Golf brings out the best in a good man and the worst in a bad man. Evel Knievel

Evel Knievel, daredevil and golfer, died today at 69. Knievel's My Shot in Golf Digest was one of the best. I especially liked his memories of meeting Arnold Palmer.

I was playing 21 at the Aladdin in Las Vegas, betting $10,000 a hand. Arnold Palmer and Winnie are standing right behind me, watching. And I'm losing. The dealer is pulling 20 every time, and although I'm pulling my share of 20s, too, I can't win a hand, and I'm losing a lot of money. And I'm getting really angry. The next hand he deals me a 20, and he's got a face card showing. I'm certain he has 20, and I just can't bear tying again. So I ask for a hit. The dealer freaks out, shuts the table down and screams for Ash Resnick, who runs the casino. Ash comes along and is told I want to hit 20. He looks at me for a long time and then says, "Give the kid a hit." The dealer gives me an ace, and when I turn around, Arnold's eyes are this big, and Winnie looks like she's going to be sick. "I know what pressure is," Arnold said, "but you're too much."

Arnold gave me a great lesson once. We were at Bay Hill, and I suggested that we play for some cash. He put his arm around me and said, "Evel, I've got a lot of money, and I don't need any of yours. On the other hand, I don't want you to have any of mine." That taught me something about gambling with friends: Keep it friendly.

More...

Mike Jones of Rockville, Md., is officially the first person to comment on the Golf World Newsmakers issue. His note concerns No. 14, Steve Stricker, who did not make Golf World's cover this year.

It's hard to believe with the year Steve Stricker had in 2007 that he didn't make one of your covers (and Boo got two?). I've been following Steve's up and down career since I first saw his wife caddying for him when they used to call it the NEC Championship. It has been great to see his success the past two years. Here's to it continuing in 2008. Hopefully Steve can savor his winter back home knowing that his success was also a source of joy among his admiring fans.

That would be a Boo Hoo letter, Mike. Be thankful that Steve made the list. My guy, Justin Rose, England, European Order of Merit winner, 2007 Volvo Masters champion, who rose from obscurity to contender in each of this year's four majors and finished in the top dozen in each, third in scoring average on the PGA Tour, did not even list. I think they missed.

--Bob Carney

While we're on the subject of slow play, we retrieved a 1994 piece Dean Knuth did for us that's the best yet at explaining the problem and offering solutions...for recreational golf anyway. For starters, Knuth's research revealed that while 58 per cent of us rate our own play fast and only 5 per cent of us think we're slow, we believe 56 per cent of other players are slow and only 2 per cent fast. Hmmmm. Thomas Hamlett suggested here that tees be restricted by handicap. Knuth offered another solution:

The biggest problem in course management is overloading the course. This happens when tee-time intervals are less than 10 minutes apart. A course using six-minute intervals is guaranteed to get more goand guaranteed to create more angry golfers. Overloading causes backups on the first par 3 or a short par 5, where better golfers wait for the green to clear before they hit their second shots.

The biggest problem with overloading a course is the psychological aspect to slow play. If golfers get held up fairly early, they lose their expectation for fast play and will play deliberately. The difference is an hour or more in total time of play.

Worth a read.

--Bob Carney

Nice letter from Terry Smail on Bill Fields' Backspin story on Shirley Englehorn.

What a delight to open my Golf World and find the article about Shirley Englehorn! Shirley became one of my heroines when I met her at the Idaho high school state tournament in Boise in 1958. She was playing #1 man for her Caldwell high boy's team. Even better, on the second day of the tournament, she played in the foursome ahead of mine. Our group spent the round watching her out-drive and outplay her male competitors. On each driving hole we would try to hit our drives as far as hers. It was a once in a lifetime 'inside the ropes' experience for our foursome.

Later, I followed her stellar, accident-filled career (11 victories). The accidents—horse, car, and ankle—each took their toll, but couldn't completely hold her down. What a player. What a competitor.

Had the LPGA had a better marketing department back in those days, Shirley would have given them reason to create "These Girls Rock" 40 years earlier. Thanks for remembering a real superstar.

--Bob Carney

(Photo: Trevor Brown)

Following our post yesterday on the subject of slow play, I present a couple of interesting letters touching on the subject. The first responds to Stina Sternberg's Ask Stina column in December.

A two-handicap woman complained about being forced to play the forward tees (we're getting to the slow play part) and Stina advised to grin and bear it:

I agree it would be nice if rangers could give you the benefit of the doubt, or at least watch you swing before telling you to move up, but you also have to keep in mind that they're just trying to do their job....Sadly there are plenty of golfers who insist on playing from yardages that are too long for their skill level. Seeing you at the whites might give the ranger pause the way seeing a man play from the tips does....

Thomas Hamlett of Van Nuys, CA, took exception.

Stina Sternberg's response (Dec. 07) to the lady with the handicap of 2 was way off and perpetuates the male chauvinism and sexism of golf. She told her that she shouldn't be upset when the course marshal told her she had to play from the Red tees instead of the White tees that she preferred.

Unless I missed something in the USGA Rule Book, the tee placement is based on ability (handicap), not gender.

I believe we could reduce the amount of playing time if more marshals would make golfers play the tees that their handicap equates too. I have played several courses that require you to have a 10 or less handicap to play the back tees. Other courses have handicap recommendations (both men and women) for the tees.

I am a 20 handicap person who plays with one arm and scoliosis of the spine; I hit 70% of my fairways, but only hit the driver 150-170. I have played 28 years, always off the forward tees; I can't count the number of times I have played with guys who played the back tees only to dribble it past the forward tee. My belief is that if I can outdrive you from the forward tee….you are playing the wrong tees.

