Our favorite places to go on the Web share one underlying characteristic: they consistently alert and direct us to news, opinions, and features we most likely would not stumble upon through our normal web-surfing habits. In that vein, we are forming a weekly ‘Friday Foursome’ of links that is a collection of the most interesting, informative, and fun reads we come across in a given week.

The hope is that we can provide interesting reading material you may or may not find otherwise. Lord knows we can all use a little boost at the end of another work week to get into the clubhouse!

GOLF Magazine’s Cameron Morfit interviewed Gary McCord a few weeks back.

 It’s open, honest, and captivating. McCord is a treasure (Golf.com, 1/13/14).

Whoever Said Golf Was Supposed to Be Fun? by Christian Chensvold

 on the nature of golf (WSJ Opinion, 1/28/14) — log-in now required, unfortunately.

Brooks Koepka has no immediate plans to return stateside.

 Personally, I think Brooks is making a heady move. See the world, play golf, and hopefully earn full Tour status along the way (Yahoo Sport (UK & Ireland) via Reuters, 2/1/14).

SI’s Richard Deitsch always brings the goods in his weekly ‘Media Circus’ column.

 Not necessarily golf related, but chalk full of interesting discussion and links galore. (SI.com, 2/3/14).

Friday Links Foursome (What We're Reading)

, and share any thoughts in the chat below.

AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am Live Thread.

Ever heard of it? Widely known as (at minimum) one of the five best golf courses in the world, Pebble has played host to this tournament since 1947, as well as five U.S. Opens through the years. Measuring 6,816 yards, it’s the shortest track in the PGA Tour rotation and actually plays the easiest (in relation to par) of the three courses in the rota this week.

Get your picture in front of the ocean out of the way pre-round because there are birdies to be had from the get-go. The first eight holes are way gettable with two reachable par-5’s, as well as a potentially (depending on prevailing winds) driveable par-4 (#4). Holes 9 and 10 are brutal par-4’s along the ocean that can be really awkward for righties. Once the course routes inland, holes 11 through 16 are, relatively speaking, extremely forgettable (you’re still at f’ing Pebble). Then comes the picturesque, magnificent finishing hole. The par-5 18th is both beautiful…

…and gettable (with a real threat of calamity)…

Another course straight off a postcard, Spyglass has the reputation as “Pebble’s Little Sister” (actually I just made this up, but it works). Diminutive like Pebble (listed at 6,858 yards) and much lesser known, it’s actually a very stern test with #8 and #16 considered two of the toughest holes on Tour. Possessing serious elevation changes, oddly shaped greens, and awkward uphill/downhill shots, all the while overlooking the Pacific Ocean, Spyglass camps out at the top of public course rankings. The last thing we’ll note is that the course sometimes borders a little bit on rinky-dink due to the shortness, shapes and forced iron play. Glass half-full, it’s shot-maker nirvana; glass half-empty, it’s the prettiest damn pitch and putt you’ll find.

MPCC was added to the tourney rotation in 2010, and has 

as the third site for the event. Stop me if you’ve heard this so far: it’s beautifully scenic, with ocean views, and short (6,838 yards). MPCC usually gets cut out of the broadcast for the most part, so there’s much we don’t really know about it. The front-nine is a funky little par-34 featuring three par-3s, so there is that.

 a solid website which runs through the aforementioned courses, as well as other beauties in the area like Cypress and Pasatiempo.

The tourney describes itself as ‘A Charitable Classic since 1937,’ when Bing Crosby “invited some friends to play golf, enjoy a clambake, and raise a little money for charity.” NLU Godfather Sam Snead won the inaugural Pro-Am in ’37, and legends have continued to raise what looks like a miniature, crystallized version of the CN Tower ever since:

Shortly after, Phil told Clint to ‘GET OFF MY LAWN’

 a little more corporate (then again what doesn’t, am I right?) what with the number of big-money, non-celeb amateurs in the field. Amazingly AT&T has maintained its lead sponsorship of the event since 1986–that and $0.50 will get you a cup of coffee!

Truth be told, even though the celebs overall border on C-list, it’s kinda cool the tournament has held on to its roots with the Hollywood folk sauntering around inside and outside the ropes. Their presence, along with the unrelenting gorgeous scenery, always puts everyone in good spirits and the vibe does hit ‘convivial clambake’ throughout the week, even if it’s meandered from Bing Crosby’s exclusive-based-on-coolness to exclusive-based-on-

. Pros here to grind won’t have fun. Amateurs here to grind should be shot.

Brandt Snedeker edged Chris Kirk by two shots to win the Pro title. At the time he was the hottest golfer on the planet, as the result marked his 

 top-3 finish in his first five events of 2013 (!!). What’s interesting is that Chris Kirk (2nd), Kevin Stadler (3rd), and Jimmy Walker (3rd) have all notched their first career wins (two for Walker) since last year.

Snedeker and his amateur partner/professional BSD, Toby Wilt, shared the Pro-am crown with Michael Letzig and John Erickson. Why they don’t play off the Pro-am title is inexplicable bordering on criminal.

(all lines courtesy Ladbrokes.com, the Official Bookmaker of NoLayingUp.com)

Dustin Johnson (12/1) – 2 time winner, top-5’s in this event 3 of the last 5 years – Home Field Advantage

Hunter Mahan (16/1) – T16, T15, 2nd last three years here. Buttery wedge and iron player doesn’t have to bomb it.

Jimmy Walker (20/1) – T3, T9, T9 last three years, and obviously balling out this year.

