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Rising to the Moment

Rising to the Moment

Golfsolutions February 02, 2021
Rising to the Moment https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Aon Risk Reward Challenge to Award $1 Million to the Best Course Strategists on the LPGA and PGA TOUR

Due to COVID-19, risk management is front and center in our everyday lives. In a very different playing field, on a much smaller scale, golfers calculate risk-reward scenarios each time they tee it up. Strategic thinkers on the golf course make informed decisions to maximize their performance. 

To that end, Aon, a leading global professional services firm providing a broad range of risk, retirement, and health solutions, collaborated with the PGA TOUR and LPGA Tour in 2019 to launch the Aon Risk Reward Challenge (ARRC). The season-long competition had a winner-take-all, $1 million payout for each Tour. Pros were required to complete a minimum of 40 rounds. The player’s two best scores (per designated hole) counted at each tournament. Ultimately, two worthy champions were crowned—Brooks Koepka (PGA TOUR) and Carlota Ciganda (LPGA Tour). “An equal prize across both the LPGA Tour and the PGA TOUR is a key aspect of the Aon Risk Reward Challenge. These players face the same challenges each week, so there is no reason not to be rewarded equally,” said Eric Andersen, President, Aon. 

Following an exciting inaugural season, the ARRC was set for another stirring year in 2020. Then, the global pandemic hit. Remarkably, the PGA TOUR played through the pandemic. Canadian Nick Taylor edged Max Homa for the top spot and a $1 million prize. However, the LPGA Tour was forced to pause its season for 5 1/2-months. Rather than staging a truncated ARRC, Aon worked closely with the LPGA Tour to redirect the prize money and support a brand-new event, the Drive On Championship, which kicked off the LPGA Tour’s return to play in July. “For Aon, it was important for us to find an approach that would positively impact the players. We felt this new event, in the midst of several canceled tournaments and playing opportunities, supported their wellbeing, particularly during this unprecedented time,” said Andersen.

In 2021, players on both Tours can, once again, look forward to competing for the $1 million, winner-take-all prize. Several Risk Reward holes will be holdovers from previous years with a sprinkling of new ones. The featured par-3s, par-4s, and par-5s are a mix of hidden gems and instantly recognizable holes. At this week’s PGA TOUR Waste Management Phoenix Open, the players will navigate the drivable par-4 17th hole at TPC Scottsdale (Stadium Course). Next week, the contestants will take on the legendary par-5 finishing hole at Pebble Beach Golf Links (AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am). Later in February, the LPGA Tour pros will experience a superb risk-reward hole, the par-5 15th at Lake Nona G&CC (Gainbridge LPGA).

For the complete list of Aon Risk Reward Challenge holes, check out https://www.pgatour.com/aon-risk-reward-challenge. Fans can also keep tabs on the competition, and see how their favorite golfers are doing, through social channels and broadcast coverage.

Previous champions of the Aon Risk Reward Challenge—Ciganda, Koepka, and Taylor—executed their game plans at elite levels throughout the season. Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay, Aon ambassador, NBC/Golf Channel On-Course Analyst, and former caddie for Phil Mickelson knows a thing or two about peak performance. “With this newer generation of players, analytics is becoming a bigger part of the game. They’re making decisions based on data on how well others did when laying up, or playing to a front left pin, or back right pin,” Mackay said. “The [Aon] Risk Reward Challenge is the tournament within the tournament. On the all-important Risk Reward holes, you’d caddy as you would at the end of a regular PGA Tour event. You’d say, ‘Hey, we have a lot on the line here. Let’s think about doing this.’ You’d also be much more likely to suggest a quite aggressive shot to your player if you need to make something happen,” added Mackay. No doubt this year’s ARRC winners will prevail due to their strategic preparation, smart data-driven decisions, strong caddie-player relationships, and the ability to optimize opportunities.

We’ll give Andersen the final word. “At Aon, we use data and analytics to develop insights to help our clients make better decisions. And a round of golf is a series of strategic decisions, where calculated risk can bring a player a step ahead of the competition. We’re thrilled to partner with the LPGA Tour and PGA TOUR and hope the players and fans continue to enjoy the Aon Risk Reward Challenge’s unique program this season.”

