June 2011: Editors' Blog: Golf Digest

Why Tiger is always part of the conversation.

Sunday, June 26, 2011 Comments

He was not there at the Open, won't compete at his own tournament at Aronomink, may not be at the British Open, and who knows about the PGA Championship. Nevertheless, Tiger Woods remains a major topic of conversation, even among those of you who say you prefer that he wouldn't. Golf Digest and Golf World mail post-Open reminds us all over again.

I have just received the latest issue of Golf World. So the story is "Celtic Tiger"? It is incredible to me how you refuse to take Tiger out of any story. Why couldn't you give the kid his day? Are your people so inept that they cannot write anything without Tiger in it? Why not get it over with and change the name to Tiger World?
Kevin McBride, Charlotte, NC
As a long time subscriber please let me suggest that Tiger is no longer news and certainly doesn't qualify as a cover story. On the tour he is a non-factor. I would suggest during his rehab he could become truly newsworthy again by volunteering his time and name for some humanitarian cause (see Betsy King and her Africa mission or young Rory in Haiti). Using a donation to the First Tee as a cheap publicity stunt does not qualify.
Reuben Saunders, Wichita, KS
Golf Digest's current issue of has great coverage re Roy vs Tiger, but leaves out speed of play. Roy could play 18 while Tiger would still be somewhere on the front nine. He was always ready to go shortly after it was his turn to play. In my 82 years in golf, I have always preached that fast play results in better scoring, but most average golfers copy their idols who are generally slower that a turtle with air brakes deployed.
Elden Williams, Lynnwood, WS
Elden, you're a man after our own hearts. It was wonderful to see McIlroy play at that lilting pace in the Open. I'm not sure Tiger is as slow as you make him out to be, though. But we love that line about the turtle and air brakes. We'll steal that one.

Bob Carney

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Blue jeans at the Presidents Cup? Why not, says this reader.

Sunday, June 26, 2011 Comments

We were taken by this letter from an Arkansas reader, commenting on Fred Couples' suggestion (rejected) that one element of the Presidents Cup clothing line be jeans. Her argument won't fly at our Connecticut club, but we think she's got a point.

One of the prevailing mantras in golf right now is that we must grow the game by making it more accessible. Freddie Couples wearing blue jeans (a cool guy wearing an inconic fashion emblem of our country) would do more to make the game player-friendly than any number of publicity campaigns. Snobbish dress codes are one of the silliest things inhibiting growth of the game. Nice tailored blue jeans look as good or better than some of the outfits pros are sporting today. And on a cold, windy day are one of the warmest and most comfortable things a golfer can wear. Tim Finchem should rethink his decision.

Molly Crawshaw, Hot Springs Village, AR 71909

Molly, how about we start with shorts? Does it make any sense that players are wearing long pants in 80- or 90- degree heat? We know some golfers we respect who think so, but we don't buy it. As you say about jeans, there are ways to do it sloppily and ways to do it well. (See Bermuda for stylish short pants).

Golf is proud of its tradition and of its integrity. We think many golfers, however, confuse fashion with virtue, style with honor. (We won't even get started on facial hair). If your (and Fred's) idea adds golf fans and/or players, we say give it a try.

Bob Carney

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Readers on U.S. Open set-up: Ugh!

Tuesday, June 21, 2011 Comments

It was, said Martin Kaymer and defending champion Graeme McDowell, not like a U.S. Open. The numbers of red numbers bear them out. As thrilling as it was to see Rory McIlroy win his first major so convincingly, the "softness" of Congressional left many of you moaning. Was this a setup designed to identify the best golfers? Not even close, you say.

Congrats to Rory Mcllory for his record breaking win. Unfortunately, with so many players shooting so many rounds under par, it is doubtfull that Congressional Country Club will ever host another U.S.Open. The weather conditions in Washington DC in June are not conducive to setting up a firm U.S.Open course. With the Olympic Club in San Francisco hosting the 2012 open the USGA will extract its revenge by the way it will set up Olympic Country Club.

Gene Martineau, Roseville,CA

Doesn't look like a US Open set-up to me, looks like a WGC event at Firestone. Garrigus gets T3 and is only the 5th player in U.S. Open history to break par for all 4 rounds. Mike Davis should be fired.

