Playing captaincy invites peril
I normally agree with most of your opinions but I disagree with this one (“A vote for Bradley as playing captain,” Aug. 18, GGP). Not only is being the Ryder Cup captain an honor, it is very time consuming if done properly.
I think the U.S. team is short on talent this year compared to the Europeans. A total commitment from the captain and his assistants will be necessary to give the Americans a chance to win. Proper pairings will be crucial and need to be done without a playing captain being in the mix.
A general never goes to the front line for hand-to-hand combat.
Charlie MillerWestport, Connecticut
Captain needs to be ‘all in’
I rarely agree with anything Rory McIlroy says, but in this case he is absolutely correct (“A vote for Bradley as playing captain,” Aug. 18, GGP). Being the captain of the Ryder Cup is just too large a role to do well and also put 100 percent of yourself into playing the most high-stress golf in existence.
Keegan Bradley could say he will hand off the duties to the assistant and just play, but who could really do that anymore? I have serious doubts that he would play his best while in the back of his mind be worrying about pairings, other matches, etc. Ultimately it was a disservice to him to be named captain while he’s still a top player in the world. He should not choose himself so he can be all in as captain. Either way, we will all be watching and I’m expecting a tough European team to tee it up at Bethpage.
Lee HowardAtlanta, Georgia
LIV’s obscurity deserved
Just a brief note of appreciation for your recent column (“LIV Golf amounts to disappearing act for most,” July 28, GGP).
Having been a follower of the PGA Tour since my father took me to my first tournament in 1961, I was deeply angered by the Saudi-backed LIV Golf league literally destroying the rich heritage and tradition of the sport, with its poaching of many of the PGA Tour players by offering guaranteed contracts.
Of course, as you alluded to in your column, the circus-like atmosphere of LIV Golf has been widely ignored, leaving its players languishing in relative obscurity.
Jim RedheadSan Diego, California
Understanding history pays dividends
Thanks for writing about the game’s history (“Too few pay mind to game’s history,” July 21, GGP).
As an amateur golf historian, my interest in the game’s history started as a caddie at South Hills Country Club in Pittsburgh in 1979. I used to hear some of the members telling stories about Sam Parks Jr., who was the head professional at South Hills when he won the 1935 U.S. Open at Oakmont.
The club had also hosted an exhibition match on June 3, 1951, between Ben Hogan and amateur Frank Souchek from Oakmont, and South Hills club champion Jack Benson and head professional Ted Luther. This was after Hogan had won the 1951 Masters, and a few weeks before he won the U.S. Open at Oakland Hills.
The match was all square going into No. 18, and Benson hit his approach on the final hole to 2 feet, and is said to have turned to Hogan with a “challenging glare” after it came to rest on the green. Hogan then hit his second shot to 9 inches to halve the hole! A photo of the four players talking about the shot is featured in the clubhouse and in the club’s centennial book.
Those early stories led me to a lifetime interest in the history of the game, and I now work at a public municipal facility that has hosted the Pittsburgh City Amateur championship since 1921. Five different city amateur champions have also won USGA national championships, and we celebrate that history every year.
As a First Tee coach, I can tell you that many of our young people are very interested in learning the game’s history. However, as it’s always been, many only want to know about the things that happen now. That’s a human trait that will never change, but studying and understanding history can certainly help us make sense of the world in which we live.
Eric KulinnaPittsburgh, Pennsylvania
PGA professional Eric Kulinna is the director of golf and player development for First Tee Pittsburgh at Bob O’Connor Golf Course at Schenley Park.
Forget the napkin!
Good start, needs work (“Divot: Fix it already,” Aug. 11, GGP). To begin with, your plan will anger a lot of folks at Sedgefield, starting with John McConnell (of McConnell Golf, Sedgefield’s owner). As well, for the Tour Championship you could end up with a field of “who’s he(s)?” instead of marquee who's who(s). If that were to even come close to happening, the golf networks would like to meet the guy who came up with the plan in the parking lot after dusk. Firstly, though, a meeting with the new CEO of FedEx.
And then there is the FedEx list and money disbursement problem. Why play your butt off all year if all you have to do is hang around and prep for the St. Jude Classic?
Agreed, the “playoff” needs work and it won’t likely come off the back of a cocktail napkin.
Richard “Doc” MillerCary, North Carolina
Rubbing the wrong way
I enjoyed your article about the PGA Tour playoff process (“Divot: Fix it already,” Aug. 11, GGP). However, I feel I must bring to your attention your misuse of a golf term. In your article you used the term “rub of the green” to define “bad luck” or “that’s the way it goes.” In reality, the term rub of the green used to be part of the rules of golf and defined as “a ball in motion deflected by an outside agency.” However, the major revision to the rules in 2019 eliminated the term “rub of the green” and the rules now just define what procedure to follow if a ball is deflected.
Lots of people over the years have referred to rub of the green to indicate bad luck. As an NCAA and USGA rules official, I always cringed when those comments were made in my presence. It’s similar to watching a golf telecast where the announcer states that a player’s ball went “through the green” when in reality the ball went over the green. Again, until the rules revision of 2019, the term “through the green” meant the general area of play not including bunkers, putting greens, teeing areas or hazards.
Gary MyersSeymour, Indiana
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