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Morning 9: Always pull the flagstick?! | Ridley’s decisions | Tiger Boom 2.0? | More USGA events for Erin Hills

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5 years ago

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By Ben Alberstadt ([email protected])

April 17, 2019

Good Wednesday morning, golf fans.
1. Always pull the flagstick?!?!
…the Golfing Scientist couldn’t have bad data, could he?…
Mike Stachura reports on a GD study the outlet and parties involved consider to be definitive…
  • “There’s loads of science behind that number. But then this is what you should expect when you put a Ph.D. on the case, which is what Golf Digest did in its May issue in an effort to answer the debate over the flagstick and whether in or out is the best way to putt.”
  • “Tom Mase, professor of mechanical engineering and former associate chair of the department of mechanical engineering at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly), is no amateur golf scientist. He’s been on the vanguard of golf equipment research for much of his 30-plus years in academia, as well as stints at both Callaway and Titleist and as an original and long-time member of the Golf Digest Hot List Technical Advisory Panel.”
  • “His research on the value of leaving the flagstick in was precise, painstaking and perfectly clear. His findings upend the conventional wisdom that the flagstick is some kind of backstop, gathering wayward putts back into the hole. The facts of his study suggest the opposite, that the flagstick does much, much more to hurt your chances of a putt going in than help turn a bad putt into a made one.”
2. Tiger Boom 2.0?
….let’s not get ahead of ourselves, but let’s totally get ahead of ourselves…
Kevin Draper of the New York Times examines the possibility, looking back on the previous peak…
  • “By most metrics, golf peaked in the early 2000s, at the height of the first Tigermania. According to Gallup, in 2000, 5 percent of Americans surveyed said golf was their favorite sport to watch. By 2017, that number was 1 percent. Golf was tied with volleyball, boxing, gymnastics, motocross, figure skating and rodeo.”
  • “According to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association, 29.5 million Americans played a round of golf in 2007. In 2017, that number was 23.8 million, a decline of 19.3 percent.”
  • “Unlike most other sports, which believe fans respond most to parity, Woods’s dominance was electrifying for golf. From June 1997 – when he first became the world’s No. 1-ranked golfer – to October 2010, only four golfers besides Woods were ranked No. 1, for a total of less than a year and a half. Woods was ranked first for two different five-year streaks in that time.”
3. A tale of roaring and whimpering
…the deus ex machina of mental malfunctions on the back 9 Sunday at Augusta arrived on queue…
Golfweek’s Eamon Lynch…
  • “On the second Sunday in April every year, Augusta National feels less like a golf course than an operating table, upon which men are laid bare and probed for frailties not readily apparent to the naked eye. And no facility in the world does a more thorough job of diagnosing a faint heart, a deficit of intestinal fortitude, an absence of daring.”
  • “Of course, the recent vulnerabilities of Tiger Woods have been more obvious: physical injury, swing woes, personal turmoil – each a test more daunting than anything Amen Corner can pose. By comparison, the crucible of the back nine on Sunday afternoon at the Masters must have seemed a welcome relief.”
  • “Woods wasn’t alone in entering the final round with self-belief, but confidence is a perishable asset that can spoil during a long walk in the Georgia heat. Francesco Molinari faced down Woods at Carnoustie last year to win the British Open. In Augusta, the Italian carried himself with a papal serenity until he reached the National’s Sistine Chapel – the short 12th hole – where his lead was lost in Rae’s Creek.”
4. A decade in the dark
…shorthand for the abyss in which Tiger Woods was lost and the certainty of all that his career was over ultimately fail…
Our Gianni Magliocco…
  • “For Woods to come through all of that, and to win his fifteenth major at Augusta National, is an extraordinary achievement. His self-belief over a decade where he almost entirely lurked in the dark is difficult to fathom. What Woods has now earned through his victory at the 2019 Masters, is almost complete immunity from the doubters and naysayers. He has re-written his storyline in the tale that is life.”
  • “Books that were published and documentaries aired covering the rise and fall of the 15-time major champion are now out of date. Woods has assured that his legacy will forever remain and be viewed in a positive light following his victory at the Masters.”
  • “The hunt for Jack’s record has intensified and considering Woods continued to believe through a decade of hard knocks that he could reach 18 major victories before he retires, then his confidence of doing so now must be at staggeringly high levels.”
  • “If there’s a lesson to be learned over the last 10 years of his career, it’s that you should never rule out Tiger Woods in any way. Woods has never doubted himself, or at least, he never doubted what he could do if he got healthy, and that’s why, after possibly the most tumultuous decade any sportsman has ever experienced, he rose once again on golf’s grandest stage to don the green jacket.”
5. Erin Hills returneth
…as pro Todd Bailey tweeted, “I just heard “Breaking News” and “Erin Hills will be hosting” and my gag reflex almost took over my life”…
Golf Digest’s Keeley Levins with the news…
