Golfing News & Blog Articles

GolfDigest.com’s Mike Stachura reports the latest notice to manufacturers outlining new “areas of interest” proposals that would have a huge impact on golf balls and driver faces.

While we already knew of these were the focus, the June 8th specifics suggest as much as a thirty percent reduction for the longest of long hitters. Stachura writes:

The original proposed change was to raise the test swing speed for the Overall Distance Standard from the current 120 miles per hour to 125. The June 8 announcement now proposes studying a test speed “between 125 and 127 mph and will include studies of the effects of these test speeds on the launch conditions and aerodynamics of the golf ball.” At the maximum, that speed would be more than 12 mph faster than the current average clubhead speed on the PGA Tour but only a little more than two mph faster than the two current fastest swings on tour, Cameron Champ (124.76) and Branden Hagy (124.41).

As the USGA’s John Spitzer previously indicated when the speed being considered was 125 mph, nearly all of the balls played on tour would be non-conforming under the new standard, and of course many of those balls are also among the most purchased balls on the market.

The bigger set of changes proposed in the June 8 notice, however, would not affect average golfers, but could dramatically alter the performance of drivers at the elite level. The new proposal suggests tournaments or tours could institute a “model local rule” for equipment that would severely roll back how springy faces are and how forgiving drivers are on off-center hits.

There are some fabulous details in Sean Zak’s Golf.com story looking at two rules situations at the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational. That young man’s mane of Slugger White’s might be thinning grey by the time he lands back in the States!

In the first instance, a caddie signaled to another player what club was used. White decided to issue a warning even though the caddie in question is a pro jock. And Slugger also made a request to fill divots. Charming. So they don’t know the rules or etiquette.

On brand in Saudi golf land!

In the second incident, also involving J.C. Ritchie of South Africa, well, it’s less a clear violation but speaks to the integrity of the competition…

Phachara Khongwatamai, of Thailand, the third player in Ritchie’s group, was playing so well Thursday that many of his shots were being shown on the event’s coverage. Ritchie, noting the action of the cameras around them, was concerned that viewers streaming at home might have seen the infraction and thought it had been overlooked. That was Ritchie’s first question when he approached White near scoring.

Next week’s U.S. Open is the first in Boston since 1988 and also the first since 9/11 when 15 of the 19 hackers were from Saudi Arabia, as was ringleader Osama bin Laden. As most know by now, the hijackers had multiple problematic ties to the government, with much of the information only coming out thanks to the persistence of victim families. And of the terrorists at Al Qaeda, like like LIV Golf, enjoyed Saudi funding.

Two flights hijacked on that awful day from Boston’s Logan Airport eventually flew into the World Trade Center, killing thousands.

With all of this horror in mind, families of 9/11 victims have sent a letter to Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Reed and Kevin Na expressing outrage for participating in the new Saudi-backed LIV Golf league, reports the New York Post’s Brian Wacker.

“As a freedom-loving American, I am grateful to have the freedom of choice where I work and who I work for, and I respect your right as well,” wrote Terry Strada, the organization’s national chair and a mother of three whose husband, Tom, was on the 104th floor of the north tower of the World Trade Center during the attacks. “As a 9/11 widow, I feel compelled to help you understand the level of depravity the Kingdom engaged in when it knowingly sent government agents here to establish the support network needed for those hijackers.

“As you may know, Osama bin Laden and 15 of the 19 September 11 hijackers were Saudis. It was the Saudis who cultivated and spread the evil, hate-filled Islamist ideology that inspired the violent jihadists to carry out the deadly 9/11 attacks.  And, most egregiously, it is the Kingdom that has spent 20 years in denial: lying about their activities, and cowardly dodging the responsibility they bear. Yet these are your partners, and much to our disappointment, you appear pleased to be in business with them.

Where have we heard that before? Oh right, Fox Sports with Greg Norman as its lead analyst. We know Fox did end up innovating, raising bars and showing new ways to televise golf. Perhaps the LIV streams will do that, though given the complexity of televising golf on short notice, the first impressions could be rough.

In announcing their uninspired broadcasting team, the Chief Media Officer of throwing out a lot of superlatives instead of suggesting a goal of getting to new places.

“The LIV Golf broadcast will be unlike anything fans have seen before,” said Will Staeger, LIV Golf Chief Media Officer. “The innovations we are introducing to the sport will be distributed to existing and new audiences all over the world as we deliver golf coverage dedicated to entertainment and access. We’ve built a world class production team that has combined the industry’s best practices with a reimagined experience for viewers to create a one-of-a-kind broadcast. We’ve been counting down the days to Thursday’s start so fans can tune in and watch what we have been working on.”

The broadcast will be available on LIVGolf.com, YouTube and Facebook. 

Besides prying Jerry Foltz away from Golf Channel LPGA on-course reporting duties to be the analyst after Darren Clarke said no, the rollout suggests plenty in the golf broadcasting world passed. From Bob Harig’s Morning Read story: