Charles Blair tells it how it is....

"Viewing the monstrosities created on many modern golf courses which are a travesty on Nature, no golfer can but shudder for the soul of golf. It would seem that in this striving after ‘novelty and innovation,’ many builders of golf courses believe they are elevating the game. But what a sad contemplation!"

C.B. MACDONALD

What a wonderful quote from the great Charles Blair Macdonald, considered by many to be the father of American Golf Architecture. Is he talking about Ryder Cup venues, Celtic Manor or The Centenary Course at Gleneagles, the simply awful venue for the next RC in Europe. No, he died in 1939, but he sure saw it coming!

Tin Cup E-News Published Today - with Free Shipping Code

We published the October Tin Cup e-News today. You can read it here. Included is a coupon code that you can use for free shipping on 2 or more Tin Cups. The code is FREESTC and you can use it on the Tin Cup site to save $5.95. It's a great time to start the Christmas shopping!

The Ryder Cup: Drama until the end

Well, we reached the finish line. And what an end it was with the Cup eventually going to the Euros by a single point. Mahan was beside himself at the press conference, but he isn't to blame for the defeat - his was just one point amongst many that could have been won by the US. As for his duffed chip, I would defy anyone reading this to even hit the ball under that pressure. I have been at several Ryder Cups representing team members and they make it look easy, but their heart rates are double the norm and they still get it done 95% of the time...remarkable.
After PlaneGate, (when the US plane left 3 caddies short), RainSuitGate, (when Sun Mountain weren't able to produce a rain suit that lived up to its name), and finally BagGate, (when the Belding bags let in water) all will be forgiven after a superb ending to the match. It is interesting to note that the Europeans didn't seem to have any wardrobe malfunctions - only the Americans. I wonder why that was?
No doubt the TV viewing figures were decimated by the 3 a.m starts on cable stations, but it didn't stop me or I'm sure many others switching on the coffee maker early and then flipping through all sorts of nonsense before finding USA Network. Johnny Miller was on form and by that I mean upsetting as many people as possible, including his suggestion that if Phil couldn't chip and putt he would play like a SoCal used car salesman - Phil was not amused and his win today was one in the eye for Johnny.
Watching golf in the US still requires an inordinate amount of patience after decades of watching golf on the BBC with no ads. The producers here have their favorites, like Tiger and they insist on showing more putting than actual golf shots, which is painful. Also, with an ad break seemingly every 5 minutes, it's tough to get into the flow of the game. Golf shot, putt, putt, ad, putt, putt, ad is not the way to watch our great game.
An epic 3 day event forcibly spread over 4 days with so many great story lines and wonderful golf. We couldn't have wished for more.

Calling George Costanza...white courtesy phone

Do you remember when George Costanza had the brilliant idea to outfits the Yankees in cotton uniforms? (if you don't then you are either very young or missed one of the classic Seinfeld episodes) Well, Captain Pavin and The Captainess followed George's lead and made a pretty awful decision with their choice of baseball style rain suits made by Sun Mountain. Sun Mountain make great golf bags...Rainsuits, not so much.
So, not only are the SM suits ugly, they don't do the one thing that a rain suit needs to do - keep out the rain! The picture show the new ProQuip jacket that the PGA of America bought from the Merchandise Tent as a replacement. I really like the European Flag on the sleeve, as I'm sure will the US team. The weather continues to rain on the Welsh Tourism Board's parade, which is a real shame, but at least it has provided a great story.

Woods is Missing!

Always the man to put the "i" in team, Tiger seems to have something missing on his rain jacket. Does his Nike contract preclude this? What do the other players think about this? I'm sure they are thrilled that he gets the preferential tailoring treatment. Answers on a postcard please...

Another sunny day in Wales

Nick Faldo in his inappropriate closing remarks at the last Ryder Cup made the Welsh Tourism Board apoplectic. He said "Don't forget your waterproofs" and this after the WTB had spent millions securing the event. Well, the politically incorrect Mr. Faldo could prove to be correct as the weather forecast from Friday is rain every day. That said the weather forecast is about as reliable as the US local forecast, so we'll see.

