Westwood: "What gender issue? I'm a man."

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Some fun exchanges between Lee Westwood and the press today in Augusta.

Q.  Did you see what Rory said about you and Chubby, that he was led down the wrong path?
LEE WESTWOOD:  I didn't see it.  What path was that?

And...

Q.  The gender issue thing has come up over here, again?
LEE WESTWOOD:  What gender issue?  I'm a man.  (Nodding, looking down).

Q.  Not you specifically.  Not hanging around the locker room.  Just wondering whether that gets much traction overseas and whether people abroad look at this as a uniquely peculiar American concern or if they understand what it's all about.
LEE WESTWOOD:  It's not something I think about.

Q.  Do you have an opinion?
LEE WESTWOOD:  Not really.

Q.  Not going to go there?
LEE WESTWOOD:  No.  (Laughter.)

Dog Eats Masters Tickets; Finds Them Disagreeable

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Thanks to reader Tobin for catching an appearance on KJR 950's Mike In The Morning by Russ Berkman, who has tickets to Wednesday's Masters practice rounds. Or had tickets. The link to the interview is not up, so the outcome was not certain, but judging by what his hound did to his Masters tickets, someone slept outside last night.

Tobin reports that the Lords of Augusta reprinted the tickets for Berkman. Nice!

Course Changes Files, 8th and 16th Green Edition

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David Westin reports on player comments after a few days around Augusta National, including noticeably lusher fairways similar to last year, and tweaks to the 8th and 16th greens that at the very least, might give the final par-3 more than one interesting hole location. Maybe.

On the 16th hole, Mickel­son said there is a bigger plateau on the top right side.

He said he believes the extension of the greens on Nos. 8 and 16 will make them play slightly easier.

“After looking at them, I think that some of the more challenging pin placements on those greens were softened a little bit and made to be not quite as difficult,” he said. “I’m not saying it’s good, bad, indifferent.”

For handicapping purposes the lusher fairways don't mean a reward for any particular player, but simply improve the chances of a better finish like last year. A few more balls may stay up on banks, a few less tight fairway lies might force a lay-up and in general, the extra turf should reward a little more risk-taking. Always a good thing here.

"Woods’s success has helped pushed the black caddie to the brink of extinction."

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The New York Times features Karen Crouse's story about the demise of the black caddy on A1, accompanied by a fantastic shot of Ben Hogan following through as The King looks on with quite possibly the longest cigarette ever sold.

At the 76th Masters this week, there will be no club caddies required; only two black caddies started the season with regular jobs on the PGA Tour and one has since been fired. The great black caddies of the past, who carried the bags for Gene Sarazen and Jack Nicklaus and the game’s other greats, are dead or well into the back nine of their lives.

For a variety of reasons, no new generation has taken the bags from them. Caddying, once perceived as a menial job, has become a vocation for the college-educated and failed professionals who are lured by the astronomical purses driven by Woods’s immense popularity. In 1996, the year Woods turned pro, the PGA Tour purses averaged $1.47 million. This year, they average $6.20 million.

"Today's slower turf does have the effect of making the landing areas play 'wider.'"

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Geoff Ogilvy's latest Golf World column features more great insights, including this about the fairway mowing at Augusta National and the impact on width and distance.

The fairways do look better without the stripe effect you see so often at other courses. No matter where you are at Augusta National, the grass is the same uniform shade of green.

Still, there's more to it than mere appearances. Mowing the grass like that makes the course play longer because the ball doesn't run as far as it might otherwise. When you look at footage from the Masters of maybe 20 years ago, you see balls bounding down fairways. The players got a lot of run out of their shots back then, far more than we do today. But that's not all bad. Today's slower turf does have the effect of making the landing areas play "wider."

"I’m thankful for hand-operated scoreboards and the devilish staffers who work them and tease through the little windows poor spectators desperate to know the source of the distant roars."

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The Augusta Chronicle's Scott Michaux pays tribute to the late Furman Bisher, rolling out a "thankful" Thanksgiving column, only in April.

I’m thankful for overnight showers that wash away the pollen and leave the air fresh.

So's Tiger. According to the Haney book, all of the allergy-prone great's wins have come in years it has rained.

I’m thankful that cellphones are not allowed under penalty of lifetime banishment, forcing everyone to unplug and share in a communal experience that is rarer by the minute.

I’m thankful for hand-operated scoreboards and the devilish staffers who work them and tease through the little windows poor spectators desperate to know the source of the distant roars.

I’m thankful for those roars.

I’m thankful for rules such as “no running” that breed decorum, and for yellow-clad kids with “Litter” on their caps who diligently keep the illusion of universal civility in place.

I’m thankful for “benevolent dictators” who sustain an anachronism.

Masters 2012 Coverage Plan

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Here's the coverage plan for this year. I will be in Augusta, so early in the week I hope to bring you a little of the flavor from the on site scene, media regulations permitting. Twitter will still be the primary means of communication, even though smart phones are restricted to the media center.

Postings will be a bit more sporadic based on expected WiFi access issues and my evening social schedule.

Readers who may recall my daily clippings collection will, sadly, have to do without this year. There just will not be 3 extra hours in the day to read all of the fine dispatches and summarize them, but I'll do my best to highlight the must-reads. Naturally, all reader support in the form of emailed links is, as always, greatly appreciated. (GeoffShac@me.com works best).

Starting Thursday, GolfDigest.com will be hosting a daily Cover It Live package, starting each day with a 2 p.m chat featuring a different writer each day (Johnson, Rosaforte, Diaz and Jenkins). Then at 3 pm, the Live Chats begin with the telecasts.  

Those chats will be embedded here as well as at GolfDigest.com. I will be hosting from 3-4:30, Thursday and Friday, 3:30-4:30, Saturday, and Sunday from 3-4. John Huggan and Matt Ginella will follow me each day, and I expect to stay around as much as I can resist visits to the course.

Vets of past Cover-It-Live events here can attest that these live blogs are great fun, especially now that Cover It Live allows for Twitter feeds to be embedded in the chats, making it your perfect laptop or iPad-friendly sidekick for insights and tournament updates during the telecasts.

And Monday I'll be hosting a follow-up chat at 2 p.m. from the majestic Atlanta airport. All times are Eastern.

Looking forward to what should be a great week!

State Of The Game Podcast, Episode 7: Masters Preview

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No guests this time, just Rod Morri, John Huggan and I talking about the Masters for about forty minutes or so. Note: this was recorded before Hunter Mahan's win Sunday in Houston, so when we discuss favorites, my "Hunter Mahan flying under the radar" may sound a bit silly. Oh, and yes my predictions were based on last week's weather forecast, which was much more upbeat than the current one.

As usual, there are a few options for listening if you don't want to keep this webpage open. There is the State of the Game page, a direct play option, and the iTunes option where you can also subscribe.