The post This amazing collection of vintage clubhouse postcards will transport you back in time appeared first on Golf.

The post This amazing collection of vintage clubhouse postcards will transport you back in time appeared first on Golf.

Some people have been cleaning their garages and attics, since the world slowed down as the virus spread. Colin Sheehan, the Yale golf coach and a golfing polymath, has been expanding his virtual collection of vintage postcards depicting classic clubhouses. In his gorgeous collection, the singular version of that last word is sometimes rendered in two parts: Club House. Well, over time web-site and e-mail got truncated, too.

The modern American clubhouse is typically a catering hall. In these postcards, some marked up with handwritten messages, the scale is human. Also, there is no threat of rain and the colors are muted. There are no garish colors, no assault to the eye. Many of the postcards are from watercolors and hand-colored photographs. Golf’s a great game, always has been and always will be. But charm in golf has taken a beating and has ever since the Crosby Clambake turned into the AT&T. In these 230 or so clubhouse postcards, charm is thriving.

As you scroll through some of them (view the slideshow at the top of this page), you’ll see some clubhouses you likely know (Augusta National) and some that have not survived wars, hurricanes and years. But many have. The postcard from the Shelter Island Country Club, on Shelter Island, N.Y., appears to be about 100 years old, by typeface and the number of stars on the American flag. But I was there last summer — remember last summer? — and it has barely changed.

Sheehan’s interests in the game are broad. He studied history at Yale, from which he graduated in 1997, and since then has played key roles in getting two courses off the ground, Castle Stuart in Scotland and Ohoopee Match Club in Cobbtown, Ga. He wrote a book about the history of the U.S. Amateur. He coached a player, James Nicholas, 23, who graduated from Yale last year and now has status on the Korn Ferry tour. Plus, the postcard collection, a quarantine hobby.

Many of the clubhouses have wrap-around porches. That’s how Sheehan’s collection began — he was looking for examples of single-story golf clubhouses with wrap-around porches. (His sensibilities are unique.) I asked him why so many of these clubhouses are special. They ooze charm, character, quality, timelessness. They look welcoming. “A lot of it has to do with the people who built them,” he said. “They were craftsmen and artisans.” That explains a lot. The window panes, the door knobs, the columns. The shape of the shingles, the color of the shutters. Things we can see and things we can imagine.

You surely need god builders and workers, but you need a good architect, too. The architects behind these clubhouses weren’t, typically, showing off. (The architect at the Newport Country Club, in Newport, R.I., was showing off.) If the angle of a roof was pitched just so, that was enough. In these postcards there are scores of clubhouses that are pleasing to the eye, with roofs that could handle summer rain and winter snow and, underneath them, golfers coming in from their games.

Michael Bamberger welcomes your comments and suggestions at Michael_Bamberger@golf.com.

The post This amazing collection of vintage clubhouse postcards will transport you back in time appeared first on Golf.

The post The 8 most expensive streets in golf, from Golf Place to 17-Mile Drive appeared first on Golf.

The post The 8 most expensive streets in golf, from Golf Place to 17-Mile Drive appeared first on Golf.

If you’re a golfer who’s looking to move, might we suggest one of the following? Using Zillow’s price calculator, we found the average price of homes on eight of the most expensive streets in golf.

Golf Place, Edinburgh, Scotland — $2.08 million avg.

Recently named the most expensive block in Scotland, Golf Place’s pricey title is well-earned — it rests no more than 200 yards from the entrance to St. Andrews. For 1.78 million euros, the equivalent of 2.08 million U.S. dollars, your home can be at the doorstep of the home of golf.

Cambridge Road, Ardmore, PA — $2.25 million avg.

On the outskirts of Philadelphia lies Ardmore, PA, home to Merion’s pair of stunning courses, and Cambridge Road. Getting a house on Cambridge Road will run you in the neighborhood of $2 million, but the view can’t be beat. You’re a hop, skip and a jump(ed fence) from Gil Hanse’s newly redesigned, crown jewel East Course (no. 15 on GOLF‘s top 100 courses ranking).

Shinnecock and its neighbor, National Golf Links of America, sit near some of the most prized land on Long Island.

Getty Images

---

Castle Road, Fishers Island, NY — $3.8 million avg.

Fishers Island is universally known as one of the most socially elite destinations in the United States, but compared to some of the other prices on this list, it’s a bargain. $3.8 million will get you on Castle Road, which meanders its way through the impeccable island-intersecting 1926 Seth Raynor design. Sure, you have to get there by boat, but when Fishers Island comes calling, it’s hard to say no.