Quite why the US team sought to block out the sun on a dreary Welsh day on their arrival is unclear. Five of the team came in disguise with their sunglasses firmly on. Perhaps Captain Pavin didn't see them with their "shields up" as they were standing behind him. We thought he was in charge and yet he allows this to happen for the official arrival. Oh, yes, he has banned tweeting, but wearing sunglasses on a dull grey Welsh day made his team appear aloof and it's only Day 1.

Looks good on you though!

That's the worst jacket I ever saw....looks good on you though! It seemed the most appropriate line to steal from Caddyshack having seen these simply awful jackets the US team may be forced to wear should the weather in Wales turn nasty. What was Captain Corey thinking or was his arm twisted by The Captainess? I, for one, can't wait to see if Tiger and Phil put these on. Along with the purple cardigan featuring large red logo the US team is going to make quite a sight. Calling Marty Hackel...white courtesy phone!

Has the Ryder Cup jumped the Shark?

Fonzie was the first to do it, TV comedy Friends did it and now the Ryder Cup has joined the illustrious roll call of shark jumpers. There are not one, but two instances this week that conclusively prove that the governing bodies of the event have lost the plot.

The first, reported by the vigilant Stephanie Wie is that the wives of the players have been given a $7,500 dress allowance for the opening Gala Night dinner. No, that's not for the whole team, that's each. Just another great example of how out of touch the governing bodies are with the state of the game. Twenty-four millionaires are given a total of $180,000 for dresses - in Wales that would buy a row of houses, not a row of sequins!

I'm not quite sure what seed entrepreneur, Samuel Ryder would make of such an outrageous waste of money. I suspect he was a more frugal man. When he came up with the simple idea for The Ryder Cup in 1927 it was a match. Just a match between Great Britain & Ireland and the United States of America. Professional golfers playing a good course in a team format designed to find the best twelve. No wives, no hoopla, just the players and their caddies walking down the fairways. And now look at it, $7,500 dresses for the wives when the economy is in dire straights, 4 vice captains on each team, inferior golf courses and more hangers on than a U2 concert.

I wish we could get back to Mr. Ryder's original idea of 12 v. 12. I know it's not going to happen and that's a shame. The money generated by the event supports European Tour golf (when in Europe) and the PGA of America (when in the US) but one can look back and dream of a purer time in the game when the game was more important than the haute couture.

Of course another week couldn't go by without a Monty story. This time he is reported to have requested that the European Team room be soundproofed. The possibility of an American overhearing his inspirational nightly team talk is just too much for him and so, as above, more money wasted on a ludicrous request. Just who is saying "yes" to this request...we deserve to know. And while you are rebuilding the room please ensure that all the green M&Ms are removed from the European team room (they deserve yet another Spinal Tap moment)

Note - Surely, the $7,500 dress allowance will be spun by the time you read this...either in charitable donations or disappearing altogether

FedEx Cup - The Reset Explainer

You simply cannot make this stuff up. The Tour's website has a 750 word explanation of how the "points reset" works. More complicated than any set of "Play Offs " in any sport anywhere in the world and roundly criticized by the players and confusing all who watch such things and absolutely guaranteeing that players that have no rightful place in the Majors actually qualify for the Majors. Fear not, the FedEx deal is up in 2012 and word is they are not happy and heaven knows who would step into their shoes on this confusing mess. Read it Here.

Tour Championship sans Tiger

No Tiger at the Tour Championship repeating his non-kissing of the Trophy. ( I can't bring myself to capitalizing the word Tour!) I guess that isn't too much of a surprise after his, er, slow start to the season, but it's still a big disappointment for the Ponte Vedra VPs. The next time the world sees TW is at the Ryder Cup, where for some reason everyone seems to think the Euros will win hands down. Well, that's not going to happen and the design of the event is such that it always comes down to the final day singles. Like Gentle Ben famously said "I've got a good  feeling!"

The FedEx Play Off system still favors those who play well for 3 weeks, rather than those who play well for the season and the expected moaning from the players who didn't make it is audible. Notables missing the East Lake event include Ryder Cuppers Cink, Fowler and McIlroy. Read their comments here.