"The pep talk Stewart Cink gives himself over short putts is a mantra to live by"

Stewart Cink’s putter pump-fake is giving me anxiety. pic.twitter.com/rW0ftYoTfW

— Jason Sobel (@JasonSobelTAN) April 18, 2021

Michael Bamberger explores Stewart Cink’s approach to short putting after years of fits with the short stick.

While the unusual pump-fake got attention at the RBC Heritage rounds—particularly since they seemed to pick up as the round progressed—Cink’s calming efforts were of interest as well.

From Bamberger’s piece:

“You probably have heard me or see me mouth the words, ‘Mountaintop of trust.’ Or, ‘Mountaintop of peace.’ You know, little phrases like that. I’m really just saying it so I can hear myself and remind myself.

“It’s a path to success. Obviously, I want to make the putts. I don’t want to miss putts. But I believe that the way to keep myself the calmest and the way to keep my stroke doing what it’s supposed to do is through the process and staying calm and focusing on something I can control, as opposed to something you can’t control. If you depend on something you can’t control, you’re just going to end up frustrated, and I don’t want to be frustrated.”

Report: PGA Tour Creates Impact Bonus Fund Based On Players "Who Positively Move The Needle"

Just did another calendar check. Yep, it’s April 20th. Not the first.

Now, we’ve heard rumors of the “impact fund” to fend off players thinking of joining the Premier Golf League and a little extra bonus money for pimping product, sponsors or ad campaigns isn’t the end of the world.

But the $40 million program outlined by Golfweek’s Eamon Lynch and also creatively undercut in the same piece, seems like an odd solution to the issues raised by the PGL. Namely: none of this will make stars play more, deal with calendar oversaturation, or improve “the product” for sponsors, fans and TV. (Unless you come from a marketing mindset looking at spreadsheets instead of watching golf.)

As always I urge you to read the piece on the “Player Impact Program” for full context. But a few parts with limited snarky interruptions:

A PGA Tour spokesperson confirmed to Golfweek that the Player Impact Program began January 1 to “recognize and reward players who positively move the needle.” At the end of the year, a pool of $40 million will be distributed among 10 players, with the player deemed most valuable receiving $8 million.

The 10 beneficiaries will be determined based on their “Impact Score,” a number generated from six separate metrics that are designed to quantify that individual’s added value. 

The metrics are scoring average, starts, wins and maybe some fancy thing showing an increase in ratings or something right?

Cue agents calling Russian bots to figure out how to search the daylights out of their player 24/7…

(1) Their position on the season-ending FedEx Cup points list.**

**The story was updated to omit this: “While FedEx Cup rank was included among criterion in the document players received, the tour tells Golfweek that it will not be used as a metric to determine bonus payments.”

Well okay then! Let’s start at the new top…

(2) Their popularity in Google Search.

(3) Their Nielsen Brand Exposure rating, which places a value on the exposure a player delivers to sponsors though the minutes they are featured on broadcasts.

Alright, not bad. Go on…

(4) Their Q Rating, which measures the familiarity and appeal of a player’s brand.

Oh dear here comes more faux authenticity and “engagement”.

(5) Their MVP Index rating, which calibrates the value of the engagement a player drives across social and digital channels.

The e word!

(6) Their Meltwater Mentions, or the frequency with which a player generates coverage across a range of media platforms.

Meltwater Mentions. Is that, like, to tell me what the kids are watching on TikTok and Twitch instead of execs just relying on their kids to do that heavy lifting?

Heck, I’d rather see points for meltdowns on the course that generate fun memes. Maybe call them Horschel Hallucinations?

Anyway, Lynch reports there is (of course) an algorithm involved to convert scores into metrics and metrics into money. Basically Tiger and Rickie will see a check for years to come.

Lynch quotes Brooks Koepka, who loves the thing is just fine if Tiger leads it annually, and some journeyman who aren’t so happy. But, there are buts.