Chris

I'm glad to see the Bob Hope got a new sponsor and a new look but the same old scoring. But I didn't know they moved Palm Springs to Maryland. What a tournament! Twenty people under par after three rounds. Now they have made the national championship just another shoot-out. Disappointed.

Don Drage, Peachtree City, GA

You weren't alone, gentlemen, in your assessment. I saw one player coach on Friday and he said, "The players can't believe this. They're pinching themselves. 'This is the Open?'" On the other hand, new greens and wet weather didn't help, despite the state-of-the-art sub-air system below the greens. And you can't argue that the 2011 Open didn't identify a great champion.

Bob Carney

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McIlroy's fans include some amazing Achievers

Sunday, June 19, 2011 Comments

After visiting Haiti last week, Rory McIlroy said he got a perspective no golf tournament, no matter how grueling disappointing or dramatic, could have given, an experience that will stand him in good stead today.

“I thought I had perspective before going to Haiti,” he said. “It makes you feel so lucky. I can sit here and drink a bottle of water . . . all the things people do.”

Had he met them, McIlroy would have gained a similar perspective from ten young fans who followed him around yesterday afternoon. They were kids from First Tee chapters all over country who on Wednesday night this week won The First Tee RBS Achievers Awards and college stipends for persevering through overwhelming medical and social hardship to pursue their school and sport careers.

Read more

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Why Obama and Boehner's golf match matters

Saturday, June 18, 2011 Comments

BETHESDA, Md -- Forget easing the partisan rancor in DC. Here's why today's round between President Obama and Speaker John Boehner is really important: Golf's image needs it.

Last night I shared dinner with two old friends, one a journalist who works now for philanthropic causes, the second a very bright guy (not that the journalist isn't) in aviation safety, who works on software and systems I can't explain, but could save your life. Not golfers, but pretty sophisticated guys in a very sophisticated city. I asked them: "What's your image of golf? What comes to mind when I mention it?" One said, "Country club." The second said "White and Republican."

Still?! I thought. Really?! I thought

After what seems like a lifetime of talk about changing the game's image, of endless industry conferences, of Get Golf Ready programs, of the First Tee, of National Golf Days, of We Are Golf, of the hiring of huge firms to handle the sport's government and public relations, of Tiger.....that's still what you think of us? Country club? White? Republican?

The President and the Speaker's round of golf will hopefully help alter golf's image. Photo by the Associated Press

Ugh.

Ok, it's a tiny sample, but this is from two guys who pay attention and care about what's going on in the world, who spend their days contributing to a better one, and who are just the sort of people we want on our side. We want them to play, and even if they don't, to be supporters. Alas, they are, as they say in this city, "Leaning no."

Lay off Tiger. We need him.

Friday, June 17, 2011 Comments

John Huggan's stinging column in Golf World Daily this week has generated a lot of comment in the press tent, and tons of tweets, but not much reaction yet from readers. Huggan wrote that he will miss Tiger's golf, but not his personal demeanor with fans and the media. "I won't be yearning for the flip side of the Woods character: The pointless obfuscation that seems to pervade his very being; the baleful and contemptuous stares at even a mildly impertinent interrogator; the lack of interaction with fans; the stupid and evasive answers to the most harmless questions."

Even prior to Huggie's column, the Tiger Empathy among readers had been dropping about as fast as Woods' world ranking. Typical:

Look guys. It's about time that you really face the facts of life. "Tigger" is no longer a threat out there. These young guns have his number and he knows it...He had it made once. He blew it. So sad. Haha. Tell Johnny Miller to quit trying to make this loser look as if he will come back. I'm back to watching real golf, real players--not the Tigger show as it was in the past. It's too bad old Pops ain't around. How proud would he be now? Move on to the Fowlers, the O'Hairs, Phil the PIll. Now that is real talent.

JP

Ok, OK. But it's too damn easy. Does anyone else but me feel like the cheering for Huggan's column yesterday was simply stomping a guy who's down? The media -- with few exceptions, Huggan, being one -- have been enthusiastic enablers of the "other" side of Tiger's character.