Jason Day (12/1) – 6th in 2013. He’s gonna pure long irons off the tee ALL DAMN DAY.

Spencer Levin (66/1) – Top-10’s his last two starts here, three top-15’s in four starts, this is essentially his home.

Charlie Wi (100/1) – Four top-27 finishes in the last 5 years, including 2nd in 2012 (when he had to wait out Lefty’s trophy ceremony from the 18th fairway before holing out).

Patrick Reed (40/1) – 7th here last year and is loitering near the top of leaderboards every week.

Aaron Baddeley (80/1) – T12, 4, T6 in his last three starts in this event.

Kevin Stadler (50/1) – Doubt he’ll win two in a row but does own three top-25’s in 4 starts here, including a T3 last year.

Richard H. Lee (150/1) – T12 and T15 the last two years. If you actually play him or bet him, you’re a better man than me.

Take a drink of your beer anytime the following happens:

Jim Nantz tries to make it seem like he feels bad about the weather being shitty in your city while he looks at whales surfacing in the cove.

Your eyes bleed from Peter Kostis using the Konica Minolta Bizhub Swing Vision Camera on a celebrity’s awful swing.

Kenny G’s fake 2-handicap pops up on screen. Or any fake handicap for that matter. Most of the amateurs in this event are titans of their industry, type-A’s to the core. Lopping off a stroke or six from their Index for appearances is standard operating procedure.

Chris Berman can’t get out of a greenside bunker. Or you see Chris Berman’s pit stains. Or just generally whenever Chris Berman is on camera—you’ll want to be as numb as possible.

A Dustin Johnson-Paulina Gretzky-Wayne Gretsky parallel is drawn and the palpable awkwardness hangs in the air.

CBS interviews an Entertainment-industry celeb you’ve never heard of.

An amateur clumsily attempts to pick up or scoop his ball green-side. Most of these peeps realize they have no business being alongside Pros and are walking on eggshells all week. Around the greens especially they’re trying to 1) stay the hell out of the way and 2) get the hell out of the way after they do have to hit their ball. For most of em this usually results in rushed, non-athletic moves to pocket their rock. Cheers to that!

You find yourself muttering, either silently or aloud, “why the hell is CBS showing [insert amateur’s name] 

You get The Itch and live north of the Mason-Dixon line. You’ll want to consume heavily knowing it’s early February and golf season is still at least a month and a half away.

NOTE: we will break down the hilarity on the amateur side of this event later this week (probably in cliche, power rank form) in time for Saturday’s extremely avoidable broadcast. So check back later in the week for sure.

The first thing that comes to my mind when I think about Pebble Beach is Tiger Woods’ performance for the ages at the 2000 U.S. Open. Big Cat actually won the AT&T before going on to OBLITERATE the field at the US Open in June. My favorite story from that week 

Speaking of the Cablinasian – partly due to the ass-whooping Mickelson put on him back in 2012, Tiger probably won’t be back in these parts again until the 2019 US Open at Pebble. He played six years in a row between 1997 and 2002, notably winning in 2000 as detailed 

NLU will be on site for the first time this year, as neil griffith will be making the trek down from San Francisco. He’s been polishing up the NLU signature “MMMMMMUNCHED!!!!!!” call for tee balls. After this, the next time NLU will be on-site is the Heritage at HHI and then the Memorial up in C-bus (subject to change pending our media credential request for Augusta).

Graeme McDowell making his 2k14 non reach-around schedule debut. So there’s that.

While the amateur aspect of this tournament can be annoying (and an absolute kick in the balls to anyone who cares about pace of play), it’s worth touching upon some of the celebs NLU is looking forward to making fun of profiling later this week. First, there’s a wealth of QB’s (A Rodg, Tony Romo, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Alex Smith, and Colin Kapernick…psyche!) and Coaches (HoodMan Belichick, Jim Harbaugh, Brian Kelly, and Herm Edwards – who will definitely be playing to win the game). Personally, we can’t wait to see The Bull God (Kid Rock), Hootie (sans the Blowfish), and Kenny G munch drives and stuff wedges. We can only hope these guys make up for Chris Berman’s presence inside the ropes.Who the HELL is Gary Mule Deer?

We’re expecting a big number from ‘The Great One’ this year after we outed 

 You’ll remember that DJ shat his pants last year when he played with Wayne. We’ll see if that trend continues this year.

Chris Kirk spooked us last week, chasing an opening 65 in Phoenix with 73, 74, 76. Didn’t see that coming.

Honestly, the best part of this week for Fil and me is the presence of 

. These two Irish playboy billionaires have lived pretty incredible lives (check out their wiki links for full detail–we’ll hit the highlights below).

McManus (pictured on the right) made an early killing in the horse racing hustle, as both owner and wagerer. 

 He’s also a currency savant it seems, acquiring a sizable chunk of his billions trading FX from a small office in Geneva, Switzerland. 

 He’s also a large shareholder in Ladbrokes. 

 Not mentioned: obligatory run-ins with regulating bodies and questions surrounding certain business dealings. 

Desmond (pictured left) is basically McManus minus the penchant for ponies plus some badass lip foliage. He’s a wheeler and dealer across all business industries, his main profession making money. He has majority ownership of Celtic FC, while also having stakes in Casinos, Airports, and seemingly everything else. Like McManus, he’s crossed paths with governing agencies, a requisite for 

You’re damn right Soly went white pants with the yardage book in the back pocket when he got the chance to play here three years ago. 

