Weekend Wrap

Thanks for your understanding about my need for a few days off....  Still busy, but I'll try to capture anything of interest that dropped during that short hiatus.  This post was started on Sunday, so please excuse any continuity errors you might notice.

Breaking Towards Indio - It turns out that running golf tournaments against the NFL isn't a great business model.  Who knew?  Though this game story makes it seem like it might have been worth watching:

Andrew Landry is back in the winner’s circle. 

The 32-year-old notched his second career win on the PGA Tour Sunday at The

American Express after shooting 65-67 on the weekend to win by two. He didn’t make it easy on himself. 

After opening with rounds of 66 and 64, Landry shot 33 on his front nine Sunday and added three straight birdies to start the back nine. He had built a five-shot lead that seemed insurmountable given only six holes remained … but then Abe Ancer happened. 

Ancer played bogey free and made it look easy shooting 63 to push Landry down the stretch. He buried a 25-footer for birdie on the island green 17th for his ninth birdie of the day. Landry had just bogeyed three straight holes to back up into a tie for the lead at 24 under … and then Scottie Scheffler happened.

You can click through for Scottie's moment in the sun....  Spoiler alert, it was short lived. 

The Tour heads Southwest to LaJolla and Torrey Pines, whereas we'll take a more circuitous route, musing on several items of note in conjunction with this event.

Wither Hope? -  Or, more accurately, wither The Event Formerly Known as The Hope?  Really, it's still big, it's just that the pictures got small....

An Alan Shipnuck mailbag dropped late last week that included this query:

The pro-am format has got to go. This week and Pebble are terrible viewing experiences. Do we really need AmEx clients playing rounds with professionals on the PGA tour? – @DJohnsonsSwag 

I fully agree. Decades ago the pro-am was an important part of the Tour’s business model, as much of the money collected from the amateurs went directly into the purse. Those days are long gone, as is the star power of Bing, the Rat Pack, and other A-listers who added a lot to the events. I love Bill Murray, and would miss his schtick if Pebble did away with the ams, but that would be the only real loss. In exchange we could have much more challenging and imaginative course setups and cleaner broadcasts. Sign me up.

Sit tight, as we're likely to go long here.  I obviously completely agree with Alan...  well, perhaps not completely, as my appreciation of Bill Murray is limited to very small doses. 

But if we're talking about Pebble, the blame has to lie with CBS.  Why the Tour allowed CBS to co-opt that event as one long promo for CBS sitcoms remains an enduring mystery.  As in all such things, the assumption is that money changed hands, above and beyond that for the broadcast rights, but Saturday at Pebble I've long called the most painful day in broadcast golf.

But let's review of few events of this past week and perhaps you'll see where things go off the rails.

Submitted for your approval, our latest installment of This Week In Backstopping:

On Friday night, the tour tweeted video of a spectacular bunker shot by Russell Knox during the second round of the American Express. It didn't take long, though, for people

to focus not on the shot itself, but what happened while Knox's golf ball rolled toward the hole.

Knox's ball barely misses hitting playing partner Kevin Na's unmarked ball inside tap-in range. And stoking the flames of a potential controversy is the fact Na can be heard saying, "Hit my ball!" in the clip.

Sigh.

Why was Na's ball not marked? Good question—especially considering the attention the debate over backstopping has gotten the past couple years after several videos made the rounds. In 2018, Jimmy Walker didn't do anything to make the issue go away when he admitted to purposely leaving his ball near the hole to help certain players.

Alex, let me explain.  Na's ball was not marked because these guys are all about pace of play.....  Let me know when you've stopped laughing and I'll continue.  It's OK, I don't mind waiting.

The Tour's cluelessness is perhaps the most amusing part here.  This shot was originally aired in a "Playing Through" segment, meaning without Na's....errr, encouragement.  But this form of cheating is apparently integral to Living Under Par™, so what's a fellow to do?

Of course it's that Jimmy Walker quote, "Do you want me to leave that there?" that gives away the game.  Of course the endgame is troubling, the folks running the most prestigious golf tour on the planet are content to allow their events to be decided by whether or not Jimmy Walker likes the guy with whom he is paired....

Shack, of course, is all over this, though this first bit is an opportunity for your humble correspondent to maturely note, I told you so:

Just when we thought the whole backstopping thing was over, along comes Kevin Na adding a new layer.

To be clear, no violation of the rules took place. But the spirit of the rules? That’s another story.

You know the drill by now. Backstopping is the scratch-my-back-I-scratch-yours weirdness that has been endorsed by those yearning for some sort of club membership in the world of professional golf.

The practice seemingly subsided since last February’s embarrassing episode featuring Amy Olson and Ariya Jutanugarn. But as fans have come to understand the strange little practice, they don’t like it.

Geoff's (and others') contention that an incident on the ladies' tour would affect the BSD's of the PGA always struck me as wishful thinking.  It's the proverbial tree falling in the forest....

But this point has obvious salience:

Now imagine in the near future when sports gambling is legal and Na is heard rooting for another player’s ball to hit the one he purposely left near the hole. Given the reactions to this shot to the PGA Tour’s Tweet there will be an outcry or worse, gamblers wanting inquiries and refunds.

All of this would be a non-issue if Na merely walked the six or seven paces to slap a coin down behind his ball. But pretty soon, if not already given what’s going on in sports, this bizarre cultural practice will be put in a different spotlight. And not one with soft lighting or minor consequences.

Yanno, when you're dependent upon professional gamblers to restore the integrity to your events, you might have jumped the rails.  Alas, Arnold Rothstein was unavailable for comment.

Alan and his questioner bemoan the absence of A-list celebrities, especially a problem this week.  But we've been over this territory before, most notably with Billy Walters, former BFF to this week's host.  Obviously there are no standards except that the check must clear, but our host this week was guilty of insider trading, saved only by a technicality. 

But, it turns out that we haven't scraped the bottom of the barrel yet, as in the field this week is Yapto Soerjosoemarno and his son Yedidiah.  You'll be forgiven for being unfamiliar with those names, but isn't that why we have Wikipedia?

Yapto Soerjosoemarno, full name KRT. Yapto Soelistyo Soerjosoemarno, S.H, is an Indonesian politician who is known as the leader of Pemuda Pancasila (Pancasila Youth),

Good luck finding a mug shot.

an organization of quasi-official political gangsters that supported the New Order military dictatorship of Soeharto, while also engaging in other lucrative but non-official criminal acts.[1] Pemuda Pancasila played an important role in supporting Soeharto's military coup in 1965: they ran death squads for the Indonesian army, murdering thousands of alleged communists across the province of North Sumatra. 

He was born 16 December 1949, in Surakarta, Central Java. His father, Ir. KPN. Soetarjo Soerjosoemarno, is a member of the Mangkunegaran Javanese nobility. Soerjosoemarno is also an expert in topography and geodesy who finished his education in the Netherlands. His mother, Dolly Zegerius, who is of Jewish Dutch origin is a competitive contract bridge player, and a naturalised Indonesian citizen. 

