"The daily fee course can help us from a marketing perspective of the game."

Doug Ferguson poses the question of the PGA going to a true public course and gets the expected lip service from PGA of America officials, though I never would have expected the excuse. We're booked too far in advance!

The PGA Championship is booked through 2016, and this would be a good time to look at a public course anyone can play. Steranka said that is a good possibility, although such a public course might first go through a rehearsal at a smaller event, such as the Senior PGA.

"The challenge we have short-term is we are booked out so far in advance," he said. "When looking at adding a new site, we want to be able to predict with a degree of certainty that it will be able to stand the test of the top players."

Steranka said the recession has caused the PGA of America to think anew about the model it uses in finding courses and running a major championship. He noted that going to private clubs gives the PGA access to influential business leaders who might be members of the club, which helps build corporate support. That's not as easy when dealing with state or municipal governments.

"Our investment in government relations is laying the groundwork to show us a model of how to build community support outside of relying on the old model," he said. "This latest recession is making us all look at the old business model. The daily fee course can help us from a marketing perspective of the game."

And you wonder why the game's in the toilet. He gets paid way in the mid six-figures for that kind of insight? Holy guacamole.

Meanwhile, the USGA has turned their backs on Torrey Pines. It's a west coast venue, an underrated corporate community, is a great golf town and even has a ton of hotel rooms in tourist-heavy August. Granted, Del Mar Race Track is in session, which could lead to a few traffic tie-ups. And the city of San Diego has its issues like many other municipalities, but how is the PGA not jumping at the opportunity to play their event in a non-flyover state, at a proven venue with guaranteed great weather?

Oh right, they're booked until 2016.

"DJ took about four minutes from the time he arrived to the scene to the second he made contact with it."

Stephanie Wei interviews photographer Allan Henry, who could be seen in several images directly behind Dustin Johnson when he violated the rules in the 18th hole bunker. Henry says Johnson never grounded his club on his practice swings and also notes this, which might be of interest to those who think Johnson rushed the shot.

According to the time stamp on Allan’s pictures, DJ took about four minutes from the time he arrived to the scene to the second he made contact with it. In those few minutes, he had the marshals move the crowd, take a few practice swings, make a few jokes with the gallery and then hit it.

Another PGA Question: Who Wants To Return To Whistling Straits?

Definitely not the media!

And the player comments haven't exactly been glowing. Not that this means anything. After all, we know that complaints about a course can often be a compliment to the architecture. But after another four rounds at WS, I'm not sensing it really is worthy of a return visit. Yet a 2015 return date looms and a few days removed from the PGA, I've had the pleasure of listening to several phone rants from folks who found the entire week to be one they'd like to forget.

Most of the bitterness stems, surprisingly, not from the media bus ride but the overall experience. The course marshals topped several lists, with stories of rude treatment toward media and outright outlandish behavior (laughing at one media member who slipped and injured himself?) And we all saw how they handled crowd control.

There was also the oddball stuff about police speed traps and the downright hilarious story of the PGA President getting a ticket outside the American Club for rolling through a stop sign. Let's hope he expenses that one to Herb Kohler.

And then there were also many remarks of surprise that none of the post-2004 issues with spectating had been resolved. To which I reminded these folks that it'll only get more awkward when the USGA goes to Erin Hills and Chambers Bay, each of which is just as difficult to navigate for those outside the ropes, if not more problematic.

But we know our ruling bodies don't care about these things. They care about how much money they can rake in and how much affection they'll get for going to venues with cachet. Yet it seems in the aftermath of the Dustin Johnson escapade and above mentioned items, Whistling Straits has lost its cache as an elite major venue. What can Herb Kohler do, if anything, to restore order?

It's Come To This: David Price Receiving "Hate mail and nasty calls"

Jeff Rude writes:

In the aftermath, Price, one of classiest people I’ve met in golf, has received hate mail and nasty calls from people he doesn’t know. He also has received support.

His case is the latest evidence that hindsight is 20/20.

“In hindsight, now that I know he didn’t read the rules, I wish I had taken the initiative to tell him he was in a bunker,” Price said. “But it was obvious to me he was in a bunker.

