golfweloveit

Twitter is a powerful tool, I use it sparingly and carefully because people do listen. There was a spoof account, which highlighted the worst things about retailer W H Smith. It was usually about bad carpets and Easter merchandise being displayed before Christmas but I sent them a photograph of something which was clearly not right.

W H Smith has a huge magazine section, part of which was titled MENS INTERESTS. And all three major golf magazines were placed there. So any woman who might want to read about golf to take up the sport for the first time was sent this message. It’s a single sex sport, according to W H Smith.

A couple of months later and I took another photograph which looks like this.Golf is now a GENERAL INTEREST.

We all need to be proactive about the wrong messages being sent out about golf. Now about that Nationwide TV advert…

Ask any non golfer what they remember about golf last year and they will probably recount one of two things. Either about the Ryder Cup – not about the match itself but about the poor spectator who got hit. Or about the picture above. That does get them talking, usually to describe it as an “obscene amount of money”. Remarkably The Match is back for 2019 and for the year after that.

I watched The Match, on November 23rd, right to the bitter end which was 2am London time. “Do get on with it” I complained as Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson went on in darkness to the 22nd hole until finally Mickelson won nine million dollars for a match which was scrapily, poorly played and most of all it was boring. The miked up conversation between Tiger and Phil was bland and banal.There was nothing remotely interesting. I was longing to hear something even slightly bitchy, such as what was heard on camera once after they had played together and the players and caddies shook hands and there was a comment “be sure and wash your hands now”.

It was all 15 years too late. If this had been 2003 when both players were at the peak of their powers it would have been fascinating. But now you wanted it to be Rory and Dustin or Jordan or Justin. But it wasnt just about golf. It was all about the gambling, something Mickelson is something of a poster boy for. Apparently over a million subscribers in the United States paid $19.95 to see the pay per view broadcast and all of them got their money back when the streaming failed due to technical glitches. The pay wall was removed and everyone could see The March for free.

It seems that the Thanksgiving Day celebrations will include The Match with Phil and Tiger for the next two years, but probably in a revised format. Looks like they will each choose a younger team mate and play against each other for another nine million dollars, this time to be split between each other.

A golf writer’s young son wrote this essay about The Match for school. It sums it all up.

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Bought the new issue of Golf World today and towards the back was the new ratings for the Top 100 Courses in England.

Starting at Number one, the Old Course at Sunningdale,  I read through the top fifty and I was like an annoying 13 year old in my mind as I ticked off the courses. Been there, played there, seen that, over and over again. By the end of the top fifty there were only six courses that I hadn’t visited St Endoc, Siloth on Solway, Beau Desert, Aldeburgh, West Sussex and Royal Ashdown Forest.

When I considered this it was quite something. It was recognition of how deeply committed I have been to golf, all my life. About 1982 I got hold of a paperback copy the Telegraph Directory of Courses of the British Isles by Donald Steele I became fascinated by it. I wanted to go see these places. And as soon as I was old enough so I did. Whenever there was spare time, off I went. And remarkably, it was all OK. Rarely did anyone say “you can’t do that, you’re female”. Well except that one time, at Royal Cinque Ports when the greenkeeper gave me a ride back to the clubhouse on his tractor after a pompous old army colonel in the halfway hut said “For Godsakes woman what are you doing in here? I can see you are a right pain” Ah, the charmers of the Halford Hewitt match. But apart from that what a joy it has been to see and play and visit the best of the best, it is part of my soul.

It’s unheard of. This year’s Open at Royal Portrush was sold out by last September for all four championship days. The R&A – anticipating a huge influx of spectators for the first playing in Northern Ireland since 1951 – made a decision to make this an all ticket event, nothing on sale at the gates. The downside of this is that the tickets were snapped up very quickly and now the only days available are the Sunday to Wednesday practice days.

Disappointingly it seems that secondary ticket sites like Viagogo and Stubhub have bought up tranches of tickets with them now on re-sale at inflated prices. £80 tickets on sale for over £300. People buying these tickets are likely to be stung twice because the R&A have made it clear that spectators with tickets bought from secondary ticketing websites will be refused entry.

So what to do if you really want to go? Yesterday I received an email from The Open marketing department offering the prize of two season tickets for the winner who sent them the most original video of them celebrating winning The Open.

All very well. Until it dawned on me that I was one of the 15% of golfers who wasn’t actually eligible to enter the competition because by nature it was male only. No woman has ever competed in the Open Championship so how could a female celebrate winning it. The brief was to be as creative as possible. So, I thought, who was the most creative golfer ever to play in The Open? Not Mickelson, not Seve – I summoned on the man’s powers…

What would Maurice Flitcroft do?

See my post “Everyone’s Got To Start Somewhere” (April 2018). He was a master of disguise. Maurice Flitcroft wouldnt let a little thing like being barred by gender stop him, he would video himself on his mobile phone, landscape only please celebrating the winning putt – in drag. So for the 15% of golfers like me that’s your option to try and win tickets this way.

For the sensible, there are a couple of other options to see The Open live. Firstly, join The One Club and apply on the waiting lists. Or if you are inclined there are volunteering opportunities with Volunteer Now, from Tourism Northern Ireland – apply now on tourismni.com.

Let’s hope the R&A reconsider and go back to selling tickets on the gate next year, to make the championship open again, and most of all let’s not see a ballot system like the All England Club have in place for the tennis championships at Wimbledon.

Here’s my own copy of the big tome of the new Rules of Golf, which I have read. Unlike Rory McIlroy, who says “I don’t know many,  that that’s why the  Rules Officials are here”.