Lastly, try telling us that Stillwater Cove doesn’t look like a great set of Hooters…

AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am Preview

Considering the season Hideki Matsuyama enjoyed in 2013 he probably isn’t a golfer to watch in terms of ‘breakout’ candidate on Tour. He is, however, absolutely a prime 

 candidate–and that’s way more prestigious anyway. Somehow this guy has managed to fly under the same radar that pegged Ryo Ishikawa for superstardom (Ryo (from Sergio), incidentally, is YOTTOing nicely this year). Due to this ability to remain undetected while still delivering large payloads, we’ve dubbed Matsuyama “The Drone.” We’re unclear how exactly Finchy came across this technology, though we suspect well-placed agents across Japan helped to acquire it. Did Finchy have to pay a 

 to get him to play a full schedule on the PGA Tour this year?

To quickly recap, Matsuyama’s worst Tour finish last year (sans the inexplicable MC at the Sony) was a T21 at the WGC- Bridgestone Invitational. He collected top-10’s at both Opens, and though technically not a part of the 2013 season, racked a 3rd-place finish during the reach-around at the Frys.com. Oh yeah, he also led the Japan Tour’s money list, won 5 times, and earned a spot on the President’s Cup squad.

I had the distinct privilege to watch Matsuyama in person last Fall at the President’s Cup–the guy carries himself with quiet confidence that is hard to describe. He absolutely oozes steadfast assuredness in his game, without any of the side antics or hints of immaturity that belie some other young stars (namely 

, though we LOVE the guy, and his intensity).

If by some slim chance you’ve haven’t had a chance to see Matsuyama play much yet, we recommend spending a few minutes and just watching this guy swing. The tempo is positively metronomic–Big Easy 2.0. Let’s just pray he never watches Tommy Gainey swing a club.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIb-ART3onY

Hideki MatsuYOTTO

Kevin Stadler saved us from the CBS-Bubba love child that was in the process of being made after Bubba missed a 6 footer on 18 to force a playoff. Harris English wrecked his rig early and couldn’t get any momentum going all day. Hideki Matsuyama’s putting prevented him from having a say. Hunter Mahan hit a godawful drive on 17 to remove himself from the proceedings. And Graham DeLaet mounted a furious, valiant comeback (a ballstriking fiesta) but couldn’t overcome a three-wiggle on 15. So it came down to Bubba (who buried some cold-hearted putts on 16 & 17 to mask some serious mistakes) and Stadler (who righted the ship after a double on 11 and played it pretty steady all the way in aside from some yippy putting). After a brilliant approach, mini-walrus missed the birdie putt on 18 but it didn’t matter as Bubba missed the comebacker for par (after a brilliantly lucky chip).

It should be noted that as the Thunderbirds were moving up the 18th fairway after the last group made the green, Bubba demanded them to GTFO the fairway during his pre-chip routine. And then after he missed the putt to tie it and the tournament was over, he became visibly agitated before proceeding with the tap-in about the amount of movement in the gallery. Vintage.

All in all, an insanely entertaining week. First class to the Thunderbirds and to the people of the desert for putting on such an epic affair. Kevin Stadler was a feel-good winner.

Aside from the atmosphere, TPC Scottsdale continues to be an extremely entertaining layout for those of us watching on TV. It’s not an incredibly easy course, but it has great risk-reward holes on the back 9 that make for some thrilling yo-yo’ing up and down the leaderboard (

). Let’s hope Weiskopf displays a gentle touch with the upcoming renovations (although if he adds some more contours to make the greens funnel to certain locations a bit more, especially on 16 green, that could take the excitement next-level).

We at NLU did not care for the setup of the 17th hole for the final round. The back pin placement is understandable, but if they’re gonna put it back there at least keep the tees up so dudes can challenge it and the lake is in play. The bunker about 275 out got more action than the lake. No doubt that if some of these guys had another crack at it they’d surely lay up off the tee and throw a wedge in there with some goobie on it. And we just can’t get down with that in these parts.

Hideki Matsuyama is still somehow extermemly underrated. He’s 21 and ranked number 23 in the world (before this breakout performance). The pregnant pause at the top of his swing is legendary, as is his tempo overall. Couldn’t be more pleased that he’s playing the U.S. tour this year; it’s clear the guys on CBS agree, dudes were GUSHING about his game.

Gary Mccord had the quote of the week: “Oh watch it now! It’s gonna go down that false front, which coincidentally a lot of the females around here have that same thing.” Augusta needs to reconsider their stance and get this guy back in the fold!

Bubba was Bubba all week. Bombing and gouging all over the big ballpark, and throwing 

. His incessant whining and his personality are somehow getting worse and worse. How he continues to be celebrated as one of the most popular guys on tour is beyond me. He shouldn’t even play this event – his schtick just doesn’t fit at an event where the crowds are vocal and real. Remember that whole Ryder Cup bit a few years ago where he pulled a Happy Gilmore and tried to get the crowd to make some noise? What a farce! Alright, one last thing and then I’m done with the Bubba hate. True story: A “Bubba Watson Whining” search returns 155,000 results!

Can you imagine the implosion if “250 pound” (there’s no freaking way that’s all he’s packing 

!)Kevin Stadler had won the health-focused Humana Challenge two weeks ago? It was fun rooting for Stadler as he truly seems like one of the good dudes on tour. That being said, his victory gives the “golfers aren’t athletes” haters one more bullet in the clip. Colt Knost did have a great tweet about it:

 !!!! See y'all in the gym tomorrow morning!!