Several years ago Golf Digest tried to get more people walking with the belief that it would reduce playing time. I challenge Golf Digest to start a campaign to get courses to enforce a certain handicap for each of the tees. I think this would go a great way to reducing playing time.

Interesting idea, Thomas. We'll discuss it. The complication is that on our "country clubs for a day" courses, many of which are very difficult from any set of tees, it's difficult for a ranger to tell a player who's paid more than $100 where he or she will tee off, even if they would have more fun.

While we're on slow play, I retrieved this letter we received on the Sabbatini piece in November from Mark Walker, in Thailand.

Your November article of Rory's lost cool over the slow play of Ben Crane was for me refreshing. Yes it was rude, but isn't slow play the ultimate rudeness or at least equally so? I for one, was secretly then openly pleased with Rory's walk off. After all this is a sport that suffers with endemic slow play. Evidenced by the statement a few years ago by Bernhardt Langer at the British Open, that 5hours and 8 minutes was not enough time for a twosome to play a round of golf! Ugh. Three cheers for Rory!

"The ultimate rudeness" says it perfectly, Mark.

A friend of mine, our international editor John Barton, suggests this simple rule change to speed play. Its brilliance is in its simplicity.

Every swing counts as a stroke. That is, whether you make a swing with the intention to strike the ball or simply in "practice", it counts as one. Play a round that way. It will be refreshingly swift.

--Bob Carney

On this blog yesterday, talking about the rules and proper teeing procedure, I made a crack about how it would get you disqualified to tee off on a bottle cap, but play a round in six hours and you were fine. That's fine, not fined. Slow play, in my opinion, being the bain of our golfing existences.

For more on that subject see George Peper's excellent essay on the Links Magazine site and lots of interesting discussion on GeoffShackelford.com. Having played recently with George I know he lives by his words. There is no stand-around time, good shot or bad.

Peper's point is that the USGA has a system, used at the US Amateur this year where it resulted in 12 single-stroke penalties, to control the dawdling. He urges the Tour to take up the cause. (Our fingers are crossed and we have no hope whatsoever of this happening.

Slow play used to be a Golf Digest "crusade." Somewhere along the way we threw in the towel or at least waved it in surrender. You write to us frequently in exasperation about it. Your spouses howl about how golf consumes an entire day. And nothing changes.

My own view, shared by few (okay, no one) here is that we're all obsessed with score and handicap. Even when we play match play we don't play match play ("I'll just putt out here for handicap purposes....") and we never, ever play foursomes, a great and fast game, because "I want to play my own ball." Ugh.

So thanks, George, for re-taking up the cause. A few slow-play penalties on Tour would do a world of good. Then we can attack the widespread use of bottle-cap tees.

Our fingers are crossed.

--Bob Carney

In a previous post, we confessed to one misplay in the rules story in December: "Is it allowed?" Let this be our second.

Situation No. 4 in the story read:

"Your opponent uses a bottle cap as a tee."

We said, "Yes", this was allowed. Not so. Pebblepete in a comment on this blog was one of the readers who protested our answer. Warren Simmons in Scottsdale was another. Warren, a Golf Digest course rating panelist,  longtime USGA committeeman and former Chair of the Colorado Golf Association, rightly points out that the definition of "tee", on which the rule rests, came in 2004. The change outlawed, among other things, the use of a pencil as a tee, which Chi Chi Rodriguez had made famous. Warren cites the definition:

"A tee is a device designed to raise a ball off the ground" from the Definition your incorrect answer references).  So far as I know, a bottle cap is not designed to do that (it is designed to keep liquid in a bottle).  When the definition of a "tee" was added to the Rules book in 2004, teeing up a ball on a pencil was no longer permitted, for the same reason.  Use of a bottle cap went out that same year.

Rule 11-1, after saying one may hit a tee shot off of the teeing ground, "a tee placed in or on the surface of the teeing ground, or sand or other natural substance placed on the surface of the teeing ground," goes on to say:

In teeing, if a player uses a non-conforming tee or any other object to raise the ball off the ground, he is disqualified.

Several others of you wrote in about this situation, but only Warren referenced the 2004 change. In short, it was the  designed to raise a ball off the ground clause in the definition and the any other object clause in the rule that proved us wrong. A call to the USGA rules department confirmed Warren's ruling.

I talked to a couple people who know the rules very well who were confused by this one, too. They remember Chi Chi's use of the pencil, but don't remember the 2004 change.

Thanks, Warren, and all of you who pointed this out.

One--well, me--can question the penalty, however. This merits disqualification but it's okay to play in six hours ?

Warren also questioned our answer to situation No. 8, wherein we "allowed" the use of a hat to mark the position of a lifted ball.  But he cut us a bit of slack.

I haven't checked with the USGA, but that's really stretching the Note to Rule 20-1, which suggests that "the position of a ball to be lifted should be marked by placing a ball marker, a small coin or other similar object immediately behind the ball."   A hat is hardly "a small coin or other similar object."  Decision 20-1/16 discourages, but allows use of a tee, loose impediment or toe of a club.  Using a hat, jacket or golf bag would be pushing the envelope a bit far in my opinion.  On the other hand, if there is some distinctive feature of the hat that clearly identifies the spot from which the ball is lifted (a button on the edge, the seam in the back, etc.), then I suppose the hat may be used to mark its position.

--Bob Carney

Some of you are giving thanks for our cover story on actor Jack Nicholson. Some of you are decidly not. Here's a sampling of a load of mail we're received on the "other" Jack.

"What a great interview!" says Bill Wilkins of New Egypt, NJ.

