Golf’s Holy War: The Battle for the Soul of a Game in an Age of Science, by Brett Cyrgalis ⭐️⭐️⭐️☆☆

I had been hearing about this book for over a year, via author Brett Cyrgalis’ dropped hints on social media, before I was able to get my hands on an advance copy, and I was eager to read it. By the time I turned the final page, I was sorry to have found that the reality had not lived up to my level of anticipation.

Golf’s Holy War: The Battle for the Soul of a Game in an Age of Science examines the yin and yang, so to speak, of how people approach the game of golf. The book opens by examining two well-known books about the game which are perfect diametric opposites of each other: Homer Kelley’s The Golfing Machine, a self-published opus of such diabolical complexity that it is either revered as the ultimate technical manual on the golf swing or decried as an impenetrable morass of swing-position micro-management and technical jargon; and Golf in the Kingdom, Michael Murphy’s guidebook to the mystical side of golf, a navel-gazing volume that is much revered by the members of the “be-the-ball” school of golf.

That first chapter reflects author Brett Cyrgalis’ general approach throughout the book, contrasting the softer side of the game, in many aspects—teaching the swing, playing the game, and even golf course design—with the technical, hard numbers approach that has gained so much traction in the age of Trackman and video analysis.

Cyrgalis traveled far and wide, and interviewed dozens of people—including the old golf mystic himself, Michael Murphy—in the process of researching this book; it seems that there was no one with any kind of a hand in the game from the standpoint of teaching or coaching that he didn’t interview or quote—some very well-known, like Butch Harmon, Dave Leadbetter, Sean Foley, and Hank Haney, and others who are less well-known except to the hard-core cognoscenti, those seekers of deeper truths and a lower handicap who aren’t satisfied with the monthly “How to Fix Your Slice” articles that are such a staple of the mainstream golf publications.

The book explores Michael Murphy’s detour into mysticism after a solid farm-country upbringing in our mutual hometown of Salinas, California, and presents more than we really needed to know (in a book about golf, at least…) about the founding of Murphy’s Esalen Institute. An exploration of Homer Kelley’s background in that ultimate example of theological dichotomy, the Church of Christ, Scientist (aka “Christian Science”) takes the reader down what seemed to me to be an unnecessary side road in the chapter “Golf and Religion”.

The hard-numbers side of the current state of the game is also explored, as Cyrgalis delves into the origin and development of the now-ubiquitous Trackman system, Professor Mark Broadies’ statistical “Strokes-Gained” results-analysis technique, and the blossoming of the hard-science, analysis-intensive golf institutes such as the Titleist Performance Institute and Taylormade’s Kingdom.

There is also quite a number of pages devoted to, you guessed it— Tiger Woods. I’m writing this review after some six weeks of pandemic shelter-in-place that produced a level of Tiger-hysteria over the cancelling of the 2020 Masters tournament and the wiping-out of Woods’ chance at a (highly unlikely, in my opinion) defense of his title that was second only to that which immediately followed his 2009 Thanksgiving evening run-in with his wife, a nine-iron, and a fire hydrant, in that order. The obligatory if-you-want-to-sell-a-golf-book chapter on Woods tested my patience, reiterating material that has been covered ad nauseum over the last decade or so, and serving mainly as a springboard into a look at the career of one of Tiger’s more controversial coaching associates, a pot-smoking Canadian named Sean Foley.

The book follows, in large part, the modern journalistic practice of reporting both sides of an issue impartially and without judgement, when in reality it is generally true that while there are often two (or more) sides to a story, usually only one of them is right. Therein lies its major weakness.

By exploring the far reaches of both ends of the range of approaches to the game of golf, without judgement, Cyrgalis does the reader a disservice, I think. Homer Kelley’s minutia-laden tome goes too far in one direction, and Michael Murphy’s book, which I found too ridiculous to even finish, goes too far in the other—and those are just the two most familiar examples—but we are not presented with any examples of more balanced approaches to the game which live in the fat middle portion of the bell curve, where actual success lives.

By meandering down so many side avenues and offering it all up with little in the way of examination, Cyrgalis presents a broad-spectrum look at how the game of golf is approached by the amazingly varied cross-section of humanity who play the game, but without a grounded judgement as to what really works.

It could be argued, I suppose, that golf doesn’t lend itself to that approach. The landscapes over which it is played, both physical and mental, are so varied, and there are so many, possibly infinite, paths that will arrive at the same destination—that is, getting the ball into the hole—that almost any path is legitimate.

Ultimately, the book’s broad-spectrum approach, while largely unsatisfactory to me, reveals something that just about anyone who has played the game with any level of introspection has realized: that golf is an unknowable, unconquerable game. Which is, I guess, why we love it.

