Shock: LPGA Viewer Turns In Inkster For Violation; World Stunned To Learn LPGA Has Viewers

Seriously, another feather in the Rules of Golf fiasco plume...

Mike Tokito for The Oregonian explains how Juli Inkster should be in second place of the Safeway Classic, but was instead disqualified for an absurd rules breach once again missed by officials but picked up by one of the six people watching the telecast.

Instead, Inkster was disqualified for violating Rule 14-3 of the United States Golf Association's "Rules of Golf," which bars the use of practice devices during rounds. The USGA's "Decisions on the Rules of Golf" specifically addresses weighted headcovers and "donuts" used at make clubs heavier to help players get loose. Their use is barred during rounds.

Inkster used the donut while waiting to hit her tee shot on the par-5 10th hole, which had backed up as players waited in the fairway to attempt to hit the green in two shots. Inkster gave the Golf Channel an interview on the tee, then slid the donut on her 9-iron to get loose, and footage of her practice swings was show on the Golf Channel.

A viewer saw it and e-mailed tournament officials, who forwarded the e-mail to the LPGA rules staff.

"I had a 30-minute wait, and I needed to loosen up," Inkster, who quickly left the course and did not speak to reporters, told a member of the LPGA media relations staff. "It had no effect on my game whatsoever, but it is what it is. I'm very disappointed."

Hey, at least they let Inkster finish the round. If only Sarah Brown could have been so fortunate.

"The four biggest events in golf are too important to be compromised to the extent that last week was."

John Huggan makes two valid points with regard to the PGA, Whistling Straits and Dustin Johnson. The first:

Much has already been written about Johnson's culpability or otherwise during those farcical few minutes and, sadly, most has been childishly simplistic in its condemnation of the 26-year-old American. To say he got what he deserved - "rules are rules" - because he failed to read the local rules sheet handed out to every competitor is to miss the point by the widest of margins.

Let's say Johnson had read the sheet and familiarised himself with every intricacy and nuance of the "extra" rules in place over owner Herb Kohler's and architect Pete Dye's endlessly eccentric layout. What difference would that have made to what happened on the 18th? None whatsoever.

Think about it. Johnson's unfortunate and, it must be conceded, dopey mistake was not that he didn't know the rules; surrounded by spectators, he simply did not realise that his wayward drive had finished in a hazard. That much was obvious when he grounded his 4-iron behind the ball, it being safe to assume that someone playing golf at the highest level is aware that such a move is illegal.

And this regarding local rules and majors.

Anyway, the bottom line is this. If we assume that the presence of local rules represents an admission that something is amiss with a course - which they do - then Whistling Straits, in its present state, can surely have no place in major championship play. The four biggest events in golf are too important to be compromised to the extent that last week was. At one point Sky TV showed pictures of children building sand castles in what were, technically at least, bunkers. Before 2015, when the USPGA is due to return to rural Wisconsin, 90 per cent of them should either be filled in or deemed to be something other than hazards.

"They (the USGA) want to have data to present against emotional arguments."

Ryan Ballengee adds a few important details about the USGA's ball testing event in Canada and features quotes from an equipment company goon perspective.

"[The] USGA may have progressed on collecting data with short distance balls," the source said.  "[A] few years ago, OEMs were asked to provide balls with 20% less driver distance."

So, is there a desire to roll the ball back?

The source says the data collection may be done in the event that a ball rollback is eventually needed, but that it is not imminent because of the flattening of distance increases in the last three years.

The source added, "They (the USGA) want to have data to present against emotional arguments."

Actually, the manufacturers getting emotional on this topic clouded their judgment and has them now boxed in a corner with little wiggle room for club innovation. All to protect those little white balls that we'll always have to buy to play the game, no matter how far they fly.

“When the No. 1, most-recognized athlete isn’t playing, there’s a falloff, but it doesn’t mean the falloff translates into a proportional drop in the value we deliver to our partners.”

The Mirage set the first "value" reference over/under at 31 words for Ty Votaw's response to Richard Sandomir's look at sagging golf ratings. Took the over and you won easily.

“When Tiger plays or is in contention, he spikes ratings off a very healthy base,” said Ty Votaw, the PGA Tour’s executive vice president of communications. “When the No. 1, most-recognized athlete isn’t playing, there’s a falloff, but it doesn’t mean the falloff translates into a proportional drop in the value we deliver to our partners.”

Is there a VP of Value Delivery? If there isn't one, there should be. Maybe we can pay his salary with the money saved from those recent layoffs? Oh wait, that would take like 9 layoffs to get up to one EVP's income. Sorry...

