SEPTEMBER 20TH — AMERICAN GOLF'S "INDEPENDENCE DAY!"

by Doug McAllister

One can look back at the history of golf and spot important dates. Some on a world scale, others more bound to the American home front. (Or should I say Course front?) Majors won. Ryder Cup victories and defeats. Some triumphs. Others tragedies.

But for all American golfers there is but one date that should stand out above all others. This date was — in my view — the day that America became a legitimate golfing presence. Like the American Revolution and July 4th, 1776 go inseparably together, American golf and September 20th, 1913 should go together like ... well ... dimples and golf balls! What's so special about that date? Some of you know, but for those who don't...


AN MOST UNLIKELY "TRIUMVIRATE"












Harry Vardon (left in photo) was considered by many to be the greatest Englishman to play the game. Arguably he till is. Up from the most humble of beginnings, Vardon would amass a championship record that included winning six Open Championships (a record that still stands today). The Vardon grip was named for him.

In 1913 he might have lost a step or two but was still considered a major golfing threat to the fledgling United States Open being played that year in Brookline, Massachusetts. Although not as shining a star in the golfing firmament, Vardon's friend and partner, Ted Ray (right in photo) was nearly as formidable an opponent as was Vardon. So when these two British giants came to the States with the intent of carrying away the U.S. Open Championship most believed them capable of doing it.

I won't go into additional biographical detail for Vardon and Ray. Suffice it to say that they were preeminent golfers and champions — as golf writer, Bernard Darwin would later put it — "Two Goliaths" that struck fear into the hearts of most of the competitors of the day.

Which brings us to the third member of the trio in question.

Francis DeSales Ouimet (at center in photo) was, in every sense, a golfing "David" when pitted against the gigantic foes considered here. Not a golfing hack in the least, Ouimet was a champion in his own right having won the Massachusetts State Amateur and other events. But to consider the notion that he could stand with the likes of Vardon and Ray was something that no one seriously entertained.

THE GREATEST GAME EVER PLAYED

And so it was that the fray was joined and, in the end, a three-way tie resulted at the 1913 U.S. Open. A playoff was scheduled for September 20, 1913 and included Vardon, Ray and Ouimet. The story is one that has been appropriately told and retold. In my opinion, the best accounts are to be found in the book The Greatest Game Ever Played by Mark Frost and in the excellent Disney movie of the same title with Frost contributing the screenplay.

It is history that every American golfer, at least, should know about.

It has been appropriately argued that, without Francis Ouimet and his unlikely victory at the Country Club in Brookline, there would have been no Bobby Jones. No Arnold Palmer. No Jack Nicklaus. And, if we must, no Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods. Oh, sure things might have rolled out in subsequent years to legitimize golf in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. But Francis Ouimet was the perfect hero to give golf the boost into America's sporting mainstream that it needed. American's dearly love the underdog — especially when he is a stripling 20-year-old and one of their very own.

In the end, Ouimet was able to proudly raise the U.S. Open trophy high, having defeated his two professional foes in classic style. And, like all good stories, Ouimet, Vardon and Ray remained fast friends over the course of their lives.


PUT IT ON YOUR CALENDAR — REMEMBER IT!

And so, September 2oth, which just happens to be today, should be a day that is inscribed in ink on your collective calendars. Commemorate it just as you would the 4th of July. Why not? After all, prior to Ouimet's striking championship, British golfers dominated championship golf in these United States. No, we have no record of them wearing red coats or harassing the citizens of Boston. But isn't it fitting that, in 1913, a golfing George Washington stepped forward — in the same vicinity as the famous military shots heard round the world! — and put golf solidly on the map of the American sporting psyche!


Pick up Frost's excellent book. Watch and enjoy the Disney movie.

Get out there today — on this day of days in American Golf — and celebrate! What better day to tee it up, waggle proudly at the thought of our golfing history and...

Hit 'em Long and Straight!

A WEEK OFF: A FEW RANDOM THOUGHTS

by Doug McAllister

What a void a week off from the regular PGA schedule makes. I guess that the thought is the 30 who have qualified for East Lake need time to regroup, to rest and to get ready for the finale.

Given the fact that I wasn't able to spend my Saturday following the latest event, I found my mind entertaining a few random thoughts about the Playoffs, the game generally and, with the Ryder Cup just around the corner, about my favorite golfer of all time, Payne Stewart.