The problem was reading it and not listening to the voices of his characters answering the questions.  I would hear one character answer and then I would go back and re-read as another, "What a rush".   That story , turned into movie, would be one of the greatest golf movies ever made.

  And from Dave Kurrent of Pinole, CA:

When asked about my (erratic) golf game, especially as a single joining a group on the tee, I would reply "sometimes I play like Jack Nicklaus and sometimes like Jack Nicholson" and receive a chuckle.

But now Golf Digest has burst my bubble by highlighting Jack Nicholson as one of the best golfers in Hollywood.
 
Now I'll have to come up with a new line.

But others took exception to "Jack's Rules":

All you have to do is look at his short list of rules he plays by to quickly figure out that he is merely a person who plays golf and not a golfer.  That's why he has a short list of golfing buddies.  Who wants to play golf with somebody who bets but welches on them every time he loses?  Anybody who can think logically will come to the conclusion that he never shot a 64.

 

That was Pete Balerud of Columbus, NE. He has an ally in Ed Lawrence of Bozeman, MT:

Gents,

If I wanted celebrity interviews I'd read Vanity Fair.

Conversely, the interview w/Boo was entertaining.

Of course, you get the last word so I expect my comment will be followed by
a list of those who disagree.

Nonetheless, thanks for publishing your email address.

Ed, at your request, you'll only be followed by someone who feels exactly as you do, perhaps more so. Here's Harold Schmidt of Plymouth, IN:

You wasted 11 pages on Jack Nicholson, I won't be renewing my subscription.

That hurts, Harold. Please reconsider. Jack Nickaus will be back soon.

--Bob Carney

 

Got a letter from a Ted Raymond of El Mirage, AZ, about our Hollywood's Top 100 in the December issue. He sounded like an insider.

Your list of "Hollywood's Top-100" is lacking a bit of credibility. You have hackers with handicaps up to 36-plus included on the list. Yet don't even mention one actor who I would back against many on the list - even though I haven't teed it up with him for 30 years!

M. Emmet Walsh was one of the best grinders I've ever played with. During my short LA sojourn, he introduced me to the Hollywood Hackers, a group of actors that teed it up on Monday at various venues, mostly in the valley.

Emmet and Claude Akins were probably the two toughest sticks in the group. And, unless age and infirmity has grabbed him, I would venture to say that Emmet is probably still a single-digit handicapper.

Hmmm. Ted Raymond. Probably not the T.R. (Ted Raymond) Knight of Grey’s Anatomy—wrong generation—but could it be the Ted Raymond who played Spencer in The Truman Show? I asked….

Yep...the same Ted Raymond who, after Bob Denver told me to "go west, you'll get a lot of work," left Chicago and ended up doing mostly plays at Harlequin Dinner Theatre, a couple of commercials, a 2-part "All in the Family" -- and playing golf with the Hollywood Hackers! Retreated to Chicago, then "retired" to Florida panhandle and took up golf and column writing again (after a 30 year lapse!)...did that (now a Life Member of GWAA) for 26 years - and landed the the Spencer role on The Truman Show before I "retired" again out here to Arizona.

Even starting up the acting bit again...did Doc in "West Side Story" and now at Phoenix Theatre in "The Quiltmaker's Gift," playing - what else - the Old Man!

That golf group back in the day had a bunch of the second tier guys in it...Akins, John Agar, Emmet, Kevin Hagen...bunch of others. Emmet and Claude were the toughest, if memory serves.
Since moving out here, I screwed up my handicap over the summer with good rounds on the home course (Pueblo El Mirage) getting out hand on the ball because of sparse grass...down to a 5.1 index and will get my ass kicked all over the place this winter!

Well, Ted, I hope not. At 5.1 you'd be in the top five of our list! But thanks for the heads-up on Emmet Walsh, a great character actor who seems to show up in all the films we like, which we'll check out. A quick search on ghin.com didn't find him, but we'll keep looking.

--Bob Carney

(Photo: Fractured Angel Films)

We got a lot of mail about our rules story, "Is this allowed?" in the December issue -- because it's wrong.

Situation No. 5 reads:

Your playing partner hits his ball into a water hazard. Rather than play it, he takes a penalty drop, and his ball rolls into a bunker. He then hits the shot.

Permissible? We said "yes"; the answer is "no". Charles Nuxoll of Sun City Center, FL, was one of several readers who caught the mistake.

If a player takes a penalty drop from a water hazard  and the ball rolls into a bunker the ball must be re-dropped.  Rule  20-2.c.(i). The referenced decision 26-1/2, applies only to Rule 26-1b, dropping a ball on a line between the flag stick and the spot on which the ball last crossed the margin of the hazard. In the question the ball rolled INTO the hazard. In the answer the ball was dropped IN the hazard. Different situations, different answers.

Rule 20-2 reads:

A dropped ball must be re-dropped without penalty if it:

(i) rolls into and comes to rest in a hazard

No matter that it's a different hazard than the one from which the player is taking relief, it's still not allowed.

Thanks also to Phil Bridges of Starkville, MS; Jack Morehead of Jacksonville, FL; and Bryan Lewis of South Haven, MI, among others, for pointing out that we, uh, dropped the ball on this one.

--Bob Carney

That Jack Nicklaus interview on Bloomberg Television, mentioned here a couple of days ago, will be re-run on Thanksgiving at 1:30, 4:30 and 7:30 EST. Allan Dodds Frank does the interview with a very candid Playing Editor Nicklaus. Worth a look....

--Bob Carney

We've got a load of letters on Ron Sirak's wonderful Golf World story about Golf Fore Africa, the LPGA players' group working to alleviate the suffering in Rwanda. Surprisingly, in addition to the many that praised the effort, some of you questioned the players' priorities. Here is a sampling.