A PGA Tour spokesperson said that as part of the program the Tour is providing extra resources to help all players manage their social media and branding, including charitable foundations, and to maximize their off-the-course business opportunities.

I have a feeling those in the coveted demo are likely to get their calls to the Global Home will be returned sooner.

It’s believed the formula used to calculate Impact Scores will distinguish between positive and negative coverage a player generates. 

That should prevent anyone from robbing a bank or intentionally crashing their car to crack the top 10.

There is also the awkwardness of the MVP Index inclusion.

One metric being used—the MVP Index—is generated by a company founded by Jordan Spieth’s father, Shawn Spieth.

“It’s a substantial source of revenue,” one player agent said of the proposed bonuses, adding that the amounts involved are equivalent to another one or two sponsorship deals annually for some stars. “It’s a smart way to reward stars and it’s no time commitment from the players.”

And that last sentiment is exactly why this will be good for bank accounts and bad for the product. All of this will be secret too, so it’s not like we can follow along and wager on the outcome.

Horschel Apologies To Augusta Members For "The Fire Inside Me" Running Hot

I am and have always been a fiery competitor. Unfortunately, the fire inside me sometimes runs hot when I’m not getting the most out of my game. This leads to some instances where my conduct is not what I wish to show, especially as a role model to the younger generation. pic.twitter.com/YJfMqE6IS7

— Billy Horschel (@BillyHo_Golf) April 11, 2021

Being blocked by Billy Ho has it’s benefits. So I didn’t see this Sunday apology to the members of Augusta National from the AJGA National Chairman following his amped up and often embarrassing Masters antics.

To be fair, Horschel was in a featured group window both weekend days and there was more opportunity to see the club slamming, tossing and “Oh Billy” self talk. Undoubtedly, some of the uncontrollable rage Sunday might have come from Scott Van Pelt leading off the previous night’s Sportscenter with Horschel’s slide down the tributary of Rae’s Creek.

My favorite mix of replies to the Tweet:

"The World’s Best Golfers Disagree on How to Grip a Putter"

Here is a neat NY Times spread with Bill Pennington’s reporting and words, images by the award-winning Doug Mills from Augusta.

The subject matter is a definitive guide of sorts to the many oddball putting grips of the world.

Bryson DeChambeau’s is featured above and Pennington’s description for your sampling purposes. Check out the full piece here.

A college physics major whose early nickname on the PGA Tour was “the mad scientist,” DeChambeau was ranked 145th in putting on the PGA Tour until he converted to the arm-lock method and improved his putting ranking to 28th. It’s all about keeping the proper angles: DeChambeau turns his elbows outward in opposite directions and his wrists inward. Simple.

Bryson: "There's not much more to gain from [the] technology side of golf club manufacturing"

A multi-layered answer from Bryson DeChambeau’s pre-Masters press conference:

Q. Last year there was a lot of talk that, culturally, you were leading a revolution in golf, especially among young fans who are really energized by the way you swing the golf club and all those things. If so, what's the stage of that revolution now?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: I don't know the scope of that answer, either. You guys are giving me tough questions today.

I will say the Drive, Chip & Putt, what we saw with one of the kids imitating Kyle Berkshire, you're already starting to see it with kids. I've had numerous college kids DM me on Instagram and ask me, "How do I get stronger? How do I get faster?" So you're already starting to see it through -- from collegiate level all the way to junior golf level.

I think as time goes on, there's not much more to gain from technology side of golf club manufacturing, building. There are little things we can do, but where the massive gains will be is in athletes. Once you get somebody out here that's a 7-foot-tall human being and they are able to swing a golf club at 145 miles an hour effortlessly, that's when things get a little interesting. That's when I'm going to become obsolete potentially even.

Look, there's still a chipping aspect and there's still a putting aspect to it, but from a driving aspect, that's where the gains will be had, is with these athletes coming out in the future. And it won't stop. There's just no way it will stop.

