The Root of All Evil

People like to talk about money being the root of all evil. The actual quote is slightly different. The actual Biblical quote indicates that it is not money that is the root of all evil; it is the love of money that is the root of so much of the evil we see in the world. 

Golf has changed dramatically in the past thirty or so years. The equipment has changed. The courses have changed. And much of it has been the direct result of the love of money. Equipment manufacturers want to sell equipment. That's why the equipment has to keep changing.

Golf course builders don't just want golf courses; they want to sell real estate. The result is virtually unwalkable designs that warrant the use of motorized golf carts to get the golfers around the course and increase the profitability for the owners at the same time. Follow the money if you want to understand why golf is so different from what it was in 1970, and why it may be in trouble. 

Gary Player bemoaned the fact that modern players, with modern equipment, have so beat up on the Old Course that it is becoming obsolete as a major venue. I don't necessarily agree with him. But, if it's true, it's all down to that love of money that seems to govern the game these days. 

A philosopher once said we should not ask why things were so much better in the old days. He felt that it was not an intelligent question. But I, for one, miss the days of persimmon woods and balata balls. I miss walking the golf course. I don't like motorized carts, and yet I'm so crippled I actually have to use one. I couldn't walk eighteen holes right now, and may never be able to again. I miss the old days. For me, they were better. But very little remains the same. Things change. But not the love of money; that's the thing that is still the root cause of so much of the trouble we see today.

Want to know why things are the way they are in golf today? Look no farther than the money--the love of money. That's your problem. And how do you fix it? That's the 64 million dollar question. As for the Old Course; that jewel of St Andrews and the golf world; that grand old lady will be just fine. She might get beaten up when the wind lays down. But just add some wind and rain and she'll hold her own.

Short Game Can Cover a Multitude of Sins

Short game. As Harvey Penick said, those are the magic words. A good short game can cover a multitude of sins. The biggest difference between pros and amateurs is their short game. And yet, when you think about it, it shouldn't be. It doesn't take great physical ability to chip, pitch, and putt.

The other day I shot 71 and I think I hit four greens in regulation. Today, I shot even par on the first nine, hitting two greens. The back nine was another story today as I pretty much mailed it in. But the fact is I'm only going to get worse as a ballstriker as my back deteriorates. But I can still post a respectable score if I manage to chip and putt well. 

Most amateurs--except the guys who are really wild off the tee--can manage to get within fifty yards of pretty much every green in regulation--and usually closer. It's from there that they really start throwing away strokes. So why, I wonder, is almost all golf advertising focussed on the long game. Equipment companies push new drivers that will hit it farther, and irons that will give you more distance. Where's all the ads for wedges and putters? Okay, there are some. But equipment manufacturers and golf teachers focus most on distance and the long game.

Now, I guess it's another chicken or the egg scenario. Do manufacturers and teachers tend to focus on the long game because they think it's most helpful to golfers; or do they focus on it because it's what the average golfer wants to hear? All I know is, most shots are taken within 100 yards of the green. And, if it's score you are interested in, that is where you should be most focussed. And yet, where do we see most players practising? On the range with long irons and drivers in their hands. 

Harvey Penick believed that the average player could take five strokes off his game if he practised his short game for just a week. He was probably right. But most of us won't do it. We'd rather work on getting another twenty yards off the tee. That's just the way golfers are.

Golf is Just a Game

lI must admit that it's pretty hard to focus on golf with all the madness going on in this sad old world. What with devastating hurricanes, the largest mass shooting in history in Vegas, North Korea and the Donald posturing and talking nuclear war, terrorist attacks in Britain and Europe, etc.; golf just doesn't seem as important as jt was. It's just a game; a brief distraction from the craziness.

You really have to wonder whether we aren't all headed to hell in a hand basket. But then, this has always been a crazy, mixed-up world. As my old grandmother would have said, "There's nothing as queer as folk." People can be pretty damned crazy. And yet, in the midst of the madness, the goodness and selflessness of some people shines through. When the going gets tough, the tough really do get going.

So, I may not be focussing on golf as much as usual. And that's probably okay. Golf will always be there to take us away from our worries for a few hours. It's the greatest game there is for your mental health. As Harvey Penick said, it's cured more crazy folk than psychiatrists. 

What I don't get is why the Donald golfs so much and yet remains such a thoroughly despicable man. But, I hear he cheats at golf, just like everything else. That would explain it. You can learn a lot about a person by golfing with them.

Mr Seventeen

I've been having some good matches lately with Steve and Chris. Playing their best ball, we've come down to the seventeenth with it being anyone's match to win.

But Chris has figured out the seventeenth, while I've had my struggles. The last three times out, Chris has won the seventeenth with a birdie and two pars. Once, it was birdie to win two and one. The second was par to win and go one up. And this afternoon it was a par to square the match. 

Steve and Chris have had my number winning two of the last three and halving the other one. And every time it's been Chris on that damned seventeenth hole. We're going to start calling him Mr. Seventeen.

