Running 2015 golf thread

Is Lee Trevino still around golf?
Haven't seen his name in a long time.

 

Buck will still play 4 or 5 events per year. That's about it.

Him, Gary Player, and a few others have come out and said that 30 minutes alone with Tiger, and they'd have it figured out.

I know Tiger is too proud to go up and ask them, but would be interesting if he did.

 

Being s great player does not make one a great teacher. There is zero chance Player and Trevino, who had unconventional swings to begin with, could fix Tiger Woods in 30 days, much less 30 mins. It's a cute thing for everyone to run with because it feeds the "Tiger is so stubborn, why won't he just be great again!" narrative, which is much easier to accept than "He's old."

Meanwhile, Patrick Reed is going to make people eat all that Top 5 mockery of he wins yet again on a legit course. (Probably finishing Monday.)

 

One of the more interesting developments this year - aside from the Tiger saga - has to do with Caddies and their fight with the PGA Tour. They formed a union about two years ago seeking relief from their alleged treatment as second-class citizens on the tour.
They're also bucking certain dress requirements (wearing bibbs with sponsors logos) without compensation.
I think they have a lot validity to their claims... Case in point, yesterday.
Honda Classic round is rained out (God is pissed Rory missed the cut), Caddies, who are not allowed in the clubhouse, are given shelter in a open-end tent. A metal tent.
Caddies bristle at shelter offered during storm | Golf Channel

 

Caddies are employed by golfers, who could obtain better conditions for them if they so chose. Golfers being exceptionally self-centered even by the standards of pro sports, this is unlikely to happen.

 

For distraction and entertainment, the PGA should have put a booger-eating kid in the tent with them.

 

I didn't really realize it, but golf is apparently in a serious decline.

Why America fell out of love with golf - The Washington Post

 

From the article:

"It's difficult, dissuading amateurs from giving it a swing, and time-consuming, limiting how much fans can play. Even what loyalists would say are strengths -- its simplicity, its traditionalism -- can seem overly austere in an age of fitness classes, extreme races and iPhone games."

Guess what ... it was difficult to pick up 150 years ago, or 50 years ago. And is this argument more about the fact that today's generation does not have the patience to take the time to learn and play something? The courses I play (eastern Connecticut/Rhode Island) have been roughly the same price for 15 years now.

Also, fewer people on the course means it will be easier for me to make a tee time. I am all for that, especially as I look out my window and see four feet of snow on the ground.

 

Substitute, say, George Will's name for Tiger Woods and the exact same wording could be used for an article about newspapers and/or magazines.

* Not enough time
* Too expensive and old-fashioned
* "Structural decline"

Of course, I still enjoy both reading newspapers and (occasionally) playing golf. I'm like a talking dinosaur.

 

Too expensive. Golf priced itself too high for a lot of people.

Lots of courses closing down. Is that a regional thing, or is it like that across the country?

 

I don't think its cost so much as time.

And the old Country Club model is long gone.

Of course, I also think they flooded the market. Courses, clubs, swing coach stuff ...

 

It's funny when you think about it, but it isn't that people are less active, but those who would likely be active playing golf are probably bicycling, playing basketball, working out at a gym, running, doing things that are a lot more active than golf. I'd rather ride a bike, run or hike through a golf course than play a round.
Oddly, what I enjoy most about golf is completely losing myself in a round, no time, no outside contact and just killing an afternoon. If I were golf THAT is what I'd market. Disconnecting for a few hours, getting away from everything.