The Second Life of Tiger Woods, by Michael Bamberger ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

When one of the finest golf writers working today has a new book out, it pays to take notice. Michael Bamberger, formerly of Sports Illustrated and lately writing for Golf.com is, without a doubt, one of the best to carry a GWAA card in recent years, and his new book, The Second Life of Tiger Woods, certainly lives up to expectations.

Tiger Woods has lived in the spotlight (and under a microscope) nearly all of his life, and certainly since exploding onto the professional golf scene in 1997 after a dominating amateur career. There have been times when his life didn’t hold up to close scrutiny, in particular the several years beginning Thanksgiving evening 2009, when the news of his long-rumored infidelities came to light in blockbuster fashion. Through it all, however, his fans and much of the sports media world have clung to every bit of Tiger news that came to light, good and bad.

That being the case, The Second Life of Tiger Woods is going to be flying off of bookstore shelves, both real and virtual, and Michael Bamberger will be richly rewarded for the countless hours he must have put into researching and writing this book. The book’s release was timed to coincide with the opening of play at the 2020 Masters Tournament, when Tiger would be defending his 2019 win—a tournament that wasn’t played due to the nationwide lockdown that resulted from the coronavirus pandemic. The cancellation of Tiger’s defense of his fifth Masters title did nothing to damp the fervor of his fans, or the golf media, however; indeed, it raised it to a fever pitch, and Bamberger’s publishers may well find themselves thanking their lucky stars for the lockdown.

At this point I need to come straight out and say that I am no fan of Tiger Woods. While there is no denying his skill, and his dominance when he was both healthy (physically and mentally) and playing well, I have never cared for his attitude, and his demeanor either on or off the course. I bring this up for two reasons: 1) despite my dislike for the man who is the subject of this book, his position in the game combined with my admiration for the work of the author compelled me to read it, and 2) the author’s attitude toward the subject plays an important role in the book.

The tone of the book ranges from near-fanboyish admiration (when recounting Woods’ 2019 Master win) to tut-tutting admonishment (when listing the several instances of rule-bending and breaking which featured in the period of his “comeback”), but one constant factor is the thorough, in-depth investigative reporting that backs up the narrative.

Bamberger spent time with and interviewed a wide range of people who have or had some involvement in the events covered in the book—from the Jupiter, Florida law-enforcement personnel who were involved in Woods’ Memorial Day 2017 arrest for DUI, to the assorted cast of sordid low-lifes who fed his PED habit over the years.

The topics covered include a look back at Woods’ upbringing, at his parents (both pretty hard cases in their own ways) and the manner in which his early-life experiences manifested themselves in his golf career and personal life. The things he learned, and reports, and the conclusions he draws may not suit Tiger’s fawning fans, but there is no contesting the professionalism of his approach.

Woods has always been known for a dismissive attitude toward other people in his life, even those who are close to him, as manifested by the diminutive nicknames he assigns to other—“Steiny”, for his agent, Mark Steinberg; “Stevie”, for former caddie Steve Williams (a tough Kiwi who was probably never called “Stevie” by anyone but Woods, even as a child); “Joey” for current caddie Joe LaCava—and even “Bernie” for veteran pro and former Masters Champion Bernhard Langer.

He is also known for having a low tolerance for those, even members of his inner circle, who try to draw some part of the spotlight to themselves—just ask his former swing gurus Butch Harmon, Hank Haney, and Sean Foley; caddies Steve Williams and Mike “Fluff” Cowan; or former girlfriend Lindsey Vonn. Even his father, Earl, was cold-shouldered at times, early in Woods’ career when he pushed his face and words too close the forefront.

Woods has always had a famously contentious relationship with the golf media. When he was only fourteen he asked the sportswriter Jaime Diaz, “Why do they have to know everything?”,  and early in his rise through the professional ranks an interview request from Dan Jenkins—the dean of American golf writers, and a man who got into the Golf Hall of Fame on the strength of his writing before Woods got there by dint of his playing record—was dismissed, through Woods’ agent, with a terse, “There’s nothing in it for us.”

In the wake of several years of scandals and headlines that probably caused the intensely private Woods a lot of mental anguish that he wouldn’t admit to (and which, if I may say so, he brought on himself), he has thawed slightly in his attitude toward the media. Woods may have finally, as Bamberger put it, “…started to see sportswriters for what we are; representatives of the fans who pay for [his] jet fuel and everything else…”. That being said, you will not find a direct quote from Woods, given for this book, in the text.

Whatever your feelings about Woods are, the book is an interesting read. Michael Bamberger is a keen and well-connected observer of the world of golf, and he brings a depth of knowledge and understanding to the subject that is virtually unparalleled. As a chronicle of a significant (in its way) period of time in the career of one of the most recognizable professional athletes of the 20th century, The Second Life of Tiger Woods is a noteworthy addition to the history of the game of golf, and will find an audience across a wide range of the fans of the game.