To learn more about the Aon Risk Reward Challenge, please visit https://www.pgatour.com/aon-risk-reward-challenge

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Webb Simpson to USGA/R&A on next steps to handle distance concerns: 'It's not an equipment problem'

Webb Simpson to USGA/R&A on next steps to handle distance concerns: 'It's not an equipment problem'

Golfsolutions February 02, 2021
Webb Simpson to USGA/R&A on next steps to handle distance concerns: 'It's not an equipment problem' https://ift.tt/3jbRyvZ

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Count Webb Simpson as firmly in the camp of those who don’t think golf needs to roll back the golf ball.

Discussing the USGA/R&A announcement Tuesday that it is considering the reduction of maximum club length (outside the putter) from 48 to 46 inches available and a potential use of a Local Rule that specifies the use of clubs and balls intended to result in shorter hitting distances, Simpson didn’t hold back.

“My first problem I have with the driver length is if a 6-foot, 10-inch really good golfer comes out, like are we really going to tell him he can’t use anything longer than 46 (inches in length)? So, that’s my only problem with the length of the driver,” said Simpson, speaking in his pre-tournament interview at the Waste Management Phoenix Open where he is the defending champion. “But I’ve been kind of saying for the last few years, I don’t think equipment is the problem. I do think – Jack Nicklaus hit it a lot farther than Bobby Jones, and then the guys after Jack are going to hit it farther than Jack. Distance was never really that big of an issue when Jack was playing and hitting it 300 yards.”

To hear Simpson, a Titleist ambassador, tell it, the bigger issue is golf course architecture.

Waste Management Phoenix Open: Leaderboard

“We need more doglegs. We need tighter fairways. We need longer rough. We need smaller greens. We need more firm greens. All those things I just named save money, saves water, saves land that you have to build a golf course. We know that 8,000-yard golf courses are not the answer. Brooks Koepka shot 16 under at Erin Hills (at the 2017 U.S. Open),” he said.

Note to Simpson: amateur golfers don’t need more bunkers, firmer greens, more trees, or thicker rough.

“Lengthening courses is not the issue. Bunker placements, dog legs, tree placements. I even think at Augusta on 13 we don’t need that tee 40 yards back. What they need is a mid-sized tree 20 yards in front of the tee box and five feet left of the tee box because the issue right now is guys can tee it up on the right and they can even cut it, some of these guys, over the tree. Well, if you put a tree there guys can’t do that.”

“I don’t think an equipment rollback does anybody any good when we can change the way golf courses are designed and it’s better for amateurs, it’s better for pros, and there are plenty of golf courses on the PGA Tour that have stood the test of time because of the way they’re designed,” he continued. “Equipment advances don’t really pay off or pay a dividend on those courses, and I just feel like these tweaks we could make are really not that hard and they’re cost effective.”

Simpson’s comments on course architecture begged the question of whether he thinks the PGA Tour needs to pick venues better suited for the modern game.

“I just think the PGA Tour needs to take a harder look, as well, about where we’re going in the game,” he said. “You take a golf course, a perfect example, No. 10 at Quail Hollow (home of the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte), my home club, the bunker is 300 yards to carry it. Well, if you can carry it 300 yards, which I would say roughly 30 to 35 guys on the PGA Tour now can carry that far, their fairway is roughly twice the size of a guy who can’t carry it 300.

“My idea was, hey, flip the bunker, just flip it, and now the amateurs, they have a wider fairway. Shorter hitters have a wider fairway. The bombers can still hit driver but now it’s 330 to carry; nobody is carrying that bunker. You’ve made the hole harder for the more advantaged guy who hits it forever, but it’s still in his court to hit driver if he wants to, and you’ve made it easier for the amateur. So, that little tweak I think is where some of these TPCs the PGA Tour could say, hey, we’re going to make this harder but we’re not going to add length. We don’t need length. We need more bunkers, we need more trees, like I said. I think it’s almost more of the major championships, where they’re going. They want to make them hard. Well, make them hard by doing the things that I’ve said with trees and bunkers. …

“I think there needs to be more of that kind of outside-the-box thinking than simply let’s make courses longer and limit the distance. The Dustin Johnsons and the Bryson DeChambeaus of the PGA Tour with limited equipment are still going to be the bombers if this happens, and I think we’ll have the same problems. We’re very adaptive out here. We’re going to figure it out, and I think they’ll have the same issue again in 20 years.”

