Week(s) In Review, December 2-16: Platforming Gone Wild

A busy few weeks highlighted by Tiger's entry into design and the PGA Tour Communications Summit.

On Tiger's Dubai project, David Sucher wrote: consider the implications of creating a course with "lush landscaping, stunning water features" in an area which I believe is intense desert. Unless he has some trick clubs in his bag, this project will make 'Shadow Creek look ecologically sustainable. Tiger has needlessly made himself a target for ridicule. I have hitherto had a very favorable impression of him but I think he has grossly mis-stepped here.

NRH: Since Eldrick has so much cash and a solid work ethic, you would think he could find a site in the States to serve as a practice run. A project with little fanfare, in the middle of nowhere that he could get to in a couple of hours on his jet. His type of place, with no demands from an eight figure investor. Work the kinks out, establish a rapport with the crew, etc. Instead, he chooses Dubai. If nothing else, the precedent is Trumpian.

We had a naming contest to translate Al Ruwaya, and while there were many fine entries, reader ken-one-putt got my vote with "It's Right In Front of You."  Ken, please email me so I can send you a Masters of the Links!

On the news that the USGA had sold U.S. Open presenting sponsors rights to American Express, Tom G wrote: I'm a capitalist as much as the next guy, but this is waaaaay tooo far. Golf lost today.

JPB: I'm more of a capitalist than the next guy, but this is way too far and golf lost today. Maybe they are doing this so Tiger will play the US Open as he endorses Amex.

And then there was the PGA Tour's Communications Summit, which raised more questions than it answered.

John Karl: "To our partners in the golf equipment industry"  what partners? is there a fortune brands open i'm not aware of? is there a Cobra invitational on next years schedule? i apoligize, i thought i heard him say partners in the golf equipment business. that is what he said isn't it? what a bafoon, kiss ass. Only, i'm not sure why he's kissing the manufactures asses, he must get a new bag and clubs every year.

Regarding a golf writer's concern about the nonsense of players being burned, DAW did offer this interesting rebuttal: Paul Casey got burned for comments that should have been laughed off. This writer has no empathy at all for his subjects. I am confident that if Tiger, for example, ever gave an honestly negative opinion of a golf course or a specific writer that he would be *roasted* in the press. He would spend months dealing with constant questions about it; how would that possibly benefit him? Is it any wonder that he cultivates a boring public persona?

On the repeated use of MBAspeak, ABF writes: I don't have an MBA, so the use of "platform" here is new to me, and, to put it kindly, seems pretty fluid. No help from our dictionary. However, from Wikipedia: "A platform is a naturally occurring or human-made surface for people to jump from."  As in free-fall. As in jumping off a cliff.

Week(s) In Review, November 19-Dec. 2: Miscellany

Catching up on a couple of weeks of posts, the most spirited discussions took place under posts on the LPGA's ADT Championship, the FedEx Cup, steroid testing and the various assaults on classic courses.

After seeing the ADT play out, RB made a great point on the FedEx Cup: It's been brought up before but it's worth repeating given the NASCAR season is now complete: The FedEx Cup will likely diminish winning the Tour Championship. I don't know about your paper, but mine had a man-on-moon headline trumpeting Jimmie Johnson winning the Nextel Cup. You had to read to the seventh paragraph to get this little nugget: Greg Biffle won the race for a third consecutive year. What happens when Tiger and Phil are dueling down the stretch for next year's Tour Championship, but three holes back FEDEX Cup leader Furyk is struggling to finish in the top 10 to win the Cup? Where's the story? Who do the network's train their cameras on? Who came up with this silly race anyway?

CBell on the ADT:  As for the telecast, I agree there was little buzz - hardly a hum - but for that I blame the crowds and the course. You need either a wall-to-wall crowd or a, uh, storied venue (okay, anything with a bit of history) to create much electricity, and this lacked both. A year from now, though, even a Trumped-up course like this has a chance, given the Webb-Ochoa meltdowns on #17 which created sort of an instant legacy.

Regarding my Golfdom essay on catch basins and generally schlocky drainage design work in golf architecture, Kris Spence weighed in with this:  I was recently asked by a member what I thought of a newly renovated fairway and hole on an old Ross course in NC that had 9 very symetrically positioned basins within the fairway cut. My answer, this hole has more catch basins than all of the other 400 + Ross designed courses combined.

On the PGA Tour's reported $5 million price tag for performance enhancing drug testing, JohnV countered with this: According to an article I found on the internet, it costs about $105 to do a steroid test. If they tested the champions, nationwide and pga tour players it would be about 500 players. With 4 tests a year, it would only be $210,000.

After USGA president Walter Driver's latest Q&A where he suggested that he would like to beef up the USGA website, reader Chuck suggested this: one of the ways that the USGA could better communicate with its members is to publish some of this data that they are apparently sharing with the manufacturers, data that was been developed with such care and with such expense by the USGA. According to the USGA itself. As Mr. Driver indicated to one of my questions, the people who criticize the USGA "don't have the facts that we [the USGA] do..." Well, okay. Use the internet. Give us 'the facts that you have.'

And NRH on the PGA Tour's latest attempt to enhance its media coverage: I'm glad the Tour isn't shoved down the throats of Joe Sports Fan like the NFL and all of its ESPN fueled drama. Nothing can really be done (or measured) beyond the majors, Ryder Cup or Tiger in the field to attract the fringe fan. Maybe free tickets for pre-teens. Of course the exceptions are Phoenix, the Nelson and Warwick Hills, where the lure is a good party. Does the Tour want more of that?

Week In Review, November 12-19, Bivens One Ups Finchem?

Another lively week in golf, starting with Robert Allenby blasting PGA Tour architecture, prompting this reply from Scott Stearns: Please, lets stop with the "European tour courses demand all these different shots" garbage. Last week's venue in Shanghai was a lot like last week's silly season venue in Naples, FLA. The Grove is as american a venue as there is. Wentworth (one of the better courses on the euro tour) looks more like the Wachovia tour stop than it does a classic English course like Swinley forest or Sunningdale. Lets not even discuss the K club, Celtic Manor or Loch Lomond. If anything, the Euro Tour plays WORSE courses than the PGA Tour.

Regarding Bomb and Gouge's disregard for Augusta National and St. Andrews a important venues in the game, DBH writes, "In the process of lengthening and growing and 'toughening' they're redefining their essential character. So that 'the great unwashed', no sorry, the '99.9999 percent of us' won't actually have a chance to experience their true nature. They'll be relics of two of the greatest venues in golf. Maybe analogous to too much plastic surgery."

On the delicate subject of the USGA's desperate attempts to pad its membership, Four-putt writes: My wife and I have been USGA members ever since I can remember... but I didn't bother to send in the check this year. I didn't write them a letter, either, because any words fall on deaf ears. I'd rather see some change at the top, rather than get a free year.

Regarding the LPGA's announced drug testing program for 2008, Glyn writes: Wow Bivens one upped Finchem. I wonder if this will force him to do the same or will he downplay it. Because you know someone will bring it up with him.

Pete the Luddite wrote: It's not just steroids that should be of concern. We all agree that Lefty does not look like Adonis. Other drugs that can be abused by the younger players trying to make it (or the older players who want to hang around a bit longer) can include mood stabilizers and the like. There is more pressure than ever to perform with the paychecks being so much larger than in the past.

LEFTY writes: Bravo, Commissioner Bivens! I think this will finally get Finchem to start drug testing on the PGA Tour. Call me an optimist, but I bet fewer golfers take drugs than one may think, and those who do are not anywhere near elite.

And on the news that the PGA Tour has decided to reduce fields in its FedEx Cup "playoffs" (including the Western Open where they'll get 70 players instead of 144), Four-putt writes: Let me speak on behalf of the millions of voiceless golfers and spectators of the Chicagoland area who have supported our local PGA Tour stop for eons. Regarding this latest format change in the FedEx Cup playoffs, we do not feel any less screwed. Give us back our Fourth of July Western Open, Timmy.

