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A Step Backward

By Scott Walker

You don’t need me to tell you what Steve Williams said about Tiger Woodswas uncool. Why it is uncool is a more important subject.

At the private Annual Caddy Awards dinner this week in Shanghai, Williams was given an “award” for best celebration, in honor of him carrying Adam Scott to victory (as it seemed by Williams’ post-round comments) at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. The whole event was to be a tongue-in-cheek laugh fest to end the year. But, when Williams said in his acceptance speech that his goal, referring to Woods, was to “shove it right up that black [expletive deleted],” the comment shocked observers in the room. It also has reverberated inside the golf world, and beyond.

The reason this situation will not soon be forgotten is that Williams referenced Tiger’s color reflexively when he got angry. The kneejerk reaction from some was to refer to Williams as a racist. Believe me, that only confuses the issue. You and I have no clue whether or not Steve Williams believes he is racially superior to Tiger Woods, me, or any other race. What we do know is that when the anger of being fired by Woods boiled over again this week, Williams decided to reference Woods’ color in using an objectionable phrase. “I now realize how my comments could be construed as racist,” Williams said in a statement on his website. The fact that he didn’t realize it immediately is baffling. However, it illustrates that when Williams wanted to inflict the greatest injury with his comments, he reflexively reached for a colorful adjective to do it.

But Williams’ comments are only part of the issue. The fact that he felt comfortable enough to say such nonsense at that gathering will remind minorities of golf’s exclusive past, of proverbial smoke-filled rooms where decisions were made, and where many of us were absent. There is nothing wrong with having a private gathering where folks can have a good time at the end of a long year. There is something wrong when one of the attendees considered it the perfect time and setting to say what Williams did. Thankfully, enough people in that room decided what transpired there should not remain hidden. But it was a reminder that of the anxiety that comes with the question, “What do they say about us when we are not around?”

Will there be repercussions for Williams’ comments? Adam Scott said after the third round of the WGC-HSBC Champions that he wants Williams as his caddie. That is understandable, given the recent success Team Scott has had, as well as the success Team Tiger had with Williams on the bag. But golf as a sport, and an industry, needs to tread very carefully with this situation. If Tiger Woods, golf’s greatest champion since the Golden Bear, is still not immune to racially tinged rhetoric, who is?

What do they say about us when we are not around? It can be tough to grow the game when Steve Williams has provided an answer to that question.

Marius Filmalter: Mindset matters when making putting changes

by Marius Filmalter

This week I am checking in from Midland, Texas, at the WNB Golf Classic on the Nationwide Tour. I have several students out on the Nationwide including Matthew Goggin [pictured], Matt Weibring, Matt Every and Danny Lee so I try to get out to at least three or four events every year.

During tournament weeks, the mindset of my Tour pro students falls into one of two camps. I have named these mindsets “preservation” and “improvement.” (For the record, there is a third mindset that I refer to as “Leave me alone, Marius! I am putting great,” but that does not really need to be discussed.)

In “preservation” mode, the player is comfortable with his current putting stroke and is seeking my advice as merely an avenue to boost their current confidence or possibly looking for a small swing thought or putting trigger to help them continue to roll their putts well. In “improvement” mode, the player is willing to make changes because what they are currently doing or feeling with the putter is not correct.

On Tuesday, I spent some time with Will Claxton addressing a putter-path issue that was significant enough for Will to ask my advice. Will was cutting across the ball, which makes it very difficult to be a consistently good putter. We worked to get Will to feel more like he was hooking his putts, which he was able to do in a relatively short period of time.

I understand many of you will read this and think, “Thanks for writing about the obvious, Marius.” OK, but stop and think about your own game. I know that many of you have been struggling with your game as you were about to play in your club championship or maybe a state tournament. So what should you do? Well, most of you will reach out to your local PGA professional, which is what I would recommend 100 out of a 100 times, BUT only if you approach that lesson with the correct mindset.

What do I mean by “correct mindset”? Evaluate the severity of your current level of struggle. This is the time to be honest with yourself. If you are a good player who is maybe missing more fairways to the left than normal, approach your PGA professional with a “preservation” mindset. That means you aren’t making a major change but something simple, such as weakening your grip or maybe changing your alignment. These changes can be made without damaging your confidence.

On the other hand, if you are struggling greatly with your putting before a big event, you need to decide whether you have enough time to feel comfortable playing under pressure after making a major technical change. If you are certain that a change must be made to give yourself the best chance to succeed, then approach your change under an “improvement” mindset.