If You Can’t Play Golf, Read About It – A Recommended-Reading List of Golf-Related Books

In this time of shelter-in-place and social distancing, with people turning to indoor pursuits as their chosen outdoor pursuits are, largely, curtailed for the duration of the health emergency, “Top 10” lists of movies to TV shows to watch, or books to read, are flourishing. Since I publish two blogs, one on golf and another on books, what is more appropriate than for me to publish a golf-book reading list of my own? Here then, in no particular order, is my personal rundown of golf books that I have found to be especially rewarding to read, with a brief description of each.

Let’s start with the man who started it all for me, Dan Jenkins:

Dead Solid Perfect, by Dan Jenkins
This is the book that was my introduction to Dan Jenkins’ work, and to golf writing in general. Dead Solid Perfect was recommended to me by the father of a girl I was dating, years ago, with this caveat, “Don’t read it anywhere where laughing out loud will bother other people.” I went out and bought a copy, and read it straight through over a weekend. It lived up to its billing.

A bit raunchy in parts (though not a patch on Jenkins’ big football-based bestseller, Semi-Tough), and far from politically correct at any time, DSP relates the adventures of Fort Worth-based pro golfer Kenny Lee Puckett—growing up in Fort Worth, pursuing life and love on the pro golf circuit, and making a run at the U.S. Open title. (If the name sounds familiar, Semi-Tough’s pro football player protagonist Billy Clyde Puckett is Kenny Lee’s nephew.)

DSP is the genre-defining grandaddy of all golf novels; no golf-reading list can be considered complete if it does not include this book.

More by Dan Jenkins:

NOVELS
The Money-Whipped Steer-Job Three-Jack Give-Up Artist: Winner by two lengths for the “longest title in my bookcase” prize, this book is kind of Dead Solid Perfect, Pt II. Published in 2001, just shy of 40 years after the publication of Dead Solid Perfect, Jenkins revisits familiar territory with another Fort Worth-based pro golfer, Bobby Joe Grooves, who is on a quest for a spot on the U.S. Ryder Cup squad.

Slim and None: Bobby Joe Grooves is back in this 2005 sequel, with a new girl friend, and a new quest—a major championship title and membership in an exclusive club: major winners aged 44 and over.

The Franchise Babe: Jenkins switches gears in this 2008 novel—instead of a pro golfer from Fort Worth, his protagonist is a golf writer from Fort Worth who has jumped the fence from the PGA Tour to cover an up-and-coming young LPGA star. Predictable, maybe; but also funny in Dan’s resolutely non-PC manner. Look for a cameo appearance by a thinly disguised Ron Sirak, a good friend of Dan’s who has worked the LPGA beat for years.

NON-FICTION
The Dogged Victims of Inexorable Fate: The classic, must-read collection of golf essays, some real, some fictional. Dan’s second book, written in 1970, contains the single best comic essay on golf ever written, “The Glory Game”.

Fairways and Greens: This 1994 collection of Dan’s writing is divided into two sections: essays on the (then) current-day game, and a “nostalgia” section, heavy on the Hogan (of course!) Also contains a reprint of “The Glory Game” re-titled as “The Glory Game at Goat Hills”.

Unplayable Lies: Another collection of essays, published in 2015. Half existing works that had appeared previously in Golf Digest or Golf World (in some cases slightly updated or reworked for the book), the other half new work, written specifically for this book.

Jenkins at the Majors: Another collection of Dan’s work, 94 of the brilliant, written-on-deadline pieces on golf’s majors, written for the Fort Worth Press, Dallas Times Herald, Sports Illustrated, and Golf Digest that he turned in during his career as a newspaperman and magazine writer—during which he covered 232 majors—arranged chronologically and chosen for the historical significance of the particular event.

Mr Hogan, The Man I Knew, by Kris Tschetter
This 2010 volume by LPGA player Kris Tschetter is unique in the Hogan bibliography, relating as it does how South Dakota-native Tschetter became acquainted with Hogan while she was on the golf team at Texas Christian University in Forth Worth. She and her older brother, Mike, who also played golf for TCU, were gifted junior memberships at Shady Oaks Golf Club—Hogan’s golf hangout in his retirement years—by their parents. Hogan noticed Kris for her diligent practice sessions (one of his trademarks) and they became sometime practice partners. Kris and Mr Hogan remained close for the remainder of his life, and her stories of their time together and his surrogate-grandfather role in her life are heart-warming and genuine.

I haven’t conducted a formal count, but Ben Hogan and Arnold Palmer have to be running neck-and-neck in the number of books that have been written about them, Palmer because he was so open and charismatic, and Hogan because he was pretty much the opposite (or at least perceived that way), so this book is important for the depiction of a side of Ben Hogan that few knew existed.

