Punchlines In Need Of Finetuning

Richard Hinds offers new Australian Open tournament director Paul McNamee to defend some of his rumored changes to the event, and it becomes a chance for him to debut his stand up routine. Kind of makes long for the wit and wisdom of Carolyn Bivens...

"I've had people come up to me saying absurd things like, 'I've heard you're going to have girls in bikinis caddying for the players'," he said.

"That's just ridiculous. Have you ever tried to find 100 swimsuit models strong enough to carry those heavy bags around for four days? I have and it's just not feasible."

McNamee admitted that several initiatives not mentioned at the launch would be in place. "When I said the tournament would be following some of the fine golf traditions created by the ancient Scots, I meant Ronnie Corbett, not old Tom Morris," he said.

Accordingly, the Australian Open is believed to be the first significant championship at which a randomly selected member of each group will unwittingly be given a novelty exploding golf ball on the first tee. "That should start things off with a bang," said McNamee, who admitted some of his punchlines would need finetuning before the tournament.

There's more if you click on the link.

Good, But Not Yet Norman

Mike Colman offers some interesting anecdotes on the state of Australian men's pro golf and the top players love-hate relationship with Greg Norman.

Speaking of the Great White Shark, reader Mike reports that in his new book, Norman writes about the 14th at St Andrews and what a genius designer Alister MacKenzie was.

"In the Royal and Ancient clubhouse there is a hand-drawn diagram byMacKenzie that shows how he designed the hole to be played in five different ways."

Now there's a revelation!  

McNamee Update On Aus Open

Thanks to reader Mark for this Australian story by Louis White that details Paul McNamee's efforts to enhance the Australian Open.

Unfortunately, no mention throughout the piece about moving away from stinker venues like The Grand or The Australian.

McNamee agreed to become the executive chairman of the men's and women's Australian Open tournaments. He got a shock upon taking up the position in April.

"I didn't realise that the financial situation was as bad as it was," he said, sounding surprised still. "There was virtually no revenue streams for the sport and Channel Seven had lost interest. Everyone was receiving freebies to attend the event and the Australian players weren't happy either.

"What blew me away was that the women's championship hadn't even been played for three years. I took that as being not a good sign."

A federal government report into the state of Australian golf had resulted in the amalgamation of the Australian Golf Union and the Australian Ladies Golf Union to form Golf Australia. The new entity was entrusted with overseeing the men's and women's Australian Open championships.

McNamee took a pay cut, and his job was on a part-time basis. Before accepting the job he headed to the US to get a grip on staging a successful tournament. He spoke first-hand to the Australian players to find out their concerns about the Australian Open - all at his own expense.

"The players weren't happy and had a long list of complaints," McNamee said. "It ranged from no functions for the wives and girlfriends to no creche, to no food for the caddies and even the pro-am taking too long.

"Most importantly though, they did want to come back to Australia and play golf. They all understand the importance of the Australian Tour and want to support the Australian Open."

Not only did McNamee convince the players that things would be different this year - he personally spoke to 12 of the top 13-ranked Australian players - he knew he had to overcome the negative publicity associated with the event and do things differently.

"I decided to focus on showcasing Australian players because we are the No.2 golfing nation in the world at the moment," he said.

"Australia has 10 players ranked in the top 100 in the world and had 24 players in the British Open this year. I honestly believe that these group of golfers are the best group of players in the history of Australian golf."

And let's put them on a course to match? Eh...no.

Campbell To The Rescue

Peter Williams writes about the troubled New Zealand Open, and Michael Campbell's possible attempt to help save it. Thanks to reader Hux for the heads up.

One scenario is that NZG go back to the sponsorship market but set their sights lower. The naming rights deal and second-tier sponsors would be sold for a lower price in order to raise about $500,000.
 
Then Cambo Investments, the company that handles Michael Campbell's affairs, would be prepared to put up $250,000 - if the government matches that.
 