And jneuman notes: The format can't win. If it eliminates players quickly, it runs the risk of losing the marquee names. If it skews too heavily to the season results, its first week or two is pretty much irrelevant. I don't think fans are going to care any more than they have about the Tour Championship -- it's not like anybody considers it the fifth or sixth major, do they?

What's wrong with having a season that works differently from those in other sports? Golf has its own rhythm, and doesn't necessarily peak at the end in the fall. So what? Why does it have to make the same mistake as baseball, failing to value its long season in order to chase TV money for an illegitimate short season at the end? 

Week In Review, November 5-11: Tiger The Architect

Last week's Tour Championship turned out to be a mini-fiasco for Tim Finchem, the PGA of America introduced Paul Azinger as Ryder Cup Captain on Monday, and guess who stole the spotlight this week? Tiger Woods of course.

But first, John Huggan kicked off the week with a column on Michael Bonallack, another of those former golf executives who suddenly wishes he had done more when he had the chance. Still, the former R&A man's complacency is nothing compared to the current regime, as Sean Murphy noted:  It doesn't matter what Michael Bonallack would do or not do. Who was head of the R&A during 2002 when the Joint Statement Of Principals were issued by the USGA and the R&A??? And what is that person going to do about it?

On news that Paul Azinger will make his 4 Captain's picks the week before the Ryder Cup, reader Bob S. wrote: Will the player's wife have enough time to get all primped for the event? I mean, you just don't go to SuperTarget and get an evening dress for the Grand Ball in 7-days.

And finally, the story that generated 43 posts: Tiger's bizarrely timed entry into the course design business. The news prompted a wide array of reactions.

CEB: He'll probably spend about as much time on his course designs as he has on the developing the sleek new 2007 Buick LeSabre

Pete the Luddite: I would not be surprised if his work turns out to be incredibly detailed and a great product. I can't see someone as driven and focused as Tiger putting out a prodcut that he would not agree should be associated with his name. Patience, folks. Time will tell.

Adam Clayman: IMG shoots...and scores.

Pollner: Did Nicklaus actually 'hang out his shingle' before some of the 'consulting' he did with Dye? It's interesting that Tiger doesn't even have a project yet. I would have thought that he would have gotten his toes a little wet by working with a known architect before launching his own firm.

Scott S: We can only hope that his love of the game extends to being willing to get down into the dirt every now and again.

Mark Ferguson: Umm, whereabouts around the world exactly has Woods been, to have absorbed all of this local design knowledge? Two oh-so-brief visits to Oz and one to NZ don't count much. It will be interesting if the Woods group gets a really great piece of land that lends itself to some great short fours, threes and fives for a par 69 or 70, but the owner wants 72 for 7300 yards - will he stand up to the owner and walk away?

Four-putt: Developers only care about the star-power of the design consultant's name. Translates directly into more revenue from memberships and real estate sales. So why not Tiger? Why should this surprise anyone? I only wonder what took him so long.

John Gorman: When it's all said and done, I'm actually a bit shocked by this announcement. But, maybe he'll do it right and be super-selective about the projects he accepts and only do one per year. I can't imagine that he'd pimp himself out for big fees and little hands-on work.

F.X.: I admire Tiger and hope this turns out well, but it was the last thing I expected to hear him turn his attention to so I am concerned that he's merely lending his name to an IMG collection of designers and course builders.

Week(s) In Review, October. 20-Nov. 4: FedUp Already?

Jagsheemash! Wouldn't you love to see Borat interview say, Scott Hoch? Oh well, we can only dream.

Meanwhile, in the real world I'm catching up on a couple of weeks here worth of posts that started with Frank Hannigan's letter on the latest USGA activities.

I was called out by the Bomb and Gouge bloggers over at GolfDigest.com and I'm working hard on the low self-esteem issues they diagnosed me with.

In the mean time, reader Scott S made this point that might ignite a few introspective thoughts in Bomb and Gouge:  I find it interesting that while so many bemoan even the shadow of regulation, no one seems to think it would be a good thing if distance went totally unchecked, and equipment was totally unchained. "Any more and it will break". The unfortunate thing, as with many diseases, is that if you have to wait for a major malfunction, you're usually already in the terminal stages. Why not start the chemo today, and save a long agonizing death for another century?

And from Smolmania: "A problem that does not exist?" If there's no problem, then why does their blog exist?

News that Winged Foot netted $1.5 million at a significant cost to course and club, elicited many views.

JPB: I understand the members' frustration. The US Open isn't a quaint event anymore that takes a week's play away from the host club. The USGA rakes in the cash. NBC rakes in the cash. The extreme set up hurts the course. All the add ons hurt the course and the membership. I understand why the members don't want the hassle unless the club benefits in a real way. If the membership feels like hosting a tournament at their excellent course, why not a mid am or senior am?

NRH didn't agree: The traveling circus of the USGA wants to come along for the first time in 22 years and the club signs on the dotted line. They sacrifice a couple of months of the status quo in exchange for a major, then some big mouth members complain for selfish reasons? Boo-hoo.

News of excessive executive pay down at PGA Tour headquarters prompted Sean Murphy to ask: We have a money manager who never lets us know what he's doing or what the balance of our accounts are......would this make any of you nervous????

But Sean, look at the results! Bill Fields and Steve Elling wrote about Rick George hyping the Champions Tour upswing, which readers here didn't quite buy into.

Four-putt:  We had a Senior Tour event in Chicago (third biggest market in US and golf-crazy with 1.7 million golfers) from 1991-2001. The first few years saw over 20,000 spectators each of the three days, with about 25,000 on Sunday. The last three years, though, less than 5,000 people showed up at the course to watch the final round on Sunday -- and that number was under 1,000 the last year, right before SBC mercifully pulled the plug. While they're nice guys, Dana Quigley, Tom Kite, Loren Roberts, Criag Stadler and Allen Doyle alternating in the final pairing on Sunday don't add up to a "helluva product."

jneuman: Men like Gil Morgan, Tom Kite, Hale Irwin, D.A. Weibring and the rest were fine players, but they weren't Nicklaus and Palmer and Chi Chi, and fans discovered they liked watching older golfers who had personalities and seemed to care about entertaining them. Today, and for the last five-plus years, those same boring figures who made the Senior Tour a necessity -- because they were so boring in PGA events -- ARE the old guys. Why should we care about watching them over 50 when we didn't care about them in their 30s?  The problem for the old guys is that they're a product without a reason to exist, something that's carried on long past its time, like Negro League baseball in the 1950s-60s, or the Harlem Globetrotters today.

The Tour Championship arrived, Tiger and Phil blew it off, and for whatever reason, all hell broke loose.

Scotty on Tiger: One flaw in this money doesn't matter argument: Tiger Woods is skipping the Tour Championship to rest up for three unofficial events that will pay him guaranteed almost six times what he would take home by WINNING the Tour Championship. I think money matters to him more than you think.

Steven T.: I think TW might have altered his schedule this year if Coca-Cola paid him 10-20M/year to be a spokesperson. As for PM, he's happy with his endorsement money and half year schedule. I heard Dave Pelz, his new shill, on TGC saying that Phil is getting in shape for next year and is looking good even though he could lose 15-20 pounds.Perhaps Phil will win Phoenix and Palm Springs and San Diego and then quit real early next year.

This seemed to open the floodgates on the doomed FedEx Cup concept, which we've known was a mess for some time. Starting with playing opportunities for Q-school grads...