“I feel as bad as anyone. I’m happy to take the blame for not telling him. In hindsight, you’re darned right I should have said something. But it never dawned on me that he didn’t think he was in a bunker.”

What person gets up in the morning and says, you know I'm going to call Bent Tree and leave a message with David Price tell him he's a bonehead. I know unemployment's high and a lot of people are on vacation...but come on!

"As good as he is, as much work as he put in, the stuff he was working on couldn't have been right, or it would have worked better."

Jaime Diaz analyzes Tiger and Sean Foley's flirtation game.

"We are literally in the sharing ideas stage. There's nothing official," the instructor said from the Milwaukee airport Sunday morning as he awaited a flight home to Orlando. "I really enjoyed talking to Tiger about the concepts of my teaching and finding out what he's looking for. I think he can tell that I like to challenge my players, and that I'm not going to be a 'yes' man. I'm always going to be who I am. That's it."

Oh Tiger just sign up for a series and get it over with! But there is this...

Indeed, candor is Foley's métier. Consider this assessment: "I want to get Tiger back to a place physically that he has been before, but with a new understanding. If he had understood what was so good about what he did before, he wouldn't have changed it.

Somewhere Butch is laughing...go on...

At the same time, I want to give him a better awareness of what he is doing now. The reason he has been hitting it where he has is that he didn't understand. As good as he is, as much work as he put in, the stuff he was working on couldn't have been right, or it would have worked better."

Foley's natural jauntiness, which might be jarring in Woods hermetically sealed world, could prove to be a hurdle.

Or maybe it's time that Tiger surround himself with some honest, to-the-point folks?

Hannigan Gets The Last Word (This Morning) On Dustin Johnson And His Walking Rules Official

From the former USGA Executive Director, Frank Hannigan:

On the Johnson drop the search for a villain goes on, yet nobody has identified the most likely suspects, the PGA and its rules committee for the week.

The question to be asked of its chairman is this  "Did you order your walking officials not to speak to players unless the players spoke first,  especially on the matter of rules?"

If so, you've got your villain - the PGA rules people.

David Price, the official with Johnson, was not a Referee as defined in the Rules of Golf, but he was certainly representing the Committee.

The policy of the USGA has always been to have its officials intervene if they sense a rules violation is about to occur - not to wait and say "Gotcha."    

Price should have said to Johnson before he left him to help with crowd control, "You know you are in a bunker, right?"

It is possible that Price did what he was told by the committee. It's also possible he took his instructions too literally. It's one or the other.

Update on Wednesday, August 18, 2010 at 09:06 AM by Geoff

** Here was the PGA of America's Mark Wilson after the round, explaining the role the walking rules official plays.

Q. (Inaudible.)

MARK WILSON: No, he didn't consult the walking official and as you know the walking official that's assigned to the group in the case of stroke play is not as much like a Match Play referee. In other words the walking official is there designed to help the player and to answer a player's question but the walking official in stroke play is not their to strategize every player's stroke or cover over a player who is making a stroke. These are experienced Tour players who by and large know the rules and we want to assist them as best we can, but he did not consult with David Price, the walking official that was the reason David was there and assigned to walk with the group. He certainly could have stepped away and said, you know, David, can you confirm the status of the area that I'm in.

Q. And he's not going to jump in and offer that advice unless asked?

MARK WILSON: David certainly would have jumped in, under the circumstances with the many people over there, it was hard. Obviously, for the player himself to get there, let alone for the walking official. If the walking official can prevent a breach of the rules, he certainly will, but under the circumstances it was hard enough to get the player over there and again if it's that hard to get the player over there, all the rules official is going to be doing is hovering over the player and they're really not trying to encourage that, we're not trying to tell the players that's, hey, you've been assigned a walking official because we're going to scrutinize every rule.

Wooden's Scorecard Found...In His Desk!

Jill Painter says the thought-to-be-lost scorecard documenting John Wooden's ace-double eagle round was found by daughter Nan Muehlhausen in the legendary coach's desk.

"It was loaded with stuff," Muehlhausen said.

According to Golf Digest, only four people have ever accomplished this rare feat. Muehlhausen said the magazine requested to see the scorecard.