But the Beehive wants its pound of flesh too.
 
Golf's governing structure in this country is not what it should be. Even though the men's and women's administrative organisations amalgamated last year, things are far from ideal. There is no formal relationship with the NZPGA and too many differing bodies are pulling in different directions in matters such as player development and the staging of tournaments.
 
Last year's amalgamation was a step in the right direction but didn't go far enough.
 
I'm told that if Cambo Investments put in their quarter of a million and the government matches that sum to meet the budget for the New Zealand Open, then a major administration review in this country must take place. That will include comparing our structure to countries with similar populations, such as Sweden.
 
It's likely to be a hugely controversial plan and there'll be some casualties but golf in this country is stagnating. Club membership is declining and despite millions of dollars being poured into high performance programmes we are not producing the quality international players that we should.
 
A crisis often brings fundamental issues to the surface. There is no doubt the New Zealand Open is in crisis. But with Campbell and some of his advisers highly thought of in government circles, a rescue plan for 2006 can be put together.
 
Then the future direction for New Zealand golf, and its premier event, can be worked on.

This Guy Rocks!

I often find myself concerned that our friends outside the United States are missing out on the wonderful world of MBA/marketingspeak.

Then I read stories like this one courtesy of reader Graeme that nourish the soul.

Because as Martin Blake shows us in The Age, true leadership has made it to golf in Australia. Look out Ponte Vedra and wherever in the world the LPGA headquarters is located, because Paul McNamee is going to give Commissioner's Finchem and Bivens a run...for their inanity.

Paul McNamee has taken the reins of the Australian Open golf championships — both men's and women's tournaments — with a warning about unrealistic expectations.

McNamee, who has signed a three-year contract as executive chairman of the Open, says the notion that the men's tournament can become the "fifth major" is rubbish.

Ah, you're thinking, I like this guy. Here's the first sign of trouble.

McNamee confronted a similar malaise when he took over the running of the Australian Open tennis 12 years ago, although he made one distinction yesterday. "In brand development yes (it's similar), but there's one very important difference we should never forget. It (the Open golf) is not a major. It's not going to be a fifth major. But in brand development I do see similarities."

Brand development. Remember that Ponte Vedra. You can platform and re-contextualize it all you want, but never forget your brand development. And how does McNamee envision his brand development?

One of the methods he intends using is adding music as part of the entertainment package. "What I'd like to see is the Australian players feel they're really now being put on a pedestal and that the event really rocks. Once you do start selling tickets to the general public you are in the entertainment industry."

Adding music? Really rocks? Hey wait, the LPGA already has first dibs on rocks.

So I wonder, when he says rocks, does McNamee envision something like Al Czervik cranking up the volume to Journey's Any Way You Like It?

As for the intensely unpopular Moonah Links, McNamee really shows why he's fit to be running major golf events. Yes, that's right, you are no one in golf until you have a raging conflict of interest, and McNamee passes with flying colors!

This year's Australian Open is at Royal Sydney from November 16-19, but McNamee will soon have to confront the fact that Golf Australia has a contract to play the tournament three out of every five years at Moonah Links, a venue that has attracted savage criticism from Australian players. It is complicated by the fact that he is an investor in Moonah Links, giving him a clear conflict of interest that drew a laugh from him yesterday.

"You have to respect the contracts are in place," he said. "Whatever it is, it is."

No, you have to respect that a man has taken 2004's sports cliche of the year--it is what it is--and given it a gritty, post-modern Yogi Berra edge.

Whatever it is, it is!

And don't forget Paul, until it's done, it's not done.

Clayton On State of Big Time Aussie Golf

Mike Clayton looks at the state of major Australian golf events. His comments and concerns sound familiar to those wondering about the state of U.S. tournament golf. Thanks to reader Graeme for the heads up on this.