From Dr. Raymond Ramirez of Mableton, Georgia:

It took Don Cheadle's recent film to bring to my consciousness the vivid horrors of the Hutus genocide of the Tutsis. Your fine article tells us, that still ten years later, the ravages of random killing, rape and AIDS still haunt Rwanda. Kudos to those LPGA players for bringing their Christian spirit to this central African country. May God continue to bless Betsy King, Juli Inkster and their devoted colleagues. And maybe, just maybe, that with continued acts of similar kindness and more humanitarian aid, the stark images of chopping machetes and sounds of anguished cries can be replaced by swinging golf clubs and laughter.

From Matt Bernhardt of Indianapolis:

It amazes me that Americans will travel thousands of miles to see hungry, sick children. We have malnourished kids here who can't get healthcare or the medicine they need. Every major city in the US has slums and a large number of homeless. I don't need to look to Rwanda to want to cry, all I have to see is the way this country continues to turn its back on its own people.

From David Crow, Brea, California:

Nice gesture, as is helping anybody anywhere. I can't help but wonder - maybe these LPGA stars could find a place their own back yard where children need their help first. You know AMERICA, here they have made virtually all their money, and where I assume most, if not all of them live??? I'm sure there are thousands, if not millions of AMERICAN children who could use their help. America first.

From Carol Surrell:

Kudos to Betsy King and the other LPGA players for their humanitarian visit to Rwanda. What joy they brought to the children with their visit, and they also raised awareness here at home of the tragic conditions the Rwandans live under. These girls truly do rock!

Check out also Dom Furore's photo gallery from the trip. Ron Sirak narrates. For information on GFA: golforeafrica@gmail.com

--Bob Carney

(Photo: Dom Furore)

In case you missed it, our Hall of Fame Playing Editor Jack Nicklaus did an interview with Allan Dodds Frank of Bloomberg News recently. The video is up on Bloomberg.com and it's worth a look. Excerpts:

On business:

The biggest mistake I ever did was let my guys talk me into taking a part of the company public. That was the biggest mistake I ever made. I had no idea what--what the rules and laws were of a public company. And we did a public company. And a lot of people lost money, including me...It was a great lesson. But, you know, if you're gonna get into that business, you better know what the devil you're doing.

On course design:

You've gotta learn how to design golf course not only for--for the ability to be able to host a tournament, but you really design it for who's going to play it 51 weeks a year. And it--it's the average golfer and the women, the kids, the beginners. You've got to be able to get them around the golf course.

On Tiger:

He understands what to do and when to do it and how to do it and how to keep your composure and how to control the one thing he can control, that's himself. And that's the only thing you can control. And he does that better than anybody.

Other intresting quotes on the ball and modern equipment, on Tiger breaking his majors record, on the issue of steroids in golf...Worth a look.

--Bob Carney

I spent several days this week in St. Augustine, attending the World Golf Hall of Fame induction ceremonies and eavesdropping on interviews of Hall of Fame members for a new project called Chronicles. You can't have a better time.

Chronicles is, essentially, an oral history of the game as told by Hall of Fame members. It will be part of the Hall of Fame and, we hope, part of golfdigest.com in years to come. To get things started our Pete McDaniel and Ron Sirak interviewed, respectively, Curtis Strange, Hubert Green, Charlie Sifford, Carol Mann, and Nancy Lopez, Louise Suggs, and Betty Jameson on behalf of the Hall. Though the interviews were relatively short, the recounting of careers, mentors, approach to the game, great shots-- and "others"-- was eye-opening, entertaining, moving and inspiring. It was My Shot in motion.

In the months to come, you'll hear more about Chronicles. I think you'll be as moved by these conversations as I was. Here are a couple of snippets:

Nancy Lopez on her most indelible trait: "My smile. You see, I had worn braces for five years. My father spent a lot of money on my teeth. I sucked my thumb as a little girl and my teeth were crooked. He spent a lot of money to fix them. And I always remembered that he said, 'If you're happy doing what you're doing, you'll be successful.' So I always wanted to smile.'"

Charlie Sifford on being the "Jackie Robinson of golf": "I met Jackie Robinson and he asked me, 'Are you a quitter?' And I said, 'No, I'm no quitter.' And he said, 'Then go ahead and take a shot at it.'.....But I wasn't the Jackie Robinson of golf. I don't mean any disrespect to him, but he had nine guys behind him and played in a stadium. I was out there in the fairway by myself. They coudn't touch Jackie Robinson. But they could touch me."

Great stuff. And lots more to come.

--Bob Carney

Our Golf Digest playing editors were making news this week. Today Annika Sorenstam launched her blog, the kind of thing a modern Hall of Fame member does the day before she plays for a million dollars (in the ADT Championship). Annika conducted a chat this evening on golfforwomen.com and it had some very modern moments.

Annika, I have heard you mention your "brand." What exactly do you mean by "build your brand?"

Annika: Jerry, great question!

In order to have a genuine brand, you must consistently deliver a promise that is genuine and distinct in people's minds. I try to deliver the promise of "inspirational experiences" through all of my businesses. I hope that makes sense.

It will be very interesting to see how that translates into the program at Annika's Academy of Golf, where instruction, I suspect, will be much closer to Pia Nilsson "Vision 54" than typical how-to.

Jack made more old-fashioned kind of news. He inaugurated an impressive Nicklaus exhibit at the World Golf Hall of Fame, an exhibit that includes a soda fountain (like the one at his his Dad's pharmacy) and eleven separate video presentations, including family movies his mom had saved, among others.