Bill N.: Sean's antitrust characterizations in this instance are well founded, Finchem has problems. How does he provide playing and earning opportunities to his membership while at the same time cutting playing and earning opportunities? He's dividing the market place covering independent contractors, and his graduates coming from the Nationwide Tour and Q-School will have a horrendous schedule that will not provide them a fair level playing field, as Jeff Rude and Lee Trevino pointed out earlier this week, but will be all the evidence a faction of the membership needs to file suit. I'm starting to understand what Trevino meant when he said he'd be heading to the courthouse. Restricting members (grads) from having a fair (rule of reasonableness) chance of making these playoffs is where the whole FedEx Cup jumps track, after a lawsuit is filed and sucessfully contested, this will go down in history as the Fed Wreks Cup, and Finchem's FECES. 

Hawkeye: Actually, when 144 guys make the "playoffs" and everyone seemingly has a chance for player of the year, that pretty much sends the message that the FedEx is the only thing making the PGA Tour relevant... I mean, why should the big boys bother showing up in more than eleven tournaments (yep, that's but four regular Tour stops for you, considering the four majors and the three WGC's) prior to it???

F.X.  FedEx and Finchem are just trying to put a different label on this long-existing system, and the business of coming up with points instead of money and identifying post-PGA tournaments as playoffs is just a dumbing-down of what already exists, which is why it attracts so much criticism and confusion. Wouldn't FedEx be just as well off taking over various events, and, like Buick, having a continuing presence throughout the season that way? What's the point of trying to invent a new prize that nobody is going to take seriously?

cmoore: The only thing interesting about the FedEx Cup is all of the fighting that it is generating. The concept of a playoff where no one really loses or gets eliminated is ludicrous.

Also from cmoore: How about a season-long points accumulation ending with a 32-man match-play event? Then I could use the word "playoff" without reservation.

Tom Pernice joined the frey and slammed the commissioner and the FedEx Cup

Smolmania: The fact remains that Tom Pernice wouldn't be making the money he makes if Tiger wasn't playing on the PGA Tour, just as all of those guys wouldn't be making the money they make if not for the King.

Bob S.:  I think a more important question is how the heck did Tom Pernice qualify for the Tour Championship?

Pollner: Tiger could completely neglect the US tour now and still be considered the most succesful golfer ever. And I imagine if Tiger left the tour that every single sponsor would pressure the Tour to allow him to play in every tournament he desired. What's Pernice going to say then?

Week In Review: October 14-21: Arnie and Drivers

As the season winds down and the hot-button tech issues figure to heat up, news of Callaway's lousy earnings prompted JPB to make this astute point about the demise of the Top Flite "brand":  Actually if top-flite has a problem, it may be a symptom of the things we talk about here. Fewer players playing fewer rounds at more expensive courses. If a lot of top-flites sell it might mean a lot of average or bad players are playing, maybe at cheaper courses. Not my brand, but there are worse products than top-flites. For what they are, they work better than they need to.

Reader Bill S suggested the driver head size be regulated as a way to deal with distance and your comments were interesting, with nearly all of the 20 weighing in agreeing that it has played a major role in the distance explosion of the last few years.

Hawkeye: The launching characteristics would be altered since the weight distribution in the clubeheads would have to be somewhat different, and subsequently it would't be as easy to launch the high, floating drives that are the norm today. Now, if we could just introduce a limit to tee-peg height as well...

Scott S: Many, many things have happened over the years with equipment that it is difficult to pinpoint the culprits, but driver head size is big in the spotlight. We like to think of the tour guys hitting everything dead-center all the time, but this isn't reality. With smaller clubheads on a tense tournament day, people would be skying and topping them all over the place.

DAW: I own a persimmon-head driver that I use from time to time. I don't think I can hit it as far as my normal driver, but in the summer it's quite close. I hit it much, much lower, however. On courses with forced carries, this is a big disadvantage. Not just because of fairway bunkers, but consider a hole where the fairway runs a bit uphill and then flattens out at 230 yards. If I catch the wooden driver a bit thin, it doesn't land on the plateau and goes nowhere. I also think that I lose a larger percentage of the height on imperfect strikes with the wooden driver compared to the big metal one...If limiting the head size would significantly lower the trajectory for drivers then it might be a worthwhile idea.

Bill S: If you read the history books, way back in the days of hickory sticks and before Titleists people hit 300 yard drives now and again. If you let your swing speed get faster, you will hit the ball farther. BUT - with small Persimmon (and even early steel) heads, there was a cost/benefit analysis to be made. If people let their swings out and missed (even a little bit) they wouldn't miss the fairway, they would miss the state. As a result, players like Jack rarely aired it out. Furthermore, mediocre players almost NEVER aired it out b/c they could not control the direction of their shots. In 2006, everyone knows the sweet spot is huge and everyone knows the clubs have incredible MOI's to keep the ball in play. Even hackers like me can play "feerless golf" with a 460cc driver.

Smitty: All you have to do is remember Jay Haas popping up his drive at the Ryder Cup to realize what a difference head size makes--especially under pressure...The problem still overwhelmingly is THE BALL!

And while we can joke about his various farewells, Arnold Palmer really did say goodbye to competitive golf this week and things just won't ever be the same. But if we could just get them to Augusta Thursday morning...

Hawkeye: For some reason, the first golfing stars of the TV age (Palmer, Nicklaus, Player) have all seemed to believe that they would be, truly, forever young. Sadly, that's not the case, and it took Palmer thirty years to realize that. Let's hope Nicklaus and Player also change their minds on being "cermonial players" and reconvene on the first tee at Augusta next April!

ken-one-putt: If we can get the Big Three on the first tee for Thursday at Augusta next year it would truly be a wonderful thing for golf.

And echoing his comments, Smolmania: Mr. Palmer's best days were long since done by the time I came along, but no one since has had the personal magnetism, the ability to make everyone in his presence feel that he was friends with the King. Palmer, Nicklaus, Player. Big Three golf lives. 1st group out on Wednesday afternoon in the Par-3 Tournament, and 1st tee shots on Thursday morning. All would be right in the world for those 18 hours.

Week In Review: October 7-14: The Kids Today...

America's lousy showing on the world stage (and questions about possible influences) generated more comments during an otherwise slow news week.

Reacting to Jose Maria Olazabal's course setup related comments in a John Huggan column, ken-one-putt writes:  You know, I am currently less concerned about the obsession with lengthening golf courses, and more concerned about the lack of options around the greens...But for the past two years I have been playing a course with perfect Zoysia fairways and large, flat greens. These insipid greens are almost all elevated 3 to 5 feet above the surrounding terrain, and they are surrounded by slopes covered in rough. Worse, the area away from the slopes is a morass of clumpy grass and cuppy lies. Like JMO, I have concluded that this is anti-skill for a short-game specialist. And it makes the game BORING.

And while some of us see this change impacting the younger American players, SI's Gary Van Sickle suggested that the U.S. collegiate system is not developing players properly.

Reader Chuck disagreed: Among the International players there are a few (i.e., Garcia) who simply turned pro at a very young age when they were endowed with overwhelming talent. And I don't think that any 'national sports program' had much to do with anything. There are others (Donald, Casey, Villegas) who, for all practical purposes, have been American collegiate players almost from the moment that they left the junior ranks. Montgomerie, Elkington, etc. -- U.S. collegiate players all, going back many years.

Smolmania: A broad attack on NCAA golf and its affect on the creation of great players is put to the lie by precisely the examples you raise of Villegas and Casey -- seems to me that some young guy at Stanford who used to be know as Urkel turned out okay playing a couple of years of college golf. Would Justin Rose have benefitted from a couple of years at Oklahoma State? Who can really say? He would probably have had a lot more fun going to college football games and chasing sorority girls than missing 50 cuts in a row (or, whatever the number was). Would he therefore not be having the same degree of success he seems to be working toward?

Pollner offered a different take: the population differences between the US and Australia do lead one to wonder why they produce such a strong amount of golfers? I doubt that I would blame the college ranks alone (if at all), though. Of course, the fact that the Aussies et al. come over here for college has contributed to their seeing all sorts of courses. The US player that stays home doesn't really get anything extra.

