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Morning 9: Remembering Brian Barnes | The King at 90 | Great golf equipment fails

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By Ben Alberstadt ([email protected]; @benalberstadt on Instagram)

September 11, 2019

Good Wednesday morning, golf fans.
1. Happy 90th, King!
Yesterday would have been Arnold Palmer’s 90th birthday…
Golf Channel’s Will Gray with an excellent piece…”Tuesday marks what would have been Arnold Palmer’s 90th birthday. And while nearly three years have passed since Palmer’s death, his impact is still felt on Tour just as strongly as when he spent his days signing autographs at home in Latrobe or buzzing around in a golf cart at his beloved Bay Hill.”
  • “Palmer’s reach transcended a sport before there was a blueprint to do so. His appeal was not only felt by those in and around the game, but his recognition extended beyond the course as he managed to span generations like few before (or after) him have done, as players discussed recently.”
  • “He was just a cool guy, and he got along with everyone,” Adam Scott said. “He was 80 years old and he got along with 20-year-olds, and 20-year-olds wanted to hang around him. He liked telling some stories and having a good time, and I think he genuinely kind of loved living life. And that’s appealing to a lot of people.”

Full piece.

2. RIP, Brian Barnes
Golf Digest’s Joel Beall on the demise of the Nicklausslayer…”Brian Barnes, who famously defeated Jack Nicklaus twice in one day at the 1975 Ryder Cup, has died after a bout with cancer. He was 74.”
  • “Barnes won 20 times as a professional, highlighted by nine titles on the European Tour. He was the son-in-law of Max Faulkner, who won the 1951 Open Championship at Royal Portrush. More than four decades later, Barnes would win the Senior British Open at Portrush, and defend his title the next year at the Northern Ireland venue.
  • “Barnes represented Great Britain & Ireland, and finally Europe, in six consecutive Ryder Cups (1969 to 1979). Though he had a 10-14-1 career record at the biennial event, he’s regarded as a team hero for knocking off Nicklaus twice in Sunday singles at Laurel Valley.”

Full piece.

3. Reunited at last
The latest in #MissingBagGate… Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine: “Morgan Pressel tweeted that Angel Yin had been reunited with her clubs late on Tuesday. She tweeted a video of an elated Yin embracing her travel bag, which was lost over the weekend.”
Prior to that, Jodie Ewart Shadoff was reunited with her missing sticks, but Yin remained without hers. He discusses the full fiasco here.
4. Lewis WDs 
Golf Channel’s Randall Mell…”Stacy Lewis hurt her lower back at the Cambia Portland Classic in her last start nearly two weeks ago.”
  • “It started bothering me there,” Lewis said Tuesday after withdrawing from the U.S. Solheim Cup team. “I had some tests and treatment last week, hoping it would go away, and it felt a little better for a while, but …”
  • “But Lewis knew her growing pain this week might jeopardize American chances, so she told U.S. captain Juli Inkster on Tuesday morning that she was out.”
  • “I didn’t want to have to make that decision, but it’s what’s best for the team,” Lewis said. “And what’s best for me going forward, with my body.”
5. What AmEx gets
Larry Bohannon at the Desert Sun looks into the benefits for the credit giant putting its name on a golf tournament.
  • “It is fair to ask why a company accustomed to sponsoring some of the biggest golf tournaments in the world would be interested in the financial commitment – generally twice the amount of a tournament’s purse – to any regular PGA Tour event. The desert tournament’s purse this year was $5.9 million. Stephen J. Squeri, chairman and CEO of American Express, said in a statement announcing the sponsorship that his company just wants to be associated with golf.”
  • “Golf consistently ranks as one of the top passions of our card members, and the (PGA Tour) provides some of the most exciting experiences at some of the best venues the game offers,” the statement said. “We’re looking forward to making The American Express a ‘must-see’ event for fans and card members alike.”

Full piece.

6. Equipment fails!
Superb stuff from Golf Digest’s E. Michael Johnson reminiscing about some of most notable golf equipment fails from the past couple of decades…
  • “Orlimar golf balls…In 1999, Orlimar was a significant player in the fairway-wood market with its line of TriMetal woods. Buoyed by that success, the company attempted to expand into other categories. At the PGA International Golf Show in Las Vegas that summer, the company proudly introduced a line of golf balls packaged in a pop-top can, much like tennis balls. Allegedly, this was more than a marketing gimmick; the can was supposed to help the balls avoid moisture. The following day, TaylorMade served Orlimar a cease-and-desist letter, claiming the packaging violated TaylorMade’s patent on its InerGel Moisture Block packaging. The Orlimar balls never made it to market, and the launch signaled the start of Orlimar’s sharp decline.”
  • “Dave Pelz Featherlight irons…Introduced in 1984, the Pelz Featherlight irons seemed a reasonable idea. The lighter the club, the faster it could be swung for more distance. Unfortunately, it quickly became apparent that the light weight actually contributed to shots going shorter and without much control. Making matters worse, the thin-walled shafts sometimes broke, resulting in injuries- not usually a recipe for increasing sales.”

