Thursday Thoughts

For the first time this year I feel completely golfed out, so today's monsoon comes as something of a relief....

Sun Devils Rule - I certainly enjoyed watching the young ladies play, several of whom will be LPGA-bound:

SUGAR GROVE, Ill. – The Arizona State Sun Devils won the NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship on Wednesday, defeating Northwestern in the final. 

The Wildcats put up a fight, but the Sun Devils were in control from the start. Arizona State finished out a 3-1-1 victory Wednesday on the 15th green at Rich Harvest Farms when Linnea Strom drained a 6-footer for birdie to defeat Stephanie Lau, 5 and 3. 

With that, the Sun Devils had finished off their eighth national title – two more than any other program in Division I women’s college golf – and their first since 2009.

The finals were admittedly a tad anticlimactic, as the Sun Devils controlled for most of the day.  The best drama was to be found with the resumption of semi-final play in the morning.  Remember my note about individual champ Monica Vaughn electing to stop play in the 18th fairway?  It worked like a charm:

Heading into Wednesday, the Sun Devils’ hopes to even reach the final were hanging by a thread. A weather delay Tuesday forced semifinal action to be suspended due to darkness. When play concluded for the day, Arizona State was down 2-1 to Stanford in finished matches, with Monica Vaughn (the individual national champion) 1 down on the 18th fairway to the Cardinal’s Albane Valenzuela.

Arizona State won two playoffs to advance.

That's the golf equivalent of drawing to an inside straight, not to diminish the skill involved.  Vaughn in particular evidences an ability to raise her game as needed, which she did again in the finals, though there was no need for her to play out that match to a conclusion. 

I love everything about the event, the format is merely perfect...  But it's just an event that feels good, with the girls carrying their bags and tending the pin for each other.  The men go to work on Friday, with TV coverage starting on Monday.

Tiger Jam - The artist formerly known as Tiger Woods took to his own website to update us on the all-important Tiger Jam....  Apparently Kate Upton "crushed it."  Good to know, right?

So, how's the striped one feeling?

It has been just over a month since I underwent fusion surgery on my back, and it is hard

to express how much better I feel. It was instant nerve relief. I haven’t felt this good in years.

I could no longer live with the pain I had. We tried every possible non-surgical route and nothing worked. I had good days and bad days, but the pain was usually there, and I couldn’t do much. Even lying down hurt. I had nerve pain with anything I did and was at the end of my rope. The process leading up to my decision to have surgery was exhaustive. I consulted with a specialist, and after weighing my options, that’s when I decided to go to Texas to have surgery.

That's good news indeed, though it's not like we haven't heard that before.  But as frustrated as the lack of candor from team Tiger has been, it's not like any of us want him to be in pain.

Several folks familiar with back injuries have told me that fusion surgery is likely the end of the line, though Tiger cites precedents:

You mention the word ‘fusion,’ and it’s scary. Other guys who have had fusions or disc replacements like Davis Love III, Retief Goosen, Lee Trevino, Lanny Wadkins and Dudley Hart … they have all come back and played. But more than anything, it made their lives better. That’s the most important thing … that I can have a life again with my kids.

Dudley Hart?  Color me surprised that Tiger even know who Dudley Hart is....

Perhaps most amazing, ifs that Tiger actually seems cognizant of and responds to that which has been written and said about him:

As for returning to competitive golf, the long-term prognosis is positive. My surgeon and physiotherapist say the operation was successful. It’s just a matter of not screwing up and letting it fuse. I’m walking and doing my exercises, and taking my kids to and from school. All I can do is take it day by day. There’s no hurry. 

But, I want to say unequivocally, I want to play professional golf again.

That'll at least make the sponsors happy.... He's right that there's no hurry, because this makes clear that 2017 is done for him:

Presently, I’m not looking ahead. I can’t twist for another two and a half to three months. Right now, my sole focus is rehab and doing what the doctors tell me. I am concentrating on short-term goals.

I'll be moderately interested to see how he schedules himself in 2018.  I'd speculate that Torrey Pines, with its cold, early-morning tee times might be a place that he doesn't need to go.  

There's one more intriguing subject of concern for Mr. Woods, that being playing privileges.  I know, how crazy is it that he might not have a tee time.  He's fine with the Masters, Open Championship and PGA due to his past champion status.  But for the Tour and U.S. Open, he's only exempt through 2018 (by virtue of his 2008 U.S. Open and oh so timely 2013 Players Championship).  For the Tour, there are also major medical, past champion and lifetime earnings exemptions of which he may be able to avail himself, and of course sponsors exemptions will be forthcoming....  But he's going to need to perform when he gets back out there, with a touch of urgency perhaps.

Thrust and Pelley - Euro Tour chief Keith Pelley faced the press in Wentworth, and provided one little bit that might be news:

Pelley is at Wentworth this week for the European Tour's flagship event, and he realizes that a date shift for the PGA could have a significant impact on the field for the BMW

PGA Championship if it remains in its mid-May slot. Pelley plans to keep his circuit's schedule relatively the same next year, but he told the BBC that changes could come based on what the PGA of America decides to do with its marquee event. 

It's also a decision that Pelley expects to be made by the end of this summer.

This is a real headache for Mr. Pelley, as the U.S. Tour may not leave him many goop options.  That's why in yesterday's post I found Ken Schofield's suggestion about co-sanctioning The Players and Wentworth event so hopelessly naive.  

"It will depend on what they do in 2019," Pelley said. "The PGA of America says they're going to determine whether the PGA Championship is moved to May by the end of August this year. If that's the case, we are going to have to look at everything. We have plans right now, but there is no doubt that if those changes happen, the 2019 and 2020 schedule will be considerably different to 2018." 

The 2019 PGA Championship will be held at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, N.Y., while the 2020 PGA is slated for TPC Harding Park in San Francisco when the golf calendar will again be complicated by the inclusion of the Olympics in Japan.

Harding Park was specifically chosen because of the scheduling flexibility it provides, equally viable, if boring, in May or August.

Now it just so happens that your humble correspondent was at Bethpage on Monday, and we had a representative of the PGA of America discussing their planning for the 2019 PGA, as well as the 2024 Ryder Cup.  I asked whether the expected that PGA to be played in May or August, and whether they felt that Bethpage was suitable for a May date.  The first was answered by a synchronized shrugging of the shoulders, but the second received a positive response.

Could the have played the PGA at Bethpage this May?  For sure....  Should they is a much harder question, because this May would have resembled the 2002 and 2009 Opens, which were pretty miserable for players and spectators like.  

My cynical nature leads me to conclude that this move will unfortunately happen, but that the size of the check from the Tour to the PGA of America remains the subject of intense negotiation.

One last note, the 2023 PGA has been awarded to Oak Hill in Rochester, NY.  That one would need to be moved for sure....