While the USGA and R&A have served as the long-time shapers and administrators of the Rules of Golf, Simpson said the PGA Tour should have more than just a seat at the table for any changes aimed at impacting the professional game.

“I think their voice should be very loud,” Simpson said. “I respect the USGA and R&A a great deal, and I know that their intentions are great, but I don’t think an equipment rollback is what we need. I think we need to tweak our golf courses.”

from Golfweek https://ift.tt/36yN7pC
Opinion: In a battle of golf's rules versus golf's spirit, the spirit took the loss this weekend

Opinion: In a battle of golf's rules versus golf's spirit, the spirit took the loss this weekend

Golfsolutions February 02, 2021
Opinion: In a battle of golf's rules versus golf's spirit, the spirit took the loss this weekend https://ift.tt/3iWR7Fu

Golf may be the only sport that talks about “the spirit of the game.”

When a defensive end lays a late hit on a quarterback, no one talks about the spirit of football. The player accepts the penalty — if indeed a flag is thrown at all — and they move on with the game. We’ve seen flagrant fouls on basketball players that are called and even seen players ejected. But no announcers talk about “the spirit of basketball.”

Baseball does have its unwritten rules, but they seem more about whether to throw a 90 MPH fastball into someone’s ribs or thigh. And yes, there is some talk about steroid users and the Hall of Fame.

But it is in golf, with its etiquettes and traditions and protocols, where talk is about how the spirit of the game is as important as the letter of the law, the actual rules of the game. And that’s one of the great things about the sport. The spirit of the game does set the game apart from other sports because it is believed that there is something beyond the rules that makes the game special. It is the idea that sportsmanship walks hand in hand with the rules.

It is the calling of a penalty on yourself. It is the acknowledgment of great play by an opponent. It is seeing the opponent as just that, not as an enemy.

The spirit of the game versus the rules of the game showed up again last weekend at the Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego, and it showed up because of a familiar figure in such battles, Patrick Reed. Reed won the tournament by an impressive five shots, but it was the debate over how Reed handled a rules decision in the third round that dominated talk. Note that this is about a rules decision, not a rules violation.

No violation, but not much vindication

In the end, Reed, a past Masters champion and the 2014 American Express winner, was judged by PGA Tour officials not to have violated the rules of golf concerning an embedded ball on the 10th hole. A rules official even verified for Reed that the ball was indeed embedded.

What Reed and PGA Tour rules officials couldn’t do was silence the questions over how Reed had violated the unwritten rules of the spirit of the game. He should have called a rules official early. He should have not put the ball in his hand as long as he did. He should have notified his playing partners. He should have just handled the matter with more delicacy than he did.

And there is the problem, at least for this weekend. By the rules of the game and by the judgment of tour officials, Reed was justified in his actions. By the spirit of the game and because of his past actions, Reed wasn’t given the benefit of the doubt among those who might have been looking for him to violate a rule anyway.

The uproar on television and social media — well, at least as much uproar as can be generated for a golf controversy – has lasted far longer than it would have in other sports. “Play on” is what other sports would say, the rules were followed. But even fellow players such as Xander Schauffele and Lanto Griffen used phrases like “I wouldn’t have put myself in that position,” or “it’s sad,” to describe the Reed situation.

The worst thing that you can be branded as in golf is being a cheater. But pretty close is being called someone who doesn’t abide by or respect the spirit of the game.

Reed walked away from his five-shot victory with $1.35 million, but with players and fans chatting about his behavior and at least one sports betting site providing refunds for gamblers who didn’t bet on Reed to win, something that speaks to the integrity of the game itself.

In that regard, it was a bad week for the spirit of the game, and that’s never a good thing.

Larry Bohannan is golf writer for the Palm Springs Desert Sun. He can be reached at (760) 778-4633 or [email protected]. Follow him on Facebook or on Twitter at @Larry_Bohannan. 

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With new coach at the helm, Louisville men converted a last-minute opportunity to a top-5 in front of the TV cameras

With new coach at the helm, Louisville men converted a last-minute opportunity to a top-5 in front of the TV cameras

Golfsolutions February 02, 2021
With new coach at the helm, Louisville men converted a last-minute opportunity to a top-5 in front of the TV cameras https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

It’s difficult to know much about a team – even if it’s your team – until competition starts. Given that, the past two weeks have been loaded with discovery for Ryan Blagg.