Fernwood Road, Brookline, MA — $9.27 million avg.

You’re not living on “a” country club for $10 million, you’re living on THE Country Club (no. 38 on GOLF‘s top 100) for that money. It’s a steep price tag to live in a place where golf is only playable four-to-six months out of the year, but the golf you’d be a short walk from for those four-to-six months might just be worth it (just ask Tom Brady).

South Hill Street, Southampton, NY — $10.94 million avg.

For just a shade under $11 million, you can live the Great Gatsby lifestyle, and play some of the world’s best golf along the way. For almost a century, the Hamptons have been the summer home for the world’s rich and famous, offering gorgeous beaches and breathtaking golf. South Hill Street sits in between the triumvirate of famous courses (Shinnecock, National Golf Links of America, Sebonack) in Southampton, New York. What makes South Hill St. cheaper than the more expensive blocks on our list — it’s inland, meaning you’ll have to settle for a short walk or drive to the ocean (tough, I know).

Riviera Country Club's esteem and location make it a highly desirable location for real estate.

Getty Images

---

Corsica Drive, Pacific Palisades, CA — $13.68 million avg.

Location, location, location. That’s what makes Corsica Drive in Pacific Palisades, CA such a valuable place to live. For one, Pacific Palisades is one of the most affluent neighborhoods in the United States. For another, Corsica Drive is a 60-degree wedge from Riviera Country Club (no. 28 on GOLF‘s top 100). The sky high cost of living in Southern California certainly helps the cause, but looking out your window to see the home of the 2028 Olympics is a pretty good incentive for the price tag.

Seminole Beach Road, Jupiter, FL — $27.06 million avg.

Jupiter, FL is the winter playground for many of the game’s top players, sporting dozens of courses and plenty of high-priced, beachfront real estate. But right next to Seminole Golf Club (no. 34 on GOLF’s top 100) is Seminole Beach Road, the penultimate finisher of our most expensive list. The houses on this block roll in at an astonishing average price of just north of $27 million. If it’s any consolation, your tens of millions buy you a home a stone’s throw from both the ocean and some of the world’s best golf.

Along 17 Mile Drive you can find some of the world's most beautiful houses and some of its most sublime golf.

Getty Images

---

17 Mile Drive, Pebble Beach, CA — $27.56 million avg.

If you’ve got $30 million burning a hole in your pocket, it’s time to book a flight to California for a cruise along 17 Mile Drive. The famous road juts along the cliffs of the Pacific Ocean, just footsteps from Pebble Beach’s bevy of spectacular golf. Simply put, 17 Mile Drive is in rarified air. In terms of beauty and proximity to incredible golf, you can’t find many places better. And good news! There’s open property waiting for you.

To receive GOLF’s all-new newsletters, subscribe for free here.

The post The 8 most expensive streets in golf, from Golf Place to 17-Mile Drive appeared first on Golf.

The post 5 ways to get onto some of the best and most exclusive clubs in the world appeared first on Golf.

The post 5 ways to get onto some of the best and most exclusive clubs in the world appeared first on Golf.

Poor, pitiful you.

You are not a captain of industry, a head of state, a PGA Tour professional, a past president of the United States Golf Association, or the offspring of blue blood elites.

And yet you’re a golfer. An addict, really, driven mad by dreams of playing the world’s most exclusive courses.

What can you do?

Short of committing criminal trespass, or cozying up to a club member, you’re largely out of options. But not entirely. Here are 5 end-arounds onto some of the game’s most rarefied grounds.

News

Course rater: Here’s why Augusta National slipped in GOLF’s latest Top 100 Course ranking

1. Work the Event

Here’s one proven path onto Augusta National: create a technology company and build it into a multi-billion dollar business, then get word out through your well-connected friends that you’d like to join the club and wait a few years for the invite. It worked for Bill Gates. It could work for you.

More realistic, though, is to learn how to write, photograph or broadcast. From there, all you have to do is join the press corps, get credentialed to cover the Masters and enter the media lottery. 28 members in that pool are chosen to play the course on the Monday after the event, though if you’re selected, you have to wait another seven years to enter the lottery again.

Another option is to earn a coveted spot as a tournament volunteer. They’ll work you hard that week. But they’ll also set aside a spot for you to play one day in May.

