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Thoughts from Augusta
Posted: Thursday April 06, 2000 10:47 AM
Sports Illustrated senior writer Gary Van Sickle will answer your questions every Thursday during the golf season. Click here to send him a question. AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Just reading the mail while I lounge under the sprawling old tree hanging over the Augusta National clubhouse on a crisp, cloudless day of 67, holding a glass of lemonade, listening to the occasional roar drift over from Wednesday afternoon's par-3 funhouse event and wishing you all could be here, too. (For four grand and the right ticket scalper, you probably could have been.)
I read that Jack Nicklaus did not like the changes that were made to Augusta National. There must have been something really wrong for him to insult the course that defined his career. What do you think about Jack doing the alterations if they absolutely must make them?
I agree with Hal Sutton about the Tiger factor -- respect him but don't revere him. If you played a round with Tiger, how would you conduct yourself? I'd steal the honors on the tee, blow a drive 250 yards into the right rough, look him in the eye and say, "Chase that one, you Buick-lover." I'd try to make him laugh too hard to play well. If that didn't work, I'd up the stakes to 50 cents a hole, no doubt forcing him to wilt like a ballpark frank under that kind of pressure.
I agree with your comments about not lifting and placing a ball that lies in a divot; it's part of the game. I feel, however, the repair-a-ballmark/can't-repair-a-spikemark rule is backwards. Ballmarks are part of the game. Having to putt over spikemarks because some clod was too lazy to pick up his feet isn't. Shouldn't the golf rules in this case be reversed? Forget it, my good Forget. Since so few courses allow metal spikes anymore, the pro tour is one of the few places it's still a problem. Ballmarks are often large craters and are much, much worse. If you don't fix those, you might as well putt at Waffle House. Besides, if you let players fix spike marks, the anal-retentive clod up ahead will repair every inch of his line on his 30-foot putt for a 7 and you'll be wondering why it takes six hours to finish a round.
Tiger has a big contract with Buick, as everyone knows. Buick sponsors four PGA Tour events. Is this getting close to appearance-money territory? And is it possible Buick asks/expects Tiger to turn down rival carmakers' events, such as the Honda Classic? Appearance money? Oh no, Will, the PGA Tour would never allow that. Call it shrewd business on Buick's part. Tiger did play in the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines, where he was defending champion. It'll be interesting to see if he plays any more Buick events because he has said he won't play the week before a major, but the Buick Classic at Westchester is the week before the U.S. Open and the Buick Open in Flint, Mich., is the week before the PGA Championship. It's not appearance money, merely an inducement for Tiger to show up for more Buicks. Other sponsors don't worry about where else Tiger plays, only if he plays in their event.
Who, if anyone, replaces Gene Sarazen as an honorary starter at Augusta? I'd vote to leave his spot unfilled. Well, I'm pretty sure I can bomb it past Byron Nelson and Sam Snead, who continue as honorary starters without the Squire, but I don't own a green jacket so I guess I won't get the job. Ken Venturi might be an apt replacement but since the Masters paired Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus in Thursday afternoon's first round, why not just send the Big Three off first, let them play 18 and post their scores like any other competitors? Plan B: Cheryl Ladd.
I have a British friend who plays scratch golf and is convinced the pros play easier courses than we do. His reasoning is that the greens are shaped like bowls, kicking the ball towards the center of the green; the sand traps are all the same consistency; and no clumpy grass in the fairways and rough. I'd like to see him take his scratch game to the tips of these "easier" courses. What do you think? Your British friend, Vinny, would collapse like a stale crumpet on a PGA Tour track. If he hits it 270 off the tee, which I doubt, he's only average length on the Tour; half of the pros would outdrive him. Greens shaped like bowls? Has this guy heard of Pinehurst No. 2, the Stadium Course, Augusta National or Doral? I'll bet he's never putted greens that average 12 or 13 on the Stimpmeter, either. British greens typically have all the speed of American fairways. Your pal might not be able to break 90 under last Sunday's conditions at the Players Championship.
Click here to send your golf question to Gary Van Sickle.
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