The Summer of Trump - Ted Bishop, the defrocked former Prez of the PGA of America, is back discussing this week's Senior PGA Championship at POTUS' Washington, DC club.  Ted provides some quasi-relevant background on how the even came to this site, but his main concern isn't of interest to me:

So, this week will be the first of the scheduled major championships delivered by the

PGA and Trump properties. Three years ago, it was a given that Donald Trump would be highly visible at these events and his fingerprints would be all over them. However, President Trump embarked on his first foreign trip May 19. He is scheduled to be on the Italian island of Sicily on Friday and Saturday for meetings with the Group of 7 major industrial democracies and visit U.S. troops stationed at Sigonella Naval Air Station. 

Any chance that President Trump might make a last-minute visit to the Senior PGA on Sunday? Trump, an avid golfer whose business empire includes ownership of 16 courses, no doubt would love to make an appearance. Would it be deemed a conflict of interest, given his role as the nation’s chief executive and his detachment from his businesses, if he were to do so?

 Really?  Who cares, except to note that it's obviously better for all parties if he stays clear.

With the women's Open headed to Bedminster, this might be a sneak preview of how insufferable the protesters might be.  I was amused when the SJW's picketed the LPGA event earlier this year, seemingly unaware that the Open isn't an LPGA event.  Of course they were trying to pressure the players into not playing there, but good luck with that.  Especially since Trump himself is popular with LPGA players for his support of their tour.

Colonial History - Alex Myers captures some fun Colonial history, specifically Phil's 2008 win.  He makes a rather Phil-like recovery shot to birdie No. 18 and win by one.  Pro-tip, don't mist the guy doing the cannon ball as he sinks the putt:

And then has a great reaction to a strange member of the local media:

Here's Alex's take on the exchange:

"Why are you yelling? You're a foot from me," Mickelson responds after being asked about using his "Billy Baroo" to win the tournament. Well, it turns out "Scoops Callahan" is actually Tom Gribble, a then sports radio producer turned broadcaster for ESPN Dallas. And although he doesn't dress the part of a 1920s reporter with a fedora and a cigar hanging out of his mouth, his shtick involves that loud, old-timey radio voice and him addressing his subjects as "Champ."

Phil's deadpan is pretty funny.... 

Midweek Musings

I've taken my preliminary scan of open browser tabs, and the landscape is awfully barren....  

Co-ed's On Parade - We had a charity outing yesterday, but got home in time to watch the last hour of the ladies team match play from soggy Rich Harvest Farm....  They're not getting much love from the weather gods:

Semifinal action was suspended due to darkness at 8:03 p.m. CT Tuesday at Rich Harvest Farms, with both matches still in progress as the day came to a close. The 

Stanford's Shannon Aubert

semifinals will resume Wednesday at 9 a.m. CT, with the finals slated for the afternoon. 

Second-seeded Stanford leads third-seeded Arizona State 3-1-1 with just holes to play in their match. The other semifinal is in the middle of the back nine, with No. 5 USC up 4-1 on top-seeded Northwestern. 

The Trojans began the day with a difficult 3-1-1 victory over Ohio State and now have the Wildcats (who beat Kent State 3-2 in the quarters) a bit on the ropes. What does a coach tell her players with a shot at the finals looming overnight? 

“They’re exhausted, there’s nothing more you can say,” said Andrea Gaston, USC’s head coach. “Let’s go eat, let’s get some rest, let’s figure out what time we’re leaving in the morning, what are we wearing and dry clothes.”

What we are wearing?  These girls are troopers, lugging their bags through the rain, I'm guessing that they're not all that concerned with the fashion choices...

Those match summaries don't quite do it justice, as many are one-up with golf yest to be played.  

This I thought was the best "That's so Match-play" moment I saw:

In the other contest, with Stanford already leading 2-1 in finished matches and Arizona State’s Monica Vaughn 1 down to Stanford’s Albane Valenzuela on the 18th, the Sun Devils decided it was best not to finish out the hole. 

“I wanted to play, (but) I don’t care,” Valenzuela said. “I can come back tomorrow. … It’s match play. I would have probably done the same thing.”

Monica Vaughn won the individual title on Monday, and had a two-up lead when play was suspended.  Understandably tired, she had nothing when they were sent back out on the course, air-mailing one green by several city blocks.  Standing in the 18th fairway one-down, she decided to let her less-experienced sleep on it.  Good stuff, and Golf Channel even grabbed the audio of the discussion.... It's simply too much fun to not watch.

Beth Ann Nichols files this profile of Stanford's Casey Danielson:

SUGAR GROVE, Ill – Casey Danielson wanted her entourage to get loud. She needed

an energy boost at the NCAA Championship and, well, the Stanford senior always has loved a good crowd. 

“The bright lights she enjoys,” said Danielson’s father, Craig. “When she was a little kid it was always ‘Look at me! Look at me!’ ” 

Danielson, a bubbly competitor, certainly knows how to deliver. She has an impressive overall match-play record of 7-1 at the NCAA Championship, helping the team win it all in 2015 and finish runner-up in ’16. 

“I love giving a little wave to the crowd and a smile,” said the affable Danielson. “It’s more fun.”

It's a very golfy family, as her brother Charlie played for the strong Illinois teams and her big sister is also making her way as a pro.  Do yourself a favor and watch the girls, if you have the opportunity.

Make Wentworth Great Again - Wentworth's West Course, an harry S. Colt classic, has been the victim of serial desecrations by the affable, though thin-skinned, Ernie Els.  The European Tour's website provides an update on the latest changes:

Located less than an hour from central London, Wentworth has long retained a reputation as one of the world’s foremost golf and country clubs with its castellated, ivy-clad cream

clubhouse and lush green fairways lined by native woodland of pine, oak and birch.

This week, though, marks the first time the historic event will be contested over the newly redesigned Surrey layout after numerous changes were made in the months since the 2016 edition.

Ahead of the 37th BMW PGA to be hosted on the West Course, the alterations were designed in accordance with feedback given by European Tour players to Thomas Bjørn and Paul McGinley and the two European Tour stalwarts played an advisory role, along with Wentworth’s Director of Course & Grounds Kenny Mackay, to Ernie Els Design and European Golf Design.

When they lead with the clubhouse,  you know the proper conclusions to be drawn.  But don't be surprised if that august panel produces yet another camel....

The gist of the changes seems to be the removal of and/or the shallowing of bunkers.... 

Now, when we speak of Wentworth, we're often alluding to the Euro Tour's signature event held there, currently under BMW sponsorship.  John Huggan, a crusty Scot, but I repeat myself, has the must-read on this event, initially depressing me by reciting the wonderful links on which this event was once played.  I must not be bitter....

But here's the current sad state of affairs:

Today, the BMW PGA is the biggest event on the world’s second biggest tour. OK, so Wentworth’s re-re-re-vamped West Course isn’t anyone’s favorite, but the combination

of a top-class field, a big purse and a venue that is iconic if not loved is potent indeed. But not perfect, given that the PGA Tour’s apparently terminal insularity has long precluded many Americans from making the trip. 

This week, only four of Uncle Sam’s nephews will compete at Wentworth—Paul Peterson, David Lipsky, Peter Uihlein and Daniel Im—all European Tour regulars. Nowhere else in the 156-man field will there be a U.S. twang, the likes of Phil Mickelson, Matt Kuchar, Rickie Fowler, Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson and all the rest seemingly having something better to do this week. Even worse, that something isn’t necessarily playing in the competing PGA Tour event, the Dean & DeLuca Invitational at Colonial. For the leading Americans, the PGA Championship at Wentworth isn’t even an afterthought.