Blagg assumed the head coaching role at Louisville in May after longtime coach Mark Crabtree retired after 21 seasons. A pandemic is an odd time to change jobs and by the time Blagg took over the role, college golf had already been silent two months. The ACC didn’t compete in the fall, either.

Many college teams still haven’t competed yet this spring, but Louisville’s men already have two tournaments under their belt. Blagg’s eyes have been wide open.

“I learned more about them those two weeks than I did the entire fall,” Blagg said of starts at the Seminole Intercollegiate at Camp Creek and the Southwestern Invitational.

“You learn so much about your team in a tournament format, just getting to see them under pressure and walking with them. Just getting to see their strengths and weaknesses and learn them better.”

For those who don’t know the story, Louisville was the last team into the Southwestern, a Golf Channel-televised event at North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village, California. Louisville had just wrapped the all-ACC Seminole tournament near Destin, Florida.

Blagg’s men had been home a day and were ready to ship out Phoenix for a spring-training trip the next day. Blagg got a call from Southwestern host Michael Beard, Pepperdine’s head men’s golf coach, at 7:30 p.m., the night before his team was supposed to leave.

“Hey, can you make this work?” Beard asked.

The hurdle was in COVID testing. Blagg’s athletic department helped him wade through the red tape and Beard helped expedite the COVID attestation process. It all fell into place, and Louisville still got in a round at Grayhawk Golf Club, site of this spring’s NCAA Championship, plus a round at Papago Golf Course across town before arriving at North Ranch.

“We had to have some luck go along our way making sure we tested negative,” Blagg said.

Louisville entered the Southwestern off an eighth-place finish at Camp Creek. The Cardinals couldn’t get it under par until the final round, when they went 11 under and had the low round of the day.

“We were just too little, too late and so I was thinking we would play well (at the Southwestern),” Blagg said. “I honestly thought we would go out there and have a chance to compete to win the golf tournament. That we would probably be in contention and see what we could do from there.”

The Cardinals put up opening rounds of 8 over and 5 under, good to remain in contention. Then Blagg looked at the forecast and saw bad weather rolling in. That would bode well for Blagg’s men, and ultimately they kept pace in a brutal final round to finish fourth overall at 21 over (11 back of winner San Diego State).

“Not every golfer has that in their bag – that grind and that grit,” Blagg said. “When things get tough, they don’t fight back. And our guys do that. I thought it would be good for us and it was right.”

Matthias Schmid, a senior from Germany who owns two European Amateur titles, garnered plenty of time in front of the cameras for Louisville. Schmid ultimately finished in a tie for third, with senior teammate John Murphy right behind him in a tie for 16th.

Schmid returns with a formidable resume. He led the country in birdies as a sophomore and has earned All-America honors the past two seasons. Blagg is still learning his game, but sees a bag full of tools. He’ll often stand on a par 3 and watch others who can’t hit the ball as far as Schmid take longer clubs into the green. Schmid will come in with more club and flight the ball down.

“He’s not just this long ball hitter,” Blagg said. “He’s got a lot of gears.”

Blagg spent the past seven years as the assistant coach at Baylor. This season is different not just for his new role, but because of the way COVID impacts all of athletics. There are no team outings. Depending on the state in which a tournament is played, a team can sometimes huddle in a deserted corner of a hotel to eat to-go dinners. That was the case in Florida, but not allowed in California.

“Although you do spend a lot of time talking at dinner, I found this refreshing,” Blagg said. “I think the guys are getting more rest now. Because the coaches are going to get the take-out food, the guys can relax at the hotel, we bring it to them.”

Still, a steak dinner isn’t quite the same in a box.

This season isn’t likely to get any less weird any time soon. Blagg felt his nerves tested already as he awaited negative COVID results from his players. Having already traveled to Arizona, it would have been difficult to get a player back home should he test positive for COVID.

“When I got that call saying we tested negative, that was huge,” he said.

And so the season moves onward for Louisville.

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New golf equipment for 2021: Drivers

New golf equipment for 2021: Drivers

Golfsolutions February 02, 2021
New golf equipment for 2021: Drivers https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

With the first month of 2021 now complete, most of the major equipment companies have released their flagship drivers for the year. In the first few weeks of January, new clubs were debuting nearly every day, or at least that’s how it felt to Golfweek’s equipment insider, David Dusek, who covered them all.

