Coore Interview W/ T+L Golf

Bill Coore at Friars Head with Champion (RIP), Ben Crenshaw, Ken BakstThomas Dunne interviews Bill Coore in the March, 2006 Travel and Leisure Golf.

Even More "Where's The Balance?" Talk

Ryan Ballangee interviews Steve Elling about unbylined "Where the Balance" commentary at Titleist.com.

Make sure to stay tuned for the second segment where Ballangee discusses his encounter with a Titleist-sponsored shill blogger.

Please Hold For Mr. Trump

Chris Baldwin at Travelgolf writes about the phone call he received from The Donald about Ocean Trails Trump National L.A.'s inability to crack the Top 10 in southern California.

I'm still waiting for The Donald to call and question my take on the course. 

Palmer Not Happy With The Golf Ball

Arnold Palmer in the L.A. Times:

"If I were playing the tour today, I would be doing what these young guys are doing: hitting the ball 320, 30, 40 yards and doing the things I would have to do to be competitive," he said at an event for Los Valles Golf Club, which is scheduled to open in 2008.

Those very distances he rattles off rankle him, though. The long-distance ball and new-age equipment, he laments, may be making some venerable old courses obsolete.

"I am not happy [with the golf ball]," he says. "The major things I would do [to change today's game] would be to slow the golf ball down right now, yes sir." By mandating a retro-ball that does not travel as far, golf's powers would not have to keep lengthening courses to keep up with today's power hitters.

"They wouldn't have to take such drastic measures to make courses like Oakmont and Winged Foot competitive," Palmer says of the layouts that play host to majors.

"You don't need to make that many big changes, but make it so the ball doesn't fly 400 yards. These kids that are playing [now] are going to hit whatever you make a long ways."

Notice the lack of journalistic balance in this L.A. Times story. Joel Greenberg should have gotten an alternative view to Mr. Palmer's anti-golf ball technology agenda. 

But I can only suspect he didn't because he appeared at this groundbreaking with an anti-technophobic agenda and convinced Mr. Palmer to endorse that agenda. Where's the balance? ;)
 

PGA Tour Driving Distance Watch, Vol. 8

Looks like the boys are back in the weight room (well maybe not David Duval), as the PGA Tour driving distance average jumped nearly two yards last week, to 287.8 yards following the WGC Match Play and Tucson.

39 drives were added to the 350 and over club, bringing the season tally to 532. There were no 400 yarders last week, so the season total remains stuck on 15 (4 shy of last year's total).

And even though I don't really know what to make of the percentage of drives over 300 stat (without past comparisons), right now, the PGA Tour average is 27.2% of drives finishing over 300 yards.

Jakartagate Redux

Alistair Tait wonders why Monty's Jakartagate incident went away so quietly. Maybe Tait is just trying to make sure those Ryder Cup team meetings are extra fun!

More on "Where's The Balance?"

Ryan Ballangee at The SportsFan and 19th Hole Golf Show looks at Titleist's "Where's The Balance" commentary. After you look at what Ryan wrote, you might want to check out the Where's The Balance comment thread on this site. Fun debate.

Anyway, check out Ballangee's piece. It's short. But just in case it vanishes into cyberspace someday... 

It does not take a very keen set of eyes to notice that the game is fizzling. Further, it is only too convenient that the decline in rounds played and Tour fan base has occurred at a time when there has never been greater technology to allow professionals to hit the ball further than ever. Journalists have put two and two together and yelled "fore" about the bad direction that the game is going because of uncurbed technology. (This serious column needed some terrible humor.)

As it turns out, I am not the only one calling it as I see it. Other golf writers - who I have great respect for - are also calling for stronger regulation of golf technology now before the game gets out of control. Apparently, the golf equipment companies have been taking notice and they feel they are being gipped. Now, they're fighting back - anonymously.

Moving For The Gallery

The Arizona Daily Star has all sorts of interesting information regarding the WGC Match Play's move to Tucson.

Charles Durrenberger writes:

The competition for the foreseeable future will be staged at The Gallery's South Course, where expansive fairways will be shaved down to 25 yards wide, providing ample spectator avenues.

"Fans will not be walking through the desert, except between holes, and we will have wide expanses for that," said Gallery head golf professional Paul Nolen. "The Tour has not requested us to do anything special to the golf course."

