When you come to think of it that is the secret of most of the great holes all over the world. They all have some kind of a twist. C.B. MACDONALD
Chairman Billy Payne earned mixed reviews for his performance during Wednesday's State of the Masters press conference, which turned surprisingly tense at times and because of the club's stance, wiped out potentially huge news that the members want to play a part in discussions about the state of the game.
Jabbed, prodded and poked repeatedly about a topic that never really goes away, Billy Payne wouldn't budge.
Five consecutive queries were about female members, including how the club can justify being an advocate for the growth of the game while excluding women and what Payne would say to his granddaughters about the fact there are no women in the club.
While the question grew more pointed, Payne remained calm and polite and indicated the matter was closed -- at least for the day -- by saying "Thank you for your question, sir."
Payne gave him a Dirty Harry glare and talked over him until moderator Craig Heatley frantically called upon another scribe. If Payne thought he could will away such questions, he was badly mistaken, and he seemed taken aback by the intensity in the room. One veteran newspaperman who has had many dealings with Payne later said, "That was the first time I have ever seen Billy shaken."
That will surely be a relief to Payne. But even he must now understand that Augusta National's all-male membership will always be a cloud that darkens Masters week, for him and his proud club.
Steve Elling for CBSSports.com:
Augusta National chairman Billy Payne, having just proudly detailed the club's many attempts to "grow the game" internationally, had painted himself into a corner and there was no escaping. He teed himself up, handed a titanium driver to the critics and social progressives, and was sent flying into the trees.
Ron Kroichick for the San Francisco Chronicle.
Six times, by choosing to remain silent on the topic, Payne whiffed.
It wasn’t surprising, really, because Augusta National officials have long tried to sidestep this issue. That’s their prerogative, technically, as a private club — but it’s also relentlessly hypocritical as the host of one of golf’s most storied and prestigious events.
Perhaps the best that can be said of his faux-discretion is that it was not as pathetic as his 2010 denunciation of Tiger Woods's cocktail waitress habit, in which Payne joined the throng of emotionally stunted dullards claiming to feel personally "let down" by someone who plays sport for a living. You could almost feel the relish. Although the word "uppity" mercifully failed to get a run-out, Payne's wholly uncharacteristic eagerness to tip buckets of ordure over a hugely successful star of the game – far from the first to stray from the righteous path – raised the most questionable spectres in a culture where black men are still stereotyped as feckless and sexually incontinent. Having moralised fatuously about how Tiger had not just let all of us down, but "our kids and grandkids", he concluded his homily by suggesting that Woods come to heel and "begin his new life here tomorrow".
But in reality, it wasn't Woods who owed Augusta – it was Augusta who owed Woods.
I really have no idea what she's saying, but it was fun to read!
Lawrence Donegan, who pressed the Chairman on the club's stance.
Payne's refusal to delve into "personal" matters was in stark contrast to his wholesale, and some argued unjustified, excoriation of Tiger Woods in 2010 over the way the golfer had conducted his private life.
Asked by the Guardian if the growth of golf would best be promoted by Augusta opening its doors to a woman, thereby sending a "wonderful message to young girls around the world … that one day they could join this very famous club", Payne said only: "Thank you for your question, sir."
A shame, really.
A shame that a place that brings so much joy to the golf world, that is revered along the far reaches of the globe, that has every right to set its own membership policies, can't be above the nonsense, invite a woman and move on.
Augusta National might be private, but it is not this week. It makes millions from the tournament, sits at the big table when golf's biggest issues are discussed, is viewed almost as a public trust. It now sells a video game, reaping even more millions, with all of Augusta National's portion earmarked for a charitable grow-the-game initiative.
Aren't women part of that?
It doesn’t matter what I think. It doesn’t matter what you think.
When it comes to membership policies at Augusta National Golf Club, it only matters what the current members think. And they aren’t keen on sharing that information.
If there’s one thing we learned during Wednesday’s annual pre-tournament interview session with Masters chairman Billy Payne, it’s that any and all discourse about internal matters at the club will remain internal until the time when – or more likely, if – he decides to publicize them.
**Scott Michaux from the Augusta Chronicle:
However, whether it’s the right thing for a leadership entity concerned about “growing the game” to exclude half the world’s population from membership consideration is another argument altogether. It is a weak limb the club is perched on.
John Huggan in Golf World Daily:
Truly it was something to see and hear, if only for the breathtaking arrogance and lack of self awareness it put on display.
Marty Hackel has the scripted outfits of most of the name players, and other fashion notes in a GolfDigest.com slideshow. There's going to be a lot of grey in the locker room!