Yapto Soerjosoemarno is known as the leader of Pemuda Pancasila (Pancasila Youth), an organization of semi-official political gangsters that supported the New Order military dictatorship of Soeharto. Indeed, Pemuda Pancasila played an important role in supporting Soeharto's military coup in 1965: they ran death squads for the Indonesian army, murdering thousands of alleged communists and Chinese Indonesians across the province of North Sumatra. The leaders of these death squads, Effendy Nasution, Jan Pahrum Lubis, Roshiman and others selected Yapto to lead Pancasila Youth in 1980. In addition to leading Pancasila Youth, Yapto today leads a political party formally affiliated with Pancasila Youth called the Patriot Party.[2] He is also a lawyer and owns a law firm in South Jakarta, Indonesia. The Patriot Party is known for its loyalty to the family of former Indonesian President, the late General Suharto.

See, this is why I don't fear for the future of our game.  It's true we're having difficulty enticing those stubborn millennails into our game but, fear not, we're killing it in the war criminal demo....Yanno, literally.

Lastly, an item not specifically tied to the Hope, but emblematic of the state of our leadership.  Shack, in blogging the backstopping item above, had a reference to PReed and the cheating allegations from December.  I believe that backstopping is cheating, though admittedly that's harder to pin on a player because those taking the action do so to benefit another party.

Many are bothered that Patrick received no penalty above and beyond the two strokes, an opinion that I don't share.  No need to rehash it all, but I thought it all kind of worked as it should.  The rules were enforced efficiently, and Patrick was allowed to show his true character. 

Of course, his fellow players were also allowed to show their characters, some of whom, shockingly, are put off by shoveling sand away from behind a golf ball:

During the Australian Open, on the eve of Presidents Cup week, Smith was asked about Reed’s rules violation at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas. Smith didn’t mince words, telling reporters, “If you make a mistake maybe once, you could maybe understand, but to give a bit of a bulls**t response like the camera angle … that’s pretty up there. I know Pat pretty good, and he’s always been nice to me, so I don’t want to say anything bad about him, but anyone cheating the rules, I’m not up for that. I don’t have any sympathy for anyone that cheats.”

 Any idea where this is going?  Are you familiar with the term Omertà?

The comments caused a stir, on social media and beyond. According to a source, an official from the PGA Tour spoke to Smith about the remarks, essentially issuing a warning that he would be fined in the future if he made similar statements. The tour, through a spokesperson, said it does not comment about disciplinary matters, though the player handbook does include a section with language that states a player can face sanctions for public attacks on fellow players. Smith, for his part, would not comment on the Reed matter, preferring to move on and put it behind him.

Ya got that?  The problem with Patrick Reed cheating is other players talking about it....Nice tour you got there, Jay.... Sure would be a shame if anything happened to it.

OK, I just remembered one more unsavory association that the Tour has no problem with:

Is this a bad time to remind everyone of the PGA Tour’s Houston Open brought to you by the Astros Foundation? Eh, it’s in the fall. We’ll deal with the cheating Asterisks then. Hopefully Patrick Reed is not their headliner. Oh right, Brooks Koepka has to play.

Why, have the Astros been in the news lately?  Admittedly MLB hasn't had a good cycle either, with their "player-driven" cheating scandal in which no players were punished. 

It's almost like all of our governing organizations (and I'm not limiting myself to golf) are failing us....  Anyone remember Robert Conquest's three laws of politics?  The third, specifically, in this case:

3. The simplest way to explain the behavior of any bureaucratic organization is to assume that it is controlled by a cabal of its enemies.

That rant took it out of me.... shall we move on to some more amusing items?

Ladies, Interrupted - Beth Ann Nichols, who covers the LPGA more extensively than anyone else, had this heartfelt cris de coeur posted on Friday:

Nichols: If Verlander and Fitzgerald are fans, why aren't you?

I'm sorry Beth Ann, but remind me which team that Verlander guy plays for?  You're suggesting that cheater should influence the rest of us?  Maybe we could put Patrick Reed in charge of team-building exercises at this year's Ryder Cup?

Beth Ann wouldn't be pleased with this morning's news cycle.  Of the three major golf publications, only Golf Digest has a straight game story of the LPGA TOC playoff that will resume this morning.  Golfweek has this header that one assumes won't amuse the ladies:

John Smoltz wins celebrity LPGA TOC, pros await Monday finish

Yeah, that's gonna piss off some folks. Golf Magazine is even worse for the gals, with nothing on the the girls but they have pixels to spare for this:

Is John Smoltz’s self-standing putter legal?

I thought caddies lining up players was a bad look, but Smoltz says, "Hold my beer":

The Tour Confidential gang got a piece of this action as well:

Pitching great John Smoltz turned heads in the celebrity event at the LPGA’s Diamond Resort Tournament of Champions with a self-standing putter that helps him ensure his putter face is lined up at address. The putter is legal. Should it be? 

Zak: I think it’s obviously being used as an alignment device, which is banned in every other scenario, so while I think the putter should be legal, it should be illegal to use it that way. 

OK, Boomer, I understand each and every word of your answer, but I have no idea what point you think you're making.  This putter does one thing, and one thing only.  You the genius think it should be legal in every other way.....  Remind me never to argue politics with you... 

Bamberger: The only bigger golf nerd than John Smoltz is Charles Howell III or Tiger Woods. I love that the Hall of Fame pitcher-turned-broadcaster cares so much. It’s a brilliant idea and I wish I had thought of it. But it should be illegal. 

Sens: It should definitely be illegal for John Smotlz. Where’s the pride? I have a hard time getting too worked up about this one. Players hold the putter down all the time and pivot around it to check their alignment. You could argue that that’s using the putter as an alignment device as well. Just musing aloud here, but maybe this is another argument for bifurcation. Let the average Jane or Joe do it but keep it out of formal competitions. 

Dethier: You guys nailed it. Since we’ve determined that golfers lining themselves up is a skill, this shouldn’t be allowed. If caddies can’t line up players from behind, players shouldn’t be able to, either.

And you wonder why I'm worn down by our governing bodies.  At the very moment that were mangling the rules to stop caddies from lining up their players, somehow this got on the conforming list.... Can't anyone here play this game? 

Bryson v. Brooks -  These two guys seem destined for a cage match, I'm almost expecting the UFC to promote it.  I don't understand much about Bryson, from the single-length irons to his glacial pace-of-play, though as a blogger I'm happy to have him around.

As you know, Bryson has embarked on a project to get "huge", another thing I won't pretend to understand.  A few weeks ago he picks a fight with Brooksie:

On Tuesday, Koepka and DeChambeau posed for a series of photos in lab coats. This was not a photoshoot about nuance; each player leaned into his respective Tour caricature, with Koepka holding a dumbbell and DeChambeau some sort of faux chemistry beaker. The two smiled for the cameras; all seemed well. 

On Wednesday, DeChambeau was asked about Koepka during his Fortnite Twitch stream, comparing their relative physiques. They get along, DeChambeau said, but just don’t really “see eye-to-eye.” Still, several months after acknowledging Koepka would “kick his a–” in a fight, a bulked-up Bryson pointed out that he outweighs Koepka now — and has a better core. 

