Tom Kite Owes Camilo An Apology!

At least, that's one takeaway from Frank Hannigan's excellent "Voices" contribution in this week's Golf World (story not posted) addressing the Camilo Villegas DQ following a viewer-reported violation. It seems that after Paul Azinger infamously improved his stance in a Doral water hazard in 1991, former Commissioner Deane Beman "ordained that one of his field staff would go into the TV production truck at the start of every telecast and monitor play from in front of a monitor."

But, as Hannigan recalls, jus two months later field staffer George Boutell saw Tom Kite possibly take an incorrect drop and intervened by picking up his walkie-talkie. When Kite found out, he and other players "fussed enough to cause the tour to discontinue the practice."

Which led Hannigan to conclude...

Even if it means having to hire one more Rules of Golf expert, the tour should revert to the TV monitoring system instead of being subject to the whims of viewers who have the technical means and knowledge to throw these occasional incidents up on the Internet.

"In the age of blogging, Tweeting and podcasts, wearing microphones shouldn't be a big deal. I think it's worth a try."

According to Sal Johnson in this uniquely conveyed disquisition, SI Golf Plus commissioned a counterpoint My Shot to Justin Rose's view that players should not wear wireless microphones. However, Ted Purdy's piece did not make the magazine and was buried at golf.com, but here it is and he clearly gets it:

It's too bad Tiger and I weren't miked when we played in the Western Junior Amateur semifinals years ago. I grew up playing with Tiger, and he can trash talk, believe me. He had a 2 1/2-footer for par on the 2nd hole that day, and I made him putt it. He holed it and said, "Purdy, why the hell didn't you give me that putt?" I said, "Did that piss you off?" He said, "Yeah, it kind of did." "Well," I said, "that's why I didn't give it to you." That would've been great TV. By the way, I was 5 up with five holes to play and barely won on the 18th.

When I was in college I followed Nick Faldo one Sunday when he was in contention at the Tucson Open. He was walking up the par-5 15th at Tucson National when I heard Nick and his caddie, Fanny Sunesson, talking about hummingbirds. Apparently Mr. Intense wasn't made of stone after all.

None of us Tour players are. You can't focus for six straight hours. Conversations are inevitable. In the age of blogging, Tweeting and podcasts, wearing microphones shouldn't be a big deal. I think it's worth a try.

Intimacy Of Player-Caddy Relationship At Stake With Wireless Mics?

Stephanie Wei talks to more players about their microphone-wearing reservations and, well, it's getting into a personal area for Matt Bettencourt.

One, the device they put on you is not the most comfortable thing in the world. Two, you’re with your caddie out there, it’s a long day out on the course and you talk about stuff you don’t want people hearing, which might deter from your image. For me personally, it’s kind of an intimate moment on the golf course with my caddie. I don’t want people hearing some things.

Graeme McDowell supports the concept even though he took a pass last week, and offers the most obvious solution to the understandable player concerns about the awkwardness of the microphone units.

I think the miking up stuff is good. It gives people a great insight as to the interaction between player and caddie. Maybe even mic the caddie up — that could be an interesting way. I think it definitely gives (viewers) good insight as to how we think our way around golf courses.

"We don't really like how the golf world is viewing these type of things, but at the end of the day, it is the players' responsibility to know the rules."

Bob Harig reviews the politics and particulars of the Villegas DQ at Kapalua and asks the USGA's Mike Davis about reviews of the penalty of disqualification for signing an incorrect card.

Many have wondered why golf's rules seem so inflexible on this. At the time he signed his card, he believed the score he wrote down on the 15th hole at Kapalua was correct. It wasn't until the next day it was discovered he was wrong. Why not just add the 2-stoke penalty -- signed scorecard be damned -- and let him remain in the tournament?

