Wie Update

John Hawkins has the latest on Michelle Wie's transition from unofficial professional, to actual professional. Based on what Hawkins writes, it sounds like a real fun negotiation!

Rangefinders on Tour?

Gary Van Sickle looks at the general wonderfulness that rangefinders will bring to the game, namely improved speed of play and world peace. He also looks at whether the Tour will allow them to help deal with their speed of play problem.

With all of the strides the Tour has made to improve the look of the uh, "product?" Are you kidding? Even the Laser Link head man knows the answer to this one:

"Commissioner Finchem is concerned with how it looks," Rob O'Loughlin said. "He's in the entertainment business. Having Tiger Woods looking over Stevie Williams' shoulder at a yardage book, that's a traditional look, that's part of the chemistry. I'm not sure they're interested in Tiger and Steve pulling out a laser gun and firing it.

 "But over time, they'll get comfortable with it."

Right! Uh, the Tour's pace of play problem starts on the greens, with major headaches at all of the driveable par-4s and reachable par-5s that the guys stand around and wait on for an hour a round.

Teebiscuit

From Jeff Silverman in this weeks SI Golf Plus (subscription req.): "The high point of the movie adaptation of The Greatest Game Ever Played comes early -- before the opening credits." Ouch. And: "If the movie couldn't fully uphold its oath, it should have at least improved its lies."

Most of the newspaper and trade reviews are quite good though. Here are some: Arizona Republic, AP, Seattle Press Intell whatever, New York Times, Variety and the lukewarms from MSNBC and the Chicago Tribune.

Here's the IMDB page with the full cast and crew listing and other information. 

Trump National L.A. Review

Now posted is my latest Golfobserver.com column reviewing Trump National Los Angeles.

New Balls Please

The Guardian's Lawrence Donegan looks at the Pro-V1's fifth birthday and the "battle for the future of golf."

Warning, I'm quoted.

If you'd like some elaboration on my comments regarding Titleist, here goes. First, here's what Donegan quotes me as saying:

"Given the company's past record, I don't see what they are so worried about. They have enormous customer loyalty and an enormously powerful brand name. That will not suddenly disappear if there was a new ball. If they continue to make a quality product, they will continue to dominate," says Shackelford. "More to the point, they would be credited for having done their bit to preserve the game of golf as we know it."

Consider this scenario. The USGA and R&A decide to admit they blew it when they scrapped a test that would have restricted the optimization-led jumps in driving distance we've seen for top players.

They've come to their senses, admitted their mistakes and order a rollback that only effects players with higher clubhead speeds.

The manufacturers then comply with whatever ball spec changes the USGA mandates. Increased spin, dimple design change, etc...  I don't know what it is, and don't really care how the tech wizards solve the problem. Whatever it takes to eliminate the optimization situation that is allowing players to exceed the Overall Distance Standard without setting off an alarm.

So here come new rules, new ball requirements.

Which ball are people going to pick up first? Why, the one they've been playing (unless their preferred brand refuses to make balls to the new spec).

So for most they will buy a box of Titleist's because they've made great products for years and built strong brand loyalty (Forgive me God for sounding like an MBA). And golfers will continue to buy their preferred brands new rolled back ball (assuming it's well made).

And there is no reason to believe that Titleist will continue to make anything but a superior product.

Finally, remember, this rollback will only impact a very small number of golfers if handled properly. Those with clubhead speeds over 110 or so mph would be impacted. Everyone else would not be. Again, assuming a rollback is handled properly.  

Greensboro's Status

This AP story looks at the Greater Greensboro event's potential to remain on the Tour schedule and includes this how-did-he-keep-a-straight-face quote from Sergio Garcia.

"The Fall Finish, it is important to all of us, there's no doubt about it," Garcia said.  No doubt.

Dunhill Decline

Lawrence Donegan looks at what a non-event the Dunhill Cup has become. 

Wie Mistake

Steve Elling shares an interesting Michelle Wie anecdote related to her appearance in this summer's John Deere Classic.

Want Cheap Golf?

Chris Baldwin at Travelgolf with another excellent story on affordable golf and course developer Tim McNulty.

"I read a quote in one magazine where Arnold Palmer said we had to look at ways to make golf more affordable," McNulty said. "It was sort of funny to me, because have you seen what they charge at a lot of Arnold Palmer designs? I don't think there's a lot of people in the golf business who even know what affordable is to the average family in America."

It's sort of hard to get down with the people when you're flying in your personal Lear jet from ceremonial course opening to ceremonial course opening. When you're cutting the cornstalks yourself along the 606-yard, par-5 12th as McNulty is on Strawberry Ridge, it's a little different.

