The urge to reduce field sizes over taking serious slow play action. Plus, how Ryder finances are divvied up, the R&A's new partnership, new U.S. Open book, Quotable, This, That and Reads.
Two hours ahead for the "physio truck," recovery time...... I didn't realize that golf was a contact sport. Does the pga have a concussion protocol? As for slow play, maybe fewer "rulings" when there is a sprinkler head several feet from the ball, a suspicious impression in the turf that may have been caused by a burrowing badger, etc.
I think Buehler will get one of those courtesy contracts like they gave Chris Taylor regardless of his elbow. I think it's the least they can do! The lack of a Roberts extension has been bizarre, but I'm not entirely sure he and the GM are besties. The analytics guys have been brilliant but also have made some huge mistakes that they've learned from. Roberts has managed them well without ever letting on if he's had to follow their orders in-game.
It’s hard not to despair over the state of pro golf. No apparent sense of urgency while ratings continue to decline and sponsors bolt. Lord knows what happens if FedEx throws in the towel. Maybe it would be better. The FedEx Cup might be the most overhyped event in sports. No one cares about it. The Tour Championship barely has a pulse. I don’t think reuniting with the LIV players would be celebrated like VE Day in Piccadilly Circus, but anything would be better than this endless drift.
And as we saw with Yankee fans, high prices may not ward off the troublemakers! That they haven't at least come up with a better price for Bethpage regulars or fixed the kids-free policy is kind of astounding to me given the backlash.
18 hrs ago·edited 17 hrs agoLiked by Geoff Shackelford
Keep the fields the same size and go back to 60 exempt players, plus the multiyear exemptions for Majors. This will make professional golf less of a "club" and more of a meritocracy (one of the very few times this word has legitimate meaning). The Gary McCord Career Membership Policy of Deane Beman was never a good idea. More turnover is to be desired.
Establish a "time par" and hold the players to it. Fines do NOT work. Penalty strokes do work. I get three minutes to find a ball in the cabbage, without a "volunteer" placing a little white flag next to the ball. If the USGA held US Open players to the same standard they require of their thousands of potential qualifiers each year, that would be an improvement.
Remember: No one cares that playing a game is their "job."
Fix the ball. Limit driver head size to 350cc.
Or fiddle while core supporters continue to lose interest and see how that works out...
Oh, and about the Dodgers...The Yankees proved that fundamentals matter in the top of the fifth inning last night, while playing like a poorly coached Little League team. That was an episode of Tales from the Crypt. Good on Freddie Freeman! The $700M Gambler from Oshu, not so much.
Now now, he only gambles on the bases! But we do thank those Braves owners and front office guys for holding the line on not giving Freddie a sixth year. He's now a legend of Dodger baseball who may be enshrined in Cooperstown with an LA hate in bronze!
You know the USGA has a time par system they use effectively in all but one championship because the pros cannot handle how different it would be from what they're used to. What a world.
I ran over 40 happen and us am qualifiers. Besides a few rulings, the main job was to keep all players moving and staying on usga times..no excuses. FWIW
Congrats to the Dodgers. I hope the Billy Buckner Hall of Shame has expansion plans. Need to make room for Judge, Volpe, Wells, Cole. The Base running Head Up Your Ass Award is shared by Stanton and Chisolm. Geoff should be happy. Maybe he'll get a picture with Freddie.
I agree with Peter Bartos regarding choice of "more better". Come to think of it where did Geoff come up with "gobsmacked"? Come on Geoff you're a California kid. People on Cape Cod use those words.
Almost done reading "The Last Innocents". Description of the pain that Maury Wills and Sandy Koufax played through makes one appreciate Freddie and Otani.
Those were Buckner-like, as was the Weaver third toss to first that at least did not lead to another run. Mookie deserves credit for flying out of the box but still...Cole pointing, Rizzo suck in quicksand, you hate to see it!
The Last Innocents has been added to my reading list. Ashamed I haven't already read it. Thanks.
While reading billy horschel's comments, my heart went out to the poor early morning players having to get so early to get the proper physio. I am aghast!! Fire the Commissioner for allowing such hardship to be inflicted. The good news is that the recovery facility is available after the exhaustive effort of playing golf for five hours. (Wonder if the overworked caddies can join in).
