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Hey,
This will be the only newsletter this week.
We will spend the rest of the week working on some Normal Sport website content and a revenue plan we’ve been working on for most of the year. 👀
As always, I appreciate you reading. This has mostly replaced Twitter for me as the place where I feel like I can express myself in both silly and serious ways without all the trolling. This newsletter is the writing I both dread (because it takes emotional energy) and desire (because it is always so much fun).
And I’m grateful that it sometimes even seems to have a meaningful impact!
Before we get to the goods, a quick shout out to our sponsor this week, Holderness and Bourne. There is a lot I could say about H&B, but perhaps the best thing I can say about them is that they are sickos, just like Mr. Bee above and probably just like you.
When you buy from them, you’re buying from a company started by two guys who care about why Bryson’s 3D-printed irons matter and about whether Chambers Bay ever gets another major championship.
That’s not necessarily everything as it relates to your apparel, but it’s one of my favorite things about H&B. Check them out here, and as always, I appreciate them helping make this newsletter hum.
Onto the news.
On Sunday afternoon, while watching the end of the Rocket Mortgage Classic, I tweeted what I thought was a fairly innocuous thing. Here’s what I said: Is there a good player currently on the PGA Tour who is tougher to like than Cam Young?
This, it turns out, was not a fairly innocuous thing. The tweet got nearly 2M views and some pretty vitriolic (albeit sometimes funny) responses.
In retrospect, I think the language “like” was a bit too personal, and I would probably say “root for” if I had to do it over again. But also, I think it is pretty disingenuous to presume that I was implying that Cam Young is a bad person because he grumbles and gesticulates on the golf course.
Come on.
By the way, as an aside, the rebuttal to everything I’m writing here — and I would love to read a well-written, well-reasoned essay aimed directly at me — is that when you have spent as much time as I have making golf and pro golf personal, how should people know the difference when you say you don’t like somebody?
I think that’s pretty fair, and the language of “like” was very much my error in the first place.
While I am truly grateful for the disagreement — because the only thing worse than being disagreed with is nobody caring at all about what you think — I am also amazed at the blowback from this tweet.
It reminded me a bit of the political landscape that has solidified during my adult life. Everybody in this camp is good and everything they do and think is right. Everybody in that camp is bad and everything they do and think is wrong.
Except that’s not how real life works.
I don’t particularly enjoy Xander Schauffele or Patrick Reed, but not everything they do is worthy of degradation. Similarly, I do particularly enjoy Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth, but not everything they do is worthy of admiration (see: literally two newsletters ago).
Cam is considered “a good” because he didn’t go to LIV and because he’s extraordinarily gifted at golf. But that shouldn’t mean he’s beyond critique. His on-course disposition is tough. I would say his grumpiness, to most people, makes him difficult to root for. I suppose that is subjective, but if it is, it’s barely subjective.
There are a thousand reasons to like or dislike athletes. But fundamentally, watching people enjoy their work (which I haven’t seen a lot of from him) is enjoyable, and watching people seemingly despise their work is not.
Here is one broad reaction I saw summed up in a message board response.
I … I mean … what? I’m “shitting on him” by asking a question which implies that he is difficult to like as a golfer? How soft we have gotten.
And while I do find Cam Young difficult to root for because of his surliness and lack of joy in playing golf, that doesn’t mean I think he’s a bad person or a bad player. In fact, I think he’s an underrated and under-appreciated player who probably could have (maybe even should have) been in Rome last fall.
To bring this home, let’s talk about Kevin Durant.
I recently bought a Nets 7 jersey to wear to the pool this summer because I love Kevin Durant. And yet … I would pose the same question: Is there anyone in the NBA who is harder to like than Kevin Durant? The answer is maybe Draymond or Harden or Luka — I don’t really know because I don’t follow the NBA closely enough to know who the answer is, but I follow it closely enough to know that KD is in that conversation.
I’m not offended by the question, though. If an NBA writer tweeted that about KD, I would agree that he is difficult to like and to root for … and then continue liking Kevin Durant for innumerable reasons my friends (and sometimes even I) cannot understand.
That’s sports.
It should not be controversial to suggest that somebody who appears, at almost every turn, to truly find no delight in playing golf for millions of dollars all over the world, is difficult to root for. It also does not mean you or I or anyone cannot root for him for other reasons.
But the outrage over all of this? It’s either fake or it’s comically misguided by a sort of softness that believes you cannot call out an apparent lack of joy in someone doing what he is paid outrageous money to do: entertain everyone who’s tuning in to watch him play a game for a living.
