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
Deadspin's Tom Ley reports the finding of the Chester Valley Country Club's board on denim in the dining room, an investigation of sorts going on out at undoubtedly many clubs across the land struggling to appeal to a younger demographic.
But to those who haven't seen the club world at work, it does sound rather, well, weeeeeird.
Greg Logan on the efforts being made to ensure that the U.S. Women's Open starting today does not get out of hand with gusts to 25 possible.
Jeff Hall and Tom O'Toole talked about the setup issues they are facing at Sebonack.
ESPN2 has the coverage from 3-7 p.m. ET.
The late golfing great passed away on June 23rd and we're now seeing some reports on his remarkable life in the game.
From an unbylined AP story:
''He was my old buddy,'' Palmer said Tuesday from his office in Latrobe, Pa. ''We were pretty close for a lot of years. He always thought I would be one of his guys and do the muscle thing and all that. And of course, we played against each other a lot. He was a great guy, a good friend. He played some very good golf.''
And John Boyette takes the Augusta angle to Stranahan's life, which included a near Masters win and a brouhaha with Clifford Roberts.
At the 1947 Masters, Stranahan closed with 68 to finish two shots behind winner Jimmy Demaret. No amateur has ever won the Masters, although Charlie Coe, Ken Venturi and Billy Joe Patton all had close calls.
The following year, Stranahan crossed paths with Roberts, Augusta National Golf Club’s stern chairman. The dustup involved a rule about playing a second ball to greens during practice rounds.
While he was still playing the second nine, Stranahan was asked to leave the course and that his invitation had been withdrawn.
Stranahan’s protests fell on deaf ears, and Roberts’ decision was final.
“So I bought a ticket, and I stayed there,” Stranahan said in a 1998 interview with Sports Illustrated.
Ron Green Jr. got a look at the latest tinkering to Pinehurst in advance of next year's U.S. Open and likes what he saw of what figures to be a fascinating change of the 4th into a par-4, and the famous 5th into a par-5 as Donald Ross once envisioned.
Thanks to read DTF for this:
The fourth hole will have more right to left movement from the new tee, located between the right side of the sixth tee and the back of the third green. Bunkers left and right frame a fairway that cants noticeably from left to right. The putting surface is among the most receptive on the course known for its turtleback greens complexes.
The view from the new fifth tee is striking. Set back where the old World Golf Hall of Fame was located years ago, it’s raised enough to afford a view to the green. It also brings back into play a cross bunker approximately 300 yards from the tee.
Most players will lay up with their second shots and face a difficult approach to one of the most dangerous greens on the course protected by a deep bunker and a new waste area on the left.
“I put Curtis (Strange) on this (fifth) tee and he said this is enough to sell me right here,” Padgett said. “This arguably could be the best tee shot on this course."
I didn't post this one at the time because it was just too soon, but now getting to watch Rory McIlroy bend an iron after dumping a second shot into Cobb's Creek serves as a reminder to all of the young people out there that it is a very special talent to break a club and look good doing it. One of the few talents lacking from Mr. McIlroy's repertoire.
From Supersport:
"I just got frustrated and definitely it was not the right thing to do," he said.
"I would not recommend anyone or anyone watching on TV or any kids to start throwing or bending their 9-irons.
"But the 9-iron is intact and I've got a new shaft this week and it's ready to go."
**Rory says he feels "lost" on the course (not the range) right now after an opening 74 in the Irish Open.
"At the moment, no aspects of my game are strong and I'm just feeling a bit lost at the moment," he said. "It feels good on the range and I can hit all the shots but when I get out on the course it really does not seem to be there.
"Off the tee, I am missing one right and then missing one left and it's just not going where I want it. It gets you in two minds every time you are playing a tee shot.
"The game is just not coming easy to me at the moment and while I was struggling at this point last year, I was able to turn the corner in the middle of the summer and have a great end to my season.
"I don't know whether it's a matter of trying to play my way out of it or just keep grinding away on the range or whatever."
Mike Stachura reports that after all that huffing and puffing about the anchoring ban, the PGA of America will be leaning on the PGA Tour to determine its future stance on the anchored putting ban.
"As we have seen over the past few months, the Rules of Golf can affect recreational golf in addition to play at the elite level. The PGA of America will continue to confer with the PGA Tour on the subject of Rule 14-1b, and The PGA of America will reserve any public comments on this matter until after the PGA Tour Policy Board meets on July 1."
