Bballref

Had half cast, binding and dressing removed this morning. Felt good to move my fingers and to see my pinkie straight for the first time in about 3 years. Stitches run from mid knuckle to base of hand, about 3-4 “. Very neat looking incision. Therapist cleaned up my hand and rewrapped it but only in gauze. Only a little dried blood and couple of tiny bruises were evident. Fingers remained free to move after rewrap and she set me up with some home exercises until next week Thursday. See surgeon in 8 days and most likely stitches come out. Meanwhile I wear the premade splint at night only. All in all things appear excellent and pain is quite tolerable, very modest.

Not sure if many share my sentiment but should a major look as easy as this one did yesterday, despite perfect conditions?

Thanks for responses.....They anaesthetized me & by the time I came to it had taken less than an hour. More time in pre-op & recovery, about 3 hrs in total. Haven't seen the incision yet, my hand still wrapped and in half cast. In 3 days it gets unwrapped at therapy and the cast discarded. Dressing will be changed then and I begin wearing a molded plastic splint pre-made for my hand but only at night when sleeping. Stitches out in 2 weeks, therapist once a week and a take home set of exercises to follow. So far so good, pain tolerable but annoying. My surgeon had suggested the snip but an orthopaedic surgeon acquaintance of mine said best get it all removed. So I'll see what happens in few days and keep you updated.

Had surgery on my right hand two days ago. Doctors told me I have a hereditary disease called Dupuytren's Contracture. A cord of fibrous tissue develops under the skin your palm eventually pulling downward one or all of your digits, even the thumb. Starts with a fleshy pad forming at base of finger(s) that resembles a callus and it's painless. Can happen with toes also and is more prevalent in men. In my case it's my little finger. Resulted in my finger bent down on my palm with very little chance of moving it consciously. The cord was very tight, hard and a ridge formed on my palm from first knuckle to almost base of hand, made it difficult to grip a club, let alone swing consistently well. Last 3 years I tried doing things to compensate but as condition got worse, surgery was inevitable. I just recently read an article on PGA tour player Tim Herron and was surprised to learn he had developed the disease conditions also. Until he got it fixed he could no longer compete. Him, his sister & dad have videos out on the subject. He seems eager to join Champions Tour, and is getting into more PGA events as he readies himself. Anyway I start therapy Monday and hope I can get in more golf this year with the thought of hitting the ball like I used to. Anybody else ever had to deal with this or something similar, and were you able to return to some sort of normalcy concerning your golf game.

Don't see anybody withdrawing after shooting a high opener. When was last time someone did or how many times has it happened in past at Masters? See it all the time on regular tour. I'm guessing if someone does this at Masters it might be frowned upon. A call from the Commish maybe?

Can't stand Aphibarnrat, probably because like me, he looks so non-athletic but can play whereas I can't. Don't like the slow players, especially Ben Crane. Followed a group behind him one day, and he takes forever. Can't remember what year it was when Sabattini, on a TV broadcast, got tired of waiting and drilled one over his head from behind. I always liked Sabattini after that. A special dislike for the players who shoot a bad round opening day and then withdraw from the tournament, some with excuses. And then, there they are again next week.

Argumentum ad hominem ..... "When you have no basis for an argument, abuse the plaintiff." ..... Cicero .

Going to agree with Vinsk, he handled it well. At least that's how the show portrays it. Never said if he cashed in on all the infamy or if he did, how much? There was one part I wondered about. When he physically went into the water to assess the situation, Van De Velde said the ball sank even deeper. Is that a penalty, being in a hazard and causing the ball to move?

Just looking at the field & their official photos on the PGA site. Trey Mullinax doesn't even look old enough to have a beer.

What I'm saying is this... other than zero points, there is no penalty for missing the cut. Then I asked whether there should be more emphasis placed on making the cut and should it reflect upon the fedex point scoring system. Also should DQ'd or even WD be considered? What kind of penalty i think would have to be decided. Perhaps there isn't enough of a point differential between the last player making the cut and the guy who doesn't. Maybe a point deduction from current totals. I don't really know if there is an answer or whether it's a valid concern. Merely asking opinion...thanks

I know the only players who receive Fedex points are those who make the cut. However, should there be a penalty or deduction of points if someone does not make the cut? Or even DQ'd? Theoretically a pro could play an event each week, miss the cut in every (500+ for win)tournament except one where he wins thus gaining a two year exemption and enough points to get into Fedex Cup playoffs. Same would go for a pro who only achieves a couple of top 2 or 3 finishes. There are a number of scenarios in which a consistent cut maker is not rewarded or situations where an inconsistent cut maker is not punished for missing the cut. These guys are pros, so they don't get paid for missing cuts. Cuts are such an integral part of the game and since these are pros with money always on the line, then should the cut line have an emphasis on the Fedex points system? Sponsorships, endorsements and other income aside from actually playing professional golf, it costs money to play in a tournament and would be an expense if the cut is not made. However there is no expense, and by that I mean no Fedex points lost, if the cut is missed.

If that's the case then who lowered the boom on Lexi? Rules officials on the GC are similar to assistant coaches, provide aid to head coach and players. In golf, someone(body) has the ultimate power to make a rules decision and invoke penalties, Lexi was not punished by her fellow competitors. I think rules officials need to be redefined.