Full piece. 

7. DJ Trahan 
Golf Digest’s John Strege…”A decorated amateur and twice a winner on the PGA Tour, Trahan could not have envisioned how an injury familiar to so many golfers could send his career careening so far off course.”
  • “From 2014 through 2019, Trahan, 38, split his time equally between the PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour, 49 starts on each. The last time he was fully exempt on the PGA Tour was 2012. Thirteen months ago, he was 2,042nd in the World Ranking.”
  • “When I got hurt, it derailed me a little bit,” Trahan said last week. “It actually affected me as much or more mentally than it did physically. Mentally, I went into a dark place. Then I woke up one day and said it’s time to quit the damn pity party, get back to being positive, get back to to the PGA Tour.”

Full piece.

8. Why not golf? 
Golfweek’s Eamon Lynch: “At the U.S. Open, Rafa Nadal was serving 5-2 in the fifth and final set when the chair umpire hit him with a penalty for taking too much time before serving.”
“Think about that: The United States Tennis Association was willing to enforce pace-of-play rules against one of the biggest stars in its sport, at a crucial moment in a huge event.”
“Remember that when the excuse makers try to tell you that golf can’t possibly do the same.”
9. Bubba’s (millions of dollars worth of) Milles
Whether you’re a Richard Mille enthusiast, or you were heretofore unfamiliar with the $500,000-plus watches that adorn the bomb-launching left-hander’s right wrist, our roundup of a few of his timepieces is worth a read!
A taste…
  • The RM 038 Tourbillon Bubba Watson ($525,000)“This was the one that started it all! The white one with the over half-million-dollar price tag. The one that everyone was searching online for. The Richard Mille RM 038 Tourbillon Bubba Watson. Only 38 lucky people on this planet own a RM 038 with its slightly grey tinted, white magnesium case. This timepiece was special because it combined a complicated movement, precise timekeeping, and extreme durability.”
  • “The case is made up of three pieces of magnesium WE 54 that is 89 percent magnesium, six percent yttrium, and five percent of rare earth metals. The material is extremely lightweight but very hard to machine, taking much longer than traditional metal. The case then goes through Miarox, an electro-plasma oxidation treatment, that coats the pieces in ceramic. Miarox is used in the medical and aerospace sectors, being extremely scratch and corrosion-resistant. The three pieces of the case are held together with 12 spline screws and the Nitrile O-ring seals give the watch water resistance to 50 meters. Inside that case is a RM038 calibre with 19 jewels, 42-hour power reserve, and a baseplate and bridges made from grade five titanium.”

Full piece.

And as a bonus, in other Richard Mille news, Odell Beckham, Jr. wore one of the timepieces in-game, attracting the NFL’s attention…
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Morning 9: Wyndham Clark on back injury | DiMarco’s bold Champions Tour take | Houston Open photos

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By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

Good Thursday morning, golf fans, as day one of the Houston Open gets underway.

1. Wyndham Clark hurts back…still hopes to play

ESPN’s Mark Schlabach…”Reigning U.S. Open winner Wyndham Clark injured his back while working out at home Monday, but he hopes to play in this week’s Texas Children’s Houston Open, which starts Thursday at Memorial Park Golf Course.”

  • “Clark, the fourth-ranked golfer in the world, said he was lifting weights and “got caught in an awkward spot doing a lift and [his] back went.”
  • “It’s not something that happens regularly, but it happened and you live and you learn,” Clark said. “I’m trending in the right direction. I’m hitting it or feeling stronger and more mobile every day. I’m going to give it my best effort tomorrow and hopefully I can play and compete. If not, I’ve got to get ready for tournaments to come after this.”
Full piece.

2. DiMarco’s bold Champions Tour take

Our Matt Vincenzi…”While speaking on the Subpar podcast, former PGA Tour winner and current PGA Tour Champions player Chris DiMarco said he hopes LIV buys the Champions Tour.”