In his "chat" opening the exhibit, Jack was his usual candid self. He was asked about young kids specializing in sports:

I hate to see kids specialize. My grandkids are going to the same school that my kids did, and my kids got to have the opportunity to play all sports. They played football, basketball or baseball or golf or whatever they played, and they played that all through school. Now that silly school is specializing in sports....

You see kids specialize in golf. I think that is idiotic. It's crazy....To play all sports is great. I played everything. My dad played everything. Golf was just another sport to me until I was about 19. When I won the National Amateur at 19, I finally said, hmm, I must be a little better than I think I am. It was just a game, still is a game...

It was a good week for Jack. He also presented the first Irishman to enter the hall, Joe Carr. It could be a perfect week if his Buckeyes usher another Carr, Lloyd, into his own post-career period in Ann Arbor. Nonetheless, Go Blue.

--Bob Carney

It was a Strange night here at the Hall of Fame induction. Not only did brothers Allan and Curtis steal the show, but Curtis prominently thanked the media, thereby beating the over-and-under that anyone would, which was zero.

I know that sounds terribly self-absorbed and whiney, but for whatever reason it's rare that Hall of Fame members acknowledge the media (Annika, notably, did) and the fact that Curtis would, having taken so many shots for his less-than-crowd-pleasing demeanor, was an upset. "To the press, yes, the press," he began, "I want to thank you... but I don't have the time." Then he got serious: "Thank you for all you have done for the game...and for treating me fairly."

It was a night when Curtis was at his most reflective and appreciative, and the ceremony became a celebration of family, his and others. "I thought that could do it alone," said the humble Curtis of his attitude as a young golfer. I thought that I could do a lot of things alone. And I couldn't." And then he thanked his parents, his friends in Virginia, the members at Bow Creek, where his father was the golf professional and Curtis learned the game and, movingly, his wife Sara. I'm a softee, but this was what inductions are made for.

Brother Allan was superb. Curtis has always been, Allan said, that kind of player who "had the willingness to the [big] shot, and had the talent to back it up." What made Curtis so strong? Allan asked. "His honesty, his intensity...his stubborness." He named great shots that defined Curtis' career--the bunker shot at 18 at the Country Club in 1988, for example, that sent him into the playoff with Faldo, which Strange would win--and said that these were presaged by the 13-year-old Curtis' play in the 1968 Bow Creek Club Championship, where he also got up and down from a bunker and went on to win. "I'm incredibly proud of my brother today," said Allan,"but no more proud than I was then. I'm proud to introduce the 1968 Bow Creek Men's Cub Champion...Curtis Strange."

In the end, this warm feeling of family overshadowed all else, even the obvious international theme--David Fay spoke on behalf of C.B. MacDonald; Jack Nicklaus honored Joe Carr, the first Irishman in the Hall; and Nancy Lopez, looking as vibrant as she did in her playing days, paid tribute to Se Ri Pak, who was charming in her acceptance. Indeed, the night concluded as Hubert Green, after acknowledging his parents and his brother Maurice, told how his doctor father, who rarely praised the boys had, after Hubert had upgraded the two of them on an long international flight, said: "Son, ya' done good."

Concluded Hubert: "I sure hope Doc is up there tonight leaning over to Mildred saying, 'He done good.'"

And why wouldn't he be?

--Bob Carney

File this in the "Who Knew?" department:

In response to Bob Verdi's beautiful column on Dave Anderson's "semi-retirement" from the Times, Ted Harbert of Rancho Mirage writes about a 1981 party on the occasion of Dave's winning his Pulitzer Prize. Harbert is a former Golf Digest executive who created and produced special events for us.

After Dave won the Pulitzer, some of us, led by USGA Exec Tony Wimpheimer had a party for him at Tony's Greenwich, CT joint. Tom Watson was playing in the PGA Washington DC tournament. He hired a jet and we picked him up at the Westchester County airport near White Plains. His present for Dave: a solid, exotic-wood, perfectly shaped typewriter with balls and ball markers for keys that Tom had fashioned in his Kansas City workshop. It had a lovely congratulatory brass plaque from Tom commemorating the honor done our friend. Watson, the hit of the party, charmed all the ladies there.

Harbert adds that Jerry Tarde attended and will know all about Watson's gift. But Jerry didn't remember--"I was indeed there but this is the first I heard of this gift. Highlight was Red Smith showing up"--and so I called Anderson himself.

Yes, said Dave, Watson did indeed present him with the gift, which Anderson describes a bit differently. "It was a plaque with three rows of golf balls, shaped like a typewriter keyboard." The balls were marked with the letters of the typewriter. "I think Tom and his Dad made it," recalls Anderson, who still has it and still loves it: "It's the only trophy I exhibit."

In fact, the Watson plaque hangs on the wall just above the framed certificate announcing Dave's Pulitzer. In his semi-retirement Anderson will write about 15 more columns for the Times this year.

--Bob Carney

Norman Mailer died yesterday at 84. He wasn't a golfer that I could tell, but he talked and wrote about it, most memorably in a 1971 letter to astronaut http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deke_Slayton in which Mailer complained about moonwalker Alan Shephard's golf shot on the moon.

"That golf ball business was ghastly.... It's such horse---- trying to hit a golf ball in a spacesuit anyway and believe it or not some people might like to be able to think there's a little respect left for the moon..."

More recently, Mailer wrote in the New York Review of Books that golf was one of the last bastions of the White Male who had...

...been taking a daily drubbing over the last thirty years. For better or worse, the women's movement has had its breakthrough successes and the old, easy white male ego has withered in the glare...We white men were now left with half of tennis (at least its male half), and might also point to ice hockey, skiing, soccer, golf (with the notable exception of the Tiger), as well as lacrosse, track, swimming, and the World Wrestling Federation-remnants of a once great and glorious white athletic centrality.

