FBR Open Controversy

photo credit: danperry.com   Tiger Woods still refuses to play in the FBR Open in Scottsdale, Az.  His abstinence is the result of an orange thrown towards him by a fan.  The roudy and sometimes undignified fan behavior there, is a matter of controversy.

The FBR Open draws some of the largest crowds of any PGA Tour Event.  Hundreds of thousands of people pack the TPC Stadium Course over the four day event.  The party atmosphere is unmistakable and in many cases gets out of control.  

The par 3 sixteenth hole is where most of the controversy originates.  Bleachers line both sides of the narrow fairway and the crowd noise is intense.  It reminds one of the Gladiator battles in the Roman Coliseum.  Should the USGA or the PGA impose stronger rules governing crowd behavior?  LET’S HEAR FROM YOU?   

High Green Fees?

Many golf courses in America charge as much as $300.00 per round. Even worse, golfers continue to pay these outragous green fees! Paying this amount means that it’s: $75.00 per hr. (4 hr. round), or $16.00 per hole, or $21.00 per drive (14 drives), or $8.33 per putt (36 putts), or $75.00 per par 3 (4 per course). Any way you cut it, it’s unbelievably expensive.

Why do golfers pay these kinds of fees when they can play in their own locale for mabye $35.00? If we could only reach a consensus, as golfers, to refrain from paying these high green fees prices would take a precipitous drop. Just like anything else if demand drops so do prices.
Think about this the next time you hand over your credit card…$8.33 per putt? Wow!

Chemical Overkill

photo credit: danperry.com If golfers really knew about the toxicity of the chemicals sprayed on golf courses
many would simply quit the game. There was a report on 60 minutes in the late 1990s that clearly showed the extent of the problem.

60 minutes hired a private company to take arial photographs of several golf courses in the New York city area. The company used special optics on their cameras and issued a chilling report. The areas of greatest contamination were shown in bright yellow; all 18 holes of every course were vivid yellow, every course was completely contaminated.

We can do without these toxic chemicals and get back to the way golf used to be. Do we really need these toxic chemicals just to make the courses more beautiful. I want to see more weeds !

Green Fee’s

photo credit: tillwe In some southwestern states such as Arizona and Nevada green fee’s can fluctuate between about $20.00 to as high as $300.00 + on the same golf course. The cost depends on the time of year. For example a championship golf course in Scottsdale, AZ. may charge $200.00 in peak season (winter months), and as little as $20.00 in the off season, summer. Is this huge discrepency warranted?

Granted the temperatures in Arizona and Nevada can reach 110o in the summer months, however, the smart players play only in the morning from 6:00am to 11:00am. The temperatures during that time are quite pleasant. The courses are in terrific shape and the savings are huge. How then can a $200.00 green fee be justified?

Golf Controversies

photo credit: Speedpics Flicks

Merion C.C. 1950
Ben Hogan was one shot behind Lloyd Mangrum on the 16th hole of the U.S. Open playoff. Lloyd Mangrum was about to putt when he noticed a bug on his golf ball. Without thinking, he picked up the ball and blew the insect away. Mangrum incurred a two-shot penalty for lifting and cleaning his ball which was against the rules at that time. Hogan went on to win the playoff.

Canterbury C.C. 1940
A storm was brewing before the final round of a major when Porky Oliver and five other Pro’s rushed to the first tee ahead of their starting times, there was no official there to stop them. Oliver shot a 71 to tie Gene Sarazen and Lawson Little, only to be disqualified for teeing off early.

Golf: Loose Impediments

photo credit: danperry.com During the 2008 Verizon Heritage golf tournament Mark Hensby’s ball landed on a piece of lettuce which had fallen from a women’s sandwich. It had apparently fallen out when she tried to avoid being hit by Hensby’s golf ball. The ball was resting right on top of the lettuce so there was no way to move the ball.

Leaves, even lettuce, are considered to be loose impediments so Hensby was denied relief. If there were condiments on the lettuce (pickles, ketchup, mustard etc.) Hensby would have been given relief from the obstruction.

Hensby went on to hit the shot to about eight feet of the pin and saved par. Afterward Hensby stated that he played the shot like a bunker shot.

Golf Overseeding Controversy

photo credit: danperry.com Should you be warned that the course you are about to play has been overseeded before you hand over your green fees? Should the green fees be lowered when a course has been overseeded?

The answer to these questions have created a substantial controversy. The question is: is it fair to be charged the same fees to play a course that is in less than adequate condition. The popular consensus is that green fees should be lowered when the course is being overseeded. Most feel that a warning should also be given before green fees are paid.

There is no question that overseeding creates less than perfect playing conditions, in some cases the conditions are just downright awful. Why should a golfer be made to pay the standard green fees on an overseeded course? Shouldn’t a warning be given prior to payment?