Travel

Playing eight of GOLF’s Top 100 Courses in eight days is every bit as exhilarating (and exhausting) as it sounds

2. Give to a Charity

In February 2018, word popped up on Facebook of a “once in a lifetime opportunity.” A live auction would be held to raise money for children’s health care at the Sydney Invitational Golf Tournament, with a foursome at Ellerston on the blocks.

Built as a personal playground for the late media mogul Kerry Packer, Ellerston ranks among the most elusive tee times in the world. But this was not, in fact, a “once in a lifetime” offer. Access to Ellerston had been sold in the name of charity before, just as it is every year at many of the game’s most exclusive redoubts. So keep an eye out for auctions and other fundraising events (paying your way into a pro-am is also something to consider). You’ll probably pay dearly, but at least you’re contributing to a good cause: your own.

3. Join a Golf Society

The Eden Club. The Outpost Club. The Eligo Club. The Eighty Club. These aren’t golf clubs in the old-fashioned sense, replete with their own clubhouses and courses. They are golf societies, filled with dues-paying members who are in it for the fellowship, the friendly competition and—let’s be honest—access to some of the most sought-after courses in the world.

Travel

Meet GOLF’s Top 100 Course Raters: 97 well-traveled (and well-connected) golf aficionados

4. Become a Course Rater

Opinions on golf courses are like noses. Everybody’s got one. Might as well make sharing yours a part-time job.

Not all course ranking panels are created equal, nor do they all get you exclusive access (some have hundreds of raters who pay for their credentials; others, like GOLF’s top 100 raters, are free but as exclusive as courses they rate).

But if you’ve got an eye for architecture and the means to travel, it’s worth looking into becoming a rater. You won’t be able to ring up, say, Shinnecock and expect they’ll roll out the red carpet. But many clubs will. Consider it a good excuse to flit about the globe seeing great layouts, while telling people that it’s—you know—work.

5. Become a Brookline Fireman or a Cop

Former Reebok CEO Paul Fireman built a mansion alongside The Country Club in Brookline, but he never got an invite to join the club. Perhaps he should have become a fireman instead. Once a year, the historic club—a three-time site of the U.S. Open—hosts a one-day tournament for local firefighters and cops. So there you have it. You could join the force. A lot of folks would jumps through flames to play this course.

To receive GOLF’s all-new newsletters, subscribe for free here.

The post 5 ways to get onto some of the best and most exclusive clubs in the world appeared first on Golf.

The post The 7 best things in golf this week, featuring Matthew Wolff and the original Rickie Fowler appeared first on Golf.

The post The 7 best things in golf this week, featuring Matthew Wolff and the original Rickie Fowler appeared first on Golf.

Every week (pretty much) GOLF senior writer Michael Bamberger identifies — and ranks — the absolute, undeniably, very best* things in golf right now. This week, he’s home in steamy Philadelphia, with the cool of Portrush on deck. (*or at least mildly interesting)

 7. Hurt

The excerpt from Ken Green’s new book now on the Golf Digest website isn’t the best thing in golf this week in any conventional sense, but it’s one of the most important golf pieces you might read all year. As a boy in Honduras, where his father was a principal, Green writes that he faced years of brutal sexual abuse committed by friends and associates of his alcoholic father. His experiences are tough and painful to read, but a reminder that elite golfers — Ken Green won five times on Tour, and his first caddie was his cousin, Joe LaCava — are not immune from the life’s indecencies and degradations.

 6. Mad Max I

On a happy note, with the Open going to Portrush next week, the name “Mad” Max Faulkner is in the air again as he won the only Open ever played there in 1951. His very name will make you smile. The English golfer’s clothes, in an era when light gray was considered flashy, were more colorful than Rickie Fowler’s, and his experiments with shaft-length make him a symbolic ancestor of Bryson DeChambeau’s. Max’s son-in-law, the English professional Brian Barnes who beat Jack Nicklaus twice in one day at the 1973 Ryder Cup, was noted for once marking his ball in a tournament with a can of beer. There will always be an England. Max, in full.

Max Faulkner came out on top at the last Open Championship to be played at Royal Portrush in 1951.

Getty Images

---

5. Mad Max II

Max Faulkner brings to mind, at least for this reporter, Maxwell Smart, aka Agent 86, from Get Smart, owner of a dazzling collection of “shoe phones” designed by Mel Brooks, one of which, from an episode called “I Shot 86 Today,” took the form of a golf shoe. Max plays lefty, dresses like Max Faulkner, and is dangerous with the sand wedge, to say nothing of his spiked phone.