— Colt Knost (@ColtKnost) 

Speaking of Big Units, overall it was a good showing from our boy Kiradech Aphibarnrat this week. Despite some struggles on the weekend he availed himself well and showed his game can travel. He opened with an impresive bogey-free 66.

Another solid week from NLU fave, the DoubleP. Dude’s in a groove right now.

Has Ryan Moore always been insanely slow? For a guy who’s ballstriking is that good, it’s somewhat counterintuitive he has to take so damn long.

Can’t say enough about Graham DeLaet’s performance and evolution as an elite ballstriker out here on tour. He’s like Canada’s answer to Horschel. Not to mention his face-cabbage is top-notch. They should let him invite Corey Chamblin, Head Coach of the 2013 Grey Cup Champion Saskatchewan RoughRiders to be his pro-am partner at Pebble this week. Let’s give 

A couple bright spots but overall we eMCee’d the proceedings this week. We’ll get it together for Pebble and Riv.

Keegan opened the week telling the media that everyone needed to pick him for their fantasy teams this week. He opened with a 66, but lit himself on fire on Friday, imploding to an 80. No word yet on what he was protesting. Hole 3 is where it really fell apart, where he sprayed one OB, blocked his provisional right of the green, chipped it over the green, chipped it back over, and tapped in for his 8.

With a friendly front hole location, Ben Crane nearly aced the 17th hole on Friday. He wouldn’t have won $2.5 million had he made it 

We go back to the west best coast for some of the best and most beautiful courses on the tour for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am: Pebble Beach-Spyglass Hill-Monterrey Peninsula. Unfortunately, CBS annually takes a dump on viewers by focusing their entire broadcast on how many shots it takes a sweaty Chris Berman to get out of a bunker, and how bad other celebrities swings are. The event has a lot of history, but Pro-Am formats are awful, and it’s a shame that one of the best courses in the world is subject to Kenny G masquerading around as both a two handicap and the star of next week’s Dateline: How To Catch a Predator. Here’s to hoping the Short Shore Course over at MPCC gets more than the cursory canned coverage this year – that place has some of the best views around. We’ve got NLU boots on the ground this week down in Monterrey, so stay tuned!

Waste Management Phoenix Open Recap

We certainly appreciate the feedback and the sharing of NLU’s primer, 

. If you watched CBS’ coverage of the Waste Management Phoenix Open today you witnessed Bubba Watson put on an absolute clinic in many of the areas we discussed in the piece (he also managed to carve out time to take his douchey persona to the next level). His shtick plays well to the masses, so in a sense, the highest attended golf tournament in the world is perfect for him. But we see right through him. Here’s a recap (and thank you to many of our tweeps for pointing these out):

Bubba Watson with the wayward directional point…. 

 he pointed like a pro, Like Rory, he too must have read your article in order to better play the part 

There was the wayward drive point on 11. Then on 13. He then called in an official (this will be coming in “How to Act Like a Tour Pro: Part II”) on 13, and took an extremely questionable drop out from underneath a bush due to a supposed hole created by a “burrowing animal” being in his potential swing path.

Next, on 15 he managed to pull the “Club Stop” and the “Blame the Camera” move within a 6 second span!

 all over the yard today. The mid swing stop AND camera point! 

By the time he actually got around to hitting his tee ball, Bubba proceeded to hook the drive (with the “Directional Point”), and again called for the rules offical. Nick Faldo called it “Day One Stuff,” regarding Bubba’s question on the ruling.

Following a missed 7-footer for birdie on 16, he went for the “Blame the Green” move. He actually has a pretty good case here, but it still makes the list.

Lastly, his drive on 17 went way right, and he went for the “Directional Point” yet again, and even added his own twist to it. He didn’t even bother to look at the shot, instead choosing to look straight down to the ground. That’s eight (8!!!!) blatant #TourSauces in a seven hole span! And that’s only what was shown on TV. Thanks to Bubba for putting on a spectacular #TourSauce performance today. Bravo.

It’s a good thing this isn’t a drinking game.

Bubba Watson Sprayed Tour Sauce All Over Scottsdale Saturday

Whether consciously or subconsciously, all golfers are influenced by tour pros in some way, shape or form. You know you’ve mimicked a tour player’s pre-shot routine or swing, bought similar attire, or even reacted similarly to a shot, and you probably do it more often than you think.

My friends and I began doing this years ago when we started thinking we were way better than we were. We began intentionally acting as if we were tour pros playing inside the ropes in front of large galleries. What started as a joke morphed into a full fledged side competition and reached the point where we celebrated a well-executed tour mannerism more than a great shot.

Below are some ideas for how you can join in on the fun (ordered by degree of ridiculousness). And remember, throw subtlety out the window when trying any of this stuff. We call it #TourSauce.

You’re a pro now, remember that. You did not “get new clubs this offseason” – rather, you’re “going through an equipment change.” Yes, those 6 year old Mizuno’s you bought at Golf Galaxy count as an equipment change. And don’t forget to throw in some fabricated stat like “I got them bent so my traj is 1.5 degrees lower than last year” or “My ball speed is up 6 miles an hour.”

You haven’t been “taking lessons.” Instead, you’re working with a new swing coach. It doesn’t matter that your lessons cost $25/hour at Ranger Rick’s (they just put in lights this year!). You’re going through some swing changes, and you need to make it clear to everyone that you feel good about where you are in “The Process.” Just remember, all the hours you’ve been putting in with the new “physio” you brought on the team a few months ago are going to start paying dividends soon (nevermind that this new “physio” is just the instructor in your group Cardio Jam class at L.A. Fitness).

