PGA Tour Driving Distance Average Crosses 290-Yard Barrier

Courtesy of the PGA Tour's communications department, the final, official and accurate 2011 PGA Tour Driving Distance average: 290.9.

The 2010 driving distance average of 287.3 followed 2009's 287.9 and 2008's 287.3.

This is second largest season-to-season jump since the tour began tracking driving distance averages in 1980. (The largest increase: 6.5 yards between 2002 and 2003).

So since 2002 when the USGA and R&A announced they were drawing a line in the sand on distance increases whether they were caused by clubs, balls, technique, climate change or white belts, we've got a 10.5 yard increase since '02 and a 20-yard increase since 1998.

Is this significant? The "Statement of Principles" key lines:

The R&A and the USGA believe, however, that any further significant increases in hitting distances at the highest level are undesirable. Whether these increases in distance emanate from advancing equipment technology, greater athleticism of players, improved player coaching, golf course conditioning or a combination of these or other factors, they will have the impact of seriously reducing the challenge of the game. The consequential lengthening or toughening of courses would be costly or impossible and would have a negative effect on increasingly important environmental and ecological issues. Pace of play would be slowed and playing costs would increase.

The R&A and the USGA will consider all of these factors contributing to distance on a regular basis. Should such a situation of meaningful increases in distances arise, the R&A and the USGA would feel it immediately necessary to seek ways of protecting the game.

So what is the meaning of significant in this mindless distance chase?

Luke: "I feel like even if I went to HSBC and won, they'd find another event to add."

Steve Elling reports the rarely-sarcastic or skeptical Luke Donald has called the PGA Tour's decision to delay a Player of the Year ballot mailing "sketchy."

Speaking Tuesday morning on the Golf Channel, Donald said he was less than thrilled to learn that, instead of mailing Player of the Year ballots to his peers this week, the tour elected to push back the mailings until next month because a quasi-official event has yet to be played in China.

Donald characterized the decision as "sketchy," perhaps the most generous term he could have mustered. Boneheaded might have been more accurate.

By any measure, it was a serious Shanghai Surprise.

Our POTY Campaigning Nightmare Isn't Over Yet

Doug Ferguson reports that player-of-the-year ballots are not going out to the PGA Tour's finest yet after officials realized the upcoming HSBC Champions in Shanghai counts as an official win. Translation: the bordering-on-painful, utterly meaningless POTY debate...has been extended two weeks!

"It's important because it's an official win for a member, and that should hold the ballot open," said Andy Pazder, the tour's chief of operations. When we send out the ballot, we have a brief summary of the player's year on the PGA Tour. It would be a glaring omission if someone won the tournament and that wasn't on there."

Luke Donald became a strong favorite for player of the year when he won Disney on Sunday, making six straight birdies on the back nine for a 64 to win by two shots. It was his second victory of the year - as many as six other plays - and Donald also captured the money title and Vardon Trophy for lowest scoring average. Donald has said he likely would play in Shanghai if his wife has given birth to their second child.

Multimillionaires Bounce Back! Luke Wins, Answers "Critics"

I learned something new with Luke Donald's shocking come-from-behind win at the final tour event of the year to capture the money title and most likely, various other awards: he has critics. 

Steve Elling reports:

Seemingly buried after a bogey at the eighth hole left him five shots back and tied for 10th place, Donald birdied the first six holes of the back nine in the most crystalline, crisp display of clutch play in his career, finishing with an 8-under 64 that represented the lowest closing round of the season by an eventual winner.

"This was a dream year," said Donald, 34, who has four worldwide wins, two on the PGA Tour. "I think I answered a lot of critics' questions."

Lorne Rubenstein called Donald's stunning come-from-behind birdie explosion Zenyatta-like.

There’s nothing more satisfying for a tour golfer—or any golfer, for that matter—than hitting the right shots under pressure. It’s called “getting the job done,” and that’s precisely what Luke Donald did in tearing through the field down the stretch Sunday like Secretariat and Zenyatta in their tremendous careers on the track.

Donald hit the jets and the afterburners when that’s exactly what he needed to do. He birdied the 10th through 15th holes as he shot eight-under-par 64 and won not only the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Classic in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., but also the PGA Tour’s money list. He came into the tournament the number-one ranked player in the world and he exits winning the money list on the PGA Tour and it’s likely, although not certain, that he’ll do the same on the European Tour. Nobody has ever done that.

Disney Storylines Mercifully Won't Include The Plight Of Multi-Millionaires

The Luke Donald-Webb Simpson money title story has caused too many sleepless nights across the globe as these two starving students won't be dueling Sunday over bonus clauses. As Steve Elling explains, Luke's quest came to a likely end at the 14th on Saturday.

Instead, as Helen Ross note, there are some players to watch whose careers are on the line.

Besides co-leaders Chappell and Leonard, there are these guys to keep an eye on:

For others on Sunday hope will spring eternal. Bio Kim, the youngest player on the PGA TOUR finds himself in the final group with Leonard and Chappell, trailing the leaders by one. The 21-year-old who had heart surgery during the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup came into the week ranked 168th on the money list and even with his lofty position on the leaderboard is not yet projected safely in the top 125.

