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
John Boyette reports that the $3 chicken sandwich, given its conditional release in favor of grilled chicken wraps at the 2012 Masters, has been re-signed and will still be on the big league roster.
The Masters is less than two weeks away. In case you needed a reminder.
Steve Hummer reports on the lawsuit filed in a Texas district court to stop the sale and how the club has already successfully gotten the auction postponed.
According to court documents filed by Augusta National Inc. (ANI) in its suit to halt the sale of Wall’s Masters jacket at auction, the tournament winner is allowed to take his jacket off the grounds for a period of one year after his victory.
“Thereafter, it must be stored on ANI premises for use only on the grounds and during the annual tournament,” it claimed in the documents. “Thus, a champion’s Green Jacket is owned by ANI, with a champion having possessory rights when on the premises of ANI.”Responded Florida anesthesiologist and serious golf collector Stephen Pyles, “I have owned six, maybe seven, green jackets. I can go on the Internet right now and buy you a member’s green jacket.”
Hummer also gets into the whole market for members and former champion jackets.
I want to say I'm still very much looking forward to EA Sports' Tiger Woods PGA Tour '14 game because of its heavy focus on history, with the opportunity to play legends like Young Tom Morris, Bobby Jones, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus in historic settings.
That said, this YouTube video with "Ryan the product manager" for EA's Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 does have me hoping there is a 14.1 update at some point. Because while I can deal with Arnold Palmer playing the Hootie-ized 11th hole in the 1950, complete with the confining pine trees planted this century to destroy the hole, it's when Ryan shows us the Old Course scenes with Young Tom Morris that I get concerned.
Identifying him as Old Tom--which I can deal with because, well, I don't know--the Young Tom creation by the EA team is using a steel shaft about 65 years before anyone knew what they were. But worse than that, we see him teeing off on the first hole and what's in the distance?
Why it's the Old Course Hotel, erected in horrifying fashion about 100 years after the historic scene depicted.
Anyway, Ryan also shows up clips of the 1934 version of Augusta National--which we also saw in a preview video--and it still looks ridiculously accurate in detailing the original MacKenzie-Jones design, so that's good enough for me to shell out the necessary dough to play Augusta as the architects created it.
A few of the more horrifying (to historians) screen grabs, starting with Young Tom playing the Old Course in the late 1800's with the fairly recently renovated Old Course Hotel in the distance:
Young Tom Morris, using steel shafts...if only...
And Arnold Palmer, playing Augusta National's 11th hole in the 1960s, about forty years before Hootie Johnson and Tom Fazio turned it into a Christmas tree nursery because, you know, it wasn't hard enough.
A fitting bump after his resurrection in the desert last week, reports Alex Miceli.
Electronic Arts announced a special edition of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 and for those of us fascinated by Alister MacKenzie and Bobby Jones' original Augusta National design, the attention to detail looks amazing.
For Immediate Release:
Electronic Arts Inc., announced today that fans will be able to step back in time with Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 14: The Masters Historic Edition. For the first time ever, users will experience Augusta National Golf Club as it was when the course played host to the very first Masters Tournament - what was known in 1934 as the Inaugural Augusta National Invitation Tournament.
The development of this exclusive feature was researched with meticulous detail in an effort to re-create the original 1931 design of world-renowned golf course architect Dr. Alister MacKenzie and legendary golfer Bobby Jones.
"From the very beginning, our relationship with the Masters Tournament has been built around our ability to bring a unique and authentic experience to a new and younger demographic of potential golfers," Mike Taramykin, Vice President of Tiger Woods PGA TOUR said. "From unprecedented access to the Augusta National archives, to in-depth discussions with golf historians - and even our own internal research into the sport in the 1930s - The Masters Historic Edition is the next step in bringing gamers an exciting and distinctive glimpse into the game of golf."
Game play will place players in a 1934 environment, which takes into account everything from the clothing to the equipment. On the golf course, users will discover a new way to enjoy the timeless layout, and as it would have played when the first Tournament field competed in the Club's inaugural invitational. This includes everything from the golf course's nines being reversed to its original green contours and speeds.
In addition to this unique feature, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 14: The Masters Historic Edition will also include:
• A complete copy of Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 14
• A walk through of the original 1934 layout of Augusta National
• The present-day Augusta National Golf Club course
• Augusta National's world-class Tournament Practice Facility
• Augusta National's Par 3 course
• Green Jacket ceremony
• Augusta, the Song, as heard during the Masters Tournament television broadcast
In total, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 14: The Masters Historic Edition will include all 20 courses available in the standard edition and the four additional championship courses: Royal County Down, Royal Melbourne, Sheshan and TPC Blue Monster at Doral.
Mike O'Malley tweeted it and what better readership in golf than you all to answer questions for the Golf Digest Masters survey, with results to appear in the April issue.
Sean Martin explains how Thorbjorn Olesen's inactivity helped him crack the top 50 in the year's final Official World Golf Ranking and therefore earning his first Masters bid.
Geoff Ogilvy just missed the coveted top 50 ranking and all of the perks that come with it.
How did Olesen pass Ogilvy? Players are ranked in the OWGR based on average points earned per tournament in the past two years. Points earned for a specific finish decrease as time passes from that tournament; that loss in points is the reason for Ogilvy's fall in the rankings.
Martin lists the other beneficiaries of the top 50 club status.
Sean Martin brings up the question that has to be of some alarm to the Lords of Augusta: based on his play in professional events, what is 14-year old Tianlang Guan going to do when he has to play Augusta National in Masters conditions?
No one wants to see the young lad suffer undue humiliation but his play on some not particularly grueling golf courses has to be a concern heading into his April appearance. His latest was an opening 82 at the Emirates Australian Open.
**Guan fights back with a nice -2 70 during a calm Friday morning in Sydney!
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
Copyright © 2022, Geoff Shackelford. All rights reserved.