The trend that started to emerge in 2018 and 2019 is continuing, with several companies now using multi-material constructions to save weight in specific areas and shift it to other spots in the head to improve performance. We are also seeing more and more drivers that not only deliver great ball speed on well-struck shots, but also protect ball speed on mis-hits on the heel and toe. And finally, today’s drivers are more stable than ever, with several featuring extra mass in the back of the head to boost the moment of inertia.

Below are several new offerings from major brands.

from Golfweek https://ift.tt/3pGhP7S
Jack Nicklaus to build his first golf course in Saudi Arabia at Qiddiya

Jack Nicklaus to build his first golf course in Saudi Arabia at Qiddiya

Golfsolutions February 02, 2021
Jack Nicklaus to build his first golf course in Saudi Arabia at Qiddiya https://ift.tt/39EP7Pa

Jack Nicklaus has signed on to build his first Signature course in Saudi Arabia, located about 40 minutes from the Saudi capital of Riyadh.

Nicklaus and his eponymous design company are creating the course, which will be framed by the Tuwaiq Mountain range, for a private club within a residential community in the Qiddiya development. Nicklaus said he has been involved in the planning and expects to break ground this year.

Nicklaus Design has built more than 425 courses in more than 45 countries, but this will be the first foray into the Middle East for the 18-time major champion.

“I am excited by this project and my first golf course design in the Middle East,” Nicklaus said in a media release announcing the project. “To be selected as one of the first international designers to work in the Kingdom is a great honor.

“I’ve already spent time looking at the topography of the land, images of the backdrop and terrain, and discussing with our design team a strategy for the course. The design will fully integrate the natural environment and the beautiful Qiddiya landscape, bringing together green spaces and mountainous terrain to form a picturesque canvas for both a beautiful and challenging golf course.”

The media release said construction on the Qiddiya development began in 2019 and will feature a high-end resort hotel and spa plus homes. Qiddiya – called Saudi Arabia’s capital of entertainment, sports and the arts in the media release – hopes to attract international golf championships to the new course.

“By being involved in this project, we hope to promote the development and enjoyment of the game in the Kingdom,” Nicklaus said in the release. “We not only want to entice Saudi residents to take up the great game of golf, but we also hope this presents employment opportunities for citizens of the Kingdom that are within or related to the golf industry. This mirrors the vision of Qiddiya.”

Qiddiya also plans to build a second course at the development and is seeking designers for that layout.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman announced the plans for the project in 2017, and Qiddiya Investment company was born. The media release states the company has a “dual economic and social purpose: to advance economic diversification and unlock new professional pathways while enriching lives of the youth in the Kingdom.”

“The underlying philosophy behind this entire development is to introduce a new, active lifestyle to the people of Saudi Arabia,” Qiddiya Investment Company CEO Philippe Gas said in the media statement. “This project has been carefully planned to ensure an unmatched resort experience for both golfers and regular guests. We expect the Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course and residential offering to provide the most entertaining challenge for golfers and the most appealing homesteads for residents seeking an extraordinary lifestyle.”

from Golfweek https://ift.tt/3jf51D1
Report: TaylorMade Golf for sale, parent KPS could be asking $2 billion

Report: TaylorMade Golf for sale, parent KPS could be asking $2 billion

Golfsolutions February 02, 2021
Report: TaylorMade Golf for sale, parent KPS could be asking $2 billion https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

The New York Times reported Tuesday that KPS Capital Partners wants to sell TaylorMade Golf, which it acquired in 2017 from Adidas for $425 million. The potential asking price could exceed $2 billion.

The Times reported in its DealBook that New York-based KPS has hired Morgan Stanley to run the sale of the golf equipment brand based in Carlsbad, California. Spokespeople for Morgan Stanley and KPS declined to comment to the Times on the report. No potential buyers were listed in the report.

TaylorMade is the sponsor for many noted PGA Tour players including Tiger Woods, Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy.

A possible sale would come on the heels of a strong year for golf. Analytics company Golf DataTech reported the sport’s recreational participation in the United States surged 13.9 percent in 2020 versus 2019 as players sought outdoor opportunities during the coronavirus pandemic.

