Golf - The Players

This week, we have The Players tournament. This is considered a very important tournament; some call it 'the 5th Major.' That is how silly golf sometimes gets. The Major tournaments have lnog, long traditions behind them. The Players is an attempt, much like the Fed Ex Playoffs to create a tradition. That simply is not how tradition works.

The course, TPC Sawgrass is just weird. It is not overly long, but it has a lot of water, too much water and darn near everything slopes toward this hazards. The greens sit at odd, little angles and have slopes that make it difficult to access the pins. In fact, they sometimes make it hard to even keep the ball on the green. On top of all that, the greens are almost always very, very fast.

In good weather, with no wind, the course is hard, but playable. However, any one who has ever spent time in Florida, knows that good weather for 4 straight days is always a long shot. If it rains, the course gets slow and soft and becomes almost too easy. If it is hot and sunny, the course is hard, fast and almost unplayable. Then, there is the wind. If the wind gets up to 20 mph, common in Florida in May, just keeping the ball on dry land is a problem.

The Tournament used to be played in March when, in Florida, high winds were a given and the course was never more than borderline playable. That's why they moved it to May.

I will watch The Players because I am a golf addict and because I, here and there, love to see the pros have to struggle. After all, they get paid enough/ They should have a rough week here and there. However, I will never consider The Players a Major Tournament. The tradition is a made up thing, a hype to stir up interest. Traditions build organically. You just do not create something and declare it a tradition, especially when you are playing on such a bizarre course.

Arnold Palmer

As I have said before, I love watching professional golf on TV. This weekend I watched the Arnold Palmer Invitational, a yearly event. This year was different in that Palmer passed away last year.

Palmer was a fine player, one of the greats and certainly was a charismatic athlete. He was one of the first athletes, in any sport, to realize how much could be made by marketing himself as a pitchman for products, and Arnie pushed a plethora of products. Okay, nothing wrong with making money and all modern athletes owe him thanks for opening those doors.

By all accounts, he was a great guy, always ready to shake hands and talk with fans and even to write countless letters to those fans. He is to congratulated for that. He was reasonably generous with charities, especially with time given to them. All in all, a good guy. He is gone and is missed, to a degree.

However, the display of outright maudlin sentimentality shown on NBC and the Golf Channel this weekend was absurd. The tournament was great, close and exciting, and would have been even more so had it not been interrupted every few minutes by some weepy overly sentimental tribute to Arnie. By the end of the weekend, I thought he was going to be canonized, declared St. Arnie of the Fairways. A tribute, short and tasteful, is fine, but this was almost constant and far from tasteful.

I am not an overly sentimental person. Okay, that's me and I know everybody is different, but I do not understand this over-the-top obsession folks have with dead celebrities. I miss family members who have passed on, but I have a difficult time understanding how people can get so mournful over someone they didn't know.

Or, maybe I have this wrong. Maybe, a lot of people who were watching, like I was, were equally put off by the endless tribute paid to a guy who, in the long run, was just a damn fine golfer. Maybe, the Network executives and the PGA were just hoping to pull in some viewers by telling them that they should be part of the reverence paid to Palmer. I wonder what he would have thought of the whole ridiculous, sorry spectacle.

Sports and Politics

I have mentioned before my love of watching professional golf. I, on occasion, have mentioned my loathing of politics. Here is why.

This week there is a WGC tour event. Only the best players in the world are invited. For years, this tournament was played at the Doral Country Club in Miami, Fl. The course was redesigned by Donald Trump's organization and they now own the club. The old course needed redevelopment and improvement and Trump did a fine job, creating a difficult test for the best players.

Then, he ran for President and said some things that offended some people. Those people put pressure on the WGC and they folded. The tournament, stsrting this year, will be played on a course in Mexico city.

The course is short, poses few real problems for pro golfers and, in the high altitude will play even shorter. What should be a tough test for elite players is likely to be no more difficult that an average players Saturday round with his buddies. These players will tear the course up.

What has traditionally been a fine fascinating test, will likely be a boring, easy shoot out. God knows how low the scores will be. That is not what a top level tournament should be.

This is what happens when Politics and Entertainment (which is all pro sports is) get mixed up and, unfortunately you can see this in all forms of entertainment and all of the Arts. Keep Politics out of all of the rest of life, and keep it minimal even when needed.

Tiger Woods

I write occasionally about golf and I would like to say a few words about Tiger Woods and his latest travails.

Tiger was, for about ten years, the best golfer in history. That really cannot be argued. The great Jack Nicklaus, was as dominant. I was always most amazed by Tiger's incredible concentration. Yes, he had amazing skills, but it was that concentration, that ability to completely focus, that set him apart.

