It’s back!
Twenty years later Tatra Press has kindly allowed me to bring back Grounds For Golf now that golf architecture is of more interest to the masses. A new Introduction looks at what’s driven the interest growth and two new chapters I had a blast adding (plus a few edits to keep things up-to-date).
The Amazon purchase page for the book arriving June 15, 2026.
Eh, eh...easy on the jokes. Yes, the Cialis Western Open will be played at Crooked Stick in 2008 or 2010.
And yes, there is some serious brand synergy at play here. No, not what you were thinking.
Cialis maker Eli Lilly is headquartered in Indianapolis.
Thanks to reader John for the uh, heads up.
Bill Huffman has the surprising story of Troon North's 36-holes reportedly being put up for sale. Surprising because of the high price and the idea that there would actually be takers. Huffman also has a piece analyzing the heft $90 million price tag.
Poor Tiger. No matter how many times he tells the golfing scribblers that his game is better than it's ever been, they refuse to believe him.
Bob Casper over at SI.com has been looking at Tiger's swing change patterns and equates the 1999-transition season with 2005, another transition year.
FYI: 1999 Tiger in the majors: T18-T3-T7-1; 2005 Tiger: 1-2-1-T4.
But Casper says 2006 will not like Tiger's 2000. Why? Five reasons, here's #1:
Earlier this year Tiger said, "driving accuracy means nothing these days, it's a non-stat." He had better reconsider that statement with two of the four majors being contest at traditional old -style layouts with majestic tree-lined fairways.
They've taken out a ton of trees at Winged Foot and apparently have done a fair amount of trimming over at Medinah, which may neutralize the whole "majestic tree-lined" thing. The USGA's David Fay has said he would like to see 8-inch at Winged Foot (because this flogging thing is really shining a big annoying light on optimization), but they can't do that if the men in blue want to finish on Sunday.
In 2000, Tiger hit 71.2 percent of his fairways. If he gets close to 70 percent in 2006, watch out. But that's a big if. Great scoring on golf courses is set up off the tee and Tiger needs to do a better job.
Sorry, that was five years ago. The game has changed and Tiger has not only kept up with the times, but established how the game will be played in the future.
It will be interesting to see how long people go before they realize the absurdity of grinding out tee shots and worrying about hitting fairways when 340 yard drives and proficiency with 15-footers far outweighs tee-shot accuracy.
On another note, just in case you have an interest in meaningless trivia, reader Jon reports that "flog" (golf backwards) is a member of the palindrome family. It is a semordnilap.
A popular motivational saying goes, "Desserts is stressed spelled backwards." This is an example of a reversible word, which when read from the right yields another word. All of this week's words exhibit this quality. Just like reversible clothing that changes pattern when worn inside out, reversible words result in other usable words. A special case of reversible words are palindromes, which spell the same when reversed. So palindromes are a subset of reversible words which in turn are a subset of anagrams. Another name for reversible words is semordnilap, a self-referential word coined by reversing the word palindromes.
How about that news flash from the city!
From the New York Post...
Christmas came early this year.
No, not the lighting of the Rockefeller Center tree but the elite luncheon of the top editors, publishers and executives who work for billionaire S.I. Newhouse Jr. inside the glitzy Condé Nast publishing empire.
This year's extravaganza at the posh Four Seasons restaurant was the first to stretch beyond Condé Nast's traditional top-bracket titles such as Vogue, Vanity Fair, GQ, Glamour and The New Yorker, to include the less prestigious titles of its Fairchild group, home to Jane and W, and the more pedestrian Golf Digest Companies.
Gee, all George White did was raise a few questions about Tiger's schedule, but the PC police tracked him down and got him to budge.
The resort will host the 2009 Open Championship.
First there were tees to supplement all of that improved athleticism allowing for distance increases, now we have shoes to add to the list of reasons guys are hitting it longer.
According to T.J. Tomasi, Padraig Harrington says of his Hi-Tec shoes:
The shoes have increased my ball speed from 166 mph to 173 mph. Each mile per hour is equivalent to about 2 1/2 yards, so that's an additional 15 yards on my drives. This has taken me from the top 100 in driving distance in Europe to being in the top 10 in the space of a year, which is amazing.
They've also taken his voice down two octaves and made his blond highlights almost look natural.
Unfortunately, his memory might not be so "amazing" since Padraig finished 13th in 2004 European driving distance, 30th in 2005.
Thanks to reader Tuco for this.
Lorne Rubenstein gets to the essence of what we love about some tournaments, and why all of these no-cut, rich-get-richer affairs aren't doing the Tour much good.
Real tour golf should be intelligently designed, then. Only then are golfers forced to be strong and to see if they have what it takes to survive.
