Date Written: February 4, 2008
In the beginning there was George Bayer. For those who are not old enough to remember Big George, he was this huge guy who played on tour in the fifties and hit the ball a mile. Legend has it that he didn't start playing golf until he was twenty nine. He won 3 times on tour, playing wound balls and "real" woods, pounding it around 300 yards. He reminds me of the old gorilla joke where the beast steps up on the first tee and hits a drive 525 yards onto the green. And then, of course, when handed his putter, he hits it another 500 yards. Fast forward to the 90's. Big John Daly comes out of Nowhere, Arkansas with a bad mullet and a dramatic over swing. The masses were drooling over his extraordinary length. Nowadays... Bubba Watson, "Spiderman" Villegas, and J.B. Holmes the winner of yesterday's FBR, represent the current generation of "King Kong's" who never met a dogleg they couldn't fly. They have never suffered like most of us mortals from having to devise an actual course management plan. Golf course architects hate them. There thinking goes something like, "where's the flag, hand me my driver." Tiger might even be included in this group because his "fairways hit" stat is very low, yet his scoring ability is unparalleled. But that's another story which touches on the "square groove" controversy that has yet to be resolved by the USGA.From Wikipedia, the expert on everything:
John B. Holmes, along with fellow 2006 rookies such as Camilo Villegas and Bubba Watson, is known for hitting the ball long distances, in excess of 300 yards (312.7 yards, ranking him number 2 in driving distance, only 6 yards behind the leader, Watson). As such, he plays courses by routinely hitting his driver as far as he can, reminiscent of John Daly's "Grip it and Rip It" philosophy, and using his distance advantage to put him closer to the green and in position for a wedge or short iron to the green. While the style of play is not new, many critics have complained that J.B. Holmes's style has ushered in a new wave of golfers dedicated to smashing the ball as far as they can, assisted by the newer golf equipment offered by golf club companies and hacking the ball out of the rough onto the green, effectively eliminating the equalizing effect that the sport of golf usually affords shorter, accurate hitters.
An interesting aside: Holmes began to play on the Taylor County High School (Campbellsville, KY) varsity golf team when he was in third grade. Holmes is not that big now; 5'11', 190 lbs. When asked how he hits it so long, he said he doesn't have a clue.
The FBR was pretty good theatre what with Holmes blowing a big lead early then making birdies on the 18th twice to redeem himself. But the best TV on Sunday was earlier from Dubai on the Golf Channel where, His Eminence, "Pope Woods," added another chapter to his legendary bio by firing 6 birdies on the last nine holes to nip Big Ernie at the wire. "The Pope" is two for two in tournaments entered and tournaments won thus far this year. To keep his mini-streak alive, the question now becomes, where does he show up next? At Riviera for the L.A. (Northern Trust) Open, where he's never won or the Match Play at La Costa?
Congrats to "Monte Train," who jumps from eighth to second in our pool with his Mickelson pick. This week at the AT&T there six Love's and four Singh's.
Doug B. has volunteered to do next week's editorial from his perch at Pebble. He will be assisted, stat-wise, by Lord Arthur of Kerrick, who calls Poppy Hills his castle. Hopefully, I will be in L.A. watching my daughter, Frances gift me with a grandson...my first.
Finally, It's always fun to have one's behavioral instincts confirmed. John Hawkins, Senior Writer of GolfWorld Magazine, devoted the last page of the current issue of Golfworld Magazine to John "The Big Dope" Daly. I've excerpted the following:
For all the "truthoholics" across America who are fond of wrapping their arms around John Daly, he now has no exempt status, no equipment contract and no clue. He hasn't had a top-10 finish in almost two and one-half years. He's withdrawn 7 times in his last 21 starts. He has become an accidental marketing genius; the only multiple major champion with a grease monkey's sensibilities to match his countless fragilities.
WalterGolf