Four-putt writes: Maybe today's instructors are to blame. Too much emphasis is placed on having a "perfect, picturebook swing" instead of teaching players, well, to play. Too many of today's golf swings take place on ranges. We have become a counter culture of "practicers," where most players make perfect swings from perfect lies. No one visits a range to buy a bucket of balls and hit them off choppy ground, like we often find on real golf courses. From my observations, great-looking golf swings do not win tournaments. Some of the ugliest golf swings -- Palmer, Floyd, Trevino, Furyk, Rodriguez -- all were "players."

Lip-out: This conjecture about the Ryder Cup is just that...conjecture. Any team with Wetterich and Vaughn Taylor on the back end, while the other team has Ian Poulter sitting at home watching is going to lose. It's got NOTHING to do with collegiate golf or its coaches. It's just an opinion that Gary felt nobody had thrown out there. But nice try!

And Ardmore Ari writes:  Lets teach our junior players to putt (one could substitute shooting free throws and playing team basketball instead of dunking as TEAM USA keeps losing as well) instead of thinking its so great to bomb it 300 plus yards off the tee!

Week In Review: October 1-7, The Ping Branding

The folks down at Ping PING taught us a lesson in branding with their hissy fit over 10% military discounts. Several readers came to their defense.

JT: remember that PING won't let a retailer dump out of date inventory (last years models) on e-bay or at a discount to turn over stock that is out of date. Great company to work with as a shop owner. NOT.

Anon: Cartier, Bose, and other high end products do the same. Discounting causes a loss of credibility. Greed isn't really the issue is it?

Bob Smithson: What PING is doing is completely legal and is their business policy and which they can document is being followed. The only way this policy gets changed by PING is for the consumer to stop buying PING products and shopowners to quit stocking it ...

Brad: The retailers in question knew they were in violation of Ping's policy. Plus they were not exactly making sure all those they discounted really were in the millitary.

On the subject of Tiger's "streak" of 6 straight wins, Martin Del Vecchio wrote: I will say that Tiger's current swing isn't as beautiful to look at as his 2000 swing was. But it's hard to argue with the results.

Regarding the news that Greensboro event host Forest Oaks may be in danger of losing the tournament because the clubhouse facilities are outdated, Pete the Luddite wrote:  Seriously, we have gotten to the point where clubs feel compelled to re-vamp their courses repeatedly in an effort to stay current or keep the Tour's attention. Are we now going to add clubhouse and amenity renovations to the mix as well? Where will the spending end? This does not bode well for the future of golf. Club memberships will not be sustained if assessment after assessment get tacked on for these reasons.

Commenting on my column about the lack of imaginative play, MacDuff tells us: Just returned from UK and had a great time playing courses where the ball actually ran after landing, and where tight turf allowed 40- and 60 yard pitches and bump-and-run shots. All rounds took 3 & a half hours maximum. The people I played with and against made no agonizingly long decisions about the line of putt or exact yardage to green. Golf was a recreation. It was fun. Oh, and nobody shouted their way around...as seems to be the custom here.

On the likely-to-emerge groove debate, Glyn proves that he has way too much common sense to ever serve on the USGA Executive Committee: What I find interesting is that the USGA is moving towards some action - groove change - thus admitting that there in fact is a problem. So we at least agree there is a problem. The USGA has refused to admit that the problem is distance however. Now it's grooves in wedges. Hmmm..one way would be to change the goove shape of wedges...still another way would be to reduce the amount of wedges being hit. Let's see...wouldn't that relate back to distance being a factor?

RGT says: PGAT once required all tournament green watering to be stoped after Tuesday evenings, allowing greens to get baked out and hard as concrete. Hand watering the greens every evening is the standard on Tour today. If PGAT was still in the baking process Toms would be out of a job. Being at a multi club disadvantage is a problem for Toms on most weeks, watering the greens every night plays right into the errent bombers strategy. Tiger, Phil and Vijay are exploiting these golf ball qualities and playing short shots to a dart board.

And finally, on the trevails of the San Francisco city courses, including the fate of future events at Harding Park, Gus writes:  The last article I read on Harding focused on the buyers remorse of some city officials, the funding mechanism that verged on being criminal, and the unlikely prospects that there would ever be a positive return on the investment. I think the people would be better served with reasonably priced, pragmatic improvements (drainage?) that would allow affordable golf to continue. If these improvements included a nod to the heritage of a course then so much the better. We have enough high end daily fee courses. Some muni's need to remain muni's for the health of the game.

Week(s) In Review September 2-16: Walter and the Ryder Cup

The Ryder Cup has arrived and Ian Woosnam's captain's selections generated plenty of questions, especially after Thomas Bjorn's tirade blasting Woosie.

Lefty writes: Clarke is a sentimental choice. However, Petterson is a better golfer currently than Clarke. Sorry, Darren...Of course it IS only an exhibition. So maybe the sentimental choice is the right one...

Jeremy Rudock: Bjorn should be crying. It's almost criminal that Westwood was selected over him for the team. Bjorn's results are much better than Westwood's on the course this year.

Matt: Poulter should have the biggest beef of all-he played well last Ryder Cup and had some good finishes in majors this year. That would have been like the US picking Love and Duval, only much worse because Davis and David are playing better than Darren and Lee and aren't going through the emotional baggage.

Hawkeye writes: It is fairly obvious that the main criteria Woosnam went for are "speaks rural English" and "likes a pint". And I have a strange feeling that might be the right thing.

On the USA Today article about course closures, Smolmania brought this up: For those of you familiar with golf in Chicagoland, Pine Meadow -- named Golf Digest's Best New Public Course some time in the mid '80s -- may be in trouble. The Archdiocese owns the property the course is on, and the Jemsek's lease is coming up quickly. Rumor has it that negotiations are not going well. . . there are developers lining up to build houses on this property, and Lord knows the Church has lots of litigation settlements to pay. What a shame if we lose one of the best conditioned public courses in our District.

There were some interesting developments on the distance front, starting with Martina Navratilova's comments about tennis and golf equipment regulation.

GeorgeM writes: "Stronger" golfer uses harder ball and driver to attain more distance. Weaker driver uses softer ball and trust skill to carry the day. I have no problem with different balls favoring different players. However, if the same design were applied to lighter or larger balls, distances could be reduced and lenghtening of courses stopped. It would not hurt for the USGA to abandon COR specs and adopt a spec minimizing relative movement or deformation of the club face. That would relate more closely to "springlike effect."

On Tim Finchem's shifting stance on drug testing after Tiger Woods endorsed a PGA Tour drug testing program, R.J.W. says: Tim's finally come down off whatever that was he was on a couple weeks ago. No longer is he in complete denial, just quasi aloof now. Hey media, Tim just needs a few more weeks to make sure everything is out of his system, then he'll be ready to field your questions.

Walter Driver was the star of an ESPN.com chat and he revealed that the USGA won't be doing much to address the distance issue.

Barry writes: ...to paraphrase: “Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Tiger Woods, Tom Watson, Greg Norman, Seve Ballasteros, Ernie Els, Lee Trevino, Ben Crenshaw, etc., etc. – you are ALL WRONG. Your years of playing and observing the game at the highest levels are worthless. We at the USGA have the ‘facts’ on ours side. And the ‘facts’ that we choose to pay attention to allow us to do nothing, and thereby avoid getting sued.”  Thanks Walter for clearing things up. Really, I mean that. After a few years of organizational doublespeak – we’re studying the problem, there is no problem - we now know exactly where the USGA stands. I can now give up any last shred of hope that you will do a damn thing to protect the game.

Garland: The USGA is conducting tests. They have determined that the modern ball goes 25-30 yards farther with the same swing speed than the ball used on tour in the early 90s. What that means is that the initial velocity and overall distance standards failed to keep the balls the tour players choose from going far beyond the intended distances.