“I don’t know if his genetics even make him look good,” DeChambeau said. “Did you see the Body Issue? He didn’t have any abs. I have abs.”

The PGA Tour morphed into Mean Girls so slowly that I barely noticed....   seriously, Bryson, who gives a you-know-what.  More importantly, have you figured out yet how to play a shot in less than ten minutes.

Brooksie, who has never struck me as the sharpest knife in the drawer, came back strong:

Heh!  So good, Brooks, who came up with that for you?

Those Confidentiialistas spared a moment for this as well:

The Brooks Koepka-Bryson DeChambeau feud that seemingly started after last year’s Northern Trust with Koepka remarking on DeChambeau’s “embarrassing” pace of play escalated last week with some mud-slinging between the two on social media and DeChambeau’s Fortnite stream. (Yes, the digital age has changed how players smack-talk, too.) What’s going on here? Legit beef, or light-hearted jousting? 

Sens: Probably a little bit of both, and Brooks has been getting the better of it. For all the falsehoods on social media, I like Twitter as a kind of truth serum for Tour pros. The tone of their e-exchanges has been playful, but it’s not hard to pick up on some genuine dislike. 

Zak: I think it’s legit beef. It sounds like they truly don’t see eye-to-eye on Bryson’s pace, and Brooks seems rather unforgiving on that topic. I didn’t consider this an issue until our colleague Luke Kerr-Dineen cited it as a potential future locker room issue during the 2020 Ryder Cup. It’s exactly the kinda thing that could make the American team chaotic again. 

Bamberger: The beautiful and revealing thing is DeChambeau cares and Koepka does not. Koepka is toying with a puppy who cannot scratch him. 

Dethier: I had the pleasure (?) of watching Bryson’s Twitch stream as this was going down; it was interesting how open he was and honest about not seeing eye-to-eye with Koepka. It’s nice to have two distinctly different personalities as prominent figures on Tour, and these two are certainly that. Koepka’s disdain and dismissiveness seems very real.

Of course I love Mike's answer most, because it so perfectly characterizes the relative positions of the two in the game, especially with Bryson's form in remission.  But Sean Zak goes off the rails again...  I'm not losing sleep about Bryson and Brooks screwing up that team room, that's why we have PReed.

All well and good, if only it had stayed among the two of them.  But there's this needy guy in South Florida requiring little excuse to show us his six pack:

Did The Brooks V. Bryson Ab Spat Awaken Shirtless Shark To Resurface?

Bryson, you'll pay for starting this.

Alan In Full - It's low aerobic blogging for sure, so sit back and enjoy:

Odds on Charlie Woods winning a major? – @AdamPeters_Golf 

10,000-1. Maybe longer. That Zapruder-like video sent a charge through the golf world but if you’ve ever been to an AJGA event you know there are an endless army of kids who swing the club like that. Pretty much every Tour player ever has taught their sons and grandsons the game. These kids had access to the best practice facilities and instruction. Only a handful have made it to the Tour, and none have won a major, at least not since the Dark Ages when the Willie Parks and Tom Morrises were roaming the countryside. Certainly Tiger himself is an X-factor. Can he transfer to his son the unparalleled course management skills and mental toughness and other intangibles that made him so great? Sports history says no.

I felt no need to blog that video when it hit, but pretty swings are a dime a dozen.  One needs a swing that repeats under all kinds of circumstances, impossible to discern from that short video.  Truthfully, the video of Charlie and Dad making duel fist pumps at the U.S. Open tennis made a bigger impression on me, but all good fun.

#AskAlan: My favorite Pete Dye course is Harbour Town. What is yours (to play, to spectate, and for tournament play)? – @David_Troyan 

To play: Teeth of the Dog. Dye’s masterpiece.

To spectate: Harbour Town. Such a pleasant stroll and demands shotmaking.

Tournament play: Sawgrass Stadium. Maximum architecture makes for a great stage.

Fair enough, but the more important point is that Sawgrass is far more playable than folks realize.  And that, to me, is the essential challenge of building golf courses.

Why didn’t Ryan Palmer hit a provisional from the bunker on 18? Palmer had to have known the chances of finding his 1st ball were slim. Couldn’t a rules official mandate he hit one prior to searching? In the name of pace of play, that was excruciating to watch. #AskAlan – @Aroma_Bean 

That was an excellent window into the entitlement of Tour players, as well as their optimism that the fans or marshals will alway be around to bail them out. More charitably, Palmer was so locked-in trying to win a tournament it didn’t occur to him that his ball might be lost. A rules official can’t mandate a provisional but he can certainly encourage it. Palmer’s caddie or playing partner could have done so as well. Everyone swallowed the whistle at a critical moment.

I didn't see it live, having tuned in during the search (and yes, the search was in an area that doesn't see much incoming).  It's OK to call it entitlement, but equally valid to call it personal experience.  I just have trouble being overly critical here because these guys are conditioned to expect their balls to be found, because in the vast majority of cases they are....

Which is more likely: Phil qualifying for the U.S. Open via his season performance/world ranking or via sectional qualifying? P.S. If he doesn’t qualify, does he play the U.S. Senior Open as a backup plan? #AskAlan – @EthanZimman 

I think Phil is going to have a very strong West Coast swing and play his way into the Open. Failing that, I’m sure the USGA would come through with a special exemption and spare him qualifying. I’d have no problem with that. Mickelson has been a keynote player at the Open for going on two decades, and for better or worse he is at the center of every recap of what happened the last time the tournament came to Winged Foot. He has to be there for the encore.

Is Phil not exempt into Winged Foot?  Wow, that could be quite the dilemma for the Far Hills Liberty Corner crowd.... Remind me, has Phil behaved himself at Prior U.S. Opens?  Of course, Alan's "strong West Coast swing" began with Phil not sniffing the cut, continuing last year's late-season collapse.

Over-under on how many stroke penalties will be applied under the new pace of play rule by the end of 2020? – @TurtleTraderBR 

One. These guys can all play faster when properly incentivized. It’s basic human nature. I’m coaching high school basketball and we do a competitive shooting drill in which the losers have to run. No matter how much I exhort the girls to practice at game-speed they don’t quite get there until I start counting down the final 10 seconds, at which point the players begin sprinting around like the young Cheryl Miller. Same principle applies.

Of course they can play faster when threatened, but a bit of a misfire from Alan.  The issue is the Tour itself, which wants more than anything for this issue to go away.  For as long as I can remember the Tour has structured disciplinary and drug testing polices to avoid any appearance of impropriety.  Not to penalize said impropriety, but rather to keep it out of the public eye.  In fact, this iconic Iowahawk tweet, about the media, applies here as well:

.

Same with the Tour, though occasionally a sacrifice must be made to the gods.  However, the sacrifice will always come from the expendables.

Players will always respond to incentives and penalties, provided they are meaningful.  As long as the Tour protects the slowpokes, and refuses to impose penalty strokes, there is no rational reason for a player to give a fig about pace of play.

