Peter Allis’s admonition after Phil and Bones had a small Yalta conference before a 92-yard pitch on his third shot into the Par 5 16th ended up 40 feet right of the hole. The unfamiliar wind direction for the second round of the Open Championship at Royal Liverpool proved an enigma for the players leading to extra flipping of the pages of the yardage book trying to triangulate the appropriate shot playing lines for the day. Indecision was the watchword on a very difficult morning for scoring.

Peter Allis a breath of fresh English air……

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One of the coolest traditions of the Open Championship broadcasts is listening to the charismatic voice of Peter Allis. Allis has been involved with the Open Championship for over 60 years as a player and an announcer primarily for the BBC. But his guest appearances on the American broadcasts over the decades have provided insight and a true sense of the flavor of links golf.

To paraphrase a few Allisisms from today’s commentary:

On Rickie Fowler’s oversized hat…a golf hat shouldn’t cover your ears…it is hard to hear

On the current golf fashion preference…white trousers….dangerous

On a capable caddie…like a good wife…gives his man what he needs….

On today’s golf shoes…they used to be solid…with metal spikes….now they are like bedroom slippers

On a player on the bubble possibly making the cut….he should not be rushing to check airplane schedules

On iron man Ivor Robson, the legendary starter of the Open Championship, spending the entire day never leaving his assigned post next to the first tee….must have those special continence trousers used by the astronauts

The blustery wind for the morning wave made treading water an accomplishment. It was incumbent upon the players to find a line off the tee to deal with the wind that leaving the ball in the fairway with the proper angle into the day’s pins. Distance control into the greens from the weedy lies were very difficult to control especially downwind where more times then not the next shot was a low running recovery from behind the green. The front bunkers got lots of traffic on approaches into the wind without sufficient conviction.

They were all following Rory’s lead today….

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Typical were the morning rounds of defending champion Phil Mickelson and former Master’s winner Adam Scott. Coming off a mediocre 74 in the first round and a ragged start today Phil nearly jarred in on four to make a birdie and then eagled the par 5 fifth from a challenging lie. After another negotiation with Bones on shot intention from the high stuff at about 100 yards out on the final hole, he made birdie with a vintage Phil up and down to end the day at even par.

Scott stood at four-under and two back of Rory at the beginning of the day. He was all over the lot through the morning with four bogies in the first thirteen holes. But you just have to hang in and wait for the links goddesses to change their tune and Adam managed to birdie seventeen and eighteen to finish just one for the worse at 3-under at the end of the day.

Only birthday boy George Coetzee seemed to have the mojo in the morning posting 6 birdies on the way to 69 and reach 5-under one back from Rory McIlroy.

The wind tempered considerably for the afternoon wave and players seemed to take advantage of the opportunity resulting in jockeying at the top of the board.

Sergio hit it in the eighteenth fairway off the first tee on the way to an opening bogie and then stuffed it on two for an eagle to jump within one of the lead. Fowler bogied the second but found more of his first round magic with 3 birdies over the next nine holes to reach 5-under. Jim Furyk was steady and had reached the 5 under total as well.  Francesco Molinari rode a hot putter to 6 birdies and rival Sergio’s 6-under.

As the afternoon wore on other name brand players like Charl Schwartzel, Dustin Johnson, Louis Oosthuizen, Hideki Matsuyama, and Ryan Moore all took advantage of the tamer winds to fill out the first page of this quality leader board.

With the first round lead at six-under Rory was fielding questions about how he would avoid another “Freaky Friday” score that have haunted his performances most of this season. He could not have felt good about the bogey on his first hole of the day, but as he has done in two previous major wins, he just seemed to slip into another gear with four birdies in six holes to reach 9-under and a three-shot lead after the tenth hole.

Rory must have experienced low blood sugar because only a couple of drive-by birdie putts that would not go in kept him from stretching the lead to five.  With most of the pack now stalled at 6-under Rory put his foot to the floor making birdies on three of the last four to shoot a book end 66 to match his first day score and set the halfway bar at a lofty 12-under par.  Only Dustin Johnson was able to keep within shouting distance with a 65 of his own and a second place total of 8-under.

All smiles for Rory….no Friday demons…..

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It seems that the only thing that can slow Rory down now is a large English low pressure system and some really foul play on his part.  After all that, Rory looks poised for another major to go with his two previous ones at the 2011 U.S. Open and the 2012 PGA.  As Peter Allis would say, when Rory is in the right state of mind he can play a tidy game of golf.

July, 2014

I have to say that the greatest disappointment at the Quicken Loans National this past weekend was not Tiger’s shabby short game and him missing the cut, but rather his unconscionable decision not to be a presence on the final day of a tournament that has poured so much support into his personal foundation.