I think it's good for the game, too. I don't think it's a bad thing you're bringing in and making it more inclusive to everybody when you're doing that. The athletes are the ones that are going to in the end move the needle in any sport you play, and I think that's pretty amazing.

One way it’ll stop? Injuries to the athletes trying to do things the body won’t enjoy over thousands of shots.

Rose Warns Of Shorter Careers Due To Distance Obsession

Talking to James Corrigan about this fall’s Justin Rose Telegraph Junior Golf Championship at Walton Heath, Rose said his back has improved ahead of the Masters and that he could have played the Players and Match Play.

The 2017 runner-up at Augusta is instead going in off a five week break and was asked by Corrigan what he’ll tell the juniors who qualify for his championship.

“If you look at my generation — say me, Adam Scott and Sergio [Garcia] — we are probably the first wave that’s grown up with the fitness and physio side and I kind of feel we're in the sweet spot, the way we approached the game in the last 20 years, focusing on our mobility and flexibility and looking at the big picture. And I think our best golf could well be in front of us, as weird as that is to say with us all in our 40s. 

“Whereas I feel like that the generation coming up behind us is pushing the limit much harder than than we did from a physical point of view and even though science is improving and we are understanding more and more about the body, eventually those aggressive motions have to take their impact.”

This wisdom should be appreciated by the various ageist Tour types…

"If it carries on like this and if everyone coming out here is looking for the power game, then maybe careers will get shorter and there won’t be players in their 40s still able to compete at the top of the sport. 

“Apart from the physical issues that might be suffered, I think that would be a huge shame. Watching Westy [Lee Westwood] and Bryson going at it at Bay Hill [last month] was great because you had a 48-year-old taking on a 27-year-old. That sort of battle between the generations is unique to golf. 

“Westy and what he has done in the last year and a half is a huge inspiration. It’s a great part of what I love about golf. Lee is playing with wisdom and experience and gratitude. They are powerful words, but there is something so noble about it.  That longevity and endless hunger should be celebrated and it is. That is my concern with this drive for length — the professional male game could lose all that.”

Yes but people in their forties are not what the advertisers want Justin! Please, think of the brands!

R.I.P. Bob Lewis Jr.

Bob Lewis Jr. (left) (John Mummert/USGA)

A couple of nice remembrances have been posted paying tribute to the former Walker Cup captain and lifelong amateur golfer Bob Lewis Jr.

Lewis was the 2021 recipient of the Bob Jones Award last week according to Ryan Herrington of GolfDigest.com, who noted this about his role in reinvigorating the Walker Cup:

Lewis, however, perfected a sales pitch honed over four decades of playing top-level amateur golf. Sure you could turn pro, but why forgo a chance to compete in the game’s biggest amateur event? Regardless of how many zeros might appear on your first few paychecks, you’ll never be able to buy the memories you’d be sacrificing. The Walker Cup is two days that can last a lifetime.

“I remember him saying how you’ve got 40 years to play professional golf, why can’t you wait a few more weeks to get started,” said Jeff Overton, an Indiana University All-American who was one of five graduating seniors Lewis convinced to remain amateurs through the summer of 2005 and who secured the winning point at Chicago G.C. “He sold me on what an experience it could really be.”

David Shefter at USGA.org offered this on Lewis’ playing career:

Bob Lewis Jr., the 2021 recipient of the USGA’s Bob Jones Award and a veteran of a combined six Walker Cup Matches as a competitor and captain, died on March 23 at the age of 76. A three-time USGA runner-up, including the 1980 U.S. Amateur, Lewis, who competed in 31 USGA championships, was one of the game’s best amateurs to have never claimed a USGA title. Nevertheless, his skill, integrity, competitiveness and sportsmanship made the Ohio native one of the most respected people in the amateur game.

Lewis, who received the Bob Jones Award on March 19, played on four victorious USA Walker Cup Teams – 1981, 1983, 1985 and 1987 – compiling an impressive 10-4 overall mark.