But riddle me this, Batman?  Has the Tour warned Brooksie that he'll be fined (per the Cam Smith bit above) if he continues to call out JB and Bryson for their glacial pace of play?  Shouldn't some enterprising journo ask Brooks?  Alan, I'm thinking you should take one for the team....

Why is there such a lack of coverage for the Korn Ferry Tour? One would think the PGA Tour would want to promote the stars of the future, especially given how marketable many of the young guns are… – @KyechSports 

I feel the same way about the Latinoamerica Tour, which plays in truly exotic places. Ultimately the dearth of coverage has been more of a Golf Channel issue – they haven’t wanted to spend the considerable resources it takes to have full broadcast teams on the ground and then allot the necessary time slots. I’m hoping this will change with the new TV contracts. There has never been more attention paid to the KFT and the Tour has the power to make increased coverage part of any new package. Most of the golf fans I know, in real life and on Twitter, would prefer to watch the Korn Ferry over the Seniors. For decades I have been saying the LPGA should play their events Saturday-Tuesday. Maybe the KFT will fully embrace such an idea, making it easier for the tour to get the exposure it deserves.

Is there a dearth? Seems like they're on Golf Channel all the time, obviously excepting when GC carries the big tour.  But forget that bit about promoting future stars, is the questioner aware that the PGA Tour owns the Corn Fairy Tour?  I don't think motivation is a complicated issue in this case....

This next one is good, very funny but off-the-charts silly at the same time:

Should the Euros flex their superiority and select Trinity Forest as a future Ryder Cup location, then bake it out like its meant to be played? #askalan – @JKnox_59 

This is my favorite idea in a while. Nothing speaks to the poverty of Tour player imagination more than the neutering and now rejection of Trinity Forest, which could have been a fun and fascinating venue but is now a cautionary tale for any setup that strays too far from the bomb/gouge template which allows for the mindless repeating of Trackman-honed swings.

A good belly laugh, making fun of all the right folks....  But, is JKnow aware that they have these golf course in the UK and Ireland, they're called links, the Trinity is attempting to replicate inland?  Is it too much to hope that I'll live long enough to see a Ryder Cup on The Old Course?   Or really, any top tier links would do....

How many 4 year cycles ’til Olympic gold sneaks ahead of the Players in the

‘unofficial 5th Major’ stakes? Will 2028 in L.A. seal the deal? – @askival812 

Depends a little bit on who takes the gold. If it continues to be a major championship winner, and they celebrate their Olympic triumph as lustily as Justin Rose did, it won’t take long for the recalcitrant factions of the golf world to embrace what a big deal the Olympics has already become for the sport. Same thing if it’s a player from a smaller country that rarely wins gold in any sport and the champ is feted like a king. Rio was a homerun despite all the pathetic fear-mongering of the top players who selfishly and myopically skipped the Games. They’re all gonna come crawling back this time, making golf a marquee event in a country that is mad for the game. The interest and prestige will only continue to build.

How about we do a strength of field comparison between The Players and The Olympics?   Alan I'm not going to take you to the woodshed today, I'll wait until Tiger gets left off the US team and watch you pout.

Who from the PGA Tour is most likely to want to be mic’d up for an event? – @Sam_Beishuizen 

Conscientious brand-builders like Rickie Fowler and Bryson DeChambeau. Dudes in desperate need of image-rehab like Matt Kuchar and Sergio Garcia. DGAF types like Shane Lowry and Pat Perez. Nice guys who can’t say no like Marc Leishman and Tommy Fleetwood.

Pat Perez in a landlside, though you'll not be airing any of that sudio live.

The Suicide of Expertise -  One assumes that folks who cash a paycheck from Golf Magazine know a thing or two about golf.... Not women's golf, of course, as we noted above.   Incorrectly, as I so frequently am required to point out.  Luke Kerr-Dineen, their editor of instruction, beclowns himself for our amusement today with this:

11 ways to inflate your handicap that are 100% legal

Even if he has his facts down, you might wonder why such advice would ever be rendered....  I sure did.

Admittedly, he starts off on solid ground:

1. Putt everything out

Practically every golfer sweeps up tap-ins that, over the course of the season, turn into two and three and four footers. But if you want a more accurate handicap, putt all those short, tickle putts out. 

2. Play by all the rules

Lost a ball? Go ahead and drop one. Carve one out of bounds? Play it as a hazard. Breakfast ball off the first? All these rules-bending practices help pace of play — and also your score. Follow the rules to a tee and you’ll soon be signing for higher numbers.

True, though it may not be all that impactful...   Much of this brand of nonsense occurs when individual hole scores and aggregate scores have gone pear-shaped, affecting holes where the player still makes his max or scores unlikely to be used in the calculation.

But this?

4. Don’t warm-up 

Just think of the first few holes as your warmup holes. Or heck, even the front nine.

First and foremost, that warming up improves scores is a huge assumption.  But if you're that player that rolls onto the first tee with seconds to spare, then your index properly reflects the player that you are. 

But get a load of these:

6. Borrow clubs

Clubs that aren’t fit to your specs, that feel uncomfortable and fly different distances than you are accustomed to requirer an adjustment period that will probably cost you a few strokes.

7. Enjoy a few beverages

Enjoy responsibly, of course. Having a few beverages while you play will certainly make the game more fun, but your game will quickly deteriorate if you’re not careful. 

8. Play immediately after taking a lesson

Lessons are great. Every golfer should take lessons. But taking a lesson and then immediately trying it on the course is a disaster in the short term. 

9. Forget about the target and focus on five swing thoughts instead

One or two swings thoughts is great. Three swing thoughts is pushing it. Five? An implosion waiting to happen.

Luke is a piker...Based on his advice, I'm going to play left-handed and post my score.  Is that 100% legal as well, Luke?

I don't care how the damn thing is written, and am too lazy to look it up.  But we all understand that the handicapping system assumes that each player is trying to play as well as he can, and posting a score in which you've intentionally tanked is in no way "100% legal".  Are there no editors at Golf Mag? Or even, you know, adults?  Do you really want to be perceived as abetting, nay encouraging, sandbagging?

Best Golf Header Evah - I have to retire the prior winner, because the unfortunate subject just won again on the Corn Fairy Tour.  Hey, I'm not judgmental, I just hope there was a third glove involved....  Be safe out there, kids.

Here's your new winner:

Hosung Choi accidentally hits playing partner with thrown club

Amusingly, no need to click through there, as the video has been taken down....  But why the long face, you can see it here.  Golf Twitter was not amused....

I'll leave you there, with more of those musings you crave to come.  I do have some things on my plate that could impact the blogging schedule, but any absences will be short.

Tuesday Trifles

A few...well, trifles, for you this morning, then more powder.  Really, I can quit at any time....

There may not be much more blogging this week, due to travel and some other complications.  Also, a little blogger burnout.  Nothing to worry about for the long term, but it pays to manage it in the short-term.

