The Pellucid Perspective - May 2011 - (Page 18)

THE LAST WORD The bad, the good and the ugly I ’ve never felt that politics belong in a golf industry publication. Real world politics, that is, not collared shirts requirements and cell phone bans, or the USGA vs. Dustin Johnson in a dirt patch, or some golf course operators against GolfNow and other third party tee time marketers – those are always fun, and fair game. On the other hand, I don’t feel that the monumental event that took place in Abbottobad, Pakistan earlier this month is necessarily politics, with apologies to Rush Lindbaugh. OK, I’m lying about the apology part – shame on Hank Haney’s latest pupil for using the long overdue elimination of a murdering terrorist as a platform to poke fun at the current Commander-in-Chief who was calling the shots, whether you agree with the rest of his political scorecard or not. Osama, or Usama, or Qusama bin Laden claimed that he and his network of terrorists were responsible for the deaths of some 3,000 people on American soil on September 11, 2001, and there is little reason to doubt him. Quite logically, the American government put a price on his head and two U.S. administrations made his apprehension or death a top priority. When Navy SEAL Team Six and their support team stormed his 3-story hideout (less than a 9-iron from a Pakistani military facility, for crying out loud?), and the word filtered out that bin Laden had been killed, my wife, a neighbor and I who were watching 60 Minutes at the time exchanged high fives. I’m a veteran, and neither a pacifist nor a war hawk, but I didn’t feel a damn bit bad about his demise, whether the SEALs went in with orders to make him a terrorist martyr or he was killed in the heat of battle. He was nothing more than a war criminal, declared war or not, with thousands of innocent deaths to account for. His death wasn’t political, it was justice, and deserved. He made a deal with the Devil, not with Allah, and the bill came due. By contrast, another recent death was neither deserved nor political. When Seve Ballesteros passed away earlier this month at the age of 54, the golf world lost a true icon, far too soon. Columnists have written that the Spaniard with the swashbuckling style, matinee idol good looks, joyous smile and mad game revitalized European golf, and who am I to argue that? In terms of cojones on the golf course, Seve made Phil Mickelson look cautious. If Seve could find it, he would hit it, even if the opening to the green was no larger than the old English Dunlop 65. (For you youngsters, that was a European ball that was smaller than today’s balls). Today’s scrambling stats on the Tour should be called Seves, given how many forests, gorse bushes, buried lies, even parking lots he successfully got up and down from in his career. He will be missed, for his skills, his class and his charisma. Harrington-gate denied Retreating from the real world to the justice or lack thereof found on the sylvan links of the PGA Tour, I was glad to see that for once, some nerd seeking his 15 minutes of fame for ratting out a Tour pro will have to find another gig to get it. The spectator claimed that Padraig Harrington teed off in front of the tee markers on the par-3 13th hole during the final round of the Wells Fargo Tour event at Quail Hollow last week. Harrington was not notified of the claim until he finished his round, at which point he and playing partner Phil Mickelson had to be carted all the way back to the 13th tee to see if they could find a likely looking divot that would show where Padraig actually teed off. And, his divot is different from the other 60 or so players who had teed off on the hole exactly how? Does the sole of his 6-iron have his initials carved into it? As to misplacing his tee, Harrington said later that while he might conceivably have been “in the moment” and teed up too far forward, he doubted that Mickelson and their caddies would have missed the error too. Fortunately, when the search didn’t turn up a bright green “PH” gouged into the tee box, the tournament judges left it up to Paddy as to whether he should be penalized and he decided in favor of – surprise – Paddy! As well he should have. After all, this is the same poor Paddy who was DISQUALIFIED earlier this year in Abu Dhabi when yet another nerd, watching on his hi-def TV, detected Harrington’s ball move a millimeter or so on the green after he removed his ball marker. Neither Harrington nor anyone else trying to monitor play with the naked eye spotted the infinitesimal movement, so when Harrington signed his card with no penalty and replacement of the ball, he was DQ-ed. That travesty was so egregious that, for once, the R&A and USGA acknowledged that perhaps the rule – and the penalty – were a wee bit too strict, and subsequently amended it to not disqualify a player who had no way of knowing he was in violation before signing his scorecard. Of course, the arbiters of the game left in place a 1-stroke penalty – after all, the ball, after hi-def inspection, apparently DID move the equivalent of a ball dimple and a half. Made THAT putt a lot easier, I’m sure. Although the incident cost Padraig a few petro-dollars, it’s unlikely we’ll have to throw a benefit for the Harrington clan any time soon. On the other hand, if it had happened to some obscure European Tour qualifier whose mortgage payment and Tour card depended on it, he might have felt like lobbing a call to SEAL Team Six, since they obviously know the region, for a little call on tournament headquarters. Since there are plenty of observers and tournament officials in the press room of every tournament, most of them reasonably sober and with access to TVs, and other officials on the course, that should suffice. During tournaments, put all off-property callers on voicemail with the message “Thanks for calling, wish you were here, but since you weren’t, we’ll get back to you during business hours tomorrow. Or not. Meanwhile, if you really want to affect the outcome of an event, try voting online for the People’s Choice Awards.” —Jim Dunlap May 2011 18 The Pellucid PersPecTive

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Pellucid Perspective - May 2011

The Pellucid Perspective - May 2011
Contents
Golf 20/11: A House With No Information Foundation?
Sharp Tools for Cutting Maintenance Costs
When Is a Survey Not a Survey?
Short Courses Disappearing, but Some Find Success
Apr 2011 YtD Weather Impact, Mar 2011 YtD Utilization
A Weather Word to the Wise
New York, NY Core Business Statistical Area (CBSA)
Environmentalists Seeking Closure of Revered SF Muni
Comings & Goings
The Bad, the Good and the Ugly

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