For more on Ben Hogan, I recommend two fine (though very different) biographies, Hogan, by Curt Sampson, and Ben Hogan: An American Life, by James Dodson; also Grown at Glen Garden, by Jeff Miller, about Hogan, Byron Nelson and the Fort Worth golf course where they both grew into the game; and Miracle at Merion, by David Barrett, which relates the story of Hogan’s comeback from a near-fatal 1949 automobile collision, leading to the much-lauded 1950 U.S. Open victory at Merion Golf Club, near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Men in Green, by Michael Bamberger

This 2015 book by (now-former) Sports Illustrated writer Bamberger is a delightful road trip around the United States to connect with some legends of the game of golf, both well-known and little-known/unknown. The names involved run the gamut from Arnold Palmer to Dolphus Hull. It is full of Bamberger’s wry observations and enlivened by his deep knowledge of and love for the game of golf. (The talks he had with Arnold Palmer are themselves worth the price of the book.)

More by Michael Bamberger: 

The Green Road Home: Bamberger’s first book, published in 1986, is about the six months he spent caddying in the PGA Tour the previous year, at the age of 24. Twenty-three tournaments, including the British Open and the PGA Championship. Caddying for a disparate array of players such as Al Geiberger, George Archer, Brad Faxon, and Steve Elkington. It is a great look at a bygone time in pro golf, and the beginning of the career of one of the best writers in the game of golf today.

To The Linksland: Six years after The Green Road Home, Bamberger and his adventurous and very understanding wife, Christine, left their office jobs—he a reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer, she a New York ad executive—to see the other side of golf: Scotland, the Continent, and the European Tour. It is an adventurous travelogue, and a journey to the heart and soul of the most soulful game in the world.

This Golfing Life: A stirring retrospective, published in 2005, looking back at twenty years in golf, from caddying in his twenties to reporting for the Philadelphia Inquirer, where he covered golf part-time, before moving on (and up) to Sports Illustrated.

Bud, Sweat, and Tees, by Alan Shipnuck

Former Sports Illustrated writer, now wielding a pen for Golf.com, my fellow Salinas, California native Shipnuck can always be counted on to find a quirky story among the goings-on in the world of professional golf. This book, which follows PGA Tour pro Rich Beem’s early career, from his 1999 rookie season to his early (and ultimate) peak as the 2002 PGA Championship winner, is a great example. It’s a crazy ride from Beem’s stint as a minimum wage cellphone salesman, to hooking into the wilder side of life on the PGA Tour accompanied by his equally hard-living caddie Steve Duplantis.

More by Alan Shipnuck:

Swinging From My Heels – Shipnuck collaborated with San Jose, California native Christina Kim on this inside look at the 2009 LPGA Tour. Kim, the youngest LPGA player in history to reach one million dollars in career earnings—back when a million bucks was still a lot of money—has never been one to pull a punch, and this no-holds-look at a season on the distaff Tour raised some eyebrows when it came out in 2010.

The Battle for Augusta National: Hootie, Martha, and the Masters of the Universe – The first book by Shipnuck explored the Hootie Johnson/Martha Burke controversy that affected the 2003 Masters golf tournament.

The Swinger—A collaboration with (then-)fellow SI scribe Michael Bamberger, this roman-á-clef novel is thinly-disguised run at the infamous trials and tribulations of Tiger Woods.

The Greatest Game Ever Played, by Mark Frost

The inspiring story of Francis Ouimet, the 21-year-old American amateur golfer who defeated two titans of golf, England’s Harry Vardon and Ted Ray, to take the 1913 U.S. Open title. The account of how Ouimet, accompanied by his 10-year-old caddie, Eddie Lowery, took down these two giants of the game in a nerve-wracking playoff at The Country Club, in Brookline, Massachusetts, is a sports story for the ages.

More by Mark Frost:

The Grand Slam: Bobby Jones, America, and the Story of Golf – No name in American golf resonates more strongly throughout the game than that of Bobby Jones. Frost delves deeply into the life of this American sporting icon in this well-received 2004 biography.

The Match: The Day the Game of Golf Changed Forever – Though I have always felt that the event doesn’t live up to the billing of the subtitle, this book about a private match at Cypress Point Golf Club in 1956 between two of the top professional golfers of the era, Ben Hogan and Sam Snead, and two top local amateurs, Ken Venturi and Harvie Ward, is an engrossing read, with plenty of infill back-story on the participants, as well as the instigators of this fabled confrontation, San Francisco auto dealer and amateur golf supporter Eddie Lowery (yes, that Eddie Lowery) and Oklahoma oil and cattle millionaire George Coleman.