  • “On Tuesday, the USGA announced that it has named the public facility the site of the 2025 U.S. Women’s Open. The event will be held from May 29-June 1. In addition to the U.S. Women’s Open, the governing body announced the 2022 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship will be held there as well.”
  • “We are thrilled to return to Erin Hills, and to bring the U.S. Women’s Open and U.S. Mid-Amateur to such a memorable and deserving course,” said Mike Davis, CEO of the USGA, in the USGA’s press release. “To bring these championships to a public facility all golfers can enjoy is especially exciting for us. The USGA has a great relationship with the facility, and Erin Hills has proven to be one of the premier golf venues in the nation as well as an excellent test.”
6. A dream realized
…for golf media folk, it’s the equivalent of a Masters invite…well, it is an invitation to play Augusta National…
Joel Beall of Golf Digest was among the media lottery winners this year, and he reflected on the experience of the Monday-after-the-Masters round at the Masters…
  • “A lucky few media members are chosen each year to play the course the day after the tournament. It’s called the lottery, a name that could not be more on point, for its winners have hit the jackpot.”
  • “That’s how I felt Monday morning, driving down Magnolia Lane to receive the golden ticket. I was assigned a spot in the Champions Locker Room, which was regally spartan and wafted in nostalgia. The practice facility was dotted with fellow gold-ticket holders brandishing the same “Can you believe this?” grin. My warm-up was J.B. Holmes-like slow, partially trying to manage a back issue, but mostly because I wanted to savor every second of the experience.”
  • “Ten minutes before my tee time, we walked through a clubhouse corridor out to the first tee. Standing by the big oak, I marveled at the duality of the panorama: where tens of thousands of patrons had once been shouting Tiger’s name was now just a golf course. For a second you wondered if Sunday really happened; luckily the 18th scoreboard nodded back, still littered with names and numbers.”
7. Better than Jack in ’86?
…I’ll take “inevitable sports discussions for $1,000,” Alex…
Paul Daugherty of the Cincinnati Enquirer, syndicated in Golfweek, does a pro/con analysis…
  • “Pros: Tiger beat a better field. Nicklaus dueled Greg Norman and Tom Kite. The former was a choker at Augusta. The latter was a blue-collar plugger who wouldn’t win a major until the U.S. Open six years later. Woods held back much of the world top 20.”
  • “Tiger had eight surgeries, four on his back. Two years ago, he could barely walk.”
  • “Tiger had to rebuild his life and his career, in that order.”
  • “Cons: Nicklaus was 46, three years older than Tiger. Medicine wasn’t as advanced back then. Forty-six is still old to win a major, but not as old as it was in ’86.”
8. How big can off-course golf get?
…it ain’t the way Old Tom played, but it’s hard to argue against Top Golf, etc, but what’s the ceiling?…
Adam Stanley examines the question in the National Golf Foundation’s “Q”…
  • “The participation base for off-course forms of golf increased almost 10% in 2018 to an estimated 23 million people. The year before, the off-course participation number increased 7% to 21.2 million. With its upward trajectory, almost as many people now participate off-course as play traditional, green-grass golf (24.2 million).”
  • “Topgolf is the next-generation driving range, combining golf with food, drink, music and games to create a sports bar-like atmosphere.”
  • “So, how much runway is there for these off-course facilities?”
  • “That remains to be seen, says ClubCorp CEO David Pillsbury, who announced a joint venture with BigShots Golf in December. BigShots is another entrant in the golf-entertainment space, offering free-standing outdoor franchises along with an indoor franchise product that can be installed as a single “tee box” or as multiple units in bars, malls and other retail venues. Like Topgolf, it provides new-age technology (Doppler radar shot-tracking) along with full-service food and beverage options, sports bars, music and televisions, and private event space.”
  • “I don’t think that anybody really knows yet what the demographic formula is that correlates to a saturation point,” says Pillsbury. “We’re going to find out here over the next few years what that looks like. Having said that, I think there’s plenty of room. As long as it’s fun, it’s entertainment, it’s fast, casual dining and an entertainment environment… it’s good for the game.”
9. What next, Fred?
…what will the ANGC chairman do with the course now that the 2019 Masters has wrapped?…
Geoff Shackelford examines the question…
  • “The numbers from the two back-nine par 5s most likely will not sit as well in Augusta. While both holes created moments of drama, the former icons of risk and reward now rely on the golf architectural equivalents of smoke and mirrors to retain traces of danger. At the 13th, the field recorded 17 eagles and averaged an all-time low of 4.474 in scoring since the hole was lengthened in 2002 or any year before that. Players had created a muddy, worn area on the tee by Sunday, all teeing up in the same right-side post due to a conspicuous overhanging limb. Tied at the time, Woods and Francesco Molinari had 161 and 180 yards left, respectively, for their approaches.”
  • “The momentous decision Ridley longs to restore was not part of the equation.”
  • “The par-5 15th, which appeared wider this year due to lost limbs on a once meddlesome left-hand pine, was lengthened in 2006 and yet has never played easier than it did in 2019, with its 4.532 average and 15 eagles.”
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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2024 PGA Championship