This is probably the only tour thing you can do that isn’t completely ridiculous. You may even already do this as part of your routine, but you can absolutely go next level with it. My favorite is the tee shot where the club is twirled away from the body, and the tee is picked out of the ground before the ball has even reached its apex. No need to watch the ball. It really doesn’t even matter if you hit it well – remember, you’re trying to be as arrogant as possible.

You wedge in from 130, knocking it to 12 feet, sprinkling goobie dust on it and making your ProV1x dance just a little bit. Your playing partner acknowledges you with a “Good ball.” Your instinct is to reply with a simple, “Thanks.” Resist the urge – even though you’ve missed six greens in a row, you’re not satisfied – 12 feet is mediocre. Remember, you’re playing in front of a gallery. You just stuffed it to 12 feet. There is a smattering of applause. And while you want to acknowledge the applause, the subtlety of the crowd wave is the key here as you need to convey two things: 1) that you’re not thrilled with the shot 2) that you’re still grateful for their adulation. Basically, you want to find that spot one step above the Tiger crowd wave and one step below the Matt Kuchar smile/Phil Mickelson thumbs-up-fest. This is guaranteed to at least get an eye-roll from your partner, probably to the point that they’re going to stop complimenting your good shots. All for the better. You’ve got the crowd behind you now. The utter silence after you drain your next 15 footer is going to be deafening.

A similar move is to work in the casual tug of the hat after picking your ball up out of the hole, or after a modest approach shot. The key here is not to pull on the cap. Just touch your index finger and thumb to the bill of the hat. Don’t remove the hat under any circumstances. Act like you’ve been there before.

Let’s say you hit an 8-iron to 14 feet on the next hole (you’re really starting to groove your irons, although you hit your first drive OB), and the crowd is getting into it. You really want to convey that the shot was no big deal to you. Suddenly, you feel the urge to tap the area around your divot repeatedly with your club, which does absolutely nothing to fix the divot. Your heart is weeping for the piece of turf you just dug up. However, you can’t completely ignore the crowd. You take your free hand and briefly acknowledge with a wave, NEVER breaking your focus on the divot.

Once you’ve mastered this move you’ll also be able to utilize a similar technique after you hole the 14 foot bogey putt that you’re about to start grinding on. Immediately after you snag your ball out of the hole, tap down your imaginary spike marks as you walk away from the hole, while throwing in a subtle crowd wave. 

 your soft spikes didn’t make a mark on the furry public green that you just bogeyed, but why would that matter?

Sometimes, even a tour pro like yourself hits one off target. Luckily you play on tour, and you’ve got a marshall up ahead to help you spot your ball. You do all you can do make sure he knows which way to look. When Bubba Watson isn’t calling out a cell phone user or berating his caddie, this is typically what he’s doing when he’s pointing left. You’re not going to look for the ball yourself. The marshall is going to find the ball – you’re doing 

 a favor by offering up a directional hint.

You crank a drive, but it’s slightly off line. You’re DISGUSTED. As a tour pro you can easily feel any flaws in your swing prior to impact. You have to let everyone know how displeased you are, so you just throw your club on the follow through. But you really don’t worry about potentially hitting someone with the club – I’ll give you something to remedy any collateral damage in a bit.

After hitting a mediocre iron shot, you’re pissed. I mean it’s still on the green, but for godsake you’re a freaking tour pro. Something had to have gone horribly wrong for that ball to go 10 feet offline (you tell yourself that it’s just a byproduct of where you’re at in “The Process”). It’s time to rehearse your swing until you’ve figured it out. Nevermind that your group is now at the green, and the foursome of ladies behind you is ready to tee off…. you need to figure out what the hell just went wrong.

You’ve hit yet another green in regulation. Big deal. You’re used to this. Time to clean off your ball and drain another birdie. But there’s no chance in hell you’re cleaning the ball yourself. Mark your ball, and toss it to your “caddie” (unsuspecting playing partner) to clean it.

Keep a scorecard in your back pocket. As you get ready to hit a shot, back off and pull it out and act like it’s a yardage book. Act like you’re talking to your caddie, and get REALLY specific. Throw every blade of grass in the air and act as if you’ve never seen wind on a golf course before, and you have no idea what to do. Look high up at the trees, as if that somehow gives you more information about the wind.

If you’re feeling uncomfortable over a shot and need to back off of it, it’s time to blame it on someone else, usually the crowd. This is done best if you can stop your swing halfway through.

This works for after a poor shot as well. Point at the groundskeeper minding his own business a couple of fairways over and act like he’s the camera man that clearly clicked in your backswing.

This is one by far my favorite, and by far the most difficult to pull off. Say you hit a ball out of bounds (someone snapped a picture on your downswing AGAIN). Once you finish belittling the fool that won’t quit capturing Kodak moments, you realize you hit it into someone’s yard and the homeowner happens to be out trimming the hedges. You walk up, feigning genuine concern, and lead with your standard, “Is everyone ok?”. After you’ve played your shot, you take off your glove, walk over to the fan (confused homeowner), sign it, and give it to them and apologize. Throw in a gratuitous “I’m not gonna find this on Ebay next week, 

?” joke in there, as if your John Hancock has some real monetary value.

