When you come to think of it that is the secret of most of the great holes all over the world. They all have some kind of a twist. C.B. MACDONALD
....ya, that's the ticket!
In a Golf World Monday item on the Tiger accident anniversary, Ron Sirak reports that Camp Ponte Vedra and specifically Tim Finchem are feeling the pressure to get ratings up in early 2011 as they head into television contract negotiations. Part of the grand plan is to beg Tiger to add a west coast event.
E. Michael Johnson concludes that the groove rule change had little impact on PGA Tour play even though some players insist it made a difference.
The numbers show there may be a reason for that. Or at least a reason not to abhor them. Although the tour's scoring average did rise to 71.15 (from 71.04 in 2009), driving distance was nearly the same (287.3 yards compared to 287.9 last year) and birdies per round was a virtual dead-heat (3.43 to 3.42 in 2009). Greens in regulation rose, from 64.7 percent last year to 66.26 percent this year. Driving accuracy rose from 62.91 percent to 63.51 percent. To put that jump of slightly more than a one-half percentage point into perspective: PGA Tour pros, on average, were hitting one additional fairway every 13.5 rounds. When you consider that the primary rationale for the rule was to restore accuracy to the game, that's not a lot. In short, whether the numbers moved up or down, not a single stat that can be related to grooves showed a significant move in either direction.
So is it fair to judge the impact of the groove rule change after one year?
Eventually the details behind the Turning Stone event's abrupt departure would be revealed and Chris Wagner reports on CEO Ray Halbritter's stance.
Halbritter hinted as much Friday when he explained the reasons he was opting out of the tournament contract after four years. Saddled with sketchy fall-weather dates the first three years and an opposite-field, time-share date this year, Turning Stone’s CEO spelled out his requirements to the PGA Tour: Provide a stand-alone date in either June, July or August — two weeks before or after a major — or the contract was over.
That made it essentially a choice between Greenbrier or Turning Stone and the tour went with Greenbrier, seemingly a great idea at the time. However, the more we read about Jim Justice's lawsuit issues, including the latest news of Lester George adding to his complaint, the less glamorous the place looks.
That's Tiger sounding the least beat concerned about losing the No. 1 world ranking. It helps when you've won 14 majors.
“As far as the world ranking is concerned, yes, I’m not ranked No. 1 in the world,” Woods said Monday. “In order to do that you have to win and I didn’t win this year.”
Though I'm not sure this has proven to be accurate, but we'll chalk it up to Tiger sticking to diplomacy:
“As far as the emotions go, it is what it is,” Woods said. “To become No. 1 you have to win and win a lot to maintain it. That’s the way it goes.”
Lee Westwood won once this year at Memphis. Martin Kaymer has won four times, including a major.
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
Copyright © 2022, Geoff Shackelford. All rights reserved.
