Jack's Coming To Town To Talk Valhalla Redo

Thanks to reader John for Rick Bozich's Louisville Courier-Journal coverage of Valhalla's latest greens redo, which is prompting a Thursday visit from Jack Nicklaus his ownself. Members have been advised to bring their questions and Jack will provide answers.

In a story for the paper, Jody Demling does not mention the flood damage that had been cited by some as the reason all greens needed to be rebuilt (that would take some flood to get the 9th and 18th greens!). Instead, extreme heat seems to have been the culprit.

The project is expected to begin in September with renovations expected to be complete by next summer.

“The extremes of severe summertime weather these last two years have necessitated the enhancements to begin next month in time for the fall growing season,” Steranka said in a release from the PGA of America.

The PGA said a more heat-tolerant bent grass will be installed. A new irrigation system will replace the existing 25-year old infrastructure, and fairway drainage will be addressed.

The Jack Nicklaus-designed Valhalla has hosted the 1996 and 2000 PGA Championship and the 2008 Ryder Cup along with the Senior PGA in ’04 and ’11.

The course has already undergone three sets of major alterations, including changes before the 2000 and ’04 events.

Phil On New Muirfield 16th: "It's certainly more difficult."

Phil Mickelson didn't sound particularly excited about Jack's redesigned 16th at Muirfield Village.

Q. The new 16th out there, what was your experience like on that?

PHIL MICKELSON: It's certainly more difficult. You know, you're hitting over the water. I thought that you were going to hit more up the green, kind of like 16 at Augusta, but really, you're coming at it from a whole different angle where you're having to fly over the water. I had to change the way I look at that hole.
I thought if we shot up the green I might think about 2 a few times, but really, I'll just try to make it 3 there.

Meanwhile, Dave Shedloski explains Phil's enthusiasm for a 2-iron that is part of his tee shot package heading into Congressional. It is NOT a supplement for his driver. At least for now.

"JACK NICKLAUS: He should be here. (Laughter.)"

Jack Nicklaus's Q&A at Muirfield Village included a "What would Woody think" question about Jim Tressel and Jack serving as his own rally killer later on. But in this sequence he proved that he is absolutely not reading the Muirfield Village club newsetter.

Q. Jason Day has had to withdraw from the tournament needing to take a break before the U.S. Open. I know you've just recently granted him membership to Muirfield Village. What do you see in young Jason?

JACK NICKLAUS: We did?

Q. Just recently.

JACK NICKLAUS: Did what?

Q. He has playing privileges at Muirfield Village.

JACK NICKLAUS: He does, and he's not here? (Laughter.) We'll take that away. (Laughter.) I did not know that.

Does Jason live around here?

Q. Yes, he's married a girl from Ohio.

JACK NICKLAUS: Oh, he did?

Q. I just wanted to get your opinion on his play these days because he's a young star in the making for Australia.

JACK NICKLAUS: He's a good player, and if he's got a gal from -- has he married a gal from Ohio?

Q. Yeah.

JACK NICKLAUS: He should be here. (Laughter.)

Update on 2011-05-31 19:50 by Geoff

**A few people in the room wrote in to clarify that the (laughter) was not Jack's, but the audience. Apparently Jack looked less than pleased.

Muirfield Village's New 16th To Debut

According to the GCSAA's preview, the hole is opening this week so I don't know if that means it actually has not seen any play yet, adding to the intrigue. In the photos I've seen it looks like a knock off of Augusta's 16th hole, but with more than one decent hole location.

Here's a YouTube video showing the destruction of the old hole, no great loss for golf architecture.



In this second video is it me or does it look like they added a back left bunker at the last minute?



Update on 2011-05-31 17:13 by Geoff

**Jack on the new hole during today's press gathering at Muirfield Village:

Obviously we have one change, major change, on the golf course, which is the 16th hole, and the 16th hole which used to play to about 214, plays about 200, 201, whatever they put down for the yardage on it. It's a little bit shorter. We took drainage that was coming through in the green that was piped, took that out and put a lake in that area. They ended up at the base at the top of the hill there, those of you that know the area there, the left of 16 was an area we had a little sort of drainage that went down into the creek that goes along 15.