You just completed your round. Everyone in the clubhouse is dying to know how it went (were they not watching the telecast? Geez). You stroll through the pro shop and the club pro (we’ll call him “Tom”) casually asks you how your round was. This is your cue to go into full interview mode:

“You know, Tommy, course looks great, greens are really stimping right now. I like my chances.”

Or… “All-in-all, felt like we got some good work in today. Left a few shots out there, the one on 13 hurt, but I really flighted the ball well and I’m seeing my lines. This track is so gettable right now, so hopefully I can rest up and post a low number tomorrow.”

Drop a “Thanks Tommy” as you walk away.

 and let us know when you see some #TourSauce. 

How to Act Like a Tour Pro: An NLU Primer

Get yer’ shotguns, it’s another week of target practice out in the desert! The course, outside of holes 15 through 17, is completely forgettable. But these three holes, under tournament conditions especially, are pretty cool. #15 is an NLU-endorsed, completely reachable par-5 which presents some risk due to water all down the left side, as well as loosely surrounding the green. #16 is wholly unremarkable under normal conditions, but transforms to a crucible of nerves and excitement (more on this in a second) this week. Finally, #17 may be one of the most underrated holes on Tour. It’s a true risk-reward par-4, playing 332 yards on the card but often shorter in competition. There’s water just off the green left and long, forcing most guys to bail short and right. But be on the look out for the handful of Aces challenging the flag, especially the back/left location nearest the hazard–these guys deserve our utmost respect and admiration.

The 18th hole has been a criminally nondescript par-4 with a pond that’s not really in play off the tee. In fact, prudent strategy the last few years is to just bomb Driver as far as possible in the general direction of the hole, taking the hazard out of play, and getting a free drop from the grandstands if need be. It’s an anti-climatic end to a strong finishing stretch of holes, not to mention the tourney in general. But there’s some good news, according to Matt Ginella of Golf Channel, the Stadium Course is set to 

Before: Just a bunch of people hanging out and day drinking

This is an issue that hits close to home. The 16th hole is far and away one of the coolest places to enjoy golf. It has nothing to do with the hole itself and everything to do with the atmosphere. The epicenter of the week’s debauchery, imagine the 16th like your favorite bar, on the best night of the year, with an amazing crowd of friends, gorgeous scenery, prime people-watching opportunities, and a collective BAC that’s closer to ‘coma’ than ‘legal.’ However, the last few years there’s been a steady, corporate gentrification of the hole. We’re seeing the displacement of hundreds of frat bro’s and sorostitutes from the hill behind the right side of the green, shrinking public bleachers down the left side (taking away the vantage of the 15th green–some of the best people AND golf watching opportunities from the top of that grandstand), and an influx of corporate boxes/grandstands now completely surrounding the hole and squeezing Joe Fan out.

Look at the how the hole has transformed just within the last few years, from more public-friendly:

At some point enough’s enough, and the resplendent plebeian chants of “corporate sucks!” will fall silent, as there aren’t any more plebeians. Very rarely do we get all populist around here, but in this case we feel obligated. If the T-Birds aren’t careful, we’ll have the equivalent of a Coliseum chock full of Senators and Patricians munching on grapes and attempting to refine the bacchanal proceedings unfolding before them. Unacceptable. Never forget 

the 16th hole is the 16th: it was a place anyone could chill while enjoying some pops, catching some rays, and talking a little junk.

Normally we tuck this section into the nether-reaches of the column, but not this week. This tournament is ALL vibe. It’s style over substance, except the style is really goddamn substantive. For years now there have been countless pieces attempting to capture the atmosphere, so we’ll save our breath and boil it down like this: fake blondes, haterblockers, day-drinking, fake blondes, high heels at a golf tournament LOLZ, day-drinking, fake boobs, cut-offs and tribal ink, ASU co-eds, sunshine, mountains, fake blondes, day-drinking, a spirited mix of Ed Hardy apparel and exclusive golf-club-logo duds, fake boobs, more haterblockers, day-drinking, fake blondes, and last but not least, day-drinking.

Think of the average dude who shows up for the tournament as Trapster or “The Sack” from 

 The average female pretty much ranges from naturally gorgeous to artificially-enhanced gorgeous. In a nutshell, the week is exceedingly fun, chill as hell, and actually conducive to a wide range of interests (e.g. drinking, posting, styling, bronzing, gambling, heckling, and even spectating).

A big chunk of credit for the vibe goes to the tournament organizers and hosts; the all-male, civic organization of Phoenix dubbed, ‘The Thunderbirds.’

Golf-charity Illuminati, the T-birds purposely shroud themselves in mystery, which is way too okay with us. You’ll see these guys patrolling the grounds, dressed in the most spectacularly ostentatious threads–indigo, plush-velvet blouse tops, aggressive belt buckles, and pseudo-Jesus-pieces hanging low and loud. Really, it’s perfect. It’s exactly how I want my mysterious, fraternal, civic-minded organizations to front. So many questions, so much confusion.

Started way back in 1937, the Thunderbirds have strict membership bylaws. First off, like any self-respecting secret order, you don’t find them, they find you (a public directory of Thunderbirds does not exist). At any time, there are only 55 ‘active’ members, and to join the flock, one has to be nominated by at least two actives. Further, like the best part of fraternity bid night, nominated members must be unanimously voted in by the group. Black balls are in play, y’all!

Interestingly, active members have to be 45 years old or younger. Old and comfortable need not apply, the T-birds are young and hungry! Once an active crosses the age-45 threshold, they transition (we’ll guess through some sort of lurid ceremony) to ‘lifetime’ member. These lifetime members still help out with proceedings at the WM Open and other initiatives, just realize they aren’t calling the shots.