The game has always been about getting it done without the security blanket of a guaranteed cheque. Little by little, that's changing, sure. Anybody who wins a tour card will make at least a couple of hundred thousand dollars from equipment contracts and other endorsements. But that disappears if the player doesn't keep the card.
Five-year-old Barona Creek (No. 78 in Golfweek's Top 100 Modern) has overcome its dated back tee yardage to earn the right to host two Nationwide Tour Championships. Tod Leonard writes:
With a hotel/casino on site and plenty of room for corporate hospitality and the expected 5,000 spectators, Barona's only obstacle to getting a top-level event was its length. At 7,088 yards from the championship tees, it was deemed short for today's big hitters with high-tech clubs. In October's Collegiate Cup, for example, Denver's James Love shot a 10-under-par 62 in the first round and went on to card 15-under in three rounds.
But the club has made extensive renovations this fall, adding 12 new tees to lengthen the course to about 7,500 yards. Several jagged-edged bunkers – among the course's standout design traits – were added.
Here's a story on Mark Hensby refusing to apologize for his controversial views expressed at last week's wild and wacky Australian Open. But this is what I found interesting:
Stuart Appleby yesterday joined the list of players fined by the PGA Tour for a rules breach in publicly criticising aspects of the Australian Open, he revealed errors had been made by AGU officials in measuring pin placements.
Appleby said players had been notified mid-round that incorrect distances were shown on official pin placement sheets.
Boy this Australia Golf Union really knows how to put on a tournament. Top notch, top notch.
Check out Ran Morrissett's interview with Alfie Ward, creator of the Arbory Brae course and world class traditionalist. I suppose this could be viewed as good news for those going to Scotland hoping to play lesser known gems without seeing Americans, but otherwise, it's pretty sad:
13. As technology goes unchecked, what is the future of the numerous sub-6000 yard courses around Scotland (and the UK & Ireland for that matter)? Is their appeal in any way lessened?
Excellent question, and one which gives the greatest concern of all (IMO). You know, history does repeat itself – maybe because life itself is a cycle of fashion and trends ? It can be argued that these fashions and trends were the death knell for numerous courses and their respective clubs circa 1930 – 50’s in Scotland, and most probably, elsewhere in the UK ? At this time, golfers became more selective in the courses they played because they had the advantage of travelling far greater distances than they could have previously! Support for the smaller courses dwindled as visitors travelled further afield and in pursuit of superior challenges at the longer courses. So too, and still do, are those seeking membership to a club. Who’s to say that the same scenario isn’t about to be repeated in the next few years ? I reckon it’s happening already, and so too, I think, does the Scottish Golf Union ! Of Scotland’s 500 plus courses, there’s probably about 300 (minimum) that don’t meet the 'must play' expectations of the modern tourism golfer ! Why ? Because they’re instantly deemed much too short from the yardage stats in the first instance of course selection. So the appeal factor is diminished from the outset, and so long as technology in golf goes unchecked – then life isn’t going to get any better for the vast majority of courses (worldwide) that are lagging in this mad distance race !
In response to reports of serious concerns over the state of Scottish golf and falling club membership numbers (Nov 2004) I undertook a little research on Scotland’s golf courses. Of 503 registered in the 2003 Golf Guide I found that 155 (31%) were sub 5500 yard layouts ; 113 (22%) 5501 – 6000 yards ; 185 (37%) 6001 – 6500 yards ; and 50 (10%) 6501 yards and over. In direct relation to the question you ask Ran, and if my personal concerns are justified – then that puts over 50% of Scottish courses under the 'at risk' umbrella ? That is, if fashion and trends and unchecked technology has anything to do with it ? I believe it has !
TGC's George White dares to go where few others will: he remembers that Tiger said the Tour schedule is too long, and he's wondering why Tiger is so much playing fall golf.
They're here...a U.S. Open preview, even beating the Masters. Sam Weinman previews preparations at Winged Foot.
"To get an event of this scope ready is hard to convey," said Danny Sink, the manager of the 2006 Open who has been on site at the club for some 18 months. "It's a massive undertaking with a lot of moving parts."
So prevalent are these tents, a common criticism lodged at the USGA is that the Open has become more a vehicle for profits than anything else. As a defense, the USGA says those profits are essential to the organization's overall mission. While the Winged Foot Open likely won't rival the record $13 million netted at the 2002 Open at Bethpage Black, it will be profitable enough to underwrite other parts of the USGA budget.
"Obviously, the U.S. Open makes a profit, but that's money we use to help grow the game," Sink said.
Oh it's growing.
Jeff Silverman takes an in-depth look at the most recent estate courses and their creators. Unfortunately the online version does no include the photos that ran with the print version.
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
Copyright © 2022, Geoff Shackelford. All rights reserved.