 4. Wimbly

If you think the All England Club does genteel tennis well, get on your three-speed, Brooks-saddled Raleigh and take a two-mile spin to Royal Wimbledon, an ancient links within the London limits, where visiting golfers are advised to “abide by the conventions of sportsmanship and fair play.” Leave your exclamation marks at the entry gate, please.

News

Jon Rahm roasted by pros, fans for preposterous Wimbledon look

3. Matt Wolff, Man in Motion

Matt Wolff’s move is bringing comparisons to Jack Nicklaus’s swing for the huge lift of the right foot, the great British amateur Jimmy Bruen for being so pointed to rightfield at the top of the back swing, and Lee Trevino for having two distinct swing planes, going back and coming down. But one person, the king of swing-your-swing, especially comes to mind, and that’s Arnold Palmer. Arnold, especially in the 1950s, had a wildly active waggle, as does Wolff, with the clubhead going past the ball. Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Annika Sorenstam, among other iconic swingers, made the waggle a study in calm, but Palmer did not, and neither does Wolff.

 2. Matt Wolff, Headliner

It’s astounding how fast things can change these days in golf: Matt Wolff is the biggest name in this week’s John Deere Classic. Yes, Zach Johnson, in the field, is having a Hall of Fame career, and he’s playing. But at this moment, Matt Wolff, all of 20, is the biggest name in the field and one of the most electrifying figures in the game because of his age, and because he’s doing it his way.

Tournaments

Sponsor’s exemption Matthew Wolff, 20, wins 3M Open with dramatic eagle on final hole

1. Shinnecock!

It’s been a year and a month since the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, won in style by Brooks Koepka. Your correspondent has been to Shinnecock many times over the years, as a caddie, to cover the four most recent U.S. Opens there, and to play. It’s greatness and rugged beauty were undeniable, but it never seemed playable, not to this 88-shooter. The rough was too high, the greens were too fast, the fairways were too narrow. Then I played it earlier this month from the appropriate tees, with the fairways at their (generous) U.S. Open width, with the rough playable, and with the greens stimping at 10, if that. What a pleasure! Golf courses are such subtle things, remarkably so.

Michael Bamberger may be reached at Michael_Bamberger@golf.com

The post The 7 best things in golf this week, featuring Matthew Wolff and the original Rickie Fowler appeared first on Golf.

The post What makes a great golf hole great: No. 10 at Shinnecock Hills appeared first on Golf.

The post What makes a great golf hole great: No. 10 at Shinnecock Hills appeared first on Golf.

The world is full of golf holes that offer obvious strategic benefits to the long hitter. I much prefer holes that possess an inscrutable quality, where the degree of difficulty—and the decision to lay back or bomb it—ebbs and flows based on a swirl of factors: the player’s skill, daily wind and turf conditions, and the approach to the green.

A prime example—and personal favorite—is the thrilling 10th at Shinnecock Hills, one of the most challenging holes on an immensely difficult course. The 440-yard par-4 unfolds on the property’s most heaving contours, and offers compelling and competing options to the green. When standing on the tee, within the shadow of Shinny’s iconic Sanford White clubhouse, only a portion of the fairway is visible, in a saddle between fescue-covered mounds.

Shinnecock Hills has no shortage of stunning views.

Getty Images

---

About 250 yards out, the fairway drops dramatically, propelling tee balls into a speed slot worth an extra 70 yards. Fresh off a mid-round, clubhouse cocktail, most people’s first instinct is to hit driver and let the ball trundle to the bottom, leaving an approach of 130–150 yards. But it’s a persnickety uphill shot to a shallow green, where it’s as calamitous to end up short (or spin it off the false front) as it is to send the ball over the green.

After repeat wreckage, a savvy player will consider the alternative route, which is to lay back off the tee for a much longer (180–200 yards) albeit downhill approach. It’s by no means an easy shot, but the challenges of the 10th will be the same for everyone in your group, and many times a double-bogey 6 can tie or win this hole in match play. Certainly, whichever route you take, it’ll be a rollicking ride.

The post What makes a great golf hole great: No. 10 at Shinnecock Hills appeared first on Golf.

The post USGA’s Mike Davis to step away from U.S. Open course setup appeared first on Golf.

The post USGA’s Mike Davis to step away from U.S. Open course setup appeared first on Golf.

For the first time since 2005, Mike Davis won’t be handling setup for the USGA at this year’s U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. And, since he knows you’ll be wondering, it has nothing to do with what happened at Shinnecock last summer.

