When you come to think of it that is the secret of most of the great holes all over the world. They all have some kind of a twist. C.B. MACDONALD
I love these guys. David Dusek on the latest suit.
Golf World's E. Michael Johnson reports a stunner that could have huge implications...or not?
The United States District Court in Wilmington, Del., has granted Callaway's request for a permanent injunction to stop sales of Acushnet's current line of Titleist Pro V1 family of golf balls, effective no later than January 1, 2009.
In its ruling today, the Court also rejected Acushnet's request to overturn the jury's December 2007 verdict which found that Callaway Golf's golf ball patents were valid and infringed by Acushnet's Titleist Pro V1 family of golf balls.
But...
Key to the ruling, however, is the phrase "Acushnet's current line of Titleist Pro V1 family of golf balls." Although the court's ruling would appear to indicate that some inventory of Pro V1s currently on shelves may have to be stopped, the Acushnet Company, parent company of Titleist, said it will file an appeal and that it does not expect the ruling to have a material adverse impact on its results.
Bill Huffman does an excellent job making anyone in the golf business want to slash their wrists leap off a bridge consider alternative business models. Actually, he very thoroughly considers the plight of Arizona golf and the sudden downturn in play, talking to SunCor Golf VP Tom Patrick. Thanks to reader Steven T. for catching the story.
This was interesting:
Still, and despite ridiculously low green fees already popping up lately in the West Valley, Patrick doesn’t expect a price war to break out. That’s because costs for rye seed are way up, water has never been more expensive, and maintenance costs are running through the roof after a mass exodus of undocumented workers back to Mexico.
“If people don’t come out to play, the courses will just go broke,” Patrick predicted. “In fact, that’s why so many are up for sale right now, even being foreclosed on — and you’re going to see more of that.”
Case in point: Starfire Golf Club in central Scottsdale went on the auction block this week for $8.5 million.
In another statement on the economy of Arizona golf, Royal Dunes, the former all-men’s club in Maricopa originally named Southern Dunes, completed its foreclosure on Wednesday when it was returned to lender Duane Young of Palm Springs, Calif.
Rumor on the street is the course is going to shift from private to public. (And, yes, women will be able to get a tee time there for the first time.)
“The golf industry is like everybody else,” Patrick said. “Things are not good, and until the banks loosen up some money, it’s going to get worse.”
Meanwhile, Patrick said, the golf industry is bracing for that perfect storm.
“You’re already seeing it,” he said.
“In places like Las Vegas, which really is getting hammered, they’re cutting back on everything, even the size of the courses by taking out turf.”
Well that's not such a bad thing.
Set against the backdrop of the economic crisis and word that players will be seeing far less lucrative endorsement deals, I would love to listen to how agents spin this one with their clients.
By the way, that's Justin Timberlake, not James Taylor (I know my demo!).
Jim Achenbach attended the RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship and noticed that nearly every contestant used a Pinnacle and Cobra driver (you go Wally!).
But for those of you feeling guilty about your driver collecting, just consider this level of neurotic behavior:
Winner Jamie Sadlowski and the other three match-play finalists in the Open Division used Cobra driver heads. Furthermore, Dan Boever, the Senior Division champion, hit a Cobra driver.
Five-time world champion Jason Zuback, eliminated after making the Elite Eight, was another Cobra user. Zuback showed up with 29 Cobra drivers from which to choose. That’s right – 29.
“Well, there are some slight differences in all of them,” said Zuback, still on the mend after having four hernias repaired in the vicinity of his abdomen.
Sure those hernias aren't related to lifting a bag filled with 29 drivers?
Mina Kimes considers the issues facing real estate developments and the country clubs anchoring the facilities, focusing on a recent shuttering at Palmira in Florida. Not much surprise here...
Commercial real estate, a sector that's lagged behind the rest of the industry in experiencing the credit crunch, is about to get hit hard, according to a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers survey. One finding: investors believe that sales of homes in golf club communities will be near abysmal next year which, in turn, will hurt club memberships.
"The courses are owned by people who leveraged them up, and they're going to feel the pain," said Susan Smith, the director of real estate at PwC.