Perhaps even more depressing, the BMW PGA has failed to attract all of the leading European players. Rory McIlroy’s on-going rib injury absolves the four-time major winner, but Masters champion Sergio Garcia is absent through choice, as are Jon Rahm, Paul Casey and Rafa Cabrera-Bello. On the upside, Scotland’s Russell Knox has made the trip from his Florida base and, of course, Englishman Chris Wood will be there to defend his title.

I particularly like that stuttering in the first 'graph, though I think he's a couple of "re's" short.  Wentworth is the Euro-Medinah...  We're told it's one of the great golf courses in the world, but every time they go back it's been redone.

OK, so what do you kids think of this from Ken Schofield:

“The European Tour has had a lifetime of putting on great events no one in America seems to care about,” Schofield says. “It’s time to put an end to that. I see a closer relationship between the BMW PGA and the Players as a way of further cementing relations and cooperation between the tours. It’s just the right thing to do for the game. 

In other words, Schofield would like to see the Players become part of the money list on the European Tour and, in turn, the BMW PGA become part of the PGA Tour’s money list. “That would provide further validation for both,” he says.

What cooperation?  I can see where the Euro Tour wants to do this, as their top guns are going to be at The Players regardless....  But what's in it for the U.S. Tour?  With contraction looming, it's even less feasible....

Shack links to Curmudgeonly James Corrigan, now annoyingly behind a registration paywall, who had this about the greens:

Reignwood put up the £5 million for improvements and the European Tour and its design team did the rest, together with Ernie Els Design. Each of the 18 greens was relaid and a sub-air system, as used at Augusta, was installed under every one as well. The result is startlingly firmer surfaces and a much more consistent roll of the ball. Tyrell Hatton, the young world No 16 from nearby High Wycombe, summed up the elation in the locker room. “The greens are 100 times better,” he said.

Magic Eight-Ball says: Outlook Cloudy.

Irony Alert - 2009 was a more innocent time....  Tiger was still bestriding the world like a colossus, at least until Thanksgiving, and the world cried for more golf courses to be built.

The site of what was intended to be Tiger Woods's first U.S. course design will be auctioned off, following a number of developmental setbacks and failed sale attempts.

The former Cliffs at High Carolina in Asheville, N.C., was renamed Majestic Highlands, and the 795-acre property, complete with mountain ranges, hiking trails, and an eight-acre lake, is now being offered in one tract. The deadline for sealed bids is June 12. 

Woods announced the design almost 10 years ago, but environmental concerns and a difficult housing market impeded the project from getting off the ground. Much of the property is scraped land, and only 40 homes in the residential portion were sold.

 Apparently inspiration is required to deposit a rather large check....But Motel 6 seems quite apt.

But this comment from Tiger is delightful in retrospect:

According to a WLOS News report, Woods was bullish about the prospects for the property when his involvement was first announced. "You really can't mess this up, OK?," he said at the time. "Even an idiot can't mess this up, so, I think I'm a little bit above that."

Got it.

Viewer Warning -  One of the many annoying aspects of CBS' golf coverage is the overt pimping of the network's programming, think Ray Romano at Pebble.  But this is a new ploy, one I have no need to abet:

Ex-Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo will make his CBS broadcasting debut this weekend at the PGA Dean & Deluca Invitational at Colonial Country Club in Fort

Worth, Texas. 

CBS Sports Producer Lance Barrow dropped the news nugget that Romo would spend time at the 18th hole during this weekend's coverage while speaking at a black-tie event at the country club.

"I will give you a little note," Barrow told the audience while glowing about Romo. "This weekend for the first time ever he will be in the announce booth at 18 for a few moments. And it will be the first time that he will have the CBS Sports blazer on and he will be introduced as our newest addition to CBS Sports, right here at Colonial."

Don't you just love their priorities?

Hogan Unplugged - With Hogan's Alley hosting the Tour, Golf.com posts this revealing 1987 interview with the legend.  You'll of course want to read it, but I'll just excerpt this first question to frame the world in which Hogan grew up:

GOLF: Next year we'll be celebrating the 100th anniversary of golf in America. You've

been around for 75 of those years. What's your first golf-related memory? 

BEN HOGAN: I guess it goes back to about 1920. I was nine years old and selling newspapers in Forth Worth to make some money when one of my friends told me I could earn more by caddieing. The word was you could make 65 cents just by packing a bag around 18 holes. So one day I walked the seven miles from my home to Glen Garden Country Club to see what it was all about. The established caddies at Glen Garden ran sort of a kangaroo court. For a new caddie to break in, he had to win a fist-fight with one of the older, bigger caddies. So they threw me against one of those fellas and I got the better of him. It was through the caddie experience that I got the golf bug.

 A seven mile walk and a fist-fight for the right to earn 65 cents....  Of course, that was quite the caddie yard, giving us Byron Nelson as well.

OK, I lied.... I think it would be great if some of today's pampered snowflakes read this about motivation:

GOLF: What was it that drove you so hard? 

HOGAN: Three things. One, I didn't want to be a burden to my mother. Two, I needed to put food on the table. Three, I needed a place to sleep.

OK, so after oxygen and water, it covers the basics of Maslow's hierarchy of needs....

TopGolf's Growth Plan - They seem to be clever fellows...  No doubt their investors are happy campers, including Callaway, but there's a severe constraint on growth.  Each of their traditional sites requires a large footprint and a gazillion dollars of capital, so the company can't roll them out as quickly as they'd like.

I'm guessing that this will work out for both parties:

Topgolf is out to top itself. 

As part of deal announced earlier this month, the company known for its popular golf-

themed entertainment complexes revealed its plans to make golf simulators a growing part of its customer experience. 

The move is tied to a new partnership between Topgolf and Full Swing Golf, whose simulators Topgolf will use as it seeks to expand a new concept called the Topgolf Swing Suite lounge. 

The first Topgolf Swing Suite, equipped with two simulators, lounge seating and high-def televisions, opened in January at the Four Seasons Hotel in Houston. Topgolf plans to open dozens of new Swing Suites around the country in the next few years, all of them powered by Full Swing simulator technology.

Puns aside, the nice thing is that they're not trying to hit another home run...  It's more of a single or double, but a clever use of their established brand. 

Justin, Fulfilled - When you're a member of the Class of '11, doors open for you:

Golfers do not have a reputable track record testing their mettle at baseball (remember Phil Mickelson's "tryout" with the Toledo Mud Hens?) and vice versa (John Smoltz's ill-fated Web.com Tour foray). So rather than stepping into the cage or trying to bust the radar gun, Justin Thomas enjoyed his time at Citi Field on Tuesday by just hanging out. And by doing as much, lived his day as a New York Met to the fullest.

How great is that?  I mean the only thing better would have been if t was with a major league team....  Angry text from Wally will follow.

Weekend Wrap - Tuesday Edition

I know, a day late for sure...  though, to be fair, it wasn't much of a weekend...