"We have had formal requests to review that," Davis said of both the USGA and the R&A, which governs the game outside of the United States and Mexico. "We've gotten it from the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, European Tour … and we have looked at it. One thing that has been proposed is assessing the penalty, and then adding an additional 2-stroke penalty -- so it would be a total of 4 strokes [if the penalty came to light after the card was signed]. At least the player would still be in the field.

That'd be better than what we have now. Naturally, it died in committee. A USGA committee.

"We looked at it long and hard. At the end of the day, it just didn't gain traction. There are just so many ramifications. We don't really like how the golf world is viewing these type of things, but at the end of the day, it is the players' responsibility to know the rules."

There is nothing stopping the PGA Tour from instituting a local rule that is not covered in the USGA rule book. But good luck with that.

"We could do that, but I don't know if we want to do that," Russell said. "It just doesn't work like that.

"The Tournament of Champions felt less like opening day than it did the first day pitchers and catchers report to camp."

Rex Hoggard suggests that the Hawaii start to the PGA Tour season just isn't working, whether because of timing or energy or most likely, location.

A better option may be co-opting an existing venue. The raucousness of TPC Scottsdale, combined with an already proposed move to effectively double the Tournament of Champions field size by giving Tour winners a two-year exemption, would add excitement; while Doral, which was converted to a WGC in 1999, offers an intriguing combination of storied golf course and geographic simplicity. Essentially, fewer excuses to skip the opener.

A move back to the mainland would also require some schedule tinkering, a reality that may be unavoidable given the circuit’s current economic headwinds.

Kapalua Ratings Up, Free Attendance Down

Reader Robert emailed to ask about Hyundai Tournament of Some Champions ratings and Alex Miceli delivers the good news...

With the PGA Tour putting together a strategy for their next TV deal with the networks, a 38 percent increase in viewership for the first event of the season has to be good news to commissioner Tim Finchem.

According to the Golf Channel, the four-round average rating of the Hyundai Tournament of Champions was 0.6, or 593,00 total viewers. That marked a 38 percent increase over last year, and is the highest event delivery since 2008.

Robert Collias reports on the attendance, which Mark Rolfing down!

"Frankly, I was a little disappointed," Rolfing said. "I thought (Sunday's) crowd was great - it was big and it was energetic. That is what I hoped for all four days. I was disappointed, especially Saturday. I don't know what we will do to rectify it. We did a lot of publicity and advertising and I really thought with all we did, it would be bigger. That was really one of my big disappointments."

Justin Rose Is Worried Other Players Will Borrow His Most Profound Strategic Insights

He is this week's SI Golf Plus My Shot stand-in and he explains why he's against wearing a microphone.

In the first round last week we were getting a ruling and it was taking a long time. When the guys behind us hit tee shots up the fairway, I felt as if they were getting a little too close and hassling us. Then, one of them was standing in my line of sight as I was putting, and I three-putted. I felt a little frustrated by a fellow competitor, who is a friend. I'm sure it wasn't intentional, but I expressed my annoyance to Fouch, which would come across badly on tape.

Okay that's fine. And that is a great example where networks would be tempted to run something juicy. Of course, one could save that thought for after the round. But anyway...

There's also a lot that goes on that's considered intellectual property. It's a competitive disadvantage if players can listen in on other players' conversations.

Do tell.

Each guy is different, but I like to talk strategy with Fouch. We'll have chats that help me stay in the moment, and there are things he'll remind me to do. Regarding course strategy, there might be a bunker shot that most guys play straight for the pin, but they don't realize that if they hit 20 feet up a ridge — a much easier shot — the ball will roll back to six feet. It's difficult to gain an edge, and I don't want to give up any that I have.

That's true, because we know how much professional golfers listen intently to a telecast and how they look to televised golf for original ideas on how to play the same course that very same week!

"Rose didn't want the added distraction of feeling like he had to temper his emotions or get into a situation where he'd reveal his 'intellectual property.'"

From today's SI roundtable on the topic of players wearing microphones.

