Trip Smalley

It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so. Mark Twain.

@JR_HIRSHey @USGAMike @Fully_Equipped @GOLF_com So should I cancel my visit to the museum until they get the driver back or is still worth the trip?

I chatted with USGA Director of Player Relations Scott Langley Wednesday night to find out more about U.S. Mid-Am champ Brandon Holtz’s driver went from the USGA Museum to The Masters in less than 24 hours. "I would venture a guess that neither Brandon nor us as the USGA had that on our bingo cards," Langley told me. Usually if a player needs a club at a Tour event, there are trucks everywhere to build one. The couldn't build the one Holtz wanted. By Tuesday afternoon, Holtz needed a very specific driver. The one he won with seven months ago at Troon CC. The problem: he’d donated it to the USGA. It was sitting in New Jersey. Around 4 p.m., USGA CEO Mike Wahn gets a text. The USGA “circled the wagons,” Langley told me. The museum director was in Paris. Someone at the museum tracked the club down. Their office services manager got it to the UPS Store just before the overnight cutoff. It arrived at Augusta to one of the USGA's rental houses this week on Wednesday and went straight to conformance testing. It passed. The USGA handed it back Holtz sometime before 4 p.m. “Pretty special for sure,” he said. “Shows you what the USGA does and will do for you.” If it were me, I'd be a nervous wreck tracking it through UPS. But not Holtz. “They basically said, ‘just enjoy your day,’” he said. “So no, I'm not tracking it, but I have faith that they'll be here.” Holtz will tee off with that driver at 9:02 this morning, but where it will go after this week remains to be seen. Right now the USGA museum has nothing from the 2025 U.S. Mid-Am champ. "I think it's fair to say we'll check in with him," Langley said. "We'd love to have it there, and in these cases, these players really appreciate the chance to have one of their artifacts in our museum as well. It's not just saying it because it's ours, but it's just an amazing collection of golf history." Perhaps they should use the box used to ship him the driver. But for the rest of this week, that driver is living the dream along with Holtz in Augusta, Ga.

@alabamacbb Must be a power plant close to Coleman.

How does Alabama come off an off week with two starters doubtful? I mean it has to be some sort of sickness right?

@ShehanJeyarajah Alabama’s capacity in 2005 was 81,018 because we were expanding the north end zone. We sold out every game. What in the world are you talking about here? Attendance went up because we expanded the stadium twice in those years.

Alabama attendance 2005: 81,000 Alabama attendance 2023: 100,077 Difference: +23.6%

@greggrosenthal In all honesty, this is how those of us that are fans of the NFC south would want it.

the 49-year Falcons-Saints rivalry has all been leading to the moment Sunday when they decide an NFC South title that neither team can win

@DataGolf Why would your average miss length being shorter be an advantage? Serious question btw. Is that the average of the length of putt you missed or the length by which you missed it?

This is interesting... also a good way to turn your brain into a pretzel.

@GolfDigest If the US can just win the first 7 matches, we’re right back in this thing.

Sunday Singles. 🇺🇸🇪🇺

@canonclaycomb Cannon-I’ve seen Patron Kizzire make everything with a putter that looked just like that following a throw or a solid kick.

This guy absolutely rolled the rock while I played with him this week and I’m not throwing any shade on this man but when I saw it on the first hole I had to do a quadruple take….

@colecubelic This is hilariously wrong. Cole-you were great tonight as always.

👌🏼

@chiwizardry @BudElliott3 Went to law school with Bud at Bama and can confirm he can knock the ever loving hell out of a softball.

@BudElliott3 You went to bama?? I assumed you went to FSU

I cover CFB for a living and I went to Alabama and I’ve never heard of “battle for 82” (did just google it) and don’t know anyone who went to Bama who considers Mississippi State a rival

@JoelMBeall Can we blame these shirts on Keegan not devoting his full time and attention to being captain? @NoLayingUp

I like the Ryder Cup uniforms because they capture the Long Island aesthetic of being wildly expensive yet looking like they came off the TJ Maxx clearance rack

@RedHarrington44 @PGAChampionship Wait til Sunday and there’s no cold drinks. They did that last year at Valhalla and Thursday was fine but Sunday was sort of awful.

A novel concept by the @PGAChampionship this week. Anything that’s not alcoholic is “free”with your ticket to enter. Technically you’ve already paid for it…but it should keep concession lines to a minimum. I’ve yet to do the math at how many waters I need to drink to make my money back but trust me, I’m gonna.

@currencybandit @BurnerLJohnson @JournoRyan In Alabama, each side strikes the folks they don’t want. Those that are left are the jurors. So you don’t pick them or agree to them. You get rid of the folks you think will be bad and the opposition does the same until you get down to 12. Last strikes are the alternates.

@BurnerLJohnson @JournoRyan Doesn’t they get to question and excuse potential jurors? I’m surprised that this is what the defense and prosecution presumably agreed to.

This is certainly something. Doesn’t sound like Davis ever had a chance with this jury

I spoke at length with one of the jurors in the Michael Lynn Davis capital murder trial to gain insight into their deliberations and how jurors viewed the evidence that led to his conviction. patch.com/alabama/tuscal…

@BurnerLJohnson I guess that makes sense. After having to face DR, your pitches must have seemed so slow. Hard to adjust to that for sure.

@tripsmalley He thought I was a better option!

This man once brought me in to replace David Robertson in a baseball game

@practicalgolf I did. So I went and checked and sure enough there are tons of sites that still have room. So it’s not sold out.

@tripsmalley Yes I’m sure everyone reading that assumed I meant every single site in the United States and not my local one 🙄

It’s incredible how popular competitive golf has become. A few years ago I could wait 1-2 months to sign up for local events or USGA qualifiers. I missed signing up for the US Mid Am by two days (was on vacation) and there wasn’t even a waitlist left. Apparently it sold out immediately Bummed I won’t have a chance to try and get back. Should have been waiting with my timer like a hot concert ticket 🤦‍♂️

@ItsMattsLaw This First Amended Complaint is brought to you by ServPro, it’s like the original complaint never even happened.

Law firms should have sponsors and have them included on the watermark in their pleadings

@magrampip @sicklecow @ASFleischman Agreed. Vinny’s cross examination is genuinely great trial work. And he doesn’t ask only leading questions, he asks questions he doesn’t know the answer to, he asks the ultimate question, and he does it in different ways with each witness.

@tripsmalley @sicklecow @ASFleischman I actually think My Cousin Vinny is underrated in its value as a legal trial training video. Obviously it's done for humor but there are some very good tips hidden in there

If you are crossing an expert, you don't say "are you a paid shill for the other side." It's more like 1. "The State pays you?" 2. "The State trains you?" 3. "The State spoke to you about your testimony?" And so on. Then in CLOSING you argue they're biased. This is a bad ?

@magrampip @sicklecow @ASFleischman Look at My Cousin Vinny-the lawyer has the witness admit the time was 5 minutes because that’s how long it took to make grits. If the lawyer waited til closing to bring out the 15 minute time to cook grits issue the point would be lost.

@tripsmalley @sicklecow @ASFleischman I know it well. But it's worse sometimes when it comes out under your own questioning. The above exchange is an example that was taught in law school 40 years ago. The message is to know when to stop.