"I have to shoot somewhere around 60s to have a chance," Kim said. "But I don't know, winning's -- you don't -- I can't think of the word. ... I haven't thought about it. So just got another 18 holes to go, so just gotta work hard right now."

So do players like Billy Mayfair, the veteran who was last year's q-school medalist and is currently tied for sixth. He's 127th on the money list but projected now at No. 109. Or Steven Bowditch, who came into the week 135th and now clocks in at No. 124 after moving to 10 under.

"Can you say, 'awkward?'"

There's no need to sympathize with Justin Leonard and he'd probably be the first to say that, but it's still painful to read his saga with Ponte Vedra over his 2012 tour status while he plays (and leads through two rounds) this week's Disney event.

Steve Elling recounts the bizarro Friday Leonard experienced trying to understand if and why he's exempt next year.

Towel Stockpiling Aside, Tiger & Joey Getting On Swimmingly

Doug Ferguson's notes column from this week includes an item on Tiger Woods and Joe LaCava's first week only featuring one hiccup:

“When it rained on Thursday, we had four towels in the bag,” Woods said. “I’ve never seen four towels in my golf bag. Well, Freddie doesn’t use gloves, so out of habit, he just had all these towels in the bag. I was like, ‘What the hell are you doing with all these towels?’ So I said, ‘We don’t need that many towels.’ ”

Sea Island Flashback Images

With the McGladrey Classic underway, here are a couple of old views of Sea Island's most recognizeable hole, as created by the firm of Colt and Alison.

From a recent visit to a postcard show (click image to enlarge):

And from my Golden Age of Golf Design book:

Golf Channel: First Two Fall Events Up 235%

The Tiger-fueled Frys.com ratings bump was not the surprise here. The improved audience for the Timberlake/Shriner's event in Las Vegas is the most interesting thing in this release:

Viewership Through Two Fall Series Events Up 235 Percent From Last Year
 
Frys.com Open Viewers Treated to Six-Hole Playoff and Tiger Woods Playing His First Fall Series Event; 165 Percent Increase Over 2010
 
Orlando, Fla. (Oct. 13, 2011) – Golf Channel continues its ratings momentum after the PGA TOUR Playoffs, garnering the best-ever start to the Fall Series and highlighted by record ratings at last week’s Frys.com Open, the most-watched Fall Series event in history.
 
The Frys.com Open on Golf Channel, which featured a first-ever appearance by Tiger Woods in a PGA TOUR Fall Series tournament and won by Bryce Molder in a six-hole playoff, drew 727,000 average viewers, up 165 percent over last year.  The tournament’s household rating (0.7) also makes it the highest-rated Fall Series event ever.  The last two hours of the playoff peaked at a 1.0 household rating.
 
The Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open drew an average of 354,000 viewers, making it the second-most-watched Fall Series Tournament.  Through the first two events, average viewers are up 235 percent over last year and 89 percent over 2009, which previously had held the top spot.

“I threw the hot dog toward Tiger Woods because I was inspired by the movie ‘Drive.'"

Julie Johnson of the Santa Rosa Press Democrat tracks down the Tiger Woods "fan" who hurled a hot dog and ran onto the 7th green at CordeValle, only to be charged with a misdemeanor even after it is now revealed that it was a premeditated attack.

Petaluma's Brandon Kelly, 31, explained his reasoning:

“I threw the hot dog toward Tiger Woods because I was inspired by the movie ‘Drive,'" Kelly said. “As soon as the movie ended, I thought to myself, ‘I have to do something courageous and epic. I have to throw a hot dog on the green in front of Tiger.'”

Paging little men in white jackets.

And here's why it'll happen again:

And in reference to comments at the scene, including by one player, that he could have been harmed by law enforcement, Kelly added: “Did I think I could be shot like some people were saying? Absolutely not.”

Nothing that a little tasering can't fix.

And here's where we learned that alcohol is not entirely to blame:

Kelly posted on his Facebook page Sunday morning a photo of a hot dog in his hand in front of his vehicle's steering wheel and speedometer. It was taken at about 7:15 a.m. Sunday as he drove from his home in Sonoma County to the golf tournament at CordeValle Golf Club south of San Jose.

Petaluma must be so proud of its native son.

"Unfortunately, people have a few of their libations of choice, and do things that they probably don't normally do."

According to Greg Beacham, reporting on Tiger's appearance in Hollywood and the announcement of the 2011 Chevron World Challenge field, the golfing great is handling Sunday's unruly-fan incident gracefully. Literally. Look at the big word he wheels out for hooch!

As the world's most popular golfer, Woods is aware of the risks he takes every weekend.

"Part of the lure of our sport is our access," Woods said. "Fans can literally reach out and touch you. You don't ever touch football players unless they jump in the stands. That personal interaction is what makes golf so special. We've been very fortunate over the years to have everything turn out positively.

"This guy was just trying to gain attention for himself, which he did. I've had another fan throw an orange in Phoenix one year. Unfortunately, people have a few of their libations of choice, and do things that they probably don't normally do."

"That frat boy crap doesn't work here!"

TMZ has a fan video of the Tiger-hot dog hurler receiving taunts as he was carted off.