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
Following Sergio Garcia's Masters final round 74, a Golf Channel reporter or producer stuck a microphone in front of the 29-year-old reigning Players PLAYERS champion, who blasted Augusta National and the Masters.
"I don't like it to tell you the truth. I don't think it's fair. It's too tricky. It's too much of a guessing game."
And...
"I don't care, they can do whatever they want. I just come here and play and then go home.
Kraig Kann moderated an ensuing discussion session that epitomized the stellar--dare I say--breakout week for analysts Brandel Chamblee, Frank Nobilo and Dottie Pepper. (Ben Crenshaw was great in his cameo's, John Feinstein bordered on insufferable and Jim Gray indecipherable. Lerner and Sands were in top form as they always are at the majors, while Rosaforte, Hawkins, Micelli and Hoggard covered a nice variety of angles.)
But back to the big three analysts who can be seen in this "final thoughts" video on TGC. Half the time Nobilo made me turn to the TV with a "what the &%^$" scowl, only to have Chamblee give him the old, "uh no Frank."
Which is precisely why it made for such great viewing.
On the disastrous Sergio moment, Nobilo equated it with Bobby Jones' temper tantrum during his first round at the Old Course and that over time, Sergio may learn to love the place.
Brandel countered quickly that Bobby Jones was 21, Sergio's 29, and "by now he should have matured." Chamblee observed that the "chip on Sergio's shoulder" combined with the New York galleries that taunted him last time will "come to haunt him at Bethpage."
Dottie chimed in with a shrewd observation about Sergio needing to make an effort to visit Augusta at a non-tournament time to better acquaint himself with the course and club.
Back at the studio, Vince Cellini piled on, noting Sergio's "darkness" and "petulance after these major performances."
Kelly Tilghman reminded us of the 2004 Masters 66 spat and the 2007 Open pouting and suggested that "obviously he is struggling with some demons."
To cap it all off, Alex Micelli was brought in and asked about Sergio: "I have two teenage daughters at home and they would deal with this a lot better than the way the petulant, childish Sergio Garcia does."
This isn't your father's Golf Channel!
Just a great week for Golf Channel, headquartered at nearby Augusta CC. Chamblee was particularly strong in dissecting what's wrong with the golf course and stuck to his bold opinions (by TGC and ANGC standards) that the rough and new trees need to go while the ridiculous depth of the bunkers is diminishing some of the risk-reward temptation essential to holes like 1, 5 and 8.
But the entire crew shined and kudos to Golf Channel for spending the money to give hardcore golfers the Masters coverage they deserve.
Golf Channel has added Jim Gray to its team and if his first appearance Thursday is any indication, we're in for some really profound insights. After comparing Tiger to the many great athletes he's been around, including Mike Tyson (!), Rich Lerner then asked Gray to compare Augusta National with the other great sporting venues Gray has been to. He was sounding nervous and rattling off clichés before unleashing this head scratcher:
It has withstood the test of time. The faces are very, very similar throughout the course of the years, but they also change, and they've changed with the game, but you know what was, is now what is. And that's what everyone can relate to.
Got that?
Gray also plugged a new Golf Channel show he's on with Lerner. His opening feature is an up close and personal with Donald Trump and his "beautiful" golf courses. Can't wait.
...wow, did anyone else catch the Brandel Chamblee, John Hawkins, Frank Nobilo discussion about the possibilities for excitement at Augusta?
Let's put it this way. They aren't buying Billy Payne's claims about the weather. Nobilo was probably the kindest, focusing on the green speeds, but Hawkins and Chamblee effectively dismantled every assertion that the course has been improved by the changes.
I point this out because, well, many of us suffered through so many years where these chats touted the changes as progress. It's just shocking to hear it going the other way in such extreme fashion. I feel like such a moderate after hearing that exchange!
Dottie Pepper just chimed in that the tree planting was well intentioned but the trees have grown!
We'll give her points for being critical but generally you have an architect who can envision how newly planted trees will grow and impact play over time. Just not at Augusta, apparently.
Lawrence Donegan looks at the caddy-miking issue and gets more player feedback. I suppose this could be the biggest negative of the entire exercise:
Perhaps the only foolproof answer is to live your life like Padraig Harrington, the tee-total, non-swearing Irishman who is as squeaky clean in private as he is in public.
"Personally, I would have no problems with my caddie wearing a microphone. In fact, I've worn one on the golf course in the past [during exhibition matches and the PGA Grand Slam of Golf, an end of season event featuring that year's major winners]," said Harrington.
"Obviously, you couldn't be as free and easy in your conversations with your caddie. But if I wanted total privacy then I would stay at home."
So sure, the guys who are miked might be more careful. But in the heat of battle, I suspect they will forget the mike is on. After all, those great NBC chats picked up by the sound guys lately have been done so with the sound man almost on top of the players at times, and the conversations were still pretty fun to listen in on.