Retail sales of golf equipment also surged in 2020, Golf Datatech reported, with $2.81 billion in revenue. That was a 10.1 percent increase over 2019. It gave 2020 the third-highest annual total since Golf Datatech began tracking the industry, trailing only $2.91 billion in 2008 and $2.87 billion in 2007.

“While the global pandemic wreaked havoc on many segments of our economy, the golf industry experienced a significant boost in rounds played and equipment sales,” John Krzynowek, a partner at Golf Datatech, said in a release announcing the surge in rounds played. “On the equipment side, sales increased by low single digits in both 2018 and 2019, but the double-digit gains in 2020 can only be attributed to the pandemic and golf being a respite for so many.”

The German-based Adidas sold the company to KPS to narrow its focus to soft goods and footwear in the golf retail space.

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Astronaut Alan Shepard and the 50th anniversary of the first golf swing on the moon

Astronaut Alan Shepard and the 50th anniversary of the first golf swing on the moon

Golfsolutions February 02, 2021
Astronaut Alan Shepard and the 50th anniversary of the first golf swing on the moon https://ift.tt/2NQjl9o

Commander Alan Shepard Jr. kept his plan quiet. The mission came first.

Apollo 14, Shepard’s second space flight as commander, was planned for Jan. 31 to Feb. 9, 1971. Two years after humans first landed on the moon, Shepard wouldn’t be the first astronaut in space or the first person to walk on the moon on this trip, but he secretly planned to create a first of his own 238,900 miles from home.

A lover of golf who spent the later years of his life near Pebble Beach, California, Shepard brought two golf balls folded in a sock and a unique 6-iron of his own engineering to space 50 years ago, hoping to become the first person to hit a golf ball on the moon.

USGA senior historian Victoria Nenno recounts the idea came to Shepard as he was determining the best way to demonstrate to non-scientists the differences between the atmospheres on Earth and the moon. One previous idea to demonstrate the differences in atmospheres was dropping a rock and feather in space and noticing how they reacted on release, but Shepard wanted a more relatable, visual aid to demonstrate the differences.

The idea to use golf as the visual hit Shepard when famed comedian Bob Hope visited NASA prior to the mission. During the tour led by Shepard, Hope carried around an old driver and eventually used it for balance when he entered the moonwalker, simulating conditions on the moon.

To make his plan fit into the mission as seamlessly as possible, Shepard decided the best way to bring a golf club on board was to make it useful to the mission and compact. He used a retractable telescopic aluminum and teflon shaft, which usually attaches to an instrument which collects rock and dust samples on the lunar surface, as the shaft of the golf club with the idea of crafting an attachable clubhead he would fasten to the end when he finished collecting the sample for his experiment.

Alan B. Shepard as seen during his visit to Golf House in Far Hills, New Jersey on February 6, 1996 to talk about the Moon Club which he used on the moon during his Apollo 14 mission. (Copyright Robert Walker/USGA)

With the help of Jack Harden, head golf pro at River Oaks Country Club in Houston, Texas, Shepard crafted a modified Wilson 6-iron clubhead. They chose to create a 6-iron because the length of the shaft for a scientific instrument was about the length of a traditional 6-iron. The modified club fit in a small bag, folded along its five breaks, connected by a piece of string. With a pull of the internal string, all five sections of the shaft were reconnected and with the tying of a knot, the shaft became solid. With the addition of the Wilson clubhead, which snaps in the thinnest end of the shaft, NASA’s first golf club was assembled. It weighed about 16.5 ounces.

When he pitched the idea to Robert Gilruth, then director of the Manned Spacecraft Center, he was initially met with some resistance. The mission came first.

“It’s one of those things where you’re undertaking a very dangerous and important mission and to add something that’s potentially seen as lighthearted into the equation could seem unnecessary,” Nenno said. “But he thought this would be a great way to demonstrate … a scientific experiment that would really communicate the differences to the people watching below.”

But after some convincing, citing the impact the demonstration could have to non-scientists about the mysteries of space, Gilruth allowed Shepard to use the club pending the mission was successful and complete. With golf balls hidden in a sock inside his space suit, Shepard didn’t fill in his fellow astronauts – Stuart Roosa and Edgar Mitchell. They didn’t know until after liftoff.