It's really nice to see the progress the guys have made in their games. Not that long ago I was giving them strokes. Now it's straight up, and they're winning. The other day both of them shot 39 on the back nine. Chris has been as low as 83 and Steve has been as low as 77. 

I did manage to beat Old Man Par the other day with a 71, so I may not be done quite yet. It's just that damned seventeenth hole and Chris; Mr. Seventeen.

Is There a Natural Golf Swing?

I was watching the British Masters and one of the commentators talked about Shane Lowry having a very natural-looking golf swing. There was then some commentary about the golf swing not really being a natural thing. Interestingly, that view seems to be common among many golf professionals. Is there a natural way to swing a golf club?

Ben Hogan certainly didn't think so. In fact, he said something to the effect that we should reject every natural instinct and do just the opposite to swing the club properly. But is that really true? Bobby Jones would have certainly disagreed. In fact, he wrote about players with natural-looking swings. He said their appearance of naturalness often came from them having learned the game as youngsters where they went about hitting a golf ball with no more concern than they would have beating a rug, or chopping wood. They may not have had a competent instructor, but they had time, and liked the game, and kept whacking the ball until they learned how to make it behave. Many of these players never even considered their swing, or if there indeed was a swing at all, until they had reached a high level of competence.

How things have changed. Many promising golfers are, very early in the proceedings, taught the mechanics of a sound swing. As a result we see a lot of successful tour players with cookie-cutter swings. They are sound swings. But they often lack the natural appearance of players like Shane Lowry as they take pains to set up and swing the club according to Hoyle, or Hogan.

So, according to Bobby Jones, there is a natural golf swing. It isn't the same for everyone. It's the swing we develop when our focus is on striking the ball, rather than swinging the club. It might not be the prettiest swing. But it might just be the best swing for you.

What Have We Learned?

So, what have we learned during Presidents Cup week so far? Davis Love offered his view on the NFL players taking a knee. And all the American players elected to follow suit by not feeling the need to show solidarity with those professional athletes protesting about social justice, or lack thereof, in the US of A. Not a big deal. The fight isn't theirs. They aren't facing the same challenges that black athletes are protesting about.

Davis would probably never even consider the possibility that his boy would be gunned down during a "routine" traffic stop. Neither would any of the other players on the team. That sort of thing doesn't happen in their neighbourhoods. And no one, as far as I know, really expected them to make a statement about this controversy started by a President who might have been better served had he been focussing on Puerto Rico instead. It isn't their problem. It isn't their fight either, unless they feel the need to speak out. "No worries," as the Aussies would say. Still, I wish DL had been a bit more diplomatic about the whole thing. It really wasn't his place criticize, in my opinion. But then, who am I--just another fat, happy, white guy.

We also learned that Tiger may or may not tee it up again. But we know he is now accepting the possibility that he might, indeed, be done. We also learned that he may have a new girlfriend who isn't, for once, a blonde bomber. If he's happy, I'm happy for him. He's had a tough few years.

We have also learned that the American team, barring any miracles, is going to win yet another Presidents Cup. They are dominating. They are dominant. American golf is in very good shape, post-Tiger. What this does not do is bode well for the future of the Presidents Cup. If the Americans keep winning, many people will just stop watching. What makes golf great is the competition. No excitement in a blowout. 

So far, I haven't even tuned in. I think it was DL that put me off. He's got a right to his opinion, and the freedom to express it, just like those NFL protesters. And I have the right to disagree with him--which I do. Heartily.

Is It Just for the Money?

It all came out in the wash. The player who played the best all season, Justin Thomas, won the FedEx Cup and the big money; and a new star, in Xander Schauffele has emerged with his Tour Championship victory.

This was really the ideal scenario in my mind. I have to admit that I was always a bit disappointed when someone got hot and came from back in the pack to win the FedEx Cup. In my opinion it really should go to the guy who played the best all year. The problem for the tour is to find a way to make that happen and still have the excitement we want. 

To me, the FedEx Cup should have been won by either Spieth, Thomas, DJ, or Matsuyama. Those were the guys who had the most wins. They were the dominant players. And, fortunately, this happened. Perhaps we need to consider not linking the Tour Championship with the FedEx Cup. 

How about the top five on the money list, or the FedEx point list, have a playoff for the big money in an event like the tournament of champions where the year's Major winners play for some extra cash? Now that might be exciting and fair, as a way to determine the year's best player. I think these playoff events give too much of an edge to a guy who gets hot over a several week period at the end of the season. These playoff events, and particularly the Tour Championship, end up out-weighing Majors in their importance in determining who wins the FedEx Cup. I don't think that's a fair way to identify the year's best player; which I thought was the goal of the FedEx Cup in the first place.

No disrespect to Bill Haas, or Billy Horschell, or some of the other surprise winners we've seen; but surely even they would admit that they weren't the best player of the year. Then again, maybe I've got it all wrong, and the FedEx Cup is not really about identifying that person. Maybe it's just meant to be a wild, end of the season money grab. If so, it will always be important only for that--for the money.