Most happily tiptoed around him, asking gentle questions, feeling lucky to get a smile or a nod. Some bragged about their special access. Others shook their wise heads when a fellow media member wrote something harsh about the world's No. 1, as if to say, "Oh, boy, he's in trouble with Tiger now." If Tiger was petulant, we justified it. If Tiger was inaccessible, we played by his rules. (Yes, at Golf Digest, too). If Tiger was a bully, as Huggan writes, who stood up to him but very few? I'm not big fan of Tiger. He strikes me as a bit Nixonian, a list-keeper who feels he needs to settle scores with enemies, even when it's his actions that created the enemies.

As someone who grew up with Arnie and Detroit heroes like Al Kaline and Gordie Howe, Woods has struck me as a slightly deformed hero. A Steve Carlton perhaps. Tiger's an introvert in a world that demands access and out-goingness. He's a man who never was fully a child, and who now appears adrift without his father. He's a guy who doesn't get how or why he should be a "good guy" to anyone but close friends. But man, could -- can --he play golfl! I would no more want to see him absent from our game than Federer from tennis, Messi or Rooney from soccer, Pujols from baseball. It would be like having watched those sports without Laver or Pele or Aaron. JP, I won't get over it. I won't face the facts of life. Tiger will be back. I hope he's kinder, gentler, wiser. But even if he's not, he will energize our game.

-- Bob Carney

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Save the U.S. Open Challenge!!!

Tuesday, June 7, 2011 Comments

For the first time four years, Golf Digest will not conduct the US. Open Challenge this year at Congressional. Prior to the Opens at Torrey Pines, Bethpage and Pebble Beach, an amateur, selected through an essay contest and then a public vote, played the Open venue with a group of celebrities from the championship tees under Open conditions, attempting to break 100. This year Golf Digest, the USGA and NBC decided that the Challenge had accomplished its goal, namely to answer the question, Can a 10-handicap amateur, under Open conditions, shoot 99 or better. The answer is no.

Golf Digest will still consider amateur challenges, just not this year. That decision has disappointed some readers. One reader even suggested that we might pull it together at the last minute--not possible--but made a strong case for keeping the Challenge alive on some basis.

I'm saddened to see the apparent end to Golf Digest's US Open Challenge this year. Although the general consensus among your affiliated message board at Golfwrx.com is that the spirit of the Challenge was derailed by special interest stories, there is a mutual consensus that the event was a significant and appreciated nod to the avid amateur-golfer community at at time when the sport has come under constant attack from political pundits for being an "elitist's" hobby. Please consider reviving this event at a grassroots level, one that is ready and willing to defend and showcase the sport we love, the only sport that allows amateurs to play in their "Super Bowl" events alongside the world's best. Kevin Rehberg

Thanks, Kevin, well-said. We think the Challenge demonstrated exactly what you say it did, and we hope that we can make that same statement with some kind of future amateur challenge. There is no sport that offers the "Walter Mitty" opportunity golf does. Although we don't suggest doing it every day, the fact that you can play the same course from the same tees under the same conditions as the pros, bonds amateurs and professionals in our sport with professionals in a way that no other game can. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, we look forward to this year's "challenge," between President Barack Obama and Speaker John Boehner, which will prove, if nothing else, that golf is a game that appeals to everyone.

--Bob Carney

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Fay's plan for private clubs is great! (Or idiotic...)

Tuesday, June 7, 2011 Comments

In one of his first columns with Golf Digest, former USGA Executive Director David B. Fay proposed a radical idea: that U.S. private clubs adopt the practice of United Kingdom clubs in allowing outside play under certain circumstances. These "masterpieces," argued Fay, should not be totally inaccessible to non-members who appreciate great golf courses. How would we feel, for example, if during our travels to Scotland and England we were not able to play Muirfield or Sunningdale?

Just read the article in the most current issue about access to courses in the UK vs. the U.S. Mr. Fay is my hero! I've been wanting to write this article for a few years. I currently have played 8 of the top 10 courses in the UK because they are welcoming to players, whereas most of the top courses in the US are not. What a shame.

Thomas Bielanski, Oak Park, IL

Couldn't disagree any more with David Fay. The concept of "private club" means not open to the public and people pay for that. The concept of restricted or "limited unaffiliated visitor play" still doesn't allow for a decent percentage of people to have access; you're just opening up your private club to a select few, which doesn't accomplish what your column is supposedly about--sharing them to all.