No, just cut the fairway widths in half. They don't matter anyway! Shoot, take 'em to 15 yards so the fans can be part of the action...sell hard hats, have paramedics on hand. I still say the 18-34 year olds will love it.

That is primarily due to a temporary situation. Ground is to be broken in August on the Nicklaus course.

The Gallery Golf Club's 36-hole layout is at 14000 N. Dove Mountain Blvd., two miles north of Tangerine Road, roughly 23 miles northwest of Tucson's city center and at the base of the Tortolita Mountains.

Parking is planned at lots near Tangerine Road and Dove Mountain Boulevard, with shuttle service to the course. Intense traffic is anticipated.

Hey, they should see Sunset Boulevard on when school lets out on Valentine's Day. Bet it doesn't take 2 hours to go 3 miles!

And thanks to reader John for this Greg Hanson column:

The Gallery is expected to pay something in the $500,000 to $750,000 range to play host to the Match Play Championships. The typical PGA Tour host fee is 37 percent of the purse (or about $3 million in this case). How's that for a discount? When the Match Play purse rises to $8 million next year, the Tour and Accenture will pay almost all of it. 

Giving back is the heart of the PGA Tour!

The attendant exposure should launch the Gallery into the stratosphere of elite-level golf facilities.

Yes, it did so much for La Costa. The Tour couldn't get out of town fast enough.

The Conquistadores will be given the entire ticket inventory. They will distribute all tickets and keep all the profit for their charities, the First Tee program and their foundation. More important, they will be able to retain their identity with pro golf. 

They no longer will operate the tournament, but their charitable profits are expected to increase. Crazy. 

Hey, they deserve it.

The Dove Mountain development, part of Tucsonan Dave Mehl's tony 6,200-acre property, will become Southern Arizona's Scottsdale, a community that will next include a Jack Nicklaus-designed course scheduled to play host to the Match Play event beginning in 2009. 

They'll need at least 10 more Nicklaus courses to catch up with Scottsdale. And preferably all of them at one development.

"We expect to break ground perhaps in August," said Mehl, who has twice met with Nicklaus at the Gallery in recent months. 

What is with the Tour and the love affair with unfinished Nicklaus courses?

Accenture, which posted a 2005 net profit of $15.5 billion and has more than 125,000 employees worldwide, uses the WGC event as a corporate celebration.

Yep, at $15.5 billion in profit, an $8 million purse is no big deal.
 

It's All About Capacity...

Who says there's no Christmas in February?

After Commissioner Tim Finchem thanked more people than an Oscar winner, he took a few questions from the assembled scribblers:

Q. The commitment to Tucson, how long is that for, is that through the sponsorship? 2010?

COMMISSIONER TIM FINCHEM: Virtually all our agreements are linked to our cycles, a sponsorship cycle and television cycle. All of our agreements dovetail; in this instance they dovetail in four years.

Judge, can you direct the witness to answer yes or no. 

Q. The other part, do you think the World Golf Championships are meeting the stated aim of developing developed to enhance the competitive structure of World Golf worldwide?

COMMISSIONER TIM FINCHEM: Yes, I think the first and primary reason for the World Golf Championships was to create a vehicle whereby the fans could enjoy the opportunity to watch all of the best players in the world assembled, a more frequent number of times during the course of the year. Heretofore, that was primarily the major championships and THE PLAYERS Championship.

Heretofore? Mr. Commissioner, we're not dictating a memo to Candace. You are talking to people. Well, members of the media. Please, continue...

Today we have, with the World Golf Championships, another group of tournaments where all the best players in the world play. There are others, as well, but as a constant flow with Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup competition included in that. And that was the primary mission.

The secondary mission was to continue to grow interest in the game by focusing on the International and global aspects of the game. And that's why we've had such a great relationship with a company like Accenture, because they have a global focus. And I think that secondary mission is being met, as well.

See, Accenture has a global focus, so the events have had a worldly flavor! That answers the question, right?

Nope, it's about to get awwwwkwaaaarrrd.

Q. I think 39 of the 64 players in this week's field come from overseas. Can you part one of my question, can you explain why so many of these championships are played in the United States? And part two is don't you think that you have a responsibility to take these tournaments elsewhere in the world and to grow interest in the game elsewhere in the world?

COMMISSIONER TIM FINCHEM: Where the players come from is frankly not of too much import. Our system is such that from the start of the system...

Q. I'm trying to point out that it's a global game, golf is a global game.

COMMISSIONER TIM FINCHEM: I understand that. I'm remarking that I had questions during the course of the week, and they're disturbed that over half of the field is not from the United States.

