This video is an introduction to the NEW BrendonElliottGolf.com. Log on now to see more great website features this video did not cover!

Author: bundygolfer

Keywords: Golf Instruction Lessons Info

Added: May 31, 2008

null

Author: GrayhawkScottsdale

Keywords: Grayhawk Utley Scottsdale Golf Instruction

Added: May 30, 2008

Going into the Memorial today, a lot of people have been talking about the rough – Mickelson, the media, etc.

First, from Mike Collins over at the Golf Channel. (He made a bad joke at the Players, but this is useful information.)

The course is extremely hard. Deep bunkers with weird rakes that make deep grooves — on purpose! The rough is deep enough that Mark Hensby told me if you get in it off the tee, “Get your lob wedge cause that’s all you’re gonna be able to get out. And if you miss the greens in the rough… you’re gonna be chipping twice cause the first one ain’t staying on the green.”

The greens were running so fast in the practice rounds, they’re not gonna mow a couple of them, and a couple of them they’re just gonna roll cause they’re too fast (when greens get to 14 on the stimpmeter there is a tough time finding four pin placements per green).

You’re definitely not gonna see double digits win this week and that’s exactly what they want here, but some of the guys on our broadcast think 4 OVER par might win. I hope not;, I understand nobody wants 17 under to win around here anymore, but don’t we already have a U.S. Open?

So far, the lead is -6. While I hate chopfests and deep rough, it seems like the players are getting by through day 1.

Last week’s winner Mickelson, who was even today, had this to say in the pre-tournament presser:

Q. What sense did you get about the rough out there? Any different here than in the past years?

PHIL MICKELSON: It’s very long and thick. I’m not a big fan of that. I like what we had last week where if you hit it in the rough you have to take some chances. I think the recovery shot’s the most exciting shot in golf. And you have a lot of that at Augusta. You have a lot of that here. We had it at Wachovia where they cut the rough down a little bit just off the fairways so you could hit some recovery shots. That’s not the case here. It’s wedge-out rough. I’m not a big fan of that. But it is what it is.

Some beg to differ:

The list of the pros’ favorite things, however, will never include the lighting-quick greens, sinkhole-deep bunkers and dozens of treacherous threats that Nicklaus built into the course.

And that list certainly won’t include the rough at its current depth and consistency. A shot just a few feet off the generous fairways may or may not be findable. If a player locates his ball, the biggest problem is advancing it forward more than a few feet.

“The course has wide fairways so the penalty will be stiff if you miss,” Mike Weir said.

Deep rough is bad enough but with the rain that always seems to pelt Muirfield Village the week of the tournament – and did again on Tuesday – the rough is downright dastardly.

On the plus side, there are wide fairways. On the downside, if you hit the rough, you can kiss par good night. That is almost some kind of weird US Open-Masters hybrid setup.

Comcast Sportsnet (obviously owned by Comcast) is starting a new golf show here in the DC area starting on Monday, 6/2. It is a half hour show called Tee Time and is hosted by local personality Chick Hernandez, as well as contributions from John Feinstein (polarizing guy) and talent from the Golf Channel. It is a 12 week run that will tour some local courses, preview a few events, etc. It’s not much time, but it does run twice per week.

No, I am not involved with it at all, but I am going to give it a look and maybe they’ll want to chat with me sometime.

Jon Show has been all over this story for the Sports Business Journal and has an update with some potentially blockbuster LPGA Tour news.

The LPGA is getting closer to piecing together the puzzle that it hopes will land a five-year network television agreement beginning in 2010.

Plans call for a competition series that would exist within the LPGA’s seasonlong calendar of events. The series would consist of eight events, likely including at least one major and one event outside the United States. Players would qualify for a championship event based on their performance in the series.

That championship could be a new tournament scheduled during the first quarter of each year as a lead-in to the LPGA season. Sources said the weekend before the Super Bowl was being considered.

Basically, you could eliminate the Fields Open and/or the SBS Open and replace it with the season opening event. That would presuppose that the season begins with a Super Bowl of sorts – a la NASCAR – or that the season would run year to year, like the NBA and NHL do today.

The LPGA-owned ADT Championship could be brought into the fold if the tour decides to scrap the current seasonlong qualifying system that culminates with the season-ending event. ADT’s title sponsorship expires after this year’s event.