Geoff, congrats on the Dodgers winning a World Series that doesn't come with an asterisk. Freddie was a monster.
I like "more better" and I use it as often as I can.
Also, except for dudes wearing shorts, there's nothing worse in golf than slow play. See: U.S. Patent 5,335,212. At least one of your Quadrilaterians is/was an inventor.
Kudos for another great article today- much to absorb incl the fascinating background on future British Open sites.
Visit Scotland has made a wise decision to continue the lucrative partnership. They do compete with Ireland/N Ireland for visitors and regardless of the Open country’s venue, it’s their logo getting the tee box eyeballs on broadcast coverage. Try getting a buddy trip anywhere in scotch land & you can see that this promo has paid off handsomely. Now, if they could only get the baggage handling right in Edinborough😆.
Yes that is the one downside to the million pounds a year going to the R&A, because they do need to figure out how to get BA to better handle golf clubs. But still a small price to pay for what an Open delivers economically.
Slow play has really no solution as the USGA might also admit. On weekends ultimately, yes I know Geoff you don’t agree, will need to go to a shotgun start. With 54 player fields going off in groups of 3. But really there is no way forward u til the Civil War ends and the Players become only Players and not the nuts running the asylum.
The shotgun still doesn't deal with slow pokes nor does it offset the time added to rounds by longer courses, reachable fours and par fives playing like fours that used to play like fives. They have to address those two first before other remedies. The shorter day at a LIV event is admirable, but from a drama, tension, TV storytelling vehicle, it hasn't worked as well as hoped.
Best stat—Days to The Masters opening tee shot: 158. More and more of my playing partners are on that path. Congrats to the Dodgers, they never stopped hustling. Give those coaches a raise!
They put a lot of thought into their preparation. It's pretty impressive what they've done and how they treat every player in their system with the same attention to detail and buy-in whether they're a Single A backup catcher or a top 10 prospect. It's not cheap to do but the fans support them, so the owners invest. It's pretty fun even if the prices are absurd!
So much back slapping for the pro’s. I’m surprised they don’t spend more time with the PT’s. Pace of play is glacial on the tour, it has spread to the college tournaments on TV.
I consider myself one of the core group of golfers with over 125 rounds a year. My group of golfers now for the most part skip most tournaments on TV. We concentrate on the majors.
Now most golf association tournaments I’ve participated in the past years are 5 hrs approaching 5.5 hrs.
You nailed in on the head concerning baseball and other major sports. They need to carry a clock with each group and official to start it. Then everyone gets to see the time.
And here I thought rangefinders were the answer...then of course we watched how college players checked them AND the yardage book. At least the tour studied it and drew the line on that silliness. It's just remarkable the difference in baseball this year with a half hour off playoff games. I worried some tension would be lost with a great standoff between baserunners and pitchers but turns out the slow moments are still there.
The shot clock has been mentioned but the first go with it in Europe didn't really work. Perhaps it's time for another try using ShotLink or AI or cattle prods. It's amazing we can't have one tournament on a big stage try something bold and see what happens. Maybe the TGL will have one and they'll save the game.
1. A while back Jackie Sherrill coaching at A&M put out an open tryout notice for kickoff coverage; he figured that among the 40K undergrads he could find 11 athletic, physical dudes who just wanted it. Reminds me of the soon to be no longer Monday qualifiers. Play your ass off, shoot 64 and then you are in a 4 for 2 playoff.
2. Get rid of caddies and you will speed up play. It will bring an end to 3 minute discussions of how to hit 110 yarder......shots the players have hit 1000s of times. Added bonus; tote your own bag and carry as many 4 irons as you want.
3. The PGAT as an entity is a joke from the top down with an unwatchable product.
Two hours ahead for the "physio truck," recovery time...... I didn't realize that golf was a contact sport. Does the pga have a concussion protocol? As for slow play, maybe fewer "rulings" when there is a sprinkler head several feet from the ball, a suspicious impression in the turf that may have been caused by a burrowing badger, etc.
1. Dodger Blue - time to extend Robert’s contract and agree Buehler is worth the investment
2. Golf’s decades long miscreant policies first iteration of the Putin Policy : “ let ‘em do whatever the hell they want”
3. Memo to Billy follows the old adage “ better to remain silent ….than to speak and remove all doubt” - “waiter, I’ll have the blue cheese dressing”
Boys, let’s form a circle and commence to fire.