A Course Called Ireland, by Tom Coyne

An eccentric golf-centric travelogue, in which Coyne, an associate professor of English at a small Midwestern college, explores his Irish heritage by walking around the perimeter of Ireland in sixteen weeks, playing every golf course that he comes across (60, eventually). He doesn’t miss many pubs along the way, either.

More from Tom Coyne:

A Course Called Scotland – Coyne’s fourth book, this 2018 volume is something of a followup to his 2009’s A Course Called Ireland. Also a golf-centric travelogue, this time around Coyne plays all of the links courses in Scotland (and a few notable ones in England and Wales) on his way to an attempt to qualify for the Open Championship at Bruntsfield Links in Edinburgh.

Paper Tiger – Coyne’s first “golf quest” book, this 2006 effort is about a year spent attempting to qualify for the PGA Tour. Funny and poignant by turns, it is an exploration of a secret desire harbored by many good-but-not-quite-good-enough recreational golfers.

A Gentleman’s Game – Coyne’s first book, and only novel, about a talented high school golfer and his clashes with his father, a self-made businessman who is envious of his son’s talent and the entry it gives the boy into the rarified social circles of the local country club.

Arnie, Seve, and a Fleck of Golf History, by Bill Fields

Subtitled Heroes, Underdogs, Courses, and Championships, this 2011 volume by Bill Fields, a former senior editor at Golf World magazine, a compendium of his columns from a 30-year golf-writing career, is a condensed master course in “How to write about golf”. The best golf writing isn’t about the score or who won, or what clubs they used—it’s about the people in the game, winners or also-rans, and their journeys to achievement. Fields is a master at identifying and illuminating the essence of the story he’s telling, with tremendous empathy for the people involved, and he has a poetic flair for a well-turned phrase that makes his prose a joy to read.

The Longest Shot—Jack Fleck, Ben Hogan, and Pro Golf’s Greatest Upset at the 1955 U.S. Open, by Neil Sagebiel
I had the pleasure of meeting author Neil Sagebiel at the 2012 U.S. Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco. I was there covering the event for my then-media outlet, Examiner.com, and Neil was there for this book. The victory, in an 18-hole playoff, that unknown muni-course pro Jack Fleck scored over Ben Hogan, one of the brightest stars in golf’s firmament at the time, was truthfully one of the biggest upsets in golf history. Sagebiel delves deeply into the background of Fleck, who was something of a character, and a minor player of the sort who inhabited the fringes of the professional game in those days. It is a well-balanced look at a great moment in sports history, and the only one that I have read which does not approach the story from the standpoint of “Wouldn’t it have been better if Hogan had won?”

Also from Neil Sagebiel:

Draw in the Dunes–The 1969 Ryder Cup and the Finish That Shocked the World. Just about any golf fan is aware of the finish of the 1969 Ryder Cup, when Jack Nicklaus conceded a putt to Britain’s Tony Jacklin – a concession that resulted in the first tie in the history of the competition (while allowing the U.S. squad, as defending champions, to keep the cup.) The reactions at the time ranged the gamut, from U.S. Captain Sam Snead’s self-righteous indignation to frank relief on the part of many on the GBI squad. In this book Neil brought a significant moment in golf history to life, combining the results of exhaustive research and extensive interviews with his prodigious storytelling talent to paint a complete, and very satisfying portrait of a complex series of events. 

The Story of Golf in Fifty Holes, by Tony Dear
Tony Dear, a British golf writer living in the Seattle area, explores the history of golf in unique fashion in this 2015 book, ticking off fifty significant events in the history of the game, in chronological order, by looking at the golf holes where they happened. I have met and played golf with Tony on a couple of occasions, and found him to be a knowledgeable and erudite scholar of the game, qualities which this book puts on display superbly. I think that any golf fan with an interest in the history of the game will find this book to be very interesting (though I do hope that Tony will revise his selection for #50 if he ever publishes an updated edition.)

Pebble Beach and the Forgotten Men, by Jerry Stewart

We have all heard the story of Phil Mickelson’s maternal grandfather, Al Santos, a poor kid growing up in Monterey, California, son of a Portuguese fisherman, who at age 13 became one of the first caddies at the newly opened Pebble Beach Golf Links. Well, in this 2005 book by Jerry Stewart, then a sportswriter for the Monterey County Herald (and now Communications Manager for the Northern California Golf Association) you will read some great stories about, and told by, many of the other caddies – a colorful bunch, to be sure – that have paced the fairways and greens of Pebble Beach over the years.

Jerry is another local guy, born and raised in Salinas like myself, and a good friend whom I first met in the media center for the Champions Tour’s First Tee Championship tournament at Pebble Beach. In Pebble Beach and the Forgotten Men he has put together a great collection of the kind of stories that are usually heard over libations in the Men’s Grill after a round of golf. It’s a fun read for anyone who has been fascinated by the long history of one of America’s greatest golf courses, and a lot cheaper than buying a round of drinks for the bar.