Wearing The Black Hat - This guy caused much of the mayhem in the Sony finish, but there's no call for the hate:

Ryan Palmer was in a precarious position on the final hole of the Sony Open on Sunday. The 43-year-old PGA Tour veteran was one shot back on the 18th and had sailed his

drive right into a fairway bunker. The par-5 18th at Waialae C.C. was the easiest hole of the week; in that moment, Palmer seemingly needed birdie, possibly an eagle, to force a playoff. 

Given the option of playing safe for the big check or going for the W and risking hundreds of thousands of dollars, a contingent of Tour players would have laid up. Palmer choose the latter route, going full-send with a fairway wood from 280 yards, in the pouring rain no less, trying to capture a victory. In that vein, Palmer's daring should be applauded. 

Unfortunately for Palmer, his approach went righter than Scott Norwood, bouncing off a scoreboard and into the ether

That's pretty funny...  Do you think, as his kick was sailing right, that Norwood had any sense he'd still be a punching bag thirty years later?

Here's the part where he could be criticized:

What transpired next arguably altered the tournament. 

Rather than hit a provisional, Palmer went ahead up toward the green, confident someone would find his ball. It was a curious decision; aside from his rock sailing into a different time zone, the group behind him—including then-leader Brendan Steele and Cameron Smith, who was one shot back—had been waiting for 20-something minutes on the tee box. The duo, along with Kevin Kisner, did hit their drives after Palmer hit his approach, yet would wait another 15 minutes to take their second shots.

Very arguably....  As you can see, it was already a mess before Palmer hit his shot.  His ball went into uncharted territory, as I noted yesterday.  But, if not actually OB, their balls are always found because there's so many people around.  

Ultimately, this was Palmer's take:

And, you know what?  He's right!  The situation was completely unfair, but we should have no expectation of fairness.  And that Man of Steele pretty much agreed:

To Steele's credit, he publicly took the blame for his shot on the final hole. “The lie was good,” Steele said. “It was just a 2-iron to win a golf tournament. It’s hard.”

Really hard, but good on Steele for his acceptance of it all.

Double Secret Probation -  The PGA Tour has a new policy to combat slow play, and Joel Beall is here with a helpful column with everything we need to know.  If the Tour is committed, I expect great results:

What's not addressed 

In Hawaii, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan was adamant that the primary

objective is not necessarily to speed up play. “A focus on time creates other problems,” Monahan said. 

PGA Tour senior vice president and chief of operations Tyler Dennis confirmed that's not the focus. "The overall round times haven’t really changed over the last 20 years," Dennis said, citing research from historical ShotLink data. As such, these changes won't address the amount of time it takes to play a round—especially on Thursdays and Fridays—or the difficulty some events face in finishing in the daylight.

There's something to be said for managing expectations...  Seems like it will be every bit as effective as, say, that Ryder Cup Task Force.

It so happens that the entire protocol revolves around making a list and checking it twice:

Observation List 

Rather than focusing on groups that are out of position, the Tour is shifting its gaze to individuals. An "Observation List" will be created, one that will be kept private from the public and PGA Tour membership as a whole.

That's the double secret probation reference in the title, as the Tour's penchant for secrecy trumps all.

But riddle me this, Batman.  Don't we want players to know they're under observation?  because, you know, they might speed up....  Oh yeah, I forgot, that's not our objective.

But what might the objective be?  We're left with one obvious conclusion that, just like the Tour's drug testing protocol, the objective is to appear to be addressing an issue without actually threatening and feed lots.  Got it.

Carry on, JB.

I Could Live On That -  I offer no opinion, but Steve DiMeglio at Golfweek attempts to lay out the economics of Living Under Par.  For the 50th ranked player on the PGA Tour, here's the cash flow:

Cash flow: PGA Tour player

Winnings based on 25 events, ranking No. 50 on the PGA Tour. 

Total Income

$2,755,000 

Prize Money

$2.150 million 

FedEx Cup Bonus

$155,000 

Additional Earnings

$450,000

Includes endorsements, appearances at events such as store openings and private dinners, as well as fireside chats, speaking engagements and meet-and-greets. 

Expenses

$547,500

Hotels

$55,000

That’s $300 per night, seven nights per week. This sum is often higher if the player takes his family on the road and gets an extra room. 

Airfare

$30,000

Dependent on whether the player flies first class, takes family members, etc. 

Caddie

$200,000

Based on payment of $2,000 per start, plus 7% for made cuts and 10 percent for a victory. 

Swing Coach

$60,000

Players could work out a deal on a percentage basis of their earnings with their coach, usually from 1% to 4%. 

Trainer

$40,000 

Mental coach

$50,000 

Agent

$75,000

Expenditure is usually 10% to 20% of contracts, appearances and outings. No prize money is involved. 

Meals

$25,000 Breakfast and lunches are typically provided at tournament courses.

Accountant

$5,000 

Incidentals

$7,500

This includes tips, entertainment, etc. 

Write-offs

$526,000

Player’s travel: 100 percent.

This applies to only the player’s travel. If he takes his significant other or his family, that’s not allowed for a write-off unless the person or people are on the payroll.

Meals: 50 percent

Entertainment: 50 percent

Instructor, psychologist, physio, agent, caddie: 100 percent 

Taxes

$936,180

Top federal rate is 37%. States taxes and foreign taxes is about 5%. Players could file state taxes in 20 jurisdictions, as well as foreign taxes that are offset by a foreign tax credit in the United States. Players also pay self-employment tax. 

Bottom line

Take-home Pay: $1,271,320

Clearly not Phil, because he tips that $7,500 each week.  They do OK, though the expenses are likely higher than folks realize.  

One Job, And This Isn't It -  The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews is long on tradition, especially the tradition of misdirection:

The impact of climate change on the home of golf is to be investigated as scientists estimate almost £400m worth of damage could be caused by coastal erosion around Scotland. 

The Old Course at St Andrews is among several of the world's most prestigious courses to be looked at in the three-year project, led by Professor Bill Austin of the University of St Andrews. 

It is part of an action plan by the R&A golfing body, which granted £90,000 towards the research looking into wider challenges facing the sport's sustainability.

So guys, how's that delayed Distance Insights Project going?  Yanno, if the ball didn't go so far, we could play on those parts of the Old Course that remain above the water.

Seriously, you're so good at your day job, that you'll take on saving the planet.  Greta will be so pleased...

Buy Low, Sell High -  John Feinstein attempts to sell coal in Newcastle:

So, as he begins the year in which he will turn 50, at an event he has won twice, is it time 

to write off the man his myriad of fans love to call Lefty? Even though he’s actually right-handed? 

History says no. 

Golfers are frequently written off prematurely (see Woods, Eldrick T. and Nicklaus, Jack as prime examples) largely because they can re-find their game well into their 40s, long after most stars in other sports have retired to spouting clichés from a TV booth.

There is a reasonable history of old guys making runs in their later years.  Some get to the finish line, others come up short.

Does Phil fit the profile?  Unclear.  He has certainly stayed healthy, as guys like Jack and Snead did.  But the catch could be Phil's psoriatic arthritis, the effects of which we really don't know.

