So many stories in golf - where to start?

What a crazy few weeks its been in the world of golf - a 14 year old making two cuts out of two, Tiger's Dropgate, Vijay's attempt to grow deer antlers and the ongoing dust up between the R&A and PGA Of America.

Let's start with Tianlang Guan making the cut at Augusta and then the Zurich Classic in New Orleans. There is no doubt that a whole new generation of golfers are coming out of China, which is good for the game around the world. Let's hope he is well managed by his parents and whoever is advising him and he doesn't turn in to the underachieving Michelle Wie.

Tiger's DropGate at Augusta and once again the rules of golf, (overly complicated and baffling at best) were the main story at Augusta...sorry Adam! It's clear now that the Rules Committee at ANGC dropped the ball and 2013 will be the last year with no walking referees in each group - the only major not to do so. Tiger just did what he was told and those that called for him to DQ himself were just plain wrong.

What on earth was Vijay thinking taking deer antler spray? As has been reported previously, there was an incident in Indonesia in 1985 where Vijay altered his scorecard during the event and this deer spray nonsense has once again brought that up and Vijay's proclivity to court controversy. The Tour, as always, dodged the bullet and found a way around fining or banning the Fijian.

The ongoing war of words between the R&A and The PGA of America took a turn for the worse at Augusta. Ted Bishop, the PGA President and Peter Dawson, Secretary of the R&A had words under the tree and Dawson left in a huff. The argument continues about the anchoring of the putter (which is really a lot of nonsense) when there are bigger challenges in the game and hopefully the R&A and USGA will announce their decision shortly so we can talk about something more important!

Three Big Golf Stories in 2012

It's the final day of 2012 and the perfect time to take a look back at some of the pivotal moments of the year. It's been a great year, particularly in the professional game, though the continuing decline in participation in the amateur game continues to be a cause for concern. And for all the talk of The First Tee and its $100 million spend, there is precious little to show for it.

1. The Rules of the Game. The governing bodies, The R&A and the USGA introduced the belly putter rule - well they talked about introducing it - the actual change comes in 3 years and just like the groove change a couple years ago, this will ultimately have little to no impact on the game. They continue to ignore the golf ball and the manufacturers have the upper hand as each year the golf ball travels farther and makes the great golf courses of the world relics from the past.

2. The Men's Pro Game. Continues to go from strength to strength. The best events of the year were once again non PGA Tour events, which must drive them crazy! European dominance of the 2 big Tours with Rors taking both money titles was a site to behold and McIlroy really stepped it up again this year. I think Tiger will add to his majors tally in 2013 and Rose will win his first.

3. Shots of the year. There were many contenders and here are my top 3:

First - Bubba's second shot in the playoff at The Masters. He was a long way into those right trees on #10 and somehow hooked the ball 50 yards with a wedge onto the green and set up an easy 2 putt par to win. Truly an amazing shot.

Second - Not one shot, but a series by Ian Poulter on Day 2 of the Ryder Cup that led to 5 birdies on the bounce to give Europe a glimmer of hope going into the singles on Sunday. The grit he showed was remarkable and alongside the memory of Seve as motivation, the Europeans once again proved that they relish Ryder Cup victory more than the Americans.

Third - It's still fun to see Louis Oosthuizen a couple hundred yards out from the 2nd green at Augusta National standing over his 4 iron. The ball seems to take forever to make it to the hole as it sweeps over the crest in the middle of the green. We all know where it is going, but it's great to watch again and again!

Happy New Year to you all and thanks for reading. 2013 should be a great year at the majors - the roster of Augusta National, Merion, Muirfield and Oak Hill will create drama around classic golf courses. Cheers to that!

It's The O Show...again

It's that time again, when the number of PGA Merchandise Shows you have been to is seen as some bizarre badge of honor. (this is my 20th show!) I have previously blogged about the Show and this year I'll tweet away @macduffgolf - I'll look at the good, bad and indifferent and let you know once my feet hit the floor.  I always like to blog the key questions not to ask at the show and I like to see how long it takes to achieve the set of 6 - normally about an hour!
Here they are again.
1. Are you having a good show? The answer is always, yes
2. When did you get here? The show starts on Thursday, so as always everyone gets into town on Wednesday!
3. When are you leaving? Always a strange one that one - didn't I just get here!
4. Where are you staying? Your chance for oneupmanship...just say The Peabody and move on.
....and new for 2011: perm any 2 of these:
5. When will Tiger regain his Number One spot in the much maligned World Rankings?
6. When will the R & A and USGA meet and finally change the 18th century rules that govern a 21st century game?
7. Just how many people will buy a white driver?
8. Who is buying Titleist?
As always it will be fun! Great to see old friends and see the innovations the industry has in store for us as we enter another golf season. And it's only 10 weeks 'til The Masters! 

Same Old Tiger...only worse

Tiger said he will change. His attitude, his interaction with the crowd, his outlook. And he has changed...he's even worse. More arrogant than ever and he has now taken to criticizing the golf course, the USGA, who knows maybe even the courtesy car driver? His attack on the USGA on Thursday about the greens being "awful" was childish and unnecessary. We didn't hear the moaning in 2000 when he was simply playing better on the same greens. They are still poa annua and on poa the ball bounces more than bent. All the players played the same golf course and the same greens, but only Tiger moaned like a 6 year old. Clearly there has been no change. All he needs to do is play better and quit moaning. No one wants to hear it.

Tiger Woods Clubs on eBay...not any more!

The eBay auction for a set of Tiger Woods irons and wedges that may or may not have been used during Woods' "Tiger Slam" in 2000-2001 has been shut down. Quite who asked for it to be shut down is not clear. Either eBay doesn't believe Steve Mata, the Titleist guy who has the clubs or Mark Steinberg of IMG asked them to take it down based on Tiger's comments about their authenticity. If indeed they are the real thing $250,000 strikes me as a great deal. Mr. Mata is apparently trying to get the auction up again but no word on what the BUY IT NOW will be!