Streamsong Review - A New Addition to the Pures

Over at our sister site, macduffconsulting, you will find a full review of a days golf at wonderful Streamsong - a worthy addition to purist golf. You can read it here - http://macduffconsulting.blogspot.com/

Has the Ryder Cup lost its Pure?

Ryder Cup golf is matchplay all the way. Mano-a-mano for 3 days (why not four?...but that's another story!) Matchplay is golf in its purest form and the way that many majors were decided for years before the advent of the TV led 4 rounds of strokeplay golf and those 5 hour rounds. The question is "Does the Ryder Cup remain pure and if not when did it lose?"

I have had the good fortune to attend many Ryder Cups over the years, including representing players in the team and it is fair to say that the event is unlike anything else in the world of professional golf. And most of it in a good way. The teams play a mixture of three formats over the Friday to Sunday competition - foursomes (or alternate shot in U.S. parlance), fourballs and singles match. The tension and pressure on the players is immense and the atmosphere at the course is very special. For the most part the partisanship outside of the ropes is in good spirits and this year both captains seem to be going over the top trying to kill each other with kindness. The true test will come on Friday morning when some poor soul has to be the first to hit the opening tee shot. Of course the hospitality tents and overpriced souvenirs are there in force, but hey, the PGA of America has to pay the bills.

For me the pure element that has been missing for many years has been the actual playing surface - the golf course. And once again this year we are treated to an average (ok, above average) golf course. With a choice of many great golf courses to choose from and the best the PGA of America can do is Medinah - and before that Valhalla and Oakland Hills. Still they are doing better in choosing golf courses than their European counterparts. The sorry tale of venues for the last seven Ryder Cups reads Celtic Manor, The K Club, The Belfry, (ok, Valderrama we like!) The Belfry, The Belfry and you guessed it, The Belfry. So, that takes us back to 1981 since the Cup was played on a classic course, Walton Heath - 30 years! We all know why and it's a great shame that pure golf is thrown out of the window for money. And the pattern continues in 2014 with the dreadful Centenary Course at Gleneagles, which happens to be the 3rd best course on the property!

So, the golf does remains pure and we expect to see some great matchplay golf, but sadly the golf courses chosen in the last 3 decades have lost the pure and focused on the dollars and cents, which is a real shame. What I would give to see the Ryder Cup played at a classic links golf course like St Andrews or Muirfield. Dream on!

The Long Putter - Pure or Not?

Another Major goes by and another is won by a player using the long or belly putter. That’s Keegan and Webb, both “young guns” using the ugly weapon.  There’s no question in my mind it’s not pure, but it is also not against the rules. It takes some digging in the lengthy Rules of Golf to find even where the long putter could be covered. It seems that Rule 14-3 covers it and here’s what that says:

“14-3. Artificial Devices, Unusual Equipment And Unusual Use Of Equipment

The USGA reserves the right, at any time, to change the Rules relating to artificial devices, unusual equipment and the unusual use of equipment, and to make or change the interpretations relating to these Rules.

Except as provided in the Rules, during a stipulated round the player must not use any artificial device or unusual equipment, or use any equipment in an unusual manner:

a. That might assist him in making a stroke or in his play; or

b. For the purpose of gauging or measuring distance or conditions that might affect his play; or

c. That might assist him in gripping the club”

The word “anchoring” is nowhere to be found in the official rule book, which for those of you who have not read it, is just slightly more complicated than nuclear physics! It’s only a matter of time before that changes and following the recent majors victories both Messrs Dawson (R & A) and Davis (USGA) have stated they are investigating the situation. My interpretation of the rule is that the equipment is used in an “unusual manner” and this “assists in gripping the club”.

The R & A and the USGA reviews the rules every few years and this review would mean that no change is likely to be enforced until 2016 and possibly in recreational play not at all. Pure, unquestionably no, but legal until the governing rules bodies rule otherwise. Meanwhile, I’ll stick to my Bullseye la Femme, which at 33 inches is just perfect!

Pasatiempo and those goats!

I have been fortunate to play some great golf courses over the last few years and Pasatiempo near Santa Cruz, CA is up there with the best of them. So it was with great interest that, on Monday, I heard a talk from Paul Chojnacky, the superintendant of the MacKenzie gem.

Paul made an excellent presentation about his water management of the property, but what we really wanted to hear about was the well publicized goats. He wisely started with water and finished on a high with his goat herd! The purpose of the goats is to clear the canyons that run through the property and provided such inspiration to Alister MacKenzie when he designed the course in the late 1920s. Paul shared the numbers on the goat program he initiated last year. The cost was less $15,000 for a herd of 175 goats to roam the property and eat everything in their wake for several months. The cost of removing the unattractive undergrowth using 2 legged workers would have been in the region of $105,000. Plus, and it a huge plus...what's the fun in that!
As I said at the conference, Paul is a great super and also a marketing genius. His annual goat spend has created hundreds of thousands of dollars of PR and raised Pasa's profile as it regains its rightful place in the World Top 100 following Tom Doak's wonderful restoration. The course is open to the public and only a 50 minute drive from Monterey. Don't miss it!

