Scrooge! Ernie Els (Unwittingly) Puts Golf Writers To Work On Christmas!

As you've probably noticed by the lack of posting here, some golf writers simply refuse to work around the Christmas holidays. For a few unsuspecting writers and even Masters Chairman Fred Ridley, a simple, not particularly shrewd Tweet by Ernie Els put many to work on Christmas.

Combine this with Tiger dumping some coaching news on Friday, an apparent Jordan Spieth engagement still not confirmed, and the golf writer Cranky Meter is bursting with...holiday joy!

As Kevin Casey (Merry Christmas Kevin!) explains for Golfweek, Els' brief Tweet about a Christmas Eve gift from The Masters suggested a tournament invite, which Els' management firm confirmed to Golfweek.

Various media outlets picked up the story, which would have been a significant and unusual Masters invitation for the 48-year-old Els, who is ranked outside the world top 500.

But the various outlets soon printed updates after AP's Doug Ferguson (Merry Christmas Doug!) penned a piece clarifying that Els actually just received an Honorary Invitee invitation from Chairman Fred Ridley. Who, incidentally had to weigh in with a quote (Merry Christmas Fred!), no doubt crafted with assistance from Masters media man Steve Ethun (Merry Christmas Steve!).

“The inclusion of Honorary Invitees has been a great tradition at the Masters Tournament for many years,” Ridley said, per the Associated Press. “This coming year the list includes Ernie Els, and we are once again excited to welcome him and all of these distinguished guests to Augusta National in April.”

Els Tweeted a clarification the day after Christmas. Tis the season for almost-news!

Wanted to clarify my excitement getting an invite from @TheMasters. Work continues to qualify to compete!

— Ernie Els (@TheBig_Easy) December 26, 2017

Brandel On Distance Cap: "Who is going to pay retribution to the manufacturers whose products will be rescinded?"

Golf Channel's Brandel Chamblee correctly lamented this year how TPC Sawgrass is now superstar proof because it offers so few chances to hit driver, and five years ago he was pro-bifurcation because the game the cost, length of rounds and other effects were serving no positive purpose.

But that stance was five years ago. Now he's criticizing those who shared his old viewpoints and sounds more concerned with any setting of limits on companies and equipment even though we have limits in place currently.

There have already been more than a few players talk about rolling the ball back, which when one looks a little deeper smacks of the same type of player-sponsor tandem that sought to have square grooves – i.e. Ping’s irons, which were threatening a huge market share at the time – deemed illegal on the PGA Tour a few decades ago. And, of course, there are more than a few “ancient idolaters” who’d like to see wood and balata come back for no other reason than they think the courses of Tillinghast, Thomas, MacKenzie, Raynor, Ross, Crump, and Wilson should be restored to all their majesty.

That's a disappointing and very 2002 characterization of the restoration movement or of those who just want to see the courses play somewhat as they were designed to be played.

When I hear people scream, “Roll the ball back!” I first think, Why the ball and not the rebounding and forgiving metal woods? Why the ball and not the longer lighter shafts? And then I think, At what cost? Who is going to pay retribution to the manufactures[SP] whose products will be rescinded? Who will pay for the lawsuits? Who is going to tell all of those amateurs who have been having a blast hitting the ball farther than they ever have, no more smash?

The pro-bifurcation people, like Brandel Chamblee who made the case very eloquently!

And then I think, that since this really is a problem that affects very few people in the world, namely those who can swing a golf club 120 mph with a fairly high degree of accuracy and who can putt on greens that stimp at 14, wouldn’t it be a whole lot easier and far cheaper to carve out a few teeing grounds here and there on only a select championship courses, slow the courses down with mowing patterns or the height of grasses, and everyone will be happy with the smallest of cost and inconvenience.

Players got slightly longer fairways at Merion 2013 and they're still complaining about the setup!

Still, I'm all for adding new tees as along as the bills are sent to the PGA Tour and paid for by the player pension!

After all, the parameters for the ball and driver have been set in stone, so to speak, for more than a few years now and any improvements in distance and score going forward, for maybe the first time in history, can rightly be attributed to the athlete and not the equipment.

So if things are maxed out on the equipment front, and the room for innovation is gone for pros, then what's the harm in a few tweaks to avoid sending new tee bills to the PGA Tour player pension?

This all said, Chamblee has backed off his recent Twitter assertion that building a few 8,500 yard tournament courses would do the trick. Here's guessing he did the math on that costly experiment.

A December Tradition Too Much Like Every Other Year: The Top 50 OWGR Game

There are many clubs in golf worth fighting to join, but none as lucrative as Official World Golf Ranking End Of Season Top 50 National CC.