But this is interesting was since I didn't know that golf equipment manufacturers account for so much of the the advertising. Here I thought it was the SPCA and The Villages.

He said that the PGA Tour and the networks would continue to benefit from a core of wealthy, well-educated “somewhat older” men who faithfully watch the tournaments and buy golf equipment. “A part of the ratings decline is the casual audience that came to watch Tiger and didn’t buy golf equipment anyway,” he said.
No sport likes to see its viewers leave even if their departure is temporary.

According to Nielsen, final-round viewership this season through Aug. 1 is down 16 percent.

Rules Of Golf Outrage Going Viral

I'm not sure if this speaks to a general disdain for the rules or maybe just the power of ESPN.com, but as happened during the last freakish golf story (Tiger and his women), an item about the Dustin Johnson violation has landed in my email box in three different chain email forwards in the last two days. The text does not include a byline, but unlike in the Tiger case, this one is real and it can't be spoofed because we know the incident was already teetering on the edge of farcical.

The column, which I found after a quick Google search, is by Rick Reilly. You may recall he once dabbled in sportswriting and now is a budding Sportscenter anchor!

The key component of his take, copied and pasted in the chain emails:

The reason you can't ground your club in a bunker is that you might (a) be able to move enough sand to improve your lie and (b) you might be able to "test the surface," i.e. figure out if there's a lot of sand under your ball, not much sand, soft sand, hard sand, rocks, etc. But when a bunker gets treated like a weedy bleacher, with thousands of people clomping through it, it's no longer a bunker, nor should it be played as one. It's not a bunker anymore, it's a dirt path.

Johnson in no way violated the spirit of the grounding-the-club rule. All he did was gingerly set his club behind the ball and swing. No advantage gained. Yes, he was stupid to violate the rule. But Whistling Straits was stupid to make it.

Let me ask you this: How was Johnson even supposed to know he was in a bunker? He's played golf most of his 26 years and never before has he come upon a bunker where a dozen people were standing in it with him. Has it ever happened to you? If Whistling Straits is so intent on playing a slab of trampled sand as a bunker, doesn't it owe it to the players to maintain it like one? Why didn't it have ropes around them if it was expecting players to have to play out of them with such tenderness?

Even the champion's caddy thought it was a joke. "It's a bit farcical," said Scotsman Craig Connelly, the caddy for Martin Kaymer. "You can't have bunkers that people are walking through and grass is growing out of. It is a pathetic ruling to say that was a bunker."

Golf is an ass sometimes.

Commenters, please spare me your Rick rants. I get it, you don't like him anymore because he makes too much money and maybe it's gone to his head a wee bit. Can we stick to the notion that outrage may not be subsiding as we near the one-week anniversary?

Talking (2010 Majors) With Rod Morri

Talkingolf.com's Rod Morri interviewed me this week about the 2010 majors and in particular, the architecture and setups we saw. It's a long one...you were warned. But Rod knows his stuff and asks some great questions.

There is also a version with media player embedded on the News And Reviews page.

Rod has also interviewed Tom Doak and Bill Coore.

"I believe technology from a distance perspective is now absolutely stable."

If you are looking for a little perspective on the USGA's stance on technology, there's no better place to look than Pat Jones' interview of architect Steve Smyers, chair of the USGA's Green Section committee.

What about the great courses that become obsolete as championship venues?

Well first, there are a lot of (classic) courses that people are convinced can’t be lengthened. They can. Merion is a perfect example.

Second, it amazes me that people blame everything that’s wrong with the game today on the golf ball and club technology. I don’t’ reject that’s been part of the problem, but there are other things that have changed us more. Number one, simply put, is the lawnmower. Maintenance technology and science has had a vastly bigger impact on the game and on courses than equipment. (PGA Tour player) Brandon Chambliss

Did he play first base for the Yankees? And a Bruin too! Go onnnnnn...

said not too long ago that old architecture and modern maintenance go together like oil and water. I agree. Finally, consider that driving distance on all tours worldwide has been stable since 2002. I believe technology from a distance perspective is now absolutely stable. The bigger unknown is a modern-day athlete. I have a 17-year old who’s really good. I see his talent level and think about elite players in the future and I marvel at where they might be 30 years ago. Tiger was the first who really trained…now they all do it.

When a lot of these great old courses were built in the ‘20s, the players had different statures. Even guys like Hogan were only 5’ 7” or so.

And he was such a short hitter!

The equipment then kind of dictated that smaller guys excelled. Our knowledge of the swing, the biomechanics and, of course, maintenance practices were totally different. Blaming all the golf world’s ills on clubs and balls is just silly.