R&A Hires Phillips

Colin Phillips, the Tom Meeks of the southern hemisphere, was hired by the R&A to be their new head of something having to do with Australia and Asian golf. Phillips recently retired from the Australian Golf Union after masterminding yet another Australian Open setup boondoggle. You may recall that Phillips and good buddy Wayne Grady recently exchanged loving words, as Mike Clayton wrote in this Golfobserver column.

Clayton On Allenby

Mike Clayton reports on Robert Allenby's impressive sweep of the three biggest Australian golf titles.

Clayton On Australian Open

Mike Clayton summarizes the wild and weird Australian Open for Golfobserver.com. First he covers the Mark Hensby-Greg Norman war of words:

It is impossible to win in this country if you choose to attack Norman and Hensby didn't articulate his argument well enough to convince the average golf fan. But inside the locker room there were more than a few who thought there was some merit in what he was trying to say.

Ironically, on the very first morning of the Open Norman was fifty miles away across the bay announcing the establishment of a new golf course financed by one of the countries richest men. It was not lost on some that perhaps there were 364 other days in the year that might have been a little more appropriate for Greg to promote a new development.

Of course, it is no secret that Norman has a more than prickly relationship with the Australian Golf Union and with his ex-managers, IMG, who promote and run the Open.

And then there was the Wayne Grady-Colin Phillips spat:

In a group behind, Tour chairman Wayne Grady blistered the long-serving and retiring Executive Director of the Australian Golf Union, Colin Phillips, the man responsible for the pin positions.

"Congratulations Colin for &$#%ing (rhymes with trucking) up another Australian Open. Watch-out the door doesn't hit you on the arse on the way out."

There has long been a simmering resentment between the two but it had never been voiced so personally or publicly.

Phillips response was a simple "I would have been upset if the criticism had come from a player I respected." Ouch.

And finally, my favorite part of Clayton's piece, the player perceptions of Moonah Links.

The weekend wind freshened and the players distaste for the course heightened.

Craig Parry had nothing complimentary to say and nor did Stuart Appleby and their opinions were widely reported in the newspapers. Several players privately suggested they would not be back.

Complaining players have always been sitting ducks for press who assume golf pros don't like a venue simply because it is too hard. Parry and Appleby have played plenty of hard golf courses — Parry was eight over par and a shot out of the playoff at the 1999 Open at Carnoustie — but they needed to articulate why they disliked the design of the golf course.

Uh, The Pin Sheets Were Bad Too...

Here's a story on Mark Hensby refusing to apologize for his controversial views expressed at last week's wild and wacky Australian Open. But this is what I found interesting:

Stuart Appleby yesterday joined the list of players fined by the PGA Tour for a rules breach in publicly criticising aspects of the Australian Open, he revealed errors had been made by AGU officials in measuring pin placements.

Appleby said players had been notified mid-round that incorrect distances were shown on official pin placement sheets.

Boy this Australia Golf Union really knows how to put on a tournament. Top notch, top notch.

Moonah Madness

This sounds familiar (thanks to reader Michael for this):

The Australian PGA Tour has fined its own chairman, Wayne Grady, as the fallout over Moonah Links continued yesterday on the final day of the Australian Open.

Grady was fined an undisclosed sum over his verbal spray directed at Australian Golf Union executive director Colin Phillips on Friday. At least three other players — Stephen Leaney, Stuart Appleby and Craig Parry — are also to be fined for their criticisms of the course and the AGU, which runs the Open.

The fines come from the tour's tournament director Andrew Langford-Jones.

"Obviously 'Grades' committed a breach of our code of conduct," said the tour's general manager, Gus Seebeck, yesterday. "As our chairman he knows he carries extra responsibility to stay within that code. The comments that were made were not meant for public consumption, but they were overheard by certain people, unfortunately, and they were of a personal nature.

"Grades knows this, but it's a closed shop now, and it's between Wayne and Colin to patch up their personal issues."

Grady's attack came during the furore over the state of the 12th green on Friday, when Peter O'Malley's ball blew off the green in high winds. Phillips was the tournament director, and this was his last assignment after 27 years in charge of the AGU.

