Gary Galyean’s ®

olf etter® G t h e i n s i d e r e Lp o r t o n w o r l d g o l f

number 333 our 31st year january 2020

Dear Subscriber: college sports even though their respective college or university can make millions from their athletic per- nce the fighting ended in the Pacific theater formance. That participation often comes at great risk Oof World War II and our soldiers, sailors, Ma- to students’ health, academic success, and professional rines and airmen returned home through California ports, prospects. Nationwide, colleges and universities make many of those going ashore chose to stay in the Golden $14 billion each year from student athletics and the State. The weather, the vast natural beauty, and the advan- N.C.A.A. takes in $1 billion annually. tages of working in a vibrant, re- laxed, and receptive economy allured The bill, which passed the Cali- fornia Legislature with overwhelm- thousands. California’s population Inside This Issue expanded, and the result nurtured ing bipartisan support, becomes the astonishing wealth and creativity. Fair Pay for Play Act first law of its kind in the nation to allow college student athletes to The aftershock of assimilation Ouimet & Ward World Handicap System profit from their name, image and included popular trends that began likeness. in post-war California and traveled east engulfing us all: Muscle cars, Gov. Newsom makes reasons that surfing, skate boards, jet propulsion every college student can monetize and space exploration, avocados, sanctioned homelessness, their name, image or likeness except athletes. A digital illegal immigration, carts and desert golf. The Beach entrepreneur, who is also a student, can create and mon- Boys, Ronald Reagan, Carroll Shelby, Walt Disney, Neil etize a YouTube presence; a musician can video tape and Diamond, Indiana Jones, Charles Manson, the Hillside sell their performances; a painter their interpretations of Strangler, , the Saulk Institute, Pixar, Apple, art; a writer can sell magazine stories ... so why can’t an Google, “Vertigo”, “Star Wars”, and “Bullitt”. Jack Ker- athlete make money on his or her performance? ouac, Buck Owens, and Robert Frost. The California act becomes law in January 2023. It is California’s Fair Pay for Play Act anticipated that the greatest impacts of this new view of Force-Altering Amateur Sport Worldwide amateur sport will have be felt in football and basketball. On these pages, Now there comes a new California trend in the form however, we are of the Fair Pay for Play Act [Senate Bill 206] that was concerned with As we begin our 31st year, passed by the California Legislature and signed into law how the eccen- last September by Gov. Gavin Newsom, sometimes known we thank you for your loyalty tricities of the and welcome those as Moonbeam the Second, having followed Jerry Brown in California law who have just joined us. the California governor’s office. This is how the argument will affect the for the act is described on Gov. Newsom’s website: future of amateur Davis Love III, “The Golf Letter ... the only Currently, student athletes are barred by the golf as it is played around in the golf publication I really National Collegiate Athletic Association (N.C.A.A.) look forward to reading.” from earning compensation from their association with U.S. and around the world.

Published Monthly • Subscription Rate US $88 Per Year www.thegolfletter.com • 20 I 1p 31 The first major decision in this process falls to the As a national governing body, the N.C.A.A. N.C.A.A. who must decide if they will permit the Cali- is uniquely positioned to modify its rules to ensure fornia model to be applied to collegiate sports nationally. fairness and a level playing field for student athletes. The board’s action today creates a path to enhance Two weeks before the California act was passed, the opportunities for student athletes while ensuring they N.C.A.A. threatened severe penalties against complying compete against students and not professionals. colleges and universities that would include being unable to compete in N.C.A.A. competitions. However, the If the N.C.A.A. adapts their rules to sync with the popularity of California university teams [think Califor- California law, college golfers will be allowed to sign en- nia, Stanford and Southern California] in major media dorsement contracts, retain agents, and receive payment markets quickly evaporated that threat. “Show me the for private golf instruction. money,” as Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.) put it in the Following the N.C.A.A.’s adaptation, the change in 1996 filmJerry Maguire. amateur status rules will then ripple internationally to Shortly after the California law was signed by the how The R&A and U.S.G.A. respond. Current rules governor, the N.C.A.A. reversed itself and voted unani- of amateur status state that “an amateur golfer of golf mously to allow student athletes to be compensated just skill or reputation must not use that skill or reputation as the California act allows. The N.C.A.A. has since to obtain payment, compensation, personal benefit or stated they will modernize their amateur rules in 2020. financial gain, directly or indirectly, for (i) promoting, N.C.A.A. President Mark Emmert issued the following advertising or selling anything, or (ii) allowing his name statement: or likeness to be used by a third party for the promotion, advertisement or sale of anything.” U.S.G.A. Senior Managing Director-Governance, Important 2020 Championships Thomas Pagel, commented,“[This situation] will con- Latin America Am Mayakoba, Mex. Jan 16-19 tinue to be a primary area of discussion as we review