Well, we can't blame improved maintenance!

Alright, give us the deal on grooves.

The new rule mainly says they can’t be used in most competitions beginning in 2014 but almost everyone can continue to use the old grooves until 2024. Here’s the thing: at a lower height of cut in the rough, everyone can find their ball better and most everyone will have an ability to hit it out. For an elite player, it offers the possibility for a flyer. It’s good for the average player, but they don’t put the club speed on it to have a flyer. The elite player does. The rule change is good for the whole spectrum of golfers.

Well perhaps a rule change on the ball would be good for the whole spectrum of golfers too? Open minds, people!

Feedback From USGA's Prototype Ball Testing Event

Lost in the PGA Championship hoopla was Monday's USGA-hosted competition for select Canadian Tour invitees to play modified balls as part of the organization's ongoing golf ball testing.

Prior to the competition, played August 16th at Greystone Golf Club in Milton, Ontario, the event was comprised of a small field organized by tour deputy Dan Halldorson, who you may recall, refused comment a few weeks back when it was revealed the USGA might be conducting tests in Ontario. The field of lucky rollback-ball testers played 18-holes with a small competition and purse featuring something in the neighborhood of $1500 for first place (reportedly it was a 67), coupled with an appearance fee in the $200-300 range.

Before the event, I called the USGA's Dick Rugge to find out more about the testing, but he kindly refused to even acknowledge whether it was taking place to protect the testing process. Naturally, I did not place a follow-up call to confirm the details below since many are subjective views and, well, how can one comment on an event that may or may not be taking place?

But thankfully, there's Facebook.

Your devoted blogger messaged as many players from the field as he could find on the social networking site to ask if they were invited to play in the event and if so, if they would talk about their experiences. But because the USGA had the players sign a non-disclosure agreement specifically mentioning the lowly media, I was (nicely) declined by several.

However, they did talk to their fellow players and friends! (And don't bother USGA, I did not Friend any of these poor souls just in case the Far Hills Police were inspired by their peers in Palo Alto).

Below is a summary based on two sources, with the each noted in describing what their friends experienced. One conversation was with a young Canadian Tour player who spoke to three peers that played in the event, including one present in his car as I interviewed the informant! 

The other source played golf with a tester this week, who offered several details which were shared with me in several exchanges. I know the second player's name, but in order for him to cash his check and not face a lifetime wondering if his U.S. Open entry will be intercepted by the USGA testing department, his name will be withheld. 

Miscellaneous anecdotes from the day:

• Testing began during the Clublink Jane Rogers Championship, with several Trackman and ShotLink-style devices set up to document play with today's equipment, followed by Monday's event with the shorter ball and further testing.

• The unmarked ball, described by both sources as having a shallow, odd dimple pattern with "a lot of flat surfacing," typically went about 20 yards shorter with the best hit drives.

• The ball did not spin much and flew unusually straight, as well as on a lower trajectory according to both sources. The younger Canadian Tour player whose friends also are under-25 types, said his buds described their experience as unenjoyable because the ball did not curve at all and played like a limited flight range ball. One of his peers also said the feel around the greens was "just awful."

• My other source, on the other hand, reported distinctly different views. An early 30's player of accomplishment, called the experience "unreal." He loved the shotmaking emphasis, the longer irons hit into greens, the overall emphasis on skill despite his misgivings about the straighter flight of the prototype. He also reported that his fellow playing partners were enthusiastic despite some concerns about the ball seemingly wiping away a distance advantage of one longer player in the group while not impacting others as much.

• The players who enjoyed their experience said their irons flew about one club shorter, which, combined with the distance off the tee lost, meant 2-3 clubs more into greens.He also reported loving shots around the green more and found that he could play all types of shots, both with backspin or of the bump-and-run variety.  "Way better, so fun," was the feedback.

• There was a tub of the balls for the players to chip and putt with prior to the round, closely guarded by an official. The player whose friend contacted me wanted to take some with him, but was told no by an official. Each group had an observer of some kind and this player was only allowed one ball at a time. However, the player in question snuck one out and a photograph may be forthcoming.

• One player reported that the ball was made by Bridgestone.

• Greystone was setup up exactly as it was in the Jane Rogers tournament. The Canadian Tour player who did not compete in the Monday event but played in the Rogers reported that the course is one of the toughest they play on the tour, with greens running 13 feet on the Stimpmeter and a cut this year of five over. He described the design as "very modern-looking" and thought it was an odd selection because of its architecture.