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5 hours ago

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May 14, 2024

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GolfWRX is on site this week at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, for the PGA Championship.

While we see fewer equipment changes and new gear seeding at major championships, we get a look at custom gear and looks into the bags of players we rarely see, which is just as exciting. In the case of the PGA Championship, this means a look at the gear some of the PGA Professionals who qualified for the tournament will be gaming, and LIV players, such as Jon Rahm and Patrick Reed.

Check out links to all our albums from Valhalla below and check back throughout the week as we continue to update.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

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Morning 9: Is it Rory’s time? | Stricker WDs | Why Valhalla is a great major venue

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7 hours ago

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May 14, 2024

By
By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

Good Tuesday morning, golf fans, as we gear up for the PGA Championship from iconic Valhalla.

1. Is now the time Rory finally ends major drought?

BBC’s Iain Carter…”But given the imperious form he showed in Charlotte last week, perhaps this is the PGA Championship to rekindle the ruthless streak of old. And not just because he is back at Valhalla (the Nordic word for the hall of the fallen).”

  • “It also became clear last week that McIlroy is somewhat persona non grata to the PGA Tour’s Policy Board. His views on a global future for this damagingly split sport do not seem to chime with the American dominated body.”
  • “His offer to return to the board from which he resigned earlier this year was rejected and he has been left as a mere non-voting member of the “transaction committee” dealing with a potential deal with Saudi Arabia.”
  • “McIlroy insists there are “no hard feelings” but there should be.”
  • “No player has worked harder for their sport during this period of unprecedented tumult and the board has rejected someone many people regard as the game’s most articulate and enlightened international voice.”
  • “Now is, surely, the time for McIlroy to feel slighted and respond with his clubs. Play as though he has a chip on his shoulder, but in the knowledge that he is generationally the most consistent golfing force out there.”
Full piece.

2. Scheffler in for PGA Champ after birth of child

Jaclyn Hendricks for PGATour.com…”Scottie Scheffler and wife Meredith’s bundle of joy has arrived.”

  • “The couple welcomed their first child, just weeks after Scheffler claimed his second Masters victory in three years.”
  • “Sports Illustrated’s Bob Harig tweeted Saturday that the baby was born and Scheffler will play in this week’s PGA Championship — the second major of the season.”
  • “There’s been nothing official from Scottie Scheffler, his team or the Tour… But word is he will be at Valhalla for the PGA next week after winning four of his last five tournaments, including the Masters. He is currently on the Tuesday interview schedule for 3:30 p.m. #babyborn,” Harig wrote over the weekend.”
Full piece.