Q. That was not my question.

COMMISSIONER TIM FINCHEM: I understand that. To the second part of your question, yes and no. We would like to see World Golf Championships played around the world, and we have seen that the first eight years. I think we've played on five different continents. Today the World Cup continues to be played this past year in Portugal, and this coming year in Barbados as part of the World Golf Championships. We may add another World Golf Championship. That is a nice thing to do.

That is a nice thing to do? Uh, let's back to the MBAspeak...

I think the fundamental, however, is not that. The fundamental is to bring to the world via incredible television capability, to 145 countries, all the best players in the world playing. The reality is that frankly Sergio Garcia is seen who is not here, is seen when he's played in a World Golf Championship by more people than typically any other event he plays, regardless of where it is, whether in Europe or Asia or anywhere else.

See, it doesn't matter where you play. It's about the television capacity. This is why they should just build one golf course in Orlando with stadium seating and a big parking lot. Construct a 6,000 foot runway (for the G5s, of course), some player housing, and just play all of the events in one place. You can maximize margins and just let that television capacity do its thing! 

Ernie Els gets more global television exposure when he plays here this week than he does when he plays in China or Hong Kong.

Imagine if he won a match how much capacity he would have maximized!

But I think the important thing is not that, it's that who are we reaching through World Golf Championships, are we reaching just as many people, and we think the answer is absolutely. Not to say we won't continue to work with having tournaments around the world. We are proud of the fact that we play on five different continents, and we will continue to play somewhere around the world, as well.

I think he meant the past tense there, "played on five different continents." But hey, we're going to throw an event to China so we'll still be playing around the world. Quit your complaining!

And now it's time for the Commissioner's intermission so the Accenture suit can out-MBA the Commish (the audacity!):

Q. Mr. Murphy, was Australia that much of a failure for you when it was played down there? If you were to continue your relationship with this World Golf Championship, would there be any scenario in which you'd be willing for one year to take this tournament abroad?

JIM MURPHY: The Australian tournament in many ways was a huge success for us, because we relaunched our new brand from that place. And Australia happened to be the major continent in the world where our brand was new, because in the time zones that's how it worked out. We changed our name from an older name to what we have now on midnight that day, and we played that week.

Ah those fond memories of the brand relaunch. Amazing how these WGC's just warm the heart.

But it's not all about relaunching the brand for Mr. Murphy...

From a timing point of view, it worked out great. We were somewhat disappointed in the field; some of the top players didn't come. The television coverage was great, we had great client entertainment there, and we saw it as a plus.

Would we do it again? Well, we'd consider it. Certainly we'd talk to the PGA TOUR about it. The PGA TOUR and other Tours drive this process, and we're sort of in a reactionary mode.

A reactionary mode? Scribblers, was Finchem making a note of that one? That's a peach, hon!

We can influence what happens, but they're the experts on golf, and we're experts in managing and selling technology services. We recognize our roles.

Oh, nice, subtle plug. I was wondering what the heck Accenture does.

Okay, enough of him. Back to the Commissioner...

Q. Based upon your knowledge of The Gallery, what were your impressions of the course specifically, and anything you feel The Gallery needs to do to be fully prepared for that event next year?

COMMISSIONER TIM FINCHEM: We've been engaged for months, and our team has, with everyone related to The Gallery, many of whom are here today. We have a good, solid working relationship on the short term and long term planning that will relate to the conduct of the Accenture Match Play in Tucson. There are, obviously, in any instances like this, a lot of things that need to be done. We're very, very comfortable with the working relationship we have.

Uh, that's a no, he hasn't seen the course.

Q. What's your feel for the State of golf worldwide at this time, is it growing or is it receding, both in terms of the PGA and in terms of..

COMMISSIONER TIM FINCHEM: I gather the question is what is my perception of the state of the game in terms of its growth globally; is that correct? Well, that's an interesting question, because it's an interesting question, the answer of which has been perhaps many times in the media misanalyzed to some extent.

Pausing here to allow you to go back and read that one more time. After all, it's an interesting answer to an interesting answer.

And by that I mean here in the United States, for example, there is a focus on the total number of rounds played as it relates to golf courses. And in today's society the regular golfer is playing a few rounds less than perhaps he played he or she played five or ten years ago.

