Frank Hannigan, R.I.P.

[David_Tepper]

More sad news:

http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-tours-news/blogs/local-knowledge/2014/03/former-usga-executive-director-frank-hannigan-dies.html

[JLahrman]

Along with Jack Fleck yesterday.

[Tim_Cronin]

What a shame. One of the great consciences of golf. And funny in a wickedly Irish way. RIP.

[Tom_Doak]

Oh, bummer.  I just settled in from George Bahto's funeral and this is the first thing I see?

Frank Hannigan was one of the few voices in golf who was never afraid to offend people with the truth.

Mike Young points to Harbour Town as when the business of golf took over the game, but if you want another turning point, it's when Mr. Hannigan retired from the USGA and they started down the corporate path.

[Howard Riefs]

A touching remembrance by Geoff.

http://www.geoffshackelford.com/homepage/2014/3/22/remembering-frank-hannigan.html

[Anthony Butler]

Thanks for the link Howard.. If you read down the post you will also see a link to Hannigan's original post on Shackelford's site...

Here it is for those of you who prefer the Amazon Prime 1-Click experience:
http://www.geoffshackelford.com/homepage/2006/1/27/letter-from-saugerties.html

So while the passing of Frank Hannigan is a sad event, it does provide the opportunity to remind ourselves yet again that Fred Ridley was an entitled, pretentious asshat long before he was exposed as a buffoon and rules know-nothing at last year's Master's....  Ironically by Hannigan's handpicked successor David Fay.

Which I guess means that karma does exist in golf aside from the occasional lucky bounce off the ball washer...

[Jim Nugent]

I wonder if Ridley will head up the rules committee this year... or even be on it?

[Anthony Butler]

I wonder if Ridley will head up the rules committee this year... or even be on it?

Good question, Jim.. I spoke with the R&A walking official at the US Amateur Final at Brookline last year.. He said the R&A had already expressed their preference on that during the post mortems they have concluding the tournament... Since the description I included in my prior post is a paraphrase of his perception of Fred Ridley, I guess we know where they stand on the issue.

As to whether that will change how the Master's runs the tournament... I have no connections or insight on that. Maybe someone else here might.  

I just read Hannigan's article on A.W. Tillinghast published prior to the 1974 Open at Winged Foot... great stuff.  It's hard to believe someone who was such an iconoclast could operate at such a high level in today's corporate USGA environment. I'm sure he would also have a hard time keeping his opinions about various USGA executive committee members to himself.

[Ronald Montesano]

Am I one who reads the late Hannigan's letter from Saugerties and wonders if he was in his cups? Lots of vitriol and quite a bouncearound. His target and task are never in doubt, but the pace of the wording has me wondering what his state of mind might have been.

[Terry Lavin]

Ron,

A great figure in the game we love dies and you're compelled to question whether he wrote while drunk?  You're better than that, kind sir.

[jeffwarne]

Am I one who reads the late Hannigan's letter from Saugerties and wonders if he was in his cups? Lots of vitriol and quite a bouncearound. His target and task are never in doubt, but the pace of the wording has me wondering what his state of mind might have been.

Regardless of his state of mind, his message was spot on.
and I give them a pass on the private jets

[Anthony Butler]

Someone has just reminded me that my Master's story must have been a case of wishful thinking on my part... Indeed it was David Eger, not David Fay, who called the club after seeing the replay from 15...

So maybe karma had nothing to do with it.. Nevertheless, the point about Fred Ridley remains true.. 

[Ronald Montesano]

Ron,

A great figure in the game we love dies and you're compelled to question whether he wrote while drunk?  You're better than that, kind sir.

I detected a tone in his writing and sought clarification from a discussion group that I respect. Consider that the letter was sent from Hannigan to Shackleford; as a "please publish me" missive or a casual epistle? That's very intriguing to me, Terry. But it gets more intriguing, still.

There are at least a half-dozen grammatical/spelling errors, very unlike Frank Hannigan. He wrote flawlessly, just as he spoke when on television. Then consider how he bounces around from topic to topic, again very inconsistent with his modus operandi.

All of this adds up to a great mystery to me. I'm quite surprised that my inquiry brought such a reaction. Do others feel as does Terry?

[Ronald Montesano]

Regardless of his state of mind, his message was spot on.
and I give them a pass on the private jets

Wish I had a private jet, or a pass for a private jet.

I wish the message might have been better organized/worded. The dispatch would be even more valuable; as it is, it's a good message lost in a barely-controlled semi-rant.

[Terry Lavin]

It's not the content of the post that I find particularly objectionable; it's the timing in which it was made.

[Patrick_Mucci]

I'm sorry to hear that.

I was very fond of Frank and spent a good deal of time with him when he was with the USGA.
He was intelligent, witty and candid.

David Eger and I were discussing him at length when we played just a month ago.

He may have been mistaken about no one being penalized for slow play in a USGA event.
I think Bobby Impaglia was penalized for slow play in a U.S. Open.

I often wondered about his decision to leave the USGA for ABC, and the motivation for same.
I thought that ABC didn't use his talent as well as they could have.

[Ronald Montesano]

It's not the content of the post that I find particularly objectionable; it's the timing in which it was made.

I understand. If my post's timing was objectionable, I solicit forgiveness from those offended.

I'm trying to figure out if Patrick is dropping names for giggles or some other purpose.

[Tommy Naccarato]

It's not the content of the post that I find particularly objectionable; it's the timing in which it was made.

Agreed! But it was also the content for me.

Ron, Go look into your own mirror and see if you find anything that might be questionable.

[Ronald Montesano]

Agreed! But it was also the content for me.
Ron, Go look into your own mirror and see if you find anything that might be questionable.

I'll get the comedy out of the way first. Tommy, I've got less hair than I used to and it was all cut off for Bald For Bucks (for which we raised $14000, thank you all.) My teeth are yellowing and my dashing good looks were all a product of my imagination: that's the questionable list.

Now to the serious stuff. I just wrote Tommy a long PM explaining my rationale for what I wrote a few entries above. The only part of it that I will share with the general public is this: As you did, everyone that has a gripe with anything I write is free and clear to take me to task.

I am grateful to Ran and Ben for the discourse that takes place within these virtual walls AND for the PM feature that allows us to communicate directly with each other.