Wei: Jonathan Byrd was the only player to agree to be mic'ed. Talked with a few other players (Bettencourt, McDowell & Rose) about the concept. All of them weren't against it, but they said they probably wouldn't volunteer unless it was something like the Tavistock Cup. Rose didn't want the added distraction of feeling like he had to temper his emotions or get into a situation where he'd reveal his "intellectual property." But they all think it'd be great for the fans, and viewers could gain good insight!

Dusek: Great for the fans, and the viewers could gain good insight, but not from me? Lovely. Guys, golf is as much entertainment as sport. Why deny viewers/fans what they want? Why not mandate mics for anyone playing in one of the final four groups on Saturday and Sunday? Volunteers welcome on Thursday and Friday.

I don't know how many saw it, but Golf Channel captured a couple of excellent exchanges on Sunday's TOC telecast. One was picked up by the sound dudes featuring Graeme McDowell and his caddie. Faldo (of course, who else!) tried to talk over it but it made for great television. There was also a Byrd-and-caddie exchange that, while not earth shattering in its revelations, made me stop what I was doing, listen closely to what was being said and take in the pre-shot banter.

And even better, no one's intellectual property was compromised!

"At the time they signed their cards, their scores were correct."

Sean Martin cuts to the chase on the signing "incorrect" card/DQ silliness. Now why won't the PGA Tour and USGA listen?

Because golf isn’t confined to a small playing field, rules officials can’t cover all of the action. TV viewers help protect the field from improprieties, whether accidental or intentional.

It’s hard for me to sympathize with the players in these situations. They wouldn’t make these mistakes if they knew had better knowledge of the rules of the sport they play for a living. They’d know what actions are allowed and act accordingly.

Villegas and Rohanna shouldn’t have been penalized for the timing of their rulings, though. At the time they signed their cards, their scores were correct. It’s not their fault the rulings came after they turned in their scorecards.

"Hitting driver off the deck is a thing of the past? Perhaps not."

E. Michael Johnson in Golf World Monday took Bubba Watson's wildly fun driver off the 18th fairway at Kapalua as a sign that technology allows players to still work the ball.

We've all heard the naysayers of modern technology talk about how players don't work the ball anymore. Then there are those who bemoan that large-headed drivers have taken one of the coolest shots in golf--driver from the fairway lie--out of the game. We have a two-word replay for them: Bubba.

I see the shot as a reminder of what modern clubs, balls and architecture deprive us of all too often: fun shotmaking.

Driver off the fairway is not something I'm aware of was seen as a great loss for the game. What some of us miss are players taking a sidehill lie, combining it with their imagination and pulling off a peculiar shot that curve 40 yards and spend another 40 running along the ground. And all played out on par-5s that are just barely within reach!

Those are incredients that made Bubba's shot so much fun to watch. Not Bubba managing to hit a ball with a watermelon sized mallet!

Doctors Optimistic Garrigus To Make Full Recovery From Fist-Pump Induced Shoulder Stiffness

This is why Tiger is Tiger. He knows how to fist pump without injuring himself. Dave Shedloski reports on Tournament of Champions runner-up Robert Garrigus's excessive Saturday celebration leading to Sunday shoulder stiffness.

"I feel embarrassed to admit it, but I hurt it on 18 yesterday (Saturday) after I made that putt," Garrigus said sheepishly as he changed his shoes in the lockerroom. "I hadn't fist-pumped like that in a long time. I overdid it. It just didn't loosen up at all today."

"He has to deal with 32 prima donnas every year, and somehow he caters for all our needs."

Doug Ferguson's story on the departure of the much-loved Gary Planos from his role running the Tournament of Champions left me feeling like there is a lot not being said, especially about the impact of Mark Rolfing who now "runs" the tournament now according to the story. And of course his charity is also the tournament's beneficiary.

Loved this from Adam Scott.

"He's been an incredible host," Adam Scott said. "I can't say enough about the guy. He has to deal with 32 prima donnas every year, and somehow he caters for all our needs. He's done a hell of a job and there's always a smile on his face."