As an off-duty rules official, would I be more remiss to not report something I see on TV? That is the question. Obviously by my username you can tell I'm a basketball referee (an avocation). Can't recall ever being overruled by a fellow official who was off duty. What we do is discuss rule judgments with all officials so that everyone knows what to look for and then interpret the same way when we are working a game. So to answer my question, I would not appreciate an off duty official calling in to report a violation but i would expect the observed violation to be discussed amongst other officials so that they recognize it, as well as rule on it in a consistent fashion. This can only improve vigilance and judgment.

Your point is valid. 'Deliberately' seems to be the only logical default position a ruling body can make. Don't think it can say, 'Oh, sorry about that, you're forgiven" What ticks me off is that if Schneiderjans did do what i thought he did and gets away with it then it could seriously affect another golfer. If he did cheat then how would that affect a guy like Poulter who needs $144K these next two weeks to keep his card. I wish I had taped it and had a video to show. Who the hell pays attention to a 1 inch putt at any level?

Was Ausitin penalized? That's exactly what one sees when Schneiderjans goes to tap it in yesterday. The only difference is that for Ollie the ball was on the far lip of the cup and he reached across over top of the ball with the club from the front and tried. His putter sticks without making contact, then he sweeps ball towards himself to hole it, very similar to Woody's actions back then. Where's the phone? What's the e-mail address? If it is a penalty then someone still has all day to call it in, just ask Lexi. Legally....Is it fraud if you knowingly cheat and get away with it, while aware of how much money is involved?

Should I call it in, should I, should I? I was watching the golf channel just after they started their coverage of the PGA RBC Heritage. Schneiderjans misses a putt (1st or 2nd hole) that hangs on the back lip of the hole. He casually takes a stab at it as he walks towards it to knock it in but he stubs the putter blade into the turf, effectively stopping it from moving forward and striking the ball. There's a slight pause and then he sweeps the blade towards the ball and knocks it in. A friend of mine who was with me at the time also saw it and commented that Schneiderjans should have been charged with a stroke when he initially stubbed the putter into the turf. Anyone else see that? Seriously, I really wouldn't know who to call anyways. I'm not doing any phoning but still, where does someone find the phone number to register a rules complaint during a telecast?

My eyesight, specifically depth perception. If I don't pay attention to it I generally come up short all the time. I have to tell myself to either hit it harder or go with less loft. Turning the hips is another one. Not being able to turn means I have to adjust the swing somewhat to compensate. Old age hasn't made me a worse golfer however, I can still nimbly get around at 64 but not every day.

Nah. They were a few years apart. Seen coyotes but not hairless. I just remembered another strange event. I was manning the flagstick while my buddy fired off an 80 foot putt. As it got closer I realized it had a chance so I went to pull the pin out of the hole. Trouble is, it got stuck somehow. As the ball got closer I panicked and pulled real hard to get the damn pin out of the hole. Well the pin came out but in so doing, the plastic hole liner came up with it extending a couple inches above green level and you guessed it, my friend's putt hit the plastic dead on and bounced back a few inches. I gave him the putt because I thought he was going to cry. I've always wondered what rule would cover that. Never had it happen again and nobody that I know had ever seen such a thing. Don't know why the pin was stuck because i couldn't duplicate the event once we got the hole back to normal.

Surely everyone has experienced a bit of weirdness during a round of golf. Animals, lost items, unusual incidents, accidents, etc. For myself I've witnessed a few over the years. My buddy banged a shot off a turtle crossing the green once but one of the oddest animal sightings I ever had was a black jaguar next to a tee box. In Canada! Didn't know this at the time but the big cat had escaped from a local zoo nearby. It had been AWOL for days apparently. Stopped us in our tracks when we saw it sitting there. One of the guys phoned the clubhouse where they were aware of this missing feline. They called the zoo. Heard later that the cat was pretty much tame and when the zookeeper showed up all he did was call the cat like you would your own and it came out of the bushes to greet him. A friend had the misfortune of being the only guy I've ever heard of that broke a leg playing golf. Ok, it wan't his fault. He was sitting on a bench when some drunk driving a golf cart smashed into him. He sued the GC and won considerable money. The most unusual thing I ever found on a golf course? There are two things that stand out in my memory. One was a women's bra in the fairway and the other a crack pipe on the green. I returned them both to the pro shop's lost and found. To the best of my knowledge no one ever claimed them.

That makes me feel better actually. My swing then is an optical illusion for someone who thinks it looks like Ernie's. Personally I never thought mine looked like Els' swing but obviously what others see is how they interpret his swing, slow and effortless, when its nothing of the sort. I'd love to unleash steady drives over 250 but as I said previous, when I try to kill it the results are almost always bad.

I walk mostly so it's easy to pace off the distance. Actually measured my stride a couple years ago and it was pretty much a yard at a time. I suppose I'm like most golfers, if I try to kill it then it goes nowhere but if I just try to stay in rhythm I hit it pretty good. I don't try to emulate it but people have told me my swing looks somewhat like Ernie Els except he hits it farther and with accuracy. Why does Els' swing seem so effortless whereas other guys look like they're coming out of their shoes?

I'm no spring chicken either. However even at my advanced age I can still hit it 220-230 which are good yardage numbers to know whenever I smack one somewhere where I shouldn't. At least then I have some idea on where to start looking for the ball.

You and a buddy ever go to the GC and find yourself with a tee time that follows the last group of a tournament up ahead. You can't go anywhere, on every hole just sit and wait to take your next shot. That must be what it was like for Watson & Walker today. Probably seemed excruciatingly long for them.

I never watched a single minute of pre-Masters' hype. Did I miss anything?