3. “Erik van Rooyen, friends and family live in honor of ‘Trazzy’”

  • That’s the headline of Ryan Lavner’s superb piece on Erik van Rooyen and his departed best friend Jon Trasmar. An excerpt would be an injustice. Go read it!
Full piece.

4. Stricker out of PGA citing fatigue

AP report…”Steve Stricker decided Sunday to withdraw from the PGA Championship at Valhalla, citing the difficulty of playing four times in a span of five weeks.”

  • “Stricker, 57, was eligible by winning the Senior PGA Championship last year. He, John Daly and Phil Mickelson are the only players to have competed at Valhalla each of the previous three times the PGA Championship was held there.”
Full piece.

5. Why Valhalla is a great venue for major championships

Garrett Morrison for The Fried Egg…”But before we start slinging mud (of which there will be plenty in Kentucky this week), let’s pause to think about why Valhalla tends to generate close final-round battles featuring elite players. It’s not magic: the course has long par 3s and 4s, narrow fairways, and smallish greens surrounded by rough and bunkers. This style of design and setup, which practically defines the PGA Championship’s modern brand, gives an outsize advantage to a skill that many star players share: power. Length off the tee and the ability to muscle the ball out of rough to a well-protected green will be near-prerequisites for contending at this week’s PGA Championship. If Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm, and Bryson DeChambeau show up with any kind of short-game and putting form, they will be in the mix on Sunday. And the presence of such A-listers on the leaderboard will further burnish Valhalla’s reputation as a serious venue.“

  • “It does not follow, however, that Valhalla is a great golf course. In fact, I find it a fairly mediocre and bland one. Very few holes offer multiple options of the tee (the exceptions being the short par-4 fourth and the double-fairway par-5 seventh), most of the greens lack memorable contouring, and the recovery shots from around the fairways and greens are one-dimensional and repetitive. So even if Sunday turns out to be a barn-burner, the first three rounds, when the focus will be on the course and the shots demanded, will probably be sleepier, aside from the inevitable Blockie walk-and-talk.”
Full piece.

6. Dunne resigns from policy board

Mark Schlabach for ESPN…”Jimmy Dunne, who last year helped negotiate the PGA Tour’s controversial framework agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, resigned from the tour’s policy board on Monday.”

  • “In Dunne’s resignation letter, a copy of which was obtained by ESPN, Dunne wrote that “no meaningful progress has been made towards a transaction with PIF” and that “my vote and my role is utterly superfluous” now that player directors outnumber independent directors on the policy board. Dunne’s resignation was effective immediately.”
  • “It is crucial for the Board to avoid letting yesterday’s differences interfere with today’s decisions, especially when they influence future opportunities for the tour,” Dunne wrote. “Unifying professional golf is paramount to restoring fan interest and repairing wounds left from a fractured game. I have tried my best to move all minds in that direction.”
  • “Along with PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, Dunne and policy board chairman Ed Herlihy secretly negotiated the framework agreement with the PIF, which is financing the rival LIV Golf League. Monahan and PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan announced the deal on June 6. Most PGA Tour players — including some player directors — were unaware of the deal until it was announced on TV.”
Full piece.
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Tour Rundown: Rose blooms, Rory rolls

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1 day ago

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May 13, 2024

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This week last year, I found myself praying to the weather goddesses and gods that Rochester would be spared their wrath over the next seven days. The 2023 Oak Hill PGA Championship (that was slated for August when the contract was signed) was on the horizon, and I wanted my region to show well. Things turned out fine, with all four seasons making an appearance, a PGA Professional (Blockie!) stealing hearts, and a proven champion in Koepka (although I was pulling for Viktor.)

This year, no concerns. Louisville will shine this week at Valhalla, but we’ve matters to consider before we look to four days of coverage this week. Nelly did not win on the LPGA this week, so who did? The PGA Tour held two events in the Carolinas, and Tour Champions celebrated a major event in Alabama. Four noteworthy events to run down, so let’s head to RunDownTown and take care of business.

LPGA @ Founders Cup: Rose blooms

There was a sense that Rose Zhang might have a role in the 2020s version of the LPGA. After winning everything there was in amateur golf, she came out and won her first tournament as a professional. That was last May and, let’s be honest, who among us thought it would take 12 months for Zhang to win again? Rhymes with hero, I know.