The USGA told GOLF that it “continues to evolve its leadership structure” and that the plan for Davis to move further into his CEO role has been in the works for some time. After 13 years at the helm of course setup for golf’s national championships, Davis is ceding those duties to John Bodenhamer, who is becoming the organization’s senior managing director of championships.

“This latest set of changes provides functional ownership of all 14 championships to John Bodenhamer, all governance functions to Thomas Pagel, and other executive shifts that have been planned for some time to improve efficiency and leverage our internal expertise,” Davis told GOLF.

Davis became the USGA’s first-ever CEO in 2016, which means he can pick his own executive team and set the USGA’s agenda. He will continue to be a part of the setup team in an advisory role, but Bodenhamer will be the face of the setups.

That designation proved to be a particularly touchy job in 2018, when the baked-out greens at Shinnecock made Saturday’s play exceptionally punishing. Zach Johnson’s comment that the USGA had “lost the golf course” spurred a slew of criticism. Players, sensing an easy target, piled on the USGA. But Davis insists that has nothing to do with the change.

“This decision has been in the works for more than two U.S. Opens,” Davis told Golf Channel’s Jaime Diaz. “Whether people want to believe that or not, that’s for them to decide.”

Davis cited Erin Hills as the breaking point. “I was frankly stretched too thin, and especially stretched too thin U.S. Open week for other things I needed to be doing in my position.”

Above all, Davis emphasized to GOLF his desire to keep golf’s future headed in the right direction. “As stewards of the game, it is our responsibility to tackle the biggest challenges affecting golf’s future, and we’re now better aligned to prioritize the important work ahead of us.”

Bodenhamer was already in the public eye at last year’s U.S. Open on two notable occasions. First, he answered an extensive line of questioning on the ruling not to disqualify Phil Mickelson after Lefty’s bizarre putting antics on the 13th green. Next, he sat beside Davis as the two explained how Saturday’s course conditions got so severe. Don’t expect a radical shake-up in his first U.S. Open at the helm, however: he’ll be striving for a similar setup at Pebble Beach to the 2010 event set up by Davis, when Graeme McDowell won at even-par 284.

Bodenhamer also told Golf Channel of his desire for better communication with players.

“We aren’t going to make all of them happy, but they should understand that we aren’t trying to trick up the course or make it ridiculously hard,” he said. “As set-up people, the last thing we want to be is the story. The last thing. We want it to be about the players and the golf course.”

The post USGA’s Mike Davis to step away from U.S. Open course setup appeared first on Golf.

The post Colin Montgomerie: Mickelson ‘would love that minute of his life back’ appeared first on Golf.

The post Colin Montgomerie: Mickelson ‘would love that minute of his life back’ appeared first on Golf.

With the U.S. Open in the rearview, Colin Montgomerie stopped by the GOLF.com office in Midtown Manhattan as part of a promotional tour for Loch Lomond Whiskies, which announced earlier this year that it will be the official spirit of the British Open through 2022. (A special Carnoustie edition will be released later this month.) Monty discussed the Phil Mickelson U.S. Open controversy, the upcoming British Open and Ryder Cup, and what he loves — and hates — about New York City.

Afterward he also took your questions live on Twitter, which you can watch below.

We’ve got Colin Montgomerie with us today. He’s here to take your questions…while doing a photo shoot! Ask away! https://t.co/40IRLl9I1M

— GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) June 19, 2018

Let’s start with last weekend’s U.S. Open. What was your reaction to the Mickelson situation?

Controversy sells, doesn’t it? Unfortunately it’s a controversial incident. I’m sure the two bodies involved – Mickelson and the USGA – wish it wouldn’t have happened. It happened initially because the USGA got it very wrong, with where they put the pin positions on 13 and 15 on Saturday. He came to 13 and he had a problem. Knowing Phil the way I do and calling Phil a friend, he would love that minute of his life back again. It’ll take a while to get it back. It’s brought on a whole different area – the legality of it, the rules. 1-2 says you can’t hit a moving ball, and I think it was [14-5] that says you can’t deflect it. Well, if you hit a ball, you’ve deflected it.

Did they apply the right rule? Or should Phil have been DQ’d?

It’s very gray. They managed to get around it enough to say it wasn’t a DQ. It was right on the edge. Possibly because it was Phil Mickelson, it wasn’t a DQ, if you know what I mean. Difficult situation. Curtis Strange asked him very tough questions when he finished and Phil was right there with him. Phil was trying to justify it, wasn’t he? He was trying to justify that – “Well, look, I know the rules, I can take a two-shot penalty and I’ll be better off.” You think, “Hang on. No, no, no. Don’t say that.” Just say, “I lost my head. I lost my head completely because it was crazy out there. I’m sorry.” And move on. And I don’t think we’d be talking about it today if that was case.