Still Giddy After All These Weeks

Golfweek's Jim Achenbach is still elated about the USGA/R&A rules change on distance measuring devices.

The primary argument in favor of rangefinders and GPS systems is straightforward: They help speed play by allowing players to know yardages without hunting for distance plates or marked sprinkler heads.

Still waiting on someone to actually document this one.

Either way, the tours will likely never accept these because, well, they're vain and they don't want their players to look silly. For all of the talk of better athletes, there is something rather unseemly about these uh, jocks, pulling out a device and looking through it, then putting it back in their pur...err...I mean bag, before hitting a shot.  

Tour GCX

Thanks to reader Tuco for this fascinating Michael Buteau story from Bloomberg on a new club membership concept called Tour GCX. A few highlights:

Tour GCX has prospered by introducing fractional -- or time- share -- memberships at top clubs. Some could use the cash. Private U.S. golf courses, with $14 billion in annual revenue, are mired in a bunker of declining members and flat earnings, according to club officials and resort companies such as Dallas- based ClubCorp Inc. Tour GCX pays clubs a fee to discreetly schedule golfers and their guests into vacant tee times, usually at off-peak hours.

"If some members knew about this, they wouldn't be happy,'' says Gary Rosenberg, Tour GCX's marketing chief.

And this:

"The wives control the men,'' says Gold, 53. "A guy can join Tour GCX and not get the aggravation from his wife saying `Honey, we could have gone to Europe with that money.' He doesn't really want to go to Europe.''

And:

When Tour GCX golfers arrive at a club, they'll often find a locker has been prepared with an engraved nameplate like the ones given members.

Mark Your Calendars!

The inaugural Golf Digest Panelist Summit takes place November 18-20. Borrowing from Golfweek's playbook, the magazine is convening its panel for education seminars and guest speakers. Three days for just $1200! The program:

• Friday November 18: Town Hall discussion on Golf Digest rankings with Jerry Tarde and Jack Nicklaus, Dinner with address by Mitchell Fox, CEO of The Golf Digest Companies.

• Saturday November 19: The future of Golf Digest rankings panel, discussions with Pete Dye and Tom Fazio (and Rees Jones?!), Dinner address by Thomas Friedman titled, err, no, I won't go there.
  

• Sunday November 20: Ron Whitten and Golf Digest ranking criteria, Ron Whitten on "Architorture" and Stan Zontek on "what good course conditioning really means" (oh Lordy...).

Skins Funk

Fred Funk playing the Skins Game? What, Paula Creamer said no?

The Trump Torch

Tod Leonard has fun with The Donald and the redesigned Ocean Trails opening this week...

When he purchased troubled Ocean Trails Golf Club – the infamous course with the 18th hole that had disastrously toppled onto the beach – out of bankruptcy for $27 million in 2002, The Donald had to give it the Trump Touch. So that means grandiose waterfalls and man-made lakes amid the coastal sagebrush and a new finishing hole that was rebuilt from the beach up.

Price tag: $61 million – for the 18th hole.

Total cost to basically redo a course that already was built: $264 million, making it the world's most expensive face-lift.

"When I took it over, I had to make a determination," Trump said last month in a conference call with reporters. "Did I want to just fix up what was there, or did we want to do something that was really special? We decided that the land was just too good to not to do anything but the best.

"We feel it's better than Pebble Beach. We have had some people out who are very familiar with Pebble Beach. Most people consider (Trump National) to be substantially superior."

Trump didn't drop any names, but those people he's talking about were probably kissing up for a spot on "The Apprentice."

In reality, Trump National doesn't come close to rivaling Pebble Beach in either its scenic grandeur or its quality of golf. Well-traveled Southern California golfers who picture a blend of Torrey Pines, Pelican Hill and Bajamar can get a fairly accurate mental image.

 

Rules of Golf Update

The R&A and USGA have announced 111 changes to the Decisions on the Rules of Golf. Included is the expected announcement that rangefinders and GPS distance measuring devices can be used, provided there is a Local Rule.

A noteworthy change is the governing bodies’ sanction of the use of distance measuring devices, including GPS-based systems and laser rangefinders.  New Decision 14-3/0.5 allows a Committee to permit the use of distance-measuring devices by Local Rule. This applies to devices that measure distance only, not any other conditions that might affect a player’s play (e.g., wind or gradient). In the absence of such a Local Rule, the use of a distance-measuring device remains contrary to the Rules.