"Keep trying seemed to be the consensus."

Ken Klavon at the USGA blog reports on the PGA Tour's now-annual excuse to gather everyone in Ponte Vedra to try out the latest MBASpeak they've picked up in Forbes (and yes attendees, I'm still awaiting a transcript in my email box...chop, chop!).

Judging by the tone of Klavon's piece, not much progress was made in improving media access to players. Then again, PGA Tour players are pretty accessible one on one. Dealing with their agents is another story.

More interesting was the context in which Klavon put the decline of newspapers as compared to Internet numbers. Granted, I still wonder if these U.S. Open and PGATour.com page views include those automatic leaderboard refreshes, but even cutting the numbers, the are staggering.

In my humble opinion, online journalism still isn’t being fully embraced. For those of us who have made the transition from traditional media to the digital age, there is an element of credibility that has been brought along. But that wasn’t the crux of the question. It was based on the following: (and this is where I throw dazzling stats at you):

Consider that in 1990 the total U.S. newspaper circulation equated to roughly 60 million readers. Now chew on this: this year that figure is down to 40 million. Why is this significant? Because the advent of the Internet, with its slew of deliverable content platforms over the past 10 or so years, has overtaken this fossil. (And you’re talking to someone who worked in newspapers and continues to hold it dear to his heart).

Last year usopen.com gleaned 265 million page views. The year before the number came in around 112 million. The reach of the Internet seems limitless. Those figures are more than the entire newspaper circulation combined in the United States. Incredible. Yet some still are having a hard time embracing it. Hate to say it but the ship is sailing. Or has it sailed?

To get back on track, few of the panelists except for Bob Harig, a golf writer at ESPN.com, had much in the way of a solution to my question. Keep trying seemed to be the consensus.

Shav Glick R.I.P.

The longtime L.A. Times golf writer passed away Saturday. Mike Kupper pens an obituary and former editor Bill Dwyre remembers him fondly.

Reilly Departs SI

I'm not really sure what to make of Rick Reilly darting from SI to ESPN since I wasn't the type to open up the magazine from the back just to read him. And since it had been some time since he'd contributed much to the golf coverage other than columns, I doubt his departure will mean that much to the golf coverage there.

Thanks to reader John for Richard Sandomir's NY Times story on this.

Update on 2007-10-24 20:13 by Geoff

The NY Post reports he's getting a 5-year, $10 million deal.

One Amazing Lede

First he was burying the Faldo-Monty lede, but I think John Hopkins may have produced the single worst lede I've read in a major newspaper.

Tell me there was a copy editor strike that had something to do with this:

The West course, damp underfoot, cloudy overhead, was no place for faint hearts or short-hitters in the last eight of the HSBC World Match Play Championship and the men who compete today for a place in tomorrow’s final are big-hitters, really big-hitters, who come from four continents. Truly the use of the word World in the title of this event is not over-egging it.

That's St. Andrews?

Reader Jordan found this ESPN.com golf homepage photo a big confusing. The caption says its St. Andrews, but unless they painted the Old Course Hotel white and moved it, I think it looks an awful lot like Carnoustie. 

(click image to enlarge)
 

"He's got the wrong swing coach, that's for sure."

It's always dangerous when otherwise excellent sports writers try to cover golf, but at least you can sympathize with their plight. And then there's Mike Lupica, who really isn't excellent and who is frequently paid to write about golf. And I'm always left wondering why.

Case in point, from his New York Daily News column, courtesty of reader Tuco:

It will be interesting to see how Tiger Woods does at the PGA in Tulsa next month, because there are smart, informed golf guys I know who say he is burned out right now.

He's got the wrong swing coach, that's for sure.

Yep, that's a given. No Grand Slam under Hank's watch!

His knee bothers him more than he lets on.

But this guy I talked to said that the biggest problem is that Tiger is simply a little burned out, after the long run he's had being ... Tiger!

Turns out it was Jerry Corzzinni, a runway technical supervisor at Teterboro who spotted Tiger rubbing his finger between his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose during a particularly nasty post-FedEx Cup ad campaign launch luncheon in New York City. 

Lupica gets all of the scoops.

Seriously, is must be nice to be burned out and still nearly win two majors! 

"I originally thought the piece was a parody out of The Onion."

Hey, I'm not the only one mystified by the USGA or Furman Bisher's swooning. Ryan Ballengee thought Bisher's column was produced by The Onion!

Caddying Column Genre Hits New Low

No golf writer's career is complete without a Plimpton School of Participatory Journalism degree-earning column on caddying. But Rob Oller may have hit rock bottom with the proverbial caddying-for-someone-famous piece on his day looping for the man who holds a Masters in caddying columns, Rick Reilly.

It turns out Reilly, who served as celebrity keynote speaker at a tournament dinner Sunday night, needed a caddie. I needed a column. Two plus two equals Fore!

New Look GolfDigest.com

GolfDigest.com debuted a new look yesterday and I must say that once my Firefox browser history cleared and the warped look was gone, it appears to be a huge improvement visually.


(click to enlarge)(Some of you might initially get a weird look if you use Firefox's browser as you can see on the left, but not to worry, a quick "History" clearing or a few clicks of the refresh button gives you the new setup. And believe me, you'll want to view the site in Firefox, because the pop-up subscription ads are relentless.)

Aesthetically, the site appears to be a ripoff loving homage to the New York Times web site, which is a good thing since that is one of the better looking sites on the web.