The USGA posted this tribute video:

Bob Lewis Jr., the 2021 Bob Jones Award recipient and a veteran of a combined six @WalkerCup Matches as a competitor and captain, died on March 23 at age 76.

His skill, integrity, competitiveness and sportsmanship made Lewis one of the most respected people in the amateur game.

— USGA (@USGA) March 24, 2021

Bryson's Agent On NFT Flop: "Golf is still a niche sport.”

Brian Wacker devotes a lot of space to recapping the NFT saga of Bryson DeChambeau and gets this intriguing blame from agent Brett Falkoff.

“Whether he made $2,000 or $20 million, he had no idea how this was going to play out,” Falkoff said. “What it shows [by the total] is that golf is still a niche sport.”

Golf was the problem here, not the crappy art and terrible rushed rollout. Right.

DeChambeau's NFT Art Sale Is Met With A Cool Reception

Bryson DeChambeau can relate to the great artists. They slave at the canvas only to be met with rejection. Again and again and again. But the great ones keep on creating non-fungible token friendly art because that’s what they were born do. And Bryson will no doubt get back on Photoshop, tweak some pixels, yell at someone, and learn from the one item that sold for a decent amount.

BD, I genuinely believe you can come back strong with his next set of NFT trading cards. Maybe only have your name once on the front of the card? I don’t know, just a thought. You’re the artist.

Anyway, his inaugural blockchain-based digital art went on sale for a mere 24 hours and failed to generate more than T24 money at this week’s WGC Dell Match Play. Three of 67 cards definitely sold, only a handful saw any meaningful bids, and there were accusations of impropriety. Or, at the very least, there was confusion about the Opensea’s rules.

The one non-fungible token that did produce a decent amount bidding into the evening hours was, not coincidentally, the “piece” of DeChambeau teeing off at Bay Hill and limited to one edition. The work included actual fungible elements with the artist’s work, aka “unlockable content”:

This NFT is limited to just one edition. This NFT commemorates Bryson’s raw power and the distance that comes along with it. With his newfound distance, Bryson can attempt shots that most cannot. In addition to winning the Distance NFT card, this auction’s highest bidder will be awarded the opportunity to meet Bryson at a US golf event (mutually agreed upon date and time) as well as incredible items including a personally autographed US Open flag, a custom set of Cobra golf clubs, $1,000 Bose credit, and six dozen Bridgestone Golf Balls. Must be holding this NFT on April 15, 2021 to redeem this offer.

The winning bidder does not have a screen name, going simply by: 0xf6d249f4785960502c10cbdb874f5993f09a9195

In case you run into the lucky winner on the street, those fluent in ethereum tell me the b’s are silent.

As for the next time artist Bryson dares to put his soul on the line, perhaps his reps will give the art time to breathe. When the work is this profound and layered, buyers need more time to look for deep meaning in those digitally blurred images before storing it on their blockchain.

For the sake of comparison, the NFL’s Rob Gronkowski offered similar trading card sets recently and did $1.6 million in revenue. Gronk’s auction on OpenSea ran four days instead of one.

There were also issues:

shady stuff going on with Bryson's NFTs.

3 have sold that only had 1 offer on them. the bidding was supposed to end in approx. 5 hours but sales were pushed through.

note: offers can be canceled at any time before bidding closes. pic.twitter.com/mP9Gp5yyvk

— Eric Patterson (@EPatGolf) March 23, 2021

Bryson - you collosally effed this drop up. It's bad for golf and bad for NFTs. Please take some time to critically think through how you can save face. Start by refunding those whose bids were pushed through prematurely. Other considerations 👇🏻 https://t.co/r3YmJavc0G

— TSF (@topshotfund) March 24, 2021

The artist will need to get himself together quickly. Less than 12 hours after the auction’s end, DeChambeau opens the WGC Dell Match Play against France’s Antoine Rozner, winner of this month’s Qatar Masters. Maybe Rozner will go all Jean Girard on him and ask how the auction went?