On the other hand, there's been each and every year an increase in the number of participants in the game. So from a total participant standpoint we've seen regular growth here in the United States.

More people playing less. At least he's honest about it. 

Q. I realize it's not done yet, Commissioner, on the FedEx Cup points, but where do you see the World Golf Championships positioned with that series going on next year?

COMMISSIONER TIM FINCHEM: It would be premature for me to say. We're evaluating different processes. It will be a process that goes to June. But whether or not it's a process that relates to strength of field or a process that relates to purse or a process that relates to stature of events, under any of those scenarios World Golf Championships will fare well, and fare well in that configuration.

And it's a process that we'll be processing for quite some time since no one can really process how this FedEx Cup process is going to be processed.

Some Consolation

Winner Geoff Ogilvy talked about the pace of play during Sunday's WGC final:

Q: Did the pace bother you, the fact that you guys waited quite a bit?

Geoff Ogilvy: It was quite slow; we waited for most of it, yeah.

Q: What did you say to Mark walking up 10 fairway?

Geoff Ogilvy: I just asked him why they weren't like 15 minutes in front of us in the tee time and not five or ten minutes, just to have a bit of a separation. I know all the TV and all the volunteers and everything want to be on one spot on the golf course, which makes sense. But they could have made it a hole in between us. Me and Davis play quite fast; we probably would have caught them anyway. No big deal. I've never been one of four people on a golf course and waiting (laughter).

Q: What did he say?

Geoff Ogilvy: Who?

Q: Mark Russell.

Geoff Ogilvy: It was because of all the infrastructure and everything needs to be all in one spot. It's a bit of a mess if it's all spread out. And it makes sense.

It was just we played quite fast. We obviously played just a hair faster. It wasn't relentless waiting, but it was enough to be waiting. We were obviously playing each hole faster than the other two guys and we were catching them every hole.

Q: They could have put them off 25 minutes early and it wouldn't make any difference.

Geoff Ogilvy: I would think so. But we may have caught them anyway after four holes. If we have a couple of good holes we might catch them anyway, and you've got volunteers and cameras spread out over three holes, and that may not be what they wanted.

Q: Did you want to play through?

Geoff Ogilvy: We asked the question.

Q: Did you ask?

Geoff Ogilvy: We asked the question on the 8th. Because I was messing around and Zach had done something in the water, I don't know what he did, it looked like he was playing a left handed shot and it went and there was all sorts of they stood around for five minutes, and actually Davis asked the question, hey, Mark, can we go, can we just go in front of them? Because we shouldn't be waiting.

It was fine. We still probably played 16 holes in three and a half hours, so it wasn't bad.

Boring Course=Boring Match?

Geoff OgilvySunday's Geoff Ogilvy-Davis Love match was not exactly a heart stopping thrill-ride to culminate the WGC's run at La Costa.

The ABC announce team implied that the play was lackluster at times, but that seems unfair to Ogilvy and Love.

The real fault for another less-than-exciting match play goes to La Costa's insipid design.

Since I'm apparently the only one that thinks the stymie would have livened up today's match (and maybe more replays of Tom Lehman getting into a sword fight with his bag), consider how the architecture failed to offer chances for daring play.

Other than the short par-4 6th (which technology helped turn into risk-reward short par-4), the design offered few tough decisions that might create dramatic turning points. There are were even fewer "scary" shots that might put the player in an uncomfortable position (and leading to more tough decision-making scenarios or hope for the player who was down in the match).

In fact, the inconsistent rough provided the only real "danger," and we know how interesting rough is as a hazard. 

In general, the design rewards a conservative style of play, and Ogilvy handled it beautifully. Watching him play last week at Riviera, the combination of his steady ball striking, solid putting and easy-going demeanor made him an ideal uh, match for La Costa.

Last year I had suggested in this Golfobserver.com column why La Costa is a dud for match play and why PGA West-Stadium would be far more compelling.

But as we learned today to end golf's worst kept secret, the WGC Match Play moves to Tucson's The Gallery at Dove Mountain, home to a 725-yard par-5. Excited?

Fans of match play can only hope for the sake of the format that the Fought-Lehman design will elicit a few more decisions and uncomfortable shots that can make match play so fun to watch. 

$ilverRock Woes

The City of La Quinta's SilverRock project is 50% over budget, causing the city to wonder if spending another $68,000 to please the PGA Tour is worth it. At $15 million, with half a million on "dust control," what's another $68k?!