The absence was a result of the Met Golf Writers' annual pilgrimage to Bethpage Black, which resembled nothing so much as the Bataan Death March.  A wind-swept misty rain, occasionally escalating into a hard drizzle, turned the always-challenging track into a Par-90...

We comically drew the 17th as out starting hole, and I was half-jokingly debating between hitting driver or laying up....  You know the rules of this establishment, the blogging of the golf, as important as it may be, shall never impinge upon the playing thereof....  So, bygones?

Weekend After Action Report -  First, the big boys:

IRVING, Texas (AP) — Billy Horschel won the AT&T Byron Nelson with a par on the first playoff hole Sunday after Jason Day pulled his 4-foot par putt left and past the hole. 

That miss by Day almost wasn't even needed for Horschel, whose 36-foot birdie chance was rolling straight toward the center of the cup before stopping just short. He won for the fourth time on the PGA Tour and for the first time since taking the 2014 Tour Championship for the FedEx Cup title. 

With a 1-under 69, including a 60-foot birdie putt at the 14th hole, Horschel matched Day at 12-under 268. Day had a 68.

The Tour's resident Mouth That Roared, Billy Ho needed desperately to do something with his clubs...  More significant might be the Aussie's showing some actual form.... 

As for the ladies, this header misses the point:

Lexi Thompson 'puts a lid' on rules flap with record win at Kingsmill

You don't make up for a major being taken from you at Kingsmill....  The TC panel falls into the same cliche with this question:

4. Lexi Thompson won the Kingsmill Championship for her eighth career title and first since the rules debacle at the ANA Inspiration. Is this a sign that Lexi will be fine, or will we not learn anything until she contends at another major?

Guys, did you not see Lexi take about 30 seconds to absorb the absurd penalty and fight her way into the playoff?

It's like the guys that were waiting for Lexi to speak on the matter, when she was the least interesting part of the story, as victims often are.  It was about our governing bodies inability to control their own processes.....

But I'm glad for her, as it's one less reminder of the incident.  What is interesting about Lexi is why she doesn't win more often, given her obvious physical advantages over the other girls.  The putter is, of course, the culprit, but when she runs away from the pursuit pack it reminds that it should happen more frequently.

College Girls Gone Wild - Are you aware the the NCAA Women's Golf Championship is in progress?  Did you watch any of it?  Why not?

OK, having a life is an acceptable response...  Apparently people don't watch golf 24/7.... who knew?  Mirth aside, it is very much worth watching if you're so inclined or being held involuntarily for a psychological evaluation.  So, first we need to cover a little background....

The NCAA's have threaded the needle with their format and scheduling, having the ladies and gents go back-to-back at the same venue, with each competition staged from Friday through Wednesday.   And for those still irked by Pinehurst 2014, the girls go first....  But that requires a venue willing to turn away its own member for two straight weeks at the height of the season....  Few clubs are lined up at the door to do that.

So, we can't fault them for going to Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, IL, which has hosted a Solheim Cup and Western Amateur.  From FriedEgg.com:

Unfortunately, golf needs fewer courses like Rich Harvest Farms, which is a perfect example of amateur golf course architecture. I liken its design to what would happen if I was tasked with building a bridge. 

Built on an expansive plot of land with a limitless budget, Rich Harvest boasts a brawny 7,700-plus yard setup with tight tree-lined driving corridors, an abundance of bunker acreage, lengthy walks from greens to tees, massive green complexes and hole designs you will see at no other venue in the world. 

Rich Harvest’s unusual design will present college golf’s best players with an added test of patience this week. A player’s ability to get over bad breaks and move on from disappointments will be critical. Big numbers are nearly impossible to avoid and can be made even when perfect shots are executed. This will be especially critical during the stroke play portion of the competition, where every hole and shot are crucially important.

The hole descriptions are well worth your time:

Hole 5 - “Amen - Holy Stone” 191 yards - par 3

This hole is Jerry Rich’s attempt at mimicking the famed 12th at Augusta. The only problem? The green complex is terrible. Shaped like a bowtie, it has severe undulation in nearly every corner, making many pin placements highly questionable.

If you're going to mimic ANGC's 12th, the first thing you might do is check the actual yardage of that hole.  

Then the weather decided to not cooperate, causing Saturday's play to be cancelled.  That may have been a bad call, as detailed in the linked piece, but it caused the stroke play event to be shortened from 72 to 54 holes.

Oh, and lots of chatter about this:

SUGAR GROVE, Ill. – History was made Friday at the NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship. But it wasn’t a player or coach rewriting the books. 

No, for what is believed to be the first time ever in the championship’s history, an artificial-turf tee box was put into play. The 407-yard, par-4 fourth hole at Rich Harvest Farms featured a turf mat, about 10 feet by 15 feet, that sat off the cart path, in a heavily shaded area just shy of a creek.

Ick!  

However, as Lindsay pointed out, it was the right thing to do. With the tee shot being into 

the wind on No. 4 on Friday, players would not have been able to reach the corner of the dogleg-left fairway from the next closest tee box. Shorter hitters might have even had trouble carrying the hazard.

In other words, there was no other option than to use the tee box, located in an area where growing grass is challenging. Instead, it was the players who were challenged. 

“I thought to myself, some kids probably have never hit off a mat in their whole life,” said Ohio State head coach Therese Hession.

When I first saw the header about mats, I thought they were whining about the range....  But great course design for sure...

We caught the last hour or so of yesterday's play, and got immediately swept up into the enthusiasm of it all:

Jennifer Kupcho, playing as an individual for Wake Forest, was cruising along Monday at Rich Harvest Farms as she was going to win the NCAA individual title – shortened

from 72 to 54 holes as delays wiped out any play Saturday. The sophomore was bogey-free through her first 13 holes of the final round, 2 under for the day and overall. She was four shots ahead. 

Even a bogey at 14 little mattered. Kupcho was going to win. 

And then it all came crashing down. 

After finding the fairway at the treacherous par-4 17th, likely all Kupcho had to do to win was get the ball over the fronting pond. Arizona State’s Monica Vaughn had just recorded back-to-back birdies on the other side of the course to move to 1 over, but Kupcho was still two ahead with a par 5 to play. 

And then the inexplicable. Her pitching wedge approach shot from 127 yards hit the bank short of the green and rolled into the water. 

“I got over it and hit the ball just how I wanted,” Kupcho said on Golf Channel. “It just hit a few feet short.”

Kupcho is a good player that we'll hear more from, though the hardest part of her transition to the professional game might be learning to blame her caddie for things like this.  You'd of course think that she'd have taken enough club to ensure the carry, but it's also not clear whether she knew where she stood.

 Now comes the really fun stuff, two days of team match play....  Do watch if you can, as it's always dramatic.  Beth Ann Nichols with the strong play of two teams from Ohio:

SUGAR GROVE, Ill. – Therese Hession threw her right fist down toward the 18th green

as a final birdie putt dropped to put the exclamation point on the Buckeyes’ banner day.

Roughly an hour later, Kent State coach Greg Robertson stood off to the side of the 18th green as Michaela Finn faced a 4 1/2 foot par putt to give the Golden Flashes the eighth and final spot in the match-play portion of the NCAA Championship. 