It seems strange to be writing his obituary at this point when he actually won in each of the last two seasons.  That said, his play after Pebble last year was really quite dreadful....  I don't know what he has left in the tank, but I'd be happy to enjoy it if he'd just keep his mouth shut.  Deal?

Trainer Wheels - Did you notice Martin Trainer in the field at Kapalua?  He's a Tour rookie that managed to grab a win last year, at the off-field Puerto Rico event.  Of course, things being what they are, I'm not sure he's made a cut since that "W", and he had a lock on last place all week on Maui.

The reason I mention him is that he has penned an engaging profile of the life of a Tour rookie, not all skittles and beer to say the least:

After paying my dues for all those years, I was finally ready for my stroll in the promised land. The idyllic lifestyle was about to begin, right? And yet, as I found out while

standing on hole number 10 of my 1:40 p.m. tee time of first PGA Tour event, the 2018 Safeway Open, I realized that the holy grail of aspiring golfers — a credit-card sized “PGA Tour Member” credential with my mug shot on it — wouldn’t instantly solve my insecurities. The doubts simply take a new form. Remember that these cards are perishable after one year. Rather than questioning whether you can make it to the PGA Tour, Tour rookies immediately begin to wonder if we’re good enough to stay.

Staying is way harder than getting there in the first place.

Martin has some funny stories from inside the ropes:

Loudest cheer 

At the Players Championship last year, I sat one stroke inside the cut line in round 2 on the par-3 17th, the infamous island green that promises delicious drama for the tens of thousands of fans and unbearable dread for players. I nervously flared my wedge barely onto dry land (phew). It went into the teeny pot bunker, so I splashed the most nerve-racking sand shot of my life past the hole to the back edge of the green, just inches from the water (phew again). 10 feet away for par, I hit my putt in the center of the hole, and the crowd went wild. Pretty cool.

And this funny bit:

Best (non) celebrity moment 

Standing on the 10th tee of a practice round at Bay Hill in March, a man addressed me and said: “Oh my god, I am a HUGE fan. Tell me your name again?” I told him. He responded: “I’ve never heard of you. But I’m a HUGE fan.”

Here I'm thinking he might want to get that prescription checked:

 Most difficult players to tell apart in person

Justin Rose/Webb Simpson

Patrick Rogers/Tommy Fleetwood

Rory McIlroy/Matthew Fitzpatrick

Harris English/Hudson Swafford

Nick Watney/Bill Haas

Not sure I see any of those as separated at birth moments.  Sneds and Russell Henley, on the other hand....

Of course, every new Tour member has to have a Tiger moment, right?

Best Tiger moment 

Like everyone from my generation, I idolized Tiger Woods. I was on the putting green Tuesday of the PGA Championship at Bethpage, and here came Tiger, followed by a stampede of cult-like fans screaming his name, begging for just a glance their way. He ignored them and began focusing on his practice: first short putts, then long putts across the green. Intermittently, he joked around with Jason Day. He seemed in a great mood.

One of his long putts scooted by me to another hole, and Tiger began to walk towards me. This was my chance. I imagined myself smoothly looking up, saying hi, making some super witty, memorable remark, and fulfilling the ultimate PGA Tour rite of passage my 12 year old self always imagined. 

Scared and starstruck, I avoided eye contact and turned away. I didn’t speak to him. My best Tiger moment was no Tiger moment at all. 

Maybe next year!

I'm sure there's lots of that going around, but thanks for sharing.  Another guy I'd be happy to root for, if he can summon the game.

5" of fresh stuff, so I'll leave you here.  Expect nothing, but check back just in case something crosses my screen that demands to be blogged.  otherwise, we'll play it by ear. 

Weekend Wrap - Powder Edition

If you're chasing snow in the Mountain West, Open Snow.com will be your guide.  This was Utah Snow Forecaster Evan Thayer's fore cast from yesterday:

Short Term Forecast 

So. Much. Snow.

True that...  Oh, and he has pictures as well:

Just think of it as ski porn.

So you'll understand if I can't devote too much time this morning...

Iced In Hawaii - Too much football for me to have watched, though I did switch over to check in at an opportune time:

The anatomy of a crazy finish: One hole, three groups, nine players, squeegees, drops, three-putts and more

Yup, I caught Brendon Steele in the fairway with a clock charting the elapsed time since his prior swing. 

Brendan Steele missed the green on the par-3 17th and made a bogey, which cut his Sony Open lead to just one with one to play. Forty minutes later(!) he finished the 18th hole and dashed off for a sudden-death playoff with Cameron Smith. But what happened in those 40-some minutes in between? Well, a little bit of everything. 

It was a wet and soggy day at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, Hawaii, but there were still a handful of players in contention when they reached the par-5 18th on Sunday. An eagle was in play on 18, and with final-round nerves ready to bite at any moment, so were bogeys. Here’s how it all went down. 

Mark Anderson, Sungjae Im and Bo Hoag, the third-to-last threesome of the day, were on the 18th green and trying to finish up their rounds. As they waited for grounds crew workers to squeegee water off the green, Webb Simpson, Collin Morikawa and Ryan Palmer stood in the fairway and rough. A couple hundred yards behind them stood Steele, Smith and Kevin Kisner, waiting on the tee, in silence, stationed under massive umbrellas. The rain was pouring. The wait continued.

Perhaps the funniest bit was that I tuned in during the search fro Ryan Palmer's ball, quite clearly in a location no intended to receive incoming.  Stuff happens.

Paul Azinger will be taking a victory lap for predicting Cam Smith's ascension to best Aussie, not the most competitive category these days.  But you have to feel for the Man of Steele...  No one should think that life or golf will be fair, but that was an eternity to wait to hit consequential golf shots (at least for him).

Trinity, Not So Holy - Ahead of the most recent schedule contraction, I had thought the Byron Nelso might be vulnerable.  But a change of venue allowed them to skate through, making this a bit of a surprise:

After two years of weather setbacks, disappointing attendance and declining financial results, the PGA Tour has decided that the 2020 AT&T Byron Nelson in May will be the last one held at Trinity Forest Golf Club.

The Tour’s decision to pull the plug on Trinity Forest, which is just south of downtown Dallas, will end an innovative initiative by the Florida-based professional golfers’ touring organization, the Salesmanship Club of Dallas and the private golf club to use the Tour’s annual event as a magnet for economic development in the southern sector.

So, one more year at Trinity, but of course there's little reason for any top player to play this year.  Yeah, I assume club member Jordan will be there, but we were talking about top players.

So, where to?

We have learned that it’s over, that the 2020 Nelson will be the final one held on the south Dallas course. Eventually, the tournament will move to PGA Frisco but it may need to make a stopover back at the Four Seasons TPC for 2021, which is sort of like telling your ex-wife: “Hey, things didn’t work out with my new partner, but I need to come home and crash before moving on to my next one, is that OK?’’

The Four Seasons, d/b/a Las Colinas, was routinely voted by the players as the worst dog patch on Tour, so thanks for that fellows.