Chuck: ...the longest players on the PGA Tour may not be dominating the money list. What I say to that is, I don't care. What is inarguable is that all of the courses that host PGA Tour events are being forced into unrecognizable alterations.

Kevin notes: one cannot argue that technology has not seriously changed this game. In my mind the perfect example is the 17th hole of the Old Course at St. Andrews. Always a feared hole, approached with care using long irons. Why did the R&A grow rough so high and so penal as to make using a driver a fool's play? Because the new tehnology would have turned that hole into a pitch and putt. And if you are OK with that, then you are on the other side of the fence from me. Driving averages are a bunch of numbers; when greats such as the Road Hole are rendered irrelevent then I see a clear sign that technology is out of control.

N Gn: I have been a Tour player for several years and I don`t need any statistical evidence to prove that there has been an excessive increase in distance over the last couple of years. The problem, in my opinion, is that the USGA and the R&A don´t have the guts to regulate accordingly, and my impression is that it is a legal fear. I believe that it will be the Augusta National members that will make the the right move, and when that day comes, we will see how quickly the USGA and R&A will take action.

Meanwhile the grooves issue continues to be the one area that the USGA sees a problem.

Scott S writes: Keep in mind that there is a difference between V, box, and U grooves. The super-ripping Cally, Titleist, and TM wedges use U grooves (TM calls them Y grooves, but their cross-section looks similar to the other U grooves). This is probably what they have their sights on. That said, what good will this create beyond adding a few million to wedge and possibly iron sales to the manufacturers? Oh, that's right, no one cares what they do to grooves, so long as no one loses any yardage!

RGT: ...grooves are not the problem when a 16 year old kid can average 339 yards off the tee in a Nationwide event. ince the USGA is not going to do anything about distance which is totally their fault, the PGA Tour should cut and run from the USGA. Go to a tournament ball, save millions in golf course renovations and still be able to afford the drug testing. Bottom line, these ballistic distances are driving up costs while TV ratings are in a major slump. Unless of course Finchem can convince TIGER of playing every week, fat chance.

Week In Review, August 26-Sept. 3: Ohio, Ohio

Between Tiger's bizarre win at Firestone, Tim Finchem's press conference and the Ohio Golf Association's Champions tournament, last week's events in Ohio continued to provide plenty of fodder. For a first hand account of the OGA event, check out the IM interview with SI's Gary Van Sickle.

Regarding Tiger's drop and the outrage of writers like John Hawkins, reader Etienne writes: I don't think I have ever played a course where the parking lot and clubhouse are in play. This was the most bizaare ruling, I am sure that most players would have been into their bag playing their 4th shot without thinking twice!

TEPaul writes: Maybe the PGA Tour didn't "set-up" the course correctly in the opinion of some by designating the clubhouse an Obstruction rather than OB but since they did do it that way before the tournament and in the tournament "condition of competition" the Tiger Woods ruling was definitely the correct ruling.

Alan Shipnuck chimed in and the responses continued to vary. John Gorman writes: Having played the course last summer, I know that if I or one of my brothers had jacked one onto the roof of the clubhouse, we would have taken stroke and distance without thinking twice. I'm sure the rule is different (though ridiculous) for the tournament. If it had not been a tournament, Tiger would have lost to Cink by a stroke, maybe two.

Jeremy Rudock noted the line, "He got the same ruling every other golfer in the field would have gotten. " He responds: You honestly think Jason Gore would have been given 40 minutes for a rules official to figure out what was going on?

And after Ron Sirak's piece, John N. quotes the story and says, "Shots as off line as the one Woods hit Friday need to be penalized." Well, that kind of sums up his whole point, doesn't it? Never mind what the rules actually say, Tiger made a bad shot, and, golf not being subject to random bounces and odd breaks, he should have had a much more difficult recovery than he actually did. That's only fair.

Tiger Woods mentioned his love of Firestone on multiple occasions and noted it's "right in front of you nature," prompting this from reader ken-one-putt: It's pretty clear that his love of St. Andrews is due to the requirement for inventive shotmaking and intelligent planning of strategy, at which he may as good as anyone--ever. But Firestone hardly calls for that kind play. It's got a series of long, straight, narrow, tree-lined holes that mostly run North/South. Few of them have room to shape the ball, and several have those despicable, tall green aerial hazards near the green that make even some shots from the fairway impossible. So there's no thinking required,Maybe now and then he just likes a break from having to use his brain while playing. Or maybe he's learned that saying nice, nondescript things about golf courses gets him out of the media center faster.

After reading about the U.S. Ryder Cup team taking carts around The K Club, JPB kicked off host course bashing with this:  Is it because the cart paths are the design highlight of the K Club?

My Golfdom column on slow play prompted a number of replies.

Steven T.: I recently played at a more demanding private club in 10 minutes less than 4 hours. Why the differential? Because members care. Golf course operators don't. Cetainly, the public does not.

Kevin: Slow play is due to bad golf course management: 1) putting groups off the first tee at a rate faster than the course allows 2) not monitoring play and eliminating the slow groups.  Let's face it - on a one lane road nobody goes faster than the slowest car...

Smolmania: I saw Frank Jemsek take a group off the course after 9 holes one Friday afternoon. They finished 21 minutes behind the group in front of them, and in 2 hours and 25 minutes. He told them to go into the pro shop and get 1/2 of their money back, and nicely invited them to come back some time if they could play more quickly. I thought one of the guys was going to have a stroke he was so angry. The crowd watching then started to applaud, and he left without even getting his refund!

Solipsist: The first time I heard that some folks in Scotland regularly play a round in 2 1/2 hours I thought it was a joke, but it is eminently do-able once you've seen someone do it and learned the joys of it. If we could just educate the good folks who have merely been led astray by a lifetime of faulty experience, it would be a lot easier to deal with the true asses who know better and still play at a glacial pace.

Regarding the Ohio Golf Association event and their attempt to make older courses relevant with a shorter flying ball, Hux writes: the same effect could be had by raising fairway mowing heights. This was Tom Doak's idea: to keep U-grooves and instead relax the level of conditioning expected on fairways. Agronomic, budgetary and strategic win-win, er, win.

Pete the Luddite: Raising fairway mowing heights slightly would not deteriorate playing conditions and lies. It has the benefit of easier maintenance, less stress to the turf, and lower requirements for chemical applications. Same for greens, too. Let's go back, if not to shaggy greens that required a little muscle, then at least to a mid-point between shag and the current state of affairs: linoleum/concrete smooth and fast.

And in response to some of the player comments and talk of possible USGA rules changes pertaining to u-shaped grooves, Oldschool writes:  The USGA looking at grooves again will drive the consumer out of the market place. The modern golf balls today are harder than Chinese algebra. Titleist has introduced their new prototype Pro- V-1-XX. Groves are not the answer, PGA Tour pros are switching wedges every 4 to 5 weeks, irons every 3 months. If the USGA bans U or Box grooves these Pros are going to be switching out irons every two weeks for a sharp corner. Amauters simply can't afford to play the same game as the Pros, they can't afford it. Simplt put, V-Grooves will not change a thing on the PGA Tour as far as the play is concerned. What will happen, amatures will not be playing the same game as professionals, they won't be able to afford new irons every 3 weeks because their V- Grooves have rounded down. Chalk up another round where the USGA has failed to police the distance of todays modern golf balls.

Scott S: If it came to a choice between balls and grooves, it will be cheaper for everyone in the short and long term to do something with the ball. This should be plain enough, given the lifetime of a ball doesn't tend to last out a season (for me, anyhow...).

And on news that ball maker Volvik is reporting strong sales of the pellet used in Ohio, JPB writes:  If the golf ball manufacturers figure out that if they made retro or high spin or "classic course" balls, they would sell more of them, many problems we now face will get better. I know would buy more balls, certainly would buy a high spin 70's-80's type ball to hit with the old persimmons sometimes. Look how many hats and shirts the other sports sell with the throwback idea.