Ever been so frustrated at a U.S. Open that you thought about taking a swipe at a ball while it was in motion?

I don’t think that’s ever been in the realms. I’ve have balls come back to my feet. I’ve had them go over the back of the green. I’m not as quick as Phil so I couldn’t catch the ball. [Laughs] But at the same time, no, I’ve never felt that. I’ve been frustrated, yes, with the USGA’s positioning on certain formats, with getting a course in position where level par wins. Trying to control the scoring nowadays is much more difficult than it used to be. Now, controlling the score to level par is the problem here. You’re going to have to set up the golf course right on the edge, and that’s what the USGA does.

Did the USGA take Shinnecock over the line?

Chambers Bay was, Oakmont was. And 2004, the last time Shinnecock was played it was over the edge when they were watering green between groups, which had never happened before. I think the USGA will sit down and have their committee meetings and say “All right lads, forget this level par winning this tournament. Forget it. Let the best score and the best player win, whatever the score might be.” The Open Championship did it about 20 years ago, they decided they weren’t going to have a Carnoustie again in 1999, where it was unfair and luck played a huge part in it. They said, “We’re trying to produce the best player for that particular week.” And that’s what the USGA should do. If it’s 10 or 15 under to win, best of luck to them. But to try to control it to level par is very dangerous nowadays. You’ve got set up the course right on the edge and I don’t agree with that.

But the U.S. Open is supposed to the toughest test. Wouldn’t softening the setups diminish this event and strip it of its identity?

I’m not saying don’t make it challenging and don’t make it the toughest test. You can still do that by making it fair. What was wrong on Saturday is it wasn’t fair. There was too much luck involved.

But luck is also part of tournament golf, right?

You need a bit of luck, of course you do. Never have I held up a trophy and said, “Golly, I was unlucky. Look at this trophy, I was really unlucky.” You’re always a part of luck. What Zach Johnson was saying last Saturday is that there was too much luck involved. So, make it the toughest test in golf, but make it fair.

But if you don’t push it far enough, then you get Erin Hills last year, where 16 under wins. Did that feel like a U.S. Open?

Erin Hills wasn’t a great course. It wasn’t suitable for a U.S. Open. It was just a bomber’s paradise. At least Shinnecock is a fantastic golf course, set up badly by the USGA on Saturday.

One other aspect of this U.S. Open that perhaps went to the edge was fan behavior. Ian Poulter was among the players who took some abuse. You had your own tough times at U.S. Opens. What’s it like to play when the fans are against you?

It’s difficult. I remember 2002 when we arrived at Bethpage Black, they had the “Be Nice to Monty” badges, because I was a Ryder Cup threat at the time. Yeah, every shot Ian Poulter hit there was “U-S-A” or what have you. But New York is different than L.A. It’s different than Texas. They tend to be a little bit louder. Boston we found that Brookline in 1999 as well, when it got a little bit out of hand. Yes, you’ve got to put up with it, you’ve got to expect it. Ian got the percentage of abuse, unfortunately. But he’s strong and he did well to cope to a degree. I think it got to him eventually on Sunday, when every shot he hits you see, I hate to say, drink plays its part and they want to be heard. But it’s not easy, playing away from home. I found it in the U.S. Opens as well. You’ve got to be tunnel-focused and your caddie has to play an important part in keeping you on a level keel. It’s so easy to turn around and say something you totally regret. And immediately afterward you said, “What the hell have I done that for?”

You ever do that?

I did once. Congressional, 1997. I was leading Congressional at the U.S. Open and turned around and said something to a spectator. And I regretted it. You’ve just got to be strong. And I was strong from then on. But it’s amazing how that two-second issue caused a problem for a number of years. You’ve just got to be extra strong playing away from home.

Speaking of a home game, looking down the road, the Ryder Cup is a home game for your European side. Meanwhile U.S. players keep winning majors.

The one advantage we have is of course we’re playing at home. The advantage America have is they keep winning the Presidents Cup. They’ve won the last five majors, and the TPC. So, that’s not great from a European standpoint. But, in Thomas Bjorn’s favor is we’ve got four guys that have come into this team and will be playing in France. You’ve got Tyrrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood, Jon Rahm and Paul Casey. That’s a third of the team. You add that third of the team – although some will be rookies, they are also potential major-winners. But that’s a third of the team that’s new and strong. You add that lot to the Stensons and McIlroys and Roses of the world and that’s very positive. And we’re playing at home. And we have this superb record of playing at home, where we haven’t lost a Ryder Cup at home in 25 years. It’s a record we’d love to preserve. We still fancy our chances.