• The younger player who spoke to his peers said one reported that if he had to play such a ball he'd "probably quit golf."

• The friend of the older player who contacted me had the chance to hit a few putts with the ball and said it reminded me of the old Titleist Professional. His Canadian Tour player friend concurred. Though the player said the ball "sort of self corrected in flight," saying "it would start to curve one way and then kinda stop. We have often said the same thing about the Pro V."

• Both sources reported that their friends were repeatedly assured that a ball rollback would not happen anytime soon. The players were told in no uncertain terms that the USGA and R&A were happy with the ball where it is now and there are no plans whatsoever to change ball rules.
  
  
• The older player was said to be "pretty suspicious" of this stance because he thought the amount of effort that went into the testing suggested otherwise. His conclusion, which was shared in a survey of some form that I'm trying to learn more about, was that the idea was "great," that he had "a lot of fun," and while he felt it restored a premium on ball striking, he was not convinced this was the right short ball to use in any form of rollback scenario.

You can also read more player feedback from Ian Andrew here.

I'm going to sit on this for a few hours before I react, but I know you'll have comments!

Rory Commences Biennial Pre-Ryder Cup Competition To See Who Can Provide The Most Provocative Bulletin Board Material

Granted, he was just being honest. But maybe this is the spark Tiger needs to get his game going:

“I’m sure we’ll probably see him (Woods) in Wales,” said McIlroy.

“I would love to face him in the Ryder Cup.

“Unless his game rapidly improves in the next month or so, I think anyone in the European team would fancy his chances against him.

“There are a lot of Americans playing better than him at the minute, but it’s always an advantage to have Tiger in your team.

“I think Corey Pavin will pick him because I don’t think it would go down too well in the States if he wasn’t picked.”

"I chuckle at the thought of Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Byron Nelson or Bobby Jones having a swing coach. They would have killed him!"

Dan Jenkins sits down for a most enjoyable Q&A with Stephanie Wei for the WSJ online.

I've always kind laughed off Dan's take on the modern tour player. But oddly, this is the first time this seemed to ring true about a lot of players, particularly Americans and especially a week after I was struck by Matt Kuchar's theory on winning.

Mr. Jenkins: It's a different mindset with the young guys coming up. It used to be in my day, you couldn't shoot better than 65 because God wouldn't permit it. Now they can shoot 59 because of the equipment. Every putt is true, greens are good. They all get rich for doing nothing. You think about a guy like Matt Kuchar, who has won [millions] this year and hasn't won a tournament. I think there's something wrong with that. I think money is killing the incentive. I could go on and on about this. I just come from a school where you have to win something to be accepted.

On his all time top-5. You'll be shocked to know Tiger did not make the list:

Mr. Jenkins: Hogan's the best shot-maker and Jack is the best winner. You've got to put [Bobby] Jones in there. Then, Byron Nelson because of his record. I'd say Hogan, Jack, Jones, Nelson and Sam Snead are the five greatest players. Tiger doesn't make the top five. You have to have Arnold [Palmer] in there somewhere because he probably did more for golf in this country than anybody. He popularized it, he took it to the people. Tiger took it all away.

And on the art of Tweeting:

Mr. Jenkins: I need an electrician. [Laughter.] I still don't know how to do it myself. I talk, they type. I think Twitter is fun. You know why? Because you can say a lot of stuff you couldn't in the story. In a story, you have to have a theme and an angle, you have to have a beginning, middle and an end. You have to have a defining moment and kick it to death. You gotta be able to recognize that, by the way. It probably takes experience.

Atwal's 61 Positions Him For Run At Next Year's FedEx Cup

Is there any question that we have to root for Arjun Atwal to win this week's Wyndham Championship, not only because he's experienced his share of hard luck, but also because he's ineligible for this year's playoffs, even with a win. I might even tune in just to hear how television spins this one!

The loss of his card capped a series of events that began when he injured his shoulders last year while lifting weights. He received a minor medical extension, but when he came up short on the money list following the RBC Canadian Open, his card was history.

He isn’t eligible for the FedEx Cup playoffs that begin next week in New Jersey, not even if he wins. But he can claim his card for 2011 with a victory – either here or at a fall series tournament – or a climb up the money lists of the PGA or Nationwide tours.

Woods Commits To Barclays!

Heartwarming to see Tiger entering the event he's typically skipped (except to play lovely Liberty National) from the admittedly clogged portion of the schedule.

After The Barclays, only the top 100 are eligible for the second round, the Deutsche Bank Championship outside Boston, which ends on Labor Day. That will be the final event before U.S. Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin announces his four wild-card picks.