Week(s) In Review: PGA, Drug Testing, OGA

Tiger Woods makes more history, the OGA holds their reduced flight ball event, Tom Lehman makes Ryder Cup picks, and what story has quietly taken hold? The need for drug testing in golf. Naturally, you have to enjoy the irony of the situation, which has arisen in large part because of an unwillingness to regulate equipment, since there is no evidence that a problem exists.

Still, as Tiger noted, the wise course is to be proactive, instead of reactive, while Greg Norman used an obscenity to describe the Tour's drug stance.  You all had plenty of interesting views on the subject.

P.B. writes: Finchem wasn't expecting the drug questions so soon, especially since he doesn't even have a list of banned substances, talk about naive. This guy's been caught with his pants down a few times this year, he's making things up as he goes along, drugs, Fed Ex Cup, fall finish. He's a master without a master-plan!

Pete the Luddite writes, As a former college athlete who was tested several times, I will tell you that even at that age I welcomed the testing. Show you're clean. The potential for a drug problem on tour is simmering toward a boil. As long as the TOUR and the players live in denial, Tom The Ostrich's views will keep anyone from knowing. Look back at baseball - McGwire and Sosa were clean in 199, right? I mean, there were no tests to show they were on anything, so they must have been pure athletes. Today, any feat in baseball has the shadow of drugs around it. Is this what we want for golf?

Jeremy Rudock: Interestingly, Shawn Micheel uses something similar to "the cream" to combat an extremely low natural testosterone level. I wonder what a drug testing policy on tour would think of that? There is zero tolerance for it in other sports such as cycling or track & field.

NRH: The risk to the reputation of the game rests in Far Hills, not at BALCO. This gentleman's game does not need testing when the groundwork for it is its place in other sports, a couple of guys who took Beta Blockers and a misdirected side effects of the avaricious ways of the pillars of the Carlsbad community. Now, about those long putters...

Chuck: Unlike the stuff being cooked up in a warehouse by BALCO, there are players who might actually need beta blockers and antidepressants. So we can't exactly make them 'banned substances.' And you'd be very hard-pressed to determine 'actual need' for the drug in cases where the psychiatric or cardiological complaints are so non-specific as to be duplicated by any patient or any doctor...

DPatterson writes: Camilo Villegas weighs 160 lbs and drives it 300+. It seems to me that distance comes from improved equipment and technique, not muscularity. Who needs steroids? Well, maybe for the rough when the US Open comes around.

Wally on Frank Hannigan's Golfobserver.com column: Couldn't drug testing today be equated to the USGA R&A actually doing a bit of testing themselves 5 yrs ago? Had that testing on equipment actually been done Frank [Hannigan] wouldn't be able to cite it as fact. Joey Sindelar is the only person so far that is speaking from common sense. Drugs are everywhere in every sport, being done by all kinds of athletes, even ametuers in the Olympics, and through all of this somehow the PGA Tour is immune. Nonsense, and of all people Frank Hannigan should know better than to espouse evidense to the contrary.

Scott Stearns writes: Golf is the only sport where the golfers call penalties on themselves, and have for hundreds of years. Just because Sammy sosa corks his bat, or people hack Shaq on his way to the hoop, does that mean the tour should put a guy with a striped shirt with every group? Lets solve the problems of golf--like equipment--rather than solve problems that dont exist.

Smolmania writes: In view of all of the other problems which exist out there (ball goes too far, FedUp Cup, no tour event in Chicago), drugs aren't that high on my list.

Regarding the selections of Stewart Cink and Scott Verplank, Van said: Capt. Tom didn't have a good second pick. This team's in trouble, and I think he senses that. The K Club, a perfect substitute for The Belfry. The horror, the horror, the horror. To be five of the last six.

MacDuff: Trouble is every captain wants to win "his" Cup year, so experienced players get the Captain's pick slots. It's a shame they can't pick a number of youngbloods that look like they'll still be around ten years hence -- like O'Hair, Quigley and Glover. The Australian cricket team did just that in the early 1980s. Under an experienced playing captain, a whole raft of promising but internationally inexperienced players got whipped for a couple of years, but developed into world-beaters for the next decade.

CBell: it's all a crapshoot - you can't predict how any of these guys are going to play in the Cup any better than I can predict how I'm going to play tomorrow. Tiger Woods is arguably the most dependably superior golfer in the history of the game (Okay, fans of Hogan/Nelson/Jones, chime in...) and look at his record in the Cup...And then there's Monty.

On the OGA event, Jeff Pollner writes: I don't see how having a standardized ball helps unless it goes about 15-20% shorter. If the USGA just changed the required specs, every manufacturer could still sell balls and pretend they had the longest under those specs just like they do now.

Hawkeye: First off: Roll back the ball, yes. OK, done. Secondly: Please give at least SOME credit to the improvements in knowledge of biomechanics and the role use of cameras has had on instruction. I recently watched some official films of British Opens and US Opens from the 70's, and it's astonishing to see how inefficient most of the swings were. Pure hand-and arm-actions, reverse-pivots, tilt-and-blocks, everything.

Peter Barcelo: As far as I'm concerned there is already a gap (bifurication) between pros and amauters with regard to the equipment that we are currently using. Bifurication is only going to take a bit of air out of the pros playing the game, while saving me money at my club. I'm already sick and tired of the assesments that have been put on our membership everytime the committee decides we need to keep up with technology. Today we have tees that 95% of the membership never plays from, and water hazards just off the fairways that the membership can't even reach with their Sunday best drive. I say bring on the bifurication before I go broke playing this game and quit.

Speaking of changing courses, we learned that Valhalla is undergoing an complete overhaul by original architect Jack Nicklaus.

Garland says: Couldn't help but think that where it said "challenge modern players" it meant challenge modern equipment.

Hux notes: Since Jack probably learnt something from Tom Doak at Sebonack, he can go back and redo as many of his earlier courses as he wants as far as I'm concerned.However it's not modern equipment that's making them dated so quickly. Let's make that point clear.

Adam C: How many examples of lengenthening will it take before people figure out it is the wrong direction?

Week In Review, August 5-12: Michelle, Michelle

On the eve of the PGA, it's the rules of golf that are getting plenty of attention between Lytham and Ohio (oh, and add Oregon after you read Jim Achenbach's story from Pumpkin Ridge).

Michelle Wie's latest rules infraction probably cost her caddy his job. GeorgeM asks:

"1. Is the the players (pro and amateur) who are neglectful?
2. Is it the coaches and instructors who do not emphasize the rules before the swing?
3. Or is it the rule makers who fail to provide an easily accessible guide to the rules?

I see many rules questions posted on boards by veteran golfers. Why don't we know the answers ourselves?"

CBell chimes in with this point: "As a high school teacher I'd like to say that Michelle is refreshingly normal. She's far ahead of some 16-year-olds in terms of poise and ability to articulate, far behind others. My bigger point is this: the difference between most 16-year-olds and 18-year-olds is huge. Be fair to Michelle. Give her time. As for the rules, she hasn't yet learned NEVER to make assumptions. Call an official. But when you don't know what you don't know - typical of any 16-year-old, let alone someone "expected" to know the minutiae of an arcane set of guidelines - it's easy to make mistakes.

And RM cited that great thinker, Clark Griswold, "Nothing worthwile is easy honey, we know that."

After the round, Tiger was asked some pretty lame questions and I had fun with it. The exchange prompted Hawkeye to write, "Seems to me even the press chokes when Tiger is on the leader board..."

Golf World ran a photo of the Ohio Golf Association's shorter ball that will be used at their Champions Tournament August 22-23.  Some of us would love to know what it is, but JPB makes a good point about why the manufacturer may want it to be a secret:  "The problem is that if the word gets out the ball is shorter in a range of swing speeds, it will be off the market. You can't have a regular ball survive a short hitting reputation IMO. The only way it really works is if the companies put out a retro special or something and market it as a classic course high spin ball."