The decision to let the PGA Tour dictate things was made at Sunriver, Oregon during the PGA Club Pro which ended with a dramatic playoff shot when Rob Labritz, Director of Golf at GlenArbor Golf Club in Bedford, N.Y., holed his third on the par-4 11th at Sunriver Resort (Ore.) to capture the 20th spot.
If the Tweet from Donald Trump on his lukewarmly received Trump International doesn't make you laugh, then the Twitter responses will.
The people of Scotland love the golf course I have built-it is now considered perhaps the greatest ever built! Thank you also to Robb Report
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 26, 2013
The USA Today's Jeffrey Martin files a follow up to the Casey Martin story out of Oceanside and while it sounds like everyone was following the letter of the (USGA) laws, common sense went out the window as it did the first time around in Martin's attempts to use a cart. 
Only this time, he's a mere spectator on a course where rules officials were no doubt driving all over the place as they are prone to do!
Martin, 41, pleaded with Pawlak, also assistant director of rules, competition and course rating for the Southern California Golf Association.
"I said, 'Man, I went to the Supreme Court, and I know what my rights are. Do they know my story?'" Martin said. "And he said, 'Yes, they know.'
"I said, 'Let me ride this.' He apologized but said he couldn't. I said, 'I know I can use this cart, but if not, can you or someone take me around?' He said, 'We can take you to a point on the course and drop you. We can't cart you around.'"
The SCGA also issued a statement, distancing themselves from the USGA policy they were charged to enforce as hosts of the qualifier:
"We are sorry for the confusion caused by our misunderstanding of how to apply the USGA's policy," the statement read. "We alerted Mr. Martin as soon as we were notified by the USGA that we were not properly enforcing their policy. We then attempted to accommodate Mr. Martin in every way available within the guidelines of the USGA policy, but he declined assistance."
Again, I ask...if they did not have "scooters" available for him to use, doesn't common sense say you provide the next best option, a cart, so that he can do his job?
Having seen Martin in action in a cart at both U.S. Opens he played ('98, '12) and also at the recent Pac-12 Championship, he's far from taking advantage of the privilege of getting a cart and I don't know a coach or player on the planet that begrudges him for using one. And using a cart he certainly shows better respect for sensitive turfgrass than many of the rules officials who abuse the privilege!
**Grantland's Shane Ryan has a less than flattering take on the Martin situation and the Executive Committee.
Fun anecdote from Randall Mell from Tuesday at Sebonack on the eve of the U.S. Women's Open at the Tom Doak-Jack Nicklaus designed course:
When Doak first inquired whether he could follow Creamer around, Creamer didn’t believe it.
“I asked my dad,`Is it a joke? Is someone playing a trick on me?'” Creamer said.
Creamer, who won the U.S. Women’s Open in 2010 on Oakmont’s treacherous greens, relished the chance to grill Doak on nuances of his designs.
“Why would you do this to us?” Creamer playfully asked Doak of the toughest greens. “I didn’t give him too much grief about it, but he laughed.”
Dave Shedloski talks to architects Nicklaus and Doak about the unusual design collaboration.
Nicklaus said the routing of the course is predominantly the work of Doak, but the tee-to-green strategy shows more of his influence. He figures he moved perhaps as many as half of the bunkers into more strategic locations. Doak designed the greens. Nicklaus liked them, but softened them.
“The look is more Tom’s, and the golf is a combination of both of us,” Nicklaus said. “My idea was to have good, playable golf. Tom will throw bunkers in different places for the aesthetics, so that’s the look. I think the combination turned out well. I learned a lot from this golf course; it’s given me another dimension on how to do golf courses.
Ron Kroichick broke the news so long ago that he needed to re-break it in advance of Wednesday's announcement on Long Island.
Cordevalle is again hosting this year's Frys.com Open on the PGA Tour.
**For Immediate Release, Condi Rice is the honorary chair...
CORDEVALLE TO HOST 2016 U.S. WOMEN’S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP
Condoleezza Rice to Serve As Honorary Chair
FAR HILLS, N.J. (June 26, 2013) – The United States Golf Association (USGA) today announced CordeValle, in San Martin, Calif., as the host of the 2016 U.S. Women’s Open Championship. The championship, which will be conducted July 7-10, will be the first Women’s Open held in the Bay Area and the second USGA championship conducted at CordeValle, which will host the USGA Senior Women’s Amateur Championship in September 2013.