Golf in the time of COVID-19

Bay Area courses shuttered by Health Dept order
The coronavirus shelter-in-place order for six Bay Area counties – Marin, Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Alameda, and Santa Clara – that was announced Monday, 16 March (with Sonoma County added the next day) has thrown Bay Area residents and business owners into a tizzy, and golfers and golf course operators are no exception.

The order allows certain essential businesses to remain open: healthcare, grocery stores, gas stations, etc.; those that fall outside of that definition are allowed to maintain “Minimum Basic Operations” (provided that employees comply with Social Distancing Requirements), which is defined as “The minimum necessary activities to maintain the value of the business's inventory, ensure security, process payroll and employee benefits, or for related functions.”

Most, if not all, businesses have some level of “minimum necessary activities” but golf courses have another problem to worry about: grass.

Turf maintenance is the biggest ongoing operational task at a golf course. Tee boxes, fairways, greens, and rough all require watering, mowing, and other tending, each with its own set of requirements. It’s an ongoing job which doesn’t stop just because no one is playing golf—and now they will have to do it with no money coming in to fund it.

I reached out to some golf course operators in the Bay Area to get a feel for what they are facing:

According to Jay Neunsinger, maintenance supervisor at Boundary Oaks Golf Course in Walnut Creek, in order to keep the course in shape for a resumption of play his crew have to mow greens three times/week; tees, collars. and approaches twice a week, fairways once a week and rough every 10 to 14 days. With this minimum maintenance schedule in place his “crew” consists of himself, his assistant, and one mechanic, working four to eight hours per day.

Tom Bugbee of CourseCo, a golf-course management company with 38 courses in six states, including over a dozen in the Bay Area, echoed this minimum maintenance schedule (Boundary Oaks is a CourseCo property), and said that their courses are using only about 20% of their usual maintenance staff while “shelter-in-place” is in effect.

Even with this ongoing minimum maintenance schedule, golfers can expect courses to need two to three days to get back up to speed once the shelter-in-place order is lifted and courses are given the go-ahead to reopen.

The flip side of the reduced maintenance schedule is reduced (or non-existent) income. While private clubs will generally still have dues coming in, public courses are taking a huge hit. The lack of green fees and the income from weddings and banquets represents a huge loss; Neunsinger estimated that Boundary Oaks will lose approximately $75,000 for the month of April.

The big question is, “Who will survive the shutdown?”, and the only answer to that is, “Only time will tell.”

But what about exercise?
The March 16 Health Dept order states that ‘… individuals may leave their residence only to perform [. . .] “Essential Activities.” ’, which includes “. . . outdoor activity, provided the individuals comply with Social Distancing Requirements as defined in this Section, such as, by way of example and without limitation, walking, hiking, or running.’

In case you were hoping that playing golf would fall under the “without limitation” qualification in that statement, you can forget it—at least for the local area. Santa Clara County’s online FAQs page (https://www.sccgov.org/sites/phd/DiseaseInformation/novel-coronavirus/Pages/frequently-asked-questions.aspx) shuts that line of thought down succinctly and unequivocally:

Can golf courses remain open? No. 

In some parts of the country golf courses are open, with strict limitations, but the selection is limited. GolfWorld magazine has been keeping up with the situation in the updating online article “Conflicting state directives create confusion for golf courses”. Here in the Bay Area, however, the direction is clear.

What does the future hold?
Polish up your crystal ball all you like, but my feeling is that, much like my quest to break 80, trying to predict what the golf world will look like in the aftermath of this unprecedented state of affairs is an exercise in futility. Some courses may close, and those that are able to remain open may see crowded tee sheets as deprived golfers rush back to the links after weeks (hopefully only weeks…) away from their favorite pastime. It’s a good bet that demand will certainly be high, so we’ll have to be patient—but won’t it be worth it to be out on the course again?

Saturday at the AT&T Pro-Am is two days in one

The unique format of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, which is played on three golf courses, dictates a major difference between this event and your standard, week-to-week Tour event: Saturday becomes cut day and moving day in one. Factor in the differences in level of difficulty between the courses – weather being equal, hardest to easiest: Spyglass Hill, Pebble, MPCC; and throw in the fact that Pebble is more likely to get windy, and is more affected by the wind, and Saturday becomes a real crap-shoot when it comes to predicting how the field will shake out at the end of the day on Saturday.

One could have been excused, then, for being only cautiously optimistic about 36-hole leader Nick Taylor’s chances of retaining the lead after 54 holes, with similar caution applied to Jason Day’s second-place position – each played MPCC and Pebble over the first two days in pristine conditions, and Spyglass Hill on Saturday. Phil Mickelson, who closed out 36 holes in solo third place, got there by way of Spyglass and MPCC, in that order, landing that sweet pick that puts him on Pebble for back-to-back rounds on Saturday and Sunday.