If it were a piece of architecture I'm fairly certainly it'd be a Tom Fazio course heralded as Golf Digest's Best New Private and, six years later, Golf Digest's Best New Remodel.

Here we are again watching players and their agents crunching the OWGR numbers to determine if  how they get finish in the world top 50 and its $350k or so of guaranteed money and opportunities for easy ranking points. Oh, and there's a Masters berth on the line, too.

What people will do to join this elite club!

We had that sensitive flower Brandt Snedeker trekking to Indonesia last week, only to have his top 50 bid succumb to heat exhaustion during second round play.

This week world No. 51 Kiradech Aphibarnrat withdrew from the event I know you have all had circled on your calendar, the Boonchu Ruangkit Championship, where his lower back sent signals to Kiradech's brain suggesting he'd be better off not playing.

Golfweek's Kevin Casey takes it from there:

Aphibarnrat is currently No. 51 in the Official World Golf Ranking and would finish No. 49 by year’s end by not playing in anymore 2017 events – with the top 50 in the world at the end of 2017 earning Masters invites for the following April.

What would happen, though, if Aphibarnrat did play this week, in the final tournament offering OWGR points in 2017?

Well, he would need a top-12 finish … or else he would fall out of the top 50 and lose his guaranteed Masters spot!

This annual manipulation of the algorithms could easily come to an end if the golf world stopped exempting the world top 50 at season's end. Such a move, however, makes way too much sense.

Another Christmas Gift You Won't Get: 20% Off Canoos You Can Wear On And Off The Course

The biggest golf style revelation of 2017 for me? Shoes you can wear for more than golf.

While the PGA Tour players essentially wear white shoes all the time, you know, just in case Pat Boone invites them to a post-round cocktail reception, golf companies have been working on getting us all better looking (and functioning) shoes. So while the flatbellies keep wearing those white shoes and belts, the rest of us have some incredible options.

"Street" shoes by multiple brands from Footjoy and Ecco are now commonplace and mostly excellent, but two shoes emerged in 2017 are now my go-to choices for golf. You already know how I feel about the Feel Player shoes from Seamus, which also make incredible hiking shoes off the course. And I was also astounded how well they functioned on a wet day at Prestwick.

Then there are Canoos.

A weaker man might have been haunted by showing up to play golf with my podcast co-host in matching Tillinger shirts and white pants, but my confidence remained strong thanks to a new pair of Canoos Canvas golf shoes. I ordered a pair after spotting Team USA showing off their special Americana editions at the Walker Cup (and now available for order).

Aiding my overall confidence?

The shoes provided plenty of support even for this off-balance golf-swinging soul. I've since come to love them since, ordered a second pair and dropped a note to Will Bacas at Canoos about some incentive to get more folks wearing them.

FYI, I'm getting no cut of sales, but instead, hoping to spread the gospel of Canoos since they can be worn on and off the course, THE number one prerequisite for all golf fashion. Plus, there's almost no chance any of your loved ones would be buying these as a Christmas gift.

While some nice season-ending Canoos discounts just ended, the fine folks there are offering a year-end 20% off discount for all men, women and children using the code SHACK at checkout.

So support another of golf's many fine niche companies making some great product at a reasonable price given the quality and style factor. Check 'em out here.

Father-Son Ratings: Maybe We Kind Of Miss The Silly Season?

Yes, golfing royalty was in attendance and there is undoubtedly something special about the PNC Father-Son, but the final audience size for NBC's weekend coverage triples or quadruples most fall PGA Tour events on Golf Channel.

VIEWERSHIP: Weekend coverage @PNCFatherSon on @NBC posted
most-watched telecasts at this event in 10+ years. Sat. Day 1 cvge saw 1.080 million viewers (.73 US HH rtg), most-watched since 2006. Sun. Day 2 cvge saw 1.026 million viewers (.70 US HH rtg), most-watched since 2007. pic.twitter.com/mkASmqMVgu

— Golf Channel PR (@GolfChannelPR) December 20, 2017

Given the demise of Skins and other silly season events, maybe there is just a thirst for some non-stroke play viewing in December?

The Year In (Golf) Controversy: 2017 Edition

By world standards, our golf controversies look oh-so-minor even in a too-soon sensitive world. Turns out, 2017 was a busy year for rules imbroglios, brouhahas and overall questionable behavior.

Bloggers rejoice!

Dan Kilbridge at Golfweek.com runs down the top 10, reminding us of a few you might have already tried to block out (Lexi) and a couple that are still troubling (Rahm).

