April Reflections

Dateline: Good Friday, April 22, 8:17 pm

As I relax and watch today's 2nd round coverage from Hilton Head Island, I thought it would be a good time to reflect on some of the April highlights. (Unfortunately, Lumpy's double bogey 5 on the par 3 4th hole as the leader isn't one of them.) Harbor Town truly is one of the best courses on Tour - a shot-makers course. I'm hoping my fellow Arizona Wildcat Jim Furyk can repeat last year's title. Bear Down!

Of course, the Masters was something to behold the last day. Some, including me, hoped Tiger would get a few more birdies after his eagle on #8, but it was not to be. Of course, this only fuels the debate as to whether he will win another major much less pass Nicklaus' record of 18. However, when you have nine players within two shots of the lead on the back nine on Sunday afternoon at the Masters, it is a real treat to watch.

Charl Schwartzel played spectacularly on Sunday, birdieing the last four holes. He is the only one to do that in a major and win. (The only other person to birdie the last four holes in a major, as you probably know, is Tiger Woods at the 2002 PGA Championship at Hazeltine.) We had three Australians trying to be the first to win at Augusta, but despite all playing magnificently, we get to keep wondering when the streak will finally come to an end.

And, of course, there was Rory. Through 63 holes, the Masters was his. He looked so cool, calm and collected -- then he hit his tee shot on the 10th. From that point on, he looked like a high handicapper during his club championship. I expect him to recover fully from the debacle, but only time will tell.

Speaking of debacles, I cannot go without mentioning Kevin Na's 9th hole during the first round of the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio last week. While we may not think we can learn something from someone making a 16, I believe there were a couple of things to be taken away from Na's troubles. First, play a provisional ball. Second, don't look for a ball if you think you might not want to find or play your original. Third, don't try to hit a ball just because you don't want to go back (again) to play under stroke and distance. Fourth, keep a sense of humor through it all, which is the only thing Na did out of the four. Just in case you missed all of it, here's a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWTXoNzuk8c.

And now, I just witnessed Brian Gay make a quintuple bogey 9 on the par 4 7th hole. It just goes to show us that no matter how good we think we are, we all have our moments. Makes me want to go and practice! (UPDATE: He followed it up with a birdie 2 on the next hole.)

In the Rules arena, the USGA and R&A released a revision to Decision 33-7/4.5 that would handle the Padraig Harrington situation differently. If you recall, Harrington was disqualified after moving his ball while replacing it at Abu Dhabi in January. The decision now creates a situation where, if a player does something that is visible only through the use of slow-motion, HD video, and it does not come to his attention prior to signing and returning his card, then the player still incurs the appropriate penalty (two strokes, in Harrington's case) but will not be disqualified. This does not change a situation like Camilo Villegas, however. Of course, from a practical standpoint, it makes no difference to 99.98% of golfers.

Lastly, exactly what is with this weather? In my 13 previous seasons, I don't think we've ever had such a challenging start to the season. Yes, we have had our share of cool, wet weather in April and May, but we've at least had some warm weather by now. And, we are starting to hear of courses struggling with green conditions. In fact, I have had to relocate the US Open Local Qualifier on May 9. Originally set for the TPC Twin Cities, I moved it to Bunker Hills GC after Alan Cull informed me that TPC will be closed until mid-late May. Here's hoping the sun comes out, the temperatures rise and the grass starts growing very soon!

Until next time-

Doug

Wow - It's MGA Tournament Season already!

Dateline: Monday, April 4, The Conference Room @ MGA Headquarters, Edina, MN

Where has the time gone? Despite weather better suited to snowmobiling and pond hockey, this winter has kept me busier than the proverbial "one armed paper hanger!" Yet, as I sit and assist the few players who have come in to drop off their applications for the 2011 season, I find myself with time on my hands.......so much so that I can finally update the cyber world of the happenings at the MGA and with Doug Hoffmann.

Since the end of last year, I have had three HUGE website projects that have not given me much time to dream of warmer climates. (Good thing, too, as this March was not like last years!) It also is good that this wasn't a Rules change year; otherwise, I don't know how I could have finished the website stuff when taking a week to attend a workshop.

The first of the three projects deals with our online registration system. Launched today with the start of tournament registration, this system provides the end user a more efficient, user-friendly interface from which to enter MGA tournaments. However, I never stopped to consider the amount of work necessary to get something like this up and running.

The new system - TPP Online - is a product created by the USGA and its GHIN Handicap Department. We elected to use it after giving our Senior Tour a year to "test and destroy" it for us. It received high marks, so we started the adoption process in the fall. We also elected to change our ISP, through which our old online registration system was created. When we made the switch, our information went with it. Thus, we had to totally recreate everything. While getting new sites is a great thing, the learning curve in getting there was quite steep at the start.

The real test came when the applications started coming in just after midnight today. Despite some hiccups along the way, it has gone rather smoothly so far. As with most technology, a live test is often the best means to find the bugs (as long as the exterminator is nearby).

Next, as a parallel to the new registration system and website, we had to create new "landing pages" for all of our championships. I had hoped the developers would have a template in place so that I could have all landing pages live by April 1. Unfortunately, I think they found it more challenging than they expected, so that by the time I started creating the pages I didn't have much time. And, once again, the learning curve was steep. However, the new pages went "live" last night at 8:48 pm CDT. Check them out by clicking here.

The third leg of this process has been the new web-based Volunteer area for the MGA. Ultimately, this will provide our volunteers a "one-stop shop" for all of their involvement with the MGA. They will be able to completely manage their commitments with tournaments and committees, update their profile and search for other volunteers 24/7 and (likely) by using their phone.

Once again, the project has proven to be more difficult than previously expected. While I had hoped to have a full-blown landing page ready for every volunteer by today, we're not there. But, the sign-up page for tournaments will be going "live" any moment with the "My MGA Locker" coming soon thereafter. For the volunteers reading this, you will be receiving an email with your login credentials shortly. Thanks for your patience!

To quote Garrison Keillor, I hope this is "a quiet week at Lake Wobegon" as the Masters tees off on Thursday. "A Tradition Like None Other" is the unofficial start to the golf season, especially in Minnesota where we all are ready to get outside and try out our new equipment, swings or swing thoughts. I'm ready to be completely distracted by the beauty of the azaleas, the roar of the crowds coming through the pines and Sunday afternoon at the Masters!

Here's to seeing you on the course!

Until next time-

Doug