Doug Ferguson takes an enjoyable look at caddies and the things they hate hearing their player say, quoting Jim "Bones" MacKay extensively.
The story also
In the latest edition of the weekly epic known as the SI Golf Plus/golf.com/Golf Magazine/Fortune/Time Inc/AOL "PGA Tour Confidential," the guys and gals kick around poor old Johnny Miller, who apparently had a big dinner date Saturday in Tucson that precluded him from staying on when coverage went to Golf Channel.
It seemed even more bizarre to me that the NBC lead man was trying so hard figure out why Jack Nicklaus scattered bunkers all over the Ritz Carlton GC at Dove Mountain's 4th fairway instead of pinching down the landing area like Johnny on his many wonderful, timeless designs.
After the SI gang seems to decide that the 36-hole final needs to go (I would agree, the morning 18 was the best part and only five spectators saw it), the group debates the merits of Johnny:
David Dusek, deputy editor, Golf.com: Sorry, but I think a big part of the problem was not only 36 holes, but Johnny Miller too. It kills me to listen to him answer his own questions when he is tossing to Maltbie or Koch. He has opinions, and that's refreshing, but it's All Johnny, All The Time, and it gets old fast.
Gorant: Disagree. It's definitely Johnny and the Johnettes, but he still works for me. Koch on the other hand is not my favorite. Hate the "that's a good lesson for you folks at home" tips he's always throwing in. If you see it, describe it. If I can glean something from that, great; if not, OK, but stop talking down to me.
Hack: Johnny at least could have stuck around Saturday night when the golf ran long and NBC gave way to Golf Channel. Johnny was out of that booth at 6:01 p.m. Eastern.
Herre: I'm a Johnny guy. Even after 20 years, he has an unpolished quality that I like. You can tell he's going with the gut. Yes, Koch and Maltbie come off as sycophants, but I don't know if that's Johnny's fault.
For some reason I thought Johnny's lack of genuine passion for golf architecture really shined this week on a new course that needed explaining. One example: The ninth hole appeared to have a really neat bit of strategy where a safe drive left gave the players a blind second shot while a longer, riskier line opened up a view of the green. Nothing original mind you, but great to see Nicklaus at least trying to do something interesting. And Johnny just couldn't get past the blind second shot or the aforementioned swarm of bunkers on the par-4 4th, where Jack actually dared to break up the center line.
I'm not saying the holes worked, but at least there were signs Nicklaus was trying to do something that warranted further explanation beyond the required raves about a new place that players clearly didn't care for.
Having now committed The Haney Project with Charles Barkley spot that Golf Channel aired relentelessly over four days of the Accenture Match Play, I chuckled each time they mentioned "uncensored" and then bleeped out whatever obscenity came from Barkley's mouth.
Yet even after airing number 416, I still missed what a reader picked up when Barkley's driver head flies off and he utters the dreaded profanity: Golf Channel blurs out his headcover to protect the innocent maker of some crappily crafted $500 pile of junk!
A double censoring. But the show is uncensored!
And no, that is not a giant fingerprint on my widescreen:
Totally censored! (click to enlarge)
Tom Petruno reports that Northern Trust is laying the ground work to possibly pay back their TARP money and to quiet their critics.
The bank hasn't said so directly, but it most likely didn't need the capital infusion, and went along with it because the government wanted participation by healthy and unhealthy banks alike.
In his letter to Frank, Waddell said: "We understand this is a time of great anxiety and financial distress, and your question regarding our support of an event such as the Northern Trust Open is legitimate.
"We deeply regret that some of the events associated with the Northern Trust Open have distracted from the positive nature of an event that has raised more than $50 million for charity since its inception."
As for repaying the $1.6 billion, which now is earning a 5% annual dividend yield for the Treasury, it isn't clear how easy that will be.
One key question is whether the government will require the bank to raise the same amount in private capital to replace the federal money, a task that could take some time.
Meanwhile SportsMediaWatch reports that the Northern Trust Open was the highest rated golf broadcast since the 2008 U.S. Open.
Highest rated golf events since Tiger Woods' injury.
3.3: Northern Trust Open, Final Round (Sun., 2/22/09, 3 PM CBS)
3.3: British Open, Final Round (Sun., 7/20/08, 8 AM ABC)
2.9: Ryder Cup, Singles Matches (Sun., 9/21/08, 12:30 PM NBC)
2.8: PGA Championship, Final Round (Sun., 8/10/08, 2:30 PM CBS)
2.4: British Open, Third Round (Sat., 7/19/08, 9 AM ABC)
2.4: Ryder Cup, Foursomes/Fourball Matches (Sat., 9/20/08, 9:30 AM NBC)
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
Copyright © 2022, Geoff Shackelford. All rights reserved.