I would be very disappointed to see the ADT Championship go by the wayside, but we don’t have any confirmation one way or another on that. If it does go away, I would hope the LPGA would still try to preserve the ADT’s great cutthroat format.

NBC and CBS met with the LPGA two weeks ago to discuss the package, which could be split among the two networks. Both already air LPGA events.

That makes sense, but probably eliminates the possibility that ESPN/ABC would be a cable partner for the LPGA Tour. I would have to assume that the LPGA Tour would want some air time on ABC for their events as part of a deal.

More on the series and the advertising revenue component:

Sources believe the LPGA is 30 to 45 days away from entering the marketplace with a package that would include a title or presenting sponsorship of the new series, a substantial media commitment and a title deal for the championship event. IMG is representing the LPGA in exploring an international media component.

One agency source said the LPGA may seek $8 million to $12 million annually, specifically targeting multinational corporations. “They really want to market this as a ‘global series,’” said the source.

Still complicating matters is the unsubstantial media backing that the LPGA brings to the table in the form of national partners or spot buys. The LPGA is in the market with national sponsorships that contain media commitments, although none have been finalized.

At the tournament level, each title sponsor would be assessed an additional media spend to be part of the series. The tour is beginning to contact tournament title sponsors to gauge their interest.

This could mean the death of a number of smaller events on the schedule. I would be particularly looking at Corning, which may explain a lot of the doom and gloom surrounding that event last weekend. The writing may have been on the wall. Also, the projection that the LPGA Tour may be expecting events to kick up to a minimum of $2 million in purse money could spell trouble for the Corona event (likely gone anyway), NW Arkansas, the Alabama Swing, the Samsung, and the Longs Drugs Challenge. That, though, is certainly nothing more than a rumor/guess coming out of Corning.

Lastly, some hints on the cable front:

Sources also said the LPGA has met with cable outlets, and is particularly interested in Turner, in part because of its new media unit and the potential ties to Turner-managed sites such as the PGA Tour and PGA of America.

Turner is a good solution, especially from a web standpoint. I would imagine, though, that Turner would want to make LPGA.com one of its web properties. It has several very profitable ones and I would almost assume that it would be a condition of business for the LPGA to hand the rights of that over to Turner.

Still, which TV presence would the LPGA get for television? TBS or TNT would suffice, but only TNT has ever really shown golf. It would definitely beef up their coverage.

Yesterday, Tiger Woods was in town for a press conference to promote his AT&T National over July 4th weekend at Congressional. In the presser, he was asked about his reaction to Annika’s retirement announcement. The reaction was most interesting.

Q. What was your reaction when you heard Annika, that she would retire at the end of the season? And have you spoken with her since then? And, if so, what have you spoken about?

TIGER WOODS: I knew that was going to happen. She’s done it all. She’s been through it all. For men and women, it is two totally different things. Who knows, she might come back or not. I doubt it. I don’t see Annika ever doing anything half-ass. The time she is going to spend with her child and her family, I don’t ever see her ever wanting to come back to the game of golf in that capacity. What it takes to do that, I don’t foresee her doing it. We talked quite a bit after that.

I just — I’m very happy for her. She sounds happy, very at peace with what she’s done and what she’s said.

Now, I don’t know about you, but reading between the lines (i.e., the bolded part) here seems to insinuate that Annika is already pregnant. I know that Tiger has to be aware that Annika wants to have a child one day. I’m pretty sure everyone knows that. But to talk about a child as though it is a certainty does make one wonder. It would go a long way in explaining the fairly sudden nature of her retirement announcement.

Brenda Kuehn and Kristie Albers in 2001, Iben Tinning and Laura Diaz in 2005, Hee-Won Han in 2006. Not necessarily a backup to my argument, but wanted to show that it has been done before successfully.

WireImage.com photos of PGA TOUR – Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial – Final Round
Ft. Worth, 05/25/2008

WireImage.com photos of Nationwide Tour – Melwood Prince Georges County Open – Final Round
Baltimore, 05/25/2008

WireImage.com photos of PGA TOUR – Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial – Round Three
Ft. Worth, 05/24/2008

WireImage.com photos of Nationwide Tour – Melwood Prince Georges County Open – Round Three
Baltimore, 05/24/2008