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19th Hole

Jack Nicklaus has an interesting idea about how to change Shinnecock for future U.S. Opens

Published

6 years ago

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In his most recent 19th Hole podcast, Michael Williams asked Jack Nicklaus for his thoughts on U.S. Open setups in general and what transpired at Shinnecock in particular.

His response is noteworthy because, well, he’s Jack Nicklaus, and because his take is a fresh one in a discussion that has grown predictable and largely played out.

Nicklaus said, “I grew up playing USGA golf courses. I loved the way the USGA sets up golf courses. When you’re a junior, they set it up at the junior level…amateur set up on the amateur level, ladies set up on the ladies level and then the Open gets set up on the most difficult. That’s how I learned to play golf. That’s why majors were so important to me. And to take the U.S. Open and not make it…the toughest and the most difficult, to me, you’re making it too much like another tournament. And that’s not what I really wanted to see.”

“Now, did they set up Shinnecock poorly? No. I don’t think they set it up poorly at all. I think Mike Davis did a pretty darn good job of it. I just think that because course conditioning has changed so much, and they have courses just on the edge…the setup lends itself–you saw scores on Saturday and Sunday in the mid 60s in the morning and the mid 70s in the afternoon…I don’t think they really wanted that.”

“I think if you back to Shinnecock again, I think the wise thing would be to redo the greens…not change them…but there’s nothing under those greens other than what nature had there….but with the way they do things today, that lends itself to not being able to be controlled. And they could redo those greens exactly as they are now and control the moisture level on those greens, then the setup that they had would work fine, and work fine in the morning and the afternoon.”

The four-time U.S. Open winner added that he didn’t expect the membership at Shinnecock to approve anything so rash, and that he was merely making a suggestion should the tournament return to the Southampton course that reworking the greens could make the course “fair in the morning and fair in the afternoon.”

As for exactly what method of green rebuilding Nicklaus is proposing (presumably some reworking of soil and drainage), we’re not sure. However, his suggestion remains an interesting one.

He also added

“The greens were great in the morning, they just got away in the afternoon. When you’ve got starting times from…7:30 to 3:30…a lot of things are going to happen.”

Nicklaus added that the USGA should strive to offer players the same course in the morning and the afternoon to give everyone a “fair chance to compete.”

The Golden Bear also touched quickly on Phil Mickelson’s rules violation.

“Phil came back…and said, ‘I just lost it,’ which is probably what he should have said to begin with.”

However, Nicklaus suggested Mickelson has earned the right to be cut some slack and said all golfers can relate to his frustration.

Nicklaus also discussed his charity work on the pod, and Michael Williams has another great guest in the episode: golf fitness and flexibility expert, Roger Fredericks, who’s well worth listening to.

Check it out below, and let us know what you think about the 18-time major champion’s remarks.

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19th Hole

DP World Tour pro has score improved after round following bizarre rules situation

Published

2 hours ago

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May 6, 2024

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As originally reported by Ryan French of Monday Q Info, a DP World Tour player was impacted over the weekend by a peculiar rules situation.

Ivan Cantero was playing the Volvo China Open when he hit an errant tee shot on the 13th hole. Cantero was unsure if the ball was in play or not, as it went towards a jungle area, so he played a provisional.

French confirmed with a rules official that the provisional was legal due to the fact that the player didn’t know whether the ball was in play or not.

Cantero’s original ball was found in the penalty area, which should have rendered his provisional irrelevant.

A rules official then told Cantero he could no longer play his original ball because he hit a provisional.

French shares that Cantero asked for a second opinion and was given the same (incorrect) answer. He went on to play his provisional and made a long par putt on the par 5.

After the round, the rules officials realized their mistake and decided to take a stroke away from the player, changing the par to a birdie.

The report cites rule 20.2 in the Rules of Golf.

“If a ruling by a referee or the Committee is later found wrong, the ruling can be corrected if possible under the Rules. If it is too late to do so, the ruling stands.”

The score change resulted in Cantero making the cut on the number and he then rallied on Saturday to finish in 23rd place after a weather-shortened event.

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19th Hole

‘F*** around and find out’ – Phil Mickelson fires warning shot over LIV’s access to majors in since-deleted tweet

Published

7 hours ago

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May 6, 2024

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On Sunday, the social media account “Flushing It” made a post about the importance of LIV Golf ensuring that their players have major championship eligibility going forward.

“LIV can have the grandest of plans for their future but getting players access to major championships should be their number 1 priority. Especially with the major exemptions running out fast and nearly all player contracts up for renewal this year and next.”

Phil Mickelson then responded to the post, warning the golf world that excluding LIV players from majors will have unintended consequences, saying “FAAFO” which means “f*** around and find out”.

“Maybe some LIV players won’t be missed. But what if NONE of the LIV players played? Would they be missed? What about next year when more great players join? Or the following year? At some point they will care and will have to answer to sponsors and television. FAAFO”

His post has since been deleted, but there are plenty of screenshots out there.

It will be easier said than done, but it does appear that some sort of agreement between LIV and the majors could be coming in the future if the PGA Tour and LIV aren’t able to mend fences.

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19th Hole

Greg Norman reveals plan for LIV to own all their golf courses and each team to have a home venue

Published

7 hours ago

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May 6, 2024

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In an interview with Bloomberg, LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman discussed the current state of LIV and what it means for the future of professional golf.

In the interview, Norman said he believes that LIV has been welcomed with “open arms.”

“Our product is received with open arms by many, but a few want to try and stop us for all the wrong reasons. They haven’t been able to sustain their position in the game of golf. What we have done brilliantly is injected more capital. Golf is finally looked upon as an asset class.”

Interestingly, Norman also revealed future plans for LIV to own all the courses they play and have home courses for each team.

“Man United owns their stadium. Indian Premier League, they own their stadiums. NFL, they own their stadiums. Think about LIV owning all their own golf courses, each team having a home venue and they host. And now you can build out around that. It’s not just a golf course. You bring in education, you bring in hospitality, you bring in real estate, you bring in merchandise, you bring in management, you bring in all these other different opportunities that the game of golf has to deliver to a community, to a region. We are gonna be doing that.

“The Philippines are very keen to get us there. Golf in the Philippines is doing very well. We are not just sport, we’re sports and entertainment and culture. So no matter where we go in the world, we adjust what we need to deliver from an entertainment standpoint.”

Norman also talked about his time as the number one player in the world when the best players in the world didn’t always play on the same tour.

“That never happened anyway. Right? I was number one player in the world. Very seldom did I go and play in the United States or Europe or Asia or anything. Did I play against the best in the world outside the four majors and maybe the TPC? They’re the five, right? So very, very seldom did that happen. We got all paid appearance money to go play somewhere.”

Norman added that LIV “isn’t going anywhere.”

“My boss told me LIV is not going to go anywhere. It will be well and truly in operation, running well past his death – he’s a young guy.”

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