October 2011: Editors' Blog: Golf Digest

Reader: Give Luke Donald his due, why don't you!

Thursday, October 27, 2011 Comments

Our readers never cease to surprise me. In response to Golf Digest featuring Luke Donald on the cover of the October issue, we got this complaint:

It baffles me why your publication and indeed a considerable proportion of American publications do not give the achievements of Luke Donald the recognition they are due. Have you been bullied into minimal coverage by the doubting commentators and others who hide behind the safeguard of faceless criticism? Luke Donald has just won the money-list in a a very dramatic fashion. Any doubters will surely have to take a long look at their reasoning for questioning Luke's position at no.1 in the world. To dig up an old article about Luke's shortgame is frankly lazy and I would expect better from a publication such as yours.

Calski Benedicto, United Kingdom

Let me get this straight. We aren't giving Luke Donald proper recognition because we put him on the cover... talking about the area of the game that he dominates, short game? The article goes far to explaining exactly why Donald is world No. 1 -- he ranks 2nd on the tour in putting, 4th in total putts per round, 2nd in scoring average and second in scrambling? I thought that was our job. Remember also that we shot this month's before (in July) Luke won the money title. We think Luke is great and our cover story demonstrates why. Stay tuned for more.

Bob Carney

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Face it, Golf Digest, the Tiger thing was a waste of space!

Monday, October 24, 2011 Comments

Our playful re-working of Tiger Woods' facial hair, in the November issue of Golf Digest, online and on the tablet, amused us. Tiger as Groucho Marx. Tiger as Mr. T. Tiger as Salvador Dali. We thought it was fun. Judging by the numbers of you who viewed the online video, many of you did, too.

Not all of you, however.

My Golf Digest resides in my reading room (guest bathroom). I page through it when it comes, check out the rules to break (which I do since I never keep score) and see what's interesting. As I was paging I came across pages 78-79 "Face Facts Tiger." What a waste of space. Not funny. I actually ripped them out. He's a disgrace to the golfing community. If I didn't enjoy the magazine I would ask for a refund on my subscription. Ridiculous!!
Bill Willems, Bloomington, IN

Bill, you can amuse some of the readers all of the time, and all of the readers some of the time, but you can't amuse all of the readers all of the time. Abraham Lincoln, who had striking facial hair, said that.

Bob Carney

Illustration by Quickhoney

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Still arguing about Hogan's secret. Where do you stand?

Friday, October 21, 2011 Comments

In case you haven't seen it, check out a fascinating discussion on partner site Golfwrx.com about Hogan's "secret." It's been going on for more than a month, complete with interesting videos--and analysis--and lots of to and fro. I promise you this. You'll learn something.

Teaching professional Jim McLean did a terrific analysis of the evolution of Hogan's swing for Golf Digest. It will shed a lot of light on the discussion.

Bob Carney

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Hey, Golf Digest: Teach 'em how to play fast!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011 Comments

This summer's effort by the American Junior Golf Association to speed up its rounds got a lot of you thinking about how to speed up play at their courses. Good letter, excerpted here, from a Texas reader.

Dear Editors:

I understand the focus of speeding up the round, but the golfing community has missed the boat on educating golfers about how to shave minutes off of every hole. Why would Golf Digest or Golf Channel not commit a column or segment on pace of play? It seems to me, that you all can have a tremendous impact on our community by outlining what ready golf means. Very often my playing partners say they play ready golf, only to mark their 3-footer, or wait for honors on the tee, or wait in the cart for their cart partner to hit. Seems like that education would be much more beneficial than the tee it forward campaign, which by the way, people have ignored.

Tee it forward is a great idea, as a simple lowest common denominator focus; but I just don't think tee length is where the focus ought to be. You're not taking the driver, which most 10+ handicappers don't really know how to handle, out of their hands. They are still going to slice it or hook it into the trees. Granted it will save time on the par 3's as it puts a shorter iron in their hands. My suggestion will impact pace of play without impacting ego. BTW, I don't mind playing blacks, blues or whites because it's all about putting anyway. If we want to keep it simple with a new campaign, I'd say "Mark it once." By that, obviously, I'd say mark the ball line up the first putt, and putt until the ball is holed.Just a golfers thoughts.