And we used that area to -- we took where the drainage came from and we took the drainage and took it the other direction. In other words, instead of having it come down through the golf course, we stopped it there and took it back towards -- to the street out on Muirfield Drive.

And then they built a lake in that area, put a green alongside it. It's a kind of hole that I think will probably play easier with a good shot under the prevailing wind. The prevailing wind is a westerly wind, southwesterly wind, that usually when we hit the ball before the green was sitting sort of this way, and I think a lot of shots hit in there went through the green very easily or into the back bunker, and I never really cared for the way the ball went into that green.

So what I did is I took the green and put it more this way, which sort of lines up with the prevailing wind. And with the prevailing wind you have the ability to feed the ball back into the green so you don't have to worry about having to stop the ball as easily if you play a smart shot.

And if the wind turns the other way, if there's no wind, then stopping the ball on the green is not an issue.

I think that works out very well. The water is all along the left side of it. I think there's going to be a lot more 2s, there's going to be a lot more excitement. There's more gallery area. There's some hospitality tents there -- I don't know if you call them tents, what do we call them, skyboxes type things -- they're not skyboxes, either, but I don't know what they call them.

Q. Chalets.

JACK NICKLAUS: Whatever they are. (Laughter.)

I think you're going to find a lot more birdies. I think you'll find a lot of fairly conservative 3s, and I think you'll also find a few double-bogeys that will come in there, which an errant shot will not be rewarded and a good shot will be rewarded, which is what a good hole should be anyway.

Jack: Pitching 12-Hole Concept To Finchem

Joe Biddle reports on Jack Nicklaus' visit to "The Vinny" on Sunday, a charity fundraiser for Vince Gill.  Seems Jack was chatty about the game. Thanks to reader Jim for this.

“Since 2006, we’ve lost 20 percent of the women in the game and we’ve lost 20 percent of the juniors in the game,” Nicklaus said. “If you’re the CEO of a corporation and have those numbers, you say, ‘What do I do?’ The professional game is great. The showcase is great.

“But is the showcase bringing people into the game, or is it running them out of the game? It’s a good question.”

Jack feels the pro game is no longer relatable to the average man, woman and junior.

“Quite often, by local knowledge, he would beat me,” Nicklaus said. “You go to these courses today and play the club champion at 7,500 yards and you run in Phil Mickelson and there’s no chance in the world (the club champion) is going to beat them.

“I worry about that as it relates to what is happening in the game.”

Jack's now on the 12-hole kick.

Looking forward, Nicklaus believes cutting a round of golf to 12 holes would be more palatable for golfers who don’t want to make it a day-long process.

He tossed the idea past Finchem, who pooh-poohed it six or seven months ago. Finchem talked to Nicklaus at the Masters this year, and Nicklaus said Finchem is starting to consider the idea.

Now Jack just has to figure out how to make it Tim's idea!

At two of Nicklaus’ courses — Muirfield and the Bear’s Club — he had them make up 12-hole scorecards.

“My seniors are loving it,” he said. “The game is so difficult to start with. You take kids. They start basketball at a 6-foot hoop, 7-foot hoop, small ball, big ball.... All the sports work their selves up. In golf, you start with a set of clubs and a hard golf ball and it’s not easy.

“It’s the health of the game, the growth of the game, keeping people in the game, that I’m interested in.”

There's a video accompanying the story as well:

Jack: "Amazing the number of people that just told me those kind of stories. I said, you've got to be kidding."

I finally got around to reading Jack Nicklaus's press conference from Wednesday in Palm Beach and despite a few rally kills, the 25th anniversary of 1986 was on everyone's minds.

Bob Harig has a nice summary of Nicklaus's memories here.

Of course, his legacy was secured with his success in major championships, winning a record 18, the last of which came at the 1986 Masters. That stirring Sunday at Augusta National will come up often as the 25th anniversary approaches of one of golf's most iconic occurrences and it was the main reason for chatting for more than an hour with the media.

"I don't care where I go, I always run into somebody who says, 'I was in an airport in '86, I canceled my airplane and sat there and watched it because I couldn't leave.' Or I had to do this or I had to do that and I had to stop.

"Amazing the number of people that just told me those kind of stories. I said, you've got to be kidding."

ESPN also includes their Masters memories clip with the piece...though having just watched the entire final round for the first time in years, a 30 second clip is just not quite the same!