Pod: 2017 Year in Golf Recap In Shane Bacon's Clubhouse

I thorougly enjoyed doing a 2017 Year in Golf recap with Shane Bacon The Clubhouse podcast.

You can listen to episode 88 here or wherever fine podcasts are streamed, subscribed to or downloaded.

"My Year In Golf: Getting up close and personal at British, elsewhere made memories"

As we soak up the season-reviews and various reflections on 2017, it's shaped up as a really strong year in our sport. When Sergio Garcia finally winning a major is practically forgotten, you know we saw some pretty great golf in the months following The Masters.

I was struck by a few events and how much the intimacy of the fan experience played a role in my memories. We need more golf tournaments where fans can get closer to the action, not pushed back as they were at the U.S. Open and elsewhere.

So if you'll indulge, my 2017 memories as penned for Golfweek.com.

Merry Christmas! A Less Than Subtle Reminder To Tip Your Local Assistant Pro

I haven't a clue how legit this is nor do I care. If nothing else, this is a nice reminder to club members across the land who gave sparingly to the club Christmas fund to think twice. Especially now that the billionaires reading this will see some juicy tax cuts in 2018!

Members: An open letter. pic.twitter.com/yLQTlLBpht

— Club Pro Guy (@ClubProGuy) December 19, 2017

Not As Painful As You'd Might Think: 2017 In Golf Social Media

Wading through the year in social media is no small (or necessarily fun) task, particularly given how many postings don't age well.

Mercifully for us, Golfweek's Kevin Casey takes on the task and only subjects us to one Discover Land Championship Presented by Casamigos embed. 

Obviously some posts were marketing driven or designed to go viral, particularly those from the European Tour. But it's also fascinating how many broke news. I can't say that's a good or bad trend given that players gave us in the media something to work with.

"Most tour pros seem quite happy to live in ignorance even though their livelihoods depend on the 34 rules"

Alistair Tait of Golfweek joins Bamberger and Herrington expressing concern that the latest effort to stop viewer call-ins will not repair professional golf's run-ins with the rules.

Tait views the player as largely to blame and has little faith they will begin learning the rules even post-2019 simplification.

Tour pros will spend eight hours a day working on all aspects of their game yet can’t find 10 minutes to read the rules. It’s not as if they don’t have enough down time on flights, in courtesy cars and in hotel rooms. As European Tour chief referee John Paramor once said, even 10 minutes a day learning the Definitions would go a long way toward increasing their knowledge and stopping violations.

Imagine a banker who didn’t know the banking code? A lawyer who didn’t know the law? Yet most tour pros seem quite happy to live in ignorance even though their livelihoods depend on the 34 rules that govern the game.

The European Tour once set up regular rules seminars to teach players. The tour had to cancel them because players weren’t turning up.

Coul Links Co-Developer: "How I discovered Trump is fueling anti-US feeling"

Links House proprietor and Coul Links co-developer Todd Warnock has presented a very sensitive plan for land near Royal Dornoch. He's also done some incredible things for the Dornoch community, where he now lives.

Those accomplishments include the refurbishment of Links House into arguably golf's best hotel, fighting to prevent closure of the Highland Council service point, co-authoring a wonderful book of writings by Dornoch’s John Sutherland and most noticeable of all, turning the deteriorating Dornoch Courthouse into home of four successful businesses employing over 30 people.

But the project, to be designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw and produced with developer Mike Keiser, continues to be met with strong resistance. Warnock, writing a guest piece for The Scotsman, makes the case that most Coul Links resistance is Donald Trump-related.

I should say that I have never worked with, supported or agreed with Trump. I could never give my backing to his policies or actions. Yet my partners and I find ourselves described as “peas in a pod” with Trump by a Scottish MSP, John Finnie. He has never met me, my partners or responded to my calls, yet he seems content to use Trump as a stick to tar me with, regardless of my actual beliefs.

I’ve also noticed this approach has been taken up at an organisational level. RSPB Scotland and SWT, for example, continue to focus on my nationality rather than the environmental facts of our strategy. They ignore the substantial environmentalist accomplishments of Mike Keiser and I while taking every opportunity to simply label us as “American millionaires”. In my view, they are endeavouring to whip up anti-American feeling – just go read some of the objections to our proposal on the Highland Council website. This is not unlike the way the Trump singles people out by their nationality or belittles their intentions. Similarly, the small group of locals self-named “Not Coul” try to paste the Trump scarlet letter upon us. A sensationalist video features Trump more than it does me or my partners.