  • “We’re kind of hoping that LIV buys the Champions Tour,” he said.
  • “Let’s play for a little real money out here. I mean this is kind of a joke when we’re getting $2 million. There were like seven guys last week from TPC (Sawgrass, at the $25 million PLAYERS Championship) that made more money than our purses.”
Full piece.

3. Charley Hull’s course management problem?

Our Matt Vincenzi…”Charley Hull came just short of her third LPGA Tour victory over the weekend at the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship when she played her last two holes at 3 over to slip all the way to 10th on the leaderboard.”

  • “After the round, Hull was blasted by Sky Sports commentator and former LPGA Tour player Trish Johnson for her lack of golf course management.”
  • “While speaking on the Sky Sports Golf podcast, Johnson spoke harshly of Hull.”
  • “I’m probably her harshest critic, because I know how good she is. She doesn’t win anywhere near enough for her talent, and she doesn’t get involved enough, in all honestly.
  • “The thing with Charley is that you’re never going to change her. I read something the other day that said how much she loves the game and it’s her love of the game [that costs her]. She’s never going to change and she’s just going to go for every pin.
  • “In theory that’s great, but it won’t win you golf tournaments, it just won’t because she’s not that much better than anybody else.
Full piece.

4. Sahith’s interesting idea

Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine…”Which brings Theegala to his big idea: “There’s got to be something, like a fan challenge or – I think it would be awesome to see a scratch handicap go out and play like the Monday after a tournament, keep the same conditions and see what they would shoot just to put it into perspective how hard a PGA Tour golf course is.”

  • “Theegala loves the thought so much that he’d even come out and watch.”
  • “Shoot, I’d commentate on it,” Theegala added before continuing, “I have a pet peeve, sometimes when I watch golf on TV, a great example is hole 8 at Valspar last week. It’s a 230-yard par 3, the green’s 12 yards wide and someone will hit the middle of the green and, you know, they’ll be like, ‘Oh, really smart shot there.’ I’m like, ‘Well, no, he’s absolutely laced this 4-iron in the middle of the green, that’s right where he’s looking and to hit a 4-iron that straight is really, really hard.’ … Even like chipping, a lot of the stuff just looks flat on TV, but then when you get over the chip, like, oh, great, I have to land it over a mound on a downslope down grain?”
Full piece.

5. Top am Rachel Heck not going pro

Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine…”As Rachel Heck nears the end of her college golf career, she has decided that the LPGA isn’t for her.’

  • “Heck, the 22-year-old Stanford senior who won an NCAA individual title as a freshman and has climbed as high as second in the world amateur rankings, penned a first-person essay for No Laying Up in which she explained her reasoning for remaining amateur after graduation this summer and starting an internship not in professional golf but rather private equity. Heck, a political science major, also will be pinned as a lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force.”

Read her piece on No Laying Up: https://nolayingup.com/blog/why-im-remaining-an-amateur

Full piece.

6. DJ’s new LIV signing

Golf Monthly’s Elliott Heath…”Dustin Johnson‘s LIV Golf team 4Aces GC has announced former TravisMathew CEO Chris Rosaasen as the side’s new General Manager.”

  • “Rosaasen, who is a long-time friend of Johnson, is also the founder of the team’s apparel sponsor Extracurricular and has been CEO of the Omniverse Group for the past four years.
  • “He joins with more than 20 years of “brand-building, marketing, and business leadership” according to LIV Golf, which says his “record of innovation in the golf industry will strengthen and accelerate the growth of the 4Aces GC brand.”
Full piece.

7. Photos from the Houston Open

  • Check out all of our photos from this week’s event!
Full piece.
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Four books for a springtime review

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One thing that never changes over time: snowy evenings give purpose to reading (is it the other way around?) It has been a snowy 2024 in western New York, and I’ve had ample time to tuck into an easy chair with a blanket, coffee, and a book. You’re in luck, because despite the title of this piece, I’ll share five books and their worth with you.

There is great breadth of subject matter from one to five. Golf is as complicated as life, which means that the cover of the book isn’t worth judging. The contents begin the tale, but there is so much more to each topic presented within. If you’re like me, your library grows each year. Despite the value of the virtual, the paper-printed word connects us to the past of golf and humanity. Here’s hoping that you’ll add one or more of these titles to your collection.