The most incredible part of the Thunderbird group is their election of a leader, a self-glossed, ‘Big Chief.’ Oh. Hell. Yes!

The current Big Chief is a go-hard named Tom Altieri, a Senior VP at a Phoenix-area bank (duh).

The last thing we’ll say, and with utmost certainty, is these guys know how to play host to a hell of a party. The atmosphere around the Phoenix Open may not necessarily be their doing, per-se, but their public-service mission has evolved into a municipally-decreed week-long rager – cool with us. A big NLU-salute to all the Thunderbirds, whoever the hell you are.

Lastly, while most will pay homage to the 

, we’ll refrain. We view it as an affront and diversion to the day-drinking, and an overcrowded, over-hyped after-party spot. Post golf, go clean up, grab a choice cut of meat and bottle(s) of wine, and hunt big game in its natural habitat around Scottsdale/Phoenix.

The People’s Champion, prodigal progeny of the Valley of the Sun, returned ‘home’ triumphantly with a tour de force performance. He magnificently paraded around the grounds before legions of exultant, loyal subjects with pomp and circumstance not seen since Tiberius returned from his conquest in the East of the Dacian frontier around 101 AD.

Lefty opened the week’s proceedings with a virtuoso, 11-under par, 60, which if you’ll recall, really should have gone down on the card as a 59.5. How the HELL did this putt on 18 stay out?

Phil is wearing the golf equivalent of a “power suit”

After that it was a boat race, with Mickelson going 65-64-67 the rest of the way to post a -28, 256 and win comfortably by four shots. One has to think the T-Birds will try to reign the scoring in a bit this year, no? Before last year, the previous nine winning scores had fallen between 263 (19-under) and 270 (12-under).

 (all lines courtesy Ladbrokes.com, the Official Bookmaker of NoLayingUp.com)

This field is wide open – gotta bring Bob Baffert in!

 He’s due. Top-25’s the last two years here. Drives the shit out of the ball and rolls his rock, a winning recipe in these parts.

 Yes, we pick Horschel every. single. week. Dude’s gonna win three times this year, mark it down. He’s #trending and got it to 16-under last year.

 Inauspicious start to his 2014 at the Farmers, but something tells us he’s been in the lab this winter and is gonna come out diggin’ these next several weeks. Former champ has more than solid track record here.

. How many times did Faldo mention he led the Farmers in proximity to the hole? Two straight top-5’s, won the Travelers (a scoring haven) in 2012. Not much history here, but he’s #trending.

 Most weeks, Na is a horse in the same sense that 

 is a horse. But it’s a different story when he’s in PHX. He has four top-5 finishes here – pretty solid considering he’s only 30 years old. After a lost 2013 season, this pace-of-play terrorist will come back strong in ’14 and has done just that so far with two top-10’s during the reach-around.

Honestly no idea why we have a hunch on this guy – he just seems like the type of shit-head who needs to win this tourney. And he is playing relatively well right now.

Top 100 in the world, two top-3’s in the reach-around, and decent results here the last couple years. These odds seem criminally low.

On Friday afternoon the guys on CBS will reference “a course up north of here” where certain guys who played in the morning went to practice. That place is Whisper Rock and we at NLU hold this place in similar esteem to how Muslims view Mecca. Besides having arguably the most talented golfing membership anywhere, 

 is in the field! What a welcome surprise – other than him, there is a dearth of oddities in the field this week.

Billy Mayfair’s YOTTO trophy from ’95

 is kept on premises in the clubhouse at TPC Scottsdale (much like the Heisman Trophy at respective winners’ campuses). Oh wait, there isn’t a YOTTO trophy. Damnit.

Mike Weir is in the field. Since finishing 17th at the 2010 WGC Match Play he’s played in 73 tournaments without a top-25. Let that sink in.

Normally, we’d be really bullish on Double P given the circumstances (great result last week, ASU roots), but he’ll no doubt have a plethora of his crew in town getting after it–most notably Pat the Bat. Expecting him to be mentally focused and ready to grind, is both foolish and unfair.

More important things to do this week for DubP . Also pictured (from left): a col’ beer, former MLBer Pat Burrell.

Waste Management Phoenix Open Preview

The mandatory 10 year probationary period for Pinehurst #2 comes to an end this June when the U.S. Open returns to the site where Michael Campbell inflicted widespread sadness on the golf community at-large triumphed over Tiger Woods and the rest of the field at the 2005 U.S. Open. In order to rid the historic grounds of the stink that was left behind from this abomination, a restoration was required to wipe the memory of that disastrous weekend. Literally, Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw were hired to rework every single hole, as is highlighted pretty masterfully 

 Fairways were widened by as much as 50%, offering more strategic options in playing holes from tee to green.





 All rough was eliminated, establishing two heights of grass: greens and everything else.





 26 acres of turf were removed, restoring natural areas of sand, wire grass, pine straw and a variety of native grasses.





 Eliminated during the winter months, allowing for firm, fast conditions throughout the year





 Thirteen new tees were added to the championship course, increasing the total championship length by more than 300 yards, to 7,565 from 7,214.





 Several bunkers were restored, eliminated or reshaped based on aerial images of the course from the 1940s, and bunkers were edged to create rustic appearance





 Only two (15 and 17) were modified slightly to increase hole locations. Changes weren’t necessary, they were already legendary.