The 13th green Tuesday (click to enlarge)The golf course is indeed soft, slow and the turf dense, with more rain coming Tuesday night and more forecast for later in the week. It's going to lead to conditions which erode the local knowledge edge veterans rightfully believe they had, opening the door to inexperience and youthful aggression. Rory has to be licking his chops.
Tiger Woods, opening his media conference.
TIGER WOODS: The golf course is a little bit wet out there. Obviously we got some pretty good rains here. Today I played nine holes with Freddie and Sean, and seven drives and had seven mud balls. So hopefully it will dry out, but I think the forecast is for more rain. But the greens are absolutely perfect. They are quick, there's no doubt, but they are pretty soft and pretty receptive.
Phil Mickelson's comments were shocking in their brutal honesty but certainly accurate. Having sat in on this session, I didn't feel that Phil was deflated, but he also did not dance around the fact that many more players are in the equation due to the soft conditions, a product of a warm spring and recent rains.
It seems that some of the planning I have made may go by the wayside. As soft as the golf course is, you can fire at a lot of the pins. The greens are soft. I don't want to say they are slow, but it's just not the same Augusta. It's wet around the greens, and there's no fear of the course. You've got to attack it this week.
Unless something changes, and I know they have SubAir and hopefully they will be able to use it, but unless they change it, it's going to be a birdie‑fest.
Q. Since you put in so much time preparing, is it disappointing not to see the conditions?
PHIL MICKELSON: When the subtleties don't come out, the experience of playing here in the past is not as important, because you don't have to fear the greens and you don't have to know where the ball will end up and you don't have to fear certain shots because you can get up‑and‑down from the edges. Those shots are not as hard.
Therefore, I think there's a very good chance that a young player, inexperienced, fearless player that attacks this golf course can win if you don't need to show it the proper respect.
I finally got out and strolled the property today, soaking up the back nine. Here's a view of the 10th green not long after Perry Maxwell moved it. Note the "island" in the right greenside bunker.
**Sorry folks, there is an after picture on my screen but for some reason it's not showing up here. Thanks for your patience!
There's no direct link, so just go to the Masters.com video page and look for the black and white video with Ben Hogan (you can also search videos by players, a new handy feature).
Many great things to look for in the video, including Ken Venturi's voiceover, Hogan's overall cooperative spirit and the clubhouse area pre-1950.
But my favorite bit came at Amen Corner where the creeks are at their rustic zenith and we see remnants on 13 of MacKenzie's old "scab" bunkers.
Alan Shipnuck says Augusta National's stance on Woman-American members has an impact on their ability to govern the game, noting they are essentially one of the governing bodies.
Years ago Hootie floated the idea of a throttled back "Masters ball," a way to rein in distance gains since the USGA and the R&A seem incapable of doing the job. Such an experiment could be unilaterally instituted by the Masters and have a massive impact on the sport as well as the multi-billion dollar equipment industry. Given the many ways Augusta National members are shaping golf, at the professional and grassroots level, shouldn't women have a voice, too? This can only happen if they are invited into the club.
The Pond Scrum is back and those subversives Elling and Huggan tackled the topic. Elling first:
Fact is, nobody knows what's happening at Augusta or who gets green-lighted for a green jacket. Last year, I saw former NFL receiver Lynn Swann in a green jacket. He'd recently joined the club.
Huggan: Just as it hangs over the Open Championship like a bad smell, the gender issue is one that will forever haunt the green jackets and the Masters until an emerald twinset is seen strolling the storied grounds. Indeed, just as it is by the Royal & Ancient Golf Club in my part of the world, golf is diminished by the blatant and unashamed misogyny of Augusta National. No rational argument can possibly support a state of affairs that automatically eliminates half the world's population because they don't have penises.
Masters Chairman Billy Payne speaks to the media at 9:30 11 a.m. ET. The over/under on the first gender/membership question is 2.5. Oh yes, there are half questions as much as there are half points in football.
Doug Ferguson tracks down Dustin Johnson's agent who was, indeed, on property but free of his phone. Though the WD was clearly planned and information should have been included when the WD was announced.
His agent, David Winkle at Hambric Sports Management, said Johnson first had back pain in January when he withdrew from the Humana Challenge, and played through minor pain the next six weeks.
“His back bothered him from time to time. He kind of played through the pain, but it was never crippling,” Winkle said in a voicemail. “He rested it at Bay Hill, got back to working some last week, and tweaked it last week lifting a jet ski.”
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
Copyright © 2022, Geoff Shackelford. All rights reserved.