This week in New Jersey, eyes were on Nelly Korda, as she made a run at a sixth consecutive win on the LPGA circuit. Korda ran out of gas on Saturday, and that was just fine. Madelene Sagstrom and Zhang had turned the soiree at Upper Montclair into a battle of birdies. Gabriela Ruffels came third at nine-under par. No one else reached double digits under par but Sagstrom and Zhang. They didn’t just reach -10…they more than doubled it.

Sagstrom had the look of a winner with five holes left to play. She was three shots clear of Zhang, at 23-under par. The Swede played her closing quintet in plus-one, finishing at 22-deep, 13 shots ahead of Ruffels. That performance we’d anticipated from Zhang? It happened on Sunday. She closed with four birdies in five holes to snatch victory number two, by two shots. Spring is a lovely time for a Rose in bloom.

PGA Tour @ Wells Fargo: Rory the Fourth is crowned in Charlotte

Xander Schauffele is a likable lad. He has an Olympic gold medal on his shelf, and a few PGA Tour titles to his credit. Even X knows that even par won’t get much done in a final round unless conditions are brutal. They weren’t brutal at Quail Hollow on Sunday. X posted even par on day four. It kept him ahead of third-place finisher Byeong Hun An but gave him zero chance of challenging for the title.

Paired with Xander in round four was the King of Quail, Rory McIlroy. The Northern Irishman had previously won thrice at the North Carolina track, and he was champing at the bit to gain some momentum on the road to Louisville. While Xander scored increasingly worse along the week (64-67-70-71) McIlroy saved his best round for the final round. Thanks to five birdies and two eagles, McIlroy ran away with the event, winning his fourth Wells Fargo by five over Schauffele.

PGA Tour @ Myrtle Beach Classic: a little CG won the inaugural week

It always seemed odd that the PGA Tour had zero stops along the Grand Strand each season. This week’s event seemed odd in that the golfers played the same course each day, and there were zero handicaps involved. Most events at Myrtle Beach involve hundreds of amateurs at dozens of courses, with all sorts of handicaps.

The Dunes Club is a Robert Trent Jones Sr. course, down toward Pawley’s Island. It claims what used to be considered an unreachable, par-five hole, the watery 13th. Nothing is unreachable any longer, including a 22-under par total for a six-shot win. Chris Gotterup, a former Rutgers and Oklahoma golfer, played sizzling golf all week and won by a sextet of shots. Gotterup opened with 66, then improved to 64 on Friday. His Saturday 65 sounded a beacon of “come get me,” and his closing 67 ensured that second place was the only thing up for grabs.

Chasing the podium’s second level were a bunch of young Americans. In the end, Alastair Docherty and Davis Thompson reached 16-deep, thanks to rounds of 64 and 68 on Sunday. They held off six golfers at 15-under par. The victory was Gotterup’s first on tour and should be enough to get him a Wikipedia page, among other plaudits.

PGA Tour Champions @ Regions Traditions: Vindication for Dougie

Doug Barron, if I recall correctly, was suspended by the Powers That Be, way back in 2009, for testosterone. He was naturally low in the hormone, so he took supplements. This did not sit well with certain admins, so he was put on the shelf for 18 months. Not cool.

In 2019, Barron came out on the Tour Champions. He won in August. The next year, despite the craziness of Covid, he won again.  Barron hit a dry spell for a few years. He kept his card, but accrued no additional victories. In late April, Barron showed serious signs of life, with a t2 at Mitsubishi. This week in Birmingham, he jumped out to a lead, lost it, then gained it back on Saturday. With major championship glory on the line, Barron brought the train into the station with 68 on Sunday.

Stephen Alker, the man who could not lose just two years ago, gave serious chase with a closing 63. He moved up 11 slots, into solo 2nd on Sunday. He finished two shots back of the champion. Two shots ain’t much. Cough once and you drop a pair. Third place saw a three-way tie, including last year’s winner (Steve Stricker) and runner-up (Ernie Els.) Despite the intimidating presence of the game’s greats, however, Doug Barron had more than enough of everything this week, and he has a third Tour Champions title to show off.

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