The elimination of rough, and the way the fairways flow into the “natural habitat” areas reminds me of the way Alister Mackenzie designed fairways and greens to flow naturally into bunkers, particularly Royal Melbourne. This is the first hole:

has earned some of the highest accolades in the design realm – Bandon, Friar’s Head, Sand Hills, Streamsong are among the best and boldest designs of the last decade or so, but the Pinehurst #2 redesign signifies a bold (and natural) progression as this pair essentially took their shit next-level. Pinehurst is an undisputed national treasure. Hell the place glossed itself the “Home of American Golf.” The history, prestige, and upcoming tourney slate at #2 mean the stakes really couldn’t be higher. Coore & Crenshaw knew they couldn’t afford to mess this up, and what made it more difficult was the fact that this was a restoration of history more than a true design or redesign.

While the diehards all dream about a Bandon trip or somehow getting on at Sand Hills, the masses aren’t really privy to the aesthetics and philosophies in play here. Seeing the US Open (and the US Women’s Open) played here could change the way the masses think of what a golf course should look like, and more important, what they want their golf courses to look like (and wait until 

 next year). In thirty years, we’ll likely look back on this restoration as a seminal moment in the arc of golf design. Hopefully we’ll see people trying to copycat the philosophies in play here, creating a veritable chain reaction: at once breathing life into the game by making similar designs accessible, placing downward pressure on the cost of a round of golf, and maybe even forcing a new premium on creativity and shotmaking (we can dream). Let’s be clear: this is a bonafide golf design 

We’ll dive in a lot deeper into the U.S. Open obviously when the time comes, but for now, take a look at the hole by hole breakdown. It’s hard not to get excited for what really looks to a be a “different” U.S. Open at a historic track, redefined: For more 

First Look at Pinehurst No. 2 Restoration

Scott Stallings birdied the 18th to ruin what would have been an epic 6-man playoff with K.J. Choi, Graham Delaet, Jason Day, Pat Perez and Mark Leishman. Can’t imagine a better NLU scenario than six pro’s jousting on a reachable risk/reward par-5 (we detailed the 18th at Torrey Pines (South) 

). And while the 18th was certainly entertaining, the 17th hole more or less resembled this all weekend:

Gary Woodland’s rig is somewhere over on the right shoulder. Dude hit the eject button after his tee shot on 17.

We always love seeing dudes ball out early, post a score, and then run and hide in the clubhouse. KJ Choi did just that and then almost miraculously held on for a spot in a playoff. For the next hour and a half, a variety of guys posted -8 and it was looking like we were headed toward a six-man playoff, which would’ve been sweet regardless of who was involved. That some of our favorites in JDay, Choi, Delaet and DubP (and WillyMac if he hadn’t missed a 3-footer on 17) would’ve been participants is staggering to think about. Can’t help but be a little bitter about the what-ifs. I still remember watching the six-man playoff at Riviera back in the day – great drama.

Torrey Pines (South) played extremely tough through Saturday. Some like that, 

. For me, a tough test to these players is much more entertaining than the birdie fest we saw last week in Palm Springs, and next week in Scottsdale. This was more of a U.S. Open set-up than any other regular tour event in recent memory (save for maybe the Memorial), and was obviously a train-wreck to watch at times. But when you take the longest course on tour and then bring the fairways in and frame them with rough that doubles as a penal-colony, you get a pretty good sampling of who’s game is tight and who’s a bonafide ballstriker. Not surprisingly, we saw a quality leaderboard. Low scores don’t always mean high entertainment – this was substance over style.

The course played much easier Sunday – due mostly to much more favorable hole locations. One has to think that some griping and bitching went down on Saturday night.

It was a productive week for some NLU ballstriking favorites (Woodland, Spieth, Horschel, JDay, DoubleP). Also notable were solid finishes by foreign studs trying to assert themselves on the big stage – Matsuyama, Ishikawa, Colsaerts, and Dubuisson (faded on weekend, but made cut in first event on US soil) can all hang their hat on a solid result here.

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Hideki MatsuYOTTO

Waste Management Phoenix Open Recap

Bubba Watson Sprayed Tour Sauce All Over Scottsdale Saturday

How to Act Like a Tour Pro: An NLU Primer

Waste Management Phoenix Open Preview

First Look at Pinehurst No. 2 Restoration

Farmers Insurance Open Recap

This Guy Has a Terrible Idea

Drama Theater: The 18th at Torrey Pines

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YOTTO Update (Humana)

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Brother-In-Law of the Year - Amazing Scotty Cameron Restoration

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Fred Couples Ricochets It Off Lava to 8 Feet

Articles

Friday Links Foursome (What We're Reading)

AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am Live Thread.

AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am Preview

Hideki MatsuYOTTO

Waste Management Phoenix Open Recap

Bubba Watson Sprayed Tour Sauce All Over Scottsdale Saturday

How to Act Like a Tour Pro: An NLU Primer

Waste Management Phoenix Open Preview

First Look at Pinehurst No. 2 Restoration

Farmers Insurance Open Recap

This Guy Has a Terrible Idea

Drama Theater: The 18th at Torrey Pines

Farmers Insurance Open Preview

YOTTO Update (Humana)

Humana Challenge Recap

Brother-In-Law of the Year - Amazing Scotty Cameron Restoration

Zach Johnson Showered with Boo&#8217;s For Laying Up from 230

Fred Couples Ricochets It Off Lava to 8 Feet

Zach Johnson Showered with Boo’s For Laying Up from 230