I think Buehler will get one of those courtesy contracts like they gave Chris Taylor regardless of his elbow. I think it's the least they can do! The lack of a Roberts extension has been bizarre, but I'm not entirely sure he and the GM are besties. The analytics guys have been brilliant but also have made some huge mistakes that they've learned from. Roberts has managed them well without ever letting on if he's had to follow their orders in-game.
Billy, silent? You jest!
Geoff:
Another great column.
IMO you are having a career year, perhaps your best ever!
Really enjoy reading your ----"stuff"---- golf news. :)
Keep up the good work.
Thanks Tom!
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It’s hard not to despair over the state of pro golf. No apparent sense of urgency while ratings continue to decline and sponsors bolt. Lord knows what happens if FedEx throws in the towel. Maybe it would be better. The FedEx Cup might be the most overhyped event in sports. No one cares about it. The Tour Championship barely has a pulse. I don’t think reuniting with the LIV players would be celebrated like VE Day in Piccadilly Circus, but anything would be better than this endless drift.
Golf has morphed into tennis but the pricing for the Ryder Cup is really a bad look. And a turnoff..
And as we saw with Yankee fans, high prices may not ward off the troublemakers! That they haven't at least come up with a better price for Bethpage regulars or fixed the kids-free policy is kind of astounding to me given the backlash.
The game of golf remains one of the best things going. This sport of golf has become a joke.
"More better"? Good grief.
I think "less worserer" is grammatically appropriater.
Keep the fields the same size and go back to 60 exempt players, plus the multiyear exemptions for Majors. This will make professional golf less of a "club" and more of a meritocracy (one of the very few times this word has legitimate meaning). The Gary McCord Career Membership Policy of Deane Beman was never a good idea. More turnover is to be desired.
Establish a "time par" and hold the players to it. Fines do NOT work. Penalty strokes do work. I get three minutes to find a ball in the cabbage, without a "volunteer" placing a little white flag next to the ball. If the USGA held US Open players to the same standard they require of their thousands of potential qualifiers each year, that would be an improvement.
Remember: No one cares that playing a game is their "job."
Fix the ball. Limit driver head size to 350cc.
Or fiddle while core supporters continue to lose interest and see how that works out...
Oh, and about the Dodgers...The Yankees proved that fundamentals matter in the top of the fifth inning last night, while playing like a poorly coached Little League team. That was an episode of Tales from the Crypt. Good on Freddie Freeman! The $700M Gambler from Oshu, not so much.
Now now, he only gambles on the bases! But we do thank those Braves owners and front office guys for holding the line on not giving Freddie a sixth year. He's now a legend of Dodger baseball who may be enshrined in Cooperstown with an LA hate in bronze!
You know the USGA has a time par system they use effectively in all but one championship because the pros cannot handle how different it would be from what they're used to. What a world.
You had to bring up that Freddie is a former Brave, didn't you!
I ran over 40 happen and us am qualifiers. Besides a few rulings, the main job was to keep all players moving and staying on usga times..no excuses. FWIW
Congrats to the Dodgers. I hope the Billy Buckner Hall of Shame has expansion plans. Need to make room for Judge, Volpe, Wells, Cole. The Base running Head Up Your Ass Award is shared by Stanton and Chisolm. Geoff should be happy. Maybe he'll get a picture with Freddie.
I agree with Peter Bartos regarding choice of "more better". Come to think of it where did Geoff come up with "gobsmacked"? Come on Geoff you're a California kid. People on Cape Cod use those words.
Almost done reading "The Last Innocents". Description of the pain that Maury Wills and Sandy Koufax played through makes one appreciate Freddie and Otani.
Those were Buckner-like, as was the Weaver third toss to first that at least did not lead to another run. Mookie deserves credit for flying out of the box but still...Cole pointing, Rizzo suck in quicksand, you hate to see it!
The Last Innocents has been added to my reading list. Ashamed I haven't already read it. Thanks.
