulfill his early promise. But with time, Garcia has become a model for the wisdom of staying with a natural swing over chasing textbook perfection.

Given how Sergio labored under expectations for El Nino, I'm not sure this is helpful.  I think it's great that he's found happiness in his personal life and seems to be able to let go of that turbulent past and play more freely.  He has always been one of the better ball-strikers out there, and still is to a great extent.

But playing freely in Dubai in February is something quite different than, say, June in Wisconsin or July in Southport.  I personally think the time has passed....  It's not inconceivable, of course, especially in difficult conditions where the purity of his ball-striking would be at a premium.  I just suspect that in the crucible of a late Sunday at a major, enough of the old demons would revisit....

Last Licks - So this was the last question to the TC panel linked above:

6. The Tour heads to the Monterey Peninsula for the game's most-celebrated pro-am. Who's the best celebrity you've crossed paths with during your journey in golf, and if the folks from the Clambake called and offered you a spot in the field, which pro would you like to be paired with?

I know, not even subtle....  But you gotta prime the pump.  Anyway, this last answer caught the sweet spot on my funny bone:

Bamberger: Best, as in most interesting to watch? Bill Murray. I've watched him, as most of us have, up-close-and-personal. I've been awed by the quickness of the wit and (now and again) have also been struck by the meanness of his spirit. The deep reserves of cool are a good and convincing act, until the shot means something to him, and then the great Murray is just like the rest of use. I'd like to be paired with Vijay. I caddied in groups with him in Europe in ‘91 and have always liked him.

I agree completely with Mike's assessment of Murray....  But Veej?  Really? There won't be much competition for that pairing....

It's a twofer, our second Spinal Tap reference of the day, this time from Ian Faith, who notes that Vijay's appeal is becoming increasingly selective.