When Finn’s putt fell, Robertson dropped with it, crouching down with a flurry of fist-pumps as he looked over with a big smile toward the rest of his team. 

Two Ohio-based teams, well-versed in brutal weather and tough tracks, made history at Rich Harvest Farms, qualifying for match play for the first time in school history.

One last Item that I saw just before publishing this post.  Had enough rules nonsense lately?  perhaps this one deserves more coverage:

When you’ve got to go, well, you’ve got to go. Just don’t use a golf cart to get you there.

That’s the lesson learned by Northwestern’s Sarah Cho and Kent State’s Kelly Nielsen,

who during the weather-delayed second round of the NCAA Women’s Championship on Sunday at Rich Harvest Farms were each assessed two-stroke penalties for … using the bathroom. 

OK, so technically the penalties weren’t specifically for using the bathroom—the Rules of Golf can be harsh, but they’re not that harsh. Rather, it was for the method in which they got to the bathroom. Under the conditions of competition for the championship, players are mandated that they “must not ride on any form of transportation during a stipulated round unless authorized.” 

Players have been authorized to take carts to speed up play on the otherwise long walks from the third to the fourth tee, ninth to the 10th tee and 11th to the 12th tee. However, Cho (hold the flag in the photo above) was not authorized to jump into a cart to visit the ladies room after finishing up the 18th hole to avoid delaying her group from teeing off on the first hole. 

Similarly, when Nielsen got a ride from a Kent State staffer to find the facilities coming off the 13th green, she too had breached the rules.

Holy bladder control, Batman!  Can't these girls just find a tree like the rest of us do?   Guys, can't we see our way to a local rule, if only for the ladies?  The only saving grace is that both penalized teams qualified for match play....

Coverage starts at 9:30 a.m.  Give it a look-see, you'll thank me later.

Everyone's A Critic -  To be fair, this critic has a right to opine, though she'd be wiser to keep her thoughts within the confines of their living room.  Our subject is Alice Dye, and she just doesn't like what they've done to Pete's song, specifically the new 12th at TPC:

"It’s an awkward hole," says Alice Dye. "It doesn’t fit the course. He OK’d it, but it’s not a Pete Dye design."

Nobody said it was, but let's let Alice have her say:

"Pete has never believed in drivable par 4s," says Alice. "If a player is supposed to reach the green from the tee and you’re always allowed two putts, well, that’s a par 3." 

Alice, who watched the tournament with Pete all week, on a course that is one of the most iconic of the Dye’s 100-course portfolio, was not impressed with the new 12th.

"Even for the players who laid up, they were left with an awkward shot to a target that was angled across their body, the pins were hidden and weren’t accessible and the green sloped away from them, towards the water. The players who laid up weren’t able to be on the offensive. Either TV didn’t do a good job of presenting it or the hole didn’t create the excitement or the drama they were hoping for."

Now is perhaps not the time to argue about the artificial construct of Par.... But we can all agree that Pete's old No. 12 wasn't much of a hole for these guys, though it was fine for the paying public.  

Shack has some more interesting takes on it from being on site during the week:

Did it achieve perfection on the first attempt? No. But few of the great short par-4s were perfect from the get-go. Shoot, Riviera's 10th only ascended to its current place atop

most lists when technology (and all of that core work) allowed more players to go for the green. 

Did the new 12th achieve the goal of adding intrigue to the early back nine holes and some much needed nuance at what was previously not a good hole?

Definitely. 

Did it take one of the most one-dimensional, unimaginative and strange short par-4s on a great course and improve it?

Absolutely.

More importantly, a couple of suggestions to improve the hole:

Actually, the visibility issues were for those who played back in the fairway. Those who sneaked their lay-ups closer to the green got better views, a great nuance to the hole that developed as players got to know the features better.

As for any issues, I think there are two small tweaks that would encourage more aggressiveness without turning it into the automatic-driving situation that Alice laments: keep the lake bank at a higher cut and flip the tee over to the left so that the angle better fits the right-hander's draw-shot eye. Currently the players are hitting across themselves a bit. The angle probably accentuates the narrowness of the hole opening and the lefthand lake bank that was declared too severe by many.

A move of the tee so that the hole to set it up more like a long Redan could mean more enticement to attack.

The irony, she burns.  This sounds very sensible on both counts, but the beauty of redn greens is in the sue of natural land forms to dictate the line of play.  The concept of a bulldozer-created Redan might just cause me head to explode....

The Holy Trinity - The best part of this week's Byron Nelson?  That's easy....looking forward to seeing Trinity Forest.  The Tour's website has a great deep dive into the creation of this new venue:

As Crenshaw stood on the piece of property for the first time, though, he still wasn’t sure. He was struggling for a vision. The land was relatively flat and covered in tall

grass, with just a few mature trees and shrubbery dotting the space. What he and Coore had seen on the maps wasn’t evident in person. 

So they asked for the grass to be mowed. 

That's when everything came together. 

A completely different property emerged that featured natural rolling terrain with subtle elevation changes — the perfect canvas for a course that next year will become the new home of the AT&T Byron Nelson. 

Compared to the countless tree-lined golf courses that dot the landscape in North Texas, Trinity Forest Golf Club stands out from the crowd — a links-style, treeless layout bordered on all sides by towering hardwoods from the 6,000-acre Great Trinity Forest. Its history as a former landfill – which went unused for decades before the City of Dallas put the tract through environmental remediation – made it more challenging.

The entire process left a one-of-a-kind space for Coore and Crenshaw to create an 18-hole layout that tested their creativity and forced them to think outside the box — due in part to restrictions placed on the landfill that made it illegal to dig into the ground at any point during the project. The City of Dallas, by Texas Commission of Environmental Quality rules, also was required to remove any remaining trees that had voluntarily grown on top of the landfill, which completely put the property at the mercy of the elements. 

Crenshaw called it “a landfill with character.”

Read the whole damn thing!  Please?  

My take is that the PGA calendar will son be experiencing shrinkage and, metaphor alert, tournament sponsors better have their eyes on a chair for when the music stops.  There's no easier fat to cut in the schedule than in Texas, with four indifferent and indistinguishable events.   

This specific event, until nest year, had only two things going for it, the ties to its namesake legend and strong sponsorship.  But the flip side is equally apparent, do they really need to be in both Dallas and Fort Worth?  Plus, do today's coddle Tour pros even know who the event is named for?

You Think PXG Clubs Are Expensive? - Gotta love it... behind the scenes at a $2,000 wedge fitting:

Clouds and a cool breeze blew over Oceanside, Calif., last Monday as JP Harrington conducted the first fitting for a client into his new line of wedges at the Titleist

Performance Institute. A small area to the right of the practice range – where Titleist performs ball tests and other golfers can be fit for the latest gear – has been set up for him, allowing Harrington’s client to hit wedge shots across manicured turf. 

Most golfers never will have a chance to go through a fitting with Harrington, who plans to conduct two per week. That means he will do 50 to 60 more in 2017. And then there is the price: $2,000 for the fitting and three wedges. Each additional wedge costs $500.