Not quite the body of work he produced on Nixon or sex, but golf was a small part of the America that, as the Times' Michiko Kakutani, put it, Mailer made his subject.
--Bob Carney

(Photo: www.ctv.ca)

Lots of mail on John Strege's "Sister Act" story in the Nov. 2 issue, one from Betty Burfeindt, now living in Rancho Mirage, the New Yorker who won for times on the LPGA Tour, including a major, the 1976 LPGA Championship.

What a wonderful and well deserved article about Xavier Prep and "Sista Lynn" (as her teams affectionally call her). I would like to add that the small all-Catholic girls school produced an additional LPGA member, Sue Tubman, who played the tour in the 70's for seven years until a back injury forced her to retire. Sue was honored last year at Xavier as having started the golf team in 1963.

We also got a thoughtful note from Jody Kirkpatrick of Longview, Washington about it:

With respect to Xavier Prep and Sister Lynn Winsor, their more recent successes share a common denominator. Mike LaBauve, top 50 U.S. teaching pro, has been the swing coach for several of their standout players.

LaBauve, a former Golf Digest Schools instructor and frequent contributor to Golf Digest, teaches Grace Park, a Xavier grad, among many others. He's ranked on the Golf Digest America's 50 Greatest 50 Teachers list.

--Bob Carney

A previous post here covered Gary Player's political problems: At Archbishop Desmond Tutu's urging Nelson Mandela removed himself and his name from Nelson Mandela Invitational hosted by Player and benefiting South African kids. Sponsors also dropped out and the event was cancelled.

That was one side of the story. Golf World reader Daniel M. Wilson II has a different view.

It's extremely difficult to take a shot at Nelson Mandela or Desmond Tutu and be brief; however, their snub of fellow countryman, Gary Player, for designing a golf course in Burma is outrageous as reported in Golf World. Have they forgotten that he, too, was a target here for the policy of apartheid and as well as an opponent of it?

His resume is endless: He (Gary) continuously holds charity events all over the world to aid the globe's needy children; he's raised funds for the Mandela Children's fund; he established a school in Johannesburg years ago for the underprivileged; he brought Lee Elder to play golf in South Africa; he helped obtain a visa for Arthur Ashe to play tennis there; he brought the President's Cup to George, South Africa, four years ago, etc.

(In John Barton's Golf Digest piece on Papwa Sewgolum, Elder was the most understanding toward Player).

Besides his black attire, Gary Player wears many hats: Hall of Famer, course designer; husband/father/doctor (letter); ambassador; but, most of all, humanitarian. Something Mandela and Tutu have obviously forgotten. Not only is that outrageous, but a damn shame as well.

In his My Shot interview in Golf Digest Player talked about the protesters to which Wilson refers:

Protesters of South Africa's apartheid policy gave me grief for a couple of years. I didn't believe in apartheid and I surely wasn't responsible for it, but I was a ripe target. They threw crushed ice in my eyes. Hit me with telephone books at the top of my backswing. Threw balls on the green while I was putting. Burned awful statements into the greens where we were playing. I got death threats at my hotel every day. At the 1969 PGA Championship, a guy screamed just as I stroked a 10-inch putt, and I missed and lost by one.

At Merion, during the 1971 U.S. Open, we kept guns in the house where I was staying. I struggled through it, and you know something? It's easier to fight than to run away.

It was a tough two years. But Nelson Mandela, who spent over 20 years in prison, had it a whole lot worse.

For more on Player's philanthropic work see the Gary Player Foundation site.

--Bob Carney

(Photo: Ben Van Hook)

Nick Weslock was an obscure but exceptional amateur from Canada who played in four Masters and won more than 400 tournaments worldwide, including four Canadian Amateur titles. Weslock's death at age 89 on Oct. 27 was chronicled throughout Canada, including this nice farewell story in the Toronto Star.

Weslock bore another important distinction. He was one of the very few souls whom the legendary Moe Norman knew and trusted. When I sought to interview Norman at length in 2004, Weslock was a very vital emissary. He not only escorted Norman to a course outside Toronto for the visit, he did much to help the shy and wary golf genius open up. He cajoled the child-like Moe, encouraged him, jogged his memory and, best of all, helped him articulate his thoughts on his incomparable golf swing. It was the last interview Norman ever gave. He died suddenly two weeks later. I was grateful to Weslock, for the My Shot with Moe Norman was one of the most interesting in the series.

Shortly after Norman died, I received a letter from Weslock in which he reminisced about his friend and talked about his golf swing. Weslock felt, as do many others, that Norman was the greatest ball-striker of all time. Along with the hand-written letter were two small, original photographs of Norman taken by Weslock himself. I've had them blown up and posted on the wall of my office, for they are unique. During one of their many casual rounds together, Norman, at the behest of his friend, froze a couple of his positions during the swing to emphasize what he was trying to do. They provide a nice bit of insight into what Norman thought he did during his swing as opposed to what actually happened. Moe Norman's perception of the swing is as interesting as as captivating as the real thing.

In the first picture (click on it for a larger view), Norman staged his position midway on the downswing and explained to Weslock that he was "trying to stick my right elbow into my stomach." Weslock noted this was an anti-hook device which, combined with Norman's exceptionally weak left-hand grip, ensured he would never hook the ball. Note how open the clubface is.

In the second photo, taken on a separate occasion, Moe is demonstrating impact. Weslock noted that Moe took enormous pride in how straight he hit the ball, and on this occasion was again demonstrating why he never hooked. The openness of the clubface is almost comical, as it is aimed a good 45 degrees to the right of his target. Moe obviously was stretching a point. "It's unusual and very difficult to keep your head so far behind the ball and not rotate the clubface closed, especially with your right heel stuck to the ground like that. But Moe wasn't like the rest of us!" Weslock wrote.