Great book
While reading billy horschel's comments, my heart went out to the poor early morning players having to get so early to get the proper physio. I am aghast!! Fire the Commissioner for allowing such hardship to be inflicted. The good news is that the recovery facility is available after the exhaustive effort of playing golf for five hours. (Wonder if the overworked caddies can join in).
billy horschel's comments ... how does one say so much and say so little? More weasel words.
I am expecting recovery options soon for the caddies. It would be the final piece of the "are you kidding me" puzzle!
Geoff, congrats on the Dodgers winning a World Series that doesn't come with an asterisk. Freddie was a monster.
I like "more better" and I use it as often as I can.
Also, except for dudes wearing shorts, there's nothing worse in golf than slow play. See: U.S. Patent 5,335,212. At least one of your Quadrilaterians is/was an inventor.
Kudos for another great article today- much to absorb incl the fascinating background on future British Open sites.
Visit Scotland has made a wise decision to continue the lucrative partnership. They do compete with Ireland/N Ireland for visitors and regardless of the Open country’s venue, it’s their logo getting the tee box eyeballs on broadcast coverage. Try getting a buddy trip anywhere in scotch land & you can see that this promo has paid off handsomely. Now, if they could only get the baggage handling right in Edinborough😆.
Yes that is the one downside to the million pounds a year going to the R&A, because they do need to figure out how to get BA to better handle golf clubs. But still a small price to pay for what an Open delivers economically.
Slow play has really no solution as the USGA might also admit. On weekends ultimately, yes I know Geoff you don’t agree, will need to go to a shotgun start. With 54 player fields going off in groups of 3. But really there is no way forward u til the Civil War ends and the Players become only Players and not the nuts running the asylum.
The shotgun still doesn't deal with slow pokes nor does it offset the time added to rounds by longer courses, reachable fours and par fives playing like fours that used to play like fives. They have to address those two first before other remedies. The shorter day at a LIV event is admirable, but from a drama, tension, TV storytelling vehicle, it hasn't worked as well as hoped.
Best stat—Days to The Masters opening tee shot: 158. More and more of my playing partners are on that path. Congrats to the Dodgers, they never stopped hustling. Give those coaches a raise!
They put a lot of thought into their preparation. It's pretty impressive what they've done and how they treat every player in their system with the same attention to detail and buy-in whether they're a Single A backup catcher or a top 10 prospect. It's not cheap to do but the fans support them, so the owners invest. It's pretty fun even if the prices are absurd!
New ownership has delivered and gets it. Need more of them in other team sports.
So much back slapping for the pro’s. I’m surprised they don’t spend more time with the PT’s. Pace of play is glacial on the tour, it has spread to the college tournaments on TV.
I consider myself one of the core group of golfers with over 125 rounds a year. My group of golfers now for the most part skip most tournaments on TV. We concentrate on the majors.
Now most golf association tournaments I’ve participated in the past years are 5 hrs approaching 5.5 hrs.
You nailed in on the head concerning baseball and other major sports. They need to carry a clock with each group and official to start it. Then everyone gets to see the time.
A lot more to read in your article.
Congrats to the Dodgers.
Thanks.
And here I thought rangefinders were the answer...then of course we watched how college players checked them AND the yardage book. At least the tour studied it and drew the line on that silliness. It's just remarkable the difference in baseball this year with a half hour off playoff games. I worried some tension would be lost with a great standoff between baserunners and pitchers but turns out the slow moments are still there.
The shot clock has been mentioned but the first go with it in Europe didn't really work. Perhaps it's time for another try using ShotLink or AI or cattle prods. It's amazing we can't have one tournament on a big stage try something bold and see what happens. Maybe the TGL will have one and they'll save the game.
1. A while back Jackie Sherrill coaching at A&M put out an open tryout notice for kickoff coverage; he figured that among the 40K undergrads he could find 11 athletic, physical dudes who just wanted it. Reminds me of the soon to be no longer Monday qualifiers. Play your ass off, shoot 64 and then you are in a 4 for 2 playoff.
2. Get rid of caddies and you will speed up play. It will bring an end to 3 minute discussions of how to hit 110 yarder......shots the players have hit 1000s of times. Added bonus; tote your own bag and carry as many 4 irons as you want.
3. The PGAT as an entity is a joke from the top down with an unwatchable product.
Not happens but US Opens. Sorry.