A third round at Spyglass has quashed more than one player’s chances over the years, but neither Day nor Taylor showed any signs of being slowed down by the Robert Trent Jones course about which Jack Nicklaus famously said, “…it makes you want to go fishing.”

Starting on the par-4 tenth hole at Spyglass, Taylor faltered early with an opening bogey and another at #13, a 460-yard par 4 that is the #1 handicap hole on the course, but recovered quickly with birdies at the 17th, second, and fifth holes, then put a little distance between himself and his big-name pursuers with an eagle-3 on the 549-yard par-five seventh hole. The Winnipeg native brought it to the house with a 3-under third round for a 17-under 54-hole total, which turned out to be good enough to retain his lead going into the final round.

Jason Day slipped back slightly while finishing at Spyglass Hill, carding a two-under 70, offsetting four birdies with two bogeys. He finished his Saturday in solo third at 14-under after having held a share of the lead earlier in the day.

Meanwhile, over at Pebble Beach, Phil Mickelson was being Phil, opening his round with a pair of birdies at holes one and two, then notching another bird at the par-5 sixth hole. Despite its daunting aspect, with a second shot that has to negotiate a looming cliff for a blind approach shot, has played easier than any other hole on the course in this year’s tournament.

The real “Phil-the Thrill” fireworks began at the next hole, the world-famous seventh, a jewel-like par-3 perched out on the tip of Arrowhead Point. His frankly mediocre tee shot caromed off the more-than-usually-firm putting surface into a fried-egg lie in the back bunker. Squaring up with a wedge, Mickelson hit a low pitch shot that would have run well past the flag if it hadn’t checked in the rough short of the green; instead, it pulled up at kick-in range for a par save that people will be talking about for quite a while.

After three pars to close out the front nine at 33, Mickelson continued with pars at 10 and 11 before making a slight misstep at the par-3 twelfth, landing in the front bunker, wedging out and two-putting for bogey.

At 13, the recently renovated 407-yard par-4, his tee shot went wide left, his second landed in the left-front bunker, followed by a highlight-reel chip-in for birdie. Similar drama followed at the next hole, the intimidating 582-yard par-5 fourteenth. Wide left off the tee – again, Mickelson’s second found the fairway some 90 yards short of the green. Coming up short when his approach checked up short of the flag and rolled back to below the false front of the green, his fourth, a back-foot chip-and-run drew a beeline for the hole, rattling the flagstick to drop in for his second consecutive birdie.

After par out of a left-of-the-fairway bunker on the fifteenth hole, a routine par at the sixteenth and a disappointing two-putt par from nine feet at the second most famous par-three on the course, #17, Phil found trouble right (for a change) with his second shot at the eighteenth hole.

After getting relief from an obstruction in the wood chips right of the green, he fired a skyhook flop shot that rolled past the hole by inches; he then drained the 4-1/2-foot putt for another birdie. After hitting nine of fourteen fairways, nine of eighteen greens and only 22 putts, Mickelson closed with a 5-under 67 to finish in solo second at 16 under.

Today’s round puts Mickelson in great shape to renew his oldest-winner title, and to share the back-to-back winner title with Sam Snead (1937, 1938), Jack Nicklaus (1972, 1973), Tom Watson (19777, 1978), Mark O’Meara (1989, 1990), and Dustin Johnson (2009, 2010). Most significantly, a win on Sunday will put Mickelson in sole possession of the “Most Wins in the AT&T Pro-am” title.

Mickelson and his amateur partner, former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Steve Young, are second in the Pro-Am contest going into the final round, behind Kevin Streelman and his amateur partner, Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald. They will tee off with third-round leader Nick Taylor and amateur partner Jerry Tarde, editor-in-chief of Golf Digest magazine, Sunday morning at Pebble Beach.

Friday at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am – Big Names, Big Moves

Friday at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am is different than Friday at almost any other PGA Tour event, and it’s not just about the amateurs in the field, a mix of high-powered business folks and figures from the entertainment world. What sets Friday at the AT&T apart can be seen from the official leaderboard – there’s no cut line.

Having three courses in the tournament rota means that the cut comes after three days of play, so that every pairing plays each course. Of course, a three-day cut means there is only one day left to make a move up the leaderboard – so, the golf gods giveth and the golf gods taketh away.

The upside of this format is the opportunity to play a bucket-list lineup of Monterey Peninsula golf courses – Spyglass Hill, the Shore Course at Monterey Peninsula Country Club, and, of course, Pebble Beach, with the added treat of playing Pebble again on Sunday if you make the cut.

The downside of the format is… well, when the weather is as nice as it has been this week, there is no downside.