Norman and now Nick Weslock are gone now, but I thought this episode from their friendship and mutual love of golf was worth sharing. We won't see the likes of either of them again.

--Guy Yocom

It's ironic that Gary Player, the game's ambassador, a man able to put a positive face on almost any situation, has become embroiled in a messy political brouhaha that spans two continents and the entire world of golf.

Wednesday the Nelson Mandela Invitational, which Player has hosted, was cancelled after the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, at Archbishop Desmond Tutu's urging, pulled out of the event. Tutu urged Mandela himself to distance himself from Player because Player's company, Black Knight, is involved in a government-owned golf course in Myanmar. Prior to the cancellation the tournament had removed Player from the guest list in response to Tutu's remarks.

Player has criticized the ruling Myanmar junta, but called the cancellation "a sad day for the children of South Africa" and vowed that he would try to stage another event to benefit needy South African kids.

It's been a tough year for Gary. His comments about steroids at the British Open drew skepticism and criticism. Then, in November, John Barton's Golf Digest story on Papwa Sewgolum unearthed pro-apartheid positions Player had taken in the 60s. Player, who supported and sponsored black golfers in the 60's and 70's, too, obviously has changed his views.

"We were brainwashed," concedes Player. "It was like the Germans during the war. They had a propaganda machine, and they brainwashed young people. And they brainwashed us in South Africa. As a young man, you're listening to all this, and they're saying it's going to be separate but equal. And then suddenly I realized that it wasn't equal. Apartheid was a dreadful policy."

Forty years later, Golf's Ambassador is having to defend his relationship with another oppressive regime, though he is hardly the only architect to build courses for questionable clients.

--Bob Carney

(Photo: SABC News)

On the subject of golf and one's business performance--see our posts on Stan O'Neal, Jim Cayne and our Wall Street 150 list--check out today's Michael Lewis' story on the subject on Bloomberg.com.

In the six weeks between Aug. 12 and Sept. 30, as Merrill Lynch's losses mounted, its CEO didn't merely manage to play 20 rounds of golf, on four different courses. He played them beautifully, with a consistency that defied the pain he must have been feeling. Indeed, a glance at the scores explains why the Merrill Lynch board agreed to pay him $48 million in 2006: The man has ice water in his veins. From the end of July to early October, when the firm Stan O'Neal ran was losing money at a rate of more than $100 million a day, his handicap wavered only slightly -- in fact dropped, to 9.1 from 10.2.

Lewis contends that he has unearthed the scorecards and notes of outgoing Merrill Lynch CEO Stan O'Neal. Here's a sample:

Aug. 18: Purchase Country Club. BIRDIE ON 11 WAS A THING OF BEAUTY. IT WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE IF I'D ALLOWED MYSELF TO BE DISTRACTED. DETAILS ARE THE ENEMY OF GOLFING EXCELLENCE. GAVE ME ANOTHER THOUGHT: GOLF IS LIKE RUNNING MERRILL LYNCH! THE TRICK IS TO KEEP IT SIMPLE. BE A BIG PICTURE PERSON. NOTE TO SELF: SMARTEST THING YOU EVER DID WAS TO TAKE FIRM AWAY FROM THE DAY-TO-DAY DRUDGERY AND MAKE JUST A FEW BIG BETS. FREES UP TIME.

And this one, as the subprime mortgage crisis takes its $8.4 billion toll on Merrill:

Sept. 2: Purchase Country Club: PLAYING ALONE AGAIN. CAN'T FIND ANYONE WHO CAN GET AWAY FROM THE DESK -- EVEN JIMMY CAYNE NOW SAYS HE'S TOO BUSY. QUITTER. I TOLD HIM THAT THE BEAR WILL DO WHAT THE BEAR WILL DO. HIS HANDICAP WON'T. WALKING DOWN 16TH FAIRWAY I FELT VERY ALONE. THEN I REALIZED: I AM ALONE. HAD ANOTHER THOUGHT: ALONE IS HOW LEADERS ARE SUPPOSED TO FEEL IN MOMENTS OF CRISIS. CHURCHILL FELT ALONE, TOO. DID HE GOLF?

I suspect Mr. O'Neal is golfing all the way to the bank.

--Bob Carney

(Photo: Mike Mergen, Bloomberg News)

Jim Cayne and Stan O'Neal, avid golfers whose firms are struggling--O'Neal has golden parachuted out of Merrill Lynch and Cayne's Bear Stearns profits have skidded--are taking a beating for their golf habits. Those golf games are public record because Cayne and O'Neal were good golf citizens and turned in their scores. Geoff Shackelford raises the question of whether we ought to make it so easy to retrieve golfers' records via the internet. Should executives such as Cayne and O'Neal be able keep their rounds to themselves? (By the way, O'Neal is No. 117 on our list with a 10.2 index; Cayne No. 138 with a 14.5).

I hope we don't get to hiding our golf games. I refer you to Joe Queenan's feisty essay which accompanied our Wall Street 150 ranking in the October issue, to which a number of you responded.

Golfers in my town include a retired surveyor, a graphic designer, an auto-parts rep, a magazine editor, the owner of the local diner, and my postman. Does anyone ever suggest that the eatery's esteemed souvlaki has dipped in quality because the owner is spending too much time playing golf? Would anyone suggest that the margaritas at the local tavern have lost their bite because the bartender spends too much time working on his short game? Would anyone dream of complaining that a designer selected the wrong font size and an inappropriate typeface because he was spending too much time working on that hitch in his swing? That is, anyone in his right mind?