Doesn't this boil down to the same thing? Today's players are not eloquent when it comes to explaining why setups are over-the-top, and governing bodies either (A) don't have much idea what they are doing when it comes to course preparation in inclement weather, or (B) are trying to produce a "respectable" winning score in the face of major changes in the sport?

Moonah course architect Peter Thomson responded to the player complaints, and it leaves me wondering if the golfing great has spent just a bit too much time sitting around the Royal and Ancient clubhouse listening to clueless administrators commiserating about the spoiled modern pro. From Martin Blake's story:

Thomson responded wryly when I asked: "Do you think some of these players spend so much time in the U.S., where they are pampered and looked after so much with course preparation and everything else, that when they come home and it gets a bit tough they don't react well?

"I'm impressed with your opinion . . . I know that is what everybody else thinks," he replied.

"But, as a side issue, it has struck me that it would be a very sad day if the players were able to select the courses on which they wanted to play.

"The R&A would not have a bar of that, nor would the USGA. In fact, for the last 50 years of my lifetime, the USGA has been responsible for making courses so difficult that people take three irons off the tee.

"But neither the R&A nor the USGA buckle when they get a bit of criticism. I would like to think our championship joins that category.

"In order to convince the world that we have a championship that matches the big two, we have to have a comparable course. That's what this is."

Trying to mimic the USGA and R&A course setup strategies probably isn't the wisest thing to do these days. But based on the player feedback, I'd say the AGU succeeded in one respect.

What Happened At The Australia Open?

Since those of us in the States did not get to see the Australian Open this year on The Golf Channel, it's hard to tell from accounts whether the players just don't like playing in wind, or the Moonah Links was poorly set up. Or a bit of both.

Here's one commentary defending the setup, and Peter Thomson, Moonah's architect, chimes in. 

He also warned against allowing the players to dictate where the tournament is played, saying the R&A (controller of the British Open) and USGA (in charge of US Open) would never bow to the wishes of its competitors.

"I don't think they need any sympathy," Thomson said. "In real championship circumstances it ought to put them to their highest possible test of skill.

"One of the side issues of the criticism, it struck me, is that it would be a very sad day when the players are able to select the course on which they want to play. The R&A wouldn't have a bar of that, nor would the USGA.

"The USGA doesn't buckle when it gets a bit of criticism nor does the R&A. I would like to think our championship joins that category of championship. They are the ultimate, the big two.

But as usual, it appears the design was not the problem. 

"I don't have a problem with the course, I don't think it is bad or anything," [Peter] Lonard said.

"I don't know whether it is set up perfectly. But if you compare it to the Open courses we play, very few of them have greens where (the ball) will run off the edge and run 40 yards away."

Huggan on Baker-Finch

John Huggan profiles one of the game's class acts, Ian Baker Finch, with quotes from Mike Clayton.

Speaking of Clayton, here's his third round Australian Open report.

The Art of Course Setup, Vol. 467

From the wild and wacky Australian Open:

Stephen Leaney refused to sign his card for a 74 in protest and was disqualified.

He had a bogey and playing partner Peter O'Malley had a triple-bogey at the par-3 12th, prompting tournament officials to start lightly watering the green for every subsequent group to negate the impact of the strong northerly wind.

O'Malley had a par putt of less than a meter that was caught in a wind gust and rolled three meters past the pin. After he marked and replaced the ball, it rolled further from the hole. He asked officials if he could replace the ball again, but the request was disallowed.

"You can imagine how we felt," said Leaney. "We'd got the rules officials over to make a decision and then they recognize what was going on and water it."

O'Malley, who made the cut at 4-over, declined to comment.

Clayton On Australian Open**

Mike Clayton weighs in on the Australian Open first round and Mark Hensby antics. Wish it was on The Golf Channel.

**Update: Here is Mike's second round report.