Scott S asked, "Any word on who made the ball Jack wants us to hit yet?" I think it's safe to say that it's not the same manufacturer cooperating with the Ohio Golf Association.

Ned Ludd said it "Looks like dimple pattern from Dunlop/Maxfli popular in the late 80's. Remember the Dunlop 'Master?'" While ReverendTMac says it "reminds me more of my favorite ball a couple years back, the Top Flite Tour. Three-piece, low compression, high spin...it all fits. Same mixture of smaller and bigger dimples, too."

Chuck asks up a good question: "I am confused as to how any ball can be 'on the conforming list under [a different] name...' I thought the point of the list was to allow in-the-field identification of conforming balls, and that there could be no such thing as a stealth model, which is marked differently yet still conforming. Perhaps someone with greater familiarity with the ins and outs of the Conforming List can supply the information.

johnniecash responded, "A ball does not have to be on the list of conforming golf balls. A ball only has to meet the requirements for balls as stated in Appendix III of the rulebook. Balls that are on the list have been tested and found to conform, but the list is not deemed to be exclusive, unless a committee wishes to adopt it."

Week In Review, July 30-August 5: Corey's Back?

Ah, the Ryder Cup tension is already building, perhaps because the American squad drops off considerably after the first 6 spots. Before we get to those comments though, Corey Pavin's win in Milwaukee elicited some interesting comments about certain CBS commentators and their delicate dance around the technology issue (they aren't bought and paid for, no sirree!):

Josh Hoisington:  "Back to Feherty and McCord (and the other CBS people), they sure had a lot of nice things to say about Corey, and in many ways, I think it really made the center of discussion (other than Corey himself) turn to the negative side of technology development. I mean, every last announcer lamented how the technology took away some of the fun of watching Corey, didn't they?"

JPB: "when will the Tour and CBS figure out that ratings and therefore advertising dollars might go up if more people watched and more people might watch performances like Pavin's. Well, they probably won't. But yeah, to see more shotmaking and more shotmakers in contention would be nice."

Ryan: "I wondered where FEHERTY was going right after Corey holed his last putt. David mentioned the modern era equipment, then was interrupted by Corey's welcoming kiss from his wife. Just wished we could have heard where FEHERTY was going with that lead in."

The state of American golf is getting plenty of attention as the Ryder Cup race appears wide open and the final team likely to include some surprising upstarts.

Ryan again: "JJ Henry, Zach Johnson, Brett Wetterich and John Rollins, these guys right here might surprise everyone, who expects them to do anything? True underdogs with nothing to lose,.........if we trounce on Europe with this make-up.......then the stacked teams from the past are not the answer. Especially with Captains picking their friends (Watkins and Strange) and lets not forget what a strange ass beating we took on that roll of the dice."

NRH: "still cringing from Trump in the Opening Ceremonies at Oakland Hills. Hope that doesn't mean they'll throw Richard Branson or Michael Flatley at us for revenge. I'd settle for David Brent."

Bill: "The Nationwide Tour should be called the D-Tour, its not producing golfers, just bomb n gouge artists. As equipment has grown leaps n bounds over the past 10 years, Nationwide venues have not been required to keep up. There all like Hoylake now, iron chip and putts, or drivable par 4's, four at the Omaha event, Numbers 4, 5, 9, 14. So much for Finchem and his Bozos growing the game on the Nationwide Tour, its basically been abandoned of integrity for years."

JT: "If there was the depth of talent available it wouldn't matter what point system was used, you would end up with 10 very good players regardless. The European Team will have 10 strong players at 1-10. A ROW team would have the strongest 1-10 of all three teams Forget any point system at all, just go ahead and pick 12 US players and by the time you get to the spots 9-12, the pickings get slim. On the contrary, do the same for Europe and ROW and when you get to spots 9-12, picking gets tough as there are too many to choose from."

Matt: "Funny how it used to be Europe that was strong at the top with no depth at the end, now it will be the U.S. I don't think the "unknowns" like J.J. Henry or Rollins will come through in the clutch like no-name Euros like Philip Price, Howard Clark, Philip Walton, etc. They're too rich and unaccustomed to real pressure, playing for all that easy money on the PGA Tour."

And Lefty offered this alternative points system and list.

I brought up the subject of Tiger and his love of courses where everything is "right in front of you." You all had some interesting replies.

Matt: "I agree that Tiger probably uses that 'pat' answer to his advantage - he is obviously much brighter than the scribes he deals with - but there is something about a golf hole (or course) that shows you what you have to do and dares you to come do it...the twelfth at Quaker Ridge or the eighth at Oak Hill come immediately to mind. Not that holes like that don't have subtlety, but they beckon 'I am straight, long and fair - come get your birdie, if you dare'..."

Jeff Pollner: "It makes absolutely no sense to say the Old course is your favorite and then say you wished you played more courses like the Medinah setup. Tiger is the one guy with the pull to get some changes made - and it's not like he has to whine about it; all he could have to do is drop a few comments like, 'I would be willing to change my schedule around to play more quirkier, classic courses' and most tournament committees would meet that night to see what could be done."

And finally, ReverendTMac: 'right there in front of you' = 'one way to play the hole'. Not the most compelling formula for repeat business. I agree with Mike that there's nothing wrong with the occasional hole on a course being like that, but when it's the course itself...yawn."

Week(s) In Review, July 15-29: The Open

A busy two weeks but your comments were focused largely on just a few key stories: drug testing in golf, Hoylake/links golf, and Tiger's 2-iron/3-wood strategy.

(For all of the Open Championship coverage, you can go here, and if you missed the IM interview with SI's Michael Bamberger, check it out here.)

Regarding drug testing and the R&A's plan to test players at the World Amateur Team Championship, reader Dave writes: "The oldtimers played with massive hangovers all the time, we're switching gears today, instead of alcohol it's human growth hormone. Love AC's approach to the topic of illegal, AC i believe the author was talking illegal in the sense of DEA and no prescription. One has to love these golf egoists, they really believe the sport they love is above the laws of the land. See the Casey Martin US Supreme Court decision."

Ryan writes, "When is the bloody damn equipment testing going to be concluded? It's been 3.5 years already, wankers! Golf has evolved into a Herculean sport, exponential advantages are favored to the crushers, what's in their blood, we already know what's in their clubs?"

Lefty: "Golf is very much about flexibility, particularly in the torso and spine. A little while ago, Sammy Sosa injured his back during the peak of the steroid scandal in baseball, and many said that back injuries and loss of flexibility in that area can be attributed to steroid use. Therefore, why would a golfer take steroids. The beauty of golf is that flexibility is more useful than muscle (look at Flabby Phil, who hits the ball 300 yards, purely because of how much he can twist his spine)."

Regarding drug testing and the PGA Tour's odd stance, Steve writes, "the PGA Tour started down this slippery slope when it implemented testing of equipment to ensure fairness, now they must do the same with drug testing. Anything less than testing for drugs would be highly hypocritical on the Commissioner's part. Which way do you think Commissioner Finchem will go? On second thought, don't answer that."

On the subject of Tiger Woods only hitting driver once en route to his Open Championship win, Rick says this "is all the evidence the RnA USGA need. The distance disparity has become a joke, and rendering famous golf courses obsolete. If there really is a problem between the governing bodies and the manufacturers, and lawsuits are waiting in the wings, bifurication is the simplest solution...Evidence, evidence, evidence......there has been so much evidence the past few years that all of you have egg on your face."

Van says, "He's been fighting drivers for a while. It's been too obvious in 2006. I believe the iron strategy for this Open was formed immediately after the Winged Foot cut. Nike's gotta step up. I don't think this player wants to continue his career as an Iron Byron.

