The Pro Tours Random Thoughts and Musings Thread

[boogielicious]

2 hours ago, colin007 said:

Is there a rule against these guys using their phones during rounds? There's no way I could just stand around waiting during these interminably long rounds when I could be watching earwax removal, cyst popping, or ingrown toenail removal videos like I usually do

How do you say ‘earwax removal’ en Espanol?

[colin007]

1 hour ago, boogielicious said:

How do you say ‘earwax removal’ en Espanol?

Ok but seriously, are they allowed to use their phones for Tiktok or YouTube during the lulls? Rory's round took 5 hrs 51 mins

[Zeph]

10 hours ago, colin007 said:

Is there a rule against these guys using their phones during rounds? There's no way I could just stand around waiting during these interminably long rounds when I could be watching earwax removal, cyst popping, or ingrown toenail removal videos like I usually do

I couldn't find anything specifically for The Open or R&A, but this is from the PGA 2025 Player Handbook, page 80: 

Quote

During Official Competition

During a competition round players are prohibited from using a mobile device for all communication purposes (voice calls, text, email, etc.), data services, or for capturing content.

 

[boogielicious]

12 hours ago, colin007 said:

Ok but seriously, are they allowed to use their phones for Tiktok or YouTube during the lulls? Rory's round took 5 hrs 51 mins

The Spaun/Rahm group was put on the clock. Spaun got a ‘Bad Time’. That carries over to today. He could lose a stroke if he gets hit again.

[colin007]

7 hours ago, Zeph said:

I couldn't find anything specifically for The Open or R&A, but this is from the PGA 2025 Player Handbook, page 80: 

 

Okay, so here's what I'm doing, before the round I'm downloading a bunch of videos and movies to my phone, and then I put it in airplane mode. That should satisfy all the terms

[iacas]

6 hours ago, colin007 said:

Okay, so here's what I'm doing, before the round I'm downloading a bunch of videos and movies to my phone, and then I put it in airplane mode. That should satisfy all the terms

The majors aren't under the PGA Tour, though. The R&A determine the rules for the British Open.

Also, Lowry should be penalized. That was visible to the naked eye.

[Zeph]

The latest up-and-coming player from Norway is Kristoffer Reitan, who recently won his first tournament on the DP Tour.

One thing that sets him apart from most is that he’s heir to a fortune. He and his sister has inherited shares in one of the big grocery store conglomerates in Norway. He’s moved to Switzerland (Norway tax fortunes, so many of the richest has moved there) and his actual net worth is not accurately known, but believed to be upwards of 5 billion USD. That might make him the wealthies professional golfer, even if he’s made relatively small sums as a player.

I wondered if there were other cases like his and came across Maverick McNealy, also heir to a fortune and may be worth in the billions. According to this article, he was raised in a $86m home:

https://www.golf365.com/news/maverick-mcnealy-net-worth-golf-billionaire-wealth

Must be nice not having to make money on playing golf, have practically unlimited access to funds, private jets etc., but I also wonder if it could limit their drive to try getting better and winning. Especially as a new player having to make a living off golf, the possibility of winning millions must be a motivating factor. The sample size isn’t large enough to tell.

 

[boogielicious]

4 hours ago, Zeph said:

The latest up-and-coming player from Norway is Kristoffer Reitan, who recently won his first tournament on the DP Tour.

One thing that sets him apart from most is that he’s heir to a fortune. He and his sister has inherited shares in one of the big grocery store conglomerates in Norway. He’s moved to Switzerland (Norway tax fortunes, so many of the richest has moved there) and his actual net worth is not accurately known, but believed to be upwards of 5 billion USD. That might make him the wealthies professional golfer, even if he’s made relatively small sums as a player.

I wondered if there were other cases like his and came across Maverick McNealy, also heir to a fortune and may be worth in the billions. According to this article, he was raised in a $86m home:

https://www.golf365.com/news/maverick-mcnealy-net-worth-golf-billionaire-wealth

Must be nice not having to make money on playing golf, have practically unlimited access to funds, private jets etc., but I also wonder if it could limit their drive to try getting better and winning. Especially as a new player having to make a living off golf, the possibility of winning millions must be a motivating factor. The sample size isn’t large enough to tell.

 

Peter Uihlein is the son of Titleist CEO Wally Uihlein. I’m sure he wasn’t living in a trailer park as a kid.

[iacas]

1 hour ago, boogielicious said:

Peter Uihlein is the son of Titleist CEO Wally Uihlein. I’m sure he wasn’t living in a trailer park as a kid.