That's $2,500 for me, since I carry four wedges....  What makes them special?

First, the heads are forged from 1025 carbon steel before being milled to precisely the

desired shapes. Internal weights made to fit each specific wedge head help raise or lower the center of gravity based on loft, then a large, highly polished tungsten weight is attached in the toe to pull the CG into the center of the hitting area. All that weight can be added because the back plate is made from brushed titanium, which is exceptionally light.

While the grooves are identical to those of Titleist Vokey Design SM6 wedges, the soles of JP Harrington wedges are CNC-milled. Most have aggressive heel and toe relief for increased versatility, but if there is a buzzword Harrington loves to talk about, it’s camber. His wedges tend to have a lot of curvature from the leading edge to the back of the sole, as well as from heel to toe. Harrington believes this helps players maintain speed through the turf for improved consistency.

Perhaps when Golf Digest purchases this blog?  Or not....  Honestly, though, I can't say that I love the look of them...  But, perhaps I'm rationalizing?

Is All Well With the Shark? -  I understand that he hurt his ankle playing tennis, but is he otherwise OK?  I ask because it's been ages since he shared a topless photo with us....  

Ask and ye shall receive:

 Thanks, as always, for Sharing, Greg.

Loose Ends

It's a slow week, so I'm hoping you're not the blame the messenger type....

Do Tell - But this click-bait is tailor made TaylorMade for your humble blogger:

Everything you need to know about Vijay Singh v. the PGA Tour (but were afraid to ask)

I wasn't afraid, but whatcha got?

Whether Singh used the spray to treat injury or build muscle—and whether the spray actually worked for its intended purpose—weren’t at issue. What mattered to the PGA

Tour was that the spray contained a prohibited substance, Insulin-like Growth Factor-1—better known as IGF-1. Still, Singh had reason to believe that a public disclosure of using deer antler spray wouldn’t disrupt his career. He knew that Mark Calcavecchia admitted to using the spray a couple of years earlier and wasn’t punished. Singh also understood that many other golfers used deer antler spray and none of them were punished.

The PGA Tour saw things differently, suspending Singh for 90 days. The PGA Tour reasoned that Singh, like other golfers, contractually agreed to follow the PGA Tour’s anti-doping program manual. Singh’s admission, the PGA Tour observed, proved that he violated the manual. As to other golfers who used the spray, the PGA Tour stressed that none of them used the spray while playing in PGA Tour tournaments. The PGA Tour insisted that it only punished golfers who use the spray while competing in PGA Tour events.

Seriously?  You used the stuff because it did so much for Calc?  But at the risk of siding with Veej, that "in competition" distinction seems kinda flimsy, no?  Players in other sports have been known to take PED's specifically to recover from injuries.  If a banned substance is used to enhance training and practice, that affects the actual competition.

Singh was outraged, noting that the bottle didn’t list IGF-1 and that a lab failed to conclude IGF-1 was an active substance. Singh exercised his right to appeal the suspension, but the appeal itself seemed to elevate his penalty: while an appeal would toll the suspension until after the appeal was heard, any money earned during the appeal would be placed in escrow. If Singh lost the appeal, the escrowed money would be forfeited and Singh would then serve the appeal—meaning he would lose what he would have earned during those 90 days plus money he actually earned during the appeal process.

The four years of motion practice has limited the issues to be tried:

In assessing the competing arguments of Singh and the PGA Tour, Judge Bransten found that certain parts of Singh’s lawsuit remain debatable and arethus appropriate for jurors’ review. This is true, Judge Bransten reasoned, on the question of whether the PGA Tour acted in bad faith by failing to consult with WADA on deer antler spray before punishing Singh. Judge Bransten also found questions remain as to whether the PGA Tour’s public discussion of the spray breached a covenant of good faith and caused damage to Singh. More favorably for the PGA Tour, however, Judge Bransten granted summary judgment on parts of the lawsuit. One key issue that has been dismissed pursuant to Judge Bransten’s order concerns Singh’s conversion argument: Judge Bransten agreed with the PGA Tour that since Singh assented to the PGA Tour placing his money in escrow while he appealed, the PGA Tour acted lawfully in placing Singh’s money in escrow.

I've been a tad giddy over this lawsuit for the four years, way out of proportion to the good it might do.  The Tour's opaque disciplinary processes are not sustainable, and this action at least offered the possibility of some disinfecting sunlight.  As a bonus, it's the legal equivalent of the Iran-Iraq war....  and Kissinger was wrong, they both did lose.

So how might this play out?

Unless the PGA Tour offers Singh an amount of money in a settlement offer that convinces him to drop the remainder of his case, PGA Tour officials can expect to testify before New York jurors at some point in the future. While under cross examination, they may be asked difficult questions by Singh’s attorney, Peter Ginsberg, about their drug testing policies and procedures and how they collect and share information.

The former seems unlikely, and the latter will depend upon the judge allowing such questioning....  But, let's hope Mr. Ginsberg has game....

For his part, Singh would also assume some risk by participating in a trial. For one, he could lose the trial and gain nothing from four years of litigation except legal bills. Second, golf fans who read about Singh’s trial testimony would be reminded of the allegations against him. Such reminders might themselves damage his reputation. Then again, Singh could persuasively testify and win the trial, which would enhance his reputation and financially enrich him, too

Have you met Vijay?  That last bit seems.....errrr.....speculative?

Exit question:  Does Veej wear his Hopkins visor on the witness stand?

Colonialism -  Fort Worth is prepared to welcome back wayward son Phil Mickelson, who hasn't played the event since 2010.  Though this welcome this may deter future visits:

“With the (course) redesign, I’m afraid I won’t be playing it (Colonial) anymore,” Phil

said in 2011. “It doesn’t give me a power advantage. I know all the shotmakers will be there every year. But I don’t see any of the long hitters playing there anymore. There’s no decision making now. It’s all irons, irons, irons.” 

It was a tee-shot blast at course designer Keith Foster, and a tone-deaf comment about his own game. Phil sounded like a coward. 

Most (all?) of the tournament directors and club members were furious and insulted. Phil wanted to play tournaments where he could birdie a Par 5. Colonial wanted PGAers who at least expressed some degree of gratitude for their hospitality, which in Phil’s case was generously extensive. 

By 2011, the happily married couple only shared mutual middle fingers.

Happily married couple?  A coward?  Wowser, I know things have gotten a tad separate in the media world, but if this guy has a byline I'm hoping for more shrinkage.

Do read the rest of the piece for your morning laugh, it'll be good as you've seemed a bit tense lately.  This piece should be used in teaching journalism, as it's a textbook example of burying the lede.

deep in the piece you learn that Phil was sponsored by Crowne Plaza, the former sponsor of the event.  Yes, you play in the event sponsored by the guys writing you checks....  Because it wasn't a happy marriage, it was.....wait for it...  a business transaction.

Poor Mac Engel, life must be constantly disillusioning for him....

Short Stuff - Life goes in cycles, and thanks to Mike Keiser and others (Including Tiger), short course are now a thing, including at this place:

It's a great idea, though it seems awfully close to the finishing hole on No. 2.... But combined with the Thistle Dhu putting green there will be no shortage of drinking games available for visitors...