This does not mean that Cam Young needs to be Bryson if that’s not his personality (which it’s not).1 But it does mean that if you go to the opposite end of the entertainment spectrum, it’s going to be difficult for a lot of people who love golf a lot and find so much delight in it to be enticed by your arm-waving, cursing-at-yourself, harrumphing-around disposition.2 3
That’s just part of the deal, and we should be OK with saying so.
In last Friday’s newsletter, I said Phil won five majors after he lost Winged Foot. This is obviously incorrect. He won three before and three after.
Here’s what I wrote.
Reverse Rory’s career, and it makes a lot more sense. Reverse Rory’s career, and it looks a lot like Phil’s. Failure for so long before breaking through. Except Rory broke through for so long before failure.
If Congressional was his Kiawah then Pinehurst was his Winged Foot. The good news — as someone on Twitter pointed out to me — is that Phil won five more majors (five more!) after Winged Foot. I don’t know how (or if) that fits into the Reverse Phil Career since Phil only won once before Winged Foot, but it buoyed my spirits going into Troon.
Normal Sport newsletter No. 93
The point that I was trying to make — that Pinehurst is Rory’s Winged Foot — is actually strengthened by the fact that I got this wrong and that Phil won three majors before Winged Foot.
It means that perhaps Rory has several more ahead of him if he’s able to move past the scar tissue of losing this one. Again, Rory’s career in reverse makes so much more sense, but if he truly is doing the Reverse Phil, then there might still be some great moments in there.
1. Cam Davis’ post-round interview on Sunday was lovely, but I was amused by the hypnotherapist — that he started working with a few weeks ago — shout out. You know the game you play is insane if somebody you’ve worked with for less than a month is hypnotizing you into wins and getting shouts on national television.
2. Name another sport where a 51-year-old and 15-year-old are on level footing. Stewart Cink was 36 when Miles Russell was born. Thirty-six!
The best game.
3. I don’t know why this made me laugh so much. Maybe it was that Akshay was leading the event. Maybe it was that I have done this so many times. Maybe it was the double digit yardage on the drive.
Regardless, what a hilarious graphic this is.
4. Speaking of Akshay! Can you imagine a double in the gap just disappearing into a hole? I suppose this does happen sometimes on ground rule doubles, but the fact that it’s in the middle of the field and that he has to confirm that it’s his ball takes it to another level.
5. Two of the most psychotic scorecards I’ve ever seen.
Imagine making two 1s on the same nine and not breaking par!
Now imagine making nine pars on one side and none on the next and your lower score was the one on which you made none …
Two nominees this week.
This one from Andrew Schulman got me pretty good. Bronny James is obviously top of mind for everyone, and his call out here made me chuckle.
And then this one from my tweet about George Bush following the first debate. Imagine seeing this video and thinking “I wonder what kind of driver 43 was rocking?!”
I threw two polls for folks to vote on in last Friday’s newsletter. The first was who ends up with the most majors between Rahm, Spieth, Scottie, Morikawa and Bryson.
Here are some of the comments.
“Now that he doesn't take himself so seriously, his maniacal tendencies will be ludicrous, and this will lead to him trying to impress the masses (i.e. win) even more.
Between age, physical ability, and a mental (in)stability no one can touch, Bryson can catch Brooks. Both are killers but in different ways: Chainsaw Massacre crazy/entertaining vs. Jason Bourne tactical.”
“Recency bias and all, but it feels like Scottie and Bryson are neck and neck. Rahm is 3rd, and Spieth and Morikawa feel like non-factors in this question”
“Scottie’s 7 majors will inch out Spieth’s eye-test 6. ”
I would probably vote for Rahm or Scottie. Rahm isn’t going to be doing this Lesion 23 bit forever, and he is basically on the same statistical level as Rory for the last eight years. That means a lot of chances. Probably a lot more than Morikawa and Spieth and maybe even Bryson.
Next up, what’s the best U.S. Open venue?
And the comments.
“Because I'm bored: Oakmont, Pinehurst
[small gap]
Shinnecock, Merion (with distance reform), Brookline
[BIG GAP]
Pebble Beach, Chambers Bay
[BIG GAP]
Winged Foot as presented in 2020”
“Pinehurst but only with the Wiregrass and maybe the stimp at +1 faster! Take the Wiregrass away, and it's Shinnecock.”
“Put it at Pinehurst every year ”
My top three are Pinehurst, Shinnecock and Brookline in some order. I know I’m supposed to love Oakmont, but I’m not positive that I do. And while I do love Winged Foot as a golf course and Pebble as a destination, I think I’m probably good on those being used as U.S. Open venues. You could maybe talk me back into Winged Foot, but Pebble especially is pretty meh for me.
