Golfing News & Blog Articles

Lots and lots to chew on here for the next six months, but as I write at The Quadrilateral with exclusive comments from the R&A’s Chief Technology Officer Steve Otto, we may be on the cusp of reigning in the madness while opening new innovation doors for average players.

The “Areas of Interest.”

For Immediate Release from the R&A (the USGA also sent out the same release):

THE R&A AND USGA RELEASE UPDATED AREAS OF INTEREST AND RESEARCH TOPICS ON HITTING DISTANCE IN GOLF

16 March 2022, St Andrews, Scotland and Liberty Corner, N.J., USA: The R&A and USGA today released updated areas of interest and research topics on hitting distance in golf.

Bob Harig at SI.com has details of the World Golf Group/Premier Golf League’s latest pitch to get a meeting with PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan and the PGA Tour Policy Board.

Set aside the silliness of the current 200 PGA Tour players getting $2 million each for being in the right place at the right time (Thanks Tiger!), and consider the specifics.

World Golf Group states it believes the PGL will generate $10 billion of equity value by 2030, which would equate to $20 million per PGA Tour voting member and $3 million per Korn Ferry member.

In addition, the proposal includes a cash advance on future equity value of $460 million. In simple terms, each of 200 voting members of the PGA Tour would receive $2 million upon the launch of the PGL, with 200 Korn Ferry members each getting $300,000.

Andy Gardiner, the CEO of the Premier Golf League, who was recently at the Players Championship, declined to comment.

Long rumored, totally uncertain and now official…

Henrik Stenson has been named as the European Captain for the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome, Italy from September 25 – October 1, 2023.

The 2016 Open Champion has enjoyed an impressive Ryder Cup career, helping Europe to victory in three of five of his appearances as a player before going on to bring his experience to the role of Vice Captain in the 2020 edition of the biennial contest.

The 45 year old becomes the first Swede to be named European Captain and will be aiming to emulate the memorable European performance in the last home match at Le Golf National in Paris, France in 2018, and reclaim the Ryder Cup following victory for the United States at Whistling Straits, Wisconsin, last September.

As a player, Stenson made his Ryder Cup debut for Europe at The K Club, in Ireland, in 2006, when he secured the winning point in a dominant 18½ – 9½ victory. He was also a member of the victorious teams in 2014 at Gleneagles, Scotland, and 2018 at Le Golf National, in France, as well as being part of the European Teams in both 2008 and 2016.

While it seems like golf has been fortunate on the player heckling front of late, it’s worth noting what happened to Naomi Osaka in Indian Wells as a reminder that tennis and golf are different.

Helene Elliott of the LA Times looks at the incident, the history of trouble at this tournament, Osaka’s desire to address the crowd mid-match, and the decision not to eject the heckler.

I found it odd the heckler was not ejected when the timing of the noise impacted the flow of the match. Get ‘em outta there!

Anyway, Elliott writes:

Retired tennis great Martina Navratilova called it “heartbreaking” that someone would insult Osaka and also that Osaka had been affected so deeply. Navratilova also said Osaka would have to “toughen it out somehow” in the future and said Black players Althea Gibson, Chanda Rubin and Zina Garrison had endured tougher experiences in the sport than Osaka has had. It’s tricky telling people how to feel when we’re all shaped by different cultural factors and have different emotional trigger points.

After a flattering Atlantic profile of Mohammed bin Salman, that wasn’t enough to keep Golf Saudi’s sugar daddy and backer of the fluttering LIV Golf Investments to what he does best: screw with oil prices, complain about bad PR over Kashoggi and cut heads off.

It also seems he has yet to give up his sportwashing effort to lure pros away from the PGA Tour for a new golf league. Golfweek’s Eamon Lynch says the Crown Prince’s people have reconvened after the Phil Mickelson meltdown and demise of their league concept to try a new approach.

The latest conjecture has the Crown Prince’s coat holders planning to stage a tournament with an enormous purse that could dwarf the $20 million offered at the PGA Tour’s flagship stop in soggy Florida. The goal would be to engineer litigation by inviting Tour members to compete while hoping commissioner Jay Monahan denies the permission required to do so, thereby presenting an opportunity to challenge his control over where members play, or to at least jeopardize the Tour’s tax-exempt status as a 501c organization.

One tournament probably won’t do it. But then again, news of a record beheading day suggests MSM still has his touch.

From the AP’s Jon Gambrell on Saturday’s record hall of 81 executions, a new record mass execution for the Kingdom.

An intense Saturday of rain-delayed play saw high winds after a front moved through Ponte Vedra. Temperatures dropped and the TPC Sawgrass’ 17th saw one of those days of trouble, with 19 water balls spread between first and second round play.

While that’s nothing compared to the all-time worst of 50, Kevin Kisner said the conditions produced “pure luck” and impugned The Players Championship’s “integrity.” Other players seemed to take things in better stride if you read Adam Schupak’s Golfweek wrap of the antics. Credit to players like Collin Morikawa who said he just missed his shot and while difficult, the task was doable.

And if you take a look at PGA Tour’s compilation of all 19 water balls—drop area shots included—it’s staggering how many shots were dead just a few yards off the club face. Or how many purely awful strikes were made trying to play the ball down. I estimated 9 of the 19 just were unlucky due to a gust or just missing the 3,912 green. The rest never had a chance.

On Golf Channel’s Live From, it was nice to have some sparring back on set that’s been lost since Frank Nobilo and David Duval left.

Paul McGinley held firm in believing the conditions were tough and nothing more than a “freak day”.

Execs from NBC working out of PGA Tour headquarters are making stellar use of the synergy by working with a creative agency to come up with their next expensive abomination.

The big unveiling came during rain-delayed round one coverage of the 2022 Players. With, warning, more to come in the coming days.

One of the most trusted voices and best broadcasters in sports history was relegated to introducing the “mixed reality” intrusion…

What will these creatives think of next?

PGATour.com’s Jeff Eisenband was tasked with explaining this campaign which announces to the world, we intend to take Coveted Demo Desperation Syndrome to the lamest possible places.

Congrats to these two longtime competitors and keep them in your prayers as they captain at the Old Course and Cypress Point.

Mike McCoy in 2023 at St Andrews and Nathan Smith in 2025 at Cypress Point.

The full release:

LIBERTY CORNER, N.J. (March 9, 2022) – The USGA announced on Wednesday that Mike McCoy, of Des Moines, Iowa, will captain the USA Team for the 2023 Walker Cup Match on the Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland and Nathan Smith, of Pittsburgh, Pa., will captain the USA Team for the 2025 Walker Cup Match at Cypress Point Club in Pebble Beach, Calif.

“Both Mike and Nathan have long, exceptional histories with the USGA and outstanding amateur golf resumes,” said Stu Francis, USGA president. “Given the historic nature of the next two matches being staged at St. Andrews and Cypress Point, we wanted to give both of them the time to enjoy this leadership opportunity and plan their next few years accordingly. We congratulate each of them on an honor well deserved and look forward to watching them lead two talented USA Teams.”