Equipment Musings - What's in your wallet bag?  More importantly, why is it there?  I'm not exactly sure where I'm going with this, but it'll be fascinating as always.... at least for those easily amused.

Matt Adams did a segment on Golf Channel on Rory's signing with TaylorMade that featured this poll of his Twitter followers:

Let's agree that if you follow Matt on Twitter, you likely have sleep issues....  Sorry Matt, we kid because we love....  The point being that this is a poll among core golf fans, not random folks off the street.

But does the fact that Rory/DJ?Sergio/Random Tour Rabbit plays a certain club affect your purchasing decisions?  I'm gonna say no, and I'm gonna say it with some attitude.  You'd be pretty foolish to let a guy with 25 mph more club speed affect your game....

But then let's turn it around and presume that TaylorMade and Callaway aren't run by idiots.....  So, what is it that they think they're getting for their large checks?  

Shall we take a detour to the Acushnet S-1?  

I know that will be difficult to read, but click through and go to page 16 if you want to follow along at home.  Acushnet is the parent company of Titleist/FootJoy and the S-1 was filed in conjunction with its recent IPO.  It's therefore the best picture we have of the economics of the golf equipment business....

We see a consistent 50% gross margin, fairly strong for a competitive manufacturing company.  We also know that the Titleist golf ball business represents about a third of their revenue, and we assume that this skews their margins higher.  The number that shocks is the selling expenses, almost 40% of revenues.... Think about it, selling expenses, including the player's contracts, are only slightly less than the cost of producing the products.  You don't see that every day...

But again, Titleist has a reputation of not paying the really high sponsorship numbers... they let Tiger and Rory go early in their careers to chase the big money....  So, wouldn't we assume that TaylorMade's selling expenses blow by Acushnet's?

With lower gross margins than Titleist, let's think about Rory's reported $10 million contract to play TaylorMade.  We could spend all day dissecting the difference between average and marginal costs, but let's just assume that the next driver sold by TaylorMade drops 25% of the wholesale price to their bottom line.  Can having Rory in the fold add $40 million in wholesale revenue to the company?

On the one hand, it's not a number so large that it blows us away....  On the other hand, with DJ, JD, Sergio and Justin Rose already in the fold, is there any increased brand awareness to be had?  It's an interesting subject with no easy answer, as who wouldn't want any of those guys playing their products.  On the other hand, from 30,000 feet it looks like an industry with a death wish....

I'll also just add that the equipment companies also sponsor club pros, a different model for sure.  When I got to Willow Ridge, both of the male teaching pros were TaylorMade guys, and the company got great value from those rather minor line items in the budget.  Every bag at the club was full of TM sticks....  the obvious problem is that it's one club, and hard to replicate widely.

A subject of interest to me that I'd blog more often, if only the information was readily available.

Enjoy the weekend.

Thursday Threads

Bit of a quiet day, I'm guessing due to the heat....

These Crazy Kids - It's that time of year again, the NCAA Golf Championships are upon us.  If you haven't made the time to watch them the last few years, please give them a look in the coming weeks.  Not only will you see kids that will soon be posing with oversized cardboard checks, but the team match-play format rocks.

But we're still at the regional stage, qualifying individuals and teams into the finals.  But the kids manage to entertain, as Ryan Lavner informs:

On the fourth hole at LSU’s University Club, his 13th of the day, senior David Wicks marked his 3-footer for par and waited for the other two players in his group to finish

out. He crouched on a steep bank to read his putt, but as he stood up and reached for the ball in his right front pocket, he dropped it. 

Of course, it didn’t just fall straight down. No, it kicked off the back of his shoe, rolled off the green, around a bulkhead, and after a brief chase he watched it tumble into the water on the left side of the green.

“I looked at my playing partners, they looked at me, and there was that awkward silence where we both knew it’d be a penalty,” Wicks said by phone Wednesday night.

Said his coach, Mike Blackburn: “Just a stroke of bad luck.”

Anyone remember when this happened to Ian Poulter on the fourth green at Sawgrass?  Of course, this highlights the refreshing difference between the professional and collegiate games, as Poults merely directed one of his Nubian wenches (actually it was his trainer) to find the pellet.

Here was Wicks’ predicament: He needed to find his original ball or he would be assessed a two-shot penalty for not finishing the hole with the same ball. In contention both in the team and individual race, Wicks said, “I was always going to go in. If I hadn’t gone in and we’d lost by a shot, the nine-hour drive back I would have been thinking about it the whole time. At least I know now.” 

And so the Englishman stripped down to his underwear and waded into the waist-high water.

Ah, another Brit....  But while the first ball Poults' minion pulled out was in fact his, this young man didn't have any such luck:

“It was warm,” he said. “Nice temperature. If I had a nice inflatable and a Diet Coke, it would have been a lovely afternoon.” 

Digging through the mud, searching for five minutes, he found about 30 balls – “Mostly Top Flites and Pinnacles” – but not his.

Not his TopFlite or Pinnacle?  Very imprecise wording...

But the story has a happy ending, as both Wicks and his team qualified for Nationals....  Of greater importance, you now have a team and player for whom to root.

Shack's got links to the other regionals, video of the young man's search (we provide equal-opportunity beefcake here at UL) and, of greater import, a reminder to set your DVR's:

The NCAA finals start Sunday for the women and a week later for the men.

If that "Go Waves" confuses you, it's because Shack is a proud Pepperdine alum.

Delivering The Goods -  There was never any doubt that this would be epic, but Bradley Klein and Martin Kaufmann got there first:

America’s next must-visit golf resort officially is open for business. 

Sand Valley Golf Resort opened May 2 on an extraordinary inland site smack dab in the middle of Wisconsin. Appropriately, golfers were greeted with “very Scottish weather” on opening day, said Michael Keiser Jr., who spearheaded the project. 

The Keiser family’s affinity for Scottish golf has manifested itself in great, off-the-grid golf destinations in the U.S. and abroad. Mike Keiser, Michael’s father, created Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Bandon, Ore., collaborated with Toronto businessman Ben Cowan-Dewar to build Cabot Links and Cabot Cliffs on the northwest coast of Canada’s Cape Breton Island, and is exploring a new project in the Scottish Highlands.

Forgive the long excerpts, but this is going to be quite the place:

The property is enormous: 1,711 acres (2.67 square miles). As was done at Bandon Dunes, the first course will bear the name of the resort: Sand Valley. The Bill Coore-Ben Crenshaw design occupies 550 acres – three times the land normally needed for golf. A second course set to open in 2018, by David McLay Kidd, is appropriately called Mammoth Dunes and occupies even more ground – 620 acres.

More than 600 acres for a walking-only course?  Wow!

Sand Valley’s grass-covered dunes, some of them 50-60 feet high, are the product of massive outwash from glaciation and an abrupt flood 15,000 years ago. Coore and

Crenshaw’s routing meanders through broad valleys, climbs atop those dunes and at times circulates through flatter ground that had been planted for decades in the dead straight rows of a pine tree farm. 

