Bark like a dog . . .

Good week fellow Moe Norman supporters; on this Monday morning let us welcome his straight-line golf swing, his eccentricities, and his unparalleled perspective on the golf swing.





Personally, I'd rather stick with the one-plane philosophy.
But, I'd definitely rather play golf with his perspective.

On Saturday, Anthony Kim again drummed Robert Allenby -- this time Allenby is not alledging that Kim was party all night before the match, but rather that Kim was overtly brash and poor-spirited in his lack of conceded putts during their semi-final match at the World Match Play Championship in Casares, Spain. 

Backstory: Here & Here.

As you will recall, after Kim beat Allenby 5 & 3 in singles play at the Presidents Cup, Allenby charged that Kim:

“Maybe we should all take the theory of Anthony Kim,” Allenby said. “Get home at 4 o’clock (in the morning) and then go shoot 6 under."

Anthony denied the allegations and responded:

“If Robert had that to say,” Kim said, “he may need to go practice a little bit more.

An eventual public relations fiasco ensued and the situation was seemingly resolved.

On Saturday, Kim and Allenby faced off in the World Match Play Championship, where Kim was questioned about his lack of putt concecissions during the first 18 holes of their 36-hole match. (Via)

Kim: "I don't really think I have. Maybe a 2-footer, but it had a little break to it. Let's just say I am pretty focused on my game and if that slides by me that's a mistake."

Allenby responded: "That's match play. It does not matter, I will putt them all out if he wants. I'm happy to, I'm not going to miss them. I gave him four-footers but it does not bother me."

 (Via: Jason Sobel)

Back to eccentricities . . . The construction of Donald Trump's much anticipated "greatest golf course in history" is finally underway.


For the backstory, read a fantastic article by Alex Shoumatoff from the May 2008 issue of Vanity Fair.

“Fourteen hundred acres with 3.8 miles of beachfront, just north of Aberdeen, which is the oil capital of Europe. The dunes are considered to be S.S.S.I., which means scientifically important something”—a Site of Special Scientific Interest—“and that you sort of can’t touch them. It’s like going in and ripping down a landmark building in New York. But I’m going to build a world-class golf course in the dunes and another 18 holes on the property, plus a tremendous hotel with 450 rooms, 500 homes, 950 condos, and 36 golf villas. I’ll know at the end of the month if I get the zoning. If Jack Nicklaus tried to do this he’d have zero chance, but they like what I’ve done, and because I am who I am and my mother is Scottish—between you and me, Alex, I’m going to get it."

Jay Busbee . . .

Geoff Shackelford . . .
Scottish Golf View . . .

Yahoo . . .

Photo(s): Moe Norman, Donald Trump, Anthony Kim/Robert Allenby

An end to golfing cattiness. . .

The man saga that was the Robert Allenby v. Anthony Kim Celebrity Deathmatch officially ended, not by knockout, submission, reality show, but, by a crafted public relations statement on behalf of the PGA Tour communications department.
PGA TOUR Executive Vice President & Chief of Operations Rick George:
“Robert Allenby and Anthony Kim were both part of a fantastic week at The Presidents Cup in San Francisco, representing the U.S. and International Teams, respectively, with utmost professionalism, competitive spirit and good sportsmanship. Concerning the reports published after the fact with unfortunate comments attributed to Robert regarding Anthony, we understand that both players have since spoken and have put the incident behind them. We wish them both the best as they play out the remainder of their 2009 schedules.”

Robert Allenby:
“While I feel like the comments published were taken out of context, I did call Anthony to apologize for anything that I said or inferred that could possibly portray Anthony as anything less than a professional of the highest caliber. He was a key member of the U.S. Team last week and a formidable opponent on Sunday when we faced each other in singles competition. I am glad we had the chance to speak and clear the air.”

Anthony Kim:
“Robert and I have spoken about the comments he made after the final day of competition, and I’ve accepted his apology. We are both moving on, and I don’t have anything more to say about the issue. I had a great experience at my first Presidents Cup and look forward to competing in many more international team competitions for my country.”

While I'm at the front line in appreciating when public relations should settle disputes or, on the positive, advance a cause or organization, this doesn't seem satisfactory to me. Allenby still needs to apologize through the media in a direct interview with an American publication.

Also, not that Kim needed to exacerbate the situation, but the world would have loved a strong statement. Although the "he may need to practice a little bit more" statement was superb, a "that is not true, I just drummed him and he's just whining through the media" would have been amazing.

Geoff Shackelford

Photo(s): Anthony Kim

If you're going to attack his character, at least beat him. . .

Always gracious in defeat, Robert Allenby attacked the character of Anthony Kim following his massive 5 and 3 defeat to Kim Sunday at the Presidents Cup.

Via: Golfweek

"Allenby said friends here witnessed Kim getting back to the team hotel, in Allenby’s words, “sideways” at 4 in the morning, less than five hours before his scheduled tee time against Allenby at Harding Park."

“Maybe we should all take the theory of Anthony Kim,” Allenby said. “Get home at 4 o’clock (in the morning) and then go shoot 6 under."

Allenby, who is 38, has four PGA Tour Victories, compared to Anthony Kim, age 24, who has two career victories, both coming in 2008. While Anthony is currently ranked 23rd in the official World Golf Rankings, to Allenby's 33rd place position, Allenby was a top 10 player in a brief period in the early 2000s; Kim's high career ranking is 14tth.

Unfortunately, Allenby often does not get the credit for his game that he deserves. His abilities are clearly limited and his game is tailored for a specific type of golf; his lower ball flight, steeper angles, and volatile temper clearly make him a hard, fast golf course player where birdies are often. Kim, on the hand, is more rounded (literally in his golf swing and in his game) and has more potential, seemingly, than Allenby ever had.

In college, Anthony was. . .well, known to enjoy himself, particularly because others did not really enjoy him. He was notoriously conceded, his demeanor was often brash and flashy, and his fellow competitors didn't really like him -- but that's potentially as much due to the fact that he beat them so often.

Anthony behaves like a kid who has always been talented, who has repeatedly won in his career. He walks with less restraint than his peers, he acknowledges the crowds, he continues to treat golf as a game. I'm not saying he doesn't work as absolutely hard as his peers, but he seems to be as concerned with maintaining his enjoyment for it as anything else.

However, all of that is inconsequential to the statements at hand. While it's difficult to discern fact from fiction -- I would not be surprised to hear that Anthony had been out the night before, Allenby's discourse are unprofessional and un-PGA Tour like. I was disappointed to see this story get so much coverage; I even saw it in a segment on ESPN's Pardon the Interruption.

But, keeping with typical Anthony, he responded to Allenby by saying:

“If Robert had that to say,” Kim said, “he may need to go practice a little bit more.”

Photo(s): Anthony Kim & Robert Allenby, Anthony Kim