Smolmania responded, "Amen Van. That Sasquatch monstrosity just ain't doing the job. . . I don't know how he can stand to look at that blocky thing behind the ball. Wanna bet that Tiger hasn't had one of those 905s on the back of the range at Isleworth? It will be very interesting to see if he can just hit it in the fairway with 2 iron and 3 wood at Medinah."

On another post, ReverendTMac writes, "When you put the strategy in context of rule number one of Hoylake - don't put it in the bunkers - and the fact that he said he was driving it 400 yards in his practice rounds - it's just pure logic...I don't put a lot of creedence in Player's comment that the fans want to see him hit driver, either. I'd like to think that the fans wanted to see him hit good shots, and the club is almost immaterial at that point."

Kevin: "It was interesting in today's round that unless you were in perfect position in the fairway, you could not get much closer to the hole with a wedge than you could with a long iron. Tiger beat 'em between the ears."

Andrew: "I don't think Hoylake tested Tiger with the driver--don't get me wrong, I liked the course okay. But I'm not sure that it was the ultimate test either. I don't mind -18 winning but at the same time I wouldn't want the US Open to turn into a birdie route like this was for the better part of 3 days either. Each is fine in it's turn."

RM: "For the life of me I can't understand why there can't be a ball roll back. Tiger adjusted his game in 1 week to playing a different way, although with his clubs not balls. But it should not be a tough transition back for any level player. And the manufacturers are going to sell balls one way or another. We buy balls, we lose them and then we buy some more. We each buy the best ball available at the time to suit our needs. If all the manufacturers care about is money, then why would they care if they sell 25 million units that fly 300 yards versus 25 million units that fly 275 yards?"

On Hoylake's deliciously crunchy playing surface, JPB wrote: "In the US I think people will have to get used to drier conditions, and I am looking forward to it. Changing weather and stress on the water supply, at least out west will dictate drier golf. I would love to see new grasses and maintenance practices that lead to firmer conditions. Where I live there hasn't been much water for a few years and the court battles to shut people off are starting...Perhaps the last few years of no water is waking people up a bit. Particularly in the west I think things will have to change in terms of what golfers accept. The game will improve too.

I asked if the R&A's borderline hole locations over the weekend artificially inflated Hoylake's stock. Scotty: "When a course rewards a variety of different playing styles for strong play and separates the class players to the top of the board, what more does anybody want? That was a helluva fun course, if not the most beautiful, and I hope it becomes a rota regular (and I will bet you anything it's par 71 next time)."

John Gorman: "Gary Player's comments were spot on. For a player (even the best) to be able to hit 3-woods and 2-irons all week and lap the field on a 7,200+ yard course is insane. A few years ago 7,200 yards was diabolical! As for Hoylake specifically, it did fine, but not great. It'll be interesting to see how some of the other courses on the Rota hold up to technology in the next few years. Some of them haven't been tested yet, as the Open hasn't visited the courses in several years."

A bizarre Carlos Monarrez column complaining about links golf (who has done some fine reporting on the distance issue), got plenty of people riled up.

cmoore: "That's like me, a lawyer, trying to write an opinion on whether a bridge meets engineering standards. In the end, the author seems to suggest that the world would have been better off without golf at all. Someone please take his laptop away."

a.c.: "and people wonder why Americans are often perceived as "ignorant".

Glyn: "What in the world is wrong with watching play on a different type of golf course once in a while? I can watch the "normal" kind every day of the week. I like seeing something different for a change."

So did I. It's rather sad to think we have to wait a year to see golf like we saw at Hoylake. Hey there's always the Ryder...oh wait, what was I thinking! 

Week In Review, July 8-15: More FedEx Fallout

Thankfully the British Open arrives to save us from bickering about the PGA Tour's many questionable moves of late, but many of your comments are worth revisiting. You know, just in case someone in Ponte Vedra cares.

Regarding Scott Michaux's commentary on Tim Finchem, Matt writes: "Finchem definitely created this monster himself when purses rose faster than the market could reliably sustain. And of course the top players are now so rich that they're not going to play any smaller events that could use their support. This FedEx cup mess is going to produce a chorus of snores, guaranteed."

And Martin Del Vecchio commented, "Tim Finchem works for the PGA Tour players, and mostly works for the elite players. He has helped to make them very rich, and they are happy with his service. It's a perfect closed system. The "golf fans" don't matter much any more, unless they happen to run Fortune 500 companies, and can pony up $5 million (or whatever) each year to sponsor a tournament."

On the Western Open's demise, Smolmania writes, "There is one event in this country which has been played longer than the Western Open. . . and that's the U.S. Open. Won't Walter Hagen be proud knowing that he won the BMW Championship? Our only hope is that when the FedUp Cup (with its FECES entry system) falls flat on its face, that we can have our tournament back."

Regarding the Fed Ex Cup, Daryl writes:How does the Charles Schwab Cup points race work on the Champions Tour? Do we even care, it's tape delayed on the Golf Channel now?

And Steve makes this interesting point: On another note related to the demise of Tournaments lately, has Greensboro named a new title sponsor for 2007? Booze Allen's announcement came in March, Chrysler decided in January that they were done in Greensboro as title sponsor but I don't see Finchem holding a press conference to announce the demise of that event. Is it because Tiger's agent was involved in helping that event survive Finchem's guillotine?"

On Doug Ferguson's story about Tiger and Phil being the driving force behind the new schedule and its impact on the Western, Glyn notes, "There's a difference between stating that the season is too long and cutting a tournament that's been around for 100 years."

GeorgeM brings up this point though: "Will the changes we have seen so far benefit PGAT members? I have no idea. Why not wait until December 2007 to evaluate what Tim hath wrought?"

George also had this to say about the FedEx Cup points: "If the PGAT wants something other than the Money List, they should use the OWGR. Points earned by PGAT members in PGAT sanctioned events would do the job."

On the subject of more spontaneous changes in course setup to better test players from day to day (and to keep things fresh), Scott S writes, "I do believe, though, that hole locations should be decided at the crack of dawn on every day they are to be moved, rather than in advance of a tournament. Too much foreknowledge can be a bad (boring) thing."

And Matt again: "If, at the next British Open at St. Andrews, the R&A decides to tee off on the first hole from a new secret tee on the roof of the clubhouse for the second round, that would be neat. Then, for the final round, they could move the tees up to around 280 yards to tempt the players into driving the green and bringing the burn more into play. Surprises are good!"

Scott says: it seems like these sorts of ideas are band aids. They try to chip away at problems and, i believe, will likely create more issues than they solve...The real fix is far more complicated and will take years--equipment."

Lefty brought the subject back to Phil Mickelson (where it originated), and wrote: "I don't think the extent that Mickelson prepares is beneficial. Although going to the course and playing many practice at Winged Foot did aid Phil, allowing him to be in contention at WF despite not hitting the ball well at all, I do agree with those that think that his set decisions on what club he'd use on 18, and his inability to adjust to the situation did hurt him."

And Charlie Bell writes, "The downside of this, which no one has mentioned, is that the USGA et al could be accused of setting up a course on Sunday in order to favor or penalize particular individuals in contention. Imagine if Corey Pavin and Tiger were in the final pairing... So, from this angle (which escaped me previously) perhaps the USGA's preplanning is defensible. Still, they should keep the darned information secret."

Finally, on the subject of Dick Rugge's latest remarks about the USGA having plenty of time to research things because the distance surges have slowed down, Chuck writes: "And there is this statement: 'This stability might mean Rugge and his staff have caught up to changing technology.'

"Caught up? What does that mean? Even Mr. Rugge and Mr. Rich say publicly that their testing and study are still in process. And they haven't changed any regulations or testing protocols that have arrested any new technology. So no one should claim that the USGA has "caught up" in recent years. They haven't actually done anything yet, by their own admission, other than to study the issue. I'm not critical of those efforts; I am all for the USGA basing its actions on the best information there is. But they haven't done anything, yet, and the real question is what action will be taken as the study is completed."