However, Nicklaus lasted longer. He did wind up with back and knee problems but not until late in his career. Woods began suffering injures in his mid-thirties and has not been the same since. Now, 4 knee surgeries and 3 back surgeries later, he continues to attempt comebacks and it is sad.

As someone who has suffered greatly with back troubles let me say that you are never the same again. Even when you are not in pain, a part of you remembers the hurt and will restrain your motion. Same goes for knee problems, which I have also suffered.

Woods has one option. He could change his swing to put less strain on his back. With his knowledge of the game, he could likely do that and still be competitive, However, he would lose power and length. It seems that his pride and his desire to compete on even terms with long hitters like Dustin Johnson and Jason Day prevents him from considering this option.

It would be great for golf to see him make a big comeback. He won't. Right now, he is in danger of becoming an all too familiar figure, the athlete who stays in the game too long. Those close to him should urge him to retire. It is better to be remembered for the greatness of your youth than the pitiful performances of your middle age.

The Ryder Cup - We Win!

America finally won another Ryder Cup. It was a fine series of matches. The golf was excellent and I have seldom seen so much enthusiasm, both from the participants and the crowds/

For once, the American team was able to put their differences aside and function as a team. The Europeans always seem to manage that, but we Americans are such an individually oriented society that we generally can't do it. It generally is not in us. But, for once, we managed.

Golf is an individual sport. You have to be self centered when on the course to play well and team play is unnatural. But, it can be done. It's just a delicate balancing act/

To be fair to the Europeans, they had 6 first time players on the team. This matters because the pressures of the Ryder Cup are extreme. You are playing for yourself, your team and your country. In addition, the crowds are rabid. First time players generally don't do well. This year, Thomas Pieters and Brooks Kepka, both rookies, are to be commended for excellent play.

If you missed the Ryder Cup, you missed a great show.

The Ryder Cup

Friday, the Ryder Cup begins. There is no other sporting event that yields so much excitement, with the possible exception of a big time heavy weight fight. Even if you are not wild about golf, there is something about the intense rivalry that is captivating.

Golf is an individual sport. If you follow the game, you sort of get to know the players, since, whether in triumph or defeat, it is hard to hide who you are on the course. A player's strength, weaknesses and character are laid bare for all to see.

Usually (for those who do not follow golf), the matches are stroke, or medal play. The lowest number of stroke at the end of the round, wins. Thus, if on the 5th hole, for example, you make a 6 while your opponent makes a 4, you are 2 strokes down and can easily make that up before the round ends. In match play, which is used in the Ryder Cup, if you lose a hole, it doesn't matter if it is by 1 stroke or 7. The hole is lost, you are 1 down, and that is it. Lose 2  holes, and you are 2 down. There is no making up strokes because they do not matter. This creates a lot of tension and each shot, on every hole, is vital. Concentration is at a premium and there is not let up.

Add to that, the rivalry. In the Ryder Cup, the American team plays the European team and many of the matches are played as foursome, 2 Americans against 2 Europeans. In some, best ball wins, with each player playing every shot. In some, players on each team alternate shots. This sort of team play in professional golf is seldom seen, and it is fascinating to watch the strategies. The final day, singles matches, 1 on 1, are played. Two sets of matches on each of the first two days, and the singles on the third. This requires stamina, both physical and mental.

The Americans, for long years, dominated these matches, which only happen every other year. For the last several meetings, the Europeans have won, and America is beside itself trying to figure our how to win. The rivalry is civil, kind of friendly, but that does not lessen the tension.

This year, the matches are played at Hazleteen, a long, difficult course that has hosted major tournaments. The American team looks superior on paper, but many of its players have not been playing well of late. The European team, while good, has several rookie players who have not been through the pressure cooker that is the Ryder CUp. This should be fun.

The Olympics

I have surprised myself by watching a fair amount of Olympic coverage. I suppose it's because of golf's return to the Games. I am a huge golf fan and have been impressed by the play. I had thought that, due to many conditions in Rio, the Games would be disastrous  So far,  all is going, well, okay, in that there have been no calamities.

That is not to say things have gone well. The athletes are doing alright, mostly, but spectators are having a few spots of bother. Cybercrime is tapping bank accounts, serious violence is breaking out in the slums, stray bullets have found there way into the media center and the equestrian ring (no horses were there, thankfully). and there are food shortages.

There is a noticeable lack of volunteers since many are not showing up again after receiving their gift of a watch for volunteering, and some are not receiving notice of what to do once there.

Then there are water issues. Rowers are livid over the pollution they are rowing through and some of the pools have turned green and are stinging the eyes of competitors. One swimmer's hair has turned green. Officials declared this 'mysterious,' until today, when they admitted that they simply did not have enough chemicals to properly treat the water, an unforgivable oversight.