Adam Beede, Dallas, TX

Couldn't agree more, Adam. And you're right to push us to do more on the subject. It's the little things that add up and your emphasis on cart behavior and putting are right on. We love the "Mark it once" idea. How about, "Don't mark it if you have to and then only once." Golfers I play with are always saying, "I'll get that out of your way," when it's not in my way or bothering me at all. There's a lot of nervous fussing about on greens. (Cleaning balls that aren't dirty is another one.) Let's get things moving!!

Bob Carney

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You sound off: Tiger's hair, his caddy, his place on the team

Friday, October 14, 2011 Comments

Say what you want about the game's former No. 1. He generates controversy, ratings, and your very passionate mail. Letters to both Golf Digest and Golf World deal with our treatment of Tiger's facial hair, his selection for the Presidents Cup team and the tour caddy world's version of musical chairs. You didn't throw any hot dogs, but close.

The depth that Dan Jenkins has sunk to in his November 2011 Golf Digest article is totally childish and appears to be an attempt to ridicule another human being over facial hair. The problem is that there are many golfers out on tour right now who sport beards, mustaches and long hair. All basically frowned upon in the past. Dan waits for Tiger before he says something? Singleing out Tiger for this he shows us his hate for the man and a desire to keep Tiger down rather than try to come back after his self-made problems. Everyone deserves the chance to try to return to normal. There is a picture of Jason Day on page 19 with a ridiculous-looking goatee, yet Jenkins is silent there and vocal concerning Tiger. Dan jenkins is out of line.

Brian McLaughlin, Homer, MI

It was very evident from Tiger Woods' performance at the Fry's.com tournament that he is not ready to justify his selection to the President's Cup and accordingly should notify Fred Couples that he is declining the invitation to be on the team in order to allow Couples the opportunity to pick a more deserving participant.

Gene Martineau, Roseville, CA

I think it would make for great television if Freddie paired Tiger and Dustin Johnson together on Day 1 of the President's Cup only to face Norman's team of Adam Scott and his partner. That way, we'd get to see The Presidents Cup Pentagon of players and caddies in the same group. Here it is: Dustin Johnson, whose former caddie was Joe LaCava, who caddies for Tiger Woods, whose former caddie was Stevie Williams, who caddies for Adam Scott.

Dan Fargo, Medina, OH

Regardless of who he hires to caddy for him or how he wears his facial hair, Tiger is Tiger. Why are Golf Channel ratings for the Fall Series up 235 per cent? Why do we even care about the Frys.com Open? Tiger. Which is why millions of viewers will watch the President's Cup, and why Tiger will be determined to prove you, Mr. Martineau, wrong. Let's wait and see how he does before declaring the pick a poor one. I guarantee you, he won't be dogging it.

Bob Carney

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Save those collectibles. (But don't expect to get rich on them).

Thursday, October 13, 2011 Comments

Golf Digest's Money package in the October issue included "Playing for Keeps," Guy Yocom's essay on collecting golf memorabilia, including, but in Guys' case, not limited to, golf balls. One of eight editors who were given $500 to enhance their enjoyment of the game, Guy went for the collectibles--and prompted this letter from a Dallas reader. Guy's reply follows....

Guy: I have a box of a dozen Titleists commemorating the Ryder Cup at the Belfry from 10 years ago. Unfortunately, there is no indication on the box, the sleeves, or the balls themselves as to the date of that Ryder Cup….but I do have the cash register receipt (kinda faded) dated Dec '01. That Ryder Cup of course was postponed until the following year due to the 9/11 attacks. Are these worth keeping around?

Will Cornell, Dallas, TX

Dear Will,

You ask whether these balls are worth keeping around. In my case, allcollectibles are worth keeping around, which is why my basement is a slightly disturbing montage of Hoarders, Storage Wars and Pawn Stars. It's sort of a poor man's museum, a few neat things but a little forlorn and pack-ratty. When my enthusiasm wanes, I commit to diluting it. But diluting takes effort, and the urge to actually put it up for sale somewhere passes. So it sits.