He's not personally wealthy, though. Wally still is. And I doubt Wally is anywhere close to $5B, since he wasn't the owner, but really, an employee.

[Carl3]

11 hours ago, iacas said:

He's not personally wealthy, though. Wally still is. And I doubt Wally is anywhere close to $5B, since he wasn't the owner, but really, an employee.

Yeah, $50M is not much these days. There was a time many years ago when Ted Turner laid out in a simple calculation how that was all anyone really needed and it included a couple of homes, a yacht and staff. He probably doesn't clip coupons, but he might look for NetJets deals🤣.

[GolfLug]

MSN

I get that you gotta kiss your frogs but five caddies in a matter of few months?? I could be completely wrong here but is this not unusual? If it unusual like I think then it seems like either someone does not know how to interview or they have a misguided understanding of what constitutes a caddie's job description. Thoughts? 

[ChetlovesMer]

6 minutes ago, GolfLug said:

MSN

I get that you gotta kiss your frogs but five caddies in a matter of few months?? I could be completely wrong here but is this not unusual? If it unusual like I think then it seems like either someone does not know how to interview or they have a misguided understanding of what constitutes a caddie's job description. Thoughts? 

I don't know. I think this is kind of a non-story. He was with Jakovac for a long time. Sometimes after a long relationship you have a try a few before finding the right one. 

[GolfLug]

57 minutes ago, ChetlovesMer said:

Sometimes after a long relationship you have a try a few before finding the right one. 

Like bunch of first dates? 😉. I guess, I didn't know that the personality match score needed to be that high for a caddie. Maybe it is these days. These aren't exactly guys off the street from what I read. Anyway, yeah not a super big story but it's a slow news day and I came across this article so was just wondering. 

[Zeph]

4 hours ago, GolfLug said:

Like bunch of first dates? 😉. I guess, I didn't know that the personality match score needed to be that high for a caddie. Maybe it is these days. These aren't exactly guys off the street from what I read. Anyway, yeah not a super big story but it's a slow news day and I came across this article so was just wondering. 

If the caddy market is anything like the dating market these days, it’s a struggle.

[boogielicious]

5 hours ago, GolfLug said:

Like bunch of first dates? 😉. I guess, I didn't know that the personality match score needed to be that high for a caddie. Maybe it is these days. These aren't exactly guys off the street from what I read. Anyway, yeah not a super big story but it's a slow news day and I came across this article so was just wondering. 

What app do they use, “Pinder”?

[colin007]

Are there any ladies on the LPGA who could hang with the PGA guys when it comes to putting or chipping?

[GolfLug]

21 minutes ago, colin007 said:

Are there any ladies on the LPGA who could hang with the PGA guys when it comes to putting or chipping?

I mean, all of them. When it comes to putting, it's all about club head speed and women inherently have a higher chs with a putter (just watch them on and around the greens and you will notice how much faster they walk). They can all easily reach a circle of 6-foot radius around the hole (aka gimmie range) in two (in regulation!!)  from 15-20 yards off the green with their putters. Men? Not so much. 

[Shindig]

On 8/18/2025 at 3:47 AM, colin007 said:

Are there any ladies on the LPGA who could hang with the PGA guys when it comes to putting or chipping?

I wouldn't be surprised if there are ladies who aren't professional golfers who can hang with the PGA Tour guys when it comes to putting;  possibly chipping (I haven't thought about that one as much).  

Put it this way:  you've heard of people who practice regularly and spend half (or more) of their practice time putting;  I don't even mean when I'm in the week before a tournament, or if putting is a glaring weakness relative to handicap.  I mean there are people who (incorrectly) believe that's the right practice ratio.  I don't need to repeat the bad math here, I hope.

Some of those people turn out to be really good at putting, especially if they keep up regular practice at this ratio for a long time;  I would go so far as to speculate there are people who convert makeable putts (inside 15') at a higher rate than scratch (male) golfers over the course of a season, regardless of what the putt is for.  We've all met people who make an occasional 8' putt for par and then proudly explain that's how they saved a stroke and we should all practice putting more (nevermind why they had an 8' putt for par on such a regular basis).  I'm not convinced the ceiling of how good someone can get at putting is PGA Tour level -- although it's the ceiling for how far I'd want to get.

It wouldn't surprise me if some of the people in the world who can do that are women.  

I don't know enough about the depth of the LPGA Tour to know if someone whose golf game was built that way would make it to the tour.  We have occasional people on the open side whose strength is clearly inside 50 yards (and on rare occasion, they make a big splash or even win a tournament).