freddy's fairway thoughts
By Fred Seely
something to eat. “We got to Augusta early in the morning, parked the car, jumped the fence and spent the day watching golf, then went on home.” Then he won the British Amateur and got an invitation to play in the Masters. “I arrived and they directed me to meet Bobby Jones, who then took me to Clifford Roberts. Mr. Roberts said he liked to personally show the amateurs around on their first visit and I slipped: I said, 'Oh, I was here last year.'” Roberts: “Really? I didn't see you.” So Beman has to 'fess up about sneaking in. “I was scared that he would throw me out right there. But, he thought a minute, and then started laughing.”
Players update Our club asked the pro shop to post information on the new handicap system and this is what appeared. Simple, huh?
Gambling on golf The spread of off-site gambling — not in all states, but it's coming — begs the question: how do we make money betting on the PGA Tour? So far, there hasn't been much interest, according to a Las Vegas sharp. The wagering, so far, has been rather unsophisticated, with bettors picking the big names regardless of recent performance, past record at that week's course, and quality of the overall field. The recommendation is not to bet one person to win. Way too chancy. If you feel strongly, go for lesser odds that he'll finish in the top 5 or top 10. And don't hedge your bet by taking two players to win. Obviously, you'll be betting against yourself and you're also cutting the odds in half. The sharps recommend the head-to-head betting that's offered for each round. You are given a list of players whose proven ability is close. You might see Dustin Johnson vs. Justin Thomas, but you won't see Dustin Johnson vs. J.J. Henry. However, you might see J.J. Henry vs. Bud Cauley. There are “prop” bets available, too. You'll see odds on possibilities — propositions — on things like a Tiger Woods missing the cut or Patrick Cantlay making more than one eagle. The odds will be commensurate; Woods missing the Masters cut would perhaps be 50-1. There isn't much publicity on betting now but expect to get plenty of it when the Masters comes. The media always is looking for an offbeat story; casino betting is that right now, for sure.
From former Commissioner Deane Beman: “Our golf team (at Maryland) had a springtime tournament in Miami and we went down in two university-owned station wagons. The Masters would be that week and several of us talked the coach into letting us take a car there, rather than go straight back. We drove all night. We were broke but we used a university credit card to buy gas, so we also used it to buy soft drinks and 56
If you're coming to the Players in March, you'll see some changes. The biggest: parking. The new PGA Tour headquarters building and the construction equipment is taking up a tremendous amount of space in the main lot. It would be an understatement to say there isn't enough space to go around. Your best move is to park elsewhere and take Uber, which has quick access to a dropoff at the main gate. Also: The “other” golf course inside the TPC gates has been plowed under, with most of its south nine headed for housing development and the entire north nine being renovated. Also: Don't expect to play the Ponte Vedra Ocean course that week. The club is spending a reported $8 million on it, spurred when they lost the greens over a year ago.
Here and there • Is it a big deal that they have eased the admission eligibility for the World Golf Hall of Fame? Not really, because they were running out of credible people to induct. Reality check: not many people really care. • Is the Premier Golf League a threat to the PGA Tour? Not if the Tour plays hardball, and it is. • Related to that: expect the Tour's new TV contract to be announced soon, perhaps at the Players. And expect to be dazzled. • Golf writing is a dying business. Some electronic magazines are quite good but none are making money, newspaper cutbacks have eliminated almost all writers there, and the print magazines are obviously getting smaller and smaller. Example: there were about 40 of us at Innisbrook last month for the Golf Writers Association of America championship and not one — none — were writers on a daily newspaper. • A note on Innisbrook: they've done a good job with the place, which is 50 years old and was showing her age. They think they'll have a Tour spot for at least through 2025 with a renewed contract with Valspar on the way.
Questions or comments? fs4569@comcast.net Golf Central • Volume 20, Issue 10