Anyway, keep the balls around, for for as long as space and other denizens of your home allow. Whether the balls have monetary value--that's really your question--is another matter. The main sticking point is provenance, the highbrow term you see tossed around on everything from Antiques Road Show to online auction sites. For an item have tractable value, there must be demonstrable proof as to its authenticity. The box of Titleists from that aborted 2001 Ryder Cup surely are authentic, since you know where you got them and how much you paid for them. But when a curious buyer one day expresses interest in the balls, the faded sales receipt may not be proof enough that they're the real deal. The provenance is weak. It would be much better if the PGA of America had taken the trouble to have the logo from that Ryder Cup stamped on the balls, or had Titleist prepare special edition packaging.

Beyond the provenance, I'm not sure this item is one that would capture the imagination of collectors of this type of thing. The balls may be somewhat rare, but they aren't particularly old. Nor, in my opinion, do they have a particularly special cache historically. If the balls were from the very first Ryder Cup, or even one from the 1970s, someone on eBay might be eager to snap them up. If you had the single ball Tony Jacklin was using when Jack Nicklaus conceded his Cup-tieing putt in 1969—and the ball had Jacklin’s signature—now we’re talking. But your aren’t game-used and don’t carry a link to an individual or telling moment. They’re from a pro shop. What would a collector do with your balls once he acquired them?

Display them in his dining room and make desperate overtures to a golf-fanatic guest that, "They're really from 2001, honest!" I don't quite see it. I also don't think the balls will increase in value. Who would buy them, and for how much, and why and what for? I have a money clip I bought from the Augusta National pro shop back in (I think) 1998. I intended to give it as a gift, but it turned out none of my golf buddies use money clips. There it sits, gleaming but sterile, with no place to go. It seems to me your Ryder Cup balls are similar to the money clip. Nice to have around, but not particularly marketable.

Guy Yocom

Posted by Bob Carney

Illustration by Mark Matcho

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Readers, don't miss this remarkable interview

Tuesday, October 11, 2011 Comments

We're surprised that there has not been more buzz about Sophie Gustafson's Solheim Cup "self-interview." Gustafson, who does not give interviews because of a lifelong stuttering problem, sat alone with a camera and answered questions, often haltingly, given to her by Golf Channel. We saw the piece Sunday prior to the matches and it was the highlight of the weekend: remarkable and, not overstating things, courageous. Today Golf Digest Woman editor Stina Sternberg reports behind the scenes on how the interview came to be and on Gustafson's own feelings about doing it. For viewers, it made Gustafson's singles victory Sunday all the more meaningful. We think you'll find it moving.

Bob Carney

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Why some great players loved the "Sanudo Grind"

Thursday, October 6, 2011 Comments

Golf World's mention of the passing of tour professional (regular and senior tours) and teacher Cesar Sanudo in August brought this letter from our old friend Jim Hansberger. Hansberger led Ram Golf in its glory days, when, among others, Tom Watson and Lee Trevino played Rams. Hansberger pays tribute to Sanudo:

You included a brief article on the passing of Cesar Sanudo. Cesar was not only a great guy, but his skill at putting a special grind on golf club heads led to many players using what became known on the tour in the mid 70's as the "Sanudo Grind." This was in the days of the forged steel irons with chrome plating. Players that played and won with this "Sanudo Grind" on Ram Tour Grind irons included Lee Trevino, Tom Watson, Nick Price, Mark Brooks, Jay Sigel, Peter Jacobsen, Ray Floyd and many others. That was the new set of irons that Cesar had in his trunk that he "loaned" to Lee Trevino as mentioned in your article. Lee won about 4 tournaments with them and Cesar never got them back. We had to duplicate Cesar's grind on a new set for him.
Jim Hansberger President Ram Golf (Retired) Winter Springs, FL

Thanks, Jim. Our readers should know that Sanudo, a good friend of Trevino's, named one of his three children Lee. He played 19 years of professional golf and won once, in 1970 at the Azalea Open Invitation, but left a mark far greater than his playing record.

Bob Carney

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