“Drive and joy is an unbeatable combination in life, in my opinion,” Michael Bamberger says within the newest episode of GOLF Originals, “and I think Mike Whan exhibits that.”
The highlight is on Whan, the USGA’s CEO since 2021, within the newest installment of Bamberger’s interview collection. Whan has lengthy held a popularity as a enjoyable, dynamic character, which Bamberger notes is one thing the USGA wanted within the particular person holding the governing physique’s most front-facing function.
The two spent the day at Palm Valley Golf Club in Ponte Vedra Beach — a cut price tee time, at solely $18. They had been joined by a retired schoolteacher named Louise, a Palm Valley common.
Bamberger and Whan’s dialog coated a multitude of matters, from Whan’s adolescence and profession to his roles as LPGA Commissioner and USGA CEO. At one level in the course of the spherical, Bamberger requested Whan which of golf’s guidelines he’d like to change. Whan demurred, however his response supplied an illuminating have a look at how rule modifications are made on the sport’s highest degree.
“I had this conversation with a PGA Tour player once, and he said, ‘You know, if we did rules’ and I said, ‘Yeah, curious, if you did rules, what would you do?’” Whan stated. “And he goes, ‘What do you imply?’ I stated, ‘Well, you’d most likely convey collectively proficient guidelines folks from throughout, proper? LPGA, PGA, Korn Ferry, and then you definately’d have some gamers there.’ He was, ‘Yeah, that’s what we do.’ And I believe, ‘That’s what we do.’ I stated that we don’t sit in a room with 4 USGA folks and make a rule. We’ve acquired folks from all totally different excursions on that, folks from all totally different elements of the world.
“And it is pretty awe-inspiring to sit in and listen to the process,” Whan continued. “Because people think about a rule change and don’t think about the implications of the other parts of the game, and they do. They’ve walked through it all.”
Bamberger then urged a rule change of his personal, making white OB stakes play like red-stakes lateral hazards, as an alternative of requiring and stroke and distance penalty.
“Having sat in some of those cases, you just wouldn’t want to create an unfair advantage for somebody who hits a good drive,” Whan stated. “You know, where you have people start taking lines on a hole because the because the penalty is not bad.”
For extra from Bamberger and Whan, together with Whan’s ideas on essentially the most difficult elements of his job, take a look at the complete episode of GOLF originals above.
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