See also Friday's piece by John Fout on thestreet.com, in defense of Cayne and in response to a Journal story on Cayne's personal pursuits.

The Journal's story insinuated that Cayne's personal habits affect his ability to run his firm. It's a ridiculous assertion. I can't speak to recreational pot-smoking (which Cayne denied). But I do happen to play bridge, golf and poker, and I would argue those activities are a benefit to any CEO.

Well said. I've emailed that one to my boss.

--Bob Carney

Suggestion department:

As a long time subscriber to Golf Digest  I so often wish that you would run an article(s) on the many aspects of the PGA tour that are never detailed. The many perks that the pro's enjoy at the tournaments:cars, housing, etc. The clubs, etc, that they are gievn by the various companies. The range of fees they get for endorsements and ads, from  Tiger to lesser stars. How their winnings are handled after each tournaments. What retirement plan the PGA has, and how the members contribute, when payments start, etc. Undoubtedly there is much that would be of interest to the average spectator/player/golf fan that is never elaborated. The  money is unbelievable, but I feel certain there is  even more that would amaze most readers.

Also, I am not happy with the smaller print in the magazine. Reduce the ads (I'm smiling) and restore the print. The page numbers are a constant puzzle to me.For example, take the November issue: why are so many pages not numbered, when they have copy on them. It's a bit disconcerting to be reading an article, turn to find the  continuation, and have unnumbered pages. Just an idle thought. Finally, an occasional article for Seniors (75-80 plus) would be a treat. Thanks for a fine magazine. H.Josph Houlihan, Lexington, Ky.

Dear Joseph, just because you asked we'll publish the Golf Digest 50, with total earnings of major players, administrators and agents in the February issue. Actually, we've been doing it for a few years, but this year we'll dedicate it to you. It won't go quite into the detail about perks and retirement plans that you suggest, but pretty close. I'm afraid on the print size and the numbering I can't be of much help. We have received a number of comments about print size and just as many about the page-numbering (or lack of it). As a senior reader myself I have about six pairs of drugstore reading glasses stashed around my life—please don't ask me to remember where. But I'm torn. I think the new look of the magazine is worth the effort and the magnifiers. But I understand if you don't agree. The page numbers--couldn't agree more. We just haven't figured out how to fix it, given the number of ads and inserts we get--a good thing. Stay tuned.

As far as stories for the senior set, see Golf in the Geezerdom, by Dan Jenkins, and Fit at 50, both in the November issue, too. Thanks....

--Bob Carney

Opening the complaint department: Two readers take exception to instruction in the November issue. First, SD Evans in Myrtle Beach addresses Bobby Clampett's Breaking 100, 90, 80, 70, which SD found condescending:

As a beginner golfer, taking it up 2 years ago as a 'retirement' activity, I routinely read with interest Golf Digest. I also am a former subscriber to your magazine.  I don't usually bother to provide feedback to the Editor but Bobby Clampett's 'Master the Impact Zone' really got my goat. 

 
I found some of the information useful although other parts beyond my understanding.  The article, however, seemed mostly about his 'greatness' ,which is really boring,--- who cares?  In my opinion, Mr. Clampett didn't understand his [beginner golfer] audience with the quip in the first paragraph "I wouldn't even want to play if I couldn't hit the ball solidly".  Fortunately, there's different stokes for different folks and we're not all blessed with Clampett's greatness.  By the way, your editors dropped the ball on this as well.  Funny how one sentence can make or break a story.

Nobody is quite the lightning rod that Bobby is. I didn't take his "solidly" line the way you did, SD, but who am I to talk you out of it? I'm most concerned that you found some of the instruction "beyond your understanding." That's something we need to work on.

Complaint No. 2 comes from from reader Adam Saltzman about Jerome Andrews' article on "How to Start Your Swing." Andrews took on the one-piece takeway, which is a bit like taking on Mom and apple pie in the world of instruction, and Adam called him on it...

Andrews seems to think there’s a “fatal flaw” in the one-piece takeaway in that your arms keep moving after your shoulders stop and therefore a “correction” is needed. This is just not true.  Done properly, the arms go up and the shoulders turn and finish at the same time (it’s just that the last bit of shoulder turn is not as much as the first part since you start to get resistance from the hips – ie, coil), if this were’nt the case, the hands would no longer be in line w/the center of the chest and the “triangle” formed by the arms and shoulders would change shape. Every good golfer keeps this triangle throughout the swing, it minimizes moving parts and hence the need to resynchronize on the downswing to arrive at the ball in the best position to make solid contact. There is also no real rotation of the forearms in the swing (again, excess added movement that would have to be synched up on the way down). In a proper swing, the relationship of the hands, arms and shoulders essentially stays constant – if you isolated arm movement it would show that all the arms do is go straight up and down in front of your body and the hands don’t turn side to side but rather they cock naturally w/the thumbs going straight up and back down.  Lastly, the pictures he uses of “bad” and “good” form are simply not accurate. The “bad” picture does not illustrate a one piece take away as the hands have moved inside and toward his right shoulder (ie, no longer centered w/his chest). The “good” picture has the clubhead even w/his hands instead of out in front of his hands and body (just look at any Golf Digest photo swing sequence and all the pros have the clubhead outside their hands in the initial takeaway shot).  The key for most amateurs is minimizing the number of moving body parts and I’m afraid this bit of advice not only adds unnecessary movement but it is based on a false premise of a “flaw” in a one-piece takeaway.

A very well-reasoned letter. I think the key phrase in your letter is "if done properly". Andrews has seen lots of amateurs try for that and lose all rythym and flexibility, hence the alternate approach. Thanks, Adam.

--Bob Carney