But Bryson de Chambeau has been out practice putting with the flagstick left in the cup even for 1 footers. Interesting that amongst professionals at this week’s Tournament of Champions in Kapalua in Hawaii quite a few admit that they are not sure what’s in the new rules and they will have to learn, They’re professionals – in any other job you would be expected to read and abide by the staff handbook – Guess that these days they think that updating their Instagram accounts is more important to their job. So the PGA Tour have put up a poster in the locker room, for those with a low attention span.

H Here’s a summary of the main rules. This overhaul is long overdue to speed up and modernise the game to make the rules simpler and less petty.

There are lots of the new rules that I find more agreeable, Rule 19.3 where, for a 2 stroke penalty, you can get relief from an unplayable lie in a bunker. 16.3 which allows a drop within a club length of an embedded ball. And most of all changing the daft old rule that when a ball was hit out of bounds back to the tee you had to go. Players are now allowed to drop near, but not closer to the hole, where the original ball came to rest, within bounds for 2 shots. Rule 13.1c allows the repair of spike marks at long last, but not aereation holes.

The rules deal with some drama on the course. I remember watching this on TV at the 1985 US Open when TC Chen took a sand wedge off the green and did this.

The new rules acknowledge that a double hit is nearly always accidental and there is now no extra penalty.

Also, those who break a club in anger or for any other reason, can play on with that club and not have to play with another club instead. For example a punished putter replaced with a 1 iron now the angry player can continue with the mangled club. All in the spirit of speeding up play.

It will be interesting to see on a professional level what happens when rules officials get called in to decide about players accidentally causing the ball to move, which now does not attract a penalty as long as the ball is returned to the original spot. There is a world of difference between what Dustin Johnson did in the 2016 US Open, who was just away with the fairies in my opinion

and what Mickelson did in the 2018 US Open, which he referred to using the rules to my advantage…This is not what the rules were intended for to be used to make a point to the USGA about the condition of a championship course and to bring a dramatic climax to a personal 25 year battle to win the US Open. he failed so he stuck it to them.

With a dramatic birdie on his final hole at East Lake Justin Rose tied for 4th and pulled off winning the season finale FedEx Cup and a $10 million pay day. After a struggling back nine where he dropped three shots, it all boiled down to 18.Justin said he had been waiting for a break all day and made the swing of the week off the tee. He narrowly escaped the top of the bunker and got onto the green with his second shot. He said that he clicked back into gear and knew what he needed to do in the nick of time..

Justin reflected on his bumper year when he also became World Number One as mikestone achievements enich rewarded his consistency, as something to take huge pride in. Woods could have also won the FedEx Cup if the birdie had not gone in, and that would have given the US team huge momentum going into this week’s Ryder Cup. Instead, honours even.

He said “I’m sure ai’m not going to be the most popular guy for making birdie at the last but hey, Tiger’s got enough money”.

It was possibly the most exciting Sunday finish ever. With his two shot win at the Tour Championship, Tiger Woods now has EIGHTY tour wins.

His fellow professionals said it best. Runner up Billy Horschel said it was an “insane”experience around the 18th hole as Tiger finished. Golf is in an awesome place”. Brandt Snedeker said that “every PGA Tour player thanks Tiger” Justin Thomas said “golf couldn’t be in a better place right now” “golf is in anawesome place” and Tommy Fleetwood remarked “what a time to be alive”. Jack Nicklaus, three major championships better off than Tiger said he was extremely proud of him for all his hard work”. The scenes around the 18th green have not been seen for a very long time. Fans flooded the fairway behind Woods and McIlroy and were held back by the police roping them away, while they stampeded with their feet and roared Go Tiger!

Tiger himself was bemused “It’s just hard to believe I’ve just won the Tour Championship, that I’ve pulled this off. I’ve had it not so east the last couple of years. It meant a lot to see players on the 18th green who knew what I’d been struggling with and it was really special to see them”.He said he’d had a hard time not crying on the last hole because getting there had been rough. But most of all he thought of his children Sam and Charlie, who had associated golf with pain. “My children are now seeing the joy, how much fun this is for me”.

With 80 wins Tiger is just two short of equalling Sam Snead’s all time PGA Tour record of 82 wins, but Snead won over a 30 year period, Tiger has been active – and inactive – for 23 years. A reminder of his dominance – 15 majors, 18 World Golf Championships, 46 wins in his twenties. In 2000 he won three majors amongst nine wins and in 2006 had seven wins in a row.

Tiger was quick to thank the fans for what they had meant to his comeback – I couldn’t have done it without you”.

This isn’t an insignificant, throwaway comment. From the dark place that he was in their belief and encouragement has given Tiger the bouyancy and enrgy to move forward from what looked a place of little hope just 18 months ago. From this – 1,199 in the world – to this. His controlled driving, 25 yards shorter than playing partner McIlroy, and beautiful control of the putter were supreme.

But the Hollywood movie isn’t ready to be made just yet. Tiger’s a work in progress. Follow The Sun Part II will have to wait a while yet.

The PGA Tour think it will make the end of season finale more exciting, but it sounds awfully complicated. From next year when the Tour Championship is played before Labor Day holiday it will all depend on the players rankings in the FedEx Cup going into the event. The leading player will begin the tournament on -10,the next four players on -8 through -5, the next 6-10 on -4 regressing by 1stroke every 5 players. Players 26th to 30th begin on level par 10 shots off the pace.

How this will all affect the world ranking points could be significant but the tour think that the consequences will make the final round nerve wracking.

Defendinf FedEx Cup champion and World Number 4 Justin Thomas has pledged his support to Convoy of Hope an organisation leading relief for victims of Hurricane Florence. The hurricane has caused an estimated $1.2 billion of damage in North and South Carolina last week.

At this week’s Tour Championship Justin has pledged $1,000 per birdie he makes this week, $5,000 for every eagle and $10,000 for every hole-in-one.