MASTERS REDUX
We've all caught our breaths from a fun and tense Sunday afternoon at the Masters. Despite the ongoing analysis of Tiger's drop and the anchored long-putter, let's look back for one little tidbit. In case you missed it on Wednesday's practice round, Rickie Fowler skipped one across the water at the 16th onto the green (it's become a Masters tradition during the Tuesday practice round):
One of the most famous skip-shots as part of this tradition was Vijay Singh's hole-out in 2009.
I had actually forgotten that Martin Kaymer did it in 2012.
In case your interested, Vijay finished T30 in 2009 and Kaymer was T35. So, the rule is now don't win the par 3 and don't hole-out the skip-shot during the Tuesday practice round.
We won't relive Tiger's drop or Adam Scott's pelvic thrusts here, but if you must here is the Masters Rules Committee's Fred Ridley presser describing the ruling and the actual shot and drop. Of course, you can read a technical and legal analysis of the actual rules broken and relied on here.
NO SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL THAT HIT THIS WAYWARD SHOT
After a week of the hushed tones of Augusta, Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones does not spring to mind. That said, he did have a funny golf-related story on Jimmy Fallon Live last week about what happened when a golf ball landed in his breakfast.
Who doesn't love that Richards has a gun handy with him at the breakfast table? Of course he does.
CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM FOR SLOWER GREENS
Ultimately, the weather did not have as big an impact on the Masters as was suggested in the days leading up to the tournament. Of course whenever that happens, one can't help but think of how Larry David would handle suspect weather forecasts. Wait ... we know:
While Curb Your Enthusiasm is certainly an acquired taste (being the taste of uncomfortable), for those of us who golf, it has been fun to watch the numerous scenes on the golf course and at the golf club. If you're a member or regular somewhere, surely you recognize some of the characters from your own course in these clips.
Hopefully, you've never done this.
NATIONAL GOLF DAY? SHOULDN'T THAT BE EVERY DAY!
I had no idea what National Golf Day was or is -- but if it is endorsed by Jack Nicklaus, it is good enough for me. Seems fine to have a day promoting golf. Even the name is enticing: (a) "National" means it includes everyone (except those that believe in the designatged hitter); (b) "Golf" ... enough said; and (c) Day ... yay, sounds like a holiday. It also seems well-placed the day after the Masters (although the terrible and sad events of Boston yesterday are surely more significant than golf today on Capitol Hill or anywhere else).
From what I can tell, this National Golf Day seems to be a day in Washingotn DC for big players in the world of golf to meet/lobby with Congress. It seems to be a creation by a lobby group called We Are Golf which presumably lobbies Congress to make sure the industry is getting a fair shake in DC (seeing that this was forwarded to me by a person from Washington DC powerhouse lobbying firm the Podesta Group). With both the President and Speaker of the House as golf enthusiasts, let's hope golf is a non-partisan issue and the golf industry can get as much out of DC as possible.
Maybe they could lobby for the banning of the long putter?
YET ANOTHER REASON TO BAN THE LONG PUTTER
From the country that brought us crazy drivers and massive meteorites, the good fortune of recording video from inside your car provides us with another reason to ban the long putter: this driver may not otherwise been able to drive away (or partially away it seems).
Seems like a delightful chap. A young violent Larry David perhaps.
NICE TRY BUT IT AIN'T THE X-GAMES
The people at GoPro, the ubiquitous camera for extreme sports, released a video last week for golf. There are some cool and unusual angles in the video. The RC plane landing on the green is neat ... but mostly they seem to have been too chintzy on the clips most interesting to golfers: the shots with the camera on the head so you can watch from the point of view of the player.
If anything, the point-of-view angle would help out the average player forcing the player to keep his or her head down. The big worry for guys is that it may get a bit creepy when the beer cart comes around with the attractive too-young girl (or for women, when Adam Scott makes a winning putt at the Masters).
A point of view cam was needed for this Sergio classic:
I'd forgotten about that Garcia classic but was reminded by The Sports Pickle's list of their videos funnier than the Masters (debateable). You've seen many of those videos here before on GVOTW. The last video on the list is the Golf Boys 2.Oh video which has been played to death. As mentioned here previously, it is always a tricky thing trying to rap (especially for white guys), unless of course you are Bob Costas:
Douglas Han