But that pales into insignificance when a recent news alert reported the shooting, in the head, of an Olympic official who made a wrong turn into a slum.

Still however, nothing completely disastrous has happened, although there are still 9 days left. But, again, oddly enough for me, none of this is spoiling a bit of it for me. Maybe, as I age, I simply do not expect any better or, maybe, I just don't care as much about problems, at least not enough to let them spoil things.

I have watched a little basketball, swimming, and rowing, a lot of golf and tennis and have become totally addicted to rugby. I hope to see a bit of boxing and weight lifting and maybe some wrestling. Maybe I will be lucky enough to catch some of the more obscure sports, those are always fun. Any way, I am going to enjoy this and hope that nothing goes any worse happens.

2016 US Open - Why Can't the USGA Run a Tournament

First, Congratulations to Dustin Johnson for overcoming Oakmont, a lot of fine opponents and the USGA in winning the Open. The USGA gave us Marion where the rough was so deep and think you needed a scythe more than a wedge to get out. Then they gave us Pinehurst where the dome shaped greens and shaved banks around them provided Martin Kaymer with a stage on which to win without chipping; he putted when off the greens (I thought the Open was meant to test all of a players skills). Then we had Chambers Bay where the greens were not ready for competition and balls hopped and swerved there way to the holes on a surface some said was like 'putting on broccoli'.

This year, Oakmont. After 3 inches of rain, Mike Davis and the USGA decided that the only way to make the course tough was make the greens as fast as possible. It took them until Sunday, but they made it. Thursday, Friday and Saturday they had to make do with setting the holes in impossible locations, but on Sunday, they had greens running well over 14 and, for those who don't know, that is akin to putting on glass. Putting them was bad enough, hitting approaches to them was nightmarish. The course, on Sunday, was unfair.

Now, golf is not, by nature a fair game. Most who play the game have hit fine shots, only to have them hit an unseen twig or catch a sudden wind gust and wind up in trouble. Okay, that happens. But when player after player, the best in the world, are hitting great approaches, and having them roll off the green to a point farther away that when they started, something is wrong. I saw Speith hit a brilliant wedge to 2 feet from the flag that rolled into a bunker. I saw Lowery stick a pitch 3 feet from a hole and it wound up 40 yards down the fairway. I saw players barely tap 4 foot putts and watch them roll 10 feet past.  When things like that happen, over and over again, the course has become unfair.

The USGA has a history of doing things like this. One year, at Shinnecock, the let the greens get to about 16 and players were just desperate to get the ball to stop anywhere on the greens.

The Masters frequently lets its greens get to 14, but Augusta National is a different kind of course. Their greens are such that, even with speeds that fast, a properly hit shot to the proper spot will be rewarded.

The US Open should be hard. Its purpose is to test the best players in every aspect of their game and we all like to see that. However, when you make the courses over the top in difficulty, luck becomes too big a factor.

I mean no disrespect to the courses mentioned. They are all beautiful, difficult and fair, It is the USGA treatment of them that is the problem.

This is to take nothing away from Dustin Johnson. He played the best on a ridiculous layout and he dealt like a gentleman and like the great competitor he is in his handling of the penalty situation. The rule about a ball moving on the green is poorly written and the USGA officials' handling of the whole situation was deplorable. When greens are set that fast, just walking on the green can set the ball in motion. This is an issue they need to deal with immediately.

2016 US Open

This is the week of the US Open, golf, not tennis, and I am thrilled. The last 2 Opens have been played on odd courses. Two years ago, it was at Pinehurst. The course was remodelled to resemble its original design. After 4 days, I began to see why it had been changed over the years. It was like playing in a vacant lot, with some ridiculouly hard greens set here and there.

The next year was at Chambers Bay, a totally bizarre layout. It's sort of lunar like terrain was weird enough but then, there were its greens. The idea was to have fescue greens, as in Scotland. However, the weather was not what they expected, the fescues did not grow right, and they had to add the wretched and dreaded poa annua. The players said it was like putting on broccoli and that was being kind.

This year, a classic, Oakmont. No trees, no water, lots of sand, narrow fairways, ungodly thick rough, and lightening fast greens with lots of slopes, in other words, what a US Open should be.

The players will be tested to the utmost. Some will snivel, complaining of freen difficulties and unfair rough. That's all part of this great event. Who will win? I think it will be someone we haven't heard a lot of. Remember, last time it was played here, a relatively unknown, Angel Cabrera, one. Those ready to crown, McIlroy, Speith, or Day, should keep that in mind. This should be fun.