Frisco makes sense in a certain way, and one assumes that Gil Hanse will produce a good track.  That said, it obviously does nothing for the organization's 29,000 dues-paying members, but serving them hasn't seemed a high priority in recent decades.

As for the event, it's sad to see the diminishing legacy of the great Byron Nelson.  The players were great at honoring him while he was still with us, but I'm not sure this newest generation even knows who he was.

We'll take our first dive into this week's Tour Confidential on this subject:

5. The PGA Tour’s tenure at Trinity Forest was short lived. The Tour announced the Byron Nelson is leaving the Dallas-area course after 2020, putting an end to a courtship that lasted just three years. Trinity Forest, built in 2014 by two of the game’s hottest architects in Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, is a rolling, treeless neo-links that is unlike any other regular Tour venue and never drew much support from the game’s top players. Is this a sign that when it comes to host courses, Tour events shouldn’t stray too far from the norm? 

Shipnuck: Most Tour players don’t want to be asked interesting questions by the venue. They just want to dial in their TrackMan swings and make birdies. Trinity was too quirky and unorthodox to ever make it as a Tour venue. To quote another golfer who doesn’t get it: Sad! 

Zak: I think this course was welcomed by all, and appreciated by many. Was the tournament being played there set up for total success? It sounds like the answer to that question is “No.” Tour players are less likely to return to events with new courses they haven’t seen. The event also had a tough spot in the schedule. Some aspects like fan experience and viewing experience seemed to be lacking…but is that the course’s fault? 

Sens: I’ve heard Tour pros say they would return to playing the AT&T if Cypress Point were brought back into the rota. But as a general rule, the artistry of a design isn’t high on the checklist. These guys will play on a tarmac, so long as the price is right and it fits their schedule. Not long ago, during a photo shoot, I asked Xander Schauffele what his favorite course was. His response, in essence, was: “Dude, I’m a professional golfer. I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about course design.” That’s not an uncommon answer on Tour. Guys like Geoff Ogilvy are more the exception than the rule out there. 

Dethier: I’m with Sens — the quality of the course architecture has little to do with who shows up for events. There’s a sense of haves and have-nots when it comes to PGA Tour events at this point, and the Byron Nelson is stuck in the latter category for now. It sounds like there are some business decisions behind this move and we should resist reading too much more into it. 

Bamberger: Golf holes on TV really need something to define them. All the Open courses have holes with defining characteristics. National Golf Links, Shinnecock Hills, Sankaty Head, the same. That course did not. I’d like to play it, but with no TV buzz it wasn’t going to draw a crowd to see it in person. On TV, you couldn’t see what they were trying to do.

Ah, the irony, she burns!  The bashing of Tour Pro's design sensibilities is good fun, you'll no doubt sense my head nodding in reaction.  But the irony comes with the fact that as budding new architect, Bill Coore was advise that he's never get the time of day unless he took on a Tour player as design partner.  Worst.  Advice.  Ever.  Sens is spot on, just add Ben to Ogilvy, and you have the full list....  And, of course, Bryson......  Kidding.

Some brief comments from Geoff:

It’s a shame. Trinity Forest may be the most eccentric Coore-Crenshaw design of all and one of their more amazing accomplishments given the not-thrilling landscape. But without the lively bunkering they are known for, an emphasis on the ground game (except during Nelson week when things were kept softer), and an awkward clubhouse/course/range setup for a big tournament, this was going to be a tough sell in May date prior to the PGA.

(The course would be the perfect Open Championship tune-up test, but the club is closed by July when players are prepping for the last major.)

It'll be a shame if this move impairs the club's reputation, because it's a great design.  Great in the sense of figuring how to use an eccentric piece of property to create an interesting golf experience.  It's a place I'd love to play, but you guys know how I feel about that little white ball bouncing on the firms turf.  I just feel that they should have at least gotten one good year of weather to see how it would have played.

Confidentially Yours - Hey, I'm on the clock, so please don't begrudge me some anaerobic blogging.  I don't know if it's by statute or tradition, but each weekly session leads with a Tiger question:

1. Tiger Woods announced he’ll start the 2020 calendar year at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines on Jan. 23. Tiger’s aiming for win No. 83, which would break Sam Snead’s record of Tour wins. What potential victory would be most meaningful for Woods in 2020: No. 83, an Olympic gold or major No. 16? 

Who wants to break it to the questioner that he can't get No. 16 without also getting No. 83?  I know, no one said there would be math...

Alan Shipnuck: No. 16, because it would put him that much closer to Jack and show that the Masters win was not a last gasp. But don’t discount how much Tiger wants a gold medal — he knows this is likely his last chance. How amazing would it be for Woods to lead the U.S. team into the stadium in Tokyo during the Opening Ceremony, waving the stars and stripes with the whole world watching? 

I'm actually relieved by Alan's answer here.  He's been so all-in on the Olympics, but at least he showed a measure of self control. 

Michael Bamberger: Number 16, because it will turn into Number 19 with the new math, and leave him one short of Nicklaus, sitting on 20 and not going anywhere. 

New math?  Tha's the old math, Mike, specifically Jack's.

Sean Zak: Sixteen! This is what it’s all about now. Majors, majors, majors. 

Josh Sens: A 16th major, especially a major other than the Masters. Even after that astounding win last April, there were the inevitable “yeah, buts.” As in, “Yeah, but Augusta is likely the only one of the big four he can still win.” Getting yet another somewhere other than Augusta would be one more way for Woods to — pardon the cliche — prove the doubters wrong, etc. 

Dylan Dethier: With Tiger, it’s always been about the majors. He’s made it that way. Olympic gold would be some kind of fun, though.

Josh has a good point there as well, just because those other events seems so unlikely due to weather and the like.  He's only got three of each of the Opens, so those would make the most difference I'll say.  Problem is, those 2020 venues just happen to be places where Tiger has played some of the poorest golf of his life.

2. Our Michael Bamberger wrote about the Sentry Tournament of Champions finish and the real meaning behind the Patrick Reed heckling incident. (In the days since, Reed and Justin Thomas both said they didn’t hear a fan yell “Cheater!” In other Reed news, according to a Golfweek report, a lawyer representing Reed sent Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee a letter demanding that Chamblee stop calling Reed a cheater.) What kind of fan reception do you expect Reed will receive during his 2020 starts, and is there anything the Tour can do to improve the situation? 

Shipnuck: It’s going to get worse before it gets better because Reed, with his ridiculous shoveling gesture at the Prez Cup, showed every yahoo out there that they can get under his skin. And look how much attention that lone shout of “Cheater!” got. In the social media age, every bro wants their 15 minutes.

OK, time to take Alan to the woodshed.  First, he used that same bit about the shoveling in his Ask Alan, and I just don't see it that way.  I also think it was an a*******e move, but one more in the "I don't give a f*** what you think" genre.... But to me the lawyer letter is the comedy gold here, it being such a weaselly move...  I do hope the fans see it as such and throw it back in his face.

But of far greater importance is that last sentence, which shows a blatant disregard for the time-space continuum.  Fifteen minutes of fame is a Warhol reference, dating back to pre-Internet times.  Today's social media age does not include attention spans long enough for fifteen minutes of fame.... More like fifteen seconds.