        

Rainmaker

Hughes Norton interviewed with Mark McCormack for 20 minutes (30 if you count the missed exit at Logan International) while driving the founder of IMG from Harvard to the airport. The lesson of taking advantage of each moment, of every dollar, because you might not get another opportunity, is the most valuable one that life offers. I say to you, be certain to read this book, because another opportunity to bend the ear of Hughes Norton may not come our way.

Hughes Norton was with Tiger Woods for waaayyy fewer years than you might guess, but they were the critical ones. Be warned: not all of the revelations in this tome are for the faint of heart. Some, in fact, will break your heart. Golf was a sleepy hamlet in the 1990s, until the 16-lane interstate called Eldrick “Tiger” Woods came into town. Everything changed, which meant that everything would change again and again, into eternity. Once the ball starts rolling, it’s impossible to stop.

My favorite aspect of this book is its candor. Hughes Norton is well into his time on Planet Earth. He has no reason to hold back, and he doesn’t. My least favorite aspect is that George Peper got the call to co-author the book (and I didn’t.) Seriously, there is no LFA for me, so this is the best that I could do.

Decision: Buy It!

The Golf Courses of Seth Raynor

Michael Wolf, James Sitar, and Jon Cavalier, in abject partnership, collaborated to produce a handsome volume on the work of gone-too-soon, engineer-turned-golf course architect. Seth Raynor was pulled into the game by Charles Blair MacDonald, the crusty godfather of American golf. Raynor played little golf across the 51 years of his life. His reason? He did not wish to corrupt his designs with the demands and failings of his own game.

Jon Cavalier began his photography career as a contributor to the Golf Club Atlas discussion group. I met him there in a virtual way (we still have yet to shake hands) and have exchanged numerous emails over the years. Despite the demands of his day job, Cavalier has blossomed into the most traveled and prolific course photographer alive today. His photography, both hand-held and drone, makes the pages pop. Michael Wolf invited me and two friends to play his home course, despite having never met any of us in person. His words, melded to those of James Sitar, are the glue that connect Cavalier’s photos.

My favorite aspect of the books is the access it gives to the private-club world of Raynor. Fewer than five of his courses are resort or public access, and knowing people on the inside is not available to all. My suggestion? Write a letter/email and see if a club will let you play. Can’t hurt to try! My one complaint about the book is its horizontal nature. Golf is wide, but I like a little vertical in my photos. It’s not much of a complaint, given the glorious contents within the covers.

Decision: Buy It!!

Big Green Book from The Golfer’s Journal

Beginning with its (over)size, and continuing through the entire contents, there is no descriptor that defines the genre of the Big Green Book. It is photography, essay, layout, poetry, graphics, and stream of consciousness. It harnesses the creative power of a lengthy masthead of today’s finest golf contributors. Quotes from Harvey Penick, verse from Billy Collins, and prose from John Updike partner with images pure and altered, to immerse you in the diverse golf spaces that define this planet.

One of my favorite aspects is the spaces between the words and photos. Have your friends and others write a few notes to you in those blank areas, to personalize your volume even more. One aspect that needs improvement: the lack of female voices. I suspect that will be remedied in future volumes.

Decision: Buy It!!!

Troublemaker and The Unplayable Lie

Books that allege discrimination and mistreatment check two boxes: potentially-salacious reads and debate over whose perspective is accurate. In the end, the presentation of salacious revelation rarely meets the expectation, and the debate over fault is seldom resolved. Lisa Cornwell spent years as a competitive junior and college golfer, before joining The Golf Channel as a reporter and program host.

Despite the dream assignments, there were clouds that covered the sun. Cornwell documents episodes of favoritism and descrimination against her, prior to her departure from The Golf Channel in 2021. Her work echoes the production of the late Marcia Chambers, who wrote for Golf Digest in the 1980s and 1990s. Chambers took issue with many of the potential and real legal issues surrounding golf and its policies of access/no access. Her research culminated in The Unplayable Lie, the first work of its kind to address issues confronted by all genders and ethnicities, and immediately predated the professional debut of Tiger Woods in 1997.

My favorite aspects of the two works, are the courage and conviction that it took to write them, and believe in them. My least favorite aspects are the consistent bias that many groups continue to face. Without awareness, there is no action. Without action, there is no change.

Decision: Buy Them!!!!

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open

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GolfWRX is on site in the Lone Star State this week for the Texas Children’s Houston Open.

General galleries from the putting green and range, WITBs — including Thorbjorn Olesen and Zac Blair — and several pull-out albums await.

As always, we’ll continue to update as more photos flow in. Check out links to all our photos from Houston below.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.

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