The Washington heat and the lack of reps had Tiger in a lather

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This was an opportunity for Tiger Woods to respond to those who criticize him for his unwillingness to reveal anything personal other than a clichéd description of the current state of his game. A friend of mind said, it was a shanda that Tiger was not at the awards presentation to thank the volunteers and patrons for their support and bestow the oversized check to Justin Rose.

This event has struggled in recent years to get a top players to participate. Only a thimble full of guys from the top 20 were present this year and Tiger has flat out refused to recruit in the locker room to enhance the field. The gate and the TV ratings are in serious decline and the head of the major beneficiary of the event is not inclined to try to do anything about it.

Contemplating his ball and not much more

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Further he could have made that cameo appearance in the broadcast booth on Sunday providing a little personal insight into how the players were coping with the major-like challenges of one of his favorite courses. That would have been worth a tick or two in the Sunday TV rating. With Sir Nick and Jim Nance, the king of softball questions, he would have been in a non-hostile atmosphere that would have allowed him to provide a teeny glimpse of his personal side without revealing any trade secrets. Instead we got a four-star general in a golf shirt telling us how much the rank-and-file appreciate all of Tiger’s support for the military.

Tiger seemed in a hurry to get out of Dodge

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I know the forced time off for Tiger has helped him appreciate his two lovely kids, the yacht, and the personal time in Jupiter but he could have made waffles for the family Sunday morning, hopped on the Gulfstream at noon, and been on the grounds in plenty of time for some positive image exposure and a chance to do the right thing vis-à-vis his corporate patrons.

Tiger’s Privacy…where he likely spent Sunday afternoon

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At their marquee events Arnie and Jack never fail to appear behind a mike on Sunday for some 19th hole jabber and await the winner coming off the 18th green with a big smile and a shoulder handshake. There is a reason for that-it elevates their brand and proves that they are engaged with supporters on a level that has nothing to do with their current or previous golf aptitude.

Entertainment superstars understand the importance of polishing their image and using controlled PR opportunities to tout personal aspects of their lives. It is just good business, especially when it benefits the gates and coffers of events that support their causes. Tiger buffets the criticism that he really does give a hoot about anything but chasing majors when he does not seize these opportunities.  If nothing else he is setting a bad example for his children.

July, 2014

The most common unsolicited remark a golfer hears from a playing partner when a shot goes awry. Doesn’t matter if it was popped up, skulled, foozled, or socketed, the advice is usually the same. Depending on the chutzpah level of the person rendering the remark it could also be you are lunging, swaying, coming over the top, or the over-rotation of your hips is affecting your club head speed (if the Traveler’s dog happens to be in your group). My thought when I witness these retorts is “Do you have your name embroidered on your bag or do you have a PGA teaching certification I don’t know about”?

Why a 20-handicap guy who breaks 90 twice a year feels it is his obligation to try to instruct a fellow player on the error of their ways is beyond me. The worst iteration of this helicopter partnering is when it involves a husband or father. There is some familial
obligation being implemented here to direct their helpless wife or inexperienced child through the trials and tribulations of discovering a competent golf game.

The problem with all of this is three-fold.

A. The guy giving the corrective directions is not objective, the weight of the personal relationship blinds him to the real athletic aptitude of their relative.

B. The guy barely can hit it consistently out of his own shadow so his advice is like the
blind leading the blind out of a burning building.

C. Who asked.

It is really no better if these kind of “suggestions” come from a single digit advisor. There is a reason there are so few good certified teaching pros, it takes a gift for full speed diagnosis, lots of fundamental knowledge, and an ability to communicate. Just having a low handicap does not mean you have any of those.

I have been playing golf for going on 55 years and have enjoyed the golfing company of my wife and/or son for a good half of that. When my wife asks me on a particular shot what club to hit my response is “you are 120 to the center of the green, slightly uphill”. If my son asks me what was wrong with the swing that just rendered the snapping turtle ball flight that has his Titleist now residing in the knee-high stuff on the left my answer is “so what did the pro tell you the last time you were together?” Truth is golf is a game of self direction and self discovery it needs no tour guides unless they are professionally trained and being paid for their services.

My idea has been that couples and father/son tournaments should have a stipulation that you must have someone of no relation as your partner. It would remove the urge for frivolous on course correction, be more fun for your partner, and give your team a much better chance to win sweeps.