THE PLAYOFFS

I have to admit that my thoughts today about the Playoffs and the FedEx Cup were spurred by a rather astute article in this week's issue of GolfWorld magazine by John Feinstein. Tucked in the very back of the issue, the article provides some rather eye-popping facts about the current playoff system.

Did you know that, should a player finish a legitimate Grand Slam during the course of the calendar year — all four majors during the same annual season — he would garner only 2,400 points toward winning the FedEx Cup? But isn't 2,400 a pretty impressive number? Not when compared to the 2,500 points that the winner of a single Playoff event receives. That's right, Matt Kuchar won 100 points more for winning The Barclays than he would have won had he completed the Grand Slam! Ridiculous!

Even more ridiculous is the fact, so eloquently communicated by Feinstein in his article, that Charley Hoffman garnered the same 2,500 points for winning the BMW and never hit a single shot in any of this year's Major Championships. That's correct! Hoffman could walk away with the FedEx Cup — a trophy positioned to represent the best player on tour this year — without having qualified for a single Major. Preposterous!

I had never really put 2 and 2 together here. It's mind boggling to admit that the Playoff seems to be as broken a process as it is. Oh yes, the Player of the Year honors are not inseparably tied to the FedEx Cup, but shouldn't they be? Should someone this year win the FedEx Cup and not be the Player of the Year, that would certainly begin the debate in earnest!

Read Feinstein's article if you get the chance. You'll, perhaps, come away as I did, with the notion that the PGA these days is far, far more about money and not nearly enough about real golfing excellence and achievement.


GOLF'S STAYING POWER

But, as I've noted ad nauseam in past posts, Golf's staying power is as far from the workings of the professional ranks as Earth is from Pluto (that is is the second-largest known dwarf planet in the Solar System (after Eris) and the tenth-largest body observed directly orbiting the Sun. Originally classified as a planet, Pluto is now considered the largest...er...but I'm woefully off track!).

Think of it (again). Whether Eldrick misses this year's BIG DANCE or whether Camillo Villegas switches his clubs from Titleist to TaylorMade or whether John Daly's golf pants can actually trigger seizures among viewers in the gallery IS TOTALLY IMMATERIAL! That's right! Not one of the seemingly earth shattering scenarios can straighten your slice or sharpen your ability to read a hard-breaking putt or add twenty yards to your drives.

Want to know why? Because Golf is as personal to you as your own fingerprints. If you're a true golf aficionado the PGA could go to Pluto and you would keep on playing the game just as you always have. Think about that. If your satisfaction of the real game of Golf depends on the workings of the PGA it's time to hang up the clubs and join Roosevelt Grier's online crocheting club!


THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER PAYNE STEWART

Owing to the lack of a tournament today, I popped in a recording of the 1999 U.S. Open at Pinehurst #2. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. I recall watching the tournament back in '99. The drama of Payne's final round. His amputated rain jacket. Stewart's long, sweet swing. The final putt. Magical stuff then. More magical still when one realizes that Payne had just a few months left to live.

Since '99 it's been interesting how much Payne's legend has grown. TV specials. Biographies. Special foundations and funds in Payne's name. Remarkable!

Payne's class, especially when juxtaposed against recent goings on in the lives of various Tour players, is sorely missed in far too many ways. For one, no doubt — if Stewart were alive — we wouldn't be tolerating Corey Pavin at the helm of this year's Ryder cup venture.

But despite the fact that Stewart's life was so rudely snuffed out over a decade ago, there are those who forge on in the same spirit. I miss Payne because he was one of the rare few on Tour who seemed to be able to separate Golf from the professional game. He was also able to put Golf and life in the proper perspective. One need only watch the end of his triumph at Pinehurst in '99 — as he clutched Mickelson's face and wished luck for Mickelson's imminent fatherhood and offered the counsel that fatherhood was the BIG DEAL — to know the truth of that!


With that, HELAS!

EVEN FOR TIGER, IT'S DRIVE FOR SHOW AND PUTT FOR DOUGH. OR IS IT?

by Doug McAllister

As Tiger makes an early exit from this years PGA Playoff series, the excuses begin to buzz like flies near a cow pie! The Tiger-o-philes are quick to explain why the #1 player in the world is completely justified in his paltry play over the past few months, generally, and his dreadful play in the past few weeks, particularly: Give him a break! He's retooling his swing. You don't do that overnight. It can take months! He's got a new coach. That's why Tiger is a bit off his game. If golf were totally about driving and approach shots — the full-swing shots apparently being addressed presently by Coach Foley — I would probably wholeheartedly agree. But it isn't.