So should Europe be the favorite?

I think on paper, always, you look at the world ranking position, and America goes into these Ryder Cups as favorites. Number 20 should beat number 26, or 18 should beat 30. And that might happen over a year of golf. But for one round, 30 can beat 18, maybe half the time. That’s why it’s so close, and that’s why we do better than maybe most people might think we do. And being at home is huge. There will be big French support and big European support in Paris. Let’s hope, as a fervent European, that we can do it. It’s not going to be easy.

Next to us here at the table is potentially a secret weapon for the European home crowd.

Absolutely! (Laughs) Come on now, they don’t need whisky to fill them up (laughs). But I’m a proud ambassador this year and the next five years that we have affiliation with the Open Championship. We’ve now become the spirit of the Open, and it’s a great affiliation. It’s two of our greatest exports, really. We export golf very well. We’re the only nation in the world that we can classify ourselves as our national sport being golf. And also our scotch whisky is sold everywhere worldwide. And as sales go forward here in America, the biggest market in the world, we’re looking forward to the success.

Looking ahead to the British Open, Dustin Johnson is currently the betting favorite. Is he yours?

DJ got very unlucky at Shinnecock Hills. He played in the last group on Saturday when the course was becoming as difficult as it ever was. You saw Tony Finau and Daniel Berger scoring 66 in the morning, and Dustin Johnson, the best player in the world, shoot 77 in the afternoon. There’s 11 shots. He got very unlucky. Let’s hope it’s a fair test of golf from morning to afternoon that Saturday and Sunday. Playing last is never easy. In saying that, I think Carnoustie is going to be set up very similarly to Shinnecock.

How so?

We’ve had a very dry spring and start of summer in Scotland, so the ball is fast-running as it was in Shinnecock. There will be a lot irons played off the tees. Although the greens will be slower because of the slopes and wind, it’s a very similar style of play. You look at the top 10 names that finished at Shinnecock, you’d expect a number of them to finish in the top 10 at Carnoustie as well.

Is Carnoustie really “Car-nasty,” the toughest Open venue?

It’s the toughest by two shots per round. I think the next one to it could be Troon or Birkdale, but they’re scoring 62s or 63s around that so you never know. Wind is the key element at these links courses. I truly believe Carnoustie is the best of the bunch as a test of golf.

We’re having this chat in our office in New York. What do you most enjoy about our fair city?

New York’s a world city isn’t it? It’s great. It has an emotional, romantic feel about it. It’s got everything about it. Everything.

And since we’re here, I’ll give you a chance to complain like a New York sports fan. Your least favorite thing about NYC?

I wish they’d take away the trash a little bit quicker than they do!

Trust me, we do, too.

But it’s just a place that’s alive. It’s a fantastic place. Coming in from the airport last night at 11 o’clock at night, the traffic was extreme. It was busy. It was alive. However many places you go to worldwide, that skyline – Manhattan – springs a connotation of the world’s city that it is. It’s brilliant.

The post Colin Montgomerie: Mickelson ‘would love that minute of his life back’ appeared first on Golf.

The post Shinnecock’s Slippery Slope: The bizarre ramifications to the USGA’s controversial ruling appeared first on Golf.

The post Shinnecock’s Slippery Slope: The bizarre ramifications to the USGA’s controversial ruling appeared first on Golf.

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — Picture this: a Tour pro faces a downhill chip from the rough, shortsided, with water lurking past the pin. He has no way to be sure he’ll control the speed of his shot, but he knows he’ll get it on a decent line, so he sends the chip on its way and takes off in a run towards the hole. As that chip rolls past the pin he’s there to receive it, effectively alley-ooping the ball towards (or even into!) the hole, accepting the two-shot penalty and moving on rather than facing a drop and potential disaster.

That bizarre hockey-style strategy is what the USGA effectively endorsed with its decision to penalize, rather than disqualify, Phil Mickelson after intentionally redirecting his ball as it cruised past the hole. Mickelson was explicit after the round about his intentions: he meant to do it. “I took the two-shot penalty and moved on. It’s my understanding of the rules. I’ve had multiple times where I’ve wanted to do that. I just finally did.”