The Moon Club, a specially crafted 6-iron clubhead, weighing 16.5 ounces, that was carried by Alan Shepard onboard the Apollo 14 mission to the moon as seen at the USGA Headquarters in Far Hills, NJ. (USGA/John Mummert)

Apollo 14 launched on Jan. 31. When there were no complications with the mission on Feb. 6, it was Shepard’s time to pay homage to the game he loved while demonstrating the physics of life in space, but a wrinkle arose in his plan due to the bulk of Shepard’s suit.

“Houston, while you’re looking that up, you might recognize what I have in my hand is the handle for the contingency sample return; it just so happens to have a genuine six iron on the bottom of it,” Shepard said on the moon, according to the NASA transcript. “In my left hand, I have a little white pellet that’s familiar to millions of Americans. I’ll drop it down. Unfortunately, the suit is so stiff, I can’t do this with two hands, but I’m going to try a little sand-trap shot here.”

With one hand, Shepard swung and missed the ball. This prompted banter from fellow astronauts.

“You got more dirt than ball that time,” Mitchell jabbed.

He finally made sight contact with his second swing, but not enough to send the ball further than two or three feet, according to the NASA transcript.

“That looked like a slice to me, Al,” former Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 13 Fred Haise inserted from Mission Control.

“Here we go. Straight as a die,” Shepard replied. “One more.”

After a long pause, Shepard swung his makeshift 6-iron and made contact. The first golf shot on the moon came to life, rolling into a crater about 40 yards away.

He had the hang of it now.

Shepard dropped a second ball and swung again. Keeping his head down as much as he could, he made contact a second time.

The Moon Club, a specially crafted 6-iron clubhead carried by Alan Shepard onboard the Apollo 14 mission to the moon as seen on August 30, 2007 at the USGA Headquarters in Far Hills, NJ. (USGA/John Mummert)

“Miles and miles and miles,” Shepard said as he watched it sail.

“Very good, Al,” Haise said.

It wasn’t really miles. It was more like 200 yards, Shepard estimated later based on calculations and landmarks on the moon’s surface from previous experiments.

The moment wasn’t scientifically groundbreaking. The atmosphere on the moon’s surface had been tested and witnessed in previous missions. It wasn’t a complicated experiment or procedure like many of NASA’s missions. But it didn’t need to be.

It was lighthearted. It was human. And it made space, astronauts and the unknown universe warm and familiar if only for a brief moment.

“Obviously it’s gone down as sort of one of these really human moments in scientific exploration and its generated a lot of interest with people not only in the sporting community but because it represents the American cultural milestone,” Nenno said. “You can see sports are so important to American culture, so important in fact that they’re used to demonstrate science in this moment of major scientific exploration. …

“The moon club has such a broad interest among people because it take us back to this time of great national pride and hope for the future and golf and sports’ role in our American identity.”

National pride and hope. Something 50 years later, every American and human could use a little more of.

While Shepard died in 1998 at the age of 74, his legacy lives on in the USGA Golf Museum and Library in Liberty Corner, New Jersey, where the moon club and the sock that contained the two golf balls brought to the moon are two of the museum’s most popular items alongside Bobby Jones’ famous Calamity Jane putter.

Admiral Alan B. Shepard and The Moon Club. (USGA)

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USGA, R&A take next steps in distance discussion by zeroing in on Local Rule, equipment-testing measures

USGA, R&A take next steps in distance discussion by zeroing in on Local Rule, equipment-testing measures

Golfsolutions February 02, 2021
USGA, R&A take next steps in distance discussion by zeroing in on Local Rule, equipment-testing measures https://ift.tt/36xTc5G

Almost a year to the day after the U.S. Golf Association and the R&A declared distance is taking the sport down an unsustainable path, golf’s governing bodies formally announced Tuesday they are interested in researching equipment topics related to distance.

The USGA and R&A want to work with manufacturers and other stakeholders to learn more about how potential changes in equipment standards and testing procedures could curb the growing distance trend at elite levels of play.

“After two years of research and crafting a statement of conclusions, it was our hope to say that now we are going to get into the beginning of the solution phase,” Mike Davis, executive director of the USGA, told Golfweek in an exclusive interview. “That was to be in March of 2020, and obviously, with COVID, we rightfully delayed that.”