While Friday at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am doesn’t have the cutline pressure of a standard tournament, some well-known names made big moves up the leaderboard today regardless.

Phil Mickelson, who already holds one record at the event – oldest champion, from his 2019 win at age 48; and co-holds another – most victories, at five, which he shares with Mark O’Meara, posted a seven under 64 at MPCC to move up nine places into solo third place after 36 holes. Mickelson went out in four-under 33, starting on the tenth hole of the Shore Course, and opened his second nine with a four-birdie run, only to stumble at the close with a bogey on his last hole, the par-three 9th.

Jason Day, who has been flying under the radar in recent years with health problems and personal issues, made his move – ten places, to solo second – playing at Pebble Beach today.

“I love everything about Pebble and the landscape that all  three courses are on. The people are great up here, so I    really enjoy my time every time I come back here.”

– Jason Day

After a first-round 67 at MPCC, Day carded an eight-under round today at Pebble Beach on the strength of six birdies, and an eagle on the long par-five 14th hole, where he chipped in from the apron short of the green. With the eagle on 14, and three birdies, the former World #1 romped to a five-under 31 on Pebble’s back nine. His eight-under 64 equals his best tournament round on the course.

Two-time (2009 & 2010) AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am champion Dustin Johnson jumped 18 places up the leaderboard to T6 with a six under 65 at MPCC; an unfortunate bogey on his last hole, the par-three ninth, dropped him out of a potential T4 finish.

Canadian Nick Taylor posted a 6-under 66 playing at Pebble Beach today, and will sleep on a 36-hole lead.

Pebble Beach, Monterey Peninsula showcased by glorious weather on Day 1 of 2020 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am

Do you hear that? It’s the sound of Monterey/Carmel real estate prices rising as a worldwide television audience is treated to views of Pebble Beach Golf Links, Spyglass Hill, and Monterey Peninsula Country Club’s Shore Course in gorgeous, Chamber-of-Commerce weather on Day 1 of the 2020 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

The vista of these three immaculately prepared courses under a brilliant, jewel-blue California sky is sure to have well-heeled residents of the storm-ridden, snowbound portions of the country looking to their 401K’s, calling their brokers, and checking real estate listings. But when I say well-heeled, I mean it – the median price of a home in Monterey hovers just under $800k; in Carmel it’s just north of $1.3M.

But enough about real estate, let’s talk about golf. The clear, calm weather that is producing the awe-inspiring views here in the Del Monte Forest is also allowing the players in the field to put up some impressive scores.

Canadian Nick Taylor parlayed a windless day on the easier of the three courses in the tournament rota into an eight-under 63 and the 18-hole lead. Playing MPCC back-side/front-side, the 31-year-old native of Winnipeg opened with an eagle-three on the par-5 tenth hole, then went on to card a pair of birdies before making the turn. He then bookended the front nine with matching pairs of birdies to close out the opening-round lead in his seventh appearance in this event.

Asked about the closing birdies, Taylor noted, “Finished with two great shots, a 5-iron and 3-iron on the last two holes to set up two birdies there; … 5-iron into 8, 3-iron off nine tee, the par-3.”

“This is one of my favorite events of the year every year. You just can’t beat these three golf courses; they’re so fun to play.”

Patrick Cantlay, the SoCal phenom who fought back from back issues early in his pro career, rode a roller coaster around Spyglass Hill today – alternating birdies and bogies for the first five holes, then lighting up the back nine with five birdies against one bogey, posting a first-round 66 (6-under) on the acknowledged most-difficult course in the tournament rota.

Six-under rounds were also put up on Pebble Beach and MPCC Shore by Chase Seiffert and Harry Higgs, respectively.

Harold Varner III, who is making his first appearance at Pebble Beach since playing in the Champions Tour First Tee event 13 years ago, posted a 5-under round at Pebble Beach, carding three birdies a side, with a lone bogey on #12, the longest par-three on the course – and a deceptively difficult hole that has stunned more than one player over the years.

Another half-dozen players closed out their first round at five-under, including former Cal Men’s golf player Max Homa and Stockton native Ricky Barnes.

Former Stanford Men’s Golf star Maverick McNealy opened strong at Pebble Beach, carding three birdies on the front nine, but went a little flat on the second nine with no birdies, a bogey on the 11th hole, and a four-putt double-bogey seven on the 18th – a disappointing effort that was made even more painful by the two-foot bogey putt that horseshoed around the hole to leave an 18-incher for double. McNealy goes into the second round at even par.

San Jose’s Joseph Bramlett, another player who has battled back problems early in his career, closed in even-par 71 at MPCC Shore, with two bogies per side against a total of five birdies.

Second-round play starts Friday at 8:00 AM, with the weather forecast calling for continued clear and slightly cooler conditions.