We've all heard the old cliched adage, "Drive for show and putt for dough." Quite simply the meaning here is that, regardless of the steps taken to get to the green, the real dividing line between those who win and those who don't is how the putter is working. Right?

Walter Hagen's version of this was, "Three bad shots and one good shot still makes par!" And you don't have to be a genius to note that the one good shot he was talking about was invariably a putt.

Let's face it, Tiger has never been a straight shooter from the tee. Far from it. He sprays the ball all over the course. What used to make Tiger unbeatable was his ability to scramble in and sink Hagen's good shot — the winning putt.

So what is all of this nonsense about Tiger needing time to reengineer his swing in order to win? Take a look at the putts he's missed of late. He's seen far more than his share of makeable putts and, truth be told, he has simply blown too many of them.

Or am I missing something here? Has Foley got Tiger changing his putting stroke as well? I haven't noticed bizarre new grips for Tiger. Unlike Vijay Singh, who lately changes his grip with every putt, Tiger is using the same setup, the same grip and, with the exception of a some play at the Open Championship earlier this year, the same putter.

So let's all take a deep breath and face the facts: Tiger is where he is right now because his confidence is totally blown! That's it and that's all! Foley will work with Eldrick. They'll go through the process. It will take whatever time it takes and...Voila!...without confidence it won't amount to a hill of beans! Tiger is where he is because his idyllic little life was shattered by a series of really stupid decisions and not because he somehow wore out the swing that literally set the world of golf afire in 2000.

Let's stop all of this nonsense about Tiger's losing streak is fine because he's "working things out." Let's face the music and own up to truth that Tiger just can't put his head where it needs to be right now. And — oh, yes — can we please stop with the stupidity that Tiger's slump is destroying the collective health of the Game of Golf?!

Want to realize the truth of that? Get out there, yourselves, and...

Hit 'em Long and Straight!

GRANDPA ROPER'S ROUND: THE FLIPSIDE OF GOLF HATERS

by Doug McAllister

A few posts back I spoke of golf haters and told the tale of how my paternal grandfather was one the first I ever encountered. But that's okay. To each his own. I was recently reminded of how my maternal grandpa spent his first day on the course, an event that, to this day, will always bring a smile to my face, regardless of how bad I may have been hitting it on my most recent outing.

Vernon B. Roper was a content man. I can't spell it out any better than that. Circumstances deprived him of most of life's greater professional opportunities but you never heard him complain about it. His became a lifelong railroad engineer. Years navigating the rails for Union Pacific. Hard work. Would have been all too easy to simply let everything go and accept his place as a typical blue collar hero. Instead, he went about educating himself in every way he could possibly think of. He read everything he could get his hands on, was curious about everything and wasn't afraid to try new hings.

Which brings us to golf. Grandpa Roper had reached the apex of life's middle years and was gliding contentedly down the other side when he first tried golf. As is often the case when children attempt to buy a parent something new and different for a birthday, a range of possible gifts was discussed. In the end — you guessed it — the family determined that golf clubs would be a great gift.

And so it was that the birthday rolled round. A set of clubs was presented, along with plans for the first formal outing. Naturally, the venue was just up Grandpa's beloved Springville Canyon, a truly remarkable course called Hobble Creek.

You need to understand Hobble Creek, then and now, is anything but a "pitch-and-putt" track. Narrow fairways, tightly bordered by tall trees, favor exceptionally well-placed shots. To make matters infinitely more interesting, Hobble Creek — the stream from which the course gets its name — winds back and forth and back again over much of the course, forcing the prudent player to carefully choose clubs that will keep his golf ball dry. Once, my father-in-law, when asked whether he would like to come and play Hobble Creek, smiled and impishly noted, "I don't have the balls to play that course!" An eloquent assessment. In short, Hobble Creek was an exercise in advanced golf to which, some might have said, Grandpa was being led like a lamb to the slaughter. The stage was set for his first and, very likely, last round of golf.

What transpired, though, was a game of golf fit to inspire any and all who play this sometimes maddening game.

The first hole, as I was informed, played out fairly well. Not a par by a long shot, but no significant damage done. The second hole, a short par four, was where potential troubles should have begun. Despite its short length, the second is the first of numerous holes where the golfer gets to stare Hobble Creek, the stream, right in the face, the mountain brook traversing the fairway twice. No roll up shots here. And no worm burners — often the shot du jour of many a first timer — as these would find the stream just a few yards from the tee. It was suggested that a 7 iron from the tee might be a good choice for Grandpa.

