Week In Review, November 5-11: Tiger The Architect

Last week's Tour Championship turned out to be a mini-fiasco for Tim Finchem, the PGA of America introduced Paul Azinger as Ryder Cup Captain on Monday, and guess who stole the spotlight this week? Tiger Woods of course.

But first, John Huggan kicked off the week with a column on Michael Bonallack, another of those former golf executives who suddenly wishes he had done more when he had the chance. Still, the former R&A man's complacency is nothing compared to the current regime, as Sean Murphy noted:  It doesn't matter what Michael Bonallack would do or not do. Who was head of the R&A during 2002 when the Joint Statement Of Principals were issued by the USGA and the R&A??? And what is that person going to do about it?

On news that Paul Azinger will make his 4 Captain's picks the week before the Ryder Cup, reader Bob S. wrote: Will the player's wife have enough time to get all primped for the event? I mean, you just don't go to SuperTarget and get an evening dress for the Grand Ball in 7-days.

And finally, the story that generated 43 posts: Tiger's bizarrely timed entry into the course design business. The news prompted a wide array of reactions.

CEB: He'll probably spend about as much time on his course designs as he has on the developing the sleek new 2007 Buick LeSabre

Pete the Luddite: I would not be surprised if his work turns out to be incredibly detailed and a great product. I can't see someone as driven and focused as Tiger putting out a prodcut that he would not agree should be associated with his name. Patience, folks. Time will tell.

Adam Clayman: IMG shoots...and scores.

Pollner: Did Nicklaus actually 'hang out his shingle' before some of the 'consulting' he did with Dye? It's interesting that Tiger doesn't even have a project yet. I would have thought that he would have gotten his toes a little wet by working with a known architect before launching his own firm.

Scott S: We can only hope that his love of the game extends to being willing to get down into the dirt every now and again.

Mark Ferguson: Umm, whereabouts around the world exactly has Woods been, to have absorbed all of this local design knowledge? Two oh-so-brief visits to Oz and one to NZ don't count much. It will be interesting if the Woods group gets a really great piece of land that lends itself to some great short fours, threes and fives for a par 69 or 70, but the owner wants 72 for 7300 yards - will he stand up to the owner and walk away?

Four-putt: Developers only care about the star-power of the design consultant's name. Translates directly into more revenue from memberships and real estate sales. So why not Tiger? Why should this surprise anyone? I only wonder what took him so long.

John Gorman: When it's all said and done, I'm actually a bit shocked by this announcement. But, maybe he'll do it right and be super-selective about the projects he accepts and only do one per year. I can't imagine that he'd pimp himself out for big fees and little hands-on work.

F.X.: I admire Tiger and hope this turns out well, but it was the last thing I expected to hear him turn his attention to so I am concerned that he's merely lending his name to an IMG collection of designers and course builders.