Faxon: Injury "Way More Serious Than Koepka's Letting On"

"I think this injury is way more serious than Koepka is letting on"@BradFaxon tells @MichaelBreed & @therealGFD that it may be a while before we see Brooks Koepka back on the golf course pic.twitter.com/sYU2gRYsPs

— SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio (@SiriusXMPGATOUR) March 23, 2021

Concerning words from Brad Faxon while talking on Michael Breed’s radio show:

“There was rumors around here, The Honda Classic was last week where I live, I was on the range with caddies and talking, and I have instructor friends, I think this injury is way more serious than Koepka’s letting on. I've heard, you know, patella injury, post collateral ligament, PCL. I've dealt with multiple ACL injuries, and I've heard rumors he's out for six to eight months. So I don't think the Masters has a chance. I'm not saying I want that to happen for Brooks in any reason. We need him on the TOUR. He's a hell of a player, but I think he's going to battle this one. PCL's a tough injury to get over. Couple that with the other parts of the knee that got injured and we may not know the true story … but I know we're pulling for him.”

Bryson DeChambeau Becomes The First Player To Offer NFT's For A Very Limited Time Offer

A week ago I explained to Quadrilateral subscribers why NFT’s are something to keep an eye on and here we are.

Bryson DeChambeau (who else) announced the first golf offering with simple images in a trading card format. (As I noted in my newsletter item, the world of highlights and who owns/gets what seems like a potentially lucrative and complicated situation.)

Bryson’s announcement was especially amazing since he Tweeted out the big news while playing the Seminole Pro-Member and just a day after what was a round of golf with Donald Trump, who proved to be no Tommy Bolt when it came to club slamming.

Anyway here is Bryson making the pitch to by a 73-card, five edition set, blockchain encrusted, fully protected, not sanctioned by the Franklin Mint, non-fungible token signed digitally by Bryson his ownself.

Bryson is throwing in a few goodies for the high bidder on a very special edition that will let you meet him, get some Bridgestones and other stuff. So at least one of these actually comes with something more tangible than a fancy jpg and will be the most interesting piece to watch.

He explains his “digital art” here:

🔥JUST LAUNCHED🔥 An all new NFT series to be able to share my favorite moments on the course with my fans. It’s an all new digital format for trading cards, with five unique designs, including a 1/1 card, all digitally signed by me.
Auction ends March 23! https://t.co/DTxhxBlMWk pic.twitter.com/NGi1Cd60tW

— Bryson DeChambeau (@b_dechambeau) March 22, 2021

If you’re in the market, here is the Open Sea link.

Time is running out to meet the minimum and secure your tokens due to the sale closing after just 24 hours.

**Before the sale barely got started, Club Pro Guy has jumped into the NFT world with a collection inspired by DeChambeau’s:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by ClubProGuy (@clubproguy)

Koepka: "Only one way to go from here"

Only 1 way to go from here ⬆️ pic.twitter.com/cE5EH9e4tS

— Brooks Koepka (@BKoepka) March 21, 2021

The update from Brooks Koepka on his knee took on a noir quality.

But other than black and white photos, obvious efforts at rehab and smart wearing of Nike, it’s not clear what this means for the Masters.

The knee was injured during an accident while he was “with family” and caused Koepka to miss The Players and now this week’s WGC Dell Match Play.

Golfweek’s Eamon Lynch confirmed with Koepka via text that he had surgery for a dislocated knee cap and ligament damage. Koepka is rehabbing somewhere in the west. He did not say how the injury happened. But it was with family so…

One Man's Pain Is Another Man's Gain, Files: Bryson Appreciates Hearing That Rory Regrets Pursuing Speed

I know he’s not taking pleasure in Rory McIlroy’s struggles but pride that a peer recognized the difficulty of “chasing speed” while still playing good golf as Bryson DeChambeau has done.