Thanks for all the emails, folks. Please keep them coming to blog@mariusgolf.com. Also, you have only a couple more weeks to order the Automatic Putting Package for the promotional rate of $59.95. After Oct. 15, it will return to $99.95. Please visit mariusgolf.com for more details.

Until next time…cheers!

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R&A announces rules changes

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — Golfers will no longer be penalized if their ball moves after it has been addressed in one of a number of rule changes announced Monday by the sport’s governing body.

Rory McIlroy and Webb Simpson were among those to have been hit with one-shot penalties this year for what is widely regarded as one of the harshest rules in golf.

The revision was made by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, which issues the sport’s rules in conjunction with the USGA, the governing golf organization in the United States and Mexico.

Beginning Jan. 1 and until 2015, players will not be punished if the ball moves after the address “when it is known or virtually certain that he did not cause the ball to move.”

“Every time the wind blows, I am worried that my ball is going to move and I am worried about grounding my putter, distracting me from trying to hole my putt,” said Padraig Harrington, three-time major winner who is an R&A ambassador.

McIlroy, the U.S. Open champion who is ranked No. 3, was penalized in his final round at the British Open at Royal St. George’s. The consequences weren’t dire for McIlroy — he had little chance of winning and finished 25th — but the same cannot be said of Simpson during the final round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in May.

The American was leading by a shot and closing in on what would have been his first title when his ball moved on the 15th green. After receiving a one-stroke penalty, he eventually lost in a playoff to compatriot Bubba Watson.

Simpson lost the PGA Tour money title to Luke Donald on Sunday by a margin of $335,861 — the difference between first and second place at the Zurich Classic was $460,800.

Simpson at the time labeled the sanction “such a bad rule.”

Other changes announced by the R&A include allowing players to smooth sand or soil before playing from a hazard “provided it is for the sole purpose of caring for the course and Rule 13-2 (improving lie, area of intended stance or swing or line of play) is not breached.”

Golfers also no longer will be automatically disqualified from a tournament if they start late, but within five minutes of their assigned tee time. Instead, they will lose the first hole in match play or two shots at the first hole in stroke play.

“I am delighted with the changes, in particular the ball moving after address,” Harrington said. “It is definitely giving us players a little bit of a break.”

In addition, the R&A has amended the definition of addressing the ball to mean “simply … grounding his club immediately in front of or behind the ball, regardless of whether or not he has taken his stance.”

Before, the address position required a player to be standing over the ball with the club grounded.

Rio seeks bids for 2016 Olympics course

Rio organizers are asking architects interested in designing the golf course for the 2016 Olympics to submit proposals this month, with a winner to be picked before Christmas.

The Rio Olympic committee says companies or individuals wanting to design the course will have until Oct. 28 to apply, and the winning candidate will be announced Dec. 23.

Applicants must have prior course design experience, and the project will have to meet several specifications put in place by organizers.

The committee said Monday the course also would have to leave a legacy to Rio and become “an important tool for youth transformation through sport.”

Some of the sport’s top names have expressed interest in designing the course, including Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Greg Norman.

The proposals will be examined by a jury made up of members of the IGF, the 2016 Olympic committee and the city of Rio.

The committee said the winner would be paid $300,000 for the design.

Any international company bidding for the design must have an office legally established in Rio.

Nicklaus and Annika Sorenstam, among those who helped persuade the International Olympic Committee to bring golf back to the Olympics, said in May 2010 they were interested in building the golf course. They offered to do it for free. Norman is working with retired Mexican star Lorena Ochoa.

“Because of how the Olympics are regarded and respected, I see this as a tremendous opportunity to introduce and grow the sport of golf in new and emerging markets,” Nicklaus said Monday. “I would very much like to further that objective by collaborating with Annika on the design of the Olympic venue in Rio.”

The Rio golf course will be built in the Barra da Tijuca neighborhood, which will hold most of the Olympic venues. The course is expected to be located about 3 miles from the athletes village.

The committee said that after the games, the course would be managed by a “private operator with the chief purpose of promoting golf in Brazil and in South America, representing one of the most important games’ legacies for sport development in the country.”

Golf made its debut at the second modern Olympics in Paris in 1900, but was dropped after the 1904 games in St. Louis. The sport was reinstated by an IOC vote in 2009 that also guaranteed it a place in 2020.