Two this week.
1. Put Akshay on the Presidents Cup team. This should be less controversial than my Cam Young take, but I’m sure it won’t be. He’s 22. He’s improved by a stroke per round year over year for each of the last two years and who are you going to have on there instead of him? Russell Henley? Unless the drop over the next month is precipitous, an Akshay absence in Montreal is going to be tough to stomach. My team as of today.
2. Apparently this was a take on Sunday from some people.
My only response (in case you’re unable to view it, it’s Sergio hitting several into the water on the 13th at the Masters in 2018) …
“I am 100% happy to watch you get really rich doing something that I have no interest in doing.” -Brent Beshort (via Morgan Housel)
👉️ Here’s the pod I did with Andy last week debating the biggest question I have in golf right now. Or the one I think about the most.
👉️ This club twirl Jamie Kennedy found is provocative. It reminds me of what Sean Zak said about Rory. Probably just a little throw away line, but I’ve thought about it so many times since: So addicted to club-twirling driver that he gets off a tiny one, mid-grimace, as his ball flies into a bunker.
👉️ This from Porath comping golf (and Seth Waugh leaving his post at the PGA) to CFB was fascinating.
But the structure [of golf] also made it ripe for disruption from a new, well-financed actor.
A similar thing has happened to college football. Once the province of regional conferences, it seems to be headed toward a total consolidation of power that will benefit the chosen ones in the form of a massive rights deal between one singular body and the TV networks.
Golf seems farther away from that kind of consolidation, but the age of a variety of strong voices and viewpoints working to shape the game seems to be over.
👉️ This on what it’s like to be on the tennis circuit but not be a top player is excellent and at times difficult to read.
👉️ I know this probably isn’t the coolest thing to admit, but I’ve been watching a lot of short game videos on YouTube recently, and I found this one with Parker McLachlin and Dan Rapaport to be quite helpful with my own game as I try and work through some chipping yips. Really enjoyed it.
👉️ If you use Arccos for your game, it is about to release a feature called PGA Tour quality shot, which is exactly what it sounds like.
“The premise is very simple. If you hit a shot that is better (“finishes closer”) than at least half the shots hit on tour, you will get a little icon under your round after you play. Click that icon and you will see all of the “PGA Tour Quality Shots” that you hit in that round. For example, if you hit a 200 yard shot from the fairway and it finishes 2 feet from the hole, you just hit a shot that was better than 99% of shots hit on tour.
If you click through above, you’ll be surprised at what a shot better than 50 percent of Tour shots actually looks like.
👉️ MKBHD is so gifted at simplifying complex tech, and his video on the PGA Tour definitely gave me a greater appreciation for everything that goes into ShotLink as well as the broadcast. You should watch it if you follow all of this even somewhat closely (and I’m guessing if you’re reading a newsletter called Normal Sport, that you do).
• These from the debate last week were incredible.
Talking about Jordan Spieth on a Sunday night fresh off a T-47 in a signature event knowing he’s going to need a captain’s pick for the Presidents Cup
— Patrick McDonald (@pmcdonaldCBS)
11:42 AM • Jun 28, 2024
• Also I can never tell if Shane is being serious or not, and I suspect half the time he can’t tell either.
• Perfect. No notes.
This tweet stopped me.
I don’t know that I agree with the premise that there has never been a better time to start a media company I would maybe say “easier” or “more opportunistic” because I think “better” implies financially lucrative.
I do agree with everything that Alex wrote after that, though.
As we enter the AI era (not that one), content farms will be content ranches and estates. The lowest common denominator will fall to unimaginable depths, and it will feel like it’s something worth chasing.
It’s not. But it won’t seem that way.
That’s part of why I started this newsletter. I see that day unfolding. It’s already happening. And if you don’t have the trust of your readers or listeners or fans then you don’t have anything at all. You’re just a cog. A number. An NPC.
I don’t know what becomes of that reality or how it all goes in the future, but I do know that reader-writer trust is something worth chasing — perhaps the only thing worth chasing — and that it takes time, generosity and a willingness to sometimes (maybe most of the time) consider the reader before considering the subject or the content. That is more difficult than it seems like it should be but also a quest worth pursuing.
Thanks for reading until the end.
You’re a sicko, and I’m grateful for it.
1 Though if everyone was Cam Young, then there would be no PGA Tour.
2 His vibe sometimes reminds me of playing with the 15 handicap who shoots 89 and won’t talk to anyone for two hours because he thinks he could have shot 78.
3 Think of it this way: Is there a good player on any tour right now who is tougher to like than Tyrrell Hatton?