With Tuesday’s announcement of two Areas of Interest – the potential use of a Local Rule and the conformance specifications for both golf balls and golf clubs – the USGA moves its distance conversation forward.

“The issue is complex, and this is not going to be easy,” said Davis, who has announced he plans to retire from the USGA at the end of 2021 to focus on building golf courses. “But this is an issue that has confronted the game of golf for well over a century. We are determined to solve what we believe is an issue that needs to get solved.”

The USGA and R&A will collect feedback regarding the potential use of a Local Rule that specifies the use of clubs and balls intended to result in shorter hitting distances. The idea is to give tournament organizers and course operators more flexibility. Thomas Pagel, the USGA’s senior managing director of governance, said this is not a step toward bifurcation or the creation of two sets of rules to govern golf.

Thomas Pagel, USGA

Thomas Pagel, Senior Managing Director, Governance. (Photo: USGA/Chris Keane)

“Model Local Rules are all about promoting flexibility or options in the game, and they have existed for a long time,” Pagel said. “We remain committed to a single set of rules. We think it is one of the great attributes of the game that ties us all together. We play the same equipment on the same golf courses under the same rules. No other sport does that, and we want to retain that.”

As a second Area of Interest, the USGA and R&A want a review of the overall conformance specifications for clubs and balls, including specifications that directly and indirectly affect hitting distances. This means the ruling bodies want to research topics such as the limitation of ball efficiency, golf ball sizes and weights, making drivers smaller in volume and shorter, and reducing the spring-like effect in faces and moment of inertia in club heads.

The comment period for both topics ends Nov. 2.

The USGA and R&A also asked for feedback and research on three proposed changes to equipment standards:

1. Club Length. As a Model Local Rule, reduce the maximum non-putter club length from 48 inches to 46 inches. This concept has been mentioned before, and now the comment period on this potential change ends March 4. If it is adopted a few days or weeks after that date, then theoretically Augusta National Golf Club (and any other facility) could implement a Model Local Rule limiting club length to 46 inches during competition for all clubs except putters. The decision would be entirely up to the tournament organizers. (Hello, Bryson DeChambeau!)

2. Update the method used to test golf balls. Instead of continuing to test balls by hitting them with a 10-degree test driver swung at 120 mph and measuring how fast the balls come off the face, golf balls could be tested for distance at multiple launch angles (7.5 degrees to 15 degrees) with varying amounts of backspin (2,200-2,500 rpm).

3. Change the characteristic time (CT) testing tolerance. The spring-like effect in a driver’s face is limited to 239 microseconds plus up to 18 microseconds for manufacturing tolerances. But manufacturing techniques are improving every year, so what effect could reducing the tolerance to 6 microseconds have on distance?

USGA golf balls

To be clear, the USGA and the R&A have not announced any rule changes regarding equipment. The clubs and balls you used last weekend are going to be legal for play next weekend and probably for years to come. In fact, Davis said the USGA and R&A have no intention of changing things significantly at the recreational level.

The USGA and R&A did effectively set the wheels in motion to learn more about how potential equipment changes and methods for testing equipment might affect distance. They want to discuss with equipment makers, who understand recreational golfers and elite players, what might happen if changes were enacted.

Some people believe distance has played an outsized role in elite players’ success, and they want to see equipment changes made quickly. That’s unlikely to happen.

In 2011, the USGA, R&A and equipment makers agreed to a process for changing testing methods and introducing new equipment guidelines. Commonly referred to as the Vancouver Protocols, they lay out a step-by-step series of events that must occur before equipment changes are implemented. The announcement of an Area of Interest notice is straight out of part 5, section 2 of the agreement:

The USGA and the R&A continually conduct various types of research concerning golf equipment. When a research topic has the potential to result in an equipment Rule change, an “Area of Interest” Notice will be published by the USGA and the R&A. Subsequently, and where applicable, the USGA and the R&A will publish any research which has been conducted and invite manufacturers, other involved entities and additional interested parties to comment and participate in the research.

“This is about long-term, for the whole of the game,” Davis said. “I think golfers need to understand that this every-generation-hits-the-ball-farther is affecting the game negatively. The cost of this is being born by all golfers. We’re just trying to fit the game of golf back on golf courses.”

from Golfweek https://ift.tt/3tmIUiy