This tirade extends to all kinds of advice given on the course. How many times did a person in your group standing above the cup on a steep green ask you whether it is fast or not? Your answer is “like a greased duck on a slip-n-slide”. The result is they leave it hanging half way to the cup with a four-putt now hovering in the balance. Or they are 130 to clear the pond in front of the green and want to know if they should lay up. No matter what you say they manage rinse the next one botching the aggressive or conservative advice rendered.

Best answer to these kinds of rhetorical inquiries is “you’re holding the club, go with your gut” it usually leads to an acceptable result.

It is my hope that when the USGA finishes the Pace of Play/While We’re Young advocacy campaign they will tackle this one. My suggestion is Charles Barkley as the spokesperson of the Zip-It…No more golf disinformation please.

In the meantime, if you hear “Keep your head down” in your group politely respond with
“Keep it to yourself”. It should help your game the rest of the day.

June, 2014

Martin Kaymer, Pinehurst #2, or Erik Compton….in all three cases an emphatic YES!

Martin Kaymer torched the field by 8 shots in this U.S. Open return to Donald Ross’s fabled Pinehurst #2. As the fourth biggest margin of victory on record, this performance is on level with the runaway wins of Tiger at Pebble in 2000 and Rory at Congressional in 2011.

The scoreboard doesn’t lie

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His back-to-back 65’s in the first two rounds were the first time anyone has had two 65’s in a U.S. Open. The 9-under finish was the third lowest score to par in U.S. Open history. With stats like 77% fairways hit, 63% greens in regulation, average driving distance of 305 yards, and 110 putts, an average of 1.53 per hole, he was hitting it in play, sticking it close, and making the putts that mattered. There is no wonder he waxed the competition.

Another first, Kaymer has won a quasi-major (The Players) and a major (The U.S. Open) in just six weeks……and he beat two of the strongest fields of the year….leading wire-to-wire. This is Ubergolf if we have ever seen it….it puts him comfortably among the top performers of his generation.

Kaymer got everything he asked for and more

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Golf journalist Rex Hoggard said, it was like Kaymer was playing the more pedestrian Pinehurst #5 for four days while the rest of the field was playing the championship Pinehurst #2. As we saw with Tiger and Rory sometimes one player shows up at a major with a game the rest of the field cannot recognize.

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Pinehurst #2 held up to the expectations of the USGA in fine fashion. Mike Davis continues to break the mold of playing U.S. Opens on monster long emerald green layouts with knee high rough. It started with bringing the Open to a municipal course at Bethpage Black in 2002 and continued by returning it to the more modest distances of Merion last year. Aligning with the Pinehurst powers to restore #2 to it’s original Ross character by removing 40 acres of Bermuda rough and allowing the adjacent areas to the fairway to return to their native roots, the USGA presented a fast and firm challenge that looked more like an Open Championship than a U.S. Open. With Chambers Bay and Erin Hills on the schedule two of the next three years this sand based, brown is beautiful campaign will likely continue.

Pinehurst #2 was not your typical day at the office for these guys

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The players seemed to relish the challenge presented by unpredictable lies off the fairway and the unique domed greens of Pinehurst #2. Sand shots took on a totally new connotation when any ball was wayward. The green side recovery shots we witnessed were a far stretch from the typical hack and flop of a U.S. Open weekend. Putts on greens in regulation took on a whole new meaning since more than one of the guys putted off a green he had already hit in regulation. If you remove the outlier of Kaymer’s 9-under performance there were only two others in red figures at 1-under par. That passes a U.S. Open litmus test every time.

Then there was the Erik Compton story. Clawing his way to a second place finish at 1-under par in the pressure cooker of a U.S. Open with his second transplanted heart (the useful life of his original and it’s first replacement had been spent) Compton mustered resolve, courage, and fortitude that would make John Wayne feel proud. For the last three days Compton did what major winners like Justin Rose, Keegan Bradley, Adam Scott, Rory McIlroy, and Jim Furyk could not do-he took on every challenge that #2 presented shooting 3-under when it mattered and did not give any ground to the blitzkrieg of Martin Kaymer.

Erik Compton handled all the challenges at #2

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This from a man who has seen his life pass before his eyes at least twice already and who takes more medications in a month than many of us take in a life time.
As Randall Mell said of Compton’s inspirational play, “They’ll never forget what this remarkable man did here……nearly trumped the Miracle at Merion, Ben Hogan’s victory in his return from a nearly fatal car accident in the 1950 U.S. Open”.

LPGA pros in the on-deck circle

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And if you haven’t had enough of the all-you-can-eat Pinehurst experience the Women’s U.S. Open Championship begins at the same venue starting today. Shorter tees, hotter temperatures, same native rough areas and turtle back greens…..just another stern USGA test with a different set of protagonists in soft spikes.

June, 2014