Thought for the Day:
Everyone seems normal until you get to know them
Apologies for the delay
Earlier this month the USGA held its annual general meeting and among other things, its head honcho Mike Davies – who has done so much to make US Open venues less punitive – was asked about long putters. He reminded journalists that the USGA has been ‘very public’ in saying it was to look again at the matter, particularly the issue of anchoring the butt of the putter handle to some part of the body. He said: ‘More players are using it, both on the elite and recreational levels. We are looking at it from the perspective of what is good for all golfers long term.’ USGA vice president, Tom O’Toole, added: ‘We would be irresponsible if we weren’t pro-active and looking at this issue.’
Note: Johnny Miller was the first tour golfer to use a long putter, which he introduced to the world in 1985. If the USGA’s idea of being pro-active is to decide to discuss something, 27 years after its appearance, heaven knows how it defines ‘reactive’.
Give us strength
Caroline Wozniacki and Rory McIlroy have started referring to themselves as ‘Wozilroy’. Some times comment is superfluous.
Clash of the egos
It is difficult to love either Alex Salmond or Donald Trump but at the moment the American billionaire just shades it over the Scottish First Minister in the obnoxiousness stakes. The man with the most ludicrous hair in the world says he will fund an international crusade against ‘monstrous’ windfarm developments, that include a proposal to build wind turbines off the coast of the Menie Estate, where Mr Trump is building his golf course. He accuses Mr Salmond of being: ‘Hell-bent on destroying Scotland’s coastline and therefore Scotland itself,’ and adds, with not a little hyperbole: ‘You will single-handedly have done more damage to Scotland than virtually any event in Scottish history.’
Mr Trump is clearly not a student of Scottish history if he thinks that some wind turbines can compete in the disaster stakes with the Highland clearances, two failed Jacobite uprisings, numerous military defeats, usually at the hands of the hated English, and the potential disappearance of Glasgow Rangers Football Club. In his intemperate letter to Mr Salmond, Trump added: ‘As we re-industrialise this nation then, eventually, just about everybody will get on board – even Donald Trump.’
Referring to oneself in the third person is often a significant pointer to an ego that is rampantly out of control.
Willie Rennie, the leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, seems to have hit the nail on the head when he described Trump’s letter as: ‘A desperate attempt by a rich man to get his own way.’
Almost uniquely, Alex Salmond declined to comment, so there was at least one positive element in the whole farce.
Shouldering a burden
Spare a thought for Paul Casey; injured for much of 2011 he then went through the pain of divorce. He had just started to show some form again at the end of last season, took a holiday and dislocated his shoulder while snowboarding. As a consequence of a recovery that is taking more time than originally thought he has had to pull out of this week’s WGC Accenture Matchplay, an event in which he finished runner-up in both 2009 and 2010. I don’t want to heap more bad news on the lad’s head but the biggest problem with dislocated shoulders (or anything else) is that if it happens once, it’s likely to happen again.
Ready to go
To the delight of some and puzzlement of many, golf is returning to the Olympics in the 2016 summer games, to be held in Brazil. However, not only is there not a course over which the competition can be held but the architect who will design the layout hasn’t yet been selected. An announcement was due to be made some weeks ago but none of the bidders had the proper legal and financial documents in place. It is now proposed that a decision will be made next month when the International Olympic Committee visits Rio de Janeiro. The shortlisted candidates, incidentally, are companies owned by Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Greg Norman, Robert Trent-Jones II and Martin Hawtree, along with Hanse Golf Design Ltd, Renaissance Golf and Thomson-Perret Golf Course Architects. The winning design will be selected by, among others, Carlos Nuzman, the 2016 Olympic Committee president and R&A chief executive Peter Dawson, in his role as president of the International Golf Federation.
Way to go, Phil
The one thing you can guarantee in this game is that as soon as you make a prediction about a player, they will immediately prove you wrong. Two weeks ago I wondered if Phil Mickelson’s career was on the skids. He promptly replied by winning the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am with a blistering last round 64, and then narrowly missed out on a second consecutive victory at the Northern Trust Open, losing out in a three-man playoff to Bill Haas. Ditching the long putter he’d been experimenting with certainly seemed to help and rarely have I been so pleased to be so quickly proven wrong.
Quote of the Week:
I play with friends, but we don’t play friendly games
Ben Hogan