Zak: I expect it to remain this way — jaded, loud, vile — for a number of months. It probably fades, like most things do, once he gets 10 or so more starts in. 

Sens: I still think Reed could defuse the situation with a heartfelt mea culpa (“I lost my mind for a minute; I’m really sorry; don’t know what I was thinking,” etc.), because if there’s anything the sporting public likes more than jeering a perceived villain, it’s watching that villain self-flagellate his way to forgiveness. Don’t underestimate the appeal of feeling holier than thou. But since that kind of apology isn’t likely coming from Reed, I’m with Sean and Alan — the verbal abuse will go on. 

Dethier: It’s going to be interesting to watch how Reed’s year plays out, especially if he keeps playing as well as he has. If he’s missing cuts, he won’t hear many jeers. But if he’s in contention, everything ramps up. The politeness of Augusta National will remain his haven, but a Winged Foot U.S. Open? Not so much. 

Bamberger: I think fan reaction will continue to be vocal and will force the Tour to look at the real issue here, which is not fan reaction to Patrick Reed but fidelity to the rule book, the thing that has always made tournament golf tournament golf.

I love Mike, but I think he's over-reaching just a bit here.  Reed, as I've noted often, is just a jerk to everyone, even when he's not shoveling.

As long as we're on this tired subject, Eammon Lynch bares his teeth amusingly:

A number of truths became apparent when Golfweek revealed that Reed has engaged a lawyer in an effort to silence Brandel Chamblee, the most prominent critic of his alleged cheating at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas last month. 

First: If you’re willing to pay, you can always find an attorney who’ll dispatch a cease and desist letter on your behalf, regardless of how legally flimsy its claims are. 

Second: This story owes its continued existence not to clickbait media but to Reed’s tone-deaf arrogance, from his brusque denial of wrongdoing to his taunting shoveling gesture during the Presidents Cup to this half-baked 1-800-LAWYER caper. 

Third: Reed either ignores good advice or receives bad advice, and neither scenario recommends his inner circle, a group so small and lightweight it could fit comfortably on a golf cart and still leave room for his Tour bag. 

Fourth: Others care more about Reed’s reputation than he seemingly does, specifically the PGA Tour. And that is where the deepest disconnect exists in this sorry episode — not between the Tour and Reed, or between Reed and fans, but between the Tour and a public that believes it has seen the evidence for itself.

Good fun, though that second point lets Reed off too easily.  He didn't hire just any lawyer, he hired the lawyer that defended Ray Rice....  really, doesn't that tell you all you need to know?

read the whole thing, though I remain unclear what else Jay could or should have done about this incident.  I don't for instance, think it's the Commish's responsibility to keep these guys from revealing who they really are....  that's part of the fun of being a fan. 

 Shall we see what the boys think of Pete Dye?

3. Pete Dye, one of the most influential golf-course architects of the last half-century, died on Thursday. Dye, who was 94, had a portfolio that included the likes of Whistling Straits, the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island and TPC Sawgrass, home of the Players Championship. What is most significant about Dye’s legacy? 

Shipnuck: He elevated the course designer to celebrity status and made them brand names sought after around the world. He also offered audacious templates expanded upon by the likes of Tom Doak, Mike Strantz and other auteurs. 

Hogwash.  Tillie and Trent Jones ("Give your golf course a signature") quite obviously got there before Pete. 

Zak: His ability to make unforgiving tracks and not apologize for them. It is genuinely fun to watch Tour players struggle, think, struggle some more, and Dye was incredible in piecing such holes together. 

Sens: For all the modern elements in his designs, he drew plenty of inspiration from British links and from Golden Age designers like Seth Raynor. In that way, he was a crucial link between the great courses of long ago and the modern minimalist courses earning so much acclaim today. Not to mention that he also directly mentored some of today’s biggest-name architects, including Doak, Bill Coore, Brian Curley and others. 

Dethier: When TPC Sawgrass opened in the early 80s, J.C. Snead said the course was “90 percent horse manure and 10 percent luck.” Tom Weiskopf told reporters, “It’s like being inside a great big pinball machine.” These days, we’re used to basically everybody catering to the tastes and frailties of PGA Tour players, but the idea of giving them a test they hate sounds so refreshing. Needless to say attitudes have changed about TPC Sawgrass, but the spirit behind the place defines Dye’s legacy. 

Bamberger: The pendulum has swung so far away from the thing that made Pete Dye famous, the beautiful course that’s unplayable for the 95-shooter, and I don’t see it ever going back in Pete’s direction. He was one of the game’s great characters, but so was George Low. I think in the year 2120, golfers will be more inclined to talk about A.W. Tillinghast courses than Pete Dye courses.

One of the biggest surprises to me in all my years of play was that I actually enjoyed Sawgrass much more than I expected to.  His courses are more playable than people expect, as per Mike.

4. Dye’s courses were both lauded and criticized for their difficulty, yet architect Rees Jones told GOLF.com: “When the players criticized Pete, he said, ‘Thank you.’ Pete’s courses are hard. Hard and visually exciting.” Which of your experiences on a Dye course most sticks with you? 

Shipnuck: Playing Whistling Straits, my caddie said that the day before he and a fellow looper had two older female golfers who didn’t speak English, so to pass the time they had a bet who could get their player to hit into more bunkers. The winning number was 56. 

Zak: I’ve played Whistling Straits on the calmest October day, where the course felt straightforward. I’ve also played it on a wind-whipping June afternoon where the 18th, into the fan, felt like the longest, toughest par-4 of my life. 

Sens: You mean, other than the time I slipped along one of the railroad tie railings on the Dye Course at Barefoot Resort in Myrtle Beach and fell into a pond? I’d say my one round at the Ocean Course at Kiawah, when I was four under for a wind-aided front nine, and then a zillion over after I turned into the fan. That is sort of the essence of Dye for me. Wild swings on the pleasure-pain continuum. I love playing his courses but I often think I should have a safety word. 

Dethier: I’m spoiled as hell, but I’ve had memorable moments tackling that fantastic finish at TPC Sawgrass, slogging through college spring break rounds at PGA Golf Club, basking in the country goodness of Boone Valley and challenging the big-time design at Pound Ridge on a GOLF outing. But my favorite has to be the Honors Course, which I played with longtime course superintendent David Stone, his dog, and then-anonymous course designer Rob Collins. The combo made for a masterclass in architecture appreciation set in a bucolic Southern setting. I’ve never had a round quite like it. 

Bamberger: First hole of my married life. Teeth of the Dog. One golfer, one caddie, one bride. Driver in play, 8-iron to 10 feet, made the putt after a caddie consult. In it went. A good start. Dazzling course, by the way. Pete built some beauties.

Gave you mine above, but I also love how the big boys struggle on Harbor Town, as short a track as they see all year.

I'll leave you there.  I've no idea about the ski and blogging schedule for the remainder of the week, we'll just play it by ear.  I do head home Thursday, so a prayer for snow until then would be appreciated.