th The 84 Masters Augusta National apr 9-12 the Rules to reflect the modern game, while still staying nd true to the spirit behind what it means to be an amateur 102 PGA Chmpnshp Harding Park may 14-17 golfer.” U.S. Women’s Open Champions Jun 4-7 Curtis Cup Conwy, Wales Jun 12-14 As someone well-acquainted with the history of amateur golf exquisitely remarked, the Rules of Amateur [British] Amateur Royal Birkdale Jun 15-20

th Status evolved from a 19th century British upper class 120 U.S. Open Winged Foot June 18-21 caste system that was more concerned with keeping the U.S. Senior Open Newport Jun 25-28 wrong sort of people out of the game rather than money th The 149 Open Royal St. George’s July 16-19 out of the game. Afterall, the right sort of people already U.S. Girl’s Junior Air Force Academy July 13-18 had the money. [British] Senior Open Sunningdale July 23-26 The Impact to Golf’sR ules of Amateur Status U.S. Jr. Amateur Hazeltine July 20-25 Amateur Status Rule 1-3. The purpose of the [British] Seniors Am Royal Cinque Ports Jul 29-31 Rules [of Amateur Status] is to maintain the distinc- Olympic Men’s Golf Kasumigaseki Jul 30-Aug 2 tion between amateur and professional golf and to Olympic Women’s Golf Kasumigaseki Aug 5-8 ensure that amateur golf, which is largely self-regu- lating with regard to the Rules of Golf and handicap- U.S. Women’s Am Woodmont Aug 3-9 ping, is free from the pressures that may follow from U.S. Amateur Bandon Dunes Aug 10-16 uncontrolled sponsorship and financial incentive. U.S. Senior Am C.C. of Detroit Aug 29-Sep 3 Through appropriate limits and restrictions, the U.S. Women’s Mid-Am Berkeley Hall Aug 29-Sep 3 Rules are also intended to encourage amateur golf- U.S. Mid-Am Kinloch Sep 12-17 ers to focus on the game’s challenges and inherent 43rd Ryder Cup Whistling Straits Sep 25-27 rewards, rather than any financial gain. World Amateur Team Hong Kong As California and the N.C.A.A. take their bone saws Women’s Oct 14-17 Men’s Oct 21-24 to the code that currently governs amateur golf - inside and outside of collegiate competitions - there are compli- Asia-Pacific Amateur Royal Melbourne Oct 29-Nov 1 cated questions and answers to ponder:

The Golf Letter® • 20 I 2p • If The R&A and the U.S.G.A. do not accept the remote, the only test need be that if a golfer plays in an new criteria of N.C.A.A. amateur doctrine that are organized event for prize money (a minimal amount to be anticipated, will those players who do accept the changes determined) that player is a professional. be excluded from , the U.S. Amateur Championship, and all the various amateur World Handicap System Launched and Operating?????? championships that conduct their competitions under the Rules established by golf’s governing bodies? By the time you read this you will have come under the auspices of the World • If The R&A and Handicap System (W.H.S.), U.S.G.A. do not agree that & Harvie Ward which was created by The they will both apply the same The U.S.G.A. Strips and Reverses R&A and the U.S.G.A. in changes, how will this affect Francis Ouimet was the first amateur to win the U.S. order to standardize handicap British amateurs attending Open, which he did at Brookline in 1913 at the age of 20. The calculations worldwide. U.S. colleges and universi- following year he won the U.S. Amateur at Ekwanok. ties? How will the competitive What difference will that Two years later, in one of their most mortifying decisions, fields of amateur champion- make to you? Life will go on, the U.S.G.A. stripped Mr. Ouimet of his amateur status. He ships around the world be was accused of using his celebrity as an amateur champion to but handicapping your golf so affected? aid his sale of sporting goods and, therefore, deriving an in- that you may play equitably with most anyone else in the • If they disagree with the come from golf. In 1918, Mr. Ouimet joined the U.S. Army world will be improved. There governing bodies’ decision or to serve in World War I. The U.S.G.A. used the cover of the war to quietly reinstate his amateur status during that time. will be little change to the the N.C.A.A. decisions, will calculation for U.S. handi- Augusta National apply their Subsequently, Mr. Ouimet won the 1931 U.S. Amateur at caps because it is the rest of own Rules of Amateur Status Beverly, played on the first eight teams, and cap- the world that will come into for amateurs invited to play in tained the next four. In 1951, he played-in as the first non-Brit- greater compliance with the the ? ish Captain of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews. system that has been largely Last month, The R&A • • • perfected by the U.S.G.A. and U.S.G.A. responded to Harvie Ward won the Amateur Championship at over the past four decades. this conundrum via a joint Prestwick in 1952, and two U.S. Amateurs consecutively at When re-calculated for the press release stating that the the CC of Virginia in 1955 and Knollwood the following year. world system, it is estimated two ruling bodies are “con- As a student at the University of North Carolina, Mr. Ward that U.S.G.A. handicaps will ducting a review of the Rules had already won the N.C.A.A. Division I title in 1949. He be within one- or two-tenths of Amateur Status to make played on three Walker Cup teams [1953, ‘55, ‘59] winning of a point of where they were them easier to understand and all six of his matches. Bill Campbell often reflected, “When before this new world system apply”. The governing bodies Harvie was on, no one could beat him.” was implemented. The follow- will seek the “perspectives of The U.S.G.A. in another spectacularly-flawed decision, ing are a few details of the new golf’s stakeholders, national stripped Mr. Ward of his amateur status in 1957, then rein- system that are worth under- golf associations, professional stated him as an amateur the following year. The controversy standing. golf associations and other surrounding Mr. Ward arose while he was employed by Eddie How Many Strokes Lowery, a San Francisco car dealer, member of the U.S.G.A. industry partners”. A new, Will You Get Now? modernized set of amateur Executive Committee, and Mr. Ouimet’s caddie in the 1913 status rules, “more into line U.S. Open. Mr. Lowery claimed income tax deductions for • The W.H.S. calculates money he spent to sponsor some of Mr. Ward’s golf. Because with the way the modern how many strokes you get in this was discovered to be unknown to Mr. Ward, the U.S.G.A. relation to par. The old system sport is played”, is expected reversed its decision in 1957, which allowed him to compete in by late 2021; to be effective the 1959 Walker Cup. used course rating. Because of a January 2022. change in the calculation for- mula, stroke adjustments will An Uncomplicated Solution not have to be made when competitors are playing from While it is easy to get lost in the minutiae and emo- different tees. That difference is now built into the new tion that surround golfers’ amateur status, a simple system. The old system only used the Slope Rating of the solution, with only one benchmark, has been proposed tees, while the new system uses both the Slope Rating by an anonymous source to The Golf Letter: Because and the difference between the Course Rating and Par. the likelihood of golf equipment and clothing companies Those playing forward tees will get fewer strokes than spending money to use the image of a college golfer is before, and those using back tees will get more.

The Golf Letter® • 20 I 3p Net Double Bogey Fewer Scores for Calculating Your Handicap What a dazzlingly peculiar combination of words. The new world system uses just 8 of your last 20 rounds to calculate your handicap, as opposed to the The old handicap system usedEquitable Stroke Con- old system that used 10 of 20. According to the ruling trol (not nearly as idiosyncratic a combination of words) bodies, this will reward consistency and more quickly to keep charlatans from unfairly influencing their handi- respond mathematically to better scores. caps, that is sandbagging. It was based on a sliding Also, the W.H.S. scale that restricted the now requires just 54 high score you could re- holes to generate a cord on a hole based on handicap for those who your course handicap e.g. do not already have one. a 10 handicap could take The highest handicap no more than a 7 on any index has been raised hole ... a 40 handicap to 54 for both men and could record no more women. Under the old than a 10. system, the limit was 36.4 for men and 40.4 The new system re- for women. places the sliding scale of Equitable Stroke Control Faster Updates with Net Double Bogey. Taking advantage of Regardless of handicap, the speed and accessibil- any player can take as ity of the Internet, your handicap index will be updated many net double bogeys as they make during a round. every day. To calculate your net double bogey on a hole where Weather as a Factor things went awry, this is what you do: Take par for the A Playing Conditions Calculator has been added to hole in question, add two strokes to get to double bogey, take abnormal playing conditions such as excessive wind, and then adjust that by adding any handicap strokes you rain, cold, or unusual course setup into consideration. are entitled to on that hole. [If you are a plus handicap- On any day when you play and post your score those per who must give the course strokes, you would decrease abnormalities will be taken into consideration by the cal- double bogey on any hole where those strokes fall.] This culator. Your score will be compared to the average of all was changed because net double bogey is the system scores posted at that same course on that same day. If all primarily used in most of the world. scores were higher on the day of your posting, the math will take this into consideration so that your handicap index is not negatively impacted due to abnormal condi- tions. For L.V.G.: “… his initial taciturnity was something he wore like a pro- Yours vy truly, fessional suit, reluctantly, in a world which he frequently found unsympathetic to his affectionate character …” John Le Carré Smiley’s People Gary A. Galyean Editor & Publisher

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