Call it beginner's luck but Vernon Roper struck a near-perfect 7 iron — not terrifically long, given the length of the hole, but straight down the fairway. After the hearty congratulations were handed out, all in the group headed off for their next shots. When they reached Grandpa's ball, owing to the nice stroke he had made to get it there, it was suggested that he might try a 4 iron — enough to carry the stream on the other side and put himself in a position to chip his third to the green.

But an interesting thing happened. Grandpa's take on things was different. Why not stick with what works? Hadn't he just hit a nearly perfect shot with a 7 iron? Why rock the boat? It was quickly explained that a set of golf clubs includes fourteen different members in order to effectively address the numerous lies and scenarios encountered in a typical round of golf.

But, despite the best explanations possible, Grandpa Roper proceeded with his new favorite club. In fact, he hit every single shot for the rest of the round — whether on the long par 5's or the short par 3's — with his 7 iron. And, while his score (which he didn't keep) may have been an embarrassment to an obsessed golf aficionado, he came away from the round beaming. I had many chances to talk golf with him on various occasions after that. He always spoke glowingly of that first 7 iron and his first round at Hobble Creek.

The moral of the story: there is far more to enjoying golf than going low and perfect drives. More to it than pars, birdies and, occasionally, eagles. While these add considerable interest to the experience, I can't help but believe that Grandpa Roper got it right from the start and took it with him thereafter.

So next time your out for a classic round, remember the example of a contented old gentleman, making his way happily around a difficult course with a 7 iron on every shot. Every once in a while the quality of a shot trumps the length.

Keep that in mind and...

Hit 'em long (even by a 7 iron's standards) and straight!

SIGN ME UP FOR THE DUSTIN JOHNSON FAN CLUB!

by Doug McAllister

What can be said of Dustin Johnson? Think of it. In June he blows up at Pebble Beach with 82 during the final round of the U.S. Open. Has a freak scenario at Whistling Straits — a club grounded in a sand trap (that really wasn't a sand trap...but was by local rules for the week!) — and loses a chance to win his first major.

So, you would think, Johnson, by all rights, should go off and get into sales. After all, how could he get his head back into a game that had treated him so abominably over the course of just a few months? The game is rife with stories of other players who, having experienced similar disappointment, quickly evaporated from the forefront of the game and were never heard of again.

But today Dustin Johnson proved what he is made of. Playing his usual brand of Cool Hand Luke golf, Johnson won the BMW Championship — the third leg of this years PGA Playoff Series — and heads to next week's Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in the #2 position on the FedEx Cup rankings.

What does it mean? Quite simply, Johnson is now in a position with a win next week to take it all! A $10 million bonus and the Tour Championship to boot. Can he do it? With the resilience that he has shown since Pebble Beach, I would say that you'd have to bet the ranch on Johnson. Still, golf is an incredibly fickle game. Just ask Johnson. One minute you're tapping in a putt, believing you are to enter a playoff to win your first major and the next you're erasing the score you thought you had, adding two strokes in penalties for grounding your club where, just seconds before, half the population of Wisconsin had convened for a cheese-tasting festival — and you're heading for the showers. Fickle as can be!

But that's what makes golf what it is. And it's just the sort of game that someone with Dustin Johnson's character traits would excel at. And don't forget, Johnson is just 28! I'd say that he's got a lot more success ahead of him.

NOW, if we could only get him to shave off that ridiculous soul patch!

Until my next post...HELAS!

TIGER'S LATEST EXCUSE

by Doug McAllister

Tiger's regular golf season seems to be coming to an end as he straggles farther and farther from the number necessary to see him though to next week's Tour Championship at East Lake. And as the end draws near Tiger — as usual — has something to blame.

This time it's his retooled swing. Picture this. At the end of each round the reporters mob the "world's #1" and ask questions galore. And the one that gets the response? "So, Tiger, what's going on with your game?" No, it isn't enough for him to say, "Frankly, I just suck right now." No. He has to have something more, something that takes the blame away — something that let's him remain #1, at least in his own mind.

So it goes something like this. "I'm in the process of really extra-special, extraordinarily complicated, super-major swing changes! And — you know — it's all something that I have done before. It isn't that I'm losing a step and falling from the pinnacle of golf. So don't go out and get rid of your 'TW' logoed paraphanalia just yet. It'll all be back and I'll go right back to destroying everyone in sight! I have to be patient. I'm the new and improved Tiger!