Howevever, the GolfDigest.com blog and article font sizes are ridiculously small while Times articles are much more readable. If you've seen The New York Times on the iphone, it looks amazing. I think GolfDigest.com would hard if not impossible to read on the iphone, which is an issue since either it or other web-friendly smart phones will be in most people's hands in the near future.

It's a bit surprising not to see Golf World get its own site, but I'm sure there are platform branding and upward cross pollination issues that I just don't understand.

Most promising is the Local Knowledge blog, which I skimmed after pulling out my magnifying glass. Here's what Editor in Chief, Jerry Tarde, had to say about it:

What's important that you need to know? What happened that was funny?

We think we're capable of doing this better than anyone else because Local Knowledge unleashes the combined resources of Golf Digest and Golf World. More than 50 writers, editors and contributors will be on this blog, seeking you out with the news you need to know.

Meanwhile the Editors Blog, Golf For Women, Campus Insider and Barf and Gag are behind a link that might cut down on their traffic. i'm not sure why they aren't linked on the home page instead of say, the Rule of the Day?

Perez Hilton Scoops The Golf Press?

Assuming it's real, the cheesy gossip site seems to be the first with the must see, life changing photo of Tiger and Elin's baby?

The best I could find was this odd golf.com photo spread of the parents, which really means it's just an excuse to show pictures of Elin.

Update on 2007-06-26 02:55 by Geoff

*GolfDigest.com posts a whole bunch of photos, dogs included!

ESPN Hires Seven VP's; Still Has Long Way To Go Before Catching PGA Tour

John Dempsey in Variety notes the VP hiring binge, which I think (seriously) speaks to where media is headed in the coming years with the iphone and other devices rendering print just that much more...ah you know.

ESPN, striving to stay ahead of the flooding of sports programming to Web sites, cell phones and iPods, has created a new brain trust of seven top content execs who'll report to the top dog John Skipper, ESPN's exec veep of content.

The seven, all of whom will be much more cognizant of burgeoning new-media platforms, are Norby Williamson, exec VP of production; John Wildhack , exec VP of program acquisitions & strategy; David Berson, exec VP of program planning & strategy; and John Walsh, exec VP and executive editor.

Also, Keith Clinkscales, senior VP of content development & enterprises; Marie Donoghue, senior VP of business affairs and business development; and John Kosner, senior VP and GM of digital media.

ESPN singled out Clinkscales because he'll take charge of the expansion of ESPN Original Entertainment (EOE) into what the network calls "a multi-platform -- TV, Internet, print, wireless, broadband and radio -- creative-content-development unit."

Wow, that's a lot of hyphens and commas! 

Stu Schneider Family Fund

The good folks at Golf Digest have passed along information for those of you who asked about contributing something in Stu Schneider's memory. You may recall that our good pal Stu passed away unexpectedly May 29, leaving behind wife Linda and two young sons.

Stu was a great friend of the game and valuable contributor to Golf World who made many of us laugh every week. (Incidentally there are some great letters in this week's issue from readers touched by his work).  

For those of you who have kindly asked about contributing to the maintenance and operations of this web site, now's the time. Anything will help. Here's where you can contribute: 

Checks payable to Linda Schneider
Reference “Stu Schneider Family Fund” in the notes/memo line

Mail to:
Stu Schneider Family Fund
P.O. Box 670152
Coral Springs, FL 33067

The Dangers Of On-Site Blogging

Shelly Anderson of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette questions the NCAA's concern$ over writers doing live game updates and mentions the USGA's policy on live blogging on site at Oakmont (don't even think of whipping out a PDA on the course...unless you are Walter Driver!).

USGA Press Conference: What They Asked Bud Selig

That's right, the inaccessible Bud Selig stopped in the US Open press center after the USGA press conference and here's what the assembled scribes peppered him with:

You must be so happy with the resurgence of the Milwaukee Brewers. Even though you are no longer their owner, how much of their great play do you believe is attributable to your wonderful leadership over the years? 

Have you had much of a negative reaction from fans about taking the 2008 All-Star Game to Yankee Stadium?

As a follow up, have you seen the plans for the new Yankee Stadium? We had Joe Torre in here earlier and he says it's going to be the best in America. Would you agree?

Joe also said the World Series is the one that most players really want to play in and win. What do you think of that assessment?

You must be excited about Barry Bonds and his chase of Hank Aaron's record? Will it be televised?

Okay, enough. You get the point. There's a USGA cover story in Golf World, injuries to two top players induced by course conditions, major questions about square grooves and USGA operations, even more major questions about next year's venue and the scribblers are asking David Fay, Walter Driver and Jim Hyler if they agree with new Lexus pitchman Johnny Miller about the brilliance of Oakmont?  

Mighty, might impressive! 

"...the editors made a quadruple bogey by not including Tiger on its 100 Most Influential People in The World list."

I should cut Tim Rosaforte some slack for his touching tribute to Stu Schneider in this week's column, but I know deep down that Stu wouldn't want me to let these Larry King-esque musings go by without some sort of comment!

Time is by far my favorite news magazine, but the editors made a quadruple bogey by not including Tiger on its 100 Most Influential People in The World list. And I'm not just talking about what he does on the golf course. Woods may be having a hard time attracting a Memorial-like field to his new tournament, but seeing how the tough Washington crowd is laying down the red carpet for him is an indication of his influence and power.

Sure, right behind a couple of interns at Powell-Tate who can probably influence on the workings of our fine government than our golfing hero.