19th Hole

Former World No. 1 claims ‘unfair’ golf rules make sport more interesting

Published

2 years ago

May 2, 2022

It’s been a controversial ruling for a while and every so often, it raises its head in professional tournaments — Marc Leishman (2015 Open Championship) and Paul Casey (2022 Players Championship) — but what is the answer to: “Should golfers get relief from fairway divots?”

Related: ‘What a coward you are’ – Lee Westwood slams journalist who ridiculed him amid Saudi links

Golf Monthly revisited the long-asked question recently and it promoted a response from current world number 57, Lee Westwood.

The 44-time professional winner was certain in his answer:

No. If you want to play a game that’s fair, don’t chose golf. The variables make it interesting.

— Lee Westwood (@WestwoodLee) April 23, 2022

@S192RFC was one of the first to bring up the difference between bad luck and poor play, posting:

“Interesting. There’s variables and bad breaks etc. And then there is hitting a drive down the middle of the fairway and ending up in a divot.”

Westwood replied:

“But when you top one and it runs through a bunker and onto the green do you say ‘that was a lucky break, I’ll play that one again because that shot didn’t deserve that result?”

Comments ranged from the ‘absolutely, yes’…..

“A divot is not natural, it is man-made. And therefore you should get relief from it, just like ground under repair. If someone vandalized the course and you ended up in a bad lie as a result, you would certainly get relief. IMHO this is equivalent.” (Michael Magnuson)

to:

“Definitely not. Impossible to define exactly what a “divot” is so unworkable. People will be dropping from any little thing” (David Bavin)

Back to Casey, and tweeter Carl Lewis asked:

“Quite surprising and interesting to hear a pros view Westy, understand and love the harsh variables like undulations and weather bring but surely a divot in the middle of the fairway just penalises unnecessarily? Remembering Paul Casey a few months ago it cost him the tournament.”

The two-time PGA winner was not to be moved, replying:

“Tough You get bad breaks and you get good ones. You know that the princess doesn’t always get rescued by the handsome Prince. Sometimes the witch kills her!”

Westwood’s exchanges were light-hearted in the main, and when one respondent, Terry Burns, had read enough, he told Westy: “P**s off Lee, your only saying that because your half decent. I’m duffing the life out of them.”

The reply? “At least you have an excuse.”

Butch Harmon reveals what he worked on with Rory McIlroy during visit earlier this year

Published

2 days ago

May 16, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

While speaking on the “Son of a Butch” Podcast, legendary swing coach Butch Harmon revealed what he worked on with Rory McIlroy when the four-time major champion went to visit him after the Players Championship this season.

Butch Harmon on what he worked on with Rory:

“The work I did with him wasn’t a tremendous amount of changing what he did, it was his attitude and the way he played certain shots. From 150 yards and in he made a full swing like he was hitting a driver and I wanted him to make…

— Matt Vincenzi (@MattVincenziPGA) May 15, 2024

“The work I did with him wasn’t a tremendous amount of changing what he did, it was his attitude and the way he played certain shots. From 150 yards and in he made a full swing like he was hitting a driver and I wanted him to make more 3 quarter swings and chop the follow through off a little. He’s a very high ball hitter, but with short irons high balls aren’t good, it’s hard to control, we wanted to bring the ball flight down.”

The work certainly seemed to help McIlroy, as he went on to win the Zurich Classic alongside Shane Lowry and the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow in back-to-back starts.

Rory will now tee it up at Valhalla for the PGA Championship, which is the site of his most recent major victory in 2014.

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19th Hole

Brandel Chamblee says this technological development was key to Phil Mickelson winning major championships

Published

2 days ago

May 16, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

While speaking with GolfWRX, Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee shared that he believes the solid core golf ball helped Phil Mickelson win major championships.

“One of the consequences of the solid core golf ball coming around was it put the straightest of hitters in the rough.

“Phil started winning majors in 2004, I don’t think that’s any coincidence. I think he started winning majors after the solid core golf ball came along and put everybody in the rough.

“And so [Phil] is like ‘I got you in the rough, I’m going to kick your a**. This is my game. I’ve been in the rough my whole career. I can go over trees, through trees, around trees.’

“Because he’s got that amazing creativity and Phil is an underrated iron player, phenomenal iron player. Great, great great out of the trouble. If you put the top-40 players on a list and ranked them in terms of accuracy, he would be 40th.

“So, I think that was one of the consequences of the solid core golf balls was it allowed Phil to win major championships.”

Mickelson went on to win the Masters in 2004 as well as five additional majors from 2004-2021 including three total Masters, two PGA Championships, and an Open Championship.

Check out the full interview with Chamblee below:

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Former Augusta National employee pleads guilty to transporting stolen Masters memorabilia; Arnold Palmer’s green jacket among stolen items

Published

2 days ago

May 16, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

According to a report from the Chicago Tribune, a man was charged in Chicago with stealing millions of dollars’ worth of memorabilia from Augusta National last month.

The man, Robert Globensky, was charged with transporting the memorabilia across state lines.

The report states that between 2009 and 2022, Globensky allegedly transported “millions of dollars’ worth of Masters golf tournament merchandise and historical memorabilia” from Augusta National “and transported to Tampa, Florida, knowing the same had been stolen, converted and taken by fraud.”

The document was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Since then, more details have emerged about the case.

According to Darren Rovell of Cllct, one of the items that was stolen was Arnold Palmer’s green jacket.

The Chicago Tribune also reported that Globensky was able to steal the merchandise due to his role as a former warehouse coordinator at Augusta National who oversaw the Masters merchandise that was sold.

Rovell states that “A source with intimate knowledge of the case said an Augusta National member, who knew the jacket was missing, contacted a well-known collector who had gained a reputation for tracking down rare items. The member’s goal was to return the jacket to Augusta under the guise of purchasing it in a private sale.”

The plan worked, and the man agreed to sell the jacket for an agreed upon price of $3.6 million. After the sale was complete, the FBI swarmed the house of the thief.

Cllct also reported that Globensky pled guilty in a federal court in Chicago on Wednesday and now faces up to 10 years in prison.

The Chicago Tribune adds that Globensky’s plea deal includes an agreement to provide the government a cashier’s check for $1.5 million in the next few days.