Mickelson didn’t quite convert on the alley-oop; he waited until his ball was nearly eight feet past the hole and his putback lipped out. But if he’d nudged the ball in from closer range, he would have made an 8. If instead he’d allowed the ball to roll off the front of the green, pitched back up and two-putted, it also would have been an 8, but with many other possibilities including a multiple-chip mega-disaster.

The rules committee decided to go with Rule 14-5, which is explicitly clear: “A player must not make a stroke at his ball while it is moving.” The punishment is a two-stroke penalty, no questions asked. But wouldn’t a more logical rule have been 1-2, which dictates that “a player must not take an action with the intent to influence the movement of a ball in play?” Mickelson explicitly stated that was his intention, and the rule includes a provision for gaining “significant advantage.” But the USGA got caught up in language and decided that the ball wasn’t “deflected or stopped” (What does “deflect” mean, exactly? Discuss amongst yourselves). As a result, intent didn’t matter. Strategy didn’t either. Instead, what Phil did is an actual option players can now consider.

USGA Senior Managing Director of Championships John Bodenhamer confirmed this interpretation when he declared that the USGA didn’t consider any of the outside factors besides this one: “The fact that we dealt with was that he made a stroke at a moving ball,” he said, then reiterated the point. “We are operating strictly under 14-5. It’s pretty clear he played a moving ball. It’s simply that we’re operating on what we saw.”

It’s clear that Mickelson has considered this before. As for his playing partner, Andrew “Beef” Johnston?

“No, no. I don’t think anyone has,” he said. “And that’s why it was so strange, because I don’t think anyone had them thoughts. No one ever has them thoughts.”

Now, players will at least consider it, even just for a moment. It’s unlikely anyone else will have Mickelson’s Belichickian boldness to try it, given the firestorm that has ensued. But there are ways it could lead to some competitive benefit. What if Sergio Garcia had raced around No. 15’s pond this year at Augusta to stop his ball before it rolled back into the water for a third, fourth, or fifth time? I think he’d have happily done so. 

“I would gladly take the two shots over continuing that display,” Mickelson concluded. Now, thanks to Saturday’s ruling, others will have the option to make that same calculus. Johnston called it a “moment of madness.” It was that indeed; a bizarre, unique moment on one of Shinnecock’s slippery slopes.

The post Shinnecock’s Slippery Slope: The bizarre ramifications to the USGA’s controversial ruling appeared first on Golf.

The post Poulter on the U.S. Open: ‘I’ve hated it for 14 years’ appeared first on Golf.

The post Poulter on the U.S. Open: ‘I’ve hated it for 14 years’ appeared first on Golf.

Despite a triple-bogey-bogey finish to his second round, Ian Poulter is enjoying this year’s edition of the U.S. Open. He just hasn’t always felt that way.

“I’ve hated it for 14 years, I’m going to be honest,” Poulter said after his Friday 72. “I came into my first U.S. Open, and I wanted to enjoy it, and I hated it. I hated a lot of U.S. Opens through the years, to be honest, because I’ve gone home early and I haven’t had the finish that I would have liked.”

The main reason Poulter is fonder of this year’s event, he acknowledged, is the fact that he’s in contention, sitting T4 five shots off leader Dustin Johnson. I’m 1 over par in a U.S. Open,” he said. “I’m not sure how else to look at it. There’s only a couple of U.S. Opens that, if someone offered you that on a Wednesday, where you perhaps wouldn’t take it.”

Poulter had plenty of praise for Shinnecock Hills, too, calling it a “great golf course” and a fair, challenging test. He felt the challenging part of that particularly at the end. As for his trouble around the green at No. 7?

“Yes, I felt stupid knifing the first one. I felt even more stupid semi-chunking the next one, and I didn’t do much better on the next one either,” he said. “So maybe it makes a few people happy out there that, you know, we kind of mess up just as good as, you know, everyone else. We’re human, right? We make mistakes.

“I think the best outcome for me is to put it out of my mind, to look upon, you know, the position I’m in for this weekend. I’m T-4.”

Poulter will tee off alongside Brooks Koepka in Saturday’s third round.

The post Poulter on the U.S. Open: ‘I’ve hated it for 14 years’ appeared first on Golf.

The post Bold Predictions for Round 2 at Shinnecock Hills appeared first on Golf.

The post Bold Predictions for Round 2 at Shinnecock Hills appeared first on Golf.

After high winds and high scores on day 1, what does our GOLF.com panel predict for Friday’s action at the U.S. Open?

The post Bold Predictions for Round 2 at Shinnecock Hills appeared first on Golf.