"What? Take steps to win this week and move on to next week's Big Finale at East Lake? Oh! No, no, no, no, NO! I have to stick with my ultra-major swing changes or else Coach Foley will be mad at me and tell my mommy that I'm a bad little Tiger!"

It would be refreshing, just once, to hear him admit that his game's off for any one of a hundred good reasons. That, like his friend, Roger Federer, he's riding into the proverbial sunset. Instead, he makes it sound like there's some sort of nobility in sticking to his new swing. Balderdash! Everyone knows that Tiger would sell his mother for a chance to win again...and again...and again! Time to realize that his best days of golf are about ten years in the past.

And, having said all that, I'm still waiting for someone out there to make an rational argument on Tiger's behalf that will make it possible for me to — at least — tolerate the annointed one. Please!

Happily, the fact remains that golf is one of those pursuits that is totally enjoyable regardless of the professional players and their various win or losses or personal problems. Whether or not Tiger makes it to next week's event has absolutely no impact on my personal enjoyment of and participation in the greatest game of all! So, with that in mind, get out there, have a great time and...

Hit 'em Long and Straight!

SOMEONE MAKE A CASE FOR TIGER! PLEASE!

by Doug McAllister

After one of my recent posts I received a question: "What is with you and Tiger? Why don't you like him?"

A valid question. It got me thinking. I tell ya, it would make life a lot easier for me if I could appreciate Tiger. After all, it's likely that he'll be around for some time and I'll be watching him, week in and week out, as I tune in to watch PGA events. Like Tiger would make it possible for me to more fully enjoy the events that he wins — which is currently impossible for me to do.

So I ask you, why should I like Tiger? Someone please make a case that I can accept.

And, in the interim, here's my case against Tiger in four particular points.

1. ARROGANCE. Golf is a game of class. It's a game where opponents play to top all the other competitors but, at the same time, realize that their common opponent is the course, NOT the other golfer. This is something that's been difficult for Tiger and his parents to understand. For example, comments by Tiger's mom, Tida, include how she believes that Tiger "owns" his opponents' minds. How he has gotten into their heads and, by so doing, has defeated them. Hmmm. Again, the opponent is the course and not the other golfer. So let's keep our minds and mind games, whether intentional or not, to ourselves. Maybe if Tiger could embrace this point and reflect this more often in his persona I would begin my first turn to Tiger-philia.

2. SOUR GRAPES. At this year's U.S. Open Tiger was interviewed about the fairness of Pebble Beach, as prepared by the U.S.G.A. Tiger's response was that the course was, unequivocally, unfair. Interestingly, Phil Mickelson was interviewed shortly after Tiger and the same question elicited a far better response from Phil. He noted that Pebble Beach was playing very hard but quickly noted that it was playing fair and that his difficulties were due to his own shortcomings as a player. Refreshingly bright! David Fay of the U.S.G.A. was asked about the two responses and appropriately applauded Mickelson's assessment of things and correctly labeled Tiger's pettiness as unacceptable. Sure there will be bad days and bad moods but sour grapes is something for which Tiger is famous. Nothing is ever his fault.

3. DELUSIONS. Tiger needs to stop with the "I've already completed the Grand Slam" stupidity. I've heard him say twice in press conferences — when asked whether the Slam is really a possibility — that "it's possible. In fact I've already done it." Tiger needs to realize that continually campaigning to have his comparatively puny "Tiger Slam" canonized as a true "Grand Slam" not only makes him look stupid, but appropriately magnifies Bobby Jones' preeminent 1930 accomplishment.

4. STEVE WILLIAMS. Admittedly, Williams is a separate individual. But, after all of the nonsense from Stevie (crude and stupid comments about Phil Mickelson, yelling at the gallery, breaking cameras, etc.), Tiger needs to give the krazy kiwi his walking papers. For Tiger to keep this psycho and to say very little in opposition to his gracelessness is a sorry reflection on Tiger's character.

I am sure that I could think of more, but these are sufficient for today's post. Notice that I didn't say anything about his personal indiscretions, as bad as those are. Frankly, on that score I tend toward Jack Nicklaus' assessment of things. While I adamantly disagree with Tiger's amoral lifestyle, we are talking golf here.

So, there it is! The gauntlet is thrown. I would sincerely love to bury the hatchet and be able to be, at least, a moderate Tiger fan. After all, he is one of the greatest golfers of all time. If someone out there happens to have a good argument that can help me, I'd sincerely welcome the exchange.

If not, HELAS!