Woolson predicts that the number of golf community foreclosures will continue to rise next year - and developers too will feel the pain. "I've made a lot of money over the past eight years selling golf courses that weren't making money," he said. "The developers see profits when they sell the last 25% of the development - if the market comes to a halt before then, they're in trouble."
Doug Ferguson reports the wonderful news, which frees me to end my PGA Show boycott as well...oh wait, you said it's still going to be in Orlando? Scratch that...
Titleist is returning to the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Fla., for the first time in seven years. Titleist executive vice president Jerry Bellis said the return is due to the PGA shifting the show's emphasis to a more educational platform.
No manufacturer left behind!
The only reaction I had to the Taylor Made-buys-Ashworth news was that it probably made a John Ashworth-led revival of the company he started less likely, but as Robert Lohrer explains on the Styled-To-A-Tee blog, it adds to the bizarre world of Carlsbad corporate antics:
While both adidas and Ashworth are co-habitants of Carlsbad, Calif., it seemed that another giant golf company and Carlsbad mainstay, Callaway Golf, would be an ideal suitor for Ashworth. Callaway's apparel, said to be about a $60 million business at wholesale, has been successfully licensed for several seasons to Ashworth.
That means, on the apparel front, adidas will be working for Callaway in a licensee-licensor relationship. Monday's deal, however, will likely mean that Callaway will have the right to review its contract.
Peter Lauria in the New York Post says that former Yahoo CEO Terry Semel is trying to put together a bid for IMG. Thanks to reader John for this.
One of these sources said Semel recently sat down with Forstmann and his bankers at Goldman Sachs, who have been working with IMG on various initiatives since last summer, to gauge their interest.You know when I think of IMG, those are the two names I associate alongside Tiger's.
Earlier this year, Semel and a few Yahoo! defectors launched Windsor Media Capital with what one source described as "significant financial support from large investors."
Sources said Semel thinks he can transform IMG - which has a sports, entertainment, and media division and serves clients Tiger Woods, Gisele Bundchen and "The View" co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck - into a media and content company and also bolster its digital operation.
For Semel, the pursuit of IMG could help repair a reputation that tarnished during his years as Yahoo! CEO. Indeed, many Yahoo! insiders quietly blame Semel for making the Web giant vulnerable to Microsoft's current takeover attempts.
"Semel's clamoring for a platform so he can get back into the spotlight," said one source, referring to his low profile since he left Yahoo! last year.
Aren't we all clamoring for a platform?
Sources said there are two main obstacles to an IMG deal: price and Forstmann's infatuation with the business.
People close to IMG say Forstmann sees the agency as a "play toy" that allows him to rub elbows with celebrities.
And to have them caddy for him.
They said it would take a rich offer - north of $3 billion - to entice him to sell.Now, if I bought a Gulfstream for $750 million with someone else's money and those people knew they could get $2 billion for it, I'm sure they'll pass!
Sources were unanimous, however, in saying $3 billion is a "very aggressive price," especially considering the low margins on the sports side of the business. They said a more realistic price would be less than $2 billion.
However, despite Forstmann's reluctance to sell, he may face investor pressure to do something with IMG.
Sources said investors in the Forstmann Little fund that acquired IMG four years ago for $750 million are pushing for some kind of a deal. However, other sources denied that was the case, likening the prized agency to the fund's purchase of Gulfstream, which was held for a decade.
"Golf is a lagging economic indicator," he said. "Whatever the economy is doing, golf will feel it the next year. If people feel less economically secure, they'll be less likely to put out money for a club membership or want to play at more expensive daily fee courses. If they're feeling flush, golf will benefit."
Gray's perspective comes from calling on more than 4,000 golf courses across the nation, selling and managing Wells Fargo's leasing credit business under which courses lease their fleets of mowers and turf equipment, as well as golf carts.
His frequent and lengthy trips around the country are hard on his own 12-handicap game, but give him a perspective on the health of the business, he said. Gray recently completed a five-week stint for the U.S. Golf Association helping members become more business savvy.
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
Copyright © 2022, Geoff Shackelford. All rights reserved.