From DeChambeau’s third round press chat where he was asked about McIlroy’s comments from the day prior.

Q. I don't know if you heard what Rory said yesterday about he got into chasing distance because of what you've done. How does that make you feel?

BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: You know, I appreciate it, first off. The second comment I would have that -- I wasn't trying to influence anybody. I was just trying to play my own game and hit it as far as I possibly could. And I knew there was going to be an affect. I didn't know what it would be or who would be affected by it, but again, golf is a weird game. This journey that I'm on is not taken lightly. I've tried to figure out a bunch of different variables that you have to in order to hit it straight, hitting it really far. I knew that there would be some people that would try and some people it would potentially not work for them and some people it may help them. So I really don't know that, but I do appreciate Rory's comments, it's kind of a sentiment almost and something that keeps me going every day.

It’s a journey not to be taken lightly, that he has right!

Sir Nick: Rickie Comment Probably "Born Out Of A Little Bit Of Jealousy"

If you were on Twitter the last few days or you read today’s newsletter detailing the saga of Rickie and Sir Nick, you know the six-time major winner took some grief for a roasting.

The dreaded Tweet in question:

Good news is if he misses the Masters he can shoot another six commercials that week! 😳 https://t.co/kgGcmaZUJO

— Sir Nick Faldo (@NickFaldo006) March 2, 2021

Rather impressively he took full ownership of the Tweet and even admitted that some jealousy might be involved given Rickie’s blue chip endorsement roster.

Faldo recorded this apology, his explanation of British humor for those wondering and even managed a plug for Sqairz…

Hello friends..... pic.twitter.com/pAgfEe6lzs

— Sir Nick Faldo (@NickFaldo006) March 4, 2021

R.I.P. Bill Wright, Pioneering U.S. Amateur Pub Links Champion, Instructor

A couple of superbly handled stories are with your time on the life and times of Bill Wright, the first Black golfer to win a USGA championship when he captured the 1959 U.S. Amateur Public Links.

From David Shefter’s USGA.org remembrance:

“He felt so thrilled to be the best golfer that day, not the best Black golfer,” said Ceta Wright, who was married to Bill for 60 years, in an interview with the Seattle Times. “And, of course, afterward he realized that he was a barrier breaker and that was important to him. It was important to everyone, really, and especially in the Black community.”

Shortly after the trophy presentation, a Seattle journalist called Wright and asked what it was like to be the first African American to win a national championship. Wright, who was about to enter his senior year at Western Washington College, slammed the phone down.

Wright later told golf.com, “I wasn’t mad. I wanted to be Black. I wanted to be the winner. I wanted to be all those things. It just hit me that other people were thinking [about race]. I was just playing golf.”

Wright competed that week with only 12 clubs: two woods, nine irons and a putter. His opponent from Jacksonville, Fla., had been a professional for four years before regaining his amateur status and returning to the insurance business.

And from Richard Sandomir of the New York Times:

Winning the public links title earned Wright an exemption to play in the U.S. Amateur Championship later that year at the Broadmoor resort in Colorado Springs. When the white golfers who were to join him for a practice round refused to play with him, Chick Evans, who had won the Open in 1920, invited him to join his group. That group included Jack Nicklaus, then 19 years old, who would win the event.

“I have never forgotten it,” Wright once said of Evans’s gesture in an interview for usga.com. “He came over and made it so I could enjoy the most aristocratic hotel. It was just amazing.”

And this…

Because he could not afford to play golf professionally full time, Wright taught sixth grade in Los Angeles for nine years, then owned a car dealership in Pasadena and was the teaching pro at the Lakes at El Segundo, a nine-hole municipal golf course, from 1995 to 2017.

The USGA put together this wonderful video tribute to Wright:

In 1959, Bill Wright made golf history when he became the first black USGA champion, winning the U.S. Amateur Public Links. Learn more about Wright's inspiri...