Mike George, Texas

We'll side with David and Mr. Bielanski on this one. Our access to great courses in the UK is limited, for sure, but worth the effort for those who really want to experience these historic tracks. Does everyone get on? Of course not, but those who do somehow represent the rest of us, and their stories become part of our golfing experience, too. Have I told you about my trip to Ireland?

Bob Carney

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That's not the LPGA I know!

Tuesday, June 7, 2011 Comments

Golf World and Golf Digest both get a lot of letters reporting on amateurs' experience with professionals at pro-ams and charity events. Frequently they are letters of complaint. Golf World ran one such letter recently and it drew others--like these two--some worlds apart.

Regarding a letter in the May 30 edition about the bad behavior by players and their families at the Greenbrier Classic: My brother and I have attended the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic several times. The golfers are friendly, sign autographs, and are nice to the fans and volunteers. They also know how to play the game. Give the LPGA a try.

Mike Williams, Rockwood MI

My sister and brother-in-law recently served as volunteers at The LPGA Sybase Match Play Championship. Their duties were to transport players, caddies and officials from certain greens to the next tee box. Both my sister and brother in law put in 9-10 hours days in the rain and cold, doing all they could to make the lives of the golfers and their caddies as convenient and comfortable as possible. For the most part they found the women of the LPGA to be a courteous group. However they both pointed to Christie Kerr and Michelle Wie as being far less than hospitable or courteous and in Christie's case, confrontational. I would like to chalk this behavior to a bad day or a bad moment, but in both players cases this behavior reared it's head more than once.

As an organization struggling and battling for sponsors, fans and supporters, you would think that two of the brightest stars and most recognizable faces and names on the LPGA tour would do all they can to be ambassadors, to show the utmost appreciation and respect to anyone who goes out of their way to attend an LPGA event or volunteer to help make such an event a success.

David Pletzner, Brielle, NJ

Our own experience with LPGA players is like the Golf World reader from Michigan. Last year at a charity event called the Cox Classic in New Jersey, we watched LPGA players played through a chilly rain with amateurs to raise money for LIFE, the breast cancer awareness effort formed in memory of Heather Farr by Val Skinner, who was there. I can still see Laura Diaz hitting to a par 3 in a downpour, and then congratulating one of our group who got it closer to the hole than her. We've got no complaints.

--Bob Carney

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Readers protest "shaggy" tour pros. Some readers.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011 Comments

PGA Tour viewership is up this year, and so is your scrutiny of PGA Tour pros. Besides backward-hats, nothing seems to bug some of you like facial hair, longish hair, unkempt hair....you get the idea.

Some of today's touring pro's remind me of the slobs I see at the local muni. Shaggy hair, grubby faces and rumpled clothes are a disgrace to the tour. Is there a dress and/or grooming code? I may old fashioned but let's show a little class. Or has the tour lowered it's standards?
Clarke Marek, Manteca, CA

Looks like Johnny Miller said it right when commenting on Lucas Glover's facial hair. Guess the home improvement stores will be doing a big business on the product after seeing how many of the players are now sporting beards!
Elaine Abrams, Banning, CA

We were a bit surprised when, a week or so ago, these views seemed to be unanimous. Not so, it turns out, because this week we heard from a few more tolerant readers. Tolerant of facial hair, anyway.

This is a response to Clarke Marek. Your problem with "grubby faces" is unbelievable. I personally have a long goatee and nothing gives me more pleasure than beating the a** off some stuck up stick-in-the-mud. I wish I lived closer and could meet you on your course and beat you senseless. It's what inside a man that makes him.
John Reitenbach, Sunbury, PA

Clarke Marek and Rollins Johnson [another correspondent who found the pros' grooming lacking], you both need too wake up! It is the 21 century! There is nothing wrong with players sporting beards. I would have know problem having these two good kids play at my club!
David Kohut, Woodstown, NJ

We thought that was the final word until this morning, when our old friend Gene Martineau of Roseville, CA weighed in after watching Robert Karlsson and Harrison Frazar battle it out in Memphis.

It certainly was refreshing to see two well-groomed, clean-shaven, traditionally attired professional golfers rather than the the shaggy-haired, either bearded or sporting-unshaven-look pros wearing garish colors and wild pants battle it out for the title...

Ok then, we agree to disagree.

Forgive us if we root for Lucas Glover this week just for the mail.

Bob Carney