Are these the coolest tees in golf?

I know, I said the only acceptable tees in golf were white and wooden. Well, that was before I played a certain golf course who give these tees away - it was all I could do to only take this many! Any guesses for the name of the club?

An Impure Golf Club Logo? Well Here are 3 to Start!

At dinner the other night someone asked me, after seeing the best logos on the blog,  "So, what's the worst golf club logo out there?"
That got me thinking. I should stress that my choices have nothing whatsoever to do with the quality of the golf course. The choices are based on aesthetic, ease of use for, say embroidery, quality of design and memorability.

I'm not quite what the folks at Dallas National were thinking - ok, so you have bridge, but do you need to put it front and center. The logo would be perfect for a bridge construction company!

Ah, The Members Club at Four Streams. Four streams, not 1 or 2 or 3 streams as depicted in the logo. The logo is so confusing it's tough to know where the stream is and where the banks are!  So how do they have a logo without 4 streams in it - the current logo would seem to be at least 1 stream short of a golf club!

All of the Trump golf clubs have the same logo, which is great, because collectively I can say they are all dreadful. The only difference between Trump National in D.C and LA is in the copy underneath the fake royal crest. For the master marketer, Trump, to have a such a mess of a golf logo is truly astounding. Donald, hire a great design firm and simplify the mess.

Let me know any other candidates for the Hall of Club Logo shame.

Great Logos, Part Deux

Four more classic logos from four of America's best golf courses.

Pure Golf Course Logos

Here are 5 of my top 10 golf course logos (Can you name the Club?) - feel free to let me know yours - it's not about the golf course - purely the course logo!

The Bulls Eye - Simple and Elegant

I have played golf for many decades. The vast majority of which I have used John Reuter's classic Bulls Eye putter. In the days when I could play (much better than I do know) the ever reliable blade putter holed more putts than any other putter I ever tried. Sure, I got funny looks, especially as everyone shifted to heel and toe weighted putters like the Ping Anser. But for me the Bulls Eye always came up trumps. 


The best putter I have ever seen (and played with) is Mark McNulty from Zimbabwe. Mark's stroke using the Bullseye is incredible and the old adage about "beware he who putts with the Bulls Eye" has never been more apt than when Mark putts. Johnny Miller's unbelievable round of 63 at Oakmont in the final round of the 1973 U.S Open was also achieved with the aid of the Bullseye. (he mentions it on almost every telecast!)


The original Bulls Eye design was by John Reuters Jr.  Made from soft yellow brass it was introduced in the 1940s and has been hugely successful ever since. In 1962, Reuter joined forces with the Acushnet Company and several subtle design modifications were made to the Bulls Eye's head shape, shaft and grip style. Each Bulls Eye continued to be shaped from brass heads for a soft, solid feel at impact. A unique flare tip and fluted shaft stood the test of time for enhanced touch and control. 


Here is a listing of the original designs.
Original: Medium weight, rounded toe, flat top. For right or left handers.
Old Standard: Medium weight with square toe and top blade. Sight line
Standard: Medium weight with rounded toe and top.
Light Blade: Like Old Standard but lighter, narrower.
Heavy Blade: Like Old Standard but with heavier, wider blade.
Bulls Eye Junior: Standard blade. 30" shaft. Scaled-down grip dimensions.
Heel Shafted Flange: Medium-heavy weight. Offset hosel. Sweet spot slot for improved feel and alignment.
Heel Shaft Flange II: Like the Heel Shafted Flange but without the Offset.
Wide Flange: Heavy, wide flange for low concentration of weight. Sweet spot slot. Idea. for large or slower greens.
Wide Flange Offset: Same as Wide Flange but offset.
Flange: Medium weight, slightly offset. Single sweet spot sight line.
LaFemme: Light weight for the woman golfer. Rounded toe, top and flange.
Left Handed Flange: Like the Flange but for the one out of every dozen golfers who plays left-handed. 


The ubiquitous Scotty Cameron got his hands on Reuters design in the 1980s and you can tell an original Reuters design from Scotty's remodel easily. A Bulls Eye with SC on the bottom is from Scotty. No SC and it's original. You would think the originals would be worth more, but that's not the case. As with all things Scotty, the collectors dictate the high prices, although his Bulls Eye style putters have rarely proved as popular as his Anser style putters.


The picture shows my 3 Bulls Eyes that get used in rotation. Two originals and one Scotty version.