"Daddy said he had it but he didn't know where it was," Muehlhausen said. "I said I'll make a copy (when we find it) and send it to them. (My brother) Jim was offended. They wanted proof. He said, `If daddy said he did it, he did it."'

"I knew there wasn't any waste bunkers. But all the bunkers on the course had a darkish color to the sand. This was white dirt."

Doug Ferguson catches up with Dustin Johnson taking it easy after the PGA and notes that he was the first player to play in the final group of two majors in a season not to win since Ernie Els (2004), Phil Mickelson (2001) and David Duval (2000).

And this final clarification from Ferguson on the bunker situation.

What gets misinterpreted is the notion that Johnson could have avoided this mess if he had only read the rule sheet posted in the locker room all week.

Nonsense.

It's a safe bet that 75 percent of the field never read the sheet and still knew the rule.

Johnson said he knew without reading that every bunker at Whistling Straits was a hazard. If he had memorized the local rule the way school kids memorize the Pledge of Allegiance, he would have played it the same way.

"Rules are rules," he said. "Obviously, I know the rules very well. I just never thought I was in a bunker, or I would have never grounded my club. Maybe walking up to the ball, if all those people hadn't been there, maybe I would have recognized it as a sand trap. I knew there wasn't any waste bunkers. But all the bunkers on the course had a darkish color to the sand. This was white dirt."

Stevie Declares His Job Is Secure!

My favorite part of Steve Williams' comments?

"I'm sure if there was going to be some sort of parting of the ways, I'd be the first to know," he said. "From my point of view, I don't see any chance of that happening."

I think Steiny would be the first to know. Then you'd be the second to know. From Steiny.

Forget Pavin's Dilemma, Why Should Monty Pick Padraig?

While John Huggan reminds us of Monty's plight and the possibility that he may yet have to resign if things get dicey publicity-wise, Lawrence Donegan takes issue with several players skipping the Czech Open and next week's final qualifying event at Gleneagles.

After that, Monty's selection process – he has three picks– becomes Monty's dilemma. For this he can thank – or more likely curse – Paul Casey, Padriag Harrington, Luke Donald and Justin Rose, all of whom might have been expected to have cemented their place by now but who have not. Casey is the only one of the four holding one of the nine automatic places, by 1,247 points from Harrington, while Donald lost his place by a quirk of the system that saw him fall victim as Kaymer climbed up the points table.

The painful question that has to be asked on the Euro side: do you select Padraig Harrington if he doesn't make it on points and isn't making the effort in the final two weeks to play?  Like passing up Tiger, it's almost unthinkable to leave him off the squad. But there are Euro players out there playing much better who may not make the team. As deep as Europe is, I say Monty has to take a pass on Padraig. You say?

Dustin Johnson and Intent**

One reason the Dustin Johnson penalty is not sitting well: he did not test the sand in the bunker. He did not intend to violate the rule. That said, he violated the rule. No question. But in a few well-known cases of late, rules officials have allowed intent to influence their decision to not penalize a player. Rory McIlroy kicking sand at the Masters and Kenny Perry mashing down rough behind his ball in Phoenix come to mind. (There is an old post with stellar comments well worth going back and reading for those interested in the intent debate, including one by Tom Kirkendall that will make you giggle at its prescience.)

While I understand the rule in question and the violation by Johnson, why isn't intent allowed to play a role here? After all, the only reason we know about this incident is because it happened on camera. The walking rules official did not see the violation happen and Johnson was not going to call a penalty on himself because he didn't realize he committed one. Had this happened Thursday off camera, no penalty would likely have been incurred. So since we have the addition of cameras, tape and viewers calling in, leading to penalties like this, shouldn't the rules also allow for that tape to take intent into account? It seems that precedent has already been set with the statements in the McIlroy and Perry episodes? No?

Rules gurus, please set me straight!

Update on Tuesday, August 17, 2010 at 08:16 PM by Geoff

**There's a nice response from John Vander Borght on his blog to the intent question.

Dustin Johnson Escapade Shifts To Inevitable Farce Mode With Dreaded eBay Item

It was only a matter of time. Hey, times are tough here. Click on image to enlarge.