A dozen or so
golf bags sit behind the practice range at any PGA Tour events,
all of them stuffed with the latest drivers, irons, wedges and putters.
For guys like Mike Weir and Steve Flesch, sometimes it's not worth
the trouble to even look.
Such is the
price one pays for being a lefty in a sport where nearly all the
equipment is geared toward right-handed players.
"That's the
one factor that's still difficult out there for a left-hander,''
Weir said. "When something comes out, for a left-hander it takes
a little longer.''
Of the thousands
of new drivers that might be available for testing on the range,
Flesch said, only about five are for guys who swing from the other
side.
"You don't
have the selection,'' he said. "If we see something we like, we
ask first of all, 'Do you make it left-handed?' The next question,
'Can it be made to my specs?' Not all of them can.''
"Lefties"
like Phil Mickelson get a poor deal in the equipment stakes.
Allsport.
If there is
a bond among the six southpaws on tour, it's what they have in the
bag. It is common to see Weir snooping around in Flesch's bag to
see what new toys he has. Ditto for guys like Greg Chalmers, Russ
Cochran, Kevin Wentworth or Phil Mickelson.
"It's frustrating
sometimes,'' Chalmers said. "I'm waiting for a driver at the moment
that's 9 1/2 degrees in loft. They make it 8 1/2. Little things
like, you tear your hair out.''
Flesch said
Cleveland has a new driver in the works. Not surprisingly, Masters
champion Vijay Singh and Harrison Frazar already have it, and "it
goes a long way.''
How soon before
he can put one in his bag?
"Probably another
month or two,'' Flesch said.
SUTTON
ON SHOTLINK
For caddies
who don't want to reveal club selection for the new Shotlink System,
Hal Sutton has a message: Shut up and do it.
"I think they're
making more money than they ever dreamed they would make, just like
I am,'' said Sutton, a member of the PGA Tour policy board. "We
ought to thank our lucky stars than sit around and gripe.''
Shotlink is
being designed as a platform for over 200 statistics, charting every
shot by every player in every round of every tournament. A key piece
of the puzzle, however, is getting club selection from caddies,
and several aren't inclined to help. Some want to be paid, while
others worry about Shotlink becoming a distraction inside the ropes.
"Change is
tough,'' Sutton said. "I think if we were not so narrow-minded,
if we looked at the big picture, we could see that is where the
whole world is headed and we better be geared up for it.''
Sutton said
Shotlink will give the tour a better product, which will lead to
a better TV contract and more money, which will trickle down to
the caddies.
"They all work
on commission,'' he said. "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to
do the numbers. I think it's just shortsightedness on their part.
They don't want to work real hard.''
RYDER
WINDFALL
How much money
does the PGA of America bring in when the Ryder Cup is played on
home soil?
A lot.
Golf World
Business reported that television revenue for the fiscal year ending
June 30 -- which included the 1999 Ryder Cup outside Boston -- was
$131.3 million. In fiscal 1999, a non-Ryder Cup year, television
revenue for the PGA of America was $47.6 million.
At the time
of the last previous Ryder Cup in the United States, at Oak Hill
in 1995, the PGA of America's TV revenue was $47.2 million. TV revenue
was $46.3 million in fiscal 1998, when the Ryder Cup was played
in Spain.
SHAG
BAG
Steve Stricker was digging through a basket of balls on the practice range at Doral
as if he were sorting through eggs. He was looking for a Titleist
Pro V1, which is just about everywhere on the PGA Tour.
Except on the
range.
The properties
of the three-piece Pro V1 are vastly different than the Titleist
Professional, and some players are hitting the ball with a different
launch angle and feel on the range than they do inside the ropes.
Stricker considered
hitting a Strata when he couldn't find any more Pro V1 balls on
the range, but finally asked his caddie, wife Nicki, to fetch a
few balls from his bag.
"That's a legitimate
point and we take it seriously,'' Titleist chief Wally Uihlein said.
"We're at an aggressive level of production and we'll set aside
some balls for practice purposes. I should think it would be sooner
rather than later.''
Uihlein said
Titleist plans to be in a position to supply Pro V1 balls for the
practice range starting with The Players Championship.
HOCH
AND PEBBLE
Scott Hoch
has never been a big fan of Pebble Beach, and he reflected on the
last time he played there -- the U.S. Open, when he finished in
a tie for 16th, 21 strokes behind Tiger Woods.
"I sat on the
same fence (Jack) Nicklaus did and said this is the last time they'll
see me,'' Hoch said. "And I didn't see MY picture in the paper.''
DIVOTS
The BellSouth
Classic in Atlanta has increased its purse $200,000 to $3.3 million.
... Mike Weir and Sergio Garcia will make up half of the Canadian
Skins Game field July 22-24 at Angus Glen outside Toronto, home
of the 2002 Canadian Open. Defending champion Fred Couples has decided
not to return. ... By winning the Nissan Open in a six-man playoff,
Robert Allenby became the first player since Phil Blackmar to win
his first three PGA Tour events in playoffs. Blackmar's came 12
years apart. Allenby won his in a span of 22 tournaments. ... Aaron Baddeley is taking the first of seven available sponsor's exemptions
this week in the Honda Classic. He already has qualified for three
other events -- the Memorial for winning the Australian Open, and
the British Open and American Express Championship for leading the
Australasian Tour money list. Baddeley also signed a three-year
endorsement deal with Nike.
STAT
OF THE WEEK
It took 10
tournaments for the PGA Tour to have a two-time winner in Joe Durant.
That's the longest stretch since 16 tournaments were completed in
1998 before David Duval became the season's first two-time winner
with a victory at the Shell Houston Open. Duval's win came in the
season's 17th week, as the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am was
started in week four but not finished until August.
FINAL
WORD
"I never even
heard of body fat. All I heard was fat.'' - Jack Nicklaus, on the
health-and-fitness craze on the PGA Tour.