“The San Francisco area has a rich history of hosting USGA championships, and the USGA is proud to add to that tradition with the U.S. Women’s Open at CordeValle,” said Thomas J. O’Toole Jr., USGA vice president and chairman of the Championship Committee. “Northern California has produced two of today’s most accomplished female players in Women’s Open champions Paula Creamer and Juli Inkster, and we look forward to bringing this championship to such a vibrant golf community.”
“CordeValle is very honored to host the 2016 U.S. Women’s Open Championship and welcomes this opportunity to develop a stronger relationship with the USGA," said Alan Campey, president of CordeValle. “From our acclaimed golf course to our world-class resort facilities, the Women's Open competitors, spectators and guests will have a wonderful experience at CordeValle. And that experience will be bolstered by the crucial support from our club members, local community and financial supporters, without whom this championship would not be possible.”
Former United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is a member of the USGA’s Nominating Committee and a professor at Stanford University, will serve as honorary chairman of the 2016 U.S. Women’s Open.
Interesting characterization of Rory McIlroy's recent on-course struggles by Ryder Cup Captain Paul McGinley, as told to The Guardian's Ewan Murray.
"He is never going to be a Nick Faldo who is going to flat line. We just have to accept that and let him get on with it. He will come through the bit of a trough that he has had; he'll come through and have success again. I don't see Rory as a flat-line player and I just think that's going to be part of his career for the rest of his life.
"Everybody is different and one of the reasons why he is so exciting is the fact that he is up and down. That's one of the reasons why Seve was so exciting, he was up and down, too. I think that's the X factor that Rory has. He can win every week."
Cassie Stein files an in-depth report on an incident Monday in which Oregon golf coach Casey Martin was denied the use of a golf cart at the U.S. Junior qualifier in Oceanside.
It seems the USGA contacted the host regional golf association, the SCGA, to ask Martin to give up the cart.
“I’ve never felt more discriminated against or unfairly taken advantage of in my entire life,” Martin told Golfweek that evening.
Pawlak said the USGA contacted the tournament and asked that Martin not use a cart.
“He wasn’t happy about it,” Pawlak said, “but he accepted it.”
When contacted by Golfweek for comment, the USGA issued a statement:
"The United States Golf Association has been and continues to be a strong supporter of Casey Martin. The unfortunate situation at the U.S. Junior qualifier stems from a misunderstanding over the USGA Cart Policy at our championship events. We regret that this misunderstanding may have caused Casey an inconvenience, but it certainly was unintentional. We have extended to Casey accommodations that we offer all disabled spectators at our championships. Despite this unfortunate situation, we continue to admire what Casey has been able to accomplish in the game as both a player and a coach."
The rules are quite clear that carts are not allowed for spectators at USGA events and that one-person scooters will be made available on a first-come basis. However, if those are not available or the course runs out, it would seem logical to grant the use of a cart to one of the few handicapped people on the planet trying to spectate a USGA qualifier, no?
Alex Myers with the details...
With good reason Graham DeLaet contributed $1000 for each birdie he made during the Travelers, matched by the tournament and others. Seeing the latest articles sent by reader Andrew along with the video puts into perspective just had bad the flooding sitaution in Calgary is.
Wes Gilbertson reports that Canadian Open hopeful Glencoe Golf & Country Club is in bad shape but no major damage was done to the newly renovated course.
“It’s sickening. It’s truly sickening,” said Mike Kenney, the executive professional and associate general manager at Glencoe, one of the large number of Calgary-area golf courses impacted by the worst flood in Alberta history.
“We were going to be opening the Forest next Saturday after 23 months of renovations, and that’s probably the hardest pill to take, just knowing we were that close. Now, I’m not sure when it will open again. It’s going to be awhile.
“It’s just going to take time to recuperate. A lot of it is going to have to be stripped and re-sodded and shaped a bit differently.”
Brody Mark on Kananaskis Country GC closing for the season in June because of the flooding.
“While we cannot measure the damage until the waters of our rivers and creek beds receded, it will be some time before the courses (Mt. Kidd and Mt. Lorette) will be playable.”
Robinson announced full refunds will be given to all with a confirmed tee time.
While no official word has been levied on the 2013 fate of Inglewood Golf and Curling Club, Glencoe Golf and Country Club, Cottonwood Golf and Country Club, Redwood Meadows, Valley Ridge and McKenzie Meadows, each of those courses had pictures of extensive flooding posted on various social media sites.
A video from high above the world famous Banff Springs golf course.
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
Copyright © 2022, Geoff Shackelford. All rights reserved.
