#AskAlan: Why are the pros rewarded for hitting terrible shots into the grandstands?

In this installment of the #AskAlan mailbag, GOLF senior writer Alan Shipnuck answers questions about pros being rewarded for hitting bad shots into the grandstands, Paul Azinger’s commentary, the Golf Channel’s move and much more.

Rather than rewarding terrible shots hit into the grandstands with free drops, can’t the Tour stake the stands red and make that drop include a stroke? Or even use white stakes and really make the pros shy away from that shot? Might save a noggin, too. – @FrankFite

There is a fundamental tension here in that fans want to be as close to the action as possible, which means ringing every green with grandstands. If there is a natural hazard on a hole and a guy plays away from it, is it fair to ding him a penalty stroke when he misses the green by 10 yards? An easy solution is to emulate what the R&A did at Royal Portrush, where the drop circles were in gnarly rough, making ensuing recovery shots much, much tougher. A bad lie seems like a commensurate punishment for hooking a shot into the stands.

Is Tommy Fleetwood the European Tony Finau, or is Tony Finau the American Tommy Fleetwood? – @tombagjr

Neither is a bad thing! Ryder Cup heroics, lofty spots in the World Ranking, even an occasional victory. The frustration with both players is that because they can make the game look so easy, we expect them to win more often. The Jordan Spieths and Justin Thomases – to say nothing of the Tiger Woodses — have warped expectations, in that top talents are now presumed to be winning consistently in their early 20s. Both Tommy Lad and Big Tony are following a more old-school template. Guys like Tom Watson didn’t arrive on Tour as finished products but spent years contending, failing, learning and evolving before finally busting out. Finau is 30 but came to competitive golf a little late in life. Tommy just turned 29. Both have plenty of time to achieve their awesome potential. Here’s hoping.

The criticism over Azinger by several corners of the golf world — after two months of CBS being blasted for being too vanilla — is whiplash-inducing. Would Johnny Miller even get hired today? – @johnschwarb

It’s true that commentators (and players) are often damned-if-they-do-damned-if-they-don’t. Honest/blunt opinions get turned into clickbait headlines, and the blowback makes folks gun-shy and encourages them to offer milquetoast quotes — and then they get criticized for being boring. I loved that Zinger put that out there. His job is to offer opinions, and that was a spicy one, which led to a great afternoon on Golf Twitter. I think there was a touch of condescension in his comments, which is what rankled the Europeans. But stirring the pot is always entertaining and can turn out to be enlightening, so I hope Azinger keeps his edge. Johnny Miller would be great in any era. I think social media actually helped grow the cult of Johnny, because his pithy remarks didn’t disappear into thin air but rather got lots of run in Twittersphere.

Career wins for Sungjae: over-under 4.5? – @coop_a_loop80

I can answer this faster than it takes Im to complete his backswing: way over.

Can you tackle the touchy subject of the ever-increasing bad behavior at golf events when alcohol, college students and some level of entitlement are involved? – @BillSpies1

I’ve been saying for years they should stop selling alcohol at Tour events, or drastically curtail it. Unfortunately, in this age of reality TV and social media saturation, it’s not enough for many folks to just watch a sporting event — they want to be part of it in some way. Alas, this fuels the bellowing at the players, as does alcohol. It is the intimacy of golf that makes it such a thrilling spectating experience, but this delicate environment must be protected. I’m sure some bros will be like, I’m not going to any sporting event where I can’t pound a few beers. Honestly, they won’t be missed.

Favorite course in the Pinehurst area from the following options: No. 2, Dormie or Tobacco Road? – @GolfLover67

I haven’t had the pleasure of playing the Dormie Club yet, but I can’t imagine it tops Tobacco Road, which is one of my favorite courses on the planet. Pinehurst No. 2 is a great test and terrific tournament venue, but I wouldn’t exactly call it fun. Tobacco Road is a non-stop thrill ride, basically as much fun as you can have in pleated pants. Highest recommendation. If you want to know more about the mythical figure who built it, Mike Strantz, check out my feature on him. 

Golf Channel moving to Connecticut — where do you come down on this move? Will there be loss of jobs? Changes to content? – @KeithKHorton

I’m mostly tuned in to the human costs. I have a lot of friends — and a few frenemies — at the Channel so I’m bummed for them. Uprooting your life/family is never easy. And this gives management an impetus to part ways with chunks of the staff, too. No doubt there will be attrition at a place that has already been in cost-cutting mode. As for viewers, this move can’t be a good thing. Florida is one of the centers of the golf universe — Connecticut sure ain’t. Whether it’s players dropping by the studio or waves of staffers covering the Florida Swing, Golf Channel always benefited from its central location. Going forward, the whole operation will be a little more out of touch. Looking down from on high, Arnie can’t be happy.

How soon do you think an international team will win the President’s Cup? It seems inevitable with the worldwide growth of the game. – @SProctorGolf

The strength of the 2019 International team has only become more evident since the Cup, as members of the squad have been racking up victories. They had a huge home-field advantage at Royal Melbourne, with Capt. Els’ local knowledge and a fiery course that played vastly different from the Tour’s usual mindless bomb/gouge setup. There was also the skunk-in-the-room Reed factor, subverting the Americans’ harmony, and still the Internationals couldn’t get it done! The core of this U.S. team is so young and talented it won’t be easy to beat them anytime soon. Hopefully the Cup returns to Royal Melbourne relatively soon to level the playing field.

Will anyone opt out of the Tokyo Olympics due to the Coronavirus? As you did (and continue to do) with Zika in Rio in 2016, will you shame any player who refuses to go? – @RealCanadianDan

Zika was always transparently a B.S. excuse, as Rory McIlory admitted after the fact. Coronavirus is a different kettle of fish and potentially much more of a concern. But we’re still four months away from the Olympic teams being finalized. Hopefully by then, the spread of the disease has been contained and the threat greatly diminished. If guys don’t want to play in the Olympics, they should just be honest about it, like DJ. I think he’s making a horrendous decision, but at least he’s being transparent. 

Is the European golf media the most dish-it-out-but-can’t-take-it, cheerleading contingent in journalism? (I’m sure they call themselves The Media because they were doing it first.) – @ScottMichaux

Welcome to my world! I’ve been forced to fend off those chaps for years. The Euro press is certainly always on high alert for any slight of their boys, real or perceived. I’m still not sure how much of their reflexive indignation is genuine and how much is performance art. Either way, I love it. The golf world in general and Ryder Cup years in particular would be much more boring without these kerfuffles. Gawd save the Queen!

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