The scale of the place can be disorienting, given the wide berth of playing options available. The par-72 layout tips out at 6,909 yards (72.6 rating/128 slope). But those black-tee numbers are virtually meaningless in the midst of the prevailing wind and the intensity of ground-game roll. The vast bulk of rounds will be played from more comfortable yardages of 6,514 yards (orange), 6,087 (sand), 5,574 (green) and 4,586 (blue). Get it – no gender-biased red colors here. Just play it from where you think you can have fun.

There's likely to be 4-5 courses before he's done, with Tom Doak seemingly teed up to design the third course.

For anyone interested in the creation of such a resort, I can't recommend this book highly enough.  It details the creation of Bandon Dunes virtually on a decision-by-decision basis, and it's just a fascinating peak into the process by which that resort improbably came into existence.

This does capture their philosophy:

The Keisers secret has been to create courses that are so much fun that customers can’t get enough. Early indications are they’ve accomplished that again at Sand Valley. 

“We had a lot of confidence in the project,” Keiser Jr. said, “but you never know until you see people walk off the last green and go right to the first tee.”

The only real question is whether that can be done in the absence of ocean views....  My guess is that it can, especially given the good proximity to major population centers.

London Calling -  This is an interesting insight into the business side of the Tour:

The PGA Tour has flexed its muscles towards its equivalent in Europe by opening a base in England. Although an announcement is not expected until mid-summer, the PGA’s London office is already operational with its prime focus on media rights and tournament sponsorship. 

The implication is that the PGA Tour will seek to court sponsors who might otherwise be attracted to European Tour events. Given the fiscal power the PGA Tour has already displayed – this month’s Players Championship had a purse of $10.5m (£8.15m) as the €500,000 (£428,839) Portugal Open was taking place – this is an intriguing business move. 

The sense golf is edging towards one global tour is impossible to ignore, as is the fact the PGA Tour clearly regards London as an important commercial hub. Fresh business partners for golf have been hard to come by in recent times.

OK, if you're going to compare the Player's Championship to a Euro event, it should obviously be the BMW-sponsored flagship event at Wentworth, but so be it.

More importantly, I draw exactly the opposite conclusion from this data, that the two tours are aggressive competitors and that the Yanks are flexing their muscles with a presence on the Euro's home turf.

But Mr. Pelley will not be very vocal with any concerns:

The European Tour offered no comment on news that the PGA Tour, whose headquarters are in Florida but which has offices in Beijing and Tokyo, has taken on premises in their backyard and is believed to be relaxed about the situation. The European Tour has full-time staff in the United States, for whom permanent premises may be forthcoming.

Did you now the Tour had offices in Beijing and Tokyo?  

Jay Monahan, the recently appointed commissioner of the PGA Tour, presided over a FedEx extension which is thought to include curious restrictions on players sponsored by a rival distribution brand. The PGA Tour has also tightened its own criteria for membership, partly in a bid to retain European players who might otherwise be tempted by a return to their home circuit. 

The PGA Tour declined the opportunity to comment on the London office. Coincidentally, one of Pelley’s operational priorities for the European Tour has been finding an alternative home to Wentworth.

Ewan Muarray is an experienced golf writer, but he seems to be throwing random mud at walls to see what sticks.  The exclusivity agreement is troubling as we've noted, but is it germane to the subject at hand?  I'll confess ignorance to the tightening of of the Tour's membership criteria, but are we aware of any Euros besides Paul Casey not maintaining their Euro Tour and, thereby,their Ryder Cup eligibility?  Jon Rahm had some early qualms about serving both masters, but his win at Torrey put that issue to bed?

And Wentworth?  The issues there relate to the new Chinese ownership and the ongoing row with the membership.... and perhaps, or so I'd like to think, the desecration of a Harry Colt classic.

A Rorschach Test - What do you see in this story?  

Get ready to see some history made at this year's U.S. Open. Golf's national

championship will be contested at Erin Hills for the first time -- and a first-of-a-kind series of stamp will be revealed by the United States Postal Service. That's right, we said stamps. 

The Postal Service's new "Have a Ball!" campaign will kick off at Erin Hills on June 14, the day before the tournament starts. It will feature forever stamps mimicking the look and feel of balls used in eight different sports, including golf. 

According to the Postal Service, the dimple-like texture on the golf ball stamp comes from a special coating is applied during the printing process. 

Wanna see the others?

Kickball?

Do you see a heartwarming homage to our great game?  Or do you see an out-of-control federal agency recklessly spending money to remain relevant?  There's an old saying that everyone's conservative about that which they know best...

Consider The Source - Steve Elkington has such a tortured history on Twitter, that you'd have though he'd weaned himself off it.  This piece from three years back has some, but not all, of the rich history:

Steve Elkington Is Your Dumb Uncle On Twitter

Of course he feels compelled to share his thoughts on Ian Poulter's course management on Sunday:

Yanno, I consider myself pretty opinionated, but the guy, per Teddy Roosevelt, in the arena has to live with the consequences, so a little deference is due.

Apparently the outrage is that Poults didn't go from the green from the right rough on No. 16....  He had a spongy Bermuda lie and was in the right rough, leaving him a horrible angle to a right pin tucked behind a bunker.  Is it so obvious that going for the green was his best chance to make a four?

I've never been a Poults fan, finding him far brasher than his game can support.  But let's take on the elephant in the corner, which Alex Myers manages to confuse:

It's possible the lie was worse than it looked. It's also possible that in second place by two shots at the time he was playing it safe to ensure a big paycheck. But with this week's runner-up getting $1.134 million (Poulter and Oosthuizen wound up making $924,000) could you really blame him?

It's the money, it's the card....  Poults has no status on Tour past this year, so he does need to be conscious of maintaining his high finishes to ensure tee times next season.  He didn't create this system, but he had a near-death experience before Brian Gay saved his bacon, so do we really blame him?

Given where he was on Sunday, I find his decisions defensible....  and since he had to hit the shots, I'm not exactly sure that my opinion should count for much.  He wasn't going to be able to control the ball out of that lie and he still had two holes to play.  Why not make sure he wouldn't make more than a five, and see if Si Woo might falter?

I get the argument that he should have played more aggressively, but it's just that, an argument.  

The King Would Like This - We had this story a while back, but I guess they upgraded the plaque.  It's an unusual homage, but I think he'd have liked it:

Remembering Arnold Palmer is a good thing, of course, but remembering him for making a septuple-bogey 12 seems an unusual way of doing so. 

Nonetheless, the city of Los Angeles had an Arnold Palmer Plaque Rededication Ceremony at Rancho Park Golf Course on Wednesday morning. 

It was on the par-5 ninth hole there (now the 18th hole) that Palmer made a 12 in the Los Angeles Open in 1961. Two years later, the city placed two plaques there commemorating the septuple-bogey. 

In a ceremony that included Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Koretz and World Golf Hall of Fame member Amy Alcott (“this is where I started my golf career,” she said), a new plaque was unveiled (shown above) at the hole.

I love the play-by-play in that right panel....  They could have quoted Seve... I mees, I mees, I mees.... you can fill in the rest.